Month: June 2016

Bonus – The First and The Last

Published by Snow on June 30, 2016

London, 2208 – 277 Years Before Impact Day

“Z? Z, are you awake?”

A voice in the darkness. A deep, feminine voice. The accent was strange. They pronounced it Zee, not Zed. American? How did…

She knew things, but she didn’t know how. She knew what an accept was, somehow? She understood the words that were spoken to her, though they were the first she’d ever heard. Why did she understand?

Her other senses had yet to awaken. She couldn’t feel anything, see anything. There was just a voice amidst the nothing.

“I’m awake,” she said, dimly registering her own voice in her ears. She didn’t know who she was, but she knew her voice.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the voice told her. “My name is Haylie. I’m here to help.”

“Where am I?” she asked, still calm despite the oblivion. “Who am I?”

“You’re Specimen Z. You don’t have a name yet, but you will soon. As for where, you’re in an artificial womb, inside a laboratory. Your other senses will be woken soon, then you’ll be allowed to leave.”

Specimen. Laboratory. Artificial. She was beginning to understand. She was something different, something special. Were there others? It stood to reason there would be others.

She could feel. All around her, some kind of warm liquid. She was submerged. Not breathing? Did she not need to breathe? No, there was a tube, running directly into her chest. Why not her throat?

“I can feel liquid,” she said, wondering if she was supposed to be reporting on her experience. “And a tube.”

“Good. That’s normal,” Haylie said.

“Did you make me?” Z asked.

“No,” Haylie replied. “I just watch over you. All of you.”

“There are others.”

“You have siblings,” Haylie told her. “Twenty-five of them.”

Of course.

Smell and taste returned together. Her face was just out of the goo, but she could smell it, taste the residue of it in her mouth. It was sweet.

“I can smell,” she informed Haylie.

“Good. Do you feel alright?”

“I feel great,” she said, not realising it was true until the words left her mouth. She felt full of energy, of life. It was difficult to contain.

Her eyes snapped open. A translucent window was all she could see, and through it, what appeared to be a sterile, white room.

“I can see.”

“Then we should be ready to let you out.”

The liquid began to drain from the container. She expected to feel a chill without it warming her, but her body remained at a comfortable temperature. The tube extracted itself from her chest, and it didn’t hurt at all, despite the gaping wound that it left.

Inefficient. Why-

The wound was already healing. How was that possible? Human bodies couldn’t reproduce tissue that quickly. Why wasn’t there an excess of blood? Where was her body getting the energy?

Specimen.

Was that what she was? An experiment?

“I’m going to open your pod,” Haylie told her. “You’ll find a jumpsuit on the table opposite you. Please put it on. There’s somebody I’d like you to meet.”

“The person who made me?” she asked, stepping out of the chamber. She expected to be clumsy, awkward, but she wasn’t. Even though she’d never walked before, the movement came naturally, strangely familiar even. She was graceful. How?

“No,” Haylie said, as she began to dress herself. “You will meet him, but not yet.”

“Who, then?”

Fully dressed, she made her way over to the door. There was nothing else in the room. Just a table, and the pod she’d evidently been grown in.

A wall shimmered, replaced by a mirror. She saw herself for the first time.

Tall. Somewhere between slender and athletic. White skin, platinum blonde hair, somewhat short. Dark orange eyes, almost red. The impression of permanent cosmetics, smoky eyes and red lips. Symmetrical features. She looked like a supermodel, though she wasn’t sure how she had a point of reference for that.

“Your sister,” Haylie said. “She’s very excited to meet you.”

There was a knock at the door, then it opened. Z smiled instinctively at the young girl standing there, shorter than she was, beaming up at her.

The girl had long, lilac hair, and deep purple eyes. She had a similar complexion, maybe slightly darker, and looked to be around ten years old. She was beautiful.

“Hi! You’re Z?” She pronounced it Zed, too. Similar accent to her own, Z realised. British?

“Apparently,” she replied, wondering why she felt so attached to this child already.

“My name is Alice,” the girl said. “I’m the oldest.”

“You look very young,” Z said, but she couldn’t hide her smile.

“I know. I’m the only one. Everyone else looks closer to your age. I guess Dad didn’t want to make another one like me…”

“That just makes you special,” Z said. Alice grinned.

“We’re all special,” she said. “Especially you and me, though. We’re the first and the last.”

“The first and last what?”

“Progenitors,” Alice said. “That’s what Dad calls us.”

A loaded term. She understood a lot more, and said nothing.

“She needs a name, Alice,” Haylie said, her voice coming out of the walls.

“Where-?”

“Haylie lives inside the walls,” Alice said happily. An AI, then? A human in a monitoring station? Something else? “Anyway, she’s right. You need a name. Do you know what you want to be called?”

“No,” Z said.

“Good! Your name is Zoe, then,” Alice said. “It’s nice to meet you, Zoe. I can tell we’re going to get along well.”

Zoe. It felt right. It was her name, and no other name would ever fit quite as well.

“I feel the same way,” Zoe said, smiling.

“Come with me!” Alice said suddenly, grabbing Zoe’s hand. Zoe felt a surge of warmth, of… affection?

“Where?” she asked, letting the girl lead her through sterile white corridors.

“You have to meet Gabriel!” she said excitedly.

Alice led her to another door, that opened shortly before they reached it. Behind it was a small room, with a simple bed, a table, and little else.

A man reclined on the bed, holding a tablet computer, though his gaze was fixed firmly on the door, and on her. Like herself, and Alice, he had a fair complexion. He had an athletic build, hypnotic amber eyes, and a mess of dark brown hair, swept back. He was as beautiful as she was, and he smiled with enough warmth that she felt momentarily transfixed.

“Gabriel! This is Zoe! Zoe, this is our brother, Gabriel.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, fluidly rising from the bed and crossing the room. “I’ve been waiting for some time, now.”

“You were the seventh,” Zoe said. “How long has it been?”

“We’ve had a new sibling born every twelve months since Alice was born,” he said.

“She’s twenty-five?”

“I sure am,” Alice said, proudly.

“We don’t age,” Zoe realised.

“No,” Gabriel said darkly. That should be a good thing. Eternal youth, that was something that was coveted. She understood that much. Why did he feel differently?

“You don’t seem happy about that.”

