Chapter Twenty-Two

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Chapter Twenty-Two

Rolling over I am still slightly disoriented from whatever happened yesterday. Rubbing my blurry eyes, I see a change of clothes on the table next to me. Flopping out of bed, I go into the adjacent bathroom and take a quick shower before putting on the slight variation of the Aegis outfit I have come to know and love. This one just has two extra silver panels on the fabric.

Walking out of the room, I search for someone. I know I am in the headquarters for the Mavericks but that doesn't mean I have a clue where I am in the building. Wandering around aimlessly, I hear voices and walk towards them. Pausing before I walk into the room, I take a step back out of sight and listen.

"Greyson, do you even realize how unheroic and immoral your intentions have been?" Aviva asks him angrily.

"I did what I did Aviva, this is my team and I don't regret my choices!"

"Zana is in danger! She can't be a hero if this squadron of who knows what is constantly chasing after her!" Aviva yells at him.

A hand around my mouth and my waist startle me as I am pulled away from the doorway. Grabbing the arm, I spin us and pin the person against the wall and put my arm across their throat. Looking into an unfamiliar pair of brown eyes, my eyes focus on a nose piercing. Her hands let me go and make a sign of surrender. Looking at her one arm I see a massive bandage wrapping up to her elbow.

"Who are you?" I ask quietly.

"Are you Zana? Or do you prefer to be called Aegis?"

Staring at the petite woman before me, her deep brown skin reminds me of my own but has the warmer red undertone typical of people who are of an East Asian descent. Her silky black hair is chopped short and styled back. Slowing letting her go I think I know who is standing in front of me.

"Are you Metallica?" I ask her in the same whispered tone.

"I am, can you tell me what the hell is going on?" She asks me.

"It's a bit of a story,"

"Then summarize it before I walk in their blind," she asks flustered.

Stepping back, I give her enough space before whispering everything that has happened in the last few days with Greyson. I explain the danger that I have been put in and the way he manipulated not only his sister but the meta's they are mentoring and myself. I watch as a fire burns in her eyes as I finish telling her what she wanted to know.

"Thank you, Aviva couldn't give me to many details over the phone, so I came to see what all of the fuss is about," Metallica says.

"Shall we go in?"

"After you Zana," she says, and I walk in quietly.

Aviva I can see just past Greyson's back and Thalia is standing next to Aviva. Alexander's tracker is live on the screen as is Cathleen's. Faith and Orion are absent from the room and that is probably for the better, although I did want to personally thank Orion for helping me out.

"You are not just going to waltz back in here and pretend nothing happened," Aviva bites out.

"This is my team!" Greyson yells back.

"Oh, is it now? I thought this was our team. Isn't that the way a team is supposed to work, or did I miss something being gone?" Metallica drawls out casually startling Greyson.

"Macie?" He asks shocked.

"Greyson," she says walking around him to join Aviva, I stay put.

"This isn't up for debate right now because two-fifths of our team aren't present," Greyson says coldly.

"Four-sixths are," Aviva says.

"I am a part of the team, aren't I?" I ask him coldly. Being in the same room as him makes my skin crawl, and I try to mask how uncomfortable I am.

"You are not a part of the core members of the team," he snaps, of course, he would say that. Looking into his silver eyes, they seem blindingly bright and unfocused. His normally collected demeanor has vanished and he seems out of it.

"I see, I am only a part of this team when you need something from me," I bite back flustered, and I can see Thalia internally raging.

"No! Stop twisting my words!" He snaps at me and I just raise an eyebrow at him.

"Aviva, how does reassigning the Mavericks team leader work?" I ask her. It's something I wanted to inquire about a while ago and other things about how the team works. I have a feeling the conversation is going this way anyway. From the fire practically burning in Aviva's gaze to the frustration in Macie's eyes, Greyson won't stand as the team leader anymore.

"It just requires a team vote," she says.

"Well we have four-sixths of the team, is that enough for a vote?" I ask her.

"No," Greyson snaps.

"Oh, look who is calling, Alexander," Aviva says snarkily and I am surprised by her attitude as she pulls him up on the monitor.

"I was told we are voting on a new team leader," he says, it is windy, and his voice is distant.

"I think we have enough of the team," Macie says.

"All those in favor of removing Greyson as leader of the Mavericks, raise your hand," Aviva says.

Everyone but Greyson raises their hand, including Thalia. I can feel the rage rolling off of Greyson as he stews in his anger and resentment. Spinning towards me, I know he wants nothing more than to knock my lights out, but he doesn't.

"That doesn't mean you are off the team Greyson, there is just a lot of work you need to do to fix your mistakes," Aviva says.

