"Oh, no need to look so worried." Agent Walker winked at him again as they exited the classroom. The room was dead silent and Jimmy had a feeling they were waiting for Agent Walker and himself to get at least midway down the hall before they started whispering. "This is just a routine interview. I've been doing about seven of these a day." Agent Walker yawned covering her mouth. "Dear me, I need coffee. It's far too early in the morning for theatrics."

  Jimmy blinked. "That was theatrics?"

  Agent Walker grinned at him. "Well, yes. You don't think I'm always, Agent Gloom and Doom do you?"

  Jimmy stumbled over himself trying not to say "well, yes!" and it came out more along the lines of "Of course, nn —"

  He hunched his shoulders, blushing.

  "No! That's Suma." Agent Walker groaned. "He's the Hard Case. If my kids could hear you." She shook her head. "Drama, Jimmy, is actually a pretty potent social tool — Oh, why don't we take this room."

  Agent Walker opened an unused classroom and beckoned him in.

  "— We're primed to react seriously to someone acting erratically even if it is a bit out there. So instead of having a bunch of cocky students who are too smart for their own good" — she raised an eyebrow at him — "deciding that my instructions are only for the dumb ones, I threw in some theater to really hone in on that amygdala, you know?" She chuckled and pulled out a seat in the center of the classroom. "Dear me. I must have given that same skit to three different classrooms in the past week."

  Agent Walker sat down and motioned for Jimmy to sit while she pulled out a tablet and pencil from her suitcase.

  "So you don't think Supers are a threat?" Jimmy burst out, sitting down across from her.

  "Oh, I do." Agent Walker said seriously. "But I've been doing this since there have been Supers, Jimmy. "So when I tell people 'Be careful, folks!'" — she adopted a stilted caricature — "it comes off a bit like I'm a stiff old lady. I've been around the block, and it's detectable by people who attribute safety to normalcy."

  She smiled at him. "James or Jimmy?"

  "Jimmy." Jimmy said.

  "And do you know what this interview is about, Jimmy?"

  Jimmy shrugged uncomfortably. "Catching Supers?" he asked hesitantly. "No..."

  Agent Walker nodded encouragingly to him even as her hand moved around her stylus, taking notes. Somehow she was able to do it without even looking at the tablet she was writing on.

  Jimmy suddenly had the wild impression that his answers were being graded, and he shook his head quickly. "No. It's about Buck." 'What had the agent said it was?' "The — ah. Break in at his house."

  Jimmy shifted in his chair as Agent Walker just kept nodding and smiling and scribbling.

  It went on for a little longer than he was expecting.

  "Should I be getting a lawyer?" He immediately flushed and looked away remembering Anthony Melbourne's question during assembly.

  Agent Walker stopped immediately. "Would you like a lawyer, Jimmy? We can postpone this interview if you'd like."

  "No, that's alright!" Jimmy felt flustered and blushed some more, fidgeting.

  The Itch took the opportunity to let him know that it thought that the object underneath Agent Walker suit jacket was actually rather valuable, the one in her shoe, less so, and actually there was something in her ear that was of moderate value as well. All of which would satisfy the incessant itch for at least a few days with the exception of the thing underneath her jacket, which would work for several weeks.

  Jimmy's eyes darted to her jacket near her arm — which looked absolutely unremarkable — and then back hurriedly to Agent Walker's face where she was still watching him with her wide eyes pooling with understanding.

  "No, it's alright." He said again. "I just... wanted to know." He scratched at something on the desk.

  "Jimmy," Agent Walker beamed and picked up her stylus again. "If at any time you feel uncomfortable, you let me know, and we can postpone. And you are of course always able to seek legal representation at any time. You understand?"

  Jimmy nodded, feeling foolish, and tried not to look too hard at Agent Walker's jacket pocket where the thing was sitting under.

  "Any who. I asked that question because it's often helpful in gauging where your head is at. We are operating a bit blinder than usual here," She winked. "I don't mind saying it. And so these interviews we've been having are a little bit of both of those points you mentioned and none of them. Relating to your first guess, being a Super isn't a crime. It just means that we have to be cautious in how we operate because this investigation relates to a suspected Super. For your other point," Agent Walker shrugged. "It's a big school with lots of little networks. We are just trying to get a sense of the land, so to speak. Do you know Buck?"

