“People will find a way to be ungrateful for anything. When I was twelve–this is a completely true story–a good family friend risked life and limb to rescue me from terrorists. My first thought was, ‘Took you long enough.’”

  For a split second I thought I was witnessing the most surreal change of heart in human history. But no, this iceball seemed somehow… cleaner than Mantis’s attacks.

  Also, the man in tight pants who jumped over my prone form and crashed into the demon cat was most definitely not Mantis.

  “Captain!” someone yelled. Fu?

  “Here, friend,” said a deep voice behind me. A hand rested on my shoulder, and the pain in my wounds intensified for a few seconds before suddenly improving.

  [Hmm. Health is at 87%.]

  I felt a weight on my foot. I glanced down to find a small monkey perched perfectly on the toe of my shoe, staring at me curiously.

  Sure. Why the hell not? A monkey on my shoe was the most normal thing that had happened to me in hours.

  The new ice sorcerer was beating the absolute crap out of the monster with his bare hands. Well, bare if you didn’t count the glowing blue auras, like an ice version of Immolate. Black armored chunks were shedding from the creature like it had just blown a tire.

  “Clear!” another new voice shouted.

  The ice sorcerer backed off. The cat shuddered and seemed to be reorienting when green liquid splattered across its body, hissing and kicking up a cloud of acrid smoke. The monster shrieked in pain and dismay.

  I pulled my sore body to a sitting position. “Easy there,” said the sorcerer who had healed me, a large, dark-skinned man with a rifle slung over his shoulder.

  “I’m fine,” I muttered, wincing as my chest flared up with phantom pain. “Ish.”

  I could see the ice sorcerer in profile now. He was somewhere in his forties, with white hair, but fit. He looked very familiar. Could it be? I hadn’t seen the man in years, but… “Chris?” I yelled.

  The sorcerer gave me a quick glance, smirked, and held up a finger for me to wait. The cloud of acid had dispersed. He now produced an honest-to-goodness sword made of ice, strode forward almost casually, and rammed it into the whimpering monster’s side. The creature let out one last pitiful roar, slumped, and then the actual light in its eyes went out.

  “Sweep the area!” Chris said. He quickly picked Jessie out. “Corporal, how many others?”

  “Two sorcerers!” Jessie said, approaching along with the others. Wally looked dazed, and Fu looked sheepish. “I think we got all the grunts but I’m not certain! Many dead and wounded in the precinct! My partner is in the lobby, also wounded!”

  Chris tipped his head toward the entrance. “Alemu! Nez! Go! Officer Heller, they may need your credentials!”

  The healer beside me patted me on the shoulder, rose, and rushed to obey. The monkey leapt to the shoulder of a bespectacled woman, and she followed the healer along with what appeared to be an oversized glowing wolf. Some kind of animal sorcerer? A pale-looking cop—not an Elite—ran after them, giving the dead cat a wide berth. Was he… whimpering?

  “Sorcerers are a couple alleys back that way!” I offered, gesturing with my thumb. “Or they were. They were both hurt pretty bad, but they’re dangerous.”

  “One is Mantis, the serial killer,” Jessie added. “Very powerful ice sorcerer, tier three or four. The other is, at my best guess, a Rune Tank, and he has an energy shield built into a ring.”

  Chris nodded. “Vale and Lin! Chase them down!”

  A slight woman, somewhere between Chris’s age and mine, dashed in that direction at superhuman speed, followed by the man who had shot the acid.

  That left only Chris out of the newcomers. Wally, Jessie, and Fu also converged on me, forming a half circle.

  “Hello, Jett,” said Chris. “I’m sorry we haven’t spoken in a while. How are you?”

  I debated rising to shake his hand. Instead I flopped back to the ground, completely exhausted.

  “Just got done partying it up for my birthday,” I said. “I think I overdid it.”

