Episode 2: Reboot the System- Part II

Ray pushed the last of the blackened dust into the corner, kneeling to sweep the final specs into the pan as Hilary remained fixed at the terminal.

"All done."

"You're the best," Hilary replied. "I'm nearly finished here too."

As Ray dumped the contents into the bin over, Hilary began pulling up the external security feeds and turning them back on one by one.

"Looks like the pulse hit all the museum's equipment," she explained. "I've had to run the whole operating system through a hard reboot. I'm just bringing them back online now."

"You know," Ray mused as he watched her hard at work. "Killer robots, fighting hand to hand… Just like old times."

"Well, in old times we didn't have to fix our stuff when the bad guys tried to wreck it," Hilary reasoned. "At least back then we had Doc to…"

She trailed off, catching the name leaving her lips and stopping herself before she could continue. As she slumped in sullen defeat, Ray knelt beside her to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," he said. "We'll find him."

"I know." Although the quivering in Hilary's eyes told him she didn't necessarily believe it. "I just can't help but think, but wonder… If Doc and I hadn't dug this up; if we'd just left the Digitizer buried, then…"

"Someone still could have come along and used what was there for evil," Ray finished. "Only then we wouldn't be ready."

"I just hope we're ready now."

Deciding to shift the mood, Ray nodded toward the trash can. "So, what do you make of those things?" he asked, "New Byte-Bots?"

Hilary shrugged and rubbed the back of her head. "They hit harder," she admitted. "I felt that blow even through my metal. The chrome plating's certainly new."

"Think Xaviax came up with a fancy new name for them?"

That one made her smile. "In hopes of being original?" she giggled. "Probably."

Then at last the series of screens sprung back to life, and Ray and Hilary's eyes widened at the sight. The museum was thoroughly trashed, some of the cases were completely destroyed, and shattered glass was littered all across the ground. Scattered amongst it, all around the central hall, were piles of black dust.

"What the…?"

"Looks like Xaviax's friends had some fun up top," Hilary noted.

"But why though?" Ray asked. "They were able to send foot soldiers right down here. The only reason they'd have split their forces was if…"

Their eyes widened at once, Hilary's hand snaping to her mouth.

"I thought the museum was empty," she gasped. "But if someone was inside when the pulse went off…"

"Then Lakeview's superpowered population just got bigger," Ray concluded.

Both of them stared at the wreckage, releasing just how much more complicated everything had suddenly become.

"If they tangled with those robots then…" Ray realized.

"Then Xaviax already knows about them," said Hilary. "Looks like the firewall let them get away but…"

"We need to find them," Ray agreed. "We need to get to them before Xaviax does."

No light was coming from the door as Erika approached it. Lucky, maybe it meant he was still on shift.

Stupid; she should have seen the ploy coming.

Key in the lock, she shunted it open and stepped inside the apartment. The light flicked on almost immediately.

"You're home late," her dad noted as Erika spun to the chair he was sitting in.

Because of course, he'd be waiting for her. The look on his face was tired and worried. Disappointed.

Because no way he was letting her sneak in with the conversation she'd been dreading all day.

"Yeah," Erika replied sheepishly. "Sorry."

"You got in a fight," he said bluntly.

Her heart stopped, suddenly all too aware of how dusted up she must look. It took all Erika's effort to give nothing away as the events of only an hour beforehand flashed across her memory. The museum, the robots. The lightning! How was she going to even begin to explain any of that?

But thankfully her dad kept going before she could spiral into it.

"Seriously?" he asked. "You couldn't make it to the first bell?"

This morning. Right.

That fight.

And just like that, a fresh wave of shame washed over her, sinking her heart within Erika's chest as her shoulders dropped and she hung her head in disgrace. "I know. I just… I couldn't walk away."

"We talked about this," her dad insisted. "Keep your head down, stay out of trouble. It's all I'm asking. And now you've wound up in community service on your first day."

"Maybe it's a good thing?" Erika replied, with a tone of desperation that made even her believe it. A little. "Time at the Hub will keep me busy and out of trouble. That's why I was so late, I actually stayed back later to help out."

Her dad raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"I'm serious," Erika insisted. "The owner said he can count the hours I spend there to my total, but… I don't know. Maybe I'll stay longer, after I don't have to be there. I know it's early days, maybe I'll hate it in a month. But it's something, right?"

Her dad nodded, sighing at the concession before at last rising from his chair.

