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"Lynn Holmes... Lynn Holmes. Oh, [i]that girl[/i]. It says here that she was scheduled for release today or tomorrow, but I guess she decided to leave on her own. She's been gone for a few hours now. No official checkout or anything." The nurse scoffed and turned her head back towards the young girl standing in front of her desk. "That girl took one of our nurses key cards. If you see her, tell her that we need it back. She can keep the scrubs."

[color=E5D0FF]"Oh, uh... Yeah, I'll do that."[/color] Eli paused for a moment, lost in thought, before trying another name. [color=E5D0FF]"What about Amelia... No, I don't know her last name. Uhm, has Keaton Plasse been released?"[/color]

A few more clicks of a keyboard. "Mhm. Left with a clean bill of health and a proper checkout."

A nod. [color=E5D0FF]"Thanks."[/color]

Eli turned away from the desk and stared at the foyer of the hospital. It was unexpected that Lynn would have left the hospital. Let alone with a stolen key card and a pair of scrubs. What was she up to that required sneaking out of a building? Especially after a traumatic injury?

The image of Lynn slumped against a wall, blood oozing out of a gaping hole where her eye once was, invaded her mind. She blinked, and Lynn was replaced with Radvi. At least Lynn wasn't in a coma. At least Lynn survived. At least-

Eli pushed her way through the doors and gratefully accepted the fresh, cool air outside. She breathed in for a few moments until she felt calm again. At least Keaton was alright. Amelia... She was probably out too. Their injuries hadn't been half as bad as Lynn's. Her own injury wouldn't have been that bad if the bullet hadn't hit bone. She'd been in the hospital longer to let the bone finish healing on her own. Plus... She was almost considered a mental health risk for a bit there.

With a sigh, Eli continued on her way. [i]Lynn... Lynn you nut. When I find you, I'm sending you right back here to make sure everything is okay.[/i] She pressed her lips together and drew her phone from her pocket. She had a few texts to send.

[quote=To Lynn] Where are you? Are you okay? I heard you stole a nurses key card.[/quote]

[quote=To Keaton] Hey, how have you been? I was just released this morning. Are you meeting Archie?[/quote]

[quote=To Maddy] Are you okay? Were you at the welcoming day? Please text me back.[/quote]

Eli bit her lip and stared at the screen as she walked through the street. Even if Lynn had her phone, would she even text back? Apparently Lynn was awful at using the thing. Maybe Keaton knew where she was? Keaton and Lynn were close. She just needed Keaton to text back.

"Hey, watch it!"

Eli flinched. Her feet came to a halt just in time to avoid knocking into a security officer. She stared at him, probably resembling a deer caught in headlights.


"You kids need to watch where your walking instead of that screen of yours. You could have walked right into a wall the way you were looking at it." The officer shook his head, placing his hands on his hips. He squinted as he looked at her. "Hey, aren't you-" He stopped mid-sentence, but gave her a cautious look over before he waved his hand and continued on his way. "Get on home. And watch where you're going."

Eli watched him walk away, a little unnerved. Wasn't she? Wasn't she what? She frowned. Maybe he was talking about the footage. Maybe he'd seen it. Maybe he'd been there to pick up whoever survived. Eli didn't remember his face. She was practically unconscious by the time the rescue efforts rushed in. She looked around at the few students and staff that littered the walkways. Had they all seen the footage? Did they all recognize her? As much as she wanted to accept that she'd saved lives, what would the people on Earth think? What were the staff thinking?

She had to get somewhere where she could be alone. Unseen. She wanted to watch the footage. Even if it hurt to see. If anything, she had to know what was filmed and what everyone had seen her and her friends do. So, she headed in the direction of a park. She settled herself at the base of a tree, holding the phone a little too tightly.

[color=E5D0FF]"Cara, I want to see the footage of Welcoming Day."[/color]

"Are you sure?"

A deep breath. A nod. [color=E5D0FF]"Yes."[/color]

"Alright. I'll start at the beginning."

[hr]

By the end of it, Eli was hugging her knees to her chest. She wiped her sleeve against the fresh tears that wet her eyes and chin. Her heart grieved for her people, but she also felt a deep pitted hatred for the silent court. Anger for anyone that would attack parahumans just for being different. It's not like anyone asked for this. It's not like all of them abused their gifts.

