Being an army brat, Chase had the luxury of spending most of his childhood in various places. Well, it wasn't exactly a luxury and he never spent more than a few months in one place. But he wouldn't have traded the experience for the world. He'd seen the bright, city lights of Japan at night. He'd visited the famous Berlin wall in Germany. He'd even seen the deserts of Sudan.

However, he'd never been to Ireland.

So, when the opportunity arose at headquarters about a Prime who was wreaking havoc across the Irish countryside, he jumped at the chance to lead it. Not only would it have been a good break from his routine at The Acropolis, but he'd also be able to visit The Vault after the mission was completed.

He had a few questions for a special someone who was locked away in the supermax prison designed to contain superhumans. The mission to Ireland was the perfect way for him to get his answers without raising suspicion among his peers.

The last thing he needed was people asking him questions about why he was taking a trip to The Vault for no apparent reason.

"What're they calling this thing again?" he asked as he glanced at the mission file on the device in his hands.

The Prime in question had only been referred to by a sequence of unrelated numbers and letters. It had only been active for a few days. The Irish police force reported numerous instances in which farmlands and outlying villages had been terrorized by some monstrous creature.

At first, Chase figured it was just a bear or a pack of wolves. Because why would a Prime be terrorizing random farmlands? But after seeing a few low-quality pictures of the thing, he realized it was no animal.

It was something else entirely.

The Irish government had enlisted Atlas to help neutralize the threat before it started moving into the cities. If that happened, Chase feared they wouldn't be able to take the beast down without people getting hurt in the process.

"The folk are calling it Caorthannach," Holly answered.

He glanced at the redhead, who was sat in the back of the armored truck with him and a few Atlas agents. She was the only other Prime present on the mission, as no one else volunteered. Though, it wasn't like they needed more. Their team should've been more than enough to deal with a threat like this.

"What the hell is a Cort-an-notch?"

She rolled her green eyes at him. "Not Cort-an-notch, you numpty. Caorthannach."

"Yeah, whatever. What does that even mean?"

"It's an old Celtic myth. Said to be a giant who spouts fire from its gob."

Fire? From its mouth?

He peered at the images of the Prime again to see if any of them matched Holly's description. None of them showed the monster spewing flames from its mouth. He wasn't sure if he should've been relieved or concerned.

"Maybe we should've brought Oscar," he said. "If this thing really does shoot fire from its mouth, he'd be helpful."

"He'd probably do more harm than good, don't ye think?" Holly asked.

A frown tugged at his lips. Sure, he messed up a bit more often than normal, but he was still a valuable member of the team. "You guys are way too hard on him. He's trying his best."

"I know, I know," Holly replied while tightening the thorny vines coiled around her forearms. She often used them as whips, grabbling ropes, or even extensions of her own arms. "It's just...a bit of a liability, ye know?"

He didn't dignify that statement with a response.

But he wasn't naïve enough to see the truth in her words. Oscar was many things. He was a great friend and a decent comedian. He was also pretty good at video games. But he was not the best superhero. He tried his best, but sometimes his best caused more harm than good. Chase could recall multiple times in which Oscar's actions resulted in a catastrophe.

The fiasco in Manchester was one of those times. Chase still had faith in him, though. He'd get better eventually.

Hopefully.

"You sure you're not the liability, Dryad?" he joked, opting to use Holly's codename. Gesturing at the vines wrapped around her arms, he suppressed a cheeky smile.

"Don't make fun o' me name, Sentinel." She snorted and tossed her bright red hair over her shoulder. "An' me vines might save ye life one day, Sentinel."

"Fair enough."

Out of all the recruits, Holly might've been his favorite. Despite having a relatively weak power, she had no qualms about jumping right into a fight. She was brave, headstrong, and didn't take anything from anyone. In some ways, she reminded him of himself.

"Five minutes out. Get ready, everyone," the driver announced.

Chase peered out the bulletproof windows of the truck. They had just entered the small town bordering a small river. As they drove along the cobblestone roads, he noticed some of the buildings in the distance were up in flames. Smoldering holes marred parts of the ground and the vehicles parked next to the sidewalk.

His heart sank.

"Guess the fire part was true," Holly quipped.

He shot her a scathing look.

"I'm sure we'll be fine," she added. "Don't ye have indestructible skin? Ye got nothing to worry aboot."

