Jan 19
Not alone but the people at my side keep telling me to be compliant and swallow down all the shit any system does to me.
seen from Malaysia
seen from Russia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Australia
seen from Bulgaria
seen from Italy
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Bulgaria
seen from Germany
seen from Germany
seen from Russia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
Not alone but the people at my side keep telling me to be compliant and swallow down all the shit any system does to me.
Of course I am descending into madness
But worry not
I am an artist
It's performative
There are a lot of things about being an artist and writer that are like rules and natural instincts of it all, each day you learn something new, maybe even personalized to your identity, but is not always pleasant because the fuck I mean when being and artist and reaching the age of 27, the jokes I make are being overanalyzed by my brain as to not give the vibes of a future member of that exclusive club I won't mention explicitly.
Rowena across the universe
I don't remember when is the last time I updated this blog, but here we are, so...
As soon as Rowena leaves The Tower, the immortal goes straight to the rooftop and jumps without hesitance.
Not using his ability or trying to slow down right until the moment he is about to land, he enjoys the wind resistance against his body and the smell of fresh fruit and cut grass. He lands softly, with not so much as a stone turned.
Obsidian, the fox, only lifts her head up to see him and rests it back down when he lies next to her under the shadow of a tree. The warmth hits a perfect temperature, the fresh breeze and the quiet surroundings make him fall asleep for an hour, with one hand on the fox.
Rowena walks like she is on an alien planet. AIs are appearing and disappearing everywhere, hovering over the ground in their preferred holographic form or as drones; satyrs and minotaurs are walking around, minding their own business, some fully, partially, or not at all dressed, with no one batting an eye. Pegasi fly by and land on designated areas. At first, she thinks they are like any other animals until she listens to them talk. Distracted by this, she crashes against a cyclops not much taller than her; after apologizing, she keeps going. The wild fauna are big cockroaches with horns, squirrels with peaks and prehensile tails on trees, flying octopi, and medium-sized four-legged owls with large necks. She can’t even tell which establishments are for what, and just when she is about to collapse, a voice and a strong grip around her arm prevent this.
A female minotaur sits with her on the ground. It takes a couple of seconds for Rowena to realize who is sitting in front of her. The minotaur’s face is, as can be expected, of a bull, but it has big, lined eyes, a small snout, and medium-sized horns peeking through a mane of black and white hair just above her ears. The white sclera is almost fully covered by the heterochromatic irises, one light green and the other blue. She wears a loose batwing sleeve t-shirt with a V-neck and lace trim, a pair of bootcut jeans, and no shoes because of her hooves.
“Are you ok? Do you need me to call someone?” The image of an anthropomorphized bull talking to her threatens to send her over the edge again. Veronica, the minotaur, doesn’t imagine that what’s wrong with the blue-haired woman is the fact that a minotaur is trying to help, so she gets Rowena up and takes her to the nearest shop. ”Sorry for grabbing you without permission.” A bohemian coffee shop with brown walls, illuminated by old-looking lanterns shining purple, and one big creeper plant all over the roof. “Hey, sorry, can you bring me a glass of water for my friend?” Veronica asks the barista, a tattooed cyclops. With the glass in her three-fingered hand, she turns around to find that Rowena has bolted.
Rowena, incapable of pretending anymore, runs erratically. Not a coherent thought is formed in her head, not even using the necklace to jump away or bring Dreko to her aid, who is still sleeping in the garden. A couple of officers stop her, not in a menacing way and without putting a hand on her.
“Miss, please, stop. Is everything ok? What’s your name?” Rowena calms a little when she finds herself in front of two humans.
“Ro-Rowena Devi.” Veronica catches up to them soon after.
“Hey, miss, you stop right there too.” The minotaur obeys immediately. “I am Officer Long; that’s my partner, Officer Langdon.” The officer talking to them is a middle-aged blonde woman. Her partner is an older man with grey hair going bald from the back, some wrinkles on his face, and a gut visible through the leather trench coat.
“I am sorry; she seemed about to pass out, and I tried to help, but she ran away.”
“Is that true, miss?”
“Sh-she didn’t do anything to me; I just panicked a little. Am I in trouble?”
“No, we just need to contact someone to come pick you up and an ID.” Rowena pales at the mention of an identification.
“I don’t think my driver's license from Azglam City will work here.” When she is about to reach for her new phone, she thinks. “It’s easier to say that I have been robbed.” The officers and Veronica are expecting Rowena, who finally answers. “I got robbed; I have nothing on me, but I live with Lumen. She works at a private security company, Font Group, I think.”
“Do you know Lumen’s cellphone number?”
Meanwhile, Lumen is in her office when the call comes through.
“Yeah?”
“Hi, this is Officer Long. We are with Rowena in midtown; she was visibly shaken, and when asked, she told us she had been robbed and gave us your number.” Lumen stops everything.
“Is she ok?”
“Yes, but we can’t let her go just like this; we have to leave her with someone capable of proving their identities. Can you meet us at the station 19?” Rowena didn’t expect to have to wait at the station.
“I’ll be right there.” As soon as the phone call ends, Lumen lets her workplace know she has an emergency before jumping through the window. In her holographic form, she isn’t in any real risk from the fall, but she still sends herself to the nearest rooftop before even getting close to the ground. On her way to the station, she texts Dreko to let him know and stop him from literally crashing in the station.
Five minutes later, Lumen is walking through the front door of the police station like she hasn’t just fallen out of the sky. Unfazed, the receptionist, a male astral projection, watches her land on the sidewalk and addresses her when she is in front of him.
“Good morning, miss, how can I help you?”
“I am Lumen. I received a call telling me they were bringing a woman who was mugged, Rowena. I am here to pick her up.”
