Emily jolted awake after the soothing sound of the rumbling engine cut off. Her eyes fluttered open. Everyone had rose from their seats and were preparing to exit the jet. Precison was tapping her shoulder, his dark eyes and warm smile coaxing her to get up. Her face slightly red, she thanked the man and stood up.

''Dude, I took down, like, three guards in about three seconds. Three seconds! I was the MVP,'' Theo argued as he walked through the hangar with Andre, Oscar, and Chase.

''Um, you must not have seen me light all those trucks on fire.'' Oscar arched an eyebrow at the speedster.

Chase shook his head at them. ''This discussion is pointless. There is no MVP.'' As he pushed past them, he grinned over his shoulder. ''But if we are having a competition, I kicked a werewolf's ass. I think I win the MVP contest.'' The other boys immediately refuted the claim, their expressions livid. The blond simply laughed at them.

Emily rolled her eyes they continued arguing.

In her opinion, they were all wrong. Maybe Chase did the best, because he was the only one who fought a Prime, but without herself and Precision, they all would've been overcome by the Kismet mercenaries. Their cover fire was crucial to their victory. But she wasn't going to entertain their petty argument. She'd win anyways.

She noticed Trigger signing something. Victoria snorted.

''What'd he say?'' Emily asked.

''He says your friends are funny.''

Emily scoffed as she shook her head at the three boys. Andre was the only one who remained neutral in their conversation. ''I wouldn't say funny. More like childish.''

Stella nodded. ''Took the words right from my mouth.'' The girl's silky voice filled her ears. Emily cheeks glowed with a blush upon realizing just how close she was standing to the girl. A faint nervousness crept up her spine, inserting itself into her body.

Stop it, Emily. You're only setting yourself up.

''Good job today,'' Stella said.

''Er, thanks.'' Emily faked a cough. ''I'm gonna...go over there. See you...later.'' Before she could see the confusion on the other girl's face, she speed-walked away from her. She mentally slapped herself as she did so.

Seriously, Emily?

The objective was to not appear suspicious. Now she'd just gone and done just that. She sighed. After all these years, her feelings for the girl were still alive and well. She hated herself for it but there wasn't much she could do. She just hoped they'd go away soon.

As she distracted herself from the thought of Stella, her eyes lit up as she saw a couple of Atlas agents dragging a large man out of a transporter vehicle. Prime-nullifying cuffs were wrapped around his thick wrists. He thrashed against the agents holding him, bucking like an angry mustang. They struggled to contain him due to his sheer size and strength.

He was the man-wolf Chase fought in the warehouse. He no longer looked like a monster, but he was still hairy. Extremely hairy. And dirty. He was dire need of a shower. He spat curse after curse, both in English and Russian, as the soldiers escorted him to a jail cell downstairs.

Emily watched as Stella cast the wolfman a look of disgust. The way her face was scrunched up made her look even cuter than usual.

Stop it, Emily, she hissed internally. She likes Chase, not you. The sooner you get through your thick skull, the better. Scowling, she adjusted the bow over her shoulder and continued her voyage through the hangar.

#

Having nothing to do, she reluctantly Chase downstairs in The Grid. It was better than sitting in the common room with the others, who were most likely doing nothing interesting. Besides, she could've used something to take her mind off Stella; though, hanging out with the guy who currently held her affections might've been a bad idea.

They currently stood in front of the two occupied cells, arms folded as they examined the prisoners.

''This place'll be full if we keep this up,'' Chase joked.

''Yeah, no kidding.''

They'd just arrested Apex, a.k.a Victor Shaw. Now he was joined by one of his Kismet buddies. She had a feeling they'd be collecting a few more in the coming days.

She curiously watched Alexei Brozovic—who turned out to be the wolfman—bang his shoulder against the glass barrier of his containment unit. His pupils darted around with unbridled fury, his mouth dripping with rage-induced saliva. Even in his human state, he was still an animal.

She wondered if he had rabies.

