AN: I know, I know. Nearly a month and no updates. I'm so sorry for those who waited. I've been a little busy lately, but rest assured this story is nowhere close to being dropped. Please bear with me here.
That morning, Lincoln returned to his hotel room after the meeting with Atlas.
Thanks to his energy reserves, he wasn't tired, but he still wouldn't mind resting a bit before heading back.
For now, though, he didn't know what to do and was feeling bored. Staring up at the lovely clear blue sky through his hotel room window, he gazed at that blurred line across the horizon. He still wondered what that was.
Sitting on his bed a few minutes later, he wondered if he should check out Willy's restaurant again. Or maybe he should just walk around and see if he would find something.
Maybe he could go to a park or museum. He heard about an aquarium with exotic fish and other wildlife too. There was probably some show happening as well. It was a huge city, after all. There was definitely something waiting for him.
After wondering for a few minutes, he received a knock at the door. He expected the hotel staff to be there, perhaps to clean the room or some other five-star perk. But instead, it was none other than a familiar face, Kenner, wearing the same jeans and jacket from yesterday.
He smiled up at him. "Oh, Kenner! What are you doing here?" He asked. "You know, other than staying at the hotel." He finished with a chuckle. "What's up?"
Kenner grinned at him. "Nothing much, man! Right after the match ended I got my hands repaired." He said, showing them and wiggling his fingers.
"Nice! Wanna come in?" Lincoln offered, standing aside.
"Sure." He walked in and took in the look.
"How'd you find my room anyway?" Lincoln asked. A scenario of Kenner going to everyone's doors one by one popped up in his head.
"I asked the lady downstairs." He answered, popping Lincoln's thought bubble. "And damn! I didn't know it would be first-class!"
Lincoln sheepishly scratched his head. "Yeah."
Kenner walked around the room. There were two parts to it. The bed sat on the left, with a television at the far end of it. On the other part of the room was a slightly lower floor, where the room to the washroom was, along with a large glass window to look outside and gaze at the bright city.
"So what brings you?" Lincoln asked kindly.
Kenner turned to him and said, "Just came to say hi since I knew where to find you. What are you up to?"
"Well, I'm not doing much." Lincoln told. "Just chilling around at the moment before I head off to do something."
"Sweet. Did you know some of the others got hired by the Big Bosses?"
"Really?" Lincoln walked over to a small fridge beside his bed. "Want something to drink by the way?"
"Sure! Got some pop?" He went over to lean on the little counter.
"Yup."
"Thanks. And yeah, I heard a lot of them got hired, but I'm not certain who specifically. I got hired too."
Lincoln brought out two cans of pop from the fridge. "Is that so?" He gave one to Kenner, who opened it and sipped some.
"Yeah. They got some work that I would enjoy. That's what they said anyway. Once I'm done with that Imma head out."
"And what are you doing after that?"
The man shrugged. "I don't really have a plan. I mostly go around and wing it. Usually works."
"I wonder if that would be fun. Free falling every day of the week without a goal. Doesn't sound like something I would do." Lincoln pondered, taking a sip of his pop.
"What about you?" Kenner asked, drinking some more pop. "Anyone hired you for work?"
Lincoln shook his head, preferring not to blow his cover to a potential adversary.
"Wow, really? I'm surprised." Said Kenner, widening his eyes.
Lincoln shrugged. He thought about the possibility of meeting Kenner again in the future during his upcoming job. That would make them enemies if that happened. He debated telling Kenner how he and Mikey were in the process of saving the city.
"Hey. Are you in a rush? Or do you wanna chill here for a bit?" Lincoln asked. "I can order us some food."
Kenner instantly procured a smile on his face once he heard the word "food."
"Sure thing! I'm in!"
Using the hotel phone, Lincoln rang down and ordered them some food. They waited around half an hour for it, chatting with each other the entire time. Once the goods were brought at Lincoln's door on a fancy wheel table and trays, they feasted happily.
Lincoln enjoyed having Kenner's company. He honestly felt a little lonely lately. Living alone did that to him. But for now, he was content with this. During their chat, Lincoln and Kenner exchanged contact info before they forgot.
Midway through their talk, Lincoln remembered something that he was curious about.
