Neel rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. He was seated at his desk, with two monitors displaying ten different windows- news from all around the world. Almost all of it was ultimately useless to him in his everyday life. But Neel figured that if he was going to call himself ‘Thinker’, then he was probably obligated to keep track of things like this.
It didn’t paint a pretty picture; Unrestrained Abnormal violence in Libya, yet another Abnormal cyclone pummeling China, the British prime minister kidnapped by some new supervillain group, and a million other things grinding away at the seams of society. Abnormality was on the furious rise, and the world just couldn’t keep up.
Just the Abnormals themselves were a big enough problem: How could an economy function when a single precog could play with the stock market as if it were their own toy? How could citizens trust in a functioning government when the right Abnormal could make the president their pet with a simple thought? The normal rules of society just weren’t working in a world with more and more Abnormals.
And then there were the Abnormalities. Like Abnormals, Abnormalities in general had been documented through history, usually minor or benign in nature. Over the past thirty or so years however, there had been a furious increase in both pace and severity. The world was seeing an increase in Abnormalities of all kinds: Abnormal places, objects, beings, phenomena and more.
There was the literal dragon that had rampaged across Cambodia for nearly a week until Hercules put it down. There was the Yasna- a void slowly swallowing Iran and maybe the whole world. There were the Hives that had taken over most of Panama.
Every day a new insanity. It was as if reality had gotten bored and had decided to spice things up.
Neel shook his head. It wasn’t his problem.
There was a knock on the door. “Come in”, he called.
Ayah walked in, with a slight yawn. “I just got off the phone with the Happy Family; The Cackling Cousin-hate that guy. I told him what happened, and that Mark is with us now.”
“How’d they take it?”
Ayah shrugged. “They're not happy about the leaking thing that Mark did. But I think they’re more pissed with Liquefy than Mark. There’s a joke there somewhere about liquids and leaks, but I can’t find it right now”, she said with a yawn. “And my guess is that they’re going to back off- for now, at least.”
Neel sighed in relief. He didn’t want to deal with the Happy Family so close to the job.
“I’ll take a look at Liquefy’s phone later, when I have the time”, Ayah continued.
“No rush. How’s Mark?”
“He’s unpacking his things right now. He’s getting along with the others, so that’s good.”
Neel thought about the events surrounding Mark’s test. He had done well, all things considered. He hadn’t reacted well afterwards, but it was probably just inexperience- not knowing how to process the adrenaline rush following a fight. That could be fixed.
“He didn’t seem thrilled about the job”, Neel ventured.
Ayah frowned at Neel. “None of us are ‘thrilled’. It would be ridiculous to be ‘thrilled’ about this.”
“You know what I mean. Do you think he’s up for it?”
“Hmm. He might need some babysitting on the field.”
Neel nodded. “It would be a good idea to have him help you with some minor jobs and prep work over the next few weeks. And I’ll have Laura give him a crash course in some basic hand-to-hand. And beyond that, his power’s good, and that’s what matters the most anyway.” Neel thought for a few more seconds. “He’ll be fine”, he said, more for his own benefit than Ayah’s.
When Ayah didn’t reply to that, Neel continued. “I was planning to speak with Scythe soon, to talk about Mark’s payment.”
Ayah’s head perked up at that. Neel knew she wanted to ask if she could join the meeting, and finally meet their boss. But Scythe apparently would only interact with Scalpel through Neel. Ayah was not a fan of that arrangement.
Neel steered the topic away before she could ask. “Speaking of the boss, mind if I borrow your power for a minute?”, he asked, gesturing for her to come over.
Neel pointed at one of the windows on the screen as she walked over.
“The British PM was kidnapped a few hours ago”, Neel explained. “By a three-man group calling themselves Trio. They say they’ll release him next week, then capture him again the week after that, and release him again after that, and so on, until Parliament declares a new election or his term ends.”
Ayah eyes scanned over the article. “You think they’re like us? Another audition?”
Neel nodded. “Maybe. What does your power say?”
He watched as she concentrated on the screen a bit, and then screwed her face in frustration. “Same as always. Inconclusive.”
