Ethan carried Conrad's broken body on his back as he stumbled out of the base.
After a grueling thirty minutes, he finally found the exit to the sewers and emerged into the open. Bystanders gasped in horror at the sight of Conrad's mangled face and bloodied body.
Ethan burst into HEX HQ in a panic. "Help! I need help right now!"
Five medics immediately flew over and took Conrad from him, rushing his body to the medical wing.
Several hours later, Conrad slowly opened his eyes, groaning in pain.
"Where… where am I…?" His voice was barely a whisper.
"Oh, dude, you're alive!" Ethan exhaled in relief. "You got beaten so badly the doctors thought your brain was crushed!"
"You're relieved I'm alive…?" Conrad scoffed weakly. "I would've left you for dead if our positions were reversed."
Suddenly, an overwhelming presence filled the room, like death itself had walked in.
Sovereign.
"You're alive. I'm surprised. Truly," Sovereign said calmly.
Conrad stiffened. "Sir… I tried everything I could. John was too strong."
"Where's Duncan? Is he dead?" Sovereign asked immediately.
"He ran off, sir," Conrad clenched his jaw. "He turned on us. I was about to kill them all and complete the mission, but Duncan stopped me. He started talking about how we're all the same."
Sovereign stared at him for a long moment.
"Something horrible has happened to you, Conrad."
Conrad looked concerned. "What happened?"
"John beat you so badly that you now have very little control over your power. In short… your power is unstable."
"H-How is that possible? And how do you already know?" Conrad asked.
"A lot of examinations. A lot." Sovereign replied simply.
Conrad gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry, sir."
"Sorry?" Sovereign raised an eyebrow. "For what? It's not your fault you're so weak compared to John. You did your best, didn't you?"
Conrad nodded slowly.
"You know, I would kill you right now if I wanted to," Sovereign continued. "But your power is still useful to me. I need you to find John's base again. But of course… you can't do that right now."
Conrad gulped in fear. "I understand, sir. I hope I can recover quickly to assist you again."
Sovereign turned his gaze to Ethan. "And what purpose do you serve? You should be dead."
Ethan flinched and stepped back. "I-I helped him fight them—"
"No seriously, you should be dead. That wasn't an insult." Sovereign cut him off.
Ethan gulped, "Sir, I saved Conra—"
Before he could finish, Sovereign's fist tore straight through his chest.
Sovereign sighed as Ethan's body slumped to the floor. "Millions and billions… They're all the same."
Conrad panted in terror, not daring to say a word.
---
"You've made so many fucking mistakes I've lost count," Benjamin growled, kicking a table across the room.
Hannah placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ben, calm dow—"
"No! I will NOT calm down!" Benjamin exploded. "I'm so fucking sick of you morons still putting up with this muppet!"
"Hey!" John stepped forward. "If it wasn't for me, Aya would be dead right now!"
Benjamin laughed bitterly. "Can't you get it through your thick fucking head, mate? You're the reason she ended up in that situation in the first place!"
John didn't know what to say.
"And don't even bring up the gear you stole, because if you weren't here, we wouldn't have needed it! You're the reason our lives are in constant danger!"
"Then what about Hannah?" John challenged. "If you really think that way, shouldn't it apply to her too?"
Benjamin glanced at Hannah. "Yes. Both of you are the reason we're in danger."
"How can you say that—"
"He's right," Mitch cut Aya off quietly. "You two are genuine good people and we all truly care for you. But as much as it hurts to say it… you two really are the reason we're constantly in danger."
"You lot need to bug off. Now," Benjamin declared.
Hannah shook her head. "Ben, after everything we've been through?"
"We've been through nothing. Get out." Benjamin couldn't even look her in the eyes.
"You're right," John said, voice heavy. "We're the ones putting your lives in danger. I'm… I'm sorry."
He looked at Hannah. "I don't know if you're coming with me or finding somewhere else. But… good luck."
John left without another word, carrying three out of ten gallons of water and leaving the rest for Benjamin's group. Hannah followed him silently.
The base suddenly felt painfully quiet.
"We have peace at the cost of friendship," Diego said softly.
"They were a virus, Diego," Benjamin replied. "The longer they stayed, the closer we got to death."
---
Duncan sat silently on his bed, staring at the floor.
"What the fuck have I done…?"
Flashes of him massacring the poor as a teenager, being taught how worthless they were, flooded his mind. He clutched his head, gritting his teeth as he tried to force the memories away.
He looked at his own hands. "How could I pity those worthless Maggots? That's not who I am!"
Duncan punched a hole through the wall in anger.
Then he broke down sobbing. "He's gonna kill me… He's gonna fucking kill me…"
After a long moment, he exhaled shakily. "It's okay… It'll all be okay. Don't panic. You'll be fine…"
---
John found a massive, hollow void at the end of a tunnel — pitch black and empty, like a forgotten stomach in the city's guts.
"What the fuck…?" he muttered.
Hannah's eyes widened. "I know this place."
"You do?"
"Yeah. I once fought here with two others. They were trying to kill the Alfies. Nobody knows about this massive hole — not even Sovereign."
"I definitely don't want to stay here," John said. "Sovereign could come investigate and stumble right onto us. With his x-ray vision, we'd be caught instantly."
"Yeah… let's keep looking."
After walking for several more hours, they stumbled upon a completely abandoned base. The only thing inside was the rotting remains of a human limb.
"It hasn't decomposed much," John noted. "This killing was recent."
"I can tell." Hannah dropped to the floor, exhausted. "I can't walk anymore. I'm fucking drained. I don't have the energy to search for another place."
John sighed and sat down beside her. "Yeah… me too. It took us hours to find this one. I'm not wasting more energy."
"You know, we didn't even need a base," Hannah muttered. "We could've just lived in a tunnel."
John chuckled. "Come on, that'd be unsanitary."
Hannah scoffed. "Unsanitary? Look at where we live."
"If we lived in tunnels we'd always be covered in sewer water that's probably full of piss and shit from hundreds of people."
Hannah nodded. "Yeah… you're right."
"Do you remember Duncan?" she asked after a moment.
"Of course I do."
"He was different from the rest. I overheard his argument with Conrad. If it wasn't for him, Conrad would've killed us all."
John turned to her. "Really? What did he say?"
"Something like 'We're all the same' or 'We're not different from them.' Then I fought Conrad. I would've lost if they hadn't stepped in."
John nodded slowly. "He probably ran because he was scared and didn't know what to do. If he helped you, he'd definitely be killed when he returned to Sovereign."
"And if he had helped Conrad?" Hannah asked.
"He wouldn't have. From what you described, it sounds like he had a genuine change of heart."
---
Duncan tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep. Paranoia and fear kept him wide awake.
Just as he started to calm down, the door to his house was suddenly smashed open.
"Show yourself, Duncan Shines!" an officer shouted.
"You're going to be punished by power removal for helping the beneath!" another declared.
Duncan's heart nearly stopped.
"Power removal? No… no, that can't happen to me. God, no…" he whispered.
The officers' footsteps grew louder as they approached his room. Without hesitation, Duncan smashed through the window and shot into the sky.
"We've got a runner!"