Wraith

Tycoon Chapter One

Author's Note

In this, the third story in the arc, Wraith must identify and defeat the mastermind behind Magnoss if she is ever to keep Megalopolis and her friends safe. But as rifts grow between her and the rest of the Users, she is left wondering just how much is that friendship worth.

Chapter One

Despite her best intentions Olive didn't actually go to see either Snake in Warbeck or the Captain the day after her fight with Magnoss. She knew that she needed to tell the Captain about the Abuser's boss, and for her own satisfaction she wanted to be certain that Snake was still imprisoned but when she woke up it was to a debilitating headache, sore bones and as miserable a bout of the flu as she had ever experienced. It took her a couple of days to get past the worst of it and then, just when she was starting to feel more like her old self, her Dad came down with the same thing.

It was much worse for Volcano than it had been for her and Olive found herself nursing him day and night. She only let herself drop from exhaustion when Flayme turned up at evening on the second day and shooed her away to bed with a promise to look after him. When Olive woke again the light levels in her room told her that it was still evening and she wondered for a moment if she had slept at all. She no longer felt the bone-dragging weariness that had sent her to bed however, so she got back up and headed downstairs.

Flayme was still there, but the eyes behind her mask looked unutterably fatigued and the hennaed hair was showing blonde roots. Yet she somehow mustered up a smile for Olive. "He's through the worst of it I think. His fever broke about an hour ago and he's just started to keep liquids down. I'm going to go have a nap on the couch, but I want you to promise to wake me if his temperature goes back up."

"Are you sure?" Olive protested. "You let me sleep for as long as I needed; shouldn't I do the same for you?"

Flayme half-laughed although there was a strident edge to it. "I wish you could. A full twenty-four hours sounds heavenly right about now. But no, it's too dangerous." She interpreted the confusion on Olive's face and sighed heavily. "This is talent flu. It doesn't affect just the talented – I know that you've had it; but it plays havoc with our talents. I only had a mild bout which is why I've recovered enough to come and play nurse, and I didn't feel any effects on my talent other than a certain sluggishness. Siren however was heard all over the city last night before Donner managed to use his sonics to dampen the effect of her talent. I'm not sure how you managed to sleep through it." She shook her head.

"So, if Dad's temperature rises?" Olive asked slowly.

"Wake me at once. It probably means his talent is triggering. I'll get you to safety and then see what I can do. My talent isn't as strong as his, but I'm one of the few people in the city who can mitigate its effects." She started to head down the stairs and added in a voice low enough that Olive wasn't sure she was meant to hear it. "That's why I came over here as soon as I realized we had an epidemic."

"Wait," Olive said quickly. "My bed is closer, and it's more comfortable. Why don't you sleep there?"

Flayme nodded, too tired to argue and turned once more to head into the empty room. "Thanks." She was asleep before her head touched the pillow.

At first Olive was preoccupied with seeing to the comfort of both Users and with constantly checking her Dad's temperature. Then she made herself the first decent meal she had had in days. But as the night wore on she began to fret. Flayme's choice of words had felt ominous to her. "Epidemic," she muttered softly. "And she came as soon as she realized – she wasn't sent. Which means that there was no one to send her. So there is no one in charge." Donner is alright if he was able to use his talent on to mitigate Siren's last night. But what about Tuttle? What about Pordas and Pictsey? What about the Captain?