The high-pitched whirr of police sirens echoed down the street, fading quickly into the distance. Inside a darkened room of an old, abandoned building, Jason, Will, Lissie, and Lucas huddled near a boarded-up window, peering through cracks in the wood.

  Jason let out a sigh of relief. "I think we gave the cops the slip."

  He stepped away from the window, the dusty floor creaking under his boots. Behind him, the rest of the group had gathered around a rickety bed in the middle of the room. Owen, Kath, and Grace sat nearby while Olivia lay on the stained mattress.

  The room was dim, with faint light leaking through the boards and shadows cast across the cracked walls. Decay and silence hung heavy in the air, but for now it was safety.

  Olivia looked at everyone and offered a small smile. "Thanks for helping me."

  Grace returned the smile and nodded. "It’s the least we can do for Owen’s sister."

  Meanwhile, Owen sat close to her, inspecting her hand. He lifted her sleeve and studied her fingers.

  "They’re healing fast." he said.

  Olivia sat up a bit more, glancing at her palm. "All my wounds are healing really fast."

  She looked at him. "Does this have something to do with this 'insignia' power?"

  Owen gave a small nod. "Yeah. My insignia doesn’t just strengthen the people who align with me, it heals them too."

  Olivia stared at her hand again, eyes thoughtful. "I see,"

  Then she chuckled lightly. "Still, kind of a shock when I suddenly became an intermediate essence user out of nowhere."

  Owen smirked. "It’s kind of annoying that you ranked up just because of my ability."

  "As your older sister, I can’t exactly be weaker than you."

  Grace tilted her head curiously. "Wait, you’re really his older sister? You two look the same age."

  Olivia gave her a grin. "Of course." she said, before throwing her arm roughly around Owen’s neck and pulling him into a headlock.

  "Dude," Owen scowled, pulling free. "You’re only ten months older than me. We’re practically the same age."

  "I’m still older. I’ve got ten more months of life experience."

  "That’s barely anything."

  "Do you know how much shit you can do in ten months?"

  The two would have continued bickering if not for a sharp clap that sounded out.

  Everyone turned towards Kath. She leaned forward, her tone sharpening. "We need to talk about the prison."

  The room fell quiet.

  Kath continued, her eyes hard. "We got our asses handed to us by that peacekeeper squad captain. And she didn’t even go all out."

  Olivia crossed her arms. "I’ve been in many fights throughout my life. Many wins, many losses. But that fight with that peacekeeper, I’ve never lost that badly before." She glanced at Owen. "She was strong."

  "That’s what I’m saying," Kath agreed. "And if she was telling the truth, then the prison’s going to be crawling with people like her. Trying to break in and freeing the families will be more difficult than we thought."

  Jason sank down into one of the seats, his expression tense. "So what do we do then?"

  The silence returned, heavier than before.

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  Then Olivia spoke up. "Before you all showed up, I was planning on finding and hitting the prison tonight."

  Everyone turned to her.

  Grace’ raised up an eyebrow. "But you’re still not planning on going tonight, right?"

  Olivia stood up on the mattress. "Yes, I am."

  Kath frowned. "That’s reckless. We should wait a couple of days. Regroup, plan, recover."

  "I don’t think we should wait," Olivia said as she cracked her neck. "It’s not like we’re going to get significantly stronger just sitting here. I'd rather strike now and catch them off guard."

  As the others looked between each other, Owen stood up. He slid his hands into his pockets, stepping forward to address them all.

  "I agree with Oliv. We don’t know what they’ll try to do with our families while we’re free. I want to go tonight."

  Kath leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. "It seems you’ve made up your mind. I won’t try to convince you otherwise then."

  "Kath," Owen said. "I know seeing me lose so pathetically today doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence, but I promise you this: it won’t happen again."

  As he said this, a faint light shone from his chest. "If you put your trust in me, I’ll carve the path forward. I’ll hold off their squad captains, no matter how many there are. I promise you, we will reach the prison."

  Everyone stared at him in silence.

