Chapter 24

Cogs in the Machine

The next morning arrived, the bathroom was filled with the sounds of pouring water and guttural retching.

“Urgk…” Anastasia grumbled as she clutched her head. As she closed the tap, she opened a small yellow bottle and popped one of the pills into her mouth. “I shouldn’t have… had so much... to drink last night.”

The events of the night before flashed in her mind, where she had lifted Felix above the ground and suffocated him.

She slipped to her knees and covered her face with her two palms. “Oh god… why did I do that to him? What if he doesn’t come back for training later? What if he hates me? I don’t want my own student to hate me…” She worriedly whimpered. “Ahh, blyat.”

Anastasia grabbed the sink with one hand, then followed by the other, and pulled herself back up onto the mirror. She looked into the glass and stared at her scar, her fingers softly brushed against the burnt red skin of her left eye, before promptly covering it with an white eyepatch.

As she headed down the hall, a girl with deep, maroon hair waved at her, accompanied by a woman in teal armor similar to the one Carol had, “Yo, Anya!”

“Good… good morning.” Anastasia smiled softly before quickly covering her mouth.

“Are you okay?” The girl titled her head.

“I’m, I’m fine Saya… J-just a little headache. Just came back from your mission?”

“Yeah, was gonna deliver some documents to Chief Vivian. Would you like to come join us for breakfast?”

“You go on ahead, I just finished eating. Besides, I have somewhere to go.”

“Ah… alright then. See you later, then.” Saya waved and began walking ahead.

“That’s Anastasia Frost? She looks like a wreck.” The armored girl replied.

“Sheila, don’t be mean.” Saya replied to her as they walked away.

As Anastasia headed to the door, she swallowed before reaching for the knob. As it creaked open, she saw that Felix was just sitting there fidgeting with a pen between his hands, “Y-you’re early.” She greeted.

He put down the pen and gave her a determined gaze, “Good morning.”

“So, then… let’s get started.” She replied back in her cold, professional tone.

Soon, the repetitive sound of gunfire could be heard in the training room while Felix dodged one after the other, or at least tried to.

Few of the rubber bullets still struck his limbs, narrowly grazing him as he slowly adapted.

“You were taught to avoid bullets by watching where the gun is aimed, but what happens when you’re in total darkness?”

Anastasia shot the lightbulbs above them, and the darkness filled the room. Felix held in his breath and moved silently, his steps barely audible.

“Your eyes are a dead giveaway!” She yelled out.

“Stop, ow! wait! Ow!” He yelled out as he got shot repeatedly with rubber bullets.

“I said stop!” From his hand, a stream of electricity, then a burst of psychic energy. The bullets stopped in his palm as it burned with blue haze.

Anastasia lowered her rifle and was all ears, “What is it?”

“I was actually thinking about last night…”

“Look… about what I did. I didn’t—”

“I was wondering. Is it possible to stop a person’s movements the same way I stop bullets?” He asked as he pointed to the rubber bullet in his hands.

“Eh, you mean like keeping them in place?”

Felix nodded.

“It is, but it’s different from when I… um… last night… It takes too much aura. It’s different from moving your own body with psychic power. You have to envelop their body in aura, stopping them from moving and keeping them in place.”

“Then… then that means…” Felix remembered his spar against Maria. “Can you give me a demonstration?”

“You’re gonna need to turn off your aura.”

“Okay.”

Anastasia nodded and raised her guard in response. Felix threw a slow strike towards her, only to find his arm being enveloped in a bright orange haze.

The bright aura quickly enveloped his entire body, rendering him immobile. He tried to pull back his arm, but it felt like a hundred hands gripped it in place.

“Like that?”

“Alright… that’s enough.”

The haze around his body dispersed, but his expression was left puzzled.

“Is something the matter?”

“That felt… completely different. It just feels like being submerged in water. I couldn’t move, but… I can still feel my body in control.” A blue flame emanated from his hand and he was able to pull it back.

“You need to create more energy than the person is using if you want to stop them from moving. It’s different from just lifting up someone by their— hurk… urgh.” She grunted, quickly placing her hand to her head.

