Axion slipped through the shadows of the alley, gng around to make sure no one was following her as she made her way to the Vigil. As she stepped through the door, her gaze swept over the dim interior, taking in the dusty shelves and cluttered tables.

  "Virgil?" Axion called out tentatively.

  No answer.

  Wonder if he's out today?

  She checked both floors of the building but found it empty. He wasn't in his office or down in the basemeher. Figuriurn up soon enough, she headed to the training area behind the building.

  As she approached, she caught sight of Virgil standihe target dummies. Before she could call out to him, she noticed someone else beside him.

  A familiar face. Quinn?! Why's he here?!

  Axion hid around the er, keeping quiet as she watched them.

  Virgil said something to Quinn and motioowards one of the dummies. Quinn nodded and faced the wooden struct. After a deep breath, he charged forward, l his shoulder as he barreled toward it. At the st minute, he ged dire, pivoting around the dummy and smming his elbow into its back. The impact caused the dummy to tip slightly, its base shifting across the ground. Quinn used his momentum to sm his other fist into its side, toppling the target over and smashing its head. He let out a triumphant cry, pumping his fists in victory.

  "Not bad," Virgil praised, g his hands together. "Little rough around the edges, but we work on that. , let's move on to practig the proper teique frapple."

  What's going on? Why is Quinn with Virgil? Does this have something to do with...

  "Stop lurking a your ass over here, girl." Virgil waved her over without even b to look back. "I know you've been watg. e o over here, pronto."

  Axion jumped and peered around the er. She hadn't expected him to notice her presence so easily. Crap. There's no choice but to approaow. Relutly, she emerged from the shadows and joihe two men.

  "Ah, there she is," Virgil greeted, a wry smile. "Perfect timing. We were just going over some things."

  Quinn turowards her and immediately stiffened. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Hey, uh, o see you again."

  "Um, hey...you, too." Axion muttered awkwardly, feeling increasingly unfortable. She gnced betweewo of them, hoping someone would speak up and expin.

  Virgil didn't keep her waiting long. He straightened, folding his arms as he began. "So, you're probably w what's going on here, hm? I'll get right to the point. Thanks to your little stunt a couple of weeks ago, Quinn here has discovered your secret identity." He paused as he gauged her rea. "If you've got any sembnce of a brain, it doesn't take much to put two and two together."

  "W-wait, so..." Axion stuttered, taken aback. "He knows?"

  Quinn nodded and offered a weak smile. "Uh...yeah. Sorry, Fii."

  Fuuuuck.

  Her shoulders slumped. "D-did you tell anyone else?"

  "Nope. Didn't breathe a word. I promised you, remember?" Quinn answered hastily. "Still keeping my word."

  Okay, so that's a small relief, at least.

  She sighed heavily as she clutched her head in dismay. "But wait...why are you here now?" Axion jerked her toward Virgil. "Did he force you into anything? Are you okay?"

  "Actually, he invited me," Quinn interjected. He hesitated before tinuing. "I was kinda scared at first, but after a talk with Virgil, I agreed to keep the secret. And...I'm going to help you guys."

  Help...us? As in, he's going to help the Vigil?

  "You serious?" Axion asked. "You wanna work with us?"

  Quinn nodded. "Yeah, I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty, and this'll be a great opportunity for me. Plus, Virgil thinks I've got potential, which I'm not vinced about myself. So...what do you think?"

  Axion g Virgil, who nodded once.

  He must've already filled Quinn in. Well, if Virgil approved, and if Quinn agreed...then there shouldn't be a problem. Right? Besides, Quinn retty reliable guy—a lot more reliable than her if she didn't have any powers.

  Still, he didn't deserve to get dragged into this, but she also couldn't deny having him around would make things a bit easier. And less lonely. Plus, if he was going to join the Vigil, that meant they'd be spending more time together...like...now, for example.

