Adam’s shoe left the interior of the limo and found hard dirt. He groaned softly as he lifted himself out and closed the door behind him. He rubbed his chest. It still ached underneath the fabric of his shirt. It was best to take shallow breaths. Rest would have been even better, but he had an appointment to keep.

  Ms. Kind’s address had led Adam’s ride through the ritzy neighborhood of Haven Slope, then down to the sprawl of various municipalities bordered by De Costa and Oceanside closer to the river and its islands. Pacific City proper stood quietly to the west. Here were all the neighborhoods, markets, and mixed zoning outside the proverbial city gates.

  He looked forwards and upwards at a building nearing the end of its completion. It was wide and squat like a box store, but clearly for a different purpose. Construction workers on scaffolds added brilliant white panels to its exterior. Several more floors with tinted glass windows and broad terraces sat atop the main roof. Those looked mostly complete. Trucks hauled supplies across a half-completed parking lot.

  Adam didn’t have long to wait. A woman in a crème skirt and matching blazer came clicking over to him on heels. She moved speedy for the stilts under her feet.

  “Mr. Atlas, wonderful to finally meet you,” the woman who must have been Ms. Kind said. He shook her hand. He wondered how much hair she lost every day binding it to the back of her head so tight. “Mr. Null has been so eager to meet with you again. He wants to provide any help he can with your troubles.”

  Ms. Kind led him through the whirl of the construction, to a temporary elevator attached to the exterior. With the press of a button, they ascended upwards until they reached the roof.

  The accordion door retracted. As Adam had thought, the roof was structured to be an outdoor lounge. Hot tubs burbled next to a broad swimming pool. There were multiple bars, palm trees, and sunning chairs galore. The inside beyond the windows was dark, but looked like maybe a restaurant or club.

  Ms. Kind let Adam to a trio already situated at a table underneath a broad umbrella. Cyrus Null he recognized right off the bat. Again, the tall mogul wore a white suit impeccably pressed and stainless. He stood leaning against a chair by two relaxing youths. One was Cyrus’ daughter, Susan, in a bikini bottom and partially buttoned shirt. The other was a boy Adam didn’t recognize. He had brooding eyes and a strong forehead over a harshly noble face. Even from a distance, he exuded a casual air of superiority and dominance that only came from growing up thinking you’re better than a majority of others and having the wealth to prove it. It was a stink that Adam’s parents had thoroughly disabused him of whenever he had started catching it growing up.

  Suspecting what he now did, Adam was ashamed of some of it sticking to him after first meeting Cyrus. Were his parent’s lessons that easily forgotten?

  Adam wore his best-practiced smile as Cyrus noticed him and brought him into a swift embrace. The man’s cologne stung his nose.

  “Good to see you again, Adam,” Cyrus said, appraising him at arm’s length. Adam had dressed for the occasion in his nicest meeting-casual clothes. “Sit, sit,” Cyrus insisted. He led Adam downwards into a chair. He gestured to his daughter. “You remember Susan.”

  Susan gave a wave with her fingers, all smiles and dark sunglasses.

  “And this is Marcus Dragovel.”

  The other boy was already reaching to give Adam a handshake. His grip was firm, and his stare haughty, though not as much as it could have been. It was a dance he had been party to many times before. Adam was being assessed for his worth, to see if he measured up to the stories.

  Dragovel was a name with vague familiarity to Adam. If he pegged the boy correctly, based on his name and bearing, he was in some impressive company.

  “Pleased to meet you,” Marcus said in a displaced accent.

  “You as well.”

  “You may or may not know that Marcus is the prince of Marcivia. I guess you could say my understudy for the time being,” Cyrus said. “He’s come to learn the business.”

  Marcivia, that distant mountainous kingdom that was known for being isolated both geographically and politically. Strange things were known to come out of there. So, Adam was in the presence of royalty, and illusive ones at that. Marcus grinned as he saw recognition rise in Adam’s face. What a place for a prince to be.

  “Oh? Is there much overlap between being a businessman and ruling a country?”

  Cyrus and Marcus indulged in a shared look. Now that Adam was looking for it, the pieces were starting to fit into place.

  Adam made a show of checking out their surroundings. “What is all this?”

  Cyrus gestured around. “The construction? It’s a quite exciting new venture. My very own casino! Right here for everyone flowing in and out of Pacific City. One of a new franchise, I hope.”

  That’s what it had seemed when Adam pulled up.

