"So, what do you think about this mission then?" Kavi asked. Cole and herself were currently driving in a car towards their next assignment down the busy streets of Lucidia. The sirens were bring, and Cole watched the cars turning out of the way as they came towards them.

  "I think it's bullshit that you get to drive." Cole growled, gring at her from the bck leather passenger's seat. Kavi rolled her eyes, as this clearly wasn’t what she had meant when she had asked him that question.

  "Well maybe if you hadn't totaled the st vehicle, you wouldn't have had your license suspended… you’re lucky they let you keep your bike." Kavi retorted, "And that's not what I meant. The bomb threat." She stated. Cole shrugged.

  "We've stopped tons of bombs before." He replied. Kavi sighed.

  "Yeah, but they said this one looks like her work. It’s like nothing they’ve ever seen before." She grumbled. Cole frowned.

  "It couldn't be. She said she never wanted to do any kind of work like that again, especially against innocents. But I suppose if it is we truly have a better understanding of the type of person she’s become.” Cole spat. Kavi let out an exasperated sigh.

  “There’s so much about the world you still don’t understand.” She retorted. Before Cole could respond, a voice came over the radio in the car.

  “Bir Hatter has been reported in the area. Agents Queens and Harrison, proceed with extreme caution. She is wanted alive.” The voice called out. The words hung heavy in the air. Cole's blood ran cold. Kavi felt a knot firm in her stomach. She had been making comments, but she had been hoping she was wrong. She reached over and squeezed Cole's shoulder. He shrugged her away.

  “Come on. We have a job to do.” Cole said sternly. All warmth from his tone had dissolved and his face was now stone cold. His knee was bouncing as his hands clenched into fists. Kavi frowned. Turning onto a street she pulled over and parked the car, grabbing her rifle and exiting the vehicle. Cole grabbed his pistols and daggers, following her.

  “I’ll scope out a pce to work, don’t worry, I’ve got your back.” She stated before running off. Cole nodded, running towards the building that was currently a battleground. His mind was a flurry of thoughts as his heart pounded in his chest. Or perhaps it was the vibration of the sound of gunshots resonating around him as he rushed into the scene. There were many LDPD members on site already, it wouldn't be long before Insomnia was crushed. But they always seemed to come back, more vicious than before. He spotted the sergeant of this command and headed towards her, ducked behind some debris and trying to assess the situation.

  "Sergeant, Agent Harrison here of the LDPD. What needs to be done?" He asked. The Sergeant shook her head.

  "There's a bomb somewhere in here, Insomnia pns to detonate it and knock down the tower above us." She expined. Cole frowned.

  "You haven't stopped it yet?" He asked. The Sergeant shook her head.

  "We’ve found it, but no one's managed to get close to even try. Are you one of those kids with an ability? Are you able to get the information we need?" She asked. Cole shrugged.

  "I can, but I'm going to have to get closer. Meanwhile I'll see if my partner can help." He stated, pulling out his radio. He lifted it to his mouth and began to speak.

  "Kavi, can you hear me?" He asked. There was a pause before finally she responded.

  "Yes, I can. Jesus, Cole, you know I'll have to change my position now." She grumbled. Cole grinned.

  "Sorry, but I have another job for you to do while you're trying to find a new hiding spot. I need you to cover the soldiers on the ground so they can reach the bomb and try to deactivate it." Cole ordered.

  "They haven’t reached the bomb?" Kavi asked. Cole nodded, though Kavi couldn't hear a nod.

  "Can you find it?" He asked.

  "Of course, I- Shit, I have to go. They've found me." She replied before her radio went dead. The Sergeant let out an exasperated sigh.

  "Now what are we going to do?" She asked. Cole held up one finger, smirking a bit.

  "Just wait a minute, Sarge." He replied. Just as the Sergeant was about to respond, the radio suddenly burst to life.

