Chapter 2

William prepared himself his usual breakfast; eggs, bacon, and toasts. The T.V. was on, showing the morning news. It was about superheroes, of which has been a rise in the last couple of years. William wondered if the Lord Ruler had predicted that when he put Royals in control. Still, it was an inevitable outcome of having Royals rule with an abusive streak. Strong Ability-Users who had had enough and wanted to use their power to protect, would don the mask in an to keep certain zones around the city relatively safe from Royal bullying. Events like what had happened at the Clam with the Royals and the couple, were rare on those aptly named Safe Zones. Fights broke out less frequently and there was less property damage.

Aside from putting the Royals in their place by fighting power with power, being a superhero had the added benefit of keeping one's identity hidden. William considered being one himself, but one could not hide their identities forever. The Royals would eventually find you, and because of this, no superhero lasted for more than two years before getting caught. Not that that ever stopped the good ones from trying. William didn't want to take that risk.

"...and now for our top news today. A new Superhero made their second appearance last week." The newswoman was saying. "Calling himself the Guardian of High Tier. He fought two Royals and defeated them both..."

William looked over at his sister. She was still frying her eggs in the oven. "Who's he?" William pointed at the T.V. It showed a video of a masked man inside a golden barrier, protecting himself from a Royal's red laser beam. The barrier was cracked.

"He," Claudia said, filling herself a cup of orange juice. "Is the reason why I came to see you. Or rather, one of the reasons."

"So you don't know." William said. Then he realized. "Ah, I see... Claudia, I don't know if me going out there again is a good idea." His sister was part of a shadow organization named Spectre which sought and worked closely with superheroes. In fact, it was better to say that superheroes worked for Spectre, rather than with. They had records of all known heroes in the city. Information on their relatives, where they live, about their jobs, and more. It was mostly to help keep their identities from reaching Royal authorities by manipulating that information. Creating alibis for when they went out superhero-ing.

"The Guardian is strong, William." Claudia said, gesturing towards the T.V. The newswoman was now giving the usual reminder - more a warning than a reminder really - that superheroes should not interfere in Royal business. No matter how powerful a superhero was, they would always get caught. Their identities would be revealed and their abilities stripped.

"He's as strong as Robert," Claudia continued. "and with a more useful ability to boot. We need this guy on our side, Will."

William sighed. He had quit Spectre after an incident two years ago where he was almost discovered. Because of it, the Royals already had suspicions of someone in the city who was able to use two abilities. An impossibility - It was well documented and known to all around the world that only one ability was granted per Ability-User - so they dismissed the idea and made up some lie for the media. Denial saved William that day from Royal hunts. If they discovered that he could...

He shook his head. "I can't help you sis."

Claudia was silent for a moment. William noticed a hint of pain in her eyes. "Zale's been captured last month." She said. She looked like she was holding back tears. "His ability's gone. He was our best Scout and he..." She trailed off, taking a moment to compose herself. "But right now, I'm the best we've got. And you're the best I've got, Will. Being able to sense and see Aura makes you the best Scout."

William sighed. "I told you before, I'm done with Spectre. And I can't spend too many nights out waiting for that Guardian guy to show up, I've got to help Orion repair the Clam. Besides, you do remember the incident, don't you?"

"I do." Claudia walked over, breakfast in hand, and sat opposite him. "And there's no need for waiting." She took a bite off her sandwich then pointed behind her at the T.V. It showed a wanted poster of the Guardian. Whoever turns him in would be rewarded handsomely by the Royals.

"He agreed to meet with Time Witch tonight at High Tier." She said. "All you'll be doing is standing there next to me and wait for him to show us his ability."

"Wait! How did you manage to arrange a meeting if you haven't even met the guy?"

She was silent for a moment, remembering something, before speaking. "I'll give you the details later. Will you help me? Just this once."

William sighed, then nodded. "Alright, okay. But this is the last time." Saying no to his sister was rather difficult for him.

