《String [Superheroes, Technological Progression]》 Foundation 1 Under the light of two full moons, anticipation ate away at me like a parasite. I found myself flicking the safety of my enhanced taser on and off, while my foot bounced in front of the brake and accelerator. My nerves were starting to get the better of me as I stared at the house across the street. It had Victorian-era architecture while the foundation and exterior sported some modern touches to keep it from looking too weathered. The blinds on the curtains were shut and the lights in the house were switched off. I checked my watch, 11:54 P.M. What kind of person sets a deal to be at midnight on a Sunday? It was the middle of June, so I had to sit with my car idling to prevent the winter cold from freezing me stiff. I had to be up early for school tomorrow yet here I was, breaking curfew. In my defense, who wouldn¡¯t stay up this late for a quarter million dollars? I was under no illusion this was legal work. I was breaking several laws, but I couldn¡¯t pass up an opportunity to make this much money. Regardless of the risks involved, everything would be fine as long as I didn¡¯t get caught. The last thing I wanted was to deal with the United Nations Evohuman Crisis Unit. Tick-tock, Maxis. In and out. My watch buzzed with a reminder of the meeting. 12:00 A.M. Flickering lights from the dining room caught my attention ¨C my signal to go inside. Mustering my courage, I tucked my modified taser into my jacket pocket and opened the door of my car. The cool night breeze brushed my face as I fetched the bag and suitcase that sat patiently in my back seat. Alright. Taser, check. Scarf, hood, and modified sunglasses, check. Mechatech for the deal, check. Lock the car¡­ I pressed my thumb against the handle until I heard a click. ¡­Check. Come on, eyes on the prize. I steeled my nerves before moving across the street and into the front garden. As I moved, I turned on the night vision setting on my sunglasses to make it look like broad daylight before adjusting my hood and scarf. Given my clients were typically my age, I was pretty flippant about concealing my identity. Tonight though was different. Chances were I was dealing with sketchy guys who had a lot of money. Enough to dead-drop me $50,000 upfront for materials. At least they weren¡¯t asking me to make weapons for them, which gave me some hope that they were just private dealers or collectors. The best thing about that fifty grand was I barely needed to spend any of it to get the job done. I didn¡¯t want to ring the doorbell in case this was more covert than the client had implied. Normally, they¡¯d leave instructions ¨C ¡®dog on the property, climb through the open window¡¯ or ¡®parents asleep, come in through the backdoor.¡¯ This one had just told me to knock twice after the signal. Simple enough. A deep voice sounded from the other side. ¡°You him?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s Upgrade.¡± The door clicked and creaked open and as it did, my eyes widened behind my glasses. Behind the door stood a veritable tank. The man was at least a foot taller than me and incredibly well-built. With a suspicious tilt of his head, he gestured for me to come inside. I scooted past and stepped through the entrance, trying to keep my hands steady. The interior was warm and cozy, not at all the impression I had gotten from the weathered exterior. One thing that struck me was how quiet it was. Given the nature of the job and how much I was getting paid for it, I had expected there to be more than one guy. ¡°This way.¡± He took me down a long hallway and through another door. This one led downstairs into a basement and as I got closer I could hear several voices. We walked down the solid wooden stairs, our steps echoed off the walls, each one silencing the voices coming from below. Three men stood around a dimly lit table while another feminine figure sat in the corner shrouded in shadows. Two of the men were dressed in suits while the other wore smart casual with a black jacket. That guy was old ¨C early seventies if I had to guess. All heads followed me down the stairs, and the two men in suits met my gaze. The older man, however, observed me with disappointment. Then, he sighed. ¡°He¡¯s young.¡± I tried not to show how insulted I was. It hurt my professional pride, what little I had anyway. Just because I was a teenager, didn¡¯t mean I wasn¡¯t capable. ¡°Aren¡¯t they all?¡± One of the suits asked. He was Asian with slicked-black hair. The other was a taller fair-skinned man who was too busy smoking a cigar to bother speaking. ¡°Good evening, Upgrade. Apologies for setting our meeting so late. Business like this tends to draw more eyes while the sun is still up as I¡¯m sure you know.¡± I didn¡¯t, not really. I rolled with it anyway, putting forward as much professionalism as I could muster. ¡°Late nights don¡¯t bother me.¡± He clapped his hands. ¡°Let¡¯s get started then, shall we?¡± The table had been cleared so I opted to place my gear on top of it. Since my bags were filled with the commissioned items, I took extra care to make sure none of the fragile cargo broke. I had to take a deep breath as the guy who had escorted me down here moved out of my view. I didn¡¯t trust these people and I doubt they trusted me either. This was a business transaction and that¡¯s as far as it would ever go. The only thing I had was their word ¨C which was inherently foolish but I was willing to entertain the risk. Fortunately, my escort had just moved to watch the stairs and didn¡¯t seem interested in what was going on. ¡°I have to say I¡¯m impressed,¡± the Asian man straightened his tie and stepped forward. I noticed a tattoo on the back of his hand, a scythe with Asian symbols but I couldn¡¯t identify which part, Chinese maybe? ¡°We expected at least a three-week turn-around, but you managed on a much shorter time frame.¡± I gave an easy shrug. ¡°I work fast.¡± ¡°But is it quality?¡± Cigar guy questioned with a sly smile on his lips. His accent was thick British. London, if I had to place it. ¡°You lot tend to get fussy about deadlines. Never met one who could deliver early.¡± ¡°Yeah, well¡­ I¡¯m not like the others.¡± I hadn¡¯t meant to sound arrogant but there was truth to my words. Other Mechakinetics had to actually build their technology. I could cheat. ¡°That remains to be seen,¡± the old man grumbled. From where I was standing, his features had become shrouded in shadow. ¡°Show us.¡± Not seeing any point in delaying, I unzipped the suitcase and pulled out the first of the three items I had spent the week making. I carefully unwrapped it, removing all the towels I had used as padding before placing it on the table for everyone to see. ¡°Not gonna bother asking what you guys want this for since I doubt you¡¯d tell me, but here¡¯s your first request; a drone ¨C or The Changeling, as I like to call it,¡± I picked up its controller; it resembled a smartphone from a distance, but when I touched it the screen lit up with a video feed and UI. This one in particular had taken me most of the week to make because I decided to get a little¡­ creative. ¡°This little guy comes equipped with rotors for flight, wheels, and my personal favorite, spider legs.¡± I proceeded to shift the drone through the three different forms. It still amused me that this particular project started off as a transforming remote control car and a cheap drone I had bought from an electronics store. Hell, the spider legs came from a plushie of all things. ¡°And, as a little bonus because I was feeling particularly adventurous, it has a chameleon setting,¡± with a tap on the screen, I commanded the drone to shift. The little thing mimicked the material of the wood it was standing on, blending in with the table to near perfection. The tattoo guy nodded and looked at his associates. So far, they all seemed impressed. It had taken me a little bit to figure out how to progress down a chameleon route. Originally, I had wanted to try and incorporate true active camouflage but it proved too costly in the short amount of time I had been given. A chameleon setting was much easier to work with and achieved similar results. I handed the controller to the tattoo guy. ¡°The UI should be intuitive, I did include a small manual in case you need it.¡± ¡°No training wheels,¡± the old man scoffed. ¡°Next.¡± Jeez, not even a word of praise. At least the tattoo dude likes it. I reached into my bag and removed the second object, its appearance resembled a smooth black brick that easily fit into the size of my palm. Though it might look like that to an outside observer, it was actually anything but. It had started off as a battery I had salvaged from an old laptop and had taken days of upgrading to get it just right. ¡°Don¡¯t have any fancy names for this one, but this is the closest thing I could make to the initial request. You wanted a portable power bank. Here it is,¡± I plonked it down close to the drone. ¡°This thing has a capacity of a thousand kilowatt hours. I¡¯ve made it as safe as I can, but that¡¯s still a lot of energy so be careful with how you handle it ¨C and I mean that. I can¡¯t guarantee what will happen if you decide to hit someone on the head with it.¡± The cigar guy took a puff and blew some smoke at me. ¡°Take an educated guess. What¡¯s your professional opinion?¡± ¡°Best case? Your family can find all your bits to put in a box.¡± He grinned. For the hundredth time, I wondered who I was dealing with. The third and final item was the least impressive of the lot. I picked up the modified swiss army knife and aimlessly flicked through its functions. I had upgraded everything it had and tacked on a few new ones for good measure. A knife that could easily cut through wood, a screwdriver that could adjust itself to any screw¡­ the works. I didn¡¯t even have to get creative with the progression path seeing as the whole point of this thing was to have an answer to every problem. I wasn¡¯t sure why they had requested it, but the moment I placed it down in the middle of the table for a showcase, the old man snatched it up, shoving it into his jacket pocket. The sly old geezer even had the gall to smirk at me as he did so. ¡°Well¡­ that about covers it.¡± ¡°One last thing,¡± the cigar guy puffed. ¡°Can you do guns?¡± I stared long and hard at him as the modified taser in my pocket felt more pronounced. ¡°Are you asking me if I can do guns, or if I¡¯m willing?¡± He took another slow puff, not once breaking eye contact. ¡°Both.¡± ¡°Yes and no, in that order,¡± I replied swiftly. I wanted to shut down that line of inquiry. ¡°Too much heat. Stuff like this will probably be overlooked by the ECU but the moment I bring anything lethal into the equation, they¡¯ll come down on me like a ton of bricks.¡± ¡°You got brains,¡± the old man commended under his breath. ¡°That¡¯s rare to see.¡± ¡°Too many fall victim to their own potential,¡± the tattooed man spoke up, having finally finished admiring the drone and power brick. ¡°It¡¯s good to see at least some of the new faces have a sense of self-preservation.¡± Something heavy hit the table and slid over in front of me. I looked down to see a chunky steel revolver. The metal was almost spotless like it had been polished religiously. Immediately, I noticed the old man tense up and he stepped forward out of the shadows, glaring at the cigar guy. ¡°Put that away. Now.¡± The scariest part about this so-called old man was he didn¡¯t raise his voice ¨C but the threat of violence was very real. The man shrugged. ¡°Call it a professional curiosity. I want to know what he makes of this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t do weapons,¡± I said, trying to make myself very clear. ¡°I¡¯m told Mechakinetics have a certain type of intuition about these sorts of things,¡± he continued, ignoring my statement. He pointed at his gun with his cigar hand and waved a bit. ¡°Hypothetically, if you did do weapons, how would you go about modifying Becca'' there?¡± Did he name his gun? Slowly, I reached down and picked up the revolver. I had never touched a gun before ¨C a real one. I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t interested in playing around with weapons. I just knew better than to start down that path. Against my better judgment, however, I allowed my power to activate. I was able to visualize the mental map in my head, each individual component of the gun branched out like a tree, showing me all the different kinds of upgrades and their cost. [Charges: 25/25] [Type] [Durability 99/100 - Repair Available. Cost: 1] [Model] [Attachments] [Materials] [Ammunition] [Integration Status: Unavailable] The base components were modern and the upgrade paths were straightforward. There wasn¡¯t much available to me without actually upgrading the model to something more advanced. The MK II upgrade looked like it came from the late 2020s and would give a much more solid base to work from. While MK III and IV started to look like something straight out of a cyberpunk movie and let me start adding some really exotic features. There wasn¡¯t much I could do with the current design, though. ¡°Depends on what you¡¯d want,¡± I carefully slid the gun back across the table toward him. I watched carefully as he picked it up and placed it back into his jacket pocket. ¡°But if you wanted something fancy, I¡¯d mess with the model and improve it. Alter it so it could pack more of a punch.¡± ¡°How much of a punch?¡± He asked. I sighed. ¡°Enough to put a hole through just about anything other than fancy Mechatech and Evomats.¡± ¡°How much for it?¡± I tried to not let my aggravation show. ¡°I said, I don¡¯t do guns.¡± ¡°How about an extra hundred thousand plus materials on top? I can even give you half right now,¡± the cigar guy took a long puff before blowing smoke in my direction again. He tapped it and let the ashes fall straight onto the floor. ¡°Kid like you has talent. I''d hate to see it wasted.¡± ¡°The kid said, he doesn''t do weapons,¡± the old man remarked, his tone filled with warning. ¡°Respect his boundaries.¡± The cigar guy grinned and pointed at me. ¡°Ahh, but look! He¡¯s considering it.¡± I had bitten my lip in contemplation at the offer. An extra hundred thousand on top of the initial deal was so enticing it had my skin breaking out in goosebumps. ¡°No,¡± I said firmly. I refused to compromise my principles or my safety. ¡°No weapons. Not from me. If you want guns, you need to go somewhere else.¡± My eyes met the suspiciously quiet woman who had been sitting in the corner of the room the whole time without saying a word. I had no idea what kind of relationship she had with the people I was dealing with but she was clearly with them. Her eyes hadn¡¯t left me ever since I had arrived and while she did make me feel a tad uncomfortable, she didn¡¯t seem threatening. ¡°You heard the kid, that¡¯s enough,¡± the old man sneered. ¡°We aren¡¯t here for munitions.¡± The tattooed man finally turned and addressed the woman. He started speaking to her in a language I didn¡¯t understand but could recognize as Chinese. The two shared a very brief conversation before she stood up and dusted off her clothes. Her heels clicked against the concrete floor as she moved over into the dim light. She wore formal attire, the same as her two suit-wearing associates. However, unlike the rest, she sported a fancy Chinese-style rabbit mask that obscured her identity. My guard shifted and I immediately felt on edge. Only supers wore masks. First, she examined the drone, then the black cube. The old man then handed her the multi-tool he had snatched up and she held it for all but a couple of seconds before handing it back. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± I questioned. ¡°She¡¯s just checking for any defects,¡± the tattooed man replied with a dismissive wave. ¡°Among other things.¡± ¡°Like?¡± I pressed, feeling slightly insulted. ¡°Booby traps, bombs, poison, stuff like that,¡± the old man spoke up, giving me a neutral look. ¡°Can¡¯t be too careful when dealing with Mechatech. It¡¯s nothing against you kid, this is just procedure.¡± Fair enough. I stepped back as she leaned into the tattooed man¡¯s ear and whispered some things before returning to her seat. He beamed a smile at me before clapping his hands. Turning, he retrieved a briefcase from below the table. ¡°Your payment, plus a bonus,¡± he bowed his head respectfully, sliding it across the table toward me. I clicked open the briefcase to find a small electronic chip, no bigger than a USB. I recognized the tech as Encrypto¡¯s handiwork. ¡°A payload chip,¡± I nodded, before closing the briefcase. ¡°It¡¯ll do. What¡¯s the bonus?¡± ¡°An extra fifty grand for timely delivery,¡± the tattooed man said. ¡°A gesture of good faith. We hope to work with you again in the future.¡± ¡°Just as long as you guys remember my no-weapon policy,¡± I replied, giving the cigar guy a pointed glare. ¡°I have no problems¡ª¡± A door slammed from upstairs which made just about everyone in the room jump except for the old man. My hands started to sweat as my escort pulled out a gun and began slowly ascending the stairs to investigate. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose that was one of yours?¡± They ignored my quip. ¡°Time to go.¡± The old man was already moving toward me. I stepped aside as he reached for the dusty bookshelf behind me. His hand went behind it and pressed something, which caused the whole bookshelf to immediately slide to the left and reveal a smooth wall. I was about to comment on it when a simple push caused an outline to appear and a door to swing open. It opened out into a long tunnel and stretched for about a hundred meters. The two suits were already carrying my tech to the tunnel, led by the woman with the rabbit mask. They didn¡¯t even hesitate to step through and go down. I didn¡¯t want to be left behind, so I snatched up the briefcase and headed for the tunnel. The old man hustled me through just in time to hear a storm of gunfire echo from upstairs. I pulled out my taser and flicked the safety off. The door closed and the bookshelf moved back into place, sealing us in. ¡°Keep moving,¡± the old man commanded. We reached the end and climbed up a ladder, we emerged into a park. Turning, I spotted my car parked and sitting unscathed. Across the street from it, the door to the house was left ajar and I didn¡¯t like what I was hearing from inside. The business associates I was with began to head back towards the house when a black van pulled up a few houses down. The sliding door opened and a figure gestured with urgency for everyone to get inside. That was their getaway vehicle. I had my own. Time to break off and make my own getaway. As I broke into a sprint, armed men poured out of the house and spotted me. A few of them aimed and fired while the rest broke off and began peppering the black van with bullets. Very quickly, the area turned into a warzone. I dove to the ground, using my car as cover. I could hear the bullets pinging off the metal framework of my car and for the first time, I was glad I had spent so much time testing my power on it. I had upgraded the framework and body to protect against collisions with other vehicles. I never thought bullets would be its first stress test. The old man and his group wasted no time returning fire. I watched from behind cover as men fell to the street, screaming in agony. The ones firing at me turned their attention away to assist their comrades, giving me a safe opportunity to fire. Without bulletproof windows, I couldn¡¯t risk trying to get away. Propping myself up against the rear of my car, I aimed my taser for several seconds then pulled the trigger. My weapon buzzed and crackled with electricity before the pin projectile shot out of the barrel. One of the men at the back seized up and dropped his firearm. I had managed to hit his forearm, despite aiming for center mass. I aimed at another guy and fired. I missed the shot horribly. Panicking, I fired a third and missed again. I tried to fire a fourth but my taser clicked, the cartridge empty. I fumbled around in my pocket for a spare and tried to reload but my hands were shaking too much. The adrenaline pouring through my system frustrated me because despite how I¡¯d practiced reloading, I couldn¡¯t perform the steps in the moment. Aggravated, I shoved it back into my jacket pocket and took one last quick peek at the area. The suits were still trying to clammer into the van while trading shots with the gangsters, while said gangsters were dragging their wounded inside or behind whatever cover was available. They weren¡¯t focused on me, which was all the window I needed. Unlocking my car, I scrambled through the front passenger seat and threw the briefcase into the backseat. I thumbed the ignition, ripped the gear shift into drive, and slammed my foot on the accelerator. With a high-pitched whine of an electric engine, I went from zero to a hundred in just over two seconds. I didn¡¯t even bother to put my seatbelt on as I tore through the streets of Bayside. I made about a half dozen turns down a few familiar roads before I finally managed to calm down and pull over. Slowing down, I gently parked on another curb to catch my breath. As I breathed in, something reached out from behind me and jabbed me in the neck. At first, I froze up and thought it was a knife but it was too small and it felt like being pinched. I fumbled and tried to find my attacker but my vision started swimming. I managed to open the door before unceremoniously falling out of the car and landing face-first on the concrete. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was two heeled feet climbing out the back of my car.
When I next opened my eyes, I was tied to a chair. ¡°G¡¯morning sunshine.¡± I looked up to see a man sitting across from me in a red wife beater, some scrappy-looking jeans, and dirty brown boots. His arms were covered in tattoos and his bald head glistened with sweat. He smiled at me, it was crooked with some of his front teeth replaced with metal replicas. I groaned as I tried to banish the drowsiness. I had never been drugged before but it left me feeling disorientated and dopey. The guy laughed, stood up, clapped, then strolled over and slapped my cheek. ¡°White blond hair, nicely cut, freshly shaved, young but has a car. Looks like someone¡¯s from the rich part of town.¡± I glared up at him. He just sighed and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m trying to be nice here, you know? We don¡¯t need to do this the hard way but if you keep disrespecting me, well, my hands might be forced and I don¡¯t think you want that.¡± I was feeling particularly upset ¨C mostly at myself. I should have been more careful. He approached me again. ¡°You know whose territory this is?¡± I wracked my brain for an answer, thinking through all the major players in Bayside. There were only a few of them and these guys didn¡¯t exactly fit any of the profiles. I gave a helpless shrug. ¡°Ah-ah, nonono we¡¯re not doing that. Speak. You don¡¯t get to play the silent game with me. When I ask a question, I expect a response, capiche?¡± He pulled out his gun and placed it against my right knee. I sucked in a breath and tried to say something but all that came out were broken mumbles. Then, pain exploded in my eye as my head recoiled back. I let out a pained groan as blots of darkness clouded my vision. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to make a mess, you know? Cleaning up is just not my thing,¡± he pressed the gun into my knee. ¡°Last chance.¡± ¡°O-okay. I don¡¯t know whose territory this is.¡± ¡°See! There you go. Now we have something to work with,¡± the man removed the gun from my knee. ¡°This territory belongs to The Brotherhood of Cain. Did you think we wouldn¡¯t notice you? You think we¡¯re stupid?¡± I mumbled my response. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t think so. Next question. The men you were dealing with, who were they?¡± The memory was fresh enough that I was able to remember their faces but I was sure they had never given me their names or any sort of business association. The best I had to go off of was the handle they went by online. Ceph Co. ¡°Don¡¯t know. Didn¡¯t ask. They were clients.¡± ¡°Interesting. Anything else?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Nothing comes to mind.¡± ¡°Ah, come now. A Mechakinetic who doesn¡¯t vet who he¡¯s dealing with? Amateurish ¨C but what can you expect, hm? You look young. You go to school?¡± I glared at him and he smiled. ¡°Yeah, you go to school. Used to give my teachers that look too. KIDS¡ª¡± he stepped toward me, crouching down to eye-level. ¡°¡ªthink they know everything. Used to be one myself not too long ago if you can believe it. Used to think I was on top of the fuckin¡¯ world! Then¡­ I left, and life hit me,¡± he got in real close miming and mouthing the word ¡®boom¡¯. ¡°Little fish in the ocean¡­ gotta watch out for those sharks.¡± The guy obviously liked hearing himself talk, so I let him. He pulled up a chair and sat beside me. ¡°Guess whose turn it is to be the little fish?¡± I didn¡¯t answer. Not until he jabbed me in the ribs with his gun. ¡°Me.¡± ¡°Mmhm¡­ say it,¡± he jabbed me again. ¡°Tell me what you are.¡± ¡°I am the little fish.¡± It was humiliating but that was probably the whole point. He pulled the gun away and gave me a hearty pat on the back. ¡°Don¡¯t look so sad, amigo! We¡¯re all little fish at the start. Just gotta do some growing and then you can really start to make some waves.¡± He reached forward into my pocket and fished out the taser, a spare cartridge, and my phone. He inspected the taser briefly before reaching around and tucking it into the back of his waistband. Then, he turned his attention to my phone ¨C the first project I had ever worked on and the one item I had spent the most time upgrading. It was a slick black touchscreen smartphone that surpassed even the latest models on the market. It was easily worth a few grand and I had even held back in developing it. Pushing too far would have it looking like Mechatech. As it was now, it could easily pass as a modern phone, with the exception of some software and specs that were at least a decade ahead of what¡¯s available now. I wasn¡¯t sure I could get away with anything more sophisticated. ¡°Real nice piece of work right here. You Mechakinetics are fucking miracle workers, you know?¡± He kissed the phone and fiddled with it some more. ¡°How do you turn it on? Help me out here, I''m an old man when it comes to this shit.¡± I told him the truth, it wasn¡¯t worth the effort to lie. ¡°It can¡¯t be used by anyone other than me.¡± I had taken a liking to biometric security. It was easy to use, but was hard to break into, especially when it was Mechatech like mine. Unless you were a very smart super with a talent for cracking security, getting into my phone was going to take a long time and a lot of creativity. He chuckled and pointed at me as if I had told some kind of hysterical joke. ¡°That¡¯s really smart ¨C taking precautions, I like that. Can¡¯t have anyone you don¡¯t like messing around with your shit,¡± he pulled his chair up next to mine and took a seat, leaning back in it. ¡°We both know how some people are. Women especially, fucking crazy lot, eh? One minute they¡¯re going through your messages and the next they¡¯re trying to cut your balls off.¡± A woman appeared out of thin air right in front of us, carrying the briefcase with my payload chip in it. She wore a mask, opera-phantom style. It was stark white with a blank expression. The rest of her occupied a form-fitting white catsuit. So it had been a super that had got me. It would explain how she had managed to get into my car. Her powers were either an invisibility-intangibility combo or teleportation on demand. Regardless, it would be a real pain to develop defenses against someone with those kinds of powers. ¡°Don¡¯t stop on my account. I¡¯m always open to new ideas,¡± she said, the smugness in her voice making me feel like I was having my ears cheese grated. The man laughed. ¡°See, what did I just say? Fuckin¡¯ crazy bitch, always popping in when you least expect it.¡± Her eyes rolled. ¡°You¡¯re wasting time.¡± ¡°Nonono, my time isn¡¯t wasted, see?¡± He gave me a nudge that felt anything but friendly. ¡°I¡¯m just hanging out here with my new friend! He¡¯s quite the talker.¡± I stayed silent, giving them both a sullen stare. The woman sighed and shook her head. ¡°Ah¡­ ruining my fun,¡± he waved her off before turning back to me. ¡°Do you not understand what this is? It¡¯s a lesson, see?¡± ¡°What lesson is this supposed to be?¡± I remarked sourly. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll just deal in the daytime¡ª¡± Pain exploded across my cheek, the man clubbing me with the butt of his gun. My vision swam and I could have sworn the world was starting to spin. I heard him curse under his breath in Spanish. ¡°Finally grew some balls, eh?¡± I didn¡¯t have it in me to find a snarky response. He already seemed unhinged and assuming I made it out of this alive, I didn¡¯t want to explain any bullet wounds to my mother. He shook his head, disappointed. ¡°In this city, independents are a no-go, compadre. You pick a side or you stay out of the game. We¡¯re not playing your game, you''re playing ours. So, all that¡¯s happening here is you paying us what we¡¯re owed.¡± ¡°Fuck off. I don¡¯t owe you shit.¡± My response didn¡¯t bother him in the slightest. ¡°Ah, yes you do. Just for that, I think I¡¯m gonna keep this,¡± he wiggled my phone in his hand. It wouldn¡¯t do him any good but that didn¡¯t make me feel any better. The first week I had awoken my powers had been spent messing with the phone and now this asshole was going to walk away with it. ¡°If you¡¯re a good boy maybe we¡¯ll let you make another one.¡± ¡°If you think I¡¯m going to join¡ª¡± ¡°Make this easy on yourself,¡± the mask-wearing woman said with an easy tone. ¡°Best you just accept it. If you don¡¯t cause any fuss, we won¡¯t see any reason to hurt you or the ones you care about. It¡¯s in your interest to cooperate.¡± Mom¡­ Fury burned through every fiber of my being. I opened my mouth to respond when I was abruptly silenced by a ringing phone. The man who had been interrogating me rolled his eyes before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. It was much less impressive compared to mine. He answered in Spanish. After a few moments of listening to the person on the other end, he began angrily talking, his dialect sounding increasingly desperate by the second. I needed to find a way out of here before they took me somewhere more secure. The last thing I wanted to happen was to get stuck making Mechatech for The Brotherhood of Cain. The look of amusement had long since melted away from his features in exchange for frustration. When he finally went silent, the woman took the opportunity to speak. ¡°Who is it? Grim?¡± The man just stared, his lips thinning into a displeased line. He ignored her question and continued talking in Spanish. He motioned for the woman to follow him as he stepped out of the room. Without another word, they shut the door, locking me in by myself. I wasn¡¯t going to get a better opportunity than this. I let my power activate on the ropes binding me to the chair. I selected the cheapest upgrade, manila to nylon, and pushed a single one of my charges into it. The ropes around me slackened as their physical form began folding like origami. Then, they shifted into a floating blob of liquid and I shot up from the chair without a shred of resistance. I stumbled to the nearest window and opened it. The fresh air of the night hit my face as I climbed out and unceremoniously dropped into a big rosemary bush. I rolled out and scrambled to my feet. Conveniently, my car was sitting in the driveway of this house. Without thinking, I made a break for it. When I got close, I found my car was still running. So it seemed whoever the masked woman was, wasn¡¯t able to turn it off after the drive to get here. The ignition was registered to my fingerprints so only I could switch it on and off. How she had managed to get into my car was anyone¡¯s guess, but given she couldn¡¯t operate my car, she almost certainly wasn¡¯t a Mechakinetic. For the second time tonight, I clambered into the front seat and pulled away from the house. As I hit the street, I saw the front door open. The man stood in the doorframe with the woman next to him. He raised his gun to fire. I stepped on the accelerator and sped off into the night. This time, I didn¡¯t stop until I made it home. Foundation 2 I flinched and pulled away. ¡°Ow.¡± My late-night emergency doctor sat back and sighed, one hand holding bloodied tissues and the other rubbing alcohol. Apparently, the guy had hit me harder than I had realized. I had been about halfway home when I noticed my face felt wet and something had been dripping into my eye. I knew head wounds bleed more than others ¨C I just never understood how much of a difference it was until I saw how small the cut was. ¡°Sit still.¡± Cleaning the injury stung. It felt like getting repeatedly attacked by a wasp each time she dabbed the wound. All of this, naturally, was my fault. I had no real excuse to have an injury like this so I had to twist the truth. ¡°Sorry.¡± Mom shook her head and sighed in exasperation. ¡°You know better than to stay out past curfew. What were you thinking!?¡± She bought the story easily enough. Jumped in the car park behind my work by a bunch of thugs after I got carried away talking to a girl who had been a customer. Luckily, being a waiter at a local restaurant gave me enough leeway for my ¡®extracurricular activities¡¯. ¡°It¡¯s fine, Mom.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not fine!¡± She was right. It wasn¡¯t fine. I had lost almost everything. The only thing that went right was my escape. The drive home had given me enough time to cool off and remotely trigger a failsafe in my phone to wipe all data and essentially factory reset it. They already had my money, I didn¡¯t want to risk the chance of them finding another Mechakinetic to brute force their way into my stuff. If that happened, they¡¯d be able to find out where I lived and then I¡¯d be in all sorts of shit. Best not take the chance. I could get lucky and the psycho could end up throwing my phone in the nearest trash can ¨C but I doubted it. If nothing else, Mechatech was expensive. If he couldn¡¯t use it, he¡¯d sell it. Either way, I was down a phone, a Mechatech taser, and a quarter million dollars. Tonight had been a disaster and what made it even worse was it had all started off so well. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I agreed to let you work late on school nights. Alex isn¡¯t going to let either of us hear the end of this,¡± Mom pouted, cupping both my cheeks affectionately. I aimlessly batted them away as I wasn¡¯t in the mood for being coddled. The last thing I wanted was for Mom to pity me. ¡°Max, I don¡¯t want you working this late anymore.¡± Her concern was touching but it only served to annoy me. ¡°Not happening. I¡¯m not going to let a bunch of thugs scare me off.¡± My reply came out bitter. I hadn¡¯t meant to sound so frustrated but already I was starting to make plans to steal my stuff back. All I needed to do was track my phone¡¯s GPS signal. It would be a relatively easy task. The hard part would be actually getting it back. I¡¯d need protection, which meant creating a weapon or two. ¡°Are you sure? You don¡¯t have to if you¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± I cut her off. I took a deep breath and banished any feelings of anger. I forced out a smile. ¡°No, I¡¯ll be fine. Let¡¯s just not mention this to Alex, I¡¯d rather skip the lecture.¡± ¡°She deserves to know! She is your sister,¡± Mom countered, finishing up the dressing on my wound. ¡°Stop trying to downplay this, Maxis. This wasn¡¯t a brawl at school, you were assaulted!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not hard, just don¡¯t say anything next time she calls.¡± Mom scowled at me. ¡°How am I supposed to explain this then?¡± She pointed to the plastered dressing just above my left eye. ¡°She¡¯s not blind you know, she¡¯ll notice.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll tell her I walked into the bathroom door at night.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not stupid, Maxis.¡± ¡°Then why¡¯d she go for an art degree?¡± ¡°Stop deflecting, this is serious!¡± ¡°Look, I¡¯m alive and that¡¯s all that matters. There are a thousand worse things that could have happened and they didn¡¯t. I just got jumped and they stole some cash. Big deal,¡± I replied, a bit of my temper leaking out. I was aware it wasn¡¯t her fault for being a concerned mother but it was late and I was still seething about the fact the guy and his super femme fatale associate walked off with all my stuff. I got up and left the bathroom, hearing the squeaking of a wheelchair behind me. I stepped to the side to allow Mom to wheel herself out before I shut the door. ¡°Sorry for waking you up,¡± I mumbled, feeling my anger leave me. ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to worry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m always going to worry. That¡¯s my job,¡± Mom shook her head sadly before heading off down the hallway back to her room. ¡°Try and get some sleep. We¡¯ll see how you¡¯re feeling when you wake up and I¡¯ll decide whether or not you go to school. It¡¯s a miracle you didn¡¯t crash on your way home with a head wound like that.¡± With that, she disappeared into her room. I let out a sigh as I felt the pain in my head begin to dull, the painkillers kicking in. I stood for a moment in the darkness of the narrow hallway, lost in my own thoughts. As I began making my way to the bottom of the stairs to head up to my room, I paused before the first step. An idea popped into my head as I glanced at the basement door. Quietly opening it, I descended the pitch-black stairs and into the dusty basement. I absently waved away any loose cobwebs caught in my hair and fumbled around for the light switch on the wall at the bottom. My hand caught the plastic and flicked the switch. A dim yellow light lit up the basement, followed by a dull buzzing of electricity from the old lightbulb. The basement was grimy, filled with boxes and shelves of old technology from Mom¡¯s teenage years. Tech from the years prior to my birth; old CRT televisions, some early flatscreen models, loose wiring, ethernet cables, and all sorts of bits and bobs. Surely I could find a replacement phone down here. I¡¯d need something to communicate with while I was at school and I had neglected to mention to Mom that the gangsters had stolen my phone. It was easily replaceable anyway, so I wasn¡¯t overly attached. I dug through a few boxes until I found what I was looking for, an ancient relic from a bygone era. The legendary Kastera 3310 model. The technological equivalent to dinosaur bones ¨C what a find! Mom liked to hoard this stuff ¨C memories or something, it¡¯s kind of weird, but she can do what she wants. Regardless, what mattered was I had found my replacement. Removing the cover, I eyed the inner workings, noting down all the necessary parts I¡¯d need to focus on. The battery was dead but it wouldn¡¯t matter. This¡¯ll do. [Charges: 24/25] [Type] [Durability 6/100 - Repair Available. Cost: 3] First things first. I needed to repair this thing if I had any hopes for it to function. Just about every part of it was worn down and old. Years of sitting around in the basement at the bottom of some box with other junk had not been kind to it. Before my eyes, the ancient phone rippled as if it were a liquid before folding. It became almost like origami as different parts of the phone folded in on one another until it was reduced to nothing more than a blob of moving color. It took only a moment before it reformed, brand new. [Charges: 21/25] [Model] Next up was the look, it had to look like my old phone, black, sleek with a far too large touch screen. There wasn¡¯t much point in me investing in the current model. It would be a gross waste of charges when a simple Nebulous S22+ could outperform a Kastera 3310 MK XV in every conceivable way. I lingered on my decision momentarily, wondering if I should try something new. I had upgraded my last phone to a Nebulous S22+ so nobody would ask any questions if I did it again. Though, I hadn¡¯t pushed it beyond the MK I stage before. I selected it and pushed it all the way to MK III. [Charges: 15/25] [Materials] I¡¯d like to think I was pretty careful with how I handle my technology, but so nobody¡¯s perfect; so just to be safe, I put a charge into the durability of the case, the screen, and the internal electronics. That way, they at least wouldn¡¯t break if dropped. [Charges: 12/25] [Battery] The Nebulous S22+ already had a powerful battery by modern standards, clocking in at about forty hours of use time. That being said, I liked my things to be better than the regular standard. So I opted to instead put three charges to get Efficiency MK II, and one to get Capacity MK I. It should be able to run for about 60 hours now. I¡¯d invest in recharge time later when I could be bothered to remember. [Charges: 8/25] [Processor] Realistically, the processor was probably the most important piece of hardware for what I had planned. What it already provided already served its purpose but I knew that some of the software I wanted to develop and upgrade would get more demanding the further I took it. I¡¯d need something stronger and from the looks of it, the latest Gen-Core seemed to be the way to go. I already had some programs that could get through most mundane security. Enhanced security like the stuff the ECU was sporting would take far greater gear; not that I was planning to do anything against them in the first place. It was just good to have in a pinch. They had the best of the best and made for a good measuring stick. In the end, I decided to switch to Gen-Core and push to MK II. [Charges: 5/25] [Graphics] Graphics cards¡­ I wasn¡¯t fussy, especially when it came to phones. The processor was the important bit but it always helped to have a super-powered graphics card. It just made everything smoother and rendering things would be much faster. Though, I probably wouldn¡¯t do any of that stuff on a phone. Again, it would be nice to have in a pinch and there was no telling if I was going to need something more powerful later on. Wait a second¡­ My focus drifted to the Myriad 9900XT. The progression was cheaper than the others. Is it because I pushed to MK III on my last phone? Does my power remember what upgrades I select? If so, that would mean that remaking things would be cheaper and faster. Is the cost halved or does it decrease by one with each use? It was still too early to tell. A lot of the beginning upgrades were cheap and allowed me to make massive changes to a lot of different areas at once. I¡¯d figure that out later, but this time I wanted to try something different. I had heard good things about the Kronos brand, so I switched to that and pushed to a MK II. [Charges: 2/25] [Camera] I didn¡¯t much care for the camera but like the graphics card, it was nice to have something modern and functional. I didn¡¯t even know if phones had the capability to capture things in 8k resolution, especially with that zoom and frame rate. This Nebulous S22+ was already equipped with the best camera around so the price for the upgrade made sense in my head. The function probably existed but hadn¡¯t been released to the public. Regardless, I wasn¡¯t really going to use the camera, so I backpedaled a bit back to [Battery] and invested my last two charges into Capacity MK II to bump my battery time up to around 100 hours. [Integration Status: Unavailable] Once I had finished making the changes and the phone had reformed, I switched it on and smiled as the home screen lit up. Time to retrieve and redownload all my data. I kept copies of all the software and apps on my laptop so all I needed to do now was transfer all of that over manually. Switching off the light and locking up the basement, I bounded up the stairs toward my room. It was messy I will admit, but it wasn¡¯t toxic like my mom liked to pretend. Clothes were still lying around in my washing basket waiting to be put away, an unmade bed, a desk packed with books, and scraps of computer parts I had been messing with for the last couple of weeks. In the middle of it all, was my laptop. I swiftly pulled up my seat and sat down, releasing a sigh of relief as I lifted the top and powered it on. Almost instantly, I was at the home screen. With a Mechatech solid-state drive, I was able to boot immediately to my desktop. I had once spent a full day''s worth of charges upgrading it. Was it unnecessary? Absolutely. Reinstalling all my software and downloading my data was simple; just a few basic authentication prompts. Before long, I had several installers adding all the enhanced programs onto my new phone. Now I just needed a new means of defense. Another taser would do but I was feeling particularly spiteful, enough so to consider breaking my ¡®no weapons¡¯ policy. A ping caught my attention. An Entropy notification at this hour could be only one person. Spaciseebs (Today at 2:06A.M) (Alex): ur up late ;) Pathfinder (Today at 2:06A.M): stop being so nosey Spaciseebs (Today at 2:06A.M) (Alex): u know u can just say if u have a gf right? I won¡¯t tell Mom. Cross my heart Pathfinder (Today at 2:07A.M): don¡¯t have time for that sorta stuff. Comon, u know that Spaciseebs (Today at 2:07A.M) (Alex): Aww. What about Lucy? Pathfinder (Today at 2:09A.M): dunno. She¡¯s just a friend Spaciseebs (Today at 2:09A.M) (Alex): still using that excuse eh? Pathfinder (Today at 2:10A.M): ?? it¡¯s not an excuse Spaciseebs (Today at 2:10A.M) (Alex): ahuh, suuuure. I¡¯ve seen the way you two look at each other Pathfinder (Today at 2:10A.M): ¡­ Pathfinder (Today at 2:10A.M): This is y ur single Spaciseebs (Today at 2:10A.M) (Alex): by choice! Pathfinder (Today at 2:11A.M): w/e it¡¯s late. Need sleep. Ttyl I closed the chat window and sat back, turning on some music. It allowed me to relax and let me think more clearly. I have always hated silence and if I didn¡¯t have background noise I never got anything done. It made study periods during school an absolute chore. Mandatory silence ¨C we weren¡¯t even allowed to listen to music on our phones. I mindlessly tapped through the setup processes on my phone, making sure everything was installed correctly. Passwords didn¡¯t really do much nowadays when you had Mechatech programs capable of brute forcing their way through, so I opted to trade mundane passwords out for retinal scanners or fingerprint locks. My eye caught another Entropy notification and I sat up in my chair. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:32A.M): Hey. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:32A.M): We can help each other. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:33A.M): Should meet up somewhere. I pulled up their profile because the name wasn¡¯t familiar. They weren¡¯t on my friend¡¯s list but we did share one server together. Bayside¡¯s Super and Metas Online server. Over 80,000 people on the server and they manage to pick me out? How? Another Mechakinetic? Out of reflex, I put tape over my webcam. I stared at the messages uncertain about what to do. Replying to this person felt like a bad idea ¨C whoever they were had the upper hand. They knew who I was ¨C or at least enough to know I had been jumped by the Cains. Either this person had been monitoring the area and happened to see what had transpired, or I had drawn more eyes than I realized. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:39A.M): You probably think this is sketchy and insane to consider. I don¡¯t blame you but please look at the bigger picture. You¡¯re on their radar now, you can¡¯t hide anymore. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:39A.M): Trust me I know. I understood the warning loud and clear. Those two Cain members made it very clear how dangerous this game was, especially for someone like me. Mechakinetics were incredibly valuable and everyone wanted a piece of them. Mechatech could be developed and even in some cases taught to more than one person. If the Cains had managed to kidnap me, I¡¯d be forced to work for them until I figured out a way to escape. Pathfinder (Today at 2:45A.M): Really? Good to know. Pathfinder (Today at 2:45A.M): I¡¯ll make sure to be more careful. Thanks for the warning. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:45A.M): They won¡¯t leave you alone now. They¡¯re bloodhounds, all of them. They¡¯ve got your scent. You need someone to watch your back. We all do. Pathfinder (Today at 2:46A.M): And who are u supposed to be? ECU? QC? Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:46A.M): None of the above. I¡¯m not Pandora or Cain either. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:46A.M): I don¡¯t want to speak about it here. Too traceable, You never know who¡¯s got the Entropy servers bugged. Meet in person? Pathfinder (Today at 2:46A.M): Yeah, because I¡¯m a total masochist that gets off to getting the shit kicked out of him. Pathfinder (Today at 2:46A.M): I¡¯ll pass, thx. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:47A.M): do you have any other alternative that could be safe? Secure channels are hard to come by Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:47A.M): I¡¯m not your enemy here Pathfinder (Today at 2:47A.M): I don¡¯t know you Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:47A.M): It doesn¡¯t have to stay that way. I know trust is hard to come by but this is a real offer Pathfinder (Today at 2:48A.M): ffs I¡¯ll think about it, okay? As you probably know, I¡¯m not feeling great right now to be making any decisions like this. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 2:48A.M): That¡¯s the best I can hope for. But don¡¯t think for too long. Grumbling, I closed the window, switched off my laptop, and disconnected my new phone. No matter which way I sliced it, I couldn¡¯t see anything good coming from this. Staying independent was preferable but unless I wanted to get jumped again, I¡¯d need some backup. This person had the right idea ¨C as suspicious as they were. The only question was who I could trust to watch my back. Foundation 3 It was unfortunate, but expected, to discover the wound on my face hadn¡¯t gotten better overnight. The swelling made my eye difficult to open and seemed to come bundled with a throbbing headache. Not the best way to start the day. ¡°It¡¯s not looking so good is it?¡± Mom cringed, handing me some eggs and bacon as I flipped the knobs on the stovetop. ¡°You aren¡¯t winning any beauty contests, I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me. You had your chance with Alex.¡± ¡°She was never interested,¡± Mom complained. ¡°If I can¡¯t live vicariously through my kids, what¡¯s even the point in having them?!¡± ¡°So we can be complete and utter burdens on you, both financially, and emotionally,¡± I replied, cracking a few eggs into a pan. ¡°Besides, at least I cook for you. What does Alex do except forget how timezones work and start messaging us in the middle of the night?¡± ¡°Excuuuuuse me,¡± A voice came through the speakers on Mom¡¯s laptop. ¡°You were the one still online at 2 A.M.¡± I rolled my eyes. Of course Mom had already started her morning call with Alex. ¡°She sends me wonderful paintings,¡± Mom said. She turned her laptop to face my direction. Alex was on a webcam of her in her studio apartment with the Eiffel Tower in perfect view. She wasn¡¯t looking at us, instead, she was touching up her latest painting, some mind-bending abstract thing that looked like a meaningless mess to me. ¡°See, look at this. Another gorgeous piece, sweetie.¡± ¡°Thaaaanks, Mom. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get a good grade on this one,¡± Alex chuckled, turning back to the webcam. She gasped when she saw my black eye. ¡°Max, what happened!?¡± Mom gave me an expectant look. I turned away and sighed. ¡°Walked into the bathroom door at night. Couldn¡¯t see.¡± ¡°Buuuullshit,¡± She waved off dismissively. ¡°Come on, spill it. What happened? If you don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m going to get Mum to pull your ear.¡± ¡°Honey, he¡¯s too tall for me to do that.¡± ¡°Fine, she¡¯ll wake you up with a bucket of water.¡± ¡°My bedroom is upstairs.¡± ¡°Hit him with a broom!¡± Mom cleared her throat. ¡°Kids, that¡¯s enough! Max, tell her. She deserves to know. ¡± I didn¡¯t want Alex stressing about something she had no control over. While I¡¯d like to finally meet her, the last thing I wanted was for her to delay her study just to come home for something so minor. She raved about art and how it allowed her to express herself; how true artists were a dying breed with all the Evohumans running around and ¡®cheating with their unfair, bullshit powers¡¯. I shook my head and sighed. ¡°I got jumped by a bunch of thugs. They robbed me and messed me up a bit.¡± ¡°WHAT!?¡± Cold fury overtook Alex and her usual playful demeanor vanished in the blink of an eye. ¡°Tell me everything.¡± I narrowed my eyes ¨C or my only currently functioning one. ¡°What¡¯s there to tell?¡± ¡°What gang?¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± Mom crossed her arms. ¡°Max, stop being difficult.¡± ¡°What¡¯re we going to do about it, call the police? The ECU? They¡¯ll take our case and file it away for later. Maybe twenty years down the line they¡¯ll get around to it and then find that the assholes that did it are dead anyway,¡± I countered, dishing up breakfast. I slid Mom¡¯s breakfast across the table to her while I sullenly sat down with my own. She caught the plate before it could fall off the table and into her lap. ¡°There are other options. We could hire a private investigator,¡± Mom offered. ¡°There are a number of independents that would be up to the task.¡± ¡°You want to hire a super to track down the guys that beat the crap out of me?¡± I wasn¡¯t exactly sure how to feel about that. The last thing I wanted was for the Cains to go after Mom. ¡°Come on, you know what they charge. It¡¯s only a black eye.¡± Mom replied without missing a beat. ¡°It¡¯s worth it if you¡¯re safe.¡± What a ridiculous thing to waste money on. ¡°No.¡± Mom stopped eating her breakfast and looked up at me. Alex made an amused noise. ¡°Oooh, you¡¯re in trouble.¡± ¡°No?¡± Mom repeated in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯d rather wait twenty years for the police to get around to the case?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a waste,¡± I intoned. ¡°Besides, even if we find out who did it, law enforcement isn¡¯t going to do anything. They¡¯re swamped with Evohuman serial killers, gang skirmishes, and potential city-ending threats like Grim. They don¡¯t have time to spend on a teenager getting his ass kicked. You hire the investigator, and maybe they find the guys that did it. Then what? Nothing is gonna happen, it¡¯s completely pointless.¡± Mom looked pained. She knew I was right. Justice was a hard thing to come by nowadays. ¡°I¡¯m sorry bro,¡± Alex said. ¡°Look, mid-term break is coming up soon so I¡¯ll see what I can¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t. It¡¯s cool,¡± I blew her off. ¡°You don¡¯t need to sacrifice anything. I¡¯ll just keep trucking along as I have been,¡± I stood up and cleaned my plate in the sink. ¡°I¡¯ve gotta head out now, otherwise I¡¯ll be late for school.¡± ¡°No need,¡± Mom said, stopping me in my tracks. ¡±I¡¯ve already signed you out for the rest of the week. I want you home and resting.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty bad. It¡¯s like you took a hockey puck to the face.¡± I ignored Alex. ¡°The whole week? It¡¯s not that bad. I don¡¯t need to be off for that long,¡± I said. I¡¯d go stir-crazy if I was home for that long. ¡°At least let me go back on Wednesday.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Thursday.¡± Mom pursed her lips and sighed. ¡°Friday.¡± ¡°Thursday,¡± I insisted. ¡°I¡¯m not made of glass.¡± ¡°Fine, but only if you rest properly and call in sick to work. I¡¯ll be calling a doctor to come and have a look at you. I want to make sure there isn¡¯t any permanent damage,¡± Mom relented. ¡°Do not fight me on this. If you want to keep working late, you¡¯ll do this without complaint.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not concussed.¡± Mom glared at me. ¡°Maxis¡­¡± ¡°Come on, just listen to Mom for once,¡± Alex chimed in. ¡°I''m worried about you too. We need to make sure you didn''t lose too many brain cells, you''re barely functional as is.¡± ¡°That¡¯s rich coming from the girl who failed French.¡± ¡°Foreign languages are hard!¡± ¡°You live in France!¡± We continued to trade playful jabs as I cleaned up the kitchen, all while Mom sat in the middle of our squabble, her patience wearing thin. She earned her reprieve when I finished up and disappeared upstairs to my room, leaving Alex to speak to the wall. Collapsing on my bed, I rolled over onto my back and stared at my ceiling. Last night¡¯s events looped in my head, I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about what to do next. Things had gone wrong, that much was clear. The only question now was how to correct it. I had already replaced my phone which had been easy enough. What I really needed was some form of protection. But where to start? Well, more than anything I didn¡¯t want to die and there was one thing that could prevent that. Armor. I was on The Cain''s radar now and if I came across them again, I¡¯d need to be protected. I needed something that could negate mundane firearms at the very least and if I was going to wear armor, I might as well go all in and just create a costume. I had put it off before, thinking I wouldn¡¯t really need it if I slid by under the radar. I only intended to sell some small things here and there to try and make extra money. In my head, it would eventually all pile up and I¡¯d be able to afford what I needed without getting involved in the Evohuman world. Evidently, that was no longer the case. I swung my legs off my bed and made for my wardrobe. I began sifting through various items of clothes, many of which I hadn¡¯t touched in years. The more I searched, the more I realized I was in dire need of some spring cleaning. There were things in here dating back to my primary school years that I had never bothered to throw out. I need something that will cover my whole body, preferably everything down from my neck. My hand caught a rubbery material, an old wetsuit, one I had long since grown out of. I couldn¡¯t remember the last time I had gone swimming or surfing. Had to have been before Mom¡¯s accident. I removed it from the rack and observed it with my power. With my charges resetting every day at 4:43 AM ¡ª my time of birth ¡ª I¡¯d be able to make a start now. [Charges: 25/25] [Type] [Durability 87/100 - Repair Available. Cost: 1] I might as well repair it. If this was going to be the base for my armor, I¡¯d need it in the best condition possible. With twenty-four charges left, I moved onto size. I had obviously grown since the last time I had worn this so I filtered the nearly limitless options that [Size] provided and quickly found my height and build. [Charges: 23/25] If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. [Materials] Useful for watersports but not exactly what I wanted. Looking further down the tree I could dump charges into Sturdiness and the fabric would eventually be able to block bullets but that along with the required upgrades to the base would cost about half a week''s worth of charges. It made sense, this wasn¡¯t designed as armor after all. I¡¯d need to try something different. What if I try what I did with the drone? After tossing the wetsuit onto my bed, I moved back over to my closet of endless wonders and began digging through the bottom. There were some boxes with old junk in them. I didn¡¯t have nearly as much stuff compared to all the crap Mom kept in the basement but I was almost certain I could find something to use. It wasn¡¯t long until I found an old metalworking project I had done for school a few years ago. It was just a simple metal plaque with my name bolted on it. The corners were jagged and there were parts that were a bit wonky which explained the C I got, but this should do the trick. I pried off each letter and placed them on the limbs of the wetsuit. I put the plaque on the chest, covering a solid portion of it. It took some rearranging of the material so that it covered more of my vital areas before my power clicked. [Integration Status - Available. Cost: 4] A little more expensive than I had expected, but not outrageously so. I suppose taking only a little bit of metal and turning it into armor is a bit of an ask. At least I didn¡¯t have to spend twelve charges this time like with the drone legs. I let my power take over and the item rippled before folding like paper into the familiar blobby mess of colors. I counted the seconds as they ticked by. Just like my phone, the liquid slowly unfolded, revealing the new and improved wetsuit. [Charges: 19/25] [Materials] Picking up the wetsuit, I found my power interpreted the [Type] as [Armored Wetsuit] now, which was much more in line with what I wanted. I wasn¡¯t sure what the star next to the new material meant but I was sure I could figure that out later. Just as long as my costume functioned the way I wanted it to, then I had no issues. I retreated to my closet again to search for new items to mess with. I¡¯d need more than body armor if I was going to keep myself safe. Head armor as well as something to protect my hands and feet would need to go with my costume. I found an old bicycle helmet, a pair of worn-out running shoes, and a pair of winter gloves. As I retrieved them, I placed them next to my newly acquired armored suit. It was time to get to work. I focused on the shoes and the gloves first. I wanted the costume to be a full one-piece and right now it was cut off at the wrists and ankles. Integrating them with the armored wetsuit cost two charges each, for eight in total. Fairly expensive all things considered but it needed to be done, so I bit the bullet. A small perversion of physics later and I had a full bodysuit made entirely of Neoprene-Steel. In my excitement, I undressed and slipped into it. The first thing I noticed was how difficult it was to move. My limbs felt constrained and there was an incredible amount of resistance, so much that I couldn¡¯t even zip up the back of the suit. It would be great for a workout, but that¡¯s about it. I removed it and spent six charges pushing the suit¡¯s flexibility to MK III. With how stiff it was, I suspected MK I and II wouldn¡¯t be sufficient enough. I slipped back into it again and found that moving around was much easier. Granted, there was still some resistance but I could improve on it. I could walk and run as it was now. I could probably even swim. Crouching proved to be a bit of a task, so it seemed that the suit wasn¡¯t too far off being as flexible as a normal wetsuit is. I¡¯ll get the flexibility to at least MK V then, maybe VI. I got out of the suit and redressed myself, turning my attention to the helmet. With only five charges to spare, I wasn¡¯t sure what I wanted to do with it quite yet. Without question, it couldn¡¯t stay as it was. A child¡¯s bicycle helmet like that wasn¡¯t going to protect me from much and with my armored suit covering everything sans my head, it would pay to go full-body. A motorcycle helmet would work. I picked it up, and spent one charge to repair it, and another to change the type. [Charges: 3/25] [Type] [Durability 100/100 - Repair Unavailable.] What to do? three charges didn¡¯t leave me with many options but there was no point hanging on to them. They¡¯d just go to waste otherwise. Motorcycle helmets don¡¯t have the best visibility. The visor stunts my vision a little. I¡¯ll need to be completely unimpaired if this is going to work. Maybe an astronaut''s helmet would have worked better. The visor was bigger but the whole piece itself was clunkier than a motorcycle helmet. Maybe I could modify its size? I found the visor under [Features] and expanded the width and height of it. After spending a charge adjusting that, I placed it on my head to test it out. Not wide enough. I adjusted again and spent another charge. Down to my last charge. There we go. Now to enhance it so the most important part of my body doesn¡¯t get splattered on the side of the road. [Charges: 1/25] [Materials] I didn''t mind ignoring the interior for now so I decided to dump my last charge into exterior durability. The rest of it I could work on tomorrow. With no charges remaining, I admired what I had accomplished. Normally, I had heard that it would take weeks, sometimes even months for supers to create their costumes. I managed it before lunch. But now, I would be forced to wait till tomorrow to improve upon anything else. With the rest of the day ahead of me, I moved over to my laptop and opened it. Alright, let¡¯s see what I¡¯m getting myself into. Foundation 4 It had been a productive week, so I was in a good mood going to school on Thursday. I had spent so much time working on my costume that I had neglected the other projects floating around in my head. I had enough protection to keep myself alive, now it was time to start on some offensive tools. I ignored most of my peers as they began pouring through the door with the usual energy felt two days before the weekend. Talks of parties, trips to the beach, and other plans I couldn¡¯t be bothered to listen to buzzed around me. Instead, my thoughts were on my phone. I created a piece of software last night that would allow me to ping nearby networks and see if my current equipment could crack it. The best part was it automatically reconfigured when I upgraded anything or transferred it to another device ¡ª best six charges of my life. And today was going to be its first test run. Quite a few red dots around¡­ probably the ECU patrols on site. A few more orange dots than I expected, good on the IT department, that¡¯ll stall me for all of a few seconds. Lots of green dots, as expected. Out-of-the-box security protection really does suck, huh. The traffic light feature was a genius addition on my part. Sure it sucked up a few charges, but ease of use was paramount. I swear I spent most of my budget on UI. It was probably a foolish thing to do but I couldn¡¯t help my own curiosity in testing my new software, and ended up breaking into the school¡¯s security system. Minerva High was a public school so they couldn¡¯t get their hands on all the fancy stuff the private schools usually had. What should I break into first? My train of thought was interrupted by someone slipping into the seat next to me. ¡°Hey there. You¡¯ve been missing all week,¡± she said. ¡°And you haven¡¯t been answering my¡ª woah.¡± ¡°Hey Lucy,¡± I darkened my phone and placed it face down on the table. ¡°I like the new look.¡± She had frosted the tips of her curls. It went nicely with her black hair. ¡°Yeah? I see I wasn¡¯t the only one to change things up this week.¡± Her gaze was fixated on my injury. Once again, I was reminded of the dull throb in and around my left eye. ¡°I¡¯m going to get a lot of that today, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°What the hell happened?¡± I considered lying for a moment but Lucy knew me well enough to know when I was spouting bullshit. The bathroom door line wouldn¡¯t work on her like it probably would¡¯ve with Alex. ¡°I finished work on Sunday and got jumped by some assholes on my way to my car,¡± I grumbled. ¡°They messed me up a bit and took my wallet.¡± Her mouth fell open in disbelief. ¡°Shit. are you¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s not as bad as it looks.¡± ¡°Do you know who did it?¡± She asked, looking far more worried than I had been expecting. ¡°Was it¡­ Pandora?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Wasn¡¯t them. It was just a couple of nobodies looking to cause trouble. Nothing to worry about.¡± ¡°Nothing to worry about? Max, you were beaten and robbed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s in the past now. Besides, it could have been a lot worse. It could have been Pandora or The Cains, then I¡¯d be a lot worse off.¡± If it had been a couple of nobodies, I would¡¯ve been able to deal with them. She exhaled deeply, sounding relieved. ¡°I¡¯m glad you''re safe, but why didn¡¯t you answer any of my texts?¡± Crap, I forgot to redownload my sim card data. ¡°They broke my phone and I had to get a new one,¡± I said. ¡°Sorry. I would¡¯ve called but I¡¯ve been a bit out of it.¡± ¡°Yeah, I bet. It really doesn¡¯t look good,¡± Lucy said, leaning over and trying to get a better look at my black eye. ¡°Enough about that,¡± I said, forcing a smile. I wanted to change the subject before I said something stupid. ¡°What have I missed this week?¡± ¡°Sooo¡­ honestly not that much, I did a bit of research for our Evohumans assignment. Abby and Jackson are doing Nanoforge ¨C which is totally cheating because Abby knows her ¨C and just like usual there¡¯s a whole bunch of our classmates doing their projects on Gaea, The Mountain, and Ajax.¡± ¡°What about Foresight?¡± Lucy groaned. ¡°The point I¡¯m trying to make here is we¡¯ll get a better grade by picking a super to study that the other groups aren¡¯t doing. The teachers are probably sick of reading about The Trinity by now. Everyone talks about them even when they aren¡¯t doing a project and I¡¯m pretty sure most people know what Melody¡¯s favorite type of bagel is by this point.¡± ¡°Trick question, Melody hates bagels,¡± Lucy gave me a withering glare. I sighed reluctantly. ¡°Alright, what about Comet?¡± ¡°Abby would kill us.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be worth it.¡± She chortled. ¡°I¡¯d do it just to see her rip you a new asshole¡­ we¡¯ll call that plan B. I think I found someone much more interesting.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Cyberspace.¡± I frowned at the name. It wasn¡¯t an unknown name by any means. In fact, Cyberspace was the closest thing evohumans had to the Boogeyman. They were one of the few the ECU couldn¡¯t seem to track down and capture even with Ajax¡¯s help. They had been dormant since 2016, leading to rumors the ECU had managed to covertly terminate them ¨C but no one really believed that. Online rumors circulated and officials refused to comment. Six years later, no one really knows what happened to them or why they disappeared. It made for interesting discussion, and evidently, a perfect high school assignment. ¡°It''s been a while since I¡¯ve heard that name.¡± Lucy grinned. ¡°I know, right? It¡¯s perfect ¨C it¡¯s like a cold case. Nobody really knows what happened or who they are. Their motivation is a complete mystery as well. Rolling blackouts across China and the Soviet Union, frequent system crashes and hardware failures in ECU and American military bases. The 2010 oil crash¡­ Cyberspace was behind all of them!¡± Conspiracy theories, that¡¯s all they really were. There was a reason why Cyberspace had their reputation. Never caught ¨C they felt like modern-day folklore. If something big and unexplainable happened, everyone¡¯s first thought was wondering if Cyberspace was making a comeback. Some people believed Cyberspace didn¡¯t actually exist, or was a group of people operating under one name. ¡°How do we actually know they were responsible?¡± She flipped through some pages in her binder. ¡°Evidence gathered by Ajax was released in 2018. Cyberspace had a very subtle but recognizable digital footprint ¨C and actually, they were very bad. Hundreds of thousands of people died. Hospital equipment failed, banks were liquidated, and hundreds of thousands of terabytes worth of private data was leaked to the public. It was total anarchy for months. Riots and violent protests spiked by 318% and terrorist activity increased by 93% all across the world. That¡¯s all just the tip of the iceberg.¡± All of this was new to me. Lucy flicked through a few more pages before finding the one she was looking for. She aggressively tapped one of her sticky notes. ¡°Oh! Get a load of this. Project Darkarrow. A classified operation conducted by the Chinese and Soviet governments to kidnap children who displayed Evohuman abilities in order to implement a eugenics program. Cyberspace blew the whistle and the two superpowers have been desperately trying to cover it up and denying its existence.¡± Okay, that might be stretching things a little too far. ¡°Oh, come on¡­¡± I sighed, rolling my eyes. ¡°Where the hell did you find something like that? It doesn¡¯t even make sense, why would they cooperate and risk the other country running off with all the kids? If the U.N caught wind of this, the ECU would be deployed in full force and we¡¯d have World War Four.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not ridiculous! I wouldn¡¯t just take someone¡¯s word for it, you know that,¡± She countered, sounding offended. ¡°There¡¯s real testimony to back this up. Do you even read this kind of stuff?¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. I shrugged helplessly. My time was better spent elsewhere. She pointed a hand at me and snapped her fingers with a vindicated smile. ¡°Hah! Gotcha. See? This is why I do all the research. Now, all I need you to do is help me put it all together and we¡¯ll ace this project for sure.¡± ¡°Is there anything I can do to not be dead weight?¡± I asked. ¡°Feels weird sharing the credit when you¡¯ve done most of the work.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ let me mooch off you tonight. It¡¯s been a while since I had dinner with you and Eleanor ¨C how is she by the way?¡± ¡°Still rolling around the house.¡± ¡°Great! Dinner then?¡± ¡°I was more looking for something I could help with when it comes to school work, but dinner¡¯s fine as well,¡± I shrugged easily. It had been a few weeks since Lucy last visited anyway and I was willing to bet she and Mom would spend the evening talking each other''s ears off. ¡°Any requests?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She rubbed her chin thoughtfully as our homeroom teacher strolled through the door carrying far too many things in his hands. ¡°How about you surprise me?¡± As the class quietened down for roll call, I felt myself smile. ¡°I can do surprises.¡±
Entering the school library was like walking out of a zoo and into a peaceful temple. I had never really been fond of the loud crowds that sat outside during lunch breaks so I was quick to find my place here amongst the books, even if I wasn¡¯t much of a reader. I scanned the packed tables of students for the bright, mystical flashing lights radiating from Abby. I found her at one of the tables closest to the fire exit with Jackson and Chris, and if the bored expression on her face was anything to go by, they were having a riveting conversation. Chris and Jackson were discussing something, probably our next DnD campaign if I had to guess. ¡°What happened to you?¡± Abby¡¯s invasive tone stopped me in my tracks. I hadn¡¯t even managed to snag a seat before the interrogation started. Jackson and Chris looked up at me and cringed. ¡°Bad date?¡± Chris offered. I saw a smile cross Jackson¡¯s lips. ¡°Oh, I got a good one¡ª¡± ¡°Save it,¡± I took my seat. ¡°I¡¯ll give you guys the rundown, as long as someone promises not to fly off the handle,¡± I directed my attention to Abby. She was sitting in her seat spinning a book above her hand with her powers. When she noticed my stare, the textbook slowed before stopping completely. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°You¡¯re looking at me?¡± Abby looked offended. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡± I squinted my eyes in disbelief. ¡°You have a reputation.¡± Abby wrinkled her nose. ¡°I do not.¡± I looked to Chris and Jackson for support. They both awkwardly shrugged. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Yeah, you kinda do.¡± Abby grumbled and the book fell out of the air and crashed to the table. The students on the table over from us looked up from their quiet study and glared at her, which Abby ignored. ¡°Okay, fine,¡± she glared. ¡°I promise not to fly off the handle.¡± I quickly summed up what happened. On my way over here, I had considered trying to sell them the lie about walking into a bathroom door but not only would that lead to them ridiculing me for being an idiot, but Lucy would also be quick to correct me once she got here. It was easier just to tell them the truth, or the ¡®truth¡¯ that I had decided to go with. ¡°You¡¯re an idiot. How could you fall for that?¡± Abby scolded. ¡°A girl flutters her eyes at you and suddenly you start thinking with your other head. You¡¯re the last person I¡¯d expect to fall for that kinda shit, Max.¡± ¡°I¡¯d had a long shift and was tired,¡± I brushed off her scolding easily. ¡°That¡¯s how they get you,¡± Chris spoke up. ¡°They lure you in with a pretty face and before you even know it, you''re trafficking drugs across the city like my uncle.¡± We all turned and stared at him. He met our gazes one at a time. ¡°Did¡­ I never mention that?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Abby said slowly. Jackson just frowned. ¡°We didn¡¯t even know you had an uncle dude.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a sensitive topic. Obviously, it doesn¡¯t make for good conversation when you have guests over,¡± Chris explained. ¡°Plus, he wasn¡¯t around much when I was a kid so we aren¡¯t that close. My Dad was pretty torn up about it though. Still is. He¡¯s been trying to get him out early.¡± My curiosity got the better of me. ¡°What gang got him?¡± ¡°Ever heard of The Tweakers? They got him. Now he¡¯s got sixteen years left of his twenty-five year sentence.¡± We all cringed. That was rough. ¡°Twenty-five years is harsh for drugs,¡± I said, my thoughts drifting to my Mechatech. If he got twenty-five for peddling drugs while under duress, then what delusion was I living in where I thought selling Mechatech would get me any less? ¡°Why so much?¡± ¡°It really depends on the drugs,¡± Abby answered. ¡°They had a bunch of biokinetics making their supply so the stuff they were putting out there was more harmful and addictive than the stuff everyone else makes.¡± ¡°Super drugs,¡± I murmured. ¡°That makes sense.¡± Abby nodded. I wonder if my power could affect drugs? The thought had never crossed my mind, but like weapons, it seemed like a very slippery slope to go down. ¡°Anyway, the bitch that suckered you was probably in on the whole thing,¡± Abby drawled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll keep an eye out for these guys. I¡¯ll make sure to swing by on patrol. I¡¯m sure Ionizer won¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Oh shit! He finally got promoted?¡± Chris laughed. Abby and Jackson groaned. ¡°You guys owe me twenty.¡± I frowned. ¡°What happened to Sparrow?¡± ¡°She is finally getting married and moving out of New Elpis. She said something about moving to New Zealand or something,¡± Abby sighed. ¡°Actually, it might have been Australia. I¡¯m not sure, I wasn¡¯t really listening. She¡¯s moving out of the country and that¡¯s all that really matters. She¡¯s put Ionizer in charge of me and the rest of the Rookies.¡± Jackson raised his cola as if to toast her. ¡°Gonna miss her. I still have the t-shirt that she signed for me. She was pretty nice.¡± ¡°Ionizer isn¡¯t much different,¡± Abby said. ¡°Nothing¡¯s really changed around HQ. He¡¯s a little stricter but I still do the same crap I¡¯ve been doing before. The thing that¡¯s really going to mess shit up is General Jessamine transferring. I¡¯m not looking forward to that. Apparently, she¡¯s a real hardass.¡± ¡°General Jessamine?¡± Chris murmured. Abby opened her mouth to explain but he held up a hand to stop her. ¡°Wait! I know this one. The name is familiar. Let me guess¡­¡± he paused for a moment, an intense thoughtful look crossed his face. Then, he snapped his fingers. ¡°Chronos!¡± Jackson shook his head. ¡°Nah man, she¡¯s Dilation.¡± ¡°Nope. Chris was right. She¡¯s Chronos,¡± Abby said. Chris pumped his fist in the air to celebrate right as Lucy arrived. ¡°Hey guys. What¡¯s got Chris so happy?¡± Lucy shot him a cheeky grin. ¡°Did Kate say yes?¡± Chris¡¯ victorious smile melted off his face as she pulled up a seat next to Abby. The rookie superheroine giggled and hi-fived her as she sat down. ¡°Ouch,¡± Jackson flinched a little. ¡°Low blow.¡± ¡°I suppose this is what I get for trusting Lucy with sensitive information,¡± Chris bemoaned. ¡°Learn from my mistakes gentlemen, anything you do or say will be used against you.¡± ¡°Oh, quit being a baby. It was just a joke,¡± Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not like I told her anything.¡± ¡°Anyway,¡± I intoned, trying to change the subject back to what we were initially talking about. I wanted to know more about the changes happening within the ECU since I was now going to be involved in this mad world. ¡°We were talking about Ionizer getting promoted. Apparently, Sparrow is getting married and is moving out of the country.¡± Lucy¡¯s jaw hit the table. ¡°Sparrow is getting married?¡± ¡°And Chronos is coming to town,¡± Abby added. ¡°My life has been insane these last few days and it''s about to get even worse.¡± Right on cue, an ECU agent briskly strolled through the library doors and made a beeline for our table. He was dressed from the neck down in thick black body armor and armed with some very futuristic-looking weapons that my eyes lingered on for a little too long. If I could get my hands on one of those¡­ ¡°Sorry to interrupt, Comet,¡± the agent said, sounding genuinely apologetic. ¡°But there¡¯s a situation that requires your immediate attention.¡± Abby threw her head back in her chair and groaned. ¡°Give me a damn Mentalist rating because apparently, I¡¯m a prophet now,¡± she heaved a sigh. ¡°What¡¯s going on, sir?¡± ¡°Techies and Junkmonger have escaped custody. In the last hour they¡¯ve robbed a liquor store, electronics retailer, and a car dealership,¡± the agent explained. ¡°They seem to have constructed a helicopter from what they¡¯ve acquired¡­ somehow.¡± Hearing the puzzled aggravation in the agent¡¯s voice made me chuckle. Chris and Jackson also shared in my amusement. Abby just groaned. ¡°So? Why is that my problem? Get my mum to deal with it.¡± ¡°Domination is currently dealing with a gang dispute between the Cains and Pandora by the harbor. You¡¯re the closest and the only one with the capabilities to safely disable their mode of transport,¡± the agent said. ¡°This is a non-negotiable order. Activate your gear and get moving.¡± Abby looked like she wanted to throw the agent across the room with her power. ¡°This is such a pain in the ass,¡± she stood up, twisting one of her metal bracelets. A swarm of nanites emerged from the small metal band and covered her whole body from the neck down. It was such a quick transition and I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off it. Just another piece of technology I wanted to get my hands on. How the hell does Nanoforge make something so compact and effective? Abby¡¯s armor was primarily black with golden accents. Plastered across her chest was her symbol, a shooting star ¨C a comet. It was cheesy but to be fair, most heroes were like that. Something about PR and needing to inspire positive feelings to the wider populace. ¡°I¡¯ll never get tired of seeing that,¡± Chris said. ¡°Looking good, Comet,¡± Jackson gave her a thumbs up. ¡°I¡¯ll copy my biology notes for you,¡± Lucy chimed in. ¡°Go kick their asses.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to do more than that,¡± Abby growled. ¡°Let¡¯s see them break out with their knees broken.¡± ¡°No unnecessary force, Comet. You know the rules¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Abby ¨C or Comet now ¨C brushed the agent off. ¡°I won¡¯t do anything that the nerds back at HQ can¡¯t fix. I¡¯m just going to give those two idiots a little incentive to not escape this time. I promise, I¡¯ll be gentle.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll follow protocol,¡± the agent shot back. I could see that he was expecting some form of response but all he got was Abby turning on her heels and walking out of the fire exit. ¡°Comet! Do you understand¡ª¡± The alarm blared the moment she pushed the door open. ¡°What? I can¡¯t hear you!¡± Chris and Jackson started cracking up as the agent swore under his breath. She saluted us before her power surrounded her. The multi-colored aura shimmered around her as she jumped and took off into the sky. The ECU agent stalked forward, breaking the fire alarm glass with his elbow and switching off the alarm. Muttering, he walked off, the broken glass crunching beneath his boots. Nobody dared to get in his way as he stalked out of the library. ¡°One of these days, she¡¯s going to do something she can¡¯t take back,¡± Lucy mused sadly. ¡°I hope she gets her act together soon.¡± ¡°Eh, she¡¯ll be fine,¡± Chris shrugged. ¡°She¡¯s the Rookie poster child. She¡¯d have to actually kill someone to get into any real trouble.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure she knows what she¡¯s doing. I doubt she¡¯s really going to break their legs,¡± Jackson scoffed. ¡°Right?¡± I shared a silent look of agreement with Lucy. One hundred percent, Abby was going to break their legs. Foundation 5 I parked my car in the Downtown Mall¡¯s parking lot before heading off to join the stream of people trying to get inside. I had convinced myself I needed weapons if I was going to protect myself against the Cains and maybe get back what they had taken from me but now that I was actually here, I could feel my stomach churning. The mall was massive, easily a couple of blocks wide and a dozen stories high. As I approached the entrance, I found myself observing the various metal detectors, thermal imaging, and x-ray machines the ECU had set up. A lot of the gear was mundane tech with only slight modifications made by supers. As I walked through one of the scanners I brushed my hand against it and my power told me exactly what it did and from there it was easy to figure out what they were looking for. Evomats. Nothing specific from what I could see but a lot of Evomats tended to have bizarre chemical structures. With the right tech, you could scan for that and it would ping their systems. Thankfully I had left my suit at home and my phone was still made of silicon. The rest of their tech was scanning for more mundane threats, guns, knives, and so on. While the average citizen might be right to assume this protected them, the same could not be said for people like me. Sunday night taught me a valuable lesson about the world I lived in. If you had powers, you weren¡¯t safe. I had been far too eager and reckless. Now because of that, I had put myself and my mother in danger. I had done some research to see if The Cain¡¯s had the resources to find out who I was and was relieved to find that they didn¡¯t have any Mentalists. That the public is aware of, that is. Still, I had to hope they didn¡¯t. The two people that had captured me had seen my face but finding out who I was, my address, and so on would be more difficult. Unfortunately, it would make picking me out of a crowd easy for them and that would mean I¡¯d be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life; or until I moved out of the city. The costume I had created should be enough to stop me from dying from a stray bullet but I knew it couldn¡¯t be my only source of protection. I needed to think offensively as well. Before, I had been comfortable with flying under the ECU¡¯s radar, creating that delusional ¡®no weapons¡¯ policy to keep myself inconspicuous. Now, I had to make a decision; do I risk stepping on the ECU¡¯s toes or do I want to keep myself safe? The answer was obvious. My plan was perhaps a tad extreme but I had decided on a gun. I would eventually remake my taser but I had a feeling it wouldn¡¯t be much use against supers without sufficient investment. A gun provided me with much more stopping power and with the right upgrades, I could stop almost anyone in the city. The only problem was no gun store owner was going to sell me anything. This meant I had to procure one in a more creative way. So, I found the nearest toy shop and picked a toy gun off the shelf. My power read the [Type] to be a Nerf USP-S. The silencer was purely cosmetic, only there to look authentic. With a single charge, I could change that fantasy into a reality. The pistol might be a toy but it served a similar function as any other gun. Projectiles were loaded into it and then shot at a target. That was all I needed to be able to change this toy into a real gun. My fingers brushed the handle of the toy and I allowed the information to flood my mind. Compared to a mobile phone, this thing might as well be a blank sheet of paper. Comprehending toys was easy ¨C they lacked much of the nuance and wide array of functions that modern tech had. This little thing was probably put together by some poor sweatshop worker somewhere on the other side of the planet. Too bad I couldn¡¯t upgrade their wages. There wasn¡¯t much to start with but I could see how to get what I wanted. Satisfied, I went and paid before leaving. I strolled through the mall with my paper bag, wondering what else I could do while I was here. I could browse one of the electronics stores to see if there was something I could tinker with. I couldn¡¯t think of anything at the moment but maybe something would jump out at me. I should also visit a hardware store to see if there was anything there I could merge with my costume. I finally got my answer when my stomach rumbled. I had made a light lunch this morning and now I was starting to feel the ramifications of it. The food court was only a quick detour down to the east side of the mall. Food first. Electronics and Hardware store later. I can finish off by getting some groceries before I leave. I found a nice little coffee shop amongst all the fast food places and decided to order a brownie and a cola, before taking a seat. I pulled out my phone and re-downloaded my sim data after I had tried to send a text to Mom. There were some messages from Jackson and Chris, all talking about game stuff but the real flood was from Lucy. No wonder she had been so worried. I decided to check Entropy where there were also some messages from that Samsara person but I ignored them. I still wasn¡¯t sure if I could trust them, but my gut was telling me not to. I was not going to risk getting captured again. I was halfway through typing a message to Mom when I got a call. I stared, suspiciously at the unknown number. It wasn¡¯t from some scam company as my upgraded security software automatically blacklisted those numbers. No, this was a private number from another cell phone. As the ringing continued, I quickly opened another app that traced incoming calls. The unknown number was replaced with a name I wasn¡¯t familiar with. Samantha Leighton. My thoughts lingered on the name. Samantha, a girl¡¯s name. Sam. Samsara. Coincidence? It couldn¡¯t be. I doubted it. How had she managed to find my number? First Entropy, now this? She had to be a Mechakinetic digging up information on me. Against my better judgment, I decided to answer. ¡°I told you I needed time to think about it. What do you want?¡± ¡°Ugh. Leave it to the Mechakinetic to know who¡¯s calling,¡± the voice definitely belonged to a girl, maybe around my age if the inflection of her voice was anything to go by. Then again, there could be a voice synthesizer on her end. ¡°I¡¯m trying to help you so try not to panic. The Cains have you surrounded.¡± I stilled, so much so that I actually had to remind myself to breathe. ¡°Don¡¯t look! Don¡¯t even move. Act natural or they¡¯ll know. Follow my directions and you¡¯ll get out of this, I promise. Now, take a sip of your drink and lean back in your chair. Act like you''re talking to a family member or a close friend.¡± I picked up my cola and sipped it, following her advice. I even took a bite out of my brownie for good measure. If today was about to take a turn for the worse, I wanted to savor the delicious, baked chocolate before bullets started flying. ¡°Why are you helping me?¡± ¡°I have a vested interest in stopping the gangs from recruiting powerful supers. There are others but I doubt you¡¯ll want to hear them since you¡¯re a few minutes away from being drugged and kidnapped.¡± I knew the Cains wouldn¡¯t let my escape slide that easily. That is, assuming I wasn¡¯t just being gaslit into doing something stupid. How did they even know I was going to be here? Did they follow me? ¡°In broad daylight?¡± I replied, skeptical. I did my best to try and keep my nerves in check. ¡°That¡¯s bold, especially since this place is crawling with ECU. If they catch even so much as a whiff of something sketchy, they¡¯ll have this place locked down.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a last minute thing. They weren¡¯t expecting to find you here but they¡¯re willing to at least try. You need to be careful. One of their supers is watching you right now. Second floor balcony, by the video game store,¡± she said. ¡°If you¡¯re going to look, be discreet. The moment they think you''re onto them, they¡¯ll become much more aggressive.¡± So this was a complete fluke then. Lucky for them¡­ Without moving my head, my eyes drifted upward toward the second floor. There were a bunch of people loitering about and talking but my eyes caught a dark-skinned guy by himself, leaning over the rail and looking down in my direction. Could be a coincidence but after Sunday, my paranoia didn¡¯t want to take the chance. ¡°Who is that?¡± ¡°Judging from gender, height, build, and skin tone, that¡¯s Bonesmith. There might be others but I can¡¯t see them.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°My power.¡± ¡°Mechakinetic?¡± ¡°Mentalist.¡± That explained a lot. ¡°Where are you calling me from?¡± I took another sip of my cola. I took every natural excuse I could to look around. A baby crying, boisterous laughter from groups of school kids, anything. ¡°Dream Weavers. The shoe shop to your left.¡± I let my eyes wander again just beyond the food court. Dream Weavers was a shoe shop for women, selling all kinds of expensive-looking footwear. Right out the front with a pair of glittering heels in one hand and a phone in the other, was a girl with strawberry blonde hair. She wore an Eastworth Girl¡¯s uniform, sans the red blazer. She was admiring the display rack but I couldn¡¯t see anything else because her back was turned. ¡°The blonde. Is that you?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Convenient that she and the Cains are here at the same time. What are the chances of that happening? ¡°How do I know I can trust you?¡± I asked. ¡°You can¡¯t. Nothing I can say right now will change that, but you have a choice to make. I can help you get out of this mess. The Cains already tried to kidnap you once. You know they¡¯ll do it again.¡± ¡°Trust the stranger, or get kidnapped,¡± I muttered. ¡°I¡¯m loving my options right now. Don¡¯t suppose I have a third option?¡± ¡°You could try to escape by yourself but you¡¯d likely end up getting the ECU involved. They¡¯ll drive the Cains off, sure, but have fun trying to explain to them why one of the most notorious gangs in the city was trying to kidnap you. You¡¯ll be in an interrogation cell before the day ends.¡± I sighed. I didn¡¯t like my odds and what she said made sense. ¡°I had a feeling you¡¯d say that. Okay, you better not be screwing with me here. How do you plan to get me out of this?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a hallway to your right leading to some bathrooms. Go down there and make a left and keep going straight ahead. There should be a door to the restricted area of the mall; the back rooms.¡± The back rooms were maintenance hallways that led to all the fire exits. I could see where she was going with this plan, the only problem was getting through those maintenance doors required keycards, and the only people that had them were staff and security that worked in the building. I wouldn¡¯t be able to get through without cracking the security ¨C and I could do that. But there was a significant amount of risk involved. I could be caught. If I stay here I¡¯m going to get caught anyway. ¡°In case you haven¡¯t noticed, those doors are only able to be opened by security staff. You need keycards to get through them without raising an alarm.¡± ¡°We both know that you can get through those doors, I wouldn¡¯t have suggested it otherwise.¡± I never had the pleasure of dealing with a Mentalist before. I was finally starting to understand why nobody liked them. ¡°Okay fine, I can get through. I¡¯m just worried about what failsafes the ECU has installed,¡± I replied, eyeing the hallway to the bathrooms. I saw a camera operating as well. I¡¯d have to disable them if I didn¡¯t want the authorities knocking at my door tonight. ¡°That and the cameras.¡± ¡°If everything goes the way I think it will, we¡¯ll be long gone before any ECU are able to react. All you need to do is deal with the cameras and the doors, think you¡¯re up for it?¡± I finished my brownie before skulling the rest as I stood up. Determination compelled me forward and I started off toward the bathroom. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Okay. Don¡¯t hang up.¡± I kept my phone in hand as I weaved through the tables and chairs, keeping a discreet brisk pace. Trepidation kept me alert, my eyes observed every person in the cafe. I didn¡¯t know which of them belonged to the Cains so I¡¯d have to treat them all like they were. Better safe than sorry. As I left the seating area, I heard the screeching of a couple of chairs behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck compelled me to walk faster. Down the hall and toward the bathroom, I thumbed my phone, moving off the call and back to the home screen. I swiped furiously to find the right app before opening it. Immediately, it began pinging every open and closed port within my vicinity. Every electronic device appeared on a visual GPS map that tracked my movements. There was a sea of green dots, full of vulnerable ports to connect to. Further ahead and to the left, I could see a hallway, littered with orange dots. I turned and saw the doorway at the end of the hall. I tapped the orange dot and a stream of code poured down the command prompt that opened up. My walk turned to a jog as I rounded the corner. I got to the door right as my phone finished breaching the security. The keycard reader pinged and the door clicked open. I swung the door open and slipped through just in time to see three guys following me down the hallway break into a sprint. When the door clicked shut, I stumbled back a bit, watching as they reached the door and tried to force it open. The guy at the front viciously pounded the door in frustration. They weren¡¯t going to get the door open, not without setting off an alarm. ¡°I¡¯m through.¡± ¡°Run! They¡¯re moving. I¡¯ll meet you on the south side. Disable every camera you can!¡± I ran. I made sure to check every hallway with my phone before I turned any corners. I must have turned off about a half dozen security cameras before I reached the south end of the mall. Sam was already moving down the hallway toward the door when I rounded the corner into the same hallway. I swiped my thumb over the orange dot and in seconds, opened the door for her. She slipped through, breathing a sigh of relief. ¡°Talk about determination. These guys have it out for you!¡± She exclaimed. ¡°Thank God I decided to stalk you today. Best decision I¡¯ve ever made.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I gave her an incredulous look. ¡°You were stalking me?¡± ¡°Yup. Truthfully, I was getting a bit impatient about you blowing me off so I was going to strike up a conversation,¡± she finally caught her breath and brushed the curtain of blonde hair out of her eyes. ¡°So much for that plan, though, maybe this is better. Nothing builds trust and friendship like running from a gang!¡± ¡°Alright, you want to help me, that much is clear and at this point we¡¯re in this together,¡± I reasoned. ¡°So what¡¯s the plan, how do we get out of this?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯ll be honest, I¡¯m still working out that part,¡± she admitted sheepishly. ¡°But! You got me here now and everyone knows two is better than one¨C oh! I got it! The roof,¡± Sam snatched my hand and began pulling. ¡°Let¡¯s go. There¡¯ll be a way out there and we¡¯ll be close to your car.¡± ¡°You know which one is mine?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a stalker, remember? Now move your butt!¡± Wasting no time, she jogged ahead of me, gesturing for me to keep up. Grumbling, I conceded and followed after her. I made sure to disable all cameras in the hallways and Sam was patient enough to wait before making a turn into another hallway. ¡°The stairs,¡± she pointed at one of the doors ahead of us. ¡°There¡¯s our ticket.¡± Sam opened the door, revealing a rectangular spiral staircase leading up. Without a second thought, we began climbing, two, sometimes even three steps at a time. I was given a bit of a reality check when I started to fatigue faster than she did. Sam was racing up those stairs like she did this kind of thing daily. My fitness really wasn¡¯t the best, which was going to have to change if I wanted to get back at the Cains. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s your name?¡± Completely out of breath, I slowed down before coming to a halt. ¡°What?¡± Sam stopped and turned. ¡°Your name, I don¡¯t know it. I only know that you go by Upgrade.¡± ¡°How can you know everything else but not my name?¡± ¡°If you really want I can use my powers to figure it out, or you can just tell me. Besides, you already know mine. Something to do with your phone. Mechatech software, decryption,¡± she gave me an amused look. ¡°That¡¯s illegal, you know. Breaching sooo many privacy laws.¡± ¡°Says the stalker,¡± I rolled my eyes and she continued staring at me. ¡°Fine, whatever, I¡¯m Maxis.¡± The door at the bottom of the stairwell slammed open. ¡°Nice to meet you. Hope you¡¯ve caught your breath because we gotta go!¡± We rushed to the top and burst through the door into another corridor. The back rooms felt like a labyrinth with how many identical hallways there were but at least I felt like we were making progress toward the roof. Still, I couldn¡¯t shake the thought that our escape had been too easy; granted they probably weren¡¯t expecting an unknown to suddenly come to my rescue. I needed a backup plan in case the Cains caught up to us. There was no telling how many of them were giving chase. I reached into my paper bag and pulled out the Nerf pistol, discarding the empty bag. As we ran, I slowed down a bit to rip away the restraints keeping the toy contained in the box. ¡°Now really isn¡¯t the time for this!¡± Sam hissed, urging me to keep running. We weren¡¯t safe and I wasn¡¯t willing to trust her to protect me. I bit into the plastic and ripped away at the zip ties keeping the toy in place. Panic and adrenaline do wonders when you¡¯re convinced your life was in danger because I don¡¯t think I had ever opened something so quickly before. The bindings fell away and I pulled the toy pistol free from the box. I didn¡¯t have the time to mess around with trying to find a comfortable model. Besides, all that the [Models] category was giving me was different brands of toy guns. I needed to circumvent that and change its current purpose and the only way to do that was to alter the [Materials] and [Operating Mechanisms]. [Charges: 25/25] [Type] [Durability 100/100 - Repair Unavailable.] [Materials] I needed to make this into something more hefty. I recalled the only other time I had touched a gun and remembered that the material it had used was stainless steel. Fortunately for me, the pathway to that material was fairly cheap. [Charges: 22/25] [Operating Mechanisms] Why the hell does it cost four charges to get a gun when I could take a phone and skip twenty years of research and development for just one? Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was trying to rework an object¡¯s purpose. A phone was still a phone, I hadn¡¯t tried to change anything else. The toy gun being a toy might have been too much of a stretch. A toy¡¯s purpose was to entertain. A gun¡¯s purpose was to protect and to kill. Damn, I¡¯m trying to stretch it too far. I¡¯ll think about this later. I spent the four charges required to upgrade to the necessary mechanisms required for live rounds. Without it, most of the options in [Ammunition] were grayed out. Of course, I could have skipped upgrading the [Materials] and just gone with the [Operating Mechanisms] if I wanted the gun to rip itself to shreds the moment I fired. Sometimes, using my power felt like trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle. I had to ensure all the pieces were in the right place. The moment they were, the picture became clearer and more opportunities opened up. [Charges: 18/25] [Ammunition] Standard would do for now. I wasn¡¯t looking to start a fire and nothing else seemed really necessary at the moment. If I really needed them, I¡¯d use them. [Charges: 17/25] [Attachments] Lastly, I got rid of the cosmetic silencer in favor of a functional one and upgraded to a synthetic grip. I didn¡¯t want it to fly out of my hands or send the mall into a panic. A single shot fired in these halls would echo and someone would hear it. I barely kept running as the pistol in my hand melted into a blob of discolored liquid. It floated in the palm of my hand but I had never tried to upgrade while moving before. Keeping my concentration steady almost had me walking straight into a wall before Sam pulled me in the right direction. ¡°Hey¡ª! Woah!¡± Sam came to a stop. Her eyes locked on the blob of liquid, a mixture of wonder, bewilderment, and fascination. ¡°What the hell¡­?¡± Quickly, it became solid again and began unfolding like origami. The footsteps behind us were getting closer and just as the reformed pistol took its final shape in my hands, Sam and I turned our heads to see our pursuer round the corner. [Charges: 14/25] [Type] [Durability 100/100 - Repair Unavailable.] Perfect. Just in time. It was the guy who had been watching me earlier. Up close, he wore track pants, a plain red shirt, sneakers, a backpack, scarf, and aviators. He wouldn¡¯t have stood out in the mall if he took off his ¡®disguise¡¯. ¡°There you are,¡± His voice was deep and filled with ill intent. ¡°Decided to stop running?¡± ¡°This is a dangerous game you''re playing,¡± Sam sneered. ¡°Coming after us out of costume? Are you looking to start a fight? I¡¯ll fuck you up.¡± ¡°Little girl like you?¡± He scoffed. ¡°I doubt it. We¡¯re not after you anyway. Just him,¡± He pointed at me. ¡°We have some work we¡¯d like you to do for us so I¡¯d appreciate it if we stopped this little cat and mouse game.¡± ¡°Fuck off,¡± I countered. ¡°You already had your chance. Shouldn¡¯t have made it so easy for me to slip the first time.¡± Sam was quick to chime in. ¡°Yeah, you had your chance. Get lost.¡± ¡°Really, is that so?¡± He snorted, his eyes drifting toward the silenced pistol in my hand. ¡°What¡¯re you gonna do, shoot me?¡± I flicked the safety off. ¡°That¡¯s what the gun¡¯s for.¡± ¡°Your regeneration is slow, Bonesmith,¡± Sam said. The man stiffened and her grin only widened. ¡°Yeah¡­ I know who you are. Hard to put down, which makes you a good enforcer. But one good shot would still give us enough time to get away.¡± He cracked his knuckles. ¡°What makes you think we¡¯ll give you that opportunity?¡± I saw Sam¡¯s shoulders go rigid. A hand grabbed my wrist and twisted it. Pain caused me to drop my gun and an invisible arm wrapped around my neck, pulling me off balance. I gagged and sagged back into my assaulter¡¯s grip as they placed something sharp and cold to my throat. Immediately, I knew who it was, the same super who had drugged me and taken my payload chip. ¡°Shit!¡± Sam cursed. ¡°Let him go, Banshee.¡± So that¡¯s her name. I had heard it before. A recent string of robberies had been attributed to her. Apparently, according to the ECU statement, she had the ability to turn invisible and freely phase through solid materials. Guess that¡¯s how she¡¯d gotten into my car. ¡°We really need to stop meeting like this,¡± Banshee whispered into my ear in a sultry tone. She turned her head and looked at Sam. ¡°Make one move and I¡¯ll open his throat.¡± ¡°You¡¯d kill the person you''re after? You guys need to get your priorities straight. For that to even work, I¡¯m the one that should have the knife at his neck,¡± Sam said, her gaze flicking between Bonesmith and Banshee. The former had yet to move, opting to stay where he was. His posture relaxed a little and he crossed his arms like he was observing the situation before him with amusement. ¡°What happens if I call your little bluff? You wanna risk pissing Grim off?¡± She pressed the knife into my neck and I could feel it break my skin. Information poured through my skull as my power interpreted the steel blade. ¡°You move. He dies.¡± Sam gave me a confident grin. ¡°I got this, Upgrade.¡± Nah. I can get myself out of this. ¡°No need." I selected the cheapest upgrade I could. The knife lost its physical form and folded into a floating sphere of metallic liquid. The sudden change threw Banshee for a loop. I took the advantage and elbowed her in the ribs. Banshee coughed and stumbled back. Sam blurred and ran, moving far faster than was physically possible. I was already reaching for my dropped gun when I saw her shoulder check Bonesmith, sending him careening into a wall. I turned away before I heard the sickening crack from his impact, my pistol in hand. I was not surprised to see the hallway behind me empty. I pulled the trigger anyway. Once, and then twice, the sound of empty shells hitting the floor rang in my ears. I hit nothing but air. I adjusted my aim and fired a third shot, a scream ringing out as blood splattered onto the floor. Banshee collapsed, her invisibility broken. She clutched her thigh where blood began to seep out onto the floor. She hissed and seethed with anger as she glared at me through her mask. ¡°Fucking bastard!¡± For a brief second, I considered firing a fourth right at her head. It would be so easy but having someone¡¯s life sitting on your conscience was not something I wanted to deal with right now. Sam was back at my side in the blink of an eye. ¡°We need to go.¡± I reached down and snatched the knife that Banshee had and pocketed it. ¡°Thanks for the knife.¡± ¡°Fuck you¨C!¡± Sam clocked her in the nose as we ran past. The villain crumbled over and stopped moving. Bonesmith, on the other hand, looked like a pile of misshapen limbs. What was even more disturbing was they were moving, cracking, and snapping as they tried to put themselves back together. ¡°Nice work,¡± She praised as we turned a corner. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I rubbed my neck, the skin feeling tender. ¡°She was the one who took my money. I should have said something, asked her where¡ª¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have told you,¡± Sam reassured. ¡°Trust me, it¡¯s not worth it. Not now. They¡¯ve caught us with our pants down and we need to get out of here.¡± I didn¡¯t trust her, but right now, I didn¡¯t have much of a choice. Thirteen charges left, I grimace. I hope I won¡¯t need them. Foundation 6 When we finally burst out the door to the roof, my legs started to burn in protest. Sam was moving around in my peripherals while I was busy trying to catch my breath. I heard the loud squealing of tearing metal and looked over to see she had ripped several air conditioning units right out of the ground and stacked them up against the door. The immense strength gave me pause. First the Mentalist bullshit, then super speed, and now this? What other powers was she hiding up her sleeve? ¡°Okay, now what? Should we try to find another roof access door so we can circle back around?¡± I asked, looking around for an exit. I couldn¡¯t see anything screaming ¡®obvious escape route¡¯ so as far as I was concerned, we were at a dead end. ¡°Hope you¡¯ve got another plan because I don¡¯t see a way off here.¡± Aside from climbing down one of the fire escapes and getting caught by ECU guards, I couldn¡¯t see an exit. Sam grimaced. ¡°I have an idea but it''s probably not something you''re going to like.¡± ¡°It couldn¡¯t be any worse than what I thought.¡± Sam chuckled. ¡°How¡¯re your legs?¡± I stared at her and blinked. She jerked her head to the nearest edge of the roof. If death wasn¡¯t guaranteed from the fifteen-story fall, paralysis, a hundred-and-something broken bones and a world full of agony were almost a certainty. ¡°Fancy a jump?¡± ¡°I take back what I said, it is worse,¡± I snapped. ¡°You might be able to survive with whatever your powers are, but I won¡¯t, see?¡± I jumped up and down to emphasize my point. ¡°I¡¯m not going to fare well against solid concrete.¡± Sam rolled her eyes. The door leading to the roof jerked against Sam¡¯s makeshift barrier. I heard voices from behind it as the door struggled to open. Bonesmith, probably, and whoever else he had brought with him. Maybe some mooks if I were to hazard a guess. Banshee was injured so I doubted she was going to chase after us with a limp. ¡°The fire escapes,¡± I said, looking toward the edge of the roof. ¡°There has to be dozens around the building. We can use one of them to get down.¡± ¡°No, they¡¯ll be guarded,¡± Sam countered. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to get interrogated by the ECU. They won¡¯t be lenient just because we¡¯re kids!¡± ¡°The alternative is jumping and breaking my legs,¡± I argued. ¡°I¡¯ll risk the interrogation.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be oh so forgiving when they find you in possession of that,¡± She pointed to the gun in my hand. I stared at the weapon in my hands and scowled. She had a point. ¡°We have to jump. I can carry you and absorb the impact force with Red.¡± ¡°Red?¡± The door to the roof heaved and the screech of metal could be heard as the air conditioning units slowly moved, inch by inch. ¡°Red, my super strength. It¡¯s what I call them,¡± She explained in a hurried tone. ¡°We¡¯re running out of time, we need to go!¡± Sam already turned and ran toward the opposite end of the roof. I hadn¡¯t even had a chance to ask her what she meant by ¡®them¡¯ but the priority right now was escaping. I broke into a sprint to catch up with her and by the time I did, we had reached the opposite end of the roof. Peering over the ledge, I saw a stomach-churning drop into a darkened, unoccupied alleyway. ¡°Ready?¡± I swallowed and stuffed the gun into my jacket. ¡°No. I hate heights.¡± She stiffened and her shoulders went rigid. When she turned to me again, her brow curved downward and her expression turned angry. I could have sworn there were red lights in her eyes. ¡°Hold tight.¡± She scooped me up before I even had a chance to protest and vaulted over the ledge. My stomach flipped as we fell. I couldn¡¯t even scream. When we hit the ground, the concrete cracked and splintered under impact. ¡°There,¡± Sam huffed, dropping me back to my feet. ¡°Now, pick up your panties and let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°I think I left my stomach back on the roof,¡± I groaned, scowling at her. Sam¡¯s head twitched, almost like a muscle spasm. ¡°Are¡­ you okay? ¡°I¡¯m fine. Where¡¯s your car parked?¡± She asked, leading me toward the opening at the end of the alley. The closer we got, the quicker I noticed there was a chain link fence blocking our way. We¡¯d have to climb it to get out. ¡°Section A, front of the building at the back.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll make a break for it,¡± Sam said. She was going to continue and say something else but a black figure in padded black armor stepped in front of the fence. ¡°Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me. Just what we were trying to avoid¡­¡± ¡°Hey!¡± The ECU guard snapped, pointing at us. ¡°What¡¯re you kids doing down there? Get out here, now!¡± ¡°Damnit,¡± Sam hissed. ¡°Okay, let me take the lead.¡± She had gotten us this far so I wasn¡¯t about to argue with the request. ¡°If you get us arrested, I¡¯m blaming everything on you.¡± Sam chuckled as we approached the fence. The ECU soldier opened it and allowed us to step through. ¡°Did you kids miss the point of the fence? Those areas are off limits,¡± He pointed to the ¡®no trespassing¡¯ sign. There was a small little picture of armed stick figures shooting a running stick figure. Morbid but incredibly accurate. ¡°What were you two doing down there?¡± ¡°Oh, you know¡­¡± Sam¡¯s characteristics changed on a dime. It was much more bubbly, girlie even. ¡°Really hard to find some privacy around here. I really wanted to do it in the car but he didn¡¯t want to get his seats dirty.¡± Mortification surged within me. Of all the things to fucking say¡­ The armed man just stared at her. It was hard to get a read on what exactly he was thinking because his face was completely concealed by his headgear. Finally, the soldier turned to me. ¡°This true?¡± I could have sworn I heard amusement in his tone. I didn¡¯t want to answer, so I just stared. As the saying goes, I had the right to remain silent. Sam scooted next to me and hugged my right arm like some kind of clingy girlfriend. ¡°Sorry. He¡¯s really shy.¡± The soldier shook his head and sighed. ¡°Alright, get out of here you two. Don¡¯t let me catch you again or the consequences will be severe. Next time, just¡­ wait till your parents leave the house.¡± Once we had walked far enough, I pulled my arm out of her grip. ¡°Thanks for making me look like a degenerate. Is that seriously the best you could come up with?¡± ¡°Oh, quit whining you baby,¡± Sam rolled her eyes. ¡°He bought it and we¡¯re not on our way to an ECU holding cell. A little gratitude would be nice.¡± My thoughts lingered for far too long on her reasoning as we fast-walked through the parking lot toward my car. After a minute or two of contemplation, I caved. She was right. Without her, the Cains would¡¯ve gotten to me by now and I¡¯d likely be tied up and gagged in the back of a van or something. ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, swallowing my pride. ¡°Today would have gone a lot different if you didn¡¯t show up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± Sam replied sincerely. ¡°Trust me, I am thanking myself for actually following through with stalking you. If I hadn¡¯t, I would have missed my opportunity and they would¡¯ve gotten you.¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡­¡± I trailed off as I saw a group of guys hustling through the car park toward us. At the front, I recognized Bonesmith. All of them were jogging, slipping through the spaces between the cars. They were a hundred meters from us and steadily getting closer. ¡°...just don¡¯t quit, apparently.¡± Sam turned and followed my gaze. ¡°God damnit.¡± It was my turn to lead. ¡°This way!¡± We made a mad dash for the car. At the same time, so did our pursuers. My car was closer to us than it was to them, so we reached it with time to spare. ¡°Let me drive!¡± Sam called, pushing me to the passenger side. ¡°Hack the exterior cameras around the mall and turn them off. Things are about to get wild.¡± I didn¡¯t argue. I unlocked the car and we both dove inside. ¡°Lock the doors!¡± The doors locked and I fumbled around with my phone, disabling the mall''s exterior cameras. I had a feeling that our escape was going to be noisy. Seconds later, the Cains were on us, harassing each side of the car trying to get in. They were pounding on the glass and trying to open the doors to no avail. A couple of them even tried tools specifically designed for breaking glass ¨C the type car thieves used ¨C but found they were completely ineffective against my upgraded glass. ¡°Keys. I need your keys!¡± I shook my head. ¡°There are no keys! It¡¯s a fingerprint ignition.¡± ¡°What the hell!? This thing¡¯s like ten¡ª oh, you¡¯ve used your power on the car.¡± I reached across her and thumbed the ignition. Bonesmith seemed to be waiting behind the car, his arm slowly shifting into something twisted and horrifying. From the rearview mirror, I could see his whole forearm shift and reshape itself into some kind of bone-white blade with jagged edges. My car¡¯s bodywork was durable but I wasn¡¯t sure it could handle being attacked by something like that. ¡°We need to go, like yesterday!¡± Sam didn¡¯t move. I stared at her. ¡°Hey! You said you¡¯d drive so drive¡ª!¡± Her hand¡¯s shot out, one gripping the steering wheel and the other on the stick shift. She wrenched my car out of park and into reverse before slamming her foot down on the accelerator. We shot out of the parking space and swerved. Bonesmith must have ducked to the side just in time because I heard a skin-crawling sound of my paintwork getting gashed as we drifted. My tires screeched as we came to a stop. Sam punched the car into drive and we shot off toward Bonesmith. This time, he wasn¡¯t so lucky. We bowled him over and sent him sprawling across the pavement. In seconds, we were zooming out of the parking lot and onto the main road. I hastily turned, remembering the incident earlier in the week with Banshee, and felt around in the backseat. Nothing there. I released a shaky breath. ¡°That was too close for comfort,¡± I breathed, finally managing to find my voice. ¡°You certainly know how to handle a car. Is this another one of your powers or are you secretly a professional driver?¡± Sam was tense, eyes locked onto the road ahead of us. She was driving about five kilometers over the speed limit ¨C just enough not to draw suspicion from the drivers around us. Not only that but she was focused ¨C so much so I¡¯d claim she was suffering from a bad case of tunnel vision. ¡°Sam?¡± No response. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Loosen up a bit. You¡¯re making me nervous.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t. Right. Now,¡± She grounded out. ¡°Can¡¯t. Talk. Well. When. Orange.¡± Orange¡­? When she turned onto the motorway was the moment I started getting concerned. Sam drove in a direction that led away from my house and while I wasn¡¯t expecting her to take me there, my paranoia was starting to get the better of me. Was she really my ally? This could be an ¡®out of the frying pan and into the fire¡¯ kind of situation and I wouldn¡¯t be any wiser. The car suddenly jerked and I found myself thrown forward. Thank goodness for seatbelts because without one I probably would have kissed the dashboard and shattered my teeth. As I tried to steady myself, I turned and looked through the rear window to see a black jeep and three other cars speeding along behind it. These guys just won¡¯t give up¡­ Bullets impacted my rear window. Even though the windows were bulletproof, the impact was more than enough to cause me to duck and shield myself with my seat. Sam didn¡¯t even react. Not an ounce of panic on her face, just an ironclad focus on the road in front of us. One of her eyes flickered to the rearview mirror and she pumped the gas. The car accelerated so quickly that I was convinced we were going to rear-end the car in front of us until she veered into the right lane. There was a cascade of honks from behind us as Sam began weaving in and out of traffic. I felt my heart drop into my stomach when we started to climb past 140 kilometers an hour with no signs of slowing down. Fear gripped every fiber of my being as I imagined slamming into a car or a wall at this speed. I wondered if it would hurt to die like that. Would I even feel anything? Surely at that speed, my neck would just break and I¡¯d black out before I had time to suffer. I honestly couldn¡¯t say how long I sat in the passenger seat, too terrified to move because all I could think about was dying. In the end, it was Sam¡¯s voice that snapped me out of it. ¡°Do. Something. I can¡¯t. Lose them. Like this!¡± She was right. I had to do something otherwise we really would crash and die. It¡¯s one of her powers. She¡¯ll keep us alive. I reached down and snatched the gun from my jacket. I still had enough shots in the magazine to do something but what that something was, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure of yet. Holding the weapon tightly, I tried to focus while putting my trust in Sam. It¡¯s not like I had much choice but I¡¯d be damned if I just sat in the passenger seat to just wait for my demise. I had nine shots left. Nine shots and four cars. Not ideal. I needed something that would be able to disable their vehicles. [Charges: 13/25] [Ammunition] I disregarded tracer and hollow point rounds as they wouldn¡¯t be helpful here. Armor-piercing would be ideal. I could shoot at the engine and hoped it would disable their vehicles but I¡¯d have to be a good shot. That wasn¡¯t even counting for them trying to dodge out of the way. Incendiary rounds were another option. I could potentially set the cars ablaze if I managed to hit the right spot but that could end up messy. We were on a motorway with hundreds of other innocent people. The chase was bad enough but a firestorm of cars was not what I wanted. I¡¯d have to trust in my aim. Armor-piercing it is. A single charge and about a second later it was done. I steeled my nerves for possibly the stupidest stunt I was ever going to pull in my life. I pressed the switch to lower the window and waited for the next car to try and run us off the road. One tried and I could see from their passenger window they were getting ready to shoot at us. Unfortunately for them, I was ready before they were. I pulled the trigger, aiming for the front of their car. I counted the bullets. One, two. The driver slammed on their brakes to try and dodge more shots but ended up spinning out. I watched as the vehicle careened into the left-side motorway barrier. We were moving too fast but I could hear the screeching of tires as the people behind that car tried to avoid it. We were too far ahead to hear if there were any more crashes but I hoped I hadn¡¯t caused a pile-up. I refocused when Sam changed lanes again. Seven shots left. The jeep pulled up to my side and didn¡¯t hesitate to try again. One, two, three. I paused for a moment to readjust my aim. Four. The bullets punched holes through the black steel of the jeep. My gambit wasn¡¯t working and the armor-piercing rounds weren¡¯t doing what I had hoped. Three shots left. Fuck, what now? I flicked the switch to pull the window up just as the jeep swerved, trying to run us off the road. Sparks flew on the collision, the superior weight of the jeep overpowering our smaller vehicle. Sam braked and switched lanes with such masterful ease the jeep almost spun out and crashed. Unfortunately, the driver managed to steady it just as Sam pulled ahead. I was running out of options and ammo. The later gun upgrades utilized non-physical ammunition types that required an electrical power source built into them. Without it, I¡¯d be stuck with physical materials for bullets. I need a battery. Frantically, I turned my attention to my surroundings. I needed to find something I could combine with the gun to give it a power source. I needed a battery of some kind ¨C anything would work. I flinched when the window next to my head had a large chunk taken out of it, a bullet firmly lodged in the glass. Another car had managed to pull up next to us. It wasn¡¯t the driver shooting us, it was another guy leaning out the backseat window. Through the large pockmark in the window, I could garner he also had a pistol ¨C but one that packed a much bigger punch than the dinky thing I had. ¡°They¡¯re right next to us!¡± The only evidence she heard me was her violently jerking the steering wheel to the left. We crossed the lane and slammed into the side of the car, the damage to my window worsening. The driver fought furiously for control and Sam took that opportunity to pull ahead of him. My search through the glove box yielded no results, so I turned my attention to the compartment under the armrest. Opening the top, I dug around inside. I didn¡¯t find any batteries but what I did find was the garage remote. It would have to do. Removing the cylindrical battery from the back of the remote, it occurred to me I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to remove a magazine from the pistol so I just had to hope movies and video games wouldn¡¯t steer me wrong. It took a couple of seconds of fiddling but I was finally able to get it to drop out harmlessly onto my lap. With haste, I dropped the battery inside the magazine and shoved it back into the gun. [Charges: 12/25] [Battery Component Detected] [Integration Status - Available. Cost: 3] I paid the three charges and my power activated. When the gun reformed in my hand it looked exactly the same, except this time, the bottom of the magazine had changed from black to silver and there was a small blue light on the left side of the grip indicating battery level. Pulling up the upgrade tree, I directed my attention to the ammunition. [Charges: 9/25] [Ammunition] What? That¡¯s it? That¡¯s all that was able to do? Just EMP and electrified ammunition rounds? Where were my lasers? Plasma? Concussive blast? Looking further down the tree, I gleamed at the disheartening information. [Charges: 9/25] [Ammunition] That wasn¡¯t as bad as I anticipated but still not achievable right now. Too many upgrades and not enough time. It would take me a day or two to get to that stage. For now, I have to deal with what was already available to me. Electrified ammunition looked like it was just a much nastier version of my taser. Put a hole in them and make them spasm so they couldn¡¯t save themselves. What I really needed was the other upgrade. EMP ammunition was exactly what I needed in this situation. With the intensity upgrade, one good shot anywhere on those cars and I¡¯d fry every electrical system. We pulled off the motorway and I spent my last nine charges on the two upgrades. I wasn¡¯t the best shot but I was confident I could at least hit each car. Rolling down the window again, I was about to make another risky decision when I noticed the wailing of sirens trailing behind the cars chasing us. The police were after us and they¡¯d undoubtedly have dash cams. Just more technology I had to disable. I fiddled with my phone and found half a dozen orange dots trailing behind us. I thumbed each one and waited for my phone to crack their security. I counted the seconds, each one feeling longer than the one prior. I need to upgrade my breaching software. After disabling the police¡¯s dash cameras, I went on the offensive and leaned out the car window. Three pursuing gang cars, three bullets. I could do this. I aimed and fired. One. Two. Three. I hit all three shots, I only needed to get near them one for each vehicle. I pulled myself back in and rolled up the window before turning my gaze out the rear. The effects weren¡¯t obvious at first but I could tell it worked when we started pulling away from them. Their vehicles weren¡¯t able to add any more power and just started slowing down until we left them behind. With the road cleared behind us, I spotted the police finally catching up to our slowing pursuers. ¡°Adios, assholes,¡± I muttered under my breath. I looked over to Sam with a relieved smile only to see her still hyper-focused. Her eyes remained locked on the road. ¡°Sam? We¡¯re good now, you can relax.¡± She refused to say a word, but she had slowed down to something resembling a legal speed now that we were out of danger. Sam took me on a detour through the city, ducking into various tunnels and turning down some very barren streets. It wasn¡¯t long before I realized where she was taking me. Groves Den. There were buildings here the Architect hadn¡¯t constructed and had been put up by mundane laborers. It bordered a fairly large forest hence its name. It wasn¡¯t very well maintained and the housing was rather cheap. It was an area stricken with poverty and naturally because of that, it meant that it wasn¡¯t the safest neighborhood. Just driving through here was unsettling but after what I had just been through, adrenaline was pumping through my body and I was ready for just about anything. We had managed to escape both a kidnapping and arrest, but it didn¡¯t necessarily mean we were out of the woods yet. Groves Den was a no man¡¯s land, sandwiched right in between Pandora and Queen¡¯s Court territory. Neither seemed particularly interested in claiming it because of its rundown state but it was well-known that Pandora snatched up recruits here. Sam made a few more turns before we came upon an old, decrepit apartment building. It was about five stories high and looked ready to collapse in on itself. The exterior was littered with graffiti which was probably the only decent paint job it has seen in many years. As she pulled into the opening leading to the underground parking garage, exhaustion hit me like a truck. With a deep breath, I allowed my body to relax. I was out of danger, for the time being. Now, I just had to see why Sam had been so kind as to stick her neck out to save my life. Foundation 7 My whole body ached as we climbed the stairs to her apartment. The entire complex was a health hazard as far as I was concerned. Trash littered the stairwell, spiderwebs dominated every corner, and cockroaches skittered around on every surface. This building hadn¡¯t been maintained properly for years but it was par for the course in a place like Groves Den. It was a side of the city the council just neglected. ¡°In here,¡± Sam unlocked a door at the end of the fourth floor. We walked into a pristine-looking apartment with freshly painted walls, brand-new furniture, and a refreshing scent of pine forest air freshener. It was so different from the rest of the building, it was like walking into a completely different dimension. ¡°Nice place,¡± I murmured, feeling the fatigue weigh heavier on my mind. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have found something a little more structurally sound?¡± ¡°It¡¯s convenient with no rent. Plus, with my powers, I can touch up the place. It¡¯s a slow process but it works,¡± Sam explained, throwing her bag down next to the door. ¡°Coffee or tea?¡± ¡°Coffee, please.¡± She moved into the kitchen while I found solace on the couch in the living room. I sunk into the cushions and closed my eyes. It was only now I realized how peaceful the silence was. Aside from Sam messing around in the kitchen, I could finally hear myself think without my heart thundering in my ears. After a few moments, it occurred to me how late it was getting. It was past five and Mom would be expecting me home soon. Lucy was probably already heading to my house for dinner. How was I going to explain all this to them? The car looked like it had been through a warzone with all the damage and I had no spare charges to repair it. ¡°Hope you like it black,¡± Sam¡¯s voice sounded to my right as she walked into view carrying two cups. She handed one to me. ¡°Cause that''s all I got.¡± I didn¡¯t care what form it came in, all that mattered was that I got the caffeine into my system. I gingerly took it and sipped it, ignoring the scorching pain. My mouth was so dry I could feel cracks forming on my lips. The tiny sliver of caffeine revitalized my body and got the neurons in my head firing. ¡°Thanks,¡± I blew onto the surface of the coffee, hoping to cool it down before my next sip. ¡°This is exactly what I need.¡± Sam¡¯s lip curved upward into a sly grin. ¡°So! Welcome to casa de la Madhouse. The currently temporary ¨C hopefully permanent ¨C residence of yours truly; me. You know, for a moment back there I was worried you were going to collapse halfway up the stairs. Gotta say, I was not looking forward to carrying your butt all the way up here. Red wasn¡¯t going to help either.¡± I blinked in hazy confusion. ¡°Red?¡± ¡°You met her before. The angry looking one with super strength that helped us off the roof.¡± ¡°Oh, right,¡± I said. Then, I shook my head. ¡°Wait a minute, her? Isn¡¯t that just you?¡± Sam shook her hand. ¡°Kinda.¡± I tried to organize my thoughts and make sense of what she was saying. She had multiple powers and from what she said, she named them. Coupled with the noticeable personality shifts she went through in just a few short hours since meeting her, I had to assume that they were linked to these colors she kept mentioning. ¡°You¡¯re on the right track,¡± Sam sipped her coffee innocently. ¡°Too much?¡± ¡°Are you psychic as well?¡± ¡°Mmm, a little bit,¡± She answered with a mischievous smile. ¡°It¡¯s closer to super intelligence or intuition. Think of me as a younger, cuter Sherlock Holmes.¡± I thought back to the moment when she ran so fast she punted Bonesmith into a wall. ¡°Super speed, super strength, super intelligence, and apparently a master at driving,¡± I said coolly. ¡°That makes you an Aspect, right?¡± ¡°Aspect, full-package, stocked evo, utter bullshit. There¡¯s lots of names,¡± she plopped herself down in one of her sofa chairs and kicked her feet up onto the coffee table. ¡°I have more powers than just those, and for the record, Orange doesn¡¯t make me good at driving. She makes me the best at driving and just about every other skill under the sun.¡± ¡°When you¡¯re¡­ Orange,¡± I repeated slowly. ¡°Why are you naming your powers after colors?¡± For a moment, she considered my question in silence. Then, she gently raised her hands to her eyes and plucked out two colored contacts. She clicked open a little container in her skirt pocket and placed them inside. When she opened her eyes again, my eyes met blue. But not just any blue. Searing neon blue, like she had lightbulbs behind her eyes. ¡°Unsettling, right?¡± Unsettling was one way to put it. If I passed her on the street I¡¯d probably do a double take. Though, thinking about it, I¡¯d likely just think she was someone making a fashion statement. Cosmetic contacts could be bought at hobby shops everywhere so I wouldn¡¯t have guessed she was a super at first glance. It was a different story when you were faced with them directly. It was easy to see the supernatural aspect. I guess I wasn¡¯t seeing things when I noticed the red lights in her eyes. Her contacts had concealed the major changes. ¡°A little bit,¡± I replied slowly. It was strange how even the slightest eye movement had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty weird, but not the worst thing out there. Would that give you a Morpher rating?¡± Sam shrugged. ¡°Maybe. When I go out in costume I normally do it as Pink, so a Morpher rating is the last thing anyone would attribute to me.¡± I felt my eyebrows rise at the mention of another color. ¡°Pink?¡± ¡°The one with super speed,¡± Sam clarified. ¡°She¡¯s a bit of a character so it gives a lot of people a false impression of me, which often works out in my favor. Pink¡¯s the one that talked to that ECU guard that caught us.¡± My brow furrowed. ¡°You talk about your powers like they¡¯re separate people.¡± ¡°They are,¡± Sam¡¯s lips thinned into a frown. ¡°Eh, well¡­ kinda. They¡¯re separate mes. Some have different personalities entirely, like Pink. Others like Red are more just heightened emotions.¡± That explains why she seemed angry when she got super strength. Red must be anger. ¡°Right. What¡¯s Pink?¡± The glowing blue shifted to an alluring warm pink in the blink of an eye. Her lips suddenly broke out into a grin and her resting expression looked like it had erupted into fireworks. There was a flicker of pink electricity and she was next to me in a second. Her form had blurred as she moved and I had no time to react. ¡°Hiya Maxie,¡± Pink grinned. I knew that tone of voice. The sudden invasion of personal space caused me to lean away from her. She mirrored my movements and leaned in closer. ¡°Whatcha movin¡¯ away for?¡± ¡°Uh, you¡¯re a little close.¡± ¡°I could get closer if ya like,¡± she winked at me with her left eye, which momentarily shifted back to blue. ¡°Ah! No fair, Sammy. Ya just let me out!¡± Sam then proceeded to have some kind of mental fit because she started rapidly blinking, her eyes shifting back and forth between blue and pink. Finally, she landed back on blue. Heaving an embarrassed sigh, she pushed herself up from the couch and returned to her seat. ¡°Ugh¡­ sorry. Pink is a little eccentric.¡± I stared at her, baffled by what had just transpired. Then the realization hit me. ¡°Your power is a Dissociative Identity Disorder?¡± ¡°Pretty much,¡± Sam sighed tiredly, returning to her seat. ¡°Except every separate personality has a different power. I keep track of them by giving them names, they correspond with the color my eyes appear as when they take over. So when I said I was Orange earlier¡ª¡± ¡°That was another you talking,¡± I finished for her. Sam tilted and shook her head a little. ¡°No?¡± ¡°Like I said, only some of them, like Pink, are different enough to identify as separate personalities. Others are like focused emotions or a specific state of mind. Orange is¡­ it¡¯s like having tunnel vision. It¡¯s really hard to communicate and take in information about anything I¡¯m not focusing on,¡± she chuckled and clapped her hands. ¡°Did you know I¡¯ve never driven a car before? That was my first time!¡± If that was her first time driving, then the power Orange provided was seriously nothing to scoff at. Being the best at anything at any given moment would definitely be a handy power to have. I could only wonder what its limits were. Was it only limited to practical things like driving? What else could she be the best at? ¡°Never thought I¡¯d actually get to meet an Aspect. They¡¯re rare, like, way rarer than supers. Like a needle in a haystack, I think.¡± ¡°Lucky me,¡± Sam replied. I didn¡¯t miss the sarcasm. ¡°It has its ups and downs. I¡¯m strong and I could join almost anyone I want but some people don¡¯t like being told no. Like Pandora and their little cult of followers.¡± I scoffed. ¡°Little? They¡¯re many things, but little isn¡¯t one of them.¡± ¡°Well, they¡¯re not as big in California as they used to be, but they were annoying enough to chase me out of the state. I flew here to try and get away from them,¡± she said with mild annoyance. ¡°I¡¯ve been running from them.¡± ¡°Cali? You¡¯re American?¡± ¡°Canadian, actually,¡± she smirked at me. ¡°My parents moved after Dad got a job. Besides, after Howler¡¯s rampage we weren¡¯t exactly keen to stick around.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯re you doing here in New Elpis? Bayside¡¯s not exactly the safest place to be and given Groves Den borders Pandora territory, this is the last place I would expect you to be,¡± I stared out the sliding windowed doors leading to a very unsafe-looking terrace. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you try your luck in QC¡¯s territory?¡± ¡°I¡¯m desperate, not suicidal. At least here, I can actually keep an eye on Pandora¡¯s activities. They might be a bunch of fanatics but they¡¯re loaded fanatics and Bayside seems to have the weakest pocket of the nutjobs, so¡­ here I am.¡± Ah, now all the expensive-looking furniture was starting to make sense. ¡°You¡¯re stealing from them.¡± Her lips formed a sly smile. ¡°When the opportunity presents itself. I bust open a couple of safe houses, break a few jaws and make off with the cash. It¡¯s easy money.¡± ¡°It also makes you a target.¡± She laughed. ¡°Every super is a target, Max. After Sunday night, you should know that.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°You know, that brings up a great point. How exactly did you know what I was doing last Sunday? Were you following me?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer we call it talent scouting, but if you must know, Gold did most of the heavy lifting. She¡¯s really good with information gathering.¡± There¡¯s another name, likely the power with super intelligence. ¡°Gold.¡± ¡°Yup. She¡¯s not good company though. I mean, unless you like having all your deepest insecurities ripped out of you and laid bare for all the world to see,¡± Sam rubbed her forehead and winced. ¡°She¡¯s the most difficult to get along with. She¡¯s also the one who pushed me to go find you today. She told me you¡¯d be at the mall.¡± ¡°You can communicate with them?¡± Sam huffed in exasperation. ¡°I don¡¯t really want to get into it right now since it¡¯s complicated. The short answer is ¡®sort of¡¯.¡± It must be a circus in her head. She must be able to suppress them, otherwise, they would have driven her insane by now. If I had a bunch of different versions of myself talking constantly in my head, I probably wouldn¡¯t be doing very well right now. ¡°Alright. You have an ax to grind with Pandora ¨C so you set up here to pick away at them like a vulture,¡± I paced over to the window and rubbed my chin in thought. Her situation was similar to mine. I had a grudge against the Cains and they evidently had the prerogative to come after me despite letting me go. Not sure what made them change their minds though. ¡°It¡¯s not going to be long before they start coming after you. A place like this isn¡¯t going to protect you against ¨C well, anything really.¡± ¡°No, it won¡¯t,¡± she agreed. ¡°And the Cains are already after you so we¡¯re in a similar boat. Why don¡¯t we sail through this storm together?¡± I thought about it for a moment. If she was on the run from Pandora, why didn¡¯t she join the ECU? ¡°I could just go join the ECU. Their Rookie program provides benefits ¨C protection from the gangs. It seems like a pretty sweet deal right now.¡± One of her eyebrows arched, completely unconvinced. ¡°If you wanted to join the ECU, you would have done it already. Instead, you go out and sell Mechatech for¡­ what, exactly? It can¡¯t be legal, otherwise the government would foot the bill just to keep you happy and loyal. Or¡­ maybe you don¡¯t trust them to follow through with any promises they make? They are a government agency after all.¡± I was feeling particularly snarky. ¡°Why don¡¯t you bring Gold out? I¡¯m sure she¡¯d figure it out.¡± Sam¡¯s face dropped a little. ¡°I don¡¯t want to ruin what we¡¯ve got going on here. If I bring her out, you¡¯ll walk.¡± ¡°...She¡¯s that bad?¡± ¡°Believe me when I say she is more unlikable than words can describe,¡± she explained. ¡°So be straight with me. I know you aren¡¯t going to join the ECU for personal reasons. I have mine as well. Besides, I have no interest in being a ¡®hero¡¯.¡± ¡°I¡¯m friends with Comet at school,¡± I replied offhandedly. ¡°She doesn¡¯t mind it. Often finds the job cathartic.¡± ¡°Catharsis isn¡¯t a concern of mine. If I wanted to hurt scumbags, I would just go and walk around the harbor at night. I¡¯m more of a long-term gain kinda gal,¡± Sam said. ¡°Besides, like I said. Being a hero just ain¡¯t me.¡± I didn¡¯t push the subject. I gave her an even stare as if to tell her I was weighing my options. I wasn¡¯t really, but I didn¡¯t want to make this too easy for her. She pursed her lips and did her best to look offended. ¡°Am I not cute enough for you to inexplicably trust me with your life?¡± She pretended to pout before clapping her hands. ¡°Okay, jokes aside. I¡¯m sorry. My intentions were shifty but we¡¯re both up shit creek with broken paddles. You want trust? We can start over, surely I¡¯ve earned that much.¡± She stood up and offered me a hand. ¡°I¡¯m Samantha Leighton, I¡¯m a year twelve and go to Eastworth Girls. When I¡¯m causing chaos in costume, I¡¯m Alice.¡± Alice? It wasn¡¯t exactly a creative superhero name but that was probably the point. It was simple and didn¡¯t stand out like the majority of hero names. Meta-criminals or¡­ villains, as some like to call them, weren''t particularly creative either. They just typically tended to stray into edgy territory because the names tended to come from the public and people online. ¡°Alice,¡± I said, testing the name. It rolled off the tongue easily enough. It was a regular name but when said with the connotations of it being a codename felt a bit different. ¡°Not bad. Not much for codenames myself. Maxis Troy, I go by Upgrade, but you already knew that.¡± ¡°Not exactly subtle, are you?¡± Her blue eyes twinkle in amusement. I could have sworn I saw them flash pink for a second. ¡°It¡¯s straight to the point and drew enough attention for me to get people to pay for my tech,¡± I explained with a shrug. ¡°You saw what I did with the toy. I can take whatever I like ¨C assuming it¡¯s not biological ¨C and upgrade it so it performs better at whatever its purpose is.¡± Her eyes narrowed as she pursed her lips in thought. ¡°You turned a plastic toy into a real gun in a second flat. That would mean you¡¯re a Cosmikinetic as well?¡± ¡°Something like that. Transmuting materials is easy enough, just as long as the purpose of whatever I¡¯m focusing on matches.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Silence lingered for a moment as I tried to think of a way to explain things clearly. I needed an example that wasn¡¯t the gun I had made because that took some redirection to get it to where I wanted it. ¡°Take my phone, for example,¡± I pulled it out and tossed it to her. ¡°Those Cain guys stole my last one so I had to find a replacement. What you¡¯re holding there started off as an old model from about twenty years ago. I salvaged it from the basement at home and used my power on it. It makes things better, so I was able to take that old thing and turn it into that.¡± Sam examined my phone carefully, turning it over and even removing the back of it to get a look at the battery pack and the rest of its inner workings. ¡°This is the latest Nebulous model. Some of my friends at school would kill for something like this,¡± Sam sounded impressed. ¡°Your power can just make these on demand?¡± ¡°Yeah, I can turn any mobile phone into one of those. Pretty easy too. All mobile phones serve the same purpose so the option is there for me to do it. It gets a little complicated when I¡¯m trying to change something into something else,¡± I explained. ¡°I have to do a bit of creative meddling and I can misinterpret things if I¡¯m not careful.¡± ¡°How so?¡± I removed the now-empty gun from my jacket and placed it on the table. ¡°Well, for one I thought I¡¯d be able to easily turn the toy into a gun because the purpose of the toy gun was to shoot projectiles and hit a target. Turns out my power can take things a bit too literally. A toy is still a toy and it''s designed to entertain, regardless of its function. I had to manually change its makeup for my power to recognize it as something else.¡± Sam was quiet for a moment as her eyes zeroed in on the pistol. She bit her lip and tried to look away but some invisible force was keeping her attention locked. ¡°You¡¯ve managed to tickle Gold¡¯s interest.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yup,¡± Sam said, reaching out for the gun. She took it and tested the weight. ¡°Shit, this is the real deal. I can¡¯t believe this was a plastic toy,¡± she then spotted the unique change I had made to the magazine. ¡°I don¡¯t remember this being there.¡± ¡°I did it while we were on the motorway. I was trying to make a laser pistol so I dropped a battery inside and integrated it as a power source,¡± I frowned as she expertly removed the empty clip. ¡°It gave me access to electrical and EMP ammunition.¡± Sam gave me a flat look. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I can combine different things and merge them into a single item as long as they¡¯re compatible. Laser weaponry requires a power source, so I improvised, the fact I added a crappy battery doesn¡¯t matter since my power can just improve on it,¡± I ran a hand through my hair and exhaled. ¡°Unfortunately, that model doesn¡¯t have the base to support lasers. I¡¯ll have to spend more time on other components if I want to get it working.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t do it all at once?¡± ¡°It takes time,¡± I repeated, putting emphasis on the last part. ¡°There¡¯s only so much I can do in one day and trying to upgrade something I¡¯ve never touched before is more expensive.¡± Sam gave me a curious look. ¡°You¡¯ve never done guns before?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but shift uncomfortably. ¡°Making weapons would put me on the ECU¡¯s radar. You know what they¡¯re like with Mechatech weapons. I don¡¯t want to get thrown into one of their prisons. Until my encounter with the Cains, I had a policy about not making anything too dangerous.¡± Her curious look turned incredulous. ¡°How long have you had your powers?¡± ¡°About three weeks now.¡± ¡°Are you seriously telling me you waited till now to make a gun? Come on! That¡¯s borderline suicidal,¡± she lectured, shoving the gun back into my hand. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I decided to stalk you. You would¡¯ve been screwed if I hadn¡¯t.¡± ¡°What do you think I was doing at the toy shop?¡± I waved the weapon around. ¡°I already came to that conclusion. Also, I wasn¡¯t completely defenseless. I had a modified taser. It wasn¡¯t efficient but I¡¯m not about killing people, even if they are gang members.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Sam sighed in relief. ¡°You¡¯re only a little bit stupid¡ª sorry,¡± she grumbled. ¡°Gold leaked through there. She¡¯s not happy.¡± I was beginning to understand why she didn¡¯t want me to meet that particular personality yet. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in being lectured.¡± ¡°Which is why I¡¯m not going to bring her out. You¡¯ve learned the hard lesson quickly and it''s good to see you''re taking the necessary steps to survive now. You''re doing better than I did when I first started out, so I¡¯ll give you kudos there.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but snort in amusement. Here she was grilling me when she just admitted she didn¡¯t do any better either. ¡°I¡¯ve been working on my costume this week. I¡¯ve just got some last minute things I want to tweak before it''s done. I was just taking the time today to look into some offensive options,¡± I said. Sam nodded her head like she already knew. Probably Gold feeding her information. ¡°You said earlier you had a costume?¡± Sam turned on her heel and walked over to a closed door. She stepped through and retrieved a flax bag that held a bunch of clothes, all of them looking incredibly worn. Ripped black tights, a frilly blue and black striped skirt with a matching corset, knee-high strappy boots, and finally a domino mask. I could picture her wearing it and the mental image made me laugh. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± ¡°Dead serious,¡± Sam replied with a sly smile. ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous, right? It¡¯s meant to be. Helps to conceal my identity.¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t living in some kind of fifties comic book, Sam. Domino masks won¡¯t do anything to help you there.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but feel like she was playing some stupid game. There was no way this stuff was going to hide her from the ECU¡¯s facial recognition technology. My scarf, sunglasses, and hood did more to conceal my identity than that did. ¡°You¡¯d be surprised what some makeup and hair ties can do,¡± she dangled the domino mask in front of me. I was almost tempted to swipe it out of her hand. ¡°I can show you if you like.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass.¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± she dropped the stuff back into the bag and tossed it back into her closet. ¡°So, what do you plan to do now?¡± That was a good question. I needed to collect my thoughts and plan my next step. There was no telling what The Cains would try next and going at them alone felt incredibly daunting, not to mention foolish. Grim was their leader, one of the scariest supers in this city with the exception of Gaea. If I could help it, I didn¡¯t want to go anywhere near the guy. All I wanted was what was taken from me. I¡¯m on their radar now. They¡¯re going to be watching out for me. Sam¡¯s warning from earlier echoed in my head. I couldn¡¯t run from this and trying to go back to how things were before would just get me kidnapped, or worse, killed. I knew what needed to happen but the task now laid out before me felt impossible. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking,¡± Sam said. ¡°They¡¯ve seen our faces. They¡¯re going to be watching out for us.¡± ¡°They need to go,¡± my hands started sweating just from saying it. ¡°All of them. Drive them out of the city or into prison. Either one has to happen if things are going to go back to normal.¡± Sam crossed her arms. ¡°You want things to go back to normal? I¡¯m going to tell you right now, that¡¯s wishful thinking.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what it is. The fact remains that The Cains are a threat to me ¨C to us. Something needs to be done.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± I met Sam¡¯s gaze and I knew immediately why she had stuck her neck out to help me. Maybe I had always known and had just been ignoring the fact. Realistically, I should have known from that first message she sent me online. ¡°You want to team up,¡± I said. She smiled. ¡°If you¡¯re up for it.¡± Sam wasn¡¯t a hero and I doubted she did private work for the ECU given her earlier comments, which only led me to one conclusion. ¡°You¡¯re a villain.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what you want to call me,¡± she said, giving me a so-so look. ¡°I don¡¯t look at it that way. The way I see it, I¡¯m out for me. I¡¯m not interested in taking advantage of innocent people like the gangs do and I don¡¯t go looking for fights with the ECU. Though, if they come at me, I won¡¯t be going down without a fight.¡± I didn¡¯t want to be seen as a villain, nor did I want to be seen associating with them. If that happened and my identity as Upgrade got out, almost all my relationships would crumble. I could solve all of this right now and just go and turn myself in; join the Bayside Rookies and work with Abby. But I didn¡¯t. I wouldn¡¯t. Not when they were responsible for putting Mom in her wheelchair. Sam broke the silence the room had descended into. ¡°You don¡¯t need to make a decision right now¡ª¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not blind. I can see the decision has already been made for me,¡± I cut her off. I needed someone to watch my back and the only person who proved to be able to do that was sitting right across from me. She proved that to me today. ¡°I¡¯m in.¡± Villain labels be damned, I¡¯d make it work. I had to. Framework 1 Getting home had been an ordeal. First, I had to come to terms with leaving my car behind. There was a giant gash in the side along with a dozen dents. Besides, the police were going to be looking for it. So the first thing I did after I finished my conversation with Sam was to report my car had been stolen. I needed to keep up appearances after all. The next problem was actually getting home. Groves Den was the closest thing Bayside had to a slum, so walking home wasn¡¯t an option unless I wanted to get mugged. So I had to get a ride. It was actually pretty difficult to get a driver that wanted to come and pick me up. Sam¡¯s place was a decent distance away from the center of the city and mine wasn¡¯t much better so I had to promise a tip of forty dollars to get someone to show up. When I finally managed to get home, it was well past seven. I hadn¡¯t even stepped onto my front porch when the front door swung open. Lucy stood in the frame, her face sporting a scowl. She had probably been ranting with Mom about how irresponsible I am or how difficult it was to get a hold of me. ¡°Where have you been? We¡¯ve been worried sick!¡± I needed to get my story straight. It wasn¡¯t like I was going to necessarily lie. I just wouldn¡¯t tell them about all the really bad stuff. ¡°My car got stolen,¡± I said, ignoring the stupefied look her face morphed into. ¡°Someone stole your car?¡± She looked past me and saw a distinct lack of a car in the driveway. ¡°You¡¯ve really not had the best time lately.¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t,¡± she let me inside and we walked to the living room. The smell of freshly delivered pizza made my stomach rumble. I hadn¡¯t eaten since lunchtime and after what happened today, I was about ready to devour a horse. ¡°Good thing you ordered pizza. I wasn¡¯t able to get groceries.¡± ¡°Well, we weren¡¯t going to wait forever. Where were you when it happened?¡± ¡°The Downtown Mall. I was just doing some window shopping when I came out and found my car was missing.¡± ¡°Well, it was technically Eleanor¡¯s car and she has insurance for it. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get a new one soon.¡± In hindsight, it was honestly a win. I¡¯d finally be able to do some of the more extravagant upgrades to the car I had been holding off on. If I pushed too far and the thing would start looking too different and everyone would figure out something was up. Though, with it being ¡®stolen¡¯, I didn¡¯t have to worry about drawing suspicion anymore. I just had to fix it up and figure out how to spoof number plates, then I could go nuts. I strolled into the living room to see Mom chatting away at the laptop on her knees. Alex¡¯s voice was coming through the speakers, which was a little earlier than usual. But Mom had probably called her early to vent her stress. ¡°Hey, sorry I¡¯m late.¡± ¡°Max,¡± Mom sighed in relief. ¡°Thank goodness. Where have you been!?¡± ¡°Yeah, sorry it¡¯s¡­ been a day,¡± I shuffled over to one of our sofas and dropped into it. I explained how I was at the Downtown mall browsing some stores. Then, I came out to find my car was gone. I asked around only to discover the car had been stolen, which forced me to catch a series of buses home. I looked around to see who had bought it. Lucy looked like she believed me but Mom looked a tad suspicious. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s rough bro,¡± Alex¡¯s voice came through the speakers. ¡°Got a black eye and now the car¡¯s gone? Did you break a mirror recently? Walk under a ladder? See a black cat maybe?¡± ¡°Given my luck, I must have,¡± I sighed. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll be walking to school from now on, or busing. Maybe I should walk, it would be good exercise.¡± If I was going to team up with Sam, I was going to need to keep up with her. That meant more exercise. I wasn¡¯t the most athletic of my peers but I wasn¡¯t overweight or suffering from malnutrition. I was lean but without all that much muscle, that needed to change. ¡°Cardio? When was the last time you actually exercised?¡± Lucy asked, amused. She had interrupted my train of thought. ¡°I remember destroying you on athletics day.¡± ¡°We were kids,¡± I deflected idly. I was bigger than her now and had longer legs. She was five-three whereas I was bordering six feet and only going to get taller. Jackson and Chris liked to joke that I was five-ten and coping. ¡°I¡¯d kick your ass. You¡¯re tiny.¡± Lucy pursed her lips in thought before a sly smile broke out across her lips. ¡°Naaaah.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to see this competition,¡± Mom chimed in. ¡°I think it would be fun and it would get you out of your room. You¡¯ve been spending a lot of time there recently.¡± I ignored the look Mom gave me. ¡°My money¡¯s on Lulu. Sorry bro,¡± Alex chortled. I waved them off, dismissing their words as my mind drifted elsewhere. With my costume almost done, I could switch my focus to my offensive options, namely the suppressed gun still resting in my inner jacket pocket. With enough time, I could modify it into some real intimidating mechatech. I just needed to be scarce with the charges I used on it to make sure I got the most efficient upgrades. Though, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get to the really good stuff unless I improved the model. The more charges invested into the base model, the more modular options would open up to me and I would be able to¡ª ¡°Max, are you gonna eat or just stare at the floor?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I looked up at Lucy before staring down at the box on the table. My stomach grumbled again. Before I knew it, I was reaching for the pizza. ¡°My bad. I was just thinking about the car. Just wondering who stole it.¡± I was halfway through my first slice when Mom turned on the TV. My afternoon excursion with Sam was the current story. We listened silently as the news anchor described what had happened. Apparently, the Cains we had left in the dust were all arrested. Bonesmith tried to fight the police but was captured when Ionizer arrived on the scene. ¡°Huh, so that¡¯s what happened,¡± I said, playing innocent. ¡°Guess we won¡¯t be getting it back.¡± Mom gave a tired sigh. ¡°And I really liked that car too¡­¡± A mugshot of Bonesmith appeared on the screen and I got a good look at what he looked like beneath his disguise. I wasn¡¯t sure what I was expecting but I was left disappointed. He just looked like any other guy I would have passed on the street. ¡°That guy,¡± I started. I had never gotten the chance to ask Sam who he was. ¡°He¡¯s part of The Cains, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s been with the Brotherhood for the last year and a half. Rumor has it he used to be a pirate and operated in the Caribbean before Foresight dismantled their operations,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°He¡¯s wanted for kidnapping, theft, and multiple counts of third-degree murder. ECU¡¯s gonna come down hard on him.¡± Mom scoffed. I looked over to see an uncharacteristically dark look plastered across her features. ¡°It¡¯s never enough. I doubt they¡¯ll hold him for long. Their prisons aren''t enough. I give it two days before he¡¯s out of custody.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°I like to think the situation is improving,¡± Lucy said optimistically. ¡°Villain incarceration has increased by 82% since 2002, especially when Deadlock and Ajax allied with the ECU. The situation isn¡¯t nearly as bad as it used to be in the 60s and 70s.¡± ¡°Yet escaping custody is more common than it was before,¡± Alex pointed out. ¡°Evohuman prisons all across the world are starting to overflow. The Antarctic Evohuman Correctional Facility has already reached maximum capacity and it only opened five years ago. If you ask me, I think they might be deliberately letting some people slip.¡± Lucy looked like she wanted to argue but struggled to find the words. ¡°Can we at least give them the benefit of the doubt?¡± Lucy asked, looking around for support. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re deliberately letting anyone go. It could be a case of more people escaping because more people are being captured in the first place. Powers are much more common now than they were fifty, sixty years ago.¡± Mom scowled but said nothing. I couldn¡¯t remember the last time she had looked so annoyed when the subject of Evohumans came up. ¡°Bonesmith¡­¡± Mom muttered under her breath. ¡°Alex, do you know what powers he has?¡± ¡°Oh! Oh! Something to do with bones, I bet,¡± Alex laughed. ¡°Gimme a sec and I can look ¡®em up.¡± ¡°Already on it,¡± Lucy said, pulling out her phone. The news anchor hadn¡¯t said anything about me or Sam, so it seemed that we were in the clear for now. ¡°Got it! He has moderate regeneration. He¡¯s able to lose limbs, vital organs, and a lethal amount of blood without any risk to his life. Regeneration speed is determined by the severity of the injury.¡± ¡°Ew. Are you reading Supers and Meta¡¯s Online again?¡± Alex audibly cringed. ¡°That place is full of tinfoil hats and conspiracy psychos.¡± ¡°Lucy, hun. You¡¯ll detach from reality if you get all your information from there,¡± Mom said. Lucy rolled her eyes. ¡°I get that it¡¯s a public forum but it''s still the most reliable website for info on supers. A lot of stuff happened today. Domination managed to put a stop to a dispute between the Cains¡¯ Gold Rush and Pandora¡¯s Red Flare. Abby also managed to capture Junkmonger and Techies again¡­ and Bonesmith was apprehended by Bayside¡¯s new Rookie Commander, Ionizer.¡± ¡°Not bad. Sounds like a good day for them,¡± Alex said. ¡°Regardless, unless it¡¯s an official account, anything posted there is gossip, at best,¡± Mom replied, giving Lucy a knowing look. ¡°You know better than to believe everything you see online.¡± ¡°I¡¯m careful!¡± Lucy defended hotly. ¡°Plus, there are moderators getting rid of the crazies and an ECU official posting in this thread, so it¡¯s pretty legit¡ª oh! Abby just commented. Apparently, his Morpher classification comes from the ability to reshape his limbs into anything he wants.¡± That explains the giant gash in the car. ¡°I wonder why he didn¡¯t use that power to fight off the police?¡± I wondered aloud. He certainly tried to split my car in half. Lucy shrugged. ¡°Probably because killing police is also a good way to get yourself a termination directive.¡± I snorted. ¡°You think someone with his power would be afraid of execution?¡± The thought amused me. Someone with the power to regenerate from even the most life-threatening injuries wouldn¡¯t exactly fear being killed. In fact, they probably saw it as more of a challenge. What could kill him? Sam had hit him so hard that his impact in a solid concrete wall hadn¡¯t killed him. Force alone wouldn¡¯t be able to do the trick, which meant Red and Pink wouldn¡¯t be able to do much except disable or slow him down. Could he survive being disintegrated? I was hard-pressed to think of anyone that could. Even the most powerful regenerators in the world had some kind of limit but then again, public info could easily be wrong. ¡°True immortality doesn¡¯t exist. At least, not that I know of but as strong as he is, Gaea could still deal with him,¡± Lucy said. Gaea was an exception. If you were a flesh and blood organism, she could kill you with a passing thought. ¡°You¡¯re assuming the old hag will be bothered enough by this guy to get off her ass,¡± Alex said, her voice crackling from the crappy audio on Mom¡¯s laptop. ¡°She¡¯s too busy wrangling the people in The Queens Court and fighting in the political space to care about small fry like this schmuck.¡± Lucy faltered a little. ¡°Yeah¡­ but hypothetically¡ª¡± ¡°Surviving Gaea is borderline impossible. How you go about preventing your cells from getting divided into oblivion is beyond me,¡± I cut her off. ¡°She¡¯s an S-class Biokinetic for a reason.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of this,¡± Mom muted the TV and climbed back into her wheelchair. ¡°I¡¯m going to email the insurance company and see what we can do about the car. I don¡¯t like the thought of either of you walking in the streets.¡± My eyes lingered on Mom¡¯s crippled form as she left the room. ¡°Huh,¡± Lucy¡¯s eyes were fixed on the muted TV. ¡°Another earthquake down south. This time it''s in Ashton. A 4.4 apparently.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably The Mountain making sure the country¡¯s foundations are holding. Wouldn¡¯t want to collapse into the ocean,¡± I said, getting up from my chair. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m pretty tired from today. I¡¯m gonna go chill in my room, maybe finish some homework.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll clean up,¡± Lucy offered, giving me an easy smile. ¡°Take it easy, okay?¡± ¡°Will do.¡± I retreated upstairs and shut the door before sitting down at my desk. I took a moment to collect myself before I removed the gun from my jacket and placed it down in front of me. Its polished black steel glimmered under my bedroom light as I inspected the design. It had served its purpose in getting us out of that pursuit safely. Now the only question was where to take it from here. I reached out and laid my hand on top of it, allowing the information to reveal itself in my mind. [Charges: 0/25] [Type] [Durability 97/100 - Repair Unavailable. Cost: 1] [Battery Remaining: 20%] There was more I wanted to do with it tonight but unfortunately, I had spent every charge trying to make it useful in today¡¯s skirmish. If I had more time to work with, I might¡¯ve been able to more efficiently spend those points on more important things. For now, I¡¯d be stuck with this until morning. Not much of a problem, all things considered. I¡¯d just have to quell my impatience in other ways. I opened up one of my desk¡¯s drawers and dropped the empty gun into it. Then I walked over to my closet to retrieve my costume. It was discreetly hanging from a coat hanger at the very back in case Lucy decided to get nosy. There had been many times in the past when she had been too invasive for her own good. I didn¡¯t want her finding anything and mom couldn¡¯t get upstairs to my room anyway, what with her wheelchair and all. I marveled at the state of my armor. I was never big on the whole cape trend seeing as I found it largely impractical. It was big in the United States and other Western countries and had been since the sixties when people started developing superpowers. Eventually, when Mechakinetics started coming onto the scene, costumes and other wacky outfits slowly got replaced with power armor and other tech-based defenses. Pretty much all the ECU heroes and rookies were outfitted with that kind of gear, albeit with some creative flare for PR''s sake. Villains, independents, and vigilantes who didn¡¯t have access to Mechakinetics were the only ones who still ran around in costumes. They had to get creative in order to conceal their identities. My [Armored Suit MK III] hadn¡¯t quite yet crossed the threshold to be considered power armor. There were a number of expensive steps to get to that point yet and I¡¯d need another week or so to figure out the right path. Regardless, I was happy with the current results. It might not be power armor, but it was certainly advanced enough to be considered a mechatech suit of armor. Mundane firearms weren¡¯t going to penetrate it but I was under no illusions the armor would fully resist the force of the impact. Just as long as the bullets or projectiles didn¡¯t get through and shred my skin and body, I¡¯d consider it a win. The material was almost like a serpent¡¯s scales, except layered with smooth, black metal. I had upgraded the top layer of the suit to Compound 9, a carbon-steel variant created by Vulcan, while I kept Neoprene-Steel as the second and lowest layer. In a city like this, you couldn¡¯t be too careful. My [Armored Headpiece MK III] was of similar quality, though I still wasn¡¯t quite happy with it. After prolonged upgrading, I had changed its form to be more compact and comfortable. It wasn¡¯t as bulky as the typical motorcycle helmet but still offered just as much protection. It covered the whole head with the visor taking up three-quarters of the front so my visibility wasn¡¯t impacted. That part required quite a bit of fiddling until I got it how I liked it. I needed to be absolutely certain it would protect my head against even some of the more deadly weapons the gangs possessed and I wouldn¡¯t get that certainty until I had upgraded to MK IV at the very least. So far, splitting my attention had served me well in the past week. In the morning, I¡¯d continue to work on the helmet and start making some improvements to the gun. A non-lethal option for my weapon would be nice and from what I could see, a laser weapon would give me the ability to choose between lethal and non-lethal. As long as I am able to implement a setting to change the lethality on the fly instead of relying on my power to switch, it would be a good investment. My phone buzzed with a notification but I was too tired to check it. Heading to bed, I decided I¡¯d answer in the morning. Framework 2 ¡°You just had to go and get your car stolen, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Stop complaining. We used to take the bus to school all the time, it¡¯s not that bad.¡± Lucy had been stingy and stolen the window seat. Sitting next to the aisle wasn¡¯t exactly ideal but I couldn¡¯t find it within me to care this morning. I had woken up with a dull headache and stiff limbs. On my way out I decided to check the messages I had received last night and it turned out they had been from Sam. They weren¡¯t urgent, she was just asking if I had made it home safely and letting me know that my car was still safe in the garage. I let her know I was fine and that I was grateful my car hadn¡¯t been recovered by the police. Then I had gotten back a vaguely sarcastic reply about making a young lady worry. I found it hard to picture Sam being worried about anything, or as a ¡®lady¡¯ for that matter. ¡°It¡¯s loud, cramped, and¡ª¡± Lucy wrinkled her nose as she stared at a couple a few seats over from us that started swapping spit. ¡°¡ªreally gross. Ew. Come on, it¡¯s like eight in the morning. That¡¯s way too early to be kissing.¡± ¡°You could just not look at them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so distracting.¡± ¡°Just bear with it for a bit longer. The insurance will come through soon and we can go back to driving.¡± My phone buzzed again and I scanned the notification. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 8:02A.M) (Sam. L): Gonna do some scouting tonight. Want in? The idea provoked excitement. I had been content to sit back and develop my gear before moving against The Cains, but with Sam on my side, I¡¯d be able to go on the attack sooner. It wouldn¡¯t be just me waging a one-man war on an entire gang, which in hindsight, was absolutely suicide with Grim¡¯s reputation. Fortunately, I discovered something groundbreaking about my power this morning that would change the way I approached long-term projects. I had wanted to work on my helmet and my pistol before leaving for school today but there were expensive upgrades that I wanted to try. An idea had struck me; instead of dumping charges into costly upgrades what if I tried to spread them out and reduce the cost so that tomorrow, the upgrades would be cheaper? Instead, I discovered that I could underpay for my upgrades. I could select an upgrade that cost five charges and pay only one, the exception being the upgrade would take four hours to finish instead of completing instantaneously. An hour for each charge unspent, it seems. What if I compound the upgrades? When I selected another upgrade that cost six and paid only one, my power told me that the time it would take to finish would be nine hours. They did compound. It was a revelation that shook me to my very core. I could make so much more with this ability. Pathfinder (Today at 8:03A.M): Where were you thinking? w/o my car, getting around is going to be a pain in the ass. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 8:03A.M) (Sam. L): I can pick you up. I¡¯ll figure out a way around your biometric security. 11 at Dax¡¯s Pizza Parlor? If Sam could crack my security, then what I had wasn¡¯t enough. Besides, the meet-up point was only a twenty-minute walk from my place, closer to ten if I ran. Since Mom usually goes to bed around nine and Lucy wasn¡¯t staying over, I¡¯d be in the clear to sneak out. Pathfinder (Today at 8:03A.M): You sure it¡¯s safe to drive my car? Police might tag it. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 8:03A.M) (Sam. L): I¡¯ll be careful. Police can¡¯t risk patrolling gang territory so late and the Cains are active on the east side of town, closer to you. We can start at Nells Street and work our way down back to my place. Pathfinder (Today at 8:04A.M): What are we even gonna do? Just drive around? Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 8:04A.M) (Sam. L): I¡¯ll show you the ropes. Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 8:04A.M) (Sam. L): Oh, do I need to worry about gas? Eyes_of_Samsara (Today at 8:04A.M) (Sam. L): Nevermind, Gold says it¡¯s electric. Shit, you really went all in on this thing ?? Pathfinder (Today at 8:04A.M): Sure did, the battery even recharges itself as well. Neat, eh? ¡°Who¡¯re you talking to?¡± I turned to see Lucy trying to peek at my messages. I hid the screen reflexively which wasn¡¯t a good look. ¡°Alex,¡± I answered with a bored tone. Lucy didn¡¯t seem convinced. ¡°Ahuh.¡± ¡°Just because I¡¯m not showing you doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m lying. How would you like it if I peeked at your messages?¡± When I saw her shoulders slump, I knew I had won. ¡°If you really care that much you can ask Alex the next time you talk to her.¡± There was no way she¡¯d remember something so inconsequential as this. ¡°Fine. I was just curious. It¡¯s just¡­you¡¯ve been acting strange lately,¡± she said with a sigh. I felt a little offended and it likely showed since she suddenly felt the need to justify herself. ¡°It¡¯s little things. You¡¯ve started talking to yourself a lot ¨C yeah I¡¯ve noticed. It¡¯s kinda weird. You also space out sometimes. It¡¯s like you¡¯re¡­ I dunno, thinking.¡± ¡°Oh, ha ha.¡± She had the audacity to laugh. ¡°But for real though, are you okay? Between the black eye and stolen car you¡¯ve hit a streak of bad luck. I get it but it isn¡¯t just that, this has been going on for weeks now and you just seem so¡­ disinterested.¡± Well, that makes sense, it started around the time I woke up with my powers. Like any other teenager who had won the lottery, I was eager to play around with my new abilities. I had thought I¡¯d be able to fix Mom and get her out of that damn wheelchair. If my power worked on living things, everything would be different. ¡°I¡¯ve just been thinking about life, you know?¡± I decided to let myself vent a little. ¡°After next year, I¡¯ll be done with high school, then I gotta tackle university. During all of that, I¡¯ll probably have to move out, but I¡¯m worried about Mom. Every time I see her in that wheelchair it¡¯s¡­ she''s in pain and I can¡¯t do anything about it.¡± Actually, there were plenty of things I could do about it. Building her an exoskeleton would let her walk. I could even use her wheelchair as a basis to work off of. The problem is that would be giving away my identity to not just my mom, but anyone who knows her. Plus, if I told Mom about my powers, she wouldn¡¯t want me using them to help her for that exact reason. Lucy¡¯s mood soured. ¡°Sorry to be such a downer. I¡¯ve just been thinking about this a lot recently.¡± ¡°Max, you¡¯re doing all you can to help Eleanor, but getting her out of her wheelchair would cost a fortune. I can¡¯t even begin to imagine what the independents are charging nowadays. It must be¡­ it has to be millions,¡± Lucy rubbed her forehead. ¡°It¡¯s just not feasible.¡± ¡°To jump up the list for something comprehensive that¡¯ll get her back to one hundred percent, with no recovery, it¡¯s close to thirty million,¡± I muttered under my breath. She gave me a strange look and I offered a half-hearted shrug. ¡°I was curious. I looked around online for a ballpark estimate. The most common answer I got was around twenty million to skip Patchwork¡¯s waiting list and even then that¡¯s just speculation. Other people claim you can¡¯t buy their services since they¡¯re that sought after.¡± There were cheaper options but Patchwork was world-renowned and trusted. He fixed up ECU officials and heroes all the time when they got in over their heads. Maybe I was setting my sights too high but if someone was going to fix Mom, I wanted them to be the best. ¡°It¡¯s all about money,¡± Lucy sighed. ¡°Seems to be the only thing independents care about.¡± It would be hypocritical of me to contest her point. The bus came to a stop outside Minerva High¡¯s front gates and we joined the line of students flowing out of the narrow doors. The longer I attended the more I felt stagnant and looking forward to the day I could leave. It seemed like there was much more freedom at University. The idea of being able to decide which classes you bothered to show up to sounded like bliss. I still hadn¡¯t quite figured out what I wanted to do yet but I was thinking of something along the lines of a computer science, or maybe some type of engineering degree. I had always been passionate about computers and given what my power was, I couldn¡¯t help but think anything dealing with technology would be a breeze. I could coast my way to the top and earn a pretty comfortable living, but the small intrusive thoughts told me that wasn¡¯t what I really wanted. I could lie to myself all I wanted but I knew deep down that I wanted to do more with my power. I wanted to create and experiment. Refine and expand. Heading toward our homeroom class in the math block, Lucy and I idly chatted about assignments, particularly the project we were doing on Cyberspace. I¡¯d need to find some time in the future to actually help with it, but for now, I could relax. Lucy seemed to be on top of things and it wasn¡¯t due until next Friday. On our way to my locker, I wasn¡¯t watching where I was going and was aggressively shoved to the side. I stumbled, knocking Lucy to the floor before immediately swiveling my head to search for the assailant. ¡°Watch where you¡¯re fuckin¡¯ goin¡¯, man.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The accent was English, probably London if I had to place it. My eyes landed on Pete Morson and his crew of followers of three other guys and four girls. Pete was a bully who walked around school like he owned the place. He was one of the best rugby players in the school and thought he was hot shit because of it. I glared at him and offered a hand to Lucy to help her up, my eyes narrowed on his neck. I wouldn¡¯t have paid much mind to it before but I recognized the symbol. It was a snake, wrapping around the neck of a human skull with its mouth wide open about to devour it. I had seen this tattoo on only one other person ¨C the guy who had interrogated me and stolen my money. ¡°Nice tattoo.¡± It had been a reflex, the words spilling from my mouth without any sort of filter. My pride was still hurting from the last couple of days. The Cains had been making my life miserable and I wasn¡¯t about to stand around and let them make it any worse. Pete stopped, his head craning to look at me from over his shoulder. Everyone knew it but he had no particular target and just liked to harass anyone who looked at him funny. He took a metaphorical shit on everyone who slighted him. One of the only people in the school who didn¡¯t take shit from him was Abby because she had the power and prestige to tell him to shove it. Unfortunately for me, I didn¡¯t have any of that. He stalked toward me with an exaggerated swagger, his guy friends flanking him. The girls stood back, snickering and whispering amongst themselves. ¡°Thinking of snitching?¡± He dared me with a mocking grin. ¡°Teachers ain¡¯t gonna do shit.¡± I calmed my nerves. ¡°Never said anything about snitching. Can¡¯t take a compliment?¡± One of his friends sneered at me. ¡°Why point it out then, bitch?¡± Maybe I was stupid or maybe it was the nerves, but I was feeling particularly brave. I stared right at Pete with a challenging scowl. ¡°I know a Cain when I see¡ª¡± My back slammed against the row of lockers, silencing the hallway. Pete¡¯s hands grasped my jacket and pulled me off my feet. He was a full two inches taller than me and way stronger. There was no way I was winning a fistfight against this guy. ¡°Max!¡± Lucy sprang into action and tried to pull Pete¡¯s hands off me. ¡°Let him go you asshole¨C hey!¡± She was shoved away by one of his friends. There was a tense silence in the hallway, stretching on for what felt like minutes. I kept my gaze narrowed on Pete as I tried to relieve some of the pressure he was inflicting but it was no use. He was way too strong and my limbs felt like beanpoles compared to his muscles. This is what I got for not bothering to keep in shape. ¡°Met some of my boys, have you?¡± His voice was no louder than a whisper. ¡°Then you should know to not go mouthing off. Know your place, else I¡¯ll make sure your eyes match.¡± His boys. I wanted to laugh. Unless he was a super, there was no way Pete had any sort of pull within the gang. The man who had interrogated me the other night was far more menacing than this clown. I could still remember the sheer insanity bleeding from every word. The way he had believed every word he was spouting like he was some kind of holy man here to bestow wisdom upon the foolish masses. He was just like me, a little fish. ¡°If you''re going to hit me, make it count. You won¡¯t get a second chance,¡± I hissed at him. His grip tightened and I felt the phantom sensations of a gun pressing into my ribcage. That had been a real threat. This? This was showboating. ¡°Is this worth a suspension? Go ahead, do it.¡± Everyone knew he cared about his position on the rugby team. The school wouldn¡¯t be happy if they caught wind of one of their star athletes kicking the crap out of another student. He had already lost one scholarship because of his behavior and he was already on thin ice with the Deans. Pete sneered at me and pushed a little harder before letting go. I dropped to my feet and quickly adjusted my jacket. Just like I thought. All bark and no bite. With a huff, he turned and walked away. I watched him take a few steps before my paranoia got the best of me. I heard footsteps approaching from behind and I ducked. An arm sailed straight over my head. I pushed all my weight to the side and tackled Pete¡¯s friend. I had been expecting to drag him to the floor but the guy managed to keep his balance. He might not have any prestige with the gang but he sure as shit has clout here! Students were hollering now, their cheers echoing through the math block hallway. Without looking, I could tell the crowd had been watching the confrontation just seconds ago. The guy that was attacking me was Gerald, last name who fucking cares. He threw a wild hook and I ducked. Immediately, he followed through with a kick, which I grabbed and pulled. We grappled each other and he had the upper hand. Like Pete, he was bigger than me, but I wasn¡¯t about to go down like a pussy. While he was trying to throw me down with his upper body strength, I kicked at his legs and he tumbled like a Jenga tower. We landed on the floor and the crowd around us only egged us on. ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± A voice silenced the hallway. I turned to see my homeroom teacher, Mr. Reid broke through the crowd of students. ¡°What¡¯s going on here? This barbaric behavior has no place in our school!¡± Pete¡¯s friend took the opportunity to push me off him and we both stumbled back to our feet. ¡°He swung first! Max was just defending himself,¡± Lucy was quick to jump to my defense. There was a murmuring of agreement amongst the crowd as the guy who attacked me slowly got to his feet. ¡°There was no instigation either.¡± ¡°Mr. Hanson,¡± Mr. Reid let go of my arm and glared at the boy. ¡°Second time this month you¡¯ve been involved in something like this. Go and sit outside the Dean''s office. I will be with you shortly.¡± His tone left no room for argument. Gerald sulked off, sinking into the dispersing crowd. I watched as Pete and the rest of his friends jovially pushed him around the moment Mr. Reid¡¯s back was turned. They were probably giving him shit losing. ¡°Mr. Troy,¡± I turned to see Mr. Reid¡¯s gaze hardened on me. ¡°Perhaps picking fights isn¡¯t the smartest thing to do so early in the morning.¡± Lucy was quick to interject. ¡°He didn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Ms. Kim, I am speaking with Mr. Troy here,¡± he side-eyed Lucy, effectively silencing her. ¡°He is perfectly capable of speaking for himself. I will talk to you when I am done with him. Now,¡± he returned his attention to me. ¡°I know how it is, always raring for a fight. I was young once too, but I also know neither of you would start one without a reason.¡± I sighed. ¡°I said some crap to Pete.¡± Lucy huffed and crossed her arms. Mr. Reid looked unsatisfied with my answer. ¡°And that warranted revolt from Mr. Hanson?¡± This time I gave an idle shrug. Who knew why the tagalongs were so keen to fall on the sword for Pete? Maybe they were trying to impress him or something. I didn¡¯t care. It wasn¡¯t my fault Pete and his cronies were a bunch of sensitive pricks ¨C but now I had to deal with the repercussions of making myself a target, yay. This wouldn¡¯t be the end of it. ¡°I see. I will speak with the Dean about Mr. Hanson¡¯s behavior. It is his second offense this month so it¡¯ll likely end in a suspension. In the meantime, I don¡¯t want to see you getting yourself into more trouble,¡± Mr. Reid gave a tired sigh. ¡°I will be lenient this one time seeing as you aren¡¯t the type to cause trouble.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± I offered easily. ¡°It¡¯s quite alright. I can see you¡¯ve not had the best of times recently.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Your eye.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I gently touched my healing wound. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I walked into my door.¡± Lucy snorted. Mr. Reid stared at me for a moment and for a second, I was worried he would see through the story. Thankfully, he chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for assuming otherwise. Now, off you go. I will deal with this trouble maker and be back shortly to take attendance,¡± he straightened his tie before turning on his heel and marching down the hallway. The moment he was out of sight, I was aggressively nudged by Lucy. ¡°The hell is wrong with you?¡± All the humor was gone from her voice. ¡°Picking a fight with Pete? Did those guys knock some screws loose? Now he¡¯s never going to stop picking on you.¡± ¡°You saw him, he chickened out. He wasn¡¯t going to hit me,¡± I said calmly. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m not scared of him. He can try whatever the hell he likes. It won¡¯t end well for him.¡± There are dozens of ways I can make his life miserable now. I retrieved my supplies from my locker and headed straight for homeroom. She struggled to catch up but she made it just as I walked through the door. Most of the class was staring at me, all with mixed reactions. There was some respect, a little bit of mockery, and a pinch of judgment thrown in for good measure. I wasn¡¯t in the mood to piss off anyone else so I¡¯d let people think whatever they wanted. The moment we sat down, Lucy tugged on my jacket. I glared at her. ¡°What now?¡± She glared right back at me. ¡°What was that ¡®I know a Cain when I see one¡¯ shit? Is there something you¡¯re not telling me? The Brotherhood of Cain don¡¯t have a symbol. Their colors are red and yellow, nothing else.¡± ¡°The tattoo on his neck,¡± I grumbled. ¡°I recognized it.¡± ¡°From where?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t exactly live far from Cain territory, Lucy. I know what they look like,¡± I replied, aggravation leaking into my voice. ¡°They¡¯re much bolder than Pandora.¡± Lucy scoffed. ¡°No one is bolder than Pandora. Also, you¡¯re a liar. You didn¡¯t get jumped by a bunch of random guys,¡± her brow dipped as her scowl deepened. ¡°It was The Cains, wasn¡¯t it? They¡¯re the ones that attacked you.¡± ¡°What does it matter?¡± I muttered. ¡°I got the crap beaten out of me and I walked it off. That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Gangs don¡¯t just beat people up for no reason. What were you doing? Don¡¯t lie to me, I¡¯ll know if you do!¡± Her stare was intense, burning holes into the side of my head as I stared aimlessly at the whiteboard in the front of the classroom. Today was turning out to be a real drag. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°Well what?¡± ¡°Tell me!¡± ¡°I did. They jumped me, beat the crap out of me and took some cash. That¡¯s what they do, Lucy,¡± I replied, eager to ditch this conversation and move on to something else. She didn¡¯t have a clue what these guys were like. ¡°Half the shit they do is for no reason. Robbery, theft, muggings.¡± ¡°There¡¯s always a reason¡­¡± Lucy was quiet for a moment before shaking her head. Then, she gave me a pointed stare. ¡°Were you really in the mall when your car was stolen? Was it even stolen? How do I know you weren''t the one in the car on the news?¡± I snorted while barely keeping my composure. ¡°You really think I¡¯m good enough of a driver to evade a pursuing gang, and the police? I can get around town, not drive like whatever lunatic was behind the wheel.¡± I hope Sam never finds out I called her a lunatic. ¡°I don¡¯t know but you bullshitted me about your eye,¡± she muttered under her breath. ¡°Does your mom and Alex know who actually attacked you?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± Now she just sounded hurt. I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing. I got my ass kicked by a bunch of lowlifes. I didn¡¯t even want to tell Mom.¡± ¡°But you can trust me! Why¡­ I just don¡¯t get why you¡¯d try to hide it.¡± ¡°I just said that it¡¯s embarrassing.¡± ¡°What, were you expecting us to laugh at you? Haha, Maxis you moron! Imagine getting jumped by gangsters, being robbed, and having your ass beat like a drum. Couldn¡¯t be me,¡± Lucy rolled her eyes sardonically. ¡°Do you really think that badly of us?¡± ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry, okay?¡± I rubbed my forehead, feeling more than ready to be done with this conversation. ¡°I won¡¯t lie about anything else like this. If it happens again, you¡¯ll get the full story from me. All details. The full shebang,¡± I waved her off dismissively. ¡°Happy?¡± Lucy pursed her lips in thought. It took her a few moments to come up with a response. ¡°A little bit,¡± she said. I sighed in relief. ¡°But we¡¯re telling our friends.¡± ¡°We tell Abby the truth, she will rain down hellfire on the Cains. She¡¯s bad enough as is, she doesn¡¯t need to cop a murder charge,¡± I said impassively. A small part of me reveled in the idea of Comet tearing down Cain safehouses across Bayside ¨C but then that would put them all on high alert, which would make stealing from them all the more difficult. ¡°Can we just¡­ keep this to ourselves?¡± Lucy pouted and huffed. ¡°Why do you have to be so difficult? They¡¯re our friends.¡± ¡°But we know Abby. She will go out and do something stupid,¡± I gave Lucy an unimpressed look. ¡°Which is obviously what you want to happen.¡± ¡°...Yeah.¡± ¡°That is why we¡¯re not telling them.¡± ¡°Fine, but I get to know everything from now on,¡± she jabbed me in the side. ¡°Promise?¡± I stared and gave her a weak smile. ¡°Promise.¡± Framework 3 I stood in the alleyway between Dax¡¯s Pizza Parlor and a dry cleaner shop, dressed for the occasion. I had thrown on a plain black hoodie over my gear to keep out the cold. My armored suit was surprisingly comfortable as was my helmet. Its sphere of protection covered everything till just below my chin. I had been concerned that there would be a weak spot around my neck but my costume and helmet overlapped, covering me completely. I considered integrating the suit with the helmet to create a single-piece suit but I decided against it. I felt I could get more out of my upgrades by keeping them separate for the time being. I wanted to see if I could install a computer into the helmet and I suspected that it would be a costly integration that would only get worse if it was a part of the armor. That, and I also needed to improve its [Materials] to ensure my head had the best protection possible. Projects for later. It was dangerous to be out alone at nighttime so I kept my new laser pistol on hand. I had implemented a function to switch between lethality, so if things got dicey, I¡¯d be able to defend myself without the risk of killing. It helped that the non-lethal setting used much less power so I¡¯d be able to take on bigger groups. After a few more minutes I spotted a black Sedan creep up and park at the curb right next to the alleyway. I couldn¡¯t see who was driving it because of the tinted windows but with my brightened visor, I could easily identify the scratches and dents on the side of the vehicle. It was my car. I picked up my shoulder bag and carried it to the back seat. Opening the back door, I gently placed down before moving around to the passenger seat. As I slipped in, I bumped my head causing Sam to cackle. ¡°I dig the costume. Practical and intimidating.¡± ¡°Intimidating?¡± ¡°It¡¯s always a little scarier when you can¡¯t see someone¡¯s face. If you don¡¯t have Mentalist powers, you never really know what they might be thinking.¡± Once I was comfortably in my seat, I looked over to Sam and saw her dressed in her costume, domino mask and all. I was actually glad I was wearing the helmet because I couldn¡¯t hide my grin. She looked absolutely ridiculous. ¡°Laugh all you want,¡± Sam said. ¡°I look awesome.¡± My smile vanished. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother. I knew you were smiling,¡± Sam tilted her head a little and gave me a grin of her own. ¡°If you think a helmet is enough to hide from Gold, you¡¯re in for a rude awakening.¡± ¡°So you really are psychic?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been wondering how I managed to bypass your biometric security to start the car. You¡¯re suspecting my power might have pointed me toward the flaws in the design. Now you¡¯re wondering what kind of flaws biometric security can have and while there weaknesses, they¡¯re not ones I¡¯m able to take advantage of. I don¡¯t have the right tools.¡± I shifted in my seat. ¡°That¡¯s really creepy.¡± ¡°She¡¯s worse when she¡¯s in control. All she can do right now is do some very light cold reading.¡± ¡°Right¡­ so if she didn¡¯t help you with my car, who did?¡± I asked. I tried to think which of her powers would have helped her, other than her super intellect. ¡°Orange?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± I was going to need to defend against that. I couldn¡¯t have my beloved car getting hijacked by some random thief with all the upgrades I had invested into it. ¡°Alright. So, Sam¡ª¡± ¡°Alice,¡± she corrected immediately. ¡°Stick to codenames when we¡¯re out like this. Okay, Upgrade?¡± ¡°Right. Alice. What¡¯re we doing? You said you¡¯d show me how all this works.¡± Alice laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not as complicated as you think. We drive around and look for anything that seems a little suspect, take a closer look and go from there. Also,¡± she gestured to the back seat. ¡°What¡¯s in the bag? You didn¡¯t tell me you were bringing any toys.¡± ¡°Oh, so you can figure out what I''m thinking but not what¡¯s in the bag?¡± She leveled a glare at me. ¡°I don¡¯t use my powers for everything.¡± After she held my gaze for a few moments longer I let out a sigh. ¡°You said we¡¯re doing some scouting, so I went to the electronics store today and bought some stuff to make a drone,¡± I spared a quick glance at the bag. ¡°Since I¡¯ve done it before, it was easier then usual. But don¡¯t get your hopes up, it¡¯s nothing special. I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s advanced enough to be considered Mechatech. That said, it should still be enough to help us get info in a more covert manner.¡± ¡°You work fast!¡± She beamed. ¡°Awesome. That¡¯ll make all of this way easier.¡± ¡°So, where are we going?¡± Alice leaned over and reached down into her right boot. She pulled a piece of paper out and unfolded it before handing it to me. It was a map of Bayside with highlights and scribbles all over it. I could barely read the handwriting. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± she pointed to the street we were on. ¡°We¡¯re going all the way up here, following this route, and passing as many places as we can in a reasonable time. The red circles are safehouses I¡¯m certain exist. Yellow are the potentials I don¡¯t have much evidence for and blue¡¯s are predictions made by Gold by ¡®filling in the gaps¡¯ so to speak.¡± I followed the finger carefully, analyzing the carefully mapped-out route she was going to drive us through. As I observed each circle, my eyes landed on one particular blue circle that caught me off-guard. ¡°You highlighted my school,¡± I stared at her. ¡°How can it be a safe house?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily a safehouse per se, more like they have members in the staff. Yours isn¡¯t special, all the schools in this city have skeletons in their closets. See, look here,¡± she pointed to the other side of the city where Eastworth Girls was. I saw a big red circle with about a half dozen notes scribbled around it. ¡°About three quarters of the staff are part of Queen¡¯s Court, it¡¯s basically a glorified recruitment camp. Luckily for me I¡¯ve already dug up dirt on some of my teachers. You know Haze?¡± I thought for a moment. ¡°Uhhh¡­he¡¯s the guy in white spandex, right? Misty eye in the circle thing on his stomach. Fucks with your senses. Wait, he¡¯s with Queen¡¯s Court now?¡± ¡°Yup. He¡¯s also my Chemistry teacher.¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding,¡± I stared at her. She stared back without a shred of humor on her face. ¡°Okay, not kidding. Shit¡­¡± I had to wonder if any of my teachers were secretly villains leading a double life. I couldn¡¯t think of any of Minerva¡¯s staff who might have powers. They all seemed like boring people but maybe they were just that good at staying hidden. ¡°He¡¯s not the only one either. There¡¯s one more, though I don¡¯t have her as a teacher. Ricochet. She teaches general science to the juniors.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked, perplexed. I saw every other school circled in either blue or yellow. ¡°Why would gangs be involved with the schools? Recruitment?¡± ¡°That amongst other things. Mostly it¡¯s just staff on the lookout for supers and kids are stupid enough to slip up all the time. The ECU is usually able to get to them in time, but there are instances where some can slip through the cracks,¡± Alice explained. ¡°But Minerva sits in contested territory. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if everyone has their sticky little fingers in that pie.¡± My thoughts drifted to Pete and the rest of his crew. Gang colors were banned, but it didn¡¯t stop people from joining. All it really did was appease the parents. Even then, stuff like neck tattoos still slipped through and now that I knew what was going on, it was obvious how. Pete and others like him had people in their corner smoothing things over. That only begged the question of who was in on it. Mr. Reid? The Dean? Could they have powers? Shit, I don¡¯t like suspecting everyone of foul play. That¡¯s a fucked up way to live, but it makes too much sense what if¡ª ¡°Don¡¯t psych yourself out. A little paranoia is healthy but too much can screw you over,¡± Alice said. ¡°I highlighted Minerva blue for a reason. It¡¯s a guess. If there is gang influence there, it¡¯s probably not just the Cains and none of the gangs can afford to be too overt. ECU presence is strong at every school. Even Eastworth Girls.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± I shook my daze away. ¡°It¡¯s just a little stunning to have confirmation.¡± ¡°World¡¯s not perfect,¡± she shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s why we gotta stick together.¡± Alice put the car into drive and slowly, we started off into the night. While we were trucking along, I kept my eyes peeled for the notable locations Alice had marked. The first place we passed was a bar. There were customers inside all watching the TV and hollering at the rugby. She had marked this place down as yellow so we just casually drove by. There wasn¡¯t much to see. The people inside just looked like regular blue-collar workers spending a night with their friends. There was no need to stop and bother them now, plus, I doubted we¡¯d even be allowed into the place anyway. Something told me that wouldn¡¯t stop Alice. The next two places were marked as blue. There was a game shop and a fairly standard-looking row of townhouses. Nothing suspicious there according to Alice, so we kept on moving. The clock passed midnight halfway into our journey when Alice pulled over close to a department store. This place was marked down as yellow. ¡°You stopped. See something interesting?¡± I asked, looking out Alice¡¯s window. The lights inside were off so I couldn¡¯t tell if she had seen anything. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like anyone¡¯s inside.¡± ¡°No, but here¡¯s something interesting. That van,¡± she pointed to the black van. ¡°Does your helmet have a zoom function?¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯ll add it to the list. Here,¡± I unlocked my phone and handed it to her. ¡°The camera should be good enough.¡± She took it and zoomed in, before snapping a picture of the license plate. Then, she reached into her other boot and retrieved a little black notebook about the size of her palm. She opened it and flipped through the pages, shining my phone¡¯s torch on the page. She placed a finger on a particular string of letters and numbers, cross-referencing what she had written down with the photo. ¡°Gotcha,¡± her lips formed a grin. She slapped the book shut and stuffed it back into her boot. ¡°There¡¯s definitely something here. Think you can crack their security and take a peek inside?¡± I pulled out my phone and opened the app. Unlike the mall, there weren¡¯t many connection points in the area. I did, however, see a clump of green dots inside the department store, along with a single red one. There were a few orange dots as well, all scattered throughout the building. ¡°Got a bunch of vulnerable ports all clumped together. They could be office computers.¡± Alice stared at the screen for a couple of moments before shaking her head. ¡°No, those are definitely Cain guys. Can you connect to them?¡± I pressed one of the green dots and connected instantly. I was greeted by a list of options; contacts, emails, text messages, music, installed apps, everything. Looks like I had broken into someone¡¯s phone. Honestly, the whole thing looked pretty mundane; there were family photos, text messages from a spouse, grocery lists, and a bunch of spam emails about subscriptions to different streaming services. I tried another connection and got the same results. ¡°Nothing here looks particularly interesting,¡± I looked over and handed her the phone. ¡°Can your power make anything of this? It all looks pretty innocent. Nothing indicates these guys are part of The Cains.¡± Alice took the phone and scrolled through all the available options, her brow furrowing in frustration. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°These guys are careful. Not even a single hint at being associated.¡± ¡°Could we have the wrong place?¡± Alice stared harder. ¡°No, Gold¡¯s certain these guys are part of the gang but I¡¯m confused at how they communicate. How do they coordinate, move around, and know what places to guard if they don¡¯t talk through their phones? They could do it by word of mouth but¡­ no that¡¯s so inefficient. They must be deleting conversations,¡± she turned to me. ¡°Can you restore deleted threads?¡± ¡°Not as it is now,¡± she handed the phone back to me and I searched for the option. I even consulted my power to see if there was any way to do it. Naturally, there was, but with what I could upgrade to now, restoration would take too long to be worthwhile. ¡°I¡¯ll have to do some software upgrades in the future. Too costly right now.¡± ¡°What about the red dot,¡± Alice asked, leaning over and pointing to the single spot of red amongst the cluster of green. ¡°Can you get into that one?¡± ¡°Not without improving the software. Red connections have some serious security behind them. I could upgrade the software on my phone to try and brute force my way through but there¡¯s no telling just how tight the security is,¡± I explained. ¡°I could be wasting my charges for nothing.¡± ¡°Right,¡± Alice nodded before reaching over into the backseat to grab the bag I brought with me. ¡°Plan B then. How good is the drone?¡± ¡°Decent ¨C careful, my laptop is in there as well,¡± she unzipped the top of the bag and retrieved my laptop before handing it to me. I booted it up while Alice grabbed and examined the drone. She wasn¡¯t a Mechakinetic but Gold probably had a thing or two to say about the design ¨C a simple quadcopter with wheels. ¡°It¡¯s a rushed job but it should do the trick.¡± ¡°You call this rushed?¡± Alice gave me an incredulous look. ¡°Give it a gun and this is basically military grade hardware. I thought you said this stuff takes time to make?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve made one before,¡± I explained, booting up some software and connecting to the drone. ¡°The night The Cains got me, I was selling one of them to some suits.¡± ¡°Suits?¡± ¡°They were corporate looking guys. They sort of looked like gangsters but¡­¡± I trailed off, not really knowing how to explain who or what they represented. ¡°They didn¡¯t give a name so I have no idea who they are.¡± ¡°How much did they pay you?¡± ¡°Quarter of a million.¡± ¡°Fuck! For this?¡± She held up the drone, seemingly unconvinced. ¡°No way, you were ripping them off for that much.¡± ¡°The drone I sold them was better than this one. It had spider legs as well and could imitate materials it landed on, sorta like a chameleon. There were some other things as well but I fulfilled the request,¡± I replied with a huff. ¡°I didn¡¯t get my money either. Unless they¡¯ve spent it, The Cains still have it. It¡¯s on a payload chip so there¡¯s a chance it might still be in one piece ¨C but this is a big city. It¡¯s probably long gone by now.¡± Alice gave a soft whistle. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so keen to get back at them. If they cheated me out of two hundred and fifty grand, I¡¯d be pissed too.¡± I powered on the drone through my laptop. The machine in Alice¡¯s lap started whirling as I applied about a dozen software updates all at once before finishing a minute later. I lifted it in the air a small amount and it barely made a sound. Perfect. ¡°Camera¡¯s up and so is the audio feed. What now?¡± Alice turned and stared at the building for a few moments. ¡°We need a proper entry for this little guy, preferably somewhere that isn¡¯t alarmed¡­ there¡¯s no skylights so that won¡¯t work. Back door is alarmed. Can you do something about the alarm?¡± I used a command to search for any references relating to alarms. The port was defended but my software could crack it. Unfortunately, the door wasn¡¯t connected to any systems and from where we were sitting in the car, it appeared to be opened by a lock and key. Absolutely archaic. ¡°I can but those doors aren¡¯t electric so I won¡¯t be able to open them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an issue. I can use Purple to teleport through a window. I was just worried about the alarm,¡± Alice said with a grimace. ¡°Purple Isn''t exactly efficient.¡± ¡°Not efficient?¡± ¡°Yup, you¡¯ll see,¡± she picked up the drone and tucked it neatly under her arm. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°Yeah, good to go.¡± Alice quietly got out of the car. She stood still for a moment like she was checking to see if it was safe to cross the road ¨C which was ridiculous because it was after midnight and she had superpowers. Then she took her first step and quite literally blurred across the street. She was at the front door of the building in half a second. Through the audio on my laptop, I heard giggling as the camera feed was suddenly taken up by Alice¡¯s face. ¡°Hiya Uppies!¡± She whispered. Uppies? This must be Pink. ¡°I dunno if you can hear me in there but I think I hear some voices inside,¡± she placed a finger to her lips and shushed into the camera. It was so painfully absurd I thought we were going to get busted before this operation even began. ¡°Going stealth mode!¡± I watched, bewildered, as she crept along the side of the building in plain sight of the street before pausing at the windows. She peered through by shoving her whole head in front of the glass before pausing again. It was like watching a Saturday morning cartoon villain try to be sneaky. Her head tilted quite abruptly and then her posture slouched. Okay, this must be Purple. In a blink of an eye, she teleported through the window and was inside the store. ¡°Hmm¡­ where should I put this?¡± I heard her mutter. Her voice was a bit slurred and it sounded like she had just woken up from a six-hour nap. You have got to be kidding me. ¡°Eh¡­ this¡¯ll do,¡± she placed the drone down at her feet. ¡°There, all done.¡± One second she was inside and in the middle of the road the next. She stood there for a moment before her eyes switched back to their normal blue. She walked the rest of the way to the car. When she climbed back into the driver''s seat, I couldn¡¯t help but stare at her. She glared back. Then she sighed. ¡°Yeah, I know. They¡¯re fucking useless.¡± ¡°I thought you were exaggerating but¡­ damn,¡± I turned back to my laptop screen and whistled. ¡°They must be a pain to deal with.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t bring out Purple too often and she likes it that way. Pink though¡­ She''s what I usually default to if I¡¯m going out to fight. People find it hard to deal with speedsters and I can be very creative when I¡¯m Pink. It also gives the impression that I¡¯m a ditzy idiot which just makes Gold¡¯s job much easier.¡± ¡°Well, you got the drone inside. That¡¯s all that matters,¡± I said, turning my attention back to the laptop. ¡°Now, let''s see if we can get closer to get a better look at those offices.¡± I kept it on the ground so the rotors wouldn''t alert anyone and the camera feed was slightly grainy, but that was mostly because of how dark it was. The audio installed on this thing was decent, but it wasn¡¯t picking up anything notable yet. That was both good and bad. Good, because the drone wasn¡¯t producing noise loud enough for the microphone to pick up, and bad because I wasn¡¯t certain what direction I should be searching. ¡°What would the Cains use a place like this for anyway?¡± I asked. I kept my focus solely on the drone¡¯s camera feed as I guided it around hoping to pick up anything notable, the silence was starting to unnerve me. ¡°I thought they¡¯d¡­ I dunno, rob the place or something. Aren¡¯t they gangsters?¡± ¡°Robbing stores is petty criminal work. Gangs like the Cains have to be at least somewhat organized to last more than a week. They¡¯ve only been around for seven months but typically gangs that start up, fall apart when the ECU and other criminals rip them to shreds,¡± Alice explained. ¡°Most gangs don¡¯t have proper leadership, or there¡¯s lots of infighting so they don¡¯t make it past the first month.¡± ¡°So this place is a front for something?¡± ¡°They¡¯re probably laundering money or using it as a safehouse,¡± Alice paused for a moment, pursing her lips in thought. ¡°By Gold¡¯s estimation they probably have somewhere between forty to sixty locations they run their operations out of. The more valuable places will be guarded by supers.¡± ¡°Wait, wait,¡± I stopped moving the drone. ¡°Could there be a super here?¡± She shrugged. ¡°Could be. You can never be completely sure. Even Gold needs something to go off of, but if I had to hazard a guess¡­¡± she turned and looked out the window, gazing back at the store. ¡°I¡¯m going to say no.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± She turned back and rolled her eyes at me. ¡°Do you want a percentage?¡± ¡°That would be nice.¡± ¡°Five¡ª no, wait,¡± she looked back at the store. ¡°Err¡­ eight percent.¡± ¡°That¡¯s eight too many.¡± Alice gave me a playful nudge. ¡°What¡¯s life without a bit of danger to spice things up?¡± ¡°Safe.¡± She snorted. ¡°Remind me not to take you anywhere fun.¡± I alternated between looking at the camera feed and my phone. I was able to guide the drone around the store to various points by following the orange dot which represented my drone. The closer the drone got to the clump of green dots, the more walls I was hitting and had to detour. There was unfortunately no blueprint included in this app, so I couldn¡¯t tell what level of the building they were on or if they were behind any walls. ¡°Starting to wish I had incorporated some kind of x-ray feature.¡± ¡°Can you use your power remotely?¡± [Charges: 2/25] I only had two of my twenty-five charges left today after upgrading my gun to a laser pistol, improving the durability of my helmet, and creating the drone. I shook my head. ¡°I have to be touching whatever I¡¯m trying to upgrade. Plus, I don¡¯t have much juice left in the tank today.¡± Alice gave me a long, curious stare. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering ¨C and Gold has made her own guesses ¨C but just so we¡¯re clear, you can only use your power a certain amount per day?¡± It was scary how she could just know that. ¡°Yeah, my power gives me twenty five charges to use per day and they don¡¯t roll over,¡± I explained, maneuvering the drone into another part of the store. ¡°The more complex something is, the more it costs so I have to be careful what I work on. Though, retreading ground I¡¯ve already covered before is less costly.¡± ¡°You said that before. Your power learns, previous upgrades get easier,¡± Alice noted, staring off into the distance looking distracted. For a moment, I could have sworn I saw her eyes flash Gold as she looked at my laser pistol. ¡°You can also sacrifice efficiency for time to make things cost less. That¡¯s how your gun has improved so much.¡± ¡°I¡­yeah, I was about to say that,¡± I blinked, feeling a little cheated that I didn¡¯t get to explain that part. ¡°Did Gold figure that out?¡± Alice gave me a sheepish smile. ¡°Yeah, sorry. I¡ª hey, do you hear that?¡± There was a faint crackling from the speakers on my laptop. The microphone was picking up some very soft activity above the drone. There was a second floor and I quickly maneuvered the drone to the stairway. The only problem was getting the drone up there without alerting the people inside. The flight mode made a little bit of noise but in the silence of a department store at night, you could hear a pin drop. ¡°No wonder I was hitting so many walls trying to get to these guys. They¡¯re upstairs,¡± I said, looking at a spectrogram on my laptop. ¡°Should I risk trying to get up there?¡± ¡°Are you attached to the drone?¡± ¡°Not particularly. They¡¯re not that hard to make.¡± ¡°Go for it then,¡± she grinned. ¡°This is kinda cool doing it like this, I feel like I¡¯m in a spy movie. Normally, I¡¯d be the one sneaking around in there. It¡¯s way less fun when your life is in danger, though Pink would beg to differ.¡± I could see Pink loving life-or-death scenarios. I switched to flight mode and flew it up the stairs, making sure to keep it as low as possible. The moment it cleared the top of the stairs, I returned it to the ground. The small buzzing the propellers gave off blocked out the small amount that we could hear before. Thankfully, the voices seemed unperturbed by our risky move and no one came out to investigate. The audio was starting to come through clearer now. We were definitely in the right place. Unfortunately, this was as far as we would be going. There was a wooden door blocking the drone''s path and I suspected it led into the staff room and manager¡¯s office. It was easy to tell there was activity coming from the inside from the light leaking out beneath the door. ¡°Blocked.¡± ¡°Crap,¡± Alice ran a hand through her fringe. ¡°Can you get a little bit closer so we can hear what they¡¯re saying?¡± I guided the drone forward and parked it at the side of the door. If it spontaneously opened, it shouldn¡¯t be crushed and hopefully would remain unnoticed. Even still, the audio was still garbled so I tried adjusting the frequency. I was met with disappointment. ¡°Oh,¡± I wrinkled my nose. ¡°It¡¯s just a replay of the game. Maybe someone left the TV on?¡± I checked my phone again. One of the open ports was probably the TV. Could there really be people here? So far, all I had to go off of was Alice¡¯s insistence. ¡°No, someone¡¯s watching it. More than one person,¡± Alice shushed me. ¡°Three¡­ four? How many vulnerable devices are you able to break into?¡± ¡°Nine,¡± I pressed one and was immediately assaulted by the sound of classic rock tunes. ¡°That one is just a radio. This one¡­¡± I pressed the other and got a video of the rugby game aired earlier in the evening. ¡°...Is just the TV. Alice are you sure¡ª¡± She shushed me before I could finish. ¡°People don¡¯t just leave the TV and radio on overnight. There¡¯s people in there,¡± her eyes narrowed. ¡°Six.¡± ¡°Six?¡± ¡°Six guys,¡± Alice confirmed with a nod. ¡°Two watching the game, the other four playing a game¡­ Blackjack.¡± There was a cascade of voices from inside as an argument suddenly broke out. It was impossible to tell just how many people were inside there but judging from the intensity and number of the voices, I was going to take Alice¡¯s estimate of six as fact. We shared a glance and Alice suddenly mouthed seven when a final voice was heard. ¡°Ladies, ladies. Keep it down, yeah? We¡¯re here to keep watch, not holler like it¡¯s a Saturday night house party, capiche?¡± I knew that voice. It was the same voice that had taunted me. I could feel my blood boil beneath my skin and the gun resting on my knee felt heavier. I had never gotten his name but his face lived rent-free in my head. To me, that face, shirt, tattoo, and smug grin represented everything I despised about the Cains ¨C and here he was. He might even still have the money that he and Banshee had stolen from me. Now would be the most opportune time to get it back. I had a gun, armor, and backup. I could walk in there and clean them out before they even realized what was going on. My gun was a laser weapon too, a low-powered one but it was better than anything these schmucks could get their hands on. ¡°Ooh, I know that look,¡± Alice grimaced. I was wearing my helmet so she must have been reading my body language. ¡°You know him. He¡¯s the guy, ain¡¯t he? The one that hustled you. He sounds like a pompous asshole.¡± ¡°He likes to hear himself talk,¡± I replied dryly. ¡°Little fish. Big fish¡­ I¡¯d know his smug voice anywhere.¡± ¡°Well then,¡± Alice clapped. Her eyes flashed Pink. ¡°Waddya say we go crack some heads?¡± I moved the laptop to the side and picked up my gun. There was a small digital display on the side of the magazine. It read ¡®12¡¯. I flicked the setting to non-lethal. Twelve shots. ¡°Took the words right out of my mouth.¡± Framework 4 I wondered what it would have been like to be in their shoes. Just like Alice had said, there were two watching TV, while another three were playing a game of poker. The fourth player had briefly paused the game to head to the kitchen when the door to the room flew off its hinges and collided with him hard enough to break several bones. Startled, they all reached for their guns only for a blur to zip into the room and snatch every firearm from them before they could so much as lay a finger on them. The blur then solidified in the middle of the room having dismantled all of their guns. The pieces of steel dropped to the floor at her feet. With all their attention on her, they neglected to identify the second threat walking through the door, me. I turned to one of the guys watching TV, aimed for center mass, and fired. A bright red light flash emanated from the man¡¯s chest, his skin instantly searing while his clothes ignited. He dropped to the ground screaming and proceeded to roll around to try and put out the flames. The other guy watching the game was quick to join him after I discharged my second shot. I turned to the three guys still at the table. ¡°H-Hey! Wait a sec¡ª¡± I fired thrice more, the first toppling over the back of his chair. Another tried to dive out of the way but I was quick to hit him. The last attempted to use his chair for cover. It didn¡¯t do him any favors when my laser burned right through it. It all started and ended in about three seconds. It was shockingly easy. Pink zipped to the nearest fire extinguisher and proceeded to blast the burning thugs before any serious damage could be done. It ended with them groaning on the floor but Pink was quick to silence them by bonking them on the head with the bottom of the fire extinguisher. Thankfully, she hadn¡¯t used Red to do that, otherwise, things would have gotten messy. Dusting off her hands, Pink tossed the red metal canister away. ¡°See, that¡¯s how it¡¯s done, Uppies. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!¡± ¡°Ignoring all the head trauma you just inflicted, I¡¯d say that went pretty well.¡± ¡°A lil¡¯ knock on the head isn¡¯t going to cause permanent damage. Besides, I ain¡¯t the one who was trying to roast them alive!¡± Pink shot back. ¡°What¡¯s tha deal with that anyway? I thought you said you had an anti-killing mode for that thingy.¡± I frowned, examining the laser pistol. It was in the non-lethal setting. Whatever the lethal mode entailed would have definitely killed these guys without question. ¡°It is. I guess I just need to tune the settings a little bit.¡± ¡°I was expecting a whoosh! A flashy laser that knocks people around. I¡¯m not gonna lie, I¡¯m kinda disappointed, Uppies.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how lasers work. It¡¯s just super concentrated light,¡± I explained. ¡°And stop calling me Uppies.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m not callin¡¯ ya Upgrade. It¡¯s waaaaay too serious.¡± One of the thugs groaned, drawing our attention. He was clutching his shoulder with one hand and holding his forehead with the other. ¡°You didn¡¯t hit that one hard enough,¡± I said. With a sway to her step, Pink sauntered over to the unfortunate man that had managed to endure being lasered and bludgeoned with a fire extinguisher. ¡°Maybe we should just leave him. He¡¯s not going anywhere and any more damage might just¡ª¡± ¡°Lights out, bozo!¡± Her foot crashed into his face and I heard a nasty crunch, his body going slack. ¡°I suppose that works too.¡± Pink turned and flashed me a grin. All the men in the room were incapacitated but strangely, the one I had run into a couple of nights ago wasn¡¯t one of them. He had to still be in the building somewhere. I had heard his voice through the drone so he couldn''t have gotten far. Pink seemed to be on the same wavelength as she strolled back to the middle of the room, eyeing up the one unopened door next to the poker table. ¡°Oh gee, I wonder what¡¯s behind the door over there,¡± Pink placed her hands on her hips and began swaying back and forth on the balls of her heels. ¡°You gonna make this easy on us and come out, or are you gonna play hard to get? I do love it when boys play hard.¡± I grumbled and stared at the back of her head in disapproval. ¡°Classy.¡± The door clicked open and the man of the hour strolled out casually surrendering by tossing his gun to the floor. He took one look at his downed comrades and rolled his eyes. I inhaled sharply as I took in his features. He didn¡¯t even look bothered by what we had done. ¡°Little fish sticking their noses in my business,¡± the man said smoothly. He proceeded to mutter a string of what I assumed to be curses in Spanish. Pink just tilted her head innocently. Did she understand what he said? Maybe one of her powers was able to understand him. ¡°You come here for something, hm? I hate to disappoint but nothing here is for sale, my friends.¡± The confident annoyance that oozed from every word had my jaw tightening. Even with the tables turned against him, he still acted like he was in control of the situation. ¡°That¡¯s okay. We ain¡¯t buyin,¡± Pink chirped. ¡°But we are lookin¡¯ for a lil something.¡± He spread his arms with a smile that dripped with false bravado. ¡°How might I be of service, chica?¡± Pink started circling him, giving him a wide berth as she kicked his gun across the floor toward me. He didn¡¯t make any threatening moves as she started moving, her eyes scanning him to make sure he didn¡¯t have anything else on him. As she left his vision, his eyes flickered toward me and I tensed. He just gave me a playful smirk. ¡°A little birdie told me you made off with some serious cha-ching the other night,¡± Pink¡¯s gaze flickered to me, her lips thinning into a grin similar to the man. However, once she had completed her inspection, his expression reverted back to a frown. ¡°We¡¯d like to know where it is.¡± The man had the audacity to look confused. ¡°Aha¡­ you might have to be a little more specific. Money passes in and out of these hands frequently. It¡¯s quite easy to lose track of it.¡± Pink grabbed a chair and kicked it across the floor. It slid right behind the man at the same time she appeared in front of him to boot him into it. Clutching his stomach, he coughed as Pink blurred again. She blitzed out of the room in the blink of an eye and was back in a few moments. She was like a whirlwind around the man and before I knew it, he was bound. Pink clapped enthusiastically. ¡°How nice of you to keep some rope on hand!¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ you never know who to expect,¡± he replied confidently, shifting in his new binds. ¡°Very tight. An admirable effort.¡± ¡°Flattery will get you nowhere, bub,¡± Pink replied without the usual chirp to her voice. ¡°Now, it would be best to start talkin¡¯ because I get excited when bones start breaking. You never know, I could get carried away and I¡¯m not the type of girl to have a safe word!¡± He laughed for a good couple of moments there. I wasn¡¯t sure where the joke was so I had to settle for complete insanity. This guy had lost it. Then he looked past Pink to me. ¡°What was it I said? Woman, right? Fuckin¡¯ crazy.¡± My blood ran cold. ¡°You know it¡¯s me?¡± He shot me a toothy grin. ¡°You¡¯ve barely said a word since I walked through that door,¡± he tilted his head back to the door he came out of behind him. ¡°And judging from how tightly you''re holding that gun¡­¡± he made a tisk tisk sound with his teeth. ¡°Trying to swim in the big, dark ocean are we? You think a little playmate is gonna stop the riptide?¡± I stepped forward, moving past Pink until I towered over him. For the first time in my life, I tasted catharsis in its purest form. It was only a small victory but to see the man that had embarrassed, tormented, and stolen from me tied up like this and at my mercy was nothing short of euphoric. ¡°Who¡¯s the one tied up now?¡± He sneered back at me. ¡°Funny how things work out. What will you do, kill me?¡± ¡°Kill you? No,¡± I aimed at his foot and fired. The laser seared through his shoe and caught fire. Pink was quick to toss a rag over it to smother the fire but his pained cry was like music to my ears. I was a little concerned I derived such satisfaction from this but all I had to do was remind myself of the position I was in just the other night. Just like that, the guilt vanished. ¡°That¡¯s for fucking with me, asshole.¡± I checked the ammo display. Eight shots left. ¡°Got some balls on you,¡± he hissed out. I stared at him as he lifted his head. He was clearly in pain but he was smiling ¨C enjoying all of this. ¡°I had you pegged as a spoiled rich kid. Never thought you¡¯d have it in you to pull the trigger.¡± I gestured around him to his downed comrades. ¡°You thought wrong.¡± ¡°So you want to know where I took your money?¡± He asked. I nodded. He chuckled and leaned back in the chair, looking thoroughly bemused by the situation. ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate my friend, because I no longer have it. It¡¯s property of the Cains now. As I said, money comes and goes.¡± ¡°But you must know where you took it, who you handed it to,¡± I glared at him through my visor. It probably didn¡¯t have the effect that I wanted since he couldn¡¯t see my face but I doubt it would have mattered. This guy would have met and faced down people far more imposing than a high schooler. ¡°Tell me.¡± He stared at me, unimpressed. ¡°Why would I do that? Even if I did know, telling you would put me into some serious hot water,¡± he pursed his lips, his gaze flicking between me and Alice. ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re threatening? You might bark like an angry hound but your bite is no more dangerous than a fresh pup. The worst you can do is hurt me. Neither of you have the guts to take my life.¡± He leaned forward and sneered at me like he was actually daring me to kill him. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s a really convincing tough guy act. I got the heebie jeebies listenin¡¯ to that,¡± Pink applauded, sounding genuinely entertained. ¡°Buuuuuuuut, everyone has their breaking point. I¡¯d know, and now I¡¯m just dying to find where yours is.¡± I shuddered. The man only seemed to find Pink¡¯s words amusing. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°You two are something else, eh? Bonesmith captured and Banshee injured¡­¡± he shook his head like a disappointed father. ¡°The big boss knows about you now and he¡¯s not the type to negotiate. You¡¯ll be going to war with the big fish if you want your money back. If you ask me, this crusade isn''t worth the effort.¡± That was what I had suspected. Him still having my money would be too easy. Getting back the quarter million was going to be harder than I anticipated. ¡°Fine, you don¡¯t have it. Not like I would expect you to know how to use a payload chip anyway,¡± I dismissed. He at least had the decency to look a little bit insulted. I considered it a win. I turned to Alice. ¡°Do you want to bring Gold out to see what you can get from him? He doesn¡¯t seem to want to talk.¡± Pink narrowed her eyes before shrugging. ¡°Nah.¡± I blinked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°He can wait. I wanna go look through their stuff, come on,¡± she turned on her heel and walked through the door our captive had come through. It led into an office that seemed stacked with boxes and other things. It was clearly smuggling because some of the boxes had the ECU logo on them, along with other companies. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, Uppies. Come and help me here. He ain¡¯t going anywhere.¡± I grumbled under my breath. Fine. He can wait. The man cackled. I lashed out and punched him in the nose before following Pink through the door. I took immense satisfaction in feeling the man¡¯s nose break and his pained gurgles as I left the room. ¡°Alright, what have they got?¡± I asked, trying to change the subject. I spotted my old phone lying on the desk which sufficiently brightened my mood. ¡°He actually kept it! Wow, didn¡¯t think I was going to get this back,¡± I snatched it up and tried to power it on only to find that the battery had died. It didn¡¯t matter, I could recharge it later. ¡°What else have they got?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Pink hummed aloud, surveying the room ¡°We got some grade 4 biogel so far but other than that, a whole lotta crap.¡± We began sifting through piles of stuff. It quickly became clear what kind of operation they were running here. Drugs, drugs, and more drugs. ¡°Drat! No hard cash,¡± Pink bemoaned. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re going to have to look a bit harder in the future.¡± ¡°You can switch back now,¡± I said, giving Pink a blank stare. ¡°There¡¯s no one around except for the guy tied to the chair, but he¡¯s probably too busy dealing with a broken nose to listen in.¡± ¡°Nope!¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°Yup! I¡¯m stayin¡¯. Get used to me, Uppies. You¡¯re gonna be seeing me a lot.¡± ¡°Can you at least call me Upgrade?¡± I asked, holding back a wave of annoyance. ¡°Uppies is kinda demeaning.¡± Pink pouted. ¡°Uppies is cuter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m not trying to be cuter,¡± I gestured to my armor, helmet, and gun. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really fit well with the image I¡¯ve got going here.¡± ¡°Aw¡­¡± Pink blurred over to me and gave me a playful hip bump. ¡°You¡¯re all frowny-face under that helmet. Cheer up! Things are going well.¡± I resisted the urge to sigh. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just a little eager to get some more information out of that guy. He¡¯s definitely holding something back and I¡¯m willing to bet Gold can get it out of him.¡± ¡°Once we¡¯re done here, I¡¯ll switch. Now, quit standin¡¯ around and help me look some more. There has to be something we can take,¡± Pink said eagerly, tearing through another crate of goodies. We found a lot of biogel and other medical supplies amongst the copious amounts of illegal drugs. There had to be thousands of dollars worth of drugs in some of these boxes and it seemed like Alice wasn¡¯t interested in any of it. The only items she was packing into a bag seemed to be the biogel. That stuff was expensive biokinetic medicine, so I couldn¡¯t blame her for wanting that over everything else. It would make healing wounds much easier. Hell, I could even try and upgrade the stuff later, assuming my power worked on it. ¡°Oooh!¡± Pink gasped. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± My eyes flickered to my partner in crime as she heaved a military-grade case out of a wooden crate she had pried open. She dropped it on the office desk and rubbed her hands together with anticipation. The case looked heavy like it was carrying an expensive weapon or something. It looked big enough to hold an anti-material rifle or a rocket launcher. It even had a keypad and some very solid magnetic locks to complete the look. ¡°Jackpot?¡± I asked. Pink turned and gave me a mad grin. It was going to take a while for me to really separate Sam from the rest of her personalities. ¡°Not a payload chip but with that kind of security it has to be worth a small fortune.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the idea! Now, how do we crack this baby open?¡± Pink examined the small digital keypad. ¡°Oh! I know, I¡¯ll try every combination.¡± I blinked owlishly. ¡°Hey, wait. I don¡¯t think¡ª¡± her hand blurred against the keypad. In a split second, the magnetic locks clamped as the emergency settings kicked in. The keypad shut itself off and blurred angrily at us whenever Pink tried to push another key. ¡°Good job.¡± ¡°Aw crud! We¡¯re locked out. That always works in the movies¡­¡± She stamped her foot angrily. ¡°Ah, shaddup Gold! You dunno what ya talkin¡¯ about!¡± I stood back awkwardly as Pink suddenly shuddered. Her body language changed and her shoulders became a bit more rigid. Like a ferocious animal, grunts escaped her throat as she began digging her fingers into the cracks at the side of the box. I watched, fascinated, as a girl ¨C who seemingly didn¡¯t have much muscle on her ¨C tried to pry open the military-grade case. ¡°Uh¡ª¡± Her head snapped toward me, her eyes blistering red. ¡°YOU GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!?!¡± ¡°Nope,¡± I shook my head. ¡°Carry on.¡± I was not going to get between Red and the box. I still didn¡¯t know Alice enough to truly gauge how much control she had over her different personalities. Her efforts continued for another minute before she became frustrated by her lack of progress. It eventually devolved into her throwing the box against the wall and folding an office desk in on itself. I stared at the destruction. When Alice turned around, I was met with Pink eyes again. ¡°Oops.¡± ¡°Mind if I give it a crack?¡± I asked with an easy tone, walking over to the box now resting at an awkward angle in the corner of the room. ¡°I might be able to do something.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Pink asked curiously. ¡°We don¡¯t know the code and I locked us out!¡± With some minor difficulty, I dragged the box out of the corner of the room where Red had thrown it and brought it back over to the center of the room. Crouching down, I placed a hand on the keypad. As expected, my head was filled with the different possible upgrade paths, but I quickly shunted most of them away and narrowed down my focus on the keypad. I found the keypad was designed to select a different code depending on the time of day, changing every hour or so. That meant there were at least twenty-four different codes to figure out. Coupled with that, there were also fingerprint scanners built into each key. So even on the off chance Pink had managed to get the correct code, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten in. ¡°Let¡¯s see if this works.¡± I dropped a point into upgrading its form. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Pink narrowed her eyes suspiciously. ¡°You¡¯re upgrading it! Isn¡¯t that just going to make it harder to open?¡± I chuckled lightly. ¡°You might think so but if my suspicions are correct¡­¡± The upgrade finished and the keypad was reformed to look a little bit more advanced. I placed my finger against the biometric lock. The display flashed green. I then proceeded to punch in an eight-digit code. The display flashed green again and beeped. All set, now I just needed to repeat the process. After the second code, the magnetic locks clicked open. ¡°Huh!?¡± Pink exclaimed. ¡°I don¡¯t get it! What did you do?¡± ¡°When you replace hardware, the software needs to change as well. By upgrading the security, I just changed some code and reuploaded it, but while it was doing so I gave it a little nudge to change the password and fingerprints. Since the security is technically just as strong as before, it wasn¡¯t too difficult.¡± I explained. ¡°Piece of cake.¡± What occupied the box wasn¡¯t exactly what I expected. I had been anticipating a weapon of some kind, maybe a mechatech sniper rifle or something. However, what I found was anything but that. It was a small black cube, no bigger than the size of my palm. Pink reached down and picked it up. ¡°What¡¯s this supposed to be?¡± I tried to get a better look at it but it was just a featureless black cube. ¡°Can I see it?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The moment Pink handed it to me, there was a sensation like fireworks going off in my head. [Charges: 1/25] [Type] [Durability 41/100 - Repair Unavailable. Cost: 3] (ERROR - Incompatible Component Detected) I gasped and stumbled back as my entire world spun. [Model] [Materials] [Computational Hardware] [Software] [Engines] [Central Control Unit] [Dimensional Stabilizers] [Interior] [Exterior] [Time Dilation] [Spacial Weight Distribution] [Safeguards] [. . .] I had never seen so many unique upgrade trees. It just seemed so¡­ endless. Then, I realized whose technology I was holding by gleaming one aspect of the device. [Charges: 1/25] [Engines] There were a few supers in the world who were known to mess with stuff as dangerous as space and time ¨C all of them were considered too dangerous to cross regardless of which side of the law they were on. However, there was only one who could create technology with these capabilities. That¡¯s a lot of charges¡­ What does it mean by an incompatible component? I checked the other categories and found the same problem. I couldn¡¯t select any upgrades. They were all grayed and crossed out with the same error message. ¡°This is Deadlock¡¯s tech.¡± I stared at the seemingly inconspicuous cube in my hand like I had just discovered the holy grail. Pink stared down with saucepan eyes. This cube could sell for millions¨C no, billions. How did the Cains get a hold of something like this? Better yet, why wasn¡¯t this thing somewhere more secure? The ECU worked with Deadlock. Was it being smuggled somewhere? ¡°No way, really?¡± Pink was gone and Alice was back to her regular blue. ¡°What¡¯s something like this doing here?¡± ¡°The better question is how the Cains were able to get their hands on this,¡± I murmured. ¡°I thought the ECU was supposed to keep this kind of stuff behind their best security. Getting through that should be borderline impossible,¡± I looked back at the crate. It wasn¡¯t ECU. It wasn¡¯t even branded and the security on it had been lackluster to be holding something this valuable ¡°And you¡¯d think the Cains would put someone more capable here to guard something as valuable as this.¡± Alice stilled as our eyes met. In the blink of an eye, her eyes changed. I found myself staring at glowing molten gold. Then, she turned and walked out of the room. I followed her out, only to find the man we had strapped down to the chair was missing. There was no chair or ropes either. It was like he had never even been tied up in the first place. Instead, lying on the floor where the chair was supposed to be, was a note. ¡°What the hell?¡± I muttered, picking up the note. It was a single sentence and it was enough to get my blood boiling. ¡°It¡¯s been fun but I got things to do, ciao ¨C M.¡± ¡°How the hell did he escape? I didn¡¯t hear anything,¡± I turned to Alice for an answer only to find her glaring at the floor, her lips thinning into a grim scowl. ¡°Alice?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t escape. We never caught him in the first place,¡± Gold sneered. ¡°We¡¯ve been played.¡± Framework 5 To say our night had gone pear-shaped would be a colossal understatement. When Sam had asked if I wanted to join her tonight for some scouting, I had assumed we¡¯d be doing just that; scouting. The moment we heard screeching tires echo from outside the store I realized we had been overzealous in our decision to break in. Now the jig was up and we needed to get the hell out. Gold was quick to head toward the door while I snagged a bag off one of the downed goons and stashed away Deadlock¡¯s tech. Botched scouting mission or not, I was not yet in a position where leaving something like this behind was even a consideration. As we left, I snatched up my drone resting by the door and shoved it haphazardly into my bag before descending the stairs. We got about halfway down before Gold grabbed onto my jacket and pulled me to the ground. Beams of lights shone through the front windows of the store and I thought for sure it was the police. ¡°He called for backup during our attack. He stalled us with his power,¡± Gold hissed. ¡°I hate when I¡¯m not in control. I can¡¯t make connections efficently.¡± I was still confused as to how he had managed to escape without making a sound. ¡°He has powers?¡± ¡°Some form of perception manipulation. Keep up,¡± Gold said. ¡°He played with us. If I had been active, I would have seen right through him. He¡¯s Grim¡¯s right hand man, Mirage. Damnit, Pink never switches when it¡¯s important!¡± I could confidently say I had never heard of him. Banshee was new ¨C I knew the name but didn¡¯t know she had gotten involved in a gang. I did recall hearing some local robberies on the news being attributed to her. The main supers in The Cains were Grim, Gold Rush, Nemesis, and Bonesmith. Mirage didn¡¯t ring any bells. ¡°Is he new?¡± ¡°No,¡± Gold whispered. ¡°Founded the group with Grim. In fact, he might actually be leading them,¡± she paused for a moment and blinked. ¡°No¡­ no, I need to think more on that. Too many variables there. There¡¯s a distinct possibility. He¡¯s definitely not new though.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t he just kill us? If he had us under his¡­ spell or whatever, why not just take the opportunity to off us after we busted his operation?¡± ¡°Hard to say,¡± she said, peeking over the railing. ¡°Give me a second¡­ hmm, okay. It¡¯s power related. He plays with our senses but can¡¯t risk anyone seeing through them. If someone under the influence of his power is able to perceive him, his illusion shatters and leaves him vulnerable.¡± Where she had pulled that information from, I hadn¡¯t the slightest clue. ¡°How do you figure that? If he¡¯s able to control our senses, can¡¯t he just make us see a whole bunch of crap to keep himself concealed?¡± ¡°No. I said ¡®perceive¡¯ him. Illusions, idiot. What happens when you realize you''re seeing an illusion? When you know you''re dreaming? The magic is broken,¡± she explained with a frustrated sigh. ¡°The trick to illusions is to make them convincing enough so whoever they¡¯re being used on believes they¡¯re real. How are you not getting this?¡± I stared at her. ¡°I¡¯m starting to realize why Alice doesn¡¯t like showing you off.¡± ¡°Call me a bitch if it makes you feel better,¡± Gold grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s what Pink and Blue do.¡± My brow rose. ¡°Blue?¡± ¡°Alice. The one you''re most acquainted with,¡± Gold grumbled before shifting tones immediately. ¡°We¡¯ve got to move.¡± ¡°Have they seen us? They know we¡¯re here but they haven¡¯t broken into the store yet.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t, it¡¯ll cause too much of a commotion. If we want a clean getaway, we have to move discreetly. If we take too long they¡¯ll figure out the car parked on the other side of the road is ours. If I can get a good line of sight, I can use Purple to teleport us both into the front seats.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± I asked, not entirely comfortable with the idea of another high-speed getaway chase through Bayside''s streets. ¡°They chase us down through the night? There¡¯s no traffic, it¡¯s past midnight.¡± ¡°If we stay, we give them more time to plan and trap us. If we try to fight, you¡¯ll likely die because you have eight shots left and there¡¯s at least fifteen guys out there,¡± she squinted at the window. ¡°Plus Nemesis. You¡¯ll definitely get killed.¡± ¡°Just me? What about you?¡± ¡°I can survive with Red, probably long enough for me to get far enough away to safely switch to Pink. Chances aren¡¯t the best, but I¡¯ve dealt with worse hands,¡± Gold replied. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m not leaving you. You might be horribly underwhelming so far but you''re an investment, and I can see your worth in the long term.¡± I decided not to take that personally. ¡°...Thanks?¡± Gold smiled. ¡°Now you''re getting it. Come on, this way.¡± We made our way to the bottom of the stairs before making a hard turn toward the back of the store. My guess was Gold was leading us to the back door or a fire exit because even I knew going out the front door was suicide. We found the fire exit at the back of the store but to no one¡¯s surprise, we could hear voices waiting for us on the other side. Gold held up three fingers and the message was clear. Three guys outside, ready to put us in an early grave. I mouthed ¡®where do we go now?¡¯ and felt a little frustrated when I didn¡¯t get an immediate response. Gold looked far too calm, but maybe her sense of serenity came with her superintelligence. She probably couldn¡¯t utilize it properly if she was too busy panicking. She began moving again, this time toward another door. This one wasn¡¯t an exit and was located closer to what I could only assume was the janitor''s office. I noticed her twitch again which I was starting to pick up on the tells of her switching. When she dropped to one knee and pulled out a bobby pin, I guessed she had switched to Orange. In seconds, the door clicked and swung open to reveal stairs into the store basement. ¡°The basement, why? It¡¯s a dead end.¡± She stood back up and turned, shifting from Orange back to Gold in the blink of an eye. ¡°Mirage can¡¯t have left the building yet. The reason they haven¡¯t broken in to confront us could be because he¡¯s spying on us and feeding them info,¡± Gold reasoned. ¡°Down here, he shouldn¡¯t know what we¡¯re up to.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s a dead end!¡± She ignored me and descended the stairs skipping down two at a time. Grumbling, I closed the door behind me and followed her down. The basement of the store was surprisingly clean but it still smelled mostly of cardboard and plastic. Products the store wasn¡¯t able to sell were down here, wrapped up and left to gather dust. From what I could see it was either old stuff or damaged merchandise, TVs, and electronics. There were pallets full of crap all boxed together. ¡°I don¡¯t see a way out down here, Alice.¡± ¡°There¡¯s always a way out.¡± We moved through the maze of pallets, Gold¡¯s eyes scanning the floor. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure what she was looking for until we got to the center of the basement. She stopped right in front of a pallet wrapped with dusty old boxes that looked like old TVs. Gold tapped the ground with her foot before jumping up and down. Then, she turned and nodded. ¡°Here.¡± She switched to Red and casually shoved the pallet out of the way, revealing a manhole. It was covered in concrete dust and looked like it hadn¡¯t seen use in an eternity. Red didn¡¯t hesitate to dig her fingers into the side before ripping it out of the ground effortlessly. Red looked like she wanted to toss the thing into the nearest wall before she took a deep breath and laid it down next to the open hole. ¡°Talk about a security risk. What¡¯s this doing here?¡± ¡°Easy access to the building¡¯s plumbing,¡± Gold replied, having just switched back. ¡°The city council declared this area a flood plain in 06. Most of these buildings need extra water maintenance for storm protection. In other words, it¡¯s our way out.¡± I peered down into the darkness and the vile smell of sewage made me recoil. ¡°Not the most dignified escape routes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than being riddled with bullets,¡± Gold grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m not jumping for joy either. You first, I¡¯ll need to go last to use Red to close the hatch. I don¡¯t trust your flimsy arms.¡± I tucked my laser pistol into the back of my waistband before securing the bag I had been carrying over my shoulders. ¡°Are the insults really necessary?¡± ¡°Get moving.¡± As I descended the ladder, I was glad to have a costume that covered everything. The filth was far worse than I had expected. The area at the bottom of the ladder was narrow and led out into a larger cemented room with various pipes and large stormwater drains. Clearly, Gold¡¯s plan was to move down one of the stormwater pipes as they were the only ones big enough to move through. The only issue was which one. ¡°Where to?¡± I asked. Gold shimmied past me and skipped past the first human-sized pipe on the left and entered the second one. ¡°This one.¡± ¡°You know the layout?¡± Gold rounded on me with an irritated look. ¡°Are you going to question everything I do? Of course I know the layout. Learn to trust me, I¡¯m rarely wrong.¡± ¡°Alright then. Lead on. I won¡¯t ask any more questions.¡± Thankfully, we weren¡¯t down there for long. A few left and right turns later, we arrived at another ladder. I was overjoyed we didn¡¯t have to wade through any sewage but between the pungent smell and cramped passageways, that was the only silver lining I could think of. ¡°You sure we¡¯re in the clear?¡± ¡°What happened to ''I won''t ask any more questions?'',¡± Gold snidely replied as she slowly pushed open the metal hatch. "We''ll be fine. Again, trust me. I know what I''m doing." She poked her head out and looked around before climbing out. As she helped me out of the dank, musty manhole, I saw that we had come out at the back of an alleyway across from the department store. We were a couple of buildings down, so getting to my car would require some stealth. A group of armed Cain thugs were still hovering around the edges of the building, peering inside and flashing their torches through the window. Nemesis stood in the car park next to a Jeep, similar to the one that had chased us from the Mall. From behind, he wore a sleeveless crimson cloak that covered his head while the rest of him looked armored. As he paced, I could see his metal gauntlets and boots that looked like they could turn someone¡¯s skin into grated cheese. What really caught my eye though, was the long pointy metal spear he carried in his left hand. He was no Red Impaler but I didn¡¯t want to be on the receiving end of that thing. ¡°It¡¯s a straight shot to the car. Are you ready?¡± Gold asked. I replied with a stiff nod. Teleporting with Purple made my stomach churn. Just getting into the store had been weird enough but I wasn¡¯t looking forward to doing it all over again. I¡¯d deal with it if it meant getting out of this. Just as I felt her muscles relaxing as she made the switch to Purple, I heard several cracks echo off the alley around me. The corner of the building we had been peeking around splintered as a bullet ricocheted off the masonry. I immediately gripped Alice and tried to pull her back into cover but another crack splattered blood across my helmet¡¯s visor. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Alice fell back into my arms as a hailstorm of bullets echoed from across the street. Adrenaline surged through me like a tidal wave as I found cover behind a large metal dumpster. I dropped Alice and she collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain and clutching her shoulder. Her eyes switched from Purple back to Gold. ¡°Fuck!¡± She hissed. She lifted the hand from her shoulder to see it dripping with blood. ¡°Bastards! Stupid Purple. Our reflections in the windows gave us away!¡± My pistol was already in hand as I peeked out from behind the dumpster. I didn¡¯t have time to think of a reply. I would have probably said something snarky but the prospect of being turned into swiss cheese meant I let it slide. I saw two thugs closing in and I didn¡¯t hesitate to aim and fire. The newly minted laser sight helped given the distance, but aiming was still a challenge. I fired once, then twice. Six shots left and I had missed both. One of those missed shots had managed to set fire to a bush. The flash of red light seemed to intimidate the two approaching guys. One of them dropped their gun out of panic and the other dove to the ground. I fired twice more and hit both. They screamed as their clothes caught fire. A quick look to the right showed everyone was converging on our position, including Nemesis. Speaking of, the moment I caught sight of him, I saw him hurl something. I evaded death by a fraction of a second when I pulled my head back behind the dumpster. Nemesis¡¯ spear zipped past me and impaled the wall. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and my eyes locked on the metal spear. I poked my head out again to find a good dozen guys crossing the street. Then, the spear was pulled out of the wall by an invisible force and zipped back past me toward its owner. What the hell? ¡°Magnetism¡­ Polarity?¡± Gold grunted. ¡°Crap. Not looking good here.¡± ¡°Not looking good? We¡¯re totally fucked!¡± I hissed. ¡°A plan would be good right about now!¡± ¡°I¡¯m working on it,¡± Gold snapped angrily. ¡°There¡¯s not exactly much we can do here. We¡¯re cornered.¡± The peppering gunfire suddenly ceased and all I could see were the beams of light flashing down the alleyway. I held my position behind the dumpster, the laser pistol shaking in my hand as I waited for the inevitable. but it never came. I could hear footsteps but they didn¡¯t sound like they were getting closer. Instead, they stopped at the entrance of the alley. ¡°Come out and we won¡¯t shoot you,¡± one of them shouted. Judging by how the voice was synthetic, it was probably Nemesis. ¡°There¡¯s no way out.¡± ¡°Stall them, they won¡¯t shoot you,¡± Gold murmured from my side. I stared at her like she had lost it and I was willing to bet I wasn¡¯t far off the mark with how bloodied her shoulder was. ¡°I need a little bit of time. Three minutes, tops. Then, wait for my signal.¡± ¡°Three minutes,¡± I said, peering out from behind the dumpster. They were all lined up like a firing squad with Nemesis standing at the front, casually twirling their spear. ¡°What signal?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t miss it.¡± I wanted to protest, throw my hands up in the air and scream at the world about how unfair this was, but the logical part of me had taken over. We were outnumbered and outgunned by a mile. If Gold had a plan that required three minutes to execute, I needed to give her those precious three minutes without argument. Slowly, I raised my hands and stepped out. I half expected to be dead after taking the first step but I was met with flashlights in my face. ¡°Nice gun,¡± Nemesis called out. ¡°Drop it and kick it over here. Don¡¯t want you shooting anymore of my guys.¡± I swallowed before slowly complying. I needed to stretch out every single second I could. My laser pistol skidded across the surface of the ground and hit his armored boot. He reached down and picked it up, carefully examining it with a nod of approval. ¡°Definitely Mechatech. You must be the guy.¡± ¡°Did Mirage tell you about me?¡± He tore his eyes away from the gun. ¡°You could say that. Some kid out to earn some cash in our territory. Goes by the name Upgrade,¡± he chuckled. ¡°Didn¡¯t mention you had managed to find someone to work with. Where is the girl?¡± They didn¡¯t know? The one I had managed to hit must have been the one to hit Alice if they didn¡¯t realize she was injured. They just assumed she had managed to escape without me. This could potentially work in my favor if they didn¡¯t know she was next to me. Time to employ recently honed lying skills. ¡°She ditched me.¡± There was a chorus of laughter from the firing squad as Nemesis just shook his head. I could almost feel his pity. ¡°Can¡¯t trust people like that to watch your back. In cities like this, independents are always out for themselves,¡± Nemesis lectured like he was speaking from experience. ¡°Why not join the Brotherhood? My boys here wouldn¡¯t abandon me if shit gets tough.¡± ¡°A gang of criminals and lowlifes, sure,¡± I snidely replied. ¡°I¡¯m sure someone like me would fit in perfectly after the shit I pulled tonight. Five of your guys inside are out cold and two more behind you are hurt.¡± Nemesis spared a glance behind him at the two guys I had managed to tag with my shots. Their tops were burnt and they were groaning, clutching their scorched wounds. While he did that, I risked a small little glance to my side. With my head covered by the helmet, my eyes wouldn¡¯t draw any suspicion. Gold ¨C now Orange ¨C was digging around in her shoulder. I had looked just in time to see her remove the bullet. Then she switched to Red and mouthed ¡®two minutes¡¯. ¡°Are you not even going to help them?¡± I asked. None of them moved to help their fallen comrades. I snorted. ¡°Some brotherhood.¡± Nemesis offered an indifferent shrug. ¡°They broke away from the plan and got overconfident after getting in a couple of good shots. Now, they¡¯re paying the price. They¡¯ll live and it¡¯ll be a good lesson about how stupid it is to attack an Evohuman.¡± None of the other thugs reacted to his admission so they probably agreed with him. It was a brutal philosophy but I couldn¡¯t deny it probably worked very well. The two guys I had shot would probably think twice before approaching a super again. ¡°Alright, let me guess. I¡¯m going to get the recruitment speech now aren¡¯t I?¡± I asked, eyeing up the firing squad. The pieces of Alice¡¯s plan were starting to come together in my head and I could tell it wasn¡¯t going to be pretty. ¡°I¡¯m not going to join. You tried that already and it didn¡¯t exactly go well for Bonesmith or Banshee, did it?¡± Nemesis growled. ¡°You got lucky. Grim¡¯s got plans for Bonesmith and you better believe you¡¯ll be paying us back for what you did to Banshee.¡± ¡°In my defense, she drugged me, stole my money, and held a knife to my throat. A bullet to the leg feels like an even trade.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Nemesis sneered. I grimaced at his tone. From the sounds of it, it seemed like he was actually quite fond of her. ¡°Are you expecting an apology? You¡¯re going to be waiting for a while. She should have been more careful with who she was dealing with. She got cocky.¡± A boisterous laugh sounded from Nemesis. ¡°You¡¯re a kid who got lucky, twice. That isn¡¯t going to help you here. You got no way outta this and your friend abandoned you. It¡¯s either in a body bag, or with us. You¡¯d best make your choice real quick before I lose my patience.¡± Alice still wasn¡¯t ready, I needed more time. I needed to try a different approach. ¡°Are you sure? I¡¯ve been underestimated twice and I¡¯m two for two. I bet I can make it three after tonight. You really think I¡¯d attack your safehouse, one guarded by a super even, and not have a way to deal with backup?¡± The firing squad stilled, their heads slowly turning and looking at each other. They all looked visibly unnerved. Nemesis, however, didn¡¯t look very concerned. ¡°Maybe if you had your little friend here with you, I¡¯d be worried. By your own admission, she¡¯s left you behind,¡± Nemesis challenged. ¡°If you¡¯re trying to scare me off, it¡¯s not working. Honestly, it sounds like you¡¯re just itching to die.¡± ¡°Or I¡¯m just trying to bait your guys into shooting me. I¡¯m actually curious to see what will happen. This suit is rather new and I haven¡¯t tested everything out yet,¡± I said, feeling like I was on a roll. ¡°I¡¯m actually willing to bet that¡¯s why Mirage hasn¡¯t shown up. He doesn¡¯t want to get caught in the crossfire.¡± That caused Nemesis to pause. I waited with bated breath, seeing if my ploy would coax Mirage out of hiding. Maybe he¡¯d walk out from behind Nemesis and start taunting me again, or maybe he¡¯d appear behind me out of the darkness and ruin Alice¡¯s upcoming surprise. I waited for the pin to drop but it never came. Mirage was a no-show. Regardless, bringing him up was crucial to my desperate gamble to buy more time. Mirage didn¡¯t exactly seem like a team player and the more I thought about it, the more it began to make a little bit of twisted sense. Using his own analogy, Bayside really was like a big ocean and even the scariest of predators took advantage of their own weakened brethren. ¡°Seems like he turned tail and ran.¡± Nemesis grumbled. ¡°Mirage is a coward. I¡¯m not surprised he ran the moment he made the call.¡± Gold was wrong. Mirage wasn¡¯t feeding them information at all. What was his game then? ¡°Actually, it seems to me like he wanted someone else to take the fall for his screw up.¡± Come on, Alice. Any day now would be great¡­ Despite my egregiously bad position, I decided to do something insane. I lowered my hands and took a step forward. ¡°He failed to mention what kind of Mechakinetic I am,¡± I took another step. I heard some clicks as the firing squad readied their guns. ¡°He ran because he knew he couldn¡¯t win and he¡¯s set all of you up to take the fall.¡± I was floored that some of the gangsters actually took a step back. The only person who held their ground was Nemesis and even his grip around his spear tightened significantly. It was so quiet I could actually hear the fabric around his knuckles stretch. Nemesis stepped forward, leveling his weapon at my chest. ¡°You talk like you¡¯ve already won.¡± ¡°Maybe I have. Go ahead, shoot me,¡± I turned my head to the rest of the firing squad. The anticipation was so thick I could have sworn my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I was confident I could survive at least the first couple of shots. My armor was more than enough to take half a dozen hits, but withstanding consistent fire was another question altogether. Places in my armor would probably weaken and one bullet might manage to break through. Regardless, my gambit had won out. All the thugs suddenly looked too scared to pull the trigger. ¡°Bullets might not work on you,¡± Nemesis completely bought into my lie, sounding a tad more serious. ¡°But I¡¯d wager my spear could pierce whatever shield you¡¯ve got. I¡¯ve managed to cut through Nanoforge¡¯s armor before. I doubt you have anything that could match.¡± Shit, he¡¯s got me there. If his spear could cut through Nanoforge¡¯s Mechatech, then my suit stood no chance. ¡°I dare you to try.¡± Now, I was really rolling the dice. I hadn¡¯t been counting but it had to have been more than three minutes. Death loomed over me but I could see the hesitation flash behind Nemesis¡¯ mask. His eyes narrowed as he heaved his spear up, holding it like a javelin. I could have sworn my life flashed right before my eyes as he took a step forward to throw. A shrill cry sounded from behind me. ¡°DUCK!¡± I dropped to the ground as something big sailed over my head. I looked up in time to see Nemesis and his firing squad get wiped out by the metal dumpster. Like tenpins, they were bowled over and sent rolling across the street. Climbing to my feet, I locked onto the biggest threat and rushed Nemesis. He was still trying to gather his bearings when I dived on top of him, wrestling for control of his spear. I grabbed a hold of it right in time to hear some gunshots sound from my distant right. A stray bullet pinged off the side of my helmet and shocked me enough that I almost lost my hold on his spear. Nemesis tried to take advantage of my momentary shock but I managed to keep a tight grip on the metal. There were more gunshots but they seemed to be directed at Alice. ¡°Let go!¡± Nemesis snapped. We rolled and wrestled for his weapon. He wasn¡¯t much bigger than me but he was definitely older. He didn¡¯t feel much stronger than me either, which I was grateful for. If he had any sort of strength enhancement I¡¯d be dead already. As we continued to struggle for dominance, I knew I wasn¡¯t going to last much longer. His experience was eventually going to win out and he¡¯d come out on top, so I made another desperate gamble. I focused on the spear and let my power take hold. I spent the last charge I had and transmuted the material. We both lost our grip on the spear as it turned into liquid. This, however, gave Nemesis the opening he needed to kick me away, his spiked boots grinding against my armor with a loud shriek. I coughed, winded as I tried to climb to my feet. Nemesis was already up and running toward me. Before I could make it to my feet, he kicked me again, this time in the stomach. It was enough to incapacitate me for a few seconds. ¡°You piece of SHIT!¡± He growled. He turned and raised his hand out toward his weapon that had since reformed. I watched with bated breath, hoping my change hadn¡¯t been for naught. The spear did not move. ¡°What the hell?¡± I managed to claw my way back to my feet in the midst of his confusion. He lashed out and tried to kick me again but I jumped out of the way. ¡°WHAT DID YOU DO!?¡± I felt like laughing. Magnetism. It was a simple solution. I just changed it to pure titanium. Out of the corner of my eye, Alice ¨C or Red ¨C was making short work of the thugs ¡ª many of whom now sported twisted limbs¡ª that were shooting at her. It seemed not only was she very strong, but also bulletproof while Red. Very handy. Nemesis shook with a rage I hadn¡¯t seen in anyone before. ¡°You¡¯re going to regret messing with my spear when I skewer you like a fucking pig!¡± He broke into a sprint toward his weapon. I remembered my laser pistol ¨C the one he had been holding before our surprise attack. My head turned toward where he had been standing and sure enough, there it was, lying on the ground just a couple of meters away from me. There was nothing for it. I put all my remaining strength into my legs and made a break for it. I heard the scrape of metal behind me as Nemesis snatched up his spear and raced toward me. I reached for the pistol, my hands latching onto it as I ducked into a roll. I spun and blindly emptied the magazine. Nemesis was quick ¨C surprisingly so with his heavy-looking costume ¨C but he wasn¡¯t quick enough. He was just beginning a thrust when my shots landed. One miss, two chest shots, and one headshot. Parts of the armor on his chest and head glowed red. He fell back with a scream, thrashing around on the ground wildly trying to scramble out of his gear. I straightened up, breathing so heavily that my visor was starting to fog up. There was a gust of wind and suddenly Pink was at my side holding two bags ¨C one of which I had abandoned back in the alleyway. The wound on her shoulder still looked fresh but it wasn¡¯t bleeding anymore. Something to do with Red, I was willing to bet. ¡°ECU bozo¡¯s will be here any minute. We gotta skedaddle!¡± We raced to my car and by the time I made it there, Pink had already unlocked it and switched on the engine. Without a shred of hesitation, she slammed her foot on the accelerator and we raced off into the night. Framework 6 I collapsed back into one of Sam¡¯s sofa chairs before running a hand through my hair. Two in the morning. The clock on her kitchen oven was, unfortunately, correct. It had taken some time to patch Sam up once we had gotten back to her place. The wound in her shoulder was ugly and needed extensive cleaning as well as stitches, all of which I hadn¡¯t the faintest clue how to do. Luckily, Gold was able to run me through the steps while I operated on her. Overall, I think I did a decent job. Sam lay across from me on her couch, her shoulder bandaged with an ice pack over the wounded area. She was still in her costume but she had removed the domino mask the moment we had stumbled through the front door. ¡°What a night, huh?¡± She chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been shot. I¡¯d almost forgotten how much it sucks. Good thing we took some of that biogel.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been shot before?¡± She turned her head lazily. ¡°Yup. Few times when I was younger,¡± she pointed to two spots on her abdomen, then to a spot just above her knee. ¡°This one was the worst. Even as Pink I barely got away and cleaning it was awful. The only reason I could get through it was Orange.¡± I sniffed and rubbed my eyes. Tonight''s events were finally starting to set in. ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything that really compares. I broke my arm when I was in primary school but other than that, this is probably the worst injury I¡¯ve had,¡± I motioned to my eye. ¡°But I barely even feel it now.¡± ¡°Looks like it¡¯s healing up nicely,¡± Sam said with a smile. ¡°Being shot isn¡¯t all that it¡¯s cracked up to be huh? It kinda hurts.¡± I rolled my eyes at her weak attempt at humor. ¡°Hopefully, we won¡¯t have to worry about that soon. I have some ideas about how to improve my gear so we don¡¯t end up in a situation like that again. Yours too. I think I¡¯ll be able to do something with your costume.¡± I had thought about it on the drive back. Sam slowly sat up before heading toward her bedroom. ¡°Be back in a second. I need to get out of these clothes.¡± She was gone for a couple of minutes, which left me a few moments to contemplate everything in silence. I spent a minute or two just processing everything, but I didn¡¯t let myself linger on those thoughts too long. I had already done a lot of that on the way back. Instead, I reached into the backpack which went largely ignored until now, and retrieved Deadlock¡¯s tech. Space-Time Dimensional Occupation Unit¡­ Gently, I held it with both hands and slowly began inspecting it. It was such an inconspicuous object that at a glance, could be easily mistaken for a fancy paperweight. There were no ports or other interfaces that I could find. Each side of the cube was as smooth as polished marble, but my power was telling me that it was Mechatech. How was I supposed to interact with it? How do you function? It wasn¡¯t like I could just connect my laptop and mess with it. This was way too advanced. It was likely millennia ahead of anything that could be built today. Deadlock would have the tools to get inside of it but I doubted she¡¯d be willing to play tech support. If it were me, I¡¯d tell them to go kick bricks and then send someone after them. My power had never interacted with other Mechatech before either, so this was a first. The brief brain blast I experienced when I touched it for the first time felt like a thousand doors all opening at once. There was just so much to consider. But¡­ It wasn''t small. Not really, but that was an instinctive feeling or perhaps something my power was feeding me. What I was holding in the palm of my hand felt big. Bigger than the room I was sitting in ¨C maybe even bigger than the building. It had to be smaller on the outside. It was a hard feeling to quantify but it was there, tucked neatly into the back of my mind. It has [Spatial Distortion] and [Environmental Simulation] systems. The desire to know what was inside only grew the longer I stared at it. ¡°Here,¡± Sam emerged from her bedroom and tossed me a bag with her good arm. Inside was her costume, intact and drenched in sweat. Lovely. ¡°Can you make the materials better, bulletproof maybe? Try not to change the design, I like the way it looks.¡± ¡°Sounds simple enough. Any other requests?¡± She managed to force a shrug as she settled back into her spot on the couch. ¡°Make it warmer?¡± ¡°Wear a jacket.¡± ¡°A jacket ruins the look.¡± I touched the fabric of the scrunched-up corset to see what I could work with. The corset was made of hard-wearing cotton while the rest of the costume was made up of other weaker fancy materials. It was probably due to her powers that she was able to keep the outfit in such good condition. I viewed the various upgrade paths, many of which were useless for what she was asking. I had to focus strictly on the materials of the item and upgrade those to get exactly what she wanted. ¡°Is fashion really more important after what happened tonight?¡± I asked, giving her a worried look. ¡°People aren¡¯t thinking about what you look like when they¡¯re shooting at you. Unless I build a personal energy shield or something, upgrading your costume won¡¯t do much.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± she hummed. ¡°Can you do that instead?¡± ¡°Probably. No clue what I¡¯d use as a base though.¡± Sam snorted. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. In the meantime, my basic stuff is due for a bit of a spitshine.¡± ¡°I can make it more durable and less likely to tear. Areium should work.¡± Sam tilted her head, giving me an impressed look. ¡°The fact that you can conjure Evomats out of thin air will piss a lot of supers off. Pyranium was a nice choice for the car by the way, it¡¯s basically a tank.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a whole bunch Evomats to choose from, but very few of them are as inconspicuous as Areium and Pyranium,¡± I explained. ¡°So if you don¡¯t want your outfit changed, Areium is probably your best option.¡± ¡°Well, it can stop most low caliber rounds. It¡¯s fire retardant and insulated too. Durable as well; though the rumors about it being self-repairing are a lie,¡± Sam mused aloud. ¡°I think that¡¯ll do for my outfit, though getting shot has always been the least of my worries.¡± ¡°You think so?¡± I could help but laugh. ¡°A single shot to the head can end you.¡± ¡°Depends who¡¯s doing the shooting. Most of the times I get shot at, it''s from the inexperienced. They can¡¯t aim as well as they think they can, so avoiding it is easy,¡± she explained. ¡°I¡¯m more cautious if I know the people have some kind of military training, but even then Pink¡¯s enough to throw off their aim.¡± I gave a pointed look to the wound on her shoulder. She snorted. ¡°I don¡¯t count lucky shots.¡± ¡°A lucky shot is all it takes,¡± I argued. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want me to make you something a little more¡­¡± I trailed off, hoping she¡¯d get the idea. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Sam smiled. ¡°If you want to get me into spandex you''re going to have to try a little harder than that. It itches and sticks to my skin. I hate it.¡± ¡°I can easily fix that,¡± I insisted. ¡°It covers the whole body and I¡¯ll be able to upgrade it into something that will protect you when you¡¯re not Red¡ª¡± ¡°Pass.¡± Her defiance bothered me. It was like getting shot wasn¡¯t all that big of a deal to her. Normally, this would be a non-issue for Enhancement types, but only Red had that power and she had to constantly switch to be at her strongest. She could get caught off guard and die because she wasn¡¯t using the right power. Gold had to know this. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Do I really need a reason? I like my costume, Max. It¡¯s just¡­ me.¡± I blinked. ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± She sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to. Just¡­ please, do what you can, but keep it the way it is.¡± It was unreasonable. I couldn¡¯t fathom why but I¡¯d accept it. Upsetting her seemed pointless and I doubt she¡¯d wear it even if I did change it just to make a point. I¡¯d make the changes to her costume but I¡¯d need to figure out something else to stop her from getting her brains splattered. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll fix up your costume but I¡¯ll need to figure something else out for you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s much worse things out there than bullets,¡± Sam said. ¡°There are things that armor won¡¯t be able to protect from. Nemesis claimed to be able to cut through Nanoforge¡¯s armor and he can. That wasn¡¯t a bluff.¡± ¡°Powers are different. Not everyone has them. Anyone can pick up a gun and pull a trigger, Sam.¡± ¡°Not everyone has the bravery to pull the trigger,¡± she replied. Mirage¡¯s taunts echoed in my head. Sam sighed again. ¡°I¡¯m not going to budge on this.¡± ¡°Yeah I can see that. I wish you¡¯d tell me why.¡± ¡°Maybe someday, but not today. It¡¯s personal.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± I trailed off awkwardly. ¡°Anyway, improving your outfit won¡¯t take long. I¡¯ll add it to my list of things to work on over the weekend. Unless you need it back sooner, in which case I can do it before leaving tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Look at me,¡± Sam gestured to her injured shoulder. ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m going anywhere? With Pink I heal pretty quickly, but I won¡¯t be ready for at least a few days. I know you¡¯re concerned so take your time to make it as best as it can be. I¡¯ll be busy in the meantime while I¡¯m on bedrest.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got something planned?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be conducting an in-depth analysis on The Cain¡¯s supers ¨C the ones we met so far. I¡¯ll email it to you when I¡¯m done. I expect you to read them.¡± ¡°You¡¯re giving me homework?¡± ¡°Homework that¡¯ll help keep us alive,¡± Sam lectured. ¡°Powers, strengths and weaknesses, habits, gear, personality. Everything I can figure out will be in there. Then we¡¯ll be hitting some more fortified locations to start weakening their hold on their territory.¡± She looked serious, more than I expected. After tonight¡¯s outing, I would have thought she¡¯d want to dial it back ¨C take the foot off the gas so-to-speak. ¡°Sounds like you want to wage war on them.¡± ¡°Mirage might be a smug bastard but he was right about one thing, Max. If we want to get them off our back, we¡¯re going to have to treat this like war,¡± Sam explained, her smile disappearing. ¡°Think about it, if we can dismantle the Cains and boot them out of Bayside, we can claim everything they leave behind. If we do that then what they stole from you will be chump change.¡± The idea sounded insane. The Cains had powerful supers on their roster and that was just the ones that were public knowledge. Who knows what kind of aces they were hiding up their sleeves? ¡°Just the two of us? I admire your optimism.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be the two of us. We¡¯re a team right? Teams can be more than two people,¡± Sam said. ¡°Half the reason I even go to school is so I can scout other people and see if they¡¯re willing to team up. With you on board, others will be more interested.¡± ¡°I can see the appeal. Strength in numbers,¡± I said, agreeing with her sentiment. ¡°Though, I don¡¯t imagine many would want to join a vigilante group with borderline villain tendencies.¡± ¡°A lot of supers our age have issues with authority but the heroic propaganda the ECU spews out does make things a little bit harder,¡± Sam mused before shrugging. ¡°Regardless, we just have to target the right crowd. You can also make gear and not everyone will be as fussy as me, so that¡¯s another draw. Sure, powers are great but what well-renowned team doesn¡¯t have proper equipment nowadays?¡± It was true. Since the nineties, any organized crime didn¡¯t really get anywhere without a Mechakinetic supplying them, though there was an exception to every rule, The Cains seemed to get by just on the extreme notoriety Grim had accumulated over the years. If Sam wanted to dismantle Grim¡¯s growing empire, it would take a lot more than just the two of us to do so. ¡°I¡¯m all for tearing down scumbags and earning money, but messing with Grim is a glorified death sentence. Even what we¡¯ve done now is enough to piss him off,¡± I dragged my hands down my face, the fatigue really starting to set in. ¡°Sam. Is this a really good idea?¡± She stared at me and let out a dry laugh. ¡°Hah! Getting cold feet already?¡± ¡°Okay look. I¡¯m laying my cards out on the table here. I¡¯m doing this because I need money. My mom¡¯s paralyzed and has been since I was a kid,¡± I met Sam¡¯s gaze and her expression turned serious. ¡°Getting that fixed properly is going to cost a lot of money. Biokinetics charge an arm and a leg to make house calls.¡± Sam nodded slowly, pondering my words carefully. ¡°You haven¡¯t considered making something yourself?¡± She questioned. ¡°If I understand your powers correctly, then would I be right in saying a wheelchair is technically just a very basic exoskeleton made for disabled people? Surely if you put enough into it you¡¯d be able to get your mom walking again. All it would take is¡ª¡± ¡°Telling her I awakened,¡± I finished for her. Sam shrugged while I just let out a tired sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t want Mom to know. It all comes with a bunch of issues I don¡¯t want to deal with. She already freaks out over the smallest things. If she knew I had powers¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯d get a single moment of privacy again. She¡¯d be checking in on me every second she could.¡± Sam turned away and stared at the ceiling. ¡°I get it,¡± she started. Her eyes closed as her voice turned softer. ¡°I told my parents about my powers. It didn¡¯t turn out as well as I hoped. Gold even warned me not to but I didn¡¯t listen. I thought I knew them better than her,¡± she let out another dry chuckle. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me your reasons. Gold already figured them out for the most part. I understand completely.¡± ¡°I just wanted to point out that I can¡¯t help my Mom if I¡¯m dead. I tried going about things discreetly and it got me kidnapped. If we¡¯re going up against Grim, we can¡¯t go in blind like we did tonight.¡± ¡°You¡¯re preaching to the choir,¡± Sam snorted. ¡°Yeah, I know. It¡¯s a dream of mine, a team that is. I want to lead them and build a future for myself. I¡¯m tired of running, jumping from place to place all the time.¡± I felt my head tilt a little as I pondered the last bit of information. ¡°How long have you been on your own?¡± ¡°I got my powers when I was thirteen, not too long after that, I ditched home, so about three years now,¡± she explained. ¡°I did some odd jobs here and there. Stole from some rich people to keep myself afloat. Even still, I knew I was going to hit a wall thick enough Red wouldn¡¯t be able to smash through. Gold¡¯s been saying for years I¡¯d have to hunker down and build something eventually.¡± ¡°Which is what you''re doing here,¡± I couldn¡¯t help but laugh a little. Of all the cities she could have chosen, Bayside was definitely not one of the best. ¡°You certainly picked a hell of a place.¡± ¡°I could have picked any country, but New Elpis has the highest awakening rate in the world so I thought I¡¯d try my luck here.¡± She shrugged ¡±Then all I had to do was pick a city, it could have been any really, Ashton, Caldon, Bayside, Zachary Port. The beach is what sold it for me. Love a good place to tan.¡± ¡°And how¡¯s it working out for you so far?¡± Sam grinned. ¡°Well, considering I¡¯ve got your ear I can talk off, I think it¡¯s working out just fine. Well, even with the trigger happy locals, I¡¯d give it a solid seven outta ten,¡± she flinched as she moved her shoulder. ¡°Ooh, that¡¯s going to be a bitch in the morning.¡± ¡°Speaking of morning, it¡¯s late. Could I crash here tonight?¡± I asked. I didn¡¯t like the idea of going home this late at night. ¡°If it¡¯s too much¡ª¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s cool. We¡¯re teammates!¡± Sam sat up again, her face scrunching up at the discomfort in her shoulder. ¡°What about your mom? Won¡¯t she worry?¡± ¡°She sleeps in on weekends so you can just drive me home in the morning,¡± I replied. ¡°What¡¯s your plan for Grim?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a work in progress for now. I¡¯ll need to do some digging.¡± ¡°Right, and this?¡± I pointed to the inconspicuous billion-dollar mechatech sitting on the coffee table. ¡°What should we do with this?¡± Sam stared at it and groaned a little. She rubbed her forehead and sighed. ¡°Can I leave that with you? You''re the tech guy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Deadlock¡¯s tech. I can try and crack it, but¡­¡± I trailed off, my eyes lingering on the black cube. ¡°It could take weeks, months even, before I have something that can breach its security. That''s the best case scenario.¡± ¡°Worst case?¡± ¡°Worst case is it stays locked and we¡¯ll have to find someone else to do it.¡± Sam pursed her lips before shaking her head. ¡°Nah. Gold thinks you can do it.¡± My brow rose. ¡°High praise coming from her.¡± ¡°I know!¡± Sam laughed. ¡°You impressed her tonight. Nice job, by the way.¡± I felt myself heat up a little at the compliment. ¡°Never been one for improv, but I guess a life or death situation can bring out all sorts of talents. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised they took the bait. I wasn¡¯t keen on getting shot but it was the best I could come up with.¡± ¡°Mechakinetics that don¡¯t just hide away and build stuff are either the weakest or the scariest supers in the world and given how confident you were, they couldn¡¯t decide which one you were,¡± Sam chuckled. ¡°Alright. I don¡¯t think I can keep my eyes open any longer. If you wake up before me, save me some hot water. I hate cold showers.¡± Sam shuffled off toward her bedroom. She didn¡¯t even bother to close the door before I heard the springs on her bed squeak. Switching the lights off, I moved to the couch, kicking off my shoes and removing my jacket. The moment I closed my eyes and allowed myself to relax, the fatigue hit me, and I was out like a light. Framework Interlude - Anomaly Tick. Tick. Tick. The constant ticking was only made worse by the otherwise silent room. He could hardly hear himself think. Looking up from the floor, he glared at the clock across the room. Time continued to tick on, even as he was forced to sit. Despite the air-conditioned room, he felt uncomfortably warm. Tick. Tick. Tick. The boy grunted, his leg beginning to bounce. How long could this meeting possibly go on for? It should have been an open-and-shut case, he had no defense. His fate was sealed. Tick. Tick¡ª The boy¡¯s hand suddenly changed, and the flesh from the elbow up shifted into a black gelatinous substance. It writhed like a tentacle before it lashed out across the room, extending and slapping the bothersome clock off the wall. Then In the blink of an eye, the alien-like appendage was gone. The door to his left opened and the boy turned his head. An old man lumbered out, followed by the school principal. They both looked at the broken clock before turning to the obvious culprit. ¡°What?¡± The boy scowled. ¡°It just fell off.¡± ¡°Liam,¡± the old man said, his voice low and full of warning. ¡°Pick it up. We¡¯re leaving,¡± he turned back to the principal. ¡°I¡¯ll have it repaired and delivered back to you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite alright. It¡¯s old and I¡¯ve been meaning to replace it anyway. Thank you, Mr. Anderson.¡± Liam stood, sulking as he dragged himself over toward the broken clock. Picking it up, he ignored the broken glass, opting to leave it on the floor. When he turned back, he saw his old man shake hands with the principal before returning to his office. With a simple gesture, the old man ordered Liam to walk. ¡°Look, whatever he told you¡ª¡± ¡°Quiet,¡± the old man grumbled. ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood for your excuses.¡± They were out of the building and halfway to the car park when the old man spoke again. ¡°That¡¯s two schools in six months. Sooner or later, I¡¯m going to run out of places to send you.¡± Liam just shrugged. ¡°Have you considered not sending me to school? That way I won¡¯t get into trouble with idiots looking to prove a point. It''s not my fault some people need to have their ego stroked.¡± ¡°You need to learn restraint and for God¡¯s sake take that hood off,¡± the old man reached over and yanked Liam¡¯s hood down, revealing scruffy dark hair with curls and a healthy mediterranean complexion. The boy squinted as the sunlight hit his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not some gangster. You¡¯re fifteen, a child.¡± ¡°Nobody gives a shit how old you are.¡± ¡°With that attitude, you¡¯ll end up dead,¡± the old man said, glaring at the teenager. ¡°Is that what your sister would have wanted for you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck what she would have wanted,¡± Liam sneered. ¡°You promised you wouldn¡¯t bring her up.¡± ¡°And you promised to clean up your act, yet here we are. Again,¡± they reached the Range Rover and Liam climbed into the back seat. He had long since lost his front-seat privileges with the old man. ¡°What is it going to take for you to wake up? There¡¯s only so much I can do before I¡¯ll end up burying you.¡± Liam scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m not going to die.¡± ¡°Keep going like you are and you¡¯ll end up in a gang. Once that happens, there will be very little I can do to protect you, ¡± he warned, switching the vehicle on. ¡°After that a grave won¡¯t be too far off.¡± ¡°I never asked for you to look after me.¡± Sadly, the old man shook his head. ¡°Someone has to, kid.¡± Liam stared out the window, eyes glazing over as the traffic became a blur. It provided a nice escape where he daydreamed about a better life. School, friends, and family. It all just slipped through his fingers. ¡°I know I said I¡¯d do better,¡± Liam sunk into his seat. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ hard.¡± The old man didn¡¯t react, keeping his sunken eyes focused on the road. A soft, pained exhale sounded from him. ¡°I know, kid. I know.¡± Liam couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak for the rest of the journey. When they pulled into the driveway, Liam was quick to jump out and head to the front door. Naturally, he had to wait for the old man to get out, lock the car, then hobble over and unlock the house. When they finally got inside, the young teen strolled through the entrance, swinging his school bag to the side before starting to head off to his room. He stopped when his eyes caught on something strange on the living room table. It was a drone with four mechanical spider legs protruding from each side. The body of it looked like a race car with folded helicopter blades on the top. ¡°A drone?¡± Liam approached cautiously until a hand clamped down on his shoulder. ¡°Hey, I wasn¡¯t going to touch it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an investment,¡± the elder grumbled. ¡°Work related. Do not touch.¡± ¡°I just said that I wouldn¡¯t.¡± The old man¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Forgive me if I feel the need to make myself clear.¡± Liam¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll be in my room.¡± Up the stairs and through the first door on the left, he was met with the same mess that he had left it in this morning. Clothes were strewn about with old pizza boxes stacked in the corner next to the tv. Uncle Francis called it a biohazard but Liam could never muster the energy to actually clean up. There were no cockroaches yet, so as far as he was concerned, the mess could stay. Collapsing into his desk chair, he swiveled a bit while contemplating his next move. He stared at his PC and a sense of melancholy prevented him from moving. He tried to muster the energy to at least turn it on, but the lethargy overwhelmed his desire to do anything. Damn it. His thoughts about school just wouldn¡¯t go away. He hadn¡¯t tried to get expelled, he actually liked Eastworth Boys. Sure the uniform sucked but his peers were more bearable than any other school he¡¯d been to. Everyone minded their own business for the most part, but there was always one group that liked to ruin everything. Bullies were inescapable and Liam refused to be a victim. They fucked around and found out. Where next then? He thought idly. Minerva probably, but with how many places I¡¯ve been through, getting in will be a hassle¡­ ugh, fuck. Liam eventually mustered the will to turn on his computer and managed to find a few moments of solace in an online shooter. It was distracting at least but he had trouble actually concentrating on the game. It only lasted until the sun went down and the hunger pains became too intrusive to ignore. Switching off his electronics, he stood up and stretched before making his way over to the window. Opening it, he leaned out to take a breath of the cool night air. The smell of freshly cooked food wafted past his senses and he found himself scanning the houses in his neighborhood, lights on and seeking to escape past the closed curtains. A quick look at his bedside digital clock showed that it was five past eight, yet the darkness of night had yet to really cover the world. It was still early ¨C at least for Liam. He¡¯d make the most of tonight to try and get his mind off things. He couldn¡¯t sit in front of a game for too long like he could when he was younger, he got too antsy after a while. With sharp speed, his left arm shifted into that familiar black gelatinous appendage. It stretched unnaturally and snaked under his bed to retrieve a wad of cash. Liam fanned it out, doing a quick count in his head to make sure it was enough. Some takeout sounds nice. I¡¯m in the mood for a burger¡­ maybe pizza? Satisfied with the amount, he directed his appendage to the bottom drawer of his nightstand to retrieve something from the inside. Hidden neatly under a dusty physics textbook, was a stretchy tie-dye piece of fabric. Liam slipped it over his face with ease, the elastic clinging to his skin comfortably. He pulled it all the way down to his neck so that everything just below the bridge of his nose was covered. Liam took a deep breath and exhaled. He could never leave home at night without this mask. He climbed out of the window, stuffed the cash into his jacket pocket, then turned around and closed the window. Using his alien-like appendage, he slipped it under the crack of the window frame and locked it from the inside. Once done, he turned and allowed the gelatinous substance to spread across his whole body. It flowed over him like rivers until his power had covered him entirely. His vision darkened as his body grew, his legs elongating as well as his arms. The world became distorted from Liam¡¯s eyes as every light source seemed a bit too bright, like miniature glowing suns. The darkness was visible, but almost completely transparent. Colors bled away from the world and everything turned to black and white. The world became silent, so much so that he wouldn¡¯t have heard a gunshot even if it went off right next to his head, but familiar ripples emanated from all around him. The crickets in the grass. The distant traffic of the city. The various houses. Crouching down, his gangly legs coiled like a spring before catapulting him into the air. Liam soared through the sky, unaffected by the wind. At the peak of his leap, gravity took hold and pulled him back to Earth. Eyeing up his descent, he saw a house approach, an ideal landing spot. Instead of crashing through the roof of the family home, his black gelatinous form collapsed into sludge and splattered across the roof before lurching upward like a tidal wave. He quickly pulled together and reformed back into the twelve-foot-tall humanoid figure. Liam¡¯s legs took another few long strides before coiling again and sending him off into the sky. It would be a few minutes before he reached his destination but he liked to observe the neighborhoods he passed by. Sometimes, there would be something interesting going on; like gang activity, a super fight, or a party. He¡¯d always go and have a look, maybe even get involved and have some fun. What¡¯s that? Large ripples caught his attention. He followed the source of the waves and Liam found himself staring at a three-story house in a high-middle-class neighborhood. He didn¡¯t recognize it but the ripples were strong and there were people everywhere. Perfect, a house party, Liam thought eagerly. Plenty of food and people to talk to. He rushed across the rooftops, blending in with the shadows until he reached the house. He landed on the roof of the house party and searched for a way to enter without being noticed. The chimney was a no-go since there was black smoke pouring out of the top and likely people watching the fireplace. The front door was out because he doubted he could get in without really being invited. If he wanted to mingle he had to get inside without being noticed first. Then, no one would bat an eye. Slinking around the roof, his neck extended to allow him to examine the different sides of the building. There were several bedrooms, all occupied. Eventually, he found his entrance in the form of an empty bathroom. The window was locked but that wasn¡¯t much of a concern for him. Sliding across the rooftop, he extended and snaked his body, flattening himself to fit through the cracks. He pooled into a liquid on the floor before he grew and returned to his human form. Acting quickly, he locked the door and began hyping himself up in the mirror. He puffed out his chest a little and kept his back straight to appear taller. He was only about five-six. He still had a lot of room to grow but right now, it was obvious from the shape of his body and jawline that he was still just a teenager. Once he was ready, he turned around to flush the toilet and pulled down his face mask so it hung loosely around his neck. Finalizing the illusion, he exited the bathroom. The hallway outside was filled with people, all of whom were drinking out of plastic cups. A quick scan showed that they were all probably older than him by a decent margin, in the range of eighteen to early twenties. He didn¡¯t recognize anyone, so that was a bonus. Casually, he began walking, making sure to appear confident. Just act as if you belong and nobody will bat an eye. He made his way downstairs and his night really began. Liam began mingling, talking with a few people and just vibing to the music. He drank, flirted with a few girls, and joined a game of beer pong with some random guys. All in all, it was a pretty good night. That was, until, his eyes caught someone who he hadn¡¯t seen in a long time. Immediately, he found an excuse to disengage from the group he was with. He moved through the house with a cup in hand, he quickly skulled the contents and went to get a refill. He kept his head down, only scarcely looking up to see if she had seen him. Looking out of the kitchen and back into the packed living room, the girl and her group of friends moved a little and his eyes caught hers again. No fucking way, man. Fuck. He looked again. This time, she looked back. He immediately turned away. