I woke up to Roxy shaking me vigorously. “Mm, you’re so annoying” I groaned.
“Shut up! We’re late for class”
“You are, mine starts later today” How did I sleep so much after being unconscious for two days?
“Yeah but you forget Youri and I are minors”
“YOURI’S LITERALLY EIGHTEEN! But fine give me a couple minutes” I’ll talk to Carver and Sutner and explain everything that happened as well. I got out of bed, changing into a new pair of clothes before heading to Youri’s room “Seriously can’t either of you drive yourselves?”
“I’m too young”
“Buttttttt you’re not too young to use your powers to hack into confidential data and access the entire world’s information, right? At least try to use a better excuse” Besides, Jeremy’s been driving since he was 15.
“That’s different. I won’t get caught in that regard” Oh?
“Someone’s cocky. Emphasis on the ‘cock’” I sighed.
“Good mor-morning” Youri smiled as he opened the door. “I’m glad you’re back saf-safely Ed-Eden. I hope you’re feel-feeling ok-okay”
“Even if Youri’s eighteen, he doesn’t have his license yet. If a refugee is seen driving without one, that’s gonna be quite problematic, you know?”
“So we’ll get him one made. I got a lot of work to do today anyway so I’ll add that to the list. I’ll be helping Sutner with the Pitch Black Five thing anyway so I can bring it up with him then”
“Guys I’m right here”
“I thought you promised to let that go” Roxy recalled as I grabbed the keys.
“I, well, I’m not working alone. Just doing some investigatory stuff. Nothing too out of my league” I defended as we got in the car.
“So I’m just be-being ig-ignored here?”
“Doing that last time almost got you killed. We’ve already talked about this. Stop being so damn suicidal”
“If you both want some al-alone time I can go sep-separa-separt-separately”
“It’s not like that. I’ll just be”-
“You said you wanted me in on this so I could watch your back and be your eyes and ears. How do you expect me to do either when you won’t even listen to what I say?” I can’t make her cry again, I can’t. Last night taught me that I had to live, for both Christine’s sake, and hers. I can’t die on either of them.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll just be discussing things with Sutner, that’s all. Nothing more”
“Um, is ev-ever-everyth-everything o-ok bet-between you two?” Youri enquired.
“Yeah, don’t worry about it” Roxy sighed, getting out when we reached.
“Can I ask what hap-happened?”
“Nothing Youri. I’ll see you after class” I bid him farewell before heading towards Sutner’s office. I ran into him on the way there. Shit, he’s gonna be pissed…
“Oh Eden, nicely done providing us with more of the brownie sample and Pitch Black Five. We’ve been running diagnostics on them since yesterday and have obtained a lot of info cause of it. You’ve done well” He smiled, patting me on the shoulder. HMMM?????
“You’re not, mad? No snarky comments or anything?” I asked in complete confusion. And who dropped it off to him?
“As your professor, I don’t have the right to be- wait, why would I be mad? What did you do?”
“Uhhh, on the weekend? I went to Oakholden? Was unconscious for two days? You sent Dimanche and his squad to get me along with more of the sample?” There’s no way he’s forgotten about that.
“Huh? I didn’t send Dimanche after you. He came to me requesting a squad to recover some Pitch Black Five cause he caught wind of a deal going on in Oakholden. There was no mention of you” HUH?
“But, but, he said you sent him. And that he was to escort me back to you personally to report what I saw” That doesn’t make any sense… Unless my theory’s right and he really is a rat.
“No, I had no idea you were even there or involved. He just said his sources told him so I gave him the green light. He’s one of my most trusted officers” He lied to both of us… “Stick around till the old man comes. Tell Carver and me everything” He ordered, walking off to the staff room. That’s when I saw HIM walk past me. He probably didn’t even notice or recognize me. He walked towards the computer lab, where Youri’s class was taking place. So he’s in that batch huh? Before I could say or do anything else, both my professors walked towards me. “Sorry to bother you sir, but Eden would like to share a few things with both of us. They require, utmost attention” He explained to his supervisor. Oh, we’re doing this right now? “Come with us” I walked behind both of them, heading to the classroom before taking a seat. “Tell us everything”
“Sooo remember the day I dropped those brownies off? I took a small sample and headed to Oakholden, where an ‘associate’ of mine works and studies. I had her investigate them and she identified traces of Pitch Black Five, which she said was plaguing the country and leaving people in horrendous states. At first it was mistaken for an epidemic but we figured out the main cause. The symptoms are similar to what my currently comatose friend Jeremy experienced. That night I went to do some investigating at the dry-docks and found a shipment of the drug. I dismantled the mechs and took care of the other thugs, but this one superpowered enforcer made things hella difficult” And sure enough he goes to our university…. “I got my ass kicked and lost that fight, but some mystery figure saved me. I also unlocked a potential ability somehow, but I’m still not too sure about it. We managed to recover an even bigger sample, some of which is currently in my bag, and some were already given to you through unknown means. However my injuries led to me being unconscious for two days and I woke up fully recovered yesterday. Apparently, Dimanche was waiting for me. He told me that you knew what I was up to and sent a squad after me for back up. Those men went to the docks AFTER I had been taken away, and CLAIMED to have finished off the remaining thugs and secured the supply” Both of which are blatant lies. “The enforcer got away and Dimanche said he was supposed to escort me back to Sutner personally because you wanted to see me immediately, regardless of my injuries. I refused and went straight home, falling asleep after showering. And here I am now in front of you”
“I don’t even know where to start with this” Sutner sighed, squeezing the bridge of his nose.