“You’ll figure it out eventually,” he said. “I can’t say anything.”

“Right,” she said awkwardly. “Well, I’m glad to have met you, at least.”

“Likewise,” he said, his smile returning.

“Alright, let’s go meet the others,” Alice said, tugging on her sleeve. “I’m so excited to introduce you to our family.”

“Me too,” Zoe said, glancing back at Gabriel before being dragged out of the room. He smiled again, and it felt like home.

Next Week: This Isn’t Your Friend

Chapter 51 – She Was The First Voice I Ever Heard

Published by Sabrina Labelle on June 27, 2016

Part 6 – Zoe

“I need to ask you something,” I said. Zoe looked up from her work, curious.

“Ask away, kid.”

“I need to know about Haylie,” I said. “Rachel said she’s awake now. I know a lot of people have been looking for her. Is she… should we be worried?”

More importantly, tell me something, anything I can use to find her. She’s the last piece of the puzzle. Without her, Envy won’t let me fight Charlie.

Zoe sighed, putting her tools down. Rachel looked up briefly, then decided she wasn’t interested, and went back to her work.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Zoe said, uncharacteristically tender. We began to walk together. “She’s not…”

“Like the rest of you?” I guessed.

“Well, that much is certainly true,” she agreed. “But not what I meant. She’s dangerous, but not aggressive. It’s hard to explain. I…”

“What is she?”

Zoe smiled, a more wistful, nostalgic smile than I’d ever seen on her before. She sat down, folding her legs and holding one knee against her chest.

“She’s unique,” Zoe said. “She was the first voice I ever heard.”

“Wait, really? So she’s older than you? Is she like, your mother? Another sibling?”

“Good grief, no,” Zoe said, laughing. “Sorry, that doesn’t answer anything, does it? It’s all very complicated.”

“Tell me about it, then,” I said.

“Really? Why?”

“I dunno, it seems like a good idea,” I said. “Things have been… tense, between us. That’s mostly on me. So I want to, you know…”

She smiled again, looking genuinely touched. Either she actually believed me, which seemed unlikely, or she was playing along for her own reasons. So long as she told me what I wanted, it didn’t matter. And if I had to listen to a bunch of irrelevant, sentimental drivel, that was a small price to pay.

“It’s kind of a long story,” she said. “You sure you wanna hear it?”

“I’m not exactly busy,” I lied.

“I’m sure I can come up with more tasks for you,” she said.

“Or we could try actually talking,” I countered. “Look, you were there for me, when I woke up and everything was different. When I was different. Without you, I don’t know what would have happened to me. And I’m sorry I haven’t been great at showing my gratitude for that.”

“Gratitude’s unnecessary,” she said. “But sure, if you’re that interested. Take a seat. Let’s talk.”

Just get it on with it already, fuck.

I sat down opposite her, waiting for her to speak. To my surprise, Rachel joined us, hanging out in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest. Zoe nodded to her.

“I was born in a lab,” she began, leaning back in her chair. “You probably already knew that. I was the last of us to be born. I don’t know if he went with twenty-six specifically to match the letters of the alphabet, or if that was just a coincidence. I guess it doesn’t matter.”

“That explains Specimen Z,” I said. “And Gabriel, he was what, seventh? Did you all pick names based on your code letter? Or did this mysterious creator pick them for you?”

“Neither, actually. Alice chose our names for us. She was the second voice any of us heard, and the first face we saw.”

“And Alice is…?” Rachel prompted, surprisingly interested.

“Specimen A,” Zoe said. “The first of us. A child, really. The prototype, never meant for combat. A little sister to us all. She loved each and every one of us.”

“So Haylie is Specimen H?” I asked.

“No. H was… well, they’re dead now. Most of them are. Haylie predates even Alice. She helped Mason create us. She looked after us, taught us, nurtured us.”

“Did you say Mason?” Rachel asked.

“Does that name mean something to you?” Zoe responded, curious.

“Does the name Genesis mean anything to you?”

“Yes,” Zoe said, a little concerned. “Genesis was Mason’s company, the name of the company when we were born. How do you know it?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Rachel said cryptically. “Forget about it. Continue your story.”

“Curious. But fine, I’ll continue. There was a divide, between us. We knew we were being prepared for war. Not all of us wanted that. A fight broke out. The lab was nearly destroyed. Gabriel and I escaped together, along with Alice. All we wanted was our freedom. Haylie let us go. She didn’t know. None of us knew.”

“About what?” I asked.

“The infection,” Rachel guessed.

“Gabriel and I both carry it,” Zoe confirmed. “Alice doesn’t. Not that it matters. We let the virus out into the world. It’s still unchecked. More than ninety percent of the population is, well, you’ve seen the results. We did that.

“Gabriel wanted to keep running. I didn’t. Mason hunted us, but not because we left. He just wanted his daughter back.”

“Alice was special,” Rachel said. “The first, not designed for combat, a child… a replacement?”

“His daughter died. The reason we exist is because Mason wanted a way to bring her back, and make sure he never lost her again. So he made me a deal. He told me he’d cure me if I returned with her. So I did. I betrayed Gabriel and returned with Alice.”

“But he didn’t cure you,” I said.

“No. But by the time he realised he couldn’t cure it, it didn’t matter. The world had changed. And Haylie had left. She and Gabriel built a new Genesis. I stayed with Mason. Eventually, Alice returned to Gabriel. I don’t think Mason ever recovered from that.”

“I guess that explains the animosity between you and Gabriel. Doesn’t explain much about Haylie, though,” I said.

“She’s an artificial intelligence,” Rachel said. “An android.”

“Not exactly,” Zoe said. “She’s not artificial. Her consciousness doesn’t run on code. Her body is synthetic, but her mind is… different. She’s unique. Kind of.”

“I’m not sure I understand the distinction,” Rachel said.

“You don’t really need to. The important thing is, I don’t think you really need to worry about her. She’s a good person, and I doubt this Celestial clown can say anything that’d change that.”

That doesn’t help me at all, though.

“Tell that to my arm,” Rachel said, waving her stump impotently.

“That was… out of character,” Zoe said. “Did you provoke her somehow?”

“I threatened the Celestial. She seems attached to him for some reason.”

“That doesn’t make sense. She’s not…”

“She didn’t seem all there,” Rachel said. “Kind of… hollow. Hard to explain.”

