As Ashton sat down in front of the computer, he wondered how Maskz would be able to tell if he truly was the one to open the folder that claimed to be for his eyes only. What would stop others from looking even if he did? Based on the bomb situation from earlier, the threat of death was very real if things didn’t go his way. Just in case, he had the others step away before he clicked on the folder bearing his villain name.

  The folder immediately began to load. The computer screen was completely taken over by some sort of slide show, hiding even the mouse so he could not interact with anything.

  “Welcome Shadow Phoenix,” the first screen read. It flipped to a different message as soon as he finished reading. “Because you refuse to comply through normal means, I have to resort to full spoilers instead of little hints as I planned. Well, spoilers might not be accurate since you probably won’t read this until it is too late.”

  The rambling message disappeared and was replaced by a blank white screen for several seconds. Then a sentence slowly appeared in stark black letters on the glowing white screen. “Introducing the Jargon Initiative.”

  Ashton glanced up to see that the others were still keeping their distance. Distance or not, the font was so large they could read it with ease anyway. One of the research team had already begun to take notes. He couldn’t stop now even if he wanted to. MysteriousMaskz was in complete control of the computer.

  “Jargon is the perfect stepping stone for your growth, and exactly the kind of person you dislike,” the next slide read, “He is a law major who had everything handed to him on a silver platter. His contracts are binding far more than the law ever could be, and he even took the chance to create his own army of superhumans when SI fell. Why am I telling you all of this? Because by now he will have fallen right into my little scheme. I made a bet with Jargon, and you need to make sure I win.”

  The white background suddenly flashed to an ominous red, as if to warn him that there would be consequences should he refuse to play along. Ashton didn’t have to ask what the consequences would be. Maskz had already made his threat to Summer quite clear. However, that didn’t mean Ashton intended to let Ned maintain complete control over the situation either.

  “Of course I won’t ask you to do the impossible,” the words continued, the background still ominous and red, “I support you more than anyone else. All I want is to help you create the perfect world, so just worry about accepting my gift for you.”

  “Is he going to tell us about the mass messaging?” Jared wondered aloud, “Or is he just wasting our time?”

  The next message to appear made it perfectly clear MysteriousMaskz could hear them and this was more of a conversation than a presentation he had left behind. “Wasting time? Perhaps your, but I would never waste Shadow Phoenix’s time. What you call the mass messaging has everything to do with the bet I made with Jargon. The rules are simple. Can I help you catch him before he turns you into his puppet?”

  The bet was about him? That meant that because of this madman, Ashton was once again the target of a powerful criminal. Just like last time, he was part of the game whether he liked it or not. If that was the case, perhaps he should just give in and use whatever help MysteriousMaskz offered him. No, he knew better than that. That would only be giving him exactly what he wanted. On the other hand, he couldn’t reject it completely and risk everyone’s safety.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “How will you help me?” he asked. It was easier to ask now that he knew Ned was listening.

  “I will give you information,” the next message read, the background of the screen fading from red back to white, “This time I will only give you one piece. If you want more, do not block my number again when I contact you.”

  The printer across the room suddenly began to click and whirr as it began its printing sequence. A single page was printed out and everything went silent. Ashton turned back to the screen to see it had started glitching and was completely unresponsive. Whatever strange form of communication he had with MysteriousMaskz was over. That left whatever had been printed on that paper.

  “It appears to be some sort of cause and effect graph,” the researcher who had been taking notes announced when he picked up the paper from the printer, “It details the possible responses to the message and what happens with each one.”

  “Things happen for more than one answer?” Ashton asked as he approached to take a look himself. He was a little surprised no one objected even a little to him looking over what was surely dangerous and classified information. Then again, they were all looking at it.

  “The worst one seems to be for anyone who replied with their name,” Jared noted, “It gives Jargon the ability to apply their signature to a contract of his choosing.”

  Ashton had to agree, but the other options were all pretty scary. Replying with a yes or another affirmative would compel the replier to sign the next contract they came across. A no or any form of refusal would prevent them from signing whatever their next contract was. Replying with maybe would give Jargon just enough power to influence their next choice of contract in whichever direction suited him.

  Then there were the scarier options, such as replying with someone else’s name. While not as powerful as someone replying with their own name, the fraudulent name did allow him to produce a fake signature on a contract. However, that contract would not be subject to Jargon’s ability and would only be an ordinary contract. Giving multiple answers would cause every single effect to each answer given in the order that each answer was replied.

  Luckily, it seemed that not replying at all was perfectly safe, and the only real way to avoid the trap Jargon had set. What bothered Ashton the most was that this trap had most likely been created with the intent to target him. He also never had the chance to ask about Checkmate’s role in all of this. He could avoid contracts, but it would be a lot harder to avoid the fallen hero’s power.

  In the meantime, it seemed a public safety announcement had been issued to warn people against these dangerous messages. It would only help if people actually listened to it, but something was better than nothing. Ashton was given the chess piece that was approved to be harmless, and sent back. Summer was waiting for him when he returned.

  “I saved some leftovers for you, and I have that sheet,” Summer greeted. She seemed tired, and a bit stressed. No matter how much he was being singled out as a target, this particular scheme affected everyone.

  “Thanks,” Ashton replied, “Is it alright if I pick them up tomorrow? We should all get some sleep.”

  “Of course,” she replied, “You make sure to get plenty of rest as well.”

  The simple interaction felt a bit odd after everything that had happened that day, but Ashton dismissed it and headed inside. He was exhausted. Whatever he would do, he could think about it in the morning.