“I think we should… skip training for today.” She remarked as her face turned green.

The two exited the room.

“I asked Murphy to make you some herbal tea. Should help with your hangover.” Felix said with two mugs in his hands, before sitting beside her.

“You could tell?” She asked in an embarassed tone.

“The smell of alcohol was all over you since last night, so yeah… I could tell.” He replied as he sipped from his coffee.

She sipped her tea, “Look… I’m sorry about last night. I’ve had some time to cool my head, and to tell you the truth… Two of my men died recently on a mission. My team was pinned down, and I ran out of energy protecting everyone. One second, they all stood by my side, and in the blink of an eye... they were a puddle of blood. I guess I lashed out on you because of it.”

“It’s no problem. Nothing you said was wrong, and I can’t imagine how that could have felt like. That must have been horrible to deal with. It’s just that I can’t control it. I don’t want you to think that I’m not trying my best.”

Anastasia flattened her lips, not having the heart to tell him about who died. She then chopped him on the head and showed a relieved smile.

“Ow.”

“My adorable little pupil is worried. You’re learning much faster than I did, so I’m glad. Truth be told, I’m actually a little jealous of the others. They learned how to effectively use their powers in just a few months.”

“No one had to teach you.”

“True. Still. I shouldn’t have done what I did.”

“Maybe you could go a little easier on me next time.”

“Yeah. I’ll try not to almost kill you next time. Hopefully you won’t have to learn the way I did.” She chuckled as she got up and stretched out her arms, her face then immediately turning green again.

“Anastasia…”

“Call me Anya… Actually, because you chose me to be your mentor, address me as Anya-sensei.” She pointed her finger at herself.

“Okay… Thank you for putting up with me, Anya-sensei.” Felix replied with a smile.

“Eh… was that not funny?” Anastasia put her hand over her head and mumbled to herself. “Am I out of touch?”

The two of them look as an old man walk up to them, “Miss Anastasia, Sir Felix. Chief Vivian summons you.”

*

As Felix and Anastasia entered the room, there were already four other people inside besides the chief.

Isabelle, who was looking nervously at the cards in her hand, Nero and Grant who sneered at one another. Maria, whose legs were on top of the chair beside her, threw two queens on the pile of cards in the middle of the table.

“Ah, Anya. How’s the hangover?” Chief said as Anastasia walked into the room.

“… getting better.” Anastasia looked to the side, avoiding the Chief’s gaze.

“I see Murphy’s tea worked wonders. Saya told me it happened again.”

Felix glanced over Anastasia while she rolled her eye.

“Now that you’re all here, I could—”

Isabelle raised her hand, “Um… where’s David?”

“He’s out on a mission in Siberia.” Chief answered nonchalantly.

Felix placed his hand on his hip, “Of course he is.”

Anastasia raised her open palm, and all of their playing cards suddenly radiated with an amber glow. They all flew into her palm, forming a neat and orderly deck.

Maria pouted.

“Hey!” Isabelle yelled out.

“Doesn’t matter, I was winning.” Nero boasted.

“Haha, no you weren’t.” Grant replied.

Anastasia then looked at the chief, “So then, the mission?”

“The mission is picking up after the one you failed. A siege of Henry Dahmer’s Mansion. Maria?”

From her chair, Maria cracked her fingers and conjured up a holographic interface in her hands, which she spread out to the rest of them with a wide gesture.

“Henry Dahmer. One of the ten crime bosses. A mafia don that owes a debt of three and a half billion in tax evasions and insurance frauds, and hides his money in faux companies which makes them out of reach. He’s also suspected of other crimes such as poaching, animal cruelty and illegal experimentation.” The Chief explained.

“So, do you have any plans, layouts, staff schedules, any inside people we can count on. Eliminate as many unknown variables as you can.” Grant commented as he scrolled through the screens.

“Unfortunately, no. At the moment one of a few of our robins are watching it from a distance, but they have nothing in terms of locations. Watching who comes in and comes out, but after the previous attempt, it appears they’ve doubled down on their defenses.” Chief answered.