[color=E5D0FF]"Cara, how many parahumans die from hate acts each year?"[/color]

"At least one thousand parahumans die each year from specific acts of violence. Many go unreported."

Eli shook her head. The number was too high. [color=E5D0FF]"How many groups like the silent court are there?"[/color]

"Fifty public anti-parahuman groups have claimed attacks in the U.S. alone. The silent court was not one of them."

Silence. [i]Fifty reported groups. How many more hid underground? How many anonymous faces wear masks just like the court's?[/i] It was a grim feeling. [color=E5D0FF]"Do you think the court had any help from inside The Promise? How could they have gotten onto the shuttle without sounding an alarm?"[/color]

"I'm unsure, Eli. It is possible."

Eli frowned, and looked up towards the sky as if she would find answers there. In the distance she could see the glass and metal barrier that protected them from outer space. Past it was a void blacker than black, but dotted with little lights that stretched for eons. The edge of the Spire was always in view, but she'd never seen it's entirety. Only in pictures.

[color=E5D0FF]"Cara, how much is done on the Spire that they don't tell us?"[/color]

Her phone was silent for a few moments. It almost felt like Cara was hesitating. "A lot, Eli. I can't tell you any more than that."

[color=E5D0FF]"Would you, if you could?"[/color]

"Yes." Her voice almost sounded regretful.

[hr]

[i]Weeks ago…[/i]

Of all places, [i]this[/i] was where she was supposed to meet him? Eli stared down into the black abyss through the porthole. She wasn’t sure why it was necessary to go down below, but she suspected that it was the only place on the station without cameras. So, after taking one last gulp of fresh air, Eli descended into the darkness. She felt her feet land on dry cement and felt relieved. No sewer water to wade through. She’d worn her dirtiest shoes just in case.

Cautiously, Eli turned in the direction as instructed and carefully kept her head low in case there was a sudden change in ceiling height. When she approached the meeting spot, she stood straight. She was all business, and she didn’t want to show how nervous being here made her. The risk of danger was at least at 50% for even being down here. If anyone knew what she was about to get up to, she’d definitely be screwed. [i]Plenty of people go missing onboard The Promise. Most of them broke the rules. Let’s not become a part of that percentage.[/i]

[color=E5D0FF]“Jax?”[/color] She asked, peering into the dim light of the sewer.

[sub]“Not so loud!”[/sub] a young man- well, more of a boy than a man, hissed. He was exactly what someone would imagine as a technopath boy would be. At only sixteen, he had yet to fully grow into himself, sporting a lanky frame and a goofy grin. A sprinkling of freckles ran over the bridge of his nose, and he sported a pair of glasses. Although the left eye seemed to be less lense and more of an amalgamation of wires and other machinery. A design that was still being worked on, no doubt.

“And stop using my name! I told you to call me [i]Packet[/i]!”

It was a term that was used to describe information when it was being transferred. Jax thought it was cool, because of course he did.

Elara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He wasn’t [i]that[/i] young, but it still bothered her that the guy hadn’t even sprouted one hair on his upper lip yet. The guy was insanely smart, from what she’d picked up from him when they’d first met. She wouldn’t be surprised to hear that he’d already gotten his degree in engineering or something.

She forced a smile. [color=E5D0FF]”Hey, Packet. I’m glad you came.”[/color] As odd as it felt to use a codename, Eli wanted to go along with it. Maybe it would be good to keep their identities hidden.

“Yeah, no problem…” he trailed off, his eyes moving up from Eli to the currently deactivated cameras. “What do you need from me? We can’t stay too long, or they’ll notice I have the footage on loop from before we got here.”

Eli watched him carefully as he inspected the dead cameras above, and wondered if he’d run as soon as she answered his question. She had to approach the topic carefully. [color=E5D0FF]”What can you tell me about the pathways that lead to The Spire? How do you get onto it from this section of the station?”[/color]  Maybe once she got him thinking about it, it wouldn’t sound like a completely insane idea to break into it.

“I… don’t know. At least not exactly. I’ve never gone ON The Spire.” Packet explained, turning and pacing in a direction that led further into the depths of the sewers. “But I know of what is probably… maybe a route. And by route I mean door. And by door, I mean a locked door that no one in my group has opened.”

They walked for several minutes until he came to a stop by what appeared to be a heavily machined entryway that was built into the side of the wall. He motioned to it dramatically. “[i]Welcome to Jurassic Park[/i].”


