“Excuse me? What was that?” Devin asked with an incredulous look on his face.

  “I asked if you think you can stop me from leaving?” Trigger chuckled.

  “Don’t do this kid.” Franky tried to reason with him.

  Before he could continue, Devin jumped off the stage, holding his hand up as he walked past Franky, who shut his mouth. Only once did Franky see that look on Devin’s face, which was back during the Budapest incident. From Franky’s point of view, this was one of the worst days in Devin’s life; these kids getting caught up in their feelings wasn’t helping anything.

  “I can not let you leave, Trigger. I fear your presence will aggravate Zac’s delicate state of mind.” Devin reasoned.

  “Oh, and Ume’s won’t? Please don’t think I don’t know what this is.”

  “What is it then? Please enlighten me…” Devin nearly growled.

  “Your favorite pet got off the leash; now you’re trying to ensure your second favorite doesn’t get loose. You can track Ume’s nanites, but not mine. One of the perks of being a Zero.” Trigger grinned.

  “You’re right, I can’t track you. But, I can control space; you can’t escape me. No one can.” Devin frowned.

  “Well, Zac clearly did.” Trigger jabbed.

  “THAT’S ENOUGH!” Devin shouted, and space shook.

  “You’re right. I’m leaving.”

  “Did you not hear what I said?”

  “I did, and I’d be quaking in my little Boot Up if I was someone else. But you know, I’ve wondering for a while if I can copy other Zero’s abilities. Let’s find out. Replica.” Trigger's eyes glowed as he scanned both Devin and Léonie.

  “Would you look at that? Looks like I can. Those are quite the abilities you two have.” Trigger chuckled as a mist covered his body and turned into nano armor. That black faceless mask enveloped his face. But before he could make any further moves, Devin bellowed,

  “Boot Up: Black Out!!”

  Devin’s Black Out, upon activation, releases a pulse of energy that rapidly spreads in a 4-kilometer radius. This pulse of energy deactivates all forms of electronics. Even Nano-Machines, which possessed the most advanced form of EMP protection. In times past, this Boot Up would stop Chasers from using their Programs. While that was no longer a concern thanks to Dr. Hamilton’s upgrades, Black Out could still eliminate Trigger’s ability to Overclock and disable his Nano-armor.

  Unfortunately, Black Out did not distinguish between friend and foe. The energy wave shot out and spread over every Chaser, shutting down their nanites and all the Electronics in the Testing Grounds. However, before that energy engulfed Trigger, Watabe flicked up his index finger, and Micheal lazily tilted his head. That wave of energy arched around the two of them and everyone one of the Tiny Tots.

  Like most things that existed in reality, that wave of energy was composed of charged particles. It was easy enough for Watabe to manipulate it, with the Ion Program. There was no need to mention Micheal; a wave of energy was still just a wave and fell prey to his Pulse Program. Their abilities had increased rapidly over the past half year, largely thanks to Zac’s guidance.

  All of the Tiny Tots could say the same. Their mentors helped them, but they felt more like an afterthought to most of them. Zac was the only one who invested significant amounts of time into them.

  “Ken, Micheal… what are you doing?!” Devin asked.

  “I’m sorry, sensei, but I believe you are overstepping,” Watabe answered.

  “Ya, mate, you’re not following your own rules,” Micheal added.

  “See ya!” Trigger chuckled as he teleported away.

  “Subdue them; it doesn’t look like they’ll listen to reason. I’m going after Kenji.” Devin grumbled as he vanished.

  After Devin vanished, the Mentors and other members of the Japan Branch began to encircle the Tiny Tots. Mawu was the first to speak,

  “Come on, kids, we don't want to hurt you, so just take it easy, ok? Just until things cool down.”

  The Tiny Tots' laughter echoed through the dark Testing Ground, sending chills down some Mentor's back. Only the emergency lights lit their aggravated faces. Shockingly, Travis was the first to speak,

  “Sorry, mama Mawu, but you guys aren't in a position to reason with us.” All the Mentors were put on their guard as Manic spoke.

  They realized that all the Tiny Tots, not just Trigger, were shielded against Devin’s Black Out by Micheal and Watabe. They had the number advantage, but all the Tiny Tots could Overclock.

