String - Identity 12.6

With a fight imminent, we prepared for the worst.

Anomaly transformed, and Vigil’s statues bled out of his gelatinous body. We wanted to be ready in case a fight broke out, so we had Anomaly absorb a few of her statues. Vigil could create more once the fight actually started, but we wanted to avoid her being vulnerable at the start of the fight.

Prosperity didn’t make a move; she stood in place, her muscles tense as if she were ready to make a break for it. She did not, however, want to fight, at least not by herself. 

Any moment now, I was expecting Comet to swoop in and try to kill me, but with every second that passed, the less certain of that I became.

“You knew we would be here,” I stated clearly, eyeing her up. “So, why come alone?”

“Maybe she wants to fight us all by herself!” Pink snorted. “If ya want a pounding, foxy, then by all means, throw the first punch!”

“I could take you,” Prosperity said with only a hint of confidence. Her tone was a far cry from what she sounded like when we last crossed paths in the bunker. “But I’m not stupid, fighting all of you would be suicide. No, I’m not here to fight, I’m here to talk.”

“Thank god,” Vigil sighed in relief. “I can’t tell you how nice it is to run into someone sensible. Why does everyone always want to start a fight? We’re just here to check on a friend.”

“Comet’s friend?” Prosperity asked, aiming for clarification. Vigil only nodded in response, which only caused Prosperity to tense more. “Are you trying to recruit her? Because if you are—”

“We’re not,” I interjected. “I imagine you probably know by now that she was important to me too. If not, well… all of you were likely going to find out sooner or later.”

“So it’s true,” Prosperity scowled. “You were her friend. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” The venom in her words struck harder than anything I had felt before. “It took us hours to even get Abby to come out of her room last night. I’ve never seen anyone so angry.”

I heaved a sigh.

“She has every right to be. I kept my secret because I was selfish. There’s more to it than that, but I need to explain myself to Abby, not you.” I said, crossing my arms. “They’re still not here yet. Were you really sent to talk, or to stall for time?”

“I wasn’t sent here. I recognized your scent and came here on my own volition. I’m not trying to stall, I just want to know the truth.”

My lie detector pinged on my visor.

“That last part is a lie. You are stalling.”

The certainty of my accusation broke through Prosperity’s confidence. She balled her fists, but hesitated. We would make short work of her and be on our way if she forced a confrontation. However, now that I knew what her little gambit was, it became clear what everyone else was doing.

“They’re tryna get Lil’Luce before us!” Pink accused angrily. “Gimme the word, Uppies, and I’ll turn this bitch into roadkill!”

Anomaly shook as a low whistling chimed in the air.

“No! I’m not fighting the Rookies.” Vigil said, shooting desperate glances at all of us. “Gangs and scumbags I get, but I’m not going to be a part of this.”

“Don’t worry, we’re not,” I said, reassuring her. I kept my gaze level with Prosperity, who seemed to ease up slightly at my declaration. “I know you’re trying to give Comet and the others enough time to get Phoenix out so I don’t run into Comet. We both know what’s going to happen the moment she sees me.”

Prosperity’s jaw tightened.

“If you know what’s going to happen, why are you here?”

“Because leaving means I’m burying my head in the sand and pretending what I’ve done doesn’t have consequences. I’ve hurt Abby. She can hate me for what’s happened, she would even be right to, but at the very least, she deserves an apology and an explanation.” I explained. “Lucy is another matter entirely. She was caught in the middle of everything and paid for it. I’m her friend, the least I can do is see if she’s okay.”

It was a few seconds before Prosperity found the words to reply.

“It doesn’t matter what I say, does it? You’re going either way.”

“Yes,” I said simply. “You can’t stop me.”

Prosperity took a deep breath before resigning from the confrontation. She took a few steps back, all while scowling at me. Her response came out biting.

“Fine.”

Transforming, she bounded off back to the Rookies, and I didn’t hesitate to follow. If they were with Lucy, then there was no time to waste. The rest of Madhouse followed close behind as we trailed the flaming fox through the bushes. It was only a couple of minutes before we came out into a clearing where I saw Tricky leaning against a tree next to Seer. Copycat was sitting cross-legged on the ground. The moment he saw us approach, he was on his feet.

His sudden movement drew Tricky’s attention.

