I wasn’t an obsessive person but given how I was acting, you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
Friday had passed and despite it now being Saturday, Lucy still hadn’t responded to me. I was distracted, flicking through my phone for hours on end, just waiting for any kind of communication from her. In reality, I figured that I’d likely have to confront her at school about it. We’ve had fights before, but she’s never been this pissed. Then again, I’d screwed up for the second time in less than a week and hadn’t even shown up to face the consequences.
“Fiddling with it isn’t going to make her respond any quicker.”
I looked over my shoulder to Sam who was cooking an omelet. I was slouched on her sofa across from Mia who was doodling in one of Sam’s notebooks, trying to come up with a costume design and identity that she liked.
“I know,” I replied with an edge to my voice. “I just don’t know what I’m going to say. Need to think…”
“There’s nothing you can say to make up for it. A ‘sorry’ won’t be good enough here and she’ll just need time to cool off,” Sam said in a reassuring tone. “But it’s just a stupid school assignment. It’s not the end of the world and she’ll get over it. Just make sure you stay on top of these things. School is so easy.”
“I don’t want to hear that from someone who probably cheats with their powers,” I replied bluntly.
“Hey, if you aren’t cheating you’re not trying. Ninety percent of the school curriculum is braindead anyway so I don’t need Gold to do well. Besides, even if you do end up flunking school, you can still qualify for university when you're twenty,” she waved a spatula in my direction. “By then, we’ll have enough money to make Scrooge Mcduck jealous.”
“Or dead,” Mia cut in, drawing our attention. She offered a light-hearted shrug. “Evohumans don’t live long on average. Honestly, I’ll be lucky if I even make it to my thirties.”
“Don’t exaggerate the statistics. The average is brought down by idiots who go out and get themselves killed. That doesn’t apply to us because statistically, independents are the ones who think they can do everything on their own,” Sam countered, emphasizing her words with an indignant tone. “We’re a group; a team.”
“Team… right,” Mia grumbled, rolling her eyes. “Still not sure how I feel about all this.”
“Not sure, are you?” Sam hummed aloud. “How’d that phone call with your parents go?”
It was hard to miss the scathing glare the older girl gave her. Sam didn’t flinch and continued to cook her food. That call hadn’t gone over well, to say the least.
It was after a few more seconds of painful silence that Sam decided it would be better to walk back that antagonizing jab.
“Look, I don’t mean to rub salt in the wound but you need to at least put a little bit of faith in us,” Sam said genuinely. “We did manage to rescue you after all. That’s gotta count for something, right?”
“And I’m grateful for that, but all this… it's insane,” Mia stressed, putting the notebook down on the coffee table. “You want to rebel against the ECU. They’re not just a gang you can tear down, it’s a global organization with trillions of dollars of backing! You can’t fight that.”
‘Give me a year,’ my hubris wanted to say. With the amount of progress I made in the last week, I was feeling confident that with enough time, nothing was impossible.
“Well, duh. That would be absurd,” Sam replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m not trying to fight or start a war with them. Personally, I have no interest in ‘rebelling’. I’d prefer to co-exist. I know what they’re like and how they operate. There are lines we’d have to cross for them to even entertain the thought of war with us and unless we had resources like the Iron Maiden or firepower like Ajax, we’re never going to cross them.”
Mia frowned.
“Then… what—”
“Let me stop you right there,” Sam held up her hand. “Have you finished thinking about what you want to do, now that the Cains’ experiments forced you through an Awakening?”
Mia’s frown twisted into a scowl.
“The Cains need to be stopped and as far as I know, they still have my friends,” Mia explained. “I want to help you bring them down but beyond that—”
“Okay!” Sam clapped, cutting the older girl off. “So we’re all in agreement then. The Cains need to be dealt with. Our issue isn’t with the ECU, it’s with the other gangs. They’re the dangerous ones. The ECU are glorified police, peacekeepers, whatever. They’re not the ones breaking into your home and threatening to slit your throat or taking your family hostage,” Sam said. Her face turned grim for a moment. “Well, not normally.”
“What… what does that mean?”
