Side Story: Gravitic 2

Is this really happening? Greg thought as he walked down the hallway. They’d finally made it inside and he couldn’t be more baffled by his immediate company. Most of his ‘security team’ were walking at a comfortable distance, Hammond and Locke were pretty anti-social it seemed. He wondered if they’d be better with civilians or if they signed up for this role because they didn’t like people or something. Nietz on the other hand was walking alongside him with a big grin on his face. That wasn’t the weird part, though.

Ahead of him, three of the most powerful people on earth were casually walking and talking as if the Pandora Committee didn’t categorize them as walking nukes.

Stop tailspinning like a fanboy and listen in! He chastised himself, leaning his head forward to listen a bit more carefully to what they were talking about. You don’t get this chance every day.

“How was Dharan?” Euclidia asked, nudging Qilin with her elbow.

Qilin turned her head ever-so-slightly in her direction and sighed, “Messy, but not enough to alleviate my boredom,” she muttered and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, “The monsters were pathetically weak. I don’t understand why the Pandora Committee doesn’t just send a strike team in to finish the job.”

“Eh,” First Wind cut in, “Not like we have any clue how to close a dungeon break once it happens.”

“I assume just kill the boss,” Qilin clipped, shooting him a glare. “Why are you still here? I’m speaking with Euclidia now.”

“We’re walking in the same direction, hot stuff,” He shot back before looking towards Euclidia, “How was the camp? Any badass new recruits? I see you brought one with you,” he said and glanced back to meet Greg’s eyes, “Sup, kid. You got a cool power?”

Greg’s mouth went dry but he managed to open his mouth before Euclidia chimed in, “His codename is Gravitic, Luca,” she said patiently before immediately brandishing her wild grin again and saying, “He’s going to be working for me for a while, joining the Logistics Corps.”

First Wind stopped walking and turned, raising an eyebrow, “Good power and leadership qualities, huh?” He shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned forward to get a good look at Greg’s face as Greg and his team came to a stop a few feet away. Euclidia stopped as well while Qilin let out a sigh and kept walking, unwilling to entertain the scenario. “Gravity powers? I’d like someone like you on my team. We could raise some serious hell against villains, man. Whadda ya say?”

Greg caught Euclidia’s raised eyebrow out of the corner of his eye as he kept his focus on First Wind’s face. There was a moment where he was half-tempted just to say yes in the face of the walking hurricane but managed to school himself up enough to speak his mind. He wasn’t the bundle of nerves that joined the camp ten weeks ago, after all. “No thanks, man,” Greg said and jerked a thumb over his shoulder, “I’m getting this training to support my team back home.”

First Wind made a face that almost looked angry for a moment before he snorted and pushed his sunglasses up, “Yeah, that’s the good stuff. A man who cares about his gang. I dig it,” he grinned, “Well, if you end up getting assigned to helping the international team on occasion with logi-whatever, look my group up. Might be worth having someone with some talent to listen to,” he shot some finger guns before turning away to walk again, “Hey! Qilin, where ya goin?”

“To the lounge!” She called back behind her. “I’m tired of standing!”

“Then let me carry you or somethin’ babe!” He shouted and started hustling down the hallway.

“Ugh!” She shot back, disgusted, “You are foul! Don’t touch me!”

Greg let out a breath and Nietz clapped him on the shoulder before giving him a thumbs up. He grinned at the guy and offered a nod of thanks only to notice that the other two had suddenly moved in much closer. He blinked and turned to see Hammond right behind him and Locke at his left. He hadn’t even noticed them moving into his space. They were both staring daggers at First Wind’s back. Locke’s lips twitched, “He’s prone to collateral damage, watch out for him,” she grunted and turned his way before meeting his confused gaze. “What?”

He cleared his throat, “You guys move fast.”

The holographic planet spun rapidly before displaying North America, a red dot flashed and a line stretched out of it giving a string of numbers followed by specific details.

CRUSADER, ACTIVE HERO, GROWTH-TYPE (EPIC)

CURRENT LOCATION: ASTA GUILD, EAST COAST, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK.

TARGET IS INSIDE KNOWN STRUCTURE, PORTAL ROOM COORDINATES READY.

“Oh, she’s a growth type! Cool! I didn’t know that,” Euclidia said thoughtfully, “She’s like Nietz then.”

He turned to her, “Nietz is like Crusader?” he asked.

“Oh yeah! You guys didn’t get to talk much, you’ll have a chance later,” she said, rubbing her neck, “Let’s just say that what doesn’t kill him, makes him stronger.”

Greg paused, “Thats... Intense.”

“You’re telling me,” she laughed, “Locke has a form of mind control that requires physical contact and Hammond...” she snorted, “You ever play pocket demons?”

He squinted at her, “The monster catching game?”

She pointed at him, “That’s the one!”

His face went deadpan, “You’re kidding.”

“Nope!” She laughed, “His ability is technically Epic-tier but it has a ‘mythic’ descriptor because there’s no evidence so far that he can’t take control of a mythic creature.”

“Why Hammond, then, that’s a weird name,” He asked.

“His ability uses amber,” she said and rolled her eyes, “Cinephiles.”

He raised his eyebrows, getting it, “Oh!” he cleared his throat, “So what’s my role?”

“Well,” she said, turning back to the nexus, “Nexus, cancel order,” she said before putting her hands on her hips, “You’ll be learning about how we organize strike teams and support the international team. While we do that you’ll learn about how missions are handled and what goes into dealing with a particularly nasty villain when it comes up,” she tilted her head, “Finally, you’re going to learn more about your abilities, I have something I’m working on.”

He blinked at her, “Huh?”

“You’re gonna help me get into the Backrooms,” she said with a grin.