2.3

Content warnings: violence typical of fight scenes, alternate self (detail below; skip if you prefer surprises)

• A character gets stabbed.

• A character engages in internal communication with an alternate version of themself. This is not mean to be an accurate depiction of DID (see disclaimer here.)

~.~

It had been just one week since Ilia had woken from her coma. Just one week of being holed up in the pocket dimension, engaged in intensive concentration training—and yet, to Ilia, it felt like it had been a lifetime of isolation.

And, well, considering the amount of time Ilia had spent frozen in that stupid crystal, maybe she was a little justified.

It was just Ilia, Karyme, and Morgan standing in the alleyway, but even that felt overwhelming. Every time Ilia glanced over at Karyme, she was assaulted by visions of the young woman’s broken form splayed across rocky terrain. And every time Ilia dared to look at Morgan, she was hit with visions of Morgan’s past: of whips and bullets and lightning and blood. Ilia shuddered. She was so tired of hearing Morgan’s screams.

As the trio walked into Dellah’s diner, the door chimed, startling Ilia out of her thoughts. The inside of the diner was pretty typical looking, with booths lining the walls and everything patterned in checkered pink and blank. The atmosphere was lively, perhaps a little noisy, but cozy overall. The middle of the diner was taken up by a counter and barstools.

At Ilia’s side Morgan stiffened. It seemed the shock of being in public wasn’t just affecting Ilia. Considering how the first tournament fight had gone, maybe that made sense.

The pair we’re looking for should be seated at the back of the diner, Karyme noted. She led Ilia and Morgan over to a corner table at the back. Ilia was happy to let someone else take charge.

A man and woman were sitting together, speaking in low voices. The man was Latino, with oiled back hair and a button down shirt. The woman had copper-colored skin and straight black hair that extended past her shoulders.

“Hi!” Karyme said brightly. She slid into the seat next to the man with grace and ease. Morgan and Ilia awkwardly remained standing. “I’m so glad we got this chance to catch up! Do you know what’s good to eat here?”

The man blinked, then caught on. "I was thinking of getting a shake and fries, honestly," he said calmly. "Not trying to increase my risk of heart failure." As he spoke, Ilia slid into the seat next to the woman, and with no other choice, Morgan sat next to Ilia.

The server came over with more menus and poured everyone a glass of water. As Ilia looked at the man, she was hit with a vision of blood splatter and gunshots and running. She could hear someone barking orders in the back as the gunfire became all-encompassing. In the corner of her eye, she could see a similar vision lingering around the woman. Ilia did her best not to stare, but she didn’t think it was working very well.

"Let me know when you've got an order," the waitress said, putting the pitcher to the side. "Unless you've already got something in mind?"

“We’ll need a minute, thanks,” the woman replied. Her voice was deep, with a soothing quality to it. Not the kind of voice Ilia would have expected from a former Company employee.

As soon as the waitress walked away, the woman’s demeanor changed.

“How did you find us?” she hissed. “Both of us have taken a lot of effort to stay off the radar."

“It’s… complicated,” Karyme said carefully. “Rest assured, no one else can find you the same way we did.” The man seemed unconvinced.

“And if we tell you this information, what then? What good could possibly come of being able to hack into the Company’s records?” the man pressed.

Ilia pursed her lips. She wasn’t sure about the answer to that question, and in any case, she was more than happy to let Karyme do all of the talking. As far as Ilia was aware, she and Morgan were only there to protect Karyme.

“I’m an archivist,” Karyme explained, “so I know the importance of keeping good records. Which means I also understand the harm that can be inflicted upon an organization by having those records destroyed.” She leaned in. “Just think—so many people in this world are under the Company’s thumb. So many people who live at the mercy of Company surveillance records and blackmail. Deleting those records could do real harm to the Company.”

As Karyme spoke, Ilia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, centering herself on the image of a royal blue flame. Flickers of light sprang to her fingertips, but she quickly squashed them, focusing instead on the rhythmic cycle of inhale and exhale. With each passing second, she sank deeper into the mindscape, and when she opened her eyes, she was seeing more than just visions—she was seeing the thoughts of those around her as well.