“I am gonna need an identification, your signature on these forms, and the name of the officer who called you.” She gives her ID and takes the papers. “What’s your relationship with the woman?”
“Roommate and girlfriend.” The AI answers without hesitation. Officer Long overhears this and jumps in the conversation.
“Maybe you can explain to us, then, why your girlfriend doesn’t appear in any database.” Lumen turns her head to see the lady cop. “I am Long; we talked on the phone.”
“Hello, pleasure to meet you.” Lumen offers her hand. “I am sorry, I can’t tell you that. We have only been dating for a couple of months, but if she isn’t arrested, I would very much like to take her with me.” Long stares at the redhead with eyes pretending to be cynical and distrustful, but the AI sees right through the facade.
“She isn’t arrested; I’ll have someone bring her to you.”
“Thanks.”
When Rowena and Lumen walk out, Long keeps them in her mind for a couple of minutes before being dragged to whatever mess crosses her desk.
In the street, Rowena walks embarrassed; Lumen doesn’t seem too worried or eager to know what happened. She purposely takes Rowena down a calm and beautiful path on their way to her job. She buys two ice creams that the blue-haired girl barely tastes.
“Hey.” Rowena stops to turn around. Lumen kisses her before anything can be said, and then she smears a bit of ice cream on her nose. “It’s not a big deal.”
“I don’t know what happened.”
“It was more our fault; we threw you alone to the deep end, but hey, you can be with me until we go home and then try again later, another day.”
“I don’t know… maybe I don’t belong here.” Lumen doesn’t answer; instead, she brings her down to the freshly cut grass.
“Lie down with me.” Rowena accepts. Once lying down, Rowena manages to calm down a little. The sky and smell of grass are pretty similar to that of her world, and Lumen helps as a beacon of peace and normality. “I have seen you excited to learn about new things ever since the first time we met, and Dreko and I know your strength and potential. Whatever happened today isn’t a testament against it; you are the second one to move to a different Earth in a different universe… and the first one was Dreko, not exactly normal that one… and you fucked him!”
This last part gets a rich and hearty laugh that is soon joined by the elegant, synthetic laugh of Lumen.
Back at The Tower, Dreko is tinkering inside the lab. On a table there are so many pieces that the surface is barely visible. Some half-built prototypes are on top of all the pieces. Sporadically, he goes to the pods, checking the schematics and the insides of the machine before running back to the table and trying something new.
An hour goes by, some pieces are now on the floor, and the prototypes have grown from a couple to ten of the same-size round emitters but with different models. When he is about to activate the first one, his phone rings.
“Yeah?”
“Hi, Dreko, I just wanted to fill you in on Rowena.”
“Is she OK? She left a while ago.”
“A police officer called me. She is ok, but they asked me to pick her up.” At this, he immediately looks at the window.
“I’ll go.” The tone in his voice lets Lumen guess he is going into a frenzy state.
“No, Dreko, no, you’ll make things more complicated; stay there. I am already on my way. What were you doing?”
“I am working on the nanohealing.” He says, throwing the device up in the air and catching it.
“Keep doing that; it’s important work. I’ll give it a look when I get home.”
“Fine, call me when you are with Ro.”
“Will do, love you.”
“Love you.”
Rowena and Lumen arrive at the agency. After registering her, Lumen takes her partner to the floor in which she works. Rowena, who is calmer now, doesn’t expect to see a wide room full of servers and a multi-screen workstation.
“So you work here all day?”
“Most of the days, sometimes I go out in the field, but my main task is to help field operatives either with complex technological and virtual issues or by feeding them information.”
“So you can watch all the city from here?” Rowena watches the keyboard with keen interest.
“Well, no, but I can see what our agents are doing through the drones that follow them around, and some are not even in this city.” Lumen explains, noticing the curiosity spark in her eyes. “Go ahead, see, no one will know; just don’t open the mic.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble.” Lumen smiles and pushes Rowena towards the workstation by her lower back. The hacker feels a sudden warm rush inside that begins with the touch of the AI. Pretending nothing happens, Rowena goes through all the drone cameras, watching nearly fifty different operatives that are protecting human assets, vaults, data banks, or precious belongings. Most of these show calm scenarios where they are only making vigilance rounds and rotating shifts. Some, however, have changed into high-stakes situations where shots are being fired and the agents are on the move with their designated task. It so happens that, when Rowena is using the console, a distress call enters, asking for Lumen to open a closed gate. The AI is about to step in when Rowena jumps into action, opening the door like she already knew how that system works. “Piece of cake.”
“Maybe you should work here.” Impressed, Lumen gives her a quick peck on the lips that Rowena wasn’t expecting.
“Or maybe we should open our agency.” The hacker proposes on a whim.
“Is that something you would like to do here?” The AI asks with a smile. “Because it’s something we can do.”
“Ah, yes, you, me, and Dreko. An unstoppable force.” Rowena exaggerates but actually gets chills when she notices that Lumen isn’t joking. “Are you for real?”
“Well, Dreko wouldn’t be a part of it directly, because he is kind of…” She gestures with both hands next to her head, moving them in a way she understands that he is too much. “For the kind of clients I see that pay for this service, besides, he doesn’t want a job where he gets sent around the world.”
“Isn’t that what he does every day?”
“Yes, but because he wants to, it’s different somehow. I think he just doesn’t want the chain around his neck.”
“Has he ever worked?” Rowena asks, unable to imagine him in an office.
“Not in a normal way; he is an immortal that didn’t finish middle school, so…”
“Right.” The conversation arrives at a natural stopping point.
Rowena juggles the proposal in her mind while watching Lumen work the rest of her shift, even being a witness to her ability to multiply herself. At eight o’clock, Lumen clocks out for the day, and they open a portal to The Tower.
