Chapter 7.1: Lovers' Quarrel

Later

Matthias and Yuki peeked over the ledge of the rooftop, their breaths becoming mist in the cold winter air. Matthias had his eyes on a pair of binoculars, while his partner was peering through the scope of a sniper rifle. She had its bipod stand on the barrier that kept people from just falling off from the rooftop; it was a typical scene for spies. They were spying on the hotel that were indicated as the rendezvous point for Stravinsky and the Powells; the transmission had been quite precise, including even the room number that they were going to stay in. It was just... very convenient.

"Hey, Matt," Yuki suddenly said, though she didn't take her eyes off the scope. "Doesn't it seem fishy?"

Matthias shook his head, as he was not sure what Yuki meant.  "What do you mean?"

"Well, the transmission. It was... very precise. Now that I think about it, if they're professionals, why would they send their stuff in such implicit terms, even if it was encrypted? They probably do know that technopaths exist too."

"It took Gustav a few hours to crack the thing," Matthias replied, wincing as the thermal vision of his binocular just caught something scandalous in one of the hotel rooms. "Whoever sent it, they were sure of its security. It was A grade stuff."

"And you took him at his word?"

"Yuki," Matthias turned to face her, "We've been working with him for the last year. The team is like family. Sure, he's a little antisocial, but Gustav is dedicated to the cause. And... we're chummy- wait a minute, are you jealous?"

"Jealous? Of what? You're both guys!"

"I know, that's why I'm wondering. Gustav and I have a nice friendship going on, and you feel like a third wheel even though I am wholly, truly dedicated to you-"

"Baka." Yuki shook her head. "This... thing we have... I'm not sure what it is."

"Oh, we're on a snowy rooftop, spying for some of the most wanted mutant criminals in the country, and you want to discuss our romantic relationship. God, women sure are complicated."

"Whatever." Yuki just went back to her scope...

"Guys, you know that we can hear you, right?"

"Shut up Tyson," Matthias growled at the radio. "It's just a lovers quarrel."

Zap

"Hey Yuki, you found anyt- Yuki?"

She was gone. The only thing that was left of her was the rifle that she was using to spy on the hotel. Matthias' watch began beeping like crazy, indicating teleporter energy being used in the vicinity. "Son of a bitch, it was a trap!"

"Matt!" Gustav's voice filtered through the radio. "What happened?"

"I'm withdrawing, the enemy has taken agent Masahiro-"

At that moment, Stravinsky teleported in front of Matthias. He was smaller than his mugshot made out to be, though he was quite muscular, as indicated by his sleeveless vest. "Hello, papa."

"You-"

Zap

In the streets below, Tyson and Alondra were frozen in place, mere statues as their every movement had been brought into a standstill...

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12 hours earlier

"I'd like to know more about you kids," Doctor Lee put her shoes on her desk, showing her more relaxed side. "I mean, we have your profiles, but that's just basic information. It looks like that you'll be staying with us for a much longer time, so... I think I should know you. You already know each other, so its just you and the team that are left."

"Um." Ray scratched his head, unsure how to begin. "I'm..."

"Raymundo Salazar, I know." Lee crossed her arms. "Do you like coffee?"

"I've drunk Starbucks once or twice..."

"No one wants to know how many times you have drunken Starbucks coffee, Ray." Nikolai got up from his seat and plopped beside Ray. "I think I should begin, as it looks you're at a loss for words."

"Okay..."

"Okay! So, to start off, Ray here is a childhood friend of mine, and he's like my little brother." To emphasize the point, he patted Ray at the head, much to the latter's chagrin. "I mean that literally. He's really cute."

"Haha.", Caitlin snickered at the last one. "Damn you're right. I'm like their mom, reining in their madness when I have to."

"I..." Ray blushed. "Yes. The three of us have been friends since kindergarten, and have been inseparable. We also manifested our powers together at the same time and place..."

"Together?", Lee leaned closer. "My, why didn't you say sooner? That's a good thing."

"Uh... how?"

