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11 - How To Break Into A Hero Party
🕑 Added 2025-02-12 10:53:52 +0000 UTCThe station at Arcadia stood in stark contrast with the one at Hovelton.
For one thing, it was much larger with storeys and multiple lanes on the stretched platform. It also seemed leagues more advanced, from hoverboard racks to moving walkways that morphed and shifted, blending seamlessly on the futuristic sleek floors.
Also, the station had far, far more people.
Once the doors of the train opened, Lexie and Xena tried to get out but they were inundated by a bunch of tired faced adults, colorfully dressed teens, and a bubble gum popping girl who nearly kneed Lexie in the eye on the way in.
Lexie and Xena pushed their way through anyway, Xena snarling at a few people in the process.
No one seemed surprised to find two young children on a train alone. Only one person, a man in a white robe that looked like Xena’s moms, threw them a curious look but even then he didn’t stop them as they made their way out onto the expansive platform.
There were several train lines intersecting the platform, at least a dozen on each side. The decor of the open space was predominantly made of steel and reflective glass with curved ergonomic surfaces and absolutely zero spray paint.
Their ticketing podiums also looked a step above Hovelton’s, larger and glowing with LED lights. One woman had pulled up a 3D hologram map on a podium and was turning it around in the air, drawing dots on it and connecting it. When she was done, a series of text appeared next to the hologram, which Lexie surmised might be direction or information on the train lines.
A few of the podiums were not solid at all, and seemed entirely holographic, which made Lexie curious about what that meant. Was it a more advanced type of podium? Or simply a decor choice. Or maybe it served a different purpose entirely.
She didn’t have time to ponder. Xena was already walking in that direction, moving through a turnstile that seemed to glow green when she stepped through.
It also turned green when Lexie did the same, hurrying to follow Xena’s determined, long steps.
They were heading for a holographic exit sign marked over an automatic sliding glass doorway. Lexie caught up to Xena at that exit, and they walked through the sliding doors together, turning into a marble staircase that would lead them above ground.
“I guess you know your way around here,” Lexie quipped.
“What did I say about stupid questions?”
Lexie frowned at her. That wasn’t even a question. But before she could retort, they appeared at the top of a busy street.
Wow.
Arcadia was very…colorful. With bright neon streetlights that were on even in the afternoon and crowds of people walking everywhere, the city felt like it was overflowing with energy.
Kind of like New York although it didn't look like New York necessarily.
The city itself reminded her more of Tokyo or Singapore sprinkled with the vintage Romanesque and Baroque architecture of Old London. The vibe was a mixture of classic and ultra-modern and Lexie admired the effortless fusion of both styles.
Logan was really into architecture for a while, she thought as they kept moving. He would have loved this.
The roads looked normal enough except that they were choked with traffic, unlike anything she’d ever seen before. First of all, the sheer variety of cars (hovering sedans, cars that looked like mini airplanes, trucks with bird wings) stunned her. Secondly, these cars were stacked on top of each other with inches of space between them.
Of course, they were only stacked in twos and threes, a shimmering line in the air seemingly mandating that the stacks should not rise higher than that point.
Or maybe it was more so an unspoken rule that there couldn’t be more than three cars stacked above each other.
Either way, the whole thing was a sight to behold.
Lexie had never been a fan of sitting in traffic.
But hovering in traffic strangely sounded kind of appealing right now.
“Maybe we should take a cab?” Lexie suggested. The last word didn’t auto-translate which meant that the word 'cab' was still used in this world.
Interesting.
It felt like some of these changes the game maker made were arbitrary. Things differed in a lot of ways that mattered and a lot of ways that didn’t.
“It’s not far,” Xena said. “We'd probably get there sooner by walking. Plus I don’t have enough credits for a cab. I had to spend it on getting you a ticket.”
“Oh,” Lexie said. “I’ll pay you back once I figure out how to access my credit account.”
“Whatever,” was the taller girl's response.
They turned a corner and continued down a thinner street, with shops lined on each side. She knew they were shops because the neon signs basically exclaimed it to everyone who walked by, and they seemed to be battling each other for the most in-your-face advertisement possible.
The text styles were all bold and practically (and sometimes literally) jumping out the page. As they passed by, Lexie spent some time reading ads that raised more questions than answers in her mind.
GET YOUR HAIR CUT BY HEROIC BARBER SHEFFIELD SLICES! 20% DISCOUNT TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY.
