Every student in the Eastman Academy sat in the auditorium before them. In the front row, the rest of the 3.0 team were seated front and center, as well as Devil Boy and Thief. Athena and Flint were on the stage with them. Wave wondered if beneath that thick hide of hers, Solid was feeling as nauseous as he was now.

Wave looked up at these two individuals who up to a few days ago didn’t trust him at all. Now they were giving him this. It felt good. It felt like he finally belonged.

“With the losses our team has taken with the departures of both Air Raid and Bagheera and the death of Beauty, it is time that Epsilon once again has a changing of the guard.” Athena’s eyes traveled from the audience to the two students before her.

“As a team or as members of the junior unit, Heather Efron and Wave have shown themselves to be experts in teamwork again and again. They show us every day that we are a privileged few, gifted with great abilities that can make a true difference in the world today.

“So it is with great honor that I welcome Solid and Wave in to Epsilon. May they serve with honor and grace.”

The sounds of applause filled the room. Athena spun her finger in a quick circle and the two new team members turned around. The student body stood and clapped. A true standing ovation for their new graduates.

Wave could only give a dopy grin, while Solid shuffled her feet in discomfort. It was the beginning of a long day, and they both knew it.

The next couple hours flew by as they broke out the party favors and threw a celebration worthy of a graduation. Food, dancing, and lots of noise. Everyone in the school was there, teaching staff included.

It was approaching curfew when Solid pulled him away from Chrysanthemum, a hot little number with green, photosynthetic skin and plant powers. He gave her a wave goodbye as Solid took him by the hand and lead him away. She pushed him in to a corner and gazed up at him through her yellow unblinking eyes.

“What’s up?”

Suddenly her lips were pressed against his. He could feel their sharpness, the razor-sharp edge trying to slice in to him. But he relaxed the viscosity of his mouth and let the kiss flow through him. Even so, the shock of Solid’s actions left him with eyes wide.

“What… Heather, what was that?”

She stepped back and held up both hands. Her right hand held up the pinky and the pointer finger with the thumb out. Her left hand looked like a peace sign. It wasn’t, not exactly. I L Y, the sign said.

I love you.

“What are you talking about?”

She looked stunned. Her eyes narrowed, her face shook. It took him a moment to realize she was crying. Or at least her version of crying.

“No, no, don’t do that,” Wave said. “I’m sorry. It’s just… I never really thought of you that way. I’m not… it’s just that I don’t really want any kind of long term relationship right now. I’m sorry. Really I am.”

Solid backed away from him. She shook her head. He raised his hand to get her attention, but it was already too late. Solid ran off in to the crowded dance floor. He watched her make her way out of the gym. He knew he would never find her now.

Way to be a world class heel, he thought.

*****

The plane landed in Johannesburg which left Bagheera and Blake over three hundred miles to travel. After a day of preparation, they rented a truck. It carried them for the first hundred miles, but after that, their destination took them in to heavy jungle.

Bagheera couldn’t quite grasp the reason for their path as they changed to foot for the last two hundred miles of their journey. His previous encounters with Project Eshu all occurred well away from South Africa. Either they were heavily on the move or he was even farther off base on their location than he thought.

Blake finally explained it to him over dinner on the second night. “Eshu possessed several facilities at its pinnacle in the mid to late eighties. They sprinkled them across the African continent. The one to our north is the only facility at which we’ve seen activity. Most of the others I had firebombed just in case. We don’t want these psychos creating anymore super-weapons if we can help it.”

“So why is this happening, Seth? Why now?”

“I’m not sure about the timing, but those involved are in it for the money. The research of the original Eshu helped ACTION to design its cyberions, and in turn they are covertly funding this new incarnation as well. But the new Eshu is still an independent business venture. We’ve already seen them contact several rogue states with offers. The last thing I want is to see Qaddafi, Kim Jong-Il, or Ragnarok with superhuman bio-weapons.”

“But isn’t this location remote even for them?”