The women appear in the lobby and go up to the dining room, where an entire dinner awaits them, still hot. The scarred man is in the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine; a big smile appears across his face when he sees both his partners.
“Hi, beautiful women!” He kisses both on the lips before putting the wine in the ice bucket. “Dinner is served.” Lumen puts her purse on the bar before going to her seat. Rowena is about to sit down when she is grabbed gently by the arm. “Are you ok?” He is visibly worried, and the expression softens his face a lot. Rowena melts on the inside.
“Yes, yes, I am ok; Lumen calmed me down.”
“She is good at that.” He strokes Rowena’s cheek before speeding to Lumen’s side, pulling her chair, and does the same for Rowena before sitting in his chair. The three toast and eat in silence for a couple of minutes at first, enjoying the food and the atmosphere.
Halfway through the dinner, Dreko finally breaks the silence.
“How was work today?” He takes a sip, watching both of them. Rowena sees his eyes, truly asking, but a spark shows how unintentionally analytic his nature is.
“Fairly normal. I was in my office all day.” Lumen answers after cleaning her mouth. He looks at Rowena, waiting for her answer.
“Oh, well, it was fascinating and intense.”
“She is a natural, of course.” The AI compliments her. Rowena smiles, awkwardly but sincerely, with food in her mouth that washes down with wine.
Silence fills the room once again. The atmosphere, despite being homey, feels like there is something brewing between the three, and Rowena is the first to address it.
“I am sorry if I worried you today; it wasn’t my intention.” She looks down at the table, afraid of facing them. “Don’t think I am not ready for… whatever this will be… I am all in, really.” The couple looks at each other from across the table before running to embrace her in a tender hug. Rowena is caught by surprise; the love is so pure and fulfilling that tears run down her cheeks. Dreko is the first to speak.
“You have nothing to apologize for; your commitment and love towards us was never in question. I know this is new, and maybe you feel like you have a position to reach; you don’t. This relationship will grow and evolve in its own time; don’t sweat it, and we can show you how to navigate this world… I mean, I did it, and you are way smarter than me.” Rowena chuckles, turning to see Lumen.
“You really are smarter than he.” She confirms. Rowena feels better, kissing both.
“So… we are boyfriend/girlfriend/girlfriend?” Lumen and Dreko look at each other again.
“You mean a triad? Yes, or what would you like?” The AI asks her.
“I am fine with that.” Rowena smiles at her now-defined romantic partners. “What are the rules, by the way? Boundaries?”
“I don’t know what Dreko has already told you, but you can do whatever you want; just let us know and regular STD exams.”
“Dreko said pretty much the same.” Rowena rummages through her thoughts. “Are you two seeing anybody else?” The AI and the immortal both shake their heads no. “Why not?”
“We don’t want to right now.” They answer in unison.
“Well, I am not seeing anybody else either.” She clarifies. Dreko and Lumen go back to their seats, where Dreko remembers something.
“Oh, btw, this was before we even shared that kiss in the bunker, but I want you to know that Delilah kissed me.”
“What? When?” Curious instead of jealous or surprised, the urgency for gossip immediately has her accepting it like no big deal. She is also polyamorous, after all.
“Like the first week of being inside the bunker.”
“That didn’t take long.” Rowena is now surprised. “I didn’t think you were their type.”
“I don’t think I am.” Dreko agrees with her. “Delilah kissed me impulsively; I think they did it only to let out some of their anxiety.”
“Have you heard from the hackers since then?” Rowena asks, remembering how things in V.T.B. were when she left with the couple.
“No, I am sure they are ok.”
After a long day, the triad rests on the same bed. Dreko is wide awake, Rowena sleeps all cuddled up against his left side, and Lumen is on his right side, back in her human body. The triad’s day finally ends with the immortal contemplating the infinite night with his eyes glued to the ceiling.
Rescue Mission
The next morning, the eight guests explain to their hosts what happened in V.T.B. As this small group knows them, Drevon and Lucya listen with indignation, horror, anger, solidarity and empathy. Delilah has a tense expression while speaking about their sister. The immortal tries to keep his scarred face straight, but an incandescent anger distorts it, the markings glow from the inside and his jaw is clenched hard.
He stands up. Everyone but Lucya reacts to his overwhelming presence. The room temperature rises in a fraction of a second. He walks towards the elevator, Lucya gestures to all of them to follow him.
Drevon goes inside the elevator, followed by the rest. Due to Drevon’s anger, his body is very stiff and really heavy so everyone, including him, struggles a little to get settled inside. Eventually, the elevator takes them three floors up to a circular hall with many closed doors.
“Drevon, are you sure about this?” Lucya asks, before walking through any door.
“There really isn’t anything else we should do… Lucya.”
“Fine.” She accepts without hesitation or pushback. The outsiders look at this blind trust the couple have in each other, finding it hard to believe. Drevon inserts a long security code in a panel next to a reinforced door, which slides open.
Intense white lights turn on allowing all to see racks mounted to the black walls. Tons of weapons hang from these, organized by types and sizes with the ammo stored separately. Also explosives, bulletproof vests, bladed weapons, handcuffs and bags of portal disks.
“What the fuck?” Delilah says under their breath. They all fan out across the room, except for the couple.
“I’ll tell you the fuck you are asking about.” Drevon answers only realizing how weird it sounds after saying it. The confusion is visible on his face, rephrasing it on his mind but pulled back into the present by Lucya, squishing his arm. “We are going to grab a lot of weapons and save whoever we can from your team… and your sister too, obviously.” Drevon states, Delilah can’t believe how simple and honest everything that comes out of that man’s mouth sounds. “Couple of things, we are only going to help you this one time but the weapons and everything in here is yours to borrow, except the portal disks, not to be stingy but untrained people have lost limbs with those. Also don’t load the weapons until you are on site, familiarize with them, if necessary, the gym has a gun range. There are different types of bullets: normal; shock; paralyzing, hallucinogenic and venomous.” He counts the types of ammo with his fingers as he lists them. “The grenades are EMP; soporific; incendiaries; smoke and shock. These last ones have two kinds: auditory and electrical, don’t mix them.”
