[September 2022, Two Days After the Fundraiser]
The Sunday following the disaster that was the annual fundraiser was quite an interesting one in Cyrus's opinion.
Station Nine was still abuzz as everyone did their best to get things back under control while trying to resume normal operations. However, there was only so much that could be done when people were trying to investigate the events of what had happened.
From what the freckle-faced teen had heard from Ayako and the others, the APS had been running ragged for the last 48 hours to try and track down the people responsible for the heist. Not only were they still confused on how the group of criminals were able to procure so many cryptids without the DPA noticing, but they were also baffled about how the group managed to completely disappear while everyone was dealing with the additional truck full of cryptids that was let loose into the city surrounding the venue.
According to the latest gossip around the office, the two remaining criminals who were currently being held on the bottom level of the building were being particularly uncooperative. Apparently, an interrogation specialist from the Raleigh office was being sent down here to try and extract whatever information he could from them. So, for now, at least, there was very little information that the agents of Station Nine had to work with.
One key piece of information that Cyrus was able to gather, though, was the fact that the criminals were, in fact, an Iznana cell that was operating here in America. Something that shocked almost everyone in the station the moment they heard about it. As far as everyone knew, Iznana had been pushed out of the country after Deputy Chief Mubele killed the previous branch head, who was living here a few years back. The realization that the notorious group of sorcerer supremacists was now back in the country was something that couldn't be taken lightly.
'I wonder what's going to happen now.' Cyrus thought as he made his way to the record rooms to go have a chat with Freddy.
The young 'tree magic' user would be foolish to believe that this wasn't going to spark something major within the DPA. With a group like Iznana now back to their old tricks, things were surely about to pick up. Which meant that there were definitely going to be some changes around here soon. What those changes would be, he hadn't the slightest idea. But the young man had a feeling that things around here were about to get real exciting, real soon.
-(o)-
"God, I'm tired...." Valerie sighed after dropping herself down on the sofa in one of the station's break rooms.
To say that the tall blonde was exhausted would be putting it mildly. After all, she had barely gotten any sleep over the last couple of days on account of all the chaos. What was originally supposed to be a day off from work quickly turned into an all-hands-on-deck situation that had every available agent that was currently in the city being forced to come back in to help deal with the fallout from the heist.
Valerie herself had barely gotten a little over eight hours of rest ever since she and the rest of her group had left the fundraiser. Most of which came from the time she spent at the MacNamara residence after leaving with everyone else.
The young woman barely had any clue as to what was even going on. All she knew was that Iznana was somehow involved and that everyone was now running ragged around the building, trying to collect as much information as they could.
For such an illustrious group to pull off such a daring raid was nothing short of crazy in her opinion. And the fact that they had been effectively gone for so long, only to reappear in spectacular fashion like this, was just insane to think about. However, that wasn't the only thing that her mind was focused on right now.
One of those Iznana guys had used a unique magic type that was exclusive to her and her Aunt's family. Only a handful of people in the McKenna family who were direct descendants of Valerie's great-grandmother were capable of creating purple flames. And all of them were women. Although Valerie didn't really understand genetics all that well, she knew enough to know that something like that shouldn't be possible. For a random man, an Iznana agent of all people, to be capable of such a feat meant that he had to be related to her in some way. But how?
After asking Chief Chandler about it, there was only one possible conclusion that the young 'fire magic' user could come to. The man had to be a member of their family somehow. An unknown one that they were not aware of. According to the McKenna family's history, Valerie's great-grandmother, Florence, only had one child, her grandmother, Claire. And Claire McKenna only had six biological children herself. The rest of Valerie's aunts had been adopted into the family. For some unknown 'fire magic' user to be in possession of that technique meant that there was a missing link that neither of them was aware of. But where did that link come from?
"Urgh!" Valerie groaned while putting her hands up to her face. This was way too much to be thinking about right now. Especially with everything that was going on.
Right now, the young 'fire magic' user should be focusing on helping her aunt get a handle on the situation, not pondering over things that made her brain hurt. She could worry about this nonsense later when they had some more free time.
