Terry’s mouth gaped open, his eyes wide.

“You know where Terraform’s Market is!” he practically shrieked. “I thought you had to be invited!”

Silver’s eyebrows climbed his forehead. “Yeah, and why wouldn’t a newly-arrived S-ranker be invited? Don’t you think I have a lot to offer a black marketeer like Terraform?”

“Oh,” Terry replied stupidly. “Right. I guess it makes sense you’d get an invite.”

“Well, okay, being honest,” Silver replied with a chagrined expression, “I may have expedited my invitation—” He held up his thumb and finger close together. “—just a wee bit.”

Terry’s face dropped in shock. “Wait, what?” He shook his head. “How!”

Silver waved away the question. “A story for another time. Let’s just say, Terraform saw the benefits in being my friend.”

He accepted the easy explanation, too excited with the prospect of being able to hire out supers from Terraform’s Market to question it. But as he considered the logistics, he ran into a roadblock.

“There’s a problem,” he said, his mind churning to find the solution. “I don’t have any capital on hand and there’s no way you could convince a super to come to Wichita for me to analyze their Skill. And I need to do that to raise money in order to then hire out a team with enough cash to compel them to enter a city ruled by a borderline villainous S-ranker.” He shook his head. “I don’t see the solution.”

“That’s because you’re approaching the problem from the wrong angle,” Silver said with an easy smile. “We’re not bringing anyone back here.” His eyes took on a mischievous look. “I’m bringing you to them.”

His thoughts jumbled together for a moment, his mouth going slack as his brain tried to catch up to the implication of those words.

When they finally did, he narrowed his eyes skeptically.

“You’re gonna take me to Terraform’s Underground Market?” The idea was ridiculous. “My father will never sign off on that.” He shook his head in frustration. “Is it even safe for me to leave Wichita? What if Dancer gets wind of it?”

It was Silver’s turn to look skeptical. “So what if he does? You think he’s worried about some F-ranker—no offense,” he added quickly. “No, it’s your grandfather he’s aiming to get back at—Wichita included.” Silver shrugged casually. “Besides, he won’t challenge me in person for a while.” He snorted humorously. “Fact is, kid, safest place in the world for you, is by my side.” His eyes twinkled. “And I just so happen to be heading to Terraform’s Market.” He turned as if to go, looking back over his shoulder. “You in?”

Am I in…he repeated back to himself. Dad would be furious if he found out—though, neither of them promised Terry would stay in Wichita. And Silver had specifically mentioned he wouldn’t let me out of his sight….

It was a thin justification, but one he could live with.

“Bet your ass I’m in!”

Silver laughed, then waved for Terry to come around him. “Okay, we’re gonna Travel there. It’s a long trip, so brace yourself. It can be unpleasant if you haven’t experienced a longer Travel.”

Terry nodded. He would endure any discomfort it took to actually get to visit Terraform’s Underground Market—the place was a legend! But something distracted him and he hesitated.

“Wait, how are you able to Travel at all?” he asked. “It felt like we’d portaled earlier, but I wasn’t entirely sure.” He narrowed his eyes. “I assumed you were an Elementalist who transitioned to Duelist, then confirmed Duelist for your Capstone.”

Silver pursed his lips in thought and Terry got the impression he was determining how much information to give. After a moment, he seemed to come to a decision.

“You have it right,” Silver replied. “I considered transitioning to Traveler when I returned. But when I digested the Physical Singularity, it gave me…some ancillary benefits.”

Terry’s eyes bugged out. “The Singularity lets you portal?”

The corner of Silver’s lip turned up in a half-smile. “Not very far and there’s a cooldown, too. I’d say it’s somewhere between a C- and a B-grade version of Portal. But it’s not a Skill, exactly.” He shrugged. “Don’t think you’d be able to catalog it.”

He felt his excitement wane a little, but he hadn’t been expecting to get that opportunity anytime soon anyway.

“Still, that’s incredible,” he said. “So are you gonna portal us to the Market, then?”

“No, way too far for me.” Silver reached into a pocket, pulling out a pill sheet and tearing off one to hand him. “Which reminds me. Here. You’re gonna wanna take this.”

Terry reached over with furrowed brow. “What is it?” he asked with a hint of hesitation. He trusted his grandpa, but not enough to take a strange medication without at least asking.

