“Can we acknowledge how cool it is you’re talking with a chicken?” Sami asked. “I think this is a sign we should keep it.”

  “I’m not talking with it,” Claire dismissed. “It’s a one-way communication. I can’t talk to it. But apparently its handler, The Chickenero, can speak bird. Chickenero sent us Wingerella to inform us of Boli’s location.”

  “Great! Let’s go.” Sami started moving to the door.

  “Hey, hold on!” Claire snapped. “I’m in charge here. We’re not just running out there!”

  Sami stopped and frowned, but blinked as he suddenly felt a sensation in his body. Flexing his muscles, his Shadow Hand reformed and danced at his side. Grinning, he gave himself a high five. It was record timing on the reformation.

  “Are we certain that the sect of the Underground and the True Elder’s rival are not in the same location?” Gan Wen asked.

  Sami looked at him, amused that he always spoke like he was hearing things from his own little world. “That’s a good point. All the big HUE heroes might already be on their way.”

  “Right, ummm,” Claire looked at the chicken she kneeled ahead of. The bird tilted her head and ruffled some feathers. “Do you know if the Underground and Boli are in the same place?”

  Wingerella tilted her head the other way.

  “Not sure how to ask,” Claire admitted.

  “That’s all the more reason that we should go and check!” Sami said.

  Claire stood to address him. “No. We need people here. Kutso and Francine are putting out a fire and Ulysses, Milo, and Beth are out helping a hospital. I don’t want HUE to be totally strapped of heroes in case there’s another emergency.”

  “Like another parking issue?” Sami asked sarcastically.

  “You’re being obtuse and you know it,” Claire snapped. “If they’re going to challenge the Underground, then whatever members escape the fight are going to spread like roaches to the rest of the city. Who knows how many they’ve got?”

  “But this is important to check out! Even just one person with a phone! I’m not saying it has to be me, but I’ll volunteer if no one else will,” Sami insisted.

  “Look, I’m sorry, but no. This is like following a hunch and leaving us with one fewer person. Remember…” Claire opened a palm toward Wingerella. “This is a chicken. I swear Sami, when you have your mind on something, it’s like you ignore everything else.”

  Sami wanted to say something, but he had a nagging feeling that she had a point. Like when he objectively knew that it would be smart to get good publicity, but made no effort in the moment with the Slattery Network. The reporter asked pretty generic questions and he talked down to her instead of taking time to think. The same thing happened at the Fundraising Gala, where he was disinterested in anyone that might be able to assist HUE in getting into bigger spaces in the public eye.

  Power was one thing, but he wanted to be more reliable as well. Both for HUE and all of Hammerton.

  But it still bothered him that it felt like he was never taken seriously for what he considered very serious matters. As far as everyone knew, Boli killed Lightcrown, and they didn’t even want to take the time to check it out. The man had an army of bots twelves years ago, what was to stop him from making more? If there was anyone that could start another Silent Scream level calamity, it would be him.

  “All right, I get your point,” Sami sighed. “What about when the others get back? You’ll have plenty to work with.”

  “I know, but we need to keep everyone around, just in case. Deployments are probably the most important aspect of day-to-day HUE. If someone calls for us and no one shows up, then what’s the point?” Claire asked.

  Sami couldn’t see a flaw in her logic, as much as he worked his jaw in search of one. Her last point was especially poignant, shutting down any other arguments he had. If someone called for help and he was too busy following a chicken to nowhere, he would be sick with himself.

  “All right, fine. Dawson, get over here and cut my arm off again,” Sami said, holding out his Shadow Hand.

  “Sure, but I really wish you’d stop phrasing it like that,” Dawson said, Sharpening his arm and moving to Sami.

  As Dawson cut off the dark limb from his control, Sami took note of the look on his face. He seemed somewhat disturbed, and Sami thought that he should stop asking him to cut off his hand for a moment, before realizing what it was more likely caused by.

  “Did you watch the playback of your livestream in Indus?” Sami asked, his voice low.

  Dawson nodded slightly, frown deepening.

  “Dude, did I die?” Dawson asked.

  “I really don’t know how to answer that. It looked like it.”