  “Oh dear, I’ll have to discipline these naughty children.” Léonie sighed as she smiled at the Tiny Tots.

  At that moment, the entire group was brought to their knees by an unseen force. Watabe struggled to look up at Léonie, now floating in the air.

  “What the hell is going on?” Genkei cried out.

  “G-gravity! She can control gravity.” Akiko surmised.

  The only response they got in return was Léonie’s giggle. Her giggle was cut short when she noticed someone still standing on their feet within the group of Tiny Tots. Yu-jun had been standing with the children during the events. He glared at Léonie as he stood comfortably in her field of significantly increased gravity. He manipulated his own bones and blood to nullify the added weight placed on them. Léonie’s eyes widened when Yu-jun spoke,

  “Initiating Overclock… Kneel.” The Bone Collector's raspy voice echoed, and he raised his hands only to lower them slowly.

  With this motion, everyone, excluding the Tiny Tots, felt their bones creak and bend against their will; their blood grew heavy like mud in their veins. They all found themselves prostrating in The Bone Collector's direction. Even Léonie fell from the air and found herself struggling to stand.

  “Devin and I need to have a long conversation when he returns.” The Bone Collector grumbled.

  “Sorry, but he’s quite busy. I’m afraid you’ll just have to make do with me.” Léonie said as she sprang towards The Bone Collector, having freed herself entirely from his control.

  “Then come, Gladiolus!” The Bone Collector shouted at Léonie, aka Gladiolus. He knew even with her ability to Overclock currently disabled, this was an uphill battle. Even through all this she still constrained The Tiny Tots with her Gravity.

  Trigger stood on top of a roof in the dark streets of Tokyo. Black Out had undoubtedly done a number on the city. The chattering sounds of panicked civilians and car horns spread through the night sky. Trigger sighed as he looked over his shoulder to see Devin appearing behind him.

  “You really are persistent, aren’t you?” He moaned in annoyance.

  “You may have copied my ability, but you can never copy my experience. There are several-”

  “There are several nuances that you could never perceive without countless hours of, blah blah, blah, yap, yap. Yeah, I heard this all from Franky. But I learned something else from Zac.” Trigger interrupted, his distorted voice mocking from behind the faceless mask.

  “And what was that? His smart mouth? Because you certainly got that down pat.”

  “No, work smarter, not harder.” Trigger started to chuckle

  “Hmmp, some things can only be overcome through hard work,” Devin grumbled.

  “Eh, maybe, but superpowers aren’t one of them; for instance, thanks to having Pulse and your ability to manipulate space, I figured out how you can track me every time I teleport.”

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  At his statement, Devin’s eyes narrowed. Trigger had picked up on what had taken him years to understand in moments. When one bent space to transport themselves, there was a very slight wave of disturbance emitted from the location you were at and the place you were going. It was extraordinarily subtle, but with Pulse, that subtle irregularity stood out like a sore thumb.

  Devin, who stood 5 meters in front of Trigger, sent out a punch; that punch denied the laws of space and threatened to hit Trigger in the back of his head. Trigger turned lazily to avoid the strike and then teleported off again, his laughter echoing in Devins's ears. Devin clenched his jaws,

  “That boy…” Devin thought to himself.

  He instantly picked up on the space disturbance and teleported towards it. Trigger still had not attempted any long-range teleportations; it seemed he was still getting familiar with the power. Devin knew he’d have to reign Trigger in before that happened, or he’d never be able to catch him.

  “Dammit!” Devin cursed as he appeared where he thought Trigger would be, in the sky high above the Tokyo skyline. However, no one was there when he arrived, and he felt multiple spatial disturbances. Before deciphering what was happening, he quickly extended both hands to his sides.

  A barrier of bending space formed around him as countless nano bullets appeared out of thin air and crashed against his barrier.

  “You gotta be kidding me!” Devin growled.

  “Hi!” Trigger appeared within the barrier next to Devin, sending a powerful punch towards Devin’s face, faster than Devin could keep up with. Devin was rocked by the punch as he tumbled through the air before he stopped, using the space beneath his feet to stabilize himself in the air.

  “You’re Overclocked?” Devin finally realized as he spit out some blood.

