Chapter 16

Claudia looked up at the night sky, past the dome, like transparent glass, watching Lunam loom just beyond the atmosphere. A massive ball of lightless, golden fire, it resembled a mini sun. Claudia rarely give thought to Lunam, where had it come from, what was it really, what did it want, and why. But the only known fact about Lunam was that it was the source of Aura, Aura that was visible to all, not just her brother and Lady Ada, who claimed to see the golden fire ignite within Users. 

"You said you saw eyes..." Claudia said, looking down from Lunam to her brother sitting across the table. They had been talking about the visions he'd had after using the Garden Seer's ability, while waiting for service at the Golden Corral. The restaurant was grand, highest rated in High Tier, the most expensive, serving mostly to Royals and their worshippers. Lights everywhere, providing clear visibility despite being the early hours of the night. Dozens of tables lined the outside front of building, most of those occupied by Royals, their golden bracelet visible even through the darkness. Claudia and William had taken the a table outside, the inside of the restaurant was exclusive to Royals and their dick suckers.

"I donno, maybe." William said, shrugging, looking up from the menu. "I was being overloaded with visions and images, in case you've forgotten. I told you I 'thought' I saw eyes, not that I was certain I did."

Still... Claudia thought, it wasn't a farfetched idea to think that something was watching from Lunam. That there could be an intelligent entity hiding behind the golden flame, that for some unknown reason decided to share Lunam's Aura with humans. Aura that awakened law breaking abilities, some powerful enough to wipe out cities. Luckily, over the last hundred or so years, since Lunam's appearance, such destruction hasn't happened it. But why would they do that? Why would Lunam give humans such power? And why only for seven years? Those were the questions a lot of scientist, philosophers, and other important people, were asking themselves. None had yet to come up with a definitive answer, only speculations and guesses. And despite the fact that there was no prove of such entity existing within Lunam, nor could there ever be, new religions were borned, with Lunam as their god figure. It was a bit scary to think about.

"Did you at least see a vision of me?" Claudia asked, drinking from her water cup, then picking up the menu.

"If you're talking about the one with Obex? No." William shook his head, then he pointed to the menu in his hand. "I'm taking the bourbon street steak, medium rare. Flavored lemonade for drink, how about you?"

Claudia sighed. She didn't blame her brother, it wasn't often they got to dine at a fancy restaurant, let alone the best in New Miami. The Golden Corral also served the best food, its reputation for taste and atmosphere well known amongst all. Claudia looked through her menu, deciding on a steak herself, with a side salad. "... guess I'll also be taking the lemonade to drink."

William smiled. "Then let's call our friend Obex."

Claudia nodded, looking over the tables, searching for Obex amongst the waiters, all wearing black and white, going around delivering food, cleaning tables, and taking orders. Obex was among those, he had just finished taking an order from a Royal couple when his eyes met Claudia's. Claudia smiled at him, waving him over, signifying they were ready.

Obex looked just like the employee picture Claudia had Jake pull up on his computer, brown hair, tall and muscular. He looked about Claudia's age, handsome too.

"Hello." He said, walking over to their table, a friendly smile on his face, a note pad on his hand. "What'll it be?"

Claudia found it a bit funny how the guy who fought Royals to prevent bullying, was serving those same Royals, taking orders from them. How did he maintain his cool being around the people he supposedly hated for so long? But, if Claudia was being honest, bullying rarely occurred in High Tier, let alone in place like the Golden Corral, most of the customers being Royals. There were the occasional fight among Royals, but those usually took place in the abandoned section of High Tier, serving as a sort of area for duels and the like.

William told Obex what he wanted from the food menu, and Obex wrote it down on his notepad. Claudia didn't miss Obex's glancing at William's wrist, checking for a golden bracelet. When finished, Obex turned to Claudia, also checking her wrist for a golden bracelet. 

"And for you, my lady?" He asked, brown eyes looking at her.

Claudia smiled, then told him her order, then added. "I also would like to know at what time you get off..." She pointedly looked at the name name pin on his waiter uniform, for appearances sake. "...Obex."

