The black cars Eric had seen driving around town didn't seem to be headed toward the arcade, but an abandoned building wouldn't be a bad place to hide out. Then again, going off secondhand information from an elementary schooler was probably not a great idea. Too bad it was the only lead he had.

Eric sat on the curb across the street from Star City, wondering why anyone might pick this place over the other empty buildings in the area. His head tipped back, and he found himself staring at the purple sky and the stars popping up one by one. His mind wandered. He'd come out here hoping he could spot the people Sam's brother had seen, but all he could think about now were Summer and Sam and the promise he'd made to train with them. The idea of trying to use his power again.

Last time he'd tried to control it, he'd almost burned the house down.

Adam had already decided to suppress it at that point, and after scaring their mother half to death, Eric tried to do the same. But it had a way of trying to fight its way out at the most inconvenient times. And attempting to hide it seemed to make things worse.

He had to figure it out eventually. That was the entire reason he'd suggested they practice. Hopefully, with other people counting on him, he'd be forced to learn how to keep his ability in check.

Voices drifted through the night air, pulling Eric from his thoughts.

"Keep it down, dumbass!"

"Who put you in charge?"

"You know damn well who."

Eric scanned the opposite side of the street. Two figures stood in the dark alley next to the arcade.

The second voice spoke again. "This is stupid," he said.

Another, taller boy—the owner of the first voice and apparent leader—replied. "Stop questioning orders."

A door at the side of the building swung open, and a third figure stepped out. "Yeah, this is gonna be fun!" the girl exclaimed. She turned and walked deeper into the alley, disappearing from Eric's view. The shorter boy went after her.

"I wouldn't use the word fun," the leader said before following.

Eric rose to his feet. There were people in the arcade, after all. And they were teenagers, probably all around his age. What was on the other side of that alley? Poppy Street?

The phone in his hoodie pocket buzzed. It was a text from Mom, asking Eric what time he'd be back from his walk. He glanced back at the empty alleyway.

About half an hour, I think, he typed out in reply. I'll let you know when I'm on my way.

He shoved the phone back into his pocket and broke into a run. At the nearest intersection, he turned and went down a block, which brought him to the corner of Poppy Street. He rested his hands on his knees and took a moment to catch his breath. They would definitely need to include running endurance in their training.

He scanned the street until he located the building behind the arcade. Eric moved toward it, still searching the area. Most of the places on this side were boarded up and dark, but across the road, the sidewalk was illuminated by the glow spilling from the windows of...

...the gas station.

Eric's gaze found the front door in time to watch the last of the three kids slip inside. He stepped into the street and jogged across the pavement. A car coming around the corner honked at him. He jumped, waved a hand in their general direction, and yelled, "Sorry!"

He hopped onto the sidewalk on the other side and raced past the gas pumps to the front doors. Out of breath, he yanked one open and stumbled inside.

Bright lights, soft music, and faint arguing greeted Eric. Other than the kids, and the disinterested cashier reading a book at the counter, the store was empty.

The kids in question were at the other end of the store by the drink machines, standing just out of view behind the snack shelves. Eric crept by the aisles and paused next to the last shelf. He slowly peered around the corner.

Under the store lights, Eric could fully assess the group. The guy who seemed to be in charge had light, warm brown skin, black hair that fell just past his ears, and he was taller than Eric—he might have even been the same height as Adam. Probably over six feet. He looked pretty athletic, too.

The second boy, on the other hand, was shorter than Eric, and he looked younger, too. Part of that might have been his rounder face and nose, compared to the leaders' more angular features and strong nose. The second boy's curly, dark brown hair was cropped close to his head.

The girl, considerably paler than the other two, was the smallest. She'd pulled all of her blonde hair into a long braid, save for her bangs. There was a glint of excitement in her green eyes as she surveyed the drink machine.

They were all dressed similarly, with the most noticeable component of their outfits being the matching black jackets. There was a logo on their shoulders, a red twelve-pointed star with the silhouette of a scorpion on top.

The leader watched in annoyance as the other boy selected candy off the shelf and the girl struggled to put the lid on a drink. "We're here to scope out the town, not goof off," he told them.

"Who cares?" the boy asked. "We could circle this entire stupid town in five minutes."

The girl's head jerked up, her eyes wide. She looked around, and before Eric could move, she spotted him and grinned. "Ash, we've got a stalker."

The leader—Ash—looked Eric's way. His eyes were a striking shade of blue that took Eric by surprise.

Eric stepped out from behind the shelf and cleared his throat. "You're not from around here, are you?"

Ash looked him up and down. "Wren. Is he...?"

"Yup." The girl took a sip of her drink.