  "You sure about this, Quinn? It's not going to be safe. You might end up getting hurt. Or worse." Axion warned. "I don't want you to get involved if you don't want to."

  "Hey, don't worry about me. I'm a tough guy, you know?" Quinn interrupted, crag his knuckles. "I handle a few punks, believe me. I ain't gonna be a burden. In fact, I'm excited about this. Really. So...don't sweat it." He grinned cheekily.

  Axion frowned and crossed her arms, unvinced by his bravado. "Hmm, okay...well, as long as you're sure about this."

  Virgil cleared his throat loudly. "Now that we've cleared the air, there's a few more rules to go over. First off, no using your real names during patrols or operations. Got it? Use your code names instead. Fii, you're Axion. Quinn, you're...hm..." He scratched his thoughtfully as he searched for an appropriate niame. "I'll let you figure it out yourself."

  "Gotcha," Quinn agreed.

  "Sed, don't waltz in here whenever you please. No one find out that the Vigil is active, especially the gangs. Under no circumstances are you allowed t strangers inside unless I'm here to approve it. This goes double for you, Fii. Remember, we're on the down-low. Any funny business, and you'll both get your asses hao ya. And not in a fun way."

  Axion nodded silently, aowledging the order. She noticed Quinn nodding as well.

  "Lastly, no fooling around during patrols. Stick to business and only business." Virgil pointed a stern fi both of them. "No chit-chat, no jokes, aainly no fraternizing while on duty. If I catch you flirting or screwing around, I'll personally beat the both of y'all until your eyes bleed. Got that?"

  Both nodded vigorously, shooting g each other.

  "Good. With that settled, we're done for today. Dismissed." Virgil dismissed the pair, waving them away as he walked back toward the main building.

  As he disappeared into the shadows, Axion took a breath and exhaled slowly. She turo face Quinn and fidgeted nervously, unsure of what to say.

  "Um, so...guess we're partners now, huh?" Axion mao stammer out.

  "Seems so, yeah," Quinn replied casually. "Doesn't sound so bad if you ask me." He smiled reassuringly before shrugging. "Look, I don't expect you to trust me immediately, but I'm grateful yivihe ce. And, hey, thanks for saving me earlier. Otherwise, we wouldn't even be in this situation, would we?" He chuckled lightly.

  "True, yeah," Axion replied, returning the ugh. "I just hope things won't be awkward between us."

  "No worries, nothing's going to ge, not on my end anyway. I'll still treat you like a friend, even though I'll be calling you 'Axion' instead of 'Fii' when you're wearing the suit. Sounds a bit formal, to be ho." He tilted his head curiously. " I ask, does your family know about all of this?"

  "Oh, uh, I don't have any family anymore, so no." Axion answered quietly, dropping her gaze to the ground. "I live alone."

  "I see. Same as me then," Quinn murmured softly. He gazed off into space pensively, theurned his attention to her. "Well, as long as we've got each other's backs, I think we'll do just fine. Let's give it our all, hm?" He held out his hand toward her.

  Axion stared at his outstretched palm for a moment. She took hold of it firmly and gave a firm shake. "Sure, I'm in."

  "Great." Quinn fshed another crooked grin before turning to leave. "Guess I'll see you around, partner."

  With a wave goodbye, he ambled off in the dire of his workshop.

  Once he was gone, Axion heaved a heavy sigh and leaned against the wall.

  The only pn she had this evening was to show off her new abilities til. Yet somehow, she ended up with a eammate. And not just anybody, either. Quinn.

  Wonder how Edith's going to react.

  Edith tapped her finger on her desk as she gred at Virgil sitting across from her, eating a sandwich. He took his sweet time sav every bite while she stewed in silence, seething with ahe infuriating man refused to meet her gaze, fog on the food in his mouth instead. She ched her hands tightly aed the urge to throttle him.