"I second that," Alexander says.

Making eye contact with Greyson, the raw frustration in his eyes is evident and I know if I were to push him, he would explode. Relaxing my face, I just give a neutral expression. He sucks in a sharp breath before letting it go.

"If I can't be the leader, I don't want to be on the team," he says before storming out.

Still standing in the doorway, I can see the sorrow in the team's eyes. Greyson has led the team successfully for so many years and I know that the five of them are all friends, it just shows in the way they interact with each other independently of their superhero work.

Aviva lets out a sigh and Alexander shifts the phone in his hand.

"I nominate Aviva as team leader," he says seriously.

"I will second the nomination," Macie says squeezing her.

"Wait, what?" Aviva asks confused.

"It doesn't have to be permanent, but for the next three months until things resettle, we need a leader and you have been holding things down just fine," Alexander says.

"Do we need a third nomination?" Aviva asks confused.

"No just two or will work for now, as long as Zana doesn't disagree and I know your wife won't," Macie says.

"Well this is my worst nightmare, but okay," Aviva mumbles.

"We will figure it out, I promise," Alexander says before hanging up the call.

"What now?" Macie asks.

"Well, we have a mysterious organization that needs to be taken down and a few rescues to make. Lena is currently tracking down the headquarters of Paradigm as we speak so that also needs to be addressed."

"Wow, the world doesn't stop," Macie says rubbing her head.

"Alexander has been running around saving the city all by himself and probably needs a break. I'm going to go out for a bit. Do you think you can start organizing what we will need?" Aviva asks.

"You should go work out first," Macie says smiling softly. I can tell from her tone she believes that is incredibly important right now for Aviva. I know working out always helps me clear my head, but I can sense a greater importance right now.

"I don't have time," Aviva says.

"Alexander can go for another hour or two. Go work out Aviva," Macie says, and she sighs before disappearing.

"And then there was three," Macie says before hugging Thalia. I wonder how well they know each other. I can't help but ponder how much I still don't know about Thalia as well as this team.

"Zana, why don't you give me a hand planning things out. It'll be some good experience to get under your belt," Macie says beckoning me over.

"Okay," I say.

"Zana?" Thalia asks me quietly.

"We will talk later, I promise, I just need some time," I mumble sitting next to Macie.

"Okay," she says before leaving the room.

Sitting next to Macie at their supercomputer, we find blueprints for the building that Paradigm is currently in. I'm not even sure how they found it so quickly, but I appreciate that they did, I want this to be over yesterday. I help her as much as I can, but everything feels numb and like it is moving in fast forward. The look in Greyson's eyes keeps coming to mind. Touching the stone around my neck, my stressed out and cold face flashes in front of me.

"Zana?" Macie asks.

"Yeah?"

"If you need to take a break, that's okay," Macie says.

"I think I am going to go out and get some fresh air," I say.

"Take the elevator at the end of the hall straight down, don't get lost," she says quickly before wincing, she touches her arm for a moment before going back to work.

Following her orders, I see that the building is in the middle of a massive piece of land. How is that even possible in New York? I start walking away from the building and hear a buzzing, looking around I see it faintly reflecting off of the tower, it's a dome. This whole area is enclosed. Walking for what feels like forever I can see out of the dome, we are on an island of sorts, but I know it's not in the ocean just from the look of the water.

"It's pretty neat isn't it," Alexander's cheery voice says startling me. I didn't even notice him.

"Can anybody see in?" I ask confused.

"No, they can't, this just looks like a massive trash heap to them and if they go near it, they'll get zapped," he says.

"That is pretty interesting," I say, and we walk back towards the tower. I follow one step behind him, my mind spinning rapidly as I try to process everything.

"You look tired Zana," Alexander says.

"I could say the same thing about you," I say chuckling.

"It's been a long few days," he says with a chuckle. I wholeheartedly agree with him on that one. He presses his thumb onto the scanner for us to go back up in the elevator.

Late that night, the four of us meet and finalize the plans. They run me through everything they could plan, and I have them repeat a few things. Aviva works hard to clarify things for me, and I am very appreciative. Everything is hard to process right now, and my head feels a million miles away from reality.

"Can you explain how the stone works before we all break for the evening?" Aviva asks and I look down at the shard hanging on the chain. I hand her the necklace and she holds it curiously, turning it over in her palm I can tell she doesn't see what I see. She gives it back and I see myself for a moment.

"This stone is a tracker; it can show exactly where I am when someone holds it. But I don't understand how they used it, nobody but me seems to be able to see or feel the ability the stone has. I don't even know how they would have created it unless they have someone like me," I say, and Aviva bits her lip thinking.

