"Out of the question!" Isaac exclaimed, pacing. Xorelaz, Vylania, and Horace were in the War room with him, a map of Central City displayed on the projector.
"Have you all forgotten this bullshit almost got me and Xorelaz killed?! And I can't just leave! I have a daughter now!" Isaac said, exasperated.
"That should be all the more reason to help us stop the Bubble Bomb epidemic! Think about your daughter! Think about what kind of world she's going to grow up in, these things being on the streets! Also, how long do you think it'll be until Bubble Bombs make it to the Kingdom of Acorn?" Horace explained.
Isaac cursed under his breath, it not being a thought he wanted to consider. He knew how bad these things could mess up a man, not even mentioning how one chemist could corrupt an entire city with a series of chemicals meant for laundering clothes.
"Does Sally know you were going to ask me?" Isaac asked.
"We ran it by her before we asked. Wanted to make sure she didn't feel like this was out of her control. After all, you two are married now. By the way, how come we didn't get invited to your wedding?" Vylania asked.
"We didn't have a ceremony. I was crippled at the time, so we just signed the papers, and me and the others had a few drinks at the bar." Isaac explained.
Isaac looked at the projection of Central City, seeing the highlighted hotspots scattered throughout the city.
"So, these hotspots… what's the significance of them?" Isaac asked.
"Chem labs. We managed to get some military-grade scanners from a police auction, and we did a thermal scan from Horace's car as we went through the city. These hotspots are consistent with high-grade chemical laboratories." Xorelaz answered.
"High-grade? How does someone get something like that?" Isaac asked.
"Lab equipment that produces that kind of heat is usually used for manufacturing pharmaceuticals. If they got their hands on them, then it either means they stole them, or…" Horace began to say, gesturing towards Isaac to figure the rest out. Isaac's eyes widened, realizing what Keith had said last year.
"…Or were provided by a pharmaceutical company." Isaac finished.
"And guess what was just released to the pharmaceutical market two months ago?" Vylania asked, handing Isaac a paper advertisement. Isaac looked at it, seeing the advertisement was for a bubble bomb treatment drug, advertised to treat withdrawal symptoms and eventually help the user to quit completely. It was being produced by something called 'Genesis Labs Pharmaceuticals'.
"Let's see if I got this straight: First, they flood the streets with bubble bombs. Second, they make sure a steady supply can be produced at any given moment. And finally, they release a treatment drug to treat people for their addiction, having caused the issue in the first place. Is that accurate?" Isaac asked, surmising the entirety of what they were grabbing at.
"Pretty much. Once they figured out my bubble bombs could act as a potent narcotic instead of a laundry booster, it was just a matter of finding cartels to produce the hell out of them and making them the next designer drug. After that, they release a drug to treat addiction, and then hope the treated people get hooked on them again." Horace answered.
"You mean the Flaming Skulls?" Isaac asked. Horace shook his head.
"The Flaming Skulls was a little fish in a big ocean. These are international cartels stationed throughout the city! G.U.N. has been trying to figure out their operations, but having a ton of money makes it easy, moving equipment through the city inconspicuously. But there's a solution." Horace explained.
"What's the solution?" Isaac asked.
"All the equipment, parts, and all, have serial numbers. If we can get into these hideouts, and take pictures of the serial numbers, we can send them to the proper officials, who will be able to trace the equipment to Genesis Labs Pharmaceuticals." Xorelaz explained.
"Wait, we?" Isaac asked. Vylania and Xorelaz nodded.
"We may not have our Demonic abilities anymore, but we can still fight! And we're not about to let the city fall any further than it already has!" Vylania exclaimed.
Isaac smiled, glad to have some people on his team for a change!
"Alright, but if we're doing this, we need a base of operations. Do you guys know anywhere we could set that up?" Isaac asked.
"Our apartment! It's right near Shenandoah Residences!" Vylania answered, showing their apartment on the map.
"Our apartment? Oh, come on!" Xorelaz responded, not liking that idea. Vylania sighed, putting her hands on her hips.
