“Those who have not yet arrived, ask others for details,” Iron Fist said, slightly muffled by his iron mask filled with teeth. “I hate waiting.”

A hushed silence fell over the dimly lit room. One by one, various masks and helmets turned in Iron Fist’s direction. He turned his stern gaze to a man donned in a camouflage vest and a rifle strapped to his back. The soldier-like figure grunted and reached for his phone. “Call the servers,” he ordered. “I want dinner served at once.”

The room bellowed in cheers.

“Finally,” Miss Behave said. “I’m sick of waiting.” She stretched her arms and legs. My vision slightly turned away. While her black bodysuit provided some cover, her hourglass shape wasn’t.

My gaze moved under the table where a hand turned to reveal a wristwatch. It was still 4:34 pm, an hour and a half before the meeting was due to start. Although it started early out of impatience, causing me to clench my teeth. I would lose all the extra time I had allotted in case I needed more time for my future selves.

I was surprised when I felt a pain in the lower lip, and soon afterward, I tasted iron. Breath hitched in the throat, trembling. “Leave—we have to leave.”

“Debbora?” Miss Behave asked, a frown began etching onto her domino mask.

“Leave, you have to leave before you die,” the voice rasped, shaking. “Thea, please.”

Both Miss Behave and Cavalier reacted. The former widened her eyes before frowning even deeper, while the latter changed seats and sat closer.

“Assuming she is her,” Cavalier’s deep voice echoed within his dark, sleek, metal helmet. “When and how?”

“I—I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t know,” the voice whimpered, almost crying. “I just know, Jonathan. The other you didn’t share—”

I yelped at the force of his heavy, gloved hand clenching around the mouth. It hurt. “I can forgive a one-time mistake, Diviner,” Cavalier said in a deeper voice, “But I won’t hesitate to put down a sniffer. Be extra careful with the names you claim.” My hands moved to keep his hands off me, but they only grabbed the air instead. My instinct screamed to drop or forward my future viewing. I could hear a muffled scream, struggling.

“Calm down, Cavalier. Eyes and ears on us,” Miss Behave muttered, her eyes darting around. “Save it for later. We don’t want attention.”

“You heard the Diviner—”

“I heard, now calm down,” she replied in a flatter tone. “She is my responsibility, remember?”

Cavalier didn’t respond momentarily before he grunted and released his grip. He settled down in his seat, arms crossed like nothing happened. A sigh escaped as I felt the hands creeping to soothe the pain in the jaws. “Fine, but make her stop.”

“Geez, no wonder why you get dumped every single time.”

“Miss Behave.” She just shrugged it off.

“Sorry about that, Debbora. Men can be impulsive sometimes, you know, so please forgive him and his aggressive behavior.” Miss Behave whispered while Cavalier groaned, but kept quiet. “Calm down. Everything is going to be alright.”

“But, Thea, you’ll die.” The lips mouthed, trembling.

Miss Behave frowned but schooled her expression. “So I heard. I’ll be extra careful if it will make you feel better. I’ll run if a fight breaks out. How’s that?” She offered a smile.

…

She sighed. “Please understand that leaving is impossible. Iron Fist hates disrespect the most. Unless you are Ledross or Fascion, he will kill you, and maybe us as well. Worst, everyone will laugh as they post your bloody face on the internet.” I felt the hands being held before Miss Behave carefully lifted them close to her chest. “We’ll leave when the meeting’s over, okay?”

My vision lingered momentarily at the held hands before I felt a stiff nod. “Good.”

Her face got closer. It wasn’t noticeable, but I could smell a powder from makeup. “One more thing,” her smile flattened, morphing into a more serious face, “stop calling us by hypothetical names. There’s a reason why killing sniffers was legalized as self-defense. Too many hero licenses got revoked before.”

I felt the body stiffen. “But Jonathan told me—”

“Look at me.” She leaned in close, her eyebrows frowning and fingers clenching. I felt the head lean back a bit. “Tell me, is my hair red to you?”