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. He was so stunned his cup overfilled and spilled onto the floor. He quickly fetched a rag and threw it on the floor to soak up the cider when someone tapped on his shoulder. ¡°Hey,¡± her voice was so sickly sweet it made his stomach churn. He turned to see the familiar girl, standing with a curious expression. ¡°Holy crap, it is you!¡± Liam stepped back a bit and laughed awkwardly. What the hell was he supposed to say to his childhood crush? He genuinely thought he¡¯d never see her again after she moved away. ¡°Heey, Mia,¡± he said, cringing. ¡°I thought you moved out of town?¡± ¡°Things didn¡¯t really work out, so Mom and Dad moved back,¡± Mia suddenly frowned. ¡°Why are you here? You¡¯d be like¡­ fifteen now? If you get caught here you could get into serious trouble!¡± ¡°I-I was invited.¡± Mia chortled. ¡°No you weren¡¯t. No one in their right mind would invite someone your age. Well, actually¡ª¡± She smirked, holding up a single finger. ¡°I know of a couple of deviants that probably would, but none of them know you.¡± Liam finally found some courage. ¡°Hey, things have changed since you¡¯ve been gone. You don¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± She challenged, her smirk widening. ¡°Let¡¯s go talk to Nathan then. I¡¯m sure you guys are just the best of friends.¡± She was halfway turned when Liam reached out and stopped her. ¡°Okay-okay! I snuck in,¡± he admitted with a scowl. So much for his amazing night. Nothing seemed to be going well today. ¡°Please, can you just chill? I¡¯m just vibing here.¡± ¡°Just vibing huh?¡± Her smirk vanished. ¡°Seriously, what the hell are you doing? You could get into serious trouble, not to mention you¡¯d bring down some serious heat on the guys hosting this.¡± Liam went to take a sip of his plastic cup before Mia snatched it out of his hand. ¡°Hey, I was¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡± He crossed his arms and leaned back on the kitchen counter. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve done this. I¡¯ve had a shit day, okay? Come on, I don¡¯t remember you being such a buzzkill.¡± ¡°Okay, first of all, I am not a buzzkill. I am being responsible, there¡¯s a difference,¡± Mia lectured. ¡°And second, you shouldn¡¯t be doing this at all, even if you had a shit day. This is how alcoholics are made, do I have to spell it out to you? Jesus, what the hell is Natasha going to think?¡± Liam¡¯s look darkened. ¡°Yeah, I thought so,¡± Mia continued. ¡°I still have her number, you know. We haven¡¯t talked in a while but I bet if I call her now and tell her where you are, she¡¯s going to be PISSED.¡± ¡°Do it.¡± Mia blinked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I said do it,¡± Liam challenged. ¡°She won¡¯t care.¡± Mia narrowed her eyes, slowly reaching into her pocket to retrieve her phone. Liam stared as she pulled it out and unlocked it. ¡°You sure? Last chance, we can save you the embarrassment. I¡¯ll even shout you a ride back to your place.¡± ¡°Call her.¡± Mia swiped through her contacts and found Natasha¡¯s name. She flashed him the screen of her phone and he just shrugged. Finally, Mia sighed and dialed the number. Placing the phone to her ear, she waited for Liam to lash out and try to snatch the phone from her, but he remained where he stood with a pensive, sad expression. The phone rang. And rang. Finally, it picked up. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Mia smiled. ¡°Heeeey Nat! I¡ª oh,¡± her smile morphed into a frown when she was directed to voicemail. She tried again. Same result. ¡°Seriously?¡± Mia stared at her phone, perplexed. ¡°I know it¡¯s been like six years but she always picked up.¡± ¡°She won¡¯t,¡± Liam grumbled, his voice barely audible over the loud thumping music. ¡°She never will.¡± Now, Mia looked worried. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he shrugged with a pissed-off, indifferent expression. ¡°She probably died or something.¡± ¡°Died¡­ what?¡± Mia¡¯s expression turned concerned. ¡°What is that supposed to mean? Liam¡ª¡± She reached out but he smacked her hand away. ¡°Hey¡ª!¡± ¡°She left, okay!?¡± Liam snapped. He stepped away and turned his back to her. ¡°Fucking¡­ I don¡¯t know. I went to sleep one night, woke up and she was just gone. Fucking gone. Never came back. Left me by myself,¡± he spat. ¡°Probably ran off with some guy too, fucking bitch.¡± ¡°Liam¡­¡± Mia''s gaze softened. ¡°Natasha would never do that! She adored you. She would never shut up about you. She loves you more than anything in the world!¡± His shoulders slumped a little and he turn away from her. ¡°Got a real funny way of showing it.¡± Slowly, Mia walked up behind him and threaded her arms under his to give him a hug. It should have been a gesture that would send his heart into the stratosphere but the empty hole Natasha had left behind just continued to eat away at him. He could barely register Mia¡¯s warmth. ¡°Come here,¡± Mia gently turned him around, fighting against his reluctance to look at her. Finally, she instead took him by the hand and pulled him away from the kitchen. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not leaving,¡± Mia clarified. ¡°Just going somewhere private to talk.¡± She led him back upstairs and into one of the occupied bedrooms. The occupants were quick to vacate when they saw Mia. It seemed that she was more well-known than Liam gave her credit for. Once the couple had left, she shut the door and locked it. Walking over to the bed, Mia plopped herself down and patted the spot next to her. ¡°I won¡¯t bite, come on.¡± Begrudgingly, Liam shuffled over and sat next to her. ¡°Now, tell me what¡¯s been going on. I want to know everything.¡± He took a moment before answering. There wasn¡¯t anyone he really felt comfortable talking to about this, not even Francis but if there was anyone that deserved to know, Mia was one of them. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ not much to tell. It¡¯s not a long story. I went to sleep one night and she was just gone in the morning. She left all her stuff behind and disappeared,¡± he paused, his mind lingering on the day. He remembered being worried, convincing himself she¡¯d be back later in the day and that she had just gone out for the morning. Then when one day turned into three, he felt himself fracture. ¡°I spent a couple of days on my own before child protective services showed up and took me away. I spent some time as a ward of the state before uh¡­ Uncle Francis came and took me in.¡± Mia¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°...Uncle Francis?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Nat never said anything about you guys having an uncle.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s weird, but it checked out apparently. I¡¯ve been living with him for the last couple of years.¡± Mia sombered and rubbed the back of her neck. ¡°At least you¡¯ve got someone to take care of you. How are you doing at school, is everything okay there?¡± Liam¡¯s nose wrinkled. School was the last thing he wanted to talk about. ¡°Yeah, fine.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Do we have to talk about school?¡± ¡°We gotta talk about something,¡± Mia insisted with a nudge. ¡°I can¡¯t help out if I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡± He heaved a sigh and rubbed his eyes. He had never felt so tired before. ¡°I got expelled today.¡± ¡°What!?¡± He leaned away from her at her exclamation, his ears ringing. She stood up and rounded on him. ¡°Why? What happened?¡± ¡°I got into a fight with a bunch of bullies. Might¡¯ve¡­ knocked some teeth out.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Mia narrowed her eyes. ¡°Usually they¡¯d just suspend you for that,¡± she paused when Liam averted his eyes. Mia groaned. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time it¡¯s happened, is it?¡± ¡°It was my third school.¡± Mia looked appalled. ¡°You can¡¯t be acting like that. School is important!¡± He sneered. ¡°No shit. I¡¯m not trying to get myself expelled.¡± ¡°Could have fooled me,¡± Mia replied hotly. ¡°I can help you study if you''re having trouble. If you can¡¯t get through the system, I¡¯ll at least help you get your UEQ.¡± Liam was reminded of what Francis had said earlier in the day about someone needing to watch out for him. If only they knew about his powers. He didn¡¯t need anybody. He¡¯d be perfectly fine on his own. It wasn¡¯t like he got bad grades either, it was just the obnoxious kids that were always in need of a good beat down. ¡°I¡¯m not having issues in class. I can average Cs¡ª¡± ¡°Cs are scraping by. That¡¯s not good enough.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, it¡¯s good enough for me,¡± Liam grumbled. ¡°Come on, why do you even care? I¡¯m just Nat¡¯s little brother. It¡¯s not like we were very close.¡± ¡°Your sister helped me out a lot and we were friends. All of us were!¡± Mia said, getting defensive. ¡°I know that I didn¡¯t keep in touch and I¡¯m sorry for that. I thought it was permanent so I just¡­ I didn¡¯t really think it was worth trying. At our age, this stuff happens all the time, but I¡¯m back now! Things might¡¯ve changed, but I don¡¯t want to just pretend what we had didn¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not blaming you for not keeping in touch,¡± Liam sighed. ¡°I¡¯m used to it.¡± He had already moved on from this when he was younger. It had been a childhood crush and he grew out of it. He rationalized it away as he got older, there would always be someone else to pique his interest but now, things were different. Mia was back and more gorgeous than ever. Her auburn hair was much longer and recently straightened ¨C which was a shame, he missed her curls. Her skin had a nice healthy tan to it so she wasn¡¯t quite as pale as he remembered, but she was still clearly recognizable. Seeing her again like this¡­ it just rekindled all those old feelings he used to feel when he was a kid. Maybe he just hit puberty sooner than every other kid but when Mia used to come to visit, he¡¯d get butterflies in his stomach. ¡°Don¡¯t guilt trip me like that, I know I should have called or something,¡± Mia groaned, brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry all this has happened to you.¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± Liam couldn¡¯t suppress a chuckle. ¡°What are you sorry for? You didn¡¯t do anything. It wasn¡¯t like you told her to abandon me. You didn¡¯t get me expelled from school. You¡¯ve got nothing to be sorry about.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just trying to be sympathetic. You¡¯ve had it rough.¡± Mia had an arm wrapped around his shoulder, giving him a half hug for comfort. It didn¡¯t really provide him with anything but it certainly brought more of his feelings to the forefront of his mind. It ¡ªand the buzz he had¡ª caused him to take a risk he hadn¡¯t really intended to make. ¡°I always had a crush on you.¡± Her arm stilled and a coldness stirred within his core. He didn¡¯t dare look in her direction as she slowly retracted her arm. ¡°Since I was a kid. I think I remember when it started. It was like two weeks after you started with Nat. I overheard you talking with her about how you and your mom went to the hairdresser and got your hair done. I was curious, peeked into Nat¡¯s room and saw you,¡± Liam recalled. The memory was as clear as day. ¡°I think that¡¯s the very first time I was ever just like¡­ stunned, by how beautiful someone could be.¡± Mia was quiet for a few moments. ¡°I¡­ wow.¡± Liam didn¡¯t miss the uncertainty in her tone. He just laughed nervously. ¡°Hah, yep. You got it in one,¡± he said, trying to summon as much bravery as he could muster. ¡°That about sums up my thoughts at the time.¡± That managed to get a laugh out of Mia. He felt a wave of relief as the ice broke. ¡°I never knew,¡± She admitted slowly. ¡°Sorry.¡± Liam just shrugged. ¡°I never told anyone. Didn¡¯t really know how. I was¡­ eight? Nine? You probably know what it¡¯s like. If your crush finds out about how you feel, it¡¯s the end of the world. So, I just kept it to myself.¡± Silence descended upon the two and Liam felt the ice reform, stronger than ever. The cold feeling inside of him magnified to the point where he was physically uncomfortable sitting so close to her. He couldn''t, for the life of him, face her. He dreaded what he¡¯d see. Life hadn¡¯t been good to him, so why would it start now? With each agonizing second without words between them, he managed to turn and look. Mia was looking down at the cup in her hands. Gone was all the maturity she had been displaying earlier, willing to listen to him and his troubles like an adult, replaced by an insecure-looking girl who didn¡¯t know how to handle the situation she was placed in. Her fingers picked at the sides of the plastic cup as she pressed her knees together. ¡°Mia¡ª¡± ¡°Liam¡ª¡± He stared and she stared back. ¡°Look, I¡ª¡± ¡°Look, I¡ª¡± They both chuckled at their flimsy attempts to speak. Finally, Liam cleared his throat. ¡°You first.¡± Mia gave him a weak smile. ¡°I appreciate the admission, Liam. I really do. You¡­ you¡¯re cute and you¡¯d make someone very happy,¡± She started. Liam could already feel his heart sink into an abyss. He could hear it in her voice, the oncoming ¡®but¡¯. It was inevitable. Even worse, he could easily guess the reason why as well. ¡°But¡­ I can¡¯t. It¡¯s weird.¡± There it was. Surprisingly, it didn¡¯t hurt as much as he had expected. ¡°Life¡¯s full of weird stuff,¡± Liam reasoned, feeling strangely more confident, definitely the booze then. ¡°We have superheroes and supervillains running around all over the world doing all kinds of impossible stuff. What¡¯s so bad about¡­ us?¡± Mia laughed. ¡°Uh, it¡¯s illegal. I get it might seem fine to you, but for me it¡¯s¡­ people would think I¡¯m gross, that I¡¯m taking advantage of you.¡± Liam frowned. ¡°Oh come on, are you serious? That¡¯s your hangup?¡± ¡°You¡¯re fifteen!¡± She exclaimed, laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Mia truly wasn¡¯t sure how to react to his confession. ¡°I¡¯m nineteen. I could go to prison if we started messing around. That¡¯s how bad it would get.¡± Liam didn¡¯t really see the big deal. If she got caught he¡¯d just go and break her out of prison. With his powers, it would be fairly easy. Common prisons were still pretty old-fashioned compared to the places supers got sent to. Could the ECU catch him? Maybe, but he¡¯d still risk it for her. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t tell anyone.¡± Mia sighed, her tone becoming aggravated. She got up off the bed and put some distance between the two of them. ¡°You¡¯re not getting it. We can¡¯t. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Just like that, his hopes sank. Running a hand through his hair, he clapped his hands on his thighs and leaned back a bit. ¡°Alright.¡± Mia glared at him. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°That,¡± She grumbled, pointing at him like there was something on his shirt. ¡°Sounding all sad and crap, like it¡¯s the end of the world. You¡¯re making me feel bad.¡± He knew better than to use force or try and talk her into stuff she didn¡¯t want to do. That was the kind of thing he started fights over and what those thugs in the Cains and Pandora did. Especially Pandora. ¡°Am I not allowed to feel sad?¡± Liam questioned, looking a little bit annoyed. ¡°Give me a break, I just got rejected. If I was older, would it be less weird?¡± Mia frowned but didn¡¯t immediately reply. Liam could see the hesitation on her face and her reluctance to answer was telling enough. ¡°...I guess.¡± ¡°So¡­ you do like me?¡± Mia shifted uncomfortably. ¡°You¡¯re making this really difficult for me. I don¡¯t want to hurt you Liam. Not after what you¡¯ve been through, I don¡¯t want to make it worse.¡± ¡°Just be straight with me then. It¡¯s a yes or no question.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that simple!¡± ¡°Yes it is!¡± ¡°Then no!¡± Mia shouted. She covered her face and took a shaky breath while Liam exhaled and slouched, looking away and trying to find a spot in the room to fixate on, as long as it wasn¡¯t Mia. ¡°I don¡¯t feel that way about you, I¡¯m sorry. Yeah sure, it¡¯d be less weird if you were older. Maybe in a couple of years when you''re eighteen I might feel differently but there¡¯s no telling what¡ª¡± ¡°Stop,¡± Liam sulked, standing up. He turned and headed for the door, his night thoroughly ruined. All he wanted to do now was go home and go to sleep. ¡°You¡¯ve made your point.¡± ¡°Jesus Christ, Liam. Stop!¡± She reached out to snag his hand but he easily ripped it away. ¡°Oh my god, are you kidding?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hate you, I just don¡¯t want to be here anymore,¡± Liam grumbled. ¡°You''re getting what you want. I¡¯m leaving.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what you want, then it¡¯s fine. Just stick around a little longer, I¡¯ll call you a ride.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother, I¡¯ll walk.¡± Unlocking the door, he stalked out of the room and down the hallway, ignoring Mia¡¯s protests as she followed him. He shoved his way past the partygoers and stormed out of the house. He spared one look behind him as he turned out of the driveway, seeing Mia watching with two of her friends at the front door. A small part of him wanted to stop and turn back, to go and talk to her again but his anger won out. Mia did not follow him onto the street and the further away from the house he got, the more he cooled down. Anger fizzled out for sadness and after a few minutes, Liam deflated. He found some solace in listening to the peaceful chirp of the crickets and the city nightlife. It was therapeutic and it didn¡¯t take him long to realize that he had been a real asshole. What the hell was I thinking? He wasn¡¯t. It had been a split-second decision made in a moment. Mia had been receptive which was far more than what Liam had been used to. Shit. He slowed to a stop. Turning, he stared back down the street. It was getting past midnight now and a lot of the homes in the area were dark, save for the occasional bedroom light. He hadn¡¯t kept track of how far he had walked. After a few moments of contemplation, he sighed ¡°Fuck¡­ this is going to be so weird.¡± He needed to apologize. He¡¯d go in, find her, say sorry, then leave again. He really shouldn¡¯t be showing up to parties like this anyway. She was right, he was too young and he¡¯d screwed up enough today. He needed to make this one thing right, at the very least. Strolling back, Liam thought about what he¡¯d say. Mia was probably going to be with her friends so he¡¯d have to apologize in front of them and look like a complete idiot while doing it. That was fine, he¡¯d swallow his ego. ¡°Okay¡­ hey, Mia. I know you think it''s weird and I get that. It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll¡ª no¡­ no, that sucks,¡± he murmured. Rubbing the back of his neck, he tried something else. ¡°Mia, I was wrong. I¡¯m just a little emotional right now, well, I have been for a while. Not really good at opening up after Nat¡ª ah no, fuck that, don¡¯t make excuses.¡± With each street he turned into by retracing his steps, his apology slowly started to come together. When he finally got to the right street, he slowed to a stop when he noticed something strange. There was no thumping music or rowdy partygoers. Instead, there was nothing but eerie silence. He surveyed the street and saw a large truck parked across from the house. That wasn¡¯t there before. He watched from a distance, unsure if he should keep going. If the music had stopped, Mia might have already left the party, which would make this whole endeavor a waste of time. Liam didn¡¯t want to believe that. It hadn¡¯t even been thirty minutes. How could the party have ended so quickly? Cops? His ears caught voices in the breeze. A stream of people came stumbling out of the house, all with bags over their heads. It was such a bizarre display that dread began to pool in Liam¡¯s stomach. The partygoers were followed by people carrying automatic guns, their identities concealed by masks or bandanas. He recognized the color scheme. The Cains. What the fuck? He was moving before he had a chance to think of a rational approach. His body shifted until he was lumbering down the sidewalk. Two of the gunmen spotted him and opened fire. Most of the bullets hit him, but the lead just punctured his body without even slowing him down. He bowled into the two that shot him, sending them flying down the street. Ripples emerged from the captured partygoers as they all threw the bags off their heads and scattered. Bullets shredded his inhuman body but his arms elongated and knocked all the gunmen off their feet in a single sweep. There were a dozen of them and Liam didn¡¯t hesitate to pound the ones closest to him. Bones cracked and blood spilled. None of them were able to slow the monster down. Both his limbs stretched and contorted so he could attack in multiple directions. He dominated the battlefield making short work of several gangsters at once. He threw two into parked cars and crushed another three into the pavement. The rest were strangled into unconsciousness. Victory for Liam was all but assured until ripples from the house caught his attention. He turned just in time to see blinding light burst from the house. He lost control of all his limbs as he was sliced into pieces. The gangsters he had been strangling all fell to the ground as his dismembered limbs melted into a pool of shadow. He brought himself together and reformed in the middle of the street. A super! There was a lone figure, a blazing white much brighter than anyone else at the party. He saw ripples emanate out from her. He quickly deciphered the ripples to figure out what she was saying. ¡°You must be Anomaly.¡± This person knew of him, which wasn¡¯t too much of a surprise. The name was new. It was pretty cool and he sure as hell couldn¡¯t have come up with anything better. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for an opportunity like this.¡± She threw light at him, it flew far faster than he could react and speared him right through. He could feel it stuck in his body, a solid mass that disrupted his liquid-like form. He tried to pull it out but another flash of light brought his attacker to the object. With a pull, she ripped it out, bisecting him. His top half fell and he reached out to grab her but she vanished in another flash of light. It then occurred to him who he was fighting. Gold Rush. He tried to pull himself back together but she kept cutting chunks out of him faster than he could reform. It was a losing fight and with each second was one he didn¡¯t know where Mia was. Ripples came from the truck and Anomaly''s sight caught the large vehicle starting to move. Panic drove him toward the fleeing truck, his body flowing like water toward the wheels to try and prevent it from gaining any traction. Rods of light barred his way for a split second before they erupted. Electricity crawled across his sludgy body, seizing his movement. His form spasmed like a shocked muscle as he writhed around, trying to wrench himself free. It was all useless; all he could do was watch the truck drive away. It had to have people inside. Mia could be inside. ¡°What the fuck does it take to kill you!?¡± More pillars of light pierced his pooling form, keeping him pinned and unable to reform. He needed to get out of this somehow, stretch himself thin enough that he could separate a part of himself to attack Gold Rush or redirect her attention elsewhere and escape. He tried to extend the edges of his form but she was far more perceptive than he gave her credit for. ¡°Not a chance,¡± the ripples kept coming. ¡°You¡¯ve been too much of a nuisance. You¡¯ll stay right there until you¡¯re dead, even if I have to get Grim to do it.¡± There had to be a way out. If he couldn¡¯t extend outward, he had to go up. He compelled his form to slowly climb the pillars of light. It was slow and grueling, but nothing Gold Rush did could prevent it. Even as his liquid form was impaled by more light, he continued to climb. I have to break them. He curled around the pillars and squeezed. They burst and he came apart. Bits of him flew all over the road. Anomaly felt himself in a thousand different places, connected by imaginary threads. He pulled and his scattered pieces rushed back and pooled, reforming him once again. This time, Gold Rush hadn¡¯t been fast enough. She tried to attack but he saw her coming. His body contorted and weaved out of the way. One of his limbs caught her ankle and he attempted to drag her up into the air but she flashed away. She could move even when restrained, apparently. Annoying. He burst forth, his body erupting into hundreds of tendrils, rushing her. He watched as his body chased her, darting between the columns of light she had placed down as she tried to avoid his attack. He watched her movements like a hawk. After she had evaded him a few times he came to a conclusion. She can only teleport to the light she creates. Covertly, he allowed a portion of his body to sink into the ground before spreading it out across the ground toward the columns of light. If he couldn¡¯t catch her, he¡¯d just have to trap her. Gold Rush sliced all the tendrils that came close. Whatever the light really was, she was able to hold it in her hand. Anomaly remembered how it felt when it pierced his body. Rods, solid. Solid light? He didn¡¯t know, but ultimately it didn¡¯t matter. He needed to catch her. She flashed to another rod and he seized the opportunity. A piece of him formed into a sharp tentacle behind her and speared her calf. The scream came out as a vicious ripple. He lashed out with one of his arms and smashed her in the face with enough force to send her toppling. He didn¡¯t wait to see what kind of damage he¡¯d inflicted. His other arm latched onto a nearby car, covering it with his liquid form before he swung it overhead toward her. Like a wrecking ball, it came down with enough force to shatter concrete. Gold Rush was quick to retreat, flashing out of the way at the last second. He speared her again when she reappeared, ripping through her bicep. More ripples. Can¡¯t beat what you can¡¯t kill. Her body burned brightly for a moment and then¡­ nothing. She was gone before he could finish the job. Did she teleport again? He searched the remaining columns of light. Where¡­? The pillars slowly fizzled out and blew away in the wind like dust, leaving him standing in the middle of the street with a bunch of unconscious gang members. A retreat then. Typically how most of his fights ended, though he had never wanted to kill his opponents as much as he did this time. It was a sensation new to Anomaly and he wasn¡¯t sure how to process it. He turned and looked at the totaled car he had thrown. It was lying upside down at the end of the street, crushed and falling to pieces. Mia! He ripped his attention away from the car and surveyed the area. All the partygoers he had saved were long gone or hiding. The house looked empty but it was worth checking. He stalked forward down the driveway to investigate the house. He checked every floor and every room. Empty. Mia was gone. Did she escape, or did they capture her? He had no idea. Terror flooded him as he fled the house. He landed on a nearby roof and looked back to see the ECU arriving. Would they be able to find Mia and make sure she was okay? Maybe she was part of the group he had saved when he returned, he couldn¡¯t be sure. His attention had been taken up by the gangsters and Gold Rush. He couldn¡¯t wait around for the ECU to find out. He had to know. Friction 1 After the week I had, having an entire weekend to relax was pure bliss. Sam and I decided to stay over seeing as we had kicked the hornet''s nest. I woke up at her place early and freshened up a bit before heading home and focusing on the equipment I wanted to enhance. My armor, pistol, Sam¡¯s costume, and the car were my top priorities with tools for my eventual workshop coming later. Saturday and Sunday drifted harmlessly by and gave me the time to mess with my gear. Seeing as I had no use for the phone that had been stolen from me anymore, I decided to repurpose it by integrating it into my helmet. The end result was a HUD with all of the functions of my old phone. Now the design all but screamed Mechatech. There were a couple of challenges, namely upgrading the UI so I could access most of the new features. Voice commands, eye tracking, and basic neural scanning left me sparse of charges on Saturday. So I shifted gears on Sunday and worked on Sam¡¯s costume along with my weapon before dropping both off at her place that night. On Monday morning, I started on some more complex upgrades to my phone and laptop while packing up my things for school. Security and hacking programs, raw processing power, and interfaces. If I was going to break into Deadlock¡¯s tech this century, I was going to need to start now. Upon arriving, I was reminded of Sam¡¯s words about the gangs having an influence here, especially among the staff. I felt it was necessary to keep my eyes open to try and spot anything but I wasn¡¯t going to hold out any hope. If someone was hiding something, they¡¯d be damn good at it considering they¡¯ve been managing to operate right under the nose of the ECU. ¡°Yo, Geekius Maximumus.¡± Lifting my head from my hand, I looked over to the seat next to me. ¡°Tinkerbell.¡± ¡°Screw you,¡± Abby¡¯s reply was non-committed and tired. ¡°I forgot my textbook. Share yours?¡± I shrugged and slid the book over. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Idiots causing trouble again?¡± I wondered aloud. ¡°Doubt it was Junkmonger and Techies. Three times in one week would be a new record for those clowns.¡± She snorted and shook her head. ¡°Nah. Not them. I¡¯ll give you the deets when we move onto practical.¡± Theory in Chemistry was exceptionally boring and everyone was always itching to move on to the practical. Abby and I listened idly for around fifteen minutes before the teacher instructed us to move to another page in our textbook and begin following the instructions. With our lab coats and safety glasses on, we started going through the motions. ¡°New rookie signed on yesterday, so we had a meet and greet this morning.¡± ¡°A new one?¡± I said, surprised. ¡°Who are they?¡± Abby slipped her phone out of her pocket and flipped through her gallery of photos until she landed on a team photo that had been taken this morning. It featured all five of the Bayside rookies including herself, plus their new addition. Abby was on the far left and was the only one unmasked. Then there was Seer, Seraphim, Tricky, Copycat, and¡­ I stared at the new figure of the group and felt my brow rise slightly. In my peripherals, I could see her trying and failing to hold back a grin. ¡°Yeah, I know right? Wild.¡± ¡°Is that a tail?¡± ¡°Authentic and fluffy,¡± she chuckled. ¡°And I thought Katastrophe won the Morpher lottery. They¡¯re the runner-ups now.¡± I narrowed my eyes at the sixth member. Atop her head were a pair of pointed animal ears that to me, seemed distinctly vulpine. What gave it away was the large bushy tail protruding from her lower back. It reminded me of a fox. There were other Morphers across the world whose bodies had been affected by their awakening. Arachnid ¨C who was active somewhere in Greece ¨C was half-spider. Tempest often spoke about the struggles in keeping his human form from ripping apart into a violent storm. Katastrophe was a J-Pop group made up of a family that all shared the characteristics of various cats. Morphers being unable to control how their bodies change wasn¡¯t unheard of, but it was far from common. To see one active in Bayside was surprising. ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°Prosperity.¡± Interesting name. I wondered if Sam knew anything about the new rookie. It would be good to know since our little duet was more than likely labeled villains or vigilantes. We¡¯d likely run into the rookies at some point. ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard of someone by that name, especially someone who looks like that,¡± I noted her costume looked rushed. There was a two-dollar shop fox mask, some loose-fitting clothes, and sneakers. ¡°She must be new.¡± ¡°Awoke with her powers last week. She¡¯s been cooped up inside stressing about school and what to do. So her parents called HQ and registered her,¡± Abby explained. ¡°She won¡¯t be going back to school until she learns how to control her powers, or until she finds a way to conceal them. But we¡¯ll be able to help there, that¡¯s right up Nanoforge¡¯s alley, so I¡¯m not worried.¡± ¡°She could just own it,¡± I shrugged, giving her a pointed look. ¡°Like how you do.¡± ¡°Poor girl doesn¡¯t have the confidence to pull it off. You should have seen her when she walked through HQ¡¯s doors. She was shaking like a leaf,¡± Abby sighed. ¡°Besides, I can get away with it because I¡¯m a bitch to everyone who looks at me weirdly.¡± I had the rather intrusive thought that she¡¯d get along great with Sam. ¡°So, any news about Bonesmith?¡± Abby gave me a strange look. ¡°Eh, not really. Why?¡± ¡°He was the guy chasing whoever stole my car,¡± I said. She frowned for a moment before realization struck her. Her mouth dropped open and I just nodded. ¡°Yeah, same guy. The Police never got back to me so I was wondering what happened to the guy.¡± ¡°Oh, shit. That was your car?¡± Abby slapped her forehead. ¡°Huh, what¡¯re the chances of that? Yeah, uh¡­ I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not really involved in the whole ¡®capture and containment¡¯ thing. I just beat up bad guys and smile at whatever camera happens to be pointed at me.¡± Bonesmith and Banshee had seen my face, same with Mirage. From that, I could gauge my identity was compromised after the Cains had pursued me at the mall. Just another reason to get them all locked up, but I was curious to see if Bonesmith had spilled who he had been chasing to the ECU. However, seeing as I hadn¡¯t had the ECU at my front door, I assumed he had kept his mouth shut. ¡°He hasn¡¯t said anything while in custody?¡± Abby shrugged. ¡°I dunno. Why are you asking me? Do you really think the higher-ups tell the rookies anything? I didn¡¯t even know Prosperity was joining until she walked into HQ.¡± I didn¡¯t like not knowing if I was safe or not. There was no way to tell if the ECU were keeping an eye on me and from the sounds of it, even if they did learn anything they wouldn¡¯t tell Abby. Maybe Sam might be able to figure out more with Gold. ¡°I thought maybe he¡¯d know who stole my car.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Abby¡¯s expression turned awkward. ¡°Sorry. We might¡¯ve known more if the security cameras didn¡¯t malfunction.¡± I resisted the urge to laugh. I didn¡¯t have much of a choice there. Sorry, Abby. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Something like that, it¡¯s totally weird. Some of our best techies couldn¡¯t recover any footage. Total system failure and everything got corrupted. Our mentalists say there was a Mechakinetic involved but the Cains shouldn¡¯t have anyone like that.¡± Had I done that? I knew I had remotely hacked them to shut them off before they could see me or Sam but that shouldn¡¯t have corrupted the footage. ¡°That¡¯s strange¡­¡± I trailed off, reaching into my bag. ¡°...and very convenient.¡± ¡°If something is convenient, then there¡¯s no doubt it was a calculated move,¡± Abby said like she was reciting a lecture she had heard a million times. ¡°It¡¯s the first thing they teach you. Always be ready for the unexpected. Never get comfortable. If something seems too easy, then there¡¯s something you''re missing.¡± Excellent advice. I pulled out my phone and typed a quick message to Sam. ¡°You don¡¯t think your Mentalist guys would be able to figure out who took my car?¡± I asked, curious. I had to add some artificial hope into my voice to make it at least seem like I was worried about whether or not I¡¯d get it back. Abby gave a tired shrug. ¡°Overwatch won¡¯t say anything, which is typical. Higher-ups don¡¯t like her sharing sensitive details with us rookies because we have, and I quote: ¡®A tendency to act without considering the consequences.¡¯ The best I can give you is a guess made by Seer. It was a gang dispute. Someone pissed off the Cains. Recruitment gone wrong¡­ a super messing around in their territory or stealing from them. The list goes on, and without anything solid to go off of, there isn¡¯t much he can do.¡± Pissed off was one way to put it. Wait a minute¡­ ¡°Was Bonesmith the only one?¡± ¡°Hmm? As far as we can tell, yeah. He¡¯s the only one we brought in.¡± Abby gave me a strange look. ¡°Why, do you know something?¡± If they didn¡¯t find Banshee, then she must have escaped. I shook my head. ¡°Nah, I was just curious.¡± ¡°Max,¡± Abby said, lowering her voice to a whisper. She leaned closer to me to make sure nobody else would overhear what she had to say. ¡°If you know something you kinda have to tell me.¡± ¡°I don''t, that''s why I was asking,¡± I dismissed with a wave. ¡°I just thought that if Bonesmith was there then maybe there would have been another. Supers don¡¯t usually work by themselves, right?¡± Abby frowned. ¡°Not in my experience. Villains always tend to work in groups or pairs, unless you''re Grim or Liberation.¡± My phone buzzed with a response from Sam. ¡°Right. Thanks, and let me know if you guys find anything,¡± I said. Abby smiled at me. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll even put in a good word for you since it was your car those jerks took.¡± I peered over at my phone. Sam: My best guess is that it was a third party looking to take advantage of the chaos for their own means. There¡¯s an independent around, goes by the name Uplink. You shutting off those cameras probably did us a huge favor. I really don¡¯t want to deal with an unknown figuring us out. The Cains are bad enough. You: Do you think our private lives are safe from them? The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Sam: Not sure. It¡¯s hard to say but Gold believes that they don¡¯t have the means to figure out who we are. They know our faces but not our names. Stop stressing, once we¡¯ve dealt with them, they¡¯ll have bigger things to worry about than who we are. You: I¡¯m not stressing. I¡¯m just in class with Comet and she brought it up. I was asking if Bonesmith had said anything after he got captured. Sam: What??? Sam: Max, omfg please shut up. Sam: Don¡¯t say ANYTHING ELSE to her. Sam: Dumbass, you could get us busted!! You: Hey, relax. I told you she¡¯s a friend. It¡¯s fine. Sam: She¡¯s also a rookie, you idiot! One word to the Mentalists on base and they could figure out what you''re doing. It wasn¡¯t hard for me to scout you with Gold. Someone like Overwatch could sniff you out if they get suspicious. Even Seer could pin you with the right information. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I slowly raised my head and looked over toward Abby. She was messing around with some beakers while reading the textbook we were sharing. I thought about what she had just said, then what Sam had just texted me. ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t have to do that.¡± Abby gave me a confused look. ¡°What? It says to add 50mls of distilled water¡ª¡± ¡°No, not that,¡± I chuckled weakly. ¡°Putting in a good word for me at HQ. The car¡¯s probably long gone so you shouldn¡¯t stress about it. Plus, we¡¯re getting a replacement anyway.¡± ¡°You¡­ just said you liked that car.¡± I rubbed my neck awkwardly, trying to think up a reason for her to drop the whole thing. ¡°Yeah, but who knows what¡¯s happened to it since. Pretty sure I heard there were guns and crap involved while it was being chased down the motorway,¡± I reasoned. ¡°It¡¯s probably fucked and insurance will write it off anyway.¡± Abby pursed her lips before shrugging. ¡°Alright, if you''re sure.¡± The rest of the class went about as usual. When the bell rang for lunch, I had a brief encounter with Pete and his crew that just ended up turning into a staring contest when Abby walked out of class behind me. It was almost funny just how the atmosphere changed when she was around. It was interesting to note that Lucy was right, Pete did seem like he was out to get me. After school, I had to catch two buses to get to Sam¡¯s place. Frustrating but necessary for the time being. When I walked into the underground garage, I found my car tucked away in a nice corner out of sight from the street. Sam had put a sheet over it in case anyone stumbled down here and saw it. Neither of us wanted the place to be swarmed with ECU because someone saw a giant floating bubble of discolored liquid. From the shape of the tarp, I could tell it had finished, which meant everything else should be as well. Walking over, I pulled off the sheet and was greeted by a sight that made me smile. [2023 Horizon Alter MK IV] The overall cost for this had been seventy charges but since I had other projects to work on, I had decided to underpay and only spend one charge per upgrade for a total of fifteen. It wasn¡¯t urgent and Fifty-five hours wasn¡¯t all that long to wait for such a beautiful car. The slick black paint glittered under the garage¡¯s fluorescent lights. The windows were smooth and clean, freshly repaired from the damage they had sustained earlier in the week. Even the tires looked brand new, which is exactly what I had hoped for. It no longer resembled a black Sedan anymore, instead, it looked like a multi-million dollar Ferrari. My hand brushed the side of the vehicle and I was hit with several new trees of options I hadn¡¯t seen before. 3D Environment Building, Automated Diagnostics, and Automated Repair were some of the newly available options to choose from. They were, however, quite expensive, costing more than fifteen per. But for now, what we had would suit our needs. I tossed the sheet back over and made my way upstairs, avoiding the janky elevator entirely. When I walked through the door to Sam¡¯s apartment, I was greeted by her spinning around on her desk chair, wearing my helmet and making noises akin to a police siren. It should say something that I wasn¡¯t totally taken off-guard, seeing as this was something I could see Pink doing but when she lifted the helmet off, I saw blue. ¡°Very cool!¡± Sam gave me a cheeky look. ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t help myself. It¡¯s not often I get to play around with Mechatech.¡± ¡°It¡¯s barely Mechatech, but I¡¯m glad you¡¯re enjoying yourself,¡± I replied with an easy smile. I trusted her enough to be careful with my things and not break them, as long as she was normal and not any other color. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°All better. See?¡± She pointed to where she had gotten shot. With the simple black tank top, it was easy to see where she had gotten shot. The stitches were healing nicely and the scar was barely visible. Incredible for only three days of rest. ¡°Pink can be a bit much sometimes, but she does come with her perks.¡± A part of me wished I had accelerated healing. It would make life a lot less stressful. ¡°Nice. I assume everything is done? Had a peek at the car and I¡¯m happy with how it turned out.¡± ¡°Yeah, everything¡¯s done. The helmet finished first, then your gun. I haven¡¯t checked on the car yet ¡®cause I haven¡¯t been out today, but my costume finished about thirty minutes ago,¡± Sam said, walking into her room and fetching the outfit. If you weren¡¯t looking for it, you¡¯d probably miss the slight changes, there was a light sheen and shine to the black fabric that almost made it seem like metal. When she gave the costume a light pull to test its elasticity, the material offered virtually no resistance. ¡°Good as new! I even tested out its resistance earlier. Exactly like you said, nothing small is going to put holes in these babies,¡± she grinned like a child on Christmas Eve. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you how relieved I am to not have to worry about getting shot with this thing on.¡± I gave her a pointed look. ¡°It still won¡¯t protect your shoulders. It¡¯s a corset. Everything above your chest is bare and I¡¯m sure Gold agrees with me as well.¡± Sam pouted. I hated to be the one to kill her vibe but my upgrade wouldn¡¯t solve her problem. Even if she had my upgrades before our little scouting mission she¡¯d still have been out for the last few days. ¡°Ugh, fine. Yes, Gold has pointed out that I need more protection,¡± Sam grumbled. ¡°I just can¡¯t find anything I like that matches the outfit.¡± ¡°You''re worried about your costume matching?¡± I said, barely containing my disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re the last person I expected to care about that. No matter how good you look, it won¡¯t stop you from getting shot in the head¨C or the shoulder for that matter.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to be lectured, Max,¡± Sam glared, pointing to her forehead. ¡°I have enough of that going on in there. I don¡¯t need it coming from out here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying.¡± ¡°I will think up a solution to that problem when I feel like it,¡± she stated, giving me a clear indication that this topic of conversation was over. You¡¯d think with a super intellect like hers, she¡¯d find something more practical to be stubborn over. ¡°Anyway, come and have a look at this. You should probably see this before we commit to anything else.¡± She led me over to a laptop that was sitting on the kitchen counter. She had opened a page for a basic guide to Indian cuisine. I was about to point out that I was a pretty decent cook and I didn¡¯t need to read online guides until she tabbed into a different window. ¡°Downloaded this from Supers and Metas Online before it got taken down. Someone posted something pretty scary in the Bayside forum. Look,¡± she opened the file and a video started playing. I recognized the location. It was Bayside¡¯s Maritime Museum, down by the harbor. It had been swallowed up by Pandora and the rest of their religious fanatics when they rolled into town over a decade ago. They converted into some sort of church for them to conduct their weird rituals or orgies or whatever the hell they did. The room was filled with people and I spotted one or two notable Pandora supers. Red Flare wore her signature plain red spandex and matching cape while the other, Chiller, was surrounded by his trademark frosty mist, covered from head to toe in a thick layer of ice that he was somehow able to move in. The two were standing off to the side, watching the proceedings as the preacher stood in front of a crowd. The audio was surprisingly good, what wasn¡¯t surprising was the sermon. He spoke of Pandora¡¯s philosophies and their beliefs, that humanity had been given a gift ¨C a gift from the divines. That ¡®normals¡¯ should look up to those blessed by the divines and follow them without question. That the moon-touched were the chosen leaders of humanity. It was nuts, utterly deranged garbage. ¡°Unsubscribe,¡± I muttered, giving Sam a bored look. She returned it with a look of agreement. ¡°What exactly are we looking for?¡± ¡°Just keep watching.¡± Another fifteen seconds passed, then all the lights in the room flickered and died before all the candles evaporated into smoke. The camera shifted automatically into a night vision setting just in time to see a wave of shadow sweep through the crowd of people. It covered everything and I heard¡­ gurgling. It was unsettling and as quick as it all came, it vanished. The phone clattered to the floor and faced the ceiling. Everything was silent. No voices, no gurgling, no cries for help. Nothing. Then, the sound of footsteps. They got closer. A figure appeared in the view of the camera, the up angle only showing the upper torso. It was an old, bald, Asian man. He wore tiny, shaded glasses, along with a garb I would have guessed belonged to a Buddhist monk if they weren¡¯t charcoal black. He was only in frame for about two seconds before he calmly moved to the right, out of frame. ¡°YOU FUCKING BASTA¨C!¡± The voice had come from Red Flare, but she hadn¡¯t even managed to finish her sentence. The visceral sound of her being torn to shreds was the last thing I heard before the video abruptly ended. I looked at Sam. ¡°Was that¡ª?¡± ¡°Grim? Yeah,¡± she trailed off. ¡°That happened last night.¡± Grim had powers that manifested as physical darkness and shadow, that much everyone knew. What exactly those shadows did was anyone''s guess. If the ECU knew more, they had never released the information publicly. It never stopped the endless speculation online and there was a laundry list of theories to pick from. I had never seen footage of his powers before and now that I had, I wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it. ¡°Okay¡­¡± I trailed off. ¡°So he attacked a Pandora gathering.¡± ¡°Mirage wasn¡¯t lying when he said something was coming. This isn¡¯t reactionary, this was premeditated. Grim¡¯s sending a message,¡± Sam explained, her voice betraying a fraction of fear. ¡°He¡¯s not pulling any punches either. I don¡¯t think he left any survivors.¡± I stared back at the video, aghast. ¡°He killed all those people?¡± It was brazen, unnecessarily cruel. A hurricane of violence set in motion. Pandora wouldn¡¯t take this lying down and Liberation would be rallying everyone to retaliate. Sam was chewing her nails, transfixed on the screen with a deep, thoughtful expression. ¡°Historically, the Cains have clashed with Pandora over territory, that¡¯s nothing new, but Grim pulling something like this is. He¡¯s never been this forward. Gold Rush, Nemesis, and Banshee were always the ones doing the dirty work¡­¡± she trailed off. Shaking her head, she got back on track. ¡°Grim¡¯s always been the one playing behind the scenes. Gold was convinced during our encounter with Mirage that he was also pulling some strings but after that, she¡¯s convinced he¡¯s just playing his own little game.¡± I sneered and leaned back from the laptop screen, running a hand through my hair. ¡°Why does that not surprise me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m almost certain Grim¡¯s aware of his disloyalty,¡± Sam said, sounding sure of that assumption. ¡°That''s why I¡¯m trying to make sense of this. Something like this has to be premeditated, but with Bonesmith captured, Banshee injured, and Nemesis incapacitated, Grim¡¯s at a disadvantage.¡± ¡°The guy allegedly faced down Ajax. Are you sure he¡¯s at a disadvantage?¡± ¡°If Pandora focused all their firepower on him, they¡¯d probably win. For certain though, it¡¯ll be a bloodbath.¡± ¡°Are you saying it would take all of Pandora¡¯s supers to take him down?¡± I stared at her, confused. How exactly was she planning on dismantling the Cains when someone like Grim was leading them? ¡°How are we supposed to fight that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very simple. We don¡¯t.¡± I blinked. ¡°You¡¯ve lost me.¡± ¡°Not every fight needs to be taken head-on. Come on, Max. This is basic warfare.¡± ¡°What the hell do they teach you at Eastworth?¡± ¡°Stop being pedantic,¡± Sam rolled her eyes. ¡°Look, we can take down the Cains ¡ª and by extension Grim¡ªby backing him into a corner. Cut off his resources, whittle away his power base, and minimize his influence. Sure, he¡¯s stronger than us, but his underlings are a different story. We¡¯ve already bested Nemesis, Banshee, and Bonesmith. That¡¯s half their roster. Whatever Mirage is doing¡­ we can manage.¡± ¡°Banshee underestimated me and paid for it. If she¡¯s smart, she won¡¯t give me an opportunity next time,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Sure I took out Nemesis but you can¡¯t deny that I was incredibly lucky, we still don¡¯t know what Mirage is doing and we ran away from Bonesmith.¡± Sam narrowed her eyes. ¡°Are you¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± I cut her off. ¡°I¡¯m just pointing out that we aren¡¯t strong enough to take them out, we¡¯ve got to find¡ª¡± I paused for a moment, lingering on a thought that had been in the back of my mind. ¡°¡ªunless¡­ you¡¯re playing the long game and banking on me building an arsenal. Achievable, yes, but it would take a while.¡± Sam chuckled. ¡°Neither of us are patient enough for that.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s the plan then? You want to back Grim into a corner which will result in him either lashing out or running away, the latter of which he doesn¡¯t have a reputation for,¡± I stopped and waited for her to interject but received no reply. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s wise to even be in the vicinity of Grim, especially when he might decide to go scorched earth.¡± ¡°None of what we¡¯re doing is wise ¨C or safe for that matter, but we¡¯re doing it anyway. You already know the risk so I won¡¯t bother explaining,¡± Sam started. ¡°But if things play out the way I¡¯m thinking, Grim won¡¯t go scorched earth, he won¡¯t even get the chance. But you¡¯re right, we can¡¯t pull this off ourselves.¡± ¡°So¡­ what then?¡± Sam¡¯s grin returned. ¡°Recruitment.¡± ¡°Recruitment?¡± ¡°You think all I¡¯ve been doing is scrolling forums and compiling profiles?¡± I blinked again, confused. ¡°...Yes?¡± ¡°Adorable,¡± Sam said. ¡°Suit up. We¡¯ve got a potential recruit to go meet.¡± Friction 2 It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but I was finally allowed to drive my own damn car. Alice had insisted that she was the best driver out of the two of us and while I was inclined to agree, I wasn¡¯t about to let her play with the new toy I had created before me. As far as I was concerned, the maker had first dibs. If she wanted to drive a mechatech car so badly, she could make her own. Thankfully, it lived up to everything I had hoped it¡¯d be. The interior was fresh with that brand-new car smell. The dashboard lit up with a display of pretty lights after switching the ignition. There was a calm, subtle hum of the electric engine ¨C barely noticeable ¨C as I pulled out of the underground garage. I didn¡¯t bother to hide my grin as I felt the smoothness of the steering wheel. Everything just felt so right and the best part was I could continue to make it better. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I¡¯d never be satisfied. There would always be something to do, a little piece here and there to add and improve. For now, though, I was living the dream. ¡°Quit pouting. You¡¯ll get a turn later,¡± I said, eyeing Alice. Even with my helmet on, the visor was wide enough that I could make out her face in my periphery. She was annoyed. ¡°It¡¯s my car. I get first dibs.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even know where we¡¯re going.¡± I pointed to the space on the dashboard where a screen sat. I tapped through the settings and brought up a map before leaning back and gesturing to Alice. With a huff, she leaned forward and tapped in the address. ¡°I¡¯ll add a feature later that allows the car to drive itself. Then we won¡¯t have to argue about who gets to drive,¡± I said, trying to placate her annoyance. It was childish and I totally understood. I would be pretty annoyed if I was her as well. The car was that good. ¡°I just wanted to feel what it¡¯s like to drive a car like this. You only really see things like this on TV for millions of dollars.¡± ¡°If you add an autopilot, it¡¯ll ruin all the fun,¡± Alice playfully whined. Then, she changed her tune on a dime. ¡°But it is useful, I suppose. Gold approves at least. Though, if you make it more sporty, we won¡¯t be able to take it out during the day; we¡¯ll just get pulled over. We¡¯re going to need multiple vehicles. Looks like we¡¯ll have to go car shopping.¡± The idea was certainly appealing. Maybe it was the child in me but a garage full of expensive-looking cars sounded awesome. I could toy with a couple as well if we got enough. There were trees that led to flying cars and ones capable of going underwater. Put in enough time and I¡¯d even make something able to do both. So many ideas and projects. ¡°Hmm. We¡¯re not exactly broke, but I don¡¯t want to blow what I have buying cars.¡± Alice laughed. ¡°Who said anything about buying them? We¡¯d be stealing them.¡± I lifted my foot off the accelerator and allowed us to glide comfortably to the side of the road. It had been a thought in the back of my head but I had always wondered just how exactly Alice exactly sat on the whole Villain, Hero, and Vigilante spectrum. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to feel about it. Abby was constantly complaining about how many problems villains caused for the city, those like Beep and Boop made small-time crime popular enough that it could be midday entertainment and was even shown for a quick laugh on the news. Alice noted my silence. ¡°That bothers you, doesn¡¯t it?¡± I had broken laws. I was no saint and I¡¯d be a hypocrite to try and take the high ground but I¡¯d like to think there was a difference between selling my own stuff and actively taking other people¡¯s property. I had things stolen from me. It wasn¡¯t a nice feeling. ¡°A little bit.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯d be stealing from the manufacturers. It¡¯s much easier to keep doing what we¡¯re doing and take from the gangs. What¡¯re they going to do, report us to the police?¡± Alice snorted. ¡°I suppose we could buy some if you really wanted, hell it wouldn¡¯t be too expensive since we can just get some beat up old cars; but I¡¯d suggest stealing them. Putting several cars under our name would probably draw some eyes given we¡¯re only sixteen and I¡¯m technically a ward of the state.¡± I hummed in agreement. ¡°Good point. Though it would piss off the gangs, it''s not like we aren¡¯t doing that already. It just seems that we¡¯re slowly justifying more acts of vigilantism. I know we¡¯re given some leeway, but I don¡¯t want to test it.¡± Alice shrugged indifferently. ¡°Vigilantes are just villains the ECU tolerates. It¡¯s not hard to see why, they help trim the crime. The moment they step over the line, they¡¯re done. It¡¯s best just to make our own rules and stick to them. Screw the system.¡± I couldn¡¯t blame her there. Mom had never been the biggest fan of the government and I guess that had just rubbed off on me. I had seen things over the years, everyone did. Most people just chose to ignore it and live in blissful ignorance. ¡°Yeah, I guess.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound so sure,¡± Alice said. She shifted in her seat and crossed her legs. ¡°I have been meaning to talk to you about our little partnership. I¡¯ve been wondering how far you¡¯re comfortable going and I suppose now is as good of a time as any to figure it out.¡± ¡°You¡¯re concerned I¡¯ll leave?¡± ¡°I¡¯m worried about longevity ¨C well, Gold is ¨C and I know you have hang ups about being seen as a villain,¡± Alice clarified. ¡°But you also have reasons for not joining the ECU and I¡¯ve done my best to stop Gold from prying too much. You can see where I¡¯m going with this. Hero or villain, you¡¯ve gotta pick. Trying to ride on the middle ground doesn¡¯t work. People have tried before and they either end up dead or in prison.¡± I sighed and suppressed the urge to grunt. ¡°You¡¯re starting to sound like Mirage.¡± ¡°He might be our enemy but he has a point,¡± Alice said. ¡°I figured this out a couple years ago. It¡¯s either¡ª¡± ¡°I know,¡± I cut her off. ¡°There¡¯s no need to hammer your point. I get it. Doesn¡¯t mean I have to like it.¡± ¡°It does mean you have to accept it,¡± Alice replied swiftly. ¡°Why are you really doing this? You said you wanted to get your mother out of her wheelchair but if you really wanted to do that, you¡¯d just tell her you have powers and build her something to fix that problem. You¡¯re more than capable.¡± ¡°That might solve one problem but it makes a dozen more. She¡¯d never be able to leave the house without wearing my tech. People would notice and ask questions. I¡¯d eventually end up with the ECU or blackmailed by someone who knows my identity, and neither of us want that.¡± When I got my powers, I thought about this constantly. I eventually settled on selling my tech to whoever wanted it, but hindsight was leading me to believe that I was just kicking the can down the road. Once I got the money, what then? Would Mom even accept the Biokinetic treatment? Wouldn¡¯t that just cause the same problems as if I had built Mechatech for her anyway? She still had regular check-ups and her doctor would figure something was off very quickly. People would ask questions. How had she gotten the money to afford Biokinetic treatment on a software developer salary? What the hell am I even doing? ¡°Upgrade?¡± I stared at the road, my mind blank. Everything that I was doing¡­ What was the point of it? I wanted to fix Mom and get her out of that wheelchair, but I couldn¡¯t see a way to do that without giving up this secret. Was it even a secret I cared about keeping? There was no guarantee that Mom would even agree to be fixed in the first place if it meant exposing me to the ECU. Abby is constantly going on about it at school. Maybe¡­ My stomach churned at the thought. ¡°What are your reasons?¡± Alice blinked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°For not joining the ECU. You said you had your reasons.¡± ¡°Personal ones,¡± she said, staring. ¡°Do you really want to know?¡± I picked at the steering wheel nervously. ¡°Only what you feel comfortable sharing.¡± Alice hummed, drumming her fingers across the top of her knee. She looked away from me and out the window, opting to remain quiet for a time. I was about to give up and continue driving when she sighed softly. ¡°Mom and Dad; they were part of the PR team in California¡¯s ECU Branch. It was one of the reasons we moved to the U.S. It paid well, I suppose,¡± Alice¡¯s voice was uncharacteristically monotone. ¡°When I had my Awakening, I told them I developed powers. They¡­ forced me to join. I lost any semblance of freedom I had before. My life became rigid, loud, and obnoxious.¡± She had been a rookie before, like Abby. A young one, clearly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t happy and some things¡­ happened. I ditched them. You know most of the other bits. I did some odd jobs here and there. Got into scuffles with Pandora before I landed here.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Your parents¡­ you don¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Alice cut me off. Her tone was cold. I could see in the reflection of the window that her eyes had shifted to a burning red. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about that.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I sat quietly before I started the car again and pulled back into the street. I followed the directions of the GPS, still feeling empty. I didn¡¯t really know why I had asked her for her reasons in the first place. ¡°It¡¯s fine to want to fix your mother,¡± Alice said again, after some prolonged silence. ¡°But if that¡¯s all you really want, then I¡¯m afraid this isn¡¯t going to last very long.¡± Her words cut deeper than I expected.
The meeting was set in an old run-down boat hanger by the harbor. The area had long since been decommissioned so this place rarely saw activity even during the day. The wear and tear really showed and, if the obscene amount of graffiti was anything to go by, then gang activity was fairly high. Nobody really wanted territory here seeing as there was nothing to gain by holding it. Though if I had to pick, it¡¯d probably be considered Pandora¡¯s if push came to shove. I parked the car inside the hanger, making sure to hide it from casual observation. Alice went and stood at the entrance while I chose to sit on the trunk of my car. I got the impression that she was upset with me but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to talk about it. There were bigger things on my mind and I felt that she wouldn¡¯t be satisfied until I figured out what I really wanted. ¡°Do you think he got lost?¡± I asked, trying to make conversation. Our new recruit was ten minutes late and I was starting to think he wasn¡¯t going to show. ¡°Maybe we got the wrong building. It¡¯s a strange place to meet after all, though I do like listening to the ocean. I don¡¯t come down here that often.¡± The ambient noise of the sea around the building did somewhat allow me to think clearer. Alice had been leaning on the large hangar door frame when she pushed herself off and strolled back in. ¡°No. We¡¯re in the right place and I don¡¯t think he¡¯s late,¡± she shot me a playful smile. ¡°He actually beat us here. He¡¯s been trying to listen in to see if we¡¯re the real deal and not some trap one of the gangs is waiting to spring.¡± Right on cue, a blob of darkness dropped from the ceiling of the hanger and pooled a couple of meters away from us. It started to rise before reforming into a humanoid figure, no taller than me and no older than either of us. Honestly, given that both me and Alice are supers I was more surprised than I should have been. ¡°Anomaly, so glad you finally decided to join us,¡± Alice beckoned with open arms. ¡°I was beginning to worry you¡¯d skulk around up there all night!¡± Anomaly adjusted his facemask a little and kept his distance. It was easy to see he was weary. I kept my pistol next to me, a hand comfortably wrapped around the grip. Alice had filled me in on what she knew about his powers. Some kind of Morpher that was able to change his entire body. What exactly to, we weren¡¯t sure. He wasn¡¯t new, but it seemed like he¡¯s made a habit of keeping himself inconspicuous. Nobody really had a grasp on how his powers worked. ¡°Could''ve saved me the trouble and just said you were a Mentalist. I wouldn¡¯t have bothered trying,¡± his voice had a tinge of annoyance to it, like a child who constantly got into disagreements with his parents. ¡°So you guys must be Madhouse. Weird name.¡± ¡°In my defense I didn¡¯t pick it,¡± I voiced, shooting a glare at Alice. ¡°I was out voted one to six because Alice here counts as six¡­ apparently.¡± Alice turned and flashed me a cheeky grin. ¡°You don¡¯t think I¡¯d leave all of me out of the process, right? They all get a say.¡± I scowled. ¡°They¡¯re all technically you. That¡¯s hardly fair.¡± She waved me off. ¡°Semantics.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Anomaly gave us a strange look. ¡°Well, you wanted to meet and I¡¯ve never really done this before, so what now?¡± Alice nodded. ¡°For now. We¡¯re here to establish how we can help each other. No one would expect you to join for free.¡± ¡°I already told you what I want.¡± ¡°The Cains destroyed, apparently. An admirable goal,¡± Alice said. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you already thought about going to the ECU for help? They could certainly help you in that regard.¡± ¡°Fuck the law. Jail¡¯s too good for those assholes.¡± I sympathized. ¡°What did they do?¡± I asked. ¡°I had a similar experience. They caught me, fucked me around, took my stuff and then tried to kidnap me.¡± ¡°They took a friend of mine. She doesn¡¯t have any powers.¡± ¡°A girl?¡± Alice grimaced. ¡°That doesn¡¯t bode well. You are aware of what the Cains usually take people for right? Human trafficking.¡± The words sent a shiver up my spine. Pandora did something very similar and they were very open about it. They just veiled it and shrouded the truth in a pretty lie for all the idiots to believe. The Cains very much took the old-school business approach to it. Alice had told me it was one of their main revenue streams and I couldn¡¯t imagine anything more sickening. ¡°I know,¡± he grounded out. He frowned, looking almost reluctant to speak. ¡°Which is why¡­ I need your help. It¡¯s been two days and I have no idea where to look.¡± ¡°We can help,¡± I said. Alice slowly turned and gave me the stink eye. I returned the look with confusion. ¡°What, we can, can¡¯t we?¡± ¡°We can,¡± Alice said, turning back. Her lips stretched into a cheshire smile. ¡°I¡¯m gonna need a little bit of information if that¡¯s okay. Just to help narrow things down.¡± Anomaly looked weary. ¡°What do you need to know?¡± ¡°A few things,¡± Alice started, switching to Gold. ¡°Age, height, measurements, skin color, hair color, hair length, hair texture, any unique identifying features. I don¡¯t expect you to know everything but every little bit helps. We¡¯re dealing with scum of the earth here, so I need you to be clear with the details unless we want to end up in the wrong place.¡± Anomaly stared at her, bewildered by the request. His gaze flickered to me before returning to Gold. ¡°Why do you need to know all that? Can¡¯t you just do your¡­ Mentalist thing and figure out where she is?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a clairvoyant nor can I scry the city. I need information in order to extrapolate from, I can¡¯t just pull whatever I need out of my ass. That¡¯s just how my power works, so are you going to provide what I asked or are you going to ask more stupid questions?¡± ¡°Alice,¡± I hissed. ¡°Tact?¡± She ignored me. ¡°Fine, whatever,¡± Anomaly didn¡¯t sound too happy. ¡°She¡¯s nineteen, um¡­ maybe five-six¡ª¡± ¡°Maybe?¡± Gold raised a brow at that. ¡°I need certainties, not maybes.¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m trying my best,¡± he argued, sounding more than a little frustrated. ¡°Five-six. I don¡¯t know how you expect me to know her measurements but she¡¯s got a nice tan, so white, I guess? She¡¯s a brunette, shoulder length hair and¡­ soft?¡± He shrugged helplessly. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve never touched it. It looked like she took care of it.¡± ¡°Middle-high-class white girl with enough of a tan, so she¡¯s definitely thin. Probably has just the right amount of fat on her to make her curvy and desirable. Nineteen¡­ eh, most sickos prefer them a little younger, but she¡¯s not old enough that they¡¯d consider her useless.¡± I shuddered. ¡°You sound like you''re reading off a list of prerequisites.¡± ¡°When you''re dealing with these kinds of people, they view their captures as products, not people. If we want to find her, we have to think like them,¡± Gold replied grimly. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the churning in my stomach after that. ¡°New Elpis isn¡¯t known for human trafficking so business is probably slow for the Cains.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± Anomaly asked. ¡°It means this isn¡¯t Mexico, the Middle East, or a third world European country,¡± Gold paused for a moment to think. ¡°Or Greece. It takes time to get these things rolling. If your friend was in one of those countries we¡¯d be shit out of luck already. She would¡¯ve been out of the city the day of her kidnapping. Maybe the next day if there were complications.¡± ¡°What the hell does any of that even mean?¡± Anomaly asked, looking ready to break something. ¡°Is she safe? Is she even still in the city?¡± ¡°Aha, safe? No,¡± there was no humor in her dry laugh. ¡°Still in the city? Yes. Given from how I¡¯ve seen the Cains operate, we¡¯ve got a week before anything¡­ irreversible happens to your friend. Two if we¡¯re lucky.¡± Anomaly looked ready to bounce. ¡°Then what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Ah-ah! Wait a moment,¡± Alice stopped him before he had a chance to transform and disappear. ¡°There¡¯s still some other details I need to know, plus I want a guarantee that you¡¯ll join up with us. We help you, you help us. That¡¯s how this works.¡± Anomaly scowled. ¡°I¡¯ll join after we find Mia.¡± Gold smiled. ¡°Cute name. How was she kidnapped?¡± ¡°We were at a party and things got a little heated between us so I left. After a bit I went back to apologize and ran into the Cains. Got into a fight with Gold Rush and she held me up as a truck drove off,¡± he paused for a moment to collect himself. I could hear him getting emotional. He blamed himself. ¡°After, I looked everywhere. I found some of the people I rescued and they told me that the Cains already took Mia in the first group.¡± ¡°She was taken in a group?¡± Gold hummed. ¡°Interesting.¡± Anomaly glared. ¡°Why¡¯s that interesting?¡± ¡°It means the Cains are hurting. Profits are down and they¡¯re being bled dry by someone. They don¡¯t have a history of snatching up groups of people. Normally, they¡¯d van people off the street when nobody''s looking. Added to that, they sent Gold Rush to help ensure the operation went smoothly,¡± Alice chortled. ¡°How stupid of them.¡± I glanced at Alice. ¡°That makes them stupid¡­ how?¡± She turned and glared at me. ¡°Did you read nothing of what I sent you?¡± Heat climbed up my neck and embarrassment flared on my cheeks. Thank God I was wearing my helmet. ¡°I¡­ skimmed most of it.¡± She rolled her eyes and turned away, muttering under her breath. ¡°Useless.¡± I scowled. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Gold Rush has a tendency to spend her merry time at Poseidon¡¯s Vault. Grim put her there because she¡¯s a powerful deterrent against some of Pandora¡¯s more aggressive supers,¡± Gold explained, ignoring my indignation. ¡°She also happens to live in the area, if my scouting has paid its dues.¡± For the first time since he arrived, Anomaly scoffed. ¡°Powerful? All she seemed good at was running away.¡± ¡°Says the indestructible cosmic horror,¡± Gold quipped, rolling her eyes. ¡°She did her job and stalled you. As far as she and anyone else is concerned, she won your little encounter.¡± Anomaly sneered. ¡°Simmer down,¡± Gold said easily. ¡°You¡¯ll be seeing her soon.¡± ¡°We¡¯re doing that now?¡± I asked, surprised. We were about to dive deep into Cain territory and fight a super. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we¡­ I dunno, plan or something?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be much of a fight. There¡¯s three of us and one of her,¡± Gold pointed out, switching back to Blue. Anomaly scoffed, sounding somewhat pleased with the outcome. ¡°I injured her as well. She¡¯ll be slower than usual.¡± ¡°See? Nothing to worry about,¡± Alice turned her gaze to Anomaly. ¡°Feel free to ride in the car with us. But you¡¯re mobile, so you can tail us too. Whichever suits you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll follow,¡± Anomaly said a little too quickly. ¡°No offense. Still don¡¯t really trust you guys.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. Trust is earned after all,¡± Alice said. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go catch some lightning.¡± Friction 3 ¡°I¡¯m getting the impression you¡¯re upset with me.¡± Alice hadn¡¯t said a word since we had started driving and with me behind the wheel, it was beginning to make me anxious. So far, Sam struck me as a talkative person so hearing her sit in complete silence was unnerving to some degree. ¡°What gives you that idea?¡± Even her reply was sharp. ¡°The silent treatment, for one,¡± I said. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time a girl has been upset with me so I¡¯ve learned the telltale signs.¡± Alice shifted confidently in her seat and in the corner of my peripherals, casually brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. Everything about her posture screamed that she was annoyed. Her rigid shoulders, her lack of movement. It was out of character for her to act so stoney and the only explanation I could come up with was that she was mad about something. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°You could just tell me what¡¯s wrong instead of being cryptic.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Alice replied. ¡°I¡¯m tempted to let you sit there and reflect on what you did.¡± Normally I¡¯d let this simmer. If it were Lucy, Abby, or Mom, I¡¯d give them some space and ask again later but I didn¡¯t have that luxury with Alice. I needed to be able to trust to have my back so grievances like this needed to be cleared up quickly. I¡¯m not playing this game. ¡°How about you be straight up with me? We¡¯re supposed to be a team,¡± I questioned with a stare. ¡°Teammates are supposed to help each other out when they screw up. That¡¯s the whole point.¡± Alice grumbled under her breath. ¡°Okay, look¡­ Gold is annoyed with you. It¡¯s why I need to be careful when and where I let her out. If she gets particularly rowdy, she tends to bleed through me sometimes. Same with Pink,¡± Alice said. ¡°She views these types of exchanges as a power play, Upgrade. She¡¯s pissed that you butted in and offered to help without letting her say anything.¡± I guess that¡¯s why she gave me that look. ¡°I don¡¯t see what the big deal is. He said he¡¯d join after we helped him rescue his friend.¡± ¡°The read I had on him with Gold tells me that he¡¯s not exactly fond of commitment. He can be a bit¡­ wishy-washy,¡± Alice pursed her lips, trying to find the right words. ¡°He might say that he¡¯ll join but once we fulfill our end of the deal, he could dip if he¡¯s not feeling the right vibe. His powers don¡¯t exactly make it easy to force him into a position where he has to stick to his word.¡± I could see Alice¡¯s point. If there was an element of indestructibility to his morpher form, then using force would be as effective as trying to break a stone with a spoon. ¡°Well, we can¡¯t make him join if he really doesn¡¯t want to,¡± I said, giving Alice a flat look. She didn¡¯t answer right away and I saw her eyes narrow as she started thinking. I resisted the urge to cringe a little when she bit her lip. ¡°I don¡¯t like that look you have.¡± ¡°There are other ways to secure loyalty.¡± I shook my head. ¡°We are not using his friend against him.¡± Alice rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. That would foster resentment. I was thinking of something more practical. If we rescue his friend and then recruit her, he¡¯ll have more incentive to stay. Plus, he clearly has feelings for her, so that would make things easier.¡± ¡°Oh, gee, emotional manipulation. That seems like a fantastic alternative,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Not to burst your bubble but he said she didn¡¯t have any powers. What good is someone with no powers on the team?¡± Alice burst out laughing. When she saw how confused I was by my body language, she laughed even harder. ¡°Oh my god, you''re so dense.¡± ¡°Those ejector seats are looking awfully appealing right now,¡± I intoned with a clear warning. ¡°Can you explain?¡± ¡°Come on, use your head,¡± Alice snorted. ¡°You¡¯re a Mechakinetic. Just make her something, like that suit your wearing. Outfit her in some high-tech gear and it won¡¯t matter if she has powers or not. You¡¯ve seen the stuff the ECU wears. Ninety-nine percent of them are just normal people decked out Mechatech.¡± I¡­ I could do that. ¡°This all depends if she even wants to join us and again, I¡¯m going to be clear here, I¡¯m not comfortable forcing anyone to do something they don¡¯t want to do.¡± ¡°Chill, Upgrade. I know how this stuff works. Just trust me, okay? Let¡¯s get through this. We can cross this whole ¡®Anomaly stays or leaves¡¯ bridge when we get to it. But just for future reference, please for the love of God, let me do the talking at these meetings,¡± Alice stressed. ¡°Everything will go a lot smoother if I can steer the ship.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± I shrugged. ¡°But don¡¯t expect me to stay quiet if I think you''re steering us into a hurricane.¡± ¡°If that ever happens, you have my full permission to wack me over the head,¡± She replied, giving me a wink. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t happen though, so we¡¯re good for now.¡± Poseidon¡¯s Vault was an old building located near the harbor, which meant the drive there didn¡¯t take too long. It was a two-story building that had once been a seafood guttery. It had shut down a couple of years ago due to health regulations and it had been all over the news about the contaminated produce they were hiding. Apparently, it had been run by an Evohuman that had been using their powers to experiment on the food. The details of their powers had never been released to the public but the operation had been quickly shut down by the ECU. Then, somebody bought the building and converted it into a nightclub due to its enticing location. Its popularity was profound but it had been swallowed up by the Cains when Grim moved into town. Whether or not it hurt the business, I wasn¡¯t sure but I knew that the place wasn¡¯t safe. ¡°Looks like someone beat us to the punch,¡± Alice said as we pulled out outside the nightclub. The car park was barren and there looked to be no signs of life anywhere. She clicked her tongue in amusement. ¡°Place seems really popular.¡± Anomaly joined us the moment we exited the car. He landed in front of us, reforming from a puddle into his human form. ¡°Is this the place?¡± He looked on, eyeing the neon blue signs plastered on the side of the building. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look very lively.¡± ¡°Strange, isn¡¯t it?¡± Alice agreed. She walked up to the front doors with the two of us flanking her. To my surprise, the doors slid open, allowing us entry. ¡°Must be a rough time for business,¡± We entered the receptionist area and saw a lack of a receptionist behind the desk. There weren¡¯t even any bouncers guarding the doors that lead into the main area. ¡°Okay¡­ must be a really rough time for business.¡± ¡°This feels off,¡± Anomaly said. I had to agree. ¡°The lights are on but nobody''s home. I can¡¯t even hear any music. This place is supposed to be a nightclub, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. Can¡¯t say I was expecting this,¡± Alice observed. ¡°Pandora must have seen the opportunity and moved in quickly while Gold Rush was injured.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain why the place is empty. The building is open but the staff aren¡¯t even here?¡± I noted, looking around. ¡°Did they know we were coming?¡± ¡°The Cains don¡¯t have a Mentalist capable of precognition. I¡¯d know if they did,¡± Alice frowned. ¡°I think.¡± ¡°You think? You said Grim¡¯s attack was out of character. What if he has something at his disposal that no one knows about?¡± I asked. Alice considered my words carefully. I could see the gears turning in her head as she pursed her lips and looked around. ¡°If they really do have someone like that, why run away? Why not set a trap for us?¡± She turned on her heel and walked through another pair of sliding doors into the main area. There was a flashy dance floor and disco ball. All the lights were flashing to an invisible beat, yet there was no one but us here to enjoy it. ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense. Gold can¡¯t figure out if this is supposed to be a trap or something else.¡± Anomaly transformed and looked around, his smooth head sweeping the area to check for anything. He shifted back and offered a helpless but frustrated shrug. ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m not picking up any sound. It¡¯s just us here. Even if someone were breathing, I¡¯d see it.¡± Alice shifted to pink and blurred before disappearing. Anomaly did a double take at where she had been standing just a second ago. ¡°I thought she was a Mentalist?¡± ¡°She¡¯s an Aspect,¡± I replied. He groaned. ¡°Shit, they¡¯re even worse¡­ fuck.¡± I grunted. ¡°Tell me about it.¡± Pink reappeared seconds later, a disappointed pout on her lips. ¡°Nada! It¡¯s like everyone just poofed! Even some of the ashtrays are smoking.¡± ¡°So they figured out we were coming,¡± I summarized. I looked around and opened my security breaching app inside my helmet. I pinged all available ports and quickly found the network with all the security cameras. I flicked through all the cameras, coming up short. ¡°Nothing on the cameras either. This place is a graveyard.¡± ¡°A creepy one,¡± Anomaly shuddered. ¡°What now?¡± Pink shifted back to Blue. ¡°Upgrade, you''re connected to the cameras. Can you rewind the footage and see what happened?¡± I nodded. ¡°Give me a sec.¡± I rewound the footage, watching as our little group began walking in reverse until we were out of the building. There was nothing for about five or six minutes until I hit a blip and the whole recording turned to static. I watched the timestamp count back, noting how many seconds were in the blip. When the recording came back, the nightclub was filled with people. The blip was only seven seconds long. ¡°That¡¯s weird. There¡¯s a glitch in the recording with about seven seconds of corrupted footage. This place was filled with people before it.¡± Alice grimaced. ¡°How long ago?¡± ¡°Six minutes.¡± ¡°This is some horror movie shit,¡± Anomaly shifted uncomfortably. ¡°You can¡¯t evacuate a building like this in seven seconds.¡± ¡°No,¡± I agreed. ¡°I¡¯m going to try and watch it from other angles. I¡¯ve got all the feeds up. I¡¯ll see if I can find anything.¡± I wasn¡¯t really sure what I was looking for but I kept my eye open while Alice paced around in front of me, watching for any signs of trouble. Anomaly walked over to the nearest seat and sat down, eyeing the bar that was tucked away in the corner. All but one of the feeds had nothing evenly remotely of interest going on. Up in the VIP lounge on the second floor, there was a meeting being held between a man in a white suit and a zebra-striped mask. He was sharing a drink with a younger-looking figure in a coat. I couldn¡¯t tell if the person was male or female by how baggy the clothes were and the hood concealing their face. The camera angle didn¡¯t provide much. All around them, guards with guns were stationed and Gold Rush was sitting off in a corner, her leg bandaged and elevated. ¡°Got something. VIP lounge upstairs. There was a guy in a white suit, zebra patterned mask.¡± Alice scrunched up her face. ¡°Masquerade?¡± She muttered the name, sounding completely baffled. ¡°What the fuck is he doing here?¡± ¡°Who?¡± Anomaly spoke up, giving Alice a strange look. ¡°Does this have anything to do with Mia?¡± ¡°What? No,¡± Alice shook her head like she was trying to stop his question from distracting her. ¡°This is completely different. We¡¯re dealing with a whole other barrel of fish here.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Masquerade?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of him.¡± Alice gave me an understanding look. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. He¡¯s not even supposed to be in New Elpis. He¡¯s a fucking Arms Dealer that operates out of Dubai. He¡¯s business partners with The Iron Maiden.¡± That name was familiar, another infamous super. There were few supers in the world that were world-renowned. Everyone knew all the S-Class ones but sometimes the A-Class could slip from memory. The Iron Maiden sounded familiar but I couldn¡¯t place what they were notorious for. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the crazy Warlord that tried to take over Saudi Arabia or something?¡± Anomaly asked, confused. ¡°Almost. She waged war against the United Arab Emirates. She still is with her base of operations being in Dubai. The Iron Maiden and Masquerade have hundreds of supers under their command and own Fireiron Industries,¡± Alice explained. Her confusion only compounded as she began to rub her temples. ¡°I just¡­ I can¡¯t figure out what he¡¯s doing here.¡± ¡°Beats me,¡± Anomaly shrugged, sounding uninterested. He turned his gaze to me. ¡°Anything else you got there or should we leave? We¡¯re kinda wasting time.¡± ¡°He was talking to some guy in a black coat with a hood. I can¡¯t tell if they are male or female.¡± Alice shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t even know who that could be. Any sign of Gold Rush?¡± ¡°Yeah, in the corner. She¡¯s injured. Her leg is all bandaged up.¡± I allowed the video to resume. There was no audio so I couldn¡¯t tell what was being said but Masquerade and the unknown seemed to be immersed deeply in a conversation. Everything seemed normal right up until Gold Rush''s head turned, looking at something out of frame. She then threw herself off the seat and vanished in a flash of light. Masquerade and the unknown were on their feet drawing weapons before the video blipped. Seven seconds later, the building was empty. ¡°You were right. Someone beat us here,¡± I said, rewinding the footage to get another look. Unfortunately, I couldn''t find any hint of who their attacker was in the other cameras. ¡°They were attacked. Gold Rush managed to escape before¡­ whatever happened, happened.¡± ¡°And whatever attacked them managed to empty the place in seven seconds,¡± Alice murmured. She looked around again, eyes scanning the ceiling, then the dance floor. ¡°Were there people dancing before the blip?¡± ¡°Why does any of this matter?¡± Anomaly cut in before I could answer. ¡°There¡¯s nobody here and we¡¯re wasting time.¡± ¡°No we¡¯re not,¡± Alice shot back. ¡°Something happened to everyone in this place and I¡¯m not entirely convinced they left. Unless our attacker has some kind of mass teleportation power, there¡¯s no reason Gold Rush would run away.¡± ¡°I messed up her leg,¡± Anomaly argued. ¡°She¡¯d run away from a mouse if she thought it could hurt her.¡± ¡°Goes to show just how much you know about the Cains,¡± Alice replied dismissively. ¡°Do you want to know the one thing I¡¯m curious about? Whoever did this managed to empty the building in seven seconds ¨C but why stop to turn off the music?¡± ¡°Who knows,¡± Anomaly rolled his shoulders. ¡°Maybe they''re not fans of club music? I¡¯m more of a rock ¡®n roll kinda guy myself.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got nothing more on the cameras,¡± I said, backing out of the cameras. ¡°We should probably go. I don¡¯t like the idea of lingering longer than we have to.¡± Alice suddenly stilled. ¡°Oh fuck.¡± I tried to turn to look at her but found none of the muscles in my body obeyed me. Panic surged through me as I tried to move. I could still see Alice and Anomaly in my peripherals and they seemed to be having the same problem. We were all stuck as if we had been frozen from head to toe in ice. ¡°What the hell?¡± Anomaly grunted. ¡°I can¡¯t transform!¡± Laughter sounded from behind me. ¡°What do we have here? A couple of flies caught in our web.¡± I couldn¡¯t turn my head to see so I went into the cameras to investigate. I heard her before I saw what she looked like, heels clicking against the dance floor. When the cameras finally caught her, I saw the visage of a woman in an olive green costume, hair decorated with flowers and twigs. She walked right in between us, her gaze fixated on Alice. Then, she sighed. ¡°Alice,¡± She said slowly. ¡°Long time no see.¡± ¡°Springsong,¡± Alice replied with false cheer. ¡°Fancy seeing you here.¡± ¡°Why the fuck can¡¯t I move?¡± Anomaly hissed, glaring at Springsong. ¡°Is this you?¡± ¡°Who else would it be, darling?¡± Her smile was saccharine. ¡°You three made it rather easy.¡± ¡°We got caught by her song. Don¡¯t bother trying to move,¡± Alice explained blandly. ¡°We¡¯re essentially her puppets now.¡± I stared at her, bewildered. ¡°What song? I can¡¯t hear anything.¡± Alice¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°Exactly. Scary, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s rude to talk about someone like they aren¡¯t even here,¡± Springsong mused, strolling around in front of Alice. She brushed some of Alice¡¯s hair out of her eyes almost like a caring mother would. It was unsettling to see and I could almost see how much Alice hated it. ¡°Now, I¡¯ve left your ability to speak to explain why you¡¯re here. So, hurry it up. I don¡¯t have all night.¡± ¡°I could ask you the same question,¡± Alice said, keeping her anger in check. ¡°What¡¯s got The Queen¡¯s Court so interested in a place like this? Has Grim¡¯s sudden activity got Gaea spooked?¡± The Queen¡¯s Court? Oh shit¡­ ¡°Grim¡¯s little display has everyone concerned,¡± Springsong replied swiftly. ¡°Gaea¡¯s put me in charge of investigating what¡¯s got the old fossil all riled up and my findings have led me here. The only question is what you¡¯re doing here,¡± Her gaze briefly landed on me and Anomaly. ¡°I see you¡¯ve picked up a couple of strays. No longer a solo act, are we?¡± ¡°Hopefully not,¡± there was venom behind Alice¡¯s veiled smile. ¡°We were just passing through. Don¡¯t suppose you could let us go?¡± ¡°At least try to sound convincing, honey,¡± Springsong chuckled. ¡°You expect me to believe you came all geared up to party?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Alice said. ¡°Depends on the kind of party.¡± Springsong narrowed her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask again.¡± ¡°Fine. We were going to pay a small visit to Gold Rush,¡± Alice said. ¡°There¡¯s a particular person that the Cains have and we¡¯d like them back before anything unsavory happens, if you catch my drift.¡± Springsong contemplated Alice¡¯s words for a moment. ¡°I see. Well, I¡¯m sorry to say that we were unable to acquire Gold Rush. She¡¯s slipperier than most.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t capture Masquerade either, did you?¡± Alice asked. This time, Springsong scowled. ¡°Don¡¯t look so surprised. People have been trying to capture him for decades. It¡¯ll take more than your powers to snag someone like him. He came prepared for every eventuality. Let me guess, he had some kind of device? Portable teleportation, probably.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Springsong confirmed, unamused. ¡°He escaped, along with his underlings.¡± Damn, that sounded useful. I¡¯d have to figure out how to remake something like that. If I could get my hands on whatever it was, I could probably figure out the steps to how it was made. ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain the blip in the cameras, or where everyone went,¡± Alice said. ¡°Who¡¯re you working with?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business.¡± Alice smirked before switching to Gold for a few seconds. Satisfied, she switched back to Blue. ¡°That¡¯s cute. You managed to bag Uplink.¡± Springsong growled and turned away. ¡°I hate Mentalists¡­¡± ¡°So, where¡¯s the little twerp? Hiding somewhere apparently. I thought his speciality was security breaching but it''s much more than that, apparently,¡± Alice grinned. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s¡ª¡± Her mouth froze and no more words came out. Springsong shook her head, turning back to Alice. ¡°You never know when to shut up,¡± she grumbled. Turning, she walked away from Alice and over toward me. ¡°Release your control over the network before Uplink has a tantrum and screams my ears off.¡± I stared at her blankly. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your connection is overriding Uplink¡¯s. Release it.¡± I terminated my connection to the building''s systems. Immediately, a stream of greenish light poured out of one of the security cameras and hit the floor. A figure appeared, much shorter than everyone else in the room. It was a boy, young, probably around eleven or twelve years old. He was dressed in casual clothes and a decorated face mask. He stalked toward me and lashed out, punching me in the head. My helmet did its job perfectly and protected me against the blow. CRUNCH! The boy recoiled, clutching his hand. He cried out, sounding on the verge of tears. I resisted the urge to laugh while Springsong stared down at the boy, unimpressed by the display. ¡°I think I broke my finger¡­¡± Uplink sobbed. ¡°Serves you right,¡± the older woman glared down at the boy. ¡°Who gave you permission to attack my captive?¡± ¡°He was messing with my powers!¡± Uplink retorted childishly. ¡°I can¡¯t use ¡®em if he¡¯s connected. He did it at the mall as well!¡± Huh, so that was Uplink. ¡°You weren¡¯t allowed to tag along so you could be an annoyance. I certainly didn¡¯t ask for him to terminate his connection just so you could come out here and throw a tantrum,¡± Springsong muttered. ¡°Bring out the owner so we can have a chat with him. Since Alice is here, it¡¯ll make extracting information easier.¡± Uplink mumbled something under his breath. Springsong¡¯s face turned thunderous. ¡°What was that?¡± The child flinched. ¡°Nothing!¡± Another stream of green light surged from a camera and deposited someone on the floor. At the same time, I felt all my motor functions return to me. Alice cried in alarm and almost fell over while Anomaly stood up and transformed. Springsong paused, giving him a daring side-eye. Anomaly held his ground, glaring at the woman with blazing eyes of white fire. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything foolish, darling,¡± Springsong intoned with a warning. ¡°You are still under the effects of my power and I can do much more than immobilize you.¡± ¡°Yep, chill Anomaly,¡± Alice said, stretching her limbs a little. ¡°No need to start a fight here.¡± He reverted and crossed his arms. ¡°Whatever. Just get this over with.¡± ¡°Alright, lets see what we have here,¡± Alice walked over to the man Uplink had summoned onto the dance floor. Springsong flanked her, putting a calculated distance between the two of them. It almost seemed like the two had done this before. I watched from a distance as Alice began interrogating the man. It took all of two minutes to get the information they wanted. Springsong waved at Uplink and the man disappeared in another green flash, back into the security cameras. It was a strange sight but I was beginning to understand how everyone had disappeared in under seven seconds. Alice was right, they hadn¡¯t left. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve got some good news and bad news,¡± Alice said, approaching me and Anomaly. Springsong and Uplink stood to the side but listened in as well, the latter glaring at me like he wanted my head to spontaneously combust. ¡°Good news! Anomaly, your friend is likely being held at a decommissioned meatworks in the middle of Cain territory, and she¡¯s apparently not being sold into human trafficking.¡± He choked at her explanation, seemingly relieved. ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s good, right?¡± ¡°Eh¡­ bad news. We don¡¯t know why she and the rest of her group are being held there. Double bad news as well, Grim has been noted to be present a majority of the time. Something ugly is going on there and that guy wasn¡¯t privy to the juicy details,¡± Alice explained. ¡°So rescuing her is going to be a problem.¡± His shoulders slumped a little. ¡°Shit¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. Worst still, Masquerade is involved somehow. So that complicates things,¡± Alice continued. Anomaly went to open his mouth but Alice quickly held up her hand. ¡°But! It¡¯s not all hopeless,¡± She gestured to Springsong and Uplink standing behind her. ¡°We¡¯ve got some backup.¡± I stared hesitantly at Uplink, noting his unsatisfied scowl. ¡°You guys are willing to help?¡± ¡°Grim is a problem that needs to be dealt with,¡± Springsong said simply. ¡°I am willing to suffer a temporary alliance. Masquerade backing whatever he¡¯s doing means bad things for Bayside so Gaea will understand my decision. If you are willing to take the fight to them, we will assist.¡± ¡°Our plan wasn¡¯t to fight Grim head on,¡± Alice said. ¡°I¡¯m still piecing it together but the goal is to run him out of town.¡± Springsong nodded. ¡°Obviously. My offer stands regardless.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± I edged, looking at Uplink. ¡°Pinocchio there looks like he wants to rip my head off.¡± ¡°Eat glass you piece of s¡ª!¡± Springsong covered his mouth with her hand. ¡°His attitude is a work in progress but you have my word,¡± Springsong said. ¡°He will cooperate when the time comes.¡± ¡°Can we go now?¡± Uplink murmured through her hand, still glaring at me. Springsong just nodded. ¡°Our work is done here,¡± she said, giving Alice a look. ¡°Once you three leave, Uplink will return everyone back here. Alice, you know how to contact me.¡± ¡°Kisses,¡± Alice waved, turning on her heel. ¡°Let¡¯s go, boys.¡± Anomaly and I followed her out. I watched over my shoulder as Uplink and Springsong atomized into a green light before flowing into one of the security cameras. He must be able to move through networks freely and bring people along with him. I wondered if he could bounce to other networks as well? ¡°Okay, so what¡¯s the plan?¡± Anomaly asked. ¡°She¡¯s at a meatworks, right? Let¡¯s go¡ª¡± ¡°Woah there. Pump the brakes,¡± Alice turned and raised her hands. ¡°We¡¯ve got people who want to help us. We can¡¯t just be going off without a plan of attack now. It¡¯s time to coordinate and prepare, especially since we¡¯re walking into territory Grim is known to watch over.¡± Anomaly shifted on his feet impatiently. ¡°How long do I have to wait?¡± ¡°A couple of days. I need to work things out with Upgrade here and coordinate with Springsong. Wednesday at the earliest. Friday at the latest.¡± His hands balled into fists as he looked away. He clearly didn¡¯t like the answer. ¡°Alice,¡± I started. ¡°Look, he¡¯s clearly worried about his friend. What¡¯s your best guess on what¡¯s going on? If she isn¡¯t being trafficked then¡­ what? How much time do we realistically have? Can we even afford to wait that long?¡± I stole a quick glance at Anomaly. He looked somewhat grateful for my contribution. ¡°I know if it was one of my friends, I¡¯d be antsy too.¡± She chewed her bottom lip for a moment before switching to Gold. ¡°With Masquerade involved, along with an unknown, there¡¯s likely something else going on that¡¯s bigger than monetary incentive,¡± She paused for a moment, her arms crossing and her fingers drumming against her arms. ¡°He and the Iron Maiden run Fireiron industries which is a large scale mechatech company. Illegal weapons testing maybe. It¡¯s hard to say without knowing who the unknown is.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got the recordings saved. You can analyze it later,¡± I said. Gold nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie to you and say she isn¡¯t in danger. She is but we can¡¯t just charge in there without a plan. Grim will just kill us,¡± Gold continued. ¡°I know that¡¯s not what you want to hear right now but this is how we¡¯re doing things. We prioritize our lives first. We can¡¯t rescue anyone if we¡¯re dead.¡± Anomaly grunted. ¡°...Fine.¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Alice switched back from Gold, her tone sounding more sympathetic. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything reckless. I¡¯ll message you. We¡¯ll get your friend back but for the time being, don¡¯t try to attack Grim on your own. You¡¯ll just die.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to.¡± ¡°You were thinking it,¡± Alice countered immediately. ¡°You might think you''re indestructible, and to your credit you might very well be, but Grim is something else entirely. I wouldn¡¯t take that risk if I were you.¡± He stared at her for a moment, conflicted over what to do. I could see how antsy he was. It was clear he was impatient and wanted to go right now but Alice¡¯s words had hit home. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll wait but come up with a plan quickly. I don¡¯t want to wait too long,¡± He proceeded to shift into his transformed state but stopped halfway. He hesitated for a moment, reaching for his facemask. Then, he shook his head and let the transformation complete. Crouching down, he launched himself into the sky and disappeared over a building. Alice released a shaky sigh and ran a hand through her hair. ¡°You okay?¡± I asked. She clapped her hands and rocked back and forth on her heels for a bit. ¡°You look nervous, even sounded worried there for a minute.¡± ¡°Tonight has been a whole range of crazy I was not prepared for. Masquerade changes things, a lot. Gaea actually sending people out to investigate is freaky because she¡¯s never really taken an interest in this stuff before,¡± She admitted, changing the subject. ¡°This is way bigger than I thought it was. Even Gold is kinda speechless and that doesn¡¯t happen often.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter to me. The Cains still need to be taken down. I don¡¯t care who¡¯s backing them.¡± ¡°Well, in that case I¡¯m going to need you to make me a weapon,¡± Alice then cracked a small smile. ¡°And you¡¯re going to need a bigger gun.¡± Friction 4 Rain pelted my bedroom window with occasional flashes of lightning. I always liked the sound of rain. It relaxed me and helped me focus, especially on days like this. Lucy had sent me a list of things to cover for our assignment that was due on Friday and I was steadily working my way through it but every now and then, my mind would drift to Sam and contemplate what I needed to do to ensure our upcoming operation would run smoothly. I leaned back in my chair and kicked my feet up onto my desk. I eyed the second table I had set up in a corner close to the door where all my gear sat. My suit, helmet, pistol, and drone were all going through a slow upgrade process since Sam had said she needed some time to plan our next move against the Cains. I had invested points into strengthening my suit and helmet, along with implementing a stronger power supply for each of them. I wanted to incorporate active combat modes later on and they¡¯d need a strong power source to sustain what I had in mind. The drone was upgraded to a similar state as the one I sold, except with a more efficient camouflage setting and a quicker mechanical shifting mechanism to change modes quicker. The laser pistol needed a bigger ammo capacity and I needed to address ammunition running out mid-fight, assuming I was using it consistently. I didn¡¯t want to be caught with my pants down so-to-speak. All in all, I wasn¡¯t left with many charges to spare today, so I¡¯d have to wait on getting started on Sam¡¯s weapon and whatever my ¡®bigger gun¡¯ was supposed to be. I had a few ideas, a sniper rifle being one of them. I liked the idea of playing a more supportive role in the group. Sam had Red for brute force and assuming Anomaly really did join us, his transformation seemed like a force of nature on its own. Those two would be our frontline fighters. Though, I suspected Sam might be wanting to take a more tactical approach and use Gold more when we¡¯re in the field. My Entropy notifications started flashing. Crap¡­ wasn¡¯t paying attention. Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:17P.M) (Lucy. K): Could you do the essay part? I can send you all the notes I¡¯ve made so you can just put it together. I got to cram for this math internal that¡¯s been pushed early and I¡¯m sooooo not ready. If you can write it out and compile the links and references you used, I can make sure it''s all formatted correctly. Seriously, you suck at APA formatting. Btw don¡¯t forget to use the ¡®Arial¡¯ font. Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:25P.M) (Lucy. K): Yo don¡¯t disappear on me. Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:28P.M) (Lucy. K): Maaaaaaaaaax Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:35P.M) (Lucy. K): WHERE ARE YOUUUUUUUUUU Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:35P.M) (Lucy. K): I know you''re there, your icon is green. Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:39P.M) (Lucy. K): Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I cringed a little. I had completely forgotten I had been talking with Lucy about the assignment. I knew what was going to come next. Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:40P.M) (Lucy. K): Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:40P.M) (Lucy. K): Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:40P.M) (Lucy. K): Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Pathfinder (Today at 7:40P.M): Sorry, got a little bit distracted. Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:40P.M) (Lucy. K): Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:40P.M) (Lucy. K): Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Pathfinder (Today at 7:40P.M): Stop Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:40P.M) (Lucy. K): Finally. God, you''re so annoying when you just disappear. Pathfinder (Today at 7:40P.M): I can do the essay part. No worries. Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 7:40P.M) (Lucy. K): Thx! See u at school 2mrw The sheer audacity to claim I was the one being annoying with these chat logs¡­ I tabbed out to an empty document and waited for Lucy to send through all her notes. I passed the time by fiddling with Deadlock¡¯s tech. Sam had given it to me to take home, claiming I¡¯d make more progress on cracking the thing if I was the one to have sole access to it. While she wasn¡¯t wrong, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to go about cracking it. Observing its makeup with my powers didn¡¯t yield the results I wanted. Worse yet, I couldn¡¯t actually make any changes to it. It was the first thing I had ever touched that actually resisted my power. Every option was grayed out and it didn¡¯t matter how far I looked into each mechanical branch, it was all inaccessible. It wasn¡¯t like I would seriously consider upgrading it anyway, seeing as the cost to alter this thing was well into the hundreds. The cheapest option I could find would cost more than 275 charges and that was just to remodel the exterior design. It wouldn¡¯t do me any good here. Whatever kind of otherworldly security this thing had, it was interfering with my power¡¯s ability to alter it. Maybe all mechatech was like that but it hadn¡¯t stopped me from altering Nemesis¡¯ spear. Perhaps Deadlock had some kind of secret to stop supers like me from messing with her work? It would make sense given her legendary status. I sighed, spinning the cube with my fingers. The only way I was going to crack this thing was to build something sophisticated enough to interface with it. While I wasn¡¯t able to actually change anything on her tech, my power was able to glean that the device operated on an advanced encrypted network. Nothing built today or for the next hundred years would be able to recognize that network, let alone decrypt it. So, I¡¯d have to make something powerful enough to recognize it and crack it. Once I could crack it, I would be able to secure a master override key and gain control of all of Deadlock¡¯s tech that used that specific network. It was a strangely exciting thought at first but my pessimism was quick to ground me. My power recognized this as a prototype design, which likely meant that Deadlock had since built more and amped up the security on the future models. This was a defunct model, out of order. I would be gaining access to a network that probably wasn¡¯t monitored and likely had nothing of value on it. None of this explained why my power refused to let me make any changes. If it did, I¡¯d be able to modify its security to something I could easily access. It would drain all my charges for a single day but I could have access to it in two or three weeks. Instead, I¡¯d have to do things the hard way. I pursed my lips. This was low on my priority list. There were more pressing issues to attend to, namely the Cains and rescuing Anomaly¡¯s friend from whatever had befallen her. Long-term project then. Incoming call from Spaciseebs . . . I watched the notification flash across my screen a few times as I considered my next move. There was a lingering temptation to just let the call expire and pretend I wasn¡¯t there. I had enough distractions as is and speaking to my sister was only going to take up more time that I couldn¡¯t afford to lose. Spaciseebs (Today at 8:05P.M) (Alex. T): Answer the call, dork. I sighed and clicked accept. The window opened and webcam footage of Alex reclined in her chair sketching things on a pad appeared. She looked particularly frazzled with bags under her eyes, her platinum blonde hair messily tied up in a bun. Her fingers were covered in lead smudging from her pencil and her tank top was littered with multi-colored paint stains. It was the usual look for her but I noted just how exhausted she was. ¡°You look like shit,¡± I commented blandly. ¡°Right back at you,¡± she smirked. ¡°Though, your eye is healing up nicely. You won¡¯t be frightening any children now, at least.¡± I lightly traced the ridges of my black eye. In truth, I had completely forgotten about the injury. My mind had been occupied with other more important things. The biogel Sam and I had stolen would probably be able to fix it in just a couple of hours but that would probably raise questions. That kind of stuff was expensive and pharmacies charged an arm and a leg for it. ¡°Thanks,¡± I replied idly. ¡°Are you playing messenger for mom again? I swear, I don¡¯t have her on mute this time.¡± ¡°Nope, just checking in with you. I thought we could have a lil sibling one on one, you know? It¡¯s been awhile since we just talked between ourselves without mom around,¡± Alex said, sounding unusually sincere. ¡°You used to call me so much not that long ago. What happened? I miss when you were so fond of me!¡± I shrugged easily. ¡°I grew up I guess. Got busy with school and other stuff. Besides, you call every morning and night so I didn¡¯t feel like I needed to call you all the time. It¡¯s not like you''re out of the loop on anything.¡± ¡°Am I not?¡± She asked with a raised brow. ¡°You¡¯ve been pretty distant these last few weeks. Even mom¡¯s starting to worry. You¡¯re out later than usual and you''re constantly making excuses to go out before and after school. You were a total shut-in not even a month ago.¡± So she had caught on and if she was aware that it was out of character for me, Mom would think the same. Strange though, how she hadn¡¯t said anything on the matter. Maybe she was just trying to give me some personal space? Regardless, they couldn¡¯t be allowed to know what I was up to. ¡°Lucy and Abby are doing their best to drag me out of my shell. Jackson has been a victim as well,¡± I dismissed easily. It wasn¡¯t technically a lie. Abby had been trying to get us to be more social outside of school but even she was struggling to find free time with her hero life cutting into things. ¡°I thought you and mom wanted me to go out more. Meet new people and all that jazz, right?¡± Alex pursed her lips. ¡°I suppose we were trying to encourage you to be more outgoing and social. My suggestion was you getting a part-time job; how is that going by the way?¡± ¡°Alright. It¡¯s just a weekend thing to earn some money.¡± ¡°Meet anyone interesting there?¡± ¡°Nope. I¡¯m relegated to washing dishes. Don¡¯t really get time to talk or do anything,¡± I replied. ¡°You''re digging to find diamonds when there¡¯s only coal and rock. You¡¯re not going to find anything interesting about what I¡¯m doing. Between school and work, there¡¯s not much happening for me.¡± Alex¡¯s shoulders slumped a little. ¡°You never have any interesting tea to share. I swear, you getting jumped by those thugs is probably the most exciting thing that¡¯s ever happened to you.¡± I frowned. ¡°My life isn¡¯t that boring.¡± I had superpowers after all. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you were expecting.¡± ¡°Hmm. So where exactly have you been going lately? Have you found a new group of friends?¡± Alex asked. ¡°You can tell me anything, Max. I¡¯m not going to spill the beans to Mom if you have a secret girlfriend.¡± Sam flashed in my mind¡¯s eye and I wrinkled my nose a little. ¡°I don¡¯t have a secret girlfriend.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Stop looking at me like that,¡± I scowled. ¡°You¡¯re getting all judgy. I can end this call whenever I like.¡± ¡°So defensive¡­¡± Alex¡¯s tone turned playful. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll pretend there¡¯s no secret girlfriend¡ª¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°¡ªInstead, I just want you to promise me that you aren¡¯t doing anything stupid,¡± her tone shifted again, taking on a more uncharacteristic seriousness that I wasn¡¯t used to hearing from her. ¡°Whatever you''re doing, you obviously don¡¯t want Mom knowing about it and she¡¯s not stupid. We both want you to have a little independence but you''re only sixteen. There¡¯s a limit.¡± ¡°Am I about to get a lecture from you of all people?¡± Alex¡¯s playful expression melted off her features. She became almost inhumanly still that I thought the connection had dropped. However, she eventually sighed, running a hand through her hair and leaning back in her chair. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Okay, no. I¡¯m not going to do this.¡± My head involuntarily tilted. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I wanted to let you figure things out like an adult but the world is getting more dangerous. Look, I know you have powers,¡± Alex said. I felt my blood freeze and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid. I grew up with friends too so I know the signs and tells people have when they''re keeping something a secret. The late nights, the busy schedule, the incessant need to keep everything to yourself. You''re not being as subtle as you think.¡± My lips suddenly felt dry. ¡°I¡¯m not¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie,¡± Alex cut me off in the most dismissive tone I¡¯d ever heard from her. A chill ran down my spine as I swallowed. ¡°Those guys that attacked you, I don¡¯t buy they were regular thugs. Gang members, right?¡± I slumped in defeat. I didn¡¯t see any way to explain this away without looking like a clown. ¡°Yeah¡­ it was the Cains.¡± ¡°What were you doing?¡± ¡°Selling Mechatech.¡± Alex¡¯s eyes widened a little. ¡°You¡¯re a Mechakinetic?¡± ¡°I can improve on anything material. Biological stuff just blanks on me,¡± I explained, deflated. ¡°Can only do so much per day but I don¡¯t need raw materials to work with. I can take what already exists and¡­ yeah, just make it better. Transform it, transmute it, alter it. You name it, I can probably do it.¡± ¡°Woah, woah, back up a bit. You don¡¯t need raw materials?¡± Alex was gobsmacked. ¡°Say sike right now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not joking around. That¡¯s what I can do.¡± My sister ran a hand through her messy hair, a shaky sigh escaping from her lips. ¡°You¡¯ve got a freaky deaky power there bro. I haven¡¯t heard of any Mechakinetic that didn¡¯t need to buy stuff to make their funky toys. Are you telling me you can just¡­ poof it into existence?¡± I scowled at the simplification. ¡°I still need a base model to work off of. Here, look,¡± I snatched a pencil off my desk and held it up to the webcam. ¡°See this?¡± Alex nodded. I activated my power and spent a few charges to turn it into a pen. There were a few steps that made it rather costly but I¡¯d sacrifice the four charges it cost for the demonstration. Alex watched as the pencil went through the steps I was already familiar with before emerging as a mundane blue pen. I even gave it a few clicks to show that I wasn¡¯t bullshitting her. ¡°If I spend the right amount of charges, the change happens pretty quickly. I could underpay, in which case the process would take longer. An hour for every charge I underpay, from what I know.¡± ¡°...You¡¯re joking.¡± ¡°Why are you insinuating that I¡¯m joking?¡± I grumbled. ¡°That¡¯s it. That¡¯s all I can do. I make things better.¡± ¡°And you can¡¯t alter living organisms?¡± ¡°No. We wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation if I could. I would have fixed Mom already,¡± I muttered under my breath. ¡°One of the first things I would have done was get her out of that wheelchair. It¡¯s not easy.¡± Alex sat up, her fingers flexing as she rolled forward in her chair and began typing. Her hands whirled across the keyboard as the light of her monitor reflected in her glasses. I felt my stomach sink as thoughts drifted to Mom. There was no way she wasn¡¯t going to tell her now that she had it confirmed. If Alex had always known, then maybe Mom did too. Has she always known? ¡°Are you telling mom now?¡± I asked. Alex shook her head. ¡°Nope. Just looking you up. Upgrade, right?¡± ¡°How did¡ª¡± ¡°Deductive reasoning.¡± What was it with the women in my life being borderline psychic? Sam was the exception, of course, with Gold¡¯s ability to literally cheat but this had been happening for years. They just seemed to know without me even saying a word. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve been doing your best to keep your head down. Not much anywhere in the way of who you are. Just some threads around where your codename pops up but you¡¯ve been fairly active in those,¡± Alex said, pursing her lips. ¡°So this is how you¡¯ve been making side cash, huh? I respect it, though very irresponsible. You¡¯re lucky to have survived your encounter with the Cains.¡± ¡°You¡¯re scrying the internet for my name? How are you even doing that?¡± I asked, perplexed. Alex gave me a sly smile. ¡°I have a super techy friend who¡¯s given me some stuff to keep myself up-to-date. I¡¯m not so behind the times as you might think. Check this out,¡± she shared her screen as she pulled up a secured ECU database. ¡°Even now, they still haven¡¯t patched some of the old holes in their systems. Child''s play, really. Here you are,¡± she highlighted a name in the spreadsheet, one that I could unmistakably recognize as my own. ¡°ECU has you flagged. No surprise there. They have you listed as benign.¡± ¡°They¡­ they know about me?¡± I couldn¡¯t believe it. I had been so careful. How had they picked up on my activities? I¡¯d been active for about a month now and judging by the date my name was added, they had me pinned within the first week! ¡°H-How? I was so careful.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t sweat the small stuff bro, they¡¯re good when it comes to IDing newbies. The internet is not as safe as you might think and they have a lot of Mentalists on payroll for this specific reason. See? Look here,¡± she expanded my details and a lot of it was just archives of things I had posted on some forums. ¡°They know you''re an Evohuman but they haven¡¯t dug into your personal details yet.¡± ¡°But they could if they wanted to,¡± I murmured under my breath. I needed to fix that, break into their systems somehow and scrub those details. I didn¡¯t want them to know who I really was, especially when I was bound to come across them sometime in the future while working with Sam. ¡°Can you wipe my information?¡± ¡°Nope. I would ping in their systems. I¡¯m using a Rats Tunnel, so I¡¯m limited to just observing. Anything more and I¡¯d have the authorities busting down my door,¡± Alex chuckled like it was no big deal. ¡°If you keep your head down then they won¡¯t have any reason to bother you. Plus, the ECU doesn''t really have the legal right to dig into people¡¯s personal information, even villains and supers.¡± ¡°Not even if they¡¯re a danger to innocent lives?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous scale the ECU has to balance,¡± she explained, her tone turning weary. ¡°They have the resources to figure these things out but the real risk is who they target. You remember Scrubber?¡± ¡°Yeah, the biokinetic behind Satan¡¯s Gift.¡± ¡°Public story is he lost his mind, his powers finally getting the better of him. The real story is much different. The ECU got impatient and wanted to bring him in. They pulled their resources, dug into his personal life. Found everything. Name, birthday, family, children, wife. They tried to use all of it against him to try and get him to surrender peacefully. You know what happened next.¡± Tragedies happen every day in a world like ours. It was rare to watch the news and not see anything relating to Evohumans. There was always something going on, but even once in a blue moon, you¡¯d get someone who goes the extra mile to the point where their name would be cemented in history. You had people like Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Genghis Khan. Names the human race would never forget for as long as they lived. Then you had the dawn of the new age, a time when a nameless nobody from who the fuck knows where could rise up and shock the world. Scrubber just happened to be one of those people. ¡°He wiped out Taiwan,¡± I breathed. It had happened decades ago, before my time but it was still one of many horrible tragedies caused by a single person. ¡°They lied¡­¡± ¡°He killed over twenty million people in under three days. The ECU can¡¯t admit fault there, they¡¯d lose footing across the world, so they concocted a story. The guy snapped. If you try and look online for information there¡¯s even records of him having problems with his mental health. All faked by the ECU. He was completely sane, but had been backed into a corner.¡± ¡°A sane person doesn¡¯t kill twenty something million people because he was backed into a corner,¡± I argued. ¡°That¡¯s completely fucked.¡± ¡°You have to consider the ultimatums the ECU was giving him,¡± Alex said. ¡°I¡¯m not defending him, I¡¯m just saying you¡¯d need to put yourself in his shoes to even begin to understand what he was going through. If he really was sane, could you imagine the kind of stress he was under to even consider the option he finally ended up taking?¡± There was no excuse in my mind, no scenario I could comprehend where I could justify what that man had done. ¡°No. Fuck that.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I was trying to make a different point,¡± Alex said, changing the subject. ¡°The point is, the ECU take a more practical approach. They weigh the threat level of the villain before acting. Ninety-nine percent of the time, they¡¯ll capture them the old fashioned way. Heroically, is how they like to portray it. Families and personal life are kept out of the way. Things tend to get ugly otherwise.¡± I grimaced. ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is that unless I¡¯m actively threatening to wipe out a country, they¡¯ll stay out of my personal life?¡± ¡°Something like that,¡± Alex¡¯s tone was wishy-washy and I wasn¡¯t sure I liked it. ¡°Your best course of action? Don¡¯t kill anyone. It¡¯s a slippery slope.¡± Intrusive thoughts had me momentarily thinking of Mirage before I ultimately pushed him out of my mind. ¡°That¡¯s fine, I never planned on it anyway. Until recently, I didn¡¯t even want to make weapons but I¡¯m doing it for my own safety now.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Alex nodded. ¡°Selling weapons is a good way for the ECU to come crashing down on you. I probably don¡¯t need to tell you that though, seeing as that hasn¡¯t happened yet.¡± I drummed my fingers on top of my desk as my mind drifted back to the information on the screen. Alex hadn¡¯t tabbed away so I could still see my super name highlighted in the ECU database. Curiosity got the better of me as I leaned forward and read the other names. None of them I knew and it looked like the spreadsheet had been ordered alphabetically. Not many supers with ¡®U¡¯ at the start of their names. ¡°Alice, can you look her up?¡± Alex raised an eyebrow. ¡°Someone you know?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the one helping me out. We¡¯ve got a¡­ thing going.¡± Alex scrolled up to ¡®A¡¯, combing through hundreds of names until we eventually came across Alice. Expanding her details showed quite the story. ¡°Girl¡¯s got a deep record. Petty theft, B&Es, evading authorities, multiple accounts of DTP, aggravated assault, unregistered firearm carrier¡­ the list goes on. Doesn¡¯t seem to be anything major in here though,¡± Alex tried the more condemning crimes. ¡°She hasn¡¯t killed anyone, at least from what the ECU knows. Lots of small-time crime though. Oh! Look at this. She used to be a rookie.¡± Alex pulled up Sam¡¯s old file. ¡°Catelynn Whiterose¡­¡± I murmured. ¡°She changed her name?¡± ¡°Makes sense,¡± Alex hummed. ¡°If she was a rookie, the ECU would know everything about her. Ran away, changed her name, got a new life.¡± I looked down at her old super name. Split. Directly under it was a detailed description of her powers. Strangely, Gold, Orange, and Purple were missing from the archives. Had she never shown her hand there or had some of those powers developed later on? Powers had the tendency to grow and evolve over time after all. It wouldn¡¯t be out of the ordinary but I remembered Sam saying that Gold had warned her against telling her parents. ¡°She has a moderate warning. Most Aspects do these days,¡± Alex observed. ¡°What about Anomaly?¡± I asked. I knew about Sam but didn¡¯t know much about our potential new recruit. ¡°Anything on him?¡± Alex found his file almost instantly. ¡°Nothing much. Just a bunch of aggravated assault charges. That¡¯s pretty standard for supers though. He¡¯s got a cautionary warning though.¡± ¡°Meaning?¡± ¡°The ECU has no clue how his powers work,¡± Alex sounded impressed. ¡°Huh, that is unusual. Not often you can stump the Mentalists they have. He sounds interesting.¡± Given what he looked like, that didn¡¯t come as much of a surprise. Sam was able to figure parts of him out though but that was likely through direct exposure. Gold was exceptionally good at what she did, that I couldn¡¯t deny. She was a powerful Mentalist and it made sense why Sam put so much trust into that side of her power. It kept her alive and out of the grips of people like the Cains and Pandora. ¡°Anything on Masquerade?¡± I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. ¡°I¡¯m interested to see what the ECU has on this guy.¡± Alex didn¡¯t move, her fingers frozen, hovering above her keyboard. Her eyes looked up at me, almost like she was staring at her webcam, directly at me. Slowly, her eyes narrowed. ¡°...Why do you want to know about that guy?¡± ¡°I was out with Alice and Anomaly last night. We were trying to go after Gold Rush and found out that he was meeting with the Cains. He and some other guy were talking in the VIP lounge at Poseidon¡¯s Vault. Gold Rush was there but wasn¡¯t really participating,¡± I explained. I noted the range of facial expressions that flashed across Alex¡¯s face. ¡°Alice said he was a big shot arms dealer from Dubai, working with the Iron Maiden. Outside of that, she didn¡¯t say much else.¡± Alex bit her lip before scrolling to find his file. Before long, she pulled it up and my jaw almost hit the floor. The document was massive. There were over a thousand pages with multiple links to different spreadsheets. The ECU had written whole theses on the guy, documenting every sighting and every encounter. There were videos and analyses taken from the perspective of multiple different ECU heroes on the guy. He was the real deal, through and through. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± I murmured. I suspected I was doing an authentic impression of a goldfish by the way Alex was nodding. ¡°I knew he was big but I didn¡¯t expect this.¡± ¡°Stay away from this guy, Max,¡± Alex said seriously. ¡°If he¡¯s working with the Cains, then some serious shit is going down. He¡¯s one of the most dangerous warlords in the world.¡± ¡°Well, the Cains have Anomaly¡¯s friend and we¡¯re trying to help him out,¡± I said. ¡°Alice is trying to recruit more people to our group so that we aren¡¯t completely defenseless. She wants to make a name for us in the city, hold territory and all that.¡± Alex gave me an incredulous look. ¡°And you want to be a part of that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, okay? It sounds like a massive undertaking¡ª¡± ¡°It is!¡± ¡°¡ªbut I don¡¯t know what else to really do. I want to fix Mom and get her out of that stupid wheelchair and I¡¯m not about to join the ECU to get that done,¡± I replied. ¡°We both know who¡¯s responsible for putting her there and I don¡¯t want anything to do with them. Abby and the rookies are alright I guess but I don¡¯t want to be a part of that if I can help it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t exactly want you in the ECU either,¡± Alex said with a frown. ¡°They keep law and order but there are aspects to them that can¡¯t be trusted. You want to help Mom out?¡± ¡°Yeah, at first I thought I just needed to make enough money to pay for a biokinetic to fix her up but Alice said that there are simpler ways to go about that. Namely by exchanging my powers for goods and services, I can secure a few favors from people I work with,¡± I said. I continued to drum my fingers anxiously on my desk as Alex¡¯s features darkened a little. ¡°Money apparently isn¡¯t something a lot of the more successful independent supers are concerned about.¡± ¡°You know Mom¡¯s going to have difficulty accepting charity.¡± I grunted in agreement. ¡°I know. I haven¡¯t exactly thought about how I¡¯m going to approach her with that yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you.¡± I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders. ¡°You will?¡± ¡°You even need to ask? I don¡¯t like Mom being in that chair anymore than you do. Plus, if you¡¯re going to navigate this fucked up world, I¡¯d sleep better at night knowing that I was doing everything I could to help you out. I have friends and contacts that can help you as well,¡± Alex said with a small smile. ¡°Your big sister isn¡¯t as lame as you think she is.¡± I scoffed. ¡°I never thought you were lame.¡± ¡°Coulda fooled me,¡± she grinned. Her smile vanished almost as quickly as it came. ¡°Look, the criminal underworld is vast. Just be careful who you trust. It sounds like you lucked out with this Alice girl but you never know. Keep your wits about you, okay bro? I know I said I have friends and contacts in this biz, but I¡¯ve also lost a bunch as well. If you¡¯re not careful, shit can go south really fast.¡± I thought back to Mirage and Banshee, how quickly and easily they had managed to catch me, then the second time at the Mall. I¡¯m in this game now. There was no backing or chickening out now. I needed to play and take advantage of every hand I was given. ¡°You seriously won¡¯t tell Mom about this?¡± ¡°Just as long as you promise to keep me updated; and I mean on everything. Do that and I won¡¯t tell Mom,¡± Alex bargained. ¡°I want to help but I can¡¯t if you don¡¯t tell me anything.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep you in the loop,¡± I agreed. ¡°You know, I thought you¡¯d try and convince me to back out of all this and stay home. Lock myself in my room or something. It¡¯s kinda why I don¡¯t want Mom to know. That¡¯s exactly what she¡¯d want me to do or try to do herself.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why I don¡¯t want to tell her either. She¡¯ll start stressing and neither of us want that. Besides, I know what little good it would do to try and keep you away from all this,¡± Alex sighed, running a hand through her hair. ¡°Sooner or later, someone will find out. There¡¯s no escaping this life now that you have powers. The best I can do is help you avoid the pitfalls my late friends stumbled into.¡± ¡°Thanks, Alex,¡± I said with a weak smile. ¡°I should¡¯ve told you sooner. Sorry I didn¡¯t trust you.¡± She smiled. ¡°It¡¯s cool. I get it. Just promise not to do anything stupid. Out there, stupidity will get you killed.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± ¡°The best is all that some of us can do.¡± Friction 5 Click. I flicked the switch with my finger and adjusted my aim. Peering down the scope, I analyzed the digital display, noting all the information available to me. Wind speed; 16 knots. Distance to target; 1.76 km. Recommended kinetic amplifier; 53 percent. I moved my thumb to the side of the metal, carefully dragging it down a touch-sensitive panel, watching as the kinetic amplifier dropped from 76 to 53. My target moved slightly and I adjusted my aim. I counted in my head, my finger slowly squeezing the trigger. The moment I hit three, I inhaled and pulled the trigger. The branch just below the one I had been aiming for exploded. The recoil kicked hard as the shell ejected automatically. The gun hissed as a small jet of steam shot out of the kinetic amplifier exhaust. The digital display flashed a warning in bright red for a few seconds before resetting itself. ¡°Fucking hell,¡± I muttered under my breath. I had forgotten to account for the bullet drop. I¡¯d need to fix that by adding the function to the digital display. [Charges: 8/25] [Type] [Durability 99/100 - Repair Available. Cost: 1] [Attachments] I paid the three charges necessary to implement the new feature. The scope of my new weapon melted down and began folding in that familiar pattern before reforming atop the gun. I resumed my activity, peering down the scope and looking for a new target. I found another decently sized branch. Distance to target; 1.88 km. Recommended kinetic amplifier; 59 percent. This time, there was a red dotted line showing where I should aim. It was slightly above the branch, displayed as a small red-lined box. Once again, I counted to three before squeezing the trigger. Unfortunately, a bird decided to land right in front of my crosshair as I fired. The kinetic amplifier hissed again as it went through its routine to reset itself. The bird turned into a fine red mist, feathers hovering all around where it had been sitting. Whoops. Collateral damage. It was easy to justify and I wasn¡¯t about to lose sleep over an accidental bird obliteration. It wasn¡¯t like I could set up a target range in Sam¡¯s apartment building. This sniper rifle produced enough force to puncture multiple concrete walls. I could probably kill someone by accident and I didn¡¯t want that on my conscience. ¡°Alright, lethal works well enough. Time to test non-lethal,¡± I muttered to myself. I was starting to develop an unhealthy habit of talking to myself, that much I was aware of. I wasn¡¯t going to worry about it because it felt good to internalize my thoughts aloud sometimes. Just hearing myself say my thoughts out loud helped me ground myself; remind myself that all of this was really happening. I reached for a separate magazine as I ejected the current one. I carefully placed it to the side and grabbed the one filled with tranquilizers, the primary ammunition I¡¯d be using. I wanted to be long ranged support but I also didn¡¯t want to be murdering people, so I needed to check if these tranquilizer rounders would work properly. I loaded the rounds and searched for a new target. It took me a couple of minutes to find another bird because I had clearly disturbed the wildlife out in the forest. When I did, I narrowed my focus. Distance to target; 1.54 km. Estimated recommended kinetic amplifier; 84 percent. I grimaced. The tranquilizer rounds were made of a lighter material so they wouldn¡¯t travel as far without the additional power from the kinetic amplifier. Hopefully, they wouldn¡¯t break apart mid-flight. I dragged my thumb up the digital display till it met the recommended percentage. The dotted red line was higher as well, so I¡¯d have to adjust my aim accordingly. All this and it was still just a stationary target. I¡¯d need a lot more practice if I was going to use this effectively when I was out with Sam. I inhaled and squeezed the trigger. ¡°Watcha doing?¡± I jumped out of my seat. ¡°Jesus¡ª!¡± I turned to find Sam standing behind me in her school uniform, carrying a paper bag. She giggled while I glared daggers at her. ¡°Someone needs to put a fucking bell on you.¡± ¡°Jeez, jumpy much?¡± She placed the plastic bag on the table where I had my gun set up. ¡°I like what you¡¯ve done with the place. It was a dump this morning,¡± she observed looking around. Her eye caught the silent roomba I had modified, diligently going about the room and cleaning it up. ¡°It actually looks liveable now.¡± I had taken advantage of Sam¡¯s apartment complex and claimed the top floor of the building. I had used my powers to restore the walls and infrastructure of the room I was in. Repairing it had been moderately costly but it was a sacrifice I was more than willing to make. Rotting walls and moldy carpet just would not do, especially since I planned to make this place my home away from home. Other than repairing the necessities, there wasn¡¯t much in the way of furniture. There was the table I was currently using and a couch that I had used my powers to restore. That was about it. There was no TV or anything in the kitchen. It had all been removed and ripped out of the walls. I could do something about that later if I really wanted. ¡°I figured I¡¯d start making this place liveable. I fixed your apartment too by the way. Paint can only do so much to hide the rotting walls, ceiling, and moldy carpet,¡± I said, returning my focus to the gun. I grunted when I realized I had lost my initial target. ¡°It¡¯s a start. I¡¯ll do more when I get the time, assuming Grim doesn¡¯t kill us tomorrow.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± Sam said with a reassuring tone. She reached into the plastic bag and pulled out a brown cardboard box. ¡°Sushi? I thought you might be hungry.¡± I found a new target and adjusted my settings accordingly. I squeezed the trigger and fired. The table shook a little but with the recoil control attachment, it wasn¡¯t nearly as violent as my first test run had gone. I had almost dislocated my shoulder and immediately looked into trying to fix that problem. Even with my armored suit, it would be difficult to actually use if the gun kicked like that all the time. The tranquilizer hit the bird and I considered it a success that it didn¡¯t turn into a red mist. The impact likely killed it, despite it dropping to the forest floor but the point was that it wouldn¡¯t kill a human being. Probably. ¡°Thanks,¡± I reached over, snatching up a piece and plopping it in my mouth. It was then that I realized I hadn¡¯t eaten since breakfast this morning and it was 4:30 in the afternoon. ¡°Forgot I hadn¡¯t eaten.¡± ¡°I thought you might¡¯ve forgotten. Nice toy by the way,¡± She replied, eyeing the sniper rifle. ¡°A bit excessive but it¡¯ll get the job done.¡± I observed the gun I had spent the last three days working on. Like my laser pistol, I had bought the base model from a shop. There were no sniper rifle nerf guns so I had to spend a bit more money to get started on this one. It began as an airsoft gun, totaling around seven hundred dollars. Fairly expensive but I still had a lot of leftover cash from when those suits gave me money to spend on materials to build their commissions. That allowed me to skip a couple of the upgrade steps and save on charges, which ultimately allowed me to get more done in the time that I had. All in all, I was happy with the results. ¡°I wanted something with a little bit more ¡®oomph¡¯. I can mess with my pistol to add an automatic fire function if I want something that shoots a little faster but range is always going to be a problem,¡± I explained. ¡°Plus, I thought you¡¯d probably want me in a supporting role or recon ¨C wherever I¡¯m most effective. I doubt the frontlines would be a good place for me right now.¡± ¡°You¡¯d need stronger gear, yeah,¡± Sam agreed. ¡°I can survive with Red and Pink, plus with the added protection you¡¯ve given me, I can take care of myself easily. You probably need to work on your costume a bit more. I¡¯m not going to lie and say it¡¯s up to standard. You¡¯ve got a ways to go before it''s comparable to the stuff Nanoforge makes. My suggestion? Add some momentum functions. A jet pack would be cool. Definitely invest in some shock absorbers. Don¡¯t want to be breaking bones when you jump off things.¡± I nodded. Those were some good suggestions. ¡°I¡¯m closing the gap between my suit and the ones Nanoforge makes,¡± I said, biting into another piece of sushi. ¡°I thought it would take longer but it''s starting to look achievable.¡± She could make them en-masse and update them all the time. It was taking me two weeks to even make one. ¡°Great! Any progress on Deadlock¡¯s tech?¡± ¡°Nothing to write home about. I need to upgrade my laptop to the point where it''s able to pick up on the secret frequency that¡¯s built into the device. Once I do that, I can create and develop some software that can break through it. It¡¯s going to take a month or two to do,¡± I explained, shaking my head. ¡°Even then, I have no idea if that will work. It¡¯s just from what I was able to gauge from examining it.¡± ¡°Keep at it. It¡¯s low priority but I¡¯m itching to know what¡¯s inside,¡± Sam said. ¡°So, whatcha got for me? Did you manage to finish my weapon?¡± I reached into my jacket pocket and tossed her a metal cylinder. ¡°Sure. Can I ask why you didn¡¯t want a gun like mine? I thought you¡¯d prefer a gun or something.¡± Her eyes sparkled as she caught the device. ¡°Did you make me a lightsaber!?¡± She beamed. Her excitable features dulled when she pressed the button on the side of the contraption. Metal poles shot out of both ends and crackled with electricity. ¡°Aww¡­. you really know how to disappoint a girl, don¡¯tcha?¡± I snorted and rolled my eyes. ¡°As if I¡¯m going to give you a lightsaber or anything close to an equivalent. You said you wanted something that would work well with Pink so I thought a bludgeoning weapon combined with a taser would work.¡± ¡°Stun sticks,¡± Sam nodded, finally showing her approval. ¡°They¡¯ll work. I didn¡¯t want a gun or any kind of ranged option because I do most of my fighting with Pink and she likes things up close and personal. If I need the extra power, I¡¯ll switch to Red.¡± ¡°You''re the world¡¯s best at everything with Orange active,¡± I tried to argue. I gestured to the sniper rifle propped up on the table. ¡°Want to give it a shot? I doubt you even need all the additions to help me aim.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget how tunnel-visioned I get when I¡¯m Orange. Hard to think about anything that isn¡¯t directly in front of me,¡± She said, shuffling over next to me and taking control of the gun. ¡°It¡¯s handy in a pinch but I¡¯ve come to understand that doing anything long-term using that power doesn¡¯t exactly work out as well as you might think.¡± She bent over the table and peered down the scope of the gun. I saw her lips curl into a smile as she started aiming, searching for a target. ¡°Like it?¡± ¡°God, I fucking love Mechatech,¡± she sounded like a kid in a candy store. ¡°Hard to believe you made this thing in just a couple of days. You can make it better as well, can¡¯t you?¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Given enough time I could probably upgrade it to the point where we could shoot a target all the way in China from your bedroom window,¡± I shrugged half-heartedly. ¡°So far, I don¡¯t think there is a hard limit to how far I can take something. It just becomes more costly with each upgrade. Eventually, a single upgrade would drain all the charges I get in a day and I¡¯d be forced to underpay.¡± ¡°Which is when it starts to take longer,¡± Sam guessed. ¡°I figured that. So¡­ you really could make this thing capable of shooting all the way to China?¡± She was playing with me, clearly. I could tell from the cheeky side eye she was giving me. Still, it brought up an interesting question that had been lingering in the back of my mind. Just how far could I take any single object? It didn¡¯t seem like anything really had a limit. ¡°I¡­ honestly don¡¯t know. Probably. Though, what would be the point in that?¡± Sam shrugged. ¡°Fun?¡± ¡°Fun,¡± I stared blankly at her. ¡°That¡¯s your idea of fun?¡± ¡°What¡¯s your idea of fun?¡± I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I told you the first thing I did with my power was upgrade my laptop and phone. I thought having a Mechatech laptop and phone would be fun. I wouldn¡¯t ever have to worry about the battery running out or my games dropping frames.¡± ¡°Of coooourse,¡± Sam smiled and rolled her eyes. ¡°You boys and your toys.¡± ¡°Hey, respect the toys,¡± I said wryly. ¡°They¡¯re gonna help keep us alive.¡± ¡°Mhmm. What¡¯s a kinetic amplifier and why do I need to adjust it?¡± ¡°It adds more power behind the firing mechanism. Works off a rechargeable battery,¡± I reached over and gently took her hand, guiding it to the digital display on the side. ¡°Drag your finger up and down to adjust. I use my thumb because it¡¯s more comfortable.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± She thumbed it a bit, dragging it up and down to get used to it. ¡°Very nice, very nice. How much kick is this thing gonna have? Will I have to use Red to avoid dislocating my shoulder?¡± ¡°If you had asked me eight hours ago, I¡¯d say yeah but you should be fine.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Her excitement was almost palpable. ¡°Here goes nothing!¡± She squeezed the trigger and fired. The gun lurched slightly and a giggle escaped her lips. Over the next few seconds, the giggle evolved into a full-on laugh as steam shot out of the small exhaust and the empty shell popped out of the top. ¡°That was crisp! It barely made a sound,¡± I stood up straight and gave the gun a once over. ¡°Oh, it has a suppressor. Weird. I know they mask the sound but I didn¡¯t think they masked it that well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ¡®mark four variant¡¯. My power makes it better, I guess.¡± ¡°You are one in a Max-imillion,¡± She laughed. ¡°You have zero idea how many Mechakinetics would kill to have your power.¡± I shrugged off her compliment. ¡°It¡¯s not that great. I think having a power that lets you make the things Deadlock, Ajax, and Nanoforge create would be way cooler.¡± Sam stared at me for a moment, like she couldn¡¯t comprehend that I existed on the same planet as her. ¡°You¡­ really think that?¡± Who wouldn¡¯t want to be able to build a space station and your own personal army of drones? Who wouldn¡¯t want to be able to create power armor strong enough to single-handedly reshape how ground warfare was fought? Who wouldn¡¯t want to be able to create space-time-warping tech in their garage? Me? I could just make pre-existing things better. ¡°It''s frustrating hitting a wall everyday. I need to make some tools and learn how to use them so I can get around this block. I¡¯d actually make so much more progress on the things I actually want to work on if I wasn¡¯t constantly hampered by having 25 uses of my power per day,¡± I explained. I chuckled and shook my head, realizing how ridiculous this all sounded. ¡°Listen to me complaining about having super powers. I should be grateful I have anything.¡± Sam¡¯s grin lightened into a more sincere smile. ¡°You seem to undersell yourself quite a bit.¡± My brow raised. ¡°Do I?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve crossed paths with a few Mechakinetics since I got my powers. All of them complain about their restrictions and specialties. By far, the most crippling issue they have is access to resources,¡± Sam explained. ¡°Their power does a lot of the heavy lifting but consider the herculean effort to acquire the right metals, materials, and parts needed to build their machines. You? You can just¡­ skip all that.¡± It was the biggest upside to my powers that I noticed since getting them. As long as I had a base model to work off of, everything else just sort of fell into place. My power provided almost everything it needed to get the job done. Even on the off chance it couldn¡¯t, finding whatever it needed and merging it wasn¡¯t a big deal, at least, not yet anyway. Everything I had made so far was still in the infancy stages of development. ¡°It¡¯s still annoying when I run out of charges.¡± ¡°A small price to pay for the ability to modify and change almost anything you touch. There are some Mechakinetics out there that are forced to collaborate with other supers or corporate third parties in order to get what they need. Deadlock was only able to get anywhere because her parents worked for a hardware manufacturer,¡± Sam said. ¡°There are probably other Mechakinetics out there in the world with better specialities who are being hampered by their lack of resources and their ability to access them.¡± I could see where she was going with this. So maybe my power was better than I thought it was. I was still suffering from creator envy when it came to seeing the kind of things those other Mechakinetics made. It would be years before I could create the things they made. ¡°I wasn¡¯t kidding when I said you''re one in a million. Even amongst supers, you¡¯re a rarity. If the Cains understood a fraction of the things I did, I can guarantee you they¡¯d lock you in a room and keep you there as their personal weapons manufacturer,¡± Sam continued. She then pursed her lips and tilted her head. ¡°That, or they¡¯d stop at nothing to make sure you¡¯re dead. In fact, a lot of supers will probably want you dead or under their thumb if they ever figure out how your powers work.¡± I shuddered. ¡°Gee, thanks for the heads up,¡± I snarked. ¡°I¡¯ll be extra careful who I talk to about my powers.¡± My thoughts briefly drifted to Alex. It was only a few days ago I had explained to her how my powers worked. Hopefully, she wouldn¡¯t tell anyone. ¡°Good, and I¡¯ll always have your back if you have mine,¡± She winked. I rolled my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid. We¡¯ll talk about our extended partnership after we¡¯ve dealt with the Cains. I¡¯m still thinking about this whole ¡®holding territory¡¯ thing you seem to want to do.¡± ¡°Fine, fine¡­¡± Sam sighed dramatically. ¡°It¡¯s not that I want to do it. It¡¯s just something that will need to happen after Grim is run out of town. There will be a power vacuum and I really don¡¯t want to go through all this effort just to surrender the ground we covered to Pandora.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°Anyway,¡± Sam said, eager to change the subject. ¡°We need to touch base with Springsong and I¡¯d like you to be on the call with me. We¡¯re going to be going over our plan of attack.¡± She started picking up her stuff and I followed suit, folding up the sniper rifle¡¯s tripod and holding the large weapon under my arm. The thing was kind of heavy but not enough that it was uncomfortable for me to move with. I¡¯d have to start working out if I was going to be running around with this thing every time I went out in costume. ¡°Let me guess, you want me there but you don¡¯t want me to say anything,¡± I drawled. Sam narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, stopping before she could head toward the door. We were probably heading down to her apartment. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m being petulant, I¡¯ll admit it. I¡¯m still sour that you got mad at me for wanting to help Anomaly without any guarantees about his loyalty.¡± Sam frowned. ¡°We talked about this already. I thought you were fine with me doing the talking.¡± I thought I was too but it lingered in the back of my head. It felt like she didn¡¯t really trust me to make any important decisions and that hurt my pride a little. ¡°You¡¯ve asked me to trust you on multiple occasions before but over the last few days I¡¯ve had this nagging feeling like you don¡¯t exactly trust me,¡± I hedged my words carefully. Sam¡¯s expression remained neutral, not giving anything away. ¡°I trust you, since you¡¯ve yet to give me a real reason not to but I¡¯m curious how you really feel about me and this thing we have going on.¡± Sam considered my words carefully. Her gaze dropped to the floor for a few moments before she lifted her head. She didn¡¯t meet my eyes and she seemed to stare out the window. ¡°I really like you, Max.¡± My breath hitched in my throat and I felt my cheeks heat up. Where did this come from? ¡°What?¡± Her eyes met mine and she snorted. ¡°Not like that, dork.¡± Oh. My disappointment was immeasurable. ¡°Way to get my hopes up.¡± ¡°Oh please,¡± Sam waved me off with an amused smile. ¡°You haven¡¯t ever thought about us being like that. It¡¯s been all business between us. Don¡¯t sound so disappointed. I do really like you. I think if we both put in the effort, we could work really well together as a team but it''s clear that we both want different things right now. We can work through all that, at least I hope we can. Gold is very skeptical about you though.¡± I was beginning to understand Gold a little more each time Sam talked about her. A good point to consider from now on is to never take anything Gold says or implies to heart. It was the cold, calculating, part of her. The bit with zero empathy. The Sam I was speaking with right now was the real one, the core of who she really was. The part I actually liked and trusted. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Gold can think whatever she wants,¡± I brushed it off. ¡°I do want to keep working with you.¡± ¡°So do I.¡± ¡°So, you do trust me?¡± I saw hesitation flash across her face as she opened her mouth to reply. She paused, seemingly realizing she had just given herself away. I felt dejected that she looked ready to lie but I couldn¡¯t find it within myself to be surprised. Sam, by her nature, seemed like a very distrusting person, especially with Gold and Pink whispering and talking inside of her head. ¡°I trust you to do what you think needs to be done,¡± Sam said slowly. She stood for a moment in silence before shaking her head. ¡°You have to understand that someone like me with my powers? It¡¯s hard to trust people implicitly. Gold digs into people and finds how they tick. Just by that alone, I learn what people are really like and I know that I won¡¯t be able to place my trust in them.¡± I frowned slightly, a thought occurring to me. ¡°Do you trust anyone?¡± For the first time, I saw genuine sorrow from her. ¡°No.¡± I felt pity for her. I couldn¡¯t imagine what living like that must be like. I considered myself to be a skeptical person by nature. The friend group I surrounded myself with had my trust. Lucy, Abby, and Jackson had my implicit trust. Same with Mom and Alex. I knew that if I had a problem that they could help with, I could go to them about it. Granted, I hadn¡¯t exactly stuck to that after getting my powers. The world felt more dangerous than it ever did but before it had been a different story. Still, I knew I could rely on them for other things. Sam didn¡¯t have anyone. She was completely alone with the voices in her head. She clearly wanted to, which was why she was trying to form this team in the first place. ¡°Do you want to trust me?¡± ¡°What kind of question is that? Of course I do.¡± ¡°Then, what¡¯s stopping you?¡± I asked. I wanted to know what it was about me that she couldn¡¯t wholeheartedly trust. I¡¯d like to think we were good friends now, close even. ¡°What do you see in me that you can¡¯t trust?¡± ¡°Do you really want to know?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Sam took a deep breath before exhaling. She fiddled with her hands a bit, rocking back and forth on her heels. ¡°Your heart¡¯s not in this. Gold knows you¡¯re too comfortable flying under the radar. Fully committing to me and our partnership means you¡¯re fully willing to accept being labeled a villain and risk being thrown in jail,¡± She explained. ¡°You know I¡¯m not interested in being a hero which only leaves me a few other options, all which involve clashing with the law and authorities. You don''t want that. You don¡¯t like the risk.¡± She was right. I didn¡¯t. Too much that could go wrong. Too much to risk. I¡¯d hurt my mom if I went out and did the things villains did. If my friends ever found out, my relationships would fracture. Abby would hate my guts. Jackson would feel uncomfortable associating with me and Lucy¡­ she would just be disappointed; feel betrayed. She and I were closer than anyone barring Alex and even then I was keeping this a secret from her. It made me feel queasy but I knew her ¨C it was better off if she wasn¡¯t involved. ¡°You keep saying that we¡¯ll talk about this after we deal with the Cains. Max¡­ I already know what you''re going to say, even if you don¡¯t know it yet,¡± Sam shook her head sadly. ¡°You¡¯ll leave, because of all this? This lifestyle? You¡¯ve got too much to lose. Not like me. This is all I got. This is my life.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be,¡± I said quietly. ¡°Once we get rid of the Cains, you can come to my school, meet my friends. Ditch this life. Nothing¡¯s stopping you.¡± Sam smiled but it was full of pity, pity for the innocence that I was desperately clinging onto. ¡°I can¡¯t. I tried running. You don¡¯t understand, I¡¯ve said this before. Sooner or later, someone will find you. There is no running for people like us. We have to play this game until the bitter end, otherwise we¡¯ll end up dead, or something worse will happen that will make us wish we were.¡± She wholeheartedly believed that. I could see it in her eyes. Sam really thought there was no peace for supers and maybe to some degree, she was right. But I was a coward. I didn¡¯t want to commit. I wanted to believe there was still hope, despite the evidence I had experienced thus far. Make up your fucking mind, Max. ¡°So?¡± Sam questioned, looking at me expectantly for an answer. ¡°What¡¯s it gonna be; do you think you can commit?¡± I inhaled sharply. Too much to lose. Too much risk. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I liked Sam too much to say no. I liked what we were doing. It gave me direction, a purpose, something that didn¡¯t feel so mundane. I could make a difference. Plus, the excuse to actually use and develop my powers was too good to ignore. ¡°I need to think about it some more.¡± Stop procrastinating, dumbass. You know what you really want to do. ¡°You can¡¯t sit on that fence forever.¡± My jaw tightened. I know. Friction 6 ¡°Dude, are you alright? You¡¯ve been out of it all morning.¡± I regarded Jackson with a mirthless laugh. Out of all the subjects I was forced to sit through at school, Business Studies and Economics was by far the most boring. Maybe I could develop an AI to do all my homework for me, then I could completely ignore this class. ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep very well,¡± I replied, scribbling circles in my textbook. ¡°I¡¯ve got a lot on my mind.¡± That was putting it lightly. The raid on the meatworks was tonight and Sam was still sussing things out with Springsong to ensure we had a solid plan to remove Grim from the equation. If we couldn¡¯t get him to leave then the whole operation would fall apart. I wasn¡¯t sure if that would stop Anomaly and that was the scary part. He clearly wanted to save his friend and he was willing to go through Grim to get her. I was antsy. I had gone over my place in the plan with Alex last night and she really didn¡¯t like how we lacked a solid strategy to deal with Grim. She gave me a few suggestions but there was no guarantee that the guy would fall for the bait. Whatever they were up to, it was enough to get the shadowy murder cloud off his ass. ¡°Anything you wanna get off your chest?¡± Jackson asked. ¡°Always willing to let ya vent. God knows everyone just needs to explode sometimes.¡± ¡°Nah,¡± I brushed off easily. ¡°It¡¯s just the usual shit. Existential crisis stuff. Mom, my future, life. You know. I¡¯m worried about how she¡¯s going to cope with me moving out after I graduate.¡± A misdirection of the truth. Worries that still plagued me but clearly not the ones that were weighing on my mind right now. ¡°I getcha. We can talk shop about our DnD sesh if you want to get your mind off that stuff,¡± He chuckled lightly. ¡°Beats listening to Mr. Tanning drone on about ¡®competitive advantage¡¯ or whatever the hell he¡¯s on about.¡± I chuckled. ¡°Well, you¡¯re not wrong about that¡­¡± I quickly zoned out, my eyes found a nice place on the wall to observe for the last ten minutes or so. I hadn¡¯t kept counting but every so often I¡¯d look at the budget analog clock slowly ticking. With each second that passed, the assault drew closer. Was I ready? Was all my gear up to standard? I had taken Sam¡¯s advice and added as many modules to my suit as I could feasibly allow. I didn¡¯t have much time left so I had to be cautious with what I chose. Shock absorbers. Power capacity. Magnetic holsters. Fire resistance. All of that was barely scratching the surface of what I wanted to add as well. The thought occurred to me to add retractable blades to the arms of my suit in case I needed an emergency melee option. It was doable but the steps required were a bit too pricey to get finished before tonight¡¯s operation so I had to flag it. Hopefully, I wouldn¡¯t need them seeing as Sam wanted me on overwatch. Hopefully, that target practice I got in over the week was going to pay off otherwise I¡¯d be having a very awkward conversation with Sam after all was said and done. The bell rang and I looked over at Jackson just as spaced out as I was. We packed up our things to head to the next class. ¡°You¡¯re not passing this class, are you?¡± I chuckled. Jackson just shrugged wryly. ¡°It¡¯s not a core subject so I don¡¯t really care. I¡¯ve done the math in my head, I can let it slide if I¡¯m feeling lazy. I bet I can squeeze through with a C if I cram before midterms. I¡¯m not too worried.¡± ¡°You, study?¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll believe it when I see it. You played DOTA every night last year before our end of year exams. I don¡¯t know how you managed to pass the year.¡± ¡°Oh, come on. Don¡¯t act like the exams last year were hard. We all steamrolled them. I barely needed to study. Abby and Chris only used flashcards and they pretty much snoozed through every paper,¡± Jackson dismissed my concerns. ¡°Lucy was the only one who over prepared for them. She said they were way easier than she was expecting.¡± ¡°The only subjects she didn¡¯t perfect were scholarship science and computer studies.¡± Jackson snorted. ¡°She still complains about that, doesn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°I make a point not to bring it up when she¡¯s around. It really pisses her off,¡± I remarked dryly. The night all the results came through, she had dinner at my place and talked Mom¡¯s ear off about how useless some of the graders were. She actually had the gall to complain that they were unqualified for their position and that she¡¯d do a better job marking and grading her own tests. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t need to get anything off your chest?¡± Jackson asked as we walked. ¡°You¡¯ve been in ruts before. We¡¯ve all had them but this has been going on for a while now. I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯s noticed. Abby mentioned the other day that you just seem sorta¡­ I dunno how to say it. Distant?¡± Everything about school felt so pointless in the grand scheme of things and I suppose that was coming across in my attitude. As things were now, I wasn¡¯t sure if I was even going to have the opportunity to go to university. I¡¯d certainly try but everything was just so uncertain. Would I even need to go to university? Life drastically changed when you had powers. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what you''re talking about,¡± I lied. I didn¡¯t feel as guilty as I thought I would after the words came out of my mouth. ¡°I feel like I usually do.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Jackson said easily. ¡°Hit me up if you ever need to talk. I gotta go, Calculus is calling. Pray for me.¡± We went our separate ways and I headed toward Social Studies in a haze. It took a solid nudge to my shoulder to bring me out of it. I looked up to see I had passed Pete¡¯s crew. Strangely, they were missing their head honcho. Weird. I couldn¡¯t remember a time when these guys walked around without trailing after Pete like lost little lambs, but it was between classes so it probably wasn¡¯t a big deal. The guy that had nudged me glared but didn¡¯t engage. The rest of them were chatting up their girlfriends, some of which gave me disgusted side eyes. I won¡¯t miss this when I graduate. I found my seat in Social Studies and relaxed a bit as my peers began filing in. Lucy caught my eye when she walked in, strolling over to the seat next to me. ¡°Hey. Are you ready for today?¡± I wracked my brain, wondering what she meant by that. It must have shown on my face because she continued. ¡°Uh, Max? The assignment? You brought our stuff today, right?¡± A pit formed in my stomach. I had been so consumed by preparing for the raid against the Cains that I had neglected to finish my part in the project. The pit in my stomach turned to dread as a cold sweat broke out across my skin. I had never been so careless before. I wasn¡¯t the most diligent student but I had always been onto my assignments. ¡°Fuck.¡± Lucy¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°Tell me you''re joking. Max, please¡­ this is the second biggest project this class has this year. I¡ª we can¡¯t afford to miss out on the credits!¡± Words failed me as I fumbled internally, trying to think of a way I could explain. When nothing came to mind, I was forced to settle for the embarrassing last resort. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, my fucking god,¡± Lucy hissed under her breath, looking away from me. ¡°Of all the times to screw up, it had to be now?¡± I had promised I would get it all finished and I hadn¡¯t delivered. She had every right to be upset. It wasn¡¯t like I was just talking to Jackson about how seriously Lucy took her studies and here I was, screwing that up for her. We sat in silence as the class started. Ms. Elise called each pair up to present. It was embarrassing that everyone but us were prepared. Even worse, some of the other projects were actually interesting. A few did Gaea and the Mountain as was expected, while others picked more interesting supers like Bayside¡¯s ECU Captain, Ionizer, or a Canadian super from the seventies called Starseeker who could get vague predictions of the future by staring at the night sky. Apparently, he used his power to make millions gambling and was the first of many like him that led to the massive decline of casinos worldwide. What really made my guilt worse was that none of them sounded as interesting as Cyberspace. ¡°Next please. Maxis and Lucy?¡± Ms. Elise looked over at us. She was a young woman, one of the newer teachers. She was passionate about the subject she taught and overall tried to make. Out of the corner of my eye, Lucy glared at me. The rest of the class turned when they noticed neither of us stood up. ¡°I¡­¡± I started, trying my best to ignore the stares I received. ¡°...forgot my stuff at home. Sorry.¡± Snickering erupted all around me. ¡°You¡¯re aware the deadline is today, correct?¡± Ms. Elise asked. I shrugged helplessly. Her gaze flickered between me and Lucy before ultimately sighing and writing something down in the book she had in front of her. ¡°See me after class, please.¡± I slumped in my chair as the class moved on. The next forty minutes were the most awkward of my life. I could practically feel Lucy¡¯s anger rolling off her and the moment she was able, she¡¯d put as much distance between the two of us as she could. I definitely need to make that AI. I couldn¡¯t kick myself enough for this blunder. Before getting involved with Sam, my secret super life was relatively mundane. There weren¡¯t many distractions and I was able to confidently keep my focus on school. Now it felt like it dominated every waking moment and I barely had time for anything else. How do you do it, Sam? It was a stupid question, really. Sam admitted the only reason she was at Eastworth Girls was to scout for potential recruits and to keep an eye on the undercover teachers. I had never asked her what her social life was like or if she even had any friends there. What did she actually do to pass the time while at school? Gold probably did most of the heavy lifting when it came to academics. Mentalists, apparently, cheated like that. As the bell rang for lunch and everyone was packing up to leave, Lucy and I remained seated. When the class emptied, Ms. Elise gave us both a curious look before gesturing for us to come up. Numbly, I got out of my chair and ambled over to her with Lucy trailing behind me. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Would you like to explain yourselves?¡± She asked, her tone a bit more sympathetic. ¡°This kind of forgetfulness isn¡¯t something I¡¯d expect from you two. I know you are both high achieving, hardworking students.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my fault,¡± I said. ¡°Lucy gave me all our research notes and I promised to put it all together. I just forgot.¡± It was a terrible excuse but it was the truth. There was just so much else on my mind and all of this just felt so meaningless. People like Mirage were out there messing and hurting people. Grim was doing only God knows what, Masquerade was probably helping him, and here I was getting chewed out for forgetting a school social studies project. It felt like the whole world lacked any perspective and I was the only person who understood what really mattered. Is this what Abby feels like all the time? ¡°I¡¯ve been reminding the class every day for the past week, Mr. Troy,¡± Ms. Elise said, shaking her head. ¡°Unless you¡¯ve been zoning out in my classes, that¡¯s no excuse. Ms. Kim, do you have anything to add?¡± Lucy¡¯s angry look faded a little when she turned to face our teacher. ¡°Are we going to fail?¡± Ms. Elise sighed and pursed her lips. ¡°The head of department has explicitly said on multiple occasions that projects like this are not allowed extensions. They are time consuming to mark and grade, especially with midterms around the corner. Without a doctor''s note or another valid reason, I¡¯m not allowed to give an extension.¡± I felt my heart sink. Lucy would have to score close to perfect results in the next project and in the mid and end-of-year exams if she wanted to get a decent grade. Even then, missing this project was like shooting yourself in the foot. ¡°However,¡± Ms. Elise pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°I can see this is a clear case of one person dropping the ball more than the other. Coupled with the fact that you two aren¡¯t ones to usually do this. If you see me after school on Monday, I¡¯ll let you two present to me in private. This is not without consequence,¡± she was quick to squash my sudden surge of hope. ¡°Whatever mark you receive for this project will automatically lose twenty percent. That is the best I can do.¡± That was significantly better than outright failing. A quick look at Lucy showed that she was beyond relieved. ¡°Thank you so much,¡± Lucy breathed. ¡°I am so sorry.¡± ¡°Ms. Kim, I do not think you are the one that needs to apologize,¡± Ms. Elise¡¯s gaze turned back to me. ¡°Detention, Mr. Troy, next Tuesday after school. You can meet me here.¡± I cringed a little. I couldn¡¯t remember the last time I had actually had detention. ¡°Alright.¡± We left class together and Ms. Elise went the opposite direction with her things tucked under her arm. I released a sigh as Lucy nudged me. I turned to find her angry expression back. I had to admit, I was rather surprised to still see her here. I was half expecting her to have walked off the moment she was given the opportunity. ¡°Are you going to tell me what¡¯s going on or am I going to have to pull it out of you?¡± Lucy asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to pry since I know you¡¯ve had it rough recently but what the hell. You promised you¡¯d have our project sorted. What, did you just sit there and jerk off for the whole week?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just¡ª¡± I stopped myself and shook my head. ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry, okay? Like you said, I haven¡¯t had a good time recently. My head¡¯s just been in a weird place.¡± ¡°You should have said something!¡± Lucy glared. ¡°If you had, I would have just done the assignment myself.¡± I scowled. ¡°That¡¯s not fair on you. It¡¯s a group project, I need to pull my weight.¡± ¡°Yeah? Funny how that turned out. Can I even trust you to finish it in time for Monday?¡± Lucy asked. It was hard to ignore just how scathing her voice sounded. ¡°Look, Max. It¡¯s fine if you aren¡¯t feeling it. I can carry us through this if I need to. You¡¯ve had a bad time lately, I get it. It sucks. Just tell me if you can¡¯t do it.¡± ¡°I can do it just fine!¡± I shot back, frustrated. ¡°I just forgot, okay?¡± Lucy stared at me, her eyes narrowing. ¡°I seem to remember you promising me that you¡¯d tell me everything; that you wouldn¡¯t be keeping any more secrets,¡± She lowered the volume of her voice, likely knowing that this could be a touchy subject. While the hallway we were in now was empty, the lunch bell had rung and I could hear the menagerie of students outside the building. ¡°Is there anything you want to tell me? If something¡¯s going on, I¡¯d like to know. I can help you Max.¡± No, you can¡¯t. I miss one homework assignment and Lucy suddenly thinks there¡¯s something going on. She was right, of course, but I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why she had come to that conclusion so quickly. Jackson I could understand, I had more classes with him than I did with Lucy but this interrogation was going to get old very quickly. Maybe I looked more out of it than I realized. ¡°Nothing¡¯s going on. I just slipped up. It happens.¡± She opened her mouth to retort but stopped. She shifted on the spot and slowly crossed her arms. ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± she laughed and I could feel how bitter the words were. How did she know I was lying? Was I that easy to read? ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. You¡¯re really going to stand there and just lie to my face like that. I¡¯ve known you for over twelve years. I know when you''re trying to bullshit me.¡± I rubbed my face in aggravation. I didn¡¯t know what to say that would satisfy her. The truth would only hurt her. She¡¯d find a way to get herself involved and I could barely protect myself let alone someone else. The last thing I wanted was the Cains going after Lucy. I couldn¡¯t have that kind of distraction. I couldn¡¯t give Mirage, Grim, or anyone that kind of leverage over me. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say. It¡¯s just a mistake. I screwed up, it¡¯s just that simple.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± she shot back immediately. ¡°If it was, you wouldn¡¯t have completely forgotten to finish and bring a project worth a third of our grade. You don¡¯t forget things. I¡¯ve never known you to forget things, especially school assignments. You¡¯ve always been reliable so somethings up and I want to know.¡± ¡°So what? I screw up this once and suddenly there¡¯s something wrong?¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting really defensive for someone claiming there¡¯s nothing going on.¡± ¡°Because you keep assuming there is!¡± I snapped. ¡°I already said that I was sorry. I¡¯ll fix it for Monday and we¡¯ll pass with flying colors. Being penalized won¡¯t even matter.¡± Lucy sighed and rubbed her forehead. ¡°Just fucking tell me, Max. What¡¯s going on? You get your ass kicked, car stolen, start picking fights with Pete and his friends, and you¡¯ve been moping around for weeks. I¡¯m not stupid, something¡¯s got you rattled and before you start I know it''s not Eleanor, I¡¯ve asked her if she¡¯s doing alright. So something¡¯s up and it¡¯s been getting worse.¡± So she had noticed, just like Jackson and Abby. Alex had already known and had been feigning ignorance but she had seen my spiral starting and had offered to help. Lucy¡­ I could trust Lucy. She had always been there for me, even in some of my worst moments. I wanted to trust her. I did trust her. I trusted her far more than Sam. If I could just stop her from involving herself¡ª She already knows something is going on. My eyes met hers and she stood, patiently waiting for a response. She¡¯s going to start digging if I keep trying to hide things. I inhaled and steadied myself. I gently reached out and took Lucy¡¯s arm, leading her over to a corner in the hallway behind some lockers. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Her tone took on a whole different meaning as I placed her in the corner. She backed up against the cool metal, her face flushing a little. ¡°This is awfully forward of you. Are you going to tell me now? Is¡­ did Eleanor not tell me something? Is she sick? Max¡ª¡± I knew she wasn¡¯t going to stop so I shushed her. She scowled. I poked my head out and scanned both ends of the hallway. There were students moving outside both ends but no one had come inside. Technically, it was against the rules to be inside the classroom buildings during lunch unsupervised. The only place students were allowed in during lunch breaks was the library and the computer labs for study. ¡°You¡¯re being a total weirdo. Why are we hiding?¡± Lucy complained as I turned back to her. Her eyes widened a little as she leaned back, her head tapping the side of the metallic lockers. ¡°If you kiss me I¡¯m going to kick you.¡± I wrinkled my nose at her insinuation. ¡°What? No.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this all about then?¡± ¡°I have powers.¡± Lucy¡¯s mouth opened and bobbed a bit. Her impression of a goldfish was spot on. Finally, she swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat and I watched the color drain out of her. ¡°Oh.¡± I saw realization suddenly surge across her face. The initial shock was short-lived as she started rubbing her temples, mumbling incoherently under her breath. As I waited for her to get a hold of herself, I considered my options carefully. If I could trust Lucy not to do anything crazy, then I needn¡¯t tell Sam about any of this. I didn¡¯t need a lecture from Gold. ¡°That would explain¡­ a lot,¡± Lucy started. ¡°How long?¡± ¡°About a month now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± She sounded like she was torn between relief and terror. Both of us knew what it meant to be a super. We had known Abby since intermediate school so it wasn¡¯t like she was unaware of what being a super was like. Since I wasn¡¯t already with the ECU, I could imagine Lucy was slowly figuring out what I was doing. ¡°You weren¡¯t going to tell me, were you?¡± My heart ached at her tone. She sounded defeated. I looked away. ¡°I was, eventually,¡± she didn¡¯t look convinced. I didn¡¯t blame her. I didn¡¯t sound convincing. ¡°My awakening wasn¡¯t one of the nice ones, it was stressful. You remember that night I called you from the hospital, when my mom¡¯s chair broke, she fell out of it and almost fractured her hip? It was around that time. I¡¯m not really sure at what moment it happened but I was trying to fix her chair in the hospital parking lot. Mom was in pain and I couldn¡¯t get the shitty thing to cooperate. I just made things worse.¡± Lucy solemnly nodded. ¡°Yeah, I remember. That was a bad night for you.¡± ¡°Yeah. Next morning I woke up and I was a super. Since then I¡¯ve been debating on what to do with my powers. I started to experiment with them and¡­ well, I drew some attention. Now, I¡¯m not exactly in the heroic line of business. I¡¯m trying to figure things out as I go so I¡¯ve been really distracted lately and¡­ and¡ª¡± I paused when I noticed she was staring off into space, completely unfocused, like she wasn¡¯t listening at all. ¡°¡ªLucy?¡± She blinked, her focus returning in a flash. ¡°Yeah, what? I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°You completely spaced out there.¡± ¡°No I didn¡¯t,¡± she defended quickly. ¡°Do Alex and Eleanor know?¡± Right back to the questioning. Talk about whiplash¡­ ¡°Mom doesn¡¯t and¡­ I¡¯d like to keep it that way. Alex knows but I didn¡¯t tell her. She just¡­ figured it out, I guess. I think she knew from the start. Don¡¯t ask me how.¡± I was met with silence. She spaced out again and she looked like she was staring right through me. ¡°You¡¯re doing it again,¡± I felt myself getting nervous. ¡°Come on, say something.¡± She reached out and lightly pushed me away so she could step out from the corner. I watched as she took a few slow steps into the middle hallway, looking unsure as to where she should go. I waited for her to turn around so I could see her again but as the seconds ticked by, all I could see was the flat of her back. She wouldn¡¯t face me. ¡°Are you¡­ okay?¡± Her alien behavior was starting to bother me. I was expecting anger, maybe even some angry crying. This¡­ I didn¡¯t know what to call this reaction. It wasn¡¯t indifference. I knew what that looked like. Shock was obvious but I had seen her when she was properly shocked before. This¡­ this was all new. She turned. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine.¡± I was almost certain that was code-speak for ¡®I¡¯m not fine.¡¯ Before I could question any further, she started walking away. ¡°Hey¡ª!¡± I reached out to stop her but she turned and smacked my hand away. ¡°No! No,¡± I could see moisture building up in her eyes and it threw me for a loop. ¡°Just¡ª I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t do this right now. Sorry, I¡­ I need to be alone.¡± Her walk turned into a jog and I felt all my desire to chase after her wither and die. I watched as she ran out of the building, passing some of the students outside. They took one look at her and gave her a wide berth to let her pass. I just stood in a daze, trying to piece together the confusing series of events. Of all the reactions I had been expecting, I could confidently say that this wasn¡¯t one of them. Friction 7 A cocktail of anxiety and fear had me arriving early, but it turned out I wasn¡¯t the only one. Anomaly was perched on the ledge of the building, staring at the meatworks building two blocks away. Alice had chosen this office building in particular because it had good sightlines for me to take advantage of. I had an unobstructed view of the building''s windows. I¡¯d be able to shoot through and thin the ranks so that the assault force has an easier time. Assuming I can hit my targets¡­ Plus, with some last-minute additions to my gear, I was able to paint targets through walls and zero in on heat signatures. In Alice¡¯s own words, I¡¯d be much more useful up here than down there. Anomaly¡¯s smooth gelatinous head curled around and stared at me. I gave him a cautious wave as I approached and he hopped down off the ledge, swiftly reverting to his human form. ¡°You¡¯re early,¡± He said. I didn¡¯t miss the nervous edge to his voice. ¡°Care to fill me in on how this is going to go down?¡± ¡°Alice is meeting with Springsong to finalize the plan. She¡¯ll be here within half an hour,¡± I said, moving toward the ledge. ¡°I¡¯m here to get set up and familiarize myself with the place.¡± I moved past Anomaly and released the magnetic lock on my sniper rifle. I pulled it off my back and set it up on the ledge. He whistled, his eyes trailing up and down the weapon in my hands. ¡°That looks like it could put down a dinosaur,¡± Anomaly commented, walking up to my side. ¡°Are you sure you want to use that thing? I know we¡¯re dealing with Grim here but that seems like overkill.¡± ¡°I have tranquilizer rounds and they don¡¯t fly as fast as regular rounds. I¡¯m not going to be killing anyone,¡± I reassured him. There was a reason I had done my field testing on birds. I might not be the smartest tool in the shed but I would be clinically brain-dead to test prototypes on real people. ¡°Besides, nothing is overkill when it comes to Grim. ¡± ¡°You¡¯ve fought him before?¡± ¡°No. I respect the reputation he has. I don¡¯t want to take any chances.¡± I flicked the new thermal X-ray function on my scope and watched as dozens of humanoid shapes lit up in bright red through the walls. I counted thirty-six men, all armed with guns. Some were sitting down chatting while others were making rounds. I felt intimidated by the sheer number of thugs inside. They were clearly guarding something important. I continued to sweep the building and couldn¡¯t find any sign of Grim. However, I did find Nemesis and Gold Rush occupying a room by themselves. It appeared as though they were talking. What the topic of their discussion was, I had no idea. I had yet to implement a function that would allow me to listen from a distance. ¡°This is definitely the place. They have a small army in there,¡± I said, pulling away from the scope. ¡°But I couldn¡¯t find Grim. Either my tech can¡¯t pick him up or he¡¯s hiding really well.¡± ¡°He might not even be there,¡± Anomaly pointed out. ¡°Sounds like this place is pretty well guarded, even without him around.¡± ¡°You might be right,¡± I peered back into the scope and continued to survey the building. Curiosity got the better of me as I zoomed out and began observing the surrounding buildings. What if Grim was in another building nearby? It would allow him to respond if someone assaulted the meatworks while also making it harder to figure out his location. Sure enough, I picked up some heat signatures hovering around some windows. After a few minutes of inspection, I could see that there were guys stationed with a line of sight on every entrance. Nobody was going to get close to this building without the Cains knowing about it. ¡°We got guys in some of the second floor windows in the buildings along the streets,¡± I said. ¡°Shit, these guys are stacked. Where the hell did they get that kind of weaponry?¡± ¡°That Masquerade guy maybe? Alice did say he¡¯s an arms dealer.¡± I felt the growing pit in my stomach twist as I returned my gaze back to the meatworks. Could that mean all the guns were Mechatech? That wouldn¡¯t bode well for our assault. There was no telling what kind of effects they¡¯d have. Physical projectiles didn¡¯t have much effect against Alice when she was using Red and Pink could easily dodge mundane guns but I wasn¡¯t sure if I could confidently say the same for Mechatech. That being said, the technology might be powerful but it really depended on who was wielding them. Pink could take advantage of their inferior reaction time but she¡¯d be busy dealing with either Gold Rush or Nemesis. I found Alice¡¯s number in my helmet¡¯s interface and dialed it. She answered instantly. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Are you aware that the Cains have Mechatech weapons?¡± I asked, sweeping the area again. ¡°Every single one is armed to the teeth.¡± I heard her hum through the speaker. ¡°Do you know for sure if the stuff they¡¯re carrying is Mechatech? I knew they¡¯d have weapons, that goes without saying. I must¡¯ve forgotten to mention that they¡¯d be properly geared with someone like Masquerade backing them.¡± I checked again. ¡°Some of the weapons are coming up on my thermals. Others are blank. Mixture of Mechatech and mundane?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what Gold thinks. When the attack starts, prioritize the guys equipped with Mechatech. Anomaly and I should be able to deal with the others fairly easily,¡± Alice said. I hummed in agreement. ¡°Any news on Grim? Springsong and I are almost done over here. Hopefully, he falls for the bait.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not here,¡± I replied. ¡°At least, not that I can pick up. I can see Gold Rush and Nemesis here but Grim is missing.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ his power might be interfering with your targeting modules. Wouldn¡¯t be the first weird interaction he¡¯s had with Mechatech. He did give Ajax trouble,¡± Alice replied without missing a beat. She sounded unfazed by my news. If Grim wasn¡¯t here, then she was still confident he¡¯d fall for the bait and emerge from wherever he was hiding. It would prevent him from arriving as a backup once our attack started. ¡°Another thing,¡± I said, sweeping the building again. ¡°I¡¯m not seeing any hostages. No one¡¯s tied up, or anything like that. Maybe they¡¯re being kept somewhere I can¡¯t scan? What could block thermal and X-ray imaging?¡± ¡°Lead and very thick concrete. You really can¡¯t see them from your vantage point?¡± ¡°No, and as funny as it sounds, I don¡¯t think the Cains have their hostages in lead suits. Any other ideas?¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t see them, then they¡¯re probably being kept underground. You won¡¯t be able to scan them if they are. Too much stuff in the way.¡± ¡°Underground?¡± One of my brows raised. ¡°The blueprints we got for this place didn¡¯t show a basement.¡± ¡°It was also built over thirty years ago when the Architect built Bayside. Just because one didn¡¯t exist then, doesn¡¯t mean there isn¡¯t one now. The Cains might have constructed one in secret,¡± Alice paused and I could hear the concern in the way she inhaled. ¡°Upgrade, I really don¡¯t like what this is all pointing to.¡± I grimaced. ¡°Neither do I.¡± If what she said was true, it meant there was something beneath this building that the Cains wanted to keep away from prying eyes. Whatever that was, it couldn¡¯t be good. ¡°I¡¯m on my way over now. I¡¯ll be there in five.¡± ¡°There¡¯s guys watching the streets. Be careful.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Alice hung up and I stepped away from my sniper to clear my head. Anomaly was quiet, watching the building anxiously. I couldn¡¯t imagine how worried he was. If it were anyone close to me down there, I¡¯d be storming the building and taking no prisoners. ¡°This is so fucked up,¡± Anomaly shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m gonna do if Mia¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°You two are pretty close then?¡± Anomaly shrugged. ¡°Something like that. She left town when I was younger and we only just met back up last week by happenstance. It was at that house party I told you guys about. I did something stupid and walked out. If I hadn¡¯t left¡­ I might¡¯ve been able to stop her from being taken.¡± He felt guilty and wanted to do something about it. That much was clear. ¡°That¡¯s rough. At the risk of sounding cheesy, it wasn¡¯t your fault. You couldn¡¯t have known,¡± I said, trying to ease the burden that was weighing him down. ¡°Yeah, something-something hindsight is a bitch,¡± Anomaly drawled. ¡°I get it. The best I can do now is just commit to saving her, right?¡± I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s why we''re here.¡± Anomaly chuckled lightly. ¡°Thanks for helping, by the way. I was skeptical about Alice, she gives me weird vibes. Pretty much every Mentalist I¡¯ve come across has tried to psychoanalyze me and it kinda pisses me off. They just rub me the wrong way, you know?¡± I could sympathize. Gold certainly had that effect when Alice brought her out. ¡°I like to think Alice means well. It¡¯s hard to tell with Gold sometimes but I try not to think about it.¡± Anomaly gave me a strange look. ¡°Gold?¡± I waved him off. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later. There¡¯s a bit more to it, but she gives names to her different powers.¡± ¡°Weird, but okay,¡± he nodded slowly. ¡°How¡¯d you two meet? Are you guys like¡­ dating or something?¡± ¡°No. It was similar to you, actually. She sent me a bunch of messages online when she discovered I was having a hard time,¡± I explained. ¡°Alice helped me out of a bind and I agreed to work with her. That¡¯s pretty much the long and short of it. She stuck her neck out to help me when I really needed it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Anomaly sounded surprised. ¡°She doesn¡¯t strike me as the type.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not so bad once you get to know her,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Well, I suppose I should say all of her.¡± ¡°Do I even want to ask?¡± I detected amusement in Anomaly¡¯s tone. ¡°That sounds exhausting.¡± All of Alice¡¯s personalities flashed through my head at once. ¡°It¡¯s certainly something.¡± A gust of wind sounded from behind me and I turned to find Pink standing there with a wide grin, her body crackling with magenta electricity. ¡°Hiya boys! Miss me?¡± ¡°Like cancer.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Pink gaped at me. ¡°No more huggies and kisses for YOU!¡± ¡°Please switch out, I need to talk to Alice.¡± Pink scowled before her head twitched, shifting to Blue. ¡°She¡¯s going to get you back for that.¡± ¡°Looking forward to it,¡± I dismissed easily. ¡°Are we ready? What¡¯s the plan looking like?¡± We walked to the edge of the roof and peered over at our target. It was still quiet so it looked like our plans were still going ahead. The only question remaining was if Grim was really there at all. If our distraction worked, he¡¯d emerge from his hiding place and move away from this area, giving us enough time to get in, get Mia, and get out. Hopefully, we¡¯d be able to save the other captives as well. ¡°Distraction¡¯s set. Now we just have to wait for the Queen¡¯s Court to kick the hornet¡¯s nest.¡± ¡°You still haven¡¯t told us what exactly this distraction is,¡± Anomaly asked. ¡°How do we even know Grim will fall for it?¡± ¡°Grim is very organized and meticulous. If he wasn¡¯t, he would have been dealt with years ago,¡± Alice explained. ¡°Someone like that keeps their most precious treasures close to their chest. So, if you really wanted to piss them off and get their attention, you¡¯d have to take from the source.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± Anomaly said before I had the chance to reply. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°If you were Grim, where do you think the safest place in the city would be?¡± Anomaly¡¯s features twisted a little as he tried to think. Slowly, he turned and motioned to the giant citadel that stood in the middle of the city. ¡°The¡­ ECU Headquarters?¡± I gave him a bemused look. ¡°Seriously?¡± ¡°I dunno. It looks pretty secure to me.¡± Alice pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°The distraction at his private residence, Anomaly.¡± I felt a cold chill rush down my spine. ¡°You guys set a trap at his house? How did you even figure out where he lived?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Alice replied. ¡°Gaea gave the information to Springsong and she passed it along to me to formulate the plan.¡± A chilling realization struck me. ¡°You¡­ this distraction wouldn¡¯t happen to involve his family, would it?¡± I needed to ask. Something about targeting someone¡¯s family ¨C even if they were as disgusting and monstrous as Grim ¨C felt wrong. It went far beyond just attacking their gang and kicking down the things they had built. Alice turned to me and laughed. ¡°You really think someone like Grim has a family?¡± I shifted uncomfortably. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have one?¡± ¡°Not everyone does, Upgrade,¡± Alice said. ¡°You¡¯re one of the more fortunate ones. Me? I had to leave mine behind. Others, well, they¡¯re the ones that get left behind.¡± I didn¡¯t miss the way Anomaly flinched. ¡°You have the ones that break up. Things happen and going back to normal just isn¡¯t possible. I¡¯ve seen it before, it¡¯s rough, but that¡¯s been a fact of life even before the second moon popped up and started handing out superpowers,¡± Alice continued. She hopped onto the ledge and sat down, swinging her legs back and forth over a lethal drop. ¡°Then you have those like Grim, the ones that just lose it.¡± ¡°Lose it?¡± Anomaly beat me to the punch. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Her smile slowly melted away. Her phone started ringing. However, instead of answering, she declined the call. ¡°Shape up. Show¡¯s about to start.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what I was expecting. Maybe some kind of earth-shattering explosion or a barrage of gunshots. Something dramatic to kick off what to me felt like the heist of a lifetime. Instead, there was none of that. We just stood and waited in the cool midnight June breeze. Alice sat, watching the meatworks with a keen eye and when nothing happened, I strolled forward to my sniper rifle to check what was going on inside. The atmosphere inside had changed. Everyone was still, exchanging glances as Nemesis addressed them in the main lobby. Something had happened that had all of them spooked. Even the guys camped out in the buildings surrounding the meatworks were more alert. ¡°Whatever you did has got them all tense. Nemesis is giving a speech of some kind.¡± Alice nodded and turned to Anomaly. ¡°Can you listen in?¡± His nose wrinkled and he scoffed, muttering something about Mentalists under his breath before he took a step forward toward the ledge and transformed. ¡°He can hear what they¡¯re saying from here?¡± ¡°Hear is the wrong word,¡± Alice said. Anomaly bristled ¨C which made his alien-like body vibrate. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely certain on the specifics but Gold thinks it''s all based on visual input.¡± ¡°So¡­ he hears by seeing? How does that make any sense?¡± I knew I was unearthing a rabbit hole that many people tended to fall down. I already knew there wasn¡¯t going to be any satisfying answer. How does any power make sense? ¡°He doesn¡¯t hear things. He sees the sound waves and deciphers them.¡± Anomaly¡¯s big head coiled around and glared at her. She just smiled back. ¡°Don¡¯t be mad. I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I?¡± Alice giggled. Her head abruptly twitched. ¡°Golly gee! Goldie¡¯s been on a roll¡ª ah¡ª!¡± She twitched again. ¡°Damn it, Pink¡­¡± His head coiled back and resumed staring at our assault target. I continued to monitor the activity inside the meatworks through my scope when the large sliding doors to the building opened and a trail of black smoke poured into the sky. I tried to follow it with my sniper but I couldn¡¯t get a bead on it. It was completely invisible to my current level of tech. ¡°Aaaaaand there he goes. I guess he was here,¡± Alice mused aloud. She took out her phone and fired off a quick message before slipping it back into one of her boots. ¡°Scary bastard, isn¡¯t he? You know he¡¯s one of the few Evohumans to ever exist to actually have several names all across the world? In China, they call him The Living Shadow. His brief stint in India landed him the moniker of Yama, their God of Death. When he went to America, they called him the Grim Reaper and I guess that¡¯s the one that just stuck.¡± We watched as his shadow surged into the sky, passing over a building. There was a billboard that was unfortunate enough to get in his way and the shadow just¡­ went right through it with no resistance. It left a hole ¨C but that wasn¡¯t the concerning part. There was no force behind it. The giant sign didn¡¯t even shake. ¡°Nice history lesson,¡± I quipped, trying to ease my nerves. ¡°Well, you know what they say, ¡®the more you know¡¯,¡± Alice said. ¡°If he comes back, we drop whatever we¡¯re doing and run because if his shadow touches you. It¡¯s all over.¡± I swallowed my fear. ¡°Noted.¡± Alice fitted an earpiece to her head and I immediately joined the network. ¡°Alright, you boys know the plan. Upgrade, start picking them off, that¡¯ll send them into a frenzy. Anomaly, you take advantage of that. Once Nemesis and Gold Rush realize what¡¯s going on, I¡¯ll jump in and start cracking some skulls. Simple and effective. Hard and fast.¡± I nodded. ¡°Got it.¡± Anomaly made a noise that I could only describe as if someone rang a wind chime in a long, empty tunnel. It was otherworldly, unsettling, and downright strange. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go save ourselves a princess.¡± Alice stood up and promptly stepped off the side of the building. Anomaly coiled and sprang into the air, covering a jaw-dropping amount of distance in a single leap. I stared into the night, promising that one day, I¡¯d install some cool functions into my suit that let me do stuff like that. Definitely a jetpack of some kind. Maybe a grappling hook as well for good measure. I suddenly felt like kicking myself. Shit, a grapple would be really useful right now. I¡¯m going to have to take the stairs down. I started lining up my targets that were outside the building. There were six guys, all watching from the windows. Alice was too fast to see as Pink and I doubted they would spot Anomaly jumping from rooftop to rooftop considering how dark it was. Regardless, if we were going to get Mia out, we were going to need a clean getaway, and that meant dealing with these guys. Alright, here goes nothing. Hopefully, I don¡¯t take any heads off with this. I loaded the tranquilizers and lined up my first target. I took a moment to adjust for distance and wind according to my scope¡¯s readout. When I was all lined up, I tried to pull the trigger. Hesitation stopped me dead in my tracks. My hands shook and I seized up. What if this kills him? These guys were thugs, gangsters, and complete scum. This should be easy! Shit. Shit! Come on, Max. Don¡¯t choke now! I had done this before. I had walked into that building with Alice and burned these guys before. But that had been with a non-lethal setting and adrenaline had been pumping through my system. Alice had led the charge. I didn¡¯t have time to think. Up here, I had all the time in the world to consider my actions. There was no telling if the tranquilizer would even work. Despite my testing and Alice¡¯s reassurances, I could still hit these guys with enough force to put them in the grave, regardless of what kind of ammunition I was using. Fuck¡­ fuck! Alice¡¯s voice crackled through the speaker in my helmet. ¡°Upgrade, what¡¯s the hold up? We¡¯re in position.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just¡ª¡± ¡°Deep breath. In and out. You can do this.¡± She was right. I could do this. I refocused, then pulled the trigger. With a sound no louder than someone snapping their fingers, my first target was knocked clean off his feet. The window in front of him cracked as the tranquilizer punched a clean, circular hole through. The guy hit the ground and tried to roll onto his side. In seconds, he stopped moving and I held my breath. I zoomed in to get a better look. Please don¡¯t be dead. His chest was steadily rising and falling. Thank God. One by one, I began dropping the guys stationed to watch over the streets, making sure to aim for the shoulders or their abdomen. I didn¡¯t want to hit anywhere close to their head or their hearts, just in case I really did kill them. Once I had cleared them all out, I did one more sweep to make sure that they were all down. ¡°Streets are clear,¡± I radioed in, switching out my empty magazine. I had two more in the small pouch strapped to my leg, each containing six shots. Twelve more tranquilizers and more than thirty guys. I should have brought more ammo. ¡°Get ready. I don¡¯t have enough to take them all out, but the confusion should give you guys the window you need.¡± Alice cackled through the receiver. ¡°Can¡¯t wait. Light ¡®em Uppies! Hah, get it!?¡± She had already switched back to Pink, it seemed. I lined up my first target through one of the windows and fired. This window didn¡¯t hold up nearly as well as the others. It was old and weathered. It shattered completely, sending the whole building into a frenzy. The guy I hit slumped and crashed into the floor in a pile of limbs. There was shouting. Everyone was on alert. Then Anomaly poured through the shattered window, quite literally flooding the place. I could hear the mixture of gunfire from regular and Mechatech weapons. I joined in the chaos, dropping one guy at a time. It felt disgusting how easily these guys went down, but I kept on shooting. It was after the sixth shot that the thugs realized Anomaly was not their only threat. They began to take cover ¨C or well, I should say attempted, to take cover. Anomaly¡¯s liquid form would stretch out the moment they tried and send them to the floor. It was only when Nemesis and Gold Rush jumped into the fray, that Pink blitzed in and sent the armored supervillain flying. Gold Rush was still injured, but that didn¡¯t seem to impact her speed in the slightest when she effortlessly dodged Pink¡¯s jabs with the stun sticks I made for her. It was total chaos. I played my part and focused on picking off the rest of the goons. Anomaly had significantly trimmed their numbers for me but had since turned his attention to combat Gold Rush. Pink, on the other hand, had quickly switched focus and started fighting Nemesis. The villain had switched out the spear I had rendered useless for a sword and shield. Needless to say, it wasn¡¯t very effective against Pink¡¯s superior speed. Even with his polarity, he couldn¡¯t lock her down and he had no defense against her weapons. Not exactly a good match-up for him. As I dropped the final thug, I noticed a glint of light in my helmet. I pulled away from my sniper to see a bright light come around the corner and enter the street where all the action was taking place. I felt cold dread in my stomach. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. ¡°Uh, problem,¡± I radioed over. ¡°Big problem.¡± ¡°Uppies, I¡¯m a little busy at the¨C Ahh! ¨C moment!¡± ¡°Yeah, well,¡± I swallowed as I zeroed my scope in on the newcomers. ¡°The Rookies are here.¡± ¡°Wait, all of them!?¡± ¡°No, just Ionizer, Prosperity and¡­¡± I bit my lip as my eyes landed on one of the last people I wanted to see right now. ¡°...Comet.¡± Friction 8 My crosshair hovered over Comet as she glided down the road and I knew in my soul that I couldn¡¯t bring myself to pull the trigger. Besides, even if I wanted to, her telekinetic aura would stop the tranquilizer dead before it had a chance to pierce her skin. Not to mention, she was wearing Nanoforge¡¯s armor and there was no way I was breaching that. Not with my non-lethal options anyway. ¡°Alice, what do we do?¡± ¡°Ah, shaddup! I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ AND dodging over here. It¡¯s not easy!¡± There had to be a way to take advantage of the situation. Comet being here was not only a problem for me, but for everyone. Her telekinesis wasn¡¯t the scariest power in The Bay to deal with, but it was a huge pain in the ass. It was very difficult to fight someone who was almost immune to projectiles and could trap you in a telekinetic prison. Ionizer, on the other hand, could augment his muscles with his power to increase his strength and speed. He could also draw power from electronic devices around him to further increase his power and given enough charge, could fire off bolts of lightning. Everything about him was well documented and available for public consumption. Prosperity¡­ had fox ears and a big fluffy tail. I hadn¡¯t the slightest clue what her powers were beyond that. She was new; an unknown. She wasn¡¯t announced yet and I had no idea why she was out patrolling in the first place. Maybe it was some sort of initiation? They could be showing her the ropes, just like Alice had done for me. My mind drifted elsewhere as my gaze flicked back to Comet. Could Lucy have¡­? No, she knows I have powers, but I never said a word about which super I was, nor about what was going down tonight. The commotion could have drawn them here. They were walking down the middle of the street, alert and inspecting their surroundings. Surprisingly, Comet missed the windows I had shot through to disable The Cain''s snipers, so they weren¡¯t aware of anything just yet. Soon, they¡¯d close in on the meatworks and hear the commotion going on inside and then everything would really fall to pieces. A quick scan showed that the fight inside was still going strong and in our favor as well. That wouldn¡¯t be the case if the ECU patrol barged in. ¡°I¡¯m going to buy you some time.¡± My gun wouldn¡¯t do much good here with Comet¡¯s telekinetic shield. At the smallest hint of danger, she¡¯d protect them all and I¡¯d be shit out of luck. I didn¡¯t want to hurt them anyway, so I needed to explore another avenue. I needed a distraction of some kind. I could take some shots to spook them, but I knew Comet wasn¡¯t the type to shy away from a fight, even if bullets were flying. There were some stories she told us at school that even I had trouble believing. Ionizer was a fully-fledged ECU hero and wouldn¡¯t even flinch at my attempts. Prosperity, on the other hand, was new and would probably lose her nerve. Unfortunately, only one in three wasn¡¯t good enough. I need to draw them away. But how? An idea struck me when I saw the parked cars. I loaded up my security breaching program and scanned the area. Sure enough, I saw three red dots moving at the same pace as the heroes. It seemed Nanoforge¡¯s armor was putting out a heavily encrypted signal. Her nanites had to be able to communicate to form the armor somehow. I wonder how much I¡¯d have to invest into my software to be able to crack it? I directed my attention to the other vulnerable devices around them. The cars¡­ I can connect to them? I had been neglecting my software in favor of hardware, so this came as a surprise. Had I always been able to hack cars? This would have been useful when the Cains had given chase after we had escaped the mall. I can work with this. I connected to one of the cars behind them and set off the alarm. The sound cut through the night and I heard the distant wails echo all the way to where I was perched. Through my scope, I observed Prosperity jump in fright. A brilliant blue light engulfed her before dissipating to reveal a large, flaming blue fox the size of a hatchback. She turned and barked at it, which sounded more like a whining yip than anything. An Elementalist shapeshifter with passive Morpher features? If she has even a couple more powers than that, she would be considered an Aspect like Alice. Blue flames licked at her paws which seemed to blend nicely with her midnight blue coat. Without my night-vision setting and the flames around her feet, I would have a hard time seeing her. Still, it wasn¡¯t every day you saw a Morpher with the ability to fully turn into the animal they shared characteristics with. Comet and Ionizer cautiously inspected the car while Prosperity stood back and stared at it like it was about to lash out and attack. Even as a giant animal, she seemed skittish. Abby wasn¡¯t kidding, the girl completely lacked the confidence of the other Rookies. I set off another alarm in another car further down the road and they all shared a confused look. I need to up the ante. I wasn¡¯t sure if I could but I was going to try anyway. Most of the cars didn¡¯t have the features I was looking for but a couple of the more expensive ones had brakes, accelerators, gears, and steering all electronically connected. That meant I should be able to remote-control the vehicle. How hard could it be? I connected to another car and tried to drive it. The steering wheel jerked to the right and accelerated from one side of the street to the other, plowing through the front of a fruit and vegetable shop and setting off the alarm. I cringed, trying to reverse it only to discover the engine was too badly damaged. Whoops. Okay, a bit harder than I thought. I tried again on another car next to Prosperity. I managed to get the car safely down the street until Comet¡¯s telekinetic aura surrounded it and lifted it into the air to stop it from escaping. She didn¡¯t even hesitate to rip off the doors to check inside. She turned and called out to Ionizer who was busy checking the car I had driven into the shop. I was starting to run out of cars that I could control. There weren¡¯t many on the street but now I might as well go for broke. I connected to every car and set off their alarms, the noise rising to a crescendo. Hopefully, it would mask the fight going on in the meatworks. ¡°Uppies, what¡¯s goin¡¯ on out there? It sounds like tha circus just arrived in town!¡± ¡°Like I said, buying you time. I¡¯m improvising though, so hurry it up.¡± ¡°Oh, okay! Keep it up, we¡¯re almost done with these meatheads!¡± Keep it up, she says¡­ I was scraping the bottom of the barrel. The only idea left that I could think of was to shoot at them but given what I¡¯d done already, I doubt that would do anything. I needed something else. I needed¡ª Comet shot up in the sky and began flying in my direction. Did she see me? I waited a couple of moments as she got closer, hoping she¡¯d veer off in a different direction. She didn¡¯t. Shit! I ripped my gun off the ledge, attached it to my back, and bolted for the roof access door. I barged through the door and slammed it shut, locking it for good measure. I made it down about six stories of stairs before I heard the roof door fly off its hinges and crash to the floor. ¡°Hey!¡± Comet called out. ¡°Quit running, you¡¯re only going to make this more painful for yourself!¡± How the hell did they know I was up there? Did they see me? I upped my pace, leaping down the stairs and letting the new shock absorbers in my suit disperse the force from what would have been an ankle-shattering impact. I was now in total flight mode and all I could think about was escaping. From what Abby had told me about her powers, she found finesse difficult and didn¡¯t do well maneuvering in confined spaces. I had the advantage for now. Unfortunately, as soon as I made it outside I¡¯d have to contend with Prosperity and Ionizer as well. One problem at a time. I spotted a door as I approached the next level and bolted through it. Emerging into a hallway, I wasted no time sprinting down it to find my next exit. I came upon another door and pushed my way through. On the other side, a darkened office filled with cubicles and computers. There were no lights on but I could hear the gentle humming of machines in sleep mode all around me. A fucking dead end. Shit! I dashed down one of the aisles and ducked into one of the cubicles. I thought this was a good opportunity to catch my breath, but unfortunately, Comet was quick to catch up. The door opened and she hovered into the room, her bright, sparkling aura casting a glow across the room. Damnit¡­ go away! Why did you have to check this room? ¡°I know you¡¯re in here,¡± Comet started, her voice cautious. ¡°Just a heads up, these cat and mouse games never end well for you guys and I¡¯m seriously not in the mood for this.¡± The jaded part of me wondered when Abby was in the mood for anything but I was quick to banish those unhelpful thoughts. I needed to think of a way out of this before she caught me. I knew if I didn¡¯t do something soon, my capture wouldn¡¯t be a comfortable experience. Though, I found it strange that she hadn¡¯t turned this office upside down already. ¡°If you come out now, I promise I won¡¯t break anything,¡± she paused for a moment and I felt my brow furrow. ¡°Okay, I might throw you around a bit, but you totally deserve it for messing with us. Unless you''re working with someone¡ª hey. I¡¯ll cut you a deal. If you''re working with anyone, give them up and I''ll totally put in a good word for you.¡± Abby¡­ you¡¯re such a shit liar. Comet continued to hover around the room, casually inspecting each cubicle as I carefully crept around outside her field of vision. She had to use her glowing aura to search, which didn¡¯t seem to be ideal given the amount of time it took. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Come ooooon,¡± Comet groaned. ¡°It¡¯s Friday night! I got things I wanna do and you¡¯re just wasting my time here. Please come out? Ugh, like that¡¯s ever worked before,¡± she muttered under her breath. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve fulfilled my ¡®heroic nice¡¯ quota for the day. If you don¡¯t come out in the next five seconds, I will throw this whole office out the window and onto the street and you WILL break something important.¡± There¡¯s the Abby I know. Also, five seconds didn¡¯t give me much time to react. I rapidly connected to all the computers and turned them on. There was a cascade of noise as each computer played its power on jingle. ¡°Oh nooooo,¡± She drawled. ¡°All the computers are turning on. I¡¯m soooooooo scared. Not sure what you¡¯re trying to do here but it¡¯s not gonna help you. Five! Four! Three¡ª!¡± I queued up the loudest music I could think of and hit play on every single computer. ¡°Really!? Really,¡± Comet yelled over the noise. ¡°You¡¯re a villain and you have the shittiest taste in music! Real mature by the way! If you think playing this is going to piss me off¡­ you¡¯d be right!¡± Crouching out of the cubicle I found myself in, I watched Comet hover in and out of the aisles. She had left the door we had come through unguarded. If I could just get out without her noticing, I¡¯d be in the clear. Just for once, let one of my escape attempts go unnoticed¡­ I turned my focus to a couple of computers at the far side of the room and upped the volume, while simultaneously decreasing the volume on the computers everywhere else. Just like I hoped, Comet¡¯s attention snapped to the loudest computers and she glided over to investigate. I took that opportunity to start moving. As I reached for the door, I made sure to turn all the computers up to max volume before opening. I slipped out and bolted back to the stairs. Too close¡­ My heart thundered in my chest as I bounded down the stairs. It was difficult to wipe the stupid grin off my face. I couldn¡¯t believe that worked. I could already imagine the long, drawn-out tirade at school next week about the super that had slipped out right from under her nose. ¡°Alice, how are we doing?¡± ¡°Nemesis is counting sheep. Annie and I are tryna trap Goldie! How¡¯re ya doin¡¯ over there?¡± ¡°Managing,¡± I said as I reached the ground floor. From the sounds of it, Comet was still busy in the office, so I was in the clear. Opening the door and swiftly moving through the foyer, I spotted the entrance I had hacked to enter the building. ¡°Comet managed to spot me but I think I got¡ª¡± Something large collided with my side and knocked me clean off my feet. I rolled across the carpet, crashing through a coffee table before finally coming to a stop against a wall. The force knocked the wind from my lungs and as I tried to catch my breath, I saw Prosperity towering over me snarling as she pinned me to the floor with both her front legs. I grunted in pain as the weight settled onto my chest, threatening to cave it in while my sniper rifle dug painfully into my back. I could barely breathe and I doubted she cared in the slightest. All she had to do was get me to the ECU alive. ¡°Uppies? What¡¯s happening!?¡± Prosperity growled in my face. ¡°Pinned,¡± I wheezed. I tried to pry the shapeshifting heroine off me but my muscles weren¡¯t up for the task. Prosperity just glared at me through my visor. I wasn¡¯t sure if she could see my face but the message was clear. Don¡¯t even think about it. ¡°Not good.¡± ¡°Ah! Hold on. I can¡ª oh shit!¡± Pink¡¯s abrupt cry didn¡¯t do much to reassure me. Something was happening over there and it was becoming clear that I was on my own. Despite being too heavy for me to push, I could at least count on her to not chew my head off. Even Abby didn¡¯t go that far. Though, that didn¡¯t make the molten blue fire that dripped from her jaws any less terrifying. I needed a way out and there was nothing that I could use or upgrade to help me. I still had my laser pistol but the non-lethal setting wasn¡¯t going to help me here. The only way it would help me out of this was if I used the lethal mode ¨C and I hadn¡¯t properly tested that yet. It would be my absolute last resort. Alright, let¡¯s try the other non-lethal option. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose¡­ you can¡­ get off me?¡± She replied with a low grumble that I imagined was her way of saying ¡°No way!¡± ¡°Come on, you¡¯re new,¡± I tried to reason. I struggled to take another breath with her weight pressing down on my chest but I managed. ¡°I¡¯m not here to hurt anyone. I¡¯m fighting The Cains! They¡¯ve kidnapped a friend of mine and I¡¯ve been trying to save her.¡± Prosperity looked down at me and stopped snarling. Her big vulpine head tilted as if to question my words. ¡°Yeah, I was just trying to distract you guys. If I was going to hurt you, I would¡¯ve taken your heads off the moment I saw you.¡± Her gaze shifted to the big sniper still magnetically clamped to my back. Another low growl erupted from her throat before she lifted her head and started barking. So much for asking nicely. Prosperity was trying to call for backup. I wasn¡¯t sure where Ionizer was and Comet was probably still scouring the offices upstairs, trying to navigate all the noise. I still had time but it wouldn¡¯t be long until she snapped and destroyed everything just to try and find me or heard Prosperity over the noise. I had another minute ¨C maybe less ¨C to get out of this. I needed to escape now. I reached down to my leg and slid my laser gun out of its holster. ¡°Sorry for this.¡± In one motion, I flicked the lethality setting on the side and fired at her back leg. The laser surged and exploded. Prosperity stumbled off me, howling as she limped away. No way Comet didn¡¯t hear that. I caught my breath and scrambled to my feet, keeping my laser gun leveled firmly at the Rookie hero. Her hind leg was bleeding, not too bad but I had definitely taken skin off. She must have some kind of durability enhancement because despite how small that explosion was, I knew it could pulp the torso of a normal person. I made for the entrance but Prosperity was quick to block my way, despite her injury. She was quick and she resumed snarling at me, this time with more ferocity. Heat rolled off her in waves and I saw the fire around her paws intensify. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to shoot you again.¡± She barked, her maw opening. I barely had time to dodge the flaming torrent of fire that shot out. I dove to the side as the receptionist¡¯s area was engulfed in blue flames. The inferno licked the edges of my suit and was pleasantly surprised to feel that it didn¡¯t catch and my efforts were not wasted. While I was unharmed, I could not say the same for where the fire hit¡­ or where it was beginning to spread. Wood splintered and cracked, burning as it fell apart and turned to ash. The carpet started to smoke and turn black, filling the room with fumes, all while Prosperity barked in a panic. In a flash, she was back to her human form, still limping from the wound I had inflicted. ¡°Oh no! Nononono! I-I didn¡¯t mean to¡ª crap!¡± She rushed forward to try and control the flames. The blue fire curled and started to flow back into her, albeit at a slow pace. The damage, however, was already done. This was my window. I pushed myself back to my feet and fled through the entrance. ¡°Hey!¡± She shouted at me. ¡°Come back here! You can¡¯t just¡ª¡± I was already gone, rushing through the sliding glass doors and out into the main street. With my head on a swivel, I looked around for any sign of Ionizer. I didn¡¯t want to be caught off-guard again, especially not by a hero as renowned as him. Where is he? I started off toward the meatworks, making sure to duck into nearby buildings for cover. I didn¡¯t want to make it easy for Comet to see me from the air. ¡°Alice. I had a bit of a run in with Prosperity but I managed to escape. I think Comet is preoccupied but I can¡¯t be certain.¡± ¡°What about Ionizer?¡± Pink was gone and Alice was back at the helm. ¡°You haven¡¯t run into him yet?¡± ¡°Not yet, thankfully. If I had, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be talking to you right now.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take what we can get. Get over here. Gold Rush and Nemesis are down but there¡¯s some serious security that needs cracking. Anomaly and I can¡¯t get through this stupid door,¡± I heard a loud crack from the other end of the radio. ¡°Thirty-nine centimeters thick and some kind of Evometal. Red can¡¯t even dent it.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure how she thought I could get through, but I¡¯d give it my best shot. The door she described would have some sophisticated countermeasures against the kind of stuff I was sporting right now. My hacking software was very barebones and could break through vulnerable ports. Cracking anything big would take some major processing power. I made it to the meatworks and slipped in through one of the side doors. All the car alarms had since stopped and it was eerily quiet. It wasn¡¯t long before I turned a corner into one of the main rooms and saw Alice standing at the top of a flight of stairs. She motioned for me and I jogged over. ¡°You alright?¡± She asked. I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve been better. Bit flustered and bruised. Prosperity can shapeshift and has some kind of fire power.¡± ¡°Ugh, fire¡­ they¡¯re the worst,¡± Alice guided me down the stairs. ¡°Glad you¡¯re okay. Things got a bit dicey. Gold Rush tried to run me through with one of her light rods,¡± she gestured to the part of her costume that appeared ripped and damaged. ¡°Remind me to kiss you. The bitch would¡¯ve turned me inside out without the improvements you made.¡± ¡°No need, we¡¯re partners, remember?¡± Alice¡¯s mouth broke out into a wide, grateful smile. ¡°Yeah. I remember.¡± We arrived at the bottom of the stairs to see Anomaly trying his hardest to fit through the cracks in a large, metal door. It looked like it came straight from a spy movie and held the villain''s top-secret lab behind it. ¡°You know, that kind of looks like the door to the emergency shelter beneath my school,¡± I said, peering at the door. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how I was going to get through this since my security breaching program was flashing me failure warnings whenever I tried to breach it. There was a sea of red dots before me, all tech much more advanced than what I was used to dealing with. ¡°What¡¯s a place like this doing here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not an emergency shelter,¡± Alice replied. ¡°It¡¯s custom built.¡± I knew who she was talking about before she even said the name. ¡°Masquerade.¡± ¡°Him and the rest of Fireiron Industries. This has his name written all over it.¡± Anomaly shifted back to his human form. ¡°I think the hostages are in there. If Mia¡¯s anywhere, it¡¯s in there.¡± Alice gave me a look. ¡°Can you crack it?¡± I approached the door and placed my hand against it and everything about it was revealed to me. All the inbuilt countermeasures, security software, and materials that were used to construct it. It might not be an ECU emergency shelter, but it was pretty damn close. It seems that Fireiron Industries were all that they were hyped up to be. The [Materials] the door was made out of didn¡¯t even sound like they were real. It was, without a doubt, the work of Supers. Multiple, in fact. It¡¯s a collaborative project. No one super could have made this. ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± There was no doubt in my mind that I could invest all twenty-five of my charges into upgrading my security-breaching software right now and I wouldn¡¯t be anywhere close to breaking through the network. It was the same with Nanoforge¡¯s tech. It was just too advanced. I¡¯d need more prep time and that was something we sorely lacked right now. ¡°What now?¡± Anomaly looked around for an answer. ¡°We have to get in there!¡± Alice grimaced. ¡°Okay¡­ okay. Let me think.¡± ¡°No need,¡± I cut in. ¡°I might not be able to crack the security but I should still be able to get us in.¡± There weren¡¯t a lot of cheap options in the upgrade tree but with underpaying, I didn¡¯t have to invest more than a single charge. I observed some of the [Materials] and took note of the kind of metals they were using. Maybe in my future projects, I¡¯d be able to replicate them. Selecting an upgrade to the vault handle that cost six charges, I paid one. [Charges: 24/25] I stepped back and watched as the door rippled and morphed into that familiar liquid state. Without looking back, I stepped through. The sensation of walking through water hampered my movements, but in no time at all I emerged on the other side. The contents of the room stole my breath away. Alice was quick to follow, almost stumbling through as she ended up by my side. ¡°That¡¯s a useful trick. I didn¡¯t know you¡­ could¡­¡± her voice died in her throat. ¡°Holy fuck.¡± Before us was a laboratory filled with some of the most sophisticated technology I had ever seen. Lining the walls, cylindrical vats were filled with a strange orange liquid. Occupying them, were the hostages we had been trying to find. Friction 9 As much as I wished it to be, this wasn¡¯t a horror movie. The figures trapped inside the vats of orange liquid were real people and this was a very real laboratory. In hindsight it was obvious, why else would there be a giant metal door that looked like it could withstand a nuclear blast? The room was enormous and I couldn¡¯t see anything that indicated there was more to it. It was all just one giant, sterile, white room, filled to the brim with blinking machines. ¡°Did you imagine we¡¯d find something like this?¡± I asked, turning to Alice. She was clearly just as shocked as I was. ¡°I thought it could be a lot of things and I¡¯d be lying if this wasn¡¯t one of the possibilities,¡± Alice replied. She took a few tentative steps forward, her eyes locked firmly on the people in the tanks. ¡°Now, we just have to figure out why our hostages are being kept like this and where our mad doctor is hiding.¡± A violent churning came from behind me as Anomaly¡¯s body contorted inhumanly. His gelatinous skin shuddered as an otherworldly sound rang from his head. Before I could say anything, his giant form surged forward, passing Alice with big lanky strides. He inspected each vat as he moved down the room, desperate to find his friend. ¡°How are we supposed to get them out? Break the glass?¡± I approached one of the vats and placed a hand against the smooth surface. It was tempered glass, hot to the touch. I pulled my hand away and rubbed my fingers together. ¡°The glass nearly burnt me. How are they not being roasted alive?¡± Each vat was connected to some kind of Mechatech medical equipment that kept track of the occupant¡¯s vital signs. I could understand that much. From what I could see, all the hostages around us were still breathing at the very least. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ some kind of biokinetic bacteria,¡± Alice had switched to Gold. She was studying one of the computers near a vat. I strolled over to her to get a better look at what she was reading but it was all gibberish to me. ¡°It¡¯s monitoring every aspect of the body. Their nerves, brain activity, organ functionality, tissue density¡­ even the amount of hair follicles.¡± ¡°But why?¡± ¡°Still piecing that together,¡± she reached out and grabbed the monitor, pulling it closer. Gold began tapping away on the touch screen, flipping through various windows until she got to something that gave her an answer. ¡°Trauma exposure records; Electroshock, duration four minutes and five seconds:, results inconclusive. Extreme Pressure, duration two minutes and forty-five seconds, results inconclusive. Hallucinogenic, duration fourteen minutes and twenty seconds, results¡­ pending.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°They¡¯re being tortured.¡± Gold¡¯s matter-of-fact delivery sent a shiver up my spine. I looked up at the naked guy floating inside the tank next to me, his mouth connected to a device that allowed him to breathe. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. All of them?¡± I walked over to another vat and looked at their vital signs. This one belonged to a girl who looked older than me, maybe early twenties? ¡°Why? What for?¡± ¡°Artificial Awakenings,¡± Gold said. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first time someone¡¯s tried. People have been trying to crack the secrets of powers for decades. Despite all the possibilities proposed over the years, no one¡¯s been able to find out anything conclusive. Biokinetics have tried their hands at it, published papers on it, only to have someone else come out and conclusively debunk their findings.¡± I crossed my arms and stared at the readings on the computer, forcing myself to take in the information even if I didn¡¯t understand it. Maybe if I stared at it long enough, it would eventually start to make sense. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s magic,¡± I scowled. Gold just snorted in amusement. I struggled to find the humor in this situation. ¡°If this is what finding the answer entails, then maybe we don¡¯t deserve to know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. You¡¯re just angry,¡± Gold dismissed my statement without even batting an eye. ¡°There are plenty more humane ways to go about it. We¡¯ve just stumbled upon the efforts of someone deranged. He¡¯s not the first and he certainly won¡¯t be the last.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Yeah. Ever heard of Project Darkarrow?¡± A bitter smile crossed my lips. ¡°Something about the Soviet Union, China and a eugenics program involving children. Cyberspace blew the whistle on it.¡± Gold looked taken aback. ¡°Wow, you actually do know some history. Color me impressed.¡± I shook my head and scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s beside the point, how are we going to get all these people out?¡± I turned toward the far end of the laboratory. There had to be at least a hundred vats. ¡°I could maybe use my power on the tanks to drain them, but that wouldn¡¯t get them all.¡± ¡°There¡¯s the biokinetic bacteria to consider. I don¡¯t want to risk exposing it to the air,¡± Gold replied. ¡°We stick to the plan. Ionizer and the Rookies are outside and your encounter should have made them call for backup. We don¡¯t have much time to waste. We also have to be wary of Grim. Springsong hasn¡¯t called yet, so I can only assume he¡¯s still occupied but that won¡¯t last forever. Or she¡¯s dead, one of the two.¡± I narrowed my eyes at her insinuation. ¡°We can¡¯t just leave all these people here.¡± ¡°Sure we can. The reason we¡¯re here is to rescue Anomaly¡¯s friend. No one else,¡± Gold¡¯s tone lacked empathy. ¡°Think for a second before you start throwing accusations. The ECU will find this place and they will free everyone. Saving these people isn¡¯t our job. If we stick around and try, we¡¯re only going to get caught.¡± I was about to reply when a voice interrupted me. ¡°Guys, down here!¡± Anomaly called out. ¡°I found her!¡± Gold brushed past me, leaving me to stew in my own frustration. I was quick to turn and follow, but my eye caught one of the occupied vats as I tried to catch up with Alice. I slowed to a stop as I stared at the occupant inside. Pete? Sure enough, my local high school sporting superstar was suspended in the orange liquid. One of his arms was missing and he looked much thinner than I remembered. ¡®Conflicted¡¯ was a good way to describe how I felt. On one hand, there was a vengeful part of me that was delighted in the fact that he was here; comeuppance for all the shit he had pulled. On the other hand, pity. No one deserved this, to be experimented on. I ripped my gaze away and caught up with Alice. Just like Gold said, he¡¯d be saved by the ECU once we were out of here. I was surprised to find Mia looked nothing like what I expected. I had imagined her with straighter hair and a runner''s physique. I couldn¡¯t explain why, Anomaly said she was thin but she definitely wasn¡¯t. In fact, I¡¯d say she was a bit more on the thicker side of the spectrum. ¡°You said she was thin,¡± Alice said, parroting my thoughts with uncomfortable accuracy. ¡°Look at her, that¡¯s not thin. I¡¯m thin.¡± Anomaly shook his head. ¡°She didn¡¯t used to look like this, I swear. She was skinnier at the party. They must¡¯ve done something to her.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve done something to everyone,¡± I said, gesturing to the tanks. ¡°Look around. Some people are missing limbs. Alice said they¡¯re being tortured.¡± ¡°What!?¡± His panic spiked and he looked ready to transform and break the glass to rescue her. ¡°Why? What the fuck for?¡± ¡°Artificial Awakening,¡± Alice said again. ¡°And then some experimentation has been thrown in for some spice. To what end, I¡¯m unsure. Gold¡¯s still figuring it out but she¡¯s going to need more time. If we can find any clues, that¡¯ll help things along.¡± ¡°Fuck the clues, I¡¯m busting her out of there.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Alice caused Anomaly to stop midway through his transformation. ¡°We don¡¯t know what kind of damage we¡¯ll cause if we just break in to get her. Look at all the equipment that¡¯s attached to her. You think that¡¯s going to be easy to remove? If you want her in one piece, we have to drain the tank and disconnect the equipment properly.¡± ¡°This entire place is filled with Mechatech as well,¡± I chimed in, double-checking the security on the vats. Even this stuff was impossible for me to hack. Maybe¡­ maybe I could invest a few charges to see if it made any difference. ¡°I can tell you now if you start breaking things, bad shit will happen.¡± ¡°Bad shit? What the hell does that mean?¡± ¡°He means that this whole bunker has counter measures and the moment a system reports a critical failure, the whole place is going to go on high alert.¡± Anomaly scoffed. ¡°Who cares? I checked and there¡¯s no one here, we dealt with them all. Who¡¯s this place going to alert?¡± ¡°Grim,¡± I muttered under my breath. He turned to me with an incredulous look. ¡°What? You don¡¯t think Grim has a way to alert him if his super secret laboratory was broken into? Chances are, he¡¯ll be back here in a heartbeat. I don¡¯t know about you, but I don¡¯t want to take that risk.¡± Alice nodded in agreement. ¡°And, I¡¯m not entirely sure we are alone. This is a laboratory filled with all kinds of Mechatech. I¡¯m almost certain that whoever has been working here is watching us. They wouldn¡¯t abandon this place just because they heard the commotion upstairs.¡± Anomaly started to calm down a bit. ¡°You¡¯re serious?¡± ¡°Dead serious,¡± Alice replied, ¡°someone¡¯s here.¡± Anomaly transformed again and looked around, his smooth head carefully scanning the area. He stretched, looking through every nook and cranny of the laboratory before returning to us and reverting. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anyone. Can¡¯t see any pulses either.¡± ¡°Sonar,¡± Alice breathed like she had just realized something. ¡°It was on the tip of my tongue before. That¡¯s what it is.¡± I ignored her realization. ¡°Maybe you missed something. Can you see people through walls?¡± Anomaly shook his head. ¡°If I could, my life would be a whole lot easier.¡± I turned to Alice. ¡°Maybe there¡¯s a panic room. All this Mechatech and no escape plan? Seems like bad design to me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, which means we¡¯re missing something,¡± Alice¡¯s gaze started to roam and it took me a moment to figure out what she was looking for. Cameras, anything that could be giving our enemy intel on us. Finally, she shook her head and sighed. ¡°We¡¯re wasting time. We need to get her and get out. I don¡¯t like being here any longer than I need to.¡± Anomaly gestured to the tank. ¡°Let¡¯s stop fucking around then.¡± Alice stepped pulled the display monitoring Mia closer. Her fingers flew across the touch screen as Gold took the reins. Anomaly started to pace as she worked, his anxiousness getting the better of him. I couldn¡¯t blame him. I was on edge now as well, the knowledge that we were being watched weighed on my mind. That settles it. [Charges: 24/25] [Software] Shit. I had forgotten I had integrated my old phone into my helmet instead of my new one. The old version still had better than the latest public hardware but I hadn¡¯t gone any further than a MK I upgrade. [Charges: 24/25] [Processor] Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I had already upgraded to a MK II on my replacement phone so I got a nice little discount here. I needed to see if this would make a difference, so I burned the first charge to upgrade to a MK II Processor and then invested seven charges into Network Breaching. In the blink of an eye, the upgrade was done and I scanned the networks again. Unsurprisingly, I was met with the same sea of red dots. Even with a MK IV Network Breaching program, Fireiron Industries tech was still holding strong. Damn, once more maybe? [Charges: 16/25] [Software] I found myself tentatively biting my lip as I weighed the pros and cons of the cost. Fourteen charges based purely on hope was egregious enough to snap me out of it. I had already recognized that the machinery all around me was the most sophisticated I had ever seen, so trying to brute force the issue wasn¡¯t going to help ¨C at least ¨C not in a reasonable timeframe. I hesitated and ultimately decided against it. I wanted to keep a decent chunk of charges in reserve for an emergency so I didn¡¯t end up in another situation like my first fight with Nemesis. Although¡­ maybe I could spare a few charges on my detection software? It was fairly cheap and it could give us a lead. I dropped seven charges to upgrade to Electrical System Detection MK IV. ¡°Upgrade, quit spacing out and get over here,¡± Alice said. I minimized the upgraded program and headed back to my two partners in crime. ¡°I managed to drain the fluid. I¡¯m just working on opening the vat. Once we get her, we¡¯re leaving.¡± ¡°So soon?¡± ¡°Springsong messaged me. Grim¡¯s stopped following her.¡± The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. ¡°How long do you think we have?¡± ¡°Five minutes if he¡¯s trying to get back here,¡± Gold said. ¡°I¡¯m not taking any chances. Not with him. We grab Mia and get out.¡± Anomaly rolled his shoulders. ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± I looked over my shoulder to scan the bunker one more time. It annoyed me that I couldn¡¯t do anything to help these people, but faced with the possibility of Grim returning and flooding this place? There wasn¡¯t a doubt in my mind that I wouldn¡¯t prioritize my life over theirs. It was selfish, and for once, I didn¡¯t feel bad about it. ¡°Feels weird that we haven¡¯t been attacked yet. You¡¯d think whoever was working down here would have put up a fight,¡± I murmured. ¡°Or at least stop us from trying to steal one of their hostages.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ jinx it man,¡± Anomaly hissed. ¡°No, Upgrade¡¯s right. Keep an eye out. Both of you,¡± Gold interjected. ¡°They''re going to try something. Just be prepared.¡± At this point, anything really could be anything. I brought up my newly updated security breaching program and was stunned by the sheer increase in red dots. They were practically everywhere, so much so that it made it nearly impossible to see out of my visor, so I quickly increased the transparency on my HUD. I froze. Before, the red dots had been static, unmoving. Mostly surgery equipment and the like. Now, my software was picking up on signals that were moving. Red dots skittered across the walls, hundreds of them, all congregating around us but not getting too close. These networks were aware of us, enough to give us sufficient room to move. The only problem was I couldn¡¯t identify what or where they were. Were they in the walls or on the surface? ¡°Alice¡ª¡± ¡°Got it!¡± There was a humming of machinery and a whirling before the glass doors of the vat slid to the side. Anomaly was quick to move, contorting limbs and reaching for Mia. ¡°Careful! If you start pulling that stuff out, you¡¯re going to cause damage.¡± Anomaly¡¯s movements slowed and became meticulous as he gently pulled at the apparatus connected to Mia. ¡°Start with the left shoulder, move to the right, then disconnect the clamp around her waist. The oxygen equipment is the last to go,¡± Alice instructed. ¡°Upgrade, find something to cover her up¡ª the towels over there,¡± she pointed to a surgical table that had an abundance of sheets and towels stacked next to it. ¡°Grab those.¡± ¡°Alice¡ª¡± I tried again, but the urgency in my voice was ignored. ¡°Just get the towels!¡± ¡°Listen to me for a second!¡± I snapped, finally getting through to her. Her head tilted. I lowered my voice to hopefully avoid alerting whoever was watching us. ¡°We¡¯re surrounded by something. I improved my detection and now there¡¯s encrypted connections my software can¡¯t breach. There¡¯s heaps of them, hundreds. They¡¯re everywhere and I can¡¯t see them.¡± Alice moved like she was in slow motion. Discreetly, she peered over her shoulder before looking all around us. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t sense anything.¡± ¡°They¡¯re in a circular perimeter around¡­ wait, what?¡± I rewound what she just said in my head. ¡°What do you mean, sense? You don¡¯t have any sensing powers.¡± Alice gave me a weird look. ¡°I¡¯m an Aspect, remember?¡± ¡°Yeah, but you never mentioned anything about sensing things.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s what Blue is, me. I have a danger sense, a sort of minor precognition,¡± Alice frowned. ¡°Did I never¡­? Oh, whoops. I guess I never mentioned it, huh. I¡¯m so used to this being my default that my power just sort of¡ª ugh, never mind this! It isn¡¯t important. I knew we were being watched! Gold¡¯s saying they¡¯re camouflaged drones. Tiny things. Smaller frequency, that¡¯s why your tech wasn¡¯t picking it up before.¡± ¡°Hostile?¡± Alice swallowed. ¡°If ordered to, yeah.¡± My hands started to sweat. ¡°So¡­ why haven¡¯t they been ordered to attack?¡± Alice became a shade paler. ¡°You know¡­ that¡¯s a really good question.¡± We stared at each other like two mice who had realized they had been caught in a mouse trap. But the trap hadn¡¯t been sprung yet and we weren¡¯t sure why. For the first time, I saw genuine fear flash across Alice¡¯s features. ¡°How many?¡± She asked. ¡°Too many,¡± I replied, glancing at the sea of red that surrounded us. They kept a wide berth, about ten meters to be exact, but they all stood so close together that from my perspective, they looked like gleaming red eyes. ¡°Hundreds, maybe thousands, all around us.¡± ¡°Watching, listening,¡± Gold was here and gone the next. ¡°They''re waiting for something. For us to rescue Mia? Why give us so much leeway? To learn? To study? Observe?¡± ¡°Maybe they''re waiting for an opening?¡± I wagered. Alice quickly shook her head. ¡°They had an opportunity and deliberately chose to not take it.¡± Something clattered to the floor a couple of feet from where Alice and I were standing and the sudden noise startled us. We looked over to see Anomaly on the floor next to his friend. He had pulled her from the vat and removed all the crap connected to her. She was lying naked, wet, and cold, cradled in his arms. ¡°She¡¯s okay¡­ I think? She¡¯s breathing, at least.¡± His words kicked us into gear. Alice gave me a nod and I turned and fetched the towels while she moved back over to examine Mia. We¡¯d deal with our little spy problem momentarily when we had secured who we came for. They were content to sit and watch for the moment, so for now, we¡¯d have to let them. As I grabbed the towels and sheets from the table, I noted how the invisible drones moved away with each step I took. They had been ordered to maintain a certain distance from us, it seemed. Was whoever controlling them content to just watch us walk in and take one of their experiments? Maybe¡­ they aren¡¯t attacking because they don¡¯t want to risk damaging the place? Everything down here is nearly priceless. That thought somewhat put me at ease. They had probably been monitoring Alice and Anomaly¡¯s fight upstairs when they took out Gold Rush and Nemesis. From that, there was a possibility that the person in control of this place didn¡¯t want to attack and was simply content to allow us to take Mia, so long as we left everyone else. That was one possibility that came to mind. The other ones I didn¡¯t want to entertain. ¡°How¡¯s she doing?¡± I arrived with the towels and we all worked to wrap her up. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯d get away with taking her to the hospital.¡± ¡°She just needs to rest,¡± Alice said. ¡°Some uninterrupted sleep, food, and a hot drink and she¡¯ll be fine ¨C well, physically at least. I can¡¯t even begin to imagine the mental trauma she¡¯s endured. We just need to get her back to my place, she can use my couch.¡± ¡°Woah, woah. We¡¯re taking her to your place?¡± Anomaly looked like he wanted to protest. ¡°I don¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Where exactly are you planning on taking her?¡± Alice cut him off. ¡°If you take her home, her parents are going to have questions and she¡¯ll end up in the ECU¡¯s care. I don¡¯t even need to ask if you¡¯re okay with that and you better believe I¡¯m not letting you take her to your place.¡± Anomaly looked outraged. ¡°What? Why?¡± ¡°Are you telling me that you can keep an unconscious girl hidden from your guardian?¡± Alice questioned. Anomaly looked uncomfortable and struggled to answer. ¡°Look,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve stuck our necks out to help you this much. Give us the benefit of the doubt here. We¡¯re not about to run off with her.¡± ¡°Fine. We can go to your place.¡± Alice gave him a thankful smile. ¡°Good, now let¡¯s get out while we still can.¡± Anomaly transformed and picked Mia up with one of his long, spindly arms. It coiled around her until it formed a safe cocoon while still leaving enough room for her to breathe. Hopefully, he wouldn¡¯t crush her but I had faith that he could control his own power. I led the way back toward the exit and Alice was quick to join me up front while Anomaly trailed behind us. ¡°What are the drones doing now?¡± ¡°Moving out of our way. They¡¯re keeping their distance.¡± ¡°They¡¯re just letting us go?¡± Alice scowled, looking tentatively from side to side. ¡°I guess they don¡¯t want to start a fight. A bunker like this is no small investment, even for a company as big as Fireiron. The stuff in here is probably worth millions. Too bad looting is too big of a risk.¡± There were a number of things here that inspired me. If we weren¡¯t on such a short schedule, I wouldn¡¯t have minded staying some more to see if I could salvage something, or at the very least take some small pieces of tech. Who knows, maybe I could come back later and loot the place when Grim was dealt with. Doubtful. The ECU will have gutted everything by the time that happens. ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be other opportunities,¡± I said as we came up to the main door. Its liquid-like form was still exactly as we had left it but I noticed a glaring red dot descend the stairs on the other side. I stopped dead in my tracks. ¡°Shit.¡± ¡°What?¡± Alice asked. ¡°Tell me it¡¯s not Grim.¡± The red dot on the other side of the door hesitated for a moment before passing through. Emerging from the intangible door, Ionizer stepped through, blocking our exit. He took one look at us and activated his power, electricity surging around him. Now he shows himself? Where the hell was he before? Alice¡¯s jaw tightened. ¡°Crap.¡± ¡°Freeze,¡± the ECU Captain¡¯s words came out as a firm command. ¡°I¡¯m obligated to give you one chance. Place the girl on the floor and step back. Surrender peacefully and this doesn¡¯t have to get ugly.¡± Anomaly bristled and made a noise akin to the screams of the damned. The arm carrying Mia curled a little bit tighter and he drew it closer to the center of his body. ¡°How often has that worked out for you?¡± Alice asked, amusement lacing her tone. Ionizer kept his guard up but I saw the corner of his mouth curl slightly. ¡°Not as much as I¡¯d like. Most prefer to fight.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re not looking for one. We¡¯re just here for our friend,¡± Alice gestured to Mia. ¡°She was taken by The Cains. I assume you¡¯ve already seen the presents we left for you upstairs?¡± ¡°That was your doing then,¡± Ionizer nodded, his gaze slowly drifting to me. ¡°And your claim to be a distraction appears to be legitimate.¡± I recalled the words I had blurted out to Prosperity in a gambit to get her off me. It seemed she had reported exactly what I had said to her superior. Unsurprising. ¡°I hope she¡¯s not too upset that I shot her,¡± I said. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t get off me, and I did try asking nicely.¡± ¡°Prosperity was more concerned about the fire you apparently started.¡± ¡°What?¡± I felt indignation surge within me. ¡°She started it!¡± ¡°I know,¡± Ionizer said without missing a beat. ¡°She isn¡¯t the best liar.¡± ¡°Okay, while we¡¯d love to stay and chit chat, we¡¯ve really gotta be going,¡± Alice said. ¡°Besides, you¡¯ve got bigger things to worry about than us. So step aside and let us through. We can call it a gesture of good will since we basically did your job for you.¡± Ionizer didn¡¯t react to her words. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Ugh,¡± Alice grumbled. ¡°Heroes are the worst to negotiate with. Do you seriously want to throw down here? There¡¯s a bunch of innocent people that will be caught in the crossfire and I have it on good account that Grim will be back here any moment.¡± Again, her words didn¡¯t phase him. ¡°I never said I was going to fight you.¡± Comet flew through the door and ensnared all of us in her telekinetic aura before we could react. We were lifted off the ground and suspended in the air as Bayside¡¯s poster-child hovered next to her captain. I hadn¡¯t even seen her coming, even with my detection software active. She was too fast, and I hadn¡¯t been looking up toward the stairs. Her gaze fixated on me and she sneered. ¡°Got you.¡± Fuck. I tried to look at Alice but I couldn¡¯t even move my neck. It was like being caught in Springsong¡¯s silent song, except I could feel a pressure squeezing me. ¡°Not so slick now, are you?¡± Comet hovered closer to me. ¡°You think that¡¯s funny, messing with me like that?¡± ¡°Comet, that¡¯s enough,¡± Ionizer ordered. ¡°But he¡ª¡± ¡°I said enough.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Comet snarked back. ¡°But don¡¯t bother asking me to patrol on a Friday again. You could¡¯ve gotten Copycat, or Seraphim.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the most experienced Rookie on the team. It¡¯s your job to act as a role model for Prosperity,¡± Ionizer said like he was repeating it for the millionth time. ¡°We will talk about your attitude later back at base. Now is not the time for this.¡± ¡°Aw¡­ domestic troubles?¡± Alice chuckled, sounding remarkably confident given our situation. ¡°Been there, done that. I could write a whole series on it.¡± ¡°What would you know?¡± Comet snarled. Alice snorted. ¡°More than you.¡± Someone else stumbled through the door, almost landing flat on their face. Prosperity rose to her feet and dusted herself off, grumbling all the while. It was at this moment that I noticed movement on my visor. The swarm of invisible drones began moving. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Ionizer asked, his tone rough. ¡°I told you to watch the captives.¡± ¡°I did! But then our uh¡­ guys arrived and said they¡¯d handle things,¡± Prosperity explained in a hurry. ¡°So I thought I¡¯d come and find you.¡± A sea of red dots surrounded us, a good chunk moving toward Prosperity. ¡°You need to listen to my instructions. I never cleared you to follow us,¡± Ionizer said. It suddenly hit me why the drones hadn¡¯t attacked us before. They were waiting for all of us. Comet groaned. ¡°Oh lay off her, she¡¯s fine. We¡¯ve got it under control.¡± The drones blared, the sea of red dots coming alive before my very eyes. There was no time to shout a warning before the chaos erupted. Friction 10 I blinked and gasped for air, pain tearing through my back. Comet, in her panic, had thrown us with more strength than she likely intended. There was a brief feeling of weightlessness as I flew backward and a jarring shock as I crashed through machinery. I had no idea where Alice had landed but Anomaly seemed to recover quickly. I caught glimpses of his form contouring and warring against drones that swarmed him. I barely had a chance to process this before I also found myself a victim of the attack. They scurried at me from all sides, little spider robots the size of mice. They started pelting me with something, small needles from the looks of it. They broke against my armor, leaving shards of metal scattered around me. Once that failed, it seemed like they weren¡¯t interested in sitting at range and closed the distance before I could get to my feet. They were upon me, and trying to cut through my suit. They had small spinning blades where their mandibles would be and my suit sparked as they tried to cut through and dig into my flesh. I kicked and thrashed, lashing out with every limb to try and get them off of me. For every one that I kicked off, three would take its place. I was starting to believe that this would be the end of me until my hands found purchase on the cabinet I had been thrown into. I managed to pull myself to my feet with two dozen drones clinging to me, trying to pull me back to the floor. As I kicked away the drones that got close to my feet, I ripped the ones I could reach off my back, throwing them back into the crowd that was swarming around me. My heart thundered in my ears as I reached for my pistol and blindly fired all around me. Light ripped through the drones causing many to explode and coat the nearby drones in flames. Seconds later, my pistol blared an ammunition warning at me. I vehemently cursed the weak battery and promised I¡¯d improve it if I made it out of this situation alive. Sadly, the chances of that didn¡¯t seem very likely. More drones jumped at me and continuously tried to swarm my feet and climb up my legs. I caught and threw away the ones that tried to jump while kicking and stomping the ones that skittered around my feet. I tried to back away but I quickly realized it was pointless because they were all around me. In the chaos, I couldn¡¯t find Alice, but Anomaly was clearly visible. He had Mia cocooned inside him to protect her and from the thousands of needles sticking out of his skin, his strategy seemed to be working. ¡°Little help over here!¡± I called out to him. Anomaly stretched upward and curved before coming down right on top of me. I had to step to the side as he landed and swept the drones away in one swift motion. His aid gave me a moment to breathe and I managed to catch sight of Alice. Her back was against a wall, her arms covering her face as the drones continued to fire needles at her. Her costume was riddled with them, but it didn¡¯t look like any managed to penetrate it. Her arms were a different story. She looked like the world¡¯s least satisfied acupuncture customer. Seeing as she was still standing, I had to assume she was keeping herself upright with Red. Still, she wasn¡¯t in a good position. I needed to help her. My foot knocked a piece of machinery that I had broken when I landed. I reached down and snatched it off the ground. [Charges: 9/25] [Type] [Durability 0/100 - Repair Unavailable. [Main Body] Missing] The blade itself wasn¡¯t broken but my power recognized it as being a piece of a larger machine. That was fine, that¡¯s not what I wanted it for. I placed it against the top of my forearm hoping that my power would recognize what I intended to do with it. [Integration Status: Available - Cost 5] I paid the charges and the blade rippled, turning to liquid and flowing across the surface of my arm like water. It took shape and reformed quickly. A weight settled on my right arm as my power finalized its work. The blade sat comfortably inside a slim deployable sheath that went all the way up to my elbow. My fingers curled and I felt a new small button at the base of the base of my right hand, just far enough that my fingers could reach. I pressed it and the blade hissed and extended to its full length in the blink of an eye. I pressed the button again and it retracted. I can work with this. I extended the blade once more and went about carving a path to Alice. I slashed wildly, cleaving some of the drones that were unfortunate enough to get in my way in half. However, the more I swung, the more it became abundantly clear that I was both not skilled enough to use the weapon efficiently, nor did I possess the physique to keep this up for more than a couple of minutes. I must have cleaved and cut through about two dozen of the little things before my arm started to cramp. Regardless, I pushed on, kicking and cutting my way to my partner in crime. ¡°Alice!¡± I cleared a small path and made it to her. She was rooted in place, arms covering her face to protect her more vulnerable features. ¡°Here, I got you!¡± I shielded her with my body. The needles being fired at her bounced harmlessly off my back as I started to move her. The drones followed us, launching volley after volley. When I looked over my shoulder, it was like staring up at the sky when it was raining. It all bounced harmlessly off me but Alice unfortunately took a few seconds of abuse before switching to Red. ¡°Anomaly! Over here!¡± I called out as we made it to cover. I kicked over a table and pushed Alice down behind it. The cosmic horror stretched once again and came down next to us and acted as a barrier between us and the rest of the chaos. ¡°We need a moment, Alice is hurt.¡± He made another wailing sound that sent shivers up my spine, but I assume his response was somewhere along the lines of ¡°hurry the fuck up!¡± Alice dropped her arms, switching from Red back to Blue. ¡°Not hurt. Stings a little,¡± she groaned. ¡°The tips are laced with a paralytic toxin. Red managed to prevent any further damage but they got their licks in before I knew what was happening. I can barely move.¡± Her chest heaved like she was struggling to breathe and I just shook my head, unsure of what to do. ¡°I can carry you out of here.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t be quick enough. You need to pull out all the needles. I can burn out all the crap with Pink but you need to go fast.¡± That¡¯s going to hurt. Then again, she already knew that and we didn¡¯t exactly have another option. I reached down and started plucking the tiny metal that was stuck in her. I started with her face, seeing as it had the fewest needles. Alice was quick to defend her most vital area but the rest of her that was unprotected looked like she had transformed into a porcupine. Alice groaned as the tips came out red and bloody with a small chunk of flesh on the end, the bastard who designed these put barbed tips on them. The wounds left behind were deep enough to bleed and Alice really didn¡¯t look like she was holding up all that well. After about a minute, I managed to remove all the needles from her face, shoulders, and chest, but her arms were still covered. I moved to work on them but an oozing black appendage wrapped around my waist and hoisted me into the air. For a second, I struggled before I realized it was Anomaly. I looked down to see he had grabbed Alice as well. Without warning, he made a break for the exit, taking us with him. Ahead of us, there was a clear path. Comet and Prosperity were warring with an army of drones while Ionizer disintegrated anything that came even remotely close to him with arcs of lightning. They were divided and distracted, the perfect opportunity to slip out. ¡°H-Hey!¡± Comet roared over the chaos. ¡°They¡¯re getting aw¡ª ah!¡± Despite her glowing telekinetic field, she was getting pushed from all sides which forced her to concentrate and hold a defensive perimeter to protect herself. Her aura was strong, but not infinite. There was only so much force she could exert and she couldn¡¯t reach us without compromising her bubble. ¡°Forget them!¡± Ionizer ordered. ¡°Clear the room and prioritize the victims.¡± ¡°But¨C!¡± ¡°That¡¯s an order Comet!¡± Anomaly bounced from floor to ceiling, before shooting between the gap. We passed through the upgrading door and landed in the stairwell, but Anomaly was not interested in stopping there. He surged upward, carrying us all up the stairs. ¡°Wait,¡± Alice wheezed out. ¡°Anomaly, the ECU are up here.¡± He didn¡¯t wait. He continued on full steam ahead as we made it back to ground level. I saw the flashing lights of the authorities reflected in the broken windows as we emerged into the building¡¯s main room. Dozens of ECU personnel, all dressed and armed to the teeth, were securing the Cains we had incapacitated beforehand. I saw Nemesis and Gold Rush, unconscious and contained in hovering transparent blue spheres. The moment they saw us, they were on full alert. ¡°Contact!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Anomaly!¡± Without slowing down, he barreled right through them toward the large open industrial door. We emerged onto the main street where we were greeted with two armored ECU transports and at least a dozen more soldiers. This time, they were ready for us. There were a series of pops and Anomaly slowed to a crawl. There was an icy mist that fogged up my visor and eventually, our momentum was brought to a grinding halt. Anomaly made a sound that shook every bone in my body and seemed to throw everyone off balance. Despite this, he still couldn¡¯t manage to move. The limb that was wrapped around me froze solid and I suddenly found it difficult to breathe. ¡°Surround them!¡± They moved with masterful swiftness, surrounding us as Anomaly¡¯s form continued to harden. They must have hit him with some kind of freeze grenade. It wasn¡¯t the most common way I had heard of the ECU capturing supers, but it certainly wasn¡¯t unheard of. I could remember a few cases on the news where I had seen images of villains frozen solid. I even joked about it with Jackson and Chris. I laughed then. I wasn¡¯t laughing now. ¡°God damn it,¡± Alice muttered. ¡°Just great. This is just fan-fucking-tastic.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Anomaly shattered into thousands of pieces and dropped us to the tarmac. I landed on my side right before I found myself hauled back into the air. It was disorientating, and by the time I managed to gather my bearings, I was being held in the same transparent bubble that Gold Rush and Nemesis were trapped in. A quick glance to my right informed me that Alice shared my fate. Mia was lying unconscious on the ground and the frozen remnants of Anomaly were reforming but also contained. They were prepared and it had paid off. They had caught us. Any moment now, Comet, Ionizer, and Prosperity would emerge from the bunker and I¡¯d be subjected to more gloating from Abby. I tried reaching out toward the bubble but it avoided my touch. I couldn¡¯t move my center of gravity either; it was like being in zero gravity. I looked over toward Alice who was struggling to move her arms. Her fingers were twitching, but other than that she was incapable of pulling out the rest of the pins with her hands and so resorted to using her teeth. The process was slow and we¡¯d be back at the ECU¡¯s HQ before she even managed to finish a single arm. Regardless, she was determined. Purple could probably escape. Her teleportation worked with line of sight and the bubbles were transparent. The only question was if she could switch to Pink quick enough to get away, assuming she could move well enough. It also meant that she¡¯d be abandoning me, Anomaly, and Mia. Honestly, I wouldn¡¯t blame her if she did. I¡¯d be upset, but I couldn¡¯t find it in me to fault her for it. Is this really how it¡¯s going to end? I looked around, ignoring the chatter amongst the ECU soldiers. There had to be some weakness I could exploit. The transparent bubble seemed to keep me suspended in zero gravity and I couldn¡¯t reach the edges of the bubble. I looked down and realized there was a small piece of Mechatech emitting light that the field seemed to emerge from. That was probably where the zero gravity was coming from as well. If I could just reach it¡­ No good. I was truly stuck. Maybe if my laser pistol wasn¡¯t out of ammunition I might¡¯ve been able to shoot it. There was always my sniper rifle but if the ECU saw me reaching for it, they¡¯d probably gun me down. I already had a bunch of guys keeping an eye on me and there¡¯s no way they missed the large caliber weapon magnetized to my back. Maybe they¡¯ll be lenient? We did just bust a massively illegal and inhumane operation run by the Cains. That¡¯s gotta count for something, right? Not if they took all the credit. They could just lump us in with The Cains and claim we were complicit. They could spin the narrative however they wanted and there wouldn¡¯t be any way to stop them. As Alex had told me, they had rewritten history before with Scrubber. Would they do that here? To a bunch of teenagers? ¡°Citadel, this is Response Team A1 and A2. Five Evohuman¡¯s in custody,¡± one of the soldiers said. He looked a little bit different than the rest. He had white accents to his power armor and his helmet design stood was a bit bulkier. ¡°Affirmative; we have positive IDs. Gold Rush and Nemesis of The Cains. The other three are previously encountered independents; Anomaly, Alice, and Upgrade.¡± A shudder ran down my spine. They knew who I was. I had hoped Alex was wrong. ¡°Negative, no contact with Ionizer. Coms are blocked. Permission to investigate?¡± The captain asked. He waited a moment and I caught the slight disappointed shake of his head. ¡°Understood. We¡¯ll hold the line.¡± ¡°Sir, we have a civilian over here,¡± one of the soldiers called out. I managed to turn my head and I saw two subordinates examining Mia¡¯s unconscious form. ¡°Irregular breathing. Dilated pupils. Pulse is¡­ fine for now. I can¡¯t tell what she¡¯s been hit with. No signs of physical trauma.¡± ¡°Check her vitals,¡± The Captain ordered. The soldier flicked something on his helmet. ¡°Everything seems normal sir. Possible Mentalist induced coma?¡± ¡°Prep her for transport. Our Jane Doe can be examined by specialists back at HQ,¡± The Captain ordered. I watched as one of the soldiers holstered his weapons and scooped her up into his arms. I felt myself scowl as they moved toward one of the armored transports and realized that if we didn¡¯t act quickly, we were going to lose her. Anomaly would be furious and a quick glance to the side showed that he was still trying to put himself back together. It was slow, but I could see the gradual shift as the ice melted. I needed to do something. Alice was still picking the needles out of her arms with her teeth which left only me. I had escaped being bound before, I could do it again. ¡°Wait!¡± I called out, drawing the Captain¡¯s attention to me. The soldier carrying the girl slowed, his head turning to me curiously. ¡°We don¡¯t know if she¡¯s dangerous. You guys don¡¯t know what we saw down there. It¡¯s a fucking shitshow.¡± The Captain exchanged glances with the rest of his subordinates before finalizing his focus on me. ¡°Elaborate.¡± ¡°The Cains have this big laboratory under the building, it¡¯s filled with people in vats. They¡¯re going through some kind of Artificial Awakening. The whole place is wired with crazy high-tech stuff.¡± ¡°Impossible,¡± The Captain denied. ¡°The Cain¡¯s don¡¯t have access to that kind of Mechatech.¡± The realization slapped me in the face. They had no idea that The Cains were in league with Masquerade. I felt like kicking myself. How could they have known? We¡¯d only found out earlier in the week which led to this whole operation in the first place. ¡°They¡¯re working with Masquerade!¡± I might as well have dropped a thermonuclear warhead on them. I saw no reason to keep it a secret and a quick glance at Alice showed that she appreciated the distraction. They would find out regardless, but this way, I¡¯d buy time for¡­ something to happen. Anything, really; I was banking on Alice getting out and causing some chaos. Maybe Anomaly would reform and break out. All I could do was run my mouth for a moment. ¡°You¡¯ve seen him, Masquerade?¡± The Captain¡¯s full attention was on me. ¡°Do you understand who you¡¯re talking about? Perhaps you saw someone else.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I saw him at Poseidon¡¯s Vault down by the harbor earlier in the week. He was talking to someone we couldn¡¯t make out ¨C he¡¯s probably the guy responsible for the Mechatech bunker underneath this place.¡± ¡°Masquerade,¡± The Captain said again. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s who you saw?¡± ¡°Without a doubt. A Mentalist confirmed it.¡± The Captain turned away from me and went silent, contemplating my words. It was obvious I had thrown him off balance and he was struggling to decide whether to take me seriously. Someone like Masquerade wasn¡¯t to be taken lightly and even the mention of his involvement was enough to give anyone pause. ¡°Sir?¡± The soldier carrying Mia waited. ¡°What¡¯re your orders?¡± An annoyed grunt came from the Captain. ¡°Get her inside. We¡¯ll process these kids and command can discuss Masquerade¡¯s involvement.¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± ¡°No! Damn it!¡± I cursed as the soldier entered the armored transport with Mia. Ionizer, Comet, and Prosperity had yet to emerge from the building and I was starting to wonder about how things were finishing up down there. I jolted as my prison started moving. I looked over to see Alice and the remnants of Anomaly moving alongside me. Alice picked up the pace and was really trying to get the needles out of her arms. I could tell that she was starting to panic. We were losing our opportunity to escape ¨C assuming we even had a chance in the first place. Come on, there¡¯s gotta be something I can do. I checked my security breaching software. Nothing but more red connections, impenetrable security I wouldn¡¯t be able to break through. My laser pistol was out of ammo. My new extendable blade didn¡¯t seem to do anything against the bubble and drawing my sniper rifle would only make this worse. I couldn¡¯t even buy more time. All my cards had been laid out on the table and I had nothing more to give; so unless Alice could pull something off in the next twenty seconds, this was going to be it. I looked around for anything ¨C anything that I could use. I didn¡¯t want to give up till the doors of the armored transport closed behind me. There had to be something that could save us. At this point, I¡¯d take anything. Someone shouted and my prison came to a stop. I turned my head to see where the voice had come from and my heart leaped into my throat. A tide of darkness rolled into view at the end of the street. Like a tidal wave, it rolled down the street toward us, devouring everything in its wake. ¡°INCOMING!¡± This is not what I had in mind for a rescue! The Captain sprinted past me. ¡°SHIELDS UP, NOW!¡± I watched, bewildered as the squadron of soldiers all lined up in formation and threw down devices at their feet. A wall of light erupted just in time for the darkness to slam into it. Barely a second later I noticed the light dimming. It was holding the monster back but we all had seconds before the reaper claimed our souls. I screamed my throat raw in a panic. ¡°ALICE!¡± Alice shuddered and switched to Purple, teleporting out of her bubble and appearing right in front of mine. Another shudder and she shifted to Red. She kicked the device keeping me imprisoned so hard it exploded into shrapnel. ¡°Get the girl!¡± Red ordered, running to free Anomaly. I bolted for the armored transport and haphazardly scooped the girl into my arms. When I turned, I saw that Alice had freed Anomaly but his remains were still pooling back together. I saw her try to grab the solid bits but she had only managed to regain control of one of her arms. When we heard the screaming of the ECU soldiers, Alice twitched and Pink blitzed to my side, abandoning Anomaly. ¡°UPPIES RUN!¡± I wasn¡¯t the fastest runner; even on a good day, I was aggressively mediocre. Weighed down by a person in my arms, I found myself even slower than normal. Regardless, I pushed harder than I ever had. Even as my lungs and legs burned, I kept going. Slowing down would be a death sentence. I wasn¡¯t even sure where I was running to, all I knew is that it was away from the shadow behind me. Pink had disappeared from my sight which left me to hobble down the street by myself. I told myself I wouldn¡¯t look over my shoulder but my morbid curiosity got the better of me. The darkness moved like water, pooling around them and continuing to flow down the street. The ECU soldiers caught in the thick of it were sinking like they were stuck in quicksand. But if they weren¡¯t actually sinking, they were melting. If I stopped, I¡¯d die. Pink suddenly zipped to my side. ¡°No time! He¡¯s gonna catch ya!¡± I wanted to scream at her but I couldn¡¯t spare the air. Instead, she matched my pace, twitched, grabbed my shoulder, and then a violent whirlwind of vertigo hit me as we teleported. I tripped and fell, dropping Mia onto the cold concrete. Alice had teleported us to the top of a building. I rolled, just as Alice did. With adrenaline still coursing through my system, I scrambled back to my feet and dashed for Mia. She was in my arms in seconds and I was looking around for somewhere to run. When I saw no exit off the roof, I felt a sense of hopelessness. ¡°Relax¡­¡± Purple groaned, slowly pushing herself to her feet. ¡°I got us out of there. Gold¡¯s sayin¡¯ Grim isn¡¯t going to get us up here. Somethin¡¯ about his senses bein¡¯ bad when he¡¯s like that, I dunno.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know? YOU DON¡¯T KNOW!? ALICE¡ª¡± ¡°Chill!¡± Purple cut me off. ¡°Just take a breath. We¡¯re good now, see?¡± She slumped against the edge of the roof and peered over. ¡°Like I said. He doesn¡¯t know where we went.¡± Cautiously, I walked back to the edge and looked over. The darkness in the street below was receding back toward the meatworks. We had escaped but from the looks of it, the soldiers hadn¡¯t. Nothing remained from the ECU¡¯s reinforcement. No armored transports, no soldiers. Nothing. Just an empty street that looked like it had aged a hundred years. ¡°Anomaly¡­ he¡ª¡± ¡°Look,¡± Purple murmured, pointing to where his remains had been. Sure enough, there was a small inky puddle of darkness that was beginning to reform. ¡°Guy¡¯s really invincible¡ª¡± Alice twitched as she switched back to Blue. ¡°¡ªfuck me that was close! Way too close, fucking hell¡­¡± Looks like every part of Alice dealt with stress differently. I turned my attention back to the street. The inky darkness rose out of the ground and reshaped itself back into the cosmic horror that I was familiar with. Anomaly looked around and it wasn¡¯t until Alice gave a short whistle that he was clued into our location. He lumbered down the street before coiling and springing up to us. Landing, he reverted to his human form and fell to his knees. ¡°Shit, that was weird.¡± Weird? That¡¯s all he can say? ¡°You survived Grim¡¯s shadow,¡± Alice breathed. ¡°Nobody¡¯s done that before.¡± ¡°I did what?¡± Anomaly¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what happened. Those guys hit me with that freezing thing and then I couldn¡¯t tell what was going on. Then it felt like something was trying to eat me alive. It couldn¡¯t quite get a hold of me though.¡± ¡°Eat¡­ you?¡± Alice tilted her head before looking away, eyes wide. ¡°Oh God¡­¡± ¡°Mia!¡± Anomaly closed the distance between us to check on the girl in my arms. ¡°She¡¯s okay. I thought for sure I¡¯d¡­¡± he shook his head and stepped away. ¡°I almost fucked everything up, didn¡¯t I?¡± Our silence said it all. He had carried us right into the heart of the ECU reinforcements. If we had gone out the back, we might¡¯ve been able to slip out undetected. His haste had almost ruined everything. I didn¡¯t need to say anything and judging from how Alice looked, she agreed with me. He already knew. ¡°We need to go,¡± Alice said, her voice low. ¡°This whole area is about to get quarantined and we don¡¯t want to be here when that happens.¡± My gaze drifted to the meatworks. Abby was still in there. There was the compulsion to run back in there to try and help, but that would be suicide. As long as they saw him coming, she should be able to move faster than Grim. She¡¯ll be fine. She always is. I turned back and found Alice staring at me. Her eyes were Gold but she said nothing. All she did was nod. ¡°Your place then?¡± Anomaly asked. I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Friction Interlude - Comet ¡°Thank you for the help today, Comet.¡± She barely registered the words. At this point, that phrase was white noise and felt like hollow words. This was her job, what else did they expect from her? The only times the thanks felt like they had any meaning was when they came from people she saved. Four years into this and she had already learned to pick up on when people were just going through the motions. All the soldiers were like that, thanking her because it was expected. She wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if it was written into their contracts. ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± This is just¡­ pest control. Comet watched as Techies and Junkmonger were loaded into an ECU prisoner transport and all she could wonder was when they would somehow manage to break out again. Maintenance workers in charge of the holding cells back at HQ said they were in constant communication with Mechakinetics to improve their systems. The problem was, the ECU was falling behind the times as independents started charging more for their services. ¡°Can I go now or do I need to regale you all with how those two losers led me on a wild goose chase?¡± Comet asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to go back to school and pick up my stuff, the place does get locked up, ya know.¡± The captain awkwardly cleared his throat. ¡°No need. You can go.¡± ¡°See ya,¡± she took to the air heading back to school. Abby checked her phone when she landed. 4:37 P.M. She couldn¡¯t believe Techies and Junkmonger had given her so much trouble. Lunchtime had been just wrapping up when she had left to deal with those clowns. Worse still, Techies had managed to construct a weapon that bypassed her defensive bubble. That was a first, but she was always warned to be wary of Mechakinetics. They were a dangerous bunch, even the most innocent-looking ones. She searched the library for her stuff when a cleaner mentioned that her friend had taken her stuff to the dean''s office. That didn¡¯t surprise her. It was probably Lucy or Max, they were always onto things. Chris and Jackson had the awareness of a goldfish sometimes so she doubted it was them. Eventually, she found her belongings in the Dean¡¯s office. Abby made sure to make her journey back to Headquarters short. Taking to the air, she soared into the sky and blitzed across the city, heading for the monolithic tower protruding from the center that dominated the skyline. It extended far past the lowest cloud layer and continued upward. What they needed all that space for, Abby didn¡¯t know and she couldn¡¯t care less. She wasn¡¯t allowed up past the sixtieth floor anyway. A couple years ago she had gone up there, compelled by her own curiosity, and had been caught. The reprimand had been swift and just, her mother grounding her for two weeks. Naturally, that had only served to amplify her curiosity. It was short-lived, however, when her mom decided to kill the mystery and take her up there under the guise of a tour. It was a little disappointing but Abby found that it was just more workshops for the untested and unstable equipment, especially the stuff that had been confiscated. Glorified storage was another way to put it. Flying up to a familiar part of the citadel, she pressed the back of her hand against the smooth metal surface. Her bracelet clinked against the wall and a hiss sounded. Servos moved as the wall slid open. Abby slipped through and landed on even ground, arriving in a room filled with machines and blinking lights. Technically, it was an emergency entry and exit for flying supers but Abby had taken to using it daily to get in and out of HQ. It was convenient and meant she could skip the checks at the front door. She pressed her bracelet against a panel that was sticking out of a nearby console and the door closed behind her. After exiting the room through another door, she entered a hallway with a singular armed guard sitting on a chair next to the door. It was protocol to have someone stationed at every exit, even if it was hundreds of feet off the ground. The guard lifted his head, pulling his attention away from his phone. ¡°I could report you for that, you know,¡± Abby smiled. ¡°Watching videos on duty? Isn¡¯t that considered neglectful behavior?¡± The guard simply raised his eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re one to talk. How many times have you been told to use the front door?¡± ¡°Here,¡± Abby reached into her jacket pocket and tossed him a bar of chocolate. ¡°My daily toll for your silence.¡± The guard caught it. ¡°Ta.¡± Abby strolled past him. ¡°Enjoy.¡± Carrying on, she headed toward her bedroom five levels below. She took the elevator and emerged into the rookie dorm area. She followed another long hallway that led to the common room before branching off into another hallway with all their bedrooms. Abby moved swiftly, enticed by thoughts of her bed. All she wanted to do was lie down and sleep the afternoon away until she was dragged out for dinner. She passed through the common room without issue but, unfortunately, today wasn¡¯t going to let her slip away without a fight. Seer stood, leaning against the frame of her bedroom door, waiting for her arrival. A tired groan escaped her lips and he turned. He was a boy about a year older than her. He wore a sky-blue shirt and jacket, along with a pair of shaded spectacles to hide the fact that he was blind. ¡°You better be here to tell me the new Cassidy Ellis album is out,¡± Abby grumbled, strolling up to her bedroom door. Seer tilted his head slightly. ¡°Not for another month and a half. I¡¯m here to tell you that your mom got injured. She¡¯s safe but a debriefing has been called and we¡¯re required to attend.¡± Abby rolled her eyes. ¡°Pass.¡± Seer¡¯s brow raised. ¡°You don¡¯t care that your mom got hurt?¡± ¡°Oh, no. I care. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll tell me all about it later. I just don¡¯t feel like going to one of these ¡®mandatory¡¯ meetings. I¡¯ve just spent the last few hours chasing two idiots through the city and sleep beckons me.¡± ¡°Abby¡ª¡± ¡°Go away, Jason.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t. I was specifically asked to come and get you.¡± ¡°Cool, I¡¯m still not going.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to get reprimanded if you don¡¯t show up.¡± A dark look spread across her face as the exhaustion turned to bubbling anger. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll just go get changed.¡± ¡°Abby, I know you¡¯re going to lock the door and go to bed.¡± ¡°Damn it, Jason! Go away! I¡¯ll be there, okay? Just get the hell out of my way.¡± Seer sighed and moved aside. Abby unlocked her door and stepped inside, heading to her drawers to change into fresh clothes. When she was done, she stepped outside only to see that Seer was still standing there, arms crossed and waiting patiently. ¡°What are you, my keeper?¡± ¡°Your escort.¡± Abby screwed up her face. ¡°Ew.¡± He let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°You know what I mean. Let¡¯s go.¡± Another elevator ride landed Abby in a private debriefing room. Tricky and Copycat were already there, both of them leaning back in their seats. They were clad in their costumes, probably because they were scheduled for patrol in about an hour. Tricky wore his armor that was stylized to mimic a midwestern gunslinger while Copycat wore his Japanese-inspired cat mask. They were both playing some trading card game that Abby was unfamiliar with. Despite this, they were the only two in the room. Normally, Seraphim was the first here and it stood out like a sore thumb. ¡°Where¡¯s Nikki?¡± ¡°With her boyfriend. I think she¡¯s seeing that new horror flick,¡± Copycat replied, tearing his gaze away from the cards in his hand. ¡°It¡¯s pretty bad from what I¡¯ve read.¡± ¡°Counterspell,¡± Tricky said smugly, laying out a card on the table. Copycat threw his head back and groaned. ¡°Fuuuucks sake¡­¡± ¡°So I have to be here while Nikki gets a free pass?¡± Abby rounded on Seer who simply shrugged. ¡°Fuck you, Jason.¡± ¡°Come on. That¡¯s not fair and you know it.¡± The door opened behind her and two senior heroes walked through. One wore a decorative skeleton mask while the other had multicolored threads throughout her hair. ¡°Lich, Dreamweaver,¡± Seer inclined his head in respect. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you. I hope your vacation went well.¡± ¡°It could have been better. Malta just isn¡¯t the same as it used to be,¡± Dreamweaver bemoaned. ¡°I wanted to switch it up and go to Italy, but this lug here dug in his heels and refused.¡± Lich grunted and said nothing. Seer cleared his throat and gave a small understanding nod. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad to hear it. There aren¡¯t many places left where tourism flourishes. It¡¯s nice to know there are at least some places still trying.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know you guys got back,¡± Abby commented, still surprised. ¡°Did you hear about Lana¡¯s engagement? She¡¯s given up her position to Ionizer.¡± ¡°Yes, I heard our Sparrow managed to get hitched. If she doesn¡¯t ask me to be one of her bridesmaids, there¡¯s going to be some serious trouble.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a good thing I had you at the top of my list,¡± another voice sounded from the door. Sparrow stepped through, followed closely by Domination and Director Oslin. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Jen. We can discuss details later. For now, duty unfortunately takes priority.¡± ¡°Take a seat, everyone,¡± Director Oslin grumbled. He moved with a hunch, his thinning gray hair was starting to fall out and Abby could have sworn he ages at least a year every time she saw the old guy. ¡°We have business to attend to and I don¡¯t have all day.¡± Abby finally noticed the condition her mother was in. The woman carried herself like she was made of steel and didn¡¯t so much as limp or slouch. Her injuries were obvious, even though she had clearly received at least some minor treatment. There was dried blood covering the lower half of her face and her armor had a large gash in it. Whatever wound had been inflicted had been sealed by a high-grade biogel, but it still made her queasy to look at. Someone had really been gunning for her, it seemed. As everyone took their seats, Abby sent a concerned look over toward her mom. Domination noticed but dismissed her daughter¡¯s concern with a silent nod. Sparrow walked around and dealt out a bunch of dossiers and Abby labored a sigh as she opened hers. It was filled to the brim with information about supers she hadn¡¯t seen or heard of. Probably newbies that had cropped up around Bayside. These meetings happened all the time and Abby had learned to barely bother remembering these guys. Most of the time, they ended up somewhere else before the week was out. If they ended up staying, they either disappeared or ended up arrested fairly quickly. Rarely, did they ever actually end up being a serious threat. The last two that actually amounted to anything had been Grim and Bonesmith. For the next hour, Sparrow droned on about the new faces and Abby found her eyelids drooping. Tricky was already trying to play with his trading cards and Copycat was trying to look like he was engaged. Seer was impossible to read, doing his best impression of a Moai statue. Then, as it started to wrap up, Ionizer stepped through the door. Sparrow stopped talking and everyone turned and stared. ¡°I apologize for my lateness. I was called to an emergency. But I have good news,¡± he said. ¡°I have apprehended Bonesmith.¡± Immediately, Abby was awake. Tricky sat up in his chair, Copycat shifted in his seat and Seer¡¯s stone-faced expression shifted. Bonesmith was no easy capture. The guy was a menace, one of the most lethal close-quarter villains in Bayside. His shifted weapons could rip through some of Nanoforge¡¯s best armor. Not to mention the vicious history he had as a pirate. ¡°The Cains have been unusually active recently,¡± Domination mused. ¡°Gold Rush¡¯s attack on Pandora must not have been a knee-jerk reaction. Premeditated, it seems.¡± Ionizer nodded in agreement. ¡°He and a handful of Cain followers were reported fleeing the Downtown Mall in pursuit of a vehicle. Eye witness accounts claim it was a black sedan, 2008 model.¡± ¡°Were there no cameras to catch the vehicle¡¯s registration and number plate?¡± Director Oslin questioned, not sounding pleased. ¡°It sounds like you were not able to ID who they were after.¡± ¡°Not without Mentalist input,¡± Ionizer replied. ¡°Two suspects, both Evohumans. It seems like a recruitment pitch gone bad. The cameras around the and inside the mall were disabled. Currently, our specialists are working to recover any footage from the last six hours, but from their reports, all of what they are able to extract is corrupted. Mentalists suspect Mechakinetic interference.¡± ¡°A lot of the security in that building is old hardware,¡± Sparrow mused with a frown. ¡°I put through a report two and a half years ago about that,¡± she turned her gaze to Director Oslin. ¡°Was nothing done?¡± The Director scowled. ¡°I don¡¯t recall seeing any paperwork pertaining to such an inquiry.¡± The room fell into an awkward silence. ¡°Casualties?¡± Lich asked, breaking his silence. Ionizer turned to him. ¡°No one died, though, there are a few injuries to note. Some civilians were caught in the crossfire. The pursuit was taken to the highway. A few civilian cars were caught off-guard and had to brake or swerve. There are some broken bones and concussions but nothing life threatening from what I¡¯ve heard.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Abby grimaced. She could feel the tension in the room. Things could have ended badly on the main highway. She had seen firsthand the kind of horror that could happen there. ¡°Recruitment gone wrong, you say?¡± Domination mused. ¡°An independent Mechakinetic?¡± Ionizer nodded. ¡°That is my suspicion.¡± ¡°Who¡¯re our suspects?¡± Dreamweaver asked. ¡°If the Cains are after them, they¡¯ve either done something to piss them off or they¡¯re valuable enough to risk causing a scene for.¡± Ionizer picked up one of the dossiers and flipped through the pages. He marked the people of interest by folding the top right corner of the pages. ¡°Four potentials, assuming our Mentalist support is operating on the correct information. Pages seven, twenty six, twenty nine, and forty one.¡± Abby flipped through the pages and found who Ionizer was talking about. The problem with independents was that it was hard to find anything before they did something big. The ones that kept their heads low and tried not to do anything illegal had a lot of their information redacted because of privacy laws. But the more prolific they were, the more the ECU were allowed to know. Blueprinter, Omnicraft, Uplink, and Upgrade¡­ there¡¯s not much here. ¡°Well, this isn¡¯t very helpful,¡± Copycat chimed in. Then, he grimaced. ¡°Omnicraft apparently likes¡­ Thai girls? It¡¯s still weird how we have privacy laws and redact their personal details, yet you monitor their internet activity.¡± ¡°None of them are particularly active online. Blueprinter and Upgrade have done some very minor work for clients and use forums to advertise their services,¡± Ionizer explained. ¡°As you can see, our Mentalists are having trouble putting any of them at the Mall today. Our leading suspect is Uplink, seeing as they are known to be able to compromise security.¡± ¡°Has Bonesmith spoken since his capture?¡± Director Oslin asked. Ionizer shook his head. ¡°Unfortunately, no. I don¡¯t think he wishes to give us the upper hand in this situation.¡± ¡°See if our Mentalists can extract any information on our chase victim,¡± Director Oslin replied. He stood and brushed off his suit. ¡°Well done today, Ionizer. If I may, where is Seraphim? It is unlike her to miss these meetings.¡± ¡°Out with her boyfriend,¡± Copycat repeated. Director Oslin¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°Ah, I see. You are all dismissed.¡± Relief flooded through Abby as she stood. ¡°Not you, Ms. Kingston,¡± Director Oslin said, giving her a pointed look. ¡°Sit.¡± Abby wanted to scream. She watched as everyone filtered out of the room. Her mother stayed behind, as was her right. When everyone left and the door clicked shut, the elderly man sighed. ¡°A report landed on my desk earlier detailing your conduct when dealing with Junkmonger and Techies,¡± the Director took a moment for his words to sink in. Abby huffed and sunk into her chair, knowing where this was going. ¡°I¡¯m aware of their reputation for miraculous escapes but that is no reason to brutalize them.¡± ¡°I just¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear excuses,¡± the Director cut her off with a calm but stern gaze. ¡°You have a right to feel frustrated. Know that what you feel is something I deal with daily. You must rise above it if you want a future with the ECU as a hero.¡± Abby looked away. ¡°Am I in trouble?¡± The Director shifted and sighed once more. ¡°For this, no. While your methods should require disciplinary measure, you¡¯ve provided us with the opportunity to incarcerate them without fear of them escaping.¡± Abby turned back, a victorious grin on her face. Her mother did not share her enthusiasm. ¡°That said, I am still penalizing you.¡± Abby¡¯s mouth fell open as the Director moved toward the door. ¡°What? Why!?¡± He turned and looked over his shoulder. Abby could have sworn she saw him smirk. ¡°Did you think I wouldn¡¯t notice? Use the front door.¡± He left without another word, the door closing and leaving Abby sitting dumbfounded. She caught a glimpse of her mother¡¯s piercing gaze and slumped. Crap.