''Save your energy, you idiot,'' Apex advised from across the room. His smooth voice bounced around the acoustics of The Grid, Emily's ears picking up on the intricacies of it. Sometimes she loved her secondary ability of advanced hearing. She'd been training it to allow her to pinpoint certain sounds from large distances. With enough practice, she'd be able to eavesdrop on a conversation on the other side of the facility. Though, being able to hear a bird flying a mile outside of her dorm room at night when she was trying to sleep got annoying.

Chase pursed his lips. ''Shut up.''

Apex jumped to his feet and walked up to the glass separating his cell from the rest of the prison. He smirked at Chase, his eyebrows arched in a taunting fashion. ''And what are you gonna do about it? You gonna come in here and make me?''

Emily noticed Chase's fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles were turning white. She glared at Apex. His strategy was more transparent than wet paper. She realized it was a good idea to go down there with Chase. While he was a great leader, his anger could get the best of him sometimes. She didn't want him to rage out and take up on Apex's offer.

Luckily, she was there to stop that from happening. She stepped in front of Chase, placing a hand on his chest. The boy glanced down at her curiously. She scoffed.

''Oh, calm down,'' she hissed at him as she noticed he was still peering at her hand. ''I barely even like you as a friend.'' She dropped her hand and peered at Apex over her shoulder. ''You need to learn how to keep your mouth shut, psycho.''

Apex chuckled darkly at her remark. ''At least I'm true to myself. Can you say the same?''

He couldn't possibly know. There was no way? The guy barely knew her. Emily's blood chilled inside of her as she froze. Her obsidian eyes widened, and a thick silence fell over The Grid. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Chase watching her with narrowed eyes.

''What's the supposed to mean?'' he asked, confused.

''Nothing,'' she replied quickly. Clearing her throat, she forced herself to calm down. ''He's just trying to get under our skin.''

A small voice in the back of her head repeated Apex's question. Deep down, she knew he was right. For years she had been suppressing her true self from everyone; especially with her family. She couldn't bear to feel their judgement. It'd crush her, as if she'd been caught underneath a falling skyscraper.

''She knows exactly what I'm talking about,'' Apex continued, his voice as sharp as a blade. His blue stare bored into her soul. ''You're afraid that they might judge you. Understandable. At Kismet, we don't judge our brothers and sisters.''

That was enough to pull her out of her thoughts. She stuttered in disbelief. She couldn't belief he was trying it. It was common knowledge that he was crazy, but she didn't think he was that far off his rocker.

Chase pointed a finger at the obsidian-haired man. ''Alright, that's enough from you.'' Apex raised his hands. However, the devilish smirk remained on his mouth as he sat down on his cot.

''I see you successfully stole one of our shipments,'' he said as he folded his hands across his lap. ''That's a lot of Primonium Atlas just acquired. Don't you wonder what they're going to do with it?''

Emily frowned. ''What are you talking about? The stuff in those crates were the parts to your machine.''

Apex cackled as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. ''You really think that Kane would be dumb enough to store our machine parts in some abandoned warehouse that could be hit so easily?'' He clicked his tongue, the noise assaulting Emily's ears. ''Or is that the lie my father told you? Typical. He always was forthcoming with vital information. He only lets you know what he deems necessary.''

Chase stepped forward. His jaw twitched. ''You don't know what you're talking about.''

Apex titled his head at the blond. ''I don't? Hmm, I'd like to think I do. He is my father after all.'' He rose from his small bed and starting pacing around his cell, hands folded behind his back. ''You and your friends are just soldiers. Pawns to do his bidding.''

Emily shook her head. ''That's not true.''

''Ah, but it is,'' Apex mused. He stopped pacing. His back was now facing the two teenagers standing outside of his unit. ''Do you even know why Kane wants to release the Primonium into the atmosphere?"

The red glint of the wolf tattoo on the man's sharp shoulder blade caught her eye.

''Because he's a deranged terrorist hellbent on fucking the world up?'' Chase offered.