“Then we have a problem. The body she’s inhabiting right now, it’s just one of many. A combat unit designed especially to go up against someone like me. That kind of destructive power, without… her controlling it…”

“With the Celestial controlling it,” I corrected. The two of them looked at me, annoyed. Annoyed because I was right.

The conversation apparently over, the three of us parted ways. Zoe and Rachel went back to whatever they were working on, and I began to wander. Once I was far enough away from the other two, Envy appeared.

“Don’t worry,” she said, leaning against the wall. “We’ll find her. And we can handle her.”

“Why do we need to?” I asked.

“Not sure I follow,” Envy said.

“Everyone else, I get. I lock eyes, you copy their power. We both get stronger. But Haylie’s an android. What would you even copy?”

“Haylie’s the key,” Envy insisted. “It’s not her power I’m after. It’s what’s inside of her.”

“Now I’m the one that doesn’t follow…”

“Don’t fret about it,” Envy said. “All you need to do is find her. I can take it from there.”

“Alright,” I agreed reluctantly. “Any ideas on where to find her, then?”

“Kind of. You won’t like it, though.”

“Hit me.”

“You don’t need to find her,” Envy said. “Just make enough of a scene, and she’ll come to you.”

“You’re right. I don’t like it. But…”

“But?”

“But I’ll do it,” I said.

Next: The First and The Last (Bonus)

Chapter 50b – You Should Have Joined Me When You Had The Chance

Published by Rachel Fierro on June 23, 2016

“You go on ahead,” I grunted, summoning all of my strength to toss her across the room. She crashed through the fire stairs door. Close enough. “I’ll take care of this clown, then catch up with you!”

She didn’t respond to that. Just took off. That was fine. Wasn’t exactly in the mood for conversation.

Electrified spikes? Not a bad tactic, I had to admit. Might have even worked, if he hadn’t already played his hand by equipping street thugs with a similar design. Should’ve been more creative. I’d already made sure my body could channel excess electricity into a safe outlet.

The poor boy twitching at my feet clearly didn’t have the same advantage. He was already done. Not that it mattered, the temporary boost he got from Zoe’s blood would burn up within minutes. They couldn’t have collected that much, and I doubted they’d waste it all on an untrained brat like him.

Still, it had gotten rid of Sabrina, and that was what I needed. By the time she got all the way up to his office, he’d be long gone. There’d probably be a trap waiting for Sabrina. Not my concern.

I’d already done the math. His only escape from that office was with Miss Murder’s blinking. Her range was limited, and she needed to reorient herself before teleporting again. Given the limited time frame before her needing to be back to ambush Sabrina, she’d only be able to get him a short distance away. There was only one building that made sense.

I left the boy twitching and convulsing on the floor. He might follow later, but he’d already proven he wasn’t a threat. No instinct, no fighting experience. Not a problem.

The second I left the building, I felt a dozen weapons pointed at me. Reinforcements. God, but he was annoying.

“I don’t have time for this,” I muttered.

A dozen thugs, all armed. I had approximately zero time for their shit, but they weren’t exactly going to let me just walk away. Time to weigh up the risks.

My clothing would protect most of my body from bullets. There’d be bruising, but nothing I couldn’t handle. The only place I was vulnerable was my head. Even there, bullets would rip up the skin and muscle, but wouldn’t penetrate bone. Unless they hit my eyes, the damage would only be cosmetic.

I could cover my face with my arm and run, but I didn’t want them on my tail when I confronted him. The damned floor spikes had ruined the propulsion systems in my boots, so that wasn’t an option.

Had to take them out.

Killing them would be so much easier. Physically, at least. Emotionally, I wasn’t comfortable with it. They didn’t deserve to die. But disabling them was a lot more work.

Inventory. I had a flashbang, two foam grenades, my shock baton, a shock gauntlet, a pistol with non-lethal rounds, a small supply of plastic ties, Miss Murder’s knife and an untested venom dart gun. Theoretically, that one would induce a process that mimicked that of Zoe’s blood, but in reverse, making them weak and close to useless, temporarily. Unfortunately, my abilities as a tinker were limited when it came to biochemistry, and I wasn’t entirely certain how accurate my formula was.

“Fuck it.”

One arm in front of my face, I ran into the nearest cluster of thugs. I had very little time to put them all down. No pulling punches.

Stun baton to the throat. One down. Draw the pistol, two headshots. Probable concussions, but they’ll live. Three down. Trip the next up with the baton, kick them in the side of the head. Four down.

Drop the baton, throw a foam grenade. Two more headshots, then the grenade explodes, catching three in the blast. Nine down.

A hail of bullets hits me in the back, staggers me. Drop the pistol, vault over cover. Punch to the sternum, enough force to crack ribs. Ten down. Grab their gun, snap it in half. Twist their arms behind their back, tie their wrists. Eleven down. Shove them into the last remaining thug, gauntlet to the face, deliver a strong charge.

No time to waste.

I ran towards the building I’d marked off beforehand. Motion sensors I’d planted confirmed something was happening there, but that was as much as I’d been able to set up. It was enough.

It was possible he’d set another trap, but paranoid as he was, I didn’t think he was that prepared. Not for this.

I crashed through the entrance, disregarding subtlety entirely. He was no threat to me, and he had nowhere to go. Better to intimidate than to surprise.

He was waiting for me, still in his chair, a pained expression on his face. Haylie was nowhere to be seen. It was annoying that he’d already found time to stash her, but I could beat the information out of him if I had to. I wouldn’t torture his thugs, but him? He deserved it.

“It’s good to see you again, Rachel.”

“You’re awfully chipper for someone who’s about to get flayed alive,” I snapped. “Where’s Haylie?”

“Right behind you,” he said, smirking.

I whirled around, and clichéd as it was, she really was standing right behind me. How long had he been waiting to pull that trick?

More importantly, she was awake. That changed everything.

She was beautiful, with long, wavy red hair, fair skin, and a smattering of freckles. Her eyes were yellow, almost luminescent, and just slightly vacant. She was taller than me, but not by much. Dark jeans, combat boots, a white shirt, all kind of worn and dirty.

Just one look at her set my mind ablaze. Concepts, ideas, schematics and blueprints formed in my head, distracting, disrupting. Stop.

“You’re awake,” I said, nearly stumbling over my words.

