Anomalies: Control
Chapter 15

Once the government girls were laid on the beds in one of the guest rooms, Cole stalked after Rune as she tried to vanish into the garage. He slipped in before the door had even fully closed and shut it behind them. “What the hell were you doing?”

She turned on him with equally angry eyes. “Keeping you safe, that’s what the hell I was doing. What? She’s got cute little doe eyes and an innocent feel to her so she’s automatically trustworthy?”

“She saved our lives, Rue. She didn’t have to do that, she did that on her own. So yeah, I think she’s earned a little trust.”

“I don’t.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“Which is why I didn’t tell you I was going to go after them myself.”

He groaned and threw his hands up. “I don’t even know what to say to that!” He felt like strangling her until she saw sense, but that wouldn’t get them anywhere, and she’d probably sooner suffocate than admit she was being unreasonable.

Rune was spared having to fight with him any longer by Gaia poking her head into the garage. “Hey Charge, the shield’s awake and she’s pissed.”

He shot one last glare at Rune as he followed Gaia out of the garage. “Yeah, I’d be pissed too if I’d been knocked out and dragged back here against my will,” he muttered. He heard Rune chuckling to herself as the door fell shut behind her, and he bit down on his lip to stop the sound from making him amused at this unamusing situation.

He loped up the stairs to the guest room and knocked lightly before creaking the door open, offering an apologetic smile at the scowling Talia who was already staring at the door from the bed. “Hey, Talia.”

“Who the hell came after us? I’m pretty sure she was going to kill us and changed her mind last minute or something.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, sorry about that. We were going to send Track and Kane, but some of the others got a little worried and overeager.”

“Who?”

“It’s not important-”

“It’s the enchantress, isn’t it? Why do you keep protecting her?!”

He didn’t really know the answer to that anymore. “She thought she was helping.”

“By attacking us?”

“She thought you wouldn’t come back willingly, with the summoning and all.” He was getting more awkward by the second.

“We’re not your enemy, Cole. I thought we’ve proven that to you.”

He took a long stride toward her, and she inched back a little further on the mattress away from him. “You have, just… some of us aren’t trusting. At all. And that’s probably never going to change. And it’s nothing to do with you specifically, it’s just… how they are.”

“How she is.” She was still glaring at him, and he settled on the edge of the bed, far enough away to give her space.

“Not only her. She’s just the most likely to actually act on her impulses, whereas the others wait for Tech.”

“We can’t stay here. We’re obviously still the enemy and that’s not changing. And what are the odds they’re going to let us go home alive? Cole, what are we supposed to do at this point?” She was starting to freak out, seeing a life ahead of her as a prisoner, and he moved closer and looped an arm around her shoulders, even though he was immediately shoved off. “I’m serious! We can’t stay, we can’t go, what the hell is left?”

He stood and offered her a hand. “Let’s go talk to the others. We’ll figure something out that you’re comfortable with.”

It took her a few long seconds, but eventually she shot a look at the still-unconscious Amanda and nodded. She reached for his hand only long enough to let him help her off the bed, then let go of him and walked out of the room and down the stairs without waiting for him, letting him follow after her. Smiling despite himself, he wondered if he was destined to be trailing after women his whole life, and caught up to her in the kitchen.

“Tetsuya, I need to talk to you,” she announced, earning a few weird looks until the others realized that must be Tech’s real name. Her expression faltered as she realized her mistake, too used to referring to the stray Anomalies from what real names the department had managed to replace to realize they may not know each other’s real names. “Sorry... Tech.”

He nodded, at ease even now. “What do you need Talia?”

“Obviously given what just happened to Amanda and myself, we can’t stay with you guys. You don’t trust us, and I understand that, I really do. And I doubt anyone’s willing to let us go back to our lives given what we know about you now. So my issue is: what are we supposed to do now?”

“No one’s going to stop you from going back. We just need to have a plan to move before then. I know you’ve helped us, and that you did that on your own and we are in your debt for it. But to set the others at ease, I want us to have a plan to move, then you’ll be free to leave and go wherever you want. No one will stop you so long as they’re assured you won’t be able to pinpoint their location. We just have to figure out where we can go.”

