A few hours after leaving the academy, Visette stood outside of Charlie’s house. It was a fairly normal residential district with other homes nearby and even a small park. Though, the only thing out of place was the pair of DSF officers standing outside of Charlie’s home.

They didn’t seem too intimidating and Visette guessed that they would only be carrying low-caliber pistols. In the era of Abnormals, just two guards weren’t really enough to stop superhuman enemies.

“...You’re Visette Thales?” One officer asked as Visette approached them, he straightened his posture and cleared his throat shortly after he finished speaking. He seemed to be in his early twenties and appeared completely harmless.

“Yes.”

“Ah, Charlie said that someone fitting your description would come to visit her, but you’re different from what I expected. You’re much more beautiful than-”

“Can I enter?” Visette interrupted with her usual tranquil expression.

“Go right ahead. Charlie left the door open because she was expecting you,” said the second officer, a woman around the same age as her partner.

Visette entered the home while the two officers watched her before turning to face forward.

“You’re much more beautiful than what I expected. Really?” The female officer spoke with mockery.

“Shut up.” Her male companion sucked his teeth.

“I’ve seen some delusional people but I have to admit, you really set the bar high.”

“Are you going to keep going?”

“Did you really try to flirt with her? Seriously? You’d be better off fighting Anton.”

“I’m going to shoot you if you keep talking.” The male officer grumbled.

“Yeah, yeah.” The female officer finally relented but occasionally let out a brief chuckle.

…

“Visette, is that you?” Charlie called out from upstairs.

“Yes,” Visette replied back.

“Oh!” A third voice interrupted from the first floor.

As Visette waited in front of a door, a blonde-haired woman appeared in front of her.

“Hello, Rachel-” Visette’s greeting was cut short as Rachel hugged her.

“You’ve grown so much.” Rachel found that Visette was nothing like that girl she discovered four years ago. She took a step back and held Visette’s face with her hands. “Nathan never let us see you, but believe me, we tried.”

“I do not mind.”

“But I do.” Rachel’s expression reflected disgust as she briefly thought of Nathan. “Anyway, you...”

Rachel couldn’t finish what she was saying as Visette’s outfit drew her attention.

“What are you wearing, Visette?”

A denim jacket, a short-sleeved black shirt, a pair of black pants and neatly laced, black military boots.

“Is there something wrong with my clothing? I received it from Lyn.” Visette seemed slightly confused but Rachel shook her head.

“No, it’s just- well, I didn’t expect you to be wearing something like that is all.” Rachel smiled, “Come on, I’ve cooked some stew.”

“Hold on!” Charlie rushed downstairs in loose t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants before stopping in front of her mother and Visette, “Oh, nice outfit, Vis.”

“...Thank you.”

They moved further in the house before Visette took a seat at the table with Charlie while Rachel began preparing their bowls.

“Don’t you want to ask, Mom?” Charlie inquired.

“Ask what?” Rachel answered.

“About Visette’s Psionics?”

“Why would I? I think it’s amazing but if Visette wants to talk about it she will.” Rachel handed a bowl to Visette before pushing one over to Charlie and finally bringing her own to the table, joining the two girls.

“I guess you’re right.” Charlie took a single spoonful of stew before starting up a conversation again, “My Mom has been volunteering in the Lower Wards, Vis. Since she has medical training but isn’t allowed to open her own clinic she can only help out as much as she can.”

“You are not permitted to establish a clinic?” Visette asked.

“If I had nothing to do with Commander Wakefield, I’d be free to do at least that much. Unfortunately, since I’m affiliated with him that means political matter pour over to me.”

“I see.” Visette nodded.

The political web of New Mayhall, or any other city for that matter, held little importance to her. It seemed to be a complicated issue that didn’t concern her and since it didn’t affect her goals she’d continue to ignore it.

“But tell me about you, Visette. You’re working for Nathan, correct?”

“Do you mean Commander Wakefield? If so, I am indeed under his command.”

“Listen, you can’t trust him to do right by you, okay? You should always protect yourself since he’ll willingly throw you into danger.”

“I understand, I will keep your advice in mind.” Visette had already raised her evaluation of Commander Wakefield but Rachel’s words only cemented the fact that he would prove to be a danger.

“...Anyway, you won’t believe how many people have asked Visette out already, Mom.”