Her phone rang out with her morning alarm. Slowly, Abby blinked the sleep out of her eyes, reaching out with her power to snag her phone to dismiss the alarm. Like most, the young heroine hated Mondays. The beginning of the week just had an icky feeling that no other day possessed. Like a zombie, she rose from her bed and rolled out onto the floor. It took a single thought to stop herself from colliding with the carpet, her telekinetic aura orientating her upright. With a yawn, she dispersed her powers and shambled toward the bathroom to begin her morning routine. Halfway through brushing her teeth, a knock sounded from her front door. Poking her head out of the bathroom, she glared. ¡°What?¡± Her tone was garbled from the toothbrush. Seraphim¡¯s voice sounded from the other side. ¡°Meeting in the common room. Ionizer called it.¡± ¡°Ugh, okay.¡± Finishing up, she quickly got dressed for school and headed toward the common room. Tricky was half asleep on the couch, Copycat was shoveling cereal into his mouth and Seer was stirring some tea in the kitchen. Seraphim just paced in the center of the room. Abby rose an eyebrow at the strange behavior before turning and making a beeline for the kitchen. ¡°Here,¡± Seer slid a cup over to her. ¡°You¡¯ve had a penchant for green recently.¡± Abby reached up and brushed a few strands of her hair from her eyes. For a moment, she couldn¡¯t tell if he was talking about her highlights or the tea. Cautiously, she picked up the tea, narrowing her eyes at the boy as she took a sip. ¡°Thanks,¡± she placed it back down on the counter and reached for the sugar. ¡°So what¡¯s this meeting all about? We¡¯ve been having a lot recently, like, way more than usual. I¡¯m getting sick of all this official crap. I mean, can you believe I was forced to submit an evaluation of my behavior over the weekend? I thought someone else was supposed to do that.¡± ¡°They asked you to do it so that you could understand your own shortcomings and get your perspective on how you act,¡± Seer replied, noting how Abby stilled. ¡°Don¡¯t take offense, we¡¯ve all done them. It¡¯s a fact, none of us are perfect.¡± ¡°But some of us are better than others!¡± Tricky chuckled from the couch. ¡°I just gave myself full marks.¡± ¡°That defeats the point of an evaluation,¡± Copycat chimed in. ¡°Anyway, does anyone know what this meeting is for? I was going to skip school, but I might as well go now since I¡¯m up.¡± Everyone turned to Seer and despite being blind, he could feel everyone¡¯s eyes on him. ¡°You know I¡¯m not allowed to use my powers to pry into official business.¡± ¡°It involves us, so what¡¯s the big deal?¡± Tricky drawled, sitting up. He hung over the edge of the couch and waited eagerly for a reply. ¡°Come on, just bend the rules a little. We won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± ¡°At least tell us if we¡¯re in trouble or not,¡± Seraphim asked, running a hand through her wet hair. ¡°I was already chewed out for skipping the last meeting. I don¡¯t need more bullshit popping up.¡± Seer heaved a sigh. ¡°No one is in trouble.¡± ¡°Then what? I¡¯ve got school and this is going to make me late, it better be important,¡± Abby said. She didn¡¯t even bother to hide her frustration. Sparrow would have said something, given a reason at least. Ionizer was still getting used to his new role and so far, he wasn¡¯t adapting as fast as Abby expected. ¡°It is,¡± Seer reassured. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ we¡¯re getting a new addition to the team.¡± That piqued Abby¡¯s attention. ¡°Someone new is joining?¡± ¡°Finally!¡± Tricky groaned. ¡°Is it a girl? Please tell me it¡¯s a girl. There¡¯s way too many dudes here.¡± Abby snorted. ¡°Like you¡¯d even have a chance. Stick to your trading cards.¡± ¡°You say that, but I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve been more successful than you,¡± Tricky laughed. ¡°My strategy is working.¡± Seraphim raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is it really?¡± ¡°I have a girlfriend. Asked her out a couple of weeks ago,¡± Tricky defended. ¡°She was like, totally blushing and all that. You should have seen it, she was all over me. I even made it to first base on the bus last Friday and we have a date this weekend.¡± Abby rolled her eyes. She didn¡¯t even need to voice how ridiculous that was. Everyone in the room knew he was lying. ¡°Roll your eyes all you want. You¡¯re just salty cause no guy¡¯s ever asked you out,¡± Tricky retreated from view by sinking back into the sofa. ¡°I don¡¯t blame them, that whole emo look you got going on is pretty lame.¡± Abby seethed. ¡°It¡¯s NOT emo! How many fucking times¡ª¡± Her power flared and was about to grab the little bastard but a hand landed on her arm. She looked over to see Jason shaking his head. ¡°Ren, that wasn¡¯t very nice,¡± Seraphim intoned. ¡°You should apologize.¡± ¡°What? Me? Abby started it,¡± Ren sneered. ¡°Nobody cares who started it,¡± Copycat drawled. ¡°No one believes you¡¯ve scored a girl, dude. You¡¯re thirteen. Relationships don¡¯t usually last more than a week so it¡¯s nothing to brag about.¡± Tricky just sneered. ¡°So, who¡¯s the newbie?¡± Seraphim asked, eager to change the subject. She turned to the room¡¯s all-knowing Mentalist for an answer. ¡°Anything we should know beforehand?¡± His lips thinned as he looked toward the main door. ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of her appearance.¡± Tricky gasped. ¡°So it is a girl!¡± On cue, the main door buzzed and slid open. Ionizer strode through, clad in his sky-blue armor. Even now, Abby wasn¡¯t sure what she thought of the man. He cut an imposing figure, making him one of the most intimidating Heros Bayside had ever seen on roster. To her, every movement he made was done with purpose, every breath using only the most efficient amount of oxygen needed to get a task done. He was all business, with no fun allowed. ¡°Good morning, Rookies.¡± Not to mention he reminded Abby of every teacher she¡¯d ever had. ¡°Good Morning.¡± ¡°Eh.¡± ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Sir.¡± Ionizer¡¯s head slowly turned toward Abby, finding her lack of any greeting troublesome. Meeting his stone-faced stare, Abby sighed. ¡°Whaddya want?¡± The senior hero took her disrespect in stride. Instead, he turned back to the gathered junior heroes and cleared his throat. ¡°There is a new face joining your ranks this morning. I have called this small meeting in the hopes that you¡¯ll all get along with your new colleague,¡± Ionizer explained. Abby felt her stomach churn. Colleague¡­ She already missed Sparrow¡¯s more casual approach. ¡°That being said, I¡¯d like to introduce you to Prosperity.¡± He stepped aside to reveal¡­ an empty doorway. Tricky sat up and scratched his head while everyone else stared. ¡°Does¡­ she turn invisible or something?¡± ¡°Stage fright,¡± Ionizer replied, sounding unsympathetic and unbothered. ¡°Prosperity. It¡¯s okay. No one is going to judge you.¡± Even when he was trying to be reassuring, he still managed to sound cold. Abby watched as the girl stepped out from the side of the door frame. She was hiding and it was obvious as to why. Prosperity was a Morpher, one of the ones that were unfortunate enough to have irreversible features. Apparently, that was a bit of a double-edged sword. Sure, they had a tendency to be extraordinarily powerful, but they also stood out like a sore thumb. Prosperity had pointed ears protruding from her neatly brushed black hair. It reminded her of a dog or a canine of some kind. Then, Abby saw the tail, something that was very difficult to miss. Without a doubt, the girl definitely had traits that belonged to a fox. ¡°...Hi.¡± A silence followed her shy greeting that was quickly shattered by Tricky. ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s pretty cool. I¡¯ve never met a Special Morpher before.¡± ¡°The official term is Transfiguration Case, Tricky.¡± ¡°Eh, who cares what they¡¯re called,¡± he shrugged. He jumped up and swung his legs over the back of the couch. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m Ren, but you might know me better as Tricky.¡± Slowly, Prosperity¡¯s nervousness started to melt away. ¡°Hi Ren. It¡¯s¡­ good to be here, I think.¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t need to tell you all to be courteous. Prosperity is a newly Awakened, so I¡¯ll leave the details up to her to share should she wish to,¡± Ionizer said, turning to the girl in question. ¡°If you need anything, you know where to find me.¡± Prosperity nodded as he turned and walked out of the room. ¡°So,¡± Abby started the moment the door shut. ¡°Can¡¯t imagine you¡¯ve had the best impression with that hardass giving you the tour. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not as bad as you¡¯re probably thinking ¨C well, if you forget about those two over there.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Hey!¡± Tricky scowled. Copycat ignored the insult. ¡°It¡¯s been fine¡­¡± Prosperity trailed off. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure what to expect. A bit intense but so far things don¡¯t seem so bad.¡± ¡°Happy to have you with us,¡± Seraphim smiled. ¡°I¡¯m Nikki. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Abby can also help since she''s been here the longest.¡± Abby offered a light-hearted wave. Prosperity stared for a few moments before slowly nodding. ¡°So¡­ you¡¯re Comet?¡± Prosperity¡¯s smile widened a little as her shoulders tensed. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ ah, this is so embarrassing, but I¡¯m a bit of a fan.¡± Abby tilted her head, caught off guard by the admission. She had fans, all heroes did, even one as young and obnoxious as Tricky. It had been one of the biggest hurdles to overcome after becoming a superhero. Thousands of people discussing you online and in public was difficult to get used to, especially when she was one of the few that didn¡¯t have a secret identity. Her mom didn¡¯t have one, so naturally, Abby followed suit. Whether that had been a mistake or not, Abby still debated to this day. She thought about what it would¡¯ve been like if she had tried to keep it all secret. She doubted her friendship with Lucy, Max, Chris, and Jackson would have lasted as long as it had. Plus, with her mother being as well known as she was, getting powers was something a lot of people expected. Abby¡¯s mouth curved into a smile. ¡°Do you want an autograph?¡± ¡°Aha, um¡­ not really,¡± Prosperity said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to bother you. It¡¯s just¡­ surreal actually getting to meet you. You and everyone else. I¡¯ve admired heroes for so long that actually getting to be one feels like a dream. It¡¯s just too bad it has to come with this.¡± Her tail curled up into her arms and she dug her nails into it like she was trying to rip it off. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine that¡¯s easy to deal with,¡± Seer said. ¡°I¡¯m Jason by the way.¡± ¡°Hi,¡± Prosperity said. ¡°Oh! I¡¯m so sorry, how could I forget? I¡¯m Amelia. Everyone¡¯s been introducing themselves ¨C sorry, it¡¯s been hectic for me the last few days. I¡¯ve been¡­ adjusting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Karl, spelt with a ¡®K¡¯ if you¡¯re curious,¡± Copycat chimed in. ¡°Nice uh¡­ tail. It must be hell to clean.¡± Amelia groaned in agreement. ¡°My showers were already long enough. Now, my Dad¡¯s complaining there¡¯s no hot water. I can¡¯t help it!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that here,¡± Nikki said. ¡°Oh, well, that¡¯s assuming you¡¯ll be living here. Most of us do during the week, but we go home on the weekends.¡± ¡°Except for me,¡± Abby waved again. ¡°I¡¯m stuck here. This is home.¡± Amelia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yep. I was even born here. I¡¯ve lived on site all my life. It¡¯s not exactly safe to stay outside of HQ when you don¡¯t have a secret identity. I can¡¯t even go shopping without being recognized.¡± Ren snorted. ¡°Sucks to be you.¡± Abby ignored him. Amelia shifted with uncertainty. ¡°I¡¯m going to be living here until I can figure out how to hide my new additions. I really don¡¯t want my private life to be affected by this and Ionizer said that the ECU has helped people like me before.¡± ¡°Yeah the nerds will be able to cook something up. You wouldn¡¯t believe the kind of things they¡¯ve managed to pull off,¡± Abby said. ¡°Did they give you a room or are you allowed to choose?¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Amelia thought for a moment. ¡°They said I was allowed to choose.¡± ¡°Ooh! Ooh! Pick the one next to mine!¡± Ren grinned. Amelia chuckled nervously as Abby rolled her eyes. ¡°Come on,¡± Abby gestured for her to follow. ¡°I suppose it falls for me to give you a tour of the place. I¡¯m willing to bet the higher ups pointed to me as being your chauffeur,¡± Amelia just chuckled weakly. Abby smiled. ¡°I thought so. Let¡¯s get you a room that¡¯s as far away from Ren¡¯s as possible.¡±
The elevator dinged and Abby stepped out into a garage full of armored vehicles. They were heavy-duty, all imported and branded with that familiar logo. It was simplistic but easily recognizable so that anyone across the world would know it if they saw it. A globe with a leaf-like design curling around it, the initials E.C.U emblazoned across the bottom. She saw it every day, feeling the immense weight of responsibility it carried. A responsibility very few truly understood. Walking through the garage, Abby continued on until she came to the requested meeting place. Ionizer stood, clad in his blue armor. He offered a familial greeting, one which she wasn¡¯t exactly keen on returning. Amelia stood to his side, dressed in a standard issue combat suit that Nanoforge had undoubtedly rushed to put together on such short notice. Given how tight it looked and the slight expression of discomfort etched across the newbie¡¯s face, Abby could only assume that it wasn¡¯t quite finished yet. ¡°I should¡¯ve known,¡± Abby drawled as the realization dawned on her. ¡°Really? It¡¯s Friday night. Couldn¡¯t this have waited for some other time? We¡¯re not even supposed to be patrolling this late anyway. There won¡¯t be anything for us to do.¡± ¡°I was informed by Director Oslin that I should be taking a more active role in teaching, so I¡¯ve decided to employ my own methods,¡± Ionizer explained. ¡°I¡¯ve got approval from command for our patrol route and Overwatch is set to cover us.¡± Abby groaned. ¡°Look, I¡¯m no stickler for the rules but I¡¯m pretty sure this is against standard protocol for Rookies. There¡¯s a reason we only patrol during the day time.¡± Ionizer gave Abby a blank look through his headgear. ¡°I didn¡¯t call you down here to argue about protocol. I was advised that you were the most experienced rookie on the team and have been helping Prosperity settle in. I thought it best to bring you along for her first exercise.¡± ¡°Oh I get it. I¡¯m the training wheels,¡± Abby grumbled. She quickly reigned in her temper when she saw Prosperity flinch. ¡°Ugh, forget I said that. Sorry, I¡¯m not in the best mood right now. I know you¡¯re probably nervous as all hell Amelia, but trust me this stuff isn¡¯t as hard as you think it is.¡± ¡°Um¡­ okay,¡± she trailed off with a hint of uncertainty. ¡°This is all a bit sudden but it¡¯s what I signed up for, I guess.¡± ¡°It¡¯s sudden because it¡¯s unusual. We don¡¯t normally do this,¡± Abby turned back to Ionizer. ¡°I¡¯m not taking the fall if this goes tits up.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect you to and there¡¯s nothing to worry about,¡± Ionizer reassured. ¡°This is authorized. I¡¯m just a little bit more direct in my teaching methods than Sparrow and I would appreciate your help.¡± ¡°Fine, like I can say no anyway,¡± Abby crossed her arms and turned her attention back to Amelia. ¡°Has anyone gone over basic encounter procedures with you yet? I think my mum would¡¯ve given you the rundown the other day. She¡¯s pretty good at introducing that stuff early to any newbies.¡± The anxious girl nodded. ¡°Uh, yeah! I¡¯m supposed to follow R.O.V.E, right?¡± ¡°Very good,¡± Ionizer nodded. ¡°Can you tell me what it stands for?¡± ¡°The first ¡®R¡¯ is for: Retreat. Retreat and find proper cover. ¡®O¡¯ is for observation; find and observe threats and distinguish them from the uh, non-threats. ¡®V¡¯ is Vantage point. When able, move to a better vantage point and continue to observe. Relay information to command if needed. ¡®E¡¯ is¡­ its¡­ um¡­¡± Abby found herself smiling. ¡°Engagement.¡± Her favorite part. ¡°Engagement!¡± Amelia clapped. ¡°I knew that. ¡®E¡¯ is for Engagement. Move to engage threats or to remove non-combatants from dangerous environments. Always prioritize the safety of civilians over anything else.¡± ¡°They¡¯re just something for you to keep in mind when you''re starting out,¡± Abby said. ¡°Always make sure you''re in a position of safety before you make any rash decisions. Think about it like this; you can¡¯t help anyone if you¡¯re dead.¡± Amelia chuckled weakly while Ionizer just awkwardly cleared his throat. ¡°Yes¡­ Comet makes a good point, however, there will be times where things won¡¯t work out and you¡¯ll be forced to make an on-the-spot decision,¡± Ionizer lectured sagely. ¡°That comes with experience, which is why I am eager to have you start tonight. The sooner you understand the pull of the reins, the less likely you are to let them slip when they pull.¡± ¡°Cute analogy,¡± Abby snorted. ¡°Alright, let''s get this show on the road. The sooner we go, the sooner I can get back to enjoying what''s left of my Friday.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Amelia shouted in a panic. She quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment, mouthing a quick apology. ¡°Um, isn¡¯t there anything else I should know? I still feel like I¡¯m really underprepared.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you are. At least by our standards,¡± Abby replied, giving her a so-so gesture. ¡°But you¡¯ll do fine. My first day out was during Hurricane Liz and that almost tore the city apart. I didn¡¯t know anything about the procedure. Just operated on my raw intuition and guts.¡± ¡°Hm. I read that in your file. Your performance was noteworthy and saved many lives,¡± Ionizer said. ¡°You¡¯re damn right I did,¡± Abby nodded in agreement. ¡°That night sucked. By comparison, tonight will be a breeze.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you going on about protocol earlier¡­?¡± Amelia wondered aloud. Abby just shrugged. ¡°Yeah, yeah it¡¯s whatever. I just don¡¯t like doing this stuff on Fridays. I was¡ª¡± She stopped herself before she said anything that would really get her in trouble. ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s just go, okay? We¡¯ll teach you the basics as we go. How long is this route you''re taking us on?¡± ¡°No more than two hours,¡± Ionizer said. ¡°Ah, a short trip. Easy peasy,¡± Abby replied, rolling her shoulders. Twisting her bracelet, she activated her armor. At the same time, her telekinetic aura flared, lifting her into the air until she was only a few meters off the ground. ¡°We should be back just after midnight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the plan,¡± Ionizer replied, reaching into his belt. He pulled a small device that appeared like a triangular lightbulb and switched it on. It blinked rapidly, flashing light green. ¡°There we go, we should be ready to go now.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Comet asked, perplexed. ¡°Are you testing some funky Mechatech while we¡¯re out?¡± ¡°Something like that,¡± Ionizer said. ¡°It¡¯s a unique opportunity to gather data. Also approved, if you felt the need to ask.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the captain of this ship now. We go at your pace,¡± Comet waved off, clearly eager to leave. ¡°Unless you want me out front?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t make a difference to me, so I¡¯ll send you the patrol data. This is a learning exercise for Prosperity.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take point then.¡± Comet lifted an arm and examined the small interface built into where the bracelet would normally sit on her arm. A small holographic map of Bayside popped up before highlighting a clear path from their location in orange. She found herself frowning as the path continued to snake through territory that went far beyond where rookies were normally supposed to patrol. ¡°The hell? What kind of route is this?¡± ¡°Is there an issue?¡± Comet turned and met Ionizer¡¯s gaze. ¡°No. I¡¯m just wondering if this is a hint of things to come. Sparrow never had us going out that far before. Normally, we¡¯d just stick to the areas that HQ can easily reach. This goes all the way into Cain territory.¡± ¡°I thought it would be prudent to show Prosperity the kind of people we deal with on a daily basis.¡± Comet wanted to argue. There were designed patrol routes to break newbies in. She had run them countless times with Tricky, Copycat, and Seraphim when they joined the Rookies. None of those routes went further than a few kilometers from the Citadel. They were boring ¨C so boring that she could have probably fallen asleep and still flown the route perfectly without issue. This¡­ this wasn¡¯t just out of pocket. Comet would have gone as far as to claim that this was downright reckless. ¡°...Okay,¡± Comet said slowly. She had to remind herself that Ionizer ¨C while a newcomer to Bayside ¨C was well renowned across the world as a strong, capable hero. He knew what he was doing and according to him, this route had been approved by command. ¡°You¡¯re the boss.¡± Still, that wouldn¡¯t stop her from talking with her mother about it. Ionizer gestured forward. ¡°Lead on.¡± With a huff, she did.
¡°Are patrols usually this uneventful?¡± Comet could tell Prosperity was bored by the tone of her voice. She was expecting something ¨C anything to happen by now. That was the unfortunate reality of being a hero. Not every outing was going to yield results. Most of the time, you just ended up walking and taking some photos with bystanders. Really, all patrols were really for was so you could be in a position where you could respond quickly to any escalating situations. ¡°Eh, this is pretty standard,¡± Comet replied. ¡°It¡¯s just past midnight and this part of town doesn¡¯t really see any activity. It¡¯s all industrial crap over here. Everyone¡¯s out partying, drinking at bars, or watching sports. That¡¯s normally where all the action is and rookies aren¡¯t allowed to respond to calls at night unless it''s an emergency, or we¡¯re short staffed.¡± ¡°Myself and the other senior heroes take care of disputes past ten,¡± Ionizer explained. ¡°It¡¯s after that when things can get particularly violent. Too much for a rookie to handle on their own.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Prosperity sounded rather deflated. ¡°Hey, Abby¡ª¡± ¡°Comet,¡± Ionizer corrected before the heroine in question could get a word in. ¡°Remember, outside of the Citadel, you¡¯re to refer to your colleagues and comrades by their codenames. Comet¡¯s identity might be public knowledge but it''s a good habit to get into.¡± Prosperity shook away her fluster. ¡°Right, sorry. Hey, Comet?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been doing this for a couple of years now, so what¡¯s the most dangerous fight you¡¯ve ever been in?¡± A light, nostalgic smirk crossed her lips. It was easy for her to forget sometimes that before getting powers, people lived normal lives, looking at the world she lived in from an outsider''s perspective. Prosperity had just come from that, spending this week dipping her toes into the superheroine life. The only time she really got to tell these sorts of stories was to her friends at school and by now they had heard them enough times to make several movies. ¡°That¡¯s a toughie. I¡¯ve been in plenty of dangerous scuffles, my first night out with Hurricane Liz being one of them,¡± Comet mused aloud. ¡°Though there was Molten Lord a few years ago. He was pretty fuckin¡¯ scary.¡± Prosperity beamed. ¡°Oh! That was during your first year, wasn¡¯t it? I remember that. It was all over the news!¡± ¡°Yeah. He took out like six buildings in the business district and turned a bunch of streets into slag. Mum and I were on search and rescue and he tried to take us on,¡± Comet chuckled lightly. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that he¡¯s probably still recovering from what we did to him.¡± ¡°If I recall correctly, the reports I read stated that Lich was the one to capture him,¡± Ionizer cut in, robbing Comet of all the moment¡¯s glory. ¡°Your involvement was in the footnotes.¡± ¡°Yes but¡ª¡± A car alarm sounded behind them, cutting through the calm night¡¯s quiet. Prosperity shrieked, transforming completely into a giant quadrupedal animal. She barked at the car in question as Comet floated down to investigate while Ionizer cautiously stepped forward. The two experienced heroes shared a quick apprehensive look. ¡°What¡¯re the chances it¡¯s a faulty alarm?¡± Comet asked, looking hopeful. Ionizer placed a hand on the hood of the car, channeling part of his power. He turned back to her and shook his head. ¡°Alarm¡¯s fine. It was set off manually.¡± Prosperity let out an anxious whine as her head started to turn on a swivel. Comet noted her attention lock onto a nearby rundown building ¨C a decommissioned one by the looks of it. The paint on it looked worn and the windows were broken. There was graffiti everywhere she looked but none of it seemed uncommon for an area like this. ¡°Please let it be some dumbass kids playing a prank,¡± Comet said. ¡°Really don¡¯t want this turning into something crazy.¡± Another car alarm went off further down the road. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s probably just some kids messing around.¡± An engine sounded and the screeching of tires cut through the night. An expensive-looking car swerved out onto the road and accelerated, plowing right through the front windows of a fruit and vegetable shop. Smoke poured from beneath the hood and from where they stood, a small fire appeared to have started. ¡°I will deal with that,¡± Ionizer marched forward, but before he could make it, another car sounded. Prosperity skittered away as the car next to her revved its engine and tried to speed off down the road. Comet, however, was much quicker than any modern land vehicle, catching it before it could make any sort of headway. ¡°Nice try,¡± she muttered, ripping the doors off and tossing them to the side. She peered inside to find an empty vehicle. It was perplexing, to say the least, but her confusion soon rose to a new level when every car alarm in the vicinity sounded. ¡°Okay, this has gone a little too far to be any kind of prank.¡± Ionizer stepped out of the store, having put the fire out. ¡°Comet, call Overwatch for assistance.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Comet lifted her arm and switched to a different channel. ¡°Hey, we got something going on over here. Could use a hand figuring it out.¡± ¡°Status?¡± Overwatch replied. ¡°We¡¯re fine. Can we get an eye overhead?¡± ¡°Establishing visual contact.¡± Comet looked up into the night sky. Anyone probably would¡¯ve mistaken it for a shooting star but to the people in the know, Overwatch had launched another eye into the sky. It appeared as a small greenish light, zipping about in the sky above the city. It flashed overhead as it arrived in their area and hovered for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ve identified a hostile. Roof, three blocks from your position. Dressed in black, armed, high caliber sniper rifle. They¡¯re observing you.¡± Comet grumbled, turning to stare in that direction. With the dark backdrop of the night sky, it was hard to see anything but Overwatch was rarely wrong about anything. She had learned to put her absolute faith in her abilities. ¡°There goes my Friday night¡­¡± Surging into the sky, Comet flew to investigate. Sure enough, she saw the figure Overwatch was describing, watching and waiting. Yeah, take a shot at me. I dare¡ª He turned and fled into the building. Damnit! She was forced to rip the roof access door off its hinges to give chase. He was smart enough to lock the door behind him but wasn¡¯t smart enough to know that it wouldn¡¯t matter. Unfortunately, she was met with a tightly constricted staircase. Just my luck¡­ ¡°Hey! Quit running, you¡¯re only going to make this more painful for yourself!¡± She followed the sounds of her suspect¡¯s movements, all the way into a large, open office room. Needless to say, she was not a fan of these cat-and-mouse games and given how spacious this room was, he could be hiding anywhere. The villains that hid from her were always the tricky ones. She preferred it when they were stupid enough to fight her head-on. It made their inevitable capture all the quicker. Well, I¡¯ve got him cornered. I¡¯ve just got to listen to any movement and¡­ The computers all turned on and started playing music. To top it all off, it was her least favorite song looped on repeat. I¡¯m going to fold this guy in half on principle. I deserve that much tonight. At some point, the guy must¡¯ve slipped past her when she wasn¡¯t looking because the scent of smoke had her retreating from the room and back into the hallway. She followed the smell all the way to the ground floor where Prosperity was desperately trying to put out the fire. Comet acted quickly, finding the nearest fire alarm and smashing the protective cover to turn it on. Immediately, sprinklers activated and drenched both of the girls from head to toe. Prosperity was holding a fire extinguisher, which she clearly had no clue how to use properly, given that Comet saw no evidence of it being used. Guiding the newbie out through one of the fire exits, Comet found that Prosperity was moving with a slight limp. ¡°What the hell happened?¡± In her aggravation of being juked, the words came out more demanding than she meant them to. ¡°That guy! I almost had him,¡± the girl looked distraught and angry with herself. ¡°I¡­ I should¡¯ve ripped his stupid head off!¡± Comet rolled her eyes. ¡°Okay, cool it for a second. Let¡¯s roll things back a bit, starting with the room and how it got set on fire.¡± ¡°He had some kind of weird gun that he shot me with and¡­¡± Prosperity huffed, sinking deeper into her misery. ¡°...I may have tried to set him on fire with my powers and missed¡ª but I tried to put it out! I didn¡¯t mean to do that.¡± ¡°Accidents happen. Besides, all that stuff inside can be repaired. More important question, did you see where he went?¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± Prosperity cut herself off as she began to sulk. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Comet grunted and turned away before contacting Ionizer. ¡°Our little prankster got away.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure,¡± Ionizer replied over the encrypted communications network. ¡°Regroup on my position. I¡¯ve already called and reinforcements are inbound. There¡¯s a situation over here. It seems that our prankster has left a bit of a mess.¡± ¡°Ugh, it just gets worse,¡± Comet muttered under her breath. She turned back to Prosperity. ¡°Come on. Something else has happened. Follow me.¡± Wordlessly, the newbie nodded and followed. Comet followed Ionizer¡¯s position all the way into that decommissioned building Prosperity had stared at earlier. Inside was a mess of unconscious bodies, along with two notorious Cain supers. All of them were armed to the teeth, some even carrying some sophisticated Mechatech weapons. ¡°Looks like we missed the party,¡± Comet commented blandly. ¡°A skirmish this deep into Cain territory is crazy. That guy has a death wish.¡± Ionizer was observing a small item in his hand, one he had pulled from the shoulder of one of the downed thugs. It appeared to be some kind of tranquilizer. When he was done, he slipped it into his glove and turned to address the two rookies. ¡°Not just him. A few others too. He wasn¡¯t alone,¡± Ionizer said. ¡°I did some investigating while you two tried to apprehend one of our suspects. There were men stationed in the buildings surrounding this one. Given how many people are here, it only stands to reason they were guarding something important.¡± ¡°They had the whole street on watch?¡± Comet asked, surprised. ¡°What happened to them? We weren¡¯t even shot at.¡± Ionizer gestured at the unconscious men around them. ¡°Same thing that happened here. They were shot with a tranquilizer. A potent serum, measured meticulously to render a fully grown adult unconscious for a number of hours.¡± Comet found herself frowning as she observed all the unconscious Cain thugs. She could see that a number of them had tranquilizers poking out from their bodies. ¡°Non-lethal takedowns. They actively avoided killing?¡± Prosperity gave her a blank look. ¡°You look surprised. Is¡­ that not normal?¡± Comet just shrugged. ¡°Normal? Eh, some people don¡¯t bother to even try. I guess that explains the reason they chose to just run and hide from me.¡± ¡°He did say he was trying to distract us,¡± Prosperity said, shifting uncomfortably. Comet and Ionizer turned to her on a dime, startling her with the sudden focus shift. ¡°You talked to him?¡± Comet asked, surprised. ¡°You didn¡¯t mention that.¡± ¡°Everything¡¯s happening so quickly! I¡¯m sorry, okay? He said they were trying to save a friend, someone who had been taken from them?¡± ¡°A retaliation,¡± Ionizer summarized. ¡°Makes sense. What caused the building fire?¡± Prosperity froze. ¡°What building fire?¡± Comet resisted the urge to groan. ¡°I had just concluded investigating the surrounding buildings when I noticed smoke coming from where you went to assist. Was our suspect responsible for that too? Another distraction?¡± Comet was about to clear things up when Prosperity answered without really thinking. ¡°Oh, that? Uh, yeah. I was trying to put it out. Ab¨C Comet helped me. Sorry,¡± Prosperity shifted uncomfortably under Ionizer¡¯s flat stare. ¡°Also, umm¡­ sorry for running off. I thought I¡¯d be able to help her catch that guy.¡± It was clear as day that Ionizer made the girl uncomfortable ¨C enough to look for any reasonable excuse to get away. Their personalities just didn¡¯t gel at all and if Comet was being honest, she couldn¡¯t see why the higher-ups had approved of him taking Sparrow¡¯s position. Internal politics gave her a headache, even though the stuff she was actually privy to was considered tame by her mother¡¯s own admission. ¡°I see.¡± He didn¡¯t sound convinced. Comet just crossed her arms and shook her head. ¡°This is precisely the reason we have the training routes. I don¡¯t want to say I told you so buuut¡­¡± ¡°Those training routes don¡¯t teach you anything. They keep you blind to what¡¯s really going on in the city,¡± Ionizer shot back, his tone taking a bit more aggression. Comet didn¡¯t care and stood her ground. ¡°I don¡¯t agree with them. It implies a lack of action and a lax attitude¨C¡± Ionizer stopped himself and took a small breath. ¡°We will discuss this later.¡± ¡°You¡¯re damn right we will,¡± Comet grumbled. He ignored her. ¡°I¡¯m going to investigate the rest of the building. Comet, you¡¯re with me. Prosperity, stay here and watch the captives until the reinforcements arrive. They should be here any minute.¡± Ionizer turned and marched off without hesitating. Comet¡¯s gaze lingered on Prosperity for a few moments, noting how nervous she looked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I feel about being left on my own,¡± Prosperity shifted side to side uncomfortably. ¡°I¡¯ve already screwed up once tonight.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so hard on yourself,¡± Comet waved her off. ¡°Things have calmed down now so I think I can confidently say the excitement quota for tonight has been filled. Everything¡¯s gonna be fine.¡±
Everything was in fact, not fine. Grabbing a mass of the little drones, Comet crushed them into balls of scrap just as her eyes caught a glimpse of the three supers they had been trying to apprehend, fleeing the bunker with an unconscious girl. ¡°H-Hey!¡± She called out to Ionizer. ¡°They¡¯re getting aw¡ª ah!¡± More drones attacked her with reckless abandon. Her scrap pile grew as more threw themselves at her. It was like there was no end to them and she couldn¡¯t risk thinning her telekinetic aura to try and grab the escaping villains. ¡°Forget them!¡± Ionizer ordered. ¡°Clear the room and prioritize the victims.¡± ¡°But¨C!¡± ¡°That¡¯s an order Comet!¡± She lashed out in anger, her sparkling aura ripping more drones to shreds. She hated it when villains managed to get away, right from under her thumb. It felt like all the effort she went through had been wasted and the cycle would inevitably repeat itself when they reared their heads again. ¡°Ah! Comet help!¡± Any thoughts of frustration were banished the moment Comet heard Prosperity cry for help. She was thrashing, summoning blue fire with her hands and throwing them at the machines latched onto her. They seemed to be dragging her deeper into the bunker and the ones she turned to slag were immediately replaced. Why aren¡¯t they attacking her? Comet rapidly expanded her aura to give her some space before soaring over a sea of drones. She landed next to Prosperity and enshrouded the girl in her sparkling aura. Prosperity scrambled to her feet, panting like she had just run a marathon. ¡°O-Oh my God¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯re you doing!?¡± Comet took the girl by her shoulders and shook her. ¡°Transform! Use your powers! You¡¯re stronger when you shapeshift!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I panicked.¡± ¡°Get your shit together! Now is not the time to panic.¡± A wave of electricity carved a trench through the sea of drones around them. The ones in the path of the destruction were disintegrated while the others close by short-circuited and abruptly detonated. It was like watching dominos fall as the explosion set off a chain reaction. Many of the drones tried to flee but ended up consumed by the chaos. Ionizer jogged up to Comet and she let him through her telekinetic field. ¡°Are you two alright?¡± He asked, his voice calm and collected like this whole situation didn¡¯t affect him. How could he remain so stoic despite everything that had happened? ¡°Prosperity?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m fine,¡± she took a breath. ¡°I just panicked, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Then you see why I instructed you to remain upstairs? You¡¯re not ready for this,¡± he said. Her animal ears flattened against her head as her shoulders slumped. Ionizer just shook his head. ¡°You misunderstand. I do not say that to belittle you. There are training programs for this. They are designed to teach you how to act in situations like these. It¡¯s not a mark against you, merely a statement on your inexperience.¡± Comet grunted. ¡°Is now really the best time for this? They¡¯re surrounding us again.¡± ¡°Are you not capable of keeping them out?¡± Ionizer asked without a hint of jest. ¡°Your file states your telekinetic prowess is¡ª¡± ¡°Yes, I can keep them out!¡± Comet snapped in response. ¡°But since you¡¯re soooo familiar with my file, you should know that I have a limit. We need to get out of here now!¡± ¡°Not a chance. There are trapped civilians. It¡¯s our responsibility to ensure their safety,¡± Ionizer replied. ¡°Once that¡¯s done, we can find the three that escaped.¡± ¡°They¡¯re probably halfway across the city by now!¡± Comet sneered. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we just let them slip like that.¡± ¡°They are not the priority.¡± ¡°Not the priority? Look, I don¡¯t know how things were done where you came from, but here in Bayside, we save the people and fuck up the villains. We¡¯re not supposed to just let them get away!¡± Ionizer shook his head. ¡°We weren¡¯t in any position to go after them.¡± ¡°I could have!¡± ¡°And leave us behind?¡± Comet turned to Prosperity, feeling slightly betrayed by her words. Though, the moment she met her gaze, the fire inside of her died. Maybe it was the leftover frustration from having that guy in the black suit mess with her, but nobody got away from her ¨C at least not easily and not without her breaking a few bones. Even in a situation like this, it made her blood boil. She was supposed to be strong ¨C one of the best. ¡°No,¡± Comet resigned. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t mean it like that. Sorry. I just hate it when criminals get off scot free.¡± ¡°There¡¯s every chance they¡¯ve been captured. Remember, there are soldiers upstairs. If we can secure this place quickly, perhaps we¡¯ll be able to catch them before they manage to escape,¡± Ionizer said. ¡°But they cannot be the priority. These people come first. Surely, we all agree on that.¡± Comet ignored her pride and nodded. As much as she wanted to, she couldn¡¯t argue that point. It was unbecoming of a hero. ¡°Yeah, we can.¡± ¡°Good. Now, let¡¯s clean this place up.¡± Having gathered their bearings, they went back to clearing out the remaining drones. Ionizer did most of the heavy lifting, blasting drones that were in groups. Comet immobilized the fleeing drones that tried to scamper around the edges toward Prosperity, and crushed them, while the new rookie transformed and ripped through any drone that came near her. In minutes, the bunker was clear with scrap metal littering the floor. Most of the destruction had missed the vats but a few weren¡¯t so lucky. They were leaking fluid and several machines were blaring out warnings. A quick glance told Comet that the systems were undergoing critical failures, including life support. ¡°How do we get these people out?¡± Prosperity asked. Ionizer¡¯s lips thinned in thought, but Comet wasn¡¯t the patient type. Those machines were damaged from the fight and she couldn¡¯t just leave them in there. Reaching out with her aura, she shattered the damaged vats and caught the victims before they fell and hurt themselves. Ionizer was quick to move. He climbed the broken tank and reached through her telekinetic aura to remove the more finicky equipment. ¡°These people need to be examined by specialists,¡± Ionizer concluded, checking their vitals. ¡°They appear to be stable but there¡¯s no telling what kind of condition they are in,¡± he reached up to his headpiece and tried to radio for help. ¡°Signal¡¯s blocked. It seems this bunker has a jammer. We need to get back to the surface.¡± ¡°Um¡­ about that,¡± Prosperity pointed back at the entrance. ¡°Guys?¡± Comet and Ionizer turned to see a black cloud of darkness wash down into the bunker like water. ¡°Comet!¡± Ionizer barked with the most urgency. She threw out her aura as far as she could to attempt to halt the oncoming tide. There was an air of anticipation the moment the darkness hit her aura and a feeling of dread pooled in her stomach. She could almost feel something¡­ but didn¡¯t have the words to describe it. ¡°Since when does this guy do anything!?¡± Comet breathed, feeling the pressure against the barrier. The darkness was pushing but wasn¡¯t making much headway. ¡°Of all the times, he decides to get involved NOW!?¡± ¡°That girl was telling the truth then. It seems our data on Grim is outdated,¡± Ionizer murmured. ¡°I should¡¯ve known. A place this well defended would¡¯ve been on his orders.¡± He sounded bizarrely calm considering the situation they were in now. ¡°Since when has he ever cared about this sort of stuff?¡± Comet snapped. ¡°He¡¯s never been this aggressive before!¡± ¡°That¡¯s only been the case since he arrived in Bayside,¡± Ionizer replied. ¡°His lack of aggression has always been a point of contention. You¡¯ve just grown complacent to his presence here. You haven¡¯t seen the destruction he¡¯s left in his wake across the world.¡± ¡°Oh, whatever,¡± she growled. ¡°How are we going to get out of this? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe to move,¡± she tried pushing against the shadow and was met with resistance ¨C the strongest she had ever felt. ¡°We¡¯re stuck here. I can¡¯t move against him!¡± ¡°How long do you think you can hold him off?¡± Comet felt her hands start sweating as her barrier started slowly receding. She had fought some of Bayside¡¯s most ruthless villains despite only being a rookie. She had helped capture them too, but Grim? Grim was someone even her mom wouldn¡¯t go near. There was a crushing sense of dread that made speaking difficult. Nobody knew how Grim¡¯s powers worked except that he killed whatever his shadow touched. Now, the only thing between them and the shadow was her slowly shrinking sparkling bubble. ¡°At the rate he¡¯s going, a couple of hours? He¡¯s not making much progress,¡± Comet said, trying to peer through Grim¡¯s shadow. Unfortunately, it was like staring into an abyss. ¡°But his shadow is definitely pushing against me and I can¡¯t regain what I¡¯m losing.¡± ¡°I¨CI think I can hear him,¡± Prosperity stuttered. ¡°What the hell IS that?¡± There was raw panic in her voice. ¡°Don¡¯t panic. I pulled you two into this mess. I will get us out,¡± Ionizer pulled a device from the belt of his costume. He then reached down to the unconscious civilians and pressed their fingers against the screen of it. Once he was done, he offered it to Prosperity and Comet. ¡°A contact of mine has re-engineered this piece of Mechatech for personal use. It¡¯s been cleared by the ECU.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Deep breath,¡± Ionizer said. It was the only warning they got before he activated the device. There was a surge of¡­ something before the world flipped. Comet felt her stomach jump into her mouth before dropping right back into her gut. She lost control of her power as she fell to the ground, collapsing on solid concrete. Lifting her head and resisting the urge to vomit, she managed to see where they ended up. It was the deployment garage, underneath the ECU Headquarters. Any questions were immediately put aside as the violent sound of retching came from Prosperity. ¡°You may experience some major nausea, tinnitus, and blurred vision,¡± Ionizer casually mentioned as Prosperity¡¯s dinner splattered across the concrete below her. ¡°But I can assure you that there are no long term side effects.¡± ¡°We teleported,¡± Comet gasped, shakily climbing to her feet. Her ears were ringing and her stomach still felt like it was about to rebel against her, but she fought back the urge. ¡°Since when does the ECU have teleportation tech?¡± Ionizer was quiet for a moment, his stare unnerving her ever-so-slightly. ¡°They do not. Not yet,¡± he looked down at the device in his hand. He then reached down and picked up the beacon he had left prior to starting the trip. ¡°I¡¯ve been working with the higher ups to draft a contract for one of my contacts. For now, I¡¯d appreciate it if you kept this quiet. They don¡¯t like unnecessary attention.¡± ¡°What?¡± Comet shook her head, confused. ¡°Who doesn¡¯t?¡± ¡°My contact.¡± ¡°And who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Assuming I can get that contract for them, I¡¯ll be able to tell you.¡± ¡°I thought you said that this tech was approved!¡± ¡°It is.¡± Comet groaned, her stomach rolling again. She didn¡¯t have the strength to argue. ¡°Whatever. I need to¡­ lie down.¡± Prosperity whined, covering her mouth again. ¡°Take a moment to gather your bearings. It should pass momentarily,¡± Ionizer nodded. ¡°Once you two are okay to move, we¡¯ll go make our reports to command and then¡ª¡± Prosperity emptied her stomach again which led to Comet dry heaving. Ionizer¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°I¡¯ll call a cleaner as well.¡± Fruition 1 The morning came far too quickly and with far too many aches. My place in Sam¡¯s apartment building wasn¡¯t furnished yet so all I had to sleep on was the couch in the living room. It was comfortable enough but I much preferred a bed to stretch out and roll around on. Regardless, the couch served its purpose just fine. I would look into getting a proper bed in here later. I threw off the blanket draped over me and got up. This place had no amenities yet so I¡¯d have to use Sam¡¯s bathroom if I wanted to freshen up. It was a good thing I was going to head over there anyway. Before anything else, I reached for my phone and found Abby¡¯s number. The last I had seen of her was the battle down in the bunker and I needed to know if she made it out. I considered what kind of message I should send her, just to make sure I didn¡¯t give anything away. It needed to be normal, something that wouldn''t raise any suspicions that I knew what she had been doing last night. So I sent her a message asking if she wanted to meet up with the guys and Lucy this weekend to do something. I waited, the minutes ticking on with anxiety gnawing at my chest before my phone dinged with a response. ¡°Nah, soz dude. Got some hero biz. Some shit¡¯s going down. Will be busy.¡± Relief flooded me. She¡¯s alive. I slipped out of my abode and shuffled down the stairs to Sam¡¯s floor. Her apartment was quiet when I opened the door, so I tried to be courteous and limited the amount of noise I made. Ahead of me lying on the couch was the girl we had saved last night. Mia had several layers of blankets draped over her and was comfortably snoozing away the morning. She had started shivering when we brought her in so Sam had been quick to warm her up. Anomaly was lying in an awkward position on one of the armchairs. Sam had given him a pillow for the floor but it seems he had transitioned from one place to the other at some point during the night. He was awake but only barely and he obviously got very little sleep. There was a light clattering of dishes coming from the kitchen and I walked in to find Sam trying to make breakfast with the eclectic mix of appliances she had managed to steal. Their quality ranged from cheap knockoff trash to borderline luxury. ¡°Hey.¡± Sam looked over her shoulder. ¡°Morning. Pancakes?¡± ¡°Is that what you¡¯re trying to make?¡± I asked, walking over to help out. She had all the ingredients out along with the correct tools for the job. ¡°Off to a good start. How¡¯d you sleep?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had better,¡± she replied, making a so-so gesture. ¡°Mia stirred at around seven this morning. She seems to be recovering okay. I¡¯m hoping that the smell of breakfast will get her up.¡± I couldn¡¯t tear my eyes away from the innumerable patches that covered Sam¡¯s arms and face. She was wearing a bathrobe so I wasn¡¯t privy to the extent of her injuries, but even what I could see wasn¡¯t comforting. The patches that were revealed sported a discolored brown stain, the blood having dried overnight. It certainly didn¡¯t help that she was looking paler than usual, I was honestly surprised she was able to stand and walk around. ¡°You look well.¡± ¡°Well I sure as shit don¡¯t feel it,¡± Sam admitted. ¡°I¡¯m queasy and stiff. Bright side is it¡¯s not as bad as getting shot. Those needles were designed to incapacitate so¡­ small mercies I guess. More than anything I¡¯m just drowsy,¡± she gestured to all the discolored bandages. ¡°I should probably take these off. Mind taking over?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± We swapped places and Sam retreated to the bathroom. A couple of minutes later, she was back, minus all the bandages. There were a couple of notable wounds but now it just looked like she had been scratched by a cat. ¡°How about you? Comet wasn¡¯t exactly gentle with us and you¡¯re still pretty squishy in that suit.¡± My back ached at her reminder. It was a dull throb but it was one ache among many. Almost every muscle in my body was sore and it just served to drive home that I needed to get into shape if I was going to continue this lifestyle. It wasn¡¯t going to be easy on my body and while I could think of several shortcuts, none of them would be easy. ¡°It¡¯s manageable,¡± I gave my shoulders a roll. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel great, but it could have been much worse.¡± Sam chuckled. ¡°You have no idea how many times I¡¯ve said that to myself. ¡®Could have been worse¡¯ is like my motto.¡± ¡°I have a feeling it¡¯ll be mine as well soon,¡± I replied, amused. ¡°Still, it went pretty badly last night. That¡¯s easily the closest shave with death I¡¯ve ever had. I don¡¯t know about you, but I think I could do without any more of that for a while.¡± ¡°Definitely a close call,¡± Sam looked over her shoulder at Anomaly and grumbled under her breath. ¡°All because someone panicked. I thought we were done for. I wasn¡¯t sure if I was going to be able to get you out.¡± ¡°You were planning on escaping by using Purple,¡± I said. Sam nodded, which led me to another conclusion. ¡°And given how she is, you weren¡¯t sure you¡¯d be able to switch in time to get me out. You would have left me behind.¡± A pained expression spread across her face. ¡°Max¡­¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s cool. I totally get it,¡± I said. I wasn¡¯t angry. Far from it. I completely understood the gravity of that situation. If Sam had managed to get out with Purple and tried to rescue me, the soldiers could use lethal force. Red was strong but I doubted she could withstand some of the weapons those ECU guys carried around. ¡°There¡¯s no ideal solution in a situation like that. Even considering what happened¡­¡± The memory left a bitter taste in my mouth. All those men died, hopefully quick and painlessly. I had been wishing for a way out and it looks like a monkey''s paw heard my plea. Despite that, I couldn¡¯t help but be glad about how it turned out. Another much larger part felt incredibly guilty for that. ¡°We¡¯re both more effective when there¡¯s time to plan and we couldn¡¯t take a force like that head on. I¡¯d have tried my best to get you out later, but in the moment¡­ I¡¯d have done the same thing,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m glad you understand,¡± Sam said with a sigh of relief. ¡°Let¡¯s just make sure we¡¯re never put into that kind of situation again,¡± I replied. ¡°I don¡¯t want to ever have to make that decision.¡± I met Sam¡¯s gaze and saw genuine happiness. We shared in the moment for a while before a yawn coming from behind us ruined the moment. We turned to see Anomaly standing at the counter separating the kitchen from the living room. He was still dressed in the outfit he wore last night since he had no change of clothes, however, his facemask was absent. ¡°Smells good,¡± he said, peering past us at the pancakes. ¡°Hell yeah, just what I need. How long?¡± Sam crossed her arms. ¡°Who said you¡¯re getting any?¡± His mouth opened but no words came out. His shoulders slumped as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°Oh.¡± Sam cracked a smile. ¡°Kidding. You think I¡¯d exclude a guest? I know I can be a bitch but I¡¯m not that bad.¡± Anomaly was quick to lighten up and even shared in her amusement. ¡°So,¡± she continued. ¡°Does our surprisingly short, freaky, cosmic horror from beyond all creation have a name? Or are you one of those edgy types that says their ¡®old identity died the day they awakened to the truth¡¯ or some other crap?¡± Anomaly frowned. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Your name, dude,¡± I supplied. ¡°I¡¯m Max, and she¡¯s Sam.¡± ¡°Oh shit. Yeah, sorry. Uh, I¡¯m Liam.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to finally meet you properly,¡± Sam said, depositing two freshly cooked pancakes onto a plate and sliding it across the counter toward him. ¡°Here¡¯s your hard earned reward for answering question number one.¡± Liam eagerly reached for the maple syrup but paused halfway. ¡°Question one?¡± Sam smiled. ¡°There¡¯s some other stuff we need to talk about, but I think the obvious question we need to get out of the way first is: are you going to stick around with us?¡± ¡°Do you really have to ask? You guys really stuck your necks out to help me save Mia. You¡¯re the closest thing I¡¯ve had to friends in years,¡± he said. He opened his mouth to say something else but nothing came out. He cringed a little as he stared at us. ¡°That¡­ sounded way less pathetic in my head. I can do a do over?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not alone. I don¡¯t have any friends either,¡± Sam said casually. I turned and stared with clear surprise. ¡°What? Do you really think someone like me is capable of making friends with normal people?¡± I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to respond. ¡°I mean¡­¡± If she has no friends, what does she do at school all day? ¡°I already told you, I go to school to gather information. The only ¡®friends¡¯ I make are to keep up appearances. I try to keep them at arm''s length,¡± Sam explained. ¡°I¡¯m not used to growing attached. I¡¯ve been jumping from place to place for a long time now. Friends were a burden I couldn¡¯t afford,¡± she said with complete seriousness. At our stares, she groaned and doused one of her pancakes with butterscotch syrup. ¡°Oh, you know what I mean! I don¡¯t mean now. I meant before.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Sounds lonely,¡± Liam said, stuffing his mouth full of pancakes. ¡°It sucks, but I get it.¡± I couldn¡¯t imagine being completely isolated. I had so many people around me that sometimes I felt like I was suffocating, especially around holidays. Lucy came over so often that the guest room was basically hers; something that Jackson and Chris even pointed out to me when they visited. Sam had no one and from the sounds of it, Liam didn¡¯t either. Well, aside from this Mia girl, but even then I couldn¡¯t be sure about what their relationship was. ¡°That¡¯s typically how it ends up for people like us, except for our social butterfly here,¡± Sam nudged and winked at me. Liam gave me a strange look. I just shook my head. ¡°I have like four friends, six if I¡¯m counting you and Sam. I¡¯m hardly a social butterfly.¡± Sam gasped dramatically. ¡°I thought we were the best of friends! Yet you leave me as a mere afterthought?¡± ¡°I¡¯d leave you as less than an afterthought if I could. But speaking of friends, have you figured out when our guest is going to wake up?¡± I asked, changing the subject. Sam looked like she wanted to punch me but I soldiered on. ¡°If she doesn¡¯t, we might need to start thinking about dehydration or starvation¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, you worry too much. She¡¯s fine,¡± Sam waved me off. ¡°She just needs to rest. Her body and mind are still adjusting to normalcy. She went through some serious punishment, even if she probably won¡¯t remember it.¡± ¡°She won¡¯t remember? Did they fuck with her head or something?¡± Liam asked, concerned. Sam shook her head. ¡°No, no, nothing like that. For the most part they weren¡¯t conscious during the tests, so there¡¯s a good chance she¡¯ll just be confused when she wakes up. What she went through might feel like some sort of nightmare to her ¨C something she can barely recall. It¡¯ll be in her subconscious though. She¡¯ll be aware that something has happened. Honestly what I¡¯m most concerned about is the dysmorphia, her body changed a lot in a very short time.¡± I recalled what Gold had said last night, pertaining to an Artificial Awakening. ¡°You said that those people were undergoing an Artificial Awakening. Will Mia have powers?¡± I asked, looking over toward the couch. ¡°Maybe we should move her somewhere where collateral damage isn¡¯t an issue?¡± Sam pursed her lips before shaking her head again. ¡°I considered that. It¡¯s better for her to wake up here. Gold says it¡¯ll help put her at ease when she comes to; even better if Liam sticks around. If we move her somewhere else then the chances for a bad reaction increase dramatically.¡± That was a little risky ¡ªassuming Mia did get powers¡ª but if she was willing to risk her apartment, then that was her prerogative. I suppose we could always make repairs, assuming there was a building left. ¡°It¡¯s your apartment,¡± I shrugged. It wasn¡¯t like it was my place in danger of going up in flames if things went wrong. ¡°If you¡¯re sure.¡± ¡°I am. She will be fine.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Liam chimed in. ¡°I¡¯ll be here and she¡¯s not the type to panic¡­ I think.¡± I looked at Sam. ¡°So, when will she wake up?¡± ¡°Today, hopefully. Most likely tomorrow. Absolute worst case? I¡¯m wrong, you have to whip up some medical equipment and we have Orange take care of her,¡± Sam shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m almost certain that won¡¯t happen though. Gold says there¡¯s no indication we¡¯ll get to that point.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I said, finishing off my breakfast. I turned my attention to Liam. ¡°What about you? You okay sticking with us?¡± ¡°I¡­ already said yes?¡± He hesitated for a moment, looking over his shoulder toward Mia before running his hand through his messy bed hair. ¡°I want to make sure she¡¯s okay. Look, I don¡¯t really have much going for me,¡± he edged a cautious look toward Sam. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much your¡­ powers were able to figure out, but I¡¯m not in the best place right now. I could use somewhere away from home in case things don¡¯t work out between me and my uncle.¡± Sam gave him a sympathetic look. ¡°I¡¯ve been there.¡± ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯m not so confident after last night,¡± he shook his head. ¡°I almost fucked everything up. Those ECU guys almost got me¨C no, they did get me,¡± he said, looking like he couldn¡¯t believe his own words. ¡°If that happens again without someone to save my ass, I¡¯m screwed.¡± ¡°Have you encountered them before?¡± Sam asked. Liam squinted in thought before nodding. ¡°A couple times. It was a while ago. Really brief too. I ran into Lich first, we didn¡¯t even get into a fight. Then a few weeks later, Sparrow tried to bring me in. Didn¡¯t work out so well for her.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve developed countermeasures for you,¡± Sam summarized. ¡°Gold¡¯s been able to figure out some things about your powers but you¡¯re giving her a hard time.¡± Liam shrugged helplessly. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯d tell you if I knew. My powers just¡­ work. I don¡¯t really think about the details.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m just trying to say that the ECU undoubtedly has one of their Mentalists studying you and working with their containment specialists. The stuff they hit you with last night? Experimental tech,¡± Sam lightly bit her lip in thought. ¡°Maybe not for you specifically but it¡¯s fairly new capture tech that they¡¯ve been using for some time now.¡± ¡°Last few months,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve talked about it with my friends at school. Abby¨C er, Comet told us about it. How long have you had your powers?¡± ¡°¡®Bout a year and a half.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°And your encounters with Lich and Sparrow?¡± Liam shook his head and huffed. ¡°Man, I don¡¯t know. Must have been like¡­ sixish months ago? Feels like ages.¡± I shared a glance with Sam. ¡°That sounds like it lines up. New tech developed by the ECU after encountering you.¡± ¡°That sounds like them,¡± Sam agreed. ¡°If you stick with us, we¡¯ll watch out for each other. Supers last much longer working with a team after all. Independents are lucky to last a year. Sooner or later, everyone gets dragged into something. Whether it¡¯s the ECU, a team like us, or some gang. No one is strong enough to make it solo.¡± Liam scoffed. ¡°Not even Grim?¡± ¡°He formed the Cains, didn¡¯t he? Everyone¡¯s got someone. Even the almighty Ajax,¡± Sam pointed to the ceiling to emphasize her point. ¡°Big ol¡¯ space station and the ECU still managed to rope the guy into an alliance. I haven¡¯t the slightest clue how, but they did.¡± ¡°So what now?¡± I asked, looking toward our de facto leader. ¡°The Cains must be hurting more than ever. Now the ECU has to go after him in earnest and that¡¯s a fight no one wins. Soon, Grim¡¯ll start losing ground and any support along with it; and if Mirage really is playing his own game, he¡¯ll take advantage of the chaos.¡± ¡°What now indeed¡­¡± Sam mused. ¡°For now, I think it¡¯s best if we wait for the sleeping beauty to wake up,¡± she turned to me, ¡°and the two of us can brainstorm some gear for you to make. Maybe do a bit of shopping. We can¡¯t go wrong with more toys,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll try and get in touch with Springsong and see how the Queen¡¯s Court feels about all of this. I still need to tell her about what we found down there, if they don¡¯t know already.¡± ¡°How would they know?¡± Liam asked. ¡°ECU spies,¡± Sam answered easily. ¡°Sympathizers and those loyal to Gaea. It¡¯ll get back to them in some way but if it comes from us, it might get us some brownie points.¡± I couldn¡¯t suppress the urge to chuckle. ¡°Since when did you want to impress QC?¡± ¡°Hey, just because we¡¯re technically competing doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t have good relations,¡± she replied. ¡°And I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯d rather be on the good side of the one with S-Class backing.¡± Liam gave a mock salute. ¡°I¡¯m with you there. No way I¡¯m testing my powers against her. I¡¯ve stayed far away from QC¡¯s territory and plan to keep it that way.¡± ¡°Smart,¡± Sam said. ¡°For now though, I think it¡¯s best we wait and see how everything plays out. If Gold¡¯s right, shit is about to hit the fan and the whole city is going to be reeling,¡± she took a breath and exhaled slowly. ¡°The ECU can¡¯t keep this quiet, Grim was too noticeable, caused too much destruction and too many people died. The whole city is going to be on a witch hunt for the Cains.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good, right?¡± Liam asked, his gaze flicking between me and Sam. ¡°That means he can¡¯t hide.¡± ¡°Good and bad,¡± Sam chewed her lip a little. ¡°Push Grim too far and he¡¯ll go scorched earth. I can¡¯t overstate how bad that could be. I¡¯m talking about a potential city wide evacuation or quarantine.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Liam frowned. ¡°Yeah that¡¯d be bad.¡± ¡°The upside is that all the attention will be on him. Now¡¯s going to be a good chance to find his weakness ¡ªif it even exists¡ª and take him down. After he¡¯s gone, the Cains will crumble,¡± Sam said, her smile growing. ¡°Which gives us the unique opportunity to slip in and strip his little empire for all it¡¯s worth. Territory and all.¡± ¡°Territory?¡± Liam said, sounding concerned. Sam shrugged. ¡°Someone¡¯s gotta fill the void. If we don¡¯t, Pandora will. Or the ECU. Do you want that?¡± ¡°No, but how are we supposed to hold part of the city? I don¡¯t even know where to start,¡± Liam looked at me. I just shook my head and shrugged. ¡°You don¡¯t either?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still on the fence about the whole territory idea,¡± I admitted. ¡°It brings a bunch of heat and puts us in clear opposition to the ECU.¡± ¡°We¡¯re already opposed,¡± Sam argued. ¡°You both need to understand that. If you¡¯re not with them, you¡¯re against them. That¡¯s how they operate.¡± ¡°Yeah. Yeah I know how they operate,¡± Liam nodded in agreement. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ man, holding territory? Not sure if I¡¯m up for that,¡± he awkwardly rolled his shoulders. ¡°I can¡¯t even stay in school or get decent grades. How the hell am I supposed to hold a piece of the city?¡± Sam snorted and rolled her eyes. ¡°You let me worry about that. It¡¯s not nearly as difficult as you think it is.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I asked in disbelief. ¡°Our Mayor has a good fifty years on us, twenty-five to thirty of that being political experience and he¡¯s barely keeping the city together with government backing. How are we supposed to be any better?¡± Sam groaned. ¡°You¡¯re missing the point. We have powers, Max. All we have to do is treat the community better than the Cains. Think of it like¡­ hm,¡± she paused for a moment. ¡°Think of it as being a local hero. You set the standards, enforce them, and people will follow suit. That¡¯s all it really is.¡± I shared a look with Liam and I could tell we were both on a similar wavelength. ¡°You want all that responsibility?¡± He asked. ¡°Why? Why can¡¯t we just¡­ you know, fly under the radar, do our own thing?¡± I could see Sam resist the urge to scream. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took another deep breath to steady herself. ¡°I have spent so much of my life with no place for myself, nowhere I belong,¡± her tone was sharp and steady, like it could explode any moment. ¡°I¡¯ve tried to fit in. I¡¯ve tried to find somewhere where I could be¡ª¡± She stopped herself and laid her hands flat on the table. ¡°The details don¡¯t matter, but I eventually decided if I couldn¡¯t find that place, I¡¯d just make it myself. That¡¯s why¡­ That¡¯s why I need this.¡± I found myself at a loss. I looked over to Liam and saw that he was slowly nodding. I opened my mouth to speak but stopped when I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. I reached for it and unlocked it to see some messages from Mom. ¡°I want to talk to you. I don¡¯t care where you are or what you¡¯re doing, but I need you to come home right now.¡± My stomach churned and the pancakes threatened to come back up. Fruition 2 Dread had become a familiar companion over the last few weeks, so much so that I¡¯d buy it a drink if I was old enough. Something had happened and now Mom wanted me home, enough to text and make demands. She rarely ever did that but when she did, it was usually because I had fucked up badly. My first thought was that she had discovered that I had powers. The timing was too convenient and felt like the most obvious conclusion. The second was that she was annoyed that I had been out all night, which I didn¡¯t feel warranted a response like that. She must know about my powers. My gut twisted as I tried to piece together what had happened. I sent Alex a message and I got a response instantly claiming that she hadn¡¯t said anything to Mom. Unless she was lying, the only culprit left was Lucy, and given her emotional state at school yesterday, I wouldn¡¯t have put it past her to do something like this. I replied, telling Mom that I was on my way. All the way, I couldn¡¯t escape the miserable feeling that my life was about to come to an end ¨C my freedom stripped from me. If Mom knew about what I was doing, I wouldn¡¯t be able to lie my way out of it. There was no feasible way I could twist any truths here and even if I did, I knew I¡¯d end up with more holes in my story than a sinking ship. How am I going to do this? I faced my house like it was my grave. There had to be some way out and I didn¡¯t want to get Sam or Liam involved. Sam had given me a knowing look as I dipped out of the apartment. She even texted me while I was en route to see if I was okay. I hadn¡¯t responded. Not yet. I didn¡¯t know what to say. Maybe I could¡¯ve said that it was family drama, but then I had the sneaking suspicion that while facing Mom, Sam would show up at my front door and interject herself to try and make things better. I didn¡¯t want that to happen ¨C at least not yet. Let''s call that a last resort. More than anything, I wanted to keep Upgrade and Maxis as separate as possible, despite how difficult it was becoming. Opening the front door, I stepped inside. The house was warm, the heat pump in the hallway hummed as it worked to keep everything warm. I tried to look around for anything that seemed out of place, but so far, nothing was jumping out at me. I had suspected the possibility that something more immediate had compelled her to message me with urgency, but I couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°I¡¯m home!¡± I waited a few moments for the angry shout, demanding I go to the living room or the kitchen. Instead, I was met with the sound of tweeting. It drew my attention upward to the hanging lights in the hallway. Small little birds watched me, tweeting intermittently. I opened my mouth to speak but my mother¡¯s voice cut me off. ¡°I¡¯m in the kitchen!¡± Birds in the house? I moved with caution, unfolding the paper bag I had brought with me. I bought some donuts from the bakery, Mom¡¯s favorite, as a peace offering. ¡°I¡¯ve come bearing¡­¡± my voice died in my throat as I entered the kitchen. Mom was sitting at the table looking uncertain. However, she was not the only one present. Sat across from her was one of Bayside¡¯s most iconic heroes. ¡°...gifts?¡± Beneath her cowl, Sparrow¡¯s lips curled into an amused grin. She stood from her chair and strolled over. ¡°Hello! Maxis, right? Your mother has been kind enough to invite me in. We were just talking about you..¡± That explains the birds. She extended a hand in a friendly greeting. Sparrow was short; so short that I towered over her. I had always thought the stories about her height were embellished for laughs. Now, I had to admit that there was some truth to them. She looked about 4¡¯9, maybe a bit more if I was being generous. ¡°...Really?¡± I had to force the word out. I returned the gesture and shook her hand, despite how close my knees were to buckling under my own weight. Thankfully, I had gotten much better at holding my nerves recently. ¡°I hope she didn¡¯t tell you anything too embarrassing.¡± My gaze flicked to Mom and I was met with a blank expression. She tried to keep her feelings neutral but I knew her well enough to see that she absolutely detested Sparrow¡¯s presence. Nothing would change her view on the Government-mandated heroes, regardless of how charming and cherry they were. The only question that plagued me was why Mom even invited her inside in the first place. ¡°Hah! Unfortunately, no. She¡¯s been telling me how well you¡¯ve been doing at school,¡± Sparrow gushed. ¡°I hope when I have kids that they¡¯re half as dedicated as you,¡± she leaned in close. ¡°Just between you and me, I was a real ditz when I went through school,¡± she pulled away and burst out laughing. ¡°Anyway! I was hoping you¡¯d be able to answer a few questions, if that¡¯s okay?¡± I felt cold, my mind running at a million miles an hour, trying to think of anywhere I had slipped up. Lucy came to mind but again, she wouldn¡¯t rat me out to the ECU. We were closer than that, despite how upset she might¡¯ve been about all this. Sparrow had to be here for something else. The heist? The timing was too convenient. It had to be related. Alex showed me that they had info on my super persona, but not enough to glean my identity. Unless that information was outdated or false, then there had to be another reason for this meeting. Sparrow would be arresting me on the spot if she knew I was Upgrade ¨C if the ECU had evidence, which meant they didn¡¯t. What the hell is she here for? Numbly, I sat down. Her casual ¨C almost carefree attitude threatened to lull me into a feeling of safety and ease, but I had to remind myself that at any moment, ECU soldiers could burst in. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose I have a choice?¡± I joked lightly, taking a seat at the table. Sparrow tilted her head curiously. ¡°Of course you do! I was just hoping you¡¯d tell me what you know.¡± I swallowed as subtly as I could. ¡°What about?¡± Sparrow reached down next to her and pulled out a folder from a bag, opened it, and placed a couple of photos down on the table. The quality of the images varied. Some had been taken on phones by bystanders and were of the men that I vaguely recognized as the ones who had been chasing me. Other photos seemed to be digital recreations of persons of interest. So this is about that? They shouldn¡¯t have any photos of me there. I made sure to disable the building¡¯s cameras. ¡°Suspects for the car theft?¡± I asked, looking across to Sparrow. She gave an idle shrug in response. ¡°You want to see if I can identify any of them?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re able.¡± I couldn¡¯t get it out of my head that they had come all the way to our house just to ask this. There had to be more to it than that. Was it a misdirection? I was really starting to regret not inviting Sam. Some guidance from Gold in what the hell Sparrow was trying to achieve here would have been great. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you''re hoping for here. I have no idea what happened and I wasn¡¯t anywhere near my car when it was stolen,¡± I gestured aimlessly to the photos. ¡°None of these guys.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, that¡¯s fine,¡± Sparrow nodded. She pulled out another photo and added it to the pile. ¡°What about this one?¡± This one I knew. Bonesmith, I wanted to say. It was a trick though and I was grateful I managed to catch on before I opened my mouth. Only his mugshot of him in his costume and mask was public knowledge. The photo in front of me was him in his civilian attire ¨C what he had worn when he chased me and Sam. ¡°Nope, sorry.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Sparrow asked. My gaze met hers and I knew instantly that she didn¡¯t believe me. I opened my mouth to respond but Mom beat me to the punch. ¡°I didn¡¯t invite you into my home so you could interrogate my son, Ms. Sparrow,¡± Mom said with a cold edge to her voice. ¡°I¡¯m all for helping you put these criminals away, but if my son says he didn¡¯t see these people, then he didn¡¯t.¡± Sparrow turned and I could imagine her blinking in shock under her mask. ¡°Ah! Sorry, sorry. I don¡¯t mean to imply suspicion. I have no doubts he¡¯s telling the truth. I¡¯m really sorry.¡± ¡°So long as we¡¯re clear,¡± Mom replied evenly. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. It was unlike her to speak so coldly to her guests, no matter who they were. ¡°Is there anything else you wish to ask?¡± ¡°Just a few things.¡± ¡°Did Abby put you up to this?¡± The question had popped into my mind and rolled off my tongue without any thought. Sparrow looked at me and didn¡¯t reply immediately. I was beginning to suspect that Abby had ignored my request to drop the subject about my car. ¡°Did she ask you to come?¡± If she did, then it was a bit of a dick move to not warn me. Sparrow pursed her lips. ¡°What makes you say that?¡± ¡°She¡¯s my friend, a hero, and my car was stolen by people who happened to be chased by The Cains. I mentioned it to her so I¡¯m wondering if you¡¯re here because of that.¡± Sparrow nodded in understanding. ¡°Ah, I see. No, I¡¯m not here at Abby¡¯s behest. I¡¯m just conducting my own investigation.¡± ¡°I thought Ionizer was supposed to be doing this sorta stuff now,¡± I frowned, giving the heroine a curious stare. ¡°Abby said you were moving and had given up the position to him.¡± ¡°Ionizer is¡­¡± Sparrow paused with a grimace. She looked pained and I suddenly felt very suspicious about what had happened in the Bunker after I escaped. Had Grim killed him? ¡°Ionizer is very new to the position and is still adjusting. He is also preoccupied with another investigation,¡± she answered diplomatically. ¡°I offered to help to ease the burden. Things can get quite intense around here sometimes.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. That¡¯s gotta be about Grim and the Bunker. ¡°That¡¯s all well and good but I¡¯m afraid we are bereft of the information you¡¯re looking for,¡± Mom cut in, eager to move things along. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else?¡± The implication was clear. Mom wanted her gone. ¡°Well, you never know what you¡¯ll miss by leaving stones unturned,¡± Sparrow quipped, trying to ease the growing tension. ¡°I just want to make sure we''ve got all the facts straight before proceeding,¡± she thought for a moment, pondering what to ask next. ¡°Did you see anything at the mall that you would consider unusual?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°What time did you realize your car was stolen?¡± ¡°When I left to go home.¡± ¡°When was that?¡± I shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t remember. Four-Thirty? Five? I wasn¡¯t keeping track of time.¡± Sparrow flipped through a few pages in her folder. ¡°How¡¯d you get home?¡± ¡°Called for a ride,¡± I pulled out my phone and showed her the app. ¡°It took ages because of the traffic. I assume it was because of everything that went down on the highway?¡± ¡°Yep, it wasn¡¯t pretty,¡± Sparrow nodded grimly. She collected the photos and slotted them back into the document. ¡°Alright, that should about do it. Thank you both for your time, I¡¯ll make sure to keep you both updated on if we find anything.¡± I blinked, confused. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Sparrow stared at me and I could only guess that her eyebrow had raised behind her cowl. ¡°Do you have anything more you¡¯d like to add?¡± I felt uneasy like I had missed something. I rewound her questions in my head and tried to find anything that would give me away. For the life of me, I couldn¡¯t find anything dubious with them. ¡°No, sorry. I don¡¯t know anything.¡± The seconds she stared at me felt like an eternity. When she finally smiled, I released a breath I didn¡¯t know I was holding. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll leave you two in peace. If you two learn anything, please don¡¯t hesitate to call!¡± Sparrow said, leaving the kitchen. Mom and I saw her out the door, her birds flying to her. I watched as the heroine jumped, catapulting herself into the sky. I shut the door and turned to Mom. ¡°Well, that was weird,¡± I said, trying to lighten the mood. ¡°Where were you last night?¡± Mom¡¯s tone was still rigid. It then occurred to me that her demanding text message probably had nothing to do with Sparrow. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time and I¡¯ve noticed a pattern.¡± ¡°I was out with friends.¡± ¡°Out with friends?¡± Mom¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Jackson and Chris?¡± ¡°Nah, friends from work.¡± ¡°You made friends from work?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°You told me there wasn¡¯t anyone there your age.¡± I exhaled tiredly to buy myself some time to think of an excuse. ¡°They¡¯re new hires.¡± Mom didn¡¯t look convinced. There was a suspicious glint in her eyes and I could tell she was weighing up whether she should believe me or not. ¡°I see.¡± ¡°It was late, so I crashed at their place last night. I¡¯m pretty tired,¡± I said. ¡°You had me worried. I thought something serious had happened.¡± ¡°When a hero like Sparrow shows up at your front door and asks to speak to your son, only to find out he isn¡¯t home, a mother tends to get a bit worried,¡± Mom chastised. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as she shook her head. ¡°When you¡¯re going to be out late or staying somewhere else, at least have the courtesy to leave a message telling me where you are and when you¡¯re getting back. I thought the worst had happened.¡± Guilt ate away at me like acid and I relented. ¡°Sorry, it won¡¯t happen again.¡± ¡°Good. Now, have you had breakfast?¡± I could still taste the lingering aftertaste of Sam¡¯s pancakes. ¡°Yeah. I already ate.¡± I lingered downstairs with Mom making idle chatter while I did some chores. She grilled me for a bit about my new friends and I answered truthfully, seeing no reason to really lie about what Sam was like. I had to fill in some gaps about Liam, seeing as I didn¡¯t know him well enough yet. When Mom was satisfied, I retreated upstairs to shower before going to my room. I collapsed onto my bed, rolling over before staring at the ceiling, last night¡¯s events looping in my head. So many moments where I had been flirting with death, only to come out intact. I didn¡¯t have time to consider it in the moment, but we had all been neck-deep in shit creek. Then there was Sparrow¡¯s intrusion¡­ I rolled over just in time for my phone to start buzzing. I checked it to find it was Alex calling. Convenient timing. I answered. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Finally!¡± Alex¡¯s false cheer made me snort. ¡°It¡¯s about time we got to talk. You never told me how things went last night. I assume things went wrong?¡± ¡°¡®Went wrong¡¯ would be a bit of an understatement,¡± I confirmed. ¡°But we managed to save Anomaly¡¯s friend and get out just fine.¡± ¡°Oh? Do tell.¡± I recounted everything, from the start of the operation to the very end. Alex remained silent throughout, only offering minor commentary when I brought up the Rookies and the discovery of the Bunker. She was particularly quiet when I told her what we found inside. ¡°We managed to escape. I saw Grim heading down into the building where Abby was. At the time, I was just focused on surviving, so I convinced myself she¡¯d be fine,¡± I rubbed my face as my selfishness felt like a knife twisting in my chest. ¡°I feel like total shit about it, even if she¡¯s convinced I¡¯m a villain.¡± ¡°It¡¯s her job and there¡¯s nothing you could have done. You were right to leave,¡± Alex said. I frowned as I lifted my phone to stare at the screen. I was expecting a very different answer, but not one that sounded so indifferent. ¡°Look bro, that¡¯s just how it is. I like the girl but better her than you. Plus, she got out anyway, didn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°I¡­ yeah. Yeah she did. No idea how though.¡± ¡°ECU¡¯s got all sorts of tricks up their sleeves,¡± Alex took another mouthful of pasta. ¡°Freaky to hear what was going on. After this the ECU will be on the offensive. Whoever was operating that bunker is gonna be feeling a tight squeeze I bet.¡± ¡°We still don¡¯t have the slightest clue as to who it is. Our best lead was the guy that Masquerade met with at the nightclub,¡± I said, drumming my fingers on my chest. ¡°But Sam can¡¯t figure it out and we don¡¯t even have a name.¡± ¡°I might,¡± I narrowed my eyes at the screen. Alex sat up and began typing. Her fingers were a blur for a few moments before coming to an abrupt stop. ¡°There have been a few Evohuman¡¯s across the world that are known to employ inhumane methods to induce Artificial Awakenings. There¡¯s Synthesis, but he was arrested in 1994 and ¡°committed suicide¡± a few months later. Metastasis is hiding out somewhere in Siberia. There¡¯s a few others buuuuut¡­¡± Alex paused for a moment, before typing again for a few seconds. ¡°...there¡¯s one here that fits. Splicer.¡± ¡°Splicer?¡± I shook my head and sighed. I needed to be more informed about all this shit. I was sick of hearing a name and not having the slightest clue who they were or what they did. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Born in Fiji. Moved to New Caledonia and Awakened there six months ago. Since then, he¡¯s moved to Melbourne, Sydney aaaaand¡­ based off of last night, guess where he is now?¡± My lips thinned. ¡°Bayside.¡± ¡°Bingo.¡± It changed very little but at least I had a name now. I could feed it to Sam and see what Gold could make of it. ¡°Well, whatever they¡¯re trying to achieve, it¡¯s pretty much screwed now. We busted their little secret wide open,¡± I said. ¡°Now we just have to wait for the ECU to clean up.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be too sure. People like that always have contingency plans,¡± Alex said. ¡°You ruined what was likely their main operation, but there will always be a second or third site. Maybe even a fourth. Never assume you¡¯ve won. Ever. Be prepared for anything and you¡¯ll never be surprised.¡± ¡°You sound like Sam.¡± ¡°Sam¡¯s a smart girl. She¡¯s still alive.¡± I grumbled and sat up, looking around my room. There had to be something I could do. All my gear was back at Sam¡¯s place and I still had 25 charges to spend. Given the shit that was about to start, I didn¡¯t want to have charges left on off-days like this. ¡°Do you know what happened this morning?¡± I asked, moving over to my closet. ¡°I assume Mom¡¯s already messaged you.¡± ¡°No?¡± I could hear the intrigue in her voice. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Sparrow showed up to our house. Mom invited her in¡ª¡± ¡°WHAT!?¡± I turned and looked over my shoulder at the phone I left on my bed. I could hear Alex seething. ¡°Ugh! Why did she¡ª you know what, never mind.¡± ¡°Yeah it caught me off-guard too.¡± ¡°What did she want?¡± ¡°Asked me about a bunch of stuff about how my car was ¡°stolen¡±. She tried to get me to identify some of The Cains as well.¡± ¡°...Shit.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I said, rummaging around in my closet. ¡°I was vague and didn¡¯t give her anything useful. Honestly, I lied about most of it.¡± ¡°Yeah, uh. That¡¯s bad.¡± I turned, confused. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I give it good odds that she had a Mentalist in her ear, listening in on your conversation. There¡¯s no telling what information they managed to pry from you,¡± Alex hissed. She wasn¡¯t angry at me from what I could tell, just mad in general. ¡°What the hell was Mom thinking!? Fuck!¡± ¡°She has no idea I have powers,¡± I said, feeling an oncoming storm of panic. ¡°And she didn¡¯t have any reason to turn Sparrow away. It would¡¯ve made Sparrow suspicious maybe? Shit,¡± I stood up and paced before checking outside my window. My street was the same as it always was. No sudden ECU presence outside. ¡°What do I do?¡± ¡°Nothing. Don¡¯t react. Assuming there was a mentalist listening, there¡¯s no telling what kind. Whatever information they got, they can¡¯t act on it, at least not directly. You¡¯ve gotta be careful now, bro. If they so much as suspect you of something, you¡¯ll be under watch.¡± ¡°I could end up leading them to Sam and Liam,¡± I bit my lip and pulled away from my window, shutting the curtains for good measure. Why did being a villain have to be so hard? ¡°I need to be certain what they do and don¡¯t know about me. Can you bring up their file on me?¡± I heard Alex typing. A minute later she was done. ¡°No updates for now but that could change once Sparrow¡¯s filed her report.¡± ¡°Please keep me updated,¡± I said. ¡°I need to know what they have on me.¡± ¡°Trust me bro, the moment something changes on here, I¡¯ll call you,¡± Alex said. ¡°What are you going to do in the meantime?¡± I considered my options for a moment. There were so many things to consider I almost felt overwhelmed. The ECU. Grim. The Cains. Masquerade. My Identity. So much bullshit had been added to my plate and I could barely keep up. The worst part? I knew this was only going to get worse. Moving to my desk, I powered on my laptop. It wasn¡¯t long before I was scrolling through web pages of hardware and electronic stores. ¡°Max?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to kick it up a notch. My equipment is good, but not enough,¡± I highlighted a handful of items and snapped a few photos of them on my phone. ¡°It¡¯s time I did some shopping.¡± Fruition 3 ¡°Thanks for your help today. Some of this wouldn¡¯t have even occurred to me if I did this alone.¡± Sam and I stared at the mountain of supplies stacked in the trunk of my car. Asking her to come along had been a last-minute change, one that had definitely paid off. I had spent most of Saturday making plans, spending my charges on an open-source Computer-Aided Design program I downloaded, and noting down what I wanted before Sunday rolled around. Once I was ready to set off, asking her to come along felt like the obvious choice. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s no problem. The more stuff you have to work with, the more it benefits all of us. Good plan with the 3D printer though, all you need is something vaguely functional right? With all this, you shouldn¡¯t need to scavenge for bits and bobs.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I agreed, rubbing my hands together with eager anticipation. ¡°Just gotta upgrade all this stuff first.¡± I had gone a bit wild and having Sam along only encouraged me. Not only did we buy several 3D printers, but I also invested in some powerful electronics to integrate into any future tech that might need it. The theory being that I could turn much of what I create ¡®smart¡¯ to open up more upgrade paths. We bought plenty of cameras, motion detectors, and hunting traps ¡ªpoints to Sam for that last one¡ª that we¡¯d be placing around the apartment complex to improve our security. Added to all that, we had also bought a small generator, which I fully intended to upgrade into a personal power station. Sam had said that once I had my workshop up and running at full capacity, the power being directed to the building would set off red flags. Sure the building had been condemned, but laziness on the city council¡¯s part meant they hadn¡¯t bothered to cut off the water mains or electricity. It was a huge hazard, but apparently, that was normal in Groves Den. As far as the local council was concerned, if these buildings burnt down then it¡¯d save them on demolition costs, and if they took out a couple squatters? Then no one would miss them anyway. In the end, we¡¯d need something off the grid if we were going to get by undetected. While filling up a generator and buying fuel would be annoying in the short term, I could always upgrade away those issues. We briefly considered solar panels but with school, I¡¯d mostly be using my workshop in the evenings or at night. We still picked some up though since there are plenty of other projects I could use them in. Sam estimated that if we had three full weeks uninterrupted, we¡¯d be able to turn the apartment complex into a fortress that would be able to run almost independently of the city, outside of the need for water. The likelihood of that happening though was almost zero. I¡¯d simply have to settle with doing as much as I could before the next crisis popped up. Sadly, given that we were expecting trouble soon, I had to prioritize my suit and personal offense and defense capabilities before I got this place up and running. ¡°We can sift through all this later,¡± Sam closed the trunk. ¡°For now, let¡¯s get lunch upstairs before it goes cold.¡± She grabbed two boxes of pizza from the backseat and handed me a paper bag filled with curly fries and cheeseburgers. Halfway up a flight of stairs, we heard muffled shouting coming from the floor of Sam¡¯s apartment. There were very clearly two voices so either Mia had woken up or someone else had stumbled across our hideout. We increased our pace, making sure not to drop any food until we got to the door. ¡°Yikes,¡± Sam chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d willingly walk into a domestic.¡± She opened the door and the voices became distinguishable. ¡°¡ªdo you mean I was being experimented on!?¡± ¡°The Cains got you, don¡¯t you remember?¡± Liam sounded desperate to be believed. ¡°They got you and took you to some underground bunker¡ª¡± ¡°No¡­ no! You kidnapped me and did something¡ª¡± ¡°No I didn¡¯t!¡± Liam¡¯s tone turned to frustration as Sam and I walked into the room. He turned and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank God you¡¯re back. Tell her what happened, she won¡¯t believe anything I say!¡± Mia was cowering in the corner of the room. She was clutching the railing of a curtain she had pulled off of one of Sam¡¯s windows and brandished in our direction, ready to whack anyone that got close. Liam kept his distance, standing over by the kitchen. I knew he could easily disarm Mia with his powers but he clearly didn¡¯t want to frighten her any further. Sam grumbled and strolled over to Mia. The girl looked like she was about to hit Sam but lost her nerve at the last second. Sam reached in and snatched the curtain rail from her hands, leaving the girl a quivering mess. ¡°Seriously? These were nice curtains. Do you have any idea what I had to do to steal these? Ugh,¡± Sam turned and placed it neatly against the wall. ¡°You need to chillax, girl. You¡¯re safe here, and whatever Liam told you is pretty much the truth.¡± ¡°I want to go home.¡± The sheer amount of fear in her voice tugged at my heartstrings. I couldn¡¯t imagine the mess her head must be in right now. Evidently, a familiar face wasn¡¯t enough to calm her down. ¡°Aww, come on,¡± Sam groaned, holding up one of the pizza boxes. ¡°We¡¯ve got pizza~¡± she even waved the box around but Mia didn¡¯t move. Her eyes didn¡¯t even move to the box. When she refused to take the bait, I caught a small pout form on Sam¡¯s lips. ¡°No?¡± I calmly cleared my throat to get Sam¡¯s attention. ¡°I think food is the last thing on her mind.¡± ¡°Ah, well, I tried. Home then?¡± Sam pursed her lips and slowly nodded. ¡°Alright. We can do that. Where do you live?¡± The immediate 180 visibly caught Mia off-guard as her eyes widened. ¡°N-No, I¡¯m not telling you my address. You can¡­ you can drop me off somewhere. Northwind Point,¡± Mia refused to move, her hands planted firmly on the walls. ¡°I-I¡¯ll walk the rest of the way.¡± ¡°In the middle of QC¡¯s territory? Ha, no,¡± Sam snorted. ¡°Best we can do is New Market. I¡¯m not driving us all the way over to Northwind Point. In a car like ours we¡¯d get stopped by Gaea¡¯s minions.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m not staying here,¡± Mia started edging herself toward the front door, doing her best to hug the walls. It was like she believed we¡¯d lash out and attack her at any given moment. ¡°Are you going to stop me?¡± ¡°Mia please¡ª¡± Liam tried but Sam was quick to cut him off. ¡°Forget it, Liam. Just let her go,¡± she said, plopping herself down on the sofa and opening the pizza box. ¡°If she wants to go out there and be recaptured then she¡¯s more than welcome to, but I¡¯m not going to stick my neck out to save her again,¡± she pulled out a slice of pizza and casually took a bite. ¡°See ya. Good luck dodging Grim ¨C oh, and please shut the door on the way out.¡± Mia stopped and a look of dread overcame her features. It was cold, but I had been around Sam long enough to know what she was doing. It was a mind game, meant to make Mia think twice about what she was doing ¨C and from the looks of it, it was working. ¡°Hey,¡± I spoke up. Mia¡¯s eyes drifted to me and I could have sworn I saw her flinch slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what Liam told you, but if you want a second account, here¡¯s mine. He came to us because The Cains kidnapped you from a house party and we eventually found you in a high-tech bunker underground. I know it¡¯s hard to hear but you were being experimented on,¡± I paused for a moment to let the information sink in. Mia¡¯s gaze was locked onto mine. ¡°You weren¡¯t the only one, but we were only able to get you out. We¡¯re not here to hurt you.¡± I tried to keep my voice as level and calm as I possibly could. I¡¯d like to think it was helping, considering she wasn¡¯t yelling at me, but I couldn¡¯t be certain what was going through her head. Liam came up to my side. ¡°We¡¯re trying to help you, please just listen.¡± Mia swallowed, trying to gather her bearings and courage to speak. She anxiously started picking at her fingernails as her gaze flickered between myself, Liam, and Sam on the couch. Finally, she spoke, her voice low. ¡°What were they doing to me?¡± ¡°Now that is where it gets complicated,¡± Sam said. She gestured to the empty couch to her left. ¡°Would you like to sit down? I can explain but it¡¯s not going to be a short conversation,¡± her tone was a lot more compassionate than before. ¡°And like I said, we¡¯ve got pizza if you¡¯re hungry. There¡¯s burgers and fries as well if you prefer.¡± Slowly, Mia walked back into the living room. She eyed Sam carefully before sitting down. Her eyes zeroed in on the pizza and she reached for a slice before stopping halfway. A pained look crossed her face and she retracted her hand. Sam tilted her head. ¡°Not hungry? I thought you would be.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡ª¡± Mia tried to say before shaking her head. ¡°It¡¯s not important. I want to know what happened to me.¡± Sam nodded, taking another bite. ¡°Of course, but I need to know something first. What¡¯s the last thing you remember?¡± Mia frowned, her face contorting as she tried to recall being captured. While the silence persisted, I handed the bag of burgers off to Liam and moved to apprehend the second pizza box. ¡°I¡­ It¡¯s all so foggy. I think I might¡¯ve been drugged.¡± Sam hummed in agreement. ¡°While you were at the party?¡± ¡°I think so? It¡¯s¡­ I remember Sophie complaining that she was tired. Jazz said the same thing. It hit me too, but I thought it was just the alcohol,¡± Mia rubbed her forehead and cringed. ¡°They wanted to leave so I went to find Vanessa and I just¡­¡± she shook her head. ¡°I must¡¯ve blacked out because that¡¯s the last thing I remember before I woke up here.¡± Sam and I shared a look but I beat her to the punch. ¡°Someone on the inside spiking the drinks?¡± ¡°Sounds like it,¡± Sam agreed. ¡°Wait a sec,¡± Liam cut in. ¡°I was drinking as well, but I was fine. I wasn¡¯t the only one either, some of the Cains¡¯ dudes were even herding people into a truck when I went back to apologize.¡± ¡°You came back to apologize?¡± Mia said. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Liam awkwardly shrugged. ¡°Yeah. I felt like an asshole after I calmed down, so I decided to go back. Found those guys at the house and tried to stop them.¡± Mia opened her mouth to say something but she stopped herself before any words could come out. From the looks of it, it seemed like she wanted to scold him. ¡°You have powers, don¡¯t you?¡± He replied with a slow nod. ¡°We all do,¡± Sam offered. ¡°But let¡¯s backtrack a little bit. Some of the partygoers weren¡¯t affected while others were. What kind of alcohol was up for grabs? Bottled or shared source?¡± ¡°Both,¡± Liam answered. ¡°There was some punch and other fruity drinks. Not really my thing ¨C way too sweet. I preferred the beer. I was thinking of mixing some of the tequila with coke but¡ª¡± ¡°Cool,¡± Sam cut him off before he could go any further. ¡°Do you remember what you drank, Mia?¡± Mia turned a shade paler. ¡°My friends and I don¡¯t really like beer so we drank from the¡­ punch,¡± she covered her mouth like she was going to be sick. ¡°Oh my fucking God, I was drugged. We all were,¡± she suddenly shot up from her seat. ¡°Shit! Those bastards have my friends. I have too¡ª¡± ¡°Whoa there!¡± Sam raised her hands, stopping Mia in her tracks. ¡°You are in no condition to be charging headfirst into danger. Besides, if my conclusion is accurate ¨C which they usually are ¨C the bunker is under ECU control which means your friends are in capable hands,¡± she waited for Mia to sit back down and it took a few moments of contemplative silence for her to sink back into her seat. ¡°Grim might¡¯ve crashed the party, but he can¡¯t really stick around. The operation was busted wide open. He¡¯ll grab anything he can and retreat.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked. There was some seriously advanced tech down there and I had a hard time believing The Cains would just give it up without a fight. ¡°Someone like Grim could probably hold that place down, even if the ECU brought their full power against him.¡± Sam waved me off. ¡°If I was a betting girl, I¡¯d put money on him having other operations like that one. So if I was him, I wouldn¡¯t have enough reason to stick around. I¡¯d just cut my losses and go.¡± I was reminded of what Alex said about contingency plans. If nothing else, we never encountered Splicer ¨C if that¡¯s who really was working with The Cains. ¡°Are you saying they¡¯ve got more places like that?¡± Liam asked. When Sam nodded, he leaned back in his chair and scowled. ¡°Man¡­ fuck these guys. What the hell are they even trying to do?¡± ¡°Artificial Awakenings,¡± I reminded him, my gaze drifting back to Mia. When my words registered, her eyes widened. ¡°That¡¯s what they were trying to do to you, at least, according to Gold.¡± Mia looked down at her hands and shook her head. ¡°They were trying to give me powers?¡± She flexed her fingers and frowned. ¡°Why? I wouldn¡¯t have been grateful and I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t work for them. I¡¯ve heard the kind of shit they do. I wouldn¡¯t have played any part in that.¡± ¡°Not willingly,¡± Sam admitted. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to say what they would¡¯ve done. We busted their operation before they really got going, or even had a confirmed success. They could¡¯ve messed with your head and made you loyal that way. There are supers out there capable of brainwashing, enslavement, mind control, reprogramming,¡± she listed them off very casually. ¡°Have you ever heard of Replication? Her super name is a bit misleading. She doesn¡¯t clone herself in the traditional sense. She grows pieces of herself and grafts them onto other people. Last I heard, she was kidnapping people and replacing their brains with her own, supers included.¡± Yet another person I had never heard of. ¡°She¡¯s not in Bayside, right?¡± Liam asked. Sam just laughed. ¡°Aha, no. Replication is somewhere in Alaska I think. The Furies are hunting her down.¡± ¡°Do you just sit online and research these things in your spare time?¡± I asked, curious. ¡°I only know of the big names. I feel like I¡¯ve heard more supers in the last two weeks than I have in sixteen years.¡± Sam chuckled. ¡°I have something of an obsession. Blame Gold,¡± she tapped her temple. ¡°She¡¯s always pestering me to go online and browse about supers. It pays to be informed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how this is supposed to work,¡± Mia admitted, bringing all of our attention back to her. ¡°How do¡­¡± she stopped, her eyes narrowing at her hands. It looked as if she was trying to see something that didn¡¯t exist. ¡°How do you know if you have powers or not?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very hard to say, no two powers are the same,¡± Sam started, pressing her hands together. There was a look of uncertainty on her face as she sat back down. She opened her mouth but quickly shut it and started twirling the ends of her hair around some of her fingers. ¡°Ugh, how do I even put this? Nobody really has answers about how powers work. It¡¯s innate, an instinct that gets you started and you learn from there.¡± ¡°Are you saying I might just activate my power randomly?¡± Mia asked. To her credit, it looked like she had relaxed and warmed up to us a bit. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want to hurt anyone.¡± ¡°Unless you turn out to be the next Gaea, I wouldn¡¯t stress about it,¡± Sam brushed off her concerns. ¡°There¡¯s always the possibility that you actually don¡¯t have any powers. Artificial Awakenings are rarely successful. The best we can do is just wait.¡± ¡°But what is an Awakening like? I¡¯ve¡­ I¡¯ve read about it,¡± Mia¡¯s head hesitantly turned to Liam. ¡°How did you¡­?¡± Mia and Liam stared at one another for a moment. I saw the hesitation flash in his eyes as he tried to figure out how to respond. He placed down his half-eaten cheeseburger and grumbled a little bit. ¡°I got detention for fighting. The staff made me clean up the boys locker room after school, but the guy I fought stuck around,¡± Liam idly scratched his cheek. ¡°He fucked me up but¡­ I don¡¯t know, something just clicked and I transformed.¡± ¡°Transformed?¡± Mia questioned. Liam shrugged and stood up. Sam tried to shout her warning but her mouth was full of pizza. Liam shifted and Mia almost flipped the couch over in an attempt to back away. As quick as the transformation came, it was gone. ¡°Fuck,¡± Mia clutched her chest and breathed slowly. ¡°A little warning would have been nice!¡± ¡°My bad. Sorry,¡± he cringed. ¡°But yeah, I transformed and fought back. It was disorientating at the time so I didn¡¯t really know what was happening. Took a few days to get the handle of things,¡± he then sighed. ¡°Too bad I got expelled. They didn¡¯t believe my side of the story because of how many bones I broke and the serious head injury he got. He never said anything about my powers, so I must have given him amnesia or something.¡± Mia gave him a sympathetic look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that happened to you.¡± He just shrugged again. ¡°It¡¯s cool. I didn¡¯t like that school anyway.¡± It unnerved me a little about how casual he was about giving someone brain damage, bully or not. ¡°Well, can¡¯t say my Awakening was as stressful as that,¡± Sam interjected. ¡°For me it just¡­ happened. One day I was a normal girl with teenage problems, the next, I¡¯m a certified badass,¡± she finished off her slice of pizza and didn¡¯t hesitate to pick up another one. ¡°If you¡¯re looking for something to go off of, don¡¯t bother. Awakenings differ heavily depending on the person.¡± I stared at the back of Sam¡¯s head with narrowed eyes. Liam and Mia probably missed it but I knew with absolute certainty her Awakening went far beyond what she claimed. ¡°So I have no way of knowing if I have them or not,¡± Mia said, sounding depressed. ¡°That¡­ that sucks.¡± ¡°If you do, it¡¯ll come to you soon. You¡¯ve only just woken up. Give it time,¡± Sam moved the pizza box over to her. ¡°I am no longer asking, by the way. Eat. You seriously need it after what you¡¯ve been through and I¡¯m not going to have you pass out on me just because you¡¯re convinced you need to diet.¡± ¡°No, thanks. Really, I¡¯m not hungry.¡± Sam shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t care. Eat.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not¡ª¡± Sam¡¯s phone interrupted her. ¡°Hold that thought,¡± Sam reached into her pocket. ¡°Hiya mystery caller! I¡¯m a little busy right now, call back and I¡¯m sure I can cook ya up something special, tootles~¡± She went to hang up but stopped. Her face immediately brightened. ¡°Springy! Ya callin¡¯ from a different number. If ya wanted to go behind your hubby¡¯s back, you coulda just sent me a text.¡± Knowing Pink, I assumed ¡®Springy¡¯ was Springsong. ¡°Aww, don¡¯t say that! You¡¯re hurtin¡¯ my feelings¡ª ah, fuck. Sorry,¡± Pink disappeared and Sam was back in control. ¡°Hi Springsong. What¡¯s up?¡± She paused for a moment as Springsong started talking. Sam nodded to whatever she was saying and idly headed toward her room. ¡°I can check that. One moment,¡± she turned to me. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a second.¡± Sam retreated to her room, leaving me and Liam sitting awkwardly with Mia. After about a minute of silence, I saw the girl reach out and snag a slice of pizza before cautiously nibbling on it. I offered her a friendly smile, one that she didn¡¯t return. Feeling the awkwardness skyrocket, I got up and followed Sam into her bedroom. I¡¯d get more out of eavesdropping on her conversation with Springsong than sitting out there. Unfortunately, the moment I walked in, Sam was already hanging up. ¡°That was a quick call.¡± ¡°There wasn¡¯t much to talk about,¡± she replied. scribbling something inside a notebook. ¡°Something¡¯s come up,¡± she closed it and moved past me, poking her head out the door. ¡°Hey, Liam. Come in here for a minute? Sorry, Mia. Just uh¡­ just need these two for something. Sit tight.¡± Liam joined us in Sam¡¯s bedroom and she shut the door. ¡°Okay, so that was Springsong calling.¡± ¡°What does she want?¡± Liam asked, curious. ¡°Did they find another bunker or something?¡± ¡°No. Gaea¡¯s called a meeting.¡± ¡°A meeting?¡± I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. ¡°Like, with us?¡± ¡°A meeting between Queen¡¯s Court, Pandora, and various other independent super groups in Bayside,¡± Sam said through gritted teeth. ¡°It¡¯s under a truce and Gaea personally wants us there. Apparently, she¡¯s made it clear that Madhouse has to attend. No exceptions.¡± Liam¡¯s reaction was instant. ¡°Aha, fuck that. I ain¡¯t going anywhere near her.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? What¡¯s she going to do, hunt me down?¡± Sam glared. ¡°Yes, and believe me, you wouldn¡¯t escape for more than a day.¡± Liam crossed his arms, his fingers digging into his hoodie. ¡°This is so fucking bullshit!¡± ¡°Look, we aren¡¯t in any danger. It¡¯s a truce meeting. These happen all the time when things get out of hand. It¡¯s how supers across the world stop each other from doing something stupid. If people didn¡¯t gang up on rampaging idiots there wouldn¡¯t be an Earth left to live in by now,¡± Sam explained. ¡°Now, I¡¯m not telling you that you have to come along since you aren¡¯t known to be a part of our group, but it would be nice to show a little support.¡± I could hear the subtle warning in her tone and Liam understood it clearly. He sulked and rolled his shoulders. ¡°Ah¡­ shit. Fine, I¡¯ll go. If she kills us though, I¡¯m haunting the fuck outta you.¡± ¡°Knock yourself out, Gaea won¡¯t kill us.¡± ¡°This is about Grim, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said. The look Sam gave me was all I needed for confirmation. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t call a meeting if she didn¡¯t have some kind of plan to get rid of him.¡± ¡°Yeah. News has gotten back to her. From what Springsong said, she isn¡¯t happy. She wants The Cain¡¯s cleaned out of the city, every single one of them.¡± I had to suppress the urge to smile. That meant Mirage as well. Even if he was out to play his own game, he was about to get caught up in the shitstorm that Grim¡¯s caused. ¡°I can get behind that. When¡¯s this meeting?¡± ¡°Tomorrow, midday at the Royal Flush.¡± That felt like a trap. The Royal Flush was a casino right on the edge of Queen¡¯s Court territory. Midday too¡­ I¡¯d have to call out of school to make sure I could go. Eh¡­ not ideal, but much better than getting on Gaea¡¯s bad side. ¡°So what, we¡¯re just supposed to roll up to this place?¡± Liam asked, looking at us in disbelief. ¡°I¡¯ve seen that place and it has bouncers. Every exit has a guy posted there.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll let us in if we arrive in our gear,¡± Sam said without hesitation. ¡°They¡¯ll be told to do so.¡± ¡°This is suicide,¡± Liam declared. ¡°But¡­ I guess we¡¯re a team now.¡± I opened my mouth to say something but was silenced by a scream that came from the kitchen, followed shortly by shattering glass. We rushed out of Sam¡¯s bedroom and into the living to find multiple copies of Mia ¨C no, statues ¨C all dotted around the room all made of different materials. The real Mia was on the kitchen floor with her back against a wall. In front of her, a bronze statue copy of her reached out to grab her. Its expression desperate and frozen in time. Fruition 4 ¡°Nobody move!¡± Sam switched to Pink and blitzed over to Mia. She pulled the girl to her feet and guided her back to me and Liam. Mia looked sick, her eyes were unfocused and they flicked around erratically. ¡°Come on, girlie. Now¡¯s not the time to go limp!¡± Pink complained. ¡°I can¡¯t do my zoomies with passengers! Ah, where da hell is Purple when you need her!? Quit sleepin on us and wake up, ya lazy bitch!¡± My first instinct was to reach for my pistol to ward off the potential enemies but all my stuff was in my place upstairs. I was defenseless for the moment and Liam seemed to pick up on this. He transformed his arms and separated them into multiple different appendages, all wrapping around the statues to prevent them from moving. ¡°If they can move, that should stop them,¡± he murmured. ¡°Mia, are you okay?¡± All we received from her was incoherent babble. When Pink deposited her on the floor, Mia¡¯s hands started flailing around like someone who was just waking up from the world¡¯s worst hangover. Her hands finally found purchase on her temples and her grip tightened, fingers digging into her hair like she was trying to stop her head from falling off. I turned to Pink. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± ¡°I dunno! Goldie, what¡¯s this chick¡¯s deal?¡± Pink asked before twitching. Gold immediately kneeled down and began examining the frightened girl who was in the middle of the most bizarre seizure I had ever seen. ¡°Extreme disorientation and vertigo. Her perception is split,¡± Gold looked up over her shoulder, staring back at the statues. ¡°Shared visual, auditory, and nerve input. Her mind¡¯s being overwhelmed.¡± I shook my head, trying to make sense of her words. My gaze drifted over all the different statues, noting that some of them had moved slightly. ¡°They¡¯re all Mia ¨C her power? Both?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Gold said. ¡°Something triggered the manifestation. She¡¯s never used her power before and she didn¡¯t know that she was using it. Unprepared, it probably felt like a¡­¡± Gold stopped for a moment to think. ¡°I can¡¯t be certain but the fright she got must have sent her entire body into shock. Her mind is still adjusting, hence her state now.¡± I recalled the splitting headaches the night of my Awakening. Everything I touched felt like I was being hit over the head. I could barely focus. It wasn¡¯t after I had gotten home and slept that I realized I had developed powers. ¡°So she can hear us?¡± Liam looked at the closest statue in his grasp. ¡°So if I¡ª¡± ¡°No!¡± Gold stopped him before he could start. I could see one of his many appendages begin to retract in an attempt to pull one of the statues closer to us. ¡°She¡¯s adjusting. There¡¯s no telling what they will do to us. Right now, they¡¯re docile, but they¡¯re strong and she can¡¯t control it. Get too close and she could kill us.¡± My eyes flicked to the one that had been reaching out to Mia in the kitchen. Despite being restrained by Liam, it still managed to move closer to us without us even realizing. ¡°Looks like they¡¯re trying to get closer,¡± I pointed out. ¡°What the hell?¡± Liam looked over toward the one I was staring at. ¡°I was holding that one ¨C I didn¡¯t even feel it move!¡± ¡°Eyes on all of them!¡± Gold shot to her feet and backed away from Mia. ¡°We need to leave the room, all of us.¡± ¡°And leave her here?¡± Liam said in disbelief. ¡°What¡ª¡± ¡°They¡¯re part of her power!¡± Gold growled. ¡°They¡¯re trying to protect her. They think we¡¯re a threat.¡± Liam wasn¡¯t satisfied with that answer. ¡°How can you know that!?¡± ¡°I''m a Mentalist, remember!?¡± While Liam glared at Sam¡¯s back, I was resolved to keep my eyes on all the statues I could. I lifted a hand and placed it on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. Gold clearly didn¡¯t like being argued with and Liam doesn¡¯t respond well to yelling. If I didn¡¯t step in, they would come to blows. ¡°Come on, we gotta trust her here,¡± I said calmly. ¡°Look at the statues. They¡¯re all Mia. Look at what they¡¯re doing,¡± I continued, gesturing to all the statues. Every single one of them was focused on Mia. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine, right Sam?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she replied. ¡°They won¡¯t leave this room. Not until she comes to her senses.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± Liam hissed. ¡°What if this is some fuckin weird attempt to get her back to that lab? She doesn¡¯t deserve to go through that crap again. We don¡¯t know if this is part of her power.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Gold said, trying to sound more reassuring than annoyed. ¡°This isn¡¯t the power of any local super or an international one either, she¡¯s just adjusting. Think back to the first time you used your power. You weren¡¯t in a stable state of mind, right?¡± Liam grunted and looked away. His silence was enough of an answer. ¡°Our best move is to back away and give them some space, if we stick around all they¡¯ll do is rip us apart,¡± Gold grumbled. ¡°And I for one, am not in any rush for that to happen.¡± She stayed facing the statues and backed away towards the door. I followed shortly after with Liam being the last to leave after a moment of silent contemplation. As Sam closed the door, I must¡¯ve blinked because the statues all moved. They surrounded Mia, the bronze one from the kitchen cradling her body with the utmost care. The door clicked shut and Gold switched back to Blue. ¡°Can¡¯t say I was expecting that,¡± Sam breathed, relieved. While she seemed satisfied with the outcome, Liam was¡­ less so. There was a scowl etched onto his face but thankfully, he didn¡¯t say anything. I sat somewhere in the middle, unsure about how to feel about this situation. ¡°Well, there goes my relaxing afternoon plans.¡± ¡°So¡­ we just, what, wait for Mia to go through her adjustment then?¡± Liam asked. ¡°How long is that going to take?¡± Sam crossed her arms and gave him a flat stare. ¡°Look, I get that you find it hard to trust anyone, but I¡¯m the Mentalist here, that means I know information you¡¯d never figure out normally and stopping to explain could get us all killed. So, when I tell you to do something, you do it. Me and Max stuck our necks out for you and we¡¯re a team now, neither of us are about to fuck you over.¡± Her words seemed to strike a chord with him and a sulky look took over his features. The two shared a silent exchange before Sam took a deep breath and sighed. ¡°A couple of hours, maybe? Tomorrow morning at the latest, it depends on the person.¡± Liam pursed his lips and nodded. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll stick around,¡± he said. ¡°What¡¯re you guys going to do?¡± ¡°I have a workshop to set up. There¡¯s equipment I want to make and other stuff that needs improvement. While Mia goes through her uh¡­ adjustment, I guess I¡¯ll kill time by doing that.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already been out today so I¡¯m not in any rush to go out again,¡± Sam shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll just help with that.¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll help too,¡± Liam said, rolling his shoulders a bit. ¡°You know, I¡¯ve always wanted to see a Mechakinetic work. Some of the stuff you guys can make looks really cool,¡± his gaze flicked back to the door. Sam already knew what to say. ¡°She¡¯ll come and see us once she gains her bearings,¡± she said. ¡°Then, we¡¯ll really be able to see how her powers work.¡±
The moment my fingers touched the object, I felt a stream of information pour into my head. I couldn¡¯t suppress the urge to smile when the thousands upon thousands of options popped up inside my head. I could see each path and where it led, only held back from reaching it by the paltry amount of charges at my disposal. Nevertheless, this was my element, where I excelled. It was starting to become apparent, the endless reach of my power, the potential. Before, I had envied others like Ajax, Deadlocked, and Nanoforge for their incredible specializations. Their ability to create wonders with ease had left me feeling inadequate. Until Sam, I hadn¡¯t appreciated the potential of my power. While I wasn¡¯t the sharpest tool in the shed, I wasn¡¯t stupid either. I¡¯d consider myself average perhaps. I did well in school, but that wasn¡¯t the best measure of intelligence, especially not in my situation. Critical thinking and the ability to think outside the box were what I needed; what my power encouraged ¨C what I truly needed to start using it properly. The 3D printer in my grasp was like an open book to me. From where it was now to its theoretical conclusion, I could see it all ¨C each step, each improvement. The only question was where to take it. I could focus on the small scale, like what I had now. It was designed for hobbyists to create small things. If I put enough charges into it, eventually I could be printing objects smaller than the eye could see. I knew what I wanted, a wide variety of machinery, which is why Sam suggested I buy several with the money I had. A medium scale would be the best place to start. I¡¯d be able to print out basic modules for my suit and alter them with my power. Eventually, I¡¯d be able to make something larger to print cars, ships, and planes. Though, I¡¯d need schematics and a bigger workshop for those sorts of things. [Charges: 25/25] [Type] I browsed the [Models], taking note of each design. Just like always, there were thousands of different small-scale ones from different brands across the world. I ignored them as they weren¡¯t what I was looking for. I needed a bigger design. Thankfully I had done a bit of research on my phone as we were buying them. When I found the one I was looking for, I placed the printer on the ground and eagerly paid the single charge it took. Just like always, the object rippled and reformed into a much larger design. It came up to above my head and had a full steel white casing with a glass window into the printing area. Currently, it had a cubic meter of workable space and for its purpose, that would be enough. I¡¯d be using this to make parts for my suit or a base to upgrade. Later on, I hoped that I might be able to scan data into it and duplicate my guns and other gear without having to use my power. That would be an incredible development but I had a sneaking suspicion that it would be easier said than done. [Charges: 24/25] [Type] The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The hilarity of this was not lost on me. I had just turned an $800 machine into a $45,000 one. It was akin to a modern-day Midas touch. ¡°Wait¡­¡± Liam said somewhere behind me, sounding confused. ¡°What just happened?¡± ¡°Remember what he did with the door at the Bunker?¡± Sam replied. ¡°It¡¯s in his name, Upgrade. Far too on the nose in my opinion. I would¡¯ve gone for something a bit more subtle, but it¡¯s essentially what he does. He makes things better.¡± I didn¡¯t miss the cheek in her tone when criticizing my name. Rather than choosing to take her bait, I opted to ignore it and continue to observe the different MK upgrades. ¡°So he just¡­ touches things and makes them better?¡± Liam asked, bewildered. Sam just nodded. I looked over my shoulder to see the gears in our new friend¡¯s head turning before his face lit up. ¡°So like¡­ anything?¡± ¡°As long as it¡¯s non-living,¡± I added. Liam¡¯s stunned silence allowed me to focus. [Charges: 24/25] [Models] I noted the differences between the MK IV and the MK V variant. There was a substantial power increase. I wasn¡¯t an expert in power requirements but the jump from 240 Volts to 500 was concerning. It looked like I¡¯d need to work with Sam on getting our own off-the-grid power working sooner rather than later. Regardless, I underpaid each step, spending only four charges to reach MK V. Ten hours until it finished left me with twenty charges to spare. One project was in the works, with many more to start. ¡°We¡¯re going to need power,¡± I said, turning to Sam. ¡°Any ideas for the generator and the solar panel?¡± Sam looked bemused. ¡°Already?¡± ¡°Better safe than sorry. When that one¡¯s done it¡¯s going to eat a bunch of power. I think we¡¯ll draw too much attention if we don¡¯t address this now,¡± I said. I knew I could run it off of the wall, but the moment I started introducing more machinery, the building would start getting investigators. ¡°Is it still down in the car?¡± ¡°Yeah, along with the generator,¡± Sam looked over to Liam who was still staring at the upgrading 3D printer, entranced by its possibilities. ¡°The safest place for the generator will be in the basement and obviously the solar panel will only be functional on the roof.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got twenty charges left to work with today.¡± ¡°Twenty¨C what?¡± Liam looked beyond confused. Sam rolled her eyes, trying to suppress a smile. ¡°Come on, we can explain it on the way.¡± Sam gave him the run down on my power as we moved with me chipping in every now and then to clarify some details that even she was a bit foggy on. The subject switched to her powers when she was forced to use Red to carry the generator down to the basement. ¡°You two are something else,¡± Liam exhaled as Red placed the generator down in an empty space. ¡°You know, I¡¯m kinda glad I¡¯m shaking it up with you guys. Definitely powerful, unlike some of the other people I¡¯ve come across.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± That piqued my curiosity. Sam¡¯s too, if her dusting off her hands and switching back to Blue was any indication. ¡°You¡¯ve met other independents?¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t?¡± Liam looked surprised. I shook my head while Sam shrugged. ¡°Oh, wow.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still pretty new,¡± I said moving over toward the generator. I touched it and opened the upgrade paths. I¡¯d focus on [Efficiency] and [Output]. Overall, it seemed prudent to get them to the MK IV stage, which would cost me six charges by underpaying and take twelve hours to finish. ¡°Haven¡¯t really met any that aren¡¯t out to fuck with my life.¡± ¡°Eh, they all kinda want to do that. The degree just varies,¡± Liam disagreed. ¡°Swatter tried to threaten me into joining her little group or whatever.¡± ¡°Never heard of her,¡± Sam said. ¡°She¡¯s like, eleven,¡± Liam replied. ¡°I told her to go kick bricks and she tried to beat the shit out of me. You guys can probably imagine how that went.¡± Not well for her. ¡°That¡¯s probably why I don¡¯t know her,¡± Sam nodded in understanding. ¡°I don¡¯t waste my time looking into non-issues.¡± Ouch. I upgraded the generator and stood up. ¡°Alright, that should take nine hours to finish. I¡¯ve got 14 charges left.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°You should use the rest on the solar panels and integrate one of them into your armor later. Get it good enough and it¡¯ll be a very good defense against lasers.¡± I nodded in agreement and we returned upstairs to get the solar panels from the back of the car. They took up the whole backseat and due to their size, we asked Liam to transform and carry them up to the workshop. Sam could easily do it with Red and Purple but they¡¯re a little negligent and this panel was more fragile than the generator. Once we got it up the stairs I used my power on it, observing the options available to me. There weren¡¯t many trees to progress downward, not with devices like this that served such a specific purpose. The best I could do was increase its [Energy Tolerance], [Efficiency], and [Durability]. Following Sam¡¯s suggestions, I poured the rest of my charges into it, underpaying and ensuring all three of those components reached MK V. ¡°So now you just wait?¡± Liam asked, watching as the solar panel rippled and turned to a liquid. ¡°You know, I thought there¡¯d be more¡­ building involved.¡± ¡°Max cheats,¡± Sam chuckled, ignoring my scoff. ¡°He¡¯s not like other Mechakineitics. Doesn¡¯t need raw materials to do anything. Only something to work off of.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ kind of insane,¡± Liam scratched his chin in thought before turning to me. ¡°Hey, do you think you can upgrade my computer? My uncle won¡¯t buy me a new one and I¡¯m running crappy old hardware. Shit lags whenever I play anything too new.¡± I pursed my lips, understanding his plight. ¡°I could, but not today. At the moment there are more important things for me to work on. If I have a spare charge or two one day I¡¯ll let you know and swing by.¡± ¡°Thank God,¡± Sam breathed in relief. ¡°For a moment there, I thought you were actually going to agree. I¡¯m not sure I could have stopped Red.¡± Liam laughed. Sam seemed to share in the amusement too. It was nice to feel a sense of normalcy between the three of us. I had been concerned that wouldn¡¯t be the case after Mia¡¯s little episode earlier. ¡°If I¡¯ve learned anything in the last couple of weeks, it''s that I need more tools. Better armor, better weapons, better everything,¡± I said. ¡°A better computer for gaming can wait awhile.¡± Liam didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°Sure, I¡¯m in no rush.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to need better gear anyway now that Gaea¡¯s calling on us,¡± Sam said, changing the subject. ¡°Working with Springsong was both a blessing and a curse. Gold¡¯s been mulling it over and with the three of us as we are now, we¡¯re already shaping up to be competition for the other gangs.¡± And just like that, all the lingering humor evaporated. ¡°Are there actually other gangs aside from The Cains, Pandora, and The Queen¡¯s Court?¡± Liam asked. ¡°I know there are independents around but I haven¡¯t heard of any groups by name,¡± he paused for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. ¡°Though, I haven¡¯t really been one to stay up to date. I never really cared much.¡± ¡°Neither did I, to be honest,¡± I admitted, looking toward Sam. ¡°Do you know of any?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a few,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°But none are in the same league as those three. Mostly, they¡¯re like us, except much weaker.¡± Liam raised an eyebrow. ¡°Weaker?¡± Sam gestured to me. ¡°No Mechakinetic or Mentalist support. Mostly, they¡¯re just running around like headless chickens. No real direction, no real goal. They react instead of acting and it makes it very easy to predict and lure into a trap. The vast majority end up in one of the big three or run off to the ECU.¡± It was unsettling how much sense that made. ¡°So where do we rank?¡± Liam asked. ¡°You said Gaea requested us by name.¡± ¡°Only because Springsong knows we were heavily involved with discovering the Bunker. Make no mistake, we¡¯re by no means very important, at least not in the eyes of Pandora and The Queens Court.¡± ¡°The Cains on the other hand probably have a few empty graves ready for filling,¡± I remarked mirthlessly. I could only imagine how many of them we had personally pissed off by now. Grim was probably brainstorming ways to rip us to shreds before we could ruin another one of his operations. ¡°Which means we need to tread very carefully.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t have said it better myself,¡± Sam agreed. ¡°Unfortunately, we¡¯re trapped right in the middle of it all, but we¡¯ll get out of it,¡± she said with confidence. ¡°We will. I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the strategist,¡± Liam shrugged. ¡°Aye aye,¡± Sam gave an easy-going salute. ¡°I will do my best to keep us all alive.¡± Liam let another smile slip. ¡°I don¡¯t think that will be much of a problem for me.¡± Sam narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. ¡°Okay smart ass. I¡¯ll do my best to keep myself and Max alive!¡± ¡°What¡¯s our approach for this meeting?¡± I asked, making sure to keep us on track. ¡°I just want to make sure I know what we¡¯re walking into. What should we expect?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Sam¡¯s expression dropped, a wave of fatigue falling over her like a curtain. ¡°If this is anything like other super meetings I¡¯ve snooped on, then we¡¯re in for a lot of bickering, dick measuring, and copious amount of thinly veiled insults. Silver lining for this is that Gaea will be there to keep everyone on a tight leash.¡± ¡°None of that sounds very productive,¡± I said, revealing my doubts. With the way she put it, this whole event seemed like a waste of time. ¡°Worst case, someone oversteps and Gaea makes an example of them,¡± Sam said grimly. ¡°Again,¡± Liam spoke up. ¡°This sounds like a terrible idea.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got to go,¡± I sided with Sam. ¡°If we don¡¯t show, we look bad and I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll be good for our rep.¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re getting it,¡± Sam said with a light smile. ¡°We should¡ª oh.¡± I looked at her to find her gaze locked on something behind me. I turned to find the bronze Mia statue standing at the workshop entrance. Its face was expressionless with smooth featureless eyes. The eerie feeling of dread I got just staring at it made me want to run away and hide. It just seemed so¡­ unnatural. I didn¡¯t even hear it come in. ¡°It followed us,¡± Liam said under his breath. ¡°Does that mean Mia¡¯s awake?¡± ¡°Not quite?¡± Sam murmured, pushing her way past us. She came to a stop where she stood her ground to directly address the statue. ¡°I know you can hear me. You¡¯ve been following us for some time. Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice you in the garage.¡± Liam and I exchanged shocked glances before glaring at Sam. ¡°That would¡¯ve been nice to know,¡± he grumbled. Sam ignored us. The statue continued to stare. ¡°Well? What¡¯s this about then, because you clearly didn¡¯t bother to hide this time.¡± There was no answer and the eerie feeling in my stomach began to compound. Maybe it was a bad idea to give Mia and her statues some space? The bronze skin on the statue suddenly cracked before peeling away. It took a few shaky steps before shedding its skin like a snake, the bronze floated away like dust in the air. It stumbled for a moment before regaining its bearings. When it straightened up, we were faced with a perfect copy of Mia. Liam summed up my thoughts perfectly. ¡°The fuck¡­?¡± ¡°Ooooh, that¡¯s weird,¡± the presumed Mia clone said. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do that.¡± Sam was completely silent but I could tell she was just as confused as us. The Mia clone stretched out her arms and back, eliciting a few uncomfortable pops. She then noticed our stares and steadied herself. ¡°Okay, I heard something about a meeting, Gaea, a bunch of assholes, and the people who kidnapped me. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on but I¡¯m not about to be left out of this.¡± Fruition 5 ¡°This is a bad idea.¡± I couldn¡¯t shake my hesitation. Before, I had been cautious, even hesitant about this meeting. Who wouldn¡¯t be, with Bayside¡¯s Super underworld all meeting in one place? Gaea was going to be there, personally. That much was enough to put me on edge. Hell, that¡¯d be enough to put most nations on edge. All of that power concentrated into one place was bad enough, it was even worse now that Mia decided she had to tag along. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m not about to sit this out,¡± Mia spoke up from the backseat. ¡°You know what they did to me. I deserve to be included.¡± ¡°You woke up from a coma yesterday, with powers you can barely control, after being tortured for a week. No offense, but you¡¯re a liability,¡± I argued back. It felt hypocritical to play that card considering how I had dove head-first into the world of Supers the week after I got my powers. Maybe if I had done things differently, I would¡¯ve had more time before being dragged into this. I had been far too eager. ¡°You should¡¯ve waited back at the apartment.¡± ¡°What¡¯re you, my dad?¡± Mia¡¯s tone was like ice. ¡°You don¡¯t get to tell me where I can and can¡¯t go. I¡¯ll do whatever the hell I want, thank you very much.¡± I bristled and was tempted to pull the car over and toss her out on her ass but Alice took that moment to chime in. ¡°The only reason we¡¯re letting you come is because there is a truce and there shouldn''t be any danger,¡± her eyes flashed Gold as an annoyed scowl appeared across her face. ¡°And because you would¡¯ve followed us regardless. At least this way you don¡¯t end up wasting the life we worked so hard to save.¡± I looked in the rear-view mirror to see Liam quietly sitting next to Mia. Sam and I had been arguing against bringing Mia along before Gold had popped up and declared that she was coming with us, much to my chagrin. ¡°I¡¯m not a kid,¡± Mia retorted. ¡°I know this is out of my depth which is why I¡¯m not going to participate. I just want to be there so I know what¡¯s going on. They kidnapped me and some of my friends. I¡¯m not about to just sit around on my ass and let other people do the work. Not any¡ª¡± she stopped herself and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not doing that. Besides, I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m older than all of you.¡± ¡°Good. I can trust you¡¯re smart enough to keep your mouth shut.¡± Gold said snidely. Mia just glared. When she had come to her senses yesterday, we caught her up on everything that was going on. After that, she did her best to explain how her powers worked. With some help on Sam¡¯s part, we were able to gauge that she could create and micromanage her statues which could only move whilst unobserved. They mimicked a material ¡ªhow that was selected appeared to be random¡ª and also allowed her to see, hear, and swap the location of her real body with that of a statue. Gold said there was a limit on the range and number she could create, but was unable to pin it down exactly just yet. ¡°Come on guys, lay off her,¡± Anomaly lightly defended. ¡°It¡¯s done. Let¡¯s just deal with it.¡± Alice pinched the bridge of her nose, flashing from Gold back to Blue. ¡°Okay-okay,¡± she took a deep breath and straightened her skirt. ¡°Let¡¯s just move on. No point crying over spilt milk.¡± There was an awkward silence for a few minutes, none of us quite sure what to say. ¡°Ugh,¡± Mia grumbled, sounding frustrated. ¡°This stupid mask,¡± She didn¡¯t have a costume so we had to help her throw one together quickly and it seemed like it was giving her some grief, considering how many times she had adjusted it so far. Coupled with a domino mask, she wore a hoodie and a bandana to conceal the lower part of her face. ¡°How do you guys wear this stuff all the time?¡± Alice¡¯s reply was distant. ¡°You get used to it.¡± I continued to drive with Alice giving directions. Eventually, we pulled into an underground car park, similar to the one back in Groves Den. The only difference was this place actually had cars parked in it and a ticket system to keep track of what cars were parked here. I made sure to open the barrier without getting a ticket and loop the footage from the moment we drove in. It probably wouldn¡¯t stop a dedicated search, but no need to make it easy for anyone looking. ¡°Everyone ready?¡± Alice asked. We all replied with steady nods. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s hope we all make it out of this in one piece.¡± As I exited my car, I made sure I had all my equipment with me. My pistol was fully charged and slotted nicely into a holster on my leg, while I fetched the sniper rifle from the trunk. I caught Mia watching with genuine shock as it magnetically attached to my back. While I¡¯d probably have no use for it, Alice had mentioned that bringing it would serve to bolster our image. ¡°Do you¡­ really need to bring that?¡± Mia asked. ¡°It can¡¯t hurt,¡± I said, shrugging. I took that moment to test the extendable blade, just to make sure it was still fully operational. It slid in and out with a shrill metal ring which made Mia flinch. ¡°I¡¯m tired of not being prepared.¡± ¡°This way,¡± Alice called out. I looked over to see Liam standing off to the side with his hands shoved into his jacket. His transformation would draw too much attention at this time of day. ¡°I¡¯ve got a route that¡¯ll keep us off the main streets, so I hope you¡¯re fine with alleyways.¡± Anomaly let out a false cheer. ¡°My favorite.¡± ¡°We¡¯re just going to leave the car here?¡± Mia asked, looking around. She even pointed to one of the cameras. ¡°We¡¯re going to come back and find it¡¯s been detained or something.¡± I opened my mouth to respond but Alice beat me to it. ¡°Upgrade has already taken care of that.¡± Mia turned and looked at me. ¡°I¡¯ve hacked the system. Looped the footage,¡± I said, rolling my shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a public garage, the security is just there to give to the cops in case a car is stolen. There won¡¯t even be anyone watching it.¡± Mia didn¡¯t look entirely satisfied with that answer but she nodded. ¡°If we¡¯re done standing around,¡± Alice said, starting to sound impatient. We all looked in her direction to see her gesturing toward the end of the garage where a fire escape door sat. ¡°I¡¯d like to get moving.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I had forgotten something. I went through my mental checklist of what I brought. My suit and weapons had all been repaired from our mission to save Mia. All the software in my suit had been freshly upgraded using today¡¯s charges so hopefully, I wouldn¡¯t be caught off-guard by whatever the Queen¡¯s Court had installed in the Casino. I was as ready as I could reasonably be for this. So why did I feel this sense of dread? Was it nerves? ¡°You know, only a real supervillain would schedule a mandatory meeting on a Monday at midday,¡± Anomaly quipped, trying to lighten the mood. ¡°I mean, come on, right? Monday? That¡¯s like, the most evil day of the week.¡± He looked around for any takers. I wasn¡¯t really sure how to respond to that and from the looks of it no one else was either. ¡°No? I guess we¡¯re just walking in silence then.¡± ¡°Gaea¡¯s scheduled it for today at this time because business is at its slowest,¡± Alice said, throwing Anomaly a bone. ¡°Who in their right mind would visit a Casino at lunch time on a Monday?¡± ¡°Addicts?¡± I said, throwing my guess out there. ¡°Sure it¡¯ll be less busy, but I doubt it¡¯ll be empty.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, but still, my point stands.¡± We emerged from the fire escape and into filth. With my suit, the smell was muted but given how Mia gagged, it can¡¯t have been pleasant. ¡°This is so gross,¡± Mia bemoaned. ¡°But somehow, it¡¯s still better than Ashton. I swear, that place was fucking vile. Dad would drive me to uni and people would just pile their trash on the streets. I was only there for like two months before we moved. Mum couldn¡¯t stand it.¡± ¡°The Nine Circles really messed that city up,¡± Alice mused in agreement. ¡°I didn¡¯t spend that much time there. Trying to compete with them was pointless, any progress I could make would just be destroyed by Lust on a warpath.¡± ¡°I think I heard about him. He got reckless and bystanders started getting caught in the crossfire,¡± I said, trying to recall the details. Abby had talked about it ages ago back in January and the details were rather foggy. ¡°The ECU imported a couple Supers to try and deal with him. Not sure how successful they were.¡± ¡°Very,¡± Alice replied. ¡°Their last encounter with Lust ended with him dead.¡± ¡°Oh shit, they killed him?¡± Anomaly sounded shocked. Alice nodded. ¡°It happens. ECU can be authorized to kill if a Super is deemed too much of a hazard. Grim¡¯s been on that list for a while now. The only reason he¡¯s still alive is because his power makes him a pain in the ass to deal with.¡± Anomaly rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly anxious. ¡°Damn, I had no idea. I thought they were pretty strict on bringing people in.¡± ¡°They have orders to bring him in, dead or alive. But when you¡¯re as powerful as Grim, people figure that there¡¯s only one way to deal with you¡ª¡± ¡°By getting rid of you entirely,¡± I finished for her. Alice nodded as she led us into another alleyway, keeping us well away from the view of the busy main street. ¡°After what he¡¯s done, I don¡¯t blame them. That guy needs to go.¡± Alice chuckled. ¡°No arguments here.¡± We turned into another alley, this one occupied by a few squatters. Many of them seemed to be harmless at first until I noticed the poorly concealed weapons. They had knives and other small weapons. As we got closer, I saw that they were sizing us up. A couple of them even started to approach before they saw me. It was a strange feeling seeing a group of people back away from me in fear. They let us pass without incident. ¡°Huh¡­ that¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen a homeless person,¡± Anomaly murmured under his breath. ¡°This is Queen¡¯s Court territory,¡± Alice replied with a bitter edge to her voice. ¡°Pandora can¡¯t risk enslaving them. Gaea would kill them the moment they set foot in this part of town. Everyone here is under her protection, even the homeless.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the reason there¡¯s barely any homeless?¡± Anomaly asked, perplexed. ¡°Because of Pandora?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know how they operate?¡± I chimed in with genuine surprise. It was no real secret what they did. They openly lorded their actions, painting themselves as saviors instead of the disgusting tyrants they were. ¡°They snatch defenseless people off the street and turn them into slaves. Pandora believes that if you can¡¯t Awaken, you¡¯re basically a second-class citizen¡ª¡± ¡°Nah, I know that bit,¡± Anomaly said, grumbling a little. ¡°I just¡­ never thought about it too much before.¡± ¡°They were armed¡­¡± Mia breathed, the realization striking her like a bolt of lightning. ¡°¡­to protect themselves from Pandora.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t justify it,¡± Alice said. ¡°It might be for their own protection, but they¡¯ll still gladly take everything you own. They backed off because they saw Upgrade. Anyone walking around in power armor isn¡¯t someone to be messed with.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°It¡¯s not power armor,¡± I mumbled. ¡°Definitely looks like it,¡± Anomaly countered. I gave an idle shrug and rolled with the compliment. We rounded another corner and arrived at the back entrance of Royal Flush. The main entrance to this place was grand, inviting, and extravagant. There were fountains in the foyer, sliding doors, and a long red carpet. The back entrance was nothing of the sort. It was dull with a simple metal door, guarded by two fairly built guys. Alice approached without a shred of hesitation and we followed suit. ¡°Hiya boys!¡± Pink¡¯s excitable voice emerged. ¡°Madhouse here, as requested! Hope ya don¡¯t mind, but we came dressed for the occasion.¡± I wasn¡¯t entirely sure what she meant by that. The lead guard grunted. ¡°There¡¯s four of you.¡± Pink gasped. ¡°Oh my gosh! You can count!¡± She turned and looked at us over her shoulder. ¡°The henchies are getting smarter every day!¡± ¡°We were told there were only three of you,¡± the other guard sounded, crossing his arms. ¡°We got a new recruit,¡± Pink retorted sourly. ¡°She¡¯s a cutie as well, so let us through! Come oooon. We¡¯re not up to no good, promise!¡± ¡°No.¡± While Pink argued with the guards, I took the opportunity to scan the building. There were systems built into the building¡¯s foundations that I would guess weren¡¯t normal for a typical casino. There were automated turrets hidden inside the walls, all of which were Mechatech. The surveillance ¨C while appearing mundane ¨C had incredibly sophisticated software that I could say with certainty, had been created by a Mechakinetic. Unlike the Bunker, I could actually brute force my way into the system if the situation called for it. However, they do have Uplink and I have no idea if I can get past him. I know I can keep him out once I get access but what if he''s already inside the system? I weighed my options and decided against it. My breaching software was advanced enough that I could brute force my way into their systems in about a minute. So in an emergency, I did have that option, but I didn¡¯t want to piss off our hosts before we even stepped inside the building. ¡°Are we seriously getting turned away?¡± Anomaly sounded annoyed. Alice couldn¡¯t respond because she was still arguing with the guards. I wasn¡¯t sure why she didn¡¯t just switch to Gold but if I had to guess, it probably had something to do with keeping up her persona. ¡°This is stupid.¡± ¡°I suppose we¡¯re just going to have to wait,¡± Mia sighed. I continued to observe the building until a signal caught my attention. I picked up an incoming transmission that was being directed to one of the guard¡¯s phones before it started ringing. He stepped away to answer it. The call was brief, but I had tapped into it just in time to hear Springsong¡¯s voice order the guard to ¡®let them in¡¯. Reluctantly, he ended the call and resumed his post. ¡°You four are clear. Boss¡¯s orders.¡± ¡°Geez, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been tryna tell ya!¡± Pink exclaimed dramatically. ¡°I take it back. You two would make a brick look like a scholar.¡± They both muttered a string of curses under their breath before opening the door. The hallway we entered was narrow and dimly lit. When the door shut behind us, the noise from the outside world almost became muted. It was eerie and I felt like I had suddenly entered the lion''s den. ¡°No turning back now,¡± Mia said. ¡°Getting cold feet?¡± Alice asked with an amused smile. Mia frowned, lacking all the fire she had earlier. ¡°A little bit.¡± ¡°Well, too late. Like you said, we¡¯re in too deep to run away now. If we tried, Gaea would notice and probably just kill us on the spot.¡± ¡°Would she actually?¡± Anomaly asked with a hint of fear. Alice thought for a moment before shaking her head. ¡°Nah, she¡¯d probably just knock us out or something. Gaea is one of the few Supers that will just act without much thought. It¡¯s been decades since there¡¯s been any real consequences for her.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t scare me like that,¡± Mia glowered at Alice. ¡°Just¡­ lead on. Let¡¯s get this stupid meeting over with.¡± Alice snorted. ¡°You¡¯re the one that wanted to be here.¡± Just like before, Alice led us through the building. It took some time but we eventually emerged from the casino¡¯s back hallways into the main area. The place was filled with rows of pokies and tables. It was just how I expected a casino to look. The only thing missing was the people. There were barely any staff around and I only saw a couple of poor souls sitting in front of slot machines, completely hypnotized by their delusion of grandeur. ¡°You¡¯re early.¡± The voice came from our right and we all turned. Springsong sauntered toward us with the same confidence she had the night we had met. ¡°I don¡¯t make a habit of being late,¡± Alice said. ¡°Besides, I wouldn¡¯t want to piss off your Queen.¡± Springsong hummed, staring at Alice as if she were contemplating if it was worth letting her live. ¡°This way,¡± she turned on her heel and began walking. ¡°I¡¯d recommend you keep that cheek in check Alice, for your own good. I may tolerate you, but Gaea would sooner reduce you to dust than listen to your babble.¡± ¡°Aw, really? Are you sure? Give it some time, I tend to grow on people,¡± she quipped, strolling after her. I could almost hear Pink¡¯s infectious attitude bleeding through, despite not being in control. ¡°Gaea can¡¯t be that grouchy.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡± As we followed, I heard Anomaly snort. ¡°She¡¯s so pretentious. Reminds me of the people who suck up to the teachers at school,¡± he said with an air of distaste. ¡°When you¡¯re dealing with Gaea, that¡¯s probably the smart thing to do,¡± I admitted. ¡°Teachers can¡¯t exactly turn you to dust with a thought.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean you have to be an ass kisser.¡± ¡°If I had to choose between death and brown-nosing, I know what I¡¯d pick,¡± Mia chimed in. ¡°No offense Li¨C er, Anomaly. My pride isn¡¯t worth my life.¡± Springsong led us upstairs and through some doors. I noted that a few had V.I.P. plaques on them. When we finally arrived in the final room, I noted its size. There were a couple of blackjack and poker tables dotted around the room. In the middle, there was a much bigger wooden table that didn¡¯t look like it fit with the rest of the decor. Gaea sat with a bored expression, swirling a cup of¡­ something. It was dark and I could only assume it was hard liquor given the fully stocked bar in the back of the room. She was young, not at all the elderly woman she was supposed to be. Her hair was a bright red and flowed like fire. She looked to be in her mid-twenties but everyone knew she altered the way she looked with her powers. In reality, she was in her seventies, having been born before people started developing powers. I saw her on TV all the time, talking to the press about the various happenings in New Elpis. She was a woman of considerable power and there wasn¡¯t a person on Earth that disputed her position in the Trinity. Even the ECU was too scared to go against her. ¡°Madhouse,¡± she addressed us, her tone betraying a hint of curiosity. ¡°You seem to have gained a new member.¡± ¡°You know how it is,¡± Alice replied tactfully. ¡°We have to survive somehow.¡± Gaea didn¡¯t spend much time pondering her words before the wood from the floor just stretched and contorted to form a chair. It stood to the far right of the circular table and Gaea gestured to it. ¡°Sit.¡± Alice moved and we followed. As she went to sit, Gaea held up a hand. ¡°Not you.¡± Alice blinked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± There was a hearty laugh opposite of us. Gaea wasn¡¯t the only one at the table. Across from us, there was a group of people in their costumes. An imposing figure sat on the left side, dressed from head to toe in a red microfiber outfit. It had a sort of¡­ feral design to it, like a wild animal. There was a tuft of fur around the neck of the man that even mimicked the aesthetic of a lion. Just like Gaea, I had seen this one on the news, in a much less positive light. Wildfire. Pandora¡­ Why was he here instead of Liberation? ¡°No Mentalists at the table,¡± he said, voice deep. There was a hint of familiarity to it but I just couldn¡¯t place where I had heard it before. ¡°I know you, Alice. You like to play head games. I won¡¯t have it.¡± His entourage let out a chorus of chuckles which only served to mock Alice. I could see each one and identify almost all of them. Stormchaser, Beringel, Ink Life, and Chatterbox. ¡°Neither will I,¡± Gaea agreed. ¡°You will stand. Choose someone else to represent your group.¡± Alice¡¯s shoulders went rigid and I could feel the rage rolling off her. She straightened up before taking a stiff step back from the table. ¡°If you insist.¡± She turned to me and took my hand. For a moment, I was worried she¡¯d switch to Red and shatter every bone in my hand, but thankfully, she didn¡¯t. I heard her breathe deeply through her nose before exhaling slowly to calm herself down. It was a blow to her ego, one of her strongest trump cards being used against her. It had to sting. ¡°Tagging you in,¡± she whispered, leaning into me. ¡°Please don¡¯t fuck this up.¡± I wanted to protest that this wasn¡¯t part of the plan but everything had gone to shit and the meeting hadn¡¯t even started yet. I wasn¡¯t prepared to sit in that chair. Fuck. Numbly, I sat down. I eyed Gaea and the group of Pandora supers across from me. There was an awkward silence as the pack of them sized me up while Gaea stared into the bottom of her glass. I felt so out of my element that I didn¡¯t even notice one of the people operating the bar walk over and tap me on the shoulder. ¡°What would you like to drink?¡± He asked politely. I turned and considered my words for a moment. I was about to ask for water when I remembered I had a helmet on. ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you.¡± ¡°Can I¡ª¡± Anomaly started, only to be stopped by a painful nudge from Mia. ¡°Ow, nevermind.¡± The awkwardness returned tenfold and unfortunately, I seemed to be the only one affected by it. The silence didn¡¯t seem to bother Gaea and Wildfire was more than happy to just sit and stare me down. The moment another person entered the room, I took the opportunity to look away and observe them. Over the next fifteen minutes, other independents started to come in droves. Most were solo or in pairs, with only a sparse few being a part of a group much larger than that. It was clear that most of them were young, some younger or around my age. Others were a bit older. It was clear though, that very few independents had reached adulthood. I turned and looked at Alice over my shoulder and she was observing the newcomers. When I glanced back at Wildfire¡¯s group, I felt myself straighten in my chair. Turns out, a lot of the so-called independents weren¡¯t as independent as I thought. They were here for Pandora and they were slowly but surely making up a large portion of the gathering. ¡°Let¡¯s get a move on,¡± Wildfire said, looking toward Gaea. ¡°We don¡¯t have all day.¡± ¡°We will wait,¡± Gaea said with finality. ¡°There is one more group that is yet to arrive.¡± Another group? ¡°Who?¡± I asked, without thinking. There weren¡¯t any other names that came to mind ¨C ones that were notable at least. Gaea didn¡¯t answer. Wildfire grunted, clearly unhappy that my question was dodged. ¡°You play games with us, woman,¡± he sneered. I half expected him to dissolve into dust on the spot for the insult, but his comment didn¡¯t even seem to phase Gaea. ¡°Answer the boy¡¯s question. This is supposed to be a congregation for cooperation.¡± ¡°Cooperation that will be unachievable should I speak too soon,¡± Gaea said carefully. Her head slowly turned to Alice and her eyes narrowed. ¡°You will say nothing.¡± I turned to see a look of shock spread across Gold¡¯s face. ¡°You mean¡ª¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Gaea repeated with added emphasis. ¡°They have arrived and will be up momentarily,¡± she took a sip from her glass. ¡°None of you will speak or move until I say so.¡± A silence and a sense of dread hung over the room. I saw groups of Supers exchange concerned glances. Alice even met my gaze and she mouthed ¡®don¡¯t freak out¡¯. I was already shitting myself by taking a seat at the table. I don¡¯t think I could freak out any further. Then the door opened and my blood boiled. Leading the last group was Mirage, followed closely by Banshee and a freshly rescued Bonesmith. There was an air of confusion throughout the room as they approached the table. The three of them led a small group of four other supers that I didn¡¯t care to do more than glance at. Gaea conjured a seat for them and after a quick silent debate between the three of them, Bonesmith took the seat. ¡°Everyone is accounted for,¡± Gaea declared, setting her glass down. ¡°Now, let us begin.¡± Fruition 6 I could only imagine the bloodbath if Gaea hadn¡¯t been here to keep everyone in check. One of my hands instinctively twitched towards my gun when Bonesmith took his seat. Thankfully, I wasn¡¯t the only one outraged by his presence. Wildfire stood, a vicious, snarling heat curled off his body. His colleagues took this as their cue to back away from the potential timebomb. ¡°What is this?¡± His demand came from a guttural growl. He pointed at the group of Cains, before turning to Gaea with a violent snarl. ¡°You brought them here under truce, after what they¡¯ve done?¡± ¡°After what Grim has done,¡± Gaea corrected. Her tone was even but there was a hint of warning. ¡°They reached out to me and expressed their desire for an alliance against Grim. I doubt it will put your mind at ease but I¡¯ve already validated their sincerity.¡± The Queen¡¯s Court had Mentalists. That wasn¡¯t surprising in the slightest. ¡°Grim¡¯s actions go beyond reason and he endangers us all,¡± Bonesmith said, laying out his case. ¡°We have been secretly working against him but we are not making much headway. We do not support Grim and we have come here today because we all share a common goal.¡± ¡°Bullshit,¡± I said. Once again, the words slipped from my mouth without any real thought. I¡¯d sooner trust a rabid dog not to bite me than accept his words as truth. ¡°You expect us to believe that?¡± Bonesmith and Banshee turned and stared at me. Mirage just grinned, subtly blowing me an air kiss to try and get on my nerves. Unfortunately, he was succeeding, and the urge to shoot him only intensified. The only thing keeping me in check was Gaea sitting mere meters away. They wanted to use me and my powers to aid in their coup against him. That¡¯s why they had been so insistent on getting me ¨C why they had been so reckless to chase me at the mall. They¡¯re desperate¡­ ¡°The boy is right. Ever since you¡¯ve come to town, your degeneracy has known no limits,¡± Wildfire¡¯s words cut deep and it was easy to tell that it wasn¡¯t just a personal opinion, but one shared by Pandora as a whole. ¡°You¡¯re poison; a cancer to this city. I¡¯ve been waiting for the day that I could cleanse¡ª¡± ¡°Enough,¡± Gaea¡¯s bored tone cut through his words. ¡°We are not here for you to squabble.¡± ¡°A little warning would have gone a long way,¡± I said, taking my shot at the infamous super. She was a mountain and I was but an ant under its shadow. The difference between us couldn¡¯t be understated but my fear was being overruled by anger and petulance. ¡°Did you expect us to just happily go along with this?¡± Gaea didn¡¯t even look in my direction. ¡°Your personal grudge with them is irrelevant. As I have already said, their desires are genuine.¡± I felt my jaw tighten. ¡°And we¡¯re supposed to just believe that?¡± She turned and stared at me as I felt Alice reach out to grip my shoulder. She squeezed tightly and I felt myself stop breathing. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was my own fear or her doing but I knew I had screwed up. I internally cursed and kicked myself for agreeing to sit in this chair. ¡°I am in agreement,¡± Wildfire said, pulling all the animosity off me. I felt myself relax when Gaea looked away but Alice¡¯s grip dug into my shoulder. The warning was clear ¨C don¡¯t do that again. ¡°Why should we believe you? These scum have been following Grim around like lost lambs since their group¡¯s inception. The man is old, not stupid, who¡¯s to say they aren¡¯t spies?¡± ¡°We are not!¡± Bonesmith slammed his fist down on the table. His glare was like fire and I realized this was the first time I was seeing his costume in person. From head to toe, he was covered in a white bone-like armor. ¡°Grim once promised safety. A brotherhood unlike any other ¨C people we could thrive with! That is no longer his concern. Something has corrupted his mind. No longer is he the man I knew.¡± There was anger in his voice I was not expecting. My stomach churned when I realized that he might actually have respected him. Then, I remembered he was an infamous Caribbean pirate, driven into hiding by Foresight. There was honor amongst mass murderers, it seemed. ¡°Grim is a madman. Always has been,¡± Wildfire snorted. ¡°To think anything else is nothing but delusion.¡± ¡°Think what you will,¡± Bonesmith countered dismissively. ¡°He has crossed a line even we cannot condone.¡± The irony had me snorting. His head turned and I saw his glare. ¡°Something you find funny?¡± Banshee chimed in on his behalf. My gaze shifted between all of them as I contemplated my words. ¡°Just seems hypocritical, considering the shit you guys tried to pull,¡± I shifted in my seat and leaned forward, resting an elbow on the table. ¡°Where exactly do you draw the line, human experimentation? You clearly have no problems with abduction.¡± ¡°We are no different from anyone else sitting at this table,¡± Bonesmith argued, looking over toward the Pandora supers. Wildfire roared with laughter. ¡°How typical. Again with these accusations,¡± he shook his head and sighed like someone who was tired of repeating themselves. ¡°We liberate the helpless and give them direction, purpose¡ª¡± ¡°By enslaving them,¡± Alice cut in, her tone cold and full of hatred. ¡°Go ahead and try to paint your organization''s actions as anything but. We all know what you¡¯re really about.¡± Wildfire didn¡¯t react but a few of his associates did. They scowled and looked ready to argue but held their tongues. ¡°The people we take in are free to leave our protection whenever they wish. That¡¯s what you all fail to understand. They come to us for help because we are their betters, we are the gifted of this world,¡± Wildfire waved his hand dismissively. ¡°But we have not come here to discuss morality, so let¡¯s not get sidetracked.¡± Bonesmith grumbled. ¡°Grim must be stopped.¡± ¡°Killed,¡± Wildfire corrected. ¡°That is the only outcome Pandora will accept. Grim must die, nothing less.¡± ¡°We are in agreement,¡± Gaea said. ¡°I suppose you have a plan then. Otherwise you wouldn¡¯t have gone out of your way to call this meeting,¡± I said. ¡°Grim¡¯s weakness has been speculated for years. Do we know it? Do we have any leads, anything at all? Otherwise I don¡¯t like our chances of trying to kill a living shadow.¡± I was met with silence. Everyone exchanged glances and I could see the people lurking around the edges of the room tense as the silence lingered. ¡°A plan?¡± Gaea mused. ¡°If I had such a thing, I would have dealt with Grim myself. No, this meeting is to establish boundaries; to form a truce until Grim is either dead or gone. I will not have us tear this city apart while Grim continues to cause unrest. There will be no infighting. Cooperation is beneficial.¡± Her tone was almost clinical. I felt like shuddering. I could practically hear the politician in her. ¡°A truce?¡± My skin crawled the moment Mirage started speaking. ¡°Hmm¡­ I suppose it could work. Yes, could work, could work. The only question is if everyone here will honor it,¡± he looked around and I saw his gaze linger on me. ¡°Contrary to what you might think, we are not stupid. I know you want us all gone. Not just Grim. Some of you will think this¡­ alliance will be the perfect excuse to wipe us all out,¡± his head turned to Wildfire and the rest of Pandora. ¡°You said it yourself, hm? You¡¯ve been waiting to¡­ how did you say it, cleanse us?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Wildfire didn¡¯t even hesitate. ¡°Your gang of degenerates are a blight on this city,¡± he leaned back in his chair confidently and crossed his arms. ¡°But Grim is the more immediate threat. With him gone, you won¡¯t have any support worth mentioning. If you survive the fighting, dealing with the remnants of your group will be trivial.¡± Mirage chuckled. ¡°You sound very confident there, my friend.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a simple observation,¡± Wildfire countered. ¡°Without Grim, you three aren¡¯t much,¡± I joined in, glaring at Mirage. I looked past them at the other couple of supers they had managed to bag. ¡°Your new help doesn¡¯t look like much either. So now, I¡¯m wondering why you even bothered to show up. What exactly do you hope to achieve? Do you hope to wrestle control of a gang that¡¯s barely holding itself together?¡± I couldn¡¯t see the logic. They¡¯d be trampled and picked at by other gangs and supers until there was nothing left. It was a losing game, they had to know this. The smarter play would¡¯ve been just to skip town but they had come here instead. So either they were either stupid, or they had another card up their sleeve. Given that Mirage was here, I had to assume it was the latter. ¡°You underestimate the number of those loyal to us,¡± Banshee sneered. ¡°Irrelevant,¡± Alice dismissed her statement. ¡°Even if you had all of the remaining Cains loyal to you, it wouldn¡¯t be enough. Your resources are severely weakened, and whatever¡¯s left isn¡¯t even worth picking back up. Face it, whatever your plan is to salvage your gang will fail. Without Grim, you become significantly less threatening and that makes you competition for the rest of us,¡± I could practically hear the smile on her face. ¡°Do you really think we¡¯re just going to let you pick up the pieces?¡± A lot of the independents in the room sneered. A couple of them were clearly standing in groups and agreed with Alice. Even still, Mirage looked unbothered. ¡°So hostile,¡± he chuckled. ¡°Who''s to say we aren¡¯t doing this out of the kindness of our hearts?¡± No one was amused by his joke. ¡°So hard to believe, hm? No one?¡± He looked around, nodding to himself. ¡°Ah, fair enough. I wouldn¡¯t believe it either.¡± ¡°We are getting off-track,¡± Gaea stated, impatience bleeding into her words. ¡°And yet you call this meeting without a plan to dispose of him,¡± Wildfire criticized. ¡°You might be able to make yourself look younger but it seems you can¡¯t stop your mind from failing,¡± he chuckled slowly. ¡°You¡¯re getting¡ª¡± ¡°Insults are not necessary,¡± Springsong said, silencing the man with her inaudible song. He reached for his neck and scowled. The object of his ire stood proudly by Gaea¡¯s side, staring down at him as if he were an insect to be squashed. ¡°Consider that your one warning.¡± Wildfire grunted. ¡°Was wondering how long it¡¯d take to get a reaction.¡± ¡°Liberation¡¯s judgment must be slipping if he sent you to act as Pandora¡¯s voice,¡± Gaea mused. ¡°Another comment like that and you won¡¯t like what happens. I did not call you all here to trade insults. Unless we want this city to descend into chaos, we must do what the ECU refuses to. I will not entertain that conclusion. We will work together.¡± Wildfire rolled his eyes. ¡°Very well. I¡¯m done trading barbs. I¡¯d like to know about this ¡®human experimentation¡¯ the boy brought up,¡± he turned and stared at me from across the table. ¡°That involves Grim and another reason for the need for a truce,¡± Gaea said. ¡°A Bunker was discovered within the Cains¡¯ territory. They had people taken and were being experimented on by a third party.¡± ¡°Masquerade,¡± Bonesmith said. ¡°He and Grim have an agreement.¡± ¡°What?¡± Wildfire¡¯s tone changed dramatically. He no longer had that goading edge to his voice. ¡°What kind of agreement?¡± ¡°We were not privy to that information,¡± Banshee said. Alice laughed. ¡°Not exactly subtle about it, were you?¡± ¡°Masquerade''s involvement with Grim spelled the beginning of the end for our brotherhood,¡± Bonesmith said. ¡°I have seen this play out before, men tempted by things beyond their grasp. I was loyal to Grim, I spoke out against this ¡®agreement¡¯. My input was ignored.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I half expected a snarky quip from Wildfire but the man was silent. His attention was locked on Bonesmith, his shoulders rigid. Masquerade was dangerous, that much was obvious but to evoke such caution from Wildfire only served to reinforce his prestige. ¡°Seduced by false promises and delusions,¡± Gaea mused. ¡°Masquerade has always had a forked tongue. Grim was likely offered something too enticing to refuse.¡± ¡°Which is what, exactly?¡± I asked, looking around. ¡°And what does it have to do with Artificial Awakenings?¡± ¡°Artificial Awakenings?¡± Wildfire parroted in disbelief. There was a noticeable sense of unrest within the Pandora supers. ¡°Explain. Now.¡± ¡°We were there,¡± Alice said. ¡°We were the ones that discovered the Bunker, with some help of course,¡± she gestured to Springsong and Gaea. ¡°Between the evidence down there and some insight from my power, I am very certain that¡¯s what they were trying to achieve.¡± ¡°There was Mechatech supplied by Fireiron Industries,¡± Gaea said, looking directly at the present Cains. ¡°The Iron Maiden has a history of being unethical. Many of the supers under her command have been Artificially Awakened¡ª¡± Wildfire¡¯s fist hit the table harder than Bonesmith had. ¡°THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!¡± Alice grumbled under her breath. ¡°And heeeeere we go.¡± ¡°You dare toy with the gifts bestowed upon us!?¡± Wildfire stood, head whipping toward Bonesmith and the rest of the Cains so quickly I was surprised it didn¡¯t pop off entirely. ¡°Filth. Absolute filth, all of you! Right under our noses¡­ in our city. I should kill you all where you stand and scatter your ashes to the winds!¡± ¡°You will sit down,¡± Gaea interjected, her tone level. ¡°Grim has crossed the line and they want no part of his schemes, else they wouldn¡¯t be here.¡± ¡°And where might that line be? At what point were his actions too far gone?¡± His venomous words didn¡¯t seem to have the intended effect because the Cains remained still and silent. They withstood his outburst without even flinching like they had known it was coming. ¡°I have stomached your existence in my city for too long. I will have no part in this.¡± ¡°You and your ridiculous religion,¡± Gaea sighed dramatically. ¡°If you leave here today, you and yours will not be protected by any truce, and let me warn you, I will not be kind.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± Wildfire sneered. ¡°You¡¯re in my domain. The only reason any of you are still alive is because I allow it.¡± An uneasy silence hung over the Pandora group and I watched with bated breath to see what would happen. I half expected Wildfire to walk away, but to my surprise, he stood rooted to the spot. I could see in his body language the weight of his decision before ultimately, he slowly lowered himself back into his chair. ¡°Let it be known that I am not excusing their actions. There are enough problems in the world as it is and I loathe to add to them,¡± Gaea brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes before gesturing for the bar staff to bring her a refill. ¡°Our goal is simple and everyone should understand what needs to be done. We will put a stop to these experiments and the one operating them.¡± ¡°Grim is not in charge?¡± Wildfire grunted. ¡°No,¡± Bonesmith said. ¡°There is another. They consult with Grim in private. None of us were able to figure out who they are.¡± I remembered my conversation with Alex and the potential biokinetic running these experiments. Splicer¡­ Everyone¡¯s heads turned to me, causing me to sit up in my chair. Shit, did I say that out loud? I met Gaea¡¯s gaze and managed to hold my nerve. ¡°What do you know?¡± She asked. Up until now, I had been involved in the meeting, speaking whenever I felt like I could get a word in, regardless of the subject. My nerves simply wouldn¡¯t allow me to just sit quietly. However, now that the spotlight was squarely on me, I felt the pressure, the stares of every super in the room, including one of the most powerful people to ever walk the planet. It was suffocating and I nearly choked on my nerves when I turned to get a look at Alice, Anomaly, and Mia. Alice¡¯s face was blank. She was rolling with what I had said but I could tell she was shocked. I hadn¡¯t brought up Splicer prior to the meeting because it had slipped my mind. There was so much to keep track of. I¡¯d have to develop something to keep myself on top of things¡­ like an upgraded calendar. Ugh, upgraded calendar¡­ what even¡ª ¡°Well?¡± I could hear the impatience in Gaea¡¯s tone. ¡°I did some digging after our assault on the Bunker,¡± I started, trying to gather my nerves. ¡°Came across Splicer¡¯s name.¡± ¡°How?¡± Gaea pressed, curious. ¡°I doubt this information was easy to come by, seeing as it slipped past some of my own.¡± I didn¡¯t miss the concealed frustration in her tone. Still, I wasn¡¯t about to sell out my sister, regardless of who was asking. ¡°I have connections.¡± ¡°Clearly,¡± Gaea took a sip of her glass. ¡°What do you know?¡± I bit my lip, feeling the gazes of everyone in the room intensify. Alex had only ever given me basic background info on the guy. His name was the biggest clue to what his powers could be but other than his identity, there was nothing worth mentioning. ¡°That he¡¯s been traveling around a bit before he ended up here and that he¡¯s still in the city. Other than that I haven¡¯t been able to dig up anything,¡± I shook my head. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t even know if he¡¯s the guy that Grim and Masquerade have been working with. Just a suspect I¡¯ve been investigating.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than nothing,¡± Wildfire grumbled. ¡°I¡¯ll have people look into it.¡± Mirage applauded. ¡°Progress. This is good, yes?¡± ¡°So, you were the ones to discover all this?¡± Wildfire said, ignoring Mirage¡¯s comment, his gaze was firmly locked on me. ¡°I have to say, if it wasn¡¯t for Alice standing behind you, I¡¯d be wondering why you were given a seat at this table,¡± he crossed his arms and sat up straight. ¡°That¡¯s the most you¡¯ve contributed since this meeting started.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ve yet to contribute at all,¡± Alice said. ¡°Honestly, I was hoping you would¡¯ve taken the opportunity to leave when you did. Things would be so much easier¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here to contribute. I¡¯m here to listen to Gaea¡¯s proposition,¡± Wildfire retorted. ¡°And so far, this alliance doesn¡¯t seem very enticing, nor beneficial. Pandora doesn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s help. We¡¯ve kept Grim at bay for years¡ª¡± ¡°If Grim wished, he could drown this entire city in his shadow and turn it into a graveyard in an afternoon. You have not kept him at bay, you¡¯ve entertained him,¡± Gaea said, sounding bereft of patience. ¡°And now he¡¯s no longer content with sitting behind the frontlines. I thought the massacre would have made that obvious to you.¡± For the first time, someone behind Wildfire spoke out. ¡°You fucking bitch,¡± they stepped forward with glowing hands. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare talk about Flare¡ª¡± The unnamed super fell over like their strings had been cut, their body hitting the floor like a sack of potatoes. Gaea sipped her glass as the people around the body stepped away in horror. ¡°You were all warned,¡± she turned to a fuming Wildfire. ¡°The next one of your cultists to speak out of turn kills you all.¡± Wildfire and the rest of Pandora answered with a hate-filled stare. ¡°What I propose is simple. Cooperate to minimize Grim¡¯s ability to operate. Should that prove too difficult for you, then the alternative is a cease fire. Do not cause trouble for each other,¡± Gaea said. ¡°Can we at least agree on the latter?¡± There were a lot of reluctant nods and grumbling affirmations from everyone in the room. ¡°A historic moment,¡± Mirage said with a smile. ¡°Wish I brought my phone. I¡¯d take a picture and put it on my fridge.¡± This fucking guy¡­ ¡°It only took us two hours,¡± Alice commented. ¡°I do believe that¡¯s a new record. Now, we just need to figure out how to kill the big ol¡¯ shadow himself.¡± ¡°Easier said than done,¡± Wildfire said, looking toward the Cains. ¡°We need a weakness.¡± ¡°Grim has no weakness,¡± Bonesmith said with certainty. ¡°We¡¯ll talk in circles if we sit here and debate how we kill him,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s invested in whatever Masquerade¡¯s got going on here and it has something to do with Artificial Awakenings. Our best way of fighting him is figuring out what his goal is,¡± I reluctantly stared at the renegade Cains. ¡°Unfortunately, I doubt you guys know anything.¡± Their group was silent for a moment until Banshee spoke up. ¡°I recall Grim was adamant that working with Masquerade was necessary.¡± ¡°For what?¡± Alice asked before shaking her head. ¡°Nevermind. If you knew, you¡¯d say. Though, that in itself is a big clue. He wants something and he¡¯s willing to kill a lot of people to get it. So, let¡¯s lay out what we know. Masquerade is involved, along with someone called Splicer. They¡¯re taking people and experimenting on them to try and awaken them. To what end?¡± ¡°To build an army?¡± Springsong offered. Gaea disagreed. ¡°Grim doesn¡¯t need an army.¡± ¡°Maybe he¡¯s getting weaker,¡± Wildfire said with a low chuckle. ¡°He¡¯s been around for a long time and no one knows what happens to our gifts as we age.¡± ¡°He was never concerned about his age,¡± Bonesmith countered. ¡°I do not believe that is the case.¡± ¡°Clearly, he doesn¡¯t tell you anything. Just because he hasn¡¯t discussed it with you, doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t a concern,¡± Wildfire said. ¡°He¡¯d appear weak and it was obvious you already had issues with his leadership.¡± Banshee replied with something snarky that I completely missed and the room descended into bickering. This time, Gaea didn¡¯t bother to stop it. The arguments seemed too petty to turn violent so I just sat back and watched as Pandora traded insults with the renegade Cains. Even the independents hovering in the background got involved, wanting to say their piece after having to remain silent all this time. ¡°This is a nightmare¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how we¡¯re supposed to achieve anything.¡± Alice came up and stood next to me. ¡°Yep. The best we can hope for is a cease fire at this point. There¡¯s almost always too much bad blood for any real team up.¡± Once again, my gaze drifted back to the Cains. Mirage wasn¡¯t really paying attention to the bickering. Instead, he found his amusement in watching Gaea. When he noticed we were looking, he sent me a smug look. The thought of teaming up with him made me physically ill, I¡¯d much prefer to fight Grim alone than deal with him. ¡°You know, I think I can understand that.¡± ¡°Your gripes with them are tame in comparison. Imagine the kind of crap they¡¯ve put Pandora through. Vise versa, each side would rather kill each other than work together. The only thing stopping that is sitting in that chair,¡± she gestured to Gaea and grimaced. ¡°And it looks like she no longer cares to keep the peace.¡± Gaea finished her drink before handing it to Springsong to take away. After that, she looked in our direction, meeting our gazes without shrinking away. Then, without a care in the world, she lifted a hand and pointed. I felt confused at first, thinking she was pointing at me. I felt like a kid again, back at school, thinking I had been singled out by the teacher, only to realize that the person behind me was the actual target. I followed Gaea¡¯s gaze until my eyes landed on Mia. She seemed to notice that Gaea was pointing at her and shrunk away. Anomaly stepped in front of her protectively but Gaea just rolled her eyes. ¡°You, girl. I will speak with you.¡± Gaea¡¯s voice was barely audible over the noise but Mia heard it. Despite her disguise, I could easily see how terrified she was. Slowly, she edged her way over toward Gaea. We watched from a distance as the two had a private conversation that was drowned out by the chaotic arguing that only seemed to be getting louder. ¡°She knows,¡± Alice muttered. ¡°Gaea can read biology. She knows Mia¡¯s the one we rescued.¡± ¡°What does she want with her?¡± I asked. ¡°Information,¡± Alice replied swiftly. ¡°This meeting¡¯s pretty much over. Gaea¡¯s just fishing for anything she can get at this point. That reminds me,¡± she leaned over into my ear. ¡°We need to talk about how you knew about Splicer.¡± I cringed and looked away. ¡°I¡¯m not mad. You didn¡¯t have anything more than a name. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do much with that anyway. I¡¯m more interested as to where you got it from,¡± she said. ¡°But that can wait.¡± I was surprised. I honestly thought she¡¯d be more angry. ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± ¡°If I get upset over every little slip, then we¡¯re never going to work out. Besides I¡¯m not perfect and everyone hates hypocrites,¡± she replied earnestly. ¡°Plus, Gold says that you genuinely forgot and honestly it makes sense. We¡¯ve had a lot to think about lately.¡± I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. I had been meaning to tell her about Alex. There was no guarantee she wouldn¡¯t be mad about that but at this point, she deserved to know. ¡°Later then. Once we get out of here.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± We watched the private conversation for a few more moments before it wrapped up and Mia returned to us whiter than a sheet. Anomaly stepped forward intending to ask what the conversation was about since¡ª A sharp pain made me flinch. It started in my temple and felt like the tip of a knife slowly pushing into the side of my brain. It was uncomfortable and made me nauseous. From the groans around me, it seemed I wasn¡¯t the only one affected. ¡°Too much noise,¡± Gaea drawled as the room quietened down. The pain subsided, along with the rest of the nausea the quieter the room got. ¡°I believe we have reached the end of this meeting. Clearly, none of us are interested in putting aside personal grievances, which is a shame. I had my hopes but once again, I am reminded of the kind of people I am forced to co-exist with.¡± Mirage mockingly clutched his chest. ¡°You wound me so.¡± Gaea ignored him. ¡°Regardless, we¡¯ve all agreed to a cease-fire. I will consider any who break it personal enemies,¡± she stood up and the table, along with all the chairs were reabsorbed into the floor. Alice caught me and pulled me to my feet before I hit the ground. ¡°Now, I¡¯d appreciate it if you saw yourselves out.¡± Mirage flashed me a smile as the Cains were the first to leave. Pandora quietly talked amongst themselves before leaving through another door. Springsong came over and led us out the way we came and once the door shut and locked us out of the building. Anomaly cleared his throat. ¡°Is it just me, or was all of that a complete waste of time?¡± I wanted to protest but if I was being completely honest¡­ It felt like he had a point. Fruition 7 ¡°She knew they experimented on me.¡± We hadn¡¯t even made it back to the car before Mia started to spill. There was a tinge of fear in her voice, that she couldn¡¯t hide. Alice walked ahead of us and she didn¡¯t even look over her shoulder to answer. ¡°Gaea knows a lot of things,¡± her answer was vague and I had a feeling she was doing it on purpose. ¡°More to the point, she read your biology and that tipped her off. Whatever the Cains did to you isn¡¯t just surface-level. I¡¯d be more surprised if she didn¡¯t notice that something was up.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Mia¡¯s voice was strangled. ¡°I thought it was just my Awakening that did this to me.¡± ¡°That can happen, but that¡¯s only for morphers and their changes are very obvious, while you just look like a normal person on the street. More to the point, Gold can¡¯t find any connection between your physical changes and your powers,¡± Alice explained. ¡°Which means, something else was done to you.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Alice stopped and turned. Her gaze flicked to me. ¡°Splicer,¡± she said the name like she was testing how it rolled off the tongue. Her features twisted into disgust the longer she lingered on it. ¡°Clue is in the name.¡± ¡°So like¡­ they splice stuff together?¡± Anomaly asked. Alice opened her mouth to reply but his face lightened up as the realization struck. ¡°Wait-wait! They were trying to do that Artificial Awakening thing, right? Were they trying to like, merge powers into a person or something?¡± ¡°Power fusing,¡± I said, frowning at the conclusion. ¡°Is that even possible?¡± ¡°No,¡± Alice said with an air of uncertainty. ¡°Well¡­ nobody¡¯s ever managed it before. Sure, the kid of two supers tends to get a piece of each parent¡¯s power, but even that isn¡¯t merging powers, it¡¯s more like creating something new with influence from both.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think it¡¯s even theoretically possible? We hadn¡¯t even heard of Splicer until now,¡± I pointed out. ¡°For all we know, this could be their speciality,¡± I looked toward Mia and noted how pale she was looking. She looked almost sickly. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°W-Who me? Oh yeah, I¡¯m fine,¡± she replied with a shaky voice. ¡°Just coming to terms with the fact that some sick fucking weirdo might¡¯ve impregnated me, or¨Cor¡ª¡± Alice rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not pregnant.¡± ¡°I-I¡ª you¡¯re the one that brought up kids and¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯re panicking. Take a breath and relax,¡± Alice said. ¡°What did Gaea say to you? Word for word, if possible.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Mia shook her head. ¡°She told me that she knew what happened and that I¡¯d be better off joining her, that if I joined she could put me back to how I was before,¡± I noted her fingers digging into the hem of her jacket, her knuckles turning white. ¡°I asked if there was something wrong with me and she said no, but that people would try to take advantage of me ¨C to hurt me.¡± ¡°She promised to protect you from the Cains,¡± Alice summarized. Mia just nodded. Anomaly crossed his arms. ¡°You¡¯re not considering joining it¡­ right?¡± Mia looked scandalized. ¡°Of course not! I don¡¯t want anything to do with her crazed gang of weirdos. Plus, her policies are utter garbage!¡± Anomaly and I just stared at her while Alice snorted. ¡°What? Didn¡¯t you see her tax plan?¡± Sometimes it was difficult to remember that Gaea wasn¡¯t just an international S-class Super, but a politician. She could take over the country if she wanted, but she wanted to do things the democratic way. If nothing else, I had to respect her for that. ¡°Politics aside, you just declined a recruitment pitch from The Queen¡¯s Court,¡± Alice sighed, rubbing her forehead. ¡°An invite from Gaea herself to boot. Normally, that¡¯s Springsong¡¯s job. She must have thought you were very valuable.¡± ¡°Ah, is that how you know Springsong?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, it wasn¡¯t a pleasant meeting,¡± she replied casually. ¡°But we didn¡¯t fight. That¡¯s not how QC rolls. If you''re not interested, they aren¡¯t going to go out of their way to get you.¡± ¡°Awfully civil of them,¡± I mused aloud. ¡°It doesn¡¯t even feel right to call them a gang,¡± Anomaly countered. ¡°More like an¡­ organization or something. Is The Queen¡¯s Court copyrighted?¡± That got a few chuckles out of us and led to a bit of small talk until we arrived back at the car. On the way back we kept the conversation light and made idle chit-chat, mostly discussing the different Supers at the meeting. Anomaly didn¡¯t have a high opinion of the Cains, but he freely admitted that he had never interacted with Mirage, Bonesmith, or Banshee before. I filled him and Mia in on what I had gone through and what those three specifically had done to me. I found a kindred soul in Liam when he promised to beat the shit out of them if we were to ever cross paths again. Mia, on the other hand, started to contribute less and less to the conversation. Her eventual silence didn¡¯t go unnoticed and it stretched into the evening after we got back to the apartment. Sam had taken it upon herself to organize dinner for the four of us, seeing as none of us had any plans of going anywhere. I texted Mom to tell her that I¡¯d be home late, to which she gave me a curfew of 10:30 given that it was a school day. ¡°I can¡¯t go home, can I?¡± Mia¡¯s question spoiled the mood. Liam had just been in the middle of talking to me about which room in the apartment he wanted. ¡°It just dawned on me; the situation I¡¯m in,¡± Mia looked up from her food. Liam and I were at the table while Sam was occupying the couch. ¡°If I go home, my parents will call the ECU and I¡¯ll get questioned. I bet they have psychics on payroll so they¡¯ll find out everything, even if I don¡¯t tell them anything.¡± Sam¡¯s lips thinned as she placed her food to the side. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°The meeting and everything. They¡¯ll know.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Sam said again. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Mia¡¯s expression was unreadable, completely blank like all her thoughts had evacuated her brain, leaving nothing but a white void. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know,¡± there was clear dissatisfaction on her face and in her tone. ¡°Will my family even recognize me? Will they accept me?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look that different,¡± Liam countered. ¡°You¡¯re a bit bigger¡ª¡± he stumbled a bit when she glared at him. ¡°¡ªin a good way¡ª¡± she glared harder. ¡°¡ªI mean, you look virtually the same. I recognized you immediately. Why wouldn¡¯t your parents?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never met them. You don¡¯t know what they¡¯re like.¡± Sam cringed. ¡°Ouch, that bad?¡± ¡°They¡¯re just very intense. Protective¡­ perfectionists. Ugh, it¡¯s hard to explain,¡± Mia shook her head. ¡°They¡¯ll probably accept me, but they¡¯ll call the ECU no matter what and pressure me to be a hero. It¡¯s just, I¡¯m not sure what I want, everything¡¯s changed. I look different and¡­¡± she sighed and turned to Sam with a forlorn expression. ¡°Am I stupid to hope there¡¯s a chance to fix this without Gaea?¡± Sam pursued her lips and opened her mouth to speak but Mia was quick to interject. ¡°Please don¡¯t lie.¡± Sam¡¯s shoulders fell. ¡°There are ways to fix this but none of them are available to us, yet. If you go to the ECU, they¡¯ll put you through intense questioning. You¡¯ll have a couple of Mentalists prodding you and you likely won¡¯t even know. After that, they¡¯ll test to see if you have powers ¨C which you do ¨C and then they¡¯ll talk to your parents about¡ª wait,¡± she paused. ¡°You¡¯re nineteen, right?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°No parents then. They¡¯ll try and get you into the Rookies, if you don¡¯t want to, then they¡¯ll mark you down as an independant and keep an eye on you.¡± Mia absently began picking at her fingernails. ¡°Okay. What would happen to you guys?¡± ¡°Assuming they can catch us? We¡¯ll be arrested. I¡¯ll skip town before that happens,¡± Sam replied casually. ¡°Assuming we got caught, we¡¯d all be put through the legal system as minors. Depending on what they can prove. Liam will probably get a few months of juvie and maybe some community service. All monitored.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Liam said, sounding rather surprised. ¡°I thought it¡¯d be much worse than that.¡± Sam chuckled. ¡°Max would get about the same and he¡¯d probably be slapped with some fines if they could prove he was selling mechatech. Pretty basic stuff, but it would be easy for him to cut a deal with the ECU. They need to stay ahead of the competition in tech, otherwise they¡¯ll collapse, so he has leverage there.¡± That all sounded pretty mundane. Then again, we hadn¡¯t done anything too bad. I shrugged. ¡°It could be worse.¡± ¡°I told you,¡± Sam said in her knowing tone. ¡°But once you start murdering people, it becomes a different ballgame. We¡¯re still minors so the ECU tends to be more lenient,¡± her gaze flicked to Mia. ¡°Not you, since you¡¯re an adult, but you haven¡¯t done anything.¡± I could almost hear the unspoken ¡®yet¡¯ at the end. ¡°So, you kill someone and the kiddy gloves come off?¡± Liam didn¡¯t sound like he understood the reason why. ¡°There are heaps of other bad shit other than murder. Rape, torture¡­ you know. Do they just get a pass?¡± ¡°No, but it¡¯s very rare a minor commits those crimes,¡± Sam pointed out. ¡°Unless they¡¯re deranged. But that¡¯s not a Super problem, just a mental health one.¡± I frowned. ¡°What about powers that mess with your head?¡± ¡°When that happens it¡¯s taken into account, but they¡¯re not that common,¡± she flashed me a smile. ¡°You know, some might consider me utterly insane, what with all the voices and different personalities I switch between, but I am perfectly in control,¡± I saw her head twitch ever so slightly and her eyes flash Pink before returning to Blue. ¡°...sometimes.¡± ¡°Sometimes?¡± Liam edged away from her, his tone cautious. ¡°The point is you¡¯d drag us all down with you,¡± Sam said, ignoring Liam and focusing on Mia. ¡°Not to put any pressure on you or anything, but I¡¯ll ask you nicely to not do that,¡± she said, slurping in a mouthful of noodles. ¡°Pwetty pwease.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Mia¡¯s concerned features cracked and she let out a snort. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do that. You guys saved my life. I¡¯m not about to throw you to the wolves,¡± she replied, rubbing the back of her neck. ¡°But I can¡¯t just let my parents think I¡¯m dead. I need to at least call them or something.¡± ¡°Max can help with that,¡± Sam said, offering up my services without my consent. ¡°He needs to make his phone harder to trace anyway,¡± she hummed for a moment. ¡°Or you could just go out and buy a burner phone. That works too, though with Seer around it¡¯s not foolproof.¡± Mia heaved a sigh. ¡°I guess I have to stay here.¡± ¡°Gee, you don¡¯t need to sound so excited!¡± Sam pouted. ¡°We¡¯re not that bad for company, are we? I feel like I¡¯ve been a good host.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a lot to take in, sorry,¡± Mia replied, smiling weakly at Sam¡¯s attempt to lighten the mood. ¡°I just¡­ I had a whole life ahead of me before all this. I have friends, family¡­ I was halfway through my degree as well. I was doing so well at uni.¡± ¡°What were you studying?¡± I asked. ¡°Art History.¡± I scoffed. ¡°You¡¯re better off here.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Yeah, stick with us,¡± Liam said. ¡°I¡¯m not making any permanent decisions,¡± Mia said, making it very clear that she still wasn¡¯t entirely sure what to do. ¡°But for now, I think I¡¯ll stay here, if that¡¯s okay with you.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Sam took another bite out of her food. ¡°Been a while since I had a roomie.¡±
My investment in 3D printers had proved fruitful. But there was an issue I couldn¡¯t seem to get past with my current level of equipment. The printer was capable of creating the base models of almost anything I needed, but my power would have to fill in the gaps. For example, the tranquilizer rounds for my sniper rifle. I was able to easily recreate the bullet and casing, but chemicals like the primer or the sedative inside were a different story entirely. As the machine worked in the background, creating empty rounds, one after another, I held one in my fingertips. To an onlooker, it would appear I was simply lost in thought, staring at the casing of a bullet. To me, my mind was filled with possibilities, pathways that stretched on forever. My power recognized the bullet as [Empty Tranquilizer Round] and the steps to upgrade it into a proper one were few. All it cost was a single charge, but I resisted the urge. There had to be a better way to do this. I had done it before, bulk-upgraded ammo into something else. When I was running away from the Cains and more recently, with my initial batch of tranquilizer rounds. The question was, what would my power let me get away with? It seems my power can recognize objects contained within other objects and consider them to be one singular entity. Idly, I reached for one of the empty magazines, placed some bullets in the casings, and started loading the new tranquilizer rounds. I filled it right to the brim before observing the magazine in my hand. [Tranquilizer Magazine] I had already done this before so the cost was halved from its initial price. It now sat at a measly one charge to improve a whole cartridge. What if I loaded a bunch of them and then stacked them inside of a box? Would my power recognize it as a box of empty tranquilizer magazines? If so, how far can I stretch it? ¡°Knock knock.¡± I turned to see Sam standing in the doorway of my workshop. Her hair was drenched from a recent shower and she was dressed in a tank top sweatpants combo. She sauntered into the room with a knowing little smirk on her lips. ¡°So eager to keep yourself busy. Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t notice you sneaking away as soon as you could,¡± she dropped into a chair adjacent to me and crossed her legs. ¡°It¡¯s funny, you know. You¡¯re all the same. Mechakinetics that is,¡± she clarified quickly. ¡°Even though your power is different from the norm, tech still dominates your mind, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Every second,¡± I replied, placing the [Tranquilizer Magazine] on the table. ¡°It¡¯s like an itch in the back of my head and when I have charges to spend it¡¯s at its worst. But even once I¡¯ve spent them, my mind still drifts. I can¡¯t stop thinking about what I should make, and questioning if I¡¯ve made the right choice, if I¡¯m focusing on the right things.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t think of everything, Max.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I have you for,¡± I said with a smile. Her lips twitched upwards as I gestured to the machinery around me; all the tools that were still in their infancy. So much to do, so little time, and so few charges. ¡°It¡¯s not enough is it? No matter what I do, there will never be enough time. It¡¯s stupid to hope that I¡¯ll get some time to breathe.¡± Sam¡¯s lips thinned and she kept quiet for a moment. ¡°It¡¯ll get better.¡± I wanted to believe her, but it didn¡¯t seem like it would be anytime soon. Grim was coming and I had a feeling a bloodbath would follow soon after. The only question that remained was when it would all kick-off. I needed to be ready¡­ but how do you prepare for something like that? ¡°We need to be protected first. My suit needs to be better than the stuff Nanoforge makes. I know I can do it and¡­ you know maybe I can do the same for you. After that, I can turn this place into a fortress. I can upgrade the motion sensors and cameras we bought to improve security. I could install an automated defense system. The last thing I¡¯d want is Mirage sneaking in and slitting our throats at night. I¡¯d have to tune it so it recognizes us so there¡¯s no friendly fire, but upgrading accessibility should be easy enough ¨C if a little costly. And¡ª¡± I turned to Sam and blinked, stopping myself. I wasn¡¯t used to her being so silent. I also wasn¡¯t used to rambling like that. A playful smile stretched across her lips and I snorted. ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯ve had a lot on my mind lately. If you hadn¡¯t picked it up already, I¡¯m committed to the team now.¡± ¡°And for that, I promise I¡¯ll have your back. Every step of the way, Max.¡± Sam was happy, genuinely. She wasn¡¯t elated or ecstatic about the admission since she likely already knew. Instead, I guessed she was happy that I had finally said it out loud. ¡°So,¡± she continued. ¡°What¡¯re you working on? Is there anything I can help with?¡± Outside of directing me toward what¡¯s best to build, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how Sam would be able to help. Mechakinetics were able to teach others how to use, maintain, and in some cases even recreate their technology, but that process still required Mechatech made by said Mechakinetic. At most, Sam would be able to use the 3D printers to make what she wanted. ¡°I was investigating how my power interacts with objects that contain other smaller objects. I can sort of cheat if my power recognizes the smaller parts as part of the larger object,¡± I felt my eyes narrow as I tried to make sense of what I just said. I picked up the [Tranquilizer Magazine] and handed it to her. ¡°I was worried I¡¯d have to upgrade every single bullet individually, but if I place all of them inside the cartridge, my power recognizes it as a smaller piece of a bigger, err¡­ puzzle?¡± Sam pursed her lips and nodded slowly. ¡°You can skip wasting your power on these smaller bits?¡± She plucked one of the empty tranquilizer rounds from the magazine and looked at it for a moment. ¡°You¡¯ve done this before, back at the mall when we were running away from Bonesmith. You changed the toy gun¡¯s rounds into real bullets because they were loaded into the gun.¡± I shrugged. ¡°It didn¡¯t occur to me at the time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t blame you for not noticing. It took me a while to figure out I had Orange,¡± she paused for a moment and scowled. ¡°And Purple.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I bet there¡¯s a story behind that.¡± Sam dropped the bullet back into the magazine. ¡°There is. Another time though,¡± she handed it back to me. ¡°So¡­ you want to make me a new costume, one that has similar protection to Nanoforge¡¯s stuff?¡± I leaned back in my chair and contemplated my next words. The last time we talked about this, she said her current costume held sentimental value. It was something important and she didn¡¯t want to part with it easily and while I could maintain the look, It would forever be worse than just making proper armor. ¡°I can continue to improve your costume as is but eventually, it¡¯ll become too costly to justify investing the time and charges into it,¡± I reasoned. ¡°That stuff isn¡¯t designed to protect you, even if I¡¯ve altered the material to Areium. I still don¡¯t know how to get energy shields ¡ªthough I do have a few ideas in the works¡ª so that¡¯s out as well for now.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she said easily. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± I stood up and retrieved a book from one of my bags that I used to scribble down designs during my spare time at school. I opened it and flicked through a few pages before I handed it to her. It was a slimmer design compared to my suit, consisting of three different Evomats, all lightweight and specifically designed to be worn underneath clothing. It was purely theoretical but with those specific materials, I might eventually be able to incorporate some kind of energy shield, assuming I integrated a power source and my other ideas didn¡¯t pan out. I had to get through to Sam and her reluctance to change her costume. She needed better protection, even if she was an Aspect. Our assault on Grim¡¯s bunker was proof that Red was a crutch ¨C one she often used after she had already been hurt. ¡°I can make that strong enough to defend against most projectiles, shock resistance, fire retardant, and strong enough to withstand some of the most corrosive substances in the world,¡± I said. ¡°Assuming they haven¡¯t been tinkered with by other supers. You¡¯d be a walking one-woman army. Well, moreso than you already are.¡± She was staring intently at the page. I watched as she tilted her head to the right, and then slowly to the left. Then, she nodded slowly and hummed. I cleared my throat awkwardly. ¡°I will also point out that like my suit, I would be able to incorporate other tech into it. Power systems, interfaces¡­ stuff I have now,¡± I stared at her, wondering if she was even listening to me. ¡°Sam?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± She didn¡¯t take her eyes off the page. ¡°What do you think, can you work with that? I know you said you liked your costume so I¡¯ve tried to keep that in mind with the color scheme. I suppose I should also make something for Mia. Liam too¡­ although he¡¯s pretty durable anyway. Maybe we could have a uniform,¡± my thoughts began to trail off as I pictured the four of us in similar suits of armor, all color-coded. Though, Sam¡¯s would have to change, based on which power she was using. Pink would probably demand a function like that, it would also let us know what she was currently¡ª ¡°Did you draw this?¡± Sam asked out of the blue. I frowned. ¡°Uh, yeah. In my free time. I gotta keep my mind occupied somehow. Why?¡± Her lips curled into a smile as she tilted the page to look at it from different angles. ¡°Did you draw this with me in mind?¡± ¡°...Yeah?¡± She chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of angles here Max¡­ have you been looking?¡± My bones turned to jelly and I slouched in my chair, cheeks burning. ¡°Could you be serious, please.¡± Sam turned the book to face me and pointed. ¡°I mean, look at that! It¡¯s quite detailed. ¡± she teased, turning the book back to her. ¡°I like this. You have a point, and Gold does too. I¡¯m just stubborn,¡± she handed the book over to me and I took it, desperately trying to banish the embarrassment. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll leave it to you then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need your help,¡± I said with reluctance in my voice. I had neglected to really think about the specifics of the creation process and it was only hitting me now how important it would be. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly a designer and you¡¯re welcome to alter the look. I¡¯ll also need¡ª¡± ¡°My measurements? Gotcha,¡± she stretched her arms and stood up. ¡°We can do that now if you want.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Kidding,¡± Sam cackled. ¡°I¡¯ll give them to you. It should be easy enough to build with the printers,¡± she strolled back toward the door with the intent to leave but paused as she passed one of the tables that served as a place to store the stuff I wanted to work on¡­ eventually. She picked up Banshee¡¯s knife and twirled it between her fingers. ¡°I was wondering what you did with this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that useful honestly, I could get a knife just like that with a butterknife, a charge and about two hours of time. I was planning on using it for decoration.¡± I dismissed it idly. She placed it down and reached for something else ¨C Deadlock¡¯s cube. ¡°Probably pointless to ask, but any progress on this?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I¡¯ve been preoccupied. It¡¯s not important right now. It can wait.¡± She narrowed her eyes at the cube before flashing to Gold briefly. ¡°No progress on why your power can¡¯t interact with it?¡± ¡°Same as before, something about an incompatible component and there¡¯s no way I¡¯m able to hack into it with my current gear.¡± I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s blocking me from making any changes, assuming I¡¯d even want to, given how expensive they are.¡± ¡°Incompatible¡­?¡± Gold¡¯s voice was barely louder than a whisper. ¡°Interesting.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I asked, curious. I had mostly put the thing out of my mind but if Gold had answers, I was eager to know them. ¡°Nothing,¡± Gold dismissed, switching back to Blue. ¡°It¡¯s not important right now. What¡¯s more important is your secret information source but that can wait till tomorrow,¡± she placed it back on the table. ¡°Just make sure not to forget about it. It¡¯s the most valuable thing we have. You never know, it could be used as a bargaining chip.¡± As if I¡¯d give away something like that. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I waved her off. ¡°I¡¯m not that forgetful, I wouldn¡¯t leave something that important to the wayside.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if Sam could see it, but even though I fully believed the words, there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I had forgotten something. For the life of me, I just couldn¡¯t figure out what. Fruition Interlude - Lucy Lucy wished she could say she was surprised. When Max hadn¡¯t shown up for homeroom, Lucy knew it was a sign of what was to come. It was just the nature of the world. Those with superpowers are incompatible with a normal life. She hadn¡¯t even bothered to message him, because deep down, she knew this assignment wasn¡¯t important to him. Not anymore. The day drifted by until the final bell rang and Lucy found herself standing in her Social Studies classroom with the teacher. Ms. Elise was calmly tapping away on her laptop as Lucy waited for the go-ahead to begin the presentation. Max might have been forced into a new life, but unfortunately, she hadn¡¯t. That left her to deal with the problems his absence caused. ¡°I see that Maxis has been signed out as sick today,¡± Ms. Elise said, calmly leaning back in her chair. ¡°Convenient timing.¡± ¡°He¡­¡± Lucy¡¯s words died in her throat. He could¡¯ve at least sent a message, told her what was happening ¨C or even just that he wasn¡¯t going to show. She might have finished the rest of the assignment since she expected this, but that didn¡¯t make him any less of a dickhead. ¡°...Yeah. Yeah, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry you¡¯ve been placed in this position,¡± Ms. Elise replied. ¡°It¡¯s unusual though. I wouldn¡¯t have expected this from Maxis. I know you two are close, is he having trouble at home?¡± ¡°No,¡± Lucy shook her head. His relationship with his mother and sister was rock solid. So much so that she was jealous. ¡°I go over to his house a lot. I¡¯d know if something was going on.¡± ¡°Perhaps something more private then,¡± Ms. Elise mused aloud before shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯ll discuss it with him the next time he¡¯s in class. I can¡¯t do much else.¡± Lucy wanted to say something ¨C to blurt out the whole truth, but she couldn¡¯t. The ECU would drag him to their headquarters and that would be the end of their friendship. She couldn¡¯t do that, not over a grade. Lucy smiled half-heartedly. ¡°Thanks.¡± Ms. Elise returned the gesture. ¡°Regardless of how much is done, I¡¯d like to see your presentation. So, whenever you''re ready, you may begin.¡± With a deep breath, Lucy began. She cleared the five-minute minimum with ease and concluded a comfortable thirty seconds before the ten-minute cutoff. If the look on Ms. Elise¡¯s face was anything to go by, Lucy was confident she had done a phenomenal job. ¡°Wonderful, thank you,¡± the teacher applauded lightly. ¡°Very thorough. A lot of thought went into this. An interesting topic, Cyberspace.¡± ¡°We wanted to do something different,¡± Lucy shrugged bashfully. ¡°Something outside the box. All the examples online from previous years just had the same stuff over and over. Sparrow, Lich, Gaea, Foresight¡­ we thought this would spice it up.¡± ¡°And it very much did. Though, as much as I¡¯d love to award bonus marks for originality, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not in the marking criteria.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Lucy said with a weak chuckle. ¡°I just thought that it¡¯d be less boring to grade if it wasn¡¯t your 13th time hearing that Melody hates bagels.¡± ¡°How thoughtful,¡± Ms. Elise chuckled. ¡°How much of this is Maxis¡¯ contribution?¡± The question caused Lucy to freeze up. Her mind ran through the presentation and tried to remember what he¡¯d done and¡­ nothing came to mind. The whole assignment had been done by her. ¡°Um,¡± she turned and flipped through every page of the PowerPoint, trying to buy herself more time to think. However, it seemed their teacher was aware of what she was trying to do. ¡°I wasn¡¯t born yesterday, Lucy. I know what you¡¯re doing.¡± Ms. Elise said knowingly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Lucy¡¯s shoulders dropped. ¡°I just¡­ I don¡¯t want him to fail.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s very kind of you, but his grade is not your responsibility,¡± Ms. Elise turned to her laptop and typed something out. ¡°For the lateness, I¡¯ll only be knocking you down one grade. B+ for you. Maxis, on the other hand, will receive an F.¡± Lucy wanted to protest. She almost did as well. The words were on the tip of her tongue and she was prepared to argue his case, but the small side eye from Ms. Elise made her stop. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I will see you tomorrow. Take care.¡± Gathering her things, she left and made her way home. On the bus, she sat with her phone resting in her hands, Max¡¯s number on the screen. She opened their messages and slowly typed out a message. Halfway through, she lost her nerve and deleted everything, resigning to stare at their chat history. What¡¯re you doing right now? There was no chance he was sick. Max rarely ever got sick. In fact, Lucy couldn¡¯t even remember the last time he had so much as gotten the sniffles. She could vaguely recall one time he had gotten so sick that Eleanor had taken him out of school for almost a month. He was bedridden for weeks. Then, he came back to school and she tried to talk to him about it, he said he couldn¡¯t remember a thing. Max had been the picture of health ever since. After getting off the bus and walking a few blocks to her neighborhood, Lucy found herself standing outside the front gate of her house, her eyes fixated on the car in the driveway. It was incredibly unusual for her father to be home this early. Whatever the case, Lucy was already dreading walking through the front door. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, babe?¡± She turned to see her neighbor leaning over the fence. It was a boy, with scruffy hair and a tanned complexion. The mediterranean kid that had moved here a while ago. Unfortunately, his parents were good friends with her father so she wasn¡¯t able to avoid them. ¡°Your face,¡± she quipped back easily, causing the boy to scowl. ¡°Oh come on, don¡¯t tell me that hurt your feelings Ross.¡± ¡°Just not sure what I did to deserve that.¡± ¡°Calling me ¡®babe¡¯ jumps to mind.¡± Ross heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. ¡°Come on, Lu. Just give it up already. We¡¯d be good together if you¡¯d just give us a chance. My parents and your Dad want this to happen. Why try and fight it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck what you, your parents, or my dad want,¡± Lucy sneered. Storming off, she passed through her gate and walked up the pavement path to her front door, all the while Ross groaned dramatically. ¡°Babe¡­¡± ¡°Go fuck yourself¡ª¡± she reached for the door with the intent to open it, but found herself next to the fence with one of her arms gripped tightly by Ross. ¡°Let me go you asshole!¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying really hard to be nice here,¡± he yanked and twisted her arm, electing a yelp of pain from her throat. ¡°Lu, this is the best deal you¡¯re going to get. Tell me, what¡¯s the alternative? You could end up some whore for one of the lower initiates if you wanted to. But we both know you deserve better than that, at least I¡¯d treat you with some respect!¡± ¡°Like you are now!?¡± Lucy tried to pull away but his grip was too strong. ¡°What¡¯s respectful about this? I don¡¯t want to be touched, so let me go,¡± she snarled and pulled away harder. ¡°I said let me go Ross!¡± Her gaze locked with his and she wanted nothing more than to gouge out his eyes, slit his throat, and leave him to rot in the sun. She¡¯d delight in watching vultures pick apart his corpse until he was nothing but bleach-white bones on the side of the road. Ross¡¯ eyes narrowed as his grip tightened for a moment. Then, he suddenly let go and Lucy stumbled back, holding her arm. There was a nasty red mark where he had been grabbing and no doubt it would leave a bruise. Just another one for her to hide. Nothing a jacket wouldn¡¯t solve and it was the middle of Winter, nobody at school should notice. ¡°You¡¯re a real piece of work, you know that?¡± Ross muttered. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to help. The other guys? You¡¯re just meat to them, Lu. To me, you''re something more. You¡¯re special.¡± Lucy wanted to puke. ¡°If you touch me again. I¡¯ll ¡ª¡± she stopped and shook her head. She knew better than to do this. She knew she couldn¡¯t go that far. ¡°Just leave me alone. If you really cared, you wouldn¡¯t use your fucking powers on me.¡± Storming into her house, she didn¡¯t wait for an answer from him before slamming the door. Lucy shuddered, rubbing her arm as she moved toward the kitchen. She needed ice and maybe some cold water. As she entered the kitchen, she froze. Her father stood, staring out the window at the spot where she had encountered Ross. He turned his head and acknowledged her presence with a low hum. ¡°You should be nicer to him.¡± Lucy¡¯s blood boiled. ¡°Hard to be nice when he¡¯s so possessive,¡± she replied through grit teeth. She knew better than to cuss when she was around her father. ¡°I hate it when he touches me.¡± ¡°He¡¯s protective of you,¡± her father replied, his tone stern. ¡°He cares.¡± Lucy replied with a challenging glare. It was all she could manage without resorting to screaming. After the day she had today, the last thing she wanted to do was get punished for disrespecting her father. ¡°You¡¯re home early,¡± she said, changing the subject. It was then she noticed his attire ¨C his costume. His mask was discarded on the table and there was a deep forlorn expression on his face. ¡°What happened? Did something happen today? You¡­¡± she paused for a moment. ¡°You didn¡¯t mention anything this morning.¡± ¡°It was none of your concern,¡± her father replied dismissively. ¡°Until now. There was a congregation. Gaea summoned us to her Kingdom,¡± he muttered the word with disdain. ¡°And I have since discovered a great blasphemy taking place in our city,¡± Lucy could feel heat roll off the man, the air around him shimmering. ¡°It angers me. Grim must pay for his insolence.¡± ¡°This wouldn¡¯t be the first time Grim¡¯s done something crazy,¡± Lucy murmured under her breath. ¡°So, what? Why did Gaea want a meeting with us? I thought she¡¯d sooner kill all our supers than have a conversation.¡± ¡°She invited more than just Pandora,¡± her father replied. ¡°Gaea put out a summons for all moon-touched, not just for our brothers and sisters. She says that Grim has crossed a line, one of which there is no return from.¡± ¡°...Everyone?¡± Lucy¡¯s mind raced. Max had told her he had powers and that he was involved with some sort of group. ¡°Who showed up?¡± Her father eyed her curiously, a hint of suspicion twinkling in his eyes. ¡°Awfully curious about this matter, hm?¡± Lucy swallowed, her thoughts betraying her. All she could think about was how much danger Max was in. He had to have been at that meeting with her father ¨C with Gaea. What the hell was he thinking? Did his powers get rid of his common sense and replace it with a death wish? This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Gaea doesn¡¯t like to deal with her ¡®lessers¡¯ so she must have wanted something.¡± ¡°She wished for an alliance but received a truce,¡± her father replied. ¡°I¡¯d sooner allow maggots to consume me before I trust my back to heathens,¡± for a moment, his anger almost got the better of him but he managed to rein it in. He took a deep breath and relaxed. ¡°The agreement we came to was no fighting between us until Grim is dead.¡± ¡°Dead¡­¡± Lucy wanted to laugh. One did not simply kill Grim. He had his name for a reason. ¡°You¡¯re going to try and finally kill him?¡± ¡°There will be no try,¡± her father retorted coldly. ¡°Too long has his foul stench plagued this city. Liberation shares my sentiment. Grim¡¯s soul shall make the journey to judgment, one way or another,¡± he balled his hands so tightly she saw his knuckles go white. ¡°Begin packing your things. You and your mother will be moved for your protection. This neighborhood will not be safe in the coming conflict. I suspect it will be a target for Grim.¡± ¡°He knows where we live!?¡± Lucy¡¯s heart began racing. ¡°We¡ª¡± Calmly, her father raised a hand to silence her. ¡°We have made no provocation as of yet,¡± he said. ¡°And he is still licking his wounds from a recent battle. That will change in the coming days and if you stay here, I cannot guarantee your safety. You and your mother will stay with your grandparents until this situation is resolved.¡± ¡°What about school?¡± ¡°I will make arrangements to have your school work emailed to you. However, I foresee that this conflict will not last long. A week, perhaps, then the routine will resume as normal.¡± Lucy grimaced. She¡¯d only stayed with her grandparents two times before. The first was when Hurricane Liz had been barreling toward the city. The second was the short-lived coup d''etat that happened within Pandora last year. Her father never divulged the specifics, but there had been a lot of death. The situation was about to get far uglier than he was letting on. ¡°You want me to pack now?¡± ¡°Tonight,¡± her father replied. ¡°You will leave with an escort in the morning,¡± he moved to the side and snatched his red-patterned mask off the table before dorning it. The tuft of lion fur hung loosely around his neck, framing the red of his body. ¡°I have business to attend to. Ensure dinner is ready before I return.¡± Lucy bristled as he walked past her. ¡°When can we expect you?¡± ¡°Ten.¡± He was out the door and gone without another word. Grumbling, Lucy retreated to her room and collapsed on her bed. Closing her eyes, she sunk into the comfort of her pillow, soft sheets, and silence to calm the chaos inside her head. There was so much going on and all she could do was just sit back. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± she pinched the bridge of her nose and rolled over onto her side. ¡°The hell do I do?¡± Nothing, stupid. You don¡¯t have powers. Her father had made abundantly clear that she was nothing more than a directionless puppet with a modicum of free will. She danced to the whims of those stronger and more powerful than her. The gifted, the blessed, the moon-touched. They were the leaders of humanity and those like her were the mindless masses in need of protection and leadership. Her father had tried so hard to drill that notion into her head but she had resisted. She saw Pandora for what they really were. Lunatics. All of them. Power-hungry fools with delusions of grandeur, justifying their heinous crimes. Even if the founding of the organization was long before her time, she could see why so many fell prey to its teachings. It was because it was easy ¨C easy to place your faith in something beyond your understanding. To this day, nobody knew what the second moon was. Nobody knew where it came from or why it was there, but the powers had come with it. Moon-touched¡­ God¡¯s chosen children. Now Max was one of them. ¡°Shit,¡± she turned over again and hissed into her pillow. ¡°I have to tell him something. Anything.¡± She reached over into her bag and grabbed her laptop. Rolling over once more, she sat up and crossed her legs, placing the device on her lap. She opened it and began scrolling through the various threads on Supers and Meta¡¯s Online along with a bunch of other online forums. She opened countless tabs in the New Elpis and Bayside subsections to try and find any news pertaining to fresh supers on the scene. The most recent piece of news was the discovery of a bunker beneath a decommissioned meat processing building. A lot of ECU personnel had died. Grim was the prime culprit and the thread was a complete shitstorm. A quick flip through the pages told her all she needed to know. People were angry ¨C rightly so ¨C and were letting their frustrations out. She kept that tab open but continued browsing. It didn¡¯t exactly have what she wanted. There was a thread about a break-in at some department store. One of the employees there posted his experience showing up to work that morning only to find that the ECU had put the entire block into containment. Apparently, there had been a super fight in the street. He then went on to post a clip of the building¡¯s external security footage showing a very familiar black car pulling up outside the building. She never saw who was in it because the footage turned to static before the clip ended, but ¡­ she knew that car. It was Max¡¯s without a doubt. The very same one that had been stolen from the Mall. Stolen¡­ Lucy scoffed. If Max had been lying about everything else, it made sense he¡¯d lied about that as well. ¡°What the hell have you been doing?¡± Lucy muttered, reading the rest of the comments in the thread. It was fairly short, purely because there wasn¡¯t much to talk about. The number plate on the car was obscured by the pixelation, so it wasn¡¯t like any keyboard warriors were able to do anything. Still¡­ if this was Max, then she had to know what he was doing. If Pandora attacked him, I¡¯d know about it. It would¡¯ve gotten back to Dad and he would¡¯ve said something to me about it. Which means it was the Cains who jumped him. I was right about that. Did he attempt to get back at them? Revenge maybe? She had known him for a long time and Lucy could confidently say Max wasn¡¯t the type to take revenge. He tended to lash out when he was pissed off, but that was usually short-lived and vengeance was never his style. Maybe he was just trying to get back what they took from him? He did say they stole from him. But still, to go picking fights with a whole gang, especially one led by Grim. Max wasn¡¯t that stupid. He has been acting out lately though. He¡¯s got powers now, obviously things have changed. Lucy minimized the browser and booted up Entropy and found their direct messages. As she suspected, his status was set to ¡®do not disturb¡¯ just as it had been for the last four years. She bit her lip and typed out a message. ¡°No¡­ no,¡± she muttered, deleting everything she wrote. ¡°What am I even supposed to say here? Do I even say anything?¡± ¡®Hey Max, the assignment went well. Btw, I know you were at that super meeting that Gaea called because my Dad was also there.¡¯ Yeah¡­ that will go over well. Groaning, she debated her next course of action. Max may have lied to her in the beginning but he eventually came clean, even if she had pressured him into doing it. Lucy wasn¡¯t blind to her hypocrisy. She¡¯s also kept her connection to Pandora hidden. She had wanted to keep him out of it. Now that he had powers, he and Pandora would eventually collide and he¡¯d find out the truth. He had to know eventually and now might not be the best time, but for her, the sooner she broke this news, the sooner he¡¯d be able to understand and hopefully refrain from doing anything rash. Resolving herself, she typed out her first message. Rabbit_in_da_h4t (Today at 5:13P.M): Hey, can we talk? (Error. Failed to Send) Lucy frowned at the message. She clicked it and tried to resend it. Weird¡­ are the servers down? She threw out a few DMs to other people on her friends list just to check. To her surprise, those messages were sent just fine. Anger coursed through her when the possibility that Max had blocked her surfaced, but that only lasted for a moment. If he had, she would¡¯ve received a completely different message. She tried to send him another message, only to yield the same result. With the fuse on her temper lit, she tried to restart Entropy, only for it to crash before it could finish relaunching. When she tried to troubleshoot the problem, her whole laptop froze and she found herself locked out of all controls. What the fuck is happening? She tried everything. Control + Alt + Delete. Nothing. She even tried holding down her power button and it wouldn¡¯t work. Suddenly, a command prompt opened on her screen. The black window was empty, the white underscore blinking ominously as every program in the background shut itself down. Hello Lucy. The words appeared and her blood went cold. Lucy stared at the words for what felt like an eternity until she finally managed to snap herself out of her daze. Gathering what courage she could muster, she tried to type back a message, but none of the keys responded to her inputs. We should talk. Face to face. The black box closed and another window opened. It covered the entire screen but it was a face ¨C one that Lucy had seen before during her research. It stole her breath away, the androgynous ASCII face moved like a human being, but its expression was strangely alien. ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± the voice was synthesized, a tinny voice just as neutral as its avatar. ¡°Given how much you already know about me, I doubt there¡¯s a need for introductions.¡± Lucy swallowed her fear. ¡°You¡¯re Cyberspace.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The voice was identical to the one Lucy had heard when researching for her assignment. Even the presentation was the same ¨C the same face, made up of thousands of symbols and letters. There was an urge to slam the laptop shut and throw it out the window, but terror kept her from acting on that impulse. There was a reason Cyberspace was the closest thing there was to a modern-day boogeyman before they went silent. There were horror stories everywhere about people who tried to fight them, only to disappear, never to be seen again. The most infamous case was a famous hero from America, Supernova. He had made a public declaration that he would hunt down and bring Cyberspace to justice back in 1991. Three days later he vanished from his home in Austin Texas. His remains were discovered at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in 1996, inside a lead crate after a new mentalist was testing their powers. ¡°You are sticking your nose in my business,¡± Cyberspace said with a cold edge to their voice. ¡°I don¡¯t appreciate that.¡± ¡°I¨CI¡­¡± ¡°You will have your chance to talk but for now, I¡¯d like you to listen,¡± Cyberspace continued. ¡°You will keep what you know to yourself for now. Maxis Troy does not need to know of your affiliation with Pandora yet. It will needlessly distract him from the situation he¡¯s found himself in and will ultimately result in his death. I will not allow an asset with such potential to perish because of the actions of a teenage girl.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to¡ª¡± ¡°Quiet.¡± There was a pain in Lucy¡¯s chest and she started to panic. ¡°I¡¯ve been observing his activities for quite some time now. He shows promise. His capability as a Mechakinetic are extraordinary,¡± Cyberspace continued. ¡°If you are wondering why I am telling you this, it is because I am aware of the deep friendship you two share. You,¡± the legendary terrorist said the word with enough emphasis for Lucy to break into a nervous sweat. ¡°...are integral for his prolonged cooperation.¡± He¡¯s a Mechakinetic¡­! Lucy¡¯s world twisted as her stomach churned. They were sought after. Badly. ¡°I won¡¯t help you.¡± ¡°By refusing to help me, you will be refusing to help him,¡± Cyberspace stated in a dismissive, matter-of-factly tone. They had probably heard that line a million times before. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, you are a very intelligent girl, so I would think you know to pick your next words very carefully.¡± Even if she did consider them her enemy, it wasn¡¯t like she could do anything to Cyberspace. The best of the best had tried and clearly failed. What could she do? Lucy stared at the screen, trying and failing to think of anything to say, but Cyberspace took her silence as acknowledgment. ¡°All I require of you is your temporary silence.¡± Just keep your mouth shut. Don¡¯t say anything. Suffer in silence. It was all so familiar and every ounce of her being wanted to lash out like a rabid dog. ¡°And if I don''t?¡± It was stupid question and her nerves had gotten the better of her. She already knew the answer. Cyberspace stared neutrally. ¡°I feel I have been reasonable enough in my request. You can either follow my request willingly, or I will make you. The choice is yours.¡± Fabrication 1 The culmination of a week''s worth of my efforts lay before me, the mere sight of it lit a spark of wonder in my eyes. I leaned forward in my chair as the center of my focus reformed to reveal its newly minted form. I had taken the liberty of working on my suit to ensure I had as much survivability as I could get. I had seen footage over the years of fights between supers. Things got messy fast, and if I had any hope of survival, I¡¯d need the best armor I could get my hands on. I wouldn¡¯t settle for anything less. My hands gently touched the chest piece of the suit and my mind was flooded with information. I inhaled as I deciphered the information, my power now reading this item as [Multi-purpose Armored Combat Suit]. The name was a tad long for my tastes but it didn¡¯t matter. It wasn¡¯t like I was going to go around calling it that. To everyone else, it was just my costume ¨C my armor. [Charges: 25/25] [Multi-purpose Armored Combat Suit] [Materials] First up has been improving the base materials. I had been¡­ ¡®neglecting¡¯ was the wrong word. Distracted was a better descriptor. There were so many things I could work on that I had forgotten to improve my suit ¨C the thing that would be keeping me alive. I had wanted it to be better than Nanoforge¡¯s tech, but now I didn¡¯t want to stop there. No, I couldn¡¯t. I needed it to be better. I had a better understanding of the scope of my powers now. I wouldn¡¯t just create things that could match Nanoforge¡¯s armor, I¡¯d surpass it. I¡¯d make armor so much more sophisticated that she¡¯d be green with envy if she ever saw my tech. That was my goal. My survival depended on it. Sam, Mia, and Liam¡¯s as well. We all needed to be at the top of our game. As I pulled the suit off the table, I kept observing the changes. I hadn¡¯t just stopped with the [Materials], no. I had gone further. If this suit was going to be better, it needed to be so much more than just armor. [Multi-purpose Armored Combat Suit MK IV] [Power System] It had been something I had debated over for a while before I decided to take the leap. My energy needs were getting rather large. Between batteries taking up too much space and becoming so heavy it wasn¡¯t worth the charges to make them workable, I decided it would be better to generate energy onboard using disposable cells. Nuclear energy ¨C while powerful ¨C wasn¡¯t something I wanted inside my combat suit. While reactors are safe for the most part, they probably wouldn¡¯t do well in active combat environments. While I could upgrade the durability and safeguards, I still didn¡¯t want to risk it and that was before considering what I would do with the waste. My solution came in the form of Jericho. It was an energy source created by a Mechakinetic back in the 70s and importantly, wouldn¡¯t potentially irradiate a large chunk of the city if something went wrong. It was unfortunate that he died only a few years after making it before he could revolutionize the power industry. The few bits of technology he managed to create before his death were still being maintained and kept in use, but, from what I had read, nothing from his line of Mechatech had been recreated or improved upon. Until now that is. It wasn¡¯t as powerful as Nuclear energy, but its byproducts were more manageable and it was overall much safer. Emphasis on the safer part. I wouldn¡¯t be turning my DNA to goo if the core was compromised. Worst case, the core would power down. A problem, sure, but I still had some batteries on board that would let my suit operate at maximum capacity for another half hour or so, even if the core was rendered unusable. There was only a minor issue with my current design, and that was the Jericho Core needed to be replaced every three days of full operation. I was able to get my 3D printers to the point where they could create a very, very primitive Jericho core that my power recognized. From there all I needed was a few charges and we were good to go. I slipped into my suit and pressed a small button in the palm of my right hand. There was a series of clicking as parts of the suit began readjusting to my frame. Once it had finished and tightened around my body, I reached up and pressed another small button located at the back of my neck. The process was quick, the compartments opened and began clicking into place around my head. One of my more preferred changes. Having everything in one piece just made the process easier. I managed to restrain my glee but couldn¡¯t hide my satisfied smile as it all fit together perfectly. So far so good. Now, I just need to disable those two buttons to avoid any unforeseen problems. Disabling them was quick, a togglable feature that was easy to implement. Now, it was time to move on to something more important. ¡°Run startup procedure.¡± My eyes were assaulted by lights that streamed across the visor, too fast for me to make out. Shortly after that, the visor went blank and a ping sounded in my ears. Voice Authentication was another feature I had debated on. I didn¡¯t want anyone other than me to be able to use my suit without my permission, so I installed this feature and tuned it to recognize my voice. Voice recognition software was super common anyway, so it wasn¡¯t too much of a hassle. ¡°Core Functions: Online,¡± a robotic voice said. ¡°Suit Composition: 100%. Life Support Systems: Offline. Utility Systems: Online. Augmented Armor Module: Offline. Camouflage Module: Offline. Vision Modules: Installed. Running diagnostics¡­¡± The visor flashed between various different modes. Thermal, Night-vision, Electrical Detection, and Analytic. I had made some changes to the electrical detection software, namely that it pointed out where devices were in 3D as well as what they were. Gone were the clusters of red, orange, and green dots that would pop up in 2D, replaced with a much cleaner highlighting system. The Analytical Mode was just something I had thrown in there. It was simply created to observe an object and scrape the internet for information. Though, with Gold around, it might not see much use. Still, probably good to have in a pinch. I couldn¡¯t count on being around her all the time. The Augmented Armor and Camouflage modules were offline since I hadn¡¯t even installed them yet. They were projects that I had lined up in the future and had made space for in the suit. The life support system being offline came as a surprise. A good portion of the tenuous upgrade I had made to the suit was incorporating systems capable of keeping me alive should I get hit with something particularly nasty. That¡¯s weird. Why aren¡¯t they working? My utility systems were functional, or at least, that¡¯s what the readout told me. The grapple launcher, impact dispersal, and extendable blade modules were all showing up green. I did a quick check by extending and retracting the blade on my right arm to see if the diagnostic readouts were accurately reading. With each use, the HUD on my visor clearly showed when and when it wasn¡¯t deployed. At least that¡¯s working. I¡¯d need to do some more practical testing with the other two utility modules to really see how effective they were, but I was in no hurry to scale any walls or jump off any buildings. That could wait an hour or two until I had finished troubleshooting¡­ and until I mustered the courage to actually do those things. ¡°Diagnostics complete.¡± Everything appeared to be running smoothly. The voice was something I had incorporated last minute with the idea that I could eventually evolve it into an intelligent AI. However, the upgrade path for that was very pricey with some of the later upgrades pushing triple digits. Right now, this was all I cared to invest in and it seemed to be doing the job just fine. I hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Life Support System; retrieve status.¡± ¡°Life Support Systems: Offline.¡± ¡°Configure.¡± A window opened up and another readout streamed down my visor. I had to scroll back to actually take in any of the information that it was trying to give me. When I saw the issue, I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. The inbuilt oxygen tank was empty and needed to be filled. The medical systems ¨C while functional ¨C were also all empty and had nothing to actually deliver. It then occurred to me that I hadn¡¯t specified what kind of medicine these systems would be delivering. I¡¯d have to configure them manually and then re-upgrade to top them up, or find the medicine and do it manually. It would be a pain to do it by hand, but it would be a waste of charges to continuously re-upgrade my systems, just to refill them. The oxygen tank, however, was easy enough. A compartment lining my shoulders hissed and opened the moment I selected the option to manually refill. My suit began sucking in the air and filtering out the oxygen, while the waste was vented around me as I watched the progress bar on my visor slowly fill. When it was complete, the compartment hissed again and snapped shut. ¡°Life Support Systems: Online. Oxygen supply at 100%. Estimated time of use, one hour. Warning: medical systems are depleted.¡± That¡¯s so fucking cool. I had no idea when this was going to come in handy but again, systems like these were always nice to have. Better to be safe than sorry. ¡°Whoa.¡± I turned my head to find Liam standing at the door with a drink in his hand and a bag of food in the other. I stared at him for a few moments, confused. I had locked the door ¨C or at least I thought I had ¨C to avoid getting distracted. Sam had a tendency to wander in and strike up a conversation, which ultimately ended up distracting me. I started locking the door to give her a hint, which she clearly understood. Liam, it seems, did not. ¡°How¡¯d you get in here?¡± ¡°Under the door,¡± he replied. ¡°You¡¯ve been here for a while. Thought I could bring you something to eat.¡± After a few moments, I nodded. ¡°I did skip breakfast this morning, thanks.¡± ¡°It¡¯s four in the afternoon.¡± I cringed a little. ¡°It¡¯s easy to lose track of time when you¡¯re busy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also Friday,¡± Liam replied. ¡°Sam said that you might be a bit¡­ disorientated. She said Mechakinetics get a bit tunnel-visioned when they get working, so I thought I¡¯d pick something up for you,¡± he lifted the bag and looked around for where to put it. Most of the tables in here were packed with spare parts so there really wasn¡¯t any place to set it down. Besides, I wasn¡¯t too keen on eating in this space. I didn¡¯t want it to get dirty. ¡°So¡­ busy huh?¡± ¡°Something like that,¡± I said, walking over to one of the tables. I picked up my laser pistol, my power picking apart the pieces and feeding me information. ¡°Gotta be ready.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Can¡¯t say I blame you,¡± Liam placed the bag of food next to the door and dropped down into the nearest chair. ¡°I¡¯m really not looking forward to this whole ¡®war¡¯ thing that¡¯s gonna break out. Feels like a lot of people are gonna die.¡± ¡°People die everyday,¡± I replied absently, immediately feeling like a horrible person for saying it. I tried to think of a nicer way to rephrase it but nothing came to mind. I was reminded of the horror I felt watching those ECU soldiers get consumed by Grim¡¯s darkness. At the time, all I felt was the adrenaline pumping through my body. Upon reflection, the ordeal was complete nightmare fuel. ¡°You just¡­ don¡¯t see it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen it,¡± Liam replied, perhaps a little too quickly. I saw the uncomfortable look in his eyes as he sipped his drink. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s freaky. I try not to think about it. Like I said, I¡¯ve had my powers for a while now. I¡¯ve been out and seen some things.¡± ¡°The gangs?¡± I asked. Liam nodded. ¡°Sure, but not just them. Sometimes people just get caught up at the wrong place at the wrong time,¡± he shuddered. ¡°Ya know, with all the shit that goes on at night, I don¡¯t know why normal people even bother going out, especially in a city like this. In any city really. Maybe it¡¯s better outside of Bayside?¡± I couldn¡¯t really say. I had been out of New Elpis twice in my life and I was young so my memories were pretty vague. I had never been further than Australia and the longest I had spent somewhere else was in New Zealand when Mom had taken me to visit her hometown. ¡°I doubt that. It¡¯s probably just as bad everywhere else.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ you¡¯re probably right.¡± The pistol in my hand had shrunk by a fraction. It was more compact and I could almost feel the power source humming with energy. Like my suit, I had invested some more charges over the last few days and really turned it into something worthwhile. Although, now I had reached a crossroads. Further upgrades were starting to become costly to the point that with underpaying, I would only get a few upgrades per day, compared to the rate of around a dozen I had been enjoying for the past couple of days. [Laser Pistol MK V] [Operating Mechanisms] [Ammunition] [Attachments] [Software] [Power Generation] Before, the design had been medieval by Mechatech standards. While it still put modern weaponry to shame, it was weaker than the kind of firepower the ECU employed. Now¡­ not so much. I had yet to test it but I could confidently say that this thing packed enough punch to take even some of the strongest supers out of the fight if I landed enough hits. ¡°That looks different,¡± Liam pointed out, staring at the weapon in my hand. ¡°It is,¡± I retorted lamely. ¡°I improved it. Like everything else in here.¡± ¡°Can I shoot it?¡± I gave him a pointed look, one he completely missed with my face being concealed by my helmet. It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t trust him with the gun ¨C although that was certainly part of it ¨C but because I had just finished syncing up the pistol¡¯s electrical systems with my suit, meaning if you weren''t me, the only way someone could actually fire the pistol was if they were wearing the suit. The light-weight bio-scan software I installed into it allowed only me to use it without the suit. ¡°No.¡± Liam frowned. ¡°Oh, come on. Why not? I¡¯ve always wanted to use Mechatech, but they always build so much bullshit into the stuff that it never works for me!¡± ¡°That probably means whoever built that stuff was smart enough to build in fail safes and security measures,¡± I replied. ¡°If you have any brains, it''s one of the first things you do, which is why it took me a whole week when I started out to even consider it,¡± I chuckled lightly. ¡°You have to be wearing my armor to fire it, but you can still hold it if you want.¡± ¡°Nah, that¡¯s lame,¡± Liam grumbled, waving me off. ¡°What¡¯s the point if I don¡¯t even get to use it?¡± I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Even if you could shoot it, I haven¡¯t exactly set up a range to test any new stuff out yet.¡± ¡°The garage has a lot of concrete walls,¡± Liam offered. ¡°Isn¡¯t that good enough?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not concealed from the street and I¡¯d rather not have the police called on us.¡± The garage was a large open space and we weren¡¯t about to fill it with cars. If I could put some sort of protective door at the front I might be able to follow through with the idea. Sam had asked me to consider doing that if only to protect the car. ¡°The police won¡¯t come all the way out here for something like that,¡± Liam snorted. ¡°But I suppose I get your point. Don¡¯t want to attract any unnecessary attention.¡± I shrugged. ¡°The best option is repurposing one of the floors or the roof but that isn¡¯t a priority right now.¡± ¡°Right,¡± he muttered under his breath, swirling the remnants of his drink. ¡°Grim, Splicer, and all that stuff.¡± I noted his disinterested tone. ¡°You¡¯ve been pretty ¡®hands off¡¯ since we saved Mia. Does it not bother you that these guys are still out there, doing the same shit that they did to her?¡± He thought for a moment before shrugging. ¡°Does it bother you?¡± My thoughts drifted to Pete and the vat I had seen him in. I had no idea what had happened to him. I had skipped out of school this week, but I doubted that he¡¯d be back given his condition, assuming he was even alive that is. I did care, only a little. He was an asshole but he didn¡¯t deserve to die. Though¡­ maybe he did deserve a light maiming. But as I stood there, I couldn¡¯t deny there was this lingering sense of apathy about what I had seen. Other than Pete, I didn¡¯t know anyone down there. They were all faceless strangers. I wasn¡¯t going to kid myself, I knew it was wrong and in an abstract sense, it did bother me. I remembered at that moment, I didn¡¯t want to leave them. I wanted to do the right thing and save all of them and it was Sam who had been the one to remind me that we were there to only get Mia. If I had pushed back, we¡¯d all probably be dead. ¡°A little bit. I know it¡¯s fucked up and I feel for those people stuck down there. It¡¯s pretty easy to tell how that shit affected Mia,¡± I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. ¡°But if you¡¯re asking me if I would rush in there again to risk my life for a bunch of people I don¡¯t know? I¡¯m pretty sure I wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Neither,¡± Liam agreed evenly. ¡°But ya know, if I had the chance to save more. I would¡¯ve.¡± I met his gaze and I could tell he was just saying that to make himself feel better. ¡°By the way,¡± he started up again. ¡°Just reminding you that I did buy you food,¡± he pointed to the brown bag by the door. ¡°Feel free to like, eat. Whenever.¡± ¡°Almost forgot,¡± I admitted sheepishly. I enabled the buttons and pressed the one at the back of my neck. There were a series of clicks as the pieces came apart and slid back into their compartments. I grabbed the bag and sat down on the edge of a table before plunging my hand into it to find a delectable range of bakery foods, both savory and sweet. My stomach rumbled painfully and I was suddenly aware that I couldn¡¯t remember the last meal I had. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°No problem. You¡¯ve been cooped up in here so I doubled up. Thought you¡¯d be hungry.¡± He was right. I remained silent as I devoured two sandwiches, all the while Liam got up and started pacing around my workshop, looking intently at all the devices. Despite my descent into a hermit-esque lifestyle, I wasn¡¯t even close to turning this place into the sci-fi dream that I envisioned it to be. It would take weeks, maybe even months to get to where I wanted. Then again, with a power like mine, I don¡¯t think I could ever reach a point where I could label something as ¡®complete¡¯. Liam was sensible enough not to touch anything. He looked at all the 3D printers that were running, going through the motions to create the things. He peered at my laptop ¨C which by now didn¡¯t really appear like a traditional modern-day laptop. It was slimmer and the webcam could output 3D holograms. Tables were covered in papers with scribbles, designs that I still wasn¡¯t certain about. Scattered haphazardly were circuit boards and broken tech that Sam had dumped in the room. Where she had gotten it from, I didn¡¯t know, but I didn¡¯t particularly care. I was able to repair them easily with my power and repurpose them for integration. They made for excellent module templates. ¡°Maaaaan,¡± Liam ran a hand through his messy hair. ¡°I don¡¯t understand any of this shit,¡± he picked up one of the sheets of paper that happened to be on the top of the pile. He squinted his eyes as if he were trying to understand it. He rotated the paper, trying to look at it from a different angle like it would aid in his understanding. ¡°What is this supposed to be?¡± He turned the paper to me. I idly waved my half-eaten mince and cheese pie at it. ¡°Speed module.¡± ¡°Speed module?¡± ¡°For my suit,¡± I took another bite and savored the delicious taste. ¡°When my power shows me something I¡¯m particularly interested in, I try to draw out the blueprint for it. There¡¯s so much shit that it¡¯s easy to forget some of the stuff I actually see. Once I draw it out, well,¡± I gestured to the 3D printers, ¡°I see if I can make the base design of it. Saves on me having to spend charges.¡± Liam frowned and nodded slowly but I knew he barely understood a word I said. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°If I can, the next step would be to integrate it into the suit. With the speed module, I could maybe run as fast as Alice when she¡¯s Pink.¡± ¡°Wait, really?¡± Again, I shrugged. ¡°Hopefully. I¡¯ll probably need to make a proper exo-skeleton before I do that, otherwise I¡¯d probably just end up ripping my body to pieces, even then I¡¯ll probably have to see about creating something to make me stronger. My powers don¡¯t provide me with any physical enhancements like hers does, so without proper prep I¡¯d just die. There¡¯s also something else to consider.