JD picked Cadence up at eight, just like she asked.

His parents were more than okay with giving him the car for the night, but only if he picked up some groceries on his way home and made it back by curfew. That meant he and Cadence had to go to the store before they met with Alan, and they'd need to make sure everything was done in time to get him home by eleven-thirty. Which meant they needed to be done by at least eleven so he had time to get Cadence home too.

They waited in the parking lot, sitting in his car, for a long time. He'd made sure to arrive early so they'd have time to observe their surroundings and mentally prepare themselves. Who could tell what might happen? Alan seemed to think everything would go smoothly, but JD didn't want to assume. That never ended well for him before.

The minutes ticked away, and ten o'clock was getting closer and closer. It would have been more bearable to sit through if Cadence had said something. Both of them were uncharacteristically quiet. He didn't want to say a word if she would prefer not to talk, but it was so unnerving.

Finally, with fifteen minutes to go, he cracked.

"Do you think they'll let him join our team?" JD asked in a quiet voice, just in case she didn't want to be disturbed.

Cadence briefly made eye contact with him. She broke it awfully fast, another thing she'd never done before—not with him. "I'm not sure. Logistically it makes some sense. Orlando could use another ally in the school, but I'm not sure if they're trying to ration everything out evenly. They could want to make another team of just the new kids who were given the injection. Still, it would make sense to place them with seasoned units."

"Yeah, I totally agree," JD said.

He did agree, but listening to her talk was hard to do. She was being the other girl, not his Cadence. The knowledge was useful, the insight spot on, but the attitude was frustrating. Why can't she say things like that and be normal while she did it? Did it have to be one way or the other?

"What?"

"Huh?" He blinked.

"Look, if it bothers you that I'm smart now, just say so. I mean, I didn't think it'd be a big deal. You always tell me how I need to apply myself more, and now I am." She folded her arms in front of her.

JD shook his head slowly, averting his gaze so he was now looking out the windshield instead of at her. "I don't have a problem with you being smart."

"But? Come on, I know it's there."

"But it'd be nice to have you be, I don't know, you?" He didn't know how to explain it to her, let alone in a way where she wouldn't get offended. When he saw her angry glare, he was pretty sure he'd done that anyway.

Her jaw was tight for a minute, and then she spoke. "You keep making this assumption that I'm not myself. Maybe you need to learn how to accept the fact that sometimes people change. And I don't see why this is such a big deal. Do you not want me to be smarter than you for a change?"

"It has nothing to do with you being smart. You're so serious, okay? Big words and dark thoughts. I don't like it." He scowled and waved his hands in front of him. "It's frustrating. You talk like you're forty."

"All I did was answer your question as accurately as possible."

"I know, but it's kind of creepy," he muttered. The glare she gave him after he said that cut him worse than a knife.

"Am I your best friend?"

It took him a moment to gather the courage, but he made eye contact with her again. "Yes. You are and you always will be."

"Then deal with it and accept that this is part of who I am now. I'm tired of dumbing myself down for the sake of comfort, and I don't want to be held back any more. My whole life I've been at a disadvantage."

"I know." He did, he knew exactly why she felt the way she did. How did he get her to understand what he was feeling?

"So then what is your beef exactly?"

JD never got a chance to explain it further because he saw Alan at the flagpole, and another figure was approaching him. "They're here."

Cadence opened her car door. "You're not off the hook here. I'm still mad at you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he mumbled and got out as well.

Together they walked to the flagpole, each putting on their mask. She stayed close to him, so that was a good sign he hadn't completely messed everything up. When Cadence was mad at him, it made him miserable.

They'd had a number of tiffs and spats. He wasn't the easiest to get along with, and he knew it. The times he'd made her genuinely mad at him were nothing he ever wanted to experience again. She didn't talk to him, wouldn't even look at him, and there was no doubt in his mind that she did it because she was thinking over whether or not they could still be friends. The idea of losing her forever broke him more than anything.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"We will talk about it later," she said tersely.

JD let out a slow breath, refocusing on their mission. Personal drama had to wait for later. Alan was expecting them to be on top of their game. It didn't take long for all of them to gather at the flagpole. Dale approached with uncertainty. A small relief. If he was nervous too, then they might not be walking into a trap.

"Who are you? Why are you wearing those masks?" Dale asked and backed himself into the pole, his gaze never leaving JD and Cadence. "Look, don't hurt me, okay? I'll just walk away, and pretend nothing happened and won't tell anyone."

