The city of New Toledo was, for all intents and purposes, just like any other city Will had ever seen, except for the fact that it was cleaner. Astonishingly clean, he thought. It was almost unnatural when he and Charlisa took that first step out of the train station. He couldn’t see a single piece of litter within sight. Not one thing was dirty or disheveled. To top it off, the air was rich with the smell of fertile soil, and a pleasant breeze cut the intensity of the sun, providing a warm but not stifling atmosphere.

“That’s strange,” he muttered quietly. “Doesn’t it feel a little… artificial?”

James, Edward, and Noratuk had stepped up behind him, also pausing to take careful note of their surroundings. James seemed unimpressed, but Edward gave a slow nod. He and Noratuk looked like they felt even more out of place. Of course, they were all used to the smell of the unpolluted countryside. But with a city came bad smells, smog, and all manner of nasty side effects of civilization. But here it was clean as could be. Will craned his neck, trying to find a pillar of smoke or steam from one of the nearby buildings. Nothing.

“It’s like an elaborate cage,” Noratuk agreed darkly. “They’ve made it look fancy and clean, but it doesn’t feel right.”

Will agreed wholeheartedly with her assessment, but there was one more thing. He lifted his hand. “That’s not all. Remember what we learned about the temperatures and how they affect our powers?”

Charlisa caught onto his meaning. She quickly took her backpack off and rummaged in it, searching for something. Before any of them could ask what she was about, she straightened up, holding a worn plastic object. Will leaned closer out of curiosity and saw that it was a portable weather tool. They were useful in Alaska to make sure you weren’t out in horrible conditions when on the tundra. Of course, as Fire Nexians were immune to the cold, it wasn’t particularly useful to them. But Charlisa had packed it, and Will could now tell why.

“I knew it,” he said softly, and the others leaned in to see the device. “It’s sixty degrees out.”

“Do you think that’s intentional?” Charlisa asked him, the corners of her mouth turned down in a thoughtful frown. “It could be sheer coincidence. Before it was destroyed, this was the mildest part of the Midwest. This time of the year, it could be this temperature.”

Will shrugged. “We all know how finicky nature can be. It very well could be natural. But exactly sixty?”

He shook his head. “No. I have to believe Hitori did this intentionally.”

The Fire Nexus looked around themselves with more unease than ever, wondering what to do now. Hitori had urged them to explore the city, which surely meant they weren’t limited to any one location. As he scanned up and down the street that passed the train station, Will couldn’t help but realize another question. Where were all the people? Surely this wasn’t an empty city. It may have been clinically clean, but a city this size would go to ruin quickly if people didn’t maintain it.

“It’s so quiet,” Edward muttered, finally pointing out the eeriest part. “Even Fairbanks is noisier than this.”

Will opened his mouth to reply, but a distant noise made him stop and turn. It had sounded like someone was whooping, he thought. Someone was excited in the near distance. Then, just as he started to think he might have imagined the noise, more than a dozen people appeared from behind one of the buildings, soaring through the air. His jaw dropped at the sight. Everyone knew that the Air Nexus could fly, of course. It was how they’d maintained their fierce independence and survived early attacks. But seeing it in person was something different.

“That looks fun,” Charlisa said lightly. Will turned to her to see her smiling. He couldn’t help grinning himself. They knew from Kiera and Cornelius, the Air Nexians who had spent some weeks training with them, that the Air Nexus placed freedom and fun as their highest priority. It wasn’t unheard of for them to take a long journey by flight. They could fly practically forever, and it didn’t burn through their energy levels any more than walking.

The group of Air Nexians turned sharply towards the Fire Nexus and one figure broke away from the pack, accelerating along a downward angle towards them. Even from a distance, Will recognized Kevin Williams, their Alpha. The burly man gave a joyous yell of welcome as he came closer and Will heard Noratuk snigger from behind him.

“How does he have so much energy?”

“It’s because I never take anything seriously!” Kevin shouted. Noratuk gave a start of surprise at his reply and muttered something under her breath. Kevin swooped down into a graceful stop, not quite touching down on the ground, and grinned. “And yes, I can hear you from quite a ways away. If there’s air between us, I can pick up quite a lot.”

“That’s useful,” Will said thoughtfully. “It makes sense too. Sound is based on vibrations, right? Vibrations of air.”

Kevin shrugged amicably. “I won’t pretend to know the cause, my dear boy. I just know I can do it. That’s all that matters, right?”

A flash of a memory, seeing Kevin fighting Tobias, went through Will’s mind. The two figures couldn’t have been any more different. There were some things that Kevin did take seriously. Still, he grinned at the man’s easy reply. Life had to be more pleasant when you could learn to focus on the better things. Edward stepped forward, his hand extended. Still serious, but friendly.

“How have you been, Kevin?” He asked. “I imagine you’re all tired after flying so far.”

“We’ve had plenty of rest,” Kevin said affably, chuckling as he shook Edward’s hand. We set out nearly a week ago, and just got in yesterday. A full night’s rest and we were good to go.”

“You flew all the way here?” Will asked, incredulous. “But that’s so far to go!”

Kevin shrugged. “We don’t like being in enclosed spaces. Whenever possible, we like to fly ourselves.”

Will shook his head. “Still. Australia is far away.”

“Well, we only came from Europe,” Kevin corrected him. “We didn’t go back to Australia after the assessment.”

“Decided on a little vacation?” Noratuk guessed, her eyes glittering. There was something significant in the look she gave the Air Nexus Alpha, Will thought. “See anything interesting?”

“Oh, quite a bit,” Kevin said. Just then, his Nexus was landing a respectful distance away. Kiera broke away from the group to come over, leading another girl by the hand as she approached. Her curly blonde hair looked disheveled from consistent wind, and her face was a bit pink under the sun, but she was grinning from ear to ear.

