Now that Ashton had decided to investigate both Amber Gale and the very company he worked for, he realized he had no idea where to start. It had already been a day since Derrick had signed the paperwork, and it would be another before he would officially move in. Time felt like it was dragging out ever since he had made the decision to suspend Summer. He missed her, but that was no excuse to drag her back into danger.

  Instead, Ashton forced himself to focus on the task at hand. He needed to speak to Harper about Derrick's training. While he was at it, he could try to find some answers about the true purpose of his current employment. He might be able to bring it up naturally if he asked for an update about Phobia.

  Harper was available to meet him right away, and she started on the subject of Derrick’s training before Ashton had a chance to. She must have been planning things out since she heard he would be joining the team.

  “Derrick McNeil, otherwise known as RepliKtion, has the ability to copy items. He has already trained himself to the point that he can copy items that he is familiar with even if they are not in front of him,” Harper recited, “Just how did you recruit a talent of his level?”

  “I didn’t,” Ashton admitted, “I guess you could say we are old coworkers. He recognized me, and he wanted out of his current situation.”

  “A familiar face with questionable loyalty,” she noted, “How can you be sure he won’t abandon your team in a crisis?”

  “We have a common goal, and I know he isn’t one to back down from a challenge,” Ashton replied confidently, “I told him the truth. He wanted to take revenge on the one who took down SI, and we need to hunt down MysteriousMaskz.”

  Harper gave an approving nod. “What Derrick needs isn’t training with his power itself. It is finding his place in the team. He cannot prepare the correct items for his arsenal if he doesn’t know what he is preparing for. You could have him support, replicating items such as headsets and other useful items. He could host a supply of emergency defense gear. If you were a combat team I would set him up with a weapon like a gun. He would easily be able to maintain an endless supply of bullets.”

  As she spoke it was really starting to sink in just how powerful his new teammate was. There was no way Heroix had overlooked this. Why had they mocked him by making him play a clown on a stage? It didn’t make any sense, unless it was some convoluted power play against the fallen SI. Was Heroix really that insecure? Maybe it was part of some twisted brainwashing scheme to make Derrick doubt his own self worth.

  “His place on the team,” Ashton repeated, forcing himself to focus on the topic at hand.

  Even he had to admit that the way things were now, his team was a mess. Other than him, no one really had a specific role. Summer tended to try to charge in, and she was better at dealing with people. The twins had taken to more scouting based roles, and Kayla just stuck by Summer. None of these positions were permanent. They just happened to be how things played out. Ashton couldn’t afford to keep wasting their talents like this. He was certain that Derrick would not stand for it.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Do you have any suggestions?” he finally asked.

  “For now, I think it would be wise to have him focus on uniforms and first aid supplies,” Harper told him, “It might be good to have a disguise for each of your team members as a backup. The only thing he cannot copy is the serum in any of its forms.”

  “Untouchable?” Ashton clarified, “Why not?”

  “The main theory behind his power is that he takes part of something in order to be able to replicate it later. If he does the same with the serum, he could lose his power forever with no guarantee even the antidote will work,” Harper explained.

  Another thing Ashton hadn’t even considered. Even if that wasn’t how things actually worked, it wasn’t worth the risk. “I wasn’t thinking of copying it anyway,” Ashton said, “Gale Research spent a lot of time and effort on this serum so it would be wrong to make copies haphazardly.”

  “If it was without the risks, I am sure Ms. Gale wouldn’t mind. The main ingredient for all of the serums is something only she knows and only she can harvest,” Harper said, “That is what has enabled her to have the monopoly on the serum in the first place.”

  For a moment Ashton thought Harper had let slip a big secret, but once she mentioned monopoly his thoughts changed. If this had given her a monopoly, that meant plenty of others knew this fact already. Unfortunately, this information only brought another concern to mind. He had never wondered about the recipe for the power suppression formula before. Perhaps he thought it had nothing to do with him, or he was desperate enough to be rid of his power that it didn’t matter. Now though, something about this secret ingredient bothered him.

  “Thank you for your advice,” Ashton told Harper, “I will take some time to think on Derrick’s position, as well as everyone else's. In the meantime he can focus on learning about our essential equipment.”

  Whether Harper suspected anything or not, she only watched in silence as Ashton left the room. Now that things had settled a bit, Ashton couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely. It was wrong for him to miss Summer when he was the one who had chased her away. He still wasn’t confident he could face her without guilt.

  None of his misgivings were enough to stop him from reaching for his phone and dialing her number. When was the last time he called her? Since they spent so much time together they had mostly relied on messages in the short times they were apart.

  “Ashton?” Summer answered, her confused voice already breaking through his remaining tension, “What’s up?”

  “I just wanted to talk to you,” Ashton admitted.

  “I’ve only been on vacation for a couple of days,” Summer joked, “Already feeling lonely?”

  Vacation? She did seem a lot more cheerful than before. Maybe he should also consider this a vacation and hope it helped her relax. “A lot has happened,” he told her, “Things may have changed a bit when you return.”

  “Really? Me too. I got stalked by this crazy reporter and met a fan who gave me a lava lamp,” Summer replied.

  Something about the way she brought up the fan sounded a bit off, so Ashton pursued the topic. “You met a fan? Where?”

  There was a pause. “About that… You won’t believe where I am right now.”