Peter sulked, but said nothing else, which prompted unexpected emotion from Leo. “We tell him this every day, all day and he ignores us. You tell him and he is all quiet and accepting!?”
“It’s only for now. He’ll be back to normal in a few days.”
Wu nods his head in agreement, giving a point to Anaar. “He is right. Might be giving Pete too much credit though. He’ll be back at it again by the morning.”
Anaar turned his attention back to Peter after his brief exchange with the other two men. “Would you care to tell me exactly what you expected to accomplish from this and what caused it? Is it something with you and Genevieve? I have not seen her around lately.”
“Why must everyone presume I cannot manage my relationship?! Genny and I are wonderful! It is just that with a History course, Science course, and a Literature course this term, her dyslexia is making things more difficult than usual. She spends most of her time in her room trying to keep up.”
“Have you ever thought it might be more value-added reading to her, rather than trying to do things outside of your reach? I don’t know how she learns, but I am sure a break from the struggle would be welcome now and again.” Anaar pauses and then taps his chin whilst staring into the distance. “Or she could become upset that you don’t think she is smart enough to handle it on her own…”
“Enough of that! I wanted you to help my abilities become more combat potent!”
“I’d rather help Jeonwoo since his is actually an ability that lends itself more for combat.”
“This session is about me though!”
Anaar squints, then grabs Peter by his collar, raising him to eye level. “Really? Because you made it seem so selfless and all for the sake of your entire friend group becoming stronger.”
Flailing with futile effort, “Put me down! I was telling the truth! I am the focus though!”
Anaar drops Peter to the ground, the small man crashing face first. “That works then. You can be the focus.”
Rising from his fall, Peter weakly responds, “Thank you! Finally we can-”
“Leo, lob blasts at Peter as fast as possible. We are going to do some speed drills.”
Leo shakes his head dismissively. “No thanks. That seems like too much of a pain. I just came to watch anyway.”
“I’ve just transferred $5000 into your account so that you can go wild buying snacks.”
Leo was sure Anaar was bluffing, as he had not touched his Vizer, but a chime came through with an alert of the transfer. “Done.” Without further question, Leo began hurtling blasts with reckless abandon.
Peter screamed as a bolt hit him directly in the face, Wu’s timely intervention being the only thing that prevented him from being beheaded. “First one’s free Pete. Better get moving.”
“You are all insan-” Before he could finish his sentence, he was forced to roll away, the beam from Leo missing him by a hair’s breadth.
Realizing Anaar had played dirty by utilizing the one thing that could sway Leo instantly, he decided to try a dangerous gambit. He ran directly toward Leo at top speed, each dodge becoming more precarious than the last. Wu and Anaar watched the exchange, chatting idly as if they were in the café.
“I think Peter is a good guy, but I feel you four are much better people to put up with him all the time. I thought I could be difficult to deal with.”
“For you to be his mentor, you don’t seem to like him much.”
“Do you spend much time with your mentor?”
“I haven’t talked to her since I met her.”
Anaar cut his eyes at Wu. “Want to switch?”
Wu bursts out laughing, loud enough it was easily audible over the blasts and screams of Peter. “And miss out on all the fun Pete brings you?! Not a chance.”
Sighing and shrugging, “I tried… I don’t dislike Peter. I dislike his obsession with being something he is not. Whenever he is not doing that, he is great to be around.” Catching Wu’s expression, Anaar clears his throat. “He’s much more bearable to be around.”
Peter had finally reached his goal, tackling Leo, even though it was only enough to cause him to stagger slightly. “I’ll give you the same amount if you start blasting them instead!”
“Show me the money.”
Immediately after speaking, Leo blasted the ground next to them, causing Peter to shout and jump away. “What are you doing?! You are supposed to be attacking them!”
“Contracts are important. I’ll continue fulfilling this one until it is overwritten. By the way I’m going to need more than what Anaar gave me to go against him. Gotta have principles and all.”
The blasts kept Peter on the move, which prevented him from going through the process of transferring the funds. He had begun to sweat heavily and because he was so tired, he had been grazed more than a few times. At the rate he was going, he would be injured before he had the opportunity to transfer the funds so that he could turn Leo to his side. Finally he realized that he could just ask Hobb to do it, rather than going through the steps himself. After a confirmation, Hobb alerted him that the funds had been transferred. To his relief, the blasts stopped, and he slumped to the ground, exhausted.
Leo checked to make sure the money was there, grinding his teeth when he found Peter had only added a single dollar more than what Anaar had given him. He made sure to ingrain into himself the importance of specificity in the future. Honoring the request, he brought both hands together, charging one of his most powerful shots, then releasing it at Anaar. He was horrified when a gout of flame appeared, vaporized his own highly concentrated blast, then came racing at him. After dodging the blast, Leo throws his hands in the air.
“Nope. I’m done. Payment not sufficient to cover the risk. See ya Pete.”
