10. Hands And Feet Inside The Vehicle (Patreon)

The floor dropped out from under them, and they fell into darkness.

Fira screamed. Fire lit up around her body.

“Hey, calm down, calm down. If you actually fly, you might actually die,” Levi warned her. He hummed, pleased with himself. “Nice! A rhyme.”

She took a deep breath. Using the flames as light, she took in their surroundings.

They stood on the garden box. A narrow rectangular metal chute closed in around them. High overhead, a rectangle of sky remained visible for a few seconds before a new garden box slowly eclipsed it, closing them in.

“What is this?” Fira asked.

A voice crackled out from their feet. “The Pièce de Rèsistance.”

Fira jumped. “What the—”

Levi kicked a few weeds out of the way, revealing a walkie-talkie obscured in the garden box. “That phrase doesn’t mean anything like what ‘resistance’ does in English.”

The screen lit up. “I know, but it’s a cool name, isn’t it? Anyways, welcome to the headquarters of the Alpha Resistance League.”

The garden box dropped out of the chute. Thick cables lowered it through a vast cave. From above, the small buildings below glittered like stars. Antlike people scurried around, most of them streaming toward a line on one well-lit building, where steam rose from big pots of stew.

“Dinnertime,” Levi said, his eyes softening. He let out a wistful sigh, shaking his head with reminiscence.

“Are you okay?” Fira asked.

“God, dinner is so good at the ARL. And it’s free. Heavenly,” Levi murmured. He sniffed, wiping a single tear from his eye.

“Right, who am I talking to,” she muttered to herself.

The walkie-talkie buzzed. “It’s free for ARL members.”

“Then call me a member tonight,” Levi declared with heartfelt earnestness, clasping a hand to his chest.

“That’s not…” Static played through the walkie-talkie. “I’m not going to be able to stop you, am I.”

“Nope.”

“He already had pocket kebobs,” Fira chimed in.

“And I’ve got room for more,” Levi said, licking his lips.

“Pocket kebobs? No, never mind. I don’t want to know,” the walkie-talkie decided. “Once you get dinner, meet me in the command hub. It’s still where it used to be.”

“Aye aye, captain.” Levi snapped his heels together and saluted smartly.

The garden box lowered smoothly. At the bottom, a man in a stiffly starched oxford waited with a clipboard. Sternly, he declared, “We don’t use the emergency entrances unless there’s a real emer—”

The garden box lowered enough that he could catch sight of their faces. He looked them up and down. “Who the hell are you?”

Levi drew himself up to his full height. “I’m Leviticus Jones, man, myth, legend. You dare to question my authority to enter these premises? I’ll have you know I am trained in guerrilla warfare and I’m the top sniper—”

The walkie-talkie lit up. “They’re with me.”

Giving Levi a slow look, the man nodded. “Then, if you’ll just fill out this—”

“Please, god, do not give Levi paperwork,” the walkie-talkie begged the man.

Levi reached for the papers. “Do you have crayons? I have a condition where I can only write with crayons. Preferably multiple colors.”

The man snatched his clipboard away. “In that case, you’re free to go.”

Levi saluted and marched off, making a beeline for the dinner line. Fira gave him an apologetic nod as they walked away.

She leaned in. “Leviathan Smith? Your government name?”

“What, did you really think I’d give some strange super who threatened my life my real name? Jeez. Imagine being that stupid,” Levi sighed, shaking his head.

“I didn’t peg you as a Leviticus,” she commented.

Levi nodded sagely. “My parents were real Bible-thumpers. You can tell, can’t you? It wore off onto me.”

Fira crossed her arms. “That’s not your real name either, is it.”

“What? I have identification cards and everything. I can prove it. They aren’t on me, but give me a minute, and I’ll show you. The lack of trust, honestly,” Levi said, shaking his head at her.

“Uh huh.”

“Oh, chow line! Let’s go, let’s go!” Running ahead, Levi joined the back of the dinner line.

“Shouldn’t we…” Fira stared after him, then sighed. She looked around at the cave. Small buildings stood haphazardly here and there, none of them clearly labeled, all of them cluttered seemingly at random. People walked around, but all of them gazed at her with cold, hostile eyes. No building stood out as the command hub.

I could wander around for half an hour and hope I could find the command hub, and then hope the commander will listen to me without Levi.

“Come on! Line’s only getting longer,” Levi called, waving.

Her stomach grumbled. Fira chased after him, queueing in line. Might as well grab a bite.

