Chapter 35: Change

"He's changing and... I don't know if it's for the better. The world is going to shit. We're entering a cold war last seen in the 60s." Jenny gloomily spoke into her phone, taking a swig of beer, "Britain is losing control of the situation. The job has been done; I did what I had to. I want what I'm owed..."

She took another heavy gulp as the other side responded, the veins in her eyes, vivid and popping, "Death is coming for me; I can feel it. You know the diagnosis, what happens to those with my condition... the slow decline, the decay. I don't want to die..."

Her knees started shaking, knocking the underside of the table gently, having another portion of her drink which she finished. Listening to the other side, she stood up to get another beer out of a small fridge before shouting into the device, "Bullshit! Volta Decay is survivable! Don't back out of our deal. You know the consequences if you do. We both do. We're in this together, and if I expose it, we'll die together."

Huffing as she settled back into her seat, she quietly snorted as she paid attention to their reply.

"Good." Jenny sighed in relief, "I'll await the next steps. T-... What about him?" She sighed again, exasperated, "The kid's mental state isn't good. I... worry for him. Too much has happened too quickly. I fear he's on the brink. The edge. And once he's crossed it, there's no turning back."

Her fingers still shaking, moist with sweat, she grabbed a packet of cigarettes from her drawer, opened it, and put one to her lips. Setting it aflame with a lighter from her pocket, she took a deep breath, blowing it out in contentment.

"Alright. We're playing a dangerous game here. One misstep and it all comes falling down. I'll hold my side of the bargain as long as you hold yours." She said, taking another puff, "Good."

With the call cut, she leaned back into her chair. She placed her legs atop the desk in front of her, no boots on when inside her home. Rolling the trousers far up, Jenny stared at her limb, the veins coloured dark green. Jenny grimaced, her eyes watering as she quickly rolled her fatigues back down, placing her head on the top of the chair.

Staring at the plain, light blue ceiling, she looked back at old memories. Times: when things were good, uncomplicated and relaxed, before her worst recollections.

'8 years. It feels so distant now. I wonder... if it'll all be worth it in the end.'

Far above, obscured by the clouds, Mark sat, floating. The tablet was missing, his burning eyes staring at the pale grey moon which hung in the black sky. He didn't know how long he'd been up there, planes had come and gone throughout, yet he remained stationary. The visions tormented him constantly, blurring the lines of fiction and reality, memory and hallucination. So many had died by his hands, some voluntarily; many not. Yet, what happened earlier, stuck out in his head like a sore thumb. He had murdered someone. There was no assault or any particular reason. Visiting her, he expected insults towards his family; he had heard it all before. But Elise, someone he held so very dear to his heart, who brought him out of his pit of despair, caused him to get emotional. And in that anger, he forgot what he was. What he has become. Similar but so vastly different, a simple push for him, but not to them. Humans are so fragile. The demons, even in all their glory, died as simply as any other.

The population would never accept him, their fear the only thing that keeps them in line. Governments will abuse his naivety and inexperience, and corporations will attempt to profit off him. It had barely been a week, and they were already starting, selling him off like a product, an object. It was ironic, Mark thought, that Barak would advise him on this, despite his allegiance to those now trying to conquer him. Perhaps, even Jenny wasn't being truthful; ulterior motives for her kindness. He didn't know. Secrets hide beneath everyone, each with decades of experience to choose their stances and forge connections.

'Yet here I am. Everything gone. No family; friends who know me no longer and people I thought associates, using me for their own gain.'

He clenched his fists, the joints cracking audibly, as he sighed. The base, the government, the betrayal. He needed to get out. He would help people, but not with the backing of a state. Trust has been lost between them, and no country seemed incredibly faithful. He would make his own way in the world, learning from past and future mistakes, to be the best version of himself. A version to make his family proud.

"Is he still up there?" Barak asked a binocular-wielding man, gazing into the horizon. His eyes were dark, like black eyes, red veins running through them.

"Yes, Sir."