“Wait, no, no, hold up.” Zom raises his voices, everyone turns to him. “Who are you, people?” Rowena, who are them? You brought us to them, how do you know them? You are a hacker from a third world country!” Rowena, Lucya and Drevon take this personally with an audible gasp.
“Shut the hell up, I won’t have you talking shit about us in our home.” Lucya reprimands.
“What she said… and Lucya isn’t from Azglam City so if you are going to be racist, at least get the entire information.” Drevon adds, Lucya gives him a look he knows too well from all the times he fixates on the wrong thing. With a scary calm tone, Drevon addresses all. “We aren’t pretending to be something we are not, we keep secrets but no intentions… but, hey, if you don’t want our free-of-charge help, fine by me.” Drevon and Lucya start walking out.
“Wait!” Delilah hurries to block the door. “Can we have a minute?” Lucya nods and pushes Drevon out, whose eyes are already white and is about to let a sarcastic and possibly rude comment about stopping them just to ask them to leave.
“We’ll be right outside, the rooms are soundproofed.” The door closes right after this.
“Rowena, who the fuck are this people?” Zom asks again, hysterical, pulling a lock of his hair.
“Friends with a ton of money, resources and volunteers, as they say.”
“They spoke about secrets, what secrets?”
“Can’t tell.”
“Can’t or won’t?” Zom and Rowena are about to rip each other's head off when Delilah intervenes.
“Zom, shut the fuck up, Rowena saved us with their help… Ro, answer this to shut him up, are they dangerous to us?”
“No… if we don’t do something to threaten them.” Rowena doesn’t have the heart to hide that piece of truth, despite knowing they won’t find it reassuring.
A funereal silence falls upon them.
“It’s a lot…” Delilah admits. “But I really don’t see any other path here, our forces are trapped and we are not fighters… not yet… so we take their help and hope for the best.”
“It’s important that you all know that we aren’t expecting you to fight.” Alfred clarifies this. “We are all a team, we always will be, but we don’t have to do things we don’t want.”
“Yes, obviously, thanks, Alfred.” Delilah agrees with him.
“Ok, what about Feather? The devil we know?” Zom is whiteknuckling in search of a better alternative than the weirdos in the hall.
“You want a shady millionaire to help us do what? Making him fly us back, lend us mercenaries and weapons? That’s exactly where we are right now!” Delilah is as thrown off as their friends but they are still able to make good points. None of them is 100% in, except for Rowena, who carries the weight of unbelievable knowledge. “Rowena.” Delilah calls her with no answer. “Rowena?” They gently touch her shoulder, she jumps at this. “Sorry, where you go? We need to speak with Drevon and Lucya.”
“Yeah, yes, I’ll go.”
Going back in time —not in a fucking time travel kinda way— during the less than friendly conversation inside the armory, Drevon and Lucya have their own important discussion.
“I thought you didn’t meddle with human affairs.” Lucya has a worried look. “I am afraid you aren’t thinking clearly about the risks.”
“The risks of getting identified or targeted? You are right, I wasn’t thinking about it, and yes, I don’t meddle as an immortal but I am not planning on doing it.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I am just backup, I am not going to swoop in and solve everything like I would do as an immortal, this is their fight, I am not even going to be a footnote.” Drevon assures her, gesturing with his arms.
“Are you going to wear the old suit?” They both remember his vigilante attire.
“No, that’s a certain way to be linked with the past life, I was thinking of a plain mask and black clothes.”
“What about hiding your non lethal lethal wounds you’ll sustain? I don’t know if you remember, you are not exactly good at combat… or taking cover for that matter…” She makes a funny grin and Drevon laughs, before pretending to be offended.
“Not everyone who was in a war learned to fight, mind you I was only a teenager and I survived.” Lucya runs her arms around his neck, going in for a kiss.
“You were immortal then too.” She says after their lips separate. “And—what—about—those—years—as—a—bounty—hunter—and—vigilante?” She remarks between kisses. “You still haven’t mastered even the basics of self defense.”
“First, I didn’t know I was immortal then, it still counts and…” Drevon kisses her back repeatedly. “You—are—a lousy—trainer.” The soft smack on the back of his head doesn’t take long followed by a kiss.
Rowena opens the door right in the middle of the kiss, the couple promptly step away from each other.
“We need you inside.” They both nod and follow her.
Rowena feels queasy after seeing them together, the couple doesn't notice this with her walking in front of them. Inside the armory, the hackers’ demeanor feels less hostile.
“We accept your help.” Delilah says to them.
“Cool.” Drevon answers with both thumbs up.
“Let's change out of these clothes.” Lucya opens a sliding door on the wall where black suits can be seen.
Once armed and dressed in the same tactical outfits, Drevon opens a portal to V.T.B. They jump together, followed by many drones. On the other side the temporary house of Rowena awaits them, from there, Drevon sends out the drones to scout the city in search for all detainment centers.
“As soon as the drones are back, we will go to save your friends.” Drevon goes to the kitchen for breakfast. “What time is it here, by the way?”
“It’s an hour later than Azglam City so 11:30 a.m.” Rowena tells him.
“The drones are going to take about two hours.” Lucya shares her calculations with the rest. Her fingertips are on the necklace, her personal drone that is linked with the modifications done to her body, gaining the full access to her skills as an AI, even having eyes inside both Towers from afar and across universes.