  “I wasn’t aware you were in that business,” Adam said lightly. “And I didn’t know this was Native land.”

  Marcus chuckled privately.

  “Ah! It’s a new world,” Cyrus said. He turned to face the sprawling towns and Pacific City beyond. “New horizons, new opportunities, new laws… everything is being shaken up. It’s men like us that find the gold in all the upturned dirt. Truth be told, I’m beginning to quietly ease myself out of the technology sector. I’ll leave it the younger men. I’ve decided to start a new life in real estate and development. Starting right here, in the greatest city in the world.”

  “Really? That’s exciting,” Adam said. He kept on a mask of starry-eyed ease, hoping to tease as much out of Cyrus as possible. He had a keen feeling Cyrus’s retirement plan was a bit less demure than real estate development. But what kind of insanity could involve a sleeping Invader? Even seeing the cracks in things, it was hard to believe Cyrus honestly thought he could use it in some way. He needed more information.

  “Actually, it’s meant to be about as unexciting as possible,” Cyrus said. He came and joined them around the table. “I really do want to start giving back to this city that’s given me so much. The derelicts of Intershore, that honeycomb of hollow streets and caves underneath our feet… it’s a disaster waiting to happen.” He swept his hand across the table. “We’re going to clear it all out. Give this city a fresh start. And maybe,” he waggled his finger knowingly, “Help some young heroes patrol safer streets.”

  Adam gave him the smile he was looking for. “I’m sure they’d appreciate it. I know I would appreciate my friends being safer.”

  Cyrus rapped on the table. “Speaking of which… that horrible break-in at your foundation.”

  “Yes,” Adam said. “I’m just glad everyone’s okay and the thieves didn’t get away what they were looking for.”

  “Of course.” Cyrus nodded. “Keeping in mind we’re all trusted friends here… were they looking for what I fear they were?”

  “WATERSHED,” Adam confirmed.

  “So, you did uncover it.” Cyrus steepled his fingers. “I was worried about that. But I suppose it was going to be inevitable. When your father told me about what your family recovered in the aftermath of the invasion, I told him to let it go. It would only bring trouble to his family.”

  Adam couldn’t dispute that his father knew Cyrus Null. He had contacts all around the globe. Maybe they were allies, maybe Dr. Atlas had really confided in him. That was no guarantee these days. Maybe Cyrus had his own way of knowing about WATERSHED.

  “I’ve been thinking about handing it over to BASTION for safekeeping, but…” Adam slipped his mask to unease and uncertainty. He’d play up his feelings of helplessness. “I’ve been looking further into the foundation’s business, and I’m not sure they’re dealing completely straight with me. I think BASTION may be… exerting influences on my family’s work.”

  Cyrus’s eyes flared ever so slightly. Adam was stepping right into his trap.

  “Yes,” Cyrus confirmed, pained to deliver the news. “I didn’t want to overstep in our first meeting… but I knew you’re a bright boy, you’d come to your own conclusions. BASTION is forgetting their purpose in the wake of Beacon City. Taking things too far.” He leaned forward. “Can I trust you with something, Adam?”

  Adam leaned in as well. Marcus looked back and forth between them, while Susan propped herself up and lowered her sunglasses.

  “I represent a group of people, a private organization, interested in the continued protection of the Earth decentralized and detached from the interests of any one nation.”

  “Really?” Adam didn’t have to act intrigued. “I thought you were getting into construction.”

  Cyrus grinned sly. “A public face, you could say. I’ve moved beyond tipping the hero community for their work. I’m building it back up from scratch. Not as a tool for imperialism. A method of community-building across borders.”

  Adam pretended to give it serious consideration. “BASTION wouldn’t like that.”

  “No, they would not,” Cyrus confirmed. “I’d ask you keep this from them for now. I’m not threatening anyone. I’m breaking a monopoly on world security. Giving people a choice whose shadow they want to stand in. Doesn’t that sound fair?”

  “It does,” Adam said. “I’d be… interested in such an initiative. My family might be, too.”

  “I was preparing a pitch to give to your parents,” Cyrus mentioned. “Before your family went silent. I fear their work might be overwhelming them.”

  He doubted that was Cyrus’s genuine fear, but it was his. He pressed on. “But what about WATERSHED? I mean, what could anyone want with it?”

  “Nothing good. Nothing good at all,” Cyrus said. “Truthfully, I worry about you continuing to try to guard it.”

  “I do too,” Adam said.

