“Are we expected to believe that this sudden “transparency” is completely honest when this man, if he’s even The First as he claims to be, appears out of nowhere in the middle of New York after Loophole and Wildcard Assembly prevented yet another catastrophe.”

  “Well that part is the most obvious given that Mr. Kirkman has made it clear that it was Loophole’s Innate Ability that caused the butterfly effect to occur in the first place. Now let me be clear, while I certainly think Loophole should make himself far more available to answer questions, I don’t believe he is to blame for everything that’s happened. If anything, he deserves our thanks for finally opening our eyes to the hidden world that was controlling large swathes of our society.”

  “Oh of course you’re going to say that James, you’ve made your stance on the Wildcard’s very clear ever since they saved your life. If Loophole really made the unilateral decisions that Mr. Kirkman claimed he made “under duress,” then he should absolutely make himself just as available to us and any oversight necessary for our country to move on from the horrors of these last few weeks and that starts with revealing who he is to the world instead of hiding behind this so called “Secret Identity” protocol that the system enforces.”

  “Wait, Tim, are you implying that the hero of New York should be forced to face criminal charges? That’s a bold claim given your office’s stance on Mr. Merens from your department. Were you aware that Mr. Merens falsified his claims to having a doctorate? Was that qualification something that allowed him to reach the position of power that he has since abused?” James pressed, leaning over the desk and staring down the thin man sitting amongst the small roundtable of people gathered to discuss the revelations from earlier in the day. Though there were six people sitting around the desk, it had only been Tim and James that had been speaking for the better part of the last ten minutes.

  “Allegedly abused, James. The country may be in shambles, but this is still America where we believe in innocence until proven guilty and last I checked, hearsay evidence of a falsified doctorate from someone who no longer works for Princeton isn’t proof. We are currently in communication with the actual Administrative department at Princeton to smooth out this discrepancy,” Tim explained, a calculated smile cutting across his face as he looked back across at James. “And to be clear, I’m in no way attempting to claim that Loophole should face charges as I don’t believe anything that he has done could be considered illegal. That said, it is our department’s stance that the continued allowance for secrecy from these Augments chosen for no discernable reason is itself an issue and given the magnitude of the events Loophole has been implicated in, it’s only natural that we’d have questions we’d like to have him answer.”

  Tim was a representative for the National Security Agency that had been sent out the moment James Grigsby reached out to multiple different groups to organize this exact roundtable. After all, someone was going to be the first to get the scoop and this was International level news and if he hadn’t moved as quickly as he had, James was positive that someone would have beaten him to it. When it took less than an hour for the NSA to confirm that someone from Director Gilbert’s team would be there, James was sure he was about to go from being a local face in New York to a household name.

  “If I may speak James, I think Timothy here is forgetting the reason why Secret Identities are important for the Augments scattered across the planet. It was TechWarden that was kidnapping them for experimentation,” Angie piped up, her voice appearing from nowhere in the studio as several of the guests looked around for the source.

  Even though everyone could hear the AI now, it didn’t mean they were going to get used to it in just a few hours… especially since Angie just popped in whenever she felt like it. That fact alone, that almost nowhere was safe from the AI’s prying ears, scared more than a few people, and Tim knew it. He even had to resist smiling at the perfect setup he had been given.

  “Once again, allegedly kidnapped. There is no evidence of any living Augments being held indefinitely by the Strategic Headquarters for Augment Development and Education and we welcome any proof of these claims. Look, I understand the scrutiny, truly I do. But it feels a bit hypocritical for it to all be levied toward our department when we have moved quite swiftly to address things. This is a Friday afternoon here and Director Gilbert has already issued multiple department-wide mandates to ensure that everything is on the up-and-up, meanwhile there’s a rogue AI that’s capable of popping in wherever she likes, something that I believe we should all be just a bit more concerned by given Mr. Kirkman’s explanation as to what happened to the AI that this “Angie” here replaced. We have no clue what their goals are, we have no clue why they are here, and until that happens we should not be simply trusting the word of some voice in the sky just because.

  “Now… with that said, we aren’t defenseless to the intruding eye of this system. You see, when Dr. Merens came forward to reveal his status to us the moment he became able to– since as you recall he was bound to secrecy because of Mr. Kirkman’s decisions– he also handed over some technology that he had developed thanks to his Augmented abilities. These Nullification Fields can be set up in residences and our department is happy to offer them to any business or citizen that wants them for the low price of–”

  *****

  “Ryan! I told you to start cleaning up already! I swear… I have the only preteen in the world that’s glued to the gosh darn news.”

  “Five more minutes mom! All of the discords are still going nuts, I don’t want to miss anything if Loophole shows up to talk about the fallout, not to mention this guy on the news is talking about some new technology, although I think he’s trying to say Loophole is a bad guy too…”

  “You know you can leave the news on while you clean up, you don’t have to have a laptop, a tablet, and a phone all around you too…” the boy’s mother said, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked in at her son from the hallway. “Now come on, your sister is bringing her boyfriend over for dinner tonight, that’s a big deal and we want the place to look the best for when they get here.”

