A Second Generation Whateley Academy Adventure

Silent Mountain

by

MaLAguA

Part Two

Saturday, December 24th - 10:26am
British Columbia Forests

The morning of the next day arrived and the team emerged from their tents after a rather bothersome sleep to carry on with their trip. Root, Leslie, Raffina, Josh and Vic, the students that were making their way towards the currently vacant villain base of Silent Mountain to undertake the test by the Syndicate. The Canadian wildlands in the morning had a chilly but beautiful greeting, encouraging them with the promise of a good start.

It all could easily be taken as a sort of quest: travel across uncharted woods towards the mystical mountain of silence and complete the trials of the rogue. It certainly added a different spin on the situation, even if in the back of his head, Vic knew that Syndicate support was the difference between going to school or being out on the streets by the following year. For some, like Josh or himself, failure would come at a very heavy cost.

So, waking up to the realization that all the concerns from the night before were real did put a hamper to the relaxing, easygoing mindset this sort of date would tend to have. After all, it was the twenty-fourth, Christmas Eve, and it did make him wonder if he would find the familial joy in the season again. His mother not having factored in his life for four years… and his last Christmas with his father being somewhat strained with the changes the family was undergoing thanks to Gwen’s manifestation.

“I should’ve sent a message to my dad before leaving,” Vic realized as he looked down at his phone, just to confirm there was still no signal.

“Something wrong?” Josh chimed in from just a couple of steps behind as they trudged through the fresh snow.

“Nothing. I just realized I forgot to do something before being dropped in Canada,” Vic said in a bit of a joking tone as he looked around. Truth be told, despite all that had been happening, he couldn’t deny this was an experience he could find the positives about. He was out on a quest, with his friend from middle school and they were taking in the sights as they followed the map towards the Silent Mountain base.

The group had started the day without a hitch. Some of them complained about the cold, the interrupted sleep because of the watches and movement around, but that was the extent of it. There had been no extreme weather that night nor any attack by a dangerous animal, and the fire kept burning. So, they counted their blessings before moving over to a rather meager but sufficient breakfast, with the promise that they would make it to the base just about an hour or so after lunch.

From there, the camp was packed up and they departed the spot after eight.

“I think I’m getting frostbite,” Josh complained, back to the present, after having walked for a couple of hours.

“When the environment is cold, first focus inwardly, make sure blood circulation prevails.” That was one of the lessons from the spirit on the tip of his tongue. But that made him wonder if he could actually do it, if it would apply to him. So far the thought of controlling his own blood hadn’t crossed his mind, so he had no idea how to do it, or if it was possible or applicable… but it was certainly a convenient thought whenever he buried his foot deep into the snow.

“It’s a shame none of us happens to be able to conjure fire,” Vic muttered.

“I don’t think we want fire in a forest, even as cold as it is,” Root noted from way ahead of the procession. The older boy was holding out the map as he looked onto the next landmark of it: a broken faded signpost. Probably a relic of some villain who actually tried to put up warnings. “This way,” Root decided as they walked towards the side.

The mountain appeared to be growing with every passing landmark. Now it felt as if it was looming their way. Compared to where they started, Vic guessed they were halfway there.

“Ugh… I’m tired,” Raffina groaned.

“We all are,” Josh scoffed.

“I’m usually still in bed by this time,” she grumbled, partly ignoring him. “I really hope that there’s a party in the base waiting for us. With hot food and sweets waiting for us. I don’t think the Syndicate is cruel enough to not treat us right.”

“I hope…” Leslie chimed in, snuggling in her jacket while adjusting the cushy psychic field inhibitor collar around her neck. Just like the day before, she tried to keep it off to save battery. “But I’ll be happy if I get to use the showers in the barracks.”

“I just look forward to a roof and something to keep us warm…” Vic looked up to the pale cloud covered sky. “It feels like snow.”

“I hope your feelings are wrong,” Raffina noted from a distance.

“Well, if we make it to a safe place, we can sit, rest, and play some of the games I brought,” Josh added.

“What did you bring?” she asked.

“It’s a custom game device I made. Call it LightEX.” Josh began. “You see… Junkerer’s recycling center has this slot where they throw in broken hardware and corrupted software media. After a quick wipe, it’s all ready to go. This VR’s headset needed a full reinstall of the drivers and plug-ins to get it to work. So I needed to get to work on finding add-ons and pieces of code I could use to patch the thing. But then, I happened to find a compatible set of-”

“I…I wasn’t really that interested in hearing the full life story,” Raffina interrupted.

“You can show us when we get there,” Vic told him.

For all the concerns he had at the start of the day, it was moments like this that served as a good distraction, that refreshed and revitalized his focus. He wasn’t sure how hard the second half of the test would be, but there was no point in worrying about it now if he had nothing to go on. All that mattered was making it to the place in the first place, and he could see himself enjoying the rest of the way.

Saturday, December 24th - 2:34 pm
British Columbia Forests

Vic’s self-assurance and celebration, the focus on the now, only lasted for a couple of hours before crashing to a halt as they came across the first major obstacle: a river.

The large waterway crossed through the land, right in their path. The rapids ran from east to west as an amorphous stampede, giving the impression of a strong current, even if it was between a meter or a meter and a half deep. If it were summer, he imagined they could just try to swim through… but the weather was so cold, there would be consequences for anyone attempting to cross it.

The team stood by the edge of the river, watching it pass by. Their eyes went to one side and then to another as they tried to figure out what to do. From the moment the sound of the constant splashing reached his ears, Vic was already dreading the logical argument. 

“I don’t suppose any of us knows how to fly, right?” Josh said before looking at Root. “Think you can build us a wooden bridge?”

“No, I don’t,” Root half-joked as he held out his hand as if trying to measure the distance. If Vic had to guess, it would be about fifteen or twenty meters.

“Well… isn’t it convenient that we have a hydrokinetic among us?” Raffina asked, which was where Vic had been dreading the situation would go. “He’s the obvious solution.”

It was the step that made sense, and yet he was already trying to find excuses, like the water being too cold for him to work around it; or maybe the rapids would be too dangerous that the strength of the current was too much for his TK level to handle, acting as if the spirit wasn’t even an option… because in the end, that was his main concern. Because he knew that the spirit’s boost might be enough to create a protective field to cross… but it would accelerate his condition. All these doubts and thoughts rushed through as he was on the spot and in the end, the words that came out were:

“I can’t do this.”

“What?” Raffina asked.

“I said I can’t do this,” Vic repeated.

“What do you mean? You are a water manipulator. This should be easy for you?” Raffina frowned. “I’m hungry and the base is that way. I want to get under a roof before it starts to get colder.”

“And I’m telling you, I can’t. I’m not strong enough to divert the river nor do I think I have enough stamina to make multiple trips through,” Vic told her.

“You think? Have you even tried?” Raffina asked.

“I don’t need to, I know my limits,” Vic replied. That was, for the most part, a lie. He still didn’t have a clear grasp of what he couldn’t do when he tapped into the power.

“You’re useless,” Raffina scoffed.

“Um… Raffina? We can take another route–” Leslie tried to step in between, but was sidestepped by the other girl.

“You are a hydrokinetic. So far all we’ve seen you do is use your powers to wipe out snow and nothing else. But when we really need you to showcase them, you cower?” Raffina said. “Why would the Syndicate offer you their scholarships when you’re so limited!?”

“That’s enough!” Root stepped in between the two just before Vic could answer. The thought of making a fist crossed his mind, but his mom taught him better than to resort to punching girls.

“Yeah! That’s enough,” Leslie spoke up. Both voices were enough to get Raffina to relent.

