Terry found himself puzzled with Kinetic Analysis. It didn’t sound immediately useful and he had to wonder if the rift rewards were a bit of a false promise. The Bonus Objective had sounded incredible—new Skills being hard to come by unless you could make your own like Terry—but Kinetic Analysis felt a grade below the Skills he was used to receiving and creating.
Unless…
He activated Combine Skills, looking to see if Kinetic Analysis was perhaps a component to some greater Skill. There had been no indication of Combine Skills working before, so he had assumed none of his current Skills were easily combinable.
There was a level of anticipation thrumming through his body as he waited, but after a moment, nothing happened. When he had combined Skills through his own trial-and-error, it had been a painstaking task, requiring a ridiculous level of focus and concentration. After ranking up and receiving this new Skill, he had hoped it would completely eliminate that headache.
But a part of him had to wonder if Combine Skills wasn’t missing certain combinations that he might find through his own efforts.
“Get anything good?” Ellie asked at his shoulder.
He turned, opening his mouth to reply, when he noted the mischievous twinkle in her eye. She had been baiting him to see what he would reveal.
Instead, he shrugged. “You?”
She pursed her lips, nodding. “Oh, yeah. Something real good.”
He was getting a read on her now and recognized more bait. Instead of asking her about her new Skill—which she obviously wouldn’t tell him—he turned to the others. “Ready to go?”
José and Lupe’s eyes were out of focus, clearly reading their notifications a second time through. Tajo, on the other hand, had a pinched face, like he hadn’t been too enthused by his new Skill.
Without answering his question, Tajo leaped through Terry’s open portal. Lupe and José glanced up in surprise, sharing a look before turning toward Terry and Ellie.
“I’m ready!” Lupe said a touch eagerly, heading for the portal.
“Come on!” Ellie called at her back. “Don’t you wanna say hi to our Dirg’Ghee friends?”
Lupe cast her an annoyed side eye before stepping through the portal.
“José?” Ellie asked with a sly smile. “Come on, we could get a little revenge for Earth?”
José stared blankly at the girl, clearly recognizing she was simply stirring the pot. With a disappointed shake of his head, he stepped through the portal a moment later.
Ellie snorted, looking toward Terry. “No sense of humor.”
Terry took a step toward the portal, intent on ignoring the girl, but instead stopped in place. “Or maybe, Ellie, they just risked their lives defending our home.” He looked back at her, feeling just as humorless as the others. “Maybe, they’re dealing with the emotional backlash of slaying dozens of possibly sentient creatures.” Shrugging, he added, “I don’t know about them, but I’m ready to be done with this rift…and you.”
He didn’t stay to gauge her reaction, stepping through the portal to reappear at the center of the rift where they’d slain the first boss. Tajo was standing where they’d brought the escort target the first time, bouncing impatiently foot-to-foot.
“Vámonos, Rosito. It won’t let me trigger the exit until we’re all present.”
Terry didn’t waste the effort to explain that they were actually waiting on Ellie, as the girl came through the portal a few moments later—signaled by a small tug on his aura.
The moment Ellie arrived, a notification prompt appeared in his vision.
A vote has been started to permanently close the rift leading to the Dirg’Ghee world. Vote to close the rift or keep it open for further rewards. The vote must be unanimous to close the rift.
A moment later, a staggered series of notifications populated below the prompt.
Tajo has voted to close the rift.
José has voted to close the rift.
Lupe has voted to close the rift.
The prompt bounced in his eyes and he felt a subtle pressure, like the System was poking him to decide. He accepted with a thought and the corresponding notification appeared.
They waited expectantly for Ellie to vote, a handful of moments passing until it became awkward. As one, they looked toward the girl, who met all their gazes, seeming to study them.
“Ellie…?” Lupe asked quietly, a hint of doubt in her voice.
The girl’s serious expression flipped on a dime at Lupe’s worry, the corners of her lips turning up in a smile. “Just messin’ with you.”
The final notification appeared, followed by a notice that they would be ejected from the rift in sixty seconds. An exit materialized near Tajo, identical to the rift opening they had entered a couple hours earlier.
They filtered through, no one having the energy to scold Ellie for her annoying antics. But the implication of her hesitation worried him.
A single hold out could keep the rift open for the enemy…
That added an element of concern to the dozens of rifts populating the world right now. If one person decided to rebel against the other four, or worse, turn traitor to Earth, it would open an avenue for the invaders.
Should it come to that, what could he do? The only thought that came to him turned his stomach.
If I killed Ellie during the vote, would the rift have closed…
It was an uncomfortable thought and one he never wanted to have to face.
I need to talk with Mom and see about vetting those who enter the rifts. It seemed the policy of selecting from a random pool of rank-appropriate supers was riskier than he had imagined.
As he exited the rift, he found himself surprised once more by the sudden shift in environment. The humid air of the rift canyon was replaced by the dry spring air of Mexico City. Sounds erupted all around him, a rush of movement from people scurrying about to either enter the rifts or contain them.
A handful of people surrounded their specific rift—or rather, where their rift had been moments earlier. Now, there was only the slightest of depressions in the grass where the oval had sheared through the earth.