"Tsk, goddammit." He muttered to himself as he shook his head, "Conference is at 2. It's 8 now... so 6 hours. We have time."

"Do you want to send a drone, Sir?" The soldier questioned.

"Send one if he's not come down by 10. Let me know if he's back or when you send it."

"Will do, Sir."

Walking inside to his destination, his private office, he rubbed his temples in contemplation. Entering the room and locking the door, he sat on the cushy chair as a multitude of holographic screens littered the air in front of him. A keyboard appeared, his hands resting upon it like a physical item, a finger hovering over the 'Enter' key.

Believing it was time, he pressed it, the monitors flicking to black screens as the call went out. Within two minutes, each was filled with a figure. There were seven in total, including Barak.

"As if it isn't the Shadow Man himself. Been a while since ya called, Barak. Whatcha want?" A gruff, masculine voice spoke out.

"Fuck the rest of the candidates. We've got our man." Barak replied instantly.

A female was the first to respond, "Ha! Bold words, B. You sure you wanna stick with em'?"

"He's the one. No doubts. We've searched long, and now we've found the one. We don't need outside help, either. He'll make up for it with his presence alone."

"You sure, Barak? We've waited a decade. We can wait a decade more." The first male voice said.

"I'm sure. As long as you agree, we can move on to the next stage. The Black Guard also favours him, so progress is starting already."

"Hmm, now I am excited, B. Is he handsome?" The female joked, her tone sultry.

After she was finished, the gruff, harsh man talked, "Sasha, shut it. Who is it? To gain the Black Guard's trust... they have to be quite extraordinary."

"He is. I presume you've all seen the 'alien' or flying human-"

Interrupting him, another male spoke up, "Fuck off! No way you're sayin' he's the one."

"Tsk. Ed, shut up. He's the one. Been at the base for the past week, but he's changed in such a short time. He's growing into a leader, the harsh realities of the world settling in. He's strong, stronger than you can imagine. We've found our head." Barak passionately said, silence lingering after he finished.

"He favour the cause?" Someone questioned, another male, different to the other two.

"I'm not 100%. Enough that he'd give us the time of day, I'd say. Give him a few weeks and certain... events to occur. Then he'll come. I guarantee it."

The gruff man spoke next, his tone stern and commanding, "I like it, Shadow Man-"

Barak tutted to himself, slight annoyance radiating from his figure, "Please stop calling me that, Victor."

"Haha! I'm the boss, and Shadow Man ain't a bad nickname." The male replied jokingly before his tone became serious again, "I trust you, and so do the rest. So do what ya have to do. We'll meet again on Tuesday. Ed, Beck, Sash and Mack, get to the UK by Tuesday. Get a place for everyone. Eric and I will join you later in the week. We've got some... business to finish in Mexico. Understood?"

Getting positive affirmations from the group, he cut the call, the rest doing the same shortly afterwards, besides two.

"You sure about this, B? You'll be giving up everything for this. Are you sure it's worth it?" A sultry voice spoke to him, stopping him from cutting the call.

"... I'm sure, Sash."

"Ok, then. Don't work yourself too hard. I'll see you next week." She said, ending it.

'So much trust in me. I hope this goes well... don't fuck it up!' He reminded himself.

Getting out of his chair, he slumped himself into a sofa and got into a comfortable position. Closing his eyes, his mind devoid of anything to disrupt him, he fell asleep, allowing himself a short nap for his weary mind.

Awoken hours later by knocking, he pulled himself out of his slumber before replying to the noise, "Yes?"

"Sir, he's come down."

Rubbing his eyes, he grunted as he stood up, checking his suit for creases before putting his shades on. Ready, he exited and headed outside to meet Mark. Arriving in the cold, very light snow falling and settling on the ground, he spotted the young man.

"Glad you came down, Mark." Barak said, shivering.

"As much as I wish I could, I still can't hear." Mark replied, almost deadpan.

"Jacob. Where's the parcel that came earlier? The one Jenny got." Barak asked a surrounding soldier.

"It should be in Mark's room, Sir."