"Look," he said softly. "There's nothing I can say to you that school already hasn't. And that won't be anything you haven't heard before. But I just want you to make it through, okay? Just one more year, no more trouble."

Great start, Erika.

"No more trouble," she nodded. "I can do that."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Not to me," her dad replied. "I need you to promise that to yourself."

Slowly she nodded again. "I promise."

Accepting her concession, her dad began to make his way to his bedroom.

"Look, I've got to hit the hay," he said. "I won't be home tomorrow; they've me got running the late security shift at City Hall. You going to be okay on your own?"

"Sure," Erika nodded. "I'll just wrack up more penal hours at the Hub."

That one made him chuckle. "Good night, Erika," he said. "I love you."

"Love you too, Dad."

Then he stepped into his room and closed the door, leaving her alone in the apartment. In the moment of quiet, Erika slowly looked down at her hand. She focused, feeling the tingle running from her heart and up her arm. Then, a small jolt of red electricity zapped between her fingers, stifled almost innately as she stifled it in her palm.

No more trouble, she promised herself.

Then Erika shut off the light and went to bed.

Abbey and Zeke were already waiting for her at the front steps the next morning. Each looked nervous and expectant. Confused.

"Hey," said Abbey, tone almost reaching the regular perkiness from the previous day. Almost. "We thought we'd wait for you."

"You did?"

"Yeah," Zeke agreed. "Give us a chance to talk about…" He looked over each shoulder before leaning to whisper. "…last night."

"Listen, guys," Erika decided. "Let's just forget about it, the whole thing. Just pretend we never went into that museum and encountered… whatever all that was."

The two looked at her, and although Zeke appeared less surprised. Abbey seemed completely taken aback, "We should just… ignore it?"

"You know," Zeke admitted. "I'm kind of with Erika on this. Letting people know we have superpowers seems like a surefire way to have government agents knocking on our front door."

"You're being dramatic," Abbey insisted.

"More dramatic than being chased through an abandoned museum by a bunch of murderous robots?" Erika pointed out.

Abbey had no reply for that.

"Look," Erika told them. "It's a new day, and still a new year. Let's just go back to how things were, and nothing can come of it, right? Best way to stay out of trouble. For all of us."

"Abbey," Zeke agreed. "I think she's right."

"Awesome," said Erika before Abbey had a chance for another counter. "So, I guess I'll see you later then."

She hurried past them, rushing into the halls before they could follow. Locker, books, homeroom. And she was going to be on time.

New year, it was going to be different.

Just like she promised.

She slid into the room just before the bell; it was tight, but still an improvement. Which meant she at least had time to get her head around what she was doing that day. As the teacher took the roll, Erika reached into her backpack and pulled out her laptop.

Flat; dammit. She must have forgotten to charge it the previous evening. Brilliant, now she had to get through the day without a working computer. Although…

No, she shouldn't. She'd literally just resolved to put it behind her. To forget that any of it happened. To avoid trouble. But wouldn't a flat battery just lead to more problems?

Erika cursed herself, taking a quick check that no one was paying attention. This was so stupid; she had no idea if this was even going to work. But maybe…

Unable to fight her curiosity, she moved her finger to the charge port. She breathed in, feeling the tingle rising from her chest again. Then she pushed it out, willing her fingertip to release the smallest of sparks. There was a slight crack, little more than a short release of static, and her laptop sprung to life.

Okay, so maybe it was a little handy.

The rest of her day went pretty well, although her spine tingled whenever Abbey and Zeke passed her in the hall. It was like the universe was conspiring to put them as close together as possible. Or maybe… maybe she was just more aware of them now.

One time, right at the end of recess, she caught Abbey struggling with her locker. Erika had just been about to step in and help when she noticed the redhead do a quick check over her shoulder. Then, before anyone else could notice, Abbey phased her hand through the door, pulling it out just as quickly with the book she needed. For a moment, she looked pleased with herself, only to realize that Erika was watching.

Both girls looked away, breaking eye contact and bolting in the other direction before either could say another word.

The only other incident happened at lunch. She'd managed to snag an empty table, the last one in the cafeteria, but it was right beside the door. Just as Erika was bracing herself to down the day's meatloaf, the doors burst open, the football players hounding in celebration of their tryouts. A wild arm swung out, knocking her drink from the table. And then Erika's body moved on its own.

She snatched it, hand grasping the can and stopping it mid-air. She turned, mouth agape as she realized she'd been fast that not a single drop had spilled. It certainly made the soda taste pretty damn good.

