Mateo followed Alex and Henrik into the middle compartment. The vehicle interior was dimly lit, walls lined with fold-down seats and exposed rivets. The air smelled faintly of metal and oil.
The inside of the transport was all business—military-grade seats with five-point harnesses, weapon racks, and communication equipment built into the walls. It smelled like metal and disinfectant, nothing like the warm comfort of the restaurant the night before.
Mateo found himself seated across from Alex, their knees almost touching in the cramped space. She was staring out the small window, watching the city roll past as they left the capital behind. Her expression was unreadable, but he caught her fingers drumming silently against her thigh—a nervous habit he'd noticed during their hardest training sessions.
As the vehicle rumbled to life, the low drone of the engine created a quiet lull. Anon was already snoring up front, Switch slumped next to him with earbuds in. Marina and Seraphine talked between themselves in hushed whispers, and even the usually chirpy Amaya was dulled out because of Reeves' speech.
For a while, nobody spoke. The rhythm of tires against cracked asphalt became the soundtrack to their thoughts.
The journey took about five hours, first leaving the Capital's pristine walls, clear skies and glittering surroundings.
The landscape outside was changing—fewer buildings, more empty lots and abandoned structures. This was the borderland, where civilization frayed at the edges. Where people like him came from.
Soon, the streets looked familiar—he'd lived here for two years after his family died. He was back home.
No. This wasn't home.
He could recall the small malls, the mechanic workshops, the apartments and other uninteresting landmarks of this place. The corner store where he'd bought instant noodles with coins scrounged from couch cushions. The bus stop where he'd waited in the rain, watching other kids get picked up by parents who were still alive.
Stop, he told himself. Don't go there.
But there was one main difference.
If Ashdrift was a 'Zombie town' before, now it was a Ghost town. Practically devoid of life.
There were no hollow-eyed and gaunt faces passing by him anymore. The secluded alleyways held no life except the occasional lizard or rat that ran through. All the stores' roller shutters had been brought down, but Mateo could already see the signs that some villains had already been leaking through.
The metal plates of the shutters to some stores had been dented, like someone had hit them with a jack hammer. Some building walls and the floors had impact holes, portions of the brick or asphalt that had been caved in by considerable force.
The smell of smoke in the air was stronger than it had been in the last week, and the booms and tremors that Mateo saw far off in the distance while he was back here were becoming stronger, brighter. They weren't just coming closer.
The war was already here.
Henrik shifted uncomfortably beside him. "Looks worse than I expected," he muttered, his usual cold demeanor cracking slightly.
"It's getting closer to the Capital," Inferno said quietly from across the aisle.
The transport slowed, then stopped in an alley next to city hall that was already dead before the war encroached into its territory. The City Hall stood on the corner, its red brick walls catching the afternoon sun, with glass windows lining through it, some already broken and no doubt the interior had been looted.
"Welcome to Ashdrift Base-B," Reeves announced as she turned the engine off and took out the keys. "This is home for the foreseeable future."
They disembarked into the morning air, which tasted like dust and settled on the tongue like ash. Some of the others were coughing, the smog visible to the eyes. Mateo was glad his respirator could filter the harsh air.
Maya wrinkled her nose but said nothing, while Akira looked around with calculating eyes. "The air quality's going to be a problem for extended operations."
Reeves stood in front of the hall, her eyes scanning the environment for any sign of life. Right now, everywhere was quiet, but there was no telling who could be hiding in the shadows.
"Here's what we're going to do," Reeves said as they got into formation and faced the city hall. "In the trunk of the vehicle are basic supplies—rations, water, some medical kits, a toolkit, and some old surveillance gear. You'll also find solar generators and old thermal blankets. We're going to turn this place into a functioning hideout. Not glamorous. Just safe. We move. Now."
Mateo nodded. It sounded like a good plan. No need to alert everyone to their position.
As they carried the luggage out of the boot of the armored vehicle, the driver, a well-built man in a white and black military uniform with shades on, who must have been personnel at AA, walked to Reeves, whispering something in her ear. Her eyes dimmed with understanding as she called Ben towards them. The young man bounded energetically towards them, and when they finished talking, his expression had completely changed—from eager anticipation to something that looked like fear mixed with resolve.
"Wait, what?" Marina stepped forward, her usual cool composure cracking. "Where is he going?"
