You would think out of the five people in the room, the four who had superpowers would hold all the leverage. That, unfortunately, was not the case.

“Business?” Mia murmured, stealing a few gazes at us. “I get the feeling I’m not going to like this.”

“You may not,” Francis admitted monotonously. “But you are fortunate that I volunteered to deliver the message and initiate a discussion.” His gaze shifted to Sam, his expression expectant. “I would have thought you would have interrupted by now, or maybe you’ve realized being petulant and resistant would only damage what goals you have.”

Sam crossed her arms. “I’ve—” she paused briefly to correct herself. “We have decided to hear you out. You helped us with Grim and sheltered us when our base of operations was compromised. If you wanted us gone, you’ve had plenty of opportunities to do so.”

“We recognize talent, potential, and power,” The Old Man said. “Barring a few questionable decisions, the four of you have demonstrated a penchant for working together and staying alive. The unfortunate reality is that many in your situation would have been dead, missing, or enslaved to one of the gangs by now.”

“Sounds like you’re about to do the last one,” Liam mused aloud with a glare. When The Old Man sighed, Liam just snorted. “Ms. Mentalist over here just finished telling us how you guys are apparently worse than a gang, so yeah, enslaved sounds about right.”

“Liam.”

I shot him a look that told him to cool off and shut up. He rolled his eyes and slouched back into his chair with a sigh. He went back to shoveling food into his mouth to keep himself quiet. The last thing we needed was snarky remarks to the messenger we were supposed to negotiate with, familial relations notwithstanding.

“I understand your suspicion,” The Old Man said, nodding. “And there’s no point in lying. We, as an organization, have pressured supers to join our ranks by utilizing underhanded methods. I don’t agree with said methods but it’s not my call to make, though none of that is why I’m here.”

Sam managed to smirk despite her distaste for the situation. “Let me guess, threatening us is not in your best interests.”

“No,” The Old Man agreed. “Threatening you would only foster resentment. I try to push for amicable deals so that both sides may benefit as long as everyone is performing as expected. That responsibility goes both ways. Yes, you’re all young and this is a lot to put on your shoulders, but this is the real world now. You don’t have time to grow up anymore.”

I could tell his words were directed towards Liam, who sat and stewed in his chair with a sullen expression.

“These last few weeks have felt pretty real to me,” I said, eyeing The Old Man. “What exactly are you proposing and what does it mean exactly?”

Francis rolled his shoulders and straightened his back, holding both hands around his waist.

“As I understand it, you four have only just begun to break into the scene and you’ve already made a name for yourselves. Madhouse is a name that’s been circling as of late and after last night, everyone in the city is going to know who you are,” he said, laying the groundwork out. “You have secured a commendable amount of positive reputation, people on both sides of the law think highly of you. Being the catalyst for Grim’s defeat is not something anyone will brush off.”

“Targets,” Mia grumbled. “You’re saying we’ve become targets.”

“No. I’m saying that any possibility of slipping back into civilian life is gone,” The Old Man clarified. “You’re a known quality now and there’s no escaping that. It’s time to buckle down and start making plans for how you’re going to stay alive. Fortunately for you, me and my associates are interested in the longevity of your group.”

“Yeah I bet you are,” Sam commented. “I know how this works. You’re going to offer us a deal that on the surface sounds too good to be true. You’ll set us up with private bank accounts, a very generous salary plus whatever commissions we earn through our work, private residence and security, etcetera etcetera. The benefits are wonderful but we sacrifice any freedom we have – any control.”

The Old Man gave Sam a blank stare.

“Yes… that’s how working with another group works. You can’t go off and do whatever you want when you represent more than just yourself. It’ll reflect badly on your associates. You should already know this, given that you’re already a part of a group.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Yes-yes I know.”

“Good. Now, are you going to listen or have I wasted my time in coming here?” The Old Man asked.

I motioned for him to continue. “Let's hear it then.”

Francis nodded and cleared his throat.

“Our primary interest is in an arrangement that will be beneficial for both sides. We will sponsor you, funneling you enough money to allow you to live comfortably and then some. If you get into trouble, we will protect you, if there’s something you desire that can’t be bought, we can see about acquiring it. In exchange, there are jobs that we will require you to do. Some are more dangerous than others and you’ll have free reign to deny anything you aren’t comfortable with.”

“Like killing?” Mia asked, her tone laced with caution. With how still she was, I would have mistaken her for one of her statues if she wasn’t clearly of flesh and blood. “Is that on the table?”

The Old Man was quiet for a moment before slowly shaking his head. “No. Murder is not something we would ask you to do. We already have people specialized for those kinds of jobs. The four of you have incredible potential to be utilized much more effectively in other areas. Besides, I would personally veto any jobs that involved murder. I’ve already seen what that kind of work does to kids like you.”

Liam grunted and looked away while Mia’s gaze dropped to the floor. Sam looked… curious, which was strange considering what I knew of her. I thought she would be against anything like this, no matter what was being offered, but she generally looked intrigued.

“Interesting,” Sam mused. “What would you have us working on?”