  “Duh… wait, are you not? You cocky bastard!” Trigger chuckled as he shook his fist. Punching that man’s face hurt like hell, even with the Nano-Armor. What was he made of? That punch would have taken off a Werewolf's head but barely tickled Devin.

  He thought things were a little too easy up till this point. He knew Devin wasn’t trying, but he didn’t expect him to completely disregard him enough to not even Overclock. Trigger didn’t know why, but he was a little annoyed.

  “I don’t know what you have discovered or what you're up to, but nothing you and Ume do will change anything,” Devin said as he folded his arms. He seemed far more confident now that he understood Trigger was Overclock.

  This made Trigger tense up like Devin had already determined his limits and was now toying with him.

  “What are YOU up to Devin?” Trigger asked.

  “Everything I do is for the betterment of mankind. Regardless of your thoughts, Zac has always been my best friend.” Devin frowned.

  “More like pet number 1.” Trigger snapped back.

  “What, are you jealous, Number 3?” Devin mocked.

  Trigger’s eyes widened behind his mask. Before he could process what Devin had said, the sounds of broken glass filled his ears as space shattered around him. Those shattered pieces of space instantly reformed into binding and wrapped around Trigger’s arms and legs. Devin walked through the air towards Trigger, his hands firmly in his finely pressed suit pants as his trench coat fluttered in the wind. Trigger tried to teleport away, but these spatial bindings wouldn’t allow him.

  “Reboot: Black Out.” Another advancement of the upgraded nanites. Zeroes could use their boot-up sequences as much as needed. Although each subsequent use put quite the strain on them. The energy wave exploded again; this time, Trigger could do nothing to avoid it. His Nano-Armor fell off like sludge, and his Overclock was forcefully ended.

  “Clench your teeth,” Devin said as he lifted his right hand from his pocket to send an air-quaking punch to the side of Trigger’s face.

  Trigger glared at Devin as his mouth filled with blood. Devin’s dead eyes stared back at Trigger, and he mocked,

  “What? Did you think you were Zac? You thought you actually stood a chance against me? Stop this nonsense, or do I need to get more violent?”

  The only response Devin received was bloody spit splashing his face. Devin wiped the blood away with a handkerchief pulled from his trench coat,

  “Classy. Just taking you back won’t accomplish much; you’ll just run for it again. I can’t waste my time watching you 24/7, either. What to do, what to do?” Devin thought out loud.

  “Just let me go find Zac! What are you so afraid of?” Trigger asked.

  “Him killing you,” Devin responded flatly.

  “Why would he kill me but not Ume?” Trigger asked.

  “Why indeed… and who knows, maybe he will kill Ume,” Devin responded cryptically.

  Trigger didn’t understand everything, but he did understand that Ume was disposable as far as Devin was concerned.

  “Ume's that much of a threat to you?”

  “Threat? No. Inconvenient? Absolutely! Soldiers don’t need to think, just follow orders, and she is far too willful.”

  “Bastard!”

  “Everything I do is for the preservation of mankind. Everything!” Devin glared at Trigger and his na?ve thoughts.

  “Maybe putting you into an artificially induced coma until things have settled down will do the trick.” Devin mused.

  “Finally!” Trigger bellowed.

  “Oh, do you like that idea?” Devin asked curiously.

  “Eat a dick! STOP!” At Trigger’s words, everything went quiet. The clouds stopped their movement, the wind died, and even the thoughts running through Devin’s mind paused momentarily. Then, out of thin air, Sage appeared above the “paused” Devin. She blew a fist full of pollen into Devin’s face as she free-fell past back towards the ground.

  Everything unpaused, and Devin instantly gasped for air as the pollen entered his lungs. His concentration was broken, the spatial bindings shattered, and Trigger, not missing his moment, disappeared from sight, but not before flipping Devin off.

  Back at Test Grounds, Trigger and Sage noticed that the bracelets Shaila left them gave off a higher vibration the closer they were. Trigger never had any thoughts of escaping Devin on his own. He knew even if he could now bend space, Devin could do it better. But what if Devin couldn’t think properly? Would he still be able to keep up?

  Trigger knew Sage had developed lots of nasty little poisons. That pollen being one of them. The pollen was a hallucinogenic poison she designed to work even on Chasers. Trigger followed his cube's increasing vibration to close the gap between him and Ume without alerting Devin. Once trapped, he used Pulse to pinpoint Sage and teleport her to his location for assistance.

