Main Thread

[Shuren]

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[Shuren]

It was a fine day in the Times Square. The sun was shining and New Yorkers living their regular lives seemed to be content. They were oblivious to the fact that everything would change soon, no thanks to a certain white haired lad and his twin, who stoodpproximately ten meters away from him. “Been a while, Wes.” said Ronald with a loud tone. “Sure has, Ronnie.” replied Wesley. He opened his hands and showed them to his twin, as they lost their color slowly and started to crack like ice. “You have been scheming I see.” remarked Ronald and showed him his left hand, which was vibrating at high speeds. It almost seemed like a chainsaw. “I could say the same for you. How about we see how successful our schemes have become?” Wesley took a step forward but before he could take another his twin interrupted. “No. There are other people around... Innocent people that have nothing to do with this.” Ronald waited to see how Wesley would react.

“Hah! You think I care?!” replied the white haired man. This wasn't a surprise for his twin, even though he had hoped for more maturity and common sense after not having seen him for a long while. “I know what you think very well Wes. But even then, you don’t have to this. It doesn't have to be Dublin all over again.” Ronald tried to reason with his twin but he didn't listen. Wesley engulfed his hand with ice and unleashed it towards Ronald. Using his speed, Ronald dodged and vibrated his hand. Passing it through the ice, he destroyed it. Seeing this didn’t break Wesley’s spirit though. He continued launching shards of ice towards Ronald. He was using so many of them that even if some of them missed by default, it would hit a nearby person. Meanwhile the civilians had already panicked; seeing two people with superpowers couldn’t be a good sign. Wesley knew that his twin would try to either get people out of harms way or try to destroy all of the shards, so he carried on with his plan. He started to freeze the ground around him. The thin layer of ice advanced in every direction originating from his location and it eventually reached Ronald. The speedster inevitably made contact with the frozen ground and slipped. He hit his head to the ground, though at his speed it was enough concuss a regular person. As he tried to get up, Wesley skated on the ice to get near him. Once he was close enough, he transformed his right hand into a gigantic ice spear and tried to impale Ronald with it. But at the last second Ronald managed to vibrate his cells and become intangible.

“You learned some new tricks I see.” said Wesley, annoyed. Ronald immediately stood up and ran away. Though it was slippery on ice, he could manage to run on it by sacrificing from his initial speed and making his steps harder. As he started to run around Wesley he started to feel the chill. It seemed like his twin had also expanded his arsenal. He could now not only decrease the temperature of his body, but also of the environment around him. “Wes stop!” yelled Ronald, but to no avail. By this time the crowd had already started to scream and run away in terror. As Ronald continued to run and the Times Square slowly but consistently became colder, a familiar face made an appearance to the speedster. “He won’t stop, you know.” said a voice, as its source soon manifested right next to Ronald. It was the Moment. She liked to appear at dire situations, like this one. “Yeah I do realize that.” he said, feeling even more pressurized due to the cold. He needed to stop his twin as soon as possible so he could avoid collateral damage. “So what are you going to do?” asked the Moment. The speedster used his speed mind to quickly think of several scenarios and the outcomes. In the end he decided on one. “I can’t get close so I’ll strike him from long range. How cold is it right now?” The Moment disappeared briefly and came back. “Minus 30 degrees celsius. But it’s dropping rapidly.” Letting out a sigh, Ronald started to accumulate his kinetic energy inside his arms.

“I gotta hurry then~”

[Risa]

Bluebeard's Bistro didn't live up to May's expectations.

For one, the waiting time was exceedingly long. She'd arrived thirty minutes earlier and the only thing they'd served her was a cup of tea. Granted, it was the latest restaurant across Russell Street so like her, there were many people who want to try out the food. Two, the waiters dressed up in tunics and had blue beards. She supposed the owner thought it would be a great way to pay homage to the folktale and at the same time, promote the branding. It was utterly stupid. Three, the deco was too cheesy. There were several fake doors tucked into alcoves with ridiculous signs hanging from wooden boards. One in particular appeared to be a real door and had the words, 'Do not enter. Dead wives inside'. She'd seen a couple of staff members using the door so she'd assumed the warning was some twisted joke to the standard 'Authorized Personnel Only'.

May checked the time on her phone and let out a groan. If they didn't serve her food in ten minutes, she swore she would walk out and spread nasty reviews at her campus. A Public Economics book lay on her lap. Her eyes were anywhere but on the notes. She took a sip of her tea and tasted a hint of lemon. At least the drink was good.

She snapped the book shut and slipped it in her bag. There was no point in reading. The mid-assessment tests were three weeks away. Besides, her attention wasn't on price elasticities of demand and supply. No, May would rather think of the ocean. For a moment, she closed her eyes and visualized a wide expanse of bluish-green water. She heard the rustle of palm trees and the call of seagulls, felt the coarse grains of sands tickling her bare toes and smelled the scent of brine.

"Your order, miss," a voice pulled her from her daydream.

She opened her eyes and watched as the waiter served her three slices of strawberry sheet cake on a lace-edged plate.

"Would you like anything else?"

"No, thank you." May glared at his fake blue beard. "The cake looks delicious but I just have one serious complaint. Would you please get rid of the beard? It's atrocious."

Embarrassed, the waiter blushed hard and excused himself. She imagined what it would be like if his buddies ever came to the bistro. They'd make fun of him so much that he'd be roasted by the time they left.

Her stomach growled.

She really should stop her bad habit of skipping breakfast and relying on energy bars and caffeine to get through the day. It wasn't because she had no concern for her health. With Economics classes packed throughout the day and her night job at the Hive, May just didn't have the time for a proper meal. Not that the sheet cake was a proper meal. Still, it was surprisingly the best cake she'd had in months. Maybe she should have given the restaurant a tiny bit of credit.

As she ate her last piece of cake, a sudden coldness seeped through her skin. May shivered. She'd have blamed it on her imagination if the other diners didn't have the same reaction. They trembled and stared wide-eyed as though questioning their own sanity. This cold...it was unusual.

Something was wrong.

Standing up, May turned her gaze to the street. Throngs of people rushed past the sidewalk, looking over their shoulders in fear. She dropped a few wads of cash on the table, picked up her bag and left in haste. It was colder outside and dread hung heavy in the air. People bumped into her as she stood still, listening to rumors and warnings passed between one stranger to another. A fight had broken out between two Supers and it was getting worse.

She had to do something.

Rushing to an alley, May dropped her bag and let her power stir from slumber. In seconds, she was scaling the walls of a storey building, crawling like a spider. Up on the rooftops, she headed for the source of the commotion.

[Shuren]

“Minus 45.” said the Moment. The colder it got, the more difficult it became for Ronald to run continuously in circles. “You are only making it worse.” protested the speedster. He wondered why his twin was decreasing the temperature so slowly. During their previous battle, in Dublin, he had managed to freeze the streets almost instantly. Such a speed was displayed that even Ronald was caught off guard. Was it possible that Wesley was using his powers in a more refined way? To see if this was true, Ronald stepped his right foot harder than usual, believing that it would be enough to break the ice. But to his surprise it wasn’t. Wesley had started to manifest his powers more carefully, by structuring his ice better while sacrificing his reaction time. “I’m only reminding you.” replied the Moment, almost annoyed by Ronald’s tone. “Besides haven’t you accumulated enough energy already?” she continued, prompting the man to glance at his body. His thoughts about Wesley and his powers had kept his mind occupied enough. “Seems like it.” he remarked with a smile. His arms and body was engulfed by light yellow colored lightning. Now he needed to find a safe spot to halt his movement. This proved to be impossible quite soon, as the ground was covered by Wesley’s ice. So instead of ceasing to move, Ronald decided to do something else. He ran directly towards Wesley and as expected, his twin decreased the temperature even further but in a smaller area that encapsulated both of them. As the speedster’s body temperature plummeted, so did his speed. He made a slow punching motion with his right hand and released the excess energy from close range. Afterwards the lightning bolt quickly travelled towards Wesley and hit him squarely in the chest. Following that was an explosion that obscured the view of nearby observers.

[Risa]

May leaned on the side of a tower, unperturbed by the forces of gravity. Digital screens flashed dizzying colors over Times Square. On any other day, the streets below would be teeming with pedestrians rushing to and from work, yellow cabs whizzing by and motorcycles slipping through the crowds. Today, Times Square was almost desolate. Civilians ran away from the intersection, fearing for their lives. Empty cars were trapped in the traffic and several shops had been left open, abandoned by their owners.

What the hell happened there? May thought as she narrowed her eyes at a large portion of frozen ground.

Shards of ice bloomed from the surface like needles meant to skewer. A telephone booth lay mangled beyond recognition and a lonely taxi had been flipped on its side, it windows crashed and its doors swinging open in the cold breeze. In the middle of it all, two figures fought.

May let out a gasp.

She recognized them first by their distinctive abilities. A dark-haired young man made circles around his opponent, moving so fast she'd have a hard time keeping track of his movements if she wasn't one of the Supers. His opponent was white-haired, slim and the source of the ruckus. He had been the culprit behind the sudden extreme temperatures.

"Why are they here?" she whispered, feeling the bite of the cold as she jumped on top of a billboard that pulsed with light.

The white-haired man was Wesley Miles and it hadn’t been long since he’d made the news. She remembered the news flash that interrupted her favorite sci-fi drama series, Stars Above. Leon Walker, an intergalactic space pirate and her secret crush, had been forced to walk out of an airlock when his mortal enemies took control of his ship. He’d just tumbled out of space when the TV news interrupted the show. The headlines read, Dublin Frozen and the videos of the streets of Dublin hadn’t been pretty.

Frowning, May leapt to the next tower, drawing closer to the scene. As she landed on a construction scaffold, a resounding blast echoed throughout the city. A flock of birds took flight, cawing in the distance. She peered at the scene below.

[Shuren]

As the smoke and dust cleared out the twins slowly emerged. Ronald seemed to be doing okay; he had managed to maintain his balance after throwing lightning. But the same couldn’t be said for Wesley. He was crouching on the ground, huffing. Half of his chest and his entire lower body below had been turned into organic ice as a self defense mechanism. He knew that ice was a poor conductor of electricity but even so he had received a considerable amount of damage. Looking down to inspect his legs recover, he noticed that the organic ice around his calves had cracked deeply. Same could be said for his upper right chest area. Perhaps Ronald hadn’t hit him with only electricity; the Moment probably aided him and channeled her extra dimensional energy into it. Or similarly, his organic ice functioned slightly more different than regular ice. Either way, things hadn’t gone his way. Looking at Ronald with hatred, the white haired man let out a sigh. The ice on his injured parts started to move and eventually covered the entirety of his body. Afterwards the ice around him began to melt. “No. No, no, no, no, no.” whispered the speedster under his breath. Although the temperature was rising again, he knew what that coupled with Wesley’s full body conversion meant: his twin was going to escape. He ran towards him at full speed but once he reached him, there was only a puddle of water, which soon turned into vapor and dissipated into thin air. Feeling incredibly disappointed, and beyond that angry, Ronald ran towards a nearby building that was undergoing construction and made his way to its top. “NO! DAMMIT!” he yelled and fell down on his knees. As the temperature returned back to normal at Times Square, Ronald silently broke down, knowing his tears wouldn’t freeze anymore.