He nodded slowly. While he did have extremely durable skin, he had a feeling it wouldn't be enough against this kind of threat. He knew bullets and most blunt forces had no effect on him, but he'd never come up against a Prime with fire-based powers. Especially not one three times his size.

There was no telling what could happen in this fight. He needed to be ready for anything.

The distant screams of the townspeople grew louder as the truck full of Atlas agents approached the scene. Soon, Chase could see the terrified running toward them with horror decorating their reddened faces like smeared makeup. They tripped over themselves as they scrambled toward safety. Beyond them, a few officers armed with rifles charged at something in the distance. Gunshots rang pierced the air. An earth-shaking roar followed shortly after.

Chase swallowed hard. He looked down at the sword laying across his lap and sighed.

"Almost there," the driver said.

Nodding, he attached his weapon to the magnetic holder built into the back of his mission suit. His foot tapped erratically as he waited for the vehicle to come to a stop. He felt sweat forming above his brow. Frowning, he wiped it away and clenched his jaw.

Get a grip, he told himself. You got this.

"Ye alright, Sentinel?" Holly asked him. "Ye look like yer bricking it."

He took a breath before nodding. "I'm good. Perfectly fine."

The truck stopped. His heart stopped beating in his chest, almost as if it wasn't there.

"Here we go!" one of the Atlas agents yelled. "Let's move!" The rear doors to the truck slid open and everyone spilled out onto the street.

Chase climbed out the back and covered his eyes from the harsh sun above. Frightened civilians ignored them as they continued running for the hills. He looked beyond them and at the crowd of Irish police officers shooting at something.

"Alright, mate, so what's the plan?" Holly asked as she unraveled her vines. She then pointed at the growing destruction in the distance. "An' ye better think of one fast or else we're all done fer."

The rest of the agents turned to Chase, silently awaiting his orders.

He stood there for a few moments, his eyes stuck on the demolished buildings ahead of him. Black smoke rose into the air, darkening the sky. It lingered above them like a blanket of death and destruction. Splintered wood, cracked bricks, and crushed slabs of stone littered the ground near the fighting. Even from where they were standing, Chase could see the silhouette of the Prime's massive figure through the smoky landscape.

This wasn't going to be easy.

His eyes widened as he heard metal crunching. Screams rang out around him. The officers who had been fighting the monster were now sprinting in the other direction.

He quickly realized why.

A flaming car had been launched into the air. Everyone around him bolted off to the sides in search of cover. But not him. He stayed rooted to the spot.

If he didn't do something, the vehicle would surely kill someone or crash into something. He looked up. Everything seemed to slow down as he watched the car fall toward him. Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and raised his hands.

His muscles rippled with force as the car's hood landed on his palms. He desperately tried to ignore the heat burning his hands as he strained to hold the vehicle above his head. Gravity pulled at his knees. Sweat dripped down his face. The smell of oil and melting metal filled his nostrils.

With a grunt, he called upon every muscle fiber in his biceps. Then he tossed the car. It bounced in front of him before landing on its busted wheels. 

Breathing heavily, Chase shook the heat from his hands and winced. Tiny, scalding pinpricks shot up his arms. His head swam for a bit as he staggered backward.

"Show off!" Holly called out from behind him.

He grinned. It hadn't been his intention to show off. Though, he did have a reputation to uphold and catching that car was very on-brand for him. All over the net, there were compilations of all the crazy feats he completed during missions.

"Heads up!" one of the Atlas agents shouted.

Chase snapped his head toward the direction from which the burning car came.

The massive silhouette of the beast known as Caorthannach could be seen through the cloud of smoke and fire on the other end of the road. It stomped forward, its huge feet cracking the cobblestone beneath it. Flames passed over its gray, leathery skin as if it were trudging through a shallow pool. Its gleaming eyes shone through the smog, glinting as if they were massive blocks of amber stuck in the wall of an ancient cave. A long, thick tail covered in razor-sharp spikes swished behind it like a flailing power cable.

It was big, ugly, and angry; all ingredients for disaster.

Chase's eyes widened as he felt an imaginary lightbulb bob above him. He turned to one of the Atlas agents. "Did we bring one of those Apollo grenades?"

