Sal felt the tension wash out of him. He had no idea how she had such an effect on him. He wondered whether it was just a fear that she was going to use her powers on him and that he wouldn’t be able to stop her. He turned to Hannah, wanting to have a conversation about the gauntlets, but her expression was conflicted.

  When she met his eyes, she gave him an apologetic look and squeezed his hand with hers. “Sorry, Sal. I should go and help Victoria. We arranged this thing together, and I won’t hear the end of it if I leave her high and dry.”

  He blinked and nodded. “Sure, but can we talk later?”

  Hannah gave him a sly smirk as she squeezed his hand a little tighter. “I’ll drop by your room.”

  Just like that, Sal was standing awkwardly with Dave. He glanced up at Divinity, who was sitting in the seats he had previously gestured to. She must have known not to interrupt their conversation, and Sal was glad for less drama.

  As Sal started to walk up the steps, Dave’s voice came in a whisper behind him. “Dude, are you friends with the hottie in the leather jacket? Introduce me!”

  Sal smiled and shrugged. “No problem, man. But she probably already knows everything about you.” He glanced at Dave, but he was staring at Divinity with a curious expression on his face.

  “Is she from our cohort? I’ve never seen the goth before.”

  Melanie was still sitting beside Divinity, and they both seemed to be in animated conversation. He was happy that they had managed to connect, as it made it much likelier that they were going to avoid that fourth calamity. As they reached the girls, and before Sal could get a word out, Dave jutted out his hand to Divinity.

  “Dave Delgado! Rank #669.” He winked at her and smiled, which Sal found oddly funny.

  Divinity gave Dave a slight nod. “I hope you don’t mind, Dave, but I’m not going to encourage you in any way or form because you’ll read into every little action as a sign that I’m into you. Which I’m not. We can happily talk and you’re welcome to join us, but just know that I have absolutely no interest in you.”

  Sal blinked as he looked at Divinity, but Dave just laughed.

  “We’ll see. You’ll eventually succumb to the Delgado charm!”

  Divinity shook her head. “I won’t. What finally makes you stop is when you realize I’m the Rank #2, Divinity Khan, and that I’m the girl with the spinning kick.” Her voice was matter-of-fact, as though she were explaining something incredibly obvious to a child.

  Dave’s expression matched that of a child being told something incredibly obvious, and both Sal and Melanie got to watch in real time as her identity dawned on him. His eyes widened, and he pointed at her as everything clicked into place. “Fuck! You’re her! Future Girl.”

  Dave looked in wonder at Sal, and Sal finally appreciated that there were two very different definitions of the term late to the party.

  “Melanie.” With a dismissive shrug and wave, Melanie gestured to herself as if to ask whether Dave wanted to introduce himself to her too. In true Dave fashion, he gave her a passing glance and went back to Divinity.

  Sal whistled and leaned closer to Dave. “Know the way you respect strength and competency?” His whisper was loud enough for the girls to hear, and Divinity smiled knowingly.

  Dave grinned as he pressed his finger against Sal’s chest, emphasizing his point. “Qualities of a real Hero!”

  Sal glanced at the finger before gesturing at Divinity. “Em, Future Girl had a vision that Melanie…becomes the most powerful Hero out of this whole academy.”

  The sour look that he got from using Divinity’s impromptu nickname was worth it when Dave finally acknowledged Melanie.

  She did a seated theatrical bow before laughing heartily. Raising her plastic cup, she took a drink and made light of the awkward situation.

  “There was another vision where I apparently kill everyone because nobody wants to be my friend.” Her eyes locked on to Dave, and Sal wanted to burst out laughing. Divinity didn’t have the same restraint and let the giggles free.

  Dave, in a moment of self-awareness, moved forward and took the seat beside Melanie. “Dave Delgado. Pleasure to meet you!”

  Sal laughed as he moved into the space beside Divinity. “Having fun?” He reclined into the seat, not realizing how tense he had been feeling.