“Every organization has bad actors,” Sam dismissed with a wave. “The point is this; right now, we have freedom. Freedom to decide what we want to do. That probably sounds selfish, and maybe it is, but I don’t care. I know what it’s like to be restricted, to always have to watch what you do and what you say. Come on, you know what I’m saying. Don’t pretend like you’re so virtuous.”
Mia’s expression dropped, looking like she had been sucker punched. I turned to look at Sam and saw a familiar glint in her eyes. She knew something about Mia that I didn’t, and I was willing to bet that Liam didn’t know either. Gold could be as scary as she was helpful.
“I never claimed to be, but you can’t fault me for being skeptical about the long term plans of this team,” Mia countered. “I already said I was going to help you guys. You saved my life and I wasn’t about to go running to the ECU to sell you out. That hasn’t changed, I just want a straight answer on what the end goal is. Because from what you’ve been saying, the plan is to destroy The Cains and become another gang in their place.”
Sam considered her words for a moment before shrugging. “You’ve got a point. I do want to replace the Cains,” she gestured to me. “Told Max as much too. I want to claim their territory as our own.”
“Which is against the law,” Mia pointed out. “I’m sorry but I won’t be a part of something like that.”
“It’s about intent though,” I spoke up, deciding to add my own two cents to the conversation. “The Cains participate in human trafficking, drug use, and all sorts of other deplorable shit. Everyone knows what Pandora does, but the Queen’s Court? I can’t name a single thing.”
As I locked eyes with Mia, I swear I could almost feel Sam’s grin boring into the back of my head.
“Intent?”
“Sure, criminals ‘hold territory’, but there’s no real law against it. It’s just making your presence known in a certain part of the city. The criminal part is using that territory for extortion, racketeering or another crime. If you want to get technical, you could say Groves Den is our territory, but nobody actually knows we’re hold up here yet.”
“Plus, nobody’s going to fight for this shithole,” Sam helpfully pointed out. “The Architect might’ve constructed most of the city but there are other building sites that have been abandoned due to lack of money. Businesses around these parts are barely keeping their heads above water and it's just overall a shitty place to be.”
“Then why are you here?” Mia asked, eyeing the both of us.
“It’s a convenient hiding spot. Plus our powers let us make this place pretty comfortable as you can already see,” I answered before Sam could. I wasn’t entirely sure if that’s what she was going to say but the answer satisfied Mia. “I wouldn’t even be surprised if there were a bunch of other independent supers that have setups in the area.”
“There is. More than you’d think too,” Sam said. “I ran into a few when I was still a solo. I expected fights at first but for the most part people here are just trying to get by. Mostly it’s the young ones who try to pick fights, the people looking to prove or make a name for themselves.”
“Young ones?” Mia looked surprised.
Sam shrugged. “I’ve seen some as young as eight and others as old as fifty. Most were solo like me, but there were a few small groups.”
“And there aren’t any territory clashes like with, you know, Pandora and the Cains?”
I looked to Sam, seeing as I had no real experience with the area. I never really paid much attention to the environment or culture that Groves Den had.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, there’s disputes, but no ones really fighting to control the place. It's just no one here has the same influence as The Cains, Pandora, or the Queen’s Court. No one wants to take charge, at least the ones with any sense because it would mean going against the other gangs.”
“But you guys are fine with that, which means you have every intention to build on what you have here,” Mia said. “All the hallmarks of a rising gang.”
“Right, but it’s in the intent that matters. There’s a distinct difference between The Cains, Pandora, and Queens Court, wouldn’t you say?” I asked, giving Mia a pointed stare. “What’re the Queen’s Court generally seen as to the wider public? They’re technically a gang, sure, but what do people see them as?”
My question seemed to click with Mia and I saw the realization sink in. “A Private Military Company.”
“And Pandora isn’t really a gang and more of a cult,” Sam added. “The only real group in this city that even operates like a traditional gang are The Cains. There are some people that even label them a cartel but I don’t much care for the specifics. It’s just a name at the end of the day, but that’s not the point though.”
Mia’s lips thinned. “No, I don’t suspect it is.”
