[REND] 6.5 - Hero Wannabes, At Your Service

“So… are you guys with the Bureau of Interdimensional Defense?” I asked. Whatever story Dario would give, it wouldn’t be the truth. Not the complete truth, anyway.

“Not really,” Dario said. “We're under a different organization. A secret one.”

“The BID’s secret as fuck too,” said Reo. “Yeah, we get to see their scary agents, but they’re into shady business, no doubt. Don’t need to be a conspiracy theorist to tell you that.”

“The people behind us are more secretive than that,” Myra said. For some reason, she had taken it as her duty to counter everything Reo says. “Dario doesn’t even know the name of the organization we’re working for.”

“It hopefully stays that way,” Dario said. “For our sakes, and the sake of our country. Mostly, the latter. The consequences if the Corebrings discover that this—” he pointed at the pulsing thingy on his chest “—is the project of our government will be severely dire. The Corebrings will have no hesitation in repeating the Labor Day Purge—”

“Times a hundred,” Johann added. He mostly kept to himself while the rest of his group talked. My read on him was that he stayed to the side because he was the sole normal human of the group. Which led to the question of why he did not have any powers?

“A secret government organization,” I slowly said, looking around. “If that’s the case, I’m kind of expecting a bit more, you know? Uh, organization.”

“Having a base in an abandoned building does make us look like chumps, doesn’t it?” Reo commented with a snort.

“Three reasons,” Dario said. He held up a finger. “First is secrecy. The further we are from appearing as a government project, the better for secrecy purposes. Second, the vast majority of people in the government aren’t amenable to this… experiment, as you may imagine. Another reason to appear detached from the government.”

“Not just the government people,” Myra said. “Most people, period, wouldn’t support something like this.”

“And the third reason?” I asked, having an inkling of what it may be.

“I’ll answer that,” Reo said in a glum tone. “If things go south, it’s quite easy to… throw us away.”

“Exactly,” Dario said, staring me in the eye, then Deen.  

Because they look like a group of Adumbrae, I thought. Wait. Was Dario threatening us? By telling us all of this, we were trapped in the secret and could be ‘thrown away’ if we became liabilities. 

“This… organization,” Deen said. “It made the artificial Core?”

“Yes,” Dario said, donning his shirt. “What the Professor had told me—that’s the codename of our handler—is that they possess a Mother Fragment. They grew these artificial Cores from slivers of the Mother Fragment.”

I had some idea about Mother Fragments. If Mom used to tell me fairytales as bedtime stories, Dad would tell me stories related to his research. Not the science stuff. Stories like how the Adumbrae and Corebrings came to Earth.

Mother Fragments were inside meteorites that landed on Earth after the Adumbrae started appearing—these became the Cores of the first generation of Corebrings. After the Corebrings destroyed all of the Purple Blooms and things started to stabilize, they gave up their Mother Fragments to make the Mother Core. Something like that. The Hive was formed, and the Mother Core has been a factory of superpowered humans since then. Hard to believe that the government had a Mother Fragment—if this were true, then it never became part of the Mother Core.

“Our Cores aren’t really artificial if you think about it,” Reo said.

“Here we go again,” Everett said with a sigh.

“Hear me out, yeah?” continued Reo. He thumped his chest. “This thing was made from a Mother Fragment. It’s not artificial. Just the process is. We’re more real than present-day Corebrings.”

“How did this organization get a Mother Fragment?” I asked, not believing their story. Still, they had powers just the same. They could also be artificial Adumbrae, maybe rivals of our kidnappers. “Wouldn’t the Corebrings know if one of their important things is missing?”

Dario shrugged. “That’s not for me to know. It’s also not for me to confirm the truth of what was explained to me. The fact of the matter is that we have these artificial Cores, and they gave us powers as advertised. You have witnessed it for yourselves.”

“The people who kidnapped us… they can make Adumbrae,” Deen said aloud what I was thinking about. “One of them told us about it.”

