Hannah pinched the bridge of her nose as she glanced between the two standing before her. Magnus levitated a handkerchief atop his hand and the newcomer spoke to his phone like he was on a video call. Apparently, he had thousands of viewers on the other end of the line, but Hannah wasn’t familiar with exactly how it worked.

  “You know I asked for Apex, right? I wasn’t just asking for backup, I wanted a specific person to help out in Indus,” Hannah spoke into her phone.

  “I know, but Apex is unavailable,” Naomi answered on the other end, her breathing labored.

  Hannah tutted her tongue. “He’s in the news a lot lately. Mostly small jobs.”

  “To get HUE on everyone’s radar.”

  “Everyone’s heard of us! We need to do something big like make some real headway in Indus!”

  “That’s what you’re there for.” Naomi groaned, sounding somewhat in pain.

  Hannah held back. Naomi was stressing herself and the decision sounded like it was already made. No point in arguing.

  “You doing okay, Naomi? You sound… Worse.”

  “I am worse.”

  Hannah frowned, uncertain what to say. Naomi’s Anomaly was eating away at her body, and Hannah had no words of affirmation for a slow death like that. She was already skinny, maybe days away from being bedridden.

  “Stay safe,” Hannah said, sighing.

  “You too. I mean it.” Naomi hung up.

  Hannah glanced up at the new kid. “So. I called for backup hoping to get Apex, and all they could send was…”

  “I’m Dawson! Deadly armed!” Dawson said, chuckling to himself loudly and beaming at nobody.

  “They told me you could sharpen your hand? Why are you Ranked as 2B? What’s the other power?”

  “Naomi said I didn’t have to tell you if I didn’t want to.” Dawson immediately shrunk back.

  “Okay, kid, calm down,” Hannah raised a palm to placate him. “I was just curious if it could help.”

  “I can definitely help!” Dawson said eagerly.

  “As can I, Magnus the Magnificent! I have improved greatly since we last tried our hand at this district.”

  “You guys have been here before?” Dawson spun in place, letting his phone camera capture the entire scene. “I thought Indus was the dead part of town.”

  “Only if it’s left abandoned by people like us,” Hannah said vigilantly.

  “Thanks for the dono, DoubleWammy!” Dawson held up a peace sign and beamed at his phone.

  Hannah blinked, already having lost patience with the newcomer. “What was that?”

  “He can receive donations while he’s filming,” Magnus explained.

  “I picked up that much. Why does he have to announce it?”

  “I told them I would,” Dawson said.

  “Well, tell them you won’t anymore. Not while you’re patrolling with me.”

  “But Naomi said I could stream outside headquarters. It helps with HUE donations.”

  “Do what you want, but if I end up destroying your phone when I get annoyed, then the blame is on you.”

  “How!? That would be totally your fault!”

  Rolling her eyes, Hannah blasted a piece of rubble at Dawson’s feet with radiant blue energy, obliterating it into pebbles. Yelping, he leaped back, staring up at her with wide eyes.

  “Hmm… I might already be getting annoyed,” she mused, looking over her hand as though it was an accident.

  Frowning anxiously, Dawson brought his phone close and whispered, “All right, Hueristic-Heads, no more shout-outs this stream. Sorry about that, Chat.”

  Hannah frowned at the phone, watching Dawson’s sullen face as he tapped a few commands and lowered it. Eyebrow slowly raising, she scrutinized the kid, unable to read his intentions. Not one for emotional subtlety, she made her reservations known outright.

  “Dawson, I’m curious now that I’ve had the chance to formally meet you. Why did you even join HUE? Seems you’d rather be entertaining an audience than helping to fight crime.”

  Once the words left her lips, she eyed Magnus as well, realizing he shared the love of the show. Magnus wasn’t paying attention, blinking in disappointment when his handkerchief was swallowed by a pin-sized black hole. So much for better control over his magic.

  “Well… Uh, I thought it’d be cool.” Dawson’s eyes scanned the floor, seemingly searching for answers. “Use my powers for something useful. To be useful, you know?”

  Unconvinced, Hannah brought their attention back to the task at hand. “Though I didn’t get Apex to join us, he did share some intel. The gang that ambushed HQ is based in Indus. They work out of a decrepit-looking warehouse and you’ll find their members wearing black goggles.”

  “How did Apex gather intel if he’s never in Indus?” Magnus asked, leaning in like he wanted to hear the secret to a new trick.

