“Welcome back, my brothers and sisters. Welcome back!” Nigel said, raising his hands as if to embrace them all.

“Here you are, here you go, there you are.” Vanessa whispered, going through the crowd and dispersing Taboo to the members. She was dressed in a long flowing white robe, the uniform of all the senior acolytes of the Society of the Third Eye.

“Thank and bless you, Vanessa.” the man said, taking the pill from her.

“Thank and bless you, Warren.” she replied, smiling happily.

The last few weeks had been incredible. She had met so many new people, and all of them were so nice! Leader Nigel had been personally helping her with her spells, and now she could conjure up an illusion of just about anything, and make anything seem like anything else. There was just so much to discover, and she couldn’t have done it without her new friend’s-her new family’s help. She always seemed to be in a good mood nowadays, despite never being home. Her mother and father would never understand the transformation she had gone through, that they were all going through. And her sister? Vanessa was just glad Riley had found a new friend, so she wouldn’t be stuck babysitting all the time.

“-society will never accept us or the choices we make, so we shouldn’t accept them or theirs! We are the future, we have the power! But it is not enough, my brethren.” Nigel said as Vanesa finished up and settled down beside Janet to listen to the speech. “No, because we have the power, we must take action! A call to righteousness has gone out, and we must answer it! We mustn’t be simply content to await the future, because every moment we do the future becomes more grim! There are dark times ahead, my brethren, dark times. So we need to live, live each day as if it were our last. For if not, it will be!”

Vanessa sighed as she watched him orate, gesturing grandly. Whenever he talked, she couldn’t help but listen. He had a way around people, a certain charisma that let people listen to him, and top-notch ideas that truly made sense. They were the ones who would inherit the Earth, after all. They needed to start thinking about how they were going to liv eon it. Ever since she had started taking Taboo and listening to everyone else’s ideas, her mind and viewpoint had greatly expanded.

“Don’t try to gobble him up with your eyes, girl.” Janet giggled, elbowing her as she stared at him.

“What? No, I was just listening carefully, is all.” Vanessa said, blushing lightly. “I just think he’s got the right idea. I’m trying to pay attention, shut up.” she whispered back.

“-which is why it’s not enough. Sacrifice, my brethren, we must all sacrifice something, whether it be time, money, or…well, whatever becomes necessary. We must not be content for the authorities in our lives to claim us and make us victims of our own pain and struggle. We must rise up and unite! We must take control of our present, or we will have no future! So take your Taboo! Expand your horizons! Unite under the banner of the Third Eye Society!” That was her cue.

“K’kkklnnon, shaghothtowatha. Elnum ulm. Elnum ulm. Elnum ulm.” Vanessa chanted quickly. Sparks like fireworks popped above Nigel’s head and an illusory flag, navy blue with their symbol, the eye surrounded by three V’s and a g in gold. They had a real one made for ceremonial purposes but it was just much easier and faster if Vanessa handled it, apparently with aplomb if the cheers, applause, and chants of “Third Eye! Third Eye! Third Eye!” were any indication.

“Thank you everyone! Please meet with our senior disciples for training and evaluation of your new powers!” Nigel took a bow, and stepped off the stage into the air. Vanessa waved a hand, dismissing the stage and spotlight. “Ah, Vanessa! Good work, as always.” he said, coming to the ground next to them.

“Thank you, Leader Nigel. I-It’s just an honor to help out, really.” she said, looking down bashfully. He kept staring as her with those intense blue eyes of his. Janet grinned and nudged her.

“Don’t be so modest, sis! You’ve worked really hard these last few weeks, you deserve a little praise! And maybe some more ‘private lessons’, just to make sure you’re in tip-top shape.”

“Janet!” Vanessa said, shoving her half-heartedly.

“That’s…not too far off from what I was going to ask, actually.” Nigel said, smiling gently. Vanessa’s eyes bugged out and Janet burst out loud laughing.

“Wha-? Really?” Vanessa said, equal parts afraid and hopeful. He nodded.