[Risa]

May had seen it all.

Wounded by the blast, Wesley Miles covered his body with ice. She thought he was preparing himself for a counter-attack despite his injuries but the rise in temperatures signaled a possible retreat. True enough, the dark-haired man ran towards Wesley in a burst of speed but by the time he reached him, Wesley had turned into vapor and vanished into thin air.

She’d been too late and so had the other man.

He climbed up the building she was on and reached the rooftop. May scanned the intersection below as sirens shrilled. Policemen approached the vicinity, wary at first but more confident as the ice slowly melted on the ground. Several paramedics helped calm agitated civilians and a few wheeled injured patients into the waiting ambulances. Muttering a silent prayer, she hoped they would be okay.

As she dropped from the scaffold, May heard a curse being yelled out from above. It was laced with rage and frustration. No doubt, she was pretty pissed off herself. If only she hadn’t been distracted by the strawberry sheet cake, she might have arrived at the scene earlier. She found herself climbing up the building and within minutes, she vaulted over the wall, landed on the rooftop and approached the dark-haired man.

He was on his knees, his back facing her and was he…crying?

Blood pounded in May’s ears. Numerous reactions bounced in her mind. Should she approach him and offer consolation? Give him a pat on the back and a few kind words? May cringed at the thought of touching a stranger. No, that was a horrible idea. Maybe she should crack a joke to cheer things up? After all, the atmosphere was way too somber. No, no, that was unspeakable. Appalling. Horrendous even.

Really, now. What was I thinking? I should just get back and help the parademics, she thought.

She took a step back and cursed under her breath as she stepped on a strip of roofing sheet. The damned thing clunked loudly, giving her location away.

[Shuren]

Wiping his eyes with his palms, the speedster looked down on the streets. Their fight had been brief, yet the Times Square had suffered immensely. The square was crowded once again, but with policemen and medics. Hearing the sirens of the ambulances and the police cars, Ronald sighed. Every single time he encountered his twin brother after a long duration, a fight like this would break out. And each time the destruction they caused would get on a whole new level. Of course, the damage they dealt that day wasn’t comparable to what had happened to Dublin two years ago, but that was purely because their interaction this time hadn’t lasted very long. Just as he was thinking how Wesley had grown since they last saw each other, a clinking noise came from the speedster’s back. Ronald turned his head to see who or what had caused it: it was a woman who stood around 1.60 meters with white hair and golden eyes. At this point Ronald didn’t know what to do. Was it a civilian? If so why she approaching so silently. If not, then what was she trying to do? Either way, to see someone so calm and unaffected by the battle that had transpired not too long ago was surprising. “She’s not a civilian.” said the Moment at that exact second, appearing behind the girl. “She’s a super like you. So… guards up!” With her suggestion, Ronald did what he did best: he made a sneak attack and used his speed to gain momentum, which he used to push the girl down. “I should have known from the hair!” he commented as a reply to the Moment, referring to its white color being similar to his twin brother’s. “Who are you?!” he yelled. The girl was already pinned down to the ground and Ronald was on top of her. He was holding her right ankle with his left hand whereas his right hand was vibrating at very high frequencies like a chainsaw, ready to strike.

[Risa]

This was why helping the paramedics had been a better option.

May was pinned on the floor, the pain at the back of her head dissipating as her regenerative abilities kicked in. To say she was uncomfortable was an understatement. The man was on top of her, his right hand moving like a chainsaw. He was obviously threatening her and she didn’t like it at all. For the record, she would never try to console a sorrowful guy again, especially if he happened to be a Super who talked to himself loudly and acted touchy.

“May.” She looked daggers at the man. “My name is May.”

She didn’t bother giving him her surname. He’d have to be a lot politer to earn that. Besides, her surname wasn’t going to get her out of the mess. To combat hostility, she’d have to stay unruffled. And she did. She felt a wave of calmness wash over her as her breaths evened out and her pulse slowed to its steady beat.

Letting out a sigh, she said, “Would you get off me?”

A flood of power surged all over her skin. She didn’t release any of it but merely kept it ready so that if push ever came to shove, she’d strengthen her body until it became harder than carbyne.

[Shuren]

The girl shared her name with him, which was a pretty normal thing to do after how he had asked about her identity. Yet, the way she did it was unexpected; she had remained very calm. So much that even her heartbeat hadn’t changed, which the speedster could feel from holding her right hand from the wrist. “Oh… right.” he muttered as he stopped his right hand from vibrating. He had thought that maybe this girl was associated with Wesley but that simply wasn’t the case. She was probably just another super that happened to be around. “Sorry about that. I momentarily thought you were associated with the person responsible for all this mess.” he explained and freed the girl from his grip. Instead he held her hand and pulled her towards his direction so she could stand up again. “Hope I didn’t hurt you.” Before letting her hand go, Ronald decided to share the Moment with the girl. He had felt how hard and heavy her skin had gotten. Perhaps this was her power, though there were still no visible indications of a healing factor. If he did bruise her when he pushed her down, he would want her injuries to be gone quickly. At the moment of contact, the woman would feel a jolt of lightning entering her body and coursing through it. As he stepped back he waited for the effects to showcase themselves. This would also make the Moment visible to her, so she would be able to see the blonde woman standing behind Ronald. “It had been a while since you last extended your powers to somebody… How nice.” remarked the Moment sarcastically. She didn’t like being seen by other people. Upon this statement she received a serious look from Ronald. “Nobody’s forcing you to make an appearance.” Despite what he said, the speedster was kind of glad that May could see the Moment. At least he wouldn’t look like he was talking to himself anymore.

[Risa]

His sudden change in demeanour surprised her.

May let him help her up though she didn't let her guard down. She wondered why he'd thought sharing the same hair color as Wesley Miles would make her his associate in crime. Perhaps he knew about the Griever's prophecy?

There is no way he would know.

May ran her fingers through her short curls. Memories of her childhood flashed through her mind. Her white hair had been a constant source of ridicule. As a child, she'd always been feared and reviled. At one point, her mother had shaved her hair off in the hopes of sparing her the humiliation and the pain of social rejection. At ten years old, May had been forced to wear a turban around her head. Even so, the bullying didn't stop. After all, everyone knew everybody because her home village had been small.

She'd lived in Yama, a long stretch of hidden land beneath the Yuntai Mountain. Her people had been deeply rooted in their culture. They'd believed the gods sometimes breathed heavenly fire into the souls of humans, granting them immense power, the dragons still flew the skies and swam in the great rivers, and the spirits roamed the forest that bordered their village and therefore, twice a year, the elders left offerings—little pieces of goat meat, fruits freshly taken from farms and vegetables that glistened with the morning dew—as a sign of peace and to ward off the evil entities. Above all, they'd believed every prophecy made by the Griever. Even though half of them were a whole load of bull.

It wasn't until she was twelve when the men and women in colorful tight costumes came to take her. Their leader had been an old man in a grey trench coat. His back had been crooked, his face covered by a huge pair of gold-rimmed glasses that made his eyes seem bigger than a frog's. Later, she would find out he was Charles Johansson, owner of Benny's House, an orphanage for gifted children. He'd spoken to her mother in private and by the time they were done, she'd been convinced May would have a better life with them.

A jolt of lightning surged through her body, drawing her out of her memories. Her own power rushed to engulf his and though it wasn't much, she felt a little bit stronger.

May also noticed they had company.

A blonde woman materialized behind the man and judging by the tone of her voice, she didn't seem particularly happy to be seen.

"Whoah! Who are you?" Considering May wasn't superstitious, any thoughts of ghosts didn't cross her mind. She suspected the woman may be a Super with the powers of invisibility but something about her felt off. With an incredulous look, May turned her gaze to the man. "And who are you?"

[Shuren]

Ronald had gone as far as to pin the girl down and ask for her identity, but all this time he hadn’t even provided his. Of course, he was the second person she addressed. And that was perfectly natural; he could imagine how it must have looked for her to have somebody suddenly appear out of nowhere. Seeing how she didn’t question Wesley’s being, he assumed that she knew about him a bit. Not personally of course, but from the news. After all, the incident at Dublin two years ago had a profound effect on media in general. Though even then, he felt a bit concerned about sharing his name. Unlike his twin brother he had managed to keep a secret identity pretty well. Cameras were unable to get a clear shot of his face when he was running, and when he didn’t run he would simply vibrate his face and his vocal cords. “My name is Ronald Miles and I’m the fastest man alive.” he said with a serious tone. He wasn’t trying to gloat or boast his ego, but give May an understanding of his capabilities. Although she seemed like a nice person, she was still a stranger. “And this cute blondie here is the Moment, the source of my power.” he continued. Hearing the sudden unexpected compliment made the Moment blush and turn away. “Normally only I can see her but since I shared my powers with you to speed up your healing process, so can you. That’s why she is kinda cranky.” whispered Ronald while leaning forward. Yet, his efforts were pointless because the Moment heard what he said. “What?! I’m not cranky!” she protested immediately. To her, this was very much like Ronald, as he would often enjoy giving her a compliment before making an absurd statement. “Yes you are. You are like a geezer.” replied the young man, his voice coming out at a higher pitch. From there on he and the Moment engaged in what they called speed talking; a technique that combined communication and speed. Despite getting into a deep and heavy conversation, May wouldn’t be able to catch any of that.

[Risa]

May would have acknowledged his introduction with a reckness sneer if Ronald hadn't sounded so serious. He really was the fastest man in the world which meant he'd just shared with her part of his power. Oh boy, she'd have to be the biggest fool in the universe if she didn't test his abilities. As he argued with the Moment, albeit in a teasing way, May decided not to interrupt them. In fact, she thought it was the perfect moment to try out her new abilities.

Spinning, she dashed towards the edge of the rooftop and made a jump, her hands spread out in a swan dive. Super explosive speed shot through her body. May let out a woot. Ronald's power coupled with hers was a blast. She landed on a water tank, hopped off to crouch against the glass pane of a skyscraper and began wall-running. Any human would see nothing but a blur of movement so fast, they'd think it was a figment of their imagination.

As she shot through the air, she felt a trickle of power fade away. It seemed his power-sharing was only momentary. It was time to return. May made one final jump, flipped and landed on the rooftop.

"That was refreshing," she said, laughing as a hum of excitement drummed through her blood. She leaned forward from her waist, bowing a little and smiled. "Thank you."

She wanted to mention she could self-regenerate but felt she could keep that a secret for now. Besides, as much as it had been short-lived, she wouldn't mind experiencing his abilities again if he was ever obliged to share. It was a little selfish and she couldn't help but chortle at herself.

Turning to the Moment, May noticed she was barely a silhouette, her features fading away like ash blown by the wind. Before she disappeared, May said to her, "Nice to meet you."