-(o)-
Maria couldn't help but rub her eyes as the young woman did her best to stay awake. After all, it was pretty much all that she could do at the moment, considering the current state of things.
At the moment, the young 'beast magic' user was sitting at one of the desks in the APS area, sorting out reports from the night of the heist. She had been doing this for the better part of six hours, and her eyes were starting to hurt from all of the reading. Right now, it was only her and Skyler Murphy in the office. Most of everyone else, including Sebastian, was out trying to track down the rest of the Iznana agents that had gotten away from them. And the rest were standing guard over their two prisoners on the bottom floor.
The last two days or so had been a total blur as far as Maria was concerned. After helping the medics create an antidote for the gas that her new companion, Abzu, had made, she had been working off and on for the last 48 hours. Her already shaky sleep schedule was now thrown completely out of whack, and she also had to deal with making sure that the rest of her companions were getting along with their new buddy.
The whole situation was a total drain on the young woman's sanity. And the worst part was that she had even more work to look forward to the day after tomorrow.
Apparently, some enchanting specialist from the Raleigh Station would be dropping by to interrogate the Iznana prisoners. Due to the fact that the criminals had some special enchantments placed on their bodies to keep them from talking, the other agents weren't able to get any useful information out of them. This meant that everyone was forced to wait on whoever it was that was going to show up to try and break the enchantment. And, of course, Maria was the one agent tasked with helping the guy out.
Admittedly, it did make sense why it had to be this way. Since she was the newest addition to the squad with the least amount of experience, Maria was the one given the short end of the stick. Then again, this also meant that she wasn't going to be joining the others for the manhunt. So, it wasn't a total loss in her tired opinion.
"God, this fucking sucks!" Skylar suddenly said after tossing a stack of papers onto his desk. "All of these reports say the same damn thing! Everyone who was there already knows what happened."
"Mhmm." Maria nodded after deciding to take a break from her reading.
"I still can't believe this shit happened, especially to us." The 'earth magic' user continued. "Of all the places for Iznana to pop back up and cause a mess, it just had to be here. We already have enough on our plates on a normal day. Now we're going to be dealing with this bullshit until it's over with."
"I know."
"You know what's crazy? The news had already spread around the country, too! My uncle and two of my brothers have already called me, trying to get the scoop on what happened. Even though they know that we can't talk about stuff like this freely, they keep asking me all these dumbass questions."
"Mhmm." The stoic teen once again nodded her head.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a terrible conversationalist?" Skylar then gave Maria an unimpressed glare.
"Sorry." The raven-haired woman replied.
"Eh, forget it. At least I'm not here by myself. To be honest, I'd rather be out there with everyone else doing the search, but tracking isn't exactly my strong suit. It still sucks that the Vice Captain left all of this work for the two of us to handle."
"Can't argue with you there."
With nothing else needed to be said, the two agents quickly got back to their work and began sorting through the rest of the reports. If they were lucky, they would be done before lunch, but Maria wasn't going to hold her breath. The young woman still had a stack of papers left to work through, so it looked like she was going to be dealing with this nonsense for the foreseeable future.
'At least I'm off the day after tomorrow.' The raven-haired woman told herself in an attempt to stay somewhat motivated. 'I'm definitely going to be catching up on all of the sleep I missed.'
-(o)-
[Evan and his Entourage]
Computer Chip: Hey!
Computer Chip: You guys busy?
Crow: Why did you change the name of the group?
Spool: Because he's a narcissist.
Spool: And a dumbass.
Dumbbell: What's up?
Tree: Something wrong?
Computer Chip: No, everything's fine.
Computer Chip: I was just wondering if you guys were free sometime soon.
Computer Chip: There's something me and Elizabeth need to talk to you about.
Computer Chip: It's important.
Snake: ???
Tree: What is it?
Computer Chip: I'd rather not talk about it over text.
Computer Chip: Sorry for the secrecy, but I don't like saying certain things on traceable platforms.
Spool: It's nothing weird, we promise.
Crow: Me and Cyrus have the day off tomorrow.
Dumbbell: Me too.
Snake: I'm free tomorrow too.
Computer Chip: Awesome!