"Am I what?" Eric asked.

The boy tore open a chocolate bar. "So, are we taking him back to—?"

"Hold on, Seth," Ash cut him off. His eyes narrowed as they met Eric's. "Why were you watching us?"

"Hate to break it to you, but you don't exactly blend in. I saw you leaving the arcade." Eric stuck his hands in his pockets. "We may not get as many tourists as we used to, but out-of-towners are pretty easy to spot. Especially with those matching jackets."

Ash glanced at the logo on his right shoulder. Seth took a bite of his chocolate and watched Eric as he chewed. Wren's gaze darted between him and Ash, a sly smile on her face.

"What's with the logo, anyway?" Eric asked after a few seconds of silence. "Are you from a rival school or something? I don't know of any Scorpions in the area."

Still no answers. Whatever Ash was thinking, his face gave nothing away.

"Or, maybe, not." Eric rubbed the back of his neck. "Are you gonna say anything, or just let me keep talking?"

Another moment of silence had Eric ready to give up and walk away, but Ash finally opened his mouth. "You interested in a job?"

"Uh..." Eric glanced at the other kids. Seth had opened his jacket to shove snacks into the inner pocket, and in the process revealed a large pocketknife hanging at his side. Wren leaned back against the counter and traced the lid of her drink with her finger. When she noticed Eric's surprised expression, she adjusted her jacket to reveal that she had a knife at her waist, too. She smirked.

Whoever these kids were, Eric was starting to regret talking to them. He looked back at Ash. "I, uh, already have a job. At an ice cream shop." He took a step back. "So, I'm just going to, um, go now."

He backed away from the kids and walked out of the store as fast as he could.

~

"He's kinda cute." Wren chuckled. "Bit awkward."

Ash didn't bother looking back. He knew she had that smug expression on her face. Why did she and Seth find it so amusing to waste everyone's time?

He let his senses sink into the soda in her drink cup, made up of just enough water for him to manipulate. The cup trembled, then exploded.

"Hey!" Wren yelped.

"Ha, good one," Seth said.

"Shut up, Seth." Ash glanced back. "Now come on, we have orders."

Wren grabbed a napkin and dabbed at the soda dripping down her face and jacket.

"It's not fair that he gets to be the one in charge," Seth muttered to her.

"I said come on!" Ash started toward the front of the store. "And one of you grab me a water bottle."

~

Eric leaned against the wall of the gas station, just around the corner from the front doors. He'd typed a dozen different variations of 'red twelve-pointed star with scorpion logo' into a search engine, but nothing matching the one on the kids' jackets was coming up.

A jingle rang through the air, signaling that the front door had opened. "Split and circle the building," Ash said.

Uh oh. Eric slid his phone into his pocket and ran toward the back of the building. He flew around the corner and made it halfway across the rear parking lot before Ash came around the other side.

Ash walked toward him. "My boss wants to meet you."

"Stay back." Eric held up his hands. "I'm more dangerous than I look, I swear."

"That's why we want you," came Wren's voice from behind him.

Eric glanced back at her over his shoulder. "Who do you work for?"

"No one you've heard of," Ash replied, continuing his approach.

Heat rushed to Eric's hands. Here we go. A small flame flickered in his right palm.

It only lasted a moment before it was drowned out by the stream of water that snaked its way through the air and wrapped around Eric's hand.

Eric stumbled backward. "What—?" More water rushed in, forming large spheres that swallowed his hands entirely. He lifted them in front of his face, and the water followed.

Ash held up an empty water bottle. "You didn't think you were the only one, did you?"

Eric's hands tightened into fists. Panic set in. He turned around, trying to yank his hands free from the spheres, but they moved with him.

Wren held up a hand. Fire danced in her open palm, and at the same moment, there was an uncomfortable tugging sensation in Eric's gut.

"Fire? Boring." Wren closed her fist to extinguish the flame. "Been there, done that."

"No one cares, Wren." Ash tossed the empty bottle to the ground and moved to stand next to Eric. "An altered's an altered, and Claudia wants every one we can find."

Eric was barely processing any of this. "Could you please take this off my hands?" He tore his eyes from the water to look at Ash. "I swear I won't attack you."

Ash frowned. "The water?"

"I—I'm not good with water." Eric's face flushed. An amount this small shouldn't have bothered him, but given the circumstances, the dread squeezing his heart shouldn't have been a surprise.

Ash kept his eyes on Eric as he said, "Seth, you ready?"

"Huh? Me? Oh, uh..." Seth looked around the parking lot until he found a crumpled can lying on the pavement. "Yeah, I've got just the thing."

