"What do you think my power would be?" Archie asked from the passenger's seat of the car Oscar had been driving.

The two of them were currently parked outside of the private school Oscar's sister attended. He had offered to pick her up since his uncle was too busy at work. Archie had offered to accompany him.

Leaning back into his seat, he pulled out his silver lighter and studied the engravings in the metal. "That's a good question. I'm not sure. Maybe your power would be to annoy the bad guys until they surrendered."

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Archie shook his head while mumbling under his breath. "Besides, that's Zach's power."

Oscar laughed, nodding. "You're not wrong."

The thirteen-year-old speedster was quite the talker. If he ever got kidnapped, Atlas wouldn't even need to look for him or pay a ransom. The kidnappers would just give him back after being exposed to his crappy jokes and motor mouth for a few hours.

He peered out the window, quietly waiting for the school's bell to ring.

Though, it wasn't like he was in a rush to get back to The Acropolis. Over the past couple of days, the entire vibe inside the facility had been off. Everyone had kind of split into small cliques. He spent most of his time with Theo, Andre, and Archie. Emily, Kai, and Danai had sort of turned into some weird trio; they almost reminded Oscar of a punk rock band.

Not much had changed between Angus and Lucky. The two best friends never went anywhere without each other.

What was surprising was Chase and Stella. The pair had disappeared for two days without telling anyone. When they returned to The Acropolis, Oscar could tell something had happened. He just wasn't sure what.

Whatever it was had driven a wedge between them both.

Not only that, but the group was also still split on the whole PRA situation. Half of them backed Senator Crane while the other half wanted to see him locked behind bars.

As for Oscar, he didn't really have a strong opinion on what was going on. Sure, Crane was a bad guy and all, but he had problems of his own to deal with.

His jaw clenched as Ghost's voice invaded his ears.

He hadn't heard from the woman since Holly died. After her funeral and the rogue Primes vanished off the face of the earth, he had wondered if it was over; if he was free from being their informant.

He desperately hoped he was done. Holly's death was his fault. There was no convincing him otherwise. If they asked him to do something else, he wasn't sure he would be able to do it

If he truly loved his friends, he wouldn't betray them. Not again.

"Jeez, how long do they keep kids in school for these days?" Archie whined while checking his watch.

"I've got no clue," Oscar replied while peering out the car's window. "I'm just glad I'm not in school. I couldn't stand that place."

"Why not?"

He frowned. He and the classroom had never been the greatest of friends. In fact, they hadn't been friends at all. More like archenemies. Even before his parents died that fire, he was never the best student. He goofed off, opting to make others laugh instead of looking after himself.

That mindset only amplified once his parents left him.

"I don't want to talk about it," he finally said.

Archie shrugged his shoulders. "Okay then." He reached for the dashboard. The radio cut to some EDM station blaring music that made Oscar want to rip his ears off.

The boy seemed to love it, though, as he was smashing invisible cymbals in the air as if he was a drummer.

Oscar stared at him in disappointment. I expected more from you.

As he was about to reach for the dial on the radio to change the station, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was probably someone from headquarters. He and Archie weren't supposed to be out for too long. Even though those Primes hadn't been found yet, Director Shaw wanted everyone at the facility in case anything popped off.

Senator Crane had a debate soon in Washington D.C and some of the Atlas agents were anticipating an attack. If they were right, they were going to need everyone on deck to stop it.

Oscar reached in his pocket and pulled his cell phone out.

As he opened the notification on the screen, his face twisted into a horrified expression. His muddy brown eyes scanned the text message over and over again, desperately hoping he was reading it wrong.

God, he hoped he was wrong.

Unfortunately, he wasn't.

It was from Ghost, and it read:

It's been a while, Oscar. How have you been?

He stiffened in his seat. His head snapped upward, scanning the street ahead of him. Parents and traffic conductors milled around his car, blissfully unaware of everything. Was Ghost among them? Did she know he was picking up his sister?

He didn't have the answers to any of those questions.

Panic stabbed at his chest. He could feel his ribcage caving in as he struggled to breathe. His lungs were shrinking, slowly evaporating along with the air inside them.