"How do you make one?" Aviva asks curiously. Raising my hand, I slam my palm onto the table and my palm crystalizes. Everyone jumps startled and I smile slightly. Focusing I take a few deep breaths and pluck the crystals off my palm, the feeling is foreign and uncomfortable.

"Fragments missing from me, unify," I say, and I close my fingers and the same grey light appears. Opening my hand slowly, there is a single stone now sitting in my hand.

"Woah, that's beautiful," Aviva says intrigued and I smile slightly. Tossing it high into the air I say release and there is a breeze as the stone disappears. Aviva looks at me in awe and I turn away. It's nothing special compared to being able to manipulate anything around you. With a few more words, everyone disperses.

Curling up on the couch after everyone has headed to bed, I can't help how my mind races. Warm tears trail down my face as I try to process everything. The image of the woman who I don't remember knowing flashes into my mind, and I try to place how I met this woman and why her face seems so familiar now. Was I related to her? Is she even real or is that just a figment of my imagination?

"Zana?" A tired voice asks me, and I open my eyes even though I know exactly who it is.

Looking over I see Thalia standing there in pajamas. She rubs her eyes and I can see the concerned look etched into her face as she walks over and sits down on the edge of the couch. She waits for me to speak first but eventually gives up.

"You should rest, you have a big day tomorrow," she says patting my leg before leaving.

I fall asleep on the couch rather than going back to the room that was prepared for me. Waking up very stiff, I take the time to stretch out before texting Mason. He responds instantly and I tell him that I had to leave the state for a few days, but I should be back shortly. My phone buzzes and his name lights up my screen.

"Someone is up earlier than normal," I muse. It's a Wednesday, he normally sleeps in today.

"Well my good friend Zana seems to be unreachable and in quite the conundrum," he muses, and I ran my hand over my shaved head.

"It's complicated, but I'm safe," I say, and he sighs.

"Please let me know when you are back in town," he says.

"I will," I try to say reassuringly.

"I'm always ready for our next sparring session," he says awkwardly. He wants to help so badly, but he can't. This is a journey I have to take with this team.

"Me too," I say quietly before hanging up.

"How long have you been awake?" Macie asks startling me. I am still on the couch.

"Since about five am?" I only got about three hours of sleep.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I mean three hours isn't bad for me, but I was to wound up to sleep earlier," I say while stretching out some.

"Three hours?!"

"I usually only get four," I say clarifying.

"I wish," Macie says. I don't doubt that at all.

Everyone slowly rolls in and Alexander opts to stay here in New York and continue to patrol, Aviva and I are taking point on this mission and Macie has called in reinforcement but would stick With Cathleen. Everyone seems confident in the plan that we have in place, but fear and anxiety eat at me as time ticks closer. The building isn't heavily active anymore and Cathleen is confident that we will be able to take control of the facility with ease.

"Hey, Aegis, ready to go?" Orion asks me and I nod. Everyone is here except for Cathleen who would be meeting us at the previously established location.

"You okay?" Orion asks me so quietly I barely hear it. Aviva and Macie don't even notice.

"Just anxious to get this over with," I admit. I keep seeing the blonde men's faces in my dreams and the overwhelming feeling that my life is about to explode is ever present.

"You are going to do great, every one will have your back," he says reassuringly, and I give him a small smile before pulling my mask on and turning on the earpiece.

"Orion and Cabe are going to stay with Thalia once they go back to Circa City to make sure everything is alright," Aviva says, and I scrunch my brows.

"Who is Cabe?" I ask confused and Faith and another man walk through the door. His head whips in my direction at the question and he flashes a big smile before b-lining towards me. Thalia walks in shortly after them with her bag.

"You must me Zana, I'm Cabe, and don't worry I'll make sure Thalia is safe," he says, and he offers a hand to shake.

"Thank you," I say genuinely, that is one less thing for me to worry about.

"Alright, we should get moving," Aviva orders and Orion steps up and carefully grabs Macie and me by the arm. Sucking in a deep breath, the world goes black and I am being squeezed for a few moments before my feet smash into the ground. I manage to keep myself standing and see Cathleen is waiting for us.

"This shouldn't be too difficult, there isn't a lot of people on the premise," Cathleen says, and she gestures to a massive building I can see through gaps in the tree line. Even from here, I can tell it's delipidated.

"Where are we exactly?" I ask her.

"We are out past the abandoned warehouse district on a small island. It's not even listed on any modern maps," Cathleen says seriously and that makes my skin prickle.

"Mavericks let's move out," Aviva says, and we all take a deep breath and move towards the back of the building. I move in front of Cathleen and walk by Aviva, if they start firing, I don't want her getting hit.

