Upon arriving back at The Acropolis two days prior, they informed Director Shaw of their findings. He immediately did a scan over Adak Island see if Kismet was set up there. Unfortunately, his satellites failed to pick up a signal. The agents theorized a signal jam, which only strengthened the notion that Kane and his crew were hiding out there.

If true, then they'd been meeting again very soon.

They had two days left. Two days to defeat Kane. Two days to save the world.

The group of young superhumans trained harder than ever before. They pushed their abilities and bodies to the limits—Chase in particular. He woke up earlier than the rest. He was determined to advance his skillset in the short amount of time they had left. If they had any real shot of taking down Kismet, they needed to be stronger. Faster. Sharper. They needed to be ready for any challenge that came their way.

Chase knew he should've been optimistic; Stella had been trying her best to keep everyone's spirits up, but there was only so much she could do on her own. Admittedly, they did have a chance of winning—albeit, a small one. They'd gotten a huge lead on Kismet's base. That had to have been a plus.

But while they may have known the location of their headquarters, that was where their intel ran dry. They knew nothing else. If they did carry out an assault on the Alaskan island, they'd be walking in blinder than bats. An ambush was almost certain. They did have homefield advantage.

He cringed, the vivid, painful memory of getting beaten to a bloody pulp terrorizing his psyche. He'd never felt so helpless; it made him want to curl into a ball in his mother's lap like how used to do when he was smaller.

He couldn't shake the feeling that another defeat was on the horizon. They'd come up against Kismet a total of three times now and won once—those weren't favorable odds. Frost and Apex were dangerous Primes who not only had powerful abilities, but they were more than capable fighters as well.

Chase and his friends weren't soldiers, not in the slightest. No amount of training sessions would change that. Even with the help of the remaining Atlas agents who were healthy enough to aid on the assault in the coming days, there was no guarantee they'd come out victorious.

It was a longshot for sure.

But it was a shot that needed to be taken.

The six teenagers were currently standing outside of Archie's laboratory. He'd messaged them earlier to let them know he had a surprise for them. The boy interrupted a sparring session between himself and Andre; they'd just been getting into it when the call came. It was safe to say he was fairly agitated.

Chase pounded his fist against the door. The thick metal crumpled under his hand.

''Lay off my door before you break it!''

''Oops.''

The locking mechanism disengaged with a series of whirs and beeps. Seconds later, the door slid open. A red-eyed, messy-haired Archie glared up at Chase.

''What?''

''My door!'' He gesticulated at the blatant dent. I spent weeks designing the lock and you've just ruined— '' Archie shook his head disapprovingly. ''You're fixing that.''

He shrugged and brushed past the kid. ''Guess I don't know my own strength.''

''Guess I don't know my own strength,'' Archie mocked, lowering his voice to sound like the older boy. ''Give me a break.''

So far, Chase wasn't impressed with this Archie guy. He seemed like a whiny kid, not a genius.

Upon stepping into the workshop, the first thing he saw were huge tarps covering multiple tables. As he went to go lift one up, Archie slapped his hand away.

''What gives?''

''It's a secret. Just wait and I'll show you what they are.''

They?

The others filled in around the room, taking up seats that weren't covered in discarded schematics or old pizza boxes. Chase opted to the stand, his arms folded across his chest as he waited for Archie to get on with his grand presentation.

''What'd you make for us, dude?'' Theo asked, his eyes bouncing. A soda can rested in his hand. Coffee and soda were two things they all tried to keep the speedster from consuming. Whenever he drank them, he couldn't stop talking and moving. It was a nightmare to witness.

''This better be good, Nerd Boy,'' Oscar said while staring down at his lighter. ''You interrupted my dream about Vic...erm, I mean.'' He faked a cough, his cheeks turning red.

Archie's emerald eyes bored into Oscar from behind his neon green-rimmed glasses. ''Don't call me that.''

Theo laughed and zipped over to the boy's seat. ''Are we just going to skip over the fact that he just said he was dreaming about Victoria?''

