The soles of his shoes slapping the marble floor, Will Morgrant, with the deviant name of the Teacher, steeled his nerves to impenetrable iron walls as he hurried to the Executive’s office.

  Will Morgrant was a renowned specialist in human and deviant biology, and never endangered his most precious secret, even in times of crisis–that he himself was a deviant, born in a time where their numbers were still few, returning from humanity’s purgatory.

  He was the most powerful telepath on Earth, one of the most formidable deviants, thrust deep within the United States’ intelligence agencies. It may have been morally gray to be undercover like this, but it was all to ensure his goal, his dream that the Star Legion followed, the dream that humans and deviants would be able to share their planet together and coexist peacefully. As often as the world had attacked his dream, the Teacher held fast, rekindling the vision from the ashes of numerous defeats, until his followers believed the fire he sparked may truly be eternal.

  Not my Legionnaires, anymore, he reflected. After making a deal with Blackstar to get Grandmaster captured in exchange for his other Legionnaires to successfully infiltrate his brother’s kingdom of Beneath the Mountain, the Legionnaires had lost all faith in him. He had stepped down as leader of the Star Legion, and Grandmaster had taken over. He was relieved that she was all right, and in the end, it had supposedly all worked out, a sinister voice in the back of his mind whispered. The deviant children had been released and rehabilitated, the human slaves had been freed, and Grandmaster had killed Blackstar.

  But the rational part of him was relieved that he had stepped down, that he was no longer in such a position of power amongst the Star Legion. He still believed in them, from him. His Legionnaires. But he had turned a group of young men and women into teenage warlords, and that would be the tenure of their lives. He had stolen away their innocence in his mission for his dream. Even if it was a good one.

  Grail betrayed us. Blackstar deserted his post. And now you are all alone with your dream, Will Morgrant, Grandmaster told him coldly after she had been recovered from Beneath the Mountain. And rather than allowing it to pass into other hands, you are trying to bear its weight alone–though it is crushing you. I’d like to think that such a measure of concern lay at the root of Blackstar’s heart, Will. He was your brother. He was your family. But after today? I am not. Do not come after me.

  He heard his cell phone buzz in his pocket and saw that his ward, Seeth, was calling. He swiped up to receive the call, and pressed his phone to his ears.

  “You fucked up hard this time,” was the first thing Dick Rhen said to him.

  The Teacher sighed. To once think the two of them were as close as father and son. But that was before Seeth had been trapped in a temporal loop for over a hundred years, his deviant healing factor and near-immortality allowing him to survive for so long. Dick hardly talked about what he went through, and the fact that the Teacher had sent him to that place in Borneo…that was another reason why he was glad he was no longer in charge. Even his surrogate son wanted nothing to do with him.

  “What did I do this time?” the Teacher replied wearily, only half-joking.

  “The Soul Stone!” Dick exploded over the line. “The stone that you created to keep the Silent King contained, Will! The gem is empty! You’ve just been carrying a pretty rock around this entire time! Your demonic half is on the loose, and who knows what could happen?!”

  “…How do you know?”

  “You entrusted me with perhaps the most dangerous artifact in the world, genius! Do you really think I would not look after it! I ran some tests on the Stone, and guess what? It’s empty! It’s been empty for the last seven years! Seven years! Why the hell did you give me an empty rock, Will Morgrant?”

  “Dick…” Will began, desperate to explain.

  “No. No. No. I can’t believe this. You knew that perhaps the most dangerous demonic entity in the entire world had been let loose for seven years, and what did you do? Nothing. You sat back on your hands and let him run wild! What the hell is wrong with you?! Who knows what damage he could have done, and you just let it happen!”

  “I’ve been monitoring the Silent King, and he’s mostly been on the Astral Plane, Seeth. And when Ember shattered the Stone, I wanted to get him back, I did, but I couldn’t keep that part of me locked up again,” the Teacher tried to explain. “I wanted to protect–”

  “Protect deviants,” Seeth sneered over the line. “But you’re convinced that you’re the only one who can do it and you have to be in charge. It’s never about anyone else. It’s always about you. No one else.”