  Divinity’s smile faded. “It’s not always fun seeing into the future, because I see things that don’t always happen…” Her tone was reluctant, and she looked down. “There was a future where you fought those boys, and you disabled their powers.”

  Sal’s eyes widened. He had no idea what the extent of his powers were, but if he was able to disable them, that would be huge. He wanted to ask Divinity more about it, but the expression on her face stopped him. Divinity actually looked hurt.

  “When I jumped on the stage to help, one of them hit me and you took away their powers. You looked terrifying…and after we saw the stuff with the calamities, I started to wonder if you might end up turning into one too.”

  Divinity’s face grew red, and she whirled around in a panic. Sal got the impression she hadn’t meant to say that last bit aloud.

  He looked down at the stage. “I was thinking that it didn’t sound very much like me, but when you mentioned they hit you…yeah, that’s a whole different situation.”

  Divinity gestured to where Hannah was bickering with Victoria. “Isn’t it the same as what just happened, though?”

  Sal shook his head. “Completely different. I’ve no idea where I stand with Hannah, and there’s stuff we definitely need to talk about…but you’re pretty much my best friend.” He turned back to look her in the eyes. “If I’m honest, I’m surprised that I stopped at taking their powers.”

  A few moments of silence passed between them before Divinity finally leaned her head against Sal’s shoulder. “You’re pretty much my best friend, too.”

  Chapter 37:

  Priorities

  A few hours later, things had started to wind down with the party. There were going to be classes the following day, and more than a few people realized that they couldn’t show up drunk to them. Bolt, the lightning-quick guy, was zipping around the place, picking up plastic cups, and Sal had no idea whether he was being helpful or under Victoria’s charm.

  She sat on the edge of the stage as various people came up to her with questions. She was a natural leader by the looks of it, and many of the students seemed to depend on her. Interest in the stage seemed to fizzle out after the naked guys ran off, and the drinks only lasted another hour after that before the second-year called it a night and stopped mixing drinks. Victoria had somehow managed to convince him to stay for the extra hour and he was happy to get extra Q-Cred. They continued with music and the drinks that were left, but when that ended, it devolved into clusters of students chatting to one another.

  Dave had eventually gotten tired of Melanie’s monosyllabic answers, or finally got the hint that she wasn’t interested in him. Either way, he wished them all well and went off to find someone else to talk to before the end of the party. Melanie called it a night soon after, and Divinity had to stifle more than a couple of yawns in the hour that followed. Sal offered to walk her to the dorms, but she shook her head and yawned again.

  “Nah, I’ll be fine.”

  When she got to her feet, she stretched her arms over her head, and Sal couldn’t help but admire her figure.

  Divinity’s voice was strained as she reached the peak of her stretch. “Back to gray blobs tomorrow. I swear, they do absolutely nothing for me.” With that, she turned around and posed in front of Sal as though asking for his opinion on her outfit. When she saw how uncomfortable he was in responding, she laughed. “Oh, come on, you can say I look good.”

  Sal nodded immediately. “Very good. You look very good.”

  Divinity laughed and shook her head. “It’s no fun when you’re forced to say it. Like this…Sal, you’re looking handsome tonight.” She put a hand on her hip as she checked him out slowly.

  Sal sighed as he got to his feet and imitated her posture perfectly; he tried to do her voice as best he could and repeated her words back to her. Divinity rolled her eyes with a smile as she walked up the steps to the edge of the amphitheater.

  Sal followed behind her and couldn’t help but admire how well her jeans fit. “Love your jeans?” he ventured, which got him a laugh from up ahead.

  “Okay, that’s better. Thank you for noticing.”

  Divinity sashayed back and forth with a laugh, and Sal certainly wasn’t complaining. Unlike with Hannah, Sal felt completely at ease around Divinity, and he could be his regular joking self. He just didn’t want to risk his friendship by attempting anything with her. It was only their first week in what could be three years of working together, and a surefire way of making this awkward was to make a mistake in a heated moment.

  At the top of the stairs, Divinity turned and smiled. “You’ve a wide smile on your face in the morning when I see you, so I don’t think you need to be told to have fun.”

