Victoria sighed. She had much rather been out there driving the streets, keeping an actual eye out for this Eunos character. But no, she was stuck in a police station meeting room with the disgustingly archaic Colonel Goff, she swore he kept giving her the occasional glance barely seeming to keep his temper together. Sitting at the table was a few top brass police officers, the chief, as well as some of Goff’s closest officers. We were waiting on the equally disgusting Officer Birchwood, who was wheelchair bound after a supposed encounter with what he says must be Eunos.

The door slowly swung open and in wheeled Jim Birchwood himself. “Sorry you keep you all waiting” he said, the insincerity ringing loudly to Victoria. She mentally shrugged it off as him making the most of his moment in the spotlight.

“So what do we have?” Victoria spoke first “Lets start with you, Officer Birchwood”

The officer halted his wheelchair suddenly. Victoria smiled knowing she caught the vile man off-guard. He coughed and turned to the table, an awkward distance from everyone else in the room.

“The crash which-”

“Sorry I can’t hear you from over there, mind wheeling a bit closer?” Victoria sneered.

The officer muttered what was most definitely an insult and sidled up close to the table.

“The crash which happened on the night of this...Emergence storm thing, The mechanics checked all over the vehicle and the road. There was nothing that happened that caused the crash”

“Other than your own possible incompetence?” Victoria jabbed at the wounded officer.

“I’ve been in countless pursuits woman. Not a single accident on my record” He shrugged.

Colonel Goff stepped forward giving us both angry stares “That's enough you two, that seems to be; taking Officer Birchwood’s word for it, the first incident that is supposedly connected to this Eunos character. The second is the two men that claim to be attacked by a woman who according to one: ‘Messed with the phone somehow’. Any attempts to find security footage has resulted in static interference or cameras that were not pointed at the direction they were designed for, which matches up with the type of ability this Eunos thing seems to be capable of”

Victoria kept her mouth shut. He may be a wretched bigot but he was her boss. Goff hit the next button on the remote in his hands and the presentation behind him slid onto an image of the tipped over police van and mugshots of the two escapees.

“Thanks to..Victoria here. We managed to recapture the rock creature, but that ferret girl remains at large” He clicks the remote again, it slides to a screencap of a tweet by an account named Eunos of the Ferret chick asleep on a couch, there was nothing about the room that especially stood out, other than a poster with a weird looking mechanism labelled and disassembled on it.

“This is a tweet uploaded two days ago by this account, it clearly shows someone harbouring an escaped fugitive, and we can only assume that it might have been this person who helped. Unfortunately it seems a lot of the internet has fallen for this disgusting creature”

Victoria rolls her eyes at the overdramatic Colonel. He continues, not catching her reaction.

“According to the men assaulted by her, this Eunos woman has long white hair and some kind of enhanced strength of some kind, they said it felt like being hit by a metal bar. She is clearly dangerous and we must capture her pronto before she can hurt anybody else” He seemed very pleased with himself.

Everyone filed out of the room, leaving just Goff and I left in the room.

“Just so we’re clear Victoria, I don’t like types like you. You’re only here because the higher ups need a mascot. Do not get in the way of this operation”

Victoria leans on a windowsill. “Whatever Colonel, you don’t have the powers to stop me from protecting this place by myself, the public needs someone like me, America already has notable heroes like Bastion” Colonel Goff goes red in the face and almost looks to Victoria like steam should be bursting from his ears. She walks over to the door, pausing as she goes to close it behind her. “See ya later Colonel”

A few feet further down the hallway, she hears the thump of something getting punched in the room she’d left.

***

Sierra had been bugging me because she clearly felt cramped up in my apartment. I’d surrendered my bed to her but she spent most of her time sleeping at the foot of it, it was like having a hot pillow at the end of the bed and I was certainly enjoying it in these winter months. We had spent most of the morning playing video games together, as we did pretty much every day. “Look you go out at night on occasion right, off and away in your sportscar. Can’t you take me with you and let me run around the woods for a bit? My legs ache to be used” She pouted, breaking down my resistance towards letting her out.