Obex's cheek turned red, glancing at William then looking back at Claudia, confusion in his face. "...not sure your boyfriend will be okay with me telling you when my shift ends, miss."

William burst out laughing.

Claudia chuckled. "He's my brother. And you've already met." Claudia nodded at William.

Obex turned to look, frowning. William hovered a hand above his water cup, a golden barrier forming around it, surrounding it like a bubble. Obex dropped his pad, it fell on the floor, he took a step back, eyes widening as he looked from William to Claudia.

"Relax." Claudia said, bending over her chair and picking up the note pad from the floor. She handed it back to him. "We're friends." She assured him. "Just want a few minutes of your time after work. Please."

Obex was silent for a long moment, looking between Claudia and William, realization, and recognition of sorts, forming in his eyes. He finally nodded. "I get off in about an hour."

"Enough time for us to enjoy a good meal." William said, dropping the barrier from the cup.

"Good to know." Claudia said, then pointed in the direction of the parking lot, located behind the Golden Corral. "We'll meet by the parking lot, my car's there. The small blue one."

Obex nodded, then turned to leave. "Don't forget our order." William said after him, watching him walk inside the Golden Corral, disappearing into the crowd.

"We have half an hour." Claudia said to her brother. "Let's enjoy our meal."

***

An hour later, Claudia was leaning on the side of her car, parked beneath a street lamp, arms crossed, waiting. William stood next to her, talking about how much he missed spending time with her. Claudia agreed. Last time they had spend time together like this, peacefully enjoying a meal together in a fancy restaurant, had been what... four or five months ago? 

Even though, with all that's been going on recently with Spectre, with Hendrick planning to betray her in the future, with learning that Lady Ada was the twin sister of the Lord Ruler, with Beodulf only days away from burning her Hialeah base to ashes if she doesn't get Obex on Spectre's side soon, Claudia somehow felt a measure of happiness during the last half hour. But now it was time to get back to business. She still didn't know how she was going to convince Obex to join Spectre, to willingly get captured by the Royals, trusting that she'll get him afterwards.

"Here he comes." William said, Claudia looking over to see Obex walking towards then. He glared at a Royal who purposely bumped into him, laughing in a mocking way. Claudia was amazed at the Guardian's self control, his ability to remain cool and not snapping at a Royal was quality that User rarely possessed. Her brother was not among those rarities.

"How did you find me?" Obex asked, reaching Claudia's car, staring at her. He wore a frown, contrast to the smile he carried when taking their order earlier.

"What? Not going to ask who we are first?" William said. "We know who you are, it's only fair."

Obex looked at him. "Are you not from Spectre?" He asked. 

William nodded.

"Then that's all I need to know." Obex said. He looked at Claudia. "You are the Time Witch." It wasn't a question. "This is the second time to contact me. What do you want?"

Claudia smiled, liking Obex's straightforwardness. "First, to thank you. What you did for us at Imperial Square... we couldn't have pulled off the kidnaping without your aid."

Obex glaced at William for a moment, before looking back at Claudia. "I'm sure my help wasn't necessarily needed. You still haven't answered my first question."

Claudia sighed. "That's because you already know. I told you during our first meeting." She opened the door to back of her car. "How about we drive you home, and we can talk in detail about what we- what Spectre needed you for?"

Obex stood there for a moment, staring into Claudia's eyes, occasionally glancing at William, before finally nodding. 

"Fine." He said, getting on. "I assume you know where I live?"

Claudia smiled, nodding. She waited for William to close his door before turning on the engine.

Unlike Lowtown's, and even Garden's, High Tier's streets flowed with some traffic. Cars of various sizes, including limousine, what the entitled Royals like to drive on, filled the streets as Claudia drove through the roads of High Tier, heading south, away from Imperium, the tower looming behind them.

Claudia followed the GPS coordinates Jake had provided, leading to Obex's apartment building. The further away they got from Imperium, the less traffic, until only a handful of cars were seen driving by.

"So, about this operation of yours." Obex said from the back seat. "What role am I suppose to play?"