  Cyrus shifted, like an idea had just come to him after much mental labor. “This would be a big leap of faith on your part… but I could take custody of it until your family returns. I’ve spent years purging BASTION from my ranks. I’m surrounded by only people I trust with my life. My facilities are remote and highly secure. If that would take the burden off you.”

  “It just might,” Adam said slowly.

  Cyrus broke the tension with a smile. “Look at me, burdening the youth with my heavy ideas. I’ve given you plenty to think on. Probably too much. I’ll let you wrestle with it. I’m sure you’re a busy man, I won’t keep you from your work. Hopefully it doesn’t feel I’ve brought you out here for nothing. I thought my offer more appropriate in person.”

  “Not a waste at all,” Adam agreed.

  “I’m available to you at any time, Adam.”

  They stood and shook hands. Adam was guided away by Ms. Kind again. Before they made it back to the elevator, Adam sensed someone approaching. He turned to see Marcus jogging to catch up.

  “Adam!” the prince said. “Before you leave, you are friends with Ms. Thalia Wild, yes?”

  Adam was caught entirely off guard. “Uhh, yes?”

  Marcus chortled. “Of course you are. Your friendship is legendary. Atlas and Wild!” he cheered. He strung an arm around Adam’s shoulder. “If it would not be, eh, stealing your dancing partner, could you perhaps give Ms. Wild my personal contact information?”

  “You want me to give Thalia your number?” Adam checked.

  A white card with a number appeared in Marcus’s hand.

  “Yes. I am an admirer of Ms. Wild. When I am young, I watch the documentaries of the Wild family doing their rescues. I see Thalia and I say mother, that is the most beautiful girl in the world. She thinks I will grow out of my taste in American women, but not yet!”

  Adam went along with his laugh. He took the card and put it in his pocket.

  “I’ll get that to her.”

  “Thank you, Adam.” Marcus clapped his back and sent him on his way. “I am sure we will work together with Cyrus soon.”

  Yeah. I doubt it.

  …

  From the balcony, Cyrus watched Adam’s limousine pull away.

  “What a poor, confused boy,” he remarked.

  “I’m not so sure about the poor part,” Susan said. Her head jerked to the side. She began convulsing and thrashing on her lounge chair. Her hair darkened, while the tan she had been working on faded to paper white skin. Lilith sat up in her place, still in a bikini.

  “Do you have to do that the most disgusting way possible?” Cyrus asked with distaste.

  “Oh, there are many more disgusting ways I could transform,” Lilith said. She stood and stretched. “I could burst my way out of her screaming body next time.”

  Marcus squeezed her ass on his way by. “Now that I’d like to see.” He had dropped his overemphasized accent. Lilith playfully snarled at him.

  “Besides,” Lilith said to Cyrus, “Not sure if you remember, but Susan isn’t actually one of your daughters. Maybe you should call them some time and do a headcount.”

  Cyrus glowered at the impetuous class head of his academy. “You’re very lippy for someone who wasted months of covert planning on a failed operation.”

  Lilith’s face twitched at being reminded of her failure. “It would have been executed flawlessly if the vault door hadn’t jammed. She said everything was in place for us to strike. I fail to see how that’s my fault.”

  Marcus poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher on the table. “Do you really think the Atlas boy bought any of that? He seems dull, but not fatally so.”

  “Maybe he does believe it. Maybe he doesn’t. The point is to not make him feel trapped. Whichever way he moves, he’ll deliver us what I want.”

  “And if he stands still?” Marcus asked.

  “All the better. I’d say WATERSHED is in a perfect place to take it.”

  “Why do you want that blasted thing, anyways?” Lilith asked. She sulked in her chair, still irritated.

  “Leverage, little succubus,” Cyrus said. “Power is leverage. We’re going to use it without making it a threat. And in the process, we will rise above our stations.” Cyrus checked the time on his watch. “Always more to do. I need to check on Phase 2. Scamper off to wherever you children play.”

  Lilith stood and gave an overdramatic bow. Cyrus rolled his eyes as he left.

  …

  “Hm.”

  Adam snapped the thin remote he held in half. Doing so sent a signal to the listening device he had slapped to the bottom of the table before he left, causing it to drop and fizzle into a useless hunk of plastic smaller than a wad of gum that would be swept up by some janitor. Audio had been transmitted to and recorded in a separate device.