“While I don’t believe your friend has quite the right idea, I’ve seen your spellwork and have decided that you are the perfect candidate for the Inner Circle.” She held in a gasp. The Inner Circle was the elite if the elite in the Society of the Third Eye, the Leaders and their closest partners deciding on policy and new ways to take the group. Not to mention, special Taboo was offered to them, giving them more spells and knowledge. But she didn’t care about that.

“Oh…are-are you sure? Me?” she asked nervously, and he smiled and nodded. “Oh my. Y-Yes! Obviously, duh!” she said, laughing.

“Excellent. Please join me in the back. You see, there are several rituals that require both a man and a woman to complete, and I must say you are a fine example of a lovely young woman. Perhaps afterward, we can get a cup of coffee?”

“I-I’d like that, very much. Thank you, Leader Nigel.” she said, smiling back. Janet gave her a thumbs-up and disappeared, mingling into the crowd.

“Wonderful. Please, step over into my office.” he said, leading her up the stairs.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Agent Crenshaw was escorted into the general’s office by the aide, looking very harried with tons of papers spilling out of a folder.

“General Kimball will be with you shortly, sir. Is there anything I can get you, coffee, water, tea?” he asked, but Crenshaw waved him off, seeing his workload.

“No, thank you.” he said dully. The aide nodded and hurried off, looking frazzled. The entire Pentagon was on alert, agents, soldiers, and higher military personnel alike bustling back and forth. He hadn’t been informed of anything, and that’s why he had to come see the general today. After a moment, General Kimball walked through the door. His close-cropped hair and mustache had more grey and white in it than Crenshaw remembered, but the general stood as straight and proud as ever, especially for a man in his sixties.

“Crenshaw, my boy.” he said warmly, greeting him with a hearty handshake. “It’s good to see you again, especially after that ruckus that you went through.”

“Yes, General Kimball. That mission’s why I’m here today.” Crenshaw said, sitting down when the general did.

“I suspected as much. You can relax, m’boy. I promise you the chair isn’t going to bite.” Kimball said wryly.

“Forgive me sir, but I have not been at ease lately. Besides, after that incident with the possessed house and the bed that tried to eat me, I respectfully decline.” Crenshaw said humorlessly, even as Kimball chuckled.

“At least you can fake a sense of humor. But to business.” Kimball said, taking out a document. “I’ve been investigating the matter myself. You said the NYPD showed up to interfere, correct?”

“Yes sir. Not only that, we were unable to collect Special Agent Havenbrooks’ remains, as they locked the whole block down and nearly arrested us. If it hadn’t been for Agent Cross, we wouldn’t have escaped.” Crenshaw said.

“Ah yes…the lad.” General Kimball sighed, looking much, much older than his age. “We do what we must.” he muttered under his breath. “It is unfortunate, especially for one so young.”

“I agree sir. His knowledge was most valuable, losing him was a blow. However, he did manage to complete his original objective and identify the Taboo composition, as well as destroy the refinery and alert us to the moon phenomena.” Crenshaw said simply, stiff as a board.

“My boy, that’s not what I…nevermind.” Kimball sighed. “We’ll address it later. But for now, how many casualties?”

“Two total, sir. Agents Loomis and Havenbrook. Williams was MIA, presumed dead until literally the last minute we were at the safehouse. He had a harrowing journey there, Samagan turned out to be a monster as well, he didn’t see much of him, mostly stuck behind cover. But apparently the creature has scales, and there was a bad stench when we passed through the area. Williams knew the code phrases, the DNA scan came up clean, and there’s no lingering metaphysical residue, I believe Agent Williams is who he says he is and can be trusted. However, with the exception of Agent Cross, all of us have sustained injuries. My own won’t keep me out of commission long, but four of the five others will be out of action for months, at least. Hewett may never walk again, depending how the surgery goes. But we were unable to reenter the building due to the encroaching police presence, and my understanding was we were clear for the mission. If I may be frank, the hell, sir?” Crenshaw said sharply, frowning. Kimball leaned back in his leather chair.

“I understand you’re upset. So am I. I personally approved the requisition form, you should’ve been cleared as an FBI raid. But from what my people’ve gathered, the cops knew nothing about it. They were just doing their jobs, and escorted Delacroix to his mansion.” Kimball said, a hard look on his face. “He’s wasting no time, either. Have you seen this?” He handed Crenshaw a flyer. It depicted a smiling group of teenagers on a warm, sunny day in the park. ‘Trouble at home? Interpersonal conflicts? Slipping grades? You or your teen may be at risk. Please, reach out and get help, before it’s too late.’ it read, with a phone number and website. Crenshaw frowned. The symbol on the flyer was the same one they found with that cult.

