Eddy walked over to the youths seated in the corner. Reed followed behind while keeping his gaze on the Manipulators practicing their abilities. The two members of Eddy’s team paused their conversation upon seeing them approach.
“Chelsea, Gabriel, this is my brother Reed. Surely you remember him from dinner last week.”
The boy pointed out as Gabriel offered him a quiet nod, while Chelsea gave an unreadable stare. At the very least he could tell that it was not a friendly gaze.
“Reed, same goes for you.”
The unremarkable dinner that he’d had with his family and Eddy’s team before being roped into his current predicament had all but vanished from Reed’s memory. In all likelihood, it had been years since the dinner occurred, at least from his perspective. Nonetheless, he nodded along in agreement.
Reed’s eyes drifted back to the magical display, which earned him a nudge from his brother.
“This is the first time you’ve ever seen any alien fuckery isn’t it?”
Reed couldn’t prevent a wry smile from twisting its way onto his lips. “...Yeah. Other than on TV.”
“I still remember the first time I saw someone Manipulating on our orientation day. The guy shot lightning out of his hands.” Eddy shrugged off the military-style jacket he had been wearing and began to walk towards an open section of the room. “Just wait till you see your brother in action.”
Eddy’s hands rose up in front of himself and the air above gave off shimmers of heat. This lasted for but a short moment before flame burst into existence. A ball of fire floated in the air above his palms for several seconds until the orb turned into a stream of fire. Twisting rivers of flame flowed all around him, at enough of a distance so as not to burn himself, but impressive all the same.
“It’s a wonder as to why he values your approval so much.” A voice came from Reed’s side.
“Excuse me?” He turned to see Chelsea standing beside him, eyes pointed forward observing Eddy’s display.
“He always talks about you, praising how smart and thoughtful his big brother is.” She said icily.
“I’m sorry, have I done something to offend you?” Reed raised an eyebrow at the girl.
“You’re a coward. A scumbag who packed up his life and abandoned his family out of some irrational fear.” She continued looking forward, not deigning a glance in Reed’s direction. “You don’t deserve his admiration.”
“You must care a lot for my brother if you disdain me so much. I suppose I should be grateful.” The girl finally turned to look at him with that remark. “I’m curious though, what do you mean by an irrational fear?”
“The chances of something escaping a Bridge and attacking a civilian is like getting struck by lightning. Next to impossible.”
“Tell that to the people struck by lightning,” Reed said, evoking a scathing look from the girl.
“Is everything alright over here?” Eddy had approached them upon noticing the heated confrontation.
“Of course. We were just having a quick discussion about probabilities,” Reed answered quickly. “I must say, the academy isn’t quite what I expected out of a place responsible for training people to fight aliens with magic. It all seems very lighthearted here.”
“And what exactly did you expect?” Chelsea said.
“I mean no disrespect. You’re all very heroic for choosing such a path. I’m simply a bit worried that none of you know the extent of what you’re up against.”
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Eddy’s expression turned downcast at his brother’s statement. “How would you know? We’ve spent years studying this stuff, we’re plenty well prepared.”
“I wouldn’t know. But reading about something can be vastly different than experiencing it firsthand.”
“Some of us aren’t scared about putting our lives on the line for the greater good,” Chelsea said. “As a matter of fact, next week we’re gonna be assisting a professional team with guarding the Bridge.”
At this point all five members of Eddy’s team had gathered together, none of whom seemed happy with his accusations. He’d have to apologize if he still wanted to get any more information.
“‘Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.’” A new voice came from the direction of the door, along with the sound of steady footsteps.
The voice wasn’t very deep, but the smoothness and surety with which the phrase was spoken gave it an interminable weight. It sent shivers down Reed’s spine, paralyzing him with fear as the footsteps grew closer.
“Who are you?” The boy whom Reed had not been reintroduced to spoke up.
“Just a visitor, same as Mr. Vayne here.”
With a slight turn of his head, the owner of the voice came into Reed’s view. He wore an immaculate black suit with extravagant jewelry. Slicked brown hair and an elegant posture cut an imposing figure. A figure Reed had seen before, one that had haunted his every moment. The only difference between the man standing in front of him and the figure from his memories were the yellow eyes the man had possessed in their first meeting.
“I’m sorry sir but this is a private room. You can’t be in here.” Eddy said.
“My apologies, I did not mean to intrude.” The man put a hand to his chest. “I simply wish to have a word with Mr. Vayne.”
“Well, there’s two of us here by that name pal. Plus, I’m still unclear on who you are.”
“I’ll be back in just a minute, Eddy.” Reed mustered up the ability to speak and started walking to the door, drawing on every iota of willpower to not betray his terror. The man joined in to walk beside him.
His brother’s expression grew disconcerted, but he made no motions to object. The man pushed a button on the wall and the metal door slid open. He motioned for Reed to go through first before following behind, the door closed shut behind him.
The two stood facing each other in the hallway, neither of them made a sound for a stretch of time.
“You’ve done quite well.” The man said at last, smiling as he did so.
“With what?” Reed said after a moment’s hesitation.
“With everything. I must admit, I’m surprised you managed to find that which lies under the mountain so quickly. And the amount you’ve accomplished in such a short time, it’s truly impressive. I had planned to step in and assist in eradicating the insect, but you surpassed my expectations.”
Reed’s eyes narrowed, his mind dredging up the image of the flying eldritch monstrosity. But that wasn’t important right now.
“What did you do to me?”
“This isn’t an opportune location for discussion. I suppose that come Monday morning, you’ll be back home.”
Reed didn't respond, it hadn’t been a question.
“A parting word of advice: I would continue with your current strategy. Some things are better kept to ourselves, lest we invoke the consequences.” The man turned and began walking away. “There always seems to be something watching.”
And just like that, he was gone. Reed stood there for a while, eyes glued to the spot where the man had vanished around the corner while thoughts raced through his head in chaotic turmoil. It took several long minutes of this before he turned back to the door, pounding his fist against the metal so that he might be let in.
The door slid open, revealing Eddy standing by the button and the rest of his team by the furnished corner.
“What was that about?” Eddy said with a worried look.
“Oh, that… it was nothing. Just an issue with the paperwork I filled out earlier. It’s all cleared up now.” Reed couldn’t conceal the feebleness in his voice. “Hey listen, it was a long drive up here and I promised mom and dad that we’d have dinner together.”
“I understand.” The concerned expression didn’t leave Eddy’s face. “If you want to, you can come by tomorrow. If you’ve got any more questions, or just wanna see more of the academy.”
“Thanks Eddy,” Reed said and exited back out the door.
He made his way out of the training building, through the campus, and back into the parking lot. As the car started up, classic rock once again began blaring through the speakers. Reed’s finger shot out and hit the volume knob, abruptly silencing the stereo. The Mustang made its way along the streets of Detroit in silence, save for the hum of the engine.