Waiting, Rowena and Lucya whisper things to each other; the hackers are understanding the weapons and eventually the two women join them, receiving a quick training session from Lucya. Drevon looks at them while he cooks, Lucya approaches him.
“How are they doing?”
“They are smart, they catch on quickly but one thing is explaining it to them and the other is they being able to do it in the practice, I don’t even know if they can aim.”
“Why don’t they activate the automatic aim?”
“What’s that?” Lucya asks.
“You don’t remember?” He points at the mask on Sandy’s face. “The weapons have an automatic aim feature linked with the lenses on the mask, predictive lead, enemy highlight and a X that marks the spot where the bullet will hit.”
“No, Drevon, I don’t remember because I didn’t know.”
“Really? I guess I never told you, I wasn’t very big on weapons back then.” Lucya looks at Drevon with skepticism in her eyes. He smiles, nervously. “Sorryyy.” He turns around to attend to the stove, escaping her gaze.
Rowena is sitting with a gun on her lap. The scene of human hackers being aided by an AI hosting a flesh and bone body and a 111 year old immortal about to storm government prisons is resonating in her mind. A grilled cheese sandwich is exchanged with the gun, Drevon sits next to her and hands her a couple of napkins. She sees him and the plate, feeling moved by this, by him taking care of her.
“Thanks.” A warm feeling appears inside of her, seeing Drevon with a calm smile. Lucya sits on the other seat, putting her between them, Rowena feels immediately nervous. “Hey, Lum…” The redhead's nervous stare make Rowena correct herself. “Lucya…” Lucya smiles and grabs the mask Rowena has on the armrests. After a few seconds of inspecting it, Lucya calls for eyes on her.
“Hey, guys, look here for a sec, Rowena, stand up, please, and put this on.” Lucya hands her the mask. “The whole gear we gave you has technology embedded on, besides the basic bulletproof thing and radar, the masks also have an automatic aim feature if you need it.” Rowena puts on the mask, heavier than it looks but adjustable to her face even with the glasses on. “Now, Rowena, you can hear us but we can’t unless you turn on the speaker, give the command, please.”
“Can you hear me?” Rowena asks seconds later, receiving a collective yes.
“Great, now say automatic aim and take the gun.”
“Automatic aim!” She yells, and Drevon puts the gun on her hand, gently. Rowena feels the lingering heat of his hand and her heart pounds strongly. Lucya giggles a little as a result of the yell, but she also picks on the suit’s readings of her heartbeat.
“You don’t have to yell the command, Rowena, but good job.” Lucya gives her a couple of soft claps and addresses the room again. “Now you all do it, familiarize yourself with the feeling because the first time it can be pretty disorienting.”
“Does that mean we can’t miss?” Zom asks, putting on the mask.
“No, you still can fail or shoot without the auto aim but when the shot is secured and the gun is in the right direction towards the enemy, the X will change from red to green.” Explains Drevon, tying his hair up in a bun with a hair tie, with only two loose strands of hair falling in front of his face. This shows some of the scars that are almost never seen in his neck. Rowena and Lucya look at him in silence as he enters in the mindset needed for what comes next.
At 14:00 hours, the drones fly back to Rowena’s. Delilah’s sister and the hackers imprisoned are in two different detainment centers. This leaves no other choice for the rescue team to split into two groups, five in each, despite Delilah’s pushback, they are sent to rescue the hackers instead of their sister. With the help of portal disks, they manage to jump inside the detainments center, Drevon and Lucya set the coordinates to a mostly unsupervised area, where they knock a couple of immigration agents out before any alarm is triggered. The hackers’ rescue team is made by an angry Delilah; Alfred, who wouldn’t accept being in a team without them; a weirdly quiet Drevon; a nauseated Sandy and Zom, breathing quietly. The sister’s rescue team has Lucya, Alex, Heidt, Rowena and Elly. Both teams agree to going in teams of three and two, but the people of the first team don’t notice Drevon is long gone until it’s too late.
“We don’t need him, let’s split in teams of two, Delilah, you are with me, Sandy and Zom, go that way, try not to be seen, find a way to get inside, call us if you find one.” These two nod before walking away. Alfred turns to Delilah, who has already started to walk in the opposite direction. Catching up to her, Alfred and Delilah see a metallic garage door sized with a scanner for big vehicles. “It’s too risky to go through that, I don’t know what’s on the other side.”
“The whole facility is like that, no windows, no signs and I don’t see vulnerabilities.” Delilah’s tone is loaded with frustration and their head is pierced by a horrible headache while seeing the blueprints of the place through the lenses.
Sandy is making herself small while the others discuss next steps when she hears a repetitive metallic clang in the distance. She follows the sound, the rest go after her. The clang comes from a door with a broken lock. Inside awaits an infirmary with a doctor and three nurses.The hackers take the four of them hostage. Outside, on the roof, Drevon sees a bus loaded with people stopping in front of the garage door.
“[You have got incoming, a bus with detainees.]” His deep voice sounds inside their masks. He pulls out an holographic panel between his hands, ten drones make their way inside the complex through the air vents in camouflage mode.
“[Where are you, Drevon?]” Delilah asks, opening the map pinpointing the location of the four of them. His tracker is deactivated.
“[Around, you are doing great, don’t sweat it and protect each other.]”
The four of them exchange looks. With the hostages, the hackers barged in the next room. The next room is Intake/Processing, where the bus Drevon mentioned has just entered and there are at least seven agents in charge of the new arrivals plus the ones on the bus.
“Fuck…” Delilah manages to say before everything goes to hell. All the agents immediately point at them with rifles, shouting orders to surrender. The hackers, outnumbered and cornered, point the guns at them, paralyzed, except for Sandy, who is shaking in her boots, and throws all the smoke and soporific grenades she carries in a panic state. This triggers a quick response from the agents, shooting at them. The hackers only have time to close their eyes or turn them away, embracing death.