  Eventually, Edith cracked, uo tain her frustration. "Fod's sake, Virgil, you stop stuffing your face with that damn sandwid pay attention?!" She growled. "This is serious! Do you even uand what you've done? Hootential issues you created?! Do you know how irresponsible this is?!"

  Virgil swallowed and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He crumpled the paper er into a ball before tossing it aside carelessly. He took his time leaning bato his chair, crossing his legs fortably. He finally directed his gaze toward her and arched an eyebrow, amusement dang across his features.

  "Problems? Nonsense, Edith. Everything's under trol. Don't worry so much. It's unbeing of a dy such as yourself."

  "This isn't a joke! That guy could cause serious problems!" Edith retorted hotly, spping her hands oable. "You've introduced another variable to the equation, and I don't like this. This is reckless and impulsive and unnecessary. What were you thinking? How could you possibly justify this?"

  "Would you have preferred that I killed him as I did with the Gully Rats that also saw Fii that day?"

  "Well, no, but—" She faltered. "Still! This wasn't called for."

  "I disagree. He could prove useful to Fii. Also, the boy's smart; you should give him a ce. He's got potential. We could use someone like him on our side. I don't know why yetting so worked up over nothing."

  "It's not nothing, Virgil," Edith fumed, rising to her feet. She leaned forward, staring daggers at the infuriating man before her. "Everything is NOT peachy keen and sunshine and daisies, thank you very much! How many times do I have to say it?! This was stupid, foolish, dangerous, and—and idiotic!"

  Virgil scoffed dismissively and rolled his eyes. "Oh, e off it, woman. Unlike you, I know how to read people, and I tell that boy won't go babbling about her identity. Not iionally, anyway. I assessed his character thhly before deg to recruit him. Stop being paranoid."

  "Paranoid? I'm not being paranoid!" She scowled at him before adding in a haughty tone. "And I don't like the way you just referred to me. I'm a stist—not woman, sweetheart, dear, or whatever other nonseerm you deign to call me. You'd do well to remember that!"

  "Fine. How's 'sugar tits' or 'dy bits' sound, hm? Is that better?" He quipped smugly.

  "God, I hate you so muetimes." Edith hissed under her breath, ping the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Why are you so difficult? Just tell me why you decided t in some random kid off the street."

  "Firstly, I didn't 'Drag' him in; I simply suggested a way to solve aing problem. Sed, Fii's secret was bound to be exposed at some point, whether through her carelessness or someone else's. Best we prepare for that iability. Third, like I said earlier, the boy's a smart cookie. A tad uneducated and rustic, but he possesses the knowledge o help us with certain matters. You o get it through that head of yours that Fii 't do everything by herself, even if you're there feeding her instrus through her helmet." He smirked knowingly. "Isn't that right, Doctor Edith?"

  Edith gnashed her teeth, grinding them together angrily. "Oh, piss off," she mumbled, sinking into her seat, defeated. She hated losing arguments against Virgil. Mostly because he often made valid points, which were annoyingly right, but also because he delighted in pointing out her shortings and fws.

  Arrogant bastard.

  She clicked her tongue irritably and crossed her arms. "Fine, fine. Do whatever you want. But I swear, if this screws anything up, I'm going to bme you. So don't pin to me if this goes badly, alright?"

  "Rex, Doc, I've got this covered. Trust me. And if anything happens, I'll take full responsibility," he reassured, raising both hands pgly. "Now, then...if you're finished bellyag, there's another reason why I asked for this meeting. Care to listen?"

  She eyed him warily but remained silent, waiting for him to tinue.

  Virgil reached into his coat pocket arieved a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and slid it across the table toward her. "I haven't been pletely truthful with you about the time when I said that I've dealt with the supplier of the Shiver drug. He got away."

  "What?!" Edith snatched the dot off the table and sed its tents, her eyes widening as she read the information written on the page. "The Mad Chemist?..."

  "The very same one," he firmed with a nod. "Salvatore, or rather a proxy of his, gave that drug to the Neon Vipers in exge for the supply of venom that I hao you that time. You still got it?"

