Basic Oblivion

Chapter 10

"That's quite the story," Porter said skeptically when Justin finished talking about his experience in the underworld. "Although, how do we know that you're not just another clone?"

"Well, since Striker's dead, there's only one other clone left," Jason said. "Trust me, it's not him. Otherwise none of you would still be alive right now."

Porter looked at Jason as he stared him down. "Look, Jason was it? We beat Striker, I'm sure we can handle killing another one," Porter said.

"Actually, Justin beat Striker, and that was only because he sacrificed him to open the rift to get you guys back here," Jason said. "You guys wouldn't have been able to take him out otherwise."

Porter snarled at Jason, who just growled back with a smile on his face. "You calling me weak?!" Porter asked.

"I didn't say that," Jason said. "The point is, you can't rely on your experience with Striker to help you with Atlas. He operates on a different level than Striker did."

Justin interrupted them before Porter could start a fight. "Look, it doesn't matter," he said. "The point is that we need to kill him as soon as we can."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Lucas asked. "Let's go kill him."

Jason shook his head. "Unfortunately, it's not that easy," he said. "My team and I have been trying to track him for years. Like me, he's almost impossible to find when he's trying to stay hidden. This means that the only way we can find him is if he makes a mistake, which is unlikely. Otherwise we'll have to wait until he decides he wants to be found."

"So what are we supposed to do until then?" Sam asked. "Sit on our hands and wait?"

Justin thought about this for a couple of minutes before he saw the calendar on the wall. "Why don't you guys join us?" he asked his brother.

"What do you mean?" Jason asked.

"School's about to start up again. You guys should come and attend with us," Justin explained. "You guys can come live here and go to school with us. Besides, with all of us together, when Atlas does attack, we can be prepared with our own small army."

Porter and Kylan didn't look all that happy with the idea, but Jason was nodding as he thought about it. "That's not a bad idea," he said. "Alright then, I will go get my friends from the hotel and we will start moving in. After that, I'll get us into the school system."

Charon stood next to Justin. "My lord, I believe I should join you at this school in order to assure your safety," he said.

Justin shook his head. "No Charon, you need to stay here and keep an eye on the place while we're gone," he said. Charon was about to argue, but Justin silenced him with a raise of his hand. "That's final."

The next day was hectic with Marie finding out that Jason and his team were going to be living with them in the base and her skepticism about having them there. It took a week just to get her calmed down about it, but she still decided to keep an eye on them.

"What, don't trust us?" Jason asked as he was filling out the paperwork to get him and his friends into the school.

Marie stood next to Jason and looked at him. "Not particularly," she said. "After all, you only killed the mayor and got my mentor sent to the hospital."

Jason looked up from the paperwork and into Marie's eyes. "It was a contract," he said. "Besides, it's not like I pulled the trigger. Also, weren't you and Kylan supposed to be protecting him?"