Straight into the belly of the beast, apparently. I wasn't expecting this, especially when I'd just grown accustomed to domestic life. Feeling like a child, I tottered behind Blackett as he got us temporary IDs, walked us through metal detectors and biometric scanners, signed his name and gave a bio seal on a dozen documents for each of us.

And the five of us stood in a loose circle, each of us looking around at the huge number of armed soldiers in the entrance, the men and women walking by in uniform, the cold metal and black acrylic of the place. I hoped Tem could keep her head on enough to not pull a vanishing act; she looked like she was hyperventilating and ready to fall apart at any moment.

It was obvious where Blackett had picked up his fashion sense, at least. All of us already being in black made us fit right in, in that one regard.

Finally done with getting us entered, Blackett effortlessly passed through the stations himself and joined us at the foot of a dozen elevators, where we remained huddled like a lost island in an ebbing sea of XPCA personnel.

He pressed the button and waited, standing straight and tall. A moment later, one of the doors opened silently, and a soft tone announced its arrival. Blackett gestured us in and joined us. He pressed the button for the top floor, as the doors closed, and gave the scanner his thumbprint before it began to move.

Raven's Nest, they called it. A tall, spindly building of the most expensive, exotic materials, gothic architecture, black glass, and sleek metal. Built within spitting distance of Capitol Hill and The Pentagon, the XPCA headquarters was an ominous and impressive edifice which reflected the nation's stance on Exhumans with its harsh lines.

It was rumored that despite almost every surface being made of glass, the materials used in construction were so crazy, they could stop a direct missile strike. The glass was specially polarized with a smart adaptive surface so that anything it interpreted as documents or sensitive information of any kind would be indecipherably blurred from the outside.

An insane Exhuman had once flown to the top of the building, his powers giving him immunity to the hail of fire from the building's defenses, and ripped open one of the walls to the top offices. The rumor was, the structure gel which replaced the wall filled in so smart and so fast, he couldn't actually damage the building faster than it could patch itself.

It was a marvel of technology and defense, The Pentagon 2.0, and we, a motley band of five Exhumans and our crazy leader were riding an elevator right to the top of it.

"It's a good thing there's no way to tell an Exhuman just by looking at 'em," Tower whispered.

"Please do be cognizant of the constant surveillance?" Blackett said, gesturing towards a tiny hole in the elevator panel.

I wasn't paying attention to any of it, really. Ever since we'd arrived, I'd felt like something was watching me. Something more that the mics and the cameras. Almost like how Saga sat on my mind, but subtly different from her. I wondered if the XPCA really had technology that could read your mind. The implications were terrifying.

Nobody else seemed to know or notice, just general nerves on everyone else's face...and Jack's easy smile, and Tem looking like she needed to stop at the girl's room. But none of them had lived in proximity to a psychic like I had.

After a much shorter ride than I felt like it should be, we arrived at one of the highest floors in the building, the sky lobby, for top members of the XPCA only. Here, under yet more watchful and armed eyes, soldiers in full exosuits at attention, we caught another lift which took us to the second-highest floor in the building, and Blackett's office.

There were two women here already, one behind a desk, and one seated in a chair waiting for us.

"Director Blackett, sir," said the desk-lady, and stood to open the office door for us all. "Miss Dawn has been here for about fifteen minutes already."

The lady waiting perked up at the mention of her name.

"Please give her my apologies and ask her to wait a bit longer," Blackett said, and ushered us into his office, closing the door behind all of us.

I wondered if Blackett got his home furniture from the same exact supplier he had at work. Here at least, the dark wood, metal, and glass fit in with the super post-modern look the entire building was trying to exude, at least a lot better than the old wooden floors and stone walls of Blackett manor. Same spartan ornamentation, same collection of necessary foibles and that was about it. It was much larger in here, and he had a couple circles of couches and a whole array of chairs facing the desk, but otherwise, the same, just more of it.

To my surprise, he had us sit in a circle of chairs near the door instead of all at his desk. If he was being serious about working with us as partners, instead of master and servants, I appreciated the gesture.

The mental presence which had briefly vanished when we got out of the elevator returned in full force.

"Gentlemen, ladies," he began, a little awkwardly, since he'd never addressed us that way before. "I want to let you know that today...is regrettably our last day together. For good or ill, the time has come for my plans to be set into motion, and in order for that to occur, I must forfeit you."

"Master Blackett!" squealed Tem, shaking her head.

"It is just Blackett now, or Director Blackett if you must," he said sternly. She continued shaking her head at him.

