Dread had become a familiar companion over the last few weeks, so much so that I’d buy it a drink if I was old enough.
Something had happened and now Mom wanted me home, enough to text and make demands. She rarely ever did that but when she did, it was usually because I had fucked up badly. My first thought was that she had discovered that I had powers. The timing was too convenient and felt like the most obvious conclusion. The second was that she was annoyed that I had been out all night, which I didn’t feel warranted a response like that.
She must know about my powers.
My gut twisted as I tried to piece together what had happened. I sent Alex a message and I got a response instantly claiming that she hadn’t said anything to Mom. Unless she was lying, the only culprit left was Lucy, and given her emotional state at school yesterday, I wouldn’t have put it past her to do something like this.
I replied, telling Mom that I was on my way. All the way, I couldn’t escape the miserable feeling that my life was about to come to an end – my freedom stripped from me. If Mom knew about what I was doing, I wouldn’t be able to lie my way out of it. There was no feasible way I could twist any truths here and even if I did, I knew I’d end up with more holes in my story than a sinking ship.
How am I going to do this?
I faced my house like it was my grave. There had to be some way out and I didn’t want to get Sam or Liam involved. Sam had given me a knowing look as I dipped out of the apartment. She even texted me while I was en route to see if I was okay.
I hadn’t responded. Not yet. I didn’t know what to say. Maybe I could’ve said that it was family drama, but then I had the sneaking suspicion that while facing Mom, Sam would show up at my front door and interject herself to try and make things better. I didn’t want that to happen – at least not yet.
Let's call that a last resort.
More than anything, I wanted to keep Upgrade and Maxis as separate as possible, despite how difficult it was becoming.
Opening the front door, I stepped inside. The house was warm, the heat pump in the hallway hummed as it worked to keep everything warm. I tried to look around for anything that seemed out of place, but so far, nothing was jumping out at me. I had suspected the possibility that something more immediate had compelled her to message me with urgency, but I couldn’t see it.
“I’m home!”
I waited a few moments for the angry shout, demanding I go to the living room or the kitchen. Instead, I was met with the sound of tweeting. It drew my attention upward to the hanging lights in the hallway. Small little birds watched me, tweeting intermittently.
I opened my mouth to speak but my mother’s voice cut me off.
“I’m in the kitchen!”
Birds in the house?
I moved with caution, unfolding the paper bag I had brought with me. I bought some donuts from the bakery, Mom’s favorite, as a peace offering.
“I’ve come bearing…” my voice died in my throat as I entered the kitchen. Mom was sitting at the table looking uncertain. However, she was not the only one present. Sat across from her was one of Bayside’s most iconic heroes. “...gifts?”
Beneath her cowl, Sparrow’s lips curled into an amused grin. She stood from her chair and strolled over. “Hello! Maxis, right? Your mother has been kind enough to invite me in. We were just talking about you..”
That explains the birds.
She extended a hand in a friendly greeting. Sparrow was short; so short that I towered over her. I had always thought the stories about her height were embellished for laughs. Now, I had to admit that there was some truth to them. She looked about 4’9, maybe a bit more if I was being generous.
“...Really?” I had to force the word out. I returned the gesture and shook her hand, despite how close my knees were to buckling under my own weight. Thankfully, I had gotten much better at holding my nerves recently. “I hope she didn’t tell you anything too embarrassing.”
My gaze flicked to Mom and I was met with a blank expression. She tried to keep her feelings neutral but I knew her well enough to see that she absolutely detested Sparrow’s presence. Nothing would change her view on the Government-mandated heroes, regardless of how charming and cherry they were.
The only question that plagued me was why Mom even invited her inside in the first place.
“Hah! Unfortunately, no. She’s been telling me how well you’ve been doing at school,” Sparrow gushed. “I hope when I have kids that they’re half as dedicated as you,” she leaned in close. “Just between you and me, I was a real ditz when I went through school,” she pulled away and burst out laughing. “Anyway! I was hoping you’d be able to answer a few questions, if that’s okay?”
I felt cold, my mind running at a million miles an hour, trying to think of anywhere I had slipped up. Lucy came to mind but again, she wouldn’t rat me out to the ECU. We were closer than that, despite how upset she might’ve been about all this. Sparrow had to be here for something else.
The heist?
The timing was too convenient. It had to be related. Alex showed me that they had info on my super persona, but not enough to glean my identity. Unless that information was outdated or false, then there had to be another reason for this meeting. Sparrow would be arresting me on the spot if she knew I was Upgrade – if the ECU had evidence, which meant they didn’t.
