The Mega-Complex, a sprawling labyrinth of activity, was just as bustling as the last time I was here. The bazaar's symphony of sounds assaulted my ears as soon as I stepped into the heart of the Complex. I followed the throngs of people, all heading to the elevators, and found myself in a queue for the elevator I needed. Once on the elevator and up to floor seventeen, I noticed a significant decrease in the traffic. Food Court Nine was a hive of activity at this time of day, with many people and families crowding the stalls. However, Suki's Sushi, usually a popular spot, was strangely deserted, with no one venturing close to it.

Approaching the stall, Suki looked up from what she was doing and gave me a small smile, motioning for me to sit at her stall when I said hello. Suki slid a small plate of sushi in front of me. Not needing a go-ahead, I dug in. Ten minutes later, a strange sensation washed over me as if I was being observed. I turned, and there she was, Esmerelda, standing at an entrance to the court. Her presence was unexpected, and her reaction to my gaze, a quick smile, was equally puzzling. Her lilac eyes seemed to flicker for a moment. "Hello Nate, I've heard you've had a rather eventful few days," Esmerelda said, her voice like silk as she slid into the seat beside me. She gestured to Suki, who immediately began preparing a plate for her.

"You could say that; waking up in a morgue has a way of signalling a bad morning," I said, gaining a small chuckle from Esmeralda and a smile from Suki.

"Yes, it probably would. I wanted to apologise for causing the incident that led to your Triggering."

"Unless you caused Velocity to disregard the civilians near his battle, then you've got nothing to apologise for, speaking of what happened to the package you gave me," I said, realising that Pete hadn't mentioned it.

"You don't need to worry about that; Peter picked it up when he was called in to identify you", Esmerelda said to reassure me. "Peter said that you had gained a regeneration Power from Triggering."

"I-uh, is that something we should be talking about in public? Aren't powers supposed to be a personal thing you don't speak about in public?" I said, looking around. The thought of discussing powers in public made me uneasy.

Esmerelda let out a small chuckle. "Let me give you the first bit of advice about Superlife: There is no point in trying to keep the overall nature of your Powers secret. There are entire corporations based around compiling and decoding information about a Super's Powers in New Halcyon. Public forums on the internet like to do the same, and they can get close. It's your identity that you want to keep secret; since the Second Super War, most countries don't try to unmask Supers, but it's the Mega-Corporations you want to be wary of; they'll use any method they need to to get what they want"

"But wouldn't that be bad to give away what your power is, like giving away weaknesses?" It didn't make sense that a Super wouldn't hide their powers, especially if they used them to fight other supers. I had read through the forums a lot, and the speculation around powers was always the most fervent. Often, arguments on the nature of a Super's Power could last days until, inevitably, the forum's moderators are forced to step in and shut down the argument.

"The second bit of advice I'll give you is that Power isn't a simple thing; take yours, for example. What would you say it is?"

"Regeneration, obviously; if what Pete said was true and that my head had been crushed, how could I be alive otherwise."

"Powers aren't that simple, especially regeneration, if you have regeneration, how does it work, speed up your natural healing, or is it more unnatural? Can you control it? Does knowledge affect how efficient it is?"

"Knowledge?"

"A lot of powers can be affected by knowing more about how they work; for example, Tinker Powers are far more effective when you have an understanding of whatever you are trying to build. It is rare to find a Tinker Super who doesn't have at least a degree in a field of science or engineering,"I hadn't thought that knowledge might affect a Power. Knowing how the human body works might improve my regeneration, and I might be able to knit back wounds faster because I understood where the damage had been dealt. "Now, back to your Power. How sure are you it is regeneration? I have met many Supers with regeneration, and no matter what, once you got past the regeneration, they died." Esmerelda's words caused me to question my powers; I hadn't thought about it as anything but regeneration, but if what she had said was true and that my Power was unique in bringing me back from the dead and then it hit me, what Pete had said about Mega-Corporations and the Government would be interested in how my Power worked.

With the sudden realisation of my situation, I looked about as subtly as I could, causing Esmerelda to laugh, not a polite chuckle but a genuine laugh. "So you finally realised the situation you are in, and that was why Peter sent you to me, well that and my boss is curious how your powers will develop with some training."

The sudden realisation of my situation caused me to look at Esmerelda in a new light. She clearly had Powers, and I was on her home turf; if she or her boss wanted to kidnap me, there was little I could do to get away. Esmerelda had clearly noticed my sudden wariness of her as she said, "You haven't got to worry about my boss or me. Peter obviously likes you, and burning a contact like him just to kidnap you isn't worth it. We would rather offer you a job instead."

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"Pete had said you would offer me a job, but I'm unsure what I could be useful for, especially with how little I know of my powers."

