"My parents are doing fine," Lucia explained, as she leaned into Theo. "Everyone in Mexico is super confused. My parents, my abuelos, are hella confused by that whole summary of our adventures in 5 minutes. I bet Macy is going to be even more confused when they tell her."

That was all the time Kain allowed them. 5 minutes to ramble onto their families about what happened. Eniola couldn't help but feel like they were prisoners-but-not-prisoners. But after all, this was her idea. Currently, Iris was in some basement room, calling her parents and all 500 of her siblings about everything.

Eniola was antsy, as her legs bounced up and down while tapped her foot in the vast kitchen Kain had put them inside. She had gotten better. Someone gave her all this medicine that was supposed to reverse the effects of the poison, and it immediately made her feel better, which was weird. Her memories were back, her body didn't scream at her every time she thought of moving, and she didn't feel drowsy.

It was probably some illegal under-the-counter drug. And Eniola simply shrugged.

Anyway, the kitchen didn't scream "safe house for criminal masterminds". It was white and minimalistic and looked too much like a regular house. What made this even more of a mind trip was the PSEUDO fighters in all black standing at each corner as they watched them like hawks.

Eniola learned an hour ago that the Not-Android guy was a guy named Sasha and was a PSEUDO fighter. There were still scars on his face that added to his big, bulky toughness. He made eye contact with her and narrowed his eyes at her. So much for being homely.

Why did they need all their fighters guarding them in the kitchen, of all places? Did the apples and oranges need utmost protection?

This safe house was way bigger than the motel and the confining van they somehow drove over three countries. But something was off. Not like imminent danger, but something weird nipped at her stomach and wouldn't communicate to her, no matter how hard she wanted.

But Eniola couldn't afford to feel uncertain when the PSEUDO kept them afloat.

"I hope we get more contact with our families," Theo said. "We don't know how long we will be here and working alongside them."

"My parents demanded to know where I was," Lucia said. "It killed me to not tell them."

Zaira was noticeably silent, but this time it wasn't a loud silence of suspicion. It echoed sadness and frustration. At least that's what Eniola could tell. Eniola couldn't tell what Zaira felt sometimes. She never really talked to them outside of the computer stuff.

Zaira looked up, but not at them. It was more of a face so that she could tell them she was listening. "It's okay. You guys can talk about your families. I'm not offended just because my parents don't know that I'm alive."

Eniola sighed. "But if all goes well, you can talk to them again."

"Hopefully," she mumbled. "I wonder how I should come back."

"What about a parade?" Jay suggested. "We'll walk down the streets of San Francisco in a huge float with glittering letters saying 'It's Zaira!'"

"That sounds like a sensory nightmare. I'd just prefer going there," Zaira revealed. "Also, I don't live in California. I'm from Canada. Specifically Edmonton. My parents and my triplet brother and sister all live there."

"You're a triplet?" Lucia asked as she leaned forward with a curious expression.

Zaira smiled. "Yeah. I'm the oldest. I beat them for 6 minutes. If I come back and find that they started identifying as twins, I'm going to be so pissed."

Eniola was the first one to laugh. Then everyone followed her in giggles. Even Zaira, who Eniola never really knew much about other than that she was a genius astrophysicist and biracial. And by the looks of it, she felt good by opening up to them.

Suddenly Eniola heard sniffles trickling down the hallway, and they all turned to see Iris, who wiped leftover tears from her reddening eyes.

"Jesus, I miss them so much," Iris whispered, sitting down. Everyone immediately wrapped her in hugs. Eniola eased into her, as she felt all of her emotions.

"I've missed so much," she said, wiping her eyes. "My moms and my siblings are ballistic. Being gone has thrown off the entire balance of my household. I expected imminent chaos. Am I a bad person for feeling relieved of my responsibilities for a bit?"

"No," Lucia said, as she put a hand on her shoulder. "But I hope we can start to kick Paradox's ass."

"We can promise you that," Eniola turned to Kain, who already stood on guard in the kitchen. How was he so quiet? Eniola's eye flitted to Josanne, who stood ominously behind him like she was ready to defend his every move. Eniola wondered what type of dynamic they had.

"Who wants to go next? We don't have all day."

Everyone looked around the table before Eniola stood up. "I want to go."

Kain smirked, and Eniola raised a hesitant eyebrow. She slowly got up from the table and followed behind Josanne, who had already gone. Kain followed behind her, and it was almost like Eniola could feel his immense shadow rise from behind her. He breathed heavily too.

Then a firm grip wrapped over her hand and a scream of panic lodged in her throat before she was swiftly turned back. Kain pulled her to face him and her breath hitched.

Then he released her.

He pointed to the door. "You were about to walk past the door."

Then he pressed his finger to a panel on the wall while he maintained awkward eye contact with him. Eniola stepped back as she now concluded that Kain was weird.

"Woah," Eniola said as the three of them shuffled inside before it started sinking onto the floor and into whatever bunker was going to hide them from the world.

From what Eniola had seen, this house had been awfully big for some group who claimed they were dismantling inequality. And it was even weirder that they had more of these. How did they get houses so big?