At last, the day came to a close, and as the final bell rang, Erika took the chance to go to the library. Dad was out anyway, and she wasn't due back at the Hub for another week. With time for herself, she could enjoy the quiet, and try to keep on top of her schoolwork for once in her miserable life. She just had to figure out whatever the difference between miosis and mitosis was.

Stay out of trouble.

Finding a table in the far corner of the library, Erika pulled out her laptop and set to work. But her attempt at forming studious habits got no further. Erika had barely booted up her notes when someone plonked down next to her, and she lowered her screen to see Zeke staring at her.

"I don't want to forget about it," he said bluntly.

"I don't think I can either," Abbey admitted as she also walked in behind them.

Erika sighed and slowly closed her laptop. Nope, not studying today, apparently. She still had to deal with this.

"Look guys," she said. "I know this is super freaky. But it's also way out of our depth. Maybe things can't quite go back to how they were, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't-."

"I looked into it," Zeke blurted out. "The museum. Turns out City Hall only agreed to reopen it a few months ago. And the woman that they hired to run it, Hilary Hawkins, she's a genius!"

Erika and Abbey both slowly turned their heads.

"What kind of genius?" Abbey asked.

"Graduated summa cum laude in Software Engineering at Stanford," said Zeke. "Ph.D. from MIT. She dropped off the grid right after her post-grad but then resurfaced in some sort of private start-up. But I've seen some of her work; she's brilliant!"

"Brilliant enough to program an army of killer robots?" Abbey queried, shooting Erika a look.

Zeke nodded. "That's not even the freakiest part," he continued. "I ran a social media search on her as well. Want to guess who she's married to."

He flipped around his laptop to show them the screen. It was a wedding photo, and Erika's eyes widened as she realized that she recognized the woman, needing to only glance at the man beside her to confirm. She'd seen this very photo before; on the guidance counselor's desk.

"She's married to Mr. Granger?" Abbey gasped.

"At least that explains why he was at the museum," Erika offered innocently, only to get an eye roll from Abbey.

"We need to talk to him," Abbey decided, already getting up.

"Whoa, let's think about this," Erika insisted. "You think his wife's building an army of killer robots, and he's going to know nothing about it?"

"Maybe it's not what we think," Zeke suggested. "Maybe he can help us? Her too."

"You don't want these powers anymore, right?" Abbey pointed out. "Want to forget the whole thing? Well, maybe Mr. Granger can help with that."

Erika opened her mouth to argue before realizing she had nowhere to go. Abbey had pushed her into a corner, using her words against her to steer all available exits in the same direction. She was right, there was only one person who was going to give them any answers.

Mr. Raymond Granger.

"All right, fine," Erika relented, pushing her books into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder. "Let's go check his office, maybe he hasn't left yet."

"So, I managed to get some workers in to fix the museum damage," Hilary explained over the phone that afternoon. "I might have used you as an excuse though…"

"Oh, this I can't wait to hear," Ray mused. With his satchel bag slung across his shoulder and cell pressed to his ear, he was making his way out to the car. He had to admit, the madness of a high school was a nice normal given the world of crazy computers and robots he was likely stepping into back at home.

"I blamed all the technical faults on a circuit failure," said Hilary. "Told them you were moving a cabinet when the power went out and crashed the fixture into the glass."

"So, I'm going to their favorite person next time the maintenance guys see me?"

"Yeah, sorry. Any chatter about last night?"

"Not from what I could hear," said Ray. "And trust me, if there's anything teens are all over, it's what's on social media. If they didn't see it there, it may as well not have happened."

"That's a relief," Hilary admitted. "I'm still recovering video data from before the pulse, trying to find the identities of our mystery guests… hang on."

Ray had reached his car but stopped, waiting as Hilary tapped at the keys on the other end of the line.

"Just finished scrubbing the back door footage. Whoa, Ray, someone followed you in last night. And they're kids, three of them!"

Ray's heart thumped, steps slowing as he slowly realized. If they were kids, then they could well mean they were from his work. They could have recognized him from afar, following him out of sheer curiosity. And now his carelessness had caused three innocent kids to be unwillingly dragged into a whole world of mayhem.

Dammit! If he'd known earlier, he could have tried finding them during the day, but now almost everyone had gone home. Even now the rear lot was almost deserted. He'd have to wait another evening before he could try hunting them down.

"All right," Ray decided. "I've just got to the car. When I get to you, we can try to make a…"

Now it was his turn to trail off, mouth dropping as he turned to see a figure walking towards him. And he was looking far from friendly.

