The conversation over my potential solo jaunt to a different city to perform a little grand theft went exactly how I expected it to.

It was the first time the whole group of Disasters had learned about the mouth lying in wait in Neo-Scenia, ripe for the picking. As far as intelligence indicated, anyway. While they were supportive and wanted me to have a fully fledged form once more, they all agreed going alone was stupid.

Although they used a greater variety of words than that. Nearly twenty minutes of tense conversation distilled to that conclusion. Clara wasn't exactly helping by insinuating that it sounded like the perfect time for a romantic getaway. Over the duration of our meeting, the rest of the group slowly edged away from Roxy, as the passive heat radiating from her body got to an uncomfortable level.

In saying that, the super was relatively calm with her arguing points. She had imagined herself beside me, so at least if things took a turn for the worse, we'd have each other. Either in escape, death, or wanton destruction. Knowing that she was barred from attendance didn't sit well with her.

I let them do most of the talking. For all my selfish desires, it wasn't a priority for us right now. With our new headquarters being arranged, and Boss waiting in the wings for phase two of his master plan, I wasn't so eager to run off in the direction of danger. Not after such a terrible week.

Eventually, I let reason and my exhaustion call an end to the gathering.

[Let's put this in the dirt for now. It would be a shame to ruin the start of our vacation.]

No disagreements there. I was somewhat surprised to find that everyone had plans - apparently discussed after they had left Kingston's office.

The women were going to get out of their costumes and go shopping. Roxy seemed as though she was being dragged along against her will, but knew the fresh air would be good for her. Clara would be staying at the hotel as no amount of retail therapy could drag her away from the mountain of work our base-to-be had just given her. Roy was going to see his parents.

"You could come along if you wanted, Dubs," he offered. "Ah, we didn't mean to leave you out in the cold."

I waved him off as the group left the warehouse and moved to the Meteor.

[It's fine. I wanted to stretch my legs.]

Roxy stopped me. I was expecting a hug goodbye, but instead she put her hands on my shoulders. Her fiery eyes burned into mine.

"Do not get into trouble." She frowned, her tone slow and serious. "Any problems, just let us know."

[I'll meet you back at the hotel, in one piece.]

Although she didn't seem convinced, I was given the all clear, and we all went our separate ways. It turned out that having the freedom to do nothing felt pretty odd for us. Perhaps just me. I watched the Meteor leave the yard outside the warehouse as Roy ran off.

Now what?

Alone with all my thoughts and eyeballs. Part of me wanted to find some criminals to shake down. With only twenty Nerve shots to my name, that was probably a bad idea. Not that I couldn't just punch my way through problems, or gather up random objects to fill my gun-arm.

My actual problem was deciding what to do about Boss. If that was even something that could be ignored. There was no question about it. We'd defend ourselves and Goldarch against any threat leveled by the World Government. The nuance was in whether we were willing to work alongside Boss. Something I had a lot of conflicting thoughts about.

Standing around this empty building wasn't bringing out those thoughts, however.

I turned and fired my grapple up onto the warehouse roof. The line zipped me up, and I landed deftly on the edge of the building. There was a decent view of the city from here, even if skyscrapers and larger structures blocked out most of it. The grapple slid away from the melting foam, and I stepped down from the raised edge to the main rooftop.

Plants had grown along the inner edges, and there was a reasonable amount of weather and clutter from lack of care.

More out of place than that was a small wooden table and a couple of worn chairs. From the looks of it, a resting spot either for workers on their break during good weather, or a hidden meeting place for teenagers. Either way, it hadn't been used for a while.

I picked up the most stable-looking chair and placed it before the table, and took a seat. Like this, I could exist in silence for… possibly a few hours until the others checked up on me. That was plenty of time to think.

While I sighed, I rubbed my shoulder. I didn't really have the energy for smart decision-making. After the wasteland, Arena, and disposal plant fights, I was uncharacteristically burned out. Everyone had their limits.

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I closed my eyes and tried to dispel the brain fog. Other than figuratively waving my hands through the darkness, it wasn't effective in the slightest. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes once more to face the world.

Perhaps that was the problem, after all. My tired eyes needed this vacation just as much as I did. It was only right I gave them the rest they deserved.

My hands came up, and I pulled back my hood. Metal fingers went under the band of my goggles, and I took them from my face. After placing them on the old table, I went to my waist and pulled out the knife from its sheath. I also placed this down on the table, lying perpendicular to me.

For maybe a whole minute, I stared at the blade. With eyes that desired to be set free.

I reached out and grabbed the handle. My shoulders ached. With one swift motion, I brought the tip of the knife closer and then sheathed it back onto my belt.

Roxy would kill me if I came home with my eyeballs in a bag, no matter how much they needed to be free. I sighed and drummed my fingers on the table. The ache in my shoulder subsided, only to be replaced with a softer one on my chest. Where I still bore the light scar of the super's handprint.