Silver ripped off a second one and peeled back the wrapping before popping it into his mouth. “Dramamine,” he said as he worked the tablet with his jaw. “Trust me, kid. The long jumps are brutal.” He noted Terry’s hesitation and shrugged. “Unless you wanna immediately puke out everything you’ve eaten for the past 48 hours on the Market floor. Up to you, though.”

That sold it for him and he ripped of the packaging before sticking it on his tongue. He’d never had Dramamine before but it tasted bitter and unenjoyable. He quickly chewed it up, his mouth suddenly dry, the awful taste lingering.

They waited for ten minutes so it could take effect, chatting idly about Terry’s warehouse plans, Wichita, and his childhood. But the conversation felt a bit forced, the two of them still not quite comfortable enough with each other to hit that natural flow.

When they settled into a pause that nearly became awkward, Terry latched onto the one thing he could think of that wouldn’t be odd to bring up.

“So, what’s Terraform’s Market like?” he asked. “Are there a lot of supers there?” Then a thought occurred to him. “Are there normies there?”

Silver chuckled. “I could tell you all about it.” Terry leaned in, nodding. “Or, we could go see for ourselves. Been enough time, or near abouts.”

A pit formed in his stomach, sudden anxiety gripping him. It was only in this moment that the realization hit him: I’ve never left Wichita…

Sure, he’d been to the outskirts to visit the farms, went on day trips with his parents before the war with Topeka kicked off in earnest. But that didn’t count—that was Wichita-adjacent.

The fact that he’d never been anywhere else felt pathetic, like he was some backwater hillbilly. They’d see right through him the moment he stepped into Terraform’s Market. He couldn’t fake the confidence he’d need to hire actual, real-life supers. And there was no way he’d convince one of them to let him copy their Skill. He was a child, posing as someone of importance.

“I can see your mind moving at a million miles per hour, kid.” Silver’s eyes were piercing, pulling Terry from his spiraling thoughts. “What’s up?”

It felt so silly, so juvenile and ridiculous. He wanted to deflect and say he was fine. But something about the earnestness in his grandpa’s eyes made him feel comfortable. Seen.

“I was really excited to go, but I can’t help but think…” He forced a smile in an attempt to disarm the real anxiety behind his words. “I don’t know…that they’re gonna laugh me out the door.”

Silver’s eyes narrowed, his lips pursed in thought.

“And why would they do that?” he asked seriously.

Terry shrugged, looking off to hide the vulnerability he was feeling. “Because I’m a Midwest yokel. Only thing I know about the world outside Wichita’s what I’ve seen on the internet and in sims.” He looked back, daring Silver to contradict him. “Who’s gonna take me seriously?”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Silver was nodding and Terry took it as confirmation that his worries were valid.

“Maybe I should just focus on hitting E-rank,” he suggested. “If I can advance quickly, maybe even hit the Ds in a couple of months, I’ll be able to leverage that into what I need?”

Silver looked off, seeming lost in thought. Terry felt the urge to fill the silence, but kept his mouth shut tight—he’d already said what he was feeling, anything else would just be anxiety-induced word vomit.

When Silver looked back a moment later, he had a soft smile on his lips. “I get it, I really do. Back when Kansas was Kansas, it was an uphill battle to get taken seriously by others.” Silver specks formed in his eyes, his gaze intensifying. “But you’re not a yokel, Terry. You’re a prince of a not-insignificant kingdom. Your grandfather is an Emperor—even if he does take himself a bit too seriously.” Terry snorted humorously at that. “Your other grandfather is possibly one of the most handsome and powerful men alive.” Now Terry chuckled, feeling his stomach unclench a touch. The twinkle in Silver’s eye settled, his face setting seriously. “But forget all that. Who cares about your family? It’s you that matters, Terry.” He leaned in, his eyes seeming to penetrate through Terry’s self-conscious anxiety, down to the core of who he was. “You’re young and new to Awakened life. But you’ve got a powerset that others would kill for. Lean into that. Use what your System gave you, kid.” He put a steady hand on Terry’s shoulder. “And know your worth. The Market is full of schemers and shrewd, business-minded supers. They’re gonna try and swindle you. You squeeze them back and don’t be afraid to say no. You’re the one that’s gonna be in demand, kid. Use that.”