  "Everyone knows Buck."

  "Exactly. That is one big network. Not easy to navigate. What can you tell me about Buck?"

  "Uh..." Jimmy had to take a moment to collect his thoughts. "He's lead quarterback on the football team?" He said at last. "He uh..." Jimmy actually knew quite a bit about Buck now that he thought of it. An awkward amount... 'But I don't need to say it all. Open-ended question.' Jimmy nodded. "Yeah.'

  "Is that all?" Agent Walker eyed him.

  "... Um." 'Fudge!' "I know he dated Vicky Montgomery."

  "And do you know where he lives?"

  "Why would I know where he lives?"

  Agent Walker raised an eyebrow at him patiently.

  'Fudge. Fudge. So much Fudge.' "I... I've looked him up before."

  "Mmm." More scribbling, but no indication that he'd said anything out of the ordinary. "And do you know Vicky Montgomery?"

  Jimmy shifted uncomfortably. 'I am doing a lot of moving! Jimmy thought suddenly. 'I look suspicious!' He tried to roll his shoulders back and settle himself. The chair rocked slightly underneath.

  "I mean. Everyone knows Vicky, she's —" Jimmy's face went red, and he looked away embarrassed. 'Do I always go red this quickly?'

  Agent Walker grinned widely. "Oh! It's like that then, huh? Cute girl. She was the one in the middle row giving your teacher the hard time, right?"

  Jimmy nodded mutely.

  "Do you personally know her."

  "I don't thi —" He taste-tested it. Yes, the Itch didn't think he knew her. 'Not yet' Jimmy dearly hoped. "No. Not personally, no."

  "But you wish you knew her."

  "Uh —"

  "You don't need to answer that." Agent Walker smiled cheekily. "Mmm. Do you know why she and Buck broke up."

  Jimmy did know. Vicky had told him. He caged up, but Agent Walked just probed softly at it and then moved on.

  "Do you know where she lives?"

  "No." Safer territory.

  "What do you think about Super Humans, Jimmy?"

  More dangerous territory. He tensed again. "I..." What did he think about Super Humans? Jimmy blinked, and then blinked harder. In all his time as a Super, he'd never really thought about what he really thought about them. Not really. Did he like them? His mother said he did. But did he really?

  "It's not fair." Jimmy started. Agent Walker nodded encouragingly. "For Supers. For Humans. Everyone. Humans have to live with people who can do things and have advantages that they can't possibly attain. Supers have to live with everyone's suspicion and envy. I think everyone wishes they were a Super," Jimmy looked at Agent Walker quickly. She was nodding encouragingly.

  She quirked a smile. "I certainly do." She said. "If I could teleport in to work instead of sticking it out in traffic — mmhmmm." She made a satisfied sound.

  "And... And Supers have to live with that. Also, public sentiment is pretty negative towards Supers in general. Everyone thinks they're going to destroy the world. Not — can't be easy to live with."

  "Do you think Supers are going to destroy the world, Jimmy?"

  "People destroy the world. People have been doing it long before Supers came around."

  Agent Walker "Hhhmmmed" nodding, and that stylus never stopped scribbling.

  "Do you want to destroy the world, Jimmy?"

  'What sort of question is that?!' Jimmy jerked. "Of course not!"

  Agent Walker grinned apologetically. "Have to ask."

  It was easy to like Agent Walker, Jimmy noticed. She had a kind of soft and sweet presence that made it easy to open up around her. 'Be careful', Jimmy thought for what must have been the hundredth time. 'It's too easy to open up around her. Any second now she'll ask you a direct question, and then you'll be cooked. What am I going to say if she does?' Jimmy tried to think.

  "Are you afraid, though? Of Supers?"

  "I... uh. Ye-es?" He felt his power writhe a bit, as if it also wasn't sure if that was strictly honest. It was distracting, and he had to think about this too.