  “No idea. He has his ways. Most of the time he plays coy and says ‘a little birdie told me’ this or that.”

  Eyebrow raised, Dawson dared to question with the trepidation of someone expecting retaliation. “Uh, sorry, but, aren’t, like, all the buildings in Indus ‘decrepit?’ That hardly narrows it down.” He filmed the nearby buildings with cracks running through them and rubble at their base.

  Hannah gave him an amused smirk. “Yes, but I know this area better than most, and I’ve already narrowed it down to the only two places big enough to house an operation like theirs.” She raised a finger towards Dawson who instinctively shielded his phone. Hannah couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

  “Behind you. You and Magnus will head down that direction and find a warehouse on your left in seven blocks. Used to be red, but colors don’t really stick around in Indus these days.

  “I just want you to observe it from afar and report back here in thirty minutes. If you find any evidence of an enemy, you are not to engage. You hear me? I’m serious, do not engage! There are some Awakened you wouldn’t want to confront.” She shuddered as a grinning Pete the Plenty flashed through her mind, hole in his head. “And I’ll check out the other warehouse down this street. Any questions?”

  Magnus smiled broadly, fists on hips as he prepared for his mission. “Magnus the Magnificent will take good care of Dawson! As promised, you shall see the true magician in action this time! Come along, Dawson!”

  With a dramatic twirl of his cape, Magnus made for his destination with long steps, Dawson running to catch up.

  Rolling her eyes, Hannah started towards her assignment, determined to clean Indus of at least a few criminals making it their home.

  * * *

  “Alright Hueristic-Heads, I’m back with a fresh mission!” Dawson beamed to his phone.

  Thunderous applause broke out, cheers and whoops shouted in quick succession. Smiling, Dawson waited until it died down before continuing.

  “We’re looking for the big bads that tried to bust into HUE headquarters!”

  Boos rang out at the mention

  “But this time, we’re going to take the fight to them!”

  More cheers.

  Magnus smiled at his antics, seemingly loving the showmanship displayed by his fellow HUE member. “Dawson, how would you like some tips? Advice on how to woo a crowd? I may know a guy!”

  Dawson held back a frown when Magnus got a big laugh from his Studio Audience. Instead, he let out the real enthusiasm he felt. “No way! The Great Magnus—”

  “Magnus the Magnificent,” he quickly corrected.

  “Magnus the Magnificent wants to teach me? Chat, this is insane!”

  Donations poured in fast, the screen a sea of frog react emojis. Dawson looked over his shoulder to check for Hannah. Even confirming she wasn’t around, he kept his voice down.

  “Yo, thanks, Chat. Big dono from GetRekt! A true Hueristic-Head!”

  “Let me help you there,” Magnus chimed in. “You didn’t build anticipation for your ‘shout-out.’ You’re too eager to drown them in quick praise. Instead, you want the audience to hold on to your words! Hook them with nothing more than a drizzle so they keep listening for more!”

  “C’mon man, I get what you’re saying, but I need tips. Tell me what to say!”

  Dawson’s crowd applauded in agreement, going wild with anticipation of secrets from an expert.

  “See, I already have you hooked because I didn’t dump everything at once.” Magnus tapped his forehead.

  Dawson heard some “whoa’s” from the Live Audience.

  Confidently, Magnus spun his top hat on a single finger. “Next time there’s a donation, try to… What is it you say? ‘Hype it up?’ So, instead of thanking them, you need to draw them in.”

  Glancing at Dawson’s phone, Magnus leaned in to read the incoming donation. Reaching out his hand, Dawson offered the phone eagerly. It would be good publicity to collab with Magnus the Magnificent.

  Eyes widening and eyebrow dancing in a massive wave, Magnus gasped. “Oh my, that’s incredible!”

  Dawson immediately reached for his phone, but Magnus held it just from his grasp. “What? What happened?”

  Arm sharpening, Dawson held back the instinct to treat Magnus like he did Sami. There was a playfulness to Magnus, nothing like how much of a jerk Sami was being. But he still desperately wanted to see.

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  “Chat, you won’t believe what just came through!” Magnus said naturally, looking at the phone from another angle.

  Had he spoken to a chat before, or was he just that good with an audience?

  “What came through? What came through?” Dawson was out of sorts, reaching as far as he could to see the screen.

  His Audience gasped and murmured, shoving one another in thought and anticipation.