When Ronald had introduced himself, he'd mentioned his surname was Miles. Did he have any connection to Wesley Miles? When she'd arrived at the scene, they were the only ones fighting and when Wesley had managed to escape, Ronald had been frustrated. They had to be connected in some way. She was also curious about the Moment. If he was the source of her power, did that mean she was his constant companion? Wouldn't that make things sometimes...uncomfortable?

"Are you related to Wesley Miles? What happened? Is the Moment always with you?"

May clamped a hand over her mouth as color rushed to her cheeks. She'd asked too many questions at once no doubt, to a total stranger. It was absolutely mortifying!

[Shuren]

After he and the Moment concluded their speed talk, Ronald set his gaze upon May. The girl had taken a liking to his powers. Watching her use them also gave him an idea of her own. First of all, for somebody borrowing his abilities to be able to run up on a skyscraper was intriguing. This was a feat that he could achieve easily due to his slim body structure after years of using his powers. For somebody without his build it would be very difficult, meaning that the girl possessed superhuman strength. Secondly she didn’t seem to be tired, whereas a normal person would feel exhausted after using his speed. After all, Ronald couldn’t share his hyper metabolism with others. So this meant she possessed superhuman stamina. Third, May’s reaction time was unexpectedly good for somebody who had just gotten faster all of a sudden. Sure, one could say that she used the speed to enhance her senses as well but even for Ronald honing his senses had taken years. So he theorized that she already had superhuman senses or superhuman agility… or both. Lastly, she appeared to be unaffected by the biggest downside of being fasts: friction. The Moment’s specialized energy field coupled with his heat resistant clothing allowed Ronald to bypass this. For someone who didn’t have specialized protection, it require a tremendous amount of durability. Feeling fascinated that May displayed such promise, the speedster wondered if she could be of any help to him one day. Once she was back, her borrowed powers started to fade away. Imagining that the Moment would be invisible to her once again, Ronald closed his eyes shortly and felt the electrical surge that he had provided the girl exit her system. Afterwards he was bombarded with questions. “The Moment isn’t always with me… Not when I don’t want her to be. Important thing is that she is always there when I need her.” he said with a smile, which seemingly pleased the Moment. “And I always will be.” replied the blonde woman, and landed a kiss on Ronald’s left cheek before vanishing from his sight as well. “As for Wesley… well… he is my twin brother. I can say that he never really liked me, but it still felt like we could have a normal relationship. That was until what happened in Dublin of course.” Ronald’s smile turned into a blank expression as he spoke. He was pretty sure that May was aware of what had happened in Dublin, but just like anybody else nobody knew what had caused the fight or any other details regarding it. Guessing that she would be interested in those as well he prepared himself to answer.

[Risa]

The sun had tipped to the west, dipping the clouds in shades of gold and vermillion. May followed a trail of pigeons flying in a wide arc. Her navy green military jacket flapped in the wind as a cold gust blew over the rooftop. It was high-collared with seven rows of gold button details. She noticed Ronald was smiling when he spoke of the Moment. He seemed fond of her. If May had asked her mother the origins of her abilities, she’d say without any hesitation, the gods had breathed heavenly fire into her soul and that she was meant for greatness even though her entire village thought her a monster. She knew it was only the work of nature, that her body had adapted and evolved. She also knew she would never destroy the world. May may have trodden the path of darkness more than once but global annihilation wasn't part of her plan.

“Your twin?” May asked, puzzled by the revelation.

Ronald and Wesley were nothing alike in more ways than appearances. Wesley had been intent on destruction. That much was certain bearing in mind the Dublin incident. She realized, with certain clarity that it must have been Ronald who had tried to stop him on both accounts. In Dublin, the news had shown videos of someone fighting against him but his image had been too blurry to pinpoint any specific person.

“It was you who tried to stop him, wasn’t it?” For the second, time, she asked the same question, wanting to know more about the brothers and their past. “What happened?”

[Shuren]

“Yeah, it was me. It’s always me. But to be fair I was also responsible for the collateral damage in Dublin.” admitted the speedster. “Only breaking the sound barrier causes great agitation. I could go ten times that. And didn’t know how to hold back.” Compared to two years ago, Ronald had come a very long way. He could go much faster now, about thirty four times the speed of sound. Though he rarely made full use of his maximum speed; it was very close to the escape velocity of Earth and the last thing he wanted was being thrown off from the planet’s gravitational force. Other than that he had learned to throw lightning and phase through objects by vibrating at the same frequency as the air. These could make him feel better; but his twin brother also grew at a similar rate, if not faster than him. Each time he confronted him, he had to come up with a new plan. The thought of running out of ideas one day would basically be his demise. As the girl asked what was wrong, Ronald involuntarily laughed. It was such a long story that he didn’t know where to begin. So he decided to give her the best summary he could conjure for the time being. “Wes is trying to kill me. He blames me for our parents’ death, even though there was nothing either of us could do. I guess that’s not how he sees it.”

[Risa]

"I hope the two of you can patch things up," May said, a twinge of sadness in her voice.

She never had any siblings but if there was anything she could relate to, it would be the relationship she had with the Hive members. They were a close-knit group, fiercely loyal to one another. In simple truth, they were her family.

"I'm glad you learnt to control your powers." She held out her hands above her head, stretching. "Seeing New York ruined would have been...devastating."

Just then, her phone beeped. She took it out from an inner pocket of her jacket and checked the screen. There was a message notification. May unlocked her phone with a series of complicated patterns drawn in rapid movements and read the message. The sender's name was Dead Poet and the message read:


The Pied Piper has played the pipe
And the final hour is falling ripe
The dark-winged maiden trotters
As they fall into the troubling waters

-C.P Eli

May rolled her eyes.

She'd taken to calling Eli, Dead Poet, for a reason. He tended to be overdramatic with his secret messages. Once, he'd sent her a sonnet praising the Mexican cuisine which in simple words meant, she should get the Hive members dinner. When May read it out aloud to them as they wolfed down chicken tortilla soup and enchiladas, Jun, their personal scout made a rock song out of it. The others had joined in the fun with May being designated as their lead guitarist and Keiran, their analytics expert, had been assigned to the drums. It had been one of her favorite moments.

Sliding her phone back to the pocket, she glanced at Ronald and decided, she might as well as ask him to come along. Eli had just given May her first task for the night and she could use some company. She could explain everything on the way. He was inhumanly fast and with his help, she could be done with the job before midnight.

But only if he agreed.

"How fast can you get me to the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park?"

[Shuren]

“I used to feel like the distance between us could be closed. But not anymore. Not since Dublin, anyway.” replied Ronald to May’s comment. What she said could be considered overly optimistic since it didn’t reflect the tiniest bit of their reality. As for what she said about New York being devastated, the speedster agreed with a simple nod. As both of the twins had grown considerably, going all out with their abilities would mean utter annihilation for the city. Wesley wouldn’t give a tinker’s curse about it of course, but Ronald still cared. Soon afterwards May’s phone received a message, which she quickly read. It appeared like something had come up with her and she needed to go to Central Park. With a swift movement Ronald appeared next to the girl and lifted her. Grabbing onto her tightly, he ran towards the requested location and quite literally arrived in an instant. “This fast.” he said as he put the girl down. He didn’t even need to make use of his full speed as Central Park was quite close to the Times Square. They were both standing in the center of the terrace now, next to the fountain.

[Risa]

It happened so fast, May scarcely registered the whirl of colors and shapes as Ronald moved her from Times Square to Central Park. She was impressed. Scanning her surroundings, May first drew her attention to the fountain rather than the terrace. The sound of bubbling water was soothing to her ears. Various plants floated on the surface of the water, bobbing in the gentle breeze. There were no other civilians within the city. She supposed it was because of the incident at Times Square.

“There should be a clue somewhere here,” she said to Ronald. “Do you notice anything that stands out?”

She remembered the last two verses of the poem. Eli had specifically mentioned the dark-winged maiden which meant the clue had to be on the angel statue standing in the middle of the fountain. The dark-winged maiden trotters… Her gaze dropped to the statue’s feet. She saw nothing at first but then as she stared long enough, she noticed a piece of rock lying between the angel’s left sole and her right toes. It had the same color as the statue, giving it a perfect camouflage and the angel's dress added the cover by throwing a shadow over it.

Bending her knees, May shot through the air with superhuman speed, landed on the fountain, picked up the stone and jumped outside the pool. Ronald would have no problem tracking her movements since he was much faster but any ordinary human wouldn’t be able to.

“All this seems so strange, huh?” she said, holding out the rock for Ronald to see. “My contact always takes extreme precautions but I think he enjoys these detective games a little too much. Oh, right…I should explain this from the beginning.” She flipped the rock over, examining it for engravings. “I asked you to accompany me because I’m going to need a date.”

May stared at Ronald, a lopsided grin pulling the corner of her mouth.

“And it’s not what you think.”

[Shuren]

Ronald laughed. And he laughed hard. Not because of what May had said last, about not taking things the wrong way. It was because of how she had started to search for something while making explanations, as if Ronald didn’t have bigger problems to take care of. Besides, she hadn’t told him anything about what she was doing. So the whole process she was going through there was a big question mark for the speedster. “Wouldn’t mind a date with a fine lady such as yourself. There is one problem though.” said Ronald. Before carrying on he halted his laugh completely. “Who are you? You have powers like I do. I get that. But who? I don’t even know your full name. Plus, you didn’t ask me to accompany you. You simply wanted to know how fast I could get you here.” he continued, with a serious tone. He didn’t bother meeting the girl’s line of sight, as he knew his words would have more than enough impact on the conversation. Taking two steps away from the fountain he turned back to finally look at her. “Now, I love a bad girl… but trust you? Seriously?”

[Risa]

May snorted then closed her fist, the rock in the palm of her hand warming up. Maybe, it would do the trick. “You didn’t let me finish explaining.”

For a guy who didn’t trust her, he sure was open about his rocky relationship with his brother and the incident at Dublin. He’d even shared his powers with her if only for a little while. If she gave out the same information to Kieran, he’d have a field day. He could summon an ocean of information from a single drop of data.

“I’m May Blackwood, a second year Economics student and a part-time librarian.” She let out a sigh. “Which reminds me, I should get my bag from the alley near Bluebeard’s Bistro. Uni text books are freaking expensive.”

It was a standard introduction with no incriminating details. She needed the double life to maintain some semblance of normality. If May was being completely honest, she’d say she was also a high-ranking agent for an organization that manipulated the forces of order and chaos in the world from the shadows of civilization. While she couldn’t tell him about the Hive, she contemplated showing Ronald her abilities but decided against it in case he refused to accompany her.

She did, however, know something that might tempt him to join her.

“A secret auction will take place at seven o’clock tonight,” she said. “Before it begins, there will be a chance for the folks to interact. All the attendees will be Supers and most especially, they will be key players in the society. I know just where the event will be.” Opening her fist, May revealed the rock to Ronald. It now had coordinates glowing in blue. Just as she had suspected, the hidden message could only be exposed by heat. “These are the coordinates. Here’s the thing…” She pocketed the rock. “The object to be auctioned is a power enhancer and if it falls into the wrong hands, there would be dire consequences. I sure as hell won’t let that happen. I’m going to steal it before anyone gets to it and I know, with your help, we can do it. Now, if you don’t want to take part in this, that’s fine. I can always improvise.”