They had all been surprised when he had announced we were going, but he hadn't told them much of anything else. I didn't know what he was planning either, but I at least knew the cause. Me...and my friends, and the imminent deconstruction of the XPCA.

"Hopefully by now, each of you shares in my vision for the world, as I believe I have made it clear to you over the last months or years we have shared. If you do not," he looked at me specifically, "you may leave now, and I will not resent you for it."

Nobody stirred.

"The fact is, as I have spoken to Chariot at length, the XPCA is failing, and will be decommissioned as a federal body in the immediate future. An announcement is expected in a matter of days. For any of you wondering why, you have only to turn on the news or read a holo. Public outcry against the XPCA is reaching a peak, and many of our closest-guarded secrets have been released to the public, and perhaps worst of all, we have proven that we cannot defend ourselves, politically, publicly, or digitally."

He looked down at the round ultra-modern table seemingly made entirely of shelves and glass which sat between all of us.

"We are considered an embarrassment by the federal government. The overwhelming movement is to have us replaced by a body with greater operating transparency such as the military. Intelligence branches such as the CIA and NDIA are cutting ties and burying their own secrets. The situation seems inescapable."

"No way," whispered Tower. Mage glared at him before turning back to Blackett.

"So why are we here?" I asked. "Why bring...presumably this office is bug free?"

"You may speak openly here, yes."

"Why bring five Exhumans into the heart of the XPCA?"

"Because you five are the only thing, I believe, that can save the XPCA. The people want transparency, they want honesty. Those are two things the XCPA cannot afford to give, doing either would make it impossible for us to do our jobs. Secrecy and misdirection are the key to the XPCA's operation," he said, looking at me again. "However, I believe that by changing how the XPCA functions, in its entirety, there remains hope, and the protection we offer can remain intact for the people of America."

"Or," he added, "at least I hope so."

"Such a damn patriot," mused Mage.

"Mage!" yelled Tem.

"Temperance, I appreciate your support, but I do not own any of you. She may speak her mind freely."

"So what is the plan?" I asked.

"The plan is simple, fundamentally," he said and hesitated. "We simply, uh. Create a new outlet for Exhumans other than execution."

"You collect them, you mean," I said.

"We already collect them. Now they have somewhere to go other than six feet under."

"They go into your personal army," I said, things beginning to fit together. "That's why we're here. We're the proof that you can control Exhumans, that we can prove useful to the XPCA instead of being better off dead!"

"Is this true, Master Blackett?" asked Jack.

"The details are incorrect, but yes," he admitted. "Adding Exhumans to our own ranks reduces human deaths, reduces our need to execute compliant Exhumans, and demonstrates that the XPCA can and will change. This recent surge in pro-Exhuman support, and especially support for Chariot is the only thing which makes this possible, to even suggest allowing Exhumans to live, much less become integrated--"

"It was only impossible because of your own damn propaganda," I spat. "There have been dozens, maybe even hundreds of Exhumans who would have lived peacefully like normal people if you hadn't encouraged them to kill themselves or turn themselves in. Or have their friends and family do it for them," I said, my heart seething.

"They will now have another option," Blackett said reassuringly. "The world isn't ready for Exhumans sharing the streets freely, but some, tightly controlled, providing a public service--"

"Is this why you had us trained up as servants of all damn things? So we'd be easier to manage?"

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Chariot, chill man. Let him finish a sentence," Tower said, putting a huge hand on my shoulder.

"Chariot, there is one more thing I think you should know, which I think will change your mind."

I didn't even want to hear it. Blackett's plan was to turn us from corpses into institutionalized slaves. How we could see so eye-to-eye on so many things, only for him to completely miss the Exhuman side of everything was beyond me.

"There is strong evidence to support the Ramanathan window does not apply to other Exhumans. Do you know what that means?"

"It means now we won't have to wait for a baby Exhuman to be a few days old before you have us slaughter it?"

"No, it means the XCPA can become what people have always believed it was. True security. Actual protection, not just a lie, a false peace of mind. Once we are in place, we can respond to Exhuman events with Exhuman responders, and instead of them simply tying up the target until they can eventually be put down, while incalculable damage and lives are lost, the responder can actually legitimately fight back, using their greatest strength, their own powers, and save actual lives."

"Think about it. XPCA elite Exhumans, trained in their own powers to perfection, armed with complementary equipment, and operating in teams of two or more as warranted, versus a single enraged or confused Exhuman. There is no risk anymore of events dragging on for days or weeks while entire cities burn. They wouldn't stand a chance, and the sooner they could be defeated, the less collateral damage. Tens of thousands of lives saved per year, at the very minimum."