  “To me eternal regret, I’ve hurt the innocent. I am trying to atone for my sins–”

  “Fuck that. That’s bullshit and you know it. Now I have to go hunting for one of the most dangerous entities in the world. You can go to hell, Will Morgrant. I want nothing to do with you or your Legionnaires. Because it’s always about you. No one else.”

  “Dick, wait–” But it was too late. Dick hung up on the phone.

  The Teacher sighed and leaned against the wall, shuddering at the dark thoughts that knifed through his mind. There was the dark side to him that almost no one knew about. He was one of the only deviants left alive after the Eboltyan Genocide twenty years ago, and when he was younger, before Eboltya, he had been bullied in school.

  The first thoughts he had ever heard in his mind were the taunting thoughts of the bullies as they slammed his head into the locker on the wall. And then he made a deal with the Devil to ensure that no other deviant would suffer the way he did. He became the Devil, and almost no one knew.

  Sometimes, to do what was right, you had to do what others thought were wrong.

  Sometimes, the wrong choices brought you to the places you were needed the most.

  (It was a necessary evil, he thought, but an evil at the same time.)

  But he had not let the Silent King take him over in over twenty years. He was all right. He could hold this beast at bay, and then he forced himself to turn his thoughts back over to this meeting.

  It was rare for the “boss” to request a “face-to-face” meeting, even in times when his expertise was needed. He thought about Grandmaster urging him to tell the government the truth–that he was a deviant–but decided against it. There was so much more he could do for deviantdom if he was undercover.

  So he was, suffice to say, somewhat on edge.

  Opening the heavy oaken doors, he crossed the plush red carpet and was waved in by the Executive.

  “Good morning, Dr. Morgrant,” the Executive said to him in her perfunctory manner. She motioned for him to sit down in the chair across from her. “I believe you two already know each other?”

  You two? The Teacher was so relieved by the lack of hostility in the Executive’s voice that he barely acknowledged the presence of the third person in the room. However, as the stiff-as-a-wooden-board, sandy-haired man turned toward him, his harsh face was marred by an expression of pure hatred and surprise that he knew was a mirror of his own.

  “Sebastian Herrick?!” Will said in contempt.

  “What the hell is he doing here?” the man, Herrick, questioned in anger.

  “Do not forget yourself, Mr. Herrick. Watch your language,” the Executive, whose real name was Valerie Harris, and Will wanted to warn her to be careful. Herrick may answer to her at the moment–however brief–but he had many powerful friends in high and low places in the intelligence community and he never denied himself the opportunity to pull strings and push buttons to get what he wanted.

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  Through all of his dealings with this man, the Teacher had yet to find a single commendable thing to say about Sebastian Herrick. Herrick was born into wealth, graduated from Yale with a law degree and rose to political prominence by playing off human fears of deviants. It was suspected that he had some ties to the Guild of Sapiens, and he lobbied political officers and Congressmen with blackmail and gaslights to have them support him–though none of this could have been proven, despite numerous investigations.

  The Teacher remembered the first time he had touched upon Herrick’s mind to gather information, when darkness filled him like a torrent of Shadowstalker’s blackness. His loathing for deviants, mutates and the Star Legion was so unrelenting, his thoughts was a quagmire of sticky hatred, and his thoughts tasted like poison without a single flicker of pity, sadness or remorse–stupid freaks, devils, hellspawn, gonna kill you all and murder you dead, better off without you in this world.

  Herrick adjusted his tie and shot Will a look of utmost hatred before soothing the Executive with, “My sincerest apologies, ma’am. I just didn’t expect to see Dr. Morgrant here. This meeting does have the highest level of clearance for the subject matter, after all.”

  “Dr. Morgrant does have the highest level of clearance, Sebastian,” the Executive said with admonition in her tone. “Now settle down, both of you. We have much to discuss.”