  “A big…” Magnus hesitated before completing the sentence, “Dono just came in from BigPete. Enough to cover some real expenses at HUE! What better way to prove our viewers are the greatest in the world!”

  Magnus presented the screen to Dawson, and he saw the lingering message of over a thousand dollars donated by BigPete just before it faded away. A grand applause played in Dawson’s head both to the donation and the showmanship Magnus effortlessly commanded.

  Dawson shook his head in awe. A true professional. This was the training he’d been looking for at HUE all along, realer than all the other stuff they’d tried to teach him by only sparring.

  “Man, I can’t believe I’m teamed up with the Magnificent Magnus!” Dawson gave a huge smile to his screen, repeating for the benefit of his ever-increasing viewer count.

  His Audience cheered in agreement. The chat was still spamming frog emotes, most of them expressing having grown tired of Magnus. Dawson silently regretted having offered his phone away.

  “Magnus the Magnificent,” he corrected again as he took a bow.

  “When we’re done here, can you teach me—”

  Dawson was cut off, Magnus having put a finger to his mouth to shush him. Pointing ahead of them, Magnus indicated toward a faded warehouse that may have once been the color red before dust and scratches ate the exterior. They had arrived.

  The building was on its last legs and stood a couple of buildings down. At one time it may have been two-stories or more, though anything above the first floor was destroyed. Windows lining the second floor were either cracked or completely free of glass, and there was little evidence of its roof ever existing.

  It was also somewhat smaller than Dawson expected. Somehow he imagined a headquarters for all the villains to look like HUE Headquarters, but black. This looked more like a two-car garage compared to the airplane hangar where HUE operated.

  The main door swung on rusted hinges, a gentle breeze enough to open and close it. Magnus and Dawson drew themselves from a brisk pace to baby steps, assessing the building from a distance.

  Lowering his phone, Dawson knew it was time for action. “I don’t see anyone in there.”

  “This might be the empty one,” Magnus assessed, hand pulling at a nonexistent beard.

  “Then we should hurry back to Hannah before she’s left fighting alone.” Dawson pointed behind him.

  His Audience applauded his bravery.

  “I think we should confirm first.” Magnus dug into his tophat and pulled out a telescope.

  Dawson waited for Magnus’s reconnaissance, glancing at his phone but not wanting to lose focus on the mission. The stream was fun, but it wasn’t why he joined HUE.

  Looking around, Dawson really took in the surroundings of Indus. The smell was acrid, like everything was rotten, even though there wasn’t much trash left in the streets. Peering to the south end, Dawson wondered how far he was from the hypocenter of the Silent Scream. Shivering, his curiosity was cleared when he thought about the event. He didn’t want any reminders of the death of Lightcrown or the tragedy surrounding it.

  Giving a building a block away a double take, Dawson saw someone waving at him with a phone in hand.

  “The building seems to be empty. We should check another angle to confirm,” Magnus decided, closing the telescope.

  His palms clapped together and he looked down at his empty hands, seeming disappointed that he made the telescope disappear. Dawson didn’t know what was disappointing, the trick looked really cool.

  He nodded in the direction of the waving man. “Is… Is that guy calling us over?”

  “I believe so, but Hannah was very clear that we should not engage them.”

  “I’m pretty sure she said not to engage the enemy, but this guy is clearly not an enemy. He’s not even close to the warehouse.” Dawson peered out to the man again, but his attention was brought back to his phone when he heard a notification.

  “Oh my God.” Loudly, his Audience gasped in collective shock.

  “I’m happy to see you implement the training so quickly,” Magnus said, pride behind every word.

  “No, seriously. I’ve never received a donation like this.”

  “Great work. Keep drawing the audience in!”

  “Stop saying that and look!”

  “Oh my word.”

  “See! That’s like ten times the amount of all donations given today. Combined!”

  “Who was it from?”

  Dawson looked back up to the man at the warehouse who was now calling to them, his words indistinct. He was wearing a well-kept, black trench coat, and his long brown hair hung over his forehead, almost reaching his eyes. Waving frantically, he beckoned to the HUE members.

  “Do you think that man needs help?” Magnus asked, suddenly vigilant.

  “No… I… My donation was from GetRekt again. He sent a message with it, this time saying, ‘Come through. We have an Indus fan club based out of here. They want to meet you!’”

  Enthusiastic at the new story beat, the Audience let out a long “Aww.”

  “I think that’s GetRekt. The profile pic kinda matches and he keeps pointing to his phone, which I think is connected to my stream.” Dawson said, squinting at the waving man.