“I do. Eden, outside of your personal circle, we’re the only two who know of your ‘other life’. So feel free to be as open about it as you’d like. There’s no harm in telling us. Nothing leaves this room. Both of us admire your efforts and we’ll continue trying to make leeway and allowances for you. But if you do clash with the military, we have every right to put you down” Noted…
“Actually sir, we don’t. They have Squad Ten’s backing now. Velec is in charge of whatever operation they have going on. They mean well but just need to be a bit more cautious. As both of us know, Velec tends to get a bit too ahead of himself”
“Don’t worry, I understand. As for my powers, I’ll head to the library later on and try to understand them better”
“Would you be ok telling us about them?” The old man enquired.
“Basically I can fling blasts of ice from my sword. I did it twice in that fight and it was able to freeze my opponent entirely. I’ve never done anything like that before” Wait, no I have. Twice. Once back in 2019, at the oil refinery, and the second was at Hollentor, last August. I didn’t remember it back then but now, it makes sense. Kind of. I still don’t fully get it. Both times were against Lord Bane’s children. And on Friday, the guy said “Our family”. His powers were element related, just like the other two Bane kids. Could he be the third child? No wonder he really had it out for me. The fact that he’s here though… That adds another level of depth to this…
“Is it just with your sword?”
“Well, the only times I’ve used it, that’s how it’s happened. I’m not too sure what exactly it is” So my power actually activated two years ago, and I just never realized it or took the time to understand.
“I see. That could be quite powerful. I’m glad you’re on our side” Carver smiled.
“Sir, this still doesn’t solve the Dimanche part” Sutner reminded. “The fact that he lied to Eden and me. I was told that he caught word of a drug deal going on. But to Eden, he said that I authorized it, when I had no idea he was involved” He’s not even that important of an officer, why would he lie about this? And the fact that he told me he rounded up the remaining thugs when no one else was on the scene and all the other ones were killed? Doesn’t make any sense. Is he trying to make himself seem like a hero to get more fame and recognition?
“Maybe the higher ups gave him this mission”-
“WHO’S MORE HIGHER UP THAN US? We’re the leaders of Squad Thirteen. Dimanche doesn’t have the right to listen to anyone besides us unless WE authorize it”
“I’ll run it by the other Squad Commanders. Maybe he was working undercover and needed to lie to you both”
“With all due respect sir, isn’t that something at least YOU should have known about then?” But then again, Dimanche is quite weird and strange. He has his own way to go about things. “We’ll have to keep a closer eye on him now”
“Is that all?” I asked, opening my bad to hand them the Pitch Black Five. There’s still no information on what exactly this drug is. It’s just some dark matter-like substance that can easily paralyze someone, as well as causing rashes and marks on their face. There’s got to be more to it though. There has to be…
“Yes Eden, thank you. You can have the rest of the week off thanks to all you’ve done and been through these past few days. We’ll let you know what we find with this sample” Perfect.
“It’s fine, I’ll probably just fall asleep right here to be honest. There’s nothing more I really have to do” That was a lie. There’s a lotttt of stuff I’ve got on my plate, but I just can’t bring myself to do any of it right now. Besides, I feel I should’ve had enough rest by now, but I’m still exhausted.
I woke up several hours later to find the classroom still empty. Everything was left as it was, with nothing seemingly out of place. “Shit, did I oversleep?” I muttered, checking my phone. Oh shit, I did. How did I even? They just let me fall asleep like that? Am I really that deep of a sleeper? No one even bothered waking me up?
“There you are! We were looking for you” Roxy sighed as she kicked the doors open.
“Are you rea-ready to leave?”
“Mhm” I nodded, still getting adjusted with my senses as I walked towards them. “Oh also” I just realized I have yet to know what Youri’s power is. “Youri, what exactly is your ability by the way?”
“Oh, um. It’s”-
“He can destroy any inanimate object with his hands!”
“He can also speak for himself as well” I reminded.
“Sorry, it’s just we were talking about it earlier and I got really excited. His power’s super cool” She added.
“Yes bas-basic-basical-basically I can do that, but it’s still un-untrain-untrained. If it’s att-attached to som-someone, It will def-defin-definit-definitely hurt them. I need to prac-parctice to av-avoid that”
“Hmm alright. Roxy, can you go wait by the car please? Youri, come with me” I ordered, heading towards the cafeteria. He nodded, following suit.
“Is ev-ever-everyt-everything o-ok?”
“Yeah don’t worry. Since you’re a part of our little family, I’ll be needing to test your resolve” I grinned.
“Oh you don’t need to wor-worry ab-about that. I’m one hund-hundred per-percent loy-loyal to you and your cause”
“Yeah I know. I just need you to prove yourself a little, in the field that is. Honestly our workload is a bit too much and without Jeremy it’s even harder to manage. It would really help if you’d do a little task for me. A minor assignment, nothing too big”
“Of course. You don’t ev-even need to ask. I am yours to com-command. What would you have me do?” He questioned as we found an empty table to sit at.
“I need you” I leaned forward, smiling malevolently. “To bring the Banes down a notch.