  Herrick sulked and sat down on Will’s left, turning his attention to the Executive, but not before glaring at the Teacher silently.

  “Four days ago,” the Executive began, “the deviant who calls himself the Phoenix has sent out a message around the globe, to the World Court: comply with him as he makes the world a better place…or watch him destroy our country, as shown with the Taymyr Peninsula.”

  “Pardon me, ma’am, but the Phoenix is not a deviant,” Will said. The Executive gave him a curious glance, and Will continued, “I saw his face on the news. His real name is Aftab Ferrara, and he is human, not a deviant.”

  “Wrong again, Morgrant,” Herrick said smugly. “We already interrogated Ferrara about his whereabouts when Phoenix launched his crusade, and he has a rock-solid alibi with a dozen people confirming each one. That’s not him. He’s a deviant.”

  What? Will’s thoughts raced. “But that’s not possible,” he protested. “I’m sure–”

  “And I’m sure that you’re wrong.” Herrick crossed his legs and almost propped them up on the desk, smirking at him as he rocked back and forth.

  “Herrick, sit up,” the Executive snapped at him, then turned to Will. “Unfortunately, despite you advocating for deviants, it does appear they are responsible for this situation, Will. The President has declared a national emergency, and the World Court has motioned for a global crisis. We can’t do anything to stop Phoenix, whoever he is; he is just too powerful.”

  “I still don’t understand why we can’t nuke him,” Herrick interjected.

  “Because of the civilian casualties?” Will shot back. “Or how about the fact that Phoenix destroyed the nuclear arsenal?”

  “Enough, you two,” the Executive said. “We may not be able to target Phoenix, but we can bring down his accomplices. Four days ago, we received a report from the Chief of Police in New York about an attack from the deviant terrorist organization known as the Lightbringers, followed by one in Rockefeller Center. In total, both attacks left about two dozen dead and hundreds more injured. Communication is being established with the NYPD as we speak. The situation is tenuous at best, but the question is about both of these attacks, and who is responsible–and why the Star Legion were at both of them. Are they friends or foes?”

  “Oh!” Herrick gasped, but it was not with astonishment.

  “The question I have for you is, do either of you have any idea–any reasonable idea–about how the Star Legion is involved in this, and how they are planning to hurt us further?” the Executive asked.

  The Teacher’s anger stirred within him, and he could have sworn he felt the Silent King touch his mind for a moment. Why did these politicians–why did the Executive–always assume the worst about his race? That all of them were evil, all of them were monsters, lying in wait to destroy innocent lives?

  If you were going to boil this down to the simplest core, it was deviants that were the oppressed parties here. Humanity were the abusers. Deviants were the ones who were feared and hated, living in a world that would never love them back.

  Humanity does not want coexistence, the Silent King whispered.

  He had taken this role as a government agent to change the system from the inside, but it was so, so hard with people like Valerie Harris in office.

  Silence, Will ordered his demonic half, and banished him away with a tendril of thought. “It’s never over, is it?” he said with the weariness of the world on his back.

  “What’s that?” the Executive queried.

  “The use of deviants as scapegoats, ma’am,” the Teacher replied honestly. “If I may, why are we focusing on the Star Legion and not the Phoenix? The Star Legion has proven themselves to be heroes just as much as the Transcendents or the Elites, being one of the first lines of defense against threats too large for humanity to face alone. And every single time, they have overcome the odds and saved the human race, despite the humans wanting to destroy them. We must stop this, ma’am. We must stop finding reasons to crucify an innocent race, before it destroys us.”

  “Oh, that’s rich coming from you, you devil lover!” Herrick exploded with rage and shot to his feet. “Those fucking freaks, those hellspawn, those terrorists are planning to destroy us, planning to dominate humanity, and are constantly attacking us! Just look at Blackstar! He probably perpetuated this attack! The deviants are planning on wiping us out and it is only a matter of time before we have to kill them all, before they kill us!”