"Well, see...", Lee crossed her fingers, looking right at the three of them, seemingly ignoring Nathan's presence for the moment. "When mutants initially manifest in a close proximity to each other, we call that a Multiple Awakening. That's a mouthful, though, so we just say MulAwkening, and the people that have undergone as Mulawks. There's usually three of them, and their powers are more effective when they are close to each other, even if the abilities don't seem to have any relation with each other."

Lee paused, and looked through a file of papers on her desk. "Ray has telekinesis. Based on your story, you were strong enough to rip apart a metal handcuff, right?"

"A pair of them, actually."

"Well, our tests have shown that normally, you wouldn't be able to do that. Shattering an object in the molecular level is something very advanced for telekinetic abilities."

Looking at Nikolai and Caitlin, she continued. "It was because Nikolai was right by your side, and because of the folding of space that his portal did, Caitlin was effectively near you too, so all three of you were there, and... you know what happened. You were there, after all."

"So that is what it meant," Caitlin muttered lowly.

"Pardon?"

"Um, the guards in the facility that I was held in... they were talking about how I was in a... MulAwkening. And..."

"Well?", Lee questioned.

"I... I can't remember."

"Huh." The doctor reclined back in her chair. "Makes sense. It was a traumatic event. Your brain coped by erasing it from memory."

Thud The sound of a door opening and closing rather loudly interrupted the discussion. In Nathan's place was an empty chair; he had left.

"Oh my." Lee pressed her hand against her forehead. "I may have left him out of the talking."

Nikolai got up from his chair. "I'll go talk to him."

The boy quickly rushed out of the door, chasing after the other kid across the cubicle filled office space. Looking back and forth, he found Nathan going the way into their quarters.

Nikolai sprinted to catch up to Nathan, which he did. "Hey, man." Nikolai said to Nathan as the latter walked quite briskly. "What's wrong?"

Nathan answered rather curtly. "I don't fit with you guys." He didn't even bother looking. "I'm just... there. You three are even more special together! I'm just a burden. I couldn't even stop the darkness back at the cafeteria with my powers. I was and still am weak. Not like you... you were badass."

"No, Nattie." Nikolai held him by the arm, and looked at him right at the eyes. "Believe it or not, you're our friend now. I've seen this coming, man, and if you ask me, the more, the merrier."

Nathan remained silent.

"Look... You may not be our childhood friend. You were the loner in the corner of the classroom that everyone thought of as the antisocial, but the few weeks that we have spent together tells me we're going to do well together. Powers are just part of you are, not who you are. I'm just as goofy as I was before I started making holes in space, and Caitlin is still our surrogate mother before becoming Elsa. Ray is still the shy guy before becoming a Jedi. You know what I mean. You don't have to fit. Believe me. The three of us are crazy wierdos that just never fit anywhere."

He pointed at himself. "Ray and I were polar opposites when we first met. We even had a few fights back then. But look at us now. We're like a little chaotic family, and if you were to come right in, it would be even better."

At that, Nathan sighed. "Okay... I understand." He began to walk back towards the doctor's office... only to be stopped by Nikolai's hand.

"Wha-"

"What, you're not going to give your friend a hug after giving a pep talk? You're not getting out of here alive without it."

"Aww... fiiiiiiine."

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"So, you're fine with being like the fourth wheel?", Caitlin asked Nathan as the latter sat back on his chair. "We're a crazy bunch."

"I'm fine with it..."

"Ehem," the doctor cleared her throat. "Either way. We got pizza for lunch. Matthias, Yuki, Tyson, and Alondra are going after your attackers tonight, and if all goes well, they'll have Stravinsky and the Powells in cuffs, just like last time. And this time, there will be no bail."

"Shouldn't we help?", Nikolai asked. "I could portal them out if they run into trouble-"

"And expose you and risk giving them the very thing that they want?", Lee gave a disapproving expression. "Not a chance."

"Yeah, Nick, I don't think it's a good idea for us to come along to go against the people that want us." Caitlin nodded. "It would be handing us in a silver platter."

"If I want your help, I'll tell you." Lee replied. "For now, just stay put. We'll get them, just like last time. I promise."