“Aw crap,” Tricky muttered as he prepared for a fight. However, when Prosperity slowed down and transformed back, he looked more than confused. “What the hell is going on? Why did you lead them back here?”

“Allegedly, they don’t want to fight.” Prosperity said.

“Yeah right,” Tricky sneered. “You just got played and now we’re screwed!”

“We’re not going to attack you,” I said diplomatically as my eyes scanned the area. Strangely, there was a distinct lack of Comet. I expected her to be with them, considering that I saw her fly in with them not moments ago. “Where is Abby? I saw her land with you guys.”

“Yeah, where did she go?” Prosperity asked, her tone full of concern. “Did she go on ahead to find her friend?”

“No,” Seer spoke up. He was kneeling in front of a tree with his palm resting against the coarse bark. He wore the same armor as the other two, except his was stylized with blue trimmings. An eye was emblazoned on his chest, just like all the other ECU heroes. “She couldn’t handle a confrontation right now. She’s returned to the Citadel.”

“What?” Prosperity and I said in unison.

Abby's fleeing sounded alien to me. She was always the type of person to leap directly into the fray without a second thought—the shoot first and ask questions later type. 

“I told her you would be here. She left straight after,” Seer explained as he stood up. “Considering what’s happened, I don’t blame her. But we need to be here,” he turned and stared at me through his blindfold. “I’m hoping we can come to an agreement.”

“Woah, what?! Hey-hey!” Tricky cut in before anyone could say anything. “We’re going to get all buddy-buddy with these psychos?!” he exclaimed, pointing in our direction. Pink let out an indignant protest, but was summarily ignored. “We came to do Comet a favor because the last thing we need is another one of us going off the deep end.”

“Seraphim was brainwashed,” Seer replied simply. “That aside, we need an alliance with Madhouse to minimize the coming destruction.”

“An alliance?” I mused, betraying my interest. I looked over to Pink to see her twitch as she switched back to Blue. She shared the same curiosity I did, but opted to keep quiet. She gestured for me to keep going. “Can’t say I saw that coming. There’s no way the ECU is involved in this, so you’re going behind their backs?”

“I am,” Seer nodded. “This conflict will spiral out of control if nothing is done, and the combined efforts of Ajax and our superiors isn’t enough. Pandora is insistent on keeping their hold here. I assume you know that they’ve brought in support from overseas?”

“Mercury is here to help fight along with many veterans of their cult. They don’t want to give up their hold on Bayside, though I’m not sure why.” I replied. “It’s just one city.”

“One city on a continent risen from the sea by the combined efforts of Evohumans. They consider New Elpis sacred ground, and the fact they don’t control it has pissed them off for years. The Nine Circles dominate Ashton and exterminated Pandora’s branch there years ago. Zachary Port is suffering from cataclysmic earthquakes. Their position in Caldon is secure, but Bayside is the capital. They lose here, their legitimacy will be tarnished and it’ll be a domino effect, they’ll be kicked out of New Elpis within the decade.” Seer explained. “That’s why they fight with so much tenacity.”

I resisted the urge to sigh.

Leave it to the religious zealots to make such a big deal over nothing.

“When you think about it that way, I suppose it makes quite a bit of sense.” Alice said lightly.

“So what, you need our help to stop them?” I asked, curious as to where this conversation was heading. “We already know that Pandora needs to be stopped. It’s been on our to-do list for a while now.”

“We need each other’s help,” Seer replied confidently. “I had a… confrontation with Comet last night. From her, and witnessing the Phoenix fly across the city, I was able to use my power to glean what is to come.”

“Ooh, ominous,” Alice snickered lightly. “We already know the city is in dire straits, so why don’t you cut the bullshit and tell us what you want us to hear?”

“We’re getting to that,” Copycat chided. “At least let him give some context to the things he’s seen. It’s important to our goal.”

“I can see potentials,” Seer continued, unabashed by Alice’s goading. “I’ve seen Bayside burn. I’ve seen it swallowed by the earth. I’ve seen a great forest emerge from the ground and cocoon us all in darkness. I’ve seen you—” he stopped suddenly, his lips thinning. I suddenly felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “I’ve seen a version of you overwhelm the city with twisted black machines.”

Before I had a chance to question more about that, Alice beat me to the punch.

