Chapter 68

While Johanne was putting herself in unnecessary danger, Michael was at his property—that some had taken to calling Site 00—to deal with annoyances.

“What should we do with him?” asked a gruff Old Dave, hands on his hips, as he looked down at the bound form of Mustang. The fat man looked like a formless blob on the ground, and he really was in the broom closet like Dave had said, surrounded by knickknacks and various gadgets that had already started to accumulate around the budding headquarters.

“Squeak.”

“I don’t know, Dave. You got ideas?”

The old man shrugged.

On the ground, Mustang struggled. He wanted to speak, but his mouth was bound by duct tape. Silver duct tape, the ever present. Michael ripped it out.

“Squeak.”

“Ouch!” cried Mustang. “That shit hurt!”

It was Michael’s turn to shrug.

“Squeak!”

“And why does a fucking rifle squeak?” Mustang cried out, “this place is nuts!”

Old Dave chuckled, “you call this nuts? You ain’t seen shit yet.”

Michael inhaled sharply, “listen,” he said, voice tired, “this is not a productive use of my time. Can you figure out what to do with him? It’s literally your job. Just… don’t kill him.”

The mention of death had Mustang immediately lose several shades of color. “W-w-wait, kill me? Why? Please, I swear I won’t—”

“See what you just did?” cried Old Dave in exasperation. “Now I have to deal with this!”

“Your job,” reiterated Michael, “and killing… I don’t know, killing people? Out here? Not really doable, is it?”

Not that he wanted to kill people, even if it was doable. But Mustang didn’t need to know that.

“You could probably get away with it,” said Dave with another shrug, “but it would be a hassle, yeah. Let me deal with him.”

As Michael left, Old Dave noticed that Mister Tyrell was waiting for him outside, a stack of papers in his hands. The former CEO seemed to love stacks papers very much ever since he assumed control of the Candle Light division.

Well, Old Dave thought, by now the roles in this company are already all blurry. Amazing how the formal structure collapsed in less than two days. I blame the others, of course. What’s the new system? Levels? I’m level 1 alongside Mister Tyrell and the woman from the dungeon.

Another amazing thing, that woman. Even stranger still, she had been around all of two days and already Michael treated her like he trusted her completely. Granted, time in the dungeon flowed differently and there was no telling how long the two had interacted there, but Old Dave still liked to err on the side of caution. Especially after seeing the budget requests the woman had put forward for her science division. Mind-numbing.

“Dave, Dave, listen, we have known each other for a long time, right?”

Old Dave looked at the man on the ground with a complicated expression. “Ah, right, you are still there.”

***

Michael was intercepted by Travis on his way to the dungeon. The man in question was carrying a stack of paper that was almost comically too large for the man’s impressively wide frame. For a moment, he looked like one of those stereotypical nerds in young adult TV shows, but his serious expression made all mirth disappear from Michael’s mind.

“Hey, Mike, ready to lose some sleep tonight?”

“As if I don’t already struggle,” said Michael.

Travis smirked for a split second. “I used my teleportation card to scout the area around the dungeon—don’t worry, I found a way to suppress the lightning. Guess what I found when I mapped the mana around it? Our assumption that it was a sphere… was wrong. It’s an irregular shape and the furthest edge is right about reaching a city. Here.”

“CL-001 “Area of Influence”, Michael started reading. “Interesting naming pattern. I wonder where you got it from.”

Travis’ face betrayed nothing. “Keep reading.”

“So mana really is affecting the world,” Michael said, his face a mask of worry.

He leafed through the other reports. CL-002 “Squeaking Gun”. Ah, that’s what it was. Mustang was right there was a squeaking gun in that closet.

CL-003 “Infinite water bottle”, CL-004 “Backwards steering jeep”. That last one was being dismantled to figure out just how the steering could be made to happen backwards without a rearrangement of internal components.

Reading through the reports, Michael was impressed with the efficiency of Travis’ work. Within barely two days since Michael had approved of the Candle Light’s more covert division, they had already unearthed several anomalous items and places, shattering the illusion that the world was not yet being affected by magic. The most worrying thing was that some of the items, like the water bottle, did not seem to require mana to work at all. He asked to see it, and indeed there was no trace of mana or even elemental energy within it: it just generated infinite water when tipped down.

Of course, Unity Corp was not the fictional SCP foundation. They were not here to simply contain, but to put to a good use. Already the bottle was being carved up to maximize the flow of water, and it would soon be used to provide drinking water for the whole Site 00 for free. Perhaps even to the fields around Site 00 if they managed to buy them. If magic gave you lemons, you make a magical lemonade.

