"Does my uncle's spare clothes fit?" Hazel asked, standing outside the bathroom with a stupid grin on her face.

"Yes. I'm so glad he keeps extra clothes in his locker." Sky wore a black T-shirt from her uncle, which looked snug on him.

He opened the door and smiled at her.

"Thanks, Hazel. For everything," he whispered as he softly closed the door behind him. "I owe you."

"I thought they'd look too bulky for you, but I was wrong." She admired Sky's chest and his biceps as they fit in the sleeves nicely.

He followed her gaze. I bet this is the Lifebringer's doing too. I'm leaner than before.

"Why did you ask for thick scraps of metal?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "I left some near the front doors."

"Is it safe to go outside?" he simply asked as he walked to the doors of the hydroponics lab.

The lab was a verdant oasis of green. Rows of meticulously arranged plant beds stretched out beneath the soft glow of artificial lights on either side of him, casting an otherworldly radiance over the space. In place of soil, the plants were nestled in nutrient-rich water solutions, their roots suspended.

"Yes," she replied, following him. "It's way past midnight. There's nobody there."

Tall, leafy stalks of lettuce and kale reached toward the ceiling, their vibrant hues contrasting against the stark white walls as both teens walked on. A network of pipes and tubes crisscrossed above, delivering essential nutrients to the plants. The air was filled with the earthy scent of growing vegetation.

"Luca took care of the footage since we got here, as well," she added.

He smiled briefly as he opened the doors with ease. "Perfect."

"What's on your mind, genius?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Something I never imagined I'd do," he whispered with anticipation.

The moonlight shone brightly in the cloudless night sky.

He got closer to the scraps of thick metal before him and easily lifted one up with just a hand. I could try to crush it as if it was a discarded sheet of paper.

When he did it, he earned a gasp from Hazel.

"What the fu-?!" she exclaimed. Then, she put both hands on her mouth.

The metal was compressed into a smaller, compact shape. Both teens stared at it with fascination.

"Shall I try again? Just in case it was dumb luck."

He grabbed a bigger and thicker chunk of metal and repeated the motion with his hands. The metal creaked in his hands as he crumpled it with surprising ease. He showed it to her, holding it with a single hand.

"This just looks like my father's old car when we took it to the scrap yard." She approached her face to the ball of metal with a look of disbelief. "How did you do this?!"

"The Lifebringer did."

She put her hands around the metal ball and lifted it. The sudden weight took her by surprise. "Damn, you were holding it so easily, as if it didn't weigh a thing." She scoffed. "But it's really heavy for me."

She let it fall to the ground in a huff.

He took a good look at the wheat fields under the silvery glow of the moon, the breathtaking mountains at the far back, the winding river and the krill breeders, and the mesmerising sea over the horizon. My eyes! I can see everything, every little detail, even the small leaves of every tree in the woods as they dance in the soft breeze. Amazing!

"Do you mind if I go running?" he asked, with a stupid grin on his face.

"Go running?! Right now?!"

"Grab your phone and time me, please."

He didn't offer an explanation. Testing his legs and feet was the logical thing to try next.

When she was ready, he sprinted through the lab's dirt road and hit the main road. He turned right and headed to the woods, crossing several wheat fields and the wooden bridge.

Running is so liberating! I really needed this. The fresh air, the motion, feeling carefree... like when Haywire and I soared the skies every evening. I miss him.

But now that I'm stronger and faster than before, I can really save him this time, can't I?

With a hopeful smile painted on his face, he reached the entrance to the woods. He turned back and went back to Hazel.

On his way back, he witnessed the mayhem in the city. The large hovering platforms shook due to explosions. The melody of devastation thundered in the air while the night sky got stained in fiery red.

When he stopped right in front of her, she stopped the timer. I'm not tired. I'm not even panting!

"I went to the entrance to the woods and back," he said.

"That was fast!" Her eyes were about to fly out of their sockets.

"How much time did it take me?"

"Are you sure you didn't use your flying skateboard?" She stared at him with fake suspicion.

He smirked. "I didn't cheat. I swear."

"This Lifebringer sure is amazing!" she exclaimed in admiration.

"It was amazing to me, a total nightmare for Haywire," he replied seriously.

Her smile froze and faded. "How can we undo the effects of the Lifebringer on him?"

"No idea. We need help." His lips tightened into a thin line, and he glanced around, desperately searching for a way out of their predicament.

"I don't know anybody who might be skilled enough in biology and chemistry to help us," she admitted in defeat.

"Neither do I." He sighed in defeat. A knot of anxiety tightened in his chest.

That was when Hazel's phone rang, startling both of them.

"It's... Kovak!" she yelled in astonishment.

Both teens stared at each other's eyes for one long moment while the phone rang.

"I've been calling him all day long," she said. "I had lost hope already!"

Hazel swallowed hard and, with a gentle movement of her hand, she offered her phone to Sky. He nodded at her and took it.

"Hello, K or Kovak... or whatever you want to be called," Sky said with bitterness and sarcasm. "About time you showed any sign you're still among the living."

"Don't joke about this, Sky," Kovak replied, serious as cancer. "I've led quite a few years in isolation, with a death threat over my head. I know what needs to be done when someone wants to murder you... again."

