My 'tour guide' escorted me to the private parking garage where a blacked-out SUV sat.

Francis stood by the front passenger seat, his hands clasped in front of him with his usual stony expression. He didn't move as we approached, but my escort stepped to the side and gestured towards the car.

"Next time…" the guard's hand stopped me, while the other hovered over a sheathed knife. "You won't take the scenic route. Pull shit like that again, and I'll show you how important you actually are."

I rolled my eyes and deployed my laser pistol.

The guard let go immediately as the atmosphere turned tense.

"You're a riot." I drawled, shifting the weapon back into its disguised state. "Real five star treatment right there. I'll be sure to leave a review."

"That's enough." Francis' voice echoed as he walked up to us. "I'll take things from here. Thank you for your time."

I could hear the anger simmering beneath the surface.

I watched the guard backpedal a bit, his eyes locked with mine. Once he left, I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"What the hell was that all about? Seriously, what is Cyberspace playing at sending that guy to help out?"

Francis turned and glared at me.

His old tired eyes were lit ablaze with ire and I was smart enough to understand that I was the source. Cyberspace set this up, without a doubt. This was going to be my punishment, and the second I felt Francis' hand land on my shoulder, I knew I was in for it.

Do your worst, whatever you come up with is more than worth what I got here.

He dragged me past the SUV and shoved me face-first into a concrete wall. I caught myself and kept myself upright, but my instincts screamed at me to turn around. I obeyed and found Francis standing within arm's reach.

I evened out my breathing and kept my back against the wall, my eyes on him. I knew my life wasn't in any danger at the moment, but I felt the need to keep a hand protectively on my watch. As far as I understood it, we were on good terms, but the second I felt like my life was threatened, I wasn't going to pull any punches.

"Go on then," Francis said, glancing at my watch. "You do that and there's no coming back."

I took a moment to gather my bearings.

"I don't want that."

"THEN SIT DOWN!"

The booming command shook me to my core. My arms dropped and dangled at my side while my knees buckled under my own weight. I slid down the wall on my back, all while keeping steady eye contact with the man who stood before me. His stoic, expressionless features were gone, replaced with cold rage.

I felt like a powerless kid again, trapped beneath the oppressive shadow of adult authority. It made me angry, and upset… but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why. Something twisted inside my gut and I suddenly felt sick.

"I didn't think I was going to have to have this conversation with you. Liam… he has his issues with authority, but I've been trying to help him work on them before he got involved in this business, but you…" Francis slowly shook his head. "I thought you were brighter than to try something like this."

The only reason I was here was to uncover Gaea's method for altering powers. As far as I was concerned, this was my best move forward.

"I'm only trying to do my part. I'm using what resources are available to help us fight against all the shit that's coming our way," I argued. "Believe me, I wish I could go back and remain ignorant to what's going on here and the rest of the world, but I can't. I've got to play the hand I've been dealt. There's tech here, tech that can help us. Cyberspace kept it from me."

"Did it ever occur to you that there might be a reason for that?" Francis proposed. "You have more than enough to worry about. There are several projects you have on the go: Cybernetics, armor for the rest of your team, upscaling your production, breaking into Deadlocked's prototype. Need. I. Go. On?" He jabbed a finger into my shoulder hard and I winced. "You're stretching yourself too thin. I've seen what happens to Mechakinetics who go the way you are. They lose their minds, Maxis. They end up being pulled in so many directions that they break down. Do you want to end up in an asylum?"

That was an exaggeration, surely. I didn't buy that for a second but so far, Francis showed no signs of knowing what my real motivations were. Maybe that was why Cyberspace had sent him, to try and force any lingering doubts out of me into the open.

I wouldn't cave.

"That's ridiculous. I have it handled."

"Handled?!" Francis exclaimed. "What part of all this is 'handled' to you? We have a good thing going, and the last thing anyone needs right now is someone going and making things difficult for everyone!"

Francis grabbed me again and hauled me to my feet.

"Now you listen," he continued. "What I – and everyone else – need you to do, is to stick to your lane and play to your strengths. You can't be pulling stunts like this. Cyberspace ain't the only one you need to worry about here, so pull your head out of your ass and start thinking before you start crossing some lines."

He doesn't know.

That was good.

Francis was under the impression that my ego had gotten the better of me. He wasn't the type to beat around the bush, if he knew something, he would've said it. As long as he thought I was arrogant, then I was still in the clear. As much as I liked Francis and wanted to trust him, at the end of the day we all knew too little about Cyberspace, and Gaea's words struck a chord with me.

But I couldn't trust either of them.