Careful to keep his phone out of Archie's view, who was still drumming along to the terrible song blasting through the speakers, Oscar typed back a response. His fingers trembled against the digital keys, his eyes as wide as saucepans.

What do you want, Ghost?

Three dots appeared on the screen as the woman began typing her response.

I've got good news...for you at least. We won't be needing your services soon.

A feeling of relief flooded through him. Was he really done? He couldn't believe it.

Then he read the message again. The relief disappeared, only to be replaced by a heavy sense of dread. It settled on top of his stomach. Suddenly he couldn't breathe again.

We've got one more task for you, Oscar.

Oscar's hand dug into the leather door panel next to him. He tried to keep his face stoic, but he wasn't good at hiding his emotions. A nervous gurgle rose from his throat as he tried to keep himself from screaming.

He was sick and tired of following her orders. He was tired of hurting people and betraying his friends.

But if he didn't do what she said, she would go after his sister and uncle. And he couldn't let that happen. He owed it to his parents to protect his young sibling. It was the last piece of them he had left.

He shut his eyes to stop his angry tears from walling.

I should be able to keep them safe without hurting my friends. I should be strong.

He slammed his hand onto the small podium in between the driver's seat and where Archie sat. The boy jumped, his green eyes wider than a spooked deer's.

"You alright, Oz?"

Oscar nodded, his jaw clenched. "Yeah, man. I'm fine."

"Uh, you sure? You look pretty worked up to me—

"Yes, I'm sure, Archie." He glared at the kid. "Drop it. Please."

Archie nodded slowly.

Oscar couldn't have anyone knowing what was going on. Or what he had done. If his friends or someone from Atlas found out he had been helping Ghost and her team behind their backs, he wasn't sure what they would do to him.

They probably would have thrown him in The Vault with all the other Prime criminals. And to be completely honest, he wouldn't have been mad at them if that was how they decided to handle the situation. He couldn't have expected them to understand.

All they would have seen was him betraying the team.

He couldn't let anyone find out.

Gritting his teeth, he typed out another reply to Ghost.

What do you need me to do?

Oscar pressed send on his phone and waited for a response. His free hand rolled his silver lighter between his nimble fingers. Seconds later, his phone chimed with another message from the elusive woman.

We're planning one more attack. Senator Crane has scheduled an impromptu meeting with Mr. Lwango, the last member of the UN council to vote yes on the PRA. We're planning on taking out the senator there. If we're going to finish our job, we need you to keep Atlas out the way. Think you can handle that?

Oscar scowled.

He didn't even know why they were still trying to kill Senator Crane. They had the perfect opportunity to off the man a few weeks prior, but they didn't. Besides, even if they did manage to kill him, it would only turn him into a martyr. The PRA was already in its latter stages of ratification.

Truth be told, Senator Crane wasn't even needed anymore. If he died, the PRA would survive without him.

Still, Oscar couldn't stand by knowing they were plotting someone's murder. And knowing them, others would surely die in the crossfire as well. He wasn't going to remain idle while people got hurt.

Not again.

Flashes of the explosion that killed Holly emerged through the shadows of his mind. Ever since that day, he held that crushing guilt in his heart. It was his cross to bear. But that cross was getting heavier and heavier with each passing day.

He never wanted anything like that to happen ever again.

He scowled down at his phone. That was it. He was ending it. Right there and right now. Ghost would have to find some other unsuspecting Atlas agent to control because he was done. If she and her team were planning on hitting the Pentagon, then they were probably on the other side of the country. There was no way she could hurt his family from there.

That meant she couldn't hurt him.

With his fingers flying across his phone's keyboard, he began drafting up his next response. He hoped it would be his last.

I'm not helping you. No más. We're done, Ghost. Threaten me all you like, I don't care. If you even think about hurting my family, I'll set you on fire myself.

Seconds later, he received another message. There were no words, though. In fact, what she sent him was more terrifying than any threat.

It was a simple upside-down smiley face.

