Whooo! Another one bites the dust!
This may be the last one for a bit; holidays beckon, and I don't trust airlines with my toiletries, let alone my laptop, so I'll just leave you stewing in the revelations for a bit.

Oh, and we now have TV Tropes!

/Fanfic/BarelyPresentsTheMasksWeWear.

Big thanks to TheLiteraryLord for the page! *bows in gratitude*

Did you know there was a 'Mask Power' Trope? I didn't. Fitting huh?

But without any further ado, let's get on with it!


The Masks We Wear Chapter 11

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.9


The Simurgh attacked Madison, Wisconsin on the sixteenth of July, 2009. The assembled Parahumans acting in defence of the city failed to drive the Endbringer off within the time limit, forcing the PRT to quarantine the city.

An unsurprising pre-emptive phone call from Dad point-blank refused me from attending. With Emma much in the same position, Sophia was unwilling to go alone, leaving the four of us to sit and watch the news feed while Amy rushed off to meet with her family.

The five of us spent time together, using the rest of the summer holidays to become more comfortable as a group, disguising Amy and Lisa so we could go out to the mall together, without being recognised. The brunette slowly started to unfurl, standing straight, facing the world head on instead of bowing her head to it. It was nice to see the healer come out of the shadow of Panacea and just be Amy, something that Lisa said she sorely needed. The snappishness and curt answers that had characterised our early meetings was gone now, but her tongue was still as sharp as ever.


"Hey Amy! Wait!" I called, swinging my hand above my head in order to get my friend's attention. My frantic flailing worked, for she stepped off the teleport pad, giving a long suffering sigh at my antics.

"Taylor." Her voice held the tone of a mother humouring her children who'd just done something stupid, neither warm nor cold, but something that made you squirm inside. "Did you set fire to my plants again? Because I distinctly remembering someone promising to buy me new ones if it happened again?"

I cringed at the reminder.

"I told you that was an accident! I forgot I left the shield there, honest. And it was only the once!"

My response was met with a raised eyebrow.

Much like Sophia's power had changed after I Linked her, Amy's power had changed too. Whilst she was still able to manipulate organic matter to heal, allowing her to continue her work as Panacea, her power was now much more effective at controlling plant life. As such, she maintained a small garden in one of the newer areas of the base, the green room giving a much needed change of pace to the monotonous grey concrete walls of the renovated sewer. I'd mistakenly left one of my more… flammable projects next to the door when I was about ten hours behind on sleep. She'd never let me forget it since.

"No, your plants are fine." I groused, holding the bag I'd carried out in front of me. "I wanted to give you something."

She stepped down toward me, taking the drawstring bag and reaching inside, pulling out the first of my gifts.

"A watch?"

"It's got a teleportation Kanoka built into the back, so you have an escape if you ever need one. The button's also an emergency beacon, for if you can't run and need us to come to you. Everyone has one." I explained, pulling my shirt up my wrist to show my own watch.

"Thanks." She smiled, rolling up her own sleeve to put the device on. Watch attached to her wrist, she delved back into the bag to pull out my other gift. Her hand retracted clutching a thin metal rod, about the size of a pen.

"Let me guess; this is a grenade?" She smirked, looking so much like Lisa in that moment that it scared me. I rolled my eyes at her joke, grumbling softly under my breath.

"No, we're not in a Bond movie. Look at it. Really look at it."

She took my advice, focusing on the metal rod, blinking as she noticed something. A second later, the rod expanded as the growth Kanoka kicked in, expanding the sliver of metal into a piece of metal twenty centimetres long and around five wide. The rod was solid silver, with a pair of black buttons on one side, and a black case on the bottom segment.

"Go on." I encouraged at her probing look. She depressed the button, and a snap-hiss emanated from the rod as a meter of dark blue energy sprung from the weapon. Amy stood there for a second, taking in the blade that had appeared out of nowhere.

"You made a lightsaber."

I groaned at her dry observation. I should have expected this.

"No, It's not a lightsaber. It isn't plasma. It uses liquid protodermis suspended in an electric field-"

"Taylor." She cut my explanation off, mirth dancing in her eyes. "It's a lightsaber."

I sighed, giving up the fight in order to explain its use.