“We’re getting nowhere by arguing…” Root scolded. “As much as I wish there was a simple way around the problem, Vic knows his limits better than any of us. So if he says he can’t do it, we have to trust him and find a different way.”

“I’m just saying what everyone thinks…” Raffina looked to Leslie for reassurance, only to frown as the girl didn’t back her up.

“Besides, it's too dangerous. If something happens, like one of you falling into the river or his powers giving up mid crossing, the cold water will make sure we get hypothermia and drag us down further.”

“But…”

“The map Cole gave me also suggests another route. If we follow the creek lower, there should be a sort of makeshift bridge left behind by one of the previous owners. We cross it there, round up down here.”

“And how far is it?” Raffina asked.

“It’s not a topographic map, you know. We’ll know when we see it.”

She groaned. “Ugh… but that might take hours.”

“Do you have a better suggestion?” Root said. “Trying to underestimate nature is a dangerous thing.”

“Right, whatever you say,” Raffina said sarcastically.

“Good…” Root tried to take this as a leadership victory. He turned around, pointing downriver. “Then, let’s carry on west until we find that bridge.

“Alright,” Josh said.

“Yes,” Leslie added.

Vic and Raffina remained silent, shooting glares one to another. Neither of them had enjoyed the little argument, nor felt like they’d come out on top in the end. And as the procession resumed its march, they each kept at a distance.

The group carried on along the side of the river, watching it pass by, barring them from making any progress towards the mountain.

“Things okay?” Leslie asked shortly after they took the first steps.

“I’m fine,” Vic answered.

“Hey, discount waterbender!” Raffina mocked in the distance. “Careful you don’t fall into the river!”

“Don’t worry about Raffina. She says a lot of things, many of which can be mean… but I think she’s a nice person if you get to know her,” Leslie whispered.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen.” A sigh escaped him as they carried on.

“Noted,” Leslie said as she looked in the vicinity, with a tinge of curiosity as her eyes briefly flashed red.

“Is something wrong?” Vic asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing. I just thought I heard something.” Leslie said, looking around. “Must’ve been nothing.”

“Hm…” was all Vic could say as he looked around. So far, everything appeared to be static. The wind didn’t seem to want to blow that day, the world was covered in white and the trees stood still… with the only exception being the running waters. “Is it something worrying?”

“I don’t think so. Sorry, I think everyone here is a bit on edge… But we’ll make it there on time.” And with that, she took a couple of steps to put herself a little ahead in the group, catching up to Raffina, who greeted her for a conversation of their own.

A couple of steps later and Vic heard the rattling in Josh’s back as the gadgeteer caught up to him. “Things got heated back then, right?”

“Yeah… they did,” Vic admitted. “Sorry we had to take the long route around…”

“Beats getting frostbite. Bet the riverbed was incredibly slippery. Would’ve made for a long walk, right?”

“I thought the same,” Vic answered. “Raffina wasn’t wrong though. I didn’t even try. One would expect a Syndicate-sponsored kid to have enough talent to do that kind of thing, right?”

“I don’t think you could be faulted. After all, I kinda remember you had a limit that capped at a hundred kilos… right?” Josh noted.

“Eighty kilos,” Vic corrected as he looked towards the running river, imagining that strength it carried in its passing. What would it be like to stand in the path? How would he go about it?

“It’s not a matter of standing in the way… but having a focus so sharp that it slices through…” Another lesson courtesy of the spirit within him. Vic’s hand moved over to his changing arm as he sighed.

“But… eighty kilos isn’t exactly my ultimate limit anymore…” Vic sighed as he turned to Josh. “There’s something that’s… that’s been happening to me for the past couple of weeks.”

“What is it?” Josh asked perplexed, though as Vic pulled back his left sleeve, a gasp escaped but not words escaped him. “You have a GSD?”

“It’s a bit more complicated. But yeah…” Vic said. His changes were still the same as before… Although it might’ve been the still clear daylight and the white of the snow in the vicinity, he could almost swear that the colors were a bit more defined. It was so far localized to the back of his forearm with the upper part being of a white color while the lower was of a dark green hue… quite similar to the one his fingers were assuming.

“What is it?” Josh asked as he reached over to prod the skin. “Feels smooth.”

Vic tried not to frown. He really didn’t like to focus on it, much less to have someone touch it. “The doctor at Whateley says its some sort of microscales.”

“I can see them. That’s so interesting.” Josh noted. “How?”

“Well… long story short… I’m an avatar and somewhere, I think I caught a spirit. An injured or broken spirit, considering it’s never really spoken to me, in the same way other avatars seem to commune. But it’s always there, ready to lend in some of its powers if I find myself lacking or to heal me if I’m seriously injured.” Vic sighed as he pulled the sleeve back down. He did not really want to explain this to Root or Raffina. Who knew what the latter would say if it were found out.

“It just happens to be my luck that the spirit has such similar qualities as me, so I never really stopped to think about how much I was lifting. I just assumed I was getting stronger. It wasn’t o until a visit to the doctor that I found out about it. Now, I worry about every time I might end up getting injured.”

“So… the river part…”

“I dunno. Maybe I would’ve been able to make a path… maybe not. I just didn’t want to rely on the spirit and accelerate the change.”

“Well, I don’t mind the extra walk… but I’m starting to get hungry…” Josh noted as he adjusted his bag. “And what do you make of it? I mean… what are you turning into?”

“I’m unsure…” Vic answered. “Although… water manipulation and scales. They make me think of a fish person.” He suspected that he’d gotten a glimpse at the form of the spirit’s species… but like all dreams, most subtle details were faded by the time he opened his eyes. “I’ve been kinda hoping there would be a cure… but everyone just tells me to accept it.”

“Well, don’t worry, dude. I’m here for you and will always be your friend… even if you end up turning into a sort of sea slug or barnacle,” Josh finished with a chuckle and a joke.

Even if Vic wanted to say that the joke was in poor taste, he couldn’t help but smile in relief at the idea he probably wouldn’t be turned into a slug or a barnacle.

“So, you have no idea?”

“None,” Vic halflied as he tried to cram his hands in his pockets.

“Would be cool if you were some sort of kraken… or shark?”

“I don’t think that would be convenient.” But Vic couldn’t help but smile and laugh… Whether it was Josh’s irreverent attitude or the ideas he provided, it was enough to push away the fears… even if the idea of losing the chance of a normal life was ever present. “But it would be cool…Let’s change topics. It bugs me to deal with this and I know I’ll have to talk about it with many more people I know.”.

“Alright…” Josh thought for a moment. “Have you learned to swim?”

“Eh… no,” Vic answered, with a bit of embarrassment. “I kinda forgot about it after the three of us went our separate ways.”

“Well. I just wondered if you might need it, considering…”

“Not exactly the change of topic I asked,” Vic answered. Although Josh was right. It was already awkward enough that he had a fear of drowning from the tanker incident and had never actually learned to swim, when his powers revolved around water. “I don’t suppose you’ve learned how?”

“I kinda plan to… but you know…”

“You never leave the lab?”

“I never leave the lab, except when I’m forced to go to school,” Josh said, earning a smirk from Vic. “So, want me to tell you about my projects?”

“Sure,” Vic conceded.

From there, the group carried on with their walk for quite some time until Root waved at them in the distance. They’d reached the spot. Just where the river split itself into two there stood the pair of bridges that would allow them to cross… Although calling them ‘bridges’ was being generous.

It made sense, given that this whole place was supposed to be inhospitable and untouched by civilization, that what they would find was a shoddy construct. Just where the river split itself into two smaller streams, a shoddy set of long lumbers was laid down to cross over, with only a handful of planks put in place to keep them from slipping in, just a set of shoddy pieces of lumber connected by slabs.