As Leo begins walking away, Peter shakily sits up, aware of Leo’s departure. With what little strength he had left, he jumped up, feebly attempting to chase after Leo. Through wheezing breaths, he did his best to stop Leo.
“Wait… I… paid you a lot… You cann… leave…”
Peter falls to one knee, as he is unable to continue his chase any longer. Wu looks to Anaar, who had a smile on his face. Curious why he would be so proud of himself, Wu did not need to ask to find out the answer.
“He passed the test. I knew he could easily match the money I gave Leo, but he would need to figure out how to do it as he was being attacked. It took him a while, but he finally came to the solution. His greatest asset is his brain, but he fails to use it most of the time when in combat. If he could become more accustomed to doing so, he wouldn’t be overtaken so quickly.”
Wu looked at Anaar impressed. Not only had he found a way to give Peter exactly what he wanted, he had managed to do it without Peter noticing, which would give him the impression he grew on his own. If Peter felt he could make progress without Anaar, he would then reduce his dependency. Each step had been meticulously crafted and executed, in what seemed to be in the moment’s calculation. Wu had lost himself in his own thoughts until Anaar’s voice brought him back to reality, a large smile on his face.
“Now Jeonwoo, about these pain nullification abilities of yours…”
27
The air was heavy with the smell of fresh rain, the sounds of insects singing a chorus to celebrate their new aquatic paradise. After three straight days of torrential showers, the sun had finally come out, allowing the residents of the Jacksonville subdivision to breathe. It had been hours of waiting, but finally the members of the household made their escape, desperate to be free of their prison they once called home.
Three different cars were occupied and left the premises, the large gate closing behind once they left. After one final sweep with binoculars to confirm it was safe to enter, it only took a quick portal to enter the home. If intel served correctly, the security system only protected against breaches, rather than motion as well. This provided a welcome break from the additional measures that would typically be needed for such a mission.
>
From the study to the bedroom, everything was tossed in an attempt to find even a shred of evidence. The computers in the house were all locked, meaning any further information would take longer to obtain. There were devices for these moments, but they were for civilian computers, and these had been encoded with military encryption. Even the children’s computers bore the same level of encryption. This mission had proven far more difficult than expected.
Even after being forced to stay inside for so long, everything was meticulously guarded. No errant scraps of paper bearing critical information. No machines with recorded messages that could be exploited. The house was just as clean as the last two, which was extremely frustrating. With an angry huff and a quick portal, the residents of the home would never know there had been a breach.
The investigation into the private sector had been all but a wasted effort. Even though that was expected, it did not make the pain any less. Time was quickly running out and there was still no concrete evidence to dispel the farce holding her father captive. It was time to try yet another home of one of the officials in charge, in hopes there would be something of use.
She had never been the best at sleuthing, she was much more comfortable with a shoot first, ask questions later approach. Though her skill had greatly improved, and her powers complimented her work perfectly, Ripp missed the days where a gun could solve anything. Now everyone frowned upon her advice to let her handle their concerns with force. Instead, people only wanted a clean job where no one would be able to trace it back to them.
After going through over twenty homes, she had come to the last one. Based on her research, this presented the greatest difficulty due to the detail that was always present. There was also a nanny, a chef, and a groundskeeper to account for, even if the family was out. She supposed it made sense such fortifications would be necessary for the second highest ranking officer of the army. Even with the difficulties, she knew she could not give up so easily if it were for her father’s freedom.
Though the children were still in the home, no doubt accompanied by the nanny, the adults were both out, meaning that the window for investigation had come. No one else had been sloppy, but there was something about sitting at the top, protected by so many others that caused one’s guard to falter. She moved to open a portal, but found she was unable to do so.
Since she had no specific coordinates, and she had no idea where inside the home she was going, it was not a complete surprise for her to fail. Even taking these things into account, she should have had no issues with portaling into a space she had vision of. Trying it again she found it had the same result, but this time she was aware of a specific type of feedback she had not encountered since she had left Sophangence. It appeared the entire house was protected against Transporters and Travelers the same way a vault would be.
Ripp found herself at a loss, her heart sinking in that moment. Thanks to her abilities, she never took the opportunity to invest in more traditional methods of infiltration. Even if she had, with the house being protected by a field preventing her powers, there was no doubt the other security systems would have been far out of her reach. All this was operating under the condition she would be capable of making it to an entry point without detection. She came come so close, yet complex layers of security had effectively shut her out.
As she left, she told herself that she would not have found anything even if she had managed to get in. With all her other attempts failing, it was nonsensical to believe the last would hold the key to everything. Even if it did not solve all her problems, she had hoped it would at least point her in the right direction so that she could finally make some headway.
The time had come for her to begin infiltrating military compounds in search of answers. This came with inherent difficulties, but there was the one silver lining that her family’s status gave her. She had more than her fair share of fatigues, and knew all the protocols. It would be very easy for her to blend in. Her problem came in her lack of technical aptitude, and more importantly, her inability to incapacitate people easily, without harming them. She had always put more force than less into all she did, simply to make up for her size. If she tried to reduce her power, only to fail to take them down in one strike, it would prove problematic.
