Chapter 742: Different journies.
In the days that followed, Warren, Morris, and Vicente became the busiest men at Fortress Four. If there was a prize for ’Most Likely to Have a Nervous Breakdown,’ it was a three-way tie. They weren’t just gathering every electrokinetic they could find from their own base; they were scouting ally bases like talent agents looking for the next big pop star.
The search seemed to have come to an end, but this marked the beginning of training, under Commander Warren, as he liked to call himself.
"Alright, listen up, Sparkies!" Warren shouted, pacing in front of a line of nervous-looking teenagers and adults who could produce even a tiny static shock. "I don’t care if you can only charge a cell phone or if you can take down a skyscraper. You are here to learn how to make a giant storm. Not a drizzle, not a light mist_ a storm that would make the gods hide under their beds!"
The training happened in the reinforced massive indoor center under a separate invisible bubble. It was safely tucked away from the prying eyes of the Watchers. However, besides that, Sunshine had insisted on a "distraction" plan.
"Include other superhumans as well," Sunshine had told them with focus. "If the Watchers see a circus, they will think that it is business as usual."
So, while the electrokinetics were sweating and sparking in the indoor training center, the outdoor one looked like a weird talent show. Vicente watched a man try to juggle flaming pineapples and sighed. "Why do I have to be the one that baby sits the clowns," he muttered to Morris.
Morris chuckled, adjusting his glasses. "Hey, as long as it keeps those eyes in the sky confused, I’ll let them juggle whatever they want. How’s the sparky squad?"
"They’re getting there," Vicente said, his face softening. "But it’s hard, Morris. These people are scared. They know that they are preparing for a very important mission. But ever since the river incident, not many superhumans are eager for missions."
While the fortress buzzed with secret energy, the world outside was changing. The thick, suffocating darkness that had ruled the sky for so long was finally thinning. It wasn’t sunny yet, but it was grey_ like a very long, very depressing Tuesday morning.
***
For Cassius, that was enough.
"I am done," Cassius declared this morning, tossing a silk scarf over his shoulder. "This place is infested with lice, Orion. Real lice. I am a Quinn, and I should be living in a fortress with a working shower and a chef who doesn’t think ’burnt toast’ is a seasoning."
Orion rolled his eyes so hard it almost hurt. "You realize that the lice is a new problem of the apocalypse, and we are doing everything we can. Just apply the bug cream."
"I cannot stand it here," Cassius waved him off. "My father owns Fortress Four. I’ll be fine there."
Orion sighed. He didn’t like Cassius, but he knew one thing: taking the spoiled brat back to his father would make him look like a hero in front of Quinns. And Orion really needed to be a hero to the Quinns.
"Fine," Orion said. "I’m coming with you. Mrs. Quinn are you coming too?" He looked at Denise who scoffed at the way he addressed her.
She was sharpening a very large knife in the corner and didn’t even look up. "I’m only coming because he owes me. He’s my meal ticket. If he gets into that fortress so do I."
"Such a charming group we are," Cassius sniffed. "Like a big, happy, messed up family."
Orion made such arrangements and a team of superhumans was assembled. Reinforced vehicles provided by Sunshine were stocked with supplies for the road, and they set off.
But they weren’t the only ones on the road. From the south, Moon was leading her pyrokinetic army through the jagged remains of the world. She was smart_ she avoided the direct paths where the lava flow would turn the ground into a grill. Her route was longer, winding through the cold ash valleys, but it was safe.
Mostly.
They were on a break currently, because their journey was on foot. Moon made sure that they took a thirty-minute break after every hour. Time was up.
"Garrison?" Moon called out. "We need to start moving."
Garrison Holt, the Fire King, was staring at a dead bush. He was blinking slowly, his hands twitching. "Garrison, we need to move," Moon said, her voice soft but firm.
Garrison looked at her, and for a second, his eyes were blank. "Who... who are you?"
Moon felt a chill that had nothing to do with the weather. "It’s Moon Raine, Garrison. We’re going to the Fortress. Remember? We’re going to take what’s ours."
Garrison rubbed his temples. "Right. The Fortress. The... the tall place." He suddenly looked angry. "Where is my crown? Someone stole my crown!"
"You aren’t wearing a crown, Garrison," Moon sighed. She reached into her bag and pulled out a bundle of bitter, mutated herbs. "Here. Eat this. It’ll help with the ’head-fuzz.’"
He chewed them like a mindless animal, and slowly, the light came back to his eyes. "What happened?"
Moon watched him, her heart hammering. She had discovered since she met the man that he seemed to have a case of Alzheimer’s. She couldn’t rely on him for long term. He was a ticking time bomb of madness. If she didn’t get him to the fortress soon, he might accidentally burn them all to a crisp just because he forgot who they were.
"We have to move faster," she whispered to herself. "Before his brain turns to ash."
***
As for Sunshine, her days were spent teleporting into dangerous, worlds to fix different things. She was doing the work that no one else could do, but she felt like it was not enough. She sat at her desk in the work room, staring at a list sent by Vortan.
"Core reactor stabilization... boring. Neural grid repair.....exhausting, explosive gear vault containment.....not enough," she mumbled, scrolling through the jobs.
She needed a challenge. Something big. Something that would push her powers to the limit and finally break her through to the "Master Level."
"Come on, Vortan," she whispered. "Give me something that scares me a little."
She clicked on a blinking red notification at the bottom of the list. It was a mission to the jobs he had sent that morning. It was a suicide mission for anyone else. "Sky bridge rewiring during a storm. Half a billion points!!!"
Sunshine felt a spark of excitement.
This was it. The kind of task that would push her to her limits.
"Perfect," she said with a tired grin. "That looks like a terrible idea. I’ll take it." She told herself. "I’m coming for that Master title. "System, let’s go."