A heroic barber? Lexie wondered. Is he a hero that also cuts hair or a barber that does haircuts for heroes? Or both?
GET YOUR DUNGEON-DELVING TOOLS HERE! APPROVED BY 9/10 DUNGEON DELVERS
Why did the one disapprove? Lexie mused.
LOST AN ITEM? HEAD TO THE LOST AND FOUND ON FIFTH STREET! FOR A SMALL FEE YOU CAN FIND ITEMS YOU NEVER LOST
What does that even mean? Lexie thought.
Xena interrupted her perusal by pointing. “See that big shiny ugly building right up that hill? With the garden in front? That’s Coventry Garden.”
Lexie peered at it. The building wasn’t ugly but it was prominent. It looked more like an old cathedral, with an iron wrought gate that surrounded the garden.
Lexie nodded. “Alright. But do we have a plan for getting in?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I’m pretty sure there’s going to be security. Big guys with guns and swords...maybe. How do we get past them?’
Xena looked at Lexie like she had said something stupid. “Why would superheroes need security? They are security.”
“Yeah, but don’t they need guards to keep away their crazed fans?”
She smirked. “They like their crazy fans. That’s why they put on events like these with huge signs and so many ads that tell everyone where it’s going to be held. So that crazed fans would know where to find them.”
Lexie could see her point, but still. “Aren’t they scared that the fans will, I don't know, mob them or something?”
Xena simply snorted and kept walking.
As they got closer, Lexie noticed that the crowds were getting even thicker, moving in the same direction they were. Dozens of people were standing in front of the gate, some of them interacting with a tiny floating orb and posing with a 'peace' sign. She noticed that every once in a while they would snap or tap a finger against their leg or something and it would elicit a click from the orb.
“What are they doing?” Lexie murmured, low enough that Xena didn't hear it.
The system screen automatically activated.
*
WOULD YOU LIKE TO TAKE A PICTURE? FREE-FLOATING PHOTO-TAKING ORBS PRESENT. [YES] [NO]
*
Ah. So they were taking pictures. She glanced at the orbs again, and whispered to confirm, “So those orbs take photos?”
The system came in clutch with another explanation.
*
PHOTO-TAKING ORBS (PHORBS FOR SHORT) ARE TOOLS USED TO PRODUCE IMAGES, BOTH TWO AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL, WHICH CAN THEN BE PROCESSED INTO OTHER MEDIA FORMS. THESE IMAGES CAN ALSO BE STORED IN YOUR SYSTEM INVENTORY, TRANSFERRED TO EXTERNAL MEDIA STORAGE OR SENT AS A MESSAGE. ADDITIONALLY, YOU CAN USE PHORBS TO TAKE VIDEOS OR STREAM AN ACTIVITY DIRECTLY TO THE NET. ADVANCED INTELLIGENT PHORBS CAN WORK INDEPENDENTLY TO GET THE BEST POSSIBlE SHOT IN A SCENE AND CAN AUTOMATICALLY CUT AND EDIT THE VIDEO AS YOU FOR MAXIMUM ENTERTAINMENT.
[TO LEARN MORE, CLICK HERE…]
*
No, that's cool. Lexie already had what she needed. Thanks for the info, system.
Lexie bet that the last part about the advanced PHORBS would be great for streamers. Not having to hold a camera and worry about angles. It would also just edit it for you. She wondered if that was how the [Hero] party was getting all those cool shots, even though it was being live streamed.
Speaking of live-streamed…
“What Fighters were you watching back in the train? For the All Fighter’s Circuit?” Lexie turned to Xena as they continued toward the continuously thickening crowd. Lexie had already searched it up on the train and learned that the AFC was a federation, kind of like the UFC, that organized fighting matches all over the world. And just like MMA, people brought different fighting styles to the ring, and simply used whatever they could to win.
Lexie had never been into MMA so she asked Xena about the AFC, not necessarily because she wanted to know more, but because the silence between them had gotten kind of awkward and she just wanted to break it.
But, given the girl's attitude, she also expected Xena to not answer.
To her surprise, Xena did.