  Just as she was about to turn off for the dorms, Sal stopped her and asked a question that he was curious about. “Have you ever looked into your own future? To see who you end up with?”

  Sal had no idea whether it was rude to ask, but judging by the sad smile on Divinity’s face, he regretted asking.

  She just shrugged. “In all the futures I’ve seen, I end up alone. I don’t know if it’s because of my work, or because I push people away…” Divinity exhaled as she gestured at her eyes. “I can’t see the emotions behind the actions, so I don’t know why the future me is like that. I kinda have you to thank for giving me that realization. I need to understand the circumstances around the scenes rather than what they’re showing me.”

  Sal just stared at her quietly, and Divinity tried to make light of the situation.

  “Sorry, didn’t mean to be such a downer with that one. Let’s just say, who knows? Not every outcome happens, right?”

  Her attempts at humor were forced, and Sal returned her smile. As Divinity turned back toward her dorm, she called back over her shoulder, “Besides, we’re Heroes! We’re supposed to be saving lives, not living happily ever after!”

  “Goodnight!” Sal called after her, which she acknowledged with a wave before disappearing into her tower.

  Turning back, Sal looked down at the remains of the party and didn’t see any sign of Hannah. Victoria was still orchestrating the clean-up, and Sal was surprised at how conscientious she was. Rather than going down to help them all, Sal decided that it was time for bed. He thought about what Divinity said. Sure, a part of him was excited about whatever was going to put a smile on his face…but he was also troubled by the expression on Divinity’s face.

  He couldn’t imagine someone like her ending up completely alone. If it happened, it had to be down to choice. She was smart, funny, strong…incredibly powerful and beautiful. Sal shook his head as he tried to understand it. She was essentially the perfect woman. With that thought, Sal faltered as he started to question whether he liked her in that way.

  Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sal shook his head and wished he could blame his thoughts on alcohol, but he was as sober as the moment he arrived. After a few moments of deliberation, he realized that he was overthinking everything and that it didn’t matter. He was friends with Divinity, and everything was fine between them. Victoria was just trying to get under Hannah’s skin, but it didn’t work.

  He wasn’t going to complicate his life further, and he was happy to have a little fun with Hannah on the side. Sal nodded. There was nothing else to think about. He needed to focus on his classes, projects, and his own future. Everything else could take a back seat.

  When he finally made it to the lobby, he was almost at the elevator when he saw Hannah in a nearby chair, a bottle of water in front of her. Sal walked over to her, and her expression was suddenly crestfallen. Before he could say anything, she bit her lip.

  “Sal, I’m so sorry…but can we have that chat another night? I promise I’ll make it up to you.” Hannah gave Sal a hopeful look, and he nodded.

  “Of course. Are you okay?”

  Hannah sighed in what was probably relief and frustration as she just gestured to the amphitheater outside. “It’s just…Victoria. She decided to report those guys, and now I have to give a statement.” She gestured at the water bottle in front of her. “Just need to make sure I’m sober enough for it! I can’t believe she did this to us now. This could have waited until tomorrow!” Hannah closed her eyes with an aggravated sigh before she took Sal’s hand and squeezed it. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.” And with that, she picked up her water bottle and left the lobby, leaving Sal with zero plans for the rest of the night.

  ***

  “Okay, I’m seriously starting to think you hate fun,” Upgrade mocked as Sal walked into the workshop. She pointed at the clock on the wall above the elevator. “You were gone like five hours! Get drunk, go to bed, make stupid decisions!” Her voice was exasperated as she looked around at a few of the smiling faces around her. “Do all the fun shit before you become like us! Don’t skip all the good parts!”

  Sal waved the comments away as he approached his bench, but Upgrade stood up from her own and held up a hand.

  “Hold up! Who are you and what did you do with Sal?” Her eyes shamelessly looked him up and down, and Sal felt a small swell of pride as she gave him an approving nod. “You scrub up well! Might be worth Upgrading your uniform so you don’t have to wear that damn blanket-shirt.”