What the hell is she here for?
Numbly, I sat down. Her casual – almost carefree attitude threatened to lull me into a feeling of safety and ease, but I had to remind myself that at any moment, ECU soldiers could burst in.
“Don’t suppose I have a choice?” I joked lightly, taking a seat at the table.
Sparrow tilted her head curiously. “Of course you do! I was just hoping you’d tell me what you know.”
I swallowed as subtly as I could. “What about?”
Sparrow reached down next to her and pulled out a folder from a bag, opened it, and placed a couple of photos down on the table. The quality of the images varied. Some had been taken on phones by bystanders and were of the men that I vaguely recognized as the ones who had been chasing me. Other photos seemed to be digital recreations of persons of interest.
So this is about that? They shouldn’t have any photos of me there. I made sure to disable the building’s cameras.
“Suspects for the car theft?” I asked, looking across to Sparrow. She gave an idle shrug in response. “You want to see if I can identify any of them?”
“If you’re able.”
I couldn’t get it out of my head that they had come all the way to our house just to ask this. There had to be more to it than that. Was it a misdirection? I was really starting to regret not inviting Sam. Some guidance from Gold in what the hell Sparrow was trying to achieve here would have been great.
“I’m not sure what you're hoping for here. I have no idea what happened and I wasn’t anywhere near my car when it was stolen,” I gestured aimlessly to the photos. “None of these guys.”
“That’s fine, that’s fine,” Sparrow nodded. She pulled out another photo and added it to the pile. “What about this one?”
This one I knew. Bonesmith, I wanted to say. It was a trick though and I was grateful I managed to catch on before I opened my mouth. Only his mugshot of him in his costume and mask was public knowledge. The photo in front of me was him in his civilian attire – what he had worn when he chased me and Sam.
“Nope, sorry.”
“Are you sure?” Sparrow asked. My gaze met hers and I knew instantly that she didn’t believe me. I opened my mouth to respond but Mom beat me to the punch.
“I didn’t invite you into my home so you could interrogate my son, Ms. Sparrow,” Mom said with a cold edge to her voice. “I’m all for helping you put these criminals away, but if my son says he didn’t see these people, then he didn’t.”
Sparrow turned and I could imagine her blinking in shock under her mask. “Ah! Sorry, sorry. I don’t mean to imply suspicion. I have no doubts he’s telling the truth. I’m really sorry.”
“So long as we’re clear,” Mom replied evenly. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. It was unlike her to speak so coldly to her guests, no matter who they were. “Is there anything else you wish to ask?”
“Just a few things.”
“Did Abby put you up to this?” The question had popped into my mind and rolled off my tongue without any thought. Sparrow looked at me and didn’t reply immediately. I was beginning to suspect that Abby had ignored my request to drop the subject about my car. “Did she ask you to come?”
If she did, then it was a bit of a dick move to not warn me.
Sparrow pursed her lips. “What makes you say that?”
“She’s my friend, a hero, and my car was stolen by people who happened to be chased by The Cains. I mentioned it to her so I’m wondering if you’re here because of that.”
Sparrow nodded in understanding. “Ah, I see. No, I’m not here at Abby’s behest. I’m just conducting my own investigation.”
“I thought Ionizer was supposed to be doing this sorta stuff now,” I frowned, giving the heroine a curious stare. “Abby said you were moving and had given up the position to him.”
“Ionizer is…” Sparrow paused with a grimace. She looked pained and I suddenly felt very suspicious about what had happened in the Bunker after I escaped. Had Grim killed him? “Ionizer is very new to the position and is still adjusting. He is also preoccupied with another investigation,” she answered diplomatically. “I offered to help to ease the burden. Things can get quite intense around here sometimes.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
That’s gotta be about Grim and the Bunker.
“That’s all well and good but I’m afraid we are bereft of the information you’re looking for,” Mom cut in, eager to move things along. “If there’s nothing else?”
The implication was clear. Mom wanted her gone.
“Well, you never know what you’ll miss by leaving stones unturned,” Sparrow quipped, trying to ease the growing tension. “I just want to make sure we've got all the facts straight before proceeding,” she thought for a moment, pondering what to ask next. “Did you see anything at the mall that you would consider unusual?”
“No.”
“What time did you realize your car was stolen?”
“When I left to go home.”
“When was that?”
I shrugged. “I can’t remember. Four-Thirty? Five? I wasn’t keeping track of time.”
Sparrow flipped through a few pages in her folder. “How’d you get home?”
