Enhance: Chapter 11

The next few days were strange in a few ways. They were quickly getting used to Shade’s place. Mainly because Feint was still sleeping, or hibernating as Phase put it. Feint’s bleeding had settled down for the most part though they were still rotating and changing her bandages just in case.

Phase and Yumi took shifts watching over her. The one that wasn’t watching her would go out, sometimes with Shade, and shop or just stretch their legs. Currently it was Yumi and Shade’s turn to get some fresh air. Very cold fresh air. Chicago had embraced fall with open arms. To the point where they actually had to buy new clothes just to deal with it. Right now, the pair of them were walking down the streets, trying to not go stir crazy. Phase promised them that he would call if anything happened.

Yumi was wearing a coat with fur around the hood. She doubted it was real fur but it felt like it. Her hands were in gloves but it felt restrictive. She didn’t like it but she hated the cold more. Lesser of two evils. Shade was wearing a wool hat and had a thermal jacket on.

“So Shade, you ever been to the art museum out here? You know not stealing wise.” She asked as she glanced toward him.

“Not really. Never been into art before. Why?”

“I think I wanna go. Take me.” She said quickly and turned around. The museum was the other way.

“You really want to take a train?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. Pointing upward he glanced at the rooftops and the fact that they were open and theirs for the taking. Yumi followed his gaze for a moment before giving a slight shake of her head.

“No. The train works for me right now.” She said softly and frowned.

“Alright let’s catch a train.” The pair walked down the streets, continuing until they could find an L

Climbing the rusted stairs quickly they bought cards and swiped them over the scanner. They had good timing because the moment they got to sit a bench the train roared past them. Waiting for the previous people to get off they slid on board and opted to stand.

Leaning back against the window Shade was able to watch everyone on the train. He innately looked at everyone to see if they were a threat. Call him paranoid but being a career criminal had changed his perception of things. However his partner was quiet.

He looked at her and observed her. It was the first time they’d spent any extended time together without masks and he didn’t like that look. From the time he’d known her she was an emotional and cocky person. Always speaking her mind and cracking jokes. This subdued version of her worried him.

Despite that he didn’t know how to communicate it to her. He just didn’t know her well enough to really try and start up a conversation. So they rode in silence, at least the amount of silence that can be achieved in a public environment.

As they rode the train Yumi was absent minded. She was trying to relax and maybe distract herself but her mind wouldn’t stop. Feint and Phase were all she had and she thought all of them were invincible. And now they weren’t. They weren’t invincible and she was afraid. She was she’d lose one of them.

She glanced up at the stops they were going past. When the train jerked to a stop she came forward. They slipped off the train and Shade did his best to keep up with her. Taking the stairs down to street level the walking continued and the silence hanged.

However on the street this silence wasn’t the same. As they walked Yumi could catch the hint of sea air. She stopped for a moment and turned toward the direction the wind was blowing. She didn’t mention that she wanted to go to that museum again and started running.

The sudden change to running threw Shade off and he did his best to follow her. She wasn’t sprinting at their normal speed but she was definitely running through the crow.

She got to the point where she was shoving people out of her way and even dove through traffic to get to the other side. There were angry honks and even the sound of some tires screeching but Yumi didn’t give a damn.

She slowed down as her feet finally left sidewalk. She walked across the grass slowly and stared in front of her. The boardwalk. The sand. The waves crashing against the pier and receding from the pier.

She stared at the water and didn’t move. She watched the waves go back and forth against the sand and took a deep breath. She could smell the salt in the air. She could feel the push and pull of the water. It was strange how much it relaxed her.

Shade finally caught up and stood at her side. He felt just this side of short of breath and he honestly didn’t think that could happen anymore. Looking at Yumi though, he followed her gaze to the water but he didn’t quite get the appeal but she was enthralled so he remained silent.

After sometime he fought the irritation and said, “That was some chase.”

“Sorry,” Yumi said and frowned slightly.  “I just, I had to come here. I smelled the water.”

“You smelled the water?” Shade asked with an arched eyebrow and laughed.

“Yes, I did. The water, I can smell it. It just calls to me.” She shrugged her shoulders and took another deep breath.