''Who said I was dreaming about Victoria?''

Andre cocked his head at his friend, his gaze narrowed into a speculative squint. ''You were dreaming about Victor then?''

Oscar buried his face in his hands.

Chase allowed a smile onto his face and designed to join in on the teasing. He figured it could do them some good. They all had been on edge lately.

''Didn't know you were into guys,'' Chase said, trying to mask his laughter. ''We don't judge, Oz.''

Stella giggled as she and Emily joined the boys. ''Wait until we tell Director Shaw.''

''Someone kill me,'' Oscar muttered, his voice muffled by his hands. Emily smirked at him. He inched away from her mischievous stare. ''I'm just kidding, niña loca.''

Archie stood in front of the six Primes, a disinterested look on his acne-covered face. He readjusted his glasses and cleared his throat, waiting for the teenagers before him to stop talking. They eventually quieted down, and he nodded.

''Thank you,'' he said. ''Since your battle with Kismet is approaching, I figured you could use some upgrades to give you an edge against those creeps. We all know you guys need it.''

Emily's brow furrowed. ''Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.''

Archie ignored her. ''Now, onto the main event.''

Chase agreed with the kid on that point. If they were to have any real shot at taking down Kismet, they needed some new gear. Anything to give them an edge of them was essential.

Theo clapped his hands together, his feet tapping rapidly against the tiled floor. A wide grin spread across his lips as he struggled to contain his excitement. ''Hurry up, dude. I wanna see what you made us.''

Chase would be lying if he said he wasn't a little intrigued. He wondered how the boy genius would've improved his own gear. He hoped it was a longer battery for his holo-shield.

Archie rolled his eyes at the hyper speedster. ''I'm going to start with Stella and Oscar. The devices I made for them are similar.'' He turned around and returned to his desk. He pressed a button on his holographic keyboard and a 3D blueprint took up a few of his computer displays.

''What're those?'' Andre asked, pointing at the images.

Chase squinted at the pictures. They looked like gauntlets; one was fitted with fire motifs while the other exuded fluorescent light. Both appeared to be derived from the same base design but had their own unique twists.

Archie smiled triumphantly, folding his arms over his scrawny chest. ''They're a part of this line of technology that I and some other engineers are developing called E-Gauntlets. The E stands for energy, in case you were wondering.''

''Neat,'' Andre said.

''The red ones are for Oscar, obviously. I call those PyroBands. Judging by the name, I'm sure you have an idea on what they do.'' Archie walked over to a table covered by a tarp and yanked it aside.

Sitting amongst a heap of scrap metal, microchips, and empty potato chip bags was a completed version of the PyroBands. The metal used to construct them had been covered by black carbon mesh, presumably to blend in with their mission suits. Archie picked up the device and tossed it to Oscar.

He dropped it.

''Watch it! These things cost money you know.''

''My bad, my bad,'' he grumbled while picking it up. He examined the thing, his eyes narrowed. ''How does it work?''

Archie motioned for Oscar to stand up and move towards an open space in the large—yet cluttered—room. ''Well, when you told me about your failed fire grenade trick—''

The fire-wielder sent him a pointed look. ''You weren't supposed to tell anyone about that.''

Chase stifled a laugh. While he hadn't been there to witness it, he had no doubt that it happened. Oscar did experience a bit of a block sometimes when it came to using his powers effectively.

''Anyways,'' Archie said, ''the PyroBands are supposed to help you focus your fire. It's got a filter to help you manage your temperature and what kind of attacks you want to produce—be it a steady stream or a short burst.''

Oscar pressed a button on the gauntlet, causing it to split in the back. He closed it around his wrist. ''Órale.'' He pointed his palm at a wall. A concentrated jet of flames burst from his hand, the color shifting from red to blue within seconds. He yelped and jumped back, putting the fire out immediately. ''What the hell was that?''

''You've got it on the highest setting,'' Archie replied with a face-palm. He walked over to him and slid his finger along the side of the band. A meter on the device changed from blue to a reddish-orange.

''Oh. Gracias, amigo.''