“Perhaps. But it works in their favor to. No large scale force can attack them by land and air strikes would be near impossible as most of their facility is underground. Any small squad sent against them could be easily dispatched by their own troops.”

“You’re not doing much to reassure me about coming with you.”

Blake grinned. “You would have come with me no matter what the odds. You and I both know that. Besides we should meet up with our help in another few days.”

“Help? Don’t you have any faith in me?”

“I have a great deal of faith in your abilities, Bagheera. But we’re going to need a bigger force if we’re going to cut our way in to a facility this big.”

“This help got a name?”

“I honestly don’t know. I asked Jumbo to set it up for me through ACTION’s coffers. We should have two or three local metas to back us up.” Bagheera remembered Theodore “Jumbo” Jumbeheimer from one of his previous meetings with Blake. Jumbo was the third generation to serve beside Blake and was just as loyal as his ancestors. A rare force for good in the murky world of espionage they all lived in. He knew Jumbo would do well by them.

They ate in silence for the rest of the evening.

Just past noon on their fifth day of travel they finally came across human life on the trail. Bagheera smelled them before he saw them. He felt the hair rise on the back of his neck. He recognized that smell.

I’m finally going to make that stupid bitch pay.

Feud dropped from the trees above. Unlike his last encounter with her, her silver and brown skin was covered with long pants and a bustier. They stood about ten feet apart. Bagheera stared her down. She stared him down. She licked her lips. Her top two arms morphed in to blades.

“Long time no see, kitty. Came to die this time?”

“I was half dead when we fought last time. You’re not going to get lucky again.”

Bagheera lashed out with his claws. Feud answered with her blades. Bagheera ducked down and under them. His fingers slashed up and across her chest. Her top shredded and ten thin lines of blood welled up.

Feud roared in pain. She struck out, but Bagheera was already rolling away. They stood in a standoff, only feet apart.

A blast of golden energy struck the earth between them. Both sets of eyes went to the trees.

A well muscled African man stood deftly on a branch. His feet and legs were bare, as were his arms. He wore only a loincloth and a loose tunic, both made from animal hide, and a thick silver bracelet around his right wrist. A patina of sweat hung off his dark skin. In his hand he held a short spear. Its head still held a yellowish glow from the blast.

“Sagai?”

“Hello, Bagheera.” Sagai sprang from the tree branch, flipped in midair, and landed gracefully only inches from where his blast had struck. “Welcome to my jungle. I trust that I can convince you to stop attacking our ally in this matter.”

“Ally?”

“Indeed. Mister Jumbo contacted both Feud and I to confront this Project Eshu. I suspect you were unaware of this?”

Bagheera kept his claws unsheathed as he looked past Sagai. Feud stood with her blades at the ready as well. “To say the least.”

“I trust that you can put your differences aside in the face of a greater evil.”

Damn him for being right. Bagheera drew his claws in and lowered his attack stance. He kept his eyes on Feud. “I don’t like working with any member of the Brethren, not after what they did to Seaside City.” He turned back to Sagai. “But you’re right. Eshu is the greater threat. We’ll have time to settle our differences later.”

Feud’s top arms slowly morphed back in to human flesh. “Any time, kitty.”

Blake walked back in to the clearing. “Now that you’ve all finished your dramatic poses, can we be on our way? The longer we take the more likely they are to find out we’re on our way. The last thing we want is for them to mount an offensive ahead of time. Or worse, leave for another base.” Seth walked past them, heading north.

Bagheera gave Feud one last look of disdain before he turned to follow Blake.

*****

As he walked on the outskirts of the Eastman Academy, right along, the tree line that concealed the school’s “invisible fence”, he could not get past the turmoil brewing in his skull.

Wave wanted to think, but his head just hurt. Why couldn’t she just understand that I’m way too confused about myself to ever be with her? I mean, I barely remember past the last couple year. Hell, I came here for help with my own problems. I don’t even know if I can fix myself, let alone her.

The last thought gave him pause. It hit him. Does she really need to be fixed?

