October 6, 493 U.C.

Like a bird escaping its cage, I burst out of the airlock on Monday morning. Dark clouds greeted me. I smiled at them. Finally! I spun triumphantly and headed up the street.

Daniele giggled and bumped me. She was probably laughing at my antics. I did not mind in the slightest. A teleporting bird is not meant to be caged. I looked at Daniele and considered taking a holiday on Earth. If I make a necklace, it’d work. I should make one for Ryan too! I decided to do that.

We turned a corner. The breeze mussed with our hair, playfully waving it around. A shop ahead flashed ads for oranges. That was tempting.

“Did you at least see a doctor?” Daniele asked.

“It’s fine.” I waved at her and enjoyed the sound of the breeze. Footsteps?

“See a doctor for what?” Daron asked.

I reached out my arms. “I was sick. Hugs?”

Daron stepped away from me and walked to Daniele. “Daniele, is she lying?”

Daniele huffed. “I’m not doing this, Daron. If you want me to spy on Casey, find someone else for the dance.”

Shock spread across Daron’s face. “Sorry. I was just messing with her.”

I looked over as I heard others. Then I waved at the two fae who came walking up. Turning back, I contemplated buying an orange. I hadn’t had one in a while.

Spen’ze matched my stride. “Sick?”

“A cold. It happens.” Wait. Does it? That thought suddenly took root in my brain.

Spen’ze grunted. “I heard that you failed a certain test.”

“Can fae get sick? Do you have a cure for colds?” I demanded meeting his eyes.

Spen’ze chuckled. “We get sick. There are spells to help. It depends on the sickness. The test?”

“What about it?” I asked. “Daron supervised. If you want to bother someone, bother him.” I leaned closer. “I heard that he has mana.”

Spen’ze dodged around a scooter. “We’ll see.”

I shrugged and looked over at the terraformer. It seemed to be working, a little steam billowed out of it, ascending to the dark clouds. I waved my hand, trying to figure out if it would rain.

“How is it on Earth?” Daniele asked.

“Not great,” Daron said. “The in-fighting is growing. They keep threatening to use Viper. Do you think she would?”

Daniele laughed. Peals of it rolled down the street, drawing the attention of several, myself included. I said a silent prayer as panic churned through my insides.

“What’s funny?” Daron asked.

Daniele giggled. “You saw her with those kids. Killing a kid? There is no chance of that. I watched those videos again. It was comforting.”

Daron looked down the street. “That’s what all the analysts said too. She doesn’t make sense though. Zriulth? How did she get the ability to acquire spells from others?”

Zriulth wedged himself in on my other side. “It sounds made up. The fae do not know anyone with that ability.”

“But you saw all the spells?” Daron protested.

“She must have learned to free cast. It’s a difficult skill, but it is doable even among guardians. Though most lack the strength for something that strong. And most opt out of it. It comes with a price.” Zriulth studied me. “They’d need to be accustomed to mana.”

I stuck my tongue out at him.

Daron looked over. “What’s the price?”

“Casey? Can you run ahead or admit it?” Zriulth asked.

“Admit what?” I asked. Then another thought hit. I turned towards Daron with a smirk. “Congratulations, Daron. I guess that I do know a guardian.” I laughed and began jogging forward.

“No, you don’t,” Daron said loudly.

I spun and winked at him, giggling while I did it.

“Knock it off, Casey.”

I saluted. “Sure thing, Magical Majesty.”

Spen’ze grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. I turned and batted my eyes at him, giving him my most dazzling smile.

“Casey, please don’t push on it,” Spen’ze said. “It will cause trouble.”

I giggled. “I just had to mess with him. And I know about Daniele, of course. I was there when she got tested.”

“Of course.” Spen’ze paused a moment and looked right at me. “Casey, please?”

“Please what?” I asked.

“Trust us,” Spen’ze said softly.

I stared at him. What do they know? That was too overt and doesn’t make sense. I blinked. “Spen’ze?”

Spen’ze shook his head. “Maybe you aren’t involved. I honestly don’t know. But if you are, talk to us now. That group made a massive mistake.”

I had no answers to that either, so I stewed on it while we walked. What mistake? The lab? It’s got to be that. They did do something. What else are they doing? With a growing temptation to try to get information from Ela, I turned back. “What mistake?” I asked as I walked up the steps to the school.

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Spen’ze held open the door. “We’re just kids by fae standards, so I don’t know much. I just know that Eluna was informed of something. Then the fae council was informed. And the council used it to gain access to Earth and all the planets. Now some very powerful fae are getting involved. Liani’s on Earth right now because of it.”

Is she cleaning up the lab stuff? I wondered. That’d be nice. For a moment, I was grateful. Relief flashed on my face that someone would help clean up that disaster. “Who’s she?” I asked.

“I can’t answer that, but she will put a stop to whatever is happening with Platinum. If you know anything, you need to report it.” Spen’ze met my gaze.

I swallowed. Then my eyes went wide. For the first time, I felt his magic. He must have been shielding it because it washed over me like a small drizzle of rain. I shivered as it hit.

“And I am nothing in comparison to the people who are now involved,” Spen’ze said as we walked into the airlock.

I stared at the floor and tried to calm my thundering heart. Do I try to talk to them? Spen’ze doesn’t know what’s going on. That’s obvious. I honestly had no idea what to do. Opting to continue my spying and cleanup, I decided more information was better. I turned. “Spen’ze,” I asked pulling on his hand softly. “Are they going to kill anyone who isn’t a guardian? What are they going to do? Why?”

Spen’ze shrugged. “I don’t know much. I just know that the council is livid for more than one reason. Some will die. That’s for sure. You should come clean, Casey. If you know anything, just trust us.”

I swallowed and looked away. People’s lives are on the line. I have to do this right. Like it or not, that was the only option. I steeled myself for more spying throughout classes.

