Lance let out a tired laugh.
“Hey, remember that joke about cliche villains and the Greek alphabet? Get a load of this…”
He pointed at the main screen.
“Can you believe this? They actually labeled what they stole as ‘Zeta compound’? I mean… really…?”
Adam put his hand over his mouth in surprise.
“Are you for real? Are they following ‘A Comic Book Villain’s Guide to Villaining’ or something?”
Lance shrugged.
“We laugh about this, but at the same time we should make sure not to take things too lightly… look at what this stuff does…”
He opened one of the logs that he had copied and displayed it fully on the screen.
“It seems to be that it was the missing ingredient for whatever genetic experiments they were working on.”
They both skimmed over several logs, all recording a multitude of previously failed attempts to sequence the genetics of various unnatural and monstrous creatures.
“But why…?” asked Adam, half rhetorically.
“Sometimes one only asks if it can be done, rather than if it should be done…” answered Lance. “Whatever the reason, it can’t be good. It isn’t a coincidence that the creatures we encountered simply escaped from such a secure location as Mythos’ Labs.”
Lance searched through the remaining files to see what other information they had gleaned.
“On the other hand, the information we have acquired does point to the Ouroboros being hired by Mythos’ Labs to obtain the Zeta compound from N.A.U.”
He read through another set of files.
“There aren’t any logs strictly showing communication between them, but there are a few times that ‘the sample obtained by Mr. Striker’ is mentioned.”
“Practically spilling the beans on them being in cahoots with each other,” Adam stated. “Do we need more than that to incriminate Mythos?”
“It would probably be safe to have more detailed information, but that is all likely on even more private channels between the Ouroboros and whoever contacted them,” noted Lance. “Though my money is on Mythos himself. This would have been too sensitive and high-priority to have an underling handle.”
“It would probably be easier to get that info from the Ouroboros than from Mythos, wouldn’t it?” asked Adam. “I feel Mythos’ personal communications would be much harder to hack into than that of a criminal group of snake worshipers.”
“Easier for the tech, but more dangerous on obtaining it…” clarified Lance. “Let’s sleep on it and hope that we can find more information once we filter through the files.”
The chime that signified a visitor sounded through the workspace. Lance quickly pressed a combination of keys on his keyboard that hid all of their vigilante-related work from the computer screens, instead displaying several school projects, a social media feed, and a series of notes regarding more “innocent” projects.
“Who is it?” he inquired as he pressed a key for the intercom.
“Noel and Melody!” answered Noel’s voice.
Lance let out an exhausted sigh.
“L.A.S.S.I., open the door please,” requested Lance.
The door opened mechanically and their friends entered. Lance swiveled to face the visitors in his desk chair as Noel surveyed the state of Lance’s apartment.
“Not as bad as I was expecting, considering how busy you guys are with house arrest and all,” she noted with a mischievous smirk.
“It’s not house arrest…” Lance stated as he rolled his eyes. “We didn’t commit any crimes that we were aware of…”
“Crimes besides being so caught up in your projects that you won’t hang out with your friends as often you mean?” asked Noel.
“Now, now… we were intending on eventually giving ourselves a break…” began Adam.
“‘Eventually’ should be more like now,” said Noel, putting her hands on her hips. “We are going to the Cafe to get some café.”
Adam looked over to Lance, who then looked over to Melody.
“I suppose a break IS in order…” Lance said.
He looked across to the various empty cups the two of them had accumulated.
“Though I suppose it would be a safer bet to skip the caffeine…” he added sheepishly.
Noel crossed her arms.
“Don’t you have a gadget or talking computer to do half of the stuff you’re doing anyway?” she asked.
“L.A.S.S.I. is a little bit more than just a talking computer…” started Lance.
“Correction, Noel, my programming as a virtual assistant goes beyond simple conversational interactions,” added the AI.
Noel jumped slightly.
“I forgot that it can actually respond…” she said.
“I suppose let’s get going then,” said Lance as he stood up.
The group filed out the door, Lance being the last out.
“L.A.S.S.I., send me a notification when any of the current operations are completed,” he called as he closed the door.
