The two trainers walked in silence to Green's gym, which was less than five minutes away by foot. They stood outside for a while, then Red pushed the door open, slipping in with Yellow just behind him.

"Green?" he called out. They had heard some distant fighting sounds when they entered, but now they stopped. After a couple of seconds, their friend appeared around the corner, frowning.

"I was training."

"We heard," Red said. "Blue is really upset."

"Really."

"She is!" Yellow chimed in. "And she has been trying to call you, but..."

"I put my phone in my room before starting training," Green replied, shrugging.

"She wanted to apologize," Red told him. Yellow nodded.

"Yeah, me too," Green sighed. "I don't want her to be angry with me, but I won't change my opinions just to suit her ideals."

"You don't have to. Maybe just... Mention it less around her and Silver."

Green looked at the two of them, then turned to Yellow.

"Could I get some privacy with Red, please?"

"Uh, sure," Yellow said, walking over to the door. "I'll wait outside."

They waited until the door had shut behind her, then Green sighed loudly and sat down on a bench, leaning against the wall.

"You have to understand," Red told him. "While I am generally against this law, I am not really that bothered by it. Blue and Silver, though, have had problems with authority for a long time. They were prisoners as children, so anything reminding them of that, any surveillance or control..."

"Of course I understand that, but this is different. This time, it is for the good of the nation as a whole, to prevent things like what happened to them."

"They understand that, but it is hard to fight instincts. Just... just give them time."

"Yeah," Green said. "Thanks. I think I also need some time, so would you mind telling Yellow and the others that I will be back later tonight, or early tomorrow?"

"No, I'll tell them."


"They?" Surge asked, glancing at his boss. Giovanni got to his feet and walked over to his desk.

"Association," he said, pulling out a whiskey bottle and two glasses. "They need support for their new laws, being able to blame crimes like this on us is perfect for them. Increases support tenfold with barely any effort."

He poured a generous helping into one of the glasses and handed it to Surge, who accepted it and took a long sip. After pouring an equal amount into his own glass, Giovanni put the bottle away again and sat down.

"Obviously, it was not an official operation," he said. "However, the Association has a lot of powerful groups, many of which would benefit from this law. It would be easy for one of them to pull this off."

"In other words, you believe parts of the Association moves independently from the others?"

"Yes. That seems increasingly likely."

"You have orders for me, then?" Surge asked, taking another sip. Giovanni nodded.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I want you to go there and look for evidence of Association members being involved and, if possible, evidence showing we were not. If we could prove such a thing..."

"We'd have signed their death warrant," Surge finished, nodding. "Very good."


Yellow turned around as Red exited the gym. When she saw he was alone, she frowned, but he gave her a quick smile.

"He will come later," he told her.

"Later?"

"Tonight, or tomorrow morning. He said he needed more time to think, alone."

"Oh. Well, alright then. I guess we should get back anyways, lunch is probably ready."

They walked in silence again, but thoughts were flowing through Yellow's head. Tell him. Just tell him why you came along.

"Red..."

"Hm?"

"You remember what we talked about... earlier? In my garden? You told me to forget it, but..."

She tried to continue. She really did, but it just wouldn't happen. Somehow, she had just locked up and she found herself unable to move a muscle or say a word. She shut her eyes and then, without warning, something soft pressed against her lips, just for a second.

She opened her eyes again. Red was standing just in front of her. She stared at him and he looked slightly embarrassed. He was blushing slightly and had his hand against his neck, as he usually did when he was nervous about something.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I didn't-"

"Again," she interrupted, surprising herself with being able to talk at all. She must have grown more than she thought during the last couple of years. "Please."

He nodded, grinning, then leaned in. Their lips met again, and this time she returned the kiss, her mind momentarily filled with nothing but joy.