Morph [EDITING] || Wattys 2017 Winner

~TWENTY~

~amelie~

In the weeks after Cade's death, we get assigned six cases. Every team gets extra, because we've lost one whole unit. Katie and Iya, Cade's remaining team members, float around without aim. Katie trains relentlessly, while Iya spends most of her time alone, and the Multi competition that I heard about so long ago is cancelled. Nobody can bear to celebrate and compete after the death of one of the most friendly rebels here. We're all dealing with the grief in our own way.

My team and I? We fail every single one of our missions.

I don't know what's wrong, but we don't work anymore. We've lost our organisation, and the jokes that used to fill our comms have vanished. Ryan used to be Cade's friend, I was his partner, and Amber had a connection with him too. I don't know exactly what it is, but she's so affected by his death that I know they must have been close. With all of us missing Cade, it's harder to focus on a single objective. And so we mess up, or we get spotted, or we time something wrong, and the whole thing falls apart. Nothing serious has happened, if you exclude Hunter getting tranqed and Amber knocked unconscious. But each time we get sent out, Elian loses a little more hope, and we drift a little further apart. Everyone is more silent than usual, but it's Ryan who shows the most difference. Whenever he catches my eye, a dark look drifts over his face and he turns away. I try to tell myself it's just his grief, but something tells me it's not that simple. The same something that knew it was a trap the day Cade died.

After our sixth failed mission, Elian decides to talk to us, and he presents us with one last chance. One more mission.
"I need you to do this," he explains with a pained expression. "We can't lose your team too. You need to pull together, and you need to do it now."
Markus, face just as grave as his partner's, slides a slim brown file across the table. It halts right in front of me.
"This is your last chance. If you can't do this, then... then I don't know what we do. You need to do this, for all of us, and yourselves."

Elian nods to the file, and I pick it up, sliding the contents out. Inside is a newspaper article, several glossy photos, and a typed-out sheet. I frown, and pick up one of the pictures. A middle-aged woman with a harsh face and icy eyes is standing in front of a podium, giving a speech. Her hands are up, emphasising whatever she's saying, and her practical bob is mousy and slightly streaked with grey. The next photo I look at is a closeup of her face, and the third is the woman getting out of a sleek black limousine. Hunter peers over my shoulder as Elian starts talking again.

"This is Marise Fletcher, a government agent. She leads the Superhuman Response Team, under Nathan Carmichael's jurisdiction. As we know, the SRT is the group in charge of going after positive ability tests, and also one of the main teams who are constantly looking for us - and any other superhumans. Fletcher is reportedly going to meet with Carmichael tomorrow," he continues, pointing at the article (whose headline proclaims MARISE FLETCHER HEADING UP NEW SUPERHUMAN EFFORTS). "This article does not have anything on the time, or where exactly they will be, but is incredibly unlikely that this meeting doesn't involve new information. We need you to get that information out of Fletcher."
Markus clears his throat. "The target is currently staying at the Lynx Hotel. The details are in the file."

I look at the typed sheet. It's got the location of the Lynx, as well as information about the area around it. Blueprints of the building, too. I have to wonder where they get all this stuff.

"Remember," Elian adds, "Priority one is staying concealed, and safe. If you are discovered before you've taken out all Fletcher's guards, you could be in serious danger. She will likely have instructed her personal security to carry real firearms, not just tranquillisers. Got it?"

We all nod, and I feel a sense of determination building inside me.

"Good," he concludes, smiling, although it's a little strained. "Get your gear - you're leaving as soon as you're ready. We'll be on comms if you need us - but only as an emergency. Alert us as soon as you need us. Good luck, and stay alive."

~~~

The five teenagers leave the room together, silent, but their expressions are all similar. Determination, and a grasp of the situation's importance.

"Do you think they took the bait?" asks the first man. His brows are furrowed.
The second places his hands on the table before replying. "Yes. Now all that's left is if they'll ask the right questions."
"Michael..."
"Don't. We've been over this, Markus. This is our best shot. For both of our goals."
The first man's frown only deepens. "If you say so. I just... after Cade, they could act unpredictably. It might not happen the way we need it to."
"Have a little faith. All of them have exceptional courage, and none of them are stupid. They'll ask it, and they'll do it."

~~~

I've put on my camo suit so many times now that it feels like a second skin. As I'm carefully putting my earpiece in, Lila hands me what looks like a pair of tights.
"What's that?" I ask, confused.
"What does it look like?" she answers cryptically.
"It looks like a pair of tights. What is it really?"
Lila pauses. "It's tights. Haven't you ever seen a spy movie? Concealing identities? It's a step up from a sock, let me tell you."
I stare at her.
She grins. "Okay, I'm kidding. You do need this, though." The tights drop to the ground as she produces another piece of black material from nowhere. "Balaclava."
I pull it on, and it feels stuffy almost immediately. "Really? We have to wear these? Isn't there some high-tech gadget we get?"
"Nope," Lila answers, shaking her head. I can only just see her through the eye slit as she pivots, grinning, and walks back over to her own stuff.

Five minutes later, we've got all our things together, and we're all kitted out. My suit ripples to match the others', and I quickly lock it in.
"Ready?" asks Ryan.
"Yup," Hunter replies.
Lila says, "Always."

We leave the room and make our way through the corridors. I know them like the back of my hand now - it seems a far cry from the first time I woke up here, confused and lost. We get to the Wall in no time at all, and as we step through Amber chuckles slightly. I turn to look at her.
"What?"
"Nothing," she says, smiling. "I just... this is the one, you know?"
"Seventh time's the charm," Hunter pipes up.
I grin.

We join hands, and Ryan shoots us up into the sky. As we speed past the clouds at a hundred miles an hour, I can't help my smile increasing. Somehow, the prospect of this one mission has excited me for the first time since the ambush. One glance at the others tells me they feel the same. I look at the happy faces of my teammates, and then my eyes land on Ryan.

He stares into the sky with dark ferocity, and doubt ignites in my chest. Even though I feel like I'm finally ready to move past Cade's death, even though it feels like I'm finally okay, one look at Ryan's expression confirms my fear.

Everything is not okay.

A/N: I just wanted to thank you guys so, so much for 3000 reads! I started morph hoping for 1K, and to get three times that is just incredible. you guys rock!