"The basement doesn't give off..." Kain explained.

"Electro signals because it's below the surface," Eniola finished as he did too. "Believe me, I know this is just like you do."

Kain said nothing except to look forward and raise an eyebrow. From this angle, he looked more poised and refined but also held back, like he could unleash his deadly side at any moment.

Speaking of deadly, Josanne had her eyes glared in on her as Eniola had just released the nastiest fart. Eniola swallowed a gulp before she averted her gaze. Why was Josanne already giving her weird looks when they were allied for barely a day?

The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open again, into a dark room lit up only by holo-screens that floated in the air at all moments. More PSEUDO members were downstairs on guard and held weapons. It didn't calm the nerves that rattled through Eniola. They put guards in the most random places.

"What do you use this place for?" Eniola asked as she walked behind Josanne down a narrow pathway of holo-screens and desks before it led up to one huge empty screen nestled in the corner. A seat was in front of it.

"You'll find out," Kain only replied.

"Sit," Kain said, and Eniola sat down at the sound of his voice in the chair. For a moment, nothing happened until the screen shifted to a phone call that rang.

Eniola raised an eyebrow. "Who are you calling?"

"I figured you lived with your brother and not your parents because of some huge disagreement, so I'm calling your brother," Kain explained, and Eniola's eyes widened. It was like a ripple of chills running down her body.

"How do you know all of that?" Eniola asked. "I mean, where are you getting your information from?"

"The more you know, the less impressive it becomes," Kain replied. So much for being helpful.

"I still want to know," Eniola demanded. "In fact, why don't you just tell me my life story?"

"We have our ways," he only said, as he maintained some weird mysterious eye contact. Eniola huffed, then sucked in a deep breath. How much did Kain truly know?

It was a question she wanted to know the answer to yet was so scared of it.

"I'll be over there's that you can have privacy," Kain said. "Remember, you have 5 minutes, so use them wisely."

I'll just jampack my emotions.

Eniola refocused on the screen and not on the feel of some imminent beings known as the PSEUDO, ready to record this in their enormous book of receipts. She sighed.

The holo-screen still rang and Eniola bounced her leg up and down as she sucked in a breath. It didn't occur to Eniola that she was sweating until the beads of sweat dropped from their surface. The last she saw of Olu was almost a week ago, yet it felt like the 3 years he'd been gone.

And then it happened.

The hologram fizzed to life, with Olu, wearing a neutral expression before his face froze in shock. His eyes widened and his jaw hung to the floor.

Eniola choked back a sob as her hand flew to her mouth. It was Olu.

It was both of them, frozen in time, as they took in all of each other.

It was Olu.

"Eniola," he stuttered. "Is it you?"

"Olu."

"What's going on?" Olu asked. "Where are you? What happened? Is it true? Are you okay?"

"Olu, hold on," Eniola said. "I can't explain it all to you because I have 5 minutes."

"Who's keeping a limit?" Olu asked, moving closer. "Are you being held hostage or something? Blink twice if you're okay."

"I'm fine," Eniola cautioned. "I'm fine. Okay. I'll explain what I can to you."

Olu stopped and swallowed. Eniola began, "So I was framed. Everything you see in the news and on billboards, it's faked. I'm framed. I'm not Matrix Man. All my friends are innocent, too."

"So, why have you been framed?" Olu asked. "Why did they even frame you? What connection do you have to commit a crime?"

"I know who Matrix Man is under the armour, how he gets his abilities, and maybe how to stop him. He's also not Matrix Man, he's a guy named Paradox," Eniola explained. "During last year's SCOPE championships, we fought him because he had this plan that involved SCOPE. We thought we defeated him, but he came back and then framed us. Those also caused the first worldwide glitches."

Olu looked both stunned and sad at the same time. "Is this true?"

"I would never lie to you," Eniola pleaded. "I swear on my life that I am telling the truth, Olu, trust me. It sounds like a lie, but it's not."

"When will you be home?" Olu asked.

"I don't know," Eniola sighed.

"Mom and Dad are going ballistic," Olu explained. "And the authorities keep on coming to our house asking us questions, and I say the same thing every time. Anyway, Mom and Dad keep calling me, asking if I've seen you. I've never seen them so freaked."

"You talked?" Eniola said, eyes wide with hope. She never thought she'd see them talking again. And the somehow warmth tinged with guilt, but only for a slight moment.

"Yeah," Olu breathed. "We're all so worried, Eniola. Can you at least tell me where you are?"

Eniola gulped before she turned her head to face the PSEUDO guard. She shook her head. Eniola turned back. "No. I'm sorry. It's too risky."

"Eniola!" Olu yelled as tears glazed his eyes. "Who is keeping you captive?"

"No one!" Eniola shouted back, as she felt a lump form in her throat. "I'll explain to you when I can, okay? But just know I'm safe, okay?"

Olu said nothing. Instead, he stepped back and grabbed his thick hair in stress. Eniola couldn't contain it anymore. The tears broke like a damn. They stained her face, and her chest went heavy with something so dark she couldn't describe it.

They cried in silence, together. Eniola had to refrain from reaching out to him because her hands would go through. He wasn't here. It was too delicate.