Shade stared at her then and then nodded. “Do you swim?”

“A few times. Not now. That’d be a terrible idea.” She snorted at the thought but stared at the water. “But if I wanted to swim long and far I could probably clear the lake.”

“Maybe when the weather breaks. Maybe when the sun comes back out you can try it.” Shade said with a shrug. “It’s a fun idea.”

“Yeah it is.” She said with a chuckle. “I’ve always wanted to see how far I can go with my abilities. Like I know I’m fast and strong but what else can we do? How far can I go in the real world and not just…”

“Not just what?” Shade asked when she stopped.

Yumi looked at him and she had a sad frown on her face. For a long moment she struggled with the idea of telling him the truth about herself. The first person to really know that they weren’t human. They weren’t Enhance users. They were lab experiments. “Not just a part of some science experiment in a lab.”

She took another breath and in some ways she was shrugging off shackles. She felt good about having told him that small piece of the truth and she took another deep breath wanting to shout in relief.

“I take it there’s more to that then you’re leading on?” Shade asked with a chuckle.

“Dip’n Dots.” She said suddenly and Shade was thrown off again. She turned on her heel and started walking toward the same familiar spot. The place where the man with the cart usually served it.

Shade, as he had been doing this entire time, followed her. She led him to the only moving cart in the distance. There was a man with scarf, wearing a hat, and had on a jacket along with his cart. They came closer and he chuckled, having a cup of light green balls. “I thought that I might see you here today. What happened to your other two friends?”

“They’re at home. Resting.” Yumi said as she glanced at Shade. “This is another friend.”

“Hi.” Shade said with a nod. “I’ve had this stuff before.”

“Good. That means you have a flavor you like. I’m buying.” She stated and took the cup from the man. Her favorite mint ice cream and she was glad for it.

He sighed heavily and then laughed. “Orange sorbet flavor.” He said and the owner of the cart gave a nod.

“That’s a good flavor. My daughter very much enjoys that flavor.”

“Your daughter has good taste.” Shade said and took the spoon that was also offered. Yumi paid the man, actually she over paid the man. He opened his mouth to object and Yumi winked at him. Baffled but taking a short bow he laughed again.

“Thank you. I hope you come by again. I’ll make sure to save a scoop of mint just for you.”

“You’re the best.” Yumi said as she started her walk away. Shade fell into step beside her and they enjoyed their treat. “365.” She said suddenly.

“365?” Shade repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“Remember the old guy who talked to us at the mansion?”

Shade nodded. “Yeah. Didn’t really like him. Seemed like a dick.”

She snorted. “Probably is a dick. But that number. That was my name back at the facility. I didn’t have a name. I didn’t have a future. My earliest memories were of being in a dark and empty white room. Felt like a cell. Of being dead tired after being forced to run, fight, learn and survive for an entire week with no rest. That was when I was probably 5. I don’t know, the time periods in that room are hard to remember.”

“Was that just you or all of you?”

“All of us. We were all created there. We assume we were created there because we can’t remember a time when we weren’t. Not like we got the chance to ask the scientist anything. The moment we got the chance to escape, we took it. And haven’t looked back.”

Shade was silent as he ate and listened. He looked at her and laughed. “Sounds like something out of a comic book.”

“Yeah it does sound like that but,” She shrugged. “What about you Shade?”

“What about me?” he asked turning to her, spoon in his mouth.

“What’s your backstory I guess?” She asked and shrugged. “What were you before you were a thief.”

Shade shook his head as he glanced upward toward the sky. It was an overcast and grey day. Something that didn’t inspire confidence but at the same time it was a calm type of grey. “I was born and raised in the city. Dad left before I was born. My mom raised me and sister until we were in about high school. Then mom died and it was just me and her. She was about 20 when she just left. Went to Detroit and got married. I dropped out of high school and fell into being a gang. I was pretty good for a while. Gang treated me right back then. And then it happened.”

“You took Dick Squad RX.”

“The fuck?”