“Anastasia, as senior officer, you will lead the team on this mission. I’m counting on you to make sure that they all make it back safely. You will be accompanied by agent Nice and agent Dreadnaught. You’re set to leave in four hours.”

“Understood.” Both Anastasia.

“And keep your guard up. It’s possible that one of the Jackal’s Fang might be there unexpectedly.”

“Weren’t most of them imprisoned?” Nero pointed out with a hint of arrogance to his tone.

“They’re…” Felix’s eyes narrowed, “Reforming…”

“Eh… eh?” Isabelle blurted out, stunned by what Felix just said.

Grant’s eyes filled with fury, a burning red rage simmered around his body until Nero slapped the back of his head, causing it to quickly disperse, “Don’t waste your aura. Besides, what’s a terrorist gonna do?” The blond man scoffed.

“They’re… the ones who caused the Fallen Sun catastrophe, aren’t they?” The silver-haired girl gulped.

“On his last mission, Felix encountered an individual who claimed to be a new member, using certain weapons such as lasers and weaponized drones.” The Chief explained.

“In terms of strength and combat prowess, one of them is at the level of the top ten, and the only difference is that they have no regard for civilians or collateral. I advise you not to take them lightly.” Grant answered with furrowed eyes.

“It’s exactly as Grant says.” The chief said as she pulled out a cigarette from a small metal case. “Normally we wouldn’t even consider allowing you lot to go out with powers you can’t control yet, but our sponsors have been getting very nippy waiting for results.”

“Right…” Felix blurted out.

“And the Matrix Key?” Maria asked.

“We don’t know, we haven’t received anything from our sources yet, but the possibility is always there.” The Chief answered, “Now go and prepare. Good luck, and leave nothing to chance.”

As all of them exited the chief’s office, Grant walked over to Felix and began to talk, “It says here that the guards shift every six hours. So I think that we should—”

Maria suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder, as if to keep him from coming closer to Felix, “Grant. Word of advice. Nothing ever comes according to plan.”

“But we should at least—”

“Hello there!” All of their eyes were drawn towards the two men walking up to them from the corridor. A man with blond hair and a thick mustache, carrying a cardboard box, and a taller, dark skinned man with dreadlocks beside him.

“You must be agents Nice and Dreadnought.” Maria greeted with a bright smile.

“That’s right, I’m Agent Nice to meet you, how do you do?” The blond one smiled.

“Nice. Please don’t embarrass us.” Dreadnought grumbled, pinching his forehead.

“Ahehe…” Isabelle awkwardly laughed.

“So, what’s in the box you’ve got there?” Nero asked.

“I’m glad you asked, because I brought you all donuts! Please, take some!” Nice announced as he presented a box full of donuts to them.

“Oh, thank you.” Isabelle replied. The three red-eyed espers took from the box.

“I figured since we were working together, I should get you all something.

“Don’t believe him. He bought those for himself. He just wanted an excuse to buy them.” Dreadnought shrugged.

He looked at his partner and yelled, “Hey! They were on sale, okay?”

“Regardless, they’re appreciated.” Grant chimed in as he took one.

Dreadnought then invaded Grant’s personal space and inspected his face with one eye widened and the other eye closed, “So, it’s true. Your eyes really do glow.”

“Yeah, that’s amazing.” Nice added.

Grant shrugged it off as he bit into the snack he was given.

The three red-eyed espers conversed with the two other agents, enjoying the sugary gift.

“I read your report on your first mission… it sounds like an absolute mess.” Anastasia remarked.

“Nothing was the same from the blueprints we were given, and we had no escape routes. Everything was completely improvised.” Felix explained.

“I’m surprised you’re alive. That’s impressive.” She praised him as they walked over to where the other three were. As they reached them, however, they could only hear Nero’s awkward disbelief.

“Let me get this straight, your name... is seriously... Chad Johnson.” Nero stated in indignation while handing Anastasia a donut.

“That’s right. It used to be Chad Anderson, but I had my last name legally changed before… you know… becoming one of the agency’s dogs.” Nice replied.

