I let out a deep breath. From what I could sense, Melody was okay, despite what she’d had to do in the bar. I just wanted her to be okay. I was used to doing what had to be done. And I would have easily kept doing it if Melody wanted to keep her hands clean, but either she was a better actress than I gave her credit for, or she had enjoyed her moment of power.
“Miles,” Amelia vied for my attention. Her plate was empty, and her hand wandered down my thigh as she tried to act naturally above the table. “Do you think I’m attractive?”
I thought she was far too forward and a little too drunk. Her hand was like a lie detector, brushing up against my half-hard shaft and exciting the little bugger further.
Give me the word and I’ll kill her. Mona was ready to defend me, but I could handle a handsy girl myself.
“I do. You are a very attractive woman. But we have all had a little too much to drink, and I think I should be a little more clear-headed before we do something that you might regret tomorrow.” I tried to be polite and avoid progressing this forward. That she thought I was responsible for her mother’s death was a problem.
“Playing hard to get?” Amelia started to crawl over me, but I rooted her to her seat with my hand.
“Doesn’t mean you get to chase. But I’d like to end this date on a high note. After all, we need to be able to work as a team next week.” I looked at my other side where a rosy-cheeked Ivanna was lying on me, nearly falling asleep.
I smiled, looking down at the sweet, shy girl. She looked angelic, resting peacefully against me, personal bubble gone. She’d turned into a little cuddle bear.
Amelia sat back, looking a little rejected. I couldn’t tell where the flush from her drinks ended and the flush from her embarrassment started.
“Okay. I’ll, uh… step back.” She jerked her hand away.
“Thank you. It was a wonderful dinner. You two are on the team, and that’s not changing. I’m sure we’ll have many more dinners to come. Ivanna, it’s time to head out.”
“Five more minutes,” Ivanna murmured.
Amelia leaned over me before I could say anything further and pinched Ivanna’s cheeks.
“Wake up. Dinner is over, sleepyhead.”
“Oh.” Ivanna blinked and looked up at me. “Dinner was nice.”
“Yes, it was.” I nodded for her to scoot out of the booth, and she reluctantly parted with my side as the three of us got up.
Amelia took Ivanna’s arm and blew me a kiss. “It was a lovely date. Thank you.” She seemed eager to get away from me. I hoped she’d be able to move past it.
She pushed too hard. I was tempted to cut off her arm for touching you, Mona possessively growled.
Down, girl.
You made your intentions clear, and she didn’t respect them.
She’s a young girl who’s smitten. Play nice. Anything at the Bureau?
Kim is on the roof with some contraption.
I grunted as I paid the check without looking at the price. The BSH would handle it.
I drew out my tablet. I’d been keeping it concealed with my power, but I knew I’d likely need to use it tonight. Kim’s plan to talk to Void involved me playing both roles.
I shot Kim a quick message, telling her I had finished up with my dinner and was heading that way. She got back to me quickly that she was about ready and would start without me, but to meet her on the roof.
Stepping out of the restaurant, I scanned for Melody once more.
From what I could tell, she was sipping a drink and lounging at the club while she chatted with Obsidian. It seemed she really had managed to get comfortable around all the villains.
I was a little proud of her for stepping so far out of her box.
I walked down the street until I was in the clear. Then I became invisible, shooting up into the sky and racing across the city to Mona, finding her waiting on top of a building.
It was night, and the light was dim, so her power was severely reduced. She was only able to gather the scant light of the city rather than harnessing the light of the sun.
The building she’d chosen was several blocks away from the BSH. The crazy telepath and light-controlling super sat on the roof with her feet dangling off the ledge.
“Hi, Mona. What is that?” I squinted across the rooftops, finding the roof of the BSH and eyeing it.
“No idea. I think there’s a tarp on top.” She played with her fingers, forming a sort of lens between them. I realized she was copying the light from further away and bringing it down into her hand.
On the lens she made, all I could tell was that Kim had a device next to her, and she was struggling to lift off a heavy tarp that covered it.
“I still have ten minutes before I should show up. Want to play Void first, and then I’ll surprise her?” I teased her.