  “Mooooom come on, he’s dating Sophie, he’s not going to care how this place–” Ryan was cut off as a hand towel landed on top of his head. “Hey!”

  Linda, for that was the mother’s name, wasn’t a vulgar or violent woman by any means. She was always sweet and ready to host at a moment’s notice. But she also knew how to control her children, even if it did mean swatting them, lightly, with a towel every so often… Though she did get a few odd looks when she told people she used a spray bottle to stop Ryan from peeing in her houseplants. Regardless, a quick towel to the head had long become known as the “stop talking” signal in the Schwartz household.

  “Don’t talk about your sister that way,” Linda said, walking back in and taking the towel back before looking down at her son disapprovingly. “Now I know you’re still getting used to the fact that you’re no longer sick, Swansong was very nice to do that and I will forever be grateful to that woman for that. But that wasn’t that long ago which means you know what it’s like to feel sick and you also know that Sophie has had a rough few months.”

  “I also broke my arm!” Ryan complained, holding up the cast as if his mother wasn’t already very aware of exactly how he had broken it. When she wasn’t biting he backed down, looking back at the arguing men on the television once more.

  “Let’s be happy that she’s happy instead of doing the little brother thing where you try to purposefully annoy her, okay? I’d rather not have her reminded about what happened last month. Besides, I’m sure Nate is a fine young gentleman and not at all like the Augments running around destroying the city or causing trouble with the government,” she said, following her son’s gaze to the television with just a hint of annoyance in her eyes. “I know you love superheroes lovebug, I really do, but the mess this fellow you like has gotten the city into–”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Loophole saved the city mom and apparently is the reason that we are finding out about all of this! He’s as much of a hero as The First was, maybe even more! Why couldn’t Sophie date him instead of whoever this loser is that–” the towel hit him on the head again, this time with just a bit more force. “Hey!”

  “Turn off the television and help me clean up. Your dad will be home soon too and I want to make sure the table is set, I’ve already put the lasagna in and need to finish up the garlic bread. You can obsess over your superheroes later, if I know the news, they’ll be talking about this for the next week,” Linda said, taking the towel back once more. “I’m sure Loophole didn’t judge you before he showed up to see you at the hospital, did he?”

  *****

  “Sheesh you get left all alone in here Brain?” Freakenstein called out.

  BrainCraft’s head popped up from his tablet as he looked over toward the entrance where the big man and Pinky were walking in.

  “Well I promised Loophole I would keep an eye on Codex here,” BrainCraft replied, nodding towards one of the other couches in the pit where the man lay near completely still. “Apparently the way he and Loophole were added into the system takes a bit longer than the standard Augmentation process and while he’d probably be fine if I left him alone… well he is Loophole’s best friend so I suppose I can understand why he’s protective especially since they don’t exactly have a home right now. How did things go with Tempest’s Wrath?”

  “She’s an… interesting one. We more or less convinced her that she probably wasn’t gonna be able to beat Loophole anytime soon, but she seems determined to at least stay close enough that she can take another shot. I figure that’s something he can deal with when he’s not worried about his bud,” Freakenstein explained as he looked around the lounge which felt even emptier now that the Command Center didn’t take up a large corner of the space. “Where the hell is everyone anyway, and why’d Miss Mist drop out of the squad again?”

  “Ah, yeah I suppose you did miss that… The short version is that while she understood why Loophole didn’t actually kill Hydramental in the end, it doesn’t make up for the fact that he promised he wouldn’t back out of it again. Apparently since we are done with the threat of droids, she’s choosing to move on and head back toward her hometown instead of sticking with the Wildcards,” BrainCraft explained with a shrug.

  “Without even saying bye?” Pinky asked, her lips pulled downward. “Well that’s just rude.”

  “She never was one to hang around us too often though… so I guess I always did assume she’d probably bail when we were done but not cause she was pissed,” Freakenstein added. “I mean, can she really blame Loophole like that, had he killed Hydradouche he wouldn’t’ve been able to save Codex.”

  “You do have her on your Friend’s List I presume,” BrainCraft said as he dematerialized his tablet. “You could always just reach out and ask her yourself instead of speculating based on the short conversation I watched. I wouldn’t even say she was exactly angry, just that she didn’t think she was a good fit to stick around with us now that there was no real reason for her to do so.”

  “Eh, I guess that’s fair. Guessing Dusk headed back home and then Loopie and Swan are off doing... well whatever they’re doing?” Freakenstein asked as he navigated over to the fridge and pulled out a pair of beers. He popped them both open on the side of the counter before walking over to where Pinky stood, looking down at Codex.

  “I believe that I overheard Swansong mention something about her mother making a lasagna for the dinner she was taking him to, so I suppose he’s onto his final boss battle of the day,” BrainCraft explained as he stood up. “Speaking of food, I actually am quite hungry myself and would like to take advantage of the quiet to both eat and handle some personal matters. Can you two hang around with Codex here?”