  A veritable ring of flashing lights surrounded the L5-I12 precinct. Wally, Jessie, Fu, and I sat on the curb. I was wrapped in an emergency blanket, not because I was cold but because my clothes were so shredded it was almost indecent. Poor Wally sat with his metal-encased legs splayed out awkwardly, not trusting them to bend enough to hunker properly.

  Paramedics and officers scurried about, carrying the wounded to ambulances, escorting inmates to police vans so they could be transferred to other jails, or carrying stretchers to add to the disturbing line of sheeted bodies in front of the precinct. Jessie’s partner gave a shaky thumbs up as the paramedics carried him out, and Jessie ran over to speak with him.

  Beyond the lights and the police line a crowd of onlookers had gathered despite the late hour. I was pretty sure I saw news cameras rolling as well.

  Shit. Was this nightmare over, or was it just beginning?

  Mantis and Brick were in the wind. They had vanished by the time Chris’s team reached the alley. Squads of GPD Elites were sweeping the area and nearby cells, but so far no traces had been found. Several Elites also stomped around the area outside the precinct, but I wasn’t sure what their purpose was now that the danger had passed. Their job seemed to consist mostly of glaring at Chris and his team and openly scowling at me. We’d all given statements, and aside from that we were being mostly left alone for the moment. However, there were a pair of Elites conspicuously standing at parade rest a few feet behind me. No one had made any moves to rearrest me yet, but I was under no delusions that I was in the clear.

  My focus was on the middle of the street. A small crowd was examining the monster corpse, and it appeared a crew was preparing to wrap it up in a large tarp and load it on a truck. A few feet away, Chris was having an animated argument with two veteran cops. Chris’s team, Fu excepted, stood behind their leader There was a lot of fingerpointing, some of it at the cat and some at me.

  [Jett,] said the lecti. [Now that you are second tier, you have some new decisions to make.]

  ?Let’s wait and see if I’m even keeping the amulet past tonight, eh??

  [Right. Of course.] The lecti had gotten a lot less opinionated all of the sudden.

  Chris and one of the cops approached us. The cop was an older woman, dark-skinned, with violet eyes. In fact she looked familiar. Kind of like an older version of—

  “Fu!” she snapped. “Get your ass over here!”

  “Son of a bitch,” Fu muttered. She got to her feet and stepped forward. Jessie also rose, equally reluctant.

  “Shones beyond, girl!” the woman said to Fu. Then she rushed forward and snatched her into a hug.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Mom! Damn!” Fu sputtered. “Don’t touch me! I’m drenched in sweat!”

  “You certainly are,” her mother agreed. “But I’m so glad you’re all right. Shones, what you get up to.”

  “Captain Tetsumi?” Jessie saluted. “I take full responsibility for what happened here this evening.”

  I nudged Wally, and we both got to our feet. Might as well get this over with.

  The captain released Fu, crossed her arms, and regarded Jessie flatly for a moment. “Corporal Faxton, you are going to give yourself an ulcer.”

  Fu laughed at that, as did I. The woman raised an eyebrow at me, and I did my best to straighten my face. “Tonight’s attack was unprecedented, Faxton. Even considering the…” she glanced back at the large tarp-wrapped bundle now being winched into the air, “...true outlier. It was a nearly impossible situation. You handled it well, you saved many lives, and it seems you denied them their prize. You are to be commended.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Jessie saluted, obviously relieved.

  “So. On to business. Mr. Fulgen. I’ve been speaking to Mr. Eisner. Who, like Corporal Faxton, has some history with you. You’re quite a well connected young man, it seems. We’ve also been reviewing the reports we have from this evening so far.”

  My heart thumped, and I exchanged a glance with Wally. What was this?

  Chris spoke up. “And I have been in touch with our CEO, so know that she is on board with this too. We want to recruit you, Jett.”

  “Buh… wah?” I said, intelligently.

  “The ‘G’ in G-Tech stands for ‘Guardian,’ after all,” said Chris. “What’s your class called? What do you think mine is called?”