Ripp contemplated her options, most of which were of absolutely no benefit. There was one option she thought of immediately, but dismissed it just as quickly. She knew it would be better to have someone watching her back through this, but the benefit of being alone was that she not only would prevent the need to worry about another person’s wellbeing, but also there was no way they could get her in trouble. At the end of her rope, she finally went back to the plan that gave her mixed feelings.
After picking her up, Ripp sat with Stefani in her small but comfortable apartment, explaining the details of everything that had been going on. Though Stefani was just happy to help, Ripp felt uneasy involving her in such dangerous affairs. During her contemplation, she had come to realize just how few friends she truly had, and far less reliable ones at that. Stefani had not only proven her loyalty however, but also her strength, as her growth over the years they had known one another was nothing short of a metamorphosis.
“I still don’t understand why your dad would even be a suspect. You said he was nowhere near where the people were found right?”
Ripp shook her head. “No, but understand these people were long dead. On paper my dad had the motive, but more importantly the power. He is the strongest Terrakinetic in America, and one of the strongest on the planet. He can literally move mountains. Do you know how many Terrakinetics there are? To be the one of the strongest really is a feat. Only someone with a power level like his could do that. Of course they are going to blame him.”
“What about his status though? Or your mom’s? You know what, it doesn’t matter. We will do whatever it takes to get this resolved.”
“Whoa there. Before you go getting all riled up, don’t even think you are in this for the long haul. I only wanted your help with something specific. I can’t have you in danger trying to help me. These are poweful forces we are playing with. I very well can’t openly interrogate people, and even if I could, I doubt they would give me anything without getting rough. If I want this to succeed, I need to get the info with little to no violence and hopefully no exposure. I thought about what you told me, how in the Melee you were able to charm people like Ana. Do you know if it extends to their knowledge as well?”
Stefani had issues with being limited, but decided to focus on the question at hand first. “I am not sure what you mean by that.”
“Like if you were to get them to do what you say, can you only get them to perform basic motor functions, or could you get them to put in passwords only they would know, or have them divulge critical information?”
Stefani’s face contorts and she bites her lip. “I… have no idea. I haven’t really done much with it since then. I am not even positive I know what I did to make it happen in the first place. If Anaar had witnessed it, I’m sure he would have been interested and worked with me to investigate it, but alone, I did not bother.”
“Try it on me then. I really need this to work if I want a chance to save my dad.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Anything really. Just try to get me to do something only I would be able to do, or better yet, know.”
Stefani furrowed her brow, took a deep breath and then began to sing. She focused the intent on making Ripp do whatever she wanted, but it became clear to her that she had no way of knowing when it had taken effect. After a singing two verses and a chorus, she decided to test the result.
“Okay. Sophia, I want you to go to your room and unlock your computer for me.”
“No.”
Ripp’s response came so quickly, Stefani questioned if she had utilized her powers at all. Ever since she had become aware of them, more often than not, her issue came not with execution, but with lack of belief
she was capable. Most times, her breakthroughs came at the behest of someone else. Therefore it was mindboggling to her to have a situation where she knew she was capable, but her powers still not work. Anaar had mentioned something to her before about her powers possibly being reliant on the target being unaware, or willing to receive the effects. She wondered if Sophia’s resistance was due to her anticipation of what was to come.
Thinking back to the last time she was successful, she remembered she never verbally gave commands, yet her victim completed complex tasks of their own accord, and even used their powers to defend her. If she did not need to treat them like a marionette puppet, controlling every little movement, then perhaps the instruction came from the song, rather than what resulted afterward. Trying again, she instead chose to weave her intent into her song, rather than going for generic control. What happened next, Stefani was not prepared for.
“There was this one time Sophomore year, I decided to hook up with this guy after going through a rough patch and needing some comfort. We were getting down to business finally, when he out of nowhere, snatches off my panties and begins to eat my ass. I wasn’t complaining, it was actually really good, but I thought it was odd that he would start there of-”
Stefani’s eyes go wide, as she looks around uncomfortably. “Umm, Sophia… you can stop n-”
“He was doing that for a while and then I see him come up like he is ready for action. I pull a condom out of a portal since he thought he was going to do something without it. He begrudgingly put it on, but then he put my legs in the air again. I was tired of this position, but at least this time he was holding them. He then proceeds to try to put it in my butt, and I had to stop him right away! I knew he was dumb, but not that dumb. Turns out, he legitimately did not know which hole to put it in. He said he had only had sex with a man before, so he thought that was the right hole. I was so fucking embarrassed for him that I just made him leave. How did you not notice the other hole?! Did you think it was just there for decoration?! Worst hookup ever.”
Revelations (Song of Sophangence Book 4) Page 47