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Perception,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Even if I built that exo-skeleton, there¡¯s no way my mind will be able to process moving at the speeds Pink moves at, so unless I figure that out, I¡¯d probably only be able to move around the speed of a sports car.¡± He blinked slowly before putting the paper back down on the table. He sifted through a lot more sheets of paper before putting everything back the way it was. ¡°You got a lot of stuff here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had a lot of time to think about things,¡± I replied. ¡°This week has been productive.¡± ¡°Shit, you must have like a dozen scholarships or something with the amount of stuff you got here. Seriously, you¡¯ve got enough stuff here to put a whole design class to shame,¡± he dropped back into his chair and propped a leg up on his knee. ¡°Mechakinetic¡¯s really are something else.¡± ¡°I suppose my school life is pretty good. My grades are actually above¡ª¡± I felt my world suddenly tilt when a realization struck me. ¡°Fuck.¡± The Social Studies assignment! I rushed to my laptop and minimized a bunch of design programs before pulling up Entropy. I flicked through my DMs until I found Lucy. There was a cold sense of dread that crawled up my spine when I read our most recent exchange. It was older than a week. She hadn¡¯t even tried to contact me. She¡¯d said nothing, no reminders or anything. ¡°Uh, you good?¡± I didn¡¯t answer him. I checked my phone next. No text messages either. She hasn¡¯t said anything to me. Why? My hands dropped to the keyboard to type out a message. I wasn¡¯t really thinking when I typed it out but it was as heartfelt as I could make it. She knew I had powers now, so hopefully she¡¯d understand what¡¯s been going on, especially with the news. I kept my message vague and full of code-speak that only she¡¯d understand. Better safe than sorry. ¡°Max?¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± I replied, looking at Liam over my shoulder. ¡°Just remembered something.¡± I sent the message to Lucy and kept an eye on the chat out of the corner of my eye. ¡°I know the feeling,¡± Liam said coolly. ¡°Don¡¯t have the best memory. So, did you want to test out your new gear? I don¡¯t know if I can be of much help but since I survived Grim¡¯s darkness cloud¡­ thing, I could be a target dummy for you or something.¡± I felt my brow raise at his suggestion. ¡°You want to be shot at?¡± ¡°Not really, but I don¡¯t feel pain when I¡¯m transformed but I can tell how much ¡®damage¡¯ I¡¯ve taken so I could help you there,¡± he countered. ¡°Plus, if Grim didn¡¯t kill me, do you think anything you¡¯ve got would even get close?¡± I scoffed. ¡°Not yet.¡± I recalled the device the ECU had used to incapacitate his transformed state. It was like some sort of flash freeze grenade that broke him down into millions of little solid bits. Sure, he might be indestructible but the ECU proved fairly easily they had the technology to contain him at the very least. ¡°Just one thing though.¡± I gave him a blank stare. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Can I try on the suit after you''re done? I¡¯ve always wanted to wear power armor.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not power¡ª¡± I stopped myself and shrugged. I think there was a possibility what I had now could actually be considered power armor. ¡°You know what, why not? I don¡¯t see an issue.¡± A smile stretched across his face. ¡°Fuck yeah!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why with a transformation like his, he¡¯d be so interested in power armor. Then again, I had the same sort of fantasy when I was younger. To the eyes of a child, some of the power armor the ECU had looked more cool than scary. I glanced back at the laptop. Still no response from Lucy. That ¨C unfortunately for me ¨C was never a good sign. Fabrication 2 I wasn¡¯t an obsessive person but given how I was acting, you¡¯d be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Friday had passed and despite it now being Saturday, Lucy still hadn¡¯t responded to me. I was distracted, flicking through my phone for hours on end, just waiting for any kind of communication from her. In reality, I figured that I¡¯d likely have to confront her at school about it. We¡¯ve had fights before, but she¡¯s never been this pissed. Then again, I¡¯d screwed up for the second time in less than a week and hadn¡¯t even shown up to face the consequences. ¡°Fiddling with it isn¡¯t going to make her respond any quicker.¡± I looked over my shoulder to Sam who was cooking an omelet. I was slouched on her sofa across from Mia who was doodling in one of Sam¡¯s notebooks, trying to come up with a costume design and identity that she liked. ¡°I know,¡± I replied with an edge to my voice. ¡°I just don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to say. Need to think¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can say to make up for it. A ¡®sorry¡¯ won¡¯t be good enough here and she¡¯ll just need time to cool off,¡± Sam said in a reassuring tone. ¡°But it¡¯s just a stupid school assignment. It¡¯s not the end of the world and she¡¯ll get over it. Just make sure you stay on top of these things. School is so easy.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from someone who probably cheats with their powers,¡± I replied bluntly. ¡°Hey, if you aren¡¯t cheating you¡¯re not trying. Ninety percent of the school curriculum is braindead anyway so I don¡¯t need Gold to do well. Besides, even if you do end up flunking school, you can still qualify for university when you''re twenty,¡± she waved a spatula in my direction. ¡°By then, we¡¯ll have enough money to make Scrooge Mcduck jealous.¡± ¡°Or dead,¡± Mia cut in, drawing our attention. She offered a light-hearted shrug. ¡°Evohumans don¡¯t live long on average. Honestly, I¡¯ll be lucky if I even make it to my thirties.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t exaggerate the statistics. The average is brought down by idiots who go out and get themselves killed. That doesn¡¯t apply to us because statistically, independents are the ones who think they can do everything on their own,¡± Sam countered, emphasizing her words with an indignant tone. ¡°We¡¯re a group; a team.¡± ¡°Team¡­ right,¡± Mia grumbled, rolling her eyes. ¡°Still not sure how I feel about all this.¡± ¡°Not sure, are you?¡± Sam hummed aloud. ¡°How¡¯d that phone call with your parents go?¡± It was hard to miss the scathing glare the older girl gave her. Sam didn¡¯t flinch and continued to cook her food. That call hadn¡¯t gone over well, to say the least. It was after a few more seconds of painful silence that Sam decided it would be better to walk back that antagonizing jab. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t mean to rub salt in the wound but you need to at least put a little bit of faith in us,¡± Sam said genuinely. ¡°We did manage to rescue you after all. That¡¯s gotta count for something, right?¡± ¡°And I¡¯m grateful for that, but all this¡­ it''s insane,¡± Mia stressed, putting the notebook down on the coffee table. ¡°You want to rebel against the ECU. They¡¯re not just a gang you can tear down, it¡¯s a global organization with trillions of dollars of backing! You can¡¯t fight that.¡± ¡®Give me a year,¡¯ my hubris wanted to say. With the amount of progress I made in the last week, I was feeling confident that with enough time, nothing was impossible. ¡°Well, duh. That would be absurd,¡± Sam replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to fight or start a war with them. Personally, I have no interest in ¡®rebelling¡¯. I¡¯d prefer to co-exist. I know what they¡¯re like and how they operate. There are lines we¡¯d have to cross for them to even entertain the thought of war with us and unless we had resources like the Iron Maiden or firepower like Ajax, we¡¯re never going to cross them.¡± Mia frowned. ¡°Then¡­ what¡ª¡± ¡°Let me stop you right there,¡± Sam held up her hand. ¡°Have you finished thinking about what you want to do, now that the Cains¡¯ experiments forced you through an Awakening?¡± Mia¡¯s frown twisted into a scowl. ¡°The Cains need to be stopped and as far as I know, they still have my friends,¡± Mia explained. ¡°I want to help you bring them down but beyond that¡ª¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Sam clapped, cutting the older girl off. ¡°So we¡¯re all in agreement then. The Cains need to be dealt with. Our issue isn¡¯t with the ECU, it¡¯s with the other gangs. They¡¯re the dangerous ones. The ECU are glorified police, peacekeepers, whatever. They¡¯re not the ones breaking into your home and threatening to slit your throat or taking your family hostage,¡± Sam said. Her face turned grim for a moment. ¡°Well, not normally.¡± ¡°What¡­ what does that mean?¡± ¡°Every organization has bad actors,¡± Sam dismissed with a wave. ¡°The point is this; right now, we have freedom. Freedom to decide what we want to do. That probably sounds selfish, and maybe it is, but I don¡¯t care. I know what it¡¯s like to be restricted, to always have to watch what you do and what you say. Come on, you know what I¡¯m saying. Don¡¯t pretend like you¡¯re so virtuous.¡± Mia¡¯s expression dropped, looking like she had been sucker punched. I turned to look at Sam and saw a familiar glint in her eyes. She knew something about Mia that I didn¡¯t, and I was willing to bet that Liam didn¡¯t know either. Gold could be as scary as she was helpful. ¡°I never claimed to be, but you can¡¯t fault me for being skeptical about the long term plans of this team,¡± Mia countered. ¡°I already said I was going to help you guys. You saved my life and I wasn¡¯t about to go running to the ECU to sell you out. That hasn¡¯t changed, I just want a straight answer on what the end goal is. Because from what you¡¯ve been saying, the plan is to destroy The Cains and become another gang in their place.¡± Sam considered her words for a moment before shrugging. ¡°You¡¯ve got a point. I do want to replace the Cains,¡± she gestured to me. ¡°Told Max as much too. I want to claim their territory as our own.¡± ¡°Which is against the law,¡± Mia pointed out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I won¡¯t be a part of something like that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about intent though,¡± I spoke up, deciding to add my own two cents to the conversation. ¡°The Cains participate in human trafficking, drug use, and all sorts of other deplorable shit. Everyone knows what Pandora does, but the Queen¡¯s Court? I can¡¯t name a single thing.¡± As I locked eyes with Mia, I swear I could almost feel Sam¡¯s grin boring into the back of my head. ¡°Intent?¡± ¡°Sure, criminals ¡®hold territory¡¯, but there¡¯s no real law against it. It¡¯s just making your presence known in a certain part of the city. The criminal part is using that territory for extortion, racketeering or another crime. If you want to get technical, you could say Groves Den is our territory, but nobody actually knows we¡¯re hold up here yet.¡± ¡°Plus, nobody¡¯s going to fight for this shithole,¡± Sam helpfully pointed out. ¡°The Architect might¡¯ve constructed most of the city but there are other building sites that have been abandoned due to lack of money. Businesses around these parts are barely keeping their heads above water and it''s just overall a shitty place to be.¡± ¡°Then why are you here?¡± Mia asked, eyeing the both of us. ¡°It¡¯s a convenient hiding spot. Plus our powers let us make this place pretty comfortable as you can already see,¡± I answered before Sam could. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure if that¡¯s what she was going to say but the answer satisfied Mia. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if there were a bunch of other independent supers that have setups in the area.¡± ¡°There is. More than you¡¯d think too,¡± Sam said. ¡°I ran into a few when I was still a solo. I expected fights at first but for the most part people here are just trying to get by. Mostly it¡¯s the young ones who try to pick fights, the people looking to prove or make a name for themselves.¡± ¡°Young ones?¡± Mia looked surprised. Sam shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some as young as eight and others as old as fifty. Most were solo like me, but there were a few small groups.¡± ¡°And there aren¡¯t any territory clashes like with, you know, Pandora and the Cains?¡± I looked to Sam, seeing as I had no real experience with the area. I never really paid much attention to the environment or culture that Groves Den had. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get me wrong, there¡¯s disputes, but no ones really fighting to control the place. It''s just no one here has the same influence as The Cains, Pandora, or the Queen¡¯s Court. No one wants to take charge, at least the ones with any sense because it would mean going against the other gangs.¡± ¡°But you guys are fine with that, which means you have every intention to build on what you have here,¡± Mia said. ¡°All the hallmarks of a rising gang.¡± ¡°Right, but it¡¯s in the intent that matters. There¡¯s a distinct difference between The Cains, Pandora, and Queens Court, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡± I asked, giving Mia a pointed stare. ¡°What¡¯re the Queen¡¯s Court generally seen as to the wider public? They¡¯re technically a gang, sure, but what do people see them as?¡± My question seemed to click with Mia and I saw the realization sink in. ¡°A Private Military Company.¡± ¡°And Pandora isn¡¯t really a gang and more of a cult,¡± Sam added. ¡°The only real group in this city that even operates like a traditional gang are The Cains. There are some people that even label them a cartel but I don¡¯t much care for the specifics. It¡¯s just a name at the end of the day, but that¡¯s not the point though.¡± Mia¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°No, I don¡¯t suspect it is.¡± ¡°We should act more like the Queen¡¯s Court. They provide actual services to the city and while they do butt heads with the ECU, they aren¡¯t targeted nearly as much as the other two. The ECU knows there¡¯s always going to be gangs and sure, they¡¯ll keep tabs on us in case we cross the line, but at the end of the day, we¡¯re the lesser of two evils,¡± I said, turning to look at Sam. ¡°See, I¡¯m actually starting to get this now.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°It¡¯s all about public perception. You¡¯ve been watching the city all week, why don¡¯t you share what you¡¯ve seen?¡± Now it was my turn to look confused. My gaze flickered between Sam and Mia, the former just pointed to the latter. There was a conflicted expression on the older girl¡¯s face as she struggled to find the right word. She sent Sam another weary look but the blonde just crossed her arms expectantly as if she already knew the answer. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Who¡¯ve you been watching?¡± I asked. ¡°Everyone, mostly,¡± Mia flushed a bit at her words. ¡°Fuck, its creepy just saying that. My statues can¡­ well, it¡¯s hard to explain.¡± Sam laughed. ¡°No it¡¯s not.¡± ¡°It is! It doesn¡¯t make any sense. I shouldn¡¯t be able to, but I can perceive things through my statutes. Sight, sounds, smell. All of it. Sam took me out earlier in the week and she had me leave a bunch of my statues around the city to collect info,¡± Mia explained, looking visibly torn. ¡°It¡¯s so¡­ invasive. People don¡¯t even notice either.¡± ¡°Where did you leave them? Are they concealed? That¡¯s probably why people don¡¯t notice,¡± I said. ¡°If I were walking on the street and a statue just hanging around, I¡¯d just think it was some art or a performance.¡± ¡°Some of them are hidden. Others¡­ not so much.¡± I frowned. ¡°You guys never mentioned any of this.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been busy,¡± Sam defended. ¡°You were either in your workshop or at home. There wasn¡¯t much to talk about and I got the feeling that distracting you wasn¡¯t the best idea. The attack on Grim could happen any day now and we all need to be prepared. It¡¯s partly the reason I offered to take Mia out. She gets to play with her new powers, and I get information.¡± More information sounded nice. I¡¯d had enough time to invest in all my equipment ¡ªto varying degrees¡ª and my upgraded security breaching software was looking quite powerful. Hopefully, it could serve as another avenue to get more info on Supers we might be going up against. Sure, we would be breaking an incredible amount of privacy laws but¡­ I¡¯d put my and the team¡¯s safety above other people''s privacy. Maybe once we get set up, building a private surveillance system to monitor the city would be doable. It would ensure we¡¯d never be caught off-guard and after the bullshit I¡¯d dealt with so far, that sounded like a dream come true. I could maybe get a lesser version of it going by hacking into the city¡¯s surveillance system, but there was no way it wasn¡¯t being watched by the ECU. If I wanted to take that route, I¡¯d need to invest far more points into the project. Doable¡­ but creating our own private surveillance system meant we could monitor very specific parts of the city. That had its merits as well. Hmm, why not both? I could use the private system to cover blind spots in the city¡¯s system, so we¡¯d have full coverage and be able to exploit holes in¡ª ¡°You¡¯re doing it again.¡± I looked up at Sam. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I can almost see the gears turning inside your head. Thinking of going all ¡®big brother is always watching you¡¯ on the city?¡± I shrugged. ¡°We¡¯d benefit. We can¡¯t be caught by surprise if we can see problems coming from literally miles away.¡± Sam seemed to consider the idea for a moment. ¡°Cyber warfare is difficult. I don¡¯t know much about it but I know the ECU has specialist supers just for that. We could try but if we get caught it¡¯s one of the things that could cause them to crack down on us,¡± Sam said. ¡°They¡¯re not in Bayside though, and getting them here would be a pain in the ass for the ECU, so that should make it easier in theory.¡± ¡°It would certainly lighten the load on me,¡± Mia anxiously rubbed the back of her neck. ¡°I¡¯ve got so many statues out there right now, I¡¯m getting overwhelmed.¡± ¡°How many?¡± I asked. ¡°Fifteen,¡± she replied. ¡°Rush hour is the worst. So much noise.¡± ¡°Is that your limit?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I actually have one. The more statues I have, the more my senses are split,¡± Mia said. ¡°Too many and my head would probably pop. I suppose you could call that a limit¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re more capable than you think you are,¡± Sam explained. ¡°Right now with fifteen out there, all you experience is a slight headache at peak hours. You could probably double that and still be able to function just fine, albeit with discomfort.¡± ¡°Slight? The headaches I get now are awful.¡± ¡°You can still walk and talk though. If you get overwhelmed you¡¯d just collapse or maybe just have a seizure. You should know when to stop long before you reach that point though. You¡¯re not alone there, I get it when I switch too much too quickly,¡± Sam said. ¡°I get a bit delirious.¡± ¡°I guess I got lucky,¡± I said. ¡°My power just stops letting me upgrade stuff, it even gives me a nice number to tell me how far away that is.¡± ¡°Every super has their limits. Even Liam,¡± Sam replied, pursing her lips. ¡°Though I¡¯m having trouble actually figuring out what his limit is.¡± ¡°Speaking of, where is he?¡± Mia asked. ¡°He was here this morning when I woke up and he¡¯s disappeared.¡± ¡°Went home,¡± I said. ¡°His uncle called and told him to get his ass back there. The guy didn¡¯t sound too happy that he was out so much.¡± His uncle sounded like a real piece of work and Liam had gotten the call inside my workshop. That little instance actually gave me another idea to help with this place¡¯s security. I¡¯d have to add some kind of signal blocker¡­ or maybe location spoofing so they couldn¡¯t track us back here? The last thing I wanted was to get busted because the ECU was able to trace my IP or any other unprotected signals. That would be embarrassing. An easy fix though, something I could whip up today. ¡°Oh,¡± Mia frowned, looking rather disappointed. ¡°I wanted to talk to him.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be back tomorrow,¡± Sam reassured her. ¡°You can talk to him then. For now we should discuss what I¡¯ve been planning.¡± I braced myself. Sam¡¯s plans always ended up with us doing something incredibly dangerous. I had rather enjoyed this last week of peace. I¡¯d gotten a lot of work done and I had been looking forward to continuing that trend. I gave her my best flat look. ¡°Dare I ask?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing crazy. We¡¯d just be busting into some Cain safehouses and taking their ill gotten gains,¡± Sam replied easily. ¡°Ya know, the basic stuff.¡± ¡°Basic stuff,¡± Mia repeated slowly. ¡°That¡¯s basic?¡± ¡°Would you prefer to punch Grim in the face?¡± Sam asked with a knowing smirk. Mia tried to think of a clever retort but eventually gave up, her shoulders sagging. Sam took this as a victory. ¡°Thought so. Trust me, with the four of us, it¡¯ll be a breeze. Honestly, Liam could probably do it solo. Part of why I¡¯m going is because Pink is starting to get really antsy and if I neglect her, she starts getting bitchy.¡± A bitchy Pink sounded miserable. I had to wonder how Sam managed to stay sane with all those personalities bouncing around inside her head? ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll drag me along with you, just because,¡± I crossed my arms. Sam only replied with a cheeky smile. If Liam really could do it all by himself, then there wasn¡¯t much point in me going along. Mia still needed to get some experience, so it would be a good outing for her. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose I could just chill and work on stuff in my workshop?¡± ¡°Are you trying to tell me you don¡¯t want to test out your new toys?¡± Sam asked, feigning shock. ¡°You¡¯ll miss out on all the fun if you just lock yourself away upstairs all the time. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ve got anything to be afraid of while wearing that suit. It¡¯s more than bulletproof now.¡± More than she realized. My suit was at a point now where only Mechatech, heavy equipment or powers would be able to do any reasonable damage to it. Even a fifty-caliber bullet wouldn¡¯t do much more than give me a light shove. I would claim that artillery and tank shells wouldn¡¯t do much and while the suit would be fine, the force behind the shot would still be enough to pop my organs and shatter my bones. If I wanted to protect myself against sheer force, I¡¯d need something more advanced than armor. Energy shields or some kind of super exoskeleton were my current thoughts. Another path would be altering and reinforcing my biology. Sure, I couldn¡¯t interact with biology or living organisms but that didn¡¯t mean I couldn¡¯t create something that did. The only question was what. ¡°Fair point,¡± I shrugged easily. ¡°I might as well tag along. There might be something interesting I could find. The last safehouse had some of Deadlock¡¯s tech. Who knows what else they have.¡± Sam hummed aloud. ¡°Gold¡¯s still not certain how they managed to get a hold of something like that. Still trying to figure that one out, but it¡¯s not exactly a priority.¡± ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re just going to break in and attack some thugs in their own homes?¡± Mia asked, a look of apprehension and distaste crossing her features. ¡°I know these guys are scum but I¡¯m not sure how I feel about that. It feels needlessly violent.¡± ¡°All we¡¯re doing is going in, knocking them out, and taking their stuff,¡± Sam explained like it was a daily routine. ¡°Don¡¯t forget these guys are the same ones that kidnapped you. If Grim wasn¡¯t in league with some psycho, you likely would¡¯ve been sold into sex slavery.¡± Mia looked horrified. ¡°What?¡± ¡°When Liam first came to us that was our first guess,¡± I explained. ¡°It¡¯s what they do.¡± ¡°Was,¡± Sam corrected. ¡°Now Grim and the rest of them are suckling from Masquerade and the Iron Maiden¡¯s teet. It might still be a part of their operation, but there¡¯s no way it¡¯s their primary source of income anymore.¡± Any reservations Mia had about what we were doing visibly melted off her face. She wanted to hurt them now ¨C to take the fight straight to their doorstep. The last few days had distracted her from what really happened. If I were to guess, she was likely preoccupied with learning to use her power properly. ¡°Those freaks probably still have my friends.¡± Sam frowned and lightly shrugged. ¡°The ECU quarantined the whole block around the bunker. Gold thinks Grim and Splicer have completely gone into hiding, but we¡¯re torn on the specifics. If they were really desperate to keep things hidden, they would¡¯ve burnt the place to the ground with everyone inside.¡± ¡°They¡¯re all dead?¡± There was a notable shake in Mia¡¯s voice. ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Sam raised a hand to calm Mia. She clearly picked up on my discontent as well, if the tone of her voice was anything to go by. ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping an eye on the news. Like I said, the ECU have the whole block locked down and their forces are out there en masse. They¡¯re getting something out of the bunker and it¡¯s highly probable it¡¯s the other victims and most of the Mechatech.¡± Mia¡¯s expression turned hopeful. ¡°So there¡¯s a chance they¡¯ll live?¡± Sam let out an exhausted sigh and shrugged again. ¡°There¡¯s a lot to consider. Some people were further along in testing than you were, others might have an adverse reaction. This is one of the most dangerous fields of research after all.¡± She explained. ¡°Then there¡¯s the possibility that Grim and Splicer took the ones that showed the most promise and moved them elsewhere, leaving behind the failures. There¡¯s only so much I can do on such limited info.¡± ¡°I get it,¡± I said, turning back and giving Sam a pointed look. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re planning on attacking more of their safehouses. You think you¡¯ll be able to find clues and put Gold to work. You¡¯re killing two birds with one stone.¡± Sam stared at me and tilted her head. ¡°Wow,¡± she said, clearly impressed. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I¡¯m honestly surprised you even got that.¡± I did my best to look smug. ¡°Told you, I¡¯m starting to get this stuff.¡± She winked. ¡°You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.¡± ¡°So¡­ this plan of yours. You want me to come along?¡± Mia¡¯s voice broke our little staring match and drew attention back to her. ¡°Because you said ¡®the four of us¡¯ unless I¡¯m mishearing things.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Sam said earnestly. ¡°You¡¯re not certain how your power will be helpful but I¡¯ll be able to give you some pointers ¨C that is if you want to come along at all. Feel free to lounge around here if you want. I just thought you¡¯d appreciate some fresh air.¡± ¡°I want more than fresh air,¡± Mia replied, her expression hardening. There it was again, that look that promised violence. ¡°But you¡¯re right, I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯ll be helpful. My statues can only move when unobserved.¡± ¡°And you know what that makes you? Fucking horrifying,¡± Sam shuddered a little bit. ¡°You and Liam both. I swear you¡¯re basically monsters from a horror movie. Ninety percent of the dumbasses we¡¯ll find will run for the hills the moment they see things start moving out of the corner of their eyes. The other ten percent brave enough to stay behind will be in for a nasty surprise.¡± Mia chuckled nervously. ¡°When you put it like that¡­¡± ¡°Cheer up, you¡¯ll be fine. Can¡¯t be any worse than the dork,¡± she thumbed me with a grin. ¡°He was a hot mess on his first night out.¡± ¡°I seem to recall that dork pulling a bullet out of your shoulder,¡± I replied blandly. ¡°Or am I misremembering?¡± Sam pouted. Mia just stared at her, shocked. ¡°You¡¯ve been shot?¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Sam waved her off. ¡°Plenty of times. Oddly enough, the third time is the worst and then it gets easier from there.¡± The older girl just blinked slowly. ¡°Right¡­ okay.¡± It was rather amusing seeing Sam mess with someone else for a change. ¡°Hey Max, while I am blessed with your presence for once, I¡¯ve been meaning to talk to you about something,¡± Sam said, finishing up in the kitchen. She walked out from behind the kitchen counter and plopped down next to me on the couch. ¡°I¡¯d like to think I¡¯ve been patient and given you some time to work in peace, but it¡¯s been eating away at me and Gold for a while now. Even Pink wants to know.¡± I stared back, blankly. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± ¡°Your source,¡± she replied. ¡°Namely, how you knew about Splicer. I think it¡¯s time you filled us in.¡± Fabrication 3 The door to my workshop slid open and Sam was quick to follow me in. The lights buzzed as they switched on and the rest of the room was filled with a constant hum. The printers were still slowly churning out some parts for a module and some proto-bullets for my sniper rifle. I strolled over to my laptop and woke it up before pulling up a couple of seats for the both of us. Sam sunk back into the chair and crossed her legs, giving me a curious gaze. ¡°What?¡± I asked. She shrugged harmlessly. ¡°Nothing. I was just expecting a little more push back than that. I¡¯ve found people tend to dig in their heels when it comes to their sources.¡± ¡°You knowing my source hardly makes a difference. In fact, it would probably be more beneficial if you were in contact with her.¡± I didn¡¯t see the harm in her knowing about Alex. If the team fell apart, Alex was half a world away and I felt like I was at a point where I could protect Mom and the rest of my friends. ¡°Her?¡± Sam looked perplexed. Her eyes flashed Gold. ¡°Your mother? No, wait. Sister. You have a sibling?¡± Switching back to Blue, she had a dumbfounded look stretched across her face . The dumbfounded look quickly turned into frustration, likely at herself for missing a detail like that. ¡°Yeah. She lives abroad. Mom and I video chat with her most days. Sometimes we talk over messages too,¡± I said, bringing up the private chat window I had with her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how but she figured out I have powers awhile ago, but didn¡¯t tell me until recently.¡± ¡°Recently?¡± ¡°Our heist to save Mia.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± a thoughtful look crossed her face but she didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Alex, huh. Short for Alexis?¡± ¡°Mom liked that our names were similar,¡± I said. ¡°You sure you want to talk to her? I mean¡ª¡± She was quick to cut me off. ¡°I just want to know what kind of tools she has at her disposal. Besides, I was going to have to meet your family at some point,¡± she gave me a cheeky wink. As quick as the teasing came, it vanished in the blink of an eye. ¡°Just to be clear, she doesn¡¯t have powers?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s friends with people that do. They give her stuff to keep her in the know,¡± I clicked my tongue as a realization struck me. ¡°That¡¯s probably how she figured me out. She told me it¡¯s because I was acting weird, but she was probably deflecting.¡± ¡°Depends on who¡¯s supplying her. She¡¯d need some pretty sophisticated stuff to figure out what you were doing before I picked you up.¡± So Alex had access to tech that wasn¡¯t cheap. It was certainly beyond what she could afford as an art student. Like me, she had stuff worth millions. To make it even worse, she lived in France and was risking heavy jail time possessing unregistered Mechatech. ¡°Well, we can ask her about the specifics when she picks up.¡± My hand hovered over the button to call her and I hesitated. I was unsure how Sam and Alex would get along. If things went sour between them it could impact my relationship with Sam. ¡°So uh, before we do this, can you keep a lid on Gold?¡± I tentatively looked over my shoulder to find her staring with a raised brow. ¡°I think this would go better if you don¡¯t psychoanalyze her. It can be a bit off putting.¡± ¡°I know how to talk to people, Max,¡± Sam replied, rolling her eyes. ¡°But if it makes you feel better, I¡¯m not going to pick a fight and I don¡¯t want to hurt your relationship with your sister.¡± I wasn¡¯t entirely sure that made me feel better, it was as good an answer as I was going to get. With a nod, I started the call. In typical Alex fashion, she answered the call before the first ring had finished. Her webcam turned on and showed her at her desk. She was eating what looked to be cereal; rather strange given that it was around midnight where she was. ¡°Heya Max. Unusual for you to call this late¨C er, early.¡± ¡°Are you eating cereal?¡± She looked down at the bowl and spooned another bite. It looked like a mixture of oats, grains, and yogurt. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it like midnight for you?¡± ¡°Yaha. So? Food¡¯s food. You can eat it whenever you want.¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± I stopped myself when I realized I was about to descend into another one of our pointless arguments.¡°Okay, going off track here. I didn¡¯t call to debate cereal.¡± ¡°I¡¯d better hope not,¡± Alex snorted. ¡°Because you¡¯d lose every time.¡± Sam cackled. ¡°I like her.¡± ¡°Oh? Who¡¯s that?¡± Alex leaned forward to get a better look. Sam waved, catching her attention. ¡°Oh! Hey there, didn¡¯t see you on the account of Max¡¯s big ass head taking up the screen.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯m Sam.¡± ¡°Sam! Max has mentioned you,¡± Alex slouched back in her chair, a grin stretching across her face. ¡°He never said how gorgeous you are though.¡± I turned and saw genuine embarrassment on Sam¡¯s face. ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± I dismissed, eager to move the conversation along. ¡°She saved me a couple of weeks back and, well, the topic of Splicer came up and she wanted to know where I got the name from.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. Well, it¡¯s nice to meet you Sam. I¡¯m Alex, his big sister but I¡¯m guessing you already know that part.¡± ¡°I did,¡± Sam replied earnestly. ¡°It¡¯s great to meet you. Honestly, I thought Max was an only child. How do you deal with him all the time? I swear, it hasn¡¯t even been a month yet and he¡¯s driving me up the wall.¡± Ah, the classic tactic of talking like I wasn¡¯t even in the room. Abby and Lucy often did the same when they were upset with me, Jackson, or Chris. ¡°Thousands of miles of open ocean, time zones, and an emergency bottle of Baileys,¡± Alex reached down out of view of the camera and pulled a bottle of Irish cream into view. ¡°Sometimes even that isn¡¯t enough, unfortunately.¡± Sam chuckled. I just groaned. ¡°If I knew you were going to be like this, I would¡¯ve said my source was willing and able to kill you,¡± I cut in, giving Sam an unamused glare. ¡°Can we move this along, please?¡± ¡°Aw¡­ look at you, little sourpuss,¡± Alex mocked lightly. ¡°We¡¯re just having a bit of fun. Lighten up. It¡¯s really your fault if you think about it. You¡¯re the one who got suckered by a cute girl. It probably wasn¡¯t even hard for you to win him over, was it?¡± Sam turned to me and offered me an easy smile. ¡°I¡¯ll give credit where it¡¯s due, he wasn¡¯t as easy as you think. I had to do some work and pursue him a little bit. We¡¯re on the same page now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Alex nodded. ¡°Better that than a dysfunctional partnership. They never end well.¡± Sam¡¯s expression turned curious. ¡°Hm¡­ we¡¯re keeping things strictly professional. There¡¯s no need to mess up what we have now.¡± Alex¡¯s grin returned with a vengeance. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s so cute. That¡¯s what they all say.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Sam wasn¡¯t deterred. ¡°Mhm. So, this supplier you have, don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d be willing to say who they are? Max has told me you don¡¯t have any powers.¡± ¡°Nada,¡± Alex replied wistfully. ¡°Some days I think to myself that life would¡¯ve been much easier if I did. Then I watch the news and I¡¯m grateful. It¡¯s not an easy life to live.¡± ¡°No,¡± Sam agreed. ¡°Which is why I¡¯m curious why you have access to the kind of tech you do. This contact of yours is a Mechakinetic, right? They wouldn¡¯t just give their tech to a stranger, and no offense but you don¡¯t look like you''re swimming in cash.¡± ¡°Guilty,¡± Alex chuckled. ¡°Nah, I didn¡¯t buy his stuff. I met him in one of my electives and we hit it off. We dated for a while and we¡¯re sort of in limbo right now, kinda off and on. With everything that¡¯s going on over here he¡¯s having a tough time.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± My voice faltered a bit. ¡°You always said you were single.¡± It wasn''t betrayal, but I felt like I had been lied to. Alex was entitled to her privacy and her relationships were none of my business, but she¡¯d always said she was single and not interested in dating. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Alex said slowly. ¡°Whenever you ask, I was single, and I wasn¡¯t interested in dating because I¡¯m already seeing someone. It¡¯s what¡¯s called a situationship. I can be single, and be seeing someone at the same time. Isn¡¯t that something?¡± I frowned. ¡°That sounds stupid.¡± ¡°You have no idea,¡± Sam snorted. ¡°Anyway, does this guy have a Super name?¡± ¡°Yeah, he goes by Counter-Striker.¡± Sam went silent and for a moment, I thought she might have recognized the name. However, after a moment her eyes began flashing back and forth between Gold and Blue, almost like she was glitching out. ¡°That¡­ I¡¯ve never heard of him.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be surprised if you did. His whole speciality revolves around information, both gathering and suppression¡± Alex explained. ¡°If you did know of him, then he¡¯s not doing his job.¡± ¡°I suppose that¡¯s fair. As much as it hurts Gold to admit, I can¡¯t know every single Super in the world,¡± Sam shrugged. ¡°So I heard you had Max all figured out, I¡¯m curious how much you know about me. There¡¯s no way you didn¡¯t dig around a little.¡± I resisted the urge to cough. ¡°I did,¡± Alex answered without hesitation. ¡°I have to say, I liked the name Catelynn. You are aware the ECU has quite the dossier on you right?¡± Sam took another moment of prolonged silence and I was worried for a moment that she was going to flip out. Thankfully, it seemed like she was only taking time to think about how she was going to respond. ¡°Ah, yeah. That makes sense,¡± Sam sighed. ¡°I suppose I should have expected that. They still have all my old files from my Rookie days. I should¡¯ve wiped them myself while I had the chance, but I was just in a hurry to get out. I suppose it doesn¡¯t really matter in the end, it¡¯s all old data. I¡¯ve made sure to keep my distance.¡± ¡°Smart,¡± Alex praised. ¡°Couldn¡¯t have been easy to slip out from under their thumb.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t as easy as just upping and leaving. It took a month of planning and I had to have backup plans in case things went south, which they did. But that¡¯s what contingencies are for,¡± Sam explained. ¡°That¡¯s all history now. What else do you know?¡± ¡°Only what the ECU does, and what Max has told me.¡± ¡°Which isn¡¯t much,¡± I chimed in. Sam turned and gave me a flat stare. ¡°Only the important stuff.¡± ¡°Ahuh.¡± I could tell she wasn¡¯t fully convinced. ¡°So, is there anything else you¡¯d like to know? I can tell this has been on your mind for a while,¡± Alex asked, giving Sam a knowing smile. ¡°Well¡­ There¡¯s more I¡¯d like to ask, but it¡¯s not urgent.¡± ¡°Did you want Counter-Striker¡¯s contact details? I¡¯d be willing to share them if you want. He could probably even send some tech over, I¡¯m sure he¡¯d love to see what Max can do to it.¡± Alex turned and shot me a sly grin. ¡°You¡¯re every Mechakinetic¡¯s dream collaborator. He¡¯d be thrilled to work with you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡± Sam asked, her tone shifting to a more business-like demeanor. ¡°Nobody works for free.¡± ¡°Oh, he¡¯d want Max to send back some improved tech and provide schematics for anything he¡¯s keeping. He¡¯d probably throw in some of his higher end gear if you send something he can use to protect himself with. His specialty doesn¡¯t exactly allow him to make it himself.¡± ¡°What, like a suit?¡± I asked, intrigued by the idea. ¡°I can do that but I don¡¯t know the first thing about secure shipping. I¡¯m sure the ECU would be all over that.¡± ¡°He has secure channels that I can put you in contact with,¡± Alex replied like it was no big deal. ¡°It can get a little complex but if you know the right people and know where to look, it¡¯s a straightforward process.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a global business,¡± Sam interjected, turning to face me. ¡°Once we have the time, we can do that together. I know how to find these sorts of things and Bayside will absolutely have a shady export branch or three we could use.¡± I supposed that made sense. There was a service for everything if you looked hard enough. ¡°Oh, and don¡¯t forget a weapon too,¡± Alex added quickly. ¡°Something big in case of emergencies. He has other contacts that you guys might be interested in as well, but I think we can get to that later. You all have your hands full with The Shadow of Death lurking about.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re expecting that bomb to go off any day now,¡± Sam said. ¡°Please keep each other safe,¡± Alex asked, her tone turning more heartfelt. ¡°Grim is dangerous. I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to say it, but don¡¯t take any unnecessary risks, and¡­ if you must, don¡¯t be afraid to cut your losses. That¡¯s one fight where running away isn¡¯t cowardly.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me twice,¡± Sam chuckled, reaching over and pinching me. ¡°Max knows that too. We¡¯ve seen it first hand.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t remind me,¡± I muttered, shuddering. I could feel the goosebumps on my arms. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how we¡¯re going to do anything. We have ways of forcing him into the open, but other than that? Nothing. Wildfire said he wanted him dead, but how do we actually¡­¡± I trailed off a little, looking between the two for some input. ¡°...do that?¡± I was met with uncertain silence. I looked between them, noting the blank expressions. Sam¡¯s eyes would flicker between Gold and Blue, her mind likely whirling to try and put together pieces to a puzzle she didn¡¯t even have. ¡°Grim has a weakness,¡± Alex said, instantly capturing our attention. She laughed weakly. ¡°Which I don¡¯t know. Sorry. Didn¡¯t mean to get your hopes up, but it¡¯s been confirmed it exists and if anyone knows it they aren¡¯t sharing. Plenty of mentalists have tried to get more than that, but the vast majority just get stuck.¡± ¡°Yeah, Gold feels like we¡¯re close but we¡¯re just missing something.¡± ¡°Follow your gut feeling,¡± Alex said. ¡°If you think you¡¯re close, you really might be. Any thoughts?¡± Sam was quiet for a moment. ¡°Splicer.¡± ¡°Splicer?¡± I repeated, confused. ¡°You think he¡¯ll know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure why, but he¡¯s working closely with Grim and the Ex-Cains said he¡¯s been acting erratically. Splicer¡¯s likely our best shot at finding anything. We just need to find him first, but that¡¯s easier said than done. He¡¯ll be in hiding now and working double time to finish his projects.¡± Sam aimlessly tapped the desk with her fingers. ¡°We already know he was creating Artificial Awakenings, but we don¡¯t know for what purpose.¡± ¡°For¡­ more Supers?¡± I suggested cluelessly. It was the first thing to come to mind. ¡°What other reason would the Cains have? They were short on Supers before and now Grim¡¯s the only one left.¡± ¡°Eh, that doesn¡¯t seem like Grim¡¯s MO,¡± Alex disagreed. ¡°I think there might be another reason.¡± ¡°So do I,¡± Sam nodded. ¡°The only way we¡¯re going to know is if we capture Splicer.¡± ¡°I can see if I can dig up some more info on him,¡± Alex offered. ¡°I¡¯m not doing much right now. I¡¯m just waiting for my results to come back, and I have been pretty bored lately. It¡¯ll give me a reason to flex my techie skills.¡± ¡°You¡¯re offering to help us?¡± Sam asked with a raised brow. Alex shrugged. ¡°Of course. Max is willing to stick it out with you, so the best I can do is offer help when it''s needed. Some of my time is a small price to pay for his, and by extension your, safety. Plus you seem like a nice girl. It¡¯d be a shame to see you bite the dust.¡± ¡°Aw, you''re too kind,¡± Sam chuckled. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not gonna say no.¡± ¡°Good, that makes it easier. I¡¯ll let you guys know if I find anything on Splicer,¡± Alex said, giving me a smile. ¡°Thanks for calling Max. It¡¯s good to see you doing well. Mum¡¯s been worried.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll be sure to come home more. I¡¯ve been a bit flaky lately. Distracted,¡± I explained. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡± ¡°Okay, you two take care. No funny business, okay?¡± She chuckled, waving. ¡°Bye!¡± The screen went black and I turned to Sam. Her expression was completely neutral, almost expressionless. It took a moment for her to actually register that the call had ended. When she did, she blinked and turned to me. ¡°She was nice.¡± ¡°Honestly, that went far better than I expected.¡± Sam rolled her eyes. ¡°You worry too much.¡± She stood up and slowly strolled to the door. She looked lost in thought. ¡°You okay?¡± I asked. She turned, seeming lost in her own thoughts. ¡°Yeah, why?¡± ¡°You just seem¡­ off.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just thinking about Splicer,¡± she replied. ¡°Alex is right. It¡¯s not really Grim¡¯s MO to want more Supers, especially one¡¯s he¡¯d have trouble controlling. He¡¯s after something else.¡± ¡°So, we need to find Splicer before Grim destroys the city.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Sam nodded. ¡°Yeah. We need to get him, and I might have an idea on how to do that.¡± Fabrication 4 ¡°Heeeeeey, can I borrow you for a few hours?¡± After our conversation with my sister yesterday, I wasn¡¯t expecting to hear from Sam today. I had decided to stay home and catch up on some tasks I¡¯d been neglecting. The lawns wouldn¡¯t cut themselves and it wasn¡¯t like mom was capable of reaching the higher areas of the house. I was mostly done with the housework when Sam called. She sounded anxious, which had me on edge because the Sam I knew was steadfast and practically oozed confidence. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I looked around to make sure Mom wasn¡¯t listening in from the other room. ¡°Has something happened?¡± ¡°What? No,¡± Sam laughed, which slowly turned into slow, awkward chuckles. ¡°This is a social call.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± I felt myself frown as I thought over what she would drag me into. Our relationship had been pretty professional ¨C as professional as two sixteen-year-olds could be ¨C and never really went beyond our superpower-related activities. Sure we had the occasional lunch, but it was almost always occupied by discussing plans for the future or what I was working on. ¡°Yeeeah. Look, feel free to say no but¡ª¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± ¡°¡ªhey! You didn¡¯t even hear me out!¡± ¡°I¡¯m kinda busy right now,¡± I said, pulling down the oven door to give the inside a proper clean. ¡°Since I spent all my time on developing stuff to take down the Cains, I¡¯ve kinda neglected the normal stuff. I¡¯m doing house work right now.¡± ¡°...Okay. How long is that going to take?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m mostly done but I¡¯m not exactly rushing either.¡± ¡°I could come over and help,¡± she suggested. ¡°Four hands are better than two. Plus, Pink can get it done in the blink of an eye.¡± While I had nothing against the idea, the thought of Sam meeting my mother made me a little uncomfortable. Mom would probably get the wrong idea and I really didn¡¯t like my super and civilian lives intersecting like this. Alex was one thing, this was another. ¡°What happened to keeping our relationship ¡®strictly professional¡¯?¡± She had seemed pretty content yesterday with how we were going so far and all this felt like a giant leap in the opposite direction. ¡°I think I¡¯m fine cleaning my house on my own.¡± ¡°You know what I meant about keeping things strictly professional. I can help without things turning weird,¡± Sam replied with an annoyed hitch to her tone. ¡°Look, a couple of my ¡®friends¡¯ from school invited me out a while ago and I¡¯ve been dodging them. Last night they got pushy and pretty much demanded I meet up with them today.¡± None of that sounded even remotely appealing. I didn¡¯t know her friends and I knew very little about her personal life. Honestly, I thought the life she lived as Alice was her personal life and the persona she put on at school was the fake one. However, it brought up an interesting point I hadn¡¯t considered. Her life at school might be a fake one, but that didn¡¯t mean she didn¡¯t value it. ¡°What¡¯s this got to do with me?¡± ¡°All my friends have boyfriends and I don¡¯t want to be the only one showing up single,¡± Sam groaned. ¡°Do you have any idea how mortifying that is?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, are you sure Gold can¡¯t figure something out?¡± ¡°Oh, fuck you,¡± Sam groaned. ¡°Are you going to help me out or not?¡± I drew in a breath and exhaled slowly. Was she really going to ask me to be her pretend boyfriend just so that she could protect her ego? I¡¯d be finished with the house in about an hour and after that, I was probably going to go upstairs and get started on some homework that I had missed over the last week. My teachers had all emailed me some things to finish up before Monday and I needed to get the week¡¯s groceries at some point. It left me with little time to myself. That said, I hadn¡¯t used my power today, I could probably use the charges to make some software to finish my homework for me. Given how busy I was going to be in the future, it would be something I¡¯d have to do soon, or else I¡¯d risk failing school entirely. If I went out with Sam, I would be able to guilt trip her into helping me get groceries on the way home. Then, later tonight, I¡¯d mess around with my powers and create something that did my homework for me. ¡°When and where is this little outing?¡± ¡°Two o¡¯clock. So an hour and a half from now. We¡¯re going to New Market to do some shopping. Hang out, eat¡­ I don¡¯t know. We might watch a movie or something.¡± Screw it. It¡¯s not like she¡¯s boring to hang out with. ¡°Fine, but I need to get groceries when we¡¯re done. Our cupboards are running low and Mom doesn¡¯t want to pay to get the stuff delivered.¡± ¡°Sweet! That¡¯s fine. I should probably do the same. Having everyone over has been murder on my pantry. Honestly, Liams the worst, he just helps himself. Mia caught him sneaking some of my aloe the other day.¡± That didn¡¯t surprise me, though he seemed to respect my boundaries when it came to my workshop. I knew he was excited about some of the projects I was working on but he was always careful about what he touched. Well, to my knowledge at least. Hmm¡­ maybe I should set up a camera there? ¡°Am I coming to you or are you going to pick me up?¡± ¡°I can swing by in the car,¡± I could hear the grin in her voice. ¡°You can even drive us if you want.¡± My car looked like it was worth a fortune so she probably just wanted to show off. ¡°Are you sure it''s a good idea to be using the car for something like this? We¡¯ve been using it for Super stuff. Maybe we should get another car to do normal stuff in, or take a bus or something,¡± I suggested. The silence I received from her told me she wasn¡¯t the biggest fan. ¡°Your power can change how it looks, right?¡± ¡°You want me to waste charges switching the model back and forth for something like this? Tell me the truth, how much shit is Gold giving you right now?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not important,¡± Sam deflected. ¡°Look, you can just make it look a little different. I doubt it would be more than a couple of your charges and it¡¯s not like you''re using them on anything important today.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°Well, are you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not important,¡± I replied, throwing her words right back in her face. ¡°I¡¯m just asking whether or not this is a good idea. Until my suit has long distance movement modules, I¡¯ll be using that car to get around in costume and there are more ways to connect me and Upgrade than just its looks.¡± ¡°Ugh, Max, nobody¡¯s going to know. If it bothers you so much, just use your power to make it harder to track, then once you change the body no one will be able to connect it to you.¡± ¡°Okay, fine. I can solve that problem easily enough but what about your friends? Won¡¯t they have questions if we roll up in a car that looks more expensive than most people''s houses?¡± I asked, skeptical. ¡°How are we going to explain that away?¡± ¡°Oh, come on. This isn¡¯t rocket science, dude. Just say you¡¯re rich. I¡¯ve already told my friends that I¡¯m pretty well off and it''s not like their parents aren¡¯t making decent cash either. I doubt they¡¯ll make a scene of it.¡± I bit my lip and considered it further. ¡°You¡¯re being weirdly insistent about this.¡± ¡°Who else am I going to ask? Liam?¡± Sam snorted. ¡°I barely know him and I don¡¯t trust him to not embarrass me in front of everyone. You¡­¡± she paused for a moment. ¡°I trust you. I don¡¯t have anyone else to ask.¡± She sounded strangely vulnerable, it was almost cute if it wasn¡¯t so unsettling. Plus, if I knew her as well as I believed I did, then there was the real possibility that she was¡­ ¡°You¡¯re already on your way over here, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°...Yeah.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± I muttered, shaking my head. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t think it would take this much convincing. I really thought you wouldn¡¯t mind helping me out here,¡± Sam replied, sounding mildly bitter. ¡°Seriously, this isn¡¯t a big issue. It¡¯ll be fun! The regular kind of fun, not our usual kind.¡± ¡°I¡¯m concerned that you think what we do is ¡®fun¡¯.¡± ¡°Oh, please. You love it.¡± I couldn¡¯t really deny that. There was definitely an adrenaline rush that came with suiting up and actually using my tech, knowing that I had built the tools that let us succeed. However, fun was not something I¡¯d describe our last outing. ¡°Not as much as you think,¡± I replied vaguely. ¡°How far away are you?¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Not long. I should be there soon if this traffic clears up.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to finish up. I¡¯ll see you soon.¡± I ended the call, grumbling as I pocketed my phone and finished up with the oven. Despite having grown used to impromptu visits, Mom didn¡¯t know Sam, though, so I thought it would be best to warn her. Moving out of the kitchen and into the living room, I found her sitting on the sofa watching a midday news broadcast. ¡°Hey, hope you don¡¯t mind but¡ª¡± Mom shushed me and pointed to the TV. When I saw what had captured her attention so thoroughly, I felt cold dread crawl up my spine. The news was showing aerial footage of a giant sinkhole that went so deep that the bottom couldn¡¯t be seen. It took me a moment to realize the scale of the hole, and another moment for it to register that on the fringes of the hole were roads and buildings. There were no people around, nor were there news crews surveying the hole. I read the tagline for more information and found that this had happened to a town five hundred kilometers south of Bayside. ¡°It¡¯s like I said,¡± Mom shook her head. ¡°This world is getting scarier by the day.¡± ¡°How many people got caught in that?¡± ¡°Over ten thousand people are missing. The sinkhole is so deep that normal search and rescue forces won¡¯t be able to get down there to save anyone in time. The ECU have been called in to investigate,¡± she pointed at the TV again. ¡°They¡¯re sending a flier from Zachery Port to check for any survivors.¡± I felt my lips thin as I stared at the footage. I wasn¡¯t a geologist but I was pretty confident that holes that size don¡¯t just appear randomly. ¡°Sinkholes like that don¡¯t just happen out of the blue. There weren¡¯t any signs?¡± ¡°The earthquakes,¡± Mom replied swiftly, not seeing my confusion. ¡°There¡¯s been earthquakes for the last few weeks. People were blaming The Mountain for this and he¡¯s yet to make any sort of public statement.¡± People always wanted something or someone to blame. ¡°No surprises there,¡± I grumbled. ¡°By the way, I have a friend coming over shortly. She¡¯ll be here soon, it was sort of a last minute thing.¡± Mom turned to me, surprised. ¡°She? Another girl?¡± ¡°Her name is Sam, you haven¡¯t met her yet.¡± Mom¡¯s stony visage cracked, an amused smile stretching across her lips. ¡°Where did you two meet? Was it school? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard Lucy mention a ¡®Sam¡¯ before.¡± ¡°No, she goes to Eastworth Girls. We¡ª¡± I cut myself off before I said anything that might¡¯ve been contradictory. I realized that it was a bad place to stop but I had to consider my next words carefully. Try as I might though, nothing exceptionally smart came to mind. ¡°¡ªmet online¡­?¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie. She had been the first to contact me and meeting online wasn¡¯t uncommon. My mother was a bit of a traditionalist and I wouldn¡¯t fault her for not understanding but she did work in software development, so It wasn¡¯t like she was technologically illiterate. ¡°Oh¡­ but you¡¯ve met her in person, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, plenty of times.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have issues,¡± Mom shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not like we never have guests around. Are you two planning on going out anywhere?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re going to New Market. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get groceries on the way home,¡± I saw her open her mouth to speak but I was quick to cut her off. ¡°And I¡¯ll be home in time for dinner tonight. It¡¯s a school night. I know the drill.¡± Mom gave me a suspicious glare. ¡°Good. You¡¯ve been in and out of the house a lot lately and I haven¡¯t seen you that much. I know I¡¯ve been rather lax but, I raised you with your head on straight, you know what¡¯s important.¡± The doorbell rang, which startled me because I didn¡¯t think soon meant five minutes. ¡°Yep,¡± I started toward the door. ¡°You know me. Model student and all that.¡± I opened the door to find Sam ¨C or someone who looked a lot like Sam, standing in my doorway. I had to blink a few times just to see if I was seeing things right. The Sam I was used to seeing either walked around in tank tops, sweatpants, her costume, or her school uniform. What she wore now was showy and absolutely designed to impress. Just about everything looked completely transformed. Her hair was straightened and she actually wore makeup, just subtle enough to not look overdone. She wore a loose-fitting white button-up, a skirt with some nice-looking patterns I didn¡¯t care enough to know the name of, and high-top vans. ¡°Jeez, pick your jaw up off the floor, why don¡¯t you?¡± Sam laughed. ¡°Are you going to invite me in?¡± ¡°You look so different.¡± Sam just laughed again. ¡°Uh, yeah. I actually put some effort if I¡¯m going out in public with a group of friends. Anything less and I¡¯d be mocked for it.¡± I stepped aside and allowed her inside, recoiling at the assault of perfume on my senses as she moved past me. It was so sweet I could almost taste it. I had to turn my face away as I closed the door to avoid choking. ¡°Aw, damn. Too much?¡± I turned to find Sam giving me a curious look. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve bothered to doll myself up a bit. I might¡¯ve gone overboard¡­ buuuuuut, Pink was really insistent and you know how she is.¡± Sometimes it slipped my mind that I didn¡¯t need to explain things to her. ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said, my voice sounding a little weak. ¡°I just wasn¡¯t prepared for it.¡± I heard the squeaking of Mom¡¯s wheelchair sound from the room over. ¡°Alright, what¡¯ve we got here?¡± She wheeled over toward the entrance. Sam popped her head into the living room door frame and waved. Mom looked surprised, a smile screeching across her face. ¡°Hello, Sam was it?¡± ¡°Yes, hi!¡± She replied eagerly, extending a hand in greeting. It was interesting to see how different she was compared to her meeting with Alex. Right now, it seemed she was half a step away from switching to Pink with how bubbly and happy she sounded. ¡°It¡¯s great to meet you. I¡¯m so sorry for dropping in like this. It was a last minute thing and I was in the area.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no problem,¡± Mom shook her hand. ¡°I¡¯m used to his friends popping over, unannounced visits are common in this house. Though, I¡¯ve never seen you before,¡± Mom gave me a suspicious side-eye. ¡°He said you met online?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± Sam replied without missing a beat. ¡°We¡¯ve been talking for weeks now. We started meeting up recently.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m happy you''re meeting new people,¡± Mom said, turning to address me with an earnest smile. ¡°You¡¯ve stuck with the same group of friends you¡¯ve had since Intermediate school.¡± ¡°What¡¯s¡ª¡± I started, only to have Mom cut me off. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with that, but meeting new people builds character,¡± Mom lectured, giving me a knowing look. ¡°Anyway. I suppose offering a drink and some food would be a waste of time? I¡¯m told you two are heading to New Market soon.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re eating out,¡± Sam confirmed. ¡°Would you like us to bring you anything while we¡¯re out?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you kind,¡± Mom mused aloud. ¡°Groceries would be nice.¡± ¡°That¡¯s already on the list,¡± I commented. ¡°Anything else?¡± A thoughtful look crossed Mom¡¯s face. Holding up a hand, she gestured for us to give her a moment before wheeling herself into the kitchen. A few moments later, she came back with a small piece of paper in her hand. Handing it to me, I unfolded it to see a small list of prescription medicines. ¡°I just remembered I¡¯m running low on my prescription. If it wouldn¡¯t be too much trouble, would you be able to pick up my refills?¡± ¡°Nah, no trouble at all,¡± Sam said, clearly eager to make a positive impression, and from the looks of it, she seemed to be doing a good job. ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re sticking to a tight schedule. We¡¯ll have plenty of time.¡± ¡°Thank you. Well, I won¡¯t keep you two. Don¡¯t be out too late!¡± Mom said, moving back to the living room. I folded the note and slipped it into my pocket when I noticed Sam staring at the open living room door. There was a pensive look etched onto her face, one that hadn¡¯t been there a moment ago. When she noticed me staring, she brightened up a little and bounded over to me. ¡°Your room¡¯s upstairs?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± She pushed past me and skipped up the stairs, two at a time. I followed, puzzled at her bizarre behavior. I had to wonder if she was arguing with Gold or Pink inside her head. Maybe both, hell, maybe even more than just those two. When we arrived at my room, I found her sitting on my bed with the same pensive expression. ¡°What¡¯s with you?¡± I asked. ¡°You seem a bit more spacey than usual.¡± She turned, squinting at me for a few seconds and I could have sworn I saw her eyes flash through multiple colors. It happened so quickly that I couldn¡¯t pinpoint which part of her was trying to break through. After a few moments, she settled on Blue and exhaled. Her shoulders slumped and she looked away, rubbing her forehead. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I resisted the urge to scoff. ¡°It¡¯s never nothing with you.¡± ¡°Because you know me sooooo well,¡± there was a flash of Red which had her groaning and shaking her head. ¡°Sorry. I just feel like I¡¯m being pulled in multiple directions sometimes. Today¡¯s supposed to be a day where we can just relax, take our mind off things¡­ but I can¡¯t ever do that. It¡¯s impossible to just unplug.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked, perplexed. Sam gave me a knowing look and the realization slowly hit me. ¡°Your personalities?¡± ¡°They¡¯re always here, you know,¡± she lifted a hand to her ear and made a mouth with it. ¡°Always talking, never shutting up,¡± she met my gaze and pushed herself further onto my bed until her back rested against the wall. ¡°Your Mom didn¡¯t seem very keen to talk to me.¡± The sudden change in topic had me suspicious but I wasn¡¯t about to push her if she didn¡¯t want to talk. ¡°In her defense, she had about five minutes notice before you arrived. But she¡¯s always been like that, it took a while for some of my other friends to grow on her. Lucy talks to her a lot but otherwise, she tends to keep her distance,¡± I explained. ¡°I¡¯ve always thought it was her way of not getting in our way or cramping our style.¡± Sam didn¡¯t look very convinced, despite it being the truth. ¡°I thought she¡¯d be more like your sister, I don¡¯t really see the resemblance,¡± she murmured. I thought she was upset about it but that confusion quickly faded when that familiar thoughtful expression crossed her face again. I was about to ask but she ¨C again ¨C changed the subject on a dime. ¡°You aren¡¯t seriously thinking of wearing that, right?¡± I looked down at my clothes, which consisted of a T-shirt, jeans, and plain socks. ¡°What¡¯s the issue?¡± She rolled her eyes and sprang off the bed with renewed vigor, making a beeline for my wardrobe. She swung open the doors and stared at the contents within. Her head swiveled from right to left, before repeating the motion another three times for good measure. ¡°What the hell is all this?¡± ¡°Clothes.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play coy, you know what I mean,¡± she began digging through the various shirts that were hung up. She pulled out about a half dozen and flicked through them, her brow creasing further with each find. ¡°This stuff is old, and I don¡¯t mean like an antique. Just plain old. None of this stuff will fit you. Have you ever cleaned out your closet?¡± I struggled to think of an answer as the embarrassment hit like a freight train. Lucy had complained in the past about it but Sam¡¯s criticism felt different, the kind that made me want to jump out a window. ¡°I¡­ haven''t.¡± Sam placed the shirts in her hand onto my bed before returning to dig through more of my old clothes. I just stood there, watching stupidly as she went deeper and deeper. ¡°Fuuuuuck me.¡± ¡°Okay, it¡¯s not that bad,¡± I said, trying to defend myself. ¡°They¡¯re just clothes and I can always use my power to adjust the size if I want. Why would I buy more clothes when I can just upgrade and repurpose old stuff?¡± ¡°And you were just complaining to me before that switching the model of the car would be a waste,¡± she replied sardonically. ¡°You can¡¯t stand there and tell me the thought of using your powers to fix up these has ever crossed your mind.¡± She pulled out a pair of jeans that definitely didn¡¯t fit me anymore. I had to have been ten or eleven the last time I wore them. ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even try,¡± she cut me off with a finger. Placing it to the side she continued to dig until she found some somewhat decent clothes. ¡°These will do for now,¡± she pushed them into my hands. ¡°You should¡¯ve said something while we were out getting the printers. We could¡¯ve gone clothes shopping for you. Seriously, I think your wardrobe just offered a novel insight into the Roman Empire.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think I needed more clothes.¡± ¡°And you were wrong,¡± Sam shot back with a glare. ¡°Now I¡¯m glad I decided to go through with this. The thought of you living like this is causing me physical pain.¡± ¡°Sam¡ª¡± ¡°No teammate of mine is going to suffer from such inadequacies,¡± she playfully jabbed me. ¡°So get dressed, we¡¯re going shopping.¡± Fabrication 5 ¡°Maybe you had a point about taking the bus.¡± Finding a parking spot in New Market was like fishing for a needle in a haystack. This place was so cramped that parking could be considered a competitive sport. It was an open-air plaza with hundreds of street vendors and shops. ¡°It¡¯s never a good idea to drive around here, you just get stuck in traffic,¡± I replied, pulling into the fourth parking lot. We must¡¯ve hit the jackpot because someone in front of us was leaving. ¡°We should buy a lottery ticket. I was expecting this to take another half hour.¡± ¡°Why buy a lottery ticket when you can just rob a bank?¡± Sam replied with a sigh of relief. Our gazes met instantly and she cracked up. ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. What kind of dumbass would rob a bank nowadays? We¡¯d make more money in a week by selling your tech and we wouldn¡¯t risk a run in with the ECU.¡± I continued to stare. ¡°Pink really wants to rob a bank, doesn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Ugh, like you wouldn¡¯t believe.¡± From the look on her face, I could tell it was an impulse she had to constantly suppress, much to Pink¡¯s displeasure. Once I had parked the car, Sam placed a hand on my knee before giving it a small squeeze. I looked across at her with an uncertain gaze, confused at the seemingly random intimate gesture. It wasn¡¯t until she reached into the back and retrieved a duffle bag, that I realized what she had. ¡°You brought our stuff?¡± ¡°In case of emergency,¡± she reasoned, unzipping it and pulling out my laser pistol. I was thankful I had tinted my windows because a family happened to be passing by the driver door side as she handed me the weapon. ¡°We can never be too careful, especially since we¡¯re out in public. Banshee and Bonesmith know our faces, and Mirage probably does too. I¡¯d tell you to wear your suit under your regular clothes, but it¡¯s getting too bulky for that.¡± ¡°That''s an unfortunate side-effect of all the stuff I¡¯m integrating. Later on, there are options to slim it down to hide underneath regular clothing or collapse into something much smaller like Nanoforge¡¯s armor¡± I explained. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s too much of a gap between us in terms of protection either. It¡¯s just that she''s able to create her stuff with nanobots, so it¡¯s always covering vitals.¡± ¡°It makes her tech very difficult to deal with, if memory serves,¡± Sam replied. ¡°There¡¯s not a lot of tech out there that¡¯s able to interface with her bots either so you have to go through the hard way.¡± That was interesting, considering my software had managed to pick up the Rookies and Ionizer during our assault on the bunker. Was it already that advanced or was I picking up something else? ¡°Speaking of detection, there isn¡¯t much ECU presence here,¡± I noted. ¡°So, I guess I won¡¯t have to worry about setting off any scanners.¡± Still, the idea of carrying a weapon around without my suit was strangely unsettling. It felt wrong like the two lives I wanted to keep separate were crossing over into one another. ¡°You know, if it¡¯s dangerous enough that I¡¯d be safer with a weapon on me, then is it really a good idea to be here?¡± I asked, giving her a pointed stare. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with blowing your friends off if it''s your life at stake.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to let fear about what could happen dictate my life. It¡¯s a big city, Max. The likelihood that we¡¯ll run into them here is slim,¡± Sam replied. ¡°Plus, just because they know our faces isn¡¯t the only reason to be armed. Realistically, everyone should be carrying a gun for their own safety.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the most American thing I¡¯ve ever heard you say.¡± She just rolled her eyes. ¡°Do you really want to just hide away from the world, only ever coming out of your shell when you feel safe? Because, I¡¯ve met people like that and let me tell you, they¡¯re miserable.¡± I wanted to say ¡®and they¡¯re probably still alive because of it¡¯ but there¡¯s every chance they¡¯re dead anyway. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to say I wanted to hide away,¡± I defended easily. ¡°I just¡­ wouldn¡¯t it be smarter to deal with all the crap we got going on first before taking the time to do stuff like this?¡± ¡°We¡¯re always going to have problems, that¡¯s never going to change, trust me,¡± Sam said, her tone turning sympathetic. ¡°I¡¯ve been at this for almost four years now, Max. There¡¯s always something. I don¡¯t know about you but I¡¯m not interested in hiding away and letting fear rule me.¡± I felt like she was missing the point. This wasn¡¯t about fear for my safety, it was about information, about knowing when we were least at risk. So far, my only trip with Sam that hadn¡¯t gone pear-shaped was our quick shopping trip to buy stuff for my workshop. We had been out for a few hours and only went to places that had proper security. This place was always packed with people. Anything could happen here. ¡°And what does Gold think?¡± ¡°Gold thinks that nobody will try anything with the cease-fire agreement active and that we¡¯ve made enough of an impression that anyone will think twice before engaging us out in the open,¡± Sam replied with utmost confidence. She tilted her head and gave me an impatient look. ¡°Do you have any more questions or are you happy?¡± I grimaced and looked down at my lap where my laser pistol sat. ¡°I still don¡¯t really like the idea of walking around here with a weapon like this,¡± I said, trying to slip it into my waistband. It felt uncomfortable and my clothes didn¡¯t conceal it very well, even with my jacket. I¡¯d need to find a better way to conceal it if I wanted to bring it with me and I couldn¡¯t fault Sam¡¯s logic. ¡°You can leave it here if you feel that uneasy about it, but I wouldn¡¯t recommend it,¡± Sam said, swiping her domino mask l from the back. When she shoved it into her handbag, I had to bite my tongue from saying anything snarky. Seriously, the fact that she was able to get away with wearing that to conceal her identity was beyond understanding. ¡°I think there might be a bigger jacket in the back¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I got this.¡± My power showed me concealment options and they weren¡¯t exactly that pricey either. Once upon a time, these sorts of options had been blocked behind more advanced models but I had since worked on it. I was working with a very basic framework of [Compact-shifting MK I]. It didn¡¯t exactly do that much, just made it easier to carry. In fact, my plans for it were rather straightforward. I wanted to eventually integrate it into my suit to serve as one of my primary weapon systems. My investment into compact shifting was to make deploying it easier, but right now, there was another direction that appeared more useful. [Compact-Shifting MK III] allowed me to configure what sort of shape it took and let me set a default state along with a deployment method. A watch. It was one of the more basic options available for MK III and would work perfectly here. From what I could see, the higher level [Compact-Shifting] gave even smaller and more unique options. How my laser pistol was supposed to condense itself down to something smaller than a pencil sharpener was beyond my understanding, but that was probably why it was locked behind [Compact-Shifting MK X] while listing a horde of other prerequisites that I¡¯d likely never need. [Charges: 25/25] Six charges. Two for the MK II, three for the MK III, and a final one for the configuration. I didn¡¯t hesitate to pay the cost. I was going to invest those charges into the software that would keep my school work up to date, but while it was important, I just couldn¡¯t see the worth when the city could erupt any minute. I wasn¡¯t even sure what my role in that conflict would be. There was no telling if we were going to be on the frontlines or if we were going to be watching Pandora and Queen¡¯s Court deal with Grim. We still hadn¡¯t figured out his weakness, not really. The only thing that kind of worked was using light, but other supers had already tried that to no avail. The most obvious solution was assassination, catch him off-guard while he was in his human form ¨C because he definitely had one ¨C and kill him then. Again, people had tried and it was why Grim rarely put himself in a position where that could happen. That is to say, school could wait a bit longer. When the weapon had finished upgrading, it appeared as a blocky watch that you¡¯d buy for a couple of grand. However, if someone were to look closely enough, they¡¯d definitely be able to pick out the irregularities with it. For now, though, I¡¯d be able to hide it with the sleeves of my jacket. ¡°Nice,¡± Sam said, giving the device a strange look. I attached it to my wrist easily enough. Given that it wasn¡¯t a normal-looking watch, the bits that wrapped around my wrist magnetically clicked together and automatically tightened. The clock face wasn¡¯t really a clock face, instead, the digital display showing how much ammo I had ¨C 60 shots ¨C displayed. There wasn¡¯t really a need to change it right now. I¡¯d get around to it later. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°It just seemed like the obvious choice,¡± I murmured, fiddling with it. There was a small mechanical wheel at the top that I turned and with a click, the watch snapped off my wrist and transformed itself into the pistol. Bits and pieces folded and refitted themselves in just a few short seconds before the grip settled comfortably in my hand. It happened so quickly you could miss it if you blinked. ¡°Shit, that¡¯s cool.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me,¡± Sam chuckled. I pressed a button on the side of the barrel and it reformed back into a watch. Unfortunately, it did not automatically wrap around my wrist. Adjustments for later. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose it tells the time?¡± I glanced at the supposed ¡®clock face¡¯. ¡°No, it just shows the ammo count. Implementing a clock function would require installing additional software into the device and that¡¯s both a waste of time and charges,¡± I explained. I turned it to face her. ¡°I suppose if anyone asks why it says 60, I can just say it broke.¡± ¡°You have sixty shots?¡± She looked and sounded dumbfounded. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s a lot for something as small as that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually a bit more than that. I have it set to lethal, which uses far more power. With the efficiency upgrades I made, if I set it to non-lethal¡­¡± I pressed one of the buttons on the side and the digital display changed from ¡®60¡¯ to ¡®180¡¯. ¡°A hundred and eighty shots. You could almost say it¡¯s too efficient now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough to make it full auto,¡± Sam said, recovering from her surprise. ¡°Or maybe you could pump more power into it. What have you got planned for it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still debating about that but I¡¯m leaning towards putting more oomph behind it. My lethal setting only injured Prosperity, plenty for normal goons, but anyone with an enhancement power ¨C like Red ¨C or armor won¡¯t have much trouble. For today though, it should be fine.¡± Sam smiled. ¡°Well, let¡¯s hope the day goes smoothly then.¡± When I opened the door, I was hit with the sweet and sour aroma of cooking food. If there was one thing that New Market was known for, it was the abundance of street food vendors, all competing for customers'' attention. It was nostalgic. Mom would take me when I was a kid and since then, the sights, smells, and sounds have remained the same. The streets were just as busy as they had always been and stalls were packed to the brim with merchandise. I caught Sam scanning the streets. She looked uncharacteristically relaxed and even a little bit happy; a stark contrast to the ¡®strictly business¡¯ persona she usually put forward ¨C at least when Pink wasn¡¯t in the driver''s seat. ¡°This place is nice. ¡°You¡¯ve never been?¡± ¡°Not really. I¡¯ve passed by at night while in costume, but I¡¯ve never properly been,¡± she replied as we started walking. We joined the crowd of people and began to move through the streets. ¡°I¡¯m getting a warm festival vibe from this place. They don¡¯t really exist anymore, at least not where I come from. It was all just protests and riots. Nobody ever seemed to kick back and have some fun.¡± ¡°Canada and America, right?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Sam replied wistfully. ¡°I miss home sometimes. Not California. Vancouver.¡± It was strange to think about just how far she had come. To have started all the way over on the other side of the world, only to end up here of all places. Then here I was, having never gone anywhere aside from New Zealand. One of these days, I would travel. I had always wanted to visit France, if for no other reason than to see my sister. America and other places were definitely on the bucket list but that had to remain a dream for now. ¡°What¡¯s it like over there?¡± I asked, curious. Sam looked indifferent and shrugged. ¡°Same as here for the most part. There¡¯s people, cities, and culture. The food tastes a little different, everyone drives on the opposite side of the road. At the end of the day though, we¡¯re all just¡­¡± she trailed off, a much more pensive look crossing her face. ¡°...the same. Not in a bad way. I mean, they¡¯re all western civilizations, so they¡¯re not all that different. If I wanted that I¡¯d go to the Czech Republic or¡­ or, I don¡¯t know, India?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure why but it was a little disheartening to hear how samey it all seemed, but I supposed she had a point. New Elpis in a lot of ways mimicked other countries and cultures. Every city had been constructed by the Architect so outside of their location they lacked any kind of identity. If I had to compare Bayside to any city, I¡¯d say it felt a lot like Auckland, except it wasn¡¯t built on top of a bunch of volcanoes. ¡°Don¡¯t look so sad,¡± Sam chortled, leaning over to give me a slight nudge. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of cool places to go and see. I¡¯m just not into traveling. I¡¯ve been doing it for years and I¡¯ve already seen my fair share. It¡¯s lost its luster for me.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I wasn¡¯t entirely sure what to say. Whenever we broached the ground about her past, she tended to get a bit touchy about things. ¡°So these friends of yours, you haven¡¯t told me much about them.¡± ¡°There¡¯s not much to say, save one,¡± Sam said, looking mildly unhappy. ¡°They¡¯re about as annoying as one would imagine.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d bother with annoying people.¡± ¡°I keep you around.¡± ¡°Ha,¡± I drawled. ¡°Very funny.¡± ¡°Pink likes them, which should say a lot ¨C but then again she pretty much likes everyone,¡± Sam explained dully. ¡°Mostly they make for good camouflage. I¡¯m pretty enough to fit in and I use it to my advantage to look like just another girl in the posse. I don¡¯t draw much attention to myself but they notice my absence more than I¡¯d like, which is why we¡¯re here today.¡± So Sam was in a clique. That more or less lined up with how I thought she¡¯d be at school. Maybe that was the reason why she did it; because it was obvious and hiding in plain sight as some allowed her to move about freely. She seemed like the type to do that and Gold would absolutely know how to take full advantage of the situation. ¡°You don¡¯t sound too fond of them.¡± Sam pursed her lips and stopped herself from replying reflexively. ¡°I¡¯ve said before that they weren¡¯t really my friends, that I use them as a means of maintaining the image of a normal life. While that¡¯s somewhat true, I won¡¯t lie and say they¡¯re all bad. They have their moments,¡± a playful smile spread across her lips. ¡°Like I said, Pink likes them and they¡¯re easy to get along with. When we hang out I do enjoy myself.¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sensing a but.¡± ¡°But¡­ I know where I stand and I¡¯d drop them in a heartbeat if I needed to.¡± I was about to question her further but we rounded a corner and nearly ran into a few of the girls from Sam¡¯s group. There were some excited cheers as the girls exchanged hugs and I noted a couple of guys standing behind them ¨C likely the other boyfriends. They offered a curt nod in my direction, along with a small wave. We¡¯d likely talk later amongst ourselves, assuming the girls went off to do their own thing. I suddenly found myself dragged closer when Sam grasped my arm. ¡°Oh my gosh! Where did you find him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s so fucking cute.¡± ¡°Sammy, for reals though, you didn¡¯t kidnap off the street did you?¡± ¡°Guys, guys,¡± Sam defended with a laugh. ¡°Come on, I¡¯d never do that. I¡¯ve known him for a while now.¡± ¡°You never said anything!¡± ¡°Duh,¡± my pretend girlfriend replied. ¡°We were still getting to know each other and I wasn¡¯t sure if things were going to work out between us,¡± she pulled me a little closer and gripped me affectionately. ¡°But we worked it out and I think we¡¯re going to go the distance.¡± The funny thing was depending on how you looked at it, she wasn¡¯t even lying. ¡°Stay just like that!¡± One of the girls shouted. ¡°I¡¯m taking a pic. You two are actually adorable, holy shit. Double blondes, fuck, I¡¯m so jealous.¡± The girl must¡¯ve snapped about a few dozen photos before lowering her phone. I knew people like this existed but it was still jarring to me. Abby and Lucy were way more chill than these girls. ¡°So!¡± Sam started before I could even get a word in. ¡°Max, this is Brianna, Trish, Maddie, and Kayla,¡± she said, pointing out the four girls in front of me. ¡°And the sexy goliath behind them is Nikki.¡± I looked past them toward the taller girl Sam had drawn attention to. At first, I hadn¡¯t even thought she was a part of the group but sure enough, she gave a friendly wave before shooting Sam an annoyed glare. Nikki was for all intents and purposes, tall. Like, taller than me. She had to at least be 6¡¯1. ¡°I can¡¯t hear you from all the way down there, Sam,¡± Nikki snarked back. ¡°Must be a language barrier or something.¡± Ah, short jokes. Classic. ¡°I could probably translate,¡± I offered with an easy smile. Sam rolled her eyes and nudged me, which gave the other girls a bit of a chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m just playing along.¡± ¡°I might not be tall but I am rocking the 5¡¯6 world, thank you very much,¡± Sam said, crossing her arms. ¡°So, where are we heading?¡± They descended into idle chatter which I tried to follow along with but there were so many ¡®ahs¡¯ ¡®ums¡¯ and ¡®actuallys¡¯ that I got lost along the way. All the girls seemed to keep up just fine which made me think there was some code I didn¡¯t get. Apparently, all the tagalong guys were just as lost because two of them were talking to each other while the others were scrolling through on their phones. Not a single one of them looked even remotely interested to be here. And I thought I was anti-social. Jeez. When we started moving, Sam lagged back to my side at the back of the group, allowing two of the girls whose names I had already forgotten, to lead the pack. Given how Sam was, it came as a surprise to see her follow someone else¡¯s lead. ¡°Think you can guess which one is the interesting one?¡± She asked, leaning in close. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a hint, it¡¯s one of the girls.¡± ¡°Well, isn¡¯t that a surprise,¡± I replied dryly. My gaze drifted toward the taller girl, the only one of the bunch that didn¡¯t quite seem to fit in with the rest. She looked strong, athletic, and walked like danger could jump out at her any second. ¡°I¡¯m going to go out on a limb and say, Nikki.¡± ¡°Are you saying that just because she¡¯s tall?¡± ¡°Are you asking that because you have a height complex?¡± I shot back, turning to meet her gaze. I caught her pouting for all of a moment before it vanished from her face. ¡°No,¡± she denied with practiced ease. ¡°But you¡¯re right. She is the interesting one,¡± Sam leaned in and pulled on my jacket sleeve so that we fell behind just a bit more to ensure our conversation didn¡¯t reach their ears. ¡°She¡¯s the newest to the group. I introduced her to everyone at school not too long ago.¡± Sam wouldn¡¯t bother if this was just any other girl. No, this one had powers and wasn¡¯t as good as she thought she was at hiding it. ¡°Someone you''re looking to recruit?¡± ¡°I would, if a certain organization hadn¡¯t gotten to her long before I met her,¡± Sam murmured. That told me all I needed to know. ¡°She¡¯s a Rookie.¡± ¡°Not just any Rookie,¡± Sam said. ¡°She¡¯s Seraphim, one of their heavy hitters.¡± My brow involuntarily raised. Well, this outing just got a whole lot more interesting. Fabrication 6 I couldn¡¯t remember the last time I had actually gone clothes shopping. If I had to guess, it was probably around Christmas. Mom would usually take me out shopping and she¡¯d end up buying far too many clothes for me. I had never gone with a friend ¡ªeven Lucy¡ª before. It didn¡¯t matter all that much to me but I had to admit, it was quite the experience so far. ¡°These are nice,¡± Sam said, removing a few shirts from the rack. I watched quietly as she panned through them with a sort of excitement that didn¡¯t entirely make me feel safe. The shirts she had picked out weren¡¯t exactly bad, they just weren¡¯t my preference. ¡°What do you think?¡± I pursed my lips and tried to think of a good way to tell her no. ¡°I think they¡¯re¡ª¡± ¡°Aw, you hate them,¡± Sam pouted, placing them back on the rack. ¡°I thought this would be easy. I was convinced I had your style nailed.¡± I shook my head slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t really have a style, Sam.¡± ¡°Bah, sure you do, we just haven¡¯t found it yet. Don¡¯t despair Max, we¡¯ll get there eventually,¡± she replied, taking my hand and pulling me further into the men¡¯s clothing section. All around us, her friends and their partners were browsing, quietly discussing amongst themselves. ¡°I was thinking we could be matching¡­ sorta. Style and color ya know?¡± ¡°Matching¡­?¡± I gave a tired sigh. ¡°Is that really necessary? I think you might be having way too much fun with this.¡± ¡°You¡¯re damn right I am,¡± she smirked. ¡°It¡¯s rare I get to cut loose like this. Even rarer that I get to do it with someone I actually like.¡± Whether she meant it one way or another didn¡¯t matter, I still flushed at the way she said it. ¡°I suppose it could be worse.¡± ¡°Oi,¡± Sam playfully jabbed me in the ribs. ¡°Don¡¯t make me hand the reins over to Pink. She¡¯s ranting about how I should force you into skirts and blouses for not playing nice.¡± ¡°How terrifying,¡± I drawled, not threatened in the slightest. ¡°This stuff seems nice.¡± ¡°You think?¡± She pulled the clothes off the rack and we both had a look at them. It was mostly plain with some subtle designs. I didn¡¯t like the idea of wearing anything too flashy, so this was right up my alley. Sam, however, was looking between me and the clothes with a critical eye. ¡°Hm¡­ I¡¯m not so sure.¡± ¡°I can go try it on.¡± She shrugged and we began to move toward the changing rooms. On the way, I bumped into Nikki on the way to the changing rooms. I knocked some things out of her hand by accident and the stuff fell harmlessly to the floor. ¡°Oh! My bad,¡± she laughed. ¡°Should have watched where I was going.¡± ¡°Oh, no worries. I wasn¡¯t paying attention either.¡± I helped her pick up her stuff before going our separate ways. I didn¡¯t miss the way her boyfriend¡¯s gaze seemed to linger on me as he strolled passed, his hands buried deep in his pockets. I watched them disappear into another aisle, my mind going with them. Seraphim¡­ It¡¯s strange to think that anyone you pass on the street could either be a bastion of humanity or one of its darkest monsters. Here we were, out and about, having a good time, when in reality we were on opposite sides. Abby had never gone into detail about her co-heroes in training, both out of respect for their privacy and because it was against the law. I was always a little curious about what their lives were like, away from the instant recognition and constant hounding that Abby ¡®enjoyed¡¯. In the half-hour that had passed, we had visited a few shops and browsed. Sam kept to my side, only engaging in conversation when questioned and observing the rest of the time. Nikki was more talkative and eager to get along with the others, but her boyfriend was the polar opposite. I got a distant vibe from him and it made me uneasy. All the other guys were starting to get along, even trying to include me in some of their conversations, but they all gave Nikki¡¯s partner a wide berth. It was obvious; he didn¡¯t want to be here and he didn¡¯t bother to hide it. It was probably why nobody made a real effort to include him and let Nikki do all the talking. I couldn¡¯t quite get over it. The two just didn¡¯t seem like they fit and I found myself eyeing the junior hero with more scrutiny. Did she force him to come along? Was she using her powers to influence him in some way? Maybe it was my own bias but there was something about Nikki that rubbed me the wrong way. ¡°Ease up,¡± Sam whispered, nudging me. She shoved the clothes we had picked out into my arms. ¡°You stare at her any harder and it¡¯s going to get awkward.¡± ¡°You say that like it¡¯s easy.¡± ¡°It is easy,¡± Sam shot back, doing her best to keep her voice low so our conversation couldn¡¯t be overheard. ¡°What¡¯s got you so anxious?¡± ¡°You never thought to mention beforehand that we were going to meet a Rookie? That¡¯s pretty important information.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s hardly important. What exactly does it change? Just be friendly and don¡¯t act weird, it¡¯s not hard dude.¡± ¡°You know how I feel about the ECU. Hanging around one in public like this¡­ well, it feels like I¡¯m asking for trouble at this point,¡± I explained. ¡°Especially one as powerful as her. If you¡¯re able to figure out her identity, who else has? They could look into her friends and figure us out.¡± Sam blinked, staring at me like I had completely lost my mind. With a grumble, she grasped my jacket and guided me away from the group before pushing me into a changing room. She took one look around to make sure nobody was watching before stepping in and locking the door behind her. ¡°First of all, what?¡± She laughed. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense. You¡¯re friends with Comet and hang out with her at school, anyone curious about the rookies would have already looked at you. Second, unless you forgot, Comet is also ECU, how is a day out with Seraphim any different?¡± ¡°Abby¡¯s different.¡± ¡°Oh! Is she?¡± Sam drawled, not looking convinced in the slightest. ¡°Enlighten me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s comp¨C¡± ¡°No it fucking isn¡¯t,¡± she cut me off. ¡°Talk, and make it quick. We spend too long away and they¡¯ll think I¡¯m blowing you or something.¡± I flushed at the mental image but banished it from my mind to focus. ¡°I knew Abby way before she got powers. We¡­ we have history,¡± I fumbled a bit, trying to put it in a way that would make sense. I knew how hypocritical it all seemed, like a double standard. In a way, it was. ¡°We crossed paths not too long after Mom was crippled. After we became friends, she opened up to me about how crap everything was inside the ECU. She had basically grown up inside it, so she had to know.¡± ¡°Had to know what? That there¡¯s Internal corruption? Bad actors?¡± She shook her head. ¡°Shit, Max, we¡¯ve talked about this. Doesn¡¯t matter what or where you are, there''ll always be bad actors.¡± ¡°I know that now. At the time, I had no clue and hearing it from someone at the center of all of it was pretty shocking,¡± I explained. ¡°Heroes aren¡¯t really superheroes. A revolutionary concept, I know,¡± I said with all the sarcasm I could muster. ¡°They¡¯re just police with superpowers. They¡¯re pushed into that position because it¡¯s either that or being seen as a threat to the law. You said it yourself, those were my options.¡± Sam was quiet as weeks of pent-up aggression at the unfairness of it all spilled over. ¡°Villain, or hero. Those are the options for people like us. If you''re lucky enough, you might be able to walk the line for a little while, but eventually you''re forced to pick a side. There¡¯s no hiding or running for people like us, right?¡± I asked, parroting the words she had told me not so long ago. ¡°I don¡¯t trust heroes, because I don¡¯t know what they were like before. Who was Nikki before she got her powers? Who was Sparrow, Lich, Ionizer? At least villains don¡¯t hide that they¡¯re pieces of shit.¡± I paused to recenter myself. ¡°You¡¯ve never said it outright but I know they¡¯re responsible for your mother¡¯s condition,¡± Sam said. The revelation didn¡¯t even faze me. I always assumed she knew. I never had any doubt that Gold would¡¯ve put the pieces together the moment she saw Mom. ¡°It¡¯s the reason your family distrusts them, isn¡¯t it? But if they were responsible, they would¡¯ve paid for your mother¡¯s treatment.¡± ¡°She refused,¡± I replied, causing a frown to appear on her face. ¡°You have to understand, after they caused her injury, Mom wasn¡¯t willing to let an ECU biokinetic anywhere near her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Ridiculous?¡± I scoffed. ¡°Maybe, but I get it a little. It¡¯s spite, a reminder. She preferred to be put on the waiting list for an independent licensed one. It¡¯s like¡­ years long. It¡¯ll be a long time before she ever walks again.¡± ¡°Unless you do something.¡± I shrugged. Sam hummed, leaning against one of the dressing room walls. ¡°I¡¯m not well versed in Bayside history, but something like that doesn¡¯t get swept under the rug easily. Which Hero was it, the one that went crazy?¡± I gave her a flat look. ¡°Crazy?¡± ¡°Wild. Off the hook,¡± she waved me off. ¡°Which one was it?¡± ¡°Some guy called Seismic Shock,¡± I shrugged. ¡°He¡¯s in prison now on the other side of the world. When he crippled Mom, he also killed a few people. No one knows why he did it, just that it happened,¡± I sighed, running a hand through my hair. ¡°Not the first time a Hero has gone off the rails and hurt people and it won¡¯t be the last.¡± ¡°It¡¯s certainly a stressful environment,¡± Sam agreed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t with them for very long but there¡¯s a lot of pressure put on the Heroes to keep up appearances and most of them aren¡¯t cut out for it. Powers or not, most people can¡¯t handle the responsibility ¨C and then they crack.¡± How long will it be until the next? Who will it be? For all I knew it could be Seraphim. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Abby though¡­ I trusted Abby. She held a healthy dose of realism when it came to being a hero. She didn¡¯t do it for power or fame. She was born into the ECU and her mother was a Hero. When she got powers, she was dragged along for the ride and had all the choices made for her. Like a trooper, she rolled with the punches. I think her most admirable quality is that she never changed. Abby never let the fame or expectations get her down, she pushed back constantly and rarely ever let people boss her around. Despite being Bayside¡¯s poster child Hero, she never conformed to the norms that people expected from ECU heroes. That¡¯s what a lot of people liked about her. She was a breath of fresh air, both to me and to the wider public. Seraphim, from what I knew, was just another cookie-cutter ECU hero with more power than usual. I didn¡¯t trust that. They were the ones that tended to crack. All that added pressure, the expectations, the public scrutiny. Nobody our age would be able to handle that. With new insight, Sam was able to glean the issue and managed to speak before I could. ¡°Max, Nikki isn¡¯t about to fly off the handle,¡± Sam reasoned. ¡°She¡¯s out with friends and here to have a good time. If she was unstable I wouldn¡¯t have introduced her to the other girls, and I certainly wouldn¡¯t risk hanging around her. A hit from one of her wings would probably shred me like wet cardboard.¡± It had distracted me for a moment but it was widely known that Seraphim had six giant golden wings, each spanning the length of a bus. After observing her, I had to wonder how her power stored those wings, because she certainly wasn¡¯t keeping them inside her body. Pocket dimension? I dismissed the thought. It wasn¡¯t important right now. ¡°Are we good?¡± I refocused and met Sam¡¯s gaze. She didn¡¯t look angry, more concerned if anything. I was used to her looking annoyed but here she just looked¡­ worried. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said easily. ¡°Yeah it¡¯s fine, really. I was just being cautious. You didn¡¯t need to drag me in here in the first place. Bit of an overreaction.¡± ¡°Overreaction? You couldn¡¯t keep your eyes off her, it was starting to get weird. Be glad I picked up on it before anyone else did otherwise the situation would¡¯ve gotten really weird,¡± Sam snorted. ¡°Just act natural¨C¡± ¡°I know how to act. I¡¯m not stupid or some kind of shut in. I know how to socialize,¡± I drawled, giving Sam a cold stare. She wasn¡¯t intimidated and just crossed her arms expectantly. I knew what she wanted, admittance. ¡°Fine, I was a little spaced out and let my paranoia get the best of me. Thanks for the subtle reminder.¡± ¡°Great! Now change shirts.¡± I blinked. ¡°Right now?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she said, rolling her eyes. ¡°We gotta have an alibi and I don¡¯t think you¡¯d appreciate Pink¡¯s idea.¡± I didn¡¯t hesitate to change the shirt. With a story that I was confident no one would really believe, we both left the changing room to find Nikki and her boyfriend standing off to the side of another changing room. Neither of them saw us come out, which was a nice bonus, but they both seemed to be engaged in an intense conversation. There was an intense look on the boyfriend¡¯s face and Nikki looked uncertain, uncomfortable even. ¡°Hey you two!¡± Sam called out, injecting herself into their private debacle. Nikki immediately brightened when she turned to us. The boyfriend, however, didn¡¯t look too pleased. ¡°Find anything you guys like? Max loves the shirt I got for him,¡± she gestured over her shoulder toward me. I met the boyfriend¡¯s gaze and felt a shiver crawl up my spine. The dude looked pissed. ¡°Need any help?¡± ¡°Oh, no we¡¯re fine. Richard and I were just talking,¡± Nikki explained, shaking her head. Richard. Funnily enough, it was the first time I had heard his name. He didn¡¯t bother to introduce himself and Nikki hadn¡¯t said anything earlier when we all met. I just assumed everyone knew each other. ¡°Ooooh?¡± I heard Pink¡¯s mischievous chirp slip into Sam¡¯s tone. ¡°What¡¯s going on, anything you can share or is it really private?¡± Nikki opened her mouth to say something but Richard was quick to interject. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just some personal stuff,¡± he said. ¡°All good, I won¡¯t pry,¡± Sam shrugged, letting a playful smirk cross her lips. ¡°Or maybe I will? You never know. Can¡¯t keep secrets from me.¡± Nikki chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re too much, Sam. Really, though, it¡¯s nothing to fret over.¡± ¡°If it was a problem, we¡¯d say,¡± Richard added. I felt like there was something wrong like the whole world just tilted a few degrees off its axis. Sam noticed it too, she took a slight step back, putting her weight on the back of her heel. She leaned away like she was trying to get a better view of the picture. I couldn¡¯t tell what was wrong but I knew it was something. One of Seraphim¡¯s powers? Not everything about her was known other than the obvious. She had incredible strength, those wings of hers, and the ability to fly but anything else was up to speculation. The ECU didn¡¯t exactly tell the world what their heroes were fully capable of. However, that didn¡¯t stop profiles from being built on online forums and having theory-crafting run rampant. Of all the Rookies, Abby¡¯s powers were the most widely known, to the point where she was an open book. Even knowing her powers wouldn¡¯t make a difference to most villains. A seemingly impenetrable telekinetic bubble that she could shape at a whim, didn¡¯t have many weaknesses many could utilize. Sure something like a laser with no mass would go right through and gravity powers were an issue, but her suit was designed to take care of that. The only other weakness was hostile mentalist effects, but almost everyone was weak to them. It''s why Mentalists were considered to be the most dangerous classification. There was no real way to counter some of them. No defense. No hope. Seraphim was almost just as annoying to fight, except for the fact that she apparently had a weak spot where her wings emerged from her back. ¡°I believe you,¡± Sam raised her hands in an attempt to ward off any growing aggravation. She didn''t like the look Richard was giving her and didn¡¯t want to appear like she was going to be pushy about anything. ¡°So, are you guys hungry? Why don¡¯t we join the others and go get something to eat?¡± Nikki smiled. ¡°I was just about to suggest that.¡± ¡°Sweet! Let¡¯s go find the others,¡± Sam scooted past the taller girl, making sure to keep her distance from the protective-looking boyfriend. ¡°I think they were by the skirts when I last saw them.¡± ¡°Yeah, over there.¡± Sam and Nikki moved off, the latter detaching from Richard. He stood his ground, watching carefully as the two girls walked ahead. As I moved, he reached out and placed an arm across my chest, barring me from moving out of the changing room hallway. The guy was an inch or so shorter than me and wasn¡¯t all that strong. He was well dressed with short black hair. He had the frame of an athlete ¨C maybe along distance runner ¨C sharp jaw and piercing eyes. My gaze met his and there was a jealous anger behind his eyes. ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± ¡°What?¡± His arm pushed against me and he leaned in close. ¡°I asked you a fucking question.¡± My first instinct was to shove him off and clock him across the jaw. I¡¯d dealt with people like this before and his attitude reminded me of Pete. I was ready to put him on his ass but I didn¡¯t exactly want to make a scene here. If I started throwing punches, Seraphim would get involved and then everything would go to shit. ¡°I was following them,¡± I answered evenly, pushing his arm away from my chest. ¡°You mind?¡± He glared at me harder. Any second I expected him to lash out and I was ready for it. Strangely, there was a part of me that actually wanted him to. ¡°I saw you looking.¡± This fucking guy. ¡°Yo,¡± Sam¡¯s voice called out before I could even think about which side of his face I wanted to cave in. ¡°We¡¯re starving. Come on, chop chop!¡± ¡°Richie, quit it,¡± Nikki¡¯s voice was soft and lacked any sort of backbone to them. ¡°Whatever the problem is, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°Nothing, right,¡± Richard looked me up and down, sneering, before walking off back to her side. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. He then let his hand fall a bit to her backside, giving it a squeeze. They walked off deeper into the store to find the rest of the group, leaving Sam and I behind. We shared a small, bewildered glance. Neither of us saw that coming. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± I asked. Sam rubbed the back of her neck, looking just as confused as I sounded. ¡°I was about to ask you that. What did he say to you?¡± ¡°He got angry and asked what I was doing.¡± ¡°And what did you say?¡± ¡°I just said I was following you and Nikki. You know, I didn¡¯t want to get left behind. Then he said he ¡®saw me looking¡¯¡± I shook my head, trying to organize my thoughts. ¡°Can we talk about what he just did? Is that something Nikki would be okay with?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Sam murmured, twitching slightly as she switched to Gold. ¡°The read I get from Nikki isn¡¯t someone that would tolerate being groped in public ¨C especially so blatantly. It borders on exhibitionism.¡± ¡°So, what does that mean?¡± I looked to her for an answer, only to receive a conflicted look. ¡°Maybe she¡¯s a thrill seeker?¡± I knew they existed, but I didn¡¯t expect it from a Rookie of all people. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± Sam shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t exactly use Gold to figure out people¡¯s kinks, okay? It never makes any sense and I never know what to make of it. I¡­ er,¡± I saw her cheeks turn a shade of red. ¡°Maybe she likes that sort of stuff¡ª no! No, I¡¯m being stupid,¡± she rubbed her forehead in aggravation. ¡°But, she could.¡± I stared at her in astonishment. ¡°Is Gold really having that much trouble?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a lot of different threads to follow there. That guy though,¡± Sam shuddered. ¡°He gives me the creeps.¡± I had to agree. Normal people didn¡¯t do those sorts of things. Maybe the extremely jealous, possessive kind, and they tended to come boxed with a whole cavalcade of issues. ¡°Abusive relationship?¡± I wondered aloud. Sam nodded. ¡°Definitely a possibility. Ugh, probably not?¡± she paused for a moment and started picking at her fingernails. ¡°Doesn¡¯t feel like it really tracks. Someone as powerful as Nikki shouldn''t be bogged down by that sort of stuff. That can¡¯t be it.¡± ¡°Just because people have superpowers, doesn¡¯t mean they can¡¯t be emotionally manipulated,¡± I said, watching as the two move through the different aisles. This time, I was the first to move. ¡°Come on, we¡¯re going to get left behind.¡± We followed, albeit with an ulterior motive. Nikki and Richard were now our prime persons of interest and while we got food and ate with the group, we made sure to be aware of what the two were doing at all times. Just like before, Nikki did all the talking while Richard just sat back and stayed silent unless he was asked a question directly. I wasn¡¯t sure what Sam was picking up because I didn¡¯t have a chance to ask her until the group started peeling off as our outing came to an end. Hours later, we ended up back at the car, and from the looks of it, she didn¡¯t have the answers she wanted. ¡°Well, that was interesting,¡± Sam said. I unlocked the car and we both climbed in. ¡°I didn¡¯t see anything too unusual, well other than the little episode back in the clothing store.¡± ¡°Gold believes Richard is a sociopath,¡± she said with a shrug. ¡°But she¡¯s also saying that dedicating too much time to thinking about this is a waste. We¡¯re already back to thinking about Grim and Splicer. Seraphim¡¯s problems are not our problems and we shouldn¡¯t involve ourselves.¡± I couldn¡¯t fault her for that. ¡°Fair enough.¡± ¡°Whatever¡¯s going on there, I¡¯ll figure it out later. Maybe I¡¯ll talk to Nikki about it at school when he¡¯s not around. I might be able to get a clue there, but for now, I think the big strong hero can take care of herself,¡± Sam said. ¡°Gold might not think it¡¯s worth it but it can¡¯t hurt to keep building the friendship. You never know if it¡¯ll be useful down the line.¡± Something about the way she said that made my skin crawl. ¡°Home then?¡± Sam smiled. ¡°If I recall, we have some groceries to get for your mom ¨C and her prescriptions.¡± ¡°Oh yeah,¡± I murmured under my breath. I had forgotten about that. ¡°We can detour.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in no rush,¡± Sam replied happily. ¡°Oh and before I forget; thanks for today. It¡¯s¡­ been awhile since I¡¯ve been able to do something normal like this.¡± ¡°Then we should make it a habit,¡± I suggested, switching the car on. ¡°Excluding that weird little instance we had, I had fun too.¡± Fun was a bit of a stretch. Entertained was a better word but I couldn¡¯t be bothered correcting myself. Really, they both meant the same thing. ¡°I¡­¡± Sam paused, her hands falling to her knees as a chuckle escaped her lips. ¡°Yeah. Yeah I think I¡¯d like that.¡± My gaze dropped to the watch on my wrist and I felt a smile cross my lips. It always paid to be prepared, even if nothing came of it. Fabrication 7 I waved to Sam as she took off down the road. I still wasn¡¯t entirely sure how I felt about her driving around without a license. She could easily get the car impounded if she wasn¡¯t careful, but she was more than capable of shaking any cops who tried to chase her down. I supposed it wasn¡¯t a big deal and I could hassle her about it later. For now, I had groceries to get inside. With both hands straining to carry the bags, I made my way to the front door, only to see it open. Habit almost had me calling Lucy¡¯s name, but the figure that stepped through wasn¡¯t her. I slowed to a stop, a look of puzzlement adorning my face. ¡°Abby?¡± She inclined her head and offered an easy smile. ¡°Sup.¡± She was dressed in ripped jeans, boots, and a hooded black jacket. The hood was pulled up to conceal her face like she normally had it when we were out in public. Aside from that, she looked horrible; exhaustion dripped from her features and she looked like she hadn¡¯t slept in weeks. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for Abby to have a late night because of heroing, but I couldn¡¯t recall a time she looked this zombified. ¡°What¡¯re you doing here?¡± I asked. Her telekinetic bubble formed around her and I flinched as it extended toward me. I tensed, ready for her to shake the life out of me, demanding to know why I had hidden my powers and joined a villain team. Instead, I was relieved when she just took the groceries from my hands. ¡°I needed to get away for a bit. Chris and Jackson are inside,¡± she thumbed behind her. ¡°We¡¯re just playing some board games. Your mom said you were out and wouldn¡¯t be back for a while, so we decided to kill some time.¡± At my house, apparently. ¡°Jackson and Chris are here?¡± I asked, my brow raising. I was confused as to what brought this on. I was used to impromptu visits but not with this many. ¡°What¡¯s the occasion?¡± Abby shrugged, looking sheepish. ¡°You texted me last weekend and I kinda blew you off. There¡¯s a lot of shit going down right now and I¡¯m being dragged into it, so I¡¯ve been pretty busy. I found some free time today though,¡± she said, looking a little guilty. ¡°Well, I¡­ may have just dipped when they weren¡¯t looking. I couldn¡¯t be bothered listening to more corporate B.S. So I texted you guys to see if you were busy. Naturally, you didn¡¯t respond.¡± Naturally? I always made a habit of responding when I saw text messages. I pulled out my phone and checked to see if I had any unreads. When I couldn¡¯t find anything, I opened the thread I had with Abby and sure enough, she had messaged me a couple of times. I had just dismissed the notifications and marked them as read without even looking. ¡°Sorry, I read them but forgot to reply.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been doing that a lot lately,¡± Abby crossed her arms. She then shrugged before I could come up with an excuse. ¡°It¡¯s cool though. Lucy didn¡¯t say anything either. I just assumed you guys were sick or something. If I knew where she lived, I¡¯d go visit her after this.¡± I could get Lucy giving me the cold shoulder after royally screwing up, but her not replying to Abby was a little concerning. The longest she went without responding to me had been a few days. ¡°She hasn¡¯t been at school?¡± ¡°She came in on Monday. She was in a mood all day and barely said a word at lunch,¡± Abby narrowed her eyes at me a little and I suddenly felt like I was being blamed for it. ¡°She got even more sour when Chris mentioned you weren¡¯t in either.¡± ¡°The assignment,¡± I grumbled. ¡°I fucked up. I didn¡¯t finish it in time or bring it in. We probably failed because of me.¡± Abby didn¡¯t say anything. I could see that she wanted to, probably something rude but she held back. Maybe she was too tired or didn¡¯t have the heart to really push it today. If she¡¯s been through the kind of shit I suspected she has, then I doubted she wanted to cause any problems in her personal life. She¡¯d have more than enough going on back at base. ¡°It¡¯s just an assignment,¡± Abby shrugged. ¡°I know she really cares about her grades but there¡¯ll be catch up stuff you two can do later in the year. It¡¯s no big deal. Come on,¡± she stepped to the side and gestured for me to hurry up. ¡°I¡¯ll help you pack this away. Your mom got a call, work stuff. She¡¯s busy with something.¡± I nodded and walked in. Abby floated the groceries to the kitchen table and I began opening the cupboards to put things away. Just as we were starting, Jackson and Chris strolled into the kitchen. Both of them were dressed how I¡¯d usually expect. Jackson towered over all of us and wore a plain white t-shirt with cargo pants. His hair was tied up in a small ponytail, which meant it wouldn¡¯t be long before he would get it cut. ¡°Holy shit, he lives!¡± He cried. ¡°How have you been? You don¡¯t text, you don¡¯t call. We were starting to wonder if you had been abducted by aliens or something.¡± I forced out a smile. ¡°Aliens would¡¯ve been interesting. No, I¡¯ve just been sick.¡± ¡°Sick?¡± Chris pulled up a chair at the table. From the looks of it, he had brought his own food. Chips, coke, and some chocolate fish. He was wearing one of his many hoodies as usual. ¡°That¡¯s unlike you. Can¡¯t even remember the last time you were sick, you do look pretty tired though.¡± ¡°Not as bad as sparkles over there,¡± Jackson laughed. Abby grunted. ¡°Sparkles will fold your clothes with you still inside them if you call her that again.¡± ¡°Moody too,¡± Chris added with a smile. Abby just rolled her eyes. ¡°Can¡¯t blame you though. Shit¡¯s been going down recently, the whole city¡¯s tense. Dad said they were hiring extra security at the garage just to try and make everyone feel safer. Doesn¡¯t help that they¡¯re only a few blocks away from the quarantine.¡± ¡°What¡¯s extra security going to do?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Supers will just go right through them.¡± Chris just shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I guess it just makes people feel safer when you¡¯ve got someone watching your back.¡± Won¡¯t do much against someone like Grim. Extra security wouldn¡¯t even hold off someone like Gold Rush or even me. The only way you¡¯d have any sort of protection would be by hiring other supers. Something clicked in my head. I knew where that garage was. It wasn¡¯t that far from Groves Den and was technically in our territory now. Sam talked about enforcing laws and protecting the people you watched over ¨C maybe that could be a part of it. Being that extra security. I could supply those people with the gear they¡¯d need to protect themselves. Not for free though. Even if I wanted to, which I didn¡¯t. Sam wouldn¡¯t let me. Security was a business. Even I was smart enough to know that people didn¡¯t offer services out of the kindness of their hearts. Hell, the people would probably prefer to pay, so that they aren¡¯t waiting for the penny to drop. ¡°You guys wouldn¡¯t believe the kinda shit I¡¯ve seen,¡± Abby muttered. ¡°The Cains are the fucking scum of the Earth.¡± ¡±So you¡¯ve been saying ¨C and yet you won¡¯t give us any details!¡± Jackson whined like a child on the edge of his seat. ¡°You can¡¯t keep teasing us like this. You gotta spill something. At least catch Max up here, he¡¯s been out of commission all week. I bet he doesn¡¯t even know what we¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°I know some things,¡± I said. ¡°Grim¡¯s been active.¡± I didn¡¯t miss the way Abby flinched at the name. ¡°Oh, so you do watch the news!¡± Jackson covered his mouth in mock shock. ¡°Well, there can¡¯t have been much to do while you were home all week. Video games and anime could probably only keep you interested for so long. So whaddya think about all this? The big ol¡¯ Reaper got people running scared.¡± I was about to reply but Abby beat me to it. ¡°For good fucking reason,¡± her voice had a bit more bite to it than usual and it caught Jackson off-guard. ¡°The guy butchered two entire units. Everyone at base has been really tense,¡± she rubbed the back of her neck, her exhausted look appearing to compound and weigh her down. ¡°I needed to get away from all that. It¡¯s too much.¡± Jackson scratched his chin awkwardly. ¡°Shit, sorry Abs¡­ I didn¡¯t know. They aren¡¯t spreading that one around.¡± ¡°Of course they aren¡¯t,¡± she shook her head. ¡°There would be riots in the streets and wide scale panic. It¡¯s bad enough that people know he¡¯s in the city in the first place, but his recent dormancy sorta put people¡¯s worries at ease. Like¡­ the guy¡¯s old now. Everyone thought he¡¯d basically retired or something.¡± It was one of the reasons people didn¡¯t run for the hills when he moved into town. Grim was one of the oldest supers around, he got his power when Awakenings first started. He was pretty much a fossil by this point, pushing his late seventies. ¡°Retired from being a mass murderer?¡± Chris scoffed. ¡°Nah man, it''s always a matter of time with them. Doesn¡¯t matter how close they are to kicking the bucket, they could be pushing triple digits and they¡¯d still go for the kill. That¡¯s just how they are. Psych 101.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Oh, like you know shit about psychology,¡± Abby said. ¡°Well, hasn¡¯t he just proved my point?¡± Chris crossed his arms. ¡°I¡¯ve read what people have been saying online. They all agree. This was always going to happen ¨C I saw that video by the way, where he attacked that Pandora church. Fucked up shit.¡± Fucked up was putting it lightly. There are very few people powerful enough to walk right into the middle of a Pandora church and just massacre the place, let alone get away with it. Maybe he¡¯s just insane? ¡°Delete that video,¡± Abby said suddenly. ¡°I¡¯m serious. If you downloaded it, fucking delete it.¡± ¡°Relax, I didn¡¯t download shit. I know it¡¯s illegal,¡± Chris raised his hands. ¡°Plus, it was gross. I don¡¯t need to see it more than once.¡± ¡°Damn, now I¡¯m kinda feeling left out,¡± Jackson said. ¡°What video is this?¡± ¡°The kind that isn¡¯t safe for work,¡± I said, chiming in. I remembered seeing what Grim had done to those people at the Church. At the time, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure what I was seeing, but then I had the pleasure of seeing it up close and personal with the ECU squadron that almost captured me. Melted into shadow¡­ eaten alive. ¡°Trust me, you don¡¯t want to see it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve watched it too?¡± Chris asked. I lied, shaking my head. ¡°I don¡¯t need to have seen it to know that it''s NSFL. Anything involving Grim is bound to be all kinds of fucked up.¡± My gaze met Abby¡¯s. There was a haunted look in her eyes. She had seen what I had, down in that Bunker. At the time, it hadn¡¯t really registered. It took a while to really sink in ¨C to realize that what I had seen was the real deal and not some fake conspiracy shit created to stir up drama. Mia was irreversibly changed, her life turned upside down. She seemed to be taking it rather well but there was no doubt in my mind that the real trauma was buried deep. Pete was down there too. I had seen him floating in that tank, missing an arm. I doubted he¡¯d recovered. Chances are he¡¯s receiving treatment at the ECU¡¯s headquarters. He wouldn¡¯t be back at school for a while. That didn¡¯t bother me as much as it should¡¯ve. In fact, it annoyed me that I didn¡¯t care in the slightest. He could¡¯ve died for all I knew. If he was alive¡­ Well, he certainly wouldn¡¯t be playing rugby anymore. ¡°I wish I could share all the grisly details,¡± Abby said. ¡°I¡¯ll spill when I¡¯m allowed ¨C well, when the details aren¡¯t considered top secret or whatever. Things are pretty touchy right now. I only know because I¡ª¡± she stopped herself, her gaze flickering between the three of us. ¡°¡ªI¡¯m sort of involved.¡± ¡°Shit¡­¡± Chris breathed. Jackson grimaced. ¡°You didn¡¯t mention that.¡± ¡°I was trying to keep my mouth shut for once,¡± Abby explained. ¡°It¡¯s crazy bad.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s that bad, then I can¡¯t blame you for wanting some time for yourself,¡± I said sympathetically. ¡°How¡¯s the change in management going? Is Ionizer our grand savior?¡± The apprehensive look on Abby¡¯s face shifted. The mere mention of the senior hero¡¯s name sent a cascade of emotions across her features. It was interesting to see her reaction to him when he wasn¡¯t standing next to her. The impression I got from the two of them ¨C while brief ¨C was that they didn¡¯t get along at all. ¡°Savior?¡± Abby scoffed in disdain. ¡°The guy¡¯s cracked. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going through management¡¯s heads, but that idiot isn¡¯t going to change anything except our mortality rate.¡± Harsh, but accurate. I had no idea what they were thinking, sending Prosperity out on a patrol like that when she hadn¡¯t even been announced. In fact, she still hadn¡¯t been announced, and from the looks of it, she wouldn¡¯t be until this mess with the Cains was sorted out. ¡°Really?¡± Chris sounded surprised. ¡°That guy¡¯s had people singing his praises wherever he¡¯s been. Didn¡¯t he even win an award or something?¡± Abby shrugged and Jackson looked clueless. Chris looked around for any sign of agreement before slumping when he realized none of us knew what he was talking about. ¡°I could¡¯ve sworn¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re probably thinking of someone else,¡± Abby said. ¡°If he¡¯s won any awards, it''s for incompetence. Seriously, you guys have no idea what the guy¡¯s like. Zero social skills. Talks to us like¡­ like¡ª¡± she shook her head, unable to come up with any sort of comparison. ¡°¡ªlike we¡¯re corporate drones. God, I don¡¯t know. At least Sparrow treats us like human beings.¡± I could see that, given Ionizer¡¯s absolute refusal to even negotiate with Sam. ¡°Speaking of Sparrow, she showed up here last weekend,¡± I said, catching everyone in the room off-guard. Jackson¡¯s jaw almost hit the floor while Chris looked dumbfounded. There was a flash of confusion on Abby¡¯s face before annoyance took over. ¡°She was asking about my missing car, and said she was doing an investigation all by herself.¡± ¡°She does that sometimes,¡± Abby explained. ¡°the higher-ups hate it though.¡± That threw me for a loop. ¡°They do?¡± ¡°Something-something it¡¯s unofficial and the ECU could get into legal trouble, blah-blah,¡± Abby waved off. ¡°Just more PR bullshit, the suits throw around some jargon that I can¡¯t be bothered to remember. All that I know is that she likes to do her own thing outside of official direction and that certain people take issue with it.¡± In other words, she¡¯s a bit of a free spirit and it¡¯s probably why they¡¯re bringing in Ionizer. He¡¯s more of a ¡®by the books¡¯ kinda guy. Now it made more sense. They were overcorrecting. ¡°Sparrow was here?¡± Jackson breathed, staring at me. ¡°Did you get her to sign anything? I¡¯ll buy it off you. I still only got the one shirt she signed.¡± I snorted. ¡°No.¡± Abby groaned. ¡°Is that all you care about?¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve lived in this city for almost a decade and I¡¯ve only ever met her once,¡± Jackson grinned. ¡°Plus, short-stacks? Yes please.¡± Abby scrunched up her nose but slowly started to come around after she lingered on the thought a little longer. ¡°Ew. Understandable, but still, ew.¡± Jackson threw up his hands. ¡°Oh, come on!¡± ¡°She¡¯s my senior and co-worker dude,¡± Abby defended hotly. ¡°I¡¯m not going to think about my colleagues like that. Plus, she¡¯s got like twenty years on me, and she¡¯s getting married.¡± ¡°No harm in dreaming.¡± ¡°If there was one thing my mom taught me about life, it¡¯s that you should never date your colleagues,¡± Abby said sagely. ¡°Love and our type of work just don¡¯t mix.¡± My first thought went directly to Sam. Could I end up with her like that? We were still in the early stages of our friendship and she was attractive. I had known her for less than a month by now and she had already established herself as a necessity in my life ¨C someone I¡¯d need to stay around to survive, at least for now. Given the way my powers were, I¡¯d eventually reach a point where no one would be able to touch me. That¡¯s just how limitless growth worked, but the only question was if I¡¯d survive that long to even get to that point. Right now, I needed her. I needed Liam, and Mia too. The four of us together would be able to stand against whatever threatened us, just so long as we didn¡¯t sabotage each other in the process. I trusted them not to do that. Sam though¡­ I trusted her, I really did, but I couldn¡¯t ignore that her top priority was herself. She even confirmed as much the morning after rescuing Mia. There were no hard feelings there and I couldn¡¯t find it in myself to blame her. But romance¡­ I just couldn¡¯t see it. She was too focused on the life of a super. That¡¯s not even mentioning her other personalities. It all just seemed like a nightmare to deal with. No, I don¡¯t think I could. ¡°People do that sorta stuff all the time though,¡± Chris intervened. ¡°Mom and Dad met at work. It¡¯s how a lot of people get together.¡± ¡°It gets ugly, especially when you throw powers in the mix,¡± Abby argued. Chris shrugged. ¡°Powers or no powers, breakups are never pretty. Nothing really changes. Things would still be awkward and heated, depending on the people.¡± Abby shook her head. ¡°Dude, you¡¯re not getting it. It¡¯s totally different in a work environment. At any other job you can just go work somewhere else or get transferred to a different department, but for us? The ECU is it, it¡¯s basically the only place that¡¯ll take us and getting transferred means moving cities. That¡¯s not even getting into the fact that you have to trust each other with your lives. That plus all the normal petty breakup shit with powers thrown into the mix? Entire ECU branches have fallen apart because of it.¡± ¡°I¡¯d argue that¡¯s because of poor management,¡± Chris retorted, adjusting his glasses. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to dismiss your point. It¡¯s valid, I¡¯m just pointing out that it should be a choice, not a rule to follow. By your logic, we shouldn¡¯t date anyone at school because we¡¯re all forced to go there and interact with each other every day.¡± ¡°What? No, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying at all. Work and school are not the same thing.¡± Jackson yawned, clearly bored with the direction this conversion had gone. ¡°Jeez, I hope not. I might as well go jump off the nearest bridge if I have to deal with all that crap until retirement,¡± he said, putting enough emphasis on his words to imply that we needed to move onto a different topic. ¡°Anyway, moving past all the real-world stuff, why don¡¯t we talk about the other thing we were planning?¡± Abby looked just as confused as I was. ¡°The DnD campaign,¡± Chris clarified, looking toward Abby. ¡°You said you were going to DM it.¡± ¡°Shit, did I?¡± Abby frowned, trying to recall the moment. ¡°Sorry, I completely forgot. I also think I¡¯m not going to have much time for it for a while. Wish I could guys but things are hot right now. I shouldn¡¯t even be here,¡± she quickly checked her phone before sliding it back into her pocket. ¡°I¡¯ll need to get back soon and I kinda just wanted to chill for a bit.¡± ¡°Lucy isn¡¯t here either, so we can¡¯t exactly roll characters,¡± Chris said with a shrug. ¡°We¡¯ll have to postpone.¡± I heaved a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m pretty busy too. I¡¯ve got some catching up to do after being sick and all. Last thing I want to do is miss out on more credits and have to resit the year.¡± An uncomfortable silence fell over us. ¡°Damn,¡± Jackson said. ¡°Guess we¡¯re postponing for a while then.¡± Abby shrugged. ¡°Sorry. I guess it¡¯s just not the best time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll get to it eventually,¡± Chris said. ¡°There¡¯s no rush. I can even homebrew up a campaign in the meantime if you don¡¯t want to DM Abby. We can start whenever things start to clear up again. Maybe¡­ sometime around Christmas after all our exams are done.¡± ¡°Six months,¡± Jackson said wistfully. ¡°That¡¯s gonna be hard. I guess it''s back to the DOTA mines for me.¡± And for me, it¡¯s brainstorming weapons, machines, and other tech to keep me and the rest of Madhouse alive. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Abby smiled. ¡°DnD might be out for us but I think I can fit in a one shot every now and then,¡± she reached out with her powers and snagged one of the board games from a shelf in the living room. ¡°Anyone up for a game of Sultan''s Reign?¡± I suppressed the urge to chuckle. The brainstorming can wait an hour or two. Fabrication 8 Minerva wasn¡¯t an impressive school by any metric. Its mundanity was almost charming in a way. The main gate made it seem ordinary, boring even. It was just a collection of featureless buildings that didn¡¯t seem to hold any personality beyond the vague suggestion that it was, in fact, a school. Every other place had some sort of esoteric design to its buildings or a funky meaningless art piece that postured around outside. For all intents and purposes, the place was bland, and I couldn¡¯t help but begin to feel that lack of excitement seeping into me like an infection. I was sitting on the hood of the family car we had finally managed to get after the insurance company finally wrote off our old one. It was a simple machine, a 2006 V6 Ford. I wasn¡¯t about to complain since I had always liked the sound of the engine, but after having driven in my upgraded car, going to this thing just felt¡­ disappointing. It was a discomfort I could get over, but the one currently festering within my stomach was much more of a concern. This is a waste of time. Deep down, I felt like there were more important things I could be doing with my time than going and spending time at school. I could be in my workshop, designing modules for my suit, or creating objects to see what shortcuts my power could take with the 3D printers. Coming here even made me use some charges to make sure my pistol actually looked and functioned like an actual watch because there was no way it wouldn¡¯t have been spotted eventually. I knew that leaving this place behind was the smart thing to do, but I just couldn¡¯t let go. I needed to be here. I already had taken last week off and now I was behind everyone else. School wasn¡¯t going to improve my future now, not after I had Awakened. Foolishly, I had tried to do what everyone else probably tried to do, and keep a low profile ¨C but I really, really hadn¡¯t. I had thought I was, but hindsight was a great teacher and an even greater bitch. I knew now that there were a million and one better things I could¡¯ve spent my time doing. I could¡¯ve built my suit earlier or worked on weapons or a thousand other pieces of tech that would¡¯ve helped more than a fancy laptop and a comfy bed. Knowing what I did now, I¡¯d definitely do things differently. I imagine that ninety-nine percent of supers probably have had the same thought at some point. I didn¡¯t even need to ask Sam if she was the same, because I was almost certain it was something that crossed her mind regularly. She had once lamented that she hadn¡¯t ignored Gold and told her parents about her Awakening. That¡¯s what kicked everything off for her. Funnily enough, what she shouldn¡¯t have done, was probably what I should have done. All I wanted was to fix Mom and I had decided to go about it in almost the worst way possible. I wanted to kick myself for that stupidity. I had built it up in my head that I could earn enough money by selling my tech so that I could pay for the biokinetic treatment that she needed. In my fugue, ego-driven state, I had completely ignored the fact that Mom would outright deny the treatment even if my initial plans had miraculously worked. I had deluded myself because I wanted to have my cake and eat it too. The secrecy and freedom of having my powers all to myself ¨C to be able to abuse them without consequence ¨C while also being the good son who fixed his Mom without her ever knowing. The logistics of that were just¡­ insane, and I think I started to realize that when Sam told me that I¡¯d never get anywhere with something as undervalued as money. If I really wanted to make the right move, I should¡¯ve told Mom about my powers right from the start. Maybe then, I wouldn¡¯t be involved in this mess. Fantasizing about ¡®what ifs¡¯ is the real waste of time. I was in the thick of it now, so wondering what could have been wouldn¡¯t do me any good. Still, I couldn¡¯t find it in myself to step forward and leave the parking lot. Every fiber of my being was screaming at me to drop this nonsense, go back to Sam''s apartment, and continue my work. I could drop out of school and earn my UE some other time when it suited me. Yet¡­ I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do that either. I watched from afar as my peers strolled through the gates, chatting with friends; laughing, smiling, and yelling. Not a single one of them knew how bad things really were ¨C what the supers inside this city were really doing. They saw the surface-level stuff, the things the news talked about. There was so much more going on than they would ever know. I¡¯d always thought I had the privilege of peeking behind the curtain, courtesy of being one of Abby¡¯s close friends, but I didn¡¯t know jack shit. Abby either wasn¡¯t allowed to tell us or didn¡¯t want to talk about it. Either way, I couldn¡¯t blame her. Shit was going to hit the fan any day now, and there was only so much we could do to prepare. Sam was still forming her plan to draw Splicer out and there was no telling it would be ready in time before the city went sky high. Yet here I was, going back to school like nothing was wrong. I heard the scratching of metal next to me and I looked down, only to see that I had anxiously scraped a small bit of the paintwork on the new car. I grunted and pulled my hand away, opting to let it rest on my lap instead. Despite everything that had happened, I didn¡¯t want to abandon school, no matter how pointless it seemed. It was my connection to Abby, Chris, and Jackson. They clearly cared, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have shown up at my house yesterday, I couldn¡¯t just throw that away. Outside of Mom, they were the only thing that really separated Maxis Troy and Upgrade. I need that separation, otherwise, I¡¯ll end up like Sam. With that decided, I shouldered my bag and headed toward the front gates. I wasn¡¯t even out of the student parking lot before someone a head shorter than me rolled up beside me. Out of the corner of my eye, I guessed it was Chris, but the hair and build were all wrong. I did a double take and stopped dead in my tracks when I realized Liam was walking next to me. ¡°Hey,¡± he shifted nervously. ¡°Glad there¡¯s someone I know that goes here.¡± ¡°What the hell are you doing here?¡± I asked, panic surging into my chest. ¡°This is my school, people will wonder who the hell you are!¡± Liam shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°No need to worry about that, I just started here today.¡± ¡°You just started¡ª¡± I stopped myself when the pieces were starting to click together. ¡°What, are you transferring from somewhere? What¡¯s going on? You never said anything about this before.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t really know until last night. My uncle did all the paperwork to get me here. He didn¡¯t tell me anything about it,¡± Liam shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s probably the last school in the city that¡¯d take me.¡± ¡°Take you?¡± I looked at him, the realization dawning on me. It lined up with his story about his Awakening. He was a problem child, someone who didn¡¯t get along with the authorities. He wasn¡¯t transferring. He had been expelled and this was the last place that would take him in. ¡°Oh.¡± Liam chuckled at the expression I made. ¡°I¡¯ve never been much of a student. Did the bare minimum, you know? After I got my powers, I thought; what¡¯s the point?¡± ¡°Finishing school and getting your UE is one big point,¡± I argued with a complete lack of enthusiasm in my voice. ¡°Otherwise, you have to wait till you¡¯re twenty to get in, and best of luck finding good work in a country like this without a proper qualification.¡± Liam gave me a curious look before shrugging. ¡°Working sounds pretty miserable anyway,¡± he replied with a sullen edge to his tone. ¡°I¡¯ve made a bit of cash just robbing gangs ¡®n shit. If there¡¯s something I really want, I can just swipe it from a store. It¡¯s no big deal.¡± It would not have been very fair of me to chastise him for stealing. I was very much aware of the glass house I was in and I wasn¡¯t about to throw any stones. ¡°So if you don¡¯t really care about school, why are you here?¡± ¡°I need to keep up appearances,¡± Liam said. ¡°My uncle still works. He¡¯s supporting me and I live in his house. I have to at least look like I¡¯m doing something otherwise he¡¯s gonna get on my ass. If I fuck up here, I think the only other option for me is trade school. I dunno about you, but I ain¡¯t fixing toilets for a living.¡± ¡°Being a plumber isn¡¯t the only trade,¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°But I¡¯ll be honest dude, I don¡¯t really see you pursuing any sort of career path.¡± I didn¡¯t want to sound insulting, but he didn¡¯t really seem passionate about anything. The most I had seen in that regard was his insistence on saving Mia from the Cains. After that, I noticed he had become a lot more relaxed and¡­ unmotivated to really do anything. He had his interests, sure, but he didn¡¯t seem like the type to think about the future. ¡°Yeah. None of that shit sounds interesting. I think I got enough stuff to worry about with whatever Sam has planned for us,¡± Liam explained. ¡°If I could have things my way, I¡¯d have enough money to comfortably live anywhere I wanted and do what I wanted. Seriously, that''s pretty much it. At least with you guys, I get a little bit of both.¡± ¡°Is that right?¡± ¡°Yeah. Groves Den isn¡¯t the nicest place but it¡¯s out of the way and you¡¯re fixing the place up,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve got an apartment to myself, so that¡¯s cool. If things ever go south with my uncle, I can always just live there. It¡¯s pretty sweet, all things considered,¡± he leaned over and gave me a knowing nudge. ¡°Your power is something else as well. I bet you can make all sorts of cool shit. Hey, do you think you could upgrade my console?¡± I had almost conditioned my responses to these sorts of questions but I held off, considering that Sam wasn¡¯t around to hear. ¡°You already know I could,¡± I said. I saw his mouth open to continue but I quickly cut him off. ¡°But you also already know I¡¯m not going to do that.¡± ¡°Something something it¡¯s a waste of charges, yeah I get it,¡± he waved me off as we made our way into the noisy crowd of students. I wasn¡¯t sure where he was going but I was heading to my locker. ¡°Gotta deal with the big bad G¡ª¡± ¡°Dude,¡± I cut him off. ¡°Not. Here. If we¡¯re going to hang out, we can¡¯t talk about this stuff, okay? At school, we keep a lid on the Super stuff. We don¡¯t know who could be listening,¡± I said, gesturing to the busy crowd of people around us. ¡°Just because everyone else is engaged in their own conversations, doesn¡¯t mean they don¡¯t have ears.¡± Liam snorted. ¡°Oh, come on, who¡¯s going to know what we¡¯re talking about?¡± ¡°Yo, Max.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. We turned to see Abby strolling up to us, proving that the universe truly did have a sense of timing. I was quick to recover from the shock of seeing her here so early in the morning. Normally, she¡¯d show up halfway through the first period. Abby almost always missed homeroom. We didn¡¯t share the same one but to see her here so early for once was actually surprising, especially given that just yesterday, she was going on about how busy everything was at Headquarters. ¡°Hey Abby, you¡¯re here early.¡± ¡°Junkmonger and Techies somehow broke containment earlier this morning,¡± Abby said with an uncharacteristic deadpan to her tone, though I could sense some bitterness in there as well. ¡°They caused a shit load of chaos and managed to free Nemesis, Gold Rush, and a couple of other villains. I ditched the base so I didn¡¯t get pulled into cleanup. I¡¯ve actually been here for over an hour.¡± Well, I can''t say I was expecting that. ¡°Gold Rush and Nemesis were captured?¡± I asked, acting surprised. Outside of actually witnessing their capture as Upgrade, I never saw any news detailing their incarceration. I wasn¡¯t even sure if it was made public. My best move was to act ignorant. ¡°You guys have been putting in work.¡± ¡°Evidently, not enough. We can get them, we just can¡¯t fucking keep them,¡± Abby grumbled, scratching her neck awkwardly. ¡°Bonesmith also managed to escape a while ago. Sorry I forgot to tell you, we¡¯ve just been so busy playing damage control,¡± she sighed. ¡°There¡¯s a silver lining though, we finally have an excuse to get an overhaul for our security systems.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear ¨C the last part that is,¡± I said, making sure to keep my outward expression positive. Internally, I seethed at the fact that I¡¯d need to improve my hardware and software even more to be able to interact with their systems. ¡°Do you know how Bonesmith managed to escape? What about the rest?¡± ¡°No idea about Bonesmith. I didn¡¯t even know until this morning when Lich was ranting about our shitty security,¡± Abby¡¯s tone turned a tad more serious. ¡°Junkmonger died today, trying to escape. Techies is in a coma, along with a few others. Nemesis and Gold Rush managed to get away unscathed.¡± Liam coughed awkwardly, having gotten over his initial shock of being so close to Comet. ¡°Am I supposed to be hearing this?¡± Abby gave him a blank stare. She looked him up and down before sighing. ¡°Probably not, but I¡¯m too tired to care,¡± she said, crossing her arms. ¡°Have we met before?¡± I decided to answer before Liam could open his mouth. ¡°He¡¯s new here. We play games together online,¡± I said, coming up with an easy lie. ¡°I¡¯m helping him get settled in.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± she sounded completely disinterested, which meant she bought the lie without a second thought. ¡°I¡¯m Abby. You probably know me as Comet, Yada yada yada, nice to meet you. Welcome to Minerva, it¡¯s boring and everyone hates it here.¡± Liam offered a nervous smile. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll fit in just fine then.¡± She offered a light-hearted chuckle but that¡¯s all she managed. It was gone almost as quick as it came and before I knew it, she was moving over toward me. ¡°I need to borrow Max for a few minutes, then you guys can continue on the tour, or whatever it is you were doing,¡± Abby tugged at my shirt and gestured for me to follow her. ¡°Is that cool?¡± ¡°What? Oh, yeah,¡± Liam raised his hands and nodded. ¡°It¡¯s all good, I¡¯ll just wait here. I don¡¯t wanna intrude or anything.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± She pulled me into the nearest empty classroom and shut the door. I could tell she was stressed so I gave her the time she needed to compose herself. I shuffled over to a desk and sat on the corner, watching as she started awkwardly pacing in front of the whiteboard. I could see the gears in her head turning as if she was trying to figure out what she wanted to say. There was a small part of me that was about to start panicking when the idea of her knowing about my powers popped into my head, but that was quickly vanquished when she started talking. ¡°I need your help with something.¡± I felt my brow raise. ¡°It¡¯s not every day that a superhero needs my help.¡± Abby rolled her eyes, a smirk of amusement flashing across her lips. ¡°Shut up, this is serious.¡± ¡°Alright, what¡¯s going on?¡± Just like that, the brief flash of humor I had seen disappeared. ¡°I¡¯m worried about Lucy and with everything that¡¯s been going on recently, I¡¯m starting to wonder why she¡¯s missing school,¡± she paused for a moment and I contemplated jumping in and adding my two cents but I stopped myself. I wanted to know where she was going with this. ¡°I didn¡¯t think much of it yesterday when we talked about it, but last night and this morning¡­ things are clicking into place and I¡¯m not liking what it¡¯s shaping up to be.¡± I grimaced and rolled my shoulders a bit. I had to act like I wasn¡¯t sure what she was talking about. Realistically, just hearing that led me to believe that she was concerned The Cains had gotten her. The odds were astronomically low, but the worst part was I couldn¡¯t rule it out. Alex and Sam had both said there would be more than one place where Splicer and Grim were working, which meant more victims. If Lucy is one of them¡­ A rage simmered beneath my skin. ¡°Where are you going with this?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t say before. I shouldn¡¯t now but¡­ if you¡¯re going to help you need the full picture. The Cain¡¯s are taking people and experimenting on them, Max,¡± Abby said, sounding sick to her stomach. ¡°Why? I have no fucking idea, but we were able to rescue most of them. You probably haven¡¯t noticed yet but Pete isn¡¯t at school and he won¡¯t be for a long time. He was one of the victims.¡± ¡°You think they¡¯ve got Lucy?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Abby stressed. ¡°She¡¯s not answering calls or any of my texts. She isn¡¯t answering you either, Jackson and Chris are the same. That¡¯s unlike her ¨C really unlike her. Sometimes we can¡¯t get her to shut up!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we can just check up on her. We don¡¯t know where she lives,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Even if we did, I doubt her family would appreciate us just showing up at her front door. It might be okay at my place but there¡¯s probably a reason why she¡¯s never wanted us to go round.¡± Abby grunted a little. ¡°Isn¡¯t that weird though?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s weird,¡± I scoffed. It had always been a small point of contention in our relationship. ¡°Let¡¯s not split hairs here, we¡¯ve talked about this before. Her family¡¯s probably abusive.¡± ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s it then? We¡¯re just going to sit here and wait for her to come back? What if she never comes back?¡± Abby snapped. I glared at her. ¡°I never said I was okay with it.¡± ¡°Good, because fuck that. We¡¯re going to do something about it before it can get worse,¡± she took a shaky breath before throwing a quick glare toward the door. There were a couple of girls peering in and staring at her. Thankfully, I was not in the line of sight. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t enough to stop Abby from using her powers to shut the door¡¯s curtain with her power. ¡°It feels like this city is just spiraling all of a sudden. I need to know she¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s the plan?¡± I had grown used to seeing the cool confidence Sam exuded when she was thinking. Her plans might not always be foolproof but that never stopped her from coming up with some great ideas. Abby on the other hand, did not exude that cool confidence. She looked pressured by her own thoughts ¨C an expression that betrayed reluctance. She wasn¡¯t sure about this but she was willing to drag me in here to go through with it. ¡°We might not know where Lucy lives but legally, the school is required to know.¡± ¡°You want to break in and access the school¡¯s student record?¡± I asked, disbelief coloring my tone. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ awfully brave of you. You do realize if we get caught doing that, we¡¯re totally fucked, right? They keep all the grades there. They¡¯ll think we¡¯re trying to hack our records or something.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t get caught. This¡¯ll be just like last time.¡± ¡°Abby, we were in intermediate school. All we did was distract a teacher and delete an email, they even had their password saved,¡± I pointed out. ¡°I hate to break it to you, but getting into Minerva¡¯s records is going to be a bit harder than that.¡± Her shoulders sagged a bit in defeat. ¡°Are you saying you can¡¯t do it?¡± ¡°I never said that,¡± I crossed my arms, allowing a bit of my hubris to slip. Breaking into Minerva¡¯s records would be child¡¯s play with my tech. ¡°I¡¯m just pointing out that it¡¯s a lot riskier than last time.¡± ¡°If Lucy is in danger, then it¡¯s worth the risk. If she isn¡¯t then¡­¡± Abby trailed off before sighing. ¡°At least I¡¯ll sleep a little better at night knowing she¡¯s just sulking or something.¡± At least she knows the risks. ¡°Okay, so we break in and find her address,¡± I nodded at the simplicity of the idea. ¡°I can get behind that. Then what, you fly off to her house? I¡¯d like to tag along too, if you wouldn¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Uh, yeah. I¡¯m not gonna say no,¡± Abby drawled. ¡°I might be a bitch but I¡¯m not that bad. Come on, give me some credit.¡± I offered her an easy shrug. ¡°Why do we need the school¡¯s records to do this? Surely, you can just get some techie guys at the ECU to do this for you,¡± I asked, giving her a blank look. ¡°Are things really that bad over there that they can¡¯t even spare the time or resources to help you find your friend¡¯s house?¡± ¡°I already asked,¡± she grumbled. ¡°You¡¯d think something like that would take a couple of minutes to do but nooooo,¡± the sneer in her voice was practically venomous. ¡°There¡¯s apparently ¡®privacy laws¡¯ and we have to ¡®respect the rights of our citizens¡¯ or some other bullshit.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re breaking the law instead.¡± ¡°The law isn¡¯t doing much good for the city right now,¡± Bayside¡¯s Golden Heroine said. ¡°So the law can kiss my ass on this one. If Lucy¡¯s in danger, I can help her. If she isn¡¯t, I¡¯m¡­ probably going to drop her a couple kilometers out at sea and make her swim back or something. I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll think of something heinous and cruel to punish her for making me¨C us worry so much.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I said, pushing myself to my feet. ¡°When exactly did you want to do this?¡± ¡°After school today,¡± she said. ¡°Not exactly ideal, but you gotta understand. If something bad is happening, every second counts.¡± I grimace. I know. ¡°Alright. Where are we meeting?¡± ¡°Meet me outside the computer labs at four. They lock things up around then so we can sneak in when they aren¡¯t looking,¡± she explained. ¡°I¡¯d say we should do this after school¡¯s closed for the night but there¡¯s lots going on back at base that I have to be there for. It has to be four. That gives me enough time.¡± ¡°What time do you need to be back at base?¡± ¡°Six thirty.¡± Unless Lucy lives on the other side of the city, that¡¯s more than doable. I was more than confident that wouldn¡¯t be the case. Whenever I¡¯d take her ¡®home¡¯ in my car, she¡¯d make me drop her in the same street every time. It wasn¡¯t the street she lived in, obviously, but it was close enough for her to walk. She had once caught me when I tried to tail her home. Not exactly easy to sneakily follow someone who¡¯s walking, while you''re in a car. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll be there.¡± Abby shifted uncomfortably. ¡°Are you sure you want to do this? I don¡¯t want to force you to do this.¡± ¡°Yeah, it''s fine,¡± I shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°We¡¯re best friends. If something¡¯s going on, I wanna know.¡± It bothered me a little bit that Abby had come to this conclusion before I did. ¡°Okay,¡± Abby smiled. ¡°See you then.¡± We parted ways when we left the classroom and I found myself walking towards my locker, lost in thought. It was strange to see Abby take this much of an initiative, even more so that she was willing to break the law and go behind the ECU¡¯s back to do something like this. It made me happy that she treasured our friendship so much that she was willing to do this. ¡°Well, that was something,¡± Liam said, appearing at my side. ¡°You never mentioned you knew Comet personally. Who knew the heroes could be just as sneaky as us?¡± I was halfway through rolling my eyes when my head snapped in his direction. ¡°You were listening?¡± I asked in an accusatory tone. ¡°How?¡± He pointed up. I sighed. Of course, he was hiding in the ceiling. Fabrication 9 Abby didn¡¯t even try to hide. When I arrived at the computer science block, she was leaning against the door to the building. I had to guess that as a renowned superhero, you could loiter anywhere you wanted and not look suspicious. If it were anyone else, they would probably have teachers harassing them. ¡°You¡¯re like, ten minutes late dude.¡± I snorted. ¡°Since when were you such a stickler for the rules?¡± She pushed off the door and straightened up, giving her shoulders a roll. Abby looked out of place here, completely different from our brief stint as hoodlums before her Awakening. She didn¡¯t look comfortable, which was the complete opposite feeling for me. Given what I was already up to, this was probably the most relaxed mission I¡¯d had in weeks. ¡°Since never,¡± she replied with a curl to her lips. ¡°You got what you need?¡± I slipped a hand into my pocket and pulled out a USB. ¡°You¡¯re lucky you caught me when school started. I pulled some old code from my laptop. You finally gave me an excuse to use some keylogging and authentication spoofing programs I downloaded a while back. I had to get a couple updates, but otherwise we¡¯re good to go,¡± I lied effortlessly. Abby raised an eyebrow as I slipped the USB back into my pocket. ¡°What, did you think I just stopped wondering how to break into things after we hit that email?¡± ¡°You know, I could arrest you right now. You¡¯re carrying illegal software,¡± Abby said with a knowing tone. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m soooo scared,¡± I replied mockingly. Abby just laughed. ¡°Come on,¡± she summoned a bit of her telekinetic aura. I watched as it flowed into the door, effortlessly unlocking it. I was almost disappointed when she didn¡¯t rip the door off its frame. It definitely would have been more interesting to see. She gave me a wink. ¡°Ladies first.¡± I chuckled, moving through the open door. ¡°Why, thank you, good sir.¡± The computer lab building was the only place in the school that had any sort of brilliance to it. It always had that fresh smell to it. The carpets and walls were always clean and the lights actually worked. Other buildings like the English or Maths blocks always seemed to have a few things that just didn¡¯t work. The home economics block actually had graffiti on one of its sides. The computer science building was the only place that actually looked like it was cared for. ¡°Alright, top floor, yeah?¡± ¡°Preferably,¡± I replied. ¡°Don¡¯t want a teacher to pass by and see us through the windows.¡± We moved through the hallways and ascended the staircase to the third level. It didn¡¯t really matter which room we went into, they all had computers. We picked a room at random and Abby used her powers to unlock the door. When we went in, she switched off the alarm as I moved to the teacher¡¯s computer. Turning it on, I plugged in my empty USB and created a new user. ¡°Keep watch,¡± I said. I would need Abby¡¯s eyes away from what I was doing. If she paid too much attention she might figure out I wasn¡¯t doing anything with the USB. ¡°I¡¯d hate to have a teacher stumble in on us without any warning.¡± ¡°Gotcha,¡± Abby replied. She moved away from me and lingered over by the door so she could keep watch out the window beside her, and the small window built into the door. ¡°This is bringing back memories. ¡± she chuckled lightly. ¡°Even though I know I can get into all sorts of deep shit by doing this it¡¯s kinda thrilling. I mean, you only risk a suspension. Me? Ugh, I can¡¯t even imagine the lecture I¡¯d get from my mum and higher ups.¡± I slipped my phone out of my pocket and rested it on my lap so that it was out of Abby¡¯s sight. I felt like I should be way more concerned about her discovering that I had Mechatech, but I felt no panic, no worry. I was going to get away with it, simple as that. ¡°An ECU Hero, breaking the law?¡± I mused aloud. ¡°Gee gosh golly, I am mighty surprised.¡± I logged into the new user account at the same time as I connected my phone to the open port. I didn¡¯t waste any time opening a browser and heading directly to the school¡¯s website. If I knew anything about databases, it was that schools tended to keep their records locked behind faculty accounts in the backend of the main school website. That, or there was a proxy that led logged-in administration accounts away from the school website to a more secure database. Whatever the case may be, my software would do all the work. I could have done it remotely but I knew these systems would be monitored. Abby¡¯s information was on here and while that didn¡¯t matter given how public she was, for all I knew there could be other Rookies attending Minerva as well. If I did this off a personal machine without the proper protection, they¡¯d find me out pretty quickly. Doing it on the teacher¡¯s computer in the classroom wouldn¡¯t raise any red flags, at least, not at a glance. ¡°Give me a break,¡± Abby groaned. ¡°You know we try our best. Not all of us can be fuckin¡¯ paragons of virtue,¡± the distaste in her voice was paramount. ¡°And don¡¯t give me that bullcrap about ¡®one bad apple spoils the whole bunch¡¯ shit. I know the ECU isn¡¯t all it''s cracked up to be but¡­ damnit, we try.¡± ¡°You try,¡± I corrected her without even thinking. ¡°You want to do this now?¡± Abby replied, amused. ¡°I still think it would be cool if you came to work for the ECU after we graduate. Last time I talked with Lucy about it, she said she was interested in our PR department. With your skills in IT, you could join our tech department. It pays well, they¡¯ll fund your degree and I can put in a good word for you. Mum probably would as well.¡± ¡°I seem to remember you saying that the last time we had this conversation,¡± I replied, putting more bite into my response than I intended. I knew she was only trying to help, but I had made my position clear plenty of times. ¡°You know how I feel about the ECU. I can¡¯t imagine Mum or Alex would be particularly happy with me if I took you up on that offer.¡± ¡°Ugh, I hate this stupid grudge you guys have,¡± Abby rubbed her temples in frustration. I stopped what I was doing and looked over at her, our gazes meeting. She shrunk away in shame. ¡°Sorry, that was really fucking tone deaf. I just¡­¡± she trailed off, trying to get her thoughts in order. ¡°I just think it would be really cool if you guys were in the same sort of field as me. Once we graduate, I¡¯m going to be a full-time hero. I won¡¯t have time for much social stuff.¡± It wasn¡¯t the first time Abby had let her mouth run. It was just who she was, brash with a dash of vulgarity for flavor. Definitely not how the PR department wanted her to act. ¡°You say that like we won¡¯t talk after graduation.¡± ¡°Mum told me that none of her friendships survived graduation. It just doesn¡¯t gel with a hero''s life,¡± Abby explained. ¡°She¡¯s always been married to work and I¡¯m not, so that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean it¡¯s going to happen to me, but¡­ I¡¯m worried, you know?¡± As I worked to brute force my way into the school¡¯s database, her words caused a slight ache in my chest and I felt my expression soften. I found it rather ironic that a similar thought had plagued me earlier today. ¡°Yeah, I know what you mean.¡± ¡°Jackson wants to go into game design, which is cool and all. Chris is set on Engineering and I tried to convince him that I could get him an apprenticeship under Nanoforge, but he told me that he wants to go into the family business and work with his dad,¡± Abby shrugged sullenly. ¡°That just leaves you and Lucy ¨C and well, you kinda hate the ECU.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hate the ECU.¡± Abby laughed. ¡°Coulda fooled me.¡± ¡°What about the other Rookies?¡± I asked, giving her a curious stare. She had shown me the photos and they all seemed pretty friendly with each other. ¡°I thought you were pretty close with them?¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re cool and all but they¡¯re not really¡­ what¡¯s the word?¡± She paused for a few moments, trying to think of a way to phrase it. I felt like I could understand what she was trying to get at without her even saying it. I suppose I could say I felt the same way about Sam, Liam, and Mia. We were a team ¨C granted, a new one ¨C and we were friends but the circumstances were different. We had come together out of necessity, not because of shared interests. The foundation of the friendship was different. ¡°It¡¯s always about work around them, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah!¡± Abby snapped her fingers and pointed at me. ¡°It¡¯s totally that. We talk, we hang out, but it¡¯s always about hero stuff. I don¡¯t feel like I could invite any of them to one of our DnD sessions without it being awkward. I suppose Copycat might enjoy it, but he and I don¡¯t talk all that much.¡± I suppressed the urge to laugh. To her teammates, she was Comet. To me and the rest of our friends, she was Abby. It was the same dilemma I was having earlier, except she had it much worse. There was a slim separation between her and Comet, given that she had no secret identity. After she graduates, she will be Comet full-time. ¡°I doubt they¡¯d want to reveal their identity to a bunch of nerds anyway,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Unless they showed up in costume. That would be interesting, I suppose. It¡¯d be a great way to roleplay. Copycat would make a great rogue.¡± She snickered. ¡°Aha, dork.¡± We settled into a short silence and I began to work. It didn¡¯t take me long to find the details we were looking for. All I had to do was look up Lucy¡¯s full name and it gave me her complete academic record, complete with her personal details and a couple of medical notes. In that list, was her address, which had me raising an eyebrow. It was further than expected given where I usually dropped her off. Lucy had once mentioned that she lived close to Pandora territory, but she clearly lied. This address was right in the heart of it. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°I got it,¡± I snapped a photo of the address and slipped my phone back into my pocket. ¡°We¡¯ll probably need to catch a bus. I don¡¯t think flying there with your powers is a good idea.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Abby asked, confused. ¡°Because it''s right in the middle of Pandora territory,¡± I replied. I watched as Abby¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Yeah, I know. Maybe this is why she didn¡¯t want us anywhere near her place. You wouldn¡¯t be safe and I¡­¡± I trailed off, feeling the distaste in my mouth. ¡°¡­I¡¯d probably get abducted or something.¡± ¡°Jesus,¡± she ran a hand through her hair. ¡°Well, now we have to go and check.¡± I wasn¡¯t about to dissuade her. If Lucy¡¯s sudden silence had anything to do with Pandora, then something had to be done. I wasn¡¯t about to sit back and let those freaks have their way with her. Besides, I was already at war with one gang, what¡¯s one more? I logged out, making sure to delete the profile I had created before switching off the computer. Abby and I were out of the building and walking out of the school grounds before anyone noticed. As we walked, she looked around cautiously as if she were expecting to suddenly get attacked. After a few moments, she leaned over and nudged me. ¡°Pass me your jacket.¡± I instantly knew why. She needed a proper disguise if we were heading into Pandora territory. I shrugged it off and handed it to her. She threw it around her smaller frame and zipped it up, pulling the hood over her head. It was a little big for her so it looked baggy but it worked to conceal the top of her head and a good portion of her face. ¡°She always talked about how messed up Pandora is,¡± Abby murmured under her breath. ¡°Why didn¡¯t she say anything? Living in the middle of where they¡¯re most active has got to be fucking shit,¡± she inhaled sharply as a realization struck her. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s why she spends so much time at your place? It¡¯d make sense.¡± ¡°It would track,¡± I agreed. ¡°She did mention living close to Pandora territory. I just don¡¯t know why she¡¯d lie.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but feel like the world¡¯s biggest hypocrite for saying that. I had ¨C and still was ¨C keeping my powers from almost everyone I knew. I had my secrets and evidently, Lucy had hers. Maybe it would explain the bizarre reaction she had when I told her I got powers. Maybe she was worried I¡¯d turn into the kind of people Pandora were, or worse still, join them. ¡°I¡¯ve got a really bad feeling now,¡± Abby said. I could even hear the fear in her voice. ¡°Fuck¡­ things are already bad enough. If Pandora¡¯s done something, I swear to God¡ª¡± she stopped herself before she said anything condemning. I could tell she was angry by the way her aura was leaking out of her body. Thankfully, she managed to keep a lid on it. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do.¡± I felt myself grimace, the tips of my fingers tingling in anticipation while the watch on my arm suddenly started itching. ¡°You¡¯re telling me.¡± We arrived at a bus stop and checked the timetable. Sure enough, there was a bus coming soon that was heading right next to her house. I sat down to wait but Abby couldn¡¯t keep still. She started pacing around in front of me, which I found to have a profound effect on my nerves. Her anxiousness was starting to affect me. ¡°Stop it.¡± ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t help it,¡± Abby¡¯s reply was clipped. ¡°Fuck. I just¡­ fuck!¡± ¡°Calm down.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fucking tell me to calm down!¡± Abby snapped. I just stared as she stepped away from me, and ran her hands down her face. ¡°I don¡¯t need this. Damn it, I don¡¯t need this. Shit!¡± She looked away from me for a few moments before looking back, a more resolute look on her face. ¡°Okay, look. I know I said you could come along but this probably isn¡¯t a good idea. I should go alone, it¡¯d be safer that way. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt, Max.¡± ¡°If you think I¡¯m going to back down because of a few cultists, then I¡¯ve got something to tell you.¡± ¡°Max, these guys are something else. I¡¯ve dealt with them before, I can do it again.¡± ¡°Good, I¡¯m counting on it and I hope you¡¯ll appreciate my support.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t help,¡± she countered quickly. ¡°You don¡¯t have¡ª¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t talking me out of this,¡± I cut her off. I challenged her glare with my own. I wasn¡¯t about to let Abby go about this alone, powers or no powers. She could be the fucking Mountain for all that was worth and I¡¯d still fight her on this. Lucy was one of my best friends and I wasn¡¯t about to let a little bit of fear stop me from going. ¡°So suck it up, Sparkles.¡± Abby let out an exhausted sigh. ¡°Fine.¡± I was slightly put off by the fact that she didn¡¯t push it any further. Instead, all I got was acceptance. ¡°I¡¯ll protect you, if anything happens,¡± Abby continued. ¡°I won¡¯t let any one of those guys mess with you.¡± I couldn¡¯t have felt more guilty if I tried. When the bus arrived, we got on and slipped into a couple of seats at the back. We didn¡¯t talk much and Abby preferred to keep her head down to avoid eye contact with anyone. The downside of being a public celebrity, everyone wanted an opportunity to talk. It was a bit different at school. Abby got approached but it was mostly at the start of the year, and after a while, the novelty of going to a school with a superhero rookie wore off. I took that time to look up Lucy¡¯s address on maps. I wanted to get a better look at where we were going and what to expect. There was nothing out of the ordinary and the house itself looked pretty generic. There was a nice car parked in the driveway, a Ford Mustang with sunset orange body paint, but that was the most exotic thing I could say about the place. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Abby asked, leaning over. ¡°Is that her house?¡± ¡°Should be,¡± I murmured. I moved my fingers across the screen to adjust the view. The rest of the street appeared just the same. Mundane, just like every other neighborhood in the city. ¡°Well, if there¡¯s any clues here, I don¡¯t see them. It looks like a normal street to me.¡± ¡°A street right in the middle of Pandora territory,¡± Abby replied in a hushed tone. ¡°Anything could happen ¨C which includes nothing. Let¡¯s hope nothing happens and we¡¯re just worrying for no reason, and that Lucy is a total sulking bitch that is brooding over a failed assignment,¡± she suddenly nudged me in the ribs painfully and I flinched. ¡°That¡¯s for Lucy, by the way. Jerk.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get my share of tongue lashings.¡± We got off at the stop closest to Lucy¡¯s place and walked the rest of the way. Pandora¡¯s territory during the daytime was pretty much the same as any other place in the city. If you weren¡¯t local to Bayside, you wouldn¡¯t have guessed it. The Cains were fairly obvious in how they marked their territory, what with all the graffiti and gang tags. Pandora was different. They were clean, to a disturbing degree. There was no litter, tagging, or anything that you¡¯d normally expect a city to have. To someone who didn¡¯t know any better, it¡¯d look nice, charming even. ¡°Jesus, just walking here makes my skin crawl,¡± Abby shuddered. ¡°Everything feels so fake. Manufactured.¡± Every lawn was cut to the same length; the pavement washed and cleaned to perfection. Pretty much every house had that same white picket fence surrounding their front. There wasn¡¯t an ounce of personality outside of some of the houses which were probably built before Pandora arrived and infected the city with their presence. The more recently built houses all looked the same, box-shaped, vertical, and stark white with navy blue roofs. It was all very¡­ unified. ¡°Empty too,¡± I noted as I continued to look around. It was just past five and the whole street felt vacant. It was uncanny and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. ¡°I can¡¯t believe Lucy lives here.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Abby agreed softly. She pointed ahead of us. ¡°There it is.¡± Lucy¡¯s house stood at the end of the street and it definitely looked more imposing than the rest. Like a seat at the end of a long family dinner table, the house stood at an impressive three stories. It looked older than the rest and was one of the few places with character. A house like that in a neighborhood like this was expensive, definitely at least a million. When we came to stand out front, we lingered, observing the structure. Just like the rest, the lawn was freshly trimmed and the pavement leading up to the front door was cleaned, polished even. There were no signs of life inside either. There was no car parked in the driveway, the curtains were all closed and the lights were off. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like anyone¡¯s home,¡± I murmured. Abby grunted. ¡°I didn¡¯t come all this way for nothing. Come on.¡± She walked to the right and moved down between Lucy¡¯s house and another. I followed without hesitation, eventually finding ourselves in the backyard. There was a metal clothesline, held up by two poles. Again, with something like this, you¡¯d expect it to look somewhat rusted due to being exposed to the sea breeze that blew in from the west. No, this thing was clean and polished. I could see my own reflection in it. Who the hell cleans a clothesline pole? Abby tried to peek in through the back windows but the curtains concealed whatever was inside. ¡°Damnit,¡± she hissed, stepping back. She looked up and scanned the house, looking deep in thought. ¡°Maybe I should try knocking?¡± I gave an idle shrug. As we moved back around to the front, my phone dinged. I pulled it out to see a message from Sam. Sam: Liam just told me what you¡¯re up to. I shouldn¡¯t need to tell you to be careful. Breaking into school stuff should be a piece of cake for you. Just don¡¯t linger, okay? Max: Already finished up at school. I debated on whether or not I should tell Sam where I was. I knew what she¡¯d say. She¡¯d tell me to get the fuck out of here as fast as possible. The risk of being inside Pandora''s territory was something she was intimately familiar with. Max: Just doing some investigation with Abby. We should be fine. Sam: KK ttyl Abby knocked on the door and to absolutely no one¡¯s surprise, we received no answer. ¡°Figures,¡± she muttered. ¡°I guess we¡¯re doing this the hard way.¡± ¡°Whoa, hang on. We¡¯re breaking in?¡± I said, stunned. Abby looked confused, like she had come here knowing that if something like this happened, this was the route she was going to take. ¡°What exactly are we looking for here? Lucy clearly isn¡¯t home and neither is her family.¡± ¡°Clues,¡± Abby said. ¡°There might be something inside that¡¯ll tell us where she is and if she¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a big might,¡± I argued. ¡°Are you sure you want to do this? The school records were one thing, this is another.¡± ¡°What else are we supposed to do, Max? Just sit around and wait for her to contact us?¡± Abby shot back. ¡°There could be signs of a struggle inside. Tipped chairs, broken tables, holes in the wall. Anything that could tell me that Lucy was taken against her will. That¡¯s what I¡¯m looking for.¡± I tried to think of an alternative but she looked pretty adamant. I wasn¡¯t exactly against it either. I wanted to know just as much as she did, but I was also aware of Pandora. I had met some of their leaders in that meeting and I¡¯d be lying if I said they weren¡¯t intimidating. Then again, Abby had probably crossed a few of them as well and she wasn¡¯t deterred. ¡°Alright,¡± I relented. ¡°We go through the back door then. Doing this is pretty stupid but doing this in broad daylight at the front door is even dumber.¡± Abby nodded. ¡°Back door it is.¡± We moved back around to the backyard and found the door. It was less extravagant than the front but that was undoubtedly by design. The front was meant to look inviting. Abby crept up the wooden stairs and summoned her aura. It snaked into the lock and the door clicked open. She didn¡¯t even hesitate to step inside. With a deep breath, I followed her in. Fabrication 10 I wasn¡¯t sure what I expected. Maybe some Pandora logos strewn about the place, or a bunch of small rooms with ¡°servants¡± locked inside. I had heard the horror stories and read a bunch online. With Lucy¡¯s place being right at the heart of Pandora territory, I expected something a little less¡­ mundane. The back door led into the laundry before continuing on into a hallway that ended when it opened out into the kitchen and dining room on either side. There were a few family photos that lined the hallway depicting Lucy with the rest of her family. At the very least we were in the right place. Along with the photos, there were some paintings and art throughout the place that you¡¯d expect to see in the house of someone well-to-do. The kitchen was tidy and the dining room was sparse of anything beyond a table and chairs. Everything seemed normal, with no damaged furniture or holes in the walls, it just appeared as though no one was home. That put the kidnapping theory to rest at least. ¡°Homey,¡± I commented, breaking the silence. ¡°I wasn¡¯t exactly expecting this.¡± ¡°Neither,¡± Abby agreed under her breath. ¡°The house isn¡¯t completely empty and there¡¯s not dust everywhere, so someone has to be living here,¡± she then saw the photos on the walls. ¡°And we¡¯re certainly in the right house.¡± Abby was looking at a family photo ¨C at a wedding by the looks of it ¨C of Lucy, one taken when she was much younger. Her mother was in the photo, along with three other older women, and two men. The closest man had a firm grip on her shoulder and smiled passionately. It would be a perfect representation of familial bliss if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Lucy and the older woman next to her were the only ones not smiling. ¡°I half expected for there to be photos of them at rallies or something, I¡¯m surprised all of these are so mundane,¡± I said. When I didn¡¯t get a response from Abby, I looked to see her further down the hallway, staring at another picture. I moved to her side and my stomach twisted. It was a much older picture, it showed Liberation and Wildfire shaking hands atop a stage. Lucy was much younger, probably around three years old, and was standing next to the older woman from before. ¡°This one not so much.¡± ¡°Her father,¡± Abby muttered under her breath. ¡°Fucking Wildfire.¡± I didn¡¯t reply immediately, instead opting to examine the photo closer. While the photo was older, Wildfire and Lucy¡¯s father did share a similar build. Seeing some of these pictures side by side, it was hard to deny it. This whole time, Lucy had wanted me to stay away because her family was a bunch of lunatics. ¡°She must be in trouble,¡± I muttered under my breath. It was clear Pandora was anticipating damage and was moving to reduce it. ¡°Is she?¡± There was a dangerous edge to Abby¡¯s tone; a bubbling anger that I was all too familiar with. I didn¡¯t like where she was going with this. ¡°Abby¡ª¡± ¡°Think about it, Max!¡± She rounded on me, getting redder as her anger continued to rise. ¡°What if she¡¯s not in danger? What if this whole time she¡¯s been¡ª¡± Abby paused for a moment as a potentially horrifying realization struck. ¡°I¡¯ve told her so many things about the ECU. She spends so much time at your house as well. What if she¡¯s a plant? Then, the moment things get bad, she pulls out and goes silent.¡± I wanted to claim that her whole line of thinking was bullshit, but I couldn¡¯t. I had no proof. Worse still, the memory of her finding out about my powers came to the forefront of my mind. In a completely different light, her reaction made more sense. Still, I had no solid proof that¡¯s what happened, so I just had to trust that she was who I thought she was. ¡°We can¡¯t be certain of any of that.¡± Abby¡¯s head fell into her hands, completely ignoring what I said. ¡°Fuck, Max. What if she¡¯s been grooming you and Eleanor? I¡¯ve seen shit like this happen, it¡¯s how Pandora gets you! They worm their way into your life and they make you think you can¡¯t live without them!¡± ¡°Except she hates Pandora,¡± I countered. ¡°She¡¯s had nothing but horrible things to say about them. If she was grooming us, then she¡¯s been doing a terrible job.¡± My words seemed to have an effect as Abby contemplated them for a few moments. ¡°Come on, we need to at least give her the benefit of the doubt. For all our time at school, she¡¯s made it very clear that she hates Pandora.¡± ¡°...A cover?¡± Abby muttered under her breath. ¡°Misdirection maybe.¡± It was like all my words went in one ear and straight out the other. ¡°Abby!¡± I snapped, losing a bit of my temper. ¡°We did all this to see if she was okay ¨C and we still don¡¯t know that she is, by the way ¨C so let''s just rein in the assumptions and get the truth from her, when we find her.¡± My words finally seemed to have an effect because her flustered look seemed to melt away, replaced by frustration. ¡°Except she isn¡¯t here,¡± she said, looking from side to side. ¡°She probably packed up and left.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked, still trying to feign ignorance. ¡°You said it¡¯s getting bad, but how bad is it really?¡± ¡°Enough for Pandora to evacuate, evidently,¡± Abby heaved a sigh. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it. You and your mum are safe at your place. You shouldn¡¯t get caught in the crossfire, but we¡¯re expecting something big. Like, Hurricane Liz kinda devastation if we¡¯re unlucky.¡± I remembered that. Abby once explained that the Hurricane Liz emergency was her first official outing as a hero. It was before she even had her name. Comet was a name given to her by the people she saved because of how her power looked when that storm besieged the city. I inhaled sharply. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound good.¡± ¡°No,¡± Abby replied bitterly. ¡°General Jessamine¡¯s transfer got delayed, but she should be arriving any day now. Apparently, she¡¯s bringing a bunch of Sweepers and Walkers with her.¡± I felt my heart drop into my stomach. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Abby scoffed, completely misjudging my horrified expression. ¡°It¡¯s about time too. New Elpis has some of the most dangerous Supers around. You¡¯d think they¡¯d give us some proper fuckin¡¯ equipment from the get go but noooooope!¡± Her bitter sneer washed over me like a wave of ice water. ¡°Gotta prove the situation is dire enough before the higher-ups sign off on those things.¡± Sweepers and Walkers were mostly used in the most war-torn places on the planet. If they were going to be deployed here, that was bad news for all of us. ¡°Why?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ surely that¡¯s overkill, even for a situation like this. We¡¯re not having a civil war here, it¡¯s just Grim and the Cains.¡± Abby snorted bitterly. ¡°Dude, come on. We¡¯ve got groups like the Nine Circles up in Ashton. Well, eight now, since Lust is dead. Still, all that effort to just get rid of that one was bad enough. We got Grim here and don¡¯t even get me started about what''s going on down around Zachary Port.¡± I thought for a moment when it clicked. ¡°The sinkholes? I thought that was just The Mountain fucking around.¡± ¡°Nah, people are going missing by the hundreds. Give it time and it¡¯ll be thousands. Point is, something needs to change and Ionizer being Sparrow¡¯s replacement is a step in the wrong direction,¡± the distaste in her voice was palpable. ¡°Sorry to be such a debbie downer. I just really wasn¡¯t expecting all¡­ this,¡± she gestured around her at the house we occupied. ¡°I can¡¯t believe Lucy managed to hide all this from us.¡± We all have our secrets. ¡°I¡¯m willing to believe she had a good reason. It can''t be easy growing up in a cult, Even if her Dad is Wildfire. Can you imagine what she¡¯s been through if she doesn¡¯t have powers?¡± I proposed the likely and hopeful alternative. ¡°Yeah her dad¡¯s a super, but that doesn¡¯t guarantee she has powers.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe,¡± Abby scowled but begrudgingly nodded. ¡°But I can see your point. Damnit! I wish we could just fucking talk to her. Let¡¯s keep looking.¡± ¡°Hold on,¡± I stopped her before she could even make a move. ¡°This is Wildfire¡¯s house. Maybe we should¡­¡± the words died in my throat as Abby stuck me with a flat stare. ¡°...I don¡¯t know, make sure nobody is home? I¡¯d rather not get roasted alive.¡± ¡°As if that can happen when I¡¯m here. Come on, dude. No one is home. There could be clues pointing to where they¡¯ve gone. Also, if Lucy does have powers, we could find some evidence of that here.¡± Abby thought for a moment and our gazes met. ¡°Let¡¯s check her room.¡± I bit my lip and relented. ¡°Alright then.¡± ¡°Sweet,¡± Abby anxiously rubbed her hands together before looking toward the staircase. ¡°I wonder if her room is down here or upstairs?¡± ¡°Up,¡± I answered, recalling a memory early in our friendship. ¡°She mentioned ages ago that we both live upstairs,¡± I offered lamely. ¡°It was her first time at my place and we were both kinda awkward about it. She was just trying to make conversation¡­ badly.¡± ¡°Upstairs we go then,¡± Abby said, turning on her heel. We found her room fairly quickly. It had fit the Lucy we knew to a tee. A lot of the personality of the room had been left intact; posters, books, and a cork pinboard filled with research notes for school projects. I even saw several calendars she claimed to update constantly spread out across her desk. On closer inspection, however, I noticed several things that seemed to be missing. Her laptop was gone, along with her phone. Her dressing table was scarce with dust silhouettes left on its surface. Things had been taken ¨C the essentials ¨C but from the state of the room, it seemed like Lucy had time to consider what she was and wasn¡¯t taking. ¡°Not much in here,¡± Abby walked into the center of the room and looked around. I moved toward her desk while she moved to the closet. ¡°Some of her clothes are gone.¡± I carefully picked through the books, calendars, and stray papers scattered across her desk. Old assignments ¨C even the research notes on Cyberspace for our Social Studies assignment were here. A pang of pain throbbed in my chest, guilt that I hadn¡¯t done anything to contribute. I wasn¡¯t looking forward to the conversation I was going to have with Ms. Elise tomorrow. ¡°Just school stuff here,¡± I replied absently. We took a few more minutes to keep looking but neither of us came up with anything. The room wasn¡¯t exactly big, so there weren¡¯t very many places to hide things. ¡°I¡¯ll go check the master bedroom,¡± Abby said, a dark look spreading across her features. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll find something interesting about Wildfire.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like that look you have,¡± I commented. ¡°Are you sure you want to go digging through his stuff? He¡¯s pretty high up in Pandora, you might find something you really wish you hadn¡¯t.¡± I spoke from the heart. Everyone knew what Pandora was really about. Whatever was in his bedroom wasn¡¯t something I was interested in seeing. Abby, however, didn¡¯t seem to care. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I¡¯ve seen worse.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not doubting that, but there¡¯s no need to add to the pile.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Abby flashed me a grin. ¡°Just scream like a girl if you need anything.¡± She left the room without so much as a glance and was off down the hall, leaving me to my own devices. I contemplated heading back downstairs to check if this place had a basement. The garage also seemed like a good place to search, but I had to wonder what I¡¯d find. First things first, I had to clear the room and the rest of the house. Reaching into my pocket, I retrieved my phone. I wanted to make sure we weren¡¯t overlooking anything here. Maybe Wildfire had secret cameras or something I could hack into. I certainly wouldn¡¯t put it passed the guy. Unfortunately, that theory died rather quickly when I realized that The Queen¡¯s Court had Uplink. Assuming Grim had any sort of Mechakinetic at his disposal, they probably thought it was a safe bet to remove all electronics from the house if they were going somewhere. To my surprise, the software pinged something in the room. My heart didn¡¯t jump into my throat, nor did I feel excitement at the discovery. Instead, I felt cold, almost sick to my stomach. If anything, that singular hidden device proved that something had happened. Tentatively, I moved toward the soft signal. It was in her closet and from a quick inspection, I couldn¡¯t see anything on the floor or the top shelf. No electronics to speak of, which left me with one option. I had to switch it on remotely and try to find it by playing a sound. When I hacked into it, that sickening feeling worsened. The remote view showed me a home screen ¨C her phone¡¯s home screen. I didn¡¯t even need to play a sound to find it. With all the clothes still hung up, there was only one place it could be. Started my search from right to left, rummaging through every jacket pocket I could get my hands on. I quickly gave up searching jeans or pants seeing as they apparently had no pockets to speak of. Finally, I found her phone, hidden in a zipped pocket of a jacket I had never, ever seen her wear. She placed it here deliberately. Why? There¡¯s no way she could¡¯ve known someone would find this, let alone me. I might¡¯ve told her I had powers but I never specified what kind, so why do this? I slipped my phone into my pocket and stared at the slim device in my hand. Lucy¡¯s phone was nothing to write home about. An older model from about four years ago. I remembered her complaining that it had taken her so long to get it and by the time she did, the model was already outdated, replaced by a newer model. She¡¯d never leave this thing behind unless she had to. Which means she did this to warn me¡­ or Abby was right and she¡¯s been playing us for fools this whole time, which means that this is a t¡ª A deafening boom sounded from downstairs and the entire house shuddered. I was already moving toward the door when I went to shout Abby¡¯s name, but I barely got the first syllable out of my mouth before something slammed into my face. I stumbled back, black spots dancing in my vision as I struggled to remain upright. The airways in my nose were suddenly blocked as blood streamed out onto my shirt. I could taste it flowing over my lips and down my chin, but I didn¡¯t have any time to treat it before I was tackled to the ground and a pair of hands clamped down around my throat. ¡°Wait¡ª!¡± ¡°You heretic Cain fuck,¡± my attacker sneered with all the disdain he could muster. He straddled me and I got a good look at him. He was big, maybe around my height, and definitely stronger. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting so long for this. Finally, I get to fucking kill one of you myself.¡± My immediate instinct was to try and pry his hands off my throat but it was a losing battle. He was so much bigger than me, that all I was doing was struggling uselessly. He pulled back and hit my head against the floor to stop me from struggling, the only silver lining was that we were in Lucy¡¯s room and it was carpeted. The impact was softened and didn¡¯t have the effect my attacker was hoping for. However, he¡¯d get exactly what he wanted in the next minute or so if I didn¡¯t do something. ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting, watching. The boss knew you fucks would come and I¡¯ll be more than happy to personally send you back to Grim in a body ba¡ª¡± I remembered my watch. I reached over, transformed it, placed it against his ribcage, and fired repeatedly. His body jolted with every shot. I kept shooting until the pressure on my throat lifted and he collapsed atop me. With adrenaline pouring through my system, I pushed him off me before gasping for air. I rolled over onto my side and coughed, spluttering as fresh blood streamed out of my nose. My vision was blurred and my head spun. I reached out and grabbed the edge of Lucy¡¯s bed, pulling myself to my feet. As I steadied myself, I noticed a flickering light above me. I looked up to see the ceiling burning, spreading quickly, and eating away at the plaster, paint, and wood. I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop that now. This entire place would be an inferno in minutes. I looked down at my attacker to see him lying on the floor, eyes wide open with multiple cauterized holes through his abdomen. He took several shuddering breaths and spasmed as his body went into shock. He had seconds left at best. I met his gaze and I waited for the guilt to come crashing down on my shoulders. The weight of his life, squeezing me tightly until I couldn¡¯t breathe. I waited for it¡­ right up until he slumped over and stilled. I continued to wait as the pain in my head and throbbing in my nose intensified. That¡¯s it? I didn¡¯t feel anything except my obviously broken nose. I stood for a couple of moments before I jolted myself into action. I turned and fled toward the door. I couldn¡¯t stay here, I had to get out while I still could. ¡°Abby!¡± No answer. I cleared the rest of the stairs and moved into the lounge. All seemed fine until I looked left into the kitchen ¨C or where the kitchen used to be. There was just a hole left with exposed wires poking out of the ruined wall. Abby stood, shoulders slumped looking at the scene before her. I hurried up to her side, transforming my weapon back into its watch form before she could notice, prepared to drag her away if I had to. Then I saw what she was looking at. In the yard were the dismembered remains of¡­ someone. There was an arm, a leg, and half a head scattered across the backyard. ¡°We need to go, now,¡± I said, taking her hand. There was an ugly cut across her cheek. It was deep and was pouring blood, but Abby didn¡¯t seem to care. She was frozen in shock, her gaze fixated on the gore before her. ¡°HEY!¡± I slapped and shook her. She turned to me in a daze and blinked, her senses coming back to her when she saw the state my face was in. ¡°Max, what¡ª¡± ¡°No time,¡± I hissed, taking her hand and pulling her along with me. We entered the backyard and waded through the gore. I¡¯d rather go out this way and back through the main street. If those guys had been waiting, then I wasn¡¯t going to go back out the way we came. ¡°We need to go.¡± ¡°I killed her.¡± ¡°Abby!¡± ¡°I¡­ I just fucking¡ª¡± I yanked with all my might, pulling her off her feet and forcing her to catch herself. She finally understood what I was trying to do. We vaulted the fence into another property and cut through the yard before jumping another fence. We landed in a property where a couple of dogs started barking at us from behind windows. If anything, the sight of dogs gave me another shot of adrenaline and kept me going. When we cleared the next fence I saw Abby beginning to summon her aura. I quickly snatched her arm again before she did something stupid. ¡°No, no flying!¡± ¡°Why!?¡± ¡°If anyone sees you fly out of here, Pandora will know it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll know it''s me anyway!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone saw us leave ¨C and even if they did, you don¡¯t want the public to see you flying around right now. This way you have plausible deniability and the ECU will back you up,¡± I said, holding back a few additional comments I wanted to throw in there. They could sweep that death under the rug. Abby would be fine. ¡°No flying, just keep running.¡± She didn¡¯t argue. We pushed on, running through the streets and cutting through more properties until we were certain we were safe. The sun was starting to dip below the horizon when we finally slowed down. Our temporary refuge was a small park with some trees and a small alcove. There was a rather large pond next to us which was convenient for me, given that I¡¯d need to clean the blood off my face. I strolled over and fell to my knees, scooping up handfuls of the dirty water to wash my face with. It was refreshing to finally get all the dried blood off, but it sadly didn¡¯t heal the broken nose. It still throbbed and all I wanted to do was roll over onto my back and close my eyes. I took a shaky breath and looked towards Abby. She was sitting down under a tree with her head between her knees, her gaze locked firmly on the ground. My eyes trailed up further, extending beyond the treeline where I could see a distant column of smoke. Given how quickly that fire spread, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Lucy¡¯s place had already burnt to the ground. ¡°You should probably get back,¡± I said softly, breaking the tense silence. ¡°And if it¡¯s not too much trouble, I¡¯d like my jacket back.¡± Slowly, Abby removed the jacket and handed it back to me. I was still sweating from our escape and I was enjoying the cool twilight breeze, so I wasn¡¯t in a rush to put it back on. Still, Abby was worryingly silent. She looked up and met my gaze. I half expected tears by the way she was acting but instead, she just looked¡­ hollow. My attacker¡¯s lifeless corpse flashed through my mind and I forced down the urge to flinch. All it did was make my nose hurt more. The guy hadn¡¯t even given me a second to explain ¨C to do anything. He had just tried to kill me. ¡°I just¡­ that girl¡ª fuck me,¡± she ran a shaky hand through her hair. ¡°She got the jump on me. I didn¡¯t even hear her. I-I was on edge so I just turned and¡­ bam,¡± Abby pushed her hands out in front of her as if to demonstrate how she had turned the girl into mincemeat. ¡°She went for my throat but got here instead,¡± she lightly touched her wound. ¡°And I just¡ª¡± she pushed her hands out again. ¡°¡ªI didn¡¯t mean to!¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, really. It¡¯s¡ª¡± Something moved out of the corner of my eye and I looked to my right, away from Abby. She didn¡¯t notice but I saw a shadow move. A fair distance away, I spotted one of Mia¡¯s statues peeking out from behind a tree. I bit my lip and turned back to Abby. ¡°It was self-defense. They tried to kill us, we did nothing wrong.¡± Except for the obvious breaking and entering part¡­ Switching the focus to me momentarily distracted her. ¡°What¡­ happened to you?¡± I wasn¡¯t in any state to be coming up with some clever lies so I blurted the first thing that came to mind. ¡°Similar to you, some guy hit me in the nose with something but got sloppy. I tackled him to the floor and got lucky. He knocked his head on the door frame on the way down, I¡¯m pretty sure it knocked him out,¡± I lied. ¡°I¡¯m fine, but my nose is kinda busted though. Sucks to be me, eh? My eye¡¯s only just healed.¡± That got a weak laugh out of her. I¡¯d take that as a win. ¡°I¡¯m such a fuck up,¡± Abby groaned climbing to her feet. I helped her up. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have been so deep into Pandora territory. I put you in danger¡­ Jesus, I¡¯m no better than fucking Ionizer!¡± ¡°To be fair, I insisted and we both know I would have come here regardless,¡± I countered. ¡°And the most important bit is we¡¯re fine. But you said you were needed back at headquarters, and if you take too long, they¡¯re going to suspect something ¨C probably,¡± I paused for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t really know how things go down over there.¡± Abby took a breath and finally managed to calm herself down. ¡°Okay, okay¡­¡± she took another breath. She pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was past six. ¡°Shit, I¡¯m already late, but not so much that it¡¯s outside the norm for me. They shouldn¡¯t think twice,¡± she explained, shoving the device back into her pocket. ¡°Text me when you get home, okay? I need to know that you¡¯re okay. We can talk more about this tomorrow¡­ somewhere secluded at school.¡± ¡°Sure, absolutely,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re far enough away now that it should be safe to fly.¡± Abby looked up over her shoulder to see the rising smoke and nodded. ¡°Yeah, I should be good.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t dwell on this, okay?¡± I said. ¡°It was self-defense.¡± Abby laughed bitterly. ¡°We¡¯re the ones that broke into that house¡­ fuck. Ugh, this is going to be a fucking nightmare if it ever gets back to me. Just have to hope God or whatever deity isn¡¯t too pissed with me this week. I could really use some good fortune right now.¡± You and me both. ¡°Fly low, just in case, yeah?¡± Her aura began to shimmer as she took off from the ground. ¡°Yeah¡­ I will.¡± And then, she was gone. I counted the seconds and I heard movement surrounding me. Bushes rustling and the snapping of twigs sounded from all sides. She moved fast, impossibly fast. ¡°Did you enjoy eavesdropping?¡± I asked, turning around. Mia stood with her arms crossed, a grim expression stretched across her features. ¡°What the hell did you do?¡± I sighed. I wasn¡¯t looking forward to explaining this. Fabrication 11 It didn¡¯t take long for the adrenaline to fade and for the pain to hit in full force. There was swelling around the bridge of my nose and a dull throb from where it broke. I couldn¡¯t diagnose it any further other than the fact it wasn¡¯t shattered. There was still an intact ridge there with a solid foundation. Just¡­ not straight. ¡°We¡¯re not being followed,¡± Mia said as we turned into another street. ¡°A few people just found the house and they look pretty pissed.¡± Yeah¡­ that tracked. I couldn¡¯t imagine they¡¯d be happy that I burnt down one of their houses and killed one of their own. They¡¯d be out for blood, especially since Grim had already massacred dozens of their members. ¡°Keep your statues at a safe distance,¡± I said with a grunt. Even talking was painful. My nose was bad enough on its own, but pressure from the swelling and a searing headache that was only growing worse was starting to take its toll. Pain meds were becoming more enticing by the second. Sadly I don¡¯t think anything over the counter was going to cut it. ¡°We don¡¯t want them spotting you, your power is far stronger when no one knows the specifics.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t,¡± Mia reassured me. ¡°I¡¯m well hidden. You only noticed me because I wanted you to.¡± I wanted to believe her, but she was still so new to all this. Hell, so was I. Besides that, Pandora had supers that had been around longer than we¡¯d been alive. There was no real way of telling if they were onto us or not. I did, however, believe that no one was following us. Watching us, was another question entirely. ¡°So are you going to explain what happened?¡± She asked. My nose had thankfully ceased bleeding but my whole front was drenched and I could taste blood in my mouth. Needless to say, coupled with the pain I didn¡¯t really feel like giving a rundown on what just happened. ¡°Because it looks like nothing good.¡± ¡°I went looking for a friend. She¡¯s been out of contact for a bit,¡± I thumbed over my shoulder. ¡°Showed up at her house and then that happened.¡± Mia made a noise which I likely meant she was frustrated with my vagueness. It wasn¡¯t until we turned into another street that she pulled me into a nearby alleyway and forced me to stop. I didn¡¯t resist, not having the strength nor will to do so anyway. We stood awkwardly out of sight from any nearby pedestrians, not that there were many at this time of day in this part of the city. ¡°Alright just¡­¡± she trailed off, staring me up and down. ¡°¡­just stay here for a minute. I¡¯m going to find you a shirt and something to clean up with.¡± Mia didn¡¯t move. Instead, we ended up hovering around the alleyway for around fifteen minutes. I didn¡¯t bother asking where she was going to find that stuff as I was too busy nursing a migraine. As the time ticked on, I had to wonder if I had a concussion because my ears were starting to ring and my vision was starting to blur. ¡°There we go,¡± Mia said, moving past me deeper into the alleyway. I looked up to see that three different statues of her had appeared. One was holding a shirt, another a bottle of water, and the last a box of pain medication. I took off my jacket and bloodied shirt and replaced it with the clean shirt Mia had so generously brought for me. ¡°Where¡¯d you get this?¡± I murmured, uncapping the water. ¡°Swiped from a corner store,¡± she shrugged, pointing to the water and paracetamol. She then gestured to the shirt. ¡°I just took the shirt from someone¡¯s house. Broke his lock and then I was in and out in a couple of seconds.¡± I wet my bloodied shirt and wiped my mouth. I gently dapped around my nose as it was still very tender, just touching sent a lance of pain through me. I moved my attention to the paracetamol and narrowed my eyes at the box. This sort of stuff was for mild or moderate pain and wouldn¡¯t cut it. I spent a charge changing the contents to Tramadol before then investing a few more charges in upgrading its effectiveness, absorption rate, and reducing the side effects. I¡¯d still be a little out of it, but nothing like if I hadn¡¯t upgraded it. The box changed along with the branding and the contents contained pills less than half the size of a grain of rice. I had never seen pills so small before. Regardless, I took one and popped it in my mouth without much thought. Powers work on over-the-counter drugs¡­ noted. ¡°They said your power was weird,¡± Mia gazed at the box, confused. ¡°You¡­ made it better?¡± ¡°Hope so,¡± I muttered. ¡°Thanks for fetching these,¡± I took a swig of water to wash the pill down before downing half the bottle. While the pain didn¡¯t fade completely I did feel refreshed. The blurriness in my vision subsided and I felt like I could at least walk without the risk of falling over and passing out. ¡°That¡¯s better. How do I look?¡± ¡°Like you ran face first into a brick wall,¡± Mia said without any humor in her voice. ¡°At least you don¡¯t look like a murder victim anymore,¡± she lightly gestured to different bits of her face to show where I had missed some splotches of blood. I dabbed them away, lightly cringing at her choice of words. ¡°How do you feel?¡± ¡°Probably exactly how I look,¡± I risked another prod at my nose. ¡°What do you think, broken?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a doctor,¡± Mia stepped forward, a grimace crossing her face. ¡°But it looks like it, doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s life threatening or anything though. Sam could let you know for sure.¡± ¡°That would involve telling her about what happened.¡± Mia¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You weren¡¯t going to?¡± I shook my head. ¡°No, I was. I just don¡¯t like the idea. It¡¯s hard to tell how she will react, but she needs to know, Liam too. If this comes back to bite us we need to be prepared.¡± We¡¯d need to be able to anticipate any moves against us. I was sure we didn¡¯t have the kind of manpower to recover from a surprise attack, especially not one of the caliber that the other gangs could launch. Our defenses were minimal and I needed more time to develop them. If Pandora or Grim suddenly turned their focus to us, I wouldn¡¯t get that time and we¡¯d be chased out of town at best. ¡°You don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to attack us, right?¡± Mia asked, hoping that I would claim we had nothing to worry about. The worst part was that I had no idea. Pandora probably had more Mentalists to consult than I cared to count. Their resources ran deep, maybe just as deep as the ECU¡¯s, and a slight like this would be enough to get them mobilizing. The question was if they¡¯d even think to look into the incident or just assume it was Grim and leave it at that. ¡°No one¡¯s following us, they can¡¯t know that you were involved. They would be chasing us otherwise!¡± ¡°Just because they¡¯re not after us now, doesn¡¯t mean they won¡¯t eventually figure it out. You¡¯ve seen how Sam¡¯s power works. Granted, most Mentalists aren¡¯t as powerful as Gold, but they¡¯re looking into Grim and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they figured it out, even if it¡¯s by accident.¡± I stopped myself and shuddered. I felt like I had dug my own grave. If I was feeling like this, then I could only imagine what Abby was feeling. The ECU would protect her but like Sam said, there was corruption everywhere. Pandora almost certainly had sympathizers on the inside, and that meant Abby would be in danger. I had to trust that she could take care of herself. I knew my limits and I couldn¡¯t help her, not yet anyway. ¡°Shit,¡± Mia ran a shaky hand through her frazzled hair. She didn¡¯t exactly look like the perfect picture example of calm. ¡°They¡¯ll come after us.¡± ¡°Well, me,¡± I felt the need to pointlessly clarify. ¡°And by extension, the rest of our group.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really starting to regret sticking around,¡± Mia muttered. I couldn¡¯t blame her. We resumed our walk to Groves Den with Mia giving small updates on the situation. The fire that my weapon had caused ended up burning Lucy¡¯s home to the ground. Apparently, the fire had even spread to some of the surrounding homes until Chiller had arrived to put them out. That part surprised me, seeing as he had been present at the Pandora gathering that Grim massacred. I recalled how one of Pandora¡¯s supers acted out during the meeting when Gaea mentioned the massacre. Red Flare died, that much was certain but it seemed Chiller survived. How I wasn¡¯t exactly sure, but it was something to think about later. ¡°They found a body,¡± Mia said, coming to a stop. I turned to see bits of her face screwed up like she had looked at something nasty. She then recoiled slightly. ¡°They found another one! It¡¯s all¡ª oh God. It¡¯s¡ª it¡¯s everywhere!¡± ¡°Abby didn¡¯t mean to. She just sorta reacted.¡± ¡°Abby?¡± ¡°Comet,¡± I clarified. ¡°We¡¯re good friends but she doesn¡¯t know I¡¯m Upgrade. Like I said, we went looking for our friend and, well¡­ this happened.¡± Mia nodded slowly, still sporting an uncertain expression. ¡°And¡­ the other body?¡± I grimaced. I didn¡¯t exactly have time to process everything that happened. I knew that killing someone usually took a heavy toll. I had read interviews from Heroes all across the world detailing their experiences and how they affected them. So I knew that I should be feeling something. Yet, all I could feel was the slowly fading pain of a busted nose. Did that make me some kind of sociopath? The guy had attacked me without so much as a word and then went straight for the throat. I couldn¡¯t even try to talk him down. He had given me no choice. ¡°That was me,¡± I explained, absently rubbing my neck. ¡°He got the drop on me.¡± Mia still didn¡¯t look too satisfied with that so I felt the need to elaborate. ¡°He hit me,¡± I pointed to my nose. ¡°I fell over and then he tried to strangle me while I was dazed. I didn''t have the time to consider anything else.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Oh,¡± her expression turned pained. ¡°Have you¡ª¡± ¡°No.¡± I cringed at how quickly I answered that. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to pry.¡± I instinctively tried to wrinkle my nose but the excruciating pain made me keep a neutral expression. I knew Mia was trying to be respectful ¨C trying to understand my position. We were still very much new to this life. I was only a month into it and I had already killed someone. Sam had been at this for more than three years and she had managed to keep her hands clean ¨C assuming she wasn¡¯t lying that is. Murder was a slippery slope and not just morally. Pandora was notorious for how they ¡°punished sinners against the cause¡±. Now, whether I liked it or not, I had taken one of theirs, and claiming self-defense wouldn¡¯t get me out of trouble. No matter what I did, they¡¯d be out for blood. How¡¯d they even get the jump on us anyway? I was alert, I should¡¯ve noticed them. Abby too. Had they been Supers? If that guy had powers, I hadn¡¯t the slightest clue what they were. He hadn¡¯t used them to save himself and he hadn¡¯t used them to kill me. If Abby¡¯s attacker was a super it hadn¡¯t helped them either. Maybe they didn¡¯t even get a chance to use them or they didn¡¯t think it was necessary. There was always the possibility that they thought we were normal kids. Maybe it wasn¡¯t useful in combat, some kind of minor movement power. Sound suppression? Invisibility? None of that mattered now. What was left of him could fit in a vase. ¡°I¡¯m trying not to think about it. A lot happened very quickly,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to focus on getting back so I can sit down and get some ice. Is there anything else happening or has it calmed down now?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say anyone¡¯s calm right now,¡± Mia murmured, looking away. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of movement, not just at the house but everywhere,¡± she explained with a weary look. ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain but there¡¯s this¡­ buzz in the air. Everywhere, I can see people looking over their shoulders or in a hurry to get home. It¡¯s like¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªEveryone¡¯s waiting for something to happen,¡± I finished for her. I stopped and looked back at the way we came. The smoke that was climbing high into the sky had stopped billowing, but the remnants of it lingered in the air like an angry cloud. The fires had been put out, but the fury would remain. It would need an outlet ¨C something to be unleashed upon. If Grim¡¯s massacre had placed a powderkeg within Pandora¡¯s ranks, then what Abby and I had just done was light the fuse. ¡°How many statues are you working with right now?¡± ¡°Sixteen,¡± Mia replied. ¡°Why?¡± I thought for a moment before pointing east. ¡°Do you have any in that direction?¡± Mia nodded. ¡°Sam had me set a few up over there. That¡¯s Cain territory, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. What¡¯s happening there?¡± ¡°Nothing really,¡± Mia¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Hold on, let me just get to a better position,¡± she paused and crossed her arms. Her concentration deepened and I could tell by the look in her eyes that her head was miles away. It seemed if she really wanted to focus on specifics, she needed to direct them. ¡°People are locking up their homes. There¡¯s a couple of¡ª HOLY SHIT!¡± There it is¡­ We could barely see it from where we were standing. The top of an apartment complex had exploded and I could already see the smoke beginning to rise. The deep boom arrived several moments later. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡ª¡± Mia shook her head, shock and horror etched across her features. ¡°I didn¡¯t even see what happened. I just heard it through one of my statutes. There¡¯s¡ª¡± she lifted her fingers to her temple and narrowed her eyes. ¡°There¡¯s someone standing in the smoke on top of the building. I can¡¯t see who it is.¡± ¡°We need to get back to the apartment,¡± I turned and started off again, quickening my pace. ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t have much time.¡± ¡°What are you on about?¡± Mia sounded confused. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a full scale gang war,¡± I replied. ¡°Pandora¡¯s already been moving against Grim. Chances are they¡¯ve held back to stack the deck in their favor as much as possible. They¡¯ve got their info and a guarantee that the other gangs won¡¯t jump on them at the first sign of weakness. Now I¡¯ve given them the perfect excuse to go scorched earth.¡± I expected more explosions but all I got was more normal city ambience. If Pandora was carving a warpath into Cain territory, Grim would be forced to respond and the city would descend into chaos. That¡¯s what I thought would happen. All my life I had just been a bystander to the conflicts Supers got into but now I was actively involved in one. I was about to get a proper look at just how bad it could get. ¡°Gangs fight all the time,¡± Mia said, looking even more confused. ¡°What¡¯s the difference here?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t see it, did you?¡± ¡°See what?¡± ¡°What Grim did to Pandora,¡± I said. ¡°We talked about it briefly at the meeting. Gaea mentioned it and they got really touchy.¡± Mia thought for a moment and nodded. ¡°I remember that. What happened?¡± ¡°Grim walked into a Pandora church and killed everyone. There had to have been at least fifty people there. Sam and I watched a video from someone in the crowd. The phone must¡¯ve been recovered later but Red Flare and Chiller were there. As far as I know only Chiller made it out.¡± ¡°He¡­¡± Mia¡¯s expression reflected horror. ¡°He what?¡± ¡°If Pandora retaliated, then I haven¡¯t heard anything about it,¡± I continued. I knew I didn¡¯t need to clarify. She understood exactly what I said. ¡°But now they¡¯ve been attacked again and two of their own are dead. Doesn¡¯t matter who did it, they¡¯ll blame the Cains ¨C blame Grim. They¡¯re done waiting now.¡± ¡°How¡ª¡± she stopped herself and swallowed. ¡°Nevermind, I think you¡¯re right.¡± I could only imagine what she was witnessing right now. A full offensive from Pandora, their Super¡¯s rolling into Cain territory like a tide of death. The attack we just heard earlier was probably one of the more obvious strikes. The thought that there would be fighting going on in the streets churned my stomach. Even worse, I was responsible for starting it. By the time we made it back to the apartment complex, the sun had well and truly set. Darkness covered the city, the sounds of fighting and the occasional flash in the distance broke the peaceful atmosphere. With haste, Mia and I moved into the underground parking space and headed for the stairway. My head was a lot clearer now that the pain medication had kicked in, but I still felt less than 100%. As we climbed the stairs and headed to Sam¡¯s floor, I realized that the place was eerily quiet. ¡°Sam?¡± I called out, pushing open the door. We entered the room to find it empty. I called her name again but she didn¡¯t answer. I even tried Liam¡¯s name and he didn¡¯t answer either. ¡°They¡¯re not here.¡± ¡°They should be,¡± Mia huffed, sounding a little panicked. ¡°Where the hell are they?¡± We searched the room until a note on the table caught my eye. I picked it up and read the contents before exhaling in frustration. ¡°They¡¯ve gone out. Sam¡¯s saying to meet them at Browning Street.¡± Mia¡¯s eyes bulged. ¡°That¡¯s basically where all the fighting is. Why?¡± ¡°She¡¯s taking advantage of the chaos,¡± I flipped the note over to see if there were any more details but found nothing. We¡¯d have to meet up to find out what her game was. ¡°It¡¯s the perfect opportunity. Two of the biggest gangs in the city are taking shots at each other. Smaller groups like us are going to be circling like vultures while the ECU tries to do damage control.¡± I wanted nothing more than to go lie down. The last thing I wanted to do was suit up and jump right into the thick of things, but it seemed like I didn¡¯t have much of a choice. ¡°I¡­¡± Mia frowned, seeming upset. ¡°I didn¡¯t even see them leave. I have three statues standing watch around this place. How¡¯d they get out without me seeing them?¡± ¡°Sam¡¯s too fast to track with Pink and can teleport with Purple. Liam is¡­¡± I tried to think of a word to describe the way he moves about with his power. ¡°...something. You were paying more attention to all the fighting going on anyway, so don¡¯t beat yourself up about it.¡± My words didn¡¯t seem to have any sort of effect. She still looked sour but it didn¡¯t take long for her expression to shift. ¡°We¡¯re really going out there?¡± Mia asked, sounding slightly shaken. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know if I have it in me to hurt anyone. I¡¯m not¡­ like that ¨C confrontational I mean.¡± I did my best to look sympathetic, but considering she flinched, I don¡¯t think it came across as sincere as I meant it to. I could understand where she was coming from. I knew some people like that, Chris being one of them. The rest of our friend group wasn¡¯t really like that. Hard to be when Abby was around to give us a kick in the ass if she thought we were being soft. ¡°Not many people are, not naturally. Most people have to learn it,¡± I said softly. Then I thought for a moment, considering what kind of role Sam wanted her in. ¡°You don¡¯t have to come, not really. Just stay here and control your statues remotely. Probably best to follow Sam around and let her direct you.¡± Mia thought for a moment before nodding, liking that idea much more than whatever she was thinking. ¡°Okay, yeah I can do that. Is there any way I can communicate with you guys without me just like, you know¡­ taking over one of my statutes? I don¡¯t want to be shot in the head, set on fire, or blown into tiny unidentifiable pieces.¡± Oddly specific choice of words. An idea sprang into my head. ¡°Follow me.¡± We left the room and headed up to my workshop. The doors slid open and I made a beeline for a table with piles of electronics on it. Mia seemed to linger at the entrance, looking around in amazement at what I had done with the place. It wasn¡¯t really anything special, but I suppose she hadn¡¯t seen much Mechatech before. ¡°So this is a Mechakinetic¡¯s workshop,¡± her voice was full of caution. It was like she was afraid that a single word would trigger a defense system and zap her into dust. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d ever get to see one.¡± I resisted the urge to say that she had been inside one before, I was occasionally insensitive, not completely braindead. ¡°It''s a work in progress,¡± I dismissed with an idle wave, the place was mostly filled with unorganized junk that had a charge or two thrown at it. The only thing remotely impressive were my 3D printers and the workbench I had my suit on. I reached and snagged an item off the table before heading back over to her. ¡°Encrypted communicator. Sam has one and I have one built into my suit. This one was going to be Liam¡¯s but I¡¯m not entirely sure he needs it. I don¡¯t even know if it would work with his power. Hell we don¡¯t even know how his power works, something weird with space-time and I¡¯d need to measure¡ª¡± I shook my head, I was getting off track. ¡°Point is, you can use it and he probably can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Mia stared at the earpiece in her hand. ¡°How do I use it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a button on the side to transmit,¡± I said as she slipped it on. ¡°Okay,¡± she pressed the button. ¡°Hello, is anyone there?¡± ¡°Sam might not be¡ª¡± ¡°Oh! Sam!¡± Mia exclaimed her expression brightening. ¡°I¡ª OH! Sorry, Alice. Ma¡ª er, Upgrade just gave me this thing to talk to you guys. I¡¯m going to be staying behind and using my powers remotely,¡± she paused for a moment as Alice talked on the other end. ¡°Yeah, I think it¡¯s for the best too. He¡¯s um,¡± she gave me a quick look. ¡°He¡¯s just getting ready.¡± I grumbled and turned, walking over toward my suit. Mia continued to speak with Alice as I slipped into it and went through the necessary adjustments. I was exhausted, sore, and nursing a freshly broken nose. I wasn¡¯t in the best state to be going out into the warzone that was Bayside, but I needed to fight through the pain. Besides, the drugs were doing wonders. Once I pressed the button at the back of my neck, my helmet shifted and folded over my face. The L.E.D screens inside lit up and began running scans. ¡°Medical scans indicate mild cranial trauma,¡± a small x-ray of my skull opened as a window on my visor, giving me a pretty good picture of the damage that had been inflicted. It highlighted several points along the ridge of my nose where there were breaks. ¡°Recommendations: Rest and recovery, at least two days. Biogel Grade 3 application.¡± I scoffed. I wish. It was time to go see what kind of mess I had made. Fabrication Interlude - Mirage ¡°Why have you sought me out?¡± The voice was like blistering molten coals against his skin. Powerful, unstoppable, unrelenting. ¡°Hmm,¡± he sat up and relaxed his shoulders, meeting the gaze of the man across from him. ¡°¡®Sought out¡¯ feels desperate, ya know? I would describe it as being more¡­ drawn to you.¡± ¡°Drawn to death.¡± he chuckled. ¡°Aren¡¯t we all in the end?¡± The older man didn¡¯t move. He was so still that it reminded the younger man of a wax figure. There was no crinkle of the eyes behind his black spectacles, no twitch of his lips or jaw. His hands rested perfectly on his knees without the slightest movement. He had to wonder if the older man had simply ceased breathing but the smallest of movements around the man¡¯s nose gave it away. ¡°Valentine.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve heard of me?¡± Valentine felt rather surprised. Humbled even. ¡°I¡¯m surprised, I¡¯m quite new in town. Place of second chances, eh? I had to come see it for myself.¡± ¡°A facade,¡± the man grumbled. ¡°You have no one.¡± Valentine inhaled sharply, crossing an arm over his chest as if wounded. ¡°Ouch, that cuts deep. If I had company, I would¡¯ve bought them along. It¡¯s a pretty nice city after all,¡± he said, looking around. He recognized the place as a nicely lit and well-maintained restaurant. However, it was void of any customers and the dining area had been mostly replaced with floor mats and small tables. ¡°It¡¯s a shame really. Much of the company I¡¯ve kept hasn''t been very keen on me.¡± ¡°And yet, here you are,¡± the older man¡¯s head inclined and Valentine saw the tired, wrinkled eyes that had been hidden behind his spectacles. ¡°Here I am. Dining with death,¡± Valentine didn¡¯t bother to suppress his smirk as he picked up his tea and took a sip. ¡°Muerte. Grim,¡± he paused for a moment and studied the legendary elder¡¯s reaction. ¡°Feared across the globe, yet you¡¯ve come here of all places? Strange, wouldn¡¯t you say? You¡¯ve even begun to put down roots.¡± Grim was silent, waiting for him to continue. Valentine was happy to oblige. His mouth had kept him from death¡¯s grip many times beforehand. ¡°A brotherhood. I don¡¯t think the world expected that from you. What for?¡± ¡°I do not believe the answer would satisfy,¡± Grim said. ¡°Humor me, for what reason would I make this group?¡± the older man stared impassively. A test of critical thinking then. Mentalists all had unique ways of approaching these types of problems. Valentine¡¯s approach was¡­ unusual. Time to change shoes. He rolled his shoulders a bit and leaned back, allowing his mind to wander. The world before him rippled as his mind began to construct a false reality. The restaurant¡¯s walls faded away to reveal snowy terrain, a valley surrounded by jagged mountains. A large shadow loomed over a small mining town in the heart of Siberia. Dominating the sky was a metal structure, dwarfing the size of the mountains around it. The Asphodel, one of Ajax¡¯s infamous warships. Hatches opened and thousands of machines spewed forth in a tide so thick it nearly blotted out the sun. They descended upon the town with merciless intent, only for a flood of darkness to rise up from the streets. No. The town suddenly blurred and vanished. That¡¯s not how the story goes. There was no town. Ajax did not attack first. The scene shifted. The flood of darkness rose first, only to be met by the machines. The darkness shredded the metal and crashed against the energy shield surrounding his enemy. Sirens echoed for miles as the darkness broke through the shield and flowed into the warship. It ate away at the structure, corroding all it touched and leaving nothing but dust in its wake. Grim was the aggressor, the prey turned predator. The illusion went no further. According to most, that is where the story ended. The outcome of that skirmish left Grim as the victor. Ajax had retreated with his warship and technology mostly intact. It proved Grim was strong enough to survive on his own. He could face down the strongest this world had to offer and walk away just fine. So why had he come here, to this place? Why build a ¡®brotherhood¡¯? Cain. Strange name. Misleading or is there a reason behind it? There were pieces missing, large ones that could only be found in Grim¡¯s obscured history. Valentine eased up and the illusion receded, the restaurant snapped back to normal in the blink of an eye. His power was unmatched, undefeatable ¨C so why, what for? ¡°You know the answer,¡± Grim said. ¡°It is no secret. It is the very same reason you are here.¡± Valentine felt puzzled. The conclusion didn¡¯t seem quite right. Weakness? ¡°We all like simple answers, no?¡± Valentine shrugged easily, hiding his dissatisfaction well. ¡°Strength, for those like me, is best found in collaboration,¡± he then opened his arms and offered an easy smile. ¡°So here I am. Not much to go back to for me, unfortunately.¡± Grim muttered something in his native tongue. ¡°I¡¯m afraid linguistics isn¡¯t a speciality of mine,¡± Valentine chuckled. ¡°Mirage.¡± His name ¨C a moniker he had earned during desperate times, clawing for survival in places that rarely offered the change. The candles on the table in front of him flickered, the subtle heat reminding him of the agony he had once endured. Water¡­ wetness. Constant bobbing up and down. Unforgiving heat from above, baking him alive. Lips cracked and split, his eyes burning and finding no relief. He could feel it, his flesh bubbling across his body. All he had to do to escape this agony was to roll off his sanctuary and into the endless blue, then it¡¯d all be over. He couldn¡¯t. Death would not claim him. ¡°Don¡¯t wear it out, amigo,¡± Valentine confirmed with a smile. ¡°Didn¡¯t pick it myself. I had other names floating about that seemed much more appealing but it seems that one just stuck, hm? I imagine you''re quite familiar with that process.¡± ¡°Titles are meaningless,¡± Grim replied. Valentine, however, disagreed. ¡°Ah, see, that''s where I have to disagree. They¡¯re a reflection of who we are, who we are seen to be ¨C even better when they¡¯re given to you. You earned your name, just as I earned mine. Everyone else?¡± Valentine waved his hand dismissively. ¡°They think it¡¯s all just one big game. They all prance around happy and ignorant until something goes wrong, really wrong, then they scream and shout about the fairness ¨C the rules.¡± Grim was silent. Valentine took another sip of the tea, smacking his lips as he finished the cup. He was parched, the world taunting him with the sound of water. What he¡¯d give for a taste ¨C a simple drop. ¡°This is not a game.¡± ¡°Never has been,¡± Grim murmured darkly. ¡°Never will be.¡± The older man picked up a cup and gently tapped it three times against the wooden table. A door at the back of the room opened and shut, accompanied by the sound of heavy boots. As Valentine turned, he could hear a familiar sound of bones snapping and shifting. I know this man. The restaurant once again fell away. He almost flinched as the sun bore down upon him, blinding him. There wasn¡¯t a cloud in the sky and Valentine could smell that ocean breeze. He could even hear the breaking of the waves as the ship plowed through them. An American navy vessel from World War Two, hijacked by pirates. To both sides, he could see an entire fleet of them. Their leader stood before him, razor-sharp bones protruding from his arms that could carve through the toughest steel. His face was concealed in a white-bone mask with red tribal-like stripes. The familiarity made him hot and he could already feel the phantom sensations of his skin beginning to bubble. ¡°Fancy seeing you here,¡± Valentine was the first to speak. Bonesmith snorted. ¡°I¡¯d recognize that smug tone anywhere. You¡¯ve grown since last I saw you.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t stay green forever, my friend,¡± Valentine said, his fingers curling. ¡°I¡¯m not the same boy you pulled from that plane. Can¡¯t say I appreciated that very much. They were just about to bring me my steak.¡± In the blink of an eye, Valentine found himself aboard that plane. Bonesmith stood at the same distance in the aisle. He could hear the subtle hum of the engines, heading toward a destination he knew he would never reach. Sometimes he still dreamed about this flight and how it had all gone wrong so quickly. First, there¡¯s a disturbance. Passengers notice ships below. Ghosts of the passengers appeared in their seats, all staring out the window. Not all of them, just a few. Most looked away, while the rest were transfixed. The flight attendants grow concerned. One of them moves down the aisle quickly to the cockpit. She moved, walking right through Bonesmith. She never makes it. The entire front half of the plane was suddenly ripped to shreds. Valentine felt the air sucked out of him as Bonesmith continued to stand, entirely unaffected by the chaos surrounding him. He remained rooted to the floor, despite this half of the plane being thrust into a free fall. The wind was immense. People were screaming and a fire started cooking an unlucky few passengers. Bonesmith gave an idle shrug. ¡°Easy pickings. You know how it is.¡± The ocean got closer. Valentine resisted the urge to laugh. ¡°Oh yes. Yes I do.¡± The illusion faded before he could impact the sea. Valentine didn¡¯t know how that story ended. He just knew the next one began when he woke up on their ship, a prisoner. There had been others, but he had been the only one to escape. ¡°So what happens now, hm?¡± Valentine asked, eyeing Bonesmith¡¯s arms. He looked ready less for a fight and more for an execution. ¡°Are we fighting here? Excuse the criticism but it¡¯s not the place I¡¯d pick. I¡¯d hate to try and get blood out of this carpet,¡± he turned his attention back to Grim and found himself amused at the lack of reaction. ¡°And you strike me as a man that doesn¡¯t like messes.¡± ¡°You two have unresolved business,¡± Grim said evenly. ¡°Consider this your test.¡± Grim¡¯s body turned to smoke before his very eyes, the shadow sinking into the floor and dispersing. He had expected this, the test that is. Bonesmith had been a surprise, another person he hadn¡¯t expected to run into down in this part of the world. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him to have such a flair for the dramatic,¡± Valentine chuckled, turning back to face Bonesmith. He hadn¡¯t moved from his spot and he looked like he was almost inviting Valentine to take the first swing. ¡°What do you want me to do, hm? Fight? Beg for my life, perhaps? Maybe you want me to try and run away, flee into the night to never be seen again!¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be the first time,¡± Bonesmith replied. ¡°I never got the chance to repay you for crippling my armada. You weakened us.¡± Valentine smirked. ¡°I have to say, it was some of my finest work. You have to admit, impressive, no? Did it all on my own. I was worried I went a little overboard, but I couldn¡¯t allow you to follow me. It would defeat the purpose after all.¡± Bonesmith growled and stepped forward. ¡°If there¡¯s one thing I haven¡¯t missed, it¡¯s your voice!¡± The ex-pirate lunged forward with a swipe but Valentine was able to dodge by diving backward over the table. When he landed, he didn¡¯t hesitate to roll, locking eyes with Bonesmith as he did so. He left behind an illusion that was quickly skewered by the bone-blades protruding from the man¡¯s forearms. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He was quick back to his feet, staring at his unfortunate doppelganger illusion Bonesmith had pinned to the floor. ¡°I know this isn¡¯t you. You¡¯re not so easily caught,¡± Bonesmith sneered at the illusion. He ripped his blades free and straightened up, ignoring the false blood that pooled on the floor. Mirage frowned, allowing the illusion to fade. The only thing that was left were two holes in the carpet where the blades had penetrated. ¡°Mirage,¡± Bonesmith turned to face him. ¡°Always resorting to your little mind games.¡± ¡°Hey, we gotta use what we got to survive, yeah?¡± Mirage pouted mockingly. He raised his arms and threw a few punches at the space between them. ¡°I can hold my own in a scrap. Not a stranger to playing dirty that¡¯s for sure. Havana isn¡¯t a nice place to grow up these days ya know? Lotsa people out to get you.¡± Bonesmith attacked again, swiping his blade in wide arcs in the hopes he¡¯d catch him. Mirage already knew this would be his strategy, and continued to leave illusions where he was standing. With someone like Bonesmith, he couldn¡¯t leave his real form exposed. He had to keep moving. ¡°So what do you hope to achieve here? You know you can¡¯t kill me,¡± Bonesmith goaded. Mirage inhaled sharply as the memories manifested in the room. A young version of himself plunging a knife into the man¡¯s neck. The scene quickly replaced itself with another of him shooting Bonesmith in the head. There were countless attempts, each illusion showing his younger self getting older. There was no way to physically destroy this man. He had tried before. Each time, he¡¯d just put himself back together. It had become a game for Bonesmith. ¡°You¡¯re right. Fighting someone like you? Ain¡¯t my style. I know where I stand,¡± Mirage chuckled. ¡°But I don¡¯t need to fight you.¡± ¡°So what, you¡¯ll outlast me then? Run out the clock?¡± Bonesmith looked around, seeing nothing but empty air. ¡°A bold move but we both know you¡¯re not so patient and I¡¯ve got all the time in the world. Grim said I can take as long as I like with you.¡± Mirage laughed. ¡°All those years on that ship, with me as your pet prisoner. One would think you¡¯d know more about me,¡± the world tilted on its axis and Bonesmith found the walls of the restaurant falling away. The illusion had grown and evolved. It built itself around him until he found himself back on his old ship. This time, Mirage wasn¡¯t the only one seeing it. ¡°I feel like I should be insulted. I am, actually. I. Fucking. Am.¡± ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Bonesmith muttered in awe. ¡°Your power¡­ it shouldn¡¯t be able to do this.¡± ¡°Says fucking who?¡± Mirage snorted. ¡°You?¡± The ocean swelled and despite the clear skies, thunder boomed in the distance. A line of darkness on the horizon, sparking with the occasional flash of light. Bonesmith turned and stared, his eyes widening behind his mask. He recognized this day ¨C the same day righteous fury had descended from the sky and obliterated everything he had worked for. Their defenses had been down and Ajax had taken full advantage. ¡°Ah, I wish you weren¡¯t wearing that mask,¡± Mirage clicked his tongue. ¡°I bet you¡¯re making the same face I did. When you open your eyes and realize that the life you had is lost forever. What does it feel like, hm? For me it was relatively easy to adjust. I didn¡¯t much like my life before you scooped me up. But you? Ooh¡­ I scarcely could imagine losing all the blood, sweat and tears that went into this.¡± In the blink of an eye, the storm was upon them. The sun could no longer shine through and a ship, much like The Asphodel hovered above them, its hulking, titanic size silhouetted against the storm, only lit by the occasional flash of lightning. Rain poured, splashing against the deck and drenching their clothes. The armada was unleashing their full might to no effect. A single bright pulse emitted from the warship above and a moment later their guns fell silent. The Mechakinetic adjustments had been rendered inoperable at best, and completely destroyed at worst. After that, they were completely defenseless against Ajax¡¯s onslaught. In mere moments, most of the ships were smoking and another large chunk were sinking. Ajax hadn''t come to take prisoners. ¡°Oh, so this is what happened,¡± Mirage clapped, observing the chaos with a gleeful smile. ¡°I thought you might have actually put up a fight, you know? This is a slaughter.¡± ¡°How are you doing this!?¡± ¡°This is your head,¡± Mirage laughed. ¡°I never thought you would be so hung up on this. You always struck me as a person to go with the flow? This must sting, being back here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re in my head,¡± Bonesmith breathed in realization. Mirage pursed his lips. ¡°Mm, close.¡± He lunged again, but Mirage was faster. He left no illusions behind this time. All Bonesmith was able to swipe was the air where his target stood. ¡°Cold, colder! I¡¯m over here!¡± Mirage called. Bonesmith charged again. ¡°Hot, hot¡­ you¡¯re very hot now!¡± He disappeared before the attack could connect. ¡°Oh¡­ so cold now.¡± The voice came from behind but before he could turn a missile exploded nearby and sent him flying. He heard the mad laughter of Mirage as he plummeted overboard. He managed to snag the edge of the ship to stop his fall. ¡°That was good. Really good!¡± Mirage applauded again. ¡°I¡¯ll give you seven for form. Eight for execution,¡± the man¡¯s foot crashed down on his hand and kicked him off into the turbulent sea. ¡°Man overboard! Man overboard. Quick, someone get help! Get me the life ring!¡± He hit the water and all he could taste was salt, gasoline, and blood. Resurfacing, he stared up at the boat, Mirage casually looking down upon him. The ship was in flames, casting the man in an ominous shadow. Bonesmith could barely breathe with all the smoke in the air, yet his fighting spirit hadn¡¯t left him. Not yet. There had to be some sort of trick to all this, a weakness in the design of the illusion. Mirage¡¯s powers had always faltered when he recognized he was in an illusion. So why wasn¡¯t this one fading? ¡°Sorry, no life ring up here. Swim, my friend. Swim!¡± Mirage taunted. Another warship had been knocked off course and was gunning straight for them. Mirage didn¡¯t move, despite being directly in its way. Bonesmith tried to swim but the vicious sea would give him no respite. Too late. His head collided with the ship''s steel hull and he was dragged under. The last thing he felt was water rushing into his lungs. Mirage exhaled and allowed the illusion to crumble. He found himself back in the restaurant with Bonesmith sprawled out on the carpet, his breath shallow, and his brain looking like it had been put in a blender. He¡¯d put himself back together, most people were able to, eventually. ¡°A quick conclusion,¡± Grim¡¯s voice sounded from behind him. Mirage turned to find the old man sitting exactly where he had been previously. ¡°Are you satisfied?¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± Mirage stroked his chin in thought, looking down at the mind-addled ex-pirate. ¡°Satisfaction is a funny thing, ya know. We constantly seek it, but so rarely do we reach it. For me it remains elusive, I don¡¯t find it in meaningless things like fights. Revenge is so petty. What he did for me,¡± he gestured down at the barely conscious man. ¡°Some part of me appreciates it. I learned many things. Evolucion¨¦. Conquist¨¦. I evolved, I conquered.¡± ¡°And he did not.¡± Mirage chuckled, giving the man¡¯s head a light kick. ¡°No. I suppose he didn¡¯t,¡± he crouched down and smiled at the man. ¡°I¡¯m captain of this ship now, amigo.¡±