"Listen, once we get the ball rolling, Isaac can go back home, and G.U.N. then takes over the entire operation." Vylania explained. Xorelaz rolled his eyes, not thinking it would be that simple.
"If it was that simple, they would've taken care of this months ago. Okay, you can crash on the couch until we get the ball rolling. But you're chipping in for groceries!" Xorelaz relented.
"Got it. What kind of weaponry are we expecting?" Isaac asked, bringing up a list of international cartels that had members get arrested for possession of bubble bombs.
"A lot of these guys get military-grade weapons off the black market. Guns that can shoot through reinforced steel like paper! And don't even ask what they can do to flesh and bone!" Vylania explained.
"Avoid being seen. Got it." Isaac responded.
Horace looked at his watch, tapping the glass lens.
"The boat back will be here in about two hours. Make sure your packed and ready to go. Say your goodbyes and we'll meet you at the docks." Horace said, before opening the exit door.
Horace, Xorelaz, and Vylania left the War Room, Isaac being the last one. Isaac sighed, knowing he had to leave his wife, daughter, and sister once more. Isaac walked out of the room, seeing Sally was waiting for him outside. Before he could say anything, Sally lovingly kissed him, tears streaming down her face. Isaac returned the kiss, before she broke it. She sniffled a bit, before clearing her throat.
"Promise you'll return safe!" Sally pleaded. Isaac nodded, wanting nothing more.
"I promise! As soon as G.U.N. starts getting a hold of things back in the city, I'll be flying back home as soon as I can!" Isaac promised. Sally nodded, before kissing him again.
Thirty Minutes Later:
Isaac was packing a large trunk in his and Sally's room, packing the clothes he wore when he was Issachar Horowitz. He was packing his fake I.D. and passport, making sure he had every chance to be incognito while staking out the chem lab locations. As he was packing, Lily barged into the room, carrying with her a large suitcase, dragging it with two hands.
"Come on! We're going to be late for the boat!" Lily exclaimed, setting her suitcase down.
"Oh no, you don't! This is far too dangerous! These aren't Honorius soldiers with swords and knives! These are dangerous criminals with guns strong enough to blow holes through armored vehicles! You're staying here where it's safe." Isaac chastised, before closing his trunk.
"Leave your suitcase if you want, but you're not coming. Now, I have to grab a few more things, but I expect you to stay here." Isaac said, before giving his sister a hug.
"Now, behave yourself." Isaac said, before walking out of the room.
After a quick stop at the library for a few books, Isaac went back to the room, seeing Lily's suitcase was still there, but Lily was gone. Isaac picked up his trunk, lifting it to his chest, and began walking out of the room.
After a walk to the dock, Isaac set the trunk down on the deck of Nick's boat, stretching out his back. Sally was waiting for Isaac, holding Camilla. Isaac gently took Camilla out of her arms, holding her close to him, kissing her forehead.
"Goodbye, my daughter. I will see you soon." Isaac whispered, before giving a kiss to his wife.
Isaac returned Camilla to Sally, before boarding the boat. Isaac smiled, waving to his family. But he noticed that Lily wasn't there to say goodbye. He sighed, thinking she took him telling her she couldn't go with him a bit hard.
"Anchor goin' up!" Nick yelled out, the sound of the chain scraping against the side of the vessel.
The boat lurched forward, the wind filling the sail of the boat as they began to distance away from the dock. Isaac was still waiving to Sally and Camilla, only stopping when they were faint figures in the distance. I hand rested on Isaac's shoulder, Isaac turning his head. It was Horace, who had a smile on his face.
"They'll be fine. We'll be in Central City in just a few hours. Just relax until we get there." Horace said, patting his shoulder before walking back to the bow.
Isaac carried his trunk into the cabin of the boat, setting it down gently next to Nick's desk. He stretched out his arms, before sitting down in an adjacent chair. He sighed, his head leaning back on his shoulders, beginning to doze off. After what seemed like a few moments, Isaac felt a hand shaking him, Isaac's eyes flying open! Nick, the old Scotsman, was shaking him awake.
"Time to get goin', lad. Ol' Bess is docked." Nick said, Isaac yawning, getting out of his chair.
