There was a part of me that was positive we were missing something.

We had cleared out two of the forges with a frightening amount of ease, having more than enough time for Duskbreaker to transport Pinky across the country and back to pick up the 10 AM Ascension Token. While the rest of the group headed for the next forge, I went south toward the Financial District at Freakenstein's instance, getting in position to actually see the token spawn, allowing me to show up at the three forge before Duskbreaker and Pinky even returned.

We didn't necessarily have to wait for Pinky to get back with how smoothly things were going, but we did end up getting into just a bit of a competition. During the first assault, we were prepared for the absolute worst and kept our "game faces" on as we decisively tore through the place. And sure, there were droids to fight and a few built in turret defenses, but there were no surprises or, as silly as it might be to say, challenges.

Maybe Pinky and Freak had started to rub off on me, because by the time we had cleared out the first forge, the three of us had taken down seven droids each and somehow we decided whoever had the least amount of takedowns by the end of the day would be on the hook to buy drinks at The Common Ground later in the evening. Everyone was taking a quick breather as we cycled through the small bouts of notifications we were receiving following these clears.

I hadn't received any additional loot boxes, but my Float Like a Butterfly ability had increased to level 6, I received yet another Team Victory and Basebreaker Phase Point Gain, and our tally of cleared forges increased to 9, though curiously enough after we had cleared the first of the Silver Level forges this morning, the "remaining" amount changed from 13 to ???. Duskbreaker had insisted that there were three other Forges that should have Clockwork Eggs being prepared, but we had yet to stumble onto any of them and they hadn't been included in the short list of Silver Level forges that Miss Mist had been investigating for us either.

"I'm up to 19, how you two looking?" Freak asked, absorbing the remains of a Clockwork Kangaroo that had tried to sneak up on him as he cleared out the last printer room.

"22, I got lucky with a big room full of spiders and I think that's the first time anyone has ever said that," Pinky laughed.

"I'm at 17 if we're not counting the fact that those two monkeys merged together midfight and became a single Elite," I said, tilting my head to the side until a crack sounded off.

"Judges?" Freak asked.

While Pinky, Freak, and I were all competing for takedowns, everyone else had been acting as the judges to deal with any of these "disagreements." You might have thought this wouldn't have been necessary, but after Freak and Pinky both landed the final blow on a Gorilla during the second forge, the others were quick to chime in. This was actually the fourth ruling they had been "called in for."

"Technically it did start as two separate enemies, I think that's something that should be taken into consideration," BrainCraft said without looking back at us. He was walking along the wall, his visor emitting a red light as he examined each of the printers. I had assumed his mask would only need to analyze the devices a single time but he commented that he had actually noticed several different models and was curious to see just what the differences would be.

"Yeah, and had he taken them each down when they were separate that would have counted as two points," Jon offered.

"I think it should count as two. You guys never did establish the rules for Elites," Duskbreaker suggested.

"I'm-"

"Let me guess, with Loophole?" Pinky teased Swansong before she could say more than a single word.

"I was going to say I'm with Codex on this one. He's fast and strong enough that he easily could have taken down the two before they merged if he really wanted to," Swansong said. I wasn't actually sure where she, Pinky and Duskbreaker were, this forge had taken up the entirety of a four story building and I, along with BrainCraft and Miss Mist were standing in a room that took up the majority of the top floor.

"Well well well, looks like we're tied up. Miss Mist, where do you stand?" Freak asked. I looked over at Miss Mist who sat in an office chair next to a set of advanced looking computer equipment. She was reclined, her eyes looking right at the roof as she let out a bit of a scoff.

"I think you guys should be moving faster so we can keep clearing these things out. Those assholes are going to have to react eventually if they want to have any of their forces left," she said, her head rolling to the side as she stared over at me.

"Hey we're making their shit look weak as all hell, if they aren't going to react, we might as well have fun with it," Freak shot back, causing Miss Mist to let out a long sigh.

"Do you guys even need me here for these things? I can't exactly fight without bringing all the droids up into the 50s and I've already done the scouting for traps and other pitfalls," she said, her arms crossing. "I could be going through every building in this city until I find their new headquarters, the longer we leave them alone, the more prepared they're going to be."

BrainCraft looked over his shoulder, finally breaking his concentration as his visor met my eyes before he looked over at Miss Mist, a slight be of worry in his expression.

<BrainCraft: You know, maybe I'm being paranoid, but should we be at all concerned by how often she goes off on her own?>

I looked at the message, my brow furrowing as I stared back at BrainCraft.

