Aila frowned slightly as she followed Darius through the streets towards the prison. Somehow things had ended up moving far faster than she'd anticipated. The little girl - Ida - had said something about striking while the iron was hot, and sent the two of them on their way as soon as they left the restaurant.
June was following them, careful to keep herself out of sight. That was Aila's one saving grace. While she'd gone to get her costume and change, June had offered to stay just within range to help her if Darius tried anything underhanded.
She'd just agreed to meet, and now Ida was already putting her to work. Despite it being what she herself was working toward, Aila couldn't help but feel a little like she was being jerked around. She hadn't seen her patron since the hospital, but was this perhaps another act of divine assistance? If it was, he really needed to work on his people skills.
Darius walked past the front entrance to an emergency exit. Aila had no idea what he was doing until the door swung open slowly to admit them.
Wait, were they breaking in from the wrong entrance?
"Where are we going?" Aila asked.
"Ida said you'd be in and out like a ghost, didn't she?" Darius asked with a smile that creeped her out. "If we're going to accomplish that, we can't very well use the front door."
He held it open for her expectantly until Aila heaved a sigh and followed him in. If they got her arrested...
Darius led the way through a maze of hallways, following a path that may have been designed to deliberately confuse Aila. He paid no attention to the cameras, and the walk felt eerily silent. Not another soul crossed their path.
When they walked into a hallway lined with heavy doors, Darius spoke softly.
"I haven't done this myself, but this place does bring back some memories."
He was probably talking to himself, but Aila responded anyway.
"What do you mean?"
"Back before I got my Miracle," he replied, "Ida controlled me and sent me down these very halls to act as her proxy in dealing with problematic Gifted."
"Wait, so Phantasma..." Aila's stomach flopped over as the implication set in.
"Yes. That was us. Or, rather, Ida. With you around, though, we don't have to resort to that anymore. Thank you." Darius turned and smiled at her. "To be honest, I still don't like the idea of killing people. But when I forced my ideals on Ida, she was killed instead." He turned back forward, his face grim. "I won't make that mistake again."
Aila didn't know how to respond, and before she could say anything else, Darius stopped in front of one of the doors.
"Solitary cell number 08. Twinblade's in here. Also known as Justin Gates. I'll neutralize him, then you'll delete his Miracle. Don't worry about me - I might revert to my robot self for a while, but once you're done I should be fine." Darius paused, perhaps to steel himself.
"Sorry. I can't control who it affects. It's just everyone in a certain range," Aila said.
"And I hope I remember everything when you're done. Ida thinks I'll be fine, but to be frank, I'm scared. I don't want to disappear."
"I can minimize the range?" Aila offered. "Make sure you're out of it."
"Thank you," Darius whispered. A moment later, he pulled a raygun-looking object out of his pocket and opened the door.
The heavy thing closed behind him with a thud. Aila could vaguely hear swearing from inside, and perhaps the beginning of a fight. It only lasted for a few seconds, though. Everything went silent and Darius poked his head back out.
"He's out. Come on in."
Aila walked in cautiously, noting that Twinblade was indeed passed out on the floor.
"What did you do?" she asked, not sure she wanted the answer.
"Tranquilizer. I stayed up all night modifying the old dart guns they kept in case we needed to study the wildlife on the surface. Now the dosage is adjusted for humans."
Aila wasn't sure she wanted to know what a tranquilizer was. Deciding it was best to just shut up and do as the terrifying robot told her, she knelt down next to Twinblade. Darius stepped as far from her as he could, and she tried dragging Twinblade to the other end of the room out of consideration for him. With a deep breath, she put her hand on his forehead, waiting the five minutes it took to fully erase the Miracle.
When she was done, she stood up and stretched, glancing back at Darius.
"You doing okay?" she asked. Despite how nervous he made her, Aila felt herself concerned for him. Only slightly.
"I'm fine. On to the next cell." Darius opened the door and led her out. They did the same with another cell in that block, this one holding one of the dangerous criminals from yesterday. Several more followed. After that, it was time for Prime.
Darius opened the cell, gesturing for Aila to follow him inside.
"We plan to negotiate with this one," he said quietly. "Ida's decided his Gift is probably minimally dangerous. Be ready in case you need to erase Miracles, though."
Aila nodded and they walked in. A large man was sitting on the bed, looking at them curiously.
"Greetings," Darius said politely. "Brennan Zavala, I presume?"
"I am. And you are?"
"No one important. This girl is here to erase your Miracle. If you don't want her to, give me a good reason she shouldn't."
Prime stared at her for a while, then shrugged.
"Don't know what you're coming after me for. But I guess I don't have any good reason to stop you either. I've screwed up, I know. If this is the consequence, so be it."
Aila approached him slowly, cautiously. He didn't move, even when she laid her hand on his arm.
"Hold it, Aila," Darius said. A look of annoyance crossed his face. "One moment."
He stood still for a moment, then spoke again.
"My boss is demanding the exact specs of your Miracle. And doesn't want you to leave a single detail out."
"Your boss?" Prime asked.
"How does she know what we're doing?" Aila asked, startled.
"My sensors. Cameras in eyes, microphones in ears, that sort of thing."
Aila sighed, deciding not to pursue the insanity. This was all way too futuristic for her.
"My Miracle reduces the adverse effects of aging," Prime said, apparently deciding to just roll with whatever was happening. "It doesn't make me stronger, but it reduces the rate at which my body declines. It won't extend my natural lifespan either - just keep me from getting sore joints and whatnot."
"Well, Ida?" Darius asked.
The silence must have meant Ida was responding.
"She says we'd be willing to work with you. You were a member of the Legion, but your track record isn't bad. The clincher, however, is that you seem perfectly willing to accept the consequences of your crimes. She wants you to help us round up the rest of the Legion."
"Military already made that offer," Prime sighed. "It's not happening. No matter how long you leave me in here."
"We don't necessarily want to arrest them," Darius said. "We merely want to remove their Miracles. They'll be lower on the priority list, of course. We're currently working on locating Team Chaos, who seem to have vanished into thin air after yesterday's stunt, and then we'll work on the others who seem to have it out for the city. After that, we'll take out the Legion and any more neutral parties, then finally our own people. When we're done, Arx Nubibus won't have a Miracle to its name."
Prime frowned in thought.
"We are, of course, moving from most dangerous to least dangerous individuals. If worst comes to worst, we do expect the Legion to pull their weight where they can. Most of you seem sensible enough. But once we've taken out the major threats, all minor threats and nonthreats will also be removed. We'd be willing to leave your Miracle intact, though, seeing as it's - as Ida puts it - 'actually a sensible one'."
"Fine," Prime said. "But one condition - no one else in the Legion gets arrested. If you have the authority to do that, you've got a deal."
Darius paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Done. We'll release both you and the Miracleless Tanner Schultz Monday morning. Now if you'll excuse us, we have more Miracles to erase."
Darius opened the door and escorted Aila out.
"Now to the other cells," Darius said.
