| C2's Opal | 18:34 | xx49.07.29 | [LUS]

stopped, and Chass has disengaged the 'blackout' feature on his car's secondary windows. Charlotte and I can see out, but it's dark and we're in an alley so there isn't much difference.

The doors open. I unbuckle my seatbelt and step out of the car. Charlotte is already out. She's running to the alley entrance. I can hear gunshots, and a sharp snapping noise, I believe this is the sound Mr Donovan's force fields make when bullets hit them.

"Oh, wow. The Force can put a field around the whole BUILDING?"

"Doors, windows, points of structural weakness. Brute force isn't his style."

I think that Charlotte is upset with Chass. "Yes, I KNEW that. And I bet he COULD put a field around the whole building if he wanted to."

Chass doesn't reply. He's leaning against the alley wall, arms crossed.

"Is there a reason we are waiting here?" I ask.

"Yes, GOOD question," Charlotte says. "We're more than a block away from Motoplasm's base—of course I get that we should keep our distance, but how are we going to get rid of those gangers? I don't have The Force's power any more, but if you drove past the house once at high speed I'd probably pick it up, then I could create a kind of buffer around the front of your car—with a soft enough field, we could push those gangers away with no problem!"

Chass says nothing.

"I think my plan is good! Say something!"

"Something."

I suspect that Chass enjoys causing irritation in others. Or perhaps he enjoys annoying Charlotte specifically.

"Fine, what do YOU think we should do?" Charlotte asks.

"Wait."

"For what?"

"For me, yo."

Charlotte stares at Shade. She looks down at her Opal. I am not sure what her expression means. She looks at Shade again.

"How long have you been there?" she demands. "And you," she says, turning on Chass, "did you know he'd be here? How much aren't you telling me?"

Chass doesn't answer. Shade is smiling. Charlotte seems particularly upset.

"Just answer me ONCE!" I'd like to calm her down but I'm not sure how I might do so. "How did you know Shade would be here?"

"Lucky guess."

"Yeah, Moto said you guys might be out here, how long you been waiting?"

Charlotte appears to be too agitated to reply and Chass doesn't seem willing.

"Not long," I say.

"Yeah, well, this way if you want. Yo Chass, your car cool?"

"Cooler than you."

Shade smiles again. I think I like his smile. I think that it might be more accurately described as a 'grin'. He leads us down the alley and through a door. I'm the last one to walk through, and when Shade closes it, it makes a sound like it's locking. Inside there's a small room with a chemical lamp on a low shelf. Aside from this the room is empty. Shade walks to the corner and lifts the floor. There's a concealed hatch. He gestures for us to go down. This time, somehow, I am first. Down the ladder is a narrow corridor. It ends at a blank wall. I step forward and to the side as Shade follows me down. He touches my arm as he passes. I don't know what the gesture means in our current context. Perhaps reassurance? Perhaps a means to confirm my presence and position as he performs the necessary physical negotiations necessary to move past me in this narrow corridor? He's at the end of the corridor. Charlotte is down the ladder, watching Shade with narrowed eyes. I can't guess what she's feeling. There's a soft sound, and the wall slides open. The corridor continues. Shade looks back at me and at Charlotte and up at Chass, who has closed the hatch behind himself and is climbing down the ladder.

"Kind of a walk, but at least it's safe," Shade says. He turns and starts walking along the corridor. I follow, along with Charlotte. Chass is behind us.

This corridor is interesting. There are pipes along the walls, some extend up to the ceiling. There are passages leading off it, but all of them have been blocked by a bulbous blue-grey substance, perhaps some kind of expanding foam. I touch some as I pass; it feels hard and cold. The passage ahead has been blocked with the same substance, but there is a side passage that is clear. Shade leads us through it. There is only one path.

...

Another corner. Nobody is talking. I wonder if Charlotte is angry. This passage seems to be very long.

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...

Another corner, and then a ladder leading up. Shade ascends and presses his hand against the ceiling, which slides open. He climbs up. I follow.

This is the laundry room of Mr Johnston and Mr Donovan's house.

"Hey yo, Moto! Forks! Found 'em!"

I follow Shade through Mr Johnston and Mr Donovan's kitchen and living room. I can hear shouting from outside, and two gunshots, and the sound of glass breaking, and the snapping sound that I believe to be Mr Donovan's force fields responding to impact. I find the noise to be satisfying and thrilling, but I'm unsure why.

"You okay, Ceet?"

I'm standing still. I hurry after Shade. Ceet. He has shortened C2 into a single syllable. Ceet.

In the clinic, Mr Johnston is lying on one of the two elevated beds. He sits up when he notices me. Mr Donovan isn't here. Shade doesn't come in.

"Hey, C2." Mr Johnston's voice is low. I think he may be sleepy, or suffering from the after-effects of his head injury, or perhaps a combination of the two. "Happy to see you safe, child. Just sorry you got involved in all of this."

"It's okay. I'm glad you're fine, also," I say. He smiles at me, but his smile goes away when Charlotte and Chass enter the clinic.

"You took your time," he says. I'm not sure if he's talking to Charlotte or Chass.

"Did you send Shade to meet us?" Charlotte asks. "Did you know we'd be in that alley? How closely are you working with Chass? Are you allies?"

