Sable

Saturday, 17th of October, 198 A.C, 15:23

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“Ah, here we are,” I said.

This would have been so much easier if Casey hadn’t been the one in charge of hiding the Veils. She refused to tell us where she had put them, instead preferring to watch in amusement as we tore crate after crate open trying to find them.

I did my best to let go of my frustration as I pulled out three plain white masks from the crate.

“Found them!” I called out.

Everyone made their way over, each at varying levels of annoyance. Yumi in particular was shooting daggers at Casey, which only made her more pleased with herself.

“Wait, that’s it?” asked Kai. “Shouldn’t they have cool designs and colors and stuff?”

It was Darren who answered. “Just watch. You’ll see.” He looked towards Axel. “Why don’t you try yours first?”

Axel nodded his confirmation and took one of the Veils from me. He put it on quickly, eager to see what sort of power he would get.

After a few seconds of anticipation, the mask started emitting a radiant green light and took on a fluid form, shifting and pulsing on Axel’s face. Slowly it solidified, first as a black and green bandana, then as a masquerade mask, and finally as a black gaiter with green stripes down the sides.

I spoke up. “Looks like you knew what you wanted to go for appearance-wise. How about you take it for a spin?”

“I’d be glad to,” said Axel. “Here goes.”

As we watched, his aura began to take form, a dark green glow that spread across his entire body.

And… nothing. A minute or two passed while he simply stood there, a vacant look in his eyes.

“You having a little trouble there Axel?” asked Yumi. No response. “Hey, you ok?” nothing. “Erm… anyone want to, I dunno, try some percussive engineering?”

Casey jumped at the opportunity, winding up for a good hit with her bat. Before I could stop her, a resounding crack reverberated around the room. Definitely a broken nose.

Most everyone in the room was taken aback by the sudden display of violence, but as we watched the reason for it became apparent.

Darren spoke up. “Ah, I see.”

Axel’s face had begun to shift, his nose setting and his skin weaving itself back together. Within a matter of seconds the damage was completely healed and his aura began to fade.

“What I want to know,” Axel said once the last bits of green faded out, “is what you would have done if you were wrong about your hunch.”

Casey laughed. “Silly Axel, my Veil is never wrong. Told me right away that you had some form of healing power.”

“Well, what if I was only able to heal others?” replied Axel, pouting a little. “Actually, speaking of which, watch this.” His aura flared up again, this time a brighter green.

A newfound vigor began to fill me, and looking around confirmed that the others were experiencing a similar effect. Kai and Beck in particular were gazing at the wounds they had sustained last week. It was slower than when Axel was healing himself, but their injuries were still visibly healing.

Axel deactivated his Veil and said, “See, if I was doing that at the time my poor nose would still be wrecked. I can’t heal myself when I’m like that, I don’t think.”

Kai had a question. “Alright, that’s cool and all, but why’s it that he’s just standing around while his Veil’s on? He wasn’t even fazed by taking a bat to the face.”

I supposed this was as good a time as any to explain. “Well, the power that Veils grant doesn’t come for free. VA isn’t keen on giving out information about how they function, but it’s thought that Veils work by drawing on and amplifying the desires of the wearer. That is what gives Veiled their unique powers, but it also means they come with drawbacks. Fortunately it’s pretty intuitive for the wearer, so you should be able to figure out your own spread in no time. Speaking of which, Axel, what is up with the whole spacing out thing?”

Axel was happy to explain. “Couldn’t tell you for sure, but I think it’s giving me a sort of intense tunnel vision. I wasn’t focusing on anything in particular when I activated it, so I just kinda stood there.”

“Understood,” I said. “We’ll have to keep that in mind.” I turned back to the two youths. “Knowing your squadmates’ strengths and weaknesses will be critical to your success. For your first few missions we’ll try to diversify who you’re working with. Try to get a feel for each of their specialties as you go.”

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After the explanation, Kai was back to being enamored with his situation. “Well I’ll be. I guess Veils are a bit more complicated than I thought. Still down to get one though.”

He looked at me impatiently. I nodded, and he took the second Veil reverently.

If Axel had been trembling with anticipation, Kai’s shaking resembled something more akin to barely contained excitement. I wondered briefly if it was a good idea to be giving someone like him a Veil, but I decided that his apparent skill was worth the risk. We needed two more members, and he was certainly qualified for the job.

After a few seconds of silence, Kai said lamely, “So, uh… how am I supposed to activate this?”

“Maybe try adjusting your footing?” Rebecca chirped, a little unhelpfully.

To my surprise, it was Trevor of all people who ended up aiding him. “Have you ever had to do meditation for a gym class?” Kai nodded. “Well, it’s sort of like that. Become fully aware of your body, then imagine the Veil’s aura encompassing you.”

It was a bit of an intense description, but it seemed to do the trick. Slowly, the Veil began producing a golden glow, and a similar aura crept up his forearms.

Kai’s face lit up. “It’s working! Holy hell, it’s actually working!” He paused for a second. “Ah, I see what you mean about it being intuitive. Watch this.”