"It is I who requested to speak with you," Alan said. "The matter is urgent and it could be pertinent to your life as well as your girlfriend's."

"You better not have hurt Tori or I'll—"

"I have done nothing to her."

JD ran a hand through his hair. "We know about what happened at the party. We know you know too. You could call us the good guys, I guess, because we were the ones who busted up the operation and helped everyone escape."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dale said in barely more than a whisper, and looked down at the ground.

"Lying to yourself isn't going to do anyone any good, man."

"So what if I was there, a lot of kids were there." Dale's gaze grew hard.

"Were you given an injection?" Alan asked.

Dale kicked at the dead grass under his feet, but didn't say a word.

"You won't get in trouble. It's important we know. Please?" Aland pressed, moving closer.

Dale's mouth flapped open and closed for about half a minute before he finally managed a pathetic, "Yes. I didn't know what it was or what it would do to me. My girlfriend and I were there hanging out with some friends, and we had gotten into a fight. She said I needed to relax and stop being boring, live a little, and then she left and didn't come back. I was mad when I went down, wasn't thinking. What was I thinking? Injecting myself with illegal drugs? And then I passed out and—"

The guy was speaking so fast JD almost missed it all. He fanned both of his hands in an effort to try to get Dale to calm down. "Chill, okay? He's right, you aren't going to get in trouble. We aren't like, FBI, or police, or anything." The wide eyes suggested that Dale didn't quite believe him. JD waited a little while longer before continuing. "So you kind of went down there out of spite? Thought you'd stick it to her by getting stuck and doing something out of the norm?"

"Dumbest idea ever, but I didn't want to lose her. She's kind of changing. I might be too late," Dale admitted.

"Feel you there," JD said and risked a glance at Cadence, who was already staring at him. He couldn't quite figure out how to read her face, though. A frown, but not angry like before; it was more sad than anything.

Alan nodded as if he understood as well, and he might have. JD didn't know much about the situation involving the alien and his ex, so he couldn't tell. "This might seem a peculiar question, but has anything you would consider strange happened to you since then?"

Dale's gaze moved over each of them. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. And I know something strange is happening to Tori, too. She's been distant ever since the party. Lying to me, and we told each other we weren't going to do that, you know? Not sure what to do." He paused. "I don't know why I'm even telling you all of this. It's almost like..."

"Almost like what?" Alan asked.

"Never mind." Dale shook his head.

"What strange things are happening? Again, we want to be of assistance to you."

"It's like my body has... No you're going to think it's crazy."

JD snorted. "Dude, after some of the strange things I've seen, I'm pretty sure it's not as crazy as you think."

"Okay, you asked for it," Dale mumbled. Then louder he said, "It's like ink is pumping in my body instead of blood. I'm not sure that it's actually ink. Oil maybe? It's slippery and black, highly flammable. At the same time I can draw stuff with it, construct things even and it becomes what I want it to be. Using it makes me tired, like I'm losing part of myself. Which if my blood theory is correct, then I probably am."

"Whoa." JD gasped. Intense and so cool. Don't get jealous. Nope. Not worth it. But he was. Everyone was getting an amazing, cool, and useful ability but him.

They all stood silently. Outside of the wind occasionally rustling through the trees it was dead quiet. Dale rubbed at his arms, Alan took notes on a small device, Cadence watched JD, and he watched her. A soft beep disrupted the otherwise still night, and Alan let out a soft huff.

"There's a lot to explain," he began and pulled out the Wimosiphyer, the device he had shown Cadence, JD, and Orlando almost a month ago.

It was similar to a portable DVD player. On it was something like a movie, one that played in the mind that contained all of the information about the war on Altura and how it impacted Earth. At least Alan claimed it had everything they'd need to know on it.

The first time JD watched it he'd gotten a brief overview of what Altura looked like. He also saw all of the ways it was similar to Earth. The second time he saw some of the devastation on the planet, which he assumed was caused by the war. What he did understand of the conflict was that multiple nations were warring against one another and that war was spilling over to Earth.

That was the part that scared him the most. What kind of people found it okay to fight their personal battles on a land that didn't belong to them?

The small orb making up the Wimosiphyer began to glow brightly, and this time JD turned away from it. He didn't want to watch again. Once the light faded, he returned his gaze to Dale, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"I'm not being punked, am I?" Dale asked quietly.

"No," JD said, and held up a hand to keep Alan quiet. "I'll explain what that means later man. Not now."

Dale shifted his weight from foot to foot. "So the party..."

