Chapter Text
“Calling all officers en route to Grand Avenue. The area’s been designated Redshift Level D. We have confirmed reports of civilian aberration. We have authorization from the UNION to use lethal force on any aberrations. Please exercise your best judgment when…”
Kazuma tuned out the radio chatter as he sped through the tunnel on the motorcycle he had just polished only ten minutes earlier. Pedestrians’ cars were on fire, and the number of aberrations has increased from the corruption. The situation was bad, even with all the abnormal number of gates that had been opening over the past few months.
“This is Akira Howard. I just arrived on the scene.” Kazuma’s heart stopped when he heard his sister’s voice from the radio chatter. “HQ, do you read me? There are too many aberrations to count! They’ve blocked up the highway. There must be multiple gates on the road. I need backup!” There was an exploding sound in the background followed by screams.
“This is HQ,” a voice responded, “We’re concentrating our firepower at Central City at the moment – Special Ops Bureau’s order. We will send over reinforcements when things calm down. Please hang tight until then.”
“What?! You got to be kidding me,” Akira said, but the operator hung up.
Kazuma immediately dialed into the private channel that they used earlier. “Akira, are you okay?” he asked as soon as she picked up his call.
“Where the hell are you?” Akira said, desperation in her voice.
“I’m in the tunnel on Eastside Highway. I’m heading over now,” Kazuma said, willing his motorcycle to move faster. The speedometer told him that he was already pushing past 210.
“Well, get here faster,” Akira said. “Without backup, we’re done. I don’t know how much longer…”
“Akira, I’ll be there,” Kazuma said firmly despite the chaos that surrounded them both. He could hear a rush of static on the other line before she spoke again, this time in a calmer tone.
“Please hurry.”
“Roger.” No sooner than he hung up when he heard two loud blasts from behind and two balls of energy exploded in front of him. He swerved the motorcycle to avoid the giant holes now on the highway and glanced over his shoulder to see what caused the explosions.
More aberrations… And these had wings and crossbows. Once human, these violent aberrations formed from the exposure of Red Matter that came from those gates. It was a term called 'redshift'. They have stone-like skin, and their arms or legs become weapons of different shapes and sizes. It wasn't an immediate process unless exposure was constant or high, but once you redshift, there was no going back.
Kazuma didn’t hesitate and pulled out his X-Baton from the holster. It clicked and whirled at the push of the button and transformed into a blaster that fit comfortably in his hand. He immediately aimed at the aberrations from behind and pulled the trigger as fast as he could. He kept an eye at the front, hoping to see the light at the end of the tunnel – quite literally.
However, more red energy blasts came from his left, and he almost lost control as he swerved to avoid the explosions. Looking for the source, Kazuma saw on the opposite lane more aberrations standing on top of an auto-pilot P.S.L. Line Megacarrier 18-wheeler going in the wrong direction. It smashed into vacant cars as it slowly lumbered towards him like a raging rhinoceros.
Great…
Kazuma eased up on the accelerator until his motorcycle right next to the truck. He quickly fired at the four aberrations standing on top of its container in quick succession. He took out the first three relatively easy, but when he knocked the fourth one out, it fell and landed on the truck’s back wheel, causing it to explode.
Dammit! Come on, come on! Already knowing what was going to happen, Kazuma screamed inside his head as he applied the throttle. The motorcycle engine roared to life as the 18-wheeler quickly lost control and collided against the divider before tumbling onto Kazuma’s lane. He barely avoided the truck before it turned into a fiery explosion.
He never felt more relieved to leave the tunnel behind. Now outside, he was greeted by a freeway filled with fissures and smokes of destruction. The situation was so bad that the late afternoon sky was already blotted black. This road served as the main one that connected Zone 36 to the majority of the other residential districts. In the past, when things weren’t so bad, Kazuma would always press his face against the glass of the bus window that took him to and back from school and gazed out at the skyline and watched the different skyscrapers come into view.
Today, however, the two flying aberrations from the tunnels were still on his tail and continued to fire at him from their crossbows. Kazuma swerved and fired back, managing to take down one. The other avoided his shots and managed to fly ahead of him, blocking his path as it aimed its crossbow at him. With no time to slow down and brake, Kazuma didn’t hesitate this time. He holstered his blaster and revved his motorcycle until it flew up into the air and collided against the aberration in a fiery explosion.
