Chapter 69: Message Sent

Trying to apply rational thought to Veta's motivations would be a monumental waste of time. For now, she clearly wants him here, which is a very good thing. Because Veta currently holds all the cards—she could ditch him or kill him anytime, if she wants.

So he'll have to play by some of her rules, until he can gain the upper hand. Until then, the fact that Veta feels she needs him is very good temporary protection.

And if he really thinks about it, Veta's motivations don't truly matter. What's much more important is that, right now, it's in his best interest to team up with Veta. That's because all evidence of President Victon's deal has been destroyed, so he has to find Miss Artillery .And Veta is the only one who knows how to do that fast enough.

He might be able to work it all out on his own with some time and his Powers back, but with his parents' execution looming, his Powerless status, and an entire nation hunting him, time is a luxury he does not have.

Unfortunately, Veta has the gathered intelligence and the perfect Power set to see him through this as quickly as possible.

So he knows he has to work with Veta right now. Which leaves him asking himself one very important question, how is he possibly going to reconcile teaming up with his once-greatest enemy?

He knows that very soon he's probably going to find himself in a situation under immense pressure and without any time to think, so deciding what he wants to do now will most definitely affect how he acts later.

It may sound insane, but after entering Veta's mind and seeing this new side of her, he's beginning to feel that she truly is a kindred spirit, in so many ways.

Though he imagines that mostly everyone in his life, especially Juhi, would have a serious problem with this.

Not having the emotional energy to deal with that thought right now, he bury these feelings.

"This is all rather scintillating," Juhi finally says, breaking the silence. "But I'd like to get the hell out of here. Now."

"Yes, quite right," Veta says, walking towards her Telepoint drawer. "You played your part rather nicely, Ms.Yuu."

"And I'm not done playing it yet," Juhi says. "Before I go, I want to have a word with Travis. Alone."

Juhi stares down an indignant Veta, letting her know she means business.

"Fine. I'll see Terry in the bathroom, then," Veta huffs, stomping towards the only door in the room. She disappears inside with Terry and once she does, Juhi turns to Travis.

"You know this is her lair, right?" Travis start. "She can probably still hear—"

"I know, it doesn't matter," Juhi sighs. "This will just go faster without her constant rambling."

"Since Karla was traumatized, I've devoted my life to a cause that was very important to her, reporting the truth about The Meek movement. I've spent months trying to expose the truth about them without much luck—they've got their secrets locked up tight," Juhi says, talking as fast as her sister used to, her words nearly jumbling together.

"But what's going on right here, this mission you and Veta are tackling, it could be the bullet that kills the entire organization. Not to mention that President Victon's fraud might be the biggest story of the century. So I'm going to help you get where you need to go, because the moment you find Miss Artillery, I'm going to be the reporter to break the story."

"That's fine," Travis answered.

"Good," Juhi finishes. "Lastly, I need you to know I am not doing this for you, or because I forgive you in any way. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Travis says, because he doesn't really have the time to get into it with Juhi right now. Besides, he needs all the help he can get, no matter what the reason.

"Stupendous," Juhi sighs. "Now here, give me your wrist."

"We need to upgrade the anti-tracking functions on your H-Chip," Juhi says as she fiddles with the H-Chip in Travis wrist. "You have a decent security package, but it won't be enough. I need to take your H-Chip into shadow territory."

"Can you do th—"

"Of course I can," Juhi interrupts. "I'm one of the world's finest undercover reporters. The only person who has ever been able to find me when I wanted to stay hidden is standing in that bathroom with a pet dinosaur."

Juhi takes a rare pause to sigh, then continues rapid-firing her words. "Anyway, this should keep your H-Chip signature untraceable. I've also established a secure, encrypted line to my H-Chip so you and I can communicate, but you should not use your H-Chip for any other communications or transactional functions."

"Not even spending money?" Travis asks, wondering how he'll manage that.

"Especially not, since it's one of the easiest tracking methods," Juhi explains. "But I have an idea about how to put your bank account to good use."

"So, what do you think?"

Juhi has just walked him through a report on his updated image and the latest national sentiment since President Victon's announcement and the police raid.

Fortunately, the combination has actually managed to lower anti-Powered sentiment to 20. It looks like President Victon's extreme tactics did not fully resonate with the nation.

However, his own image suffered a blow, most likely because he was seen working with Veta. This isn't ideal, but right now, his Power level is actually at the bottom of his list of concerns—he knows he'll find a way to build it back up, just as he has time and time again over the course of his career.

Especially once he's able to tell the public the truth about Miss Artillery and the reason he's teaming up with Veta. Right now, doing so would only endanger the success of his mission by disclosing his motives to his enemies.

Juhi also generated a media trend report on the damage that Travis did to the Victon administration and The Meek movement since The Hero Project Finale. She summed it up by calculating something she named Regime Damage Points—the number of points reflects the image damage he has done to the Victon and Meek regime. Obviously, the more points he rack up, the more damage he inflicts.

Since he helped Jenny finish her investigation flawlessly, she was able to expose The Hero Project conspiracy and majorly tarnish the Victon and Meek regime. Combining that with a point gain for standing up to the police.

Juhi promised that he's sure to have many more opportunities to score Regime Damage Points over the course of his upcoming mission, especially since she'll be helping him rack them up by delivering any public announcements he wants to send directly to the public.

Now that Travis has become a Unique Powered icon, he has a platform and a following that will be looking to him for leadership.

So far the public has seen that he has been subjected to huge plots, but now he's going to show them that he's standing up for what he knows is right and redefining his own rules. And Juhi will be putting her own life and reputation on the line to make sure Travis voice is truly heard.

Her first suggestion to help him do so is to transfer money from his soon-to-be-frozen bank account to purchase some prominent ad space. Obviously, the more people his message reaches, the more Regime Damage Points he'll score. Sometimes, money truly is power.

"I'll purchase the ad space as soon as I leave this infernal hole," Juhi says, but Travis is distracted as Aphrodite pops up to approve the transfer.

Once he does approve it, Juhi's H-Chip, which is nothing more than a shadowy silhouette, slinks up to Aphrodite to retrieve the transfer.

"Now, what do you want your message to the public to say?" Juhi asks.

Travis pauses to consider his answer, but then realizes he knows exactly what he wants to say.

"You all know what the Fade name, and what the hero Gravitate, has always stood for. Today, I have two priorities. Championing the kind of freedom that all Americans, Powered and unPowered, deserve. And standing against the discriminatory principles heralded by President Victon. In keeping with this stance, I encourage all those who share my vision to follow my example and act on your beliefs."

Travis finishes speaking, knowing that there's no more he need to say. For now, at least.

"Consider the message sent," Juhi says, her eyes twitching back and forth as she takes her mental notes. "Now…"

Juhi is distracted as Veta reenters the lair with Terry in her arms. Terry is wrapped in a dirty towel and lies eerily still. Seeing this, Juhi's jaw drops.

"Please tell me you did not just…"

"Terry was suffering greatly," Veta says, her voice cold. "And I don't know when I'll be able to come back to take care of her. So I put her out of her misery. Unless, of course, you would have offered to take her in?"

Juhi is silent and so is Travis. Because for better or worse, Travis knows this is Veta's idea of mercy.

"Don't presume you know what it is to be a stray, you uppity witch," Veta says, feeling the judgment thrown her way. "Now let's see to your swift exit."