“The Second Chance House?” he asked.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“It’s a youth group, funded in great part from Metatech Pharmaceuticals. It’s a volunteer organization to help kids, runaways, suicide prevention, that sort of thing. The poor, desperate, lonely, and disaffected. ‘Course, you might know ‘em better as the Society of the Third Eye.” Kimball said gruffly.

“They’re going public?” Crenshaw asked in shock.

“And people are flocking to them in droves. Delacroix’s made Scott Havenbrook a poster boy for the cause. ‘If he’d only been able to get the help he needed beforehand.’ Pah.” The general spat into his trashcan in disgust.

“That’s highly disturbing, sir. But if they’re public now, shouldn’t we know where they are and shut them down easily?” Crenshaw asked.

“I’d love nothing more, but Delacroix and all his dealings are in the public eye. Even I don’t have the clearance to authorize that, not unilaterally.” Kimball groused, mustache bristling. “Besides, I’m up to my neck already trying to find the spy in our organization. There’s no go between my office and the precinct for that order, I have to know who it is before we can move forward.” he said. Crenshaw nodded in agreement.

“So what should we do, sir? Standby? Or did you receive that proposal from Agent Cross?” he asked. The general grinned and pulled out a file from the desk.

“It’s a hell of an idea, I’ll give her that. You’ll continue the investigation, pick up the pieces best we can. We still don’t know what Delacroix’s after, and that worries me greatly. It’s a long shot, but I approved it. The info this one might have could be the key that we need. It’s thanks to your earlier investigation that we found her.” Crenshaw took the file and examined the contents, his eyes growing wider as he went through. “Fun, isn’t it?”

“Sir, is there an electronic version I could send to her? I can head back to Craven Falls right away if you want, but If Cross can get there faster, the better.” Crenshaw said.

“I can e-mail it to her right now. Never would’a thought of this.” Kimball said.

“Good. She needs to get moving on this, right away.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone was sitting down nervously, save for the two as the desk. Cross growled and rubbed her temples. She considered Irishing up the coffee in front of her, but it was way too early in the morning for that. Leo hummed as he awaited his cup, absently holding onto the sword hilt sticking up from the ground. Though he believed the detective when she said they were the good guys, a little extra warning not to try anything never hurt.

“So, that creep possessing Brian last year’s back, and he’s allied himself with a pharmaceutical conglomerate to produce drugs that give people magic powers, and he’s been distributing them to kids.” he summarized, and Cross nodded. “I see. Do we know where he is?” he asked courteously, but the sword in his hand erupted into white-hot flame.

“Easy there, big guy. You’re scaring the out-of-towners.” Cross said flatly, noticing them all jump and move back, guns half-drawn.

“Ah, forgive me. My apologies.” Leo said, nodding to the other agents and putting the flames out. “My training with Mielios was quite fruitful, and I’m more used to handling my sword now, but sometimes it’s a little too responsive.” A terrified agent brought a mug of coffee with sugar and cream on a tray, shaking noticeably as she set it down. “Oh, please don’t be frightened miss. I swear to you, I don’t hurt those who don’t deserve it. That’s why I received this blade in the first place. Please don’t worry, I’m only here to help put an end to this madness. I’m sorry if I scared you and everyone else earlier, but I had little choice other than to break in in a forceful manner.” Leo said disarmingly, giving her what he hoped was a winning smile to put her at ease. She turned away, red-faced with a mumbled “Don’t worry ‘bout it” and scurried off as fast as she could, still trembling. He sighed and added cream to the drink. “No good. Even if I apologize, they’ll still be afraid of me.” Cross stared at him blankly, then shook her head.