Spool: Would it be too much to ask you guys to meet us at Aurum tomorrow at 7:00 pm?
Crow: Aurum?!
Crow: Like, THE Aurum?!
Tree: You mean that super fancy five-star restaurant in the middle of the city that all the celebrities go to?
Tree: The one that has a seven-month waiting list?
Computer Chip: Yeah, that's the place.
Dumbbell: Sure
Dumbbell: Fine with me.
Crow: Hell yeah!
Snake: Okay
Tree: Isn't Aurum one of those places that you need to get dressed up for?
Computer Chip: Normally, yes. But don't worry about it.
Spool: You guys can show up in sweats for all I care.
Dumbbell: Are you sure?
Spool: Yeah. We never dress up when we go there.
Tree: Can we at least get a hint as to what's so important?
Computer Chip: Let's just say that me and Elizabeth have a present for you. Something to reward you for all your hard work! That's all I can tell you, though.
Tree: I guess we'll see you tomorrow at 7:00 pm then.
Spool: And don't worry, we're paying.
Dumbbell: Count me in!
Dumbbell: I need a pick-me-up after all the bullshit over the last few days.
Crow: I will definitely be there!
Computer Chip: Awesome! See you guys tomorrow!
Tree: Catch you later.
Dumbbell: Bye!
Snake: Bye
Crow: I am so looking forward to this!
-(o)-
[The Next Day]
"Hello, everyone!" Elizabeth greeted the four junior agents in front of the restaurant known as Aurum.
"What's up?" Freddy said for everyone else as they all met at the door.
"How have you guys been holding up?" Evan then asked.
Valerie was the first to answer. "Terrible!"
"Seriously...." Cyrus echoed. "We've barely gotten any sleep since the fundraiser. The station's been working around the clock to figure out what's going on, and we've barely made any progress."
"Damn, sorry to hear that."
The group quickly decided that it would be better to finish this conversation inside once they all sat down and got comfortable. So, without any further delay, the hexad of sorcerers made their way into the restaurant.
Upon entering, the group was greeted with quite a sight. The first thing that they noticed was the soft hum of jazz piano, followed by the clinking of silverware, which floated through the velvet-draped lobby of Aurum's reception area. This place was exactly the way that it looked in all of the photos online. It was the kind of place that screamed luxury and decadence. All around them were walls filled with fine-looking paintings and pieces of modern art. And the floors were decked out with a lavish-looking velvet carpet that seemed to glow underneath the setting lights.
"Swanky..." Freddy said with a whistle as the group walked over to the front desk. "Honestly, I'm starting to feel a bit underdressed."
Unlike most of the people who were already seated and enjoying their meals, the group of sorcerers was dressed significantly more casually than the others.
Freddy was wearing a pair of black slacks with a matching button-up and grey cardigan, along with some shiny black loafers with a frilled knot on the top.
Cyrus, ever the practical dresser, was dressed in his usual long-sleeved green t-shirt paired with a pair of khaki pants, black boat shoes, and a fleece vest to round out the look.
Valerie was sporting a simple form-fitting blue and yellow sweatsuit with some green running shoes. Of course, her entire ensemble was fireproof, much like the rest of her wardrobe.
Maria chose to keep things simple while still maintaining her emo aesthetic. The young 'beast magic' user was dressed in a dark grey hoodie, a short black ruffled skirt, a pair of thigh-high socks, and her favorite pair of high-top combat boots that she had been wearing ever since her junior year of high school.
As for the MacNamara twins, they, of course, were dressed like they were ready for a fashion show to start at any moment.
Evan was wearing a brilliant white button-up shirt along with a pair of plaid pants and some matching white loafers. The 'wind magic' user also chose to accessorize the look with an expensive-looking watch. On top of that, his long dreadlocks were twisted into a single braid that elegantly draped over his right shoulder.
As for Elizabeth, the resident fashion designer was wearing an olive-green sundress with a white leather jacket on top of it, topped off by a pair of white wedges that appeared to be the same brand as her brother's shoes. And just like Evan, the 'earth magic' user's hair was also styled into a long braid that fell over the opposite shoulder all the way down to her stomach.