"Whatever you want to call it. The important thing is that it uses electricity, and has two modes, solid, in which it acts like a normal blade, and insubstantial, during which it can pass through objects and shock them. As you've seen, it can be shrunk for ease of concealment. We all carry them to protect ourselves in our civilian identities, and I thought you could use one too."

The smile I received made all the teasing worth it.


Lisa had been settling into her role as 'Turaga' perfectly fine, despite having only half-access to my power that the others did. She theorised that the 'intervention' that had knocked her out and caused her to forget our conversation interrupted the transfer halfway. I'd since tried to restore the rest of the connection, but we'd had no luck. Despite this, she was perfectly happy with what she had. With her power being able to work through webcams, she was able to take clues from our helmet-cams, so I started streaming mine and Sophia's views to Lisa's command console when we went out on patrol. But the most memorable moment came when I showed her the special Kanohi I'd made for her.

"Now careful, it's a bit disorienting the first time." I explained as I attached the Kanohi to Lisa's helmet. The mask matched her helmet in colour, glowing golden in the lamplight. A puff of air heralded Lisa's approximation of a snort. Setting her staff aside, the blonde took the helmet from my hands, slipping it on over her head as I watched. There was a pause, then the goggle-like lenses on the mask lit up with a blue hue, signifying the HUD on Lisa's side of the mask flaring into existence. The mask wasn't as strong as it could have been, owing to the smaller ability Lisa had in operating my tech, but the loss in power ensured she would be able to use the Kanohi

"This is the Mask of Biomechanics." I explained, pacing in front of the girl as I spoke. "It allows you control technology within a certain radius. I figured this would give you easier control over the command interface if you could assess it all mentally." I received a nod in return as she took in the information. "It also has a voice synthesiser in the faceplate." I finished, somewhat hesitantly. Lisa nodded once more, then her neck snapped round to focus on me so fast I was surprised she didn't have whiplash.

"You won't be able to use it out of costume of course, we don't want you to out yourself after all. But I thought you might like to have a voice back, even if it isn't yours."

I resisted the urge to wring my hands as Lisa continued to stare at me. Instead of the teeth-like design of the lower portion, Lisa's Kanohi was instead clear and smooth, with a small circle of LCD screen set where the mouth would be. The screen suddenly lit up for a brief moment as an unearthly screech emanated from the mask. I flinched back at the noise, cupping my ears at the noise.

"Sorry."

The pair of us stiffened at the voice. I slowly turned back to Lisa, her hands raised to her throat in shock. I smiled, the grin blossoming on my face as Lisa seemed to choke in shock.

"Taylor?"

The screen once more lit up with her speech, this time forming a glow that emulated the shape and the movement of a mouth as it said the words, instead of the block of colour her previous attempt had been.

"Hi Lisa."

Suddenly, I was almost knocked off my feet as Lisa suddenly rocketed into me, shaking with the force of her emotions. I returned her embrace, supporting her against myself as she shook. And if I mistook her sobs for her straining muscles, and ignored her crying, well…

That was for me to know.


The weeks since the Simurgh hadn't been all nice surprises either. The first had come after I had gone through training with Emma, the other girl using her Kanohi for the first time. The second had come not long after Amy had returned from the Endbringer battle, with Sophia introducing us to a face I'd not expected to ever see again.


I dodged round another torrent of water, dragging the blade of my Freeze Spear along the body of liquid as I passed. Seeing the water freeze out the corner of my eye, I leapt up and over the ice, letting the follow-up attack slam harmlessly into the crystalline white surface.

In much the same way that Sophia had her weakness for electricity replaced with focused light, Emma's power had also undergone a subtle shift after her 'Linking'. She had sacrificed control over water in its frozen form, instead gaining an even greater degree of control over the liquid. So, while she may not be able to manipulate ice, she more than made up for it with her water attacks. Something that I was learning first-hand.

A fist of water appeared above me, and I threw myself into a roll, the Calix barely getting me out from under the guillotine in time. Using my forward momentum to my advantage, I flowed under another whip of water, catching the second on the shaft of my spear, dispersing the force as it crashed into me. My momentum briefly redirected by my block, I forced myself to continue my path, setting my feet in order to launch myself in a new direction.

