A small boy scrunched up his face and then opened his mouth. From the back of his throat, small dart-like things shot out and hit a cardboard box target. They missed the drawn target, but they stuck. The boy almost cried.
“Don’t cry. You did well. That was very good. It takes a lot of work to learn how to use your powers. Hitting a target that far away is hard for grown-ups.”
The boy’s red face turned from sadness into a brief smile. “Thank you, Master Star.”
“It’s just Starmaster.”
Shizue came over, “Tamko, get some water. Kata just set a sheet on fire.”
The little boy ran for a bucket.
Starmaster was ready to run and help when Shizue stopped him. “Don’t worry. It is a small fire. I enjoy letting them help each other, it is a lesson they will need to learn to survive.”
“Oh, if you say so. I just wish they had a better place to train. Heck, just a better place to sleep and proper food. Sorry, I know rice is good and all, but it’s not enough.”
“I know. I do the best I can. But this is not a simple place to live. Keeping them safe takes all my effort. But, I thank you for helping them learn more about their powers. I know they shouldn’t be using them, but they are a part of who they are.”
Starmaster said, “I have helped people learn about their powers before. I worked at a Fight Club for a while analyzing powers. It is a fun thing when a person first learns to use their powers properly.”
Shizue smiled with the warmth of a mother. “I haven’t seen them laugh and play like this much before. Thank you.”
“It was nothing, really.” He grimaced and ran over when a little girl started bouncing uncontrollably. He caught her mid-bounce and held her in place.
“Thank you, Master Star,” She said. “I lost control.”
“I see that. Just be more careful when you bounce.”
Just then something came crashing down through a secret entrance. It was a large bag. Then another bag. Finally, Chase dropped down, landing in a perfect crouch. She stood up and brushed herself off.
“I’m back.”
Starmaster looked at her collection. “What’s all this?”
She smiled and opened a bag, revealing all sorts of food supplies stolen from the mansion. “Just a little treat for our friends here.”
The kids all gasped and rushed over to see the treasures within the bags. Shizue said, “Oh, thank you. But you didn’t need to do this for us. This would make it harder for you to sneak around.”
Chase shrugged, “It’s hard not stealing at least something, for the sake of the needy. Besides, those jerks live in all that luxury while the rest of the nation starves. Did you know I found they tagged all their servants with ankle monitors?”
Shizue nodded, “Yes. The rich and powerful can force people into service. If they disobey, they are punished. It is the most horrible feeling.” She lifted a pant leg, revealing a nasty scar.
“Their servants were all given vacations, permanently. Their masters are currently sleeping.”
Starmaster said, “Did you get us in?”
Chase smiled and dug into the bag, getting stuff out of the way. She dug through more food items and a few bowls and utensils. Finally, she produced fine clothing and a computer tablet. “Courtesy of our generous benefactors. I have myself on the guest list. I took the opportunity to...borrow a lovely dress for the evening and some nice jewelry. Look at this pearl necklace, natural and matched. It’s worth a fortune. And these diamond earrings, gorgeous, must be at least two karats an ear.”
Starmaster cleared his throat. “Just stealing for the needy?”
She smiled as she put the earrings on. “Yes, I needed to look the part.”
“So, you’re going undercover? What about me?”
“I am of Asian descent. Not sure where, but that doesn’t matter, I can pass as a local. You, on the other hand, will stand out. Besides, I’m better at infiltration, been doing that for years. I’ll get in, you will be outside.” She picked up the tablet and revealed a blueprint of the palace grounds. “I hacked their system. I have a map of where you will be. You will stay in contact with me the whole time. Using their internal network, they will never know I’m sending you a signal. Once I find the location of the shards, I’ll slip in, steal them, and then you will zap us the hell out of this place.”
Starmaster asked, “What about your speaking? You can hear them through the translator implant, but they will hear you speaking English.”
“Not a problem. I will tell them I’m an English instructor for one of their military academies. Speaking English perfectly will be my way of showing off. I know all of their generals and fat leader speak English. So it will pass.”
“How do you know this?”
She smiled as she checked out the dress. “This isn’t my first time to infiltrate this nation. My only concern is figuring out an identity to pass as a noble. I haven’t had time to prepare something.”
Shizue held up the dress, admiring the fine silks. “Oh, just tell them you are the cousin of some rich person. They have big families. I suggest you tell them you are related to Jong Khan. He died last year and had a lot of children and grandchildren. Most of them with other men’s wives. They will be too embarrassed to ask who your direct parents are, or risk shaming a member of the Leader's family. So, they will politely accept you.”
Chase was surprised. “That is very smart. How did you come up with that so quickly?”
“I may live on the streets, but I’m not stupid. I know about the internal politics of this nation. Jong Khan was the man who owned me before they punished me. Now, let me help you get into this dress. It will take a little work to make it fit you right. Come on.”
Chase gave her orders to Starmaster, “Study that tablet. I have the plan laid out in there. We have one day to get everything ready.” With that, she left to be fitted to her new dress.
***
A man at the controls watched as several screens observed limousines entering the city. He pulled a mic toward him and typed in a number. “Station forty, clear all routes for the limos. I don’t want any traffic between them and the palace.”
Kaukatsu spent a moment watching the well-orchestrated workers of the city following this order.
“Sir, we have a problem in sector seventeen.” A woman pointed to her monitor.
On the screen, a man held up a cardboard sign with words written on it. They said, ‘stop the slaughter. Set us free. Down with the fat leader.’
The leader at the controls punched in a new code and pulled the mic toward him again. “Commander, take care of him at once. I don’t want any of our guests seeing that trash.”
In less than a minute they watched three well-armed police approach the man. Ten feet from him, they shot him in the head and dragged his body away.
Kaukatsu made his presence known. “Excellent work.”
The people all looked up and then jumped to attention. “Sir, we weren’t expecting you.”
“Sit down. Enough. I just needed to know if you’ve seen any suspicious activity.”
“Uh, nothing we haven’t already taken care of, sir.”
“What about a foreign agent? One with superpowers.”
The leader frowned, “I have not been informed of that kind of threat.”
“Well, consider yourself informed.”
“We have not seen anyone like that, sir. But we will double our monitoring to make sure we find this agent.”
“Good. Tell me the moment you know of her location. Do not kill her, I want her alive.”
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