  The device’s architect sat across from him; one leg crossed fastidiously over the other. Abigail smiled, clearly pleased her device had performed. He hadn’t given her much time to construct a nano-listening device. Not that the task was hard. His own labs probably had something laying around that would do. But the challenge for Abigail was not in building the device. It was in allowing Adam to spy on Cyrus once he had left. Now Adam had two pieces of useful information: Cyrus was the one behind everything, and Abigail wasn’t his pawn. The confirmation was hardly comforting.

  Adam sunk his face into his hands. He let the darkness press in.

  She.

  Who else knew where WATERSHED was? Who had been getting closer to him, getting unrestricted access to the foundation? Who had wormed her way into his inner circle completely below suspicion?

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Annabelle.

  It had to be Annabelle. His heart sunk like a stone deep into his chest. How could he be so blind?

  Abigail immediately focused on logistics. “Cyrus Null wants to steal WATERSHED. We can’t let that happen. Giving it away is out of the question. Perhaps we should hunker down on campus and wait for the storm to pass?”

  Adam tried to pull himself together enough to think. Personal betrayal aside, the audio was damning. “You heard Cyrus. He’ll take it wherever we leave it out in the open. It’s not safe around his inside person. We do one sprint across the country. We get it to my family compound. They don’t have the architecture in place there to steal it in Beacon City.” At least, he could hope.

  Abigail nodded. “Cargo plane?”

  Adam stared listlessly out the window, head on his chin. “No. Too easy to sabotage. We don’t have the stealth capability necessary. Something goes wrong, we’re in freefall with a 2-ton Invader. Its casket smashes open on the ground, we have a psychic alien mastermind carving through middle America.”

  “What about Vivian carrying it?” Abigial suggested.

  It was tempting. Vivian would have it on the East Coast in hours. Truth be told, Adam was terrified of letting the Invader out of his sight. It’s why he hadn’t flown back yet to see his family after finding it. Not knowing who was coming for it and why was too much of a risk. No, he had to deliver it himself.

  “Vivian’s strong, but having a single point of failure still worries me,” Adam said. “If they have some plan to subvert her… But she should be involved.” He thought more. “We’ll do a convoy. Heavily defended. We do a three-day sprint cross country. You, Galaxy Girl, NeoKnight, American Angel, Biomass, Sola, Prism, Young Gun, and as many more as they’ll let us have.”

  “Strength in numbers,” Abigail agreed.

  But would it be enough?

  Adam wanted to cry. He had thrown away his relationship with his best friend over someone who was likely a traitor. He had kissed her, looked into her charmingly dull eyes and told himself he was carving out space to make himself happy instead of his family. It wasn’t fair. He wanted Thalia back. He wanted to go home, not just physically, but back to a time when things were simpler and there were heroes in the sky who could be relied on to save the world and Adam was the least important member of his family. He felt disgusted in himself for wanting to be more like Cyrus Null. He was just the first role model to cling to in absence of his father.

  He burned with shame at his petulant inner tantrum. This was a job that was meant to run itself, and Adam wasn’t even doing it right.

  Abigail leaned forward, trying to catch his gaze. He looked up at her.

  “I’m sorry, Adam. I never should have led you to that room. I should have kept it buried until your family returned. We could have all figured it out together.”

  For all her haughtiness and lack of social grace, Abigail had been there for him every time he needed her. Annabelle wanted her gone, and she had almost succeeded. Had she intentionally made things awkward between him and Thalia as well? He couldn’t think back on any one event that seemed like sabotage. Just different personalities clashing. Natural, or planned? Either way, he had to circle the wagons for this last push. Thalia would be the best scout possible for a convoy. With her animal powers and wilderness training, she could see threats coming for miles. If it wasn’t too late to make up and convince her. How easily all the different touchstones Adam had come to rely on were peeled away from him, from his friends to his family to his trust in BASTION.

  He'd claw it all back. It was time to lock in.

  Back on campus, Adam saw Annabelle waiting before he exited. He failed to stifle a groan.

  “What are you going to do about her?” Abigail asked.

  “I don’t know yet. Just let me handle it.”

  Adam stepped out, Abigail exiting the other side. He stared at Annabelle, shifting her weight between her feet in an anxious motion. Her eyes danced between Adam and Abigail.

  “How did the meeting go?” she asked, trying to sound hopeful.

  As far as she knew, Adam had gone on a fact-finding and support mission to Cyrus. He hadn’t told her about any of his ulterior plans. Something he was now very glad about. He couldn’t keep up a fa?ade of everything being alright, even if that would have been the smartest thing to do.