I’m an idiot. A world class moron. What did I just do?

The force field shuttered to life next to him. Wave glanced over it. He wondered if he had strayed too close. No, he was past the shaggy grass that marked the safe zone. Must be some kind of animal.

Wave felt a wave of uneasiness in the pit of his stomach, or at least, where his stomach should be. Something told him this was no animal.

He moved closer to the force field and looked in to the even taller grass on its far side. A gout of flame blasting in to the wall just inches in front of his face.

The patches of growth burned away, and Wave saw a woman in the grass. An old woman. A really old woman.

“Who are you?”

“Help me, boy. Help me.”

“I—I don’t know.”

“I have important words to share with your leader. With Athena. Please, I have little time left.”

Wave watched the woman struggle closer to the field. He could see the bruises on her neck and right cheek. The cut on her forehead still bled. Her face was covered in dirt. Flecks of it fell from her wrinkles as she moved. Wave could see she was hurt.

But he wasn’t sure. He knew the rules about the field, about letting anyone in.

“Please, boy.” She hacked and coughed following the words. A dribble of blood oozed from her mouth. “I may have not always been your damn school’s friend, but for everyone’s sake you must let me in.”

Wave couldn’t decide. He knew he wasn’t supposed to lower the field without Athena or Flint’s approval, but he had left his communicator back at the main house. She was hurt. Even with the fire powers she seemed to have, she could do little damage to a man made of solid water.

Wave walked up to the nearest field generator, only a few feet down from his current position. He opened the box and keyed in the command. The field dropped in the ten yards to the right and left of the pole. The field would be down for only five minutes. Wave ran to help the woman across the threshold.

When he lifted her, she felt like a sack of rags. Her legs were limp beneath her. She was rail thin, no more than a hundred pounds or so. He lifted her in to his arms, and he could see that her right leg fell in an awkward angle. Broken.

He extended his legs out to their longest length as he hustled back to the main house. Each step stretched twelve feet, and his great strides carried him across the ground at high speed. He hoped he was doing the right thing, and that Athena wouldn’t take it out of his hide.

He looked at the battered woman in his arms, and his mind couldn’t help but stray back to Solid. Her injuries weren’t physical, but Wave wondered if Solid’s pain was as palpable as that of the woman in his arms.

I’m a goddamn bonehead. Just give me a chance, Heather, and I promise I’ll make everything all right with us.

*****

Mindset stared across the table at the man she knew only as Set. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her look was that of grim determination. The African American man had freshly shaved his skull earlier in the day as well as trimming his scruffy beard in to a neat van dyke. Set stared back at her, a slight grin on his face.

“You’re hiding something,” Mindset said. “I know you are. I can detect the walls you have put up in your mind to protect it. I can feel you concentrating on keeping them strong. What do you want to hide so badly, Set?”

“I have nothing to hide from you, Bobbi.”

Mindset grimaced as she pushed her focus on the walls in his mind. “Don’t…you…lie to me!”

“I’m not lying, Bobbi. I have nothing to hide.”

“Damn it! I know you’re hiding it.” She slammed her hand on the table. “Don’t you understand this is your only chance? If you want out of confinement, you have to level with us completely. Athena isn’t going to accept anything less.”

Set’s grin broadened.

Mindset screamed. “You are the most infuriating man on the planet. Don’t you want out?”

“I’ve came; I’ve said my peace. Sure I’m ready to get out of here.”

“Then why won’t you tell me what you’re hiding?”

“Because I don’t need to. I’ll be leaving shortly.”

Mindset looked at him like he was an idiot, but inside she felt a hint of doubt. She realized he was hiding something else now. But this wasn’t behind the large walls of thought like the other secret. No, it was narrowly protected by a few stray blocks. She pushed in and broke through the mental barriers.

“Very good. You’re better than I thought. And I have to say I’m really sorry about taking you as a hostage.”