“Yes. We both know that she suspects something. Why else would she have not told you this plan?” Mona dug through my mind. “Plus, if Beatrix had found something, she would have gone straight to Kim.”
“Let’s not start burning bridges just yet. We’ll go in assuming that she thinks she knows that I’m Void.” I grinned, excited to confuse her.
Mona rooted around in my mind for the plan. “Oh. That makes sense. You still need to take some time to get there, though.”
Kim finished whatever she was doing on the roof and flipped a switch on the side of the device before pulling out a lawn chair and sitting down next to it.
It took a moment for it to build up to full brightness, but the incredibly bright spotlight shone clear through the sky and stamped a symbol on the clouds.
“What the fuck is that?” I grumbled, starting at the image it was projecting.
“Kalamari-man, of course,” Mona giggled. “It looks like an octopus.”
“Okay. You go first. I’ll catch up in a few minutes.” Kim’s idea was the stupidest way to get Void’s attention. I wondered if she thought telling me would make it more successful, assuming she thought I was Void.
All the possibilities swam through my head, and I frowned. I was going to drive myself crazy.
Mona was riding in the back of my mind, ready and waiting to echo my thoughts. But she was also nudging in some suggestions on how she wanted me to use my power.
Lifting her up, I sent her through the air wrapped in darkness like I normally would be, and I put a filter over her mouth to change her voice. She should be able to pull off a pretty damn good Void impersonation, especially drawing on my mind to come up with the conversation.
Flying down to the street, I took my time wandering over to the Bureau. Thoughts swirled in my head as I tried to figure out the best way to outsmart Kim.
There was a reason she was the leader of the BSH. She was damn good. I had to assume that she had reason to believe that I was Void. And if Beatrix had shared any thoughts, that would only have furthered her suspicion.
And I still didn’t know how much Beatrix knew. Ben hadn’t discovered anyone searching for me through the database since he’d set the alert, but there was always a chance Beatrix had downloaded information before he had set it up.
If they knew, they were being cautious. And I could use that.
“Deputy Director.” The security guard sat up straight in her chair. “You’re not normally at work this late.
“Blame the Director. She called me in for her test of that thing,” I grumbled, motioning with my eyes up at the big, bright light against the clouds. Then I patted down my suit and fished out my tablet to scan myself in.
“Did you come from a date?” the guard asked, noticing my outfit.
“No, I just took our team’s trainees out to dinner tonight to celebrate them finishing and becoming official heroes next week,” I made casual conversation.
The guard nodded several times, checking my face against her screen, and then waved me through. “Sorry, can’t be too careful.”
“You’re just doing your job. No need for me to be upset over a slight delay.” I knew that our security guards were a huge part of what made our organization run. Beyond safety, they often were the first to have eyes or ears on whatever was happening around the building.
I wandered through the Bureau to the elevator, taking my time. I could feel Mona moving closer; she’d arrive a few moments before me.
Hopping into the elevator, I rode it upwards for once. The lack of movement still threw me off. I was half-tempted to hijack it and break whatever the mad scientists had done. But before I could get around to doing it, I hit the top floor.
I hopped off, taking a flight of stairs up to the roof.
As I walked through the door, I found Mona disguised as Void, standing in the shimmering darkness like a piece of the night sky.
“What is this supposed to be?” Mona gestured angrily at the spotlight.
“A picture of you. It has those dark tentacles you like to whip about.” Kim gestured at the lamp.
I took a moment to feel Mona’s intent, and then I reacted, smothering the lamp in darkness. It was harder to make out Mona without the light from the lamp, but there were a few still on around the edge of the roof, probably a safety measure.
“This meeting seems like it is going well.” I came up behind Kim.
The Director whipped around, her fiery red hair slapping back and forth as she did a double-take between the two of us. I had to work so damn hard not to smile.
Got you.
She is confused. I will talk to justify that I am Void. We got her good. Mona continued to laugh in my mind.
“Who is this? You don’t normally bring plus-ones to our meet-ups,” Void scowled at me.