A tall man, at least Ray assumed it was a man, clad from top to bottom in dark-plated armor. His helmet concealed his face, with curved horns protruding from the edges and sinister red lenses that fixed on Ray with a menacing glare.

"I think I'm going to have to call you back," he decided, moving his finger to cut the call.

"No! Ray! What's going-?"

But he'd already hung up, turning to face the newcomer.

"Raymond Granger," the warrior snarled. The voice was deep and growling, menacing as the figure loomed over him.

"Let me guess, Xavaix sent you?"

"You know of our master's demands," the knight replied. "It would be wise to comply."

"Well, can't say you're particularly new," Ray said snidely. "But you're certainly different."

"I am ArcKnight," it replied proudly. "And I will repeat my request for you to come with me."

"You know?" Ray replied. "I think I'm going to have to pass on that."

The warrior seemed undeterred. "The request was only courtesy; you do not have a choice."

As ArcKnight gave the warning, green lights began flashing around the lot. From within each burst walked forth a new clump of robots, huddling menacing to seal a circle around him. Trapping him.

Not good.

"You will come with us, and tell us the location of Dr. Hawkins," ArcKnight warned. "By force if necessary. Make no mistake, Granger; if you do not comply, we will make you cooperate."

So they were after Hilary, not just her designs. And now they planned to use him to get to her. Ray's eyes narrowed as they flicked to the eager robots around him. His knuckles cracked as his fingers curled into a fist as his back foot shifted on the asphalt to shift his weight in anticipation.

Then he took off his glasses, folded them into his jacket, and dropped the satchel to the ground.

"You know what?" Ray decided. "I'm starting to want you to make me."

"Okay," said Zeke, "so he's not in his office. But I think I saw him coming in by the rear lot this morning. Maybe he hasn't left yet."

"We don't have to bother him now," said Erika, almost hopefully. "We could do this tomorrow."

"You're the one that wants this behind them," Abbey pointed out. "Maybe we could try the museum if he's already left."

Zeke seemed enthusiastic. "Yeah, good idea."

Oh, so now they wanted to go to the museum? Great.

Just perfect.

The three teens hurried down the stairs and made their way to the rear of the building. Erika was the first to see them, her hand snapping out and pulling the others back.

"Whoa, wait a sec."

Granger was there, surrounded by those same robots they'd encountered the night before. Standing before him was some sort of armored knight.

"I knew it!" Erika hissed. "He's totally with them."

"Hang on," Zeke said.

The knight stepped forward, looming over the guidance counselor.

"That doesn't look friendly," Abbey realized nervously.

She was right, the robots were closing in, encircling and cutting off Granger's route escape. The man took off his glasses and dropped his bag.

"Then we need to help him," Erika realized. "The guy's just a shrink; he's all about pacifism and-."

But as one of the robots grabbed his shoulder, Granger sprung into action. His hand snatched up, twisting as he pulled the robot closer to kick it in the side. The strike was perfect, expertly moved as the robot clattered to the ground. Then Granger lowered his leg, slowly and purposely into a professional fighting stance.

"Now," he announced for all to hear, "who's next?"

"Cyberdrones!" the knight bellowed. "Attack!"

The rest of the robots lunged, descending like a flock of vultures upon the Guidance Counsellor. But Granger wasn't fazed at all, spinning between the blows and striking at the gaps. Seeing the opening, his eyes shot to the ground, seeing that he'd strayed too far from his bag. His foot stamped down, catching the strap on his heel to yank it back as it tripped an enclosing drone. The robot hit the ground as Granger kicked up the satchel, spinning the bag in his hands to wield it like a shield before smacking it across the face of another.

"Whoa," Zeke breathed. "He's got skills."

But as the three teens gawked at their counselor's fighting prowess, they quickly saw another problem brewing. Flashes of green light at the edges of the lot; the Cyberdrone numbers were increasing.

"I'm going to help him," Erika decided, body rushing before Abbey could object. Then behind her, she heard growling curses before the other two rushed to join her.

Granger saw her coming and his eyes widened in horror as he saw the student rushing into the fray.

"No, stay back!" he warned. "These things are-"

Erika lunged, leaping into a mighty kick that cracked into a Cyberdrone's jaw. Then she landed and spun, sweeping beneath the legs to trip the others before snapping up into a guard that dared more Cyberdrones to come at her.

"Never mind," Granger conceded.

Then the remaining bots engaged.