  “It was fine,” he said as he brushed past her outstretched arms waiting for an embrace. “I need to go meet with Dodds again.”

  “Should I come?” Annabelle asked. He could hear an edge of panic in her voice. He fought the urge to go back and comfort her. It wasn’t an easy thing, to forgo the heart and focus on logic. But logic said she was the leak that needed patching.

  “We’ll handle things,” Abigail said with more than a bit of vindication. He leveled a stare at her but didn’t correct what she said. They trudged away to the administration building, leaving Annabelle standing alone.

  . . .

  “…Scamper off to wherever you children play.”

  Adam hit stop on the recording device. He let Cyrus’s words speak for themselves. He sat across from Dodds in a secure meeting room. Abigail posted up in the corner, his watchful guardian.

  Dodds’ face had been still throughout the playback, and her expression didn’t change upon its end. She gazed down at the device.

  “Cyrus is trying to steal WATERSHED,” Adam said in case she somehow wasn’t getting it. “He’s behind all of this. He’s probably funding the New Lords. He told me he wants to subvert BASTION and do some kind of new world order. He practically invited me to join it.”

  “This… this is very serious, Adam,” Dodds finally said.

  “You’re telling me!” Adam scoffed. “He waited until my parents were gone and got me to unbury it for him. He planted someone on the inside to help it get to him.”

  Dodds’ eyes went from the recorder to Adam. “Someone on the inside?”

  “The break-in at the foundation went too smoothly,” Adam said. “Someone knew exactly where WATERSHED was being kept. The only reason they didn’t get away with it was Abigail intervening and the void vault door jamming.”

  Dodds bit her lip. An expression of concern broke through her stoic outer shell. “Not many people knew where you were keeping it. Who are you suspecting?”

  Adam leaned forward. “How much do you know about Annabelle?”

  Dodds cocked her head, confusion spreading. “Your… girlfriend is your suspect?”

  “I don’t know who else it could be,” Adam said. “Our suspect is female, they let that slip. Someone with intimate access to my foundation’s security. Abigail has been nothing but a savior through this whole thing. It isn’t Dr. Madison. BASTION didn’t know…”

  Adam paused and thought about his father. Did he really swoop up and take the one living Invader post-invasion without BASTION knowing? What utter madness would cause him to do that? He’d have to find him and ask.

  “… in any case, I urge you to vet her again. I’m icing her out of the rest of this.”

  “The rest of this being…?”

  “I’m still taking WATERSHED to Bastion City, to my parents. Three-day convoy cross-country. I don’t trust it in the air. I’ll provide the transportation. I’m requesting minimum twelve students for security.” Adam started rattling them off. “Thalia, Vivian, Ike—”

  “I can’t do that, Adam,” Dodds interrupted.

  Adam’s list came to a sputtering halt. “Excuse me?”

  “I can’t provide you with your pick of Rosewell students,” Agent Dodds said.

  A lump caught Adam’s throat. “…I thought we were on the same page about securing a living mass-bioweapon that might kickstart a second apocalyptic invasion if it ever woke up. We are on the same page about that, right?”

  “Yes,” Dodds said evenly. “However, Rosewell is not a superhero rental service to private corporations, no matter how critical their operations may be. Our students are minors, authorized to be here for a very specific purpose. I cannot condone putting half or more of them in danger transporting said mass-bioweapon across state lines on such short notice. The red tape surrounding Vivian alone is enormous.”

  Adam sank in his chair and clutched his head, a stress headache threatening to overwhelm him.

  “This is how bureaucracy is done, Mr. Atlas. That being said…” Agent Dodds reached under the table and produced a folder. “We do have a few students here under more flexible circumstances. If they wish to accompany you, I can justify the hazard. Assuming you were sticking to your plan, I put together a dossier for you.”

  Adam sat back up and accepted the folder. He opened it, parsing through the files quickly. He looked incredulously back up at Dodds. “…This is it?”

  “I’ll also provide you with a squad of BASTION field operatives. Some of the best we have.”

  “Cyrus will know we’re moving. It’s not enough.”

  “It will need to be enough,” Dodds insisted. “Unless you would like to turn WATERSHED over to the government.”

  Adam couldn’t. It wasn’t his to give away. Something was still off about BASTION’s dealings.

  “I will also be joining Adam’s convoy,” Abigail said from her spot at the wall.