Honestly, combat with Emma always came down to how fast I could close the distance, while in her case, it was how much she could wear me out before then. Despite the fact that Emma was no slouch in melee combat, her forte was in mid-range combat, in controlling the battlefield around her, and forcing me to react in certain ways. Of course, if I did manage to close, my own physical capabilities along with my multitude of Kanohi that allowed me to overwhelm her.

I briefly toyed with the idea of cloaking myself with the Huna, but gave it up as a waste of energy. I'd already tried that, and had been smacked down hard the second I'd thought she had lost track of me. And that didn't even take into account her Kanohi. The Kanohi Avsa; the Mask of Hunger was a somewhat vampiric mask, but was one of the best non-lethal takedown measures we had in our inventory at the moment. The Kanohi allowed the user to drain energy from their target of choice, leaving them lethargic and unwilling to fight. It was that effect I was fighting against right now.

My legs felt like jelly, and my arms could barely lift my spear. She was turning this into a battle of attrition, and it was one she would win. If I was to win this, I had to make a move before I had no energy left to even keep myself upright. Steadying myself, I called upon the power of the Kakama, and lunged.

Once again the world blurred around me as I accelerated. I blasted past Emma's hastily-erected wall, moving through it before the water even finished forming. I dropped out of my speed just outside Emma's reach, thrusting forward with my spear in order to encase her in ice, rendering her incapable of moving.

As I lunged, Emma darted back, using a combination of her speed and levitation panels to stay just outside of my reach. A wall of water sprang up between us, engulfing my spear's shaft, and I sprang back. As I moved however, my spear was ripped from my grip, pulling me off balance for the brief moment it took me to steady myself from the jolt.

Instead of the fluid consistency of the majority of her attacks, this one was hard water, causing my weapon to act as though it had been stuck in concrete. And with the blade of the spear untouched, the weapon would be unable to turn the water to ice, thus removing Emma's control and freeing the spear.

Smiling to myself at the ingenuity, I gave up the spear and called the Pakari, vaulting the wall instead of going around it as I normally would. I pushed off the solid water, aiming for Emma's armoured form… only to take an electrified chain directly to the face.

I tumbled head over heels, the uppercut sending me flying into the air as I fought to control my spin. The electrified chains were another thing I'd given Emma. With her combat training thus far being solely in her power, she found it difficult to wield any of the weapons I'd created with any ease. Until, that was, we found the chains I'd set aside for another project. With the ability to channel electricity through them via an act of will, I'd intended to use them as makeshift power lines for some of the larger projects I was working on.

It turned out Emma could use them fairly well. With their whip-like qualities it wasn't too hard to see why; her favourite attack was sending tendrils of water whipping through the air in order to cut off paths of retreat after all. If you added that to the fact that her water was able to conduct the electricity, then it really became a match made in heaven.

Of course, the finer points of her weaponry was lost on me as I continued my ascent. Finally managing to orient myself so that when I reached the ceiling, I was able to push off it, rather than crash into it ungracefully, I rocketed back down at my adversary, who simply raised a hand, fingers splayed, and waited. What she was doing quickly became apparent as my momentum slowed, then stopped entirely, leaving me hanging in the air not ten feet away, helpless.

"Okay, Emma." I grinned after a moment, turning my face toward her as best as I was able. "Nice job. I concede."

The second the words left my lips, I was gently set down on the ground, my body restored to my control once more. I pulled my spear out of the now liquid wall, planting it on the ground in order to keep my balance. I looked up at my friend, arms and legs trembling from their exertions.

"Nice trick at the end there. I hadn't even considered using the water in someone's body. I'm guessing that's how you always knew where I was?"

"Ah… Yes."

"Well good job. Really. I should have known the same trick wouldn't have worked twice."

Finally surrendering to gravity, I let my legs give out beneath me as I slumped to the floor, staring up at the ceiling on my back.

"A… are you okay Mistress?"

I'm fine Emma." I waved off her concerns, "I'm just trying to catch my breath."

I patted the floor beside me in invitation and slowly, hesitantly, Emma came over and laid down beside me. We laid there for a few moments, the pair of us catching our breath as we recovered from our spar. As I lay there panting, a thought crossed my mind, something that had been put off for far too long.

"Hey Emma, have you given any thought to your cape name yet?"

"Oh! Ah… Yes, I have."