“Want to chat after school?” Spen’ze asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

I sighed. “I’m grounded.”

“Daniele mentioned that. What exactly did you do?”

I was prepared this time. “I kept messaging friends after curfew.”

“Right. You know that you are a mediocre liar?”

“Yes,” I admitted it. My lying skills were a real problem.

“What happened to your leg?” Spen’ze asked, following me down the hall.

I kept walking while wishing this would end. “Tripped.”

Spen’ze rolled his eyes. “Terrible. Try again.”

“Trampoline accident.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Oh, they are these fun and dangerous -”

“Hi, Spen’ze!” Sandra said with a grin as she approached.

Spen’ze waved at her.

“Interviewing the criminal?” Sandra asked. “She doesn’t have magic.”

Spen’ze sighed. “I’m just talking to Casey.”

That one surprised me. My smile crept back. It felt nice to not be called a criminal for once.

Sandra nudged me out of the way. “You should ditch the freshmen. She’s the most plain Jane girl in existence. You can do better.”

“Why does that matter?” Spen’ze asked. “She knows that humans and fae aren’t compatible.”

Sandra bumped him. “Sure we are. We just aren’t genetically compatible. But there are ways to change it. You could make me into a guardian.”

I started chuckling. I couldn’t help it. They were still trying. The look of exhaustion on his face was priceless. It looked like he was on the brink of walking away.

Spen’ze rubbed his brow. “Please don’t. I just want to enjoy the walk.”

“Sorry,” Sandra said. “But think about it. What are your hobbies?”

I zoned out while she tried to win him over. Then I headed for class. I needed time to think. I needed to use time stop to go spy on people, except that was more difficult than I’d planned since I needed them to be saying or doing anything incriminating.

Sitting down, I began plotting the best way to get better surveillance gear.

Spen’ze waved his hand in front of my face. “Hello, Casey?”

“What? Sorry,” I replied while pulling my head off the desk.

“A lot on your mind?” Spen’ze asked.

I nodded at him. It wasn’t worth trying to lie about it.

“If I can help, let me know.”

“I will.” I turned and waved at Ryan as she walked in.

“Welcome back. Don’t go getting me sick,” Ryan said with a giggle as she took a seat.

I stuck my tongue out at her and then pretended to cough. She jumped back and giggled. Then she walked back up and began typing on my desk.

“Did you see this?” Ryan asked.

I looked down and the article and nodded. I can’t believe they are threatening to unleash me like some horrible magic weapon. It went on and on about magical attacks and the need to unite under him. With growing frustration, I froze time and went to look.

My attempt failed. It was warded. I considered trying to smash it too, but that would have tipped off everything for certain. Sighing, I opted for something else. I grabbed the picture for Grandpa and placed it on his counter. Then I returned to school.

Ryan closed the article. “Think they’ll stop?”

“Maybe.” If I make them stop. I began considering the best way to do that. Do I go blow apart their army? I could do it as Platinum. Honestly, the temptation grew. Nah. I’ll do it as Viper if they ask. A smirk spread across my face at the thought.

“Welcome everyone. Let’s resume,” the teacher said, calling the class to order. I turned and tried to pay attention to the lesson.

The words droned. My eyelids grew heavy while the droning continued their lilting lullaby. Then my phone buzzed. I pulled it up.

Raptor: Sanitize!

Suppressing the stream of curses forming in my mouth, I froze time. Then I unleashed the profanity at nothing, spewing it all over my supplies.

After venting my frustration, I appeared in Jacksonville Florida and wanted to cry. Lying in a pool of blood was some guy who’d tried villainy for some foolish reason. The drones overhead had ended that in seconds. Bullet holes were in his body. I teleported him to a guardian center, hoping the fae lady would sort it out. The criminals didn’t deserve to hide.

Returning, I sat on my desk and began trying to figure out the best way to spy on the lord.

Current Level 11 Current XP 87.45% Current Max Mana 15347.63 Regen per minute 23.25 Reputation 12600

Tier Skill Cost Tier 11 User Time Dilation (Haste)

- User experiences 256 seconds for 1 earth second.

- Force transference limited to 25%. 1 mana per earth second. Tier 7 Pocket Dimension

- 128 cubic meters of pocket space.

- Rapid stash and rapid draw.

- You may tether objects to your pocket space.

- Your pocket space cleans, preserves, and organizes items inside based on your will. 32 mana Tier 7 Time Stop

- Caster leaves spacetime. They may remove and place things back in spacetime.

- You may control the flow of time in the demiplane.

- You may summon in willing living creatures.

- This automatically triggers if you take significant damage.

- Recast to gain vision. 200 mana to cast.

Variable cost to move items in and out. Tier 7 Teleport.

- Teleports the caster or a willing creature.

- You may cast this on a willing or unwilling creature if they are within fifty meters.

- You may teleport inside an object, causing the matter to push outward.

200 mana for the caster.

400 mana for a willing creature.

1000 mana for an unwilling creature with no resistance.

- Short range casts cost less mana.

Tier 3 Attire Swap

- Locked to a single outfit. Current outfit set to Magical Girl Uniform.

- Attire cleaned on swap.

- Attire repaired on swap. 20 mana. Tier 3 Enhanced Body

- Caster’s body is enhanced by a factor of eight. 2 mana per caster second. Tier 2 Enchanting.

- Enchantments last twice as long. Variable cost. Tier 2 Potions.

- Potions last twice as long. Variable cost. Tier 2 Familiar Manifestation. 20 mana to cast Tier 2 Free casting

- Cast any spell you can replicate.

- Slotted Spell. Use half the normal cost of the spell to store a single spell for future use. Cast the spell for the remaining cost. Variable cost. Penalty of 8x mana.