The Legion of Nothing

Hey, I thought as I walked across the main room’s concrete floor, did they say anything about clairvoyantly finding Magnus?

I tried, Daniel thought back, he’s obscured either by something Rook made or another telepath.

I considered that, Any chance you might at least be able to predict when he figures out how to use the device? He’s got some control over it, but he could get more even if he can’t get full access unless he beats us to whatever mystery spot they left it at.

I could feel Daniel consider it, I’m not sure. He’s fuzzy and the device is dangerous, but if I can come up with the right side effect, I might be able to predict that.

I stepped into the hangar. Cassie, Jaclyn, and Marcus were waiting by the jet, talking with Vaughn and Haley next to the open hatch.

Silver and cigar-shaped with small wings, the jet looked like it belonged on the cover of Popular Mechanics circa 1952.

It had probably been on the cover of Popular Mechanics within that decade. The hangar felt modern if only because it looked used. Between the hanging cables, bright lights, tanks of liquid or gasses, spare parts, and tools on the walls, it felt like every garage.

Passing a rack of spare rocket packs and a row of powered armor that wouldn’t be identified as Rocket suits, I joined the group.

“We’re only missing Rachel now,” Cassie told me.

I gave the hangar a once over through the Rocket suit’s HUD, “She might already be here for all we know, but I’m betting she’s talking to our parents. She said she was going to give them a quick call.”

Both Vaughn and Cassie laughed. Vaughn said, “That’s not going to be a quick call. She’s been gone for like a year and we just had the mushroom thing where all of our parents got evacuated… I’d be on the phone with my parents for a day after that.”

Cassie shook her head, “My mom’s been better lately, but she’d freak out if I were gone that long. After what happened to Dad plus the League’s board pretty much ordering her to let me put myself in danger, she’s been seething pretty much since he died.”

Haley stopped talking to interject, “I didn’t know the board told her that.”

Cassie shrugged, “She didn’t want to put me in danger in any way after Dad’s death. The board disagreed. So did the CIA. They had plans for me, so I went through the same super-soldier process they used on Dad. I’m pretty sure no therapists were consulted by anybody the whole time, so Mom’s and my relationship got weird.”

Jaclyn folded her arms across her chest, “She seemed angry every time I saw her. I always wondered if it was me.”

Cassie shook her head and said, “I felt like that too, sometimes, but I knew it was me.”

They laughed.

As they did, Rachel stepped into the hangar, walking up to the group and saying, “I hope you haven’t been waiting long. I called my parents and it took longer than I expected. You all went through the wringer while I was gone.”

She glanced over at Haley and then at me.

I wondered how much she’d been told. She knew about Travis, but I hadn’t told her about how Mom had to kill one of the Nine by phasing into him or that Dad’s block broke and he knew everything. I should have, but it had been busy and when I’d had a spare second, I’d wanted to decompress.

Jaclyn didn’t look at Haley, but she did take a breath, adding, “It was bad for everyone, but some of us had it worse than others. I’m glad you’re here.”

We were on the edge of going through everything she’d missed. It probably wasn’t a good idea at that moment, so I said, “Since you’re ready, I guess we should go.”

As everyone agreed and Cassie stepped toward the hatch, Haley asked me, “Can we talk for a second before you go?”

“Uh, sure,” I said, and Vaughn shrugged, “I guess I’ll go back into the main room.”

Cassie, Jaclyn, Rachel, and Marcus headed for the hatch with Marcus stopping to add, “I’ll run through the pre-flight checklist.”

Guessing that Haley would want to see my face, I absorbed my helmet and gloves into the Rocket suit.

Looking up at me, she blinked, “I wanted to insist on going along, but that’s only because I’m afraid. I know it’s irrational and I don’t want to be that kind of girlfriend, but we haven’t even had Travis’s funeral yet and we could still have anybody’s…”

I reached out and took her hand and she pulled me in despite my armor. Feeling the wetness on her cheek next to mine, I realized she was either sweating or crying, or maybe she’d been crying earlier.

“I think it might be okay to be that girlfriend right now,” I said. “I don’t think anyone would blame you.”

She pulled her head back to look at me, “It isn’t. You’re going somewhere that might be dangerous and you shouldn’t be worrying about me. I’m going to be here and responsible for anything that happens in Grand Lake. No one here should be walking on eggshells around me. We don’t have that luxury. We could be attacked by Magnus at any time. Even if all we do is help with the mushroom cleanup outside, I still don’t want them to realize what happened. We still haven’t told the media about the second Night Wolf’s death or figured out what we’re doing about the name…”

She kissed me. I kissed back, but when she pulled away, she said, “Don’t get hurt. I’ll be checking in with you.”

We held hands for a second and then she left.

Stepping into the jet, I took a look at it while checking its repair log with my implant, learning that all the damage had been repaired. In the fight where Travis died, one of the Cabal soldiers managed to go partway through the ship’s force field, damaging the hull.

Walking between the seats on the way down to the front to sit next to Marcus at the weapons console where Haley often sat, I understood. Near the end of the fight, her parents escaped in the damaged jet. Travis had died within a few seconds after it flew away.

I hoped I was doing the right thing in leaving. She’d taken on a lot.