I did think about it. And while he was completely wrong, he was also right.

"Blackett, you said we could be partners in this. Would you like to hear my counter thoughts?"

He looked at the others a little nervously but nodded.

"People, humans, that is, don't get up and decide to blow up a city block randomly. They could if they wanted to, terrorist groups and fanatics have taught us how possible that is, but in general they don't. Why do you think that is?"

"There is little point in it?"

"There's little point in an Exhuman doing it either, but they do all the time anyway. Guess again?"

"Just make your point," he said, running a hand through his hair.

"It's your own damn psychology you already use against Exhumans. They think they can't, think they wouldn't be able to get away with it, so they don't. Now, I can't speak for all Exhumans, but the ones I've known...who have killed people...usually they did so because it was easy. Because people had what they wanted, and there just wasn't any reason not to take it."

Blacket was already smiling softly, liking where this was going.

"If, and that's still just an if. But if we do as you say, and we implement some kind of Exhuman police force, that levels the playing field. More than levels it even, as you pointed out. The same difference between normal people and normal police. I could see a lot of Exhumans surrendering on the spot when it's other Exhumans coming in to arrest them."

"I'm glad you see it that way," Blackett began, but I raised a hand to stop him.

"But we need something better to do with Exhumans who are outed aside from offer them a choice between serving or death. That's just slavery at that point, and before you tell me that's the only way people will accept this, I'd like to remind you that kicking the slavery issue down the road for future generations to deal with has historically not gone well for America. And when that happens, it will be a conflict between all the Exhumans and their sympathizers versus all the humans. I don't think I need to tell you how that might go."

He leaned back and smiled. "Excellent points, and very quotable ones as well. I hope you don't mind if I were to use that very argument when I propose this plan to the generals."

"Quote away, quotemeister," I said, leaning back in my chair myself. "Look, you can register people, chip and tag us if you need to, but Exhumans need to be treated the same as humans on a fundamental level. That's all I know. Any plan that has that, I'm fully behind."

He nodded, and turned to the others.

"You have all listened quietly and patiently. We are all partners in this. I value your input as well."

"Honestly," said Tower, "I didn't think of half the stuff Chariot did, but it all sounded good to me."

"I am opposed to registering Exhumans," Jack said. "Though I admit, I cannot think of a scenario I both approve of, and would be accepted by people in general."

"Are they going to be actual Exhuman police?" Tower asked, suddenly.

"What?" I asked.

"Like, if I'm an Exhuman, like I am, and I get a speeding ticket. Do I have to get ticketed by an Exhuman police?"

We looked at each other all confused for a moment.

"I...I think...and correct me if I misunderstand, but um, the Exhumans, they would only be part...be part of the XPCA. They would, um...would respond to XPCA incidents. Not, um, not s-s-speeding tickets. Am I wrong?"

Tem looked to the rest of us for reassurance and we all nodded.

"Right. Guess that makes sense. Thanks, Tem!" Tower said and almost knocked her out of her chair with a clap on the back.

"So nobody has any objections to me going and proposing...the five of you join the XPCA as a new task force immediately?"

We all shook our heads.

"I am...I am truly moved. I remind you, you may walk out the door now and with the impending dissolution of the XPCA, it is likely you will never be found or stopped."

None of us moved.

He took a deep breath. "Well then, I shall contact the director immediately. To each of you, I offer my sincere gratitude."

"Just don't let us down, okay?" I asked.

"I shall do my best." He gave us a crisp salute and walked out. He was only gone for a moment before he came back in with the girl who had now been waiting for over twenty minutes out there.

"I had almost forgotten. This is one of my subordinates, Colonel Dawn. She will be appointed to lead the proposed task force, assuming all goes well. Please acquaint yourselves and hope for the best." He scooted off, leaving her with us.

"Please, call me Cosette," she said and smiled politely.

She was pretty average in every way. Average height, weight, brown hair that fell past her shoulders in gentle curls. Standard uniform, though she kept the top unzipped about halfway down, which didn't exactly show cleavage, but did show a little more skin, and a hat, kind of hard to make the details out because it was black, even if I'm sure it wasn't part of the uniform. It wasn't a beret, like special forces wore, but it did flop to one side. Skin not dark, not pale, a few freckles.

She was pretty, I thought, in a girl-next-door kinda way, though would be a lot better without the stiff military uniform. Jesus, did I only just meet this girl and was already insinuating she should be naked? Maybe AEGIS was right about me.

"Um, so," I said breaking the silence where we all just stared at each other. "How many Exhumans are in this room?" I asked her.