Erika's feet kicked the dust, spinning around to force the Cyberdrones together. The first one lunged and she lashed her wrist to block, jabbing at the exposed chest as it stumbled. With another coming, she leaped over the first, thrusting it into the path of its comrade before flipping into a kick.

Too eager. The third stepped back, her foot hitting the concrete as another two engaged. The two drones grabbed her, hurling Erika back before she could shake them.

But Erika never felt the concrete break her fall.

Her hands snapped back, hitting the ground and launching into a handspring that flipped her back onto her feet. The Cyberdrones didn't stop, but nor were they ready for her recovery. Back upright, Erika stepped in and kicked, slamming her boot into the face. Before the next could catch her, she shifted, hips twisting to crack her shin into its body. The Cyberdrones pushed together as Erika stepped back, and seeing the distance, she took her chance.

"You guys are so serious," she decided as crackling, red bolts forked from her hands. They were heralded by a mighty crack of thunder, surging through the robots as Erika fried their circuits and their bodies convulsed. Then they dropped, smoke wisping from the seams of their sizzling armor. "You all need to lighten up."

Zeke and Abbey were back-to-back, and the Cyberdrones were moving quickly to corner them. Abbey's arms were above her, frantically shielding her face as she ducked and dodged, frightened for her life as swarmed her. Ever gallantly, Zeke tried the best he could to put himself between her and the robots. But the Cyberdrones grabbed him, hurling him away and rolling him across the car's bonnet.

They'd found the weak link, and now they planned to exploit it.

At least, that's what they thought.

"Hey!" Abbey warned, "Back off!"

With her friend in danger, she leaped into a spinning kick, smacking the first robot as she jumped onto the hood. Another was chasing, but she'd already dropped, foot snaping to crack at the ankle and trip it from the elevated position.

But they just kept coming.

No chance to reach Zeke, Abbey rolled, flipping onto the roof as another faceplanted into the canopy. Too far! Her back hit the metal with a thud, robots already surrounding her to grab and stop her from moving.

Then Abbey winced, bracing for what was to come as she felt herself falling. There was a metallic thud above her, and suddenly she landed on soft padding. She was in the backseat of the car; she'd slipped through the roof!

Abbey's head snapped left as she heard another thud, just as Zeke was thrown against the door. She didn't think, she moved, hand snapping through the door to grab him and pull him inside. The boy fell backward, landing beside her on the backseat as the robots flailed outside.

"Whoa!" he gasped.

"I know right?"

But they weren't out of the woods yet.

A hand smashed through the window, both kids screaming as it snatched at them and the glass behind them cracked as well.

"Get behind me!" Zeke ordered.

He pushed himself in front as Abbey complied, and a golden bubble of light burst from his hand. The forcefield hurled in all directions, smacking into the Cyberdrone's face and twisting its arm against the doorframe. Then, without missing a beat and no time to comprehend the madness that they'd leaped back into, Abbey moved. She lunged for the door, reefing down the handle to through it, hurling the Cyberdrone back as Abbey leaped outside.

Another was coming for her, but now she'd hit momentum. She twirled, phasing through the open door to kick the one she'd chased. It stammered back, thrown to the ground from the blow to its stomach, just as the one behind collided with the doorframe. Seeing her chance, Abbey's foot lashed out to slam shut the door. Two down either side, she returned her attention to Zeke.

But he was already out of the car.

Having climbed to the front, he pulled himself through the open window and back into the lot. A drone lunged, and he dodged, watching the robot land face-first through the open window. With legs flailing helplessly, Zeke's head whipped around to see another coming toward him.

He let it. As the Cyberdrone closed in, arm raised to strike, Zeke's palm whipped up. The shield burst out, a golden bubble smacking the robot in the face and cracking it to the ground. Then the two teens ran, desperate to catch up to the others.

They found Erika doing the same, knocking down the Cyberdrones in her path as they rushed to Granger's side. The robots around him were in pieces, and now the counselor was locked in battle with the armored knight.

"Got to admit, ArcKnight," Granger taunted. "You're making me realize how out of shape I am. Not that it's going to matter against you."

"Your jests hide your terror," the knight growled. "Surrender now."

"Yeah, how about 'no'?"

The glowing sword snapped to the warrior's palm, the blade humming as it flourished and swung downwards. Granger didn't flinch at the sight of the weapon, swerving to let the blade crack into the ground before snapping a kick into ArcKnight's wrist.

Wrong move. The arm lashed out, snatching Granger by the throat and hoisting him into the air.