He slammed against the ground and rolled across the asphalt until the momentum finally stopped. Coughing from the fumes, he slowly got to his feet and winced as he watched his ride turn into a pile of burning scrap metal.
Great… He will be on cleaning duty for a month after this. Without a ride, Kazuma was forced to trek the terrain on foot now. He ignored the overturned cars and fire around him. He quickly took down any aberrations he saw, but he saw no humans. His heart pounding against his chest, and he wondered if he was too late. As he turned the corner, he was greeted by injured civilians and officers with only three green medics for support. He slowed down slightly, seeing to his slight relief that there were no body bags.
“Hey,” one of them called out, “Can you give us a hand?”
A part of Kazuma wanted to ignore the request and find Akira, but he saw the desperate need for help and nodded.
One thing at a time… Akira will be fine. Kazuma immediately headed over and kneeled down to the nearest injured civilian.
“It’s no use,” the man grimaced, still on his hands and knees. His ankle was twisted in the wrong way. “I can’t get up.”
“Lean on me,” Kazuma ordered as he lifted him. They slowly limped their way to the stretcher, and Kazuma watched as the man was airlifted into the chopper above. Kazuma repeated the same task until all the injured civilians were safely evacuated.
“Thank you,” the medic said feverishly. “More choppers are on the way now. We should be able to –”
“Mayday! Mayday!” Kazuma’s walkie-talkie came to life. “We’re under attack! I-I can’t shake them!”
Kazuma looked up sharply to see a different helicopter pass by, spinning out of control and leaving a trail of fire and smoke. He could see aberrations all crowding around on top of the chopper like moths to a flame.
“No!” Kazuma ran towards the fiery explosion as a giant plume formed into the night sky. The screams from his walkie-talkie were cut off immediately. He heard a small ping, and his sister was on the line again.
“Kazu, where are you?” she cried.
“Heading to the crash site! Are you there?”
“Yes, I’m going to look for survivors. Hurry!”
Kazuma ignored the mayhem around and continued to jump over debris and totaled cars. It was like time had slowed down no matter how fast he ran.
Please, let no one be hurt.
When the wrecked helicopter came into view, Kazuma could feel his heartbeat slow as he spotted two officers near an overturned compact car.
“Hey, how are you doing?” the female one said in a calm voice to the injured officer as he clutched his knee. “Just stay with me.”
“Akira!” He ran towards her, taking cover behind the rubble, and ducked his head until he reached the capsized car.
“Kazu!” She looked up with relief. People sometimes have a hard time seeing them as twins – Akira was petite, slim, and graceful while Kazuma was tall, muscular, and slightly clumsy – but the resemblance between the two was enough for others to agree that they were related with their similar cheekbone structure and matching hair color and eyes.
Akira had cut her hair into a short bob after she and Kazuma got accepted to the Criminal Affairs division, saying that long hair would get in the way of work. Kazuma pointed out that she should have shaved her head bald instead and got a punch to the shoulder for his comment.
“How is he?” Kazuma asked, motioning to the injured officer.
“My leg… My damn leg can’t… can’t move,” he gasped in pain as he clutched his knee tightly.
“Here, lean on me,” Kazuma said as he pulled the man up. “We’ll get you somewhere for medical evacuation.”
“Kazu…” Akira whispered in a terrified voice. He looked up to see his sister pointing to what appeared to be…
“Gates? Here? Now?” Kazuma paled at the sight of the red-and-black holes that were appearing in mid-air.
And something was coming out of them.
Kazuma quickly eased the man down away from the potential fire range and held his blaster close to him. He couldn’t see them, but there was a distortion in the air and snarls in the general direction. Malice hung in the air, and Kazuma felt the hair stand on the back of his neck.
Suddenly a force came out of nowhere, and Kazuma slammed to the ground. It was only due to his training that he recovered quickly and fired his blaster. But he had no idea where to shoot or what he was shooting at.
“Come in, PD025! Corruption level is through the roof over there! What happened?!” the dispatcher yelled from their radios.
“We’re engaging hostile targets,” Akira said as she fired in the area where Kazuma had been attacked. “But whatever they are, we can’t see them.”
Deciding to change tactics, Kazuma changed his X-Baton into its baton mode. He took the long thin stick and charged at the distortion. He managed to hit something with a loud thwack, but it felt like smacking against the trunk of the tree. These X-Baton were able to take down aberrations. If they aren’t working, then what were these things? Are they even aberrations or something far worse?