  Sal laughed as he got to his desk. “I’ll have you know that I fully intended to get an early night, but then I remembered that Vanessa was going to be leaving a few cores for me to work on! Early present in exchange for Myth’s services. Did they arrive yet?” He was hopeful as he looked at Upgrade expectantly.

  With a hand on her hip, she sighed. “If I tell you that they’re here, you’re going to start working, aren’t you?”

  Rather than answering, Sal just gave her a wide smile.

  Upgrade groaned. “Everything is set up in Room 17. Just don’t stay up all night, okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Sal saluted as he practically jogged toward the room.

  Sal’s Q-Card opened the door smoothly. The cold temperature inside made him shudder in excitement. He was finally going to work with cores, and he knew exactly where he wanted to start.

  The room itself was quite ordinary, with an illuminated design board filled with schematics on one side of the room, a large workspace with a streak of light at its center, and an intricate multitool mechanism directly above it. Other than those, the only thing that caught Sal’s attention was a long couch that rested on the other side of the table. The air conditioning was on and pumping the room with cool air, which he quite liked.

  Sal pulled an engraver down from the multitool and was pleasantly surprised to see that there was practically no resistance from its tether.

  There was a laser cutter, a fabrication printer, and even a small industrial forge. Saving the best for last, Sal turned around and regarded the ornate chest that waited for him on the floor. It had his name etched onto the surface, giving it an incredibly premium feel.

  Myth.

  Sal grinned as he opened the chest, feeling a rush of excitement as he saw several trays holding individual cores. Each one came adorned with an Appraisal tag. There were multiple bolts of fabric, stacks of metal ingots, vials of colored liquid, and even more than Sal could have ever expected. He carefully unpacked the case and had to stop himself from checking out and inspecting everything. He didn’t have a huge amount of time and didn’t want to repeat the instance of staying awake all night.

  Regretfully, Sal repacked the case with all the cool items, leaving him with what he needed. Every part of him wanted to start making the knife that could evolve. His creativity was practically begging him, but he reminded himself of the promise he made. On the other side of the table sat Watcher’s sniper rifle. He hadn’t ever manufactured parts before, but he figured that he’d need to start somewhere.

  Instead of going straight into the improvements like he was so accustomed to, Sal applied the lessons that Upgrade had taught him. He brought out a fresh sheet of sketch paper and started to inspect the sniper rifle from all angles. Just like he had done with the knife, he drew all the measurements of the existing weapon, all the components, how it fit, and anything that could be useful. It was much faster than he had expected, which brought a smile to Sal’s face. His practice was paying off.

  Upgrade entered the room and lay down on the couch. “So, spill…why are you back here and not out there getting wasted?”

  Sal continued to draw the precise lines, looking between the drawing and the rifle. “Party was ending. Guy serving alcohol called it quits and people were getting tired.”

  Upgrade twisted her head toward Sal. “Did you at least make any friends? Come on, I’m here all day. Give me some drama!”

  Sal shrugged as he worked. “I’ve a good friend. You already met her. Divinity?”

  With a groan, Upgrade sat up so she could see Sal better. “So, you’ve got nothing juicy?” Shaking her head, she got to her feet and was moving toward the door when Sal decided that the company was preferable to silence.

  “There was almost a fight.”

  “Finally!” Upgrade turned on her heel and skipped back to the couch with a grin on her face. “Tell me everything!”

  Sal paused from his drawing as he told her about the party, what had happened with the second-years, and how Victoria had intervened, but Upgrade put up her hand to interrupt.

  “Who is this Hannah girl? You were dancing? You can dance?!”

  The onslaught of questions caused Sal to laugh until Upgrade stood in front of him with her hands outstretched.

  “Sorry, Sal, but it’s the only way I’ll know if you’re telling the truth. You’re going to have to show me these dance moves!”

  Sal stared at her in disbelief before he burst out laughing.

  Upgrade shook her head. “I can lock you out of this room and make it so you can only use the workshop during core hours. But it’s your choice!”

 

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