“Sorry, Enhance. Feint did a lot of digging and learned a few things about it. Get crazy powers form taking it. You either turn into a super strong guy or you get something like-“

“Like blending into the shadows.” He said and laughed softly. “I don’t even know why I took Enhance. Boss wanted to reward me back then. Getting what I got wasn’t what I was expecting but from I can tell I got the good end of deal out of this.”

“Does you sister know?” Yumi asked as she frowned for a moment. “I mean does she know that you do all of this?”

Shade laughed dryly. “Yeah and she hates. We get together maybe once a month or so. We eat a meal and pretend that we actually like one another. And then we go back to not talking. It’s how we do things.”

Yumi frowned and thought about that. She couldn’t imagine a time where she and Phase or Feint wouldn’t talk. In fact just thinking about it made her sad. She definitely did not want that for their future.

She opened her mouth to say something when she felt her phone go off. Frowning for a moment she glanced down and reached for it. It was Phase and she frowned even more.

“Who is it?”

“Phase.” Yumi said as she answered. “What’s up?”

“It’s Feint. She’s awake.” Phase said and he seemed short of breath. “Get back here as soon as you can.”

“We’re on our way!” She shouted without realizing it and then hung up. Thankfully she’d finished her Dip’n Dots.

“What’s going on?” Shade asked as he looked at her.

“Feint’s awake. Feint’s awake and Phase says to get back there as soon as possible.”

His eyes widened slightly when he nodded quickly. “Alright. Let’s get going.”

They didn’t talk as they started running. Moving as fast as they could back toward Shade’s room. They didn’t even bother with public transportation. They took to the rooftops. Yumi felt like an entire elephant had been lifted off her chest. She couldn’t explain it but just that news alone had made her day.

When they finally made it back, Yumi hesitated before opening the door. She looked inside and she saw Phase walking toward the couch. And there was Feint. She was sitting up and she looked alive. She didn’t look good. Her face was tired and her eyes were a little darker around the edges. But when Feint looked at Yumi she smiled.

Yumi ran straight inside and hugged her hard. Feint grunted in pain and stiffened against her but she didn’t care. She was back. Feint was awake and she was mostly there and Yumi was happy.

“Ease down Yumi.” Phase said though he was laughing. “She’s still recovering.”

“I remember from when I was healing up.” She said and looked at Feint. Yumi moved to sit and didn’t take her eyes off her.

“It’s not a picnic.” Feint said softly and her voice was a little dry but she smiled again. “I’m glad you guys are okay.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to get rid of us. You know that.” Yumi said.

“What happened during the job?”

Phase scowled. “It was a trap. Those guys were waiting for us. They knew we were coming and they trapped us. They sent out some kind of virus that screwed up our systems and yours. When we couldn’t get into contact with you anymore we got out and came back as soon as we could. So your turn now.”

Feint took a deep breath and shook her head. “Well you’re right about that. They knew we were coming and the moment my systems went down things went to hell. One of their guys came to the penthouse and attacked me. It was a guy I know that much. And he was fast and strong. Almost as strong as us but faster. And he had a top hat on.

“The moment he thought that I was down he went straight for my laptop. He took it and ran but I was able to get it back. That’s when he managed to get me. He was a better fighter. And he said something weird.”

“What’d he say?” Yumi asked with a frown.

“He said I was just like him. Then he stabbed me, with his hand I think.” She shivered looking at her side. “Once I was down he might have searched the house a bit before leaving. After that I passed out. Guess it’s been more than a day.”

“It’s fine. Seems like you went through a lot more than we did.” Phase said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

Feint smiled and winced. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. “You guys found my laptop and the data so that’s good. Have you guys been in contact with Darren at all?”

“Not at all.” Shade shook his head. “We’ve been trying to keep as low a profile as we can since what happened to you guys.”

“We were able to save a little bit form the penthouse but it’s trashed right now.” Phase shook his head. ”Not to mention they know where we live. We’re going to have to relocate.”

“And flush out our systems.” Feint added sighing. “I spent months making that network. It’s going to suck remaking it but for security its back to zero.”

“At least rest a bit more.” Phase said as he looked at her.

Feint shook her head and started coughing violently. She hunched over, covering her mouth as the coughs shook her body. When she was done her body hadn’t stilled. She looked into her hand and it was stained red.