"I have you now!"

"You know what I learned over the years?" Granger wheezed. "How easy it is to miss something. It pays to keep your eyes open."

His gaze glowed red, and the three teens gasped. Two twin bolts of energy burst from Granger's eyes, blasting into ArcKnight's armor and flashing on contact. The warrior cried in pain as Granger snapped up his legs, planting his shoes on the breastplate before launching himself from the grip. He somersaulted backward, landing in a fresh fighting pose as ArcKnight stumbled from the hit.

Then the three teens formed ranks behind him.

Seeing the united front that now stood ready at his back, Granger smirked at the seething knight. "How about ArcKnight? Ready for Round Two?"

The warrior sneered, looking around to see his forces either in pieces or flailing on the ground as the architects of their destruction looked eager to go again. The armored head snapped back to them all.

"You may have escaped our forces this time," he growled. "But you will only force our master's hand further!"

His hand snapped up as his body was enveloped in the same green light as the robots. A second later just as quickly as they had appeared, ArcKnight and his remnant forces vanished, leaving the parking lot empty save for the four. Finally alone, they released a sigh of relief, buckling over as the adrenaline flushed from their bodies.

"Mr. Granger," Abbey admitted between panting. "We followed you into the museum last night."

"Yeah," Granger nodded slowly. "I'm kind of putting that together."

For a moment, all of them took a chance to catch their breath. Then it was straight to business.

"What were those things?" Zeke asked.

"Why were they coming after you?" Abbey queried.

"Did you really just shoot laser beams from your eyes?" Erika demanded.

But Granger shook his head, raising a hand to quiet them down.

"Not here," he insisted. "Too many people and ArcKnight might find the courage for a second shot. Let's go somewhere more private."

"Like where?" Erika asked. In hindsight, his answer should have been obvious.

"The Museum."

The light flashed in the chamber as ArcKnight landed in a crouch before his master.

"You have returned," Xaviax sneered. "And yet, you have no Granger."

"I'm sorry, my master," ArcKnight insisted. "There was an interference, one unforeseen."

Xaviax's eyes narrowed from beneath his mask. "What kind of interference?"

"Granger has recruited others; they came to aid him when cornered."

"I mean," Ender mused from the corner, "If you thought to ask, I could have warned you…"

ArcKnight whipped around. "You knew about them?"

"When I played back the recordings from the Cyberdrones, I discovered that we were not the only intruders at the museum last night."

Ender flicked his wrist, summoning a holographic display that revealed a grainy view of the museum floor. Three teen figures were sprawled across it, slowly rising to their feet.

"What was that?" groaned one of the girls

"Go into the museum…" the other grumbled. "It'll be fine..."

"Okay, you were right, bad idea," the first one agreed.

"They were inside when the pulse was purged," ArcKnight realized.

"So, it would seem," Xaviax nodded. "And if these new allies have found their way to Hawkins, then we all know how much of a boon that would be to her circumstances."

"So, Ender's plan was more than a waste of time," ArcKnight growled. "It actively aided our enemy."

"The plan had flaws," Xaviax conceded. "As did yours, it would seem. It appears I will need to take a more… direct hand in dealing with this particular problem."

"But of course, your magnificence," Ender agreed with a bow.

"What would you have us do?" ArcKnight asked.

"We've expended too much trying to extract Granger and Hawkins," Xaviax explained. "Now, we will bring them to us."

"My lord," ArcKnight reasoned. "Would we not have done so already if it were possible."

"Until now, we needed to work in the shadows," said Xaviax. "But the time come to take the spotlight. Granger and Hawkins see themselves as noble, as morally righteous. But what they see as strength will become their very undoing."

He turned to the blue man in the top hat. "Ender," he ordered. "I want you to prepare something special for our grand debut."

"Oooh, I like the sound of that," the minion giggled. "Do you have any particular requests?"

"Make a statement," Xaviax, "make it bold."

"I'll begin at once!"

Ender practically skipped out of the throne room as Xaviax turned to his other minion.

"ArcKnight, I'll leave it to you to ensure that the next lot of Cyberdrones are ready for deployment. I'll want you down there with them the moment Ender has finished with his creation."

ArcKnight bowed before he too strode out. "It will be done."

Now alone, Xaviax walked towards the window, staring out at the city below. He moved his hands to his mask, clasps hissing as he removed it, and stared out his domain with bare eyes. And he smiled a sinister grin. "Time for your appointment with destiny, Doctor."