“Alright, just at the first hint that you might run into someone else, rush back to me and the car okay” Neither of us were really dressed to go out. I went to my drawer and picked out a long skirt, and my regular comfortable turtleneck.

This would be the first time I wear a skirt. I hadn’t realised Miura had even slipped it into the clothing bundle we’d bought a few weeks ago and I’d been unsure about wearing it ever since I discovered it. I wouldn’t likely encounter anyone so I figured today is as good a day as any to wear it.

I stepped out of my room to see Sierra wiggling her way into a sweater.

“I’ll go bring the car out. I’ll give the horn a short blow and thats your cue to come get in okay?” Sierra makes a chirping noise that tells me she heard and I leave her be. I turn to the left to go down the stairs and immediately bump into Miura. I hadn’t told her about Sierra.

“Oh, hi Miura!” I say, checking the door is closed properly.

“Cynthia I was coming to check up on you. I knew the skirt would look good on ya” She grinned.

“Oh right yeah, everything is good here. I was on my way out for a drive, you good?” I began down the stairs, Miura following not far behind. God I hate small talk.

“I’m good yeah, um, Cy would you like..to go out sometime. Get away from all these assholes, theres a restaurant in a town over I know of thats super inclusive”

I pause. “That sounds really good actually, I’m down” In the background my garage door opens. “Thanks for the invitation Miura. I kinda threw away my phone so I’m sorry if you were trying to contact me through that, needed to get away from my old identity. This new me is so much...more me, ya know?”

“I understand Cy, have a good night okay?” She jogs off to her Fiesta and drives off, I give her a wave on her way out. I sighed. Miura was great but I didn’t want her to know anything more than the things I had done accidentally, she might not like me then. I pull the car out of the garage, open the passenger door and give the horn a toot, almost like a furry blur Sierra was in the passenger seat only a couple of seconds later.

“Did you lock the door” I ask her, she winks at me. And so we take off into the night. I rev up the car to 8000 rpm, making a wonderful racket to wake up the neighbours. Once out into the countryside I open up the throttle and vanish down the abandoned roads.

***

A Triumph motorcycle barrels down a wooded road, passing the occasional van and travelling well in excess of the speed limit. Victoria was taking a break from patrolling the town and decided to take the bike out for a proper run through the countryside, allowing the machine to stretch its legs for once. The frosty roads are sketchy this time of year, with the occasional patch of black ice, which was practically invisible to the naked eye. It was no problem for her though, she was a very experienced bike rider. All the black ice in the world couldn’t stop her.

After a short while the bike’s temperatures began to escalate to dangerous levels so Victoria pulls into a gravel car-park adjacent to a small park. Theres very few other cars in the lot, but one catches her eye as she turns off the bike. A white Mazda RX7, sitting by itself in the middle of nowhere. “This matches the description of the car that was involved in that slimeball’s accident. I better call it in”

***

It hadn’t been 10 minutes since I parked and let Sierra out when all of a sudden she burst out of the bushes

“Cy I found something you gotta see” She gestured into the woods. I sigh and climb out of the car, locking it up. I walk over to the bushes and down the trail she made, it's lined with patches of dandelions and the occasional fern shrub. I nearly step on a poor hedgehog that was busying about its own life. Eventually, Sierra leads me towards a set of concrete steps that look very out of place in between the trees, its' a bunker..

“There was some angry voices I heard inside, and a young girl crying. I can’t get in but maybe you can?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Good thinking. Let me try something” I reached out for anything mechanical or electronic nearby. I could faintly feel my car in the lot but nothing else stands out to me.

“Woah you look so cool doing that, your hair stands on end alongside your antenna” Sierra is almost bouncing up and down in awe.