Once they finished talking, Ben and the driver got into the vehicle, and once the remaining eleven of them had finished carrying the luggage aside, the vehicle backed out of the alley and zoomed off back in the direction they came from.
Marina watched until the vehicle disappeared completely, her hands clenched at her sides. Seraphine placed a hand on her shoulder—a rare gesture of comfort from the usually distant girl.
"Why was Ben..." Marina's voice trailed off as she turned to Seraphine, who could only shake her head.
Marina's costume was an azure-blue bodice made out of flowing material shimmering like ocean waves in the morning light. On top of it, she wore a dark blue crop-top jacket and slender leggings while her long, silvery-blue hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Cobalt-blue metal plates around her chest, stomach and joints with dark-blue gauntlets that resembled Mateo's but far lighter. It suited her water powers, but right now she looked anything but flowing—she looked ready to fight.
Seraphine, on the other hand, was dressed in winter combat gear, which looked out of place in this abandoned wasteland. The navy blue uniform hugged her athletic frame, while her tall brown boots and purple parka made her look like she was going on a tour to Antarctica. Her usual icy calm was intact, but Mateo could see the questions in her eyes.
Amaya, clad in her pitch-black skin-tight bodysuit with gold plates, crossed her arms. "So we're just supposed to pretend that was normal?"
Henrik stepped forward, his indifferent mask firmly in place. "Orders are orders."
"Easy for you to say," Alex shot back. "You don't care about anyone."
"I care about mission success," Henrik replied coldly.
Mateo felt a familiar powerlessness settle in his chest. He wanted to say something, to demand answers like Marina had, but the words stuck in his throat.
The three girls moved toward Reeves to press for more answers, but before they could speak, the military woman was already walking toward the front door.
Reeves tugged firmly on the door. Mateo had never seen it open while he was around for the past two years, so he wasn't expecting it to budge either. He was about to suggest going through the broken windows, but Reeves swiftly punched the door handle, breaking the lock, and with a push, the doors opened wide for them to go through.
Mateo's jaw dropped slightly inside his helmet. That couldn't have been done with regular human strength. Come to think of it, he'd never seen the Commander using a quirk in the seven days they'd known her. He hadn't thought much about it—he was already overwhelmed with his own problems—but she'd just shown that she did have a power. Something related to super strength from what they'd just witnessed. Besides, AA wouldn't send a quirkless person to direct them, right?
Reeves motioned for them to move in, and before the three girls could open their mouths to speak, she sent them a look that made it clear the discussion was over.
Now they were down one person before anything actually happened. Not exactly encouraging.
The squad split into pairs. Mateo worked with Henrik to clear the ground floor first. They moved cautiously through the wide double doors, flashlights sweeping the interior. The lobby had once been elegant, with tiled floors and marble counters, but now was blanketed in dust and riddled with overturned furniture. There were signs of squatters: food wrappers, torn bedding, graffiti tags.
"Check for weak points and make sure all the exits are accounted for," Henrik said, his voice mechanically professional.
Mateo nodded, heading up the stairwell. "Let's make sure no one's still squatting here."
It took thirty minutes to sweep the building. No threats. Just remnants of a city abandoned in panic. Once clear, they reconvened outside.
While Mateo and Henrik searched to see if the City Hall was still inhabited, Alex and Switch reinforced windows and doorways with scavenged steel bars and furniture, using the toolkit and welding gear from the vehicle. Marina and Amaya were tasked with setting up a makeshift infirmary in an old conference room, while Inferno and Akira climbed to the roof to install the stealth solar panels, the black plates camouflaged against the black roof tiles, maintaining the illusion that the city hall was still abandoned.
Mateo and Marina took inventory and began organizing supplies in the basement. It was cold and damp but had solid concrete walls, which would make for a good stockroom. Mateo marked out shelves with duct tape and began stacking rations, grouping them by type and expiration.
On the other side of the basement, Marina was taking the empty rubber drums that they had lugged out of the trunk and filling them with... her own water.
Clear, transparent water gushed out of the palm of her hands and into the blue cylindrical drums. Mateo was sure it was clean, but still, it felt...
"Looks weird, right?" Marina chuckled lightly, though her earlier frustration about Ben still lingered in her voice. This was only their second time speaking to each other one-on-one.