Claudia nodded at William, her brother reaching for the glove compartment, pulling out a folder filled with a stack of paper. He handed the folder to Obex.

"Everything you need to know is in there," Claudia told him, turning on the car's rear ceiling light so that Obex could see. "Read it, and let me know if you're interested. We need you on this- we need the Guardian's ability."

It took Obex a couple of minutes to go over the information inside the folder, Claudia purposely driving at a slowed pace, taking the long route, prolonging the trip. She had to take a couple of wrong turns, driving around a block twice, to give Obex enough time to go over his role in Phase Two of Operation Overthrow. 

"No." Obex said after a long while, putting the papers back inside the folder, then handing it back to William. Claudia, though she had hoped, she kinda of guessed that would be his answer. In fact, she anticipated it. She knew convincing him tonight was going to be impossible, she just wanted Obex to know what Spectre was asking of him. Her arguments to convince him came afterwards.

"What? Why?" William said, looking over his shoulder at Obex. "You helped at Imperial Square, why refuse now? Do you think Spectre will fail, is that it?"

"No." Obex said. "If any rebel organization has a chance of taking the Lord Ruler down, it is Spectre. They have an ace that no other rebel group has." He pointed at William. "The Copycat superhero."

"Then why?" William said, not bother to hide the fact.

"Because he doesn't trust us yet." Claudia said, stopping at a red light, both hands on the wheel. "He thinks we wont be able to do it."

"Do what?" William asked.

"Get him out of Imperium." Claudia said, looking at Obex through the rear view mirror. "Is that right?"

"I doubt the Lord Ruler will let the Guardian off that easily." Obex nodded. "I have been taking down his top Royals in High Tier, proving how weak they are. Some even had to quit their high position jobs because they lost to a superhero. No. The Lord Ruler would want nothing more than rid High Tier of the Guardian. Just take me home, my mind's made up."

"Did you read the part where we are trading you for Beodulf?" William continued. "Beodulf is one of his Royal Knights, more valuable a hostage than you can imagine. There's no way that-"

"It's fine, Will." Claudia interjected. "We'll give Obex time to think it over, maybe he'll change his mind afterwards."

"Like I said, I won't-"

Obex was interrupted. Something fell and crashed into the streets a dozen paces in front of the car, Claudia kicked the breaks, the car skidding, crashing into a light pole, bending it. She heard screeching as another car came to a stop on the opposite side of the street, followed by a third. They managed to avoid a crash.

"Ugh..." Claudia recovered quickly, igniting her Aura, feeling its warmth wash over her body, its effect healing her wounds, minor as they were. She looked around, seeing people emerge from the other vehicles, looking to investigate what had crashed unto the street.

"Is that... Mermaid?" Claudia heard William say beside her. She followed his gaze, watching someone dressed in all blue; Hoodie and jeans, face covered with a mask. Sara, the Mermaid. The superhero lay in the ground, the road cracked beneath her from the impact of her fall. A Royal stood over her, a tall woman with blonde hair tied back in ponytail.

Another Royal landed beside the blonde Royal, the street beneath him cracking, his arms and feet were made of stone, looking like he was wearing large gloves and boots made of stone. Both Royals wore black tuxedo, their golden bracelet visible in the night.

The onlookers, those that had gotten out of their vehicle, were also Royal, though they all wore expensive suite and dresses, likely returning or going to a party, or celebration. 

"Bad new for our little Mermaid." Obex said, probably from having the same thought as Claudia. So many Royals, she counted seven, were gathering around the superhero. And Royals enjoyed very much to beat up superheroes, show them who's in charge, before turning them in to the Lord Ruler. If Claudia did nothing, Mermaid's days as a superhero were done.

"Stay in the car." William said, opening the door and stepping out.

"Wait." Claudia grabbed her brother by the hand, thinking to of joining him, but then she paused for a moment, an idea forming in her head. A way to convince Obex that Spectre had what the means to bail him out of Imperium if the trade with Beodulf didn't go as planned. She needed Obex to trust in Spectre's strength, which he likely doubted. Claudia needed to let her brother loose, let him fight the Royals alone. There was no point in hiding William from public view anymore, if Lady knew of him, then so did the Lord Ruler. Besides... William could defend himself.