"Was the bad guys trying to make soldiers out of you."

"And how do I know you're not the bad guys?" Dale's dark eyes met JD's, and there was something strong and dangerous behind the gaze.

"The other tribes would not treat you as an equal. You would not be given options. You'd be forced to swear allegiance to the cause and if you refused they would either kill you or alter you in some other way to make you forget," Alan said.

With a nod, Dale shoved his hands into his pockets. "I see. And if I refuse you? What are you going to do? Just let me go?"

"Essentially. It wouldn't be what I would consider a wise decision, but it would be one I would have to respect. Who would you tell? Those who don't know wouldn't believe you. If you show off your abilities, you'll be taken for study. Anyone involved with the war will try to force you to join them, or hurt you. You walking away with knowledge is of no concern to me, outside of your safety I mean."

"Can I think about this?"

"Yes, of course. May I offer one piece of advice?" Alan put the Wimosiphyer away again. Dale nodded. Alan moved so he was standing over the guy. "Your girlfriend may proposition you to come with her to meet someone, or just to go with her somewhere. Do not do it. She is in allegiance with the blue tribe. I do not recommend getting involved with them, and especially not because of her. Not unless you're positive she's worth it."

The last sentence explained so much about Alan's relationship with his ex-fiancée. Was he the one who didn't think she was worth the risk, or had it been the other way around? Then JD thought about Cadence. What would he give up for her?

Anything, he realized.

It was time for him to get off his lazy butt and make a move already because she wasn't going to do it. In fact, he was positive she had no clue whatsoever he even had feelings for her that were more than friendly.

Dale ran a hand over his face and then checked the time on his phone. JD did the same and saw that it was ten-thirty already. "I'll keep it in mind. I...I have a lot to think about. If I didn't have this stuff..."

He pulled his arm out in front of him, shaking, and opened the palm of his hand to reveal a small ball of black goo. It bobbed up and down on his hand as if it were alive.

"Yeah, I had a hard time believing it too, man," JD said.

"How will I contact you?"

"I'll find you," Alan said. "Perhaps I can arrange for something else in a few days' time? Would that be acceptable? Or would you prefer more time?"

"Th-three days sh-should be enough," Dale said.

"Then I will return to you at this time in three days."

None of them said goodbye. Without one word, Dale walked away, heading down the sidewalk. JD glanced over at Alan before looking at Cadence.

"So what do you think?" he asked. "Do you think he'll come back?"

"I'm not sure. A lot of it is dependent on how he feels for his girlfriend. I worry he is desperate to keep her since he made such a foolish decision," Alan said in a hushed voice.

He led the way to where JD had parked. JD unlocked the car and got in. Alan sat in the backseat while Cadence sat up front once again. Taking that as a sign that Alan would be traveling with them, at least for part of the trip, he started up the car so he could take Cadence back home.

She gazed out the window, her fingers running through her dark hair. "In a way it's sweet, but yeah, dumb. He didn't sound too sure about the longevity of their relationship when he spoke about it. I could sense the hesitation there. Desperate, but he's questioning her now. When he said she was changing..." She looked at JD.

JD gave a weak smile. "We'll find out tomorrow if he shows up. We're still planning on spying right?"

"Yes," Alan said.

"Cool, then there you go." JD nodded, feeling confident for the first time in a while.

Being a part of the team was a roller-coaster ride. Some days everything felt up and great, like nothing could go wrong. Other days it was as if nothing could go right. When he briefly glanced Cadence's way, he noticed her frowning.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Something he said tonight has me curious, but... I don't know."

"Well, if you share, maybe I can help you figure it out?"

She shook her head again. "No. It's nothing."

His hands gripped the steering wheel tighter and he clenched his teeth together. How long was she going to ice him out? "Okay."

"If it's important, please do share," Alan said.

"So what did your superiors say about having him join the team?" JD asked, switching gears on the conversation.

"They said he would either be placed with us, or with one of my comrades. He's a friend of mine actually, and he has expressed interest in working with us more closely. A partnership of sorts. As we start to come into our own, we'll be placed on more complex missions. His skills and charges will be of great assistance to those."

"Cool."

"Yes, I suppose you could say that." Alan didn't seem too sure, though.

JD almost asked for more details when he noticed Cadence was still staring at him. "What?"

"I get it," she said quietly. "That thing from earlier. I get it now."

It felt like an apology, which was odd since why wouldn't she just come out and say it? That's what she'd have done in the past. "Getting it" was a step, at least. And she was no longer mad at him.