“Called for a ride,” I pulled out my phone and showed her the app. “It took ages because of the traffic. I assume it was because of everything that went down on the highway?”
“Yep, it wasn’t pretty,” Sparrow nodded grimly. She collected the photos and slotted them back into the document. “Alright, that should about do it. Thank you both for your time, I’ll make sure to keep you both updated on if we find anything.”
I blinked, confused. “That’s it?”
Sparrow stared at me and I could only guess that her eyebrow had raised behind her cowl. “Do you have anything more you’d like to add?”
I felt uneasy like I had missed something. I rewound her questions in my head and tried to find anything that would give me away. For the life of me, I couldn’t find anything dubious with them.
“No, sorry. I don’t know anything.”
The seconds she stared at me felt like an eternity. When she finally smiled, I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“Alright then. I’ll leave you two in peace. If you two learn anything, please don’t hesitate to call!” Sparrow said, leaving the kitchen. Mom and I saw her out the door, her birds flying to her. I watched as the heroine jumped, catapulting herself into the sky.
I shut the door and turned to Mom.
“Well, that was weird,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Where were you last night?” Mom’s tone was still rigid. It then occurred to me that her demanding text message probably had nothing to do with Sparrow. “This isn’t the first time and I’ve noticed a pattern.”
“I was out with friends.”
“Out with friends?” Mom’s eyes narrowed. “Jackson and Chris?”
“Nah, friends from work.”
“You made friends from work?”
“Yeah?”
“You told me there wasn’t anyone there your age.”
I exhaled tiredly to buy myself some time to think of an excuse. “They’re new hires.”
Mom didn’t look convinced. There was a suspicious glint in her eyes and I could tell she was weighing up whether she should believe me or not.
“I see.”
“It was late, so I crashed at their place last night. I’m pretty tired,” I said. “You had me worried. I thought something serious had happened.”
“When a hero like Sparrow shows up at your front door and asks to speak to your son, only to find out he isn’t home, a mother tends to get a bit worried,” Mom chastised. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as she shook her head. “When you’re going to be out late or staying somewhere else, at least have the courtesy to leave a message telling me where you are and when you’re getting back. I thought the worst had happened.”
Guilt ate away at me like acid and I relented. “Sorry, it won’t happen again.”
“Good. Now, have you had breakfast?”
I could still taste the lingering aftertaste of Sam’s pancakes. “Yeah. I already ate.”
I lingered downstairs with Mom making idle chatter while I did some chores. She grilled me for a bit about my new friends and I answered truthfully, seeing no reason to really lie about what Sam was like. I had to fill in some gaps about Liam, seeing as I didn’t know him well enough yet.
When Mom was satisfied, I retreated upstairs to shower before going to my room. I collapsed onto my bed, rolling over before staring at the ceiling, last night’s events looping in my head. So many moments where I had been flirting with death, only to come out intact. I didn’t have time to consider it in the moment, but we had all been neck-deep in shit creek.
Then there was Sparrow’s intrusion…
I rolled over just in time for my phone to start buzzing. I checked it to find it was Alex calling.
Convenient timing.
I answered.
“Hey.”
“Finally!” Alex’s false cheer made me snort. “It’s about time we got to talk. You never told me how things went last night. I assume things went wrong?”
“‘Went wrong’ would be a bit of an understatement,” I confirmed. “But we managed to save Anomaly’s friend and get out just fine.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
I recounted everything, from the start of the operation to the very end. Alex remained silent throughout, only offering minor commentary when I brought up the Rookies and the discovery of the Bunker. She was particularly quiet when I told her what we found inside.
“We managed to escape. I saw Grim heading down into the building where Abby was. At the time, I was just focused on surviving, so I convinced myself she’d be fine,” I rubbed my face as my selfishness felt like a knife twisting in my chest. “I feel like total shit about it, even if she’s convinced I’m a villain.”
“It’s her job and there’s nothing you could have done. You were right to leave,” Alex said. I frowned as I lifted my phone to stare at the screen. I was expecting a very different answer, but not one that sounded so indifferent. “Look bro, that’s just how it is. I like the girl but better her than you. Plus, she got out anyway, didn’t she?”
“I… yeah. Yeah she did. No idea how though.”
“ECU’s got all sorts of tricks up their sleeves,” Alex took another mouthful of pasta. “Freaky to hear what was going on. After this the ECU will be on the offensive. Whoever was operating that bunker is gonna be feeling a tight squeeze I bet.”
