Steve’s shrouded body slid into the ground, surrounded by a massive crowd of friends, family, and strangers. There were easily three hundred people around, more than Sami would have expected of Steve. But he was the first death in HUE, something almost unimaginable to the wider public. They just assumed that everyone that was Awakened could handle themselves, especially when on a team.

  The sky was dark and gloomy, and the wind cold as it drifted between the people in attendance. The grass was dried out at their feet and Steve’s tombstone was in a row of clean ones that seemed recently added. People didn’t used to die so frequently in Hammerton.

  Steve’s family stood in the front, along with Naomi in a wheelchair. HUE was collected just behind them, heads lowered and dressed somberly. Next to them, members of EUE, their goggles respectfully stowed away for the occasion. Probably for the best when the Underground wore the same goggles.

  Someone spoke kind words at the front, reminders of Steve’s life and his honorable death. Apparently, several of the people in attendance were shop and home owners who Steve would repair the buildings for at no cost with clay. Never a perfect repair, but enough to keep some people in business when they were desperate and couldn’t wait for a repair crew.

  Sami felt the gravity of his death when the first clod of dirt was cast on his body, the burial beginning.

  Sami reflected on how he’d done nothing more than bother Steve in their short period of shared life. Constantly questioning his decisions regarding HUE and never fully giving him the credit for being such an excellent help to the people of Hammerton. Turning away in shame, Sami walked away from Claire and Gutshot to get some space to think. Brushing past, he waded through teary faces, red eyes, and broken hearts.

  Stopping suddenly, he saw Lightcrown in the back. Eyebrows furling in confusion, Sami wondered what brought the most powerful Awakened to Steve’s side. Making his way over, the man gave Sami a light nod to his approach.

  “I’m sorry about your friend, Sami,” Lightcrown said.

  “Can you…” Sami frowned in hesitation, knowing he was breaking discretion, but needing the question answered. “Can you bring people back?”

  Lightcrown shook his head with an understanding gaze. “Death is death. All we get is a chance at changing life.”

  Sami nodded, taking in the scene. The people surrounding the grave were a testament to the life that Steve had lived.

  “I think it’s nice you’re here. This might be the first time I’ve seen you away from the diner,” Sami mused. Except for the Silent Scream, but that didn’t really count.

  “I thought I needed to see it. The consequences of not involving myself. Obviously, there’s no guarantee that I could have made things better, but not being in HUE is a deliberate decision with consequences. Plus, I met him. Nice guy.” Lightcrown checked the time on his phone. “I gotta go, Sami. I’ll see you around.”

  Sami nodded, saluting him weakly as he exited the crowd. Sighing, Sami also made his way out of the group of mourners, only to have his shoulder caught by someone.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Sami turned to see Apex. The first time they had spoken since the incident with Naomi’s Antiserum.

  “You almost killed her, you know,” Sami said sharply.

  “I know, and I’m sorry for that, too. I just got back from a mission in which Steve died and everyone in the Underground that wasn’t Pete got away. They never would have escaped if they weren’t Awakened, so it got in my head. It was wrong. I’m sorry,” Apex said sincerely, his eyes trembling.

  While Sami could feel the genuine honesty behind his words, he could still remember feeling helpless at the hands of his own ally. The apology was appreciated, but he wasn’t going to make Apex feel good about just saying sorry.

  “I’m gonna head back to HUE for now. Maybe do a job or two with the reserve team we left behind to clear my mind,” Sami said, pulling away from the hand on his shoulder.

  Apex nodded. “We’ll see you there soon.”

  As he left, he couldn’t help but wonder if the Underground was planning anything new now that they felt bolstered by their ability to outmaneuver the likes of Apex.

  * * *

  Frank entered the abandoned mines of the Underground, holding a bright flashlight ahead of him. Pizza-armed Joe stood next to him with a twinge of nervousness stretched across his face.

  “I’m not going in,” Joe said finally.

  “They’re gone,” Frank assured him. “We confirmed every one of them at the funeral or back at their base.”

  “Unless they got some other member in their ranks. I told you there were a bunch of chickens after my arms, right?”

  “I don’t think it’s so surprising that chickens like pizza. I’m not convinced that it had anything to do with an Awakening ability.”

  “Then why were so many chickens gathered in one place?”

  Frank shook his head dismissively. “I’m only seeing one chicken right now.”