The four agents assumed that this must've been their family's default look. After all, their sister often wore her hair in a similar fashion whenever she was seen in public. It made sense, though, that kind of style was quick to pull together and was obviously a good look for them.
"Welcome to Aurum!" The woman at the front desk said in a flowery tone as soon as she noticed the group approaching her. "Do you guys have a reservation?"
"We don't." Evan replied with a smile in the woman's direction, one that caused a bit of blush to form on her face. "We were actually looking to see if table nine was available this evening."
A confused look quickly appeared on the young receptionist's face before she spoke up again. "I'm sorry, sir, but we don't have a table nin-"
"Sorry about that!" The man who was standing a few feet behind the woman suddenly put his hand out in front of her. "She's new. We still haven't gotten her up to speed on everything here yet."
"It's no problem." Elizabeth said with a charming smile of her own.
Everyone watched as the man, the floor manager, based on his nametag, then pulled a small red book out from behind the desk. One that looked to be pretty old, if Cyrus had to take a guess.
"Names, please."
"Evan and Elizabeth MacNamara, plus four." The 'wind magic' said.
The man quickly opened up the book and flipped through a few of its pages before landing on one in particular. After a brief couple of seconds, he gave the group a smile before closing it and placing it back behind the desk.
"Yes, Mr. and Ms. MacNamara! As luck would have it, table nine is available this evening."
"Great!" The 'earth magic' user said happily.
'They have a private table?' Cyrus wondered. The 'tree magic' user couldn't be too surprised, though. The twins were rolling in money after all. It only made sense that they'd have special arrangements for a fancy place like this.
'I guess being filthy rich has its perks.' Maria suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. The waiting list for this place was well over half a year long. But she guessed that the normal rules didn't apply to those who practically shit out money whenever they needed to.
"Right this way, please!" The manager then said as he led the group down the hall. "I'll show you to your seats and send the waitress to you as soon as she's available.
"Thanks!"
The group of young sorcerers then followed the man down the hall past the main dining area. Along the way, everyone took a moment to gaze at the other guests en route to their table. The place was filled to the brim with people who seemed to be enjoying their dinner. And the live jazz band at the far end of the dining area that was set up atop a small stage was keeping the general atmosphere nice and calm.
"So, you guys are pretty much VIPs here, huh?" Valerie asked Evan after falling in step with the young man.
"Basically." The 'wind magic' user said with a grin. "Our father is buddies the owner. Actually, he was the one who fronted him the money to build this place. A smart investment, if you ask me."
"Our sister also worked here during the summers." Elizabeth added.
"Seriously?" Now that certainly got Cyrus's attention.
"Yeah. She actually used to sing here on Saturdays. This place is pretty much where she got to practice her performances before she made it big."
"I bet that must've been a sight to see." Freddy laughed.
Maria was now even more certain that the twins had no semblance of what it was like to live a normal life. The raven-haired woman wanted to say something but quickly decided against it at the risk of coming off as rude. Instead, she simply chose to look out into the dining area to get a better view of the other guests.
The restaurant was full of people who looked like they worked some pretty lucrative jobs. And she was certain that a popular Twitch streamer that she used to watch was sitting in the far corner on the opposite side of the building with another YouTuber that she sort of recognized.
Before long, the group was escorted into a private room in the rear of the building. One that was lavishly decorated with, of all things, a two-way mirror covering the entirety of the inner wall that allowed them to look out into the rest of the dining area without having to be seen. If privacy was the goal here, it was certainly achieved. However, the whole set-up seemed a bit creepy, if nothing else.
"Your waitress will be here shortly." The manager said before exiting the room, leaving the group to talk among themselves for the time being.
"It must be nice being rolling in cash." Freddy was the first to speak. "You guys pretty much get to come here whenever you want."
"It does have its perks." Evan said with a laugh.
"I can't wait to tell my parents I got to come here." Cyrus then said. "My dad tried to book a table here for their anniversary a couple of years ago, but the restaurant was booked out for the rest of the year."
"Unfortunately, trying to get on the VIP list is a hassle." Elizabeth added. "Aside from our family, there are only about fifteen people who are on it. And all of them had to get special permission from the owner."