Masking his terror with a scoff, he tossed his phone into the backseat. He glared at something outside, his cheeks burning with quiet rage. His body began to rise in temperature as he clenched and unclenched his jaw.

"Er, Oz?" Archie said.

"What?" he snapped.

"You're...uh...smoking?"

Oscar looked down at himself. Sure enough, wisps of smoke were floating off of his tan skin. He groaned, irritated, and rolled down the window. As he did so, the sound of a school bell ringing echoed down the street.

A few parents passed by his window, shooting him disapproving looks as they saw the smoke leaving through the window.

He smiled sheepishly at them, realizing that it probably wasn't a good look for two older kids to be sitting outside of a school with smoke pouring from their vehicle.

"Nice one, Oz," Archie quipped. "Now they think we're stoners."

Oscar rolled his eyes.

Moments later, he picked out his sister among the crowd of children flooding out the school doors. She broke away from the herd and sat down on the steps outside, her small hands gripping the straps of her Dora the Explorer backpack. Her dark pigtails flapped in the wind as she looked around.

Smiling, Oscar opened his door and then walked over to Archie's side, but not before grabbing his wheelchair out the trunk. After he finished helping the boy into the chair, he wheeled him over the curb and approached his sister.

She spotted them quickly and ran over, a toothy grin spread across her face. She stopped in front of Oscar gave him a hug. When she pulled away, she shot Archie a strange look.

"Who are you?"

Archie pursed his lips. "Archibald Hamilton III. But my friends call me either Archie of Glitch."

"What's wrong with your legs?"

He coughed awkwardly and readjusted his glasses.

Oscar glared at her. "You can't just ask people that kinda thing, Izzie."

She tilted her head at him. "Why not? I was only asking a question—"

Shaking his head, he led her over to the car with Archie in tow.

#

"So..." Isabella began while swinging her legs in the backseat of the car. "Have you two done any more superhero stuff?"

Archie snorted. "I'm not exactly a superhero."

Oscar playfully punched his shoulder. "Are you kidding? Of course you're a superhero! You're like the guy who gives us all our weapons. You're...you're the guy in the chair!"

"Thanks," Archie replied flatly. He dusted off his arm.

"No touching. Right. Sorry."

"When are you guys going to fight more bad guys?" Isabella asked as she bounced in her seat.

Oscar shrugged. But with what Ghost had told him, he figured their next battle was closer than they thought.

"That kind of information is classified," Archie answered.

"All the other kids at school are jealous of me," his sister stated with a proud grin. "When I tell them my big brother is a superhero, they get jealous."

Archie suppressed a smile. He then glanced at Oscar. "She's really milking your fame."

"Shut up, nerd." Oscar smirked at his sister through the rearview mirror. "You know, you shouldn't really be telling people that. It might make them sad since they don't have a sibling as awesome as me. Also, confidentiality...and stuff."

Isabella giggled. "Okay, okay. I just can't help it. You're a hero! You save people. That's so cool!"

Oscar's smile faltered.

Am I a hero?

How could he be when he had been helping the enemy?

"You save people..."

He didn't save Holly.

While he may have cut ties with Ghost, he still knew of her plan to attack the Pentagon—one of the most important government buildings in the United States. If he was going to prove his sister right, then he needed to tell someone.

But if he did that, he would have to reveal that he was the mole.

I can't do that. I can't.

"You okay, Ozzie?" Isabella asked.

Swallowing hard, Oscar tightened his fingers around the steering wheel. "Yep, never better." He kept his eyes on the road, desperately trying to dispel the angry thoughts bombarding his psyche.

If he didn't tell his friends about the planned attack, he might as well have been killing the people who would surely die during it himself. But if he did tell them, that would be the end of the road for him.

His eyes watered.

What would his sister and uncle think of him when they found out he had been thrown into The Vault for treason?

A quiet curse slipped past his lips.

"You're a hero!"

If those words were to even resemble the truth, he needed to start acting like a hero. And that meant making the hard decisions—even if they didn't particularly help him.

His mind was made up.

He was going to tell them.

He just hoped they would have mercy when it was all said and done.