<Loophole: Huh? Where's this coming from?>

<BrainCraft: Like I said, paranoia perhaps. But your bump in with Hydramental last night has been bugging me, as are these stupidly easy Droid Forges that she took far longer to scout than they really should.>

Miss Mist shifted in the chair again, swaying it back and forth as Pinky and Freak continued to try and get a decision out of her.

<Loophole: She hates Hydramental. Like, she clearly had something going on with Pinneedle, why the hell do you think she's working with him?>

<BrainCraft: She's implied she had something going on with Pinneedle. The only proof we have of that is her own word since anyone who could corroborate that relationship is already dead.>

I was about to shoot back another message at him, continuing to argue when I felt myself come up short, my eyes briefly glancing over at Miss Mist who was looking increasingly annoyed. Was he… Was BrainCraft right? While she hadn't exactly been hanging out with us at the end of the nights, I had been assuming that had just been because of our slight age difference and the overall traumatic event of, well, being kidnapped and held prisoner in a tiny box. Something about that clicked in my head as I looked back toward BrainCraft who had gone back to analyzing the walls.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

<Loophole: I saw Hydramental kill her… at least once before I rewound things.>

<BrainCraft: Something the current version of her never experienced. It's just a theory, and one I'm not quite confident enough to vocalize to the group at large. But we are a team and as our designated leader, I felt it prudent to speak my concern to at least you, especially if she is somehow responsible for your "chance" encounter with a single person in a city with millions of citizens.>

Miss Mist clapped her hands together as she jumped to her feet. "Okay fine, it was a single droid he defeated so it only counts as one. There, I ruled, can you guys please just move on already? We've got two more on the list and I'd like to get through them so I can get on to my hunt."

"Hey your scouting is what has made this as easy as it has been, so thank you," I said, cutting Freak off before he could start booing her decision as I walked over to her. "I think we can handle the last two we've got info on if you want to keep doing your search, but we're gonna get drinks tonight at The Common Ground if you want to join us."

"Oh thank god at least you still have your head on your shoulders," Miss Mist said, relief evident as she gave me a nod. "The faster we take this asshole out, the better. I'll keep you posted."

Without much more than that and notably without even acknowledging the invite for drinks, she turned into vapor. The large volume of mist started seeping out through the cracks of the closest window and down the side of the building with a slightly unnerving amount of speed.

BrainCraft looked back at me and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm just saying, if this hunt of hers was so important, you'd think mobilizing more of us would be in her best interest," he said aloud once it was just the two of us in the room.

"Wait, what did I miss?" Jon asked, finally clued in on our conversation since he didn't have access to our chat windows.

"I was telling Loophole about a few of my concerns in regards to Miss Mist. I believe they may have fallen on slightly deaf ears though," BrainCraft said with a shrug.

"Look man, I get the concern. But what do you want, for us to treat her like a criminal and follow her around just based on a hunch? Or put some sort of bug on her?" I asked, walking back over and looking at the printer wall. We had considered trying to take more of them for our own base, but when we had tried disconnecting the printers at the first forge of the day, they had immediately self-destructed and with BrainCraft able to just create new ones now, we really didn't see the point.

"If I could create one that wouldn't disappear the moment she turned into mist, I would absolutely say we should put a bug on her, but without testing which devices do and don't go with her, that's a rather difficult task to accomplish. She already dropped the one I had placed onto her before she slipped away just now," he said, walking over and leaning down to pick up a small, circular device that I hadn't even noticed.

"You… you can't just bug our teammates," I said, looking from the device up to him. "Even on a hunch dude, you gotta know that crosses a line."

"Yeah that's a little… invasive. Next you're gonna tell us that you've bugged the entire squad," Jon said, a nervous laugh added on to the end. The bug in his hand dematerialized as BrainCraft looked up at me, his now free hand reaching up to rub at the back of his head.

"Well…"

"Wait, do you have us bugged!?" I asked. I wasn't quite sure if I was angry or not at the prospect but I was absolutely reserving my judgement.

"The Token Trackers that you all use are my technology and I'm able to trace where any of my built technology is as long as it's outside of a B.E.L.T., I may have just reinforced the technology a bit after Swansong was plucked out from under our noses by Clockwork Tyrant to ensure that we'd be able to find each other in the event of another possible catastrophe. I can ping them a single time per day while they are dematerialized to at least narrow in a region for where I'd find them," he explained, no sign of panic in his tone. "So in short, yes, while you have the trackers outside of your B.E.L.T. I do partially have each of you "bugged" for lack of a better term and in the event one of you get's kidnapped, we will at least have a region to work off of."

"That's… I mean I get the logic but you should have at least told us about it," I said, reaching up and pinching the bridge of my nose. "That's it though right? You're not keeping some other secret bugs on us… are you?"