"There's two by the back door," Aviva mumbles, and I see them. I can take them out.

"I'll knock them out," I say, and I roughly run my hand down the tree I am hiding by. Plucking the crystals off my hand, I move away from the team and watch the roof. I can do this; I am a Maverick.

"Fragments missing from me, unify," I mumble, and I press the pieces together. Breaking my cover, I watch as the security camera's turn off and tilt downwards as I safely make it to the side of the building. Taking one cleansing breath, I hear Aviva's okay and break my cover and hurl the shard.

"Release!" I order and there is a small explosion. The two guards are thrown back into the door before falling unconscious. Aviva breaks the guns into a few pieces before we all meet at the back door.

"This suit does the same thing as mine, correct?" I ask her as I take the lead into the building. My suit allows for me to expel energy without the fabric even moving.

"Yes," she says, and I wait for her order to turn the corner.

"There are two people," she mumbles as Cathleen and Macie prepare themselves.

"I can do it," I tell her earnestly and she glances at Cathleen for approval.

"I can take the gunfire," Macie mumbles but I put an arm out.

"I can do this," I say seriously, and she backs off. Bracing myself I slide around the corner and see that the two men are walking away. Sprinting headfirst, they spin around and barely have time to pull their guns as I knock it out of the one guard's hands and throw him into the other one. The stumble and I lunge and smash both of their heads into the wall, they are both unconscious. Aviva appears and handcuffs them both.

"Let's keep moving," she orders, and we do. I watch as her face tenses and releases as she reads what's going on around us.

"There are six people on the south side, Invi, and Metallica go handle them," she orders cautiously. The shadows swallow them whole and suddenly it's the two of us.

"We've got company," Aviva says as three more people turn the corner. I barely have a moment to slide in front of her as the barrage of bullets hits me. I hope she didn't get hit. Tears pour down my face at the pain before it goes quiet. Opening my eyes, I step forward and the men are too busy looking for their missing weapons. Releasing all of the pent-up energy, they are all knocked over. Aviva smashes their heads into the ground as we cuff them easily.

"We've taken down the eight on the south side," Invi says, and that makes me pause. Did Aviva miss two?

"My bad," she grunts as we continue forward. I loosely know where we are trying to get too, but the plan feels jumbled as we continue forward. We take down a few more people and head starts to spin as I recognize hallways. At the heart of the building is a massive lab, that is abandoned. Wires are hanging from the ceiling and cracks in the glass that look inside are jagged and harsh.

"What are they even trying to bother protecting?" A voice asks startling me. Looking up I see it is just Cathleen.

"I don't know," I say, and bright lights burn in my eyes and suddenly I see her face, the woman in all my dreams. She's screaming and fighting against multiple sets of hands, the pain in her face startles me.

"Aegis?" Someone asks but my breathing is shallow and the ringing in my ears is too loud. Their words fall on deaf ears as I raise my foot and shatter the glass. Climbing through the empty frame, my heart hurts, and races.

Lights flicker on in the lab and I see beds with heavy leather and metal straps half ripped off. The bloodstains on the floor are everywhere, some stains look as if they didn't even bother to try cleaning it up. I feel someone behind me, and I spin and see it's only Aviva.

"Aegis, what is going on?" She asks me and I can see the calculating look in her eyes. She's trying to figure out what I am thinking. Spinning back around, I walk further into the lab and more lights flick on. There are steel boxes, cages, and another room in the back. Flashes appear before my eyes and I can see people in them, but as I keep moving the memories fade away.

"Aegis?" Someone asks but I don't answer. Blazing forward, I focus in on the room at the end. My body tells me to run, but I keep moving forward and smash the metal door off the hinges. It smashes into the ground and I barely hear the sound as I see the table, the small cage. I see hundreds of empty vials and test tubes. My chest feels tight as if I'm being restrained, all the memories are right there I just can't quite reach them.

"No! Leave her alone!" I hear her voice shrieking. She's screaming, hysterical.

"Zaneliah!" Her voice echoes in my head and my knees give. The pain, the poison, the needles. I know what they did to me, but why?

"I think I know what this place was," Cathleen says quietly to the two other women.

"Paradigm was a Metac facility," she continues and my ears ring with her screams and others. Tears pour down my face, and I can feel the needle in my arm, it's massive and piercing through my crystals.

"We need to get her out of here, now," someone says, and two strong arms pull me to my feet. I am shrouded in darkness and my eyes fall close as I let the darkness consume me.

Dun dun dunnnn, the truth is revealed! Zana was once part of a Metac facility.

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