  "I see the bomb about 10 yards from you, strapped onto a wall. There's an Insomnia member standing in front of it wearing a red coat. You have approximately 10 minutes of cover until they’ll discover my location. Do they have a dream walker?" Kavi asked. Cole gnced over at the sergeant who shrugged. He rolled his eyes as he radioed Kavi back.

  "Uncertain, but I can sense a sort of mechanical dream door nearby." Cole stated.

  "It's probably theirs but if you can get through it, use it." Kavi stated. Cole nodded.

  "Cover me." He ordered.

  "I always do. Women are wonderful at multitasking like that. You boys really need to step it up." Kavi replied. Cole smirked, beginning to stand up.

  "Don't worry sarge, this will all be over soon." He stated. The Sergeant grimaced.

  "For all our sakes, I hope you're right... Good luck kid." She replied, "We'll cover you as much as we can."

  Cole grinned and took off, pulling out his pistol and shooting out at the Insomnia members standing in front of the debris. In front of him, he could see bodies dropping down, both Insomnia and LDPD. He knew he had to act quickly before the casualties rose any more. He hurried through a door on the side of the parking garage and into the small shopping centre above. He quickly made his way around the corridors, leaping over crumbled foundations and eliminating any targets or having them eliminated for him. Suddenly he came to a group, but when he went to shoot his gun was out of ammo. He quickly ducked back behind the wall as a spray of bullets followed him back. Cole grimaced as he waited for the gunshots to stop.

  "Kavi? A little help?" He asked.

  "Sorry, my gun's jammed and I have to find a new location!" She shouted into the radio. Cole sighed, feeling a crackling sensation across his tongue as yellow sparks flew from his mouth.

  "Looks like I have no choice. I was hoping to save this energy for individual opponents but looks like I'll have a crowd today." Cole grumbled to himself. Quickly he leaped out from the wall, speaking loudly and clearly.

  "Freeze. Drop your weapons and put your hands behind your back." Cole ordered. All of the Insomnia members did as Cole had ordered, looks of confusion crossing their faces. Cole reached over and picked up a handheld machine gun. He examined it as the Insomnia members struggled to break free from the mental bond Cole had put on them. He sighed, turning the gun on them.

  "I could shoot you right now, but I've got to go. You." He boomed, turning towards one of the members. Fear crossed all of their faces as Cole selected one member who looked maybe 17 at most. Cole stared him down as he tossed the gun at his feet.

  "Take the gun and shoot every one of your comrades until they're dead. Then shoot yourself in the mouth... but... And this is very important. Make sure you don't kill yourself. Just a shot to disfigure yourself. Feel free to use the other weapons. The rest of you, don't move until he's done... though I suppose you won't be able to." Cole stated, "This is your punishment for your crimes. May justice be served today."

  He looked at the tears swelling in the young member who, without the ability to control his own actions, shook has he picked up the gun and cocked it. The other members began begging him not to do it, telling him he was stronger than this, but were unable to move themselves. Reminding him of family members that may have been their family or his own family. Cole raised an eyebrow.

  "And you're going to do this now. Because I've told you to. Now. Shoot." Cole stated, before turning on his heel and walking away. He could hear yells and more begging behind him as the gunshots started, but Cole was already on his way to the location of the bomb. His pace quickened to a dash as he hurried down the slippery floors of the shopping centre to a small door, painted the same colour as the walls so it wouldn’t be detected. That wasn’t Insomnia's doing, but a smarter pce to hide a bomb. He burst through the door and hurried down the stairs. Just as his mind began to wonder why it was so quiet, he felt a gun pressed to the back of his head.

  “About time you showed up, you fucker.” A male Irish voice rang through the room. Cole attempted to turn his head but felt the barrel of the gun smash into the back of his head.

  “I don’t think so, pig. How about instead you put your hands on your head and drop down to the ground.” The man ordered. Cole narrowed his eyes as he felt his tongue begin to crackle.

  “I think you should put your hands behind your head and drop down to your knees. And give me your gun.” Cole commanded. He felt a sudden whack to the back of his head as the barrel of the pistol smacked into the back of his head again.