“Hi, I’m Miles. Looks like your device worked well, Kim. Surprised that your… uhh… Void Signal worked.” I glanced at the black bubble where it had been. “Is it still in one piece?”
Kim was still blinking like a computer that had just been forced into reboot. “You’re here.”
“Of course. You asked for me to join you,” I replied.
She had suspected that I wouldn’t show until after Void was gone. The idea of that fooling anyone made me laugh.
“What is going on? I do not appreciate my time being wasted.” Void looked like he was about to fly off.
“Wait! I’m sorry. I was just… confused for a moment. But I wanted to talk about an agreement between Void and Point City, and I thought we should have my Deputy Director here for that.” Kim was shaken; she was off her game. She even forgot about the media blackout that I suggested.
“Waste of my time. I have no need for an agreement.” Void floated up and turned.
I stepped forward, deciding to play into this more. “Void, I have a request. My girlfriend is going to go to the city with Cerberus, the super you fought above the prison. Would you consider going with her to support her?”
“Miles.” Kim hissed.
But I held up my hand for her to stay quiet. “I know you have loved ones and have lost loved ones. It might seem silly, but if I’m going to get this chance to speak with you, I had to make the request.”
Void paused in the air, floating in silence for a moment. “Who is this girlfriend?”
“A new villain on the scene. She’s purple with silver hair—”
“I’ve seen her in the news.” Void looked over his shoulder. “I’ll consider it. But I am interested in whether you can tell me where Daeva’s city is.”
Kim frowned, mouthing ‘Daeva’, though she quickly realized who he meant. “We can tell you if you agree to support our villain on her journey. I’ll put up the signal again when we are close and have more information.”
“Do not waste my time. Also, I disdain that… thing.” He pointed to the light. “It looks like a squid.”
“It does not.” Kim frowned. “But I’ll see if we can’t change the design a little.” She was still off-kilter, trying to reconcile all the possibilities. It was funny watching her struggle with whether to try to flirt with Void or remain professional.
“If that is all.” Void didn’t wait for more and just disappeared into the night.
I could feel Mona floating in the air nearby, but with how she was wrapped, she was invisible against the night sky. Just to be safe, I made her invisible and sent her off to the roof, where she could get away cleanly.
“Void clearly didn’t love my presence. And you seemed thrown by me being here when you’d asked me to join you. What’s going on?” I crossed my arms, playing the part.
Kim scowled at me. “Come here. Mind putting your finger on a biometric scanner for me?”
“Like the ones that we used to key our tablets?” I asked, touching the pad on my tablet and unlocking it.
“Let’s go downstairs to the unit that we calibrated it with,” she replied.
“You don’t believe it’s me?” I teased her.
“Just need to be sure.” Kim led the way. “I’ve had a suspicion that you are Void, and there are supers who could mimic your likeness. But there are none who could mimic Void like that.”
Except for Void himself. It was everything I could do not to smirk.
I nodded. “So if I’m the real Miles, then I’m free and clear? I won’t lie, Director, it’s getting a little old.”
Kim frowned as she opened the door for me. “How long have you thought I’ve been suspicious?”
“Since the first time I went into your office and saw that sketch that looked like it could have been me a decade ago.” There was no point in lying. And staying as truthful as possible about everything except actually being Void was in my best interest.
“Yeah. You look like him, but that’s not all. His name was Miles, as well,” Kim replied.
“Is the universe having a good joke at my expense? Wait a second. Does this mean that I am going to lose my promotion?” I half-heartedly joked.
Kim was less than amused. “No. You are doing a great job, and half of that was because of Stella.”
I read between the lines. “And half of it was because you thought I was Void.”
We came down to the main floor and into the offices, where there was a room and an enormous machine to check my vitals. The machine functioned as an imprinting station for the vital reading software on our tablets.
I sat down in the chair, putting my arm through the blood pressure cuff and my palm on the reader while I turned and let the screen flash in my eyes several times.
Once it was finished, it read out my name and a small profile of my data.
“Apparently, my blood pressure is a little high. Though, this is always a bit stressful,” I joked.
