(2) The Invincibles: Justice and Revenge

Chapter 2: "Normal" is in the eye of the beholder

A/N Yes, it's been forever. uber sorry. got a new job with like literally no free time....  you can waste time hating or you can get right to reading!  :D

CHAPTER 2 

1 hour, $30 and many obnoxious burping contests later, I'm finally feeling relaxed. Logan wraps his arm around me and I lean back into his strong chest. Stella is doing her best to clean up the mess we've made; empty wrappers, cups and fry containers scattered across the table. From anywhere in this room we're probably pretty normal. Sometimes it even feels like we are. But then I remember where we were this time last year; locked in a titanium cell hundreds of feet below the surface, waiting to be poked, prodded and sliced for the sake of science. It's only been a year but so much has happened. My boyfriend, Logan and I somehow made it through senior year and got the diploma that, now, I don't think we'll ever need. My brother, Zeke and Stella's brother, Luke still have two long years of school left but luckily, Stella only has one. If we ever make it back to school. This summer is flying by, and we've only taken down three of NIMCB's various branches across the US. Tonight was a bust, which means we have to go back. The others don't seem to be concerned by this, and I decide to let them enjoy it.

"Ember, stop stressing." Zeke tells me, and I send him a quizzical look. "Your face is doing that thing it does when you're stressed!"

"What thing?" I say defensively, running my fingers across my face.

"This!" Zeke smirks, and proceeds to make a face that looks like he's constipated.

"Right..." I chuckle, shaking my head. Logan pulls back a bit and looks down at me.

"Hey," He says, "Don't sweat it; we'll get 'em."

"Yeah, we always do." Stella shrugs, shoving as much trash as she can into the bin next to us. She slides back into the booth beside Zane and leans forward. "Just cause we weren't prepared for rat-kids doesn't mean it's a total failure."

"I think they were racoons," I point out, shuddering at the thought of their beady little eyes. "But either way, we haven't had to make a second trip before. They'll probably up their security."

"So we up our game." Zane says cooly, "I don't think they'll expect us back so soon."

"Just relax, babe." Logan squeezes my shoulders and plants a kiss on my cheek, forcing me to relax at least a little. Then the fatigue sets in.

"We're not taking anyone out running on 3 hours of sleep." I point out, "What time is it anyway?"

"A little past 3... in the morning." Luke sighs. "We should head out."

On the way back to the motel I can't help but miss my own bed. We've been on the road for over a month now and, as good as it feels to do what we're doing, the homesickness still kicks in now and again. It doesn't help that my parents don't know what's going on. We told the partial truth, that the six of us were taking a road trip cross country, and that we might "look into" some of the institutes to see if all of them were as bad as the one in Arizona. They are. But our parents don't need to know that just yet. Just like they don't need to know that the last 3 we visited just happened to blow up. The best part is we don't even have to worry about a cover story, NIMCB takes care of that for us. Guess they don't want the cops looking into their research. Fine by me, a gas leak is a lot faster than a law suit, and probably cheaper.

"I need to stop at an ATM," Logan informs us, pulling into a dark driveway, "I'm almost out of cash." The only light was the street lamp across the street and it gives me goosebumps. We drive around to the back of the little building and up to a lonely little machine with faintly glowing buttons. After Logan's father had, well, passed away... The Company left Logan a honkin amount of dough. We're talking six digits here. It's basically been paying our way across the country, which is ironic if you think about it. Logan pulls out his wallet and slides a card into the machine. We all sit quietly in the dark for a moment before the ATM buzzes and starts spitting out cash. Logan counts it quickly and is about to take off when the little black and white screen above the machine crackles to life. It's fuzzy at first, then the static focuses in on a young girl messing with the camera, trying to center it.

"Crystal?" Luke gasps, rolling his back seat window down to see better.

"Hey!" She grins, leaning towards the screen. "Where have you guys been? I tried calling you and I've been tracking you all night." I check my phone--no signal. I chuckle at the thought of Crystal watching the little blip on her screen going 80 in a 35 zone. Zane has spent this last year teaching, training and preparing Crystal for computer duties. She doesn't like violence and we need somebody on the outside looking out for us. She is our eyes and ears and, if anything happens to us, our voice. The equipment Zane hooked her up with does most of the work, and Crystal had caught on fast so, she can pretty much hack into anything at this point. With her help, we've been able to get information about NIMCB that's inaccessible to the public. We've peeked into their security systems and remained virtually undetectable up until now. Crystal is like a love child between Jack Frost and Felicity Smoak.

"What's up Crys?" Stella pushes her way through Luke and Zeke to get a better look at the screen."You didn't hack into a bank cam just to say hi." Crystal gets serious, running her hands through her freshly cut hair. The new pixie cut fits her petite face and pale skin.

"After you guys took off, I kept an eye on the place." Crystal says excitedly, "You'll never guess who made an appearance once things quieted down!"

"Who?" I prod, flipping my hair out of my face. Crystal waits for a second, then leans into the camera for effect. "...Floyd Nelson."