CHAPTER 21

“Bite me.” Agnes whispered in Jasmine’s ear.

“I’m great now, thank you for asking.” Jasmine said with a smile. She pressed the button calling for a nurse. “What about you, though? Everyone knows who you are now.”

“I must admit, I was not expecting Hermann to do that. What’s done is done, though, and who knows? This might be entertaining.” She responded.

“Odd thing to consider entertaining, but I guess you think differently when you’re an invincible chick.” Agnes said, letting go of Jasmine’s hand. “Where’s he, by the way? Gessner?”

“At a secret isolated location while the TIA figures out what that portal was or how it works.” Veronica said.

The nurse came in a few minutes later, and when she noticed Jasmine was completely fine, she unhooked the painkillers from her arm. Jasmine stood up and grunted as she stretched. She hadn’t been used to sitting around, not doing anything for that long, and she needed to get the blood moving through her legs. After doctor Sorge ran a few tests, she was finally let go.

“Would it be crazy if I said I missed running?” Jasmine asked as they walked through the hospital halls.

“Yes, but a little crazy is always good.” Agnes replied. “Ain’t that right, Vonnie?”

Veronica kept walking in front of them with long strides before she realized Agnes was referring to her.

“I have no opinion on the matter. Which way to Sepp’s room?”

“Allfather, live a little.” Agnes muttered. “Patient room 634, so just up ahead.”

Soon after, the group made it to his room, which was exactly the same as Jasmine’s. Sepp was already up and about, although a frown had replaced his usual laid-back attitude. Franz, Angela and, Nicholas were coincidentally also there.

“Well, the gang’s back together.” Agnes said, breaking the silence.

“How about we get the fuck outta here then?” Sepp asked. “How’s the car situation?”

“It’s going to be a squeeze, but we can fit everyone, I think.” Angela declared. “We can have Jasmine sit on someone’s lap, she’s the smallest. You okay with that?” She asked, looking at her.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Do we have spare clothes? I don’t want to walk around in hospital gowns.”

“In the trunk, yeah, but they’re too big for you. You’ll probably have to make do with the gowns.”

Jasmine sighed and looked around the room. She was getting the urge. What was the most valuable small thing in this place? The group all exited through the door, and they called out to her. She decided to give up and swiped the television remote. Useless in the long term, but it would do for now. They all went to the car, which was actually parked in front of the entrance and not the parking lot. The group got a few weird looks from passersby— probably because three of them were still in hospital clothing.

“Do me a favor, Angela?” Sepp asked as he opened the back door. The woman looked back at him. “Drop me off first? I need to see Ellen and Sylvia.”

She nodded. “Of course.”

“Thanks. Allfather, I could use a few off days.”

Angela started the engine.

“I think that goes for all of us, but you know it won’t happen, especially not now. Marshal Gessner needs as many agents as the TIA can field.”

“Yeah, well, they could at least give me a raise.” He grumbled.

Jasmine squeezed herself into the car, sitting on Veronica’s lap since she was the closest to the door. The drive was somewhat silent, apart from the background noise of the radio. Jasmine wondered if they’d keep living in the palace or if they would be transferred somewhere else. Well, first they probably needed to figure out how this portal thing worked first. If the MSA could create it anywhere they wanted at any moment… she shuddered. That was highly unlikely though, every power had some kind of drawback. Her with her breathing, Agnes with her painful transformation, Veronica with her screwed up emotions, Franz… not being able to heal her shattered wrist before the bones had been put in place.

Eventually, they made it to Sepp’s apartment. It was a dark blue building in the middle of downtown. The man got out of the car and waved goodbye.

“Say hello to your daughter for me!” Angela yelled out as she lowered the window. “And Ellen too!”

“Alright, let’s drop you kids off at HQ.” She continued. “Marshal Gessner’s waiting.”

“I suppose that’s as safe of a place as you’re going to get.” Franz added.

Jasmine nodded. The group made it to the TIA complex, and Angela parked next to the building.

“So you don’t exactly have rooms to sleep in here, right? Where are we going to stay?” Franz asked.

“East wing.” Angela pointed to another building— not the one they had been in last time. “Not exactly great, but there are rooms to stay in. It’s obviously going to be a downgrade from living in a palace.”

“Duh, but as long as I have a bed and a window, I’m good.” Agnes said. “What’s your deal, by the way? You’re way nicer than earlier today.”

“I was working.” Angela said, indignant. “I like to separate my work life and my personal life.”

“Weird, but I get you.”

“Don’t judge her,” Nicholas said, looming behind them. “She’s five times the person you are.”

“I don’t recall talking to you.” Agnes answered. Jasmine hit her with her elbow. He was about to retort, but Angela told him to stop.

They entered the elongated structure. The entrance was smaller than the main building’s— actually, everything was less grand and more grounded. The flow of people was lower here, although they clearly knew who Franz and Veronica were. They went down an elevator and into an underground facility, even emptier than how it had been on the ground floor. Dark grey corridors stretched out in both directions and, doors littered the walls, and each one was bolted with brand new padlocks. Agnes whistled in awe, and the noise spread through the facility. They followed Angela to one of the rooms.

