Hullo, everyone! Today I bring you the second chapter of Lightporter, which means we only have one week left until the release tour starts! I can’t wait! If you’re new, you should definitely read Twinepathy first, or you can just try out the second book. Click here to read the first chapter of Lightporter. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and don’t forget to comment your theories and ideas below!
The alley fades away and we appear in IDIA headquarters, in one of the big black circles that I learned are teleporting rings—places for teleporters to safely teleport to without worrying about people. No one’s supposed to walk in them, and no one does. After dropping us off, Blaze immediately disappears, leaving us there with barely a nod.
“This is so weird,” I say, frowning at the spot where Blaze was. “Let’s get to Data’s office so we can figure out what’s going on.”
The teleportation rings are on the opposite side of the huge lobby of IDIA from Jen’s office, so it would be a long trek—that is, if we had to walk. But Maddie’s here, so we don’t have to. She’s been working on her powers with another telekinetic, Push, and her powers have strengthened a lot. She just learned how to fly recently, and while I’m still nervous, I trust her. Mostly. I do wish I had some way to hold onto the ground, just in case. Flying still feels unnatural.
Maddie uses her telekinesis powers to push herself off the ground, then pulls us up behind her. A moment later, we’re hurtling across the lobby, near the high ceiling—which Jen told me was made specifically for flying to be possible. It doesn’t take us long to reach the other side, and I’m very glad to be back on the ground. I barely wait for Brooklyn and Maddie before heading over to Jen’s office door.
The desk outside the office where Com used to sit before he betrayed us is empty. Jen said she might look for a replacement, but it’s been three months since the end of that whole fiasco, and she still hasn’t gotten one. My guess is she doesn’t want to go through that whole thing again, but who knows. If there’s one person I’ll never be able to understand, it’s Jen.
And apparently Blaze.
I knock on Jen’s office door and hear her call for us to come in. She looks up as we enter and smiles. “Good, I’m glad you made it.” She motions to three chairs in front of her desk. “Have a seat, please. This’ll be quick.”
“And clear, I hope,” I comment, sitting down in one of the chairs. “What’s wrong with Blaze?”
Jen’s expression turns solemn, and she nods. “You noticed, then.”
“It was kind of hard not to,” Brooklyn admits. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Jen says. “That’s why I wanted you three to come here. Blaze has been acting very odd for the past three days. He’s been quiet, snappish, and the opposite of his usual cheerful self. I’ve known him for years, and he’s only been like this twice. But he also won’t open up to me at all, so I know he’s hiding something.”
“And you want us to figure out what that something is?” I ask with a frown.
“Yes and no.” Jen leans forward. “I don’t want to endanger any of you, and I don’t want to make Blaze suspicious, either. I just want all of you to keep your eyes and ears open, and if you hear even a hint as to what’s bugging him, let me know.”
“Can I ask him what’s going on?” I ask.
Jen nods. “Just don’t mention me or make him suspicious.”
“Okay.” I frown. “You said there were two other times when Blaze acted like this. What were they?”
Jen studies me with a frown of her own. “One is classified, the other involves Blaze’s own personal life, and I’m not at liberty to share about that. I can tell you that in both of those situations, Blaze was willing to talk to me. Only one of them was a serious situation, and it was one I already knew about. So I can only conclude that his unwillingness to talk means it’s something I wouldn’t like.”
I’m thoroughly confused, but I’ve come to expect vagueness from Jen. “Okay…”
Jen glances at her watch. “We need to get to the meeting. Be careful, all of you, especially Albany.” She gives me a warning look. “I don’t know what Blaze is up to, and I don’t like to think that he’d harm any of you, but I still want you to be careful.” With that final warning, she stands up and motions to the door. “We’re in room four.”
The three of us follow Jen down the hallway, more solemn than we were before. Whatever’s going on with Blaze is not good, with a capital everything. I can’t help musing over it in my mind. What if Blaze has started working for FOE, the mysterious villainous agency that Com was working for? Not likely, but possible. I don’t know anything about his history or his family, not even his real name, so who knows what could be going on. Maybe his family has worked for them for years or something. But even then, I can’t imagine Blaze working for the bad guys. Maybe something’s wrong in his non-superhero life.
We reach the meeting room and go inside. No one else is in it when we enter, but Jen motions for us to sit. “Blaze is bringing Push,” she tells us.
We don’t have to wait long. Blaze and Push come in only a minute or two after we get settled. They take their places at the table quickly, and Jen begins to debrief us.
“As most of you know, Com betrayed us because he was working for an organization—or maybe an agency—named FOE. He told us he was hired by someone, and that was the only person from the agency he ever met. After his capture, I read him.” She flexes her hands absentmindedly and her expression darkens a little. “I know what his contact looks like. Unfortunately, there’s a very great possibility that his appearance was a disguise. But through their conversation, I was able to pick up a few clues as to where he was holed up—a hotel in Chicago.”
“You think he’s still there?” I ask doubtfully.
Jen shakes her head. “Most likely not. But this hotel keeps a backlog of guests, so we can figure out how long the man was staying there. If he’s still there, in the hotel, I want all of you to carefully investigate. If he’s not, see if there’s any way you can check the room he was staying in. He might have left something behind that could give us a clue. Either way, Blaze, I want you to keep everyone invisible the entire time. Pop, you will be here at headquarters, keeping in contact with Jazz through your connection.”
Brooklyn sighs in relief, and so do I. That means I get to go on this mission, at least. I can’t wait. I don’t know how Brooklyn can actually like staying here at headquarters. Just goes to show how different we are.
“Jazz, Maddie, Push, and Blaze, you four will be investigating, looking through the records. I have their location at the hotel for you, and I also have the exact date he checked into the hotel.”
“How?” Push asks, frowning.
Jen smiles slightly. “Com was the one who picked him up and checked him in.”
“Wouldn’t that give us his name, too?” I ask.
“No. Unless his name really is John Smith,” Jen replies. “Which is highly unlikely.”
“The cheesiest of all cheesy fake names,” I say with a grin in Blaze’s direction. My smile falters when he ignores me. Of course.
Jen gives us more details, like the location of the records room and small details that might help us. She also gives us a picture of Com and a picture of what she says is the FOE guy. He looks normal enough… too normal, come to think of it. “This is what his appearance was for the most part when he met with Com. You can use this to ask some of the hotel staff about him. Push, I’m putting you on that. Maddie, I’d prefer for you to stay on lookout. Blaze and Albany, you two will go through the registers for information. Understood?”
We all agree, and Jen looks us over. “You can do this. Blaze.” She nods at him, and he teleports the four of us away.
A mission! I can’t wait to find out what happens next… 🙂 Come back next Monday for the third chapter and the start of the release tour! Also, don’t forget that the sign-ups for Lightporter‘s release tour are still open, so you can still sign up if you would like to participate!
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