  Dodds looked up at her. “You are not authorized to join—"

  “—I am authorizing myself to join Adam’s mission. Whether I am still a Rosewell student upon my return I suppose is your decision to make. If I am expelled, then I will be seeking full-time employment at Atlas West. Feel free to contact my parents. They will support me making the heroic and selfless choice.”

  Dodds held her stare. She bit her tongue. “Fine.” She looked again at Adam. “You have the list of students at your disposal. I suggest you go recruit them. We’ll investigate Annabelle. Your trucks will be let through when you’re ready. I’ll bring this evidence against Cyrus Null to my supervisors. Things move slowly, but they will move against him. In the meantime, I wish you the best of luck out there.”

  Adam left in a huff. Abigail followed dutifully behind. Annabelle was no longer standing outside.

  Three students besides Abigail. Three. No heavy-hitters. Their only hope was blitzing across the country and hoping the New Lords couldn’t mobilize fast enough.

  “Why are you doing all this?” Adam asked Abigail as he walked to the dorms. “You’re really willing to risk your place here to come on this mission?”

  “I told you when we first met. I owe it to your family.” Abigail said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. “You have no idea how much your outreach helped me.”

  “You’re right,” Adam realized. “I don’t have any idea.”

  For all the checks he had handed out, all the fundraisers and events, he had never actually gone and seen the fruits of what his family did. It suddenly felt like a gaping hole in his experience.

  “Besides,” Abigail said, “my position here isn’t threatened. They have no leverage. They need us far more than we ever need them. It’s just the state of the world right now.”

  That was too true. Not enough heroes in the world.

  …

  “Yes! Dude, yes!”

  Kenny brought Adam into a hug he was very unprepared for. They stood in the doorway of dorm 4. Abigail waited under the awning.

  Kenny kept an arm around Adam and poked him in the chest. He smiled with his perfect teeth, blue eyes shining with glee. “I’ve been saying we should do this for months.”

  “…You have?”

  “A road trip is perfect. You and me, handsomest guys at school, we can’t be contained here!” Kenny swooped his hand forward. “Open road. Partying. New faces in every town. No getting tied down. No spilling secrets.” Kenny nodded like it was already all decided. “We’ll become the brothers we both never had.”

  Adam did have a younger brother, but that was beside the point. He was pretty sure Kenny hadn’t heard any part of his pitch besides the cross-country thing. He brought him back down to earth. “Yeah, no, this is an important secret mission. We’re not stopping except to fuel. No partying. I’m hiring you to defend the convoy if we get attacked. By the way, remind me what your powers are?” Adam had a hard time remembering the less flashy powersets.

  Kenny rubbed his hands like he was about to reveal the most amazing secret. He leaned in. “After talking to someone and holding eye contact with them for a while, I can put them to sleep and make them follow my commands.”

  Adam nodded. “Right. And how long does that take?”

  Kenny shrugged off the unimportant detail. “Maybe a minute. I’ve been training to get faster with it.”

  Greeeaaat. Maybe the inevitable ambush will take a diplomatic lunch break with them first. Fuck it, he thought. Better than nothing.

  “Be ready to go on Saturday.”

  …

  He knocked on dorm 3 next, really hoping Annabelle wasn’t going to be the one to answer. He still didn’t know what to say to her. Visiting one of her roommates instead of her would just be the topping on the disaster their relationship was turning out to be.

  Ingrid answered. She peered up at Adam, eyes sleepy behind heavy prescription glasses. Something about her reminded Adam of a mouse standing on its hind legs to investigate things.

  “Oh, hi Adam.” He wasn’t an unfamiliar sight around dorm 3, having visited Annabelle plenty. “Here for Annabelle? I’m not sure she’s in right now.”

  “That’s alright. I’m here to see Reagan.”

  “Oh.” Ingrid let him in. “She’s in her room. She doesn’t come out much lately.”

  Adam passed Annabelle’s closed door. At the end of the hall, he found Reagan’s door cracked open. Through the sliver, he saw her curled up on her bed facing the wall. He backed up and coughed when he realized she was only in a shirt and underwear. He knocked on her door like he had just approached.

  “Reagan? It’s Adam.”

  He heard her scramble up, followed by a swift “Fuck!” and a seethe of pain.

  He waited at the door.

  “Well? What are you just creeping out there for? Come hand me my pants.”

  Adam stepped into the room, eyes on his feet, and reached for the pair of sweatpants draped over the desk chair. He handed them off and waited for Reagan to slip them on.

  “The hell are you doing here?” Adam looked up at her once he was sure she was dressed. “Your girlfriend not around to bug?”