“This place sure is depressing.” Agnes added as the woman knocked on the door in a specific pattern.

Angela just shushed her, and in a split second, her eyes sharpened. The lock slowly turned and, a weary, tired-looking Gessner opened the door. Even now, though, Jasmine still saw the spark in his eye. He had gotten what he wanted, and he knew it.

“Come in, my friends. Jasmine, I hope you are well?” He said as they all streamed inside of the room.

“Yes, Marshal Gessner. I have to ask though—”

Gessner interrupted her. “Ah, ah, not now, my dear.” He closed the door. “Let’s talk strategy. Pardon the room, though. I probably won’t be staying long, just tonight.”

Franz shook his head in disbelief. “What?! That’s a terrible idea, what if—”

“Please,” Gessner said. The tone he took made Jasmine’s knees buckle. He was the embodiment of authority. “let me speak. If they can create a portal in the National Assembly, they might be able to go anywhere. Oppenheimer is one hundred percent sure that my location was only known to him, the council, and you prior to the start of the mission, so unless we have a double agent in our midst—” He looked around the room. “which I know is impossible— they had a way to figure us out. The question is, how.”

The man sat down on a chair, grabbed a pen and paper, and started writing.

“I spoke with Oppenheimer earlier, and we formulated a few theories, the first being that it might have been dumb luck.”

“Dumb luck how? They were clearly prepared for a fight— with all due respect, Marshal.” Nicholas inquired.

“The fact that the Senate was reconvening was nowhere near a secret. They might have come for another attack, aiming to take hostages again, or simply just to kill them all to destabilize the country even further.”

“And you’re saying that they just stumbled upon you? That’s dumb, Hermann.” Agnes remarked, much to Angela’s and Nicholas’ shock.

“Perhaps, but the next theory—” He said while dividing the paper with a thick line. “would be that either their space warper can somehow sense or hear things before creating the portal, or that they’re using another metahuman with sensing powers to coordinate. No need to say, this would be much worse, even if the drawback was worse.”

Everyone around the room nodded.

“The final theory and the most likely one is that their space warper somehow found out where we were going during our drive. TIA cars are somewhat recognizable, and I’d rather believe this one than the former. Now, thoughts?”

An eerie silence settled across the room. Jasmine tried to think about the ramifications of each possibility and how it would affect their strategy going forward. An idea popped into her mind.

“Marshal Gessner, I believe you’re overestimating this space warper.”

All eyes turned toward her. She bit her lip for a second and kept going.

“I think— no, I’m sure that the portal actually took at least five minutes to form. Or maybe seven, I’m not sure.” Jasmine said, looking at Gessner for approval.

“Oh? Keep going.”

“It started as a blur, and I thought it was me hallucinating or my eyes having a problem, but… it expanded until it turned into a rift.”

“Now that you say it, I’m pretty sure I saw it too while we were walking down the stairs.” Agnes said. “I thought it was nothing, though.”

“If it’s true, it’s great news, and that’s probably his drawback. Thank you, Jasmine, I’ll have Oppenheimer look into it.” Gessner smiled. “Regardless of which theory is true, however, the simple fact that the MSA has a space warper moves up our timetable significantly. I was planning on letting the dust settle for a few days, but we lost again, and our people saw that.”

“Your people.” Agnes hissed.

“Even though I managed to salvage the situation with that speech, it’s going to take a victory to turn the general morale around, and a big one.” He continued, ignoring Agnes’ comment.

“Speaking of your speech, Marshal, if I may?” Jasmine asked, raising her hand.

“Yes?”

“I thought we were going to be kept on the lowkey… and your speech just revealed the identity of my friends.” She said, insisting on the last word.

“I did.” He answered, smiling. “You out of all people should know that simply outlawing discrimination toward metahumans isn’t enough, no?”

“And this helps how?” Agnes interjected.

“By putting their brave fight at the forefront of the media, we slowly but surely start changing public opinion. This is part of the long term— after the MSA is hopefully dealt with, people will know it was in large part thanks to you, other metahumans. Good metahumans.”

“But I didn’t do anything.” Franz said, hanging his head. “If anyone other than Veronica deserves the attention, it should be Jasmine, not me.”

“I considered it, but I also know that your power is extraordinary, and it will play a large part in swaying the people’s opinion. We can bend the truth. In fact, we’re experts at it. Plus, I do want Jasmine’s and Agnes’ identities to be hidden, still. Again, I’m looking at the long term here.”

“But why? They should benefit just like us, shouldn’t they?” He replied.

“Correct, and they will. For now, they are more useful if they stay covert.”

He paused, clearly gauging their reactions.

“Now, take the rest of the day off, like, I said, but tomorrow you’ll be working. We’re going on the offensive.”

“Where are we sleeping?” Jasmine asked.

“If you want, you can go back to the Presidential Palace— it’s still heavily guarded to give the illusion that I’m there. Or you can stay underground in this wonderful facility. Your choice. Oh, and Franz?”

The young man perked up.

“Your sister’s going to be here tomorrow.”