Isaac bent down and grabbed the trunk off of the floor, walking out of the cabin door. Isaac walked down the boarding ramp, a car waiting for them at the end of the dock.
"Come on! I actually want to get home tonight!" Horace exclaimed, before honking the horn several times!
Twenty-five minutes later:
The car stopped in front of a two-story apartment, Vylania and Xorelaz getting out of the car, opening the door for Isaac. Isaac stepped out of the car, Xorelaz walking to the front door, unlocking the door.
"Welcome home, cousin. Hope you like the place. And if you don't, then too bad." Vylania said, joking a bit.
Isaac chuckled, before climbing the steps to the front door. Stepping into the apartment, he saw that it was very clean, plain white walls making up most of the rooms. The living room had blue carpeting, a large sofa, a large flat screen tv, and a walnut coffee table. The kitchen was tiled, both floors and walls. It was equipped with a large four-burner stove, a refrigerator, a small dining table with four chairs, and a row of appliances.
"Wow. You guys did pretty well for yourselves." Isaac observed. Xorelaz laughed.
"Says the guy who literally lives in a castle!" Xorelaz responded, before Isaac set his trunk down next to the couch.
"So, do you still have the clothes you wore when you were hiding out here the first time?" Vylania asked.
"Yeah, just let me get a pair of them, and I can change." Isaac said, before opening the trunk door.
"Surprise!" Lily exclaimed, popping out of the trunk! Being the last thing he expected, Isaac jumped back a bit, his hand over his heart!
"Holy- How long were you hiding in there?!" Isaac asked.
"Since before you left the castle." Lily answered, climbing out of the trunk.
Ten Minutes Later:
"Yeah, she's fine. Yeah, she was hiding out in my trunk. I know. Yes, I'm aware. Xorelaz and Vylania said they will watch her while I'm working. Yes, I'm calling it work. Why? Well, I'm not doing this for fun, so I can only call it work. I know it's dangerous, but trust me, I'm going to take as many precautions as I can. Okay. Okay. I love you, too. Goodbye." Isaac said, before hanging up the phone.
Isaac groaned, his back resting against the sofa. He was changed into his city clothes: a pair of jeans, his sneakers, and a T-shirt.
"What'd she say?" Vylania asked, handing Isaac a bottle of water.
"Sally just found out Lily was gone when I called her, but she's fine with the idea of you guys watching her, instead of me flying her back to the Kingdom of Acorn." Isaac answered.
"Well… the living room is no place for a young lady to sleep. She can stay in my room. I'll move my stuff out and I'll stay in Xorelaz's room." Vylania responded.
"Is there enough room for you in his room?" Isaac asked.
"Wouldn't be the first time I stayed in his room." Vylania said, before leading Lily to check out her room for the time. Isaac looked over to Xorelaz, a questioning look on his face.
"What?" Xorelaz questioned, Isaac grinning.
"And you two aren't dating?" Isaac asked, before walking into the kitchen, Xorelaz following.
"It isn't like that! Just… sometimes, when Vylania has a nightmare, she prefers to sleep in my room to feel safer." Xorelaz explained.
"What kind of nightmares?" Isaac asked.
"Same ones I get. Nightmares about the Inferno. About Lucifer finding us and damning us. Difference between me and her, I… well, I just don't mention them." Xorelaz revealed.
Isaac opened the fridge, seeing a few bottles of water. Isaac looked around, before closing the fridge.
"We're going to need to go grocery shopping today." Isaac said.
"We made sure to use up everything in the fridge before we went to visit you guys. Wouldn't want to come home and find mold growing in the fridge." Xorelaz responded. Isaac nodded, before walking back to the living room.
"By the way, are you going to tell us why you were acting weird a few days ago?" Xorelaz asked. Isaac sighed, knowing talking about it would help himself, but wanted to forget what had happened.
"Sally and I were chasing after Alicia. We went and found ourselves in an alternate universe because of a Warp Ring. There, I met the alternate version of myself, who was a ruthless bounty hunter." Isaac began.
"Later, Alicia attempted to shoot him, but I managed to ignite the powder in the bullets while they were still in the gun, and… I died." Isaac finished.