She looked a little surprised, like she hadn’t expected such a rational solution, but quickly recovered and nodded. “Oh, alright then…uhm, thank you.”

Tech nodded, turning back to the map yet again, probably planning to stay there until he figured out a safe spot for them to go, ignoring Tracker and Kane as they drifted to the garage. Cole reached to touch Talia’s shoulder, and she seemed a little calmer now, and let him turn her away from the kitchen, grinning at the sight of Amanda at the bottom of the stairs. He had one question before he wanted her to run off and go hide up in the room with Amanda. “Hey, Talia, can I ask you a serious question?” he muttered, his hand around her arm tugging her off to the side.

She let herself be tugged, lifting an eyebrow at him. “Sure, what?”

“What is it about me?” Despite his words to Rune, he was just as guilty as she was in assuming he was the cause of this whole debacle. That official, Lewis, he’d come for Cole specifically, even though he tested clean. And his high bounty meant there was definitely something about him they needed. “What is it that they want with me?”

The kitchen noise dropped to all but nonexistent as they too awaited the answer, and there was a collective sigh of disappointment as she shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m sorry, I wish I could tell you, but I really don’t know.”

“But they do need me for some reason?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “But it’s above my pay grade to know why.”

A new voice sent a wave of surprised panic through the crowd of people, tangled with an edge of fear. The kind of fear that one thought they left behind in childhood, fear of the darkness and shadows and that which lingered and thrived in that black.

“I can tell you.”

A tall figure slithered out of nothingness by the curtains over the windows, stepping from the shadows with the overt confidence of a nightmare come to life, draped in darkness, blending in with the grey and black shadows against the wall, and Cole took a small step in front of Talia and the others. The Shadowman. It had to be Frankie. No one had warned him that the shadow Manipulator could phase his way into a building through the shadows. His lips parted to greet the newcomer, to attempt to be polite - especially if he could shed some light on why Cole was important - but was distracted by the garage door opening, immediately followed by a cry of outrage from Tracker.

“You son of a bitch!” she cried, lunging for Frankie. “The fuck are you doing here?!”

No one had a chance to move, and once they realized they should be moving, confusion kept them still as Frankie laughed and caught the snarling woman, spinning her around and pinning her arms to her side so he could purr into her ear. “Still so enthusiastic to see me, darling?”

Kane growled and was the first to recover himself, pushing past Cole and Talia but not rushing Frankie completely. “Let her go.” His voice was more a low rumble than actual words, but it didn’t seem to matter.

Frankie didn’t move his lips more than an inch away from her face as he smirked at Kane. “Can you promise to play nice, my dear?”

“Fuck you.”

“Promise accepted.” He tossed her away from him to Kane, who was already poised to catch her. She struggled to get away from Kane, he kept a firm grip on her. Frankie ignored them and turned back to Cole and Talia with an easy smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Cole put himself a little further in front of Talia, nervous and caught in a gaze that actively danced with grey and black shadows. “Sorry about that; some old flames like to try to flare up even after they’ve burned themselves out.”

Cole nodded warily. He was pretty sure he’d just found Tracker’s ‘bad place’ that Kane had mentioned. “Apparently. What did you say you could tell us?”

Frankie took another step into the room, sending a fresh ripple of apprehension through the residents. “Why they want you. What’s so deliciously interesting about you. Perhaps a solution to your current predicament.”

“Let’s start with the first two, then we’ll see about the third.” He was faking a calm bravado, but felt a rush of actual relief as he felt Tech at his side, a hand on his shoulder. Frankie drifted over to the couch in the living room and draped himself across the couch, seeming completely at ease despite Tracker’s desire to dismember him, Kane’s death glare, and the general sense of wariness and fear.

