Sami wiped his mouth with a Shadow Hand, having finished the last of his gallon of water and sitting up expectantly.

  “Seriously, I don’t know how you aren’t going to the bathroom like eight times an hour,” Claire mentioned.

  “You should drink more water,” Sami replied. “By the way, I saw someone with a purple Power Sense bubble today. Any guesses as to what that could be?”

  “You’re literally the only one with those bubbles and their context.”

  “Why is it you believe we have been gathered?” Gan Wen asked, joining the conversation smoothly, his robes drifting in an unknown breeze.

  Every member of HUE was standing in the main warehouse, conversing with one another casually. Deployments had fallen dramatically, creating a social space for people to gather, their conversations echoing in the peaceful, but quietly confused environment to hear the incoming announcement. Sami was impressed by the fact that even Annie was outside of her room as well, but stood on her own, leaning on a wall closest to the door that would take her back to the TV room.

  “I think it has to do with the Slattery Network hit piece. The first one was kinda a soft job, but this went straight for the throat,” Claire said. “Probably want to up our morale after all our efforts were thrown in the trash like that.”

  “I was a little concerned by how many people agreed with her without a second thought,” Sami said. “Her article was literally about getting proof, but she didn’t have any!”

  “I know what this is about. I’m getting replaced,” Gutshot said. “Not that I mind, I just want to speak with Beth before severance. Do we get severance?”

  “I feel like they wouldn’t gather us all for you getting replaced,” Claire said skeptically.

  “On the contrary, Senior… Erm… Claire. I think the ousting of a disciple would require the entire sect to be made aware of his removal,” Gan Wen mentioned respectfully.

  “Didn’t you have a chance to talk to her after the blackout?” Dawson asked, his leg and arm in a cast.

  Gutshot looked at him, eyebrows scrunching.

  “I thought the fact you were still bandaged up would have made that clear. She was in a hurry to assist hospitals with anyone that was hurt during the blackouts. I didn’t think it was appropriate to ask about my father.”

  “Are we gonna finally meet him?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know if they’ll let me into headquarters once I’m fired. They already have my replacement.” Gutshot pointed to a fresh face standing in the corner with wide, sunken eyes and a chicken tucked under each arm.

  “I feel like I know that guy.” Sami worked his jaw.

  Gutshot nodded. “He was the immensely powerful man that could control chickens.”

  “Powerful? I believe Sister Claire made more of a dent in the clay dummy than his bird did,” Gan Wen said.

  The mention of clay came with a passing, reflective silence. It had been a week since his funeral, but it still felt just as fresh.

  Naomi exited the inner halls, leaning heavily on a walking stick. Her health had been rebounding, and some fat was finally making itself known onto her thin frame. Seeing her on her feet, the HUE members started to applaud, Sami doubly so with two sets of hands.

  Naomi held up a hand to quiet them, though she smiled graciously. Sami noticed a clay band on her ring finger. That wasn’t there before. A gift from Steve, or a memorial trinket?

  “HUE. I want to thank you all. The Underground has been defeated and my life preserved. That’s thanks exclusively to you.”

  Weakly, she clapped one hand over the other on her cane. The rest of HUE joined her in a second round of applause, but Sami watched Apex carefully from the back of his head, uncertain if he deserved the same praise. Noami smiled approvingly. Lowering her hands, she examined the organization slowly. A hush fell over her audience.

  “I’m glad I could applaud your efforts. Because no one else in this city will. The Slattery Network has done some real damage to our reputation. And Dawson’s streaming career seems to have backfired, as the lack of video evidence has been compounding the public’s suspicions. We’re at a very difficult point as an organization. Public calls have been petering out and our other means of city reconnaissance lost almost everything.” Naomi pointed to Chester.

  “Every one,” Chester corrected, wiping a tear from under his eye. “Bach and Wingerella are all I have left. I don’t have anyone to keep an eye on the city anymore.”

  “Right.” Naomi nodded. “And without that, we need to rely on the public. And they’ve all but abandoned their patronage to us, much less the trust.”

  “Can’t we sue them for libel?” Claire asked.

  “We don’t have money, or more importantly, the time for a lawyer. A long, drawn-out legal battle would prevent us from doing the work Hammerton needs.” Naomi tilted her head, disappointed. “Which means we’re going to have to work on our public image and more media appearances, and we’re going to have to make some cuts.”

  “Cuts? We’re firing people?” Hannah asked.

  “Here it comes,” Gutshot murmured.

  “No, but for this interim period, we’re going to have to reduce salaries and cut some benefits—”

  “What!?”

  The room turned to Rudy who had his arms thrown open.