"Go fetch it for me. It's fragile, so be careful."

"Yes, Sir."

Mark watched the interaction, slightly confused as to why he wasn't given something to read but decided to wait it out. A few minutes later, the soldier returned, brown box in hand. He passed it to Mark, who proceeded to open it.

"What is it?" He questioned no one in particular, looking up.

"Put them in your ears." Barak spoke whilst gesturing to put them there.

They were small and shaped as cubes, pure white. Frowning at the man's signals, he put them towards his ears as they suddenly dissolved into a liquid-esque form, embedding themselves into his ears.

"What the fuck!?" He cried out, the sensation incredibly weird, before he paused, "I... can hear again?"

"Welcome to the future, Mark! Jenny got them for you. Not sure how, but they're from the Tayi Corporation. Apparently, they're one of the newer advancements in nanotechnology."

"...ok... that's pretty cool." Mark laughed, hearing everything again, "How they work? Thought implants wouldn't help me?"

"From what she told me and what I've gathered, they work like a more advanced version of hearing aids. Jenny said they are a prototype, and I figure they somehow send electrical signals to the brain that get converted into sound." The suited man stated, putting it as simply as he understood it.

"That's... convenient. Just before the big occasion. Why did she not mention this before?"

He shrugged, "I have no idea. I also have no idea how she got it from Tayi. We aren't on the best terms with France, so likely an inside connection. Who, I don't know."

"Hmm, right. W-"

Interrupting the young adult, Barak moved closer to Mark as he spoke in a hushed voice, "Beware that and Jenny, Mark. The big guy you fought had a Tayi sword. Jenny has somehow got you a prototype from the same company, and we only have vague certainties about who attacked us. The correlation is... suspicious. Just be careful."

Frowning at his words, the man moving back to where he was previously, Barak spoke in a normal tone, "Right. It is currently... 9:47, so we've got a few hours. I know the previous brief didn't go as planned, but there are still some things to know. You ok with it?"

"Tsk. Yeah, let's get this over with."

The next few hours passed speedily with no particularly new, unsettling news being delivered during the meeting. It was mainly a reinforcement of what had already been said. And thus, the time had arrived, droves of invited press arriving at Northwood Headquarters, marginally more south than the Watford facility.

Rows of chairs encapsulated the hall, a spacious room designed for occasions like this. The press hailed from across the world with the largest news networks and most reputable journalists being invited. They sat down, awaiting the big reveal, making idle conversation with each other: the questions they could ask, theories and conspiracies and a host of other issues. A few rooms away, Mark sat with Barak, Jenny and the press team, more interested in his hearing returning than the upcoming conference.

"So you like them, yeah?" Jenny questioned Mark as she inspected her gift.

"Of course. You have no idea how relieved I am. Staring at a screen the entire time 'cause I can't hear would be pretty lame." He replied, gently brushing his fingers over the white implants.

"You're welcome. Stylish too... not bad. Gotta look cool for the pictures." She winked, "How you feeling about it?"

"Ehh, so-so. It's intimidating that if I fuck up, I'd be in a bad situation. But, at the same time, it'd be nice to not have to hide constantly. Get to show off to everyone, yanno."

They both chuckled for a moment before Barak interjected, "Don't mean to ruin the mood, but you remember everything? Want to go over it again?"

Mark sighed, "Nah, I think I got it all."

"Good to hear. It'll start in 20. There were some technical issues, so you got a bit of time. Could be a good or bad thing depending on how you feel."

He groaned, "I'd lean towards the latter. Just wanna get it over and done with. Nerves are starting to creep in now there's a deadline."

"Heh, you'll be fine. Sophie will look after you. Just make sure you let her know if you've got an issue." Barak said, looking at the senior press advisor from yesterday.

"It'll be great fun, Mark!" Sophie enthusiastically spoke, "You get to do a demonstration and look cool in front of the cameras!"

"There's a fine line between something being cool and something being dangerous. Oftentimes, they go hand in hand. I just hope the latter isn't the dominant distinction the world makes."