“I hope you’re not suggesting what I think you are,” Reo evenly said, turning all serious again. “We’re not filthy Adumbrae. Don’t accuse us—”

“Watch your mouth!” Myra raised a fist. “Don’t forget that Kelsey is one, and it wasn’t her fault.”

Deen glanced at me. She didn’t know what was going on. I whispered, “I’ll tell you later.”

A wave of heavy pressure pressed on us for a second.

Dario said, “Everyone. Stop.” Two more pulses of pressure, one for each word.

He had radiated a sort of oppressiveness that made me instinctively want to curl up. It was a power different from the headache field. This guy wasn’t honest about his real power. I bet his codename was part of the misdirection.

“Amber raised a valid question,” Dario said. “The enemy makes Adumbrae. Our side makes Corebrings. How can we show that we’re different from them?”

“The 2Ms use those parasites,” Everett said. He had placed himself between Reo and Myra, who were glowering at each other. Pretending that he didn’t notice his teammates raring to fight, Everett continued, “They also make monsters, if that’s not a dead giveaway that they’re Adumbrae. Kills people. Eats people. Bad guys all the way through.”

“Um, I’m not saying I doubt you,” Deen said. “Sorry if it came out that way. It’s… just too much to take in.”

“Like, I can’t believe that the government makes Corebrings,” I added. Deen was frigging annoying with her thoughtless question. It was a valid point, but she shouldn’t have brought it up.

She couldn’t be thinking of asking for one of those artificial Cores… was she? She had offered Purple Mohawk that we’d be Adumbrae if that was the way to save our asses.

“If you’re asking us to prove what we have are Cores,” Dario said, “then it’s not within our capabilities to do so. You have the right to be concerned. Pondering it further, we are more likely to be Adumbrae, trying to trick you, than artificial Corebrings. But that is how things stand. I can’t force you to trust me.”

Saying it’s unbelievable doesn’t make it believable, I thought with a mental smirk. We didn’t have a choice but to ‘believe’ it. Wouldn’t surprise me if they agreed to show their powers to intimidate us.

“We trust you,” said Deen. “We don’t know who you are, but you saved us. You’re the good guys in my book.”

She’s lying. I could feel it. She didn’t trust them, and she didn’t have any books. Call it best friend instincts. Deen and I had become close enough that I could sense her thoughts.

Wait. Us, close? Gross.

“Reo wasn’t part of the rescue mission,” Everett said, grinning. “He’s not part of the good guys.”

Reo snorted. “I’m fine to be whatever type of guy if it means keeping my skin.”

“Um, you were given Cores,” I said, “for what? Please don’t kill us if that’s top secret. You were already telling us, so I thought…”

“For testing purposes,” Dario said. “For some reason, having a… natural… experience is conducive to the development of the artificial Core. Natural—outside of a laboratory. There’s nothing natural about what we do and the threats we face. I suppose it’s no secret that our government wants to make Corebrings—Corebrings that can match the powers of the Central Hive. That’s the ultimate goal.”

“Things probably sped up with President Garland in office, huh?” Everett commented.

“Logical,” Deen said, nodding. She lifted her chin while speaking; that was the sign she was just going with the flow. “There are also rumors that Imperial Japan and the Soviet Union have their own secret projects with similar goals.” She was trying to connect with them.

“Rumors, just rumors,” Reo sang the lines of a popular song. “It’s true, but it’ll stay as rumors since no one wants open war with the Hive. You can bet your ass our governments have tons of other secret experiments and that sort of business.”

“So, like, what’s going on?” I asked. “I hope you’re allowed to say that.” If they weren’t, they wouldn’t have blabbed to us about this top-secret stuff, if it were true. That was a big if. “Why were we kidnapped? What was that Adumbrae attack last Monday? What—” I covered my mouth. “Sorry for asking too many questions.” Keep pretending to be overwhelmed. I didn’t have the slightest clue about the truth.