“Legally changed. So it’s not an alias. At all?” Grant asked.

“Yup.”

Nero, Grant and Maria stared in disgust.

“And I always hated him because of it.” Dreadnought added as he chopped Nice on the head.

“Sucks to be you, partner.” He responded as he lifted Dreadnought’s hand off his head.

“Are you proud of yourself?”

“I will never not be.” Nice smirked.

“I don’t get—” Felix chimed in.

“JOHNSON MEANS DICK, FELIX. JOHNSON MEANS DICK.” Maria yelled in response.

All of them were slightly startled by Maria’s sudden shout, but Nero deflated the tension as he turned his head to the partners, asking, “Can I have another donut?”

“Oh, y-yeah…” Nice awkwardly handed him the box.

“So then you all must be agents Venom, Vermillion, Tundra, Blue Phantom, and Crimson—” Dreadnought enumerated them one by one.

“Yes, that’s us.” Nero immediately cut them short.

“Wait, Vermillion? You’re the guy who caught Lewis Shaw?” Felix glanced over to

“I am… I was eavesdropping on you about a month ago. And you almost saw me.” Grant admitted with a nervous laugh.

“And what about you, it says your name is Isabelle, but you didn’t put in a codename.”

“I haven’t decided on one yet, actually.” The silver-haired young woman answered.

“Well, since you’re all color coded already, why not call you Red or White?” Nice suggested.

“Nocturne… might be nice.” Felix muttered to himself, to which Maria leered in response.

Isabelle placed her index finger on her chin and replied, “I’ll… think about it.”

“Well we have to call you something, do you really wanna go with your real name?” Dreadnought asked.

They all glanced over to her, making her feel like she was under a spotlight.

“I guess I’ll just go with Red for now.” She shrugged.

“Sounds good, Nice and I still need to prepare. Let’s meet back after an hour.” Dreadnought said.

“Right.” Anastasia replied.

**

Alone in the office, a hologram suddenly popped up while the chief was dealing with paperwork.

“Chief Vivian, report. Any updates?” Director Sullivan spoke from the holographic interface on the table.

“The espers are all preparing for the mission, they will be accompanied by agent Dreadnought and agent Nice.”

“Is that so? What made you decide on including those two?”

“Agent Nice volunteered because he wanted to get back to his original rank, and his partner Dreadnought obliged.”

“Original rank?”

“Rank… sigh… sixty-nine, sir. He only ever does enough to stay in his rank, and ever since he got demoted, he’s been trying to claw back to it.”

“I would not worry about Nice and Dreadnought. They may not be from Project ASTRAEA, but they are still enhanced humans, nonetheless. Is there anything else I should be informed about?”

“Lewis Shaw was captured by agent Azalea419 earlier today, however the escort he was on got attacked, and well...”

“This is the fourth time Lewis Shaw has escaped our custody. It’s almost as if…” Director Sullivan said as he looked to Chief.

“There’s a traitor among us?” Chief Vivian replied.

“We already know who Nero really is, but… what about Grant? There’s next to nothing about him. Much of Maria’s data is incoherent, and Renee and several others have also been acting strangely.”

“Do you think they’re planning to rebel?”

“I don’t know sir, I’ll look into it, but…”

“But?”

“Sir. Are you sure about this? Dahmer’s mansion. I’m afraid they’re not yet ready. Isn’t that where...”

“Do you think our enemies will leisurely wait for them to get stronger?”

“No, sir…”

“Then don’t you think it’s time we push them out of the nest?”

“I… yes sir.”

“Vivian, you remember my old saying, don’t you?”

Those words caused her to shudder slightly before replying, “O-of course, sir.”

“Then say it.” The Director commanded.

The chief took in a slight inhale as she uttered, “Karma… isn’t reliable…”

***

Two of the espers headed to the rest of their team, one with long silver-hair and the other with short black hair.

“What made you decide on choosing ‘Venom Vanguard?’” Isabelle asked the black-haired woman beside her.