  “You're welcome!” Sage shouted as Trigger appeared next to her free-falling body. He grabbed her by the waist and teleported them to the ground before making two more large “jumps,” taking them well out of the city limits of Tokyo.

  “Yeah, thanks. Thanks for not staying still for two damn seconds!” Kenji moaned as he released Ume and sat down.

  They found themselves in a random forest. Kenji took a deep breath as he tried to catch his breath. Devin was far more terrifying than he thought.

  “Be happy that I managed to piece together what was going on. Speaking of, what the hell? You teleported me 2 kilometers above the skyline without warning. What if I didn’t react fast enough, huh? What if…”

  “Ah, come on. I knew you were ready for anything the moment you stopped moving.” Kenji responded.

  Ume nodded her head; Kenji having to make an escape was one of the possibilities she had considered, and his being able to copy Devin’s spatial ability was also something she had considered. Still, it was somewhat disorienting nonetheless.

  “How long will that pollen last?” Kenji asked.

  “Devin won't be able to think straight for a few days to a week if we're lucky. Leaving us to escape without worry for the time being.” Ume responded.

  “You know he can track my teleports?”

  “Logically speaking, someone who can bend and control space should be able to pick up on spatial disturbances. I also would assume those disturbances will fade and heal themselves rather quickly. Otherwise, space would have collapsed by now.” Ume rambled off her hypothesis, and Kenji nodded as if he understood.

  “So, what should we do now?” Kenji wondered.

  “We need to find sensei. The easiest way to do that will be to find the Twins.” Ume folded her arms.

  “Right, the twins.”

  The Twins rarely stayed in the same place too long, and only Zac and Shaila knew where they were at any given time. And only 4 people knew what they looked like, 3 now that Shaila had died. Ume was one of those 3.

  “You know where they are?”

  “I know where they could be. And with these cubes and your ability to teleport, it shouldn’t take long.” The vibrations emitted from the cubes had stopped once Kenji and Ume had made contact. One could only assume once they were within a certain range the tracking function of these cubes would stop.

  “Well, let’s get going,” Kenji said as he stood up.

  “Ok, the most likely spot they’ll be, especially with all this going on, will be their lab in Helsinki, Finland,” Ume said as she held out her hand.

  “Which way is Helsinki?” Kenji asked as he grabbed her hand.

  “Right…” Ume sighed, having only realized that Kenji was new to this power, so he couldn’t just spirit them away to any location on Earth. Ume sighed and just pointed. Kenji nodded his head, and the two of them disappeared.

  Devin appeared back at the Testing Ground, holding his head with an irritated expression. The two of them managed to get the best of him, but there would not be a second time. He looked up to see the Tiny Tots surrounded. To the side, Léonie was standing over Yu-jun, who was on his knees and subdued. From the look of Léonie’s clothing and the surrounding area, they had quite the fight.

  “You’re back. From the look on your face, it looks like Kenji got away?” Léonie commented.

  “They caught me off guard,” Devin responded.

  “They? I see…” Léonie got the general idea of what had transpired from Devin’s unfocused eyes.

  “So what’s our next move?” Hachiman asked.

  “They’re going to look for Zac. The fastest way to find him would be to find The Twins.”

  “Zac was the only person who knew where to look for The Twins at any given time,” Helena said.

  “No, Ume also knows. We need to track her now. They already have too much of a head start.” Devin said.

  “No, you need to rest. We can handle this.” Léonie said as she looked at Devin, he was in no condition to do anything.

  “Yeah, go take a rest. I’ll talk to Dr. Hamilton and keep track of Ume's location.” Franky said.

  Devin reluctantly agreed and started to walk out of the Testing Grounds. As he walked past the Tiny Tots and The Bone Collector, he said,

  “All of you are suspended from active duty until further notice. Assign Chasers to keep an eye on them. If they do anything other than live like a civilian without my permission, take it as an act of aggression and report to me immediately.”

  “I would like to put in for my leave of absence,” Genkei said with a smile.

  “Fuck off, kid!” Devin said as the door closed behind him. The sounds of the Tiny Tots giggling echoed in his ears.