  “Don’t you know anything, moron? You can’t use your powers on another dreamer of equal or greater ability.” The man growled. Cole frowned.

  “I wouldn’t consider us equals.” Cole snarled. The man chuckled.

  “So, you’re saying my ability is greater than yours. That’s mighty sweet of you.” He teased. Cole shook his head.

  “No! That’s not what I’m – “ he started but suddenly flipped around grabbing the pistol and aiming it at the man’s head. Before him stood a figure in a rge bck trench coat and bck and green, ornate Venetian mask. Despite its brilliance, it looked worn out a bit, with dried blood spttered across some of the décor. The man had already grabbed another gun from his belt which was aimed at Cole now.

  “That was a cute trick. Good thing I expected you to fight dirty. You might be able to shoot me, move onto the next room. But what’s your pn with the room full of freedom fighters in there?”

  “Is Bir Hatter in there?” Cole asked bluntly. The man shot at Cole who quickly dodged and used the momentum to grab his arm and flip him to the ground.

  “Did I strike a chord? Is she in there?” Cole asked. The man shook his head.

  “She left about five minutes ago. After she built the working dream door your friend found.” The man snarled. Cole felt his blood run cold and tightened his grip, causing the man to yell out in pain.

  “Where is she now?” Cole spat. The man said nothing. Cole aimed the pistol at his head.

  “Where. is. she. now.” Cole snarled. The man shook his head

  “I wouldn’t give her to you bastards even if it cost me my life.” He spat. Cole smirked.

  “Well looks like it will. I’ll just get the information from someone in the next room.” Cole stated coolly. Suddenly he felt something sm into the back of his head. He spun around as the world grew fuzzy, making out a figure behind him. He could catch a pair of blue eyes and brown hair before the world went bck.

  “Bir!” Cole gasped as he shot up. He gnced around, noticing he had an IV in his arm. He gnced around. He was in the hospital. Suddenly Kavi burst into the room.

  “Cole! Thank God!” she yelped, wrapping her arms around him. He groaned.

  “Hey Kavi… what happened?” He asked. Kavi frowned.

  “Cole! I was so scared. I tried calling you on the radio, but you didn’t answer and then reinforcements came just in time! We busted through and stopped everything… but I saw you on the ground… and there was blood…” she expined, her voice trailing off. Cole nodded.

  “And what about the man in all bck? He had an accomplice to… did you manage to catch them?” He asked. Kavi paused, staring at him quizzically.

  “Cole… you were the only person in that room when we got there… and there was no sign of a man in bck on site either. I would have seen him.” Kavi stated. Cole stared at his hands for a while, saying nothing. After what seemed like forever, Kavi cleared her throat.

  “I’m going to call the doctor in to check on your head… as soon as your cleared, we have our next mission.” Kavi stated, “If you recall, there was another file we received from Leo.”

  Cole nodded, “Right, that Sophie Paterson girl. Didn’t she disappear after that incident a while back?”

  Kavi nodded back. Suddenly they heard the pacing of boots against the tile floor of the hospital. Kavi jumped back just as Leo turned the corner, looking them both up and down.

  “Good work today you two. But please don’t speak of such things here. You don’t know who’s a gossip in these pces.” Leo grumbled, sitting down in one of the seats. She almost seemed to be too rge for the seat, with her toned muscur body. Cole and Kavi straightened up at first, but Cole rexed after a beat.

  “To what do I owe the honour of a hospital visit?” He asked, smirking at Leo. Leo sighed.

  “I heard you came face to face with the head of Insomnia. Did you happen to get any information about him?” She asked. Cole frowned.

  “The head of Insomnia?” He replied. Leo nodded.

  “The man in the venetian mask. His name is Cian Magee. He used to work for the company, then for some reason disappeared years ago. He resurfaced one day, and we found out he’s currently at the head of Insomnia.” She expined. Cole furrowed his brow.

  “… would there be a reason that he would be so protective of Bir?” He asked. Leo suddenly leapt up.