The man sighed and leaned back in his seat. “Maybe you have a point. Maybe you don’t. At this point, I’m too tired of running to care.” He looked warily at Karyme, Ilia, and Morgan.

“I’m not convinced that the three of you have what it takes to infiltrate the Company anyway.”

Sensing that the conversation was about to come to an end, Ilia probed into the man’s mind. Luckily, it didn’t take long to find what she was looking for: the passwords to the Company computers. Speaking with Karyme had brought this crucial piece of info to the forefront of the man’s mind.

Ilia conveyed the password to Ven via the telepathy crystal, then popped out of the mindscape. Her head was reeling with the effort of looking through someone else’s mind, but she pushed that feeling aside for now, trying to focus instead on what the woman was saying. The woman’s eyes were cold and full of steel.

“...have been on the run for far too long to trust just anyone,” she finished.

“I understand,” Karyme said earnestly. “We won’t bother you any longer, then.” Karyme stood up to leave, and at that moment, a bullet whizzed through the window. As the glass shattered, and people started to scream, Ilia was keenly aware of the woman next to her slumping forward, a bullet through her forehead. The man stiffened.

“Great,” he snarled. “You brought them here.”

“Oh, no,” a familiar voice said from behind Ilia. “You did that all yourself.” There was a gunshot, and before Ilia could react, the man was dead.

Ilia stiffened. She would have recognized that voice anywhere.

It seemed she was going to get the displeasure of meeting The Necromancer a second time.

~.~

Rae, switch with me! As soon as the words sounded in Rae’s head, Rae let the electronic ping crescendo to a roar, enveloping him. A second later, he had switched places with Mateen, and he found himself diving to the side to avoid being tackled by his opponent.

Careful, Rae! If that guy touches you or Mateen, we’re done for, Juli warned.

Thanks, Rae said dryly. But I knew that already. Xe rose to xyr feet and took off at a sprint towards the outside of the arena, running from the man who had just tried to tackle him. A fireball whizzed over Rae’s shoulder. Xe kept running, ignoring the smell of singed fabric.

It wasn’t that Rae was afraid of being tackled. No, xe was simply afraid of being tackled by this particular person. After all, the man who was chasing him could temporarily steal powers.

The fight had started off well enough. Juli had gone after the power thief, and Joshua had launched himself at the other adult combatant, leaving Mateen to deal with the hydrokinetic girl. Then, Joshua’s opponent had strengthened the effects of gravity, sending Joshua crashing to the ground, and the power thief had seized Juli’s fire abilities, and everything had gone to shit.

As Rae ran, he felt the atmosphere pressing against him, making it harder to move. There was a clink behind Rae, and then, suddenly, bullets were flying through the air, pushed away from the center of the field by the gravity manipulator’s reverse magnetism.

Rae did xyr best to dodge the onslaught, but xe was not made for a fight. One of the bullets lodged itself in xyr left arm. It hurt like someone had punched Rae in the arm really, really hard, but Rae couldn’t feel anything beyond that—perhaps the adrenaline running through xyr veins muted the sensation. Rae kept running.

A spout of boiling water arced through the air, aimed at Rae’s face. At around the same time, the power thief let loose a fireball. Rae ducked, and the two attacks collided in midair, releasing a cloud of steam.

Joshua, what are you even doing over there? Juli snapped. You’re supposed to be distracting water girl!

She’s a kid, Joshua snapped in reply. I can’t use my full force against a kid.

Kid or not, she’s part of the mafia, Juli shot back. Kids in the mafia are used to pain.

Stop it, Mateen interjected. We need to end this. If we’re going to make a commotion, we need to do so before anyone else gets their powers stolen.

Fine, Joshua said curtly. Juli, we’re switching opponents.

Well, fine! Juli grumbled in reply.

Joshua hefted his bat over one shoulder, and the air whistled around him as he swept into a nosedive towards the power thief. Juli launched themself for the hydrokinetic, knife at the ready, and Mateen extended a hand towards the gravity manipulator. Heart pounding, Rae turned away from the fight—xe had a different job now.