  Was he afraid? He guessed not. He was a Super, after all. Hard to be afraid of Supers if he was one. But he wasn't really a super Super, he decided. He could do some cool things, sure — and he'd trapped Magic in his pocket — but nothing that overpowered. Not like Legion. Not like Rosette. Either one of those two would eat him for lunch if it came to a fight. Well, Legion maybe. Rosette was a Hero after all. So he guessed if he met certain Supers he would be afraid. That made sense.

  "No." He decided the honest answer was. His power subsided. "Some Supers, I think. But in general, I think they're just people."

  "Hmm." Agent Walker sounded approving. "Would you say that you think they are basically normal people, who just have some additional advantages?"

  Jimmy shrugged and nodded.

  It occurred to Jimmy, that this wasn't actually what he'd expected out of this interview. This was almost... comfortable. Easy. 'No hard questions. What's going on?' He shifted again and mentally cringed as the chair creaked underneath him.

  'They took your Steed of Steel And Grease', he reminded himself. He felt himself clench around his Unidentifiable Somewhere. That loose thread dangling there. That missing card. It panged like a raw nerve. And in his pocket, his phone buzzed.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  Once.

  Twice

  'Which phone was it?'

  "Was it something I asked?"

  "Ah...".

  "Your face changed."

  "Oh... Ah. I—" Unidentifiable Somewhere. It hurt. Two texts. A third —"Sorry." Jimmy muttered. "I... don't think I... can you repeat the question?"

  'Vicky? Please let it be Vicky!'

  He blushed, looking hard at the desk and nowhere near Agent Walker. So it took him a couple seconds to realize that she wasn't about to answer. Her face had gone slack.

  "Was it something I asked?" Jimmy asked cheekily.

  Agent Walker lowered her eyebrows at him for his temerity, but she still looked distracted.

  "We might have to postpone this, Jimmy." She smiled at him apologetically. "I —"

  Her face went blank again. "We have to postpone." She snatched up her tablet and thrust it and her stylus back into her bag.

  "What's going on?"

  But Agent Walker was already disappearing through the door, and speaking quickly to no one in particular.

  "Whe —" The door closed behind her.

  Jimmy blinked at the door for several seconds afterwards. Then he pulled out his phone. Both of them, but the important one first.

  Vicky had texted.

  [8:21 AM — (VM)] Rosette is cool

  'Fudge'

  [8:21 AM — (VM)] whens our next date

  'Double fudge. Gosh, I'm saying that a lot.'

  But he couldn't dwell on that because a third text from Vicky arrived even as he was standing in the empty classroom holding The Guy's phone.

  [8:25 AM — (VM)] Guy. Check the news.

  And then there were more texts and these weren't from Vicky. They sent him packing and out the door with the same alacrity as Agent Walker.

  He found his friends in the same classroom he'd recently left with the FBI agent, but class was obviously not in session. Everyone was congregated in little groups throughout the room looking at phones and Mrs M was huddled by herself at her desk doing the same thing. She looked pale.

  Vicky was huddled up with her cohort looking at a tablet which Raven was holding in one hand, while her other kept passing through the side of her hair which wasn't shaved. Vicky's eyes twitched as he burst in, but otherwise gave no other indication that she noticed him enter — which was hurtful if not altogether surprising.

  Regardless, Jimmy felt the irrational urge to join her group, before following the far more rational impulse and joined his Study-Tree nerd group instead, galvanized by Nate and Sashaya's frantic beckoning.

  "What's going on?!"

  No one answered. They didn't need to. He could hear it going on from the moment he entered, and he could see it as soon as he pushed himself between Nate and Tom to look at Nate's phone.

  "— No no. Our deal, remember? You keep it pointed at me. Centered on me" The camera shifted slightly to align on a man sitting in one of those armchairs that TV hosts often sat in.

  He was a pale man — almost too pale — with wavy dark hair which looked just short of too long, in a black button down which had been tastefully unbuttoned at the top and stylish jeans that looked like they would rip at the first sign of hard labor. He was smiling casually at someone off-screen and when he spoke it was with that smooth baritone that was instantly charismatic.

  "Don't make me have to show you Red's teeth again. She hasn't eaten in days and if you keep doing that, she's going to remind me that she's been well-behaved for a month now and deserves a treat."

