It took a little over an hour for Roy to return with a bunch of scrap metal from the junkyard. Kaleb barely got to talk to his young NPC friend since he had turned eighteen, so he was looking forward to talking while they worked. But with four average sized humans and Daivor, the workshop was way too cramped.

It was when Terrance almost knocked over the smelter that Kaleb finally broke down and went to the office to increase the size of his workshop. He noticed Jar-lock and Two Gun talking to Farrah and a few of the hunters as he left the workshop. They both waved, but seemed preoccupied with what they were doing.

The office was empty as he entered the room, but the smell of coffee pervaded the room. Kaleb froze. He never got his coffee this morning. His forge and the proximity of other bodies warmed him up enough for him to function. Still, it was coffee.

As he sipped on his coffee and scrolled through the base management menus, he heard the office door open and shut. Turning, he saw Roy grinning sheepishly and moving toward the coffeemaker.

“Hey. You empty it, you fill it.” Kaleb joked as he found the tab for his workshop. He also saw that Jar-lock now had enough books for his library.

“Same rules as home, Doc.” Roy chuckled. “So I didn’t get to ask what the deal was with all the others.”

“Yeah, the workshop isn’t exactly conducive to great conversation right now. Suffice it to say, they are on loan from the locals. Something to help us integrate with the community.”

“Cool, cool.” Roy said, sipping at his coffee.

Kaleb increased the size of his workshop a good five feet all around and finally enclosed it with a fourth wall. He would still need to order or build a door. But the increased size and full coverage would keep the noise down. He wondered if they could buy some soundproofing and have the system install it.

Hitting the confirmation button, he asked Roy. “So how did your birthday go? Happy 18th, by the way.”

“Ha, thanks Doc. It was honestly going fine until the HLO turned up. They wanted me to go down to their offices and sign up as a HLO super right then and there.”

Kaleb glanced down at Roy’s wrist, looking for the HLO-branded mini-computer. But he didn’t find one. Smiling, he gazed back up at Roy, who was wearing an incredulous look.

“Really Doc?”

Kaleb just shrugged as he heard a few raised voices coming from outside the office. He tuned them out.

“What? Who knows what they offered you? Hell, I bet your mother would want you with them over me. We are very grass roots out here. I wouldn’t blame ya, either.”

Roy sat his coffee down and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t look mad, more contemplative.

“She actually wanted me to stay with you. Probably figures the devil I know is better than the one I don’t. But I actually went down to the HLO office to hear their sells pitch and it…it was not what I thought it was.”

Kaleb raised an eyebrow. “Did they threaten you?”

“Nothing so overt. Although they mentioned I wouldn’t be able to associate with any questionable elements.”

“Always nice to be questionable.”

Roy ignored him. “No, they wanted me to sign on as a mundane super, then go through safety training courses with the SPPD. Then, when all those were completed, I would be partnered with a powered Super for a three-year probationary period. Once all that was completed, and I hadn’t had any ‘accidents’ on my record, I would be a full-fledged Super.”

Kaleb’s eyes got big. “Wow, was that all just because you’re a Nova?”

“Nope.” Roy snorted. “They were doing it for everyone in the Mundane office. It seems that after your departure the number of Mundane applicants has dropped considerably. Mostly because of the new, heavily restrictive practices the HLO are undertaking.”

Kaleb grimaced as he sipped his coffee. “Wow. What did they do when you told them you weren’t interested?”

Roy finished his coffee and shrugged. “They warned me about how dangerous it was to go it alone. Warned me about not taking part in any vigilante activity, and warned me not to associate with any unsavory elements within the city.”

“Ha! Well, we are going to engage in some legal vigilante activity, and I had planned to go to Under-town today at some point. But at least you’re not alone, right?”

Roy nodded as he gazed back at the workshop outside the office window. Kaleb looked outside as well. The new workshop took up a lot of space now that it was wider by five feet all around. Kaleb saw Two Gun, Jar-lock and Farrah all glaring at him from beside the newly enclosed workshop. There was just enough space on the north side to see Farrah’s command center just past his workshop. Apparently, the new expansion had grown a little close to the small collection of monitors and Farrah’s computer.

Kaleb gave an awkward wave to the others as he went back to the console and moved the workshop east a few feet. The move happened instantly, and he assumed none of the NPCs working in the shop would notice. Thinking about it, he also hoped Jar-lock and Two Gun hadn’t noticed Farrah’s annoyance. She was still pretending to be an NPC after all.

A quick glance proved they had moved away a few steps and were back into their discussion. Kaleb turned back to Roy, who was staring at him pensively for some reason. Kaleb scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he tried to guess at what the young boy wanted to say. He hoped Roy didn’t want to stop working with him.