“Can’t see them?” the dispatcher repeated Akira’s words in disbelief, “Are you sure it’s not just an aberration hiding somewhere? Whatever they are, get out of there now or else you’ll be next.”
“W-wait, hey! Don’t hang up – Dammit! How are we supposed to fight something we can’t see?” Akira cursed. She looked up to see her brother stagger and drop on one knee. There was blood dripping down from his arm.
“Kazu!” Akira aimed her blaster at the general area of the invisible enemy, but each blue electrical charge seemed to bounce off of it. Getting back up to his feet. Kazuma ran from behind and closed the distance. He raised his baton and with all of his strength, slammed it against the invisible enemy at where he assumed was the abdominal area. However, it wasn’t fazed, and another force hit Kazuma, sending him flying into the air. He landed on his back and saw stars this time.
“Kazu!” Akira continued to fire before the monster managed to get up close and kicked her stomach, sending her sprawling in a fetal position near Kazuma.
Disoriented, Kazuma trembled as he sat up and found the strangely distorted air inches away from his face. His heart pounded, and he raised one shoulder to brace for impact.
But the attack never came. For some reason, the thing, whatever it was, stopped, and for the first time, he could see an outline of a monstrous head. What felt like an eternity, the distortion moved away from him and slowly stood back up. It gazed down at Kazuma with sudden interest.
Was it displaying some level of intelligence? The aberrations never showed such aptitude before – or curiosity. Before Kazuma could comprehend this strange behavior, there was a loud sound from behind and an explosion hit the monster, sending it screaming and staggering back.
Confused, Kazuma looked over his shoulder, wondering who had just saved them. Reinforcement turned out to be an Asian man in his late twenties, standing on a pile of wrecked cars. Like Akira and Kazuma, he wore the blue uniform and white amour with the word ‘POLICE’ stamped across it. With the way he carried himself, he was definitely a veteran in the field compared to the twins.
“Wait, is that… Jin?” Akira sputtered in shock as the man with glasses gave the twins a cocky smile.
Kazuma squinted. Something bulky and invisible was behind Jin, and, unless Kazuma’s eyes were deceiving him, it was attached to a blue chain that connected to Jin’s arm.
Kazuma was so confused and distracted that he almost didn’t feel the hot breeze on his neck. He turned his attention back to the front to see a faint outline of the invisible monster from earlier back on its feet.
“Look out!” He tried to push his sister out of the way, but a four-legged sleek distortion flew over them and attacked the invisible monster, causing it to disintegrate. The creature that saved them gave a loud howl, and Kazuma saw a dark-skinned woman with a black baseball cap appear and… petted it? Like Jin, she too had a blue chain connecting directly to her invisible beast.
Before he had time to register these two strange events, something slammed against his arm, and he flew up in the air before crashing back down, making this the third time today… Or was it the fourth? Wincing in pain, he realized that there was another invisible monster that they had missed.
Just how many were there?
However before Kazuma could pull out his X-Baton, another distortion appeared and stood between him and the monster.
And this time, Kazuma could see them.
His eyes widened with shock. The invisible humanoid monster that had been attacking him and his sister had rigid white skin texture with glowing red eyes and long wild hair. Protecting him was a blue humanoid creature that wore sleek white armor with the words ‘Neuron’ and ‘SV-01’ stamped on it.
Neuron? Wait… That’s the special task force!
Kazuma watched in a daze as the blue humanoid grabbed the white monster by the neck and lifted it up into the air. It squeezed tighter and tighter until there was a loud snap, and the monster disintegrated. Done with its job, it glanced down at Kazuma with glowing blue eyes before vanishing without a trace.
What is that? Did he hallucinate the entire thing?
Kazuma blinked in disbelief and flinch in surprise when he felt drops of water slid down his cheeks. He looked up and saw the rain falling down from the night sky.
A gloved hand appeared in front of him. It belonged to a weathered face with short gray spiky hair and a matching beard. Two long scars ran vertically down the left eye. Despite his rugged appearance, his right blue eye was filled with a softness reserved for only two people in the world.
“Dad?” Kazuma sputtered as he took the hand.
“Just in time, huh?” Max grinned and pulled him up to his feet.
