“When you’re ready, head out with Wraith. Oh… Lily and Andrea will be joining us in a week,” he said.
Eva had bonded with both of them. Lily for being Evan’s mentor, Andrea for helping her adapt to Legion life.
The young woman smiled brightly and couldn’t help but clap her hands together.
“Really?” she nearly squealed.
“Yes. Really. Now,” Felix said, turning to Wraith. “Your mission. I need you to infiltrate the local Hero HQ. We’re trying to find out why they want Kit. We know they want her. To the point that they’re willing to blow up schools. But not why.
“I want to know. Take a head set so I can follow along. Shouldn’t get in your way at all.”
Wraith, the black silhouette that he was, made no move to obey the order.
About the time it took for a single breath passed before he answered.
“Why not look into their memories?” Wraith asked.
Felix had contemplated that one already.
It wasn’t outside of his power, but it would involve hunting around in their heads. There was no guarantee that if he popped open those memories he’d locked out they would be containable.
Or that he could re-blank them after.
He’d done it while they were insane with agony and suffering. Truth be told, he wasn’t even positive he hadn’t damaged them in the process. Right now it was a risk he wasn’t willing to run.
Not when he could find the information through other means.
“It’s something I’ve considered,” Felix admitted. “Not something I’m willing to pursue at this time. Anything else?”
“No.”
“Go. Make sure you protect, take care of, and guide Eva. Assume she could eventually take your place since she can fade through objects,” Felix commanded.
“Of course,” Wraith said. Without turning around, Wraith inverted into himself and began walking to the door.
Eva gave him a nervous, yet excited, smile, and dashed off after the black shadow.
She was a bit too excited, but it was a mission where she was mostly on her own.
After the door closed, Felix let out a nervous breath. Pressing a hand to his temple he steadied himself.
“Gotta succeed on their own eventually. All you can do is prepare them. And she’s as prepared as someone who’s lived lifetimes,” Felix said, trying to assure himself.
Eva might be his wrecking ball, but she was also as close to a younger sibling, a daughter, a niece, as he had.
Part of giving her so many one-off powers was an insurance card. That she could get out of any situation should the need arise.
Provided he finally told her about it.
The problem was that the moment he told her about it, she’d probably try to volunteer for more dangerous duty.
Sighing again, Felix wondered if this was what parents went through.
Wraith slid along the external wall, dipping and diving through the shadows. Passing around and past guards as if they were standing still and looking the wrong way
From Felix’s point of view, Wraith was walking along obviously and should have been noticed.
He knew better though.
If Wraith didn’t want to be seen, and you weren’t aware of him to begin with, you simply wouldn’t see him. That was more or less his power.
The ability to kill someone in a single breath was actually all trained.
Wraith’s head turned fractionally and Eva was just in the corner of the screen. She was pressed in low to the solid thick wall and was more than halfway melted into it.
That’s one way to hide yourself.
Gliding forward, Wraith was off. They scampered along the perimeter and slipped inside without anyone the wiser, Wraith slipping between two guards, and Eva simply passing through the wall completely.
Felix couldn’t help but frown when they made it onto the main grounds. It was a wide open space. There was no cover, no greenery, nothing.
It was a blank enclosure that would highlight anyone trying to get across.
Felix suddenly felt as if he’d made a mistake.
This didn’t make sense and didn’t feel right.
Wraith would do his best to get through, but even he had his limits. Especially with Eva tagging along.
So why didn’t he say anything?
“Wraith, this is Felix. Double back, we’re done here. That’s a death trap,” Felix said into the mic.
Waiting, he watched as Wraith’s head swiveled back and forth, surveying the field.
“Wraith?” Felix called. “Retreat. Head back to home base.”
“Felix, I don’t think he’s wearing his earpiece,” Eva whispered softly.
Wraith’s head whipped around as Eva spoke.
Why wouldn’t he—shit!
“Eva, tell him Felix said stand down. Quickly!” Felix demanded.
From Wraith’s view, he saw Eva’s head dip down then back up as she got her orders.
Before she could even open her mouth, Wraith was darting across the no man’s land. Dodging between suspicious clumps in the ground Wraith kept on. His feet carried him onward at a breakneck speed.
He was doing his best to avoid everything and carry out the orders Felix gave him. The orders that he was forced to follow.
Damnit. I didn’t even think of him disobeying through the minutia of the orders.
Wraith was following all of his directives. Felix suspected that there was no way for Wraith to actually beat this section though.
“Stay put, Eva. Actually, belay that, get back here immediately,” Felix said.
All it would take is a thermal camera pointed in Wraith’s direction and that’d do it. Right? He might know about them, but without knowing where they are, he can do his best by moving quick.
Felix sighed and hoped the suicidal run wouldn’t be just that. He wasn’t optimistic though.
The Hero had played Felix rather well.
“I suppose that’s what I get for relying on a press-ganged recruit. Everyone else is mostly here of their own volition at this point,” Felix muttered to himself.
Wraith twisted around a corner as alarms started going off all around him. His view spun as he surveyed the scene and immediately adapted to the best of his ability.
“And now… he’s going to commit suicide while following orders. He’ll even do so in such a way that it’ll alert the entire Hero’s Guild,” Felix said. Shaking his head he felt the helplessness in his stomach. “He signed on so he didn’t die needlessly, then throws his life away to warn them? Why? What changed?”
A line of security officers with rifles sprang out in front of Wraith and leveled their weapons while firing.
Twisting as best as he could Wraith charged headlong into the riflemen.
Bullet after bullet struck the living shadow, the first several sending him crashing to the ground.
There was no letting up though. Felix couldn’t see much anymore as the headset had twisted around. All he could see were boots.
Boots and muzzle flashes.
Only when empty magazines hit the ground did the flashes stop.
There was no movement from Wraith. He’d been cut down and killed instantly from what Felix could guess.
Frowning, Felix berated himself again.
He should have seen it. Using Wraith was opening himself up to problems.
Felix knew better, too. His paranoia should have warned him.
Though that left him with only two people who could fill Wraith’s role now.
One was Miu, the other was Eva.
And Eva sure as hell isn’t being sent out on something like this.
Which means we need to upgrade Miu.
The view on the monitor changed, grabbing Felix’s attention.
A dark black pair of boots stood in front of the camera. For a second, as the newcomer tilted Wraith to one side, Felix got the view of a handsome man in a black and white costume.
Then inky darkness took over the camera, and the feed died.