"Yeah...," they answered while scratching the top of their head. "But Archie said they're still in the prototype stage. Not sure if they'll even work if I'm being honest."

He pursed his lips. "Why'd we even bring them then?"

The agent shrugged.

Sighing, he took another look at Caorthannach.

The Prime was big, but that also meant it was slow. If he could manage to knock the thing down, it wouldn't be able to get back up before he neutralized it with one of Archie's prototype grenades. That's if they even worked.

It wasn't much of a plan, but it was their only course of action.

"We need to get it on its back," he said. He faced the squadron of agents around him. "I need you guys to surround it and keep it in place while I fight it."

Holly cleared her throat. "An' what aboot me?"

"Patience, Flower Girl."

"It's Dryad, you numpty."

"Yeah, yeah."

She glared at him. "What's me part in the plan, Goldilocks?"

He grinned. "You're going to help me knock the big guy down."

Her green eyes lit up like Christmas lights. "I like the sound of that."

Retrieving the sword strapped to his back, he pointed it at the beast moving toward them. "Let's take this thing down."

#

Chase had been right.

Taking down Caorthannach was no easy task. While the fight hadn't lasted too long, it nearly ended in defeat for the small squadron of Atlas agents. If it hadn't been for Holly wrapping the Prime with her vines and Chase managing to activate the antidote-filled grenade, they would've all been burnt to a crisp.

The end of the battle was what surprised him the most, though.

Once Caorthannach began inhaling the airborne antidote, their monstrous physique broke away until the only thing left was a frail, naked girl laying unconscious in the street.

Chase certainly hadn't been expecting that.

They quickly loaded the girl into their transport vehicle and made their way to the nearest airport. After they boarded the jet that had been waiting for them, they made their voyage to The Vault—which was located somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

"We're heading back to the states after we drop this lass off, right?" Holly asked about an hour into their flight.

Chase jumped at the sound of her voice. He had zoned out while staring out the window of the jet. "Uh...yeah. I've just got to check out something in The Vault before we leave. Shouldn't take too long."

She arched a red eyebrow at him. "Check out what?"

He pursed his lips at her. "It's...don't worry about it. Alright?"

"How am I s'posed to trust me team captain if he's keeping secrets from me?" She smirked at him.

She had a point. He was the leader of his team. He shouldn't have been keeping secrets from them.

But he couldn't tell them this. Especially not with these Atlas agents around. If they found out that he was still trying to find Apex, it would've raised some questions he wasn't prepared to answer.

He narrowed his eyes at Holly. "It's nothing, okay. I just need to speak to one of the inmates." He kept his expression neutral and his gaze colder than a glacier.

Holly nodded slowly. "Alright, alright. You obviously don't wanna give up any details." She tilted her head at him. "Does your bird know you're doing this?"

"Who? Stella?" He shook his head. "No. No one knows I'm doing this. Well...no one except you."

Her smile widened. "Guess I'm special."

"Guess so."

The rest of the jet ride was spent listening to the sound of air beating against the hull and the Atlas agents arguing over some card game. Eventually, the pilot announced that they were preparing to land.

Once the jet finished docking, Chase and Holly emerged onto the runaway behind the Atlas agents. They followed the squadron of soldiers, who were carrying the unconscious Prime with them, to the entrance of The Vault.

As they walked, droplets of rain fell from the sky and stung Chase's skin. Squinting, he looked up and frowned. The gloomy, despairing clouds covered the entire sky, shrouding the ground with eerie shadows. Lightning cracked above and sliced through the darkness like a scythe calling for death.

A chill passed down the boy's spine. Shivering, he wrapped his arms around himself and rubbed his biceps.

"Where'd this weather come from?" he asked.

Holly shrugged while wiping a few strands of wet hair out her face. "Dunno, mate. But we are in the middle of an ocean."

"Touché."

The agent at the front of the group scanned their keycard on the scanner next to The Vault's entrance. PAI's robotic voice chimed after granting them access inside. The heavy, titanium-reinforced doors slid open and they stepped inside.

#

The group quickly moved through the security checkpoint. A pair of guards who had been on standby took the unconscious girl who had once been a ginormous, fire-spewing monster and carried her to a treatment room. There, she'd be processed and admitted into a cell.

Chase watched with an air of pity as she was hauled away.