  “Your insults mean nothing, you were also beaten by the pizza guy.”

  “Well, we gotta go in. Might get some tools to help since we gotta break Shineburst out of prison. Maybe Rektor too, but I don’t know if he’s biding his time.”

  “I’m staying out here. This doesn’t need to be a rush job, you can wait for Arano, James, and Jerome to free up.”

  “I’ll be fine with Thugg and the others.”

  “Don’t think of me as in there with you.” Thugg said immediately, standing at Joe’s side with arms folded.

  “Huh?”

  “He’s got the one syllable thing, remember?” Joe spun a pizza finger in a quick circle next to his head.

  “You’re saying you’re not joining?”

  “I don’t see the point.” Thugg shook his head.

  “There’s tons of potential in here! Boli gave us weapons, and I know for a fact there’s thousands in cash left behind. Don’t you wanna get any of that?”

  “No.”

  Frank sputtered, shrugging. “Fine. Arthur and Patty with me, Joe and Thugg can watch the exit and radio in if anything goes weird.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “I think it’s more likely to go weird on your end,” Joe muttered.

  “My friends call me Patty. I’m Patricia,” the woman with acid power corrected, following Frank inside.

  “We aren’t friends?” Frank asked.

  “Colleagues, at best,” Arthur noted, leaving a trail of paint to easily mark the way back out.

  “Seriously? How many jobs have we run together?”

  “You hear yourself right? You’re calling them jobs and think there was some comradery?” Patricia pointed out.

  “I think it’s good for a team to have some rapport.”

  “Rapport, sure, but you’re calling me Patricia.”

  Frank grumbled to himself, clearing out a path ahead of him with a push of his arms. The dirt rolled together and forged itself into a dense pack. His second power, Dig, allowed him to create the Underground. As well as escape prison with Joe when they were captured after their pizza man incident. He liked to keep it under wraps to keep his enemies guessing.

  With the path ahead clear of rubble and melted Petes, Frank, Arthur and Patricia picked up the pace down the road. The clean up would be a quick job.

  “Start digging here.” Frank made a hole with a punch of his fist and Arthur nodded.

  “What are we looking for, exactly?”

  “There should be a couple of suitcases with money and I want to salvage at least one of Boli’s weapons. Might be hard to find both, so we can settle for one or the other.”

  Sliding hands in a smooth motion Frank willed the dirt to form a shallow path for himself and Patricia to dig through as Arthur got to work.

  “How much money are we talking?” Patricia asked, interested.

  “Should be in the hundreds of thousands. And yeah, we can split it,” Frank promised.

  “Maybe we are friends,” Arthur mumbled as he threw dirt over his shoulder.

  Frank chuckled, shifting dirt without touching it in search of anything valuable. The corner of a suitcase, the shine of a custom weapon, anything of that nature. Boli gave them black goggles that could miraculously see in the dark, even without special chips inside. There was no telling what was left behind.

  “What about this?” Arthur held up a black, radiating orb.

  “What is that?” Patricia asked, leaning in with interest.

  “I bet you it’s one of Boli’s liminal spaces.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I think the scientist can make pockets of space that hold more than it seems.”

  “Have you seen him make one?” Arthur asked skeptically.

  “What else could it be?”

  “I dunno. It kind of burns to hold, though.”

  “Give it to Patty, she can burn it open and we’ll see how much cash is stashed.”

  “I told you it’s Patricia,” she said as she caught the orb.

  Looking it over with one hand, she shrugged and released a single drop of acid on the structure.

  The bomb that Steve planted in the Underground detonated, burying the entirety of the dirt lair and killing those captured in the blast.

  * * *

  SLATTERY NETWORK - HUE: Heroes or Hidden Villains?

  By Joanna Slattery

  The city rejoiced when the Hero Unification Entity (HUE), our supposed protectors, announced the “decisive takedown” of the notorious Underground. Certainly no small feat,the Underground and its operations had been a scourge on the people of Hammerton for months. We should certainly laud the defeat of the Underground. If they are, in fact, gone.

  But here at the Slattery Network, we ask: are we being played? Are HUE, in fact, the very villains they claim to have vanquished?

  Repeat readers will know this isn’t the first time I’ve questioned HUE’s operations. Just two weeks ago, I published another Slattery Network question: Who Wears The Black Goggles? It’s no secret that we’ve seen people wearing black goggles acting both in the name of heroism and vandalism, and I think we can ask the question: Are HUE wearing the goggles?