“…No,” the lips mouthed, softly.

“See, I’m not her,” she sighed. “Still, I’m grateful for the warning,” before smiling sweetly. A smile I was so familiar with, one that tingled my heart every time I saw it. “Let’s wait until the meeting is over, then we’ll leave, all right?”

I felt the head nodding. No, two heads nodding at once. “Good,” she kept her smile as she released the hands.

Was she really not my best friend? I thought. The clumsy, ditzy girl who panicked from a paper cut or squealed at bad romance movies had been replaced by a more intense and serious person. Even then, her kindness bled through.

“What did I miss?” Miss Behave asked.

My vision shifted towards Cavalier, he sat there with his arms crossed, his helmet facing Iron Fist. I started doubting his instruction, the one he told me how to find them. I felt my fingers clenching, realizing that Jonathan hadn’t given me any other directions besides attending.

“Nothing,” his deep voice echoed. “Just Fascion teasing Iron Fist’s impatience, the usual.”

I felt my gaze turning to look. In my field of vision, I could see Iron Fist frowning at Fascion’s grinning face. My vision then went back to the watch, telling me that at least five minutes passed.

“Don’t care.” Miss Behave said as she stretched her hands. “I just wanted the meeting to start.”

I jolted as the door made a startling noise and swung open. Footsteps cluttered as people burst through the door, each pushing a tray. Like the receptionist earlier, they all wear the same uniform—a plain white mask and red T-shirts under a black vest. Clinking sounds filled the air as the servers set the empty tables with plates, cutleries, and dishes—a sweet aroma permeated from a steaming bowl of soup.

One server went in front of Iron Fist, shaking as he spoke. “We’re sorry. We’ll refund the uncooked dishes—”

“We’ll pay for them, regardless.” The soldier cut him off. “Just serve what’s ready.”

That perked the server up. “Thank you. I will quickly relay this to the cooks.” He smiled. The soldier waved his hand away, thus the server bowed before exiting with the others, along with their trays. Not long after, they pulled the door closed, leaving as quickly as they came in.

Another wave of clinks resounded as everyone began filling their plates. Some discreetly packed theirs in plastic bags under the table. Miss Behave piled her plate high with dumplings, roasted chicken, pork ribs, and other meat dishes. Meanwhile, Cavalier hadn’t moved an inch, his arms crossed as he sat still, watching the proceedings.

My vision shifted to the table. I could feel the stomach churning and a gulp of saliva. It didn’t help that the only food I ate was cornflakes.

“PrismaGeeks, the rundown.” Iron Fist ordered as he faced the newcomers. Each of them wore a unique and bright, mono-colored spandex outfit inspired by a TV show from a neighboring alternate Earth, ALT-E Helios. Or more commonly called by backward initials, Heta. Their costumes covered most of their bodies, leaving only their smiling faces left exposed.

“Yes, boss man.” The one in the red spandex saluted and tapped his belt. The sound of a machine whirred as two bolts unscrewed, opening its pouch. He slid his fingers inside and pulled out a phone. The screen lit up, and it displayed the same logo that was on their chest. After the login screen, his thumb fiddled with his phone.

His back made a clicking sound, and a compartment opened, sending out four smooth circular bots. They propelled to the corners of the room before blue lights popped, bathing everything in hue. These lights converged into a single spot, creating a shimmer, and then a hologram. It displayed a map of the western part of the Central District. In the center, a square enclosed a yellow dot labeled “King’s Chambers Hotel C21-17”—the building where Jonathan had instructed me to attend.

At the top right corner, I read four-fifty-seven pm.

“Fascinating. I see you’ve implemented some of my techs. Did you pick up the broken pieces of my arms? I don’t mind you using them for research purposes.” Fascion winked.

“I did and you’re a genius! By reducing the amount of carbon molecules—”

“Stop wasting my time, Red.” Iron Fist said, his voice sounding deeper than usual. “The report.”