Surviving on his own? He¡¯d long since learned how to do that. Leading¡­ now that was something new. After some time, Mirage found himself trapped. There was a sense of unease within the brotherhood and almost everyone could feel it. Grim had become erratic for reasons that were unknown to him. Something had happened to the old man and it was starting to get noticed. ¡°He¡¯s going senile,¡± Banshee said. ¡°If we continue to follow him, he¡¯s going to drag us down with him. I didn¡¯t join to watch everything fall apart at the seams. This deal he¡¯s made, he didn¡¯t consult any of us!¡± ¡°Ah, the old man does many things without asking us,¡± Mirage said in response. ¡°How long ago did you join? two, three months? You haven¡¯t really gotten to see all of his quirks yet. He¡¯s the muscle of our little organization, he doesn¡¯t need to consult us on anything. We are but his little ducklings.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re just content to go along with this?¡± Banshee asked with a sneer of disapproval. ¡°I never took you for a¡ª¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Mirage shushed her. ¡°Fingers on lips, yeah?¡± He mimed the action until Banshee took the hint. ¡°I never said I liked it. That may be the usual but what isn¡¯t is his desperation. He never reaches out, he always lets others come to him. That¡¯s the process. We were the ones in need of help and he had the strength to provide it. That way he always has power over us.¡± Banshee was quiet, her eyes locked on the dimly lit road ahead. It felt like they had been walking for hours. ¡°But now, the dynamic has shifted. Can¡¯t say when it happened, but Grim making the first move?¡± Mirage shook his head. ¡°Red flag. I¡¯ve been around long enough to know when they¡¯re waving in my face.¡± ¡°So what do we do?¡± Banshee asked. ¡°Just¡­ sit around and wait for the ship to sink?¡± Mirage didn¡¯t resist the urge to chuckle. ¡°No, we¡¯re doing something about it now.¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± She looked confused. ¡°Recruitment?¡± ¡°In a manner of speaking. Boss man has a long history, no? Mother fucking Ajax couldn¡¯t put him six feet under. You can¡¯t kill Death, you understand?¡± Banshee nodded slowly, while Mirage just smiled. ¡°What we need is strength, unrivaled and unquestionable.¡± ¡°Where the hell are we supposed to find someone like that? Those kinds of Evohumans are either contracted to the ECU, narcissistic like Gaea, or losing their minds like our boss,¡± Banshee countered. ¡°The chances of running into someone like that are astronomically low.¡± They turned a street corner and arrived at their destination. A building with Victorian-era architecture stood quietly against the pale moon''s light. A whistleblower had revealed that there was something going down here tonight, a sneaky little trade between a local Mechakinetic and some shady arms dealers. It was as one might say¡­ easy pickings. ¡°Don¡¯t sound so hopeless, sister,¡± he placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°The situation is not as bleak as it seems.¡± She shrugged his hand off. ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t call me that. You remind me of those Pandora freaks. Can¡¯t stand them.¡± ¡°Ah, apologies,¡± Mirage offered a very insincere bow. ¡°Sometimes I forget.¡± Cain gangsters emerged from the shadows when they spotted Mirage and Banshee. There were about a dozen of them, all armed and ready to cause some havoc. They met up outside the house and waited for the order to go in. They weren¡¯t exactly soldiers, but Grim had instilled fear into them so that they¡¯d only take orders from those whom he trusted. ¡°Well?¡± Mirage looked around. ¡°The fuck are you waiting for? Go on,¡± he waved his hand as if to shoo them away. ¡°We don¡¯t have all night.¡± They herded together and rushed toward the door without hesitation. Mirage just clicked his tongue and shook his head. ¡°I bet they wouldn¡¯t shit unless they were told to.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have a look around,¡± Banshee said, her powers hiding her from sight. ¡°See if I can find anything interesting.¡± ¡°If you get lost, don¡¯t be afraid to call!¡± Mirage exclaimed, snickering when he received no response. He watched from the sidelines as the assault started. A few probably died but that was nothing unusual. There had been a secret getaway tunnel that the dealers had used which led Mirage to believe that this wasn¡¯t the first time they had done business here. Who exactly these dealers were was a mystery. They weren¡¯t affiliated with Pandora and they didn¡¯t strike him as the type to be working for Gaea. They were working for someone else. A mystery! He thought gleefully. He loved mysteries. Banshee had managed to snag the super who had been selling to them. He had tried to make a getaway in his car but didn¡¯t make it very far. With the house being too much of a hotspot, Banshee would probably take him to a nearby safehouse to interrogate. She wasn¡¯t very intimidating and he had more experience with that sort of thing anyway. So, he headed off once Banshee texted him to confirm. He found her leaning against the doorframe of the safehouse. To his surprise, the car in the driveway was still running. Its lights and engine were still on, which prompted him to poke his head inside as he walked past. Nothing extravagant, but fresh Mechakinetics were always like that. Limited by the resources they had to work with. ¡°Couldn¡¯t turn the car off?¡± ¡°It¡¯s got something built into it. I can¡¯t even wind down the windows,¡± Banshee shrugged. ¡°Nothing else in the car either. No ID, wallet or anything. Kid was prepared.¡± ¡°Oooh, I like a good challenge,¡± Mirage hummed with a smile. ¡°He inside?¡± ¡°All tied up,¡± she replied. ¡°I used that stuff you gave me. It might¡¯ve been too effective. He¡¯s still out of it.¡± ¡°Better than a broken neck or oxygen deprivation,¡± Mirage shrugged. ¡°Hard to get people to talk when they''re dead.¡± Banshee ignored the jab as he strolled past her. Their captive was sitting in a room. All he had to conceal his identity was a scarf and some sunglasses. It was telling. He really was new, and probably only had his powers for a couple of weeks, two months at most. Mirage smirked as he walked into the room. It felt almost¡­ nostalgic. The room fell away as he circled the boy in the chair, the kid¡¯s features shifting until they showed a younger Valentine. It had happened just like this. He remembered opening his eyes and looking up to see Bonesmith walk into the room. He had been tied to a chair, yes, but there was a different smell in the air. Gunpowder, gasoline, metal, and the unmistakable taste of blood in his mouth. ¡°G¡¯morning sunshine.¡± The words had come from Bonesmith but Mirage felt his lips mime the words. A laugh escaped his throat. It always started the same way. Except the interrogation didn¡¯t go the way he expected. Most in his position lost all their nerve and sought to bargain. Fear overwhelmed them, which only led Mirage to disappointment. None of them had any bite, no will to survive. For a moment, the boy looked like he was going to be just like them. But with only a little pushing he bared his teeth and showed his bite ¨C his will to endure. It was entertaining, Mirage thought. Finally, there was someone that reminded him of himself all those years ago. Someone who looked hopelessness in the face and chose to reject it. Then, everything went wrong with a single ring of his phone. The voice that came through on the other end greeted him in his native tongue. Nobody spoke to him in Spanish, at least not here. He should¡¯ve known from that first second that something was off, but it had thrown him off balance. Banshee saw his discomfort and was quick to interject. ¡°Who is it? Grim?¡± He didn¡¯t answer. Instead, he exited the room. He couldn¡¯t afford to show his new captive a sliver of weakness. ¡°You have my attention, compadre. Might I ask who this is?¡± Mirage asked curiously. The call had been convenient and he had long since come to learn that convenience and coincidence were words the ignorant used to explain away events they had no control over. There was no such thing. There was always someone or something to blame. ¡°You seem to have caught me at a bad time.¡± ¡°Have I?¡± The voice replied. ¡°I would beg to differ. Now was as good a time as any, I think.¡± ¡°Ah! So you must be the third party, hm? I was wondering who those people were working for. Bold of you to operate in our territory,¡± Mirage chuckled. ¡°If you have any sense, you¡¯ll stop your operations and get out of Bayside, capiche?¡± ¡°You are brave, Valentine. I¡¯ll give you that much.¡± The line went dead and Mirage lowered the phone to stare at it. ¡°What did they say?¡± Banshee asked. Mirage wrinkled his nose. ¡°They didn¡¯t want to talk. What a shame.¡± He turned back and entered the room again, only to find their captive gone. The ropes used to bind him were lying in a pool on the floor, the chair empty, and the window behind it wide open. Mirage let out a curse as he turned and ran for the front door. The two supers stumbled out onto the front porch just in time to watch the car drive away. Mirage raised his gun to fire but stopped himself, knowing that it¡¯d be pointless. Besides, firing off a gun like this would only draw unnecessary attention. ¡°Shit!¡± Banshee hissed in aggravation. ¡°I wrapped those around him three times. How the fuck did he get out?¡± ¡°Resourceful,¡± Mirage nodded slowly, impressed. The kid didn¡¯t look like he had it in him to escape, despite showing his bite. Clearly, there was more to him than meets the eye. ¡°Well, it looks like we¡¯re done here for tonight.¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t going after?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± Mirage chuckled, reaching into his pocket and retrieving the kid¡¯s phone. He tried to fiddle with it some more to get the screen to light up, but even that proved to be impossible. Good. He hated when things like this were too easy. ¡°What¡¯s the point in chasing when there¡¯s every possibility he¡¯ll come after us?¡± Banshee didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°He¡¯s a Mechakinetic. He can just make a new phone.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Mirage said, his smile widening. ¡°But at the end of the day, it isn¡¯t really about the phone, or this,¡± he retrieved the taser he had taken and examined it briefly. It definitely had signs that it was Mechatech. Pretty basic stuff, but identifiable nonetheless. ¡°We¡¯ll see him again.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re sure,¡± Banshee sighed. ¡°Though, it feels like we wasted our time.¡± Mirage chuckled. ¡°Not at all. He¡¯ll come. People like him always do.¡± He was certain of it. Fuse 1 This was the perfect opportunity to test out my grappling hook and other movement-related systems. Getting to Browning Street would have only taken me fifteen to twenty minutes if I maintained a consistent jog. My new and improved armor managed to cut this time down significantly. The grapple gave me the ability to safely ascend to rooftops and one of my mobility modules boosted my jumps so I could cross large gaps. As I got closer to my destination, it became clear I¡¯d made the right choice not taking my car seeing as most of the roads were closed. I could already hear sirens echoing through the streets as fires raged, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. If my gut feeling was telling me anything, it was that all of this was just an ominous prelude to what coming. Tonight, things were going to get much worse ¨C worse than anything Bayside had seen in years. I just knew it. Even at a light jog across the rooftops, my lungs were starting to burn. Fatigue was beginning to set in and the night was only just starting. My earlier adventures certainly hadn¡¯t helped and starting out mentally and physically exhausted wasn¡¯t ideal. Hopefully, my suit would be able to cover for any slip-ups I was bound to make tonight. I had to pause to take a breath. There were fights breaking out in all directions and I hadn¡¯t a clue as to who was where. All that I knew was I had to keep going till I made it to Browning Street. The rest of the team was likely waiting, but I hadn¡¯t heard anything from Alice, so there was no urgency yet. I was making good time, all things considered. Almost there. ¡°Well, would you look at that!¡± I turned as soon as I heard the words. Mirage sat casually on the ledge closest to the street, applauding me for whatever reason. ¡°The little fish has gotten a taste of the action and now they can¡¯t¡ª¡± My laser sheared straight through his chest and he fell backward off the building with a strangled cry. ¡°Hey!¡± His voice snapped to my left, just out of the corner of my eye. Instead of sitting, he stood with his arms crossed. ¡°I was in the middle of talking. You couldn¡¯t have waited? Fuckin¡¯ rude.¡± ¡°In what world do you think I give a shit about what you have to say?¡± I replied, sourly. Of all the people I didn¡¯t want to see, this clown was on top of the list. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I have somewhere to be.¡± ¡°Ah, disculpas. I had thought you had come to sight see,¡± I didn¡¯t miss the mocking tone he had used. ¡°It is quite the view, no?¡± he turned, opening his arms to the glowing orange light of the fires against the darkening night sky. ¡°It is the beginning of something new. From the fires of tonight, rebirth!¡± ¡°Jesus fucking Christ, do you even hear yourself?¡± I groaned. ¡°How the hell did you not end up in Pandora with how much you preach?¡± Mirage gave me a toothy grin. ¡°I did consider them, but I didn¡¯t really vibe with their message, you know? The way they look at the world is so¡­ plain. Black and white, yeah?¡± He then held out a hand as if to offer me something. ¡°Those who have power, have all the power, while on the other side of things¡­¡± he held out the other hand, ¡°...no power. Those without, are weak. It makes no sense to me, personally.¡± ¡°Brilliant observation,¡± I drawled. ¡°A compliment!¡± he applauded. ¡°A sarcastic one, but I¡¯ll take what I can get. Life¡¯s too short to worry about the small things.¡± I couldn¡¯t figure out his angle. I tried to put myself in his shoes, but that didn¡¯t get me anywhere. I didn¡¯t know why he was here. Was Banshee around and they planned to catch me off-guard? I almost welcomed a knife to the back or a gunshot to the back of the head. I was certain my suit would protect me from any damage. ¡°If you want to throw down, then just say the word,¡± I leveled my gun at him. ¡°You might have your illusions and I might waste some ammo shooting them, but I doubt you have anything that could hurt me. But I¡¯m sure you already know that, so why are you really here?¡± ¡°Would you believe me if I told you that you were the one that crossed my path?¡± He asked. I gave him a blank stare and he took my silence as an answer. He snorted and waved me off. ¡°Ah, that¡¯ll work one day. It is true that I happened across you. I also have somewhere to be, believe it or not. I just thought I¡¯d take the opportunity to chat.¡± ¡°Chat?¡± I couldn¡¯t hide the disbelief in my voice. ¡°Indeed amigo! It''s been a while since we had a conversation man to man, no?¡± If I were honest, I was wondering which instance he was referring to. The one when he was tied up, or the one where I was. ¡°Not long enough. Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve forgotten what you did.¡± ¡°Of course not. Why else would you try and shoot me at first sight?¡± Mirage smiled. ¡°All is forgiven, so don¡¯t fret. We all make mistakes.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t a mistake.¡± Mirage chuckled. ¡°You know, I have to wonder what you¡¯re even doing out here. Your beef is with me. So why involve yourself in all of this?¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right? You dragged me into all this,¡± I countered sharply, keeping my gun leveled at him. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for you and your fucking cronies, I would have just kept to myself. I wouldn''t be in this shitty predicament. The whole reason I¡¯m here is because of YOU.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± Mirage pursed his lips and crossed his arms. He took a few meandering steps toward me before stopping. ¡°Because if I remember correctly, you escaped from me. You could have gone back to a normal life, you know? Just stay at home, go to school and let the heat die down.¡± ¡°Bullshit,¡± I said. ¡°Your group chased me at the mall.¡± ¡°Why were you at the mall in the first place, hm? All by your lonesome. So eager to go out after our little rendezvous. Most would have hidden away but not you my friend, no¡­ you chose to step out of your little hole and into the light,¡± Mirage said. ¡°You wanted to fight back, no? To find me and take back what was yours!¡± ¡°You¡¯re damn right I did,¡± I spat. ¡°Did you think I was just going to roll over and let you walk away with my shit? Fuck off! Don¡¯t even try to pretend you would have just let me go. You said it yourself, you wanted me under your thumb. Whether that was to help you overthrow Grim or not doesn¡¯t matter. You wouldn¡¯t have let me go.¡± Mirage grinned, pointing at me and clapping. ¡°Finally.¡± His response threw me for a loop and I felt my sudden burst of anger fizzle out a bit. ¡°It¡¯s so hard to find anyone with a fucking spine nowadays,¡± Mirage shook his head. ¡°Pandora thinks that the power makes the person. imb¨¦ciles! The person makes the power. You¡¯d be surprised how many people just can¡¯t wrap their heads around that.¡± I stared at him, trying to decipher his ramblings. For the life of me, I couldn¡¯t seem to understand him. ¡°You are something else,¡± I remarked, lowering my gun slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t get you and honestly, I don¡¯t think I want to. So say what it is you came here to say so I can ignore it and leave.¡± Mirage looked disappointed. ¡°Tired of me already?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anything I want to say to you,¡± I replied. ¡°I could stand here and shoot you but I¡¯d be wasting time. I don¡¯t even know if you are really here. You might be on a different roof, inside this building, across the street. I wouldn¡¯t know.¡± It was true as well. I had switched on my analytic mode to check if this was really him. My visor indicated that he was standing in front of me and had a slightly elevated heart rate. His movements and voice produced a sound that my equipment was picking up, but I wasn¡¯t even sure if I could trust them. His illusions might be tricking me into seeing these readouts or tricking my sensors. I couldn¡¯t even trust my senses. ¡°Carajo¡­ I guess I¡¯ll get straight to the point then, hm?¡± Morbid curiosity kept me from leaving. Despite how much I¡¯d enjoy watching this guy get turned inside out, I still didn¡¯t know why he was here. Nobody was perfect and he could slip up and tell me something that he wasn¡¯t supposed to. ¡°Would I be correct to assume that there is a bit of bad blood between us, hm?¡± Mirage asked. He didn¡¯t even give me a chance to answer before he continued. ¡°I get it, I get it. I fucked with you and now you want to do the same. It¡¯s a back-and-forth and it¡¯ll only end up with one of us dead. P¨¦rdida de tiempo¡­¡± he shook his head. ¡°So why not let bygones be bygones?¡± ¡°Do you expect me to believe that?¡± I asked, unconvinced. ¡°You know what I look like. Banshee and Bonesmith too. Since Alice stuck her neck out to save me back at the mall, her face is known as well. The way I see it, we aren¡¯t safe walking around while you and your group are active in Bayside.¡± Mirage nodded thoughtfully before pointing to his face. He lacked anything that hid his features. He was still in the same getup he had worn when I had first come face to face with him, the same scrappy pants and top that didn¡¯t really work for the current season. He didn¡¯t care for his identity, not like I did. ¡°You know my face, I think that makes us even stevens,¡± Mirage lightly argued. ¡°In fact, a lot of people know my face and that doesn¡¯t stop me from going to bingo night. If anything it makes it more interesting, you know? When people look at you and see you for who you truly are. Doesn¡¯t get much better than that.¡± ¡°Good for you,¡± I replied. ¡°But as far as I¡¯m concerned, we¡¯re not even. I might not have been active for long but I¡¯m not stupid. Shit gets ugly when things get personal,¡± I kept my eye trained on him, while also keeping myself aware of my surroundings. ¡°I¡¯d say you made them pretty personal.¡± ¡°Bah,¡± Mirage brushed off my words with an amused smile. ¡°Amigo, it was never personal. By now you should understand this, okay? You mess around in someone¡¯s territory, there are going to be problems. You¡¯re just luckier than most, but hey, at least you¡¯ve learned how the world works.¡± I suppressed my urge to laugh. ¡°I suppose I did get lucky. Your incompetence allowed me to escape.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Mirage nodded, seeming eager to play into the narrative that I was creating. ¡°Yes, yes, my incompetence. Stupid me for not foreseeing that someone as prestigious as you wouldn¡¯t have someone looking out for them,¡± he smacked his forehead like it was the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°Lesson learned, eh? We¡¯re similar like that, always learning new things.¡± I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Mirage looked at me, feigning ignorance. ¡°Oh¡­? Did you not¡ª¡± he cut himself off and covered his mouth, feigning shock. It was impossible to miss his grin. ¡°You don¡¯t know, do you? Mierda, this is something else!¡± He¡¯s trying to get under my skin. ¡°Know what?¡± ¡°Did it never occur to you that the phone call was maybe, just maybe, a little bit too convenient?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said, shrugging. Really, it had never occurred to me. Even now, the idea of it being a calculated move seemed silly. Alice probably could with Gold, but that was prior to our meeting and she would have used that as leverage early on. ¡°Am I supposed to believe that I have some kind of guardian angel watching over me?¡± ¡°Oho, I wouldn¡¯t say they¡¯re a guardian angel,¡± Mirage chuckled. ¡°But they are certainly something, catch my drift?¡± It all sounded like bullshit. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s say I believe this yarn you¡¯re trying to spin,¡± I lowered the gun and took a few steps toward him. Maybe somewhere in his demented mind, he really believed what he was saying. I could play into that and use it against him. ¡°If I really have someone watching over my shoulder, then you must have a death wish coming here. If I were you, I¡¯d stay as far away as possible.¡± Mirage laughed. ¡°No you wouldn¡¯t.¡± My eyes narrowed. ¡°You sound very sure of that.¡± ¡°Of course I am. You¡¯re not like the others ¨C the cowards. You still wanted to fuck me up when you thought I had Grim in my corner,¡± he explained. ¡°If anything, that call made me even more interested in you,¡± he got right up into my face, almost close enough to press his face against my visor. ¡°Who are you really, hm? What¡¯s so fuckin¡¯ important about you¡­ I can¡¯t figure it out. I don¡¯t fuckin¡¯ get it and it dominates my every THOUGHT!¡± He lashed out and grabbed my head. I fired a shot through his chest. There was a sizzling and the smell of burnt flesh invaded my nostrils. The urge to vomit caused me to gag as he held on tightly. His eyes were like saucers, staring deep into mine as his knees buckled. His grip almost pulled me down with him but I struggled and threw him off me. He hit the ground and convulsed a bit, reminding me of exactly what I did only a few hours prior. Another one killed. No¡­ no, it''s an illusion. It has to be. My grip on my gun tightened as I looked around, waiting for some kind of sign ¨C any sign that he was alive. Then, a tired sigh came from behind me. I turned to find him sitting on the ledge with a distant expression. ¡°Some fucking kid from some fucking neighborhood in the middle of this fucking city of somebodies and nobodies,¡± Mirage flicked his temple and closed his eyes. ¡°It wasn¡¯t Grim. It wasn¡¯t Gaea, and it certainly wasn¡¯t that little blonde chica you¡¯ve been prancing around with. So¡­ who?¡± He turned and looked at me. ¡°Who is it, hm?¡± ¡°What the fuck are you talking about?¡± I asked, frustration leaking into my tone. ¡°Even if I knew ¨C which I don¡¯t ¨C why would I tell you?¡± ¡°Thinking out loud,¡± Mirage brushed off my words again. ¡°Is a rhetorical question, people use them sometimes. They engage the mind, prompt discussion,¡± he jumped up from the ledge and sauntered off it. ¡°You think I¡¯m lying to you ¨C that I¡¯m messing with you.¡± ¡°Gee, what gave you that idea?¡± I asked, my tone laced with sarcasm. ¡°You¡¯ve given me absolutely no proof other than your word. As far as I know, you¡¯re insane.¡± He pursed his lips and nodded fairly. ¡°Ah, yes. That is a fair conclusion to make. However, I am not lying. Proof though¡­ you¡¯re right on that again. I have nothing yet¡­ yet,¡± he clapped his hands again, ¡°ah! Eureka! What if I was able to find proof for you, hm? Show you the truth, as it were.¡± I scowled. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, I don¡¯t really care.¡± Mirage shook his finger. ¡°Ah, but I think you will. I think you might appreciate knowing the truth.¡± ¡°Even if you give me proof, I can¡¯t trust it. Your power is illusions. Besides, how does this even benefit you?¡± I wondered aloud. ¡°You strike me as the type to only think about yourself.¡± Mirage snorted. ¡°That¡¯s every human being, I¡¯m not unique. Selfishness drives our very existence ¨C but I¡¯m not here to get into a philosophical debate. We¡¯d be here until the next ice age. Consider the fact that maybe, we don¡¯t need to be enemies.¡± The realization struck me like a bolt of lightning. I tried to suppress the urge but the laugh came out regardless. I couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°You¡¯re scared,¡± I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°You¡¯re afraid. Without Grim around, you¡¯re going to be run out of the city. It¡¯s just like Alice said; without your head honcho, The Cains are weak and you¡¯ll fall apart at the seams. Coup or not, you¡¯re done.¡± Mirage stilled, his head tilted at the insinuation. From the looks of it, he actually took the time to consider my accusation. His head turned as he looked out across the street and across the city. There were more fires and more plumes of smoke rising into the air. The sirens had long since been overshadowed by the sounds of screaming, destruction, and general chaos. It was at this moment that a message pinged on my visor ¨C one from Alice. It was her questioning what the hold-up was. I didn¡¯t reply, opting to keep my attention solely on Mirage but I was now aware that I was running late and that whatever she wanted to do, she wanted me present for. ¡°Fear¡­¡± I saw him wrinkling his nose at the word. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I felt something like that.¡± His tone was unnervingly normal with none of the energy I expected from him. It seemed like he was lost in his own head. I considered for a moment that this version of him might be the real Mirage. The thought had me lifting my gun again to fire but hesitation gripped me. I had already killed one person today and his illusions had me momentarily convinced that I had killed another. Even as much as I hated the guy, the thought of it didn¡¯t sit right. ¡°Gotta admit, I didn¡¯t think you had it in you,¡± Mirage started again, changing the topic. ¡°You showed me back at that department store that there was more to you than a prissy school kid. You actually pulled the fuckin¡¯ trigger,¡± he said like he was recalling the event with a sense of nostalgia. ¡°Then, just now¡­ two lethal shots, enough to kill a man, no hesitation. How quickly things change.¡± He¡¯s just wasting my time. ¡°I¡¯m leaving,¡± I started off to continue my journey to Browning Street. He didn¡¯t say anything as I left, but as I crossed another gap and landed on another building, I caught a glimpse of him leaning against one of the ventilation units. He just looked at me and waved, flashing me a grin. I sneered and kept going. Every building I landed on, he was there, waiting for me. Sometimes, there were several of him, all leaning against a wall or sitting on the edge, dangling his legs over the side. Eventually, it got so unhinged I had to stop when I landed on a building where there were groups of him that were all actively talking to one another, some were cheering on the chaos in the streets below, while one group sat at a table and played poker. ¡°Seriously? If your strategy is to annoy me, you¡¯re doing a good job at it,¡± I goaded as I landed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you have somewhere to be?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make time for you,¡± a Mirage to my left replied. ¡°You never really answered my question, amigo. Shall we bury the hatchet, so-to-speak? Like I said, we don¡¯t need to be enemies.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very insistent,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t scared? It¡¯s okay to admit it. If you do, I just might consider letting go of my grudge.¡± Mirage laughed and shook his head. ¡°Of you? Ha, never. There are many more things to be scared of. Grim, Ajax, Gaea to name a few. You might have the potential to make that list one day, but you¡¯re not there yet. Still too fresh to be threatening.¡± ¡°Then go bother someone else.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t offering peace for my benefit.¡± I didn¡¯t even hesitate to shoot him this time. I ignored the sounds of the illusion dying, knowing full well it was a trick. He was messing with me and it seemed the only thing that was going to get across to him was violence. Fine by me. The moment the illusion hit the ground and ¡®died¡¯ all the other Mirages stopped what they were doing and turned to face me. A couple of them cracked their knuckles and stepped forward. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to have to have to do this,¡± Mirage said. ¡°Give me a break,¡± I scoffed. ¡°You¡¯ve been itching for a fight.¡± The illusions chuckled and charged. I blasted through several of them before they got too close, I had to switch to melee. My retractable blade extended and cut through two before I was tackled to the ground. The illusions piled on top of me and I could feel their crushing weight cutting off my air supply. I thrashed and kicked but nothing seemed to work. I told myself that this was all in my head ¨C that this wasn¡¯t real, but all of my senses were telling me that it was real. I could feel my rib cage bending under the pressure, stopping me from taking a breath. Even my armor wasn¡¯t going to protect me from something like this. ¡°That suit won¡¯t protect you,¡± his voice whispered in my ear. ¡°Nothing you make can stop me.¡± Black spots danced in my vision as the world started to fade away. Then suddenly, the pressure lifted and I gasped for breath. There was a painful ringing in my ears that kept me in a daze. I rolled over and coughed, trying to gather my bearings. When I eventually climbed back to my feet, I gazed around in astonishment that I was still on the same building where I had started the encounter with Mirage. The ringing that I was hearing was a call coming through my helmet. I blinked hazily and made out the caller ID. It was Alice. ¡°Hey,¡± I answered. ¡°Got a¡­¡± I trailed off, trying to make sense of what just happened. ¡°Got a bit held up.¡± ¡°Shit, are you okay? What happened?¡± Her voice was laced with concern. No doubt she was using Gold to try and piece things together. ¡°You were attacked? Shit, who?¡± ¡°Mirage,¡± I growled. ¡°Fucked with my head. Turns out, it doesn¡¯t matter if you recognize his illusions. He can still mess with you.¡± ¡°What¡­? That¡¯s not¡ª¡± There was a chilling silence on the other end of the line. ¡°If you recognize you¡¯re in one of his illusions, they break. His power is fragile, that¡¯s why he can¡¯t fight people head-on.¡± ¡°Yeah, well¡­ no,¡± I replied bluntly. ¡°He fucking dogpiled me. Copies of himself, they all just came at me. I killed some of them and I¡¯m¡­¡± I looked around again, just to confirm what I was seeing. ¡°...not on the same building as before.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Alice went silent. ¡°Look, are you able to get here? Are you okay?¡± I heaved in another breath and steadied myself. I went to move but my foot kicked something that made a small clinking sound. I looked down to see crunched-up 9mm projectiles. Then, a couple of meters away, I saw empty bullet casings. I examined myself, seeing no real damage to my suit. He must have given up. I absently rubbed my neck. It felt¡­ tender. Did he try to strangle me as well? ¡°Upgrade?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, turning my attention away. ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m good. I¡¯ll be there in five.¡± Gathering my bearings, I set off again, thoroughly unnerved. Mirage didn¡¯t just create illusions. He could mess with my whole perception of reality. Fuse 2 When I arrived, what I found wasn¡¯t quite the warzone I expected. Unlike the rest of The Cain¡¯s territory, Browning Street only had minor activity ¨C and by minor I meant an active shootout between non-powered grunts from both The Cains and Pandora. The chances it would stay that way were slim, Pandora was on a warpath and one of their supers would find their way here eventually. All the roof-hopping had left me winded so I decided to take a moment to catch my breath. The arm that housed my grapple was starting to ache a little from pulling myself around the city and I wanted to be in good shape before I jumped in to fight. Note to self: Install a harness to help reduce the strain on my body. I tore my eyes away from the skirmish below and took stock of everything else. After a few moments, I spotted Anomaly and Alice. They were perched on a roof across from me, leaning over the edge and watching the fight below. Neither of them seemed particularly interested with Alice''s gaze fixated on The Cains. A number of them were already injured and taking cover while others were just trying to look for a way out. If something didn¡¯t change soon, they¡¯d lose the fight. I found my attention drifting to the Pandora attackers and wondered why they fought at all. With the way Pandora was rumored to treat those without powers, there had to be some reason. Threats? Promises of benefits? There had to be some incentive otherwise they wouldn¡¯t fight at all. Ultimately, their reasons were irrelevant. They were here now taking part in the chaos ¨C chaos that I had started. I dialed Alice and watched as she picked up immediately. ¡°Everything okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, I made it. I¡¯m on the roof across from you,¡± I said. She looked over and I waved to confirm. ¡°So what¡¯re we doing here?¡± ¡°Browning street is one of the locations I wanted to search. This whole block received reinforcements soon after the fighting started and all their regular joes are armed with Mechatech. The same stuff we saw at the meatworks,¡± Alice explained. ¡°If Gold¡¯s hunch is correct, there¡¯s something valuable around here, maybe even a secondary lab. The only issue is that all these buildings are either residences, or legit active business so we can¡¯t go around destroying the place willy-nilly.¡± ¡°So they¡¯re hiding in plain sight,¡± I reasoned. ¡°Any idea which building?¡± ¡°I have Mia searching as we speak, her power makes covering a lot of ground quickly very easy. Speaking of, how¡¯s that coming along?¡± There was a crackle of static as another voice sounded. ¡°Um, nothing so far, I think,¡± Mia said. ¡°It would help if I knew what I was looking for. There¡¯s nothing that screams ¡®secret lair¡¯ or anything.¡± ¡°I suppose they can¡¯t all have a big metal door like the last one,¡± I replied with a drawl. ¡°Has there been any sighting of Grim yet? All this chaos has got to have him rattled.¡± ¡°Nothing yet, which is very concerning. This is already much bigger than any skirmish the Cains have had before. Him not showing up means he¡¯s waiting for something. Gold thinks Splicer is his ace in the hole, so if we find him first, we can hopefully stop half the city from burning down,¡± Alice explained. ¡°The only issue is finding¡ª.¡± A piercing siren, coupled with the sound of grinding metal echoed throughout the city. The ground shook beneath my feet I turned to the source of the disturbance. The ECU¡¯s citadel lit up with flashing red lights that illuminated the sky. Panels on the side began to open and a stream of moving lights burst from the steel monolith. There were so many I gave up counting after I got to twenty. ¡°A full deployment,¡± I said in disbelief. It wasn¡¯t because I didn¡¯t think the situation didn¡¯t warrant it. I had just never seen something like this before. The siren was to signal everyone to stay indoors and hunker down. It also served as a proclamation ¨C they were coming, and they weren¡¯t taking prisoners. ¡°Maybe we should go back?¡± ¡°No!¡± Alice said a little too quickly. ¡°We¡¯re fine. Just listen to my instructions and we will be fine. We need to end this fight now so there¡¯s no reason for the ECU to show up. Anomaly and I will try to redirect Pandora somewhere else. Mia, keep looking for whatever they¡¯re protecting and keep me updated. Upgrade, subdue the remaining Cains.¡± I stepped forward and mounted my sniper rifle on the ledge. Given my proximity, I disabled the kinetic amplifier. Then, I let loose. With a dozen well-placed tranquilizer shots, I had dropped around half of the non-injured Cains gunmen. It didn¡¯t take long for the remaining few to switch their attention to me and with Alice and Anomaly harassing the Pandora attackers, it left the remaining Cains to oppose me. I was pelted with a storm of gunfire that tore apart the parapet my rifle was resting on. The added power of their Mechatech weaponry forced me to keep moving, but it didn¡¯t seem to matter because every spot I tried to take ended up destroyed within seconds. Alright, Max. Time to put your shit to the test. Collapsing my sniper rifle and holstering it, I let out a slow breath before lining myself up. Content with my current course of action, I broke into a sprint toward the destroyed ledge. I heard more gunfire and I felt the projectiles uselessly pinging off my armor as I leaped off. I still felt the kinetic force behind every shot ¨C but it wasn¡¯t much different from being flicked. I landed hard and there was a hiss as compressed air burst out of compartments around my legs, distributing the force of the landing. Despite that, I had to roll to stop myself from ending up flat on my face. With my pistol in my hand, I unleashed a stream of lasers into The Cain''s crumbling defense. I dropped one after another as I tried to target non-lethal parts of their bodies. I didn¡¯t succeed as much as I would have liked, but shooting on the move while your enemies returned fire was far harder than the movies made it out to be. Regardless, I dealt with the remaining thugs. As I moved forward to confirm that the fight had ended, a message flashed across my visor. ¡°Suit integrity at 89%.¡± That wasn¡¯t a bad outcome all things considered. I had gotten hit more times than I could count and they were using Mechatech. All that time invested in my suit had been well spent. After a quick look to confirm that I had dealt with all the Cain thugs, I turned to see how Alice and Anomaly were going with the Pandora attackers. To my surprise, they had subdued the majority of them but were now fighting two Supers. Whether or not they were part of the Cains, Pandora, or some other third party didn¡¯t matter. I needed to get over there and help them out but the sound of screeching tires behind me put that idea to rest. I turned to see a van barreling down the street toward me at full speed. I didn¡¯t bother moving since there were several parked cars between us. It wasn¡¯t until I saw how heavily armored it was that I decided it was best to get out of the road. The van narrowly missed some of the thugs I had downed before skidding to a stop. The side doors opened and I didn¡¯t hesitate to lift my pistol and fire at the stream of reinforcements. Cain members stumbled out, almost tripping over themselves as they hurried to find cover. I picked them apart easily, even scoring a couple of lucky shots by hitting the weapons out of the hands of two unfortunate thugs. Once most of the group was down, the few left turned tail and sprinted into the nearest alley. I had thought that to be the end of it until the backdoors of the van were kicked open. A titan of a man stepped out onto the road, covered from head to toe in thick white mechanical armor. His helmet had no mouthpiece and two distinct glowing blue eyes. I had thought for a moment that this was just another decked-out Cain member until I noted the black stripes across the front of the helmet. He heaved a large piece of metal with two hands ¨C something that looked vaguely like a grenade launcher ¨C before turning to me. It was obvious the moment I put all the pieces together. He was too well-equipped to be another regular Joe. This guy is part of Masquerade''s crew. ¡°Fucking idiots,¡± the man¡¯s voice came out as a synthesized garble. ¡°I told them to wait.¡± I felt my lip twitch as I tried to think of something to lighten the mood but my eyes were glued to the weapon in his hands. I knew my armor was good ¨C good enough to protect me from damn near anything mundane ¨C but I couldn¡¯t be sure if it would protect me from a direct hit courtesy of a high-end Mechatech grenade launcher. The moment he moved to line me up, I aimed and fired. It took me four shots to realize my non-lethal laser setting was doing absolutely nothing. I needed to find cover and fast! I heard the click and a displacement of air before an explosion erupted behind me, throwing me off my feet. Shrapnel from the explosive disintegrated against my armor, but I found myself landing in a painful heap behind one of the many damaged cars. ¡°Suit integrity at 61%.¡± I scrambled to my knees and pushed my back against the side of a wrecked car. With my heart racing, I flicked my pistol to lethal and moved. There was a pop and another explosion where I had just been. The car lurched onto its side before falling over completely. I was already long gone, moving from cover to cover. I jumped over an unconscious body before vaulting over the trunk of another car. Another click. Another explosion. Whatever Cain thug I had jumped over was now likely in pieces. I spotted the armored goliath out of the corner of my eye. I spun around to face him as he tracked my movements. I fired another three shots. I missed the first but nailed the other two. This time, my shots had an effect. The first one hit his shoulder, knocking his aim off and the second hit his chest and forced him to take a half step backwards. The impacts left scorch marks on his armor. I dropped to the ground as the next projectile sailed over my head. I felt the force, heat, and shrapnel wash over me. I couldn¡¯t linger. I took off as he fired again. The shockwave forced me into a roll. My body hit the curb and I had my breath taken from me. ¡°Warning: Suit integrity at 48%.¡± I pushed myself back to my feet, my head throbbing and my chest booming. Adrenaline surged as I mounted up next to the nearest car and fired again. I missed two shots and landed three. My aim was getting worse. Maybe it was because I was dazed and I could barely hold my hands still to aim properly. I hit his helmet, leg, and elbow. Each shot staggered him but he still stood tall. Frustration burned. I wasn¡¯t getting anywhere, even with the lethal setting. I needed something stronger ¨C and while I did have my sniper rifle, we were too close for me to set up a clean shot. It wouldn¡¯t be useful here. I spat out a curse as I tried to reposition. It occurred to me to grapple to the nearest roof, but the moment I tried, he blew up the wall it was attached to. That led me to spend one of my charges to repair the obliterated grapple. He was quick on the uptake and if I didn¡¯t take him down soon, he was going to win this encounter. A few options were laid before me. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I could outlast him until Alice and Anomaly could get here to take him out, but given how things were shaping up on their end, that wasn¡¯t going to be for another few minutes at least. The second tied into the first, waiting until he ran out of ammo. He had to run out of grenades eventually, but I had to wonder if I¡¯d run out of cover before then. Many of the cars around me were in pieces and there weren¡¯t many left to hide behind. I considered hacking his suit, but a quick look at my software showed that there wasn¡¯t anything I could connect to. His suit was probably a closed system then and I¡¯d need to plug into it directly to do something. I spared a look at the hulking white behemoth and understood that I would be folded like a lawn chair if I tried. So that was out. I could attempt another retreat again with the grapple. It was fast but I would need to get in a good shot to daze him before doing that. If I could make it to the roof, I¡¯d have the high ground and more than enough space to use my sniper rifle. As I considered my options, he forced me to maneuver to another car by blowing up the one I was crouched behind. I risked another shot and hit his hand. The impact made him briefly lose his grip on his weapon, but he was quick to recover. An idea sprung to mind. I launched out from behind my cover and ran across from him. I watched him track my movements, trying to predict where I was going to end up. I stopped the moment I heard the click and ducked. He had led his shot in an attempt to hit me dead-on, so it missed by a decent margin. He tried to readjust but I was already firing. I aimed at his hands and weapon. It took a few shots but I managed to disarm him, and the weapon fell to the floor. I fired the grapple at the gun and pulled it toward me. It skidded across the ground before ending up at my feet. I reached down and placed my hand on the weapon. [Charges: 19/25] [Type] [Durability 87/100 - Repair Available - Cost: 1] [Integration Status: Available - Cost 12] There was no hesitation on my part. I selected integration and paid the twelve charges. The weapon lost its physical form, becoming a familiar liquid as it streamed into my suit. I felt a compartment form on my right shoulder and down my back as the upgrade was configured and finalized. ¡°New component detected.¡± I barely had any time to register my new addition before I noticed the armored behemoth barreling toward me. I holstered my pistol and with the press of a button, the extendable blade shrieked out of its sheath just in time for him to reach me. He had to be around seven feet or more, completely towering over me. Coupled with his muscular build, I had no doubt a single hit from his guy could break several bones in my body. I rolled with his first swing and countered by slashing out with my blade. It reached him but it only sparked against his singed armor. Once he saw I couldn¡¯t pierce his defenses, the man had very little reason to defend. He was relentless, giving me almost no space to breathe. All I could do was dodge backward and try to put space between the two of us. He was trained, and his experience far outweighed mine. I wasn¡¯t his equal and he made me see that when his fist collided with the side of my helmet. I heard a crack and I completely lost my balance. He followed it up with a kick to my chest that put me into the side of one of the only good cars left. I tried to fight back, aiming my laser pistol at him but he closed the distance and snatched it out of my hand. He turned it on me and tried to fire it but the device refused to work. The goliath tossed it away before pulling me up and punching me square in the head. My visor cracked as my head hit the back of the car. I lashed out with the blade again, stabbing instead of slashing. It found its mark between the plating on his shoulder. There was a sickening sound of tearing flesh as the man howled, stepping away to remove the steel. A good inch of the weapon from the tip was drenched crimson as he recovered. Something flashed across my visor and targeted the injured super soldier. It blinked green and I confirmed it in a heartbeat. There was a whirling on my shoulder as a compartment opened and extended. There was a click and something shot out of it at blinding speed. It impacted the super soldier directly and exploded. I raised my arms over my face as fire and shrapnel washed over me. As quickly as it came, it was gone. Waving away the smoke, I saw the super soldier lying motionless, his form smoking and his armor ruined beyond all recognition. There were pieces of it scattered all over the road and the bits of his skin that were exposed were covered in burns. I wasn¡¯t sure if he was dead but I didn¡¯t care. With a groan, I pulled myself to my feet. There was a dull ache throughout my body and my neck felt like it needed a chiropractor after that beating I took. Regardless, I dusted myself off and looked around for my pistol. ¡°Warning: Suit integrity at 32%.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I muttered aloud, trying to steady my breathing. ¡°That sounds¡­ about right.¡± After stumbling around, I found my pistol. It had taken a bit of a beating having been thrown away like that but the damage was only cosmetic, I could fix it up later. Besides it still had over forty percent of its battery remaining so it wasn¡¯t completely useless yet. With my trusty weapon retrieved, I took stock of my surroundings. Multiple Cain thugs were dead and in pieces ¨C which wasn¡¯t my fault. Grim could take that up with Masquerade for all I cared. As for the super soldier that had done said damage, I could slightly make out his chest rising and falling. Just to make sure, I switched on some analytics and examined him. It picked up a heartbeat, which was all I needed to know. I turned my attention away and back toward the other end of the street where Alice and Anomaly were. A Super had joined the commotion and was currently trading blows with Anomaly. Alice was absent, but it only took a few more seconds to locate her. She was going head to head with yet another Super on top of a building. It looked like her opponent could conjure some kind of force field. It reminded me of the energy shield the ECU soldiers had used to briefly stall Grim. This Super was using it both offensively and defensively, hurling energy projections at Alice. From the looks of it, she was constantly switching between Pink and Red to try and land attacks and was getting frustrated that it wasn¡¯t working. Anomaly was fairing about the same. His opponent could clone themselves, which led to him constantly getting dogpiled. Neither side seemed to be making any sort of progress. I grumbled and looked for an opportunity to end the battle before it could go on any longer. Alice¡¯s opponent was standing close to the edge, which I could take advantage of. Their shields could defend against Red¡¯s strength and they could surround themselves to negate Pink¡¯s speed ¡ªalbeit the shields appeared weaker when they did so. Anomaly was just getting overwhelmed and was struggling to take out the correct super, assuming he didn¡¯t have to take them all out that is. Regardless, I could solve their problems without moving. I looked up at Alice¡¯s enemy and targeted her. I realized that the grenade launcher I had integrated had come with a targeting software upgrade that synced with my visor. Probably why the integration was so costly now that I thought about it. Seeing as the software automatically targeted the Super, I had to manually adjust it so it would hit the roof instead. Once set, I fired. The grenade soared through the air and blew the roof out from under Alice¡¯s opponent. A shrill scream of terror filled the air as they tumbled off the building to the ground. They impacted hard and, from the looks of it, had broken something important. They screamed, which fortunately meant they were still alive. Good enough. I turned my attention to Anomaly and targeted all the clones. Without really thinking about the consequences, I fired three grenades into the thick of the action. The clones were blown away along with Anomaly ¨C but he¡¯d be fine. He¡¯d put himself back together from worse. The clones, however, didn¡¯t fare so well. Most of them disappeared when they landed while the ones that were spared turned to run away. The fighting ended, save for the screaming Super. Exhausted, I ambled down the road toward Alice¡¯s opponent. Pink had since blitzed down and was standing over them arms crossed and looking smug. ¡°Aw, look. Uppies brought you Downies,¡± Pink cackled gleefully. ¡°That¡¯s whatcha get for tryna mess with us!¡± To add insult to injury, Pink kicked the down Super in the ribs. They cried out in agony and spat a string of curses at her. ¡°Don¡¯t get upset now! You¡¯re the one that tried to start shit when we have a cease-fire. Didn¡¯t ya boss or somethin¡¯ tell you idiots that we¡¯re all working together?¡± ¡°I was wondering why you were fighting them,¡± I grumbled, coming to a stop in front of the Super. From the body type, they looked male and a bit older than us. ¡°Who¡¯s this supposed to be?¡± ¡°My name is Radiance!¡± He hissed angrily. ¡°You piece of shit, look what you did! MY FUCKING LEGS ARE BROKEN!¡± ¡°More of ya is gonna go snappy-snappy if ya don¡¯t pipe down,¡± Pink warned. ¡°Besides, all we were tryna do was get you and your little minions to go somewhere else but nooooo, they just had to shoot us. Then your dumbass had to show up and make everythin¡¯ worse! If you ask me, you got what ya deserve.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll pay for this you obnoxious little¨C¡± Pink silenced him with a kick to the side of the face. I briefly saw her eyes flash Red as she angled her foot over his face. I reached out to stop her, but thankfully, she managed to stop herself before she turned the guy¡¯s face into mush. Her eyes flashed back to Pink and she skipped backward, wiping her forehead in relief. ¡°Phew, that was a close one. Red, what the heck? You know turning heads into tomato soup will just make things worse!¡± I grunted, trying to ignore the throbbing pain. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m A-okay!¡± Pink chirped, giving me a thumbs up. ¡°You don¡¯t look very good though. Didja take a bit of a beating, Uppies? I saw some big booms from over there.¡± I looked over my shoulder at the growing fire that was spreading through the area. ¡°I¡¯ll manage.¡± If I was being brutally honest, I wasn¡¯t sure I could, but I was determined to see this night through to the end. Anomaly landed with a wet thud next to us and reverted to his human form. Unsurprisingly, he was wearing his usual getup. ¡°Give a guy some warning before you decide to blow him into a million pieces,¡± he accused, giving me a pointed glare before sighing. ¡°But thanks anyway. Fuckin¡¯ guy just kept coming. Didn¡¯t matter how many I crushed. Never thought It¡¯d be clone powers I hate the most.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a few of those out there,¡± Alice said, having switched from Pink to Blue. She looked past Anomaly to check if the other Super was still there. ¡°It looks like Legion retreated. His clones aren¡¯t very durable so he¡¯ll probably hide somewhere until backup arrives.¡± ¡°If it comes,¡± I chimed in. ¡°From the sounds of it, Pandora¡¯s got their hands full already.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be fighting The Cains and the ECU. Gaea will honor the cease fire, even if some groups won¡¯t. The Queen¡¯s Court will only be attacking The Cains and fending off the ECU, but knowing them, I think their upper management will tell the Heroes to steer clear of Queen¡¯s Court Supers,¡± Alice explained. ¡°We should do the same.¡± ¡°Some fuckin cease-fire,¡± Anomaly glared down at the unconscious Pandora Super. ¡°They attacked us the moment we approached.¡± Alice sighed. ¡°In their defense, we don¡¯t look exactly welcoming. But that¡¯s beside the point, they attacked, we retaliated. Shit happens and unfortunately, sometimes things don¡¯t go how we want and fog of war is a bitch.¡± ¡°At least they left when Legion and this asshole showed up,¡± Anomaly said, turning to me. ¡°Otherwise those explosions probably would¡¯ve¨C¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± I cut him off. I had already killed one Pandora member today. The thought that I could¡¯ve killed more of them hadn¡¯t even occurred to me when I fired those grenades and that unsettled me enough to forget about the pain I was feeling. ¡°Not exactly operating at a hundred percent right now. It¡¯s already been a long day, and this is turning out to be an even longer night.¡± Alice gave me a look of sympathy. She looked like she wanted to say something but opted to stay silent. Anomaly nodded slowly, shifting uncomfortably under what he probably saw was a blank stare. I had seen myself with my helmet on. You couldn¡¯t see my face and unless you had a mentalist power, I bet it would be hard to tell what I was thinking. ¡°So uh¡­ I don¡¯t remember you having that before,¡± Anomaly said, pointing to my shoulder-mounted grenade launcher. ¡°It¡¯s new,¡± I dismissed quickly. ¡°Picked it up from a guy back there.¡± I gestured a thumb over my shoulder at the fire that was now dying down in the street. It was a mess of metal and smoke. A couple of the downed Cain thugs had since regained consciousness and were attempting to flee. We didn¡¯t bother to pursue them. ¡°Cool,¡± Anomaly said awkwardly. ¡°So, what now?¡± Alice raised a hand to her ear and made a call. ¡°Everything good on your end, Mia?¡± There was silence for a moment and I could see Anomaly get a bit antsy. Just when he was going to speak, the call crackled to life and her voice came through. ¡°Y-Yeah. Sorry, focusing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Alice replied patiently. ¡°Do you have anything for us?¡± ¡°Yeah. I found one of those labs. It¡¯s¡­¡± Mia¡¯s voice trailed off as we all straightened up. I could hear the anger in her tone. ¡°There¡¯s some people here, that guy we¡¯re looking for ¨C Splicer ¨C he isn¡¯t here.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Alice said. ¡°Where is it?¡± ¡°Two blocks west of Browning Street. It¡¯s above a clothing store, Nico¡¯s Boutique. I would¡¯ve completely missed it if there wasn¡¯t a hole in the wall at the back of the building.¡± ¡°A hole?¡± I questioned, baffled. ¡°The lab¡¯s exposed?¡± Even Alice looked surprised. ¡°Not intentionally,¡± Mia replied. ¡°It looks like it was made recently. There¡¯s only four vats in here and one of them is broken. There¡¯s just stuff all over the floor,¡± she explained, cringing at her words. ¡°Fuck, is this what they kept me in? The other three vats have people in them. I¡¯m trying to get them out.¡± My gaze met Alice¡¯s. ¡°Someone managed to break out.¡± I had no idea if that was a good or bad thing. Mia¡¯s reaction when she woke up had been understandable. Extreme¡­ but warranted. I couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of reaction someone would have waking up inside one of those fucking vats and escaping into a warzone. It would be beyond traumatic ¨C enough for an Awakening. Alice nodded. ¡°Hold down the fort for us. We¡¯ll be there in a minute.¡± Fuse 3 Once we got close, we began to hear the sound of gunfire. I wasn¡¯t sure I was ready for another fight so soon after the last one, but I was preparing myself nonetheless. With my suit so damaged, I would need to play support and let Alice and Anomaly do more heavy lifting. Hopefully, the enemy had tech I could hack so I wouldn¡¯t be completely useless. To our surprise, the echoing sounds of gunfire dissipated as we got closer. The noise faded away until it was eerily silent, so I could only summarize that the fighting ended before we arrived. If so, who won? The Cains had to be one of the parties involved, but who were they fighting? More Pandora? I found my answer when we turned onto the street. Bodies lay strewn about, unmoving. It was unnerving how many there were, enough to fill a small graveyard. A good portion of them were ECU, while the rest were Cains. My analytic mode revealed that most were alive, but some Cain thugs had bit the dust long before we arrived. ¡°The hell happened?¡± Anomaly wondered aloud. ¡°Mutual knockout?¡± ¡°Guns don¡¯t knock people out,¡± Alice drawled, her eyes darting around and looking for clues. She twitched as she switched to Gold, looking down at one of the ECU soldiers. ¡°Blunt force trauma to the back of the skull. Quick and efficient,¡± her gaze drifted to the other soldiers before frowning. ¡°Unequal force applied. Some suffered more damage than others.¡± I shuddered at the thought. It seemed all the soldiers hadn¡¯t even had a chance to react. ¡°It had to have happened quickly. Someone with Pink¡¯s level of speed,¡± I said. Gold¡¯s lip twitched as she raised a hand to her ear to transmit a call. ¡°Points for subtlety, Mia. I know I said to hold down the fort for us but I wasn¡¯t expecting you to end a gunfight single handedly, good job.¡± I looked around, shocked. Had Mia done this? I couldn¡¯t see any of her statues. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± Mia¡¯s voice was thick with self-loathing. ¡°Don¡¯t compliment me. Not for this. I tried¨C I didn¡¯t want to hurt them that badly. I just didn¡¯t want them to kill each other.¡± ¡°You did good,¡± Alice commended again, ignoring her protests. ¡°The only deaths were from the ECU authorizing lethal force. The soldiers will be fine, assuming nothing else comes by to finish the job.¡± I didn¡¯t miss the nonchalance in her demeanor. Neither did Mia. ¡°That¡¯s not¡ª ugh, whatever. Just get up here. The hole¡¯s at the back of the building in the alleyway. I have a statue watching. You should be able to see it.¡± Sure enough, a glint of gold hiding in the shadows between two buildings across the street caught my eye. We made our way over, stepping across unconscious bodies. With everything I had been through today, I couldn¡¯t find it within me to feel bad about stepping over unconscious thugs and soldiers. ¡°God damn,¡± Anomaly murmured, drawing my attention to the alleyway walls. It looked like a beast with razor-sharp claws had attacked the surrounding walls in a frenzy. ¡°Something big came out of here.¡± Alice hummed in agreement. ¡°And given the firefight in the street, it likely broke out before the fighting started,¡± she pointed up at the second floor of the clothing store. The hole wasn¡¯t just a regular hole made by an accident. It was huge ¨C like a truck had plowed right through it. ¡°They escaped into the city. With Pandora on a warpath, anything they destroy will just be chalked up to collateral damage.¡± ¡°Something that big has to be noticed,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Unless¡ª¡± ¡°A Morpher,¡± Alice said. ¡°Like Anomaly and Prosperity.¡± ¡°If this is a Morpher then they¡¯re a fast learner,¡± Anomaly said. ¡°It took me about a week to get the hang of switching back and forth.¡± ¡°Some learn faster than others, but I don¡¯t believe this is one of those cases,¡± Alice replied. ¡°Involuntary transformation and overloaded senses. They¡¯re not entirely conscious of what they¡¯re doing and are operating purely on instinct.¡± We climbed up through the hole and entered the lab. It was underwhelming compared to the high-tech bunker we had busted before. This place was messy, with notes scattered everywhere. All the equipment was placed haphazardly, like whoever was maintaining this place was in a hurry to leave. As Mia had said, there were three occupied tanks, with the fourth looking like it had exploded from the inside, caking the floor around it in a dried orange substance. ¡°Well, this isn¡¯t much,¡± Anomaly said, disappointed. Compared to the Bunker, this place might as well have been someone¡¯s attic they had rented out. ¡°I thought there would be uh, more.¡± ¡°There are,¡± Alice confirmed. ¡°More labs that is. This is just one of them. With the bunker busted, it seems Splicer has spread out his worksites. Not the most effective set up but it does limit losses. We¡¯re close though, look,¡± she walked over to a desk that still had lights on. She lifted a mug and touched the sides. ¡°Coffee is still warm. They were here.¡± ¡°How long?¡± I asked. Alice switched to Gold and glanced at the mug. ¡°Seventeen minutes ago.¡± Splicer had likely left in pursuit of the escaped victim. If the markings on the walls outside were anything to go by, there would be a trail to follow ¨C which would, in turn, lead us directly to Splicer. ¡°Shit¡­ they could be anywhere,¡± Anomaly said, rubbing the back of his neck. ¡°And I dunno if I could find them with all the crap that''s going down. There¡¯ll be a lot of um¡­¡± ¡°Visual noise,¡± Alice supplied. ¡°Yeah, that,¡± Anomaly shrugged. ¡°Maybe if we figure out what direction they were going, I could see what kinda noise is being made and narrow it down. Whatever broke outta here is pretty damn big and big things normally make loud noises.¡± ¡°Wait, what about the others? We need to get them out,¡± Mia¡¯s voice came through the call. Two of her statues were in the lab with us, standing in front of the control panels for the vats. ¡°I don¡¯t know how this stuff works so you gotta help me here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what we came here for,¡± Alice said with a tired sigh. ¡°Plus if we get them out, we have no idea how they¡¯re going to react. There¡¯s already one break out here and we need to go after Splicer. We can call it in and let the ECU handle it.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± ¡°Alice,¡± I cut in. Her gaze snapped toward me. ¡°You and Anomaly are faster than me and my armor needs to be repaired. Let me stay here while you two go on ahead. My tech can break through but I¡¯ll need time. Splicer¡¯s also bound to have some notes, so if we¡¯re lucky, he¡¯ll have something on Grim.¡± ¡°You want me to leave you here with what could be three unstable Supers with Unknown powers?¡± I heard a sudden rise of anger and disbelief in her voice. ¡°Upgrade, you¡¯re¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªBetter off here than anywhere else right now. Look at all this tech, we can salvage a whole bunch of it and maybe we can use it to figure out why they¡¯re doing this. Mia and I can make preparations to move it back to our hideout while getting these people out,¡± I explained. ¡°Besides, my suit is barely holding itself together and I don¡¯t want to risk another fight in this condition.¡± Given that it would take seconds to repair my suit, it wasn¡¯t a real reason. I knew Alice would know that. Alice looked ready to argue, but I counted on Gold to take my side. Mia had a kinder heart than the rest of us. There was no chance in Hell we would convince her to leave these kids behind. If we left, it would break team cohesion. That was the last thing we needed tonight. I also wanted to help ¨C to some extent ¨C but I¡¯d be lying if I claimed getting a look at some of this equipment wasn¡¯t a big part of my motivation for staying behind. ¡°Sounds like a plan to me,¡± Anomaly cracked his knuckles. ¡°Stay here and get ¡®em out while we go track down the mad scientist guy.¡± ¡°...Damn it, fine,¡± Alice hissed. ¡°Fine! Just, just promise you¡¯ll be careful.¡± The sincerity in her voice threw me off a little. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said softly. ¡°Yeah I will.¡± Alice looked between me and Anomaly for a few seconds before slowly backing away. I guessed she realized how that came across and was now looking for some way out without things getting too awkward. There was a flash of uncertainty in her eyes before she banished it in favor of her usual confident demeanor. ¡°Alright then, Anomaly?¡± ¡°Right behind you,¡± he followed, transforming. I watched as he lumbered to the hole, coiling down before springing out. Alice lingered at the entrance. ¡°Give me a holla if something happens,¡± she said before switching to Pink. ¡°Adios, Uppies!¡± She was gone in a flash, leaving me alone with Mia¡¯s statues, a room full of Mechatech, and three test subjects. I allowed myself a moment so I could take a breath. Once I had, I found the nearest chair and sat down to collect my thoughts. While I did this, I disengaged my suit and peeled it off. [Charges: 7/25] [Type] [Durability 32/100. Repair Available - Cost 3] I paid the repair cost and watched as my armor turned to a floating liquid in my hands. In a mesmerizing fashion, it began folding and unfolding like everything else I improved. In seconds, it finished before I turned my attention elsewhere. Not willing to risk being outside my suit on a night like this, I slipped back into it and engaged its systems. Upgrading or restoring my suit always gave it that ¡®fresh new car¡¯ smell everyone liked. ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± I breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you work before,¡± Mia said, her voice coming through the radio inside my helmet. ¡°Powers are really weird. What did you even do to it?¡± ¡°I repaired it. There was some damage after my last encounter and you already know I¡¯m a bit banged up underneath. If anything else happens tonight, I¡¯d want to be in the best shape possible,¡± I explained, leaning back into the chair. I was more than fatigued by this point, so thankfully, Alice hadn¡¯t argued to get me to follow her. ¡°I¡¯m better off here anyway. They can move much faster than me.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Mia said, sounding uncertain. ¡°So how are we going to get these people out?¡± Right, on to business. The vats here were identical to the ones in the bunker, which meant there was an interactive panel that controlled the functions of each one. Alice had used Gold to get them open, but that wasn¡¯t an option this time. Fortunately, I invested in my software since last time, so I should be able to get them out now. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. I scanned the vats with my visor and found their security was heavily encrypted. Luckily for me, they weren¡¯t closed systems, so I would be able to connect remotely. It would just take some time to break through the security ¨C which I set my programs to do. I watched as streams of code poured down my visor, but I minimized it and delegated it to the side so that I could still see. ¡°I¡¯m breaking through the security on these things. I should be able to access them shortly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± Mia exhaled thankfully. ¡°They don¡¯t deserve to be kept like this.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t even remember,¡± I said. ¡°You don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had nightmares,¡± she revealed. I felt myself pause for a moment. Alice mentioned in passing to me that Mia would experience phantom sensations from her ordeal. I didn¡¯t realize they would manifest as nightmares instead. ¡°Sometimes it feels like I¡¯m drowning. Other times it¡¯s like I¡¯m burning from the inside out. There¡¯s always pain ¨C but it¡¯s just¡­ numbed. I don¡¯t know how to explain it.¡± I spotted a cluttered desk and decided to head towards it. While my eyes roamed the contents stacked atop it, Mia¡¯s words occupied my mind. ¡°Alice said you wouldn¡¯t be able to recall specifics but that your body would remember. She described it as a phantom pain. Splicer had special biokinetic drugs pumping through you ¨C everyone did,¡± I said, my gaze flicking toward the people in the vats. All three of them were young, younger than me. If I had to guess, they were early high schoolers. The kids were not from the party Anomaly had described. The Cains had abducted them from somewhere else. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯m sorry all this has happened to you.¡± I didn¡¯t get a response from Mia. Her statues had moved about the room while I wasn¡¯t looking, but I could tell she was agitated by their frozen expressions. There was a deep-seated anger etched into their faces. With the silence in my corner, I turned my attention to the desk and began sorting through the contents. There were plates, empty drinks, and pizza boxes to discard, but the real important stuff came from worn notebooks. Aside from a number on the cover, they were not organized in any particular order and remained scattered, some half open. There were four, each labeled. Six, seven, eight, and nine. Four numbers, four vats. I opened number six and began to read. Sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed. The notebook contained notes on one of the children in the vats. It had all their information: name, age, date of birth, height, weight, and ethnicity. The majority of the book was empty, but the first dozen or so pages were packed full of information. They recorded the gruesome details of the experiments Splicer had been performing. Much like the other lab, they were exposing them to various methods of torture to induce Artificial Awakening. Sickened to the core, I flipped through the other notebooks to see if there was any information on how they were progressing. All I got was that subject six had developed some kind of mild psionic ability that got stronger and uncontrollable when put under intense duress. Seven and Nine remained unresponsive. Eight appeared to have developed an acute sixth sense that could sense danger, but there was speculation that the power had other abilities. It seemed like Splicer was making good progress. But similar endeavors had failed in the past, so what made his methods different? Taking the books, I tried to match each notebook to the proper tank. The tanks didn¡¯t display a number to match the notebooks because Splicer likely knew which belonged where, so I would have to do things the old-fashioned way. Using the physical descriptions recorded in the books, I matched the notebooks to the right children. I was disheartened when I read how old the victims were. The youngest was eleven, with the oldest having turned fourteen yesterday. I realized who had been the one to escape when I had identified all but number eight. ¡°Shit.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Mia asked. ¡°Did you find something?¡± ¡°Alice, are you there?¡± ¡°I hear ya, Uppies!¡± ¡°The person who escaped is young. You¡¯re looking for¡­¡± I paused and flipped a few pages in the notebook. ¡°It¡¯s a boy, no older than twelve. He¡¯s developed a sixth sense and can sense danger before it happens.¡± ¡°What!? We¡¯re dealin¡¯ with one of them budget Foresights? Aw crud, I thought we¡¯ve been lookin¡¯ for a big scary Morpher!¡± ¡°That might still be the case, Splicer speculated that there were other aspects to their power. If my hunch is correct, Splicer was about to do something when the kid¡¯s power evolved, transforming him without him even knowing,¡± I ran to the hole in the wall and looked out at the carnage it had caused to escape. ¡°Alice, it probably knows you, Anomaly, and Splicer are tracking it. There''s a very good chance it¡¯s hiding¡­ or setting up an ambush.¡± A Morpher with enhancement capabilities, along with precognition? That was a scary combo, enough to put me on edge. ¡°Nah, it ain¡¯t hidin¡¯,¡± Pink replied. ¡°We found some tracks and are following some spooky sounds it''s making.¡± My brow furrowed. I was almost certain it would¡¯ve been hiding. What else would a frightened child be doing? ¡°Where are you?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve actually backtracked a bit! We¡¯re around Groves Den. Phew, this boy is fast I¡¯ll tell ya that!¡± Pink exclaimed, sounding somewhat excited. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see this big bad beastie up close. Gold keeps saying a bunch of crap about how dangerous it is but screw her, I wanna pet it!¡± I had to bite back a retort of frustration. I couldn¡¯t imagine how regular Alice must be screaming inside her head right now. ¡°Pink, please, just listen to Gold.¡± ¡°But I wanna give ''em scritches!¡± ¡°Pink¡ª¡± A scream erupted to my left. I spun around to find Mia collapsing to the floor from where one of her statues stood. She scrambled backward and put her back against the nearest wall, all while screaming at the top of her lungs and attempting to ward off something with her arms. ¡°Mia?¡± ¡°NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!¡± I was over by her side in a heartbeat, my hand clamping down on her shoulder while the other attempted to stifle her screams. She fought against me for a few seconds before she realized where she was. Immediately, she stopped struggling, her hands finding purchase on my arm, gripping me tightly. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked, my voice betraying my panic. ¡°Something broke in!¡± She shook like a leaf, trying to capture her breath. ¡°I was looking through my statutes and I didn¡¯t¡ª it was just¡ª the window shattered and something broke through. It was huge and black and¨Cand¡ª¡± she struggled to find the words to describe what she saw. ¡°¡ªangry. It¡­ it pinned me down, I saw its teeth, and then¡­ then I was just here.¡± ¡°You switched places,¡± I said. ¡°Right before it bit you?¡± Slowly, Mia¡¯s senses returned, and she nodded. ¡°Yeah, yeah I did. I didn¡¯t even mean to. It just happened.¡± ¡°Is it still there?¡± Still shaking, Mia closed her eyes and tried to focus. I could feel her hands shaking from the shot of adrenaline. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and shook her head. ¡°No,¡± she swallowed her fear and steadied herself further. ¡°No, it¡¯s gone now.¡± ¡°Quick¡­¡± I murmured. ¡°In and out. Alice, did you get that?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Pink¡¯s quirky voice was gone, and Gold¡¯s cold tone came through. ¡°We¡¯ve been following the trail and it''s been leading us deeper into Groves Den towards our base. It¡¯s been tracking Mia.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked, unable to hide my confusion. ¡°I mean¡­ how? She¡¯s barely left the apartment, so how could it accurately pinpoint her location?¡± ¡°Like you said, Splicer thinks that it has more powers. They just couldn¡¯t identify them without proper field testing,¡± Gold replied. ¡°As for why¡­ we all know that Mia¡¯s physical changes have been perplexing because they don¡¯t seem to have any correlation with the power she¡¯s developed. We¡¯ve been looking at it from the wrong angle. Her changes are pieces from other people that have been merged into her.¡± My stomach churned as I glanced at Mia. She couldn¡¯t hear what Alice was saying because this version of her didn¡¯t carry the encrypted communicator I had left with her at the apartment. Fortunately, that seemed like a blessing in disguise because I couldn¡¯t see her reacting well to what Alice was saying. ¡°...Merged?¡± ¡°Splicer¡­ fuck, it¡¯s in the name. He¡¯s taking parts from other people and combining them with others. Mia¡¯s a mashup of several people, same as the person who attacked her. He¡¯s scared and his senses are heightened tenfold, they¡¯re zeroing in on the scent that¡¯s familiar,¡± Gold explained. ¡°Upgrade, if Mia¡¯s with you now, then he¡¯s going to be coming back to you!¡± There was so much information that I had trouble processing that we were about to be in mortal danger. I had so many questions. Why was it tracking Mia? Why was Splicer merging parts of people with others? What were they trying to achieve, and what did all of this have to do with Grim? And the most important, what was the fastest way to get the fuck out of here!? ¡°We need to go, now!¡± ¡°What?¡± Mia asked as I pulled her to her feet. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Wait, it¡¯s after me isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s coming back here!?¡± ¡°Got it in one,¡± I said, thanking the stars that I didn¡¯t have to explain anything. ¡°Now let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°What about the others?¡± Mia asked, gesturing to the vats. ¡°We need to get them out!¡± ¡°I¡¯m still connecting to their systems. Once I¡¯ve broken through, I should be able to release them remotely, but I can¡¯t do that if I¡¯m dead!¡± Mia didn¡¯t like that answer, but she followed regardless. We moved to the hole in the wall. Mia hesitated, intimidated by the height. ¡°I can¡¯t do it!¡± We don¡¯t have time for this. I grappled to the neighboring building¡¯s roof to use it as a swing to lower us down gently. Mia had initially let out a cry of alarm when I wrapped an arm around her waist and forced us out. She was quick to recover when we landed. ¡°Leave some of your statues here. I still want that stuff moved back to our place,¡± I said. ¡°Follow me. We need to keep moving.¡± ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°No idea but we can¡¯t stay here,¡± I said, guiding us out of the alley. We emerged onto the desecrated with countless unconscious bodies. None of them looked like they were close to regaining consciousness. That was good. I didn¡¯t want to fight off soldiers and a feral Super. ¡°Alice, we¡¯re out of the lab but I don¡¯t know where to go. How fast is it?¡± ¡°Considering Anomaly and I couldn¡¯t catch up and I was Pink at the time¡­ I¡¯d say pretty fucking fast.¡± ¡°Okay so where the fuck do we go?¡± I shot back. ¡°We¡¯re not exactly speedsters like you!¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking! Jesus, just gimme¡ª okay! You need somewhere that¡¯ll block whatever scent Mia is giving off. It has to be strong¡­ strong enough to mask the biokinetic stuff.¡± ¡°If it was so strong why can¡¯t we smell it?¡± I asked the question springing to my mind. I quickly shook my head. ¡°No! Don¡¯t answer that. You can tell me later if we¡¯re still alive. I need a destination, Alice, and I need it right now!¡± An echoing roar cut through our surroundings, drowning out the distant chaos still raging throughout the city. ¡°Mia, do you have any statues somewhere safe? Now would be a really good time to switch,¡± I said, my gaze fixated on the direction the roar had come from. I had already pulled out my laser pistol to prepare myself for the fight of my life. ¡°Can you switch back with the one at the apartment? Maybe you can confuse the thing by going back and forth?¡± ¡°Um¡­ no,¡± Mia said with a tremble. ¡°It¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°Gone?¡± I repeated, stunned. ¡°What do you mean ¡®gone¡¯?¡± ¡°I mean it¡¯s fucking gone. Dead. Shredded. Ripped to pieces.¡± ¡°Your statues are made of solid metal!¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Mia confirmed. ¡°Yeah they are.¡± Dread pooled in my stomach. ¡°Okay, what about your other statues?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all spying on fights. I was positioning them to feed you guys information. I can¡¯t switch with them, I¡¯d be dropped in the middle of a warzone!¡± ¡°Then move one of them!¡± ¡°There¡¯s too much going on! I can¡¯t, they freeze when they¡¯re being observed, remember!?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no time for this. Go down!¡± Alice barked through the radio. ¡°Down, underground!¡± I looked around frantically, finding the nearest storm drain hatch before dashing to it. I dug my fingers into it and pulled with all my might. The grate groaned as I heaved it out of the ground. Mia scrambled past me the moment the hatch was free from the cement. Terror compelled her down the rusted ladder without complaint. I was one leg deep into the hole; my foot rested easily on the metal ladder when something slammed into the ground behind me. I turned and saw a black shadow that reminded me of Grim at the end of the street, moving like a blur. It feverishly raced toward me, and I threw away any caution I had in favor of survival. I let my foot slip, and my whole body dropped into the hole, colliding with Mia as I fell. Together, we plunged into the bowels of Bayside just in time to avoid gashing blood-soaked teeth. Fuse 4 When Mia hit the ground hard, I wasn¡¯t far behind her. She let out a cry of pain when I tumbled over her. My body crumpled on solid concrete with aches and pains flaring across my body. Exhaustion hit me like a freight train, and I could feel my eyes threatening to close. It would have been so easy to close my eyes and welcome sleep, but I forced myself to sit up and look around. We were shrouded in darkness, and if it weren¡¯t for the glowing green lights on my suit, it would be impossible to see anything. ¡°Mia?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± she groaned. ¡°I think I broke something.¡± I heard her shifting around in the darkness. Above us, snarling and vicious roars echoed. It sounded like some kind of dog, but whatever had hit me was far too large for that. I had caught it out of the corner of my eye before being knocked down the ladder ¨C it was a monstrous beast that towered over me, much like Anomaly. ¡°Any idea what?¡± I asked, hoping that it wasn¡¯t her leg. We needed to keep moving because I had no idea if that monster would be able to find a way down, and I didn¡¯t want to find out. ¡°Can you move?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she replied. ¡°It¡¯s my arm¡­ and my shoulder I think. It hurts.¡± Broken bones tend to do that. ¡°Sorry,¡± I grunted. ¡°But we¡¯ve gotta move. We can¡¯t stay here.¡± ¡°I-I know,¡± she hissed in pain as I heard more shuffling. ¡°I¡¯m trying to but I can¡¯t see a damn thing. Does that suit of yours have a flashlight by any chance?¡± ¡°No,¡± I replied, squashing her hopes. ¡°But I do have a night vision setting.¡± I switched the vision module, my visor lighting up and illuminating the surroundings. We were in a concrete room with only one way out into the storm drains. It wasn¡¯t the first time I had been forced into the sewers to escape, and a part of me doubted it would be the last. ¡°Okay, you can lead then. I¡¯ll see if I can get one of my statues somewhere safe so I can swap.¡± I stood and limped over to Mia, shaking off my daze. I helped her to her feet, ensuring I didn¡¯t grab her injury. It was pretty clear which side it was on, given her hand was gently clasping her wounded shoulder while the arm attached to it hung limply. No bones had broken through the skin, so at least she wasn¡¯t bleeding. ¡°You still have statues in the lab, right?¡± I asked. ¡°You asked me to move the equipment there back to the apartment,¡± Mia said. ¡°I could switch to one of them, but that monster is still close by,¡± she tilted her head up to observe where we had fallen from. The snarling and howling had stopped, but I wasn¡¯t in any rush to go up to see if the Morpher was still there. From the looks of it, neither was she. ¡°I¡¯m too scared to test that theory.¡± ¡°A last resort then,¡± I said. ¡°If it chases us down here, you can switch to one of them to get away.¡± ¡°And leave you down here to fight it all by yourself?¡± Mia replied incredulously. ¡°It¡¯ll kill you!¡± ¡°It can try,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d have better chances if you¡¯re not in the way ¨C not to discredit you, of course,¡± I said, trying not to hurt her feelings. She didn¡¯t look offended, though she was probably more focused on her injury to care. ¡°I just wouldn¡¯t want to blow you up by accident.¡± Having to explain that to Anomaly would not go over well. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Mia sighed. ¡°That makes sense.¡± We pushed on through the darkness. Mia kept a hand on my shoulder so she wouldn¡¯t lose her way, but her injury was still giving her grief. I wouldn¡¯t blame her for regretting getting involved. Honestly, there was a small part of me that regretted it as well. The dull thuds of gunshots and explosions above us started to become more numerous, and despite the impending danger that I assumed was following us, I could feel my adrenaline fade away. Soon, my body would simply collapse under the exhaustion. ¡°I need a moment,¡± I said, slowing to a halt. I guided us to another room that led to another hatch. It was still too close to where we entered, so I didn¡¯t want to risk going up. If the Morpher is as fast as I suspected, it would take seconds to arrive here. We needed to keep moving to buy time for a plan. ¡°Just need a minute to uh¡­ rest.¡± I found the nearest wall and leaned against it. To my surprise, I collapsed under my weight and hit the ground. I groaned but didn¡¯t move to get back up. I¡¯d take any form of respite I could get at this point. The night was just beginning, and Grim had yet to show his face. Maybe he was already fighting? It¡¯s not like his power was flashy, so I had no way of knowing. There was only one thing I knew with certainty. If there was still fighting, then Grim had yet to claim victory. ¡°I don¡¯t blame you,¡± Mia said, finding a spot at my side. She was slower to sit down on the account of her busted shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ve had a rough day.¡± ¡°Something like that,¡± I sighed wearily. ¡°We¡¯re all in for something bad tonight.¡± We fell into silence with the booming echoes of violence above us to keep us company. I tried to regulate my breathing, but slowly, I felt my eyelids grow heavy. I wanted so badly to close my eyes and drift off. The only thing that stopped me from giving in was the possibility of being ripped to shreds while I slept. I couldn¡¯t afford to let my guard down, not here, and especially not right now. I just needed to hold a little bit longer. Unfortunately, my will was not strong enough because I slipped out of consciousness, awoken only by the blinking lights that grabbed my attention. In my attempt to blink away the sleep and drowsiness, I found that my software had finally broken through Splicer¡¯s security. In our panic to escape, I had forgotten that my suit was still connected and had been this whole time. I laughed, but it only came out as a pained cough. ¡°It¡¯s done. I¡¯ve broken through Splicer¡¯s security,¡± I murmured. ¡°I can set those kids free now.¡± One by one, I switched off the systems imprisoning the three children. I couldn¡¯t physically see what was happening, but the stream of code I was reading told me they should be safe to remove. Craning my neck, I turned to see Mia staring at me, her eyes glittering with hope and astonishment. ¡°Can you get them out?¡± I asked. Mia groaned a little, clearly as exhausted as I was. ¡°Give me a minute, I have another few statues on the way.¡± Minutes later, she spoke again, this time sounding more uplifted. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve got them out and wrapped them in some towels from the store below the lab. I¡¯ll take them to the nearest hospital. The doctors should know what to do.¡± ¡°Even if they don¡¯t, they¡¯ll get them to people who can,¡± I replied evenly. I felt good about that. Those kids would be safe and would receive treatment for the trauma they experienced. It might take a while, but children were always a top priority for the ECU. Whether or not they ended up joining the ECU or returning to their regular lives didn¡¯t matter to me. The only thing that mattered was that they lived. ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah,¡± I could practically hear her smile. ¡°We actually saved people! Those kids, they¡¯re going to be alright because of us,¡± I felt her relax next to me as a low chuckle escaped her throat. ¡°I¡­ never thought I¡¯d be able to make a difference. I-I¡¯ve always heard about all the horrible things that happen and hated that I couldn¡¯t do anything about it.¡± I could see where she was getting at. It did feel good to make a difference ¨C to have done a good deed. Those kids would probably never know it, but they were alive because of us. ¡°It¡¯s an interesting feeling, knowing that you have power most people will never have,¡± I noted idly. ¡°I think¡­ outside of rescuing you, those kids are the first people I¡¯ve actually helped.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Mia sounded surprised. My thoughts immediately drifted to Mom, my mood souring. By now, I could¡¯ve gotten her walking or ¨C better yet ¨C fixed her condition entirely. My selfishness had prevented me, and now here I was in a damp, dark sewer, sitting with an injured girl three years my senior, hiding from a monster out to kill us. God, what I wouldn¡¯t give to go back for a complete do-over. The thought had my guts twisting themselves in knots. Was it doubt or regret I was feeling? If I really could, would I? I never would have met Sam, Liam, and Mia. Under different circumstances, I could see the possibility that I would have, eventually. I could see myself running into Alice and Anomaly, though the context of those situations varied and didn¡¯t make much sense. Maybe¡­ Maybe I wouldn¡¯t have met them at all. If I told Mom and Alex everything from the start, I could only imagine them insisting I don¡¯t use my powers. I could hear their unspoken words echoing inside my head: ¡®If you use your powers, you will draw attention to yourself.¡¯ The thought of them asking me to restrict the use of my powers would be like asking a child not to buy candy in a candy store. I wouldn¡¯t be able to do it. Just like Sam had said, eventually, someone would find out, and trouble would find me regardless. Mia would still be rotting in Splicer¡¯s lab, and the kids we just saved would be at the mercy of The Cains. What else would I have neglected if I had stayed home and used my powers on my mother? ¡°No,¡± I answered truthfully. ¡°I¡¯ve been focused on staying alive and making sure the team¡¯s stable. I haven¡¯t had the time to consider anyone else.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I could tell she wanted to say selfish, and to her credit, she would be right. ¡°I can get that. You have to make sure you can keep yourself safe before thinking of others, right?¡± She didn¡¯t sound like she believed her own words. ¡°Hmm, doesn¡¯t sound right saying that. I¡¯ve um¡­ always been a bit of a bleeding heart. I suppose that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t go straight to the ECU after you guys saved me.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t want to turn in Liam.¡± I didn¡¯t need her to clarify. She had a history with Liam while Sam and I were strangers. If she had gone to the ECU, she would¡¯ve thrown all of us to the wolves. Liam had been the only reason Mia hadn¡¯t done that in the first place. She probably also thought she owed us as well. ¡°His sister tutored me so I spent a lot of time around him some years ago. He has a bit of a crush on me I think.¡± ¡°You think?¡± I gave her a skeptical look, which she obviously couldn¡¯t see through the darkness and my helmet. ¡°He was fixated on saving you, so I just assumed you two were close. I didn¡¯t get the impression he felt that way about you.¡± ¡°He admitted it to me at the party, before I was kidnapped.¡± I bet Gold picked up on that on our first meeting with him. That means I wasn¡¯t too far off on the ¡®emotional manipulation¡¯ comment after all. She hadn¡¯t even said a word about it either. Mia probably considered it useless information in my hands, and she wasn¡¯t wrong. If the shoe were on the other foot, I wouldn¡¯t want her spreading my private thoughts around. ¡°Right.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just making conversation,¡± Mia muttered. ¡°I hate the silence and all the fighting has got me anxious.¡± ¡°I get it,¡± I said. ¡°After my first fight I got home and the first thing I did was make some equipment. I couldn¡¯t keep still, but I¡¯ve gotten to the point now where it¡¯s just tiring, talking is actually keeping me awake.¡± Mia chuckled. ¡°Yeah, I bet after all that crap you went through today you¡¯re about ready to crash.¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t even be here,¡± I admitted, feeling a sting of guilt. ¡°I should be home with my mom, making sure she¡¯s safe. I have no business getting involved in all this shit. None of us do. We¡¯re too young for this crap, should¡¯ve just left it to the people with experience.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not much of a history buff, but this is hardly the first time young people have gotten involved in conflicts,¡± Mia mused. ¡°All the World Wars, civil wars. Really, any conflict has people our age getting involved. It¡¯s just¡­ powers have made us more valuable, able to do more damage.¡± She noticed my silence and read my thoughts exactly. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault you know.¡± ¡°I wish I could believe that,¡± I sighed, resting my head against the wall. ¡°Really, I do. If Abby and I hadn¡¯t gotten so eager I¡¯d probably be at home relaxing. We just had to go inside the house because we just had to know.¡± In truth, Abby had been the one to insist on going inside, but I couldn¡¯t claim any innocence. I had followed her inside, which all led to our current predicament. ¡°But it¡¯s like you said. We have power that most people don¡¯t. You were just trying to check if your friend was okay,¡± Mia said in my defense. ¡°I think that gives us a bit of responsibility. Sa¨C I mean Alice. I get what she wants to do and a part of me even understands it but¡­ just how far will she go to get it? It drives her. Liam¡­ he¡¯s just going along with the flow. But you¡­? I don¡¯t know what you want out of all this.¡± ¡°Me?¡± I asked, slightly perplexed. ¡°You¡¯ve talked to the others about this?¡± ¡°I wanted to get a better idea of what I was getting into,¡± Mia explained. ¡°You caught a bit of it the other day when you were worried about your friend. I¡¯ve had a few conversations with them in private while you were busy upstairs in your¡­ workspace.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I said flatly. That all made enough sense. ¡°So?¡± Mia asked, curious. ¡°What are you in this for? You were more than happy to go along with what Alice was saying earlier about territory and all that crap, but is that what you actually want?¡± ¡°That''s an oddly personal question,¡± I observed with a plain tone. ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gotten to know S¨C Alice over the last week and I¡¯m already caught up with Liam¡ª sorry, Anomaly,¡± she rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance. ¡°That¡¯s going to take some getting used to, but you get where I¡¯m going with this.¡± ¡°You just want to know more about me.¡± Mia tried to shrug but winced on the account of her broken shoulder. ¡°If I¡¯m going to trust you guys with my life, shouldn¡¯t I know at least a little bit about you? No offense, but if Anomaly wasn¡¯t with you guys, I would¡¯ve been much more inclined to run to the ECU for safety.¡± That much I already knew, so it didn¡¯t surprise me. ¡°No offense, but if Anomaly wasn¡¯t with us, we probably wouldn¡¯t have saved you in the first place,¡± I replied without thinking. Mia huffed a sigh. I suppressed the urge to groan at my tendency to go ¡®full foot-in-mouth syndrome.¡¯ ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean it like that.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Mia¡¯s reply was stiff and bitter. ¡°I know.¡± I didn¡¯t want to let the awkward silence linger, and we had rested long enough. All that was left was to push on. So, that was what I was going to do. With a groan, I pushed myself back to my feet, using the wall as a support. Mia sluggishly followed my lead. ¡°I¡¯m good now, let''s keep moving.¡± ¡°Are you leading us anywhere or are we just stumbling around in the dark?¡± I considered the question for a moment. My goal had just been distance, but having a goal would be great. I pulled up a map of Bayside on my visor and saw that we had made it a few blocks from Browning Street. That was good, but I wanted to ensure we got far enough away from the Morpher, assuming it couldn¡¯t track Mia while we were down here. ¡°We¡¯ll keep moving east,¡± I said, scrolling to the side to find a viable path. I wanted somewhere I was familiar with. My school was about a fifteen-minute jog from where we were, but given our injuries and the claustrophobic tunnels, it¡¯d probably take about double that. ¡°Toward my school.¡± ¡°Any plan is better than none,¡± Mia said, trying to sound optimistic. ¡°Do the others know?¡± I activated my inbuilt radio. ¡°You there, Alice?¡± ¡°I hear ya loud and clear, Uppies! We¡¯re still tryna catch the big boy. Do ya think if I potty trained him Blue would let me keep ¡®im?¡± I rolled my eyes and ignored the unhinged statement. ¡°We¡¯re heading east toward Minerva. Think you and Anomaly can meet us there?¡± ¡°Yes sirey! Aye, you hear that tall, dark, and gooey? We got a new destination!¡± Alice¡¯s radio crackled and stopped transmitting. Given how fast Pink and Anomaly were, unless something stopped them on the way, they¡¯d beat us there. The minutes ticked on, and I could tell Mia was getting sick of this place, literally and figuratively. Every couple of minutes, I heard her gagging from what I could only assume was the horrendous smell. Again, I was thankful for the enclosed suit. ¡°How much further?¡± Mia asked, her voice strangled. ¡°I can barely breathe down here.¡± ¡°Not long now. We¡¯re most of the way there.¡± Ten minutes of trudging through the dark later, we arrived at the door I was looking for. It was another identical concrete room leading to another rust-coated ladder. We were well and truly away from our last location, so now it was time to see if the Morpher had tracked us here despite our best efforts. ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡± ¡°No¨C¡± Mia interjected quickly. ¡°Maybe I should? It¡¯s after me. I don¡¯t want you to get your head ripped off or anything. I can switch if anything bad happens.¡± ¡°Not a chance,¡± I remarked, trying not to sound impatient. ¡°You got lucky with your switch and whatever it is managed to rip through your metal statues. It¡¯ll tear through you like you''re made of paper. At least with my armor, I might be able to survive.¡± ¡°Might!?¡± Mia hissed. ¡°My chances are better than yours.¡± I didn¡¯t give her a chance to respond before I started climbing. I heard her hiss my name in one last attempt to convince me to switch, but I ignored her. I ascended the ladder, and as I pushed open the metal hatch, I realized I could have called Alice to see if the area was clear. I considered it a minor victory that despite rushing into this, my head wasn¡¯t ripped clean from my body the moment I poked my head out of the ground. The street was empty for the most part. There was a thick smog covering the sky, and it made the night seem darker than it was. Regardless, I climbed out to get a better survey of my surroundings. So far, so good. There wasn¡¯t any danger that I could see, but the chaos across the city was only getting worse. Several tall buildings had disappeared from the city¡¯s skyline. It wasn¡¯t even midnight yet. The ECU would be in damage control for at least the next few days. There was no telling how long this conflict was going to last. ¡°I think we¡¯re okay,¡± I said, looking down at the hatch. Unfortunately, Mia was already halfway out before I could give the all-clear. ¡°Good, I don¡¯t think I could stand being down there a second longer,¡± she crawled out of the hole and onto her knees. ¡°Ah, fresh smog. My favorite. A stark improvement from dirty water and sewage.¡± Mia had barely made it to her feet when we heard the roar. I spun on the spot and spied the beast camouflaged against the dark smog covering the sky. Mia wouldn¡¯t have been able to see it, but my visor highlighted the monster in a deep crimson red. It was big, easily four meters tall, and hunched over on all fours. Slowly, it straightened to stand on two. It leaped over us, clearing the whole street before landing. I felt the thud, my pistol already in hand. I watched it turn, its beady eyes zeroing in on Mia. Surprisingly, it didn¡¯t rush her like I thought it would. Instead, it stalked toward her, drooling like a rabid animal. Mia backed away while I leveled my weapon at the creature. Its head turned and acknowledged me with mad, bloodshot eyes. I didn¡¯t even get a chance to fire when a blob of darkness flung itself at the beast. The Morpher instinctively tried to dodge. It hadn¡¯t even looked in the direction of the attack, but it had moved anyway. Luckily, Anomaly was the most flexible super I had ever seen. His form caught the tail of the monster and latched on, coiling around the Morpher''s body and restricting its movements. I opened fire just as Pink zipped onto the scene. ¡°No fair! I wanted cuddles first!¡± When I blinked, Pink was gone, leaving pink trails of electricity in her wake. She attacked every limb in the blink of an eye, bludgeoning them with the stun sticks I had made for her. They crackled and zapped with every impact, the beast flinching and howling at every strike. When I unleashed a storm of laser fire at the monster, all it could do was thrash around in pain. For the moment, we appeared to have it pinned down. Pink was zapping it, I was shooting it, and Anomaly was impeding its movement. I wasn¡¯t an expert, but I knew it couldn¡¯t withstand this assault much longer. Victory, it seemed, was going to be easier than I anticipated. I was convinced of this until it started ripping chunks out of Anomaly. It clawed at itself, unconcerned about tearing into its flesh. It ripped and tore Anomaly to pieces, tearing chunks of its body off in the process. I thought it counter-productive until I saw its raw flesh knitting back together and regenerating. Once it had torn off enough of Anomaly to free up its limbs, it turned its feral aggression to the closest annoyance. ¡°Hah, slowpoke!¡± Pink flashed between every wild slash, blowing a raspberry at the beast. During her taunting, one of its slashes caught a strand of her golden hair. Pink¡¯s giggling turned into an indignant scowl in a flash. ¡°Bad doggy! No tummy rubs for you!¡± It didn¡¯t seem to care about her insults. It continued to attack with reckless abandon. There was no doubt in my mind it wanted to rip her into bloody ribbons before gorging on the remains. Pink, however, was far too quick to let that happen. Another few shots from my gun had it giving up on Alice entirely to focus on me. It roared and leaped. I dodged to the side, extending my blade, and carved through its side. Blood splattered across my visor as the beast tumbled. I barely felt any resistance. The blade had passed through its matted skin like a hot knife through butter. Straightening up, I tried to turn to see where the Morpher had landed. My heart thundered in my ears, and I was nearing my limit. This thing was large enough that any sort of attack would knock me clean off my feet. If that happened, I would be out for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, my exhaustion caught up to me, and my knees buckled. ¡°Oop, I gotcha!¡± Pink caught me before I could fall. ¡°Stay away from it ya big lug. I can¡¯t have ya passing out now. Real bad place to visit sleepy town!¡± ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± I reassured her, regaining my balance. Anomaly had reformed and caught the monster in another hold. It roared and thrashed around, but Anomaly had learned from last time and wrapped himself tightly around its neck and claws. ¡°Any ideas to end this quickly?¡± ¡°Gold says to pump ¡®em full of those tranq thingies!¡± Pink said. ¡°Use ¡®em all. Pop pop pop! Full power, knock him down till he¡¯s dreamin'' of big fluffy sheep.¡± Right, simple enough. I retrieved my sniper rifle from my back and began loading the tranquilizer ammunition, but the monster sensed the oncoming danger. It doubled its efforts, snapping and ripping at whatever part of Anomaly it could get its maw around. It tumbled and rolled, wrestling with the black cosmic horror. ¡°Ah, stay still!¡± Pink snapped angrily. ¡°You¡¯ll get ya damn shot if I have to shove it up your butt!¡± Just as I aimed, the monster''s roaring stopped abruptly. It stiffened before struggling further. Its roars turned into gurgles and pained whining. When it flopped over to face us, we recoiled in horror to find half of Anomaly¡¯s body forcing itself down the beast''s throat. ¡°Ah! What the hell are ya doing!?¡± Pink cried. ¡°Ya supposed to hold''em, not suffocate ¡®em!¡± The beast''s maw slammed shut, causing the other half of Anomaly to fall out and pool on the ground beside the monster¡¯s head. I was so dumbfounded by what I was seeing I could barely move. I couldn¡¯t even look away as the creature¡¯s chest bulged, and for a split second, I thought he would burst out of it. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s¡­ one¡­ way,¡± I murmured as the monster stilled. My eyes trailed down to the remnants of Anomaly¡¯s body just pooling next to the head. Bits of black goop dripped from the teeth to join the growing puddle. ¡°How is he going to reform?¡± Pink was holding her head, and for once, I couldn¡¯t tell who was in control. Based on her silence, there was probably a storm of arguing inside her head. ¡°...Guys?¡± I turned to see Mia. She hadn¡¯t moved from her spot behind me, but her gaze was locked on something ahead of us. A convoy of vehicles had just turned into the street, their headlights blaring down on us. ¡°Incoming,¡± Mia muttered sourly. My grip on my sniper rifle tightened. These guys weren¡¯t Pandora, The Cains, or The Queen¡¯s Court. They weren¡¯t even the ECU. The convoy slowed as they approached. Pink had since switched out for Gold and came to stand beside me. The situation with Anomaly and the Morpher would have to wait. Gold grumbled, and the convoy came to a stop. The first vehicle¡¯s front passenger seat door opened, and a figure stepped out. He casually shut the door before strolling into the headlight, his hands loosely hanging by his sides. When his features became clear, I felt all the air leave me. ¡°You¡­¡± I murmured in disbelief. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± It was the same Old Man I had sold Mechatech to. ¡°We figured you¡¯d need some help cleaning up this mess.¡± Fuse 5 ¡°Awfully convenient timing you have.¡± Gold didn¡¯t even hesitate to jump down the Old Man¡¯s throat. ¡°You say convenient. I say effective,¡± the old man shrugged. ¡°We had hoped to get here before anyone got hurt but¡­ well, I guess effective doesn¡¯t mean perfect.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been tracking us ¨C no, you¡¯ve been tracking everyone. Watching the whole city as it descends into chaos. Who are you?¡± The Old Man stared at her as the rest of the convoy came to a stop. Doors flung open, and figures decked out in power armor leaped out. It wasn¡¯t as advanced as the ECU¡¯s best gear, but nothing to scoff at. My first thought was that these guys were recovering experiments for Masquerade. A twitch of my hand was all it took to have the soldiers leveling their weapons in my direction. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t,¡± the Old Man warned. ¡°Who the hell are you guys?¡± I demanded. None of this made any sense. I hadn¡¯t heard hide nor hair from these guys since The Cains got me. ¡°Who¡¯re you with?¡± ¡°No one you¡¯d know.¡± The Old Man explained, signaling for the men to lower their weapons. They obeyed and continued moving. Alice and I watched as they made their way toward the deceased monster. It took over half a dozen of them to move it. ¡°You could say we¡¯re like the Secret Service.¡± Alice laughed. ¡°Nice try, but you aren''t the government, not even close. You¡¯re secret something though. Private contractors for someone powerful. Geared to the teeth, prepared, and moving discreetly in the middle of a warzone.¡± The Old Man nodded, unfazed by her words. ¡°Looks like you do live up to your reputation, interesting,¡± he turned to the rest of his team. ¡°Get that thing on board,¡± he turned back to the three of us with a flat gaze. ¡°Feel free to ride with us. I think you¡¯ll find we have something you''re interested in.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Alice challenged, her eyes narrowing. The Old Man didn¡¯t reply, but his silence was all she needed. ¡°Oh, God damn it. I was wondering why we couldn¡¯t find them.¡± I clued into who Alice was talking about and felt a grumble escape my throat. ¡°They¡¯ve got Splicer?¡± ¡°He was careless and panicked. Made for easy pickings,¡± he walked back to his armored transport, reached into the passenger seat, and dug around for a bit. A few moments later, he grabbed something and tossed it to me. I caught it and stared at the item. It was a container of some kind. ¡°For your friend,¡± he gestured to the puddle that contained half of Anomaly. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want to leave anything behind.¡± Alice sighed. ¡°We need to make this quick.¡± I stared at her incredulously. ¡°We¡¯re going with them?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve got Splicer and I¡¯m not allowing sole access,¡± Gold replied. ¡°Regardless, there is little danger. These guys are amicable. It¡¯s as they said, they¡¯re just cleaning up the mess and they¡¯re interested since the old man has a history with you.¡± ¡°He¡¯s part of the group I was dealing with the night The Cains got to me,¡± I explained. ¡°Ceph.Co. That was the name.¡± ¡°An alias,¡± Alice muttered. ¡°They have many throwaway names they use. The person behind their organization clearly wants to remain concealed ¨C and they¡¯ve been doing a good job at it. Bayside doesn¡¯t know of them. Pandora and The Cains are the same. The Queen¡¯s Court though? Hm¡­¡± ¡°How can you be sure?¡± I asked. ¡°I investigated them after you told me about your encounter. I concluded that they were just new arms dealers as I couldn¡¯t find much,'''' Gold explained as we walked to collect the remnants of Anomaly. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve seen them up close, I¡¯ve had to revise that. They¡¯re professionals with a big roster and a ton of experience.¡± I shuddered. It wasn¡¯t too long after I got my powers that I dealt with these guys. How much do they know about me? It wasn¡¯t until I had gathered Anomaly¡¯s gooey remains in the container that I finally noticed Mia¡¯s absence. I turned and examined the street, only to find one of her statues standing near an empty trashcan. None of the strangely geared soldiers even seemed to pay it any attention. It was like they couldn¡¯t even see it. ¡°Where did Mia go?¡± I asked. ¡°What is she doing?¡± ¡°Playing to her strengths,¡± Alice grinned ¡ª switching to Blue again. ¡°She¡¯s keeping her distance and sticking to the shadows. Without the Big Bad Wolf around, she¡¯s free to move as she sees fit. Contacting her is going to be annoying though. We¡¯re just going to have to trust her.¡± ¡°Trust her to work alone?¡± Alice nodded. ¡°She¡¯s got our backs if shit goes south,¡± Alice turned, and I followed her gaze. We stared at the convoy that was waiting patiently for us. ¡°Deep breath, Upgrade. This is where things are going to get tricky.¡± I could feel my anxiety getting the best of me as we got closer to the trucks. Half of Anomaly was still trapped inside the Morpher, unable to reform, which meant we were down a member. That didn¡¯t make us powerless, but we had to get him out somehow. If worst came to worst, Mia would act as backup, and Alice and I were already a good team. We weren¡¯t going to go down without a fight. ¡°Are you sure we shouldn¡¯t just bail?¡± I asked tentatively. I was far too exhausted to dive headfirst into another fight. These guys looked like they could march into a warzone and come out with all their limbs intact. ¡°I¡¯m not doubting our abilities but I¡¯ve gotta be honest here. I¡¯m running on fumes.¡± ¡°I know, which is why we¡¯re going with the flow,¡± Alice replied, giving me a supportive nudge. ¡°I¡¯ve got your back. Just follow my lead, okay? It¡¯s going to work out in our favor, trust me. No surprises this time.¡± Things had gone poorly before. Not a lot, but enough for me to know that her powers weren¡¯t foolproof. There would always be an inkling of doubt in my mind, nagging me to expect the worst. That instinct was probably a good thing, but now, I had no energy to act on it. I would have to place my complete trust in her here. ¡°You seem certain.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a good read on them,¡± Alice said confidently. ¡°It¡¯s as they say. They¡¯re not here to fight and they¡¯d prefer us on their side for now.¡± I didn¡¯t like that ¡®for now¡¯ part, but I¡¯d cooperate. I needed the short reprieve. ¡°Alright,¡± I agreed. ¡°I don¡¯t really think I have the energy to argue anyway.¡± Alice giggled. Slowly, we came to a stop in front of the Old Man. He looked us up and down with squinted eyes. It was like he was measuring us and evaluating our worth just by our appearance. If I were to guess, I would confidently say I looked more impressive than Alice. My armor completely outshone her ridiculous costume. ¡°All set?¡± ¡°You know, you¡¯re awfully quick to trust that we¡¯d play along,¡± Alice noted. ¡°You know I¡¯m a Mentalist so you know I¡¯ll be able to pick some things up. You even claimed that someone¡¯s said that I ¡®lived up to my reputation¡¯, so you have to know what I¡¯m capable of.¡± ¡°We do,¡± the Old Man replied dismissively. ¡°But we can¡¯t stand here and play twenty questions and you¡¯re the best shot we have at getting information quickly. Now, these streets are going to be swept by the ECU soon, so we need to get moving. I¡¯ll ask again, are you set to go?¡± ¡°Just so long as you know who you¡¯re dealing with,¡± Alice replied innocently. The Old Man momentarily stared at us before looking past us. His eyebrow furrowed a bit before he blinked and shook his head. I frowned and looked over my shoulder. He had seen something, but outside of us, there wasn¡¯t anyone in the street. I felt a surge of panic when I realized who was missing. Mia. Where is she? She had vanished, and I couldn¡¯t spot any of her statues. Had she switched? ¡°Get in and we¡¯ll be on our way.¡± Alice started walking before me, so I guessed she knew what happened to Mia. It would be unlike Alice to forget something that important so quickly. I just had to believe that Mia was concealing herself for her safety. We climbed into the back of the Old Man¡¯s armored vehicle and found a seat next to each other. I had never been in one of these armored transports before, but it was pretty much what I always imagined. There was less space here than I liked, but at least we weren¡¯t packed like sardines. There were several empty seats with only a handful of geared soldiers. ¡°Comfy,¡± Alice said, trying to make conversation. ¡°So are you guys allowed to talk or are they making you play the strong silent type?¡± Silence. None of them even turned to address her question. I suspected Alice didn¡¯t need Gold to figure this one out. ¡°Strong and silent it is. I¡¯m going to take a guess ¨C ex-military. A few might even be ex-ECU. I think you all made the right choice, probably better job security in what you''re doing now. It certainly gets you off the frontlines, and you get to pick your battles instead of being sacrificial fodder for the government,¡± Alice clapped with light enthusiasm. ¡°Win-win for all of you!¡± I grunted and nudged her. ¡°Psychoanalyzing them is probably not the best idea, Alice.¡± ¡°Old habits die hard,¡± I received a light sigh in response. ¡°Besides, talking helps break the ice.¡± ¡°Just try not to piss them off,¡± I leaned back into my seat. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly keen on getting shot any more tonight.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Alright-alright,¡± Alice said, leaning into my side. ¡°Anything for you.¡± Despite potentially being at the mercy of some unknown party, I found myself drifting in and out of consciousness. My body had hit its limit and was demanding rest. My muscles were sore, and my head was beginning to throb. I awoke several times when the vehicle jolted ¨C a speed bump maybe ¨C and each one reminded me that my nose was still busted. The painkillers I had taken earlier were starting to wear off. Unfortunately, I had left my suit¡¯s medical systems empty because I couldn¡¯t decide what kind of drugs I would need out here in the field. Strong painkillers seemed like the obvious choice now, but there was always the concern of dosage. Could my power fill the system with the proper dosage for my body, or would I have to figure that out manually? If I could, I would check, but I was still wearing the suit. ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± Alice¡¯s voice sounded a million miles away, but it brought me out of my brief sleep. Her arm wrapped around mine to pull me closer so my head could rest on her shoulder. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Garbage,¡± I mumbled in response, straightening myself up. ¡°How long have we been driving?¡± ¡°About thirty minutes. There¡¯s been a few turnarounds, apparently there¡¯s lots of blocked streets.¡± I blinked the sleep from my eyes. I¡¯d need more rest, but a thirty-minute nap would have to do for now. I cracked my neck a bit to try and wake myself up. It worked for the moment, and we found ourselves in an underground parking lot. ¡°Lots of tech around,¡± I noted as our convoy stopped to park. My suit¡¯s systems were picking up all sorts of connections. Some were easy to break into, while others were borderline impossible. My best guess was they had a mishmash of Mechatech. When the back of our armored vehicle opened, we emerged into what felt like a secret military base. Countless more soldiers were moving around, unloading things from the armored convoy, while a few watched the exits closely. It wasn¡¯t just us they had managed to find. Other Supers emerged from similar armored vehicles, all sporting different costumes. I recognized a few of them as solos from the meeting with Gaea. ¡°Picking up all those strays must¡¯ve been tedious. I doubt they all came quietly,¡± Alice said. The Old Man simply hummed, confirming her suspicions. It was only then that we saw one of the soldiers pull a bound man from one of the trucks before flinging him over his shoulder. He turned and made his way over to us. ¡°There¡¯s our guy. You gift wrapped him for us, how kind!¡± The Old Man grumbled. ¡°Sometimes¡­ they don¡¯t know when to stop. He also has a mouth on him.¡± Splicer was thin, a bit gangly. He was wearing the same get-up that I remembered seeing on the cameras back at the club when he was talking to Masquerade, only this time, his hands and ankles were bound, and he had tape over his mouth. He wore a furious expression, thrashing around on the soldier¡¯s shoulder. He hissed into his gag when his eyes locked with us. He looked to me, then to Alice. Then, he squirmed even harder. Alice grinned. ¡°I think he likes me.¡± ¡°Take him to the fourth floor and prepare him for interrogation,¡± the Old Man gestured to me and Alice. ¡°We¡¯ll be down shortly to pick his brain. Alice will do the heavy lifting.¡± The soldier nodded and walked off, carrying a wriggling Splicer who looked ready to bite his tongue off. ¡°Oh, will I now?¡± Her tone was playful and filled with anticipation. ¡°I would have thought you¡¯d want the first crack at him.¡± ¡°You telling me you weren¡¯t going to argue for first dibs?¡± the Old Man intoned, curious. ¡°It¡¯s not every day a Mentalist of your caliber comes along and your assistance would be appreciated. I don¡¯t think I need to state how much time we¡¯d all save by throwing you at him.¡± ¡°How kind of you,¡± Alice smirked. ¡°I¡¯ll need a bit of time first. My partner here is in need of some medical attention and some rest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll fetch a first aid kit and I¡¯ll have some food prepared. Would you like coffee?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I cut in, unable to mask my desperation. ¡°Yeah, sorry. A coffee would be good.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be a long night. I¡¯ll make sure to get something with some more kick to it.¡± With the Old Man as our guide, he led us out of the parking garage and through a corridor to a taped-off elevator. He then went through a door on the left, which took us into a spiraling staircase. When I expected him to go up, he instead began descending, where echoes of loud voices bounced off the walls. The first indication that downstairs wasn¡¯t part of the original building plan was the doors on the first and second floors we passed on the way down. They had significantly more security than the doors on the way out of the garage. These had scanners and a whole bunch of other tech built into them. I wasn¡¯t picking up anything like that on the floors above ground level, so there were good odds it was all custom-built. We stopped at level three, the old man passing with ease through the security checks. He didn¡¯t stop for anything, not even pausing before doors that looked like they could weather the direct impact of a missile. They just opened at his presence. Interesting. Some type of bioscanning? Maybe he has something on him that detects his proximity. I could make something similar for our hideout. But then we still have windows as a weakness, but I could always¡ª ¡°Through here,¡± he said, shaking me out of my thoughts and leading us into a room. It was an empty room with a couch, table, chairs, and a small kitchen. It was pristine, with the only sign of use being a wet dish rag that hung over the facet. ¡°Some of the staff usually linger here, but tonight¡¯s a busy night. All hands on deck.¡± Alice and I saw the two cameras set up to view the room, and they weren¡¯t exactly hidden. Every room must¡¯ve had them to ensure no one was slacking off. In an organization like this, I couldn¡¯t imagine whoever was in charge would be happy if their employees weren¡¯t productive. Alice clicked her tongue. ¡°A little privacy would be appreciated.¡± The Old Man shrugged. ¡°Upgrade can disable them if you want. It won¡¯t raise any alarms, I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± I didn¡¯t hesitate. As the electronics powered down, I scanned the rest of the room for anything else, only to come up empty. The only thing I switched off to be safe was a smart TV, but all the other electrical devices registered as kitchen appliances to my suit, so I didn¡¯t bother to mess with them. ¡°I¡¯ll be back shortly,¡± the old man said. ¡°After you¡¯ve taken a moment to rest, we¡¯ll see what we can do about retrieving Anomaly.¡± ¡°The other half of him is probably in that thing¡¯s lungs,¡± I said, grimacing. ¡°You¡¯ll have to cut him out.¡± This information didn¡¯t faze the Old Man. ¡°I figured as much. I¡¯ll get the Morpher prepared for surgery,¡± he pointed to the wall. ¡°There''s a first aid kit there to tend to whatever injuries you have. If it''s more serious, we¡¯ll have equipment for something more invasive.¡± The implication was clear. My suit would have to come off. Thankfully, the only serious injury I had was a broken nose, and I¡¯m sure Alice could fix that up. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad,¡± Alice reassured him, speaking before I could. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Fine by me. I¡¯ll be back shortly.¡± He left the room, leaving us on our own. ¡°Have you cleared the room?¡± Alice asked quietly. I nodded slowly. ¡°The cameras and TV are disabled. There¡¯s some other stuff but it''s all mundane,¡± I gestured over my shoulder toward the kitchen. ¡°Just the appliances.¡± ¡°Disable them anyway.¡± Alice started walking around the room, checking every nook and cranny she could find. She continuously switched between Orange and Gold to ensure she covered everything. I followed her lead and switched off the rest of the electronics in the room. They might appear mundane, but she still had more experience than me. We could never be too careful in a situation like this. ¡°We¡¯re good,¡± she finally said, finishing her search. ¡°Find somewhere comfy.¡± I didn¡¯t hesitate to collapse on the couch and lean back, closing my eyes and counting to ten. The quiet eased my senses, and once again, I felt the onset of exhaustion threaten to pull me under. I felt Alice sit beside me, her hand reaching for the base of my neck to find the button. She found it before I could protest and retracted my helmet. ¡°Ugh, that looks nasty,¡± the ugly look on her face was hard to miss, and her tone reflected as much. ¡°Looks like you headbutted a wall.¡± ¡°Try being blown into one instead.¡± ¡°Has it been hurting this whole time? Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± ¡°Mia found me some painkillers and I used my power on them. They¡¯re only just starting to wear off now,¡± I flinched as she gently traced the injury. I could feel how crooked it was from her touch alone. ¡°You''re going to set it, aren¡¯t you?¡± Alice¡¯s lips thinned, trying to suppress a smirk. ¡°Do you want me to?¡± ¡°If I want it to heal properly, I don¡¯t think I have a choice.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be quick then,¡± she turned my head to face her. Both hands gripped different parts of my nose, and I closed my eyes. ¡°On three, okay?¡± I hummed out an acknowledgment. ¡°Three¡ª¡± CRACK! ¡°FUCK!¡± I reeled back, spitting out a line of curses as pain seared through my skull. I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of their sockets as I endured the agonizing aftermath. ¡°You said ¡®on three¡¯!¡± There was an incredibly guilty giggle that bubbled out of Alice¡¯s lips. ¡°Sorry, I did say that ¨C and, well, technically I was right. I said three. My bad, Pink slipped through a bit there.¡± ¡°Fucking¡ª¡± I stopped myself and took a breath. I could at least breathe through my nose again, albeit lightly. ¡°Thank you, but please do a better job at holding Pink back when it comes to shit like this. The last thing I want is my nose to be ripped clean off. Ugh¡­¡± ¡°If it makes you feel any better, it would have hurt more if I had counted up.¡± ¡°I suppose that does make it a little better:¡± She dressed the injury with finesse better than a doctor. Given some time and help, along with some biogel, it would be as right as rain in a couple of days. All I needed to do was survive. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you probably know how this all started,¡± I said softly, unable to meet her gaze. Alice had since reclined on the sofa, taking this opportunity to rest. ¡°I never meant for any of this to happen.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Look, shit happens. I¡¯d chew you out but it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t made my share of mistakes and you¡¯ve already learned from it. Besides, this was bound to happen,¡± Alice shrugged lightly. ¡°We were all waiting for it. Whether or not you were the one to set it all off doesn¡¯t matter in the end. You''re not the one out there waging war across the whole city. That¡¯s Grim and Pandora.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± I bit my lip anxiously. I felt vulnerable, and I had already had this conversation with Mia. Maybe I was looking for validation ¨C for more people to tell me it wasn¡¯t my fault so I didn¡¯t have to feel so guilty. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to feel about all of it.¡± Alice heaved a sigh. ¡°Look, this is definitely one of the bigger conflicts Bayside has seen, but it could be worse, they aren¡¯t going after civilians and the ECU hasn¡¯t called in overseas support. I¡¯ve been a part of a few where they did escalate like that, though I mostly stuck to the shadows. Those conflicts? Those were carnage. This one hasn¡¯t reached that point yet because Pandora and Queens Court live and die based on their public perception. They can¡¯t afford to kill civilians and want to be seen as the good guys, so they¡¯ll keep people safe. Hell, Pandora¡¯s probably leading a bunch into bunkers as we speak,¡± she reached over and gave me an affectionate nudge to my knee. ¡°So don¡¯t worry about what¡¯s going on out there and focus on us, here and now. Mia¡¯s probably trying to figure out a way to get inside this place without being noticed and Anomaly is¡­¡± we both looked over at the container we left by the door ¡°...definitely feeling something.¡± I couldn¡¯t even begin to fathom what sensations he was experiencing right now. ¡°All in all, we¡¯re in a good spot. Our job is to get information out of Splicer. After that, we¡¯ll play it by ear.¡± Alice said. ¡°Alright, so what¡¯s our next move?¡± ¡°First, food and coffee,¡± Alice giggled. ¡°Then, we cut open the big doggie and put Anomaly back together. After that we talk to Splicer and figure out what he knows.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I nodded, following along. ¡°And what about these guys? I doubt they brought us here just for us to get info. They¡¯re going to want something.¡± ¡°Oh they want a lot of things,¡± Alice grinned. ¡°Things we can give them ¨C but that can go both ways.¡± I saw where she was going with this, and a grin of my own formed. ¡°A business partnership then?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± she confirmed. ¡°They¡¯re going to try to finesse us, but. I¡¯m not going to let that happen.¡± ¡°That¡¯s going to be tough,¡± I exhaled, looking around. ¡°They seem to be pretty powerful, they¡¯ve got gear in abundance and we¡¯re in the middle of their base. They probably also have a lot of supers on payroll that we don¡¯t know about. It won¡¯t be easy.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t expect it will be.¡± Alice¡¯s grin turned devious. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m counting on it.¡± The door leading into our room opened, and the Old Man walked back in. Our coffee had arrived. Fuse 6 The caffeine hit me like a truck. Coupled with the ham and cheese toasted sandwiches Alice and I shared, we followed the Old Man feeling like new people. No longer were my eyelids heavy, threatening to shut at a moment''s notice. I was wide awake and ready for anything. Breathing through my nose was still a problem, but at least the pain was gone. I could deal with the broken nose properly when I was sure Bayside would survive the night. ¡°The wonders of coffee,¡± Alice¡¯s sigh of satisfaction sounded from next to me as we kept pace with the Old Man. ¡°That was some good stuff. You guys are pretty well looked after by the looks of it.¡± She was making light conversation to keep the silence at bay. The coffee was stellar, while the food was mundane. Regardless, she managed to get a chortle of amusement from the Old Man. ¡°We have an attentive boss and that''s more than most can say. Their philosophy is that if you treat your employees right, they¡¯ll treat you right in return,¡± he replied sagely. ¡°I know when a Mentalist is attempting to gather information, would you at least do me the courtesy of telling me what you¡¯ve figured out? ¡± Alice hummed aloud, giving the Old Man a curious look. ¡°This place is well defended but flies under the radar. It operates as a legitimate business. You guys rent out the office spaces upstairs to fledgling businesses that need start up space don¡¯t you? It gives a nice excuse for there to be a lot of activity going in and out of the building, moving things,¡± she explained. ¡°Am I on the right track?¡± The Old Man hummed in acknowledgment. Alice giggled. ¡°Thought so. The Cains and Pandora probably don¡¯t even realize you guys are active in Bayside. You move about carefully, usually in broad daylight to get lost in the bustle of the city ¨C but when you¡¯re active at night, you make it look official, a mimicry of the ECU. Combat camouflage. Only a Mentalist would be able to see through it before it''s too late.¡± Since he asked, I figured I would throw in what I noticed. ¡°Your systems are distinct from the ECU,¡± I chimed in. ¡°I noticed it the moment I saw you. Different architecture and your modulation is weird. Despite that, the quality is still just as good as the ECU. If someone had the right equipment, you¡¯d stick out like a sore thumb.¡± Alice cleared her throat. ¡°Or a Mechakinetic who knows their stuff, apparently.¡± ¡°None of which is particularly common in this city,¡± the Old Man said. ¡°Your group is a rarity; a concentrated powerhouse. If the other gangs understood the threat you four posed, we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation right now. You''re lucky that The Cains and Pandora are too busy tearing at each other''s throats to really look into you.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but raise my eyebrows at that statement. That was a lot of praise from some guy I had only met once. I had been wet behind the ears when we last interacted ¨C no gear, no experience. I was also severely lacking in the ¡®common sense¡¯ department, but admitting that freely wasn¡¯t on my to-do list. ¡°You think we¡¯re that dangerous?¡± The Old Man stopped and turned, giving me a flat look. His deadpan expression made me feel embarrassed I had even asked the question. The answer ¨C in reality ¨C was clear. The four of us had superpowers, very potent ones at that. Alice was an Aspect, I was a Mechakinetic, Anomaly was an unkillable Morpher, and Mia was¨C well, she was something. I supposed she also counted as a Morpher, but she seemed more like a Cosmikinetic than a Morpher. Her ability to perceive sight and sound through her statues, swap places with them, and move them faster than the eye could see was mind-boggling. ¡°Do I need to answer that?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Alice chirped, clearly not keeping the best hold on Pink. ¡°Feed into our egos a bit more, we love to be flattered.¡± The Old Man rolled his eyes as he turned back and continued. ¡°The surgery room is just up ahead. I¡¯ve been told there have been some complications in retrieving Anomaly. We have surgery equipment onsite, but nothing strong enough to cut into the beast,¡± he explained. ¡°We¡¯re going to need some help, namely you two.¡± ¡°You¡­ want us to cut that thing open?¡± I asked, unable to suppress my shock. ¡°Wait, what do you mean you can¡¯t cut it open? It¡¯s skin isn¡¯t that strong, I cut through it perfectly fine.¡± I recalled the moment my blade sliced into its flesh. It was quick, and I barely felt any resistance. As I extended the blade on my arm to examine it, I realized the beast''s blood had dried on it. ¡°Like I said, we have surgery equipment but it isn¡¯t suited for this kind of operation. We have other facilities for more extensive procedures, but transporting the beast there in the middle of the chaos going on outside is impossible,¡± he said with a grim tone. ¡°I hope for your sake you''re not squeamish.¡± I didn¡¯t answer. All I could think about was the guy I killed earlier today. My pistol had cauterized the holes they made, which didn¡¯t leave room for bleeding. I hadn¡¯t even lingered that long on his fate either. It was me or him. It was just that simple. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see,¡± I said. The Old Man led us down another corridor and into a room. This one had a ton of medical supplies stacked on shelves, with one of the walls having a large viewing window into an operating room. The beast was on the table with three surgeons working away inside the room. Their scrubs were covered in blood as they tried to work, and I could see that they had managed to cut into it. ¡°I thought your equipment wasn¡¯t good enough?¡± I asked with a hopeful tone to my voice. The Old Man¡¯s features wrinkled as he stepped forward to the intercom. ¡°How is the procedure going?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve made some progress. The tissue and cartilage is very dense ¨C low enhancement rating ¨C enough to give us issues. We¡¯ve managed to break through but it has regenerative properties. It¡¯s fast enough to erase any meaningful progress we make.¡± I felt my blood run cold. ¡°How the hell can it regenerate? It¡¯s dead, any powers should be inert.¡± ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Alice countered. ¡°Some powers continue on even after death. Morphers, Transfiguration Cases, and some Biokinetics are the most common examples.¡± ¡°Transfiguration Cases?¡± I asked, unable to hide the confusion in my voice. ¡°What are those?¡± ¡°Most people just call them Morphers, but that¡¯s not quite correct. You know Katastrophe, right? That famous J-Pop family group? They¡¯re the most popular Transfiguration Cases,¡± Alice explained. ¡°Bodies that are permanently altered by Awakenings, things that can¡¯t be reversed or controlled. You¡¯ve already met one, Prosperity,¡± she mimed the ears with her fingers atop her head. ¡°You think of her as a Morpher, and while you''re right, she would also be classified as a Transfiguration Case.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of that term before.¡± ¡°It¡¯s ECU terminology,¡± the Old Man said. ¡°They¡¯re rare and are known to be exceptionally powerful. Their biological makeup is altered during the Awakening process which makes them both very well suited to using their power and incredibly valuable to study. There are individuals all across the world that would pay a lot of money to get their hands on one, dead or alive.¡± I didn¡¯t want to think what kind of twisted shit those sorts of people would do with them. ¡°Biokinetics especially,¡± Alice said. The Old Man hummed deeply. ¡°Especially Biokinetics.¡± I shuddered. ¡°You guys sound like you¡¯ve dealt with that sorta stuff before.¡± Alice shook her head. ¡°Personally? No, I just know about it because I do my research. With Gold, I can fill in the gaps when I reach certain dead ends. I¡¯ve also crossed paths with a few unsavory people, as you already know,¡± she paused, turning to the Old Man. ¡°You though¡­¡± The Old Man kept his back turned. He didn¡¯t flinch, but I could tell from Alice¡¯s insinuation that he had more skeletons in his closet than we did combined. My stomach twisted just thinking about it. I should have seen it coming. These guys didn¡¯t pick us up from the middle of a warzone out of the kindness of their hearts. He reached forward and pressed the intercom again. ¡°Recommendations, doctors?¡± He asked, changing the subject. ¡°Our next best strategy would be feeding a pump into its lungs to retrieve the fluid, but Anomaly¡¯s body structure is more gelatinous than liquid so there¡¯s a high chance of the extraction failing. The best way is to extract the lungs, but we don¡¯t have the tools to do that here.¡± Sighing, the Old Man turned to me. ¡°You heard him. Do you think you can do it?¡± I felt myself gag at the idea but swallowed my disgust and shrugged. It didn¡¯t seem like I had much of a choice. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a shot. It¡¯s not like it''s a live patient, so I can¡¯t really screw this up.¡± The Old Man hummed again. ¡°Follow the surgeon''s directions. You don¡¯t want to cut directly into the lungs otherwise Anomaly will spill out into the rest of its body. That¡¯ll cause more trouble than it''s worth.¡± Alice crossed her arms, a curious look appearing on her features. ¡°You seem awfully concerned about him.¡± The Old Man didn¡¯t answer. He walked toward the door leading into the operating room and opened it. He stood by and gestured for me to step in. I took one look through the observation window and collected my bearings. I had never done anything like this before, and the idea of cutting open some kind of animal grossed me out to no end. Even worse was I knew this was once a living person ¨C a kid, no older than thirteen. God damn it. Fuck you, Anomaly. Why¡¯d you have to go and jump inside its mouth? I stepped into the room, and the surgeons gave me supportive nods. They even moved away from the table to make room for me. As I got closer, I saw just how damaged their equipment was. There were saws with missing teeth and scalpels that snapped in half. No wonder they needed me. ¡°I¡¯ll mark where you''re going to need to cut,¡± one of the surgeons said, stepping forward. ¡°Just to clarify, how will you be making the incision?¡± I lifted my arm and extended the blade. The surgeon¡¯s eyes widened as he flinched. ¡°This good enough?¡± ¡°Y-Yes, more than enough.¡± I nodded as the man moved forward and began marking the corpse. They lowered the table once they were done and gestured for me to start. Nervously, I climbed up onto the table and positioned myself over the beast. I could see the markings on its body and the scarring from the previous attempts. The Morpher¡¯s front looked like someone had lashed it several times with steel blades, which I supposed was accurate, given the equipment in the room. ¡°One moment,¡± one of the surgeons said. He retrieved a ruler and leveled it against the flat of my blade. He pointed to a point about three-quarters up the blade and tapped it. ¡°Try not to go any deeper than that.¡± I grumbled a bit under my breath. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± I steadied myself and lined the blade up with the first marking. I was so nervous that I was shaking a little. I was about to cut open a dead Morpher to retrieve my teammate after he had decided to go spelunking into its lungs. Not how I imagined my night would turn out, but here I was. I counted down from three before plunging the blade in. It was slick and wet, and I fought the urge to vomit. I swear I could feel how squishy the Morpher¡¯s insides were through the blade. Regardless, I steeled my will and began cutting back and forth in a sawing motion. I made it halfway down before the surgeons began reaching in and pulling the flesh apart, inserting clips that kept the wound open for longer. I gagged again when the light illuminated its insides, and I silently thanked my foresight that my helmet filtered the smell that was undoubtedly plaguing the room. ¡°Jesus,¡± I stopped and looked away, desperate for the image not to sear into my memory. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ hell this is nasty.¡± There was some light chuckling from the surgeons around me when the intercom sounded. The Old Man¡¯s voice came through. ¡°You¡¯re doing well, kid.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± I snorted, unable to keep the sarcasm out of my tone. ¡°At this point, I just want him out so I can kick his ass. What the fuck was he thinking pulling a stunt like this?¡± ¡°It was a gamble that paid off and saved your lives.¡± ¡°Stupid,¡± I hissed in response. I kept cutting, sawing the blade through more flesh. I followed the marked lines meticulously because the last thing I wanted was to slice through an artery. I wasn¡¯t a biology expert, but I didn¡¯t want to find out if those things still spurted blood from the deceased, inhuman or human. ¡°Any dreams I had of becoming a doctor are now long dead.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Again, the surgeons snorted. ¡°You think this is bad? Have you ever seen a giant tapeworm?¡± ¡°Please shut the fuck up,¡± I groaned. The thought of oversized worms moving through someone''s insides made me pause again. I raised my hand to my mouth, only to remember that I was wearing a helmet. If I threw up in my helmet, everyone in the room was getting a fresh laser burn. ¡°I¡¯m never doing this again. Fucking Christ this¡ª¡± ¡°Keep going, you¡¯re doing great,¡± another surgeon said, interrupting me. ¡°Better than most students I¡¯ve seen.¡± It was sickening to see how the insides pushed against the devices like they were trying to knit the tissue and cartilage back together again. The sandwiches and coffee in my stomach threatened to come up once I finished cutting. All three surgeons pulled the wound apart, exposing the lungs. They were bulging, moving about as Anomaly tried to escape. I nearly puked right then and there. ¡°We can take it from here, kid.¡± I hopped off the table and stepped away as they began working. They made a few incisions before extracting the bloated lungs, which looked more like inflated water balloons than anything else. They dropped them into a large tray and cut the top open. I watched with morbid curiosity as the black, starry goo pooled onto the tray. Once the other half of Anomaly had drained from the lungs, the surgeons removed them and placed the organs in another tray. The black goo moved about randomly. The door to the operating room clicked open, and Alice walked in carrying the container with the rest of Anomaly. She smiled and winked at me, which I took as a silent congratulations for what I had just put myself through. I didn¡¯t give her any visual reaction, opting to watch as she placed the container next to the tray before opening the lid. Immediately, the black goo in the tray flowed out and up into the container. It then joined the rest of the pooling goo and settled. ¡°That should be all of him,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t miss how croaky I sounded. ¡°Why isn¡¯t he reforming?¡± Alice tapped the side of the container and hummed when there was no outward reaction. ¡°He¡¯s a bit frazzled. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s ever been transformed this long and I don¡¯t believe he¡¯s ever been split apart like that for this long either. It might take him a while to gather his bearings.¡± ¡°How long?¡± ¡°About an hour, a little less maybe. Important bit is he¡¯ll put himself back together,¡± she said, putting the lid back on the container. ¡°For now, let''s move on. I can tell you''re eager to get out of here.¡± She couldn¡¯t have been more correct if she tried. ¡°Hold on a moment,¡± one of the surgeons said. He stepped to the side and retrieved a bottle from one of the tables before walking toward me. ¡°Need to clean you up, you can''t walk around the base like that.¡± He sprayed me with the contents of the bottle before I could protest. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± I frowned, wiping the front of my visor so I could see. Strangely, I noticed the fresh blood on my blade disintegrate, leaving spotless shining steel. ¡°That¡¯s handy.¡± ¡°Bio-Sanitizer,¡± the surgeon explained. ¡°Disintegrates harmful bacteria, along with any sort of biohazard. It''s starting to get used more and more since the new recipe was developed. The previous ones weren¡¯t very¡­ reliable.¡± I stared at him, and he shuffled awkwardly. ¡°The prototypes tended to do unsavory things to exposed body parts.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I said dully. I made it pretty clear that I just wanted to leave. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°No problem! Safety and sanitation come first after all.¡± He was clearly passionate about the subject. It was just unfortunate that my headspace was already begging to move on. ¡°Sure.¡± Alice cleared her throat. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Upgrade.¡± When we left the room and the operating room door closed behind me, I released a breath I didn¡¯t even know I was holding. I stood for a moment and shuddered, allowing myself a moment to purge all the events that just took place within the last ten minutes. I took a breath and relaxed. ¡°Upgrade?¡± I turned to Alice. ¡°Your blade?¡± I looked down to see that it still extended. I retracted it and let out another slow, steady breath. ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. I shook my hands before rubbing them together in an attempt to banish the anxiety I was suddenly feeling. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re moving onto Splicer now, right?¡± The Old Man acknowledged my words with a slow nod. His gaze, however, lingered on the box containing Anomaly. I was about to ask why when he pulled his attention away from it, fixing me and Alice with a pointed stare. ¡°We have Splicer on the fourth floor.¡± I motioned for him to move. ¡°Lead the way.¡± The Old Man led us out of the third floor and descended to the fourth. These corridors were far more lively. There was quite a bit of shouting and some banging on the walls. None of the doors had windows, so we couldn¡¯t see what was behind them. However, judging from the noises, it seemed they were keeping rowdy people down here. ¡°Don¡¯t mind the noise,¡± the Old Man said. ¡°This is where we contain Evohumans and other people of interest.¡± ¡°Imprison,¡± Alice corrected with a smile. ¡°Until they cooperate with you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s for their own good,¡± he replied, unbothered by her correction. ¡°Most are too dangerous to be operating on their own. Others wouldn¡¯t survive being press ganged by The Cains or Pandora. If they really make too much of a fuss, then we let them go. Sometimes, they can prove to be too much trouble.¡± I frowned at all the yelling. ¡°How much is too much?¡± ¡°Depends. It varies.¡± ¡°Depending on what?¡± Alice snickered. ¡°The power.¡± We arrived at the door, and the Old Man didn¡¯t hesitate to open it and step through. We followed him, entering a room with four concrete walls, ceiling, and floor. When this room was created, comfort was not part of the feature list apparently. The only thing that occupied the room was a small mattress on the back wall, a table, and a chair. There were three men in the room. Two guards and the person we had come to see. Splicer was sitting in the chair doing his best impression of a bruised tomato. His dark hair hung loosely over his eyes, and his dark tan skin was a shade paler than it should¡¯ve been. My analytic mode showed that his heart rate was far above normal, which meant he was aware of the shitty situation he was in. If I had to guess, the two guards weren¡¯t kind to him. ¡°Well, well¡­ lookie what we have here!¡± Alice announced, strolling into the room. The two armored guards turned to us as she gestured for them to leave. ¡°Take five, boys. I¡¯ll get what everyone¡¯s clambering for in a couple of minutes.¡± The Old Man cleared his throat. ¡°Clear the room gentlemen. We¡¯ll take it from here.¡± The soldiers shrugged and left the room. The door shut behind us, and Alice gently placed Anomaly¡¯s container on the floor before pulling up a chair in front of Splicer. She plopped herself down and crossed her legs. ¡°You have nooooo idea how long I¡¯ve been waiting to meet you,¡± I could hear the excitement in Alice¡¯s tone. ¡°You¡¯ve got all the info we need and I¡¯m going to get it out of you, understand?¡± Splicer shifted in his seat, glaring at her through matted hair and two swollen eyes. ¡°You want me to talk?¡± His accent was thick. Middle Eastern, if I had to guess. English was clearly not his first language. ¡°You don¡¯t have to. I do like a challenge sometimes,¡± Alice leaned forward. ¡°I¡¯ll get my information one way or another. If you talk, it makes things easier for you. If you don¡¯t, I get to sit here and do what I do best.¡± Splicer leaned back in his seat and slouched. Reading the defeat and resignation through his injuries was so easy even I could do it. ¡°Mentalist.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look so sad. These guys would¡¯ve brought in someone to pick your brain one way or another. Just be thankful that my way doesn¡¯t end with your brain looking like mashed potatoes,¡± Alice said with a smile. ¡°Let''s start with something simple; Masquerade. What¡¯s your business with him and the Iron Maiden?¡± Splicer didn¡¯t move. If it weren¡¯t for the analytic mode on my visor, I would have assumed he stopped breathing altogether. He just stared at Alice, his shoulders slumped and looking borderline catatonic. Was this some sort of defense mechanism against Mentalists? I knew Gold got a lot of information just off body language alone. Was he trying to minimize that in the hopes that Gold wouldn¡¯t be able to get what we wanted out of him? Would that even work? ¡°Hmm. You started small-time until you got snatched up by a local gang in your hometown. They put you to work until a rival gang came and messed everything up. In the aftermath, you were talent scouted by some nasty individuals working for Masquerade, where he brought you in and cut you a deal,¡± Alice started. Splicer flinched, and it got a giggle out of her. ¡°Oooh, that was a bit of a shot in the dark. Go me! That makes things easier.¡± I guess not. ¡°Look at you sitting there with that big fucking grin on your face,¡± I could hear the venom in Splicer¡¯s tone as he inhaled through his nose. ¡°You might feel like you¡¯re on top of the world right now but really, you¡¯re in no better position than me. They¡¯ve got us here in this room together,¡± he raised his hands to show the cuffs before resting them on the table. ¡°I might be the one in cuffs but tell me this, do you really think people like him are just going to let you walk out of here?¡± He pointed to the Old Man standing next to me. ¡°They¡¯re already aware,¡± the Old Man said calmly. ¡°Alice understands how these things work. She¡¯s been through this before. She knows what to expect and I would put money on the fact that she¡¯s already talked about it with her partner here.¡± It didn¡¯t surprise me that he knew. I did have to wonder if he had any powers or if he was referring to all the experiences he had likely seen over the years. He was visibly old, someone I would have pegged to have long since retired if I had passed them on the street. ¡°Pawns!¡± Splicer snarled, clenching his hands so tight his bloodied knuckles went white. ¡°Playing along in their little game. You¡¯re out of your depth.¡± ¡°I suppose it takes one to know one,¡± Alice replied easily. ¡°You¡¯ve been Masquerade''s bitch for quite some time. Must¡¯ve stung a bit to be thrown at Grim with no real guarantee of safety. We all know his history for being a bit of a loose cannon. You¡¯ve been balancing on a knife¡¯s edge for quite a while now.¡± Splicer¡¯s glare only hardened. Alice, meanwhile, only looked ever so slightly perplexed. ¡°You¡¯re holding onto the information we want because it''s your only real card to play. Why not play it? I¡¯m going to see your hand eventually. Give it five more minutes and I¡¯ll know everything there is to know about you.¡± ¡°Then do it,¡± Splicer hissed through clenched teeth. He leaned forward and did his best to glare at Gold. Even with his injuries, I could guess how angry he was. He lashed out and slammed his arms down on the table with all his might, causing the Old Man¡¯s hands to twitch toward his jacket pocket. ¡°LOOK AT ME AND TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE!¡± I had been expecting some quick-witted retort to anger Splicer further. Alice was good at zeroing in on sore spots with Gold, and I fully expected her to pull out all the stops with this guy. What I wasn¡¯t expecting was the silence that followed. Alice said nothing. She locked herself in a staring contest with the unhinged lunatic for so long that I wondered if Gold had met her match. I had never seen her freeze up like this before. Then again, was she freezing up, or was this part of her strategy? It was hard to tell with Gold. ¡°What is there left for me to hide?¡± His voice cracked. ¡°I have nothing. NOTHING!¡± I felt a part of me snap at this pity parade he was throwing himself. He fucked up and got caught. He was reaping what he sowed. ¡°Don¡¯t even bother with this bullshit you''re trying to pull,¡± I said with an edge to my voice. ¡°I¡¯ve seen firsthand the fucked up shit you¡¯ve been doing. There¡¯s no excuse for that,¡± I was immediately reminded of the lab where I saw Pete and Mia. Then, I was back in the second lab tonight with those kids. Finally, my mind arrived at the surgery room upstairs. That Morpher was a kid, and we were forced to put him down because of what Splicer had done to him. ¡°Pack in the tears and quit acting like you have a conscience.¡± Splicer stared at me incredulously before a smile broke out across his face. He laughed. He laughed! ¡°Do you think I wanted any of that?¡± He scoffed, leaning back, shaking his head in disbelief. His features shifted from amusement to anger in the blink of an eye. ¡°Did you think I had any sort of choice!? I¡¯ve never had a choice! Ever since I was dropped into this fucking city, I¡¯ve been confined to those labs. I didn¡¯t get a say in who I worked on. It was work or die, you FUCKING MORON!¡± His demeanor shifted again, and his smile returned with more of a mocking glint to it. ¡°But you wouldn¡¯t know that, would you? Noooooooo¡­ you¡¯re new. Adorable little thing. You have no idea what it''s like to be STEPPED ON¨C¡± his anger was back in a flash ¡°¡ªto have EVERYTHING RIPPED AWAY FROM YOU! No, while you¡¯re out parading around in your little costumes and playing with your toys, people like me are stuck living in reality!¡± His words left me with little to say. I didn¡¯t know whether to believe this charade he was putting on or to walk over there and give him a hard reality check, preferably across the face, for all the trouble he had put us through. ¡°You fucking people,¡± he spat, continuing his tirade. ¡°It¡¯s always the fucking same. I end up in a room like this, stuck speaking to people who feed me hollow promises about things getting better when they never do,¡± his head shifted from me to stare at the Old Man. ¡°I assume you''re going to offer me protection from Masquerade and Grim as long as I cooperate, right? First its cooperation, then later down the line, that cooperation is going to turn into service. You¡¯ll put me to work and god-fucking-forbid I open my mouth to protest what it is you want me to do. Then, when things get too hot, I¡¯m left on my own to pick up the pieces and the cycle starts all over again.¡± More silence hung over the room, and Alice still wasn¡¯t moving, her eyes locked firmly on Splicer. I stood behind her and couldn¡¯t see her face, but I could only assume Gold was in the pilot¡¯s seat. Behind me by the door, the Old Man shifted and stepped forward, his jacket rustling as he cleared his throat. ¡°Got it out of your system?¡± Splicer¡¯s shoulders slumped again as all the anger and vitriol left him. ¡°Scream and yell all you like. It¡¯s not going to change what you¡¯ve done. Now, you know why we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Grim¡¯s weakness,¡± he sniffed, trying desperately to compose himself. ¡°That¡¯s what you want, isn¡¯t it? That¡¯s what you''re here for.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, not bothering to hide my condescending tone. ¡°So maybe this time, you can tell us without the long emotional meltdown, thanks.¡± His features turned hollow as he stared down at the table. When he looked up again, Alice abruptly stood up from her seat. ¡°No,¡± the words sent a shiver down my spine. I had never heard such rage in Alice¡¯s tone before. ¡°You are fucking kidding me. Don¡¯t say it!¡± She leaned across the table, glaring holes through his head. ¡°There¡¯s no way. You have to have made some kind of mistake. It can¡¯t be that fucking simple.¡± Splicer let out a genuine snort of amusement. He drank in her frustration like it was refreshing spring water. It was enough to send Alice into a fit. Her fists crashed against the table so hard it split it in half, despite being made of metal. When she turned to leave, I saw Red in control. The Old Man quickly stepped out of her way as she barged through the door and slammed it behind her. ¡°I don¡¯t blame her,¡± he muttered. ¡°I had the same reaction too. I think anyone would.¡± ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± I scowled, looking back at him. ¡°You know his weakness?¡± ¡°Contrary to what most theories say, his power doesn¡¯t erode or melt. It doesn¡¯t eat either because it¡¯s not a living entity,¡± he paused, looking up directly at me. ¡°His shadow ages.¡± I froze. It ages? Splicer continued without missing a beat. ¡°It¡¯s simple when you think about it. How long has the guy been active? Sixty years now?¡± He pursed his lips and shook his head. ¡°Every Mentalist on the planet has looked into him by now, trying to figure out how to take him down. Even fucking Ajax couldn¡¯t manage it. Every obstacle or adversary in his way turned to dust and scattered to the wind.¡± Splicer suddenly laughed bitterly. ¡°So we just need something that can stand the test of time, something he can¡¯t break down fast enough. That something will impede him, slow him down, weaken him. There are plenty of substances that will do the trick, but I¡¯ve done some tests¡­ run the numbers and the answer is so obvious ¨C it¡¯s right in front of our faces every day. We can¡¯t even live without it.¡± The revelation hit me. I didn¡¯t feel any sense of euphoria for figuring it out. Instead, I felt disappointed, like the world had just played a cruel practical joke on me. Water. How fucking stupid were we? Fuse 7 I placed Anomaly¡¯s container down on the table with a heavy clunk. It was only a slight difference, but the dark goo was starting to become more active. As much as I was looking forward to seeing him up and about again, my attention fixated on Alice. She paced the room, her eyes blazing Gold and a look of frustration on her face. If it bothered me that every Mentalist on the planet had missed such a simple weakness, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s downright furious. ¡°Alice.¡± Her head flicked toward me, and I noticed Gold¡¯s eyes glowed brighter than usual. They shone like miniature suns, and my only reasoning led me to conclude that she was pushing her power harder than she was regularly comfortable with. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure what side effects that would lead to, but I doubted she would¡¯ve heeded my advice if I offered any. ¡°We¡¯ve got what we need,¡± I started, picking my words carefully. Gold was still staring at me, her expression completely unreadable. ¡°Our next move should be sharing this information with everyone¡ª¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°No?¡± I repeated, giving her a confused stare. So far, we had spent the night tracking down Splicer so we could get information off him ¨C information that Pandora, The Queen¡¯s Court, and the ECU could finally use to put Grim down. Were we seriously not going to use it? The Old Man behind me cleared his throat. ¡°I agree. Sharing this knowledge won¡¯t do any good.¡± ¡°What?¡± I turned to him, trying not to sound bewildered at what I was hearing. ¡°Sorry, did we not all hear the same thing? We¡¯ve got his weakness, it¡¯s water, and this city is by the fucking ocean. Why wouldn¡¯t we be shouting this from the rooftops?¡± ¡°Consider the information we¡¯ve received and our reactions to it,¡± The Old Man said, shaking his head. ¡°We could tell them but the issue lies in the believability. Would I be right in assuming that you¡ª¡± he said, turning his gaze to Alice. ¡°¡ªare struggling to believe his claims? I¡¯ve worked with plenty of Mentalists before and they do not like simple solutions to difficult problems.¡± Alice stopped pacing. Crossing her arms, she looked away from The Old Man and lightly bit her lip in thought. ¡°I believe him, but that¡¯s the problem. There has to be something Splicer has missed. The solution he¡¯s presented is far too simple. If his weakness really is water, then someone would have figured it out by now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s likely that someone has,¡± The Old Man said evenly. ¡°And they were probably silenced by Grim or a third party. Maybe they¡¯re too scared to share the information or perhaps they didn¡¯t believe their conclusions. It¡¯s happened before with other Evos, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it¡¯s the case here.¡± Alice clicked her tongue as she lifted a hand to chew on one of her fingernails. I could see how anxious she was. With Gold in control, it was easy to tell that Grim occupied every part of her brain. I could see her searching for threads ¨C anything she had missed, recalling information to her brain that she otherwise would have ignored. ¡°Grim has been active for over sixty years. Outside of the Trinity, he¡¯s one of the oldest supers and there¡¯s a plethora of information on him. At no point in my research did I ever come across anything that would have led me to the conclusion that his weakness is water,¡± Alice said with a quiet edge to her voice. ¡°Information must have been scrubbed, any trace wiped.¡± ¡°Difficult to do,¡± The Old Man said. ¡°As far as we¡¯re aware, he doesn¡¯t have the resources. Never has.¡± ¡°Then he¡¯s killed them all,¡± she replied. ¡°Or scared the ones he couldn¡¯t afford to kill into silence. He has enough resources and influence for that.¡± The Old Man exhaled softly. ¡°Sometimes all it takes is a reputation for someone to keep their mouth shut.¡± I looked between the two of them and frowned. From where I stood, I could visualize this conversation heading toward a solution in which we do nothing. To say that didn¡¯t sit right with me would¡¯ve been an understatement. If I had to, I¡¯d build giant water cannons to rid the city of the bastard myself. I didn¡¯t care how ridiculous the answer was, only that it worked. ¡°So what do we do?¡± Silence was my answer. Alice was still utilizing Gold to make some kind of plan or to figure out if there was any way Splicer had lied or come to the wrong conclusion ¨C at least, that¡¯s what I believed she was doing. The Old Man ¨C who I didn¡¯t know much about ¨C remained stoic. The lack of urgency started to grate at my nerves. The fight was still raging out outside, and we were down here standing around. ¡°Why only water? There are plenty of substances on Earth that can stand the test of time,¡± I wondered. Depending on how rapidly Grim¡¯s power aged, some solids could last thousands, if not millions of years. Those ECU soldiers practically melted when his shadow swept through them, disintegrating their armor, bodies, and bones. His power must accelerate the aging process by hundreds of years. ¡°How effectively can Grim affect rocks? I¡¯m not big on geology, but I know volcanic matter can last a long time if not exposed to eroding elements. Do you know what scale his powers can age?¡± Gold hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Thousands of years in a few seconds, give or take,¡± Gold rubbed her forehead with an unsatisfied scowl. ¡°Could be more, could be less. When I try to extrapolate what I know, my power just gives up.¡± I blinked owlishly. Since when could Gold not get an accurate answer? Since when would she give up? ¡°Gives up?¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°What the hell is that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°Most Mentalists I¡¯ve encountered operate on linear simulations relative to the information they possess,¡± The Old Man cut in. Alice¡¯s face twisted into something ugly, and I immediately knew she didn¡¯t take kindly to his input. ¡°Traditional Mentalists can process information and follow it to its most likely conclusion. I¡¯ll stress that it¡¯s most, not all. Some do it better than others. I like to call them Archival Mentalists.¡± Not all Mentalists. Some were like Mirage and played with minds with illusions. I had no doubts there were other kinds I hadn¡¯t heard of yet. ¡°Let¡¯s not get off track,¡± Alice said, eager to keep us on track. ¡°I¡¯ve determined that Grim¡¯s power operates like a gas, meaning it¡¯s soluble in water. Some solids could work, namely rocks or noble metals, but the issue lies in acquiring those materials. Some are exotic and unbelievably expensive. We¡¯re on a time crunch, so it''s unrealistic. Water is easily accessible, and our most obvious solution.¡± Alice looked like she wanted to bite her tongue off for saying that. ¡°Then it''s a matter of volume,¡± I said. I felt myself begin to pace the room just like Alice had been moments ago. Ideas sprung to mind on weapons that could shoot high volumes of water. It wasn¡¯t like it was hard to come up with ¨C those things already existed in the form of riot suppression and firefighters, hell with my power, all I¡¯d need is a crappy water pistol to get started. ¡°How much is enough?¡± Another thought occurred to me ¨C the type of water. Ocean? Fresh? Distilled? Did it even matter? ¡°It¡¯s not like we can just lead him into the ocean. I can¡¯t imagine a more obvious trap,¡± I muttered. When I wasn¡¯t getting any feedback from The Old Man or Alice, I gave them an expecting look. ¡°Well? Come on, we need ideas.¡± ¡°Grim¡¯s not stupid. Anything that¡¯s a direct approach he¡¯s going to see coming,¡± The Old Man shook his head. ¡°So what, we just sit on our asses here and wait for him to grind the city to dust?¡± ¡°I never said that,¡± The Old Man shot back, his gaze drifting back to Alice. ¡°What we need is a plan of action. Preferably one that tests our hypothesis. If he actually can be weakened by water, then we need to figure out how much we need. Grim is obviously aware of his own weakness, so if he sees someone trying to exploit it, he¡¯ll drop any pretense about holding back and start attacking indiscriminately.¡± ¡°Is he not already doing that?¡± I said, disbelief coloring my tone. ¡°The whole city¡¯s against him and chances are Pandora and the ECU are calling in backup. His back¡¯s against the wall. Sure, Gold Rush and Nemesis might still be on his side but they¡¯re still vastly outnumbered.¡± ¡°And yet he¡¯s still holding back,¡± Alice said, the golden glow of her eyes shifting back to blue. ¡°His shadow is completely invincible, it¡¯s only downside being his maneuverability. He can have a whole army against him and he¡¯ll still eventually win.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to destroy Bayside,¡± The Old Man added. ¡°Since he¡¯s been here, he¡¯s built something. The Cains, while scum, are still a formidable force within the city. In his head, he¡¯s not going to give up on that until there¡¯s a real chance that he dies. He will fight, and he will kill to maintain his position in this city.¡± Frustration bubbled in my chest and threatened to burst. I recalled a conversation I had earlier in my partnership with Alice, one that detailed Grim specifically. ¡°You told me that if Pandora and Grim came to blows, it would be a bloodbath ¨C but that eventually, with all their firepower, Pandora would come out on top. The Queen¡¯s Court and the ECU are also against him now,¡± I paused to gauge her reaction. Alice simply crossed her arms and waited for me to continue. ¡°Are you telling me that¡¯s changed, that they¡¯ll all fail ¨C that Grim will come out on top of all this?¡± Slowly, she exhaled out of her nose, her gaze dropping to the floor. Then, after a few more moments, she met my eyes again. ¡°When I told you that, Gold was operating under the assumption that Pandora¡¯s insane number of supers would mean one would eventually find his weakness. Throw enough bodies at a problem and the solution would eventually show.¡± I wanted to rip my hair out at the absurdity of that line of thought. ¡°Throwing bodies at Grim doesn¡¯t work! He turns them to dust, Alice. Grim has fought head-on with Ajax. AJAX! You don¡¯t get more firepower than a two thousand meter spaceship with enough firepower to turn a small country into a glass floor!¡± I snapped. Alice narrowed her eyes into a glare. ¡°Ajax¡¯s methods are simple. Overwhelming firepower. What Pandora has is versatility. Don¡¯t ignore what I¡¯m saying. Gold¡¯s conclusion was that Pandora would find his weakness eventually with their numbers ¨C something I now know won¡¯t happen,¡± she growled. ¡°There are no Hydrokinetic Elementalists in Bayside and the few that do pop up either quickly end up dead, or leave the city. No prizes for guessing why that is. Unfortunately that leaves us without the easy option since the closest macro Hydrokinetic that comes to mind is a super called Riptide, and last I heard they were in China.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Japan, now,¡± The Old Man said, stunning the both of us. His expression didn¡¯t change when we both turned to him. ¡°He doesn¡¯t work for us if that¡¯s what you¡¯re wondering. He¡¯s just someone we¡¯ve been keeping tabs on. He¡¯s two weeks into his vacation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we can just hop to Japan and ask him nicely anyway,¡± I dismissed the notion. ¡°Unless you guys have access to teleportation somehow.¡± The Old Man stared at me, his expression unchanging. ¡°We do not.¡± I strolled over to the couch and collapsed, leaning back into the cushions. It didn¡¯t escape me that even now, there were people out there dying on the streets while I sat here in this air-conditioned room, relaxing on the sofa. I didn¡¯t feel like the best person in the world when I had information crucial to Bayside¡¯s survival. Unfortunately, The Old Man and Alice had a point. No one would believe us if we strolled up and claimed we all needed to give Grim a hydration check. ¡°There¡¯s got to be something.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get there kid,¡± The Old Man said reassuringly. I turned to see that his gaze had softened somewhat. It wasn¡¯t what I expected from the man, but I was thankful for it anyway. ¡°We just need to keep our heads on straight and the answer will come to us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Mechakinetic,¡± I offered, looking between him and Alice again. The latter was off in her own little world, staring at the ceiling. ¡°Maybe I can build something.¡± I checked the time on my visor. It was one-thirty in the morning. It would only be a few more hours before my charges reset at four forty-seven. I¡¯d be able to do something then ¨C make something that could potentially hamper Grim. A large bucket we could airlift overhead. Grim¡¯s shadow didn¡¯t have eyes, so it wasn¡¯t like he¡¯d be able to see us coming. Then again¡­ he was able to navigate with his shadow pretty well. There was probably another aspect of his power I wasn¡¯t accounting for. Scratch the giant bucket idea. ¡°What would you be able to build in time?¡± The Old Man asked. ¡°Mechakinetics need time, kid. I know you¡¯re fast but I doubt you''re that fast.¡± I was that fast ¨C or could be with the proper setup. If I had the right base components, I¡¯d be able to skip steps and save on charges, but that was a best-case scenario. I¡¯d need to know what I was building first, and I didn¡¯t even have that. The best I could come up with was some kind of water bomb or water gun. Whatever it involved had to be something that utilized water and did it at a high volume. Maybe we could break into a fire station and steal a firetruck? I could improve it with my powers, but would the quantity of water be enough? How much was enough? What if we hooked into a fire hydrant? But then we have to worry about Grim seeing us set up, and there¡¯s no way we¡¯d get the chance to¡ª An incoming call interrupted my train of thought, the caller ID highlighting itself on my visor. Mom? A new sense of panic seized my heart. I quickly shot up from the sofa and left the room. I drew the eyes of Alice and The Old Man, but they didn¡¯t say anything to stop me. The door opened, and I found myself in an empty hallway. I looked around to ensure no prying eyes or surveillance devices were around. I spotted two cameras and quickly switched them off before answering the call. ¡°Hey,¡± I said awkwardly. No real excuse came to mind, and all I could do was prepare myself for the dressing down I was about to receive. ¡°Is everything okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just making sure you haven¡¯t gotten caught up in anything. It¡¯s quite chaotic outside and I have no idea where the fighting is,¡± Mom replied. ¡°Your friend Sam didn¡¯t give me her address when she let me know you were staying over. We thought it was for the best, since the situation escalated rather quickly. So, you are fine¡­ right?¡± My mouth went dry as I processed what I just heard. I couldn¡¯t believe Alice had enough foresight to call my mother to explain that I was staying the night. The fact that didn¡¯t seem to make Mom suspicious didn¡¯t sit right with me. I quickly opened my messages and found nothing from her, not even a peep to see if I was okay. It made me uneasy. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I said, unable to hide the distance in my tone. ¡°Look, sorry that I didn¡¯t call you. I was caught up with something at school. I was hanging out with some friends and I had just gotten to her place when everything started.¡± ¡°Are you at least away from all the fighting? I¡¯ve locked the house and I¡¯ve managed to get down into the basement.¡± ¡°Yeah. Yeah, we¡¯re out of danger. Just um¡­¡± I trailed off, my mind blank. ¡°Just hanging out really, keeping an eye out for any danger. We¡¯re a good distance away. I can see some flashes and hear the fighting in the distance, but that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Okay, good,¡± Mom said, sounding relieved. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything foolish, okay? No trips outside. You¡¯re old enough to know that tonight of all nights isn¡¯t the time to be stupid. Don¡¯t take any risks.¡± ¡°Yeah, I won¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°Take care of yourself. I¡¯ll see if I can get home tomorrow, hopefully this has all blown over by then.¡± ¡°Well if it hasn¡¯t then just stay put, but I¡¯m sure it will be fine. After all The ECU has everything under control,¡± I didn¡¯t miss the blatant mockery in her tone. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see how it goes in the morning.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep an ear out.¡± ¡°Okay, stay safe now. I¡¯m going to try and get some sleep. It¡¯s not very comfortable down here but I¡¯ll make do.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ good night, Mom.¡± The call ended, and a numbness spread throughout my body as I rested against the wall. I had completely neglected my mother ¨C to see if she was okay. Since this started, the thought of calling her hadn¡¯t even crossed my mind. I had told Mia I¡¯d much rather be at home making sure she was safe, but I didn¡¯t have the decency to call her. She was the reason I involved myself in all this in the first place. I was doing it for her. Are you? The traitorous thought lingered like a buzzing fly I couldn¡¯t shoo. Once the thought had made itself known, I couldn¡¯t ignore it. I wanted to fix my mother ¨C to help her walk again and get out of her wheelchair, but I could no longer pretend like it was the sole reason I was doing this. I wanted to use my powers. I wanted to learn how to use them more efficiently. There were problems in the world that I could see now, and with enough time, I could fix them. I didn¡¯t want to stop there either. There were problems outside my current reach, but that wasn¡¯t permanent. The Cains, Pandora, the ECU, the Queen¡¯s Court. All of it. I just had to put the time in and then address them directly. The door to the room behind me opened, and The Old Man stepped out. He turned his head and inclined it in my direction. ¡°Taken care of your business?¡± ¡°You knew what I was doing?¡± ¡°No,¡± he replied simply. ¡°With the way you left, I assumed you needed some space to clear your head. Time¡¯s up though, we need you back in here. Three heads are better than two, Mentalist withstanding.¡± I grumbled and pushed off the wall, following him back inside. Alice was bent over a table, propped up on her elbows, staring at the container Anomaly was still swirling around inside. There was intense concentration on her features as she studied the pool of black goo. I couldn¡¯t imagine what she could be thinking about, but with the attention she gave it, it had to be crucial. ¡°I have a question,¡± she said suddenly, turning her head. ¡°How did he bring you lunch last Friday?¡± Evidently, I was wrong. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your lunch. Anomaly brought it to you last Friday ¨C you know, the week you took off to work?¡± Alice asked, giving me a knowing look. ¡°Your workshop was locked so I couldn¡¯t get in. He offered to take it to you.¡± I stared at her, bewildered at the direction this conversation had gone. ¡°Uh, yeah?¡± ¡°How¡¯d he get into your workshop?¡± I thought for a moment and shrugged, recalling the throwaway comments he had made. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Underneath the door? He can fit through small gaps, can¡¯t he? I mean, look at him,¡± I pointed to the container. The black goo continued to pool and swirl around aimlessly. ¡°He could probably fit through almost anything. His body might as well be made of¡ª¡± I felt my eyes widen at the realization, but Alice quickly cut me off by shaking her head. ¡°...No? But he survived Grim¡¯s shadow before. What if¡ª¡± ¡°He survived it for sure, but as far as we can tell, there was no effect on Grim.¡± I frowned. ¡°Then¡­ what?¡± Alice tapped the container, and the black goo shuddered like Jell-O. ¡°How¡¯d he bring your lunch to you?¡± I groaned, rolling my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not playing this game. Just tell me where you¡¯re going with this.¡± ¡°I have to agree with the kid,¡± The Old Man grumbled. ¡°Get to the point. Time is short and people are dying.¡± I didn¡¯t miss her pout before she turned away and huffed. Alice reached for the container, grabbing the edge to pull it closer. She then stared down at it with trepidation. She lifted a hand, hovering it over the top. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± I asked, confused. ¡°It just sort of occurred to me. He managed to get your lunch into your workshop, underneath the gap of a door that couldn¡¯t be wider than a few millimeters. Now, how do you think that¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± the words died in my throat. ¡°Huh. I never really thought about it.¡± ¡°Neither did I,¡± Alice admitted. ¡°Until now.¡± She abruptly plunged her hand in, allowing it to sink deeper and deeper. After a few moments, she pursued her lips and nodded slowly. Humming, she pulled her hand out and examined the drippy bits of black goo that trailed down her hand and flowed back into the container. ¡°Now that¡¯s interesting.¡± ¡°Alice,¡± I said, restraining my irritation. ¡°What¡¯s interesting?¡± She held up her hand. Picking up Anomaly, she strolled to the kitchen sink and carefully placed the container in the basin. Angling the facet so that it was facing into the open top, she switched the water on and stepped to the side so we could look. Curiously, we approached. ¡°I was wondering what was taking him so long to reform,¡± I said. ¡°Does¡­ he need water or something?¡± ¡°What? No,¡± Alice laughed. ¡°Look.¡± We looked. Nothing was happening. We waited some more, and still nothing happened. ¡°What am I looking at?¡± I asked petulantly. My annoyance was starting to get the better of me. ¡°You¡¯re giving him a bath, which admittedly is probably a good thing. We never sanitized him after¡ª why isn¡¯t it filling up?¡± ¡°Hah! You see!?¡± Alice grinned. The tap was still running, and I could see the water flowing into Anomaly¡¯s liquid-like body, but it wasn¡¯t rising. The goo wasn¡¯t expanding, and the water wasn¡¯t pooling. It was disappearing. I looked up at Alice to see her grin widening before looking back down. ¡°Where¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°There¡¯s the question I was looking for! Where is it going, I wonder?¡± Alice clapped, releasing a sigh of relief. ¡°Anomaly¡¯s power has always puzzled me. It stumped Gold and I haven¡¯t the slightest doubt that the ECU isn''t much better off. They probably think he¡¯s some weird freaky goo Morpher or something, and to be fair, it is an accurate description of him.¡± The warning on Anomaly¡¯s ECU file jumped to mind ¨C the one Alex had shown me. They didn¡¯t know how his powers worked, even with God knows how many Mentalists they had to consult about it. ¡°Is he absorbing the water or something?¡± Intrusive thoughts had my hand twitching. I wanted to stick my hand inside just to see what would happen. Alice hadn¡¯t lost hers in the attempt, so I was sure I would be safe. However, I resisted the urge. ¡°Absorbing, or transporting,¡± Alice replied with a knowing look. ¡°That¡¯s what I haven¡¯t been able to figure out yet.¡± ¡°If he was absorbing it, then he would be growing,¡± The Old Man said. ¡°If it is absorbing, it''s a question of volume. However, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that,¡± Alice countered, gesturing to me. ¡°Like I said, I¡¯m wondering how he managed to get a full meal underneath the gap in the door. If he absorbed stuff, then he wouldn¡¯t have been able to do that. If you ask me, he¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°A portal,¡± I said, finishing her sentence. I turned to meet her gaze. ¡°He¡¯s a portal?¡± ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t put it like that. He¡¯s more of a¡ª¡± The container shuddered and exploded. A torrent of water blasted out and practically shredded the sink and countertop to pieces while throwing us all to the floor. I was lucky to be wearing my suit. My two cohorts weren¡¯t so fortunate. I heard The Old Man and Alice groaning as they tried to sit up. However, in front of me, I heard coughing. I pushed myself up to see Anomaly, back in his human form, sputtering while lying in a pool of water. He rolled onto his back with his eyes squinted. ¡°I swear¡­ I¡¯m never doing that again.¡± Fuse 8 When Anomaly put himself back together, I felt convinced we were finally getting somewhere. I couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. The moment he had managed to get his bearings and identify The Old Man, animosity crept into the room. Where Liam was usually relaxed and casual, he was wound up and ready to snap. I didn¡¯t need to be a Mentalist to recognize there was something to their relationship. I wasn¡¯t sure what their history was, but the recognition in his eyes was unmistakable. Liam had yet to do anything except stare in disbelief. Some soldiers came by to help clean up, but The Old Man shooed them away after taking the towels they brought with them. ¡°He just had to explode then, couldn¡¯t have waited until we got clear, now my clothes are wet and will rub my skin raw¡­¡± Alice mumbled, drying her hair. She should¡¯ve taken me up on my offer to make her armor, so sucks to be her. ¡°So! What exactly do we have here, a toxic guardian? No¡­ a surprise reveal, oh how titillating.¡± Leave it to Alice to pour gasoline on a bonfire. ¡°Is now really the time for this?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask. Bayside was tearing itself to shreds, and here we were about to sort through some family drama. We didn¡¯t have time for this. ¡°Anomaly, whatever issue you have with him, it can¡ª¡± ¡°No the fuck it can¡¯t!¡± He hissed with an uncharacteristic amount of venom. His gaze fixated on The Old Man. ¡°Why are you here? Where is¡­ here?¡± he asked, looking around. ¡°Who ARE you?¡± Damn it¡­ I guess we¡¯re doing this now. The Old Man took a deep breath and calmly gestured to the nearest seat. ¡°This¡¯ll be easier to explain if you sit down.¡± ¡°No,¡± Liam shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t pull that psychologist bullshit on me. You tell me RIGHT NOW!¡± ¡°Hey,¡± Alice cut in with a clipped tone. ¡°You need to chill. I know what you¡¯re thinking and that¡¯ll put us all in a bad spot. So just sit down and listen.¡± He looked between us and The Old Man before stepping back. He rolled his shoulders before looking toward the exit as if to weigh his options. His gaze turned back to us, and I slowly shook my head to warn him from doing anything stupid. The last thing we needed was him trying to make a half-baked escape attempt in a place that probably had as much security as the ECU¡¯s Citadel. We couldn¡¯t afford the chaos that would cause. I can¡¯t afford that. Liam took a shaky breath before pointing to The Old Man. ¡°Before anything else I have to know, are you really my uncle?¡± he said. I felt my world tip slightly on its axis. Uncle? Are you serious? The Old Man steadily took a breath and kept his composure. I looked between the two, and I supposed I could see a little bit of resemblance if I was looking for it, though how much of that was me seeing things and how much was real was¡ª ¡°No.¡± Well, that was easy. I heard Alice curse under her breath beside me, and I immediately knew why. These guys were a bigger deal than we thought. Liam briefly explained that his uncle had done all the paperwork to get him into my school on his first day. The puzzle pieces were beginning to fit together, and I didn¡¯t like the picture. There¡¯s no way this is a coincidence. Liam exhaled slowly. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to ask ¨C again ¨C that you sit down,¡± The Old Man repeated. ¡°You have questions and I¡¯ll do my best to answer them.¡± Tensely, he pulled up the closest seat to him and sat down, never once taking his eyes off The Old Man. I hadn¡¯t known Liam for very long, but I could tell that he was scared ¨C properly scared ¨C like his life had been suddenly tipped upside down. ¡°Let¡¯s start by solving the easiest questions first. You¡¯re still in Bayside. After you decided to employ your genius strategy to force your way down that Morpher¡¯s throat, myself and my associates approached your teammates and struck up an alliance. Since then, we have managed to free you so you could put yourself back together. Are you with me so far?¡± Liam grunted. ¡°Good. This alliance is still ongoing. Grim has not been dealt with and we were brainstorming a strategy to deal with him until just now. That is what you have missed so far. Any questions?¡± I had to give it to The Old Man. His brief explanation got to the point, but I couldn¡¯t help but cringe listening to him talk to Liam like that. It reminded me of how Mom spoke to me when I was younger and didn¡¯t know any better. ¡°...Not really.¡± ¡°Good,¡± The Old Man said again. ¡°Now, as for who I am¡­¡± he paused, turning to stare at me and Alice. His gaze fixated for a few moments as if to weigh up the pros and cons of us being in the room. I was about to speak up, but Alice beat me to the punch. ¡°If you think we¡¯re giving you privacy, you¡¯ve got another thing coming. He¡¯s our teammate and you¡¯ve been lying to him from the start. We¡¯re not leaving him alone with you, regardless of how pure you think your intentions are.¡± A heavy-handed way of saying it, but I couldn¡¯t help but agree. Unbothered by her declaration, The Old Man turned back to Liam. ¡°This involves your sister. If you don¡¯t want them here, then just say the word.¡± ¡°Did I not just say we¡¯re staying?¡± There was an indignant anger in her tone. It was easy to see that The Old Man¡¯s words had singed her ego. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m pretty sure I said that. You might want to get your ears checked." ¡°If he doesn''t want you here, you will leave,¡± The Old Man replied evenly. His expression never changed, and if I was being honest, that was the worst part. ¡°I suspect you¡¯re close to figuring out who I represent,¡± he paused, turning to stare Alice down. ¡°They are not someone you want to cross, so I¡¯d advise you not to make things difficult for yourself.¡± Alice¡¯s shoulders went rigid for a split second before she managed to reign herself in. ¡°For someone with no powers, you¡¯re awfully brave,¡± she muttered sourly, her gaze flicking to Liam. ¡°Well, are we in or out?¡± ¡°You probably already know anyway,¡± Liam grumbled. He looked down at the floor, his expression pained. He had never talked about family, and I had never asked. I knew his sister had tutored Mia, but that was about it. ¡°M¨C¡± I stopped myself before I could say her name. It occurred to me that Mia didn¡¯t actually have another name to go by yet. ¡°Our other teammate told me that your sister tutored her.¡± Liam looked up at me, and I saw a flash of anger in his eyes that quickly melted away to fearful concern. ¡°Where is she?¡± He looked around. ¡°By now? She¡¯s probably found a way inside and is poking around,¡± Alice said, smugly staring at The Old Man. He was completely unbothered by her expression and simply rolled his eyes. ¡°I can go get her if you want.¡± Liam glared at The Old Man across from him. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I honestly don¡¯t know what to think. Are you about to tell me that Natasha didn¡¯t run away with some fucking guy ¨C that she didn¡¯t just abandon me?¡± His words hit a little too close to home. I often asked Mom and Alex where Dad was in my earlier years. All I got were vague answers; ¡®He left because family life wasn¡¯t for him¡¯ about summed it up. Neither of them were emotional about it. Mom didn¡¯t show grief or concern about the man, and Alex reassured me that the subject wasn¡¯t worth wasting brain power over. I didn¡¯t know the slightest thing about him. After a while, I stopped asking and stopped caring. Liam was clearly close with his sister, and her absence left a visible hole in his life. ¡°Are you sure you want them here?¡± The Old Man asked, gesturing to us. ¡°I can¡ª¡± ¡°Just fucking tell me!¡± The Old Man calmly exhaled and shut his eyes for a few moments. When he opened them, he embodied stoicism, completely and utterly. ¡°Your sister was one of our best operatives and she went by Spectre. She was an Evohuman, just like you, just like your parents,¡± The Old Man said. Liam looked like a brick had slapped him across the face. ¡°I was her handler and she made it very clear that I was never to involve you in our business. That is why you never met me prior to your adoption.¡± Silence lingered as The Old Man gave us a moment to digest this information. ¡°Six years ago I was given details of an assignment ¨C a particularly dangerous one suited for someone of her talents. I passed on the details and urged her to consider if the risk was worth taking. She disregarded my warnings and took the mission. As you know, she never came home.¡± Liam¡¯s voice cracked. ¡°She¡¯s¡­ dead?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Missing,¡± The Old Man said softly. ¡°Presumed dead. We sent recovery teams to see if we could find out what happened, but no sign of her was found.¡± I felt uncomfortable watching Liam¡¯s expression shift from anger to devastation. I tried to think of something to say to soften the blow, but nothing came to mind. I couldn¡¯t fathom what it felt like to hear the unbelievable truth after believing a lie for so long. ¡°All this time¡­ she¡ª¡± he didn¡¯t have the heart to finish. Liam looked lost, almost empty. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± The Old Man said sincerely. ¡°But I hope you can understand why I didn¡¯t tell you. Your sister made powerful enemies. If you knew what she was doing, there was a very real risk that some Mentalist would find out and put you in danger.¡± He specifically didn¡¯t look at Alice. ¡°Smart move,¡± she said, taking the opportunity to jump into the conversation. ¡°I never figured out what exactly happened. At best, I surmised¡ª¡± I quickly nudged her when I saw Liam bristle at her words. ¡°You¡¯re not helping.¡± I was too late. ¡°Yeah, and I bet that¡¯s all you really fucking cared about, isn¡¯t it?¡± Liam sneered, looking at Alice. ¡°Look at me, can¡¯t catch me off-guard when I know everything there is to know about you. Did it ever occur to you that maybe people don¡¯t like it when you go DIGGING THROUGH THEIR PERSONAL SHIT!?¡± Despite his outburst, he didn¡¯t transform. I was thankful for that, but the tension hadn¡¯t disappeared. Liam and Alice were locked in a staring contest, and The Old Man saw fit to keep himself out of it. From our first meeting with Liam, he had been very up-front about his distrust for Mentalists. If I had to guess, it was because of moments like this. Alice reluctantly broke eye contact and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Gold figures stuff out and feeds it to me whether I want her to or not, okay? I would never hold it over your head and I wouldn¡¯t have revealed it to anyone, but that¡¯s just how it is. I know bits and pieces about everyone in this room, some more than others of course. The Old Guy included,¡± she thumbed in his direction. ¡°You''re mad and believe me when I say I get that family can be a touchy topic, so I¡¯m not going to take what you just said personally.¡± Liam scoffed, sinking into his chair and kicking aimlessly at the floor. ¡°Whatever.¡± Another uncomfortable silence descended, and I couldn¡¯t stand it. I had to fix this. ¡°You said¡­ missing, right?¡± I looked in The Old Man¡¯s direction. He fixed me with a glare. Giving false hope wasn¡¯t good for anyone, but I couldn¡¯t just stand here and assume that presumed dead meant actually dead. ¡°I¡¯m not going to bother asking what she was doing since I doubt you¡¯d tell me anyway, but without a body, you can¡¯t be certain. There¡¯s every chance she could still be alive somewhere.¡± We couldn¡¯t have Liam sinking into despair. From where we were heading earlier, it seemed like the entirety of our ¨C yet to be discussed ¨C plan hinged entirely on him. He had shown he was capable of surviving Grim¡¯s shadow before. He could do it again. ¡°Missing is worse than dead,¡± Alice murmured. I could almost hear her pitying my ignorance. ¡°When supers go missing, it¡¯s often a fate worse than death. You saw what Splicer was doing ¨C what he would still be doing if he wasn¡¯t caught. There are more people out there like him. Some worse, much worse.¡± The Old Man cleared his throat. ¡°You two are not helping.¡± ¡°Missing is still missing. It¡¯s not a certainty. She went by Spectre, right?¡± I asked, directing my full attention at The Old Man. Ideas were already springing to my mind. I could research with Alex¡¯s help and feed that information to Gold. Even if she turned out to be dead, it would at least give Liam some closure. So far, all he had learned was that his sister didn¡¯t abandon him as he believed, and while that was something, it would never be enough. He¡¯d always be left wondering, and it didn¡¯t sit right with me. ¡°We can help figure out what happened.¡± I saw The Old Man¡¯s lip twitch. ¡°You?¡± He said, disbelief coloring his tone. ¡°We put our best agents on the case and they barely got anywhere.¡± ¡°Then your best guys suck,¡± I said bluntly. Now, The Old Man didn¡¯t look amused. ¡°You didn¡¯t have us. What was it you said? A concentrated powerhouse?¡± My gaze flicked briefly to Alice to see her head inclined slightly, struggling to suppress a grin. ¡°We¡¯re a rarity. Let us do our thing and we¡¯ll do what you couldn¡¯t.¡± The Old Man didn¡¯t look impressed. His gaze was flat, his stoicism returning tenfold. ¡°I¡¯ve seen too many kids like you die because of their egos.¡± I saw Liam flinch out of the corner of my eye, but I didn¡¯t let it distract me. We had managed to make it this far. I knew we were capable. I had seen what Alice was capable of, and with enough time, I would be better as well. Still, I couldn¡¯t ignore the sadness in his tone. ¡°That¡¯s not going to be us,¡± I replied. ¡°We know better.¡± The Old Man just sighed. ¡°Time will tell.¡± I turned to Liam, and there was a distant look in his eyes. He was off in his own little world, trying to process what he had just heard. Chances are he was still listening, wondering where the conversation was going, but I couldn¡¯t write off the possibility that he had tuned out entirely. ¡°How about it?¡± I offered. When he looked at me, I knew he had been listening. Liam stood up, the chair scraping across the floor. He sniffed, the heaviness of the bombshell showing he had been reigning in his emotions this whole time. His nose wrinkled as he fixed The Old Man with a nasty glare. ¡°You¡¯ve lied to me before, so I¡¯ve been thinking ¨C wondering if this is all bullshit,¡± he jabbed a finger in his direction. ¡°How do I know that you guys didn¡¯t kill her, huh? Fuck whatever warning you gave her, you still sent her on that fucking mission in the first place. You¡¯re the real reason she¡¯s gone ¨C the reason she left me.¡± ¡°He¡¯s being sincere, Anomaly,¡± Alice said quickly. ¡°They may have given her the mission but they had nothing to do with her disappearance. He¡¯s not lying.¡± ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not feeding me a bunch of bullshit as well?¡± He directed his animosity toward her. ¡°You¡¯re a Mentalist. How am I ever supposed to trust someone like that ¨C someone who knows exactly what fucking buttons to push to get what they want. How do I know any of this is genuine?¡± He stalked away from us and began pacing the room. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend. Just stop fucking pretending.¡± I felt the urge to bring up Mia and how we helped him save her, but I was worried it would help prove his point. I had been willing to help, even if he didn¡¯t join us, but Alice was of the other opinion. She had been open about securing his loyalty, even if it meant utilizing underhanded tactics. ¡°I¡¯ve lied to you, yes,¡± The Old Man started suddenly, taking a few steps toward him. ¡°Your sister knew the risks, so she made me promise that I would be there for you should anything happen, and I have,¡± his tone grew rough as his expression took on a more authoritative look. ¡°I took you into my home. I kept a roof over your head, fed you, and made sure you were well looked after. I did my best, I even cleaned up after you and kept you from catching the eye of anyone too dangerous. You, however, have been making things exceedingly difficult.¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Liam tried to speak, but The Old Man silenced him. ¡°Who do you think has been covering for all your mistakes? You think that boy you beat to a pulp kept quiet about your powers out of the good of his heart? Who do you think cleaned that mess up? How about that group of thugs you brutalized when you broke into their safehouse and took everything they had?¡± I could hear the frustration boiling over in The Old Man¡¯s tone. ¡°There¡¯s a lot I can do but you. Just. Keep. Pushing it! I told you that you needed to get your head on straight before you ended up dead. Now look where you are! I don¡¯t want this for you, and neither did your sister.¡± He stepped away and scoffed, giving me and Alice a hard glare. ¡°Now you¡¯re stuck with these two,¡± his hard glare melted away, making him appear more tired than anything. ¡°Which I suppose is probably the best outcome I could have hoped for.¡± ¡°How kind,¡± Alice drawled. ¡°I never said it was a good one.¡± ¡°Oh, I know.¡± I checked the time on my visor and noted that it was getting close to three in the morning. Time was getting away from us, and the longer we waited, the more damage Grim would do. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t see a way to force the issue without pissing Liam off, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. Without him, whatever plan Alice was making would fall apart. ¡°I¡¯m not a fan of repeat conversations and we¡¯ve been through this song and dance before, Anomaly,¡± Alice started. ¡°Trust me or not, I¡¯m looking out for our best interests. All I can say is that he isn¡¯t lying. Whether or not you believe me is up to you, but we need to put a pin in this conversation. I¡¯d still like for there to be a city when the sun rises.¡± Liam let out a long, tired huff. ¡°Fucking damnit,¡± he muttered under his breath. ¡°I really want to trash this place, but¡­ shit I know that isn¡¯t going to solve anything. Really fuckin¡¯ wanna do it though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯d make you feel better,¡± The Old Man agreed calmly. ¡°But as you said, that won¡¯t solve anything. You¡¯re old enough to know what lashing out gets you and you¡¯ve done it enough to know what the consequences will be.¡± Liam suddenly turned to me, giving me a hard stare. ¡°You¡¯ll really help find my sister? You¡¯d do that?¡± I shrugged. ¡°Missing doesn¡¯t mean dead but like Alice mentioned, it could mean something worse. Whatever the case may be, you deserve closure rather than being stuck wondering for the rest of your life.¡± Liam considered my words quietly before slowly nodding. ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah, I wanna know. Thanks, Upgrade.¡± ¡°Just temper your expectations,¡± Alice said. ¡°This may sound a bit harsh but it¡¯ll save you a world of hurt. Expect the worst, but hope for the best.¡± He grunted, not meeting her eyes. ¡°Alright.¡± ¡°Surprisingly considerate. You¡¯re not as selfish as you seem,¡± The Old Man said, drawing our attention to him. ¡°Unfortunately, there will be a time and a place for that discussion, and that isn¡¯t now. I will be more than happy to provide the necessary information if you intend to pursue this. I doubt you¡¯ll get anywhere but I¡¯ve been pleasantly surprised before. However, we have bigger fish to fry.¡± Finally, we were back to business. ¡°Yeah, I figured that would be the case,¡± Anomaly grumbled. ¡°I guess Grim isn¡¯t dead yet?¡± ¡°Not when they aren¡¯t using his weakness against him,¡± I answered. ¡°That sucks, wish we knew what it is,¡± Anomaly exhaled. He then realized we were all staring at him. ¡°What? Wait, you figured it out?¡± ¡°We were talking about it before you put yourself back together. We were even about to discuss a plan,¡± Alice said. ¡°The problem is that this plan is going to involve you as the centerpiece. The question is if you¡¯re willing to go along with what I¡¯ve come up with.¡± ¡°Me?¡± His eyes widened considerably. ¡°Are you fucking kidding me? Hell no, I¡¯m not going near that psycho.¡± ¡°You already survived his power before,¡± I pointed out. ¡°As far as we know, you¡¯re the only person who can.¡± He looked like he wanted to argue, and I couldn¡¯t blame him. If it were me, I wouldn¡¯t take that gamble again. ¡°This fucking blows.¡± I sighed in agreement. ¡°Yeah, I doubt it¡¯s going to be easy but if it helps, we¡¯re all going to be out there with you.¡± ¡°It really doesn''t,¡± Anomaly said, giving me a flat look. ¡°But I guess if I die, you''re all coming with me as well.¡± Jesus¡­ that¡¯s one way to look at things. The Old Man exhaled sadly. ¡°If it were up to me, you wouldn¡¯t be going anywhere near Grim. That, unfortunately, isn¡¯t up to me. My superiors want this city in one piece and you¡¯re our only known advantage,¡± his gaze then focused on Alice. ¡°So if you have a plan, now would be a good time to share. It better be a damn good one.¡± Alice smirked as she switched to Gold. ¡°Alright then, better listen up because I don¡¯t like repeating myself. Here¡¯s how we¡¯re going to beat the Grim Reaper¡­¡± Fuse 9 While Alice and Anomaly left to set up, I walked through rooms and hallways until we reached a door. We were still a few floors below ground level, so I didn¡¯t expect it when the door opened into a garage. My surprise only grew when I saw what it held. It was like a sea of mechanical parts ¨C an underground car park retrofitted to be some kind of workshop for a Mechakinetic. There were cars, bikes, vans, buses, and much more. There were even a couple of the armored transports I rode in before. Some vehicles were in the midst of repair, while others were in the process of being built. The technology on display was fascinating ¨C something I could only dream up during one of my fugue sessions. If only I could have a place like this for myself¡ª ¡°This is one of Kriegsmaschine¡¯s workshops. He¡¯s a contractor we get in to do custom orders from time to time,¡± The Old Man explained. ¡°We have a couple personnel trained in his tech to do general upkeep but no one understands the tech better than the man himself. When we need projects done fast, we get him personally.¡± ¡°A shame he isn¡¯t here now,¡± I replied. ¡°You have to make do with what you¡¯ve got. Now, you¡¯re going to need something small and fast. It¡¯s a warzone out there so the less chance you have of getting shot, the better. It''s a good thing you have that suit, it gives you some room for error.¡± He led me through the workshop until we found a collection of motorcycles outfitted for war. At a glance, they were small and nimble bikes with mounted machine guns. Then, as my eyes trailed down the line, I found bigger ones that sported missile pods and armor that wouldn¡¯t go amiss on a tank. It wasn¡¯t hard to picture a legion of soldiers riding these things through the streets amid a warzone. ¡°You should find these to your liking,¡± The Old Man said. ¡°They¡¯re fast, agile, and highly durable. There is no modern handheld firearm capable of even putting a dent in these things. Mechatech excluded of course.¡± I walked forward and placed a hand on one of the bike''s handles. Like fireworks, the information sprang into my head as I began piecing together what made it tick. [Kriegsmaschine Bike V6] ¡°Six iterations. I would have loved to have seen the earlier models. Still, I suppose considering it¡¯s a low-rider, I shouldn¡¯t be surprised he used a 2018 Henry Larrison to work off of,¡± I said, looking deeper into the tree. With each passing second, I found my respect for Kriegsmaschine grew. He wasn¡¯t using Pyranium, but Temberite for the armor. That stuff was notoriously hard to work with and even harder to get. ¡°You guys must have deep pockets to be getting Temberite.¡± Temberite was a material created by a group of Supers instead of just one. Where that group operated out of was beyond me. Not that it mattered because these guys had to get it imported, whereas I could just cheat. ¡°Now that, I¡¯m not at liberty to say,¡± The Old Man said. ¡°We have our ways. Until we discuss further cooperation, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s all you¡¯ll be getting on the matter. Though it is interesting, how you were able to tell exactly what it was with so little inspection.¡± ¡°I have my ways,¡± I said, brushing off his curiosity. ¡°Until we discuss further cooperation, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s all you¡¯ll be getting on the matter.¡± The Old Man scoffed. ¡°I don¡¯t need a power to know Alice has big aspirations. That girl has a goal and despite how powerful she is, she recognizes that she¡¯s going to need a lot of help. It¡¯s rare that young supers like her understand the big picture. Most either die young or get swept up by bigger organizations.¡± ¡°Are you going somewhere with this? You¡¯re not telling me anything new,¡± I said, giving him a flat stare. ¡°She helped me out when I was in a tough spot and so far, we work well together. Whatever her aspirations may be, I¡¯ll help her with them.¡± I knew what she wanted. Control over territory in the city. It started with getting rid of The Cains and acquiring what they left behind for our own, but that was looking more like a short-term goal than an endgame. Assuming we survive the night, we could feasibly do that in the next few weeks. What would happen after that? Where exactly did her aspirations end? How much control did Alice want? ¡°She¡¯s got you wrapped around her finger,¡± The Old Man said sadly. ¡°She¡¯s pulled you, Liam, and whoever this other girl is, into her schemes. If this whole thing goes south, she¡¯ll leave you all out to dry without a second thought.¡± I suppressed my urge to groan. I already knew all of this. Alice was a complicated person, made even worse because of six different versions were floating inside her head. Above all else, she would prioritize herself; she made that abundantly clear after our last encounter with Grim. The only way to ensure she stayed was to never put Alice in a position where that became her only option. With enough time, I could make sure of that. Regardless of Alice¡¯s flaws, I had to present a united front. I couldn¡¯t let this guy think he could drive a wedge between us. ¡°Is that your strategy?¡± I asked, venom coloring my tone. ¡°Spout a whole bunch of half baked accusations to get me to jump ship?¡± I scoffed and looked away. ¡°You don¡¯t think I know what she¡¯s like?¡± ¡°You think you do,¡± The Old Man said. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to coerce you. I¡¯m telling you how it is. I¡¯ve been in this business for over thirty years, kid. I¡¯m going to die in this business and I¡¯ve made peace with that. You? You¡¯re young, and if you play your cards right, you¡¯ll have your whole life ahead of you. Liam too, if he¡¯d stop making stupid choices.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all very sentimental, but we barely know each other and this looks extremely suspicious,¡± I scowled. ¡°Hell, I don¡¯t even know your name.¡± ¡°Francis Anderson,¡± he said like it was the easiest thing in the world. ¡°Never been one for codenames.¡± I hadn¡¯t expected him to tell me his name without some pushback. With only a name, there was a lot I could do with my tech now. That wasn¡¯t even considering what Alice could do. Although, since Liam knew him, he probably thought there wasn¡¯t any point in hiding it from us. ¡°I¡¯d give you mine, but I suspect you already know it.¡± Francis narrowed his eyes. ¡°I do not. I only know you as Upgrade,¡± he intoned. ¡°I can say with certainty that the people I represent do know who you are. They¡¯ll know Alice, Liam, and if they don¡¯t already, your other team member as well. They know the identity of just about every Evohuman in this city, even the ones protected by the ECU. Unless you are exceptional, there is nothing you can hide from them.¡± A shudder crawled up my spine. He wasn¡¯t telling me this to intimidate or to scare me. He was telling me because it was a truth ¨C a reality I had to come to terms with. There was nothing I could do about it. If they knew about everyone in the city, they¡¯d foresee any plans to tear them down. However, it also meant they were very discreet because if someone with this much influence knew the identities of every super in the city, they would have done something about the gangs by now. The fact that they hadn¡¯t done this meant they had something to gain. Anonymity. If they started doing that, people would notice their operation here. They get by because no one knows they¡¯re here. It¡¯s just like Alice said. ¡°Well, that sounds like a challenge,¡± I said, trying to sound confident. Given how Francis scoffed, I could tell I had failed to impress him. ¡°It¡¯s not important right now anyway. What good is information about my personal life if Grim kills us all?¡± ¡°Quite right,¡± Francis agreed. ¡°Back to business then. Have you ridden one of these before?¡± I plopped down on the closest Mechatech bike and gripped the handles, my power showing me every upgrade path available. I knew where all the important parts were. Brakes, acceleration, engine, headlights, weapons control, frequency ignition¨C oh, haven¡¯t seen that before. I knew most modern vehicles had wireless security, used to lock and unlock doors, but I hadn¡¯t seen it in the ignition before. ¡°No, but I¡¯ll manage.¡± I loaded up my software and connected to the bike. It would only be a few moments before I had the right frequency. The security installed into the bike¡¯s systems was basic. I¡¯d put money on the wireless ignition being a recent addition to the motorcycle. ¡°Some tips then. When you turn, lean with the motion ¨C just like a normal bike. I also shouldn¡¯t need to say this, but these things are heavy, so if you don¡¯t want to end up as a red smear, don¡¯t take sharp turns at speed,¡± Francis explained. ¡°Other than that, it¡¯s fairly straightforward. You¡¯re a smart kid, you¡¯ll be fine.¡± I nodded slowly. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get you the key.¡± ¡°No need.¡± My breaching software broke through, and I tuned to the right frequency and sent the starter signal. The ignition turned on its own as the engine roared to life. Francis frowned lightly. I gave the engine a couple of revs to get a better feel for it. It was a powerful machine ¨C leagues ahead of the stuff sold nowadays. I could imagine how envious Chris would be if he could see me now. ¡°Try not to get yourself killed,¡± The Old Man warned. ¡°That¡¯s the plan,¡± I said, exhaling slowly. ¡°Hopefully, there are no more nasty surprises tonight. I¡¯ve had enough of those to last me a good while.¡± ¡°The plan has a few contingencies if things go awry. You know what to do,¡± Francis replied. ¡°Just make sure you stay on top of your game. You know your part, so do it properly and we¡¯ll all wake up tomorrow.¡± I arched an eyebrow at him. ¡°Do you think we actually have a chance?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure, but it''s better than doing nothing,¡± he reached up to his earpiece and began transmitting. ¡°One exiting at gate two. Expect one of Kriegsmaschine¡¯s bikes.¡± A small alarm rang through the garage, and I saw the metal gate at the end open. ¡°Good luck out there, I¡¯ll be in touch.¡± He turned and walked off. I pulled down on the accelerator, gliding through the garage and up the ramp toward the surface. The bike was surprisingly easy to control. Whether it would be easy enough when I was in danger was an entirely different story. I just needed to keep my distance and stick to the plan. I was confident the others would play their parts. I surged out the last gate and onto the street, the fresh night air hitting my body. While I couldn¡¯t smell the smoke that blanketed the city, it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out where the battles were. Fires painted a dull red glow to the backdrop of Bayside ¨C if I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d have thought the sun had yet to set. Amid the warzone, Pandora was likely trying to push their way into Grim¡¯s territory and judging by the fact the fighting was still ongoing, they weren¡¯t finding much success. At least not quickly. With another rev of my motorcycle, I took off toward the chaos. ¡°How¡¯re we doing, is Mia all caught up?¡± ¡°I just finished giving her the rundown. I¡¯m sure she and Anomaly will sort out their personal stuff after we deal with Grim,¡± Alice replied. ¡°Are you set up on your end?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on my way now. Hopefully, this thing will be fast enough to keep me alive. Are you having any trouble with the sonar beacons?¡± ¡°Oh pah-lease, Upgrade. Who do you think you¡¯re talking to? I know what I¡¯m doing, have some faith.¡± ¡°No can do. I¡¯m saving it all for my part of the plan. I¡¯m going to need it if we want this to go smoothly,¡± I said, leaking some nervous amusement into my voice. ¡°How about you, Anomaly? Are you in position yet?¡± It took him a few moments to respond, probably because he needed to change back into his human form to communicate. ¡°You need faith? I¡¯m the one with the shittest job. All you need to do is run away. I¡¯m the one that has to go for a swim,¡± the aggravation in his voice was hard to miss. ¡°Seriously, do any of you have any idea how much of a pain it is to swim while transformed? I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m supposed to move with the amount of water you¡¯re expecting me to take in.¡± ¡°We talked about this,¡± Alice chimed in with a groan. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to propel yourself forward. Plus, you can limit how much water you take in at any given moment. You have enough control, you just have to concentrate.¡± ¡°We¡¯re so screwed,¡± Anomaly muttered. ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ll do what I can.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I like to hear,¡± I could practically hear Alice¡¯s smile. ¡°How¡¯re you feeling, Upgrade? Are you still up for this? There¡¯s still time for us to switch places if you''re not certain, but we¡¯ll have to be quick.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°You said it yourself that Pink will be too fast to keep Grim¡¯s attention. I should be fine,¡± I turned another street corner, my confidence in my motorbike skills increasing by the minute. However, as I got closer to the chaos, I could feel my hands beginning to shake with trepidation. It was a do-or-die situation. I couldn¡¯t afford to make mistakes. ¡°But I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t nervous. I¡¯ll be honest, I¡¯m scared ¨C but this is the way it has to be.¡± ¡°I¡¯m scared too,¡± Alice replied, sounding sympathetic. ¡°I¡¯m scared for all of us. Just think positively, that¡¯s what I¡¯m doing. This is going to work. It will.¡± I couldn¡¯t have any doubts. It was too crucial to start getting cold feet, and I couldn¡¯t afford to bail now. I couldn¡¯t just ignore what was going on. I had helped make this bed ¨C now I needed to do my part and lie in it. ¡°I¡¯m five minutes out,¡± I radioed back. ¡°Alice, have you got those beacons set up yet?¡± ¡°Just zippin¡¯ to the last place, Uppies!¡± Pink¡¯s voice came through. There was a bit of a delay before Alice spoke again. ¡°Setting up the last one now. Mia¡¯s statues are almost in position.¡± ¡°Are you sure it was a good idea to have her use all of them?¡± ¡°We gotta pull out all the stops for this one. Better to over-prepare and live, than die because we held something back,¡± Alice replied sagely. ¡°I know there are a few tricky turns, but I believe you can do it.¡± I checked the GPS I had delegated to the top right of my visor. It tracked me as I rode through the city streets, and there was a glaring green line where my route started until it ended. Where the green ended, a blue one began. It was a bit longer, but the colors represented two routes. Two routes for two plans. One primary and a contingency. ¡°Anomaly?¡± There was a short pause. ¡°Yeah, what? I¡¯m at the place. Water¡¯s cold as fuck.¡± ¡°Okay, good,¡± I said, ignoring the last part. We had all set up, except for me ¨C but I wasn¡¯t too far off. A few more minutes and I¡¯d be there. That¡¯s when the real ¡®fun¡¯ would begin. I never considered myself an adrenaline junkie, but I was starting to see why some people lived for shit like this. The fear, anxiety, and uncertainty, mixed with all the chaos created an indescribable feeling. I glided into another street, easing the turn to keep up my speed when a request to connect to our communication network came through. I looked at the unknown number and figured it could only be one person. I allowed the connection through, and Francis¡¯ voice sounded. ¡°Since we¡¯re monitoring the fighting, I thought it best to give you an update.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t even occur to you to ask for access to my network before I left? I could have rejected your call, you know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t act like you would have given it even if I asked.¡± Alice giggled. ¡°Alright, hit us with the info. I¡¯ve seen a little bit of the damage but getting the bigger picture can only help.¡± ¡°Liberation and his lieutenants are currently in a stand-off with Grim. Neither can push against the other without unacceptable casualties. Gold Rush and a couple of other freshly recruited Cain Evohumans are fighting a losing battle against the ECU. Nemesis is critically injured and has retreated into Cain territory to recover. It¡¯s unlikely he¡¯ll be rejoining the fight tonight,¡± Francis explained. ¡°There has been a lot of collateral damage. Expect to see missing buildings and entire streets blocked by debris.¡± I was surprised to hear that Grim hadn¡¯t been able to push against Pandora. Was Liberation really that powerful? All I knew was that he was the head honcho of the local Pandora branch. While Wildfire might act as his voice for Bayside, Liberation was the guy who actually ran the local chapter. ¡°Liberation can hold him off?¡± I asked, perplexed. ¡°As is the case with some Evohumans. Some have better luck than others holding their own against Grim, but it never lasts.¡± ¡°What about Gaea and The Queen¡¯s Court? What¡¯re they doing?¡± ¡°Protecting their territory while sending some of their best to attack where Grim isn¡¯t. Springsong, Haze, and Ricochet will be hitting The Cains¡¯ weak points,¡± Alice said. ¡°While others like Uplink will cooperate with the ECU. They mostly give info and help with search and rescue. It makes Gaea look good to the wider public.¡± I scowled as I turned into another street. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize the ECU would accept their help.¡± ¡°They typically do in situations like this, they can¡¯t afford to turn down assistance.¡± ¡°Speaking of, look sharp, Upgrade,¡± The Old Man warned. ¡°We¡¯ve overheard some radio chatter from the ECU. Overwatch has spotted you moving toward the battle. You¡¯re about to be intercepted.¡± Just like how Gold predicted. Pink moved too quickly, and Anomaly could move too discreetly for them to notice. Mia was unlikely to even be on their radar, so I¡¯d be the only one they¡¯d pick up on. I knew that they would try to stop me from joining the battle. The ECU wanted to minimize casualties. However, they¡¯d also take any opportunity to cut off support for the Cains. Whoever was about to intercept me would have Mentalist support to discern my intentions. Lying was going to be borderline impossible ¨C which was a good thing. The real challenge would be getting them to believe the truth. Ahead of me at the far end of the street, I saw a figure glide out from the right of the intersection. They placed themselves in the middle of the road to block my path. Since I wasn¡¯t going full tilt, I had enough time to slow down. When I saw who was blocking my way, I realized it wouldn¡¯t have mattered anyway. I came to a slow stop. This ought to be interesting. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t need to explain that this section of the city is considered an active conflict zone. This is no time or place for children to try and prove anything,¡± Domination¡¯s calm, authoritative tone washed over me. ¡°Turn around and go home, Upgrade.¡± Sometimes, it was hard to believe a woman this stern was Abby¡¯s mother. She wore another uniquely designed armor from Nanoforge. Unlike Comet, Domination¡¯s had silver linings instead of gold. Her symbol was a crown surrounded by a bubble. ¡°I can¡¯t do that, sorry,¡± I said, itching to speed away. I was already in Domination¡¯s range, so stopping and crunching my bike could happen at any moment ¨C but she didn¡¯t. She was here for information, not to stop me. Saving lives was her top priority, not wasting time here. ¡°Myself and a few others have a plan. We can put an end to this.¡± Domination opened her mouth to say something, but the feedback through her headpiece gave her pause. My visor picked up the chatter, but the encryption was too sophisticated to break through quickly. I¡¯d have to invest more charges into my security-cracking software if I wanted to brute force my way into their network. ¡°A plan,¡± Domination repeated curiously. ¡°Alice has determined his weakness?¡± It didn¡¯t surprise me they knew of her. Ionizer had probably spoken in depth about our encounter in the Bunker. ¡°She has.¡± Domination¡¯s reply was immediate. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Water.¡± Her brow furrowed incredulously. It was the reaction we all had. I did not doubt that her Mentalist support was also reeling from the information. The complete lack of any audio from her headpiece would have made me laugh if the situation wasn¡¯t so serious. I waited through the silence, getting more antsy by the moment. Finally, audio came through her headpiece, and she spoke. ¡°You¡¯re certain of this?¡± ¡°There¡¯s more to it than that, but that¡¯s the only practical solution we have. Given the situation, we¡¯re eager to test our hypothesis,¡± I said evenly. ¡°It¡¯s better than sitting around and waiting for the city to be destroyed. Pandora¡¯s the one warring against Grim. All your side is doing is minimizing the damage. If this situation isn¡¯t resolved soon, Bayside will be nothing but rubble.¡± That was the reality of it. This conflict needed to end before it spiraled more than it already had. If it went any further, the ECU would declare the city forfeit and begin evacuation. ¡°Cities can be rebuilt, especially with the Architect¡¯s help. You shouldn¡¯t throw your life away on a chance,¡± Domination replied with a scowl. ¡°Your information will be helpful and may change our approach to this situation. Still, I recommend you turn around and leave.¡± I didn¡¯t come all this way just to turn tail and run. ¡°You didn¡¯t come here to stop me,¡± I shot back. ¡°And even if you believe us about his weakness, you won¡¯t act on it in time. We¡¯re doing this.¡± ¡°No,¡± Domination held her ground, glaring at me. I panicked when I was lifted off the ground by her power. I tried to struggle, but it was fruitless. It was like being trapped in Abby¡¯s power, but Domination had far more precision, and there were no visual indicators that her power was active. It was an invisible, crushing force. ¡°Enough people have died tonight. I will not allow a child to walk into a warzone.¡± This was all wrong! Alice said they would only question me ¨C not capture me! I tried to activate my shoulder-mounted grenade launcher, but the mechanisms wouldn¡¯t move. Her control over this entire space was absolute. ¡°What gives you the impression that I¡¯m a child?¡± I hissed out. Domination scoffed. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing this longer than you¡¯ve been alive. I know a child when I see one. I¡ª what?¡± A hand went to her earpiece as audio came through. I saw her features go through a whole range of emotions. ¡°Let him go¡ª what do you mean!? Who¡¯s orders are these?¡± Domination demanded angrily. She waited for a moment as the audio went silent. Another few seconds passed as I waited with bated breath. Then, another stream of encrypted audio came through. ¡°...Not a priority?¡± There was a metallic groaning from the streetlights around us as they bent. Windows shook, and a few shattered as Domination¡¯s anger multiplied. Finally, I found myself dropped back into the seat of my bike. My hands gripped the handles so tightly that if I could see them, I¡¯d bet my knuckles would be white. I looked up to find Domination facing away from me. ¡°I am needed elsewhere and have been instructed to let you through.¡± She stated bitterly. I gave her a long, hard stare through my visor. Again, I knew she wouldn¡¯t see it, but I would see this through to the end. As Alice said, I needed to have faith that this plan would work. After tonight, Grim would be an issue no one would have to worry about ever again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t intend to die here.¡± Domination¡¯s shoulders sagged a bit. ¡°They never do.¡± With a sigh, she stepped onto a metal platform she had brought and took off into the night sky, returning to the search and rescue effort. ¡°Close call,¡± Francis radioed through. ¡°How are you holding up?¡± ¡°You said they wouldn¡¯t try to stop me,¡± I growled, taking a breath to try and calm myself down. ¡°That almost completely fucked us.¡± ¡°The higher ups are desperate to get rid of Grim. If there¡¯s any chance this can be ended, they¡¯re going to take it, especially when it doesn¡¯t risk any of their own people,¡± Alice explained calmly. ¡°You were never in any danger.¡± I revved the engine and took off down the street once more. ¡°Certainly felt like I was.¡± I pushed closer to where the battles were taking place. The closer I got, the more destruction I saw. Buildings on either side of the road had collapsed, spilling debris across the street. Cars were either on fire, hardened slag, or husks. That was just the start of it. It was another couple of blocks from my designated position when I started to see the bodies. All it took was a quick scan to show me that they weren¡¯t unconscious. These people were dead. The worst part was I could barely tell if they were gang members, civilians, or Supers. All I could do was keep going. ¡°How many?¡± I muttered, horrified. ¡°How many people?¡± ¡°Too many, kid,¡± The Old Man replied. I reached my position without any more interruptions. It was a desecrated intersection with a thick cloud of dust and smoke in the air. I could hear gunfire and shouting close by, coupled with the occasional explosion. I was near several flaming buildings, and the air was thick with ash. My suit, however, protected me from the elements and kept me supplied with fresh, clean oxygen. I checked the time. 4:56 A.M. I focused on my power and felt a surge of relief. [Charges: 25/25] They had reset. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°One momeeeeeeent,¡± Alice replied. She sounded like she was fiddling with something, probably the last sonar beacon. ¡°All done!¡± ¡°We need to get Grim¡¯s attention away from Pandora.¡± ¡°Leave that to moi!¡± Pink sounded. I was left in silence to soak in the atmosphere of a bleeding city. I waited at the intersection, my eyes flicking left and right. To the left was the beginning of my route, and to the right was a road that led directly to Grim. Close to the side of the road, a fire hydrant sat, waiting for the right moment. Deep breathes. In and out. 1,2,3¡­ 1,2,3. I waited¡­ and waited. Come on, Alice. A pink flash zoomed past me so quickly that if I had blinked at the wrong moment, I would have missed her. Thankfully, she left a cloud of dust in her trail. ¡°Incoming, Uppies! Give that engine some juice, you¡¯re gonna need it!¡± I revved the engine multiple times, my eyes glued to the end of the street on my right. Against the darkened night sky, with all the smoke and dust about, it would¡¯ve been almost impossible to spot the cloud of darkness that had turned into the street. Thankfully, my visor picked it up and highlighted it as a danger. I readied myself. The shadow washed into the street like a tsunami, just like the night we saved Mia. Grim lingered as if he was wondering where his target had disappeared. It had no eyes and no discernable features. Grim¡¯s shadow was just a black cloud of death. I wondered how he perceived his surroundings while transformed ¨C but I filed that away for now. When he began speeding up toward me, I knew I had become the focus of his hostility. My shoulder-mounted grenade launcher opened up and aimed the fire hydrant. 3¡­2¡­1 I fired, and the chase was on. Fuse 10 I expected Grim¡¯s shadow to lurch away from the geyser like a frightened cat. To my surprise, he didn¡¯t. For a split second, I believed we were mistaken and that I had just thrown myself in front of him without any way to fight back. The water erupted from the fire hydrant shot up, disappearing into the shadow, just like everything he consumed. Grim¡¯s speed suddenly increased, but his movement was different than before. While a good portion of his smoke-like body surged towards me, the part of him that made contact with the water struggled to keep up. Those parts of him began to drip like ink, splashing the street below. Unfortunately, that was all the time I could spare. If I didn¡¯t move now, I¡¯d never get the chance. The engine roared, and I turned left, speeding down the street. ¡°He¡¯s on me! Following the first route!¡± Buildings whipped past me as my speed climbed. I wouldn¡¯t say my driving was stellar or even good, but it helped that I was driving a Mechatech bike designed for this. The tires and build of the vehicle annihilated any small debris in my way, and we¡¯d deliberately planned the route with lots of long straights so I could see obstacles like destroyed cars well before they became a problem. ¡°Focus up kid. He¡¯s on you now. If you mess up, nobodies going to be brave enough to save you.¡± ¡°Not gonna fuck this up,¡± I replied. Despite my situation, I felt confident. I could see Grim in my rearview. He was faster than most people suspected, just like Alice had said. Once we revealed his weakness, he¡¯d tunnel vision for the kill. ¡°This bastard is going down tonight, I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s into ECU custody or a body bag!¡± I revved the engine and roared into another street. My chest was thumping, and my blood felt like liquid fire. If this went how we expected, I¡¯d arrive at the end of the first route in fifty-six seconds. First turn. I could see it up ahead on the right, getting closer by the second. The building on the right corner was partially collapsed, in flames, and smoking. The building on the opposite side of the street was in better condition, and it looked like there were people inside ¨C Cain thugs. If they had weapons, they didn¡¯t look like they intended to use them on me. As I closed in on the turn, I hit the brakes and leaned right while keeping an eye on my side mirrors. Grim couldn¡¯t have been more than twenty or thirty meters behind me. I glided into the street, taking an audaciously wide arc. I almost clipped the curb but recovered quickly by yanking the throttle down. I lurched forward as Grim¡¯s shadow swerved into the street to give chase. Three more turns! I caught a glimmer up ahead. One of Mia¡¯s statues knelt over another fire hydrant, waiting for me to pass by. I zoomed past, and a moment later, there was a loud pop and a whoosh of water as the statue ripped the fire hydrant out of the ground. That removed the last potential problem with the plan. Alice hadn¡¯t been sure how Grim perceived his surroundings, and there was a chance that whatever method he used could have prevented Mia¡¯s statues from moving. Well, how he did so didn''t matter anymore; Mia was able to help. Second turn. I ripped into the next street on my route and found it occupied. There was a skirmish between some of The Cains and Pandora. I recognized Chiller, but the super he was fighting was a mystery. She was some girl with six arms, bouncing around the street to avoid his rays of frost. As I thundered towards them, I tried to maneuver out of the way, but she heard me coming. She leaped out of the way of another ice blast and landed on the front of my bike. My heart exploded as I tried to steady the bike from the sudden additional weight. I began to wobble, and I half expected to crash. ¡°Get off!¡± I lashed out angrily, my extendable blade shooting out of its sheath. The steel plunged into her thigh, splattering my visor with blood. The super screamed and clamped two of her arms onto my helmet for stability. I ripped out my blade and slashed again. One of her arms fell off, and she disappeared from my bike with a high-pitched squeal. The winds ripped her away, and I saw her tumbling across the pavement, leaving behind an ugly smear of red in my mirrors. I didn¡¯t even get time to see if she was alive before Grim¡¯s shadow swallowed her whole. I regained control of my bike and sped up. I didn¡¯t recognize the Super, so chances are she had been new. Hell, I had no idea if she was even part of the Cains or not. She could have been since she was fighting Chiller. I wiped the blood off my visor and tried to steady my breathing. 168 BPM. I caught the little number on my visor out of the corner of my eye. I had never seen my heart rate that high before. ¡°Speed up! He¡¯s gaining on you!¡± The urgency in The Old Man¡¯s voice had me bordering on panic. I grunted and pulled down on the throttle. That hiccup had cost me precious distance. It was hard to believe that Grim was this fast. I recalled managing to get away from him on foot while carrying Mia. He had been slow because he lost momentum when he collided with the ECU¡¯s light barrier. Even then, he almost caught me. According to Alice, Grim had been more concerned with the Bunker and his special projects than killing me. To him, I was just an inconsequential bystander that happened to be there. He either hadn¡¯t perceived Mia in my arms, didn¡¯t care, or didn¡¯t realize she was one of the test subjects Splicer was working on. If Grim wanted to kill me, he could have. Now, he had the perfect opportunity. Third turn. It was chaos. I spotted Lich and Dreamweaver supporting ECU soldiers against Cain and Pandora fighters. They were trying to minimize the casualties by getting both sides to stop, but ultimately, it seemed all they were doing was adding fuel to the fire. It was a three-way battle, and I was on a collision course. ¡°I thought you said my routes would be clear, Alice!¡± ¡°The fights are always moving and I can¡¯t see the future, Upgrade. Every other way has too much debris, this route is still your best bet!¡± A few seconds later, I was barreling through them. I flattened a dozen skeletal soldiers Lich had conjured into bone dust before a light flash banged me. Gold Rush was appearing and disappearing in the blink of an eye, looking to be in a fierce exchange with Dreamweaver¡¯s projections. Constructs that looked to be bluish-purple fireflies attacked Gold Rush and the offending parties. I saw various animals, shapes of inanimate objects, and flowing trails of color erupting out of Dreamweaver, who stood within a protective shield of a similar nature. I needed to give her a wide berth, or I¡¯d crash into her projections. Bullets pinged off me as I swerved, but it wasn¡¯t long before the fighting turned to panicked screams. With Grim on my tail, none wanted to be in his path. Cain and Pandora''s fighters retreated, throwing themselves from whatever cover into the nearest alleyway to avoid the oncoming shadow. Dreamweaver pulled all ECU soldiers to her with tendrils of glowing lights before retreating upward into the sky. Whatever she constructed was big, and it lifted them all to safety. Lich, unfortunately, was left behind. But as I sped by him, he appeared entirely calm. Whatever became of him, I wasn¡¯t able to see. At the end of the street, I caught sight of another of Mia¡¯s statues next to a fire hydrant. There was my next checkpoint. I passed her, and another whooshing sound of water erupted behind me. I checked my mirrors to find that Grim had entirely evaded that attempt. It looked like he¡¯d clued into what we were doing, which gave me a sinking feeling that the first plan was a bust. There was no chance I could lead him to the harbor¡¯s edge without him realizing. I saw my last turn coming up. As I pulled into this one, I spotted the harbor up ahead. I gunned for it, keeping an eye on Grim as he followed. Blood thundered in my ears as I got closer. I couldn¡¯t believe it. Was he actually going to fall for it? Had we all given him too much credit and assumed he¡¯d figure out what I was doing? I hit the brakes and skidded across the tarmac before stopping at the edge. All that separated me and the harbor¡¯s ocean was a sidewalk, a railing, and jagged rocks. I wasn¡¯t sure what I was expecting to see when I gazed out across the water ¨C uncertain what effect Anomaly would have on a body of water this large. A colossal whirlpool at the center of the harbor had formed. It was so big that it capsized and dragged in almost every docked boat. Even one of the larger cargo ships was struggling to stay upright. Nothing Abby and her mum can¡¯t fix. I would have marveled at the sight longer if I had the time, but unfortunately, I didn¡¯t. I pulled out my pistol and aimed it at the water, readying my signal for Anomaly to strike. I turned and watched as Grim closed the distance, his deathly shadow covering the ground between us. This was the moment of truth ¨C I was placing my life in Anomaly¡¯s hands. Just as I began to squeeze the trigger, Grim¡¯s shadow surged upward into the sky, looping a few times before coming to a halt. He hovered a good fifty meters away as if to observe me. He came no closer. Instead, after a few short moments, I watched in dismay as his shadow cloud began to inch backward. ¡°He didn¡¯t fall for it,¡± The Old Man¡¯s voice came through. ¡°Figures, that would¡¯ve been too easy.¡± ¡°I fucking know,¡± I growled, reholstering my pistol. I scowled as Grim continued to drift away. Despite the chase halting, I felt like I could feel his attention lock onto me. He was going to wait for me to move away from the ocean. ¡°Plan B then.¡± ¡°Damn! Oh well. We figured he¡¯d see through this one. Still, can¡¯t fault us for trying,¡± Alice chirped on the other end. ¡°Repositioning! Give me a few seconds.¡± I waited, not daring to take my eyes off Grim. Our stalemate had drawn a large amount of attention, and from the sounds of it, it seemed the fighting had momentarily paused. I spotted Comet¡¯s sparkling trail against the blackened backdrop of the smoky sky. She kept her distance, but I was surprised to see her out here. If the Rookies were out here, then the ECU really wanted all hands on deck. She wasn¡¯t the only flier in the sky. There were several aerial ECU transports that lingered a fair distance away as well ¨C likely being informed that landing anywhere in the war zone was suicide. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Although it was harder to see, my visor picked up Domination gliding close to Comet. Sparrow was also observing. There were likely more ¨C many more ¨C watching. I had no doubt a lot of Pandora had also taken a keen interest in what I was doing, seeing as I had Grim¡¯s sole focus. All eyes on me, indeed. I hadn¡¯t thought about what Francis had said. I was too focused on keeping myself alive. Now that I could see how much attention was really on me, I couldn¡¯t deny the anxiety that bubbled in my chest. ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Alice radioed through. ¡°You need to draw his attention away from the harbor, otherwise he¡¯s going to figure out what we¡¯re doing. Then we really are screwed.¡± ¡°This plan¡­¡± I murmured. I had hoped Grim would be stupid enough to fall for our first attempt to down him. Plan A was relatively simple and minimized damage to the city. It was the ideal outcome but banked on Grim being careless. Plan B was not nearly as courteous and involved copious amounts of damage to Bayside. ¡°A lot of people are going to get hurt.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a given,¡± Francis replied wearily. ¡°Sometimes, there are no good choices.¡± ¡°It¡¯s our best shot,¡± Alice said. ¡°Come on, Upgrade. Let¡¯s end this.¡± I took a few deep breaths and steadied myself. Round two. The engine roared as I took off again. Grim¡¯s cloud picked up speed to keep up with me. He wasn¡¯t about to let me back inland without a fight. I sped along the harbor-side road, eyeing Grim and my new route. The first turn would be coming up, and I needed to get ahead of him. My bike had superior speed, and I was managing to edge ahead. I felt a smirk cross my lips as Grim began to slow down as I was well and truly moving out of his territory. We had to make him think I was trying to run away. That¡¯s my cue. I swerved and pulled down hard on the throttle. I picked up speed rapidly as I began the second route. A couple hundred meters down the road, I spotted another of Mia¡¯s statues lying in wait. I zeroed in on it and surpassed 140 kilometers an hour. ¡°First beacon activated!¡± Alice¡¯s voice came through. I was about to respond with a confirmation when the statue popped the hydrant earlier than I had expected. I wasn¡¯t sure why until I looked up, only to see an inky black cloud diving towards me. The Old Man¡¯s voice came through suddenly. ¡°UPGRADE!¡± Instinct compelled me to swerve closer to the gushing water as Grim¡¯s shadow crashed down. I was going too fast to change direction or slow down. All I could do was speed up. So I did. I held my breath and hoped it would be over quickly. I thundered forward, and the gushing water drenched me before the shadow swallowed me. It was over in a fraction of a second. Light streamed back into my visor, and my brain rebooted itself. It took me a few critical seconds to recompose myself. I¡¯m alive¡ª Critical warnings flashed across my visor. ¡°Warning, core systems critically damaged. Suit integrity: 14%¡± The automated system diagnostic snapped my focus back into place, and I released the breath I had been holding. I was still alive, and right now, nothing else mattered. [Charges: 25/25] [Type] [Durability 14/100 Repair Unavailable - Incompatible Components.] Incompatible? Fuck¡­ I¡¯m wearing the suit. Considering how quickly Grim was known to kill, I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. Only a moment¡¯s exposure almost destroyed my suit. If I¡¯d had any part of my body exposed, he would have leaked in and killed me. I was brought out of my thoughts when my bike¡¯s tires popped, and the underside of the motorbike grounded against the tarmac, leaving a trail of fire and sparks behind. I was thrown from my seat and sent tumbling down the street. My suit protected most of the damage, but I felt each painful impact. Adrenaline had me scrambling back to my feet. As far as I could tell, I hadn¡¯t broken anything, which felt like the second miracle to happen in under a minute. My armor, however, was in dire condition. Bits of it were flaking and peeling off, and the material looked decayed. It had barely protected me from the crash. ¡°Upgrade, what the hell happened?¡± Alice demanded. ¡°Talk to me!¡± I pushed myself off the tarmac. I was about to respond when I saw that the microphone in my helmet was nonfunctional. I could still hear the transmissions, but I couldn¡¯t talk back. It wasn¡¯t like I had time to respond anyway. I needed to get moving. Thankfully, the bike was only a few meters away. I rushed over and placed a hand on its side. [Charges: 25/25] [Type] [Durability 4/100 Repair Available - Cost 3] It was a mess. Most of the Temberite armor had disintegrated. The engine and other critical parts of the machine looked like swiss cheese, and pulling the throttle down yielded no response. In a panic, I looked behind me to see if Grim was about to kill me. Fortunately, his gambit to kill me had cost him more than it had cost me. His shadow had covered the geyser like a blanket and slowed him down tremendously. He looked like tar and was moving about as fast as molten lava. His shadow dragged itself along the ground, slowly picking up speed as it left ruined concrete behind. He was still gunning for me. ¡°He got hit,¡± the old man replied, stunned. ¡°Grim dived at him. He¡¯s¡­ well I¡¯ll be damned, he¡¯s still in one piece!¡± ¡°Get out of there!¡± Alice all but screamed. ¡°Go, go NOW!¡± Paying the three charges, I repaired the bike and climbed back onto the seat. My body was aching as I pulled back down on the throttle and took off again. As I regained speed, I looked back to see the shadow rising from the ground, separating itself from the water weighing it down. I could almost see Grim¡¯s desperation to catch up. ¡°He¡¯s on the move again. Alice, get to the second beacon!¡± I was alive. My heart was still beating, and my brain was firing on all cylinders. I was going to make it out of this. We would beat Grim into the ground, and I¡¯d be home before breakfast. I wasn¡¯t going to die, not tonight. After that brush with death, nothing was going to stop me. I was a fair distance away when Grim finally managed to pull himself free. His shadow surged into the sky and raced after me. I watched it get closer as I leveled out my speed. I needed to stay slow enough that I didn¡¯t lose him entirely ¨C but right now ¨C I wanted to be as far away from him as possible. I followed the route, passing several of Mia¡¯s statues. She tried to do her part to pop more fire hydrants, but Grim was well and truly aware of that strategy by now. None of the geysers reached high enough to strike the main body of his shadowy cloud. ¡°Second and third beacons are active,¡± Alice reported. ¡°Come on, big guy. Follow the sonar. Get your ass moving!¡± ¡°Anomaly¡¯s moving. Let¡¯s hope he can navigate those drains against the current¡¯s flow.¡± ¡°He can!¡± Alice replied with absolute certainty. ¡°He¡¯s just gotta follow the beacons.¡± ¡°There¡¯s very little margin for error. Are you prepared for the exit plan?¡± The Old Man asked. The final plan wasn¡¯t a plan. It was a retreat strategy. I was to keep driving out of the city. Eventually, Grim would give up and fall back to his territory. Alice would visit my mom¡¯s place and get her to safety. Anomaly and Mia would meet us at the eastern highway. Then we discuss our next move ¨C most likely, we¡¯d leave the city. It¡¯s not going to come to that. This is going to work. ¡°We¡¯ll cross that bridge if we come to it,¡± Alice said. ¡°Fourth and fifth beacons are online!¡± ¡°Get to the last two and fast. Upgrade¡¯s approximately forty seconds out!¡± Indeed I was. There were only three turns between me and the end of the second route. It would be there that we¡¯d find out if our efforts bore any fruit. Turning into the next street, I was dismayed to find an overturned bus blocking the end of it. It was ablaze, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. To make matters worse, there didn¡¯t seem to be a gap big enough for me to squeeze through. I couldn¡¯t even turn around now because Grim was hot on my heels. If I gave him any sort of ground, he¡¯d catch up. I¡¯d have to make my own path. Activating the bike''s weapons, I fired everything available to me. Bullets and missiles plowed through the metal ahead of me and shredded it to pieces. A wall of smoke and dust obscured my path, but that wouldn¡¯t stop me. I accelerated through the wrecked vehicle. It was a bit bumpy, and the tires took a lot of abuse from the uneven ground, but once again, I had to remind myself that this machine was Mechatech. It was built for this kind of thing ¨C and I was right. It soldiered on and carried me at speed through the rest of the street to the next turn. ¡°Sixth beacon online! Heading to the final one now.¡± ¡°Upgrade¡¯s fifteen seconds out!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Anomaly?¡± ¡°Not far behind.¡± There was a rumbling in the ground below me. For a moment, it was hard to tell if that was the engine of the bike or the ground itself. I made the last turn and saw Alice at the far end of the street, kneeling at the four-way intersection. ¡°Last one¡¯s online!¡± Just in time! I went full throttle and thundered toward the intersection. There was a flash of pink color, and Alice was gone, eager to get out of the way. Grim wasn¡¯t far behind me but was now losing ground as my speed climbed. I passed 150 kilometers an hour and was getting close to 160 when I careened through the intersection. I had done it. My part was finished. ¡°Hit it!¡± Alice cried. The last beacon activated. The ground beneath me vibrated violently, forcing me to slow down so I didn¡¯t crash again. I looked behind me to see Grim passing over the intersection, none the wiser. The tarmac cracked and split, and seawater shot out. I saw the shadow take notice and try to speed up, but Grim wasn¡¯t fast enough. The fissure blew like a volcano. There was a loud bang, and seawater swallowed the shadow whole. I couldn¡¯t see Anomaly, but he was inside, pushing out more water. It was a tsunami right between Cain and Pandora territory. I watched it surge toward me. Not wanting to get consumed by the flood, I pulled the throttle to the max and continued down the street. I could hear the destruction behind me as the sea water ripped through the streets. I made a sharp turn into another street that steeped into a hill. Once I arrived at the apex, I slowed and parked the bike. The water climbed surprisingly high but didn¡¯t get more than a quarter way up. Still, the water damage alone from this would be catastrophic. It was a price worth paying. I found the nearest building and climbed to the roof, having to take the long way because my grapple was damaged. Climbing over the edge, I surveyed the damage. The water continued pouring from the fissure and showed no signs of stopping. Grim¡¯s shadow, however, had been pulled under. I could barely see him from where I stood. His shadow had sunk like a rock beneath the seawater, thrashing to reach the surface. Its struggles grew weaker by the second. It wouldn¡¯t be long before he disappeared entirely or reverted to his human form. I retrieved my sniper from my back, and after spending three charges to repair the damage Grim had done, I set myself up on the ledge. Either way, I¡¯m going to make sure he¡¯s finished. Fuse 11 I counted the minutes that passed, watching the action through my scope. This whole section of the city had lost power, and the ocean water had spread far enough that I couldn¡¯t see where it ended. It had taken a couple of minutes for the water to stop, and now every building for at least a kilometer around would have to be rebuilt. I didn¡¯t even want to think about how many homes were affected by our backup plan. Regardless, it was a sacrifice worth paying to take down one of the world¡¯s most dangerous supers. The city wouldn¡¯t be left to fend for itself either. The ECU had the resources allocated to help anyone who was affected in situations such as this. I did not doubt that other people throughout the city would be pitching in the rebuild. We would as well. I¡¯d make sure of it. Come on, Grim¡­ where are you? Show me your head. My tranquilizers were loaded, but I was considering whether or not I should switch them out for live ammunition. Sure, killing was a slippery slope, and tonight had already started with one notch to my pistol, but Grim didn¡¯t count. I wouldn¡¯t lose a wink of sleep if I put him six feet under. I¡¯d even bet that the ECU would look the other way ¨C claim that he had fought to the death. Besides, there was also no guarantee that my tranquilizers would even work with him. There might be some aspect of his powers that made him immune. There was no way to be sure, and I wasn¡¯t willing to bet on it. I ejected the magazine and went to load the live ammunition. Just before I could finish, there was a displacement in the air next to me. Alice appeared in a flash, her eyes blazing neon pink. With a twitch, the glow was gone, replaced with gold. ¡°Unnecessary. With the time he¡¯s spent underwater, he¡¯s either unconscious or dead. Shooting him will just aggravate the ECU,¡± Gold said, holding my wrist. She twitched again and exhaled sharply. ¡°Ooh, I¡¯m all over the place right now. Jesus, what a night!¡± Alice laughed, rubbing her hands together. ¡°Now it¡¯s time to see if our efforts were appreciated.¡± I grimaced as I holstered my sniper rifle to my back, surveying the damage once more. Without power, there were no lights, and this entire section of the city was in total darkness aside from the occasional glow of burning buildings. It wouldn¡¯t last for long. From our spot on the roof, we could already see the ECU beginning to move. Transports were pushing through the flooded streets, and it wouldn¡¯t be long until they arrived. I felt a chill crawl down my spine and suddenly realized how compromised my suit was. It wasn¡¯t just damaged. It was starting to flake off me in chunks. [Charges: 19/25] [Type] [Durability 2/100. Repair Unavailable - Incompatible Components.] I couldn¡¯t believe how much further it had decayed. I was surprised it was even still clinging to my body. If I went down there into the streets now, the water would probably give me hypothermia. ¡°I need to repair but we¡¯re too exposed here,¡± I said. ¡°Have we got time?¡± Alice nodded. ¡°We can spare a minute or two. Come on.¡± We headed to the edge of the roof and climbed down. I took extra care getting to the ground because I couldn¡¯t get solid readings from my suit¡¯s modules. It was all blank. For all I knew, my impact dispersal modules didn¡¯t exist anymore. Best not to take the risk. Alice broke through a window, which happened to be an antique tea shop. Regardless of what it sold, I took the opportunity to remove myself from any potential onlookers. Soon, people would be swarming the area and trying to find Grim or whatever remained of him. While they wouldn¡¯t be looking for me specifically, I couldn¡¯t risk being unprepared for an encounter. As much as I detested the thought of a fresh fight tonight, I needed to be ready for anything. My survival depended on it. ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye out. Try to be quick, I don¡¯t wanna miss the finale,¡± Alice said. I found the restroom and peeled off my suit the old-fashioned way. It was so decayed that bits came apart as I pulled it off. After paying three charges, the material turned to liquid in my hands, and I caught sight of my reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was dark, so I could barely see ¨C but I could make out some of my reflection. My hair was disheveled, and my nose was swollen. No doubt I¡¯d look even worse with a proper light source. Still, all that could wait. I got back into the suit, and before I could even exit the bathroom, my suit reconnected to the call. ¡°There he is. Jesus kid, you gave us one hell of a scare.¡± ¡°I could still hear the call but my microphone was damaged. Seems like a bit of Grim stuck to me though, the whole of my comms suite cut out after a while,¡± I explained. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter now. I¡¯m all repaired. I¡¯m good¡­ I think.¡± ¡°You¡¯re full of surprises, Upgrade,¡± The Old Man mused. ¡°That power of yours will cause a bit of a stir¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s quite talented, isn¡¯t he?¡± Alice intoned, sounding eager to change the subject. ¡°Hey, Upgrade. Get out here. I¡¯ve got some company.¡± I left the building to find Domination and Comet hovering in front of Alice with expressions that were difficult to read. Neither of them had Alice in their hold, so it looked like they were under orders to leave us alone. ¡°You!¡± Comet looked somewhere between angry and stunned. It was like she couldn¡¯t pick which one to stick with. ¡°You survived Grim¡¯s shadow!¡± ¡°Yeah, I''m still processing that, to be honest,¡± I replied. Domination had landed, but Comet remained in the air. Given her mother¡¯s relaxed posture, it looked like starting a fight wasn¡¯t their intention. ¡°I hope I¡¯m reading this right, but I¡¯m guessing you guys aren¡¯t here to arrest us? Figured we¡¯d already be fighting if that was the case.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tempt me,¡± Comet sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve forgotten how our last meeting went.¡± ¡°Enough,¡± Domination silenced Comet with a hand. ¡°We have enough problems to deal with. It would be ungrateful of us to take you in after what you did.¡± ¡°But they¡¯re right here,¡± Comet argued. Her aura even began to inch out to snag Alice and I, but a glare from her mother stopped her dead. ¡°I said enough.¡± ¡°But¡ª!¡± ¡°Listen to your mommy, princess,¡± Alice smugly replied. ¡°It¡¯d look pretty bad if you tried to take down the people that just saved this city. Plus, we have some powerful allies that you really don¡¯t wanna piss off. Save that passion for another time, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get another opportunity, eventually. Or perhaps¡­¡± she twitched, and Gold took over. ¡°You¡¯ll be too busy in therapy. It was quite gruesome by all accounts, oh what terrible dreams you¡¯ll have.¡± Comet went rigid, and I turned to Alice. Was she insane? Abby was one of my best friends, and Domination could wipe the floor with us. Why was she doing this now of all times? ¡°Hey,¡± I growled with an edge to my voice. ¡°Maybe don¡¯t fucking taunt the heroes after they just said they¡¯re letting us go, Alice.¡± I really didn¡¯t have another fight in me tonight, especially not one we could easily avoid. My grudge with The ECU didn¡¯t extend to picking fights with them, but apparently, Alice didn¡¯t feel the same way ¨C or maybe not all of Alice felt that way. Alice twitched, and she was back to Blue. ¡°Oh, sorry. Silly me, sometimes things just slip out. I¡¯m sure we can let bygones be bygones, right?¡± Comet looked like she wanted to pick Alice up and drown her like we did Grim. If I were honest, I wouldn¡¯t blame her if she did. Thankfully, she refrained from doing anything rash, which had to be one of the most commendable things I had ever seen Abby accomplish. For a hero, she had surprisingly little restraint. ¡°Say that again,¡± Comet dared, her voice low. ¡°Give me one good reason and I¡¯ll take it.¡± ¡°You are treading thin ice,¡± Domination said, narrowing her eyes at Alice. ¡°Use your powers on my daughter again and I¡¯ll have just cause to make you an exception to the cease-fire.¡± ¡°Threats, threats, and more threats. Blah, blah. I¡¯ve heard it all before,¡± Alice waved off like she hadn¡¯t a care in the world. ¡°See that, Upgrade? This is what the heroes are like. Say something they don¡¯t like and suddenly all their morals don¡¯t mean a thing.¡± What the fuck is she trying to do? ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± my dismissal shocked Alice. I moved past her and walked in between Comet and Domination. ¡°You two clearly aren¡¯t going to arrest us and the last thing either of us want is to stand around trading insults. I¡¯m going to find Anomaly and hope this is over so we can all just go home.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad someone has the right idea,¡± Domination said. ¡°We¡¯re here to check on your condition. We saw Grim smother you and by all accounts, you should be dead; but it appears your information about his weakness proved correct.¡± ¡°The water from the fire hydrant covered me before Grim got to me,¡± I reasoned as best I could. It was the only explanation that made any sense. The leftover water made it harder to kill with his power. Even with that layer of protection, Grim had managed to decay my suit to the point where it was falling apart. ¡°I got lucky. I¡¯m fine now.¡± Domination nodded slowly. ¡°Good to hear.¡± ¡°Surprising that you care,¡± Alice chimed in. I shot her a nasty look under my helmet. ¡°In my experience, it¡¯s a free-for-all after disasters like this. Can¡¯t blame me for acting on prior experience.¡± ¡°I cannot speak for other departments, but that¡¯s not how we operate in New Elpis,¡± Domination replied evenly. ¡°In emergencies such as this, so long as they are currently helping or have acted to help end the threat, Villains and Vigilantes are entitled to medical care. You two fall under that category,¡± she paused and sighed. ¡°I know you¡¯ve had poor experiences with the ECU in the past, Split¡ª¡± ¡°Do not call me that,¡± I heard her all but snarl. ¡°My name is Alice. Use it.¡± Domination sighed before turning to Comet. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Finally,¡± Comet rolled her eyes. She sneered at the both of us before turning away and shooting off into the sky. Domination hovered for a bit, standing on her metal platform before carefully following after her. As I watched them leave, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a tad bitter that this confrontation ended how it did. I turned to Alice. ¡°Well?¡± She stared at me. ¡°Well, what?¡± ¡°You told me not too long ago that if I felt you were steering us wrong, I could bash you over the head ¨C your words, by the way,¡± I started, recalling the conversation a few weeks ago. ¡°We just nailed Grim to the wall, and you¡¯re suddenly picking fights with the ECU? What the fuck were you thinking!?¡± She twitched, switching to Gold. She opened her mouth, and I half expected her to start grilling me, to explain that it was all to protect us and that it was all part of her calculated plan for me to respond the way I did so that things would ultimately work out. Instead, her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before switching back to Blue. Alice said nothing and looked away. ¡°Oh, speechless. That¡¯s a first,¡± I said, bewildered. ¡°Come on, tell me how that was supposed to help us¡ª¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°I¡¯m fucking sorry, okay!?¡± She snapped. I stepped back a bit, wondering where all that had come from. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. ¡°Long, long night. It¡¯s the first time in a while I¡¯ve used my powers so much. I switched a lot and had to do it quickly too. It¡­ it happens. Things get jumbled and¡­ priorities change.¡± Alice rubbed her forehead as she strolled closer to me. ¡°As much as I want people to believe it ¨C especially you ¨C unfortunately, I¡¯m not perfect. I fucking hate that I have to say that. Using my powers in short bursts over a few hours? Not a problem at all, but the city went to shit over ten hours ago and I haven¡¯t stopped. I wasn¡¯t lying when I said I was all over the place. I just meant it a bit more literally. I¡­ I have a limit too.¡± Silence lingered between us as she refused to meet my eyes. After a while, I couldn¡¯t take it. ¡°You should have said something.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°Whenever. I don¡¯t know. You already know my limit. Why not tell me yours?¡± ¡°Because it wasn¡¯t necessary,¡± she hissed childishly. ¡°It¡¯s rarely a problem. I haven¡¯t quite hit it yet. I¡¯ve still got some fight left in me.¡± ¡°Enough to want to pick fights with the ECU, apparently,¡± I replied coolly. She met my gaze, but I was ready to keep going. ¡°You can¡¯t do that. Don¡¯t ever do that, especially with Comet. Fucking hell, you know she¡¯s my friend and that hurt her! I know playing your Mentalist mind games is part of how you operate, but I won¡¯t let you do that with her. I refuse to be put in a situation where I have to choose between the two of you.¡± There was a brief flare of rage in her eyes. Alice switched to Red, but I saw the internal conflict. Finally, after a tense few moments, she switched back to Blue, her shoulders slumping. ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah, that was fucking stupid of me.¡± I sighed, taking solace in what little relief her admission brought. ¡°Well, what¡¯s done is done, so now you¡¯re going to try and fix it.¡± Her look turned incredulous. ¡°W-What? Are you serious?¡± ¡°Do I sound like I¡¯m kidding? Do you even realize how that¡¯s going to affect her?¡± She pinched the bridge of her nose. ¡°Look, I fucked up okay but there¡¯s no fixing that. How would I even go about it? She isn¡¯t going to accept any kind of apology from me, I¡¯m a villain in her eyes. Anything actually sincere is going to come across like I¡¯m trying to trick her. The most I can promise is that I won¡¯t do it again. I¡¯ll¡­ I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll compliment her hair or something next time I see her.¡± I felt myself scowl. Alice had a point, but I wasn¡¯t satisfied with the outcome. ¡°Just¡­ make sure you stick to your word on that. I mean it. Comet¨C Abby. She¡¯s one of the better ones.¡± ¡°Thanks, and don¡¯t worry. I will,¡± Alice said softly. ¡°I mean it. I really am sorry. Even¡­ even Mentalists have their moments.¡± We both started walking down the sidewalk toward the flooded street. I could fetch the bike later, seeing as it wouldn¡¯t do me much good here. The roads were too waterlogged to drive, and it would just damage it unnecessarily. For now, we¡¯d either have to wade through on foot or go by rooftops, and seeing as Alice¡¯s costume wasn¡¯t waterproof, the last thing she wanted was to go trawling through waist-height seawater. ¡°I definitely need to take you up on that suit,¡± Alice said as we climbed to another roof. ¡°It¡¯s freezing and that water looks nasty. Who knows what else we¡¯ll be crawling through in the future?¡± ¡°Good to hear you¡¯ve finally come around,¡± I remarked. ¡°We can get started on it after some rest. With this amount of damage, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll need to worry about school for a couple of weeks.¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ll be shut for a while,¡± Alice agreed. ¡°Plenty of time to get to work. I have some ideas that might help you. I know your power can cheat, but with proper resources you¡¯ll be able to save charges. We can fortify the apartment, turn it into something better.¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely on the list,¡± I replied, grappling to another building. We finally made it to where everyone was converging. It was a little off to the right from where the fissure was. Grim seemed to have been pulled down this way by the current. We saw his body caught on something black ¨C Anomaly ¨C while submerged. ¡°He¡¯s gotta be dead. He has to have been under there for at least ten minutes now.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be surprised how long it takes to drown. Adding powers to the mix just muddies the waters,¡± she giggled at the pun. ¡°Regardless, he¡¯s no longer our problem.¡± The ECU occupied the whole street to the right, while Pandora occupied the street to the left. It was like watching two armies lining up to clash. Their focus was on Grim, who floated lifelessly in the middle. I could see a few of The Queen¡¯s Court lining the buildings opposite of us, but in comparison, their numbers paled to Pandora. ¡°What happens now?¡± I wondered aloud. Just like in the meeting called by Gaea, it was impossible to ignore the amount of power gathered here. ¡°Feels like anything could happen.¡± ¡°Anything could happen,¡± Alice agreed. ¡°But now we¡¯ve just gotta wait and see. We¡¯ve done our part.¡± On cue, Anomaly sprang from the thinning water in the middle of the street. Part of him remained coiled around Grim¡¯s body, but he quickly dropped him back into the water once he realized he was the center of attention. He caught sight of us and sprang up to our building. His body vibrated, and like a sponge, he purged the last of the seawater from his body. He made a sound, a chilling and almost unintelligible noise. I could only imagine his complaining about being waterlogged and having to take a dip in the ocean. Nevertheless, he had enough sense not to switch back. Instead, he remained transformed, eyeing Pandora more than any other group. I looked around and tried to spot any statues, but Mia seemed to be completely absent, at least to my eyes. Then Liberation made himself known. He began walking through the now knee-high sea water toward Grim¡¯s body. For the first time, I got to see the man up close. He strode with purpose, his head held high as he gripped a sword that blazed with light. Part of Liberation¡¯s look was a silver and black cloak with an illustration of a large box with two white crescent moons stitched to the back. The symbol represented the myth the group had taken their name from, Pandora¡¯s Box. He wore a silver crown and a sculpted silver mask to add to his pompous look. He had the stature of a King, which was the whole point. He was in charge of Pandora in New Elpis. He was not the only one to start moving. From the ECU, I saw Sparrow and Ionizer advancing. As renowned as they were, Liberation carried himself with an aura that dwarfed the two ECU captains. It likely had something to do with the fact that Liberation was a titan of a man, standing at 7''10 and built like a brick wall. ¡°I¡¯ve only ever seen that guy in videos. He¡¯s something else,¡± I murmured. Alice grumbled under her breath. ¡°Yup, that bastard is something else indeed.¡± Liberation stopped only a few short feet from the body. Ionizer and Sparrow did the same. Watching it felt like I was witnessing something out of a movie. ¡°It would be unwise to stand in my way,¡± Liberation¡¯s warned. Sparrow, dwarfed by the cult leader¡¯s height, stepped forward. ¡°You are aware this entire area is under ECU jurisdiction, correct? Don¡¯t make this more difficult than it needs to be, enough people have died tonight.¡± ¡°One more to the list is of little consequence. Everyone here has suffered because of this genocidal fool! Your organization cannot be trusted to deal with a monster like him when you consistently fail to contain our kind.¡± ¡°Execution is not how this country is run,¡± Ionizer replied calmly. ¡°Grim is to be taken into ECU custody.¡± There was an uproar of laughter from Liberation. ¡°You think you are capable of holding him!? If you could he would have been dealt with years ago. No, I don¡¯t think so. Every second we waste here is a second he takes to recover,¡± Liberation lifted his sword. ¡°I will deliver his sentence swiftly.¡± Ionizer and Sparrow looked ready to fight and prevent the execution, but a rumbling in the ground stopped everyone. Through the pavement, a tree root sprung. The tip opened like a flower, the wood cracking and splitting. A familiar woman walked out, looking just as unimpressed as the last time I saw her. ¡°Leave it to the Queen to make a dramatic entrance,¡± Alice mused. Gaea regarded everyone with a cold look before looking down at the body. Grim suddenly twitched as he began violently vomiting up the seawater in his lungs. Nobody moved as he rolled onto his side, coughing and spluttering. ¡°What the fuck, she healed him?¡± I hissed angrily. Anomaly seemed to have a similar sentiment as his entire form shook violently, and an inhuman shriek escaped him. ¡°After we went through all that bullshit?¡± Alice¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think she healed him.¡± We stared down, ready for Grim to make any sort of move. However, he didn¡¯t. The man seemed to slouch on his knees, looking around with a vacant expression. Then it hit me what Gaea had done. Liberation wanted him dead, and the ECU wanted him in custody, as per the law. As impossible as it seemed, he was to be tried by the courts and sentenced. Gaea, however, had suddenly made it very simple. ¡°She lobotomized him,¡± I said, feeling a tad sick. It would have been kinder if Liberation delivered the killing blow. ¡°Problem solved,¡± Gaea¡¯s voice rang out. ¡°Now, I believe it would be best if you all started figuring out how you¡¯re going to repair my city. There has been enough damage and I will have no more of it.¡± Liberation snarled. ¡°That tongue of yours is as sharp as ever, Melody.¡± Gaea didn¡¯t even deem it necessary to turn back around to address him. ¡°Keep your cultists in line. Some of your fanatics almost turned my attention to your little branch tonight.¡± She walked back into her tree root, and it disappeared back into the ground. I couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bit disappointed by Gaea. I expected something more grandiose based on how she typically conducted herself. She was the leader of The Queen¡¯s Court and one of the Trinity. ¡°That was anticlimactic.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about what I expected. The fighting is all over and now the only thing left to do is to pick up the pieces,¡± Alice said with a sigh. ¡°Time to go. We¡¯re done here.¡± ¡°What about Grim?¡± I asked, staring down at the defeated man. I wasn¡¯t sure what I expected, but it wasn¡¯t this. Maybe I wanted to see him dead after all the chaos he had caused. It would have been nice to see him repentful. Hell, I¡¯d even take him throwing out curses and promising revenge. Seeing him go out like this was pathetic. ¡°Everyone¡¯s just going to leave him like that?¡± Even Liberation was just walking away. ¡°It¡¯s like Gaea said. The problem has been solved. In a state like that, he might as well be dead ¨C and¡­ well, nobody¡¯s going to contest Gaea of all people. Sure, the ECU will criticize her methods but to her it''s a compromise. If she can¡¯t kill him, then she¡¯ll make damn sure he can¡¯t trouble the world again.¡± Alice explained. Something didn¡¯t feel right. I couldn¡¯t place my finger on it, but something was missing. Grim was done for, rendered a non-issue now that Gaea had managed to get to him. What else was there? ¡°So that¡¯s it then.¡± Alice nodded. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± I exhaled slowly, looking down at the crowd of Pandora followers numbering in the hundreds. There was a mixture of supers and normal people, all outfitted with weapons and costumes. At a glance, it was hard to tell who did and didn¡¯t have powers. Liberation addressed them, and from his body language, it looked like Anomaly was listening in. ¡°I was expecting a little more.¡± ¡°Like what, a congratulations? Upgrade, they all know we took Grim down. They aren¡¯t about to come up to us and shake our hands,¡± Alice snorted. ¡°We¡¯re on the map now. We¡¯re known to everyone in this city and it¡¯s time to get out of here before what¡¯s left of the cease-fire collapses. Really, we should be thankful we¡¯re still alive after dealing with someone like Grim.¡± ¡°Alice is right,¡± The Old Man chimed in. ¡°Time to hit the road.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been awfully quiet,¡± I noted with curiosity. ¡°I take it you were listening in?¡± ¡°Mostly. I¡¯ve also had some of my people pulling information out of Splicer. Regarding the Morpher Anomaly put down earlier tonight, Splicer claims it couldn¡¯t have gotten free on its own. The Mechatech holding it was too sophisticated and the dosage of chemicals in its system would have kept it docile for at least another two days. We have taken samples and confirmed the presence of the drugs in the beast¡¯s system.¡± I shook my head, confused at what Francis was trying to insinuate. ¡°What does any of that mean?¡± ¡°Splicer claims that someone messed with its head and made it go feral. That¡¯s what triggered it to awaken and break out.¡± I wracked my mind for an answer, and a glance at Alice told me she was doing the same. It wasn¡¯t long before the realization struck like a bolt of lightning. ¨CI also have somewhere to be, believe it or not. I just thought I¡¯d take the opportunity to chat¨C That fucking bastard. ¡°Mirage¡­¡± I growled under my breath. ¡°It¡¯s him.¡± Alice turned to look around, as did Anomaly. Everyone was still dispersing, and Pandora and what little of The Queen¡¯s Court were present. The ECU was still locking the area down and prepping their new murderous vegetable for transport. At no point had the renegade Cain members made themselves known. They hadn¡¯t even shown up to watch their former leader get taken down. ¡°Bonesmith and Banshee aren¡¯t here either and Mia said the werewolf had attacked our place, they probably followed it back,¡± Alice hissed with barely restrained anger. ¡°Fucking bastards! They¡¯re going to be waiting for us.¡± ¡°Or they¡¯ve left us a nasty present,¡± I murmured. ¡°They know you have Mentalist powers and they¡¯re crafty. They¡¯re going to be prepared if we go rushing in,¡± a small part of me burned at the idea of those bastards messing around in my workshop. Despite that, I had no more energy to give tonight. I was not ready to go jumping into another fight. ¡°We need to rest, Alice. We can¡¯t go back tonight.¡± Alice huffed and I could tell she agreed. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Going back is suicide, especially if Mirage is waiting there. We¡¯ll get Mia to clear the place with her statues later. Right now, we need a place to hunker down in.¡± Our radios crackled, and Francis¡¯ voice came through. ¡°If you¡¯re willing to accept it, I might be able to help with that.¡± I sighed. He had helped so far, and if I was being honest, I was too tired to weigh the pros and cons. When I met Alice¡¯s gaze, I could tell she was in the same boat. ¡°We¡¯re listening.¡± Fuse Interlude - Banshee Red stained the sink as several used gauze pads lay scattered around. First aid wasn¡¯t Carmen¡¯s specialty, but she had to make do with what she had. Turning the faucet on, Carmen allowed the sound of rushing water to calm her mind as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She needed to make sure she didn¡¯t put any weight on her wounded leg for the next few days, not after that fucking kid had managed to land the luckiest shot of his life. ¡°Tricky little shit,¡± she thought miserably. Not only had the kid managed to escape from her twice now, but he managed to hurt her this time. To add salt to the wound, his impromptu girlfriend had knocked her out. Sat on the edge of the toilet, Carmen gently prepared to change her bandages, smearing a layer of biogel on it to help speed up the healing process. It had only been a day, and the wound was already showing signs of improvement. It was still fresh, and she would need to change the bandage a few more times. Risking a trip to the hospital where she¡¯d face questioning on the injury wasn¡¯t worth it. She just needed to get through the week. Carmen hissed as she applied the bandage and began to wrap it up again. Once finished, she would need to clean up, then it was back to the living room to ice the damn thing until she could forget about the pain. That, or pass blissfully into a deep sleep. ¡°Fucking kid,¡± she muttered under her breath. ¡°What the hell do we need him for anyway? It¡¯s not like he could have done anything useful.¡± Bonesmith had been the one to give the order. She had been working as a store clerk at a clothing shop. When the call came, she wasn¡¯t allowed much time to prepare. Finding her manager was frustrating enough, but explaining that she needed to take an extended impromptu break required some verbal gymnastics. It was supposed to be a quick snatch-and-grab. The kid was alone. How hard could it have been? Evidently, pretty fucking hard. For her efforts, she had received a debilitating wound to the leg and had to flee the mall entirely. When her boss called her an hour later to ask where she was, her only excuse was that she suddenly felt violently ill and had to go home. It was a miracle she hadn¡¯t been fired on the spot. Thankfully, her next shift was three days away, and she should be well enough to conceal the wound. By then, Carmen¡¯s boss wouldn¡¯t be so angry. With the bandage tightly wrapped, Carmen stood, using the side of the bathroom sink as a crutch. She slowly cleaned everything up, disposing of the bloodied materials before limping toward the kitchen. All she wanted to do was put ice on the damn thing and let her brain rot while watching some crappy TV. As she limped toward the kitchen, her ears picked up the lounge television with what sounded like a sports replay. Carmen¡¯s eyes narrowed. The only other person in the house was her grandmother, who was upstairs fast asleep. With a slow, controlled breath, Carmen allowed the atmospheric shift to swallow her. The world around her blended like wet ink smudged by a cloth, colors spiraling and dripping. With every movement she made, she left streaks in the air. The world around her turned into wet paint, and her passage mixed it. She didn¡¯t walk when she used her power. Instead, she glided through reality like she was ice-skating across the ground. Initially, controlling her movement had been difficult. Controlling what she wanted and did not want to pass through had been grueling, but she had grasped it with practice. Nowadays, any movement was as easy as walking. Retrieving a knife from the kitchen, she drifted into the lounge and saw a man sitting on the couch with a bowl of ice cream. He was smiling at the television, shoveling spoonfuls of the delicious treat into his mouth. Carmen identified him immediately, but before she could act, a sharp pain stabbed at her head. Her world spun, and she would have fallen if she had not caught herself on the table after releasing the control she had over her powers. The world solidified, and the house¡¯s stale scent assaulted her senses. ¡°Sneaking up on me, hm? Now what did I do to deserve such treatment?¡± The condescending voice asked. ¡°Am I not a guest in your home, chica? You should show more respect.¡± Carmen seethed as she steadied herself on the table. Mirage¡¯s power gave her crippling headaches if she was still using her power. Carmen was uncertain as to why it worked that way, but the pain was preferable to the fucked up mind prisons he was able to trap people in. The kind of damage that could do to a person she¡¯d seen first-hand. ¡°What are you doing here, Mirage?¡± Carmen grounded out impatiently. ¡°You know you¡¯re not supposed to be here. What if my Grandmother saw you? How the fuck am I supposed to explain that?¡± She then gestured to the TV. ¡°And turn that shit off, it¡¯s three in the morning! You¡¯re going to wake her up!¡± Mirage chuckled. ¡°Relax, relax! I was just catching the end of the game, we¡¯re playing well tonight!¡± he picked up the remote and muted it. ¡°There. No sound, no wakey-wakey, and I still get to see the end. We all win.¡± ¡°No, we don¡¯t all win. What are you doing here?¡± Carmen all but hissed. ¡°You were meant to guard the supplies and if Grim finds out you¡¯re flaking on him, we¡¯re all fucking dead. Go back there and do your fucking job!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ caramba, you are cranky tonight,¡± Mirage rolled his eyes. ¡°There was a bit of an incident and it got a bit too hot,¡± he said, his smile widening. ¡°Want to guess who came knocking? I want to give you three guesses but I think you¡¯re smart enough to only need one.¡± She didn¡¯t need three guesses. ¡°That fucking kid and his friend?¡± Mirage¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Ding ding ding! Just like I told you eh? They always come back.¡± ¡°Yeah-yeah, they always come back and you just let them walk away,¡± Carmen seethed. ¡°You had them dead to rights, didn¡¯t you? I know how your fucking power works. You could have had them screaming and clawing their eyes out. I can only assume you let them ransack the place as well since you¡¯re here and not there. So what did you let them take for your oh-so-grand master plan?¡± Mirage kicked back on the couch, leaning into the cushions and crossing a leg over his other knee. ¡°Some high-grade stuff that the boss man wanted. Masquerade''s people have been working with their moles inside the ECU to get their hands on some of the good stuff,¡± Mirage shrugged. ¡°I tried to take a peek inside but it¡¯s locked up too tight. I know how to break people, not boxes.¡± Carmen suppressed the urge to shudder while the man casually continued to eat. ¡°You just let those kids take the stuff?¡± ¡°I did,¡± Mirage said, looking proud of himself. ¡°Que emocion! It¡¯ll be a grand show. You see, once Grim hears that the local cult went and stole his precious tech, he might actually do something for once. With Nemesis licking his wounds, it should be enough to get him to act. Never thought I¡¯d see the day, The Reaper coming out of retirement.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to implicate Pandora?¡± Carmen¡¯s anger began to subside as the pieces clicked together in her head. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to end well. Grim¡¯s already on edge with all this Masquerade shit. If he does something drastic, things are going to end badly.¡± ¡°Badly?¡± Mirage pursed his lips as if the word had left a sour taste in his mouth. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of perspective, little ghost. Conflict is universal and peace is only temporary. All I¡¯m doing is giving a little push to help things along.¡± Carmen narrowed her eyes. ¡°What do you get out of this, exactly?¡± ¡°Entertainment, for one,¡± Mirage said simply. ¡°But it¡¯s all part of nature. We thrive off fights. It brings change and innovaci¨®n. People like us can¡¯t afford to be the spearhead, we¡¯re not strong enough ¨C not powerful enough. Ah¡ª!¡± He stopped her before she could open her mouth to cut him off. ¡°¡ªBut smart enough? Hm, that¡¯s the real test isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Jesus Christ, speak like a normal person you psycho,¡± Carmen growled. ¡°You tryna start a war here? I joined The Cains because I wanted some fucking freedom and safety in numbers. Grim¡¯s the biggest, baddest, piece of shit in town and nobody was supposed to mess with him. I wanted that guy on my side and now you¡¯ve dragged me into your suicidal coup.¡± Mirage laughed. ¡°Grim¡¯s on nobody''s side, chica. He¡¯s a bomb, tick tick tick. Might as well set the fuse and get it over with, at least then you know when he¡¯s going to blow.¡± ¡°By pitting him against Pandora. Yeah, fantastic idea,¡± Carmen rubbed her head, exhaustion from the day wearing her down. ¡°What do you think they¡¯ll even be able to do against him? Liberation has been trying to boot him out of the city since he arrived and everyone¡¯s seen how well that worked. Grim¡¯s not going anywhere.¡± Mirage''s smile curved, and a glint in his eye told Carmen he knew something she didn¡¯t. ¡°Pandora won¡¯t be able to do anything except buzz around like flies,¡± he admitted. ¡°But tell me, why would I fight my own battles when I can get other people to do it for me? Much more convenient, no? Besides, like I said, timebomb,¡± the smile never left his face. ¡°Last I checked, bombs don¡¯t discriminate.¡± It wasn¡¯t just Pandora he was trying to pit against Grim. It was everyone. If everyone dog-piled him, then maybe they would have a chance. She hadn¡¯t the slightest clue how he could pull that off, and she doubted Mirage would indulge her curiosity. It was already unusual how much he had shared tonight. Mirage finished his ice cream, leaving the bowl on the table as he stood up. He cracked his neck and shook his arms as if to loosen up. ¡°Gracias. The ice cream was good. I never took you for a vanilla kind of girl.¡± Carmen swallowed, the casual tone unsettling her. ¡°Why did you come here?¡± ¡°To talk. Which we have,¡± Mirage said, walking over toward the dining table. He reached to the side, grabbing a briefcase off the floor before laying it flat on the table. ¡°I see you kept it. Chica mala¡­ you said you were going to hand it off?¡± Carmen felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. ¡°Why would I give it to Grim¡¯s allies when we¡¯re supposed to be working against them? I might as well keep it. It¡¯s just some stupid little chip but it has to be worth something. It¡¯s Mechatech.¡± Mirage chuckled lightly but didn¡¯t say more on the topic. Instead, he turned, giving her a knowing smile. ¡°That¡¯s why I like you.¡± Carmen shuddered. Mirage continued. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about our boney friend. I plan to get him out soon. He might not be our biggest fan but he can see the tide changing.¡± ¡°The ECU already have him,¡± Carmen countered. ¡°They¡¯ve got him locked up in their Citadel. How are you going to get him out?¡± Mirage just grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll walk up, knock, and ask very nicely.¡±