  “Ooo gonna go see the special lady you refuse to tell me about?” Pinky said curiously, swiping one of the beers that Freakenstein offered.

  “You two have a good evening,” BrainCraft said back simply as he walked up and out of the pit past the two of them, causing Pinky to shake her head in amusement.

  “I’ll get you to tell me about her eventuuuaaallly,” she called after as BrainCraft headed for the door to his Safe House.

  He stepped through the door, letting the scent of the vanilla scented spray that kept his room smelling nice soothe his mind ever so slightly. His room was far larger than the Mechanic’s Den he squirreled himself away in while in the squad base and far more meticulously kept. There wasn’t a picture or award on the wall that was out of place. Though, that was probably because of the cleaning service that came through at least once a week.

  Instead of admiring the cleanliness of his room, he headed right for the door and navigated across the house and down into the nearly commercial sized kitchen often used for large dinner parties. To his surprise, it was empty and he felt his brow furrow in frustration for only a minute before he saw movement. The kitchen had a single pair of french doors that led out to a balcony and he wasted no time pushing his way through them.

  There was a gentle breeze in the air that brought the scent of the ocean over to him. His family’s estate sat on a cliff in Northern California, overlooking the Pacific and just like the scent of vanilla acted to ground BrainCraft, so too did the scent of the ocean. It was there he found the woman, leaning against the balcony and looking out toward the horizon.

  “You’re late Ben.”

  “I don’t remember telling you I’d be here at an exact time Alice,” BrainCraft replied, looking as the woman turned, rainbows dancing in swirls around her pupils. “I assume my father is busy with everything going on?”

  “Oh very busy,” Alice nodded. “Dozens of new proposals to get started and meetings galore. I believe he's with the President now in fact. Tell me, did you know this was going to happen?”

  “A good chunk of it yes, it’s why I told you to make sure my father was prepared to make a move if TechWarden decided to try something. That said, I didn’t quite expect the entire system to get revealed. Loophole’s ability to affect time causes major issues with my Gut Instinct Hidden Power. Something that might register as a potential outcome one minute changes completely the next, especially when I’m not actively focusing on it,” BrainCraft explained.

  “Hey no Hidden Power’s perfect, you did good Ben, I’m sure Director Gilbert is gonna make sure you’re rewarded for keeping such a close eye on things once we get past the initial blitz of everything,” Alice explained, bending over and picking up a messenger bag that BrainCraft hadn’t noticed. “I’ve got some blueprints we’d like you to take a look at.”

  “Oh? So TechWarden did go quietly then? I was sure he was going to fight back,” BrainCraft responded, clearly a bit surprised.

  “Andrew is a lot of things but suicidal isn’t one of them. He knew he was cornered and is smart enough to think he can try to pull one over on us if he sticks around long enough,” Alice explained, holding the bag up towards him. “I suspect you’ll let us know when he is planning to try that though.”

  “If that’s what my father would like me to do, then sure,” BrainCraft nodded, taking the bag from her. “Any of these in particular that you’d like me to start with?”

  “Oh whichever tickles your fancy the most,’ Alice said with a smile, her opalescent lipstick glimmering in the light. “Your father trusts your judgement, BrainCraft. Keep up the good work.”

  In a flash of colorful light, Alice vanished into thin air. BrainCraft didn’t immediately move, nor did he exclaim relief that she was gone. Instead, he gripped the messenger bag firmly as he looked out at the ocean. He took in a deep, deep, breath of the salty air, letting the scent center him all over again.

  He had never wanted to be Augmented. Never cared that his father spent so much time away from home either. So when his father had wanted to go on a spontaneous vacation a few weeks prior, Ben hadn’t thought a thing about it. They had been biking when the accident happened… an “aneurism” as his father had explained when he woke up several days later, fully augmented.

  Until he had met Loophole and the others, BrainCraft had only had theories. After all, his Gut Instinct only let him see what happened in small windows in the future, not into the past. But he had never doubted that he had simply been unlucky enough to randomly have an aneurism. They were one of the few medical anomalies that still really existed in the world.

  His first clue had come when he learned that each of the others had also been gravely injured before they were Augmented. If it were the case that every Augment had been selected that way, someone was bound to notice, regardless if it got reported to the general public. His father was someone in a position of power and influence, and he had worked his ass off to get there. BrainCraft knew his father was capable of a lot of things… and it left him just enough doubt to suspect that his father wasn’t being completely truthful about what had happened on their vacation.

  BrainCraft didn’t want to be afraid. Didn’t want to believe that his father had put his life in danger just for the chance to be Augmented… But he couldn’t deny that it was a possibility either. And with Colorful clearly working for him, someone that he now knew was responsible for more than a few assassinations, he wouldn’t put it past him either.

  And until he knew the whole picture. Until his Gut Instinct could feel completely one hundred percent right about where the future was going… BrainCraft wasn’t going to tempt fate by disobeying his father.

  After all, he wasn’t the one who could control time.