The other members of PrismaGeeks palmed their faces, their smiles wiped. “Be professional!” The blue one tried to whisper but was still audible to me, despite the distance.

Red formed an O with his lips. “Oops, my bad. Got a li’l sidetracked there.”

“Techno maniacs,” a person from a neighboring table spat out a bone to his plate. He wore a hockey mask with a retracted lower piece and a black leather jacket filled with spikes. “Fuckin’ mutts, droolin’ over pieces of toys.” I frowned at his statement. The techies had a reputation for their extreme obsession with technology, but they were the ones that kept the Areas habitable.

With a slight cough, Red continued. “These are the heroes who will be there to keep the peace.” He fiddled with his phone. A new interface appeared, and a list of pictures and names bombarded the hologram as the scroll bar got smaller and smaller. It stopped at number 72, with an image of a man flexing his biceps, wearing a blue and white bodysuit, and a label to the right that read ‘Zero Kelvin A45-C’.

The sound of notifications echoed as everyone pulled out their phones, hidden in the various pockets of their costumes. Miss Behave thumbed through the list of images as she nibbled on a chicken wing. As I peered through her phone, I noticed that the profile picture had been replaced with a red ‘Error!’ It was a sign of tampering, meaning the phone wasn’t linked to her bio account. This was illegal. Possessing an unlinked device would lead to penalties the same with identity theft.

“That’s a lot more heroes than usual,” Cavalier said.

Miss Behave hummed. “Two dozen more, with no kids or sidekicks. It’s suspicious,” she frowned. As Miss Behave turned her head, I felt the neck twist instantly, shifting my gaze back to the hologram. “Know anything, Debbora?”

“No—my power is limited.”

Miss Behave shrugged before biting the chicken’s skin. “As all powers should be.”

“Oh, what a pleasant surprise. Phalanx will be our veteran guest. That should make this evening a thousand miles more interesting.” Ledross, wearing tattered clothes, remarked as he stuffed tempura into his mouth.

“Wonderful,” Fascion purred, her lips curling and stretching to reach both ears. “I can finally try his prided long, golden spear. They say it will tingle.”

Ledross chuckled, “I say, it will be a shocking experience, love—”

“Enough.” Iron Fist cut them off. “Red, the venue.”

“Right-o, boss.” The hologram closed the hero profiles, displaying the clear map again. It turned, moving the view to the upper right corner, and stopped at a red dot. “Giant League’s Stadium C520-840.” It had an aerial snapshot, a layout, and a blueprint.

The stadium was large enough to host several sporting events simultaneously. Its tiered blue seat structure encircled the silicon-based field, engineered to replace natural grass. Entrance and Exit, with stick man walking through the door icons, were highlighted on the right and left wings. The bottom wing was where the broadcasters sat during an event and where personal staff were located. A white line provided the shortest path possible to important areas like the toilet, changing rooms, cafeteria, quarters, and others.

In the center of the green field, there rested an unpowered broadcasting drone. It would hover in the air using four propellers wirelessly powered by connecting to the District C main grid. Slotted underneath were the hologram projector, and large speakers.

“Enforcers, medics, and reporters, where are they?”

“Coming up.” With a single press, the layout shifted, painting the layout bright red. I could see some yellow dots and green dots scattered around. But everything was plastered in red. The red dots, almost filled both the inside and outside that I could barely see the layout.

“Red, explain.”

The PrismaGeeks flinched at Iron Fist’s tone while Red kept his nonchalance. “The yellow ones represent the reporters, the green for medics, and the red—is for the enforcers.”

The room burst into murmurs. “Screw that shit. I ain’t bustin’ my ass underground.” The neighboring gangster complained.

“That’s a rather nice and welcoming reception. They went all out this time.” Ledross commented.

Both Iron Fist and Fascion kept their mouth shut, their frown evident on their faces.

Ledross kept his straight smile and shrugged. “Guess we’ll decline the invitation.”