Banshee was in far too deep to back out now. She could run, sure, escape the city with clever uses of her power and be long gone within a couple of hours. However, there was a glaring issue. Her grandmother wouldn¡¯t do well traveling so quickly, and she couldn¡¯t just leave her behind. Banshee had too many attachments to Bayside to consider escape as an option. The ECU wasn¡¯t an option either. Her criminal record stretched back to when she was a teenager. Banshee couldn¡¯t count how many times she had been in and out of police custody before she awakened and got her powers. It hadn¡¯t been an easy life growing up. ¡°That was a mistake. All we achieved was making a fool of ourselves.¡± The words had come from Bonesmith, but Banshee shared the sentiment. The meeting that Gaea put together was a waste of time. To make matters worse, those kids had been sitting at the table. They called themselves ¡®Madhouse¡¯. Ridiculous name aside, they had recruited two more supers to their corner since their last encounter with her and Bonesmith. It frustrated her to no end. Why were they even allowed a seat at the table? They were kids, and this was adult business. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Despite the potential problems, Mirage wasn¡¯t concerned at all. He found the whole situation far too amusing. He had split after the meeting, leaving her and Bonesmith to sort out the few young independents he had recruited. Banshee didn¡¯t want to know how Mirage managed to accomplish that. Half of them didn¡¯t want to stick around after hearing what was at stake. A war against Grim? Everyone had lost their fucking minds. ¡°Mirage has some screws loose,¡± Banshee muttered, peeking out through the curtains of one of their safe houses. This little splinter cell they had going on was scarce on resources and manpower. If Banshee was honest, she wasn¡¯t sure if the people on their side were actually loyal or if Mirage had twisted their minds to make them think they were. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to end well for us.¡± ¡°No,¡± Bonesmith admitted bitterly. ¡°They usually do not when he is involved.¡± Banshee figured there was some history between them. They never seemed to get along, but Bonesmith always kept his distance and ¨C begrudgingly ¨C respected Mirage. ¡°What are we supposed to do then? Because I¡¯m all out of ideas,¡± Banshee looked toward the man who had been the one to bring her into The Cains. He had been the one to recruit her ¨C the one that preached about the Brotherhood. Right now, they seemed like two different people. ¡°Come on, fuckin¡¯ say something.¡± Bonesmith growled. ¡°What do you want me to say? I can lie and say I have a way out if that¡¯s what you want. Grim¡¯s mind has been twisted by false promises and I have every reason to believe that Mirage had a hand in it. He would have never been so careless before¡­ I warned him about The Iron Maiden and her subordinates. Did he heed my advice? No!¡± The man was leaning over in his chair, hands pressed together. Banshee could hear the bones cracking and shifting beneath his skin, which should have caused severe pain, yet the man did not flinch. He stared at the floor through the eyeholes of his smooth white mask. Banshee moved away from the blinds and began to pace about the room. She needed a safe way out of this, one that didn¡¯t involve getting put away for life by the ECU. She had nightmares about what place they¡¯d throw her into. Would it be the facility at the bottom of the Mariana Trench? What about the isolation facility at the South Pole that Deadlocked helped create? Worse still, there was always the prison Ajax claimed to have, tucked away on his orbiting space station. There were some horrible places to end up when you were a Super. ¡°You were in that meeting as well. Shit¡¯s going to hit the fan and I don¡¯t want to be around when it happens,¡± Banshee said, giving her senior super a flat look. ¡°From the looks of it, you don¡¯t want to either. Whatever¡¯s left of The Cains will be cleaned up and we¡¯ll be easy pickings, just like the little bitch said.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been left with nothing before,¡± Bonesmith¡¯s voice rumbled. His fingertips dug into the leather of the chair, and Banshee could hear it beginning to rip. ¡°I will endure.¡± ¡°Well, good to know you¡¯ve got things figured out on your end,¡± she muttered quietly. ¡°I wish I knew what that bastard wants. He¡¯s got to know that everything will just burn and he¡¯ll be left with nothing.¡± ¡°Mirage is the type of man to burn a city just to feel its warmth,¡± Bonesmith¡¯s voice took on a regretful tone. ¡°He is twisted, broken beyond all repair. If death was unavoidable, he would drag everyone around him down with him, and he¡¯d laugh doing it.¡± That didn¡¯t surprise her in the slightest. Mirage had been one of the strangest supers she had ever met. His eccentricities were too outrageous to ignore, but there wasn¡¯t much she could do about it. ¡°Then we just find a way to kill him. If we get rid of him then all this goes away.¡± ¡°As enticing as that sounds, it is not that simple. Much like Grim, he does not allow himself to be vulnerable,¡± Bonesmith explained. ¡°When he rescued me from ECU captivity, he was able to evade their security with ease. He is crafty and creative. His power isn¡¯t just illusions. There¡¯s a deeper element to it¡­ something that taps deep into the subconscious.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve tried before ¨C to kill him that is,¡± Banshee said, noting how easily Bonesmith explained it. He had clearly thought about this many times ¨C and judging from his tone, he had tried. ¡°Given that he¡¯s still alive, I doubt you were very successful.¡± ¡°Some men are too difficult to kill,¡± Bonesmith grunted. ¡°Others are just not worth the effort. If you want my opinion, I think it would be best to move on.¡± Banshee''s eyes narrowed. ¡°You think we should leave while we still can?¡± Bonesmith sighed and looked up at her. ¡°There is no ¡®we¡¯.¡± ¡°What the hell is that supposed to mean?¡± Banshee demanded. ¡°You¡¯re just going to leave me drifting all on my own? Fuck that! What¡¯s your plan? You¡¯re the one with all the strategies¡ª¡± ¡°I have nothing!¡± Bonesmith¡¯s arms cracked and shifted into blades before he unleashed his anger, ripping apart the chair until it looked like shredded ribbons. Once finished, he allowed his arms to change back to normal, his chest heaving with every breath. Banshee noted his calmness return, but there was a tenseness to his body. ¡°When I came to this city, I planned to follow Grim. I figured I could learn from him and better myself. He was an admirable man. Now¡­¡± his head hung with despair. ¡°Now I do not know where to look.¡± ¡°Well, you could start by looking at me,¡± Banshee snapped. ¡°Because staring at the floor and moping around isn¡¯t fuckin¡¯ helping anyone,¡± she shifted her tone, giving the ex-pirate a flat stare. ¡°Look, the way I see it, we¡¯re getting railed from both ends. If either of us doesn¡¯t figure something out soon, that nutjob is going to drag us into hell. You said it yourself; he¡¯ll destroy everything just for a laugh.¡± Bonesmith¡¯s gaze hardened. ¡°You believe this to be my problem?¡± He scoffed. ¡°I have no attachments to this city. I will leave, the moment Mirage¡¯s guard is down.¡± ¡°And go where, exactly?¡± Banshee hissed. ¡°That is for me to know,¡± Bonesmith replied. Her knuckles turned white. ¡°If that¡¯s how things are going to be, then that''s fine by me.¡±
Carmen knew the fighting began the moment sirens blared across Bayside. She had been home all day on account of losing her job. All the extra work Mirage had been requesting led to a brief phone call from her boss to inform her. It was a miserable job anyway, and she hated every second. Besides, she had bigger things to worry about. The city was about to implode, and she was stirring freshly brewed tea for her grandmother. When the sirens started, Carmen had led her grandmother down into their basement. Initially, there were protests that she was too paranoid, but Carmen knew what was coming. Grim would be out in full force, and Bayside wouldn¡¯t survive the night if nobody stopped him. With her grandmother safe ¨C as much as she could be ¨C Carmen sat in the lounge, dressed in her gear. She ran a thumb over the Phantom of the Opera-style mask she used as part of her outfit. The TV was on, and she was following live coverage of the chaos. Pandora was on the warpath, and it was only a matter of time until the request for her help came through. Carmen had no clue whether or not Grim knew of Mirage¡¯s coup. She hadn¡¯t spoken to or seen The Reaper in over a month, his business with Masquerade having consumed him entirely. There was every possibility that he was aware, which would explain why he hadn¡¯t spoken with her. Still, she kept her phone on the coffee table, waiting for the potential call. As time passed and the sun dipped, it became clear that Grim was aware that she was an enemy. ¡°I should have left while I had the chance.¡± Carmen mused. ¡°It certainly wouldn¡¯t be too farfetched. Like mother like daughter, I guess.¡± Staring down at the mask, the desire to leave weighed on her. Without Carmen, her grandmother had no one, and she wouldn¡¯t last very long by herself. Carmen knew what she wanted: to get out of the city and go somewhere else to start anew. It was a selfish and disgusting desire, just like a majority of her life choices up until now. Something needed to change. Carmen eyed the briefcase in the corner of the living room ¨C the one she had taken from Upgrade. It only held some kind of chip, Mechatech. All she had to do was find a way to sell it, and she¡¯d be set for a good while, potentially for life, depending on what it was. Unfortunately, those resources were not available to her. Carmen sighed just as her phone buzzed. She looked over at it, eyeing the caller ID. ¡°After tonight, I¡¯m done,¡± Carmen promised quietly. She reached over and picked up the phone. ¡°Where do you need me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sending you the address. Would you believe that our little troublemakers have been hiding out in Groves Den?¡± Mirage¡¯s voice came through. ¡°Thought it would be best to have a little bit of a look around. Thought you''d like to come.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Carmen replied, fitting her mask to her face. ¡°But I don¡¯t think you¡¯d call me just to make the offer.¡± ¡°Ah, don¡¯t be like that chica! We have fun here. Just make sure you bring the briefcase. I have a little idea.¡± Banshee suppressed the urge to hiss, her eyes locking onto the briefcase. ¡°I don¡¯t have it anymore.¡± ¡°Ah, there¡¯s no need to lie. See, you¡¯re no good at it. Just bring it.¡± ¡°I sold it,¡± Banshee insisted. ¡°I needed quick cash¡ª¡± ¡°Mentirosa! Bring the fucking case!¡± Mirage¡¯s aggravation exploded without warning. ¡°Do not think you can lie to me. I¡¯m not stupid, you hear? Do as I say.¡± The line went dead, and Banshee almost kicked the coffee table out of frustration. She was about to lose the one thing that could have let her start over. Strolling over, she snatched up the briefcase and left the house. The moment she stepped out of the door, she activated her power and disappeared into the night. She walked for over an hour, avoiding any streets with too much activity. Even though her power concealed her from the physical world, there were powers out there that could detect her. With all the supers on the streets tonight, there was no point in taking the risk. When she arrived at her destination, she found Mirage staring up at a decrepit apartment building that looked like it would collapse at any moment. It didn¡¯t help that the damage to the exterior looked recent. It looked like some big animal ¨C or a super ¨C had tried to get in. Mirage was standing casually at the street¡¯s corner next to Bonesmith. It made her curious as to why the ex-pirate was still here. He insisted that any relationship or partnership was over and that skipping town was his priority. Maybe Bonesmith was attempting to try and kill Mirage when his guard was down. If that happened to be the case, then she would gladly lend him assistance. Appearing before them, Mirage clapped his hands. ¡°There she is, my favorite ghost!¡± She tossed the briefcase at him, the box clattering to the ground at his feet. ¡°There, have your stupid fucking briefcase.¡± Mirage, unbothered by her tone, bent down to pick it up. ¡°Your kindness is greatly appreciated.¡± His false sincerity made her sick. ¡°This place,¡± she pointed to the decrepit apartment building. ¡°This is where they¡¯ve been operating from?¡± ¡°According to him,¡± Bonesmith said, eyeing the illusionist. ¡°Not sure how he managed to figure it out.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ how does the saying go? A magician never reveals his tricks,¡± Mirage replied, amusement coloring his tone. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go and have a little look? I¡¯m curious to see what our little friends have been up to.¡± ¡°Be my guest,¡± Bonesmith said with an edge to his tone. ¡°But I¡¯m not setting foot inside that place. I¡¯ve been near enough Mechakinetic workshops to know that going in one is near suicide. I don¡¯t care how new Upgrade is to the scene. I¡¯m not in any rush to die, but by all means, don¡¯t let me stop you.¡± Mirage laughed and jabbed the man in the shoulder. ¡°Aha! I see Ajax took your balls as well.¡± Bonesmith didn¡¯t rise to the bait. Instead, he just took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. ¡°We¡¯re done. I¡¯m not playing your games anymore. Everything has fallen apart and it¡¯s all your¡ª!¡± His words stopped dead, and his breath halted. Banshee watched as the man seized up and collapsed, convulsing on the ground. Every few seconds, he twitched and released a pained wheeze. Banshee watched as Mirage casually walked over and stood above him. The man¡¯s lips curved upward, and he slowly shook his head. ¡°You okay down there?¡± Mirage asked, lightly kicking the man. He turned and looked at Banshee, who refused to meet his eyes. ¡°I think he might¡¯ve forgotten to take his medication this morning. That¡¯s a shame. Oh well, he can stay out here and keep watch.¡± Mirage turned around and began strolling across the street, whistling a tune. When he realized Banshee wasn¡¯t following, he turned and gave her a flat stare. ¡°You too? Is there some kind of disease going around that I¡¯m not aware of?¡± Mirage asked. ¡°Come ooooon! It¡¯ll be fun, I promise. I¡¯m sure there will be all sorts of things you can loot. This thing?¡± He lifted the briefcase and jiggled it around in front of her. ¡°This¡¯ll be a joke compared to what he¡¯s got locked up in there.¡± Banshee¡¯s gaze flickered between Bonesmith¡¯s convulsing body and Mirage. ¡°He¡­¡± She would have lost her nerve if she wasn¡¯t used to seeing such cruelty growing up. ¡°He just said that Mechakinetic workshops are dangerous. I don¡¯t want to fucking die in there, Mirage. The kid¡¯s already humiliated me twice.¡± Mirage rolled his eyes. ¡°Do you really think I would ask you to come with me if I didn¡¯t know it was safe?¡± Yes. ¡°No¡­ no of course not.¡± ¡°Then let''s go already!¡± His jovial attitude made her want to jump off the nearest bridge. Instead, all she could do was numbly walk forward. It wasn¡¯t like she could escape with her power. She remembered what had happened when she tried the first time. ¡°There you go, one foot in front of the other.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fucking patronize me!¡± Banshee snapped. Mirage smirked. ¡°Aha, so testy. No need to get so upset,¡± he said. ¡°You know this is how I am.¡± ¡°Unfortunately.¡± She just needed to get through tonight, and when the dust settled, she could get her grandmother out of the city, her health be damned. Banshee couldn¡¯t afford to stay in Bayside. If she did, she knew she would end up dead soon. She needed a new identity and a way to reinvent herself. Maybe¡­ maybe she would have to take her chances with the ECU ¨C but not here, not in Bayside. Caldon would be a good place. The Nine Circles ruled Ashton out entirely, and Zachery Port was dealing with a sinkhole problem. Although, she guessed The Nine Circles would be The Eight Circles now, given that the ECU terminated Lust. That left a spot open for a new Lust. ¡°I¡¯d like you to do something for me, after tonight,¡± Mirage started. ¡°There¡¯s a few things I would like to set into motion but I am only one man. I would do this myself but your skillset is far more suited to the task than mine.¡± Banshee¡¯s brow rose beneath her mask as he led her into the worn-down apartment¡¯s underground car park. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± Her curiosity spoke for her. Mirage waited a few moments, his features giving off a more serious look. ¡°Have you ever been to Ashton?¡± He asked, his lips curving upward. ¡°I think you might like it up there, lots of excitement recently I hear.¡± Banshee paled. Finalize 1 I awoke to excruciating pain in my head and sunlight streaming into my eyes. I couldn¡¯t remember the last time I had woken up feeling this awful, but last night¡¯s activities were explanation enough. There were scarce details to what I remembered after defeating Grim; I knew we had ended up at a hotel. It was a private suite on the other end of the city. I had blacked out the moment my head hit the couch. The last thing I recalled was Sam and Mia claiming the beds while Liam snagged one of the comfiest chairs in the room. I groaned as I tried to sit up. ¡°Here,¡± I couldn¡¯t see who it was but I recognized Sam¡¯s voice. ¡°I got you water and some painkillers.¡± I groggily took the water and tablets after pushing myself upright. My head felt like a fish bowl with all the water suddenly sloshing to the opposite side. ¡°Tha¡ª¡± I croaked, forcing myself to stop. My throat burned like I gargled acid after swallowing sandpaper. It was awful. I down the water and the pills without question, feeling the soothing sensation of chilled liquid. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°You sound terrible,¡± the amusement in her tone was hard to miss. ¡°Look about the same as well.¡± I squinted and found her sitting on the coffee table across from me. There were black bags under her eyes and she looked like she hadn¡¯t slept for days. She was still dressed in her costume ¨C minus the domino mask ¨C and her hair was damp, giving me the impression that she had just showered. I guessed she had washed her clothes while I was out of it. ¡°You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re faring much better,¡± I replied without any real bite to my tone. ¡°What time is it?¡± ¡°Four in the afternoon. It¡¯ll be dinner time soon,¡± she said. ¡°Mia and Liam went for a walk to see if they could find a place that''s open. The whole city is still reeling from the chaos so not much is open today. Obviously school was canceled, so no need to stress about that.¡± School is the last thing on my mind, I thought with a snort. ¡°Didn¡¯t even occur to me,¡± I waved off. My gaze gravitated to the curtains that were mostly closed. There was enough of an opening in them to let some sun through but not enough to light up the whole room. ¡°How bad is it?¡± Sam¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°See for yourself.¡± Slowly, I got up and moved toward the curtains. My whole body ached, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. My body demanded more rest, which it would get in due time. There were just some things I needed to take care of now that I was awake and had regained some energy. Peering through the gap, I pushed aside the curtain to get a better view. ¡°Jesus fuck.¡± There were still black columns of smoke streaming up like rivers. They all combined to form a smog so thick it looked like a black, dusty lake above the city. I was surprised any sun got through at all. A good fifth of the city was gone, reduced to dust and debris. It had been so dark last night that I couldn¡¯t grasp the full scale of the damage. Now that I could see it, the weight of what happened settled onto my shoulders. The carnage bled from the harbor, through the industrial district, and stopped at Groves Den. ¡°The Cains are done,¡± Sam said. ¡°Grim¡¯s gone. Gold Rush fled the city and Nemesis died from his wounds early this morning. Pandora suffered the most losses though. Grim apparently killed eighteen Supers that were with Pandora.¡± I kept my gaze locked on the city. ¡°How many others?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°People that didn¡¯t have powers,¡± I said, my gaze wavering. ¡°Do you know? Does anyone?¡± Sam softly thumbed the TV on the wall. Although it was powered off, she had watched the news while I was asleep. ¡°There are a total of 4,723 injuries. There¡¯s currently 2,397 missing people and another 1,400 confirmed dead. Although, it''s almost certain that most of the missing persons are going to be confirmed dead,¡± Sam explained grimly. ¡°Grim doesn¡¯t leave anything behind so finding many of his victims will be¡­ well, impossible.¡± I would have snorted if I was able. I suddenly felt much less sympathetic about what happened to Grim. ¡°What happens now?¡± I asked, feeling a sense of hollowness. We had survived the night, but this didn¡¯t feel like a victory. An unacceptable amount of people died, countless more were injured, and even more were rendered homeless. None of that took into account the amount of ruined businesses, and I had been at the center of all of it. It was impossible not to feel even slightly guilty. ¡°Where do we go from here?¡± ¡°We pick up the pieces, we move forward,¡± she said simply. I nodded slowly. ¡°Our place. Do we know if it''s safe? Have you looked into that?¡± ¡°I had Mia scout it out earlier. It¡¯s safe but it''s clear that someone was there. Some of our stuff has been messed with.¡± ¡°Mirage,¡± I muttered under my breath. Sam just nodded as I sighed. ¡°What about Banshee and Bonesmith? Anything on them?¡± ¡°Gold believes they were there as well. It looks like Mirage followed the carnage the morpher made. How he knew it would do that is complicated. It makes me think that he had some sort of in with Splicer, but I¡¯d need to talk to him again if I wanted to be sure,¡± Sam said, rubbing her forehead. ¡°Regardless, that place is compromised now. We need to find somewhere else to work from.¡± I looked back out to the city. ¡°Any thoughts?¡± Sam shook her head. ¡°Not yet. I haven¡¯t been thinking about house hunting yet. I¡¯m still recovering from last night''s switching. I¡¯ll need to take it easy for a day or two. We all do.¡± I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how to feel about that. Part of me wanted to go out and help the rebuilding effort, but it would be a few more days before that process started. The ECU would still be quarantining the whole area and dismantling the rest of The Cains. Another part of me welcomed the idea of resting. Getting involved in all of this was never my intention. I got swept up in everything because of my poor decision-making. Reaching up, I pressed the button to engage my helmet. The compartments shifted back over my face, and the familiar L.E.D. lights lit up. I pulled up my message thread from Mom to see a couple of messages from her asking if I was okay. There was only one call at eleven this morning that I missed. Only one? I figured Mom would be more worried. ¡°Did you call my mom again?¡± I asked, turning to Sam. She had since walked away and plopped herself down in one of the seats. I caught her reaching for the TV remote when I asked. ¡°Before everything went to shit yesterday, you let her know that I was going to be staying with you.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± Sam picked up the remote and sank back into the oversized chair. ¡°But yeah, I did call her yesterday. I figured she would appreciate the heads up. Surprisingly receptive to my excuse, but you know me, I¡¯m pretty good at that sort of thing.¡± ¡°Lying,¡± I clarified. Sam groaned and rolled her eyes. ¡°Come on, dude. Do you really want to do this now, after everything we just went through? I don¡¯t have the energy to argue. I just wanna sit and watch some of the coverage.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t¡ª¡± I felt like kicking myself. I didn¡¯t mean to sound like I was insinuating anything. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just surprised she bought it. The last time you guys met, you told me that she didn¡¯t want to talk to you. I kinda blew you off what you said because we only had like, five minutes warning. Did you¡­¡± I trailed off a bit to see if she wanted to interject anywhere. Sam continued to stare, waiting for me to keep going. ¡°Is there anything¡­?¡± ¡°Any what?¡± ¡°Come on, you said Gold feeds you information whether you want it or not.¡± Sam sighed. ¡°Your mom doesn¡¯t like me. Gold didn¡¯t dig too deeply because she was preoccupied with other things. What are you actually trying to ask me, Max? You want to know why your mom hasn¡¯t called you a billion times to make sure her baby boy is safe and sound? I called her and fed her a sweet little lie and later you followed up with your own to fill in the details.¡± ¡°Part of the city turned into a battlefield last night,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I would have thought¡ª¡± ¡°That she¡¯d call you over and over in the morning?¡± Sam frowned and shrugged helplessly. ¡°She probably thinks you''re still asleep or have other stuff to deal with. Hell, that¡¯s at least half the city. Just call her and stop stressing.¡± There was another question on the tip of my tongue, but I was too wound up to go through that conversation. ¡°I¡¯ll be back,¡± I said under my breath, heading towards the bathroom. ¡°You should take a shower while you''re there, and rinse the suit. I can smell you from over here!¡± I ignored her and locked the bathroom door behind me. I paced the room, my thoughts lingering on what to say to Mom. I knew I wasn¡¯t a good liar, and I was sick of trying to think of excuses that Mom would poke holes through eventually. Helping her was the reason I had gotten myself into this mess in the first place, so I thought I owed it to her to at least fill her in on what I was doing. I didn¡¯t want to do that over the phone; it needed to be in person. Without further procrastination, I took the plunge. The call rang a half dozen times before she eventually picked up. ¡°Hello?¡± There was some shifting on the other end. ¡°Hello Max,¡± Mom answered with a yawn. ¡°I called earlier but you didn¡¯t pick up. I figured you were still asleep.¡± I felt myself smile bitterly. ¡°Yeah, I was. Didn¡¯t get much sleep last night with everything going on.¡± ¡°Neither did I. You actually just woke me up, I was napping.¡± ¡°I just woke up as well. Thought I¡¯d check in just so that you didn¡¯t need to worry but, well¡­ I suppose you weren¡¯t all that worried if you managed to get to sleep,¡± I replied. ¡°How are you? Is the house safe?¡± ¡°Max, it doesn¡¯t matter what¡¯s happening, I¡¯m always going to be worried about you. I¡¯m fine, the fighting didn¡¯t get close to the house so there¡¯s no damage. In fact, the whole neighborhood was spared, thankfully,¡± Mom said. ¡°Are you coming home tonight? I can make some dinner if you are, but I think it might be best if you stay put for at least another day. The fighting might¡¯ve stopped but there¡¯s still a lot going on.¡± I didn¡¯t detect anything unusual in the way she spoke. Mom had always been overprotective as I had grown up, but our roles had reversed soon after her injury. She tried to keep her established motherly role going despite the dynamic not surviving my early adolescence. Mom eventually lightened up but still made sure to check in a lot. These last few weeks, she had been noticeably distant. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Mom.¡± ¡°Yes? What¡¯s wrong, you sound distressed.¡± ¡°I think¡­¡± I paused for a moment to contemplate what I wanted to say. ¡°I think we need to talk when I get home. There¡¯s uh, some stuff I want to talk about.¡± ¡°You know I¡¯m always going to listen. It¡¯s not like I can run away,¡± she laughed. ¡°But if something is bothering you, you know I¡¯ll try my best to help you.¡± Mom was a good listener, but I wasn¡¯t sure how she would react to what I had been doing. I was tired of lingering on the ¡®what ifs.¡¯ I knew that telling Mom from the start was something I should have done and I recognized that now. Juggling my school life and my super life was hard enough. Trying to keep Mom out of the loop was more drama than I could be bothered to deal with. ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah I know. Thanks, Mom,¡± I said, unable to suppress my smile. ¡°I¡¯ll try and get home as soon as possible, but that might have to be tomorrow.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no rush. Just make sure you¡¯re safe ¨C and don¡¯t worry about me! I¡¯ll be fine. I still have Alex to keep me company.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not home tonight, tell her I said hi.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to pass along the message. Be safe, Max.¡± I ended the call and sat down on the edge of the bathtub. Reaching up, I pressed the button to dismantle my helmet. Nothing seemed¡­ real anymore. Since my Awakening, I thought I had been doing my best. I thought I had been keeping on top of things, and maybe I was. But sitting here in the hotel bathroom after almost dying several times last night made me realize that I shouldn¡¯t have been in this situation in the first place. I never had a grip on what I was doing. All I had achieved was clinging to a log as the rapids pulled me down a rushing river. If I didn¡¯t start making serious changes soon, I¡¯d fall off and be washed away. I knew what I needed to do, but the only question was if I had the time. The answer was simple. I will make the time. Standing, I walked toward the bathroom sink, eyes locked on my reflection. I couldn¡¯t believe I once thought I had looked bad with only the black eye. It was barely visible now, but my attention was on my broken nose, split lip, and general look of exhaustion. My eyes were bloodshot, and like Sam, I had dark bags hanging under them. Looking at myself made me want to find the nearest bed and sleep for a week. Unfortunately, that would mean wasting precious time. Disengaging the suit, I peeled it off and switched on the shower. The steaming hot water against my skin revitalized me more than I expected and left me feeling refreshed. Given that it was four o¡¯clock in the afternoon, I knew I didn¡¯t need to hold out for that long before my body craved rest again. Besides, I still needed to eat. It was a good thing Liam and Mia were already sorting that out. Once I had finished washing up, I slipped back into my suit just in time to hear the door of our hotel room open and shut. Liam and Mia¡¯s voices came through, as well as Sam¡¯s. When I left the bathroom, the delectable aroma of Chinese food assaulted my senses. ¡°Smells good,¡± I commented, walking up behind them. Liam and Mia were placing the bags of food on the table. They offered me easygoing smiles, but Liam¡¯s seemed hollow, lacking any feeling behind it. ¡°I doubt this was easy to find with everything that¡¯s happened. I bet they were busy.¡± ¡°Everywhere we went, the lines were out the door,¡± Mia replied with an exaggerated sigh. ¡°We gave up and just waited at this place after searching for hours.¡± ¡°I was in the mood for Chinese,¡± Liam shrugged, moving towards the cupboards to fetch some plates and cutlery. At first, he only grabbed enough for himself, but a quick glare from Mia had him turning around to get more. His arm transformed and carried a whole array of plates, bowls, and cups to the table. ¡°There, now you guys can pick whatever.¡± ¡°I¡¯m starved! Thanks, you two,¡± Sam pushed herself up from her seat. I looked over and caught a glimpse of the TV. She was watching the news ¨C a full-day coverage broadcast. They were replaying an interview with Dreamweaver that happened earlier in the day. The press surrounded her with microphones pressed so closely to her face that I wondered how she could breathe. ¡°So, how are we all feeling?¡± ¡°Is that really a question?¡± Liam asked with a snide tone. ¡°I would have thought it was obvious.¡± ¡°Everyone handles these things differently. I thought it would be good for us to talk about it,¡± Sam replied. ¡°And before you say it, no, I¡¯m not trying to play therapist here. It will be good for us to talk about it so that we all know where we stand. Last night was intense ¨C more so than what most people are used to.¡± Liam wrinkled his nose at the explanation but begrudgingly accepted her reasoning with a shrug. ¡°I guess I feel¡­ tired,¡± his shrug turned into a few rolls of his shoulders as he scooped more fried rice into his bowl. He looked over his shoulder and out through the crack in the curtains. ¡°A bit guilty too, I think. We might have helped end it, but we fucked up a lot of shit doing it.¡± I was surprised at his honesty. I expected him to bite back with more snarky remarks. ¡°We didn¡¯t add to any of the chaos. As far as I¡¯m aware, our efforts have won us a lot of brownie points with everyone,¡± Sam said. ¡°Everyone knows who we are now and they know we¡¯re not to be messed with. They¡¯ll all think twice before making any moves. Grim¡¯s gone because of us and everyone knows Bayside wouldn¡¯t be here without us.¡± ¡°Yippe,¡± Liam muttered. ¡°Now we¡¯ve got giant targets on our backs. Can¡¯t wait to see who we piss off next.¡± Sam¡¯s giggle made Liam frown. Mia didn¡¯t seem particularly pleased by her amusement either. ¡°This is going to sound really stupid but there is such a thing as a good target and a bad target. Yes we have targets now but that is because of our efforts to dispose of Grim and help restore order. That¡¯s a good reputation to have,¡± Sam lectured. ¡°Our targets give us respect. An example of a bad target¡ª¡± ¡°Grim,¡± Mia finished for her. ¡°A common enemy for everyone.¡± Sam snapped her fingers at her. ¡°Exactly! As the saying goes; ¡®the enemy of my enemy is my friend¡¯. We¡¯re not in a position where anyone wants to unite against us. There¡¯s no reason to.¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± Liam scoffed. When Sam crossed her arms and gave him a flat stare, he scowled with an indignant expression. ¡°I get that you''re super smart or whatever but I just don¡¯t see anyone giving us a free pass to do what we want. The Cains are gone now, so what¡¯s stopping Pandora or The Queen¡¯s Court from just steamrolling us? You said you wanted to fill the void or whatever that The Cains have left behind.¡± ¡°Pandora lost a lot of their supers to Grim last night. They¡¯re hurting and won¡¯t be eager to pick any fights right now. The Queen¡¯s Court has no interest in expanding territory. As far as Gaea is concerned, the entirety of New Elpis is her territory and she just lets other people take care of it temporarily. The ECU are too busy doing damage control so our only competition are small-time groups,¡± Sam explained with a growing smile. ¡°Take a wild guess who they don¡¯t want to mess with right now?¡± Liam grumbled and shoved fried rice into his mouth. ¡°What about independents?¡± I asked. Sam gave me a quizzical look. ¡°What about them?¡± ¡°Won¡¯t they want to take advantage of The Cains being gone? You think they won¡¯t move to try and fill the gaps?¡± ¡°Unless there¡¯s someone of Grim or Gaea¡¯s caliber just hiding about in Bayside, then there¡¯s nothing to worry about. Independents can¡¯t hold territory. They won¡¯t have the resources or the people to do it. The smart ones won¡¯t even try, and the dumb ones will either die trying or get themselves caught by the ECU.¡± ¡°And which are we? The smart or the dumb?¡± Liam asked. Sam groaned. ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you just a ray of sunshine?¡± ¡°Sam¡­¡± Mia started with a look of uncertainty. ¡°Liam and I did some talking and we¡¯re¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, here we go,¡± any amusement on Sam¡¯s face died. She opened her mouth to start a rant but I could almost see her other personalities try to interfere. The corner of her mouth twitched, halting whatever she was trying to say. Finally, she sighed and reluctantly nodded. ¡°You guys don¡¯t want to follow through.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t want to follow through. It¡¯s that claiming territory is ridiculous,¡± Mia stressed. ¡°You¡¯ve been at this longer than any of us so you have a better idea of what this all entails, but I have to agree with Liam. I don¡¯t like the idea of having targets painted on our backs. Taking what The Cains leave behind ¨C whatever that actually means ¨C doesn¡¯t feel like something I want to be part of.¡± Sam was quiet, which left the rest of us feeling anxious. She looked around at us, her gaze lingering on me longer than the others. It wasn¡¯t until things started to feel uncomfortable that she cleared her throat and spoke. ¡°I guess I never did ask what you guys wanted,¡± she placed her plate of food down and wiped her hands on her legs. ¡°So let''s hear it. What do you guys actually want?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a criminal,¡± Mia¡¯s tone reflected finality. ¡°I saw enough death and misery last night to last a lifetime and I know it¡¯s only going to get worse. I want to help people, Sam. I can use these powers for good, we all can ¨C and before you say it, that doesn¡¯t mean we have to join the ECU. I¡­ know that you guys don¡¯t exactly see eye to eye with them and I get why.¡± My brow rose at that. Did she? ¡°The ECU doesn¡¯t exactly treat vigilantes well. Make one slip up and they¡¯ll come after you, just like they do everyone else,¡± Sam explained. ¡°The thing with vigilantes is that they always overstep the line sooner or later. Things get messy; they get personal. If you really don¡¯t want to be viewed as a criminal, then you should go knock on their door now.¡± Their gazes met, and Mia didn¡¯t move. As more silence began to hang, Sam¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You saw something, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I saw a lot of things last night,¡± Mia murmured. ¡°I saw¡­ that there aren¡¯t any good sides.¡± I found myself staring at Mia, waiting for her to elaborate. Sam did the same with the extra advantage of Gold discerning the meaning behind her words. The ECU doing shady things wasn¡¯t new to me, but I had yet to hear how some of them acted during an emergency like last night. ¡°What did you see?¡± I asked. ¡°Lich and Ionizer doing the type of shit you¡¯d only see in movies,¡± Liam chimed in without any enthusiasm for the conversation. ¡°Interrogations and all that. Mia also saw some of their soldier guys just beating on injured dudes. Coulda been Cain or Pandora, who knows.¡± ¡°Heroes being unethical, more at eleven,¡± Sam sighed, turning to Liam. ¡°What about you, tall, dark and eldritch?¡± Liam didn¡¯t say anything for a moment, his gaze drifting to the coffee table in front of him. He looked like he was mentally a thousand miles away until he brought another spoonful of rice to his mouth. Clearing his throat, he sat forward. ¡°I want to find out what really happened to Natasha.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°Yeah I can understand that.¡± ¡°She worked for those guys. You said Francis was telling the truth, so either he¡¯s a good enough liar to fool a Mentalist or she really did work for them,¡± Liam¡¯s stare locked on Sam. He looked like he was trying to beat her out in a staring contest before abruptly switching his gaze to me. ¡°You said you¡¯d help?¡± ¡°As much as I can,¡± I offered with a nod. ¡°We get the right information from these guys and we should be able to do something.¡± Liam raised one of his brows. ¡°Should?¡± ¡°Assuming Sam will help. Gold will be invaluable,¡± I said, looking in her direction. Sam reflected a complicated expression, no doubt trying to weigh her options to see what was beneficial. I watched her meander to the curtains to look out across the darkening city. She was stalling, and all of us wanted an answer. ¡°What do you say?¡± A snort escaped her throat as she shrugged idly. ¡°Maybe I was being too hasty about wanting territory. There¡¯s other ways to establish ourselves and I have a feeling we¡¯re not going to get the opportunity to do everything I wanted anyway,¡± she turned, showing her bitter smile. ¡°I¡¯m so used to thinking of myself. It¡¯s kept me alive, but you guys are starting to grow on me. I like you guys,¡± she said, looking in my direction. ¡°I think¡­ as long as we stick together we¡¯ll be okay.¡± ¡°Ew,¡± Liam said, looking like he had swallowed a lemon. ¡°That sounds weird coming from you.¡± ¡°Ha ha, just because I¡¯m all about business most of the time doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t care,¡± Sam said, giving Liam a flat look. ¡°I¡¯ve been on my own for so long that trusting people doesn¡¯t come easily ¨C but you all know that. If you guys don¡¯t want to take territory then we can figure something else out.¡± ¡°Uh oh.¡± We all turned to Mia. Her eyes were closed, and she was holding the side of her head. ¡°That old guy you guys talked about ¨C Liam¡¯s uncle? He¡¯s on his way up.¡± ¡°Oh great,¡± Liam grumbled. ¡°The fuck does he want?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t imagine he came for dinner,¡± Sam grumbled, putting her food down. ¡°The people he works for are powerful. They know who we are and most if not all of our personal lives. We¡¯re about to get a recruitment pitch, and I don¡¯t think we can refuse.¡± I chewed my lip and looked toward the door with frigid anticipation. ¡°What¡¯s our move then?¡± Sam exhaled slowly with a melancholic expression. ¡°Can¡¯t see a way we can talk our way out of this, so we hear them out, negotiate as best we can. Then, we deal with whatever comes next. They¡¯ll go for the carrot before the stick, so we should get something out of this.¡± Despite her saying that, I could see her fingernails digging into her palms. Mia looked uncertain. ¡°They¡¯re not a gang, are they?¡± Sam giggled weakly. ¡°Nope. Not even close. I¡¯m afraid they¡¯re much worse than a gang.¡± The apartment door knocked twice before it clicked open. Francis strolled in without so much as a word to any of us. He wore a jacket, cargo pants, boots, and a cap. He acknowledged each of us with a nod as he removed the cap, his gaze lingering on Liam longer than anyone. Liam just returned the gesture with a blank stare. ¡°Now that Grim has been dealt with and you¡¯ve all rested up, it''s time we get down to business.¡± For better or worse, it was time to find out what these guys were about. Finalize 2 You would think out of the five people in the room, the four who had superpowers would hold all the leverage. That, unfortunately, was not the case. ¡°Business?¡± Mia murmured, stealing a few gazes at us. ¡°I get the feeling I¡¯m not going to like this.¡± ¡°You may not,¡± Francis admitted monotonously. ¡°But you are fortunate that I volunteered to deliver the message and initiate a discussion.¡± His gaze shifted to Sam, his expression expectant. ¡°I would have thought you would have interrupted by now, or maybe you¡¯ve realized being petulant and resistant would only damage what goals you have.¡± Sam crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯ve¡ª¡± she paused briefly to correct herself. ¡°We have decided to hear you out. You helped us with Grim and sheltered us when our base of operations was compromised. If you wanted us gone, you¡¯ve had plenty of opportunities to do so.¡± ¡°We recognize talent, potential, and power,¡± The Old Man said. ¡°Barring a few questionable decisions, the four of you have demonstrated a penchant for working together and staying alive. The unfortunate reality is that many in your situation would have been dead, missing, or enslaved to one of the gangs by now.¡± ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re about to do the last one,¡± Liam mused aloud with a glare. When The Old Man sighed, Liam just snorted. ¡°Ms. Mentalist over here just finished telling us how you guys are apparently worse than a gang, so yeah, enslaved sounds about right.¡± ¡°Liam.¡± I shot him a look that told him to cool off and shut up. He rolled his eyes and slouched back into his chair with a sigh. He went back to shoveling food into his mouth to keep himself quiet. The last thing we needed was snarky remarks to the messenger we were supposed to negotiate with, familial relations notwithstanding. ¡°I understand your suspicion,¡± The Old Man said, nodding. ¡°And there¡¯s no point in lying. We, as an organization, have pressured supers to join our ranks by utilizing underhanded methods. I don¡¯t agree with said methods but it¡¯s not my call to make, though none of that is why I¡¯m here.¡± Sam managed to smirk despite her distaste for the situation. ¡°Let me guess, threatening us is not in your best interests.¡± ¡°No,¡± The Old Man agreed. ¡°Threatening you would only foster resentment. I try to push for amicable deals so that both sides may benefit as long as everyone is performing as expected. That responsibility goes both ways. Yes, you¡¯re all young and this is a lot to put on your shoulders, but this is the real world now. You don¡¯t have time to grow up anymore.¡± I could tell his words were directed towards Liam, who sat and stewed in his chair with a sullen expression. ¡°These last few weeks have felt pretty real to me,¡± I said, eyeing The Old Man. ¡°What exactly are you proposing and what does it mean exactly?¡± Francis rolled his shoulders and straightened his back, holding both hands around his waist. ¡°As I understand it, you four have only just begun to break into the scene and you¡¯ve already made a name for yourselves. Madhouse is a name that¡¯s been circling as of late and after last night, everyone in the city is going to know who you are,¡± he said, laying the groundwork out. ¡°You have secured a commendable amount of positive reputation, people on both sides of the law think highly of you. Being the catalyst for Grim¡¯s defeat is not something anyone will brush off.¡± ¡°Targets,¡± Mia grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re saying we¡¯ve become targets.¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m saying that any possibility of slipping back into civilian life is gone,¡± The Old Man clarified. ¡°You¡¯re a known quality now and there¡¯s no escaping that. It¡¯s time to buckle down and start making plans for how you¡¯re going to stay alive. Fortunately for you, me and my associates are interested in the longevity of your group.¡± ¡°Yeah I bet you are,¡± Sam commented. ¡°I know how this works. You¡¯re going to offer us a deal that on the surface sounds too good to be true. You¡¯ll set us up with private bank accounts, a very generous salary plus whatever commissions we earn through our work, private residence and security, etcetera etcetera. The benefits are wonderful but we sacrifice any freedom we have ¨C any control.¡± The Old Man gave Sam a blank stare. ¡°Yes¡­ that¡¯s how working with another group works. You can¡¯t go off and do whatever you want when you represent more than just yourself. It¡¯ll reflect badly on your associates. You should already know this, given that you¡¯re already a part of a group.¡± Sam rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes-yes I know.¡± ¡°Good. Now, are you going to listen or have I wasted my time in coming here?¡± The Old Man asked. I motioned for him to continue. ¡°Let''s hear it then.¡± Francis nodded and cleared his throat. ¡°Our primary interest is in an arrangement that will be beneficial for both sides. We will sponsor you, funneling you enough money to allow you to live comfortably and then some. If you get into trouble, we will protect you, if there¡¯s something you desire that can¡¯t be bought, we can see about acquiring it. In exchange, there are jobs that we will require you to do. Some are more dangerous than others and you¡¯ll have free reign to deny anything you aren¡¯t comfortable with.¡± ¡°Like killing?¡± Mia asked, her tone laced with caution. With how still she was, I would have mistaken her for one of her statues if she wasn¡¯t clearly of flesh and blood. ¡°Is that on the table?¡± The Old Man was quiet for a moment before slowly shaking his head. ¡°No. Murder is not something we would ask you to do. We already have people specialized for those kinds of jobs. The four of you have incredible potential to be utilized much more effectively in other areas. Besides, I would personally veto any jobs that involved murder. I¡¯ve already seen what that kind of work does to kids like you.¡± Liam grunted and looked away while Mia¡¯s gaze dropped to the floor. Sam looked¡­ curious, which was strange considering what I knew of her. I thought she would be against anything like this, no matter what was being offered, but she generally looked intrigued. ¡°Interesting,¡± Sam mused. ¡°What would you have us working on?¡± ¡°Mechatech Development, Information Gathering, Espionage, Retrieval, with the occasional Enforcement when the situation calls for it,¡± The Old Man explained. ¡°I think each of you can guess exactly who would fit where. The departments are self-explanatory but let me clarify that most of the time, you would all be acting as a single unit.¡± ¡°Mechatech Development?¡± I queried with interest. If I were properly funded, there would be a real possibility that I could skip several stages of Mechatech and save on charges. Sure, I didn¡¯t strictly need their resources, but considering what I¡¯d seen already, they could potentially save me weeks, months, and even years. ¡°What kind?¡± ¡°Given your skillset, collaborative projects, mostly. I would imagine that you will be invaluable to any Mechakinetic we have in our employ. You would also be able to freely use any of the tech we have on hand. I think you¡¯ll find us more than willing to help with your development,¡± he explained. ¡°Not that I think you need it, but the offer remains.¡± It was an offer with no obvious downsides, none I could see anyway. It was everything I expected the ECU to offer if I had gone to them. It all seemed very official, which I supposed was half the point. These guys were not run-of-the-mill gangsters that hustled people on the street. They were professionals with a preference for proper business. I couldn¡¯t help but feel like I was woefully out of my depth here, given I had yet to finish High School. ¡°What about our lives?¡± Mia cut in again, drawing The Old Man¡¯s attention. ¡°You¡­ you framed yourself as Liam and Natasha¡¯s uncle. You know us. How is this going to affect our personal lives?¡± ¡°If all goes well, then any changes to your personal lives will be miniscule. I imagine that you are eager to get back to your family and maybe even graduate from university,¡± The Old Man said. Mia perked up at the mention of her family. ¡°All of this can be arranged. The people I work for have powerful connections.¡± ¡°I could go back to my family? I can¡­ get my degree?¡± The Old Man sighed. ¡°We can open that opportunity for you but we don¡¯t work miracles. I suspect that from your expression, returning to your family is something you are uncertain about. We can make sure the ECU don¡¯t stick their noses in your business, but the fact remains that it is your business. How it proceeds from there is up to you.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Mia promptly deflated, looking more uncertain than she ever had. ¡°What about us?¡± Liam chimed in, having found his voice again. ¡°What happens to the two of us?¡± The Old Man stared back. ¡°Nothing. Things continue how they are. You go to school and keep your head down. Minerva is your last chance, should you want to take it. You''re involved in all of this now. If you screw up, there¡¯s nothing more I can do for you. So for your own sake, I suggest you try to make this work.¡± A shudder crawled up my spine. Francis definitely had a more fatherly tone when he was addressing Liam directly. ¡°Alright, I guess,¡± Liam replied sullenly. ¡°Not like I didn¡¯t try before.¡± ¡°Try harder,¡± Francis intoned. ¡°Employ a little self-restraint and you¡¯ll get the results you¡¯re looking for.¡± So far, all of this seemed pretty straightforward. I had yet to figure out any major downsides of this deal, other than the fact that he was pretty vague about what kind of jobs they would have us doing. Sure, he talked about giving us work related to our skill sets, but from the sounds of everything, it still seemed like we would be staying together as a team. The only difference was that it sounded like we were going to get busier. ¡°This is all very tempting. I¡¯ll admit, you¡¯ve laid this out well enough to have me considering it. I just have one problem and I think we can all agree that it¡¯s a fairly big one,¡± I said, drawing his attention back to me. Francis tilted his head slightly as if he was trying to guess what the problem was. ¡°You¡¯ve been talking about the people you work for, but you¡¯ve never specified who they are. Do you even know?¡± ¡°Oh, he knows,¡± Sam said. ¡°That¡¯s the big catch. The deal itself is amazing, to the point where I would be stupid not to consider it. These guys are the real deal after all, but it¡¯s the people you work for that are the problem.¡± I turned to her. ¡°You know?¡± Sam¡¯s smile disappeared, which I knew was a bad sign. ¡°Yeah, I figured it out. It¡¯s why we can¡¯t talk our way out of this. Can¡¯t run from it either. I¡¯ll be honest¡­ I¡¯m at a loss for once.¡± Hearing that she was at a loss was not a good sign. I found my suspicions rising despite how attractive the deal was. ¡°Who are they?¡± I asked, making sure my demands didn¡¯t sound aggressive. ¡°If you want us to consider this offer seriously, we can¡¯t be kept in the dark about who it is you answer to.¡± ¡°That can be arranged.¡± All our heads turned to the TV. Liam practically jumped out of his skin, looking ready to transform. There was a brief noise of static as the television switched itself on. No specific channel appeared, instead, a face made entirely of ASCII art. It appeared androgynous with no distinctive features. Its voice was a synthetic mixture between male and female, which made it impossible to tell who was talking. ¡°Hello, Madhouse,¡± the face moved, its lips syncing with the words it spoke. ¡°I must apologize for eavesdropping but this was a meeting of particular interest.¡± Cyberspace. ¡°The fuck!?¡± Liam sneered. ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± I half expected Sam to jump in with a snide remark to shut Liam up. Instead, she was uncharacteristically silent, glancing at the TV in the corner of her eye like she was afraid it would blind her. She looked scared, and for once, I couldn¡¯t blame her for feeling that way. ¡°I care not for names, but the world at large would know me as Cyberspace.¡± Of all the supers I could have met, Cyberspace had not been on the list. I had thought the rumors were true, that they had died or been captured years ago. That''s probably what Cyberspace wanted the world to think. If everyone thought they were gone, then they would be able to operate without scrutiny. ¡°Seems like you aren¡¯t as ¡®gone¡¯ as the world thinks you are,¡± I voiced, crossing my arms. ¡°I can¡¯t say that I was expecting this though.¡± ¡°No one does,¡± Cyberspace replied evenly. ¡°So, now that you know the truth, I would like to know if your opinion has changed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we get much of a choice,¡± Sam said with a clipped tone. ¡°I¡¯ve done my research. There isn¡¯t a place on Earth that¡¯s safe from you. There¡¯s nowhere we could hide that you wouldn¡¯t know about,¡± she slowly shook her head and laughed bitterly. ¡°There¡¯s always a choice, Samantha. Whether or not it is a good or bad choice remains to be seen. I would hope that you four are smart enough to consider the offer seriously.¡± ¡°If we turn you down, what happens?¡± Mia asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± Cyberspace stated nonchalantly. ¡°There are better uses of my time than chasing you four around. I have no intention to exploit or harm any of you as there is no sense making enemies out of you. You are free to decline but I would hope that you are capable of looking beyond your own paranoia.¡± ¡°Paranoia has kept me alive,¡± Sam countered. ¡°But I get your point. I even believe your offer to be genuine.¡± ¡°Of course it is,¡± Cyberspace acknowledged. ¡°We are able to help each other. If you couldn''t, I wouldn''t bother.¡± Everyone was gunning for something, and Cyberspace was no exception. However, with their power, reach, and reputation, it was hard to think of reasons why they would want our help. Their notoriety was international. That kind of attention attracted all kinds of people, so what exactly were they doing here talking to us? Then, the realization struck me like lightning. I looked between The Old Man and the supervillain on the television. ¡°It was you.¡± Cyberspace¡¯s face arched strangely. ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the guardian angel Mirage was talking about,¡± I turned and briefly stared at The Old Man over my shoulder before turning back. ¡°That night, the trade we made. It was all set up by you ¨C the items you guys requested from me. It was a test, wasn¡¯t it? To see my capabilities.¡± ¡°Hm, yes. Then you got caught,¡± Cyberspace intoned. ¡°I can¡¯t say I was pleased with how that night progressed. Not my intended outcome but it is impossible to plan for every possibility.¡± I remembered Mirage pointing out the convenience of the phone call he got while I was tied up. ¡°It was you. You called him to give me the space I needed to escape.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Cyberspace¡¯s tone was laced with sarcasm. ¡°Yes, it was a test, one that you passed with flying colors. I am thankful that you no longer advertise your services online, dreadfully stupid move by the way. Amateurish. You¡¯re lucky I make a habit of concealing the digital footprint of promising supers like you. You wouldn¡¯t believe how many of them turn to the internet for answers, only to end up giving themselves away.¡± Indignation burned within me. Yeah, I had been foolish, and I recognized that fact. I didn¡¯t need to have it spelled out to me. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure I wouldn¡¯t,¡± I grumbled. ¡°So what is it exactly that you want? You said you wouldn¡¯t have bothered trying to extend this offer if we weren¡¯t capable of helping you.¡± ¡°My wants aren¡¯t things that can be achieved in a short time span. I have countless operations in place to help me work towards them, a partnership with your group being one of them,¡± Cyberspace explained. ¡°We would be here for the rest of the day and all night if I were to tell you everything. There is no need.¡± ¡°Oh come on,¡± Liam groaned. ¡°Don¡¯t feed us this ¡®my goals are beyond your understanding¡¯ bullshit. Just say what you want us for and be straight with it.¡± ¡°Your cooperation bolsters my own standing and available resources,¡± Cyberspace stated with disturbing clarity. ¡°Is that what you wanted to hear, Liam Bailey? Both sides benefit from this arrangement, as your handler has so clearly explained.¡± The Old Man said nothing. Liam just scowled. ¡°You¡¯re the one that sent my sister away.¡± ¡°Spectre knew the risks of her assignment. We are not to blame for her disappearance,¡± Cyberspace said. ¡°It is my understanding that you intend to search for her. I can provide reports made by our retrieval teams and if she is still alive, I have no doubt you will be able to find her.¡± Sam abruptly stood up, clearing her throat and clapping her hands with a wide smile. It was such a dramatic change in tone that I would have thought she had let one of her personalities take over. However, it appeared she was still using Blue. ¡°Before we do any of that, we¡¯ll need to get our stuff. Mirage, Banshee, and Bonesmith know where we live now, so staying there is out of the question,¡± she chirped, all her attention directed at Cyberspace. ¡°We¡¯ll need to move somewhere more inconspicuous. Don¡¯t suppose you have any ideas on where in Bayside could work? Groves Den was perfect, I picked it specifically because it had the fewest squatters and other activity.¡± Cyberspace was quiet for a few moments, and I found myself looking around the room to gauge how everyone felt. Liam looked torn between being sullen and annoyed. Mia continued to look uncertain, while Sam finally looked like she had figured out how to approach this situation. The Old Man was just as stoic as he had been when he walked in. ¡°I may have an idea.¡± Sam beamed. ¡°Shoot. I¡¯m all ears.¡± ¡°If I am not mistaken, you are in possession of one of Deadlock¡¯s prototype designs. It is small, no bigger than a snowglobe,¡± Cyberspace said. ¡°I had been looking into it when Masquerade acquired it through his illicit contacts in the ECU. He handed it off to The Cains for them to utilize as another bunker ¨C another workshop for Splicer.¡± I felt my eyes widen. ¡°That cube?¡± ¡°The very same,¡± Cyberspace confirmed. ¡°Retrieve it from your hideout and I will help solve your little real estate issue.¡± Finalize 3 I glared at the object pinched between my fingers like it was the most vile thing I had ever seen. We returned to our hideout later that night to move our things to a location Cyberspace helped us acquire. Just like Mia had reported, a few notable things were missing. To Sam¡¯s dismay, her room looked like it had been tipped upside down and ransacked. She lamented a few missing items, but she didn¡¯t appear upset about what had happened. Since Mia and Liam kept nothing of note there, the biggest crime had been the state my workshop was left in. Broken glass littered the floor like thousands of tiny crystals, the tables snapped in half, and my notes shredded into ribbons. It was like someone got their hands on a baseball bat and a chainsaw before going to town on the place. It was ¨C to put it simply ¨C rage-inducing, but I managed to keep a lid on my anger. That was until I saw a familiar briefcase meticulously placed amongst the chaos, with the sole purpose of drawing my attention. I had all but growled when I opened it to see the payload chip that Mirage and Banshee had taken from me. A sticky note with a smiley face scribbled onto it was stuck to the side of it. Mirage knew there would be no need to write anything on it because the message was clear enough. I stared at the small fortune between my fingers, resisting the temptation to crush it into dust. ¡°He¡¯s fucking with me.¡± ¡°Us,¡± Sam corrected, leaning on the wall behind me, eyeing Deadlock¡¯s cube in her hand. Fortunately, they had broken in and decided not to take it back. ¡°He¡¯s trying to tell us that even though we¡¯ve beaten Grim, that we shouldn¡¯t get too cocky. He¡¯s still out there and he¡¯s going to take advantage of any weakness we show.¡± My grip tightened, narrowing my eyes at the chip. ¡°Let¡¯s see him take advantage of anything when I blow a hole through his face.¡± ¡°Normally I¡¯d be against killing. Too much trouble and risk¡­¡± She dismissively waved her hand, the corner of her lips twitching. ¡°I think I¡¯ll make an exception here. If his powers are as versatile as you claim, then we will never be safe. He needs to die. I refuse to live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder, not knowing what¡¯s real.¡± ¡°Total sensory control. He had me trapped in an illusion that I was completely aware of,¡± I shook my head, recalling the moment I crossed paths with him last night. There were no tells from what I could remember, nothing that stood out to me that signaled the moment I had entered his illusion. It was seamless and impossible to recognize. That¡¯s what made it terrifying. Mirage could keep me trapped for as long as he liked, regardless of whether or not I recognized the illusion. ¡°It means that facing him, I won¡¯t be able to rely on any of my senses. None of us can.¡± Sam was quiet for a moment. I could see in the corner of my eye that she was conversing with Gold and the rest of her personalities. ¡°The only way to fight him is to confront him with something he can¡¯t affect with his power. If it involves sensory control, then the answer is obvious.¡± ¡°Automated machinery. Robotics. Drones,¡± I murmured. ¡°Fight him from a distance.¡± There were ways to take him down. All I had to do was develop them and put them into action when we found him. I knew I was more than capable of killing Mirage. He was just a man with substantial illusionary powers. He wasn¡¯t Gaea. He wasn¡¯t The Mountain. He certainly wasn¡¯t Ajax. He was just a man, flesh and blood. He would slip up eventually. Then, I¡¯d deal with him. ¡°He¡¯ll know. Gold suspects his power subtly gives him an indication of who he can influence. If he can sense that, then he won¡¯t put himself in a position where that can happen to him. He¡¯s already demonstrated that he¡¯s smarter than he lets on. His lackadaisical demeanor is a front to throw us off and¡­ and¡ª¡± Sam ground her teeth and stared at the floor. ¡°He had Gold completely fooled. We couldn¡¯t see through it.¡± ¡°He can mess with your powers ¨C the way Gold interprets information.¡± Sam breathed a frustrated sigh. ¡°Yeah, this is a first for me. No one has been able to mess with Gold before.¡± She followed Gold¡¯s guidance since her earliest days, and it never steered her wrong before. Gold had even been directing our recent moves as a group accurately enough. Now that Sam met someone capable of interfering with how Gold processed information, she could no longer trust any conclusion relating to Mirage. ¡°We¡¯ve got time and resources on our side now,¡± I said, idly tossing the chip back into the briefcase. I examined the room with a deep sigh. It would take all my remaining charges to fix the essentials, so I would have none to use on anything else for the rest of the night. ¡°We just have to deal with moving out now. At least the place we¡¯re moving to will have more space than this.¡± Cyberspace identified a mechanic business in Groves Den operating out of a building that perfectly suited our needs. The floor plan had a comfortable upstairs with enough rooms to fit the four of us, a common area, plus a kitchenette, complete with separate external access. The downstairs would function as my new workshop, though there was an expectation that I would make sure that any access from ground level had to be heavily fortified with subtle defenses. It would take some time, but I was sure I wouldn¡¯t have any trouble. The only issue was that the business was still operational. There was no way the owners would pack up and move if we walked up and asked nicely. Cyberspace had interjected and informed us that they would have the situation sorted out in a matter of hours. We hadn¡¯t even made it to our hideout when we heard that Cyberspace had bought out the business. How they had done that so quickly, they weren¡¯t willing to divulge, but I doubted the process was entirely legal. I might only be sixteen, but acquisitions took time, that much I knew. It wasn¡¯t something a simple phone call could solve. ¡°It¡¯s temporary. Cyberspace wants us more secure,¡± Sam¡¯s gaze narrowed on the cube, her fingers stroking the smooth sides. She gently rotated it like she was searching for an entrance that we both knew didn¡¯t exist. ¡°This is apparently our key.¡± She tossed it, prompting me to catch it with an outstretched hand. It was strange. I wondered why Mirage left it behind. Did he even notice we had it? [Charges: 19/25] [Type] Distorted Space-time Dimensional Occupational Unit - Prototype Build 0.8234v12 [Durability 41/100 - Repair Unavailable. Cost: 3] (ERROR - Incompatible Component Detected) ¡°Still incompatible,¡± I said, shaking my head. I couldn¡¯t make sense of why. Interacting with other Mechatech didn¡¯t give me this issue. Sure, this was the most advanced piece, yet I couldn¡¯t figure out why this issue persisted. ¡°Incompatible component detected.¡± ¡°Your power only tells you that when there¡¯s something biological interfering right? Isn¡¯t that why you can¡¯t repair your suit while you''re wearing it?¡± Sam asked, peering at the cube again. ¡°Is there anything biological that¡¯s integrated into its design?¡± I peered at the different categories built into the device. The Dark Matter Engines still left me flabbergasted, but nothing jumped out to specify any incompatible upgrades. My power read everything as an error and prevented me from doing anything with it. ¡°Not that I can see, but my power doesn¡¯t seem to give me information on anything biological either. There could be something living integrated into the design that I just can¡¯t see, or maybe there¡¯s another limit to my upgrades. There¡¯s every possibility I can¡¯t affect Mechatech that¡¯s too advanced. No way to be certain.¡± Sam¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°No, there is, you can affect any non-biological tech no matter how advanced.¡± My brows rose. ¡°That was quick.¡± ¡°Well, Gold has spent a lot of time trying to find the limits of your powers and the only ones she¡¯s found are the ones you already know, biological constructs and charges. Unfortunately¡­ that leaves us with a bit of a problem,¡± she awkwardly laughed, like she wasn¡¯t sure how to phrase what she wanted to say next. I gave her a blank stare. I knew her well enough now to realize what conclusion she had come to. ¡°You think someone¡¯s inside?¡± We both stared at the cube that rested in the palm of my hand. Sam gave a non-committal answer, which left me with no ideas to confirm that hypothesis. Deadlock¡¯s tech warped space and time, so the possibility of its interior space not matching up with what the exterior showed wasn¡¯t out of the question. However, the thought of someone being inside never crossed my mind. Cautiously, I lifted the cube to my ear to see if I could hear anything coming from within. I didn¡¯t expect to, but I thought I might as well give it a try. To no one¡¯s surprise, I heard nothing. I decided to shake it to see if I could hear anything tumbling around. ¡°Oh my God¡­¡± Sam half-heartedly reached toward me before retracting her hands, giggling. ¡°Your first instinct after listening is to shake it? What if there really is someone inside!? You could have just killed them.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. I snorted and rolled my eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve shot this thing and thrown it off the roof trying to get it open. If someone¡¯s inside, they¡¯re probably already dead. Besides, I doubt that box it was kept in before we got it was handled any better,¡± I replied easily. ¡°Who says it¡¯s a person anyway? It¡¯s an occupational unit ¨C there¡¯s probably like¡­ flowers inside for all we know.¡± ¡°Flowers,¡± she repeated, amused by the idea. ¡°Somehow, I don¡¯t think anyone is keeping an indoor garden inside a billion dollar mechatech prototype.¡± ¡°Have you seen the dumb shit rich people do? But whatever it is, it¡¯s preventing my power from interacting with it. Maybe Cyberspace knows how to get inside,¡± I said, handing it back to her. Sam took it before standing up. She looked for a container before settling for another backpack I had tucked near the corner of the room. ¡°I want to repair all this gear first before it¡¯s moved. It¡¯ll make their job easier if everything¡¯s in one piece.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to have to dismantle that one,¡± Sam said, pointing toward the largest 3D printer. I could immediately see why. ¡°It¡¯s not going to fit through the doors.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not staying here anymore. Just use Red to make the door bigger. No need to be gentle about it,¡± I replied, my lips thinning as I looked around. ¡°You know, it kind of sucks. I was starting to like this place. I think it was growing on me, though that could be the mold.¡± I looked at the walls, noting that they were one of the first things I repaired. ¡°I never did get round to touching this whole place up.¡± Sam smiled weakly. There was an expression of longing, one I barely picked up on. She wasn¡¯t any happier than I was at being forced to leave. She had stayed here longer than I had, but then again, she was used to moving around and staying on the run. ¡°Would have brought too much attention. It¡¯s funny, I imagined you turning this place into a fortress,¡± she made lightning noises with her mouth and laughed. ¡°Our own Castle Frankenstein¡­ would¡¯ve been nice. I could¡¯ve been your cute, sexy assistant while you created horrors beyond mankind¡¯s comprehension.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you would¡¯ve comprehended them just fine.¡± Sam snorted. ¡°How else would I be able to stop you before you fucked up?¡± Her amusement slowly dropped from her face as she looked around. ¡°Where we¡¯re moving to is much more reasonable. We¡¯ll be hidden in plain sight and we¡¯re going to have far more to keep us concealed,¡± Sam sighed. ¡°I knew it was going to come to this eventually. I dreamed a little too big, thinking I could have you all to myself. Should¡¯ve known it¡¯d only be a matter of time before someone too strong to handle snapped us up for our powers.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all we really are to Cyberspace,¡± I said, not bothering to hide the bitterness in my voice. No matter how sweet the deal, at the end of the day, I knew we had just become another set of tools in their arsenal. ¡°Resources to use, tools to exploit. We¡¯re supers working for other supers. Cyberspace is never going to let us go. You¡¯re an Aspect, Sam. They aren¡¯t going to let you go any easier than me.¡± She laughed. ¡°Here I was just about to say you¡¯re starting to understand Supers.¡± I gave her a questioning look. She rolled her eyes and sighed. ¡°Max, the whole world has been influenced by Mechatech. The ECU, most Governments, cities, countries rely on it. Me? My powers only serve me. Maybe I¡¯ll get lucky and survive long enough for a new personality to evolve with a Mechakinetic specialty,¡± she let out a long exhale at the thought. ¡°God only knows my head¡¯s full enough already.¡± I wanted to argue, but I forced myself to consider her words. We had touched on this subject before when she praised the potential of my power back when I was underselling it. I had been a fool not to realize what I was capable of. Time and resources were every Mechakinetic¡¯s biggest obstacles. I was only limited by the former in the long run. Resources could save me a lot of time, but they¡¯re not a hard limit like for other Mechakinetics. Even considering all that, I still would not have made it nearly as far as I did without her. ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn to say that you don¡¯t give yourself enough credit.¡± Sam laughed again. ¡°Sometimes I think I give myself too much.¡± ¡°Without you, I¡¯d probably be in Mirage¡¯s basement building toys for him to throw at Grim. Here, I¡¯m at least afforded the freedom I wanted. With Cyberspace¡ª¡± I paused, cutting myself off. I knew things were going to be different from now on. ¡°With Cyberspace, I know things are going to change but as far as I¡¯m concerned, it¡¯s still us against the rest of the world. I trust you far more than these guys.¡± Sam''s smile turned dopey, and I knew she received my message loud and clear. No matter what happened, my loyalty was to her more than Cyberspace. ¡°You really know how to make a girl¡¯s heart skip a beat.¡± ¡°Aw, you made it weird,¡± I jokingly complained as she lightly punched my shoulder. ¡°We were having a moment and you just had to go and say that. Good going.¡± ¡°Oh, shut up,¡± her smile didn¡¯t vanish, so thankfully, she took my ribbing in good spirits. ¡°I mean it. I¡¯ve felt like I haven¡¯t been able to trust anyone since I got my powers. You¡­¡± she paused, the smile faltering ever so slightly. ¡°You¡¯re the first person I feel like I can actually trust now.¡± ¡°Even with Gold in your ear?¡± ¡°Even with Gold in my ear,¡± Sam giggled. ¡°We¡¯ve made it this far, after all.¡± With heat around my neck, I moved toward my broken equipment and began the repair process. I focused on the bigger stuff, like the printers, since the other stuff could wait till after we moved. Once I had finished those, I did my best with the rest of my equipment until I ran out of charges. The last of my efforts involved gathering the smaller projects I had been tinkering with and piling them into bags. ¡°So, you¡¯re going to tell your mom about all this.¡± I slowed to a halt at her words. She wasn¡¯t questioning me, which meant Gold had already discerned my unspoken intentions. I glanced over my shoulder to see Sam glued to the same spot where I last saw her. She had been silently watching me as I went about my work. ¡°I suppose I get it. Gold says you shouldn¡¯t but I¡¯m not going to stop you.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, I can only balance so much. A lot of problems could have been avoided if I had just been honest with her from the start,¡± I said, zipping up one bag and pushing it to the side. ¡°I know what I¡¯m in for. I¡¯ll get grilled for lying. She¡¯ll threaten to ground me or whatever but that¡¯s not going to work ¨C not with Cyberspace involved. I can¡¯t exactly tell them ¡®oh, I can¡¯t continue to develop my projects because my mommy grounded me.¡¯ That¡¯s not going to fly.¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Sam replied, popping the ¡®p.¡¯ ¡°Alternatively, you could continue to keep her in the dark.¡± I turned. ¡°I thought you said you weren¡¯t going to stop me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± she said innocently. ¡°Never said anything about trying to convince you.¡± ¡°Sam¡­¡± I groaned a little. ¡°I can¡¯t keep lying to her. It¡¯s bad enough already. If I had died last night, she would be stuck wondering what happened to me for the rest of her life. Alex would have to tell her and¡­ I don¡¯t think mom would ever forgive her for keeping secrets, not if I died because of them. I don¡¯t want to think about what that¡¯d do to Mom and Alex.¡± Sam¡¯s eyes drifted to the floor. I knew she agreed with my reasoning, but that didn¡¯t mean she had to like it. Involving people without powers tended to get messy, and I had not forgotten about Lucy¡¯s situation. A part of me wondered if her disappearance had anything to do with the admission of my powers to her. However, the likelihood of that was slim at best. Her father was Wildfire. He likely moved his family to keep them safe from the conflict. ¡°Are you going to tell her about me?¡± My gaze met hers. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why Sam was asking these questions when Gold was almost certainly feeding her the answers. ¡°I¡¯ll probably have to. She¡¯ll need context, so I guess I¡¯ll be mentioning Liam and Mia as well. Cyberspace is going to be the tricky thing to explain. I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯m going to break that to her but she¡¯s going to need to know to understand how serious things are,¡± I explained. ¡°At least this way she can stop worrying so much.¡± Turns out, that was the wrong thing to say. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re wanting to tell her, so she¡¯ll stop worrying?¡± Sam¡¯s tone turned incredulous. ¡°All of this is going to make her stress even more. Her son is locked into a partnership with the world¡¯s most reviled Super. I can understand wanting to cut the lying, but you have to know this isn¡¯t going to make her worry any less.¡± Doubt gnawed at me. I had already made the call, so Mom was expecting a conversation. I couldn¡¯t just show up and lie more. I didn¡¯t consider that. ¡°I have to tell her,¡± I said, trying to remain firm on my course of action. ¡°Lying isn¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t keep doing it, Sam. Sooner or later she¡¯ll find out anyway, whether because I got injured enough that I couldn¡¯t cover it up, or Alex lets something slip. When that happens, she¡¯ll never trust me again. I¡­ I can¡¯t let that happen.¡± ¡°I know,¡± her voice reflected a tinge of misery. ¡°I don¡¯t know your mom very well. I got a very surface level reading on her so you would know better than me. If you feel like you need to tell her, then tell her. I made the mistake of trusting my parents,¡± she mused bitterly. ¡°Maybe you made the mistake of not trusting yours enough.¡± I breathed out a slow sigh of relief. It was no coincidence that I had thought the same thing not too long ago. ¡°Maybe,¡± I said softly in agreement. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know how it goes.¡± Sam straightened up, brushing any specks of dust off her costume before smiling. ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to hearing how it goes. I think this¡¯ll work out for the best, even if Gold is being a downer,¡± she absently looked around at the state of the workshop and nodded slowly. ¡°I¡¯ll go tell the guys downstairs to come up and start moving things into the truck. You look like you¡¯ve got things sorted here. After that, I¡¯ll probably go see if I can get Liam to open up a bit.¡± My brow narrowed at that. ¡°Open up?¡± Sam cringed a little. ¡°You haven¡¯t really noticed, have you? Mia¡¯s only just caught on,¡± her posture shifted, displaying uneasy awkwardness. ¡°Liam¡­ he killed that Morpher last night, remember? He was younger than us, younger than Liam even, and it wasn¡¯t exactly a clean death. That¡¯s not sitting on his conscience nicely and coupled with everything else that went down, he¡¯s¡­ not himself.¡± I felt myself frown. I thought all the angst had come from the revelation that his ¡®uncle¡¯ wasn¡¯t who he believed he was. The death of the Morpher at Liam¡¯s hands had completely slipped my mind. I hadn¡¯t even considered how he would process that piece of knowledge. That Morpher was young, a boy younger than him to boot. I shuddered a little. Was I becoming desensitized to death? There was a flash in my mind, and I recalled the smell of burning flesh with startling clarity. The life I had ended couldn¡¯t have been much older than me. ¡°Yeah,¡± I swallowed a lump in my throat. ¡°I don¡¯t imagine that would sit well at all.¡± There was a brief moment where she stared at me. I caught her gaze and almost flinched. I wanted nothing more than to look away and find something else in the room to fill my vision. But I couldn¡¯t. Her features softened as she crossed the room towards me. I watched her move, counting every step. Sam hesitated for a moment before extending her arms to pull me into a hug. As I returned the gesture, the only thing that occupied my mind was that her hair smelled of strawberries. ¡°You didn¡¯t have another option, Max,¡± she reassured me. ¡°Trust me, it gets better. Give it time.¡± With that, she pulled away and walked out of the room. I watched her leave, unblinking eyes locked to her back. The hairs on my neck rose when I pieced together the unspoken implication. She has killed before. Finalize 4 The moment I laid eyes on our new hideout, my heart sunk into the pit of my stomach. As I stared distantly, dread pooled inside me. I had been here before, briefly over the last few years. Chris¡¯ family owned this business, and my new employer had just bought them out. Did they do this to send a message to me? If so, what kind of message was Cyberspace trying to send? For their sake, I could only hope that Cyberspace¡¯s people paid them generously. The building was an ¡®L¡¯ shape with the longest side hosting the open garages. There were cars and dozens of mechanics working away diligently. The mechanics would look like any other worker just going about their day to anyone passing by. From where I was standing, they were anything but. It was all a front ¨C a veil ¨C to disguise what this place was turning into. Francis stood by me with his hands buried in his jacket pockets, watching with a relaxed but trained eye. ¡°These people are some of my best. They¡¯ll manage the premises and keep you informed of any danger,¡± he said, pointing out some of the camouflaged Mechatech in and around the building. They appeared to be cameras, but I had already gleaned their functions beforehand. Each one contained small lethal and non-lethal weaponry, capable of being deployed at a moment¡¯s notice. They also had EMP resistance and incredible durability. Nothing short of a direct explosive impact would be able to destroy them. ¡°I don¡¯t think I need to say this, but I will anyway. They are not your caretakers.¡± I let out an involuntary chuckle at his tired exasperation. ¡°Never would have even considered the thought. They¡¯re all here to do a job and that job is for Cyberspace,¡± I crossed my arms, pulling my jacket around me tighter. I wasn¡¯t cold, but I was anxious that I was still wearing my suit in broad daylight. Francis had given me the jacket to help conceal myself from any prying eyes since the only thing that stood out was my headpiece. The hood was big enough to cover it. ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re all here.¡± The Old Man hummed in agreement. ¡°I figured I would say it just to make sure. Liam will need to hear it,¡± he murmured with a dissatisfied grunt. ¡°Each of them has been provided with gear, all of which they know how to use. They are well trained and experts in their respective fields. However, maintaining their gear is something you can help them with. I¡¯m sure it wouldn''t be too far-fetched of me to say that Cyberspace is expecting you to develop on their equipment ¨C perhaps even find inspiration.¡± I could see that. The gear these guys had been rocking the other night was sophisticated. It wasn¡¯t quite as advanced as Nanoforge¡¯s tech, but it was nothing to scoff at. On their own, they could deal with any old-fashioned conflict. Supers would pose a proper challenge to them, but then they probably had the training to cover any weaknesses the gear couldn¡¯t. ¡°No sense denying them aid when it can only benefit us in the long run. Though, I will still be prioritizing my projects and equipment,¡± I said, exhaling slowly. I saw more of Cyberspace¡¯s people moving our things into the building. Sam, dressed in a similar jacket as me, directed them around. Mia and Liam stood off to the side, exchanging words, looking tired and worn down. ¡°Can I ask something?¡± He turned and gave me a look that told me to go ahead. My thoughts drifted back to the first night I met him when everything had changed for me. He hadn¡¯t been the only one in the room with me when we got attacked ¨C but he had been the only one that pushed me to escape with them when everything went to shit. ¡°Our first meeting ¨C the trade,¡± I clarified. ¡°Cyberspace already said it was all a test, but I¡¯ve been thinking about the nature of it. Those things you requested¡­ they fit different parameters. The drone was testing my ability to construct simple but complex machinery that could be operated by people other than myself. The battery tested my efficiency to compress powerful technology. The swiss army knife tested my compatibility when interfacing with problems, like how would I improve on something that already has an answer to everything?¡± Francis watched me with a keen eye as I finished my explanation. I stared, waiting for an answer. I wondered if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but apparently, my conclusions had impressed him. Slowly, he reached into his jacket¡¯s inner pocket and retrieved the swiss army knife I had given him. He flipped it in his hand and observed it with a calculating eye. ¡°My old one broke.¡± I frowned, feeling the indignancy bubble up inside me. ¡°However, you¡¯re not wrong,¡± the Old Man continued, returning the multitool to his inner pocket. ¡°Those items we requested were a test that you passed with flying colors. As you already know, Mechakinetics typically have specialties, their powers steering them toward specific areas. Nanoforge works with Nanites and Nanotech. Kriegsmaschine is able to create vehicles powerful enough to withstand the likes of Ajax. I don¡¯t think I need to go into detail about what Ajax is able to do.¡± I felt my head tilt toward the sky. Somewhere in the Earth¡¯s outer atmosphere, Ajax¡¯s space station lurked within a chameleon field so dense it was invisible to the naked eye. It was said to be several times bigger than any operational satellite, which was no surprise, considering I had seen footage of Ajax¡¯s ships. They had a whole armada up there, powerful enough to scorch the planet if they wanted to. ¡°I can do all that too. All of that and more, with enough time.¡± ¡°Which makes you one of the most dangerous people alive,¡± Francis said, looking at Sam. She had her arms crossed, talking with the disguised movers. They were bringing in my printers, all draped in long clothes to conceal them from any onlookers. ¡°Is it any wonder that girl has made it her mission to keep you around?¡± I didn¡¯t believe that was the only reason Sam wanted to keep me around. I understood there was an element of manipulation to her because she had Gold whispering in her ear, directing her every move. She could be hiding beneath a facade. However, I wanted to believe there was more to her than that. Despite everything, Sam was still human. The chaos that likely goes on inside her head wouldn¡¯t stop her from feeling genuine emotion. She said she could finally trust me. ¡°There¡¯s more to it than that.¡± Francis shrugged. ¡°There might be. I won¡¯t deny it, but I have experience with Mentalists, kid. I know what they¡¯re like. I know how they see the world. I know how they treat those around them,¡± he pointed to Sam¡¯s back. ¡°That girl right there has given me no reason to believe otherwise. So far, she¡¯s checked every box on the list.¡± The worst part was that he didn¡¯t say it with any malicious intent. I could have sworn he sounded mournful. ¡°Sam will be different,¡± I said. I hated how uncertain I sounded, and Francis could tell. ¡°If it does turn out that you¡¯re right, then I suppose it¡¯ll be a good learning experience. For now, though, I think I would like to offer her the benefit of the doubt. Just because she has these powers doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s any less human. She doesn¡¯t deserve to be treated any less.¡± The Old Man hummed thoughtfully, pulling his gaze away from Sam. ¡°You¡¯ve got a good heart, kid. Naive¡­ but good. It¡¯s just unfortunate that the naive die young,¡± he said, giving me a sympathetic look. ¡°If you¡¯ll be willing to take any advice from me, heed this: Guard yourself. Don¡¯t look for enemies in your friends, but always be prepared for the knife.¡± With that, he walked off. I watched him leave, the words lingering in my mind. People often say to be wary of the elderly in a profession where people die young. Given that he looked to be somewhere in his seventies and claimed to be working in this field for thirty-plus years, I couldn¡¯t brush off what he said, no matter how much I wanted to. I wasn¡¯t sure how long I stood in place contemplating the words that swam inside my head, but I eventually headed toward the garage. I idly swiped through my visor¡¯s functions, pulling up my contact list and message threads. The only new messages I found were from Abby asking if we could meet to talk about what happened. I didn¡¯t want to blow her off so I replied and asked what time. While I waited for her to respond I noted my other contacts, specifically Chris. We didn¡¯t exchange many messages, but I half expected him to be sharing the news of what was happening with his family¡¯s business. Either he didn¡¯t know, or he didn¡¯t want to share. I wasn¡¯t sure which was worse. I had always known his family enjoyed this profession, so maybe they¡¯d use Cyberspace¡¯s money to go off and start another business under another name. Until I asked, I could only hope things were going okay for him. Lucy was still dark, which was concerning but not surprising. I already planned to do some investigating in that area as soon as I was able. Sam had mentioned that Lucy¡¯s grandparent''s place was likely outside the city in some rural area where the fighting couldn¡¯t reach. Given what happened, I had to be grateful for that. Right now, Bayside was not a safe place to be, and things had boiled over last night. Alex was uncharacteristically quiet. There was no way she hadn¡¯t heard what was happening from Mom¡¯s side, and since Alex knew the truth, I fully expected a barrage of messages or calls by now. Instead, there was nothing from her. I compiled and sent a message just to ease my anxiety. There was every possibility she had already heard I was safe from Mom and had no reason to contact me ¨C but I would still send the message anyway. Passing the disguised workers, I saw a few of them give me knowing nods before returning to work. I had to credit them for their convincing disguise. I couldn¡¯t stand the thought of being covered from head to toe in grease and black smudges. Their dedication to the part was admirable. If I had been passing this place on a whim, I wouldn¡¯t have given this place a second thought. The pay must be worth it. No one moved to stop me as I strolled through the garage toward a door that led into the other part of the building ¨C the one that would become my designated workshop. The door clicked open without resistance, and I stepped through. I drew in a slow breath and looked around. The place was in good condition. I had no expectations coming in, and anything would be an improvement over what we had before. The lower floor of this building had all the machines and equipment needed to perform comprehensive repairs and assembling. The room was overflowing with spare parts, something a Mechakinetic like me could only dream of getting their hands on free of charge. But it¡¯s not free, is it? I¡¯m an employee. The joy bled out and died almost immediately. I could see the benefits of this place, plain and simple, but it bothered me immensely that we now had someone looking over our shoulders. We didn¡¯t even know who Cyberspace was or where they were to develop any countermeasure in case things went sour. I knew Sam would construct a contingency plan, but that would take time. It would also require a comprehensive understanding of what Cyberspace was capable of. That, unfortunately, was something we had no proper scope of yet. I strolled through my new workshop, my hands brushing across various machinery. I could visualize all of it in my head, the pathways forward. Automated fabrication. Bulk consumable production. Weapons manufacturing. The possibilities inside this one room were endless, and I now had the space to test some of the projects I¡¯d been itching to develop. I have time now. I took in another slow breath, a smile forming on my lips. Excellent¡­ this will do nicely. ¡°Oh!¡± A familiar voice sounded from behind. I craned my neck to look over my shoulder to see Mia paused halfway down the stairs. The awkwardness was plastered across her face like she had just gotten caught somewhere she wasn¡¯t supposed to. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were already in here. I thought you were still outside with the others. I was just taking a look around.¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. I returned my gaze to the rest of the workshop and started swinging my arms while rocking on the balls of my feet. It was all new, exciting, and terrifying at the same time. The concoction of feelings whirling inside of me had to be released somehow. ¡°Just taking in my new office,¡± I said, chuckling lightly. ¡°It¡¯s bigger than I was expecting. It was hard to really grasp the size of the place when staring at the blueprints.¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely bigger than the last place,¡± Mia agreed as she descended the rest of the stairs. Once she got to the bottom, she hesitated in deciding where she would go. It even looked like Mia was internally debating how to walk. Slowly and quietly, she began edging over in my direction. ¡°So¡­ this all feels really official now.¡± ¡°As official as it¡¯s going to get,¡± I said. ¡°This is how most Supers live. Only¡­ it comes down to different flavorings. ECU, Cyberspace, The Queen¡¯s Court. Take your pick I guess. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s all the same shit at the end of the day.¡± Mia anxiously rubbed the back of her neck with an expression that made it look like she wanted to contest my point. Lumping the ECU in with those groups would have any regular person defending the government agency that held up law and order. However, Mia had seen their sinister side the other night. When no one was looking some abused their authority ¨C and there were Supers in that same agency with the power and foresight to see that. And they do nothing about it. Immediately, I remembered what Abby had said to me. A pang of guilt shot through my chest, and I almost visibly winced. They¡¯re not all bad, and some of them do try. Cyberspace and their loyal secret following wouldn¡¯t bother trying to hide their intentions. Sure, they¡¯d punish insubordination and remove anyone who threatened their overall goal. I could count on that much, they had a history of doing that and I doubted they would even bother to evade questioning if one of us asked. There was something I respected about that, as twisted as it was. Honesty went a long way, and the ECU didn¡¯t have much of that. For all their faults, they were trying to keep the world from falling apart. I shook my head with a low grumble. There was no sense dwelling on those thoughts now. ¡°I would pick my normal life if I could,¡± Mia said wistfully. ¡°All this is still happening too fast. I feel like I can barely keep up. I¡¯ve got one of my statues watching my parents at home. They¡¯re¡­¡± she swallowed, trying to repress the swelling in her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s hard watching them deal with everything without me around. They¡¯re upset, angry,¡± she quickly lifted one of her sleeves to wipe away stray tears before pulling herself together. ¡°It¡¯s hard.¡± I gave her a sympathetic look before realizing my helmet was still up. I retracted it so the conversation didn¡¯t feel so awkward. I couldn¡¯t imagine what it was like to stare at a featureless tinted visor while having a heartfelt conversation. ¡°What¡¯s really stopping you from going back to them?¡± Mia heaved a sigh. ¡°After I contacted them the first time to let them know I was okay, they called the ECU. They¡¯ve had people in and out of the house, talking to them at every opportunity. If I go back, they¡¯ll catch me,¡± Mia¡¯s downcast expression intensified. ¡°I had to choose between you guys and them.¡± I couldn¡¯t understand it. I knew Liam was here, and she didn¡¯t want to throw him under the bus, but there had to be more to it than that. ¡°I¡­ suspect there¡¯s more?¡± I asked without really thinking. Her downcast expression shifted and became more pointed ¨C more accusatory. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t get angry, but it was easy to tell she wasn¡¯t pleased. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not trying to pry. Just thinking out loud.¡± Mia sighed again. ¡°There is more, but it¡¯s personal. I don¡¯t want to talk about it. It¡¯s bad enough that Sam probably already knows with that Gold thing you guys keep referring to,¡± she huffed. ¡°That other personality. The one that doesn¡¯t really give a shit about your feelings.¡± ¡°Yeah I know the one,¡± I murmured. ¡°If it¡¯s any consolation, Sam won¡¯t say anything to anyone. Gold whispers in her ear whether she likes it or not.¡± ¡°It¡¯s creepy.¡± I shrugged. It wasn¡¯t worth complaining about my eyes. Sam had no reason to spread personal information unless the details Mia kept under wraps proved dangerous for everyone¡¯s well-being. I believed she was a better person than that. Mia opened her mouth to say something else, only to stop when grinding metal echoed throughout the room. A small generator came to life, and one of the metal doors slowly opened. As the light poured through, I saw piles of my stuff stacked against where the door had opened. Sam was standing on the other side, flanked by half a dozen disguised movers with a wide grin on her face. ¡°I found the remote!¡± ¡°You could have just asked me to open it,¡± I called out. ¡°It would have saved you the trouble.¡± ¡°Naaaaah,¡± she chirped happily. ¡°Gave me an easy excuse to let Pink stretch my legs a little. She loves a little bit of seeking. Plus, I needed it. Still a bit stiff from the other night,¡± Sam¡¯s eyes drifted to Mia, her smile remaining as wide as ever. ¡°Hey there! Do you like the place so far? You know, I had my doubts but I think I could really grow to like it here. How¡¯s upstairs? Have you picked a bedroom yet? I¡¯ve already called dibs on the biggest one.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an office,¡± Mia replied blandly. ¡°Or what used to be an office. Carpet is boring, every room has windows that are too big, and everything smells like paper.¡± Sam brushed her off with a wave. ¡°We have time to make it homey. Max can touch up the walls and alter their composition to be more like bedrooms. It won¡¯t be as spacious as a whole apartment building, but what¡¯s life without a little challenge?¡± I felt my brow raise at that. ¡°You think I¡¯m going to waste my charges on restructuring the rooms upstairs? You have the skills as Orange to fix the place up without my help ¨C and we have the resources to do it. You could have it all done in a couple of days by yourself,¡± I said, crossing my arms. ¡°You don¡¯t need me to do it.¡± Sam gave me a grimacing smile. ¡°You sure you want me to take a sledgehammer to the walls with Red? I might go overboard.¡± I rolled my eyes and grumbled. ¡°If you¡¯re too lazy to do it, just say so.¡± There was a competitive flash in her eyes ¨C or maybe that was all her different personalities fighting for control. Regardless, Sam¡¯s hands went to her hips. Her grin never faltered, not even for a second, and I knew I had struck a chord. We had never had the time to properly get to know each other outside of our ¡®professional¡¯ relationship, but I could see she was the type to fight and prove anyone wrong. ¡°I know you¡¯re playing me.¡± A smile threatened to tug at my lips, but I restrained it ¨C not that it mattered. Gold would be informing her anyway. ¡°Am I?¡± ¡°You think you can do a better job than me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s in my name.¡± Sam¡¯s nose wrinkled as she sniffed. Her gaze turned hard, and she nodded. ¡°Alright then. You¡¯re on. I¡¯ll reconstruct the whole upstairs myself by the end of the week, and I¡¯ll do it to everyone¡¯s taste,¡± Sam clapped, snapping her fingers at me and Mia. ¡°Wanna place any bets? Think I can¡¯t do it? Come oooooon, give me something to look forward to.¡± My thoughts lingered on a probable prize, something that Sam would like. For once, I didn¡¯t limit myself to thinking about things that would strictly increase our survival odds for the future. It could be something mundane that could make her life easier. Maybe I could fix up some kind of automated hair stylist machine? It would be a fun investment to work on and tinker with in my spare time. I could also investigate other appliances she used and look to improve them. It was then I realized that I had limited myself again. All I was thinking about were feminine products. Outside of our Super life, I didn¡¯t know what kind of hobbies Sam liked. Did she even have any? I couldn¡¯t remember if I had even asked. Every interaction we ever had focused on something relating to our lives as Supers. Even that trip to New Market had an ulterior motive, as pleasant as the outing was. ¡°I don¡¯t really have anything to bet with,¡± Mia said with a shrug. ¡°I suppose normally, I¡¯d buy you a present, but something tells me that money is not in short supply for us anymore. You could buy anything you¡¯d ever want with these guys around.¡± ¡°I think its the thought that counts,¡± Sam replied earnestly. Mia brightened. ¡°Okay, well¡­ I guess I¡¯ll go shopping ¨C assuming you win and everything is up to our standards.¡± ¡°Cool! Look forward to it,¡± Sam turned to me. ¡°How about it, Max? You got something for me to work for?¡± ¡°How about a date?¡± The words spilled from my mouth without any real thought or intention behind them. Even now, as the words hung in the air, I didn¡¯t feel embarrassed. We had already been on one, albeit with the guise of it being all pretend, so the idea of something more real didn¡¯t feel all that daunting. Besides, it would also give Sam another opportunity to separate herself from all the stress of being a Super. She had liked it last time. Why not do it again? ¡°I¡­ uh¨C aha,¡± she choked out a weak laugh. I squinted, giving her a pointed stare, wondering why she seemed so surprised. I didn¡¯t expect to catch her flat-footed like this. Gold would have warned her, right? ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a surprise, but not entirely unwelcome!¡± Sam quickly regained her composure. ¡°I think that could be fun, yeah,¡± she let out a long breath, and now I was the one with heat crawling onto my face. Had she not expected me to ask? ¡°Looks like I have my work cut out for me.¡± ¡°Good luck,¡± I offered with a smile. Sam snorted confidently. ¡°I won¡¯t need it.¡± She turned and strolled away, leaving the workers to finish moving and unpacking my things. ¡°Can¡¯t say I expected that,¡± Mia commented with a wry smile. ¡°That was nice of you.¡± ¡°I considered a bunch of things I could build for her but I¡¯d do it if she asked anyway,¡± I coughed. ¡°This felt easier and we¡¯ve already done this once before and enjoyed it.¡± ¡°Once before?¡± ¡°Yeah, we went to New Market for a day with her friends. It was¡­¡± My thoughts trailed off, remembering the guy Seraphim had brought with her. Something about him still rubbed me the wrong way, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt sickly. ¡°Fun, for the most part. Interesting,¡± I met her gaze and saw her smile widening like she had just discovered a priceless treasure. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go see Liam now. He¡¯s upstairs, right?¡± Mentioning Liam seemed to dull her growing amusement. ¡°Yeah, he is. He¡¯s trying to distract himself,¡± Mia said, her smile dying. ¡°We¡¯ve talked, but he doesn¡¯t seem to want to say anything. Nothing other than grunts anyway.¡± I considered her words, pondering if trying to talk to Liam right now was the best move. He needed time to process what had happened, and lengthy conversations didn¡¯t seem like something he wanted to entertain. While the guilt about what I had done lingered, I realized that I could easily distract myself by immersing myself in potential projects and other upgrades I could be making. Liam, unfortunately, didn¡¯t have that. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can help,¡± I said, no louder than a whisper. Mia gave me a grateful but weak smile. ¡°Thank you.¡± I moved toward the stairs and ascended, my thoughts whirling with every step. When I arrived at the top and opened the door, I peered inside to see what the place was like. Mia had been right when she said the top floor looked and smelt like an office. There was a lot of open space with indents in the carpet, signaling that there had been more furniture in the room. Those movers worked fast. I found the break room door slightly ajar with the sound of a game coming from within. I found Liam inside, attempting to let the couch swallow him whole with one controller in his hands. He stared at the TV, playing a game I didn¡¯t recognize, but seemed immersed in what he was doing. It looked like any old platformer from the last fifteen years. I didn¡¯t recognize the game. I was more into PCs than consoles. ¡°Tired?¡± Liam shrugged. ¡°Lil bit,¡± he gestured with a foot to an open box in the corner of the room. ¡°Brought some of my stuff from my place. Figured I¡¯d set up here since it looks like I¡¯m gonna be staying here for a while,¡± he explained. I watched as he kept playing, only for the console to freeze up and the game to crash. Liam groaned. ¡°Fucking hell, piece of shit.¡± Walking over, I placed my hand on the console and paid a charge to repair it. I even threw in a couple of hardware upgrades as well. It was a new day, and my charges had reset. I could waste a few on this now that things had calmed down. Liam¡¯s face brightened. ¡°No way, for real?¡± ¡°For real,¡± I replied with a grin. ¡°I can¡¯t remember if I said I would, but I figure; why not?¡± The console finalized the repair and upgrade before restarting entirely. The loading was quick, much quicker than it had any right to be. ¡°You play?¡± Liam asked with a smile, gesturing to the spare controller. I rolled my shoulders and nodded, grabbing the controller. Talking could come later. Right now, Liam could use the company. Finalize 5 ¡°Are you sure you want to do this?¡± My eyes glazed over as I stared out the passenger window. A hazy fog plagued my thoughts, and I tried to organize them. I needed a clear head if my plan was going to see any sort of success. My gaze was fixated on the house across the street ¨C my home ¨C where my mother would undoubtedly be. I had put this off long enough, and she deserved to know what I was getting myself involved in. ¡°Most people like to claim that lying is the easy way out ¨C the path that lets you dodge all the consequences. The truth of the matter is that lying is hard, especially when you''re doing it to the people closest to you for reasons you believe are for a good cause.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t a good cause,¡± I replied bitterly, facing the Old Man. Francis sat quietly in the driver''s seat of his truck, giving me a sympathetic look. He looked like he understood what I was going through, and maybe he did, but I didn¡¯t have the guts to ask him to share his story. ¡°From day one I lied to her because I wanted to. I didn¡¯t want her to know because I knew what she¡¯d tell me to do. She would tell me to keep my powers a secret ¨C to never use them. Kids like us shouldn¡¯t have this kind of power. It¡¯s the same reason why you don¡¯t give children more money than they know what to do with. We just¡­¡± I weakly waved my hands as if to shoo away an invisible fly. ¡°...go and blow everything up.¡± Francis had driven me home, through all the detours and blocked roads. I saw all the carnage that was wrought from the battle. Grim¡¯s rampage, Pandora¡¯s bloodlust, and the ECU¡¯s ruthless attempts to keep the peace. It was horrific. There were families out on the streets, huddled in tents. Destroyed businesses were doing their best but failed to pull potential customers. People were without homes and going hungry. I had no words to describe the guilt that rested on my shoulders. ¡°In a perfect world, children wouldn¡¯t get powers. In fact, nobody would. You might think that adults are more suited for the responsibility that power brings, but you couldn¡¯t be more wrong. Look at what happened to this city ¨C that was not the result of a bunch of children playing games with powers beyond their comprehension. That destruction was wrought by adults with deadly ambition,¡± Francis explained with a heavy sigh. ¡°That¡¯s what a lot of people don¡¯t seem to understand. It¡¯s not the power you should fear, but the person wielding it.¡± I involuntarily shuddered. Mirage had said something very similar. I could hear his voice echoing in my head as I looked away. ¡°A world with no powers¡­¡± I mused aloud. I tried to imagine what the world would look like. Humanity wouldn¡¯t be as technologically advanced for one. Mechatech did a lot to accelerate our development in that department. Other than that, I figured the world would be a lot safer. ¡°Sounds like a nice place to live.¡± ¡°You¡¯d think,¡± Francis chuckled. ¡°Even before Evohumans started popping out of the woodwork like weeds, we¡¯ve always been a species rooted in conflict. Just look at our history. War after war after war. It never stops. No reason to expect things would be much different without Evohumans in the mix.¡± That was an incredibly bleak outlook, but I conceded his point. The first two World Wars happened for a reason. The third only broke out because of the rising fear of Evohumans. It was in our nature to fight over power, and I supposed it might¡¯ve been cynical of me to assume nothing could change that. ¡°How would you do it?¡± I asked. The Old Man turned to me. ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°Stop conflict,¡± I laughed at the absurdity of my question. ¡°If you could, I mean. Assume you had the power to do it ¨C that it was within the scope of what you¡¯re able to do. How would you go about it?¡± Francis didn¡¯t outright dismiss the question, his expression turning thoughtful. He looked through the windshield onto the road and seemed to lose himself as his gaze swallowed the distance. After a few moments, he gave a long, exaggerated sigh before turning back to me. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting question, Maxis. I don¡¯t expect children like you to ask such heavy questions. Consider me surprised,¡± he said with an impressed nod. His expression slowly turned somber, and his features darkened considerably. ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have an answer for you. Stopping all conflict would require a tremendous amount of power to achieve. There is no real clear-cut answer to something like that. There will always be people out there in the world who will disagree with each other. When those disagreements can¡¯t be met with compromise, that¡¯s when things turn to violence. It¡¯s a balance that has become increasingly difficult to strike as the world advances.¡± I frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t know how, even under a hypothetical?¡± The Old Man closed his eyes and sighed. ¡°I think it¡¯s dangerous to even consider an answer under a hypothetical. The people out there that think they know the answer, do that,¡± he pointed in the direction of all the destruction. ¡°People like Grim, like Gaea. Like Cyberspace,¡± he emphasized with a stone-cold stare. ¡°They think they know the answers ¨C and they¡¯ll do whatever it takes to achieve their vision, even if it means crushing those that stand in their way.¡± His answer ignited conflict within me. If he was lumping people like Grim in with someone like Cyberspace, why was he working for them? He didn¡¯t exactly give me the impression he was under duress, and Cyberspace had been pretty reasonable speaking and dealing with us. I couldn¡¯t imagine Grim giving me the same kind of courtesy. ¡°Why work with them then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m no saint,¡± the Old Man replied bluntly. ¡°I know what I am. I know what I¡¯m good at. I make sure that those around me that I care about are well looked after and I live my life one day at a time. I¡¯ve learned not to take any half-measures. So far, it''s paid off,¡± he observed my curious stare and continued. ¡°I¡¯m still alive, as are the people I look after.¡± ¡°Except Natasha,¡± I said without thinking. Francis¡¯ eyes hardened. ¡°I like you, Maxis. Be careful how you talk,¡± he reached over me and opened the door. ¡°Time for you to go. If you need us, you know who to call.¡± As I unbuckled my seatbelt to step out, I felt like I had walked over someone¡¯s grave. It had been a poor choice of words, and I vowed to take the advice. I wondered if Sam had anything to do with that influence on me. I felt like I had always been a bit quippy, but never to my detriment. As Francis pulled out and drove away, I watched the mundane-looking truck disappear, leaving me standing on the street outside my house. I turned my gaze and looked down the driveway before heaving a sigh. I was not eager for this conversation, but it needed to happen. I couldn¡¯t live with the idea of hiding this from Mom any longer than I had to. Even staring down the driveway filled me with apprehension. Maybe this isn¡¯t a good idea? I was already aware that I would lose my nerve. I had no preparations to counter it, but soldiering through was my only option. Part of me wanted to continue with the charade I had been putting forth, but my gut told me I needed to bite the bullet and get this over with. The sooner she knew the truth, the sooner I could move on and start making serious improvements to the future. First and foremost, getting her out of her wheelchair needed to be near the top of my list ¨C and I had more than one idea on how to do it myself. All I needed was her cooperation because we could sort out an alibi and keep our stories straight. With Cyberspace¡¯s help, that sounded achievable, assuming they would be willing to help. Something told me they would if only to help solidify my loyalty. I could use that to my advantage. With renewed resolve, I strode up the driveway toward my house. It looked like it always had, with nothing out of the ordinary. It was just another house belonging to a middle-class family. I unlocked and stepped through the door without any hesitation and looked around. I could hear the TV blaring, but it turned off when I shut the door behind me. ¡°Max?¡± Mom¡¯s voice called out. ¡°Is that you?¡± ¡°Right here,¡± I stepped through the framed entrance into the lounge and smiled when I saw Mom wheeling herself toward me. There was a look of relief plastered across her face, and it took every ounce of self-control I had not to surge forward and wrap her in a hug. I could save that for later after I had spilled the truth. ¡°I see you managed just fine.¡± It was small talk, and we both knew everything was fine from the calls, but it helped lighten the mood. ¡°Yes, well¡­ outside of my concern and the noise, the basement wasn¡¯t as uncomfortable as I believed it to be,¡± she rolled up the sleeves of her sweater and smiled. ¡°You¡¯d think with all the wheeling around I do, my arms would be enough to carry me up and down those stairs,¡± she rolled her eyes and shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you all in one piece with my own eyes. You sounded so serious on the phone I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if something really did happen!¡± I suppressed the urge to flinch and fought down any lurking desire to groan. ¡°Well, see, here¡¯s the thing¡­¡± I trailed off, trying to capture the courage I had only minutes ago. It fled so quickly facing Mom that I knew I would be stumbling over my words if I didn¡¯t find it quickly. ¡°A few things have happened. I¡¯ve been debating on how to tell you and now that things have calmed down, I figured now would be the best time.¡± I watched Mom¡¯s eyes closely, and there was a flicker of sadness in them as she looked down. ¡°You¡¯ve been lying to me.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question. Tension built in my chest, and it took every bit of willpower I had to stop my legs from shaking. There was only one way to get rid of this feeling. I could not leave her out of the loop anymore, not with who I was involved with now. It would come out sooner or later, so it was better to fix things up now while I had the chance, before things could get ugly. ¡°I have.¡± Mom closed her eyes and took a few long, controlled breaths. When she opened them, she was the picture of composure. She wheeled herself back into the lounge and gestured for me to take a seat. I found my usual spot on the couch and sat, unable to get comfortable. My gaze locked with hers, and I squashed any feelings of fear. Mom didn¡¯t look angry or disappointed, only patient. It was a strange reaction. I expected anger, for her to chew me out for being a stupid child. Instead, she just waited for me to speak. So, as I spoke, I started with the one thing I knew would explain why. ¡°I¡¯m a Super.¡± Mom¡¯s eyes flicked to the floor before meeting mine again. I wasn¡¯t Sam. I didn¡¯t have the same kind of cold reading Gold did, but that was another strange reaction I had not expected. The calmness was unnerving enough that I felt compelled to ask, but I restrained myself. Any questions I had regarding her unusual behavior could wait till the end. There was every possibility that Mom was giving me the chance to explain ¨C to help her understand why I had done what I did. That was part of becoming an adult, learning from your mistakes. If she started yelling at me, we¡¯d start fighting, and things would devolve into pointless bickering. I wanted to avoid that, and I hoped that was the reason for her patience. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°More specifically, I suppose I should say I¡¯m a Mechakinetic,¡± I idly scratched the back of my neck. I hadn¡¯t given much thought to my classifications, so I got caught up in finding the appropriate terminology. I could not affect anything biological ¨C things that weren¡¯t living. Technically, I didn¡¯t build like other Mechakinetics did. I only improved things. That didn¡¯t mean I was incapable of building. I had been referring to myself as a Mechakinetic until now, and I guessed that was everyone¡¯s preconception of me. There was no point changing that now. ¡°Though, my powers would be considered unusual for what Mechakinetics are normally assumed to be.¡± Mom¡¯s expression was blank, but her lips moved as she spoke. ¡°I¡­ see.¡± I coughed and cleared my throat, eager to move on to the rest of the explanation. Mom needed the complete truth, but I didn¡¯t feel like sitting here and spilling the details of every little thing I had done over the last two months in excruciating detail. I planned to tell her the critical parts. From there, she could fill in the blanks. ¡°I haven¡¯t had my powers for long. Just a couple of months,¡± my lips curled a little as I chewed the inside of my cheek. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can probably figure out when, given my behavior lately. I¡¯ve been made aware¡­ that I haven¡¯t been as subtle as I would¡¯ve liked to think I was.¡± There was another long breath from Mom as she leaned back in her wheelchair, her eyes distant as her mind worked. ¡°I got into a bit of trouble and a friend helped me out. You¡¯ve met her. Sam, that girl that was here on Sunday. She¡¯s a Super like me, and we¡¯re¡­ working together, along with some others,¡± I rubbed my hands together to stave off the growing nerves. I looked up at Mom to see her just as expressionless as ever. ¡°We¡¯ve been establishing ourselves, growing this base of¡­ power? Influence?¡± I frowned as I said the words. It didn¡¯t feel quite right. ¡°We¡¯ve been surviving.¡± Yeah, that seems better. ¡°This trouble¡­¡± Mom said, speaking her first words since I started my confession. She spared a glance at the TV. ¡°This wouldn¡¯t happen to have anything to do with The Cains and Grim, would it?¡± I wanted to deny it ¨C to explain my issues were with another individual called Mirage. Grim was something I had been dragged into by happenstance. However, I knew that would be arguing semantics. ¡°They were involved, yeah.¡± Mom nodded slowly. When her silence continued, I decided to keep going. ¡°Since we got dragged into the conflict, we sought to find a solution to end it. By doing that, we¡¯ve come into contact with someone very powerful and influential,¡± I braced myself, squeezing my hands together. ¡°We met Cyberspace¡­ and as of now, we¡¯re cooperating under some kind of beneficial partnership,¡± I shook my head and grumbled under my breath. ¡°I know I¡¯m out of my depth here, which is why I¡¯m telling you. I just¡­ I need you to understand¡ª¡± ¡°I understand,¡± Mom said with calm ease. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, removing her glasses to clean off some stray smudges. ¡°The life of an Evohuman is not an easy one, Maxis.¡± I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It can¡¯t be¡­ ¡°Are you¡­?¡± Mom laughed. ¡°No. It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking,¡± Mom gestured to the wheelchair. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be much of an Evohuman looking like this, now would I?¡± I begged to differ. There were an untold amount of powers in the world, and being in a wheelchair didn¡¯t exempt you from receiving them. My mind raced with possibilities. Mentalist was the first to leap into my mind. They didn¡¯t display any physical changes and could often fly under the radar if they kept their egos in check. Sam certainly couldn¡¯t keep her mouth shut as Gold, and I doubted anyone with even a hint of that kind of power would. There were a lot of classifications that could get away with looking ordinary if they really wanted to. Only Morphers tended to have that problem, especially Transfiguration Cases. ¡°You can be disabled and still have powers, Mom,¡± I pointed out with a suspicious glare. Mom just shrugged it off. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t,¡± her light amusement melted away, taking on a more melancholy look. ¡°Your father on the other hand¡­¡± My blood froze, and my heart stopped. Goosebumps formed on my arms, and I couldn¡¯t repress the violent shudder that crawled up my spine. The topic of my father wasn¡¯t something Mom or Alex liked to discuss. They knew him far better than I did, and I hadn¡¯t even met the guy. He was out of my life before I could form solid memories of him. They were very dismissive of the details and gave me vague answers to all my questions. Eventually, I stopped asking, and I stopped caring. Until now. ¡°You said he left us because family life wasn¡¯t for him,¡± I said with a cold edge to my voice. ¡°What is¡ª¡± I stopped myself, trying to stop the chaotic whirlwind from carving a trench through my mind. I couldn¡¯t decide if I was angry, happy, shocked, or sad. ¡°Who¡­ why?¡± ¡°I never lied,¡± Mom said simply. ¡°He found it difficult to bond with Alex, and when you came around, it was the wake up call he had been trying to avoid. We both decided it was best if he left so he could focus on his work. He¡¯s an Evohuman ¨C a Biokinetic. His views on life are¡­ complicated. Clinical, and quite disturbing. I never held it against him. We both decided it would be better if he wasn¡¯t involved with us.¡± The explanation twisted my stomach into knots. Mom probably thought that it was sufficient, that I would understand, but I didn¡¯t. ¡°You never¡ª¡± I shook my head, trying to dismiss the festering uneasiness inside me. ¡°Were you ever going to tell me?¡± Mom picked at her fingers as she thought about that. Just her thoughtful expression told me enough. She considered never telling me because what use would that serve? It would only give me more questions, perhaps even endanger me. If I had known and gone around running my mouth as a child, someone would¡¯ve taken notice. Mom, Alex, and I could¡¯ve ended up as hostages in an attempt to blackmail him into cooperation. Just knowing a Super was enough to put anyone in danger. ¡°When you were older, maybe. I don¡¯t suppose it matters all that much now,¡± Mom heaved another sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve always been aware of the possibility that you or Alex could develop powers of your own, with him as your biological father. I had hoped¡­¡± she gave me a look of pity. ¡°But I guess I should¡¯ve seen the signs. I was willfully ignorant.¡± I half expected her to break into tears with how quiet her words were. I was surprised again when I saw just how resigned her expression was. Mom still seemed just as calm as she was before. Something didn¡¯t feel quite right. I wanted to believe it was because I was still reeling from the fact that my father was a Super ¨C a Biokinetic at that ¨C but my gut told me it wasn¡¯t. There was something off about her, but I couldn¡¯t place it. Mom cleared her throat and continued. ¡°So, you¡¯ve been involved in everything that¡¯s been happening recently?¡± She asked. I nodded slowly. Mom let out a shaky breath and composed herself. ¡°You were out during the lockdown too, weren¡¯t you? You were involved in fighting Grim?¡± ¡°I was¡ª¡± I swallowed, biting my lip. ¡°I was part of the group that brought him down. He¡¯s gone and nobody will ever see him again.¡± Mom¡¯s eyes widened at that. ¡°You and your friends¡ª your group?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I nodded. ¡°We found his weakness and used it against him.¡± ¡°No wonder why Cyberspace wants you working for them. It¡¯s hard to believe they¡¯re still around after all this time,¡± Mom muttered under her breath. Her expression turned more sympathetic as she met my gaze once more. ¡°Why, Max? Why do all this? Why get involved? You know what I¡¯m going to say. You could have avoided this if you didn¡¯t use your powers so brazenly.¡± ¡°I would¡¯ve been found eventually,¡± I commented off-handedly. If Mom knew how everything worked because of her relationship with my father, she should have known that her argument was fundamentally flawed. ¡°I could have hidden all I wanted. It would have changed nothing.¡± ¡°Changed nothing?¡± Mom looked like she wanted to laugh. ¡°What were you trying to change?¡± ¡°I wanted to help you,¡± I said bluntly, looking down at the wheelchair bitterly. All this time, I could have just gone straight to the root of the problem and worked on it directly. It could have prevented loads of headaches and pain, but then I wouldn¡¯t have met Sam, and I doubted I¡¯d know the things I knew now. ¡°I did the things I did in order to help you. I wanted to get you out of that chair ¨C to make enough money to skip the waiting list for a Biokinetic.¡± It sounded even dumber now that I knew my father was a Biokinetic. It made me wonder if they were still in touch. If they were, then that prompted another question. Did Mom even want to be fixed? ¡°Money isn¡¯t¡­¡± Mom trailed off, pinching the bridge of her nose. ¡°Maxis, money can¡¯t solve this problem.¡± ¡°Yeah, I realized that pretty quickly. Sam helped me on that front, and made me realize how short-sighted I was being,¡± I wrinkled my nose at my prior stupidity. ¡°It¡¯s partly the reason I¡¯ve decided to come clean with you. I have an idea, and it¡¯s only going to work if you understand what I¡¯m doing,¡± I saw her open her mouth to say something, but I held up a hand to stop her. ¡°One question first, before we go there.¡± Mom looked skeptical. ¡°Okay.¡± I had to know. ¡°Are you still in contact with him?¡± Mom read my intentions instantly. ¡°He¡¯s not that kind of Biokinetic. He¡¯s unable to heal me,¡± she explained. ¡°I last spoke to him six years ago. Our conversation was brief. We didn¡¯t speak about much,¡± Mom¡¯s expression changed to something akin to longing. ¡°I called him. I wanted to see how he was doing, how he was coping with work,¡± then she giggled. ¡°I suppose¡­ I wanted to hear his voice again.¡± The uneasy knot in my stomach returned. ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± I asked. Years worth of suppressed curiosity reignited, and knowing he was a Super only added more kindling to the fire. ¡°Can you tell me that much?¡± ¡°His name is Victor,¡± Mom replied without a shred of hesitation. ¡°Unless you¡¯re looking for his Evohuman designation, which I¡¯m sorry to say I don¡¯t know. He¡¯s never had one as far as I was aware. He¡¯s managed to remain incognito because of the contacts he made prior to his Awakening. Unfortunately, he never shared that information with me.¡± ¡°Did he ever tell you what kind of Biokinetic he was?¡± ¡°He shared his work with me on occasion. Esoteric Accelerated Organisms, he called his speciality. A bit of a mouthful, I¡¯ll admit,¡± Mom said with a laugh. ¡°As to what it actually means, well, your guess is as good as mine. He wasn¡¯t the kind of Biokinetic that liked to do a lot of cutting and replacing. He was obsessed with starting from square one, watching and noting the different evolutionary factors he put in.¡± ¡°He¡­ grew things?¡± ¡°All sorts of things. Plants, mostly.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± Mom gave me a soft smile. ¡°Enough about that, what about this idea you have?¡± She spoke softly, redirecting my thoughts back to the initial topic. ¡°I would like to hear it. Color me¡­ intrigued.¡± I stared at her, conflicted. I wanted to smile ¨C to grin with pride. It had gestated within my mind over the last couple of days. I had more time now ¨C time to develop more sophisticated technology along with my understanding of it. There was a lot of ground to cover, and the resources I had at my disposal would only accelerate that. It was an incredible development that could open up so many opportunities. But all I could focus on was the knot of doubt in my stomach. My father was a Super, and one that was still active to boot. I understood this world better than Mom did, and there was no way he was as incognito as she suggested. He was out there somewhere working for someone. Not only that, but him being a Super meant that I was second generation Evohuman. That wasn¡¯t a fact I could ignore. There were implications that I needed to consider now, namely the evolutionary rate at which second generation powers tended to evolve. Regardless, I needed to keep my thoughts on track. Researching my father could come later. Right now, he wasn¡¯t particularly relevant to the discussion. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to expand my area of expertise,¡± I said, looking up to meet her gaze. ¡°Tell me, how do you feel about cybernetics? If you ask me, I think you could do with a new spine.¡± Finalize Interlude A - Prosperity Abby claimed the soundproofing installed inside the Citadel was the best money could buy. Whoever designed the materials didn¡¯t consider a Transfiguration Case like Amelia. All night, her vulpine ears twitched incessantly, picking up the sounds of fighting and destruction. Naturally, Amelia and the rest of the Rookies found themselves confined to the Citadel for their safety. Abby was the only exception to that rule because she had the most experience. Amelia knew her experience didn¡¯t extend to an active warzone, but it was clear that Abby knew the ins and outs of superheroing. Amelia tossed and turned in her bed, unable to get a wink of sleep with the whole Citadel in a state of emergency. There was only one alarm she needed to wait for. It would sound like a low-pitched whining, repeating over and over. The city-wide evacuation alarm. Fortunately, that alarm never came, and the morning sun rose over a desecrated Bayside. The Citadel¡¯s emergency lockdown lifted at nine in the morning, letting Amelia finally see what had happened from the small window in her designated room. The sight of all the smoke and carnage made her heart ache. A knock at the door tore her attention away from the window. ¡°It¡¯s Jason.¡± Amelia considered whether or not she should answer. It would be easy to pretend to be asleep, but if Seer was here, he came here for a reason outside pleasantries. Tricky and Copycat often came by to say hi, but she only felt comfortable opening the door for Comet. If Seraphim bothered to stop by, maybe Amelia would open the door, but the older girl felt distant. That was a sentiment everyone shared, so thankfully, it wasn¡¯t because she found Amelia¡¯s company undesirable. God only knows Amelia had enough self-confidence issues to begin with. Her superpowers only made everything worse. ¡°I¡¯m awake,¡± Amelia called, moving away from the window. ¡°Do you need me for something?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a meeting in the common room. Sparrow¡¯s called it. I know Abby¡¯s normally the one to come and get you but she¡¯s exhausted. She¡¯s resting up there as we speak,¡± Jason explained. ¡°Are you¡­ decent? It¡¯s an urgent meeting, so we need to go now.¡± Amelia opened the door, ignoring the need to dress in something more than sweatpants and a gray shirt with The ECU¡¯s logo splashed across the front. It wasn¡¯t very flattering, but Amelia could not care less how she looked after the restless night she had. Jason didn¡¯t look much better. He wore trousers, slippers, and a loose-fitting jacket over a singlet. It might be the middle of Winter, but Amelia didn¡¯t feel the bite of the cold with the Citadel¡¯s superior heating and insulation. ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep much last night,¡± Amelia offered an idle shrug, pointing to her twitching ears. ¡°I heard a lot of chaos outside.¡± When Jason continued to stare at her, she remembered that his powers blinded him. Feeling like a fool, she let her hand fall to her side. ¡°I don¡¯t imagine anyone got much sleep with everything that happened.¡± Jason hummed as Amelia shut and locked her room before beginning to walk. ¡°Not me. I was tasked with helping some of the Mentalists. I provided support to our field operatives with my power,¡± Amelia noticed his hands curl into fists, a few of his knuckles popping. ¡°Even with my brief foresight, so many died. I should have been out there. It¡¯s hard for me to see the right lines when I¡¯m so far away from danger. It''s frustrating not being able to use my abilities to their fullest extent.¡± Amelia huffed at his frustration. ¡°At least you got to help. I was ordered to sit in my room all night. I could have been out there helping people too,¡± Amelia thought back to the night when Ionizer took her out with Comet. Ionizer got an extensive reprimanding while she had received an avalanche of apologies. Despite that, Amelia felt like she was being locked up in the Citadel all day as punishment. ¡°I know I¡¯m not experienced enough, but I could have saved some people.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t want us near conflict like that. We¡¯re too young. It¡¯s bad enough Abby is called on to contribute, but she is always assigned to Domination¡¯s side. She might get to go out there, but she¡¯s still got supervision. Her powers give her a wider defensive capability than the rest of us. All we have to protect ourselves with is Nanoforge¡¯s armor.¡± ¡°I¡¯m durable,¡± Amelia lightly protested. She knew this was a stupid argument, as Seer wasn¡¯t the one to make the calls, but she felt like venting anyway. ¡°My transformation has a pretty big enhancement rating, right? I can take some punishment.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the least experienced of all of us. Every line I simulate with you going out last night ends with you dead, or brutally maimed.¡± She grumbled under her breath. Amelia knew that¡¯s where the crux of the problem stemmed from. She had studied the different procedures well enough, but her field experience was lacking. An active war zone was not a good place to improve on those areas, regardless of how effective a trial by fire would be. ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯m allowed to be bitter about it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already come a long way in a short time,¡± Jason praised with a smile. ¡°When you showed up here, you were more nervous than anyone I¡¯ve ever seen. Now, you¡¯re itching to get back out there and make a difference. Bit of a far cry from what I expected.¡± Amelia thought back to the events of her first patrol. She was lasered by that guy in the black armor, accidentally set a building on fire, got swarmed by a bunch of drones, and experienced first-hand what Grim was capable of. If there were any apprehensions about her future, they were murdered and buried that night. Amelia wasn¡¯t sure what else she had left to fear. ¡°As you might have heard, my first outing was one hell of an icebreaker.¡± Jason sighed. ¡°Yeah, I heard about that. Messy,¡± he rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°Things around here tend to get quite tense when people start dying. There¡¯s a lot of anger, and for good reason. The only problem is directing that anger and turning it into a force for positive change,¡± he took a slow, controlled breath. ¡°Not everyone here is capable of doing that. A lot of the soldiers¡­ things get violent.¡± Amelia shuddered. She wasn¡¯t stupid. Police brutality had existed long before people started getting superpowers. There was no reason the ECU would be any different. They had more tools to prevent it, but cases tended to slip through the cracks when certain events spiral out of control, much like last night. ¡°You see that stuff with your power?¡± Jason nodded. ¡°Bits and pieces, when I look for the right lines. There are already investigations underway. Sparrow and some of the higher ups have already asked for my testimony. It¡¯s hard for them to gather solid evidence though, so all I can do is point them in the right direction ¨C highlight the problems, so to speak,¡± he explained, his frown deepening. ¡°It always seems to happen, and it doesn¡¯t feel like the problem is getting any better.¡± Amelia deflated at the admission. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. That can¡¯t be easy to deal with.¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. Then again, none of our roles are,¡± Jason reasoned with a shrug. ¡°We¡¯ve all been given these powers for whatever reason. We have to do the best we can to help the ones in charge keep order, otherwise everything will crumble. There¡¯s no line I¡¯ve seen where things get easier.¡± The responsibility loomed over Amelia like a swinging pendulum. When her parents signed her up with the Rookies, she understood that her old life disappeared. There was no way to recapture what she once had. The most difficult part was moving forward with the idea that soon, she would be endangering herself for the good of the people. The ECU would ensure Amelia¡¯s services would equal stable pay, and the insurance plans her parents received were beyond what anyone could scarcely imagine. In the end, wealth piloted the decision making for people, and she suspected her parents were no exception to that rule. When Amelia and Jason arrived, they found every hero on the roster present. The only one missing, strangely enough, was Ionizer. If they guessed, they would have assumed his absence was intentional. With a quick simulation from Seer, he would confirm that. ¡°You¡¯re on time!¡± Sparrow called, expressing delight. She walked and handed them two dossiers that looked cobbled together in less than five minutes. Loose paper almost fell out of Amelia¡¯s, and she struggled to catch them before they fell. ¡°There¡¯s a lot to go over, so find a seat and open those ears.¡± Amelia laughed awkwardly. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not a problem for me. See, I¡¯m all ears!¡± Sparrow smiled while Tricky called out from his seat on the couch. ¡°Hey, nice one!¡± Amelia groaned and went to look for an open seat. When she couldn¡¯t find one spacious enough to fit her tail, she chose to stand at the kitchen counter next to Dreamweaver. On her way over, she caught sight of Comet and Domination. They were dressed in their armored costumes and appeared to have dragged half of Bayside¡¯s filth with them. Comet¡¯s expression was dead, the dossier in her hand hanging limp while her mother remained stern. Amelia tried to catch Comet¡¯s attention with a friendly wave, but the girl¡¯s attention was a thousand miles away. Last night must have been awful to have someone with Comet¡¯s spunk looking like a squeezed wet rag. ¡°Thank you all for coming on such short notice. There is a lot to go over, but I hope I will not keep you all long. Myself and the rest of the senior heroes still have a lot of crisis management to do,¡± Sparrow informed, her tone turning serious. ¡°The reason for this impromptu meeting is to catch you all up to speed on what¡¯s happened so that you are aware of what¡¯s going on during your deployment.¡± ¡°Deployment?¡± Copycat frowned. ¡°Hold up, are we going out there?¡± ¡°The majority of the danger has passed. Upper management and Mentalist support decided it is safe for you to patrol and help with cleanup efforts,¡± Sparrow replied. ¡°However, there is still significant unrest amongst many communities. Violence is¡­ well, abundant.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± Tricky said. ¡°Finally, we get to crack some skulls. Been tired of doing the same ol¡¯ walk about. I was gonna start asking you if I could bring my dog along.¡± ¡°Tricky,¡± Sparrow said sternly. ¡°Please remain quiet for the rest of the meeting, unless I prompt you with questions.¡± His smile disappeared in a flash. ¡°Aw man.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Sparrow gave him a small nod before turning to the rest of the room. ¡°As I have said, the majority of the danger has passed and in the coming days, we expect to see a shift in Bayside¡¯s power structure. The Cains¡¯ influence is expected to minimize with Nemesis'' death and Grim¡¯s capture. We also have confirmation that Gold Rush and Banshee have fled the city.¡± Amelia had to stop her jaw from hitting the kitchen counter. She remembered not too long ago how quickly The Cains had established themselves. Grim¡¯s arrival in Bayside had made headlines, and people expected unrestrained destruction to follow. When it didn¡¯t, and The Cains rose to prominence, confusion gripped the city by the jugular. Grim starting a gang? People thought Hell was freezing over. Now, overnight, they crumbled to nothing and vanished. The only thing that made them a serious threat was now in custody. How The ECU managed to contain the man Amelia had no idea, but it seemed to be working. ¡°We got Grim?¡± Seraphim¡¯s voice sounded somewhere between hollow and shocked. ¡°How are¡ª¡± she paused and shook her head as if the idea were absurd. ¡°How are we holding him? It wasn¡¯t that long ago that we had Bonesmith in custody and he escaped. How are we expected to hold someone as powerful as Grim?¡± ¡°There is no need for concern,¡± Lich¡¯s gruff voice intoned. ¡°Gaea saw to it that he would never trouble anyone again.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°The details are classified,¡± Sparrow quickly interjected before anyone could ask. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we are not allowed to speak on specifics. I¡¯m sure you can all use your imaginations, considering that Gaea was involved in his arrest.¡± Amelia shuddered as her mind ran wild. She was sure her other Rookie teammates were doing the same, except for Comet. Maybe that¡¯s why Comet looked so horrified. She saw what Gaea did to Grim, and it scared her. If that was the case, Amelia didn¡¯t want to think what fate befell the genocidal maniac. ¡°So The Cains are gone. What of Mirage and Bonesmith? You haven¡¯t said anything about what¡¯s happened to them,¡± Seer asked. ¡°Are they not capable of keeping what remains of The Cains together? I¡¯m not able to model Mirage properly as my information on him is limited. My lines are blurry. Bonesmith is a similar case but his file notes that he was a leader of the armada that Ajax destroyed.¡± Amelia watched Sparrow and the other senior heroes exchange concerned looks. ¡°You believe they might try to hold together what¡¯s left of the gang?¡± Sparrow asked. Seer gave a half shrug. ¡°Like I said, my lines are blurry. I can see Bonesmith trying with varying degrees of success.¡± Sparrow nodded. ¡°Well, let¡¯s revisit that in a moment. Everyone, please open the dossier I handed out.¡± Amelia looked down and opened the first page. It was blank except for text splashed across the middle of the page that read ¡®Madhouse.¡¯ She flipped the page and lost her breath. This page contained various images of a black alien-like figure with disproportionate limbs. Some were screenshots of CCTV footage, others were photographs, while two or three were sketches. Amelia had encountered this Super before. ¡°This is Anomaly. He is a B-Class Morpher with tentative C-Class Enhancement capabilities. As of last night, his profile has been updated to include C-Class Cosmikinetic abilities,¡± Sparrow explained. ¡°Until recently, we¡¯ve considered him to be a low priority threat as his crimes only extend to petty theft with occasional aggravated assaults against various gangs. Now, he has joined a new rising group who are calling themselves ¡®Madhouse.¡¯ They¡¯ve also been relatively low priority.¡± Seraphim hummed. ¡°That explains why we haven¡¯t heard of them.¡± Copycat scoffed. ¡°Small groups rise up all the time. There¡¯s probably more than forty or fifty in the city. They all fizzle out and die at some point,¡± he flipped a few more pages on the dossier, and his brow rose considerably before turning back to Anomaly¡¯s page. ¡°I guess it looks like these guys are going to be the next big thing. Lucky them.¡± Nobody missed the dryness in his tone. Abby had told Amelia that Copycat used to run one of those small groups before his recruitment into the Rookies. Lich and Dreamweaver had been the ones to capture him, and because of his age, he was allowed to dodge the charges against him if he joined. To Amelia, that felt like a cop-out. ¡°Anomaly is a powerful Morpher. We have confirmed solutions to deal with him,¡± Sparrow continued. ¡°However, they are very specific. If you encounter him, I urge you to call for backup and do not engage.¡± No one raised an issue or looked dissatisfied with that. When everyone turned the page, Amelia stared at a figure she didn¡¯t quite recognize. There were multiple images of statues. The primary image was a girl made of solid bronze. Her features weren¡¯t distinct, so Amelia didn¡¯t know who she was staring at. The only thing she had to go off was the name written at the top of the page. ¡°Vigil is another B-Class Morpher, but unfortunately we do not have much information on her. Mentalist support believes she is a newly Awakened and a victim of the recent experiments performed by The Cains,¡± Sparrow explained. ¡°We have placed a tentative A-Class Enhancement rating on her statues, as they were recorded to be immensely durable when sighted last night.¡± Amelia immediately recalled the unconscious girl she saw Madhouse rescuing on her first night out. She had to be the same girl. Didn¡¯t the ECU have her identity? Her face hadn¡¯t been concealed during that encounter. Surely, they would have figured out who she was. Scanning the paper, Amelia found no civilian name. If they knew, they had redacted it. ¡°Her statues move when unobserved,¡± Lich pointed to the dossier. ¡°That information needs to be recorded. It¡¯s not stated here.¡± ¡°Apologies, an oversight on my end,¡± Sparrow said with a weak laugh. ¡°Long night for all of us. I¡¯ll correct that as soon as I can.¡± Lich nodded slowly. ¡°Hang on, statues. As in, plural?¡± Seraphim¡¯s eyes scanned the page, examining each photograph with a careful eye. Amelia did the same. While the primary image showed Vigil as a bronze statue, there were others where she was gold, glass, stone, and even wood. ¡°She doesn¡¯t just turn into statues? There are multiple?¡± ¡°Oh hell no,¡± Tricky shook his head, closing the dossier. ¡°That¡¯s some horror movie shit. I ain¡¯t about that. You guys are joking, right? They can only move when you¡¯re not looking at them? How fast can they go?¡± The senior heroes exchanged worried looks, and Amelia felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The uncertainty wasn¡¯t a good feeling for anyone. ¡°Fast,¡± Sparrow said. ¡°Even with Mentalist support, calculating their movement capabilities has proved to be troublesome. They¡¯re able to move instantaneously anywhere from up to thirty meters.¡± There was a distinctly uncomfortable silence as Sparrow followed it up with a short clarification. ¡°When¡­ unobserved.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t blink,¡± Lich advised. Copycat chuckled. ¡°You ever tried not blinking?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to try,¡± Lich said bluntly. ¡°It¡¯s the obvious solution until another can be devised. I imagine we¡¯ll be commissioning our Mechakinetics to create something to lock her statues in place.¡± On the next page, Amelia found a collage of smirking blondes staring at her. If there was one face that stuck in her mind from her first night out, it was this one. ¡°This is Alice, previously known as Split. She has ratings in most classifications which makes her a C-Class Aspect. A-Class Mentalist, B-Class Enhancements, C-Class Cosmikinetic, and an E-Class Mechakinetic. Yes, as you can see, she used to be a Rookie from the California branch,¡± Sparrow explained. ¡°A lot of our information on Alice is outdated, but her recent involvements here have allowed us to compile more data.¡± ¡°Caitlyn Whiterose?¡± Copycat read aloud, looking up from the dossier. ¡°Did you guys uh¡­ forget to redact that? I thought we¡¯re all about keeping their civilian identities a secret or something. You guys did the same for me,¡± he paused, giving Sparrow an icy glare. ¡°Presumably.¡± Sparrow offered an understanding smile. ¡°While that is her legal name, we have reason to believe she has taken up a new one to help her transition into a new life. She has done well to cover her tracks, and we suspect she has used her skills to help her associates cover theirs as well. Their civilian identities are unknown to us,¡± Sparrow said, her smile twisting into a frown. ¡°I¡¯m sure it has nothing to do with the series of security breaches we¡¯ve had over the last few months.¡± Amelia heard a series of frustrated grunts come from the senior heroes. ¡°Our IT department is doing their best,¡± Domination added diplomatically. ¡°We are all aware it is not enough. There is no sense complaining about it.¡± ¡°Man, she has such a punchable face,¡± Tricky mused. ¡°Please tell me we¡¯re allowed to take a shot at her if we see her.¡± ¡°No,¡± Domination said, crushing his hopes and dreams. ¡°We are sharing this information with you so you know who you¡¯re supposed to call backup for.¡± The bitterness on Tricky¡¯s face was obvious to everyone. Amelia knew from her first meeting with him that he struggled with authority. He was the youngest of the Rookies, and his immaturity showed. His powers were quite impressive during the few team-building exercises she attended, but it was clear that his versatility and importance went to his head. Finally, Amelia turned to the last page of the dossier. When she saw the portrait of Madhouse¡¯s last member, she felt phantom pains in her leg. Whenever she thought about him, he angered her. What if his weapon had crippled her? The wound might not have translated to her human form, but the pain was still real. Amelia still felt the searing pain from having a laser explode on her hind leg. ¡°Here, we have Upgrade. He is an A-Class Mechakinetic with a tentative S-Class Mechakinetic capability¨C¡± ¡°Wait a minute. S-Class?¡± Seraphim choked out a laugh. ¡°Are you serious? We already have Gaea to worry about, and we just got rid of Grim. What makes this guy a tentative S-Class?¡± Domination cleared her throat, drawing the room¡¯s attention to her. ¡°Traditionally, Mechakinetics are easy to capture. Most ¨C without exception ¨C are forced to be daring to acquire the necessary resources to use their power,¡± Domination explained. ¡°For this reason, we have every junkyard and landfill site monitored with twenty-four seven surveillance. We have weekly reports from every electronics shop in the city for suspect purchases, along with footage for who made what purchase.¡± Copycat snorted. ¡°So much for privacy.¡± ¡°The point is, Mechakinetics struggle to maintain secrecy during their earlier days,¡± Domination continued. ¡°Upgrade¡¯s presence did not go unnoticed. We saw him advertising his services online, and our Mentalist support deemed him a low priority. They believed he had no intention to escalate his activities.¡± So far, if Amelia were to take anything away from this meeting, it was this: The ECU needed better Mentalist support as soon as feasibly possible. If Mentalist support misjudged Upgrade that badly, she wasn¡¯t sure any of their predictions could be reliable. ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer my question,¡± Seraphim argued. ¡°Why the tentative S-Class rating?¡± Domination scowled. ¡°During his active period, he has developed impressive rudimentary Mechatechnology without the need of procuring the necessary resources. Normally, that would lead us to assuming he has a private supplier. It¡¯s not unheard of for Mechakinetics in the past to already have connections to allow them to develop their own technology without leaving a trace,¡± Domination explained. ¡°However, Comet and I witnessed what we believe to be a primary function of his powers last night. Turn the page.¡± Everyone turned the last page to look at the back. There were more images of Upgrade, specifically from the previous night. They were deeply annotated, overflowing with sticky notes. One pointed to an image obscured by darkness, highlighting in bold letters that read ¡®SURVIVED GRIM¡¯S SHADOW¡¯ and ¡®EQUIPMENT HEAVILY DAMAGED.¡¯ Amelia followed the arrows drawn from the notes to more pictures showing Upgrade¡¯s armor and bike in disrepair. Then she continued to find more images showing his armor and bike fully repaired. They were all timestamped, and the codes were minutes apart. The notes were scribbled so messily that she struggled to put together what was trying to be said. Amelia raised a hand. ¡°I um¡­ don¡¯t quite understand.¡± All heads turned to her, and her Rookie teammates shared her sentiment. Domination gave a simple nod. ¡°From last night¡¯s events, we believe Upgrade is a Mechakinetic who is capable of operating without the need for resources, making him the world¡¯s first Mechakinetic with a supplement Cosmikinetic rating. To make things simplier, S-Class Mechakinetic.¡± Amelia could only name one S-Class Mechakinetic, and they had a worldwide neutrality treaty because of their giant orbiting camouflaged space station. ¡°Uh, how long has this guy been active?¡± Tricky asked, all the humor and cheekiness gone from his voice. ¡°Cause like, if you guys are serious, then how hasn¡¯t he taken over the city by now? The picture you guys are painting makes him sound like¡­ I dunno, the new Ajax?¡± For once, Amelia felt like she could say she and Tricky were on the same wavelength. ¡°While he might not need resources, that does not mean he has no limitations,¡± Sparrow said. ¡°What those limitations are, we cannot be sure.¡± Seraphim rubbed her face and sighed. ¡°Wonderful.¡± ¡°I would like to amend my earlier predictions,¡± Seer cut in, his tone grave. Amelia detected a sense of dread in his voice, which only made her fears grow exponentially. A quick look at Comet showed her dead expression had vanished, her focus locking on Seer. ¡°Mirage and Bonesmith will not be able to hold the rest of The Cains together. With Madhouse here, they will fail with absolute certainty, this is assuming they even try.¡± Sparrow let out a weak laugh. ¡°Yeah, see I figured you¡¯d change your¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m not finished,¡± Seer cut her off. Everyone saw how tense he was. He gripped the dossier so tightly he might¡¯ve ripped it in half if he wasn¡¯t careful. ¡°I¡¯ve simulated a line with the information you¡¯ve provided me. How¡ª¡± Amelia could have sworn she heard his voice crack. ¡°How accurate can you claim this information is? To the nth degree, if possible please.¡± Sparrow and Domination turned to look at one another before Domination answered. ¡°If it means anything, our Mentalist support believes these summaries to be ninety-six percent accurate. A full comprehensive understanding of their abilities can only be acquired by asking them, and we already suspect how that conversation will go,¡± Domination said evenly. She and everyone else in the room eyed Seer¡¯s reaction. The corner of his mouth twitched as sweat rolled down his forehead. ¡°Seer, what is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just The Cains. If things continue without intervention, it¡¯ll be Pandora and The Queen¡¯s Court as well. They¡¯ll crumble,¡± Seer shut his dossier. ¡°Us too. We¡¯re all in line. The Bayside branch will be the last to fall. After that, there¡­ there won¡¯t be a city left.¡± ¡°What?¡± Sparrow sounded horrified. ¡°All because of Madhouse?¡± ¡°No,¡± Seer¡¯s features twisted as he looked down at the dossier. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t say for certain, but they¡¯re involved. Especially Upgrade.¡± ¡°How long?¡± Domination demanded. ¡°How long do we have?¡± Seer swallowed a lump in his throat. ¡°Three months.¡± Amelia felt sick. She should have bitten his head clean off when she had the chance. Finalize Interlude B - Wildfire Han Kim loathed this task, not because he didn¡¯t enjoy it, but because it was required. In this world, Han found the generous gifts humanity received bequeathed to the unworthy, those who would abuse their position for personal gain. The unfortunate reality was Pandora tended to pick up these particular individuals frequently. As Wildfire, Han¡¯s job was to ensure they stayed in line and to discipline those who dared to bite the hand that fed them. Some sought to take advantage of the chaos Grim unleashed upon Bayside, and many happened to be within the ranks of his glorious organization. Treachery would not go unpunished. Calmly, Han pulled over to the curb in a quiet suburban neighborhood that had luckily escaped Grim¡¯s rampage. It was well outside of Pandora''s territory, so taking care of his surroundings was something he was aware he needed to do. In a world like his, eyes and ears were everywhere, and no one could know with certainty who was watching. Han exited the unmarked vehicle and smoothed the wrinkles out of his suit¡¯s blazer. His eyes scanned the neighborhood for his target, a mundane home with dark red tiled roofing. The description was vague, but it was the best Pandora¡¯s Mentalists could manage with such limited information. He was sure it would prove to be enough. If this home turned out to be a dud, the scope would narrow, and his Mentalist support could operate more efficiently. With their help, this would be the fifth building he had visited. He was confident this would be the one. Something in his gut told him this would be the place. Han locked the car and strolled onto the sidewalk, his polished brown shoes clicking against the concrete. His movements mimicked a leisurely stroll, but it was a practiced facade. To move about in a city packed with sheep, the wolf must learn to blend in. Even in an empty, quiet neighborhood like this, dropping the veil couldn¡¯t be done. Some eyes and ears might be absent now, but there was no certainty they would be later. Time was a fickle concept few had the power to skirt. Arriving at the house, he opened the front gate and stepped onto uneven gravel. The garden was unkempt, and the rest of the home mirrored its condition. Han felt unclean breathing in the atmosphere that surrounded the place. It made him sick, almost as much as the people occupying it. Ascending the steps, Han didn¡¯t bother to knock. He let himself in. The state of the house¡¯s interior was no better. There was a distinct smell of moldy food wafting from the kitchen, visible dust on every surface, and various articles of clothing haphazardly scattered across the floor. The implication of debauchery boiled his blood enough for visible heat waves to appear around him. Thankfully, he reined himself in. Melting down at his age was embarrassing and unbecoming of someone in his position. Sounds of a sexual nature emanated from the upstairs bedroom, and Han began toward it with no urgency. He climbed to the house¡¯s second floor, the carpeted stairs muffling his advance. When reaching the top, Han found three children huddled outside a door where the sounds originated. As he approached, he noted their appearances. Thankfully, they were clothed ¨C to some degree. A fifteen-year-old boy tried desperately to cover the ears of two younger girls. Each of them had visible injuries, with the boy seeming to have taken the brunt of the abuse with a nasty-looking black eye. When the boy noticed Han, he flinched and pulled the girls closer. Han stopped and observed them with controlled wrath. ¡°Your name, boy.¡± The boy shook, trying to summon the courage to respond. Han could see he had been through quite the ordeal from his disheveled appearance, but the older man didn¡¯t have time to console him or his company. He came for a single purpose. To restore Pandora¡¯s integrity by removing problematic members. ¡°T-Travis, sir.¡± ¡°Travis,¡± Han said, eyeing the boy closely. ¡°These girls are your family? A simple yes or no will suffice.¡± Travis nodded. ¡°Y-Yes, sir.¡± Han¡¯s gaze shifted to the door where the obscene sounds came from. While his fury burned, he kept it contained. He needed a little bit more information before delivering the punishment. These children ¨C Travis ¨C understood who he was. He might not be in costume, but he carried the authority of a Pandora superior. When his eyes settled on the children again, he noted the tattoo on their hands. It resembled an owl perched on a tree branch. A grumble escaped Han¡¯s throat. ¡°You belonged to Insight. My condolences,¡± Han said, his tone even. ¡°Did they touch you?¡± Travis¡¯ lip quivered, and without speaking, he shakily nodded. ¡°I see,¡± Han¡¯s fingers curled as his eyes fell on the two shaking girls in the boy¡¯s arms. ¡°And the girls? How about them?¡± ¡°N-No. Mum, she¡ª¡± Han cut the boy off with a simple raised hand. ¡°There is no need to speak further. I understand.¡± Han found a nearby closet containing various sheets and towels. Retrieving them, he handed them over to Travis. Hesitantly, the boy reached and grasped the bundled fabric, understanding the silent instruction. He carefully wrapped his sisters in the sheets before wrapping himself in a towel. ¡°Outside there is a black car. You will take your sisters and wait for me there. Do not look at or speak to anyone. If anyone attempts to confront you, ensure that you and your sisters remain covered. Avoid eye contact at all costs. Am I understood?¡± ¡°Y-Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Good. Go, now.¡± The boy spared a look at the door before swallowing the lump in his throat. Seconds later, he was herding his distraught sisters down the stairs and out of the house. Until they had left his sight, Han did not take his eyes off them. Once they were gone, he returned his attention to the door. Without hesitation, Han moved and calmly opened it. The sight that greeted him was nothing he hadn¡¯t seen before. Han¡¯s jaded experiences had him expecting something more gruesome. Instead, the show before him was nothing more than adrenaline, hormonal-fueled lust that spat on every virtue that Pandora stood for. A young man and woman noticed him the moment he entered and scrambled for something to shield their modesty, leaving their victim exposed, bruised, and barely conscious on the bed. Then, the typical routine started. Their words came out with undisguised fear. Han could have written a small book of all the excuses he had heard over the years he performed this task. These two hedonists offered nothing new, spewing the same hopeless drivel all the rest did when they found themselves caught. The most common tactic, Han realized, was their attempt to appeal to Pandora¡¯s core virtue, that those without powers were lesser beings in need of direction from those gifted with power. Han despised this tactic. They twisted the words to suit their own wants and desires, and it made him sick. It was a perversion of their responsibility, and he would not stand for it. When Han¡¯s hands ignited, the two perpetrators began pointing the blame at each other. It would not help them. When he learned they had touched the boy, Travis, their fate had been sealed. They attempted to defend themselves when they realized their words fell on deaf ears. The young man¡¯s fingers twisted into blades while the woman¡¯s hair shifted and transformed into steel. Five seconds later, they were a pile of ashes. ¡°Such a waste,¡± Han muttered. Dusting off his suit, he strode across the room to the side of the bed. He looked down at the woman curled up on the stained mattress, shaking. Han stared at her, allowing a few minutes of silence for the woman to gather her bearings. When the quiet in the room lingered, she hesitantly peeked out from behind her arms. ¡°Your children are outside,¡± Han said, staring down at her with arms clasped tightly behind his back. ¡°As you are likely already aware, Insight is dead. Without your husband, you¡¯re without protection. I will see to it that you and your children are placed temporarily in my care.¡± The woman did not respond. In a haze, she managed to slowly push herself upright, her hands roaming and grasping at sheets to cover herself. When she finally looked up to meet his gaze, the woman flinched and looked away. Han understood the kind of effect he had on people, regardless of the situation. None of this was new to him. ¡°Collect what belongings you have. I will give you ten minutes.¡± Han turned and left. As he instructed, the children waited by his car. Unlocking it, he ordered them into the back seat. They clambered inside and huddled together. They didn¡¯t make noise, and none of them cried. Han didn¡¯t find this strange, as they likely had no more tears to shed. Only the trauma of what happened remained. The healing process would not be easy, but that was none of his concern. There were others within Pandora¡¯s ranks that were more suited for dealing with that than him. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Minutes later, the mother stumbled out of the home and down toward the car. ¡°T-Thank you.¡± Han simply gestured to the back of the car. She circled him and joined her children in the back seat. Han shut the door and pulled out his phone. It only took him a few seconds to find his desired contact and start calling. When the recipient picked up, he didn¡¯t give them a chance to speak. ¡°The matter is finished. All traitors have been dealt with.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all five then. Good work, Wildfire. It¡¯s a shame we couldn¡¯t make an example of them. Five in one night is too many. Recruits are going to start getting ideas.¡± ¡°Yes, unfortunate as it may be, we have more pressing issues than to schedule gatherings to make examples of traitors. I trust Liberation to be educating our recruits about the responsibility we have, especially in times like these,¡± Han glanced at the distressed family in the back seat of his car. The eldest boy was unlikely to develop powers, but the two girls were Insight¡¯s daughters. Like Lucy, there was a chance for them to become Moon-touched. ¡°Albatross, I¡¯m going to need you to do something for me. My replacement residence will be too small. I¡¯ll need something bigger. Five bedrooms, two bathrooms.¡± ¡°Oh, pick up some strays, did you?¡± ¡°Clawrend and Whiplash stole Insight¡¯s wife and children after murdering him. I¡¯ve recovered and promised them my hospitality,¡± Han explained. ¡°I intend to do good on my promise, until I am able to find them a suitable protector. It would put my mind at ease to know that Insight¡¯s investments are in safe hands.¡± ¡°Can do, can do. A shame your old place burnt down. It¡¯ll take some time to rebuild but damn, those Cain bastards really knew how to insult you, eh? Burning your house has got to sting.¡± ¡°Killing my daughter¡¯s future protector did them no favors,¡± Han replied coldly. ¡°By next week, I¡¯ll personally make sure every inch of this city has been purified of their filth. What news do you have for me on that front?¡± ¡°Ah, not much I¡¯m afraid. Whatever¡¯s left of them is getting picked off pretty quickly. We know that Nemesis is dead, and everyone saw what happened to Grim. Everyone else is pretty much up in the air. Got no clue where the others are, but my guess is they¡¯ll all be running, hiding, and shitting in alleys.¡± ¡°The splinter cell,¡± Han asked, his eyes narrowing. ¡°You¡¯ve heard nothing in regards to them?¡± ¡°Nah. Sorry. Mirage has always been more of a fuckin¡¯ ghost than Banshee. No one¡¯s seen Bonesmith since that meeting either. Hopefully, they¡¯ve fucked off out of the city, or decided to off themselves before we could feed them to city rats.¡± ¡°Very well. I intend to retrieve my daughter and return home. Message me the location of my new residence within the hour.¡± Han instructed. ¡°Gotcha. Safe travels, boss!¡± Han ended the call, pocketing his phone in one swift movement. Getting into the car, Han observed his passengers through the rearview mirror. They were deathly silent, unwilling to make even the slightest of sounds. They understood their position well enough. Insight taught them well, from Han¡¯s point of view. Travis held his sisters tightly while their mother sat awkwardly, a dead look etched into her features. ¡°I intend to retrieve my daughter. If you are hungry, require the restroom, or anything else, I¡¯ll allow it. Otherwise, you are allowed to talk amongst yourselves under the condition that your voices are not raised. Any questions?¡± A few moments later, one of the girls spoke up. ¡°What did you do to the bad people, mister?¡± ¡°I punished them, as befit the crime,¡± Han said. ¡°They will not trouble you again.¡± With that said, Han switched the car on and began the long drive north. The journey was made with minimal detours, much as Han expected. There was one bathroom break and one meal stop before leaving the city. Their horrific experience, understandably, still had them shaken up, but the girls stopped clinging to their older brother once they managed to get their hands on some food. Han did not expect the mood to lighten. Silence haunted the rest of the drive north. Han¡¯s parents lived in a remote cabin a few kilometers west of a much smaller, unnoteworthy town. It was surrounded by forestry, much to Han¡¯s displeasure, but his parents liked it here. The chaos that city life brought could not reach them, and they preferred the peaceful and uneventful calmness of the countryside. The chimney was smoking when Han parked outside, signaling that someone was home. Once Han had parked and switched off the car, the front door opened before he could exit his vehicle. With a frown, he watched Lucy march out of the cottage, looking more determined than he had ever seen her. She walked up and planted her feet right in front of him. ¡°Tell me what¡¯s happened. Mum¡¯s been worried sick and you haven¡¯t so much as called to let us know if the city is still in one piece!¡± ¡°I have been busy,¡± Han replied, his tone firm. ¡°Understand that I have not been in a position where communication was safe. The fighting, however, has concluded. Grim has been dealt with.¡± Lucy almost recoiled at the news. ¡°Grim¡¯s dead?¡± ¡°I did not say dead,¡± Han clarified. ¡°He was outwitted and lured into a trap. Gaea has ensured that he will no longer be an issue and left The ECU to take him. By this time next week, The Cains will be an afterthought.¡± He crossed his arms over his chest, watching his daughter process the information. Han knew his daughter¡¯s curiosity well, but he noted the look of concern that flashed across her face. ¡°I have come to bring you home.¡± ¡°Home?¡± Lucy blinked like the concept had no meaning to her. She was quick to snap out of it. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll go get Mum and¡ª¡± ¡°No, your mother will remain here,¡± Han said, looking toward the car. He pointed to the backseat, and Lucy followed his finger to see the people occupying the backseat. She looked unnerved by the development. ¡°Many in our ranks died, and some even turned their backs on our cause. Insight was murdered by traitors, and I have seized what is left of his belongings.¡± ¡°Are you kidding?¡± Lucy almost laughed. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough room at¡ª¡± ¡°Our home was burned to the ground. We have a new residence,¡± Han explained, leaving no room for discussion. ¡°I will hear no complaints from you. Am I understood?¡± Lucy grunted. ¡°Yeah, crystal.¡± Han buried the urge to slap her for the disrespectful tone. He remembered his youth well, and his parents had done the same. It had brought him in line well enough, but attempts to employ those methods with Lucy ended up with her fostering resentment. Over the years, he had learned different means of disciplining her, but adolescence proved to be a trying time. Lucy would grow out of it. ¡°Collect your things. We are leaving.¡± ¡°So soon, eh?¡± Han turned to see his elderly father with thinning grey hair. He carried a fishing line and a bucket. ¡°Even now, a starved hyena would have better manners than you. I suppose I am a hopeful fool to imagine that you would¡¯ve managed to banish that willful blindness of yours each time you visit.¡± Han scowled. ¡°I did not come to indulge in pleasantries, father.¡± ¡°You never do,¡± Han¡¯s father sadly shook his head. ¡°Ungrateful brat.¡± He continued to the cottage, sending Lucy a heartfelt, sorrowful stare. He climbed the steps to his home, removed his boots, and passed his wife at the door. She stood half an inch taller than her husband and had a fuller head of stark white hair. She didn¡¯t so much as look at her husband as he passed, her attention solely focused on her wayward son. ¡°Taken care of business, have you?¡± Han heard the mocking tone dripping from every word. ¡°And here you are, come to drag little Lucy back to Hell. I¡¯m half-tempted to send you on your way.¡± Han sighed. ¡°You waste your breath making threats you have no intention of following through with.¡± White fire bloomed, circling Han, the car, Lucy, and her Grandmother. The Grandmother shook with barely restrained rage as she angrily pointed toward Han, who didn¡¯t flinch at the display. It wasn¡¯t the first time his mother had done this, and Han knew it wouldn¡¯t be the last. His parents weren¡¯t particularly fond of him, and they didn¡¯t hesitate to let him know. But they were still family. He could trust his mother ¨C Prometheus ¨C to protect Lucy. ¡°Every time I look at you, I¡ª¡± ¡°Nana, please,¡± Lucy pleaded softly. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Slowly, the white fire died out, leaving a scorched ring in the front yard. The Grandmother closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. ¡°You don¡¯t need to follow this fool,¡± she said. ¡°He will poison you with his foul beliefs. I know what they¡¯re like ¨C and I too, found myself blind to their lies for quite some time.¡± ¡°Careful,¡± Han warned. ¡°My tolerance for blasphemous statements only stretches so far. I know I am not enough to deal with you alone, but anymore of that and I will return with others and deliver just¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, be quiet. Follow your own advice for once. Don¡¯t make threats you have no intention to follow through with.¡± His elderly mother said, throwing his words right back in his face. ¡°I speak only the truth you so desperately wish to deny. I will not deprive my granddaughter of critical wisdom.¡± If an audience were present, Han would have had to make an example of them to secure his standing within Pandora. Here, there was no one to hear the shameful dressing down, except the lessers crammed into the backseat of his car. A quick look showed they weren¡¯t even paying attention. The children appeared to be asleep, and the mother was still dissociating. ¡°Lucy,¡± Han returned his attention to his daughter. ¡°Your things. Now.¡± Lucy leaned in and hugged her Grandmother. Seconds later, she pulled away. ¡°Sorry, Nana. I¡¯ll try and come visit when I can,¡± she moved around the elderly woman and dashed inside, leaving Han and his mother alone. ¡°Well,¡± she started, her eyes drifting to the car. ¡°At least your father and I succeeded in teaching you something worthwhile.¡± Han¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It is our job as Chosen to lead our lessers toward a better future. They do not exist for our amusement.¡± His mother heaved another sigh and did not answer. Han didn¡¯t let her attitude get to him. Prometheus might have abandoned Pandora¡¯s cause, but Wildfire wouldn¡¯t. He would burn until the very last embers went out. Finalize Interlude C - Vigil ¡°What in the¡ª where the fuck did that come from?¡± Mia Coleman sat in a small cafe on the corner of a street several blocks from where those words were spoken, yet she heard them as though they were right next to her. Mia felt a sense of unease looking out the window at a shoe shop across the street. Her focus, however, wasn¡¯t on the shop but on where the statue was. ¡°I don¡¯t remember stealing from an art gallery.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not from a fuckin¡¯ art gallery, you moron. Did you idiots rip it out of the ground somewhere?¡± ¡°Look¡¯s pretty pricey. Is that solid gold? We could probably scam some bougie collector.¡± ¡°Miss?¡± Mia turned away and looked to see a smiling waiter standing at her table with a tray in hand. ¡°Large caramel latte?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you,¡± Mia thanked him with a weak smile. The waiter placed it in front of her before heading to a new table. The moment his back turned, the weak smile melted off her face, and Mia stared down at the hot beverage in front of her. Her hands gently wrapped around the ceramic mug, and not too long after, she began tapping the side of it with a fingernail. Uncertainty plagued her thoughts as her gaze drifted back out the window. The collapse of The Cains overnight set a wheel of events in motion. The stark shift in Bayside¡¯s atmosphere was mostly due to The ECU¡¯s excessive patrolling to ensure order and stability. Without powers, Mia would¡¯ve assumed they were doing a phenomenal job. Businesses were reopening and people were out in droves helping with the cleanup effort. Citizens were coming together to repair the damage Grim had caused, but there was a much uglier side that Mia was now privy to. Her power let her see what happened when the cameras weren¡¯t rolling and when the people weren¡¯t looking. It let her hear what was happening behind closed doors. Mia wanted to claw her eyes out of their sockets and rip out her eardrums. ¡°Could probably go for eight hundred, maybe nine¡ª wait, did it just fucking move?¡± ¡°Its hand moved!¡± ¡°Oh shit! Oh FUCK!¡± Mia sipped her latte as bullets began flying. Every impact felt like a phantom itch on her skin. It was easy to ignore, but sometimes Mia felt the urge to rub her arm or massage her hip when someone stumbled across one of her statues and touched them. Some only stopped to take the occasional photograph or admire the work of art. It didn¡¯t particularly bother her as people tended to ignore the statues most of the time. It made moving around exceptionally easy since people weren¡¯t on the lookout for her. Sam claimed that wouldn¡¯t last long, so her anonymity was her biggest strength. Unfortunately, The ECU had already figured it out. They somehow built a profile on her if Madhouse¡¯s newest sponsor was correct. Cyberspace kept a close eye on them, and Mia found The ECU had given her a name: Vigil. Mia had to admit, it was better than anything she had come up with. She never quite understood the culture that developed around naming Evohumans, but she knew the roots traced back to when humanity worshiped those with unexplainable powers. It all started with religion and mythologies. Now, the culture has shifted towards something like heroes and villains from comics and cartoons. The only part Mia understood was Evohumans using these alternative names to conceal their identities so they could live two separate lives. Some ¨C like Grim ¨C didn¡¯t bother. Their powers became their entire lives. It consumed them until they self-destructed, leaving everyone else to clean up the mess. The gunsmoke obscured the gangster''s vision of her statue, allowing her to move. Her gold copy moved too fast for the naked eye to catch. Knocking out the three criminals was easy, and Mia shuddered at how efficient she was starting to get. Her targets crumpled to the floor, their weapons clattering against the wooden floorboards as Mia calmly retrieved her phone. She opened her contact list and sent a single message. V - ¡®22 Archers Street, basement floor. Two men, one woman. All dealt with.¡¯ The reply only came seconds later. F - ¡®Clean up is en route. You have six more locations of interest.¡¯ Mia already had her statues moving into position. She wanted to pretend she didn¡¯t know why Cyberspace had asked her to perform this task instead of Sam or Max, but the reasoning was obvious. There was no discernible limitation to the range of her powers, and she could control up to fifteen statues at once. That wasn¡¯t even accounting for their durability and speed. Max fired one of his shoulder-mounted grenades at one of her statues so Sam¡¯s ¡®Gold¡¯ power could get a read on her statue¡¯s durability. All that managed to do was leave an ugly scorch mark. Once Mia had cleaned out the last six locations, a text informed her that she expunged the last Cain remnants from their new ¡®territory.¡¯ She wanted to laugh at the absurdity. Bayside was an entire city filled with people. The surrounding towns pushed their population over a million, and here she was listening to her ¡®teammates¡¯ and the people working for Cyberspace describe territory as if claiming a slice of Bayside was some kind of game. It wasn¡¯t a game. This city was home to thousands of people. It was home for her. The thought of home sent twinges of pain through her chest. Unbeknownst to everyone, Mia had kept one of her statues to watch over her house. It was a luxury lifestyle home, three stories, and on the fringes north of Bayside. Mia always hesitated to call herself ¡®rich,¡¯ but many of her friends saw it that way. Her parents were never short on money, and she always had everything she wanted growing up. It had been a comfortable life. Then, her parents'' work got in the way, and Mia¡¯s friends were all ripped away. It had been a painful move, but ultimately one her parents forced upon her. Mia found the abrupt move back to New Elpis to be jarring. Arguments between her parents became increasingly frequent until their aggression toward each other boiled over. Mia felt like a stranger in her home, and her parents sometimes treated her like one. The dysfunction eroded the cushy life she had come to love and replaced it with something ugly. She never could figure out why, but she had been close to an answer when The Cains had abducted her. Now, even the scraps of her old life were gone. She finished her latte, paid, and left the cafe without a word. Mia could still smell the ash in the air three days after Grim¡¯s rampage. The ECU still had Bayside in lockdown, but businesses opened only two days later. People still needed to eat and earn money. It startled her just how normal it felt. Even walking down the street felt like any other day. Even the lingering ash and stench of smoke in the air didn¡¯t seem out of place. Mia let her mind wander, directing her focus to the statue standing in her parent''s garden, blending in with the surroundings. Her mother and father walked by it countless times and hadn¡¯t even batted an eye at its appearance. Mia thought at least her mother would¡¯ve noticed, but no. The woman cut weeds, watered flowers, and even trimmed a few vines that had grown around the statue¡¯s feet. Mia¡¯s statues might as well be invisible. ¡°Laura,¡± Mia¡¯s father called out. The woman, Laura ¨C Mia¡¯s mother ¨C turned and watched him stroll down the front steps of their house. She was sat in a chair under an umbrella, with her attention fixated on Bayside. Their home was situated on a hill, so the view covered the northern area of Bayside ¨C the area firmly controlled by The ECU and The Queen¡¯s Court. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be out here.¡± ¡°I am hardly in any danger,¡± Laura replied resentfully. ¡°I thought you were talking with the representative handling our case.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve called multiple times today. The ECU are understandably busy¡ª¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I don¡¯t care if they¡¯re busy,¡± Laura sneered, the grip around her drink tightening. Mia was afraid she¡¯d break the glass and injure herself, but thankfully, it withstood her mother¡¯s strength. ¡°Our daughter is still out there somewhere in the city, galavanting around doing God only knows what. I want her back here safely, is that so much to ask!?¡± ¡°She was kidnapped¡ª¡± ¡°Mia escaped,¡± Laura corrected. ¡°And instead of coming home to her family, where she belongs, she opted to call to let us know that she was all sunshine and rainbows,¡± she growled, taking another sip of her drink. Mia¡¯s father moved to take the drink away from her, but Laura smacked his hand away. ¡°It¡¯s cranberry juice, not wine. I¡¯m not stupid enough to drink while pregnant, Tobias.¡± Mia froze halfway across a pedestrian crossing. It took her a few seconds to compose herself enough to finish crossing, but once she had, Mia took a moment to process what she just heard. ¡°Just making sure,¡± Tobias sighed. ¡°I can never be certain with you.¡± ¡°Look who''s talking,¡± Laura replied dully. ¡°Why have you come out here to bother me? I have enough to deal with, without your nagging.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been talking to a private investigator. With all the issues The ECU are dealing with, I don¡¯t see them prioritizing our case no matter how much money we throw at them. I figured this would be the better option,¡± Tobias explained. ¡°I¡¯ve verified his credentials and I think he¡¯s the right guy for the job.¡± ¡°Then put him to work, what are you talking to me for?¡± Laura asked. ¡°It¡¯s what he told me. He¡¯s done cases like this before. He said that there¡¯s a possibility Mia might¡¯ve developed powers,¡± Tobias said with an edge to his tone. ¡°Apparently, it¡¯s common for children to strike out on their own when they go through their, uh, Awakening. There¡¯s a chance that¡ª¡± ¡°Mia is nineteen. She is not a child, and she should know better,¡± Laura dismissed his concerns with a wave of her hand. ¡°If she¡¯s an Evohuman, all the more reason for her to be home with us. She can keep us safe. Whatever she¡¯s doing now cannot be more important than her family.¡± Mia swallowed an ugly lump in her throat. She was protecting them. Mia felt even more inclined to do that now that she had a sibling on the way. Her mother might be the one having the child, but Mia knew whatever life her sibling would have, it wouldn¡¯t be a healthy one without her around. Her mother and father changed over the years for the worse. Things never used to be like this. Mia remembered her childhood when her parents were happier. ¡°Just keeping you informed,¡± Tobias muttered, turning away. ¡°And for the record, that baby might be your family, but it certainly isn¡¯t mine.¡± Mia felt her world flip upside down as Laura spat out curses. ¡°I did what I needed to do to keep our family SAFE!¡± When Tobias didn¡¯t reply, Laura hurled the glass at him. Thankfully, it missed by a wide margin. Mia wrenched her attention away and blocked out the visual and audio sensations she received from the statue. Finding the nearest wall, she leaned against it to steady her breathing, fighting the urge to vomit. Her mind was a whirlwind. What did her mother mean by that? Had she cheated and gotten pregnant with someone else''s child to keep them safe somehow? That didn¡¯t make sense! When had this happened, and why had it been kept from her? Mia¡¯s thoughts came to a screeching halt when she noticed Sam tapping the statue she had left back at their new hideout. It was an impatient tapping against the statue''s cheek, and Sam would¡¯ve known it would catch her attention instantly. ¡°Sorry to interrupt your little walkabout, but I need a really big favor from you. It¡¯s important, and you¡¯re the only person with the power to pull something like this off,¡± Sam said. ¡°So if you could just switch places so I can have an actual conversation with you, that would be great. Talking to a statue kinda makes me feel weird, even if it is you.¡± Mia groaned and rested her head against the side of a building, catching the attention of a couple of concerned citizens. ¡°You okay?¡± An older woman asked. ¡°Bit early to be drunk, no?¡± ¡°Ah, no,¡± Mia laughed tiredly. ¡°It¡¯s not that. I¡¯m¡ª¡± ¡°Knock knock! I really need to talk, so can you mosey on over here?¡± Sam said impatiently. ¡°Please. Pretty please. Sugar and sprinkles on top. Marshmallows and chocolate. Come oooooooon, I¡¯m running out of nice things to say!¡± ¡°¡ªSorry,¡± Mia said. ¡°I have to uh, go.¡± She scuttled away awkwardly and found an alley to duck into. The statue Mia placed in Madhouse¡¯s new hideout sat in the corner of her room. There wasn¡¯t much to it yet, but Sam kept her word and was refurbishing the upstairs. It looked like she was busy with Mia¡¯s room but stopped to take a break to wipe off the paint smudges and brush the sawdust out of her hair. ¡°Are you ignoring me? No, you¡¯re not the type, which means you¡¯re trying to¡ª Oh, hey! You¡¯re here,¡± Sam clapped happily. ¡°Glad you could make it. I hope I wasn¡¯t interrupting anything important. I guess you were out to get some fresh air aaaaaand, never mind,¡± she paused when Mia scowled. ¡°I guess I did interrupt something. Ooh, no. Family stuff? That can¡¯t be good. If you ever wanna¡ª¡± ¡°Stop. Now.¡± Mia¡¯s cold demeanor had Sam¡¯s lips sealed with only two words. ¡°I understand that your powers give you insight into people¡¯s lives, but the least you could do ¨C when it comes to the people you are supposed to be friends with ¨C is lock that information away.¡± ¡°Aha¡­¡± Sam¡¯s awkward laugh only made Mia¡¯s eyes narrow. ¡°Right, sorry. I¡¯m still getting used to censoring myself. Max and Liam know, but up until recently, I¡¯ve been a solo act. I moved around on my own, only looking out for myself.¡± ¡°Make a better effort to look out for what you say,¡± Mia grumbled. ¡°Yes, I just discovered something troubling about my family. I don¡¯t imagine it¡¯ll be difficult for you to figure out, but I would appreciate it if you kept that information to yourself.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± Sam¡¯s grin melted away to a more sincere expression. ¡°I get you. My lips are sealed. If you ever want someone to talk to, just know I¡¯m around. Not sure if my advice can be helpful, but I haven¡¯t led anyone astray yet.¡± Mia was starting to get where Liam was coming from about Mentalists. Even though Sam seemed sincere, Mia couldn¡¯t bring herself to completely trust her. How Max put so much faith in her was beyond Mia. He seemed like a good guy, and maybe Sam was too, but something about her rubbed Mia the wrong way. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know,¡± Mia said. ¡°Anyway, what was so urgent you needed to talk right now? You said a favor?¡± ¡°Yes! A favor,¡± Sam rocked from side to side with an uncertain glint in her eyes. ¡°Something¡¯s been nagging me for a while now, and I¡¯ve put it to the side because I wasn¡¯t sure what to do. With you, I might be able to get to the bottom of it.¡± ¡°Why do I get the feeling I¡¯m not going to like this?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re not,¡± Sam admitted sheepishly. ¡°This is a delicate matter, and my curiosity is starting to get the better of me.¡± ¡°You know what people say about curiosity.¡± ¡°Yeah-yeah, but this might actually be really important,¡± Sam explained. ¡°I don¡¯t need that much from you, just some very discreet spying.¡± Mia considered her request for a moment. Sam wouldn¡¯t call this a favor if it conflicted with her morals. That meant she was going to ask Mia to spy on someone they knew, and between her and Sam, that could only be one of two people. She couldn¡¯t fathom what Sam wanted to know about Liam when it seemed clear all his dirty laundry was already out for everyone to see. That left only one person. ¡°Sam¡ª¡± ¡°Just hear me out.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t seriously be asking me to¡ª¡± ¡°Mia please, just¡­ hear me out.¡± Mia¡¯s nostrils flared. ¡°Just what the hell could you want to know about him? You¡¯ve known him for so long that you probably know almost everything about him. Let him have whatever privacy he can get from you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s his family, not him,¡± Sam ran a hand through her hair, her exasperation visible. ¡°Something¡¯s up with them. Did you know he¡¯s never met his sister? She¡¯s supposedly in her thirties and studying art in France. Now, don¡¯t get me wrong, studying abroad isn¡¯t totally unusual. My interest only got piqued when that thirty-something-year-old art student conveniently had connections to resourceful Supers and just so happened to have the information we needed.¡± Mia wanted to contest, but the way Sam put it did raise some red flags. ¡°So¡­ his sister is a little bit shifty? That¡¯s still not a reason for me to invade his privacy. This is all assuming I can even get my statues to France.¡± Sam snorted. ¡°Oh, nonono. I just want you to spy on his mom. She talks to Max¡¯s sister all the time. A statue nearby to listen in on what they talk about when Max isn¡¯t there is what I wanna know,¡± Sam said. ¡°I did a little bit of digging with Gold, but I haven¡¯t had much exposure to his mom to really figure anything out. I¡¯ve had more exposure to Alex, but there¡¯s only so much I can get through a computer screen.¡± Sam was right. Mia didn¡¯t like the sound of this favor. ¡°I still don¡¯t see¡ª¡± ¡°Let me put it this way,¡± Sam clapped. ¡°His mom is crippled, confined to a wheelchair because of an incident with the ECU and she refuses treatment for whatever reason. My first impression was that she¡¯s bitter about it, but Gold suspects there¡¯s something deeper there. Not only that, but he has a sister he¡¯s never met, who conveniently has connections to Supers. Come on, Mia, get that noggin¡¯ joggin¡¯. Tell me you see where this is going.¡± Curiosity began to eat away at her. She saw where Sam was coming from, but it didn¡¯t make spying on Max¡¯s family more appealing. ¡°He never really questions it either. Just keeps trucking along, forging ahead. Definitely headstrong, and admirable. He wants to fix his mom, which has led him to telling her about what he¡¯s been up to ¨C about all of us,¡± Sam explained with a longing look. ¡°Really, it¡¯s sweet. I like that, and it¡¯s why I wanna do this. If you ask me, I don¡¯t think his ¡®family¡¯ are who they say they are. I need you to help me prove that or prove me wrong.¡± If there was a single moment Mia could point to for an explanation as to why she detested having powers, it was this. ¡°Fine,¡± Mia muttered after moments of contemplation. ¡°But if this blows up in our faces, you¡¯re the one that¡¯s going to have to face the music.¡± Initialization 1 I grappled to a nearby roof, enabling night vision. I tracked two individuals blitzing down a darkened street, eager to flee from their pursuer. They wouldn¡¯t get very far, and it was only by sheer luck that they managed to evade me for as long as they had. Regardless, the chase would shortly end, and I would get what I came for. Eight objects were highlighted on my visor, closing in on the fleeing Supers. One shot a multicolored blast of light at one of the outlines, but it zipped out of the way. It wouldn¡¯t be long now because any second, they¡¯d turn another corner and find themselves at a dead end. I grappled to another rooftop and carefully watched the situation unfold. ¡°Are you suuuuure you¡¯ve got this handled?¡± Alice¡¯s voice sounded through my headpiece. ¡°I can be there before you can say ¡®lickity split.¡¯ Starburst and Basilisk haven¡¯t exactly proven cooperative.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need any help,¡± I reiterated for the hundredth time. ¡°Seriously, Alice. This isn¡¯t a big deal. You said it yourself, this sort of thing will only happen more often. We all need to learn how to deal with it. Besides, this is a good chance to test some of my new toys.¡± More multicolored bars of light shot into the sky, and my drones maneuvered out of the way. Warnings flashed across my visor, and prompts to permit offensive weaponry pinged me. I dismissed them because the weapon systems weren¡¯t what I was testing. I only recently implemented precision movement, path prediction, and automated defenses. Costly, sure, but entirely worth it. ¡°Alrighty then. Play nice with the kiddies. I¡¯ll just add the finishing touches to that special project of yours.¡± ¡°Try not to break it.¡± ¡°I would never!¡± Alice giggled menacingly. ¡°I detect a significant lack of faith in your adorable, cute, sexy¡ª¡± I cut communications and moved to catch up. My drones were about to corner the two fleeing supers at the end of a road blocked by rubble. While cleanup had started, sections of the city were still in disrepair. Those areas were closed off, but that didn¡¯t matter to these kids. They turned quickly into the blocked-off street, not realizing they were running into a dead end. It was unfortunate they couldn¡¯t fly. Starburst tried to destroy one of my drones with his powers, but avoiding his multicolored plasma beams proved trivial for my Mechatech. Basilisk even pitched in, spewing wads of acid the size of bowling balls into the air. I watched the green sizzling goo sail through the air before splattering across the road, eroding whatever surface it landed on. Neither of them had the accuracy or precision to hit my drones, and their inexperience would ultimately lead to their defeat. A few grapples later, I dropped from a roof and landed a few feet away from them. Starburst saw me and immediately tried to blast me with his powers. I saw the multicolored plasma ignite in his palms, but I casually enabled the weapon systems in one of my drones. There was a quick pop, and Starburst was pinned to the ground by a gelatinous liquid that grew around his body. ¡°Ah! NO! Let me go you stupid bast¡ª¡± ¡°Language,¡± I drawled tiredly, turning to Basilisk. I held out a hand. ¡°Hand it over.¡± Basilisk¡¯s chest heaved, and a thick wad of superpowered acid drenched me from head to toe. ¡°Corrosive agents isolated.¡± I sighed, straightening up as my suit began smoking. The acid tried to burn and eat through the outer layer of my suit, but the reagents I incorporated into the fibers neutralized it. With my patience wearing thin, I calmly wiped away what I could, clearing my visor. My last encounter with these brats had been fleeting, and Basilisk managed to hit me with her acid. It almost disintegrated my suit. Now, I made sure that wouldn¡¯t happen again. ¡°Suit integrity: Ninety-six percent.¡± ¡°Unlike you, I learn from my mistakes,¡± I held out a hand again. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that again if I were you.¡± Horrified, Basilisk reached into her pocket and retrieved a glass ball the size of her thumb. Sparks of red, blue, and green lightning danced around within, giving off an intense light. She didn¡¯t hesitate to toss it my way, and I caught it with a grateful smile that they¡¯d never know I wore. With a tap, I opened a compartment on my shoulder and safely sealed it. My suit practically thrummed with power. ¡°Jericho Core MK V Installed. Dual-cores detected. Reroute primary power source from Jericho Core MK II to Jericho Core MK V?¡± It only took me a few seconds to reconfigure the settings within my suit to draw power from both cores. I had implemented three slots within my suit to fit Jericho Cores or any other method of portable power generation, and now two were occupied. As it turned out, the modules I planned to integrate into my suit needed a lot of power. If I was going to rely on them, I needed to compensate for the consumption, at least until I could improve their efficiency. ¡°Configurations updated.¡± Right now, none of that mattered. My suit wasn¡¯t using enough power to draw from both, so the armor defaulted to drawing power from the MK II. ¡°Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you''re causing?¡± I scolded, glaring at the two of them. Starburst tried to incinerate me with a smoldering glare while Basilisk looked away to hide her fear. The theme of her costume fit the name. Basilisk had fake snake scales, eye contacts, and even braids. Starburst was the same, though his costume looked more like pajamas when I could actually see them. ¡°You two have hit twelve different homes in our territory and then attempted to steal from us, again.¡± ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t make it so easy then,¡± Starburst sneered. ¡°How¡¯re we supposed to know that crummy little house was your hideout?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± I intoned. ¡°If you found and breached our hideout, we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation¨C not because you¡¯d be dead,¡± I waved off Starburst¡¯s growing dread. ¡°But because you¡¯d be speaking to someone else, and believe me they would not be offering you a shred of the kindness I am.¡± Starburst struggled against the hardening substance around his body. I noted how his skin flickered like a dying lightbulb. He tried to use his power to break out, but unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t channel it properly without his hands. There were other ways to use it, and I was sure he¡¯d learn in time, assuming he survived long enough. ¡°Kindness!? What part of all this is kind!?¡± ¡°The part where I didn¡¯t burn you to a crisp with lasers, or take your head off from several blocks away,¡± I offered with a shrug. ¡°You two are just kids, and I know you¡¯ve already dealt with Vigil and Anomaly. I think you shouldn¡¯t try to complete the set, because trust me, you don¡¯t want to deal with Alice.¡± ¡°What are you going to do with us?¡± Basilisk¡¯s timid voice pulled at my heartstrings, but I had to remind myself that this was not their first rodeo. They were a troublemaking duo, and from Starburst¡¯s aggressive outbursts, it was abundantly clear which of them was the leader. If their escapades continued any longer, the problems they would cause would cascade into something too much for them to handle, and people would get hurt. ¡°Are you going to turn us in?¡± I hummed aloud. ¡°It¡¯s tempting,¡± I said, watching them flinch. ¡°But no. I¡¯ve gotten what I came here for. If you two want to keep on stealing, then there are going to be consequences. You can consider this your final warning,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Just know it won¡¯t end well for either of you if there¡¯s a next time.¡± I had more important things to do than play babysitter to a bunch of unruly preteens. I had projects I needed to finish, and I still hadn¡¯t heard from Lucy. It had been two weeks since the fall of The Cains, and I had yet to hear even a peep from her. School would be back in a couple of days, and if she didn¡¯t show up, I would have to track down Wildfire to interrogate him myself. It already rubbed me raw that Alice and Cyberspace advised me not to make rash decisions involving her. They promised me she was safe, but my gut told me otherwise. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to do anything, can you get me out of this stuff?¡± Starburst complained. ¡°It¡¯s starting to itch my skin. It kinda burns as well.¡± ¡°A side effect,¡± I said, bringing one of my drones down. There was another pop, and Starburst yelped. The restraining mixture fizzled away, just like Basilisk¡¯s acid did on my suit. ¡°Not that you care, but I¡¯m still working out the kinks in the design. It¡¯s not perfect, but it shouldn¡¯t hurt you.¡± Starburst shuddered as he climbed back to his feet, brushing himself off. Basilisk jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He grumbled before pushing her off. ¡°Thanks, I guess.¡± ¡°Steal from us again, and I¡¯ll leave you both pinned to the ECU¡¯s Citadel,¡± I warned. ¡°Or I¡¯ll stick Alice on you.¡± Red warnings flashed on my visor. The drones I had hovering in discreet areas around my location picked up on the disturbance and fed me images of the incoming threat. There was a blurred figure moving at high speeds through the air. I looked up just in time to see it plummet before slowing to execute a controlled landing. I recognized the newcomer, as would anyone in Bayside. It was hard to forget who those wings belonged to. Unlike with Starburst and Basilisk, I decided that talking first would be the least I could do. Seraphim wasn¡¯t someone to take lightly. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you were out for a leisurely flight to stretch your wings?¡± The Rookie Heroine regarded me coolly. Her version of Nanoforge¡¯s armor was stark white with angelic patterns to fit her namesake. Six glittering golden wings extended from her back, three overlapping on each side, all as sharp as obsidian glass and flowing calmly in the night breeze. Unlike Abby, Seraphim had a headpiece with a featureless face mold that matched the same theme as the armor. ¡°I came to investigate the reports of the unidentified flying objects in the area,¡± Seraphim replied dully. ¡°I hope you realize that operating unregistered flying mechatech in this area is against the law.¡± ¡°I was under the impression operating any unregistered mechatech anywhere was against the law,¡± I shot back, unconcerned with her tone. ¡°Not like you guys have time to worry about that sort of stuff right now anyway. I¡¯m helping to keep peace and order.¡± ¡°In your own way,¡± Seraphim criticized. ¡°Not in accordance with the law.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in entertaining an ethical debate. The results speak for themselves.¡± In the last two weeks, Madhouse kept a tight grip on illegal activities in our territory. Groves Den and what areas we successfully wrestled away from Pandora after The Cains crumbled were relatively crime-free. There was the occasional break-in and other minor crimes, but what populated area didn¡¯t have those? Cyberspace insisted that a measure of order and professionalism be maintained if we were serious about holding territory. Lead by example and whatnot. The ECU did it. Gaea did it. Liberation did it, and Grim did it. All of them cultivated different communities and cultures within Bayside. Cyberspace wanted us to do the same. All we had done so far was weed out the bad actors and funnel them to The ECU and local police stations. Mia ¨C Vigil ¨C was especially good at doing that. Crime dropped, and a semblance of normalcy returned to our lives. The chaos we had felt weeks ago faded, and we settled into a routine. Despite this, Francis reminded us that things in this city tended to take turns for the worse at the drop of a hat. We needed to be prepared for that eventuality. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! For now, Bayside was recovering, and that was all that mattered. Once the city recovered, I could start making things better. ¡°Make this easy and let me bring you in. We don¡¯t need to fight.¡± I sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right, we don¡¯t. Leave me alone and there won¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Yes, you can,¡± I shot back. ¡°You¡¯re choosing to confront me. See those two behind me?¡± I gestured to Starburst and Basilisk. ¡°I just stopped them from continuing a colossally stupid robbery spree, one that would¡¯ve ended with them dead if Grim was still around. If they had been close to Pandora or Queen¡¯s Court, you better bet they would¡¯ve been given scars to remember. They¡¯d be lucky to get away without being press ganged.¡± Seraphim shifted, showing undisguised uncertainty. ¡°And you don¡¯t intend to recruit them?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need them,¡± I clarified. Starburst snorted, and I crossed my arms over my chest. I didn¡¯t want to get into a fight with Seraphim, but if I did, I was confident I¡¯d be able to hold my own. After Grim, I earned myself enough time to build and develop my Mechatech. There weren¡¯t many people I was afraid of now, especially after having dealt with a man synonymous with death. ¡°We¡¯re doing fine as we are.¡± ¡°What you¡¯re doing is ensuring the status quo never changes. The Cains have fallen and you have taken their place,¡± Seraphim said, shaking her head. ¡°You should be working with The ECU, not against us. If you come with me peacefully, you can do more than what you are now.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so. I think I can do much more as I am now. I wouldn¡¯t be able to do very much with The ECU spending every waking moment looking over my shoulder,¡± I argued. ¡°So, I appreciate the offer, but I¡¯m going to have to decline. Don¡¯t take it personally, I know you¡¯re obligated to negotiate before going in for the take down.¡± Abby had said as much. It was standard procedure to try and negotiate if the subject in question wasn¡¯t an immediate risk. Seraphim¡¯s wings extended and flexed. In a knee-jerk reaction, I enabled all my weapons systems on all eight drones. They didn¡¯t engage, but I was ready for anything now. I stood confidently, waiting for the superheroine to attack. Seraphim could slice through steel like butter with her wings, fly, and crush concrete with her bare hands. She was the kind of Super that would be on the frontlines of any battle. Her immense strength and durability would keep her from dying. But that didn¡¯t mean she couldn¡¯t hurt. ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight you, Upgrade.¡± Another voice sounded before I could speak. ¡°But I do!¡± The warnings on my visor came too late. Someone kicked the back of my right leg, forcing me to my knee. I recovered quickly, whirling around and slashing the air with my extendable blade. Basilisk and Starburst hadn¡¯t moved from their spots and looked confused. I was kicked again from the back, but I didn¡¯t buckle this time. A pop from one of my drones sounded, and my restraining mixture splashed the space behind me. My eyes zeroed in on Seraphim, who had backed away, her fists tightening into balls. When the third attack came, another drone attacked, and a growl escaped her throat. ¡°Tricky! I told you not to engage!¡± He popped into existence on a dumpster, his legs crossed. Like the other Rookies, Tricky wore Nanoforge¡¯s armor with stylized red and oranges. I couldn¡¯t see any thematic design, but maybe that¡¯s because I was too busy imagining him as a red smear on the side of the road. ¡°Sorry,¡± Tricky replied without a shred of remorse. ¡°I got bored waiting and I just wanted to hit the guy. Come on, just look at him! You think you¡¯re tough with your black and green armor? I get you want to look like us but really, couldn¡¯t you have gone with something a bit more original? Seriously, it''s like you¡¯re TRYING to be Nanoforge. Sorry, but we already have a Copycat on our team. We don¡¯t need another one.¡± A groan escaped my throat, and I wasn¡¯t the only one. ¡°Why do I always get stuck with you?¡± Seraphim muttered. I pointed at Tricky while keeping my gaze locked on Seraphim. ¡°Case and point, this is why we don¡¯t need those two,¡± I gestured behind me. ¡°Too brash, too young. Not exactly reliable when they can¡¯t listen to simple instructions.¡± My words provoked a predictable reaction out of Tricky. He appeared at my side, but another compartment popped out of my shoulder, locked onto him, and fired. Red light slammed into his chest and carried the boy into a nearby wall. There was a pop from one of my drones, and the restraining mixture hit its target. Tricky groaned as a block of amber solidified around his body, pinning him against the wall. Once he regained his bearings, I knew the restraining mixture wouldn¡¯t hold him. Supers that could teleport were problematic if they were still conscious, so I loaded an armor-piercing tranquilizer in one of my drones and nailed him in the neck. Tricky sagged before he had the chance to teleport. ¡°He¡¯s fine!¡± I held up a hand to stop Seraphim from attacking. She looked ready to rip me in half, but she held herself back. ¡°Just unconscious. My drones aren¡¯t loaded with live ammunition.¡± Rookies didn¡¯t have live Mentalist support so I felt comfortable lying. ¡°Thank you for your restraint,¡± Seraphim¡¯s tone was biting. ¡°Now, I would appreciate¡ª¡± ¡°No, stop asking,¡± I cut her off. I waved at the two preteen Supers behind me. ¡°Feel free to take these two though. They¡¯re troublemakers and I think they and Bayside would benefit if they were taken off the streets.¡± ¡°I thought you said you weren¡¯t turning us over!¡± Starburst exclaimed angrily. ¡°You lying sack of¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m not turning you over,¡± I said with a tired sigh. I tilted my head and looked at the two thieves from over my shoulder. ¡°I never quite got to the point where I captured you to begin with, so technically, I¡¯m not handing you over. I am suggesting that Seraphim take you, before someone else does,¡± I paused, giving them a blank, pointed look. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to go with The ECU, I suggest you run away. Now.¡± The two tripped over themselves as they bolted. I turned back to Seraphim. ¡°Now, who¡¯s more important? Me, or the two kids that will almost certainly get into more trouble if they aren¡¯t stopped?¡± I didn¡¯t wait for a response. I grappled to a roof and turned to guard in case Seraphim gave chase. The offensive systems in all my drones were still primed, and I was ready to beat her down if need be. Thankfully, she saw reason and didn¡¯t give chase, leaving me to escape in peace. Part of me was disappointed that Seraphim didn¡¯t attack because it would have been the perfect opportunity to test my Horizontal Movement Systems or ¡®air jets¡¯ if you were boring like Sam and Liam. Oh well, there¡¯s plenty of opportunities to field-test them later. ¡°Cloaking Module Engaged.¡± My armor let off a light buzz as the outer layer slightly shifted to begin refracting light. Total invisibility was still quite a ways out of my reach, but the active camouflage module was enough to hide me from prying eyes, especially the ones in the sky like Overwatch. As I disappeared, I activated my drone''s camouflage modules, and they too, vanished. Crossing the city, I brought my drones down to street level as we returned to the hideout. When I arrived at the front door of my workshop, I disabled the cloaking modules on my suit and drones. The metal groaned as I lifted the door for my drones to squeeze through the bottom. I followed in last, letting the first door drop behind me. Scanning activated, and light buzzing sounded throughout the room. I was bathed in lights as the scanners confirmed who I was. The final door to my workshop opened, and I directed my drones to their charging ports. They zipped through the building before slowing and plugging themselves into the racks on the walls. I strolled through the maze of machinery and found Sam spinning around on an office chair next to my suit¡¯s disengagement unit, looking dangerously bored. ¡°I seem to remember you saying you were putting the finishing touches on our special project?¡± I queried, walking past her to stand in the open pod. I raised my hands to my sides and widened my stance as the machine peeled the suit off my body. ¡°Unlike you to slack off.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have you know I finished,¡± Sam flicked a crunched-up sheet of paper at my face the moment I stepped out of the disengagement unit. ¡°I was just waiting for you to get back so we can put it to the test! Oh, wait¡ª nooooo are you serious? Come on, Max, I really wanted to see how this thing was going to work!¡± ¡°Sorry, I wanted to focus on my Cybernetics development,¡± I said, sighing. ¡°Besides, for the Combat Analysis Recreation machine to work with my suit, I need the module,¡± I gestured to a nearby table where a small blob of colorless liquid was hovering millimeters from the surface. I strolled over to it and gently lowered my hand over it. ¡°The Automated Adaption module is still cooking. It¡¯ll be done in eleven hours.¡± Sam groaned. ¡°Tomorrow then. Greaaaaaat. You know, we could always just capture my fighting data now so it''s all ready to use tomorrow when the module is done. I took my whole night off just to come down here and help you with your toys. The least you could do is actually play with me,¡± she playfully jabbed me in the side before sitting on the side of the table. ¡°Oh! Did something happen while you were out? Oh, OH! Something happened. Tell me.¡± I saw the flashes of Pink in her as the giddiness took over. ¡°While I was dealing with our problematic thieves, I had an encounter with the Rookies. Specifically two of them,¡± I explained, knowing Gold was piecing together things faster than I could verbalize. Still, lately, Sam seemed to enjoy having things explained to her for whatever reason. ¡°As you¡¯ve probably already figured out. Seraphim and Tricky.¡± ¡°Annnnnd Seraphim held back,¡± her gaze flicked to my armor. ¡°Your suit would be more damaged otherwise. Those wings are no joke. Weird that she¡¯d just let you go if you disabled Tricky, though, I don¡¯t imagine his disobedience made things easy for her,¡± Sam mused. Her features suddenly brightened. ¡°Oooh, you used Basilisk and Starburst to your advantage! Look at you using your brain,¡± she playfully ruffled my hair. ¡°Smart cookie. I¡¯ll make a dastardly villain out of you yet.¡± I smacked her hand away. ¡°Anyway, I got the Jericho Core they stole back. It''s in the suit.¡± ¡°You integrated it already?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just sealed in one of the power generation slots. I want to scan it into my 3D printers so they can replicate the MK V variants. Better efficiency, more compact, and easier on raw materials,¡± I collapsed into a chair and rubbed my face. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve barely made any progress. Two weeks isn¡¯t enough.¡± Sam snorted. ¡°Yeah, Max. You¡¯ve been slacking. It¡¯s not like you reordered your workshop and split them into categories or anything,¡± she shook her head with exaggerated disappointment. ¡°Really, how lackluster are your multiple fabricators, cybernetic development machines, drone assemblers, and the dozens of other things you¡¯ve labored to create? Truly, you are shockingly underwhelm¡ª Ow!¡± I pinched her arm, causing a pout to form. It quickly disappeared in favor of a more genuine smile. ¡°Cut yourself some slack, you¡¯ve worked yourself to the bone, even when you ran out of charges.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°I told you before, I never feel like I¡¯m doing enough.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m telling you that you are. Every Mechakinetic has this problem, so don¡¯t feel like you''re so special on that front,¡± she lightly jabbed me again. ¡°You''re doing great, and I doubt that¡¯s going to change.¡± I detected the insinuation in her voice and leaned forward. ¡°We¡¯re about to get very busy, aren¡¯t we?¡± Sam swayed quietly, kicking her legs back and forth while staring distantly into my workshop. Her eyes flashed between Blue, Pink, Red, and Gold. There was wearing your emotions on your sleeve, and then there was being Sam. ¡°I¡¯ve had the displeasure of sitting through a few chats with Cyberspace. They¡¯re going to be giving us an assignment soon, and my gut tells me it''s going to bring down some heat on us,¡± Sam muttered, running a hand through her hair. ¡°Such is our life. Can¡¯t exactly complain when I can see what they¡¯re going for.¡± I considered her words before looking toward the stairs leading to the second floor. ¡°What do Liam and Mia think about it?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t told them yet. Liam won¡¯t care, but Mia¡­¡± Sam released an exasperated sigh. ¡°It¡¯s all sugar and chocolate with her¡ª her morals, I mean,¡± she idly waved away her strange analogy. ¡°She¡¯s coming around, sure, but it''s taking a bit longer than I hoped.¡± ¡°Come on, you can¡¯t fault her for wanting to be a good person,¡± I chuckled. ¡°I think deep down, we all want to be good people. You most of all. Don¡¯t pretend like we don¡¯t operate on morals. If we didn¡¯t, we would¡¯ve left Grim to grind the city to dust. I think the only difference is that sometimes abiding to morals won¡¯t yield the most ideal outcome.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Sam sighed again. ¡°That was one of the big reasons I never gelled with The ECU. I know I¡¯m not the best person, but I¡¯m not a total monster. Some of them just couldn¡¯t¡ª¡± she stopped and laughed weakly. ¡°Nevermind. Talk about a bummer subject. Didn¡¯t mean to drag you down memory lane there.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I shrugged. ¡°If you wanna talk, I¡¯ll listen.¡± ¡°Some other time,¡± Sam said. ¡°Anyway, whatever Cyberspace wants, it involves General Jessamine, which means we¡¯re in for some serious shit.¡± Her arrival ¨C according to Cyberspace ¨C was due sometime during the coming week. With her, she¡¯d bring an armada of war machines developed in collaboration with Ajax. Sweepers and Walkers were exceptionally efficient at warfare. They¡¯d be deployed all over New Elpis, and that included Bayside. Despite all my improvements and innovations, I knew I wasn¡¯t ready to face Sweepers and Walkers. ¡°Shit.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Sam agreed. ¡°¡®Shit¡¯ indeed. Good thing you made those,¡± she pointed to the containment pods next to my suit. Each one held an altered earlier iteration of my suit, and they were named. ¡°Because I have a feeling we¡¯re going to need them.¡± Initialization 2 One of my larger 3D printers hummed as it worked, and I patiently watched from a chair, gripping a fresh hot chocolate. It wouldn¡¯t be long before the machine finished, and I could see if my curiosity paid off. Idly, I tapped the side of the mug before taking a sip. Withholding my anticipation proved to be a trying task, but I was excited to see how this project continued after this step. There was only one issue that worried me. I set my hot chocolate aside as I stood, watching the machine go through its final stages. Once finished, it powered down to rest mode, waiting to begin another project. I gently reached and lifted the completed product away from the machine before placing it on one of my workbenches. It was a perfect reconstruction of the bones in my left arm, starting from the tip of my fingers and ending just below the shoulder. I couldn¡¯t deny how strange it felt to see and hold, but I started with this for a reason. I needed a ¡®launch pad,¡¯ so to speak, to begin researching and developing cybernetics. With access to Splicer¡¯s equipment, I could solve Mom¡¯s problems myself, but there was a stark difference between developing technology like that and cutting people open to fix them. I didn¡¯t know the first thing about the intricacies of the human body, and my power wouldn¡¯t compensate in that department to feed me upgrade options or general information. I would be stuck learning the slow way, and I suspected I didn¡¯t have that kind of time. Any surgeries I would perform needed simplifying with the automation of sophisticated surgical tools. That was an avenue I could take. Cybernetics was an exceedingly large undertaking, and so far, it stretched the capability of my powers. I intended the bone replica to be a model I could experiment with to see what could work. Bones by themselves were impressive, but the biological element to them stopped my power from interfacing with them. If I wanted something better, I would have to design something that outclassed regular bones in every fashion. Currently, I was trying to build that design. ¡°Iteration: 26,¡± I mumbled, recording the note on the desktop. ¡°Material makeup will be¡­ ¡¯Victorium.¡¯ Another bizarre name.¡± Scrolling back to glance at the older iteration notes, I shook my head at some of the bizarre names creators gave to their evomaterials. Some of them were fine, but others were just outright strange. What the Hell was ¡®Galamoncho¡¯ supposed to be? Obviously, it was a evomat made up of many different metals to create a resilient compound capable of total radiation suppression, but the name seemed like gibberish. [Charges: 14/25] [Left Arm Bone Structure Replica] [Materials] [Integration Status: Unavailable] After paying the seven charges, the plastic replica changed to a glimmering green. I hadn¡¯t even known about Victorium and many other evomats until Cyberspace gave me access to their local material storage. I was flooded with materials to work with, and according to Sam, all of this was just the tip of the iceberg. Surprisingly, I discovered that my power didn¡¯t recognize materials I wasn¡¯t familiar with and could only operate on evomats I already knew about. With Cyberspace and all their resources, it was an easy problem to fix. Research expanded my repertoire, giving me more options than I knew what to do with. Victorium was one such material. ¡°Green¡­?¡± I murmured, flicking the metallic bones. The light impact made a clinking sound, like two glasses toasting. It was a costly evomat, but considering my power informed me that it was several times stronger than carbon fiber and could slowly self-repair, I figured testing was worth the time investment. I hadn¡¯t expected the color, but it was a non-issue. I turned back to the desktop and recorded further notes. ¡°Green¡­ and it looks like it''s cut from an emerald.¡± I picked up the reformed replica and noted my power¡¯s interpretation. [Charges: 7/25] [Left Arm Bone Structure Replica] [Materials] [Integration Status: Unavailable] Interestingly, my power still registered it as a replica, which ultimately made sense. Outside of the materials, I hadn¡¯t made any dramatic changes. The leap from ¡®Replica¡¯ to ¡®Cybernetic implant¡¯ would involve integrating tech into the design. There was still a lot more work to do in this department, but there was testing to do, and I needed to see how effective Victorium was as an evomat. I moved through multiple stress testing stations and noted the results. Incineration revealed Victorium to have impeccable fire immunity. The equipment I had on hand couldn¡¯t reach the required temperatures to trigger the melting point. The machine didn¡¯t even leave a scorch mark, to my astonishment. Somehow, it was even able to cool remarkably fast. In only a minute, it had returned to room temperature. I quickly tested the other extreme with super concoctions of improved liquid nitrogen. Not a single piece of Victorium chipped off or suffered damage, my power didn¡¯t even need to repair it. The durability of the Replica remained intact and undamaged. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for most evomats to resist extreme temperatures, but I expected some damage at the very least. Victorium was proving to be the best investment so far. I subjected the material to simulated crushing ocean depths of various extremes, noting very minimal surface level cracks at the highest levels and varying intensities of electromagnetism. I had glowing results all around, which made me feel like a child who had found the secret stash of chocolate hidden away in their parent''s pantry. When I finally came to the high-impact hydraulic piston test, Victorium¡¯s incredible run abruptly ceased. Subjecting the material to forceful impacts that surpassed Red¡¯s full strength shattered the metal into fragments. Even some of the strongest evomats in the world couldn¡¯t withstand the destructive forces some Supers were capable of. The upgraded hydraulic piston functions as the final hurdle, one that every evomat failed so far. However, there was a silver lining. With some durability and sturdiness upgrades, I could change that. ¡°Hydraulic Piston Maximum ¨C Level Eight,¡± I mused. ¡°Second best behind Novarite and Starum. I suppose at least its name isn¡¯t as ridiculous as those two,¡± I muttered, marking off Victorium¡¯s final test results. I saved the results as ¡®Iteration: 26 - Victorium¡¯ before sorting them from best to worst performance on the spreadsheet. Every evomat had strengths and weaknesses, but some were undisputedly better than others. ¡°Seems like this is my best bet so far.¡± I looked around my workshop and sighed. Talking to myself was starting to become a bad habit, but part of me liked verbalizing my thoughts so I could hear them out loud. Sam, Liam, and Mia caught me doing it a lot recently. Only Mia had the decency not to make light-hearted jokes about it. It didn¡¯t bother me ¨C not particularly ¨C but Liam found it amusing to point out. ¡°Victorium is an interesting compound,¡± a voice from my workstation sounded. I looked to see a window opening with Cyberspace¡¯s ASCII face appearing. ¡°The Mechakinetic responsible for its creation was someone we contracted for sometime until they went mad. I¡¯ve since made arrangements to keep them confined in a mental institution I fund. She unfortunately suffers from severe schizophrenia, which has only worsened over the years.¡± My lips thinned. ¡°Cyberspace.¡± I noted one of their brows raise. ¡°Maxis.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t spoken to me in private before. You always seem to be busy with other things, or talking with Sam,¡± I said, curiosity coloring my tone. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were interested in talking to me.¡± ¡°Quite the opposite. You, more than anyone in Madhouse, are the most interesting. Your potential is limitless. I¡¯ve sought to give you the time and space in order to work. I¡¯ve observed your progress for the last two weeks and I have to say, my expectations have been met with increasing levels of satisfaction.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I retrieved the mangled Replica and repaired it before placing it in line with the others. ¡°It occurred to me that you might¡¯ve been watching me, but I figured it would be rude to look into ways to prevent that, so I¡¯ve tried to put it out of my mind,¡± my eyes scanned the workshop. ¡°Sam¡¯s already speculated that you¡¯re some kind of Mentalist with a Mechakinetic specialty. Like Uplink, you¡¯re able to use electronic devices to spy on people.¡± An amused chuckle came from the screen. ¡°In a manner of speaking, yes.¡± ¡°Unlike him, you have a much further reach and lack the temperament of a child.¡± ¡°I would hope so,¡± Cyberspace replied, the amusement never leaving their tone. ¡°As riveting as it would be to discuss my power, I find yours to be far more interesting. It¡¯s quite unlike any I have seen before, a Cosmikinetic with a Mechakinetic speciality is unheard of.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ve managed to snag me,¡± I chided with a mocking smile. ¡°Congratulations.¡± ¡°Why thank you,¡± their reply came with an equal level of mocking. ¡°Though, I must confess, I do not like to view our working relationship that way. While you and the rest of Madhouse might believe yourselves to be a simple asset, the truth is simply that I wish to work with you toward a better future. I need not repeat myself, but I will reiterate for clarity¡¯s sake that I do not seek to exploit you.¡± I exhaled slowly. ¡°No offense, but I still find that hard to believe.¡± ¡°What I say, I intend with sincerity. Whether or not you choose to believe it is up to you. I believe that actions speak louder than words,¡± Cyberspace paused, their face moving from side to side as if to show that they see the room through the screen. ¡°I believe my actions have spoken. I¡¯ve provided you with everything you need, and ensured that any loose ends your group left behind have been tied up nicely.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°I shudder to wonder what those loose ends are, and what exactly you and your people have done,¡± I said with a pointed look. ¡°I know enough about your history to know that you¡¯re no saint. You¡¯ve hurt people, killed countless¡ª¡± ¡°If we are pointing at atrocities as examples of morality and character, then the ECU is the worst of all of us. The only difference between us is that they are veiled and protected from the consequences of their actions. They were formed and funded by the ones that make the laws ¨C the rich and powerful ¨C to ensure chaos doesn¡¯t thrive. They might claim to be working in everyone¡¯s best interests, but the things they¡¯ve done in order to maintain their ¡®peace¡¯ will make you sick. Yes, I have killed countless, but in the end those like me are doing so in order to realize a better future. The ECU are desperately trying to hold onto old world values when what we need is a fresh new system.¡± ¡°Those like you?¡± ¡°Do you think I am the first to see the inevitable fallout we are heading toward? The divide in humanity has never been greater. Humans and Evohumans are fundamentally separated by an imbalance of power. Not so long ago, the scales were tipped to the former¡¯s favor, but with every passing year the scale is slowly equalizing. It will not take long for the scales to tip entirely, and when that happens¡­ pandemonium.¡± There was a lot to unpack there. Cyberspace was implying World War Four would break out. ¡°A conflict on the scale you''re suggesting would be¡­ catastrophic,¡± I muttered, running a hand through my hair. I couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of doomsday scenario would play out if World War Four happened. Humans versus Evohumans sounded like a one-sided genocide waiting to happen. ¡°The world will be left in ruins.¡± ¡°Which is what I am hoping to prevent. More of the status quo ensures that, and those like myself and Gaea understand that completely.¡± My eyes widened. ¡°You and Gaea¡ª¡± ¡°Another mutual partnership,¡± Cyberspace explained dismissively. ¡°There are a number of topics we disagree on, and we have worked to find compromises. The inevitable path the world is stuck on is one topic we can agree on.¡± I had to reevaluate the perceived balance within Bayside. If Gaea and Cyberspace had mutual agreements between their factions, they undeniably had the advantage in power and strategic positioning. Gaea was strong enough on her own and coupled with everything else, she could have Pandora and The ECU out of the city before dinner. However, removing The ECU had social and political ramifications. Given Gaea¡¯s political standing, it wouldn¡¯t do well for her image. What I didn¡¯t understand was why Pandora was still here. I couldn¡¯t figure out why keeping them around benefited anyone. ¡°So you have an alliance.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it an alliance,¡± Cyberspace said. ¡°It is an agreement to keep out of each others way. I do not impede her aspirations, and she does not trouble mine. If there is a universal problem, we typically make arrangements to deal with it. Given my preference to operate discreetly, she often agrees to handle disputes directly.¡± That somewhat lined up. When Gaea wanted something, she made it everyone¡¯s business to know what needed to happen. Grim needed to go, so she called a meeting. When we weakened him and left him vulnerable, she personally showed up to end the conflict permanently. Gaea didn¡¯t take any half-measures, and I guessed that''s what made working with Cyberspace beneficial. Gaea wanted to be Prime Minister of New Elpis, and she wanted to do it in a way where she won the majority vote. Her political party was a big contender, but their opposition was equally strong. I wasn¡¯t that big into the politics of this country, but I knew that much. Gaea cared about her image because if she wanted to forcefully take over the country, she could do it in a heartbeat. So, what exactly did Cyberspace want? Some kind of reestablishment or revision of global order? The thought sent shivers down my spine. ¡°It bothers you,¡± Cyberspace continued, stating the obvious. ¡°That you feel forced to work with me, in spite of how I am viewed by the world at large. A global terrorist hiding in the shadows, destabilizing countries, butchering innocent people¡­ yet you are just as adverse to working with The ECU because of a personal grudge.¡± I raised my head and glared at the monitor. ¡°My personal grievances aside, there are good people working within The ECU to prevent the very thing you claim is inevitable,¡± my thoughts drifted to Abby and her mother. Domination tried to stop me from getting involved with Grim before being ordered to stand down. Her efforts appeared genuine. Abby ¨C ignoring her crass attitude ¨C wanted to help people and mirrored her mother¡¯s desires. ¡°They¡¯re not all bad.¡± ¡°If they were all bad, the organization as a whole would have fallen to pieces a long time ago. I do not doubt some of their intentions, and most I have interacted with have genuine desires to work for a better world,¡± Cyberspace said with hints of positivity. ¡°They tend to sympathize with my goals, but as you have come to see, the world is not so black and white as you were led to believe. I have done terrible things to further my aspirations, yes, but so has everyone else.¡± I felt like I was old enough and had been through enough crap to understand what Cyberspace was trying to pull here. Justifying their actions by pointing to others and claiming they¡¯re just as bad. It was a shitty tactic, and I didn¡¯t like it. ¡°It does bother me that I am contributing to the misery of others by helping you. Sure, The ECU has done terrible things that they¡¯ve covered up, but that¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªThis conversation is not what I intended to be having today, Maxis,¡± Cyberspace intoned. ¡°Before criticizing the actions I take to achieve my goals, I would like to hear yours. Do you have any aspirations, particularly pertaining to a dramatic shift of the global community? What do you want to see in the future? How would you go about it?¡± They paused, their icy stare poking holes in my confidence. ¡°Why are you here at all? Why get up in the morning? Why do you do what you do? What exactly are you trying to achieve?¡± I opened my mouth to reply but felt the words die on the tip of my tongue. I remembered the conversation I had not long ago with Francis. This conversation felt depressingly similar, only this time, I faced someone who would stop at nothing to achieve their aspirations and desires. Cyberspace¡¯s questions had me searching the deep recesses of my mind to unearth what sort of future I envisioned, and the worst part was that their patient silence spiked my anxiety. The brutal truth was that I didn¡¯t have any answers. I didn¡¯t know how my future was going to pan out long-term. I saw problems with the world, but they felt mechanical. I could fix it all with a touch, but all that was a colossal undertaking. Could I do it? Did I even want to do it? ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure.¡± ¡°You¡¯re young,¡± Cyberspace said with an unsettling amount of sincerity. ¡°There¡¯s plenty about the world you have yet to learn. Perhaps in time, you might discover methods that prove to be more effective than mine. Until that time comes, I would suggest you continue to work on your strengths. Now,¡± I felt the conversation shift with the pause. ¡°Before we drifted off-topic, I was going to suggest integrating Victorium with other compounds to achieve the result you are desiring.¡± I looked at the table with the replicas, my mind still in turmoil over the questions. Considering integrations wasn¡¯t something I was concerned about at this stage. Victorium was the best evomat so far. ¡°What would you suggest?¡± ¡°If you are working toward a fully functional cybernetic limb, I would look at working with Carbon Nanotubes to simulate the nerves. Integrate them into the design and your power will do all the heavy lifting,¡± Cyberspace explained. ¡°There are other materials that can be used as artificial muscles and synthetic skin, all of which should be compatible with your power.¡± ¡°Carbon Nanotubes¡­?¡± I squinted at the replica, trying to think where I heard the name before. It didn¡¯t sound like a evomat I was familiar with. It took me skimming back through my notes to realize what Cyberspace was suggesting. I had no complaints, and it was compatible with my power. ¡°Could work.¡± ¡°Might I also recommend you shelve building arm cybernetics? There are other smaller, safer alternatives than starting with full replacements.¡± I looked between the screen and the replica arm skeletons. ¡°Oh, no, I wasn¡¯t going to¡ª I mean, no. I wasn¡¯t going to actually use the whole thing. I was just creating them to see if I could test them. Once I can get them functioning and responding like a normal arm, then I was going to start figuring out how I was going to implement them,¡± I clarified. ¡°I still need to overhaul a lot of Splicer¡¯s surgery equipment. His stuff is still archaic¨C er, manual,¡± I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling fatigue begin to set in. ¡°I¡¯d like to be able to just¡­ press a button and have the machines do all the gross work.¡± Cyberspace was quiet for a moment. ¡°I see. Press a button you say? You are capable of that?¡± I shrugged. ¡°Eventually. There are a lot of hardware upgrades I can see, but that¡¯s only half. There¡¯s a lot of software components I¡¯ll need to work on,¡± I idly waved at the untouched surgical station on the other side of my workshop. ¡°All of this is a long-term project.¡± ¡°In regards to your mother?¡± I expected Cyberspace to know. I hadn¡¯t expected them to state it so bluntly. ¡°Something like that.¡± ¡°Say the word, and I¡¯ll have her walking by the end of the week. I have multiple Biokinetics skilled in surgical procedures. Her case is a simple one,¡± Cyberspace offered. ¡°Your indulgence in cybernetics is a fascinating one, but it is not necessary if you are doing this simply to help your mother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not solely to help her,¡± I replied. ¡°There are benefits they provide that my power armor won¡¯t be able to solve, no matter how much time I sink into it. I can¡¯t wear it all the time and even when I am, a purely organic body will limit what I can add to my suit and how hard of a hit I can take.¡± ¡°And you are willing to cut yourself open, to replace parts of yourself?¡± I grimaced at the thought. It was an inevitable necessity that cybernetics demanded. Once I cut away the organic matter, I couldn¡¯t exactly get it back. Not without a Biokinetic or a lot of charges invested in the right tech. It would be something I¡¯d have to commit to. If there were any regrets, it would haunt me forever. ¡°Still thinking about that. There¡¯s a lot to consider.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound sure.¡± ¡°Gee, is it that obvious?¡± I snarked. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s easy to think about as a fantasy when you don¡¯t have the means, but suddenly when it''s within your grasp ¨C when the reality hits ¨C it feels different. How much is too much and where will I stop? Arms? Legs? Organs? Brain?¡± I snorted and shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s silly to think about when I haven¡¯t even started yet, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯d like ending up as a robot. I like being¡­ me.¡± Cyberspace chuckled. ¡°Your apprehension is refreshing. It seems you¡¯ve been raised well. There are many I have worked with that haven¡¯t so much as blinked when an opportunity like this presents itself. The constant chase for more power and security is something the old and the new share intimately. It¡¯s the one thing that rarely changes,¡± Cyberspace noted. ¡°The Mountain used to chase power and security. It¡¯s one of the reasons he and Gaea created New Elpis. Nowadays¡­¡± they trailed off into a sigh. ¡°Nowadays, he prefers to remain out of the spotlight. He views his fame and power as a curse more than anything.¡± That little piece of information piqued my interest. That¡¯s why the most powerful Super in the world lives in isolation? He was as old as Gaea. Maybe he was just tired? ¡°If you feel the need to continue developing cybernetics, by all means, I won¡¯t stop you. There are precious few Mechakinetics capable of developing such technology, and the few that do are not under my employ. It is a sought after expertise. I would hazard against testing on yourself, and I will step in should I see you taking unnecessary risk,¡± Cyberspace warned. ¡°Should you feel the urge, you need only ask for test subjects. There are some in my employ that have suffered wounds and have aversion to Biokinetic treatment. This would be a welcome alternative.¡± I sighed, walking back over to the replicas. Retrieving the Victorium replica, I observed it for a moment before searching my workshop for Carbon Nanotubes. I had an abundance of raw materials for all assortments, so finding some didn¡¯t take long. The integration cost was cheap, a single measly charge, but once assimilated, I could see what Cyberspace meant. [Charges: 3/25] [Skeletal Prosthetic Model] [Materials] [Integration Status: Unavailable] Progress. ¡°Well done,¡± Cyberspace commended. I looked back to see the face on the screen smirking. ¡°If you wish to ask for more advice, you are free to contact me whenever you please. Though, I imagine little Alice wouldn¡¯t take too kindly to being left out of collaborations,¡± there was a distinctly humorous tone in their words. ¡°Expect contact in the coming weeks from other Mechakinetics in my employ. I have recently shared your talents with them and they are, well, let¡¯s say they are very eager to speak with you.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I murmured half-heartedly, still processing what they said. I knew I didn¡¯t sound very thankful, but from the looks of it, Cyberspace either didn¡¯t care or hadn¡¯t registered it. ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye out.¡± ¡°One more thing. Your friend, Lucy Kim.¡± My blood froze, and the hairs on my neck stood on end. ¡°She will be returning to school along with everyone else. I figure you would know better, but I feel I must state that you should not make a scene about it. Her affiliation with Pandora is to be kept secret.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been watching her?¡± I did my best to hide my biting tone. ¡°What have you done!?¡± ¡°Nothing. You two are close, so I¡¯ve kept my eye on her. If she were truly in any danger, I would have acted on your behalf.¡± My behalf¡­? ¡°What happened to her?¡± ¡°Wildfire had her moved out of the city with her mother to live with his parents. Lucy was in no danger,¡± Cyberspace explained. ¡°I tell you this to keep you informed. Do not be surprised when you see her tomorrow and she is apprehensive about where she has been. I also tell you this to warn you that your friend Abigail Kingston might act out, given the information you discovered prior to the conflict with Grim.¡± Shit. I hadn¡¯t even considered that. ¡°What is she going to do?¡± ¡°That, I¡¯m afraid, depends solely on you, Maxis.¡± Well, so much for a smooth return to school life. Initialization 3 I was at the point where I barely cared about school anymore. I knew that if I was going purely for education, I¡¯d stop showing up within a week. So, I decided to return with a few goals in mind. Not too long ago, Sam drew my attention to the fact that staff and students at my school were working for our rivals. Since I was returning, I came prepared. I brought four drones and stationed them around the school with active camouflage modules enabled. Less than ten minutes after arriving at school, I had access to every electronic device in the area. Anything my phone previously had trouble with became trivial. Even though The ECU¡¯s systems took some time to breach, it was an inevitability. The most useful was access to their local network installed into their gear. Eighteen. Around double the usual. The ECU had always been blatant, and since Grim¡¯s rampage, they had only increased their manpower. There were usually six teams of three roaming the school grounds occasionally interacting with students and that wasn¡¯t including Abby. They were ready to deal with any threat, and keeping the peace right now was more important than ever. Speaking of keeping the peace¡­ I noted just how compromised Minerva was. The Headmaster of the school had encrypted communications with Pandora. Unsurprisingly, he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to do anything on school hardware, but he had Mechatech in his office. It didn¡¯t take long for me to break in, but considering the tech evaded ECU scanning, it was probably designed to remain undetected. Regardless, it wasn¡¯t advanced enough to evade my tech anymore. It wasn¡¯t just the principle either. The science and mathematics department heads also had encrypted communications tying them to Pandora. I briefly read what I could, but the conversation had code-speak thrown into the mix. If any of them were Supers, I couldn¡¯t figure out who was who from messages alone. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t glean who, if anyone, had ties to The Queen¡¯s Court. If they had a means of communication, it was either so highly advanced that my tech couldn¡¯t pick up on it, or it wasn¡¯t technology-based. Considering who Gaea was, I shuddered to think what she could do with her power. Could she have some implanted parasite capable of telepathic communication between her agents? Concerning her, anything seemed possible. ¡°Ya¡¯know, I was hoping I wouldn¡¯t have to go back to school,¡± Liam sighed, dropping his bag and sliding down the wall to my side. ¡°Honestly, I''m surprised this place is in one piece. I actually heard Eastworth Boys got another week off ¡®cause of the damage,¡± he tilted his head, squinting while he looked up at me. ¡°You¡¯ve been staring at your phone all morning. Are you watching some movie or something?¡± ¡°I¡¯m ensuring our safety,¡± I idly replied, scanning the area for any onlookers. ¡°I¡¯ve got drones placed around the school incase things go bad. They¡¯re feeding me information, while also providing us with an opportunity to escape should things go south for us.¡± ¡°Go south how?¡± Liam¡¯s nose wrinkled. ¡°Like Comet figuring us out or something? The soldier dudes aren¡¯t much, I could handle them.¡± ¡°You think you can. I seem to remember what happened last time you tried to bulldoze your way through ECU soldiers,¡± I said, recalling how he got turned into an icicle. ¡°You¡¯re strong, nimble, and capable, but that doesn¡¯t mean invincible. I¡¯m giving us options that we hopefully never have to use. Better to be safe than sorry.¡± ¡°I guess that makes sense,¡± Liam shrugged. ¡°So this Lucy girl, she cool? I dunno much about her other than what you¡¯ve said. I¡¯m guessing she¡¯s cool, since you said she¡¯s like, your best friend or something. You¡¯ve been pretty cool, so she¡¯s gotta be just as cool ¨C other than the whole ¡®Pandora¡¯ thing. Hey, how are you going to¡ª¡± ¡°Liam.¡± ¡°Ah, sorry dude. Everything used to be so simple for me. All I would do was take shit from gangs, and try to not get expelled from school, and like, I wasn¡¯t even good at that apparently,¡± I didn¡¯t miss the bitter tone in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s all different now. My sister was actually some kind of super soldier¡­ spy? Jeez, I don¡¯t even know where to start there. My uncle is actually not my uncle, and now I have to worry about whoever the hell Cyberspace is, Pandora, and everything else that¡¯s going on. It¡¯s all so much!¡± It was a lot to come to terms with, and I would be lying if I claimed I was never overwhelmed. Strangely, I didn¡¯t feel pressured by that notion anymore. I wasn¡¯t even stressed. I welcomed the change. I felt like my eyes had finally opened. I saw what mattered now. It was a power struggle for survival, and everyone was trying to do it their way. ¡°Take it one step at a time.¡± ¡°Yeah, which one though?¡± Liam joked. ¡°Everywhere I look, there¡¯s a different step. Dunno what the fuck to do, so I guess I¡¯ll just follow you.¡± I glanced down at him. ¡°Follow me?¡± I raised a brow. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I dunno man. Why not? Mia¡¯s still all new to having powers, so I¡¯m trying to help her adjust. I¡¯m definitely not gonna follow Sam. She¡¯s cracked, and I don¡¯t think I have it in me to fully trust Mentalists,¡± Liam said. ¡°They fuck with your head dude. When I first got my powers, I ran into a few. Some of them can make you think up is down, left is right. Every time Sam talks, my skin crawls.¡± I blinked, unsure how to respond. ¡°Sam means well. She has our best interests in mind. If she didn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t have stayed with her.¡± ¡°I guess. I can¡¯t say for sure. I¡¯m trying, but man it¡¯s hard,¡± Liam picked up a loose pebble and tossed it across the pavement. ¡°I suppose I do kinda trust her, but that¡¯s mostly because I trust you. Overall, I think this situation kinda sucks, but honestly most situations I¡¯ve been in were shitty, so really all of this might be better. I dunno what I¡¯m saying, just kinda rambling.¡± ¡°You can ramble,¡± I shrugged. ¡°You sound like you needed to get that off your chest.¡± ¡°Yeah! Yeah, man. I think it¡¯s been bothering me for a while. Didn¡¯t really know how to express it. I¡¯m really worried about Mia. She told me she¡¯s using her power to spy on her family and, shit¡­ every day she seems more depressed about it. I don¡¯t know how to help, but I wanna.¡± I pursed my lips in thought. ¡°I don¡¯t think you can.¡± ¡°Yeah, definitely feels like it,¡± Liam grumbled. ¡°So what¡¯re you doing out here? I thought you¡¯d wanna go inside instead of hanging around the front of the school where everyone can see us,¡± he tilted his head, glancing at my phone. ¡°You just gonna have that thing out in the open? Can¡¯t people tell?¡± He leaned in a little closer and hummed. ¡°Oh, yeah I guess it looks pretty normal. All the stuff inside is Mechatech, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve ever been this talkative before.¡± ¡°I¡¯m bored, and well¡­ aren¡¯t you normally supposed to hang out with your friends?¡± Something bothered me by the way he said that. I gave him a pointed look, and he shrugged. ¡°If you really have to know, I¡¯m waiting for Lucy. I need to talk to her before school starts,¡± I anxiously tapped the back of my phone, my eyes scanning the front of the school. There were pools of students streaming in and hanging around the front. With the recent events, there were likely countless things to catch up on. ¡°The sooner I talk to her, the better.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys in the same home room?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t have time before we¡¯re shuffled for the Monday assembly, and I¡¯d like a bit of privacy for the conversation,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to stay, as it involves Super business.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± he turned and started looking. ¡°How urgent is this? Is it like urgent-urgent?¡± ¡°Urgent,¡± I frowned. ¡°I told you how she has ties to Pandora. I didn¡¯t tell you how I found out.¡± ¡°Uh, I just sorta assumed Sam told you,¡± Liam reasoned. ¡°She pretty much knows everything about everyone.¡± ¡°Sam¡¯s never met Lucy. I haven¡¯t brought it up with her, but I wouldn¡¯t put it past Gold cluing into something,¡± I said, lingering on the thought far longer than I needed to. If Sam knew something important, she would¡¯ve said something. ¡°You listened in on my conversation with Abby, so you know what we got up to. We went looking for her and found her family home. Some assumptions were made on Abby¡¯s part and well¡­ things turned bad. You know how that gang war started with Grim.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Liam rubbed his neck. ¡°You think she¡¯s gonna do something crazy?¡± ¡°Crazy? Nah. Reckless?¡± I shook my head, uncertain what to think. All the crap with The Cains already put stress on Abby, and her killing one of Pandora¡¯s followers wasn¡¯t going to do her any favors. Contact with her had been sparse these last two weeks, and she claimed to be busy with ECU matters at headquarters. I hadn¡¯t the slightest clue how she was coping with turning her attacker into mince meat. ¡°Reckless and Abby go hand in hand.¡± ¡°Come on, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s going to go all Ajax on Lucy.¡± ¡°No,¡± I agreed. ¡°Abby wouldn¡¯t do that. Doesn¡¯t mean she won¡¯t feel compelled to make a scene about it. That¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to avoid. If Lucy knows what to expect, then we can both work together to diffuse the situation before someone says something they¡¯ll regret.¡± ¡°Sounds rough,¡± Liam mused. ¡°Anything I can do to help?¡± I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. ¡°I appreciate the concern, dude. Really, I do, but they don¡¯t know you. I think it¡¯ll be best if you stay out of things. Watch from the sidelines,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Whatever happens, we cannot reveal ourselves, especially you. If Abby starts sparkling, don¡¯t counterplay.¡± Liam laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not that dumb. I¡¯m not about to go transforming in the middle of a school with hundreds of people looking. That¡¯s like a¡­ do or die sorta thing.¡± I shared that sentiment. If the hypothetical scenario arose where the only way out was publicly revealing my identity as Upgrade, then I would have to do it. If it were a life-and-death situation, the choice would be obvious, but I struggled to think of an applicable scenario that could apply to a school environment. Abby and her ECU detail were effective at shutting down attempts to terrorize the school. ¡°Well, things have calmed down a bit now, so I don¡¯t think we need to worry about something like that happening,¡± I said. ¡°Not many Supers feel the need to attack schools, other than the freshly Awakened around our age that have chips on their shoulders, but that¡¯s what Abby and The ECU are here to prevent.¡± I expected that to be the reason for the increase in ECU personnel on our school grounds. Sam hadn¡¯t texted me, so I wasn¡¯t aware if they had upped their security at Eastworth Girls, but after terrifying events, there tended to be an influx of new Awakenings. Kids got antsy and would act out. Only a few had happened here over the last few years, and Abby was quick to deal with all of them before anyone got seriously injured. ¡°Calmed down¡­ hah! Doesn¡¯t feel like it. I feel it in the air, dude. There¡¯s like this electricity¡ª no, anticipation. Everyone¡¯s waiting for the next big thing to happen.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. On cue, there was a slight tremor beneath our feet. It lasted no more than two seconds before it stopped. It was so light that I doubt I would¡¯ve noticed it if I were back in my workshop. ¡°Hard to imagine that things could get much crazier than Grim. We don¡¯t have to deal with the Nine Circles at least, and Gaea is supposedly on our side. That just leaves Pandora to worry about,¡± I exhaled tiredly. While they were the largest group by a wide margin, I still hadn¡¯t forgotten about Mirage. It had been two weeks, and there hadn¡¯t been so much as a peep from the man. Banshee had left to go north to Ashton, which surprised me, and just like Mirage, Bonesmith had vanished. ¡°Once we deal with them, things should get easier.¡± Liam gave me a strange look. ¡°Once we deal with them? Look man, The Cains were one thing, Hell, I still can¡¯t get over the fact we actually took the bastard down, but Pandora is like, next-level. They¡¯re world-wide!¡± ¡°I meant just the branch that operates in Bayside,¡± I clarified. ¡°Kicking them out of the city, or whatever. I assume that¡¯s what comes next. Knowing Sam, she¡¯ll be cooking something up and I can imagine that Cyberspace wouldn¡¯t object to kicking them out, unless they have something to gain by keeping them here.¡± ¡°What could they possibly have to gain?¡± Liam frowned. ¡°All Pandora does is preach their shitty religion and kidnap the powerless to turn into their slaves. Honestly, it¡¯s fuckin¡¯ gross.¡± I grimaced at the thought of Lucy being treated like a second-class citizen ¨C some Super¡¯s pet. It twisted my stomach and made me murderous. ¡°Tell me about it.¡± My phone chimed, drawing my attention to the screen. One of my drones identified Lucy through the facial recognition software Cyberspace provided me with, and I frowned when I saw she wasn¡¯t alone. Walking along beside her was a boy I wasn¡¯t familiar with. He had dark skin with short hair and wore a shirt, jacket, trousers, and sneakers. He had a bit of an awkward look about him that didn¡¯t quite fit his build. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± I muttered, drawing Liam¡¯s attention. He stood up and leaned over to look. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that guy before. Where did Lucy meet him?¡± ¡°I dunno,¡± Liam replied, thinking my questions were for him. ¡°Maybe we should go find out? You did say you needed to talk to her.¡± I pocketed my phone and started toward her. Lucy arrived at the leftmost gate outside the school and lingered longer than usual, talking to the kid I¡¯d never seen or met. I saw a range of emotions flash in her eyes when she caught sight of my approach. ¡°Max!¡± Lucy managed to get the first word after stepping away from the unfamiliar boy. ¡°You¡¯re okay! You look¡­¡± she paused, observing me carefully. ¡°...different. Intense, even. That¡¯s uh, kind of a good look for you! Not something I¡¯m very used¡ª¡± ¡°Lucy, we need to talk,¡± I interrupted her so I could cut straight to the point. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay, but some things have happened and you need to know before school starts.¡± Her mouth fell open as she processed my words. I saw her fear and trepidation reach new intensities as she turned to look at her companion. The boy looked stunned, unsure whether to speak or remain quiet. I could see that he wanted to say something but opted for silence. ¡°I¡­ okay. It doesn¡¯t look like I¡¯ll get even five minutes of normalcy today. Why did I think school would be any different?¡± Lucy grumbled, rubbing her forehead. ¡°Alright, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Private,¡± I said, looking around. We were surrounded by our peers, all milling about and talking. This wasn¡¯t a conversation I wanted to have here. Not only that, but I still didn¡¯t know who Lucy¡¯s new friend was. ¡°It¡¯s a sensitive topic. I don¡¯t want people I can¡¯t trust listening in.¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± Lucy¡¯s stare landed on Liam. Standing off to my side, he offered a friendly wave. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± ¡°A friend,¡± I said before leaning in close to ensure only Lucy could hear. ¡°Of the Super variety.¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­ oh,¡± the implication landed. Awkwardly, Lucy offered a light-hearted wave. ¡°Is he part of what you wanna talk about?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I heaved a heavy sigh, eager to get Lucy somewhere private. ¡°And no offense to your friend here, but I don¡¯t know him, so I can¡¯t trust him,¡± I shot him a light, apologetic stare. ¡°Don¡¯t take it personally. It¡¯s just¡­ I don¡¯t know you.¡± The boy looked disheartened but shrugged. ¡°I get it. You guys are best friends. Lucy¡¯s mentioned you a bit.¡± I gave him a thankful nod before lightly pulling Lucy aside. She needed to know the severity of the situation, and she needed to know quickly. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not going to mince my words here. I know about you ¨C your family to be more specific,¡± I watched the color drain from her face. She looked like she wanted to run away and hide. ¡°Worse still, Abby knows. When you went missing, we looked into why.¡± ¡°It was you!¡± Lucy breathed, the fear on her face turning to panic. ¡°Oh, God. That¡¯s why they told me to leave my phone behind. They knew¡­ they knew you and Abby would look for me. Fuck,¡± she looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. ¡°Fuck¡­ FUCK!¡± ¡°Who¡ª¡± I stopped myself when the unspoken answer slapped me across the face. I turned away and covered my mouth to stop myself from blurting out something stupid. Cyberspace had contacted Lucy, for whatever reason, and instructed her to leave her phone behind so I could find it. It had all been planned. Now, I had to wonder what else they had in store. ¡°We can¡¯t talk about this so openly. Follow me.¡± Wordlessly, the three followed. I led them to a remote corner around the back of the school that I secured with my drones. There weren¡¯t many private spaces, but the lack of anyone around made it secure enough. Lucy¡¯s friend gave us space, standing deliberately out of earshot but remaining within view. While I wasn¡¯t satisfied with that, I could accept it. ¡°Cyberspace talked to you.¡± Lucy confirmed with a slow nod. ¡°I was trying to message you after I got home from school. I was pissed you missed our assignment but it all fell into place when my father mentioned that Gaea called a meeting,¡± Lucy explained, anxiously rubbing her arms. ¡°The pieces sorta fit together. You were there, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yup,¡± Liam casually answered for me. ¡°The whole thing was pretty much a waste of time.¡± ¡°We were there,¡± I said under my breath. ¡°Had the pleasure of meeting your Dad.¡± Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat. ¡°You get it now, right? Why I never wanted you anywhere near my family. He¡¯s¡­ my Dad can be exceedingly cruel,¡± she explained, letting her arms fall to her sides. ¡°I didn¡¯t know how to bring it up with you guys, so I just avoided it whenever it was brought up. I let you guys come to your own conclusions because honestly, whatever you guys thought of would be better than what I deal with. I felt like I could live with that.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be that way,¡± I said, meaning every word. There was space at our hideout, and I was more than willing to make adjustments to ensure Lucy¡¯s safety. ¡°You can get out. I can help you now. Properly help you, in a way I never could before ¨C you know that now.¡± ¡°Max¡­¡± Lucy slowly shook her head, looking like she was trying to hold back tears. She sniffed and steeled herself. ¡°You said Abby knows about me,¡± she masterfully changed the subject. ¡°What exactly should I be expecting? I¡¯ve had nightmares about this kinda thing, you know. Is she going to freak out the moment she sees me? What the hell am I supposed to do? I can¡¯t exactly avoid her, we have classes together.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say for certain how she¡¯ll react, but I can say that you hiding all of it hasn¡¯t done you any favors,¡± I replied, my expression grim. ¡°Abby came up with some wild accusations when we broke into your place. I stood up for you, but I have no idea if any of those ideas have stuck, especially after what happened. We were attacked while we were there.¡± ¡°Oh my God,¡± Lucy¡¯s head fell into her hands. ¡°This can¡¯t be happening.¡± ¡°We defended ourselves and obviously won. Can¡¯t say the same about our attackers.¡± Lucy laughed, but I could hear the despair in her voice. ¡°You both killed them,¡± Lucy shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this. It was you two. Oh, fuck. If Dad finds out it wasn¡¯t The Cains, heads are going to roll. Yours, Abby¡¯s, fuck¡­ so many people are going to die because of this. Dad doesn¡¯t like being made a fool of. He¡¯ll¡ª¡± she stopped, failing to find the words. ¡°Jesus, Max. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen.¡± ¡°So, your Dad¡¯s Wildfire, right?¡± Liam chimed in, drawing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Did he tell you how Grim got taken down?¡± Lucy looked between us and shook her head. ¡°Not in detail. Something about being lured into a trap, and then Gaea dealt with him. I assume The Queen¡¯s Court were the ones to do it?¡± ¡°Nope! Well, Gaea was the one to finish him off,¡± Liam dismissed with a light wave. ¡°But we were the ones to actually bring him down. Me specifically,¡± I didn¡¯t miss his boastful tone. I felt the impulsive need to remind him that initially, he was against the plan and didn¡¯t want to go anywhere near Grim, but I supposed I could let him have this one. He was the reason for our overall success. ¡°Took some work, but we managed it. I doubt dealing with your Dad is going to be as hard as that.¡± I noted the incredulous look on Lucy¡¯s face and decided to elaborate. ¡°Circumstances of that night thankfully put our group in a unique position to discover his weakness. We also had the means to exploit it, which we didn¡¯t hesitate to take,¡± I explained. Her incredulous expression didn¡¯t change. It actually got worse. ¡°In the end, it all worked out. He¡¯s gone, and he isn¡¯t coming back.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t coming¡ª¡± Lucy shook away her disbelief. ¡°You went up against Grim? Have you lost your fucking mind? Since when do you do that!?¡± I saw genuine anger erupt, her face turning red. ¡°You play games, fix computers, suck at sports¡­ you don¡¯t go out and fight genocidal monsters! Where the hell is your self-preservation? Why, why would you DO that!? Leave it to the professionals to solve.¡± ¡°Um, to be fair, if we did that, there probably wouldn¡¯t be a city right now,¡± Liam said, jumping to my defense. ¡°Grim¡¯s weakness was really dumb, and obvious. Nobody would have believed us. Even our resident Mentalist was pissed about it.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± I said. ¡°We had the information and a plan. As much as I would¡¯ve liked to shout it from the rooftops and let Grim be someone¡¯s problem, we needed to do something. We had no choice but to act if we wanted the city to survive the night. Besides¡­¡± I looked away, trying to hide the bubbling guilt that gestated within me. ¡°It was partly my fault everything happened anyway. The fight at your house kicked everything off. I wasn¡¯t about to sit around and let someone else clean up my mess.¡± Lucy¡¯s head fell into her hands, her fingers rubbing every inch of her face like she was trying to wake herself up. ¡°God, this doesn¡¯t feel real.¡± ¡°Ya¡¯know, I¡¯ve been saying the same thing to myself these last few weeks,¡± Liam chuckled. ¡°Feels like the whole world¡¯s gone mad. My whole life is upside down now,¡± he shot a beaming smile at Lucy, which she returned with a tired, deadpan glare. His laugh turned awkward, and he turned away to escape the glare. His eyes landed on Lucy¡¯s companion. ¡°So what¡¯s his deal? Is he part of Pandora too?¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡ª¡± Lucy¡¯s expression became pained and uncomfortable. ¡°¡ªprocessing what happened. He¡¯s not a Super, if you were wondering. Just another normal person stuck in a shitty situation like me, except he¡¯s got it A LOT worse.¡± ¡°Cool, he can join the club. I¡¯m processing things all the time. I just recently learned my sister was a secret undercover Super for Cyberspace. She did heaps of jobs, and probably killed a bunch of people. Still processing that,¡± Liam¡¯s nonchalance chilled me to the bone. ¡°That, and my breakfast. You could even say I¡¯m processing what I¡¯m going to eat for lunch! Is the cafeteria here any good?¡± Liam turned to stare at me and Lucy. Lucy met my gaze, looking beyond horrified. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ explain later,¡± was all I could offer her. ¡°We need to figure out how to approach Abby.¡± Slowly, Lucy nodded. I could see the gears turning in her head as she tried to piece together how to proceed. ¡°Well, no point lying. That¡¯s going to make things worse. If she loses her temper and makes a scene, I¡¯m screwed. She¡¯ll tell everyone, if she hasn¡¯t already. I can kiss my social life goodbye if that happens,¡± Lucy ran a hand through her hair before glancing at her distant companion. ¡°I was really hoping things weren¡¯t going to get more complicated. Damn it. Why does this shit have to happen to me?¡± I took the opening the moment I saw it. ¡°Who is your friend?¡± ¡°His name is Travis,¡± Lucy suddenly looked like her mind was a million miles away. ¡°He¡¯s uh¡­ a lot of things happened during Grim¡¯s rampage. Dad had to do clean up. Not all of Pandora¡¯s Supers adhere to the code. Shocking, I know,¡± she muttered with every ounce of sarcasm she could muster. ¡°When that happens, well¡­ people like me and Travis end up being taken advantage of.¡± I suddenly felt incredibly uncomfortable, and I could see Liam was too. ¡°Shit¡­¡± Liam cringed. ¡°Is he okay?¡± ¡°No,¡± Lucy replied bluntly. ¡°I don¡¯t know if he ever will be.¡± More problems to fix. My phone chimed, and I glanced down at the screen. My drones picked up on Abby arriving on the school grounds. At the same time, the bell for homeroom rang. ¡°Time to go,¡± I mused. ¡°Lets hope Abby doesn¡¯t make a scene.¡± Lucy sighed. ¡°Honestly, if she doesn¡¯t throw me into outer space, I¡¯ll consider it a win.¡± Initialization 4 ¡°Good morning, everyone. I hope you are all doing well this Monday morning.¡± Knowing the truth, hearing those words come from my Headmaster¡¯s mouth made me sick. This must have been what Sam felt like, knowing all the skeletons in someone¡¯s closet and having to watch them put on this facade. For years I was none the wiser, going about my daily routine while Pandora agents looked for ways to induct students into their cult. I couldn¡¯t even make the excuse that it was a recent development. The Headmaster¡¯s private threads and messages went back almost a decade. How many students had he lured into Pandora¡¯s grasp? How many Supers my age were tricked and taken advantage of? There had to be some. My age group had the highest Awakening rate. Getting people like him in charge of schools was a strategy I could absolutely see Pandora employing. Worse still, Minerva was a location Sam only speculated had Pandora involvement. There were other schools in Bayside she had more concrete information on. ¡°As you all may have guessed, myself and the rest of the staff have gathered you here this morning to go over some changes that will be occurring in light of recent events. However, before I dive into that topic, I unfortunately must deliver some heartbreaking news.¡± The large screen above the Headmaster switched on, showing a screen with a list of names. Each name had a small photo next to it, and my heart fell into my stomach. Lucy shifted uncomfortably next to me, her fingers digging into the hem of her hoodie. We both knew what this was, and I wanted to kick myself for not even considering this as a possibility. ¡°Some of you may recognize these names. They were your peers, students, and part of our family here at Minerva. It is with a heavy heart that I must say that the names you see are victims of the recent conflict,¡± The Headmaster remained calm and composed, but even I saw emotion ¨C or what seemed like emotion ¨C on his face. ¡°I ask that we give them a moment of silence.¡± An uncomfortable quiet fell on the auditorium, and I felt a weight descend on my shoulders. I counted each name, committing each face to memory. I wasn¡¯t familiar with any of them, but I could recall times I had seen a few in passing. One of the more recognizable faces was the captain of the debate team. He wasn¡¯t even at the end of the list. It seemed like the list went on forever, but I eventually finished the count. Twenty-nine. My foolish excursion with Abby set in motion the events that took the lives of twenty-nine students. There were hundreds more who died, even more still missing, but somehow these twenty-nine got to me. It rubbed me raw, and all I wanted to do was escape. I wanted to get out and run away, go somewhere far away where they weren¡¯t staring down and judging me. ¡°Thank you. We will be moving on to the changes to our day to day structure.¡± As the Headmaster explained the reasons for increased security on school grounds, I let my eyes wander the room, taking note of the extra ECU personnel positioned at every exit. Excessive was the word that jumped to mind, but I understood the necessity to protect the public. I had no doubt many places around the city shared the increased security. My gaze caught Abby, clad in her armored costume at the front facing the assembly. She was sitting back in her chair, a leg crossed over the other, staring absently at the floor. From where I sat I couldn¡¯t make out any distinct features, but I could tell she was tired. I knew her well enough to see the signals in her body language. She was spaced out, deep in thought. I needed to talk to her, preferably before Lucy did, but I didn¡¯t know how realistic that goal was. ¡°. . . That sums up the changes. I expect you all to abide by any ECU instruction in the case of an emergency. Show them the quality of Minerva standards,¡± the Headmaster nodded curtly before filing his assembly notes away in a folder. ¡°I will now hand you off to Ms. Kingston to go through up and coming changes for our community.¡± The Headmaster retreated to sit with the rest of his colleagues, the podium remaining empty. I looked back at Abby who hadn¡¯t seemed to register his words. I felt a bit of secondhand embarrassment as she stared at the floor. Murmuring quickly spread through the auditorium, and Lucy nervously rubbed her neck. ¡°Oh, God Abby. Don¡¯t space out¡­¡± she muttered. The murmuring suddenly vanished as Domination appeared from behind the stage, walking out in the same armored costume. ¡°Oh, it''s her Mom speaking. This is¡­ new.¡± Domination didn¡¯t carry a folder or any papers, but something told me she didn¡¯t need them. She strolled out and stood at the podium with a sturdy posture. She radiated an air of authority that none of our teachers could even hope to match. Her gaze washed over us, and I could tell she was contemplating how to frame the topics she needed to cover. ¡°Good morning. I¡¯ll be brief.¡± Her tone was flat and sharp. ¡°Beginning from nine o¡¯clock tonight, a mandatory curfew will be instituted. This will extend till the 31st of October. Many of you will have likely heard rumors as to why, so allow me to confirm some of the speculation. Chronos will be arriving shortly with support from Ajax.¡± I grimaced at the news. The curfew was new, but Abby had been talking about all this for the last month. General Jessamine had been scheduled for transfer to New Elpis long before Grim went on his rampage, and Ajax bringing Sweepers and Walkers to help reestablish order in Bayside made sense, but the curfew seemed strange. ¡°What?¡± Lucy murmured, looking stunned. ¡°Why do we need Ajax¡¯s support?¡± ¡°Trying to save face for Grim, probably,¡± I replied. ¡°Everyone¡¯s still recovering from the chaos. This is their best chance to put a strong foot forward so they don¡¯t look pathetic.¡± Lucy looked like she wanted to continue the discussion, but Domination continued. ¡°Know that the curfew is for your safety, and is not a suggestion. If you are caught outside during nine P.M to six A.M, there will be consequences. Allow me to stress that this is no time to be pushing boundaries. People have died, and we are committed to stopping more needless death. Be safe, stay home, and obey the law.¡± Domination almost had me wanting to follow her instructions. I knew she was saying this in good faith because I trusted the quality of her character. She and Abby were always genuine, but I knew I couldn¡¯t follow those instructions. It was likely the curfew was designed to eliminate any casualties when the Sweepers and Walkers began patrolling. ¡°Now, another matter,¡± Domination¡¯s stern tone softened somewhat, and I found myself leaning forward in anticipation. ¡°I am unaware how many of you were truly affected by Grim¡¯s senseless attempt to destroy our city. Some of you will undoubtedly feel the sting of his actions more than others. As your Headmaster has pointed out, several of your peers unfortunately found themselves victims of the battle. It is to my understanding, along with many of my colleagues, that Awakenings happen more frequently in the wake of these tragedies,¡± she paused, surveying the quiet crowd. ¡°I may be speaking to many, a few, or none that have experienced one recently. I ask you to consider those around you, and the community at large. You¡¯ve all seen what Grim has done. Help us fight against those who will do the same, and we will help you in kind.¡± Domination¡¯s words had the intended effect. All around me, I could see agreement spreading. My peers looked inspired. For the first time, I really felt like I was part of the problem ¨C the enemy everyone was banding together to beat. I had to remind myself this was just propaganda, a call for unity that the ECU desperately needed. I couldn¡¯t blame her for phrasing things that way. She was doing her job. I would still help, but in my own way. ¡°Thank you for your attention, and your patience. Before we conclude, our Rookie representative has requested to say a few words.¡± Domination looked to her side, her gaze landing on her daughter. Abby¡¯s head lifted and turned to the stage. It looked like she was considering whether or not she could be bothered going up there. Finally, she stood and walked onto the stage. Her mother watched her approach with a cautious eye, and when Abby got to the podium, Domination leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Whatever she said, Abby barely registered it. Her mother stepped back, opening up space for Abby to speak. Lucy and I watched with trepidation as Abby stood with a blank stare. I couldn¡¯t tell what was raging through her head or what she really wanted to say, but getting the occasional speech from her to propagate and bolster the ECU wasn¡¯t uncommon. She¡¯d typically do something like this every few months. ¡°Hey,¡± Abby¡¯s throat sounded dry, and she cleared it with a laugh. ¡°Hey, aha. Sorry,¡± the rest of the auditorium joined her in a light laugh that eased the tension. ¡°So, uh, yeah. Like Domination said. We¡¯ll help you out and do all that stuff¡­ uh,¡± she stopped, shaking her head and sighing. ¡°Man, you know I figured I¡¯d be able to get up here and talk like I usually do, but I just can¡¯t.¡± Oh no. ¡°What is she doing?¡± Lucy sucked in a breath. I didn¡¯t get a chance to reply. ¡°This isn¡¯t¡ª no, it¡¯s just¡ª¡± her grip around the podium tightened, and I could have sworn Abby would splinter it with her strength if she wasn¡¯t careful. ¡°¡ªI don¡¯t even know what to say. Where do I start? What I do ¨C what we do ¨C isn¡¯t heroic, or about being a hero. To be honest, I don¡¯t know why we push that bullshit narrative. You want to know the truth? I¡¯ll tell you the truth.¡± I felt the atmosphere in the auditorium turn tense, and almost every ECU soldier exchanged concerned looks with their comrades before looking over at the podium. To my astonishment, Domination made no move to dissuade her daughter. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing this for four years. Four years, and in the last month I¡¯ve seen more than anyone our age should ever have to. I¡¯m never going to forget it, and now I¡¯m going to have to live with it for the rest of my life. Obviously, for legal reasons, I can¡¯t talk about it. Even if I could, I wouldn''t. None of you deserve that,¡± Abby emphasized the last part. ¡°So, yeah. All this heroism stuff is garbage. What we do is work. There¡¯s no glory in it.¡± There was no outcry. No applause. Only silence. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s all I really have to say. If you do have powers, do the smart thing. Either come and help us make the world a safer place, or hide. Live a normal life. Don¡¯t use your powers. Don¡¯t make our job harder than it needs to be,¡± she stepped away from the podium, heaving a sigh. For a brief moment, she hesitated, stepping back to the microphone. She opened her mouth, ready to begin a new rant, but she stopped herself at the last second. ¡°Actually, nah. Nah I¡¯m done.¡± Abby turned and strolled off the stage, returning to her seat. She avoided everyone¡¯s dumbfounded looks and found solace in staring at the floor again. Domination remained just as composed as ever, but it was clear Abby had destroyed whatever script she was following. I wasn¡¯t sure how all this would come back to bite her, but whatever punishment she was going to receive would be private. I guessed it was the reason Domination made no attempt to stop her. It would look bad if she dragged her daughter off stage during her rant. This way, it gave off the impression it was all planned.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°That¡¯s not going to end well for her,¡± Lucy murmured as the Headmaster stood, doing his best not to look baffled. ¡°They¡¯re going to come down on her like a ton of bricks. There¡¯s no way she gets away with saying all that to a whole school. This¡¯ll be all over forums within the hour.¡± ¡°Forget an hour,¡± I said, eyeing my surroundings. I could already see students sneakily trying to use their phones. One of them would have filmed Abby¡¯s rant, without a doubt. ¡°Give it ten minutes and it¡¯ll be blowing up. Their reputation is about to take a hit.¡± ¡°It could swing either way,¡± Lucy admitted. ¡°She could be commended for her honesty, or condemned for it.¡± ¡°Abby¡¯s known for her bluntness. It¡¯s why everyone likes her,¡± I said, feeling hopeful. ¡°I think she¡¯ll weather whatever backlash she gets from this. I¡¯m more worried about her mental state,¡± I leaned over, taking the risk of being seen talking by one of the wandering teachers. Thankfully, most of them seemed too shocked by what had just happened and weren¡¯t paying attention. ¡°You know what happened at your place, and you know we were involved. She killed someone, and it¡¯s weighing on her.¡± ¡°You both killed someone,¡± Lucy hissed back quietly. ¡°And you seem to be handling it far better than she is.¡± ¡°It was self-defense,¡± I grumbled, keeping my voice down. ¡°I¡¯m not losing sleep over it.¡± ¡°Well, evidently Abby is.¡± The Headmaster cleared his throat. ¡°Thank you. We will endeavor to take your words to heart,¡± his diplomatic tone betrayed his uncomfortable shock. ¡°Now, some quick administration and upkeep, then I will send you all on your way.¡± Ten minutes later, we filed out of the auditorium on our way to the first class of the day. While my mind was occupied with how to approach the ¡®Abby and Lucy¡¯ situation, I noted that Chris wasn¡¯t at school. I shared Math and English with him, and he was a no-show. It was concerning, and I would later have to look into it if his absence became a trend. Just one more thing on the list of things I needed to fix. When lunch came, I made a beeline for the library. It was our usual spot, but something told me I wouldn¡¯t find my friends there. To my surprise they were, with the exception of Abby. Jackson was talking and seemed to be making fast friends with Liam, while Lucy conversed quietly with Travis. The moment she saw me, she rushed over to me. ¡°She dodged me,¡± Lucy said in exasperation. ¡°All morning through Math and English. She sat at the back of class by herself and refused to talk to me!¡± She rubbed her forehead in frustration. ¡°I was expecting something from her, not total silence.¡± I considered that to be a blessing. It sounded like Abby was trying to distance herself in order to stop herself from doing something stupid. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to her,¡± I said, taking out my phone. It only took seconds for my drones to locate her. She was sitting alone with her lunch on top of the science block. It was a strange place for her to linger, but our next class was Chemistry, so I supposed it made sense. ¡°She¡¯s been wanting to talk to me about what happened for a while now. I¡¯ll get her to come around, don¡¯t worry.¡± Lucy looked torn. ¡°Are you sure? Maybe we should just leave her alone.¡± ¡°Trust me,¡± I realized how hypocritical it was for me to say that to Lucy, given my recent track record. Her face twisted into a scowl, but I hardened my gaze. ¡°I mean it this time. This isn¡¯t about a stupid school assignment. I¡¯m going to fix this. I mean it.¡± ¡°Max¡ª¡± I was already moving, but I turned. ¡°Just¡­ I don¡¯t know. I want to be able to talk to her, that¡¯s all. I want to set things straight on my own, so don¡¯t speak for me, please,¡± she said sincerely. ¡°I can trust you to do that?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on it,¡± I said, agreeing. Her request was reasonable, but my primary goal was to get them on speaking terms. Whatever problems Abby had with Lucy needed to be resolved. The last thing I wanted was unnecessary drama plaguing my school life. I was going to have enough stress dealing with General Jessamine¡¯s arrival. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± I jogged out of the library and headed toward the science block. The stairway to the roof was restricted to staff and forbidden to students, but that wasn¡¯t going to stop me from seeing Abby. I snuck through the doors when the teachers on duty weren¡¯t looking and climbed to the top. Stepping through the door at the top, I found Abby sitting on top of the building¡¯s ventilation system. She spotted me easily, raising a puzzled brow. ¡°That was quick.¡± ¡°I asked around. Figured someone would have seen where you had disappeared to,¡± I lied as easily as I breathed. ¡°So, why all this? Of all the reactions, I wasn¡¯t expecting you to run away and hide.¡± ¡°Oh, fuck off,¡± she snapped half-heartedly. ¡°I don¡¯t need that shit from you. You of all people should understand why I can¡¯t look her in the eye right now. I¡¯m trying not to hold it against her, so I just need time to figure my shit out. Lucy is clearly all daisies and dandelions, so she can wait until I¡¯m ready.¡± I sighed, slowly walking over to her side. I leaned on the side of the vent as there was no feasible way to climb up and sit beside her without making a fool of myself for trying. Without my gear, I wasn¡¯t stellar at physical activity. Soon, that¡¯d change. ¡°Alright, fine. Weird spot for brooding though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a great spot for brooding, thank you very much,¡± Abby retorted. ¡°It has a good view, and I wanted to have a good spot to see when they arrive, seeing as I won¡¯t be at Headquarters until later.¡± ¡°Who?¡± I frowned. ¡°General Jessamine?¡± Abby pointed past the harbor and out to the horizon. My eyes followed, but I saw nothing but clouds and blue sky. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything.¡± ¡°Obviously. The Mothership is still a hundred kilometers out. Give it five minutes and you¡¯ll feel the engines,¡± Abby giggled mirthlessly. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m told, at least. I¡¯ve never actually seen it before with my own eyes. Just videos on the internet and some first hand accounts from colleagues at Headquarters.¡± ¡°The Mothership?¡± I wondered aloud. ¡°That¡¯s supposed to be one of Ajax¡¯s largest ships.¡± ¡°Yeah, it has to be with all the cargo it''s carrying. There¡¯s enough warmachines in there to make the USSR, China, and America run with their tails between their legs,¡± Abby¡¯s legs kicked excitedly. ¡°We¡¯re getting Sweepers and Walkers, but apparently there are some Hunters being deployed at Zachery Port. They¡¯ll be investigating the sinkholes or whatever. Haven¡¯t really paid attention to what¡¯s going on down there.¡± ¡°I thought that was the Mountain?¡± I asked, feigning ignorance. Abby took a lazy bite out of one of her sandwiches. ¡°Nah, higher-ups got in contact with him. He knows nothing about it,¡± she said with her mouth half-full. ¡°Someone else is doing it, which is partly why General Jessamine was coming in the first place. Got some super secret confidential information from Foresight,¡± Abby rolled her eyes and showed me her poorest impression of a scared little girl. ¡°Spoooooooky stuff.¡± ¡°...Shouldn¡¯t we be a little more concerned about that?¡± ¡°If you ask me? Who fucking cares,¡± she uncharacteristically brushed off my concern. ¡°Things can¡¯t get much worse than Grim, and whatever is happening is all the way down in Zachery Port. It¡¯s not really our problem. They¡¯ve got their own ECU branch down there, their own Supers and Rookies. They can handle it.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the reason General Jessamine is coming here, then why is she coming here instead of there?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re the capital, and Ajax will be deploying his war machines in every city, not just Bayside,¡± she finished her sandwich and hopped off the vent, landing next to me. ¡°Things are looking up for us, I think.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t seem this peppy during that speech of yours.¡± Abby¡¯s expression twisted, becoming more shallow and haunted. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to go up there.¡± ¡°Then why did you?¡± ¡°Because they fucking asked me to!¡± Abby sneered. ¡°Oh, Abby, you brave heroine! Put on a friendly face and reassure your peers that they¡¯re safe! Ugh, fucking gag me with a gym sock and throw me to Gaea. It¡¯s all a load of shit, and I hate it. I hate lying. It doesn¡¯t do anyone ANY good.¡± I did my best to ignore the uncomfortable heat forming around my neck. Part of me wondered what would happen if I revealed my Super identity to Abby now. The science block was high up, so I¡¯d probably break some bones. I supposed whether I was thrown head first or legs first came down to how I worded it. I¡¯d call that Plan C, maybe D for now. ¡°They¡¯re going to come down on you for that.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll bitch and moan like they always do,¡± Abby dismissed with a wave. ¡°It won¡¯t change anything. I¡¯ll still be sent on patrols. I¡¯ll still bring in criminals,¡± she paused and sighed. ¡°They¡¯ll still frame me as their poster-child hero.¡± I sympathized with her somewhat, but I was aware of how far off-topic we were getting. ¡°You still need to talk to Lucy. She wants to clear the air with you.¡± ¡°You think I don¡¯t know that?¡± She rubbed her face, her expression displaying more exhaustion than I was used to seeing on her. ¡°Fucking hell, dude. We broke into her house, killed someone that was probably related to her, and then somehow burned the place to the ground with another person inside,¡± she shook her head. ¡°That shit was my fault as well. I blew a hole in their kitchen. There was probably loose wiring and gas or something¡­ fuck.¡± ¡°They attacked us,¡± I said, trying to drag her out of this mental hole she had found herself in. ¡°Abby, they jumped us. We were only defending ourselves.¡± ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have been in there in the first place. It was my fault! I decided to break in because I couldn¡¯t stand not knowing where my friend was when the city was going to shit,¡± Abby¡¯s tone got angrier with each word. ¡°I told you what I saw, Max. I fucking told you, but there¡¯s no way you can understand just how fucked up everything was without actually seeing it. Grim was experimenting on people, doing God knows what. We still haven¡¯t found the Biokinetic he was working with, by the way. They¡¯re still out there,¡± she waved madly at the city. ¡°They¡¯re probably out pulling that shit somewhere else right now!¡± I almost slipped and said Splicer had been caught, but I stopped myself. ¡°Two people¡­ two people dead. Fuck,¡± she looked me dead in the eyes. ¡°Did you even know? You said some guy attacked you, but you managed to fight him off. Did you know he died, burned to death in the house? Our Mentalists said there was nothing left.¡± ¡°I knew,¡± I replied softly. ¡°I saw the smoke not long after we split up.¡± Abby cursed and rubbed the back of her neck. She looked even more torn than Lucy did, but after staring at me for a few moments, she frowned. ¡°You¡­¡± she blinked and shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re not bothered?¡± I really wasn¡¯t sure what to say because I hadn¡¯t thought about it all that much since it happened. Until Lucy mentioned it earlier, it had mostly escaped my mind. ¡°Not really. A little bit, I guess¡ª¡± ¡°A little bit!?¡± Abby looked horrified. ¡°Max, they¡¯re¡ª¡± ¡°Pandora, Abby. I know what they are. I know what they do to people like me. Do you expect me to feel guilty about what happened? They tried to fucking kill us! I didn¡¯t even get a word in before the guy was on top of me,¡± I shrugged helplessly. ¡°There was no fight or flight response. Just fight! In a situation like that, I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m supposed to feel guilty about what happened.¡± ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have been there!¡± Abby stressed. ¡°We fucked up.¡± I couldn¡¯t deny that she had a point, but if she was looking to summon any shred of guilt, she failed. ¡°Alright, yeah. We shouldn¡¯t have been there,¡± I agreed. ¡°Doesn¡¯t change what happened.¡± ¡°Jesus, Max,¡± Abby looked at me like she couldn¡¯t believe what I said. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a good thing I told Mom. It looks like we both need help, for different reasons.¡± My stomach twisted. ¡°You what?¡± I didn¡¯t get an answer. Distant horns thrummed through the air, capturing our attention. On the horizon, a giant shadow loomed. General Jessamine had arrived. Initialization 5 I saw the ripples in the air before they hit me, blasting from the engines of The Mothership. The spacecraft loomed above The ECU¡¯s Citadel, eclipsing the daylight across Bayside. The sight and sheer scale was unlike anything I had ever seen, leaving me in awe to witness the pinnacle of Mechatechnology. There wasn¡¯t a moment in my life where I¡¯d felt so miniscule. It was commonly thought that Ajax was the strongest Super alive, with almost no one even coming close to the amount of firepower at their disposal; or the versatility of their tech. It was a miracle they had humanity¡¯s best interests in mind. Just about every major conflict since Ajax¡¯s appearance ended because their Mechatech was so advanced, nobody could do anything to contest them. I never wondered why. I¡¯d seen the videos and read recounts of survivors. Ajax was an unstoppable titan of unrestrained power and dominance. Now, I got to see and feel firsthand what it was like. The Mothership wasn¡¯t even a combat ship, it was cargo, and I still felt intimidated by its magnitude. ¡°Damn!¡± Abby laughed. ¡°Mom had told me stories, but I never would have imagined this!¡± She held up her hands, comparing the size of the ship against the ECU building. Even with our distance from the city center, The Mothership could flatten about sixty percent of Bayside if Ajax decided to land the damn thing. ¡°Shit, the videos don¡¯t do it justice. This is wild!¡± ¡°It¡¯s certainly something,¡± I replied, unable to mask my apprehension. Luckily, Abby was too focused on admiring the spacecraft to pick up on my tone. We watched as the ship maneuvered in place, readjusting itself above the Citadel. It wasn¡¯t long before compartments in the ship''s belly shifted and opened. Strange metal tubes extended out like snakes, attaching themselves to the top floors of the skyscraper. ¡°What the hell is it doing?¡± ¡°Delivery. They¡¯re like umbilical cords. The top floors of the Citadels were designed by Deadlocked, so there¡¯s more space up there. It¡¯s kinda like storage,¡± Abby explained. ¡°That''s probably where the Sweepers and Walkers are being dropped off. There¡¯s a whole treasure trove of stuff, I¡¯ve been up there a couple of times.¡± She had my full attention. ¡°I don¡¯t recall you mentioning this before,¡± I narrowed my eyes at the top of the Citadel, scanning for any way inside. From where I stood, it was impossible to garner any specific details except where the tubes connected. I didn¡¯t have my suit or sniper on hand; I couldn¡¯t get a closer look. I could send my drones over, but the chances of being detected were far too high. I had invested too much into them to risk them on reckless decisions. ¡°Is it something you¡¯re not really allowed to talk about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s kinda boring,¡± Abby shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just where we dump a lot of the confiscated Mechatech. Mom said there are higher-levels for more unstable tech, but usually that stuff is exported out of New Elpis to more secure facilities, ya¡¯know, before they explode or something.¡± I felt the compulsion to ask for any weaknesses, but I¡¯d be exploiting my relationship with Abby. I was already on the other side, but that didn¡¯t mean I had to be a total piece of shit. On the other hand¡­ I couldn¡¯t just ignore the opportunity. What exactly did The ECU have locked away up there? What kind of hidden gems would I be able to snag if the opportunity presented itself? If it was a storage space for confiscated Mechatech, I could only assume there would be countless items from a long list of criminal, vigilante, and even hero Mechakinetics. It would all just be collecting dust while I could put it to good use. ¡°Damn, it must be full of all sorts of cool stuff.¡± I hoped I didn¡¯t sound suspicious, but honestly, who wouldn¡¯t find the concept of a secret room stashed full of confiscated Mechatech interesting? ¡°You don¡¯t even know the half of it, and honestly, neither do I. It¡¯s not just Mechatech that¡¯s up there. Apparently there¡¯s experimental stuff that someone like Nanoforge hasn¡¯t even been approved for, and I¡¯ve heard Vulcan complains a lot since most of his new stuff is stored up there for testing,¡± Abby shrugged. ¡°Now it looks like they¡¯re transforming it into a deployment bay for our Sweepers and Walkers.¡± More reasons to go up there. If I could get my hands on a Sweeper or a Walker before they were activated, I should be able to reprogram them to my side. I could even make them better than the ones being deployed by Ajax and The ECU. Madhouse would be stronger than ever, but the target on our backs would increase immensely. Was that worth the risk? Would I risk making Ajax an enemy? Could I? I could almost hear Sam and Cyberspace¡¯s voices simultaneously in my head. They already are. Another horn thrummed through the air, and this time, the sound shook my bones. Our phones began buzzing as a garbled mechanical voice started speaking. ¡°Attention citizens. Lockdown will remain in effect until stated otherwise. Curfew is in effect. Compliance with all ECU personnel is mandatory. Failure to abide by these restrictions will result in disciplinary measures.¡± Ajax¡¯s voice sent chills down my spine as they delivered the message without a shred of emotion in their tone. Everyone knew Ajax meant business. Plenty of criticism had been levied against them over the years, but the one thing nobody could argue against was the results they produced. The ECU allegedly kept the world together, preventing chaos from breaking out and administrating what they could. Ajax made sure nothing could threaten them and their work. ¡°This all seems a bit excessive,¡± I commented lightly, staring at my phone. The message displayed on my screen was the national security alert that had just blasted across the city. ¡°But you said this goes beyond Bayside, right?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I don¡¯t know all the deets. Something to do with the sinkholes, but all this should help us finally establish some damn order in this city. We¡¯ve been way too slack for too long,¡± Abby dismissed the alert and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. ¡°Seriously, the night we broke into Lucy¡¯s house, it all went to shit. We didn¡¯t have enough manpower to keep things together, and we could barely do our jobs.¡± Abby rubbed her forehead, her exhaustion beginning to show through her tough exterior. She turned, and her gaze landed on me. I could see a sliver of a smile trying to force its way onto her face, but her eyes remained melancholic. She sighed. ¡°It¡¯s hard to paint the picture for you. Just take my word for it dude, things will get better. Trust me. We¡¯ll get everyone fucking this city up.¡± I considered her words, wondering if I could steal insight into what was going on behind the scenes. Sure, it was morally wrong to abuse our relationship like this, but I needed to know what The ECU was doing and who they were prioritizing. While I could use Alex¡¯s backdoor into their systems, the information I¡¯d be able to access via that route would be limited. ¡°Are you guys focused on anyone in particular?¡± I asked. If they turned their sights on Pandora, it would make moving around the city infinitely easier for Madhouse. There was also The Queen¡¯s Court to consider. The fragile alliance they maintained with The ECU couldn¡¯t last if their private dealings with Cyberspace were exposed. Hell, the revelation that Cyberspace was still active might give Ajax enough reason to stick around. ¡°With The Cains in pieces, there¡¯s only really Pandora and The Queen¡¯s Court left.¡± Abby groaned. ¡°Ugh, I wish it were that fuckin¡¯ simple.¡± My brow raised. ¡°There¡¯s this new group. God I just¡ª¡± Abby stopped to calm her temper. I felt my heart speed up when I realized who she was about to start ranting about. ¡°They call themselves ¡®Madhouse.¡¯ Popped up outta nowhere, and I¡¯ve already had a few run-ins with them. They were nobodies until Grim. Now, they¡¯re just¡­¡± she paused, shaking her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. They¡¯re like cockroaches, crawling out of the woodwork the moment one of the big players falls. Nothing fuckin¡¯ changes!¡± ¡°Cockroaches¡­ Really?¡± I very nearly sounded insulted. ¡°It¡¯s the same story every time. One gang falls and another takes its place. You know what¡¯s even shitter? Statistically, the newer gang is worse than the last, how else could they take over right?¡± Abby rolled her eyes. ¡°Mom and I had half their squad dead to rights straight after Grim was confirmed to be down and out. Do you wanna know what our command told us? ¡®Let them go.¡¯ Insane, right?¡± I grimaced. ¡°Wild.¡± ¡°Now it''s going to start all over again,¡± Abby crossed her arms before looking back to The Mothership. ¡°Or maybe it won¡¯t. Ajax might have brought them in by the end of the night. One thing¡¯s for sure, the winds are shifting in our favor. ¡®Bout time too,¡± she looked back at me, embarrassment spreading across her features. ¡°Uh, sorry. Didn¡¯t mean to start ranting. I¡¯ve been dealing with a lot, and uh¡­ I¡¯ve been talking to Mom about it.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I felt my focus sharpen and snap back into place. I recalled the sharp stabbing annoyance I felt prior to Ajax¡¯s jaw-dropping arrival. It had been so incredible I forgot how frustrated I was. ¡°About that. What exactly did you tell her?¡± Abby snorted before chuckling in astonishment. ¡°The hell is that face for, Max? Did you think I wouldn¡¯t say anything to her? I needed to talk to someone and, well, you weren¡¯t exactly available. Plus, she¡¯s my mom. I¡¯ve always been able to trust her and she¡¯s always looked out for me,¡± Abby explained with a shrug. ¡°I told her everything about what we were doing. You, me, our investigation into Lucy, her involvement with Pandora¡­¡± she shuffled awkwardly from side to side. ¡°Me blowing some girl into a million pieces and burning the house down.¡± I didn¡¯t miss how she mumbled that last part. ¡°I figured you¡¯d want to try and forget about it and move on.¡± ¡°Forget? Are you¨C you can¡¯t be serious,¡± Abby laughed again, but I detected the pain and self-loathing within. ¡°I fucking killed someone. I¡¯m not supposed to do that! I¡¯m supposed to be in control of the situation. I need to be better!¡± She argued. ¡°So, yeah. I told Mom because it was eating me up. I don¡¯t know how you¡¯ve been handling it but clearly, you don¡¯t seem to care.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a difference between caring and understanding what actions were necessary for survival,¡± I snapped back. Before she could come up with a retort, I switched gears. I needed to know how this would affect me because the last thing I needed was The ECU knocking on my door. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen to us, Abby? ¡®Cause your mom isn¡¯t going to just let this go.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Abby started, her expression turning uncertain. ¡°I can say we¡¯re not in any trouble like we probably should be. Mom said she hasn¡¯t told anyone, but she wants to talk with you first to get your side of things,¡± she sighed and uncrossed her arms, letting them fall to her side. ¡°Then she said we should probably see someone... Therapy.¡± ¡°Therapy¡­?¡± I scowled. ¡°What the hell, I don¡¯t need therapy.¡± I was too busy. I would be too busy. I didn¡¯t have time to talk to some ECU shrink about my feelings. ¡°I think we do,¡± Abby countered, her tone becoming more assertive. ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s fucking me up. I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s doing to you but it can¡¯t be good. Trust me, this¡¯ll be good for us. We need to walk through¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to do anything,¡± I stopped her before she could finish. ¡°I appreciate the thought, but honestly, I¡¯m fine.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Abby stared at me as if I had just slapped her across the face. I couldn¡¯t deny how that made me feel, torn between indignant anger and understanding. She was just trying to help, but Abby didn¡¯t get that I didn¡¯t need any help. With the way things were going, I was perfectly fine. I barely even thought about what happened at Lucy¡¯s old place. I didn¡¯t need to waste my time being dragged to The ECU¡¯s Headquarters to see someone about problems that didn¡¯t exist when I could be¡ª Wait a minute¡­ I looked back to the Citadel, a devious idea forming. ¡°You know I don¡¯t like The ECU. What made you think I would agree to march into their headquarters?¡± ¡°Look, I thought we would be able to sort something out like maybe they could come here and we could take some time out of class to see them, but with everything that''s happened, staff need to be kept on site,¡± Abby shrugged helplessly. ¡°I know you don¡¯t vibe with us and I¡¯m sorry about that, but there isn¡¯t really anything I can do to change that.¡± I understood just how manipulative this idea was, and it twisted my stomach thinking about it. All that technology stored up there just waiting to be used; it wasn¡¯t something I could just ignore. It was eating away at me even now. How bad would it get in a week or even a month? ¡°So, I¡¯m not going to have a choice?¡¯ ¡°Hey, I never said that. I¡¯m just saying that I think this¡¯ll be good for us. You might think it¡¯s not affecting you, but it sits in your head and¡­ and festers,¡± Abby stressed. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s the case with you but I don¡¯t want your life falling apart because of something I dragged you into.¡± The way I saw it, Abby would already crucify me for hiding my powers and lying to her. I knew taking advantage of her position and generosity was a step beyond that, but the punishment couldn¡¯t get much worse. I already risked losing her friendship and becoming an enemy by the sheer fact I was Upgrade, so using her to steal from the ECU would only be rubbing salt in a gaping wound. I couldn¡¯t do that to her, could I? The opportunity was so tantalizing. Whatever I would find up there could potentially accelerate my progress. Then again, surely Cyberspace could provide whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I didn¡¯t need to break into a high-security ECU storage facility. There was no telling what I would find up there, and chances are the endeavor wouldn¡¯t have been worth it after all. A compromise. I could develop something to quietly break into their storage facility, not necessarily to steal anything, but to look around. I would take stock of what they had, then discuss with Cyberspace and Sam whether or not a heist would be worth the risk. Cyberspace¡¯s resources and reach extended just as far as the ECU, but even they would have their limits on what they could provide. The ECU had people like Deadlocked and Ajax working with them, and I would bet that Cyberspace didn¡¯t have access to that kind of Mechatech. This could work. ¡°Sorry,¡± I offered, putting forth a calmer exterior. ¡°I didn¡¯t think of it like that. I don¡¯t know if I really do need a therapist or not. Everything that happened¡­ I¡¯ll be honest, I haven¡¯t thought much about it. The guy that attacked me? I knocked him out. I didn¡¯t cave in his head or beat him to death, so I don¡¯t feel all that guilty he¡¯s dead.¡± A blatant lie, but one not too far removed from the truth. ¡°So you¡¯ll at least consider it?¡± Abby asked hopefully. ¡°Cause, like, I think I¡¯d feel better if I went with a friend. I¡¯ve seen therapists before about stuff I¡¯ve been involved in, but all that was talking through the crap I saw on the sidelines. This is the first time my actions directly resulted in someone¡ª no, people dying. I feel awful about everything that happened, and everything that followed.¡± That struck home. While I didn¡¯t particularly feel guilty about killing the Pandora member in self-defense, igniting the chaos that led to thousands dead or missing did weigh on me. It still did. Maybe that¡¯s what got under Abby¡¯s skin, and she was just too fixated on the immediate trauma. It was hard to tell. All I knew was how I felt and maybe talking to a professional was what I needed. Nevertheless, I¡¯d still take advantage of the opportunity. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll consider it. Your mom is going to talk to me about it anyway, so I might as well get her opinion on what I should do,¡± I saw Abby¡¯s face light up. ¡°But¡­ If I¡¯m going to compromise with the ECU you have to do the same with Lucy. If you ask me, now¡¯s not the time to be pushing people away. You can trust her, she¡¯s on our side.¡± I was self-aware enough to recognize I was being the world¡¯s biggest hypocrite. Abby groaned, looking away. ¡°You really know how to make a fuckin¡¯ ultimatum. Do you realize how hard it was for me to not throw her out the window during class? She kept trying to talk to me when I think I made it pretty clear I wanted her to piss off,¡± she grumbled. ¡°What am I supposed to do, Max? Lock hands, kiss and make up, sing kumbaya?¡± My gaze narrowed. ¡°Is it really that hard to get that she¡¯s not at fault?¡± Abby shook her head. ¡°You just don¡¯t get it man. Pandora is a different breed of crazy. We have no idea how deep her indoctrination runs. Her dad is Wildfire for fucks sake! How do you know she¡¯s not hiding who she really is?¡± Because she¡¯s in contact with Cyberspace, who I also happen to work with. ¡°She¡¯s not hiding anything. Not anymore,¡± I said confidently. ¡°Or fuck, maybe she is. If it turns out she¡¯s the greatest actor alive and has been playing us the whole time, then that speaks to who she is as a person. But not even giving her the benefit of the doubt? Pushing her away when we might be her only lifelines out of a shitty situation? That would say a hell of a lot about you, Abby.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± She snapped, throwing her hands into the air. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go talk to her. I¡¯ll listen to what she has to say. I don¡¯t want her to be a horrible person. I still want to be her friend, but everything has just been so insane lately. We can talk,¡± she heaved a sigh, rubbing her face. ¡°And I¡¯ll keep a lid on my temper. I won¡¯t throw her out any windows or anything.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± I felt a flood of relief coursing through me. ¡°For the record, she figured you¡¯d throw her into space, not out a window.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go giving me any ideas,¡± Abby snorted. ¡°That¡¯s a good one, actually. I¡¯ll remember that.¡± We made our way back down to ground level, taking care not to disturb any teachers on the way. The whole school was still enraptured by Ajax¡¯s arrival, and there wasn¡¯t a doubt in my mind that social media would be on fire discussing everything that was going on. Abby became more and more apprehensive the closer we got to the library. It was clear she didn¡¯t like the idea of confronting Lucy now, but we needed to dispel any disillusions Abby still had with Lucy¡¯s life under Pandora. Lucy and Jackson were sitting with Liam and Travis when we entered the library. Liam pointed us out, and Lucy¡¯s head snapped over to us. I could see the trepidation on her face, which meant Abby could see it too. Regardless, she got up from her seat and came over to meet us. I swear I could feel Abby tense next to me the closer Lucy got. ¡°Abby!¡± Abby took a deep breath and let a timid smile cross her face. ¡°Hey. Sorry about earlier. I was in a bit of a¡­ you know¡ª¡± ¡°No, I get it. Totally get it. It¡¯s fine. You have every right to be upset,¡± Lucy¡¯s attention briefly flicked to me. ¡°You both do. I lied and kept a whole bunch of things from you guys. I¡¯m not trying to hide anything anymore. Please understand I was under strict instruction to keep my mouth shut. I¡¯m not allowed to say anything ¨C I¡¯m still not, technically.¡± She paused, looking around to ensure no one was spying on us. The library was empty except for us. Everyone else was outside marveling at The Mothership. ¡°There are people at this school that report to my father. He made it clear that I would be punished if I spoke out, or tried to get you and your mom involved.¡± That made sense, especially considering what I knew about our Headmaster and two department heads. ¡°Who?¡± Abby asked, keeping her tone neutral. ¡°Do you know? If there are plants¡ª¡± ¡°There are, but I don¡¯t know who they are,¡± Lucy¡¯s shoulders sagged. ¡°If I knew, I would have tipped you off ages ago. I don¡¯t know how many there are, but they¡¯re here, and they¡¯ve been keeping an eye on me and the rest of the school.¡± Abby pinched the bridge of her nose, her frustration beginning to rise. ¡°I really wish you would¡¯ve said something. It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t hang out outside of school hours, Lucy. You could¡¯ve said something to me or my mom at any time.¡± Lucy opened her mouth but words failed her. I took that opportunity to interject. ¡°You said you¡¯ve seen what Pandora is like,¡± I said, focusing my words on Abby. ¡°She¡¯s scared. Hell, I¡¯d be scared as well. What if one of these Pandora loyalists is a Mentalist? Who knows what they¡¯ll be able to pick up on just by looking at her.¡± Abby bit her lip. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Please,¡± Lucy insisted. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to pull anything here. I don¡¯t have any powers, and I don¡¯t know how to prove to you that I¡¯m telling the truth. You guys are my friends, and I don¡¯t want to lose you. I can¡¯t. There¡¯s nothing else¡ª¡± she stopped herself before her bubbling emotions could overwhelm her. ¡°What do you want me to do? I can¡¯t exactly run away from home. Dad might not be able to find me, but he¡¯ll punish Mom, my grandparents... Travis and his family are under our care as well!¡± ¡°What?¡± Abby¡¯s expression changed, looking past Lucy toward the new guy talking to Jackson and Liam. ¡°Him? He¡¯s Pandora too?¡± ¡°In the same way I am,¡± Lucy quickly jumped to his defense. ¡°We¡¯re powerless. His family was abused by Supers that Pandora recently recruited. Dad went and¡­¡± she shuddered. ¡°¡­liberated them. His words. He¡¯s asked me to look after Travis during school hours. I¡¯m mostly taking care of them at home as well. He¡¯s been through a lot. Really sensitive stuff, Abby. Victim, survivor¡­ catch my drift?¡± Abby¡¯s features hardened. ¡°Yeah, I get it.¡± ¡°If I only cared about myself, I would¡¯ve ditched home years ago,¡± Lucy briefly looked at me again before averting her gaze. ¡°I would¡¯ve gone somewhere else. Asked you guys for help. I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t do that though, there¡¯s other people to consider. I can¡¯t guarantee they will be safe if I leave.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t even guarantee your own safety,¡± Abby shot back. ¡°You¡¯ve grown up right in the middle of this cult. You know how they operate. Until you Awaken, you¡¯re nothing more than a pet or a plaything to them.¡± Lucy sighed, running a hand through her hair. ¡°I won¡¯t defend my father. He¡¯s done horrible things, murdered countless¡­ but he¡¯s stopped me from being taken advantage of. For now, I¡¯m safe. He¡¯s my biological father, and I still have some time. He thinks I have a chance to receive gifts¨C develop powers, whatever you wanna call it.¡± ¡°What happens if you don¡¯t, hm?¡± Abby asked. ¡°Cause I know enough. He¡¯ll trade you off to some powerful Super within Pandora, and you¡¯ll be treated like a slave.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t come to that,¡± Lucy intoned with a determined look. ¡°I won¡¯t accept that. I¡¯d rather die fighting. If I don¡¯t Awaken, my plan is to ensure I have a damn good school record to further my education. I have time ¨C enough time to make sure that happens. My father¡¯s given me a timeframe, and since the boy I was promised to mysteriously died in a fire, I have even more time to work with.¡± I felt the blood drain from my face, and I saw Abby go pale as well. ¡°What?¡± I breathed. ¡°He was¡ª¡± I cut myself off, recalling the guy that attacked me. Abby repeatedly insisted her attacker was a girl. I didn¡¯t know how good of a look she got at her before turning the girl into mince meat, but my attacker''s face was etched into my brain. That guy was supposed to take Lucy? Forget any supposed guilt I was supposed to feel, I was glad he died. ¡°Yeah,¡± Lucy confirmed. ¡°Dad¡¯s still pretty pissed about that. Doesn¡¯t really help that his family hates us now.¡± ¡°The girl,¡± Abby asked suddenly. ¡°Who was she? Who did I¡­?¡± ¡°His girlfriend,¡± Lucy muttered in response. ¡°They watched the neighborhood during school and work hours. Ross ¨C the guy ¨C had teleportation powers. They¡¯re weird and I don¡¯t really understand them. He went by Displacer. His girlfriend¡­ Like me she didn¡¯t have any powers, but unfortunately she totally bought into Pandora¡¯s bullshit. I remember a few times trying to talk to her,¡± she sighed and shook her head. ¡°I think she might¡¯ve had some issues, a few screws loose. I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m not a doctor. Not yet, anyway.¡± ¡°I¡¯d hoped¡­¡± Abby trailed off, and I could see the self-loathing in her eyes. ¡°I hoped she was a Super. Maybe I¡¯d feel less guilty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry things turned out this way,¡± Lucy said. ¡°I would¡¯ve safely contacted you guys if I could. Dad¡¯s just really controlling. Sometimes, I can¡¯t fight him on certain things. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry too,¡± Abby cleared her throat. ¡°For assuming the worst, that is. I shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I understand,¡± Lucy nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re alone there. There¡¯s been a lot of that going around.¡± Abby cracked an empathetic smile. ¡°Tell me about it.¡± I felt the tension leave my body as my two closest friends relaxed. That was one problem solved. Now, I needed to figure out how I was going to talk to Abby¡¯s mom because something told me I wouldn¡¯t be able to bullshit her as easily as I could her daughter. Initialization 6 ¡°Maxis?¡± I looked up to see my teacher, hand outstretched with a note. I had made it to the last class of the day wondering when I would be called on. Why had she waited until the end of the day? Did she suspect there was more to it and planned to confront me? I knew the note was a summons from Domination before my teacher even said another word. ¡°This is for you.¡± I nodded slightly as I retrieved the note from my teacher¡¯s hand. As I had suspected, it was a request to head to the Dean¡¯s Office. Domination wanted to see me, and there wasn¡¯t a doubt in my mind it would be about my little adventure with Abby. I stood and packed my things, brushing off Jackson¡¯s quiet speculation. I couldn¡¯t imagine Abby or her mother would like me spreading around what happened, even within our friend circle. There was no telling how that kind of information could spread. I let my mind wander as I strolled to the Dean¡¯s Offices. I pinged my drones to see if they picked up any more Mechatech signals in the area ¨C which they didn¡¯t ¨C and considered what other uses I could find for them. So far, I was blanking on what more I could do. School wasn¡¯t exactly an interesting place and unless I could find more Pandora plants, I didn¡¯t expect anything groundbreaking. Breaking into The ECU personnel¡¯s local communications network wasn¡¯t that difficult either, but listening in proved pointless. There was nothing juicy to hear and the only conversations were about Ajax¡¯s arrival and Abby¡¯s speech. I couldn¡¯t listen consistently because of classes, but my drones recorded everything they heard, allowing me to revise anything I missed after school. In the meantime, my sole concern was Domination. My relationship with Catherine was cordial, and my brief interactions with her extended to notable social events like birthdays, Christmas, and New Year celebrations. As a senior ECU Hero, she wasn¡¯t entitled to regular holidays, at least that is what she would lead you to believe since she stubbornly never took them. Catherine was someone my mother described as ¡®absolutely dedicated to their work,¡¯ so much so that it bordered on obsession. As much as Abby made a fuss about how strict and serious her mother was, it was easy to tell she admired her. I couldn¡¯t deny I also admired her to some degree. So how could I lie straight to her face? I wasn¡¯t sure I was capable. Lying to Abby was a simple task. She was still a rookie, and I suspected she brushed off her skepticism because of the trust we had built over the years, but I didn¡¯t have that same connection with her mother. Catherine was different. She had been an ECU Hero longer than I¡¯d been alive, and I knew as part of her extensive training she would know how to spot when people were withholding the truth. How much was I going to be able to hide from her? The last time we talked face to face, I had nothing to hide. I would have to hold my nerve and hope she didn¡¯t clue into anything. As I made it to the Dean¡¯s Offices, I spotted Domination¡¯s temporary post by the singular ECU soldier standing watch outside. They stepped to the side when I approached, gesturing for me to go on through the door. ¡°Maxis?¡± The soldier asked. I nodded and entered the room. Domination was sitting behind a mundane desk sorting through paperwork. It seemed I had caught her in the middle of a conversation, one she looked thankful to end. ¡°I will look into it, thank you. I have a guest, ending transmission,¡± Domination reached up and pressed a button on her earpiece. She allowed the professional expression to melt off her face, a warm welcoming one taking its place. ¡°Maxis, it''s been a while since we last spoke. As you know, I¡¯ve been somewhat busy,¡± she gestured to a stack of papers before sighing and pushing them aside. ¡°Especially recently.¡± ¡°Yeah, I can see that.¡± ¡°Please, have a seat.¡± I felt my nerves pooling in my chest as I pulled up a chair to sit down. Catherine might be an ECU Hero trained for many decades, but she was also a family friend who ignored our household distaste for the organization. I took a breath and allowed myself to relax. ¡°You look well, if a little tired,¡± Catherine said. ¡°It¡¯s a trying time for all of us. I wouldn¡¯t put it past anyone having trouble sleeping with the amount of chaos Bayside has had to endure as of late.¡± ¡°Grim suddenly remembering he has two legs and the ability to use them certainly had everyone concerned,¡± I commented lightly. I then realized how ridiculous that sounded, seeing as he could turn into a cloud of smoke and fly. ¡°Not that he needed two legs anyway. The guy could fly.¡± ¡°Yes, and you can probably imagine that he has been a never ending source of grief for us. Abby has certainly talked my ear off about the subject, amongst other things,¡± Catherine intoned. She crossed her arms and leaned on the desk. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯s talked about this already with you, but I feel like it''s only polite to ask first.¡± ¡°She has. Earlier today, actually.¡± ¡°I see. I had asked her to try and refrain from bringing up the subject on school grounds as trauma can manifest in multiple ways. I wished to spare you from any potential breakdowns, assuming you¡¯re struggling to keep things together,¡± her eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. ¡°Judging from your general demeanor, I suspect you¡¯re not as affected as Abby?¡± All I could do was offer an easy-going shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to tell you. I didn¡¯t kill anyone, and I didn¡¯t see my attacker die in the fire,¡± I explained, weaving truth and lies as naturally as I breathed. ¡°I said as much to Abby, but she seems to think that I¡¯m bottling things up.¡± Catherine nodded fairly. ¡°As I said, trauma and guilt can manifest in different ways. Perhaps for your specific situation, you don¡¯t retain responsibility for what happened. As I understand it, they attacked you and Abby first. While you two were in the wrong for breaking and entering in the first place, it is easy to justify your actions as acting out of concern for your friend, with self-defense being the final result.¡± I agreed wholeheartedly. ¡°That¡¯s the way I see it. I mean, sure we broke the law¡­¡¯ I shifted in my seat, uncertain how to continue. Not only did we break and enter, but arson was technically on the list of offenses. I was willing to bet we weren¡¯t facing punishment because The Cains were a much easier scapegoat. ¡°But we needed to know Lucy was okay. We were both worried about her.¡± ¡°And in doing so, endangered both of your lives. Not only were you breaking and entering, but you also managed to breach the school¡¯s administrative accounts,¡± Catherine¡¯s gaze hardened, and I struggled to keep my nerve. The software I had made ¨C while rudimentary ¨C was still improved by my powers. If they had caught that, I was woefully underprepared to talk my way out of this. ¡°How did you manage that? The school''s systems aren¡¯t encrypted with the level of protection that The ECU has, but we have still made improvements to prevent these kinds of occurrences.¡± I did my best to maintain my composure. ¡°You know what my mom does for a living. I¡¯ve picked up heaps of tricks over the years,¡± I laughed awkwardly. ¡°Really it wasn¡¯t all that difficult. The administrative accounts aren¡¯t very well protected.¡± ¡°If you could, how would you change the system to protect against intrusions like the one you used?¡± Catherine asked sincerely. She even unfolded her arms and retrieved a pen to scribble down notes. ¡°If any teenager with your skills can break in, then I¡¯d hate to imagine what a Mentalist or a Mechakinetic could do with the right motivation.¡± I swallowed. ¡°Aha¡­ look I think you¡¯re asking the wrong person. Mom would be a better consultant,¡± I shrugged, but Catherine¡¯s eyes remained transfixed. I straightened up in my chair and thought for a moment. I had connected my phone to one of the school computers and used my upgraded software to brute force my way into a faculty account. As I suspected, they kept all their records on a database connected to the school¡¯s website. If they wanted to make it harder to access, then the first step was removing that database and putting it on a secure closed system. ¡°Disconnecting the administrative database and putting it on a closed system would be a good start. I¡¯m not a professional or anything, but with how much sensitive information is on there, it should probably be better protected.¡± The solution made sense to me, and it was the best I could come up with on the spot. ¡°ECU databases are more secure than a public school,¡± Catherine admitted with a nod. ¡°We¡¯ve been trying to work with the education board to get every school in the country into our databases, but there are concerns, namely the staff that would have access to them,¡± she waved a tired hand. ¡°There¡¯s been back and forth for years and we¡¯ve made little progress. Minerva¡¯s board has been particularly stubborn about it. There are a lot of politics involved.¡± With the information I knew about the Headmaster and those two department heads, her explanation was not surprising. ¡°Unfortunate,¡± I offered my condolences. I tried to sound sympathetic, but even I heard how forced it sounded. Minerva¡¯s security being so shit made my life easier. ¡°Sorry I can¡¯t be of much help there.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have expected you to. I was only curious about your methods, and if you had any opinions on the matter,¡± Catherine said. ¡°That being said, don¡¯t ever do that again.¡± The firmness in her tone conjured sweat on the back of my neck. ¡°I don¡¯t intend to.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Catherine offered a diplomatic smile. ¡°Now, I¡¯d like to move onto the real reason I asked you here.¡± Uneasiness crept into my mind as I observed her seemingly genuine response. It felt too easy. Was she letting me off the hook deliberately, or had she chosen not to push the subject? I felt she had me dead to rights with the school system infiltration. Sure, I had intermediate software know-how that I picked up from Mom over the years, but no teenager with those skills could do something like that nowadays. There were two options: either she overlooked it, which Catherine would never do, or she knew I was lying. Unless Cyberspace has done some covering up when I wasn¡¯t looking¡­ ¡°The therapy thing, right?¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Abby has had difficulty with what happened. Compounding that with everything else she¡¯s had to endure in such a short time period, it¡¯s only expected I find avenues for professional help,¡± Catherine said, her features becoming softer. ¡°When she mentioned your involvement, I figured it was only right to extend the offer to you. Usually, in these rare cases we would open a dialogue with the affected civilians and offer recovery options. Unregistered personnel are very rarely allowed to consult ECU specialists. This situation is one of those rare cases.¡± ¡°Thats¡ª¡± I felt the impulse to respond with something snarky, to belittle the false sincerity that The ECU plastered all over their image, but Catherine¡¯s concern was real. ¡°¡ªvery kind of you. I told Abby I would consider it. You know what my mom is like, though. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll agree.¡± ¡°Parental consent is usually required,¡± Catherine started when a pained expression crossed her face. ¡°However, I am more than familiar with your mother¡¯s opinion of our organization,¡± she leaned back in her chair and sighed. ¡°I understand she blames us for the accident. Seismic Shock was our responsibility and we turned a blind eye to his declining mental health.¡± ¡°How did you guys screw that up?¡± I asked, grabbing at the opportunity. As familiar as I was with Catherine, this was the first time we had been alone in a room. Years ago, I had been too young to ask the right questions when Mom was crippled, and I was drip-fed as little information as possible. Later, when I befriended Abby, I asked her to pass on my questions to Catherine, but I never got the answers I wanted. Now the opportunity was right here, and I couldn¡¯t pass it up. ¡°He tore through an entire street outside my primary school. Abby says you guys have fortnightly psyche checkups with Mentalists. How does something like that slip through the cracks?¡± I looked at her as she heaved another sigh. Catherine suddenly looked very tired. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I cannot speak on that. There are details to that case that I am forbidden to divulge.¡± Whether it was a slip of the tongue or a general statement she was used to saying for deflection, hearing that the finer details were actively suppressed was all I needed to know to realize something more was happening. The mental health excuse was bullshit, or maybe it was a key component of the whole case. Now that I had powers, I had a new perspective on what went on with Supers, their conflict, and the culture. There were always battles. When it wasn¡¯t open warfare, it was a subdued struggle in the shadows. As much as I hated to consider it, there was a chance Seismic Shock was a victim of some kind of Mentalist attack. There was also an angle of coercion. I knew speculation wouldn¡¯t get me anywhere, but the birth of these thoughts wouldn¡¯t go away. ¡°Was there a Mentalist involved?¡± I blurted it out without thinking. When Catherine shook her head, I decided to keep the ball rolling. ¡°Mind control or something? Emotional Manipulation? If you¡¯re not allowed to speak on it, then there¡¯s confidential details The ECU doesn¡¯t want getting out.¡± ¡°You may not believe it fair, but those details are confidential for a reason. They are there to protect the victims, and the public,¡± Catherine¡¯s tone turned harsher, but the sympathy didn¡¯t leave her eyes. ¡°Maxis, I want to give you and your mother the closure you¡¯re looking for, but I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why? Why can¡¯t you just tell me? Whatever you say won¡¯t leave this room. No one has to know.¡± For a moment, she actually looked like she considered my words. When her expression hardened, I knew the impersonal walls had come up. ¡°The therapy,¡± Catherine said, changing the subject entirely. It irked me that she wouldn¡¯t entertain my questions any further, but I couldn¡¯t blame her. It was part of her job, after all. ¡°I would like you to attend with Abby. I believe you both will benefit from the meetings, however, you¡¯re free to refuse if you want. I wouldn¡¯t recommend it. I think you will find the opportunity to speak with someone qualified will do you good.¡± I wanted to redirect the conversation back to the confidential details, but I knew I wouldn¡¯t get any more out of her. My efforts would only serve to aggravate her, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. ¡°I¡¯ll be required to visit your Headquarters,¡± I pursed my lips, remembering the way she worded the process. ¡°Given what you said about unregistered personnel, I doubt I¡¯ll be able to just come and go for my appointments. I¡¯m guessing Abby will be escorting me through the building?¡± ¡°Quite right. Our specialists work out of the higher floor offices. Activity there is rather remote, so the chances of you being bothered by any of our overbearing staff is unlikely, especially if you¡¯re accompanied by Abby,¡± I spotted an amused curl to Catherine¡¯s expression. ¡°My daughter has a tendency to dissuade any staff that get too nosey.¡± ¡°Nosey staff? Seems kind of unprofessional,¡± I quipped. Immediately, feeling bad for sniping the chance to attack their reputation. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Catherine said. ¡°Being nosey or overly curious can be a good instinct to cultivate, as long as you control it. It can lead to discoveries that otherwise would have remained hidden, such is the case with Lucy.¡± Lucy¡¯s name triggered a surge of curiosity I hadn¡¯t yet investigated. There was no better time to ask than now. ¡°What exactly do you guys plan to do with her? There¡¯s no way Abby hasn¡¯t told you,¡± I analyzed the minute changes in her expression, looking for any intention that may go unspoken. I wouldn¡¯t call myself an expert on reading body language or facial expressions, but I felt like I had a passable grasp on what Catherine was feeling. ¡°Will you try to talk to her in private? Find a way to get her to safety, away from her family?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a delicate situation and I understand your concern. Wildfire being her father presents a list of problems that will require a delicate approach. Unfortunately, I am not the one with the skillset to speak on the topic,¡± her demeanor changed again when her expression softened. ¡°But as a mother, I worry about all of you. With how deep Lucy¡¯s ties go, she puts you all in danger. The Pandora Initiative are not shy about threatening relatives and friends when it comes to securing loyalty. Should we not handle matters appropriately, there is every possibility your closeness with Lucy will put you, your mother, and your sister in their crosshairs.¡± I felt a fire surge through my veins. I wanted to bite back, daring them to try. With the resources I had at my disposal, I wouldn¡¯t let them get away with targeting me, my family, or my friends. I¡¯d rain hellfire down on every Super or individual who even dared to associate themselves with the cult. ¡°So you plan to keep your distance?¡± ¡°For now,¡± Catherine replied. ¡°My best judgment is to keep her under surveillance to try and prevent any harm from coming to her. Right now, she is alive, well, and at school. That¡¯s more than I can say about many of Pandora¡¯s victims, and those lost to Grim¡¯s rampage,¡± Catherine tapped the table with a finger, looking deep in thought. ¡°That is my best judgment, not necessarily what will happen. I will be consulting colleagues back at Headquarters about the situation and asking for recommendations.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t suppose it¡¯ll be too much to ask to be kept in the loop?¡± Catherine chuckled. ¡°You should focus on passing the school year, and let me do my job. I can promise you that I¡¯ll do everything in my power to ensure everyone¡¯s safety.¡± She sounded genuine, but even I understood the colossal undertaking. She placed the weight of my life, Lucy¡¯s, my mother¡¯s, Alex¡¯s, and the rest of my friends on her shoulders. Even though I didn¡¯t want her to, I couldn¡¯t condemn the self-sacrificing mentality. Maybe¡­ I could find a way to help her, leaving anonymous tips to point them in the right direction. I could cover for any mistakes they made. With Gold¡¯s help¡ª No, I don¡¯t think Sam would be too keen on helping The ECU. The thought didn¡¯t even sit right with me, but I preferred to see it through the lens of helping Catherine and Abby instead of The ECU. It made the pill easier to swallow. ¡°At least I can believe it when it comes from you,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll do the therapy thing with Abby. Maybe you guys are right and it¡¯s all just buried down deep into my subconscious, waiting to explode,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know how this stuff works. All I can tell you is that I don¡¯t feel very affected by the incident.¡± ¡°There¡¯s every chance you aren¡¯t, but it''s better to know for sure than to ignore it entirely,¡± Catherine floated a pen and scribbled notes onto some paper. ¡°I do not have any accurate times yet, but I can tell you to expect these sessions to be on a Thursday or a Friday shortly before school ends.¡± I wasn¡¯t entirely fussed about when these sessions would take place, but it seemed I wouldn¡¯t have to work around them all that much. Depending on how long the appointments lasted, I¡¯d have to manage my workshop time better. I didn¡¯t want to lose any productivity, regardless of how straightforward my powers made daily development. ¡°Sounds good,¡± I said, sensing the conversation coming to a close. I stood up and offered a friendly smile. ¡°Thanks for this, I guess. I suppose I¡¯ll find out how much I need it or not,¡± I paused, meeting her gaze. ¡°Are you¡­ sure there¡¯s nothing you can tell me about what happened with Seismic Shock? Anything at all? Mom refused treatment because she can¡¯t trust The ECU,¡± I let my words linger in the air. ¡°Is there something you guys know that I don¡¯t?¡± I never considered the possibility that Mom might have hidden something from me. I always justified her bitterness toward The ECU because of the event that left her crippled. Her mistrust of them I could understand, but it went beyond that. She and Alex actively despised The ECU as a whole, very rarely acknowledging the good they did do. I wasn¡¯t blind to their lesser admirable aspects, but I figured my powers and friendship with Abby gave me more perspective. Catherine interlaced her fingers and leaned forward. ¡°I can say with certainty that we have not afforded her any information that we otherwise wouldn¡¯t share with you. Please understand that when I say that I cannot divulge more than what I have already said, I mean it. There is more than just protocol and law preventing me from doing so.¡± I stared at her, puzzled. Why does that feel so sinister? ¡°Alright,¡± I shrugged, trying to dismiss my curiosity. ¡°Figured I¡¯d ask again, just in case you changed your mind.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I waved off her apology. It was needlessly repetitive, and I understood where she was coming from. It wasn¡¯t fair to hate the messenger for delivering the message. ¡°I get it. Super confidential stuff. Whatever¡¯s going on behind the scenes is none of my business anyway. Not like I can do anything about it if I knew the truth anyway. It¡¯s okay, really.¡± I¡¯ll just find out for myself. ¡°Thank you for understanding,¡± Catherine¡¯s smile was weak. ¡°I¡¯ll talk with Abby once I confirm what¡¯s happening, and she¡¯ll share the details with you.¡± I nodded and turned to leave. ¡°Max.¡± I stopped at the door, turning to look over my shoulder. There was concern in Catherine¡¯s gaze, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Her tone implied she wanted to ask something, and I had a sneaking suspicion I knew what it was. ¡°Before you leave, I¡¯d just like to put it out there that if you need to speak to me about anything, all you need to do is ask Abby,¡± her expression turned stern, but I saw conflicting emotions. ¡°I know I¡¯ve kept my distance when it comes to my daughter¡¯s friendships, but with everything that¡¯s happened, I feel as though I should be paying closer attention. I will make the time to lend an ear if you wish to speak in private.¡± Does she know, or does she suspect that I¡¯m Upgrade? I couldn¡¯t be sure. Glancing at my phone, I saw no active transmissions connecting back to the Citadel, so Catherine didn¡¯t have Mentalist support psychoanalyzing me while we spoke. Everything she was saying came from her worries and concerns. It was genuine, but I wondered if I was just being overly paranoid. From her perspective, I had survived a brutal encounter with Pandora and discovered one of my best friends had direct ties to their leadership within the city. All that, and I was seemingly unaffected ¨C or unsurprised. Maybe that¡¯s why Catherine seemed so overly concerned. ¡°Thanks for the offer,¡± I replied simply. ¡°If anything comes to mind, I¡¯ll put the message through Abby.¡± ¡°I appreciate the consideration.¡± She gestured for me to leave, and I saw myself out. The moment I stepped out of the Dean¡¯s Office, my phone rang. It was a private number, but my gut told me who it was. I answered. ¡°I take it you heard all of that?¡± ¡°I have a particularly nasty habit of listening to conversations that I shouldn¡¯t,¡± Cyberspace amusement tilted me. I knew their influence on technology and Mechatech was legendary, but it stung knowing my tech could be breached so easily. I¡¯d need to invest more to stop that from happening. ¡°You¡¯ve found yourself in quite the predicament, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to call it an opportunity,¡± I replied, looking out at the city. I scanned the Citadel, observing The Mothership idling next to it just below the lowest cloud layer. ¡°I¡¯ll need some time to prepare.¡± It was a good thing time was something I had in abundance right now. I¡¯d need a lot of it if I was going to get away with robbing The ECU and Ajax blind. Initialization 7 I was beginning to feel the heat of frustration grasping at my throat. The thought of what could be contained within Deadlocked''s prototype consumed me, yet it seemed any idea I had to crack it open would yield the same result ¨C nothing. In an effort to develop software that could interface with it, I invested charges over time onto my personal laptop. This project was something I had neglected, and with Grim¡¯s defeat, I was finally afforded the time I so desperately wanted. Even still, that time was divided, with only a fraction of my attention on the cube. Sam and I realized that anything involving the cube would be a marathon, not a sprint. ¡°Still nothing,¡± I closed the detection software on my laptop and rubbed my eyes. All the time I spent waiting for upgrades to finish felt wasted. Sure, I got to have a Super laptop that was better than even the most powerful of mundane supercomputers in every way, but none of that mattered if it couldn¡¯t crack Deadlocked¡¯s secret secure network. My tech couldn¡¯t even detect it. I was starting to think I was pursuing the wrong solution. With my power, I observed that Deadlocked¡¯s prototype occupational unit had a hyper-encrypted network frequency in its security features. That meant there were ways to connect to and configure the cube. What those configuration settings were, I had no idea. I¡¯d imagine actually opening it would be one of the many options, but I was stymied by how sophisticated it was. [Charges: 25/25] [Type] [Durability 41/100 - Repair Unavailable. Cost: 3] (ERROR - Incompatible Component Detected) [Software] The costs were astronomical. My workshop machines, drones, weapons, and power armor all had improvements that had long since broken into the double digits, and even then I was confident I could handle most threats. Basilisk¡¯s acid wasn¡¯t strong enough to eat through my armor. I was all but certain I could not only survive an encounter with Wildfire and put him in the dirt. I liked to think I had countermeasures for most Supers active in Bayside. Despite all that, there was still room for improvement. My upgrades didn¡¯t even come close to breaking triple digits. I wasn¡¯t even halfway! Was Deadlocked¡¯s mechatech just that good? Was there really such a gap? If so, just how sophisticated was Ajax¡¯s tech? I couldn¡¯t afford to spend all my time hyperfocusing on a single component. It simply wasn¡¯t worth it. So I needed a way to close the gap. Was integrating more revolutionary mechatech the answer, or was I supposed to keep working on what I already had? Integration was costly but ultimately yielded fantastic results. It opened countless branching paths, allowing for secondary and tertiary functions on devices that otherwise wouldn¡¯t be capable. My suit was a prime example of that. Improving base components just made them¡­ well, better. The question really was: how much did I need to invest to get something comparable to Deadlocked¡¯s gear? My power gave me surface-level insight into the installed components, what they did, their status, and how much each subsequent upgrade cost was going to be. There was no indication as to where my tech ranked in comparison to Deadlocked¡¯s aside from the sheer volume of charges I needed to spend to upgrade. I supposed ¨C after some quiet contemplation ¨C that cost was the distinction between our levels of technology. All things considered, Omega Network Encryption Frequency does sound crazy powerful. Maybe that should have been my first clue. If the disparity between our tech was really just a matter of charges, then I was woefully out of my depth. Cracking Deadlocked¡¯s mechatech would be a fruitless endeavor, but not entirely impossible. It would take months, maybe even years to do. I didn¡¯t have that time, so I couldn¡¯t consider holding onto that course of action. Each step upscaling my tech cost me one more charge than the previous. Sure, on repeated upgrades those steps got cheaper, but the first initial jump was full price. Getting to the point where my gear sat in the triple digits to upgrade took more time than I cared to count. It was egregious, and a waste. I¡¯d have to get my laptop¡¯s frequency decryption software to MK 225 to even be able to see Deadlocked¡¯s super secret network. That in itself was an enormously pointless task and I¡¯d probably die of old age before I even got close. Unless I¡¯m thinking about this the wrong way. I leaned back in, my gaze flicking back between the cube and my laptop. What if I didn¡¯t need to upgrade my gear to an equivalent cost? While most of my equipment was built from a mundane foundation, it was already capable of holding its own against powerful ECU mechatech. I could break into their systems, and I had no doubt I could fend off a whole squadron of kitted soldiers if I was forced to. That had to count for something? What if it isn¡¯t a matter of cost equivalence in terms of the marks, but overall investment instead? I focused my attention on my laptop, my hands brushing against the keys. I felt the information light up like fireworks inside my brain, and each path branched out like hot neon blue wires. [Charges: 25/25] [Type] [Durability 100/100 - Repair Unavailable] [Software] The laptop was certainly lacking compared to my other equipment but it achieved its other purposes just fine. It was only in this regard where it fell short. I needed to make serious improvements to the software if I was going to break through, but the upgrades I¡¯d be making were based on a hunch and not on solid fact. I had no idea if my powers actually worked this way, but I considered the experiment worth it in the grand scheme of things. So far, from the looks of it, I had invested 35 charges into detection, 27 into decryption, and 5 into countermeasures. If I was correct, I needed to invest an equal amount of charges into these components so they could reach a similar cost threshold as Deadlocked¡¯s software. I had to remind myself that I didn¡¯t need to reach the MK II costs, only what was already implemented. The prototype design¡¯s current ¦¸ Network Encryption Frequency cost 250, with the ¦¸ Firewall Protection and ¦¸ Automated Detection System costing 340 and 150 respectively. If I just needed to match the overall investment, that meant I needed my Network Frequency Detection at MK 22, Network Decryption at MK 26, and Intrusion Countermeasures at MK 18. If I need to make up the disparity with overall investment, I had to take full advantage of my slow upgrading capabilities. I¡¯d have to queue up each step with a single charge, so in order to reach my thresholds, I¡¯d need to initiate 50 slow upgrades over the next couple of days. Obviously, I wouldn¡¯t do it all in one go, as I have other projects to work on, so I would spread the queues out over the next week. All up, that¡¯s¡­ 654 hours. Twenty-seven days. Just shy of a month. That¡¯s just the software components as well. I¡¯ll have to improve the laptop itself to even be able to run the software without waiting for the end of the universe. Throw in another fifty or so charges for that and I¡¯d have to wait just over a month, a week give or take. There was so much to consider, but the gamble just might be worth it. If it turned out the overall investment translated to a level of complexity, then I was further along than I realized. ¡°This could work.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been staring for over twenty minutes,¡± Cyberspace¡¯s voice sounded through the laptop¡¯s speakers. A window popped up to display their avatar. It unnerved me how the face could look so human and inhuman at the same time. The way it moved sent shivers down my spine, but I guessed that was the intended effect. ¡°I take it you¡¯ve made a breakthrough of some kind?¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°To a degree. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯d call it a breakthrough. More of a realization,¡± I explained. ¡°It''s related to my power, but I could just be wasting time. I won¡¯t know unless I try, but my gut is telling me I¡¯m right.¡± ¡°Gut feelings tend to bear fruit on the subject of power understanding. A Mentalist might be able to figure out the general aspects of your power, but at the end of the day, only you will be able to find out the details,¡± Cyberspace said. ¡°While we¡¯re on the subject. What exactly is it that has you contemplating and talking to yourself?¡± My lips thinned. ¡°You¡¯re quite the voyeur, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°One of my many hobbies,¡± Cyberspace replied, amused. ¡°Well, don¡¯t leave me on the edge, what¡¯s got you thinking?¡± ¡°Deadlocked¡¯s prototype is too sophisticated for my level of tech to interact with right now. It''s going to take more time, more than I thought,¡± I picked up the cube and tossed it back and forth in my hands. ¡°How soon do you want this open? You haven¡¯t exactly given us a timeframe. In fact, you¡¯ve been pretty lenient in letting me work on my own projects. I figured you¡¯d be breathing down my neck more.¡± ¡°I could do that more, if you wish,¡± Cyberspace intoned. ¡°Mechakinetics thrive when they are given the freedom to breathe. Creativity flourishes when it isn¡¯t stifled, and I find that those in my employ produce better results when I am not shackling them to projects they have no interest in. However,¡± they paused for a few moments. ¡°I still expect them to design and work on projects that ultimately benefit our working relationship.¡± ¡°I¡­ see, and no. It¡¯s fine,¡± I reassured them, chuckling nervously. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to imply that I wanted that. I was just pointing out that this isn¡¯t what I expected ¨C in a good way, of course. I appreciate the freedom you¡¯ve given us. That being said, this¡ª¡± I set the cube down in front of the laptop so Cyberspace could see. ¡°¡ªassuming my gut feeling is correct, is going to take about a month to open. I¡¯ll need to improve the laptop to a point where it can break in. If I¡¯m wrong, then I doubt I¡¯ll ever be able to open it and we¡¯ll need to search for another way.¡± ¡°A reasonable explanation,¡± Cyberspace agreed. ¡°I do not expect you to work miracles. A few days and nights focusing on opening Deadlocked¡¯s prototype was never going to be enough. Even with my resources, I am unable to pierce its complex security and it took even Ajax years to gain access though I remain unaware of how he does so. Space-time is not easy to work with, and the fact you may have a solution within the month is remarkable.¡± ¡°As I said, it¡¯s only a hunch, this thing is on a whole other level, and it¡¯s only a prototype,¡± I mused. ¡°But it¡¯s old, more than six or seven years I¡¯d say. Deadlocked¡¯s long since moved on, improving her designs. This thing might as well be a relic to her. I have to wonder if she even knows it''s been stolen,¡± I heaved a sigh and ran a hand through my hair. ¡°Not like it matters anyway. I doubt she¡¯d care when she¡¯s on a level akin to Ajax. Whoever steals her stuff wouldn¡¯t be able to use it anyway.¡± ¡°Unless it''s you.¡± I laughed awkwardly. ¡°Yeah, well that remains to be seen.¡± Something big landed with a wet splat next to me. ¡°Off base? Talkin¡¯ about being off base, that¡¯s been me all day today,¡± Liam groaned, flinging an arm around my shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s just been one thing after another today. First that crap with your friends, then Ajax going all ¡®extraterrestrial alien invasion¡¯ on us. It¡¯s been a wild ride and I can¡¯t seem to get off,¡± he spotted Cyberspace on the laptop and scowled. ¡°Oh, great. Now you¡¯re here. I can add it to the list. Zoom calling with a spooky internet terrorist.¡± ¡°We were having a pleasant conversation,¡± Cyberspace said dryly. ¡°But it appears that is no longer the case.¡± ¡°Aw, come on. I¡¯m a talkative guy, I can play nice,¡± Liam puffed himself up before giving Cyberspace a weird look. ¡°On second thought, maybe not so much. At least not with you. No offense. I do better face to face, if you get what I¡¯m saying.¡± ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Cool! So, uh, Max,¡± he clapped his hands and stepped away. ¡°You remember that time when you mentioned that you¡¯d help me find Natasha? My sister,¡± he clarified. I was about to reply when he continued. ¡°Back on the night where we did that suicidal plan Sam cooked up. I don¡¯t blame you if you forgot since you¡¯ve been super busy and all that but¡ª¡± ¡°I remember,¡± I cut him off. ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten. I¡¯ve just been, well¡­¡± I gestured to the workshop and all my projects. ¡°¡­preoccupied. With all the free time we¡¯ve had, I wanted to make sure it was put to good use. If I¡¯m not here, I¡¯m wasting time.¡± ¡°Yeah! Yeah, I know. It¡¯s all good. I¡¯ve just been leaving you be, you know? Saw how busy you¡¯ve been, and Sam was pretty insistent that we don¡¯t disturb you, but these last couple of days I¡¯ve been thinking. Just thought I¡¯d ask to make sure everything¡¯s still cool on that front,¡± Liam¡¯s antsy tone and persona was impossible to miss. ¡°It¡¯s been eating me, you know?¡± ¡°I can share the details of Spectre¡¯s last assignment,¡± Cyberspace cut in, drawing our attention back to the screen. ¡°These last few weeks have been grueling for many, so I appreciate your patience. If you wish to know now, I can divulge the mission plan, though I cannot promise you will learn anything of particular interest.¡± I shrugged, burying the annoyance clawing around inside my chest. It was true, I hadn¡¯t forgotten about my promise to Liam, but the timing didn¡¯t suit me. Regardless, I had to swallow my displeasure. I could return to pondering my potential abilities later. There was plenty of time left in the day and Sam wasn¡¯t due back here for another hour and a half. She texted to let everyone know she was following a lead Gold had about Seraphim. Apparently, there was something going on with her, and I suspected it had everything to do with her boyfriend. I still hadn¡¯t forgotten about my encounter with the guy. Just the memory made me feel queasy. Something wasn¡¯t right, and Sam finally had the time to unearth what was going on. ¡°Let''s hear it then. We can pick up where we left off later.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± Cyberspace said. ¡°Spectre¡¯s mission wasn¡¯t routine. It was an infiltration mission taking place in Sydney. Transport to the city was trivial when Translocator was still alive and in my employ, but his suicide three years ago has made international missions frustratingly longer. Spectre was tasked with infiltrating a secure warehouse that I confirmed to be a trading outpost for Masquerade and The Iron Maiden. Mechatech made by Australian mechakinetics were being funneled through it back to Dubai. One item of note was something called a ¡®Cornerstone.¡¯ It was a unique piece of technology capable of harvesting solar energy and transforming it into a substance integral to a system capable of outperforming nuclear energy a hundred times over. The best part is that unlike most other mechakinetic energy systems, it was highly scalable.¡± My eyes widened. ¡°That sounds¡ª¡± ¡°Impressive? That¡¯s what I thought too. For a newly Awakened with insufficient resources, they exceeded my expectations. It is unfortunate that, due to poor handling, the Super died of chronic radiation poisoning. Negligence in handling their own product is not a promising trait.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Liam rubbed the back of his neck, uncertain how to feel. ¡°You sent my sister to retrieve this thing? What if this is the thing that¡ª¡± ¡°If you will let me finish,¡± Cyberspace interrupted, their tone clipped. ¡°You will find that your sister¡¯s disappearance has nothing to do with the Cornerstone. The Iron Maiden is in possession of it to this day, so Spectre failed in her mission. My consultants believe the object of her mission has nothing to do with her disappearance.¡± ¡°So what was?¡± I asked. ¡°If I knew, I would tell you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s got to be more to it than that. What, she breaks into the warehouse and just vanishes?¡± I furrowed my brow, perplexed. ¡°Was she captured? You had retrieval teams investigating, only to find nothing. Her code name was Spectre. What were her powers? Something amounting to intangibility?¡± ¡°Dimensional Shifting,¡± Cyberspace corrected. ¡°Mentalist analysis, as well as a detailed report written by Natasha herself, claims she is capable of stepping through layered co-existing dimensions. Spectre described it as flicking different light switches.¡± ¡°Woah,¡± Liam murmured. ¡°That¡­ shit, I totally get that. That¡¯s how it feels for me. It¡¯s like flicking a switch in my head.¡± ¡°You¡¯re siblings and second generation evohumans. It is only natural that certain aspects of your powers are similar.¡± ¡°Is it possible that Spectre could be hiding? From Masquerade? From you? From everyone?¡± I put forward the theory building in my head. I knew there were flaws to it, and there was no chance someone under Cyberspace¡¯s employ hadn¡¯t already thought of it, but I wanted to know the reason. Liam insisted he and his sister were close, enough that her abandonment had left an unfilled hole in his soul. Surely she wouldn¡¯t just hide away unless she had a good reason to. ¡°What¡¯re the chances of that?¡± ¡°Unrealistic. Motives, personal behavior, psyche evaluations do not point to abandonment being a probable outcome. With no answers and my Mentalist support hitting too many roadblocks. We were left believing that she was either captured or killed. If capture is the case, then she is being held somewhere I am not capable of accessing, which I will stress is not within The Iron Maiden¡¯s capabilities,¡± Cyberspace explained. ¡°Death is the most likely conclusion.¡± ¡°Is there nothing else?¡± I asked, hopeful. ¡°The warehouse Spectre was sent to infiltrate was emptied the morning following her operation. Masquerade¡¯s men had moved the supply to another outpost in Adelaide. There was evidence left behind of a fight, but no blood or bodies were recovered or assumed to have even been there,¡± Cyberspace said. ¡°That is all we know.¡± Masquerade¡­ is it any coincidence he¡¯s involved in this? ¡°I see,¡± I sighed, looking up at Liam. The jovial front he had been wearing before was gone, his recent melancholic demeanor resurfacing. ¡°We¡¯ll figure something out, okay?¡± His lips twitched toward a smile, but he suppressed it. ¡°Thanks, I guess. At least I get to know the story and the reason, even if it fuckin¡¯ sucks,¡± he glared at the monitor again. Cyberspace offered no words of defense, instead, opting to meet his gaze. ¡°I was gonna go investigate myself, but if this place is over in Sydney, there¡¯s not much I can do to get there. I don¡¯t think there¡¯ll even be much to look at. You said the place was emptied the next morning?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Cyberspace said. ¡°However, the warehouse was demolished last year. The office complex that replaced it was only finished three months ago.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Liam¡¯s shoulders sagged. ¡°No point going there. Won¡¯t find shit.¡± ¡°If what you say is true, then the only people who really know what happened to Spectre are sitting comfortably in Dubai,¡± I said, determined not to let Liam wallow in failure. We hit one expected roadblock, and he already looked like he was losing steam. I didn¡¯t accept that, and I wasn¡¯t going to let him give up now when we hadn¡¯t even started. ¡°This starts and ends with Masquerade and The Iron Maiden.¡± ¡°You would have better luck breaking Ajax¡¯s Mothership with a stone, than trying to fight The Iron Maiden,¡± Cyberspace said. ¡°I understand your determination to uncover the truth behind Spectre¡¯s disappearance, but making any trips to Dubai is not only reckless, but time consuming, and a waste of resources. You have enough to deal with here. Sweepers and Walkers are days away from being deployed throughout Bayside.¡± ¡°I never said anything about going personally. I have no intention to set foot in Dubai unless absolutely necessary,¡± I clarified. Cyberspace looked intrigued, while Liam looked confused. ¡°We establish contact, and trade information.¡± ¡°The Iron Maiden does not trade for information. I have tried once before.¡± ¡°We have a bargaining chip,¡± I said. ¡°They were dealing with Grim for one reason or another and Splicer was involved. Unless you¡¯ve conveniently let him go for a walk about, it¡¯s my understanding that he¡¯s still sitting in one of your little cells on the other side of the city.¡± Cyberspace¡¯s tone turned cold. ¡°You wish for me to sacrifice an asset of Splicer¡¯s caliber on the basis of information that The Iron Maiden may or may not have?¡± I shuddered at the way they phrased the question. ¡°No.¡± Liam heaved a sigh. ¡°I guess we¡¯re going to Dubai then.¡± I would have laughed if I couldn¡¯t feel the anger reverberate through the screen. ¡°NO!¡± Cyberspace¡¯s declaration shook me to my core. ¡°I will consult¡­. other avenues, since you two are so determined,¡± they paused for a moment. ¡°This will be a costly venture. I will expect something in return, if I am to pursue this.¡± ¡°My plan,¡± I said immediately. ¡°You already know what it is I want to do. I¡¯ll share it with the others when Sam and Mia get here. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to figure something out.¡± Cyberspace heaved a sigh. ¡°Be sure that you do.¡± Initialization 8 My fingertips brushed the front of my power armor. With my suit in the Disengagement Unit I had designed to house it when not in use, I could work on it. I was able to get better readings on power consumption when it was hooked up, while simultaneously testing how efficient my modules were. So far, I knew my Camouflage Module drained power at a predictable pace. The kinetic dampeners devoured power depending on the level of absorbed impacts. The Jericho Core MK II powered them well enough, but I felt I was steadily approaching the threshold where ¡®well enough¡¯ wasn¡¯t acceptable. Adequate wasn¡¯t going to cut it with all the attention on Madhouse now. Stagnation now would just lead to my death. The MK V I reacquired from Starburst and Basilisk had been one I created and intended to ship with Cyberspace¡¯s help. The safe house they raided was a drop point that would¡¯ve seen it sent out of the country to wherever Kriegsmaschine was. In return, Madhouse would receive an automated projectile interception platform capable of defending against nearly anything. The only thing stopping him from finishing the project was a sufficient power source, which I would provide. Unfortunately, that power source was now in my suit. [Charges: 10/25] [Type] [Durability 100/100 - Repair Unavailable] [Materials] [Software] [Power Systems] [Weapons Systems] [Medical Systems] [Oxygen Systems] [Installed Modules] [¡ý. . .¡ý] The sub-categories on the material were only going to grow the more protection vectors I integrated. Right now, I had everything I needed in there to survive pretty much anything. As long as I wasn¡¯t hit in the face with a hydrogen bomb, my armor would protect me from most threats. Of course, that was only if I didn¡¯t take the esoteric powers some people had into account. Cosmikinetics were dangerous like that. Stuff that messed with and broke the laws of physics. Kind of like my power. Disabling the suit¡¯s security measures, I popped out the Jericho MK II power core and rested it in my palm. Its identical form factor to the MK V made it easier to carry. Red, blue, and green bolts of lightning forked out from the small piece of material at the center but never breached its glass container. It wasn¡¯t really glass. It was a hyper-conductive transparent material that converted the energy generated within and redirected it outward through conductive tracks. Other than the broad strokes, I didn¡¯t understand how it worked, but I knew that holding it was perfectly safe. I considered my options for a few moments. I could swap this back out for the MK V and give it to Cyberspace to ship, or I could upgrade this one and send it away. Either way, Kriegsmaschine was getting the product he requested. It was only a matter of timing, and Cyberspace insisted that there was no rush, especially with the safehouse being compromised by Starburst and Basilisk. My brow furrowed at the memory. I hadn¡¯t even bothered to ask them how they¡¯d found out about the safe house. Neither of them were Mentalists, so they couldn¡¯t have figured it out alone. Either they had someone feeding them info, or the people handling our things were incompetent enough that children caught on to what they were doing. Cyberspace had hidden themselves for almost a decade, so I doubted incompetence was to blame. There¡¯s a Mentalist then. I refocused my attention on the Jericho Core in my hand. Kriegsmaschine could wait a little longer. [Charges: 10/25] [Type] [Durability 100/100 - Repair Unavailable] [Model] Pushing this core to MK V meant getting any subsequent Jericho Core to MK V would be a breeze. If there was one thing I really loved about my power, it was its ability to learn. Repeating the same upgrade halved the cost, which meant that soon, I¡¯d be able to churn out several of these things a day. Most of my equipment was already configured to run off the base Jericho Core, so replacing them with MK V¡¯s only meant they¡¯d last longer. I paid the three charges to start a slow upgrade to MK V and set the upgrading item down on a table as it folded into its liquid state. In three hours it would be done, and Cyberspace would have a new power core to send our enthusiastic Mechakinetic collaborator. All in a day¡¯s work, and I still had seven charges to spare. What else could I improve? I long since learned that the answer to that question was ¡®everything¡¯ but I just couldn¡¯t decide on what. There was my armor, obviously. There was no such thing as being too protected so any investment there would be worth it. However, the same could be said for my newly minted drones. The first was the one Francis had bought off of me. It had some wear and tear, showing it had been used, but knowing more about my powers now made tinkering with it further easy. My armor, drones, 3D printers, fabricators, assemblers, generators, building defenses¡­ they all had their uses, and investing charges into them always paid off. In my mind, there was no such thing as a ¡®bad¡¯ investment, even if Sam would disagree. With that in mind, I turned on my heel and meandered to a back corner of my workshop where three racks stood containing suits of a lesser quality than mine. The three identical black wetsuits were the beginnings of what would be protective armor for Sam, Mia, and Liam. Each of them had weaknesses that could be exploited, and I wanted to ensure that this armor could compensate for that. As far as anyone was concerned, Liam was indestructible while in his Morpher state. The only problem was his inability to communicate comprehensively. Sam was able to translate with Gold based on his reactions, but to me and Mia, Anomaly sounded like the screams of the damned. However, he was vulnerable while human, and that made surprise attacks deadly. That¡¯s not even considering odd power interactions like Springsong and her capability to prevent his transformation. My armor would be able to protect Liam and give him enough time to transform. Mia was in a similar boat. Her statues were blindly fast, strong, durable, and had some kind of subtle Mentalist effect that stopped people from noticing them. Sam had explained it as a sort of ¡®perception filter¡¯ where if she wasn¡¯t the sole focus, her statues could be overlooked as just background objects. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure how that worked, since I always noticed where her statues were, but Mia clarified that it was possible it didn¡¯t affect us because she didn''t feel the need to hide her statues from us. Like Liam, she was vulnerable as a human, her only defense being her ability to freely switch between her statues. My armor would give her more options, or at the very least buy her enough time to run away. Sam was a tricky one. As an Aspect, a rather versatile one at that, she had an answer for nearly every problem. Pink gave her maneuverability, Gold fed her information, Red was the muscle, Purple let her reach places she otherwise couldn¡¯t, and Orange gave her whatever skill she needed. She wasn¡¯t even weak to sneak attacks like the other two since Blue ¨C or Sam really ¨C allowed her to sense imminent danger. Her flaws weren¡¯t so simple, and they were intrinsically tied to her powers, that being her multiple personalities. As powerful as she was, she wasn¡¯t invincible. Again, it came back to being caught off-guard. The few times she had been injured, she wasn¡¯t using Blue to sense the danger coming. She had been shot in the shoulder on our first night out when Gold took over, and she hadn¡¯t been able to sense Springsong¡¯s approach in time for the same reason. If memory serves, she realized at the last moment when we were already caught in her silent song. I wanted to develop a safety net for them, and basic suits seemed to be the right way to go about it. They didn¡¯t need to be as advanced as mine. It would be redundant to incorporate all my weapons systems into their suits, not to mention time-consuming. Well, Mia might get some use out of them, but she didn¡¯t seem to even want to hold a gun, let alone fire one. Liam would just transform and utilize his powers, same with Sam. Still, incorporating camouflage and armor modules into the suits couldn¡¯t hurt. There were no downsides to it, though the suits themselves were still a few upgrades away from having module slots. They weren¡¯t sophisticated enough, and right now, they just served as body armor. Maybe now was the time to change that. I can use Sam¡¯s as a basis to start. I stepped forward, resting a hand on the midsection of the suit, and paid two charges to open up [Power Systems] and a module slot under [Installed Modules]. I was moving away from the upgrading suit before it could finish, heading toward one of my 3D printers. I loaded up the schematic I created for the baseline model of a Jericho Core and hit start. The machine whirled and began printing the replica. The moment it was done, I reached and snatched it up, and paid three charges to change the materials. A few moments later, I had a reliable power source most Mechakinetics would kill for.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. I returned to Sam¡¯s suit and deposited the Jericho Core into the single slot that appeared on the lower back. It wasn¡¯t exactly the best place to put it, but if she had any complaints I could alter its positioning later. For now, it would do for a simple test run. All I needed now was a module, but which one? Camouflage or Improved Armor? I had a feeling Sam would want the invisibility, but none of the suits I designed for them covered the whole body. They were made to be inconspicuous ¨C able to be worn under clothing, unlike mine. My armor had become too bulky with too many systems to be concealed in any meaningful way. I¡¯d have to invest more into Compact-shifting or make the push to Nano-tech. Compact-shifting was cheap for smaller objects, like my laser pistol, but it became costly the more complex the item was. Nanotechnology was Nanoforge¡¯s forte, and while it wasn¡¯t nearly as expensive as Deadlocked¡¯s prototype, it wasn¡¯t by any means cheap. I would have to spend weeks focusing on certain components, and something told me I¡¯d be putting my suit on in the next few days. Nanotech could wait, but only for so long. I snagged a blank computer chip and used my last four charges to transform it into a basic armor module. I had done this before so the cost had been discounted. When I returned to the suit once more, I slotted the chip into the only available module slot next to the Jericho Core. Without a visual interface to connect to, switching the module on and off had to be done manually. Thankfully, my power included a way to do this by incorporating a small switch. I just had to direct where that switch ended up. I felt the wrist would be the easiest way to access this. It was just a coincidence that Abby triggered Nanoforge¡¯s armor the same way. Bounding up the stairs, I opened the door and poked my head into the living quarters. I was immediately hit with the smell of fresh paint. Sam¡¯s escapades to renovate the upstairs took much longer than she anticipated, but at least she had designed the rooms spectacularly. Orange¡¯s skills were shining through with how she maximized the space she was working with. All of us had functional bedrooms with spacious wardrobes and ensuites. It was interesting why she hadn¡¯t done this with the apartment complex, but I guessed that building was always meant to be temporary, and getting the necessary materials to fix things up would¡¯ve been a hassle. Here, she could just hand a note to one of Cyberspace¡¯s guys, and they¡¯d go fetch the stuff for her. I hadn¡¯t needed to help in the slightest. ¡°Looking good,¡± I praised. ¡°I¡¯ve never had much of an eye for this stuff.¡± Sam turned to me with a beaming smile. Her gray sweatshirt and sweatpants had splotches of paint all over the place, color varying from every corner of the spectrum. She waved a roller, pointing toward me before turning and gesturing aggressively toward Mia, who sat at the other end of the room at the table. ¡°Aha! See?! I knew he¡¯d like it. The yellowish cream color really brings out the living room¡¯s personality!¡± Sam explained, flicking paint all over the white sheet she put down to protect the floor. ¡°Look at you over there, doubting my genius.¡± Mia scoffed. ¡°I think beige is the word you¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ To-may-to, to-mah-to.¡± ¡°Sam,¡± I interrupted, bringing her attention back to me. ¡°Can I borrow you for a bit? ¡°Oh, yeah!¡± She chirped, dropping the roller back into the paint. ¡°What¡¯ve you got in store for us? I¡¯m trying to ignore Gold right now so I can actually feel surprised, you know? Without any stakes, not knowing something is actually kinda fun. I can really let my mind wander, so the possibilities are endless!¡± I laughed awkwardly. ¡°The painting has really been boring you, hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It''s been driving me nuts! I can¡¯t even trust Pink to do it properly either, the whole room would look like a unicorn vomited everywhere,¡± Sam brushed hair out of her eyes and stretched her arms a bit. ¡°Sorry, didn¡¯t mean to sound so excited. Been a bit boring to be stuck in a routine like this. School in the morning and then coming back to work on this place,¡± she yawned and shook her hands. ¡°I need some excitement.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know if this¡¯ll be exciting but it¡¯s something different at least,¡± I looked past Sam and over to Mia. ¡°Did you want to come down and watch? I hear you¡¯ve been up here all day.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Mia offered a weak smile. ¡°I¡¯m studying. I feel weird about going back to my University classes so I¡¯m doing them remotely. Um¡­ Cyberspace and Francis helped set things up for me.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± I nodded, stepping to the side to let Sam through the door. ¡°Give us a holler if you need anything. We¡¯ll just be downstairs.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can sort dinner while you guys are busy,¡± Mia gestured to the entertainment room. ¡°Liam¡¯s distracting himself, so I¡¯ll see what he wants. Any preferences?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything!¡± Sam called out. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Same as her, I guess,¡± I chuckled, shrugging. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± I closed the door and descended back to my workshop with Sam. She practically skipped down the stairs, doing nothing to hide her excitement. It was strange to see her so giddy about something that seemed so¡­ casual? I couldn¡¯t wrap my head around it. Maybe she really was just happy to be doing something different. Sam hadn¡¯t had much involvement in the development of my projects. In fact, she had been very hands-off since we moved into this place. Now that I had so many different things going at once, it would be a good idea to consult her and the rest of Madhouse about what I should prioritize. ¡°So! What¡¯ve you been cooking down here?¡± ¡°Lots of stuff,¡± I replied, amused. I looked around at all the machines actively working away. ¡°I¡¯ve talked to Cyberspace about how to move forward with Deadlocked¡¯s prototype,¡± I pointed toward the upgrading laptop. ¡°It¡¯ll be a while yet before we can open it. I estimate about a month or so, assuming my hunch isn¡¯t wrong.¡± ¡°I see, I see,¡± Sam mused. ¡°You¡¯ve made some improvements to the 3D Printer, and¡­ wow! Listen to them go,¡± she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, immediately turning toward the fabrication machines. Cyberspace imported a half dozen of them, and I had been quick to improve on them. They broke down raw materials and allowed for the reconstruction of complex machines. It was just another means of production, an alternative to the 3D printers. Anything that allowed me to save on charges was going to be useful. ¡°Have they always been that noisy?¡± ¡°The Mark Threes are kinda loud. Doesn¡¯t really bother me though. I¡¯ve got them making more drone parts.¡± ¡°We¡¯re definitely going to need a machine swarm if we¡¯re going to hold our own against Ajax¡¯s stuff,¡± Sam said. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing some research on the Sweepers and Walkers,¡± she sucked in a breath. ¡°Really got to watch out for those when they¡¯re deployed. If we¡¯re not careful, it¡¯s lights out for us. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s going to be much discrimination when they¡¯re picking their targets.¡± ¡°Meaning?¡± ¡°Meaning if it gets bad enough, those things won¡¯t care if we¡¯re minors, or any good we¡¯ve done,¡± Sam flicked the side of her head. ¡°They¡¯ll take us out in the most efficient way possible.¡± ¡°Again, it seems like overkill to bring them here.¡± ¡°Mmhm. Makes you wonder, doesn''t it? Why bring warmachines to New Elpis? What are they preparing to fight?¡± ¡°Well, if it was Grim, then they''re a bit late to the party.¡± ¡°I bet they were planning to use them against Grim, not that they¡¯d have much effect. Given what he was, I don¡¯t think he was the sole reason Ajax and General Jessamine brought the Sweepers and Walkers here¡­¡± Sam trailed off. ¡°There are other reasons. The sinkholes for instance. I¡¯ve heard Hunters have been deployed down in Zachery Port already.¡± ¡°Yeah, Abby said as much.¡± Sam gave me a conflicted look. ¡°Ajax sticking around is never a good sign. Gold has been fixated on why he¡¯s here, none of the possibilities are good.¡± ¡°When are they ever?¡± I sighed with a light shrug. I pointed to the corner of my workshop where I was keeping their suits. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s a good thing I started on those then.¡± Sam¡¯s eyes followed my finger, her mouth widening into a grin when she saw the suits. Without saying a word, she took over in a flash of pink, appearing in front of the three racks. Calmly, I followed after her, shoving my hands in my pockets. I had to admit that it was amusing to see her analyze each one before promptly positioning herself in front of the one I designed for her. ¡°I want this one!¡± ¡°I can rent it out to you. How does twenty-thousand a week sound?¡± Sam scoffed. ¡°I know you¡¯re joking, but come on dude. Realistically, if you were renting these things out you should be charging at least a hundred grand. Have some pride in your ability, anything less is chump change. All but the crappiest Mechatech is often valued higher than most people, and your work is far from crap,¡± Sam¡¯s hand brushed the chest of the suit. I got the feeling she was happy with the new addition to her costume. ¡°Even a hundred thousand is cheap, but since it looks like these are barebones creations, it would make sense.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if I felt disgusted or prideful at that little fact. Worse still, I knew she wasn¡¯t lying. ¡°Do you want to try it on?¡± ¡°Right now?¡± Sam gave me a mock suspicious look. ¡°Not while you¡¯re looking.¡± I sighed and rolled my eyes. ¡°Once you''ve changed, meet me over by the C.A.R. I think this¡¯ll be a good way to kill two birds with one stone,¡± I said, turning away to give her some privacy. ¡°Unless you¡¯re not up to it.¡± ¡°Oh, no. I am. It¡¯s just¡­ C.A.R?¡± ¡°The Combat Analysis Recreation machine? The thing you were helping me with earlier?¡± ¡°I know what it is,¡± Sam laughed. ¡°The acronym is kinda silly. I need to help you come up with some better names because¡­ wow. You could just call it the Mimicry machine.¡± I bristled and felt my neck heat up. ¡°My names are fine.¡± Sam waved me off with a cheeky grin. ¡°Mhmm, yes, fine.¡± Grumbling, I gave her the privacy she needed and headed toward my suit. Slipping into it felt second nature at this point. It had actually gotten to the point where I felt more comfortable inside the suit than wearing regular clothes. It was like a second skin. With every upgrade, I felt safer wearing it. Sam didn¡¯t quite beat me to the C.A.R. but she wasn¡¯t that far behind. She slipped into her suit effortlessly and even had time to fetch her costume. It was interesting to see her old costume mixed with her new suit. Naturally, she didn¡¯t look all that different. Her costume was still worn over the top, but she had ditched the stockings since the suit made them redundant. The suit looked better anyway. ¡°That¡¯s a good look on you,¡± I nodded fairly. ¡°You won¡¯t be taking any surprise shots to the shoulder anymore.¡± ¡°Just my noggin,¡± Sam quipped with a smile. She flicked her head again for good measure. ¡°There¡¯s no stopping a bullet from popping my head like a balloon.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d let me make a helmet¡ª¡± ¡°Here¡¯s an idea: Force Fields!¡± I rolled my eyes while Sam continued to giggle at my exasperation. Force Fields were not simple to just make. Sure, I had developed incredible Mechatech on my own, but finding the right path to get there was extremely difficult. Gold wasn¡¯t much help either. As much as she might seem like a walking, talking encyclopedia, Gold didn¡¯t have access to my power and all the information it provided. We just had to wait for Cyberspace to get a sample. ¡°I¡¯m just messing with you. This is more than enough. I¡¯ve made it this far without serious brain damage ¨C and I know what you''re thinking,¡± she stopped me, wagging a finger in front of my face. ¡°Don¡¯t say it. Don¡¯t say ¡®that¡¯s debatable¡¯.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking that.¡± I was. ¡°Ahuh,¡± she gave me a knowing look. ¡°So, we¡¯re finally going to use this thing?¡± She gestured to the C.A.R.¡¯s stage. The Combat Analysis Recreation machine was actually pretty simple in its design. I started with motion capture technology and improved its accuracy. There were sensors, cameras, and more stationed around the stage to capture every angle. It would translate any movement into raw data. It had been an idea I had thrown out there as a way to fix my tragically pathetic skill in fighting. Sam extrapolated and dived into the idea with more detail, mapping out what we could do and how we could take advantage of it. Cyberspace ¨C naturally ¨C provided the resources to make it happen. ¡°That¡¯s the plan. With my suit, I won¡¯t get hurt. With your suit, you won¡¯t break any bones while using Orange,¡± I said. ¡°I installed a Jericho Core and armor, so you should be fine.¡± ¡°Oooh! Good thinking,¡± Sam clapped her hands excitedly. I just shrugged. ¡°Actually, it only just occurred to me. You can test out how the suit feels and I can collect some data. Two birds, one stone.¡± ¡°Just so you know, it¡¯ll be difficult for me to stick to one style with Orange. So for the purposes of gathering data, we¡¯ll have to take this slow so I can really concentrate, ¡± Sam said. ¡°And I know you¡¯ve thought of this, but gathering this data isn¡¯t going to make you the best in a fight. Sure, the module will help you but¡ª¡± ¡°I know,¡± I cut her off. ¡°I know. I¡¯ll actually have to learn in the interim.¡± ¡°The Interim?¡± Her brow raised. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already looking into Cybernetics, Sam,¡± I tapped the side of my head. ¡°Chances are I¡¯ll end up with a neural implant. I might not actually need to learn all this stuff.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She didn¡¯t look too pleased with that idea. ¡°I guess that could work. Messing with the brain is dangerous, Max. Especially if it''s not your speciality.¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯ll be careful. I have you around to help,¡± I switched the C.A.R. on and started the data recording. ¡°Let¡¯s get started.¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to do this?¡± Sam asked, her tone suspiciously eager. ¡°It¡¯s not going to hurt me,¡± I gestured to my suit. ¡°Best you¡¯ll do is wind me. I doubt you¡¯ll even be capable of that without Red.¡± ¡°There are other forms of hurt than physical,¡± she all but sang as she skipped up onto the stage. ¡°I just don¡¯t wanna hurt your ego. I know how guys feel about getting beaten up by a girl.¡± I snorted. ¡°I don¡¯t have an ego. I fully expect to get my ass beat. That¡¯s the whole point of this.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what you¡¯re into.¡± ¡°Oh, come on,¡± I groaned. ¡°Every time¡­ Why do you always have to make it weird?¡± Sam winked. ¡°Let¡¯s go, tech-monkey! Show me whatcha got!¡± I may not be capable of lasting five seconds in close quarters, but I was willing to suffer any embarrassment now if it saved my life later. Initialization Interlude - Samael Richard calmly sat at the family dining table grazing on some morning toast while his mother and father cracked at the seams. The family business was already hemorrhaging funds before Grim¡¯s rampage, but since then, Richard¡¯s parents have been virtually drowning. The building they leased was caught in the abrupt flooding with most of their stock either damaged or stolen in the ensuing chaos. Insurance companies were scrambling to try and cover the damages. It was an economic nightmare, and unfortunately, the insurance company Richard''s parents were covered by had signed for bankruptcy before they had a chance to file a claim. Richard finished off his piece of toast before nonchalantly dusting off the crumbs. He was beginning to grow tired of his mother¡¯s bawling and his father¡¯s pacing. It had been going on for so long now that it had already ruined his morning. ¡°Do you have any idea how insufferable you two are?¡± Richard asked. They stopped, turning to face him. The tears from his mother ceased as if a dam had erected in her eyes. His father, on the other hand, turned red. His body shook with anger, but no words came out. ¡°So what? The business has been flushed down the toilet, get over it. There are plenty of ways to generate an income.¡± ¡°W-What would you have us do?¡± His mother asked, her voice trembling. ¡°The shop¡­ we¡¯ve been running it since before you were born! It has so much¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªThe shop is a fucking shop. You sell shit products, to shit people, for shit profit,¡± Richard stood up and meandered over to the fridge. He swung it open and snagged a bottle of milk. ¡°You were about to tell me it had sentimental value, weren¡¯t you? Am I right? Actually, don¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t give less of a shit,¡± he shook his head and sighed. ¡°I should¡¯ve had you shut it down months ago. An absolute waste of time.¡± ¡°You¡ª!¡± His father bit his lip so hard he drew blood. ¡°You told us to keep going.¡± Richard waved him away and turned his attention to the coffee pot. ¡°A mistake, clearly. Now, it''s ruined and neither of you have the means to provide. So, what¡¯re you going to do about this?¡± With every passing minute, Richard was growing less fond of his parents. Keeping them around had been convenient because they brought in money, and earning his own income was too difficult due to his age. Sure, he could steal money, but that actually required effort. ¡°Well? I¡¯m waiting.¡± His father growled. ¡°We haven¡¯t had time to think¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªNo time to think?!¡± Richard mockingly gasped. ¡°Woe-is-fucking-me, you¡¯ve known for days now. What, have you been sitting on your asses whining this whole time?¡± He turned to his mother, who shook like a leaf under his gaze. ¡°Jesus, look at you. Get it together, you¡¯re actually pathetic. Are your tears going to magically increase our income? Did you get powers you didn¡¯t tell me about?¡± ¡°She is crying because¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± Richard¡¯s command washed over his father, silencing him. ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking you.¡± He turned his attention back to his mother. ¡°Well, why are you like this? Obviously, I can feel why. Misery and panic, but seriously¡­ just move past it. How hard is it?¡± He stared, unblinking, as she continued to shake. ¡°Do you want me to take them away? The feelings that is, will you be able to function then? I don¡¯t want to do that, cause we both know what happened the last time.¡± Expression and emotion. Richard loved seeing the vast range that people were capable of reaching. It was almost intoxicating to read and even more exhilarating to change. Removing them though¡­ proved to be dreadfully boring. ¡°I-If it would make you happy.¡± Richard narrowed his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t remember making you retarded,¡± he pursed his lips and smothered her with his power. She shuddered as his influence washed over her. It was difficult for her to fight the instinct to roll her eyes into the back of her head. It wasn¡¯t a pleasant feeling, but it wasn¡¯t awful either. It was like stepping into a zero gravity room, her whole body becoming weightless. ¡°No¡­ no that wasn¡¯t me. That¡¯s just you. Plain old you. Not sure I can fix that.¡± With his coffee finished brewing, he poured himself a cup and sat back at the table. Richard¡¯s fingers drummed against the varnished oak, his eyes switching between his mother and father thoughtfully. They both waited for him to speak because they knew better than to interrupt his train of thought. ¡°Idea,¡± he said after a few minutes of quiet contemplation. He snapped his fingers and pointed at the two of them. ¡°How¡¯s this: you guys walk to the nearest Pandora church and ask to be taken in. Do the big song and dance about what happened, yada-yada our business got destroyed, nowhere to go, you want protection from the big scary moon-touched and I bet they¡¯ll sort you out. I¡¯m sure one of their members is looking for a new toy to play with. You¡­¡± Richard¡¯s gaze landed on his father, a frown forming on his lips. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll figure something out. Laborer maybe?¡± Richard sipped his coffee. The mother started shaking again while the father looked horrified. ¡°You¡­ you can¡¯t seriously mean¨C this is a joke, right? This is one of your jokes,¡± the father¡¯s expression turned from anger to desperate pleading. ¡°Please, Richard. You can¡¯t mean for us to¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªIt was just a suggestion,¡± Richard clarified with a warm smile. ¡°Unless you two can come up with something better because right now it seems like I¡¯m the only one with a functioning brain here,¡± he looked between them again, and the fear on their features was palpable. It was delicious but also infuriating. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t think so. Seems like all that meat in your heads is just that. Meat.¡± ¡°Wait¨C please!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind,¡± Richard waved them off. ¡°Go now. Whatever you two come up with isn¡¯t going to help. Pandora is your best solution now,¡± he smiled. ¡°Go on. Shoo, I¡¯ve got things to do. My girlfriend will be coming over soon and I don¡¯t want either of you around to embarrass me.¡± ¡°I-I¡­ Lord above,¡± Richard¡¯s father performed a small prayer before meeting his son¡¯s piercing gaze. ¡°You truly mean this? You know what Pandora is like. They¡­ they¡¯ll never let us go. We¡¯ll be tied to them like animals. Like slaves!¡± ¡°Father,¡± Richard rolled his eyes. ¡°Are you going to make me repeat myself?¡± Trembling, his father inclined his head and turned to leave. His mother followed after him, wiping her eyes as she walked. Richard watched them go with a smile before turning and observing the kitchen. He spotted a few dirty dishes lying on the counter, which he immediately cursed. Nikki didn¡¯t like messes, and he couldn¡¯t disappoint her. ¡°Pointless to fix,¡± he sneered, turning away from the kitchen. It wasn¡¯t like there was any food in the house anyway. His parents couldn¡¯t do this week''s grocery shopping because of their sudden lack of income. If they did have money, the next issue would¡¯ve been finding a stocked supermarket that survived the flooding. ¡°I suppose we¡¯ll just go out to eat.¡± Richard went about his morning routine, starting with yoga and some light exercise. He found that keeping a strict regime refreshed his mind and prepared him for the day. Once finished, he took a shower and brushed his teeth, remembering to floss diligently. Next, he applied a soft facial mask to freshen up the skin and prevent acne, ran some product through his hair, and then it was time for his personally curated trio of body lotion, antiperspirant, and cologne to maintain his signature scent. It was a meticulous routine that Richard could confidently claim was the best way to start the day. When Nikki knocked on the front door, Richard had been staring at himself in the mirror for an unknown amount of time. He barely acknowledged his girlfriend''s arrival, preferring to stare at his reflection. It wasn¡¯t because he found his appearance alluring but that the profound wisdom in the eyes gave him insight into problems he hadn¡¯t yet solved. ¡°It¡¯s time to move forward. My parents have outlived their usefulness,¡± Richard spoke into the mirror as he adjusted his white button-up shirt. ¡°With them out of the picture, I¡¯ll be able to move without restraint. There will be questions from extended family and friends, but I can satisfy their curiosity. There¡¯s still the issue of money¡­¡± Richard narrowed his eyes, catching the slightest imperfection around his cheeks. There was a hint of fresh facial hair, black, coarse, and hideous. He didn¡¯t own a shaver, but he supposed now would be a good time to acquire one. For now, he¡¯d suffer the imperfection and deal with it later. ¡°Money¡­ Nikki has an allowance from her little hero group. I can redirect that into the property if I want,¡± Richard allowed a moment to look around the bathroom. His lips curled into a frown when the quality didn¡¯t meet his standards. ¡°Or I could let this place go. Abandon it entirely and move somewhere else. Apartments are small and easy to maintain, so that could be a good idea. I don¡¯t want to put too much work on Nikki after all. Somewhere with a nice view to look over the city. I can bring some wealthier people under my influence. Nikki might know some.¡± Maybe the facial hair couldn¡¯t wait till later. It stood out like a sore thumb, and Nikki would undoubtedly notice and comment. Naturally, he could prevent that with his power, but the fact that was even an option frustrated him. He didn¡¯t want to force her to do anything because it was much more fun for her to want to do things on her own accord. His father had shaving supplies. He¡¯d just use those. The knocking on the door got louder and more insistent, forcing Richard to poke his head out the door and yell down the stairs.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°I heard you the first time! If you knock again, you¡¯ll be eating glass for lunch!¡± Returning to the bathroom, Richard retrieved his father¡¯s shaving supplies and dealt with the imperfection carefully. Once he was cleaned up, he splashed some water on his face to wash away any residue. His reflection smiled at him, a perfect pearly white smile. Today was the start of a new day, one that would yield new opportunities. Once dressed, Richard returned to the front door where Nikki stood patiently. She brightened when the door opened, and there wasn¡¯t a shred of fear or displeasure anywhere on her face. Richard¡¯s smile grew as he took one of her hands and pulled her in close for a kiss. Despite her incredible strength, Nikki did not resist. ¡°Did they send you out?¡± Richard asked, brushing hair out of her eyes. He examined the visible skin she dared to show, finding no blemishes or battle damage. He didn¡¯t expect to find anything, given her power, but Richard figured it was best to check and make sure. He didn¡¯t want his prized possession ruined. ¡°You look as immaculate as ever, baby.¡± ¡°Aw, thanks Richie. No, they didn¡¯t send me out. Only Comet was allowed to go out,¡± she grumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. ¡°I wanted to go out and make a difference, but the Director forbade it. He said we lacked the experience required to properly handle the situation. I suppose it makes sense, considering how young we are, especially Tricky.¡± ¡°They underestimate your talents, but I am glad they didn¡¯t send you out. The thought of you getting hurt¡­ it pains me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve yet to come across something that can hurt me,¡± Nikki boasted with a grin. ¡°So, where are we off to today? You promised me lunch and a nice walk. Normally, I¡¯d suggest we bus down to the harbor, but it¡¯s not the nicest place right now.¡± ¡°We can find a place to eat while we walk,¡± Richard stepped out of the house and shut the door behind him. Nikki reached for his spare hand to hold, but he pulled away. ¡°Not yet. I¡¯ve had a bit of an ¡®off¡¯ morning, so to speak. My parents have been getting on my nerves, so I¡¯ve had to scold them for their inadequacy.¡± ¡°Oh no!¡± Nikki proclaimed, concern spreading across her face. ¡°Are you okay? If you want, I can make you feel better. You know how I do that thing with my¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªTalk like that is only for when we¡¯re behind closed doors,¡± Richard warned her with a scowl. ¡°Take better note of your surroundings and censor yourself.¡± ¡°Alright, if you say so,¡± Nikki laughed. ¡°So, are we going or¡­?¡± ¡°If it¡¯ll get you to shut up for five minutes,¡± Richard stared at her. ¡°You know I could tell you to rip your tongue out.¡± ¡°We both know you¡¯re not going to do that. You like my tongue, and what it can do. Besides, you might¡¯ve forced me to love you more than anything in the world, but taking away my ability to think, feel, and express myself isn¡¯t something you want to do. Take that away from me and I¡¯m not me anymore,¡± Nikki chuckled, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. ¡°So if you really want me to stop talking, you know what you have to do.¡± Richard pulled at his collar, feeling the aggravation boil beneath his skin. He had time to come up with a punishment later. ¡°You sound like you want to test my patience.¡± ¡°You sound like you¡¯re looking for an excuse to make me suffer, which is ridiculous because no matter what you do, every moment I spend with you is amazing!¡± Nikki exclaimed happily. ¡°Now, are you going to stand around moping, or are we going for that date you promised me? I could really use the distraction.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Richard snapped. ¡°Let¡¯s just go.¡± Richard could still taste the ash and smoke in the air as they walked hand in hand. Grim¡¯s downfall had come as a surprise to everyone. The whole city was still stuck in a state of shock from the events that transpired, and the names of those responsible were everywhere. Sure, the media didn¡¯t name them specifically, but everyone knew. He didn¡¯t buy into the borderline worship that was going on, but it was hard not to feel at least slightly intimidated by their presence here in Bayside. Madhouse¡­ They came out of nowhere. Richard initially thought they were trying to claim credit for someone else¡¯s work because seriously, who would buy that a group of nobodies could topple one of the world¡¯s oldest, deadliest evohumans in the world? It sounded like a joke, the plot of a shitty wish-fulfillment story. The unfortunate reality was that the seemingly obvious fabrication was in fact, real. Even as they walked through the streets, Richard could see the damage Madhouse wrought. In their efforts to conquer the reaper, they systematically destroyed a good portion of Bayside¡¯s local economy. Many businesses ¡ªincluding his family¡¯s own¡ª were ruined beyond repair. Ultimately, not a big loss for him, but one Richard felt could have been avoided. With his parents working for Pandora, they¡¯d have a smidgen of money to work with, meaning he¡¯d at least have some kind of safety net should any more of his plans go awry. ¡°I¡¯m starting to wish Grim was still around,¡± Richard sneered as they passed another boarded-up cafe. The entire street was damaged, and every store was boarded up with signs indicating the levels of water damage. These buildings would be condemned and demolished if something wasn¡¯t done to remedy the damage soon. ¡°We¡¯ve only traded one menace for half a dozen more.¡± ¡°Madhouse has only four members,¡± Nikki informed. ¡°Alice, Anomaly, Upgrade, and Vigil.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of any of them,¡± Richard¡¯s reply came out as a mutter, but he considered the names for a moment. One of them did sound familiar. ¡°Actually, Anomaly rings a bell. The local eldritch horror, right?¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s more of a big moving blob with humanoid limbs. The ECU report I was given states he¡¯s indestructible,¡± Nikki replied. ¡°Abby said she caught three of them not too long ago, so honestly they could have just gotten lucky with Grim.¡± Richard looked around at the aftermath of Madhouse¡¯s stunt. ¡°Luck doesn¡¯t exist in this city.¡± ¡°Very pessimistic of you to say that, considering how we met,¡± Nikki said. ¡°I remember it like it was yesterday. I was out on patrol with Sparrow when a building caught fire, and you pretended to be one of the occupants, just so we could meet long enough for you to use your power. It¡¯s all very romantic,¡± she continued without a shred of sarcasm. ¡°So much dedication! Courage! It¡¯s probably the thing I love about you the most.¡± Richard grunted out an acknowledgment as they continued walking. His focus was too busy being occupied by the ruined environment. While the scent of smoke lingered, there was also a distinct salty aroma he recognized belonged to seawater. It was everywhere, soaking into the ground and the buildings around him. Coming this way had been a mistake. If they actually wanted to find somewhere that would be open, heading towards the city center would have been a better bet. ¡°Let¡¯s go back,¡± Richard turned abruptly, pulling her along. ¡°We¡¯re wasting our time. Nothing is going to be open this way. It¡¯s all ruined.¡± ¡°Seems like it,¡± Nikki agreed. ¡°Where did you even want to take me?¡± ¡°Somewhere,¡± Richard sighed. ¡°Anywhere that showed even a modicum of promise, but I suppose we can¡¯t have that given what Madhouse did. Do they even realize what kind of damage they¡¯ve done to this city? They¡¯re worse than Grim!¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Nikki mused. ¡°That remains to be seen. They definitely have the potential to be worse, especially with Upgrade on their side.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°He¡¯s tentatively been given an S-Class rating, could be as scary as Ajax one day they say,¡± Nikki explained. ¡°He also apparently has something to do with the city being destroyed in about three months, but we¡¯re working on¡ª¡± Richard lashed out, seizing Nikki by the shoulders and pulling her around to face him. ¡°What did you say?! Three months until¡ª¡± he cut himself off as he tried to simmer his growing anger. ¡°This Upgrade evohuman is going to destroy the city in three months? Why didn¡¯t you say anything? This is the kind of information I need to know. What¡¯s the point in having you around if you don¡¯t share important details like that? I can find a whore for personal pleasure, but you are supposed to be resourceful.¡± Nikki rolled her eyes as the insult bounced off her. ¡°Chill, Richie. In my defense, you never asked about any of that. The last time I tried to tell you about anything ECU-related, you brushed me off and told me you didn¡¯t want to hear it,¡± she casually shrugged. ¡°Do you want to rescind that order, or¡­?¡± ¡°You were feeding me useless information. I didn¡¯t care what The ECU rated Starburst or Uplink at. I¡¯m not going to be able to do anything with that information. That¡¯s why I told you to stop,¡± Richard sneered, inching closer to her. ¡°So, if you want an order, stop being such a useless hanger-on and tell me what I need to know. That kind of information could be life or death.¡± Nikki playfully flicked his nose. ¡°You need to give better orders then, sweetness.¡± Richard lashed out again, this time striking her across the face. Nikki didn¡¯t even flinch, let alone move. He might as well be hitting a brick wall with a ping-pong ball. ¡°Ow,¡± Nikki mumbled with zero emphasis. ¡°My point still stands.¡± ¡°Tell me, now.¡± ¡°According to Seer, Upgrade is involved in an event that will lead to Bayside¡¯s annihilation. It¡¯s not clear how, or why, but we know it happens in about three months time,¡± Nikki explained. ¡°That¡¯s all we were able to get. He¡¯s working on focusing his power on that specific thread, but in order to get a more accurate reading, we have to interact with him more. If Seer can speak to Upgrade, there¡¯s a chance he¡¯ll be able to extrapolate more,¡± she snorted and waved a hand dismissively. ¡°Hopefully at least, his power¡¯s a bit useless sometimes but it¡¯s the best we have for now.¡± ¡°Convenient,¡± Richard scoffed. ¡°What else do you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s pretty much it.¡± ¡°Anything on Madhouse?¡± ¡°Why?¡± Nikki smirked. ¡°Decided you wanna play hero and go after them yourself?¡± ¡°Maybe I will,¡± Richard countered. ¡°Since the organization you work for is apparently incapable of capturing them, I might as well throw my hat in the ring. With you sharing their information with me, I can hardly do much worse. All I need to do is find one of them, and I can get inside. Once I do that, I can bring them to heel, or I can have you come and snap their necks.¡± ¡°Look at you being all selfless and caring about the city!¡± Nikki applauded. ¡°What¡¯s next, a costume? I think it¡¯s a great idea, you¡¯ll be able to use your power for something better. Think about it for a moment, you¡¯ll be Samael, a Hero!¡± Richard felt compelled to rebuke her statement and punish her for speaking so brazenly about what he should do, but in a rare moment of contemplation, he considered her words. Taking down Madhouse and bringing them to heel would put him in the good graces of many. He¡¯d have connections, and countless doors would open for him to utilize his power to its maximum potential. Sure, he could just walk into any old place and force his will upon others, but there was no subtlety to that. Someone would take him out if he wasn¡¯t careful. This way, everyone would let their guard down around him. Then he could strike. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea,¡± Richard agreed, a sinister smile spreading across his lips. ¡°A hero¡­ I like the way that sounds.¡± It rolled off the tongue nicely. Samael. A hero. He could be a Hero. He could be the best. Ignition 1 Waking up to sirens blaring throughout the city snapped me into fight-or-flight mode. I was out of bed and halfway down the stairs to my workshop before I figured out what was going on. Francis was already up and dressed, staring out of a one-way armored window. It was still early winter morning, so the sun had yet to come up, but the light pouring through the window had me thinking it was much later in the day. It wasn¡¯t until I peered out the window that I saw what was happening. ¡°Now? They¡¯re launching them now?¡± By the time Francis turned his head, Sam had already zipped downstairs, appearing at my side in the blink of an eye. Her eyes glimmered with a pink sheen as a smile stretched across her lips. ¡°I can¡¯t believe they¡¯re starting the party at five in the morning! Do those bozo¡¯s not get that I need my beauty slee¡ª argh, it¡¯s too early for this¡­¡± Sam groaned, switching from Pink to Blue mid-sentence. ¡°I suppose we can¡¯t have everything. It¡¯ll be too much to ask for them to run on our timetable.¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s moving into position,¡± Francis gave me a curt nod. ¡°If you don¡¯t want the Sweepers to find us, now would be the time to switch on the scrambling tech we gave you.¡± The ECU¡¯s headquarters had lights flashing all around it like they were advertising the circus was in town. Ajax¡¯s Mothership hadn¡¯t moved, but it was visibly putting out more energy than before. The body of the floating craft had lit up and compartments were moving all around and opening. Any moment now, the Sweepers were going to start pouring out in droves, followed by the gigantic Walkers. I rushed over to a lever and a metal box Francis helped me install when we first moved here. I pulled the lever down and swung open the control panel next to it. There were dials and a couple of switches to configure the intensity of the scrambler tech. I flicked five switches on before turning my attention to the dials. There were six of them. The first two I turned two hundred and seventy degrees clockwise, then the next one a hundred and sixty degrees. I turned the last three ninety, seventy, and fifteen degrees. ¡°Shielding up,¡± I called out, looking over my shoulder to watch for any irregularities in my equipment. ¡°Now, we just have to wait and see.¡± The first problem I spotted upon installation was its potential to mess with the electronics already in my workshop. Efficient uses of this tech required human intervention, and so far according to Cyberspace, it hadn¡¯t been properly automated. If we turned this on and left it on to cloak us from the Sweepers, my stuff wouldn¡¯t even be able to find the workshop. Any incoming or outgoing transmissions would be redirected or blocked entirely. The scrambler also output some kind of signal that messed with the functionality of all my machines. I had to make a few upgraded tweaks to stop that. ¡°What the hell is all that noise?¡± Mia grumbled, walking down the stairs looking like she had fallen straight out of her bed. Given the circumstances, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if that was the case. ¡°Is The ECU deploying those things now?¡± ¡°Sounds like it,¡± Liam commented from behind her. He didn¡¯t look as bad as Mia, but I could still see the sleep in his eyes. ¡°I guess this is where we find out if we get to go back to bed in ten minutes, or fight for our lives. If there is a God out there somewhere, do us a solid and give us the former because I could really do with a few extra hours.¡± ¡°Oh, you poor thing,¡± Sam chided with a smile. ¡°I remember the days I got a maximum of six hours. Those were good times.¡± The sirens abruptly stopped, leaving a tense atmosphere. I could feel the anticipation in the room as we all glanced out the window, watching the lights brighten and dim every few seconds. After that racket the whole city would be awake, and it was intentional. The ECU wanted everyone to witness the deployment so they could be sure Bayside knew order was coming. ¡°Here we go,¡± Francis murmured. Massive canisters dropped from The Mothership, falling somewhere close to the Citadel. Given our distance we didn¡¯t feel any of the impacts, but it wouldn¡¯t be long before the ground trembled as the Walkers roamed the city. ¡°Eighteen,¡± Sam counted the last canister drop with an unsatisfied edge to her voice. ¡°Gold estimated at seven or eight¡­¡± she lifted a hand to rub her forehead, and I could see the frustration on her face. She wasn¡¯t happy with this outcome, not in the slightest. ¡°Cleaning up to reestablish a sense of order would only need that many. Any more than that means they¡¯re being deployed as a preemptive counter measure.¡± ¡°Against what?¡± Mia asked. ¡°Pandora? Gaea?¡± ¡°Us?¡± Liam added with a shrug. ¡°Since we¡¯re replacing Grim or whatever. Could this be for us?¡± ¡°Seems like overkill,¡± I voiced my two cents. Bayside wasn¡¯t a continuous active warzone, even with Gaea residing here since the founding of the city, or the numerous gangs of Supers running rampant. Whatever was going on, the ECU deemed it enough to justify dropping eighteen Walkers into Bayside. ¡°There¡¯s no way this can be for us.¡± ¡°No,¡± Francis agreed. ¡°There¡¯s something else going on here.¡± ¡°The sinkholes,¡± Sam said. ¡°It has to be something to do with those.¡± ¡°Sinkholes?¡± Liam said, looking confused. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard anything about any sinkholes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because of the earthquakes, you know, the ones everything thinks The Mountain has been causing?¡± Sam looked at Liam over her shoulder. ¡°They¡¯ve been steadily growing in frequency over the last few days, and I¡¯ve started to feel a few of them myself. Down south, there are sinkholes opening up right underneath towns. While we were focused on knocking Grim off his high horse, towns in and around Zachery Port have been sunk so deep into the earth that expeditions and rescue efforts are still underway.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve felt them too. They¡¯re small,¡± Mia said, looking around. ¡°Is someone responsible for causing these sinkholes to appear with the earthquakes?¡± ¡°No one¡¯s sure yet,¡± Francis chimed in. ¡°The only thing that¡¯s been confirmed is that these earthquakes are not the result of The Mountain using his power, and that they¡¯re not naturally occurring.¡± ¡°Naturally occurring is redundant considering this whole country isn¡¯t natural. There''s a whole list of things I could rattle off about what could potentially be happening and none of them are particularly pleasing to hear,¡± Sam grimaced. ¡°Eighteen Walkers¡­ yeah, I don¡¯t really like the picture this is painting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so lost,¡± Liam sighed, looking in my direction for some help. ¡°Can you translate?¡± ¡°The earthquakes aren¡¯t just increasing in frequency, they¡¯re getting closer. Coupled with the absurd amount of war machines Ajax just dropped into the city¡­¡± I looked over to Sam, meeting her gaze before looking back to Liam. I was starting to get used to Sam¡¯s haunted looks. ¡°Something¡¯s coming ¨C more specifically ¨C something underground is coming.¡± That managed to shake the sleep out of his eyes. ¡°Something? What¡¯s ¡®something¡¯?¡± ¡°Not sure yet,¡± Sam replied before I could get a word in. ¡°Whatever it is, I can¡¯t imagine it¡¯s going to want to sit down for a coffee and a sandwich. The sinkholes have already taken thousands of people. Whether or not they¡¯re dead or alive remains to be seen. For their sake, I kind of hope they¡¯re dead.¡± Mia looked horrified. ¡°Why would you hope for something like that?¡± ¡°Like I said about Natasha. Sometimes, death is better than missing. If they¡¯re still alive, there¡¯s no way to imagine what kind of hell they¡¯re experiencing,¡± Sam explained, giving Liam an apologetic look as he crossed his arms and glared at her. ¡°Of course this is all just speculation and I could be way off the mark, but now that I¡¯m seeing this, I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m right.¡± I opened my mouth to speak, but the sudden shuddering of the floor made me pause. Each subsequent vibration grew stronger, and it wasn¡¯t long before the vibrations shook the very bones in my body. I knew it was time to see if the scrambler Cyberspace gave us really paid off. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the fact we had already faced down Grim, I probably would¡¯ve been halfway to Canada by now,¡± Sam mused, shuddering. ¡°Look at that thing¡­ yuck.¡± I saw the Walker silhouetted against the sky as the sun began to rise. It loomed in the distance on eight giant mechanical legs, dwarfing the surrounding buildings. Its disc-shaped body spun and whirred, the whole design feeling alien. However, what really stood out to me were the weapons ¨C or the distinct lack thereof. ¡°Yuck?¡± I scoffed. ¡°That thing looks like it''s straight out of War of the Worlds, I¡¯m not sure ¡®yuck¡¯ is the word I¡¯d go for.¡± ¡°Anything with eight legs needs to be stepped on, no questions,¡± Sam responded with another shudder. ¡°The only thing to think about now is how we¡¯re going to step on this one. The legs and main body are composed of an evomat that Red won¡¯t even be able to dent, and that¡¯s not taking into account the force field protecting it from any kind of projectile.¡± I stared at the Walker as if it was a walking vault carrying billions of dollars. ¡°What else does it have?¡± ¡°A whole cavalcade of weapons systems. Disintegration rays, incendiary and freeze grenades, at least four onboard gauss cannons, riot suppression weapons, crowd control compounds, bunker busting munitions¡­ Jesus, I could probably write a book about what Ajax has stuffed in there and I¡¯d end up with a damn trilogy,¡± Sam said. ¡°Point is, everyone calls them war machines for a reason. They¡¯re built for one thing and one thing only.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Pizza delivery,¡± Liam intervened, rolling his eyes. ¡°Yeah, we get it. They¡¯re mobile murder dispensers. What¡¯re we going to do about the one heading right toward us?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Francis remarked, remaining as calm as ever. ¡°We have the scramblers for a reason. Picking a fight with one of them is not the best idea. It¡¯s going to take planning and efficient execution to bring one down quickly, without having to deal with the back up it calls.¡± Multiple shadows flew past the window causing Liam, Mia, and myself to duck behind the nearest cover. Sam and Francis remained in place, standing and staring out the window like it was just another day. Sam looked over her shoulder at us and laughed. ¡°That won¡¯t work. They have thermal imaging and highly advanced x-ray. If you don¡¯t have something that can achieve a similar result as our scrambler, then you¡¯re fried,¡± Sam shot me a quick nod of approval before gesturing at said scrambler. ¡°Good thing we know it works. I kinda would¡¯ve been pissed if I went to all that effort to redecorate, just to be forced to move again. Seriously, I am not dealing with Pink throwing a tantrum about what colors I should be using again.¡± The Walker finally entered our street, systematically scanning every building as it moved through. We all watched in silence as it prowled, lowering its main body to street level. One of its lights flashed through the window and my heart leaped into my throat. For a few seconds, no one moved, and I felt like everything was about to end in a split second. All it would take was the deployment of one of its weapons systems, and we¡¯d all be dead. Sam might be able to escape with Pink, but the rest of us would be reduced to a pile of ashes. Thankfully, that did not happen. The Walker continued, passing through our street and onto the rest of Groves Den. I brushed myself off and stood up. ¡°That was a little too close for comfort.¡± ¡°From now on comfort is a luxury,¡± Francis said. ¡°The Sweepers and Walkers will be operating day and night without reprieve, so you four will need to operate with even more caution than usual.¡± ¡°Woah, woah, wait a second. All the time?¡± Liam pointed out the window. ¡°I thought those things were just going to be out at night time, you know, to enforce the new city-wide curfew they¡¯ve got going on. Are you telling me they¡¯re going to be roaming around during the day too?¡± Francis¡¯ stoic expression shifted ever-so-slightly to disbelief. ¡°Did you really think Ajax would come all this way only to have them roam around at night? No, they¡¯ll be operating twenty-four seven. That¡¯s what they were designed for. Don¡¯t like it? Well, welcome to The Iron Maiden¡¯s world for the last decade,¡± Francis said before clearing his throat. ¡°Now, the five of us have some things to discuss, so I suggest going to make some coffee because going back to bed is not on the menu.¡± Liam slumped while I just sighed. Fifteen minutes later, we reconvened upstairs around a table, all of us gripping steaming cups of coffee. Sam and Mia tidied themselves up so they didn¡¯t look like a gust of wind had assaulted them, while Liam and I changed into warm clothes. It was still the middle of winter, and I had neglected to upgrade the heating in our living quarters since moving in. ¡°Let¡¯s get straight to the point, the Sweepers and Walkers patrolling Groves Den need to go. We can¡¯t operate while those things are out and about, so we need to come up with a plan of action to take them down,¡± Francis explained. ¡°It¡¯s easier said than done, and there are a multitude of considerations that need to be made before we go in guns blazing. Ajax isn¡¯t some sprout fresh to the scene. His Mechatech is some of the most sophisticated, and bringing it down won¡¯t be easy.¡± While Sam and Liam nodded along, Mia rubbed the bridge of her nose, unsatisfied. ¡°This is a bad idea, we shouldn¡¯t be picking fights with The ECU. If we go out there and start picking apart their special tech, they¡¯re going to come down hard on us! I don¡¯t know about you guys, but Ajax is the last person I want to piss off. There has to be another way we can coexist with them,¡± Mia stressed. ¡°If we do this, we¡¯ll be sending a message.¡± ¡°A message that Pandora and The Queen¡¯s Court are probably planning on sending as well,¡± Liam chimed in with a rare display of wisdom. Sam and Francis gave him agreeable nods while I smirked. He had powers longer than I did, but it seemed he hadn¡¯t been much more informed than I was. Now, he was picking things up quickly. ¡°There¡¯s no way they¡¯re gonna let those things have free reign strolling through where their stashes can be detected. We might have the cool tech stuff to hide us, but I doubt those guys have anything remotely similar. They¡¯re gonna be out there throwing bodies at those things.¡± ¡°Give it a couple of minutes and the fighting will start,¡± Sam kicked both feet onto a table, sipping her coffee before resting it on her lap. ¡°You¡¯ve got a few statues out there watching those parts of the city, so you¡¯ll know better than the rest of us,¡± she turned back to Francis. ¡°So, have we got any solid intel? Gold¡¯s spotted a few potential design flaws we could exploit, but with how Ajax has historically fooled Mentalists, I¡¯m inclined to double and triple check my findings before I act on them.¡± Francis pulled out a few sheets of folded paper before handing them to us. I unfolded mine and scanned the contents. They were printed-out diagrams of the Sweepers and Walkers deployed in Bayside. Detailed notes were pointing to certain areas on the machines, but nowhere specified any kind of weakness we could exploit. ¡°Cyberspace compiled this information based on our observed reports in locations where these war machines have been deployed. Unfortunately, the bad news is the exterior has no structural flaws or weak points to take advantage of. Overwhelming force is required to break through the evomaterials once the initial force field has been depleted,¡± Francis explained. ¡°Breaking through this forcefield won¡¯t be an easy matter either. Just like the exterior shell, it will require a tremendous amount of force.¡± I scanned the paper until I found a detailed breakdown of the forcefield and the tech used to power it. ¡°Solar Fusion?¡± I murmured, my brow furrowing. I looked up from the paper and into Francis¡¯ stoic expression. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of this kind of energy. Did Ajax invent it?¡± ¡°By harvesting energy directly from the sun,¡± Francis explained. ¡°Some kind of century advancement in solar technology, combined with fusion power. Don¡¯t ask me how Ajax managed that because I¡¯m not a Mechakinetic. The point is, he did it, and those solar fusion cores power his war machines.¡± ¡°They¡¯re¡­ not going to blow up and scorch half the country if one of them gets knocked around too much, right?¡± Liam asked, a little concerned. ¡°¡®Cause like, I think we should think things over if that¡¯s the case. This city might be the pits, but I still live here. I didn¡¯t stick my neck out to drown Grim just to end up nuking the city.¡± ¡°No,¡± Francis rolled his eyes with a sigh. ¡°There are fail-safes in place. If that were the case, Dubai and half the Middle East would be in the ocean.¡± ¡°Ajax wouldn¡¯t leave a flaw like that in their design,¡± I chimed in. ¡°When I started upgrading my Jericho Cores, one of the first things I did was make sure there were systems in place to reduce fallout if they malfunctioned or were destroyed. Ajax is almost certainly a thousand times smarter than me, so¡­ yeah. I think we¡¯re covered there.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± Liam nodded, relieved. ¡°Alright, so we¡¯re throwing ourselves at the Groves Den patrollers. What¡¯s the plan?¡± ¡°Well, first we have to figure out how much force is required to break through the forcefield. Once that¡¯s done, we then need to consider what it¡¯ll take to pierce the armor enough to damage and disable the walking evohuman terminator before its power core can restore the forcefield,¡± Sam chirped with a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t have the slightest clue what solar fusion is actually capable of, but if the information Cyberspace has compiled here is even close to accurate, I¡¯d wager we wouldn¡¯t have long.¡± Liam rolled his shoulders a bit at the challenge. ¡°So, what, we gotta bust the thing in five minutes?¡± Sam snorted. ¡°More like five seconds.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± Liam sagged a little, idly tossing the paper to the side. ¡°Well, this seems entirely pointless.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t throw in the towel just yet,¡± I said, unconvinced that the venture was hopeless. Cyberspace would¡¯ve known about all of this before compiling the information, yet they decided to give it to us anyway. Francis was the one debriefing us and even he would¡¯ve known before handing them out. There was a catch, and all of us here were capable of extraordinary things. We took down Grim. If we could do that, then one of Ajax¡¯s Walkers shouldn¡¯t be much more of a stretch. There was something we could do. ¡°We haven¡¯t even considered what our options are.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t brute force this thing,¡± Liam protested. ¡°We didn¡¯t exactly brute force Grim,¡± Mia weakly countered. She didn¡¯t look thrilled that she was taking our side, considering she was averse to this conflict in the first place. ¡°We exploited a glaring weakness in his powers.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we just establish that these things have no weaknesses?¡± Liam asked, confused. ¡°Am I missing something? I know I¡¯m not the sharpest tool in the shed¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, they have no glaring flaws. No weak spots to target so we can take them down,¡± Sam agreed. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a struggle, but not impossible. Actually, I think you¡¯ll be surprised at how easy this could turn out for us.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got something in mind?¡± I asked, giving Sam a knowing look. She returned my look with a sly smirk. By now, I felt I should know better than to assume she wasn¡¯t cooking something up in her head. I never wanted to assume she would be because I knew it would be dangerous to rely on her a hundred percent of the time. Sam had already admitted once that she¡¯d been caught flat-footed with Mirage. Gold might have answers for a lot of things, but she couldn''t know everything. ¡°Let¡¯s hear it then.¡± Sam held up a hand, extending all five fingers. ¡°Five seconds, maybe a bit longer give or take, but I wager we won¡¯t even need three.¡± Liam groaned. ¡°Can you dial back the smug?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to be quick with our ambush, as these Walkers are surrounded by Sweepers that¡¯ll pick up our approach if we dawdle,¡± Sam said, completely ignoring Liam¡¯s comment. His growing indignation only made her grin widen. ¡°We strike hard and fast. Throw everything we got at the forcefield in quick succession, overload it, and power it down. After that, Max can use that five second window to get close.¡± ¡°You want me to get close?¡± ¡°These war machines are just that, machines,¡± Francis emphasized. The implication hit me like a freight train, and I was suddenly cackling like a madman. ¡°Now you get it,¡± Sam cheered with a light applause. ¡°Once you get close, give it a light smack and do the same thing you did to the crate that held Deadlocked¡¯s prototype. Reset its security, and connect it to our network. We do that, and we¡¯ll have our own Ajax war machine in our back pocket. The ECU will think twice before sending another to hunt us down. Hell, while we¡¯re at it, we can snag a couple of Sweepers too. They¡¯ll be more sophisticated than your drones, so you can use them as a basis to create more. The Walker is probably too big to make copies in this place.¡± It was an ingenious idea, but I quickly ran into a glaring issue the moment I put even a smidgen of real thought into it. Deadlocked¡¯s prototype was absurdly costly to upgrade or alter in any regard. There was no way Ajax¡¯s Mechatech was going to be cheaper. Sure, I could initiate a slow upgrade to incapacitate them, but they¡¯d be stuck in place for who knows how long. I could move smaller items while they upgraded, but Walkers were huge. There was no way I was moving one of those anywhere quickly. ¡°One problem with that,¡± I pointed out, losing a significant portion of my prior glee. ¡°When I use my power on things, they enter a liquid-like state. I can easily move smaller stuff, but the bigger things like a Walker will be troublesome to move, and I can¡¯t imagine Ajax or The ECU are just going to stand around while I try to stuff a giant blob of floating liquid into a¡­ a truck or something.¡± Sam just laughed. ¡°Who needs a truck when you have a big eldritch horror blob capable of transporting half a billion tons of seawater into a mind-bending hammer space that even I can¡¯t comprehend?¡± My head snapped hungrily to stare at Liam, whose gaze was locked on Sam. ¡°Touche,¡± he murmured. ¡°Just a heads up though, I am never going shopping with you. I am not going to become a glorified cosmic bag of holding for you.¡± Sam giggled. ¡°I¡¯ll find a way to make you come around. Now, I don¡¯t know about you guys but I think it''s time for us figure out what we¡¯re up against?¡± I grinned. I couldn¡¯t wait to get my hands on one of those war machines. Ignition 2 It was still early morning and we were eager to go out guns blazing, but Francis brought us back down to earth. He said we should set up a location for an ambush to give ourselves the best chance of success, and that we should wait until after school to execute the plan. Sam ¨C being the most eager ¨C was quick to contend his point. However, when she found herself with no backup from the rest of us, she relented. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m in way over my head.¡± I understood where Liam was coming from. Watching one of Ajax¡¯s Walkers stalk through the street next to our school whilst flanked by a dozen Sweepers was an intimidating sight. Everyone stopped to watch the display. Despite how close the metallic legs got to passing pedestrians, no one was in danger of being crushed. Ajax¡¯s tech was far too sophisticated to lack perfect dynamic obstacle pathing. ¡°I know what you mean, but I can¡¯t help but feel a little excited. I wonder what makes those machines tick,¡± I mused with an ever-present grin. ¡°Solar Fusion is an incredibly efficient energy source. I cross-referenced it with my Jericho Cores and found they output three hundred times more energy. If I could get my hands on just one of them, I could overhaul my workshop. I could reconfigure my suit and make the modules in my suit more effective. The Jericho Cores are incredible for what I have now, but Ajax¡¯s stuff is next level. I¡­¡± I turned to face Liam. He wasn¡¯t looking at the colossal Walker passing through the street. Instead, he was glancing down at the half-opened book in his hands filled with complex algebraic math equations. ¡°Uh, I meant this,¡± he flipped a few pages. ¡°I just hate math, man. Who the fuck decided to add letters, some of them aren¡¯t even English. Guess I¡¯m just not wired that way,¡± Liam looked up at me before turning his head to look at the Walker. ¡°Oh, that? Uh, yeah, sorta. I mean, I¡¯m not really worried too much. Sure, it might be packed with all kinds of weird weapons, but we busted Grim, so¡­ kinda hard to beat that. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m more worried about the homework I haven¡¯t finished.¡± ¡°...Homework?¡± ¡°Dude, my uncle¡ª err, Francis, said this was my last shot at school. If I can¡¯t get this shit down, I¡¯m done for,¡± he snapped the textbook shut and shoved it back into his bag with a sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I¡¯m going to get through it all. I barely cared before and now I¡¯m really behind on everything.¡± ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t care.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. Not really, but Mia actually wants me to try,¡± Liam awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. ¡°So I figured I might as well put in some effort. I¡¯ve never liked just giving up and I can¡¯t exactly fake trying. I wouldn¡¯t even know where to start with that. Plus, Mia¡¯s good when it comes to spotting my bullshit. She and Natasha always knew when I stole lollies from them.¡± ¡°She seems like the type.¡± ¡°The type?¡± ¡°To spot that stuff,¡± I shrugged. ¡°Alex is like that. I can¡¯t really think of a time where I¡¯ve been able to keep things from her. Half a world away and whenever we talk it''s like she knows what¡¯s going on just by looking at me. It''s freaky. There were times when I was younger where me and Mom would call her, and she¡¯d just pick up on things. I don¡¯t know how she does it. Maybe I just looked really guilty?¡± Liam hummed in thought, seemingly sympathizing with my experiences. ¡°She lives in France, right?¡± ¡°Studying abroad, yeah. Art, kinda like what Mia¡¯s doing ¨C well, different kind. Painting and all that, not Art History,¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°It¡¯s taking her a lifetime to finish up her study, and then she¡¯s going to come home.¡± ¡°Oh, cool,¡± Liam¡¯s expression twisted a little. ¡°I bet you¡¯re uh¡­ excited for that.¡± ¡°Well yeah, I¡¯ve never had the chance to meet her in person,¡± I said with a frown forming on my lips. ¡°I dunno if I want her to come back any time soon though. With all this going on, it¡¯ll be hard to try and unplug from all the Super stuff. I have no idea if Cyberspace will even give me the leave to actually spend time with Alex. A couple of months back I thought a trip south to Zachery Port would be fun for us. Mom even agreed, but with those sinkholes opening up and all the chaos here¡­ I don¡¯t think it''s really a good time for her to come back.¡± Liam blinked, looking stunned. ¡°You¡­ haven¡¯t met her?¡± ¡°Well, I technically have, I was just really young. I must¡¯ve been three or four when she left,¡± I scratched my chin, trying to recall the exact dates. Nothing came to mind, leaving me at a loss. ¡°I can¡¯t recall spending time with her, but I¡¯m sure I did. Mom has a bunch of pictures, so yeah.¡± ¡°She¡¯s been studying abroad for twelve years?¡± Liam looked astonished. ¡°Dude, that doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty ridiculous. Twelve years for some art degree is pretty outlandish, but she¡¯s done that on purpose with all the breaks and traveling she¡¯s been doing. Last year she sent us pictures of her trip to Marseille,¡± I emphasized my dismay with a deep sigh. ¡°I told her to just get on with it, study full time and stop switching degrees so she can finish sooner. Then she can do all the traveling she wants. Though, everytime I try to say it, I just get hit with the ¡®don¡¯t tell me what to do lil bro¡¯ card. It¡¯s her life anyway, so I guess she can live it how she wants.¡± ¡°All that traveling and she hasn¡¯t even come home to see you?¡± I gave him a conflicted glare. ¡°Huh? She travels within France dude. Jumping in a van with some friends and sleeping in the back is a hell of a lot cheaper than flying international.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just me but...¡± he stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked away. ¡°Until Natasha left, she was always checking up on me. A day didn¡¯t go by where she wasn¡¯t up in my space. Sometimes it was cool, I got to play games with her, but other times it was just overbearing. She always wanted to see me, so it¡¯s kinda weird to hear that you and your sister are so¡­ distant?¡± I laughed at the absurdity. ¡°We¡¯re not distant. Mom and I video call her almost every day.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not really the same as hanging out in person¡­¡± ¡°It''s all we have!¡± I immediately reined in my temper. ¡°Sorry. I just don¡¯t really like talking about it, okay? Sure it¡¯s weird, but no offense, but it''s not really any of your business. What works for us, works. Alex will come and visit when she¡¯s finished doing the things she wants to do. Until then, I¡¯ll wait, and it¡¯s not like Bayside or New Elpis are particularly nice places to come home to right now anyway.¡± Liam awkwardly shuffled from side to side. ¡°My bad, dude. Didn¡¯t mean to piss you off like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not pissed off,¡± I snorted, rolling my eyes again. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal anyway, so we¡¯re cool.¡± I noticed how my words seemed to have little effect on his declining mood, so I decided to employ a different strategy. ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten, you know. I made you a promise to help you find Natasha. I intend to keep it. It doesn¡¯t matter if she¡¯s dead or alive, I want to help you find closure.¡± Liam immediately perked up again. ¡°Y-Yeah, I know. I¡¯m just struggling to think where we¡¯re even supposed to start. Cyberspace said they¡¯d investigate ¡®other avenues¡¯ but that could be anything,¡± he shouldered his bag and started walking toward the school entrance. I joined him, watching carefully to see if I could spot Lucy, Abby, Chris, or Jackson. ¡°It still freaks me out to know that my sister was a Super ¨C and my parents¡­ I didn¡¯t realize I was a second generation.¡± That was something we had in common. My biological father being a Super was a fact I had filed away in the back of my mind. Mom hadn¡¯t given me much information about him, nothing I could work off, and I didn¡¯t particularly feel comfortable sharing the revelation with Sam either. I wasn¡¯t sure why I felt like that. I knew she¡¯d figure it out if I started focusing on it. There was nothing to focus on anyway. The only thing I had to go on was a legal name ¨C which was a decent starting point assuming I could break into the correct databases, but something told me I wouldn¡¯t find much on the guy. Mom said he had enough connections to help him remain incognito, so I doubted any public information would yield anything substantial. ¡°Do you know anything about them?¡± ¡°My parents? Not really. Natasha pretty much took care of me. She said they died in an accident,¡± Liam clicked his tongue and huffed. ¡°I¡¯m thinking it was probably a lie though. If she was working with Cyberspace and all their goons, then she had to know something about our parents. Cyberspace didn¡¯t say anything about having them in their ¡®employ.¡¯¡± ¡°That¡¯s a conversation you should probably have with Cyberspace,¡± I said evenly. ¡°I promised to help you, but unless you want it, I¡¯m not going to go digging through your personal history. I know how much it upsets you that Sam can do it with her powers ¨C unprompted by the way.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hold it against her,¡± Liam sighed. ¡°I guess she¡¯ll grow on me eventually, it¡¯s just hard to trust Mentalists. I know I¡¯ve said it before, but it creeps me out that she can just look at me and know everything about me. I don¡¯t even have any skeletons in my closet for her to find. I can¡¯t imagine what it must feel like for people who do.¡± ¡°I suppose it depends on the skeletons,¡± I mused. ¡°If they¡¯re bad enough, then I wouldn¡¯t be too upset if Sam pulled them out for all the world to see.¡± ¡°I guess.¡± We climbed the steps to Minerva¡¯s entrance and merged with the flowing crowd. There was increased security all throughout the school, and the front entrance was now equipped with all sorts of fancy ECU tech. I didn¡¯t feel concerned when I passed through because I knew my tech wouldn¡¯t be detected. ¡°They¡¯ve really amped up the security,¡± Liam commented, eyeing up one of the ECU soldiers standing by the entrance. The guard seemed to meet his gaze, giving him a curt nod before going back to observing. ¡°Super serious too. I always used to wonder what it''s like to be one of those guys. Must be pretty scary to be the first responder to wild Supers.¡± ¡°Abby says they have incredible life and medical insurance, two months annual leave, free tickets to any event they want, and start at a hundred and seventy grand a year,¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°For all the risks they take, I think the benefits they receive could be well worth it.¡± Liam snorted. ¡°Any event?¡± ¡°Well, she lied about that one,¡± I laughed. ¡°Forty percent discount.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still good,¡± he shared in my amusement. ¡°Before I got my powers, I thought about enlisting. Basic training and general military experience would suck ass at first, but I thought it would be pretty cool to be one of those super troopers. Just look at that gear!¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I rolled my eyes for the third time today. ¡°Mine is cooler. I¡¯ve even started on some gear for you guys,¡± I said, causing his attention to snap to me. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t like The ECU?¡± ¡°Only after I got my powers. It kinda kills the vibe when you¡¯re the one they start aiming their guns at,¡± Liam shrugged. ¡°I still think their tech is cool, and for the record, I think your stuff is awesome too. If you really are making stuff for us, can I make some requests?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t make any promises, but I¡¯ll consider any ideas you have.¡± ¡°Sweet, I¡¯ll make sure to write ¡®em down for you.¡± It wasn¡¯t long before we ended up parting ways for homeroom, which allowed me to keep an eye out for Lucy. Fortunately, someone else found me first. ¡°Max!¡± Abby appeared out of a crowd of students and clapped me on the back. ¡°I was just about to text you. I was wondering if we could talk for a bit.¡± ¡°You¡¯re looking better,¡± I said with a smile. Abby smiled back, taking the compliment in stride. The bags under her eyes had receded and she didn¡¯t look so sleep-deprived. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose this has anything to do with the stuff we talked about yesterday?¡± ¡°Mom said she talked to you,¡± Abby said, leaning in. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna sound pushy or anything, but she said you¡¯d go to the counselor with me. Is that true? Did you say yes? ¡®Cause if you did, I would appreciate the support. It would be nice to have someone there that went through the same crap I did.¡± ¡°Yeah, I said I¡¯d go,¡± I replied. ¡°I didn¡¯t need much convincing. If I do need it, it¡¯ll be a good venture. If I don¡¯t, then this opportunity will give me the chance to talk about other stuff that¡¯s bothering me. Y¡¯know, school stuff, my relationship with Mom and Alex¡­ there¡¯s plenty of stuff I could dive into,¡± I said, purposefully leaving out the revelation about my father. I didn¡¯t want to give Abby any cause to suspect anything. ¡°I dunno if any of that could be considered traumatic, but if it helps, it helps.¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re professionals,¡± Abby nodded eagerly. ¡°Thanks, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d say yes. I kinda just wanted to hear you say it. It was a bit unbelievable hearing it from Mom. Maybe this could be a chance to talk about your grievances with the ECU? It could help you get over the grudge you have.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I sighed, hiding my dismissive feelings on the subject. ¡°I did push your mom on that front. She has information about it that she¡¯s not allowed to share. Classified or lawfully withheld for whatever reason. I would like to know why Seismic Shock did what he did. I¡¯ve always wondered.¡± Abby frowned and averted her gaze. ¡°I wish I knew. I¡¯d tell you if I knew, you know that, right?¡± ¡°Which is probably why they won¡¯t tell you,¡± I reasoned evenly. ¡°Other than the fact that you¡¯re a Rookie. I doubt that information is relevant to your work. Maybe when you get older, or ascend the ranks like your mom.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t get a proper clearance level like the adults. All that stuff came pre-installed in my armor,¡± she said, holding up her Mechatech bracelet. ¡°It¡¯s how I get in and out of HQ.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I feigned surprise as best as I could. ¡°You have credentials packaged into your armor?¡± ¡°Yup, and no one can steal it either because it''s tuned to my genetic code. The armor will only activate at my touch so it¡¯s basically foolproof,¡± Abby explained. ¡°It¡¯s a little bit annoying that I have to be wearing this thing all the time to get anywhere in the building, but as long as it keeps the staff and higher ups happy, then it¡¯s whatever.¡± That was an interesting tidbit of information. I hadn¡¯t been aware that the Rookie armor worked like that. I supposed adult heroes¡¯ armor would have the same features. It was the easiest solution, which meant if I could get a hold of one of them, I could potentially integrate the technology and credentials into my suit and just walk in. However, they¡¯d almost certainly figure out I was accessing the building using stolen Mechatech. The ECU wasn¡¯t that stupid. It was an avenue still worth considering. Integrating Nanoforge¡¯s tech into my suit would be worth the trouble just for the benefits alone. Possibly access to The ECU¡¯s headquarters would just be a bonus. ¡°Huh, I don¡¯t know if I ever considered that. Well, I¡¯ll take what answers I¡¯ll be able to get. Hopefully, I can end up wrangling some information from them about what was going on, otherwise, I¡¯ll just end up talking to whoever it is that we¡¯re going to be seeing about what happened with Pandora and Lucy. Still not feeling any crushing guilt, by the way.¡± Abby just sighed. ¡°I guess you¡¯re just doing a better job at justifying it than me. We have different perspectives, I¡¯ve grown up around hero stuff and you¡¯re a civilian. I¡¯m expected to be better ¨C to understand restraint and caution. You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re just expected to protect yourself. Survive,¡± she gave me a bitter smile. ¡°I¡¯m the one with powers after all. I can hardly blame you for feeling the way you do.¡± I suppressed the urge to cringe. ¡°Powers or no powers, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d feel any different,¡± I watched Abby¡¯s expression shift to display curious uncertainty. ¡°Like I said, I told your mom I¡¯d go with you, so if I have any deep-seated trauma about the incident, then we¡¯ll probably find out. When is our first appointment, or is it still up in the air?¡± ¡°Thursday,¡± Abby replied. ¡°That¡¯s kinda what I wanted to talk to you about. Just wanted to see if I could pull a ¡®yes¡¯ or ¡®no¡¯ answer out of you today so I can let them know you¡¯re coming. We can meet up after school and my mom can take us there. I¡¯d fly you there myself, but I got told off the last time I took you guys for a joy ride.¡± I smiled at the memory. ¡°Eight thousand feet isn¡¯t really that high. I don¡¯t know why Jackson was screaming so much. It¡¯s not like you were going to drop us or anything.¡± Abby giggled. ¡°The intrusive thoughts didn¡¯t quite win out that day.¡± ¡°Thursday then,¡± I nodded. ¡°I can make that work. I don¡¯t think I have any assignments due, so there shouldn¡¯t be anything to worry about.¡± ¡°You sure? We don¡¯t want you to miss another assignment. I don¡¯t think I can handle Lucy going missing again, knowing what I know now,¡± Abby ran a hand through her hair, her face turning somber. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do about her, Max. We¡¯ve known each other for so long, and now all this has come out¡­ It''s hard to look at her the same way. It¡¯s not even like I don¡¯t trust her, I just feel bad that she¡¯s had to deal with all their crap. I have to figure out a way to get her out of that situation. I can¡¯t just leave her there.¡± ¡°You mean ¡®we¡¯ have to figure something out,¡± I gave her a knowing look. ¡°I¡¯m not about to let you try and solo this, and you know Lucy is going to insist she doesn¡¯t need any help. She said as much to me, plus you¡¯ve got your Rookie stuff to worry about. If you start going all vigilante, they¡¯ll come down on you hard.¡± Abby scoffed. ¡°Maybe going solo is what I need to do. Can¡¯t stand having to sit around and wait for shit to happen,¡± she rubbed her arms and rolled her shoulders like she was ready to pick a fight with the next person she saw. ¡°I told Mom we should just take her and let her stay at headquarters. At least there she¡¯s safe from whatever Pandora could do to her ¨C and our Mentalists could prover her innocent.¡± I raised a brow at that. ¡°You still think there''s a possibility she¡¯s just playing us?¡± ¡°I¡¯m giving her the benefit of the doubt. I want to believe our years of friendship are genuine. If she stabs me in the back¡­¡± Abby trailed off, looking unwilling to finish that sentence. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I don¡¯t want it to come to that, for both our sakes.¡± ¡°I believe her, wholeheartedly,¡± I said, without a shred of hesitation. ¡°We should be there for her if she needs us, but we both know what Lucy¡¯s like. She¡¯d rather swim to shore with bricks tied to her feet than reach for a life raft.¡± ¡°Mmhm. I¡¯m still thinking about what to do about her Dad. The bastard¡¯s got a rap sheet bigger than my maths textbook,¡± Abby grumbled. ¡°It¡¯d be so easy too. I could wait for him to drop Lucy off at school, fly over, pick up his car, and spin it around so fast he turns into paste. He¡¯d probably try and escape with his powers and light the whole damn thing on fire¡­ hah! I could throw him and he¡¯d be more of a comet than me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± I paused, imagining the scene playing out in my head. It was graphic, but I wasn¡¯t about to say that. ¡°Strangely satisfying. Are you sure you don¡¯t wanna change sides and be a villain? You¡¯d definitely have the creativity for it.¡± Abby giggled and rolled her eyes. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m diagnosed with ¡®don¡¯t worry ma¡¯am, everything is going to be alright¡¯ syndrome, just like Mom. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d have it in me to rob a bank or push people around,¡± she crossed her arms over her chest before staring down at the floor. ¡°The freedom would be nice, though. Sometimes the bureaucracy makes me want to turn HQ upside down.¡± I felt like an opportunity was opening, so I lunged for it. ¡°You always say that you like helping people and being a hero, but I think I can count the times on both my hands when I¡¯ve actually seen you happy about it,¡± I said, frowning. ¡°Do you actually enjoy what you do? Who¡¯s to say you can¡¯t leave The ECU?¡± ¡°And go where?¡± Abby asked with a raised brow. ¡°I don¡¯t have a secret identity, I live exclusively at HQ, and my Mom is Domination. There¡¯s not much else for me to do but keep on going how I am. Doesn¡¯t matter if certain parts fuckin¡¯ suck. I just have to stick it out.¡± ¡°It was just a thought.¡± A weak smile crossed her lips. ¡°Not everything is sunshine and rainbows,¡± Abby sighed. ¡°It rarely is, but that¡¯s just what the job is like. Sooner or later, people like me realize the job isn¡¯t as glamorous as it''s hyped up to be. If you ask me, the propaganda The ECU put out is gross. The pretty lights on my armor? The cheesy codenames we have? It¡¯s all for show. I can¡¯t believe I once thought it was cool, ugh.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve said it before. Soldiers.¡± It was a sobering thought. The Rookie program was just a nice little way to hide behind the veil of training child soldiers, but it wasn¡¯t like we weren¡¯t turning ourselves into weapons either. Myself and the rest of Madhouse, Pandora, and The Queen¡¯s Court were no better. We were just another symptom of a global sickness that wasn¡¯t getting any better. With enough time, I could change that, and maybe Abby could help me with it. ¡°Glorified supersoldiers, police,¡± Abby clapped her hands together. ¡°It''s all the same shit really.¡± The bell rang, signaling the start of the homeroom period. ¡°Better get going. I¡¯ll catch you at lunch.¡± ¡°See ya. Oh, and hey! Thanks,¡± Abby caught me before I turned to leave. ¡°I appreciate you agreeing to come with me to these sessions. It means a lot.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± The hallways were empty now that homeroom period started, so I was left to my thoughts as I wandered. If I could somehow lower the animosity between Abby and my super-persona, I could break the ice much better than I did with Lucy. There was every possibility we could develop some kind of working relationship while being on opposing sides of the law. I didn¡¯t want her to be my enemy¡­ in fact, I didn¡¯t want any of the Rookies or the Bayside Heroes as my enemies, but I wasn¡¯t about to submit myself to them. I liked the freedom I had now, and I had every intention to keep it. It would be tricky, but getting Abby as an ally was something I wanted to try. I just needed to figure out how to even begin to approach it. ¡°Max¡ª!¡± I had been too busy staring at the floor as I ambled through the hallways to spot Lucy walking out of the principal''s office. Her eyes widened a little, her head shifting back and forth between the door and me. When I saw who had followed her out, my blood froze. Wildfire stood in the hallway next to his daughter, looking remarkably mundane. His features were sharp and angular, accentuated only by his short-cut hair. He wore a black suit with a dark red tie that appeared to be in immaculate condition. Lucy¡¯s father was the picture of a traditional businessman that I would¡¯ve easily pegged as some kind of lawyer or CEO. When his gaze landed on me, I was worried I would¡¯ve spontaneously combusted. ¡°Ah, hello Maxis,¡± his piercing glare softened in a blink of an eye, and his demeanor became unnaturally jovial. ¡°It¡¯s been quite some time since I last saw you. You¡¯ve grown!¡± He moved before Lucy did, walking over and offering a hand. ¡°I cannot believe it¡¯s been so long since we¡¯ve last talked.¡± Numbly, I took his hand in mine. His grip was firm, almost crushing. ¡°My thirteenth birthday, I remember. You brought Lucy over,¡± I sucked in a breath and met his gaze. ¡°Sorry, sir but I¡¯ve got class and I imagine you¡¯re a very busy man. I won¡¯t keep you.¡± ¡°Busy doesn¡¯t even begin to describe my work,¡± Han said, letting go of my hand. ¡°The destruction Grim has wrought upon this city has left an unprecedented amount of damage that must be dealt with. As much as I would love to indulge in pleasantries, it¡¯s not something I¡¯m able to do,¡± he paused briefly, shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s such a shame too. I¡¯ve been meaning to be more active in my daughter¡¯s life.¡± ¡°Dad,¡± Lucy jumped in, looking eager to put a stop to this conversation. ¡°You¡¯ve got a conference to go to, remember?¡± ¡°My associates work on my schedule. I will attend when it fits me,¡± he dismissed her concerns with a scowl. When he turned back to face me, his forced enthusiasm returned tenfold. ¡°You and your mother have been very kind to my daughter. It¡¯s only right that I find a way to repay you.¡± ¡°Dad¡ª¡± Lucy¡¯s protests fell on deaf ears, and despite her clear concern, I couldn¡¯t ignore the golden opportunity in front of me. A lieutenant of Pandora with his guard down? There was no better way to begin dismantling their operations here. ¡°You know, a lot has happened recently and it would be nice to have some normality around here. How about you and Lucy come over for dinner sometime?¡± Lucy¡¯s jaw almost hit the floor. Her father stared, puzzled by the request. Then, his smile widened. ¡°That is a wonderful idea, Maxis,¡± he let go of my hand. ¡°Unfortunately, I happen to be busy this week. Would next week suffice, Thursday?¡± ¡°That works,¡± I said, confidence dripping from every word. ¡°It would have to be around five because of the mandatory curfew.¡± ¡°Spectacular.¡± Lucy looked ready to faint. I smiled. It was time to start taking the initiative. Ignition 3 Lucy and I barely made it to the next hallway before she pulled me to the side. Her head was on a swivel to ensure we had privacy, but I knew nobody would be around. Homeroom had started and if we weren¡¯t in class in the next five minutes, we would be risking detention. The look on Lucy¡¯s face told me detention was the last thing on her mind. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to pull here, Max, but my father is the last person you want as an enemy right now. Don¡¯t you have enough on your plate with¡­ with Cyberspace and fucking Ajax?¡± I sighed and shook my head. ¡°Let me worry about that, okay? We have that handled.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care how much you have it ¡®handled¡¯, you don¡¯t need to add my father and rest of Pandora to the list!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit late for that. Pandora is already on the list,¡± I sighed, avoiding her piercing gaze. ¡°We took down Grim and there''s no way me and my team aren''t going to be targeted soon no matter what. I can''t just sit around and wait for them to make the first move, I''m done with that shit. I don''t like it, but your father is too high up in Pandora. Sooner or later, he and I are going to come to blows.¡± Lucy shook her head like she couldn¡¯t believe the words coming out of my mouth. ¡°This is insane. Max, you can¡¯t be serious! You are messing with something far bigger than you understand. I¡¯ve seen what they¡¯re capable of, okay? I¡¯ve lived it all my life and I¡¯m not just talking about raw strength and power. They have eyes and ears everywhere. They have influence over some very powerful people, and if you piss them off, they¡¯re going to make life for you and everyone around you miserable.¡± ¡°You think we don¡¯t have access to the same resources? Cyberspace is on our side, and you know how dangerous they are. I¡¯m not scared of Pandora, or your father,¡± I stared her down. ¡°They¡¯re not as untouchable as you think.¡± ¡°Cyberspace or not, you aren¡¯t as powerful as you think you are. You pulled off something amazing with Grim, but you¡¯re letting that get to your head. Christ, Max, we¡¯re sixteen!¡± Lucy barely held herself back from screaming. ¡°This¡­ this isn¡¯t what we''re supposed to be doing!¡± ¡°None of them give a fuck how old we are. The Cains didn¡¯t and neither will Pandora!¡± I sneered. ¡°I can¡¯t run away and I can¡¯t hide. I don¡¯t have that luxury anymore. I fucked that up week one. The only choice I have now is to keep moving forward. You would understand if you were in my position.¡± ¡°And you would understand how horrible of an idea it is to pick a fight with my father and the rest of Pandora if you were in my shoes.¡± I took a few moments to think of a response that could satisfy Lucy and put a stop to her growing concern. I figured there was nothing I could say to get her to understand where I was coming from, so I needed to put her in my shoes. She needed to understand my situation. ¡°Okay Lucy. Humor me for a minute here. If you were me, what would you do? Consider what¡¯s happened,¡± I set the stage for her. Her eyes narrowed, but she didn¡¯t snap back with anything just yet. I had the green light to go. ¡°Picture this: you¡¯re a fresh Super that¡¯s joined a growing group. The Cains know your face, and potentially who you are. You need to take them down, so you divert all your resources to achieve that goal. Lo and behold, you achieve it, but now you¡¯re known for bringing down someone lorded as the ¡®Grim Reaper.¡¯¡± Lucy¡¯s expression twisted and her gaze drifted to the floor. I could tell she was considering my words seriously.. ¡°Now, do you think Pandora are just going to leave you alone? Sure, their conflict with Grim left Pandora in a bad place; but do you really think Pandora is just going to give the group that took Grim out the opportunity to get just as powerful as The Cains were, if not moreso?¡± I asked, hinting that the answer was easier than she was making it out to be. ¡°Would you not be making moves to prevent them from taking you out of the picture, one way or another? I just want to be left alone. If you can tell me right now, no lies, that I¡¯m overthinking it, or paranoid, or that there¡¯s another way; we¡¯ll just have a normal dinner and I¡¯ll leave the super shit at the door.¡± Her lips thinned as she tried to think. After a few moments, she shook her head. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. They¡¯ll do something, but why does my Dad have to be involved in this? Can¡¯t you go after someone else?¡± ¡°Because short of getting access to Liberation, he¡¯s the best lead we have. Even if we went after someone else, we¡¯d only be delaying the inevitable. Wildfire is too important,¡± I intoned. ¡°He spoke for Liberation at the meeting with Gaea. Your dad isn¡¯t just another guy in their ranks.¡± ¡°I know that!¡± ¡°Then you know what¡¯s going to happen when push comes to shove.¡± Lucy stared at me, speechless. She was desperately trying to think of a way to counter my claims, but she was coming up short. ¡°I don¡¯t think this can be solved without violence,¡± I continued, tearing my gaze away from Lucy. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a constant fight, no matter what. I¡¯m not about to sit around and wait for them to walk all over us when one of their leaders is right there.¡± ¡°That¡ª¡± Lucy hissed. ¡°¡ªis my father.¡± She sounded more terrified than angry, even though she was trying to look intimidating. ¡°What, were you hoping to invite him over so you can capture him? News flash, Max, but he would sooner die than allow himself to be used as a bargaining chip.¡± I considered her words and recalled the carnage Grim¡¯s rampage brought. The moment Pandora caught wind of what happened to Wildfire¡¯s home, they went on the warpath. I didn¡¯t know how many deaths they were responsible for, but I suspected they had caused most of the carnage. Abby and I might have been the ones that provoked them, but they were the ones that started marching through the streets, dragging people out of their homes, and destroying anything that was even suspected to be part of The Cains¡¯ operation. One way or the other, they needed to go. Bayside wouldn¡¯t be able to properly heal with them around. ¡°If that¡¯s what it comes to, then that¡¯s how things will have to be.¡± The right side of my face erupted in pain, forcing me to rapidly blink away the shock. Lucy¡¯s hand moved so fast that I wasn¡¯t sure I would¡¯ve been able to avoid it if I anticipated it. ¡°Have you lost your fucking mind?¡± Lucy¡¯s anger finally broke through. ¡°When did murder become acceptable, Max? You¡¯re starting to sound like them ¨C like my Dad, because that¡¯s what they do. ¡®Expunge the heinous filth, purge the heathens that would abuse our God given gifts.¡¯ You might use different words, but it¡¯s the same shit! There are better ways to deal with these problems than violence and destruction, there has to be!¡± I rubbed my cheek, quietly taking in the outburst. She might have eyes and ears into the inner workings of Pandora¡¯s politics, but Wildfire seems to have shielded her from the conflict. She didn¡¯t know what kind of effect being a Super had on people. Lucy hadn¡¯t come face to face with someone like Mirage. ¡°What other options are there? Imprisonment or death, that¡¯s the result of losing,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t like it any more than you do, but sometimes you¡¯re only left with bad options,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill your dad. In a perfect world, he¡¯d just leave Pandora and not get caught up in any of this, but you just said that he¡¯d rather die.¡± Lucy looked on the verge of despair. ¡°I know he¡¯s done terrible things, and he¡¯s treated me like someone who can barely function, but he¡¯s still my father,¡± Lucy sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. ¡°I don¡¯t want him dead.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± I shook my head, uncertain if I could promise any other outcome. The safest option I could think was tranquilizing him, and dropping him on The ECU¡¯s doorstep. He would be sent off to some Evohuman prison, but he would be alive. Was that really better? Most Evohumans didn¡¯t exactly get lenient sentences. Given what Wildfire had done, if he was locked up, he would not see the light of day again. ¡°I can¡¯t make any promises, Lucy. I¡¯m sorry, but he knows what he¡¯s getting into, we both do.¡± Lucy looked like she aged ten years with the way her expression fell. She just looked so¡­ tired. ¡°I figured I had more time.¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I felt my head tilt at her words. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Time to sort my life out,¡± Lucy shook her head in disbelief. ¡°Without Dad¡¯s protection, I¡¯ll get handed off to someone. We had a deal that If I could graduate from school with good enough grades to be on track to be apprenticed to a Mechakinetic, I could earn my freedom. It¡¯s a long shot and I have no idea if he¡¯ll keep his word, but he promised me.¡± She was banking her entire future on a promise she wasn¡¯t even certain her father would keep? Lucy had to see how ridiculous that was. ¡°Do you realize how insane that sounds? Lucy¡­¡± I tried to wrap my head around her outlandish claim, but there wasn¡¯t a single angle I could find where that deal panned out. ¡°He¡¯s not going to just¡­ let you go, not with everything you know about them, and especially if you¡¯re good enough to assist a Mechakinetic. That¡¯s not the world he lives in, all he¡¯s doing is giving you a reason to make yourself more useful to Pandora.¡± ¡°Then what am I supposed to do Max?! I can¡¯t fight him, I can¡¯t run away, and I can¡¯t hide. This is the only hope I have!¡± Lucy stressed, becoming more hysterical with every word. She was doomed to rely on the word of a man who treated those like her as second-class citizens. The fact of the matter is that her father had no reason to keep his promise. If anything, he had every incentive to ensure she ended up with someone who did have powers considering how the balance within the city was shifting. Now more than ever, security was imperative. My first thought was to ask her why she hadn¡¯t said anything, but it only took a moment of hard thinking to see where that conversation would go. If she had been open from the start, I doubted we would be friends. Abby would be similar. Lucy kept it all a secret because she had to in order to live a semblance of a normal life. Now though¡­ Now things were different. ¡°You know just as much as I do that your father isn¡¯t going to keep that promise,¡± I said, leaning in close. ¡°Think about what¡¯s happening around us. The Cains are gone, Pandora¡¯s weakened, Gaea is in a much better position, and my team¡¯s on the rise. The winds are shifting.¡± ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡± She threw her hands up in the air in frustration. ¡°Am I just supposed to sit around and wait to be auctioned off so I can pop out babies for them? Because fuck that. I¡¯d sooner drink bleach. I¡¯m not going to allow myself to become one of their¡­ their slaves.¡± ¡°Your biological father is Wildfire, there¡¯s still time for you to get powers,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Awakenings are most common in people our age. You¡¯ve got a few years before you¡¯ll be considered a lost cause. It¡¯s no coincidence that lines up with getting far enough in your schooling that you¡¯d start getting scouted either. He¡¯s made this deal to stop you from acting out.¡± Lucy sighed, clearly exhausted from the conversation¡¯s topic. ¡°You don¡¯t think that¡¯s occurred to me? I just¡­ he¡¯s my dad and despite everything else, he still loves me. I¡¯ve been hoping that if I actually got good enough he¡¯d pull some strings, get me apprenticed to a Pandora Mechakinetic. Even without powers I¡¯d have a much better life. I have to believe he wants at least that much for me.¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t think we can count on that, Lucy. I¡¯m not about to stand by and just watch you go through this. Let me help you,¡± I pushed. ¡°You know I can. There¡¯s no shame and I know you¡¯d do the same for me.¡± Lucy rubbed her forehead as if she were trying to think of a solution to all our problems. As smart as I knew she was, there was no doubt in my mind that even Gold would have trouble making sure everyone came out the other end alright. Someone was going to draw the short straw, and it was looking like it was going to be Lucy. ¡°This¡­ dinner thing you¡¯ve dropped on me. What¡¯s your game?¡± Lucy asked. ¡°Fill me in, what are you trying to achieve here? If you¡¯re going to help me, then the least I can do is help you. Whatever you''re¡­ I don¡¯t know, fishing for. Maybe I can help bait the line for you, so-to-speak.¡± I leaned away, frowning. I hadn¡¯t actually come up with a proper plan yet, I was going to consult Sam on how to go about things. We could set a trap, or juice him for information. Hell, maybe I could wear a wire and get info to Gold. There were plenty of things I could do, but I wasn¡¯t about to miss an opportunity to take the initiative like this. ¡°No solid plan yet, but¡ª¡± ¡°You don¡¯t even have a plan?!¡± Lucy hissed. ¡°I swear to God you better come up with something quickly!¡± ¡°There¡¯s still time. There¡¯s someone in my team that I bet would be chomping at the bit for an opportunity to squeeze information out of your dad,¡± I replied, trying not to sound too defensive. ¡°Sorry Lucy, I wasn¡¯t about to let an opportunity like this slip by. I can promise you that if a fight starts it won¡¯t be because of me.¡± ¡°Just because you¡¯re not going to start a fight now doesn¡¯t mean you won¡¯t later,¡± she said, still sounding upset at the idea. ¡°Look at it from my perspective. How would you feel about Eleanor if she were like my father? Despite her misdeeds and personal beliefs, would you still want her dead?¡± She knew how much I cared about Mom, and any hypothetical where she wasn¡¯t the person who had raised me would be hard to answer. Still, I conceded the point. I didn¡¯t want her to die, and if Lucy held a shred of care for her father, then she wouldn¡¯t want him dead either. ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°There you go,¡± Lucy nodded. ¡°I get that he¡¯s not a good person¡­ but there¡¯s got to be another way. If my grandparents could break away from Pandora, then so can he. I at least want him to have a chance.¡± ¡°Your grandparents broke away?¡± I asked, blinking in surprise. I hadn¡¯t even considered what stance her grandparents had. I had just assumed they were all part of the same crowd. ¡°How? When? I didn¡¯t think you could break away from Pandora without being hunted down and¡­ I don¡¯t know, made an example of?¡± Lucy awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. ¡°Usually that happens, but not with Nana. She¡¯s a pretty big deal. Ever heard of Prometheus?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯ve heard the name, no.¡± Lucy opened her mouth before quickly shutting it, a thoughtful look crossing her face. She looked like something was bothering her. Lucy rarely talked about her family, for reasons that were now obvious to me, but one thing she did always mention was her fondness for her grandparents. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, too long if we¡¯re going to get to first period,¡± she huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her eye. ¡°Not like it matters anymore. Everything¡¯s about to explode in my face, so I might as well take the time to put on a helmet¡­ figuratively.¡± I laughed awkwardly. ¡°Do you think you can shorten it?¡± ¡°I can, but it¡¯s pretty nuts. Just don¡¯t freak out,¡± Lucy said. I replied with a simple nod. Lucy took another breath to steady herself. ¡°Okay, to make a long story short, my Grandmother was one of the Supers that established The Pandora Initiative here in New Elpis. Liberation took over the operation later on, but she was part of the first wave, so really if you want someone to blame for them being here, you should be pointing fingers at my family.¡± Lucy coughed away the uncomfortable atmosphere that followed that revelation, but it didn¡¯t stop my jaw from unhinging. Still, as wild as it was, it didn¡¯t change how I felt about her situation. I still wanted to help her secure her future. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I never would have thought¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah. Yeah it¡¯s uh¡­ not exactly easy,¡± Lucy sighed. ¡°Look, before finding out about you and all this¡ª¡± she gestured wildly at me. ¡°¡ªthey were my safety net. Nana isn¡¯t with Pandora anymore and she doesn¡¯t agree with their rhetoric. She cares about me and my future, but my father has made it abundantly clear what will happen to them if they try to intervene. She might be willing, but I don¡¯t want to put them in harm''s way. They''re old¡­ Nana¡¯s powerful, but she¡¯s no Grim or Gaea. She and grandfather will die if I go to them.¡± ¡°He threatened them,¡± my lips thinned as I tried to think. ¡°If they¡¯re against him and Pandora¡­ that makes them allies. They can help us,¡± my smile widened as my gaze met Lucy¡¯s. ¡°Do you think you can put me in contact with them?.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Lucy shook her head. ¡°They¡¯re isolated, as close to off the grid as you can get. It¡¯s a cabin north of Bayside, about seventy kilometers out. They moved to get away from all this stuff. The city, the politics, the abuse, and exploitation. I don¡¯t want to bring them back to all that, Max. I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to,¡± I clarified. ¡°But she could have information¡ª¡± ¡°Anything relevant she knows, I¡¯ll know. Nana hasn¡¯t been involved with their operations for a long time now. There¡¯s nothing to gain,¡± Lucy shook her head sadly. ¡°Sorry, I know you said they could be allies, but there¡¯s a reason they live so far away now.¡± I heaved a sigh. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean they still can¡¯t help. You said Pandora would deal with them if they tried to force their way into your life? What if I could help with that?¡± ¡°Help with that, how?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Mechakinetic,¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll build them something,¡± I paused, narrowing my eyes. ¡°I could build you something. Whatever you want, I¡¯ll make it.¡± Lucy seemed to consider my offer before pursing her lips. ¡°It¡¯s risky. I¡¯m not sure if I would be able to conceal anything you gave me. Dad talks to Mentalists all the time, and given what I know now, it¡¯ll be hard to hide anything from them.¡± ¡°Even more reason for you to have a means of defense or escape,¡± I insisted. ¡°I think we¡¯d both sleep better at night if you have something to defend yourself with. Even if it was just a way to contact me and my team, it would be better than nothing.