Neel sighed. “Worth a shot. That may be answer enough.”
“I can buy it though- relatively low-profile group, suddenly and inexplicably pulling a flashy, headline grabbing job, for no good reason? It fits the pattern.”
“If I’m right, that makes it what, six different groups? Including ourselves. Maybe more.”
Five other groups that were potentially also ‘auditioning’ for Scythe. Usually quiet, small groups with a cautious history suddenly deciding to take on impossible jobs, and apparently with access to significant resources. Some were almost whimsical- a group in Japan had declared their intention to rob every single bank, art gallery and museum in Tokyo within the next three months and challenged the authorities to stop them. Some were darker- there was a Croatian mercenary outfit that was waging a brutal, bloody war on its government until it was given legal rulership over Slavonia.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Five other groups trying to impress Scythe, auditioning for whatever he had planned.
Ayah nodded. “Assuming they’re paid roughly the same as us, then Scythe is throwing around money on the order of billions. Not to mention giving away powers.”
Neel studied her face. “You’re worried.”
Ayah gave him an incredulous look. “Of course I am. And I’m even more worried that you’re not worried. We have no idea what we’ve gotten ourselves into, and we’ve just dragged a kid into it as well.”
“I’m worried”, he said defensively. “But I promise- the second things start to sour, we back out.”
Ayah shook her head. “When someone gives you this much money, I don’t think you can just back out like that.”
Neel looked away in frustration. It wasn’t that she was wrong necessarily, but he had heard it often enough. They had discussed this so many times that he could hold both sides of the conversation himself. He often did.
Ayah continued, lost in her own thoughts. “And I still have no idea who it is, even with my power. Someone with these kinds of resources should attract some kind of attention, right? But I’ve tried asking around, and nothing. I’ve been thinking, there’s not many people it can be. What if it’s the Office?”
“Since when does the Office throw around this kind of money for mid-level villains like us? If they wanted us, we’d be rotting under a Microscope right now. I don’t think it’s them.”
Ayah looked uncertain. “Should we try reaching out to some of the other groups, like these British guys? See what they know?”
Neel shook his head immediately. “No. We might be wrong anyway. And even if we’re right, then Scythe probably didn’t tell us for a reason. Why risk pissing off the boss?”
“So you are worried of what he might be capable of.”
“Of course I am. Just-“, he paused, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “This can be an opportunity; you know that right? This is a chance to prove what we’re worth. An opportunity to move on to something bigger, more than just theft and robberies.”
Ayah’s gaze made him uncomfortable. “Since when was this about doing something ‘big’? We started- I started Scalpel just to get by, with some comfort, if possible.”
“Is that still all you want? Just to get by?” Neel shook his head. “We’re capable of more.”
Ayah sighed. “I’m just worried we might have screwed over Mark by bringing him into this.”
Neel stood up. “If anything happens, it’ll be on me”, he said in as reassuring a tone as he could manage, walking out of his room. He needed to take a walk.
He could hear the muffled sounds of conversation from Mark’s room as he left the apartment- the others were helping him unpack. That was good.
As Neel descended the stairs and exited the building, he let his mind wander. He considered the rest of the group, and their opinions on their new boss. Ayah was unhappy about the whole thing of course. Reading Laura was always difficult, but his impression was that she was nervous about it as well. For the most part, the others seemed to be trusting Neel to handle the matter for the time being.
He thought about what Ayah had said about pulling Mark into the situation. It was a thought that had crossed his mind more than once, and it sat uncomfortably with him. And it wasn’t just Mark- The original decision to work for Scythe was made by unanimous vote, but it still felt like it was a move that he had made for them.
Nat and Tom at least were convinced the second they heard the words ‘twenty-five million’. But Laura was uncertain. And Laura liked to follow Neel’s lead when she was uncertain. He was worried that she would come to resent trusting him.
And then there was Ayah. Her first, second and third impulses were to refuse, Neel knew, but he had talked her into it over several conversations. It wasn’t hard to see that she now regretted saying yes. It made Neel uneasy. At the time his insistence had seemed like simple persuasion. But the line between persuasion and manipulation was thin.