Rae scanned the crowd for his mark as xe made xyr way over to Mateen. He found his target at the highest level of the stadium, sitting in a plush red chair behind three layers of bulletproof glass.

A lot of good that’ll do you, Rae thought with a smirk.

Rae used xyr line of sight to attune to the Company executive, and then the electric buzzing enveloped Rae, sending him up into the special protected seat. Before anyone could react to Rae switching places with the Company executive, Rae attuned to the power thief and switched places with him, landing Rae right back in the arena.

As soon as the Company executive landed on the battlefield, Mateen grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and held a knife to his throat.

“Fight’s over!” Mateen roared. “One more move and I’ll slit this guy’s throat!”

The fight came to a screeching halt.

Juli was floating midair, held at bay by the gravity manipulator, and Joshua was in the process of getting bitten by the water girl. Rae could see the recognition in their eyes, the slow realization that the hostage before them was someone important. With a disgruntled expression, the gravity manipulator lowered Juli to the ground. The water girl continued to bite Joshua.

The tension in the air was palpable. In the stands, Rae was keenly aware of someone radioing in for backup. He could hear the sound of footsteps against metal as the existing guards started to make their way out of the stands, running to the backstage area. All eyes were on Mateen. Good.

And then, the sound of a single pair of hands clapping.

“Very good, Mateen. A good show, indeed.” Rae’s blood went cold.

Ohhhh shit, why is The Necromancer here? Juli murmured.

Because Kai and Minerva failed, Mateen bit back. Stall for time.

“Why don’t you put my friend down now?” The Necromancer asked. He was leaning against the doors to the locker room. “It wouldn’t do to end the tournament with something so barbaric as a hostage situation.”

“No,” Mateen said coolly. “I’m not depositing my only leverage.” The man in Mateen’s grip froze at that.

“Well then,” The Necromancer sighed. “Extreme times call for extreme measures. So… Maila.” The Necromancer looked straight at the hydrokinetic teenager. “Would you do the honors?” For a second, water girl hesitated, but then, she made eye contact with The Necromancer, and her demeanor changed.

The girl waved her hand, and five metric tons of water came crashing down on the battlefield.

~.~

Peter scurried through the air vent with a grin. Excitement thrummed in his veins. He sure loved a good heist, and what bigger heist could there be than infiltrating the Company itself? Still, Peter was no fool. He knew how to keep his excitement in check and focus on the goal at hand. That’s what it meant to be a good teammate, after all.

Peter reached a grate and hid himself just out of sight, peering through the opening from afar. Every now and then, men in suits passed by below, speaking into black and silver crystals as they walked loops around the facility.

I’m in position. Peter sent his thoughts through the crystal around his neck. Dani, whenever you’re ready.

Noted. Dani’s reply was short and clipped, with a small hint of annoyance. Peter frowned. Dani still hadn’t forgiven him for that one slip up several years ago, and while Peter was not seeking forgiveness, he had hoped Dani would put all of that aside for the sake of mission. Apparently he’d expected too much.

A guard passed under the grate, and this time, Peter willed the guard’s wallet to float upwards, towards the air vent. As soon as the wallet was within reach, Peter carefully moved the grate cover aside and snatched the wallet. Inside, Peter found a wallet-sized photo of three children, five credit cards, and a twenty dollar bill. Peter pocketed the money but left the credit cards, lamenting how boring the inside of this wallet was, and reached for the actual item of interest here: an ID badge.

According to the research Peter and Dani had conducted yesterday (and by research, Dani had really meant “beating up Company thugs in an alley until they spilled secrets”), the locks in this area functioned on two levels. First, the scanner checked the ID badge. Second, it scanned the user’s right eye. Ridwan could take care of the second part pretty easily with their illusions, and now that Peter had an ID badge…

He clicked the crystal around his neck once, and the ID badge disappeared in a flash, presumably sent over to Dani.

After that, Peter was stuck waiting. In the meantime, he materialized a tube of wasabi and a water gun and started filling the gun in preparation for the fight to come.