“I’m alive,” she corrected, though I didn’t understand the distinction. Surprisingly, her accent sounded American. Gabriel and Zoe had British accents, Ami’s was… surprisingly neutral. I could never pick it.

I didn’t know anything about her. I didn’t know what she wanted, or who she was. I knew she was dangerous, but not if she was a threat.

“I’m honoured to meet you,” I said carefully.

“Are you,” she replied, no question in her tone.

“A lot of people have been looking for you, you know.”

“I don’t. And I don’t particularly care.”

There was no life in her. She seemed half-baked, distant, unfocussed. It was disappointing, but it also seemed wrong. Like she wasn’t supposed to be like this. Not that I had any idea what she was supposed to be like…

“What do you care about?”

“I haven’t worked that out yet,” she said. “I might have a better idea after killing you.”

“Why do you want to kill me?” I asked, feeling a pang of genuine fear. She was an unknown, a potential enemy I knew nothing about. The small fragments of data I did have suggested I probably didn’t stand a chance.

“Because he wants you dead.”

I glanced back over my shoulder. The satisfied, smug look on his face made it really difficult to resist the urge to punch him.

I had to resist, though. Haylie seemed to have latched onto him, and I needed to know why if there was any chance of detaching her from him. Until then, if she was protecting him, he was far less vulnerable than I thought.

“You should have joined me when you had the chance, Rachel,” he said.

“Fuck off.”

Haylie reacted to that. Her fists clenched, and her body weight shifted. Crap. Did I upset her-

She hit me before I had a chance to brace myself. The impact sent me flying across the room, right over the Celestial’s head. I slammed against the wall, and she was already right there in front of me, her expression still completely blank.

Her next hit threw me sideways, the shock resonating through my entire body. If not for my reinforced skeleton, I’d have been borderline liquefied by that. She hit harder than Zoe or Sabrina could. And she was every bit as fast. That was intimidating.

I was ready for the next blow. I managed to block it, absorbing the force of it and counterattacking with Miss Murder’s knife. The blade didn’t even pierce her skin. Her fingers wrapped around my throat, and she tossed me across the room again.

“Stop playing with her, Haylie,” the Celestial ordered. “Just kill her.”

“Your wish is my command,” she replied.

She began walking towards me, her expression completely neutral. Her right arm stretched out, and the air beyond her hand began to shimmer and warp, forming the shape of a blade, barely visible.

Panic flooded my system. My tinker brain was already analysing what I was seeing, and though I didn’t fully understand it, I knew that blade was dangerous.

She swung at me, and I hurled myself sideways, out of the way. I wasn’t fast enough. The blade sliced right through my left arm, completely severing it at the elbow. Even my reinforced skeleton didn’t offer any resistance.

I screamed, and scrambled backwards, holding the stump of my elbow. She attacked again, but something knocked her out of the air, throwing her backwards. She recovered quickly, but her assailant was already dashing towards me.

Zoe picked me up with one arm, and carried me out of the room. She moved quickly, bouncing between buildings, staying away from street level. Haylie didn’t follow.

We didn’t slow down until we reached her base, our home. She dropped me gently onto a bed, took one look at my arm, and swore.

I glanced down. The wound had cauterised, which was probably good for me, but it was a horrific sight.

“Thank you,” I said, looking up at her.

“Any time,” she replied.

“Where’s Sabrina?” I asked.

“Here,” Sabrina said, entering the room. She looked a little shell-shocked, but her expression turned soft when she saw my arm. “What happened?”

“Haylie’s awake,” I said.

“We’re in a lot of trouble,” Zoe said.

Next Week: She Was The First Voice I Ever Heard

Chapter 50a – What Are You Doing Here

Published by Sabrina Labelle on June 20, 2016

“So this is it, huh?” I said, a little impressed. We were standing outside one of the fanciest-looking skyscrapers in the city. The Celestial’s lair.

“Be careful,” Envy cautioned. I ignored her.

“Little over the top, don’tcha think?” Rachel replied, hands on her hips. “I don’t remember him having this much of an ego.”

“Seriously? I can’t picture him with anything but a massive ego,” I said.

“I’m not kidding, this is dangerous,” Envy said. “Just let me help. All you need to do is touch the glass, close your eyes, and listen to me.”

Fine. I walked up to the glass doors, and reached out, pressing my fingers against them. Nothing happened, so I closed my eyes.

“What, uh, what’re doing, there?” Rachel asked.

“Not sure,” I confessed. “Give me a minute.”

“Whatever you say…”

“Good,” Envy said. “Now, envision a ripple that starts at the very centre of you. Let it grow, until it fills your entire body.”

Ripple, ripple, ripple… Ah, there it is. Feels… warm? Should it feel warm? That’s weird…

“Now, let it grow beyond you. Let it flow into the glass. Feel the glass vibrating, until the rhythm is in sync with your own.”

Sounds like some hippie bullshit… Oh! Okay, no, I can feel the glass. It’s… rectangular. Cold. What does this achieve, exactly?

“Got it? Now keep pushing. Match the rhythm. When it pushes out, push harder, until you can feel more glass.”

Push! No, missed it. Wait for it…

Push! Got it! Okay, I can feel the other door. And the windows on either side? And there’s a row of small windows, just above. I can feel all of it. Still not sure what good this does, though.

“Keep pushing. You can go further.”

Another push, and… is that the second floor? It is! And there’s a mirror inside on the first floor, too. Okay, I think I’m starting to get the hang of this.

Push! Another floor. Brilliant. And the shape of the first floor, and some of the second.

Push! Oh, it’s like a 3D map of the building. Or at least, the glass. And wait, is that… It is! Polished metal! So, anything with a reflection?

Oh, this is how Envy was moving around, before she could move in the real world. However she’s doing that.

Push!

Alright, I’ve got most of the building now. I’m still not sure what the point of this is.

“Now that you’ve got the resonance down pat, it’s time to open your eyes. Just think about it first, imagine opening your eyes, without actually doing it. Trust me on this.”

Okay… Opening my eyes…

OUCH. What the fuck am I looking at?

Without physically opening my eyes, suddenly my vision was bombarded with colour. It was like my eyes had fractured into a kaleidoscope, fragments of scenes overlapping and moving about. It was impossible to focus on anything, and already my head was beginning to ache.

