We're still in the room getting ready. Kenji is explaining why he gets a suit and why Adam doesn't and why I didn't at first. His suit helps him blend in easier. My suit covers my skin and prevents it from getting wounded easily after teleporting.
"Besides," Kenji stretches his arms out. "I look sexy as hell in this outfit."
"Okay.." I side-eye him, arms crossed. "I look way sexier though."
Juliette holds back laughter.
"Keep dreaming Peachy, you'll someday look as sexy as me."
"I look sexier than you and I've only had my suit for a day," I say, looking in the mirror. The suit hugs me everywhere I need it to.
"Sure..." Kenji says as he pats me on the head.
"Fuck off Kenji.." I swat his hand away.
Kenji looked the least bit sexy. In my opinion. He's like an older brother to me. He's always been there in a comforting, older brotherly way. Not sexy at all.
"Oh she's mad now," Kenji says, "Juliette watch out she might read our minds."
"Maybe I will, how the hell are you going to stop me?"
Kenji grins mischievously and I know it's going to be bad, "I'll tell Juliette here about how you've had a huge crush on—"
He's talking about my crush on Adam- I wouldn't even call it a crush. All I did say was that he was hot to Kenji when they came back and when I didn't know he and Juliette were and thing, and when they were, I didn't do anything.
I'm not celebrating that they're broken up. Of course, I wouldn't do that, it's just now that I can make moves on him. Not that I would. Juliette is a friend of mine and I wouldn't do anything to upset her.
And I'm not sure if I want anything to do with him. He seems pretty hooked on Juliette.
"Okay! Okay! I'm not sexy!" I raise my hands in defense as the lie spews from my mouth.
"Sure you are." Adam's voice sounds from behind me.
I turn to see him standing in the doorway, arms crossed loosely around his chest. Standing there like he didn't just call me sexy in front of his ex.
"Wow." Is the only word that leaves my mouth as my hand finds the back of my neck.
My face burns as Juliette and Kenji both stare at me.
This totally isn't awkward.
Adam laughs, face red. He looks like he regrets saying a thing. I would too if I were him.
Kenji looks confused. He gives me a look that says "when did this happen?"
I only shrug towards him because it didn't happen. I don't think I've ever talked to Adam one on one. Not that I would've minded it, it's just never occurred.
And I mean, wow, he really moved on fast.
"I cannot believe you," Juliette whispers, she shakes her head. The sentence was directed toward Adam but I felt like it was toward me too. I also feel like I deserved it for some odd reason.
I meet Adam's eyes. He looks guilty.
Juliette is the first person to say something to shift the conversation back to normal. "Adam, do you have any guns?" She asks.
"Yeah, I do." He says. "You just can't see them."
Kenji grins, ready to make things less awkward— more normal.
"Invisible guns, huh? That's cute. I don't think I even went through that phase." Kenji picks a piece of invisible dust off of his suit.
Adam shoots Kenji a dirty look. "I have nine different weapons concealed on my body right now. Would you like to choose the one I use to shoot you in the face? Or should I?"
Wow. Okay.
Having second thoughts about considering him hot.
"It was a joke, Kent. Damn. I was joking—"
"All right, everyone."
Everyone turns at the sound of Castle's voice. He has that type of voice that captures everyone's attention no matter what they're doing, how busy they are, or how hard it is to hear is voice.
Castle talks and everyone listens.
No matter what.
"Are you ready?" He asks.
"Yes," Juliette says quickly.
Adam nods.
I shrug but quickly nod.
"Let's do this shit," Kenji says.
"Follow me," Castle says, waving us over.
—
"So what do you think we should do? Just ring the doorbell?" Kenji asks.
He's talking about the spot that we are meant to meet the supreme at, 1542 SYCAMORE. A house in an unregulated turf area, so we won't have to worry about any citizens being there.
Currently, we are making our way toward the exit of Omega Point, mentally preparing for our possible death.
Fun.
"What do you think?" Kenji asks, "Would that be too much? Maybe we should just knock."
Juliette forces out a laugh that sounds the least bit real. I just crack a smile that I imagine isn't very visible in the dim lighting of this tunnel.
Adam is silent.
"All right, all right," Kenji says, his tone completely different, more serious now. "Once we get out there, you know the drill. We link hands. I project to blend the three of us. One of you on either side of me. Got it?"
I nod, cracking my knuckles. Juliette nods too, her eyes straight forward as she does.
I apologized for what Adam said and ensured her that I had no idea he saw me like that. I shouldn't even have had to apologize but I did. She said it's fine and that she doesn't care, even though I know she does.
I would care if Adam was my ex.