“You’re not the only Mentalist with a form of precognition, and I know your visions aren’t reliable. You should know these futures you’re seeing hinge on very specific events happening. None of what you’re seeing is set in stone,” her tone had become flat and unreadable. “So, you being here means you’ve found a favorable outcome—one that involves us.”

“You’re half right. It involves the Phoenix.” Seer replied. 

“What happens?” Vigil asked, breaking her silence. “How much damage can we prevent?”

“Since when does someone like you care about the city?” Tricky snorted.

“Since always,’ Vigil sniped back easily. “Just because I’m not a part of the ECU doesn’t mean I’m heartless.”

“Wow, really? You’ve convinced me.” Tricky exclaimed sarcastically. “C’mon, you really expect me to believe you guys have Bayside’s best interests at heart? All you do is rob, intimidate, and hurt people. I’ve seen the damage you’ve caused first hand!”

“I’m not sure where you’re getting that information from, but you’re wrong. We don’t do any of that,” I rebuked flatly. “If it weren’t for us, Bayside wouldn’t even be here. Grim would still be active and your organization would’ve quarantined the city.”

“Bullshit,” Prosperity growled. “Over a million people live here! They would never leave them to fend for themselves.”

“As far as everyone was concerned, Grim was unstoppable until we gave him a nice salty bath.” Alice supplied. “When a threat has no obvious weakness and is steadily crushing all forms of resistance, what do you think is the most tactically sound option?”

Prosperity had no comeback to that. Her lips thinned, and she bristled after a few seconds of silence.

“They’re right,” Seer said, drawing incredulous stares from his teammates. “Just like I can now, I saw what could’ve happened. Quarantine was actually one of the better outcomes. Given the kind of threat Grim was, much more extreme measures were considered.”

“Why did you never say anything?” Prosperity asked, looking disheartened.

“Because it would have changed nothing.” Seer’s sharp response made her flinch. Despite being outwardly blind, he sensed her discomfort. “I’m sorry. It’s a little ugly truth you learn to live with. If you're upset about that, then know that what we’re doing now will make a difference.” 

“I can’t believe this,” Tricky muttered. “You want us to trust these guys? They’re a gang, they’re just like Pandora and the Cains.”

“We’re not anything like them!” Vigil snapped. “I don’t know what you think you know about us, but we’re not trying to make things worse. We’re just trying to survive without submitting ourselves to the hypocritical restrictions your organization makes.”

“Hypocritical?” Prosperity scowled. “What are you talking about?”

“Girl’s got a point,” Copycat chuckled. “The old group I used to run with before the ECU bagged me had some wild stories. Pretty sure half of them are dead now though. It’s hard to see the ugly side when we’re constantly cooped up in that ivory tower,” he said, giving Prosperity a shrug. “But hey, it’s pretty comfy, right?”

Prosperity opened her mouth, but I interrupted her. 

“Let’s not get bogged down,” I said, bringing attention back to me. “You want an alliance—one that is bound to get all of you into trouble if your superiors find out. You’re risking a lot working with us, and as much as I hate to agree with the kid, Tricky has a point. From your point of view, trusting us seems stupid. So, why?”

Seer was quiet for a moment, his gaze drifting toward the ground. Copycat and Tricky shared a glance, while Prosperity’s shoulders sagged. Finally, he heaved a sigh and stepped forward. Everyone watched him as he slowly closed the distance between us.

When he came to a stop, he was within range of my blade.

“We’ve been instructed to sit back and let the ‘real heroes’ handle it, but in that time, everything has gone downhill. The city has turned into a horror show with Ajax here. People are scared to go outside. Seraphim has been ensnared and we’re just told that her situation is being ‘handled.’ It’s chaos out there, and sitting around isn’t making it any better.”

The bitterness in his tone was clear, and the others shared the same sentiment.

“And this is step one, is it?” I asked plainly.

“Get to the Phoenix,” Seer nodded. “Yours and Comet’s connection to her made this an opportunity I wanted to seize. If we come together, we can put a stop to all this nonsense. Maybe then things can go back to normal around here.”

“What exactly does normal entail?” Alice wondered aloud as she cupped her chin thoughtfully. “Once we’ve solved all these problems together, we… what; just shake hands and go back to playing cat and mouse? I know how you guys play the game. I’ve been a part of your little club before and I’m not keen to go through that song and dance again.”