The only people I could trust were myself and those closest to me. To them we were pawns, and I didn't want any part in it. Maybe I could move to Gaea, but that was just trading one leash for another.

Though Gaea herself was untrustworthy, her words did have merit. Cyberspace kept their motivations vague. They were never upfront about what they were working toward. I wasn't buying that 'bolstering standing' or 'resource availability' crap. They had plenty and while I could exponentially increase that, there had to be a purpose behind it.

You don't just… amass Mechatech to secure safety, not when the whole world thinks you're dead. You use it to do something.

If I didn't make moves to help the people around me now, then I would never get the chance.

"This technology can help me and it's just sitting here gathering dust. Cyberspace said that Splicer wasn't cooperating, so why not give his tech to the one person who can actually do something with it?" I argued, latching onto Francis' arm. "I'm trying to do my part here and problem solve, find solutions to the roadblocks I'm facing. Ajax is knocking on our door, Pandora could start a damn war, and don't even get me started on Gaea," I met his gaze. "Taking out Grim has only put a target on our back. If I'm not ready when they come knocking then we're fucked."

"And what part of any of that makes you think that doing this is acceptable behavior?"

I stared at him like he had grown a second head.

"Acceptable behavior?" I repeated, unable to hide my astonishment. "So that's what you're here about? Cyberspace put you up to this. You guys are pissed off that I'm being proactive?"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"There is a fine line between being productive, and crossing the line. You were on your way here before you even made the call," Francis growled, lowering his voice. "We have a system for a reason, what if you were being followed? Or tracked? You could have led whoever might've been tracking you right to us. Have you forgotten Mirage knows what you look like?! You can't just show up like this!"

I let go of his arm and let my hands drop to my side. This wasn't worth arguing about, and if that was the sole message they were trying to send then fine. I would bite my tongue and accept the warning.

"Alright," I said simply. "I was too hasty and it was rude to assume I would just be allowed to walk in here."

Francis' expression hardened for a few moments before softening ever-so-slightly. Then, his stoicism returned in full force.

"Stay in your lane, Maxis. You've got enough to deal with already. Adding Splicer's tech to your plate is only going to overwhelm you."

"You know what Splicer can do. With some tweaks, we could have an army of super soldiers. You don't think that's worth the extra stress?" I asked.

"Even if you can do that, and that's a big if, have you ever considered what the team might think? What Mia will think?" Francis said. "You don't need this tech, you can start from scratch and you wouldn't need to strain your team. Worse yet, Cyberspace has approved it. The special treatment they've afforded you is extremely concerning."

He let go of my shirt and I awkwardly straightened it out.

"It's potential, that's why. Did you know The ECU classified me as an S-Class Mechakinetic?" I said. "If they think I'm that dangerous then I can't even begin to imagine what Cyberspace thinks, and they know far more about me than The ECU does."

"S-Class," Francis mused. "Is that right?"

"Yeah," I muttered. "Fancy that. Cyberspace has probably known all along."

Francis slowly stepped back, his eyes locked with mine.

He adjusted his jacket and rubbed the hand he had been holding me with, not once blinking or taking his eyes off me. The disgusted look hurt somewhat, considering he spent a lot of time around me and the rest of the team.

At first, I figured it was because of Liam, but then I remembered what he said before we went out to fight Grim.

"'I've seen too many kids like you die because of their egos.'"

Oh…

It wasn't disgust, it was pity. Pity because he thought I was just another arrogant kid who was going to get themselves killed. Maybe Francis was trying to help me because he genuinely cared and not because Cyberspace asked him to.

"Hm," Francis nodded slowly before taking a couple of steps back and pointing at the car. "Get in and I'll take us back."

I grunted out an acknowledgment and stepped off the wall. I made it about two steps toward the car before Francis moved and planted his fist in my gut.

I doubled over with a gasp and hit the concrete hard. Bile climbed and dribbled out of my mouth as I clutched my stomach. It felt like he had turned me inside out with one hit.

Amidst my groans, I heard the clicking of shoes against concrete.

"If you pull something like this again, that guard will be the least of your worries. You're going to have to deal with me. Understand?"

I coughed and growled.

"I… und–ersta–nd."

"Good. Pick yourself up and get in the backseat."

I watched him turn and walk away through blurry eyes. Francis hit me so hard he not only brought up the remnants of my lunch but also knocked the wind out of me.

Slowly, I pushed myself back to my feet as my strength returned. Part of me wanted to be angry, to blow up or set the car on fire. Instead, I just stared at the car as I hobbled towards it. I hadn't seen the hit coming, and frankly, from his perspective I deserved it.