"You'd believe me if I said yes, correct?" BrainCraft asked, a lip curling up in a smile as I heard Jon let out a scoff.

"Not when you put it like that!"

"I think he's joking," I said, shooting BrainCraft a cautious look before he nodded.

"I can show you all of my technology both in my B.E.L.T. and in the Mechanics Den if that would alleviate your concerns now that it's on the table," BrainCraft offered but I shook my head.

"No, I trust you. I mean, I know this whole conversation started just because I've been taking people at their word, but I'm not about to stop doing that now just because you raised a logical concern, even if that's what the logical concern… is… about…" I said, trailing off as I realized I was talking in a circle. "Just… trust is trust… you know? Let's not start poking that bear with the team if we can help it."

Undisclosed Location

Time Until First Wave: 2 Years, 3 Months, 17 Days

"Wait, are you trying to tell me you actually trust this thing?"

"This thing has a name. It's called a P.A.D.," Christopher said, a smile wide on his face as he started to climb up on top of the platform that now sat directly next to the first one he had built less than two months earlier.

"Yes, you said that. A "Power Assignment Device." Did the name come first or the acronym? And much more importantly, are you seriously about to let Axio try to give you a super power?!" Cassie asked, looking over to the intercom. "Pierre, is here seriously about to do this?"

"To the best of my knowledge, yes, that is what he is about to do. I have requested he upgrade to one of those new video teleconference devices to allow me to better assist until I am able to travel to your country," Pierre responded.

"Look we need to have a guinea pig, I'm not gonna ask anyone else to do it and honestly, I trust Axio," Christopher said, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it to the side as he looked down at the device.

"I can show you the physics if it will alleviate your concerns Cassie," Axio said. His voice still sounded computerized, but it was getting less so with each passing day. "For what it's worth, with the current Universal Constant that dictates the world around us, this is only possible thanks to the combination of my knowledge and the system Christopher has put into place and designed. By following a strict, easy to follow ascension path, I predict a large portion of your population will be capable of super human powers without catastrophic harm to their atomic makeup."

"But… This was… You were… Christopher we were trying to make a video game, how the hell did this turn into giving people actual super powers!?" Cassie said, her eyes wide as she looked around the room. She wasn't a computer person, logically she knew that and it was why she hadn't exactly been sitting looking over Christopher's shoulder every step of the way. "When the hell did this even become the next step!? I thought this second platform was supposed to just be an improvement to the first one you were building, wasn't that the plan last week!?!"

"It was…" Christopher said, slightly sheepishly even while he still brimmed with excitement. "But after running some initial tests, Axio pointed out how we could do genetic modifications, as he pointed out, utilizing my leveling system as a framework. So… here we are."

"About to use yourself as a guinea pig… to get super powers…" Cassie said, staring back at him in disbelief. A few moments of silence passed between them before she started to furiously shake her head back and forth. "Nope, okay that's it, this is the line."

"The line?" Christopher said, deflating in an instant as he looked down at her. "Wait what's that mean? Are you quitting?"

"Quitting? Oh god no, look how much you've done with me only giving you half of my attention," Cassie said, turning and reaching into her purse for her handbag. "I've let this go on far too long and I'm not about to let you turn yourself brain dead testing this thing that you built by yourself in your basement with used parts. I'd never forgive myself."

"Cassie… It's going to be okay, Axio's doublechecked my work half a dozen times already. I trust that he knows what he's doing," Christopher said, climbing back off of the platform as he tried to surmise what Cassie was doing a she thumbed her way through something he couldn't make out.

"Yeah yeah, you trust the weird alien computer device that we still don't know the origin of," Cassie said, far more sarcastically than she normally might have. "The question is do you trust me just as much?"

"Of course I do," Christopher said, his brow furrowing as she turned back to look at him, a single card in her hand.

"Then let's call in back up, this is so far outside of our scope at this point…" she said, handing the card over to him. "I did some digging, honestly got stupidly lucky that my Dad still has some of his government contracts, but according to him, this is the guy at the NSA in charge of investigating Experimental Technology."

"Andrew Merens…?" Christopher said, reading the rather plain business card. "You want us to bring the government in on this…?"

"We can either do it together… or I can make the call myself…" she said, swallowing hard as he looked from the card and then back to the computer system and then back to her nervously.

"For what it's worth, expanded access to better technology would only benefit our project Christopher," Axio chimed in, slightly to Cassie's annoyance. Christopher looked back over his shoulder at the screens one more time before he returned his attention to the card.

"Okay… let's call him."

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