The 'earth magic' user then turned her attention toward Maria. For a brief moment, the woman had a quizzical look on her face. But that quickly passed before she decided to speak again.
"Did you get a new companion? I'm sensing another mana signature in you that I never noticed before."
"I did." Maria stoically replied with nod. "It's one of the cryptids that was used during the heist. The Chief needed him to make an antidote for the gas that was used, so she had me tame it to help out. I call him Abzu."
"How fortunate! I'm happy for you!"
"I guess some good came from all that mess after all." Evan then said. "You know...sometimes I wish that I had your magical attribute. 'Wind magic' is fun and all, but yours seems way more fun to have. Some of the 'beast magic' users that we went to school with always found a creative way to use their companions. Hell, one of my old classmates always used his to cheat on tests."
"Yours is still pretty versatile, though." Cyrus then said as he leaned back in his chair. "Out of all the elemental attributes, yours has the most practical applications."
"I can't argue with you there."
"I still can't believe that Elizabeth can make lava." Valerie looked at the 'earth magic' user with a smile. "The only people I've ever heard with that skill were the guys in the Murphy family."
"I learned it when I lived with them the summer of my sophomore year of high school. Admittedly, I was scared to try at first, but after the first couple of times, I found out that I have a talent for it. It sucks that the mana consumption is so high, though."
Before anyone could say anything else, the door to the room opened. They all then looked up to see their waitress for the night approaching the lone table at the center of the room. Well, almost all of them did. Cyrus's back was facing the door, so he wasn't able to see who the new arrival was.
After shutting the door behind her, the woman then put on her best professional smile before introducing herself.
"I apologize for the delay. I hope you all weren't waiting for too long."
You could almost hear the record scratching in Cyrus's brain the moment he finally processed the woman's voice. For a brief second, the freckle-faced youth thought that this mind was playing tricks on him. Either that, or he was experiencing some sort of weird hallucination.
Hoping to confirm whether or not his assumption was true, the young 'tree magic' user quickly turned around in his seat to get a good look at the woman behind him. And once he did, the man's brain almost went blank as he looked up at someone he was not expecting to run into, especially here of all places.
"Bianca?" Cyrus said with wide eyes as he fully took in the sight of the group's waitress.
"Cyrus?" The woman said with an equally shocked expression as she looked down at the young man.
The waitress, now identified as Bianca, was an average-sized woman with honey-brown skin, a thin physique, and deep brown eyes. She had short, black hair styled in a pixie cut with swept bangs that almost hid her right eye. However, her most distinctive features were the dark lipstick and wingtip eyeliner that managed to bring attention to her already attractive face.
Everyone at the table was immediately interested in the sight before them. They were all more than a bit curious as to how these two knew each other. The waitress looked to be in her early twenties if their assumptions were correct.
"You two know each other?" Valerie decided to be the one to break the tension.
"Y-yeah..." Cyrus then said while nervously rubbing his cheek.
It was clear that everyone was waiting for some sort of explanation, so the young man decided to let everyone know what the big deal was. Even though he wanted to run out of the building as fast as possible, Cyrus knew that he was basically stuck.
"Guys, this is Bianca Valdez...and she's my...uh...."
"His ex-girlfriend...." Bianca finished with a semi-neutral expression on her face.
Well, that certainly wasn't what everyone was expecting to hear. Not by a long shot. The rest of the group immediately started trading glances between Cyrus and Bianca, and to say that they were more than a bit perplexed would be putting it mildly. Hell, a couple of them were flat-out confused.
'So, this is what he's into?' Freddy couldn't help but think as he sized up the woman. The 'dark magic' user's best friend never so much as mentioned any of his previous flings before.
'I didn't expect him to be into goth girls.' Elizabeth thought while trying to suppress a smirk. She couldn't help but wonder what the story here was. Or why she was now the ex-girlfriend and not the current one.
'I was right, he is into older women!' Evan said to himself.
'They don't match at all.' Maria thought while also giving the woman the once-over. Without trying to sound rude, Cyrus came off as a pretty average, run-of-the-mill sort of guy. The kind of guy who likes to blend in with a crowd instead of standing out. To think that this was the kind of woman he was into was definitely a shocker.