¡± ¡°No point in making a contact device, a phone would be almost as good,¡± Lucy said. ¡°And if you guys are on a collision course with Pandora, Dad won¡¯t want me caught in the crossfire. He¡¯ll have precautions set in place, especially if he dies. Mom and I won¡¯t have him to shield us. His associates won¡¯t afford me even a shred of kindness that he does ¨C as limited as it is.¡± ¡°All the more reason to let me help. I can get you out.¡± ¡°The consequences of that¡­ I can¡¯t stress it enough, Max. It¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªDangerous, I know,¡± I rolled my shoulders and flashed her a confident smile. ¡°Everything I¡¯ve been doing for the last few months has been dangerous. Maybe it¡¯s arrogant, but next to Grim they¡¯re barely worth worrying about.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Lucy cracked a weak smile. ¡°You keep that up, you¡¯re going to start sounding like Abby,¡± The bell rang to signal the end of homeroom, causing her to groan. ¡°And apparently we¡¯re skipping classes like her too.¡± I chuckled. ¡°When you have powers, you tend to see things differently.¡± Lucy scoffed and shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s what Dad keeps saying.¡± The fact there was something he and I agreed on left a bitter taste in my mouth. ¡°Look, if we¡¯re really going to do this, we¡¯re going to do it properly. No half measures,¡± I said. ¡°Can you meet me by the car after school? I¡¯m going to introduce you to everyone else.¡± Lucy¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You mean¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I nodded, confirming her suspicions. ¡°I¡¯m bringing you into the fold.¡± Ignition 4 My plan was simple: walk to the car with Lucy after school and wait for Liam to meet us. I had already texted Sam to let her know I was bringing Lucy to the hideout. I didn¡¯t receive an outright ¡®no,¡¯ but I felt like I could gauge the tone of her response. She was cautious and wouldn¡¯t be entirely thrilled I was involving someone with direct ties to Pandora. I watched the clock tick by until the final bell rang. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going, Mr. Troy?¡± Ms. Elise questioned as I stood from my desk. Most of my peers were already out of class and mingling in the hallway. The rest looked over their shoulders and snickered at my misfortune. ¡°I seem to remember giving you detention. I don¡¯t blame you for forgetting with all the upsets we¡¯ve had recently, but unfortunately I can¡¯t go back on my word.¡± I had half a mind to tell her to kick rocks, but I quickly sealed my lips. There was enough on my plate already. I didn¡¯t need to make enemies out of people who were ultimately irrelevant. At the end of the day, Ms. Elise was just doing her job, and all I was in her eyes was a student falling behind. My plan wasn¡¯t simple after all. ¡°Right,¡± I sighed, pushing out a fake smile. ¡°How long will it be? Sorry, don¡¯t mean to sound rude, but I do have commitments.¡± ¡°Just an hour,¡± she said. ¡°I won¡¯t keep you any longer. It¡¯ll give you some time to do some catch up work.¡± I let my bag slip off my shoulder as I collapsed back into the seat. I noticed Lucy standing in place, staring at the door with a conflicted expression. After a few moments, she turned and gave me a weak smile before sitting next to me. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to meet Travis, but I can just text him,¡± she pulled out a slick new phone and blitzed out a message. ¡°I¡¯ll stay, so we can get started on the next assignment. It¡¯s not paired, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t help you out,¡± her hand dove back into her bag and pulled out a few books, her gaze flicking to Ms. Elise. ¡°If that¡¯s okay? I¡¯ll leave if its meant to be¡ª¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± Ms. Elise waved her off. ¡°I¡¯m not about to kick you out for wanting to do school work.¡± Lucy smiled. ¡°Thanks.¡± Suppressing the urge to throw myself out the nearest window, I retrieved my books and started working on the next assignment. We worked quietly with the occasional shared murmurings about ideas and topics. It became quickly apparent how disinterested I was compared to Lucy. She shared her usual passion to push for the best grade, always putting a hundred and ten percent into everything. While she wrote a whole page and a half of notes in a half hour, I barely had a few sentences. With every passing minute, I grew more bitter about my situation. It was 3:30 PM, and I knew that was a good ten, maybe fifteen minutes wasted because I wasn¡¯t in my workshop. No, instead I was here scribbling nonsense on a page that ultimately wouldn¡¯t matter. ¡°Max,¡± Lucy nudged. ¡°Come on. I know you can do better than that,¡± she gestured to the page. The look on her face was halfway between annoyed and disappointed. ¡°What are you having trouble with? I can help you find a topic to write about.¡± ¡°Lucy¡­¡± I muttered, unsure what I wanted to say. All I could think about was how pointless it was, and it sucked all the motivation to strive for excellence in schooling. ¡°I just can¡¯t do this anymore.¡± ¡°What¡­ what do you mean?¡± ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Ms. Elise asked, looking up from her desk. ¡°If either of you need help, you need only ask. I might be keeping Max prisoner here for the time being, but that doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t help if either of you are stuck on something. It has been known to be a tricky assignment in the past.¡± We turned. ¡°I¡ª¡± the words died in my mouth, my attention drifting to the ventilation above Ms. Elise. Anomaly¡¯s head poked through the grating, stretching like it was made of rubber and coiling down to survey the room. My heart just about leaped into my throat when I felt Lucy stiffen next to me. The blazing white light amidst the inky darkness locked onto us, and I saw his head tilt slightly. I had forgotten to text him, so he came looking for me. Ms. Elise gave us a strange look, noticing that we weren¡¯t actually looking at her. When I glimpsed her neck starting to crane upward, I shot out of my seat with a nervous laugh. ¡°Yes! Yes, I uh¡­ am struggling with a topic. Lucy and I were just talking and she was helping me find one,¡± I explained in a rush. I managed to prevent her from looking up by capturing her attention, but my outburst was out of character, and Ms. Elise knew that. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m a little stressed about it, having flunked the last assignment entirely.¡± My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I glared up at Anomaly. The idiot looked between me and my teacher before quickly retreating into the ventilation. I let out a sigh of relief once he was out of sight. ¡°Oh!¡± Ms. Elise looked rather taken aback. ¡°Well, try not to worry so much. I know deadlines can be tough on students when things in their personal lives aren¡¯t going smoothly. I won¡¯t presume to know anything outside of my own observations, but if you want the opportunity to recover the credits you lost from the last assignment, I could see if I can schedule an extracurricular activity for you at a later date.¡± I couldn¡¯t think of anything more redundant. ¡°That would be awesome!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ve had a lot on my plate recently.¡± ¡°Not to worry,¡± Ms. Elise waved off. ¡°Now, is there anything more I can help you with?¡± The rest of detention passed uneventfully, and once Lucy and I left the classroom away from Ms. Elise, we let out a relieved sigh. ¡°I take it that was Liam?¡± I grumbled, increasing my walking speed to get to the car quicker. ¡°He¡¯s about to be a smudge on the road after what he just pulled.¡± We found Liam sitting on the car¡¯s trunk in the student parking lot. He looked particularly bored despite having his phone in his hand. When he spotted us approaching, his face lit up. He pushed himself off the car¡¯s trunk, landing with a skip to his step. ¡°¡®Bout time! I thought you guys were going to be in there all day. I was scrolling through some delivery apps cause I was starting to get hungry. Not far off dinner, you guys want¡ª¡± ¡°Liam,¡± I cut him off harshly. ¡°You can¡¯t ever do that. Do you realize what would¡¯ve happened if our teacher saw you? The whole school would be locked down and The ECU would¡¯ve put Mentalists on the case. We¡¯ll be found out within the day! We¡¯re a big deal now.¡± He frowned, looking slightly dejected. ¡°Come on, man. I wasn¡¯t spotted, and I was wondering where you guys were. I sat around here for like¡­ I don¡¯t know, thirty minutes? I figured you guys were still inside school,¡± he shrugged. ¡°I used the vents and there wasn¡¯t any detection stuff in there. I would¡¯ve noticed.¡± ¡°Would you?¡± Lucy and I said at the same time. Our eyes briefly met before we turned our attention back to Liam. I took the lead. ¡°Liam, we can¡¯t afford to take risks like that. You could¡¯ve just called me. I¡¯d rather risk a call in detention than you using your powers. Someone could have seen you.¡± ¡°I seriously doubt it, dude,¡± Liam countered, adamant. ¡°I¡¯m pretty good at this stealthy stuff. I did it all the time at my old school and nobody found out. I might not be good at academics, but I¡¯m not stupid enough to not look around for cameras before I switch.¡± ¡°How¡¯d you even get into the vents?¡± Lucy asked. ¡°Toilets,¡± Liam replied easily. ¡°Went up the vents in there. Like I said, no one saw anything, and I¡¯m pretty sure there are laws against putting cameras in bathrooms,¡± I didn¡¯t miss the subtle smugness that crossed his face. It didn¡¯t look right on him. Sam pulled it off far better. ¡°After that, I just went around and checked out any sources of sound. Only took me five minutes to find you guys.¡± ¡°Our teacher almost saw you,¡± I scowled. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t spoken up to draw her attention, she would have looked right at you.¡± ¡°What? Naaah,¡± Liam waved me off. ¡°I had that under control.¡± I didn¡¯t feel like arguing with him right now, especially out in the open like this. ¡°No powers at school, unless under dire circumstances,¡± I intoned. ¡°Can we please agree on this? There¡¯s no reason to be using them otherwise, and I¡¯m absolutely certain Mia and Sam will say the same thing.¡± ¡°Alright, alright!¡± Liam groaned. ¡°No doing super stuff¡­¡± he trailed off, and I could see in his eyes that he wasn¡¯t quite done. ¡°Can I at least do partial transformations? I don¡¯t like paying for the chocolate bars at the vending machines. Seven dollars for a Kit Kat is fucking robbery.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you can manage without the chocolate,¡± Lucy jumped in to help. ¡°Plus, shouldn¡¯t you guys be swimming in cash?¡± Liam snorted. ¡°If we are, that¡¯s news to me.¡± ¡°We can figure that out later,¡± I moved to the side and unlocked the car so I could throw my bag in the backseat. ¡°Let''s get going.¡± Driving with Sweepers and Walkers on the roads made rush hour unbearable. Gridlock was becoming the norm, and with each passing minute, I found my motivation to take them all outgrowing. With all the aggravated honking and barely suppressed road rage around us, it was only a matter of time before people would demand looser restrictions. The chaos Grim inflicted was still fresh in everyone¡¯s minds, so I believed there was a level of goodwill people had to put up with this. That goodwill wouldn¡¯t last if things stayed like this. New Elpis wasn¡¯t a war-torn country, so in the eyes of the population, there wasn''t a reason for Ajax to be here long. ¡°Do you guys think I could jump out and order chips for all of us from that store before we make it out of the street?¡± Liam asked, pointing to the shop. He was spread out across the backseat with his feet resting on a door armrest. ¡°I could kinda go for some hot chips ¨C oh, hey, they put chicken and lamb on top! Bit expensive though. Twenty dollars for a small?¡± ¡°No thanks,¡± Lucy drawled. ¡°Not hungry.¡± ¡°Neither,¡± I said, keeping my eyes on the road ahead. I could feel the vibrations from the nearest Walker reverberating through the seat and steering wheel. ¡°Not really sure if it''s the best idea to be walking around anywhere right now. We¡¯re about to be scanned.¡± The Walker¡¯s giant legs appeared first, some latched to the buildings and the others on the street between traffic. The main body was the next to appear, scanning lasers roaming over cars and pedestrians. I bit my lip when the lasers moved over our car, and I noticed Lucy tense up as well. I saw Liam sit up in the backseat through the rearview mirror, looking tense and ready for a fight. Fortunately, nothing came. Sweepers followed in after the Walker and zoomed through the street above all the traffic. ¡°Good thing this car is an insurance replacement. If we had been using mine, their scanners would¡¯ve picked up on the evomaterials I used,¡± I released a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve had to resist the urge to alter this one as well. I don¡¯t like driving around in something that can¡¯t even block regular bullets.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°That¡¯s not something I¡¯m used to hearing you say,¡± Lucy slumped in her seat, rubbing the bridge of her nose. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you¡¯re taking me to your hideout. My life was already complicated enough, now it¡¯s just going to get crazier.¡± She said. Lucy didn¡¯t usually sound nervous, but I could see the slight bounce she was trying to suppress in her leg. ¡°How far off are we?¡± ¡°In this traffic, about an hour,¡± Liam said. ¡°Annoying, but it''s fine. I¡¯ve got nowhere to be because I messaged Dad to let him know I¡¯m staying with you tonight,¡± Lucy explained, looking in my direction. ¡°He¡¯s not too thrilled, but he knows better than to fight me on this. It¡¯s one of the arguments he¡¯s never been able to win with me.¡± ¡°With everything that¡¯s happened recently, I¡¯m honestly surprised he¡¯s even letting you go to school,¡± I muttered. Now that I knew about her ties to Pandora and her relation to Wildfire, I wondered why she was allowed to operate like she was. No one in our friend circle even suspected Lucy¡¯s ties to Pandora, so maybe that was Wildfire¡¯s angle. Give her enough freedom so that she didn¡¯t feel the need to act out and give them all away, and no one would suspect a thing. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s the point, though. Letting you come back wouldn¡¯t raise suspicion.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably part of it, so I wouldn¡¯t put it past him,¡± Lucy agreed. ¡°Your dad sounds like a prick,¡± Liam voiced. ¡°Just sayin¡¯.¡± Lucy grumbled. ¡°You don¡¯t know half of it.¡± I expected Lucy to start filling Liam in on the relevant parts of her history, but she kept silent. Realistically, it was bad enough that Abby and I found out about her in the way that we did. I imagined that at some point, she would have wanted to break the news to us herself when she was in a better position in life, somewhere stable away from all the politics. I couldn¡¯t speak for Abby, but I knew how I would feel. I would have been sympathetic and understanding. In that hypothetical scenario, I would recontextualize our relationship, and then all the mysteries would have become clear. However, that wasn¡¯t possible anymore, and Lucy was stuck trying to juggle the added stress that her best friend was now a Super. Liam continued to make idle chatter all the way to base. When I pulled into the garage, I immediately caught on to Lucy¡¯s expression. Like me, she had been here before Cyberspace bought Chris¡¯ family business. ¡°Max, this is¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied solemnly. ¡°I know. It wasn¡¯t my decision.¡± ¡°Have you always¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± I cut her off again. ¡°Our old place was deeper into Groves Den, an old condemned apartment building. The night of Grim¡¯s attack, it was compromised, so Cyberspace moved us here temporarily.¡± ¡°Temporarily?¡± She raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ve got Max working on some cube thing. Apparently it¡¯s one of Deadlocked¡¯s prototypes,¡± Liam said before I could get a word in. ¡°Once he¡¯s cracked it, we¡¯re supposed to move into that, but I don¡¯t really know how that¡¯s supposed to work. It¡¯s the size of a snowglobe.¡± Lucy¡¯s eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. ¡°You have¡ª!¡± She stopped herself, rubbing her temples. ¡°Did I just hear that right? You have one of Deadlocked¡¯s prototypes? How the hell did you get your hands on something like that?¡± ¡°I''ll tell you about it later. It¡¯s not a long story,¡± I said, getting out of the car. I was immediately met with some of our building staff, Cyberspace¡¯s agents disguised as mechanics. I tossed them the keys as Liam and Lucy vacated the vehicle. ¡°Come over here first, I¡¯ve gotta get you registered.¡± I led her over to a trolley that stood near the door to my workshop. I moved a greasy rag to reveal a slick black tablet underneath. I tapped the screen to wake it up before pushing the palm of my hand against it. It read my biometrics and let me through all the security, all while Lucy quietly watched. ¡°Place your hand against this,¡± I said, holding the tablet out to Lucy Tentatively, she followed my instruction. ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± Lucy murmured, uncertainty plastered across her face. ¡°Are you creating some kind of biometric security key for me so I can get in and out?¡± ¡°That, amongst other things,¡± I chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s so his workshop¡¯s defenses don¡¯t take your head off the moment you walk through the door,¡± Liam snorted. ¡°First couple of days here, we tested the defenses¡¯ accuracy and detectability on a bunch of watermelons. Let me tell you, it wasn¡¯t fun to clean up.¡± Lucy paled significantly. ¡°I guess that¡¯s why father never let me visit Torpedo.¡± I frowned. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°One of the Pandora Mechakinetics here in the city,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°She makes¡­ well, the name speaks for itself,¡± she paused, meeting my gaze. ¡°No, Max. I don¡¯t know where Torpedo¡¯s workshop is.¡± ¡°Aha!¡± Liam cackled. ¡°Wow, even I saw you thinking that.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking that,¡± I snapped defensively. ¡°I was just thinking what kind of potential there would be in acquiring her Mechatech.¡± Liam¡¯s smirk almost mirrored Sam¡¯s. ¡°Sure, dude.¡± The tablet in my hands flashed, signaling the completion of Lucy¡¯s registration. ¡°All done,¡± I grumbled, placing the tablet back in the trolley. ¡°Do we want to go inside, or stand around out here making fun of me?¡± I watched Lucy and Liam exchange thoughtful stares. I didn¡¯t give them the opportunity to answer. ¡°You know what? Don¡¯t answer that. Fuck both of you,¡± I opened the door to the workshop. ¡°Get inside.¡± Liam went first, and I followed after Lucy. Liam had long since grown accustomed to my workshop, so he found the nearest chair and collapsed, spinning around to watch Lucy¡¯s fascination. She crept forward, taking in everything she could. There were a couple of times she reached out to touch something, but her common sense stopped her. Everything here was unfamiliar, and she knew enough about Supers to know that touching things she didn¡¯t understand wasn¡¯t a good idea. ¡°You get used to it after a while,¡± Liam commented, spinning in his chair a few times. ¡°It¡¯s still pretty cool to come down here every so often and see something new.¡± ¡°And I constantly have to remind you not to touch anything,¡± I remarked with a smile. ¡°Maybe I should start putting up signs.¡± ¡°You know when people put up those signs in museums and art galleries, it just makes people wanna touch ¡®em more,¡± Liam said in jest. ¡°It¡¯s cool, man. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not about getting disintegrated over my own curiosity. I know Mechatech is a whole different pot of noodles.¡± Liam¡¯s strange analogy seemed to snap Lucy out of her wonder. ¡°You made all of this?¡± Lucy asked, amazed. ¡°Even with resources, something of this scale should¡¯ve taken months of work!¡± ¡°Not all of it.¡± We turned to see Francis walking down the stairs from our living area. He looked like his usual self, just without the stoicism I was used to seeing. Instead, he wore an expression that appeared to be a mix of annoyance and dissatisfaction. ¡°Cyberspace is responsible for a good deal of it. Maxis has been steadily improving on the charitable donations.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say it''s about 50-50,¡± Liam said. ¡°Not even close,¡± Francis intoned, his eyes landing on Lucy. ¡°You must be Lucy Kim, I would say it''s a pleasure, but I don¡¯t make a habit of lying,¡± his face returned to its usual stoicism as he sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t take it personally. I just don¡¯t like seeing kids get dragged into this mess, but I¡¯ve been briefed on your particular situation.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been briefed?¡± I scowled, not understanding where this was going. ¡°Briefed about what, exactly?¡± ¡°Me, apparently,¡± Lucy muttered. ¡°You must work for Cyberspace.¡± ¡°That I do,¡± Francis nodded. ¡°As I understand it, you¡¯ve been in contact with them before.¡± ¡°Briefly, when they instructed me to leave my phone in one of my older jacket pockets,¡± Lucy glanced in my direction a few times before heaving a sigh. ¡°I didn¡¯t know why, until Max told me he found it when he and Abby raided my house. I¡¯m still trying to wrap my head around that, by the way. Why were they so insistent on me keeping my mouth shut when they were just going to come and look for me anyway?¡± I felt a pang of irritation. Cyberspace had informed me that Lucy was fine, but they neglected to mention they were deliberately enforcing her silence. ¡°Timing,¡± Francis replied before I could get a word in. ¡°Cyberspace wanted certain events set into motion.¡± ¡°Why is this the first I¡¯m hearing of this?¡± I asked through gritted teeth. ¡°I figured our working relationship would involve some transparency. I don¡¯t like things being kept from me, and I think I can say the same for the rest of us.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend like the thought never occurred to you,¡± Francis rolled his eyes. ¡°We¡¯ve been open about the fact that we were watching you from the get-go, and that includes Cyberspace. It hasn¡¯t been explicitly said because it¡¯s no longer relevant. By all means, if you want to bring it up as an issue, go talk to them yourself. You¡¯re able to contact them just as easily as me.¡± I crossed my arms and leaned against the edge of a desk. Cyberspace pulling strings had always been a theory that floated around in the back of my mind, but I never bothered to put the question forward. With all the control they had, it only made sense. They had been watching me before I even made contact with Sam. I had to wonder: how much power did they really have? ¡°It all led to Grim¡¯s defeat,¡± Lucy murmured. ¡°Clever. They must have some kind of Mentalist capability.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t surprise me,¡± Francis mused. ¡°They predicted it was only a matter of time until you ended up here.¡± ¡°I wanted to keep her in the loop and give her options. She¡¯s deep in Pandora and knows enough about me that if any of their Mentalists picked her brain, I would be compromised,¡± I explained. ¡°I¡¯ve already stressed enough about The Cains potentially knowing who I am, and we still don¡¯t know where Mirage or Bonesmith are. I don¡¯t want the entirety of Pandora knocking on my front door.¡± Francis sighed. ¡°Maybe you should have thought about that before telling her.¡± ¡°Maybe if I knew beforehand, I wouldn¡¯t have said anything,¡± I glared. Lucy shied away at the aggression in my tone, and I found myself quickly softening. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. It¡¯s just a bad situation all-round. We¡¯ll figure things out as we go, but for now, you¡¯re going to be safest here with all of us.¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have pushed you. I was just concerned and you weren¡¯t your usual self, so that¡¯s why I had to ask¡± Lucy lamented, shaking her head. ¡°Hindsight is 20-20. It¡¯s pointless to linger on that. I just need to figure out how I¡¯m going to keep all this to myself without Dad getting suspicious. If he thinks there''s even a shred of a chance that I¡¯m hiding something or lying, he¡¯ll bring a Mentalist over to see me. He¡¯s done it to me and Mom before.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you just stay here?¡± Liam asked, confused. ¡°Just run away from home. Hell, bring that Travis guy and his sisters. They¡¯ll be safe here.¡± ¡°I wish it were that easy,¡± Lucy replied. ¡°The moment I go missing, Dad will investigate. He¡¯ll go to my Grandparents first, since they¡¯ll be at the top of his suspect list. After that, he¡¯ll start paying visits to people that he knows I¡¯m closest to,¡± she looked in my direction. ¡°You and Eleanor will be in danger.¡± ¡°Mom knows about me. I can just bring her here to keep her safe,¡± I dismissed that concern. Still, Lucy wasn¡¯t persuaded. ¡°He¡¯ll just go down the list. Chris and Jackson will be next. He¡¯ll go after everyone I¡¯ve ever had a connection with. I¡¯m not putting all of them in danger just because I want to take the easy way out.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the easy¡ª!¡± I stopped before frustration overwhelmed me. ¡°Lucy, it¡¯s not the easy way out. Stop thinking like that.¡± ¡°There¡¯s too much risk involved, Max. I¡¯m not doing that. Plus, we can¡¯t just hide everyone we care about here,¡± Lucy gestured to the workshop. ¡°This is a garage, not a hotel.¡± ¡°She¡¯s right, we don¡¯t have the space here to protect that many people without raising suspicion,¡± Francis said. ¡°However, we could round up those you two have ties to. I think you¡¯ll find that we are very good at making certain people disappear, but there would be risks to this plan. Pandora, namely Wildfire, will notice the precautions we¡¯ve taken, and there will be consequences.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Liam asked. ¡°They¡¯ll react similarly to when Max and Abby burned my house down,¡± Lucy said, turning to me. ¡°And this time there are no Cains to front the blame. They¡¯ll go after the most likely candidates.¡± ¡°Us?¡± I frowned. ¡°We may have brought Grim down, but nobody knows of our partnership with Cyberspace. There¡¯s no way any of them would believe they were capable of doing something like that. We wouldn¡¯t have the resources. We¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªPulled off the impossible once already,¡± Lucy cut me off. ¡°Pandora wouldn¡¯t openly wage war with The Queen¡¯s Court with Gaea around. With Ajax here, you better believe they won¡¯t make any open moves toward The ECU. They¡¯ll try and wipe you guys off the map.¡± ¡°Which is why we''re not going to do any of that,¡± Francis said, directing his attention to Lucy. ¡°You¡¯re going to remain within Pandora¡¯s grasp for the time being, and you¡¯re going to openly cooperate with your father in any way you can. To adequately do this, I¡¯ve been advised to ¡®coach¡¯ you.¡± Disbelief hung in the air. Lucy blinked. ¡°Pardon?¡± I counted the seconds that ticked by, watching Francis¡¯ conflicted expression. Slowly, he reached up to the collar of his shirt. Pulling it down and to the side he revealed a colored tattoo of two cards. It was a two of hearts and a seven of diamonds. It must have been something Lucy recognized, judging from her gasp. ¡°You¡¯re¡ª!¡± ¡°I was,¡± Francis said. ¡°So I know a thing or two about operating in secrecy within Pandora¡¯s ranks. I¡¯m going to teach you how to play the game.¡± Ignition 5 When I heard the door to my workshop open, I looked up to see Sam scowling as she strode in. I knew she was upset with me about Lucy, but when I saw the state she was in, it apparently wasn¡¯t the only thing troubling her. Her hair was a mess and there was a nasty gash down the left side of her neck that had stained her school uniform with blood. ¡°Wh¨C¡± A loud rumbling beneath us cut me off before I could ask what happened. Sam immediately reached for the nearest table to steady herself, but it was only a few seconds later when the rumbling turned into violent shaking and she ducked underneath. I was almost knocked out of my chair as various items around my workshop shuddered and fell. It was the most violent earthquake I had ever experienced. Throughout my life, I had grown used to tremors when The Mountain was reported to have been working on the foundations of the country. It had always been a distant and low rumble, the kind most people would stop to acknowledge for a second before moving on with their lives. This one was magnitudes larger than what I had grown accustomed to. Six seconds later, the shaking ceased, and I slowly stood from my chair. ¡°Hooooly shit!¡± I heard Liam¡¯s astonished cry from upstairs. I turned just in time to see him poke his head through the door. ¡°That was fuckin¡¯ wild! I¡¯ve never felt something like that ¨C oh, hey Sam. We were wondering where you were. You¡¯re not usually this late back.¡± Sam brushed herself off as she sheepishly crawled out from under the table and stood up. ¡°I was following up on a little pet project of mine. It kinda backfired, badly,¡± she said, flinching after poking at the wound on her neck. ¡°Gonna need some biogel, ¡®cause this shit stings. Where are we keeping it now?¡± ¡°Yellow container at the back,¡± I pointed to the area of my workshop I designated for storage. ¡°What¡¯s this about a ¡®pet project¡¯? You¡¯ve never said anything about working on something solo.¡± ¡°Yeah. Well¡­ Surprise,¡± Sam drawled. Liam and I watched her dig around in the yellow container for the biogel, and then use the reflective surface of one of my projects as a mirror to apply it. ¡°Got too close¡­ said some stupid things. Didn¡¯t time it right¨C Fuck!¡± She hissed. The wound looked painful, but I had seen her handle a bullet wound better. Her gaze flicked to me. ¡°Remember how I said Nikki was fine and not the type of hero that¡¯ll fly off the handle?¡± ¡°Nikki?¡± I narrowed my eyes and wracked my brain to find out why the name sounded familiar. ¡°Seraphim?¡± ¡°Bitch is fucking crazy,¡± Sam muttered, reaching for some gauze and bandages. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to get closer to her over these last few weeks because I thought it would be nice to know someone in her position if everything goes to hell,¡± she paused, running a hand through her hair. ¡°I should have seen this coming with how wildly her moods can shift. If it were anyone else, I would probably say she was bipolar or something, but she¡¯s a Rookie. No way that¡¯s a coincidence, and her boyfriend was tilted as fuck, so hes gotta be the one responsible.¡± Liam hopped down the stairs to join us, wanting to know more. ¡°So, what, you decided to do your usual Mentalist shtick and push them ¡®til they want to jump off a building?¡± ¡°You can fuck right off with that,¡± Sam warned. ¡°I¡¯m seriously not in the mood to entertain that shit right now.¡± I frowned. Sam¡¯s encounter with Seraphim must have really struck a nerve because she had never snapped back like that. ¡°Whoa,¡± Liam held up his hands. ¡°It was just a joke.¡± ¡°Comedian you are not,¡± Sam said, sighing tiredly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t even pushing. I was talking about her stupid fucking boyfriend and she suddenly went psycho on me. I should have seen it coming with how every muscle in her body seized up the moment I said his name. Her brain might as well be fucking soup. That¡¯s telltale Mentalist conditioning. Her boyfriend is a Super, and the fucked up kind as well.¡± ¡°Hang on a second, soup? Just how far gone is she?¡± I asked, suddenly concerned for Abby¡¯s safety. Seraphim spent a significant amount of time at The ECU¡¯s headquarters, as did any rookie. ¡°Seraphim isn¡¯t about to start painting The ECU¡¯s walls red at the drop of a hat, right?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not a drooling vegetable but if someone says the wrong thing, she has been conditioned to lash out violently. Otherwise her dominant personality remains in control, completely unaware of her triggers,¡± Sam explained, shuddering. ¡°What¡¯s his name¡ª Richard, has been pulling her strings for a long time. I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s a way to break through that kind of conditioning.¡± ¡°We¡¯re talking about the Rookie with the big shiny metal wings, right?¡± Liam asked, eager for clarification. When Sam and I nodded, a thoughtful look formed on his face. It was¡­ strange to see that expression on him. ¡°I think I¡¯ve run from her a couple of times before shacking up with you guys. Fast flier, strong enough to punch holes through brick walls. Are we¡­ going to do something about her or just leave the mess for someone else to clean up?¡± ¡°Of course we¡¯re going to do something about it,¡± I answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Sam grunted, but I detected it was one of disagreement. Seraphim was her pet project after all, and she would want to get something out of her venture. ¡°She¡¯s a direct threat to the people around her, which means Sam and Abby are in danger.¡± ¡°I am not in any danger. I opt into school so I can maintain my cover and solidify alibis, but I can leave whenever I want,¡± Sam remarked defensively. ¡°The only people she¡¯s a direct threat to are those closest to her, so yeah, I would imagine your friend could be one snide comment away from losing her head.¡± I didn¡¯t take kindly to that. ¡°Then we need to do something,¡± I asserted. ¡°If she snaps¡ª¡± ¡°If she snaps, she¡¯ll be captured and shoved into an evo-prison with disintegration containment fields.¡± Sam cut me off. ¡°Reversing Mentalist conditioning is not easy, and I¡¯ve talked about this with Cyberspace. They don¡¯t have the means to help with that, which means we don¡¯t have access to it unless you want to build it. Last time I checked, you already had enough projects on your to-do list.¡± I had to concede, she had a point. ¡°I¡¯m not even sure where I would start¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s a waste of time,¡± Sam continued with a glare. ¡°It¡¯s not our job to take care of messes like these. We¡¯ve got more important things to worry about.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give me that crap,¡± I snapped, glaring back at her. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t put all this time into a ¡®project¡¯ just to throw it to the curb and call it quits. Just because we¡¯re not heroes doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t help people. We need to do something about her before she becomes a problem for everyone.¡± ¡°How do you propose we do that?¡± Sam disputed. I couldn¡¯t remember a time since I met her that she had been this wound up. Despite her slip-ups, Sam always seemed to keep her cool. ¡°Because I¡¯ve really been picking my brain about this, and let me tell you none of them are pleasant or end well for her.¡± I could see it in her eyes, the simplest solution. Elimination. We would have to hit her hard and fast, take her out quickly. I could see the benefits of such an arrangement, and I doubted Cyberspace would particularly care. The ECU would spare no expense in finding out what happened, and when they figured it out, they would come for us without a shred of mercy. The issue was that the mere thought of it all twisted my stomach into knots. I wouldn¡¯t be able to justify it as self-defense. I tried to justify it as a mercy killing, but I couldn¡¯t even bring myself to agree with that. Seraphim was a hero, and she helped people. It was a cruel, heinous tactic, and despite the obvious benefits, I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to pull the trigger. It was murder. Mia would object to playing any sort of role in the execution, and I doubted Liam would feel comfortable participating as well. Sam¡­ I could see her making the hard decision and coping with whatever consequences came her way. That was one out of four of us that might have been able to go through with it, but it would leave the rest of us in an uncomfortable position. What else was there? Sedation and lobotomization were the only things I could think of, and that disappointed me to no end. ¡°Lets not pretend like killing her is on the table. I can see we were both thinking it,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve said it yourself, killing is a slippery slope. I¡¯ve already got one body to my name and I¡¯m not keen on rushing to add more. Ajax and The ECU would spare no expense to ensure we¡¯re all imprisoned before we could testify to any jury.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± Sam agreed. ¡°And there¡¯s not much point kidnapping because we both know that we can¡¯t hold someone as powerful as her for too long. We don¡¯t have the means, and Cyberspace won¡¯t take the risk of exposing their operation here over something like that.¡± ¡°There has to be something. Abby is one of my best friends, and I¡¯m not about to sit on the sidelines and hope she doesn¡¯t flick the wrong switch in a casual conversation with Seraphim.¡± ¡°Afraid she can¡¯t take care of herself?¡± Sam asked. ¡°I seem to remember her being perfectly capable of restraining all three of us. Her powers don¡¯t exactly adhere to the laws of physics, so Seraphim¡¯s strength and speed won¡¯t be a factor to consider. Comet and Domination can contain her long enough for The ECU to figure out what to do with her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s different. She was expecting us. I know Abby, and she won¡¯t be able to react in time if she doesn¡¯t see it coming. If she¡¯s at least aware of the possibility, she¡¯ll be on guard. The same can be said for her mom.¡± Sam immediately caught on to what I was insinuating. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Sam warned, every trace of humor gone from her tone. ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare, Max. Don¡¯t even suggest it, because I¡¯m not going to agree with it!¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Liam stepped between us before any heated arguments could break out. ¡°Whoa whoa okay, lets just chill out for a second. There¡¯s no need to start yelling,¡± Liam said, drawing our attention to him. He turned to me, looking for an explanation. ¡°I ain¡¯t a mind reader, so could you fill me in on your unspoken idea that she just picked up from you?¡± Gold must have read my intentions as I was putting them together. I sighed. ¡°I was going to suggest making an anonymous request to Abby. If I meet her as Upgrade, I can deliver the warning ¨C let her and The ECU handle matters without sticking our noses directly into their business. It¡¯s the only way that works out best for us, and them,¡± I explained. ¡°I know Abby. If I word things right and approach the situation cautiously, she won¡¯t attack me on sight.¡± ¡°She seemed pretty keen on attacking us last time we interacted¡­¡± Sam argued. When my gaze turned hostile, she continued with what she conveniently left out. She stepped back and rocked on her heels. ¡°Uh, right after the part where I might¡¯ve mouthed off to her.¡± ¡°Might have?¡± I remarked, shaking my head. ¡°If we do this, you are definitely not coming. She will attack if she sees you. I can keep things civil with her because I know how she operates.¡± ¡°My tendency to poke fun at people aside, this plan has far too many holes, Max. You aren¡¯t thinking far enough ahead. Consider for a moment, the implications of this plan,¡± Sam added, regaining her confidence. ¡°You might very well succeed in warning Comet, but you open the door to their Mentalist¡¯s scrutiny. They¡¯ll research how we¡¯ve come across this information ¨C how we somehow know Seraphim¡¯s civilian identity, enough to make a psych analysis. They¡¯ll investigate her personal life, and while they will almost certainly nab her puppeteer, BAM! I¡¯m a sitting fucking duck.¡± Liam scoffed, but I could see the line of reasoning that led Sam to that conclusion. It was a fairly straightforward line of deduction. To go even further, I had to wonder if their Mentalists would investigate why Upgrade would contact Comet of all people. I could easily see them extrapolating possibilities of Upgrade having a personal connection to Comet. If I wanted to avoid that, I would have better luck contacting anyone else. Would their Mentalists pick up on that too? Would they figure out that strategy? I felt like I was walking in circles trying to develop this hypothetical plan. ¡°You serious? They could get you from just that?¡± Liam wasn¡¯t convinced. ¡°How can they get to you from all of that, when they can¡¯t even see one of their Rookies being brainwashed right under their noses?¡± Sam sighed, rubbing her forehead. ¡°Mentalists like me need a direction, a thread to follow. I¡¯ve explained this before. Point us in the right direction and we can solve almost anything, depending on how our powers work. We¡¯re not omniscient, we can¡¯t see everything that¡¯s happening all around us, as much as I wish that were the case. If someone isn¡¯t looking at Seraphim directly, then her issues are going to slip by. Right now, they probably don¡¯t have any reasons to be looking at her.¡± All of this back and forth and we still had not come up with a plan. It was starting to grate on my nerves. ¡°And we¡¯re back to square one,¡± I grumbled, trying to rub the fatigue out of my eyes. ¡°It feels like the safest option for us is to ignore this entirely and hope it resolves itself.¡± Sam snorted. ¡°Hey, you said it, not me.¡± ¡°But it seems like it''s the outcome you¡¯d prefer,¡± I countered. ¡°Am I supposed to just sit around and hope my friend doesn¡¯t lose her head for mouthing off, when mouthing off is one of her quirks? I get it Sam, you can easily disconnect yourself, but I can¡¯t ¨C I don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Sam ground her teeth. ¡°Which is what makes this whole situation so aggravating. In a perfect world, you¡¯d all be like me¡ª¡± she paused, scowling at Liam to prevent any input. We saw him open his mouth to make a cheeky remark but stopped when he clued into the tension. He held up his hands and shrugged, signaling for her to continue. ¡°This goes for the both of you, and Mia. The deeper we get, the harder it''s going to be to maintain normalcy. It doesn¡¯t mix, and sooner or later, one of them is going to have to give, especially since we¡¯re working with Cyberspace.¡± I didn¡¯t know what pissed me off more; the fact that Sam was seemingly trying to convince us to throw our ¡®normal¡¯ lives away, or that she was actually making sense. I was already struggling to find reasons to keep going to school, other than maintaining my friendships. If push came to shove, I was worried I really would drop all of it. ¡°I thought the whole point of working with Cyberspace was to give us the ability to do that,¡± Liam frowned. He clearly wasn¡¯t happy with being faced with that reality, and while I knew it to be a possibility in the back of my mind, it didn¡¯t make me happy either. ¡°They can cover for us and make shit easier while we do the heavy lifting stuff ¨C jobs ¡®n shit, y¡¯know? Else, what¡¯s the point of all this?¡± ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t exactly have a choice. Cyberspace might have claimed we could refuse their offer, but trust me when I say it wouldn¡¯t have ended well for us,¡± Sam explained. ¡°It was a no brainer partnership, but make no mistake, we¡¯re in the big leagues now. No backing out for us, and it¡¯s only going to get crazier from here. This is why I don¡¯t bother trying to play both sides. We all have powers, and we will until we die. There¡¯s only one way forward for us.¡± I didn¡¯t want a repeat of this conversation. That horse had been beaten enough already for my tastes. ¡°We¡¯re getting off-topic. Talking about how we¡¯re going to cope with the pressure can be a conversation for another day. Right now, Ajax¡¯s warmachines and Seraphim are our primary issues,¡± I said, bringing us back to the problems at hand. ¡°We have an ambush to set up, and I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m not going to let this Seraphim issue slide, not when Abby¡¯s life is potentially at risk.¡± ¡°Gotta agree there,¡± Liam said, siding with me. ¡°She seems pretty cool when she¡¯s not¡­ y¡¯know, trying to capture us. I don¡¯t wanna see her dead. Plus, helping them out could win us some good will.¡± ¡°That all depends on your definition of good will,¡± Sam replied sardonically. ¡°If you guys are serious about tipping them off, we need to do it in a way that doesn¡¯t put Max and I in their line of scrutiny. All of us are already under a microscope for what we did to Grim, and hijacking one of Ajax¡¯s Walkers is only going to make that worse. We don¡¯t need to give them any more breadcrumbs.¡± ¡°How do you suppose we do that?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s simple. We stage a crime around one of her patrol routes. Rookies are never by themselves, so there¡¯ll be an audience around to witness her break down,¡± Sam explained. ¡°Get me close and I can play my part as the menacing, maniacal villain everyone likes to portray me as. I¡¯ll get inside her head and flick one of her switches so she flies into a rage.¡± ¡°Awesome. The ECU are sure to figure it out when she inevitably turns every bystander into diced sashimi. Yeah, I like this plan,¡± Liam applauded sarcastically. ¡°So what¡¯re we doing? Hitting a bank? Jewelry store? If you ask me, I think an electronics store is better because I¡¯ve been eyeing up this real nice TV which would go really well with my setup. It¡¯s 4K, and the refresh rate is¡ª¡± Sam groaned. ¡°There won¡¯t be any bystanders, dumbass. It can be a midnight heist because that¡¯s what makes the most sense. As for our target¡­¡± she heaved a sigh and crossed her arms. ¡°¡­an electronics store would be the easiest to explain. Max¡¯s reputation as a Mechakinetic would make our actions easily explainable, so yes Liam, well done.¡± He rolled his shoulders, outwardly proud. ¡°Don¡¯t have to be a Mentalist to come up with good ideas.¡± ¡°Evidently,¡± I saw Sam try to suppress a smile, but the slight twitches in her facial muscles betrayed her. Giving away compliments apparently wasn¡¯t her style. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can organize, but we have to decide what we wanna do first. Nab one of Ajax¡¯s Walkers, or bring Bayside¡¯s resident Angel back down to Earth.¡± ¡°Robbing Ajax seems like a fine way for us to end up in a frying pan. Won¡¯t be able to do much after that, I think. My vote¡¯s on the Seraphim thing. I think Mia will be the same,¡± Liam commented, smiling. ¡°Look at me, I¡¯m just full of sensible opinions today!¡± ¡°Ahuh,¡± Sam rolled her eyes. ¡°Hate to inflate his tiny ego, but he¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Seraphim first, then,¡± I nodded. ¡°Means we won¡¯t be hunting down any Walkers tonight.¡± ¡°How unfortunate,¡± Sam pouted. ¡°Here I was getting all excited to play with some new toys.¡± Knowing that we would not be executing our plan to capture a Walker and potentially some Sweepers tonight left me feeling a tad hollow. The sooner we did that, the quicker I would be able to reprogram them with my powers so that they were under my control. Unfortunately, the plan would have to wait. If Seraphim was conditioned to snap at the drop of a hat, then I needed to do something to protect Abby. If Seraphim ending up in an ECU-padded evohuman prison cell was the best outcome, then I was going to make sure it would happen. ¡°So¡­ uh, how about that earthquake?¡± Liam coughed, trying to change the subject. ¡°That sure was something else.¡± I idly looked around my workshop, noting all the loose bits of paper, tools, and other various items that lay scattered around the place. Thankfully, nothing had broken, but that didn¡¯t mean there wouldn¡¯t be any cleanup. ¡°Nothing broke, so that¡¯s a plus,¡± I said casually. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ve felt one that big before.¡± I looked to Sam for her input on the subject, but she was uncharacteristically silent. Her eyes were glued to the floor as if she were trying to stare through solid concrete. Her eyes narrowed before looking up to observe the building. ¡°Could do with some slight improvements so the next one doesn¡¯t collapse the building,¡± Sam said. ¡°Though, I have to wonder what it would look like to see the whole building turn into a giant ball of folding liquidy weirdness. Might wanna save that for when nobody¡¯s looking, probably sometime in the early morning.¡± I had never upgraded a structure this large before. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what it would do to everything inside. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Liam looked disappointed. ¡°We just had the biggest freaking earthquake ever and that¡¯s all you have to say?¡± ¡°So you want me to tell you that Bayside will collapse into the sea if we get three more?¡± Sam asked, perplexed. ¡°I honestly figured I would keep that to myself since it¡¯s pretty daunting, but if you¡¯re so eager to know¡­¡± Liam chuckled as Sam started walking toward the stairs. When she didn¡¯t share in his amusement, the laughter abruptly died. ¡°You¡¯re not serious, right?¡± ¡°You really think I¡¯d do that, Liam? That I would stand here and tell lies for my own amusement?¡± Sam asked. Just like that, her mischievous side was back in action like all that angst she was spilling minutes ago never existed. ¡°I¡¯m shocked and appalled that you would think so low of me!¡± Sam hopped up the stairs two at a time, and Liam almost tripped over himself when he tried to follow after her. ¡°Hey, wait! You can¡¯t just say something like that and not elaborate!¡± I followed closely after them, watching as Sam sauntered into the room with her hands on her hips. ¡°A new face! I always love meeting new people,¡± Sam exclaimed with a bright smile. ¡°Don¡¯t mind the blood on my clothes. Happens all the time,¡± I stepped into the living room behind Liam to see Mia and Lucy at the table, hunched over some books. ¡°I¡¯m Sam! You must be Max¡¯s friend, right?¡± ¡°Err, yeah¡­ hi,¡± Lucy said slowly. ¡°I¡¯m Lucy. Uh, nice place¡­?¡± ¡°Thanks! I did it all myself,¡± Sam waved her off. ¡°So! You¡¯re the girl trapped inside of Pandora. That must be a bit of a pickle¡ª oh¡­¡± she paused, biting her lip and tilting her head back before letting out an exaggerated groan. ¡°Let¡¯s hold that thought, I¡¯m starved. Who¡¯s up for some pizza? Tonight is definitely a pizza night.¡± The conversational whiplash had me sharing uncomfortable gazes with Mia and Lucy. Sam cheered. ¡°I¡¯ll take the resounding silence as a yes.¡± I fought down the urge to groan. Tonight was going to be a long night. Ignition 6 Sam¡¯s unstable mood left the room¡¯s atmosphere feeling heavy. It was clear that Liam and Mia were put off by the false cheeriness, and I knew Lucy would see right through it. We caught Lucy up on what we had been through since the formation of Madhouse, and from the looks of it, she was a good fit with the team. Still, I couldn¡¯t ignore the tension in the room. I needed Lucy to feel she was welcome here and could rely on us, so I was annoyed Sam was obviously feigning cordiality. ¡°Can¡¯t say I envy your position,¡± Sam sipped her room-temperature, unflavored sparkling water. ¡°Pandora is nasty business. I had a few run-ins with them when I was still solo. They¡¯ve given me all sorts of recruitment pitches, and I think you can imagine how those went,¡± she swirled her drink, staring at it like she was trying to find the meaning of life at the bottom of the glass. ¡°Every offer came with strings attached, but thankfully I was powerful enough to refuse.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re strong enough, the rules don¡¯t apply,¡± Lucy¡¯s dry tone indicated how much she didn¡¯t like that reality. ¡°I suppose that goes for anything really, powers or not.¡± ¡°Which you don¡¯t have,¡± Sam¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°Bummer.¡± I frowned at Sam¡¯s jeer. I had hoped she would be more understanding. ¡°Not all of us are lucky enough to pick up the ¡®get out of jail free card¡¯... I¡¯ve been getting by as best I can.¡± Lucy shrugged. ¡°Though, I do wonder if going through an Awakening is ¡®lucky¡¯ based on what you inevitably get dragged into,¡± she shot a pitiful look between me and Mia. Lucy had made fast friends with Mia while I was in my workshop. ¡°I can¡¯t decide which is worse.¡± I felt like I could answer. Given what I know now, I would rather have powers than be powerless. ¡°Welcome to life. You¡¯re either stepped on, or you''re forced to do the stepping. Some are luckier than others, and some draw the short straw in all regards. None of it¡¯s fair, but we all gotta roll with the punches,¡± Sam raised her glass. ¡°Here¡¯s to bad decisions, the only ones we¡¯re able to make.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Mia scowled. ¡°That¡¯s not true. You can make good decisions, they¡¯re just not always obviously good,¡± Sam shot her a flat look, causing her stare back defiantly. ¡°Okay, so what if I¡¯m an optimist? Maybe I would prefer to look for a silver lining instead of accepting the shit hand I¡¯ve been dealt. In case you¡¯ve forgotten, I was kidnapped and my powers were forced on me.¡± The room fell silent for a moment. ¡°Okay, some of us might have had it a bit easier overall, but none of us chose to have powers. Evidently it''s baked right into our genetics,¡± Sam nabbed a slice of pizza and took a bite. ¡°Dere¡¯s sumfing in us zat maksh us svitch on,¡± she paused to swallow. ¡°Modern science can¡¯t detect what it is, but some Biokinetics can do weird things,¡± she took a second bite. ¡°Wike Spifer, for examble.¡± ¡°Splicer?¡± I asked, brow raised. ¡°That,¡± Sam pointed at me, covering her mouth. ¡°Heze weirb. He might mow more abou¡¯ thish stuff.¡± I dropped my head and spoke into my hands. ¡°Swallow, please¡­¡± Sam grinned, her mouth full of chewed-up pizza. ¡°Fhuk off.¡± ¡°Y¡¯know, I¡¯ve always wondered about that,¡± Liam chimed in. ¡°Do you know anything about how Awakenings work? You can do your Mentalist thing and figure it out, right?¡± Before Sam could reply, Lucy beat her to it. ¡°If only it were that easy. Modern science being unable to find a solution is why The Pandora Initiative¡¯s rhetoric works so well. When there are no solid answers, people rely on faith to answer questions we can¡¯t,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°It is true that powers can be hereditary, though they¡¯re never exactly one to one. They end up being variants and manifest in different ways.¡± ¡°Well said!¡± Sam exclaimed with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s partly why Pandora wanted me so badly. I¡¯m an Aspect, so any kids I eventually pop out could get all sorts of different flavors. Bonus points if my baby daddy is also a Super, because then there''s a certainty of Awakening, and our powers would mix to create a brand new variant.¡± Liam¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s how that works? If both parents are Supers, it''s just guaranteed?¡± Sam shrugged while Lucy¡¯s gaze turned distant. ¡°It¡¯s complicated. There are glaring gaps in the science behind it,¡± Lucy explained. ¡°If neither parent is an evohuman, then there¡¯s little chance their offspring will Awaken, but it¡¯s not impossible. Just one evohuman parent can dramatically increase the odds. If both parents are evohumans, it¡¯s basically a given ¨C in fact as far as we know it¡¯s guaranteed. It has always bothered me because on the surface it sounds like powers work mostly on a standard genetic basis as if there should be some obvious mutation, or something we can see within our DNA but¡­ there just isn¡¯t. It seems as if it just¡­ happens.¡± ¡°So like dominant and recessive genes? Like how some people have blue eyes or blonde hair?¡± Mia asked, perplexed. ¡°You¡¯d think if powers worked like¡ª¡± ¡°But they don¡¯t,¡± Sam cut her off. ¡°There are genetic components involved, but whatever they are, they¡¯re undetectable by modern science ¨C allegedly.¡± I picked up what Sam was insinuating. ¡°You think the secrets behind our powers have already been discovered and are actively being suppressed?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t just think. Governments have been keeping secrets for years, why would this be any different? If someone like Splicer is capable of messing around with them, then it would only make sense that there is a consistent logic behind it,¡± Sam explained. ¡°It¡¯s just being kept a secret.¡± ¡°I suppose it''s a good thing we still have easy access to him. We could ask him how they work,¡± I said. Sam was quick to shoot that thought down. ¡°I doubt he¡¯d even be able to give answers. His power would allow him to interface with them much like how you¡¯re able to do what you do with your powers,¡± Sam pointed out. ¡°Are you able to explain what exactly you¡¯re doing to make anything you touch better?¡± I pursed my lips, trying to come up with an answer. Nothing came to mind. Sam had me there. ¡°Wait, wait¡­ hold on a second. Can we back up a bit?¡± Liam asked, looking beyond confused. ¡°If both parents are Supers, then their kid just gets powers for free? They don¡¯t even have to go through an Awakening?¡± ¡°Er¡­ they kinda do?¡± Lucy shrugged. ¡°They¡¯re not born with powers, but they sorta seem to adapt to their powers easier when they do get them.¡± ¡°Funnily enough, they tend to be Morphers,¡± Sam added, giving Liam a knowing look. ¡°Your sister was Spectre, and you have powers also. How much do you know about your parents, other than the fact that they worked for Cyberspace?¡± Liam¡¯s expression turned complicated, and his gaze briefly caught Mia¡¯s. ¡°I didn¡¯t really know them,¡± he paused and scratched his head in thought. ¡°I didn¡¯t know about any of this, so it never occurred to me to ask.¡± ¡°I never met them when Natasha was tutoring me,¡± Mia added, looking just as thoughtful. ¡°I remember asking about them when she told me she was responsible for looking after Liam. She just told me they passed away and you were living off the inheritance they left you.¡± ¡°What was the age gap?¡± I asked, suddenly intrigued about Liam¡¯s unspoken history. ¡°Nine years,¡± Liam said. ¡°Disappeared six years ago. I was nine.¡± ¡°That would¡¯ve made her eighteen. That¡¯s not old enough to be a legal guardian here,¡± I replied. ¡°Francis said he was Spectre¡¯s handler, so it only stands to reason Cyberspace kept the government from stepping in and fostering you both. It¡¯s starting to look like they¡¯ve been involved with your family for a long time.¡± ¡°We could ask,¡± Lucy suggested. ¡°It would clear up the confusion.¡± I turned to stare at the TV, anticipating Cyberspace jumping into the conversation. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed. I could never be sure if they were listening, but in this case, it seemed they were preoccupied with other things. I was then reminded of the conversation Liam and I had with Cyberspace not that long ago, and the answers became clear. ¡°There¡¯s no need. Cyberspace has mentioned they were second-gen evohumans, which means at least one of their parents was a Super,¡± I explained. Liam gave me a surprised look, but then realization struck him. ¡°Oh yeah, they did say that. I didn¡¯t really know what that meant at the time.¡± ¡°Well, now you do,¡± I replied. ¡°I suppose the technicalities don¡¯t matter at this point. Maybe you were always going to get powers, maybe you weren¡¯t. Is there really any point focusing on it? You both Awakened.¡± ¡°It could matter. I, for one, love discussing technicalities,¡± Sam interjected. ¡°Like Lucy just said, second-gens with two evohuman parents don¡¯t seem to experience Awakenings as intensely as the rest of us. It¡¯s a strange phenomenon, and it''s said that each following generation¡¯s Awakenings get easier and easier. Third-gens can just wake up one day and discover they¡¯ve got powers, while it¡¯s rumored that fourth-gens are born with them. That last one is just a rumor though, so take that with a grain of salt. Even Gold can¡¯t make a concrete deduction.¡± My thoughts were drawn back to my father as something wasn¡¯t sitting quite right. Mom had said he was a Biokinetic, but according to what Sam and Lucy were saying, powers passed down from parents tended to end up as a variation. My power couldn¡¯t even interact with biological organisms, so how could mine be a variation? How wildly could powers mutate through offspring? ¡°Not quite,¡± Lucy said. ¡°Pandora has a few fourth-gens and only one of them was born with powers. My father talks about him sometimes, and he lives in Spain¡¯s Pandora branch. They¡¯re calling him Cataclysm, and he¡¯s three-years-old.¡± ¡°Huh, so Pandora has up and coming fourth-gens? That¡¯s mildly concerning for the rest of the world,¡± Sam commented lightly. ¡°Are there any here in New Elpis that we should be concerned about?¡± ¡°Not that I know of, but Liberation is a second-gen Aspect, in case any of you were wondering,¡± Lucy said. Sam¡¯s smile widened a little. ¡°We knew that he was an Aspect, but not that he was a second-gen,¡± Sam mused, looking like she was about to revise every plan she had devised to deal with Pandora. ¡°It doesn¡¯t change much, but it is nice to know. It gives me a better estimation of how powerful he is. Even with Grim and The ECU breathing down his neck, I always got the impression he wasn¡¯t playing his full hand. You wouldn¡¯t happen to know anything about the guy that you would be willing to share?¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Lucy¡¯s expression twisted like she was sucking on a lemon. ¡°Uhhh¡­ Revealing anything about him is enough to get me killed.¡± ¡°You being here of your own volition is more than enough, so you crossed that line ages ago. Best you help us out so we can do our part in keeping you alive,¡± Sam replied. ¡°I¡¯ve always figured if push came to shove, I could maybe take him down ¨C assuming I was quick enough. He¡¯s definitely got enhancements, so I can¡¯t just knock his head off with Red.¡± ¡°Liberation is¡­¡± Lucy began, hesitantly. ¡°He¡¯s capable of extending a sort of ¡®repulsion zone.¡¯ It¡¯s like a big shield, sort of like Abby with her bubble¡­ Except his bubble can be much larger and it''s not telekinetic,¡± she explained, while we all nodded along. Liam looked as if he was agreeing just to fit in. ¡°He¡¯s got his enhancement power which makes him strong enough to lift and throw buses. Some people within Pandora¡¯s circles believe he¡¯s capable of picking up cargo ships with his bare hands, but that¡¯s total bullshit.¡± ¡°Yep, there¡¯s no one with enhancement powers capable of that.¡± Sam agreed. ¡°No one?¡± Mia asked. ¡°I thought there would be at least someone that could.¡± ¡°Nope!¡± Sam replied, popping the ¡®p.¡¯ ¡°We¡¯re talking about raw physical strength though. There was a Super in the nineties who managed to tip over a smallish apartment complex. I think they went by the name ¡®Unstoppable.¡¯ Not entirely fitting, given what happened to him.¡± Against my better judgment, I felt compelled to ask. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°He was stopped.¡± ¡°You mean he died, right?¡± Liam asked. ¡°I feel like these stories always end with ¡®and then they died.¡¯¡± ¡°Uh, no actually. The ECU got him,¡± Sam explained. ¡°He¡¯s still alive. Imprisoned somewhere I bet.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Mia looked disappointed. ¡°He was a villain?¡± ¡°No, he was a store clerk,¡± Sam snarked, rolling her eyes. ¡°Of course he was a villain. You don¡¯t exactly hear about heroes tipping over apartment complexes, do you?¡± Mia¡¯s nose wrinkled. Lucy cleared her throat, drawing attention back to herself and feeling more confident. ¡°Anyway¡­ Liberation¡¯s also capable of creating a certain material that he used to make his armor, sword, and shield. I don¡¯t know what its name is, but I can tell you it¡¯s capable of resisting most elements. He¡¯s been hit with all sorts of attacks and I can¡¯t name a time anything¡¯s actually breached his armor, let alone his repulsion zone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all pretty standard stuff. Outside of the second-gen thing, I pretty much figured all that out myself,¡± Sam said. ¡°Is there anything that The ECU wouldn¡¯t know about? Because I suspect there is, and it¡¯s gotta be one of his biggest trump cards. I rarely use my more esoteric powers.¡± Sam made it sound impressive, but I knew why. Purple was a slouch and couldn¡¯t exactly be trusted in a pinch, while Orange was far too tunnel-visioned to be used outside of very specific circumstances. Pink and Gold were her most frequently used, and Red was her last resort. If I were counting Blue ¨C regular Sam ¨C then I suppose her danger sense was her default. ¡°There is one more power,¡± Lucy shifted uncomfortably, and I saw Sam¡¯s head tilt. ¡°My father claims it''s one of the reason¡¯s he was promoted to the leader of the New Elpis branch. It¡¯s not a flashy power either, and he doesn¡¯t feel the need to show it off because Mentalists are bound to pick up on it,¡± she glanced at Sam. ¡°Like you.¡± ¡°This ought to be good,¡± Sam leaned forward, her curiosity burning. ¡°It must be some kind of ace in the hole, a power that can be used to really turn the tables on whoever he¡¯s facing,¡± her fingernails drummed against the side of her glass as Gold worked away in her head. ¡°No¡­ really? Holy shit, you have to be joking.¡± Lucy leaned away, scowling. ¡°It¡¯s so gross that you¡¯re capable of doing that.¡± Liam snorted. ¡°Tell me about it.¡± ¡°It has something to do with powers,¡± Sam said, ignoring Lucy¡¯s blatant discomfort. ¡°Power amplifier¡ª? Wait, no. Nullifier?¡± ¡°Touch-based power nullification,¡± Lucy said before Sam could finish reading her like a book. ¡°At least that¡¯s how my dad explained it to me. He doesn¡¯t get a chance to use it all that often, but it makes him a force to be reckoned with. The whole reason he even came to Bayside in the first place was to deal with Grim, otherwise he would be up in Ashton trying to dismantle The Nine Circles. Liberation was the one person Pandora believed to be able to kill Grim.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± I said, rolling my eyes. ¡°That would mean getting close enough to touch the guy before he could transform into his floating murder cloud. At that point, why even disable his power? Just snap his neck or blow his head off,¡± I shrugged at the shocked look Lucy gave me. ¡°Unless they expected him to use that power on the shadow itself? That¡¯s a life or death gamble.¡± ¡°A gamble we made instead,¡± Liam said. ¡°It might¡¯ve paid off, but still¡­¡± ¡°That was the idea,¡± Lucy said. ¡°But I guess Liberation was never in the position to try, or maybe Grim decided to keep his distance. Dad did speculate it was why neither side truly moved against each other until Grim pulled that stunt at one of Pandora¡¯s gatherings,¡± she sighed before flicking me another flat stare. ¡°And before someone burned my house down.¡± Mia hummed. ¡°I wonder who that could be?¡± I suddenly found myself at the center of attention. I crossed my arms and returned Lucy¡¯s stare with one of my own. ¡°In my defense, Abby was the one to break in. I just followed her ¨C and the house wouldn¡¯t have burned down if we weren¡¯t ambushed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all so devious isn¡¯t it?¡± Sam giggled. ¡°The Cains are dismantled, Pandora look like warmongers, and The ECU are made to look like bumbling fools with how they were reduced to playing damage control. Every faction loses, some more than others¡­ everyone except two.¡± A chill crawled up my spine. ¡°The Queen¡¯s Court, and us ¨C Cyberspace by extension.¡± Sam sipped the last of her sparkling water. ¡°Funny how that played out.¡± It left a bitter taste in my mouth, the possibility that Cyberspace and Gaea had engineered the whole conflict to play out exactly how they wanted. It left me feeling like a pawn in a game I didn¡¯t even know I was playing. If I was feeling this way, I couldn¡¯t imagine how that made Sam feel. It was clear that Cyberspace had been watching me from the beginning, but how much had they actually interfered to control us? How many of our actions were our own and not manipulations? From the looks of it, Liam and Mia didn¡¯t like what it all implied either. Lucy was the only one left out, but as each second passed, she seemed to understand what kind of position we were all in. I could tell she would be sympathetic, having dealt with Pandora¡¯s discriminatory practices all her life. Feeling like you had no agency in what decisions you made must be familiar with her. ¡°Oh!¡± Mia straightened up suddenly. We all turned to stare at her as her attention flicked between me and Sam, snapping her fingers constantly like she was trying to remember something important. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lucy asked, confused. Mia looked like she was scraping at her brain to find the right words. ¡°Guy! Guy! What¡¯s his name? Weird guy, uh, talks funny! Has some kind of grudge against Upgrade?¡± Someone with a grudge against me? Multiple people came to mind, most notably Starburst and Basilisk. Liam, Mia, and I dealt with quite a few independent Supers that took to the streets after The Cains downfall, and none of them came away with positive impressions of us. Sam¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Mirage?¡± I straightened immediately, my gaze fixed on Mia. ¡°What about him?¡± I asked. ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± Mia exclaimed. Sam was on her feet and I was halfway back to the door to my workshop when Mia continued. ¡°Nono! Not like that, I mean one of my statues. Sorry! I see him. He¡¯s talking to one of my statues. He¡­ he knows I¡¯m listening? How does he know that I can do that?¡± ¡°What¡¯s he saying?¡± My question came out sounding like a demand, but I was too riled up to correct myself. The mention of Mirage being within our grasp had my blood surging like a river. ¡°Where is he?!¡± Mia shook her head, looking confused, but not because of my requests. She was zoned out, concentrating on what the bastard was saying. He was clearly having some kind of conversation with her and she was struggling to keep up and relay the messages. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ he¡¯s saying that we¡¯ve done a good job and that he¡¯s impressed? Now he¡¯s just talking about how good the Nasi Goreng he¡¯s eating is,¡± Mia¡¯s expression twisted even further. ¡°How does he know I can listen through my statues? No one should know that.¡± ¡°Maybe he doesn¡¯t,¡± Sam growled. ¡°He¡¯s got some screws loose, but I wouldn¡¯t pass him knowing somehow,¡± she paused for a moment. ¡°Nasi Goreng? That¡¯s an Indonesian dish. Is he in New Market?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah,¡± Mia confirmed. ¡°I have two scattered around the area. He¡¯s¡­ he¡¯s just sitting there eating dinner.¡± ¡°Max!¡± Lucy had seen me move. I was already halfway down the stairs to my workshop, eyeing up my suit. There was no way I was going out there at this time of night by myself with Ajax¡¯s Walkers roaming the city. The Sweepers would pick me up and I would probably be caught, maybe even killed if I was unlucky. I wasn¡¯t willing to play with those odds, but that didn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t have any cards to play. There was a flash of Pink and Sam was at my side. ¡°Maxxie stahp! You¡¯re¨C agh, no, you¡¯re out of your mind!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± I replied heatedly. ¡°It¡¯s not what you think, Sam. I¡¯m not going out there. I¡¯m not stupid. I¡¯m going to be sending¡ª¡± ¡°Your drones, yeah-yeah I got that much. If Mirage knows Mia can listen in, then you better bet your ass that¡¯s exactly what he¡¯s counting on! Don¡¯t fall for the obvious bait,¡± Sam argued, grabbing hold of my arm. I had half a mind to pull myself free, but even without Red, her grip was surprisingly strong. ¡°I get it, we both want this fucker dead for our own peace of mind, but if we act now without thinking, it won¡¯t end how we want it to.¡± I matched her glare with my own. ¡°We can get him right now. I can have the drones be in and out, and they have camouflage modules. No one will see what hit him! It¡¯ll be like he dropped dead in the middle of the street.¡± ¡°If it were that simple, I would have asked Mia to have one of her statues snap his neck!¡± ¡°Mia¡¯s not like that, she can¡¯t do it!¡± ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± Lucy called out, jogging down the stairs with Liam and Mia trailing close behind her. ¡°What¡¯s this all about? You have some kind of grudge with Mirage? I thought he was part of The Cains, aren¡¯t they all gone?¡± ¡°Not all of them,¡± Liam chimed in. ¡°Mirage and Bonesmith were never found, and Banshee fled the city. Last we heard, she was heading to Ashton for whatever reason. If you ask me? Weird place to go. The Nine Circles will just eat her alive if The ECU doesn¡¯t get her first.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still there,¡± Mia reiterated. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like he¡¯s going to move any time soon. He¡¯s just talking nonsense ¨C stuff about the city, how much he likes it here. How¡­¡± she paused, shuddering. ¡°...how interesting the people are. God, I didn¡¯t know someone was capable of making my skin crawl just by talking. Ugh.¡± ¡°Sam,¡± I intoned. ¡°This is a golden opportunity.¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you it''s not. You need to listen to me, Max. There¡¯s too much that can go wrong. He¡¯s right in the middle of New Market. There are thousands of people around and Ajax¡¯s curfew isn¡¯t for another couple of hours,¡± Sam stressed. ¡°If you send your drones over there to attack, it¡¯s going to end in a bloodbath. Just hold off for the moment.¡± ¡°Hold off?¡± I hissed, barely able to suppress my growing frustration. ¡°This is what I made these drones for. Long ranged warfare. If he¡¯s not near me, he can¡¯t fuck with my head.¡± ¡°Hold. Off.¡± Sam said again, this time sounding more like a command. ¡°Just wait till he packs up and leaves, then we have Mia tail him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fucking stupid!¡± I almost roared. ¡°He knows those statues are part of Mia¡¯s power. He¡¯s going to give them the slip, and in an area like New Market it¡¯ll be impossible for her to move her statues around to find him. At least with my drones overhead, I can catch him.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t Ajax¡¯s Sweepers pick up on your drones?¡± Lucy asked, looking more than concerned. ¡°Those things are the most advanced detection robots in the world. It doesn¡¯t get any better than them. They¡¯ll find your drones, cloaked, camouflaged, whatever.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Sam almost cheered, seemingly warming up to Lucy. ¡°Just listen to us. This isn¡¯t the time. I¡¯ve never seen a more obvious trap. Let¡¯s put some faith in Mia¡¯s power,¡± she turned to address the older girl. ¡°Can you do that? Surround every exit to New Market?¡± Mia¡¯s features changed, becoming fiercely determined. ¡°Already moving them. I can¡¯t promise anything, but I¡¯ll try my best.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I can ask,¡± Sam smiled. I still wasn¡¯t convinced. Mirage was a slippery bastard. If we let this chance slip, he would be lurking around every corner and watching from every shadow. It was bad enough that it was now confirmed he was still in the city, but I refused to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. He had seen my face. A lucky encounter for him would be all it would take to expose me. I couldn¡¯t have that. ¡°The moment he leaves, tell me,¡± I said, edging back toward my suit. Without access to my supercomputer, I would need to be inside to remotely control the drones. ¡°I won¡¯t ask you to do it, because I know you hate it.¡± Slowly, Mia nodded. Mirage needed to die, and I was more than ready to be the one to pull the trigger. Ignition 7 I almost needed to remind myself to breathe. Trap or not, Mirage had exposed himself to us, and now I was going to do everything in my power to take advantage. Controlling my drones remotely wasn¡¯t a difficult task. I would pilot the designated leader and have the rest follow closely behind. The only challenge was pathing. With Sweepers and Walkers patrolling Bayside twenty-four-seven, I couldn¡¯t risk running into them. I was forced to play cat and mouse, flying my drones low through the streets with their camouflage modules active. The drain on the power was significant, but this was supposed to be a quick operation. Reaching New Market with the drones would take around ten minutes since I was forced to go through the streets. Without Ajax around, I could have reached my destination in a quarter of that time. The return trip would be similar, but I wasn¡¯t counting the time needed to actually execute the mission. Moving around with the camouflage modules active meant I had about half an hour of power, down from the usual nine hours. I needed to be quick. ¡°Is he still there?¡± I asked. ¡°Still there,¡± Mia replied with clear uncertain tension in her tone. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem to be in any hurry. He¡¯s talking with one of the cooks, so he could be there all night.¡± I turned to look at Sam, finding her standing in front of the whiteboard I used to keep notes on while my supercomputer upgraded. She was drawing up a lightly detailed map of New Market, marking all the possible routes Mirage could take and his current position. ¡°It¡¯s forty-five minutes till curfew. Shops will be closing up soon to give locals enough time to get home,¡± Gold said, not bothering to hide how displeased she was with the situation. ¡°He¡¯s not stupid enough to drive, he knows much of an easy target that will make him. He¡¯ll be walking, which means there¡¯s at most a thirty minute window for him to get somewhere. Depending on when he starts, his speed, and his direction, I¡¯ll be able to determine where he¡¯ll go.¡± Wherever he went, we would be able to follow. I wasn¡¯t that far away from New Market and he had yet to move. ¡°What if he¡¯s not there?¡± Liam asked, looking around. Mia and I gave him a confused look while Sam considered his words. ¡°This guy messes with people¡¯s heads, right? What¡¯s stopping him from¡­ I dunno, tricking Mia¡¯s statues?¡± I shook my head. Mia¡¯s statues were a hundred percent material. Until Mia switched into one of them, they lacked anything biological, which is what Sam speculated Mirage needed to use his power on. Sensory manipulation required nerves that connected to the sensory receptors in the brain. Without those, his power wouldn¡¯t work. However, we never considered the depth of Mia¡¯s power. Her senses were clearly linked to her statues otherwise she wouldn¡¯t be able to see or hear through them. Would Mirage be able to manipulate them on that basis alone? If that was the case, then we really were willingly walking into a trap. ¡°Even if Mirage is capable of manipulating her statues, his power still requires some proximity. He¡¯s in New Market, that much we know for sure,¡± Sam said, tapping the whiteboard marker on her chin. ¡°He¡¯s shown his hand and now he¡¯s going to reap the consequences¡­ assuming we can locate him. Max, how far are you?¡± ¡°Three minutes,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s been a hassle avoiding the Walkers.¡± Sam¡¯s attention flicked to Mia. ¡°Still there?¡± Mia shrugged, seemingly disheartened that whatever she was looking at might be fake. ¡°Yeah, still there.¡± ¡°Alright then,¡± Sam turned back to me. ¡°It¡¯s up to you. Don¡¯t fuck this up and for God¡¯s sake, do not open fire into the cro¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck off, I¡¯m not stupid enough to open fire into a crowd just to put this guy down,¡± I cut her off with a glare. The fact she even had the audacity to imply that I would consider something like that in front of Lucy angered me. ¡°I¡¯ll find him, tail him, and strike when an opportunity presents itself.¡± ¡°Why are you guys so fixated on him?¡± Lucy asked, still confused. ¡°The Cains are finished.¡± ¡°Mirage is the guy that dragged me into this mess,¡± I replied. ¡°Remember when I told you that I got jumped and you figured out it was The Cains? It was this guy,¡± I explained. ¡°Him and Banshee know what I look like and that puts me and everyone I know in danger. Until they¡¯re dealt with, my identity is always going to be at risk.¡± I watched Lucy¡¯s expression become tired. She had been around Pandora enough to know what this all meant. We weren¡¯t Pandora, and I had no intention of becoming anything like them, but Mirage was too dangerous to allow free. If The ECU captured him they would be knocking on my door within the hour. ¡°So the only answer is to kill them?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend like there¡¯s another way,¡± Sam said off-handedly. ¡°We don¡¯t like it either, but there¡¯s only one way to deal with people like Mirage. Banshee¡¯s a different story, Gold thinks she can be reasonable, but she¡¯s got a grudge against us and can likely be driven away. Mirage though? That guy is cracked.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Lucy¡¯s face twisted. ¡°He¡¯s one of those?¡± ¡°Yup,¡± Sam¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°Though if I said this wasn¡¯t personal, I would be lying.¡± ¡°He was the one who made it personal,¡± I clarified. ¡°He¡¯s got some kind of weird obsession and we have no idea why. He¡¯s unpredictable and that makes him dangerous,¡± I watched my drones fly into New Market. Just like last time, stalls dotted the streets with hundreds of people going about their business. There were a lot less than last time with the upcoming curfew. From the looks of it, most of them were on their way home. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°He¡¯s still at the stand.¡± Mia said. All eight of my drones carefully scanned the area, hovering above the crowd. It didn¡¯t take me long to find Mia¡¯s statue, and when I did, my heart sank. ¡°No he¡¯s not.¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­ But he¡¯s right there!¡± The stand Mirage was allegedly sitting at was empty and had closed down for the day. Mia¡¯s statue was inconspicuously sitting between the street food stalls looking like an impressive ornament with circlets of flowers around its neck, and a rolled-up sheet of paper slipped between its fingers. The moment I saw the paper, I knew it had all been a setup. ¡°He¡¯s baiting a response,¡± I replied, doing my best to keep my cool. ¡°There¡¯s no way he knows I¡¯m here, so we still have the element of surprise. We know what he¡¯s trying to do and his power works by proximity,¡± I said, directing my drones to continue scanning the area. Mirage had to be around here somewhere if he was interfering with Mia¡¯s statue. ¡°He¡¯s around here somewhere.¡± Lucy shook her head, unable to make much sense of the situation. ¡°Mirage was never on Pandora¡¯s radar. They thought he was just another unimportant underling to Grim. Even Nemesis and Gold Rush had higher priority than this guy.¡± ¡°Higher priority?¡± Liam frowned. ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with anything?¡± ¡°Mirage never attacked Pandora, so outside of his affiliation with The Cains, he wasn¡¯t very notable.¡± Lucy rubbed her chin as she wracked her brain. I was only half paying attention because my primary focus was on the camera footage from the drones. ¡°I never really thought about it until now, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard of Mirage being involved in anything related to Pandora. As far as I know, Dad and the rest of the Bayside branch don¡¯t have a clear understanding of his powers ¨C they just know he¡¯s a Mentalist.¡± ¡°Probably intentional on his part,¡± Sam explained. ¡°He¡¯s capable of interfering with Gold, which has made it incredibly difficult to read him. However, his pattern of behavior is something I can interpret and extrapolate from. Max and I have suspected for a while that Mirage has been playing his own game, and I¡¯m beginning to think he played a big part in orchestrating the conflict between The Cains and Pandora.¡± As I listened, my frustration began to build. Every minute that passed was one less I would be able to spend chasing the bastard. I needed to leave enough time to get my drones back here to charge, otherwise I would risk having to go out and retrieve them. ¡°I¡¯d believe it,¡± Mia said, staring off into space. Her statue was still listening to the illusion Mirage was projecting, but that didn¡¯t make his mannerisms inside his projection any less him. The strength of his power was not knowing you were caught in it. So what Mia was listening to was exactly how Mirage came across. ¡°He sounds like the type, and he¡¯s got that look about him,¡± I saw her shudder. That arrogant, confident glint. I knew what she meant. It boiled my blood just thinking about it. ¡°He¡¯s just one guy though,¡± Liam said. ¡°You¡¯d be surprised what one person is able to accomplish,¡± Lucy said, and Sam nodded in agreement. ¡°All it takes is someone determined enough to upset the balance. The very first Evohumans did that just by existing. The entire world had to change, and here we are over half a century later still adjusting.¡± Sam pulled up a chair and dropped back into it, crossing one leg over the other, staring at the whiteboard marker between her fingers. ¡°It never occurred to me why Grim would just go out and massacre a Pandora gathering,¡± her gaze lifted and locked on Lucy. ¡°I don¡¯t imagine you know much about it either. I bet even Pandora never figured out what provoked it.¡± Lucy quietly nodded. ¡°Dad was furious. He wanted to crucify every person that dared to associate themselves with the gang, string them up publicly in the harbor, and then burn them,¡± Lucy said, and everyone including myself felt sickened by the image. ¡°Liberation was the one that reigned everyone in.¡± Liam pursed his lips, nodding. ¡°Yep, that sounds about right. Right up Pandora¡¯s alley. I¡¯m kinda surprised there wasn¡¯t an immediate revolt.¡± ¡°My house burning down was the last straw,¡± Lucy grimaced. ¡°Given my dad¡¯s power everyone thought we were being mocked and Liberation couldn¡¯t stop it then.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°But that was all later on. What set Grim off initially?¡± Mia asked. ¡°We know he had some kind of deal with The Iron Maiden, Masquerade, and Splicer. What caused him to go massacre a bunch of Pandora followers?¡± ¡°Misinformation delivered directly to Grim, courtesy of Mirage,¡± Sam¡¯s expression twisted. ¡°Max and I hit one of The Cains¡¯ safehouses which Mirage just so happened to be at. I¡¯d scouted the place earlier and noted there could be some value in robbing the place, so we did. I had no way of knowing Mirage was stationed there to help guard Mechatech Masquerade had delivered to Grim.¡± ¡°Wait a second,¡± Liam said, pointing at me and Sam. ¡°So, all this started because you guys robbed the giant living murder cloud?¡± ¡°If you want to put it like that, sure, be my guest,¡± Sam replied sardonically. ¡°There isn¡¯t zero cause for events like these. Sure, there are catalysts that light the fuse, but this was inevitable at the end of the day. No matter what, Mirage would¡¯ve found a way to convince Grim to go on the offensive. Grim wanted to get back what was stolen, and by the time he realized Mirage had duped him, it was already too late.¡± I heard a growl bubble out of Lucy¡¯s throat as her expression turned dark. ¡°So, it¡¯s all this guy¡¯s fault then.¡± ¡°Like I said, he¡¯s a big factor. Not the only factor,¡± Sam said. ¡°I have no reason to doubt that Cyberspace wasn¡¯t meddling. Same with The ECU and Queen¡¯s Court. See, that¡¯s the thing about all this,¡± her gaze shifted to Mia and the older girl lightly flinched under the piercing gaze. ¡°All this is just a game if you think about it. It¡¯s a cruel, fucked up game where people ¨C evohuman and regular alike ¨C are taken advantage of, manipulated, and murdered for power and security. The only winners are the people with the guts to play, not the ones who refuse.¡± That¡¯s what made Mirage truly dangerous. Banshee might be able to catch me off-guard with her powers if I wasn¡¯t careful, Bonesmith might be able to cut through my armor, and Wildfire could potentially roast me alive¡­ but they weren¡¯t players. They were followers, dancing to the tune of those above them. Mirage wasn¡¯t like that, and he could never be like that. Little fish¡­ we all started off that way, making small ripples. If we survived long enough to grow, we would be able to make waves, making currents of our own to pull along the smaller fish that got caught. Mirage wasn¡¯t a little fish anymore, and neither was I. ¡°I got him.¡± One of my cameras caught him a fair distance away from Mia¡¯s statue. He was leaning on a wall dressed in a ripped jacket and trousers. He didn¡¯t stand out but he didn¡¯t conceal his face either, so my identification software snagged him without much difficulty. I had to restrain myself from giving the command to turn him into a leaky blood bag because of all the civilians around, but it was getting closer to curfew. My drones wouldn¡¯t last until then. I could only spare another seven or eight minutes unless I wanted to park them somewhere to retrieve later, but that was betting on them not being found overnight. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ still at the stall for me,¡± Mia said, unable to hide how frustrated Sam¡¯s words made her. ¡°I guess my powers are susceptible to his illusions.¡± ¡°Max¡ª¡± Sam started, but I cut her off quickly. ¡°I won¡¯t, as much as I want to,¡± I said. ¡°But my drones can only use the active camo modules for so long. I¡¯ve got seven minutes left before I need to direct them back here. If we¡¯re going to do something here, it needs to be quick. I can put him down right now¡­¡± ¡°Too much risk. It¡¯ll cause a commotion and that¡¯ll draw Sweepers and Walkers to investigate. They¡¯ll destroy your drones and link them back to us,¡± Sam explained. ¡°Mirage knows exactly what he¡¯s doing. He¡¯s testing to see if we¡¯ll take the bait.¡± The compulsion to pull the trigger just to punish him for this arrogant display had never been stronger. I was almost willing to risk the consequences if Lucy hadn¡¯t been in the room. The rest of us would be able to handle ourselves if our base of operations became compromised. We at least had a chance to escape ¨C even if they were slim. I couldn¡¯t put Lucy in that kind of danger. ¡°Tricky bastard,¡± I sneered. ¡°Mia, have you got your statues at every exit?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ but I¡¯m not sure how helpful I¡¯m gonna be when he can mess with them.¡± ¡°That might have given us away, if you¡¯re moving about he can probably tell, so he knows we¡¯re making a move,¡± Sam added. ¡°Shit.¡± Mia swore. ¡°What¡¯s done is done,¡± I took a breath and contemplated moving my drones away from Mirage and parking them on nearby rooftops to conserve the remaining power. At least that way, they wouldn¡¯t be moving and using unnecessary power. Only the camouflage modules would be drawing power, which should give me more time. ¡°I¡¯m moving away from the area. I¡¯ve got a lock on him so I can watch him from standby.¡± Seconds after I started moving the drones, a commotion broke out in the street below. I watched with one of my drones as a small brawl broke out. It started off small but only seconds passed before people all around joined in. ¡°Something is happening,¡± Mia sucked in a breath. The drones I had locked onto Mirage showed him moving. ¡°He¡¯s moving,¡± I said. ¡°What direction?¡± Sam asked. ¡°East.¡± Sam immediately stood up and began tracing lines on the whiteboard. My gaze flicked between her drawings and Mirage¡¯s trajectory. She went from drawing lines to circles, trying to predict intended destinations with Gold¡¯s input. As long as I relayed the right information, we could take him out without causing a scene to implicate us. Ahead of him, another fight broke out, and he changed direction. ¡°South now.¡± Sam grunted, wiping away all her predictions so she could begin drawing new ones. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Liam asked. ¡°Mirage is causing fights to break out,¡± I shook my head. ¡°I haven¡¯t a clue why. Maybe it''s entertainment, I wouldn¡¯t put it past him.¡± ¡°If he¡¯s causing all this commotion, isn¡¯t that like a free ticket to¡­ you know¡­¡± Liam placed two fingers against his head to mimic a gun and pretended to shoot. ¡°With all the fighting, no one would notice until your drones are long gone, right?¡± I nearly agreed. On the surface it made sense, but at the same time, Liam didn¡¯t have the full picture. It was only large groups of people fighting. Not everyone was being pulled into his illusions. There were enough pedestrians that would take notice if his head was turned into red mist. ¡°Too risky. Not everyone is fighting. Someone will notice and¡ª¡± Mirage changed direction again. ¡°West.¡± ¡°Is he¡­?¡± Sam muttered under her breath. There was a notable pause after she wiped away all the predictions she was making. We all watched her carefully as she dotted Mirage¡¯s current movement pattern before circling an intersection he was heading toward. ¡°Let me know if he turns here. If he goes North, both of you get out of there.¡± I watched with a careful eye as Mirage moved about the increasingly agitated crowd. He just looked like he was out for a casual stroll, eyeing up the stalls he passed as chaos erupted all around him. Sure enough, when he reached the intersection Sam circled, he turned and walked north. ¡°He¡¯s gone north.¡± It suddenly occurred to me why Mirage was starting the fights. With the frequency and the areas he was doing it in, everyone with half a brain would recognize it was a Super. The people Mirage wasn¡¯t affecting would call it in. The ECU would pick up on it and send Sweepers and Walkers to investigate. ¡°Fucker!¡± Sam tossed her whiteboard maker across the room. ¡°He¡¯s walking in circles. Mirage is starting the fights to draw attention to the square. Everyone not under the influence of his power will be calling it in.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I scowled. ¡°I figured that would be the case.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a¡ª¡± ¡°I see it,¡± I cut Mia off. I commanded my drones to retreat in the opposite direction, just in time to dodge the Sweepers that darted into the airspace above New Market. Lights bathed the chaos below, and my drones picked up a popping noise. Smoke erupted in the areas with the most chaos, pacifying the civilians trying to tear out each other''s throats. I watched them fall over like ragdolls, unceremoniously hitting the ground. My lock-on to Mirage showed him moving out of the way of all the gas, and my aggravation reached its peak when I lost my visual on him because of it. He disappeared, slipping out from under our thumb because he knew we weren¡¯t insane enough to start a fight amongst all the civilians. For a moment, I almost detested my morality and figured whatever collateral damage would have been worth it if it meant I was able to do away with him permanently. ¡°I lost him,¡± I said, surprising myself with how much vitriol came out with every word. ¡°Disappeared, he used the gas as a cover.¡± ¡°He¡¯s got guts,¡± Lucy mused. ¡°Starting all that just to draw you guys there to try and incite a fight with Ajax? He¡¯s insane!¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me,¡± Mia muttered. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to listen to his illusion.¡± ¡°We just gotta wait till he slips up. He got lucky,¡± Liam said. ¡°We almost had him here. He doesn¡¯t realize how close he was to becoming a red smear on the pavement.¡± ¡°No,¡± Sam shook her head. ¡°He picked the battleground and made his play. He put himself in that position because he knew if we acted in the way he hoped, it wouldn¡¯t end well for us. He¡¯s more than willing to throw his life away if it means we go down with him. There¡¯s no waiting till he slips up because he is smart enough not to put himself in a position where he could. Someone who has the ability to trick Gold isn¡¯t someone to just¡ª¡± I kicked the table in front of me in a flash of white rage. All this talking and all we had achieved was knowing that even on his own Mirage was capable of making us look like fools. I jumped at the opportunity to bring him down and almost fucked it up. I needed him dead for my own peace of mind, but I was struggling to figure out ways to achieve that. I couldn¡¯t do it with my own hands because I couldn¡¯t trust my own senses. Range was his counter, I could kill him remotely, but only when I could find him. He needed to be exposed for me to be able to deliver that killing blow, and apparently, he was far too intelligent to allow himself to make that kind of mistake. He only did this because if I took the shot, Ajax and The ECU would rain down hell on us for open firing at civilians. What option did that leave me? Time was in my favor because I knew I would eventually drive him out into the open with my tech, but with Ajax here, I was severely limited. I could tag him with a remote explosive or a slow-acting poison, but I would have to develop those first and then wait for the next opportunity. What made it worse was that Mirage probably knew all that and was using it to his advantage. I could have ended it right then, sniping him right in the middle of that crowded street. It would be over quickly, I probably would have been able to get my drones back to base before Ajax¡¯s Walkers and Sweepers intercepted them. However, that would have left a telling crime scene, and I had every certainty ECU Mentalists would link it to me. Even if I somehow stumped their Mentalists, I wasn¡¯t going to gamble on Ajax¡¯s ability to figure out what happened. I imagined he would know what ¡®assassination by a drone¡¯ would look like. ¡°...Max?¡± Lucy¡¯s tone was full of apprehension. I ignored her and turned to Mia. ¡°What did the note say?¡± The gas that covered New Market would have obscured enough of the area for her statue to get out of there like Sam said, but it then occurred to me that Ajax¡¯s war machines could probably see through all the smoke easily. Regardless, I looked to Mia for an answer. Mia looked apprehensive, and I knew immediately she had seen what was written. ¡°Max¡ª¡± ¡°Tell me.¡± I wasn¡¯t asking. Mia took a shaky breath and steeled herself. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it says. It¡¯s written in Spanish.¡± Sam turned on her heel and marched over to where she had thrown the whiteboard marker. Once she retrieved it, she returned and handed it to Mia without saying a word. Wordlessly, Mia took it and stepped up to the whiteboard. She hesitated for a few moments before scribbling down the characters. I had a basic translation function in my visor, so it translated the words as she wrote them. It was a single sentence, and all I could see was red. I translated it for everyone else. ¡°Only little fish go for bait this small.¡± Ignition 8 One by one, my drones filtered back into my workshop. No one spoke as I guided them back to their charging stations, each one letting out a low hum as the camouflage deactivated. I¡¯d been cutting it close on the battery, and I wasn¡¯t sure if I would be able to get them back on time. New Market was a hotspot, every nearby Walker and Sweeper was on high alert. I managed, but it was by no means an easy task. ¡°Well, that confirms it, Mirage is still in the city,¡± I said, addressing the rest of the team. I somehow managed to reign in my bleeding rage fast enough to retrieve my drones with a focused mind, but that didn¡¯t save the table I overturned in my outburst. ¡°Silver lining, every encounter we learn something new about him. He¡¯s able to manipulate Mia¡¯s senses through her statues, but he¡¯s incapable of doing the same to me through my drones. He might be playing with us, but he¡¯s going to run out of tricks soon.¡± I was trying to lay out the pieces of information to find the silver lining. I wanted to ignore the fact I was stupid enough to fall for one of Mirage¡¯s tricks, so I decided to focus on something else. There was no sense in throwing more of a tantrum. All I could do was learn from this and move forward. Now, I had to assume every Mirage sighting was a calculated move. He wanted to exploit our impulsiveness and inexperience. I wasn¡¯t going to let him do that anymore. ¡°So¡­ like, how are we going to take this guy out? If Mia can¡¯t¡­ you know¡­¡± Liam mimed snapping someone¡¯s neck, causing Mia to shudder violently. ¡°¡­and you can¡¯t kill him without collateral damage, what¡¯s left? The way I see it, we just gotta get in there and do it, like how we took Grim down.¡± ¡°Grim and Mirage are two completely different threats,¡± Sam said. ¡°Grim thought he was nigh invincible, he walked into any kind of danger because nothing could realistically kill him. Even his stupid weakness didn¡¯t harm him directly. Mirage is very different. He¡¯s aware of how vulnerable he is. He¡¯s flesh and blood like the rest of us with no enhancements. If he¡¯s not careful, a single bullet could end him, and he knows that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what makes him dangerous,¡± Lucy muttered. ¡°Exactly,¡± Sam nodded. ¡°Mentalists are crafty. We think differently ¨C we see the world differently. Mirage is making the best of the hand he¡¯s been dealt. He¡¯s trying to mess with us and we can¡¯t let him unbalance us like he almost did tonight. If we do, we¡¯ll fall apart just as fast as The Cains.¡± Liam frowned. ¡°Even with the Super Boogeyman supporting us?¡± My scowl deepened. I saw Sam gearing up for some kind of clever metaphor, but I beat her to it. ¡°Nobody wants to stay on a sinking ship. If we make a habit of fucking up, Cyberspace won¡¯t bother covering for us,¡± I said, stealing a look at Sam. Her lips pressed in a thin line, but she said nothing. ¡°Worse still, we¡¯re unproven and they care about their secrecy. If we get captured, there¡¯s no way we don¡¯t commit suicide while the guards just so happen to look the other way,¡± I said, the words shocking me just as much as everyone else. The only ones who weren¡¯t surprised were Sam and Lucy. ¡°That¡¯s how it¡¯ll go down.¡± ¡°Nah man,¡± Liam shook his head. ¡°Fuck that. There¡¯s no¡ª¡± ¡°They would,¡± Lucy interrupted, looking exactly how I felt ¨C resigned. ¡°Pandora has done the same. If someone with privileged information becomes a liability, they¡¯re either heavily re-educated, or executed.¡± ¡°For once, I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t have to say it,¡± Sam sighed. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to make knee-jerk decisions like this anymore. Mirage almost got exactly what he wanted, and I¡¯d sooner let Pink redo my wardrobe than give him an easy win,¡± she ran a hand through her hair before turning her gaze to me. ¡°He¡¯s a piece of shit and I know he gets under your skin. I know what that¡¯s like, but you¡¯ve got to be more composed.¡± Sam bent down and picked up the table I knocked over. One by one, she collected the scattered items and placed them back on the table amidst the silence. As much as I wanted to argue for the sake of my pride, she was right. I had been too eager to solve this problem, and the longer it lingered, the more anxious it made me. I needed to accept the fact that Mirage was going to play his game. I needed to be patient and wait for the right opportunity. I took a slow breath and pressed the button to open my helmet. Alright then. If you¡¯re going to play your game, then I¡¯m going to play mine. ¡°You¡¯re right, I was too hasty,¡± I admitted. ¡°If Mirage is just going to poke at us to see if we react, we can¡¯t give him the satisfaction. If we¡¯re actually going to get rid of him, we need to find out where he¡¯s hiding and end him there. His power affects people, confronting him in the open just gives him more options.¡± ¡°Doing that is going to be difficult with all of Ajax¡¯s stuff around. Any sign of a scuffle and they¡¯ll come running. Besides, weren''t we supposed to bust up the closet Walker?¡± Liam asked. ¡°I thought Sam was cooking up a plan to capture one or something. Once we have one of those things on our side, we can do pretty much whatever we want.¡± Sam drummed her fingers against the table, her gaze sweeping the room. I noticed her gaze lingering on Lucy, and I suspected she was going to try to change the subject. My suspicions were proven incorrect. ¡°No, we decided that we were going to deal with Seraphim first, and I¡¯m still putting that plan together. Taking down a Walker going to take a bit longer because I want to make sure all my bases are covered. Essentially, it boils down to this,¡± she moved back over to the whiteboard. ¡°These war machines don¡¯t screw around, and it¡¯s not going to be like fighting other supers. While they are exceptionally lethal, they won¡¯t deploy any of that until they¡¯ve taken an assessment of our threat. Given that Bayside has a bunch of underage supers running around ¨C like us ¨C they¡¯ll be trying to subdue us first.¡± I nodded along in agreement. I was operating on the opposite side of the law, and I even understood the necessity for non-lethal settings. Ajax would have a moral obligation to include similar settings in their Mechatech designs, granted, these war machines were named aptly for a reason. ¡°Non-lethal at first,¡± I said. ¡°At first,¡± Sam nodded. ¡°I wager good odds that once they figure out what we¡¯re trying to do, they¡¯ll turn us into a red paste on the wall. Depending on what Ajax knows about you Max, and the fact that you can be mostly disabled with an EMP, they might make an exception for you. I wouldn¡¯t bank on it though.¡± ¡°How long would it take for them to figure us out?¡± Liam asked. ¡°Anywhere between one and five seconds? It depends how aggressive we are in our ambush,¡± Sam replied. ¡°Like I said, the goal isn¡¯t to fight the Walker, but for Max to use his power to incapacitate it.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Liam murmured, realization striking him like a bolt of lightning. ¡°That¡¯s why you said five seconds before, because we don¡¯t want to be around when it starts trying to kill us,¡± he looked around for confirmation. Sam just smiled and nodded while I agreed with a shrug. Mia still didn¡¯t look thrilled and Lucy looked like she was trying to decide if we had all lost our minds. ¡°So¡­ you don¡¯t have anything solid yet?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s¡­ complicated,¡± Sam admitted. Her usual confident smile was gone. ¡°Before, I figured they wouldn¡¯t send another after us assuming we were successful, but I¡¯m not so sure anymore. I¡¯ve done more research on how Ajax coordinates them against The Iron Maiden. So far, everything I¡¯ve come up with leads to swift retaliation.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Liam rubbed his chin in thought. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that ¡®retaliation¡¯ would end very badly for us?¡± ¡°Badly is putting it lightly,¡± Sam huffed. ¡°Which is why we need to pace ourselves. With all the stuff I¡¯ve been dealing with regarding Seraphim and her psycho boyfriend, I¡¯ve been struggling to focus. Gold can only think about one thing at a time, and too much information gives us both headaches. I just need more time.¡± ¡°How much time?¡± I asked. Sam took a deep breath and pressed her hands together. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she put on a forced smile. ¡°We just went over this before. I am stretched thin. Thin. T.H.I.N¡­ okay? I need time ¡ª and stop asking me how long. The plans I make will be be ready when they are ready.¡± She waved a hand in Liam¡¯s direction before running that same hand through her hair. ¡°Again, still agreed to help him with his missing sister. Haven¡¯t forgotten about that in case it slipped your mind during your meltdown.¡± I grumbled and raised my hands. ¡°Alright, alright. I get it. Sorry if I¡¯m coming across as impatient. Capturing a Walker can wait,¡± I opted for the passive solution, despite how much it irked me. ¡°We do have a lot on our plate, especially since Mirage is still in Bayside. Can¡¯t be too careful, I guess. Abby told me Ajax is supposed to be leaving to deliver equipment to Ashton, Caldon, and Zachery Port soon, so maybe the ambush can wait until after we deal with Seraphim and the Mothership leaves Bayside?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Sam groaned and rubbed her face. ¡°I need more brains. One just isn¡¯t enough to keep track of all this.¡± I saw Mia rub her eyes in frustration, and Sam noticed as well. She seemed to be going with the flow for the sake of Liam and the rest of us. It was plain to see she didn¡¯t like the direction we were taking, but she wasn¡¯t speaking up for one reason or another. ¡°Something wrong?¡± I asked, directing my question to Mia. ¡°You¡¯ve been pretty quiet.¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m just overwhelmed.¡± Mia crossed her arms. ¡°I can¡¯t be the only one, right? I¡¯m trying to adjust and see things from the same perspective, but it¡¯s hard. I don¡¯t understand why we can¡¯t just wait for all this to blow over.¡± ¡°Oh, honey, I would love to just kick back and relax, but we¡¯re working with one of the most notorious supers in the world,¡± Sam¡¯s condescending tone did not help Mia¡¯s mood. ¡°We¡¯re going to have work to do, work that sometimes we¡¯re not gonna wanna do. That¡¯s just how it is. Time to suck it up and make the best of a shitty situation.¡± ¡°What if I say no?¡± Mia asked, and I could have sworn it sounded like a challenge. ¡°Then you say no,¡± Sam shrugged like it was no big deal. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to give you advice. We¡¯re friends and in this together, so I would rather that we¡¯re all on the same page. You want to start excluding yourself, go ahead and be my guest. I¡¯m not your mom, but be aware that at some point Cyberspace will start demanding cooperation.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Sam didn¡¯t need to explain what that would entail. I watched Lucy turn away from the conversation looking demoralized. Despite not having powers, she was just as familiar with how life for evohumans worked. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to be responsible for starting another war. I don¡¯t want that on my conscience,¡± Mia threw her hands up in frustration. ¡°Is that such a big ask, to be a halfway decent person? Is there no compromise?¡± ¡°If you wanted that, you should have ran to The ECU when you had the chance. You chose to stick around for our sake,¡± Sam said with a tinge of sympathy. ¡°Trust me, I¡­¡± she paused and sighed. ¡°¡­I get how that feels. Sometimes circumstances out of our control force us down paths we don¡¯t like. When I first got my powers and joined the Rookies, I wanted to make the best of it, but things didn¡¯t work out the way I hoped.¡± A curious look crossed Liam¡¯s face. ¡°Your powers?¡± A weak laugh escaped Sam¡¯s lips. ¡°I was no different from any other kid, I looked up to heroes thinking they¡¯re the best and can do no wrong. Then I got my powers and got a taste of the action for myself,¡± Sam recounted. I almost mistook her distant look for nostalgia. ¡°Can any of you imagine what it was like trying to follow instructions when I switched to Pink? How my ¡®superiors¡¯ reacted to Gold¡¯s criticism? Or how many of my teammates got hurt when Red couldn¡¯t be reasoned with? My control¡¯s gotten better since then but the point remains.¡± Mia¡¯s sour expression softened as Sam went on. ¡°Everything I¡¯m doing here isn¡¯t for shits and giggles. I¡¯m doing it because it¡¯s the only thing I can do. I don¡¯t want to hurt people, but I¡¯ve long since accepted that people are going to get hurt no matter what I do,¡± Sam continued. ¡°The ECU¡¯s policy on vigilantism is extreme, and unfortunately, being an independent hero doesn¡¯t pay,¡± she shot me a quick look. ¡°Unless you¡¯re a Mechakinetic, and even then there are countless hoops you have to jump through. It¡¯s not even worth it in the end because you¡¯ll probably just end up getting kidnapped because you aren¡¯t allowed to develop anything to defend yourself.¡± Mia just stared at Sam, more demoralized than Lucy had been just a moment ago. ¡°It¡¯s really like that?¡± Mia asked, turning to face me. ¡°Is that how¡ª¡± ¡°Pretty much,¡± I rolled my shoulders, recalling my first few weeks as Upgrade. ¡°I wanted money, so I did odd jobs here and there. Sold some slight modifications, repaired some computers and phones. Improved things. I went around dressed sorta like Liam because I didn¡¯t want to stand out. It was exceptionally stupid, but I wanted to stay independent. I modified a taser because it technically got around The ECU¡¯s Mechatech weapon policy.¡± ¡°By the way, it didn¡¯t,¡± Sam said off-handedly. ¡°It launched the projectiles just fast enough that they could have caused brain damage if they hit the wrong spot. However, you were low-profile enough for them not to bother. They would have approached you eventually and it would¡¯ve come up. Probably as leverage to get you to join in exchange for the charges ¡®disappearing¡¯.¡± I sighed and rolled my eyes. ¡°Good to know.¡± ¡°The point is,¡± Sam continued, her focus firmly fixed on Mia. ¡°Shit¡¯s going to get nasty, and if you¡¯re going to stay sane, you need to have a goal, something to stay focused on. If you have that, it can distract you from the terrible things that are going on, make all this worth it ¨C and I know that¡¯s a really fucked up way to look at things, but you have to be doing this for something. Otherwise what¡¯s the point?¡± Mia actually seemed to consider her words. Lucy looked appalled, and Liam didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. After a few moments, Mia looked like she had an epiphany. ¡°Okay,¡± she nodded. ¡°Okay yeah, I think I got mine.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Liam looked puzzled but curious. I had to admit, I was too. ¡°That was quick.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing big. It¡¯s actually been on my mind for a while now,¡± Mia rubbed her neck. ¡°I¡¯ve been spying on my family, and I¡¯ve discovered some things about them that¡ª¡± she stopped and frowned. ¡°¡ªthat I¡¯m not quite comfortable sharing right now,¡± she shot Sam a quick glare. Sam returned the glare with a genuine smile and a nod of reassurance. ¡°But¡­ my mom is pregnant.¡± Mia left it at that. It looked like she wanted to say more, and I suspected there was more to it than just that, but I understood her desire for privacy. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s awesome!¡± Liam clapped. ¡°You get to be a big sister. Do you know¡ª¡± ¡°No,¡± Mia cut him off. ¡°I don¡¯t really know much else. She¡¯s not showing much, so I don¡¯t know how far along she is.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Liam replied awkwardly. ¡°Still cool though.¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess,¡± Mia looked just as uncomfortable as Liam. ¡°Anyway, aren¡¯t you guys supposed to be looking into what happened to Natasha? Maybe we should focus on that first, since Sam¡¯s still coming up with a plan for Ajax¡¯s stuff and dealing with the Seraphim thing?¡± ¡°Oh, right, Yeah. There¡¯s some annoying stuff there to deal with,¡± Liam tried to explain. ¡°Apparently we have to get in contact with The Iron Maiden since the assignment Cyberspace gave her had something to do with them. Cyberspace said they were going to sort something out so we can actually start the investigation. I think they''re stalling, but it¡¯s whatever.¡± ¡°Well, if there¡¯s any way I can help, let me know,¡± Mia said with a smile. ¡°If there¡¯s a chance she¡¯s out there somewhere, I¡¯d want to help. She was ¡ª is ¡ª one of my best friends.¡± Liam looked at me and shrugged. ¡°We don¡¯t have much to go on, but yeah, we can keep you in the loop.¡± Mia gave us a thankful nod, and Sam clapped with renewed enthusiasm. ¡°Alright! Now, let¡¯s¡ª¡± The door to my workshop suddenly swung open. ¡°¡ªsee who that is!¡± We turned to see Francis stroll in carrying a duffle bag. He had left to run a few errands not long before Sam got back to the hideout, and he had been pretty vague about where he was going. He removed his hat and placed it down on the table before moving over to us. ¡°G¡¯evening,¡± Francis said, dropping the duffle bag. ¡°You¡¯ve all been busy from what I hear. Almost got caught up in the commotion Mirage started at New Market,¡± he continued, giving me a pointed look. ¡°I figured you¡¯d know better than to jump the gun by now.¡± I wrinkled my nose and looked away. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d thought so too.¡± ¡°Well, don¡¯t torture yourself about it,¡± Francis clapped a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Nothing went wrong, just try to make sure he can¡¯t bait you like that again. Second chances are rare and you¡¯ve already used yours. You¡¯d need the luck of a god to get another.¡± ¡°I mean, it¡¯s not like he actually went out there,¡± Liam came to my defense. ¡°It¡¯s not like Mirage would have captured or killed one of us, and Max isn¡¯t crazy enough to open fire on civilians just to kill the dude.¡± ¡°No,¡± Francis agreed. ¡°But his drones could have been caught by the Walkers, and that wouldn¡¯t have looked good with all the chaos Mirage caused tonight.¡± ¡°How¡¯d you even find out?¡± I asked. ¡°Did Cyberspace tell you?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been keeping an eye on things,¡± Francis confirmed. ¡°I don¡¯t believe they would have intervened unless they were sure you were going to do something incredibly stupid. They sounded confident in your restraint, despite how eager you were to spring Mirage¡¯s trap,¡± Francis¡¯ lip curled with clear distaste. ¡°They said it would be ¡®a good learning experience¡¯.¡¯¡± ¡°Oooh,¡± Sam glared at the nearest computer. ¡°They don¡¯t need to be so patronizing. I would have stopped Max if I believed it was going to be truly detrimental.¡± ¡°Would you?¡± Lucy challenged, not believing a word. ¡°If it were up to me, I wouldn¡¯t have let those drones leave. That was all completely unnecessary,¡± she pointed toward Mia. ¡°Her power was enough to show that this guy was still around. That¡¯s all we really needed to know.¡± ¡°Except we learned that his power was capable of altering her senses through her statues,¡± I countered. ¡°That is very significant information to have. We now know that any information she¡¯s able to gather involving Mirage can¡¯t be trusted.¡± Lucy glared and crossed her arms. ¡°You think you¡¯ve got him figured out? If I¡¯ve learned anything growing up with Pandora, it¡¯s that powers don¡¯t make sense. What if he¡¯s able to manipulate your senses through your drones?¡± Lucy asked. ¡°You don¡¯t know if he¡¯s capable of that, and no ones suggested that might be a possibility.¡± ¡°Observation manipulation?¡± Sam exhaled slowly. ¡°Now that would be a problem.¡± ¡°What does that even mean?¡± Liam asked, looking a tad confused. ¡°Is that like¡­ messing with whoever¡¯s staring at you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what it implies,¡± Sam nodded. ¡°Though, it wouldn¡¯t be limited to who is looking at you. It would include ¡®what¡¯ as well. Visual recording devices would be affected.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ that¡¯s probably how Bonesmith busted out of jail. Mirage probably just walked straight into the Citadel and walked him out,¡± Liam shuddered and turned to me. ¡°Shit, you might need to amp up the security here. I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep at night if that guy can go anywhere he likes.¡± I grunted out an agreement, but I wasn¡¯t sure. If Mirage really was capable of that, I would need to do some more thinking. Nothing I could make off the top of my head would be able to bring him down. Motion or sound sensors perhaps? I already had those but I needed visual devices to make sure there wasn¡¯t any friendly-fire. Sam shook her head. ¡°If Mirage had that kind of power, he¡¯d be able to do far more damage than he has. No, what Max saw through his drones certainly was Mirage. He was just baiting us to see if we would make a move.¡± ¡°An obsession,¡± Francis mused. ¡°I¡¯ve seen evohumans develop them in my time. Dangerous fixations, Mirage seems to have one for you.¡± I opened my mouth to add my own two cents but Lucy beat me to the punch. ¡°All speculation aside, this could have ended horribly. If those Walkers took Max¡¯s drones out, Ajax and The ECU could have traced them back here and we would all be busted.¡± ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Sam held up a hand. ¡°Mirage would have succeeded in making us out to be aggressive and chaotic, but tracing the drones back here would require a stable connection. Walkers wouldn¡¯t exactly leave his drones in a state where they¡¯re able to do that. Even if they were disabled, I trust Max enough to disconnect from his drones before being compromised.¡± ¡°I have basic redundancies built in,¡± I explained. ¡°I can self-destruct them if I really need to. In this case I probably would¡¯ve just disconnected and left it intact. There¡¯s nothing in there The ECU probably hasn''t already guessed I have, and preserving it would allow their Mentalists to know that I didn¡¯t cause a small riot. Giving away a bit of what I can do would have been worth the reduced aggression.¡± Lucy let her hands fall to her side as she blew out a sigh. ¡°Right, of course. Silly me, assuming you would forget to add something like that. Any chance you can put the same amount of effort into our homework assignments?¡± ¡°Homework and school are entirely irrelevant,¡± I replied neutrally. ¡°I figured you¡¯d be a little more understanding about what happened, given what you know now.¡± Lucy rolled her eyes, frowning. ¡°A joke. It was a joke.¡± I smiled. ¡°I know. It just wasn¡¯t very funny.¡± Lucy¡¯s frown turned into a sickly sweet smile. ¡°Neither was inviting Wildfire to your house for dinner.¡± I felt everyone¡¯s gaze land on me. Mia and Liam looked dumbfounded. Francis was just as stoic as ever, but I detected a bit of confusion in his features. It was like he was trying to figure out if what Lucy said was actually true or not. Sam just groaned. ¡°Tell me she¡¯s fucking joking.¡± I let out a heavy sigh and prepared to stand my ground. This wasn¡¯t going to be easy to explain. Ignition 9 Explaining what happened was much easier than I thought. The tricky part was explaining my motives. ¡°We have the advantage of knowing who Wildfire is without him knowing about us. He spoke with Liberation¡¯s authority at Gaea¡¯s meeting, so that means he¡¯s one of Pandora¡¯s biggest assets. We take him out, we destabilize them,¡± I explained, doing my best to ignore the smoldering gaze Lucy was sending me. ¡°Let me just clarify that I have no intentions to kill him with this scheme, that was never my intention, but that doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t get something out of this.¡± Lucy didn¡¯t look happy, but she was the only one in the room that wasn¡¯t outright sneering. I only realized after the fact the reception to this news wouldn¡¯t be entirely positive, but I expected everyone to be a bit more open to the idea of taking the initiative. ¡°Okay¡­ okay,¡± Sam took a moment to compose herself, and a thoughtful expression formed. ¡°Maybe we can do something with this. It¡¯s not at all an ideal time given how much we¡¯re dealing with already, but Max is right. If we play this right, we could deal a blow to Pandora.¡± ¡°Hopefully in a way that doesn¡¯t involve murder,¡± Lucy¡¯s sardonic tone caused Sam to tilt her head and cross her arms. ¡°I might not be a Mentalist, but I can¡¯t think of a way to do that without making him disappear ¨C and can I just point out that the last place Wildfire will be seen is at Max¡¯s house.¡± ¡°Which is why we¡¯re not going to do anything while he¡¯s there,¡± I replied, feeling like I was stating the obvious. ¡°The goal here isn¡¯t disposal, it¡¯s information. The problem is getting that information without giving myself away.¡± ¡°What ¡®information¡¯ are you even looking for?¡± Lucy asked, mockingly quoting the intention. ¡°If you guys want the inside gossip on what¡¯s going on within Pandora¡¯s ranks, look no further. I may not know everything, but Dad shares a lot of things he probably shouldn¡¯t with me,¡± she then pointed to Sam in frustration. ¡°You guys have a Mentalist, invisible drones, and whatever the hell you¡¯d classify Mia as. What the hell can you get from a dinner you couldn¡¯t otherwise?¡± ¡°General information on Pandora will be easy to get,¡± Francis explained. ¡°But this environment is more intimate. Don¡¯t take this personally, but I doubt you even realized what you were going for. If it were me, I would be learning as much as I could about Wildfire ¨C her father ¨C as a person. How does he act? How does he compose himself? His mannerisms and his way of speech ¨C all of that are pieces that make up the puzzle that Wildfire is. If we figure out what parts fit where, we can pick him apart.¡± The way he explained it made me shudder. ¡°I guess that¡¯s one way to put it,¡± my gaze landed on Lucy. ¡°I may not have had a completed plan going into this, but there was plenty of time to develop one. In my opinion, it is better to seize the opportunity when it presents itself and adjust accordingly, than sit around wondering what would have happened.¡± ¡°It¡¯s admirable,¡± Francis admitted. ¡°Foolish, but admirable. It takes a certain amount of guts to throw yourself into the fire like that. I feel like I should have seen this coming, given the role you played in dismantling Grim.¡± Finally, some praise. I would take what I could get at this point. ¡°I¡¯m aware there were better ways to go about this, but I¡¯m done being reactive,¡± I said. ¡°With Grim gone, Pandora is going to come for us eventually. We may have brought the maniac down, but there¡¯s no way they¡¯re as scared of us as they were him. They¡¯ll be wary and hesitant, but that just buys us time, not safety. If I were to guess, I bet they were planning to off us the moment we stick our necks out too far. We¡¯re fortunate the only hiccups we¡¯ve had these last two weeks came from nosey independents.¡± ¡°I¡­ have noticed Pandora Supers inching closer to Groves Den these last few nights,¡± Mia admitted, looking slightly off-kilter. ¡°Are they gearing up for some kind of assault? Do they know where we are? I haven¡¯t seen any of them even remotely close to this place.¡± ¡°Not an assault. Too risky for them right now,¡± Francis replied. ¡°They¡¯ll be under orders to test the waters. They¡¯re wanting to see how well you defend your territory. So far, none of you have taken the bait, but they¡¯ll keep pushing until you draw a line in the sand.¡± ¡°A display of force is required,¡± Sam sighed, rubbing her head. ¡°Which will be a nightmare with Ajax¡¯s war machines stalking the streets. Sweepers can be at the source of any conflict in under a minute depending on how remote a specific part of the city is. Another thirty seconds, give or take, a Walker would arrive to put an end to any skirmish. It makes things difficult not just for us, but for everyone.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably the point,¡± Mia mused under her breath. ¡°So where does that leave us?¡± It left us in no better position than anyone else. With Ajax¡¯s mothership hovering above the city, we couldn¡¯t do anything. Pandora had enough people that they could afford to lose a few more if it meant ousting us. To them, losing some weaker members in an all-out fight was well worth it if it meant taking out even one member of Madhouse. ¡°This is so frustrating!¡± Sam exclaimed with a groan. ¡°All my plans have been shot straight to shit. No one has the firepower to contest Ajax, so we¡¯re all forced to play cat and mouse,¡± she collapsed in the nearest seat and crossed her legs, letting out a mirthless laugh. ¡°You guys wanna know what¡¯s ironic? Grim was the only one that could have dealt with this.¡± ¡°Wait, so¡­ this is technically our fault?¡± Liam asked. ¡°No, remember what we talked about before?¡± I asked, turning to Liam. He just stared at me with slight confusion. ¡°General Jessamine¡¯s transfer to New Elpis had been planned for weeks. It¡¯s because of the earthquakes. Ajax would have been here whether or not Grim was defeated. All we did was make it easier for them to occupy the city.¡± ¡°So that earthquake earlier¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I confirmed, trying to keep the anxiety out of my tone. ¡°It¡¯s definitely related, and they¡¯re only going to get worse.¡± ¡°There¡¯s something under the ground~¡± Sam said in an unnecessarily ominous sing-song voice. ¡°By themselves, The ECU would be more than capable of handling the person or people responsible for it¡­ but it¡¯s not that simple,¡± she paused, her eyes drifting to the floor. ¡°Instead, Chronos and Ajax have shown up.¡± ¡°We still have no solid intel on who or what is causing it,¡± Francis spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ve been in contact with our people stationed down around Zachery Port. Even our ECU contacts haven¡¯t had the privilege of being informed about what¡¯s causing it.¡± ¡°Ajax¡¯s presence says enough,¡± I dismissed with a sigh. ¡°Whatever is causing it is a threat to the entire continent, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be deploying war machines. We¡¯ve got Sweepers and Walkers, and Zachery Port is going to get Hunters. Can¡¯t be certain what Caldon and Ashton are getting, probably the same as us.¡± ¡°Hunters¡­¡± Francis¡¯ lip curled into a sneer. ¡°Be grateful they aren¡¯t being deployed here. I¡¯ve seen them firsthand. They¡¯re death machines capable of shredding some of the strongest Mechatech and supers I¡¯ve ever seen. They¡¯re fast too,¡± he heaved a sigh and turned to Sam. ¡°Too fast¡­ even you might have trouble with your speed.¡± Sam scowled, her lips twitching. I saw Pink wanting to throw out a smart retort, but she restrained her expertly. His words should have dissuaded, perhaps even frightened me. It struck me then just how warped my priorities were when I felt genuine excitement about the prospect of getting my hands on one. The more of Ajax¡¯s Mechatech I learned about, the more I wanted it for myself. All I would need to do was touch it, and I would be able to reprogram it to my side. In reality, that was far easier said than done, I can¡¯t have been the only Super around that could kill one with a touch and Ajax was sure to have countermeasures. ¡°Well, that explains why Ajax hasn¡¯t dropped them here,¡± Mia said. ¡°Too many civilians could get caught in the crossfire, and the ECU doesn¡¯t want to kill people like us¡ª¡± ¡°You can just say ¡®villains¡¯ you know,¡± Sam chimed in with a smile. ¡°They¡¯re heroes, and we¡¯re villains. That¡¯s just how people see it. They don¡¯t want to kill us, and most of us don¡¯t want the hassle that comes with killing them. It¡¯s a fragile seesaw¡ª¡± ¡°They¡¯re stupid labels,¡± Mia argued, cutting her off. ¡°They can call it however they want, I¡¯m going to call it how I see it.¡± Sam shrugged. ¡°Alright, I was just saying. You do have a point though, about the Hunters. They¡¯re lethal, while Walkers and Sweepers are mostly designed for occupation, containment, and de-escalation.¡± It suddenly occurred to me why Ajax¡¯s Mothership was still here. I could picture it in my head, the mechanical umbilical cords connecting to the storage space at the top of the Citadel. Abby said it was a storage space designed by Deadlocked. It was bigger than it appeared, so Ajax would be able to offload any number of his war machines, and not just of the Sweeper or Walker variety either. There would be Hunters up there too, maybe even more that I hadn¡¯t heard about. They were preparing for some kind of battle¡ª no, a siege. I shuddered as a chill swept through me. I stared down at the floor like I expected something to erupt from the ground beneath my feet. It would be bigger than Grim, of that there was zero doubt. There was enough firepower here to turn Bayside into a glass floor. The worst part was Ajax and Chronos probably thought it was necessary to have all that firepower. Only a few hours ago, I felt like I had all the time in the world. Now, I felt like I didn¡¯t have any. I needed defenses, strong enough to rival Ajax, and I needed them yesterday. Turning my head, I glanced over at my upgrading laptop. There were still a few more steps to take before I could sit back and let my power do its thing over the next month. Twenty-four hours had already passed, so that 654 was already down to 630. Twenty-six days, just shy of four weeks. I didn¡¯t feel like I had even a week at this point. I could cut down that time, and invest every single one of my charges into it for the next week and a half. At the cost of no other progress, I could have Deadlocked¡¯s prototype open by the end of next week ¨C potentially. It was still a gamble, and there was no certainty it would work. It still felt too long. What do I do? Pivot, and pivot hard. Instead of focusing on developing cybernetics, suit modules, and production, I could improve on this place ¨C my workshop and its defensive capabilities. Before Mirage had managed to find our last base of operations, Sam shared the daydream of turning that apartment complex into an impenetrable fortress. I had the capability to do just that, but it would destroy any hopes we have of lying low. We wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the building without our identities being compromised. Secret entrances would have to be built before I committed to the project if we wanted to keep our civilian identities separate, and even then I wasn¡¯t sure how secure I could make it. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. It wasn¡¯t like it hadn¡¯t been done before either. The Queen¡¯s Court headquarters was the casino, and it had built-in Mechatech defenses. Rudimentary and barebones, sure, but it was Gaea. It wasn¡¯t like she needed those defenses anyway. It was probably more for her subordinates'' safety. Pandora¡¯s headquarters were probably run out of a church of some kind. Lucy would know more about that, and I¡¯d be sure to ask her later. The point is, I could refurbish our hideout to be a fortress if I wanted. In fact, I wondered if it would be the better option, now that I had a better idea of what was really coming. Gambling on my upgraded laptop being able to break into Deadlocked¡¯s prototype wasn¡¯t something that appealed to me, especially when it concerned the safety of everyone around me. The hideout was the more reliable option, and if I did things right, the scrambler that Cyberspace had us install would shield us from Sweeper scanning until it was too late for us to be stopped. Still, I had to wonder¡­ how much was too much? If Ajax¡¯s war machines were any indication, what was coming would require Mechatech that was nothing short of legendary. ¡°¡ªridiculous, we¡¯re not going all the way down to Zachery Port while Ajax occupies the city,¡± Sam said heatedly. I blinked, realizing I had missed how we got to this point in the conversation. From the look on her face, it seemed like Liam had been the one to suggest it. ¡°Getting in and out of Bayside is going to be difficult enough for the average citizen. We don¡¯t need to go trawling around the country looking for clues as to what is going on.¡± ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t really want to go anywhere either,¡± Mia agreed, causing Liam to shrug disinterestedly. ¡°If something¡¯s going to happen here, I want to be around to protect my family.¡± ¡°I know I don¡¯t really count as part of your group, but leaving would probably be a bad idea,¡± Lucy said, showing clear signs of fatigue. It looked like all the stress from today was finally piling up. ¡°If Pandora is encroaching and, uh,¡± she paused, waving a hand at Francis. ¡°...testing the waters or whatever, then you guys need to be around to push back. The further their reach, the more people will fall under their umbrella. I don¡¯t just mean normal people like me either. New Supers will get caught as well.¡± Sam clicked her tongue in agreement. ¡°Can¡¯t have that, for sure,¡± Sam turned and looked at me, her brow raising. ¡°You okay there? I think we lost you for a bit.¡± ¡°I was thinking,¡± I replied softly, scanning the room. ¡°Considering what we should do.¡± ¡°We wait for The Mothership to leave,¡± Sam started, looking confident with her declaration. ¡°Then we handle Seraphim and her messed up freak of a boyfriend. After that, we figure out what we¡¯re going to do about this dinner date with Wildfire, then¡ª¡± she paused for dramatic effect. ¡°¡ªwe will discuss how we can actually capture a Walker without significant backlash. Get the small things out of the way first so we can focus on the bigger things.¡± ¡°And where in all this do we find time to look into Natasha?¡± Mia said, beating Liam to the punch. ¡°You guys keep saying you¡¯ll help, but the best lead we seem to have is all the way in Dubai.¡± ¡°Well, like you said, you don¡¯t want to leave and we have to be here. Not exactly in a position to be going to Dubai, are we?¡± Sam said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°Cyberspace said they were going to sort something out, so until then, it¡¯ll have to be on the backburner.¡± Liam said nothing, but it was clear he wasn¡¯t thrilled. ¡°Does that satisfy you?¡± It took a moment to realize that the question was directed at me. I thought for a moment, wondering if there was a better way to go about it. I looked back at my upgrading laptop one more time to consider more options. I hadn¡¯t yet shared with the rest of the team my intention to break into The ECU¡¯s storage facility at the top of the Citadel because, at face value, the suggestion was insane. However, with the right execution, I could make off like a bandit with invaluable tech at my disposal. It would benefit all of us in the long run. Why risk our lives going for an active Walker when I could secure an inactive one? Not only that but Sweepers and Hunters as well. The only question was whether or not we even had the time to put the plan into motion before another city-wide conflict broke out. ¡°I potentially have better a solution regarding Ajax¡¯s war machines. One that doesn¡¯t involve throwing ourselves into a fight that could potentially kill us.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Sam looked intrigued. ¡°Do tell.¡± So I did. I went through my half-concocted step-by-step plan to infiltrate the Citadel using Deadlocked¡¯s prototype as a Trojan Horse. Nothing about this plan was complicated in the slightest, and everyone followed along. I had discussed very briefly what this plan entailed with Cyberspace, and they saw the potential for it. However, obvious circumstances distracted me from sharing it with everyone else, until now. Step one: break into the prototype and remove whatever biological components there were so my power could properly interface with it. Step two: reprogram the security so that only I could access the prototype. Since The ECU worked with Deadlocked, they would undoubtedly have the tools to access her older technology, even if they weren¡¯t necessarily at the Bayside branch, I needed to make sure that they couldn¡¯t crack the prototype quickly. Step three: Madhouse would orchestrate a disturbance to draw The ECU¡¯s attention. I would place myself inside the prototype while someone ¨C preferably Alice ¨C would leave the prototype behind. The prototype would be collected and stored at the top of the Citadel. Step four: Once inside, I store whatever I can fit inside the prototype. Step five: Escape. On paper, it appeared simple, but it wasn¡¯t foolproof. With our attention split between several goals, it was hard for me to find the time to brainstorm with everyone else. There were holes and things I hadn¡¯t considered that Cyberspace had very bluntly pointed out. First and foremost, we had no clue about the security inside the storage room. I could be unknowingly walking into a literal death trap. Deadlocked helped build a lot of the recent evohuman prisons around the world. To assume there wouldn¡¯t be countermeasures was idiotic. Secondly, there was no exit strategy. As of now, I relied solely on chaos, panic, and overwhelming force. While there was merit to that, there were too many variables to consider. The ECU would throw everything they had at me if they saw me break out with Walkers, Sweepers, and Hunters at my command. They¡¯d spare no expense to bring me down. It wasn¡¯t just The ECU we had to consider either. With that amount of firepower at our disposal, there was every possibility we¡¯d become public enemy number one like Grim. Gaea might call another truce, and this time we would be the target. Cyberspace might be able to stop it. Emphasis on might. Chances are Gaia would see it as breaking their truce and would at the very least demand concessions. Ultimately, the less noise this operation made, the better. Unfortunately, unless The ECU had teleportation mechatech up there, the only way I could escape would be through brute force. So, for now, that meant this plan had no solid exit strategy. Not viable¡­ unless we actually intended to fight a full-scale conflict with the ability to win. I couldn¡¯t speak for everyone else, but even with stolen war machines at our disposal, I wasn¡¯t confident in a war on all fronts. I didn¡¯t want another full-scale war. Too many people were bound to get caught in the crossfire and killed. ¡°...Why?¡± Lucy asked. ¡°Why are you so insistent on stealing Ajax¡¯s tech? Don¡¯t you realize the kind of trouble you invite by doing that?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already got targets on our backs,¡± Liam jumped to my defense. ¡°We brought down Grim. It can¡¯t get any worse than that.¡± ¡°It can,¡± Lucy shot back with a low laugh. ¡°Oh, it can get so much worse. You start trying to mess with Ajax and you will invite an entire Space Station¡¯s worth of trouble to your door. Do you think he¡¯s just going to let you guys stroll off with his technology?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Cyberspace¡¯s voice made us all sit up. Lucy¡¯s face fell as Cyberspace began talking. ¡°I initially agreed with Maxis¡¯ idea because it presents a unique opportunity. I have never had the chance to openly dissect Ajax¡¯s technology, and the flaws I¡¯ve already exploited in his systems are rapidly patched. I have a vested interest in obtaining a complete machine,¡± Cyberspace explained. ¡°Maxis¡¯ power is also able to learn from interacting with said technology, and you all gain a powerful deterrent. Therefore, our interests are aligned and we are all set to benefit. Is that enough for you, Ms. Kim?¡± Lucy¡¯s expression hardened ¡°The damage this¡¯ll cause will be¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªCatastrophic if necessary precautions are not taken,¡± Cyberspace cut her off. ¡°I have faith that Samantha will utilize her strengths in this regard. There will consequences, but I¡¯m sure you will all do your part in ensuring any inevitable damage is minimized.¡± In other words, people were going to get hurt, and there was no way around that. It was a price Cyberspace was willing to pay. Sam leaned forward, hands pressed together tightly. ¡°Okay¡­ this has potential.¡± Lucy just groaned. ¡°We¡¯re talking about stealing unstable mechatech, and hijacking war machines created by the world¡¯s strongest Mechakinetic. Whether you guys do this subtly or not doesn¡¯t matter in the SLIGHTEST! There is no version of this where¡­ where you¡¯re not found out eventually, and the entire city doesn¡¯t get fucking glassed just to stop you!¡± ¡°Calm down,¡± Francis intoned. ¡°Annihilating a city the size of Bayside would require a cataclysmic event that threatens the rest of the world. This wouldn¡¯t even come close,¡± he slowly lifted a hand and removed his hat, rubbing his forehead in the process. Francis had always looked old, but right now he was ancient. ¡°The most likely scenario is what happened in Dubai. The ECU deems the city too dangerous to occupy and evacuates. Ajax would return in force and Bayside would be a warzone until every single one of us are either killed, captured, or escapes.¡± ¡°Potentially,¡± Sam agreed. ¡°There¡¯s no guarantees, but we¡¯re not trying to start a war here. Even if we could win, I don¡¯t want the city turned into another battleground.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Lucy said incredulously. ¡°Because from where I¡¯m standing, it sounds like that¡¯s exactly what you guys want. Consequences be damned.¡± ¡°None of us want that, if we did we could have just sat by and let Grim have his way,¡± Francis replied before Sam could get a word in. ¡°So long as there is a degree of restraint in the execution of this operation, Ajax and the ECU will respond with appropriate measures.¡± I heard what went unsaid loud and clear. What we stole would be used defensively, and a dialogue between our two factions would be opened. It was exactly what happened with Gaea when she formed The Queen¡¯s Court. ¡°How close were we?¡± Liam asked. Francis contemplated for a few seconds before he answered. ¡°The executives were considering the option around midnight. If you hadn¡¯t acted, I imagine the order would have been given by sunrise.¡± ¡°Wowie, look at that,¡± Liam said, completely void of enthusiasm. ¡°We¡¯re actually heroes.¡± ¡°Which is why this plan needs a proper exit strategy for it to be beneficial,¡± Francis continued. ¡°No one here benefits from having the city condemned.¡± ¡°I suppose if we give it some time, Sam could find a way ¨C let her work her Mentalist magic,¡± Liam gestured to where Sam was sitting. She gave a little wave. ¡°Not too keen on starting another fight myself but hey, if it gets Ajax and the ECU off our backs? I¡¯m all for it.¡± ¡°This is unreal. I can¡¯t believe¡ª¡± Lucy stopped and took a breath. ¡°Actually, I can. It¡¯s completely insane, but I can easily see my father organizing a similar heist if they had the resources you do,¡± she shook her head, clearly dismayed. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t even bat an eye at the casualties.¡± ¡°Could we win?¡± My head turned with complete shock upon hearing where that question had come from. Mia stood, anxiously biting her thumb. Her gaze was fixed on Sam who appeared more stunned than the rest of us. ¡°If we did this,¡± Mia said again. ¡°If the worst happened, could we win?¡± Sam switched to Gold and sat quietly. Her fingers drummed against the armrests as she stared, unblinking, back at Mia. Liam looked like he was trying to find something to say. Lucy was just stuck speechless, much like me. Francis, on the other hand, was just as stoic as ever, perhaps a little sad. ¡°Enemies everywhere we look,¡± Gold started. ¡°An offensive on all fronts. There would be no room for errors.¡± Mia scowled. ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer my question.¡± Gold opened her mouth to reply, but Cyberspace beat her too it. ¡°Yes, Ms. Coleman,¡± Cyberspace declared with certainty. ¡°We would win.¡± Ignition Interlude - Domination All of this¡­ it was familiar. The roaring inferno consuming homes. The taste of smoke and ash filling the air. The desperate echoing cries of the dying. Domination was in Hell, and even as a frequent visitor, it never got easier. The flames had turned the streets into a nightmare, and there was no doubt that this event would cripple the city. She had long since lost count of how many conflicts she was involved with over her many years as an ECU Hero. Grim might have been the target of this war, but The Pandora Initiative had been unrelenting in their retaliation. Retribution¡­ She could already hear their sickening honeyed words twisting the ugly truth. They would stop at nothing to portray themselves as unfortunate victims turned valiant heroes, and it was all utter madness. ¡°All personnel be advised, Grim has been successfully captured and contained,¡± Overwatch relayed. It should have been a joyous occasion, but the consequences weighed heavy. ¡°Remaining Cain activity is dwindling. Uploading last known positions of Cain evos now.¡± Part of Domination¡¯s helmet lit up and displayed a small blue holographic map of Bayside. Red splotches were dotted where the largest battles had taken place. The residential areas were mostly spared, but that¡¯s where the good news ended. Much of the city''s infrastructure had been destroyed. Domination couldn¡¯t dwell on that now. Instead, she locked on to the closest yellow dot. It was tagged with ¡®Nemesis¡¯, and it seemed like she was the closest unit to respond. ¡°This is Domination, moving to Nemesis¡¯ last known position.¡± ¡°Detainment squad en route. ETA six minutes.¡± Overwatch replied. ¡°Now we¡¯re going on the offense?¡± Comet¡¯s bitter voice had Domination scowling. Looking over her shoulder revealed Comet floating inside her sparkling bubble, arms crossed. ¡°We¡¯ve been running around doing nothing while they wreck the city, and now because the big scary guy is gone they let us do something?!¡± ¡°You know how this works,¡± Domination intoned. ¡°Our job is search and rescue, protecting civilians is always the first priority,¡± she narrowed her eyes. ¡°Where is your head? You¡¯ve been bending the rules the whole night.¡± ¡°Yeah! Yeah I have!¡± Comet shot back. ¡°I¡¯ve had to sit back and watch the people in charge twiddle their fucking thumbs while Pandora¡¯s massacring anyone even remotely associated with The Cains! People are dying, Mom,¡± her bubble brightened as her power flared in unison with her temper. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be the heroes here, but all we¡¯re doing is standing around and watching!¡± Domination shook her head. Despite Comet¡¯s experience, she still lacked the perspective needed to see the bigger picture. Developing a counter strategy took time, and sending a unit to halt Pandora¡¯s onslaught would only result in more casualties. Comet was only commenting on what she could see, not what was actually happening. ¡°We are not standing by and watching.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Comet scoffed. ¡°Because it fucking feels like we are.¡± Domination took a moment to squash her growing frustration. Her daughter¡¯s fiery temper had always been a concern, but she always managed to channel it into passion for the job. It was valuable and made her stand out amongst her peers. Once she was old enough and graduated, there was a very real chance she would become the captain of Bayside¡¯s ECU branch. The problem was that she didn¡¯t take orders very well. Domination attributed it to age and maturity, but she couldn¡¯t deny she shared similar sentiments about how this operation was handled. ¡°The severity of this conflict demands that our primary focus be on minimizing civilian casualties. Every single one of us was tasked in removing citizens from the warpath Pandora was carving,¡± Domination explained carefully. ¡°I figured you would understand this. We¡¯ve saved many lives tonight, many of which would have been caught up in the line of fire if we had gone on the offense instead.¡± ¡°But¨Cbut¡ª!¡± Comet stumbled, trying to come up with the words to argue her point. Domination could have interjected there and shut her down, but she found it best to let Comet try and explain her viewpoint first ¨C or at least attempt to. ¡°¡ªIsn¡¯t offense the best kind of defense? We shut it all down before it has a chance to gain traction.¡± ¡°In some cases, yes,¡± Domination agreed. ¡°In this case, no. By the time we were aware of the situation, Pandora had already mobilized, it was too late.¡± There was a flash of something Domination recognized in Comet¡¯s eyes. Guilt. Her daughter knew something about the conflict and was refusing to share it. Domination knew the signs well. Her name ¨C the moniker ¡®Domination¡¯ ¨C had been something she assumed for over twenty years. In this line of work, it was impossible to have an immaculate record. Sometimes she had been forced to make split-second decisions which proved to be disastrous upon reflection. Every ECU hero had blood on their hands, and the amount only grew the longer they remained in this line of work. ¡°We¡­ we must¡¯ve missed something. Somebody should have¡ª¡± ¡°Abby,¡± Domination cut her off softly. Despite there being no separation between their hero and civilian identities, it was against protocol to refer to anyone by their real name during active duty. ¡°Something has happened, enough to unbalance you, and it¡¯s affecting your ability to think rationally. Please, go home and get some rest. We will speak before debriefing.¡± Stunned, Comet flinched back. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious! Now of all times?¡± ¡°Especially now,¡± Domination¡¯s response was controlled but full of authority. ¡°You¡¯re questioning every order and all that¡¯s going to do is get you killed. I may not agree with some of the decisions Director Oslin has made, but it¡¯s my duty to carry them out for the good of the people.¡± ¡°How is letting those two go beneficial for anyone?! You saw what they did,¡± Comet floated closer, her helmet peeling back to reveal a pleading expression. ¡°You know just as well as I do that taking down Grim is going to earn them just as much notoriety as Grim himself. Give it a week, a month at best and they¡¯ll be starting their own gang. We¡¯ve seen this shit before!¡± she threw her hands up in exasperation. ¡°We could¡¯ve taken ¡®em right then and there.¡± ¡°Now is not the time to be starting fights with independent¡ª¡± ¡°They¡¯re criminals¡ª!¡± ¡°THEY¡¯RE CHILDREN!¡± Domination snapped. ¡°Just like you, Abigail! Do not think I am not as horrified as you are from the events of tonight, but I am still under obligation to follow orders ¨C orders that I have to believe are in the best interests for the city and its people!¡± She took a moment to breathe. ¡°If I question the integrity of the people making the decisions, that opens the door to endless scrutiny. Infighting will start and the entire system will collapse in on itself.¡± Comet¡¯s dread slowly changed with every word. Domination watched her become more curious and conflicted. ¡°But¡­ no, that won¡¯t¨C it can¡¯t,¡± Comet denied. ¡°If it¡¯s that fragile, then something has to change.¡± ¡°It is, and it has, multiple times,¡± Domination revealed with a tired sigh. Her eyes glanced toward the end of the street. It wouldn¡¯t be long before the detainment squad arrived and she would need to be there to lead the charge. ¡°It is not the time or the place for this conversation. Either return home, or shape up. I need you with your head on straight. We have a lot to do and this city isn¡¯t going to fix itself.¡± Comet took her words to heart, doing her best to vanquish the uneasiness inside her. It only took a few moments, but she managed to straighten up and summon the remainder of her confidence. ¡°When I got my powers,¡± Comet started, eager to get the last word. ¡°You told me I could make a difference. I could stop bad things from happening, like what happened to Max¡¯s mom.¡± Thankfully, her face was covered and Comet couldn¡¯t see how the mention of Eleanor twisted Domination¡¯s gut into knots. ¡°I want to prove to him that we¡¯re not incompetent ¨C that we¡¯re actually what we preach we are, heroes.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve saved thousands of lives¡ª¡± ¡°But nothing ever changes,¡± Comet¡¯s argument came out as a hiss. She gestured to destruction all around them. A large chunk of the city was on fire, while another was flooded with seawater. ¡°We bust up bad guys, knock ¡®em down, and lock ¡®em up. Some manage to break out, but the ones we do get rid of just get fuckin¡¯ replaced by more!¡± ¡°It is the nature of Awakenings,¡± Domination replied neutrally. ¡°We know there¡¯ll be an increase in evohumans after events like this, but predicting who they will be is wholly impossible. What exactly are you trying to get at?¡± ¡°Grim¡¯s done for,¡± Comet stressed. ¡°We don¡¯t need to adhere to this stupid cease-fire. If we went after all of them, we could have this city cleaned up by the end of the week. The Cains don¡¯t have their leader anymore. Those Pandora bastards are hurting, and¡ª¡± ¡°And what? What about Gaea?¡± Domination¡¯s brow rose. ¡°You forget we have an agreement with Melody to stay out of her affairs. She has made it very clear that she does not tolerate ECU interference, and has been known to enforce her boundaries.¡± Her daughter struggled to swallow that. ¡°I understand tonight has been stressful, but you need to understand that we aren¡¯t strictly a law enforcement entity. We exist as a means to maintain order and balance. To upset the balance just results in escalation.¡± ¡°So maintain the status quo,¡± Comet sneered under her breath. ¡°That¡¯s all we do?¡± ¡°No,¡± Domination shook her head. ¡°I will explain why later. If we linger any longer, the detainment squad won¡¯t have my support.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Comet grumbled. Turning, Domination willed the metal platform she was standing on to move. She glided above the street with Comet trailing close behind. It was rather embarrassing, but the detainment squad arrived before she did. The armored transport pulled up outside a storage facility and opened its doors. Hatches on either side of the vehicle popped open along with the rear, and ECU soldiers flowed out. With practiced ease, they slid into formation and approached the building¡¯s main entrance. Their weapons were ready for any threat they may encounter inside. Domination landed behind the formation as the squad leader signaled out for her to hold. Comet descended slowly but did not land. Instead, she hovered by her mother¡¯s side. Each of them observed the building to try and spot anything unusual. Nothing stood out, and the building itself appeared vacant. ¡°Confirmation, heat signatures inside!¡± The captain announced. Quickly, he signaled to Domination. ¡°Breach!¡± Domination and Comet ripped the entrance apart and sent it flying. Debris flew backward, and gunfire erupted from inside. The enemy¡¯s bullets didn¡¯t reach very far once they left their guns. They were stopped mid-air as Domination strode forward. One by one, Cain gang members were lifted into the air, their weapons stripped from them. ECU soldiers streamed inside, effortlessly restraining the criminals Domination had captured. Dealing with gang members regardless of their allegiance was more annoying than anything. Domination¡¯s experience over the years showed that evohumans could take some punishment before they folded. The difficulty tended to vary depending on what kind of power they had. Rarely did Domination ever find an opponent she couldn¡¯t handle. She had near total control of the area around her and nothing physical could harm her unless she allowed it; so when a metallic javelin was launched at her from the shadows, she didn¡¯t even bat an eye. The moment it entered her sphere of dominance, the spear stopped. Domination turned, staring at the pointed metal intended to skewer her. Despite her absolute control, she could feel another force imposing its will on the object. It inched forward ever-so-slightly, which confirmed that the man they had come to capture was indeed present. ¡°Nemesis!¡± Domination called out. ¡°It¡¯s over. Grim has been contained. You are without a leader, and without hope. Give yourself up.¡± The entire building began to shake as various metals around the room began to float. The captain of the detainment squad immediately saw what was happening and ordered a retreat. ECU soldiers evacuated the building in seconds. A moment later, the only people standing were Domination, Comet, and Nemesis. ¡°You expect me to believe that?¡± His reply revealed his location, and Comet went straight on the offensive. ¡°Stay away!¡± Metal was launched at Comet with blinding speeds. She saw it coming and expanded the bubble to soak in the attack. The projectiles sunk into her bubble and slowed like they were moving through honey. With a snarl, Comet gathered them all up and used her power to blast them at Nemesis. He redirected them with ease but almost missed Domination¡¯s advance. He stumbled back into the shadows, trying to put distance between the two of them. He knew once she had him within her telekinetic sphere, it would be over. Retreat was his only option. It was a good thing Pandora¡¯s assault had only left him with a broken collarbone, and a fractured elbow. He could still run, but against Comet and Domination, he wouldn¡¯t get very far. Fortunately, he had an escape plan long before anyone came looking for him. Nemesis lifted a hand and pulled all the metallic building foundations to a single spot. The resulting action warped the main warehouse. The sound alone was enough to draw Domination and Comet¡¯s focus away from him. As the building collapsed, he shielded himself as best as he could with his power and fled in the ensuing chaos. Comet descended into her mother¡¯s telekinetic sphere to help her hold up the weight of the crumbling building. Her telekinetic ability was far stronger, but she lacked the fine control her mother had. Holding up a collapsing building was no easy task, but together they both made it look like a walk in the park. ¡°He¡¯s getting away!¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s not.¡± Domination flexed the extent of her telekinesis and pushed. Debris flew backward, steel rebar folding like paper as she sent wave after wave of telekinetic energy to carve out a tunnel through the wreckage. Comet wasn¡¯t about to float around and let her mother do all the work. Comet thrust her fist forward and the sparkling force took off, plowing through countless tons of debris. It took a few attempts but she was eventually able to help her mother carve a tunnel to freedom. Wasting no time, Comet flew ahead to catch up. Unfortunately, when she emerged from the rubble and into the air, she saw countless rows of smaller storage units and Nemesis was nowhere to be found. It had only taken them fifteen seconds to break out of the rubble, so he couldn¡¯t have gotten far. ¡°He¡¯s close!¡± Domination stepped out of the wreckage and surveyed the area. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the rows of storage units. Comet wouldn¡¯t have given it a second thought, but experience put Domination on edge. Using a storage facility as a safehouse only meant they had weapons stockpiled here. ¡°Overwatch, I need a tech sweep on my position now!¡± ¡°Sending,¡± Overwatch¡¯s reply was swift, and Domination saw one of the flickering lights in the sky zip over above them. ¡°Zero hotspots, suspected shielding active in the area. You¡¯ll need ground teams to proceed.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have that kind of time!¡± ¡°Then I suggest withdrawal. Your safety is paramount.¡± ¡°Screw withdrawing!¡± Comet snarled. ¡°We¡¯re fine. Whatever he¡¯s got won¡¯t be enough.¡± Comet zipped forward, and before Domination could call out to her, one of the storage units toward the end of the yard opened. Nemesis stepped out with a device in hand. To Domination¡¯s eyes, it shared a similar appearance to a regular modern sidearm, except for a few irregularities. Arcs of purple and red electricity crackled violently around the muzzle, contained only by three golden prongs that extended from the barrel. A transparent sphere was set at the center of the weapon, containing a bright light that shone like a blue supernova. She realized what it was before Nemesis had a chance to use it. His focus was locked on Comet. He raised his weapon and fired. Catherine¡¯s heart stopped. There was a buzz in the air before an arc of light tore through the air. It ripped through Abby¡¯s bubble and an ear-splitting boom echoed. Nemesis didn¡¯t get to see the fruits of his labor before Catherine had closed the distance to engulf him in her sphere and ripped him limb from limb. He was pulled in multiple directions, pieces of him arcing through the air and coating his surroundings in blood. Catherine didn¡¯t care in the slightest and was already racing toward where Abby was going to land, but thankfully, she managed to catch herself before she hit the ground. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡± Abby coughed. ¡°¡ªI think I¡¯m okay.¡± ¡°You were hit by a Tesla Cannon,¡± Catherine breathed. ¡°More of Masquerade and The Iron Maiden¡¯s imported mechatech. I should have known The Cains would have more lying around.¡± ¡°God¡­¡± Abby landed and almost buckled under her own weight. ¡°Woah, that¡¯s weird. That thing really messed me up.¡± ¡°If not for the armor, it would have torn a hole through you,¡± Catherine sighed in relief. ¡°Abby, I am no longer asking. This is an order: go home and rest. I will clean up here,¡± she paused, holding up a hand to silence the inevitable outburst. ¡°We will discuss your performance as soon as I am able, and what exactly is bothering you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been in this line of work since before you were born. I know that look, I¡¯ve felt it,¡± she placed a hand on her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ve taken a life.¡± Abby froze, and Catherine reassured her with a delicate touch. ¡°We will talk about it later. Go rest, that¡¯s an order.¡± ¡°I¡ª!¡± Abby stopped and looked away. ¡°Fine.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Taking off, she retreated into the sky. Catherine watched until her daughter¡¯s sparkling vapor trail vanished, before turning her attention back to the rows of storage units. Nemesis sat in a pile of blood, clinging to the remnants of his life. Through his mask, he glared as she approached. ¡°You could have prevented this,¡± Domination stopped in front of him, looking down. His only remaining limb clutched the Tesla Cannon tightly, but he no longer had the strength to use it. ¡°You brought this upon yourself.¡± Nemesis gurgled and smiled, revealing rows of bloody teeth. Domination¡¯s stern expression twisted into a frown as he struggled to form words. ¡°If I knew¡­ you would¡­ be¡­ coming,¡± he spat out more blood. ¡°I would¡¯ve¡­ had this on¡­ hand.¡± His wounds were fatal, and he would only last another minute. Too long. A single thought and his skull painted the ground. She stood, glaring at the corpse until the detainment squad captain walked up beside her and crushed the tesla cannon under his boot. ¡°Looks like his mechatech malfunctioned and killed him,¡± he said. ¡°What a shame, I would¡¯ve liked to interrogate him.¡± Domination said nothing.
¡°Max.¡± Catherine watched the boy pause at the door before looking over his shoulder. His expression was complicated, but she had seen it reflected in the eyes of many children before. Anticipating the worst because he had been called in for a meeting with an authority figure. Breaking and entering was a serious crime, but given the circumstances it was understandable. Regardless, ¡®understandable¡¯ in this instance would never hold up in a court. Given his age, it would garner pity points from a jury, but Catherine knew it would never get to that point. Given who had committed the crime, the victims of the crime, and what came afterward. The ECU would never share what they knew with the city, she doubted the city even cared enough to prosecute either. Still, she could never recall Max looking so¡­ stressed. Even Abby pointed out the fact that it had become a trend over the last few weeks. ¡°Before you leave, I¡¯d just like to put it out there that if you need to speak to me about anything, all you need to do is ask,¡± Catherine paused, trying to come up with the right words. She didn¡¯t want to scare him off, because that would cause more problems. ¡°I know I¡¯ve kept my distance when it comes to my daughter¡¯s friendships, but with everything that¡¯s happened, I feel as though I should be paying closer attention. I will make the time to lend an ear if you wish to speak in private.¡± Catherine saw the signs ¨C the tells that children had when they were overthinking things. In her experience, it could mean a number of things, and untimely Awakenings tended to make the list. When Abby confessed what they had been up to, she mentioned Maxis Troy and his willingness to jump into danger with her. He had insisted on going to find Lucy, despite knowing he was walking into Pandora territory. No normal child would have done that, not one that didn¡¯t have a plan or backup going in. To his credit though, he did have Abby on his side. Maybe he thought himself safe regardless of what they faced. It was a possible conclusion, but one slightly out of character for Max. That wasn¡¯t how she remembered him. Catherine¡¯s brief interactions with him over the years led her to think of him as an attentive, empathetic boy with a good head on his shoulders. He was more mature than most for his age on account of having to take care of his crippled mother, but beyond that, she couldn¡¯t make any accurate guesses. She was too involved with work as Domination to be a part of her daughter¡¯s social life. She didn¡¯t want to force it either. Catherine had seen the results of that before and it never ended well. However, the boy she just spoke with felt distinctly different from the boy she remembered. He came off as guarded and cautious, which wasn¡¯t necessarily outlandish for a teenage boy, but those characteristics were an established pattern with those who were hiding an evohuman identity. Then again¡­ Max had just survived a traumatic event. If that was all Catherine had to go on, she would have dismissed her suspicions then and there, however, Abby shared something remarkably interesting with her after the lunch period. Information that Lucy shared brought a new light to the ¡®traumatic event.¡¯ Max¡¯s attacker had been an evohuman ¨C one that went by the name of Displacer. The moniker was known and fairly low priority on The ECU¡¯s database. His involvement with Pandora was linked so he was on file, but he was only responsible for petty crimes. Small things, and very irregularly. Displacer was a D-Class Cosmikinetic, capable of short-range teleportation. He could also teleport the people around him to wherever he decided in a small vicinity. Even with the combat training Pandora was sure to have given him, he was nothing a senior ECU hero like her couldn¡¯t handle. But a normal teenage boy? Absolutely not. Abby claimed Max got lucky and knocked him out ¨C his words, allegedly. While that could have happened, Displacer dying in the burning building didn¡¯t sit quite right with her. The building didn¡¯t catch fire for several minutes until after they¡¯d left, so Displacer should have regained consciousness far before then. Even confused, there was no way he couldn¡¯t have escaped with his power. So either Max had put him in a coma during their fight or killed him outright. Both were very unlikely events. Nothing about this felt like it fit and Catherine thought she knew why. Assuming Max was an evohuman fit much better, especially given his parentage. Awakening wasn¡¯t unlikely. However, without solid proof or an outright confession, she couldn¡¯t push him. Putting an evohuman of unknown strength into a corner was far too dangerous. Max¡¯s attention shifted and he glanced at his phone. She saw a split second of contemplation before he looked back at her and smiled. ¡°Thanks for the offer,¡± he replied. ¡°If anything comes to mind, I¡¯ll put the message through Abby.¡± It had been a shot in the dark, a last-ditch effort to see if she could pull anything out of him. ¡°I appreciate the consideration.¡± It was a cordial, neutral response, but it left Catherine feeling hollow. Her training and experience told her that Maxis Troy was an evohuman, and the grudge he¡¯d inherited from Eleanor meant he was unlikely to ever be an ally. Depending on how Abby finds out, it would leave her devastated, which left Catherine in a perilous position, one that no mother would ever want to find themselves in. Does she tell her daughter, or keep her in the dark? Until Catherine knew for certain, nothing good could come from sharing this information with Abby. She was already stressed enough about what had happened at Lucy¡¯s home. The therapy would help, as it did for Catherine many years ago, but she wasn¡¯t sure therapy could mend a deep wound like betrayal. Max left, allowing Catherine to return to her work. She closed off her communications with headquarters because of all the buzz around Ajax¡¯s arrival. There was too much noise, and that meant an endless stream of distractions for her. The paperwork in front of her wouldn¡¯t get done if she was stuck listening to everyone gushing about the new arrivals. She was tasked with caring for Minerva High, so that¡¯s what she was going to do. Not long after the final bell rang, Abby appeared at the door. She didn¡¯t announce her presence. The only reason Catherine knew was because of her power. The way Abby felt inside her sphere was distinct. ¡°Still busy?¡± Abby asked as the door opened. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like you¡¯ve made much of a dent in that paperwork.¡± ¡°I offered to take some work off the Headmaster¡¯s shoulders. I am starting to regret that decision,¡± Catherine replied, eyeing various slips of paper. ¡°In times like these, the handling of institutions like Minerva should be done by those qualified to ensure everyone¡¯s safety. That¡¯s not intended as offense to the Headmaster, but some things will be changing around here,¡± she eyed some more paperwork. ¡°Not all of it is school related.¡± ¡°You brought reports here?¡± ¡°A few, specifically involving The Queen¡¯s Court.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Abby¡¯s brow rose. ¡°What¡¯s going on with them?¡± ¡°New recruits, ones picked up in the wake of Grim¡¯s rampage,¡± Catherine sighed. ¡°It¡¯s come to our attention that Gaea may have managed to get her hands on a few victims that were subjected to Grim¡¯s experimentation. Him and his mystery biokinetic.¡± Abby¡¯s expression turned to shock and horror. ¡°But I thought we got everyone out of their stupid bunker with Ionizer¡¯s experimental teleportation tech. Are you saying they had more labs?¡± ¡°That would appear to be the case,¡± Catherine confirmed with a reluctant nod. ¡°Regardless, with Ajax here, we shouldn¡¯t have any issues preventing anyone from causing chaos. We¡¯ve needed this reprieve for a while now.¡± Abby scoffed. ¡°Tell me about it. We finally bring Grim down and now some smug bitch has replaced him with her knight in shining black and green armor,¡± her expression darkened with every word, and Catherine could see her powers involuntarily begin to activate. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we just let them go, especially with what we know about Upgrade. We had him dead to rights, and we¡¯re told to just ¡®let them go.¡¯ Yeah, let''s see how that works out when the guy¡¯s turning our city upside down in three months.¡± ¡°Seer¡¯s prediction may spell doom, but Mentalist predictions are not so clear cut,¡± Catherine sighed. ¡°Admittedly, you do have a point. Madhouse¡¯s existence is concerning.¡± ¡°Ajax will get ¡®em,¡± Abby said confidently. ¡°And I really wanna be there to see it happen.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve talked about holding grudges, Abby. It isn¡¯t healthy and it compromises your ability to make snap decisions,¡± Catherine lectured. ¡°You have to learn to let it go. Sometimes criminals are able to escape, the best you can do is¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªEnsure I do better next time, yeah-yeah I get it,¡± Abby crossed her arms and challenged her mother¡¯s stare. ¡°Just because I shouldn¡¯t, doesn¡¯t make it easy. I let them escape because prioritizing the civilian¡¯s safety took precedent. I just¡­ it rubs me raw. I could¡¯ve done both, but Ionizer was stressing me out. I already had so much on my mind because our training patrol for Prosperity was so far out of the way.¡± ¡°Ionizer was reprimanded. Believe me, nobody was happy to hear about his decision, least of all Sparrow.¡± ¡°Yeah I bet. Is he still replacing her as our leader or has that idea been flushed down the shitter?¡± ¡°In a manner of speaking¡­¡± Catherine paused to consider her words. The Ionizer situation had taken a backseat since his discovery of The Iron Maiden¡¯s involvement. It was a subject Director Oslin had yet to revisit. ¡°He was dismissed from that role.¡± ¡°So much for his transfer,¡± Abby snorted. ¡°Why don¡¯t you apply for it? You¡¯ve been helping Sparrow out with our training since I joined. You¡¯re basically second in command anyway.¡± ¡°Conflict of interest. Though, I imagine with what¡¯s happened recently, that concern could be set aside in favor of practicality,¡± Catherine replied, gathering her things. ¡°I¡¯m heading back home early. I suspect I¡¯ll be asked to meet with General Jessamine before the night is over and I would rather get that out of the way as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Chronos, huh?¡± Abby mused as they left the school premises. ¡°Have you ever met?¡± ¡°...Yes.¡± ¡°Oooooh, I know what tea sounds like,¡± Abby grinned. ¡°Come on, spill. I could do with a distraction. You¡¯ve always got some fun stories to share about these kinds of people.¡± ¡°Tea?¡± Catherine scowled. ¡°More slang I am unfamiliar with.¡± ¡°C¡¯mon Mom, you¡¯re not that old. What¡¯s she like?¡± The haunting memories came in droves as if Catherine only experienced them yesterday. The woman now in charge of ECU operations in New Elpis had a reputation many younger members were unfamiliar with. Ruthlessly efficient and lacking in the empathy department. The last time Catherine worked under General Jessamine was fourteen years ago, on an assignment in France. With the power bestowed to her by the United Nations, she issued sixteen Termination Directives to several high-profile evohumans. There had been outcry and protests, but ultimately every single one of them had been fulfilled. Catherine had been involved in half of those, several of which where she had dealt the killing blow. One of them had been a twelve-year-old boy. She still remembered the face he made when they arrived, full of terror. Paxton cried, even begged for forgiveness, all while orders were screamed at her over the radio to complete the mission. Once she returned to base, Chronos congratulated her on the successful assignment. ¡°Dedicated,¡± Catherine decided. ¡°Uncompromising.¡± ¡°Sounds exactly like what this city needs,¡± Abby replied. Catherine didn¡¯t have the heart to rebuke. Arriving back home, they found the Citadel blanketed by the shadow of Ajax¡¯s Mothership. Soldiers were actively patrolling the perimeter where the building¡¯s forcefield ended, and the delivery tubes attached to the exterior gave off a hum loud enough that she could feel it. Catherine and Abby had barely made it out of the front entrance¡¯s decontamination chamber before being accosted by one of the guards. ¡°Domination, we¡¯ve been trying to reach you for hours. What were you doing?¡± ¡°I switched off my communications,¡± Catherine replied bluntly. ¡°I was trying to get some desk work done and Ajax¡¯s arrival was impeding my progress.¡± ¡°Ah,¡± the soldier mumbled awkwardly. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to sound demanding. I¡¯ve been asked to pass on a message in case of your arrival here. General Jessamine has asked to see you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware.¡± ¡°You were already told?¡± ¡°No, I expected it,¡± she moved past the stunned soldier. ¡°Come with me, Abby.¡± ¡°Actually, Comet has a Rookies meeting with Sparrow,¡± the soldier interjected. He flinched when Catherine turned to glare at him. ¡°That¡­ was the second message I was asked to pass along.¡± ¡°Yeah that sounds about right,¡± Abby sighed. ¡°With Chronos and Ajax here, Sparrow is probably wanting to go over some stuff with us. We can¡­¡± she paused, meeting her mother¡¯s gaze. ¡°We can talk more about the ¡®Max¡¯ stuff later, right?¡± ¡°Later,¡± Catherine muttered under her breath. ¡°I will see you around dinner.¡± Abby strolled off in the opposite direction, leaving Catherine to her thoughts. Navigating the hallways, she found the elevator that would take her to Chronos¡¯ office. Even on the ride up, she couldn¡¯t help but feel anticipation building in her chest. From the moment it was announced, Catherine knew something bad was happening. When the earthquakes started, it didn¡¯t take a Mentalist¡¯s power to link the two things together. Catherine lingered when the elevator doors opened. Her eyes drifted to Director Oslin who stood amongst a litany of ECU office workers. He seemed to be giving a speech of some kind, and when their gazes met, he paused briefly. It was only for a second, so he didn¡¯t draw undue attention to her arrival. That second was all Catherine needed to realize how much was going to change around here. Stepping out, Catherine followed more hallways until she found herself outside the Director¡¯s office. It wasn¡¯t his anymore, and it wouldn¡¯t be for a while. Posted outside were two guards decked out in the most sophisticated power armor she had ever seen. They were built like tanks, six and a half feet goliaths that made her feel like she was standing next to Liberation. ¡°Domination,¡± one spoke, a voice so heavily synthesized that Catherine had to wonder if there was even a person in there. ¡°The General is waiting for you.¡± Without a word, Catherine opened the doors and walked through. Chronos was a slender woman with platinum blonde hair. She was dressed in a stark white power armor that covered her whole body up to her chin. It was similar to the armor Nanoforge made for ECU heroes nowadays, but Chronos¡¯ armor had been commissioned from Ajax. It was top-of-the-line, and much more sophisticated than what Nanoforge was capable of making. Brown eyes looked up from the desk and met Catherine¡¯s stare. ¡°You¡¯re late.¡± ¡°I was busy.¡± ¡°We¡¯re all busy,¡± Jessamine replied, crossing her arms. Catherine offered only silence as a reply. Jessamine let the silence linger for a moment before clearing her throat. ¡°You¡¯ve certainly grown since we last met.¡± ¡°Hopefully you mean figuratively, I haven¡¯t grown since I was nineteen,¡± Catherine said easily. ¡°In which case, I would hope so. With work like this, there is no shortage of troublesome situations.¡± ¡°Indeed. I can see you¡¯re no longer green.¡± ¡°Experience tends to have that effect.¡± Jessamine gave a slow nod. ¡°I¡¯ll cut to the issue at hand. I¡¯ve already informed your colleagues of the reason behind Ajax and I¡¯s presence here, though I suspect you already know why.¡± ¡°The earthquakes.¡± ¡°The one behind them,¡± Jessamine confirmed. ¡°Foresight shared a disturbing prediction over a month ago that involved a series of cascading events that lead to overwhelming global destabilization. Bayside has been identified as ground zero, but the root cause is still in debate. Foresight is unable to confirm if the one behind the earthquakes is the cause, the catalyst, or it¡¯s just a big coincidence.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unlike his predictions to be so muddied.¡± Catherine commented. Jessamine heaved a sigh. ¡°It seems that there are too many variables at play, so many that even Foresight cannot seem to follow a single future properly,¡± she explained. ¡°Regardless, it¡¯s all we have to go on, and so here we are.¡± ¡°Has Gaea been made aware?¡± ¡°I would be surprised if she hasn¡¯t. She and The Mountain communicate regularly, so I wager that they will be conducting their own investigation,¡± Jessamine paused as she flipped a page from an open file in front of her. ¡°I see here that a similar report was made a few weeks ago. Seer made a prediction involving the collapse of The Pandora Initiative, The Queen¡¯s Court, and this ECU branch.¡± ¡°Concerning Madhouse, yes.¡± Jessamine¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°I¡¯ve read their file. What is your opinion on them?¡± Catherine didn¡¯t need to think about her answer. ¡°Unruly children with too much power and far too much ego. Information about them is difficult to find and the quality of their equipment has had a sudden increase. Either they¡¯ve found themselves a sponsor, Upgrade has been downplaying his ability, or he has gained a sudden surge in power much like Gaea did,¡± Catherine mused, her thoughts drifting to a certain member of their group. ¡°Regardless, Seer¡¯s prediction made specific mention of Upgrade¡¯s involvement in the coming weeks.¡± ¡°The one with the tentative S-Class Mechakinetic rating. I saw the Cosmikinetic supplement to his file?¡± ¡°Based on our observations of his power during Grim¡¯s rampage,¡± Catherine clarified. ¡°Its mechanics are unknown ¨C some kind of touch-based transmutation with restorative properties. Our Mentalists are almost certain he is capable of improving any technology in a similar fashion, hence the name.¡± Jessamine let out a scoff of amusement. ¡°A termination directive on him would have every Mechakinetic on the planet in an uproar,¡± she chuckled mirthlessly. ¡°What is the decided upon solution for confrontation with Madhouse?¡± ¡°Did Sparrow not inform you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asking you.¡± Catherine scowled. That was just another way of saying that Jessamine hadn¡¯t bothered inquiring because she had only just read the file about Madhouse when she brought them up a few seconds ago. ¡°Non-aggression for first contact. We will try to negotiate with Mentalist support to uncover their motivations, but everything we know about them does not paint them as malicious and, if possible, recruitment is far preferable to capturing or killing them.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Jessamine drummed her fingers across the desk. ¡°I will be considering an alternative solution should negotiations break down.¡± Catherine¡¯s blood turned cold. She didn¡¯t even need to ask because she knew what was coming. ¡°We won¡¯t have time to deal with the antics of children with the incoming threats. Should they overstep, I will issue Termination Directives for Madhouse.¡± Catherine suppressed her urge to argue. ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame such power is placed within the hands of children, but such is the case nowadays,¡± General Jessamine lamented. Catherine noted a dramatic shift in the general¡¯s mood. ¡°Now, I¡¯d like to discuss something more¡­ private with you.¡± Catherine¡¯s brow rose. ¡°Concerning what?¡± General Jessamine placed both hands on the desk and leaned forward. Her expression became dark and ugly, which caused a hostile atmosphere to permeate the room. ¡°Why was I not made aware of Binary¡¯s dismissal?¡± Jessamine¡¯s demand was cold, devoid of any understanding. ¡°Not only was she a generational talent, but an evohuman unrivaled in their field. I was under the impression her reprimand was performative and that she was still working here under contract,¡± she paused, analyzing Catherine¡¯s impassive demeanor. ¡°I¡¯ve already spoken to Director Oslin. His answers were unsatisfactory, and frankly outrageous. You were closest to her, so I want to hear it from you.¡± An uncomfortable weight descended upon Catherine. It was like the Sword of Damocles had finally fallen. She had immersed herself in her work since the incident to try and forget, but she knew this day was coming. Why did General Jessamine not know? That in itself had implications that chilled Catherine to the bone. ¡°I have nothing to do with why that information was never passed on to you, so for that I have no answer,¡± Catherine started. ¡°As for why¡­ she was suspected to have aided Cyberspace in breaching our systems¡ª¡± ¡°Ridiculous,¡± Jessamine seethed. ¡°There is no evidence worthy of such an allegation on file. Under whose authority were these charges levied?¡± ¡°Director Brighton.¡± The name left a bitter taste on Catherine¡¯s tongue. ¡°Of course¡­ how convenient that she¡¯s dead,¡± Jessamine growled. ¡°This is problematic. I was hoping to recruit Binary¡¯s expertise. What is she doing now?¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, I don¡¯t believe that¡¯s wise.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t hold our organization in the highest regard. In fact, she is rather bitter about the dismissal, accusations, and the incident that followed.¡± ¡°Incident?¡± Catherine¡¯s eyes narrowed. She had to know, right? ¡°You may have heard of it. Seismic Shock?¡± Jessamine straightened up, disbelief written all over her face. ¡°Binary was involved? Why were the details of this incident kept so vague? I¡ª¡± Jessamine''s fist hit the desk as the realization struck like lightning. ¡°Director Brighton, that bitch¡­¡± ¡°I¡­ I had no idea,¡± Catherine shook her head. ¡°I thought the reports you and the rest of The ECU received would have been thorough.¡± ¡°Apparently not,¡± Jessamine rubbed the bridge of her nose. ¡°This is not the first time something like this has happened, and unfortunately I doubt it will be the last. However, Binary¡¯s disposition troubles me. Her skills are essential, and it seems The ECU has suffered without them. I intend to change that.¡± Catherine¡¯s breath hitched. ¡°Ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in no capacity to be making personal visits. Consider this your first assignment,¡± Jessamine said. ¡°I want Eleanor Troy back here under any circumstance, and I want it done yesterday.¡± Interception 1 Water droplets obscuring my vision had me mentally revising my helmet design. A vicious storm had arrived today, unleashing torrential rain upon Bayside. The area of the city that was flooded to disable Grim only two weeks prior had been healing, but now the damaged stormwater drains had overflowed, recreating the destruction in the streets. The storm made navigation difficult but enabled covert movement, making conditions to execute our plan ideal. After last night¡¯s discussion, we agreed the best course of action was to map the Walkers¡¯ patrol routes. Working around them would become all the easier once we could be sure of their locations at all times. However, the challenge now was to actually get that data, and that task was a daunting one. The Walkers themselves didn¡¯t have the most thorough scanning equipment, which meant observing them wasn¡¯t the problem. Unfortunately the same couldn¡¯t be said for the Sweepers. The information Cyberspace provided showed extensive surveillance hardware with the most mundane feature being three-sixty-degree cameras that were monitored at all angles simultaneously. The rest of the mechatech on board was far more advanced. Our scrambler in the new hideout was enough to shield us from those systems, but we weren¡¯t going to make any progress cowering indoors. We had to get our hands dirty, which meant going out past curfew. So, with all that information at our disposal, the question remained: How do we track these things without being discovered? Initially, Mia had suggested this was a task she could do with her statues. Given enough time to station them around the city she could map out where they tended to patrol. Her powers allowed her to remain undetected with very little risk on our end. We were content to stick with this strategy until Cyberspace came along and burst our bubble. Apparently, no single Walker was designated to patrol one area of the city on loop, their routes were altered several times a second to guard against mentalists, particularly precogs. They even sometimes took what appeared to be suboptimal routes, just so that there were a wider range of possible actions. At best we could get a probability space and have a rough idea on where any single Walker would be, but we wouldn¡¯t have an exact location. That was a risk we couldn¡¯t afford to take, not with how many of these war machines there were patrolling and how fucked we were if we got caught. We needed live updates transmitted directly with pinpoint accuracy. Mia¡¯s statues could only cover so much ground, and Bayside was a large city. She couldn¡¯t be watching every street at all times. This required more of a technical touch. The only member of Madhouse who could pull this off in a timely fashion with pinpoint accurate data, was me. Sam could probably predict them somewhat accurately in the short term, but Sweepers were sophisticated enough to track Pink¡¯s speed. It was too risky, so for once, Sam was forced to admit that this task wasn¡¯t something she could do better. With the level my tech was at now, I could move without being seen. The cloaking module concealed me almost completely, and with a Jericho Core MK V installed, I would be able to stay invisible for around six hours assuming I didn¡¯t use too many of my suit¡¯s other abilities. Given how much I was about to move around, I¡¯d likely be fine. Then there was the scrambler hiding our base ¨C a marvelous piece of mechatech. Francis had informed us when it was installed that it was commonplace for Cyberspace to implement this technology in all areas of operations ¨C hideouts, vehicles, weaponry ¨C to maintain their anonymity across the board. This meant Cyberspace had a supply of these scramblers, and since I was working with Cyberspace, I could get my hands on one to integrate. The only downside was that these scramblers were indiscriminate. They were powerful enough to render environments or single units completely invisible to Ajax¡¯s scanning tech, but that also meant traditional communication and data transmission would be extraordinarily difficult while it was active. This would have been a problem¡­ If I wasn¡¯t already connected to Cyberspace¡¯s network. There was a heavily suppressed means of communication buried within the hardware of the scramblers. It let Cyberspace and all those in their employ talk to each other while out in the field. However, it was a fragile connection only to be used sparingly. It bothered me, because that wasn¡¯t how networks worked at all, but things tended to change when powers got involved. Gold suspected that the scramblers achieved this by creating an entirely new frequency that transmitted data through a separate dimension. It was such an outlandish claim it compelled me to investigate the tech before I integrated it. My power found some kind of transmission function, but nothing about it implied it was capable of doing that. Cyberspace found our confusion amusing. I just found it aggravating. ¡°This is considerably brave. You are aware what will happen should you be discovered?¡± Cyberspace¡¯s hesitance rang in my ears as I wiped more water off my visor. ¡°I find your insistence on performing these tasks puzzling. Mechakinetics tend to be adverse to field work, but I cannot deny that you are the only one suited for this job.¡± Their words bounced around inside my skull. Cyberspace wasn¡¯t exactly thrilled with the idea of this whole operation because they knew how much of an asset I was behind a workbench. Putting myself on the front lines was undesirable, since my unique Mechakinetic abilities were exceptionally valuable. While I could understand Cyberspace¡¯s point of view, there was a spark within me I couldn¡¯t ignore. I felt it when I went out with Alice the first time, when we rescued Mia, and when we made our push against Grim. It was thrilling, and I felt empowered. ¡°I like getting a chance to stretch my legs,¡± I replied, poking my head out the alleyway I was crouched in. ¡°What¡¯s the point in sitting in my workshop all day working on tech if I don¡¯t even get to use it? Did you think I would just lounge about in our new hideout, touch a couple of things to upgrade them, and then sit around the rest of the day?¡± ¡°I considered that a possible outcome.¡± ¡°Then you don¡¯t know me as well as you think you do,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m thankful I¡¯ve had time to work on the projects I wanted, and for all the advances I¡¯ve made with your support, but I can¡¯t just ignore what I¡¯ve managed to accomplish by taking action with my team. It may not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but it feels like a lot to me.¡± ¡°Being the architects of Grim¡¯s downfall is no small feat. Madhouse is already a name that¡¯s managed to acquire global intrigue. Despite my efforts to suppress the flow of information, I¡¯ve noted whispers in the United States and China,¡± Cyberspace¡¯s wry tone caused me to scowl. ¡°Take care not to fly too high too fast, Upgrade. You may come to regret it if you do.¡± ¡°You think I¡¯m flying high now? I haven¡¯t even integrated that into my suit yet. Still deciding on anti-grav, or regular jets.¡± ¡°Funny,¡± Cyberspace remarked, void of amusement. ¡°I simply wish to advise. Life tends to be cut short when ego remains unchecked. I hope your encounters with Grim, Gaea, and Mirage have been enough to curb your ego.¡± ¡°Ego?¡± ¡°¡®Pride comes before the fall.¡¯ You may have realized the exponential potential of your power, but understand that our partnership requires you to play by my rules. I will not allow you to get yourself killed because you want an adrenaline rush.¡± I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. Cyberspace was starting to sound more like a disgruntled guardian than a world spanning criminal mastermind. ¡°If you were really against me doing this, you would have said so from the start. We all agreed this would give us the best outcome. Pink¡¯s speed can be tracked, Anomaly doesn¡¯t know how to use my tech, and neither does Vigil. I¡¯m the only one that can do this.¡± ¡°You¡¯re misinterpreting my words. I was merely stating an observable fact. You ¨C unlike many mechakinetics ¨C are not afraid to walk into danger. It is a characteristic I find most¡­ puzzling,¡± Cyberspace explained. ¡°I bring up ego as a possible explanation for this bravery because I think categorizing it as stupidity would do you a disservice. Should ego be the cause, I advise you to keep it in check.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have an ego.¡± ¡°Many who do, claim they do not.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± I repeated. ¡°I made this suit for a reason. Hiding isn¡¯t a reliable strategy.¡± ¡°I am curious. What would you have done had your path not crossed with Alice? If The Cains had never intervened and forced your hand? Would you have continued the way you were, clawing at every opportunity to make money in the hopes your mother wouldn¡¯t ask questions? Biokinetic treatment is expensive¡­ millions assuming you went through legal channels¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had this conversation with Alice, so forgive me if I¡¯m not eager to repeat it,¡± I crossed my arms, keeping my focus on the street. There would be a Walker with a pack of Sweepers entering any minute now. All I had to do was wait. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I would¡¯ve done. It was a half-baked idea I somehow managed to convince myself would work. It¡¯s a stupid conversation to have anyway, because you¡¯ve known about me from the start. If I hadn¡¯t met Alice, you would have snatched me up and I¡¯d be in the same position as I am now.¡± ¡°No, the arrangements would be very different.¡± Their words made my skin crawl. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Exactly, so why are you asking?¡± ¡°Discerning your motivations. I know of your distaste for The ECU, but it isn¡¯t strong enough that you would have used your power to combat them. You value your friendship with Comet too much to have done that. You¡¯re relatively moral, no less than the average person in any case. You want to watch out for the average citizen when it does not inconvenience you too much, yet you have no desire to chase heroism like many the ECU manage to brainwash. On the other side of the coin, you are empathetic enough to not want to use your power to make life for those around you difficult,¡± Cyberspace paused for a moment, letting their conclusions hang in the air. ¡°Your sole motivation lies with your mother. You want to make her life easier, and anything beyond that sparks no passion.¡± It was true that my desire to help my mother started all this, but I couldn¡¯t lie and say it was my sole motivation anymore. ¡°That may have been the case to begin with, but things have changed. I wouldn¡¯t be out here doing this if all I wanted was to help my mom out. I would¡¯ve sent a drone to do this if it wasn¡¯t for this weather.¡± ¡°I suspected as much,¡± I felt like I heard pride in Cyberspace¡¯s voice. ¡°I would be concerned if that¡¯s all that drove you.¡± They probably thought they were so clever for figuring out I had more than one motive. It wasn¡¯t like I bothered to hide my desire to help Liam find his sister, or to help Sam find a place she didn¡¯t need to run from. Hell, learning about Mia¡¯s family had me wanting to help them out too. There was Lucy¡¯s situation with Pandora to consider as well, along with Abby¡¯s trauma. There was a lot I needed to address. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, I don¡¯t see how that¡¯s any of your business.¡± ¡°An employer should be aware and supportive of their subordinates'' goals. Do you think I got to where I am today by blackmailing, extorting, and abusing everyone in my service?¡± The ground beneath my feet rumbled with each step of the incoming Walker. It slinked into the street, the main body hanging low as a half dozen Sweepers hovered all around it. If there was a time to activate the integrated scrambler in my suit, it was now. ¡°The thought had crossed my mind,¡± I said. ¡°Patrol is here. Switching now.¡± I activated the scrambler and my regular line of communication went dead. It only took me a second to switch to Cyberspace¡¯s special network. Each thundering step brought the Walker closer. Despite the scramblers being proven to work, I felt shivers up my spine. My suit¡¯s feedback said the scrambler was operating at full capacity, yet, I still felt anxiety clutching my chest and my palms starting to sweat. I stepped back a few paces, sinking further into the alleyway¡¯s darkness. It was the one aspect I had over Alice, Anomaly, and Vigil. Even though the latter had the ability to blend into the environment and hide in plain sight, I now had the ability to vanish entirely. A line of symbols appeared on my display, a heavily encoded message from Cyberspace. Slowly, each letter automatically decoded into a simple message. ¡°Proceed with caution. Alice and Anomaly are on standby for backup.¡± Activating my cloaking module, I disappeared. I watched the first Sweeper pass. Then a second. A third and a fourth went by without incident, and finally the Walker crawled past. I released a breath and moved forward, my eyes locking on the passing war machines. Now, it was finally time to see if our hypothesis would have any merit. I began moving through the various streets of Bayside, placing seismic recorders in various spots. They were small and inconspicuous enough that Ajax¡¯s Sweepers either wouldn¡¯t pick up on them, or deem them irrelevant. With this, we would be able to accurately track where every single Walker in the city was at all times, just as long as I tuned them properly. Half an hour later, the digital map I had of the city was recording sizable movements in the blocks I had already been through. None of them were disappearing either, which meant the Sweepers weren¡¯t removing them. Whether or not that would last? Only time would tell. Eighty-nine percent power remaining. I should be done before I need to switch cloaking off. Still, better than it was before. Cloaking was by far the biggest drain on my suit¡¯s power, but as long as I kept an eye on consumption, I wouldn¡¯t run into any trouble. The darkness of night as well as torrential rain also helped conceal me, lessening my worries about being caught. I headed to my next location, taking immense care to be aware of my surroundings. I moved through buildings to ensure I didn¡¯t draw any unwanted attention. Rooftops were faster but risker, as Overwatch was known to be able to spot even the smallest detail out of place, so I stuck to low ground. I was in and out, weaving through streets to place seismic recorders in every spot Alice tagged on my map. We needed the widest coverage possible to ensure the data we collected was accurate. An hour passed before things took a complicated turn. I was now approaching the Citadel, so I needed to be extra cautious. Alice had made sure to warn me about the streets closer to the Citadel. Even though Ajax¡¯s war machines would be out, so would regular hero patrols. I was equipped to shield myself from sophisticated machines, but not necessarily the senses of supers. If I unwittingly walked into Domination¡¯s sphere, I¡¯d be caught in an instant with no hope of escape. Sparrow apparently would be able to discern me through my camouflage, and Lich had a minor Mentalist capability allowing him to sense any life in the area around him. Even if I didn¡¯t run into any of them, Overwatch could likely still pick me out. The Citadel was perilous to maneuver around, but the severity was solely dependent on who was out patrolling tonight and whether or not I would run into them. Still, every Walker returned here, so recorders in this area were paramount. My questions were answered when I quietly stepped through the fire exit of an apartment complex. I came out onto a metal balcony and paused when I saw Dreamweaver standing in front of two Rookies down in the cover of a dark alleyway. One of them stood taller than the other two, and I recognized this one as Copycat. He had a slim athletic build, and he was decked out in a purplish black variant of Nanoforge¡¯s armor. His features were concealed by the same helmet Abby had when her armor was fully deployed, except this one had feline-like designs to match his name. The other was Prosperity. The first thing that came to mind was how it was a strange coincidence that she was present for the only two patrols I had come across so far. The second was how I was going to place a seismic recorder there without them realizing. I decided to wait them out, if I moved now there was too much of a risk that they¡¯d see my silhouette in the rain, and if they were patrolling then chances are they¡¯d move on soon anyway. As it was, they were just standing around talking ¨C or maybe Dreamweaver was coaching them. ¡°Something wrong?¡± I heard Dreamweaver ask. Her and Copycat were staring at Prosperity, who was looking around with a frown on her face. ¡°I thought I heard a door open.¡± ¡°We¡¯re next to an apartment,¡± Copycat¡¯s voice came out with a drawl like he couldn¡¯t be bothered to be here. He had that same exasperated bitterness I heard in Liam sometimes, except he was clearly older. ¡°People will be opening and closing their doors all the time.¡± ¡°If you''re sure,¡± Prosperity replied, uncertain. I couldn¡¯t exactly see Copycat from where I was standing, but I caught a glimpse of his shoulders shrugging. ¡°With Ajax¡¯s stuff walking around and rain this hard, I doubt anyone¡¯s going to be trying anything tonight. It¡¯s kinda pointless to bother with this, nothing is going to happen.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about whether or not something will happen. It¡¯s about setting a precedent and allowing Prosperity the chance to learn how we do things properly,¡± Dreamweaver lectured calmly. ¡°Given everything that¡¯s happened recently, she needs to learn how to operate as a team. Your first time out wasn¡¯t the best example of what to expect.¡± ¡°Ahaha,¡± Prosperity¡¯s laugh sounded forced. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± ¡°Ionizer compromised your and Comet¡¯s safety. How that route was approved is beyond me.¡± ¡°Who cares, it¡¯s not like the guy is going to be leading us after that stunt, so they¡¯re going to have to find another replacement for Sparrow,¡± Copycat sighed. ¡°Who do you think it¡¯ll be? Will you put your name forward, maybe Lich?¡± Dreamweaver laughed. ¡°Oh, absolutely not. I¡¯m not much of a leader, and Lich is¡ª¡± The area was suddenly hit with a powerful gust of wind, and the door I had come through blew shut behind me. The sound boomed, cutting through the torrential downpour. Copycat and Dreamweaver didn¡¯t seem to notice, but Prosperity¡¯s ears twitched. Craning her head, she looked directly up at me. I stared back at the rookie Morpher. I felt like fate was mocking me. Should I move, or stay still? Prosperity¡¯s head tilted, and the senior hero took notice. ¡°Do you see something?¡± Dreamweaver turned and looked up, following Prosperity¡¯s gaze. Copycat followed suit, and I did my best to mimic Vigil¡¯s power. Soon enough, I had all three heroes staring right at me. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything,¡± Copycat said. ¡°Probably just the wind. With how much damage the city took, I¡¯m not surprised if something came loose.¡± Dreamweaver didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°I don¡¯t recall anything about this area taking much damage. We should investigate. There¡¯s no harm in checking.¡± Copycat sighed in annoyance. ¡°Come on, seriously?¡± ¡°I¡­ think we should too,¡± Prosperity said, pointing directly at me. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s this helmet, but I swear I can see something there. It¡¯s weird, I don¡¯t know how to explain it. The rain¡¯s all¡­ glittery? I think my armor isn¡¯t tuned to the night vision my power gives me. I feel like I¡¯ve been seeing things all night.¡± ¡°Glittery?¡± Copycat repeated, confused. He looked up again at me, and I decided as soon as they looked away I was making a break for it. ¡°I don¡¯t see it. They must¡¯ve screwed up your tuning.¡± The second they weren¡¯t looking, I was ready to grapple to the next building over. I just had to wait for the right moment. ¡°It¡¯s right there,¡± Prosperity said again. ¡°Am I just seeing things? I can¡¯t be, right?¡± ¡°Where?¡± Dreamweaver asked, trying to line up her sight with where the junior hero was pointing. ¡°No¨C wait, I think I see it too.¡± ¡°That?¡± Copycat crossed his arms, unconvinced. ¡°It¡¯s probably just a reflection. Look, the lights in the apartment next to it are on.¡± He was already turning around to walk away. ¡°Can we stop looking at things that aren¡¯t there and get on with this patrol? I don¡¯t know about you guys, but I¡¯m not a fan of standing in the rain.¡± ¡°No, the shape is all weird,¡± Prosperity insisted. My heart stopped when she bent down and picked up a small stone. She tossed it at me, missing my head by an inch. ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe it¡¯s nothing.¡± Dreamweaver stepped forward. ¡°Allow me.¡± Strings of light suddenly streamed out of Dreamweaver¡¯s extended palm, twisting and forming into a small squirrel-like entity that looked like it was made of neon wires. It moved with blinding speed, climbing the fire escape until it perched on the railing next to me. Then, it promptly jumped on my head. Well, there goes my escape window. Hard way it is. I grabbed the spectral critter tapping the top of my helmet and crushed it before fleeing back into the building. If I was smart about this, I would be able to easily lose them. If I wasn¡¯t, well, I was sure I could deal with those three before things got spicy. There was no need to panic. I felt a smile form on my lips. I had this completely under control. Interception 2 Nothing can top Grim. I repeated that over and over in my head as I retreated into the apartment complex. I kept an eye on the fire exit and slowed my movements the moment my pursuers gave chase. Copycat was first, vaulting over the railing and rolling into the hallway with enough grace to make him look like he was skating on thin air. Prosperity was close behind, already transformed and sniffing the air. ¡°Okay newbie, just follow my lead,¡± Copycat said. ¡°Don¡¯t split up. We just need to take this slow so we don¡¯t get caught off-guard. Dreamweaver is getting the exits as well, worse comes to worst we stall until backup is here.¡± Prosperity replied with an acknowledging low grumble. The hallway wasn¡¯t big enough for me to slip by them, and I wasn¡¯t willing to risk it when Prosperity likely had canine senses. I didn¡¯t have anything that masked my scent. I needed a distraction of some kind. I was already mostly invisible so all I needed was to mix in a little bit of chaos and I could easily slip right through. Simple enough. I pinged all the electronics in the building, switched them on, dialed their volume all the way to the limit, and blasted as much noise as I could. It was probably the most villainous thing I had ever done. Noise cascaded through the building, and Prosperity tried to cover her ears with her paws. Copycat wasn¡¯t a fan either, but it bothered him far less. In fact, the overabundance of noise forced Prosperity to shift back to her human form. ¡°I think I know who this is!¡± Prosperity shouted over the noise. Copycat gave her a look while I just tilted my head. Did she remember my scent from last time? ¡°Comet said Upgrade did the same thing to her on my first patrol.¡± I frowned. It was the same tactic, but giving myself away hadn¡¯t been the intention. Not that it mattered, I still had the advantage of my camouflage and all the other tools at my disposal. There was still no need to panic. I was the one in control here. ¡°You think this is Madhouse? Last I checked, they didn¡¯t have invisibility,¡± Copycat said, and I could have sworn I saw the gears turning in his head from behind his helmet. ¡°Then again, the guy is apparently an S-rank Mechakinetic. I wouldn¡¯t put it past him to make something that can make invisibility.¡± S-rank? Do they think I¡¯m an S-rank?! I couldn¡¯t believe what I was hearing. ¡°What do we do?¡± Prosperity asked. ¡°Nothing¡¯s changed,¡± Copycat replied. ¡°We flush whoever this is out, and Dreamweaver will get him if he tries to escape. Plus, we¡¯ve got Sweepers inbound with a Walker. Give it a couple of minutes and they¡¯ll be eating concrete.¡± I found it rather endearing how confident they were. Doors started opening throughout the corridor and the residents began poking their heads out to try and make sense of what was going on. I was lucky enough that an old man shuffled out of a door behind me, adjusting his glasses. I slipped past him and into his apartment before Copycat could begin to explain. I found the nearest window and looked out. The Sweepers were already arriving but I was more interested in the strange web-like thread that stretched across the windows. I was inspecting it when one of Dreamweaver¡¯s creations skittered across the window leaving a sparkling thread behind. Interesting¡­ I didn¡¯t panic. It was easy enough to keep my cool as I considered my options. For all intents and purposes, they had me boxed in with their little impromptu quarantine. It was an impressive display, and from what Alice had shared, Dreamweaver¡¯s webbing was problematic to get through. Now, all I had to do was figure out a way to escape without anyone noticing. So, what were my options? Any exit would be webbed up soon. I could try cutting my way through, but that would almost certainly alert Dreamweaver and they would converge on me like vultures. Not ideal, but I would be able to deal with it if push came to shove. Another option was playing the long game, hiding in the building until they believed I had escaped somehow. The Sweepers wouldn¡¯t be able to detect me, so that meant just avoiding Copycat and Prosperity as they searched. While the safe option, it would use up a lot of my suit¡¯s power and I wouldn¡¯t be able to finish my mission tonight. Third, I could go on the attack. Dropping all pretenses of hiding and actively hunting Copycat and Prosperity. I¡¯m confident I could take them in a fight, probably before Ajax¡¯s backup arrived as well. The problem with that is I¡¯d be pissing off the ECU and straining the relationship between our groups even further. I pursed my lips as I turned away from the window to see Prosperity creeping through the door of the apartment. She was tentatively scanning the room for anything out of place and sniffing at the air. She was following my scent, even when she wasn¡¯t transformed. Not like it was unheard of though, Liam could still use aspects of his power when he wasn¡¯t fully morphed. He still interpreted sound better than anyone else could and he was surprisingly good at reading lips. To my surprise, she closed the door behind her. ¡°I know you¡¯re in here.¡± I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms. Copycat wasn¡¯t following her, so either she had received new orders in the last sixty seconds, or she was breaking off to try and confront me all by herself again. It wasn¡¯t going to end well for her. My suit was better now and her fire would struggle to do any damage quickly. I was lighter on my feet too, and more sure of my close combat skills than ever. I knew I was still lacking in that department, but practicing with Sam had taught me a few things. ¡°It¡¯s you, right? Upgrade. The guy that¡­ the one I met before.¡± I tracked every nervous step she took. Prosperity was wide open and I counted a half dozen different ways I could disable her. Still, I said nothing. I wasn¡¯t stupid enough to give away my position. If I was right and she was following my scent, then chances were she had heightened hearing as well. Those pointed ears she had on top weren¡¯t just for show. ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s you or not, but I¡¯ve got something to say,¡± She turned and looked over her shoulder, a grunt escaping her throat. ¡°So I¡¯d really appreciate it if you just¡­ lowered the noise for a moment. It hurts.¡± An interesting tactic. Abby had asked nicely, though it had been layered in tired sarcasm. Prosperity seemed genuine, and she had that air about her that seemed to indicate that she was far too kind for her own good. It was a quality that would get her killed, even as an ECU Rookie. Still, I needed a bit more than a please to convince me to lower the volume. ¡°Damn it! You saved that girl from Grim, I think you want to help people, just like us,¡± She paused and scanned the room again. ¡°You almost crippled me with that laser, so the least you could do is hear me out!¡± I made a calculated decision, one I was confident would work out given my judgment of her character. I started recording with the camera inside my helmet, and I lowered the volume in the room. The rest of the apartment complex was a cacophony of noise, but Prosperity eased up. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m not going to ask why you do what you do. I doubt you¡¯d give me an answer, but¡­ you at least don¡¯t want people to get hurt. That¡¯s my take,¡± she started pacing around the room, and I could see in her body language that she wasn¡¯t searching anymore. She was riddled with anxiety. ¡°You saved that girl from Grim, and you guys stood up to him when it mattered most. Without Madhouse, there wouldn¡¯t even be a city left for us to save.¡± Praise¡­ that was unexpected. She was probably stalling, but her armor wasn¡¯t transmitting any information. In fact, her communications had been switched off. I found it curious that a Rookie would even be allowed to do that. They should be packed full of training wheel programs to stop them from doing anything that would jeopardize their safety. Kind of like this. ¡°I just want to understand why¡­ whatever you¡¯re doing, you¡¯ve got to know where it''s going.¡± They couldn¡¯t know what I was doing now so she had to be referring to something else. That meant The ECU had information on me I wasn¡¯t aware of. It piqued my curiosity; did their Mentalists predict my desires to capture and reprogram a Walker for Madhouse? What about my plan to break into their storage? How much did they actually know? Prosperity was part of the Rookies so it was likely crucial details were being withheld from her, but it was clearly serious enough that they were at least informed something was going to happen. Something that involved me. The ECU had hundreds of support Mentalists, but ones capable of precognition were exceedingly rare. Foresight had been the first Mentalist to Awaken with it, but he wasn¡¯t the last. Given what Abby had revealed to me over the years, the only one that fit the bill was Seer. I wasn¡¯t certain how his powers worked, but Abby claimed he could simulate potential futures. It wasn¡¯t hard to put two and two together. Seer had simulated a future about me, and it wasn¡¯t one that ended well. Or maybe it was all just bullshit and I was about to step into the most obvious trap of all time. My gut was telling me that I was. It didn¡¯t make sense for Prosperity''s armor to not be transmitting any data. She didn¡¯t seem like she had the know-how to play around with Nanoforge¡¯s armor, nor did she seem confident enough to disobey Copycat. Was there any merit to what she was saying? The best lies were the ones that weaved in truths. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Ionizer said she was a bad liar. This wasn¡¯t adding up. ¡°Eradicating the ¡®competition¡¯ is only going to end in Bayside¡¯s destruction.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what this is about.¡± Prosperity spun to face me, but I kept my cool. My camouflage was still active so it wasn¡¯t like she could see me. ¡°You guys think I¡¯m going to destroy the city? Please. I live here, it¡¯s where all my stuff is. I¡¯m not interested in waging war against The ECU.¡± ¡°Yeah I¡¯ve heard this before.¡± ¡°I figured you would have, Copycat.¡± Prosperity straightened up and crossed her arms. ¡°Now that¡¯s interesting. What gave me away?¡± I laughed. ¡°You¡¯re a good liar, but Prosperity''s not.¡± ¡°Oh well, what I said still stands. You should probably think it over before we capture you. I give it two, maybe three minutes,¡± Copycat said. ¡°You could just give up. Trust me, it''s much less painful.¡± ¡°Speaking from experience?¡± Copycat was slowly figuring out my position in the room and he would pounce at any moment. ¡°It¡¯s strange you guys think I¡¯m going to destroy the city. As long as you don¡¯t give me any reasons to come after The ECU, I¡¯m not going to start anything.¡± ¡°So what do you call this?¡± Copycat chuckled. ¡°Come on, I know what you¡¯re up to. I¡¯ve been part of the game before.¡± ¡°Evidently, you¡¯re a shit player.¡± Copycat chuckled and lunged. Out of all the rookies, Copycat was the one I was most cautious about. His powers were simple enough to understand on the surface, but they had a multitude of hidden functions. As his namesake suggested, he was able to mimic Prosperity right down to her looks. He could replicate what she was wearing, and even her powers. However, what really made him dangerous was revealed with the information Cyberspace provided. Apparently, his copying did more than just mimic. If he held on for long enough, he could literally become you, memories and all. Sam made a point to stay out of close quarters with Copycat because one wrong move could expose our involvement with Cyberspace. Copycat changed midair, taking Prosperity¡¯s Morpher form, and I stepped to the side just in time to dodge the swipe from a pair of nasty-looking claws. I could hear the Sweepers getting closer, if I was fighting when they arrived then I was screwed. My camouflage could only do so much when they could narrow down my position to a room. In one swift motion, I extended my blade and plunged it into the closest wall to act as an anchor. I touched the wall and the building unveiled itself in my mind. I isolated the wooden floor beneath me and I spent a charge to change it from pine to oak planks. The apartment¡¯s floor suddenly became liquid, and I watched all of the furniture ¨C along with Copycat ¨C plummet through the upgrading floor. The moment it became solid again, I retracted the blade back into its sheath and bolted out the door. I burst into the hallway and a crowd of confused-looking people turned away from the real Prosperity who looked incredibly flustered. It only took her half a second to remember that she was an ECU hero and jumped into action. Pushing her way to the front of the crowd, blue flames erupted in her hands. ¡°You!¡± she aimed the fire directly at me, despite not being able to properly see me. ¡°Come any closer I will burn you to a crisp!¡± I dashed into another open apartment, looking for the closest bathroom. When I found it, I dove inside and used my power on the floor, this time spending a charge making the tiles a different color so I could fall harmless through to the next floor. Dreamweaver had every exit covered, so that meant every door and window would be monitored. That wasn¡¯t even counting the Sweepers that had started monitoring the building. The seismic sensors were already picking up an incoming Walker, so I had less than a minute to escape. I couldn¡¯t help but smile as adrenaline coursed through my system. I already knew how I was going to get out. Using my power, I used a single charge to change three different sections of the floor until I made it to the ground floor. Copycat and Prosperity would already be too far behind me to catch up, so my only obstacle was Dreamweaver and the Sweepers. I moved with purpose, taking care not to make too much noise. I exited the apartment I landed in ¡ªscaring the occupant when their door opened and closed by itself¡ª and stalked through the ground-level hallway. I could see Dreamweaver¡¯s handiwork all over the outside of the windows. I reveled in the challenge. There was a decent chance that more ECU heroes were on the way¡­ or maybe I was giving myself too much credit. They might leave my capture to Dreamweaver and Ajax¡¯s Walker. Although, given what Copycat had said¡­ they could pull out all the stops to capture me if there was some kind of doomsday prophecy. I couldn¡¯t claim The ECU wasn''t the type. It was in their best interests to ensure that annihilation didn¡¯t come to pass. Copycat had said I was S-rank, which honestly still seemed crazy to me. Basement¡­ I can probably get out through the basement. I found the stairs to the basement and descended. I stopped halfway when I saw how much junk there was. Moldy furniture, tables, and chairs were scattered everywhere. It wasn¡¯t what I expected, but I couldn¡¯t say I was surprised either. The store Alice and I escaped from was a retail store with pallets of wrapped goods stored in the basement. It was meant to be tidy, and that wasn¡¯t taking into account that the building was in a flood zone, so the stormwater pipes were wide enough to walk through. I had come down here half expecting to crawl my way to freedom if it was an option. It seemed like it wasn¡¯t. Time for Plan B. I needed everyone to focus their attention on where they thought I would escape through. It needed to distract them long enough for me to slip out another way, and I had just the solution. I didn¡¯t exactly have a rock or a broken bottle to throw, so a high-velocity Mechatech explosive would have to do. I jogged to the nearest fire exit and tried to push the door open. It wouldn¡¯t budge. Dreamweaver¡¯s threads had sealed it tight. That was annoying. I needed the door open for this plan to work. I extended my blade again and carved a hole through the door. Shimmering neon pink threads snapped, coating my blade in a luminous goo that looked like I had cut through a bunch of glowsticks. I had a feeling that retracting the blade would be a bad idea, and I listened to that gut feeling. The last thing I wanted was to be stressed about my blade jamming. The rain would probably wash it off once I got outside. I backpedaled to the elevator and readied myself. I needed to be quick. Targeting the hole I carved in the fire exit, I took a deep breath before firing a grenade through it. The explosion ripped through Dreamweaver¡¯s remaining threads and blew the door off its hinges. It flew back into the hallway from the blast, but I didn¡¯t see it land. I was already forcing open the elevator doors when the lights suddenly went out and the building got much quieter, save for a few phones and the panicked sounds of the residents trying to call emergency services. Seems like the ECU had cut the power. A few moments later I managed to force the doors open and attempted to grapple to the top floor. Unfortunately, the elevator was stuck in my way at the top of the shaft. My grapple hit the bottom of the elevator and pulled me up. I hung there for a few seconds before I found something metal and solid on the side of the wall to grab. My arms and fingers started to burn so I needed to speed things up, or I would lose my grip and fall ¡ªnote to self, install something that let me stick to walls. I retracted my grapple and used my spare hand to touch the bottom of the elevator. One charge repairing the wear and tear on the elevator had the whole thing turning to liquid. I shot my grapple up again and it pulled me through before it could solidify. There was enough space between the roof of the building and the top of the elevator to stand on without having to bend down, but I couldn¡¯t stick around to admire that. I was already wasting precious time as it was, and it wouldn¡¯t be long before The ECU and Ajax¡¯s Sweepers realized the explosion was just a distraction. In fact, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they¡¯d already figured it out. Still, I was determined to follow through. I placed my hand against the ceiling and concentrated on this portion of the building. I saw the blueprint in my head, like a virtual wireframe of the building¡¯s components. There were exactly three meters of solid concrete, wiring, and plumbing between me and the roof. It was just high enough for me to comfortably clear. I sunk a repair charge in and quickly prepared to jump as I switched functions on my impact compensation. The compressed air in the lower part of my suit I used to prevent any broken legs from large falls hissed as they opened. I jumped and a whoosh of air propelled me upwards. I made it through just in time for the repairing section to become solid again. Upon landing, I collapsed to my knees and rolled onto my stomach. It wasn¡¯t that I needed to, but instead out of a desire to keep as low to the ground as possible. Rain assaulted me, and the vibrations of the approaching Walker were far too close for my liking. Dreamweaver¡¯s creations were skittering all over the building, and despite their spider-like appearance, they were bigger than any dog I was familiar with. They didn¡¯t seem to take notice of me, so either Dreamweaver wasn¡¯t able to see through them, or my camouflage module was working wonders. Pushing myself up, I made a break for the neighboring building. I took care to avoid Dreamweaver¡¯s creations as I ran, I didn¡¯t want to take any more chances now that I was so close to escape. Once I was in range, I grappled off the apartment complex toward freedom. I had to stop myself from cackling as I tasted victory. My heart stopped when a Sweeper flew in front of me and I had to twist out of the way. I only missed it by the skin of my teeth, but it stopped midair. I managed to land before it started scanning. Red and green lights hit every surface around it, including me. Then, it took off in the opposite direction. I let out a breath and got to my feet. Turning around, the apartment complex was like a beehive. Sweepers were looking through every window, Dreamweaver¡¯s ethereal spiders skittering around the complex, and a Walker finally entered the street. It lumbered forward, its body angled toward the building. I watched a compartment on its main body roll like a revolver before streams of blue light shot out. Glass shattered as the lights entered the building, and then the screaming started. It was like watching angry fireflies. They surged through every room, lights flashing in the windows. Whatever they were, and whatever they did, the residents weren¡¯t thrilled to have them invading their personal space. They weren¡¯t organic either because my visor was picking up signals from these things. There were thousands of them. That was far too close. I turned and fled, knowing this area was far too dangerous now. I would have to return later to install the seismic sensor. For now, I would continue the mission elsewhere. Another encrypted message came through from Cyberspace. ¡°We¡¯re getting readings from your sensors. Elevated activity in your area. What¡¯s your status?¡± I paused, taking a moment to word my reply properly. ¡°Ran into some trouble. Escaped unharmed. Situation resolved.¡± Cyberspace¡¯s reply was instant. ¡°Good work. Proceed as planned.¡± I had forty-five percent remaining power in my suit. That was more than enough to complete the assignment. I chuckled as I took off. This is getting easier and easier. Interception 3 Thunder boomed as I filled the hole containing one of the last seismic sensors. By now, they would be picking up and transmitting enough data to tell where the Walkers were at all times. The mission was almost complete and I would be able to return to my workshop. I reflected on the thrill I felt during my encounter with The ECU. It was a little concerning that getting into a potentially lethal fight didn¡¯t fill me with unending dread anymore. I couldn¡¯t pin down when the change occurred but I had started to notice it when I took down Grim. I was starting to view opposition as a challenge, and I needed to start checking myself. If I was perfectly honest, part of why I came out tonight was chasing the thrill. We could have had Cyberspace send some people out to do this disguised tomorrow, but I¡¯d pushed hard to do it now. I took solace in the fact that I wasn¡¯t a raving lunatic. When I encountered The ECU I didn¡¯t try to fight them. Like I had said to Copycat when he tried to trick me with his disguise, as long as they didn¡¯t give me a reason to come at them, I wouldn¡¯t. As it stands I would continue as I had been, developing my projects so I could eventually fix Mom and kill Mirage. After that¡­ well, I suppose I would slip out from under Cyberspace¡¯s thumb. I was under no illusion that they were a misunderstood benevolent force secretly wanting the best for humanity. They had their own goals, and if I was honest, I didn¡¯t want any part in it. For now, our partnership was convenient and they didn¡¯t have us doing anything that I really objected to. I suspected that would only last for so long, so I needed to prepare for the split ahead of time. One thing was for sure, Cyberspace made it very clear that I was too valuable to lose. As I turned to leave, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and my eyelids twitched at a strange sensation flowing through my body. The only way I could describe it was pins and needles that started from the base of my neck and made its way down my body. It came and went in a few seconds, but it had me on alert. There was only one person in the city capable of doing something like this. Once I had turned, I found the culprit standing at the entrance to the alley with an umbrella. I clicked my tongue. ¡°Bit late for a walk.¡± Gaea approached without a care in the world. She wore a long dress with a fur coat and boots. Beneath the umbrella, her hair was done up nicely and she looked like she was returning home from a nice night out. ¡°One notable victory and you think you can galavant about, doing whatever you want,¡± Gaea said with an exasperated sigh. ¡° Did you really think I wouldn¡¯t notice you sneaking through my territory? I felt you the moment you entered this street.¡± ¡°I was under the impression we are allies.¡± She stopped just close enough to reach out and touch me. ¡°Allies?¡± Gaea scoffed. ¡°Your subservience to Cyberspace does not mean we are allies, child. I tolerate your existence in my city, no more no less. My agreement with your superior is that we would stay out of one another¡¯s business unless there is a problem we must deal with.¡± ¡°Ajax¡¯s war machines are a problem for the whole city. I¡¯d consider those a problem, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± Despite her words, I didn¡¯t sense any hostility in her tone. If anything, she seemed like she was looking for an excuse to speak. Cyberspace said they were in contact with Gaea, so there was no way they didn¡¯t know what I was doing. ¡°Ajax is not a threat to me or my subordinates,¡± Gaea dismissed easily. ¡°I never said they were a threat to you,¡± I crossed my arms and disabled my camouflage. There was no point wasting the power I had left. Gaea could sense me and if she wanted me dead, there was nothing I could do. ¡°The longer Ajax occupies the city uncontested, the more legitimacy you lose. It¡¯d be even worse if you didn¡¯t spearhead the effort to remove him.¡± Gaea let out an amused laugh that lightened the atmosphere. ¡°I used to be just like you, thinking only in terms of violence and force,¡± Gaea mused with a smile. ¡°Ajax¡¯s presence isn¡¯t contested by the population. His machines have not killed anyone and give them a sense of security after Grim¡¯s rampage. No, working against Ajax would send the message I am opposed to him, and that if given power I may bring him to our doorstep in a much more hostile manner. I¡¯m much better served healing victims of the attack and helping those Splicer experimented on. Now, my name is mentioned alongside his instead of in opposition to it. You will get no aid from me in your mission to remove him.¡± Gaea gave me a curious look. ¡°Though I do have to give you credit, that¡¯s much more political awareness than I¡¯d expected from you given your behaviour at the conference. I was sorely tempted to slaughter you all that day.¡± I had to ask. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Who else would have dealt with Grim? I had already tried years before the man decided to come here to my country. I was no more successful at killing him than he was at killing me,¡± Gaea rolled her eyes. ¡°I often wonder what part of that demented head of his decided that coming to my country would end well for him. Perhaps he did it to spite me, or maybe he was waiting for his opportunity to even the score.¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°You two had history?¡± ¡°Barely worth mentioning, we came to a stalemate and that was it. What matters is he is gone now, and you were part of the reason why,¡± Gaea¡¯s smile turned sickly sweet. ¡°Madhouse¡­ it¡¯s all I ever hear about nowadays. You four have this city on the edge of their seats. Will you be like The Cains? My organization? Perhaps¡­ you¡¯ll become more like Pandora?¡± I scowled. ¡°You should already know what we¡¯re about.¡± ¡°Your allegiance to Cyberspace definitely gives me some insight, but that hasn¡¯t stopped the rest of the city from wondering. I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t noticed ¨C a Mechakineitc of your caliber hasn¡¯t even noticed what the public has been saying about them online. You should be embarrassed.¡± Gaea¡¯s laugh sent chills down my spine. I knew she could turn my whole body to dust at the drop of a hat, but she had to know she wasn¡¯t safe either. I was sorely tempted to launch a grenade at her, but I had to remind myself that Gaea was one of the Trinity, the legendary three supers from the first wave of Awakenings. The Mountain, Gaea, and Foresight. They survived World War Three. They survived a world where supers died young, and lived long enough to create legends about themselves, whether they intended to or not. Now here she was, standing in front of me like I wasn''t an immediate threat to her life. There was a small part of me that wondered if a mechatech grenade would even be enough to kill her. She was an S-Class biokinetic and there was no telling what kind of enhancements she had. It wasn¡¯t a fight worth pursuing. ¡°Scrolling through forums and social media isn¡¯t a productive use of my time. Though color me surprised, I never pictured you as the type to engage with anything online,¡± I replied wryly. ¡°I figured you¡¯d have been stopped by the captcha.¡± ¡°Hilarious,¡± Gaea¡¯s reply sounded almost clinical. ¡°Can¡¯t say many have had the gall push that button in a while.¡± ¡°A willingness to alter one¡¯s appearance implies some level of vanity, maybe even insecurity. I might just be a kid, but even I can see that,¡± I shot back. ¡°Look, we can trade insults back and forth all night Gaea, but if you wanted to harm me, you would have done it already. So, what do you want?¡± Gaea¡¯s expression stretched into a chilling smile. ¡°I¡¯m here to satiate my curiosity.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that kills people.¡± ¡°Not for me, I assure you. Thousands have tried,¡± she said with a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t often play these games, my efforts are better focused on the big picture. Talent scouting is beneath me.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious,¡± I laughed. ¡°You¡¯ve come in person to recruit me to The Queen¡¯s Court,¡± I took pleasure in watching her head tilt, but the smile never left her face. ¡°Y¡¯know, it¡¯s kind of funny. A month ago, I would have considered it. The people around me aren¡¯t exactly a fan of your political agenda but out of everyone in the city, I think shacking up with you would have been the easiest pill to swallow. If nothing else, Alice would have enjoyed playing politics.¡± ¡°Oh? You¡¯re not enticed by the benefits Pandora can offer? Not a fan of The ECU?¡± ¡°Pandora¡¯s full of crazies and I have bad blood with the ECU,¡± I rolled my shoulders before shrugging. ¡°No offense, but we aren¡¯t friends so I¡¯m not going to spill the tea.¡± ¡°I doubt I would be interested in listening,¡± Gaea retorted evenly. I watched carefully as she moved, stepping to the side as a small trunk of wood burrowed through the ground next to her. It sprouted and grew until it cocooned us. I let it happen, waiting for any intrusions into my suit to occur. I would be ready to lash out if she attacked. ¡°Let¡¯s make ourselves more comfortable. This weather is dreadful.¡± Two wooden chairs sprouted for us and a small glowing light dangled from the ceiling, reminiscent of a glow worm. Gaea took a seat and gestured for me to sit. ¡°Like I said, I came to sate my curiosity. I will admit, I did not much care for you or your little entourage at first. I only extended the invitation out of courtesy. You were the ones to reveal Grim¡¯s operation with The Iron Maiden, so I thought it only right that you had a seat at the table. Age and maturity aside,¡± Gaea dismissed with a light wave of her hand. ¡°I was much more interested in your companion, Mia Coleman.¡± My blood froze. ¡°You know our names?¡± ¡°Mia Coleman, Liam Bailey, and Samantha Leighton ¨C or Caitlyn Whiterose¡­ Yes, I know the names of your team,¡± Gaea said with clear disinterest. ¡°Cyberspace shared this information with me. They expressed an intense desire that your civilian lives not be interfered with,¡± the corner of her mouth curled downward into a slight snarl. ¡°I suspect you¡¯ve already spotted the inconsistency?¡± I thought for a moment, recounting everything she just said. ¡°You never said my name.¡± ¡°Now, isn¡¯t that interesting?¡± Gaea breathed, leaning forward. ¡°I didn¡¯t even have to ask for the others. You, however¡­ they¡¯ve been very tight lipped about you,¡± she shook her head in amused disbelief. ¡°I¡¯ve worked with Cyberspace for quite some time and I¡¯ve never known them to play favorites before. Suffice to say, I had to know. What exactly makes you so special?¡± I was reminded of what Sam had said not too long ago ¨C that I was one of the most valuable Supers on the planet. Supers were sought after for power, and while Sam was a supreme example of an Aspect, I was a Mechakinetic. Everything I make would persist long after I died. With the right minds, whatever I made could eventually be replicated without my aid. We all had the ability to change the world, it was just that I had the better chance at a long term impact and being remembered. ¡°Potential.¡± ¡°An obvious answer to a seemingly obvious question,¡± Gaea said. ¡°Everyone saw what you were capable of during your chase with Grim. Your power to break the laws of reality in order to improve or repair is something entire countries would be willing to go to war over. I suppose we should count our blessings there, hm? Cyberspace certainly did their job suppressing crucial details from getting out of the country. If America, China, or the Soviet Union knew all about you, New Elpis would be ripped asunder in a race to capture you.¡± I was horrified at the idea, but I was unable to stop my ego from swelling at the compliment. ¡°So that¡¯s what this is about? You wanted to beat them all to it, so you''re here at the finish line before the race even starts,¡± I leaned back in my chair and gestured to the cocoon around us. ¡°Well done. You caught me.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Enough with the goading, Upgrade. Please,¡± Gaea tiredly rolled her eyes. ¡°I am having a conversation with you. It is like you said, if I wanted to kill or kidnap you, I wouldn¡¯t be entertaining this conversation.¡± ¡°Yeah, you would¡¯ve altered my brain to make me unquestionably loyal to you.¡± Gaea had the audacity to laugh. ¡°Perhaps I would be able to in theory, but I never developed the ability. Foresight would out me in an instant. It¡¯s only his insistence that I am not capable of such, that people actually trust my supporters. Not that it stops conspiracy theories, but it does mean the rest of the world has no cause to intervene. Besides, I do not need a power to inspire people to my side. Conviction, resolve, and vision are more than enough.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯ve come to talk me over to your side. That¡¯s a bold strategy,¡± I replied, keeping my cool. As long as this relaxed atmosphere remained, I was convinced Gaea would continue to entertain my banter. ¡°I will forewarn you, I don¡¯t have the best track record of listening.¡± ¡°Well I suppose it¡¯s a good thing I am a politician. If there¡¯s one thing I¡¯ve learned how to do over my many years, it¡¯s get people to listen.¡± I weighed my options carefully. The easiest would be to entertain the discussion. Gaea had an angle, and she saw enough value in my powers to approach me directly. I was in no rush to jump ship because as far as I was concerned, the only difference between Cyberspace and Gaea was who held the leash. Worst case, I¡¯d gain more information. Forcing my way to freedom was more trouble than it was worth, assuming I even could. ¡°Alright then,¡± I sat up. ¡°Let¡¯s talk.¡± Gaea crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in her chair. ¡°Let''s establish some basic information. As you said before, there are parts of yourself you don¡¯t wish to share, so allow me to go first,¡± she paused and cleared her throat. ¡°There are a number of objectives I am working toward, the most publicly known one is securing my rightful leadership over the country. I¡¯ll keep this brief because I wager politics interests you very little. I want my country back. This piece of land was intended to be a sanctuary for people like us following the end of World War Three. Time and time again I¡¯ve watched bureaucrats from all over the world arrive and pervert its intended meaning.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just take it?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s not like anyone could stop you.¡± ¡°Perhaps I overestimated you earlier,¡± she sighed ¡°Putting aside that I couldn¡¯t kill Grim. The ECU would intervene, Ajax would intervene, The Mountain would intervene, Pandora would declare me a heretic and then intervene. I am powerful, but I am not all powerful, I know my limits. With Foresight preventing any election tampering, any progress I make cannot be contested. You were talking about legitimacy before, this is how I gain it. Though apparently creating a thriving ecosystem where we can thrive and giving the country its name is not enough for most people.¡± ¡°New Elpis¡­¡± I murmured aloud. ¡°Real on the nose.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to sympathize. You¡¯re young and information tends to get skewed to fit a more appetizing narrative. Schools don¡¯t teach you about the lynchings after the war. How we were discriminated against and hunted in the streets like animals. Dragged out of our beds at night and tortured until our bodies gave out. Burned, dismembered, crucified¡­ all out of fear.¡± I had no words. We were taught the history, but that wasn¡¯t the one I learned. Evohumans were painted more like heroes, ones like Gaea who helped end the war. ¡°That¡¯s¡ª¡± ¡°Outrageous? How, I hear you asking. I can feel all those neurons at work inside your head, the confusion and distrust,¡± Gaea snorted bitterly. ¡°How can such a thing have happened if evohumans are so powerful? Why didn¡¯t we fight back? The answer is quite simple: fear. Evohumans were the ones to start the third great war. What we could do was revealed during the various global conflicts, and the devastation it brought caused the people to fear us. There was a stark power imbalance and no one knew how to deal with it. With evohumans, anyone could have the power to upset traditional balance. It was a frightening time, made more so by our historically low numbers.¡± ¡°So you came here and created this country. A place of new beginnings?¡± ¡°To shorten a very long, excruciating story, yes,¡± Gaea replied, wryly. ¡°Global discrimination on such a scale that many felt we were no longer human or had a place on this planet. The Mountain and I sought a solution. A safe haven for all of our kind,¡± she paused, waving a dismissive hand. ¡°Oh, if it were only that simple. We would be living in a very different world. We set out to create a paradise, only to be sorely disappointed. What we created eventually became exactly what we were trying to escape.¡± When she put it that way, it was no wonder The Mountain lived in seclusion. New Elpis wasn¡¯t special, Sam even said it herself. There was nothing particularly astonishing to attribute to this country or its cities other than its higher-than-average rate of awakenings. Other than that, It was just another spot of land with more concrete jungles just like the rest of the world. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re still chasing that dream.¡± ¡°Dreams of a perfect paradise died a long time ago. I¡¯ve seen more of the world since then. Attitudes have changed, and evohumans are more powerful and numerous than ever before,¡± Gaea explained. ¡°The paradigm is shifting violently once more, and the effects are being felt on a global scale. I¡¯ll give Ajax some credit, if it weren¡¯t for him, we would have driven ourselves into extinction already.¡± ¡°You sound very sure of that.¡± ¡°The Pandora Initiative¡¯s violent rise in popularity would have sparked World War Four if Ajax had not intervened. Foresight made many troubling predictions prior to Ajax¡¯s arrival, predictions I was privy to. 1989 was a pivotal year,¡± Gaea paused, a look of contemplation forming on her face. ¡°We are on the verge of another, and this one has the potential to be even greater. I intend for New Elpis to be well protected before that happens.¡± Her tone was foreboding and it made my skin crawl. Gaea spoke like the end times were coming and we only had an unspecified amount of time to prepare. ¡°Verge of another¡­ what? War?¡± ¡°Paradigm shift,¡± Gaea clarified. ¡°Evohumans are stronger and bolder. Awakenings are more frequent and The ECU is having difficulty quelling the anger permeating the world. It is my wish to shield this country from the fallout, but I cannot do it alone.¡± ¡°You need my help ¨C my power.¡± ¡°Your contribution would be invaluable, yes. It is too bad Cyberspace and I do not see eye to eye on how to proceed. For the moment, our agreement stands, but we are on a collision course,¡± Gaea said. ¡°Cyberspace wants to ignite the fire and push humanity to its breaking point. Governments would fall and mass anarchy would reign. Only then would they emerge to unite the survivors. One world, one mind, one people.¡± I stiffened and inhaled sharply. Was that what Cyberspace wanted? ¡°How do you know that¡¯s their goal?¡± ¡°Do you think they¡¯ve never tried to turn me to their side?¡± Gaea smiled. ¡°I see their perspective, perhaps even agree with the philosophy, but humanity cannot afford another great war. There are too many wildcards, too many variables. Cyberspace believes the only way forward is to have a single governing entity, an all-powerful authority.¡± ¡°World domination¡­¡± I scowled with clear disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re serious? Cyberspace wants to rule the world?¡± ¡°Domination implies subjugating the masses against their will. Cyberspace has, to my knowledge, no intention of doing so. They neither have the means, nor the desire to force that outcome. Their goal is to survive the fallout, and establish a system in the aftermath that will unify our kind under a singular purpose.¡± I waited for Gaea to elaborate. ¡°...Which is?¡± ¡°That, they haven¡¯t shared. I can only offer speculation. Evolution, expansion, perhaps their own idea of a utopia¡­ it could be anything.¡± Suddenly, politics didn¡¯t seem so boring. If what she said was true, I was actively aiding a person whose goal was unironically world domination. ¡°Total unification could never work,¡± I said, shaking my head. On paper, the idea might seem nice but attempts to try always failed. ¡°There¡¯s too much¡­ well, everything. Where would you even start? Too much culture, too much creativity, free will. I just¡­ I don¡¯t see how something like that could even work. Not now. Not without¡ª¡± I stopped and chewed my lip. ¡°The death of billions,¡± Gaea finished for me. ¡°A reset all the way back to the stone age. It¡¯s insane.¡± ¡°There¡¯s already evidence that such an idea could work in theory,¡± Gaea said, playing devil¡¯s advocate. ¡°Currently, there is one evohuman alive that is keeping the world in check ¨C preventing ourselves from annihilating one another.¡± Gaea didn¡¯t even need to say the name. ¡°Ajax.¡± ¡°If he wanted, Ajax could bring the whole world to heel and no one could do anything to stop him. Not even me,¡± Gaea said wistfully. ¡°His insistence on playing the part of a global peacekeeper cannot last forever. Sooner or later, he¡¯s going to slip up¡­ or perhaps be stalemated by another powerful Mechakinetic.¡± The realization struck me like lightning. Was that supposed to be me? Was that what Cyberspace had in store for me? Was I their trump card against the world¡¯s strongest Super? ¡°Cyberspace wants Ajax out of the picture.¡± ¡°And humanity will do the rest, as is our nature,¡± Gaea confirmed. ¡°What about you?¡± I asked. ¡°What is it that you want?¡± ¡°My country and my people safe,¡± she said earnestly. ¡°I cannot prevent what is coming. I can only prepare for it.¡± ¡°How very noble of you,¡± I didn¡¯t bother to hide my sardonic tone. ¡°You want me to join you so I can help you save New Elpis while the rest of the world burns.¡± ¡°By all means, continue as you are. I¡¯m confident I can achieve my goals with or without you. Your assistance would smoothen the process for sure, but I am not about to prostrate myself to you in order to secure your aid. I took this opportunity to discuss the benefits we may both receive from a partnership.¡± Benefits. What could Gaea give me that Cyberspace couldn¡¯t? While I wasn¡¯t a fan of Cyberspace¡¯s alleged goals, I could still use the resources I currently had at my disposal to undermine them in some way. It would have to be covert, otherwise they would find out. It was a conversation I would need to have with Sam as soon as possible. ¡°You have something to offer?¡± ¡°Something Cyberspace cannot give,¡± Gaea¡¯s smile returned with a vengeance. It stretched so impossibly wide across her face that I was convinced she was using her power to do it. ¡°I¡¯ve recently discovered the final pieces to a puzzle that¡¯s long plagued me. Splicer¡¯s subjects were a great source of inspiration and curing them was very enlightening. I would¡¯ve liked to speak to Splicer face to face, but I doubt that¡¯s a possibility now.¡± ¡°If you want any sort of concrete answer from me, I¡¯m going to need to know what it is.¡± Gaea¡¯s laugh was slow and full of amusement. ¡°You might want to brace yourself. I am told the sensation is¡­ unpleasant.¡± I barely had a moment to react. A cold chill swept over me like an arctic breeze, and I shivered violently as something inside of me unraveled. [Charges: 22/26] [Charges: 22/28] [Charges: 22/34] [Charges: 22/41] ¡°What¡­?¡± I gasped. The feeling persisted and my gaze met Gaea. [Charges: 22/49] [Charges: 22/57] [Charges: 22/63] Gaea didn¡¯t respond, and the sensation intensified from discomfort to outright pain. [Charges: 22/68] [Charges: 22/70] [Charges: 22/72] It stopped suddenly, leaving me gasping for air. I felt weak and nauseous. My eyesight blurred as I tried to focus on Gaea. ¡°This is the secret Grim pursued. The key to our evolution,¡± Gaea said with a low chuckle. ¡°Ironic isn¡¯t it, that he ended up delivering it straight into my hands instead.¡± I was stunned, rendered completely speechless. ¡°You¡ª!¡± ¡°This is what I can offer you,¡± Gaea said. ¡°You mentioned ¡®potential¡¯ earlier. Join me, and you can exceed that potential many times over.¡± The sensation returned tenfold, but something felt horribly wrong. It was twisted, and I suddenly left like I was being violently spun in the opposite direction. [Charges: 22/72] [Charges: 22/66] [Charges: 22/59] ¡°Wait¡ª¡± [Charges: 22/52] [Charges: 22/47] [Charges: 22/41] ¡°Stop¡­!¡± [Charges: 22/36] [Charges: 22/32] [Charges: 22/30] I tumbled off the chair and collapsed into a fetal position. I felt like my body was being turned inside out. The wooden cocoon opened and the rain splashed against my suit once more. ¡°I will leave you with that. Consider it a taste of my generosity,¡± Gaea stood. ¡°Once you have decided, you know where to find me.¡±