The following hours were a blur of preparations and planning. Brooke had agreed to a team of six coming to the property, claiming they could use a large cabin for three nights.

“She made sure I understood only three nights in the cabin” Lance said on the drive back, “I think she was trying to signal or communicate some hidden meaning there. I would suggest not staying a fourth night in the cabin”

“Could this be some kind of trap?” Elijah asked “This is starting to look like a lot of dangerous movies”

“You can assess that on arrival” Lance said cheerfully

The rest of the car ride was spent with Elijah grumbling under his breath.

That evening found Josh alone in his motel room, practicing manipulating his energy through his body. Sitting in the center of the floor, Josh slowly moved his divine energy to different parts of his body, trying to fully experience the changes it causes in different areas. Since unlocking his constraint he was slowly growing more adept at manipulating the energy. He could now bring a small amount of energy to the surface of his skin, creating small crackles of lightning but only for a brief moment. The concentration it required to keep on was too much for him to hold. His favorite advancement was his progress on sending lightning through his hammer. He was able to recreate this regularly during training.He was starting to feel like an actual competitor in this world.

A knocking at the door brought Josh out of his meditation. The demigod released his hold on his divine energy, allowing it to flow back to his reservoir.

“Who is it?” Josh called as he rose from the ground

“Lance and Eve” Lance’s voice came through the door

Josh quickly let his teammates in the room. Grabbing a water bottle from his nightstand, Josh took a seat on his bed.

“What’s up?” he asked, taking a swig of his water

“We wanted to let you know the final team that will be going with you to Redding” Lance said pleasantly

“Logan said he wants me, Eve, Elijah, Crystal, and Matt” Josh said “Louie was also a possibility”

“I actually had a similar plan” Lance said “I however discussed with Logan and decided Skye should go in Matt’s place. Matt needs more time refining the power he received in the last couple movies. Let those who need more points take the chance to earn them. Skye already has her genetic constraint unlocked, we need her to get plenty of points to acquire a powerful bloodline”

“If i’m supposed to be leading this team” Josh said annoyed “shouldn’t I be part of a meeting deciding who’s on it”

“Next time you will be” Lance promised “However this time I want to take this chance to show Logan your leadership potential”

“Why does he need to see my leadership potential?” Josh questioned “and how does excluding me from leader decisions show my potential?”

“This is the first step to a long term plan of mine” Lance said seriously “Our team will continue to grow, as we do it's going to grow harder for Logan to connect and gain the trust of all new members. In order to combat this I want to divide their loyalties between two or three people within their team”

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at” Josh admitted

“I want to raise you to the status of leader, equal to Logan” Lance exclaimed “Instead of relying on everyone to loyally follow Logan we can have them choose between you and him”

“I’m not going to cause a rift in the team” Josh denied “how is that going to help anything?”

“Humans naturally group together” Lance said “ Cliques within big groups are only natural, it's only a matter of time before we start to see them within our own team. What i’m suggesting is to get ahead of this by creating our own cliques”

“Having a second leader who is still loyal to the original gives the illusion of a smaller closer group of teammates” Lance continued “Without the risk of them turning on the others. With Logan leading the core team and you leading a branch team we are giving the newbies the illusion of choice. They can choose to work with the strongest at the core of the team or they can join the weaker but closer branch group. Either way they are joining a side that works for the entirety of team West America”

“So you want me to purposefully break the team apart in order to avoid someone lese breaking the team up and causing a civil way”

“Exactly!” Lance said pleased

“Logan’s okay with this” Josh said, doubt clear on his face

“Logan is showing hesitation” Lance said regretfully “however this mission will be your chance to show him what you can do”

“Is this why I wasn’t part of the team discussion?” Josh asked

“Yes it is” Lance answered “In order to pursue Logan into trusting your leadership, I made a deal that you could pull off the mission successfully without choosing your own team”

“Of course” Josh sighed “You really think this is the best thing to do for the team?”

“I do” Lance said seriously “There are other benefits, creating a predetermined chain of authority can help prevent confusion during crisis’”

“I’m not sure about the branch team idea” josh admitted “but I will lead this mission to success either way. I don’t want to see my allies die again.”

“Excellent” Lance cheered “Eve will go over all the travel details with you. I’ll let Logan and the rest know we are all good. In the morning you fly!”