“Do you think I can stay in the workshop for a while?”

Kaleb raised an eyebrow. “Yeah. Sure. You’re not afraid of Under-town now though, are you? Last time was a fluke.”

Roy stared at Kaleb for a few seconds, confused, until realization seemed to dawn on him. “What? No! I just have some things I want to work on before I go out again. I’m going to need Daivor’s help though, and a few resources from the shop.”

Kaleb waved him off. “Ahh, don’t worry about that. My workshop is your workshop. Just keep up with junkyard deliveries, please. I have a feeling we’re going to need the extra junk.”

“Oh yeah, about that. We are getting a great deal already on junkyard diving, but dad’s friend at the junkyard said if we want to buy in bulk he could get us a better deal. Also, he said he could have one of his guys do weekly deliveries for a small fee.”

“Wow.” Kaleb rubbed his chin in thought. “You’re just the gift that keeps on giving Roy. Did you use your truck or the dump truck?”

“My truck. The original deal was for loads carried out in my truck, so I didn’t want to show up with a massive dump truck. Plus, I think I need a special license to drive a dump truck. I can ask him, though.”

“Please do.” Kaleb said as he finished his coffee and moved toward the door of the office.

It was time to finish up and then see if anyone wanted to head to Under-town. He recalled that several of them hadn’t been down there yet. At least Two Gun and Jar-lock had asked about visiting, and Kaleb wanted to see if Claire wanted to try her hand at the arena. The others were still at the Ainsley family’s home trying to handle the ant problem. Although it had been a while since they called in.

As that thought struck his brain and he and Roy walked around the newly expanded wall of the workshop, Kaleb heard a car stop outside. He heard a muffled conversation as he, Roy, Two Gun, Jar-lock, and a few of the hunter teenagers moved toward the open hangar doors to see what was going on. As they approached the threshold, Abby and Varlin came around the corner mid-conversation.

“... all we can do is ask,” Abby said before stopping short and staring at them.

Varlin also stopped short as he looked from Kaleb and his friends to the young hunters in colorful monster hide armor. The sorcerer seemed stuck for words, as Abby looked incredulous. Kaleb couldn’t help himself as he smiled and stretched his arms above his head, saying sarcastically.

“Man, it’s been a long day’s work. So much to still get done. Abby, could you be a dear and look after the kids while I wash up?”

Abby just scoffed before a ball of shadowy mist appeared in her hand and she hurled it at Kaleb. “Oh, ha ha. You damn featherless chicken! What the hell have you lot been doing?! We were gone a day!”

Kaleb dodged the first few balls of shadowy mist before Abby stopped altogether and gazed at all of them, annoyed. Roy, wisely realizing he wasn’t a part of her gaze, snuck back toward the workshop. But Kaleb could see a few hunters standing nearby, watching them. Kaleb just stuck his tongue out at the diminutive mutant as Jar-lock sighed and explained.

He told her about their successful mission in the magic forest and their agreement with the hunters. He also explained why they now had a few of the younger hunters hanging around and how Farrah was currently giving them odd jobs around their district. Abby and Varlin both looked oddly annoyed as they listened, and Kaleb looked them both over.

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Abby’s armor was scuffed up a bit, but the modified K-Tech brand black armor was tough and it didn’t appear damaged. Varlin, on the other hand, looked like he’d been through the ringer. His clothes were fine, but his face had a few scratches and bruises. Kaleb also noticed that the Foci he had made for the Sorcerer out of a piece of Ifirt's heart was glowing faintly. But his own nascent magical abilities couldn’t tell him what it was doing.

As for the people themselves, Abby looked tired, while Varlin looked annoyed. Although that seemed to be his natural state recently. Kaleb tried to look past the pair to see if Mass or Vivienne had come back with them, but it didn’t look like they had. The four of them had been out fighting the ant nest, and they hadn’t come back yesterday. Although, to be honest, Kaleb was too wiped to pay attention after the magic forest adventure.

Abby grinned as Jar-lock finished explaining and look between the three of them. “Well, it’s great that you're done with all that cause the Ainsley family has a problem.”

“Other than the large ant nest growing under their backyard?” Kaleb asked.

Varlin and Abby nodded before Varlin explained. “The family has been using the nest as a sort of dungeon and training ground for the past few days. They had a couple of us sorcerers construct a barrier around the edges of the nest. So we were pretty sure we had it under control.”

Jar-lock slapped his forehead and dragged his hand down his face as he complained. “And now the damn things are out again running roughshod throughout Austin, aren’t they?”

“No, actually.” Abby said, looking smug. “Actually, the plan was going great. Their younger members got some training in actual combat situations, while the household sold the ant bits to the city for a tidy profit. It was going well.”