  Reagan wasn’t normally a cheery presence around campus, but she looked especially disgruntled now. Everyone knew about her back injury sustained during the museum confrontation with the New Lords. She was generally given a wide berth these days, after she nearly bit Reuben’s head off for offering to help carry her bag. One could infer she was a bit touchy about being seen as weak. Adam couldn’t help but eye the open bottle of pain pills on her nightstand.

  “Actually, I’m just here for you.” He cringed. Did that sound bad?

  Reagan squinted at him. “For what?”

  He gave her the short and sweet of the job, same as Kenny. This one felt even more pathetic. He was asking a non-powered teen with a debilitating back injury to help guard a convoy. What the hell was he doing? But it just kept spilling out of him once he started. He couldn’t exactly say forget about it and leave.

  “…You think I’m one of the people to pick to guard this dangerous delivery of yours?” Reagan asked skeptically.

  “Agent Dodds thought you’d be a good fit,” Adam offered. He failed to mention the part about her being one of the few choices.

  “Well, alright.” Reagan nodded, seeming to gain confidence as she thought about it. “Yeah. I’ll keep us focused.”

  “Good.” Adam started backing away. He’d leave on a positive note. “We’re heading out Saturday.”

  “I’ll be ready.” Reagan hesitated, chagrined. “Before you go… could you refill my water?”

  …

  After an hour of searching, Adam found Nathan sitting between two bookshelves at the very back of the library. He hadn’t talked to the lanky scarecrow of a boy since that first night at the introductory mixer, back when he had shared his theory on BASTION wanting to breed agents and students to make loyal super-soldiers.

  He stroked a few yellow hairs carefully cultivated into a beard as he looked up at Adam, even more skeptical than Reagan had been. “You want me to help you move your black-tech from one of your family’s illicit experimental laboratories to the other?”

  Not particularly.

  “Yeah. I could really use your discerning eye for the truth.” Adam tactfully ignored the jab about his family’s work being illicit. The thing’s he’d do to grovel for help. And their work was shaping up to be.

  “I’d only go to expose the secrets your family cabal and BASTION are hiding from the world,” Nathan insisted.

  Adam rolled his eyes. He bit back sarcasm, keeping in mind he was asking his peers to risk their lives for his mission. And some healthy pay.

  “Be my guest.” This day was wearing on him. As far as secrets went, he’d love to hear any Nathan found. “So you’re in?”

  “I’m in.” Nathan adopted the self-righteous stance of someone doing the same thing as others for a better reason. He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll be recording the process.”

  “Yeah. Whatever. Saturday. Be ready.” Adam stopped. “What are your powers, anyway?”

  Nathan’s face scrunched like the question was insulting. “That’s a need-to-know basis. If you want to be in on it, you’ll have to pass my—”

  “Okay, fine, whatever. Saturday,” Adam reminded him on his way out.

  Besides class, Adam spent Thursday and Friday holed up at the foundation. He had Abigail stay on campus to watch over WATERSHED. He had Kieran assist him in putting together the logistics of the convoy. They’d leave Saturday afternoon, Adam’s team in a custom RV commissioned by the Atlas family to be fast, sturdy, and as self-sufficient as possible. It had been lounging in the foundation garage for over a year now. Dr. Atlas always said they’d do a West Coast road trip in it. Now its purpose was a little more serious.

  The BASTION squad provided through Dodds would arrive in their own vehicles with their own equipment. Twenty-four veterans, she promised. They’d have to be a strong first line of defense. The last line wasn’t much at all.

  “Sir, I think you should avoid going through northern Nevada,” Kieran said as they were plotting at the table of his penthouse.

  Adam looked over at him. “Why’s that?”

  Kieran dutifully typed away at his laptop. “I’m seeing reports of a villain known as Scavenger operating in that region. Information is spotty. Apparently they’re a walking tech-bane. A raider with the ability to remotely disable or dismantle any machine. And they like collecting valuable tech. Computer chips, weapons, robotics. A villain like that attacking the convoy…”

  “Would be a disaster,” Adam agreed. He looked at the map on the screen in front of him. “We’ll go down through Oasis, then Utah and Colorado. BASTION has a permanent base in Denver we can resupply at. That’ll be our first checkpoint.”

  Adam’s phone dinged again. He barely glanced at it. Twenty-fourth missed call from Annabelle. Dozens of texts. All he had said to her since was that he needed space to plan an important trip. Every notification was another stab in his heart. He waited for Dodds to find something on her. Until then, she had every right to be at school.