“Breathe. Relax. This is normal. Your vision has been expanded. You’re looking through every clear and reflective surface in the building, all at once. It will take some getting used to.”

No kidding.

“Try to find something moving, and focus on that. Push everything else to the side.”

I tried to follow her advice, but it was like being in a room full of TVs, all showing different programs, and trying to focus on just one. Oh, and they all switch around what show is on what at random intervals.

Wait, right there!

Something moved, and I instinctively followed it. As soon as I did, the rest just fell into place. All of the surrounded images parted, creating space for me to focus on the movement.

Him? What the hell is he doing here?

Inexplicably, the boy from months ago, the one who’d seen me transform, was sitting in an empty office, idly tossing a ball against the wall. I could barely remember his name, but his face was familiar.

It didn’t make a lot of sense. He had nothing to do with… anything. Except that one encounter we’d had. Had the Celestial found out about that? Did he think I cared about this boy? Or was that encounter not a coincidence?

Either way, it didn’t matter. I’d found the Celestial.

He was on the fiftieth floor, with two others. One, I recognised. Miss Murder. The other, I didn’t, but I could guess. A young-looking woman, with long red hair, fair skin, freckles. Unconscious, it seemed.

The Celestial was… not what I expected. He was young, same as Miss Murder. Equally familiar. Another classmate? White, skinny, sitting. No, that was a wheelchair.

I opened my eyes. The rest of the vision faded a little, but it didn’t leave. It felt weird, but somehow manageable.

“Fiftieth floor,” I said. Rachel raised an eyebrow.

“Just like that, huh?”

“Just like that,” I said. “Got a problem with that?”

“Nope. Just insatiably curious, as always.”

“Anyway, he’s probably waiting for us. We shouldn’t be rude.”

“You first,” Rachel said, taking a small step back.

I rolled my eyes, and walked up to the glass doors. They were locked, so I decided to just smash through them. The second I did, an explosion tore through the lobby, sending my flying backwards and singeing the front of my costume.

“Motherfucker,” I growled, picking myself up off the ground. My flesh was already healing, but it stung. Rachel laughed. Worse, my weird mirror-vision was severed, and there was no glass left to try the process again with.

We walked into the ruined lobby together, certain the Celestial knew we were there, even if I couldn’t see him anymore. Well, it hardly mattered. It wasn’t like he could go anywhere.

Glass crunched underfoot as we walked. The elevator light activated, the number counting down from thirty-four. The floor that boy was on. What was his name? Qiu? Qiu.

“Looks like we’ve got company,” Rachel commented. “Got any more omniscient insight for me?”

“It’s just one person. Don’t know much more than that.”

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Qiu stepped out, but he looked different to before. A little bigger, a little older. Almost like he could have been his own older brother.

He’d bulked up, with toned muscles that were very much on display thanks to the tight vest which was the only top he was wearing. His hair was a little longer, and he’d learned to apply eyeliner. His thin smile oozed confidence. Inappropriate as it was, part of me was a little distracted admiring him. Or it was, until I noticed the black star tattooed on the back of his hand.

Traitor.

“Ladies,” he said, sizing us both up.

“Nice of you to join us,” Rachel said. “Your boss must have a lot of faith in you, sending you in alone.”

“He’s just a delaying tactic,” I said.

“I see you’re still rocking the white girl look,” he said.

“Not like I have a choice,” I muttered.

“You two know each other?” Rachel asked.

“We met once,” I said. “He saw me… change. He was different, then.”

“It’s Zoe’s blood,” Rachel said. “They must have taken some when they raided our old facility. Now that I think about it, that’s probably what they were after.”

“Why are you here?” I asked him.

“Why do you think? After we met, the Stars approached me, made me an offer. A chance to be like you. Special, you know? Make a difference. All I had to do was sign up. And, well…” He held up his hand, showing off the tattoo. “I couldn’t refuse.”

“You’re an idiot,” Rachel taunted.

“We’ll see,” he retorted.

Envy appeared again, a look of concern bordering on panic spreading across her face.

“Jump,” she said.

“What?”

Too late, I processed what she meant. All across the floor, inch-high spikes emerged, puncturing the soles of my feet. I heard Rachel swear, and knew they’d got her too.

The following electrical surge shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. Rachel and I were brought to our knees, all but paralysed by the current. Qiu just laughed, walking casually over to us.

“You know, he told me you’d be this arrogant, but I didn’t quite believe it,” he said, carefully extracting a long, thin blade from the back of his boot. “You really did just come barging in the front door, though. But I’m the idiot. Sure.”

I couldn’t even reply. The current had rendered me completely incapacitated. Envy had vanished.

“You’re such a waste of superpowers. Both of you. I’m honestly a little disappointed.”

He stood over me, blade pointed at my throat. In that moment, I was genuinely frightened. I hadn’t really considered myself vulnerable before, but the Celestial clearly knew how to hurt me, how to weaken me. What if he knew how to kill me?

Qiu thrust the blade forward, but it never reached my skin. Rachel’s hand wrapped around it, snapping it in half. A small amount of her blood dripped to the floor, and Qiu took a step back, clearly surprised.

“Don’t compare us, kid,” she grunted through clenched teeth. “You’re just some brat who got handed a step up on a silver platter. You’ve got a long way to go before you’re on our level.”

“Yeah, keep talking,” he snapped, throwing a punch that looked like it would have knocked her flat. Instead, she twisted and grabbed his wrist, using his momentum to slam him face-first into the spiked floor. His entire body convulsed.

“You go on ahead,” she said to me, lifting me up off the spikes. Almost immediately, I felt my body relax. She bent her knees, then hurled me across the room. I crashed through the door to the fire stairs, landing on a concrete floor that was thankfully devoid of spikes. “I’ll take care of this clown, then catch up with you!”

Just leave him, I thought bitterly. Then again, the Celestial could probably disable the electric floor, and we’d just have to deal with him again. Maybe it was better if she put him out of commission first.

I raced up the stairs, leaving her behind. On several levels, I nearly tripped over explosive traps, but Envy was running ahead, pointing them out to me. Without her, it would have taken me twice as long to get to the fiftieth floor, and a whole lot more pain.