[Shuren]

As the girl introduced herself and briefly gave information about her profession, Ronald quietly listened. He would want to go to university as well but he had never had the chance to. Though thanks to what he dubbed the speed mind he could most probably graduate in a day. When the girl mentioned her bag, which contained her textbooks, the speedster vibrated for a second. At the same moment the girl’s bag would appear on the ground next to her feet. Being pretty sure that this was the bag that belonged to her, as it contained the aforementioned textbooks. “A power enhancer?” he repeated after May finished what she had to say. An item like that was too dangerous for anybody in a wrong state to possess. Especially Wesley. Perhaps that was why he was in New York. Maybe it was his carelessness but Ronald had never though of another reason for his brother to be present in the city other than killing him and making a scene. Maybe he had bigger plans this time. “Well we can’t just let anybody get a hold of that, can we?” he said calmly and gestured his hand for the girl to lead the way.

[Risa]

"I think we could use your speed to get there," May said, slinging the bag over her back and locking her right arm with Ronald's.

The world around her blurred in a plethora of colors as they moved. Within seconds, they were standing on the tracks of an abandoned metro several feet below the streets of New York. Up ahead, a stage had been set up complete with glittering velvet curtains and bright spotlights. Though there was nobody on the stage, the surrounding area was littered with noisy Supers and rusted junk. May stared at a man who floated a deck of cards in the air, swinging them in the direction of his hand. Another woman with a pink mohawk twirled a dragon of flame around her neck. Her skin remained in tact.

"Hmph! Show-offs." May released Ronald's hand. "You'd think it was a competition about who's got the best power."

She stepped forward, walking towards the stage. There were several minutes left before the auction would begin which meant there was still time for folks to intermingle. May wondered if a fight would ensue. Any gathering with a lot of Supers was a ticking bomb waiting to explode.

[Shuren]

“Ah…” said Ronald silently as they arrived at the abandoned metro station. It had been decorated and repurposed for particular events like this. Reminiscing of his time in Dublin, he remembered the meetings and parties he attended. It was very similar to this one, save for the fact that in Ireland people with powers were referred to as mutants and not supers. “We had underground activities like this in Dublin as well.” he told May as the duo walked towards the stage. He passed by a guy who could extend thorns from his skin. And another one could breathe fire but only seemed to be able to partially control it. There were indeed lots of people with a variety of abilities here; it would almost be fun to see them in mayhem. As they approached the stage slowly, the speedster leaned in towards the girl. “Can you quickly tell me your abilities? So I know what to expect in case… you know… something happens.” he whispered. He had already made several deductions about her powers, but wanted to be sure. Besides, she could also possess abilities that had nothing to do with what he had observed earlier.

[Risa]

"I can do this."

May picked up a stray beetle from Ronald's shoulder—it had probably hitched a ride from Central Park—and balanced it on the tip of her right index finger. It morphed into a black spider that did a tap dance as it moved to her palm. Suddenly, it twitched, leting out a hiss as its body transformed to a miniature spider monster with claws on its legs and multiple red eyes on its abdomen. Its fangs snapped in warning. She closed her palm and then splayed out her fingers like a magician revealing a trick. The beetle was back in place. May let it fly off to explore its new surroundings.

Realizing she was just as much of a show-off as the others, she huffed. Although what she had shown him was merely a glimpse of her true powers, the little act has been unecessary.

"Organic manipulation," May said. She wiggled her fingers as if to spook him though she was only teasing him. "Well, sort of. My abilities cannot be mimicked. They come with various...side effects."

[Shuren]

Ronald watched the girl pick up a beetle and transform it into various forms. She dubbed her ability organic manipulation, which took a short chuckle out of the speedster. Technically speaking, most of the molecules she changed in that beetle were inorganic molecules after all. But he understood what she meant and didn’t want to dwell on it any further. “Cool. That might come in handy.” he said genuinely. If she could apply her powers on a bigger scale with refined control, she could possibly transform anything according to her liking. Knowing she was accompanied by someone strong, Ronald took several seconds to scan his surroundings. He looked for wearing their faces with either masks or hoods. He was a stranger to this city, yes, but he didn’t think he would feel alienated to this extent. “Be careful. Something bad happened here.” Out of nowhere echoed the Moment’s voice. Though she did not appear she had taken the opportunity to warn Ronald. “Happened?” asked Ronald back. “Sorry. Will happen.” replied the Moment. She was able to see possible futures and she often confused it with the present or the past. So she would sometimes get confused and use the wrong tense. The speedster didn’t ask for extra information. He had gotten enough info for the time being. He looked around once more, this time more cautiously. But yet again, he failed to catch anything suspicious. As he continued the lights started to fade and radial lighting became more apparent. A tune started to play, which he identified as Let’s Get Ready to Rumble from Jock Jams. A pretty popular song from the ‘90s movie Space Jam.

“Y’all ready for this?” yelled somebody from the microphone as the music continued. The lights started to flash in different directions before converging on the main stage, revealing the auctioneer. Meanwhile people had already started to end their personal conversations to listen to him and get closer. “Welcome to the auction. Great to see everyone gathered up so nicely.” he said with a giant smile and received a round of applause. He was a man in his forties. He had short white hair that was combed back and thick brown beard. He wore a navy colored suit vest and matching pants, with a white shirt. He had rolled up his sleeves and was giving a serious aura despite his smile. Waving his hand and signing for the crowd to stop applauding, he continued once silence was established. “I’m sure everybody knows what happened during the last auction. Apparently people got impatient with the big-ticket item because it was, as it traditionally is, at the end. I personally don’t think it’s a good reason for a fight to break out but you know…” he said and coughed. “Anyway. Just because of that, this time we decided to ditch the tradition. Ladies and gents, for once we will be starting off with the big-ticket item!” he finished his sentence yelling gloriously. At the same moment everybody started to cheer and clap their hands. Ronald looked at them with wide eyes, unsure how to react. The man on the stage was an absolute showman and he knew it. “Yeah, that’s right! Lights!” he yelled again and the lights started to move around and about. Once the crowd calmed down again the lights focused on the small platform in front of the man. It was empty before but now there was a silver colored case standing on it.

“Okay, so here it is. My card indicates that this case contains a quark sphere that will imprint the user’s DNA on itself and enhance their powers. It doesn’t specify how it does that though. Whatevs. Let’s start the bidding on the power enhancer, shall we?” he concluded and was about to signal the beginning of the bidding. But for some reason he couldn’t move his hand. It looked like his hand was paralyzed. Chattering noises started to arise from the crowd as they couldn’t figure out what was going on. “Is this part of the show?” asked Ronald to May but before she could reply they would get an answer. “I don’t think that will be necessary Roger.” said a robotic voice from afar. Suddenly the crowd would be split in half. To everybody it would feel like they were being pushed to either side by a giant invisible fist. After opening a path in the middle, the source of the voice walked towards the stage. He was a slim man though not much could be seen about his appearance, as a LED visor mask covered his entire face and his jacket’s hood covered his head. Though his arms had lots of tattoos on them. He jumped on the platform and quickly opened the case, revealing the pentakis dodecahedron (http://oi66.tinypic.com/29apdtd.jpg) inside that displayed varying shades of blue, purple and red. The colors were constantly shifting. “Interesting.”

[Risa]

When the lights flashed on the stage and the funky music blared out, May knew the auction would begin. Sure enough, the auctioneer soon showed up at the stage and welcomed everyone. She joined in the round of applause and let out a loud whistle, acting the part of an excited listener. As the auctioneer began his rather dramatic introduction, a lone moth fluttered through the mass of bodies and hovered in front of her face. Its wings were muddy brown and lined with zigzagging white lines as though dipped in flour. She watched as it flickered out of vew and reappeared with an oversized cartoonish face. It darted its tongue, mocking her and winked. May poked its abdomen. At her touch, the moth shattered into digital specks of light that vanished from view.

Hello, to you too, she thought, grinning.

Kieran was watching her. She felt considerably better knowing he had her back.

“Anyway. Just because of that, this time we decided to ditch the tradition. Ladies and gents, for once we will be starting off with the big-ticket item!”

At the mention of the most prized item, May focused her attention on the platform. A silver case had appeared where moments ago, the platform had been empty. Her pulse picked up speed in anticipation. This was it. She was about to witness the power enhancer in its fine glory. But just as the auctioneer signalled the beginning of the bidding session, his hand froze in mid-air. A robotic voice broke the confused chatter and a moment later, the crowd split in half.

"What is going on?" the mohawk woman asked loudly.

A masked man in a punk studded jacket with the sleeves rolled to his elbows walked in the path where the crowd had parted. Several tattoos inked his arms. He stepped on the stage and opened the case to reveal a pentakis dodecahedron that glowed with changing colors.

The crowd gasped.

This wasn't right. The man couldn't be part of the show. He had probably come to steal the power enhancer which meant she had to stop him. But before she made a move, the mohawk woman pointed her finger at the masked man in a gun motion. A bullet flame hissed through the air, aiming for the man's chest.

[Shuren]

Cade had his visor analyze the power enhancer thoroughly but he also knew that people there wouldn’t just sit and allow him to get what he wanted. The world was full of nuisances after all. As an extension of his danger sensing, the back of his head tingled, urging Cade to direct his attention to the people. A woman with quite a unique mohawk haircut had pointed her index and middle fingers at him, imitating a gun. She shot a small condensed bolt of fire at his chest. Raising his right hand, the man simply made a swiping motion with his hand and dissipated it into thin air. “An opening.” whispered Ronald under his breath and took action. He ran towards the unknown man, though not at full speed. Not only were there other people in his close vicinity, but also the amount of place he could run at was limited. He flashed right next to him, landed a punch at his stomach and continued to run. Then he struck him from a different angle, striking his back. He continued to attack Cade from different angles and slowly increased his speed. Meanwhile, the masked man was experiencing a sensory overload. His danger sensing was alerting him of the incoming attacks, but he was still unable to react. The only solution he could find for the speedster problem was to create a telekinetic shield around his body. As a result the next time Ronald made his approach and launched his fist, it felt like he had punched a concrete wall. For a second Ronald staggered and using this opportunity, Cade released the spikes from his jacket. Using his magnetic powers, he had them enter Ronald’s body from different points, like bullets.

“ARGH!” cried the speedster, in tormenting pain. He was unable to move his arms, legs and even his chest. Cade had missed his vital organs on purpose, but by controlling the metal pieces in his body, he had made him a human puppet. “Cool powers dude.” he commented, ignoring the painful noises Ronald made. He quickly created a telekinetic barrier around him with his left hand to avoid another possible interference from other people. Meanwhile the case had fallen to the ground and closed, with the power enhancer still contained in it. Bringing the speedster closer to himself he placed his right hand on his left shoulder and started to move it around his body, as if he was examining him. “Why… are you doing this?” asked Ronald, barely able to speak. “Why? It’s my instinct.” replied Cade. “What?” Ronald uttered this word in disbelief, as if Cade’s reasoning was completely obsolete. This made Cade stop examining him. He stepped forward and got even closer to him, his face only centimeters away from Ronald’s. Ronald couldn’t see his face, as his visor blocked it from view. But he could still feel Cade staring right into his eyes.