“That’s-nevermind, it’s not important. Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. To be honest, we’re really hurting for manpower. Most of the agents here aren’t qualified for the field, and they don’t have experience in fighting the supernatural directly. With the kid…gone, we need all the help we can get. I’ve seen how you handle yourself, you’ve more than passed any test I could think of. Would you be interested in working with us, to help stamp out Taboo production and whatever scheme that thing is cooking up?” She venomously spat the word, sneering. She remembered what the kid had said, so there was no way she was going to say that name lightly. Leo frowned.

“Yes, that does bother me. What exactly is the head of Metatech and his…friend have planned? Why produce the Taboo? What’s their endgame? If it was world domination, surely not calling attention to all this with the drugs would be a safer bet than this plan.”

“That’s exactly what we’ve been asking since day one. And according to the analysis of what we recovered, they’re producing the Taboo at a loss, practically giving it away.” Cross explained.

“Hmm. Well, I’m not sure how much I can do, but if you need my help you have it.” Leo said, sticking his hand out with a big grin.

“Welcome aboard, Special Agent Manning.” she said, shaking it.

“Uh, ma’am, only Agent Crenshaw has the authority to-” one of the aides began, but she whirled on him in a flash.

“Unfortunately, Agent Crenshaw is not here right now, so his opinion is moot. Special Agent Manning has as much right to the title and responsibilities as the kid doe-did. And without direct orders to the contrary, his deputization will stand. Understood?” she said, glaring harshly. The aide melted under her gaze.

“U-Understood, ma’am!”

“At least I’m old enough to enlist.” Leo mused, watching the aide nervously slink off.

“Thank heaven for small favors.” Cross said, when alarms started blaring again. “Oh for the love of God, now what!?”

“Unidentified object, incoming from beyond Earth’s orbit!”

“What’s the trajectory? Is it a projectile?”

“It’s moving too fast, we can’t scramble air support in time!”

“Is-is it slowing down?”

“Readings indicate .79 on the scale! It’s got magic residue!”

“Initiate evacuation and self-destruct!”

“Belay that!” Cross shouted, grabbing the tech who called that out in a panic. He looked at her, and fainted. “Guess not everyone’s tempered by weird happenings.” she muttered, tossing him aside. “Stay calm, people! Don’t do anything rash! Someone get me eyes on the bogie, prepare for combat!”

“Yes ma’am!”

“I may have my first assignment.” Leo said, the sword charm on his bracelet dangling as he began to stretch, working up for a fight.

“We’ll see, probably-wait!” Cross barked. The monitors flicked to an outside camera, pointed at the sky. Falling from the clouds was a small humanoid figure, headed right for the flattened mall concealing the underground base. “Is that-?”

“Could it really be?” Leo said, meeting her eyes.

“Outside. Now. Everyone. Stay armed, but do not open fire unless attacked or on my orders.” Cross commanded, and the other agents nodded and filed out, Leo at the lead with his sword drawn and already aflame.

Once out, it was easy to see the small dot in the sky grow closer, and closer, and closer-and closer…and closer…and closer…and closer…and even closer, but still not there…and closer…and closer…

“What the heck is taking so long?” one of the agents muttered. The figure was slowing down with every foot it dropped. It appeared to be crawling down a thin, shimmering, but translucent line to the ground, and the operative word was crawling. Cross sighed, having kept her gun up and pointed at the white figure for nearly five straight minutes now. Everyone was getting tired and antsy, just watching the figure ever slowly descend.

“Hurry up!” Leo called out to it.

“It’s not that easy!” the figure snapped back. Eventually she reached near the ground, crawling upside-down muttering “Too high up, too high up.” nervously. She sighed in relief when her hand touched the asphalt, and the shimmering line disappeared. She bent and flipped right-side up, and Amber smiled at everyone.

“Uh, hi there every-why do you all have guns? I surrender! Peacefully!” she said fearfully, sticking her hands in the air.

“Amber? That-that is you right?” Leo said warily, seeing her for the first time since last fall.

“Leo? Good to see you, but what are you doing here?” she asked.

Cross stared at her. Yes, that response was Amber. Cross thought she was gone forever, the kid made it sound like it. One of her charges, lost to space and transformed into a strange monster. The girl she had known since that night ten months ago, when her life changed, avenging her death and witnessing her resurrection. Twice. The girl who often listened to her, who Cross found herself tempering her temper and mouth for. She was an only child, but if Cross had ever had a little sister, Amber would be the one she’d want.