"Did you decide anything?"

"Yes. I thought about it for a while. It's important after all. I finally came across one that suited me. Given what I am."

It was that sentence that should have set alarm bells ringing in my head. Instead, I asked her what name she'd chosen, unaware that her choice was undoing weeks of therapy in one fell swoop.

"Tuyet."


Despite myself, I shivered as a chill swept down my spine, making me look over my shoulder for an enemy that wasn't there. The name seemed familiar somehow, even though I was sure I hadn't heard it before today. I shook off the chill, congratulating my friend, unaware of the true nature of the name she'd taken on as her own.

"Can I ask you a question?"

'You just did.'

"Cute."

I sighed at the standard interaction between Lisa and Amy. It was almost like seeing two alpha males snap at each other, except this was a pair of smart-asses. While Lisa's shtick was in knowing something you didn't, or more often, something you didn't want other people to know, Amy had a voice dryer than the Sahara and a tongue sharper than a thresher when she put her mind to it.

What was somewhat hard to believe if you didn't know them was that it was because of this that I knew they really did like each other, as opposed to hating each other like it might come across as at first glance. It was because of the fact that all they did was snipe at each other that I knew this. Either of them had the potential to really say something harmful, but never used it, limiting themselves to smaller jabs that were easily brushed aside.

It was quite sweet really. From a certain point of view.

"But seriously, when I met you, you said you weren't a Toa because you were frail. I touched you. I know what's wrong with you. Why don't you ask me to heal you?"

I froze briefly despite my best efforts. This was something Amy and I had discussed. Amy was still new to us. If it seemed we liked her more for Panacea than we did Amy…

'You're my friend.' Came the response. 'I didn't want it to seem that I only like Panacea and not Amy Dallon. I'm not friends with you just on the off chance you might heal me. I didn't want to make it seem like I was.'

I sat, tense as we watched to see if she would accept the reasoning. This was tricky after all, and we didn't know if this would insult her, or if she'd just leave. Out the corner of my eye, I could see Emma had done her best to make herself as small as possible in order to stay out of the confrontation. Several more seconds passed as I waited with baited breath.

"You're an idiot." She huffed eventually, surprising everyone. Even Lisa looked surprised. For about half a second. "You're my friend. I don't mind healing my friends." She held out her hand to Lisa, who sat up with a smile on her face, a smile, not her customary smirk, and put her hand in Amy's bridging the distance between them.

Almost immediately I could see a difference in the way Lisa held herself. Before, she'd had to put most of her weight on the armrest, or the cushions, but now she was holding herself up, straighter than I'd ever seen her.

"I couldn't do anything about your voice." Amy said softly, almost apologetic, but Lisa just shook her head and smiled just as softly back. The blonde reached for her keyboard and was about to start typing when a priority message blinked up onto the screen. Instead of typing out her response, Lisa expanded the message so that it took up the entirety of the screen, making it easy to read:

'You might want to mask up. I'm bringing in a stray. Get the MoM.'

There was a moment during which nothing happened, a moment that all of us spent parsing through the message in our heads, trying to understand what it might mean. Then, we moved. Since we didn't know how long it would be until Sophia returned, it was best to assume we had little time. At my look, Emma jumped up from her seat, racing out the door to gather our helmets.

"Em-Oh-Em?"

The question came from Amy, staring up at the screen, her brow lightly furrowed in confusion.

"The Mask of Mutation." I clarified. "It means she has someone who needs healing." I elaborated at her look.

"But she knows I'm here." She protested, before her eyes widened in realisation, "Or did you not want me to use my-"

"Nothing like that." I cut her off hastily before she could get the wrong impression. "We just don't want people knowing you're here. I mean, it's somewhere you can be yourself right? A sanctuary of sorts. If we tell everyone and their mother that you're here, it stops being one. We don't want that."

I stood up, bending backwards, stretching as I rose. I made sure my Electro-Chute Spear was hanging from my hip and moved toward the door.

"Thank you."

I was stopped by the response, so quiet that if it had not been aimed at me, I would not have thought I was meant to hear it. I looked back over my shoulder and gave Amy a smile, putting all the warmth the response deserved into my words;

"You're our friend."


