Lucy and I barely made it to the next hallway before she pulled me to the side. Her head was on a swivel to ensure we had privacy, but I knew nobody would be around. Homeroom had started and if we weren’t in class in the next five minutes, we would be risking detention. The look on Lucy’s face told me detention was the last thing on her mind.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to pull here, Max, but my father is the last person you want as an enemy right now. Don’t you have enough on your plate with… with Cyberspace and fucking Ajax?”

I sighed and shook my head.

“Let me worry about that, okay? We have that handled.”

“I don’t care how much you have it ‘handled’, you don’t need to add my father and rest of Pandora to the list!”

“It’s a bit late for that. Pandora is already on the list,” I sighed, avoiding her piercing gaze. “We took down Grim and there's no way me and my team aren't going to be targeted soon no matter what. I can't just sit around and wait for them to make the first move, I'm done with that shit. I don't like it, but your father is too high up in Pandora. Sooner or later, he and I are going to come to blows.”

Lucy shook her head like she couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth.

“This is insane. Max, you can’t be serious! You are messing with something far bigger than you understand. I’ve seen what they’re capable of, okay? I’ve lived it all my life and I’m not just talking about raw strength and power. They have eyes and ears everywhere. They have influence over some very powerful people, and if you piss them off, they’re going to make life for you and everyone around you miserable.”

“You think we don’t have access to the same resources? Cyberspace is on our side, and you know how dangerous they are. I’m not scared of Pandora, or your father,” I stared her down. “They’re not as untouchable as you think.”

“Cyberspace or not, you aren’t as powerful as you think you are. You pulled off something amazing with Grim, but you’re letting that get to your head. Christ, Max, we’re sixteen!” Lucy barely held herself back from screaming. “This… this isn’t what we're supposed to be doing!”

“None of them give a fuck how old we are. The Cains didn’t and neither will Pandora!” I sneered. “I can’t run away and I can’t hide. I don’t have that luxury anymore. I fucked that up week one. The only choice I have now is to keep moving forward. You would understand if you were in my position.”

“And you would understand how horrible of an idea it is to pick a fight with my father and the rest of Pandora if you were in my shoes.”

I took a few moments to think of a response that could satisfy Lucy and put a stop to her growing concern. I figured there was nothing I could say to get her to understand where I was coming from, so I needed to put her in my shoes. She needed to understand my situation.

“Okay Lucy. Humor me for a minute here. If you were me, what would you do? Consider what’s happened,” I set the stage for her. Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t snap back with anything just yet. I had the green light to go. “Picture this: you’re a fresh Super that’s joined a growing group. The Cains know your face, and potentially who you are. You need to take them down, so you divert all your resources to achieve that goal. Lo and behold, you achieve it, but now you’re known for bringing down someone lorded as the ‘Grim Reaper.’”

Lucy’s expression twisted and her gaze drifted to the floor. I could tell she was considering my words seriously..

“Now, do you think Pandora are just going to leave you alone? Sure, their conflict with Grim left Pandora in a bad place; but do you really think Pandora is just going to give the group that took Grim out the opportunity to get just as powerful as The Cains were, if not moreso?” I asked, hinting that the answer was easier than she was making it out to be. “Would you not be making moves to prevent them from taking you out of the picture, one way or another? I just want to be left alone. If you can tell me right now, no lies, that I’m overthinking it, or paranoid, or that there’s another way; we’ll just have a normal dinner and I’ll leave the super shit at the door.”

Her lips thinned as she tried to think. After a few moments, she shook her head.

“I… I don’t know. They’ll do something, but why does my Dad have to be involved in this? Can’t you go after someone else?”

“Because short of getting access to Liberation, he’s the best lead we have. Even if we went after someone else, we’d only be delaying the inevitable. Wildfire is too important,” I intoned. “He spoke for Liberation at the meeting with Gaea. Your dad isn’t just another guy in their ranks.”

“I know that!”

“Then you know what’s going to happen when push comes to shove.”

Lucy stared at me, speechless. She was desperately trying to think of a way to counter my claims, but she was coming up short.