“Until…” Two Gun prompted. But Kaleb was the one who answered, guessing the problem.

“Until an HLO pencil-pusher showed and questioned what they were doing and how safe it was for the city. Probably brought up a bunch of permits and some such nonsense that the Ainsley family needed in order for them to maintain the dungeon. Maybe even offered to take over the ant nest and run it for them. For a small fee, of course.”

Abby just smirked as Varlin stared at him, wide-eyed. The tall sorcerer stomped a foot, sputtering incoherently.

“Vivienne’s already back here, isn’t she?”

Kaleb just shook his head as Jar-lock responded. “Nope. I’m guessing that was all off the top of the good professor’s head.”

“What did they expect? The nest is now a lucrative and renewable resource. Of course, the local monopoly wants a piece.”

“They are not a monopoly.” Varlin sighed. “They’re just the biggest dog in the yard and they like to throw their weight around.”

Kaleb scoffed, but kept his mouth shut. He really didn’t want to get into it with Varlin right now, even though he clearly disagreed. Abby nodded at the both of them before she explained the situation. Which played out almost exactly as Kaleb described it. Except the HLO wasn’t ‘offering’ to take the nest from the Ainsley House. They were demanding to be given full rights to the nest and saying they would give 10% of the profits back to the house.

Kaleb grimaced as Two Gun whistled in surprise as Jar-lock asked. “Well, that sucks, but what do you want us to do about it?”

Varlin shook his head. “Nothing. The house is working to get the proper permits with the city while also telling the city council about the HLO demands.”

“But while all that has been going on today. The nest has been getting weirder.” Abby added.

“Weirder how?”

“Well, the biggest thing is the barrier has started to flicker. A few of the worker ants have even gotten out of the combat area. They were handled before something dangerous happened, of course. But we’ve also had a few NPC and player heroes causing trouble in the nest.”

Kaleb shot Varlin an I-told-you-so look, but the Sorcerer just scoffed. “There’s no proof that the HLO is behind the incidents. They aren’t the big bad in the game. They are just a corporation. Hell, there are HLO offices across the world in-game.”

Kaleb shrugged. “I ain’t saying they’re all evil. Just the one in Austin. If not evil, then they are definitely up to some shady and shitty practices.”

Varlin just threw his hands, tacitly agreeing with Kaleb’s statements. At least in Kaleb’s mind. But Jar-lock stopped any further discussion as he brought the conversation back around to the start.

“Well okay then, it sounds like you're just here for a break then. Food and drink stores are a little low because of the kids, but we can…”

He trailed off as Abby grimaced and gave a quiet. “Umm, yeah…”

“Oh boy, sounds like you have something for us.” Two Gun said excitedly.

Abby just nodded as she said. “Yeah, I was hoping you lot could come down and look at things. You know, investigate things with fresh eyes. Jar, we could really use someone who is not a sorcerer to look at the barriers.”

Jar-lock had already begun backing away and shaking his head by the time Abby had finished her request. The large mage’s hatred for ants was already well known within the group. Kaleb thought Jar-lock had played it up a few times, but the man seemed legitimately scared. Sighing, he went up and placed a hand on the big man's arm.

“Come on, dude. It will be the first time we can get most of us together since the school. We handled that pretty well.”

“You died.” Abby snickered.

Kaleb just waved her off as he continued. “Plus, we can stick it to the HLO at the same time.”

“That seems more like your goal.” Two Gun butted in this time.

Kaleb just glared daggers at both Two Gun and Abby before he blew out a breath and turned to Jar-lock. “All you have to do is check the barrier. The rest of us will handle the ants.”

Jar-lock stopped backing away and listened intently to Kaleb before he also sighed. “Fine. I’ll help, but I won’t be happy about it.”

Abby gave a quick fist pump. “Yes! You’ll see, Jar, it’s probably nothing. But it would go a long way if we helped the House of Ainsley and, like the lizard said, we’ll also snub our noses at the HLO. Which is sure to make us some more friends among the more independently minded entities throughout the cities.”

“Oh! I didn’t think of that!” Kaleb said, slapping a fist into his palm in realization.

“I’m not surprised.” Abby snarked.

Kaleb stepped closer to Abby so that the diminutive woman’s face was level with his chest and placed a hand over his eyes and looked left and right over her head.

“What was that? Did anyone else hear some tiny squeaking? Like an annoying pest was buzzing around?”

He quickly ducked back as Abby’s shadow-covered fist passed by his elongated lizard-like snout. She took a few more playful swipes at him as they all moved back into the hangar. He dodged the first few, but he let the last couple smack into him just to test how her shadow power would enhance her strikes. They didn’t feel any different from a normal punch, but Kaleb assumed she was regulating the power.