"Yeah," Mateo said, slightly embarrassed. "I know it's clean, but still. We're drinking what comes out of your body?"
"Don't make it sound weird," Marina said, blushing slightly. "Reeves came up with the idea. And besides, the transport is only going to come once a month to deliver resources. We have to be resourceful."
She was right. Mateo sighed slightly and continued restocking. But there was still something tickling his curiosity.
"Isn't it draining, though?" Their quirks were similar in the mechanism they employed—both allowed them to secrete fluid from their bodies. Whenever Mateo came back from a particularly grueling day of quirk training, which was every day with Reeves, he felt like a rag that had been thoroughly wrung out, like someone had squeezed all the juice out of him. Especially in taxing fights like his brawls against Inferno and Brett, it felt like he was completely drained since he ended up producing massive amounts of slime.
Wouldn't the same phenomenon occur with Marina?
She looked up thoughtfully while water continued pouring from her palms. "I suppose so, but it usually ends up with me feeling faint if I overexert myself. Speaking of which..."
Marina stepped back, stopping the flow of fluid as she brought her hand to her forehead.
Mateo stepped forward, but she raised a hand. "It's fine."
After some minutes, they finished stocking the basement. Mateo couldn't help but wonder how truly incredible and reality-breaking these powers they had truly were.
Hours passed. Dust clung to his clothes and stuck to his sweat. They worked without lunch, pausing only to hydrate. By evening, the sun filtered through the broken windows in golden streaks, illuminating the dust in the air.
Mateo collapsed into one of the worn leather chairs they'd salvaged from a side office. Alex approached and tossed him a food ration and a bottle, her movements quick and slightly awkward.
"Here," she said, not quite meeting his eyes before turning away.
"Thanks, Alex—" But she was already off, joining the other girls who were still clearly agitated about Ben's departure.
Mateo stared at the ration. The gesture felt... different. When had Alex started being considerate? To him especially? He shook his head and focused on the food.
He opened the package, peeling back the white camouflage pouch that crinkled like old plastic wrap. 'MCW - Meal, Cold Weather. Menu 8: Chicken Teriyaki with Rice' it read. It felt lightweight. The main entrée packet felt light as air—all the water had been sucked out of it years ago, leaving behind what looked like brown and orange flakes mixed with white rice granules that rattled when he shook it.
As he forced down the cardboard-textured food, a bitter thought crossed his mind. Is this what being a hero was supposed to be? When his older brother Alec used to talk about heroes, his eyes would light up. He'd describe them as these larger-than-life figures—celebrated, powerful, making a real difference. Not hiding in basements, eating food that tasted like seasoned cardboard while teammates disappeared without explanation.
Alec had always said heroes were the ones who got to save people, who were honored and respected. He'd probably imagined flying through pristine cities, not squatting in abandoned buildings in ghost towns.
Is this how you thought it would be, Alec? Mateo thought, taking another mechanical bite. Eating garbage in the dark while your team falls apart?
"Even the shit back at AA is better than this," Switch said, tearing another bite and sticking out his tongue. "At least it's edible."
"Could be worse," Maya said quietly, speaking up for the first time in hours. "Could be eating nothing."
Anon looked up from his own ration. "Statistically, we're still better off than most people in active war zones."
"That's comforting," Amaya said dryly, but her usual bite was muted.
Reeves clapped her hands to gather them to the center of the room. "Alright. Good work. The base is usable now, at least for temporary fallback. But don't get comfortable. We move if the enemy gets too close. This place has to look abandoned. No bright lights at night. Minimal noise. We're ghosts here."
She looked at each of them, ready to proceed, but Marina, Seraphine, and Amaya's glares made her pause.
"Now, I know some of you are worried about where Mr. Ben Clark was sent..."
They nodded and stared at Reeves intensely as she continued.
"He has been sent on a special mission," Reeves said simply, choosing her words carefully. "It's classified, so I can't tell you fledgling heroes everything. But I will tell you this."
Earlier she had been pessimistic, even giving them a chance to back out of the hero job, but now her eyes contained something different. Hope. A tiny, incredibly small amount of hope. But it was there nonetheless.
"He's been sent to guard something," she continued. "Something that could end this entire war."
Her eyes grew distant, and Mateo could feel something brewing in her mind. "Let's hope he's reliable enough to succeed."