By the time Sophia returned we were all masked up, Amy in one of the spare helmets I kept aside for such an eventuality. We waited in the teleportation room, unwilling to let someone enter the base proper without first seeing who it was, despite the fact that she was escorted by Sophia. Emma stood behind me and to my left, as usual, and Lisa to my right. The blonde still carried her staff, despite not needing it to walk. She probably thought it made her look more impressive or something. Amy sat to my left, at the console, out of the line of fire if whoever was coming through attempted to take us all out at once.

Suddenly, without warning, one of the teleportation Kanoka set into the pad began to glow, a figure made of light appearing above it a moment later. When the glow dimmed enough for me to be able to see our guest, I was surprised to see I recognised them. The girl standing in front of me was the telekinetic I'd invited back to the base all those weeks ago. Before I could say anything, or even react to her appearance, Sophia appeared in a flash of light next to her, stepping off the pad before the light had even finished dimming.

"Welcome ba-"

My greeting was cut short as I properly took in the state of our guest. Her entire left side was charred, the clothes that had covered her little more than black rags on that side. The skin underneath was red, with blackened spots here and there where the damage had been the worst. Her hair was melted together on one side, and matted with soot on the other. She was gritting her teeth, and a half-melted sheet of metal was slung under her good arm, the tell-tale emerald lines criss-crossing the support were evidence of the fact she was using her power in order to stay upright.

With the pain she must be feeling, I couldn't blame her.

"Do I have your permission to heal you?"

Sorry Amy.

I really didn't want to rip off my friend's catchphrase, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. Every second I wasted was another where the girl was in pain, and I didn't really know how else to ask. I could feel the stare on the back of my head from Amy, and the amusement from Lisa, but I ignored them both in favour of keeping my eyes on the telekinetic. Her eyes opened wide in shock for a second before they clenched in pain once more.

"Yes."

The word was not so much spoken as it was hissed through her teeth as she ground them together. Quickly pacing forwards, I rested my hand on her good shoulder before I turned my attention to her injuries. Even though I could have healed her from my position across the room, I wanted to keep the range aspect of the mask a secret for now.

I concentrated, changing the burn tissue into healthy skin and muscle, using her good arm as a template. She winced as her skin bubbled and shifted under my ministrations, but she didn't move away. Once I was sure all the nerve endings had connected up properly, I took a step back, only realising then that Emma had kept pace with me as I'd moved to heal our guest.

"How is it?" I asked, somewhat worried I'd harmed her in some way.

She rolled her shoulders, blinking at the absence of pain. She flexed her fingers, making a fist, then touching each finger to her thumb before taking a few steps without issue. A relieved smile split her face as she stopped leaning on the sheet of metal, the floating object rising to hover just behind her shoulder.

"Thank you." She said, gratitude seeping from her voice. "That's two I owe you now." She stopped there, taking a furtive look in Sophia's direction before she turned back to me. "And speaking of owing you, I owe you an apology."

I blinked in surprise behind my helmet. Something must have shown in my body language, for she held her hands out before her in a pleading posture.

"You took me into your home for no other reason that I needed it. You didn't know who I was, just what I told you when we met. You gave me a bed, and food, and I spat on your hospitality by insulting your friend. For that I am sorry."

She bowed her head at her last word, almost looking like Emma as she did so. I blinked away my shock, rapidly thinking through her words.

"Ah, that's-"

"The way you treated me, like I was worth more than the sum of my powers, like I had worth as an individual, gave me a lot to think about. I won't use it as an excuse, but I was raised a, a Nazi. And I couldn't fathom why you, someone so nice, so giving would hang around with the likes of- with someone non-white."

I could physically see the moment she bit back the words she'd been about to say, the snarl that twisted her lips as she re-thought her speech. It was something I'd not even considered before. The parents may be racist in the way the term was really used, may be bigots. But the children? If you taught a child growing up that the sky was green and the grass blue, that became truth for them. The children of these people didn't know that the views they held as truths were wrong. It didn't make their racism any more acceptable, but it was at least understandable. If they had been taught by their parents that anyone not of 'their race' was 'the enemy', then was it any wonder they grew up spouting the same views? Especially if the entire community was the same way, where was any other outside view going to get heard? They would grow up thinking that was the way the world was.

