“What?” Leo snapped his head to the side, eyes blazing red. “Alex, you can’t be serious?—”
“Projects Barrier, Anabranch, Ice Cap, Mangrove—” Dahlia went on before I finally held up a hand.
“Alright, I got it,” I sighed. “Yeah, I’ve been around, but so have other Heroes. There’s plenty of third class to choose from.”
Leo was simmering beside me, and as the heat started to grow in the room, Reed lifted a finger. All at once, it dissipated. I glanced to the side and Leo was gasping for air while Reed smirked.
“Sorry, can’t let him overheat. The furniture is too nice, you know?”
I nodded carefully before turning back to Dahlia. “I don’t understand why it has to be me.”
She closed my file and leaned forward on her elbows. “Because we don’t have anyone else left. For nearly four years, the VIA has been working on trapping this organization and dismantling it. Heroes have lost their lives, some have gone AWOL, and we don’t even have anameto call these bastards. We’ve given you time, and I think it’s been quite generous.”
“In fact, I’m not even sure how it’s gone on this long—this ‘Minnie Hernandez’ has used every loophole in our policies to get you this far. But it’s time to come back, Daydream. This organization is growing each day and has been fast tracking their activities since that building collapse three years ago. You were friends with Hopper, yes?”
My heart stopped. “Yes.”
She leaned back as if she’d found her trump card. “Don’t you want to take down the ones who killed him?”
I was sure my body had turned to ice. My eyes went to Leo, who kept his own gaze pinned to the floor. I hadn’t gone digging for information about the collapse that killed Joon—all I knew was that a mission had gone wrong; that’s all I needed to know. Hero work was risky, and Joon caught the worst end of it. I couldn’t stomach the details, no matter how much I wanted them. Even Minnie had agreed that it would be too much.
Back then, I’d deleted all my social media accounts. I refused to read the papers or turn on the news. I’d isolated myself completely in hopes of remaining ignorant of what had really happened, why we didn’t have a body to bury. I needed to keep him whole in my mind.
“This is your chance,” Dahlia continued, and there was no doubt that manipulation was her go-to tool. “Take your revenge. Help us take them down… for Hopper.”
Something crawled inside my chest, angry and raging and… desperate. I didn’t have a goal, no sense of which way was up, just endless grief. No closure, no way to move forward. I swallowed hard before looking Dahlia in the eye with steel in my back.
“This is my last mission,” I demanded. “After this, I’mdone.The VIA will release me.”
She pursed her lips, and I wasn’t sure if she was high enough on the leadership board to even make such a call. “Deal. If you help us take them down,allof them, we’ll wipe your name from our records. You’ll be a regular Variant on the streets. You’ll be free.”
As free as a Variant could be, anyway.
SEVEN
LEO
I stormed after Alex,my veins on fire.
Reed tried to shout after me, but noticed the heat in the air, and decided to stay behind in Dahlia’s office to get the rest of our orders. For once, he made the right call. Alex rushed forward, her hips swaying as she took quick strides toward the exit of the VIA headquarters. I was brimming with… something. I wasn’t sure; all I knew was that I couldn’t let her walk away, and that I wasfurious.
“Alex,” I snarled as I reached her. “Get back here.”
She whipped around, that long black ponytail nearly slapping me in the face. “You didn’t want to enlighten me about the fact thatthiswas the mission? Are you serious right now? You want me to help you take down Joon’s killers? Afterthree years?”
I rolled my neck as the heat started to climb inside me. “We only need you to do the interrogations; you willnotbe on the field with us. Believe me, this wasn’t my intention.”
Alex threw up her arms as if I were the bane of her existence. “Yeah, you’dneverwant me on the field with you. I got that part. You could’ve given me a warning, though. This is bullshit, andyou know it. Why didn’t you contact me sooner? I didn’t even know they were still out there! I don’t even know what the fuck actually happened!”
I grit my teeth. Agents and Heroes passed by, tilting their heads to get all the juicy details. I snatched her wrist, and barely listened to her protests as I dragged her away. We walked into a large meeting room, and I closed the door behind me, locking it as I turned back toward her.
“Listen, when I gave Dahlia your name, I only wanted her to check up on you. I wanted to make sure you were still alive, that you were doing alright?—”
Her eyes blazed. “It was you?Youput me back on their radar?! Idiot!”
She was screeching, and my ears started to ring. “I didn’t mean to! I thought Joon would’ve wanted me to make sure you were okay?—”
Alex lifted her hand, showcasing the red scar on her skin. “Yeah, Joon definitely would’ve wantedyou, of all people, to check on my wellbeing. How dense can you be?”