“Yes, let’s,” he agreed. “Why they want you: because you, Cole Callahan,” Cole wasn’t fast enough to stop him from revealing his name, and something told him that even if he’d been fast enough, he wouldn’t have been able to stop Frankie; it was as strategic as it was to annoy him. If the others knew his name, there was nothing stopping them from turning him in, and Frankie knew that. He was trying to give Cole no option but to take whatever deal he was prepared with. “-have caused quite the stir since being let loose on the dregs of Anomaly society. But there’s so many more interesting things about you than the fact the department wants you. Like why you test clean. Why Anna says you vanish completely off the radar whenever you’re not using. Why they flew in a Sensor specifically to see if Anna was just full of shit, and guess what? She wasn’t. You turn completely normal when you’re not using.”

“What?”

“You’ve got the department all in a twist. Wondering what it means, why you can test clean, how many more like you are out there. Which brings me to my next offer, on behalf of the department: join us.”

A growl made Cole glance to the stairs, where Rune was standing a few steps behind Amanda. He shot her a reassuring smile, and turned back to Frankie, who was wiggling his eyebrows at the enchantress. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’d rather stay here.”

Frankie’s good mood dissipated, and he leaned forward to rest his forearms on his knees, his shadowed eyes pinned on Cole. “You don’t get it, Cole. If you refuse, and they don’t get to study you, precautions will be taken. I’ve seen the plans, been a part of them.”

“There’s a fucking surprise,” Rune snapped.

“Shut it, Rune.” He barely spared her a glance, still focused on Cole. “They think you’re just the beginning. That you’re a new breed of undercover Anomaly. They already think you’re going to say no when they finally do replace you, and they’re prepared for it. Every kid before being able to go to school - they’re going to be stress tested. Five and six year olds, Callahan, are going to be tossed into a room with offensive Anomalies so the officials can see if any powers crop up.”

The manipulator’s declaration was overrun with raised, righteously indignant voices, but he ignored them all and kept his focus on Cole. “You can stop it. They’ll do anything to have you. Pay you, give you a job, even leave your precious Rune alone. All in exchange for a few vials of blood every few weeks. Ask Talia, they can be very generous to people they need.”

Cole had actually forgotten that Talia was still half hidden behind him, and glanced down at her, wondering what exactly Frankie meant. Her cheeks had flushed red, but she shrugged and nodded. “He’s not wrong. I have a nice apartment, a steady job, reliability.”

“In exchange for helping them experiment on the rest of us,” Tracker bit off.

Talia glanced away, not responding to that part, but Frankie laughed. “It’s always so black and white with you, isn’t it sweetheart?” He shot Talia a wink. “Don’t worry, Tal, they’ll understand someday,” he assured the girl, turning his eyes back to Cole. “Well Callahan? What’s it gonna be? Ball’s in your court at this point.”

Banshee was at his side before Frankie had even stopped talking, inching Talia out of the way so she could whisper urgently to him as she clutched his arm. “Charge, you can’t do this. They aren’t trustworthy; you’ll end up like Rune or worse. They’re going to do this stress testing anyway and there will be nothing you can do to stop it. No matter what the Shadowman says.”

“He’s an ass but he doesn’t lie,” Talia snapped from behind Banshee, looking annoyed at being shoved aside.

“Oh, yeah, because you’re so trustworthy.”

“Girls,” he snapped, silencing the two of them. “Talia, I know. Banshee, this isn’t just about me anymore, and we don’t know that I can’t try to help.”

“This is suicide.”

“He doesn’t know that. They’re not evil.”

“They are evil!”

“Not all of them!”

He raked a hand through his hair as Frankie chuckled and Tech tried to reign in the two girls, and looked back up the stairs at Rune. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need to; her face said clear as day that if he left with Frankie, he’d better not plan on coming back. He shouldn’t go; these past few months had been to the endgame of getting Rune back safe, and she was back. He’d accomplished what he’d set out to do. There was no sense in leaving with the government Anomalies if it would destroy his relationship with Rune and the rest of Skye, the people that had taken him in. Right?

But there were so many other people to consider. If he went back, he could reason with the department officials against this stress testing. If they had as much access to his blood and his DNA as they wanted, they could potentially replace out that he was just a freak among freaks, and there would be no reason to penalize younger generations because of him. He could try to negotiate a truce between the department and the Skye residents, Rune included. Anything was worth a try, and if it didn’t work, he could always disappear again, leave the city entirely this time.

