Abby didn’t even try to hide.

When I arrived at the computer science block, she was leaning against the door to the building. I had to guess that as a renowned superhero, you could loiter anywhere you wanted and not look suspicious. If it were anyone else, they would probably have teachers harassing them.

“You’re like, ten minutes late dude.”

I snorted. “Since when were you such a stickler for the rules?”

She pushed off the door and straightened up, giving her shoulders a roll. Abby looked out of place here, completely different from our brief stint as hoodlums before her Awakening. She didn’t look comfortable, which was the complete opposite feeling for me. Given what I was already up to, this was probably the most relaxed mission I’d had in weeks.

“Since never,” she replied with a curl to her lips. “You got what you need?”

I slipped a hand into my pocket and pulled out a USB.

“You’re lucky you caught me when school started. I pulled some old code from my laptop. You finally gave me an excuse to use some keylogging and authentication spoofing programs I downloaded a while back. I had to get a couple updates, but otherwise we’re good to go,” I lied effortlessly. Abby raised an eyebrow as I slipped the USB back into my pocket. “What, did you think I just stopped wondering how to break into things after we hit that email?”

“You know, I could arrest you right now. You’re carrying illegal software,” Abby said with a knowing tone.

“Oh, I’m soooo scared,” I replied mockingly.

Abby just laughed.

“Come on,” she summoned a bit of her telekinetic aura. I watched as it flowed into the door, effortlessly unlocking it. I was almost disappointed when she didn’t rip the door off its frame. It definitely would have been more interesting to see. She gave me a wink. “Ladies first.”

I chuckled, moving through the open door. “Why, thank you, good sir.”

The computer lab building was the only place in the school that had any sort of brilliance to it. It always had that fresh smell to it. The carpets and walls were always clean and the lights actually worked. Other buildings like the English or Maths blocks always seemed to have a few things that just didn’t work. The home economics block actually had graffiti on one of its sides. The computer science building was the only place that actually looked like it was cared for.

“Alright, top floor, yeah?”

“Preferably,” I replied. “Don’t want a teacher to pass by and see us through the windows.”

We moved through the hallways and ascended the staircase to the third level. It didn’t really matter which room we went into, they all had computers. We picked a room at random and Abby used her powers to unlock the door. When we went in, she switched off the alarm as I moved to the teacher’s computer.

Turning it on, I plugged in my empty USB and created a new user.

“Keep watch,” I said. I would need Abby’s eyes away from what I was doing. If she paid too much attention she might figure out I wasn’t doing anything with the USB. “I’d hate to have a teacher stumble in on us without any warning.”

“Gotcha,” Abby replied. She moved away from me and lingered over by the door so she could keep watch out the window beside her, and the small window built into the door. “This is bringing back memories. ” she chuckled lightly. “Even though I know I can get into all sorts of deep shit by doing this it’s kinda thrilling. I mean, you only risk a suspension. Me? Ugh, I can’t even imagine the lecture I’d get from my mum and higher ups.”

I slipped my phone out of my pocket and rested it on my lap so that it was out of Abby’s sight. I felt like I should be way more concerned about her discovering that I had Mechatech, but I felt no panic, no worry. I was going to get away with it, simple as that.

“An ECU Hero, breaking the law?” I mused aloud. “Gee gosh golly, I am mighty surprised.”

I logged into the new user account at the same time as I connected my phone to the open port. I didn’t waste any time opening a browser and heading directly to the school’s website. If I knew anything about databases, it was that schools tended to keep their records locked behind faculty accounts in the backend of the main school website. That, or there was a proxy that led logged-in administration accounts away from the school website to a more secure database. Whatever the case may be, my software would do all the work.

I could have done it remotely but I knew these systems would be monitored. Abby’s information was on here and while that didn’t matter given how public she was, for all I knew there could be other Rookies attending Minerva as well. If I did this off a personal machine without the proper protection, they’d find me out pretty quickly.

Doing it on the teacher’s computer in the classroom wouldn’t raise any red flags, at least, not at a glance.

“Give me a break,” Abby groaned. “You know we try our best. Not all of us can be fuckin’ paragons of virtue,” the distaste in her voice was paramount. “And don’t give me that bullcrap about ‘one bad apple spoils the whole bunch’ shit. I know the ECU isn’t all it's cracked up to be but… damnit, we try.”

“You try,” I corrected her without even thinking.

“You want to do this now?” Abby replied, amused. “I still think it would be cool if you came to work for the ECU after we graduate. Last time I talked with Lucy about it, she said she was interested in our PR department. With your skills in IT, you could join our tech department. It pays well, they’ll fund your degree and I can put in a good word for you. Mum probably would as well.”