The girl didn't look like much of a monster. He couldn't imagine her being a threat to anyone in her current state. But he knew what she could transform into. Her powers were dangerous, and they couldn't be left unchecked. If they hadn't arrested her, she would've claimed the lives of innocents.

And he couldn't have that.

He supposed he agreed with Senator Crane in that regard. Certain Primes posed threats to society. They were the ones who needed to policed; not Primes as a whole. He just wished Crane and his supporters could see that.

While walking through the empty prison courtyard separating the front of The Vault from the cells, he began thinking about the battle in Times Square. Those Primes certainly hadn't made things any better.

His jaw clenched as King's face surfaced in his mind.

They had been protesting the PRA. But if they didn't want to go through, why start a fight with the police? Granted, the cops shot first, but retaliating didn't put them in a good light.

King's Kismet-inspired rant echoed throughout his ears. He knew that Kismet had their sympathizers, specifically across the dark web, but he never thought they'd be bold enough to stage a public protest. The fact that none of the Primes involved had any prior connections with each other was also surprising.

Something was off about the entire thing. He could feel it in his core.

"Oi, Goldilocks," Holly called out from behind him.

He faced her. "Yeah?"

"I'm gonna head back to the jet," she told him. "Hurry up with whatever it is you've gotta do."

"I won't be long," he replied. "I'll meet you there soon, Flower Girl."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "I hate when ye call me that."

"I know. That's why I do it."

Rolling her eyes, she turned around and made her way back to the entrance of the prison. Chase watched her retreating figure. Once she faded from view, he nodded to himself and continued towards the cells.

Shadows filled most of the building. All the windows had been uninstalled and replaced by fluorescent light fixtures. The dull, metal-plated walls stretched for the high, domed ceilings. Multiple decks lined the walls, each one patrolled by an armed Atlas agent.

Security wasn't a joke in The Vault.

Chase saluted a few agents as he passed by them. No one paid him any mind. He was the Sentinel. Atlas' golden boy. No one had a reason to be suspicious of him. And he planned to keep it that way.

Within a matter of minutes, he had arrived in the main cell block. All the inmates resided in one section of the prison, despite there being enough cells to house hundreds of them. Even though the Primonium launched into the atmosphere by Kismet had time to manifest for over a year, they still represented less than 1% of the world's population.

Many of them also tended to be young adults; It was rare that a Prime was over the age of forty. Atlas' scientists still weren't sure why that was the case. That was the main reason why the Prime Task Force was comprised of teenagers. Most of the older people who had exhibited powers opted to partake in monthly programs that suppressed their abilities. But the kids had no qualms about becoming superheroes.

Whether that was a good thing or not, Chase wasn't sure.

He climbed up a set of metal stairs that led to one of the upper levels. The faint, blue light coming from the illuminated cells spilled onto the ground. Digital labels—each one displaying the name of the prisoner, their designated number, and a short summary of their abilities—were built into the wall next to each containment unit. Each one had a blinking, green light inside; an indicator that the Prime nullifying technology inside was working.

Chase had been impressed with how quickly Director Shaw converted the abandoned oil rig into one of the most secure places on the planet. He couldn't say he was surprised, though. It was almost like the man had unlimited amounts of money. His bank account probably looked like a number a broken calculator would come up with.

As Chase passed by each prison cell, he took note of each prisoner inside.

Phobos. Sandstorm. Blink. Calypso...

His eyes lit up once he found the one, he was looking for. He stopped in front of their cell. A steely expression settled onto his face like fresh snow falling onto the street. Folding his arms across his chest, he glared at the woman laying on the thin cot inside.

She was dressed in a navy-blue jumpsuit with a white barcode streaking down the back. Her platinum blonde hair looked like it hadn't touched a comb in months. Then again, it probably hadn't.

She slowly lifted her head to look at him. Even in her cell, her cold eyes jabbed at his skin with shards of ice.

"What are you doing here?"

"I have some questions for you."

Standing up from her bed, she stretched her arms and strutted up to the glass. A grin stretched across her pale lips. Chase squinted at her, his jaw taut and his hands clenched into fists.

"And what would those be?"

He inched closer to the cell, his gaze darker than the tumultuous sky outside. He placed a hand on the glass wall and exhaled.

"Where is Victor?"

#

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