"I'm here with Twyst and the Obsidian Hunter, our two miraculously resurrected superheroes who did what no government, military, or police force has been able to do: take down the Raven! Obsidian Hunter, is there anything you can tell us about who you are and why you're doing this?" 

"Well, I unfortunately can't tell you who I am, but I can tell you this: there's bad people out there. A whole lot worse than most people can imagine. And that's why those of us with the means to fight them need to step up and do it," Roy said confidently, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"The Raven's right about a lot of things," Hayley chimed in. "Our world isn't perfect. But I think you'd agree that it's still worth saving." 

"True that!" the reporter laughed, adjusting her red scarf to disguise the look of disappointment on her face. She had probably been expecting a big identity reveal. "Well, whoever you are, I'm not alone in thanking you for your service. Seeing how many fans are-" 

Juliana reached for the TV remote beside her hospital bed, having to press the button several times with her heavily bandaged index finger before it actually turned off. Despite her best efforts to look serious, she couldn't hide the smile on her face. Fans. The word was familiar yet foreign to her. All her life, she'd had admirers- people who respected her for her title, her wealth, her looks, her strategic and mathematical prowess, but none of them could really be called fans. Fans went beyond courtesy compliments and faked smiles... fans were really, truly invested in who you were and what you did. 

"Your Highness- you have a guest." A nurse opened the door of her room, revealing a tired-looking Chase standing behind her. He shuffled awkwardly through the door, shoving his hands into the pockets of his faded blue windbreaker. Closing the door behind him, he spent a few minutes looking at Juliana with a mixed expression, his gaze shifting from her eyes to her arms, both wrapped in layers of white gauze. 

"That was the stupidest, bravest, most amazing thing I've ever seen anyone do." He approached her, his neutral expression morphing into a wide grin. 

"More like ninety-percent stupid and ten-percent brave," Juliana laughed, making an effort to sit up in bed. It was a surprisingly difficult task without use of her hands- bending her knees, she forcefully scooted backward, her already disheveled hair rubbing against a pile of pillows. "I can't imagine how I look right now," she scrunched up her nose in disgust. "And don't you dare say I look beautiful- I will actually slap you." 

"How?" Chase smirked, darting his eyes at her arms, which looked nearly twice their normal size under all the layers of bandages.  

"I hate you," Juliana shook her head. She was about to say something else when she heard the faraway 'ding' of a notification on her phone. "Hey, could you get that?" she gestured toward the off-white Coach handbag sitting on the table behind the TV remote. 

"Sure," Chase reached into the stuffed bag, his fingers grazing something hard. Pulling it out, he saw that it was a tiny photo frame. Inside, was a familiar low-quality print of Juliana with a mouthful of cotton candy. 

"You... framed it?" 

"Just give me my phone." Juliana turned away to hide a small smile, looking a little embarrassed. 

"Wow, okay, princess," Chase shrugged before pulling out a translucent phone that resembled a pane of glass. "Wait... is this the new ThornPhone? How do you already have it?" 

"Max Thornton and I actually went to school together at the Academy for a while! He's a lot older than me, obviously, so he graduated a while ago and then went back to America to study at MIT. He sent me this prototype of the ThornPhone 5 a week ago- it officially comes out in two months. What do you think?" 

Chase nearly dropped the phone in shock, turning it over in his hands. "Wait... you're friends with E. L. Thornton's son!? And the Thorntons know about the Order??" 

"Yeah," Juliana shrugged nonchalantly. "A lot of big names in tech know about the Order, actually. Google, Intel, Thornton Tech- name a company, and we've probably done a collaboration with them at some point." 

"That's so cool, man," Chase grinned, looking down at the phone. "Oh- you got a text from Roy. It says: 'the Raven got out. Order meeting scheduled. Look out the window.' Look out the window? What is that supposed to- oh." 

Chase and Juliana turned their gaze to the window to see the shadow of the PROBJet hovering outside. Chase walked over to it, pulling it open just as the door of the Jet opened to reveal Roy and Hayley sitting inside. 

The Jet pulled closer to the window until only a foot separated it from the side of the building. Then, Roy carefully climbed through, swinging his legs over the windowsill and jumping to the ground. He was followed by Hayley, who easily cleared the gap in one leap and landed beside him. It was obvious that they had both changed out of their suits as quickly as possible. Hayley was still wearing her tall Twyst boots over dark wash jeans and Roy's usually immaculate hair was ruffled from his helmet. 

"Okay, show's over," Roy said seriously, placing an approximately cubic metal box on the bed beside Juliana. "Time to get you healed up. We're going to HQ." 

"Alright... " Juliana trailed off, mildly confused. With a little help from Hayley, she began to unwrap the bandages around her arms. Sliding the top of the box off, she stuck both her hands inside it. 

"Wait, what are you doing?" Chase frowned in confusion as Hayley punched a few buttons on the box and it began to hum softly. Observing it, he noticed a monochrome Thornton Tech logo engraved on its side. 

"Laser NanoHealing," Juliana explained as the box began to emit a soft blue light. "Remember how I said we've done collaborations with Thornton? This is one of them."

"Fascinating," Chase cocked his head to the side as Juliana removed her hands from the box. Her once deep, jagged cuts were replaced by faint red scars. "Wait... you said something about the Raven getting out?" 

"Yeah," Roy shook his head. "She slipped out of the police's grasp not moments after we left. But before she did, she said something... something about..." He paused, hesitating to say what came next almost as if afraid of it. 

"Here," Hayley pulled out her phone, turning it sideways so that Chase and Juliana could better see the video playing on it. 

"I won't be helpless again- you can't make me helpless again! Who do you think you are!?" Ravenna screamed and kicked as the police led her away from the crime scene. After a few unsuccessful attempts, one finally managed to handcuff her. Whipping her head around, she faced the camera and spoke with venom in her voice. 

"You're fools. All of you. Juliana may be heir, now, but the Arcanese throne means nothing in the face of what's to come. After years of searching, I finally know where the Alpha Box is. I know where it is and I'm coming for it! I'm coming for all of you!"  

She dug her heels into the ground, pressing a button on her glove. Her pressurized wings sprung violently out of the sleek black box strapped to her back, pushing the unsuspecting police officers on both sides of her to the ground. Taking advantage of the moment of confusion, she bent her knees and took off into the air, shooting up toward the sky. 

"Oh, my..." Juliana swung her legs over the side of her bed, already gathering her things and putting on her peacoat. "You're right- we need to get to headquarters." 

"Wait- we don't know if she really knows. She didn't actually mention a location. For all we know, she's lying and trying to freak us out." Hayley offered, standing between Juliana and the open window. 

"Is that a chance we're willing to take, though?" Roy frowned. "If the Jackers get ahold of the Box and manage to do anything at all with it, we're done for. It could spell the end of human society as we know it." 

"He's right," Juliana nodded, and Hayley finally gave in, stepping away from the window. "We have to assume she knows where it is. The question now becomes, if she came for it today, would be prepared?" 

"Absolutely not," Roy's expression darkened. 

"So, let's go fix that," said Juliana, already sliding through the window. 

...................................................

Note: Thornton Tech is one of the world's biggest technology companies in the Games of Chance universe. If you want to know more about them (they and their creations will be extremely important in book 2!) read the short story 'ADAM' in my contest entries book. Thanks!