A loud clanging noise reverberated through the hangar as they moved back in. For a moment Kaleb thought it was coming from his workshop, but he quickly realized it was Claire. She was working out with her large dumbbells. Several of the hunters had stopped to stare in awe at the tall green women lifting a pair of over-sized dumbbells. Two Gun shoved his way past the hunters and walked over to his wife.

“Everything okay on the homestead?”

Claire grunted as she answered. “Yes, dear. We had a few minor hiccups with the automated pickers, but I got it sorted.”

Two Gun just nodded before he took off his gun belt and settled in to work out with his wife. Kaleb could hear the old cowboy explaining the situation with the ant nest while he did push-ups next to his wife. He shook his head as he turned back toward his workshop.

“Let’s all take a few before we head over to the Ainsley house. I want to see if I can create some kind of enhanced insect repellent.”

“Fire works.” Jar-lock muttered.

Kaleb ignored him as he made his way to his expanded shop and entered the rectangular hole where a door should have been. He still needed to purchase one. Inside, Daivor, Roy, and the two hunters were crowded around his one workbench. Roy had his collapsible baton dispensers equipped and he was showing off to the hunters, while Daivor pitched upgrades.

“Couldn’t you just carry them?” Marie asked.

Roy shrugged as he twisted his wrist, and a blunt baton flew out of the dispenser. In a practiced motion, Roy caught the baton and switched it on. The baton sparked to life as he answered.

“Sure, but carrying eight batons would get kind of cumbersome. This way my pockets are left free and I can have a weapon at a moment’s notice. I just have to be careful of the lethal batons. They have a pointed end so they could hit my hand or wrist.”

Terrance nodded in understanding as Marie looked unconvinced. Daivor was scratching his beard down near Roy’s feet and looking up at the baton’s housing. Two bulky metal squares sat on Roy’s forearms. Roy had both his lethal and non-lethal batons. He had used them to impressive effect when they were fighting the Faceless down in Under-town, but apparently he was looking for an upgrade.

“Only thing I can think of is you improving the weapon or improving the housing, kid,” Daivor said. “I get what Ms. Kinley is saying though, a belt could serve the same function.”

Roy just sighed as he looked at the stun baton in his hand. “I’m not too good with wiring and I don’t know enough about the baton’s internals to change anything, anyway.”

Kaleb moved to his stack of books on his workbench. He quickly found and grabbed a book on electronics and tossed it to Roy.

“It’s never too late to learn a new skill. The others and I are going head out on a job here soon, so you three can work in here while we’re gone.”

Roy looked like he wanted to say something before he stopped himself and looked down at his hands. He looked between the stun baton and the book before he nodded and sat down at the workbench. Marie and Terrance looked at Kaleb curiously, but he just pointed at Daivor.

“Daivor is in charge. I’m sure he has a few jobs you two can do around here.”

Daivor nodded as both Terrance and Marie looked at the small gnome in wonder. Apparently working under a Builder Gnome was more exciting than working for an alien lizard-man. Kaleb just shook his head as he glanced down at Daivor.

“Just don’t burn anything down.”

“No promises.” Daivor grinned as he took a long drag from his pipe.

Kaleb just shook his head and moved over toward the few boxes of random items in the corner of his workshop. It didn’t take long for him to find one labeled sprays and he silently thanked Daivor and Roy for organizing things. He found cans of air freshener, cans of spray paint and various cans of insect spray. Some were wasps, but he had a few for ants as well.

He gazed at the can’s ingredients and tried to think of a way to create more quickly. But then he remembered that the ants they were going up against were the size of dogs. He wouldn’t be able to create enough of anything within the time he had. At best, the ant spray would help keep the ants away from him.

He sighed as he placed two large cans into the pockets of his lab coat and turned to leave the workshop. As he passed Marie, who was in quiet conversation with Terrance, he remembered something.

“Oh yeah, did you talk to your dad, Miss Kinley?”

Marie looked surprised for a second before she shook her head. “Nah, not yet. While y’all are out, I’ll call him. Do you have a video link?”

Kaleb nodded. “Yeah, there’s one in the office you are free to use. Just don’t piss off the bunny-lady out there. She’s crazy.”

Marie snorted as Terrance covered his mouth. Daivor shook his head in admonishment but said nothing. Kaleb just shrugged his shoulders and left his workshop to find the others. Jar-lock was nearby talking to Farrah and Varlin, while Two Gun and Claire were working out with a few of the hunters. Kaleb assumed Abby was downstairs in her room. He moved over toward Farrah and Jar-lock to figure out what the plan was.