“I don’t think this can be solved without violence,” I continued, tearing my gaze away from Lucy. “It’s going to be a constant fight, no matter what. I’m not about to sit around and wait for them to walk all over us when one of their leaders is right there.”

“That—” Lucy hissed. “—is my father.” She sounded more terrified than angry, even though she was trying to look intimidating. “What, were you hoping to invite him over so you can capture him? News flash, Max, but he would sooner die than allow himself to be used as a bargaining chip.”

I considered her words and recalled the carnage Grim’s rampage brought. The moment Pandora caught wind of what happened to Wildfire’s home, they went on the warpath. I didn’t know how many deaths they were responsible for, but I suspected they had caused most of the carnage. Abby and I might have been the ones that provoked them, but they were the ones that started marching through the streets, dragging people out of their homes, and destroying anything that was even suspected to be part of The Cains’ operation.

One way or the other, they needed to go. Bayside wouldn’t be able to properly heal with them around.

“If that’s what it comes to, then that’s how things will have to be.”

The right side of my face erupted in pain, forcing me to rapidly blink away the shock. Lucy’s hand moved so fast that I wasn’t sure I would’ve been able to avoid it if I anticipated it.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” Lucy’s anger finally broke through. “When did murder become acceptable, Max? You’re starting to sound like them – like my Dad, because that’s what they do. ‘Expunge the heinous filth, purge the heathens that would abuse our God given gifts.’ You might use different words, but it’s the same shit! There are better ways to deal with these problems than violence and destruction, there has to be!”

I rubbed my cheek, quietly taking in the outburst. She might have eyes and ears into the inner workings of Pandora’s politics, but Wildfire seems to have shielded her from the conflict. She didn’t know what kind of effect being a Super had on people. Lucy hadn’t come face to face with someone like Mirage.

“What other options are there? Imprisonment or death, that’s the result of losing,” I said. “I don’t like it any more than you do, but sometimes you’re only left with bad options,” I shrugged. “I don’t want to kill your dad. In a perfect world, he’d just leave Pandora and not get caught up in any of this, but you just said that he’d rather die.”

Lucy looked on the verge of despair.

“I know he’s done terrible things, and he’s treated me like someone who can barely function, but he’s still my father,” Lucy sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “I don’t want him dead.”

“I…” I shook my head, uncertain if I could promise any other outcome. The safest option I could think was tranquilizing him, and dropping him on The ECU’s doorstep. He would be sent off to some Evohuman prison, but he would be alive. Was that really better? Most Evohumans didn’t exactly get lenient sentences. Given what Wildfire had done, if he was locked up, he would not see the light of day again. “I can’t make any promises, Lucy. I’m sorry, but he knows what he’s getting into, we both do.”

Lucy looked like she aged ten years with the way her expression fell. She just looked so… tired.

“I figured I had more time.”

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I felt my head tilt at her words.

“What do you mean?”

“Time to sort my life out,” Lucy shook her head in disbelief. “Without Dad’s protection, I’ll get handed off to someone. We had a deal that If I could graduate from school with good enough grades to be on track to be apprenticed to a Mechakinetic, I could earn my freedom. It’s a long shot and I have no idea if he’ll keep his word, but he promised me.”

She was banking her entire future on a promise she wasn’t even certain her father would keep? Lucy had to see how ridiculous that was.

“Do you realize how insane that sounds? Lucy…” I tried to wrap my head around her outlandish claim, but there wasn’t a single angle I could find where that deal panned out. “He’s not going to just… let you go, not with everything you know about them, and especially if you’re good enough to assist a Mechakinetic. That’s not the world he lives in, all he’s doing is giving you a reason to make yourself more useful to Pandora.”

“Then what am I supposed to do Max?! I can’t fight him, I can’t run away, and I can’t hide. This is the only hope I have!” Lucy stressed, becoming more hysterical with every word.

She was doomed to rely on the word of a man who treated those like her as second-class citizens. The fact of the matter is that her father had no reason to keep his promise. If anything, he had every incentive to ensure she ended up with someone who did have powers considering how the balance within the city was shifting. Now more than ever, security was imperative.

My first thought was to ask her why she hadn’t said anything, but it only took a moment of hard thinking to see where that conversation would go. If she had been open from the start, I doubted we would be friends. Abby would be similar. Lucy kept it all a secret because she had to in order to live a semblance of a normal life.