But it never arrives.
All the bullets are stopped by shields projected by the drones, the gray and purple smoke from the grenades mixes everywhere, impeding the vision from everyone except the masked hackers. The entire complex is placed in lock down by an agent before succumbing to the smoke at the same time as other agents and civilians in the room.
“What happened?” Zom asks.
“[Sandy for the win!]” Drevon hypes her up in the comms. “[And me, protecting you with the drones, told you I was around, you still have to deal with the rest of the complex though and reinforcements are probably on the way so you might wanna hurry up… Other thing, the lockdown apparently makes it impossible to teleport outside of there so, when finished, deactivate the lockdown, I am gonna share this information with the other team.]”
At the same time, in the other detainment center, things aren’t going smoothly either. Lucya is using the drones to protect everyone, her team and the rescued kids, from intense gunfire. After successfully infiltrating inside, the five team members were unable to find Delilah’s sister. Just as Lucya was about to open a portal to take the kids out of there and return for any remaining prisoners, a dozen agents surprise them. The infants immediately cry at the sight of the uniformed men, who shoot at them with no regards. Only the quick thinking of Lucya saves them, but it’s a temporary measure. The shields are incredibly durable but don’t allow many actions, so together they shoot back, well-protected, except for Alex, who is keeping an eye on the kids.
“We can’t stay here!” Alex shouts, cradling two of the youngest kids on each arm against his chest.”
“[Lucya, heads up, if the place enters in lockdown, it blocks the signals for the portals, try not to be seen or prevent anyone from activating it.]”
“[Thanks, Drevon, how are you doing?]” Lucya asks.
“[Sandy took out a bunch of hostiles, it was awesome, kinda hot.]”
“[Keep it in your pants, Dre.]”
“[The place is in lockdown and I am outside, the team can handle it, I am helping them with the drones.]”
“[We are under fire, but ok, we have a plan.]”
“[Great, I’ll leave you to it, love you, babe.]”
“[Love you.]”
Lucya just stands there. The bullets, the cries, the shouting, everything muffles as she thinks of a strategy with all the factors. The soldiers, the kids, the room space, the bullets and grenades at their disposal. She turns off the speaker and speaks into the earpieces of her team.
“[Guys, we are getting out of here, don’t speak, don’t shout, turn off your speakers. Alex, stay with the kids, Elly, cover him. Rowena, change your bullets to the hallucinogenic kind and Heidt, prepare to throw one smoke grenade at them.]”
“[What’s the plan?]” Heidt pulls out the grenade. Rowena trembles, loading the gun.
“[Well, outnumbered, we can only use their numbers against them. Ro, shoot them one time on the neck, with your mask, you can activate and deactivate one of the shields, only do it when the shot is certain, don’t shoot them all. Alex, Elly, don't let the kids see.]”
Rowena raises the gun and shoots. The shield in front of her flickers for a couple of seconds, enough time for the bullet to find its way into an intimidating looking agent. The bullet, the size of a marble, barely makes a wound. It dissolves and the effect acts immediately. His entire posture shifts, stripped of strength. Inside his mind the sense of perception is replaced, his thoughts are clouded and a force imbues the entire body. He shoots against his people, taking them by surprise.
A horrible sight.
Rowena’s hesitancy to do it again is annulled by the sight of the kids.
More men succumb to the hallucination.
Chaos unfolds. Screams of pain and fear fill the place. The tide has turned for the hackers, but the victory isn’t secured. More agents keep coming in and the lockdown has been activated. The 360-degree barrier moves with them as they walk to the exit, the only bullets that ricochet off the barrier come from the agents fighting each other.
“[Prepare yourself. Elly, Alex, stay here with the kids. Heidt, Rowena, search for more prisoners, I’ll try to deactivate the lockdown.]”
“[Wait! The barrier!]”
“[The drones are enough to protect us when we split up and the suits are bulletproof, but the suits can’t take infinite damage so be careful. Ok, here we go!]”
Lumen, Heidt and Rowena charge towards the exit, two drones each. Only Lumen shoots while running, no one notices that the bullets never hit vital organs. Alex and Elly shoot as soon as the barrier is dismantled, it doesn’t take long for the remaining drones to protect them and the kids again.
“[Should we wait inside the barrier until you get back?]” Elly asks, with the gun pointing at the floor.
“[Are you planning on stepping into the cross-fire?]” Lucya’s tone is presumptuous and confused. Shooting and running, she searches for the Command Center.
“[I meant if we should just wait for the agents to take each other out.]”
“[What? No! Shoot them, end the fight quickly!]”
Rowena and Heidt barge into the women dormitory. Women of all ages and places are on the filthy floor of a big room. Rowena runs to them.
“[We got to the female dorms.]” She shoots the chains tying them to the floor.
“[Prepare yourself, you have incoming.]” Lucya warns them before shuffling through the cameras. “[The men are on the opposite side, do you think you can get through?]”
“[We can’t leave them alone!]” Heidt shouts in mid shooting. Rowena throws an electric grenade at the agents and the scream is so loud that it can be heard in everyone’s earpiece.
“[Change of plan then, cleanup, take them out, once we are done, we will rescue the rest.]”
Back with Team 1, they have freed all of their captured friends and civilians. The gunfight has intensified, just like in the other detainment center, the young liberators are using all their arsenal to keep up with the masses of agents. Drevon still observes everything from outside, lending them a hand with the drones, not only with the shields but by knocking agents out by crashing the drones against them and sometimes breaking bones in the process.
Eventually all the agents are defeated. The members of Team 1, with exception of Drevon, are exhausted and without any ammo nor grenades left. Together, the four of them go to the Command Center, where the lockdown is lifted. Drevon is waiting for them outside like nothing happened.