Oh, wow. I had forgotten about that.

"What happened the last time we spoke?" Sky asked, raising an eyebrow. "Were you being hunted?"

"Yes. I had to be brief," Kovak replied, speaking fast. "I saw on the news that you didn't follow my advice to flee."

"Yeah, I had to go back." He stared at Hazel. "For someone I care."

She gazed back at Sky, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue. Her eyes held a mixture of surprise and timidity. Her lips curled into a shy smile.

"Sentimentality will get you nowhere, Sky," Kovak replied, sternly.

Oh really? What do you call how you reacted to Aunt Naomi's words the night you attacked Anti-Ageing Inc.'s headquarters, then?

"It's not sentimentality; it's being human. Caring. Loving. Being empathic. It's got me where I wanted to go so far, for the better or worse," the young one replied. "I have no regrets. Unlike you."

A low scoff echoed at the other end of the line. "Touché, young man. I still hold dear a special lady, but that is no concern of yours."

Sky's chest tightened as an automatic reaction to those last words. "My aunt and her well-being are indeed my concern, especially now that she's been imprisoned, demoted, and isolated without medical treatment because of me."

"And your dear winged friend trapped and treated like a guinea pig," Kovak replied, seriously. "I know."

"How do you know?!" Sky exclaimed.

"I've got my resources." His voice momentarily quickly faded and came back in an awkward glitch. "But enough chitchat, Sky. Since you're not the fleeing kind of man, how about we bring a cunning plan to fruition? I have one to save your aunt. In return, you-"

"Let me guess. You want me to kill Mrs Evergreen," Sky replied as if he was bored. "You want me to set a meeting with her so that you can come by and murder her?"

"No, I'm not as dumb as Mrs Evergreen," Kovak answered, offended. "Yes, I know the details of her pathetic plan. I put a wire in her meeting room and other... areas of her headquarters a long time ago."

Sky sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't know whether that's good or bad."

"There is no good and bad in war, young man," Kovak concluded in a low voice full of wisdom. "We all dance in shades of grey."

"You can say that again," Sky whispered and then he bit his lower lip.

"Focus, Sky," Kovak demanded. "While I rescue your aunt and provide the special medication she requires, I want you to do something for me in return. I tried to intervene in the current crisis remotely, but I couldn't. If you plant a bug for me on any computer of the headquarters, I can sneak into their system."

Sky nodded. "Good."

"I'm sending you the bug via email. Download it into a pen drive. That's the safest procedure." The phone screen showed an incoming mail.

"I agree."

"What will this bug do?" Hazel suddenly asked.

"It will enable me to momentarily be the admin of the system," Kovak replied with a know-it-all kind of voice. "I'll open the doors for Endurance to come in and mess with the company's records and protocols... even access the unhackable security system of Mrs Evergreen's personal quarters."

"Sorry, but I thought Endurance had already done that by taking the Internet," she said.

"No. He could only reach the outer level of security, the one which the offices and the labs use on a daily basis to work, also messing with the electric supply of the entire city."

"Why would Endurance want to access her personal quarters?" she asked. "What's in there?"

"Mrs Evergreen herself. And... Sky's most valuable gadget, maybe?" He scoffed.

A cold sweat ran down Sky's spine. My time-skipping wristwatch?!

"Her security system is armed to kill any threat," Kovak went on. "If Endurance has access to it, he will redefine what threat means... to target her and get her killed. Any digital appliance will automatically want to murder her."

"Neat," she whispered with a dark fascination and darkened eyes.

"Will Endurance then snatch my gadget?!" Sky asked with worry, clenching his fists.

"I don't think he's interested in your time-skipping wristwatch, so I wouldn't count on it." There was a brief pause and an odd sound of a rustling of sorts. "Anyway, I'm still on the run, so I need to be brief. Once you've planted the bug, go and find Haywire, but be extremely careful. I'd advise against it, but since you're too obstinate to liste-"

"I know. The Lifebringer's messed up with him and-"

"No, you don't know." Kovak's voice echoed loudly then from the other end of the line, booming like a scolding into his ears. There was a long, cold pause then. "He's changed beyond recognition, Sky."

"You're a top-level scientist in that department. Can't you figure out something to turn him back to normal? Some sort of antidote?" Sky asked with a hopeful tone of voice.

"There is no way to undo what she's done to him," Kovak's voice went lower and more serious. "I know I may sound like a heartless bastard, but you shouldn't rescue him—you should kill him out of mercy instead."

Sky swallowed hard as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

"Don't you dare suggest that ever again, Kovak," he whispered back with a shaky voice full of bitterness.

His body was tense all over. Despite the storms that raged around him, he held onto the belief that every raindrop nourished the soil for new beginnings. 

"I'll find a way to save him," he eventually added with a husky voice and determination in his eyes.

A loud sigh came from Kovak's lips. "Very well, then. See it for yourself. Just a couple more things."

"What?"

"Go there armed," Kovak suggested in a sad whisper. "And whatever you do, don't get killed by your best friend."

Hello, my sugar cubes!

Will his winged friend try to murder Sky? Will Sky need to do something about it, like aiming and shooting at his best friend?

Stay tuned!

XOXO

Mar