Chapter 14: HGHQ

"I was hoping that you might know what this is from your Splice run-ins," Black Magic says, placing a hand on Travis's shoulder—a touch that threatens to buckle his knees. She does smell good….

"So does it ring any bells?"

Of course, if that is a Telepoint, it's probably the only way to access the secret place where Static has stockpiled his evidence against The Splice Circle.

But if he tells Black Magic this, they have to work together—assuming she decides to include him in the next step of the investigation at all. However, if he doesn't tell Black Magic, getting ahold of that pen might be tricky business….

"As a matter of fact, I know exactly what- Arrrggghhhh!"

Suddenly, his brain feels like it has been split open. He fell to the ground, wondering if someone had taken an ice-cold blade and plunged it directly into his temple.

Several images also begin to flash through his mind: a much younger Black Magic stands in front of a much younger Madame Vice in a dimly lit room. Madame Vice has a grin on her face as Black Magic begins to dance, peeling off her costume….

Just as soon as this image sears itself into his brain, another replaces it. This time, he's in a bed and Black Magic hangs over him, her lips lightly touching his neck….

As much as he likes that last image, it burns so badly he think he might pass out.

Then the pain disappears as quickly as it came.

"What the-" Travis gasp, trying to ignore the dull buzzing at the base of his skull.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't risk you lying to me," Black Magic says. "The Thought Swap is one of my more painful spells but it was necessary."

"So that was…" Travis try to say, still finding it hard to form words. "I saw your…"

"We swapped our most prominent thoughts," Black Magic explains. "I saw your knowledge of the Telepoint and you saw my memory of my first meeting Madame Vice, from the beginning of my career. I was having a hard time pushing that thought from my mind today."

"And the other scene…?" Travis ask.

"That second scene was where our thoughts met," Black Magic says with a grin, eyes boring into him. "I like the way your brain feels, by the way…."

"Uh... Thanks?" Travis says, he's confused.

But Black Magic just walks across the roof, away from him.

"I knew that the pen was emitting some kind of special energy," she continues. "Telepoints are tricky things…I know a spell that can activate it but I need to recharge. That Thought Swap took quite a lot out of me. We should head back to The Hoshi Group headquarters."

He's about to tell Black Magic that he was able to override a Telepoint on his own a few weeks ago but he stopped himself. The Hoshi Group HQ is supposed to be one of the most amazing buildings in all of HC. No matter what his feelings on team-ups are, he's not going to pass up an opportunity to see how real heroes live—and maybe even meet some of them.

The excitement doesn't have much time to settle, however, as something long and metal suddenly screeches between him and Black Magic, crackling with grey energy.

"Watch out!" Black Magic screams. Travis dodge the tentacle arm just in time, leaping back onto the nearest roof and catching a glimpse of his attackers, four robotic creatures that remind him of automatic pool sweepers. They have sleek, globular cores that host a swinging tentacle, which is armed with a blade-tip and energy cannons.

After he evades the pool-killers, they zero in on Black Magic.

"Free me Black Magic! remove the handcuffs on me!" Travis shouts at Black Magic.

Black Magic nods and rushes to him, she immediately opens the handcuffs. Travis starts to build a powerful surge in his forearms as soon as he got free, knowing one large blanket blast should be enough to disable the pool-killers. Soon feeling ready to burst, he let the energy loose.

However, instead of one wide blast, a massive pulse emits from his entire body. The black energy wave still incinerates all of the pool-killers on contact, but was way overkill. Even Black Magic has to shield herself to keep from getting scorched.

What the hell? That's the second time his powers have surged unexpectedly like that. Looking down at his smoking forearms, he wonder why this keeps—

"Efficient display, Gravitate," Black Magic says. "What a harmonious Power set you have. It really does instill confidence in your abilities."

"What were those things?" Travis asks, just wanting to change the subject from his Power flare.

"I have no idea but I'd bet they're a present from Madame Vice," Black Magic says. "Whatever they are, we don't have time for this. I have just enough spell Power left to get us back to The Hoshi Group HQ. I can recharge and do the ritual on the Telelock there. You coming?"

"Of course,"

"Then stand close to me," Black Magic says, and Travis have no trouble doing so. He's about to put his hand on her arm when she says, "Porttrans Quartershead."

Suddenly, he feels as if someone has thrown him into the middle of a hurricane. Wind rips at his body and he opens his mouth to scream, but before he knows it, he finds himself in the foyer of the HGHQ.

And it's completely surreal.

Located on HC's western shore, the HGHQ is a sleek tower shaped like a massive bullet. Currently, he stand in a dazzlingly white foyer overlooking the ocean. The walls are lined with wax-tech statues of every Hoshi Group member, dating all the way back to the original roster.

What he wouldn't give to have a statue like that someday….

"Come with me," Black Magic says, walking toward a bank of elevators. Travis snaps out of it and follows, his eye catching a holographic map of the headquarters.

Travis starts to think about how much fun it would be to explore the tech center, but then his eyes settle at the top of the hologram, which shows the residential levels. Each Group member gets their own first-class luxury floor, with 360-degree views of the Pacific Ocean and downtown HC (or so he heard). Of course, the top three penthouse levels belong to Rebellion….