He pointed a finger at an unsuspecting Trevor, and the two of them flashed out of existence, replaced by a small sphere of energy with two smaller spheres inside of it, one golden and the other brown, where Kai had just stood. I was more than a little unsettled.

Fortunately, the sphere soon began to shine brighter and brighter until eventually the sphere burst, restoring the two to their former states. Kai was grinning wildly, while Trevor’s countenance was a mix of surprise and annoyance.

Casey offered her analysis of Kai’s Veil. “My Veil is telling me that you’re creating a pocket dimension of sorts. You’re gonna have to figure out your weakness for yourself though, too weak for me to detect right now.”

“I’ll tell you if I notice a change while I’m using it,” said Kai, “but if anything I felt better than usual.”

“Well, just be careful, alright?” That was Rebecca. She took a deep breath. “Well, I guess it’s my turn then?” She skipped over and took the final Veil.

While Kai seemed an almost perfect fit for the squad, being both easy to get on board and experienced in Psychon combat, Rebecca did not stand out at first as a prime candidate. She was by no means athletic, and it seemed that she had an instinctive aversion to Veiled. But something in my gut told me that the trouble of recruiting her would be well worth it.

As she concentrated, her aura began to manifest itself. It surrounded the front of her body in blue and left a red afterimage behind her as she moved. As the aura strengthened she became unable to stand still and began darting from person to person, chattering uncontrollably.

“HolycrapIfeelsupercharged!Whataweirdaura,too.Ishavingmultiplecolorscommon,oramIjustafringecase?Can’tcomplainthough,IwouldbelyingifIsaidthatitdidn’tlooksupercool.”

As time passed and her aura became ever stronger she began to move insanely fast, literally bouncing off the walls and leaving footprints and scuff marks wherever she went.

“Thisisexhilarating! IfeellikeIcould-” Stopping mid sentence, she seemed to suddenly, for lack of a better description, shut off. She fell forward, flipping head over heel and sliding a good 10 meters before finally coming to a stop. As she lay there, her aura quickly faded.

“Ow. Wow, that… really hurt… Um, did someone just turn up the gravity? Cuz… everything is… really… heavy… all of a sudden.” I helped her up, noticing how lethargic she looked. She leaned on me for support, eyes drooping and arms hanging limply at her side.

Darren rushed over. “I’ll get her. Are you alright, Beck?” It always amazed me how quickly Darren’s demeanor changed when he was tending to someone. (Though of course he would always complain about it afterwards)

As Darren patched up some bangs and scrapes, I addressed the group. “Alright, listen up! With this, we’ve given a home to all the Veils. But! That doesn’t mean we’re immediately going to try to make a splash. These three are going to need to learn how to be effective members of Impulse. To that extent, I want all of you to get to know them in the coming months. Teach them whatever you can, since they’re getting thrown into the deep end here. It’s no VA education, but we should do our best to make it the next best thing.”

I turned to Lilith. “I’m sure you already have some ideas?”

Lilith’s face lit up as I brought up the only thing she was more passionate about than shooting things. “I thought you’d never ask! I’ll take them each individually, though I don’t think Axel is going to need much of a wardrobe change.”

Despite what her garish costume suggested, Lilith was responsible for the getup of everyone in Impulse, claiming that a striking appearance was just as important as honed skills for a Veiled.

As much as I hated to admit it, the thought was more than hot air. Veiled were largely public figures, and it helped to have a distinctive outfit if one wanted good PR.

“Great. I’ll leave them to you after I say one last thing. In one week, we’re going to have our newest recruits prove themselves in their first mission. We’ve been hired to raid a weapon cache a few miles outside city limits. It will serve as a good introduction to our work, and you should be able to pick up some equipment in the process. And don’t worry too much about the danger of it, you’ll have Sarie and Casey there to make sure you get back safely.”

I looked at the three newcomers to see their reactions. Axel looked mildly interested at the prospect, but otherwise kept up the laid-back attitude. Kai, somewhat predictably, looked absolutely gung ho at the idea. As for Rebecca, well… She seemed conflicted. Not that I could blame her.

It was time to close off the meeting. “Kai and Rebecca, I’m going to give you the address of our safehouse and the time of our meeting next Saturday.” I slipped them each a scrap of paper. “That just about does it. Lilith, I’m giving the reins over to you to kit them out.”

With that, the meeting ended. Yumi and Trevor left immediately, chatting and heading for the hideout. Sarie fumbled through a goodbye, something about having to head to work. Casey seemed to be quietly but intensely arguing with herself as she slunk off alone.

As I headed out I heard Lilith’s excited chattering, and looked over to see an overwhelmed Kai and a much more enthusiastic Rebecca being led off on a shopping trip that would undoubtedly last long into the night.

I almost pitied them. Once Lilith got going about fashion, there was nothing that could stop her until she either collapsed from exhaustion or ran out of money. But at least it looked like it would be a good opportunity for Rebecca to get a little more comfortable.

I cracked a smile as I watched them go. Something told me that Impulse would become the best squad I could have ever asked for.