  Chris smirked and formed another ice ball in his hand. It was similar to Mantis’s, though it seemed… cleaner. Less jagged, less chaotic. With his other hand, he drew an amulet out of the neck of his own uniform. The glowing gem was sky blue, and the gold setting looked slightly more ornate, but otherwise…

  “You’re an Ice Guardian?”

  “The Ice Guardian. As you are the Fire Guardian.”

  “And you want me to join you guys? To be some kind of, what, superhero?” My head spun. I glanced over at the rest of Chris’s team, who were watching me with interest. The girl with the glasses and animals, and the dark-skinned man who had healed me, both gave me a slight nod. The speedy woman and the acid dude, however, were stony-faced.

  “That’s exactly right,” said Chris. “I know this is a lot to take in, son, and I know you’ve had a hell of a day. But the short of it is, the Guardians are a special breed. There are only twelve Guardian amulets in the entire world. And we’re designed to work together. G-Tech’s goal is to gather sorcerers, yes. But more than anything, it’s to unite the Guardians. We need you, Jett.”

  “But there’s a problem,” Tetsumi said pointedly. “As Captain Mendez over there would be only too happy to point out. Jett, a.k.a. ‘Red,’ has numerous charges against him that can’t just be ignored.”

  “I can explain the gun thing,” I said.

  “And perhaps you can,” said the Captain, not unkindly, “but that’s one charge. For all of your instances of street skidding, evading arrest, and so on, you’re still facing a couple of years at least.”

  “And we can work around that, can’t we?” said Chris. “What about our Team Dominion? We have an entire group of ex-convicts in our ranks. The GPD has never complained about their conduct. They’re just as dedicated and loyal as anyone.”

  “And as I understand it they’ve all either served their sentences or been paroled,” said Tetsumi. She looked at Jessie. “A few have even been pardoned.”

  Fu looked confused for a moment, then her eyes went wide. “Yeah, do it Bee-Ho!” she yelled, pumping her fist.

  “What the hell?” I muttered.

  “Oh. Oh shit.” Wally got out his phone and started tapping. I stared at him open-mouthed. He rarely swore.

  He scooted closer to me and whispered. “I’ve read about this. It’s called Elite Privilege. It’s like a plea bargain on steroids. An Elite cop can pardon just about anything they want and set just about any conditions they want, within reason, as long as it’s in pursuit of greater justice. But they can only do it once, ever, in their entire career. The only way they get another is if the mayor approves it and takes the pardon on himself.”

  “Jett?” Jessie asked with mock sweetness. “Can I speak to you in private for a moment?”

  We stepped out of earshot of the others. Jessie regarded me thoughtfully, arms crossed under her chest, hip cocked to the side.

  [She really is pretty, isn’t she?]

  ?You know the only reason no one kicks your ass is because you don’t have a body, right??

  I had to admit, there was something about this grownup version of the brown-nosed hall monitor I’d known in sixth grade. Even in this state. Her padded uniform was scratched and stained, her pink hair was disheveled, and she had grime and blood on her face. She looked like some kind of sexy goddess of war holding court. I, on the other hand, was an idiot in a blanket. I looked like a toddler who’d just been woken up by a nightmare.

  “You wanted something, Jess?”

  “You’re an idiot, Jett.”

  “And you’re a freaking psycho. Is that all?”

  She sighed, ignoring the retort. “You’re an idiot, but you can also be brilliant. And I have to weigh that very carefully. I have a decision to make tonight. Maybe it’s really important. Maybe it’s the stupidest idea ever. I have to decide whether to give you a second chance.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Ok… maybe you’re not that psycho.”

  “This is serious, Jett. This thing with G-Tech… You can do it, I know it. I knew it before I saw you stand up to that hellspawn over there and freaking bullfight it. You could absolutely kick ass at it. Hell, Fu kicks ass at it, and she’s almost as crazy and irresponsible as you are.”