  “Where are we at finding the root of the heist infiltration?” Adam asked his assistant.

  “Security is having a hard time tracing it,” Kieran reported. “As far as we can tell, no falsified credentials were used. If anything came from outside the system, it was masterful. Invisible. With the lack of alarms tripped, it was almost like someone on your level simply turning everything off.”

  Not comforting in the slightest. And more damning evidence it was someone close to Adam touching things they weren’t supposed to when he wasn’t paying attention. How Annabelle might have pulled it off he didn’t know, but any spy would have a support network for things like this.

  Saturday came. Adam wanted to leave early, but there was a delay in coordinating with the BASTION team. He showed back up to campus around noon. Two large BASTION personnel carriers waited in the parking lot as his RV pulled in, their empty cargo hauler and small support van behind.

  A small crowd of students watched Vivian lift the container onto the truck bed. Technicians secured the package in place. Dodds introduced Adam to Captain Hackett, leader of the BASTION escort. A thirty-something greyhound of a woman in form-fitting slick and dark armor like the shell of a scarab. Her team dressed identically, some in faceless helmets as they double-checked their equipment.

  “I can’t thank you enough,” Adam said as he shook the captain’s hand.

  “No thanks needed,” Hackett said. “We’ll be with you the whole way. My team all served in Superhuman-Tactical-Response at minimum. We’ve been putting collars on villains since before these teens after your prize were born.”

  Given the age at which BASTION started training their soldiers, that might not have been much of a boast.

  Abigail stood with Adam as his small team loaded their belongings into the RV. Thalia shuffled her way up to them, thumbs in her pockets, wearing a conciliatory expression. In the distance, heedless of the rain, Annabelle watched the scene while sitting on a knee-high rock on the lawn. Adam could see the exaggerated frown on her face at a distance.

  “Heading out?” Thalia asked.

  “Yeah,” Adam said. “I need to go check on my family. I know I’ve been keeping you out of this whole thing…” Adam started letting loose an apology.

  Thalia surprised him by stepping forward and bringing him into a hug. “No. I’ve been keeping myself out of it. I was so damn jealous of your girlfriend. I’ve been a shitty best friend. I’m sorry Adam. You’ve needed me, and I wasn’t there.”

  Hearing her admit she was jealous was a surprise. Thalia was as stubborn as they came. Adam squeezed her back, heedless of everyone watching, including his maybe traitor maybe ex-girlfriend.

  It all poured out of him. “You were right about Annabelle. She’s been sabotaging me. I think she’s working with the New Lords. I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”

  “It’s okay.” Thalia squeezed him tight.

  “I need you to keep an eye on things here. Don’t let Annabelle or Cyrus Null or BASTION or anyone else move in on the foundation. I told Kieran to give you custodial director privileges.”

  She stood back, shocked. “You did?”

  “You’re part of my family, just like I’m part of yours,” Adam said. “I was going to have Kieran call and tell you.” He was ashamed to admit he wasn’t planning on working up the courage to tell her himself.

  Thalia’s lip wobbled. She was on the verge of crying. Adam was too.

  “I’ll be back soon. I’ll fix things between us. No matter what it takes.”

  Thalia reached out and squeezed his hand. “I know you will. I will too. Say the word and I’ll come with you.”

  It took his all for Adam to shake his head. He wanted her with him more than anything. But this was his quest. Thalia’s place was here, in more ways than one.

  “Keep the peace.”

  Thalia brought him in for another hug. Adam held her. He breathed her in.

  “Stay safe,” she asked.

  “I will.”

  Thalia turned to Abigail. “Don’t let anything happen to him.”

  “He’ll be safe under my watch,” Abigail said gravely seriously.

  Everything in place, Adam loaded last onto the RV. On the steps, he turned back and waved at all his friends and classmates. They waved back, with the exception of Annabelle. She just stared.

  Adam dropped his hand. In just a few short months, this place was really starting to mean something. None of these people had rejected him or thought him lesser for his lack of powers. They didn’t use him for money or status. He was one of them. A Rosewell student. And he’d be on his way back soon, liberated from this destructive burden, with assurances his family was safe.

  Adam mounted the steps to the interior and patted the shoulder of Wicky, the rugged cross-country hauler who had been working for the Atlases for decades. The squat man gave a crooked smile and asked if they were ready.

  3,000 miles ahead of them. 3,000 miles of potential danger.

  “Let’s get started.”