"What is it?" He asked, glancing over at Mermaid, the female Royal with blonde hair had pulled out a syringe and was about to inject the superhero with it.

"Can you take them all on?" Claudia said.

William nodded.

"Then here, put this on." She handed him a white face mask, taken from the glove compartment. "And make sure you don't go overboard." She added, knowing her brother had little self control when it came fighting Royals. She still remembered how close he came to killing a Royal during the Garden incident. "You know when to stop, don't you?"

Again, William nodded. Claudia released his hand, letting her brother approach the group of gathering Royals. She couldn't hear very well what they were saying, only understanding a few scattered words. 

"...beat... show her... respect.... us... teach her a lesson..."

Claudia looked over her shoulders at Obex. "You said Spectre had an ace up their sleeves..." She gestured towards William, who had now attracted the attention of the Royals. 

William said something that Claudia couldn't understand well, and some of the Royals started laughing. Mocking.

"See our ace in action." Claudia told Obex. "Decide for yourself whether we are capable of challenging the Lord Ruler or not." Obex was already leaning forward in his seat, watching William and the Royals. Claudia watched too, lowering the car windows.

A short looking Royal pointed at William, large golden arms made of solid Aura, springing from his back, like wings. The Royal said something then attacked William, one of his large golden arms forming a fist, going for a punch. The blow was stopped by William's own golden arm, after having the Royal's ability copied. The Royal froze, the rest let out shocked gasps of surprised. William used the opportunity to pummel the Royal with a series of punches, the last one was with a fisted golden arm, ending the fight in seconds, the Royal rolling down the streets and crashing into a parked vehicle. The alarm going off.

"It's him!" Another Royal yelled. "It's really him!"

"The Copycat superhero!" A third Royal added, yelling.

He, along with two others who - having realized who they were going up against - ran away. One of them got on his car and quickly drove away, while the other two just ran, a man and woman, disappearing into the shadows, likely hiding. Despite being the ones in power, most Royals actually preferred to avoid fights they knew they had no chance of winning.

"I'm only going to say this once." William said, at the four Royals brave enough to stay, including the two who had been hunting the Mermaid. The superhero looking just as shocked and surprised as the Royals.

"Leave her alone," William said, gesturing towards Mermaid. "Or you'll face me. And believe me, fighting me means pain for you."

"Hear that Elsa." The Royal with the arms and legs of stone, said to the tall blonde Royal standing beside him.

"Cocky bastard ain't he? Hoaqin?" The blonde Royal, Elsa, said.

Claudia could see them all clearly, not only from the light provided by the light poles that lined the streets, but also from her enhanced vision provided by the Aura burning within her. It also gave her enhanced hearing.

The third Royal charge at William, clapping his hands together, sending a wave of what seemed like a gust of wind which struck William hard. Though it didn't send him flying like she expected it to, Claudia saw her brother bleed from everywhere, his clothes cut in many places, as if being sliced by tiny blades. A ability to send wind that cuts, dangerous.

But William's cuts started to heal almost immediately, no, Claudia realized, not heal, but disappear completely, like it never happened. Claudia recognized her brother's use of her ability, time rewind, which allowed them to rewind any damage done almost immediately.

 That means William had at least two abilities copied so far, if he didn't have Obex's already.

"Impressive." The Royal named Hoaqin commented, a smile appearing in his face, illuminated by the street lamp that lines the sidewalk.

William made his move then, with increased speed, he charge the Royal with the wind ability first, hitting him hard with two powerful punched from the large golden arms that sprang from his back, followed by a kick, then raising both golden arms high, clasping them together, and bringing them down hard. The Royal lost consciousness before he hit the floor, blood pooling on the street.

The first Royal that had attack William first, had recovered and was now charging. William reacted quickly, both his hands and feet turning to stone, adding strength and power to the blows he unleashed on the stupefied Royal. The Royal stood no chance, he fell unconscious after William hit him with a kick to the side, feet made of hard stone, sending him rolling through the street. The Royal came to a stop, falling unconscious.