Terry bit his lip, trying to internalize that message. I do have a pretty useful power, he thought. There’s gotta be loads of supers who wouldn’t mind parting with a Skill—especially since it doesn’t take anything from them but time.

Silver clapped his hands, pulling Terry from his thoughts. “Come on, enough brooding. You’ll see, it won’t be so bad.”

Terry took in a deep breath, then nodded. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Silver pulled out a nondescript coin with a string threaded through it. Terry leaned in to examine it—both mundanely and with his aura. The token was silver, its exterior bare of any design. He would have imagined something intricate, indicative of the honor and gravity of what it implied.

But where the exterior was bare, the aura infused in its material felt dense and varied.

“Artifact?” he wondered idly.

Silver confirmed with a nod. “S-grade. Sends out a summons request to the coin’s opposite. Traveler in Terraform’s employ reaches out and bridges the two objects.” He smiled wryly. “We just piggyback on the connection.”

Terry studied the densely packed aura, his eyes wide in wonder. Without warning, Silver sent a tendril of his aura into the token, prompting a response that Terry could see with his aura sense. In the back of his mind, his Skill tingled, eager to reach out and analyze the magic at work here. But his aura was still recovering from his marathon session with Silver’s metal telekinesis Skill. Not only that, the idea of trying to unpack an S-ranked Skill—even with a fresh aura—made his mind quiver. If an E-grade Skill would take him a couple days to unpack, how long would an S-grade Skill take?

Six months? A year?

The thought brought his mind back to his other Quest he’d been forced to neglect. How long would it take him to catalog his mother’s roses? Was it even possible at his current strength? Maybe the best strategy was to rank up first, get his Presence Attributes into the Ds to expedite the work.

He was ripped from that train of thought by a pulse of power flexing over the world around them. Silver grabbed his hand and placed it over the token so they were both within the corona of its aura. Space seemed to warp around them, a tear in the fabric of the world rippling across both his sight and his magical sense.

“Brace yours—”

His body was wrenched backward, seeming to leave his stomach behind. His vision went black, making it impossible to orient himself as he was stretched in every direction at once. It felt as if every molecule was being pulled away from its neighbor, then shoved back together again—but just a hair off from its rightful location.

Then, his feet hit solid ground, his body coming back under his control. Well, control was a strong word for what he was feeling now. His legs gave out immediately and he barely caught himself with shaking arms as he fell. His stomach continued to bounce around like he was at sea, a spike of adrenaline coursing through his limbs, giving them that amped-up feeling that he so hated.

Despite the medication, he felt the contents of his stomach banging at the door, wanting to spill out onto the ground beneath his hands. He fought the sensation down, clutching at his stomach desperately.

Sounds and movement pinged at the back of his mind, but it took everything inside him to keep his food down. A minute passed before he felt settled enough to even open his eyes.

Beneath his hands, he was surprised to see hardwood floors, like you’d find in a house. He looked up—moving his head slowly to avoid a resurgence—and noted that he was in what appeared to be a waiting room of some sort. To the side, there was a reclining chaise with a pillow, as well as a leather chair beside it. For recovering, he supposed. On the other side of the room was a small food cart with a water pitcher, an upside down glass, and what appeared to be alka-seltzer.

And against the far wall straight ahead, there was a wooden door with a sign that read: please wait to be assisted.

He rose to shaky feet, his head swimming from the disorientation. A new spike of nausea formed and he stumbled over to the cart. The pitcher trembled in his hand as he poured himself a glass of water. His fingers felt clumsy as he tried to tear open the alka-seltzer and he eventually grew frustrated and used his teeth. He was just tearing into the packaging when the single door opened.

He spun to face it, the alka-seltzer wrapper still gripped tightly between his teeth. A petite woman wearing a hooded robe and a small, black mask over her face stood in the threshold. Even past the mask, he could see her eyebrows raised wryly.

Suddenly self-conscious, he pulled the wrapper from his mouth and waved hello.

“Hi, uh, sorry,” he said, indicating the alka-seltzer. “Couldn’t get it open.”