“I can’t figure out a way in. I’ll have to force the door down” I crouch against the metal door. I pull back my metal arm and slam it into the handle, crushing it and causing a dent. “One more” I smash it again and the door springs open. Sierra rushes in between my feet and runs in the direction of the voices. I hear a gunshot and I sprint towards it as well.

I found a corner and find Sierra clamped onto this old farmer looking dude’s arm. He was holding a shotgun. Seeing his fingers nowhere near the trigger I grabbed for it, my arm crushing the barrel easily. I look around the room once he was dearmed and spot a woman and a girl cowering in the corner.

“Its okay, you’re safe now. ‘Cause I am here” I tried to smile at them. Sierra let go of the man and headbutted him in the stomach.

“You...fucking...abominations, the lot of you” He groaned, sinking to his knees.

Sierra retreats back towards me, spitting at the defeated man. “What’d you call us?” She growls.

“Abominations, mutants, whatever the fuck you are”

“Says the pathetic person who threatened his family with a gun” I drop the ruined weapon on the floor, it wasn’t going to hurt anyone now. Something chinks off of my arm. I turn and the little girl, who couldn’t have been older than 10 is standing there defiantly.

“You monsters hurt my daddy” The clink turns out to be a small rock that had bounced harmlessly off. The woman, presumably the mother, spoke up then as well.

“God has judged us and decided we’re not worthy and sent you to kill us” I was utterly flabbergasted by the accusation.

“I’ve no intention to harm you or your daughter, we only came because she could hear a commotion from outside” I back away from the pair, clearly frightened and angry. “The world's not ending, you can go out, here I’ll show you” I grab the collar of the father and begin to drag him outside.

“Where’re you taking daddy!?”

“Outside” I pull him to the top of the steps. The other two not far behind being followed by Sierra. “Here see? The owls are still hooting, the wind is still blowing, and the night sky is clear, move it” I shove the man forwards. “Take your family and go back home” They shuffle past me and help him to his feet.

“You can take your delusions about me and Sierra here and go stuff yourselves, clear off” with my words clear they quickly depart down another pathway. “Did I put that too harshly Sierra?” The ferret girl shakes her head and cleans her tail.

“I don’t think so Cy, we might be able to make use of this bunker though, provided things don’t go..” She pokes at my chest with an outstretched hand “..Tits up”

“You naughty skunk” I rustle her hair with my hand. “We may be needing that bunker at some point yeah” I was craving some new activity, perhaps moving forwards with investigated Glenda’s missing son might help me.

We found our way back to the carpark fairly easily, but I paused when we got there. The blonde lady I saw in the shop was snooping around my car. Sierra pulled me back further into the woods. “Cy thats Victory Victoria, she's like, a high tier government lackey, we can’t go out there”

I looked back towards the car, the woman was pacing back and forth besides it, looking like she was having some intense thoughts.

“Look Sierra, you run off home, you know the directions right? I’ll deal with this Victoria person” She nodded at me. All of a sudden, I don’t know why, I felt confident in my ability to get out of this situation. I looked down at myself, dressed in feminine attire. It gives me the confidence to face the world. Sierra runs off discreetly and I reach out to my car…

***

Victoria was startled when the car next to her began to make noises, the engine kicking into life happily, and the exhaust beginning to make the recognisable brapping noise of a rotary. Some bushes a short distance away rustle and a woman steps through them, she had hair that was as white as the snow, antenna that were at least a foot long and I could see the glint of what appeared to be a metal glaive?

***

I walked towards the car, looking around the car park to see if anyone else was about, there was only a motorcycle, judging from the blonde’s riding leathers it was probably hers.

“Thats an awfully nice bike you got there, would be a shame if something were to happen to it” I stop, beckoning the car to move towards me, it begins to crawl towards me; swinging to a halt right in front of me. I lean in the driver’s side of the roof. A glow of green energy begins to emit from Victoria’s hands.