"So where did you learn how to use Boiling Blood?" He asked.
"Oh, that?" Kenner grinned. "That's just something I learned back in my home village." He explained. My pops taught me when he figured out I was getting into street fights. He wanted me to be able to hold my own."
"I see." Lincoln said, taking a bite out of some fries." And it increases your speed and power?"
"Pretty much." He nodded. "The people who can use it best are the ones with the most stamina since it drains quickly. That's the only downside really. It's simple but very effective."
Soon enough, all the food was eaten, and Kenner decided to make his way out.
"Alright." He said, stepping through the front door. "I'll see you later, man."
"I hope so." Lincoln replied, sticking his hand out. "You're a great guy, Kenner."
Kenner put on a cheeky smile. "Thanks, you too. I'm glad I met ya."
They slapped their hands together into a firm handshake. And once all was done, Kenner made his way out.
Lincoln closed his hotel room door and sighed. He decided to take a nap.
Hours later, Lincoln rustled in bed and awoke calmly. He tossed a little in his sheets, not wanting to leave the warm bed.
He laid there for a couple of minutes before sighing and getting up. He got his Inventory and made sure he had his usual things.
He didn't need to change out of his regular clothes, so he was already set to leave. With that, he made his way out of the hotel and headed to Atlas's building.
"Sorry, sir. But you are not permitted to go up there."
Lincoln looked up at the two workers blocking his way, both males wearing well-fitted grey suits. They had stern looks but still looked easy enough to talk with. He had tried to get to the elevator to head to the boardroom, but these two guys intercepted him.
"For the last time, Atlas hired me!" He tried to reason.
"That's Mr. Atlas to you!" One of them said, looking at his partner for a second.
"Look…" The other started. "We know you're Lincoln from the top two of the tournament. But even so, we can't let you get in without any sort of proof. Do you have any ID by chance?"
"A note from Mr. Atlas with a signature?" The other put in.
"A selfie?"
"A password?"
"We don't have passwords."
A little frustration started to build up, but he contained himself.
Thankfully, someone called out from somewhere.
"Let him through!"
Lincoln and the two guys looked over to the female voice.
Shade strutted over with her hands on her hips, her short legs moving quickly.
The two men instantly went pale. "Ms. Shade…"
"We-"
"This is Lincoln, a guest of Atlas. And you will let him in please." She commanded.
"Yes, ma'am. Sorry." The two guys made their way out of the lobby, dipping their heads to Lincoln in apology.
The boy stared at them as they left, a little dumbfounded.
"Don't mind them. They're just doing their jobs." Shade said before making her way to the elevator. Lincoln followed.
After a ride up, Shade took him to one of the office rooms. It was empty and quiet. "I'll make you an ID. It'll save you from any trouble for later."
She went up to the first computer in the lab and started to work on it. Lincoln waited as she typed on the computer. The only sounds in the room were the humming of systems and the tapping of keys.
She suddenly paused her typing. "Do you have a last name?"
Lincoln was about to answer but stopped before he did, his mouth slack to speak. He cleared his throat quickly and said, "No. I don't."
"Very well." Shade said and continued typing.
"Do you have a last name?" He asked.
"Olson." She answered without hesitation. "Did you not know your parents or something?"
Lincoln leaned against the wall, hands in his hoodie pockets. His mind was swarming with good and bad thoughts, but he didn't show it.
"No." He eventually said, his voice clear and concise. "Never did."
Lincoln sat down in the boardroom.
Now, only the two of them waited patiently in the boardroom together. Both Mikey and Atlas are yet to arrive.
It was too quiet for Lincoln's liking, so he looked over to Shade. She was on her smart tablet sitting on the other side of the long table.
"I never thought you'd be this… professional." Lincoln said.
She paused and looked up at him. "What do you mean?"
"Well back at Club Volcano, you were so much more…"
"Fun?" Shade put on a little smile.
"Yeah."
She returned to her tablet for a moment, then said, "I was off the job then. I was only enjoying myself. Now that I'm back here, it's all serious business."
Lincoln nodded. "I see."
"Why do you ask? Am I too professional for you?" She asked in a teasing tone.
"No, I just found it… odd I guess. But it's no big deal."
Shade giggled. "Where are those two?" She asked aloud. "I should go make sure no one's keeping Mikey from coming up."