“Mechatech Development, Information Gathering, Espionage, Retrieval, with the occasional Enforcement when the situation calls for it,” The Old Man explained. “I think each of you can guess exactly who would fit where. The departments are self-explanatory but let me clarify that most of the time, you would all be acting as a single unit.”

“Mechatech Development?” I queried with interest. If I were properly funded, there would be a real possibility that I could skip several stages of Mechatech and save on charges. Sure, I didn’t strictly need their resources, but considering what I’d seen already, they could potentially save me weeks, months, and even years. “What kind?”

“Given your skillset, collaborative projects, mostly. I would imagine that you will be invaluable to any Mechakinetic we have in our employ. You would also be able to freely use any of the tech we have on hand. I think you’ll find us more than willing to help with your development,” he explained. “Not that I think you need it, but the offer remains.”

It was an offer with no obvious downsides, none I could see anyway. It was everything I expected the ECU to offer if I had gone to them. It all seemed very official, which I supposed was half the point. These guys were not run-of-the-mill gangsters that hustled people on the street. They were professionals with a preference for proper business. I couldn’t help but feel like I was woefully out of my depth here, given I had yet to finish High School.

“What about our lives?” Mia cut in again, drawing The Old Man’s attention. “You… you framed yourself as Liam and Natasha’s uncle. You know us. How is this going to affect our personal lives?”

“If all goes well, then any changes to your personal lives will be miniscule. I imagine that you are eager to get back to your family and maybe even graduate from university,” The Old Man said. Mia perked up at the mention of her family. “All of this can be arranged. The people I work for have powerful connections.”

“I could go back to my family? I can… get my degree?”

The Old Man sighed. “We can open that opportunity for you but we don’t work miracles. I suspect that from your expression, returning to your family is something you are uncertain about. We can make sure the ECU don’t stick their noses in your business, but the fact remains that it is your business. How it proceeds from there is up to you.”

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Mia promptly deflated, looking more uncertain than she ever had.

“What about us?” Liam chimed in, having found his voice again. “What happens to the two of us?”

The Old Man stared back. “Nothing. Things continue how they are. You go to school and keep your head down. Minerva is your last chance, should you want to take it. You're involved in all of this now. If you screw up, there’s nothing more I can do for you. So for your own sake, I suggest you try to make this work.”

A shudder crawled up my spine. Francis definitely had a more fatherly tone when he was addressing Liam directly.

“Alright, I guess,” Liam replied sullenly. “Not like I didn’t try before.”

“Try harder,” Francis intoned. “Employ a little self-restraint and you’ll get the results you’re looking for.”

So far, all of this seemed pretty straightforward. I had yet to figure out any major downsides of this deal, other than the fact that he was pretty vague about what kind of jobs they would have us doing. Sure, he talked about giving us work related to our skill sets, but from the sounds of everything, it still seemed like we would be staying together as a team. The only difference was that it sounded like we were going to get busier.

“This is all very tempting. I’ll admit, you’ve laid this out well enough to have me considering it. I just have one problem and I think we can all agree that it’s a fairly big one,” I said, drawing his attention back to me. Francis tilted his head slightly as if he was trying to guess what the problem was. “You’ve been talking about the people you work for, but you’ve never specified who they are. Do you even know?”

“Oh, he knows,” Sam said. “That’s the big catch. The deal itself is amazing, to the point where I would be stupid not to consider it. These guys are the real deal after all, but it’s the people you work for that are the problem.”

I turned to her. “You know?”

Sam’s smile disappeared, which I knew was a bad sign. “Yeah, I figured it out. It’s why we can’t talk our way out of this. Can’t run from it either. I’ll be honest… I’m at a loss for once.”

Hearing that she was at a loss was not a good sign. I found my suspicions rising despite how attractive the deal was.

“Who are they?” I asked, making sure my demands didn’t sound aggressive. “If you want us to consider this offer seriously, we can’t be kept in the dark about who it is you answer to.”

“That can be arranged.”

All our heads turned to the TV.

Liam practically jumped out of his skin, looking ready to transform. There was a brief noise of static as the television switched itself on. No specific channel appeared, instead, a face made entirely of ASCII art. It appeared androgynous with no distinctive features. Its voice was a synthetic mixture between male and female, which made it impossible to tell who was talking.

“Hello, Madhouse,” the face moved, its lips syncing with the words it spoke. “I must apologize for eavesdropping but this was a meeting of particular interest.”

Cyberspace.

“The fuck!?” Liam sneered. “Who the hell are you?”

I half expected Sam to jump in with a snide remark to shut Liam up. Instead, she was uncharacteristically silent, glancing at the TV in the corner of her eye like she was afraid it would blind her. She looked scared, and for once, I couldn’t blame her for feeling that way.

“I care not for names, but the world at large would know me as Cyberspace.”

Of all the supers I could have met, Cyberspace had not been on the list. I had thought the rumors were true, that they had died or been captured years ago. That's probably what Cyberspace wanted the world to think. If everyone thought they were gone, then they would be able to operate without scrutiny.