"But the longer I spent alone on the streets, the more I began to realise I was wrong. Many of the people that reached out a hand to me in support were Black, or even Asian. It's funny really. Those that said they would have my back and support me abandoned me at the first opportunity, where those I'd always been told were worthless were the first ones to help me. It really does wonders for a girl's worldview. And then there's Shadow Stalker over there."

I looked to where Sophia leaned against the wall, seemingly unconcerned with the conversation. I had wondered why she continued to seek out the one who had insulted her so. It was out of character for her. Well, out of character before we had realised the effects my Linking had on Parahumans.

"Of everyone, she was the person I could shake the least. Sometimes she would bring me food, and we'd talk. Sometimes we'd fight, and I would lose each time. But each time, after she left, I would feel guiltier, more unsure of myself. I wanted to return, to apologise to you for what I did, what I said, before it became too late. I guess I was a coward."

Her voice dropped at the end, the self-recriminating tone clear for everyone to hear. But that didn't explain why she was here now, why she had been so injured. I had an idea, but I didn't want to voice it for fear of my suspicions being true.

"So what happened? Why are you here?"

The question was asked by Amy, sitting off to the side, leaning forward in her chair, her chin resting on her fist as she stared intently at the girl before her.

"What happened?" The girl echoed, the laugh filled with no humour.

"Lung happened."

I closed my eyes, my shoulders slumping as my worst fears were confirmed. Suicide by Cape. If first her family had abandoned her, then those she was supposed to call comrades, and after she alienated those who held out a hand in support, it was not inconceivable she would think she had nowhere else to go. I knew that feeling. The crushing powerlessness, the inability to change your own fate. It was a cloying fear that never really vanished, the memory of shadows clinging to you even if you managed to rise above it.

"I was staying in ABB territory. I didn't want to come up against any of the Empire's people, and I thought, where else was better to hide than in the lair of the enemy? But he found me. I was stealing scraps from a stall when his goons spotted me. And Lung really doesn't like anyone stealing from him. I managed to stick a few lampposts into him before he ramped up too far, but if it wasn't for Shadow Stalker, I'd be dead. We had an argument, I told her why I'd been avoiding you, and here I am. I owe you. And I'd like to help you, if you'll have me."

I shook my head in consternation. I supposed I'd be getting used to picking up strays by now. I sighed and quickly flicked my fingers in a pre-arranged motion, and a few seconds later, a yes/no box appeared on my visor. Lisa had used her Kanohi to send the question through the systems, allowing all of us to make the decision on whether she could stay anonymously. As I'd said to Amy before. This was a sanctuary for all of us. I wasn't about to jeopardise that. I chose my decision with my eyes, and waited for the rest of the room to vote.

Five seconds later, the screen changed to the tally screen; three yes's, one no and one absentee. I smiled at the decision, although no-one could see it.

"Very well." I declared, seeing the relief almost flood through her body. "Welcome to the motley crew. There's a few rules we'll have to get straight before we can truly accept you, but first, why don't you give us your name?"

"Cassandra Herren." She offered, before she screwed up her features in thought.

"But she died that night in the fire. I don't think I want to be that person any more. I want to change."

She stood, silent, head down in thought, as the rest of us waited for her decision. After a few seconds, she raised her head, looking straight at me.

"Call me Stephanie."


"No Dad, I haven't finished it yet. I have been working on id don't worry. I'm looking forward to riding it, it's just things keep interrupting me. Yes, I know. Uh-huh."

I smiled as I spoke to my dad over the phone. He was worried that I hadn't taken his concerns over my priorities into consideration, even though the half-built frame in my workshop proved otherwise.

"No, I'm not in trouble, and neither are the others. We just seem to keep picking up strays is all. We're just getting them settled in. after they know what they've let themselves in for, I'll be able to devote more time to it. Anyway, that's enough about me. How was your day?"

I looked over the room at my friends as I listened to my dad's voice. Sophia and Emma were explaining out rules, our code to Stephanie, Emma having not-so-subtly interposed herself between the newcomer and myself. Over on another sofa, Lisa was attempting to teach Amy sign language. Given she was mute, it would be important to learn so we could communicate with her more efficiently, rather than waiting for her to write or type everything she wanted to say when she was unmasked.