“I’ll say,” Kazuma said, his eyes still wide with shock.
“Is it just you two?” Max looked around as if expecting more people and was puzzled to only see the twins.
“There’s someone injured from the crash over there,” Kazuma pointed, but he saw that Jin was already there, taking care of the injured officer.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” Akira said, coming over with the same shocked expression as her twin brother.
“Better put the reunion on hold,” the woman said, butting into the conversation. She motioned with her head to the floating black and red gaping hole in the sky. Kazuma flinched. He could almost feel something, or rather somethings, coming from within.
“Okay, you two, head to safety. Alicia and I can take care of –” Max was suddenly interrupted by a call coming in. He frowned slightly when he saw the name but immediately picked up.
“Max,” the voice said. It was harsh and clipped. “You must let them use the Legatus.”
The woman raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Akira and Kazuma.
“W-wait a minute, Commander,” Max sputtered in stunned shock. “What the hell are you saying?!”
Commander? Kazuma’s eyes widened with amazement. The highest-ranking man in Neuron was talking to their dad! But what was this about a ‘Legatus’?
“You can’t expect them to fight off the chimeras on their own,” the voice chided matter-of-factly. “This is an order, Captain. Don’t worry about calibration, I’ve already loaded their personal data into the devices.”
Conflicting emotions ran through Max’s face, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and said, “If you say so.” He pulled out from his belt a strange hard square device that looked like a white flat medical kit and reluctantly tossed it to Kazuma.
Slow to respond and still confused about the situation, Kazuma barely managed to catch the flat box before it fell to the ground. He turned to Akira and noticed that she got the same item from the female officer. Slowly, it dawned on Kazuma that the call from the Neuron Commander was about the two of them.
“Captain, are you serious?” Jin said, coming over with the injured policeman over his shoulder.
“Commander’s order. Not like I can do anything about it…” Max grumbled.
“What is this?” Akira asked the question that was on Kazuma’s mind as well. Upon further inspection, the white case had a protruding hexagon with a blue triangular light at the center. For a brief moment, Kazuma felt a pulsing sound emitting from the box – almost like a heartbeat.
“That thing is what you will use a Legion of your own,” Max said.
“Legion?” Kazuma repeated. Every answer seemed to lead to another question.
However, Captain Max turned away, looking disgruntled. “I really hoped you two wouldn’t get caught up in this…” he mumbled, “Damn it, Commander…” Realizing that this wasn’t the time to gripe and complain, he turned to Kazuma and Akira. “Now don’t go dying on me!”
Kazuma swallowed hard but nodded. He still was not sure what was going on, but he recognized that gruff tone of concern.
“Let’s get out you started. Strap the Legion Unit to your arm,” Max ordered, holding up his arm for them to see. Kazuma chose his left arm, figuring that it may be difficult to use his dominant hand to fight if there was added weight. The case immediately latched onto his arm and folded itself onto it into a triangular shape.
[ID Confirmed. Core released.] The robotic voice from their device spoke.
The hexagon piece popped out of the disk and expanded into three thin separate sections. In the center, the blue triangle changed shape, revealing a cube core that could fit into Kazuma’s hand. It twitched and shifted in shape as if someone invisible was playing it like one of those old Rubik’s cubes that Max had shown them as a kid.
The blue cores expanded and pulsed as a form slowly started to shape around it. Two humanoid creatures similar to Max’s appeared and were tethered by a blue chain to the contraption on Kazuma’s and Akira’s arm. They wore blue and white armor with ‘Neuron’ printed on them as well. Kazuma’s had swords for arms with the word ‘SV-05’ on its collar. Akira’s had six extensions around its hip, making an armor skirt. It carried a bow in its hands, and ‘SV-04’ was printed on its chest plate.
[Stabilized. Chained Legion.]
“Legion?” Kazuma repeated, glancing down at his giant new device.
“They’re beautiful,” Akira whispered, staring at her floating creature. It wasn’t the word that Kazuma would use to describe the two, but there was something supernatural about them.
“Heads up, Akira. No time to gawk,” Kazuma said as he noticed the invisible creatures from before coming out of the gate. There were at least ten of them. However, to his surprise, he could see them. From the look on Akira’s face, it seemed like she could too.
“So, what now?” Kazuma asked no one in particular.