The can lifted into the air. It hung a few feet above the ground, trembling, before flying toward Eric. Eric yelped in surprise, closed his eyes, and flung up his hands to shield his face. When nothing hit him, he opened one eye.

The can floated in the air in front of his face. The metal twisted and stretched into a long rod, then wrapped itself around Eric's wrists, forming what had to be the world's worst pair of handcuffs.

To Eric's relief, the spheres of water fell away, dropping into a puddle on the ground.

Seth sucked in a deep breath. Wren laughed. "Tired already?" she asked.

"You know bending it is harder than throwing it around!" Seth snapped.

Ash grabbed Eric's arm. "Come with us," he ordered. "And don't even think about calling for help."

Ash and the others escorted Eric back to the arcade. He used the walk to try to slow his panicked breathing and study his captors. The only positive he could find was that they didn't appear to have any interest in hurting him. On top of that, their endless infighting made him dare to believe he had a chance at escaping at some point.

The lobby of Star City looked about how Eric expected it to: cracked floors where the carpet had been torn up, stained walls, missing furnishings, and dust covering the few machines that had been left behind.

What he didn't expect was the basement. Ash led the way through a door and down a long staircase. Oppressive walls of concrete greeted them, along with dim fluorescent lights and doors scattered along the hallway ahead. Exposed pipes ran along the ceiling, massive air ducts popped up here and there, and a faint drip warned that there was a leak somewhere.

"How long has all this been hiding under Tyche Point?" Eric asked incredulously.

"It's not as impressive as you think," Ash said. "All the businesses in the area have basements. With a few minor renovations, it was easy to connect rooms that had been closed off and forgotten."

"It was really boring, too," Seth added.

Ash sighed. "Seth, go ahead and take the cuffs off Eric. He won't get far if he tries running down here. After that, you and Wren can go to your rooms."

The metal around Eric's wrists bent itself away from his skin and fell to the floor, freeing his shaky hands. He rubbed the sore skin underneath. At least he had one less thing to worry about now.

Seth and Wren broke off and disappeared through a door, leaving Eric to follow Ash around a corner.

"Whoa," Eric muttered.

Three guards stood in front of the door at the end of the hallway. They were dressed in full red and black body armor, including helmets and visors that hid their faces.

"Soldiers," Ash said as he approached. "I'm here to see the Overseer, I've brought—"

The one in the center spoke. "The Overseer's watching the security cameras, she saw you come in." The voice was monotonous, bordering on robotic. "Put him in a cell. She'll see him in the morning."

Ash's mouth opened as if to argue, but he seemed to change his mind. He turned around and gestured for Eric to follow.

More twists and turns took them to a metal door that looked heavier than others they had passed through. Two more soldiers stood in front of it, and they didn't say a word as Ash opened it and led Eric through.

There were cells, all right, but none of them had bars. They were simply deep alcoves lining the right wall of the room they'd entered, each with a sad-looking cot and a door. Ash stopped in front of the closest one. "Step in there, please."

What else was Eric supposed to do?

As he walked, he noticed small black devices had been fixed to the opening of the alcove, with a larger box on the wall just outside.

"And I haven't forgotten your phone." Ash held out a hand. "Hand it over. If things go according to plan, you'll get it back soon."

Eric reluctantly pulled his phone out of his hoodie. Ash took it, put it in his jacket, and stepped back. He pressed a button on the box fixed to the outer wall. The air hummed. Bright red beams of energy shot across the gap, filling the alcove's opening.

"Easier to set up these devices than to install metal bars," Ash said. "Keep your distance, I've heard the shock is incredibly painful." He nodded to the door in the wall behind Eric. "That leads to a bathroom. No way out through there. And I know the place seems quiet, but if you try to find your way out, you won't make it far. We've got plenty of soldiers and other altered."

"Altered?" Eric asked.

"Kids like us. And they've trained to use their powers, which I'm guessing you haven't."

Eric folded his arms. "You didn't even see me fight."

"Didn't have to," Ash said coolly. "Listen, this is temporary. We don't want to keep you prisoner. It's just a necessary step right now."

"Necessary step?"

"Claudia—the Overseer—will explain everything tomorrow. I can't stand here all night."

"Fine," Eric said. "But can I just ask you one quick question?"

Ash's eyes narrowed. "I guess."

"You control water, and Seth controls metal. But Wren—was that my power she was using?"

"You felt it, right?" Ash took a step back from the cell. Hesitation lingered in his gaze. "Whatever happens to you tomorrow will depend on you. Just listen to what Claudia has to say, and you'll be fine."

With that vague advice, he walked out of the cellblock, leaving Eric to sit alone under the full weight of his panic.