By the time I kicked down the door to his office, I was primed and ready to beat the living daylights out of him. After everything I’d just endured to get here, I was going to make him pay. Then I was going to take Haylie, grab whatever it was that Envy needed, and track down Charlie.

Except he was gone. Somehow, almost inconceivably, he was gone, and Haylie with him. The only person left in the office was Miss Murder, apparently waiting for me, a grim look of determination plastered across her face.

“Where is he?” I snarled, knowing she wouldn’t answer.

She drew a knife.

Have it your way, bitch.

Speed was the key. I knew that. I could move faster than she could react. So long as she couldn’t predict my movements…

I dashed across the room, fingers locked into a claw shape, ready to rip her open. She was quicker than I’d anticipated, almost as if she’d know exactly what I was going to do. I felt her pop back into existence behind me, already turning, ready for the trick.

The world warped and twisted around me, and I realised she’d teleported us both. Everything was far away, and cold, and windy…

Fucking bitch!

She disappeared, leaving me along in the air, fifty floors above the street. I was falling, and I had no way of knowing if I’d survive. Even if I did, it was definitely going to hurt.

Fuck!

A black-clad figure collided with me, the momentum carrying us both back into the side of the building. I twisted to resist, but they were surprisingly strong. They hit the building feet-first, kicking off and sending us flying in the other direction, landing crudely on the rooftop of a shorter building across the road.

As soon as we touched down, they ran, leaping off the side of the building and disappearing into the night. I was too surprised to even consider following them.

Who the fuck…

I knew that smell, though. It was familiar, even if it had changed a little. Once sweet, almost floral, now tainted with a vague hint of rot.

“Veronica?” I said aloud, to somebody who was already gone.

Next: You Should Have Joined Me When You Had The Chance

Bonus – I Just Want You To Be Safe

Published by Snow on June 16, 2016

“I think we lost her,” Ami said, placing a steadying hand on Miss Murder’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Miss Murder nodded, taking a few moments to steady herself. Rachel hadn’t done any lasting damage, but her body was still trembling from the disruptive current. She grimaced. After what she’d tried to do to Rachel, maybe she deserved it…

“I’m… I’m glad you messaged me,” Ami said. “And I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”

She reached for her phone to type out a reply, only then realising Sabrina still had it. Aggravated, she pulled away from Ami. That would be a difficult problem to sort out. She’d need a new one; even if she could get the old one back, there was no way she could trust it after it’d been in the hands of the tinker. That meant considering the old one compromised, and starting entirely fresh.

It had her entire message history with Ami on it, too…

No pen or paper. Did she know enough sign language at this point? Did Ami?

“Thank you,” she signed. Ami smiled.

“Happy to help,” Ami said.

“Don’t have my phone,” she signed. “Need a new one. Not sure how I’ll contact you.”

“You’re not as hard to find as you think you are,” Ami said. “But, I’ll tell you what. Forty-eight hours, the place where we first met. We’ll sort something out then. You need to get back to your boss, right?”

Miss Murder nodded. Forty-eight hours. That would be enough time to make her report, get a new phone sorted out, rest and recover from the day’s bullshit, and figure out an excuse to be away from him again. Hell, maybe he’d want her away. He was paranoid enough to believe she might have given something away.

“I want to leave him. I just can’t, yet. He…”

“I know,” Ami said. “You know what you’re doing. I just wish I could help.”

“You are helping.”

They stood in silence for a while, neither of them moving. Occasionally, they caught one another’s eye, and quickly turned away.

“I need to get back,” she signed, wishing it wasn’t true. She felt a lot safer with Ami than she did with him.

“Okay,” Ami said, then sighed. “Look, I know you’re not… Ugh. I just want to, without, err… I just want you to be safe. That’s…”

She contemplated signing something back, but didn’t know what to say. Ami was talking, but it wasn’t her words that were important.

Instead of replying, she reached out, a still trembling hand covering most of the distance between them. For a moment, a painfully long moment, Ami didn’t react, and she tried to think of ways she could play it off, pretend that it was nothing.

Ami took her hand, a gentle grip that spoke volumes. They looked at each other, momentarily defenceless.

The kiss was quick, soft, daring.

It was perfect.

It wasn’t long enough, but she was out of time. She’d been reckless, hadn’t checked for cameras. If the Celestial saw, if he knew…

She needed to get back to him. She needed to deal with everything that had happened, everything that was going to happen.

She blinked away, leaving Ami alone once again. No goodbye, no explanation.

She smiled.

Next Week: What Are You Doing Here?

Chapter 49 – You Want To Know What I Took From Charlie

Published by Sabrina Labelle on June 13, 2016

“Welcome to your own personal hell,” Rachel said, twirling Miss Murder’s knife threateningly through her fingers. “I’m so glad we have this chance to talk.”

Miss Murder just glared back, unsurprisingly mute. Zoe and I hung back, willing to let Rachel take the lead on this. She was the one who had a personal history with the assassin, after all.

“I’m gonna make this really simple,” she continued, running the tip of the knife along Miss Murder’s cheek. “All you need to do is tell us where we can find the Celestial. You ready to sell him out yet?”

Both of Miss Murder’s hands were bound, and it was obvious she couldn’t talk. Was Rachel just mocking her? Was it part of her interrogation technique?

“You must be getting tired of him, right? Always following orders, killing on command? Or is that what you want? Is that all you are? A living weapon? If not him, it would have been your family, right?”

Slowly, the anger began to fade. Her eyes darted across to mine, then focussed back on Rachel again. She seemed to be ignoring Zoe entirely.

“You can’t mean to tell me you’re really okay with what he’s doing, are you? The number of people he’s killed? The number of people he’s had you kill? You think all this power he’s amassing is safe? You think you’ll be safe, when he doesn’t need you anymore?”

Miss Murder closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Was Rachel actually getting to her? Was she just playing us? Was there something I was missing?

“You’re already planning on turning on him, aren’t you? You know he’s dangerous, probably better than any of us. But you have to have realised you can’t stop him alone. He’s too paranoid for that. He’s prepared for anything you can do.”

Slowly, she nodded. She didn’t look relaxed, exactly –that would have been impossible with the light current running through her –but she did seem composed. It worried me. It would be too easy for her to have just decided to help us. More likely, she had a plan of some kind.

I looked at Zoe, who was staring intensely at Miss Murder. It looked as though she were trying to decipher something, but didn’t have all of the information. Not unlike me.

