Chương 104: Pathfinder

Carmen's voice cut across the bridge before Talia could respond.

"Are you saying there's a stowaway aboard my ship?" Alexander met her gaze. The question carried weight beyond simple curiosity. Technically, the GSS Sleipnir belonged to Grimnir. They'd borrowed it fair and square, after all. But Carmen commanded it, and a captain calling their vessel 'my ship' was more than semantics. It was about authority and responsibility. They'd agreed she would run the ship. But this was a superhuman threat. He chose his words carefully.

"I'm saying there's someone aboard who shouldn't be here. A superhuman, based on the bioelectrical signature." He paused, gauging her reaction.

"Captain, I know the arrangement between us is going to require careful balance. You're in command of this ship and its crew. But in this case, you need to let us handle it." Carmen's expression didn't change, but Alexander caught the tension in her posture. At the weapons console, Davis shifted forward, eager. James glanced between them, uncertain. The silence stretched for a few moments.

"Understood," Carmen said finally. She turned to her crew, voice carrying clear authority.

"Davis, stop acting like you're going to throw down with a supe. James, Yuki, maintain course. Everyone stays at their stations unless I say otherwise." Her gaze returned to Alexander.

"Don't blow up my ship in the process."

"Wasn't planning on it," Alexander said. Under his breath, he muttered, "Why do people always think I'm going to blow things up?" Carmen tapped her comms panel.

"All crew, this is the captain. Secure yourselves where you are. We have a superhuman intruder aboard. Grimnir will be handling the situation. Remain calm and follow standard lockdown protocols." Her tone was professional, measured, but Alexander felt the bioelectrical spikes across the ship as crew members processed the announcement. Fear and adrenaline, he guessed, even despite Carmen delivering the news carefully. Alexander pulled up the System's comms and contacted the rest of the team.

"Annie, Augustus, Felix. We have a problem. There's a twenty-fifth person aboard. Superhuman. Currently reading in the cargo storage area. Meet us there."

"On our way," Augustus replied immediately.

"Finally, some action!" Annie's voice carried excitement. Felix simply sent a thumbs up through the System interface. Alexander moved toward the bridge exit. Annie would be coming from the guest quarters where she'd been helping the aliens settle. Augustus from his cabin. Felix had been exploring the ship. The cargo storage area sat starboard, middle of the ship. A large space filled with supply containers and equipment, designed with sections that could open to allow docking tubes for cargo transfers.

The others converged at the entrance. Annie had already shifted MetaMetal across most of her body. She was getting close to reaching full transformation. Augustus held his wand loosely. Felix sat beside Augustus, alert.

"He's inside," Alexander said quietly.

"Near the back, behind the supply containers." They spread out, entering a tactical formation without discussion. Annie took point. Augustus moved right, wand aimed ahead of him, Felix on his heels. Talia slipped in behind Annie, tapping her twice on the back. To Alexander's surprise, Annie started glowing faintly, though she didn't seem to notice it herself. Alexander didn't comment, instead moving left to cover Annie's flank.

The cargo bay was dim, emergency lighting casting long shadows between the stacked containers. Alexander extended his senses, searching for the signature. Nothing. He frowned, sweeping again. The bioelectrical pattern he'd tracked from the bridge was simply gone. He hadn't sensed it move. It was as if it had simply disappeared.

"He was here," Alexander said.

"I'm sure of it." Augustus checked behind a container, wand first.

"Clear." Annie moved deeper into the bay.

"Nothing." Felix's nose worked the air, then he looked back at Alexander and shook his head. Alexander expanded his search, letting his Electrokinesis spread through the entire ship. There.

"He's in the mess hall now. With one of the crew."

"Teleporter?" Talia asked.

"I don't know. But we need to move." They ran. Felix took the lead, his four legs eating up the distance faster than the others. Alexander pushed to keep up, tracking the signature, but it remained stationary. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Felix burst into the mess hall first, sliding across the polished floor. The rest of Grimnir followed seconds later. Dan Humphries, the ship's chef, peeked from behind the counter, eyes wide.

Felix was already approaching him.

"Did you see anyone come through here?" Felix asked.

"No, sir," Dan said quickly, despite his obvious surprise. Alexander recalled what they knew about him. He'd served with Carmen during her civilian days, one of the few civilians she'd trusted enough to bring aboard. Competent and reliable, her notes said, even if he currently looked terrified.

"I ducked behind the counter the moment the captain gave the order. But there was this weird sound. I dunno what it was. Like the air was flapping?" Alexander's frown deepened. The signature had moved again.

"He's at the gym now."

"We need to split up," Augustus said, already thinking tactically.

"He's staying ahead of us because we're moving as a group." Alexander turned to Talia.

"Based on the pattern. Cargo bay to mess hall to gym. Where does he go next?" Talia's eyes went distant for just a moment, using her Mind Palace to work through probabilities.