Immediately, at the sight of the visible monsters, Kazuma’s and Akira’s new Legions (or whatever they were called) honed in on the enemy. Kazuma’s raised its blade and sliced the white monster. The creature howled but didn’t fall from the attack.
“Whoa!” Kazuma said, instinctively, pulling on the blue chain. His sword creature was yanked back before the monster could take a swipe at it.
Max and Alicia immediately sent out their monster partner and attacked the ones trying to climb over the destruction and escape.
Floating at a good distance away, Akira’s arrow partner fired consecutive shots of blue arrow energy high into the air. They rained down on a load of chimeras. More than twenty arrows pierced their tough hide, and the monsters screamed and crashed to the ground.
“What are these things?” Akira said, stunned at what just happened did.
“That’s a Legion,” Max’s voice popped up in a private and secured comms channel. “Part weapon, part partner. It saved my ass plenty of times.”
“It’s so weird… Like I’m feeling what it's feeling,” Akira said as she pulled on the chain to move her Legion away before the other monster could cut it into two.
“Good, that means it's working, and your X-Baton should work too now that it is powered up with the Legion,” Max said, his voice filled with relief. “So, I’m guessing you can see that ugly thing in front of you.”
“Yeah, what the hell is that?” Kazuma said as he fired from his blaster. To his surprise, it discharged a more powerful explosion, knocking the monster back like Max said it would.
“That is what we call a chimera – the Ark’s not-so-public number one enemy.”
“Chimera?” Akira repeated.
“The Ark’s enemy?” Kazuma said.
“The device we gave you is a Legatus – experimental counter-chimeric weaponry. Try saying that three times,” Jin said, hopping into the conversation. “It’s what connects us to the Legion and the reason why you can see the chimera now. On top of that, the Legatus got memo-taking apps, navigational aids, you name it. Hell, I got Solitaire on mine. It’s really good.”
“Is this really the time to be geeking out, Jin?” the woman asked sharply on the communication line.
Kazuma gave a wry smile. That’s Jin, alright. While he was serious with his work, he never turned down a chance to crack a joke or two. He even gave Kazuma tips on flirting and dating with girls though that led to more embarrassment than success.
“Listen,” the woman said taking over, “the Legions are wired to attack chimeras. You are more of the… lion tamer. Just keep your hand on the whip and you’ll be fine.”
Although Kazuma was doing his best as the ‘lion tamer’, something was off. It felt like a pull and push – a delay in reaction and response. If only they could communicate more quickly. The answer was there at the tips of fingers – like static electricity, ready to discharge.
Deciding to close the distance, he charged forward with his Sword Legion. Turning his blaster into the baton, he slashed against the chimera in a downward motion while his Sword Legion sliced. The chimera quickly crumpled to the ground and disintegrated.
Better… but not there yet. He was a hair second slower than his Sword Legion.
“Kazu!” Akira pointed to the gate as another bigger and more menacing humanoid chimera came out. It looked like a cross between a rhinoceros and a stag beetle and carried a giant white shield and a sword. Akira and Kazuma jumped out of the way just as it swung its heavy sword arm on them, leaving a crack on the highway road. The ground beneath them quavered, and Kazuma wondered how much longer will it hold.
Suddenly, the chimera lifted the eighteen-wheeler in its arms with ease and sent it crashing down to the ground. It exploded upon impact, and the two sprawled on the ground. Kazuma shook his head as he tried to get back to his feet.
“Crap, you two! Hurry!” Max yelled in their earpiece as the road snapped into two.
“Jump!” Akira yelled as she recalled her Legion back into the device and managed to scramble to the other side. Kazuma was not so lucky.
The structure holding the freeway up gave way, and Kazuma fell as the road tilted downwards into the most lethal and dangerous waterslide. Empty cars slid past him, sending sparks as they tumbled off the road and exploded into the empty abyss of nothingness.
Shit, shit, shit! Slipping and falling, Kazuma gritted his teeth as he turned onto his belly and clawed against the asphalt before managing to find some footing near the edge of a hundred-foot drop. On his hands and knees, he figured he could slowly crawl his way back up and regroup with the others. Unfortunately, when he looked up, he saw he didn’t have time.
A giant 18-wheeler truck on its side came towards him like a tumbleweed. It sent showers of sparks everywhere, causing nearby cars to explode. It blocked the entire width of the road with no way around it.