  "Who is th—"

  "Dude! Shut up and watch!" Billy Winters tone was icy. "Isn't it obvious?!"

  "I just got here!" Billy wasn't wrong though. It was obvious.

  Oren Hunt grinned charismatically at him — at all of them — from Nate's screen.

  "Legion," Nate, Tom, and Sashaya all informed him quickly and a little unnecessarily. "He just took over the NFR News station in LA." Tom supplied hurriedly. "And giving a... news conference?"

  "And my compatriot here," Legion was saying, gesturing to the chair sitting facing him in the fashion that all news stations favored — facing but also at an angle, so it looked like they also faced the audience — "Is Red."

  Red appeared in a blur like she'd just walked there but on 4x fast-forward and draped herself over the seat.

  "Red say hi... Nicely. Just like we discussed."

  "Hello morsels." Red purred. Legion glared at her. "Mortals." she corrected hurriedly.

  "That'll do. Red is a demon. Seventh Plane, Angelous variety. Whatever the hell that is supposed to mean."

  Red leaned forward indulgently, then grew and flared a massive pair of jet black, feathered wings.

  "It means that I am intelligent and cunning and powerful, Master," Red supplied helpfully. "Those on the Sixth Plane, are intelligent, but not cunning. And the Fifth, cunning but not intelligent."

  "Uhuh. And do these six and below folk agree with this?"

  "Even scurrying ants look upon their mound and see greatness."

  Red looked... oddly normal for a demon, Jimmy decided, if undeniably beautiful in a... magazine cover sort of way. Her face was heart shaped and her skin almost bronze in its tone with hair that was so vivid that it made Patricia's look dull. It swept back behind her ears — which were not pointed — and fell all the way past her shoulder blades.

  She wore frayed jeans, a tight, red v-neck that emphasized the curve of her neck and shoulders and said 'Hellish' over her chest, which was also emphasized. And there was a... a collar.

  Jimmy knew that Legion put collars on all of his gi—demons. He supposed he just hadn't expected them to be so prominent. Something like a choker, he thought, or even a cat collar — some people did that on purpose apparently....

  This wasn't like that, and Red did nothing to hide it in any case.

  It was a band, almost an inch wide, of silvery metal that looked almost liquid in its smoothness and flexibility, and it fit Red's neck so perfectly, it hung suspended beneath her chin.

  Jimmy couldn't make out any segments in the band, nor writing, and neither could he make out any sort of clasp, though admittedly, it could also have just been hidden beneath her wave of red hair. He didn't think so, though. It didn't fit. The collar just was in a way that somehow seemed more emphatic than even the demon herself, much less Legion or anything else in the room.

  You couldn't not see those collars. It was probably why everyone always mentioned them. A clasp seemed just a bit too ordinary to Jimmy.

  Legion shook his head, grinning. "Well, you heard it all from the horse —demon's — mouth, folks." Legion was saying. "Everything below the seventh are sub-seven. And where do we fit into all of this, Red?"

  Red grinned a long, slow, red grin, and her tongue snaked out to lick her lips. "Chattel." She purred.

  "Right." Legion was still nodding and grinning as if Red had said nothing more egregious than a stated preference for pineapples on her pizza. "Funny, how you're the one wearing that collar then."

  "The Irony escapes me Master."

  "Uhuh. So, Red, how many of you are there?"

  Even on camera, Red's eyes suddenly burned and when she spoke it echoed as if countless voices spoke in time. "We are LEGION".

  "I am Legion."

  "Yes... you are also Legion, Master."

  "Ok. I don't even know what's going on anymore." Billy snorted. "He's giving a press conference to one of his girls?"

  All the girls in the classroom glared at him.

  "Theater."

  "Say what now." Vicky's eyes flicked to Jimmy from Raven's tablet.

  Jimmy swallowed and when he answered, he tried to make his voice subtly different from his normal one. Nate's pitying eyes told him that it worked... and that it didn't. "Theater." Jimmy repeated in a louder voice. "He's playing. Maybe it's a distraction, or...". '"We're primed to take seriously anyone acting erratically".... Did this count? He was certainly taking this seriously.' Jimmy shrugged.