"Great! And while we wait..." She took a sip of her orange juice and smiled. "It's been awhile since we last saw each other huh?"

"It has..." William raised an eyebrow.

"Then how about we take a walk through the park like old times, and catch up? There's a lot I want to tell my big brother about."

"Like what happened to Zale?"

Her smile faded. "Yeah. I'll tell you about that too."

William nodded and resumed eating, continuing to watch the news. They finished their breakfast in silence. Claudia washed the dishes afterwards. Then, after getting ready, they headed out to Morningside Park.

****

"But damn it's been so looong." Claudia said, taking a zip of her frozen coffee drink. "I've been spending the last couple month stuck between four walls looking at nothing but screens all day."

The two walked through a crowed section of Morningside Park after having had lunch at some cheap café. The afternoon sun bathed Lowtown with warmth light while the people went about enjoying their weekend. They also haven't encountered a Royal yet. So far, it has been an ideal day. The type of day that William likes.

They walked in silence for a while before William decided to finally ask; "So... about Zale?"

Claudia stopped. She was silent for a moment, then said; "It was my fault. I was the one that asked him to help and he..."

William noticed she was trying to hold back tears again. "Hey," He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. It's fine."

She shook her head and straighten up. "No its fine. I want to. Let's sit down first."

They found a secluded bench overlooking a small lake. "We got a lead on the Guardian's identity," She started, after a long moment. "and I wanted to investigate it. So I decided to ask Zale to come with. But when we got there, we found two Elites. That's when..." She paused.

Elites was the term everyone in New Miami used to describe the Lord Rulers top Royals. Those with the strongest ability.

"Why where they there?" William asked.

Claudia shrugged. "They must've found the same lead we got, maybe. Zale wanted to leave immediately, but I-I... Like an idiot, I was desperate. We were so close too. Things went south and we were forced to fight."

Knowing Zale, William guessed what had happened next.

"I thought I could at least get some information out of the Elites. But they were too strong." Claudia raised her hand in front of her and closed it into a first. "Turns out, two Elites is too much for the Time Witch. Zale had to jump in and..."

William placed a comforting arm around her. He didn't need to hear the rest. He knew Zale enough to know what had probably happened. No doubt he got captured in the process.

"What about the rest of the crew?" William asked. "How is everyone else doing? Arlong? Maya? Jake?"

Claudia seemed glad for the change in conversation. They spent the next couple hours talking about the past. Back when William worked for Spectre. Back when they used to go on missions together, gathering information and recruiting superheroes. It was late afternoon when they decided to head back to the apartment.

Claudia filled William in on what she intended to do at the meeting with the Guardian. They were to meet at midnight in High Tier, on the roof of a chosen building. The Guardian had agreed to discuss Spectre and what it stood for. He also wanted his identity safe during the interaction, so they had agreed to be in costume. Claudia had hers on already.

Her plan was simple enough; She was to talk to the Guardian and get him to show his ability in front of William. William could then record the Guardian's Aura to track him afterwards. Every Ability-User had a unique type of Aura which worked like fingerprint. They emit that Aura when using their power. William was able to identify that fingerprint and record it. It wasn't really recording - he called it recording, sure - but it was more remembering than anything else. After seeing an Ability-Users' Aura for the first time during activation, he could then see that Aura whenever he wished. For some reason it didn't work with videos recording. It was how he was able to identify Royals within a crowd without having to check for the golden bracelet the the Lord Ruler force them to wear at all times. It helped that Royals fought often for the most insignificant reason, and they used their abilities almost every time.

But most importantly, it was how William was going to be able to identify the Guardian without his mask after their meeting tonight.

William put on his own costume. The costume, wasn't exactly a costume in the comic book sense. It was just regular clothes; A pair of jeans with a hoodie. In Claudia's case, she wore a red hoodie with white stripes and a red face-mask. William also wore a hoodie, though his was all black. He covered his face with a scarf of the same color.