“The main task of our team,” Dario said, “is to fight the 2Ms here in La Esperanza. Mark and Big Marcy—they are brothers who lead a criminal organization. Hence, 2Ms.”

So that’s what it meant. Mark didn’t sound like a threatening name. Marcy, even less so. But since it had ‘Big’ in front, that automatically made it sound menacing. I wished for an alias someday. What about ‘Red Hood’? Tattoo Sleeves and his gang called me that.

Dario continued, “We are stopping the 2Ms while testing the Cores at the same time. In essence, we have a real-world training of becoming a Corebring, a hero fighting the Adumbrae. As you are already aware, the 2Ms have the technology to turn people into Adumbrae.”

I nodded. While waiting for Deen to wake up, I had told Dario what Purple Mohawk told us, plus all that stuff about mutants and eating brains.

I really wasn’t sure if it was the right call. It showed that we knew too much, risking getting killed or it. But we already knew too much, and they didn’t seem to want to kill us. Sharing information might make us appear friendlier. More importantly, I wanted to uncover their real deal.

Could they be useful to me? Since they had powers, maybe they had information that could help me maintain my mind. The priority is stopping Spooky Erind. Don’t get angry if you’re listening to my thoughts.

Dario paced as he explained, “The 2Ms offer this… service… to wealthy individuals, in return for funds, furthering their business. There are many who want eternal life, youth… a body that resists pain and heals any injury. Have a failing heart? Instead of paying millions to jump over the waitlist for a donor’s heart, just become an Adumbrae to restore your body. A lucrative business. However, money-making isn’t their ultimate goal.”

“Terrorism,” Deen said. “The Adumbrae attack.”

“Not quite terrorism,” said Dario, wagging his finger as he stopped walking. “The attack terrorized the city, but that was just the byproduct of their testing. Refining their Adumbrae-making capabilities is their goal.”

“Same as our situation, probs,” Myra drawled. “Can’t test in a lab. Need a realistic setting. A real setting.”

“The organization behind us intends to learn about the 2Ms' methods while halting their illegal activities,” Dario said. “If it were up to the BID, the technology and findings of the 2Ms would be destroyed. Such a course of action will be a waste, the Professor had explained to me. I agree with him. We have to learn about the enemy. If we have to use their methods, so be it. The end justifies the means.”

End justifies the means… That was a villain thing to say. Also, too much of a coincidence that there are artificial Adumbrae and artificial Corebrings too.

“What about Kelsey?” I asked. “How does she figure into the whole 2Ms thing?”

“She was on the train by pure chance,” Myra said. “No intel, it was going to happen. Johann dug up in the police files that an Adumbrae was in the same train car as Kelsey. She fought it to save the people and managed to drive it away. But since a few people had seen her, she also ran. Hasn’t returned home since. Something must’ve happened to her, and we have zero clue of what.”

Didn’t Tower Cop say that the people who witnessed what happened were dead? If Kelsey defeated the Adumbrae, then who killed those people? Did Kelsey do it? I could picture that happening because I had killed the people who knew I was an Adumbrae.

Maybe Kelsey didn’t want to face Myra, ashamed of what she had done? It was fun playing detective.

I had mountains of doubt about Dario’s story, but this Kelsey story seemed true. My senses told me that Myra’s emotions were real. I was quite adept at reading people.

“We count it as good news that the 2Ms are looking for her as well,” Johann said in a gentle voice. “It means they haven’t done anything to her.”

“And Kelsey wasn’t found by the cops,” Reo said, also sounding nicer. “They’re not looking for her either.”

“So, where is she?” Myra asked, her voice rising at the end. “She might’ve turned…” She didn’t finish her sentence.

No one refuted what was left unsaid. This was another possibility—the Adumbrae inside Kelsey won. Too bad I didn’t have a chance to talk with her. Kelsey could’ve given me tips how to handle this shit.

“How do we figure into this?” Deen asked, breaking the awkward silence. “The 2Ms kidnapped Erind to interrogate her about Kelsey, didn’t they? It was just a coincidence I was with Erind.”