“There’s only two fighters worth watching right now,” she said. “Conrad Grace and Top Dog. Conrad is sixteen and he’s the son of two [Heroes]. But he doesn’t want to be a [Hero] himself and said during an interview that he wanted to be a [Mercenary] instead. His parents didn’t approve and basically threatened to disown him for that and so he uses the AFC to raise money so he can emancipate from his parents. He’s an A-Rank Berserker Type Fighter so he’s really unpredictable and that makes him fun to watch. He’s new but he’s already climbed the ranks pretty quickly in just a few months and a lot of people consider him to be number two in the junior league."
The wind blew hair into her face again, and she tucked it behind her ears before she continued talking.
"And then there’s Top Dog. He’s been number one in the junior division since forever. He’s kind of an ass, but he’s a really skilled A-Rank Warrior Type Fighter and a C-Rank Weaponist. His parents are mundane so he has a huge chip on his shoulder especially against Capes. He really wants to take a bite out of Conrad. Bad.” She shakes her head. “Anyway, their fight is scheduled for next month. It’s the preliminaries for the Golden Glove Juniors. I watched their preliminary matches against other opponents and honestly, it’s going to be close but I still put my money on Conrad.”
Lexie was surprised. She’d really expected Xena to blow off her question or give her usual clipped reply, instead of that shockingly detailed, passionate layout. She supposed she’d stumbled in on the one topic that the girl liked to talk about.
But then almost at the same time, Xena seemed to realize that she was having a conversation without sass, and she decided to sass it up by quipping “Move faster, kid. With those little legs, by the time we get there, the party will already be over.
“They’re not little,” Lexie muttered glaring at Xena’s back as she followed her. “You’re just freakishly tall. And stop calling me kid, we’re probably the same age.” Well, Lexie was technically older but not right now.
Xena gave her a disbelieving look. “Aren't you like eight?”
“I’m ten.”
“You’re short for ten.”
“I’m in the thirty-fifth percentile. That’s almost average.”
Xena didn't look convinced but she didn’t say anything else.
Finally, as they reached the top of the hill, they saw the hordes of people collated around the garden. But when they got close Xena paused.
There seemed to be a forcefield or something over the entire garden and cathedral, about five inches or so from the outer gates. The forcefield was golden and glittering in the sun, pulsing with energy.
The minute Xena saw it, she frowned, “Shit.’’ Which probably meant that the forcefield acted as some kind of security.
Lexie tried to resist the urge to say I told you so.
Tried and failed.
“Told you so,” Lexie said with only a tiny bit of smugness.
Xena’s lips pursed. She glared at the forcefield as though she could make it manually combust with her gaze.
“You didn’t have a plan for getting inside?” Lexie asked, a little disappointed. Maybe she shouldn’t have been since Xena was a ten-year-old kid and all, but she’d somehow thought she’d be smart enough to have a plan.
“I did,” Xena bit out lowly. They were surrounded by the din of the crowd and no one seemed to be paying particular attention to them, too busy taking selfies or observing the people at the party. “I just didn’t expect a forcefield. They didn’t have that last year.”
“Ok. But even without the forcefield there’s still the gate and the crowd to worry about. How did you expect to get in?”
“You see that small woodsy area by the gate, on the right of the garden? You can access that through Clifford Street, right by the Aveyard building. Their gates aren't interconnected but two of the rods are broken and there's a hole between them you can sneak through. It's hidden by the woods over there so it's a pretty easy way to get in."
“How do you know?” Lexie asked. “Spend your time sneaking into cathedral gardens?”
“That’s none of your business. In any case, we can’t do that now, because of the forcefield.”
Lexie didn't want to give up just like that, so she told her, “Show me the place.” Maybe they could figure something out when they got there.
Xena sighed and then set off, not towards the garden, but towards a street before it.
She turned right into the street and hurried, turning left into the first alley. She took another right and then left, which brought her in front of a small white building that reminded Lexie of the DMV.
Xena squeezed herself behind a brick wall, and Lexie followed as the pavement bled into a woodsy area sectioned off by a low gate.
They hopped it pretty easily and approached the second gate, which was significantly higher and spikier, matching the one they found in front of the cathedral. Xena led her to the missing rods and there was just enough space for two little girls to squeeze through, admitting them into a mini forest.
The trees shielded them from the crowd surrounding the garden, and they seemed to be at the back of the cathedral itself. The forcefield was right across from them, mocking them.
They hid behind bushes as they saw about two servers come out, carrying trays of half-eaten food. Lexie guessed that this acted as some kind of server's entrance. The two men passed through the forcefield without effort.