  Let’s examine the facts. The Underground, a shadowy organization known for its elusive tactics, has plagued our city for about as long as HUE has been around. While most attacks would be thwarted, the incidents are conspicuously lacking any captures of the people perpetrating the crimes. After incredibly thorough, fact-based investigations, The Slattery Network asks the innocent question of why there seems to be an overlap between the two organizations. Suddenly, almost immediately after the article is published, there’s a city-wide blackout.

  When the power is restored, thanks to the efforts of regular non-Awakened engineers like you and me, HUE emerges from the darkness and declares victory, presenting a carefully curated narrative of their heroic triumph. Is there any evidence, video or photographic? Conveniently, it was impossible to capture anything as the blackout was an electromagnetic pulse, turning off even their recording devices. An EMP? Conveniently disabling all recording devices during the decisive battle? This begs the question: who had the capability to deploy such a powerful EMP, and why? If the Underground had this EMP tech, why not use it before?

  Even without recordings, where is the other easily identifiable evidence? Where are the captured leaders? The recovered technology? Even a simple set of goggles! Instead, we have been presented with vague pronouncements and conveniently destroyed facilities, buried under mountains of dirt under Indus. Was it even there to begin with? This isn’t to accuse, but to ask the questions the people deserve to hear answered.

  The only outcome of this tragedy is the loss of Steve Ponder, one of the most noble and well-acting members of the Hero Unification Entity. Where people needed help, he was there, whether a big attack, or rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. And the Slattery Network mourns his loss. I, in fact, had the honor of meeting Steve and can attest that he was a man of pure integrity and honesty. Precisely the kind of unquestionable integrity that would make him a liability to an organization with something to hide.

  The Slattery Network finds it awfully convenient that immediately after it published a question posed about the validity of the donations the organization it’s receiving, only then was the opportunity given to remove the threat of the Underground. Was the takedown of the Underground a strategic move to silence scrutiny regarding HUE's funding? Did the threat of exposure force their hand? The Underground has been around a lot longer than the Slattery Network was writing about it. Why was it removed so suddenly? What led there to be an opportunity after the article that didn’t exist anytime before?

  In addition, the Underground was always steps ahead, seemingly anticipating every move by law enforcement and HUE. How could they have such precise information? If we were to gauge and answer, we might suggest that they were the source. But we’re not here to offer answers, we’re just asking questions.

  Let it not be lost that the Underground hasn’t had a single operation in the past ten days. Ever since the blackout, there’ve been no signs of thugs in black goggles roaming around the great streets of Hammerton. This is fantastic news that the Slattery Network is delighted to report. But there are still questions unanswered.

  The recent “takedown” can serve a dual purpose. It eliminates a perceived threat, bolstering HUE’s public image, and simultaneously allows them to operate with greater impunity. Any dissenting voice, any questioning of their methods, can now be branded as a supporter of the “defeated” Underground.

  We, at the Slattery Network, demand transparency. We demand proof. We demand to ask one question: Are we being protected, or are we being manipulated? When there was a threat of donations being affected, the Underground was acted upon, but never sooner. Was there more at play than a simple operation to take down a notorious operation?

  As always, we invite you to answer any of our questions in the comments below.

  10 Comments:

  Guest 1: Joanna, the point you made about the EMP was chilling! It makes perfect sense. I've canceled my recurring donations. We need answers!

  Guest 2: Thank you Joanna, this is the kind of reporting we need in the city right now

  Guest 3: This is a dangerous smear campaign. HUE has protected us time and again. You’re spreading baseless accusations.

  Guest 4: The only answer I have is that I KNOW I’ve seen people in black goggles fighting other people in black goggles. I'm glad someone is talking about the goggles. It was like they were fighting themselves.

  Guest 5: idk how to feel. If hue is out to get us i cant trust anyone

  Guest 6: I think people are forgetting that the underground was very dangerous. HUE did the city a service.

  Guest 7: I’m not sure what to believe. But if HUE is not hiding something, why did they let Steve Ponder die?

  Guest 8: We need to see those security camera videos from the city. If they really were destroyed by an EMP, then we need to see that proof.

  Guest 9: The Slattery Network is doing good work, but I think that we need more evidence before we make any accusations.

  Guest 10: Yo, those dudes in black goggles are sus. We need to get to the bottom of this.