  “That will be enough, Herrick!” the Executive shouted. “Another outburst like that, and you will have to find a new place to work. You will be relieved of your duties, effective immediately. Am I making myself clear?”

  Herrick sank back into his chair, his eyes hardening with something deadly. The Teacher wanted to tell the Executive she had just made a dangerous enemy, but he didn’t dare.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Herrick said slowly, inhaling sharply. “But I would recommend that you not allow my earnesty to disguise the truth of my words. Sooner or later, we must take action.”

  “Ms. Executive,” Will said, speaking over and ignoring Herrick’s blatant hatred and genocidal intentions. “Mr. Herrick has never been good at covering up his dangerous intentions of open warfare and genocide against deviants, and his bigotry and prejudice, or the personal agenda he has no every assignment. His genocidal comments and brash language against the Star Legion, who are operatives themselves–however clandestine–make it clear that he is not rational on the subject of deviants. I would recommend withdrawing him from this discussion and implanting another agent instead.”

  “Enough. Enough of that, both of you. I know you hate each other, but you can at least try to hide it,” the Executive snapped, losing her patience. “Will, if I didn’t know Sebastian was less than clear-headed on this subject, I wouldn’t have called you in as a consultant on this. I am the Executive of the Intelligence Sector, after all. Now can we please get down to business, or are the two of you going to continue acting like children in a schoolyard?”

  The two went silent, but continued to share hateful glances at each other.

  “Thank you. Now, I will repeat myself: do either of you know who may be responsible for these attacks?”

  Will did not struggle with the question. He knew it was the Phoenix, and the Executive knew it as well; they did not need to hear the dozens, perhaps hundreds, of other suggestions in his mind. It could not have been the Titans, who somehow escaped from their cosmic prison; the alien broods known as the Portyas, who had come back to Earth for another feast after a deviant/Portya hybrid became their Queen; or even the Black Knight, who had somehow regenerated and returned to hurt them. But the Star Legion had defeated all of them. And none of these enemies had any valid reasoning. There were far too many possibilities, and only one probability.

  “Ma’am,” the Teacher said finally, with Herrick watching him with intent eyes. “May I suggest we contact the deviant telepath known as Astra of the Star Legion. Their expertise in matters like this…”

  “Oh, come on, Morgrant,” Herrick hissed. “Consulting a freak like her for a problem like this? Those terrorists are number one on my list–they’re probably responsible for this whole predicament!”

  “You know, Herrick, I have never once in my whole life, met someone with as much hate in their heart as you,” Will shot back.

  “That will be all,” the Executive said quietly. She tapped her fingers together in thought for a moment, then stood up and walked around the desk to meet the two government agents.

  “Mr. Herrick, I have already mobilized troops. Once they arrive, they will be at your disposal, all awaiting your orders. Dr. Morgrant is going to be your consultant, and you will consult with him. That is an order. He will make regular reports to me and include any objections to your course of action–including any genocidal tendencies.

  “In the meantime, Will,” the Executive added thoughtfully, “I do recall that the Star Legion does play an influential part of deviantdom. It couldn’t hurt to hear their opinion. That is all for now.”

  With a wave of her hand, she dismissed them, and together, the Teacher and Herrick rose up from their seats and walked out from the Executive’s office. Once they were out in the hallway, though, Herrick spun on the Teacher, his face red and every inch etched with fury.

  “Stay out of my way on this, Morgrant,” he hissed. “Stay out of my way, and maybe, just maybe, when this is all over, you’ll still have a job in Washington.”

  “You don’t seem to understand, Herrick,” the Teacher replied pleasantly. “The Executive has just given me permission to sink my claws into you–and to sink them in deep. And I plan to.”

  The smile left his face then, and was replaced with a hatred even more pure than Herrick’s.

  “You’ll excuse me, now,” she said, giving him a withering look. “I have an important call to make.”