Mr Johnston looks at Chass, who is standing with his arms crossed. I don't know what his expression means.

"Around these parts," Mr Johnston says to Charlotte, "you take what allies you can find. Us good guys, we have an understanding."

Charlotte appears to be upset at Mr Johnston's words.

"You've got it ready?" Chass asks. Mr Johnston nods. "Good."

Mr Johnston and Chass both look at Charlotte.

"What?" she says, then looks down at the bag she's carrying. "Oh. Yes, fine, take them."

She holds out the bag and Chass takes it. His actions seem rough; several of the tubes roll onto the clinic's bench as he puts the bag down. There is a machine on the bench that has a green light on it, as well as a small screen. I don't recognise the machine, but I assume that it is what Chass was referring to when he spoke of something being ready. He's taking one of the 'huffers' apart now.

"I just don't get why you trust him," Charlotte says to Mr Johnston, I assume she is referring to Chass. "Do you know what he did? He attacked Little Mercy and her gangers! While they had C2—"

"Because you were going to give Mercy the money and the drugs," Mr Johnston says. "You think she would've kept her word?"

"But why wouldn't she? What would she have to gain by killing me and C2?"

I don't understand this point either. Mr Johnston is shaking his head. I think Chass might have made a noise like a laugh.

"What?" Charlotte says. "Why is that funny, why are you laughing at me?"

"I ain't laughing," Mr Johnston says. "You're young, child. You got a lot of lessons to learn. This one, I think you're gonna have to just accept and move on."

"But—"

"Could be Chass saved us all, doing what he did. Now hush yourself, we got work to do."

I suspect that Charlotte isn't happy. I wonder if I should touch her arm. Would that help? Would that be appropriate?

"Charlotte," I say. "Chass has not acted in any way—"

"I'm not in the mood, C2."

"I'm sorry. I thought that perhaps you needed—"

"I said I'm not in the mood—what are you two doing?"

"Grown-up stuff," Chass says, without looking at Charlotte.

"These drugs ain't what they seem," Mr Johnston says. "Didn't realise they were so important, turns out we may have stumbled onto something big."

"To do with the supervillains?" Charlotte asks. Mr Johnston chuckles and Chass makes another noise that might be a laugh, and they glance at each other, and then Mr Johnston looks at Charlotte again. His expression appears to be serious.

"Not every bad in the world is the work of supervillains, child."

"I KNOW that!"

"Leroy."

Mr Johnston joins Chass in looking at the machine's little screen. Charlotte watches them. I am almost certain that she is still upset. I want to say something or do something to make her feel happier and calmer, but I don't know what might help. It may be that doing nothing is the best option at this juncture.

"You ever hear of a drug with an aura before?" Mr Johnston asks. Chass shakes his head. "Yeah, me neither. Gotta be careful with these ones."

"Drugs with an aura!" Charlotte says. "Right, Chass said before—like georods, that's a connection!"

"Child—"

"Look," Charlotte says, "I know not everything bad in the world is because of supervillains but SOME bad things ARE because of supervillains, and it seems like whoever's behind Segregation is also gathering georods. What's special about georods? They're the only non-unique energy source with an aura. If these drugs have an aura then ... then that might mean something!"

I don't know what Mr Johnston's expression means.

"Not much solid fact about auras," Chass says. "Only practical experimentation produces valid results."

"You got an idea?" Mr Johnston asks.

"Could be these drugs have an effect on scientifically promoted individuals." Chass smiles at Mr Johnston. I don't think I like his smile. "You're gonna shoot up, Leroy."

"What?" Charlotte says. Mr Johnston is nodding slowly.

"Yeah," he says. He sits on one of the elevated beds. "Yeah, sure. Bring over that gear and hook me up."

"Are you serious?" Charlotte says. "Or CRAZY? You don't know what the drugs might do—they could kill you! You can't just use them!"

"Damn straight we can't," Mr Johnston says, as Chass affixes a small round white device to his neck. "Think I'm stupid or something?"

"But ... huh?"

"You forget my power already?"

"Blood control, plasmakinesis," Charlotte says. "But—oh. Chass injects the drug, monitors any effects, and if it's bad you can push it out—but that still seems so risky, if the drugs work on supers then it could STOP your power as soon as it gets into your system!"

"If only we had someone else here with plasmakinesis," Chass says. He's back at the bench now, preparing an intravenous tube.

"What? Me? But—"

"This'll take a while to get going," Mr Johnston says. "Charlotte, you want to feel useful? Go see if Mal needs any help. He's down in the control room, you know the way."

I wonder if Charlotte will argue. She doesn't.

"C2, are you coming?"

"Would you like me to come?"

"Well, I mean, it's not like I need you, but if you want to it's fine ... do you want to?"

"I would like to review my latest LUS entry. Is that okay?"

"Oh! Yes, of course. I don't even have mine on, I guess I should—have you heard from Daniel?"

"No. I am becoming worried."

"Me too. I hope he's okay. Um, well, I'll go help The Force, hehe. You two, DO NOT start this little science experiment without me here, okay?"

Neither Mr Johnston nor Chass respond to Charlotte. She clucks her tongue and leaves.

I will end this entry here so that I can review it.