“Congratulations,” a voice called from behind him. It was Luis, the man who had shepherded them to the rift. “A full rift clearance—and in record time!”
Tajo’s sour expression from whatever Skill he had received was wiped away in an instant, his chest puffing out. “It was simple,” he proclaimed. “Pan comido.”
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Luis nodded, appraising each of them individually. “For such a powerful group, I am not surprised.” His eyes seemed to linger on Terry at that statement.
At first, his paranoia caused him to think Luis knew about his true powerset, but a moment later, he realized the man was simply alluding to who his mother was.
Luis clapped his hands, motioning for them to follow. As they stirred to join him, he continued speaking. “For a C-rank rift clearance under three hours, you’ve each earned 50 contribution points.” Terry frowned, and Luis noticed his confusion. “Ah, we had to skip the usual explanations due to time constraints. But Alianza del águila and the Protectorate have both created a C.P. store for delvers.” When Terry’s frown remained, he added, “To incentivize quick completion.”
His eyes narrowed. “Doesn’t the System incentivize completion enough—with the rewards and what not?”
Luis nodded along as Terry spoke, but held up a finger. “Yes, to a degree. But the time-based rewards have proved to be less of an incentive than expected.”
“What do you mean?” Lupe asked. Terry was happy not to be the only one confused.
“You completed the rift in around 2 hours—very respectable, I might add.” Luis waffled his head back and forth. “But I imagine the bump in System rewards was negligible. Maybe a single Attribute point…maybe. The C.P. store is the cherry on top.”
José and Lupe shared a pleased look, but Terry wasn’t quite sold. Free points for doing what they had already intended was great and all, but what was in this store.
“Do the contribution points really compare to System rewards?” he asked.
“Depends, but I’ve certainly been doing my best to accumulate as many as possible,” Luis answered. “Artificed weapons, Infused potions, free healing, and so on.”
Terry stopped in surprise. “Healing isn’t free?”
The group halted as Luis looked at him, a reserved look suddenly on his face. “Well…the unfortunate needs of war being what they are…anything that isn’t lifesaving is usually deferred until resources are available. The higher ranks are exempt from this exclusion—we need as many A- and S-rankers on the field as possible, of course.” He met the eyes of the Mexican supers, ignoring Ellie. “Alianza del águila has also elected to give preference to native-born supers…” He trailed off, clearly embarrassed.
“I see,” Terry said neutrally. A ball of heat was forming in his chest, surprising him with its intensity. He wanted to decry the practice, explain why they were all in this together—regardless of place of birth. It wasn’t him he worried for—as the White Rose’s son, he doubted he would want for healing, not to mention the Skills he had snapshotted earlier.
But what about others who risked their lives clearing local rifts? How could the Alianza just let them suffer, while giving preference to others?
Luis must have gleaned his thoughts from his face, because he cringed apologetically. “It’s not how I would have done things,” he said softly. “But nobody cares for the opinions of a B-ranker.” With a shrug, he turned to continue walking. “Perhaps you could bring your concerns to the White Rose and she could implement some alternative?”
The others watched his face for a reaction, but he kept it carefully blank, instead choosing to follow Luis in silence. Nobody talked after that—Ellie included—and Luis deposited them a minute later at a large pavilion that was marked with a sign in English and Spanish that read: Contribution Points Store.
“The ledger updates in realtime,” Luis explained, breaking the silence. “Your 50 points should already be on the books.” He cast Terry a regretful look, as if wishing he could pull back his earlier words, then seemed to think better of it and left them silently.
Tajo pushed past the tent flap, leaving José, Lupe, and Ellie in an awkward huddle. José and Lupe seemed to sense Terry’s mood—perhaps even agree with him—but they were only C-rankers and had no sway on an organization as powerful as Alianza del águila. A moment passed, then José entered the tent. Lupe, as if tethered to José by a lifeline, quickly followed.
Leaving Terry alone with Ellie.
She opened her mouth to speak and he met her eye, fully expecting some snide quip or witty remark. Instead, she false-started a few times, as if trying to gather her thoughts. He waited patiently, his lips pressed tight, half-expecting her to disappoint him anyway.
Instead, she sighed softly. “I respect you for pushing back on the status quo. Healing should be a universal right, not segregated by race or birthplace.”
His eyes widened and he felt stunned by the uncharacteristically empathetic response.
After a moment, he recovered his wits and nodded. “I appreciate that.” A second bout of awkwardness ensued as he thought back to the harsh words he had said in the rift. He didn’t regret them—not exactly—but he also wasn’t one to spit in someone’s face when they offered an olive branch. With a nod to the tent, he asked, “Should we check out what’s on offer?”
Her face shifted in an instant, an eager smile widening on her lips. “Don’t know if 50 points is much, but I’m always up for some shopping therapy!”
He gave her a friendly nod, letting her go inside first. He, too, was interested to see what they had, but was distracted by two things.
One, he could handle right away. He fired off a message to Tania, letting her know he was back safe and would find her after he took a look around. She sent him a reply about wanting to hear everything and he had to force himself to read the words as the second thing bothering him took center stage.
He hadn’t heard back from Juan yet.
