Leaning forward on his vantage point, Sami watched as fighters from within the ring and the prison breached their confines, dozens of powers radiating like fireworks. The audience flashed from pleased to fearful as the room filled with the ire of those forced to fight. Brilliant flashes of green filled Sami’s vision, followed by three spears of hair launching out and a radiating white beam slicing through the cage match.

  Where half of the audience scrambled off like cockroaches under harsh light, Sami was surprised to see the other half stand up and challenge the prisoners in an all-out brawl. It wasn’t people that Sami expected to put up a fight, more like people drunk on the earlier battle and thinking they had a good match up. Several powers in the audience stood out to him as decidedly poor Anomalies to bring to a power fight. Like someone that extended the length of his ears. A woman who coughed really grossly, like she was dying, but otherwise didn’t have a physical effect. And an older gentleman who could make his head into a triangle. Still, they stood their ground.

  Sami could barely keep his thoughts straight, pinning Cassandra down with two Shadow Hands and focusing through blurred vision on the world below. He definitely pushed himself too hard and was suffering for it. But if it meant breaking everyone out, then it was worth it. Like soreness from working out, all good pain.

  Cassandra’s colleagues—or maybe lackeys, hard to define— were forced to turn their attention away from the watchtower above the arena and focus on the meteor shower of attacks coming their way. Lightning, hair projectiles, arrows of light, lassos of string, and multicolored fluids washed over them, pelting them in a storm of pain. Shield Guy was able to protect himself by kneeling down and placing the power protection over him, but Miguel only had his containment foam. It flew out of him haphazardly, trying desperately to catch the attacks before they hit him, but he was bleeding from several open wounds.

  As Sami watched, he felt Cassandra rouse and struggle from under his phantom hands. Rather than try to incapacitate her again, Sami clamped the hands tightly on her mouth and pressed her down to keep her pinned. Try as she might to peel it off, she could only make muffled frustrations in her restraints. And as he hoped, no one was under the influence of Manipulations so long as she couldn’t speak to them. Seething, she beat heavily on his Shadow Hands, but fortunately they couldn’t feel any pain.

  Like watching a fireworks show, Sami scanned the cramped battlefield. Hair batons swiping the back of people’s legs, audience members scrambling out of the building as they found themselves outmatched, and the prisoners tearing down the cage around the arena, all happening simultaneously. Few audience members went hand to hand with powers and found themselves handily overwhelmed. Sami winced as someone threw a punch only for the knuckles to crack loud enough for him to hear from atop the stage. Definitely broken. Probably worse.

  More snaps of bones, more screams of fleeing forces, and more rage thrown out by the prisoners. The room cleared until only two remained. Cassandra and Miguel. Shield Guy had managed to rush out unharmed. Finding him would become a priority for Sami in Indus. And now that Fight Nights was hopefully cleared out with no leadership, he had even more reason to stick around.

  Heads turned up to Sami, all looking grateful with wondrous gazes upon him. He smiled and waved at his fellow free Awakened.

  “Thanks for the help!” he croaked.

  “Thank you! Who are you?”

  “Sami Raheem. I’ll see you around Indus?”

  Some nods, some firm shakes of heads, clearly never intending to return.

  An Awakened standing over Miguel checked up with Sami. “Do we kill them?”

  Clearly meaning both Cassandra and Miguel. To his surprise, there were more nods than shakes this time. Though, giving it a second thought, they were captives for a lot longer than he was. And forced into death matches for others’ entertainment. Not exactly something that you just forgive and forget.

  “Can we leave them in the same prison they kept us in and figure out what to do tomorrow? I really need a break and some time to think.”

  “How do we let Cassandra go anywhere with a power like hers?”

  “Gag her?” Sami shrugged.

  Someone pried a chunk of Miguel’s containment foam off the ground and then nimbly leaped up thirty feet to land next to Sami. Blinking in surprise, Sami looked at the makeshift gag, then to Cassandra.

  “We’re gonna shut you up. Try to make a sound when I move my hand and I’m going to hurt you.”

  Cassandra stared defiantly.

  “He might only hurt you, but I’ll kill you,” the man holding the foam promised.

  Head flicking his way, Cassandra’s posture slackened to obedience.

  Looking up, Sami nodded a signal and slid his dark hands just above her, waiting to strike if she did anything shady. The containment foam was placed firmly over her mouth without delay and then smushed hard into her lips. She grunted in annoyance, but allowed it.