  "Yes, I stored it at the b." She murmured distractedly, turnitention back to the report. "Wait...hang on..." she muttered under her breath, her brow furrowing. "Why'd you wait until now to tell me about this?"

  Virgil shrugged nontly. "Wao firm some things before talking about it. I thought it was just a oime thing, but I've caught wind of a few whispers of te that suggest otherwise."

  He rested his on top of steepled fingers, tapping them together rhythmically. "Salvatore's main product is illegal bio-engineering. You've probably heard about those super soldiers that private corporations and even the military secretly use, right?"

  Edith nodded. "You're talking about Adrenomancers."

  Of course, she'd heard of them. It wasn't on knowledge, but every geicist and biochemist had at least a vague uanding of what the super soldier process involved.

  Salvatore specialized in produg these kinds of individuals—Adrenomancers, as they'd e to be known—through highly plex chemical treatments bined with extensive physical training. They were geically engineered soldiers capable of enhang their physical attributes by utilizing specialized drugs ied into their bloodstream. These drugs ehem to achieve greater speeds, strength, and endurahan any normal human being.

  These drugs also came with the added drawback of shortening their lifespan drastically; most Adrenomancers sted around five years at the most before expiring. Only Salvatore could produce these drugs, and he was notoriously secretive about its formu. Any attempts to replicate its produ resulted in failure, regardless of method. Because of this, his work was infamous throughout the underworld.

  If Salvatore was involved, it was most likely ected to illicit dealings. The question was, why did he have tact with the gangs in the slums? What was his goal?

  "I'm pretty sure that the venom samples that he wanted from the Neon Vipers were specifically meant to be used in his batch of Adrenomancer drugs. Not sure where the angs e i, but I suspect they'll py a key role in this as well."

  He leaned back, tilting his chair onto two legs. "Judging from what I've observed, I deduce three possibilities for why Salvatore's poking around the slums: number one, he's w with the gangs to distribute the drug Shiver to increase awareness and demand for the Adrenomahat he creates; wo, he needs something specifi the slums and he's w with the gangs to obtain it; or third, he's pnning a major operation here soon, and the gangs will provide assistance."

  "What does Shiver have to do with Adrenomancers? I've checked. It's just another opioid. Granted, it's an unusually potent one, and it causes aggressive behavior and high levels of euphoria, but it's not a performanhang drug."

  Virgil tapped his nose knowingly. "Right. I think Shiver is inteo be a sort of...primer. An appetizer. Its symptoms are the same as the early stages of Adrenomancer enha."

  Edith narrowed her eyes. "Wait, hang on, you're saying Salvatore is distributing drugs like Shiver to test the waters and what? Fi-subjects to turn into Adrenomancers?"

  "Makes sense, don't you think? Think about it: addicts will do anything to get their hands on more of the drug. He spreads the addi first, thehose who are already addicted to bee his test subjects. Those that don't get killed from their violent behavior or die from overdose would likely make det didates for version into Adrenomancers, right?"

  Edith sidered the implications carefully. It didn't sound too farfetched. If the Mad Chemist Salvatore truly was using the slums as a testing ground, that would expin why he chose to i with the local gangs.

  "Hmm, I suppose that theory is pusible. But that's a risky way to find subjects, isn't it? Couldn't he just go to some prisons or hospitals and...oh...uh, wait...fet I said that." She coughed nervously and averted her gaze.

  Virgil rolled his eyes. "I'm not the expert here. You are. But I re this is his strategy. Problem is, I don't know the exact details of his pn. My gut says he's got something else cooking, and he's gathering the ingredients now. Which meata nip this in the bud as soon as possible, or else the slums are in for a world of hurt."

  Edith rubbed her temples wearily as she pted the matter further. "I suppose the first step would be figuring out how deep he's been maniputing things. Have you found anything else?"

  "Actually, yes, as luck would have it."