And why did I say yes? It wasn’t the cautious thing to do, and Neel liked to be cautious. He knew it wasn’t about the money, not really- the idea of twenty-five million was interesting, but it didn’t come close to convincing him to accept Scythe’s offer. Perhaps Scythe knew that, and perhaps that was why he sweetened the deal by granting Neel powers as well.
The powers had gone a long way towards convincing him, he could admit that much. Neel was self-aware enough to recognize a strain of arrogance in him, and that part of him rejoiced at his newfound abilities. There was a thrill to it, a certain pride in being more than human. He was near giddy over it for several weeks after first being granted his Abnormality.
And then there was an appeal to the idea of an audition itself. It had captured his imagination from the moment Scythe proposed it. He wondered on more than one occasion if that was why Scythe had chosen him in the first place. He wondered if he had framed it as an audition on purpose; perhaps Scythe had presented it differently to the other five groups. Neel didn’t like the idea; it felt like manipulation. It felt like his time in the military.
But here they were. Caught in a contract. And who knew what the consequences were if they broke it. If something happens to the others, it would be on my shoulders.
He stopped walking with a sigh. It was a warm, wet night. The city had winded down for the night and the neighborhood was quiet apart from the occasional flutter of pigeon wings and the faint honks of distant cars. The area was poorly lit- there was only a single streetlight. It cast a brownish orange shade over the area.
He couldn’t take the uncertainty anymore. Reaching into his pocket, he fished out the device Scythe had given him. It was something like a pager or a beeper, with only one yellow button on it. After a moment’s thought, Neel pressed it.
As usual, it took a matter of seconds to get a response. Neel saw the figure standing a bit ahead, out of the reaches of the streetlight’s illumination. Steeling himself, Neel walked over.
Its face was empty- there were no eyes, no nose or mouth. Or rather, it was as if the facial features were buried under additional layers of skin that had grown over them. Neel could see faint bumps and depressions where the eyes, nose and mouth should have been. The thing’s body was entirely covered by a large black coat. Neel wasn’t sure if it was wearing it, or if it was part of the thing’s skin.
Neel was confident that it wasn’t Scythe’s true body- just a projection; The movement was too stiff, too unnatural. Of course, there was also the fact that the meetings would conclude with the projections turning to dust.
It was staring at him- as much as something with no eyes could stare. It wanted him to speak first.
“Marcus Gianni has agreed to join Scalpel.”
No response.
“I wanted to discuss his payment.”
The empty face nodded slowly. “It is done. Please ask Ms. Hall to use her powers to divine the relevant details.” The voice was quiet, dignified, but had a strange echo to it.
Neel nodded. The figure watched with its head cocked, as if expressing interest.
“You have something else you wish to discuss.”
It was a statement, not a question. Neel hesitated. Whoever Scythe was, and whatever the puppet in front of him was, they were powerful. And he was their boss. He had to tread lightly.
“The Prime Minister of Britain was kidnapped earlier today”, he started uncertainly. When there was no response, he continued, “There’s that group in Croatia, some Australian masks, and more. Are there others like us? Like Scalpel? Others ‘auditioning’ for you?”
“Yes.”
Neel’s eyes widened a fraction. He didn’t expect a straight reply. “I’m assuming you don’t want us to contact them?”
“Yes.”
Its head was still cocked, as if it knew Neel wasn’t satisfied yet. Taking a deep breath, Neel asked the vital question.
“What happens if we fail your audition? Or what happens if we don’t want to work for you after all?”
It was odd- the face had no mouth and yet Neel could tell it was smiling. It didn’t respond. Instead, it raised a hand. The motion was slow and staccato, as if the arm was swinging on a rusty hinge. It wagged a finger at him. Neel watched the index finger slowly creak left and right. He clenched his fists.
“No need to be so pessimistic, Thinker”, it said, with a hint of amusement in its voice. Neel watched in dismay as its body started disintegrating. It had called an end to the meeting.
“I look forward to Scalpel’s performance.”
Neel watched as the body turned to a grey dust, already being scattered by a stray gust of wind. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, watching the spot, long after the body had vanished.