“Seems like you aren’t as ‘gone’ as the world thinks you are,” I voiced, crossing my arms. “I can’t say that I was expecting this though.”

“No one does,” Cyberspace replied evenly. “So, now that you know the truth, I would like to know if your opinion has changed.”

“It’s not like we get much of a choice,” Sam said with a clipped tone. “I’ve done my research. There isn’t a place on Earth that’s safe from you. There’s nowhere we could hide that you wouldn’t know about,” she slowly shook her head and laughed bitterly.

“There’s always a choice, Samantha. Whether or not it is a good or bad choice remains to be seen. I would hope that you four are smart enough to consider the offer seriously.”

“If we turn you down, what happens?” Mia asked.

“Nothing,” Cyberspace stated nonchalantly. “There are better uses of my time than chasing you four around. I have no intention to exploit or harm any of you as there is no sense making enemies out of you. You are free to decline but I would hope that you are capable of looking beyond your own paranoia.”

“Paranoia has kept me alive,” Sam countered. “But I get your point. I even believe your offer to be genuine.”

“Of course it is,” Cyberspace acknowledged. “We are able to help each other. If you couldn't, I wouldn't bother.”

Everyone was gunning for something, and Cyberspace was no exception. However, with their power, reach, and reputation, it was hard to think of reasons why they would want our help. Their notoriety was international. That kind of attention attracted all kinds of people, so what exactly were they doing here talking to us?

Then, the realization struck me like lightning.

I looked between The Old Man and the supervillain on the television.

“It was you.”

Cyberspace’s face arched strangely. “Pardon?”

“You’re the guardian angel Mirage was talking about,” I turned and briefly stared at The Old Man over my shoulder before turning back. “That night, the trade we made. It was all set up by you – the items you guys requested from me. It was a test, wasn’t it? To see my capabilities.”

“Hm, yes. Then you got caught,” Cyberspace intoned. “I can’t say I was pleased with how that night progressed. Not my intended outcome but it is impossible to plan for every possibility.”

I remembered Mirage pointing out the convenience of the phone call he got while I was tied up. “It was you. You called him to give me the space I needed to escape.”

“You’re welcome,” Cyberspace’s tone was laced with sarcasm. “Yes, it was a test, one that you passed with flying colors. I am thankful that you no longer advertise your services online, dreadfully stupid move by the way. Amateurish. You’re lucky I make a habit of concealing the digital footprint of promising supers like you. You wouldn’t believe how many of them turn to the internet for answers, only to end up giving themselves away.”

Indignation burned within me. Yeah, I had been foolish, and I recognized that fact. I didn’t need to have it spelled out to me.

“Yeah, I’m sure I wouldn’t,” I grumbled. “So what is it exactly that you want? You said you wouldn’t have bothered trying to extend this offer if we weren’t capable of helping you.”

“My wants aren’t things that can be achieved in a short time span. I have countless operations in place to help me work towards them, a partnership with your group being one of them,” Cyberspace explained. “We would be here for the rest of the day and all night if I were to tell you everything. There is no need.”

“Oh come on,” Liam groaned. “Don’t feed us this ‘my goals are beyond your understanding’ bullshit. Just say what you want us for and be straight with it.”

“Your cooperation bolsters my own standing and available resources,” Cyberspace stated with disturbing clarity. “Is that what you wanted to hear, Liam Bailey? Both sides benefit from this arrangement, as your handler has so clearly explained.”

The Old Man said nothing.

Liam just scowled.

“You’re the one that sent my sister away.”

“Spectre knew the risks of her assignment. We are not to blame for her disappearance,” Cyberspace said. “It is my understanding that you intend to search for her. I can provide reports made by our retrieval teams and if she is still alive, I have no doubt you will be able to find her.”

Sam abruptly stood up, clearing her throat and clapping her hands with a wide smile. It was such a dramatic change in tone that I would have thought she had let one of her personalities take over. However, it appeared she was still using Blue.

“Before we do any of that, we’ll need to get our stuff. Mirage, Banshee, and Bonesmith know where we live now, so staying there is out of the question,” she chirped, all her attention directed at Cyberspace. “We’ll need to move somewhere more inconspicuous. Don’t suppose you have any ideas on where in Bayside could work? Groves Den was perfect, I picked it specifically because it had the fewest squatters and other activity.”

Cyberspace was quiet for a few moments, and I found myself looking around the room to gauge how everyone felt.

Liam looked torn between being sullen and annoyed. Mia continued to look uncertain, while Sam finally looked like she had figured out how to approach this situation. The Old Man was just as stoic as he had been when he walked in.

“I may have an idea.”

Sam beamed. “Shoot. I’m all ears.”

“If I am not mistaken, you are in possession of one of Deadlock’s prototype designs. It is small, no bigger than a snowglobe,” Cyberspace said. “I had been looking into it when Masquerade acquired it through his illicit contacts in the ECU. He handed it off to The Cains for them to utilize as another bunker – another workshop for Splicer.”

I felt my eyes widen.

“That cube?”

“The very same,” Cyberspace confirmed. “Retrieve it from your hideout and I will help solve your little real estate issue.”