Tim

  I don't know why people are so keen to put the details of their private life in public; they forget that invisibility is a superpower.

  --Banksy

  Twenty minutes ago…

  I Fade. I know, it’s what I do, and it probably sounds like my default tactic for any problem I run into.

  Because it is. Basically, I Fade, see if that helps, and then figure out my next move, either way.

  Of course, after a while I’ve figured out some problems, like light switches and crossword puzzles, don’t really respond to my version of invisibility. Even motion-detector lights don’t care if I have “the power to cloud men’s minds.”

  Still, I’ve noticed being invisible until you’ve decided to make your move, or at least until a teacher calls roll, helps a whole lot when you want to take “all the time you need.”

  So maybe I’m dropping out of sight all the time. Maybe it’s unhealthy. But it’s insanely convenient, and that’s good enough for now.

  I notice another new classmate, Dante, strolling casually along towards Celestine Library, and that’s all it takes before I Fade.

  I’d like to say I read him immediately, but he has no tells.

  None.

  So I’d also like to say I start tailing him because of some deep instinct or premonition, and not for totally creepy stalker reasons.

  But nope, I’m totally stalking him. And not even with an excuse like he’s pretty girl, or something.

  But almost like I have a problem, or something. Which is ridiculous. I’m not a creeper.

  So I creep out of the parking lot, staying out of the view of the security cameras peppering the heart of campus. Which I scoped out long ago, and keep doublechecking for new additions.

  Not that I have a problem. I instinctively slip into an entrance as he turns to look back down the street, just in case his Enhanced senses can bore through my Fade the way Kei’s can. I figure that only happened because she was actively looking for me, plus whatever Gifts she might have, but I’ve been burned once.

  Never again. My faux invisibility isn’t just useful. Losing it feels incredibly disturbing, and I’d just as soon skip the experience for, well, the rest of my life.

  So I trail, stalk and scope out Dante’s little trip to the library, wondering what’s next.

  Will I start hanging out around gas stations, staring at people filling up their cars? Maybe around water fountains or coffee machines?

  Not that I’m creepy, or anything, but I’m beginning to creep myself out.

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  I follow him through Celestine Library’s grand front entrance, an arched doorway with open double doors looking slightly less magnificent than the gates of heaven, or even Buckingham Palace, but not much less grandiose than the latter.

  Then I stand in the immense lobby with a sigh, watching Dante pass marble pillars on his way to the elevators in back.

  No. I’m not going to crowd into an elevator with him. I tell myself I don’t want to be trapped in an enclosed space with an Enhanced if my Fade, well, fades. But really, even I’m feeling a little sad and stalkery at this point.

  I glance around quickly, trying to find something to distract myself. And then I notice something over my shoulder, just outside Celestine’s pearly – or at least alabaster – gates.

  Several people are advancing on the doors, moving through the incoming and outgoing crowd of library-goers. There’s something instantly notable about them as they cut through the tide of students and faculty. Intense gazes, slicing right past my invisible self to where Dante just boarded the elevators. Confidant strides, happening to match the pace of their fellows, spread throughout the teaming throng of visitors. Hands reaching for bulges under their jackets. Patterns on those gray jackets subtly shifting into something less like random or aesthetic patterns than urban camouflage.

  I’m the only one who notices. My senses aren’t that Enhanced, but I catch a faint buzz just beyond the pitch of human hearing, and outside I can see a few security drones slowly rising to hover just above the roofs of surrounding buildings.

  Say what you will about Big Brother, he certainly spends on security. And I think his AIs just caught the same whiff of trouble I did.

  I’m out the door before my brain catches up with my instincts, slipping through the crowd like a silverfish through swaying reeds or a minnow in deep waters. My phone is in my hand, my thumb speed dialing before I even think about it.

  “Tim?” a slightly uncertain voice says on the other end as I hustle along the edge of the square outside the Library.

  “Hey Tam,” I answer, glancing around. Not furtively, because honestly, my whole life is furtive. No need to act suspicious when no one can see you in the first place. “Real quick – you’re not on campus, are you? Anywhere near Celestine Library?” She should be getting ready for her big day, but best to be certain. If she is, then I have no reason to stay another second.

  “No,” Tam says, “Haley just dropped me off at home.” There’s an edge to her voice, as if irritated with her big sister, but also unwilling to talk about the circumstances. Not unusual for her. Her adulation for her big sister mixes with intimidation in equal measure.

  I don’t blame her. I tread carefully around Haley, too. It’s one of the reasons losing my invisible edge makes me nervous. Not that Haley’s ever made an example out of me, or anyone else. But there’s a definite sense she could, if she ever felt like it.

  In an instant. An instant I’d rather skip, thanks for asking.

  “Cool,” I say, scanning the lobby, the square outside, the streets beyond, and every rooftop in sight. “Stay there. I’ll come by early for the party and all.”

  “Oh-kay…” she begins.

  And something clicks in my head, as a bunch of details all come together at once. More people, all trying to look casual and unhurried, all hurrying towards the Library entrance. Except a few taking positions on rooftops, forming a perimeter, and otherwise looking like a firefight or a massacre just waiting to happen.

  “Talk later,” I say shortly. “Looks like my party’s about to begin.”

  I click the call off and duck to one side, hopping onto a ramp leading into the underground parking next to the Library. Cover is good.

  I’m not an idiot, and a bullet doesn’t need to see you to kill you. I peek over the edge of one of the concrete slabs making up the structure of the parking deck.

  Just in time to see a few of the people outside pull equipment out of their jackets. One man, a young tanned guy in his 20s, pulls out a stock and a barrel, snaps them together and raises and levels the device in one smooth motion. Moving with a certain liquid grace as he does so.

  The tool in his hands looks like a rifle, but my Enhanced eyes are sharp enough to pick out details, and I recognize it.

  A railgun.

  A voice speaks directly above me. “What are these idiots up to now?”

  And I see a girl all in white just above my head, a cowl mask concealing her face.

  She wasn’t there a minute ago.

  She’s got a long white cord wrapped around a concrete support above us, and is leaning casually at a 45 degree from the same wall I’m peering around.

  Railgun Guy hasn’t noticed either of us, I think. I thank heaven for small miracles. Or maybe big ones. And then I dig in my pocket.

  She glances down at me. “Neat trick,” she remarks. “Tim, right? Ghost.”

  I pull out a tiny keychain. A ‘self-defense siren’ with a tiny 3D printed bit of clockwork attached. I punch down the plastic button, and set a clicking timer in motion. Then I pull out a little slingshot, nock my siren, and fire at the other side of the square.

  I don’t know what’s about to go down, but Big Brother let it get this far, and I’m not leaving the crowd to the mercy of a bunch of armed lunatics. Armed, well-trained lunatics.

  My shot arcs out across the plaza, and nobody follow its path back to us. Even with a white-clad girl literally hanging out five feet above my head.

  Maybe we’re just that lucky.

  Or maybe my Fade is hiding us both.

  The siren clatters on the ground and then, either from the impact or my little timer going off, something pushes the button, and a screaming whistle wails painfully loud across the streets above.

  And all around the square, chaos erupts like a supervolcano.

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