  “I don’t remember it at all.” Dawson closed his eyes tightly to spur on a recollection. “Nothing at all! And… Well, I don’t know how to feel about the fact that the guy who killed me is still out there.”

  “In prison. With half his bones broken, right?”

  “Yeah but with a power like that, how long are they gonna hold him? What if he Captures the Moment of a really strong punch and then releases it when a guard is holding his keys next to his cell!?”

  “Can he do that?”

  “I don’t know! But maybe he could heat the bars up enough to melt them or something! His powers were no joke.”

  Sami placed an arm on his shoulder, feeling the slight tremble in his stature. “Hey, we’re not gonna let him do anything like that. We’re a team. If he wants to kill you, he’ll have to kill me first.”

  Dawson looked up, his frown upturning slightly. “Thanks Sami. I’m glad we’re teammates. Sorry about being so stupid with the stream before.”

  “And I’m sorry about being such a jerk.”

  Nodding with a small smile, Dawson looked at the space on the floor where the Shadow Hand dissolved.

  “You sure it doesn’t hurt?”

  “Not at all. I get, like, a general sensation from the Shadow Hand, but not any pain signals. I know when it’s touching something, but I couldn’t tell you if what it was touching was hurting it.”

  “Cool… Can you think of any ways to enhance my Sharpening? I just learned to Sharpen my legs, but I wonder if there’s more growth here.”

  “Do you think you can combine it with your second power?” Sami watched it glow.

  Dawson Unsharpened his arm and looked down sheepishly. “Did Naomi tell you what it was?”

  “No, I was just wondering.”

  “Please don’t tell the others. It’s kinda embarrassing. A Live Studio Audience,” Dawson whispered.

  Sami stared flatly, shaking his head slightly. “Like you always see an audience?”

  “I always hear them. They play a laugh track to every joke, and do things like ‘Aww’ and ‘Boo’ at things I see. Ever since they showed up, they’re always around.” Dawson waved a hand around his ears.

  “That doesn’t sound much like a Power. We sure this isn’t an Anomaly?” Sami studied his Power Sense Bubble. It was blue, not black, like Gutshot’s bubble with his dad-replacement Anomaly.

  Dawson shrugged bashfully. “That’s the embarrassing part. I kinda like it.”

  “For sure,” Sami said smoothly, not wanting him to feel ashamed or vain. “But I guess it wouldn’t be able to help the Sharpening. Hmmm… Have you tried running the blades against each other to make them even sharper?”

  “You mean like honing a blade? How do I do that?” Dawson looked at his arms.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “I dunno, but there are probably a lot of ViewCube tutorials on it.”

  “Yeah, thanks. This is a great idea, I’ll look into that. And any ideas on how to enhance the Live Studio Audience?”

  “Not a clue.”

  “Yeah, that’s fair.”

  Grinning with delight, Sami regenerated his Shadow Hand. What took hours days ago was only minutes now. Enthused by his own progress, Sami imagined himself mid-combat losing a shadow arm and immediately bringing it back to the shock of his opponent.

  The doors to the warehouse slid open and Francine and Kutso walked in. Kutso’s blade and Francine were both covered in ash. Looking around, Francine wrinkled her nose.

  “Why does this place look like it was temporarily a chicken coop?”

  Wingerella clucked at her.

  “I see. Are we cooking it?” Francine held a ball of flame in her hand.

  “No! We’re keeping it!” Sami said.

  “We never agreed to either of those things! And her name is Wingerella,” Claire snapped at them both.

  “Have any of you seen a teleporting guy before?” Kutso asked, cleaning off her sword. “He ran up to us asking for help. He wanted to talk to some shadow master or something? Someone with long arms?”

  Eyes turned to Sami, but he shrugged. “I’ve seen him before. He panicked, was looking for someone in HUE, then teleported away.”

  “Pretty much how I would describe how he interacted with us. What’s his deal?” Francine asked, juggling two flames in one hand.

  Dawson looked thoughtful. “Maybe he’s looking for Hannah instead of Sami. She has a Shadow Puppet power that enhances everything about her shadow, even the length of her arms.”

  “Next time one of us sees him, we should at least get his name,” Sami suggested.