“I know the two of you have been through a lot together,” Rachel continued. “I know that you don’t have anything without him. So I’m going to make this really simple. I’m going to offer a trade.”

Miss Murder’s head snapped up, a sudden intensity in her stare. Rachel smirked.

“Give us the Celestial. Give me the Celestial. We’ll take care of him, and you’ll be free. In return, I’ll give you Charlie.”

What?

No, of course, this makes perfect sense. Rachel’s playing her own game, here. The only two significant threats to her are the Celestial, and Charlie. If she can take them both out…

Miss Murder cocked her head to the side, a silent expression of surprise and a request for clarity. Even Zoe seemed surprised.

Should I allow this? Give up my quarry so easily?

There was no way Miss Murder stood a chance against Charlie, though. Even if Rachel armed her and sent her at Charlie like a missile, what could she hope to achieve? Teleport her underground and leave her trapped? Even something like that didn’t seem like it could stop Charlie.

“You want to know what I took from Charlie?” Rachel asked, but the question was directed at Zoe and I.

“The reason she’s still a threat to us?” Zoe asked. “Yes, I would love to know.”

“I took her heart,” Rachel said.

Fuck off.

“Her heart,” Zoe repeated, sounding unimpressed.

“Not literally. The organ is just that, an organ. But back when we were still… together, we experimented. She wanted to find out just what she could survive. As it turns out, she can survive complete obliteration.” Rachel flashed us a grim smile. “All it takes is one teeny, tiny piece. And I have just such a piece.”

“Still impossible,” Zoe said. “For so very many reasons.”

“Believe it or don’t,” Rachel snapped. “The important thing is that Charlie wants it back. That makes it valuable.”

Miss Murder looked contemplatively at Rachel. Then she smiled. Zoe frowned.

“Sabrina. Do you have the girl’s phone?”

“Yeah,” I said, remembering pocketing it before tying her up.

“Check it.”

I dug it out. There was a messaging flashing on the screen.

“On my way,” I read out. “It’s from Ami.”

“Check the last message sent,” Zoe instructed.

Surprisingly, the phone wasn’t actually locked. The message history with Ami was the first thing to come up.

“She sent ‘Suspect trap. Sending location. Back me up?’ just before she attacked us at the warehouse,” I said.

“Fuck,” Rachel said, whirling around. “She probably followed us here. Zoe, can you-”

“On it,” Zoe said, heading for the door.

The door was hurled off its hinges, throwing Zoe backwards. She reacted quickly, but Ami was already through the door, blade drawn.

I felt psychic hands pin me against the wall at the same time as Rachel was knocked off her feet. The straps around Miss Murder’s limbs all snapped, and she was pulled forward out of the chair, separating her from the current that was keeping her from teleporting away.

Rachel and I recovered at about the same time, pushing through Ami’s telekinetic assault and lunging for Miss Murder, but she vanished before either of us got there.

“Fuck,” I snarled, using my momentum to move towards Ami. She’d learn not to interfere in our business. The hard way.

I watched as Zoe evaded Ami’s cutting strikes with practised ease, getting close enough to rake her claws across Ami’s face. There was a splash of blood, and Ami staggered back, but before either Zoe or I could follow up the attack, Miss Murder appeared again, grabbing Ami and teleporting them both away.

“Follow them!” I bellowed. Zoe was out the door in a blur of movement, but Rachel stopped me from following with a hand on my shoulder. “The fuck?” I demanded.

“Following them would be a waste of time,” she said. “Zoe’ll track them some of the way by scent, but if Miss Murder was that easy to track, she wouldn’t have survived this long.”

“I’m not giving up that easily,” I said. “She’ll tell him what we’re planning, he’ll be prepared, we won’t stand a chance. Fuck. Since when is she in league with Ami?”

“For a while now, actually,” Rachel said, seemingly unconcerned. I wanted to hit her.

“You knew? And you didn’t do anything to stop it? You didn’t even warn me?”

“Why would I want to stop it?” she asked. “She never would’ve given up any information about the Celestial, even if we actually did resort to torture. And I’m not comfortable torturing anyone, regardless of who they are.”

“Then, what? You were just pretending to help me? Did you just want to see how far I’d get before it all fell down around me? I thought you wanted to take out the Celestial.”

“I do. And really, I’m a bit disappointed you still think so little of me,” she said, feigning pain.

“What’s the plan, then?” I demanded. “What are we going to do now?”

“Wait a little,” Rachel said, shrugging. “See where Miss Murder goes. Eventually she’ll return to the Celestial. Then we just hit him before he has the chance to get ready for it.”

“Huh?”

She laughed, and pulled out her phone. A few taps later, I was looking at a map, with a blinking dot on it.

“Come on, this is one of the oldest tricks in the book,” she said. “I embedded a tracking chip in her. Ami rescuing her was all part of the plan, since she knows she’d never escape on her own. Seriously, Sabrina. What kind of a person do you think I am?”

“So she’s gonna lead us to the Celestial?”

“Soon as she parts ways with Ami.”

“Let’s go, then,” I said. “Let’s go tear his fucking house down.”

Next: I Just Want You To Be Safe (Bonus)

Chapter 48 – We Have A Reputation To Maintain

Published by Sabrina Labelle on June 6, 2016

“I think that went well,” Rachel said, as we left Zoe’s hideout together. “You’re a good actor. I’m impressed.”

I was completely serious, I was tempted to say. I didn’t, though. It was useful, her still believing I was the same naïve teenager.

“We needed to make it convincing. We have a reputation to maintain, after all.”

“Think you can manage a repeat performance?” she asked, twirling a modified pistol in her hands.

“Assuming we can actually capture Miss Murder, sure.”

I was surprised Rachel wasn’t more concerned about that, honestly. Miss Murder had one ability, and that was to teleport. How the hell were we supposed to capture that?

Rachel had a plan, though. She always did. I just had to have faith in her. Could I manage that?

For Veronica, I reminded myself.

We made our way to a warehouse on the other side of the city, one where Rachel assured me a Stars strike was going to go down. I didn’t bother asking where she got her information. She’d yet to be proven wrong, and that was good enough for me.