"Olu," Eniola began, but all he could do was sob.

"Olu!" Eniola shouted. He looked up at her with a puffy face.

"What?" he mumbled.

Suddenly, someone emerged again, and Eniola looked to see Kain's silhouette in the shadows. He held up 1 finger. 1 minute.

Eniola quickly snapped back to the hologram. "I love you and I love Kol and May and Adeola and Mom and Dad. I love you all and I didn't mean for things to end up this way."

Olu choked out another sob and so did Eniola. He walked forward on the hologram before he put his hand out on her shoulder. It went right through, of course.

He wasn't real. And he wasn't here.

"I love you," Eniola cried.

"Love you too," Olu said before the screen went black.

Eniola buried her face into her hands as the sobs wrenched from her body. She didn't care if all these tough guards could see her. Seeing Olu triggered something in her she didn't know she felt.

Eniola felt footsteps again and looked up to see Kain who loomed over her. He suddenly slid a hand against her jaw before he titled it up to meet hers. Her first thought was the recoil and swat his hand away. His hands were a cold and hard caress against her face, but Eniola didn't budge. Instead, she let it stay.

"It's okay," he whispered. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Eniola nodded before getting up and following him. They went back up the elevator before emerging on the main floor. Kain briefly turned them away from the kitchen before he emerged Josanne who usually loomed beside him was nowhere to be found. Instead, they walked silently down the hallway Eniola still wiping tears from her eyes before they walked in front of a door.

Kain pressed it and the doors slid out open for them and this time it wasn't some ominous basement, but a pleasant view of nature. The house was perched on top of a small hill, surrounded by lush greenery that had a narrow path leading towards the bottom. Eniola walked outside into the fresh nature air. Actual fresh air. Not stuffy air. She sucked in a satisfying breath.

Eniola's feet walked over a smooth and shiny cobblestone path in front of the house. Eniola looked back to the house, which she hadn't noticed. The only time she entered this house was when she was unconscious.

It was marvellous. That's all Eniola could think as she looked at it. It had 3 red layers stacked on top of tiled green roofs onto a pagoda-style house. It looked traditional and way back in the past. The modern inside look contrasted with the outside look.

"I chose that design," Kain said, noting her observation. "It just looks like some traditional pagoda in the rural area. No one would think to suspect us."

"Wow," Eniola whispered.

"We have 3 more in China," Kain informed. "One more in Shanghai, one in Tianjin, and one in Guangzhou. They all look like this so that no one suspects us."

Eniola and Kain walked down a path that stretched around the house before they approached a ditch area in the middle. A bridge connected its path, and a stream with little fish flowed beneath it.

It was serene. It oddly relaxed Eniola. It was quite the opposite of everything that happened in the past week. It felt like years. She reached her hands out and touched the tree leaves, as they brushed against her skin.

"Are these real?" Eniola asked.

"Yeah," Kain revealed. "You can still grow them if you have the right conditions."

"Wow," Eniola whispered again in awe. She'd done that twice now.

"So your family?" he asked. "What are they like?"

"They're very different from one another," Eniola laughed. "That's what makes them special."

"That's fun," Kain said.

She looked back at him. "Why did you ask me anyway? I thought you knew everything about me and my friends."

He chuckled. "Not everything. I know basic facts."

"That's not creepy," Eniola said.

"I know just the surface," Kain said, walking close to her so now she was facing him. "I do want to get to know more of you."

Eniola stepped back. "Okay."

"Did I ever tell you how I started the PSEUDO?" Kain asked.

"No," Eniola said. "You haven't said much to me."

"Consider that changed," Kain said. "I started it because my parents died when I was 15."

The way he says that so casually makes Eniola freeze for a while. "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I was at school when it happened."

"Oh my god," Eniola whispered.

"So I vowed to fight injustice around the world," Kain said. "I lived on the streets, but I hustled by doing little side jobs for people with hacking. It got to the point, where I could help myself and still give tons of money to the poor. I changed my identity and began to do more work."

"So Kain isn't your real name?"

"No," he replied instantly. "And don't ask what it is."

"Alright," Eniola sighed.

"I decided to use what I knew to expose people who did bad things and I stole from them," Kain revealed. "I started with the gang that killed my parents and I brought them to justice. Then I moved on to bigger things. I rescued Josanne from a labour camp in Trinidad that was used by a corporation in the UK. I taught her how to fight, and together we survived. Then we found more like-minded people and then things blossomed from there."

"So then what is Josanne to you?" Eniola asked.

"My sister, my family," Kain revealed. "She's the only family I have now."

The story seemed tragic but hopeful at the same time. Kain explained things so casually. Maybe he built walls around himself so that any emotion couldn't break through. "That's a story."

"It is," he replied.

"What does that have to do with me?" Eniola asked. "About all of us and Paradox?"

"Paradox infringes on human freedoms," Kain said. "He threatens to destroy the world and humans in it for some strange agenda. That's what we need to fix and that's why I need you."

"You mean why the PSEUDO needs the 6 of us?" Eniola questioned.

"Right," Kain said as he turned away. "Let's head back inside."