  Once that was covered, Sami stood up and wobbled, sharing looks with all the people waiting for something more.

  “Now what?”

  “I guess toss them in the cell and meet back here tomorrow? Say at sunrise?” Sami suggested.

  With that, Miguel and Cassandra were hoisted and chucked into their prison, doors locking on all sides. Two former prisoners very eagerly volunteered to keep guard over the cell overnight and Sami was more than happy to give up the responsibility, if only to finally excuse himself to get some rest and water.

  Other former prisoners tried talking to Sami, but he couldn’t comprehend their questions in his daze. He assured them through mumbled words that he’d be back to learn what they knew. It just needed to wait until after he had slept.

  Dragging his feet and half-stumbling, Sami searched for his stolen belongings and headed home empty handed. He didn’t have the strength or energy to look for them, and half assumed they were stolen when the place cleared out. Head spinning, he could barely believe what he had just been through. It could have gone terrible. His life was literally on the line, and while he was glad for the outcome, there was a piece nagging him to consider one major flaw in his going alone.

  If he had HUE watching his back, he never would have been in the situation to begin with. Should he return?

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  With every painful step, the idea enticed him. There was a solid team of people he trusted back in that warehouse. They suggested he could come back. It would be that easy. Going on his own was enough of a shock to make him want the familiarity of friends.

  The whole trip across the city a blur, Sami blinked as he realized he stood at his front door. Fumbling with his pockets, he realized he didn’t have his keys. Wasting no time, he got on all fours and sent a flattened Shadow Hand under the crack to turn the lock and break into his own home. The creak of his front door had never had such a nostalgic effect on him. Safety and security awaited him behind the door. Just like at HUE.

  Shuffling his way in the home and locking it, he stripped off his clothes stained with adrenaline and fear and rushed into the shower. Keeping his head upright almost the entire time, he drank gallons of water while lathering with what missed his open mouth. Filling himself to satisfaction, he shut off the shower and limped into his room with a towel quickly dragged across his body.

  Limbs dry, and hair damp, Sami launched face first onto the bed, rolled onto his back with a satisfied groan, and knocked out before he could even form the thought of being grateful to be home.

  Snapping his head up the next morning, Sami rolled out of bed immediately, feeling ready for action. There were two people inside a fake prison that he needed to call the cops on.

  No. Not when they could be Manipulated like anyone else. First course of action was to figure out how to deal with Cassandra, then get back to cleaning up Indus. He wondered how big of an event Fight Nights was. It drew a decently sized crowd, but he’d never heard any rumblings of it before.

  Pulling on a new set of clothes, Sami stretched a Shadow Hand to the counter that usually had his phone overnight. Slapping the empty countertop, Sami glanced at it, realizing his phone was never plugged in to charge before he knocked out. Frowning, he had his Shadow Hands pat through his pockets of the pants he wore the previous day until remembering he had no phone. At least he had spare keys.

  Eating a quick but filling breakfast of oats, fruit, and bread, he grabbed his water bottle and left. He didn’t care how annoying it would be to keep it aside during a fight, he would never be so thirsty again, if he could help it.

  Leaving without a morning workout, he rushed on his feet to get back to Indus a few miles away. Definitely needed to invest in something as small as a bike if he was planning to continue a commute like this one. The previous day was a blur past the breakout and he legitimately couldn’t remember exactly what path he took to get home.

  “Hey! Stop!”

  Sami spun on his heel, expecting to catch a robbery in progress. Instead, someone was running after him, hand waving above his head. Blinking, Sami recognized the young man from weeks prior. Hair was still matted and eyes sunken like he’d seen more than he was capable of comprehending. It was the teleporting guy.

  “Need assistance with anything?” Sami asked, imbuing his words with confidence.

  “You’re HUE, right? You said you could help with my thing!” the young man said quickly, like he was already short on time after just approaching.

  “Ah, sorry, I’m not HUE anymore, but I can help you.”

  “You’re not with HUE? I thought that was the one thing you told me!”

  “Yeah, well, last time we met, I was in HUE. I quit just—”

  “It doesn’t matter!” he waved his hands urgently, staring quizzically at Sami’s right hand, then up to his Shadow Hands. “What’s wrong with your hand? “

  “My power is—”

  “Nevermind! You can fix this, right?”

