C0NV3RG3 (Sequel to M3RG3)

Chapter 28

Saturday

"Do we have to jump off again?" Kyle whined. "Last time was bad enough. I don't want to 'break a leg'."

"Funny," I retorted. "We're not breaking legs today. Come on, it's not that bad."

He stared at the ground below, then back at me. "I think I'm sick," He moaned, clutching his stomach.

A neon blur caught our attention. The Warp hovered in midair, the doors sliding back to reveal a grinning Karen and a scowling Oliver.

"Come on guys!" She whispered. Two more seats popped up behind them.

Karen flicked another switch, and a board extended towards our balcony. Kyle stared at the board, then back at me.

"Don't make me regret this." He muttered.

"When did we ever force you to?" I smiled sweetly.

He let out another grumble but proceeded to take tiny steps on the board.

"Will you please hurry up?" Oliver growled. "We're short on time."

"Hey wait up!" I yelled back. "I haven't even stepped on the board yet!"

Kyle took a glance at Oliver's almost murderous stare and instantly paled. "Yeah, okay. I'll hurry up," he muttered.

The doors closed back up as soon as me and Kyle made ourselves comfortable. Karen's fingers hovered on the ignition. "So..." She started, motioning at Oliver awkwardly.

"You haven't done your test yet," Oliver stated bluntly. "And we can't count you into the team unless you do it."

"Okay," Kyle nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

"Let's make this challenging, shall we?" Oliver smirked. "I need you to round up supporters for the Revolution within the Republican headquarters."

No way. Jumping off a building was insane, but this was an entire level of deceit and manipulation altogether. My mouth gaped open, but Kyle's head was angled away from me, so he couldn't see my shock.

"Alright," he reluctantly agreed. "When do I need to get it done?"

"Next week," Oliver smirked. "Otherwise, you won't be an official Revolutionary."

"Woah, Oliver. He's already done a lot to prove his loyalty. Are you sure he needs to do this?" I intervened, but Oliver only turned his glare towards me.

"I still don't trust him," he said, his knuckles whitening on the handlebar.

"Is it just me, or does that guy hate my guts?" Kyle whispered to me behind Oliver.

"I have ears, Magnus." Oliver interrupted.

"It's-"

"Can you two shut up so we can get to the Wastelands?" When Kyle and Oliver actually stopped talking, Karen sent them a sweet smile. "Thank you."

The sickening sensation rolled in my stomach, and I gripped the handlebars to hold myself steady. Bile rose in the back of my throat, but I swallowed it down.

I almost stumbled when my feet hit the steady ground, but someone pulled me back up. Kyle's lips were fixed in a grim smile, his eyes darkening in concern.

"If I knew that you were airsick, we would've taken the locomotive." He said quietly, steadying me.

"Hey, Oliver! Karen!" Lydia greeted, juggling three black suits with her hands. "Arista and... who are you?"

"Kyle," Kyle replied, shaking her outstretched hand. "Infiltrate of the Republican Headquarters."

"I'm Lydia, a member of the Tech department." She tugged on her black-purple hair, the strands dyed neon purple this time. "Are you new here? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What do you do in the Headquarters?"

"She wasn't that friendly to me back then," I murmured.

"Give her a break. She's trying really hard to make a good impression. It's not every day we have cute boys joining our team." Karen nudged my hip suggestively.

"What-" I spluttered. "I mean- He's not- Kyle's not-"

"I think you mean Magnus." Karen winked at me, patting me on the back. Then, she saw my expression, and her look softened. "You still like him, don't you?"

"I don't- I mean-" I fumbled over my words. "He's different now. it's not like I can't stop other girls from dating him."

"Okay, so these suits should stretch to accommodate your size. Once the segments have scanned your body, they'll shrink to fit you perfectly." Lydia gestured to the two black gloves, socks and belt. Then, she unfurled the belt. Pixels of black flew over her body until she was completely covered in a thin layer of black fabric.

"The fabric is heat, water and kind of bulletproof. It's very breathable, flexible and conceals your identity completely. No pulling off hoods for anyone." She sent me a quick glance, then angled her chin towards Kyle. I averted my eyes. "Anyways, try them on."

The segments were a million steel threads forming a thick wire mesh. Apart from how they would occasionally scratch my palms when I pounded them against something hard, they were quite comfortable to wear.

Lydia pulled out a segment and a knife then repeatedly stabbed it. Not only did the knife fail to cut through the material, but the glove was completely unharmed, the surface still smooth and gleaming after Lydia's massacre. "As you can see, the knife can't get through it."

Then, she grabbed a fire torch and turned it on to high heat, pointing it at the glove. Ten seconds later, she switched it off, the glove in perfect condition. "You won't get burned either."

Lydia's voice was almost giddy, like a child anticipating her favourite candy. This was exactly what she loved, to create inventions, for people to use them.

"Cool," Oliver smiled, unlatching the buckle on his belt. Instantly, pixels of black unfurled from the segments, covering him in a seamless sheet of black. His face was also covered, a faceless shadow among dozens of other Revolutionaries.

"If you want to take it off, raise your hands together and hit your wrists together twice. The outfit will come off as quickly as it came on." Oliver raised his hands and clumsily smacked his wrists together twice. Instantly, the black colour washed away, returning to their allocated segments, leaving Oliver in his usual sports pants and shirt.

"Cool," Oliver grinned, doing a few kicks and punches to test out the material. With the gloves on, his punches made a dent on the concrete wall, although he winced afterwards and yanked off the glove. "You gotta do something about the material though. It's too hard on my skin."

"So," Kyle whispered in my ear. "Do you have a plan for getting Revolution supporters?"

"Do I look like someone that comes up with plans?" I snorted.

"I guess we could ask Rebecca for help since she's an infiltrate," Kyle grunted as something hit him in the face. The gloves and socks dropped to the ground next to him. Oliver nonchalantly bent down to tie his shoelaces.

"Not cool," He muttered, picking them up.

"I'll talk to him later." I unbuckled the clasp, the fabric climbing over me. As I did a few stretches, the fabric stretched and pulled comfortably, even when I attempted a split.

"Are you guys coming or not?" Karen hooted, tugging on her belt. "Last one to reach that wall has to do 20 push-ups!"

"Coming!" I yelled back, sending a smile towards Kyle, even though he couldn't see it under the mask. "I'm sure they'll be nice."

"Yeah," he replied sarcastically. "Sure."

Next update: 26th July