"Five?" she said, looking like she was counting to make sure.

"Oh good. I was really hoping Blackett told you that much at least."

"Director Blackett," Tem hissed.

"Oh, haha." she laughed. "I understand. Yeah, I've been working on this scheme with Blackett since the beginning. Some parts were even my idea. The uh, good parts."

I laughed, even if the joke was dumb, and she smiled.

"So assuming this all takes off the ground," she said, pulling up a chair without an invitation, which I liked, "I guess we'll be working together? What do I call each of you guys?"

We looked at each other, and all realized this was the moment where we kept up Blackett's silly nomenclature or went on our own terms.

"Oh, hard question?" she asked.

"No. They're just stupid. I'm Mage."

"Call me Jack, please."

"I'm Tower."

"Um...Temperance, but you can call me, um...call me Tem, or whatever you'd like."

"Chariot, I guess," I said, since everyone else was sticking with it.

"Nice. Major arcana."

"You're a major?" Jack asked.

"No," she laughed. "Colonel. Major arcana. From tarot?"

We all looked at each other, lost again.

"Tarot cards, they're this silly old supposedly magic set of cards, like an ouija board or crystal zoetrope? Anyway, the big cards in the deck, like the ace through jacks are all these specific cosmic things that supposedly have all this symbology and stuff around them. They're all collectively called the major arcana. Temperance, Justice, the Chariot, The Hanged man, The Queen of Cups, the Fool."

"Wonder if Blackett knew the Fool was an option before he named you," I said, nudging Tower, who just laughed.

"Sorry, that was super random, I know. I just love old mythological crap like that."

I looked at Jack to see if he was going to 'language!' her, but apparently he just saved that for us.

"I wonder if I should have a secret major arcana name too. How about," she cast her hands in front of her dramatically. "The Empress!"

Blank stares for everyone.

"Eesh, tough crowd. Maybe I should be the Hanged Man now."

This time we did laugh, but it was cut short by an alarm blaring through the building. Outside, through the glass, I could see auto-turrets deploying from every available surface.

"W-what is that?" Tem yelled over the alarm.

"An...an Exhuman event? Here?" Cosette yelled back. "We need to get to the basement, there's a shelter. Stairway only, everyone go!"

We filed out of the office, and found the secretary already gone. The floor indicator on each elevator showed only a flashing 'XX'. A concealed doorway I hadn't even noticed earlier on the far wall was popped open, revealing an emergency stairway behind it, echoing with the sounds of hundreds of urgent footsteps within.

We headed in, but only made it a few feet before I heard yelling behind us. I recognized Blackett's voice.

"All of you, come with me, to the top floor, now!" he shouted.

We turned and started to move up instead of down. Cosette seemed even more confused than the rest of us but followed.

"What's up, sir?" she shouted over all of us, and the continual ear-ringing alarm at him.

"There's an Exhuman event occurring right in the building," he shouted back down at us, already halfway up the stairs to the top floor. "They've taken the entire XPCA command hostage while we were meeting. I was the only one who made it out. I came back to get you all!"

I swallowed hard and we reached the final landing and funneled back out into another elevator hallway. An office door stood open, and a meeting room adjacent remained closed. Cosette and Blackett advanced on it slowly, pistols drawn from under their uniforms.

Tower took a few thunderous steps forward and blocked Blackett with an outstretched arm. "You two get to safety. Leave this to us Exhumans. We'll make you proud."

"...make you proud," echoed Tem.

"I...I thank you," Blackett said. "Regardless, I will remain on-hand to explain all of this to the commands when this is over. Miss Dawn, please evacuate."

"Not on your life, buddy," she said, checking the chamber of her gun by cycling the action. "If you're staying up here, so am I. Sir."

Blackett shook his head, and I had a profound moment of connectedness, as I realized that he, like me, was surrounded by stubborn idiots who loved him. I missed my friends for the first time in a while, being too busy and assuming they were all just doing well in my absence, and found my heart ached to think of them.

But...I was still too busy. There was an Exhuman in there, obviously an immensely powerful one, who could bypass or defeat the entirety of XPCA security effortlessly. We might not all come out of this alive, but I also doubted the world had ever seen such a thing as five Exhumans all working in unison.

We exchanged one final glance, steely looks on everyone...oddly including Tem, but still excluding Jack, the absolute weirdo, and kicked in the door, rushing inside.

An oval table as big as the room with a hollow center, XPCA generals in their dapper best, seated all around it. There, standing in the middle was the last possible thing I ever expected to see.

As my teammates paused to size up the situation, she just smiled and looked directly at me.

['Sup?]