That just happened to be a trick, though, as the ends of the bridge were staked into the ground and the planks were surprisingly sturdy. But even then, it didn’t guarantee an easy crossing.

Knowing the risk and aware that they were already starting to feel the lack of lunch, they made the stop. Vic, Leslie and Root pooled whatever leftovers they had with them to distribute them among the rest of the team. The sticks of jerky, the protein bars and the unsalted crackers might not be much, but their stomachs still appreciated anything given.

Afterward, the kids made the effort to cross. Going one by one, they managed to make it over the pair of bridges with just a couple of incidents. Once, Josh fell down to his hands and knees in mid-crossing, in what was potentially a close call as the objects on his back rattled and threatened to drag him over the side. The other was Leslie missing a step and getting her leg into the cold water.

This one was the principal concern, as it could lead to frostbite and hypothermia if untreated. They didn’t have a fire, so Vic was told to handle it. Pulling the water from his belt, which was warmer than the river, he had it pass through Leslie’s pant leg and around her skin, catching as many river drops as he could to reduce the exposure.

Not exactly the recommended treatment, and he was unsure if it would spare her of any serious consequences. Even after Leslie pulled out a quick change of clothes and removed her soaked boot, they weren’t sure if she would be up to the rest of the trek. So Root took the initiative, hoisting Leslie on his back while discarding his backpack. They were going to make haste to the hideout. So they quickly picked up the pace and rushed their way back to where they left off to follow the last couple of landmarks to the base. Daylight was growing scarce, and snow was starting to fall upon them.

Saturday, December 24th - 5:50 pm
British Columbia Forests - Near Silent Mountain’s Entrance

As six in the evening drew near, the team was sprinting through the rest of the way to the base. The world had grown dark as the winter night had fallen and the snow began to flurry, obscuring their vision. Still, they were guided by the flashlight and carried on as fast as their legs would take them.

“Where is it?” Raffina demanded.

“There! I see something,” Leslie said from her vantage point on Root’s back. The girl pointed the flashlight to a particular cave in the side of the mountain. A gap appeared, carved diagonally, just like the map signaled.

“Yes!” Josh exclaimed.

“At last!” Raffina sighed.

The group didn’t hesitate towards the cave. And immediately after, the flashlight revealed a steel wall awaiting for them, with a sliding door and a keypad that flashed red to signal that the power was on.

“Josh, can you punch in the code?” Root called out. “It’s 2468.”

“On it,” Josh said. Everyone waited eagerly as the digits were typed in and sighed in relief as the keypad chimed, before the door unlocked itself and slid open. From the inside, a wave of warmth swept through that was more than welcome after having trudged outside for the better part of a day and a half. The creator of the base definitely had a good idea of what could get someone to feel the most welcome as the bits of snow melted away and slid under the grate beneath them.

“How’s your leg?” Raffina asked as she leaned up against the wall to take a deep breath.

“It’s fine,” Leslie said, relieved as she touched the ground. “Think I’m going to be fine… Thanks, Root.”

“No problem. No teammate stays behind,” Root said as he took a moment to catch his breath. “Vic, Josh, thank you for taking over every now and then.”

“No problem,” Josh said.

“We passed this first part, right?” Vic asked, looking around. The place they were in was what could be considered a sort of welcome foyer. A small area that only served to greet the travelers and ease them towards the back of the room where an elevator awaited. Judging by the indicator above, there was quite a distance to the main entrance.

“Cole said we have to make it by this evening… Technically we’re like five minutes ahead of the deadline, right?” Josh muttered, showing around the clock.

“They can’t fail us for this, right? We made it here in time,” Leslie said as she moved her leg off the heat vent, taking a couple of steps to confirm things were alright. The only bother was that now she was missing her boot, which had been stuffed in Root’s backpack, hopefully to be picked up later.

“We’ll have to ask the syndicate members here…” Vic noted before looking at Root, “Do you happen to know who’s here?”

“I do,” Root told them as he closed the entrance with the press of a button on the keypad. “One of them is a guy called Censer. I know him from a mission last month, our first mission. The other one, I haven’t met. Cole told me his codename was Lightning and that he is one of the organization’s enforcers. What they’ll think? I don’t know.”

“Well, we should get going,” Vic said as he reached the lift control panel and pressed the call button. There was no rumbling nor any sign of the platform’s movement other than the digital chime and the display showing the lift moving down at a tranquil pace.

But it wasn’t just it that woke up. The intercoms in the room crackled as someone’s voice made itself present.

“Can you hear me?”

Root stepped up and raised his voice. “Yes, we can.”

“And I hear and see you back. I’m Lightning, but you should address me by sir. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Root answered.

“You must be Root, is that the case?” To that, their team leader nodded. “Good. Before you step into the elevator, there’s a matter that needs to be sorted out. Did the Syndicate trust you with a line to call to?”

“Yes, sir. Cole gave me his number in case of an emergency. If anything happened during our travel.” Root checked his phone, his face showing disappointment that he had a signal.

“Good, but there’s no need to call him. I already sent him a message the moment the outside cameras picked you up by the side of the mountain,” Lightning said.

The elevator arrived and the large set of double doors opened to reveal a large cargo lift, like what one would expect for loading up a small platoon of henchmen. All that space for themselves just felt huge.

“One more thing. Among you there is someone that goes by Day Dreamer, right?”

“Yes, sir,” Leslie raised her hand.

“According to your file, you have trouble NOT reading people’s thoughts, correct?”

Leslie nodded.

“According to the file, you were also given a collar that will block those thoughts, correct?”

Leslie nodded again.

“Given that I’m a high Syndicate operative that has had a hand in many shady and even abusive operations. It would be an issue if you were to read into some of the secrets I keep. So, turn that collar on now. Understood?”

“But… I don’t pry into people’s minds like that… sir.”

“Maybe you haven’t tried enough. I don’t wish to risk it.”

“Okay.” Leslie reached to the side of her inhibitor collar to turn it on, raising it up so that the camera could see the change in the indicator lights.

“Good. Keep that on at all times…” Lightning answered. “Now, you can step in.”

The team followed the directions and stepped into the elevator. The door closed behind them and everyone began to feel the inertia as the ground began to rise at a steady pace. The feeling of triumph and relief was present now that they completed half of the trial.

“Does that mean we’re still within the time limit?” Vic wondered.

“I suppose we are.” Leslie answered back. “It would’ve been really bad if they’d just told us we failed and sent us back.”

“Yeah.” Vic sat down and enjoyed the ride up.

“Despite our failures we made it,” grumbled Raffina.

Josh tapped his jaw in nervous thought. “Wonder what the next test will be?”.

It was true. They weren’t in the clear yet. They still had to do the second part of the Syndicate trial. Whatever that might be, none of them was sure, but each had an inkling based on their own abilities–which for some was more concerning than others.

Saturday, December 24th - 6:06 pm
Silent Mountain Base - Level 1 - Main lift access

The doors opened to reveal a small section of corridor lined with LED panels on the ground, walls and ceiling. There appeared to be scanners in them and an unmanned security checkpoint window was set into the wall at the end.

“Oh… are these the vibration detectors? Because the base can be put into a perpetual state of silence, these things will find out if someone is trying to sneak in!” Josh noted as he leaned in closer to the panels to investigate them and try to peek into the security booth, but he was stopped as Lightning’s voice came out from the speaker’s here as well.

“The next part of your tests will be physically demanding and won’t allow the use of holdouts.”