A beat passed.

“That sounded a lot better in my head.”

Eli raised an eyebrow, but she couldn’t help but chuckle. She took a moment to look over the door before turning back to him. [color=E5D0FF]”What would it take to open it? Have you all tried opening it together, at the same time?”[/color] She reminded herself to slow down, and decided to go ahead and let him in on her faulty plan. [color=E5D0FF]”I’ve been thinking…”[/color] She paused, trying to gather her thoughts in a way that wouldn’t confuse him. [color=E5D0FF]”None of us never really know what’s going on in there. What’s [i]really[/i] going on.”[/color] She looked him right in the eyes. [color=E5D0FF]”What if one of us went in, and told the world?”[/color] It was blasphemy, she knew. She couldn’t help but think about Trevor and the nullifying taser that was lost to the woods. What else were they developing? How were they testing the tech? The answer was probably sickening to think of, but Eli wanted to know. She [i]needed[/i] to know.  [i]This is the part where you turn away, Packet, and tell me to delete your number. Save yourself, kid.[/i]

“I said I’ve never been ON The Spire. Not that I couldn’t open the door.” Packet said, walking over to the gate and placing a hand on the metal frame. He hummed, but didn’t say anything more. “I can open this myself. I just…” he trailed off. “Listen, I don’t know what goes on, on The Spire. I’m not exactly the daredevil type. I’m more the ‘do my homework or get stuffed in a locker’ brand.” he explained, motioning to himself. “I don’t know what would happen if you went in. I don’t know what you’ll see or find. I [i]definitely[/i] don’t want to know why you’re asking me all this.”

He threw his hands up in the air and stepped away from the door, and then crossed them over his chest in exasperation. “I’m risking my neck over this, y’know? I don’t know how much trouble I’d get into. Or how much you’ll get into. What’s in it for me?”

Eli was staring at him, her lips parted in a little ‘o’ of shock. She hadn’t expected any of this from such a, well, a dorky kid. She blinked, trying to regroup herself. [i]C’mon, Eli. You have to act like you know what you’re doing or he’ll think this is a lost cause.[/i] She had to give him some credit, though. He was working a deal. She had to give him something, even if she hadn’t even thought about what it might be. For him to do this and get caught, he could potentially be sent to the prisons. For Eli, it was probably a much, much worse fate. What could she do for him, even if she might not make it back?

[color=E5D0FF]”Look… I’m not exactly one hundred percent sure that I’m going to do this. It’s a huge risk, and if anything goes haywire, I definitely don’t want you to get any fallback.”[/color] She took a deep breath and released it in a sigh. [color=E5D0FF]”I’m not sure what I can offer you. I have some money saved up from work. I could pay you, and I could also do my best to convince them that I forced you to do this. I have a bit of a record with messing with people’s minds.”[/color] She wasn’t exactly [i]proud[/i] that she had a record, but it would definitely help her case. [color=E5D0FF]”I could tell them that that is exactly what I did to you. They would definitely take it easy on you if they believed me.”[/color] She pressed her lips together and hoped that her answer would appease him. All the cards were in his hand, really.

Packet seemed to shift his weight a bit, somewhat uncomfortable with the situation. “I’ll open it, I guess. But you keep my name… well, names, out of your mouth. As far as I’m concerned I was being brainwashed.” he said. “Just… don’t get caught. Please.”

He turned and ran his hand along the metal frame of the door again. “Just tell me what you see when you get back. Speaking of back… we should be going. Soon. They’ll catch onto the cameras soon enough.”

Eli nodded and swallowed back the lump that had gathered in her throat. [color=E5D0FF]”Yeah… Let’s get going.”[/color] She couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t get caught. She couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t be given the same sentence as herself, if things went south. She didn’t like doing this to him, but she didn’t really have any other genius technopaths to rely on. [color=E5D0FF]”Look… I can’t guarantee anything, Packet. I won’t be trying this any time soon, so don’t let it worry you too much, okay?”[/color] She gave him a small smile. [color=E5D0FF]”I’ll contact you, if I want to go through with this. If you don’t want to take the risk, you don’t have to message me back. If you do, I’ll know that you’re willing to risk it to get me in there. Deal?”[/color]

Packet sighed, his whole body deflating a bit as he did so. “Yeah, yeah. [i]Fine[/i]. Deal.”