  “Rudy, we—”

  “No, don’t sweat an explanation, I quit,” Rudy said confidently, waving his hands dismissively at the gasps of disbelief. “I know exactly what this road leads down. Cuts, and overworking until ‘we figure it out.’ I’m not trying to burn myself out when the company themselves are saying the writing on the wall isn’t looking good. The odds are barely cracking reasonable percentages around this place. I’ll see you around.”

  To Sami’s surprise, Rudy immediately made his way out without hesitation. Stopping at the door, he turned and made eye contact with Sami and grinned with a small thumbs up. Sami didn’t know what it meant, but a sinking feeling in his stomach made him feel like Rudy could read his thoughts.

  “I too, should leave!” Magnus raised a hand.

  Naomi pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing loudly.

  “Magnus?” Dawson said, crestfallen.

  “I have seen too much, and I have not recovered.” Magnus may have meant it metaphorically, but one of his eyes had turned into a kaleidoscope pattern since returning from the Underground. It carried an ethereal depth to it, like it could go for miles. “I wish to return to the stage and perhaps share the world of HUE with the world. Have others join your ranks that are better suited for relentless combat. An unofficial PR arm that may extend even beyond Hammerton.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “What? You’re great out there,” Hannah replied, folding her arms.

  “Perhaps. But I can’t imagine doing something like challenging a new Pete the Plenty. Allow me some rest. Then maybe I’ll return. I’m not sure my sanity could withstand another mission like that.” Magnus lowered his head in a mix of respect and shame. With a rush of Air, Hannah tipped his chin up.

  “You’re fine, Magnus. I get it.”

  Naomi tapped her cane on the ground, drawing attention back forward.

  “I hope the rest of you can maintain your outbursts until after I’m done speaking. We’re going to figure out funding. I’m already in talks with some people willing to bootstrap us with no questions asked because they believe in our cause. I just want us to be prepared to try and garner more public support. This is crucial in maintaining HUE and keeping us all together.”

  Naomi went quiet as a few murmurs passed through the group, determined looks and confidence flowing freely. Noami squinted slightly when she saw a raised hand.

  “Gutshot?” she asked.

  “Ummm… Can I quit too?”

  “Can you?” Naomi repeated, confused.

  “Sorry, I mean, I should go. I don’t wanna take any money if HUE needs it and I don’t have any powers, helpful or otherwise.”

  “I’m also free of Anomalies, but that won’t stop me from trying to continue HUE’s mission,” Naomi said confidently. “If you’re interested, we can find a way to keep you here. From what I’ve heard about your confrontation with Boli, your honesty and bravery won’t be wasted here.”

  Gutshot scratched his stomach uncertainly. “Yeah, but I really just wanna hang out with my dad. At least for now. The lack of powers was a convenient excuse.”

  Naomi blinked slowly in assent, looking far less disappointed in Gutshot’s proclamation than Rudy and Magnus’s. Looking around the crowd, she tapped her cane thoughtfully.

  “Fine. Keep an eye out for other impressive talents. When we’re back on top, I want to get the best Awakened in here.”

  Hesitantly, Sami raised a hand. A real one, as a Shadow Hand felt too flashy for the moment.

  “Yes, Sami?”

  “So we’re not gonna be deployed for a while?” he asked, slowly.

  “As far as we know. We’ll still be manning reception, but calls just aren’t coming in like they used to.”

  “We’ll do more of those things like the interview and the fundraising brunch?”

  “Among other things, maybe assisting in neighborhoods where we can. Nothing large, obviously, since we don’t have approval from the city, but I’m sure we could do things like repave a road or repair electronics damaged in the EMP. Easy, but worthwhile tasks to get people on our side again.”

  Sami wrung his hands, the image of Rudy’s thumbs up flashing in his mind. “I think I quit.”

  Naomi balked, and several heads snapped toward him.

  “You?” Naomi said, sounding unexpectedly heavy-hearted. “Sami, no.”

  “You’re leaving?” Claire asked, eyes scrunched.

  “Is this because I’m quitting?” Gutshot asked. “You don’t have to come with me, you know.”

  “What reason would you have to leave the sect?” Gan Wen asked.

  “I’m sure he has his reasons,” Apex said, sounding displeased and turning his head away.

  “It’s just… I know I’ve been kinda annoying to everyone and complaining about the work that we do. All the time. And I think I figured out that the organization isn’t the problem. I’m the problem. I wanna do good like you, but in a different way. Stopping Boli with everyone was like the coolest moment of my life. I don’t even care that the city doesn’t believe that we did it. That guy took on Lightcrown! And we stopped him! That, to me, was even better than…” Sami was going to say meeting Lightcrown, but trailed in embarrassment. “And now you’re telling me that we won’t be doing anything like that again for a while? I think I’ll try out the Freelance world and see where that gets me. But we’re still cool, I don’t have anything against HUE.”