"Kent, you understand the risks, right? If you can't pull this off?" Kenji asks Adam.
Adam has the ability to turn off anyone's powers. That's why he and Juliette were able to touch each other. He simply turns off her powers. But then she hurt him because he wasn't strong enough to keep his powers on. I'm not really sure what is going on between them.
Adam only nods, his body stiff and awkward.
Once we reach the ladder, Kenji goes first and tells us to wait while he checks the area while invisible to see if it's safe.
"Let's go."
All of us are too nervous to respond.
Once we are all above ground, Kenji, invisible Kenji, grabs my hand, I grab Adam's and Juliette grabs Kenji's free hand.
With that, Adam and Juliette disappear.
Adam made it work. He's invisible like the rest of us. I use my elbow to give him a happy nudge.
Good for him.
It's so weird when you look down at your feet and they're not there. It's even weirder because gosh I can't even feel it. It's just nothing.
All I feel now is the cold air.
"Can you guys hear me?" Juliette asks.
"Yup," Kenji says.
"Yeah, I'm right here." I feel Adam squeeze my hand. I offer a reassuring squeeze back.
"Yeah, me too," I say.
"Nice work, Kent. I know this can't be easy for you." Kenji says the obvious.
"It's fine. I'm fine. Let's go." Adam says quickly.
"Done," Kenji says.
We're walking through an area with no people. Close to the main road and far away from Omega Point. We're getting close to the compounds, the steel boxes getting bigger the more we move.
Kenji stops, nearly making me fall.
"Why aren't we moving?" Juliette asks.
Kenji shushes her. "Can't you hear that?"
Only then do I hear the faint whirring of a machine. I'm not sure what it is but it can't mean anything good.
"What?" Juliette asks.
Adam inhales, "Shit someone's coming."
"A tank," Kenji says.
"More than one," Adam says and so can feel him shake his head beside me.
"We're fine, we're invisible." I say, accidentally speaking over Juliette as she says "Then why are we still standing here?"
"Will you guys just be quiet?" Kenji's irritated.
Then the tanks appear. 6 in counting.
"Shit, shit, shit," Kenji whispers beside me.
"What is it? What's the problem?" Juliette asks.
"There is only one reason Warner ever ordered us to take more than two tanks out at a time, on the same route." Adam pauses.
"What—" I ask, nudging him, letting him know that I'm here.
"They're preparing for a fight." The words fall off his tongue in a whisper.
I almost let go of his hand so I grip onto it tighter.
Juliette gasps and Kenji is quiet.
"I'm sorry," I whisper to Adam, realizing how hard I had been holding his hand. I loosen my grip on his hand.
"It's okay." He whispers back, giving my hand a light squeeze.
"He knows. Damnit! Of course, he knows. Castle was right." Kenji says or rather yells. "He knows we're bringing backup. Shit."
"What time is it?" Juliette asks.
"We have about forty-five minutes," Kenji replies.
"Then we should be going," I say.
"Yeah, we don't have time to worry about what's going to happen afterward. Castle is prepared—he's anticipating something like this. We'll be okay. But if we don't get to that house on time, Winston, Addie, and Brendan and everyone else might die today."
"I second that," I say, nodding even though no one can see.
"I think you guys are forgetting the fact that we too, might die today," Kenji says.
Juliette is quick to answer. "Yeah, that too."
"Great thoughts to put into my head. Great. Thank you, Kenji."
—
After stopping at a house that was set up to throw us off, we have approximately 75 seconds until our men and woman, are killed.
"Everyone but me and Y/N/N stays back." I smile a bit, happy she used my nickname. After everything that happened this morning, I just don't want things to be weird between us.
"I want him to think it's just us. If anything goes wrong, you guys can just in or Y/N/N can teleport us out. There is too much of a risk that Y/N/N's presence will throw things off, you guys being there too will make everyone tens times worse."
I nod along to her plan even though we're invisible and have had this planned since we were at Omega Point.
The two boys are quiet for a moment.
Kenji is the first to say something. "Damn. That's a good idea. I should've thought of that."
"We're gonna let go now," I say.
"Hey— good luck. We'll be right behind you." Kenji says with unexpected sincerity. I didn't think that he wanted us to die but he just sounds like a different version of Kenji that I've just met today.
"Hey—" Adam's voice stops us again from letting go. "Promise you guys will be careful."
"Of course," I say.
"I promise," Juliette says.
Juliette is the first to let go. This allows Adam to grab Kenji's now free hand and me to let go. I let go of Kenji's but Adam holds on for just a second longer before letting me go.
We stand in front of the door, both of us too scared to knock.
Lucky for us, we don't have to.