“You know, years ago I had been doing a lot of reading about evolution, natural selection, the way it works… It said that the strongest animals will always survive, and they’re the ones that will prosper by feeding on the smaller animals. And as humans we see that there’s this thing called an apex predator, and basically that is the most powerful predator in an ecosystem. And as humans we’re the apex predator, because there’s nothing that preys on us, ‘cause of weapons and stuff. But if something could, I bet it would.” Seemingly looking away, the man stepped back and moved back to crouch down. He started examining the auctioneer’s body this time. The man that was full of life just minutes ago now lied on the ground, dead. “I mean, what I’m trying to say is… a lion doesn’t feel guilty when it kills a gazelle. You don’t feel guilty when you squash a fly, you know. I think that means something. I think that really means something.” The speedster looked at Cade as he faced his direction shortly. “So all of this… is because you think you are stronger?” Cade placed his head on the auctioneer’s head and felt the chills. This happened whenever he obtained a new power. Afterwards he stood up and turned back to slowly walk towards Ronald. “Hahahahaha… of course not. It’s not because I think I’m stronger. It’s because I know I’m stronger. Since I’m the apex predator there is no reason for me to feel bad about crushing weaker beings.” He quickly placed his free hand on Ronald’s forehead.

“You think he was an innocent businessman? Oh hoh ho, no. He had the power of technopathy. He ran the whole presentation by himself.” Looking back down at Roger, Cade continued. “And now it’s mine as well. Just like your SPEED!” he exclaimed and at that moment both Ronald and Cade felt a surge of electricity in their bodies. Cade looked down at his free hand and the expression on his visor changed, as if he was disappointed. Afterwards he pushed Ronald away with a great force. After the speedster hit the walls, Cade had his spikes emerge from his body and return to his jacket.

[Risa]

The auction had become chaotic.

When the mohawk lady attacked, so did Ronald. He’d intended to use the attack as a distraction to make a move. As he hit the masked man from different directions, May’s eyes focused on the case, ignoring the chatter. She could see three men getting closer to the stairs leading to the stage, their faces directed at the platform. It was obvious they had the same thoughts as she had. They wanted to steal the power enhancer while everyone else was preoccupied.

No way, I’m letting you any closer.

Splaying her fingers, may shot organic strings from the tips of her fingertips. They slipped through the bystanders, homing in on the targets. She pulled them taut as they wrapped around the men’s arms, throwing them back and into the bystanders. There were curses and yells as people jostled to dodge or shove the men away.

At the same time, a cry of pain could be heard from the stage. She looked up to see Ronald frozen in place while the masked man examined him, his back turned away from the case that had fallen on the floor. Ronald appeared to be unmoving as though the assailant was intentionally restricting his movements. Flicking her gaze to the case, May knew now was the chance to take the power enhancer. It was her top priority. She could ask Kieran to help Ronald.

“How dare you ignore me! Both of you can go to hell for all I care!” yelled the mohawk woman. She raised her hands in the air and created a ball of fire that hissed and spat sparks of flames before flinging it in the direction of the masked man and Ronald. As it neared the stage, the ball of fire hit against an invisible wall and sputtered out. She let out a frustrated growl and released a volley after volley of fire balls but the wall held still.

A telekinetic barrier? Interesting, thought May, and what a dumb woman.

Taking a deep breath, May took off in a run towards the stage, using a dash of inhuman speed and slipping through the crowd within seconds. She lifted her hand and solidified it with a coating of a greyish-black substance that looked like solidified tar. The substance was stronger than carbyne and as durable as vibranium. The researchers at Benny’s House had called it turbulent, indestructible and sentient. It didn’t have a mind of its own though, no. She just liked to toy with them. It had been a gift from being the sole survivor to the pigo virus that had kill all the other test subjects but merged with her DNA, mutating her powers to augment them and granting her the ability to create and manipulate synthetic constructs.

As she reached the barrier, May closed her fist and smashed through it, landing right next to the case. She bent down to pick it up. Suddenly, the case rose in the air and smacked her right in the face. She swayed back, momentarily stunned. Shaking her head to steady her vision, she watched as a hooded figure concealed from head to toe by a white suit materializing before her, the case in their hands…


_______________


Cassie Devareaux hadn’t meant to reveal herself.

Really, she hadn’t. It had been excruciating watching Ronald and Wes fight at Times Square without interfering but she’d kept calm, remained silent and stayed in the shadows. She could almost give herself a congratulatory pat for putting through with the interaction between Ronald and the new girl. What was her name again? Ah, May Blackwood. On the rooftops, he’d seemed impressed by her abilities. Cassie had felt a flame of envy burn through her chest. She knew it was naïve of her to feel that way because they were practically strangers but she couldn’t help it. If only Ronald hadn’t told her to stay away and live a normal life, she wouldn’t have to follow him in secret. Why did he have to be so stubborn?

Ha, normal life. As if that’s what she wanted.

When she’d followed them to the auction, she hadn’t expected all hell to break loose. She certainly hadn’t expected Ronald to be incapacitated by the masked man. There was something off about him. He was using some sort of an ability to prevent Ronald from retaliating an attack but she couldn't tell what it was from her position. As Ronald cried out in pain, Cassie stilled her breath in fear and fury. She clamped her fists, using sheer willpower to prevent herself from attacking. She cast a glimpse at the white-haired girl, pinning her hopes on her. May would save him. But as May headed for the silver case, leaving Ronald to the mercy of the masked man, Cassie snapped.

She flew straight to the masked man, throwing him off with the force of her speed, her fingers clamped around his throat as they smashed through the back of the makeshift stage before she slammed him into an upturned tram car several feet away.

“You’re going to pay for what you did to him,” she said, coming to a stop and lifting her hand to release a photonic blast from the palm of her hands, aiming it at the masked man’s head.

[Shuren]

Before Cade could do anything else a dark blue blur sped towards him and took him off the ground. He was unable to react because of two reasons: first, he was not expecting someone else to attack him and second, she was quite fast in a manner of her own. As they literally went through the stage, Cade felt the girl’s grip on his neck. And that was all he needed to get something from her. Afterwards he was thrown away quite hard and attacked with a photonic blast aimed at his head. He felt like he was about to lose consciousness but luckily enough he got over it quickly. “Never start with the head. The victim gets all fuzzy.” he said after wheezing, implying that he had felt the pain. The pixels on his visor looked damaged as the emotes that were supposed to represent his left eye flickered. But soon he fixed that with his newly acquired technopathy. Using his newfound speed he got up in an instant. “Pay for what I did? To Roger?” he said, in a questioning manner before running off and reappearing somewhere else away from the girl. “No. You mean Speedy.” he continued, knowing this would annoy her beyond limits. Though this would be the last of his taunting; he needed to get back to the case and get out of this shitty place as soon as possible. He liked running because it made him felt alive, and he guessed that was how Ronald felt every time he used his powers. Yet, unlike him he could not run at similar speeds or maintain low speeds for a long time. That’s why he felt disappointed when he copied the speedster’s powers: he had figured out how to replicate his speed, but failed to learn how he could keep up with the energy intake or friction. Momentarily looking down at his feet, which felt hot due to his shoes being warmer, he decided to use the latest addition to his abilities. “Don’t worry babe. I still need him for further… let’s say… questioning.” His feet departed the ground and he hovered. Then he flew back to where the platform was, only to see the case gone. There was a white haired girl standing there, quite close to where the case had been dropped. But she wasn’t in its possession either. Out of anger, Cade released intensive jolts of electricity at her before flying away. He had failed to get his hands on the power enhancer but somehow obtained useful powers as well. It wasn’t a total loss for him.

[Risa]

“Who are you?” May asked, annoyed that the power enhancer was not in her possession.

The hooded figure in the white suit lifted an index finger and placed it where the mouth would have been if it wasn’t covered by a mask, signaling May to keep quiet. It was an obvious taunt. Then, in the blink of an eye, the figure was gone along with the silver case. It seemed she had the power of invisibility. Judging by the shape of the suit, the thief also happened to be a woman.

Gnashing her teeth, May drowned out the noises erupting from the commotion and focused on her surroundings. Her eyes blazed yellow, her iris contracting to become thin slits. Her vision changed to black and white with every organic matter glowing in different shades of color, much like an aura. All human beings within the vicinity glowed a deep shade of red but one in particular, burned brighter. It was the hooded figure and she was running away from the stage, heading for a set of faulty escalators leading to the upper level of the train station.

“You’re not getting away,” May murmured.

She flexed her left arm, transforming it into a grotesque giant hand with claws the size of an elephant’s tusks before aiming it at her enemy. With a snap, May’s fingers closed around the figure’s waist, squeezing it until the woman let out a pained cry. She began dragging the thief closer to her while increasing the force of her hold, a wicked smile twisting her lips. But as she did so, the hairs at the back of her neck rose and a sudden sense of warning shot through her. Before she could turn her face over her shoulder, jolts of intense pain speared her body.

May dropped to her knees, her morphed arm retracting, her eyes squeezed shut as she bore the agony. Her organic vision deactivated. The smell of burning flesh and singed hair assaulted her nose. Her regenerative abilities fought to heal the damage done to her tissues. When the pain stopped, she opened her eyes and staggered to a stand, regaining her strength with self-healing. The thief was gone and the man with the LED mask was flying away from the vicinity. It was he who had attacked her. Quickly, she scanned the area with her organic vision but could not find the woman. Only the silver case remained, opened to reveal its empty chambers.


_______________


Cassie’s photonic blast hit the masked man in the head as she’d intended. Even as he took the hit, the man couldn’t keep his mouth shut. On the left side of his visor, his digital emote eye flickered but returned to its initial state as though it had suffered no harm. As the man stood up too fast, Cassie channeled a bust of power to the tips of her fingers and fired another blast at the man’s heart. He disappeared and reappeared to her right. Aside from telekinesis, it seemed he also possessed superhuman speed.

“Stop talking and fight me, coward,” she said, her voice dripping with hostility. He was annoying the hell out of her with his silly antics.

When Cassie left the orphanage, she’d promised to protect Ronald under any circumstances. She wasn’t about to break that promise now. If the masked man intended to “question” Ronald, he could do more harm than he did at the auction. Cassie had to eliminate him at all costs. But as she aimed a stronger attack in his direction, he flew away from her and returned to the stage. In a blur of speed, she moved to where Ronald was and stood in front of him, using herself as a shield. The masked man paid no attention to them. Instead, he directed jolts of electricity at May who had her mutated arm grabbing onto something invisible before escaping the underground metro. The white-haired girl fell on her knees, doubling in pain but Cassie noticed while May had sustained electrical burns, her flesh regenerated.

