Somewhere in the United Kingdom
Splashhhh!
Cold water was splashed onto Palmer Lake's face.
The middle-aged man jolted awake, blinking rapidly as he realized he was tied to a chair in an unknown location. His mouth had been sealed with duct tape.
The surroundings looked like an abandoned barn. Definitely not the kind of place anyone should be—but the kind best suited for getting beaten to a pulp.
As he looked around, he saw Syd Barrett, Jody Johansson, and Seraphina Gilmore standing in front of him.
"..."
Knowing he couldn't do anything in his current state, Palmer chose to sit in silence. Best to wait for them to make the first move.
"You slipped out through the trunk access, didn't you? You little bastard…"
Syd began.
"Turned your body all stretchy, huh? Didn't expect you to be a power-user yourself…"
He started pacing in a slow circle around Palmer. Unlike Collin and Peter, Palmer was a public figure—always in the spotlight.
"That yellow pill... It's because of that, isn't it? The one you claimed was for heartburn?"
"..."
"No answer, huh? So you're gonna play silent treatment now? Or maybe planning another escape? Fine by me. I'll just have to prepare for that too."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sera pulled out a new pink lighter (the old one was destroyed back in Chapter 3) and lit a bundle of papers.
The moment the fire caught, she tossed it to the ground. Flames burst up, forming a circle that enclosed Syd and Palmer within it.
"You know something, Palmer…"
Syd leaned down to look him in the eye.
"Your body right now has the properties of gelatin… And do you know what the melting point of gelatin is? Just 50°C. That's enough to melt you into a puddle."
!?!!
Palmer's eyes widened in horror.
"Now look at this fire… It's easily over 100°C. So if you don't want to answer my questions, that's fine. Just know you'll end up a steaming mess if I leave you here."
Even before Syd could finish the sentence, Palmer's legs began to melt, turning into goo. The smell of burning flesh filled the air and began climbing upward.
"Mmfff!! MMMFF!!"
The man thrashed violently in agony. He'd never considered this side effect... and now he understood—Syd was not some low-level thug.
Syd could sense the terror in Palmer, and that alone brought a wicked grin to his face.
"...That's the look I wanted to see."
"MMMMF!! MMMFHH!!"
"If I pull this tape off and you spit at me or start spewing bullshit, you're going in the fire. Clear?"
Syd ripped the tape off Palmer's mouth.
"Haa… haa…"
The purple-haired man was still wheezing. Likely from the injuries—three broken ribs from getting hit by a car.
"..."
Palmer looked up at Syd as if silently asking, 'Who the hell are you?'
Syd didn't respond. Instead, he pulled out the familiar spiral triangle insignia from his pocket—the same one he had shown to Father Peter and Principal Collins.
Palmer's eyes widened in horror. His gaze began to tremble, and his whole body followed.
"N-No way… T-Thrak knows about this already…?! Y-You… You're with Thrak?!"
He was in shock. It was beyond anything he had expected.
"So now you understand what happened to Peter and Collins?"
"..."
Palmer didn't answer, but his entire body was trembling in fear.
"The church… the school… the news that just broke—none of it was random. It was all orchestrated. And the next one… is. you."
Syd tapped Palmer on the cheek.
"Unless… you tell me. About the disk. About Peter. About the maps Collins had. And that drug… You might survive this if you tell me what you're really up to."
"..."
Palmer was drenched in sweat now. He couldn't even bring himself to make eye contact.
"Where did you get the drug?"
"I-I was just a customer! I swear! That pill—I bought it from a middleman!"
"Who was the middleman?"
"I-I never got her real name! She called herself Betty Moretz! She told me it would let normal people use powers! So I bought it—I swear!"
"Tell me everything you know about that drug."
"She said it was a power-activation pill. The type of power would be random—it couldn't be predicted. And if the person was too weak, they'd die from the side effects! That's all she told me!"
Palmer screamed until Syd's throat hurt just hearing it.
"You're telling me there's power-enhancing drugs circulating in the black market now?"
"Yes! B-But it's only known to insiders! She only sold it to me because I was in the first batch!"
"Where can I find her?"
"I-I don't know where she is! But I met her at 3-5 Rathbone Pl, Fitzrovia! It's a pub!"
A pub, huh…
"Give me whatever pills you still have."
"I don't have any! I swear!"
Syd tilted Palmer's chair backward so that the fire underneath licked closer to his legs.
"AAAHHHHH!!! I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE! SHE ONLY SELLS ONE PER PERSON!"
"Next question: the maps and symbols. What are they?"
"She gave those to me too! She said if I could decode them, they'd lead to a secret meeting point of her group—the one opposing yours!"
"Oh? So they're a resistance?"
"Yes! But I haven't figured out the code yet!"
Palmer gritted his teeth and fought the pain—his body was melting up to his knees, and it felt like hot irons were being pressed against him. His vision was starting to blur from the heat and lack of oxygen.
"And the disk… What is it?"
"I don't know! She hired me as a middleman! I don't know what it is!"
Syd lowered Palmer's chair even closer to the fire—his face now less than three centimeters from the flame.
"Then why didn't she keep it herself? And why did you hand it off to the priest?"