Impressive that Deen managed to piece things together before I even told her about it. Clever girl. And rich too. We should remain besties.

“Beyond that, the 2Ms have no need of you,” Dario said. “On our part, we came to learn of the kidnappings on Tuesday. The corrupt cops tried to bury it, but there were too many. Johann alerted us to it, and we tried to learn of their next target.”

“I discovered that you two were up,” Reo said, pointing at me. “Be amazed at my tale of espionage and—”

“We’ve heard it so many times already,” Myra said with a groan.

“Everett trailed you at that time,” Dario said. “The moment you two were taken, we got together the team and planned your rescue. We also hoped to find Kelsey.”

“Why are you telling us all this?” Deen asked. “About the Cores. About the 2Ms. Wouldn’t it be better the less we knew about your operations? You could’ve left us at a police station.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling them while you were asleep,” I said.

Dario said, “The 2Ms were interested in what Erind knew about Kelsey, which is nothing. But the situation has changed after we rescued you. Once the 2Ms know you two are still alive, they’d want to interrogate you. Unfortunately, we couldn’t leave you with the police.”

“The 2Ms have many cops on their pad,” Johann said.  

“If some of the cops are crooks,” I said, “you could’ve dropped us off at my condo. I’ll pack my stuff, drive to Deen’s house, she’ll pack, and we’ll be off to… um… India or something before the days’ done. We can figure out our lives there.” Even if fleeing was an option, I wouldn’t do it because it was such a hassle. I’d rather die than move to another country. Adjusting to a different culture sucks; I’d need to relearn social cues and stuff.

Deen raised a brow at me. “India?”

I shrugged. “We can decide where to go later.” But no way Dario would let us go. This wasn’t only about our safety but also theirs. By helping us, we got roped into their mess with the 2Ms.

“You don’t have to leave,” Dario said, as expected. “If you’re away, we can’t protect you. We don’t know how far the 2Ms’ reach will be. If they want to find you, they eventually will. But if you’re here—”

“It’s dangerous and—” I began to say.

Dario cut in, “If you remain human.”

“What are you suggesting?” Deen asked in a sharp tone. “That we take the artificial Core?”

“Exactly,” Dario said.

“N-no, I do-don’t want to have powers and stuff,” I said, putting on an automatic reaction fitting my face while my brain worked in the background. Dario was giving us superpowers, just like that? There had to be a catch to this. “We’re not fighters.”

“Erind’s right,” Deen said. “We’re not much help to you.”

“Why not choose those with a military background?” I asked. “Or martial artists. Athletes too. We’re law students. We fight with our pens and mouths.”

“You can be trained,” Dario said. “The primary consideration is compatibility. People with bodies that won’t reject Core-melding are extremely rare. We strive to check any possible candidate. Any problems and inadequacies can be addressed if the melding succeeds.”

“How would that work?” I was seriously curious. “The purple mohawk Adumbrae told us that there are failures in turning people into Adumbrae. What if that artificial Core thingy malfunctioned or is incompatible? I don’t want to turn into a monster.”

I had more questions, like, what would happen if an Adumbrae were implanted with an artificial Core? They probably didn’t know. Oh yeah, and I also didn’t want them to know I was an Adumbrae.

“If you’re not compatible, then nothing,” Myra said. “We’ll have to think about what to do next. We’ll just check first.”

“How sure are you that we’d be compatible with Cores?” Deen asked. “Maybe we shouldn’t test the—”

“I’m confident of it,” Dario said. “You’ve met an Adumbrae and seen horrific sights, and yet you’ve been courageous through it all. You, Amber, tried to fight the Adumbrae even though you had no chance of winning. Erind, you escaped with Amber instead of leaving her behind. You two have the makings of heroes. The Core resonates with it. Having seen what the Adumbrae can do and are doing, don’t you want to fight them? Won’t you be heroes?”