17 Chapter 17 - Kaitlynn

When Si told me what had happened to Hannah, I couldn't stop myself. My muscles were still completely incompetent when it came to walking, but my skeletal body found its way to her room eventually. Dramatic entrances were always fun, and so was telling Hannah she was an idiot.

"You didn't really expect a search for the city's most dangerous criminal to go over well, did you?" She smiled and shook her head, almost looking disappointed.

"You come barging in here and you haven't even heard the whole story, have you?"

"Oh, I have heard more than you have," I shot back. Hannah stared at me for a second before she connected the dots.

"That dark-suited villain, Basic. He's the one that told you, right?"

"Told us," Silas chimed in, "I was there too." I wasn't sure just what kind of trouble Si was going to get himself into as himself, but connecting himself and Basic was either genius or the dumbest thing he had done in a long time.

"What is he doing in my room anyway?" Hannah's complete ignorance of Silas' comment showed she was more annoyed by him being there than she would normally let on. Ever since we discovered just who he was together, she had been particularly cautious when it came to letting me interact with him. She especially tried to avoid talking to him herself.

"Great, straight to referring to Silas while he is standing right here," Silas said with layers of sarcasm.

"If you want to have a decent conversation," I pointed out, "Then you two are going to have to get along or I'm going to smack some sense into you myself." Silas raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth.

"Fine, but I think Basic's point of view is the most accurate here since nobody else was aware of everything else that happened."

"Of course he's siding with Basic," Hannah scoffed. "He's biased in this. It's an evolved matter." I wasn't sure how to get the two to work together on this. It was like the two were each playing a game of solitaire but they had traded a few cards between their decks. If they realized where the problems were and worked together, they could easily finish the game.

"Well," Emma interrupted, "maybe the best person to understand Basic is a basic. Let him tell the other side of the story." Hannah took a deep breath before slowly closing her eyes and nodding. It must have been too hard to say no to her own sister.

"Now you explain everything for Basic." Silas nodded and began summarizing his experience from the third person. He told us about how Basic had been concerned for Hannah's safety, how Basic recognized the technology she had found, and how he had only been trying to remove it from anyone's hands. I was a little surprised when he mentioned my stepfather's brief appearance back in my own room, and for some reason, hearing Silas talk about it again was no less disconcerting.

Finally, with a good deal of disappointment, he told us about his fight with White Angel. It was the first time I had heard him talk about almost any hero with some kind of respect. Did he realize that a hero had actually prioritized saving someone over fighting for once? That was his main issue with High Solis, wasn't it? I had to stop to wonder if he had ever actually encountered any other high Evolved since that day.

"So you're telling me Basic is a good guy in all this and I am the clumsy idiot bumbling around, making a mess?" Hannah had a very skill for figuring out exactly when people were putting her down indirectly.

"Yup. That's exactly what I'm saying."

There was no hesitation in the slightest. Dang, Silas could be cold sometimes.

"Still, you were doing your job well enough to find the warehouse, so I suppose that's a point in your favor. If Void Star is arming basics-"

"That's an if still," Hannah interjected.

"Yes, if. It would mean he's been doing it for a long time. The appearance of Basic himself would mean he's finally starting to show his hand."

The spoken meaning of it was clear. Rolan was trying to use Silas. Trying to use Basic to either damage or at least distract High Solis.

"So Basic is a pawn who does his master's bidding? For what?"

"I don't think he is a pawn, or they wouldn't be fighting. I think he is more of a means to an end kind of thing for Void Star."

Hannah's doubt showed all over her face. What would he know about it? Silas was telling her exactly what she had been trying to figure out for the past few weeks, but she was too focused on who was saying it to believe him. When had Hannah become so stuck in the system?

"Really? You don't think the guy who is always ranting about being a hero to basics is working with the guy who is supplying them with the means to fight us, the real heroes?"

"You don't seem to understand."

"No," Hannah snapped, "I don't. I also don't understand why you are in my room. Kaity's a friend, and Emma is my sister, so why are you here, Tyler's? Just to rant about how great the guy who nearly killed me is? No, I don't think so. Get out of my room."

There was nothing I could do. Emma looked like she was going to freak, obviously not handling the conflict well. Hannah was fuming and Silas just stood there, his eyes attempting to drill a hole in Hannah's newfound prejudice. There was nothing anyone could do, but those two.

Silas gave a short puff before leaving, though I knew he was right outside to help me when I left.

"Gosh, that guy always gets on my nerves," Hannah sighed, letting out the tension in her shoulders.

"I mean, he has his reasons…" Emma mumbled. She was right of course. Three years ago, Silas and Hannah would have gotten along really well. Hannah had only just been licensed and Silas wasn't so broken. Honestly, I wondered if the innocence I saw in her sister now was all that was left of the friend I once knew. A year with High Solis and her heroes, and this was what could happen.

How was Silas supposed to make a difference?