The acquisition of Scorpion's jetchopper was the best part of Adam's week. Not because it would let the Fortuna Guard look for recruits farther away, or make running errands easier, but because it opened up a new way for him to stall his college decision: campus tours.
He had until the end of the month to pick a school. He'd initially planned on visiting every campus that accepted him, but after everything had fallen apart at Tyche Point, he'd expected he would have to pass on a tour as far as UC Davis—a school much closer to Sacramento than the southern parts of California the Fortuna Guard frequented.
Even with his high test scores and extracurriculars, Adam had admittedly been surprised by his acceptance. But it was a welcome surprise after his rejections from schools higher on his list. Though, the financial aid information was a less welcome surprise.
He'd always known an athletic scholarship was out of the question. Deep down, he wasn't sure he even wanted to keep playing football anymore. But even if he did, Tyche Point High's football team was nothing special, and Adam wasn't the best player on it. He'd have to come up with another way to pay if he picked Davis.
Still, he wanted to take a look. He asked the Newmans first chance he got the day the Fortuna Guard stole Scorpion's chopper. Surprisingly, they were willing to let him go the next morning. The Scorpion logo had already been painted over, there was more than enough fuel for a trip to Davis, controls were ridiculously simple, and technicians had swept the aircraft and removed any tech that could be used for tracking on Scorpion's end.
"It'll be a good test run," Charles had told Adam. "Be careful, obviously, and prioritize your own safety over the chopper. You're not going after recruits, so I don't think you'll run into Scorpion, but we can't be certain they won't show up."
Beth was a little less eager than Charles was to let Adam go alone. "I think he should take a few other kids with him, at least," she said.
"Really, I'll be fine," Adam insisted. "The others wanted to train tomorrow morning, anyway. And they'd be bored sitting around campus while I'm on the tour."
"I think he'll be okay." Charles glanced at Beth.
"Okay," Beth conceded after a moment. "Call us if you run into any trouble."
Adam nodded. "Sure thing."
With that, they handed over the key.
Were the Newmans willing to let Adam alone go because he'd been doing so well controlling his fire? Because he was physically strong? He didn't give the matter more than a few minutes of thought. He was looking forward to a day out on his own, and the last thing he needed was the Newmans changing their minds.
The next morning, Adam's alarm dragged him from sleep. He was grateful, despite his exhaustion. His nightmares had been getting worse.
The details changed, but he was always back in the artifact chamber under Delta Labs. Sometimes he was alone. Other nights, everyone he knew was there: his friends from the football team, classmates from school, Mom, Eric, and a vague impression of a man he was certain was supposed to be Dad.
Every time, the dream ended when the world collapsed in on them. After Adam broke through the energy barrier around the fragment with his fire.
It was his fault.
Maybe he shouldn't have done it. Maybe there was another way.
Adam climbed out of bed. There was no other way. Willow had betrayed them to join Scorpion, but he trusted her on that fact and that fact alone.
He stared at himself in the mirror. It was still weird, watching his hair grow out. He'd had his undercut since middle school.
After leaving his room, Adam stopped by the cafeteria to grab a quick bite before he took off. He was surprised to find Eric awake already, sitting alone at a table in the corner, a piece of toast in hand as he scrolled through his phone.
"What are you doing up this early?" Adam asked as he approached.
Eric yawned and set the phone down. "I dunno. I just woke up and couldn't fall back asleep." He hesitated. "Bad dreams, I guess."
"Oh." What was Eric having dreams about? Were his drowning nightmares coming back? Maybe being on a ship at sea was triggering them.
Before Adam could ask, Eric spoke. "Are you sure you don't want company today? I really wouldn't mind coming."
"No, it's fine," Adam told him. "I think I could use some time to myself." As if he didn't spend plenty of time alone in the gym. Sometimes when he was around the others, he couldn't shake the feeling they were thinking about how he'd collapsed the energy barrier.
"And you're sure you can pilot the chopper?" Eric asked, keeping Adam from spending too long in his thoughts.
"Yeah, it's easy," Adam replied. "They really idiot-proofed those things."
"Probably 'cause those kids working for Scorpion are such dumbasses."
Adam chuckled. "Yeah." He took a step back. "Well, good luck with training today."
Eric smirked. "You won't be saying that when I finally catch up to you."
"Oh, please. You're not that much worse than me."
"So you agree. I'm worse than you." Eric said it with a laugh, but it was impossible not to notice his frustration when they trained together.
Adam had more precision. And, with that, the confidence to put more power into his attacks. Eric still stuck to smaller fireballs, and the fact that he occasionally started random fires by accident wasn't encouraging him to put out bigger flames anytime soon.
"Just keep at it," Adam told him. "You'll get it eventually." He took another step back.
"Sure," Eric said. "Oh, hey, one last thing."
"Yeah?"
"I—" Eric stopped himself. "Never mind, it's a long story. I'll tell you when you get back."
"Oh. Okay."
Adam grabbed himself a bagel and headed to the Fortuna's deck.
~
The campus was nice enough. And the weather wasn't bad, either. The tour guide led Adam and the other prospective students around while spouting history that Adam only half-listened to.
He tried to enjoy the sights, to convince himself that he could call this place home for a few years. But something had him on edge.
He was being watched.
Before Adam left the Fortuna, the Newmans had contacted a friend in Sacramento and found a place where Adam could park the chopper. From there, he hopped on a bus to the university. The ride had been uneventful, and Adam was sure he'd be getting away with a real day off of fighting.