After wishing my dad a good night and apologising that I wouldn't be home for dinner, I put my phone back in my pocket and stood, moving over to the three clustered around the small table in the middle of the room. I'd not moved so much as three paces before the alarms went off again. But this time it was the base alert, not the Endbringer alarm. We all froze for a second in shock, before Lisa shook herself out of her stupor, calling on the power of her Kanohi to identify the source of the alert. I too reached out with my power, feeling for any disturbance in the base through my gear, and what I found shocked me.

One of the teleportation Kanoka had been activated from outside. That was impossible. Only myself, and those I linked to, knew how to use my tech. it wasn't like this was one of the Kanoka I'd used to teleport dad and the Dockworkers at my debut, or the Kanoka that sat inside my dad's watch. They could be used by anyone, simply containing the power that I'd fused it with. But the Kanoka that made up our teleportation network were different. They had to be activated manually, with an act of will. I wasn't stupid enough to leave teleportation pads around where anyone could use them. There would be chaos.

I looked up as the screen blinked to life over our heads. Sure enough, there was a figure I'd never seen before stepping off the pad, looking around in curiosity. He was around my height, with pale skin and hair so blonde it almost shone gold. He had bright blue eyes and a sculpted physique, more of a sprinter or a swimmer than a bodybuilder, he was lean rather than big, the muscles pushing against his shirt but not threatening to tear it. He looked to be around my age, but his curiosity made him seem younger as he gazed around with wide eyes.

The information flew through my mind in the span of half a second, and before I knew it I was barking orders.

"Fragarach, take the console and get the defences online. Stephanie, Green, go with her. Shadow Stalker, Tuyet, you're with me."

The six of us split up, three flashes of light enveloping myself, Sophia and Emma as our armour formed around us. We raced through the corridors toward the teleportation room, questions running through my mind all the while.

I made a slashing motion with my hand, Shadow Stalker shifting to shadow and lunging through the wall even as we continued to run. A handful of seconds later, Tuyet and I burst through the door to the teleportation room, startling the intruder.

"Don't move!" I barked, pulling my spear as I felt Tuyet settle into her stance behind me, the sound of crackling electricity heralding her own preparations. A split second later, Shadow Stalker tumbled out of the wall in a roll, placing herself between the boy and the teleportation pad, a Kanoka already loaded and pointed at his back.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?"

It wasn't a question. It was an order. Anger and fear shot through me in equal amounts. If there was some flaw with my tech, I needed to figure it out, and fast. I'd thought that I was the only one able to use my tech, and those I linked with. If someone could subvert that…

"Uhh, they said to call me Isacc."

His voice was twisted in confusion, almost as though he couldn't fathom why we were so hostile. It had to be a trick. I tensed, waiting for him to continue. The longer he spoke, the more information Fragarach had to pull from, so for now, I was buying time.

"And I got in the same way I'm assuming you did. I used the teleportation Kanoka. They didn't tell you I was coming?"

I froze. How did he know what they were called? This was something more dangerous than a random passerby using my tech. some sort of power copier? I ran through the ramifications in my head. Of all the things I'd assumed were under my control, suddenly far less secure than they were a minute ago. I was in such a panic, it took a second for the latter half of his sentence to filter through my awareness.

"Wait. We were supposed to be expecting you?"

"You were supposed to." He blinked, "They must have forgotten. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to panic you."

I dropped my stance, but kept myself tense inside my armour, ready to strike. He really did seem apologetic, and the [Truth] that flashed up on my HUD curtesy of Fragarach lent credence to that idea. Still, we needed more information.

"Who's they?"

"Oh, Alexandria and Eidolon."

What.

"Why would Alexandria send you to me? And for that matter how did you get in? Even if you know what the Kanoka are, only those I link with can use them."

He seemed to understand my worry now, his eyes widening slightly even as he let out an 'ah' of comprehension.

"Don't worry. That's still true. I got in because I can use Kanoka without your power. No-one else on this planet can do that."

That was something at least, but didn't really answer any of my questions, just made new ones. It was his next statement however, that really set me on edge.

"But as for why Alexandria would send me, well I'm where your power came from."


So yup, have fun with that. But there's one more chapter, then after that we get the finale of the arc, Finally. And with that, Forging will come to a close. So I'll see you for the next one!