“Hiya, kids, how was it?” He receives no answer. The rescued ones walk behind them. “[We just finished here, everyone seems to be ok, how are things going there?]”
“[Finishing too, I am glad to hear it.]”
“[Did you find my sister?]” Delilah asks now that their focus doesn’t have to be in staying alive. The heavy silence from the other end of the line feels eternal for them.
“[I am afraid not, you sister wasn’t here, I am really sorry.]”
All knowledgeable eyes turn to their friend with sympathy and sorrow. Delilah feel their insides broken and tears run down their cheeks. Alfred walks up to Drevon.
“Take us there, open a portal, now!”
“We have to help these people first and what are you going to do? She is not there!” Drevon swats his hand away from the portal bag.
Alfred walks back to Delilah. In a close channel, Drevon and Lucya talk, away from the rest.
“[Do you have any idea of what to do next?]” Lucya asks him.
“[No, I thought the haul from this mission would be more pissed off distrustful hackers and a kid, not a lot of illegally arrested people.]”
“[We can take them to The Tower.]”
“[No, lousy idea, these people are not the same as the hackers, they have families, their lives are in here…]” Drevon looks at them: weak, famished and dirty. “[We could buy a safe place.]”
“[What?]”
“[It’s about time we search for another property, don’t you think?]” He oversimplifies it as if that wasn’t a giant sum of money he talks about. “[Maybe an abandoned warehouse? Pretty sure we can buy it under the table, raise less suspicions.]”
“[Less suspicious than a bunch of scared people suddenly going in and out of an old warehouse? No.]”
“[What do you recommend?]”
“[Best scenario? We send them back to their lives.]”
“[Let’s regroup and everyone can choose.]” Before the conversation ends, Drevon adds. “[Bring the information about the kids, please, so we can give them back to their parents, I love you.]”
“[Love you, I am exhausted.]”
“[You love it.]”
“[I truly do.]” She chuckles.
In a secure location, far away from any of the detainment centers, the day is over when the last kids are reunited with their parents or the next best thing. For the first time, the team members have something in common: their low morale.
“I don’t feel ok with them just going back to their lives, they could be putting themselves and their loved ones in danger.” Delilah puts it out there, sitting on the sidewalk, next to Alfred and with their wheelchair behind them.
“Well, we can’t do jack shit about it.” Zom answers with his anger leaking out of his tongue. “We would need to remake the whole damn social system.”
This bitter comment is ignored, except for Drevon, whose ass starts itching until he stands up. He looks at the dark sky, the cold air pushes him forward, sending shivers everywhere.
“Let´s do it.” They stare at him, unsure of what he means. He turns around with a fire in his eyes and an ear-to-ear smile. “Let’s burn this bitch to the ground.”
The universe is trying to tell me something but I have too much earwax for me to hear it.
Unexpected guests
“I am way in over my head.” Rowena collapses after this, Dreko and Lumen instinctively jump out of bed to catch her before she hits the floor.
A few minutes later, she wakes up to the sight of Lumen’s holographic jawline, looking up from Lumen’s lap.
“Dreko, she is awake.” Rowena sits up so fast that it makes her dizzy. The man puts down a glass of water on the metal alloy coffee table.
“Guys, what’s going on?” She reaches for the glass just as reality rushes back to her. She catches a glimpse of Lumen’s knee halfway covered by an extra-large black cotton shirt, inside out. “Clearly Dreko’s.” He is standing in the middle of the room, shirtless, wearing black pajama pants. The light from a big window lets Rowena get a peek at the tapestry on his skin. His chest, arms, abdomen, ribs and the back —reflected on a mirror behind him— are covered in old deep scars she never could have imagined. A hand-shaped scar disrupts the pattern on his left forearm. Unconsciously, her focus shifts from the scars to the body: prominent collarbones, wiry frame with serrated ribs and a V-line tapering towards the hips alongside the scars. She snaps out of it when her eyes find themselves at the waistband of the pants. “Rowena, get a hold of yourself! Don’t forget he freaks you out… wait, am I in their bedroom?” The unmade bed confirms it. “Oh, my god, I barged into their bedroom.” She looks at Lumen and a brief flash of the past plays out in her head: orange naked shoulders. “Shit, she was naked then.” Rowena gets a hot flash of embarrassment. Lumen notices this despite not knowing the reason, so she tries to comfort her by putting a hand on top of hers. This only works because the urgency of her situation on Earth 1 comes rushing back to her. “Oh, my god, I left my friends down there!”
“You did what?” Dreko blurts out, incredulous that Rowena brought more people in. Lumen and Dreko walk towards the elevator, Rowena tries to keep up with the couple, but the weakness is still too much.
While Lumen downloads herself in her human body, Dreko and Rowena ride the elevator together, with her in his arms, to the Teleportation Room, a.k.a. T.P.R.
“This is how I die.” She thinks, fighting against the impulse to lay her head on Dreko’s naked shoulder. Her arms around his neck can feel the skin —humanlike but sandpaper-rough. She also picks up something else inside of him. Infinite, antique, and cryptic. “Is he mad? He looks mad.” Dreko’s expression is blank. The elevator doors open on the floor. He walks across the lab into the T.P.R. “Should we wait for Lumen?” Dreko puts her down on a black mechanical scissor lift where tools are usually kept.
“Yes, meanwhile try to regain your strength. It would look bad if we greeted your friends with you in my arms.”
Ten minutes later, Lumen walks into the room, which is filled with a tense atmosphere. Dreko is on the opposite side of the room from Rowena, who is finally walking from wall to wall. Now in the flesh, Lumen wears her hair in a bun, an orange blouse tucked inside blue jeans, accessorized with a brown leather belt and white sneakers. Rowena’s heart goes from 0 to 100 when she sees her, noticing her new body is starting to gain muscle and two thick strands of hair fall down her face, framing it perfectly.