But right around the time the guide led the group past the library, Adam swore he felt a new pair of eyes land on him. He found himself glancing around anxiously every few minutes through the rest of the tour. Among the mass of students and employees going about their day, it was impossible to tell if anyone was actually following him.
The tour ended around noon. Adam briefly considered grabbing lunch on campus, but he wasn't particularly hungry yet. Instead, he wandered back to the football stadium to take a look around. Or maybe he just wanted to kill time.
Either way, after his third lap around the stadium, he came around the corner to find a sleek black car parked next to the curb. As Adam drew closer, the passenger door opened.
The tall, thin man who stepped out wore a dark blue business suit. His blonde hair was shaved close to his head, matching his neatly trimmed facial hair. He lifted his dark sunglasses and met Adam's gaze with icy blue eyes. Adam froze.
"Excuse me, are you Adam Ackerman?" the man asked.
Adam took a few tentative steps forward and tried to mask his apprehension. "Who are you?"
"You were a student at Tyche Point High School, right?"
So, they were both answering questions with more questions. How much did Adam dare give away? He decided to repeat his previous request. "I'm not answering questions until you tell me who you are."
The man raised an eyebrow. "I believe you knew Willow West?" His voice lifted at the end, as if it were a question, but he was clearly confident in his statement.
Adam's hands tightened into fists at his sides. "I did go to Tyche Point. But Willow was just some girl in my grade."
"I hardly think she's just some girl. She is my daughter, after all."
Daughter?
The man continued. "I'm Wilson West. Pleasure to meet you." He held out a hand for Adam to shake but dropped it after a long moment of Adam staring blankly at him.
"What do you want from me?" Adam demanded.
Wilson let out a dramatic sigh. "Willow's gone missing. I haven't heard from her in weeks."
"Based on my conversations with her, it's been a lot longer since you talked to her," Adam replied, his eyes narrowing.
"So, you did know Willow." Wilson smirked. "Fair enough. But her mother doesn't know what happened to her, either, and she's worried sick."
"I'm sorry," Adam said. "But I still don't get why you're talking to me about it." Or how Wilson even knew he'd be here. That was a question Wilson seemed even less likely to answer.
"You were one of the last people she seemed to be talking to regularly," Wilson said. "Even if you don't know where she is, I thought you might have information that could help."
A chill ran down Adam's spine. "Have you been spying on her?" His mind raced. He and Willow hadn't really known each other long at all. Did someone working for Wilson see them talking? Did Wilson know about the altered? The training after school?
"I keep an eye on her at school," Wilson said. "Though I wouldn't call it spying. Nothing extreme." He waved his hand dismissively. "The details aren't important."
Adam resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Well, I don't know anything. Last time I saw Willow, we weren't exactly on good terms."
If that was bad news to Wilson, he didn't show it. In fact, the hint of a smile that crossed his lips suggested the opposite. He lifted his gaze to the stadium towering behind Adam.
"Not a bad school," Wilson said. "For someone like you. I'm guessing you got in, if you're touring this late in the year."
Adam nodded.
"You got the money?"
Adam hesitated. A mistake. Wilson chuckled.
"I am giving a reward to whoever finds my daughter, or gives me information leading to her," Wilson said. He drew a business card from his suit jacket and held it out to Adam. "Maybe that'll jog your memory."
Adam took the card. It was black, and the logo for the tech company West & Novak was prominently displayed. Beneath it was contact information for Wilson West. He briefly wondered what Novak was up to, whoever they were. Were they a neglectful parent like Wilson, or a decent person?
"Don't hesitate to give me a call if you think of anything," Wilson said as he turned around. All Adam could do was stare as the man climbed back into the car. The vehicle sped away.
Adam slid the business card into his pocket, threw one last glance back at the football stadium, and set off toward the nearest bus stop.
No one had seen Willow since the fight at Delta Labs. She'd clearly wanted to be an engineer, not one of Scorpion's fighters, but Adam's heart still skipped a beat every time they saw a jetchopper. As long as this fight continued, they'd have to run into each other again, eventually.
He had no idea what he would do when that time came.
~
Ten kids were training on the Fortuna's deck when Adam landed the jetchopper, including Eric and Sam. The flames in Eric's hands went out as Adam stepped out of the chopper.
Eric jogged over to meet him. "How was it?" he asked.
"Um, good," Adam said. "The campus is really nice."
He and Eric walked back toward where Sam waited. Eric lowered his voice. "I have to tell you something. About when I went missing as a kid."
"Uh huh?"
"Malcolm says I was kidnapped by Scorpion."
Adam frowned. "When were you talking to that guy?"
"Sam and I went to see if we could get more information out of him." Eric hesitated. "Yesterday, I mean. I was going to mention it at dinner last night, but you seemed busy figuring out tour stuff."
That must've been what Eric was going to tell him that morning in the cafeteria. Adam lifted an eyebrow. "Did the Newmans give you permission to talk to him?"
"Uh, no," Eric admitted. "But that weird drowning memory I have? My fear of water? Malcolm thinks it could be connected. Like, I'm repressing something."
"Oh, great, he thinks he's a psychologist now." To be fair, though, it was their first real lead. "Did he have any ideas about what Scorpion did with you?" Adam asked. "Or why they brought you back?"
"No. He might be able to find more information, but he's not going to tell us anything else unless we let him out." Eric shrugged. "I don't know what to do about that."
"Interesting," Adam muttered.
Sam gave Adam a small wave. "The Newmans said they wanted to have a meeting with the altered when you got back."
Adam would have preferred a nap, but he nodded. "Sounds good."
As he followed Eric and Sam inside, he slid his hand into his pocket and ran a thumb along the edge of Wilson West's business card.