  "He's not saying anything that isn't already a published account," Tom agreed.

  "You read his manifesto?" Billy was acerbic.

  "It was a publication by his shrink!"

  Billy snorted. "Still can't believe you re —"

  "Hey! Cut it out!" Vicky glared at Billy until he subsided — something that gave Jimmy no small amount of vicarious pleasure. "Something's happening."

  Someone new appeared. Black hair and shorter than Red, but still obviously a demon. The collar gave it away. And the picturesqueness.... And how she dropped from the ceiling.

  This one opted for a more Victorian theme in her shopping, and while that seemed like it should have come with awkward drop-from-ceiling side effects, it didn't. Her black ball gown barely fluttered as she landed.

  "The Human cutlery approaches, Master. They fly quickly."

  "Huma — I think you're using the wrong word again, Abigail."

  Sashaya mouthed Abigail wonderingly.

  "What word shall I use?"

  Legion tilted his head. "Ah. Oh. Those sound like Choppers? Oh! I see the confusion." He massaged his eyes as Abigail nodded her head smugly.

  "Anyway." Legion clapped his hands and stood up. Red stayed where she was, still smiling that sharp smile. "That means we are out of time, then, folks."

  "Deter them." He said to Abigail.

  Abigail nodded once. Flickered, and was gone.

  Legion looked back at the camera, and to Jimmy's eyes his face sort of changed a bit. "I bet your all wondering why I've taken over a news station of all things. Well I'm about to tell you. That Cutler — ah..." He looked off-screen. "Right. That's a lot of gunships." He said after a moment. "And apparently there's some armor coming too. All of that is not to rescue these poor people in this room with me."

  The camera finally panned around quickly and Jimmy got a quick glance at three rows of office workers sitting at desks frozen behind monitors. Interspersed among them were more women — demons — like Red, just lounging, or sitting, or in one case, sniffing at a ghostly pale woman's hair.

  "— You don't usually send that much firepower to a hostage situation."

  "But this is Legion", Nate muttered.

  "— Now I know what you all are thinking. 'This is Legion'" Legion sneered and air quoted. Nate twitched. "It's still excessive. The US government does not want me talking to you guys. I've been trying, but they've got this fucking AI lock —"

  A burst of murmuring swept the room. Tom cursed softly. Billy exclaimed "That's a lie!"

  'That is wildly illegal.' Jimmy thought feeling as stunned as everyone else.

  "— For those of you watching who are less tech-savvy. AI locks are AI run programs whose purpose is to lock down content based on topic, sentiment, what-have-you. And... needless to say are wildly, constitutionally illegal. Can't stop this though, this is live —" Legion grinned mirthlessly "— AND I put a lot of effort into ensuring that they can't shut it down through other means. So all of you Supers out there listening in. Pay attention. Many Bothans died..." he coughed, and said, "This is for you"

  He held out a hand and Red passed him a folded paper, which he unfolded into two. He held one of them up to the camera.

  "Our government is not your friend. They are actively seeking you out, tracking you, and often times, terminating you."

  "What's on these pages came from Menrose, which, if you look in that crater my friend, Ren, left at the corner of Tempest and Isabella. The one the feds have cordoned off tighter than Red's collar. You'll find the tunnel we used to get in to one of their underground facilities."

  "Now, I am not talking about you 'I can fly' Supers. Or Teleporters or... you know what I mean." Legion shook one of the lists. "So for instance. "Super Fast Guy in New York. You, are fine. Hither? You too. Thither, To, and — what is with these names. Did you all read the same book?" Legion shook his head.

  "To and Fro. You guys are probably going to get job offers soon. So, Thither, your LinkedIn profile says you're looking for work — you make sure you negotiate an offer with enough zeros in it. They'll pay. Beck, Call, and John Freeman." Legion looked straight at the camera. "You guys are not ok. You know why. They do too. Drop everything. Get out now. They're coming."

  "And it's the same for everyone on this list!" Legion brandished the second list in his hand and dropped the first one, letting it flutter to the floor dramatically. Listen carefully."

  And Legion began to read.

  "What's h —"

  "Shut up."

