Aila kept following Darius through the eerily quiet hallways, keeping one hand on her hood so it would stay low over her face. Even with the mask, she was nervous.
"Why isn't anyone here?" she asked quietly.
"We're monitoring where the officers are in real time and I'm taking a route to avoid them," Darius replied. "Ida did the same thing when she sent me to deal with the others."
"You can do that?"
"Ida has access to pretty much everything in the city, including top-secret military files. In fact, we've more or less pinned down the leader of Team Chaos because of those connections. He's a lieutenant. I'll probably deal with him next."
They got to another door, which Darius opened, glancing back at Aila.
"More Miracles beyond here. They're deemed less dangerous than the ones in solitary. I've seen chatter that Whiplash will be moved here soon. Light Master will stay in solitary for his own protection until they're ready to release him back to his parents. Jail's gotten a lot more dangerous lately. They've started separating cell blocks based on whether or not the inmates have Miracles. At least if they have their own, they have a chance to defend themselves if someone attacks them.
"Ida suggests you activate your Miracle before we go in. I suppose this will be the trial by fire that determines whether or not I remember things when I wake up again. Ida's sure I'll be fine since the data's all there, but it took me so long to analyze it this time..."
"I'm sorry," Aila whispered.
"Don't be. As long as you don't permanently delete me." Darius looked anxious, but held his hand steady on the doorknob. "Once I disappear, Ida will take control of my body. Don't mind the way she talks - I don't think she's very good with people."
Aila nodded and activated her Miracle. Darius kept looking at her, waiting for something.
"You should activate it quickly," he said. "The longer we linger the more problems we'll have."
"I already did," she replied, frowning. "You're still Darius?"
Darius stared at her for a bit, then nodded.
"Does it not affect me?" he asked. "No matter. I'll consider it a blessing for now."
Without another word, he opened the door and walked inside. Aila followed, trying to hide in his shadow as yelling overtook her ears.
"The rest of the Miracle holders are here. Do your thing," he said, preparing the tranquilizer. He pointed at one especially boisterous complainer, then pulled the trigger. The man cursed, then quickly stumbled and fell to the floor, where he stayed.
Aila walked over to the cell and reached through the bars while Darius reloaded his weapon and shot the others. By the time she was done erasing the first Miracle, the room was silent.
"How long does this last?" she asked, pointing at the unconscious people.
"Between an hour and a half and two, based on my calculations," he replied. "They'll be groggy for a while after that as well."
Aila nodded. That would be plenty of time for her to erase the Miracles individually. But...could she do multiple at a time?
With the next person, she placed one hand on her and the other on the man next to her. It took more effort, but she could do it. The next time, she did three at once. That seemed to be her limit, and they had to be close enough to each other that she could reach all three at once. Darius started moving the other inmates into clusters of three while she worked on the next one.
All in all, the twenty or so Miracles in here were quickly erased. Darius nodded and helped her to her feet.
"You doing okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," Aila said, catching her breath. "I've just never done so many at once. I mean, Light Master and Whiplash were the first ones I erased, so..."
"Should we leave and come back again?"
"No. I need to get this all done. As fast as possible."
"We can easily sneak in again. Even if the military tightens security, we know how to get around it. If they post a permanent guard, I'll just take them out with the tranquilizer too."
Aila had a bad habit of forgetting just what kind of nuts she was working with. But that wasn't her concern.
"He saved my life. In exchange, I have to erase all the Miracles. That's the deal. I've already wasted enough time. Meeting you is probably his way of kicking me in the butt to get it done."
"Who?"
"The one who gave me my Miracle."
Darius paused a moment, then nodded.
"We'll keep going. We've got two more cell blocks of this size, both close by. Let's just sit here and rest for a minute before we do. Do you need any water?" He pulled a small bottle out of the bag at his waist. "Ida said to make sure I brought it in case you needed it. I can get more if you'd like."
"That should be fine, thanks," Aila said, smiling despite herself as she took the bottle and lifted her mask slightly to drink from it. The cool water really hit the spot. She finished about a third of it, then handed it back to Darius.
"Good to go?" he asked.
"Yup. Let's head out." She stood and followed him back out the door.
That day, every Miracle bearer currently in military custody mysteriously lost their Miracle. Those who were interviewed reported seeing a strange man and someone in a grey costume. The security cameras showed no such footage, though, and some military personnel dismissed it as delusions. Those who investigated found evidence that the footage had been tampered with, but there was no trail that would allow them to trace it back to any individual or group.
Mostly, it was taken as a blessing and as a sign that the storm would subside. That Miracles were not the new normal, only a temporary terror.
"You're no fun at all."
A purple figure looked down at their miniature garden, the one where they offered Gifts freely to make the residents happy. A yellow figure stood next to them, likewise watching one girl.
"I do what I must. Your lack of restraint only ever causes problems."
"And you rope some poor little girl into your scheme. Poor thing, stuck with a useless Gift like that."
"I saved her life. Her gratitude drives her. Beyond that, I have simply taken a liking to her."
"You stingy misers and your favourites. Gifts - Miracles - should be shared equally among all of humanity. Remember the age of myth? That was so much fun!"
"That was a disaster for most involved. Bestowing terrific power upon them only causes confusion. In the worst case, it causes them to be ruled by their own vice. And why on earth did you change the name? Gifts worked perfectly fine for thousands of years."
"Thousands of years! Don't you think it's time for an update?" The purple one grinned mischievously.
"I shall never understand you. Humans only grow when they have limitations. Removing those limitations stunts them."
"But they're so happy to get Miracles! All the rest of you need to learn the joy of giving."
"You need to learn the virtue of restraint."
The two continued arguing for the next week, neither able to see the other's perspective.
Such was their very nature.