''Funny,'' the man replied dryly. ''But no.'' He tapped his crimson tattoo. ''Our symbol is the wolf. The wolf symbolizes an apex predator, an animal that is at the top of the food chain. That is what Primes are to the world: kings of the jungle.

''Wolves also symbolize unity, a pack mentality if you will. In a pack, the spoils are divided equally among its members. That is what Kismet is trying to do. Kane discovered our gifts and wants to share them with our fellow brothers and sisters around the Earth. We and so many others have been oppressed by the world governments for far too long. They're the weak ones, not us. Kane is giving us the chance to realize our true potential. Our people deserve to be the ones with the power.

Our people?

Emily didn't like the sound of that. It made her feel even more disconnected from society than she already was. A dangerous thought formed in the depths of her mind. It called out to her, sticking out in her psyche like a beacon of warm light.

What if Primes were her people?

For so long she'd felt different from everyone. People shunned her. People bullied her. People treated her like she was nothing. But now she had the power to change that. She could shatter the eardrums of anyone who crossed her. If they wouldn't willingly give them her respect, she could rip it from them.

Apex's grin widened. ''She gets it.'' He looked at Chase. ''Do you?''

Chase was devoid of any expression. Emily couldn't tell what he was thinking. He stayed silent for a while, the tension building in the room with each passing second. Finally, he stepped up to the glass wall and said, ''I'm not letting you get away with what you and Kismet have done. It doesn't matter how you spin your plan. It won't work. And you know why? Because we're going to stop you.''

Emily nodded along with him, albeit a bit reluctantly. Part of her was trying to decide if Apex was being truthful about the contents of the shipment and Director Shaw's true intentions while the other part wanted nothing more than everyone in Kismet to drop off the face of the planet.

Apex exhaled. ''That's unfortunate.'' He sounded just like Kane. At that moment, Emily realized just how brainwashed he was. ''You and I could've made a great partnership.''

Anger flashed on Chase's face. ''We will never be partners. Never.''

Emily looked in between the two of them, noting the extreme difference in their expressions. Apex was as cool as ever while Chase redder than an emergency light. At any given moment, he could've snapped. Fortunately, he hadn't yet.

''Suit yourself.'' Apex shrugged. He sat on the floor and began meditating. The sight reminded her of her father, whom could be found sitting alone in silence early in the morning before he started his work.

A sad smile inched its way onto her lips. She hoped her mother and Emerson, her brother, were alright without her. Who knows how her father was treating them without her around? Recently, she had been there to combat his controlling, and sometimes abusive, behavior. He was never physically abusive, though; it was always verbally or mentally.

He could make words hurt more than any slap could.

''If you really trust Atlas and my manipulative father so much,'' Apex started to say after a period of silence, ''why don't you check the crates that you stole. You know, just to be sure.''

Emily and Chase exchanged a look. They turned away from the Prime, occasionally tossing speculative glances over their shoulders.

''Should we?'' she whispered.

He shrugged. ''Maybe.'' He faced Apex. ''We won't let you win,'' he insisted, determination present in his commanding eyes. Chase then turned around and stomped out of The Grid.

Emily took once last look at the man. Doubt filled her head like water invading a sinking ship. Surely, he was wrong. He had to be.

#

Emily and Chase waited until midnight to sneak into the hangar. They'd decided in secret to check the Nexxus Industries shipment. Apex's claims peaked their curiosity too much for them to dismiss it. They needed to know for sure if Director Shaw and Atlas were being truthful. Emily needed to know who she could trust, because, quite frankly, she was done with being betrayed.

The two of them—clad in dark clothing to blend in with the darkness the night brought with it—moved through the shadows created by the hulking vehicles parked around the hangar. A couple of guards working the nightshift patrolled the area but there weren't that many of them. Besides, the hangar was huge; they'd have to be incredibly sloppy to get caught at this time.

Chase held his hand up, motioning for Emily to stop moving. They hid behind the wing of a jet, waiting for a guard and their partner to pass by.

''Look,'' one of them said as they walked past. ''I'm just saying what's wrong with dating co-workers?''

Both Emily and the other guard scoffed at the man's question.

