Games of Chance

Thirty Four- II

Shouts of "protect the princess!" filled the air as police officers surrounded Juliana, blocking her view of the scene and separating her from Ravenna. Realizing it was useless to struggle, she followed them up the steps and back through the palace doors. When the chaos had somewhat cleared, she approached a nearby window, peering out at Ravenna, Roy, and her flustered grandfather.

"I am your King, and my word is law! Juliana is my heir!" the King insisted, pointing his finger threateningly at Ravenna before he, too, was escorted away from the scene by security. Suddenly remembering what Chase had said to her, Juliana looked around for him only to see him burst through the palace doors.

"Jules," he took her by the arm, leading her to a relatively secluded nook away from the window. "Who abandoned Ravenna and- arguably- turned her evil? Who took away your powers when you needed them the most? Who was out there looking absolutely terrified when Ravenna finally called him out?"

"...my grandfather?" Juliana frowned, her gaze wavering.

"Yes! It makes so much sense, I can't believe I didn't think of it before! Adrian may be a jerk but he never struck me as the kind of guy to commit treason- maybe he's just following the King's orders and creating a distraction so the Order never sees its real enemy! The reason you guys have never seen the actual Eagle is because he doesn't exist! He's just a fictional character created by the King to manipulate Ravenna into doing his bidding and to give the Order a figurehead to fight against."

From the look of horror on Juliana's face, Chase could tell that he wasn't the only one who realized how perfectly this theory explained the facts of the situation. 

"But... what would his motive be? What could he possibly want that he doesn't already have? He's the King! And don't you think that if this were the case, he would've told me by now? He isn't getting any younger, and someone would have to continue his little charade once he's gone."

"Think about it- he's the King of a tiny, globally insignificant little country... no offense. He talks to other world leaders all the time. They respect him, but no one really listens to what he has to say. He sees the world beset by problems that he knows how to solve, but he has no true power to solve them outside one tiny nation. Yet, he has the means to change that. He has the Alpha Box, and a lot of time on his hands. Time to create a scheme that will make him the most powerful man in the world. The Order has been a total secret for thousands of years, and he decides that Project PROB will go public...now? It doesn't make much sense until you realize what he's doing: with the Eagle and Ravenna, he's created a villain. With PROB, he's created a hero. He'll pit them against each other, have a little fun, but he won't ever let one or the other win. Soon, the world will be dependent on his hero to stop his villain. They'll all be playing his game. He's a genius!"

"As for why he hasn't told you, if I was the kind of person who would use my power to toy with people's lives and livelihoods like that, I wouldn't be particularly concerned with the future of the world after I'm gone." Roy's voice was slightly muffled by his hefty Obsidian Hunter helmet. "Sorry," he added as he approached Chase and Juliana, his thick boots making his steps slow and heavy. "I couldn't help but overhear. Jules... I hate to admit it, but Chase may be right. From this point on, it's best for us to tread carefully."

"I don't... I don't understand," Juliana stammered, shifting her gaze from Chase to Roy and looking decidedly overwhelmed.

"I think you do," Roy replied drily, storming out the door just as Hayley somersaulted down from the roof to face Ravenna. He raised his mace triumphantly above his head while Hayley squared her stance, cracking her whip menacingly. 

Excited shouts of "it's the superheroes! They're alive!" echoed through the crowd as a fight began under the awning. Dozens of Jacked, all commanded by Ravenna, rushed at Hayley, Roy, and a line of Arcanese police officers. 

"I have to help," Juliana gritted her teeth, the corner of her eye twitching with agitation as she stared out the window. She looked like she was physically restraining herself from storming into battle.

"You know you can't," Chase placed his hand on her trembling forearm.

"No," she shook her head, shrugging his hand off and standing up. "My grandfather... if you're right about him... he would want me to feel weak without my suit. He'd want me to stay behind, so Project PROB couldn't really win this fight. I have to break the cycle. I have to do something he'd never expect me to do." Grabbing Chase's shoulders, she looked at him with fire in her eyes. "You said I was your favorite superhero with and without the suit, right? Now prove it."

Her comment took Chase by surprise. Lost for words, he watched as she felt along the hem of her skirt with outstretched fingertips. "Do you have a gun strapped to your thigh?" Who am I kidding, of course you have a gun strapped to your thigh." 

Pulling out the weapon, Juliana ducked behind a pillar. When she emerged, she was dressed in a black, standard-issue Order combat suit identical to the one she'd been wearing the day Chase met her. Her unwavering confidence- the way she stood upright in the face of evil- hadn't changed a bit since then, but it seemed like another dimension had been added to her fearlessness. She didn't just believe in the Order... she believed in herself. She popped a Maskey in her mouth and Chase watched as a 3-d projection obscured her features. 

"Wait... how did you get that?" 

"I'm sure you're not surprised to hear this, but the Order is quite paranoid. We put these things everywhere," she gestured to a small secret compartment hidden at the base of the pillar before carefully replacing the floorboard that kept it hidden. 

"Get on your game, Numbers! I'm going to need all the off-base support I can get!" Juliana called back over her shoulder as she strode out the door. Chase put a disapproving look on his face, but the moment she turned away from him, he was already pulling his helmet out of his backpack.