'How old is this chick?' Valerie asked herself. This Bianca person was definitely way older than Cyrus, at least by a few years.
"How's it going?" Cyrus then asked the woman with a notable sense of nervousness in his voice. He was now feeling incredibly awkward and didn't know exactly what to do in this situation.
"Hmm..." The woman said while checking out the young man. "You cut your hair. When did that happen?"
"A-a while ago."
"I see...I liked your afro better."
"Yeah...I know...." Cyrus nodded. "So, how long have you been working here?"
"Since March." The waitress replied. "I landed this job right after I graduated."
"I thought you wanted to become a chef?"
"I still do. But the owner makes you work as a member of the wait staff before you're allowed in the kitchen. I'm not complaining, though. The pay is pretty good."
"I see..."
An uncomfortable silence practically filled the air as everyone waited to see what would happen next.
"Well, this is awkward as hell!" Evan said jokingly in an attempt to break the sudden tension.
"No kidding..." Valerie echoed with a forced grin while trying to avoid eye contact.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, sir! Please forgive me!"
"Don't sweat it!"
"Anyways." Bianca then said before pulling out her pen and notepad. "What can I get you all to drink? We have a lovely selection of wines that just came in yesterday. And if those aren't to your liking, we have a robust array of beverages that are sure to satisfy you!"
"Unfortunately, all of us are underage, so we're going to have to skip the alcohol for the night." Elizabeth replied.
It wasn't like there was any point in either of them trying to get drunk anyway. Thanks to their enhanced bodies, it was almost impossible for sorcerers to get drunk off regular liquor. The only stuff that could even halfway do the job was basically anything that was almost pure alcohol. Even then, the effect wouldn't last for very long. Aside from that, the only thing that could get one of their kind reliably plastered was the special whiskey that the Blair family produces specifically for people like them.
"I'll just have a sweet tea." Freddy said to the woman with a smile.
"Same." Evan and Elizabeth then said in unison.
"Water for me, please." Said Valerie in a polite tone.
"A Coke is fine." Maria added.
Bianca quickly wrote down the drinks before looking at Cyrus with a calm smile on her face. "Let me guess, an Arnold Palmer with lemon and no ice?"
"If you could be so kind." Cyrus said with a wobbly smile.
With that out of the way, the waitress politely excused herself from the table before exiting the room and making her way to the bar. The moment the door shut behind her, everyone's eyes immediately locked onto Cyrus like a pack of wolves who had just spotted their next meal.
"So...ex-girlfriend, huh?" Freddy smirked at the 'tree magic' user.
Evan was the next to speak. "I know that we're covering your guys' meals, but I have a feeling that you might need to leave her a nice tip when we leave."
"What's the story there?" Elizabeth didn't even try to hide her curiosity; this was the kind of drama she lived for. "You two seem like you'd be a cute couple. What happened?"
"You really are into older women!" Valerie joked. "How old is she? Twenty-two? Twenty-three? And since when are you into goth chicks?"
"So, what did you two want to discuss with us?!" Cyrus expertly dodged all of those questions and immediately tried changing topics. The last thing he wanted to do right now was discuss his failed love life with his friends. He was already certain that the woman in question was going to spit in his drink before she came back. So, he was desperately trying to push those thoughts out of his head. "You said it was super important, right?"
"Okay, okay, we'll back off...for now." The 'wind magic' user held up his hands. "But we're definitely going to be revisiting this later on."
"What did you guys want to talk to us about?" Freddy then looked to the twins for clarification. Although he was certainly appreciative of the chance to experience a bit of fine dining, he was still curious about the reason why the two had decided to invite them here. The 'dark magic' user assumed that it had something to do with the fundraiser.
Now that they were all alone again, Elizabeth didn't see a point in delaying the inevitable. The woman wanted to try and broach the topic a bit later on in the evening once the food had arrived, but now seemed a good a time as ever.
"Long story short, me and Evan are going to be giving you guys the flying enchantment."
...
...
...
...
...
"WHAT?!"