Ego and accountability. That's why he was mad.

Realistically, I never got the impression that he gave two shits about my disrespect to Cyberspace. He was angry because my approach could've put Madhouse in danger. It would have gotten Mia, Liam, and Sam into hot water, which was exactly what I was avoiding by not breaking in.

In hindsight, I was lucky that the punch wasn't a bullet to the back of my head. Sure, I was valuable to Cyberspace, but I was playing with fire. They cared about their authority, and how they were perceived. My actions today had undermined that, and if they didn't make an example of me, then what would stop the next person?

The punch might as well have been a slap on the wrist.

I managed to make it to the car, but I took a moment to compose myself. I leaned on the back and tried to screw my head back on straight. The events of the last few minutes replayed over and over in my head and I felt myself cringing at my attempts to justify my own importance. It didn't sound right coming from my mouth and I wondered if I dramatized it a little too much.

Would Francis and Cyberspace catch on?

Since I got what I came for, it was unlikely they knew about Gaea's ability to alter powers and how she figured it out. Plus, Cyberspace hadn't told me to go to Hell so the plan was still intact. If all it cost was a punch and some respect then it was well worth it, not like I wouldn't lose that anyway when we slipped away, all I had to do was get to work.

How was I even going to conceal that work anyway? They were aware of what I worked on in the workshop. If we wanted total privacy, we needed to move it somewhere else… somewhere Cyberspace couldn't see.

The idea sprung to mind.

Deadlocked's prototype…

Tomorrow would mark a week since I started the long upgrade on my laptop in order to break through its encryption. Even then, that project was staked on a hunch about how my powers functioned. I could very well get to the end and have nothing to show for it, but I had to try. After tomorrow, there were three weeks left. Three weeks left to wait.

Unless…

I could invest every single one of my charges into it. Put a stop to every other project and just tunnel vision on that. After tomorrow, 168 hours should have passed, which meant that only 486 hours would remain. Three weeks if left to progress on its own. However, with my intervention, I could cut that time down by half. Ten or eleven— no, wait a minute.

My charges!

[Charges: 30/30]

Gaea had left me with thirty. That would cut the time down even further. Only by a little bit but it would be worth it. Eight or nine days. Basically a week from now I could have that cube open. Deadlocked's tech was advanced enough that not even Cyberspace could get through. They bluntly admitted that, unless I was being bluffed. It would have been a hell of a bluff because it had Gold convinced. Although… Gold's been wrong before.

Would Cyberspace notice?

Maybe, but I would cross that bridge once I came to it.

I wanted to slap myself for doubting. I couldn't focus on the what-ifs. I needed to pick a course and stick to it. No more flip-flopping.

Steeling myself, I opened the back door to the SUV and slid into the backseat. Immediately, my eyes met Lucy's and widened. She was sitting quietly with her seatbelt on, eyeing me with clear concern. She didn't speak, not even to say hello.

"Lucy? What are you—?" I paused when I saw the silenced gun lying across her lap. I snapped to where Francis sat in the front seat, his eyes locked on me through the rearview mirror. "The hell is this?"

"He's been teaching me," Lucy blurted out. "I've been picking some, uh… things up from him. How to shoot, how to act. How to…" She swallowed. "Y'know, what to do if the worst should happen."

"What the fu—"

"She hasn't killed anyone," Francis said, his usual drawl back in full swing. "Target practice via hunting. Not the best method but it's the closest thing she's going to get to taking a life. The real skill is not freezing up when you squeeze the trigger," he clipped his seat belt in and the car began to edge forward. "I'm sure you're well aware how important that is."

I shuffled uncomfortably, still trying to manage the pain in my gut.

"Yeah," I muttered. "I'm aware."

We drove out of the parking garage and back into the daylight. Lucy's eyes never left me as I slouched into my seat. I exhaled slowly and tried to find a comfortable position, wondering if everything I just went through would be worth it.

"What happened in there?" Lucy asked, looking down at my stomach. "What… What were you doing?"

"Oh, you know me," I grumbled, turning to glare at Francis. "Something stupid."

Francis said nothing.

"You can't keep taking risks, Max," Lucy said, shaking her head. "You've gotten lucky so far."

I groaned and rolled my eyes.

"So I'm told."

"I'm serious!" Lucy replied, exasperated. "If you don't stop it, there'll be a day where you don't get lucky and it's not just you anymore. It's all of us. We suffer too."

I sighed.

"Some things are just too important, Lucy," I said, keeping my eyes on Francis. Our gazes met through the rearview mirror. "You'll see."

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