But just then, the door to the boardroom opened, and Atlas rolled in. Right behind him was Mikey, who strolled in with his hands in his pockets.
"Nevermind then." Shade went back to her tablet.
"Ah, you're already here, Lincoln. Excellent. We'll get started right away."
He rolled up to the front, and Mikey sat next to Lincoln.
"You boys have a good rest?" Atlas asked.
"Yeah." Lincoln said while Mikey simply nodded.
Atlas nodded back before clearing his throat. "The plan for today is simple. Recon."
The screen behind him lit up, courtesy of Shade on her tablet. It showed a tall building rotating around to reveal all angles.
"I'm going to have you two go with Shade to each of their corporate buildings. The reason I want this done in the daytime is because that is when those buildings have the least activity."
"So we're less likely to be caught." Mikey said.
"Precisely."
Mikey slumped back. "Boring."
"You're going to head with Shade so she can use some of our tech to scan the building. While she's doing that, you can check for any weak points, cameras, entrances, and other ways you could get in. We may have the blueprints, but it's going to take more than that for this to be successful."
"It will also help you both familiarize yourselves with the layouts of the building." Shade told.
Atlas nodded before continuing. "Once we have good intel on every corporate building, the final operation will be open for us. Next Friday, there will be The Nightshow, a small party that every Big Boss will attend. That includes me."
The screen showed a blue map of Fortune, with a red blinking circle safely away from the four corporate buildings.
"What's the occasion?" Lincoln asked.
"Oh, it's nothing really. Just one of many parties the upper class attends. But it is the perfect cover for you two to plant the EMPs. You'll only have one shot at that, however. If the other Big Bosses find out, we may not have another chance."
"The first building you will recon is Standing Industries."
A picture of a brunette man with a very nice and thick beard, bushy brows, and slightly long hair was shown on the screen.
"Kean Standing, the Big Boss of Construction. He's responsible for ninety percent of today's infrastructure in the city. As well as design, revonations, and repairs. Anything involving construction is either done by a company that he directly owns or shares. And he is one of the reasons housing has gotten much too expensive."
Lincoln stared up at the photo with curiosity while Mikey looked indifferent. Even though the image was only his face, the man looked proud and steaming with work ethic, but also strict by expression alone.
"You two will be given some of our disguise technology. You've made big names for yourselves at the tournament, and it would be really bad for you to get recognized."
Lincoln had already thought about it, and he agreed that if word got out that both of the strongest fighters in the tournament were working for the same Big Boss, things could get messy.
Atlas turned to Shade. "Take them to the supply room to get ready. Everything you need should be there."
She nodded at him, hugging her tablet to her chest. "Yes, sir." She turned to the two boys and said, "Follow me."
"I wish you all good luck!" Atlas said with a smile.
"Thanks." Lincoln replied, turning to him and returning the smile with a wave.
The two of them followed her out of the room and made their way to the supply room.
While walking through the hallway heading there, a door in front and to his right opened.
A small kid, no older than probably seven, walked out of the room holding a tablet. He had light purple hair and an innocent look. He wore a long-sleeve striped red and yellow shirt, along with some long grey pants and sneakers. It seemed like he was playing a video game.
No words were passed between the two as they passed each other in the hallway. Though Lincoln wondered who that was. All the other workers he saw in the building were adults except for Shade, who seemed as old as him, if not a bit older. A kid with that childlike nature seemed out of place.
Across the hallway, they arrived at the room, which Shade opened with a keycard she had on her.
"Take whatever you'd like from the shelves as long as you can hide it." She said, opening the door to the dark room. Blue neon lights lighted up inside, and panels of gear littered the walls. Underneath them were multiple drawers with red lights on them.
Lincoln and Mikey walked in and looked around.
"We'll be in broad daylight, so the clothes you have on will be good enough. Don't want to attract attention by wearing anything stealthy."
Some of the stuff caught Lincoln's eye. The micro spy camera was a quick yes from him. He didn't need a grappling hook he spotted, and the canister bombs weren't required either. A mini torch came into his sights, which he found incredible, although he could use energy from his finger to get the same results. But lastly, he came across two taser batons, which were a perfect non-lethal way to replace his twin swords he left at home. He stuffed everything he chose to take into his pockets.