  "Bu —"

  "Shut up shut up."

  Names.

  "Four Score. Seraph. Silas, Stranger. Carlos Rodriguez. Wendigo. Alvin Kelly. Mordred, Manny. Sarah. Sarah Cole. Sarah Hill, Sara Montoya spelled without the 'H'. Maleficent ...."

  Jimmy's ears were ringing as Legion spoke. His demeanor had completely changed. Gone was the at ease, playful demeanor. Legion's face was set, and tight, and he pronounced each name with an exactitude born of rehearsal.

  "Kahlev Ben-Yefuneh. Amir Khan. Foe-Hammer..."

  The names burned in Jimmy's ears like a lit coal was being held to his earlobe, and he gripped the side of the desk in a whitening grip as if he needed it to hold him up.

  'He's... he's outing Supers' Jimmy thought faintly. Then 'No. He's calling them out. Even a name like Kahlev. How many must there be? But how many who were secretly Supers.... That Kahlev would know to... what? Run?' Jimmy breathed like he couldn't pull air into his lungs fast enough. 'To run on Legion's say so??' Jimmy hands burned with the force that he gripped the table and hung on those words.

  He wasn't the only one. Nate's eyes were fixed on Tom's phone. Patricia and Sashaya both looked grim. Vicky was cursing a storm into being behind him.

  "Guys." Someone in the class was saying. "Guys..."

  "Shut up!"

  "No. There's more. Search 'Outside NFR Now', someone's covering outside!"

  "... Gorgon. Leonora Frank. Anger, Comfort, and Scorn — all three of you. There was a flurry as students pulled out more devices.

  Sashaya pulled her phone out grimly and Nate thrust his next to Tom's and Jimmy got to see two views. Legion speaking those names. And a view of the NFR News courtyard with the main street just in view on the far side.

  It looked peaceful with its grass lawn and no less than three fountains trickling away between seating areas and patio tables. There were oddly shaped black pillars littering the lawn haphazardly amidst archway trellises heavy with vines and climbing roses.

  And people were seated there. They were lounging and chatting as if Legion — Oren Hunt — was not naming Supers on national television somewhere in the building behind them. One was holding coffee while texting on his phone and a dark skinned man with a goatee was obviously trying to chat up a demon.

  A Demon. They were obvious. They all stood out with horrifying perfection about them. And these ones were not even trying to blend in. They clung to walls as if there were handholds in the smooth faces, or crouched on the roof with their wings flared or just stood still as statues as if they'd forgotten they weren't stone.

  Peaceful. Until it wasn't. The scene zoomed out suddenly as whatever was taking the footage seemed to zip away, and suddenly all that "cutlery" that Abigail had reported was in view.

  "... Horatio. Amy Lynch..."

  There were the helicopters that Jimmy only saw in movies, with their double stacked rotors spinning like whirling disks. Drone gunships flanked them in loose formations.

  There were several configurations, Jimmy could see in the view. There were the large gun platforms that lumbered above all the rest with their eight rotor arms spread wide carrying those wide, stacked blades which jack-knifed in opposite directions. They bristled with armaments and what Jimmy only assumed were armaments.

  "Dude..." Tom breathed. Patricia looked sick.

  Most were a speedier variety. Smaller with six rotor arms and smaller guns emplacements. They were zipping ahead of the helicopters just like they did in the movies and Jimmy knew that they were meant to catch and attract enemy fire before the helicopters got close and then last, were the wingmen.

  These weren't copter drones in the conventional sense. They were glide bodies with wide wings like a manta ray's spreading on either side and circular cutouts for gimbaling turbofans in each wing. These swept wide of the formation, and as the camera panned across them, they veered away and up.

  "... Dude..." Someone breathed audibly behind Jimmy. "That's an army."

  "Amelia Lockhart. Garret Jones. Shmuel Silverman. Cory Marx. Schmidt. Kilgore. Bilbo Backends....

  Myriad this last week, those stars really increased Myriad's ranking, and specifically for that super Advanced Review you gave me this last week. Also all your edits and comments. I really do appreciate edits, and the discussions on the chapters make me cackle at my computer.