“We should act more like the Queen’s Court. They provide actual services to the city and while they do butt heads with the ECU, they aren’t targeted nearly as much as the other two. The ECU knows there’s always going to be gangs and sure, they’ll keep tabs on us in case we cross the line, but at the end of the day, we’re the lesser of two evils,” I said, turning to look at Sam. “See, I’m actually starting to get this now.”
Sam nodded. “It’s all about public perception. You’ve been watching the city all week, why don’t you share what you’ve seen?”
Now it was my turn to look confused. My gaze flickered between Sam and Mia, the former just pointed to the latter. There was a conflicted expression on the older girl’s face as she struggled to find the right word. She sent Sam another weary look but the blonde just crossed her arms expectantly as if she already knew the answer.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Who’ve you been watching?” I asked.
“Everyone, mostly,” Mia flushed a bit at her words. “Fuck, its creepy just saying that. My statues can… well, it’s hard to explain.”
Sam laughed. “No it’s not.”
“It is! It doesn’t make any sense. I shouldn’t be able to, but I can perceive things through my statutes. Sight, sounds, smell. All of it. Sam took me out earlier in the week and she had me leave a bunch of my statues around the city to collect info,” Mia explained, looking visibly torn. “It’s so… invasive. People don’t even notice either.”
“Where did you leave them? Are they concealed? That’s probably why people don’t notice,” I said. “If I were walking on the street and a statue just hanging around, I’d just think it was some art or a performance.”
“Some of them are hidden. Others… not so much.”
I frowned. “You guys never mentioned any of this.”
“You’ve been busy,” Sam defended. “You were either in your workshop or at home. There wasn’t much to talk about and I got the feeling that distracting you wasn’t the best idea. The attack on Grim could happen any day now and we all need to be prepared. It’s partly the reason I offered to take Mia out. She gets to play with her new powers, and I get information.”
More information sounded nice. I’d had enough time to invest in all my equipment —to varying degrees— and my upgraded security breaching software was looking quite powerful. Hopefully, it could serve as another avenue to get more info on Supers we might be going up against. Sure, we would be breaking an incredible amount of privacy laws but… I’d put my and the team’s safety above other people's privacy.
Maybe once we get set up, building a private surveillance system to monitor the city would be doable. It would ensure we’d never be caught off-guard and after the bullshit I’d dealt with so far, that sounded like a dream come true. I could maybe get a lesser version of it going by hacking into the city’s surveillance system, but there was no way it wasn’t being watched by the ECU. If I wanted to take that route, I’d need to invest far more points into the project.
Doable… but creating our own private surveillance system meant we could monitor very specific parts of the city. That had its merits as well.
Hmm, why not both? I could use the private system to cover blind spots in the city’s system, so we’d have full coverage and be able to exploit holes in—
“You’re doing it again.”
I looked up at Sam. “What?”
“I can almost see the gears turning inside your head. Thinking of going all ‘big brother is always watching you’ on the city?”
I shrugged. “We’d benefit. We can’t be caught by surprise if we can see problems coming from literally miles away.”
Sam seemed to consider the idea for a moment.
“Cyber warfare is difficult. I don’t know much about it but I know the ECU has specialist supers just for that. We could try but if we get caught it’s one of the things that could cause them to crack down on us,” Sam said. “They’re not in Bayside though, and getting them here would be a pain in the ass for the ECU, so that should make it easier in theory.”
“It would certainly lighten the load on me,” Mia anxiously rubbed the back of her neck. “I’ve got so many statues out there right now, I’m getting overwhelmed.”
“How many?” I asked.
“Fifteen,” she replied. “Rush hour is the worst. So much noise.”
“Is that your limit?”
“I don’t know if I actually have one. The more statues I have, the more my senses are split,” Mia said. “Too many and my head would probably pop. I suppose you could call that a limit…”
“You’re more capable than you think you are,” Sam explained. “Right now with fifteen out there, all you experience is a slight headache at peak hours. You could probably double that and still be able to function just fine, albeit with discomfort.”
“Slight? The headaches I get now are awful.”
“You can still walk and talk though. If you get overwhelmed you’d just collapse or maybe just have a seizure. You should know when to stop long before you reach that point though. You’re not alone there, I get it when I switch too much too quickly,” Sam said. “I get a bit delirious.”