''De nada.''

Oscar grinned, nodding. ''I like this kid.''

Chase had to admit, the device was cool. If it helped Oscar become better with his powers, he was all for it. He was starting to get excited now. What if he'd gotten a new sword? Maybe a whole new shield device? He watched silently as Archie ventured back to the table to retrieve the other E-Gauntlet.

This one was black and gold. Small, twinkling lights that reminded Chase of stars dotted the dark material. A similar meter to Oscar's was built into the side—except the color palette went from yellow to white instead of red to blue.

''Stella, this one's yours.''

She stood up and walked over to him, her perfect lips pursed as she peered at the gauntlet. ''And what are these called?''

''StarBands,'' Archie answered. ''You know, since your codename is Starchild and all.''

''That's clever,'' Stella said, giggling as she placed her hand on Archie's shoulder, which caused the boy's pasty cheeks to stiffen up. Chase noticed his cheeks reddening. The blond glared at him, causing Archie to shy away from the girl.

''These are meant to help with your hard-light projections,'' Archie continued. ''I used the same technology that's used in flashlights but it's a little more advanced than that.''

Emily snorted. ''A little? It makes light solid. I'd say that's a lot more advanced.''

Archie rolled his eyes and pushed his sliding glasses up his pointy nose. ''It doesn't make the light solid. Stella does that part. All this does is strengthen the projections she creates.'' He swept a hair through his puff of hair. ''I'll just show you.''

He instructed Stella to conjure up a wall of light. She did as told. He then ordered Chase to punch it.

Chase rose an eyebrow. ''You sure? I don't want to hurt her.''

Stella's lip curled. ''Do it.''

Rolling his shoulders, he stood up and walked over to her. ''Just remember, you asked for this.'' 

He launched his fist into the golden shield. His knuckles connected with the wall but, miraculously, it held. No cracks, no holes. Nothing. It was like he never hit it. 

Chase flashed a weak smile. ''That was just a test punch.'' He got in a boxing stance and unleashed a flurry of powerful strikes upon the wall of light, causing Stella to have to take a couple of shaky steps backward.

It still didn't break.

''Huh,'' Chase grumbled as he rubbed his knuckles. ''That's some strong...light?'' With his strength, he should've been able to shatter it without an issue. Stella grinned at him and shrugged.

''Better luck next time, Tough Guy.''

''You just lost to a hologram.'' Emily snickered. ''That's embarrassing.'' Chase gave her a sideways glance, which didn't seem to intimidate the girl at all. Then again, not much did.

Stella then turned to Archie and wrapped him a hug. Chase stood off to the side, his arms folded across his broad chest as he looked away. ''Thank you so much, Archie! I'm sure these will help a lot.''

He pulled away from her hug and nodded, clearing his throat as he did so. ''It's no problem. It's actually kind of my job.''

Emily stood up. ''Did you make me anything?''

Archie frowned before mumbling, ''Yes.'' He went over to his desk and typed something on the keyboard which shifted the image of the hologram from the E-Gauntlets to a picture of six different colored arrowheads, three of them being the arrows Emily already possessed.

Chase recognized the colors and their functions; black were the normal ones, purple released a sonic blast, and red were explosives. The new colors were light blue, gray, and yellow.

''What do the new ones do?'' Emily inquired, her eyes eager.

''Great question,'' Archie replied. He leaned back in his chair. ''Yellow's a flashbang arrow, blue's a shock-charge, and gray is smoke bomb. The solution for the smoke is slightly acidic so...watch out for that.''

''I think I'm going to like that one.''

Chase didn't like the malicious tint glossed over her eyes once she said those words. He was glad she was on their side. He would not want to be on the wrong side of one of her arrows.

Andre looked around the room. ''Is that all you made?''

Theo zipped around the room, sending wrinkled papers and a few neglected comic books into orbit. He skidded to a stop next to Archie, a deep frown etched into his mousy features. ''I don't see any more cool stuff.'' He stuck his bottom lip out. ''I thought you made stuff for all of us.''

