Defining Factors

Chapter 3: The Power of Four...Plus One

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You know, y'all weren't supposed to have this fic until I had more chapters prepared. You're spoiled.

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Warnings: I honestly can't remember. What happens in this chapter, someone tell me.

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The answer to that question was tomorrow morning. Everyone was exhausted. Kinloch from having to heal three people and everyone from battling someone earlier that apparently controlled metal. She got away. Burr decided that they broke even seeing as they found Kinloch. Laurens made an effort to make him feel like part of the group, always including him into conversations and inviting him to join the circle around the campfire for dinner. Kinloch listened as they revised battle tactics to include Kinloch and focus on metal girl's weaknesses, which would pretty much be Thomas. If Thomas hadn't been ambushed and knocked out of the game early on, it might have gone a lot differently. He could easily just channel and bunch of electricity through the girl's metal and take her out, but instead, he'd been dead weight and Burr had to go defensive.

With a new plan in place, the group turned to more enjoyable things to talk about, like their teams score on the leaderboard back at HQ. which was apparently near the top but not number one. A guy called Lafayette held that spot along with a Washington, a Charles Lee, and a Benjamin Tallmadge. Kinloch thought it was kinda cool that they could have a little fun while making sure that no powered people asserted their power to put down normal people. It took your mind off the battles a little bit, and from the sound of them, they were intense.

Kinloch knew he needn't worry. His new friends were with him, all would turn out well. They just hunted down people like themselves and made them feel welcome. "Hey," Kinloch interrupted the conversation suddenly, "what do you guys know about a teleporter?"

"Teleporter?" Alex questioned. "Never ran into one. Nor heard any rumors. But we know there's one out there."

"Why do you ask?" Burr asked, suddenly much more invested in the conversation.

"I met one a few months back. Left me stranded in the desert. I was wondering if he was one of you. Or if you knew anything."

"Not one of us," Burr answered. "You say you met him? Can you give any details? Patterns? A name?"

"His name was James. Dressed in all black, a long cloak thing with a hood. Gloves. Dark skin, short hair, seems to travel a lot. Sounded like he was on the run. I think he stole some Advil from a Walmart."

Jefferson snorted but Burr continued. "Each of our teams are tasked to hunt down one particular person while taking care if any we happen to run into. Washington's group actively hunts a Traveller, they can jump through time. Our group hunts a teleporter. Description is just like that. Didn't know the name though."

Jefferson cut in. "And all the groups are hunting a necromancer. Kinda like a big boss or something."

"We've gotten close once. Then the bastard raised a small army of the dead and got away."

Burr pulled them back onto the subject of the teleporter. "The teleporter is our main mission guys, focus. You said his name was James and he left you in the desert? Did he say where he was going next?"

"No. But I know he's been to Egypt, South Carolina, Switzerland, and France."

"How do you know that?" Jefferson's asked.

"I kept running into him. When I finally met him, it was in South Carolina and he dumped me in the desert and disappeared. He seems to go for large cities"