Maria tilted her head for a moment, and responded in a hollow, thoughtless tone, “I wonder what it could have been… I forgot. Maybe it’s something you choose when you’re younger, only regret it much later.”

“I want something bold, memorable, but not too over the top.” The red-eyed woman shook her hands and gestured sparkles.

“I just realized something.”

“What?”

“You’re a huge nerd.”

“Guilty as charged.” Isabelle proudly shrugged.

As they got to what appeared to be a large locker room, they met with their respective partners, Nero and Felix.

“Are you ready?” Maria asked.

“Just about.” Felix replied as he put his boots on.

“What’s up with the trench coats?” Grant asked as he peeked from behind the two women, dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt with multiple straps.

“Why don’t you just wear the reinforced suits? They’re standard issue.” Isabelle asked.

“For your information, this trench coat is top of the line, custom manufactured from my family, much stronger than those suits.” Nero boasted as tugged on the red cloak on his body.

“Who’s your family?” Isabelle asked as she tied her long white hair into a ponytail, wrapped around a yellow ribbon.

“And why are there tears in it?” Maria added as she knelt from behind Nero and lifted up his coat tails.

“It makes it look cooler.” Nero yelled out.

Maria looked at him with cynical expression.

“And you? What’s your excuse?” Isabelle asked as she approached Felix.

“It’s not like I didn’t want to wear the suits, but...”

“But?”

“M-my mentor thought this looked better on me.”

Isabelle raised an eyebrow, “I see.”

“I-I think that... the suit looks good on you.” Felix nervously remarked as he scratched his cheek.

“Ah, th-thanks. It’s rather heavy, though.” She rubbed her arm.

While the rest of the espers were conversing, Grant’s eyes glanced over toward a figure that quietly crept up to them, “Chief Vivian?”

“You noticed me… So, what do you think?” The chief asked the vague question as she looked towards the espers.

“May I be frank?” He asked in response.

“Go ahead.”

“They’re idiots.”

She smirked, “Indeed.”

“Sigh, I heard rumors that the Blue Phantom would be a cold killing machine. A danger that was known as the “Black Cat of Ruin” for being bad luck for his targets, who efficiently took the lives of twenty seven people.”

Grant stated as his mind recollected the first time he saw Felix and Maria, and how he captured Lewis Shaw in their stead.

“Well now you’ll be able to confirm for yourself what he’s capable of. Also, your information is outdated, he’s killed thirty-five people now.”

Grant let out an exasperated sigh as she looked at her.

“Can you not look at me like you’re thinking “Man, this woman’s such a pain in the ass.”” The chief remarked.

“Oh, and here I thought I was the psychic.” He snidely remarked.

Anastasia walked up and asked, “Are you all ready?”

“We’re ready to go. Chief?” Felix glanced over to the chief with a briefcase in hand.

“Don’t mind me, I just came to check up on you all. Good luck, especially to you three.” She answered as she glanced over to Isabelle, Nero, and Grant.

“Right.”

Isabelle looked at the rest of the team ahead of her as they walked out. She placed her hand on her chest and took a deep inhale.

Don’t be nervous. I’m surrounded by my friends, other veterans, and the strongest esper. Not to mention I’ve been getting the hang of my powers. I can do this.

Those were the words Isabelle uttered in her mind to calm herself down. She clenched her hand as she reassured herself.

As they all exited, however, the Chief called out to Felix and gestured for him to come over. Maria crossed her arms as she waited for him by the door.

“Felix. Unlike most Elite Agents, you’re not expendable... If worse comes to worse, prioritize your own safety. Don’t die. That’s an order.” The chief somberly instructed.

“I feel like I’ve heard these words before.”

The chief’s eyes narrowed, “Felix.”

“Right.” He nodded.

“You don’t have to worry about Felix so much. He’ll be fine.” Maria in a reassuring manner.

As the group of espers exited the room, the chief spoke to herself as the pitch-black darkness and streams of sharp white light filtered the room, “Don’t forget. We are cogs…”

The group met with the other two agents outside, where the private jet had waited for them.

“In the machine known as retribution and justice.”