Now though…

Now things were different.

“You know just as much as I do that your father isn’t going to keep that promise,” I said, leaning in close. “Think about what’s happening around us. The Cains are gone, Pandora’s weakened, Gaea is in a much better position, and my team’s on the rise. The winds are shifting.”

“What am I supposed to do?” She threw her hands up in the air in frustration. “Am I just supposed to sit around and wait to be auctioned off so I can pop out babies for them? Because fuck that. I’d sooner drink bleach. I’m not going to allow myself to become one of their… their slaves.”

“Your biological father is Wildfire, there’s still time for you to get powers,” I pointed out. “Awakenings are most common in people our age. You’ve got a few years before you’ll be considered a lost cause. It’s no coincidence that lines up with getting far enough in your schooling that you’d start getting scouted either. He’s made this deal to stop you from acting out.”

Lucy sighed, clearly exhausted from the conversation’s topic.

“You don’t think that’s occurred to me? I just… he’s my dad and despite everything else, he still loves me. I’ve been hoping that if I actually got good enough he’d pull some strings, get me apprenticed to a Pandora Mechakinetic. Even without powers I’d have a much better life. I have to believe he wants at least that much for me.”

“I just don’t think we can count on that, Lucy. I’m not about to stand by and just watch you go through this. Let me help you,” I pushed. “You know I can. There’s no shame and I know you’d do the same for me.”

Lucy rubbed her forehead as if she were trying to think of a solution to all our problems. As smart as I knew she was, there was no doubt in my mind that even Gold would have trouble making sure everyone came out the other end alright. Someone was going to draw the short straw, and it was looking like it was going to be Lucy.

“This… dinner thing you’ve dropped on me. What’s your game?” Lucy asked. “Fill me in, what are you trying to achieve here? If you’re going to help me, then the least I can do is help you. Whatever you're… I don’t know, fishing for. Maybe I can help bait the line for you, so-to-speak.”

I leaned away, frowning. I hadn’t actually come up with a proper plan yet, I was going to consult Sam on how to go about things. We could set a trap, or juice him for information. Hell, maybe I could wear a wire and get info to Gold. There were plenty of things I could do, but I wasn’t about to miss an opportunity to take the initiative like this.

“No solid plan yet, but—”

“You don’t even have a plan?!” Lucy hissed. “I swear to God you better come up with something quickly!”

“There’s still time. There’s someone in my team that I bet would be chomping at the bit for an opportunity to squeeze information out of your dad,” I replied, trying not to sound too defensive. “Sorry Lucy, I wasn’t about to let an opportunity like this slip by. I can promise you that if a fight starts it won’t be because of me.”

“Just because you’re not going to start a fight now doesn’t mean you won’t later,” she said, still sounding upset at the idea. “Look at it from my perspective. How would you feel about Eleanor if she were like my father? Despite her misdeeds and personal beliefs, would you still want her dead?”

She knew how much I cared about Mom, and any hypothetical where she wasn’t the person who had raised me would be hard to answer. Still, I conceded the point. I didn’t want her to die, and if Lucy held a shred of care for her father, then she wouldn’t want him dead either.

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“There you go,” Lucy nodded. “I get that he’s not a good person… but there’s got to be another way. If my grandparents could break away from Pandora, then so can he. I at least want him to have a chance.”

“Your grandparents broke away?” I asked, blinking in surprise. I hadn’t even considered what stance her grandparents had. I had just assumed they were all part of the same crowd. “How? When? I didn’t think you could break away from Pandora without being hunted down and… I don’t know, made an example of?”

Lucy awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck.

“Usually that happens, but not with Nana. She’s a pretty big deal. Ever heard of Prometheus?”

“Can’t say I’ve heard the name, no.”

Lucy opened her mouth before quickly shutting it, a thoughtful look crossing her face. She looked like something was bothering her. Lucy rarely talked about her family, for reasons that were now obvious to me, but one thing she did always mention was her fondness for her grandparents.

“It’s a long story, too long if we’re going to get to first period,” she huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her eye. “Not like it matters anymore. Everything’s about to explode in my face, so I might as well take the time to put on a helmet… figuratively.”