“I seem to remember you saying that the last time we had this conversation,” I replied, putting more bite into my response than I intended. I knew she was only trying to help, but I had made my position clear plenty of times. “You know how I feel about the ECU. I can’t imagine Mum or Alex would be particularly happy with me if I took you up on that offer.”

“Ugh, I hate this stupid grudge you guys have,” Abby rubbed her temples in frustration. I stopped what I was doing and looked over at her, our gazes meeting. She shrunk away in shame. “Sorry, that was really fucking tone deaf. I just…” she trailed off, trying to get her thoughts in order. “I just think it would be really cool if you guys were in the same sort of field as me. Once we graduate, I’m going to be a full-time hero. I won’t have time for much social stuff.”

It wasn’t the first time Abby had let her mouth run. It was just who she was, brash with a dash of vulgarity for flavor. Definitely not how the PR department wanted her to act.

“You say that like we won’t talk after graduation.”

“Mum told me that none of her friendships survived graduation. It just doesn’t gel with a hero's life,” Abby explained. “She’s always been married to work and I’m not, so that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen to me, but… I’m worried, you know?”

As I worked to brute force my way into the school’s database, her words caused a slight ache in my chest and I felt my expression soften. I found it rather ironic that a similar thought had plagued me earlier today.

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“Jackson wants to go into game design, which is cool and all. Chris is set on Engineering and I tried to convince him that I could get him an apprenticeship under Nanoforge, but he told me that he wants to go into the family business and work with his dad,” Abby shrugged sullenly. “That just leaves you and Lucy – and well, you kinda hate the ECU.”

“I don’t hate the ECU.”

Abby laughed. “Coulda fooled me.”

“What about the other Rookies?” I asked, giving her a curious stare. She had shown me the photos and they all seemed pretty friendly with each other. “I thought you were pretty close with them?”

“Yeah, they’re cool and all but they’re not really… what’s the word?” She paused for a few moments, trying to think of a way to phrase it.

I felt like I could understand what she was trying to get at without her even saying it. I suppose I could say I felt the same way about Sam, Liam, and Mia. We were a team – granted, a new one – and we were friends but the circumstances were different. We had come together out of necessity, not because of shared interests. The foundation of the friendship was different.

“It’s always about work around them, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… yeah!” Abby snapped her fingers and pointed at me. “It’s totally that. We talk, we hang out, but it’s always about hero stuff. I don’t feel like I could invite any of them to one of our DnD sessions without it being awkward. I suppose Copycat might enjoy it, but he and I don’t talk all that much.”

I suppressed the urge to laugh. To her teammates, she was Comet. To me and the rest of our friends, she was Abby. It was the same dilemma I was having earlier, except she had it much worse. There was a slim separation between her and Comet, given that she had no secret identity. After she graduates, she will be Comet full-time.

“I doubt they’d want to reveal their identity to a bunch of nerds anyway,” I chuckled. “Unless they showed up in costume. That would be interesting, I suppose. It’d be a great way to roleplay. Copycat would make a great rogue.”

She snickered. “Aha, dork.”

We settled into a short silence and I began to work. It didn’t take me long to find the details we were looking for. All I had to do was look up Lucy’s full name and it gave me her complete academic record, complete with her personal details and a couple of medical notes. In that list, was her address, which had me raising an eyebrow. It was further than expected given where I usually dropped her off. Lucy had once mentioned that she lived close to Pandora territory, but she clearly lied. This address was right in the heart of it.

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“I got it,” I snapped a photo of the address and slipped my phone back into my pocket. “We’ll probably need to catch a bus. I don’t think flying there with your powers is a good idea.”

“Why not?” Abby asked, confused.

“Because it's right in the middle of Pandora territory,” I replied. I watched as Abby’s eyes widened. “Yeah, I know. Maybe this is why she didn’t want us anywhere near her place. You wouldn’t be safe and I…” I trailed off, feeling the distaste in my mouth. “…I’d probably get abducted or something.”

“Jesus,” she ran a hand through her hair. “Well, now we have to go and check.”

I wasn’t about to dissuade her. If Lucy’s sudden silence had anything to do with Pandora, then something had to be done. I wasn’t about to sit back and let those freaks have their way with her. Besides, I was already at war with one gang, what’s one more?

I logged out, making sure to delete the profile I had created before switching off the computer. Abby and I were out of the building and walking out of the school grounds before anyone noticed. As we walked, she looked around cautiously as if she were expecting to suddenly get attacked. After a few moments, she leaned over and nudged me.