Seer looked ready to respond, but Anomaly suddenly transformed back to his human form.

“Nah-uh. I don’t want to be paraded around as a hero or fish cats out of trees or whatever you guys do. I’m good where I am, thanks,” he turned to me. “If these guys want an alliance with us, then it starts and ends with Pandora. We’ve already got one shitty boss. I’m not trading that one for a bunch of out of touch old people from the government.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Alice agreed. “You want our help, that’s how it’s gonna be.”

“Fine by me,” Tricky muttered. “I can barely stand you as it is.”

“Don’t care either way, to be honest,” Copycat shrugged. “I happen to like this place and I don’t want to see the city get messed up more than it already is.”

Prosperity’s silence was noted. The attention fell on her, but she didn’t flinch. She kept her gaze level with mine as her tail flicked idly behind her. With each passing second, she seemed to grow more annoyed, until she finally ended up scowling.

“I don’t get it. We could do so much good together. Don’t you guys care?”

“We do care,” I said evenly. “That’s why we’re here in the first place. Just because we don’t want to be part of the ECU, doesn’t mean we’re bad. We value our independence—our individuality. Freedom to do as we please, within the realm of reason.”

“God I miss that,” Copycat mumbled wistfully. “You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”

“We’re in agreement then?” Seer asked, cutting in. “We’ll work together to put a stop to the madness destroying Bayside.”

I thought about it for a moment before offering an easy shrug.

“It all sounds good in theory. We can agree on an alliance all we want, but we have to iron out the details. The last alliance we were involved in just about fell apart the moment everyone actually started fighting,” I voiced, remembering Gaea’s meeting. “Do we agree to explicitly work together, or stay out of each other's way? What’s your idea of an alliance?”

“We work together,” Seer said without a shred of hesitation. “Combine our power and work as a single unit.”

I had grievances with that approach, but fortunately, I wasn’t the first to voice them.

“Hell no!” Tricky exclaimed as he stormed up to Seer. “You’re expecting us to trust this guy after he lied to Comet? She’s supposed to be his friend, I can’t—” Tricky’s frustration boiled over, and he found himself incapable of stringing together his words properly. He fumed as he stared down Seer. “This shit’s crazy. Comet had the right idea. We mess up shitheads like him,” he jabbed a finger in my direction. “We don’t bargain or—or make deals. That’s how we end up in a holding cell!”

“Hey, if you don’t like it, feel free to head back. No one is keeping you here,” Copycat chuckled. “I, for one, like this idea. Will we be punished for it? Yeah, but it’s been a while since I could really let loose without the suits looking over my shoulder.”

“Figures,” Tricky muttered. “What about you, Prosperity? Are you really going to stick around and help these losers? I came here to help Comet’s friend, not play nice with criminals.”

Prosperity looked torn, looking between us and him.

“It’s like Seer said. We go back, and we’re just going to sit this out. I didn’t just join because I wanted to hide these,” she gestured to her pointed fluffy ears and tail. “I want to make a difference—a real difference.”

“Am I seriously the only one being sensible here? We’re asked to sit out for our own safety,” Tricky groaned. After a few seconds, he lost all his will to argue. “Whatever. You’ve already made up your mind. You can stay, but I’m outta here,” he turned and gave Seer a sharp look. “This was your idea all along, wasn’t it? You manipulated us.”

Seer said nothing as Tricky’s jaw tightened.

No more words were exchanged.

In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Alice addressed the remaining Rookies.

“Real piece of work there.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Copycat sighed. “Little bastard cheats at every game we play. Honestly, he’s a pain in the ass to work with.”

“There wasn’t much I could do to get him to stay, but there was a small chance and I thought it was worth a try,” Seer said. “Regardless, we need to keep going. Finding the Phoenix and making sure she is safe is our top priority. After that, we can talk about what happens next.”

He didn’t ping my lie detector, which meant he at least appeared genuine in his goal. However, I had to remind myself that he was a Mentalist, and fooling my tech wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. Regardless, I decided to keep an open mind. I wasn’t dealing with cutthroat gang members, power-hungry politicians, or the disembodied voice of the world’s boogeyman. These were just kids like me, and they wanted to make the world a better place. 

“That’s a good place to start,” I said with a nod. “We’ll go together then?”

Seer inclined his head slowly.

“We go together.”