She turned her attention to Ronald, hoping his self-generative power had kicked in. Cassie lifted a hand to touch his shoulder but stopped herself in mid-air. She’d totally blown her cover and had a feeling he would be furious with her. There was no point in pretending anymore.

“Are you okay?” She stared at him with concern, scanning his body for any serious damage.

[Shuren]

“Yeah. Somehow.” said Ronald as Cassie stood in front of him. He had managed to watch Cade escape, and leave a departure gift for May. He had no idea where Cassie had emerged from but it didn’t really surprise him. Whenever he told her to stay back she would do the opposite. Just like how she had become a human shield several seconds ago. With a barely audible grunt Ronald stood up. He looked at the small gaping holes on his left arm and noticed that one of the metal pieces had gotten stuck inside. Vibrating his right hand at high frequencies, he stuck it in and pulled the piece out. He closed his eyes in pain shortly as the newly formed wound started to bleed. Though he knew that soon, just like the rest of his wounds, it would stop bleeding and start to heal. With that out of the way the speedster turned to face the girl. “I thought we had agreed on you not following me, but I guess my words don’t mean shit to you Cas.” he said calmly. At that instant he felt someone smack the back side of his head.

“Ronald Miles!” exclaimed the Moment, angrily. “You will be kind to that girl!” The Moment had been with Ronald all his life. So she knew about Cassie as well. Probably more than Ronald himself did. The Moment disappeared again, because she felt she had made her point clear. And although the speedster didn’t approve of being followed, he thought it would be unfair not to thank Cassie. He let out a sigh and let go of his feelings of anger. Afterwards he took a step forward and embraced the blonde girl in a hug. “Thanks for the help. You probably saved my life.” Ronald broke the hug not much later and scanned his surroundings. Then he walked toward the white haired girl. He decided not to run until his wounds were fully healed. “So… we lost it, huh?” he said once he was standing only several meters away from May. Before he continued he noticed the mohawk woman lying on the floor motionlessly, dead. “Who took it?” he asked as he stopped looking at the other casualties of the fight. He could see the case was empty now but he wasn’t sure if the masked man had gotten a hold of it after all.

[Risa]

Cassie was hurt by Ronald’s response. She thought he would be relieved to see her or at least express some gratitude for saving his life. Even though she knew he would chastise her for her actions, he showed more hostility than she had anticipated. Her shoulders sagged as she felt the weight of disappointment. But it was short-lived for he let out a sigh and drew her in a hug before thanking her. The sudden action threw her off. She stood still, her hands by her sides and her heart palpitating.

“I just wanted to make sure you were safe,” Cassie said as he released her. “You’re important to me and that will never change. You have to understand that, Ronnie.”

Soon after, Ronald walked to May. Cassie noticed most of her burns had healed. Her brow was crimped and her mouth was a thin line. She appeared to be miffed. Though she hated to admit it, she could understand May’s feelings. Losing the power enhancer had been a big blow.

“A woman in a white suit and a mask took it. She had the power of invisibility.” May crossed her hands over her chest. “I can’t sense her anymore. She’s gone.”

Cassie glanced at the body of the woman with a pink mohawk and felt a sense of dread. Someone had killed her and she had a pretty good idea of who might have done it. The auction area was nearly deserted and the few remaining Supers were fleeing.

“We should leave too. Somebody will probably call the police,” she said to Ronald and Cassie.

“Sorry about earlier.” May grimaced at Ronald. “My friend, Kieran, was supposed to help you when I went after the power enhancer but he didn’t come.” She rubbed a thumb over her left wrist. “My microchip is shot so that should have sent a warning to him but he still isn’t here…” She rubbed the pads of her fingers over her temple and sighed. “I have to go now. I’ll see you later. We need to find that power enhancer as soon as possible. If it gets into the wrong hands, the city would be in chaos. Can I have your number?”

“You can have mine,” Cassie offered.

She waited as May took out a notebook and a pen from her bag before sharing her phone number. When the white-haired girl was done writing, she left in a whirl of speed. Cassie didn’t know who Kieran was but May seemed worried about him. She’d been in a rush to leave.

Turning to Ronald, Cassie said, “Come with me. I know some friends who can help you find the power enhancer.”

[Shuren]

Ronald listened to May’s description of the thief. He was slightly fuzzy while all of that was happening so he hadn’t been able to catch up with what happened. It was like he had witnessed the whole event from a third-person perspective. Even then he could clearly remember what the masked man looked like. And his clothing in general was the opposite of white, or anything light colored. Another person had seemingly taken the chance to get a hold of the power enhancer while they were busy fighting. Or in his case, trying to get up. The girl then went on to explain how she was expecting help from a friend of hers, named Kieran. As she explained further, Ronald sensed the slight worry she was feeling. And how could she not? They could have used some help back there; none of the supers there had even tried to do so after all. Once she was done she asked for his number, but before he could say anything Cassie stepped in and gave hers. Afterwards the girl quickly got away. As she left, Ronald couldn’t help but think why May’s friend couldn’t come to their aid. Perhaps he had been occupied with a similar situation, which would mean that the disappearance of the power enhancer was a doing of more than just one individual. “Thanks. Saved me from the trouble there. I don’t have a phone. Not since the Dublin Accords, at least.” said Ronald after snapping from his critical thinking. Cassie had told him to leave as well, and she was right. It was time some people would gather around their location. Luckily though he was fast and she could fly. So before they left he decided to do something else. “I have been telling you to stay away because whenever I run, it’s almost always towards danger. I can’t focus on what I’m doing while trying to make sure you are okay.” he said while taking several steps towards Cassie. He stopped right in front of her and held her hands. He didn’t have a phone number or a phone, and hadn’t felt the need to have either. At least until now.

Upon Ronald’s contact, the blonde girl would feel a surge of electricity zapping her. Simultaneously to this, the Moment appeared behind Ronald, now visible to both of them. “Hello Cassiiiiieeeee! Long time no see! You have become even more beautiful since the last time I saw you! You must have lots of guys hitting on you!” she exclaimed, feeling overly excited that she could be seen by Cassie again. “Okay.” replied Ronald as he stepped back and put some distance in between, annoyed by her last statement but not trying to make it apparent. “This isn’t my usual power sharing, so you won’t have my powers. But instead you will have a spark of my energy along with the Moment’s circulating inside your body. I’ll be able to contact you through the Moment in case we are apart. That way I won’t have to think about you that much.” he explained. Though the real reason for this was not to allow himself to concentrate well, but he didn’t need to share that with anybody. “He is right. I’m his secretary now.” commented the Moment under her grin. “Shush now.” With Ronald’s command, the Moment pouted. She was aware that they had more important things to do other than adding levity to their situation. “Alright then. Lead the way and I’ll follow.” Ronald didn’t know who Cassie’s friend was or where she intended to go. So he decided to have her fly there while he followed behind her.

[Risa]

When Ronald walked to Cassie and held her hands, she felt a surge of electricity coursing through her. At the same time, a familiar figure appeared behind him. Cassie beamed. It was the Moment and it had been years since she’d last seen her. She waved at the blonde-haired woman and laughed at her comment about guys hitting on her.

“It’s nice to see you again!” she said to the Moment. “You look as lovely as ever.”

Ronald stepped back and explained how they could use the Moment to communicate even if they were far apart. Cassie felt relieved to know he wasn’t going to cut her off anymore. If he kept in touch with her, she wouldn’t have to follow him around to safeguard his safety.

“This is great, Ronnie! The Moment and I will have some quality time gossiping about you.” She winked at the Moment. She wanted to tell him he didn’t have to worry about her because she could take care of herself but the time didn’t feel right. They had to leave before the police showed up. “Okay, shall we go then?”


When he asked her to lead the way, Cassie flew out of the subway station and soared up, high above the skyscrapers, heading towards Brooklyn. The city radiated with pinpricks of lights and the full moon added a picturesque look to the whole scenery. It would have been a great shot for a cityscape. Moving downwards, she landed on a suburban street and turned to her right where a fair-sized teal-colored bungalow stood behind a white picket fence. Blooms of pink bougainvillea tumbled down the balcony and covered a section of the side wall. On the patio was a swing and a red Honda was parked on the driveway.

“This is it,” she said to Ronald, taking out a pair of keys from a hidden pocket inside her boots. “Just a head’s up. Tonks is a little weird—well more weird than anyone I’ve ever met—but you’ll get used to her. And Anna’s well…” Cassie let out a nervous laugh, “let’s just go in.”

She unlocked the door, ushered Ronald in and shut it with an obvious bang, announcing her presence. She stood by the door, letting her childhood friend get used to the surroundings. When she’d moved in, she’d been disoriented at first because while the outside of the house looked like a typical residential house, the inside was on a whole new level. It changed according to Tonks’ moods and whatever struck her interests.

They now stood inside a foyer with a double set of a grand staircase beneath a high ceiling. A sparkling chandelier spilled yellow light on the checkered floor and a vintage round table sat in the centre, laden with a vase of flowers and a set of picture frames showing photos of the girls and some breathtaking scenery. Behind the table were two archways, one leading to the living room and another one to the dining area.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Cassie took off her boots and set the keys on the table. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you Tonks once had the house set up as the Vampire Castle just like the one in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.”

Speaking of the devil, a red-haired woman in her mid-twenties and with dark clothing emerged from the stairs, stepping out of a door and singing to herself, her high boots making a tapping sound. It was Tonks and she sounded off-tune. She didn’t seem to care though. Cassie couldn’t make out the lyrics. The woman set her gaze on Ronald, arched an eyebrow and grinned wickedly.

“Is that who I think it is?” she asked.

“Erm…yes.” Cassie groaned at her own response. It sounded more like a question than an answer. She had a feeling Tonks was baiting her.

Tonks’ green eyes twinkled in mischief. “Perfect.”

She flicked her left wrist, throwing a stiletto knife at Ronald’s chest.

[Shuren]

As the duo made their way towards Brooklyn, Ronald started to appreciate the streets more. They reminded him of his hometown, though none of the buildings there was this high. Perhaps it was because he had missed Dublin. Regardless of the streets being reminiscent to the ones there, it had been a long while since he had left his city. It was natural that he missed it. While continuously trying to get rid of his homesickness, they arrived at their destination. Cassie led them inside and opened the door, revealing the beautiful interior. Ronald had no idea how she or the owner of the place could land a property like this but perhaps that was what the blonde girl meant when she said this Tonks could change everything to her liking. Though she had mentioned Tonks being weird beyond normal, the person who piqued the speedster’s interest was Anna. And that was simply because Cassie had offered no information regarding her. He slowly slid his hands inside his pockets and glanced around. Meanwhile Cassie quite literally slammed the door, which would soon be followed by the arrival of a ginger woman. She was smiling and somehow exuding mischief while doing so. Without any warning, she threw a stiletto knife at him after confirming his identity.“What the fuck?” thought the speedster.