Her eyes darkened to black as she realized he’d made his choice, and he wanted to explain, but she’d never understand. She’d die for her chosen people, and she wouldn’t understand his willingness to turn his back on her and Skye for people he’d never met. But facts were facts to Cole; he couldn’t let innocent people suffer because he was a coward, and he had to at least try to protect Rune and the Skye residents as best he could. Even if it meant working for the people hunting them.

So he didn’t bother. He just turned away from her, and nodded to Frankie. “I’ll get my jacket then we’ll go,” he said, turning toward the kitchen and ignoring the re-raising of the voices trying to discourage him. “Talia, Amanda, be ready to go in two minutes.”

Surprisingly Tech wasn’t trying to stop him, though Banshee was dogging him into the kitchen, yelling about his decision, and he grabbed his jacket and turned back to her, taking her by the shoulders in an effort to force her to focus and listen to him. “Bansh, I hear you. You’re not happy. Rue’s not happy. No one’s happy. But this isn’t just about me anymore. This is about innocent people, innocent kids, Bansh. I can’t let them suffer just so I can live in peace hiding from the problem and pretending I don’t know I could’ve tried to stop it.”

“Charge, c’mon, you aren’t responsible for the entire world, you realize that right? This is just some plot to get you to them, to make you turn on us. And it’s working! If you leave, you’ll never be trusted again. This is a make you or break you kind of choice. Please don’t do this.”

He hugged her, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Sorry Bansh. My mind’s made up.” He let her go and went back to the living room, looking for Rune, but she’d vanished. Not that that should surprise him, but it still hurt.

Frankie and the girls were already by the front door and watching him expectantly. He went to Tech first, and held out a hand, half expecting the Mechanical to deny him. He shouldn’t have been worried; Tech shook his hand with a smile, though he didn’t say anything more than a simple, “Later Cole.” And he gave a wave to the others, who weren’t sure if they wanted to say their goodbyes or vanish like Rune had. No one ended up speaking, but they could hear Banshee bitching away in the kitchen, clanging pots and pans and slamming cupboards, pretending to start some food for the others while she ignored Cole’s leaving.

It felt weird to leave and not immediately dive for the shadows. Frankie, Talia, and Amanda walked with calm assurance that they wouldn’t be stopped, and it felt strange after so long of lurking on the edges of sidewalks and ducking down alleyways. “It’s late. Aren’t you guys concerned about Officers?”

Frankie laughed and reached into his pocket, producing a card with a simple flick of his fingers. It looked like an ID card, an employee ID, he realized a moment too late. “Get out of jail free card. You’ve got a lot to learn kid.”

“Shut up Frankie,” Talia snapped, reaching out to touch Cole’s arm with a sympathetic smile. “Ignore him, he’s an ass. You’ll get one too. Officers don’t really mess with us. It’s like having an automatic clean reading. We’re the good guys to them, so they leave us alone.”

“Or they answer to the diabolical and evil mastermind James.” Frankie was laughing again, the supposedly happy sound making the hairs on Cole’s arms and the back of his neck rise. Something about Frankie just reeked of fear, no matter what he was doing. It was like talking to a living nightmare.

“James? Wait, James Lewis?”

Talia nodded. “You’ve met him already then?”

“Briefly. He came to get me from my house and tried to drug me in the backseat of his car.”

Amanda choked back a laugh, waving a hand to try to make the others continue their conversation. “Sorry, go on.”

Talia shot her an unamused look, and the other girl immediately fell silent. “Yeah. He’s a little over-worrisome. He can be a little… scary, at times.”

“He just worries that someone’s going to come in and cause havoc,” Amanda reasoned. “He wants them to be in a secure room before the negotiations happen, just in case.”

“Right,” Cole chuckled. “All about the security, that one.”

“Come on bitches, I want to get home and I can’t do that until Coley boy here is back at the Grayson Building.”

“Grayson building?”

“The building Rune tried to kill.”

He shot a look to Talia in surprise. “I thought Rue took that out?”

She shrugged, and he was getting real tired of Frankie laughing at him. “We’ll let James explain that to you. C’mon, the subway will be faster.”