Ethan was woken up by Treya moving. She reached back and gently shook him. “Morning,” he mumbled.

  Treya sighed, “You had a rough night. I’ve got class today.”

  “I’ll make breakfast,” he replied as he rolled out of bed, cracking his neck and stretching briefly. He tried to push out the thoughts of the last night, the vivid recollection of his own death, with surrendering to their old routine. On days Treya had morning class, he would cook them up some delicious eggs and toast, do the dishes, clean the house, and then go to his classes. Well, everything except for classes, it can be the same. He began heading to the kitchen.

  “You don’t have to,” she said as there was a knock at the front door. “I ordered in.”

  “That’s expensive,” he replied.

  “The coins? Remember?” she threw a pillow at him that he caught with a chuckle.

  “I completely forgot, honestly.” Ethan walked over to the door and opened it, finding a small, brown paper bag with the receipt stapled to keep it shut. Bringing it in, he set the table and pulled out the contents. “Wow, really went all in, huh?” he asked.

  Treya walked out of the bedroom wearing her robe, grinning. She practically pranced over to him, kissed him on the cheek, and then began devouring the fancy breakfast sandwich. “Oh yeah,” she said in between bites. “This is sooo good.”

  Ethan sat opposite her and bit down into the most luxurious breakfast sandwich he ever had. “Oh my God,” he mumbled as the flavors seemed more potent than he’d ever experienced. “This is what rich people eat like?” he asked with a sheepish grin.

  Treya giggled and slid her phone across the table.

  [$45,780.45]

  Ethan’s jaw dropped, “Holy shit.” It was more money than he had ever seen in an account. “We’re loaded!”

  Treya giggled, “I found a pawn shop that was able to melt down the gold and they bought it raw. I’m sure I got a little bit ripped off, but you said we have the whole vault in your Sanctuary?” He nodded and she continued, “That means the gemstones, the large bars of silver…I think we can afford to be ripped off.” She took another bite before continuing, “Plus, you have the agent thing. I’m sure you’ll be getting some merch money soon...not that we need the money."

  “Speaking of that; I spoke to him and he’s going to work on finding a place for us.”

  “Good.” Treya looked up at the ceiling, then the walls, and sighed a little. “I love this house…but we’re ready to move up in the world I think.”

  They finished their meal, Treya skipped off to do her morning routine, and Ethan girded himself in his armor, making sure that he had the camera fully charged and ready to go. When she came out, they kissed, and as she left, he used a Heaven’s Gate to travel to the front of City Hall.

  When he emerged in the morning sunlight, he was caught off-guard by the more fortified appearance of the building. The front stairs leading up to the archways had been barricaded with metal fencing, creating a single-entry point. The windows had bars on them from ground floor to top. And armed sheriff’s deputies holding rifles and shotguns were stationed at the entry way. Guns were trained on him.

  “Hey. I’m not here to cause trouble. Just need to check in with the Mayor.” He stood there in a neutral stance until one of the aides came down the steps toward him, waving down the Sherriff’s deputies.

  “Sorry about that,” the young man said quickly in between puffs of breath. “You can come on up. He’s put aside a meeting slot.”

  Ethan glanced up and saw the balcony, “I’ll get up on my own. Leap of Faith.” He warped to the balcony outside of the Mayor’s now-fortified window, peered through the slats, and then re-used the Ability to warp inside the room.

  The Mayor jumped slightly, and his bodyguard who was stationed near the door began to draw his pistol before relaxing. “You aren’t dead,” the man said with a grin.

  Ethan sat down on the couch, “Yeah. I’m alive. Just had to take some time away due to injury. I’m still very interested in being a part of this Imbued Initiative.” He felt a twinge of sadness and sighed, “Sorry about Stormbringer.”

  The Mayor sighed heavily, “It was not a good visual, having the most prominent Imbued and their seeming protégé both killed – or presumed killed, in your case. Getting Imbued on board has been…tricky.” He stood up, “Do you mind coming with me? We can head down to the East Wing.”

  The two left the office and entered the elevator, the Mayor punching the button for the ground floor. “I have set up the Imbued Initiative in the East Wing to keep them close at hand. Plus, it’s above the garage level, so we were able to convert an old service stairwell into a more covert entrance for those who can’t teleport around.”

  “Warp,” Ethan clarified. “I don’t teleport.”

  “Well…regardless, we have had two developments. The first is that those who are Imbued, and act as criminals, and are caught, are being kept in medically induced comas courtesy of Petal’s flowers. Until we figure out a way to remove or restrict their powers…there really isn’t a choice.” He shifted his glance to Ethan, “Especially for very dangerous Imbued like Firestarter. Too dangerous to be allowed to be conscious.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  It caused his stomach to turn in knots, but Ethan understood the reality of the situation and nodded curtly. “I understand completely. What’s the second development?”

  “We have five Imbued who have signed on. They are all here today, so you can meet them.” He walked through the open doors, but then stopped and turned to face Ethan. “The Governor is being very hands-off at the state level. Same with the federal government. They are…waiting to see how things go. Wanting to keep away, it seems…but I expect that this Imbued Initiative, if it starts showing excellent results, will get some form of oversight.”

  Ethan was not well-versed in politics, but he understood the implications immediately. “Independent contractors, then?”

  The Mayor grinned, “Ah, good. You’re not totally inept. Yes, code-names only, and for those that elect a salary, it will be paid in cash.” He raised an inquisitive eyebrow, “It is five-thousand a month. Full medical coverage under a pseudonym.”