“Are you Eunos? You certainly match the description I’ve been given” Oh dear, she looks very cross.

“I wouldn’t be so hasty if I were you, do you like that bike? One Thanos snap and I could destroy it” I grin, hoping that she loves that bike even a percentage of the amount I like my car. “Oh and yes, I’m most definitely Eunos, you government toadstool” Victoria appears to grit her teeth. “Now if you don’t mind. I’m going home now” I sit in the car and accelerate off, taking control back to my hands and feet, rather than my mind. I look in the rear view mirror and see her standing there, watching me drive off. I take a right out of the car park which isn’t quite the right direction to my apartment but just to be safe and to not indicate particularly where I live, I crank up the music:

Night fever night fever

Disco in town is on fire

Night fever hi-fever

Burning with me 'cause the night's on fire

I giggle to myself, what a tease I am. I reach the apartment 20 minutes later. I see Sierra asleep on the bed and go back into the living room. I grabbed a notepad off of the desk and wrote down what I knew:

* The Military has abducted a significant amount of Emerged.

* Glenda’s son, Michael is one of the people taken, he turned into some sort of Gecko-Human hybrid. Probably can climb stuff.

* The location is undetermined. Shall investigate Barracks.

Whilst doing this I loaded up the computer and asked it for directions to the Hillsborough base. It turns out to be not too far south of town. I could still faintly trace a signal to Sylvester’s phone, which must be there. Once that was sorted my mind starts to slow down in pace and I start to feel really drowsy, I grab for a pillow and settle down on the sofa. Eventually conking out for the night after some time spent staring at the ceiling.

I woke with a sneeze to see Sierra’s tail fluttering nearby.

“Cynthia, what on earth are you thinking of doing?” She looked seriously pissed. Oh crap I forgot to turn off the computer, she probably found the notes too.

I stumble with my words. I feel like I have to escape. Sierra will probably catch me though.

“You genuinely think you could do this alone? Let me come!” She stomps her foot on the ground.

Calming a little, “You’re not mad I’m going to go there?” I ask tentatively.

“Hell no, those cunts kidnapped me. I’m annoyed you were planning on going in there alone, what if you get yourself killed?”

“I...don’t want to spoil your mood further but I don’t necessarily think taking you with me would increase my chances of survival, plus I wasn’t planning on going in, per-se”

“So what were you planning on doing?” Sierra let out an exasperated sigh.

“Just kinda sitting outside and causing mayhem, Just Cause style y’know?”

“You don’t have access to a freakin’ grapple hook and infinite parachutes”

“Look, I don’t plan on doing it now, I don’t want to ruin peoples Christmas” I slump down on the sofa, my muffled voice permeating through the soft pillow. “I already came up with a villain name and everything, kinda also took rightful claim of letting you out of that damn van. Check twitter on that computer”

A few seconds later I hear a gasp from the computer. “You’re gonna want to see this Cy, it kinda blew up” I heaved myself off of the sofa, expecting maybe 50 retweets. I peer at the computer screen and my jaw dropped.

“500K retweets? You fucking what?” I immediately begin typing up a tweet to follow it.

Eunos @YesIAmEunos: Her name is Sierra BTW. She’s super sweet and adorable. We think she inherited some Ferret characteristics. I liberated her from the bastards running #OperationBarracuda. They’ve been abducting #Emerged here and I will not stand for it. I’m coming for them.

I add a third tweet to the chain

Eunos @YesIAmEunos: Hey Emerged of the internet. We can’t let ourselves be controlled by anyone. Your life is yours. Use your powers for yourself. (Helping me would be nice too)

“What’d you think of that Sierra?” I turned to her, hoping for praise. She giggled and covered her face.

“Well you could have asked me first about sharing the image you know. But I like the sounds of this. The power of ourselves and the internet will take down this wretched op!” She jumped on the spot and punched the air like a cheerleader. I couldn’t help but feel her enthusiasm, it was totally palpable.