  An eerie boom suddenly washed over the room, like a firework popping in the distance but its effects buffeting everyone inside. Looking between one another sharply, they searched for a source of the blast.

  “What was that?” Claire asked.

  The lights all shut off simultaneously. Francine’s flame kept the area illuminated, and the young members of HUE gathered in her light.

  “A power outage?” Gutshot asked.

  “After an explosion?” Claire asked skeptically.

  A thudding came at the door to the front desk. Sami reached out a Shadow Hand to slide it open but it was stuck. Without electricity, the door would remain locked even with a keycard. Blinking in thought, Sami frowned.

  “Anyone hear me?” Darius knocked again. “Power’s out in the whole building.”

  Sami’s brain brightened with ideas. “Gan Wen, can you break it down? Warn them on the other side, first. Dawson, can you go check on Naomi? If her machines are down, she might need additional help. Anyone know which hospital Beth is working at? I get the feeling this isn’t localized to us and might have hit the city. People are gonna need help.”

  Dawson and Gan Wen broke off immediately to follow their instructions.

  “Stand back, I will break down the door.” Gan Wen’s palm grew bright yellow.

  “Go for it!” Darius called.

  Thrusting a palm forward, the light expanded into a larger hand, smashing into the door and crashing it inward.

  “I bet we’re flooded with calls. Any deployments?” Claire ran to the front desk as soon as the hole opened up.

  “The whole system’s down!” Lily called, flipping several switches behind the desk in quick succession. “Our desk phones are dead and we can’t get the computers on! Total black out!”

  Sami pulled out his phone to check if it had been affected as well. The battery was dead. Definitely something that hit the entire city. He wondered if they had already confronted the Underground or if this was an entirely separate Awakened individual.

  Dawson bashed into the door on the other side of the warehouse.

  “Naomi’s locked inside, and I can’t see anything!” he called.

  “I’ll go help him. Gan Wen, keep your shining energy flowing.” Francine ran with her flame. Gan Wen radiated brilliant light from both palms, filling the area with enough light for everyone to see comfortably.

  “What do we do, Claire?” Gutshot asked, nervously scratching his stomach.

  “I’m thinking,” Claire replied seriously, standing beside Lily and tapping different buttons on the computer to no avail.

  “We’re no good in here,” Darius said. “Without connection to the outside, HUE can’t really do anything.”

  “Then we should probably go outside,” Dawson said. “Look for the nearest explosion and head that way.”

  “What if the power comes back on and none of us are here to pick up the hundreds of requests for help?” Claire asked.

  “But we can’t ignore everyone out there during the blackout! Who knows how long it’ll last!” Sami pointed his arms to the exit.

  Wingerella clucked loudly, running in a circle and flapping her wings.

  “I know! Let me think!” Claire snapped.

  The door on the other side of the hall popped open, Annie walking out while rubbing an eye.

  “Power’s out?” she asked, yawning with boredom. “I didn’t even get to finish the armadillo documentary.”

  “Can you bring the power back on?” Sami asked hopefully.

  “How would I do that?”

  “I dunno! With one of your powers! You have, like, infinite potential!”

  “I can turn your phones back on, if that helps.” Annie nodded and Sami’s phone suddenly glowed in hand, its battery at 100 percent.

  Unlocking it, he saw that both internet and phone signals were down. But at least he had a flashlight.

  “Great, thanks. Can you turn on the phones at the front desk, too?”

  “No, I don’t know how to do that,” Annie said, picking up a stray piece of chip from her shirt and eating it. Her casual tone maddened Sami, but he sighed his frustrations out through his nose.

  “Claire, what’s the plan?” Sami asked.

  “I’m still thinking!” Claire cracked, her face tight and golden hair out of place. “Do any of you have ideas that don’t involve us all leaving a space where we can all communicate?”

  “Kutso, can you go into your sword and survey the city from the sky to give us an idea of what’s going on out there? If there’s mayhem we need to move immediately,” Sami instructed.

  “Got it.”

  Darius grabbed his desk chair and placed it down for her to sit in before sending her consciousness to her blade. It sprung to life and raced out the door Sami opened with a stretched Shadow Hand. Glancing outside, nothing in the immediate vicinity looked like it was on fire.