The five kids exchanged curious looks. “We won’t have any weapons?” Josh blurted out. Naturally, being a gadgeteer, he needed the things that were inside his hefty backpack.

“Did I give you permission to talk?” Lightning raised his voice.

“No, sir.”

“No weapons allowed past this point. The same with phones.”

“What?” Raffina asked, holding out her phone. “Why not phones… sir? Because if you’re worried about us leaking information, I’ll tell you that we haven’t had any signal since we stepped into the mountain. Why doesn’t the Syndicate have any sort of signal extender in their own base?”

“Well… the reason for that is that the base’s signal extenders were damaged a couple of days ago.”

“That’s a shame… I can’t check my insta or twitter…” Raffina grumbled.

“Fine… you can keep your phones,” Lightning conceded. “But the rest of the luggage has to be left in the barracks, which is down and right at the next intersection you run into, justpast the henchmen bathrooms.”

The group heeded the words and turned right, with Lightning carrying on with the instructions. The walls were concrete and steel while the floors were marble. It was a retro-futuristic look that evoked images of space ships or 007 spy movies, which was probably what everyone expected.

“After that, you’ll return to the previous intersection and carry on straight until you reach the lounge. Stay there and I’ll join you soon.”

And with that, the intercom went off.

“Annoying,” Raffina declared, to which most of those present nodded in agreement.

The group passed the aforementioned door to the services, a large communal bathroom that included rows of faucets, stalls and showers with a couple rows of wooden benches. Leslie muttered something about wanting to actually have a hot shower, if the base would allow it. Another shared sentiment.

Afterward, the group reached another door that happened to be open. The barracks were what one might expect of the name: around two dozen double bunk beds built up against the walls, each with a table to the side and a two-drawer trunk down at the foot of each.

On the way in, Vic noticed a lift at the end of the hallway, although rather than connecting to the ground floor entrance, this one was marked differently, showing that there were a total of four levels, with level one (their current location) being actually the second to last on the list.

Still, they carried on with the instructions, dropping off their stuff by the wall. Root, having left his bag in the snow, left right away. After him left Leslie and Raffina, with the former weathering the latter’s annoyance at the lack of connectivity.

Josh lingered a little bit longer, taking the time to open his backpack and rifle through his stuff, taking it out and laying it out on the snow-stained blanket–which would probably leave a bit of a puddle on the mostly clean floor, but he wasn’t paying attention.

“Everything okay?” Vic asked after he dropped his bag on one of the beds and finished making a quick change while his friend was obviously preoccupied.

“Yeah… just making a quick check on my gear. I’ll be there right away,” Josh said as he pulled out item after item. Among them were the laser pointer pistol he made to start the campfire, what appeared to be a strange bulky helmet with a set of gloves, an assortment of cables and a rather cool looking handgun.

“Wait, that’s a weapon you made?” Vic chimed in curiously. The thing was like something out of some sci-fi show or anime. It had a rather non-standard design, with a bulky barrel made of tech and a muzzle that was just a pair of lines rather than the cylindrical exit.

“It’s something I put together with the part’s Junkerer wanted to scrap. The muzzle is a hard light projector plugged to an energy cell. Just twist the knob here and…” The moment Josh did so, the gun began to hum, going up louder and louder until the trigger was pulled to release a bright flash of red energy that smashed against the wall with what Vic guessed was the potency of horse kick.

“It’s a shame I can’t take it. I wanted to impress everyone.” Josh grinned but sighed as he laid it down on the blanket, next to the other pieces of tech. “But, it’s still a holdout. Feels so unfair…”

“Yeah, it does. For a gadgeteer? But you’re still an exemplar,” Vic noted.

“With no combat training.” Josh smirked. “Bet you could beat me up.”

“I could beat you up because I work out and have taken classes.” He returned the smirk.

With that, the two friends moved out of the room, following the reverse instructions to join the rest of the team at the lounge.

And once there was no one there to see it, the door to the barracks shut, with the heavy metal lock coming into place.

Saturday, December 24th - 6:17pm
Silent Mountain Base - Level 1 - Lounge

The corridors opened up to the lounge that Lightning had pointed them to. It was a wide space that was meant to be a sort of common room for the henchmen. While the central pathways were cleared, giving a wide berth to traverse, the rest of the area was taken with amenities to be enjoyed. Several comfortable cushioned seats were set around tables, and large TVs were mounted on each side of the room. There was even a bookshelf that probably, at one time, held books or board games. Each end of the room had corridor access, but all the doors were closed except for the one south, which was the one the team entered through.

The group arrived and was immediately ecstatic to see the accommodations. Raffina laid herself upon the large couch, while Josh and Leslie settled for the cushy chairs by the tables. Root leaned up against the wall and checked onto his phone while Vic paced back and forth.

In his mind, he suspected his test would be something physical, so he tried to keep himself wound up and ready for anything. He was just a moment away from stretching in preparation.

They must’ve waited for about five or ten minutes, which would have felt longer were it not for Raffina and Leslie’s conversation filling the void of silence.

Eventually, the doors north opened and all heads turned towards the newcomer who stepped through. He had a rather strong build and an intimidating poise, with a look to his eyes that could’ve spelled out a threat to those present. Certainly what Vic had come to expect from someone who served as a Syndicate enforcer… only that, while Cole was somewhat subtle in his strength, this guy flaunted it, dressing in a black and yellow armor under a long coat for the weather outside. It was a matching aesthetic for his pale skin and cadmium-yellow spiky hairstyle.

“Stand up and form a line,” the man ordered and the kids heeded with waning levels of enthusiasm, especially Raffina.

“First of all…” Lightning spoke up. “I want to congratulate you for reaching the testing site. I know that crossing the Canadian wilds in December isn’t a piece of cake, but you all deserve the recognition for the feat. Good job.” Those words felt hollow as he immediately jumped into the next topic. “Now, I know you five are waiting for the main event. The second part of this whole exercise is the special tests that we have prepared for you.”

“Wait,” Root spoke up. “The five? I don’t think I understand. I’m just supposed to be the one leading them here.”

“You are?” Lightning asked, seemingly thrown off for a moment. “Unfortunately, the document filing says that you’re to be tested as well, with your position as an operative dependent on the outcome.”

“That… that can’t be,” Root blurted out, only for Lightning to raise his hand to forestall any further complaint.

“Are the tests hard?” Vic asked.

“They’re a challenge. Tests that will push your stamina and powers to the limit. So you better be prepared for it.”

Vic’s hand moved subtly over to his changing arm. Inwardly, he feared he would fail if he didn’t give his one hundred ten percent. It wouldn’t come to that; he wouldn’t allow it to happen. He wasn’t going to go back to the streets now…

“Now… for the first test,” Lightning carried on. “Day Dreamer.”

“Yes!?” Leslie squeaked.

“You’re up, kid. You’re coming in first,” Lightning ordered.

At his invitation, the girl moved over to his side, following him as he took a couple of steps back towards the door he came through. “These tests will take some time, so wait here to be called.”

“Is there somewhere we can get food?” Josh asked, though he was summarily ignored as the door closed behind them.

“Dang…” Raffina muttered as she walked back to her spot on the couch.

“Hope she’s alright,” Vic thought out loud. ”She has to… I don't think the Syndicate would cast aside a telepath on a physical competition.”

“Yeah… I agree. Doubt they’ll cast her aside,” Raffina agreed. “Do you three feel ready for whatever’s coming next?”

Vic, Josh, and Root exchanged looks. The concern was clear that none of them felt as prepared as they should.

“I knew it… you three are so screwed,” Raffina sighed in disappointment.

“I need my gadgets,” Josh said.