"Ready to go?" Claudia said, picking up her car keys from the table. In the front of her hoodie was painted the symbol of a white hourglass and right bellow it was written the words; Time Witch.

"You know I still think that's a silly name for a superhero." William told her.

Claudia shrugged then smiled. "But is it the silliest?"

"I guess not." William was surprised at the names people come up with for their superhero names. He pulled over his hoodie. "Alright, lets go."

"I'm driving."

William followed his sister out, locking the door behind. She drove with both hands on the wheel, always keeping her speed below the limit though the streets were mostly empty this late at night. Claudia has always been careful about the things she did. Which meant that finding the identity of this Guardian guy was important to her. Important enough that she had already disregarded caution with Zale.

After leaving Lowtown - the city was divided into zones, each with their own name - she took a highway road towards High Tier; The rich zone. The part of the city where the rich and powerful lived. Here were the homes of most of the Royals and those that suck up to them. Untrustworthy people who found the best way to stay on the Royals' good graces was by turning over those they suspected were Ability-Users. They also happened to work with the Royal Authorities. The zone consisted mostly of large houses with gardens and patios. A few buildings were scattered throughout, many of which were apartment buildings.

It was also the location of the most important building in the city; Imperium. Though calling it a building might be an understatement. Its size was that of a skyscraper, towering over the city like a spire. It's roof mere feet's away from touching the dome. It was also a bit odd that Imperium stood right at the dome's center, though the building itself was closer to the western side of the city.

At the top of that massive structure lived the Lord Ruler. The most power Ability-User in New Miami. Many had attempted to take him down. Many were still trying, and no doubt will continue to do so. None had yet succeeded in even seeing the man's face. As it stood, the Lord Ruler was unreachable. Untouchable. The City was ruled by a single man whom only a selected few had the privilege of talking to.

Because of this, the public head of the city, whom the Lord Ruler spoke through, was Head Mayor Beodulf Hernandez.

"We're here." Claudia said. They arrived at a quiet neighborhood with a single building not nearly half the size of Imperium. She parked a safe distance away then turned off the vehicle. She looked at the time. "Though it seems we're a bit early." She got out and motioned at William. "Let's go."

They walked up to the building. Two of its lower windows were lit though they were covered, at least. They lookig around the area; The streets and sidewalks were empty, and most of the houses around were dark, and those that weren't were too far to notice them.

"Seems we're clear." Claudia said.

William looked up at the building. "How are we supposed to get up to the roof?"

"I hope you're not serious." Claudia said. She activated her ability, her Aura bursting to life, like a match being lit. Unlike the Royals from the Clam - and most Royals actually - her Aura was larger. A golden vapor emitting from her chest and covering her whole body. To William it looked like she was being consumed by flames that did not burn.

"Meet you at top?" She said, then jumped, the ground beneath her feet cracking a little. She flew with incredible speed, landing gracefully on the edge of the roof. She surveyed the area, then looked down. "Come on Will, coast's clear."

William nodded, then activated his ability. Though he was able to see others' Aura, like his sister's a moment ago, for some reason he could not see his own. His Aura only become visible to him after copying an ability. That's what he was about to do now. He tapped into the power of his Aura and even though he could not see it, he felt it. A rejuvenating warmth burning within him. He began to change and transform his Aura to match that of his sister's. It was then that he saw the familiar golden vapor, filling him with power. By doing this, he had essentially mimicked Claudia's ability. Or at least a version of it.

Her ability was time manipulation. But what allowed her to make that jump wasn't the ability itself, but the innate enhancement that Aura provides to all Ability-Users. An enhancement to strength, speed, and senses.

William looked around the neighborhood again, double checking just to be sure. Satisfied, he jumped. Cold air whip at his face as he flew upwards. He landed beside his sister with a rough thud.

"And now we wait."