“Really?”

“Although she doesn’t really speak to anyone you can’t say she isn’t pretty.”

Rachel and Charlie began speaking like Visette was a close relative and they probably felt she was. While Visette had no opinion on the matter, she couldn’t say she disliked it. She felt Charlie would always be useful for her creative insight on the use of her psionics. At that moment, she decided she would protect Charlie even without orders and that also applied to Rachel who helped her when she first arrived on Novo Prime.

Visette finished her meal while the two of them continued speaking, neither one of them were aware of Visette decision.

…

The next three days went by quickly for Charlie who grew excited as the day of the outing moved closer. The funeral for Councilor Wilson caused all classes to end early. As soon as the students were dismissed from the academy, Charlie rushed home and changed before returning to the school grounds.

“Oh, Charlie!” Arthur waved. He clearly put much more preparation into the gathering as his red hair was trimmed and his clothes seemed to be brand new.

“Did you have to wait long?” Charlie asked.

“No, not really. You only came a few minutes after me...How do I look?”

Charlie snickered upon hearing Arthur’s question.

A white shirt under a brand-new windbreaker and jeans along with new sneakers to go along with it. Charlie silently examined his outfit before giving her response.

“Trying to impress Visette are you?”

“No...I just thought I shouldn’t wear regular clothes out. Besides, you’re wearing a dress.” Arthur pointed at Charlie’s outfit.

She wore a plain hoodie over a blue dress along with sandals. Overall, it wasn’t as eye-catching as Arthur’s brand new clothes.

“This is old stuff anyway.” Charlie shrugged, “I’m certain Visette won’t be dressed up very much either.”

And as if to confirm her statement, a black motorcycle emerged in the distance before coming to a stop in front of the academy. The identity of the two riding it was obvious.

Visette removed her helmet and handed it off to Lyn who began speaking.

“Don’t forget, you have until evening.”

“Understood,” Visette replied.

Lyn quickly drove off in order to make preparations for Visette’s mission. While Vis greeted Charlie and Arthur.

“Hello.”

“Right on time, Vis.” Charlie eyed Visette and found she dressed casually just as expected.

A dark fleece jacket, a black shirt with a skull illustrated on its front and a pair of jeans and old white sneakers.

“Told you.” Charlie smirked and then spoke before Arthur had the chance to reply, “Well, since we’re all here, let’s get going. Where to, Arty?”

“The streetcar station.”

“I have read about the public transportation of this city but I have never seen it.”

“Today is your lucky day then.” Arthur grinned, “Let’s go.”

…

A short walk later and the three of them were waiting for a streetcar to arrive. Arthur took the time to point out a few short facts while they waited.

“If the city was besieged by Corrupted, specialized streetcars as well as armored vehicles would be used to transport people to shelters.”

“I see.” Visette found the facts somewhat useful so she continued the conversation, “Are there preparations in place? I expect that excess panic would disrupt the evacuation process.”

“There are evac-drills once a year. I heard they used to be more frequent before the Starfall Event,” Charlie interjected.

“Ah, there’s the streetcar!” Arthur pointed toward the approaching streetcar.

Due to the Novidium Batteries, there was very little sound emitted from the vehicle. The operator rang a bell to signal the arrival before it came to a halt in front of the station.

“I’ll pay for us.” Charlie drew a plastic blue card from her jacket and hopped onto the streetcar.

“Ah,” Visette made a low exclamation as she realized she hadn’t put too much thought into the currency of Novo Prime. She knew that most cities shared a unified digital currency in the modern-age since most physical currency was too hard to keep track of but that’s as far as she looked into it. She made a note to ask Lyn about her military salary as she entered the streetcar and sat down before Charlie joined her followed by Arthur.

“So first we’ll go to the arcade. Then, we’ll head to see a short play-”

“Which one?” Charlie asked.

“Anton’s Anguish.”

“Ooh! I love that one,” Charlie replied excitedly, “What else?”

“I thought we’d go to the Central Marketplace to look. After that, we could head back to Visette’s for food.”

“What is the Central Marketplace?” Visette inquired.

“Instead of a storefront, it’s just a bunch of stands where you can buy unique things you wouldn’t find normally.”

“Basically junk,” Charlie murmured.

“Is anyone allowed to sell their possessions?”