On the other hand, Mikey didn't find anything that intrigued him. All of them were lame in his eyes. That was until he found a simple mechanical pen on one of the shelves. He knew better than to think it was ordinary unless someone forgot it here, but that seemed unlikely.
"Click it." Shade said, walking beside him. "At the wall if you will."
So he did just that, taking the pen and pointing the tip of it at a wall. When he pressed the button at the top, a shot of grey goo shot out. When it hit the wall, it turned dark.
"It's our constriction foam." Shade explained. "Shoot it at someone and they won't be able to get out of it for a while without some help."
"I see." Mikey said out loud.
"Cool…" He gushed inwardly.
He decided to take it.
Once they figured they finished up, Shade gave them both some tiny black discs not even bigger than her fingertip.
"Attach these to your armbands." She said. "They are just regular cameras in case you find anything. Unlike some of the smaller hidden ones, these have significantly higher range and quality."
Both of them placed the discs on their smart bands like stickers. They put them so that if they were to check the time, it would be pointing in front of them.
Lincoln gazed over to Mikey's wrist, where he wore his own smart band.
"You didn't have one before." Lincoln noted. "Is that new?" He asked.
Mikey turned to him, and after a moment of thought, he said, "They weren't allowed in the tournament."
Lincoln fought back the need to roll his eyes. "What about at both of the dinners we attended together? Or in my hotel room? You didn't have it then either."
Mikey grunted. "Atlas lent me some money." He said. "He said I could pick whatever smart device I wanted. The band was the best one."
"Now if you're both ready," Shade interrupted. "Let's get our disguises on."
She walked over to one of the many drawers and opened it with her keycard. It beeped, and the small red light turned green. Digging inside, she took out two small white sheets.
She gave one to each of them and said, "Apply these to your faces, then connect them to your smart bands to disguise your face."
Lincoln looked at the white sheet for a second before placing it on his face like he was drying it with a cloth. The sheet materialized and turned transparent. He then looked to his smart band and saw 'Camo Mask' pop up. When he tapped on that, he connected to it wirelessly.
Another screen on his smart band showed up, filled with options to customize and rework his face.
First, he changed his face into a much more handsome one, looking like it came straight from a model magazine. But one raised, unimpressed brow from Shade reminded him that he was supposed to be undercover, so he changed it to be less model-like. He gave himself a shorter nose and removed the chip in his tooth. He also made his face a little smoother and got rid of the freckles.
Mikey changed his eye color from blue to brown. His face was altered to be a little more chubby, and his eyelids a bit more squinted.
Shade gave herself some braces on her teeth. Along with that, she wore red frame glasses over her eyes and put some blush on her cheeks.
Thankfully, Lincoln didn't have to get used to their new faces. The mask he wore apparently saw through their camouflage.
Looking at the two boys, she said, "Let's get going."
The next minute they were on the roof. The calm wind here felt nice, and they could see the whole city. The only thing on the top was a helipad and some antenna.
"You guys can jump buildings, I presume." Shade more said than asked, before running off and jumping off the roof.
Lincoln and Mikey took a good look at each other before following her, softly landing on a much smaller building of a grocery store with relative ease.
Together they jumped from rooftop to rooftop, staying out of the public's sight.
When they finally reached the tall skyscraper with big yellow 'KS' on the front, Shade led them around the metal gates until they spotted a huge garbage bin behind it. It smelled, but from there, they were out of sight of the streets. The only thing that could spot them was the security camera against the wall. But Shade assured them that even if anyone looked through security at that moment, they would probably pass it off as kids doing harmless tomfoolery.
"I'm going to make my way up. When you're doing the operation on Friday we'll prepare a stealth chopper for you if the best entry point is the roof. For today I have to do without it seeing as it's daytime." She explained.
She pulled out a grappling hook and shot it upwards. "I'm going to do a full scan of the building from up there. Circle the building and get pictures. We'll meet back here shortly." Then the rope pulled her up.
Lincoln broke his neck, looking up as she ascended the building. "I could have flown you up, but I guess that would attract attention." He said mostly to himself.
He looked to his left, where Mikey last was. Now the boy was gone, presumably doing his job.