Peter couldn’t say he cared for the people who actually needed this mission to work out—not the way he cared for his old gang, his family—but if this was what it took for the immortals to get over their guilt complexes, then so be it. Maybe after this, they could start taking down the Soul Stealers for real!

Peter was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps below. A few seconds later, a wave of guards came running through the hallway, heading towards the direction of the teleportation room (or at least, that’s where Peter thought they were going).

The tournament team has started causing a ruckus, Ridwan noted. Most of the guards should be leaving the area. We’ll do things as we discussed.

Peter nodded, though there was no one around to see the gesture. There were three guards around the records room from what Peter could see, though more would probably appear in due time.

At that moment, Lian appeared from around the corner. Their hair was lighter and longer, and their facial structure was different, but Peter could tell it was them from the way they walked.

“Hey!” one of the guards yelled. “This is a restricted area!”

“Oh, um, hi,” Lian said sheepishly. “I think I got lost on the way to the bathroom…?” Peter resisted the urge to facepalm. After this was over, he was going to give Lian a lesson in deception.

“Kid, you can’t be here,” the guard said with a scowl.

“Oh, um, okay,” Lian murmured. They batted their eyelids innocently and gestured for the guards to come closer. As soon as the guards were within range, Lian let loose an ear-splitting scream, knocking all three guards flat on their backs.

Peter took that as his cue to hop out of the grate. He landed in front of Lian, brandishing his water gun threateningly, and used his telekinesis to hold the guards down. Then, he sprayed wasabi in the air, and as the green liquid spurted from the water gun’s barrel, Peter used his telekinesis to send wasabi into each of the guards’ mouths. The guards yelped in confusion and agony as they fell to the ground once again, overcome by the power of spicy food.

And hey, at least Peter had the guards’ full attention as Dani and Ridwan darted into the records room.

Really, Peter? Wasabi? Lian questioned.

Well, Peter replied, grinning. Ridwan said to be noticeable. They didn’t say how!

Lian turned back to the guards with a frown. The three men were still held down, but Peter had no doubt that they’d already telepathically radioed for backup. In fact, Peter could already hear footsteps in the distance. It was up to Dani and Ridwan now.

~.~

Lian and Peter ran down the hallway at a full sprint. Peter yelled something into a crystal as the pair skidded around a corner and straight into two men in suits. The pair quickly changed direction, sprinting as if their lives depended on it, eyes wide with fear. One of the men shot a blaster at the fleeing fugitives; the other materialized a knife and threw it.

Haku took a deep breath. They knew how this vision was going to go, but for some reason, they couldn’t look away, not when—

Feet pounding against tile. Pain in the leg. A knife... a knife sticking out of your calf. Legs giving out. A startled yelp from Lian. Lian rushing to your side despite the blood gushing from their back.

Haku winced. They knew what was coming next, of course they did, but—

Peter, pinned to the wall, a dagger through the throat.

With a shaky exhale, Haku swiped left and the vision disappeared. They still hadn’t figured out how to avoid the outcome, and the areas to the right and left of the vision were too obscured in the timeline to see clearly. Worse, the timelines that branched from that particular moment were almost all incredibly depressing, and it was difficult to find one where Peter and Lian survived.

Haku flipped through a few more visions, looking for clues between the lines, but their search was fruitless. They sighed.

You’re losing your edge, the soul splinter noted. Haku grimaced.

No fucking kidding, they snapped in reply. Haku felt the soul splinter reach for control and swatted it away.

You need rest, the soul splinter said clinically. Give me control—I won’t do anything stupid.

Fuck off, Haku shot back. It wasn’t Haku’s best retort, and they knew it, but their brain was too foggy for them to think of anything else.

I’m right, the soul splinter murmured. Your body is new, and your soul is still weak. You cannot last like this—WE cannot last like this. Haku sighed and leaned back, rubbing their eyes. They knew their soul splinter was right. They knew it, but—

Haku cut off their connection to the mindscape with a scowl and opened their eyes. The room was empty except for Jinal, who was similarly meditating at one of the tables. Now that Haku was out of the mindscape, the physical sensations of the world came flooding back all at once, and Haku squeezed their eyes shut as the fatigue crashed down on them. Their head was pounding, their vision blurry, their muscles and joints aching from lack of movement.