  Ethan shook his head, “I’m good without pay. And healthcare? I’m good.” He knew that they had the vault in the Sanctuary he could visit to get coins and gemstones from at any time. Plus, he was sure Fred would be coming through with some income from the agent representation on some merchandising deal.

  “Right then. Shall we?” The Mayor led him through a heavy metal door and into a large, open office space. It was like a workshop; with tables, tools of all types along the walls, seating areas with computer consoles, and had a general “functional office” feeling.

  Five people were present in the room. All in costume, with faces covered except for one man. A middle-aged man, with salt-and-pepper hair, tanned skin, and wearing a casual pair of slacks with a button-down shirt. “Holy shit, you’re really here?” he asked.

  The Mayor gestured, “Radiance, meet Walter Gherdunt. He is an Imbued who has elected to not take up a secret identity. Walter, I leave it to you.” The Mayor looked to Ethan and clapped a hand on his shoulder, “Thanks for what you’re doing.”

  Ethan didn’t reply as the man left and the door shut behind him. Walter walked over and held out a hand, “Well, like he said. I’m Walter.”

  Ethan grasped and shook, “Good to meet you. What’s your power?”

  Walter tapped his temple and chuckled, “I’m smart. Insanely smart. Right now I’m working on figuring out where this energy giving us our powers comes from, so that we can design prison cells that cut off access.” He turned and gestured to the other Imbued who were now paying firm attention to Ethan. “They’ll each introduce themselves.”

  A woman dressed in a skintight red bodysuit, with armored plates over the shoulders, forearms, thighs, and shins, gave him a little wave from her seat on the couch. “Red Bolt. Speedster.” She had a motorcycle helmet on, with stylized red lightning bolts going up the sides.

  “Like The Flash?” Ethan asked as he walked over towards the more casual-inclined area of the room with the couches.

  She nodded, “Yeah. Kind of, if you’re talking comics. Not just super speed, though. Molecular vibration, so I can go through walls.”

  Ethan smiled, “Good to meet you.” He looked over to a man dressed similarly to Red Bolt, but instead was dressed in blue. “Guessing that makes you the Blue Bolt?”

  The man grunted a response, began signing, and Red Bolt replied. “He’s mute. He says “Good to meet you.” And yes, we have almost identical powers.”

  “Having some super-fast people is going to help out a lot with keeping people safe,” Ethan replied.

  Blue Bolt began signing and chuckled, and Red Bolt translated. “He says “Yes, as long as you keep a hand on their neck and head to prevent whiplash.””

  Ethan turned to face a young teen, no older than fourteen, who was dressed up in a store-bought dinosaur outfit. A onesie, with a cheap Halloween mask over the face. She looked up from her phone and her voice was brusque. “I’m Tyra. I can turn into dinosaurs.”

  “That’s badass!” Ethan said filled with genuine enthusiasm, having always enjoyed learning about dino facts. “Can you turn into a compy?”

  She looked up at him, and he could see her eyes fill up with a spark of imagination, “Oh yeah.” Her whole body glowed a deep yellow, and where she had been sitting was a bipedal lizard like a miniature raptor; deep yellow in hue with green stripes along the top. “It freaked my mom out when I did this the first time!”

  Ethan heard chuckling behind him and looked to face the last of the group. A burly man, who was dressed in a set of joggers and a t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off. He had a balaclava and ski goggles on to hide his identity. “You should see her go full T-rex. I’m Big Jim.” He flexed his bicep and Ethan could see every little definition of ligament and muscle. “Super strength and durability.”

  Ethan felt a slight tug on the short, mid-back-length cape that came with his armor and wheeled around to find Walter studying the fabric. “Fascinating. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “It’s from somewhere special,” Ethan replied making sure to keep his answer cryptic.

  “Actual medieval-era armor, but the ornamentation is fascinating with designs and patterns I have not read about.” Walter continued rapidly firing off information as he examined Ethan’s attire, “I would presume it has an energy amplification property that helps act as a conduit for your power?”

  Say yes, Nobilis stated.

  “Yes,” Ethan replied.

  Walter nodded, “Now that I know what it looks and feels like, I can work on actually designing costumes and gear that will amplify the user.” He looked up at Red and Blue Bolt, “No more constantly replacing the soles of your shoes.”

  “So we’ll be like the Fantastic Four?” Tyra asked, the little compy form hopping off the couch and going over to Walter.

  “Sort of. Suits that adapt to the user’s power set.” He looked up at Ethan, “Mind me taking a clipping of the fabric to investigate the idea?”

  It will be fine, Nobilis said.

  “Sure,” Ethan replied. Walter grabbed some scissors from a work station, snipped off a bit of the cloth – only for it to burst into golden flame in his hands which he quickly dropped. “Shit, I didn’t know that would happen,” Ethan muttered. “You okay?”

  Walter just shook his hand and chuckled, “I’m fine, just a bit warm.” He frowned, “I am sad I cannot take a sample, but just seeing how it operates and functions…mind doing an Ability?”

  “Circle of Healing,” Ethan stated. The golden orbs flew up, scattered into a pattern of runes and symbols, and then the people present began removing helmets and coughing up globules of diseased tissue. “Should have warned about that,” he said with a little chuckle as he felt winded.

  Walter, even despite coughing up crap from his lungs, had kept his gaze fixed on Ethan’s armor. “Fascinating. I’ve got the gist of it, but I’ll need time to investigate.”

  An alarm went off. A fire alarm, ringing several times. “Let me guess,” Ethan shouted over the noise. “A problem for us to deal with?”

  “Yes,” Tyra replied as she scurried over to a switch on the wall, flicked it, and the noise stopped. “Let’s go get us some bad guys!”