“M-Miss Harris, do you want to eat people’s brains, conquer the earth, or otherwise cause chaos for the people of this world?” she asked, and Amber recoiled in horror.

“What? Ew, no! That’s disgusting! And terrible!” Her body language was the same as a humans’, and the same as Cross remembered. Wordlessly, she crossed the circle around the girl and wrapped her in a hug.

“You’re back. You’re really alive, and really back.” Cross whispered.

“Y-Yeah?” Amber said awkwardly, returning the embrace.

“Right. Show’s over, everybody! Guns down, everyone back to your posts!” Cross ordered, holstering her Glock. The agents muttered confusedly among themselves, but followed her lead.

“You know some weird kids.” one said as they tromped back. Cross rolled her eyes.

“Tell me about it.” She rounded on Amber, getting filled in by Leo with a grim expression on her paper-white face. “So. What happened? Why are you here? I thought you were gone forever.”

“I am, pretty much.” Amber said, frowning. “I’ve been altered down at the genetic level. I’ve got millions of siblings now, and tons of important duties under the uylata spider. She’s only allowed me a week back here.”

“I-I see. And this spider-what exactly does she do that’s so important? I’m just asking.” Cross said cautiously, and Amber snorted.

“Don’t worry, I’m not brainwashed. Well, not anymore.”

“That’s comforting.” Cross grunted.

“The programming the uylata does is to ensure the acolytes actually respond to the call, and imprints the instincts necessary to get to the group safely.” Amber explained. “The uylata are a collective of children of the uylata spider that aid her in forming and expanding the physical aspect of this universe, as well as preying on the void creatures that break through to eat space-time.”

“Oooo-kayyyyy…” Cross said uncertainly.

“But why are you back?” Leo asked.

“Because I saw…I saw Scott take a walk off a skyscraper. Thank you for telling me what’s going on, I appreciate it. There’s-there’s nothing I can do for him now, I know that. But the bastards who took his life will pay.” she said, eyes turning a sunlight gold and glowing fiercely. Cross took an involuntary step back, instinctively sensing a predator. “Oh, sorry. Um, if, if there’s anything I can do to help you please let me. The power shared among the uylata is only among the uylata, but I can still do some stuff, like conjuring gravity webs, or…” She looked around, walked over to a Jeep, and with a heave of effort lifted it above her head. “See? I’m strong, too.” she said, sounding strained.

“Okay, okay, I believe you!” With a sigh of relief, Amber lowered it to the ground. “Jesus, these kids…alright, if you’re only here a week, we’ll have you ‘til then. Welcome aboard.” Cross said.

“Thank you very much.” Amber said, nodding gratefully.

“Um, I don’t mean to sound rude, and am only saying this as a practical concern. Are you going to be wearing that the whole time?” Leo said. She looked down and realized she was still wearing the skinny jeans and tube top she’d been wearing the night she’d attended the party. Her sandals had long since broken and gone.

“Whoops! Oh, would anyone have a spare change of clothes or anything? I mean, I could go home, but I’d rather not let Mom and Dad find out I’m here, not yet. I’d be awkward, I’ve only got a week, and so much to do…eh heh heh…” she chuckled nervously. Cross sighed and called a female agent over.

“Take her to the decontamination shower, get her cleaned up, then get her a woman’s uniform. Sorry kid, you’ve got a choice of either a black suit or a black suit.” she grunted.

“That’ll be fine.” Amber said, and they went off. Leo turned to her.

“So now that we’ve got the old team back together, what’s our next move?” he asked.

“I’ve been thinking about that. We still don’t have anyone who knows about this magic stuff, unless…?” She glanced at him expectantly, but he sighed and shook his head.

“Sorry, I just learned how to fight. My sword’s magic, but I really only know about vampires, zombies, and ghosts.”

“I was afraid of that. But that’s alright. Since the kid’s…no longer with us, I’ve been looking into-” Her cellphone beeped. She saw the message from Crenshaw, and gave a dry, humorless smile. “Well, finally something went right. Talk about a blast form the past. C’mon, we’ve got our first mission as a team. We’ll be going to New Hampshire.”