With a groan, Haku opened their eyes and slowly staggered to their feet. They glanced towards Jinal, but she seemed undisturbed, thankfully. Still reeling, Haku slowly made their way to the kitchen, one hand clutching their head, the other guiding them along the wall. Luckily, all of the mortals were out on missions, and as Haku stumbled into the kitchen, the only person at the table was Ven, who had seen them like this multiple times before anyway.

“Ah! Haku!” Ven said excitedly, their eyes wide. “Let me make you some tea—sit down, sit down. I’ll grab some dinner leftovers, too.” Haku collapsed into a chair and nodded, too tired to say anything else. They rubbed their eyes and stifled a yawn.

“How long was I…?” Haku mumbled.

“Almost a week!” Ven called from the kitchen. Haku grimaced. They hadn’t meant to be browsing timelines for that long, but… they still hadn’t found a solution, either. Ven came back with a mug and a plate and set them down in front of Haku.

“Here—your favorite tea, and some potstickers from dinner last night,” Ven said with a smile.

“Eat up!” Haku’s grimace deepened as they eyed the food. They knew what would happen when they took a bite—and it wasn’t going to be pleasant. They also knew that eating was probably the only way to recover after a week in the mindscape.

With shaking hands, Haku raised a potsticker to their lips and took a bite. The effect was immediate. Haku gripped the edge of the table with both hands, hunched over as the hunger hit. A wave of pain washed over them as their soul practically screamed for energy—energy in any form, energy from the molecules that made up the table, energy from the chemical bonds in the potsticker, energy from nonliving things, energy from living things.

Their soul yearned for entropy.

Black flames enveloped Haku’s entire body, but they were hardly aware of it as they stared intently at the table, trying desperately to hold back the bestial instinct to turn everything in the room to dust.

A cool, calming sensation spread through Haku, emanating from their back, and the instinct faded a little. Haku gave Ven a grateful smile as the other placed a glowing golden hand on their back. Still, it took Haku a full three minutes before they could confidently release their grip on the table.

“It was bad, huh,” Ven said quietly. Haku nodded.

“Haven’t eaten in over fifty years—of course it was going to be miserable,” they muttered. Ven let out a shaky breath.

“Yeah, I’m honestly afraid to try it, myself, but unlike you, the worst I’ve done is give myself a migraine,” Ven said wryly. “And Lian gave me some meds to help with that. The meds helped for the hour or so before my body metabolized it out of my system—don’t tell them that, though.” Haku snorted.

“I don’t plan on talking to the mortals unless I need to,” they said thinly. “It’s easier to future guide when I’m not attached.”

Except you’re already attached, the soul splinter hissed. Haku scowled, but instead of responding, they took another bite out of the potsticker. It was delicious, as always, and now that Ven was helping them suppress the curse’s instincts, Haku could almost enjoy the taste.

“You know, Haku, you don’t need to blame yourself for every bad thing that happens,” Ven said softly.

“I don’t,” Haku said curtly. They took a sip of tea. “It’s just hard to be impartial about the future of the world when you are… biased towards certain people.”

“Mm, I know,” Ven hummed. “I know! But… cutting yourself off like this isn’t healthy. And besides! You have to understand the capabilities and personalities of the people around you if you want to understand how to lead them to the best future.” Haku frowned, but stayed silent, nibbling on the potsticker as they mulled over what Ven had said.

The capabilities of the people around me…

The vision of Peter with a dagger through his throat flashed before Haku’s eyes.

Something clicked.

Haku’s eyes widened, and the potsticker slipped out of their hand at the force of the realization.

“Ven, you’re a genius,” Haku said, standing up so suddenly that they almost knocked over their chair. Ven cocked his head to the side, confused. Haku materialized a pen and notepad and started writing frantically, eyes alight with excitement. A knowing smile spread across Ven’s face—he’d seen Haku like this many times before.

“You figured something out,” Ven noted. Haku nodded, still writing, almost impatient with how slowly their hand was moving across the paper.

“I know how to save Peter and Lian.”

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(Maila borrowed from beep)