“The situation with the city is worrying, though,” Michael said. “You got a plan?”

Travis nodded. “We still don’t have the special equipment I, uhm, requested from Naoshida Industries, but we can at least monitor the situation. Trevor will be on site and I’ll hop on in from time to time to check on things, but I think I’ll need your magic vision to really make sure we don’t miss anything.”

Michael nodded. “Sure, call me when you need me.”

This was the best they could do with their limited means. The science division was fundamental if they wanted to get their hands on better stuff.

“Speaking of…” Travis began. “I know you want to keep your abilities a secret, but hear me out. You share them with Candle Light, we keep them a secret only Level 1 and above can access, and that way we can better use you as an asset. You, Johanne and I are the only ones who can deal with anything above the Iron danger rating anyway.”

“Alright,” Michael said. This meant sharing his whole power set with Travis and Dave, but… “I have to start trusting you guys. I’ll do it.”

Travis nodded. “Thanks. Here, I went ahead and recorded my own ability. You can use this document as a template for your own, but don’t worry about making it look neat. I’ll fix it up once you are done.”

Candle Light: CL-006, “Card of Vanishing Thunder”

Magic Class: Silver.

Danger Rating: Gold.

Containment:

CL-006 requires no containment when not assigned to a wielder. Once assigned, containment measures focus on restricting the wielder's line of sight through various means, including blinding techniques, smoke screens, and isolation in a specially designed containment chamber.

The containment chamber is equipped with one-way mirrors for continuous monitoring of the wielder. The entrance is constructed to prevent any view of the external environment, ensuring no space for potential teleportation beyond the room. The chamber includes safety features capable of blinding the wielder to prevent escape. In the event of a containment breach, the use of lethal force is authorized to prevent the wielder from eluding secure containment protocols.

Description:

CL-006 is a magic card within the DECK-system, visually resembling a metallic Tarot card. It features an engraving of a man enveloped in lightning, standing atop a hill. When viewed from specific angles, the man's features seem to vanish. The card's surface is smooth, with the engraved design making it easily recognizable by touch.

The wielder of CL-006 gains the ability to teleport, with the knowledge of teleportation imprinted directly into their mind. Current information is limited to observations from a single wielder, Level-1-Operator "Fleeting Man." The following transcript documents the information that had imprinted itself into Fleeting Man’s mind:

You can teleport anywhere within line of sight instantaneously, leaving behind an explosion of static. Each jump consumes a charge. You can hold up to 15 charges, with one being generated every three hours. Maximum range of each jump: 1 kilometer.

Mana costs for teleportation vary based on conditions:

• Line of sight, no obstacles: 25 Copper.
• Line of sight, with obstacles: 30 to 50 Copper, depending on obstacle density.
• Partially obscured line of sight: 1 to 3 Silver.
• Through a medium (e.g., water): 1 Silver.

Note:

Further experimentation is pending the establishment of Unity's science division facilities.

Addendum CL-006.01:

Training and experimentation have shown that the powers granted by CL-006 can be modulated. The current wielder, "Fleeting Man," has reported the ability to suppress the lightning effect associated with teleportation. This suggests potential for further refinement and control of the card's abilities through dedicated practice and study.

Assignment Protocol:

CL-006 is currently assigned to Level-1-Operator "Fleeting Man," with approval from Level-0-Operator "Owner." This assignment is irrevocable except by direct command of a Level-0-Operator or a collective decision by three Level-1-Operators.

***

“This is great work,” he said after he was done reading. “I’m impressed.”

“It’s only the beginning,” said Travis noncommittally.

“Speaking of, fancy getting a new card? I’m going to the dungeon, you might join me. I wanted to test a couple things about how the second floor interacts with people anyway.”

“Not today,” said the man, scratching his chin. “I would have never imagined turning down free magic, but here I am. Swamped with work.”

“Sure thing, let me know when you are free. Well, free-er.”

Man, being the boss sure is tiring. Michael thought as he trekked towards the dungeon. The road was not yet complete, but already it was shaving a good chunk of time off his treks. At least I can relax now. He still needed to shed the excess mana that came with regeneration now that he was close to the dungeon, lest his full aura threaten to burst at the seams, but at least there were no immediate worries.

It was then that an angry voice reached his ears. “You! Motherfucker, it was you! You’re dead.”

Michael turned around and found himself face to face with the blurring man. Only, this time he was no longer a blur. He could see his features, and what he saw left him speechless for a long moment, his mind whirring as he took in the expression of rage, anger and pure hatred on the familiar face before him.

SQUEAKING GUN