“Nope.” Charlie shook her head. “You need a permit from the city and a certified credit machine to accept money.”

“I am interested in seeing what is offered.”

The streetcar dropped the trio in front of a building with a flashing sign that read “Arcade!” above its entrance.

“Come on!” Charlie was clearly the most enthusiastic as she grabbed Visette’s wrist and pulled her into the building while Arthur followed behind with a grin.

The style of the building was very reminiscent of Earth if one didn’t look too much into it. The biggest difference was that every “game” seemed to be centered around the Corrupted in some way.

“Ah, let’s see who can get the highest score.” Charlie issued a challenge as she pulled Visette toward a machine.

“I don’t want to brag but you both are gonna lose this. I’m number three on the scoreboard.” Arthur bragged as he grabbed the plastic rifle attached the machine.

“Face the Corrupted Horde!” A voice rang out from it while explosions filled the screen.

Visette briefly observed the animation playing on the screen and immediately realized the purpose of the game. She grabbed one of the three plastic rifles and held it like she’d hold a normal rifle.

“Ready, Vis?” Charlie asked.

Visette replied with a nod and then the game started. Figures that resembled the Corrupted filled the screen and seemed to be rushing toward the trio who opened fire.

It was a relatively simple game that seemed to encourage fighting the Corrupted. Though it was very misleading for any children who had yet to run into any of the monstrous creatures that could eradicate thousands of people.

“YOU WIN!”

A few bright lights flashed as the game ended. Before the scores were calculated each person had to input a three letter name.

Visette obviously picked the “Vis” while Charlie went “Chr” and Arthur chose “Art.”

“I got last.” Charlie frowned after seeing her result.

“Ha, I got...second?” Arthur seemed a little confused until he peeked at Visette’s section which had a score of “9999,” the highest anyone had gotten so far.

“Nice, Vis!” Charlie cheered as she viewed Visette’s score.

“It was not very difficult,” Visette replied with no hint of satisfaction.

“Let’s try something else then.” Charlie once again led the way as they participated in all types of games which involved killing Corrupted in some way. Except for a few that encouraged the user to test their strength. It wasn’t a surprise that Visette nearly broke the machines that were designed for normal humans rather than Abnormals.

“Whew.” Charlie plopped down onto a bench with a slightly stunned expression, “You’re just too good, Vis.”

It was no surprise that Visette would set high scores for all the arcade game she played but Charlie still found it surprising.

“Yeah, I thought I would’ve had you on that last one.” Arthur shook his head.

Visette kept silent but scanned the interior of the arcade, examining the various groups of people inside. She unconsciously tuned out the conversation between Charlie and Arthur and decided to test her Psionic Scanning ability.

It was meant to replicate x-rays and if it proved successful, she’d have a way to identify Abnormals with little effort. She picked a random woman as her target and sent a short burst of psionic waves through her body. A short stream of information was sent to her brain. She compared it to the normal physiology of a human as illustrated by the anatomical models she researched and discovered the woman was a normal human being. Since Visette’s target remained none the wiser, her psionic scan was a resounding success. Although, she could only discover physical traits at the moment. If met with someone with quick reflexes or intelligence she’d have to rely on her own judgment to make the call.

She attempted to scan a few other people in the vicinity and then focused on a smiling child. She took note of the exact movement of the boy’s facial muscles and then sought to reproduce them on her own.

“Visette?” Charlie called out to Vis who had her back toward the two, seemingly distracted by something.

“Yes?” Visette turned to face Charlie with a subtle but radiant smile on her face.

“Vis...you…” Charlie nearly let her jaw fall to the floor as she faced a smiling Visette. It didn’t even seem forced but completely natural.

“...Ah.” Arthur was a few beats behind with his reaction and could only offer a few bewildered blinks.

Visette’s smile faded and she dropped her head in contemplation, “Did I perhaps make an error?”

“What?” Charlie asked, still taken off guard by seeing Visette smile for the first time.

“Was there an issue with my expression? I attempted to smile after reviewing the facial structures of several individuals.”

“No, it was perfect,” Arthur assured her.

Charlie rolled her eyes and began speaking. “That was the first time I’ve ever seen you smile so I was a little surprised that’s all.”

“I see.” Visette nodded, making sure to keep their reactions in mind whenever she decided it was necessary to smile again.