The friends exited the apartment building and turned in the direction of the city’s Central Tower, the waypoint that all citizens knew would lead them to Sector One where most larger businesses resided. The Brewer’s Cafe was just on the edge of the line between Sector One and Sector Four.
Noel had taken the lead of the group and walked at a brisk pace, determined to acquire a delicious hot beverage and perhaps a pastry as soon as possible. Adam walked almost behind her, with Noel talking to him over her shoulder and asking for suggestions based on the current menu his family had made for the season.
Behind them, Melody walked next to Lance as she talked about the novel she had just finished reading.
“So these creatures they were fighting are particularly nasty and they were all flying atop their dragons,” she was explaining. “The main character’s friend was being attacked by a pair of these wyvern-like things and she jumped off of her dragon, landed on the monster that was trying to eat her friend, and took it out with her sword!”
“That sounds like quite an intense scene,” commented Lance. “Didn’t you say she had problems with more drastic athletic moves like that?”
“Yeah, but she managed to keep it together and saved her friend!” Melody said with excitement.
“I love books, but I could totally picture this scene as if it was in a movie!”
The group reached the Cafe and quickly shuffled in from the frigid air. While Noel, Melody, and Lance took a seat at the Cafe’s bar counter, Adam let himself to the back to prepare their beverages. He greeted his parents who were busy putting together several orders, settled himself in front of the espresso machine, and got to work implementing his barista magics.
“What exactly are you guys working on that has been keeping you so busy during break from classes?” Noel asked.
“What aren’t these two ever working on?” commented Charlie as she passed by.
“Between Adam’s biobots and Lance with his AI and gadgets, they’re both always trying to upgrade… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!”
Lance shrugged.
“I have innumerable projects ongoing at any given time,” he said.
“Technically, I have more unfinished than I do complete as I am always coming up with new ideas to test and build.”
“How do you even have time to breathe?” asked Melody.
“He holds his breath for a very long time,” answered a female voice from the door of the cafe.
The friends turned to see a group of people entering, led by a girl who looked around the same age as Charlie. She wore a black leather jacket with dark cargo pants and combat boots which were starkly contrasted by her short multicolored hair that was styled over the top of her head. She had a smug grin on her face as she put her hands in her jacket pockets and nodded to Lance.
“How’s it going, broski?” she asked.
“Liz? I didn’t know you were coming!” started Lance in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
The girl, Liz, sauntered over to the counter as Lance stood.
“My team came by for a quick job for one of our magazine gigs and I had heard of the legendary service of The Brewer’s Cafe, so I figured we’d stop in,” she said casually.
“And I also know it’s one of your favorite places to be with your friends so I had the feeling we’d bump into each other.”
Noel leaned back on her stool, craning her neck around Lance to get a look at the visitor.
“This is one of your sisters?” she asked as she studied Liz’s features.
“One of four,” noted Lance.
“Hi, I’m the smart sister,” Liz said with a smirk and a short wave.
Adam had just come up to the counter with a tray of steaming mugs.
“Sister?” he parroted.
“Didn’t know you had company coming, Lance!”
“Neither did I…” commented Lance with a raised eyebrow.
“You said you’re here for a magazine? Who are your friends?”
“Oh, yes... Intro…” Liz said as she clapped her hands together.
“We are doing a set of articles for a new publisher that wants some gushy holiday stuff from a list of prominent cities and New Atlantis was at the top of their list. I do the photography for the crew. Victor here is the writer and puts together the articles and reports. Finch is like our assistant and coordinator to keep us organized. And this bright ray of sunshine is Gorou, our driver, pilot, etc… if it moves, she can make it do so,” she pointed at each of her companions as she mentioned them.
“Well, you’ve come to the right place for some good coffee, that’s for sure!” noted Adam. “Anyone interested?”
As Liz’s group moved along the counter and took seats, Liz stepped closer to Lance.
“So, you’ll have to catch me up on what it’s like being a local hero, A.S.A.P., bro!” she said with a wink.
Lance’s eyes narrowed slightly. He glanced over at his friends, then gestured to his sister to take a few steps back.
“We need to talk…”
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