The door flies open revealing the supreme— or who I assume to be the supreme, to us.
"Oh good, you're right on time."
I nod and Juliette seems to be on another planet.
"It's refreshing," He gives us a look over, probably wondering which one is Juliette. "Really," I keep my face blank, attempting to show no emotion. "To see that the youth still value things like punctuality. It's always so frustrating when people waste my time."
Yeah, he probably gets so frustrated to the point where he feels like he has to murder them.
It's confusing.
The supreme is handsome. Weirdly handsome. No way is he over the age of 50.
I'm not sure what I expected but it certainly wasn't this.
This man just yells "I'm wealthy!" maybe it's the suit that's been tailored to the exact measurement of his body, or how his hair is so neat I couldn't find a stray hair if I wanted to.
Or maybe it's just his face. Angular and smooth only adorned with a few wrinkles that you'd have to be so up close to see. Or maybe it's his eyes. A blueish green color that I've never seen before. Not like Juliette's. They're like no other.
They look fake in a way.
"Please, come in." He says with a smile far too bright.
I walk in behind Juliette into the dingy home.
Green carpets, yellow wallpaper, and a weird smell of mold. In the living room sit old brown couches around a wood coffee table, everything clearly aged with dust.
"Oh wait, just one thing." He says and another man appears beside him.
Juliette and I managed to catch each other's eyes for a second before we were both pinned against the wall. Me by the random person and her by the supreme.
I'm pushed to where my cheek is again the yellow walls. The person is using one arm to push me against the wall while the other pulls open each individual pocket to get the knives out.
I can teleport behind him. But that risks too much. I teleport and I reveal the only thing I have to get out of here. I have knives hidden in other areas that hopefully won't be found.
The person shoves me harder into the walls and suddenly I'm pulled back into reality.
Shit.
I thrash around, using one hand to get a knife on the side that wasn't taken yet but the person is quick to stop me, grabbing both wrists and pushing them against my lower back.
I grunt as he pulls me back and slams me back into the wall, my lip now busted open. I continue to thrash around, only resulting in me getting slammed against the wall again, this time, breaking my nose— or it at least feels like he broke my nose. I can feel the war blood running down my face.
Tears prick at the corners of my eyes from the initial pain.
I'm finally let go when the person has gotten every knife off of me. We're told to sit down.
When Juliette reaches the couch, she's a wheezing, coughing mess. We've clearly overestimated our power. We just have to stay close enough to where I can hold onto her and project so we will be able to teleport out.
"Where are the hostages?" Juliette croaks.
"They're fine. They'll be just fine." He waves a hand around, studying us both. "Which one of you is Juliette?"
Neither of us answer.
The supreme just shrugs. "Either way the two of you will likely be killed."
"What do you want from us?" I ask, wiping blood from my lip.
"You know, I'm not entirely sure anymore." He says, clasping his hands together.
"What?" Juliette asks from beside me.
"Well, you've certainly figured out that all of this is just a distraction, right? Surely you've realized that my ultimate goal was to lure your people out into my territory? My men are waiting for just one word. One word from me and they will seek out and destroy all of your little friends waiting so patiently within this half-mile radius."
I swallow hard.
The supreme smiles might've even laughed a little but I'm far too scared to even process that anymore.
The war is starting today if it hasn't already.
"If you think I don't know exactly what's going on in my own land, young lady, you are quite mistaken. I've let these freaks live too freely among us, and it was my mistake. They're causing me too much trouble, and now it's time to take them out."
"I am one of those freaks," Juliette says, her voice shaking. "Why did you bring me here if all you want is to kill us? Why me? You didn't have to single me out." Juliette says, not realizing what she just revealed to them. Now they know that she's Juliette.
"Oh, so you're Juliette." He looks her over once and then at me. "And you're right. I came here with a purpose: to clean up the mess my son made, and to finally put an end to the naive efforts of a group of idiotic aberrations. To erase the lot of you from this sorry world. But then, just as I began drafting my plans, my son came to me and begged me not to kill you. Just you."
Warner begged his father not to kill Juliette.
Either Warner really wants Juliette as a weapon or there's something else going on.
The supreme laughs. "He actually begged me not to kill you. It was just as pathetic as it was surprising."
Warner loves Juliette.
Wow.
"Of course then I knew I had to meet you, 'I must meet the girl who's managed to bewitch my boy!' I said to myself. This girl who's managed to make him lose sight of his pride—his dignity—long enough to beg me for a favor." He pauses. "Do you know when my son has ever asked me for a favor?" He asks, waiting for an answer from Juliette.
She only shakes her head in response.
"Never. Never not once in nineteen years has he ever asked me for anything." He smiles. A weird, far too perfect smile. "Hard to believe, isn't it?"