  “Did he mention her name?” She excimed, looking startled. Kavi and Cole both stared at her, confused. Leo froze, then sat back down.

  “Sorry. I don’t know why he would, though she is very sought out. This could be the confirmation that she is, in fact, working for Insomnia and will make it easier to trace her now. We just have to look for any signs of their operations. Good work, you two.” Leo stated, then turned around leaving quickly. Kavi and Cole exchanged gnces but waited for her to leave.

  “That was weird, right?” Cole asked. Kavi nodded.

  “Super weird. I think she knows something… but we’ll have to y low and pretend that we’re not on to her if we want to find out what.” Kavi stated. Cole looked at her. She now looked incredibly concerned. She turned to him.

  “What?” She asked. Cole shook his head.

  “I just… kind of thought you just wanted to bring Bir to justice and that was it.” Cole said quietly. Kavi smiled softly, standing up and brushing herself off.

  “Cole… what happened that night we may never understand… or understand why Bir left like that. But it doesn’t mean we’re not still the closest thing to a family we may ever have.” Kavi expined. Cole looked down. Kavi rustled his hair.

  “Sometimes I wonder if you’ve shoved that little boy down so much that you’ve forgotten all about him now…” Kavi said softly before turning around, “I’m going to go check in on that report… and get myself a coffee. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  And with that, she left Cole alone in the room. He thought about Kavi’s words. Was he really the only one holding on this tightly? His mind wandered back to that night. The sight of the boy known as Isaac on the ground, his back to Cole as blood pooled around him. He could feel the pain of his body being forced to the ground and pinned as Bir just kept walking forward, people flying away from her. At that point, Cole knew Kavi had already been dragged away. But Cole could see the small girl floating down the hall almost in a trance. He could see the energy flowing from her, shining multiple colours as it tore through the walls. She was silent and beautiful. But she was terrifying. Kavi would never understand as she had not seen this side of Bir. She would never understand why Bir needed to be brought to justice… His mind wandered back to the image of the boy ying on the ground bleeding. He squeezed his eyes, trying not to think of it. But now that he had closed his eyes, he could see it even more vividly. Suddenly the boy turned around to look at him, his eyes glowing the same colours as the energy flowing through Bir.

  “Cole.” He whispered. Cole’s eyes shot open as he gasped, flinging himself forward. Kavi pced a hand on his chest quickly.

  “Cole, calm down! It’s just me.” Kavi said softly. Cole looked at her, letting out a deep sigh of relief.

  “Thank god it’s only you…” He muttered. She smiled at him.

  “You fell asleep… I was coming back to let you know you’ve been discharged. You seemed to be having a bad dream.” She expined. Cole took a deep breath in before running his hands through his hair.

  “Sorry. Let’s go.” He muttered, getting up. Kavi frowned.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked. Cole looked over at her before looking away.

  “No. Not really. We have a job to do, let's go.” He ordered. Maybe if he buried himself in his work for a bit, he could forget about this for just a bit. But the image of Isaac staring at him haunted his very soul. Why had that image suddenly come to his mind? He shuddered as he shook the image from his head again. As he had learned over the years, it was best not to dwell on those memories and to move forward. He grabbed his uniform and headed to the bathroom to get changed. When he came out, he saw Kavi suddenly snap her head up as she put a phone away. She smiled.

  “Alright, are you ready to go?” She asked. He gnced at the phone.

  “What, do you have a boyfriend now?” He teased. Kavi rolled her eyes.

  “Just something work-reted. But what if I did? What would you do about it?” She asked. Cole smirked.

  “I’d get the poor bastard a drink,” he taunted, “also what work-reted thing do you have to discuss that doesn’t involve me?”

  Kavi sighed, “Not everything I do involves you, you know” She stated before getting up and heading out of the room. Cole quickly paced after her, grabbing his bag as he exited the room.

  “Come on Kavi, I was just teasing! Wait up!” He called down the hall as he ran to catch up to her.