It hadn’t even been a minute since he had stepped inside and he had already been exposed to senseless craziness. “That must be Tonks.” he concluded. As the knife left the woman’s hand, everything started to slow down. For Ronald at least. He first moved out of the knife’s trajectory and slowly pushed Cassie towards her left to make sure she was safe as well. Afterwards he displayed his full speed and run towards Tonks while launching his right fist as a punch aimed at face. Though he would halt all his movement right before his knuckles were centimeters away from the woman’s nose. From the outside, his movements would look like flickering electricity moving around and about, whereas his sudden acceleration and stop resulted in a strong gust of wind. As he slowly retracted his fist, the speedster noted the arrival of the second inhabitant. Standing at the top of the stairs, it was a blonde girl with beautiful green eyes. Though compared to Tonks she seemed much more casual and… uninterested. “And that must be Anna.” thought the speedster. “That was intimidating enough. I mean, I would be scared straight if I was her.” commented the Moment as she appeared to be floating above them. The chandelier looked interesting so she had decided to examine it. Ignoring her, Ronald set his gaze upon the ginger woman. “I don’t know what Cas told you, but next time I would think long and hard before doing something reckless like that when I’m around.” he said and stepped back to get a better look at Anna, this time addressing her with a smile. “Just some friendly advice.” Afterwards he ran off to explore the house before sitting down in what seemed to be the living room.

[Risa]

As the knife’s trajectory headed for Ronald, Cassie saw a blur of movement and felt her body moving to her left. Only a few seconds had passed but when she glanced up at Tonks, she noticed her friend now stood three paces back, her jaw slack, eyes widened in surprise. Ronald wasn’t in the foyer. Looking over her shoulder, Cassie spotted the stiletto knife that was embedded on the door. It shimmered, its edges fading before vanishing completely. Just as she’d expected, Tonks had never meant to hurt Ronald.

“I knew it! It really is him!” exclaimed Tonks, regaining composure. She seemed satisfied by Ronald’s show of powers. Sighing, Tonks darted a look at Anna then turned to Cassie, putting a hand close to her mouth as though she were telling a secret. “He needs to loosen up though.”

Cassie shrugged. “Ronnie has gone through a lot...Just don’t do anything stupid.”

“Hmph! I only wanted to see his abilities first-hand without your moony eyes making him seem like the best thing since sliced bread.” Tonks descended the stairs.

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Sliced bread? Who the hell uses that expression anymore? You know, sometimes you sound like you’re from the early 90s.” She poked her friend in the shoulder. “And I don’t have moony eyes.”

Tonks chuckled. “Oh yes, you do. Whenever you talk about him, you sound like a blabbering, blushing—"

She elbowed Tonks in the ribs, silencing her. If she didn’t stop Tonks, she’d be teased endlessly. Having spotted Ronald in the living room through the archway, Cassie headed there and settled on a chaise lounge. She let herself relax now that the threat of imminent danger was gone. She could feel pangs of hunger settling in since she’d skipped breakfast and lunch. As soon as she was done discussing the current state of events, she’d be heading straight for the kitchen. Cassie spared a glance at Ronald and wondered if he was truly okay. He’d survived a deadly fight with his twin and had a brush with death all in the same day.

“What happened?” Tonks asked, sitting cross-legged on a lone sofa chair. There was a stool next to the chair and on top of it lay a tray full of fruit candies.

Cassie recounted the incident at the auction starting with the appearance of the technopath—she didn’t want to reveal the fight between Ronald and Wes—to the theft of the power enhancer. As she talked, Tonks unwrapped a kiwi-flavored candy and plopped it in her mouth. She didn’t say a word until Cassie had finished speaking.

“So a power enhancer, an invisible thief and a psychopath with the power to take the abilities of other Supers,” Tonks said, her emerald eyes narrowed in thought. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full.”

“We need your help in finding the power enhancer,” Cassie said. “I know you can do it.”

Tonks ran her fingers through her ginger curls. “I’ll need some time. I need to think and I need to do it alone.” She stood up, stared at something through the window then turned to the others. “Oh yes, I’ll need a book,” she stuffed several candies into her pockets and waved a finger in the air, “a spell, a map and a bucket of luck.”

Cassie gave an apologetic smile to Ronald on behalf of her friend. Tonks might seem quite weird with her sudden shifts in behavior but it was just her way of expressing her eagerness to help them. If Tonks wanted to be left alone in order to think through the situation, so be it. She rose up and motioned for Ronald to follow her towards the kitchen.

“I’ll talk to you later, Guineverin Tonks,” she said before she left. The name was bound to elicit some response.

Tonks flinched at her full name and waved them off.

The kitchen, much like the rest of the house, had a quaint layout overlaid by grandeur. The furniture was made of a rusty-colored mahogany wood and the wallpaper had a vintage floral pattern. Opening the fridge, Cassie surveyed the contents.

“I’m starving,” she said, taking out a packet of cheese and some vegetables. “Would you like a sandwich?”

[Shuren]

After Ronald sat on the couch, it took Tonks and Cassie a minute or so to arrive. Once they did, the blonde girl shortly summarized everything that had happened and why they needed the sorceress’ help. Once she had all the information she needed, Tonks stood up and looked out at the window. Then she told them she needed to think alone, before listing things she needed. The speedster rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Ugh how pretentious.” commented the Moment, who appeared to be sitting on the ceiling upside down. Agreeing with her with a simple nod, Ronald followed Cassie into the kitchen as she left the room. The kitchen looked luxurious like the rest of the house, save for one small detail: it wasn’t unoccupied. The silent girl he had seen before, Anna, was sitting on a table eating biscuits while reading a magazine with a yellow cover that was titled ‘Knitting for Girls’. Their appearance hadn’t bothered her. In fact, it almost seemed like she hadn’t even noticed them. “Sure.” replied the young man when Cassie asked him if he wanted a sandwich as well. Though he would sound rather uninterested, as he had been focused on Anna. He decided to interact with the girl, so he took a seat across from her and waited for her to glance at him. “Hi.” greeted Ronald when Anna eventually looked at his direction. But sadly, it didn’t last very long. Anna returned to reading her magazine.

“…hi.” she replied silently as she flipped a page. Compared to Tonks’ energetic personality, Anna’s was the exact opposite. Yet it had some quality that felt familiar. Because of that the speedster continued to pursue the conversation. “So… Cassie is crashing here and Tonks is the owner. What’s your place in all of this?” he asked. “I’m too dangerous to be left alone so… that’s why I’m here.” answered Anna, glaring at Ronald while eating a biscuit. Her face completely lacked emotions, save for annoyance. “Really? And why is that?” asked the man. “I can unconsciously manipulate the probability vectors around me, which makes me lucky. And that usually ends up with people around me being unlucky. That’s why I call it the Scales. This house is enchanted and self-sustaining so my powers aren’t active here.” It appeared that Anna was gifted with luck, but her powers were more complex than that. She couldn’t only increase her own luck, instead she changed the balance of the overall luck around her. This was why her luck would become other people’s misfortune. “That’s really cool. I would love to see them in effect.” said the speedster with a smile. Hearing this response surprised the girl, as she expected him to react like everybody else. Her cheeks felt warmer and she understood this was a sign of her getting red. Her skin could be considered pale so it would be pretty apparent whenever she blushed or felt embarrassed. That’s why she quickly held the magazine up and hid her face.

[Risa]

Cassie set the toaster on. She chopped up the vegetables with remarkable speed, setting up the pieces of tomatoes and lettuce on a plate while the slices of bread turned to a golden color. In another bowl, she crushed sliced avocados to a paste, garnishing it with garlic powder and lemon juice. She was careful not to spill anything useful or waste any vegetable that was good to eat. She had a strong respect for food, having grown up in an orphanage where food rations were hardly ever sufficient for the children. After she'd left the orphanage, money had been scarce and she'd often resorted to spending one meal per day and even going hungry on some days. Being a mutant, she had a stronger resilience and was capable of withstanding starvation much longer than an ordinary human but life hadnt been easy. As she set the toasted bread on a plate and heated up the leftover grilled chicken on a pan, she couldn't help but overhear the conversation between Ronald and Anna who had been reading a magazine on the table.

Based on the time she'd spent at the house, Cassie had known Anna wasn't much of a social person. Somehow, it felt strange listening to her speak since she rarely ever talked to anyone in the house. She'd asked Tonks how they'd met and decided to share a roof given their personalities were polar opposite but Tonks had told her it wasn't her story to tell. While they didn't have a close friendship, Cassie treated her with civility and courtesy.

Having finished the preparations, Cassie placed the sandwiches and three plates on the table. The latter were neatly arranged on a wooden platter, layered with a light sprinkle of oregano. She looked at Ronald then at Anna who had the magazine held up to her face.

"Er...enjoy the food," she said, clumping her hand on her knee beneath the table. She suddenly felt rather awkward. It seemed as though she'd interrupted their conversation.

She turned to eating quietly, not once looking up from her plate. Her thoughts veered to Wesley who was probably somewhere in the city, alone and bitter from the last fight. Cassie felt a pang of sadness at the thought of him. They had been close friends during their childhood and while he'd been reserved and taciturn to the other children, he'd cared deeply for her. Sometimes, she felt she was part to blame, that if there had been anyone to notice the signs, it would have been her. Wesley had been suffering alone. Perhaps if she'd been keen enough, she might have saved him from his path of destruction.

It was too late now.

Feeling morose and guilty for wondering if Wesley was okay, she looked at Ronald and asked, "Do you think Wes is connected to the disappearance of the power enhancer?"

[Shuren]

“Thanks Cas.” replied Ronald as he received his meal. As he started to eat, not only their conversation ceased but Cassie also failed to contribute into reviving it. So the speedster decided to go with it and didn’t try to bring something else up. He ate his food silently and slowly, enjoying each bite, until the shorthaired girl decided to disturb the silence. She asked him whether he thought his twin brother was involved with the whole ordeal they had gone through. The answer was pretty obvious. “I know he is involved.” said the young man directly. To him it all made sense. The power enhancer was the reason Wesley was in New York. It had actually taken him several months to pinpoint the location of his brother in the city that never slept. But all that time he had no idea why he had decided to go there. After all the recent events, he now knew. Besides all of these, he had acquired intel under remarkable circumstances. But before he shared it with Cassie, he finished the rest of his meal in an instant. “During the time you were not with me, or rather tailing me, I obtained some very disturbing info concerning Wesley. I learned that he was planning to extend his powers to the entire globe.” Ronald spoke calmly but his eyes were full of anger, sorrow and desperation. It was for this reason that he had stopped travelling the world and set on his pursue of his brother. The very same reason they had fought in Dublin and ended up killing hundreds of people while injuring thousands more.

“That psycho wants to force the planet into an ice age. What better help can he get than a device that makes him even more powerful?” he asked rhetorically, staring right into the eyes of the blonde girl. Though his focus would soon shift elsewhere. “How are you going to stop him then?” interrupted Anna. She was no longer red, and her magazine was in front of her. She looked at Ronald with a questioning expression, waiting for an answer. But she didn’t get one. After a minute of silence she understood why: the only way to stop Wesley was to kill him. Ronald was conflicted inside because of this; although he recognized his brother as a threat to the well being of innocent people all around the world, he couldn’t easily bring himself to the idea of killing him. Additionally, there seemed to be another problem. Even if the speedster had finally acquired a moral motivation to accomplish this task, whether he had the means to do it or not was questionable. “I see.” said Anna before moving her hand over Ronald’s left forearm and placing it on top of it. “I’m sorry.” She could more or less understand what it meant to lose a person that was family. Despite her situation being much more different, she could still relate to it. After several seconds she retracted her hand and leaned back on her seat. Her eyes retained the usual uninterested look in them, but also displayed a tint of sadness.