“I need my seeds,” Root said, having left them back then when they checked for his holdouts.

“I need water,” Vic sighed, as much as he hated to admit it.

Raffina looked at them and sighed. “I’m sure they can’t fail all of you, right? Maybe it won’t just be a brawl.” Although her words were supportive, the laziness in her voice made it all feel fake.

“We’ve made it this far… I won’t fail,” Root agreed. His resolve was echoed by Vic and Josh. As they each returned to their own matter of waiting and conserving energy for the test.

Saturday, December 24th - 6:32 pm
Kythe Residence, Oregon

“Mom! Mom, look,” a young girl of eight exclaimed as she showed off the bundle of jigsaw pieces she’d just managed to put together, a cluster that showed the side of a boat in a corner of the landscape.

“Great job, Sophie.” Caroline praised her daughter and pulled her in for a hug as they surveyed their work on the coffee table. Their one-thousand-plus-piece jigsaw puzzle was starting to take shape after only half an hour of work. “Remember the challenge. We finish this before the hour is up and you get a cookie fresh out of the oven.”

“With ice cream?”

“Hm…” Caroline mused with a teasing smile.

“Please,” Sophie smiled as she leaned in against Caroline in an opportune moment as her son’s arms wrapped around the two of them.

“Gotcha, you two,” Dereck laughed, having leapt from the couch to join the familial embrace. Out of school, alone with the family, he was back to being a kid enjoying the company of the mother he’d lacked for the past couple of months.

Caroline turned to him. “Why don’t you join us? Bet we’ll finish faster if you play along.“

“I want my cookie!” Sophie chimed in between giggles.

“Jigsaw puzzles aren’t my thing?”

“I don’t think they are anyone’s thing.” Caroline mused. “You didn’t even see the movie. You were looking at your phone.”

“I’m too old for silly movies.”

“Arthur Claus isn’t silly!” Sophie said, only earning a slight tussle on her head from her older brother.

“It is. It’s a cartoon,” Dereck mused and, before Sophie could say something, he added. “Last Christmas, Dad, Uncle and I watched all the Die Hard movies.”

“Isn’t only the first one set on Christmas?” Caroline noted as she helped Lizzy with some of the pieces that made up the grass.

“So was the second one in the airport with the rogue military guy and…” his words tapered off with a frown as his mom giggled. “Yeah, of course you already knew that. Wind me up, why don’t you.”

“But it’s so much fun… Well, your father always liked the action, even if he tends to look down on the main character’s struggles. Not everyone can just be a Superman like him.” She could hear the jaded tone starting to slip out near the end. So she changed the topic. “So, how's things with your girlfriend? I saw that… ahem… performance in the Combat Finals.”

Dereck blushed. “She… she was doing me a service. I appreciate that... even if the school didn’t.”

“I thought it was sweet. She clearly is a bad liar, but it was really endearing that she tried.” Caroline smiled. “Gwen is a sweet girl.”

“Yeah… she is sweet. Shame that she has some baggage with her,” Dereck snorted. “Did you know that Victor, who is her stepbrother, who will be staying here with you two, was the one who attacked her and broke her arm?”

“I’m aware of it. He told me everything… during my trip to Massachusetts,” Caroline hesitated a little bit about the excuse. After all, neither her son nor her ex could know about her side gig as a Syndicate high level operative. Matters of the means, the motive and her activities could be linked if faced by an adept scrutinizer. But then she reminded herself that Dereck would be a bit hung up on Vic to actually ask for the details. “He said that it was an accident,” she explained while her eyes were focused on the puzzle as she traded pieces with Sophie.

“And you believed him?” Dereck asked, astonished.

“He was very remorseful on the matter. Self reflection and acceptance of the consequences of one's actions are things that are hard to come by.” Caroline wanted to say more, but couldn’t., It was hard enough to hold Sophie close whenever she thought of the way her ex-husband’s stunt left the girl that unfortunate day. Seeing her daughter no longer need a brace to walk was one of the most relieving moments of her life.

“I don’t want him to hurt you,” Dereck scoffed, the words getting Sophie’s attention, with a look of concern that was reassured by Caroline. “Maybe I should stay here.”

“Yes!” Sophie cheered as she reached over to hug Dereck.

“Nothing would make me happier than having you with me… But I don’t think your father would appreciate it,” Caroline answered. She was being honest–nothing would make her happier than her son staying with her. But it would make it really hard to completely hide from her superhero-aspiring son that she worked as a supplier of means for villains.

All it would take was for Dereck to peek into the message notifications or accidentally pick up the wrong phone call like that one time months ago for her new alias as Lifeward to be known. No berating from the Syndicate administrators would fix that. She just considered herself lucky that Sophie never really delved into the matter. Plus, having someone else around aware of her secret activities would be quite a help when Vic was here.

“Well…” Dereck sighed, conceding. “If Whateley is that important to him, I don’t think he’s going to try something… But I know his kind. Troublemakers that fight dirty and abuse trust. If he does anything to hurt either of you, I’ll show him no mercy.”

“My hero,” Caroline said, not really measuring her words as she felt a quick buzz from her phone on the table. “Okay kids, I have to check on the dinner and cookies. I’ll be right back.”

“Are they ready?” Sophie asked as her mom got up on her feet.

“Once you finish the puzzle,” Caroline replied as she moved away.

“Ehh?” Sophie groaned before adjusting herself and leaning in closer onto the pieces on the coffee table, now with focus. “Alright! I can do this!”

“I can’t believe this,” Dereck said once Mom slipped into the kitchen, his eyes turned towards the hallway to the bedrooms. “She’s really going to let him stay here…”

Infuriating. There was no other way of saying it. Even if she assured him things were alright, and that street punk wasn’t going to try anything. He knew better. Victor Rivera hung out in the same group as the mafia princess and those other troublemakers… it wouldn’t surprise him if that guy was hanging around with suspicious individuals, doing jobs for criminals or gangs. After all, wasn’t that where he came from?

Gwen trusted him and asked Dereck to be on his best behavior. So, what sort of sway did Vic have on his own stepsister that would force her to defend the kid that broke her arm? It made no sense to him. And then she went on to say that they might even get to be friends? So sweet of her but also naive. Befriend the boy that tried to smother him with a gulp of water?

No… the punk better not try anything or he’d break that smug face. Maybe he’d been taken by surprise that time, but he wasn’t even trying. Had Gwen and Tanya not stepped in, Vic would’ve been down for the count…

And yet, he had no say on the matter. His mom had made up her mind and that snake would be living with them. How much did she know about him? If he were to push on the subject, put his foot down, he might end up bringing down the ire of both his mother and Gwen… or maybe not. Maybe they would realize what Dereck was trying to uncover…

But, those were just dreams. With all he knew about Vic, it wouldn’t be remotely close to burying him… he would need something more. Maybe he could hire someone to do the sleuthing and uncover the dirt on this guy. How much would the Secret Squirrels or the Wild Cards on campus charge for this sort of service?

“Hey! Dereck,” Sophie chimed in. “Can you give me that bright yellow piece for the sun?”

“What?”

“That bright yellow piece. I need it,” Sophie said, reaching across the table for it.

Dereck rolled his eyes as he slid the piece of the puzzle into Sophie’s hand, just as she was trying to put together another section of the image. “Aren’t you worried?”

“About what?”

“About what we were talking about here.”

“I wasn’t listening,” Sophie admitted sheepishly as she put pieces together.

“Mom hasn’t told you about this kid that’s going to be coming to live with you for the winter break and, maybe, for the summer?”