  “Naomi! Any word from anyone who went to check on Naomi?” Claire asked urgently. It sounded to Sami like she wanted to pass off the responsibility of being in charge to someone else.

  “They’re coming out now,” Gutshot reported. “With Naomi.”

  “What? Shouldn’t she be in bed?” Claire raced out from behind the desk, and Sami followed close behind.

  Naomi was sitting somewhat upright, wheeled into the main open space of HUE in her bed. Dawson kept her IV Bag close by and Francine lit the way. Naomi’s eyes were keen, despite the frailty of her thin frame. She scanned the scene, pausing a moment longer on Annie than the rest of what she saw.

  “How far is the black out?” Naomi asked. Her voice was strained, but stern.

  “Probably the whole city. Or further. Phone and internet is down.” Sami showed her his lack of signal.

  “Annie, can you get us back to power?”

  “No, I already told them I can’t,” Annie said, annoyed.

  “What about protection? Can you keep this building safe on your own?”

  Annie blinked, stunned. Brushing some crumbs from her shirt and summoning some decorum, she nodded seriously.

  “Yeah. What am I defending us against?”

  “I don’t know. But Dawson told me there’s a chicken with Boli’s location out here. I want you to go get him. I have a feeling he’s caused this whole mess and wants to stage a second Silent Scream.”

  “I’m not going out there,” Annie said, crossing her arms.

  “Not you, everyone else. I just want to make sure we aren’t ambushed while it’s empty around here,” Naomi said.

  “Everyone?” Sami asked hopefully.

  “I want Gan Wen to stay behind. His power’s the most versatile in case we get power and need some deployments handled. Lilly or Darius should remain to handle the front desk, but if one of the two wants to go, they’re free to do it.”

  Exchanging a glance, Darius and Lilly shook their heads. Gan Wen bowed his head, looking deeply honored.

  Gutshot stepped forward, looking more calm than usual. “You’re deploying all of us? Even those of us that aren’t especially suited for combat?”

  “Boli killed Lightcrown. I think every power will be effective. But if you don’t think you’ll be useful out there, then be useful here.”

  Wingerella clucked at Naomi.

  “Chest… I mean, Chickenero, tell the bird to lead the way. If you can hear me,” Naomi ordered the bird.

  Wingerella scratched the floor and preened herself.

  “What if you need to call us back?” Claire asked. “Once we’re out there, we’re out of communication.”

  “I… I have an idea,” Sami said, looking between Lilly and Darius.

  “I can’t Switch people or anything like that!” Lilly held up her arms.

  “Can you patch this call through?” Sami dialed a number and held his phone to his ear.

  “What? There’s no signal! What am I supposed to do?” Lily asked, confused.

  Head in his palm, Darius’s phone started ringing, startling everyone in the near vicinity. Twice, it was allowed to ring before Darius held up the phone and hung up on Sami.

  “All right, you win Sami. I can do something with the power. In the very specific case of a localized blackout, I can act on attempted phone signals and connect people. Are you happy now?”

  “Very.” Sami grinned.

  “Excellent. That’s settled,” Naomi leaned back into the bed, energy dissipating from her. It was like she only came alive to take charge and went back into a hibernation before the end. “Hurry up and get the power back on before I die. I’ve probably got a few hours, let me hear the words that Boli is captured or dead before then.”

  “All right people, let’s go!” Sami said, excited as he pointed forward with his Shadow Hand.

  Gathering themselves and rushing around to grab last minute gear, the young members of HUE collected at the front door, with Wingerella at their head. Claire looked to Sami, who nodded to her, and she leaned down and spoke to the chicken.

  “All right girl, I think we’re all ready.”

  Wingerella clucked and took two steps toward the exit.

  Kutso’s body suddenly sprang to life, her sword swishing back through the door just in time for her to catch it.

  “Not much going on outside, except in Indus. Some flares, like a battle happening deep in that district. And I think there’s a fire in Upham. Otherwise, it’s quiet, I’d be surprised if…” She looked around, noticing the group of heroes preparing to exit. “You’re moving out? Maybe wait until I’m back to listen before talking about all the points of a plan!” she said, annoyed.