  “Maybe we should get back to Hannah first?” Magnus tugged at his spandex collar, a drop of sweat on this brow. “We wouldn’t want to make her angry. Well, angrier than her default.”

  “You can do that. I’m going to see my Indus fan club.”

  Rumbling in excitement, the Studio Audience grew louder in anticipation. Both at the rascally behavior toward his senior and his enthusiasm for his fans.

  Magnus looked back to the road, then to Dawson who had already started walking over. Running a sweaty hand over his cape, Magnus followed Dawson, likely more afraid of facing Hannah alone than fan club groupies.

  “Welcome, welcome to the Great Dawson!” The mystery man began with a spin of a hand. “It’s me, GetRekt! But please call me Rektor. Everyone is waiting inside! They can’t wait to meet you!”

  Dawson beamed at his phone. “You guys seeing this, Chat? We should do more live meetups like this in Hammerton Central!”

  “Come inside, both of you!” Rektor held the door open to allow them past. “Dawson can stream live from the stage we have set up. It’ll be a live, live stream!”

  The Audience was in stitches. Dawson walked in, but stopped midstep.

  “Magnus?” He turned to his now-mentor. “You okay?”

  Magnus was just beyond the door, watching Rektor with a wary gaze. Rektor smiled and encouraged him with another wave of his hand, but Magnus wasn’t moving.

  Dawson frowned, trying to lighten the mood. “Are you worried that they’re Hueristic fans instead of Magnus fans?”

  “Oh, we’re huge Magnus the Magnificent fans, as well. The greatest magician alive, if not in all of history,” Rektor nodded.

  Magnus dabbed the sweat threatening to darken his orange uniform, his mood somewhat softened.

  Stepping inside, he looked seriously at Dawson. “We can’t linger. Just get a quick meet and greet with the fans and get out. Hannah will wonder where we are if we don’t report back soon.”

  Dawson heard unrelenting cheering.

  “You’re the best, Magnus!”

  Dawson ran inside, searching for the stage Rektor had mentioned. The room was large, and Dawson realized that this used to be a two-story home, but now every wall and ceiling was broken down leaving a single open area and some load bearing pillars. The floor was scratched up so much that it almost looked as bad as outside.

  Dawson expected to be swarmed by a sea of fans, but instead he was met with a grand total of eight people. Not a bad crowd for Indus, all things considered. Every one of them dressed as cowboys. In the same outfit. Were they identical siblings, too?

  The “stage” turned out to be a damaged chair in the center of the much-too-large room with a single ring light tripod facing it.

  “Please.” Rektor ushered him forward. “Don’t be shy. Your audience awaits.”

  Hesitantly, Dawson placed his phone on the stand and awkwardly made his way to the plastic chair. He sat down slowly, unsure of whether the weathered chair would crack under his weight. Once he was comfortable, he looked around the room for inspiration.

  “So… this is awkward.”

  The Audience let out a good-natured laugh. The fan club, however, remained quiet.

  Magnus met Dawson’s eyes and nodded for him to continue with a dramatic whip of his cape. The only way to master stage presence was through practice.

  “Umm, so, you guys wouldn’t believe the fanbase here in Indus.”

  The cowboys smiled simultaneously. Uncanny, they had to all be siblings.

  Dawson chose his next words wisely, trying not to say anything that would offend his growing Indus fan club. “There’s this cool guy named Rektor who set it all up. Nice guy, never stops smiling. And he’s the biggest fan of HUE I’ve ever met.”

  “Oh, yes,” Rektor agreed. “None bigger than me.”

  “And also here are a set of, um, what do you call eight siblings that all look alike?” Dawson turned to one of the many men wearing cowboy hats, goggles resting on the rim.

  “Don’t reckon I had learnings that included such a word,” one of the identical men replied.

  “Octuplets!” Magnus called out, his hand in a big thumbs up.

  “Yeah, how could I forget!” Dawson was growing into the rhythm of public speaking. “On account of all the octuplets I know!”

  Both the chat and Audience liked that one laughing auditorily or froggily and waiting for more.

  “Well, these octuplets not only look the same! But they even dress the same!”

  With a spin of his arms, Dawson invited two of them to join him on stage. None of them moved, smiling their uncanny, shared smile. Without missing a beat, Dawson spun the camera on its stand to get a view of them and read the phone screen.