Lincoln said nothing to that and went in the other direction. He saw a couple of cameras and took quick pictures of them with his new stealth camera. There was also a door with a keypad that made it look important, so he also took a snap of that. There were some vents, big doors for trucks, and small windows.
It took him around ten minutes before he made his way to the front, where he spotted Mikey sitting on a bench nonchalantly looking at the streets.
He went up and sat beside him. Mikey didn't seem to mind.
"You alright?" Lincoln asked.
"Eh, yeah." Mikey shrugged. "Just taking pictures. I'm bored if anything."
"Yeah." Lincoln said in agreement. "But at least it's all for a good cause. And we get to sneak into the buildings after this. That should be fun."
"It might be for a good cause, but what's really in it for us?" Mikey said, looking at him. Lincoln could see through the disguised brown eyes with his technology, seeing the real blue ones instead.
Lincoln looked off to the streets, looming at the cars and pedestrians. "Nothing really." He answered. "But it feels nice doing the right thing. You should try it sometime, you'd be surprised. I mean, yeah, there will be a lot of times you don't get anything in return, but it's just the right thing to do, you know?"
Mikey didn't respond and looked at the civilians, just living their everyday lives.
"It's crazy." Lincoln continued. "To think all of these people live their own separate lives that have nothing to do with me. I always try to think of myself in their position."
He looked at a father holding his daughter's hand while they crossed a street. In one of the shops, he spotted an old man buying some alcohol through a window. And a woman was jamming out to some songs in her car, waiting for the light to turn red.
"It feels wrong when you can do something and you chose not to. Besides, it feels really good afterwards. The feeling you get in your stomach. Or maybe I'm thinking too much into it and I just enjoy helping others, I guess."
Mikey stared at Lincoln, who kept staring at the city people. He thought to himself, "Most normal people would just ignore any problems that don't involve them. They'd be too lazy or not want to put in the work. They almost always ask for something in return."
But Lincoln seemed to be the exception. Sure, he was doing this for his atomosinc, but Mikey had a good feeling that he would do it otherwise. He acted like some sort of hero who would go out of his way to help anyone in need.
"Is he a hero, or naive?"
Suddenly, someone came into Lincoln's vision. Someone he recognized.
It was the same person they were shown in the boardroom—Kean Standing, the Big Boss of Construction.
Lincoln put on a shocked look but quickly averted his eyes when Kean, who was on the phone with someone, turned his way.
He was talking loudly on the phone about some business. And his voice carried a fortified and straightforward tone.
Mikey still hadn't noticed who stood a bit off the bench. He was still thinking to himself intently when he saw Lincoln's serious look pointing straight forward.
He looked in the same direction with a raised brow, but it seemed nothing was there. Then he realized he was looking away from something, not at it. He turned his head in the other direction and spotted Kean immediately.
Furrowing his brows, Mikey concealed a palm between him and Lincoln and conjured a blue scythe orb.
A hand grabbed his wrist as he was about to unveil his weapon.
Shocked, he looked towards Lincoln, who gave him a look. Even without words, he knew what he was saying.
"Don't do it."
Kean didn't notice any of it, and while talking on the phone, he walked off.
Lincoln sighed out in relief.
Mikey noticed he was still holding his wrist and pulled it away sharply, his blue orb dissipating. "Why did you stop me?"
Lincoln glared at him, which caught him off guard. "What were you trying to pull?" He whispered.
"We could have captured him." Mikey explained, returning an angry look. "If not we-"
"Take him out?" Lincoln cut in abruptly. "He's only just a businessman, we don't have to use violence let alone kill him. Furthermore, everyone who watched you use your powers at the tournament would instantly recognize you. You could have blown our cover!"
Mikey huffed. "Whatever." He got up. "And here I thought you'd be more fun." Putting his hands in his pockets, he began to make his way around the skyscraper again.
Lincoln stared at him for a few moments before sighing, chasing after him.
They waited together at the back for a few minutes before Shade repelled down and landed in front of them behind the garbage dumpster.
Pushing some red hair out of her face, she said, "Alright, I've scanned the entire building. We're done here. Let's get on to the next one."
"Which is?" Mikey asked.
"Leopold Tate's building. The Big Boss of the Food Industry."