“What the fuck?” Yumi mumbled as she looked at her hand. “I thought you were healing.”

“I was. Am. I’m not sure.” She said with a shake of her head. “He must have done more damage than I thought. Maybe our bodies aren’t the same and my ability to heal isn’t as strong as yours.”

She started coughing again and this time she wobbled slightly. Feint looked at the two of them and her vision was somewhat blurry. She shut her eyes tightly but the coughing continued and blood dripped between her fingers. Finally, she slid to the side and fell against the couch her eyes closing and her breathing slowing.

“Feint!” Yumi and Phase shouted together as they rushed to her side. Once again, they checked her pulse and her heartbeat.

“Her pulse is weak.” Phase said softly.

“Her hearts beating fast. Like really fast.” Yumi said and her hands were starting to shake.

“Is this normal? Like for your healing or whatever?”

“No. Not for us.” Yumi said and then frowned. “We’ve been put through worse than this and been able to heal from it.”

“Are you sure?” Phase asked as he looked at her. “I know I’ve been through worse than this.”

“Then why is this happening to hurt. We’ve both been through worse.”

“That guy that attacked her? I don’t know.” Phase said and frowned harder.

“So, what are you guys going to do then?” Shade asked. “She needs more than what she can do naturally that’s for sure.”

They were all silent, trying to come up with a solution to their problem. Something, anything that would help her. Yumi spoke up first and it was an option she didn’t want to go with but they were out of better options.

“Enhance.”

“What?” Phase asked as he turned to face her.

“Enhance. It’s a miracle drug. It can heal anything. Even us. Not to mention we’re different. If what we talked about is true then we can take Enhance and have a better chance at having a positive reaction to it like Shade did.”

“Or she could heal and then get addicted to the stuff.” Phase said. “We can’t take that risk. Especially with her not being conscious.”

“If we don’t try then she might die.” Yumi said and glared at him. “I’d rather ask for forgiveness then permission. And I refuse to watch her die!”

Silence fell over the three of them and the only real sound they could hear was Feint’s slow shallow breathing. Phase stared down at Feint and he shut his eyes. The thought of losing her tore at his heart and he knew that if they lost Feint without trying Yumi’s idea he’d regret it.

“How are we even going to our hands on Enhance.” Phase asked.

“I don’t know.” Yumi said. “I got it the first time from some random dealer.”

“What’d the dealer look like?” Shade asked suddenly and Yumi frowned as she thought about it.

“I don’t know. Nothing special. Like anyone else on the streets.”

Shade nodded slowly. “That’s what I thought. The Vanguard. From what I’ve been able to tell over the years, they’ve become the number one Enhance dealers on the streets. If you want to get Enhance you get it from them.”

“That where you got it?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, then how do we find them?” Phase asked as he glanced at Feint again and shook his head.

“It’ll take some doing. They don’t usually stick to one place. They usually let their usual buyers know where to find them next and when. If you’re not in the know then you won’t know. It’s how they keep cops off their backs. “

“Aren’t vanguard supposed to trying to take care of people?” Yumi asked with a frown. “How is selling this junk doing that?”

“They’re not about taking care of the streets. They want to own them. With the Royals here, most of the people that are either in the gang or would join the gang are put in danger. If it was just the Vanguard things would be just about as bad. This is ‘their’ city and they don’t like trespassers.”

Phase nodded. “So, they won’t take kindly to us if we get too involved with their business.”

“Not at all. But if you start shaking down their dealers for Enhance you’re going to get on their radar in a bad way.”

“Good.” Yumi cracked her knuckles as she glanced at them. “If these guys are good with selling drugs to kids then I’m more than happy with kicking their asses.”

“Eager. At least she’s back to her old self.” Shade said and tilted his head back. “Give me a few hours. I might be able to get us a contact who knows where a dealer might be.”

“Good. Then I’m going to work on my mask.” Phase said going to pick up his mask. “Our system may have been hacked but the mask can still do basic things.”

“I’ll help.” Yumi said and they shared a look for a moment before nodding to one another. It felt good to have a goal again. To know what they were doing. Phase stole a glance toward Feint and frowned. He hoped that this worked. For all their sakes.