Ash watched the soldiers storm past, heading for the roof.
"We're under attack," Claudia announced as she entered the hallway the other Altered had begun to gather in.
"From who?" Seth asked.
"Dr. Newman's army," Claudia said.
Seth laughed. "We can take them."
"Don't underestimate them, Seth," Claudia said, narrowing her eyes. "That's how we lost in D.C."
"Are they coming in through the roof?" Ash asked, keeping his eyes on the line of soldiers.
"They were," Claudia said. "They turned around. I'm sure they'll try a ground attack next."
Hestia spoke up. "But we outnumber them, right?"
Claudia didn't answer. "Spread out," she ordered. "I'll send most of the soldiers down to join you, but a few will stay on the roof to keep watch. I—"
Claudia was cut off by the sound of her name. Ash turned to see Rosa Rivera making her way through the soldiers and Altered, John a few feet behind her.
"What are you doing here?" Claudia asked.
"Is this a bad time?" John asked.
"What do you think?"
John's gaze flickered across the faces of the Altered. "What's going on?"
"We're under attack," Claudia said. "So whatever you came here for, make it quick."
John nodded at Rosa, who held up a small hunk of metal. "We figured it out," he said. "We synthesized Alterium."
Claudia's eyes widened. "How?"
"It's impossible for it to exist in our atmosphere in a pure state," John explained. "But we managed to add some elements during the synthesization process to stabilize it by—"
"Rivera, take it to my office," Claudia said. "John, come with me. I have something I need you to do." Claudia turned to the Altered. "Go," she ordered.
Ash joined the rush to the stairs. His gaze found the new recruits, wearing jackets with the Scorpion logo on the shoulder. Was Claudia seriously letting them join the fight? Had they already been convinced to join the organization?
As Ash's foot hit the last step between him and the first floor, Claudia appeared in front of him. Ash came to an abrupt halt and stared. This wasn't Claudia—the woman in front of him was too young.
I'm hallucinating again.
Again?
"Ash, are you okay?"
Ash turned his head, surprised to see Hestia. Around them, Altered poured past and spread out. Ash's gaze flickered back to Claudia, but it wasn't Claudia anymore. It was a scientist, holding a gun.
A man's voice echoed in his head. Grab Ash Savage's file. I'll take care of the report.
Hestia tilted her head to the side. "You alright?"
"I heard you the first time. I'm fine. Don't you have a brother to worry about?" Ash snapped.
Hestia narrowed her eyes. "Seth can handle himself. I just want to make sure the kid I take orders from isn't gonna lose it. You've been acting weird."
Ash, to his own surprise, felt a bit guilty. What did he care what Hestia thought of him? "Sorry. But like I said, I'm fine."
"Sure," she replied. It was clear she wasn't convinced, but it didn't matter. "I guess they're going to be here any minute." She stared at him expectantly, expecting some sort of reply.
Leaning against the wall behind him, Ash shrugged. "Yeah." He turned his head toward the stairs, happy to wait in silence for the oncoming attack and let the murmurs of the other Altered drown out his thoughts, but Hestia's presence was distracting.
Unable to bear it any longer, he asked, "What's up with your name?"
"My name?"
"Hestia. I'd just never heard it before. Seth is more normal so I thought it was a bit weird." He honestly couldn't care less, but Hestia apparently wanted something to talk about. Maybe personal questions would get her to stay quiet.
Ash felt another twinge of guilt, but he kept a straight face.
"Oh. Yeah. I dunno. I looked it up one time. Hestia was a Greek goddess or something. I guess my parents liked the name. Can't exactly ask them."
The bitterness in her tone surprised Ash. No one at Scorpion complained about being an orphan. It was a fact that most of them were, and they couldn't change it. Then again, he didn't exactly participate in a lot of conversation.
Hestia looked away, and Ash did the same, relieved. His gaze darted around the hall. Claudia ordered most of the Altered to stay on the upper floors, so there weren't a lot of kids down here. It made sense, he supposed. The most important stuff was on the twelfth floor.
Ash leaned his head back against the wall, and jumped when he felt something wet. He spun around and stared, wide-eyed, as blood dripped down the wall. Stumbling backwards until he was a good ten feet away, he watched it pool on the ground.
He blinked and it was gone.
Ash looked to his left. Hestia was watching him again.
"Do you...?" Ash wasn't sure what he was trying to say. He turned back to the wall. "Do you ever think that we might be—?"
He didn't get to finish his question. The wall exploded, and they were thrown into chaos.
~
Tyler watched as team three entered the building. She folded her arms and sighed, desperately wishing she could go in. And not just to prove herself. There'd been something bothering her ever since the battle in D.C. Someone.
She needed to find him.
After what Spencer said, part of her hoped they'd hear that clicking sound again. She had no idea what it was, but it had the others spooked enough that they were willing to go in early.
Tyler glanced at the others. Spencer and the rest of his team were deep in conversation, and none of the other Supers were paying attention to her. Biting her lip, Tyler made her decision. She walked over to the hole in the side of the building and slipped inside.
The fighting was right above her. The noise of the battle carried down the staircase to the left. Tyler cautiously made her way up the steps, keeping as quiet as possible. When she reached the top, she peered around the corner.
The narrow hallways forced the Supers and Altered to spread out. The maze of a building was going to make it much easier for Scorpion to defend it. But that would give Tyler more time to find the person she was looking for.
She scanned the kids fighting at the end of the hallway. No sign of him. Tyler moved in the other direction. She'd make her way through the empty parts of the building, and she wouldn't stop until she found who she was looking for.
~
"Andrew, this is serious. We are under attack." Claudia rubbed her forehead, trying to think. She couldn't believe Newman had actually brought the fight to Scorpion.
"Claudia, please," Andrew's voice was slightly muffled by the telephone static. "Everything's going to be fine."
"What do you think we should do?"
"Defend the building. They do have surprise on their side, but I think you still have a chance. But if all else fails, evacuate your building and come here."
Claudia pursed her lips. "Very well then. Goodbye."
Claudia exited her office. The hallway was filled with Altered and soldiers, ready to defend the building. The sound of fighting was just audible as it carried up from the floors below.
Okay, Claudia, think. What was Newman's army trying to accomplish? Was the attack purely to put a dent in Scorpion's army?
No, that seemed unlikely. Newman would never want his Supers to kill, even the people working for his enemy. Maybe the attack was just to destroy the soldiers. But there were more efficient ways to do that.
Obviously, Newman's end goal was to end Scorpion once and for all. Ha. If only he knew.
But if that was what the Supers were here for, then how were they going to accomplish it?
They would have to destroy the building, and all of Scorpion's information.
The Supers were moving up the floors. The server room, the room that held access to all of their data, was here on the twelfth floor.
Well, John was making backups of their information. But Claudia wouldn't let it come to that. She'd worked too hard to get where she was. She wasn't going to let it all crumble before her.
"Altered! Soldiers!" Claudia's commanding voice drew the attention of everyone in earshot. "Defend the server room at all costs. Do not let anyone in there."
The Altered, of course, were banned from entering the server room. It was usually locked, anyway.
If any Supers were able to get in there, then Scorpion's secret would be revealed.
~
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