“Right! We can’t let them get us down and controlled. Thats not right”

Sierra stops dancing and looks at me thoughtfully. “Don’t you have a date soon with that Miura lady?”

“How’d you know about that?” I take a step back from the computer, suddenly feeling super nervous again.

“I change super quick. I’m pretty sure everyone heard you as well, girl you should go for a makeover. I’m sure Miu would love you”

“Make-up? I don’t know about that”

“You’re wearing a skirt right now, you’re a sexy woman. Imagine the sex appeal you’d have if you wore a bit of makeup” She blew a kiss at me. “You couldn’t exactly paint your nails though”

“That hadn’t even crossed my mind” I look at my hands, one of which doesn’t even have any distinguishing details like nails or anything, the metal tips of my fingers being blunt.

“You don’t even have any posh shoes, but you do have a dress, I kinda went through your wardrobe whilst I was bored one day. The colours are very on point”

“I haven’t a clue how to walk in heels”

“Theres time to learn!”

“I’ll just wear some boots, its fine”

“Your loss sis” She smirked at me. I grab one of her ears and tug on it “Owwwww ok I’ll stop teasing, lemme go” I let go and she rubs her ear, giving me the stink eye. “My ears are delicate Cy”

“Well so am I” Our small quarrel was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Crap, hide in the cupboard Sierra”

“On it” She darted for the kitchen, I hear the door to the area under the sink close. The door knocks again.

“Cyrus?” Its Sylvester, crap. What am I going to do? I slide open the lock on the door and open it a small amount only showing my left side, trying to keep my other arm hidden.

“Who’re you?” I lie, knowing full well who it is. Sylvester was still in his military garb. His hair was shaved right down and his piercing blue eyes were burrowing into me.

“Oh uh, sorry miss. Do you know a Cyrus Sutton? I’m told he used to live here”

“No I don’t. I moved in a week ago”

“Oh. Nevermind then. Um, he looks a bit like me but skinnier and with longish brown hair. If you see someone like that can you ask him to contact me? My name is Sylvester Sutton, I’m his brother”

“Sylvester Sutton, got it”

“You know Miss..” He probes for my name. I have to think of one on the spot.

“Nova”

“Miss Nova, you’re awfully pretty” Oh god I do not need this right now, my own fucking brother coming onto me.

“Sir, don’t you have better things to do than hit on some random woman?” I close the door in his face. Disgusted once again by him, I let Sierra out from under the sink. “He knows about the description of me they have. He’ll put two and two together and make four soon. We gotta go ahead with this soon Sierra”

Her expression hardens “Right, tonight it is then” she says.

“Yeah, tonight”

***

Stunned by the reaction to his compliment, Sylvester walked back to his car down the steps. He couldn’t stop thinking about the woman, something was off about her. She seemed very nervous at his presence. He’ll have to come back and ask her some more questions later, he royally fucked that one up. When he got to the car he heard the sound of a louder car entering the car park and saw a small blue Fiesta reversing into a spot a short distance away. He remembered his brother talking about his landlord’s car being one of these Fiestas so he strolled over to the car. A woman was getting out of it.

“Hey uh, are you the landlord of these apartments?”

“Yes, I’m Miura Bramble, you interested in one?”

“No, Miss Bramble I’m looking into what happened to my brother, Cyrus Sutton?”

“Oh uh, him. He moved out not too long ago, had apparently found out of a upgrade I guess. He not tell you?”

“No, he hasn’t contacted me for well over a week. I spoke to the woman thats now living in his previous residence”

Miura stiffened at that. “What’d she say?”

“She hadn’t heard of him, yet alone seen him, she's an odd one”

“She is certainly that, if you don’t mind Sylvester I’ve got a job to do”

“Alright, tell me if you find anything” Sylvester turned back to his car, covering the short distance efficiently, still thinking about this Nova woman. He left the apartment complex more confused than ever.