"You died?" Xorelaz asked, not believing him.
"A piece of shrapnel managed to lodge itself in my head. Apparently, it killed me almost instantly. Deimos, the alternate version of me, said that after he immediately killed Alicia, he took a piece of her soul and used it to retrieve mine before I passed on." Isaac explained.
"Holy shit! I've heard stories from the damned in Heresy, but I didn't know it could actually work!" Xorelaz exclaimed.
"Stories?" Isaac asked.
"Yeah! I've heard stories where old sorcerers would kill someone, and then use pieces of their souls to resurrect others, mainly to serve them as undead slaves. But since he revived you immediately, he prevented you from becoming an undead." Xorelaz explained.
"Sometimes… it seems the world slows down for me. Other times, things move so fast, it's almost impossible to keep track of my surroundings." Isaac admitted, Xorelaz led him to the table, sitting him down. Xorelaz sat himself down at the table as well.
"Anything else?" He asked.
"I felt like a stranger in my own skin. Still do, sometimes. It… sometimes, it feels like I'm suffocating in my own body. And as sudden as the feeling comes to me, it goes away. But in that brief time… it terrifies me!" Isaac answered. Xorelaz nodded.
"I've heard of those feelings before. From what I remember, it's because your soul is still trying to anchor itself to your body. Now, it's not like it's going to one day just leave. But it will take time until you feel whole again. After that, the feelings of slowing down and speeding up should subside. But until then, keep track of your surroundings. If it happens while you're somewhere else, it could put you in a situation where it becomes dangerous." Xorelaz explained.
Isaac nodded, praying that his newly found condition will soon remedy itself. He got up from the kitchen table, walking back to the trunk he had brought in. He further went through his things, taking the ID's of his alias and pocketing them.
"Alright, Lily is settled in my room. Now, if we're going to make dinner tonight, we're going to need to go shopping. I assume you'll want to go with us, correct?" Vylania asked Isaac.
"Yeah, I better. My old boss from my grocery store job will probably want to know why I didn't report into work the past ten months." Isaac joking answered, getting up off of the floor.
20 Minutes Later:
Xorelaz was closing the door behind him, locking his car. Vylania was already quick in getting a shopping cart, Lily walking beside her. Isaac was stretching out his sides, catching up to the girls.
"Hey, you guys get started with the shopping, and I'll catch up later. I'm gonna talk to Arnold. He'll probably want to know why I haven't been showing up to work." Isaac explained.
They soon entered the store, the automated doors opening and a strong gust of air hitting them as they entered. Isaac walked over to the management office, giving the door a few knocks. After a bit, the door opened, revealing Arnold, the manager. He was more fit since Isaac had last seen him. He was more trim, his skin having a healthy glow. His head was cleanly shaven, a new choice in hairstyle. He smiled as soon as he saw him, revealing to have had professional dental work done as well.
"Mr. Horowitz! So good to see you, again! Please, come in!" Arnold said, Isaac walking in.
"Rather cheery for seeing an ex-employee that hadn't shown up to work in almost a year." Isaac commented.
"Well, I saw that fight you had in the city on tv while we were working, so in truth, I thought you had more important priorities after something like that. Now, unfortunately, if you're here to work, I had already terminated your employment here." Arnold answered. Isaac chuckled a bit, shaking his head.
"No, nothing like that. I just came to see how you're holding up." Isaac responded. Arnold smiled again, before walking over to his desk.
"I'm fantastic! Shortly after your fight, I joined a health club. Got myself into shape, got a tan, and after all that, decided to get my dental up to par with the rest of me! I'm great! My wife says I've got the energy of a man half my age! By the way, how's your other half?" Arnold asked.
"She's great, actually. We had our daughter almost two months ago. I'm just back in the city to take care of some business." Isaac responded. Arnold nodded, smiling.
"Well, that's great to hear! Now, while I appreciate the drop-in, I have to get back to my work. These inventory and requisition forms don't fill themselves out. But feel free to come by anytime for all your shopping needs." Arnold said, before holding the door open.
