The Enhanceless and the Phantom

Chapter 30

Brielle scowled down at her silver bracelet and relived yesterday's failed attempt to bring back Emrin. She fiddled with the sticker she made that morning, one for Dawn's desk, hoping that would keep her quiet while others filmed their promos on the set; however, the importance of fighting for Emrin bypassed that.  She leaned forward in the stiff makeup chair. 

"Liam, you have to fix her," Brielle voiced as much resolve as she could muster under a whisper. The other contestants were filming their ten-second promos in the silent warehouse. She would be near the end since her last name was Xavier, but if Liam was forced to wait with her, she would make it worthwhile.

"Kiddo, she was designed right after Bolt took you so I can always find you and you would never be alone again. I'm sorry, but her programming was faulty since you tried to enter the Contest and she never reported it," Liam calmly responded, but Brielle imagined he sounded more annoyed.

"We don't need another ARCHER. Emrin never asked for anything, and you took away the one thing that she had. She can't—feel, anymore Liam," she pleaded. She rose from the makeup table to better face him.

"She never could feel, Kiddo. It's all coding that made her simulate emotions. More importantly, to undo what ARCHER and I fixed would risk damaging her more. I can't replicate the programming she had before since ARCHER has no memory of it and I'd rather not experiment on his daughter anymore. She is with you now and will function properly. I promise—she can't feel," Liam's end-of-the-matter tone silenced Brielle, but only for now. She huffed and leaned against a makeup table again to watch the rest of the promos. Liam stood silently by her side. She glanced at the other twenty-five Contestants mingling, laughing, and plotting while she stood protected by Liam. He would not have minded if she asked to join them, but they both knew her reception would not be pleasant. He also wouldn't leave her side for safety reasons so the best-case scenario would be everyone meeting Code with her being unnoticed. She would either be hated or invisible, just like in school. Also, she could see Senseless' jeering face from over here and rather not engage him today. She did smile at the memory of him claiming to make school hell, but she never returned because of her entry. Brielle straightenedto brush her stiff hair into a somewhat neater bunch. The hair tool rippedthrough her hair before she realized this was a bad idea. She wished she had asked Dawn to style her before.

Half an hour passed until Brielle heard her last name. She placed the brush next to the sticker on top of the makeup table before walking to the cameras. She was the last Contestant, which was a relief since no one would watch her film the promo. The same backdrop with the Council crest was used for every Contestant in their ten-minute introduction. She was halfway there before the sharp jingling of glass resounded beside her. Brielle jumped (and nearly swore) when Realm stepped through her portal.

"So sorry I'm late! Mountains of paperwork I had to do alone. I did not think it would be this dreadful without Phantom." Her beautiful face frowned. "Alright, Ms. Brielle, I'll put up the words of what you are going to say on this holoscreen. All you need to do is repeat them and smile!" Realm's expression glowed. Brielle meekly nodded before striding to the set. Cacophony rubbed his eyes.

"When I agreed to help with this, I believed it would be a more thought-provoking film. Not ten-second intros," Cacophony groaned to Liam. Brielle tried to ignore this as she sat on the stool in front of the largest camera. Realm set up the holoscreen behind the camera as Liam smiled at her. Brielle nervously glanced around the warehouse as Cacophony pressed several buttons on the camera. She saw Senseless and a few other Contestants lurking around the makeup tables. He walked away from them briefly to be seen by her. Brielle glowered as he politely waived.