“Waste of time.” Iron Fist growled. “I can ignore heroes full of adults tripling our numbers, but a full Enforcer detachment is not.”

“Eh,” Red shrugged, “they wanted to make it big, a diviner proclaimed it a very special night. It will go down in history, she said.”

“A Diviner, huh.” I flinched when Iron Fist turned his glare in my direction. “It will be us going down, by working on their underground facilities,” he turned to his soldier, who grunted.

“Meeting dismissed. You’ll receive your payment and tickets as promised, PrismaGeeks.”

“It’s a pleasure working again with you, villains.” Red smiled. The other PrismaGeeks got up and headed straight for the door. I could hear angry murmurs as people got up from their chairs.

“Wait, stay PrismaGeeks. I’ll pay anyone who sits.”

Iron Fist whirled to Fascion, paused for a moment, and spoke. “So you can talk without sounding like a slut.”

Fascion burst out laughing. “That’s your main concern? Well, I’ve always been an intense lady, Iron Fist,” Fascion chuckled. “You just never saw my appeal.”

Iron Fist scoffed, causing Fascion to smile even wider. She leaned back in her chair. “But despite my demeanor, I am no prostitute. And as a performer, I can’t shy away from the spotlight.”

“So you say, but you’ll be alone in your endeavor. No one is as stupid as you.”

“Perhaps you’re right, I am a fool. But that doesn’t take away my desire to be on stage. I live to please the audience.”

“Fine, whatever. Everyone, sit,” Iron Fist groaned as he sat down with the rest. “As the organizer, I’ll stay to conclude the meeting, but I won’t follow through on your foolishness.”

“Ooh~ Is that a soft spot I suspect? Finally giving in to my charm?”

“Keep your fantasies to yourself, wench.”

“Sounds fun, but what’s your plan, love?” Ledross adjusted his orange sunglasses. “This can be a quick trip to underground prison if the plan wasn’t solid.”

“Before we proceed to the planning phase, Ledross.” Iron Fist turned his glare at us. “All the relevant information has been shared. Those who changed their mind can leave. Others who didn’t, stay.” He said, emphasizing the last word.

There was a pregnant pause as I took in the silence. It didn’t take long before a chair rattled as Ledross stood up and headed straight for the door, arms in his pockets and his smile with him. After a while, another group left. Then another.

“Get up, Debbora. We’re leaving.” Miss Behave and Cavalier stood up.

“We’re leaving?” The throat voiced out, uncertain. “Aren’t we threatened to stay?”

“Yes and yes, now stand up unless you want to join.” I felt the body shoot up and followed close behind them. I grimaced at the sudden jolt of pain in the ankle, though the pacing didn’t slow down. My vision turned back, and I found that only four tables had groups sitting on them. On the left and right were other irregulars walking out. I could see the familiar gangster walking close to my side. When he turned his head to peer back, my vision immediately swiveled back.

“Ya’ll diviners, always muckin’ up every goddamn thing. Ya hear me, huh?”

I could feel the pacing increasing as my vision narrowed until it focused on Miss Behave’s back. Cavelier turned around, put a hand behind, and pushed gently, inserting himself in between.

“Tha’s what I thought,” he spat. “Always hidin’ behind their puppets.”

“Ignore him. Just keep walking.” Miss Behave whispered.

“I know,” Cavalier said.

It didn’t take long until we got out of the building and separated from the other irregulars.

Walking down a dark tunnel of a subway, I instinctively grabbed the edge of my table when my future self slipped on a wet tile. Cavalier, bulky as he was, reacted to hold the shoulders. Unlike the strong grip he demonstrated earlier, this time, it was gentler. He then helped my future self to stand, causing the pain in the ankle to flare up again. We both gritted our teeth.

“Thanks, and sorry.”

Cavalier grunted, “It’s nothing. Be careful next time.”

“I will.”