''You're so full of shit,'' the other Atlas agent, a woman, replied. They people passed by Emily and Chase, completely unaware of their presence. As they went, Emily couldn't help but stare at the woman's as she went by. The facility was full of strong, beautiful women; it was paradise. She smiled.

''Emily!'' Chase hissed.

''Hmm?''

''You alright?''

Clearing her throat, she nodded and hoped he hadn't noticed. Once the guards were far away enough, the two teenagers advanced on the cargo deck. They traversed up a flight of stairs, careful to keep their footsteps light in order to remain undetected. They arrived at the brightly lit storage area. Luckily, there were no guards present—not yet at least. The place was surely on the guard's rotation cycle, meaning they had a maximum of five minutes to find out what they needed to.

''Let's hurry up and check one of these things,'' Chase suggested.

Emily nodded and they both split up in order to find an opened crate. The cargo deck consisted of a spacious metal floorplan filled with crates, shipping containers, forklifts, and other equipment. Lights built into the high ceilings flooded onto the spotless floors, reflecting into Emily's eyes as she tried to find a crate without a lock on it.

Much to her dismay, Atlas hadn't yet cracked open one of the boxes. She spat out a curse and kicked one of them, instantly regretting it once her big toe started throbbing.

''How do we open these things?'' Chase asked as he waddled over to her. He was half-crouched. Unlike herself, he was a giant and would surely be seen from the ground had he assumed his whole height up. His brows furrowed upon noticing she was holding her toe. ''What happened to you?''

''Nothing.'' She pointed at a lock on the nearest crate. ''Can't you just break the thing open? You do have super strength.''

Chase shook his head. ''They'll notice we were snooping. We need to get one open without damaging it.''

She huffed.

An idea crashed into her brain like a torpedo. ''You wouldn't happen to know what kind of lock these are, would you?"

He scratched the top of his head. '' Looks like a pin tumbler.''

''Perfect.''

In her experience with picking locks, a skill she picked up from hanging around some questionable people back at school, pin tumblers were some of the hardest to crack manually. She'd failed multiple times in the past. But that had been before she received her ability to generate sounds of the supersonic nature. While training with her power a few days before, she discovered a new skill. If she focused hard enough, she could manipulate her sound to form a concentrated burst of energy. If performed correctly, she could use that to move the inner mechanism inside the lock.

''Perfect? How is that perfect?''

''Shut up and watch a master at work.''

She walked over to a crate and kneeled in front of it.. Tightening her lips, she let a small hole form between them. Blowing outward, she concentrated her air into a solid stream. A soft, high-pitched noise pierced inside the lock. Behind her, Chase plugged his ears.

''A warning next time would be nice.''

Her brows furrowed as she tried to make her air go even faster upon realizing that the gears within the lock hadn't turned yet.

Click.

That was one. She'd need to hear three more of those before her task was complete. Her excitement building, she focused more concentrated air into the mechanism. Two more clicks sounded, and the lock unhinged from its position. Smirking, she held up the lock and spun it around her finger.

''Good work, Emily,'' Chase said as he patted her on the shoulder.

She swatted his hand away. ''Don't touch me.''

He mumbled an apology and gripped both sides of the container. ''Well, here goes. Moment of truth.''

''Just open it, Goldilocks.''

Though, she was a little anxious about what could be inside. Whatever was in this box would determine whether Shaw and Atlas were trustworthy. Chase lifted the lid and Emily sucked in a breath, her dark eyes wide as she stared at the contents of the crate.

Staring back at her were multiple, plastic bags filled with a red liquid riddled with bubbles. The Kismet logo could be seen on each pouch, along with a barcode and a unique serial number. Chase's hands tightened around the lid, his fingers denting the material. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to wrap her head around what she was looking at.

He lied.

Director Shaw lied. What if Apex was right? She turned to Chase.

''What do we do?''

He looked back at her, his expression deathly serious. ''We pay Shaw a visit.'' Emily nodded, her eyes trained on the bags of Primonium.