She stepped into the room without a word, reaching out a hand. At first, he thought she might be going for a handshake and stopped himself just in time to avoid that embarrassment. Realizing at the last second what she intended, he held out the medication. She took it and deftly ripping it in half, depositing the large tablet into his still-outstretched hand.

“I’m your greeter.” Her voice was high, but quiet—even pleasant, if he hadn’t currently been distracted by the losing battle he was fighting against his stomach. “Your sponsor is nearby, but before you can join him, I must run some tests.” She looked up, her eyes a piercing grey, her lips full and soft. He tried not to fall into that gaze and failed. “Do I have your consent?”

He stared blankly for a moment, his eyes darting between her full lips and her eyes that were like a winter storm. A moment stretched into three, and she arched a single brow. With a start, he realized she had asked him a question.

“Oh, sorry!” he blurted. “I’m a bit out of sorts. What was the question?”

“I need to run some tests before you will be permitted entry. Do I have your consent?”

He resisted the urge to automatically reply yes. Come on, Terry! Snap out of it! Then a thought occurred to him, and he felt like cold water had been dumped on his head.

Is she using a power right now? Why am I staring at her like a lost puppy?

He focused his thoughts, letting his sense bloom open, testing for interference from her aura. A quick check revealed nothing—her aura was held in tight, cloistered and in no way violating his personal space. Then why was he feeling so dumbstruck by her half-hidden face? He dismissed his suspicions with an annoyed grunt.

“What kind of tests?” he asked. Not that he was planning on backing out at this stage. But the disarray in his thoughts were beginning to abate and he had to remind himself that he was in a strange, unknown location—and Silver was nowhere to be seen.

As she spoke, he deposited the alka-seltzer into the water with a plop. The tablet immediately began to sizzle, the bubbles rising quickly. “I am an A-ranked Hypnotist,” she said casually. “I will place you under a trance and ask specific questions to ensure you do not mean the Market or its benefactor any harm.” She quirked her head to the side. “I am required to ask this of all newcomers, though I can see you are still a child. Are you an S-ranked Awakened?”

He choked on his water, the fizzy bubbles sliding up his nose. Turning, he kept his arm over his mouth and tried to downplay the coughing fit that followed. She raised her eyebrows in subtle concern and he cleared his throat violently.

After an embarrassed moment, he finally managed to reply. “No.”

She nodded, moving on to the next question as if reading from a script. “Has an S-ranked Hypnotist or Visionary placed any sort of compulsion over you, that you are aware of.”

He shrugged. “Not that I’m aware of.” Though, he had to wonder what was the point of her line of questioning. As far as he could tell, she hadn’t activated her powers yet. Had she? He examined his aura once more, looking for any points where she might be influencing him. Everything looked normal still—though, would he even know if she were hypnotizing him.

“And what is your sponsor’s name?” she continued. “His pseudonym will suffice.”

“Silver.” Terry glanced over her shoulder. “Where is he? He didn’t mention we’d be separated.”

She smiled, her full lips seeming to part with a soft sigh. He felt his heart rate spike, his mind stumbling.

Those are the reddest lips I’ve ever seen in my life.

“He must have forgotten.” Her expression was disarming, her tone light, tinkling. “I promise to get you back to Silver soon.”

He was falling into her eyes. For the fifth time, he wondered if she was using her powers on him. But his aura sense didn’t spot anything emanating from her.

Get yourself together, Terry! Never seen a beautiful woman before?

Despite the self-talk, he found himself studying her eyes, tracing his gaze down to her lips. She’d been talking, he realized.

“I’m sorry. Wh-what was that?”

“Do I have your consent?”

Yes…wait, no! Consent for what? His thoughts wouldn’t get in line, his body feeling pulled magnetically.

“What…what am I consenting to?”

She placed a hand on his arm, electricity coursing where her fingers brushed his skin.

“Some simple questions, hon. Just ensuring the safety of the Market.” Her lips pouted and his heart hurt. “Unless you’d rather I sent you back? It would be a shame not to experience the Market, but I understand if you—”

“No.” It blurted out and he clamped a hand to his mouth. Something flickered in the back of his mind, but her look of hurt surprise blanked his thoughts. “Sorry, no. I want to see the Market.”

Her hand slipped down his arm, entwining with his fingers.

“Come to the couch. We’ll be done before you know it.”