My vision straightened again. Up ahead, electric lights embedded in the side walls flickered, creating a brief patch of darkness. Some wires from broken glass bulbs dangled from the ceiling. Metal benches at the side had been sawed through, leaving some remnants of their legs rooted in the cement. Miss Behave said techies had stolen the place for their projects. The side lights were only left because it wasn’t worth the effort.

The creepiness and darkness deterred the pedestrians as they preferred walking under the street lights. This made the subway the optimal route for Irregulars. Both Cavalier and Miss Behave promised to take my future self home but it was best to walk at least two blocks away from origin before calling a transporter.

“Hey, wanna take a break?” Miss Behave pointed a thumb to a side where it had two entrances, a blue male icon on the left and a pink female icon on the right.

“I would like that. Thank you.”

“Okay. Cavalier, keep an eye out. We’ll be busy.”

Cavalier grunted and stood beside the entryways.

“Thank you, Cavalier,” the lips mouthed before entering. He just grunted back.

“Are you raised in an uptight family?” Miss Behave asked with a raised eyebrow. “Because you act sheltered.”

I felt a frown.

“I’m not. I have manners,” the tone higher than normal.

“‘Kay, no need to be so defensive, geez,” Miss Behave rolled her eyes. “I’ve been meaning to ask but why went to a gathering of villains when dialing a ‘HERO CALL’ is simpler.”

“It’s—complicated…”

“Sure it is.” Miss Behave said half-eyed as she held the handle of the stall, waiting.

My vision moved down as the left hand held the handle. “I noticed,” the lips mouthed, “that you’re avoiding attention. Why?”

Miss Behave shrugged and pushed the door open. “That’s how we kept our head for months, by keeping it down,” she said and closed it.

I frowned. Her advice contradicted Gibson’s, which focused on appearing confident and assertive.

“And don’t think I didn’t notice the diversion.”

I felt a sigh before pushing down the handle.

…

After pressing the flush button, my future self got out of the stall. I was surprised that it made a normal flushing sound. Part of me expected the toilet to be pilfered as well. It was powered by electricity after all.

“Are you done?” Miss Behave asked, waiting beside the door.

I felt a nod.

“Good, now let’s talk business.”

“What? What business—” the mouth snapped shut as I noticed a gun pointed in my direction. “Miss Behave?”

“Sorry, Debbora, but you know far too much.” She said as she started walking closer.

“W-wait! Let’s talk!” Hands flew up in defense, but not so high as to hide the glistening barrel. I could feel the heart beating faster and faster. I grimaced as a foot took a step back.

“Of course we’ll talk. It’s business, remember? We haggle, we negotiate, we make threats.” She stopped a meter out of reach. “We wear masks for a reason, and it’s not for Halloween.”

“I-if it’s about your names, I won’t tell anyone. I swear.”

“Oh, that’s cute. I’m sure you’ll be elected world leader one day.” I flinched when I heard a click as she pulled the hammer with her thumb. “Unfortunately, I don’t trust them. They have screwed us over and over again.”

“Please, don’t do this, Thea. I won’t tell anyone. Believe me.” My vision started to blur as the water trickled down, and I felt the wet cold on the cheeks.

“I don’t want to kill you, Debbora,” Miss Behave frowned, “but I can’t let you go either. A single press of a send button can destroy not only mine and Cavalier’s lives, but the lives of the people we love as well.”

Miss Behave raised the barrel closer to my vision, causing me to flinch as well. “I’m sorry, Debbora, but I needed insurance so you wouldn’t screw us. You will have to pull your veil down.”

“…I-I understand… just move the gun away… Not—good with them.”

“Good.” Miss Behave pointed the barrel on the tiled floor. I felt the body ease down a bit.

With trembling hands, they slowly rose until they grasped the thin, soft cloth. After a short, deep breath, I felt a tug and the veil was removed, making my vision clearer. In front of me, I saw Miss Behave’s eyes widen, her mouth agape.

After a pregnant pause, she asked, “Jane?”

“Yes—Thea, it’s me,” the lips imparted, trembling but firm, “your best friend.”