“Pass me your jacket.”

I instantly knew why. She needed a proper disguise if we were heading into Pandora territory.

I shrugged it off and handed it to her. She threw it around her smaller frame and zipped it up, pulling the hood over her head. It was a little big for her so it looked baggy but it worked to conceal the top of her head and a good portion of her face.

“She always talked about how messed up Pandora is,” Abby murmured under her breath. “Why didn’t she say anything? Living in the middle of where they’re most active has got to be fucking shit,” she inhaled sharply as a realization struck her. “Do you think it’s why she spends so much time at your place? It’d make sense.”

“It would track,” I agreed. “She did mention living close to Pandora territory. I just don’t know why she’d lie.”

I couldn’t help but feel like the world’s biggest hypocrite for saying that. I had – and still was – keeping my powers from almost everyone I knew. I had my secrets and evidently, Lucy had hers. Maybe it would explain the bizarre reaction she had when I told her I got powers. Maybe she was worried I’d turn into the kind of people Pandora were, or worse still, join them.

“I’ve got a really bad feeling now,” Abby said. I could even hear the fear in her voice. “Fuck… things are already bad enough. If Pandora’s done something, I swear to God—” she stopped herself before she said anything condemning. I could tell she was angry by the way her aura was leaking out of her body. Thankfully, she managed to keep a lid on it. “I really don’t know what I’d do.”

I felt myself grimace, the tips of my fingers tingling in anticipation while the watch on my arm suddenly started itching.

“You’re telling me.”

We arrived at a bus stop and checked the timetable. Sure enough, there was a bus coming soon that was heading right next to her house. I sat down to wait but Abby couldn’t keep still. She started pacing around in front of me, which I found to have a profound effect on my nerves. Her anxiousness was starting to affect me.

“Stop it.”

“Sorry, I can’t help it,” Abby’s reply was clipped. “Fuck. I just… fuck!”

“Calm down.”

“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down!” Abby snapped. I just stared as she stepped away from me, and ran her hands down her face. “I don’t need this. Damn it, I don’t need this. Shit!” She looked away from me for a few moments before looking back, a more resolute look on her face. “Okay, look. I know I said you could come along but this probably isn’t a good idea. I should go alone, it’d be safer that way. I don’t want you to get hurt, Max.”

“If you think I’m going to back down because of a few cultists, then I’ve got something to tell you.”

“Max, these guys are something else. I’ve dealt with them before, I can do it again.”

“Good, I’m counting on it and I hope you’ll appreciate my support.”

“You can’t help,” she countered quickly. “You don’t have—”

“You aren’t talking me out of this,” I cut her off. I challenged her glare with my own. I wasn’t about to let Abby go about this alone, powers or no powers. She could be the fucking Mountain for all that was worth and I’d still fight her on this. Lucy was one of my best friends and I wasn’t about to let a little bit of fear stop me from going. “So suck it up, Sparkles.”

Abby let out an exhausted sigh. “Fine.”

I was slightly put off by the fact that she didn’t push it any further. Instead, all I got was acceptance.

“I’ll protect you, if anything happens,” Abby continued. “I won’t let any one of those guys mess with you.”

I couldn’t have felt more guilty if I tried.

When the bus arrived, we got on and slipped into a couple of seats at the back. We didn’t talk much and Abby preferred to keep her head down to avoid eye contact with anyone. The downside of being a public celebrity, everyone wanted an opportunity to talk. It was a bit different at school. Abby got approached but it was mostly at the start of the year, and after a while, the novelty of going to a school with a superhero rookie wore off.

I took that time to look up Lucy’s address on maps. I wanted to get a better look at where we were going and what to expect. There was nothing out of the ordinary and the house itself looked pretty generic. There was a nice car parked in the driveway, a Ford Mustang with sunset orange body paint, but that was the most exotic thing I could say about the place.

“What’s that?” Abby asked, leaning over. “Is that her house?”

“Should be,” I murmured. I moved my fingers across the screen to adjust the view. The rest of the street appeared just the same. Mundane, just like every other neighborhood in the city. “Well, if there’s any clues here, I don’t see them. It looks like a normal street to me.”

“A street right in the middle of Pandora territory,” Abby replied in a hushed tone. “Anything could happen – which includes nothing. Let’s hope nothing happens and we’re just worrying for no reason, and that Lucy is a total sulking bitch that is brooding over a failed assignment,” she suddenly nudged me in the ribs painfully and I flinched. “That’s for Lucy, by the way. Jerk.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll get my share of tongue lashings.”