“Of course she has.” Sophie nodded, more focused on the puzzle than on Dereck. “She said that her company found him on the streets during one of their trips. Since he had nowhere to stay, Mom offered to take him just so he could go to school.”

“And that’s it?” Dereck blinked.

“She said that Vic is nice and cool.”

“And you think…”

Sophie shrugged. “I haven’t met him… but if mom says he’s cool, I also think he could be nice.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure…” Dereck said, letting disappointment slip out in a sigh. It was something Sophie couldn’t ignore. “You’re just like mom. Too naive.”

“What?” Sophie blinked. “What does that mean?”

“It means that you believe everything everyone tells you. That you can’t judge people well enough?”

“I don’t… I mean, I can judge people well enough!” Sophie pouted though her brother carried on.

“You’re too nice. You wouldn’t last a day in my school.”

“I would!” Sophie frowned. “Why do you think so?”

“Because both you and Mom trust Vic while I, who goes to the same school as him, know better,” Dereck stated, earning a concerned look from his sister. “Don’t you know someone from your school who acts all rude and mean to you… but when there’s a teacher or an adult around who acts horribly nice? Or a friend who is only nice to you so you can help her with her homework?”

“Yeah… Some friends are always making me do their homework. They can be really mean like that.”

“Vic is like that. I bet he acted all nice with Mom so that he would be off the streets… but the moment she lowers her guard, he’s going to do something bad to her!”

“Bad? Like what?” Sophie gasped, buying into the narrative.

“I don’t know… yet. But it won’t be good,” Dereck muttered. His sister might’ve hesitated but he reaffirmed it. “Listen Sophie, you can’t trust Vic. Either he’s mean to you or he’s being nice just to get something. Either way, it’s false and he’s dangerous.”

“But Mom…”

“Mom is too nice. Let me tell you some of the things I’ve heard and the people he tags along with…” Dereck continued.

Meanwhile, Caroline stepped into the kitchen, discreetly half closing the door behind her, so as to not rouse the kid’s suspicion… especially Dereck’s. She put the phone up against her ear and waited for a couple of chimes before the other side picked up. “Hey Cole. Thanks for sending a message ahead of time.”

“Well, I knew Dereck would be spending the day with you, so I thought I better be careful.”

“Appreciated.” Caroline moved around the kitchen, turning on the light in the oven to get a look as the cookies started to swell out on the trays. So far so good in that aspect.

“So, how’s the family time?” Cole asked.

“Oh, it’s wonderful. I’ve missed spending time with Dereck… and I want to think he also had a good time.” Caroline sighed contently. “We went to the Christmas fair at the mall. Sophie got on some of the rides and played some of the games with Dereck. He thinks himself too old for them but he couldn’t hide the smile after it. Afterward, we came back home to wait till midnight. Dinner should be ready soon… but Sophie is looking forward to the cookies. Thanks for the recipe, by the way.”

“I’m glad to hear.”

“And how’s Vancouver?”

“Christmassy. Currently on the station waiting for the skytrain on my way back to the safehouse from downtown. Made some purchases for Lightning,” Cole reported, shaking some bags so Caroline could hear them.

“I take it you handled that matter you were sent there for,”

“Yeah, yesterday. The moment I showed up and destroyed their bombs, they understood the flaw in their plans. Promised not to try anything like that again.”

“They’ll have to be put on probation, just to be sure. The business can’t condone that kind of attitude in the advent of heroes. And the organization should stop catering to those with stupid morals. Some nuance has to be allowed and some services need to be valued more than others, given more relevance.”

“Conquering the world through good deeds?” Cole mused.

“I’m not that idealistic.” Caroline laughed. “But I do like the kind of things we do with kids and those with GSD cases, like Dragonite. Maybe someday the whole facilitation of means won’t just be for villains.”

“So…” Cole mused. “… when are you thinking of making the schism?”

“When I have the courage and the pieces in place.”

“Well, you have me.”

“That’s sweet of you.” She laughed before shaking her head. “So… how’re the kids? By now they should’ve made it to the base, I’d think?”

“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk about.” Cole’s tone put Caroline in an uneasy mood. “Whether they made it to the base or not, Lightning should’ve still reported in. It’s close to seven in the evening. I have yet to receive a call.”

“Any chance it’s just a case of bad weather?”

“That’s not impossible… although the creator of Silent Mountain supposedly took that into account.” Cole swore under his breath. “I’ll try to contact Linus or Travis soon. If I get no answer, I’ll assume something has happened and head off towards the base.”

“Kinda poor time to tell me this, Cole. The warper system is down for the holidays, so I can’t be there to help you.”

“I don’t expect you to. You have your family with you, I’ll be handling this… This is just to let you know that, if I don’t answer for the remainder of the night, it’ll be because I’ll be on route.”

Caroline shook her head. “Alright… be safe, okay?”

“Always,” Cole said, hanging up.

Caroline sighed. “Hope the kids are alright,” she muttered, her mind bouncing around wondering who she could reach to provide support. The number of active personnel dropped drastically. And the ones that could actually do something right now were null.

There was no way around it, she thought. Cole and the kids would be on their own.

“It’ll be alright. It’s probably just an issue with the snow,” Caroline told herself. She was willing to be there for her friend, were it not for her family being in the next room. “All I can do is trust Cole.”

Pushing her concerns away for now, she carried on with the preparations, taking the baked cookies out of the oven before sliding in the next batch. The timing couldn’t have been any more perfect as Dereck entered just as she was able to put up a casual smile.

“Hey Der. How’s your sister doing?”

“With the puzzle? I don’t know if she’ll make it.”

“Aw, that’s a shame,” Caroline said as she reached for the clock on the wall, spinning the knob just to delay the minute hand for about ten minutes. “Let’s hope.”

Dereck smiled. “Mom, don’t cheat for her.”

“Who’s cheating?” Caroline answered.

“Mom…” Dereck shook his head. After a short moment after she was done collecting the baked cookies. “I was wondering, Why did you stop going by Safety?”

“My old codename?” Caroline asked, not expecting the question despite knowing her son knew she went by Lifeward now. “I needed a change. A new start. It was much easier if one isn’t tied to their old persona.”

“So you really don’t think of going back with him?”

Caroline paused for a moment. “Well… the moments your father and I had were special and we’ll cherish them… But we’ve drifted apart; we’re both focused on different things. That being said, we still try to be civil and cooperate. We’ll always be there for you and Sophie.” The words ‘when he isn’t worried about his optics’ was stuck on her tongue. “What does your father say?”

“That you couldn’t handle the life of a hero.”

“Of course he did.” Caroline shook her head before answering. “I just grew worried about his approach to it. His “Heroes United” project, for example, strays a little bit away from why I joined them in the first place.”

“But they admire and respect him…” Dereck said.

“Because that’s what he’s after,” Caroline answered.

“I… I don’t know about that,” Dereck said uncertainly as he reached over to snag one of the cookies. 

Caroline blocked the shot with the wooden spatula in the way. “If your sister hasn’t won the puzzle challenge, you won't have any till tomorrow, either.”

“Drat,” Dereck mumbled. “How many can I take?”

“As many as you want… granted, remember to think about your sister and me.”

“Right… and Vic,” Dereck muttered looking around. “Where is he again?”

“He’s in the medical building. They’re just doing a health check-up to compare from when he was first picked up.” Caroline lied.

“I still don’t get it. Why take him in?” Dereck sulked. Caroline already knew this might be a sore topic with her estranged son. All she could do was blame it on Gigaton who fought to win the custody battle after the boy had manifested and adopted the codename ‘Megaton’.

“Well. The way I see it, one mutant kid given a chance is one less supervillain to fight.”