Kim wasn’t laughing. “Get up. Come to my office.” She charged ahead while I still had to undo the blood pressure cuff.
It seems it was a success, my fated. Mona was watching the situation from afar.
Yes, it was. Thank you. I appreciate your help. Please head home.
Will do. Come snuggle me when you are done running circles around Kim.
I chuckled as I got out of the contraption and went over to Kim’s office. She had the big oak door ajar, but it didn’t matter because no one else was still in the office.
“Drink.” Kim did a sloppy pour, filling the tumbler and splashing enough on the table that it was going to make a spot.
“That bad?” I asked, sitting down as she leaned against her desk.
“Honestly, I had been hoping that you were Void. If you were, we could solve Hendrick’s task pretty easily. It would almost be cheating. Although, you inserted that new angle in the conversation; why did you ask him to go with Melody?” Kim took a generous swig from her glass.
“Because Melody is important to me, and we are sending her behind enemy lines to someone who fought Void head on and survived. I had hoped he had a grudge to settle.” I tried to make an explanation she’d buy.
But she took a slow sip, eyeing me in a way that made me think she doubted my intentions. “Not worried about Void stealing your girl?”
“Melody wouldn’t,” I refuted it instantly. There was no doubt in my mind about any of my harem.
“Glad you have so much confidence in the girl, but now we need to talk about an actual plan to get Void. I just struck out, and we need him.”
“I’m sure we can come up with something,” I replied as I settled in to sip booze and strategize into the night.
Kim watched as Miles left her office, looking down at the empty bottle with a sigh. “Fuck.”
Propping her tablet up, she dialed Beatrix.
Beatrix picked up quickly, but the analyst looked like she’d been sleeping. She adjusted her crooked glasses as she groggily stared into her phone. “What’s going on, Kim?”
“He knows we know.” Kim leaned back in her chair. Grabbing for the bottle, she was once again reminded that it was empty.
“He knows?” Beatrix nearly jumped out of her skin, instantly becoming wide awake. “What do we do?”
Kim just shook her head slowly. “Nothing yet. Tomorrow we will continue with the plan. Somehow, he had someone impersonating Void. Either that, or he can be in multiple places at the same time. We still don’t know enough about his power.”
“It’s some sort of energy control. Those black constructs he makes are entirely energy. There’s no substance to them.” Beatrix fixed her glasses and moved over to a chair.
“Sorry to interrupt your sleep.” Kim belatedly realized she should have apologized at the start of the conversation. She’d just been so anxious to update Beatrix.
“Tell me exactly what happened.” Beatrix put her tablet down on a stand and a computer screen lit up, reflecting in her glasses.
Kim sighed. “He said he was on his way, so I lit the spotlight. Void showed up, then Miles walked up a moment later.”
Beatrix raised an eyebrow. “Are you positive they are the same person?”
“Even more sure now.” Kim grinned. “But we can’t let Miles know that. I just spent an hour drinking and discussing a new plan now that mine was shot. Get this: He asked Void to go with Melody to the new city in the wilds.”
“That’s a special access project, and he just blurted it out?!” Beatrix’s analyst role popped right out.
Kim waved away the concern. “Forget that. It’s what tells me that my theory must be right. Miles is a stubborn and independent son of a bastard. There is absolutely no way he’d just hand Melody’s safety off to Void. He’d be fighting to go with her or have greater surveillance.”
Kim began getting energized as she spoke. “Remember when Melody was kidnapped, and he went dark to the BSH, bringing down all of Libertech just to get her? Something doesn’t add up.” She was almost bouncing in her chair.
The request was so out-of-character for Miles. It only made sense if he were also Void.
“Kim. That’s not exactly hard evidence.” Beatrix winced.
“On your date with him tomorrow, I need you to test him. And until then, I need you to search for Void or his ladies. I know Miles has alerts on his profile so that you can’t go at it directly, but I want to know how he was able to be in two places at once,” Kim grumbled.
She reached for the whiskey bottle only to realize that it was still empty and that she’d had a little too much to drink.