Isaac smiled, nodding. He soon left the office, Arnold gently closing the door. He walked around the store, looking for the others. He soon saw them in the produce aisle, Isaac stretching out his arms as he walked towards them. Xorelaz saw him, before putting a bag of apples into the cart.
"I guess you're not gainfully employed at this time, right?" He asked, Isaac reaching the cart.
"Would you be if you didn't show up for work for almost a year?" Isaac asked.
"Well… I mean, we did save Horace's life a few times, so I think I still have a favor or two lying around." Xorelaz responded. Vylania shook her head.
"We saved his life so many times, he put in a rule that life-saving favors don't roll over into the next fiscal year." She commented.
As they shopped, they were getting stopped by the others who worked there, recognizing Isaac from when he worked there. As they continued, Isaac was stocking up his section of the cart with kosher items, having acquired a craving for them while he was living as Issachar Horowitz. But as they worked their way back to the check-out, Isaac saw a tall man shopping with a hand cart, wearing a suit. He stood out to him, not because of his height or clothes, but because any and all skin that Isaac could see was wrapped in medical gauze, let alone a strip where his eyes were, an intense blue color.
"Who is that man?" Isaac quietly said, never before seeing him. Xorelaz looked over, seeing the figure.
"Huh… I don't know." Xorelaz said, focusing a bit of his remnant power to read his soul. But after a few moments, the man's eyes glanced over, as if he could sense Xorelaz's attempt. Xorelaz quickly looked away, his face having gone pale.
"Let's just check out and get out of here." Xorelaz hurriedly said, quickly walking over to an open counter.
As they did, Isaac remained, still perplexed, and fascinated by this man, who he felt some kind of familiarness. The man soon walked away, moving to a different aisle. Isaac soon walked back to the others, their items getting tallied up.
"Hey, what did you see?" Isaac quietly asked. Xorelaz shook his head.
"Nothing!" Xorelaz hissed, almost as if he was terrified. Isaac became silent, before Xorelaz quickly paid for the groceries, moving the bags to the cart, and pushing it towards the exit.
They soon loaded up the car and entered it, Xorelaz looking around, making sure the man wasn't around.
"Xorelaz, what did you see?" Vylania asked, knowing he saw something. Xorelaz took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure.
"You don't want to know… trust me." Xorelaz responded, before shifting into gear and driving out of the parking lot.
As Xorelaz drove back to the apartment, Xorelaz slowed down, subtly pointing to the old warehouse.
"That's where we got one of the heat signatures. Now, later tonight, we're going to need you to get in, not be seen, and take pictures of the serial numbers on the manufacturing equipment. As soon as you do that, send me the pictures to my email, and then get your ass out of there." Xorelaz explained.
"Sounds simple enough." Isaac responded.
"Easier said than done. You're gonna have to make sure they don't see you. If they see you, then you might get identified later on. Either that or make it so they can't identify you." Vylania added.
"I don't think it would be a good idea to go in as the demon or the angel. I'll have to take my time to get in. Probably through the vents." Isaac commented.
Xorelaz soon resumed the speed limit, making sure to not make themselves a target. Soon, they arrived at the apartment, Xorelaz parking the car in his spot. He breathed a sigh of relief, before he heard a tapping at his window. He looked to his left, seeing the bandaged man he saw at the market, standing at his window! He motioned for him to roll down his window, Xorelaz reluctantly doing so.
"C-can I help y-you?" Xorelaz stuttered. The man reached into his suit jacket, Xorelaz's right hand reaching down between his seat and the console. The man pulled out a wallet from his jacket, Xorelaz's hand retreating from the space he was reaching into.
"I saw you had dropped your wallet back at the supermarket, but I wasn't able to hand it to you before you had left." The man explained, his voice low-pitched, slightly hoarse.
He handed the wallet to Xorelaz, before shifting a slight gaze at Isaac. After a moment, the man walked away, walking towards a large cathedral at the end of the street. Xorelaz breathed a shaky sigh of relief, leaning back into his seat.
"Oh, that scared the shit out of me." Xorelaz admitted, before getting out of the car.
"Tonight, you're going to tell me what you saw." Vylania said, getting out of the car as well.