  Then Kath raised a finger. "Hold on. That determination is great and all, but charging in without a plan is still stupid."

  She looked over at Will. "Your ability can help us get in. Can we count on you?"

  Will clenched his fists. "Yeah, you can."

  Everyone exchanged glances. A silent agreement passed through the room. One by one, they nodded.

  Owen nodded too, eyes hard with resolve. "Alright, we go tonight."

  ***

  Amy stood casually inside a transport vehicle as it soared high above the city skyline, the hum of its engines muffled by the thick metal shell. She gripped a hanging handlebar with one hand, her eyes fixed out the side window, where buildings zipped past in blurred streaks of light. Her gaze narrowed as a vast prison complex came into view below.

  As the transport descended into the landing zone, Amy moved to the doorway. The vehicle gave a soft hiss as it touched down. A moment later, the doors slid open.

  Waiting at the edge of the platform was a towering figure. Amy raised an eyebrow as she stepped out onto the ground. "Tyler? What are you doing here?"

  Tyler stood tall at six-foot-five, with massive arms hanging far below his waist. His long, shaggy brown hair draped down the sides of his head, nearly veiling the dull crimson glow of his eyes.

  As Amy walked past, the two began walking down a paved path towards a structure further inside the complex.

  "Let me guess," Amy said with a glance, "you came out here to ask if the escapees were strong."

  Tyler hesitated. "…As squad captains, it’s our duty to gather any intel related to the targets."

  Amy chuckled softly. "Right. I can see those squirming muscles of yours just aching to break out of that uniform. It must be killing you not to have anything to smash."

  Tyler let out a small grunt, as he kept his eyes forward.

  "But," Amy added with a smirk, "don’t get your hopes up. They were disappointingly weak."

  Tyler’s shoulders visibly slouched at her words.

  They reached the building entrance and stepped inside. The corridors were cold and gray, lined with heavy metal doors and bright lights. After descending a few levels and weaving through a couple turns, they arrived in a spacious lounge area tucked deep within the building.

  Couches were scattered across the room, and seated on separate couches were two other squad captains.

  One of them, a woman with platinum blonde hair tied into a thick braid, turned her head slightly towards the doorway. Her violet eyes flicked over to Amy, then quickly turned away.

  Amy grabbed a juice box from a nearby snack table, punctured the seal with the straw, and made her way over to the couches. Tyler followed loosely behind.

  She dropped herself next to the woman with a soft thump and leaned her head back against the cushions. "So, Alice," she asked between sips, "is this all you did today? Just sit here?"

  Alice gave a small nod.

  Amy let out a sigh and tilted her head backward over the couch, looking behind it at the second captain. "And Benj over here just blasts music through those headphones all day. You must have been bored Alice."

  Alice gently shook her head in response.

  Across the lounge, Benjamin lay sprawled out on the couch with his eyes closed, headphones clamped over his ears, the music loud enough that faint echoes slipped through the padding.

  Amy placed a finger under her chin, leaning farther over the back of the couch. "Benj, you got any questions for me?"

  Benjamin slowly opened his eyes, still staring at the ceiling. His voice was calm and quiet. "Was Isaac among the escapees you saw?"

  Amy shook her head. "Nah, I didn’t see him."

  Benjamin nodded slowly. "Then Michael was probably right. Isaac went to Gaast City."

  He slid the headphones down to rest around his neck. "Good. We still don’t know what his powers do to cybernetics. It’s better we don’t deal with him."

  Tyler stepped up next to him, folding his arms. "It was smart to send the ranged specialists to Gaast. If Isaac’s there, they’ll be better suited to deal with him."

  Amy raised her hand. "Hey, what about Owen Walters? Don’t you want to hear about him?"

  But her sentence was cut off as Benjamin stood up, his towering frame rising steadily from the couch. He stretched fully to his height, nearly a foot taller than Tyler.

  "I already know," he said flatly. "I heard you call them disappointments when you came."

  He turned towards Amy, his eyes cool and detached. "If they’re as weak as you say, then they won’t stand a chance against all of us."