Archie side-stepped around Theo and headed over to a file cabinet next to his main desk. ''Well, it was hard to think of what you and Chase would need. Your abilities are rather straightforward.'' He rubbed his neck. ''They're kind of generic actually.''

''Generic?'' Chase wasn't impressed with the boy's explanation for why he and Theo weren't getting any gear. ''I can lift an entire car above my head.''

Theo nodded, walking up next to his best friend. ''Yeah. And I can run at Mach one speeds. Mach two if I really get into stride.''

''I didn't say they were weak abilities,'' Archie countered, pulling something out of a drawer. ''I just said they were generic. Every character in the most famous comics have those powers. You don't see him with any gear.'' He glanced speculatively at Chase. ''I still don't know why you fight with a sword. It's not like you need it.''

Chase wasn't about to tell them that Apex was the reason why he opted to use a sword as his weapon, so he decided to stay quiet.

Archie walked over to Andre. ''However, I did make you something, big guy.'' He held out the thing he retrieved from his little storage unit.

Andre arched a bushy eyebrow at it. It was a simple silver wrist band. The thing reminded Chase of the device that told people how many steps they took per day.

''I've preloaded some materials onto this bracelet to help with your ability. Now you don't have to actually look for something to touch to change your skin. It's all on there,'' Archie explained. ''It's already got bronze, titanium, and concrete on there. If you ever want any other materials, just let me know and I'll try and get it on there.''

Andre took the band and grunted out a response. He equipped the bracelet. ''Nice.''

Chase shook his head in disappointment.

''You really didn't make us anything?'' His face lit up.

Archie shook his head. ''Sorry, I couldn't—'' His eyes lit up as he cut himself off. ''Actually, I did make you something. It's already been put onto your suit, though.''

''What is it?''

''It's nothing too crazy, but I thought it would help you out in battle if you ever drop your sword,'' Archie said. ''On the tip of the sleeves, there are hidden magnets. You can use them to call back your sword. It only has a reach of about fifteen feet, though. Sorry about that.''

Chase felt like he'd been smacked in the face. A sword retriever was really the best he could do? He shrugged. He supposed it was better than nothing. ''I'll take it.''

''I still can't believe he didn't make me any gear and called me generic,'' Theo said, pouting.

''Just take the burn like a man,'' Oscar laughed. He lit his finger and pressed the little flame against his butt while making a sizzling sound. The fire crawled up his pajama pants and he frantically attempted to put it out. Chase ran a hand down his face but couldn't fight off the grin sprouting.

''Nice one, dork,'' Emily said. She pointed at the smoldering hole on the backside of his pants, revealing his red boxers. ''I definitely didn't want to see that this early in the morning.''

''Or ever,'' Stella added. The two girls glanced at each other, smiles plastered across their faces. Chase arched an eyebrow at Emily, who he thought was staring at Stella a little too hard. He even saw a hint of a smile on her purple-painted lips.

She almost never smiled. Chase suddenly noticed that when she did, it was usually when Stella was around.

No way....

Realization hit him. He then shook his head. He was probably wrong. Right? There was no way Emily had a crush on Stella. The two of them practically hated each other. But there was history between them....

He pushed the thought out of his mind. He was probably wrong.

''That's everything right?'' Chase asked, turning to Archie.

He nodded and pushed his thick glasses back up the bridge of his nose. ''Pretty much. I hope you all like your new gear.''

Chase heard Theo grumbling under his breath as he sulked towards the exit. ''What gear? I didn't get any gear. Theo's too generic to get any gear.''

Chuckling, the blond wrapped an arm around his friend's shoulder and steered him out of the room. ''It's alright, Holland. He called me generic too.'' Theo looked up at the blond.

''You gotta admit it, though. My superspeed is much cooler than the punchy-punchy, smash-smash thing you do.''

Chase sighed. He'd let the guy have this one. ''Whatever floats your boat.''

''You know I'm right,'' Theo said.

He shook his head and the two of them walked down the hallway, the rest of their friends following behind.