"Engineering or the main hallway near the bridge, assuming there is a pattern to it." Alexander nodded.

"I'll head for the gym."

"Felix, you're with me," Augustus said.

"We'll take engineering."

"Annie and I will cover the bridge approach," Talia added. They split without further discussion, each team moving with purpose. Alexander approached the gym alone, electricity already crackling between his fingers. He wished he had his gauntlets. And his armor. The comfort of being fully prepared for a fight. But those were back in his quarters, and there wasn't time. The door swished open. Empty. But Alexander heard it. A sound like pages of a book being rapidly flipped, each one a whisper of displaced air.

Then silence. The signature vanished from his senses entirely.

"Nothing," he reported to the others.

"But he was definitely here. Heard the sound Dan described."

"Engineering is clear," Augustus confirmed.

"Bridge hallway empty," Talia said. Alexander swept his powers across the ship again, searching for that distinctive bioelectrical pattern. There.

"Meeting room. Center of the ship," he said, then paused a moment.

"Right between where we all are now." Alexander recalled the room. It sat at the Sleipnir's heart, equidistant from most major sections. Four entrances. Large round table with high-backed chairs. Screens on the walls. An executive space designed for the CEO of a mega-corporation to hold meetings. Perfect positioning. Almost like their stowaway had planned it.

"Converging," Augustus said. Alexander moved quickly. The others would be approaching from different angles. Three teams to cover three entrances. The fourth might be the stowaway's escape path, if they didn't just teleport again. He reached the door, took a breath, and reached out again with his powers. The intruder was still there, still waiting. Alexander triggered the door and stepped through, Electrokinesis on display. The others came through simultaneously.

Augustus from the left, wand leveled, military precision in every movement. Annie exploded through the right, her arms shifted to long blades. Talia slipped in behind Annie, immediately edging away to flank toward the fourth exit. Felix positioned himself near Augustus, low and ready. He wasn't growling like a real dog would, but his posture was unmistakably one ready to attack. The man at the table didn't flinch.

He sat with one ankle crossed over the other, expensive dress shoes propped casually on the polished conference table. Black suit, black pants, the jacket unbuttoned to reveal a red silk shirt beneath with the top button undone. His dark hair was stylishly messy, like he'd run his hands through it and somehow made it look intentional. Facial hair trimmed but rough, that careful edge between unkempt and rakish. His eyes were on Alexander's doorway. Had been, Alexander realized with a chill, before he'd even entered.

Tracking him. The man smiled, easy and relaxed. Like they were old friends about to catch up, not a superhuman surrounded by five others about to fight.

"Took you long enough," he said, eyes still on Alexander.

"I was starting to get bored." An analog watch gleamed on his wrist as he shifted slightly, settling deeper into the chair. His posture suggested he had no intention of running. The standoff held for three heartbeats. The man in the chair simply watched Alexander without concern. Augustus broke the silence.

"That's not possible." The man's attention shifted to Augustus, and his smile widened.

"Hello, Auggy. Been a minute." Augustus's wand stayed level, but Alexander caught the shock on his face. Along with confusion and recognition.

"Wait," Annie said, sword-arms twitching like she wanted to throw her hands up.

"You know this guy?" Augustus didn't answer immediately. His jaw worked, gaze moving between the stranger and Alexander. The hesitation stretched long enough that Talia edged closer, ready to attack. Finally, Augustus said quietly, "This is Spencer." Alexander frowned. The name meant nothing to him.

"And who is Spencer?" Spencer's expression shifted, something softer breaking through the casual confidence. He looked at Alexander like he was seeing someone he'd lost and found again.

"Last time you saw me," Spencer said, holding his hand out at waist height, indicating maybe two feet off the ground, "you were yay high." His voice carried warmth despite the circumstances.

"He's your cousin, Alex," Augustus clarified. Alexander stared. His parents had never mentioned extended family. Never talked about siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins. Not in his world or this one.

"I don't have a cousin," Alexander said.

"You do," Augustus said quietly.

"Spencer is your father's nephew." The electricity crackling across Alexander's knuckles flickered and died. He stared at Spencer, searching for something familiar in those features and found it quickly. The dark hair. The easy confidence. Something about the eyes, maybe. The way he held himself.

"I know this is a lot, but I'm here because I had to be." Augustus stepped forward, his voice carrying an edge Alexander rarely heard.

"Why now? Why risk drawing their attention here?" Spencer pulled back his sleeve slightly, checking the watch on his wrist. The mechanical hands moved with a precise, steady rhythm, loud enough for everyone to hear. Tick. Tick. Tick. He counted three beats before looking up, first at Augustus, then at Alexander.

"I don't know what's going to happen," Spencer said.

"That's not how my power works. But I know a whole lot of paths are supposed to end in a couple of days. Most of Grimnir's included."