Half an hour later, they left the dining area. Levi rubbed his stomach, satisfied.

“That was actually delicious,” Fira commented.

Levi tutted. “Can’t believe you didn’t believe me. I know where the best eats are in town.”

Abruptly, his smile drooped. He scowled. Twisting his nose, he shook his head at the floor.

“What?”

“The best kabob shop in town… and it’s fucking… demolished,” he managed, fighting back sobs.

Fira rolled her eyes. “Come on. Let’s get to the command hub.”

He jabbed a finger at her. “You fucking supers and your damn—attacks on small businesses! How is capitalism meant to operate, when you ability users smash down the little guy, every time he scrapes together enough to make something nice for himself?”

“Do you need your pills?” Fira asked gently.

Levi’s face distorted. “Pills? Pills. You dare suggest I’m not in my right mind—”

“Are you ever?” a dry female voice commented from behind Fira.

“She finally shows herself. Comandante Blair!” Spinning about-face, he gave a lazy, sloppy salute, all outrage immediately forgotten.

Blair sighed tiredly. “Please. No titles. Blair is enough.”

Fira turned.

A middle-aged woman stood behind them. Tired, grey eyes and a weather-worn face showed the stress of her work. She wore her graying dark hair in a ponytail, a swoop of white passing from the left side of her forehead back to the ponytail. A lab coat covered a sweater vest, oxford and tie, and simple dark slacks. Horn-rimmed glasses finished the look. Between commander of a resistance force and a laboratory professor, she would have more easily passed as the professor.

“You were taking too long to get to the hub, so I came out to greet you. You must be that girl he was talking about. Fira, was it? It’s good to meet you,” Blair said, smiling.

Levi waggled his brows at Blair. “So? Is she your type?”

“Eh?” Fira startled.

Blair put her hand on her face. “Please. Let’s keep this conversation relatively grounded.” She turned to Fira. “I’ve been listening to you up top. You’re looking for your brother, right? Edwin?”

Fira startled. “Uh… yes?”

Levi leaned in. “You wondering how she knows?”

Fira nodded, just an inch.

“Blair’s a creepy stalker. She knows eeeeeeverything about you. Even the color of your underwear,” he whispered.

Putting her hands on her hips, Fira shook her head at Levi.

Blair gave Levi a look. “I see grounded just isn’t possible for you right now.” She turned to Fira. “I have the ability Infinite Web. I can connect my mind to any device within a certain range, as long as I’ve seen it before.”

Fira’s eyes widened. “The walkie-talkie, that was your power?”

Blair nodded.

“I call it Public Wifi,” Levi offered.

“Thank you, Levi. In any case, if you’re looking for someone, you’ve come to the right place. I can keep my eyes open for him as I monitor the local cameras.”

Fira nodded. “Thank you. That would be incredible.”

“But… well, my services don’t come for free. What do you say about joining the ARL?” Blair gave her a winning smile and offered her hand.

Fira hesitated. She looked at the hand, then drew back. “Can… can I have some time to think about it?”

“Oh, sure, sure, of course. I’ll get you set up with a place to sleep for tonight, a change of clothes, and everything. You can tell me in the morning,” Blair reassured her. She put her hands in the pockets of her lab coat and stepped back.

“And my brother?”

Blair gave her a bitter smile. “In a perfect world, I’d love to say it doesn’t matter. Unfortunately, I’m one of the primary forces keeping ARL members safe from Alpha’s men. If you aren’t an ARL member, I can’t afford to take the time away from watching over our members to look for your brother.”

Fira looked at the floor. She sniffed, then nodded. “Yeah. I get it.”

“Come on, then. Jacob! Come get Fira settled in,” Blair called, gesturing toward a young man in yellow.

Jacob hurried over. He grinned at Fira. “New member?”

“Er, no, I—”

Blair stepped in. “She’s considering joining. Treat her like a new member.”

“Oh.” Jacob frowned for a moment, then smiled again. He gestured for Fira to follow him. “Then, right this way. You’ve already done the paperwork, right?”

“I… yes,” Fira said quickly, voice barely audible as she walked off into the hubub.

Levi nodded approvingly. “She’s got potential.”

Blair watched her go. She shook her head, turning to take Levi in from the corner of her eye. “So?”

“So… what?”

“So, are you back?”

Levi sighed. He put his hands behind his head. “Loaded question. Better question—where are you?”

Blair squinted at him. “Right here?”

Levi drew his knife in the blinking of an eye and slid it into her solar plexus. “Wrong answer.”