"AAAHHH!!! I DON'T KNOW! She didn't say! But she paid me a ridiculous amount! So I figured it must be important! That's why I gave it to the priest—to hold it until she came back to get it! I swear that's all I know! Please don't kill me! I've told you everything!"
So that's what happened… Syd started piecing the puzzle together in his head. The disk must've been something Betty was smuggling, pretending it was just another shady item. She hired Palmer thinking he wouldn't realize its importance—but he caught on and passed it off to Peter to avoid getting burned.
Palmer hadn't refused the job because of morality—just because he wanted to keep himself safe while taking the money.
"Alright… I'm done with you."
The flames around them had died down, the fuel burned out.
"So that means… I'm safe now? You're letting me go?"
"Yeah… you're safe. From me. Can't say the same for them."
Syd pointed behind Palmer.
Standing there was the same cleanup team from the school—when they took Principal Collins away.
"Wait! You! Where are you taking me?!"
The agents lifted Palmer by his arms—and in an instant, the three of them teleported out.
Jody and Sera stood frozen in awe.
"Those cleanup guys… They don't get called that for nothing."
"They can teleport?" Jody asked.
"Yeah. Everyone's powers get assigned to match their role."
"…What kind of system is your organization even running?" Sera muttered.
"Not telling."
8:00 PM — Syd Barrett's Home
After burning Palmer's Audi, Syd was now on the phone with someone. He closed his door and looked out the window.
Even at 8 PM, the sky in England was still light...
(This conversation is in Thai.)
{Bro, we've got the target in custody. And it looks like he wasn't lying. Betty Moretz is just an alias—there's no record of her in any database.}
"So we'll have to check the location he gave us… Damn it. I've got a feeling we're about to step into a whole web of their network. A massive tangled mess."
Just thinking about it gave him a headache…
{Yeah. And that's why I needed to tell you this—}
"…What is it?"
{Your mission has been updated. Because of this new info about the power-enhancing drug… HQ's officially reclassified your task. It's no longer a solo mission anymore.}
"..."
Syd went silent. He closed his eyes, accepting the change before asking his next question:
"Then… who are they sending? And how many?"
"Me , Electrix ,and X."
Syd's previously stiff expression lit up immediately the moment he heard those names—like he'd just won the lottery.
"No way! Are you serious?!"
{...}
The girl on the other end of the line could practically feel the electric joy bursting out of her brother.
{You sound way too happy about this...}
"If you're messing with me, I swear I'm gonna be pissed."
{If you say stuff like that, I'll just fly over there and fight you... HQ assessed everything—our team's skillset fits this job best.}
"...What about Big Black?"
{...He's not coming. His ability's not suited for stealth—you know that. He's built for demolition. Like you used to be...}
"..."
"...Where are you now?"
{On the plane, heading to you.}
"Oh? Fast as ever."
{We should be arriving by tomorrow morning.}
"Wait, hang on... that means those two assholes are with you right now, huh?"
{Yeah. But I didn't turn on speaker—they're both asleep next to me.}
"...Ah... I see..."
Then, something occurred to Syd.
"Wait a sec… are you sure you're okay with this? Working on the same mission with X? It could be a long op..."
{I'm professional enough.}
"...Alright. In that case—can I talk to those idiots? You too. Put me on speaker. We need to sync up."
{They're asleep.}
"So what? Kick 'em till they wake up."
{...Okay.}
Syd then heard thudding noises through the call, followed by a crash—someone falling off a chair, apparently.
(This part of the call is in English)
{Oi! What the hell, man?!}
{Get up. Syd wants to talk.}
"Put me on video."
Beep.
Syd stared into the screen. He set the phone down on the table and looked at the group on the other end.
"Okay. No jokes. This is serious."
He stepped away from the table and looked out the window cautiously, double-checking to make sure no one else but the people on the video call could hear what was coming.
"You all got the dossier on those two, right?"
{Yeah. Read it all. One of them's American, right? Heard she's got crazy sharp hearing. No wonder you're on edge.}
One of the guys on the call responded.
"Yeah... I'm on a different floor and the door's closed. Still not risking it."
Syd turned back to face the screen.
"Remember—when you meet them, I'm just an agent. I don't have powers. All I've got is martial arts. Got it?"
{...}
{You sure about this?}
"...Yeah."
{They're not idiots, you know. You really think you can pull that off?}
"Absolutely."
{...Alright then. Got it.}
Beep.
Call ended.
Syd pocketed the phone, scratched his head, and opened the door to step out.
In the living room, Jody and Sera were lounging on the sofa, watching something online on TV. Jody sat with her arms crossed. Sera was casually snacking on Walkers crisps.
Jody was the first to notice him. The moment she saw his face, she knew something was up.
"...What is it, Syd?"
"...Our mission's had a slight change."
"...What kind of change?" Sera asked mid-chew.
"Tomorrow, we're getting a support team. In other words—others will be joining us."
"?!"
Both girls perked up at the news.
"...A team? How many people?"
"Two guys. And one girl—my sister."
"Oh yeah... you do have a sister. I saw her online somewhere... Roxxy Barrett, right?"
"Right."
"Your real sister?"
"Born and raised under the same roof."
"And your whole team—they all have powers?"
Jody asked.
"Yeah. Every one of them."
"Really? What kind of powers?"
"You'll see soon enough. They should be here by tomorrow morning."