  “Ok…”

  “But you could also pull a Jett. And if you do, I’m warning you right now, it all comes back. All the suspended charges, plus more. This is a conditional pardon, and I have to set conditions. And if you go down, I go down with you. It’s a career-ending, litigation-inviting move. Usually Elites only bet this much when they know it’s the last thing they need to crack the case of a lifetime.”

  She let that hang for a moment. I was reeling. I started shivering, despite fire aether basically coursing through my body. I wanted to stop her right there, to tell her to stop talking, that I got the hint, that I’d go to jail quietly.

  I let her continue.

  “But people I trust and respect want this. Chris wants it. Fu wants it. I think even my boss wants it. But do—”

  “—I want it badly enough?” I finished. I took a deep breath. For a moment I considered doing what I usually did with that question. Give a cop-out answer. Say “yes” purely because that’s what I was supposed to say. Or give no answer at all. Just avoid that messy, nonsensical truth that felt impossible to explain.

  Instead, for once, I tried.

  “Do I want it?” I said. “I don’t even know what the hell ‘it’ is. This whole damn day has been a rollercoaster. Right this second? It’s exciting as hell. Having superpowers? Using aether and getting stronger? Saving people’s lives? Punching bad guys? Shit! Sign me up! But a week or a month from now, when it starts getting hard? When the stress is too much, or…”

  I swallowed. Suddenly I was at an airport, hiding in the rain, fear and rage battling inside me. I shook myself back to the present and glanced over at the row of sheets. “Or when people die on my watch, and I just have to ‘accept’ it? I just don’t know, Jess. I hope it’ll be different this time, but I just don’t know.”

  Jessie nodded. Then, surprisingly, she gave me a small smile. “Thanks, Jett.”

  “For what?”

  “For being honest.” She sniffed, glanced over her shoulder at the line of body bags, and wiped her eyes. “And you’re right, it does get hard. So damn hard. And you’re right to worry. But I think I can let you off easy.” She held up a finger. “Six months.”

  “I’m… not sure I follow. Six months what, in jail?”

  “You will remain employed at G-Tech for six months. Then if it’s too much or you want to pursue other things, you can. G-Tech will have to sign off on the deal too because they’re an affected entity, but I think they will. You won’t see fieldwork right away anyway. They’ll want to train you up first.

  “Beyond that, you will avoid felony convictions, particularly for fleeing or eluding law enforcement, as well as the crime of street skidding. If you are authorized to skid as part of your duties at G-Tech, that will be an allowed exception. Those are my conditions. As long as they are met, all crimes committed over the last four years under the alias ‘Red,’ including any allegations of violence at The Frozen Lady, are pardoned. Gone. What do you think?”

  I impulsively wanted to jump all over it, but some tiny lonely wisdom cluster in my brain told me to mull it over. ?Hey dude. I’m guessing legal advice isn’t your forte, but what do you think of all of this??

  [Do they not have lawyers in this age?]

  ?Wait… did they have them in yours? Er, Issa’s??

  [It was a cultural peak, though it was in rapid decline after the World Schism. Anyway, get a damn lawyer, that’s my point.]

  “I’d like to talk to a lawyer first?” I said, awkwardly. Responsible statements just didn’t feel natural coming from me.

  “That’s actually mandatory,” Jessie said with a smirk. “We can’t make anything official right now anyway. I need to be involved, and G-Tech, Tetsumi, lawyers, notaries, and a few other officials. The ceremony will take place at City Hall.”

  “What happens in the meantime? Back to jail?”

  “You can go home in the meantime. I can file for the pardon, and it’ll be the equivalent of bail.”

  “I uh, don’t have a home. I won’t in a couple of hours, anyway. Wally and I get evicted at dawn.”

  Jessie sighed. “Shones, you make everything complicated. Let’s talk to the others.”