“Well, if you guys had enough of a break, let’s move on.” Arthur waved for them to follow and the trio departed from the arcade.

The next stop was at a theater where a reenactment of one of the many battles Anton faced took place. The particular battle was set in a nameless town full of weak and sickly citizens which had long since been abandoned by its leader. Anton apparently took pity on the town and taught them as much as he could before a wave of Corrupted descended. The play seemed to be a tragedy as the townspeople put up a brave resistance before they died one by one. Even still, the citizens didn’t flee with Anton at their side and fought on. At the end of it, Anton was the only left standing. He observed the destruction with a tranquil face before letting out a single anguished roar.

As the trio departed from the theater, Charlie and Arthur raved on about how exciting the play was while Visette only grew increasingly curious about the existence that was known as Anton. There was historical record of his existence but very little illustrations of him. Even the lead actor that played him had half his face hidden with a cloth while his body was covered with a cloak. If there was any defining feature to be found it would be the fake crescent-shaped scar around the actor’s left eye.

“That was great!” Arthur still seemed impressed by the play.

“It was much better in person than seeing it on the screen of a terminal I’ll say that much.” Charlie nodded.

“I am satisfied that I have learned a little more about Anton,” Visette added.

A man who performed superhuman feats and predated the emergence of Abnormals was obviously something that needed to be looked into more.

“I heard through the Social Net that Eden Hall has a museum of Anton’s accomplishments,” Arthur said, “It’s too far for any of us to see though since it’s on the other side of the continent.”

After they finished the play, the three of them visited the Central Marketplace where there were hundreds of items such as trinkets, simple jewelry, and figurines, on display. While Visette had no interest once she discovered there was nothing noteworthy to be found. Charlie picked out a set of braided leather bracelets as a memento for the three of them and they finally went to Visette’s apartment.

…

“Just as I expected,” Charlie commented as she entered, collapsing onto a couch that sat in the living room as soon as she spotted it.

“It’s neat.” Arthur found that there was nothing out of place which seemed in line with Visette’s orderly personality.

“I will begin cooking.” Visette ignored their comments and headed into the kitchen.

After removing her jacket and donning a plain apron, she began to take out ingredients from a refrigerator.

“Do you have a terminal, Vis?” Charlie asked.

“No,” Visette replied while rapidly chopping away at a pile of vegetables. She flipped the dials on the oven before returning to the ingredients and dicing them into even smaller portions.

“You’re missing out on a lot,” said Arthur who found himself staring at a Visette as she cooked. That was until Charlie lightly drove her elbow into his ribcage.

“Commander Wakefield does not want me to have free access to a terminal,” Visette responded while depositing the vegetables into a pan.

Charlie frowned as she learned about another one of the restrictions that her father placed on Visette.

“...The food smells good already.” Arthur tried to change the subject as he read Charlie’s expression, “What is it by the way?”

“A recipe from an instructional cooking guide.”

“You memorized it?” Charlie asked.

“Yes, it was relatively simple.”

Visette spent a half hour more cooking before she produced three plates and sat them on the table.

“It is done.” Visette said as she took a seat.

“Finally!” Charlie and Arthur rushed over before taking a look at the food.

To summarize, it was perfect. Not the taste since they hadn’t eaten it yet, but it was arranged in a perfectly symmetrical order which was strange to see.

Without waiting anymore, Charlie cut into the square-shaped portion of meat on the plate.

“Ah, that’s really good!” Her face lit up.

“It is!” Arthur agreed.

Visette nodded before she began eating her meal.

…

After they had finished eating, they said their goodbyes as a DSF car came to retrieve Charlie and Arthur headed home via streetcar. Visette cleaned the dishes, neatly stacking them onto a shelf and then circulated her psionic power while waiting for Lyn to arrive.

It didn’t take long as Lyn entered the apartment not too long after Visette’s company had departed.

“Did you enjoy yourself?” Lyn inquired, peeking at a covered plate of food that remained in the kitchen.

“I was satisfied with most of the activities. There is also a meal for you in the kitchen if you are hungry,” Visette said before adding a smile.

“Okay,” Lyn took a few steps into the kitchen before she stopped dead in her tracks, turning to Visette with a shaken countenance, “You just smiled.”

“I learned the exact process today. It requires a very little amount of effort though it is exhaustive to maintain.” Visette’s face returned to normal as she pondered the value of it.