“Would’ve been much easier if I could just fight him,” Dereck said, loud enough for Caroline to hear, even if not his intention. Then he actually addressed her. “Couldn’t they just leave him in a community center or something?”

“We could’ve, but I had a room available and I was already vouching for him for the school’s admission so…”

“He stays in my room?” Dereck corrected.

No, the guest room. Caroline held back that correction, knowing how much it meant for her son to have a place here. “It was for the best.”

“I still don’t like this. I don’t like him…” Dereck sulked more.

“That’s a shame. But I’m not kicking someone to the curb. I’m sure you can understand that sentiment.”

“I guess it wouldn’t be right…”

“Good,” Caroline said. She was worried when she saw a lot of her ex and his brother in Dereck… but moments like this when he was willing to concede marked the distinction. That there was some hope. “Now, if you excuse me, I have to make a couple of calls. Wish friends and coworkers merry holidays. In fifteen minutes, I’ll call you and your sister for a warm dinner.”

“Alright,” Dereck said, sullenly, as he left the kitchen.

Once he was gone, Caroline sighed, thinking to herself that she needed to work a bit better on her lies. If Dereck had pushed a little bit more on why a company would go to those lengths for a stray, she wouldn’t have a credible argument. Hopefully, if he passed the test, there'd be more room to organize things, like cover stories.

“I can’t let him get away with this,” Dereck muttered to himself.

After talking with his mom, he moved past the living room with Sophie and up the stairs where the bedrooms lay. There was no one there, but the silence made him feel like some sort of burglar for what he was about to do.

But there was no other way. If Vic was up to any ill intent, there might be some sort of clue within his luggage.

He reached a towel rack that stood right next to the bathroom. In the lower shelf was that punk’s luggage. A container felt lighter than expected when he picked it up to set it on the carpeted floor.

The only challenge ahead of him was the simple lock that kept the two zippers joined together. His first reaction was to grip the thing and try to brute force it. Much to his surprise, the iron handle came off with a slight pull. Either the thing was too worn out, badly built, or he really underestimated his own strength.

Either way, he tried to be discreet and unzipped the bag to reveal its contents.

With that, he began to work in gathering data. Using his high-def phone to snap pictures under the warm light of the hallway.

Dereck had no idea what he expected to find… but was still disappointed to find nothing. It was just clothes, shoes, underwear, Whateley uniforms and notebooks and textbooks. Nothing really that would call his attention. Still, he carried on not thinking as to what he photographed.

Until he reached something. A box that, when opened, held a bunch of trinkets and folded photos… with one of them, the one he just framed and captured a copy of, sitting atop of the stack.

It was a picture of a group sitting together for the camera, sitting so close one to another just to fit themselves into the picture. Men and women (one of which appeared to be some sort of hairless cat GSD case), with three children between them: two girls and one boy. And that boy was, of course, a younger Vic. He must’ve been around Sophie’s age, bearing a wide smile as the image was captured in the middle of a laugh as he held onto the arms of the woman embracing him.

Vic’s mom.

Just as the picture of it was taken, Dereck’s mind flashed to something Gwen told him. That Vic had lost his mom a couple of years ago. Something that he couldn’t imagine for himself…

With the sound of Christmas songs and the jingling of bells coming from the house next door, Dereck began to realize how much of an asshole he was being.

He didn’t trust Vic. Not in the slightest… But he accepted he wouldn’t be uncovering anything from what was clearly a bag of clothes and a box of mementos. Especially not today.

He closed the box and sighed. “You better not hurt my mother,” he mumbled.

“Dereck? Dinner is ready,” His Mom called from downstairs, almost startling him..

“I’m coming!. I was in the bathroom,” Dereck replied as he quickly put everything back where he found it (finding that the lock still worked), stuffing the bag back in its shelf before going back downstairs.

He felt somewhat better about himself after that crucible he faced, looking forward to enjoying this rare time with his mom and sister in the wait for Christmas.

Concerns about that guy could wait for tonight.

Saturday, December 24th - 7:24pm
Silent Mountain Base - Level 1 - Lounge

It would be about an hour since Leslie stepped through the doors to the north of the room and yet there had been no news of her status. The comm system was completely silent and the door had yet to open again. They had no idea what was waiting for them or even if Leslie had passed or failed her test.

It was by the marking of the hour that they began to suspect that something was off.

"Ugh... what's the holdup?" Raffina broke the silence as she pushed herself off the couch. Her phone went back into the pocket of her coat, still useless. "Either something has happened or everyone's pulling a big prank on us."

“I think so too.” Josh had been pacing around the room the past couple of minutes, looking into any piece of tech he could find, either for study purposes or as if it would provide them an answer to their question. The lack of his own gadgets to fidget with was clearly starting to bother him…

Vic sighed. “I’m parched.” The last sip of water he’d had was from the bottle during the run to the mountain. “Is the water faucet in the bathrooms good enough?”

“I mean… It’s better than going outside and melting some snow,” Josh opined.

“It’s fine. I drank some,” Root told him. “It’s probably purified water, or maybe it comes from a spring.”

“What a fucking sad way of spending Christmas Eve,” Raffina lamented as she leaned back against the couch. “Stuck in a room with three guys where the only refreshment we have is water from the tap…” She had an exasperated laugh about her. “I’m starting to think my parents did this by design.”

“Well… we all have to deal with some disappointment…” Root told her. “I haven’t had a good Christmas in years.”

Josh nodded. “Same.” 

“Last year was kinda unpleasant for me,” Vic muttered.

“We’re really all stuck at the bottom of a dry well, then, aren’t we?” Raffina scoffed.

“Alright, I’ll go get a drink,” Vic said as he stepped off.

Sometime after Vic departed the room, Raffina grew too restless.

“That’s it!” She flung her coat to the table, revealing a long-sleeved black shirt. “Something off is going on… so I’m going to explore.”

“What? Are you for real?” Josh asked.

“Yeah. I’m not staying here to greet Christmas hungry, bored out of my mind and waiting to be called for a test.” Raffina glanced at the closed door. “Just wait till my father hears about this…”

“And how are you going to leave?” Root asked.

To that, Raffina returned a smirk before looking up to the lights in the vicinity, the standard long halogen light panels. “First, we’re going to have to do something about those.”

“What does that-” Josh was cut off by an unexpected sound in the room. It was a generic electronic chime, the kind that would come from the brand model, and it came from Root, just as he happened to be balancing a chair on its back legs for some modicum of entertainment.

“How are you getting a signal?” Raffina blurted out.

“No idea…” Root said as he checked the caller ID. “It’s Cole…”

Josh and Raffina shared the same thought as they began to approach Root as he put the cellphone to his ear.

“Cole?” he began. His words spoke loudly in the empty room, taking priority over the sound of their footsteps, the rustling of their clothes and the whistling of the air through their noses. All the sounds in the world they took for granted swelled out for a brief second and, as the lights by the wall suddenly flashed a dark red, they were gone.

They stopped on their tracks in confusion as to what was going on. The chair Root was balancing fell down to the ground in what would’ve been a loud clatter… but nothing came out.

The world had suddenly turned silent.

Saturday, December 24th - 7:31pm (a couple of minutes ago)
Silent Mountain Base - Level 1 - Bathroom

“Can’t believe this,” Vic muttered as he looked at his reflection in the bathroom. At first, it was the same thing that he’d come to expect: the same boy that made the promise to himself to be better for the sake of a better, normal future… The idea that already appeared to have fully slipped from his fingers as he stared at his current status.