“We still don’t have the slightest clue as to who it is. Our best lead was the guy that Masquerade met with at the nightclub,” I said, drumming my fingers on my chest. “But Sam can’t figure it out and we don’t even have a name.”
“I might,” I narrowed my eyes at the screen. Alex sat up and began typing. Her fingers were a blur for a few moments before coming to an abrupt stop. “There have been a few Evohuman’s across the world that are known to employ inhumane methods to induce Artificial Awakenings. There’s Synthesis, but he was arrested in 1994 and “committed suicide” a few months later. Metastasis is hiding out somewhere in Siberia. There’s a few others buuuuut…” Alex paused for a moment, before typing again for a few seconds. “...there’s one here that fits. Splicer.”
“Splicer?” I shook my head and sighed. I needed to be more informed about all this shit. I was sick of hearing a name and not having the slightest clue who they were or what they did. “Who’s that?”
“Born in Fiji. Moved to New Caledonia and Awakened there six months ago. Since then, he’s moved to Melbourne, Sydney aaaaand… based off of last night, guess where he is now?”
My lips thinned. “Bayside.”
“Bingo.”
It changed very little but at least I had a name now. I could feed it to Sam and see what Gold could make of it.
“Well, whatever they’re trying to achieve, it’s pretty much screwed now. We busted their little secret wide open,” I said. “Now we just have to wait for the ECU to clean up.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure. People like that always have contingency plans,” Alex said. “You ruined what was likely their main operation, but there will always be a second or third site. Maybe even a fourth. Never assume you’ve won. Ever. Be prepared for anything and you’ll never be surprised.”
“You sound like Sam.”
“Sam’s a smart girl. She’s still alive.”
I grumbled and sat up, looking around my room. There had to be something I could do. All my gear was back at Sam’s place and I still had 25 charges to spend. Given the shit that was about to start, I didn’t want to have charges left on off-days like this.
“Do you know what happened this morning?” I asked, moving over to my closet. “I assume Mom’s already messaged you.”
“No?” I could hear the intrigue in her voice. “What happened?”
“Sparrow showed up to our house. Mom invited her in—”
“WHAT!?” I turned and looked over my shoulder at the phone I left on my bed. I could hear Alex seething. “Ugh! Why did she— you know what, never mind.”
“Yeah it caught me off-guard too.”
“What did she want?”
“Asked me about a bunch of stuff about how my car was “stolen”. She tried to get me to identify some of The Cains as well.”
“...Shit.”
“Don’t worry,” I said, rummaging around in my closet. “I was vague and didn’t give her anything useful. Honestly, I lied about most of it.”
“Yeah, uh. That’s bad.”
I turned, confused. “Why?”
“Because I give it good odds that she had a Mentalist in her ear, listening in on your conversation. There’s no telling what information they managed to pry from you,” Alex hissed. She wasn’t angry at me from what I could tell, just mad in general. “What the hell was Mom thinking!? Fuck!”
“She has no idea I have powers,” I said, feeling an oncoming storm of panic. “And she didn’t have any reason to turn Sparrow away. It would’ve made Sparrow suspicious maybe? Shit,” I stood up and paced before checking outside my window. My street was the same as it always was. No sudden ECU presence outside. “What do I do?”
“Nothing. Don’t react. Assuming there was a mentalist listening, there’s no telling what kind. Whatever information they got, they can’t act on it, at least not directly. You’ve gotta be careful now, bro. If they so much as suspect you of something, you’ll be under watch.”
“I could end up leading them to Sam and Liam,” I bit my lip and pulled away from my window, shutting the curtains for good measure. Why did being a villain have to be so hard? “I need to be certain what they do and don’t know about me. Can you bring up their file on me?”
I heard Alex typing. A minute later she was done.
“No updates for now but that could change once Sparrow’s filed her report.”
“Please keep me updated,” I said. “I need to know what they have on me.”
“Trust me bro, the moment something changes on here, I’ll call you,” Alex said. “What are you going to do in the meantime?”
I considered my options for a moment. There were so many things to consider I almost felt overwhelmed. The ECU. Grim. The Cains. Masquerade. My Identity. So much bullshit had been added to my plate and I could barely keep up. The worst part? I knew this was only going to get worse.
Moving to my desk, I powered on my laptop. It wasn’t long before I was scrolling through web pages of hardware and electronic stores.
“Max?”
“I’m going to kick it up a notch. My equipment is good, but not enough,” I highlighted a handful of items and snapped a few photos of them on my phone. “It’s time I did some shopping.”