“How do you think they’re getting in?” Lexie asked, pointing to the server while crouched. He had his side to them, walking down a path, leading away from them and towards a huge truck.
“Probably that badge at their hip,” Xena said. “Or maybe facial recognition software. Although my mom, I mean Emma, used to be a server at these things, and she told me once that they usually don't use facial recognition for employees who are only contracted for the night. I think keying a forcefield with each individual's facial features is kind of costly, especially since you have to take into account adjustments if they gain or lose weight, or if they have eyebags, or something else. And then there's shapeshifters and long-lost twins to worry about also. Plus, it's a lot of paperwork. So if it’s short-term employment, they just have the waiters and staff use badges. It also makes it easier to fire and replace someone on the spot."
“So he's most likely getting in with a badge.”
“Probably. But who knows?”
Lexie thought a little and opened her system interface, and her card deck. “Let me see if I can find something that can help us get in.
“You barely know how to use that thing.”
“Yeah, but I’m a fast learner.”
She read each card carefully, trying to ascertain which one could best serve her needs right now.
<Handy Helper> showed promise because of the whole phantom hands thing. She could use that to maybe snatch the card while the server's back was turned. But it was a whopping 9 in power which meant it would be very complicated to activate. Not to mention she didn’t know what the ‘contract with a suitable creature’ entailed.
<Hustle and Shuffle> was another card she considered. She thought of running and snatching a badge from one of the servers who was coming out of the garden. But that plan wasn’t great for two reasons. One, she didn’t actually know how much more speed the card gave her and since she was tiny, the server might be able to catch her even with a speed boost.
The second and most important thing was that, even if she snatched the badge from him and managed to get away, he could simply call someone and tell them that his badge was compromised, disallowing access before Xena could get in.
Unless they planned on knocking him out, which Lexie neither had the strength or inclination to do, that was a bad plan.
They needed to take the badge without the server knowing it was taken.
Which was going to be more complicated than she thought.
But she focused on reading through the cards again, and again, trying to think outside the box. Saint Juana’s Prep had held regular ‘Thinking Skills’ classes every other Friday, where they would give each student a problem, and have them solve it, using only limited tools and information. While most SJP students groaned at those classes, Lexie used to look forward to them and became quite good at them too.
Now, she just needed to be good faster.
She was about to read through the cards again when her eyes lingered on the first and last cards in her deck.
Suddenly, she had an idea, a plan that bloomed in her mind.
“Okay,” she told Xena, who had been tapping her feet not so patiently as she waited for Lexie to come to her conclusion. "I think I know what to do.”
“Care to share with the class?”
Lexie frowned at her. “Not if you’re going to be a pill about it.” She was kind of getting sick of the other girls’ snark.
Xena pressed her lips together but said nothing else.
Satisfied, Lexie relayed the plan.
“We need to wait for another server to come out. I have a card that, I think, could get him to trip over himself. When he does, I’ll run over to help him and pretend he dropped his card. And then I’ll give it back to him.
After he walks away, I’ll activate this other card, <Easy Clean Up>, which says it returns things to their last known origin. I think, theoretically since I was the last one to hold the card before giving it to him, that should bring the card back to me.”
Xena looked doubtful. “Sounds complicated. Are you sure it would work?”
She shrugged. “Maybe not but it’s the best I have so far.”
Xena nodded. "Fine. Let’s do it."
Lexie went around the trees and got into a hidden position near the forcefield to wait.
And wait.
She'd told Xena to alert her when they saw a server coming through the garden toward the gate.
The minute she got the signal, Lexie got to work.
Lexie knew that it would take at least a minute to activate the card, so she wanted to start when the person was far enough away that she would have time for the activation. Hence, Xena's signal ideally meant that he was a minute away from walking in front of her hiding spot.
She took a deep breath and focused inward until she saw the activation symbol, this one looking like a tree with looping roots which she then filled with her mana.
After, she switched her attention outward, to the mana around her hands, she saw another shape, another tree with twisted branches. She began filling that one too, slowly, with the external mana, until it got to the edge.
Once it was done she got a ding at the corner of her vision
*
ACTIVATION COMPLETE. POINT AT TARGET NOW.
*
She opened her eyes and luckily her target was already out of the garden sauntering over at her right and muttering while carrying three garbage bags.
Lexie pointed at him and instantly his foot caught on a stone and he fell.