So far, the people who had witnessed her smile seemed to be stunned but it didn’t seem to have much use. Though she theorized it would be more effective in the right social situations where one was expected to express joy or happiness.

“It was great to see.” Lyn smiled herself even though she wasn’t aware of why, “Now, let’s get ready for your mission tonight.”

“Who is the target?” Visette inquired.

Lyn wordlessly tossed a folder to Visette.

Visette flipped through and discovered a photo of the Councilor as well as an image of his house.

“Councilor Fredrickson, he’ll be at a dinner hosted in honor of Councilor Wilson tonight. I’m going to drop you off at his place about ten to twenty minutes before he arrives. From there, you’ll wait for him to enter and, well, it doesn’t matter how it’s done but it has to be clear that he was murdered. A single bullet would easily do the trick. Oh, and the Commander said not to worry about killing the guards but I think you should avoid killing them if you can. Radio me if anything goes wrong.”

Although Lyn didn’t agree with wanton murder, she didn’t want to put Visette at risk by making her follow a strict moral code.

“Understood.” Visette closed the folder and handed it back to Lyn before retreating into her bedroom to change.

Lyn waited in the kitchen, trying some of the food left out by Visette and made a surprised face after tasting it.

“This is good, Vis!” She shouted toward the hallway.

“Thank you,” Visette’s emotionless voice resonated in reply.

…

A few hours later, the mansion of Councilor Fredrickson was already being occupied by a small group of unknown soldiers. The corpses of the few guards protecting the place were stuffed into a bathroom that one of the soldiers shut, finding the smell to be too repulsive.

“You have us covered, Demetrius?” A balaclava-clad soldier asked through a radio.

[Sure thing.] Demetrius replied in a carefree manner.

“Seriously, I don’t want to take a bullet because of you.” The soldier replied angrily.

[Funny you say that because I have my crosshair right over your head.]

“Stop fucking joking around!” The soldier grew angry as a red laser began drawing circles over his chest.

[Enough you two, I’ll keep an eye on the gate and let you know when the Councilor arrives. He always has two Abnormal guards with him so just make sure your weapons are loaded.] A second voice emerged from the radio, interrupting the conversation.

“Do me a favor, Glasses, and make sure we don’t ever get stuck with this guy again.” The soldier clicked his tongue.

[Aw, you’re breaking my heart.] Demetrius replied.

[Silence. He’ll be here any moment, check your mags and get ready. Also, make sure to confirm the target before blasting him to pieces.]

The eight soldiers began examining their weapon magazines before turning the safety’s off.

Suddenly, the main doorknob slowly turned and a masked figure in dark fatigues walked in drawing a brief pause from the entire room.

Visette surveyed the room, unexpectedly finding another party already present. She felt them long ago with her psionic pulse but she expected guards and a councilor rather than a group of soldiers. She used her psionic scan and discovered they all had mid-level Abnormal traits.

Visette looked at the low-caliber pistol in her hand and then back to the high-powered rifle-toting soldiers who were durable ballistic armor.

“Don’t fucking move, asshole!” A soldier shouted as they all pointed their rifles toward Visette.

One began to radio to the others while a red laser flashed through the window and landed squarely on Visette’s chest.

“Hey, we have an uninvited guest here, Glasses.” Another soldier said into the radio.

[What? Who?]

“I don’t know, no tags or symbols...I think they’re here for the same reason as us.”

[Someone from Freedom City?] Demetrius inquired.

“I said I don’t know.” The soldier narrowed his eyes at Visette.

Visette maintained her calm the entire time while creating a psionic distortion field around herself. If anyone fired a weapon at her before she could react, it would be redirected by the distortion field preventing any harm.

“Hey! Put your gun down and kick it over here, buddy! Freedom City or not we can’t relax until you hand over that weapon,” The Soldier ordered.

Visette slowly placed the gun on the ground and then kicked it across the room. As she did, her eyes rapidly darted around as she gathered all the environmental information available. There was a large leather couch that sat right next to her and a support beam she could use as cover should she enter a firefight. Above her were the ceiling lights that offered illumination for the soldiers inside.

“And now your knife, I know you have one!” The soldier shouted.

Visette formed a new plan in her mind in response to the sudden appearance of new enemies and then prepared to enact it.