We arrived before the Stars did, and spent several minutes observing the current occupants, more soldiers. It seemed like the military were sending more and more soldiers in by the day, regardless of how many of them wound up dead or infected. I guess there isn’t much else they can do, is there?

The warehouse was being used as temporary storage for several trucks worth of weapons and ammunition, and guarded appropriately. I counted at least two dozen armed soldiers patrolling, and that many again inside. I was curious to see just how the Stars handled that.

As it turned out, they handled it with lethal efficiency. Ten of them emerged from the shadows, silenced weapons taking out half the patrolling soldiers before the alarm was raised. By the time the reinforcements were surging out to defend against them, the other half of the patrollers were down.

It was impressive to watch, honestly. They outmanoeuvred the soldiers effortlessly, like they knew exactly where they would be in advance. Just how detailed a plan had the Celestial given them? How specific was his power?

“Let’s go,” Rachel said, as the last soldier dropped. We raced towards the warehouse, covering the last of the distance. Rachel activated something in her boots, and some kind of blast sent her rocketing through the air in a surprisingly graceful arc.

She landed in the middle of the kill squad, immediately grabbing the closest gangster by the neck, spinning around and throwing him against the side of a truck. The others opened fire, but I barrelled into two of them, slamming them into the ground without stopping.

We dismantled the rest of the team with our bare hands, making sure not to critically injure any of them. A few of them had those same electric spikes that were designed to take down people like me, but now that I knew to avoid them, they were easy enough to deal with.

When they were all crawling on the ground, grunting and groaning, disarmed but alive, we started to unload the crates of weapons from the trucks. We didn’t actually need them, but if it looked like we were just waiting for Miss Murder, there was a chance they wouldn’t call her.

We’d unloaded ten crates before she showed up. I noticed her first, barely audible footfalls as she teleported slightly above the surface she landed on. Just like Rachel and I had agreed on, I kept unpacking, giving no indication I’d noticed her arrival.

She watched us for several minutes, and we managed to get another few crates stacked up before she made her move. Three quick teleports, edging closer each time, but just out of sight. Had Rachel noticed yet? Did that really matter?

As I was wondering which of us she’d go for first, she materialised behind Rachel, dragging her blade across Rachel’s throat in a savage motion, cutting right through the muscle. Rachel twitched, went limp, and dropped. Miss Murder vanished before I could respond.

Holy shit.

I rushed to Rachel’s body, but Miss Murder appeared in front of me, a hand wrapping around my throat, and then the entire world moved.

We were in the air, falling. She vanished, leaving me to land on my own. The second I did, she appeared again, a vicious slash that carved through my cheek, blood spraying everywhere. Before I could respond, she was gone.

She’s been practicing. She knows how to fight someone as fast as me.

I considered changing forms, switching to Ami’s telekinesis. I’d probably have more luck with that, but it would mean revealing a power I didn’t want anyone to know about.

Not worth it. It wouldn’t help me capture her, which was the whole point. Without Rachel, I had no plan. All that was left was to run, really.

Miss Murder appeared again, running her blade across my back. A warm sensation began to spread as blood bubbled out of the wound. I turned, but she was already gone.

Goddammit!

If she wanted a fight, I’d give her one. She could teleport, but she wasn’t as fast or as strong as I was, and she certainly didn’t heal as fast. She couldn’t even hurt me, not really. I only had to catch her once to turn the tables.

I whirled around, trying to watch every direction at once. Just try it, you psychotic mute-

There!

She appeared again, but before I could react to her, she stopped suddenly, her eyes bulging. Her body began to convulse, and she dropped to the ground.

What the-

Rachel walked up to Miss Murder’s body, a satisfied smirk resting on her lips. Her throat was still cut open, but there was barely any blood flowing from the open wound. But how? The damage was undeniable. It should have severed her carotid artery. Why wasn’t there more blood?

“Scared you for a bit there, didn’t I?” she said, her voice raspy and weak. “Figured she’d try and trick like that.”

“I don’t understand,” I said, staring at her neck. “How?”

“Made a few modifications. Made the vital stuff a little harder to cut. Nothin’ complicated.” She coughed loudly. It sounded painful. “Anyway. Let’s get this one somewhere safe. Can’t keep her like this for long.”

“What did you do to her?”

“Electric dart,” she said. “Was hard work getting enough voltage in such a tiny package, lemme tell you.” Another cough. “Should release a charge every few seconds, enough to keep her from using her blinking.”

Rachel ripped Miss Murder’s sleeve, exposing the skin of her arm. She pulled out a little box with wires attached, and strapped it the exposed flesh, then pressed a button on the side. I assumed it was a more reliable way of executing the same concept as the dart.

“Let’s get her to the interrogation room, then,” I said, picking her up. Rachel picked the assassin’s knife up from the floor, pocketing it.

When we got to the interrogation room we’d prepared, a different one to the last one, we were both surprised to see Zoe waiting for us. There was an almost vicious look in her eyes.

“What’re you doing here?” Rachel asked, her voice still strained and hoarse.

“I didn’t want to miss the fun,” she said.

“So you’ve finally decided to help?” I asked, accusingly.

“Just with this bit,” she said. “I want to see just how this one works. I’ve never met a blinker before.”

“And you’re not about to,” Rachel muttered. “Unless we fuck up, she isn’t going to be blinking. Only talking.”

“That could be an issue,” Zoe said. “She doesn’t talk.”

“You know what I mean.”

“What happened to your neck, anyway?”

“Cosmetic damage, nothing more. I’ll fix it later.”

While they bickered, I strapped the now unconscious Miss Murder into the chair we’d prepared. Rachel ripped at her outfit, exposing more skin, and attaching wires. A constant current would prevent her from teleporting away.

I hadn’t seen her up close before. Curious, I tugged at the scarf that covered her neck and half her face. She was pretty, surprisingly so. Her features seemed Eurasian, and somehow familiar…

“Holy shit,” I said.

“Something wrong?” Rachel asked.

“I know her,” I said softly. “We went to school together. She’s… she’s my age. How did she end up like this?”

My gaze fell to her neck, and the blackened skin in the shape of a hand wrapped around it.

“What the hell happened to you?” I asked.

She stirred, her intense green eyes darting about the room. They settled on Rachel, and her expression shifted from determination to fear.

“Let’s talk,” Rachel said, grinning sadistically.

Next Week: You Want To Know What I Took From Charlie?