178 Laying the Groundwork
It had been over a week since we arrived in Markend, and the SRC’s presence had grown thicker by the day. After repairing the multiversal device George showed , we slipped it into the inventory of a local gang that operated near the outskirts. The goal wasn’t to hide it forever, but to guide the SRC straight to it. They would raid the gang, seize the device, and convince themselves they had uncovered the thod used to cross between worlds. It was a calculated risk, sothing that kept attention away from us.
Whether the plan succeeded because of luck or because Guesswork had seen the outco in advance, I couldn’t tell. Either way, the important part was that no one would trace our actual arrival to or to Bunnywork. The SRC would chase ghosts while we worked in peace.
We gathered in the second floor of the safehouse for our first real eting. Everyone showed up—Alia standing with her arms crossed, Abner sitting with perfect posture, Diane leaning against her brother, and Jacob chewing sothing as usual. They’d been adapting well to this world, especially Abner, who treated every new device or concept like a sacred manual he had to master.
I stood in front of the room and cleared my throat. “Alright. Since this is our first formal eting, we’ll start with an orientation. Please refrain from asking questions until the end. Yes, I’m talking to all of you.”
Jacob raised a hand imdiately. I ignored him and clicked the remote.
A slide flashed onto the wall with the word GODSLAYERS in bold text, followed by a simple mission line beneath it: Destroy the Entity.
Diane squinted. “That’s… very dramatic.”
“It’s accurate,” I replied. “And it’s the entire reason this organization exists.”
Alia nodded. Abner murmured a respectful, “A righteous pursuit.”
I continued, “Now, before we start our work in this world, you all need structure. Expectations. Benefits. And rules.” I clicked to the next slide. “First, everyone gets a base salary every month, even without assignnts.”
Jacob blinked. “Wait… you’re paying us?”
“Yes.”
Diane frowned. “Even if we don’t do anything?”
“That would be the aning of ‘base salary.’”
Abner raised a hand. “Lord Eclipse, if I may… what determines assignnts?”
“We’ll get to that,” I said. “Second point: contracts. A subsidiary of Bunnywork Group will process all your paperwork, which ans your employnt will look legal.”
Jacob whispered to Diane, “Employnt?”
“I think it ans we’re workers,” she whispered back.
I tapped the screen to get their attention. “Focus. Third point: You will all need to get a GED.”
Blank stares. All of them.
I sighed. “A basic education credential. You need it to function in this society.”
Diane tilted her head. “Why? We already know how to read and write.”
“Because this world has standards,” Alia said dryly. “And if you want any kind of public identity, you need proof you aren’t illiterate.”
Jacob groaned. “We just escaped school…”
“You escaped dieval school,” I corrected. “This is different.”
Moreover, I didn’t think sothing like a ‘slave school’ where Jacob and Diane ca from would be a good standard for them.
I clicked again, bringing up a slide with two silhouettes, one with a mask, one without. “Next. You all need to understand the difference between public identity and cape identity. You never mix the two. Ever. Once upon a ti, my face was plastered across every major city. People scread and ran the mont they saw . Even after I got psychic invisibility, I still had to hide in lawless zones for months. One mistake can destroy your life here.”
Alia sighed. “He’s not exaggerating.”
Jacob raised his hand again. “Hypothetical question. If people scream when they see our faces, can we wear cool masks?”
“No,” I said. “Not cool ones. Functional ones.”
He pouted. “So… cool ones with function.”
“Later,” I muttered.
Diane raised her hand, finally bringing us back on track. “So… what are our assignnts? Jacob and I are hoping to settle down. Maybe find sothing stable.”
The group had gotten comfortable with the new normal far faster than I expected. Maybe too fast. Diane and Jacob had beco downright bubbly, probably because they spent half their free ti watching short videos on Alia’s phone. They had also grown closer in ways I hadn’t anticipated. While they called each other brother and sister, they weren’t related by blood. Still, the speed at which they had beco romantically involved surprised . I had caught them making out multiple tis this past week. As for Abner, he spent hours buried in SRC training manuals and public guides, reading them like soone studying scripture. I didn’t think he’d be a problem, but I heard he had been visiting local bars and had already started seeing soone. Lastly, there was Keegan. Despite the raw strength caged in his muscles, he remained surprisingly ta, except for his constant desire to fight anything remotely strong.