"Greetings, Black Magic," a soothing automated voice says. "How may I help you?"

"Hey Prossy," Black Magic says, "Gravitate here is my guest and we need to go to the Mission Control Hub. Can you request that the other Group members meet us there along with Officer Spillane? I've got a lead on the Splice Circle case."

"Processing requests now," says the automated voice. "Well done, Black Magic, by the way."

"Thanks, Prossy," Black Magic says as the doors swing open to reveal a glass elevator overlooking Hoshi City. She steps inside and motions for him to follow.

"That's Processor, she's the building's operating system. She also happens to be the Group's oldest member, an artificial intelligence construct that…"

"…was the Group's first computer system back in the twenty-first century, but has since evolved into one of the most advanced sentient AI beings on the planet," Travis finished, never one to be outdone on his heroic history. Plus, H-Chip Aphrodite has always had quite the H-Crush on Processor.

"Yes, some people think that Japanese Wire-Maiden is the most advanced, but Prossy is actually scheduled for a systems upgrade that's supposed to kick her ass," Black Magic says. "And you should see her mainframe body since she decided to gender identify—she's got a legendary rack."

Travis starts to chuckle but it catches in his throat as the glass elevator flies away from the wall and shoots diagonally downward. He feel his stomach lurch as the elevator enters a complex network of twisting tubes.

"You going to be OK there, champ?" Black Magic asks, smiling.

Before he can even gain his bearings, the elevator doors swing open and Black Magic strides forward. She makes a few quick turns down slick, metal corridors and finally enters a large room. He follows and tries to catch his breath, but lose it entirely as he walk inside.

The Hoshi Group is assembled before him.

Black Magic walks inside and takes her seat next to Ellaine.

"And who is this?" Ellaine says in a thick South African accent, looking Travis over from head to toe. He swears he can feel his skin start to prickle under her gaze.

"There'll be plenty of time for introductions in the official debrief," someone says as they enter, nearly knocking Travis over. He's about to say something until he realizes that the voice belongs to none other than Rebellion.

The sight of his idol, decked out in his simple blue-and-gold fatigues, nearly makes Travis faint. He has quite the intimidating presence, which is helped considerably by his seven-foot height. Rebellion's eyes also glow a dim orange, pulsating with Power.

"Now if our guest might take a seat, we can begin," Rebellion says as he stands at the head of the table, the impatience in his voice unhidden.

Travis forces his legs to move and he sit in the nearest empty seat, which he hope doesn't belong to someone more important. As he settled in, he tried to will his heart to stop pounding in his chest because this is absolutely unreal.

Last month he didn't even have his hero license and today he's sitting at a Mission Control debrief with The Hoshi freaking Group, led by Rebellion. It's certainly enough to make his head spin….

This is the opportunity of a lifetime, so he had better not screw it up.

"You remind me of Hoshinoro." Rebellion says, in a serious voice.

"Who? me?" Travis asked because no one in this room is saying anything.

"Yes... you... Hoshinoro is my sidekick or more like my best friend but he has gone missing by the time I became the leader of this group..."

Travis is about to say something but Rebellion started speaking again, "Anyways, let's forget about that.." Rebellion starts the meeting.

Twenty Minutes later.

Black Magic has given the rundown on the Telepoint findings and their encounter with the pool-killers. Travis thought he might be asked to speak but, aside from a brief acknowledgment of his Telepoint tip, everyone ignored his presence entirely.

Rebellion's plan formed quickly: Black Magic is to report to the hospital floor for immediate recharging. Once restored, she will discern the location of Static's evidence stockpile from the Telepoint. If the evidence is successfully secured by the MCPD, The Hoshi Group will then take action against The Splice Circle (whose current whereabouts are to be researched remotely by Processor).

Travis hoped he might get a chance to introduce himself to Rebellion but he was out of the door before he could even stand up, followed by Officer Spillane (who sent him a rather dirty look on her way out). He dreamed of meeting Rebellion for years, rehearsed speeches and introductions, but this all turned out to be rather…anticlimactic.

Now, as the other Group members begin to stir, he has no idea what he's supposed to do. Luckily, Black Magic approaches him on her way out.

"Stick around," she says, placing a hand on Travis's hip. "Things are about to heat up."

Everything has happened so fast, he barely had time to think about what he really want with Black Magic.

Black Magic seems perfect in just about every way and Travis can't stop thinking about her. He feels there's something potentially deep between the two of them—hopefully he'll have the opportunity to find out.

"What should I do while you're gone?" Travis ask.

"The other Group members will probably just hang around until our next order," Black Magic says, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Go talk to them. Consider it a part of your 'Minterview,' as they call it."

Before he can respond, Black Magic winks at him and strides toward the door. "You didn't think I brought you here just for giggles, did you? Play nice, now."

With that, Black Magic leaves him with the rest of the Group. So he isn't just here to help—he's here to audition for The Hoshi Group? That's insane. Why on earth would they want a rookie like him on the team, especially one with his brief-but-miserable track record?

He knows without a doubt that he want to be a part of a community of heroes as prestigious as The Hoshi Group. But he certainly learned that it's useless to obtain opportunities that he's not ready to handle…