“Holy shit, she is beautiful.” Lumen throws the shirt back to him, and he catches it.
“Cover yourself, slut! Stop flaunting in front of Rowena.” Dreko lets out a small growl. Rowena blushes, watching Dreko put on the shirt. “Is everything ok?” Rowena walks towards her.
“I think he is angry with me.” She mumbles to Lumen. “He hasn’t said a word to me.”
“Nonsense, he is not angry. Trust me, if he was angry, he wouldn’t have carried you here.” Lumen whispers, too, which makes Rowena feel more comfortable before telling her a concerning truth. “But a little heads up, whispering? Doesn’t really work with Dreko.” Both look at Dreko, who has the same blank expression, and he looks at them for a second, confirming it.
“Well, that’s just great.” Rowena says, visibly frustrated about this revelation. Her confused feelings about the couple intensify. “How can I even consider joining this dynamic?”
“Ro… Is it ok if I call you Ro?” Rowena nods. “Ro, you can trust us. Yes, we are not like any other people in your life, and we know Dreko is too much at once… at the beginning…” She subdues a pervy smile. “Give us a chance, and you can see all the good we bring with our weirdness.” Rowena nods again.
“So now can we go deal with the guests in our other Tower? If you are both ready, I mean.” Dreko asks, jumping into the portal, soon followed by the women, and closes it to prevent more people from walking to another universe.
On Earth 1, the three of them ride the elevator down to the lobby. Meanwhile, six refugees share the sofa as best as they can, except for Delilah, who roams and looks around, uneasy about where Rowena brought them.
“There is also the small detail of those instant portals I have never seen before.” Delilah thinks. The elevator doors open, and all of them look at the two unknown people who step out with Rowena behind them. Before she speaks to her friends, Rowena carefully slides between Dreko and Lumen, avoiding touching them out of nervousness.
“Hi, guys. Sorry for keeping you waiting. This place is huge; it took me a while to find these two.” She points at the couple. “He’s Drevon, she’s Lucya, this is their place… Right, uh, something else, we are not in V.T.B. anymore.” Rowena uses the fake names they gave her. “We’ll explain to you later.”
“Let’s get you something to eat, and then we’ll show you to your rooms. Dreko’s a great cook, right?” Lumen steps in before Dreko has the opportunity to open his mouth, and he just nods with an uncomfortable smile.
Dreko calls for the elevator, which is big enough for all of them to fit in.
“The ride is short, only one floor above us.” He mentions, punching the button.
“Why not use the stairs? It’s bad for the environment.” One of the refugees says. Dreko looks back at him: a young blond man with a shaved head, a scar on the arm, half covered by the shirt and a tattoo of a car hood on his neck.
“The Tower works with wind and solar energy, so…” Dreko answers, facing the doors again. “And there are no stairs.” The doors open shortly after this, and he steps out.
The kitchen, built many years ago when he really was in his twenties, has been modernized with top-of-the-line household appliances. Two ovens, a stove, a fridge, an air fryer, an ice cream machine, a yogurt machine, a microwave, a toaster oven, a juicer, two blenders, a wine cooler and a dishwasher. The cabinets, the kitchen island, the breakfast bar and the dining table —even a small couch— are all black and red.
“You, guys, are really into black and red decor.” Delilah mentions it. Lumen snorts at this, before answering as Lucya.
“Actually Drevon decorated this on his own. I moved in after —way after.”
“Ah, makes sense.” Delilah makes a face at Lumen, and they both laugh. Ignoring them, Dreko fires up the stove. While the heating zone reaches the temperature, he grabs beef, tomatoes, cheese, and pickles out of the fridge, and ciabatta bread out of the cupboard under the kitchen island.
“Does anyone not eat meat, or have any other dietary restrictions?” He asks, showing them the beef packet.
“Delilah and I don't eat meat.” The same man that talked in the elevator raises his hand. Dreko nods, taking out two frying pans, turning over another knob and grabbing non-meat hamburger patties and vegan cheese.
“What are your names, by the way?”
“I am Delilah, they/them; the blond one is Alfred, he/him; the brunette with a hair bun is Sandy, she/her; the white haired is Alex, they/them; Zom is the one fidgeting with his necklace, he/him; Heidt, she/her, and Elly, he/him.” They take their seats around the dining table.
Over the sound of Dreko cooking, the group asks Lumen all the basic questions: Where are they? How did they get there? How does Rowena know them? And what’s the story of Drevon, Lucya and The Tower?
“Boylean Continent, North Boyle, Warriors Covenant States, Metlac State and Azglam City, formerly known as Tezra.” She spits out the answer to the first question with a coldish tone with a thousand yard stare. Rowena, aware of Lumen’s real form, picks up on how she, as an AI, answers consecutive general questions. “You got here through a portal from V.T.B., the same technology as the portal bases around the world, except it’s portable. Rowena knew us when she broke into this Tower.” Lumen’s stare goes back to normal. “And the story of this place and of us is something for another day.”
A group of drones puts ten plates on the kitchen island where Dreko prepares all the sandwiches, starting with the non-meat to avoid confusion. The drones then serve all the food and different cold beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, in a bucket full of ice. They eat, drink, talk, and laugh. Despite the nice atmosphere, Delilah’s grim thoughts show on their face from time to time. Dreko notices this from across the table, having seen that same expression on himself.
Once all of them finish eating, Lumen takes them to their rooms. Dreko goes up to the roof, where Lumen joins him; her skin shivers with the cold, and she hugs Dreko for his warmth. Together, they look at the sun making its way to the top.