She winced as he crashed onto the ground, the garbage bags flying around his head.
Shit. I didn’t think it would be that violent. I hope he’s not hurt.
“Are you okay?” The concern in her tone was genuine as she jogged over to him. But her eyes immediately searched for the identification badge on on a metal magnetic lapel looped through a belt buckle.
Lexie rushed forward and grabbed the badge while he was still trying to right himself. She played it off that she was helping him pack up some of the trash that had fallen out of the bag.
He wasn’t paying attention to her at first, muttering about damned heroes and overbearing cooks.
But when he saw her, his features eased.
“Hey kid,” he said. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Yeah. I know. I was gonna sneaked into the hero party through there, but there’s a forcefield.” She used her best little girl voice and pointed at the wrought iron entrance while giving him the most innocent look. "That's where I came through. But now I'm gonna go back because my mommy is probably looking for me."
Am I laying it on too thick? Do ten-year-olds still say Mommy?
He smiled. "Yeah, she probably is. I would walk you but that slave-driver Philipe will have my ass if I'm gone more than a minute."
"It's okay. My older sister's on the other side waiting for me," she said. “Do you need help?”
"That’s very kind of you but no. I got it."
She nodded. "Oh here. You dropped this.” She gave him back the ID badge.
He frowned and looked down at himself as though trying to figure out how he dropped it, but then he just shrugged and took it. "Thanks.”
And then as he walked off, she immediately activated the <Easy Clean Up> card.
This time the activation symbols were a squarish bird and a… llama? She didn’t know. It took her forty-five seconds to activate.
Luckily enough the server was still within her radius by that time, and once she was done, there was a pop and the ID badge was in her hand.
Xena, who had jogged down to meet her once the server was out of view, gaped at Lexie’s palm. “That was so cool.”
“Yeah," Lexie grinned proudly, handing Xena the card. "But we should hurry before he gets back."
Xena nodded and they both jogged to the forcefield. Xena held the badge against it and the flat metallic disk glowed green, but the moment Xena tried to move forward, she was blocked as the forcefield turned back solid.
“Shit,” Xena swore. “I think they use facial recognition too.”
"They use both?"
Xena huffed. “Yeah. Of course. The Azures have lots of money to blow. Why not have two-step authentication?"
"Darn." Lexie bit her lip in thought. Was it over? Was it the end?
Then suddenly she had a crazy idea.
"Hang on.” She opened her inventory again and pulled out her <Out of Sight> card. It was a long shot, something she hadn’t thought through fully. But the adrenaline was making her thought processing faster than it would normally be.
It was actually the image of the forcefield that gave her the idea. When it became solid, a flash of memory came to her, of something becoming solid or permeable at will, both corporeal and not.
It was exactly like the ghoul she fought.
Aiden said he designed the card to make himself invisible to one person at a time. The forcefield wasn’t technically a person but neither was the ghoul. It wasn’t even alive. Just a semi-intelligent being that acted on its instinct.
The forcefield also seemed to have some intelligence. And instinct.
There was no reason why the card wouldn't work on a forcefield right?
“Here." She materialized and handed the <Out of Sight> card to Xena. “Flash it to the forcefield.”
Xena raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Just do it. Hurry before the guy comes back or realizes his badge is gone.”
“What about you?”
"I'll hide somewhere. Xena, you should really hurry."
Xena took a deep breath, turned and flashed the <Out of Sight> card to the forcefield.
To their relative surprise, the card instantly shattered into soundless glass shards, like they had when Lexie first used them, floating and disappearing in the air.
Xena blinked. “Does that mean it worked?”
“Only one way to find out.”
Xena swallowed apprehensively. She held up the server's badge in one hand and she inched towards the forcefield, shifting one foot forward. Her foot went through.
“It worked.” She gaped.
“I know.” Exhilaration whipped through Lexie. She couldn't believe that actually worked. She didn’t really think it would. It was just a lucky try.
"Thanks." Xena gave her a single grateful look and then passed through the forcefield. She hesitated then turned around to Lexie and tossed her the badge.
It passed cleanly through.
“Put it on the ground somewhere,” she said. “He’ll think he just dropped it.”
Lexie nodded. That seemed like a solid idea.
Xena then gave her another nod and then bolted in without looking back.
“Hurry Xena,” Lexie muttered to the air watching as the tall girl stormed across the garden. “Whatever you’re going to do, do it quickly.”