I laughed awkwardly.

“Do you think you can shorten it?”

“I can, but it’s pretty nuts. Just don’t freak out,” Lucy said. I replied with a simple nod. Lucy took another breath to steady herself. “Okay, to make a long story short, my Grandmother was one of the Supers that established The Pandora Initiative here in New Elpis. Liberation took over the operation later on, but she was part of the first wave, so really if you want someone to blame for them being here, you should be pointing fingers at my family.”

Lucy coughed away the uncomfortable atmosphere that followed that revelation, but it didn’t stop my jaw from unhinging. Still, as wild as it was, it didn’t change how I felt about her situation. I still wanted to help her secure her future.

“That’s… I never would have thought—”

“Yeah. Yeah it’s uh… not exactly easy,” Lucy sighed. “Look, before finding out about you and all this—” she gestured wildly at me. “—they were my safety net. Nana isn’t with Pandora anymore and she doesn’t agree with their rhetoric. She cares about me and my future, but my father has made it abundantly clear what will happen to them if they try to intervene. She might be willing, but I don’t want to put them in harm's way. They're old… Nana’s powerful, but she’s no Grim or Gaea. She and grandfather will die if I go to them.”

“He threatened them,” my lips thinned as I tried to think. “If they’re against him and Pandora… that makes them allies. They can help us,” my smile widened as my gaze met Lucy’s. “Do you think you can put me in contact with them?.”

“I can’t,” Lucy shook her head. “They’re isolated, as close to off the grid as you can get. It’s a cabin north of Bayside, about seventy kilometers out. They moved to get away from all this stuff. The city, the politics, the abuse, and exploitation. I don’t want to bring them back to all that, Max. I can’t.”

“We don’t have to,” I clarified. “But she could have information—”

“Anything relevant she knows, I’ll know. Nana hasn’t been involved with their operations for a long time now. There’s nothing to gain,” Lucy shook her head sadly. “Sorry, I know you said they could be allies, but there’s a reason they live so far away now.”

I heaved a sigh.

“That doesn’t mean they still can’t help. You said Pandora would deal with them if they tried to force their way into your life? What if I could help with that?”

“Help with that, how?”

“I’m a Mechakinetic,” I shrugged. “I’ll build them something,” I paused, narrowing my eyes. “I could build you something. Whatever you want, I’ll make it.”

Lucy seemed to consider my offer before pursing her lips.

“It’s risky. I’m not sure if I would be able to conceal anything you gave me. Dad talks to Mentalists all the time, and given what I know now, it’ll be hard to hide anything from them.”

“Even more reason for you to have a means of defense or escape,” I insisted. “I think we’d both sleep better at night if you have something to defend yourself with. Even if it was just a way to contact me and my team, it would be better than nothing.”

“No point in making a contact device, a phone would be almost as good,” Lucy said. “And if you guys are on a collision course with Pandora, Dad won’t want me caught in the crossfire. He’ll have precautions set in place, especially if he dies. Mom and I won’t have him to shield us. His associates won’t afford me even a shred of kindness that he does – as limited as it is.”

“All the more reason to let me help. I can get you out.”

“The consequences of that… I can’t stress it enough, Max. It’s—”

“—Dangerous, I know,” I rolled my shoulders and flashed her a confident smile. “Everything I’ve been doing for the last few months has been dangerous. Maybe it’s arrogant, but next to Grim they’re barely worth worrying about.”

“Yeah?” Lucy cracked a weak smile. “You keep that up, you’re going to start sounding like Abby,” The bell rang to signal the end of homeroom, causing her to groan. “And apparently we’re skipping classes like her too.”

I chuckled.

“When you have powers, you tend to see things differently.”

Lucy scoffed and shook her head.

“That’s what Dad keeps saying.”

The fact there was something he and I agreed on left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Look, if we’re really going to do this, we’re going to do it properly. No half measures,” I said. “Can you meet me by the car after school? I’m going to introduce you to everyone else.”

Lucy’s eyes widened.

“You mean…?”

“That’s right,” I nodded, confirming her suspicions. “I’m bringing you into the fold.”