  “Your teleporting power going off at random? I don’t know that I can fix it, but maybe if you describe it a bit, I can see where I can help?” Sami said earnestly.

  “No! You—”

  In a blink of white, the man was gone as suddenly as he appeared. Scoffing and shaking his head to himself, Sami scanned around with Power Sense to make sure he didn’t go invisible. Nothing.

  Teleportation was the obvious conclusion. Must be annoying to pop in and out of places, it was no wonder he was trying to fix the power.

  “Still there?” Sami asked, just to be certain.

  After no reply, Sami shrugged to himself and continued down the sidewalk. Maybe start with his name next time so he could ask around. Whatever the case, Sami couldn’t help him if he couldn’t even stand in front of him for thirty seconds.

  As Indus approached the edge of Hammerton Central, Sami brought out his Shadow Hands to watch his back. Not that they could see, but if it looked like they were scanning the area, maybe others would be less inclined to jump him this time.

  Picking up the pace, he moved to a brisk walk to the prison he left the two leads of Fight Nights. Weaving between streets and watching his back through alleyways, he was extra vigilant this time, drinking a lot more water to make sure that wouldn’t be a problem this time. Clearing the corner before the makeshift prison, Sami blinked as he saw several people at the open door, a stream of steam and smoke coming out of the cell. Five people glanced inside.

  Slowing himself down, Sami scanned the scene from a distance, feeling stupid for leaving it as he did overnight. Cassandra could obviously manipulate any passerby, and if anyone Awakened was on the scene she could break herself out. Or their third member broke them out. Or they knew a secret way out because they built it. There were hundreds of scenarios that Sami was too tired to think through.

  Then he saw the people at the opening waving him over. Peering closer, Sami recognized them as some of his fellow prisoners from the previous day. Feeling some of his nerves ease up, Sami wondered what they were doing. Getting closer, they opened up slightly to let him see into the open door. Smiling at them in greeting, he didn’t have to look far to see what happened. The stark image stole away his pleasant smile.

  Two twisted corpses at the bottom, Cassandra and Miguel, their bodies covered in severe burns. Sinewy skin thin on their limbs, their arms and legs close to their body. Turning away from the sight, Sami looked to the floor in shame. It wasn’t even a consideration that they’d be killed. And Sami left them trapped, knowing that several former prisoners would know exactly where to find them. Avoid manipulation with closed ears, and anyone could take them down.

  “Who did this?” Sami asked, his voice even as he looked up at the others.

  “It was like this when we got here,” someone answered.

  Scanning him, Sami felt he sounded sincere but had no idea whether he was lying. And if not him, he’d love to be able to scan the others for some sort of truth. Like Naomi could, pre-Antiserum. Knowing power was great, but Power Sense felt lacking in other ways.

  Of the few things he remembered learning from his father, seeing truth as truth was ultimate power. Especially in a world of Joanna Slatterys having platforms to spread lies or misinformation. Rumor mills were more potent than ever since the General Awakening, with people desperate to find the way to Awaken themselves.

  “Anyone know what happened?” Sami asked, again keeping his voice under control.

  In truth, he was more than enraged at himself for letting this happen. Even if he didn’t know exactly how to treat people that ran things like Fight Nights, a merciless death was too much for anyone. The image of their bodies curled up was burned into his mind. They were shielding themselves from the pain, up to their deaths.

  “They must have been hit overnight. I’ve been here since sunrise.”

  Sami nodded sullenly, then looked up to the speaker.

  “Sunrise? You’ve been standing here for hours?”

  “Most of us have.” Another person nodded.

  “Why?”

  “For you.”

  “For me?”

  “You said you’d meet back up here tomorrow. So we waited for you.”

  “I said that to figure out how to deal with them.”

  “Yeah, obviously, but what are you gonna do after? You’re working in Indus, right?”

  Sami shrugged, not reading his expression very well. “Sure.”

  “So, you probably want a team.”

  Sami looked around the group, finally reading the eagerness on their faces. Double checking, Sami scanned the five fighters that had waited for him with Power Sense and confirmed every single one was Awakened. A gradual grin stretching on his face, Sami nodded excitedly.

  “You guys wanna help me clean up Indus?”

  “Every inch.” A smile met his.

  “Let’s do this thing.”