He stood in the middle of a henchmen barrack’s shower which, admittedly, looked quite clean and sterile despite being located in a mountain. He had taken off his coat to reveal his syndicate uniform, which he’d donned before leaving his backpack behind. It was a simple two-piece suit of spandex and soft fabric that granted him movement and a minimum of protection. Nothing overly flashy, not as flattering as one might think. He couldn’t help but imagine he would be seeing himself in this sort of get-up more often than not… which bothered him.

And yet, as if that wasn’t enough, he looked down at his left arm. Exposed thanks to the suit’s sleeveless nature, the skin of his fingers and his forearm was clear for everyone to see. Seeing the green and white colors with a tiny scale pattern gave him pause and terrified him to no end. It all felt so inevitable. That he would end up turning into a fish person. A freak…

Vic took a deep breath and slipped his jacket back on. “Focus on the now… focus on the now. Tanya would probably get mad if she heard me saying that ‘f’ word.” That got him to smile a little. It was such a fortune that he had people that would be there for him… even if he was alone at the moment.

Okay… time get down to business, Vic thought as he reached over to the running faucet and used his powers to pull the water up his arm and under the sleeve.

They had told him to leave his holdouts in the barracks, but he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance if he didn’t have water with him. As much as he disliked the cliche of being over-reliant on it, he definitely didn’t want to lose. So he would take a prudent amount that wouldn’t force his powers. Now, all he had to do was concentrate on keeping the water concealed there. It wasn't anything he had ever tried before.

He moved his arms a moment, feeling the water coating around his arm. It certainly took some focus on his part… and yet it was considerably easier than expected. Again, he hoped it wasn’t the spirit’s influence, but at this point, he had no idea what was and wasn’t his own ability and effort. The only issue was that he lamented that the inner lining of his coat would probably get ruined by this, but the outer layer, which was supposed to be impermeable, hid his trick.

Concealed weapon, obtained. Vic counted it as a success and hoped that they would be called soon. But as he turned around to leave, he happened to catch a figure moving into the threshold of the room. It was Lightning.

He’d probably come from the elevator down the hallway.

“Sir,” Vic said as he stood at attention with his arms crossed behind his back, worried it would be breaking the rules. “Is everything alright?”

“What are you doing here?” Lightning demanded. “Thought I asked you to wait in the lobby.”

“I needed some water and to use the bathroom. Messing the public room didn’t seem like a good idea… Sir,” Vic quickly amended his joke.

Lightning chuckled, in a casual way that didn’t really fit his face. “I see… Well, you need to go back with the rest. There is an announcement that will be made in a couple of minutes.”

“Sir? How’s Les… I mean, Day Dreamer? Is she done with her test?” Vic asked.

“She’ll be up there for some more time.”

“Ah… okay.” That left Vic perplexed… It’d been over an hour since she left and Leslie wasn’t exactly the strongest member of the team, either in power or stamina? Something felt off about the test but he wasn’t about to voice it.

He would’ve gone then, when, suddenly, the white lights around faded out, instead replaced by dark red ones that flashed all around the bathroom in a slow alert that he couldn’t hear. There was no prize for guessing something was off!

“What’s going on?” Vic said… or rather wanted to say. His mouth and tongue were making the moves but there was no sound coming out. The world around ‘rang’ the alarm… but he couldn’t hear any of it but the red lights that came from the walls.

“Sir!” Vic mouthed as he turned to look at the Syndicate examiner, only to find him just inches away with his hand landing on his shoulder before jerking him forward.

In the moment Vic realized something was wrong, the sharp agony was already sweeping through his body. His stomach was on fire as something pierced through his flesh. His eyes moved down and he saw half of a blade stuck in the right side of his torso with Lightning’s hand holding the grip.

Vic’s mind went blank. He felt everything and yet was numb to what he was seeing. He couldn’t believe it and yet knew well enough what this all meant–that he was going to die.

The moment stretched as long as it could but it was over in the blink of an eye. Things began moving at a natural pace again as the knife was pulled out, coated with blood… his blood, and more was coming from the open wound. His footing became uncertain as he was falling apart.

Lightning didn’t allow him that, instead shoving Vic down to the ground.

The marble floor hurt like hell, but he endured, only to see Lightning stand before him. The man looked pleased with himself as he wiped the knife against his clothes and yet, and yet, even as the blade got cleaned, the blood just disappeared.

It all made sense as Lightning reached at his belt, or rather, at belt height, to fiddle with something that wasn’t there. And then his entire body shimmered with lines of static shimmering through the air to reveal a different person.

In contrast to Lightning’s athletic and imposing physique, the one in his place was relatively younger. He wasn’t dressed in a suit or uniform, but instead what appeared to be outdoor clothing, the kind one would wear to get there: a coat, thick breeches and a shirt underneath that was stained with blood. He had longer, unkempt brown hair and a scruffy beard below pale eyes.

And all Vic could do was look back in dread and building hatred at every aspect of the face. “I’m going to get you…” he thought, yet dreaded the idea that this might be an empty promise. He had his hand on the wound, trying to apply pressure as if that would fix the damage done to his insides. All he could do was feel how his blood spilled out.

The man seemed to say something, maybe to himself. His face maintained a bemused smirk as he forced the boy to uncover the wound. He shook his head, as if saying “sucks to be you” before holding up Vic’s hand for him to watch.

Pale lights exuded from around the man’s wrist, wiggling about like ghostly tentacles. Only for a brief moment, then they focused upon Vic’s skin, attacking and burrowing in. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to feel pain between the burning sting in his gut and the throbbing on the back of his head… but there was something there… Something slimy and alien that tapped into his energy. The tentacles suddenly turned blue before they retreated and disappeared.

With a pleased smirk, the man threw Vic’s hand aside and proceeded to put his boot down on the wrist.

All the while, Vic tried to keep himself conscious and overcome the growing panic. He had to think of something. To fight… but his lower body lacked the energy or fortitude to move. He couldn’t stop the impostor as the man searched his jacket and stole his phone.

 A couple of light smacks hit the boy’s cheek, just to make sure he was looking. The impostor showed him a particular device that previously hung from his belt. It looked like a cross between a Polaroid camera and an old walkman that, when held sideways, shot out a light at Vic. A grid pattern illuminated everything, even the parts that should’ve been covered by his jacket, all along with an electrifying burning feeling that sizzled him.

Afterward, the fake Lightning took a step back, letting his foot off Vic’s wrist, and mounted the device on his belt. Pressing a button on the side, the lights in the air returned and converged around him, suddenly revealing Vic himself. The same face he saw in the mirror, the same jacket, the same uniform… even the same blood splatter on the stomach where the blood was pooling out.

The impostor took a step back, now ignoring Vic as he turned on the faucet. His hand dipped in and pulled out a bubble of water, shaping it into an orb around his hand. Just like Vic would do…

This man had copied his powers.

His heart sank, if he weren’t already struggling to keep up with what’d happened in the last couple of minutes. This person had taken his identity and his powers to complete the costume…

The plan was obvious now: to usurp Vic’s place… he would probably approach the others and backstab them. Hurt Josh and Root, like they’d probably done to Leslie.

And yet, Vic couldn’t stand up to stop him. His body felt the cold seep in with every passing breath and he knew that his consciousness would start to fade any moment now And even if it didn’t, the damage would make sure he probably wouldn’t be able to pull it together.

Anger and sorrow flared within him as he saw the man wearing his face walk towards the exit and have it closed behind, leaving Vic trapped in the bathroom with only the oscillating lights to keep him company in the enforced silence.

“I swear! I’m going to get you! ” The words were felt more than heard as they passed through gritted teeth. The stranger wouldn’t hear, but Vic still needed to

To Be Continued