I bring a hand up to my nose, wiping some of the blood from below it. Despite my light touch, it still stings. Tears join at the corner of my eyes as I stare at the ugly green carpets.
The supreme goes on and on about how he raised Warner and how he just had to meet Juliette. I'm listening, just none of the words are processing.
I'm ready to leave, find our friends, and get back to Omega Point.
"I didn't think you'd show up," the supreme says and I look back up at him. "I mean I certainly hoped you would. But I thought if you did, you'd at least come with support— some sort of backup." He narrows his eyes at me for a second but they quickly flit back to Juliette. "But here you are, wearing this spandex monstrosity," he gestures to her outfit, laughing. "And you've only brought this little thing." He looks at me now. Studies me. "Very stupid. But brave. I like that. I can admire bravery."
I shake my head, about to laugh, but I settle for a grin as I shake my head.
This is pathetic.
My head hurts. Hell, everything hurts. And we're sitting here talking about bravery.
The supreme looks at me. "What's your name."
"Y/N," I say.
"L/N, correct?"
That's enough to wipe the grin clean off my face.
How does he know my name?
The supreme smiles. "Your dad, Pete," he says. "Joined Warner's army."
Why is he telling me this?
"I don't care about my dad," I say, voice sharp.
"Yes, you do." The supreme says easily. He looks between me and Juliette. Juliette looks confused, about as confused as me.
The supreme looks back at me. "After you ran away,"
How does he know all of this?
"Your father joined the army. Promised he would find you. He is a good man."
"No he isn't."
He smiles, and fixes the cuffs of his suit. "Tell me, Y/N," The supreme leans forward in his seat. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
I open my mouth, about to say something but he stops me, holding a finger up.
"Now watch what you say here." He nods his head towards me.
And I do. This man could've easily killed both of us already. Of course I'm not stupid enough to call him unintelligent and I'm sure this man is extremely smart but I'm too stubborn to admit it.
"I have no idea about your intellectual status."
"Then let me inform you." He says, holding eye contact.
I try my hardest not to look away but it's hard. His stare makes me feel like he can see into my mind and see what I'm planning on doing.
"I know just about everything that went on in your family's life. I knew about your brother. And how he died at the hands of your own father."
I break the eye contact, looking down.
"I know everything about you."
"No, you don't—"
"Your middle name is Caroline. When you were a kid you had a stuffed toy named Harry and you took it everywhere. You and your brother Elliot were close. But then he died. And then you ran away."
"How-"
"Your mother." the supreme says. "She works for me. Now I won't get into the details— that I'm sure you do not want to know about." He laughs, a dry, fake, laugh. "But she always asked about you. So I kept an eye out."
He pauses.
"You look just like her you know?"
I shake my head.
This is too much.
I've never met my mom before. I have no idea what she looks like or how old she is or what she's doing for the supreme. And I don't even want to think about what she does for him. My dad told me that my mom went out on a bender and never returned. Or that's what he told my brother, I at the time, was "too young". But I knew. Heard it through the vent that traveled between me and my brother's room.
I close my eyes wanting to forget everything. Wanting to go back to when Castle asked me to go and say no.
The supreme tuts. "Anyhow, I brought Juliette here with every intention of killing her. To teach my son a lesson. And in this situation that would mean killing you as well, Y/N."
"So then why don't you just kill us?" Juliette asks, voice raspy, tired.
The supreme hesitates. "I don't know. I had no idea you were going to be quite so lovely. Or that you were going to bring a friend, who is also, quite lovely."
I keep my eyes down.
This is disgusting.
"I'm afraid my son never mentioned how beautiful you are. And it's always so difficult to kill a beautiful thing— things." He clears his throat, making me glance up. "Besides, you surprised me. You arrived on time. With only one other person. You were actually willing to sacrifice yourself to save the worthless creatures stupid enough to get themselves caught."
He takes a breath in and smiles, a monstrous, evil smile. "Maybe we could keep you two. If you don't prove useful, you might prove entertaining, at the very least."
I feel like I'm about to throw up,
"Though if we did keep you, I suppose you'd have to come back to the capital with me because I can't trust my son to do anything right anymore. I've given him far too many chances."
"Thank you for the offer. But I'd really rather jump off of a cliff." Juliette says.
I nod to her words.
He laughs. He's laughing. "Oh my," He calls over his shoulder into another room. "Son, would you please come in here?"
Warner stands in the doorway.
I shake my head, smiling again.
This is great.
—
don't hate me. i know adam is an idiot but it had to happen 🤷♀️
and this is a long ass chapter :/
kinda edited