[Terry]: Hey, bro. Just checking in. I’m in Mexico City…Already completed a rift actually. Get back to me when you can.
As he fired off the message, he half-expected an eager reply from the older boy. But as a minute passed with no answer, he couldn’t help but worry.
Ellie poked her head through the tent flap, distracting him from his anxiety.
“Oh, there you are. Thought you were trying to ditch me,” she said with a wry smile.
Terry met her eyes with a deadpan expression. “Ellie, if I wanted to ditch you, I’d have just portaled you across the camp.”
Her eyes twinkled with humor. “Just try it, Rosito.” She said the nickname with an exaggerated flourish, one corner of her mouth turning up in a smirk.
He made a show of closing his eyes tight, holding a hand in her direction like he was banishing a demon. His arm trembled slightly as he injected drama into the movement. After a moment, he opened a single eye, finding her amused expression staring back at him.
“Huh,” he said seriously. “I was certain that would work.”
“Did you just try and exorcise me? Like I’m a poltergeist or something?”
He shrugged casually. “Seemed the simplest explanation for why I can’t get rid of you.”
She laughed at that, and there was none of the spite or arrogance in it that he had come to associate with the girl.
Despite all expectations, he found himself starting to not be entirely annoyed by her.
“Well, guess you’re stuck with me for now. I’ll message Luis and let him know we’re a package deal.”
“Don’t you dare!” he hissed in a rush, then spotted that same teasing look in her eye. With a huff of faux indignation, he pushed past her into the C.P. store.
There were only a half-dozen people milling about the large tent—not including Lupe, José, and Tajo. A foldable table was near the backside of the tent, manned by two people with official-looking pins on their clothes.
One pin depicted an eagle’s profiled face, while the other—
He stopped in his tracks, Ellie nearly colliding into his back with a yelp of surprise.
The second pin was a stylized white rose.
He knew his mother had become the face of the Protectorate. But it was one thing knowing it, and another thing seeing her superhero symbol displayed proudly on someone’s lapel.
“Were you trying to make me bump into you?” Ellie asked. “If you wanted to get physical, you only had to ask.”
He ignored her flirtatious quip, his mind still processing that pin. With a distracted look, he said, “Oh, yeah, sorry about that.”
Ellie crossed her arms, her lips pressed tight. “Okay, come on, that may not have been my best work, but it deserved more than a ‘Oh, yeah.’”
He looked at her for real this time, his brow furrowing. “Huh? Did you say something funny?”
She scowled, turning away indignantly, though her tone was clearly playful. “Now you’re just being hurtful.”
He shrugged, not particularly interested in continuing their back-and-forth as he took in the makeshift store.
Plus, Tania would not get along with Ellie in the slightest, and he was actually afraid of what a confrontation between the two of them might look like.
He purposefully moved to the other side of the tent, where Lupe was browsing a low shelf of items.
“Anything interesting?” he asked the girl.
She cast a surprised look over her shoulder before turning back to the wares. “Oh, hey Terry. Yeah, some really good stuff, actually. But it’s pretty pricey.”
He studied the shelf, noting the names and prices written on slips of paper tucked under the items. From the looks of it, everything here were Artificed items that could be deployed by anyone.
The first item that caught his eye was a large, turtle-shell shaped dome that appeared to be made of metallic-blue metal. It was about as wide as his head, rising in a half-circle shape where it culminated in a visible button.
The paper underneath read: Protective Shield Artifact (B-rank) — five meter radius — 120 second activation period — six uses — 725 C.P.
“That sounds incredible,” he breathed, running his hands over the device. It was surprisingly warm to the touch as his fingers trailed across it. He went to lift it and gauge its weight, but found it impossibly heavy. “Uh, not very practical if I can’t even carry it,” he laughed.
“There’s an anti-theft mechanism,” Lupe explained with a chuckle. “Here, see?” She moved to a much smaller object—a thin metal rod that reminded him of a wand—and tried to move it. It didn’t even roll, like it was glued to the table. He idly read the label as he leaned over.
Lightning Wand Artifact (C-rank) — 100 meter range — instant activation — 12 uses — 555 C.P.
“Not very trusting, are they?” he asked with a nod toward the two people behind the table. “Do they really think supers will shoplift from the war effort?”
Lupe cast him a conflicted expression, her eyes trailing across the displayed Artifacts. “I would like to imagine the best in people, but…” She waved a hand to indicate the objects. “This is a lot of power in easy-to-carry items. I could see why some might be tempted.”
He acknowledged her point with a nod. “Yeah, you’re right—”
A message came into view, distracting him.
[Juan Carlos]: Bro, I’m hurt. It’s bad. My abuela. Tell my abuela I’m sorry.
Terry’s eyes widened, prompting a confused look from Lupe. “Terry?”
He ignored her, shooting back a reply.
[Terry]: Where are you, are you at the rifts!
[Juan Carlos]: I’m sorry, abuela
He whirled around, finding Ellie across the tent. “Ellie! I need you!”
She turned with a smirk. “I knew you’d admit it eventually—Terry? What’s wrong?”
Reaching through space, he found the general vicinity of the rifts.
“No time to explain. Come with me!”