[Risa]

Cassie’s sandwich no longer tasted as delicious as it had before. Her cooking wasn’t to be blamed but rather, as Ronald revealed more about Wesley wanting to force the Earth into an ice age, her stomach recoiled at the thought. While she swallowed her last bite, she tasted ashes on her tongue. Billions of humans would be affected, let alone countless species of plant and animal life. She’d discovered since their childhood, Wesley would never back down once he’d set his eyes on something. There would be no stopping him unless…unless he was eliminated. The question was could they do it?

She stared at Ronald and saw anger, sorrow and desperation in his blue eyes, remembered how he’d broken down in tears after the last fight he’d had with his brother in Times Square. Wesley’s hatred for Ronald was unyielding but she couldn’t say the same for him. Though he had a darker side tucked into the deepest recess of his mind, he was honorable and selfless. It was because of this she knew Ronald made it his obligation to stop Wesley, having chosen to carry that burden alone. After witnessing their last fight, she had concluded he had grown stronger but if Wesley ever obtained the power enhancer, there would be no doubt who would achieve victory. She couldn’t take any chances.

Not when it came to Ronald’s life.

As she was about to console him, Cassie noticed Anna placing her hand on his left forearm. Her spirits dampened considerably. A frown marred her features and she couldn’t help but glare at Anna. She hated that it was the only way she could express her displeasure. Annoyed, she rose from her chair, her plate in her hand.

“We’ll find a way to stop him together,” she said, giving Ronald a bitter look. “I won’t let you do it alone.”

She placed the plate in the sink and stomped out of the kitchen, heading back to the living room.

[Shuren]

“What’s wrong with her?” wondered Anna, after she watched Cassie storm out of the room. She had glared at her in a nasty way before leaving too. Ronald did the same, though he could more or less tell what was wrong. That’s why he felt the slightest tint of annoyance within him: he was trying to figure out a way to overcome everything that was about to unfold, whereas Cassie trying to pursue something that was completely irrelevant. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.” he replied. “Do you think she can handle what you are planning to do?” asked the blonde girl in return, her eyes avoiding the gaze of the speedster. Ronald let out a sigh. Cassie had told him that she wouldn’t let him face off Wesley alone, but she didn’t really have a choice in the matter. Ronald already had one partner in his mind that could help him. And it seemed like he found another just now. “To be honest I don’t think she even comprehends the gravity of the situation. Cassie is the type of person that convinces herself she can do something until it comes to actually doing it. Then she realizes it wasn’t what she expected. That’s… you know…” He didn’t want to say the word. Deep down he knew Cassie was anything but weak, though her cheerful profile made some things impossible for her. And Anna was quick to catch on that. “A weakness?” she filled in. Her eyes had long lost the uninterested look in them. They were finally paying attention now to the person that sit across the table. Ronald had noticed that as well. “Yes. The kind I can’t afford to have. Plus, her power set isn’t fit to be of any assistance. Wesley would just ice her.” he said with a sad expression. Straightening his back, his face took a more serious expression as he carried on.

“It might sound far fetched but I believe you might be helpful instead.” Anna was surprised to hear that. Even after having explained that her powers only made things worse around her for other, without filter, why would he require her help? “M-me?” she stuttered, feeling a bit anxious again. Despite not realizing it, Anna possessed every quality Ronald was looking for. The speedster had become quite good at analyzing people over the years, so he could understand what Anna was like. She was the type that could keep a calm head during high stake situations, while also not letting her emotions influence her behavior. In lots of ways she was the opposite of Cassie. And unfortunately that was what Ronald needed. “Yeah. You don’t have a personal connection with Wesley. You don’t even know him. Plus I wouldn’t mind having some good luck on my side.” he explained shortly. “But… that is very, very subjective. My luck can easily become your… misfortune.” replied Anna. She had never been good at teamwork and this was why. She could really understood what Ronald’s task meant to him and she didn’t want to jeopardize it. At this point Ronald stood from his seat and walked towards the sink. “Anna, I have outran death on many occasions. With my powers the term misfortune is out of the equation. I can adapt myself to anything.” he said as he washed his hands. After dying them to a nearby towel, he turned around and walked towards the door. But before he exited the room he had one last thing to say. “Don’t worry about me. Just… consider it. And don’t tell the others. Please?” As a reply, Anna nodded to him. Seeing this, the speedster smiled and proceeded into the living room.

[Risa]

Cassie sank into a couch and released a deep sigh. She’d overreacted when she’d stomped out of the kitchen but she couldn’t make herself regret her decision to leave. She felt more comfortable in the living room than in the kitchen what with those two getting cozy. The day surely had turned out crappy at its best. She closed her eyes momentarily, focusing on her breathing, untying the knots of frustration in her heart, willing them to slip free. Sometimes, she wished she could be someone who shunned emotions and needed no one.

“What’s wrong, Cas?” Tonks asked. She was still sitting on the lone sofa chair, a spell book plopped open on her lap.

Cassie breathed out another sigh. “I feel so stupid. You’d think after all the time we were apart, he’d be a little happier to see me, you know? Following him around for months and months…What the hell was I even thinking?”

Tonks placed a bookmark on the book and closed it. “Well, you’re not stupid. You just need to be more…imperturbable.”

Cassie raised an eyebrow. “Imperturbable?”

Tonks nodded. “Yes, sensible, calm—”

“I know what it means. It’s just your choice of words is a little odd.”

As she received a poker face from her friend, Cassie let out a laugh. Tonks was clueless to what she meant. Now and then, she sounded like a prim and proper lady which horribly clashed with her personality and looks. It was probably a result of reading too much Victorian fiction. Earlier, she’d spotted a couple of Victorian romance and detective novels lying underneath the couch. Tonks had done a clumsy job at hiding them. Besides, it was only a few days ago she’d called Cassie a “gluttonous saddle-goose” for eating the last chocolate bar from the fridge. The thought brought another fit of laughter.

“What is it now? You sure you didn’t hit your head at the fight? You’re acting strange,” Tonks' green eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

She sat up. “Look who’s talking.” Cassie pointed at the pile of candy wrappers and a fresh batch of unopened sweets on the tray. “You should take a break from those. They’re not good for your health or teeth. Maybe I should confiscate them.”

Tonks grabbed the tray and held it to her chest as if she was carrying a beloved child. “Don’t you dare!”

Cassie shrugged. She remembered Tonks’ words and realized they were true. Her friend must have noticed the way she’d stomped out of the kitchen like a naïve teenager. She needed to be more calm and keep her emotions in check. It wouldn’t do her any good if she couldn’t remain cool-headed in a fight considering the fact that the world could potentially be in danger and there would be lives at stake. She glanced up at Tonks and noticed she’d gone back to reading her spell book.

“Any good news?” She hoped her friend had made some progress.

“Yes and no,” Tonks said. “I’m reading about a powerful tracking spell which means I can trace the power enhancer. It’s going to take some time to prepare it though.”

Cassie peered at the book. Some of the writing on the page had arcane letters and there was an illustration she couldn’t make out. It looked a lot like an alchemical symbol. “How long?”

“A day or two at the latest,” answered Tonks.

Cassie didn’t think they had much time.


_______________

Somewhere in the dingiest alleys of the Bronx, May Blackwood squeezed through the narrow slat of a broken window. The signboard outside had long lost its neon glow. Five years ago, Storm’s Pot had been a flourishing club in the neighborhood until someone had tipped the police of drug trafficking. Soon after, it had been shut down, left to rot, the guilty owner and his accomplices locked behind bars. It became a treasure cove for thieves to loot and a canvas for graffiti artists to paint and when there was nothing of value left, Storm’s Pot was abandoned.

It was Kieran who found it a year ago.

He’d had a knack for it, always finding unique places to explore. As May walked across the ruins of a dance hall, dodging debris and broken furniture with ease, she recalled the day they’d stumbled into Estelle l'étrange, a quirky vintage shop in the streets of Paris. The Hive members had just completed a successful heist mission in the forbidden section of the Louvre Museum and had been left with six hours to spare before their flight back home. Kieran had taken it upon himself to show her around the city and it had been he who had found Estelle l'étrange. They’d walked into the shop and had been dazed by the shelf upon shelf of various paraphernalia, from antique umbrellas to twentieth-century flapper dresses, ivory canes to top hats, porcelain figurines to collectible telephones. There was stuff everywhere. May had even spotted a charcoal iron displayed on a wall.

The shop owner had been a sweet septuagenarian and she’d let them try out the clothes as long as they would put everything back in place. After all, they were just two adults barely out of their teens and she did mention the shop could use a bit of youthful cheer. They’d modelled different outfits, often goofing around with mismatched combinations. Kieran picked the most ridiculous clothes and occasionally, threw in a funny commentary in horrible accent while he twirled his fake French mustache to make her laugh. Before they’d left, they’d bought souvenirs for the others. It had been one of her favorite memories.

Walking into a storeroom, May turned on a flashlight. She could see better in the dark than a regular human but the extra light helped her spot the hidden switch behind the rickety shelf that held empty barrels. As soon as pressed the switch, a section of the floor receded into the wall, revealing a set of stairs leading down to the howling dark. It was strange that there were no lights below. She’d looked for Kieran in the other “bunks” as he’d like to call them but he was nowhere to be found. If he wasn’t in Storm’s Pot, where else could he be?

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. The caller ID read Dead Poet. Kieran would never ditch her in a mission. He always had her back. So when he didn’t show up at the auction, she’d alerted the other Hive members. May picked up the call and waited.

“I contacted HQ but they’re unable to pick up his signal. He’s completely off the grid,” Eli said, his voice inscrutable.

May didn’t say anything. The feeling of dread returned tenfold.

“We’ll keep looking. Don’t worry, we’re doing everything we can to find him.”

She thanked Eli and hanged up before descending the stairs in a daze. A coppery scent drifted to her nose. The smell became more noticeable when she stepped onto the hidden basement. On a long table, an emergency light cast an eerie glow on the sets of computers, black cables and giant screens. It wasn’t the hardware that drew her attention. Nor was it the familiar Roman numeral of number thirteen etched in blood across the wall. It was the still figure of a man lying on a crimson pool underneath the table.

“Kieran!” she cried out.

May dropped to her knees, her vision swimming with unshed tears. Kieran’s skin was pale, his blond hair matted to his scalp, his lips tinged blue. There was a stab wound on his torso and it was still bleeding. She took off her jacket, turned it inside out, folded it and applied pressure on the wound. With a shaky breath, she placed her fingers on his neck.

There was no pulse.