I clicked the pointer and the slide changed to an image of SRC agents and trucks rolling into Markend. “Alright,” I said, drawing their attention. “Let’s continue with assignnts. Abner, your job is simple. You’ll apply for the SRC, get in, take missions, and climb ranks as quickly as you can.”
Abner straightened in his seat. “You want to infiltrate them?”
“Yes,” I answered. “We’ll need soone in a position we can burn when the ti cos. You’ll be wanted afterward, so prepare for that. Guesswork will help you with the career fast-tracking.”
“I understand,” Abner said, his voice steady.
I clicked to the next slide, which showed two symbols: a red cross inside a triangle and a blue sun. “The gangs dominating Markend,” I said. “Markers and Enders. Keegan, you’re with . We’ll clean them up, take over whatever remains, and use the territory to push Bunnygroup’s agenda.”
Keegan grinned. “Finally, so action!”
I ignored the enthusiasm and clicked to the next slide: Mirch University. “The reason Markend matters to us is this place. There are rumors of research involving the Entity. Diane, Jacob, you two will infiltrate the university. Fortunately, you look close enough to college age.”
Jacob leaned forward. “Should we expect trouble?”
“Yes,” I answered. “The campus has a suspicious amount of security. Be careful.”
The slide changed one more ti, revealing a stark black screen with a single word at the center: The Box. “A super-prison,” I explained. “Hidden, off-records, and the most advanced facility in the Council of City-States. Even the SRC treats it with reverence.”
Diane raised a hand. “What about Alia’s assignnt? You ntioned everyone else.”
I clicked the final slide, a simple image of the New Vanguard’s emblem. I looked at Alia. “Your mission is to join New Vanguard,” I said. “Win back their trust. Reclaim your public standing. And when the ti cos and everything is in place, you will arrest and send to the Box.”
The room fell silent. Only the low hum of the projector filled the background.
“That's your assignnt,” I said quietly. “And it’s the most important one.”
There were two goals tied to Alia arresting . First, it would raise her status, give her fa, and restore her credibility with the public. That kind of reputation was sothing we needed. In the future, I wanted her to use her identity as a hero to move the hearts of millions, turn them into a force willing to stand against the Entity. Second, getting thrown into the Box would grant access to people worth recruiting. I could find those broken enough or strong enough to still matter, and while I hated to admit it, Windbreaker was one of them. For all his immaturity, he helped us destroy Continuity, and he was now rotting inside that prison.
“That’s all I have for today,” I said, lowering the clicker. “Any questions?”
Abner raised a hand. “My lord, why do you want to kill the Entity so much? You spoke of its threat, but your resolve seems… personal.”
I hesitated. Telling them wasn’t easy. Out of everyone in the room, only Alia knew the truth. Windbreaker knew so parts and George knew enough. Guesswork probably had his theories, because it was obvious that removing the Entity aligned with my best interests. But explaining the details to these people… that was different.
Still, if they were going to follow into hell, they deserved to understand at least the surface of it.
I sighed and began removing my long sleeves and turtleneck. “You want to know why?” I said quietly. “Fine.”
Their eyes widened the mont my skin showed. Dark cracks spidered across my torso and arms like fractured porcelain, each line pulsing faintly. Diane flinched. Jacob covered his mouth. Keegan leaned forward, fascinated. Only Alia remained calm, since she had seen this before.
“This,” I said. “This is what I got from encountering the Entity. An affliction I can’t heal, remove, or suppress. I have reasons to believe that killing it is the only way to stop whatever this is.”
I slid my shirt back on.
I had examined the condition countless tis. My Researcher ratings weren’t the most creative, but I wasn’t incompetent. The problem wasn’t what I found. Instead, it was what I didn’t find. Every test, every scan, every technique I tried led to the sa conclusion: there was sothing alive in the cracks, a presence that wasn’t mine. Worse, I shared a faint Empathic connection with the Entity now, sothing neither distance nor dinsion could sever. I could ignore it, but it was always there.