Esmerelda stood up, "Come," motioning me to follow her. "This is the sort of job offer that we don't want others to overhear, so we will head to a more secluded part of the Complex." With that, Esmerelda started walking off out of the food court. We wound our way through the blocks of the Complex, going deeper and deeper until we were obviously in a part of the Complex that was rarely travelled through.

We stood in front of an elevator. On the doors was the tag I had seen the last time I was at the Complex, a black metallic skull being held by skeletal hands. "Now, before I tell you what the job offer is, I need to tell you who I work for," Esmerelda said, looking me in the eyes. "I work for Hades. Peter informed us of what happened to your parents, and Hades wanted me to be upfront with you about who you would be working for."

I was speechless for a few seconds, taken aback by this sudden confession of who her boss was. I took a moment to really think about my parent's deaths. They had been at home, both able to get a half day off. I had been at school looking forward to getting home so we could go out to the films when the school had suddenly been put on lockdown. The teachers were ushering us to the bunker under the school. The fight could be felt through the ground, an hour-long battle trapped in a bunker full of scared kids until the explosion, that damn explosion. It wasn't until the lockdown ended that we found out what had happened. The cause of the fight wasn't known, but given the fight that followed, it had to have been significant; it was theorised that Hades and Ifrit had crossed the Mega-Corporation Archimedes as Shrapnel is known to work with the Corporation and with how little was done to the Hero even with all the outcry from the public it had to be someone with a lot of sway. The aftermath of the fight was two hundred and thirty-nine people dead and a dozen apartment blocks destroyed.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "I don't blame Hades for my parent's deaths. It was Shrapnel who decided that the civilian casualties didn't matter when fighting him" My heart felt heavy saying that, for years after my parent's deaths, I had blamed the Villains, convincing myself that they must have forced him to do it, but as I grew older and did more research I learnt that the Villains were trying to keep the fight away from populated areas. Still, Shrapnel detonated his drone before they could get away from the apartment complex.

Esmerelda let out a small sigh, clearly relieved at my answer, "I assume you've heard of Hades' Hellions. The job offer is to join as a minion, specifically a white mask". With how shady Esmerelda had been since I first spoke to her, I had assumed that whatever job I would be offered was less than legal. Still, I hadn't expected it to be a Supervillains criminal organisation, especially the Hellions. Hades' Hellions was a criminal organisation that catered to Supervillains who needed manpower for whatever they required, whether that be just non-powered individuals to help load trucks in a heist or backup from powered individuals. They were common to see around District Twelve with the black-masked non-powered minions often seen running from super battles.

"Alright, I accept, I'll join" I had reservations about joining the Hellions, but what choice did I have? Becoming a Hero came with far too much of the spotlight, and New Halcyon revolved around Heros. Hero teams and groups were the celebrities of New Halcyon getting brand deals and sponsors, but they are also constantly the centre of attention. The public followed them like hawks, and I needed to be in the background as much as possible. But I also needed to learn about my powers and what I could do with them. I also needed their protection. Having one of the more powerful Supers as a boss would help protect me from the smaller corporations that might try to sniff out my Power once I make my debut.

Esmerelda smiled. "Alright, Nate, I'm glad you decided to join us; I'm just as curious about your power as Hades is and look forward to seeing how you develop it". Esmerelda turned to the elevator, placing her palm on the biometric scanner. The doors opened, and stepping into the elevator, Esmerelda motioned for me to follow.

The elevator started travelling down for a few minutes. Just before the doors opened, Esmerelda turned towards me and handed me a white mask; it was just a plain white masculine face with straps on the back to keep it on my face. "Put this on, and don't take it off. Most people who join the Hellions prefer to wear their masks whilst in the base just in case of a raid by Heros or another gang or organisation, not that that happens a lot. Still, it isn't uncommon" The elevator opened to what looked like a maintenance tunnel forking off in multiple directions "The mask connects to your augs and provides vital information like a map of the base so that finding your way through this maze of tunnels is less of a nightmare and whilst on a mission it provides mission objectives commands from either the Villian or whoever they have designated as in charge, the mask also helps conceal you from any scans or other intrusive ways to gain your identity, this is just a basic version. Once you've been a part of the group for a while, and if you can convince Mechromancer to make one, we will get you a custom mask."

"Uh, one problem, I don't have any augs at the moment" This seemed to surprise Esmerelda as she stopped and turned towards me.

"I could have sworn you had them the last time we met?"

"I lost them when I died; either they were damaged, or the morgue workers stole them."

"Ah okay. Once you are through the orientation with our latest recruits, I'll get Doctor Nocturne to fit you with some augs."

The end of the corridor ended in two doors, one heading straight on and the other leading off to the left. "Once you are ready, head on through the doors in front of us, and I will see you around, Nate." Esmerelda then walked through the doors to the left, which closed behind her with a soft click.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I walked up to the doors, which opened to a large gymnasium. "I don't care why you're a late newcomer, but you have three seconds to start running."