Mindset’s eyes went wide as she saw the death staff form in Set’s right hand. He rose from his seat. His manacles melted away with ease. He reached out with his free hand and grabbed Mindset by her arm. As he walked around the table, he pulled her close and held her tight.

He raised the staff and unleashed a burst in to the door. It exploded in to shards of wood and metal. He walked in the hallway and with each step more of his armor flowed over his body.

Alarms rang out, but Set melted the death staff back in to his palm. He reached out his hand and laid it on a computer terminal on the wall. In just a few seconds, the alarms stopped.

“Your tech is ancient compared to my battle suit,” he explained. “I could have walked out of your pathetic jail anytime I wanted.” The death staff returned to his hand.

“Why did you stay then? Why bother with any of this if you just planned on going your own way?”

“Because you and your team are the only chance in hell we have to beat Nephthys. And I needed to make sure you were warned. But now that I’ve finished that task, I have others to complete if we are going to win this fight.”

“But right now, I need a hostage to slow down any pursuit, and you my dear fit the bill perfectly.”

Mindset struggled against him, but Set held her fast. He aimed the death staff upwards. In one blast, he blew a hole through the next two levels, the attic, and the roof. A second later they were airborne.

Mindset looked down as they whisked out over the school and across the front grounds. The grounds were mostly empty do to the heightened security at the school. She saw no flyers among the few students still outside.

“Mindset!”

She turned her head to behind her to see Psalm fly out behind them. Her friend wore only a torn t-shirt and a pair of thong underwear. It was only nine a.m., Mindset realized. Far earlier than her friend usually awoke. She didn’t really care now. She only thanked her lucky stars that she was here.

Mindset realized that it was her doing. They were both still linked on the subconscious level, and she knew that her friend felt her stark terror at her sudden abduction.

Mindset sent out another mental signal towards the school, but the distance was already too great. She turned her focus back to Psalm. Help me.

Mindset felt Psalm’s thoughts hit her like a bullet. “Don’t worry, girl. I’m on my way. And this time, I’m taking the bastard down!”

*****

Athena looked at the injured form of the woman she knew as Desdemona Faust. She still had no idea what had brought her former tormentor to the Eastman Academy as Faust was unconscious. She mumbled a few words in her sleep, but nothing coherent enough for anyone to understand.

After a brief scolding, she had sent Wave from the room. The boy seemed anxious enough that she didn’t need to add any more stress to the mix. She hoped everything was going all right between him and Solid. They seemed like good friends, maybe more, and she didn’t want to see anything get in the way of that.

She studied the life readings on the med-lab’s diagnostic table. Nothing different. She wished Flint was here with her instead of in front of his Biology class. He always had a way of helping in these kinds of situations, and right now she needed all the help she could get. She couldn’t understand what would bring Faust to the school. The woman had tried to sacrifice Athena only weeks ago, a sacrifice that even though it failed seemed to have raised a great threat in to the world. Why aren’t you at your mistress’s side? What happened to make you come to us?

Athena needed to know and she needed to know now. She keyed in a command to the med-lab computer. A robot hand rose from beneath the table. At its end was a hypodermic needle. The needle slid easily in to Faust’s arm despite her withered veins. A moment later, the serum inside flushed in to her system.

The solution was a specially developed cocktail designed to pull individuals out of comas. It was very painful, but Faust’s comfort was the least of Athena’s concerns. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

Faust moaned on the med-table. Her eyes fluttered for a moment, then opened. “What—?”

“Why are you here, Faust? Why did you come to the academy?”

“Crazy—she’s crazy. She’s coming—nothing can—” Faust’s chest surged upward. She coughed gouts of fire towards the ceiling. Her eyes went wide just before they also filled with flame.

“She’s coming! You must stop—” The fire ripped out of Faust’s open mouth. It poured from every opening of her body. Her skin glowed hot as the fire built up.

The diagnostic readings went wild as Faust’s body temperature shot up hundreds of degrees in seconds. Faust screamed one final, abrupt scream.

Athena could do nothing as the room exploded in to a ball of fire.