There might be something to read into that, but my mind had already switched back to Boss. If traveling to the nearest city south was a huge deal for the League, then going all the way to the northwest of the continent was outside the realm of possibility. Even if I went along with his suggestion, Belle was nowhere close to teleporting us such grand distances.

I made a mental note to do some training with the magical hero. Her power was useful. If we could improve the strength even for a one-way trip for a single person, that might make my trip to Neo-Scenia more palatable.

But as for the World Government? They needed to be stopped. Now that I knew they were less of a global powerhouse, it made the prospect of escaping their shadow feel more attainable. If I could kill or save the last brother, then perhaps I'd find peace. An end to their experimentation.

Part of the blame lay on the head of the doctor who created us. I wasn't sure I could ever forgive Boss, yet being temporary allies might be useful. He was just as likely to kill me off after the fact as I was to kill him. A future where Silhouette and I were the only remnants of the project felt like the best ending possible, but could that be the end to it?

I found my thought pattern spiraling around. Getting closer to, but never actually hitting the answer. Always swerving just wide. Yet the answer was inevitable.

We would join forces to stop tragedy coming to Goldarch again.

There was more to the man than met the eye, and I'd always be wary of him. Resent him. But the enemy of my enemy…

It reminded me of Maestro and I putting aside our differences to fight Chevalier. There was always a bigger picture. Unfortunately, this one didn't include me having cool cybernetic eyes. One maiming at a time.

I sighed once more and stood from the chair, then put my goggles back on and hood up. No messages, which was unexpected. I tried to look up the arrest information of Utterdark, but there was nothing informative posted. Shame.

For several minutes I just stared out at the city. Expecting something to happen. A call to action. Some trouble due my way, since Roxy forbade it. Other than traffic and the dull hum of atmospheric city life, there was nothing. No villain or criminal to fight. The League wouldn't be sending me off to battle monsters or mutants. Silhouette or one of the other oddballs of Goldarch hadn't appeared to talk my ears off.

It was rather uncomfortable.

I consider going to see Warlock. He was currently staying in a League kennel, which had more security than most rich people's houses. I missed him and the gentle home-life. Bringing up pictures in my lens of the city down south just made me appreciate Goldarch more.

Neo-Scenia was a technology-based mega-city. Dark due to the tall hive-like buildings blocking out most sunlight. Full of neon lights, odd gadgets, and body modifications. Although tech was more prevalent and widely accepted, it was mostly D-Grade and below. Any cybernetics were simpler than what I had. Even so, I probably would not get many second glances with the gas mask and metal arm.

I lifted up my right hand and watched as rivulets of blood ran between the joints of my dark fingers. The drips pattered against the concrete rooftop. I forced my eyes closed and then opened them again. The blood was gone.

So much for peace.

//Dubs: Heading back to the hotel now. //Dubs: Doctor-patient confidentially: I've started having visual hallucinations. //Clara: Worrying. What have you seen, Gunquake? //Dubs: Blood on my hands. //Clara: Understood. Make your way here. If it gets worse, knock yourself out and I'll collect you.

"Eyes."

I turned my head at the sound of a whisper. The rooftop was clear. Perhaps a problem with my goggles. I gave them a tap before sending confirmation to the techie. I wasn't sure how serious she was about my knocking myself out. Sounded possible, although risky. As long as I kept my wits about me, I'd be fine. Other than the blood, I hadn't noticed anything wrong.

More likely to be the lingering exhaustion rather than the brand on my back. It would be paranoid to assume any issue with my continued existence was because of the mark on my back by my shoulder.

I looked over at the nearest office block, where almost a dozen of its windows were not flat glass, but bulbous eyeballs looking in my direction. Blood ran down from them, slowly coating the building in dark red. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Opened them again.

The eyes were still there.

My hands balled up into fists. I knew better than to assault a building in broad daylight just because it looked like an eldritch abomination. Instead, I utilized my willpower. Whatever bardic magic I had in my blood empowered by both runic nanites and particles of green arcane crystals. Be gone, I seethed.

The eyeballs twitched slightly before shrinking. As each of them shriveled up, the blood dried and flaked away. It was only a handful of seconds before all evidence of the horror had completely vanished.

I shook my head and checked my lens for directions to the hotel. Quite a trek on foot, but traveling by rooftop would make it easier. The V-Force drives in my legs hummed into life as I glanced around for my next landing point. With a short leap and swing with my grapple and I could clear three streets. I took a few steps backward and paused.

Static electricity hung in the air surrounding me. A creeping pressure that throbbed at my periphery like an encroaching migraine. My whole body tensed up as I slowly turned to face behind me.

My shadow had twisted and taken form, rising up from the ground. It loomed behind me, wavering as it grew. Towering over me, the dark shape flickered with eyeballs. Red and furious with me.

Two large prongs emerged from the sides, growing into tangible arms. Long pointed fingers. The shade of the Aberration hissed with fel energy.

//Dubs: Scratch that. //Dubs: Track me. Find me. Now.

From my belt, I withdrew a green rod and cracked it.

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