  The room was too quiet for Sami’s taste and he worked his jaw, trying to think of something else to add. Then, Darius approached him and slapped him on the shoulder.

  “I don’t know who’s gonna get me coffee now. But you’ll do great out there.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’ll still come to visit, right?” Dawson asked.

  “Unless I’m too busy.” Sami grinned.

  Claire shook her head at him, but had a soft smile. “I mean, I get it. You’ve been whining about this forever. I just didn’t think it would go like this.”

  “Maybe when HUE can get back up to real deployments, I can rejoin?” Sami asked hopefully.

  Naomi scoffed with an annoyed smile. “Maybe.”

  “All right, cool. Thanks for having me. I guess I’ll go now.”

  “Me too,” Gutshot said, then stopped halfway through a turn. “Wait! Actually, there’s just one more thing I want to do with HUE before I quit!”

  “What’s that?” Naomi asked.

  * * *

  “Check this out, he’s gonna be absolutely baffled when I remember him! It’s gonna be hilarious,” Gutshot said as he dug through his pockets for his keys.

  “You say that like it’s funny, but I just helped out a dementia ward during a blackout and that’s actually terrible. Forgetting your own family hurts,” Beth said uncomfortably.

  “Yeah, normally. But this time it’ll be funny!” Gutshot said confidently.

  “Just don’t phrase it that way.”

  Clicking the key into the door, Gutshot opened it wide and allowed himself inside, inviting Beth excitedly behind him. Gorman sat at the dining table, bad leg outstretched as he chewed through a bowl of soup.

  “Hey there, kiddo, give me a minute to get up.” Gorman raised a hand in greeting. “Who’s your friend?”

  “No need to get out of the room, Dad. I recognize you.” Gutshot beamed, eyes wide and smile stretching from ear to ear.

  Gorman blinked, struggling as he froze halfway between a stand and sitting at the chair. Shaking his head slightly, he looked at Beth, then back to his son.

  “Say again?”

  “I said I remember you. My father. The Anomaly is gone.”

  Slumping in his chair, Gorman looked at the wall and blinked. Then, in a fashion that matched his son perfectly, a long smile stretched across his face. Followed by uproarious laughter. Gutshot was quick to join in, guffawing and slapping his stomach with both hands powerfully in a burst of glee. Gorman slapped the table. Gutshot slapped his legs. Beth took a step away from them, a nervous smile on her face.

  When the hilarity notched down a few degrees, Gutshot caught his breath and looked to Beth with a wide grin. “I told you it’d be funny.”

  “You sure did,” Beth said politely, her face stiff after the perplexing interaction.

  “Dad, this is my friend, Beth. We used to work together, but I don’t work for HUE anymore since I lost my powers.”

  “You lost both of them?” Gorman asked, concerned.

  “Yeah, I’ll tell you all about it!” Gutshot said, excited. “But Beth is just here for a quick visit. She can try to fix your leg. If she knows how.”

  Beth took a few steps closer and kneeled down, examining the leg from a respectful distance.

  Gorman scoffed. “I told you, kiddo, I’m fine as it is. You don’t need to go looking for every Awakened healer to exist to try and set my leg straight. I’m content to—”

  “I can fix that,” Beth said confidently.

  Gorman was frozen mid-word. Opening and closing his mouth in a silent attempt to continue his thought, he shook his head in astonishment.

  “Really? Then, go ahead! What are we waiting for?”

  “This might pinch a little,” Beth warned, holding up a hand upside down and twisting her head one way.

  “Pinch like what… Youch!” Gorman lept in his seat, both hands gripping his pants tightly.

  “You okay, Dad?”

  Gorman released his foot in wonder, extending and bending it slowly. Slowly, he placed his arms on the table and pushed himself to an unsteady stand. First, he put weight on his good leg. Then, his fixed one.

  No wobbling. And no pain by the relief in his eyes.

  “Kiddo, you done did it. I don’t know how to thank you, Beth.”

  “It’s fine. Gutshot is pretty much the reason we were able to capture the guy that killed Lightcrown.”

  Gorman laughed again, his hands waving around his head like he was trying to piece the ideas together in his brain. Beth seemed to take the visual as a sign that she was no longer needed. Curtseying politely to Gorman and waving to Gutshot, she made her way out quickly. Gutshot didn’t say a word, seeing both how confused she was and the eagerness to leave in her posture.

  “You took down Boli?”

  “I’ll tell you all about it,” Gutshot said, giving his dad a big hug.

  The first hug that he could give him while standing on his own two feet for the first time in twelve years.