  Grinning in blind glee, Dawson registered the fact that the number of people watching his stream had never been so high. Tens of thousands. And he could only imagine the millions who would want to watch the VOD. For sure he’d be forgiven for his earlier indiscretion at headquarters for all the positive PR he was bringing HUE now. This was the new heights that not even the news could reach. Organic excitement for their organization.

  “The Hueristic-Heads are a one-of-a-kind fan group,” Dawson had found his groove. “Is what I would have said until I met these guys. Turns out, you’re all the same people!”

  His Studio Audience had never been so giddy. They could hardly breathe from how much they were laughing and enjoying themselves. Even Magnus was in applause, the only diegetic applause in the room.

  Beaming, Dawson never wanted it to end.

  As Dawson opened his mouth to continue, the front door shattered into a thousand splinters, Hannah standing there with her hand a bluish hue.

  “Dawson! Magnus!” Energy coursed through her. “You alright? You didn’t report back. I had to search every building in the area!”

  Hannah took in the scene, confusion coming over her face. Then unadulterated fear.

  “Guys, get behind me! Now!” Both hands were up, the radiating blue a much more concentrated shade.

  “Yo, chill!” Dawson called back. “This is my Indus fan base! That’s Rektor, the fan club head.”

  He pointed to him, but Rektor’s ever-present smile now kind of looked like a sneer. Dawson looked at the others, hoping for a more welcoming reaction.

  “And that’s… and that’s… I guess I never got your names.”

  One of the eight identical fans gave Dawson a smarmy grin. “They call me Pete the Plenty. Pleased to meet ya.”

  Magnus immediately recognized the name, eyes wide in terror. Cape up defensively, he analyzed the scene and became increasingly nervous. “Dawson, I’m sorry, but I should not have let you come in here.”

  Before Dawson could protest, Magnus popped off his hat and shoved his hand impossibly deep inside, searching for something. But instead of pulling anything out, he somehow conceived to fall in. Like a massive vacuum was on the other end, Magnus strained, pushing against the rim of his hat until it consumed his entire being.

  Dropping slowly, the magician’s hat wobbled to the floor like a feather with no one there to hold it anymore.

  Two of the Petes acted next, jumping out of their chairs and gripping tightly to Dawson’s arms. As he looked up in fear and confusion, Dawson was forced down into his seat as Rektor strolled over to him.

  “Hey, let me go! This isn’t cool!” Dawson struggled against his assailants, but he couldn’t out-muscle them.

  The Petes gripped him tightly in place despite his thrashing. The smiles were certainly sinister now, and Dawson felt he had no alternative but to jump to his last resort. His right arm Sharpened, but instead of giving one the Petes a shallow cut, he inadvertently sliced up and through the entire body. Reeling back, Dawson’s arm gored through, leaving a gruesome laceration.

  Shocked at his own cruelty, Dawson’s heart caught in his throat. His Audience shrieked in terror and disbelief.

  “Wait, that’s not what I meant. I was just trying to—”

  He was cut off by another two Petes who had walked over to hold and gag him. They replaced the dead without a second glance. In contrast, Dawson’s eyes were stuck to the fallen Pete. He had never cut someone so badly. There wasn’t even any blood, it was so severe. The cowboy had become nothing more than a puddle on the floor.

  Dawson didn’t even know his power could break someone down if they were cut badly enough.

  “What do you guys want with him?” Hannah still had her hands up and glowing, but was holding back from firing even as much as a warning shot. “How about you let him go and take me instead?”

  Rektor’s smile had reached its zenith, a long incision with teeth inside. “Beautiful offer, but I just want you to listen.”

  He pulled down some goggles that had been hidden behind his long hair as one of the Pete’s handed over with what looked like a rusted firefighter axe. Rektor slid a finger across the sharp end and it radiated red, instantly heating enough to make the air around it wobble.

  Dawson’s Audience murmured nervously, but he was still staring at Pete the Puddle in shock.

  Rektor looked at his weapon confidently. “But I know how bad you heroes are at listening, so excuse me as I ensure I have a captive audience.”

  Without missing a beat, he slashed his weapon down at Dawson’s neck as Hannah screamed in horror.

  Morbidly slow, Dawson’s head rolled off his body and spun to the ground with his shocked expression still frozen in place. No blood spewed as the cut cauterized in the same motion.

  Entering nothingness, Dawson’s final thought was that for the first time, his Live Studio Audience power was completely silent.

  decapitated!