“Hi Will!” She exclaimed, forgoing the traditional greeting of a handshake and hugging him tightly instead. “It’s good to see you again. This is my sister, Karin!”

Karin Lawrence grinned openly at him, including the rest of the Fire Nexus in the smile. Will could hear quite a few people behind him muttering in quiet surprise. He couldn’t blame them. Karin was wonderful, with bright sheets of blond hair that fluttered in the wind. She was tall and willowy, with a small straight nose and full lips. Her natural beauty was enhanced by the grin, but she didn’t seem like a conscious type who was aware of her charm.

“Nice to meet you, Karin,” Will said. Karin, like her sister, went for a hug instead of a handshake, greeting both him and Charlisa.

“The pleasure’s all mine!” The girl said. She looked to be the same age as him and Charlisa. “Kiera’s told me a lot about you guys.”

“All good, I hope,” Will said. The Air Nexus might be a cheery lot, but his cheeks were starting to hurt with how much smiling he was doing.

The two sisters laughed at that, and Will thought that Karin was looking at him strangely as if trying to judge something for herself. He pushed that thought to the side and turned to where Edward and Kevin were still talking. Both Alphas looked serious, and Kevin in particular looked like he was going through a powerful realization of some kind. Will tuned in to what they were saying just in time to catch Kevin’s bewildered reply.

“I thought he looked familiar,” The alpha said, his eyes wide. “I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d met him somewhere.”

“When did you meet him?” Will asked abruptly. There were several of the Air Nexians who looked disturbed suddenly. They’d heard Edward’s explanation of Will’s theory. Kevin’s reaction was similar to the other Alphas’. “Sorry if that’s impertinent, I’m just really curious.”

“Well, truth be told,” Kevin said slowly, looking like he didn’t want to discuss it. “When I first got my powers, I was sure I was going to die.”

Will nodded. It seemed a common theme, he thought. “How did it happen?”

“I fell from the Q1 building,” Kevin answered. When Will looked uncomprehending, he explained further. “It’s the tallest building in  Australia. In my past life, I was a banker. A… colleague of mine was jealous of my success, and pushed me from the top of the building.”

Will was horrified to hear it. “No!”

Kevin nodded, his face appropriately saddened. “I was certain I would die.”

“But how did Tobias meet you then?” Charlisa put in. Like Will, her eyes were wide, and her eyes looked watery. “Did he catch you?”

Kevin shook his head. “I’m still not sure I saw him. But, as I fell, I caught a glimpse of someone on one of the lower floors. He made direct eye contact with me. Then, I passed out.”

They were all silent as they digested the story. Kevin let out a quiet, forced kind of laugh, and added, “When I woke up on the sidewalk without an injury, I thought I’d died and gone to some weird kind of heaven. But I was even more surprised when I nearly conjured a tornado on the spot. I scared everyone around me lifeless until I figured out how to control it. Then, I suddenly realized I was free. Free to do whatever I wanted, and free to go wherever I wanted.”

It somehow sounded even more terrifying than Edward’s story of nearly freezing to death, Will thought. Even scarier than Rachel’s tale of nearly drowning when a hurricane had knocked her out of her sailboat along the coast of Florida. He shook his head sadly, and, acting on an impulse, hugged the man. Kevin returned the gesture gratefully and smiled down at him when they separated.

“I appreciate the concern, William. But that was my old life. I am a new man now, and if this Tobias man is responsible for it, then I can only thank him. He could have killed me in Tokyo, but he didn’t. I don’t think he ever intends to.”

“But why did he attack us?” Edward burst out, his brow set in a deep frown. “He came with several fake Water Nexians, just like Togai did. If he wants to help us, why did he do that? And again in Florida!”

“I don’t think he meant to seriously hurt us,” Will said. He spoke quietly, but over twenty pairs of eyes still flicked over to look at him. He took a deep breath. “I thought we beat those Water Nexians a little too easily at the time. After meeting Rachel and her Nexus, I realized how weak they’d been in comparison.”

“You think he intended for that attack to fail?” Charlisa asked. Will nodded. “But why?”

Will could only shrug. “I don’t know. There are so many layers to it that I can’t figure anything out.”

He debated for a few seconds, wondering internally if he should tell them what Tobias had said. He hadn’t shared the dream or the conversation he’d had with any of them yet, not even Charlisa. They all felt private with the words and the message Tobias had given him. It almost seemed like sacrilege to share them with another person. No, he decided. The time would come for him to tell that story, but that time wasn’t now. He looked at Edward, who was watching him closely. The Alpha almost seemed to know that he was keeping something in, but did not attempt to pry it out of him.

“We can settle that later,” he said finally. “We’re getting close to the end of the plan, Kevin. Are you ready?”

If Kevin’s face had been troubled before, it was nothing compared to his expression when Edward asked the question. It was equal parts resigned and determined. He took several long seconds to reply. “I’m ready. I don’t like it, but I am with you, Edward.”

“Thank you,” Edward replied. The two Alphas shook hands again, and Kevin turned away, going back to his Nexus. He paused when he was twenty feet away, and turned back.

“I believe I may come to regret joining you, Edward. But you are right. He must be stopped. In that, I am your ally. But we will not be a part of anything more.”

Again, they shared a silent look, and Edward nodded his understanding. Kevin nodded in his turn, then jumped into the sky again. His Nexus followed after him at once. Only Kiera and Karin remained for a few seconds longer. Will looked to them, then gave a start. They were staring very intently at him, he realized. Karin was wearing that same searching, judging look. Then, she smiled at him. It was the same kind of smile Charlisa used often. Coy. Then she too turned away and flew into the air with her sister.