Keegan spoke first. “Are you going to die from it?”
“Probably,” I said. “But that’s not the part that worries .”
Abner folded his arms. “There was no need for you to tell us this if it troubled you. But thank you.”
“I’m not hiding anything,” I replied. “You’ll only know what I want you to know. If you want the truth, you’ll hear it. If not, that’s fine too.”
Diane looked at Jacob, then back to . “We trust you,” she said. Jacob echoed her words. Keegan followed, nodding firmly. Even Abner bowed his head in agreent.
“Good,” I said. “Then let’s proceed.”
I picked up a stack of envelopes from the table and handed them out one by one. “These are your identities. Don’t lose your national IDs. If you get into trouble while using your civilian identity, call George first. If you can’t reach him, call or Alia.”
They looked through the docunts, flipping through pages, studying nas and birthdates that didn’t belong to them but would now define them.
When I reached Alia, I held out a separate envelope. “For you,” I said. “A recomndation letter from a retired hero. One of George’s old friends. This should make it easier for you to rejoin New Vanguard.”
She took it and gave a small nod.
“Thanks,” Alia said as she skimd the letter’s contents. Her eyes moved quickly, brow lifting in recognition at the retired hero’s na. After a mont, she looked up. “Do you… have plans tonight?”
I blinked. “Why? We just hung out a couple days ago.”
She hesitated, gripping the envelope. “I wanted to tell you sothing.”
Before I could ask, my phone buzzed. Guesswork’s ID flashed across the screen.
“Hold on,” I told her, stepping aside. I answered. “Long ti no hear.”
“Likewise,” Guesswork replied, sounding winded. “Just ca back from a mission. You know how it is.”
We talked briefly of surface-level things and nothing important, but I could tell by the way he kept pausing that sothing else was coming.
“So?” I asked. “What’s the real reason you called?”
He exhaled sharply. “mbers of the SRC upper brass are dying one after another. Quietly. No cause of death. No traces. We don’t know who’s doing it or how. So, yeah, keep your head down.”
My grip on the phone tightened. “Any ideas?”
“Probably not sothing we should talk about on the phone—”
Gunshots erupted through the line. tal clanged. Soone scread in the background. Guesswork cussed so loudly I had to pull the phone away.
“We’ll talk soon—et—” The call cut off.
I stared at the screen for a second before sliding the phone into my pocket.
Alia was waiting, concern in her eyes. “What was that? What did he say?”
“Nothing helpful,” I said. “Anyway, what were you about to say earlier?”
She shook her head. “Never mind. It’s fine.”
It wasn’t fine, but pushing her wouldn’t get anywhere.
“I have sowhere else to go,” I told the group. Abner looked up from his folder.
“At lunch?” he asked. “Where are you going?”
“I already ate,” I replied. “I’ll be back soon. I’m just going around the city again, morizing the layout, gang territories, and New Vanguard’s patrol routes.”
Truthfully, it had been years. I rembered most of Markend, but not all of it. I wasn’t a machine. I didn’t have perfect recall, and mory faded whether I liked it or not. I grabbed my helt and jacket from the rack, heading outside. My bike waited by the curb. It was matte black, discreet, and the closest thing to neutral transportation we had. I had George to thank for the bike. It wasn’t as good as the super bike I used to have, but it was quite powerful for a civilian’s bike.
“Wait!”
I paused and turned. Alia hurried out of the doorway, tugging on her jacket and carrying a second helt under her arm.
“I’m coming too,” she said.
“I’m just doing reconnaissance,” I replied. “I’m not expecting any action. Also, you have your own assignnt.”
“Still better careful than not.” She handed sothing. It was thin, rectangular shapes wrapped in linen. “You forgot these.”
My tarot cards. My projectile weapons. I slipped them into my inner pocket without a word.
Alia climbed on behind , the seat dipping under her weight. “Go fast,” she said, tightening her arms around my waist.
I revved the engine. “We can’t risk cops.”
A beat.
“But I’ll do it anyway. Only because you asked.”
She laughed softly, pressed closer, and the bike shot forward, roaring down the straight road as the city blurred into streaks of grey and neon ahead.
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