Pale as a ghost, he raised his arms up to his face, embracing for impact and perhaps instant death when suddenly, a burst of blue energy surrounded him and his Legion popped out of its core. He had no idea why it came out without his command but he felt a rush of power flowing in him – like his mind was connected to his Legion. The missing feeling he had earlier was now gone.
He had an idea – an Akira-crazy-desperate one.
“Go!” he yelled as his Legion cut through the air. It easily avoided the flaming truck, ducking underneath it. The Legion turned, its blade arm tightened around the chain around its neck.
Now came the hard part. Ignoring the screams of terror in the back of his head, Kazuma ran uphill as fast as he could towards the truck. He watched in slow motion as it smashed against the gravel pavement before slowly arching upwards, revealing a small gap, just small enough for a human.
Now!
Instantaneously, he felt the pull tighten, and the chain yanked hard. His body shot forward and skidded against the ground just as the truck arched above him. Kazuma could feel the heat wash over him as the flames barely grazed his face. His face was inches from the underbelly of the truck as sparks flew around him like a firework show.
Then he could see the rainy night sky again.
He rolled across the ground before his hands and knees found solid footing once more. He managed to upright himself just as the 18-wheeler turn into a fiery explosion from below.
That was close, he thought and wiped the sweat off his face. Getting up to his feet, he looked to his Legion. It stood there, floating above, and stared back, waiting for the next command.
“Thank you,” he said. He couldn’t hear it speak (he wasn’t even sure if it had a mouth) but it gave some sort of nod in acquiesced.
Then a loud inhumane cry rang across the night sky, and they both looked up at the upper broken half of the highway from above.
That’s right! That chimera! As if it heard his thoughts, the Legion pulled him upwards, using the debris dangling from above as a stepping stone, and soon, Kazuma was flying up in the air, high enough to see the chimera down below at the edge. Its attention was focused on Akira and everybody else who was trying to get past.
Go, go, go! Kazuma thought, raising his X-Baton, and he and his Legion dived downwards.
“HEY!” he yelled, grabbing the chimera’s attention. It turned around just as Kazuma and his Legion sliced its head right off in an ‘X’ formation. It crumpled to the ground before exploding into dust.
“What in the world was that?” Max gaped.
Kazuma recalled his Legion and got to his feet. He looked around, relieved to see that no one was hurt. That stunt was probably the coolest thing he had ever done, and one he never wanted to do again. The adrenaline coursing through his body sapped him of his energy, and now he felt weary and exhausted.
“Dad, are you…” He barely took a step before the pain crushed his skull. He dropped his X-Baton and immediately collapsed to the ground into a fetal position. His face twisted in agony as he clutched his head. It was like someone was smashing it with a hammer.
“Kazu!” Akira ran over and helped him. After gasping for air, Kazuma managed to get up on his knees, but the headache did not completely subside.
“Are you okay?” Max asked, getting down on one knee, “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“I’m fine,” Kazuma said through gritted teeth. He could feel everybody’s eyes on him, and his ears turned red.
Get a grip, he thought as he pushed himself up to a standing position, you can’t show weakness here.
“What happened?” Akira said though her voice was filled with wonder. “Your hair and eyes turned blue and then you got these weird veins like all over your neck and face.”
“Hair? Blue?” Kazuma shook his head as though he was dunked in water. His hands were still on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. “I don’t know. I just… did it.”
“Are you sure this is your first time using a Legion?” the woman with the baseball cap said with skepticism in her voice. “You’re already way better at it than Max.”
“I’m standing right here, Alicia!” Max rolled his eyes and stood up as she smirked, but his gaze soften as he looked back at Kazuma. “But I kinda have to admit, that was somethin’. Damn thing moved like it was a part of your body.” Although his voice was filled with surprise, there was a sense of pride in there as well.
Kazuma didn’t want to admit it, but he felt a rush of embarrassed happiness swelling inside from his dad’s praise. He lifted up his head and tried to stop the ground from swaying underneath his feet.
“Easy, Kazu,” Akira mumbled and stood closely so he could indiscreetly lean on her. He gave her a grateful smile.
“Well, that’s about all of them,” Jin said, just getting off of his walkie-talkie. “We’d better get back to HQ.”
“Alright,” Max said, turning to the twins. “You two are coming with us. I’ll… try to explain all of this later.”