We got off at the stop closest to Lucy’s place and walked the rest of the way. Pandora’s territory during the daytime was pretty much the same as any other place in the city. If you weren’t local to Bayside, you wouldn’t have guessed it. The Cains were fairly obvious in how they marked their territory, what with all the graffiti and gang tags. Pandora was different. They were clean, to a disturbing degree. There was no litter, tagging, or anything that you’d normally expect a city to have. To someone who didn’t know any better, it’d look nice, charming even.

“Jesus, just walking here makes my skin crawl,” Abby shuddered. “Everything feels so fake. Manufactured.”

Every lawn was cut to the same length; the pavement washed and cleaned to perfection. Pretty much every house had that same white picket fence surrounding their front. There wasn’t an ounce of personality outside of some of the houses which were probably built before Pandora arrived and infected the city with their presence. The more recently built houses all looked the same, box-shaped, vertical, and stark white with navy blue roofs.

It was all very… unified.

“Empty too,” I noted as I continued to look around. It was just past five and the whole street felt vacant. It was uncanny and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “I can’t believe Lucy lives here.”

“Yeah,” Abby agreed softly. She pointed ahead of us. “There it is.”

Lucy’s house stood at the end of the street and it definitely looked more imposing than the rest. Like a seat at the end of a long family dinner table, the house stood at an impressive three stories. It looked older than the rest and was one of the few places with character. A house like that in a neighborhood like this was expensive, definitely at least a million.

When we came to stand out front, we lingered, observing the structure. Just like the rest, the lawn was freshly trimmed and the pavement leading up to the front door was cleaned, polished even. There were no signs of life inside either. There was no car parked in the driveway, the curtains were all closed and the lights were off.

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s home,” I murmured.

Abby grunted. “I didn’t come all this way for nothing. Come on.”

She walked to the right and moved down between Lucy’s house and another. I followed without hesitation, eventually finding ourselves in the backyard. There was a metal clothesline, held up by two poles. Again, with something like this, you’d expect it to look somewhat rusted due to being exposed to the sea breeze that blew in from the west. No, this thing was clean and polished. I could see my own reflection in it.

Who the hell cleans a clothesline pole?

Abby tried to peek in through the back windows but the curtains concealed whatever was inside.

“Damnit,” she hissed, stepping back. She looked up and scanned the house, looking deep in thought. “Maybe I should try knocking?”

I gave an idle shrug.

As we moved back around to the front, my phone dinged. I pulled it out to see a message from Sam.

Sam: Liam just told me what you’re up to. I shouldn’t need to tell you to be careful. Breaking into school stuff should be a piece of cake for you. Just don’t linger, okay?

Max: Already finished up at school.

I debated on whether or not I should tell Sam where I was. I knew what she’d say. She’d tell me to get the fuck out of here as fast as possible. The risk of being inside Pandora's territory was something she was intimately familiar with.

Max: Just doing some investigation with Abby. We should be fine.

Sam: KK ttyl

Abby knocked on the door and to absolutely no one’s surprise, we received no answer.

“Figures,” she muttered. “I guess we’re doing this the hard way.”

“Whoa, hang on. We’re breaking in?” I said, stunned. Abby looked confused, like she had come here knowing that if something like this happened, this was the route she was going to take. “What exactly are we looking for here? Lucy clearly isn’t home and neither is her family.”

“Clues,” Abby said. “There might be something inside that’ll tell us where she is and if she’s okay.”

“That’s a big might,” I argued. “Are you sure you want to do this? The school records were one thing, this is another.”

“What else are we supposed to do, Max? Just sit around and wait for her to contact us?” Abby shot back. “There could be signs of a struggle inside. Tipped chairs, broken tables, holes in the wall. Anything that could tell me that Lucy was taken against her will. That’s what I’m looking for.”

I tried to think of an alternative but she looked pretty adamant. I wasn’t exactly against it either. I wanted to know just as much as she did, but I was also aware of Pandora. I had met some of their leaders in that meeting and I’d be lying if I said they weren’t intimidating. Then again, Abby had probably crossed a few of them as well and she wasn’t deterred.

“Alright,” I relented. “We go through the back door then. Doing this is pretty stupid but doing this in broad daylight at the front door is even dumber.”

Abby nodded. “Back door it is.”

We moved back around to the backyard and found the door. It was less extravagant than the front but that was undoubtedly by design. The front was meant to look inviting.

Abby crept up the wooden stairs and summoned her aura. It snaked into the lock and the door clicked open. She didn’t even hesitate to step inside.

With a deep breath, I followed her in.