“I guess I got lucky,” I said. “My power just stops letting me upgrade stuff, it even gives me a nice number to tell me how far away that is.”
“Every super has their limits. Even Liam,” Sam replied, pursing her lips. “Though I’m having trouble actually figuring out what his limit is.”
“Speaking of, where is he?” Mia asked. “He was here this morning when I woke up and he’s disappeared.”
“Went home,” I said. “His uncle called and told him to get his ass back there. The guy didn’t sound too happy that he was out so much.”
His uncle sounded like a real piece of work and Liam had gotten the call inside my workshop. That little instance actually gave me another idea to help with this place’s security. I’d have to add some kind of signal blocker… or maybe location spoofing so they couldn’t track us back here? The last thing I wanted was to get busted because the ECU was able to trace my IP or any other unprotected signals. That would be embarrassing.
An easy fix though, something I could whip up today.
“Oh,” Mia frowned, looking rather disappointed. “I wanted to talk to him.”
“He’ll be back tomorrow,” Sam reassured her. “You can talk to him then. For now we should discuss what I’ve been planning.”
I braced myself. Sam’s plans always ended up with us doing something incredibly dangerous. I had rather enjoyed this last week of peace. I’d gotten a lot of work done and I had been looking forward to continuing that trend.
I gave her my best flat look. “Dare I ask?”
“It’s nothing crazy. We’d just be busting into some Cain safehouses and taking their ill gotten gains,” Sam replied easily. “Ya know, the basic stuff.”
“Basic stuff,” Mia repeated slowly. “That’s basic?”
“Would you prefer to punch Grim in the face?” Sam asked with a knowing smirk. Mia tried to think of a clever retort but eventually gave up, her shoulders sagging. Sam took this as a victory. “Thought so. Trust me, with the four of us, it’ll be a breeze. Honestly, Liam could probably do it solo. Part of why I’m going is because Pink is starting to get really antsy and if I neglect her, she starts getting bitchy.”
A bitchy Pink sounded miserable. I had to wonder how Sam managed to stay sane with all those personalities bouncing around inside her head?
“I suppose you’ll drag me along with you, just because,” I crossed my arms. Sam only replied with a cheeky smile. If Liam really could do it all by himself, then there wasn’t much point in me going along. Mia still needed to get some experience, so it would be a good outing for her. “Don’t suppose I could just chill and work on stuff in my workshop?”
“Are you trying to tell me you don’t want to test out your new toys?” Sam asked, feigning shock. “You’ll miss out on all the fun if you just lock yourself away upstairs all the time. It’s not like you’ve got anything to be afraid of while wearing that suit. It’s more than bulletproof now.”
More than she realized.
My suit was at a point now where only Mechatech, heavy equipment or powers would be able to do any reasonable damage to it. Even a fifty-caliber bullet wouldn’t do much more than give me a light shove. I would claim that artillery and tank shells wouldn’t do much and while the suit would be fine, the force behind the shot would still be enough to pop my organs and shatter my bones. If I wanted to protect myself against sheer force, I’d need something more advanced than armor.
Energy shields or some kind of super exoskeleton were my current thoughts. Another path would be altering and reinforcing my biology. Sure, I couldn’t interact with biology or living organisms but that didn’t mean I couldn’t create something that did. The only question was what.
“Fair point,” I shrugged easily. “I might as well tag along. There might be something interesting I could find. The last safehouse had some of Deadlock’s tech. Who knows what else they have.”
Sam hummed aloud. “Gold’s still not certain how they managed to get a hold of something like that. Still trying to figure that one out, but it’s not exactly a priority.”
“So… we’re just going to break in and attack some thugs in their own homes?” Mia asked, a look of apprehension and distaste crossing her features. “I know these guys are scum but I’m not sure how I feel about that. It feels needlessly violent.”
“All we’re doing is going in, knocking them out, and taking their stuff,” Sam explained like it was a daily routine. “Don’t forget these guys are the same ones that kidnapped you. If Grim wasn’t in league with some psycho, you likely would’ve been sold into sex slavery.”