Then the laser beam pierced William, right through the stomach. A second one was fired, coming from the roof a nearby building, Claudia managed to see the silhouetted appearance of the Royal responsible. The lazer burned through William's leg, leaving a cauterized hole.

If it had been a regular person without Aura, they'd been dead. Hell, if it'd had been Claudia herself, the amount of Aura required to heal those wounds would've left her at the very least winded.

It took a second, but William's wounds healed, having being rewind. He looked to the direction the golden lazer had originated, spotting the same silhouet Claudia had, and fired his own copied version. It missed. Claudia saw the Royal dodge.

Hoaqin charged at William then, thinking he'd had a chance now that William was distracted. But, as expected, he stood little chance. William already had four abilities at his disposal, and he knew how to use them all in combination. Claudia had always been impressed at how skillfully he wove them together, combining them, turning his golden arms into stone, making them stronger.

Hoaqin was strong, an Elite Royal, but William was using too many abilities for him to defend against.

"He's far more impressive than I originally thought." Claudia heard Obex say from the back seat. "What incredible power." They watched as William easily overpowered the Royal, even when having to dodge from in coming lazer attacks.

Claudia noticed the blonde haired Royal inject Mermaid with the syringe, the superhero having been distracted watching William's fight. The Royal kicked Mermaid hard on the head, knocking her unconscious, then she turned her attention at William.

***

William felt his Aura burn within him, power, strength, clarity, all a rush of adrenaline flowing through his body. He held four copied abilities thus far, and felt he could add one more to his current arsenal. He decided to save that open spot for the blonde haired Royal's ability, he noticed she was currently charging at him, her Aura igniting, she joined her companion. They teamed up against William, fighting with rehearsed teamwork. William fought them, easily matching their skill, molding his Aura to add to his copied ability count. Now, all he needed was wait for the blonde woman to use her ability.

William felt a sudden searing pain on his shoulder, a laser beam fired from the sniper Royal stationed at the roof of the nearby building, William had been able to easily spot him earlier through his innate ability to see Aura, even managed to copy the man's laser ability.

William used his sister's ability to rewind the wound on his shoulder, the pain was gone instantly, the wound now gone. It took a good amount of his Aura, depleting his reservoir.

"This guy's a freaking monster." William heard the male Royal say, the one with the stone ability. William dodged a kick, enhanced by the hardened quality of stone, then he used Claudia's time freeze to free the blonde Royal in place. He could only main it for a second, but a second was all he needed. He focused on finishing her companion. 

William stopped a fisted, stone enhanced, punch, gabbing the Royal's arm with large golden hands emerging from his back, then using his ability to turn his own feet to stone, it took effort, but he managed to kick the male Royal hard in the chest, hearing the cracking of bones, sending the man stumbling backwards. William raised a palmned hand a fired two consecutive laser beams, one piercing the Royals right shoulder, the other his left thigh. The Royal fell on his back, screaming in pain, his Aura quickly diminishing at it automatically began to heal his wounds. The Royal lost consciousness in the process, the Aura's healing effect worked better when the host was unconscious, or asleep.

Now for the other, William thought. He dodged another fired laser, sensing the sniper Royal's Aura, then turned to face the female Royal, she was free from the time freeze, looking confused at seeing her companion beaten in what seemed to her, the blink of an eye. She charged at William, throwing calculated punches and kicks aimed to leave him open for a critical blow. Despite the adrenaline running through his body, William was beginning to feel the fatigue that followed from overusing his ability, this had been the first time he'd fought this long while holding this many. Though his Aura was diminishing quickly, the longer he fought, and the more damage he took, the more tired he felt. He still had more than enough Aura to match the Royal though.

She was a good fighting, her hand to hand combat was on par, if not arguably better than Claudia's. He tried to end the fight quickly, grabbing the Royal with both golden arms sprouting from his back, the ability he copied from the first Royal he took out, squeezing hard, hearing the fracture of bones.