Mia looked horrified. “What?”
“When Liam first came to us that was our first guess,” I explained. “It’s what they do.”
“Was,” Sam corrected. “Now Grim and the rest of them are suckling from Masquerade and the Iron Maiden’s teet. It might still be a part of their operation, but there’s no way it’s their primary source of income anymore.”
Any reservations Mia had about what we were doing visibly melted off her face. She wanted to hurt them now – to take the fight straight to their doorstep. The last few days had distracted her from what really happened. If I were to guess, she was likely preoccupied with learning to use her power properly.
“Those freaks probably still have my friends.”
Sam frowned and lightly shrugged. “The ECU quarantined the whole block around the bunker. Gold thinks Grim and Splicer have completely gone into hiding, but we’re torn on the specifics. If they were really desperate to keep things hidden, they would’ve burnt the place to the ground with everyone inside.”
“They’re all dead?” There was a notable shake in Mia’s voice.
“Not necessarily,” Sam raised a hand to calm Mia. She clearly picked up on my discontent as well, if the tone of her voice was anything to go by. “I’ve been keeping an eye on the news. Like I said, the ECU have the whole block locked down and their forces are out there en masse. They’re getting something out of the bunker and it’s highly probable it’s the other victims and most of the Mechatech.”
Mia’s expression turned hopeful. “So there’s a chance they’ll live?”
Sam let out an exhausted sigh and shrugged again.
“There’s a lot to consider. Some people were further along in testing than you were, others might have an adverse reaction. This is one of the most dangerous fields of research after all.” She explained. “Then there’s the possibility that Grim and Splicer took the ones that showed the most promise and moved them elsewhere, leaving behind the failures. There’s only so much I can do on such limited info.”
“I get it,” I said, turning back and giving Sam a pointed look. “That’s why you’re planning on attacking more of their safehouses. You think you’ll be able to find clues and put Gold to work. You’re killing two birds with one stone.”
Sam stared at me and tilted her head.
“Wow,” she said, clearly impressed. “That’s… I’m honestly surprised you even got that.”
I did my best to look smug. “Told you, I’m starting to get this stuff.”
She winked. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.”
“So… this plan of yours. You want me to come along?” Mia’s voice broke our little staring match and drew attention back to her. “Because you said ‘the four of us’ unless I’m mishearing things.”
“I do,” Sam said earnestly. “You’re not certain how your power will be helpful but I’ll be able to give you some pointers – that is if you want to come along at all. Feel free to lounge around here if you want. I just thought you’d appreciate some fresh air.”
“I want more than fresh air,” Mia replied, her expression hardening. There it was again, that look that promised violence. “But you’re right, I’m not sure how I’ll be helpful. My statues can only move when unobserved.”
“And you know what that makes you? Fucking horrifying,” Sam shuddered a little bit. “You and Liam both. I swear you’re basically monsters from a horror movie. Ninety percent of the dumbasses we’ll find will run for the hills the moment they see things start moving out of the corner of their eyes. The other ten percent brave enough to stay behind will be in for a nasty surprise.”
Mia chuckled nervously. “When you put it like that…”
“Cheer up, you’ll be fine. Can’t be any worse than the dork,” she thumbed me with a grin. “He was a hot mess on his first night out.”
“I seem to recall that dork pulling a bullet out of your shoulder,” I replied blandly. “Or am I misremembering?”
Sam pouted.
Mia just stared at her, shocked. “You’ve been shot?”
“Oh yeah,” Sam waved her off. “Plenty of times. Oddly enough, the third time is the worst and then it gets easier from there.”
The older girl just blinked slowly. “Right… okay.”
It was rather amusing seeing Sam mess with someone else for a change.
“Hey Max, while I am blessed with your presence for once, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” Sam said, finishing up in the kitchen. She walked out from behind the kitchen counter and plopped down next to me on the couch. “I’d like to think I’ve been patient and given you some time to work in peace, but it’s been eating away at me and Gold for a while now. Even Pink wants to know.”
I stared back, blankly.
“What’s this about?”
“Your source,” she replied. “Namely, how you knew about Splicer. I think it’s time you filled us in.”