The female Royal winced, but then smiled. She grabbed the giant arms holding her by the shoulders, freezing them like ice. She then shattered them to pieces, they crumbled like a giant ice cube after being smashed with a hammer. A dangerous ability, to freeze anything she touches. William returned her smile, copied her ability.

That became the goal of their next exchange of blows, the Royal trying to grab hold of William to freeze him, while William avoided her touch, while also dodging yet another incoming laser. 

That sniper Royal was beginning to get annoying.

"Boy… you're good." The Royal said, she followed her words with a high kick that William managed to barely dodge, then aiming to touch him on the shoulder. But William was faster, grabbing her arm instead, unleashing her copied ability on her, her arm freezing. He let go and she retreated a couple steps, her arm returned to normal a few seconds later.

"So you can unfreeze it yourself." William said, fully understanding her ability now. "Good to know."

Her smile turned into a frown and she charged again. William easily overpowered her, using a combination of his copied abilities. He used Claudia's time freeze again, allowing him an opening for a second, a second he used to fire a laser beam at her stomach, then another at her shoulder before time freeze ended. William noticed her wounds already healing, her Aura diminishing. He charged at her and kicked, his feet made of stone, then punched, his fist made of stone. She stumbled backwards, falling on her knees. 

"Leave." William said, still amazed that she hadn't lost consciousness yet, her Aura was far stronger than he'd expected. The golden fire still burned within her, still covering a third of her body. 

Usually, the two things that determined your Aura strength was quantity, potency. Though potency wasn't as critical, as it only decided the type of ability you had. The more powerful of abilities, like Claudia's, the slightly darked the Aura, while an ability like that Jill woman that could change the color of things she touched, the lighter the Aura. All different shades of gold.

But it was the quantity, the amount of Aura one had that truly decided how strong you where. Simply put, the more Aura you had, the longer you could fight, the more damage you could heal before losing consciousness. But most importantly, the greater the innate benefits provided by Aura; Enhanced physical strength, stamina, vision, hearing, and the faster you healed from wounds.

"You've lost." William told the Royal, she was kneeling, wincing and grimacing. The wounds on her stomach and shoulder were nearly healed, though she was still feeling pain. "Leave before I double your pain."

"... tsk." The Royal frowned, but nodded.

***

Claudia saw Royal, Else, stand then walk away into the night. William turned toward the nearby building, where the Royal with the laser was, then ran towards it, taking long powerful strides.

"Come." Claudia said to Obex, who had remained quite after their last conversation a minute ago, looking thoughtful. "Let's go see what they did to Mermaid."

"What about your brother?" He said, after a brief pause.

"He'll be fine." Claudia assured him. "He'll deal with the laser guy. Come on. I want to know what they inject Mermaid with."

They got out of the car, and approached the superhero, Mermaid. She was bloodied and bruised, laying in the street, unable to stand. Her leg was broken.

"Hey, hey...." Claudia kneeled beside her. Her face looked drugged, fatigued. "You alright, Sara?"

Sara looked up, squinting her eyes, trying to see in the dark. 

"What did they do to you?" Obex asked from behind Claudia.

"I... don't know, but-" She raised her hand in front of her. "I feel tired, really tried. And... I can't ignite my Aura. I... oh god... I can't ignite my Aura!"

Claudia could see the terror, the worry, appear in her eyes."Hey, hey, it's going to be alright." Claudia held her, helping her stand with Obex's held, arms around their neck. "It's probably an ability dampener serum." It was an educated guess, it wouldn't be surprising if the Lord Ruler had developed a serum to temporarily remove abilities. Lady had hinted at it, at least.

"Where are we taking her." Obex asked.

Just then, William returned, he also looked tried, though his reason was for overusing his ability. After fighting so many Royals at once, who wouldn't be. Three of those Royals lay unciousios on the streets, the laser guy was probably too, and the blonde one retreated, battered and defeated. It wont be long before rescue came.

"We'll take he to our base." Claudia said, in response to Obex. "I hope you don't mind a detour."