The computer was her only source of information that would lead her to believe her sister was somewhere and she had to find her.

“We need to keep looking then,” said Zach. “It’s obvious your sister wants us to find her.”

“Yeah, but there isn’t much to go off on this computer,” said Cameron.

“Cam, there’s got to be something,” said Zach.

“Zach, my sister is a super-spy and we are just graduating spies. She’d be better at her job than the rest of us and according to her video she’s in hiding. I don’t even know where to start.”

“She’s got to be in some safehouse,” said Zach.

“One that she can trust,” said Cameron. “She said her colleagues were infected with a bioweapon so she wouldn’t trust the society’s safe-houses.”

“She’d have to- she could be using one of the family’s safe-houses,” said Cameron.

“Well, that narrows it down,” said Zach.

“Not by much, our father had a ton of them scattered throughout the country,” said Cameron. “There’s no way for sure of knowing which she is staying in.”

“Do they have cameras?” asked Zach.

“She would have disabled the cameras the moment she entered the safe-house,” said Cameron. “Or something like thermal cameras outside.”

“Not if she wanted you to find her,” said Zach. Cameron told Liz to narrow down the search using cameras security cameras.

“Found her,” said Liz.

* * *

Astrid hated not having the total sum of her memories back, the list would have certainly made things easier.

That list would have certainly made things easier. We would know who they were after.

We cannot focus on finding it now, and if I do not where it is, they don’t where it is… which is generally a good thing. Besides, my hero team is working on it.

When are they going to join you?

It is not like they are not helping. We just must be spread out so it’s harder for them to cage us all up.

Astrid slipped down through the air vents. “Who doesn’t alarm their air vents?”

Which is why I was worried that you were walking into a trap.

Not a trap. This isn’t Star Wars.

Astrid paused in the office as she stopped looking for many things. Player had been her friend longer than Drew. She knew many sides of Player. She knew the smart-ass who could stand up to any hacker thrown his way, the tactician who could trick any organization. The loyal and supportive side- the side that believed that she could accomplish this but was still sensitive, and protective and supportive.

I’m picking up a couple of heat signatures, be careful.

Cloaked, remember?

Astrid dug her gloved hands into the drawer. Her hand clasped onto something. Astrid coughed as she pulled out the inoculant from the drawer.

How’d you know where it was?

Lucky guess.

Astrid climbed back up into the air vents again. “There only seems to be enough for one go around.”

She tucked the inoculant into her pocket.

I would not consider that a safe place.

It will have to do until I get out of here. There is no other place I can hide it.

Those guys have big guns.

Astrid shot an arrow out of the vent using her crossbow gauntlet.

What does that do?

Just wait. Astrid smiled slyly and then pushed a button on her watch which magnetized the air.

“Not so strong without your guns, are you?” said Astrid.

Astrid rushed past them knocking them all out and tying them up. One of them managed to shoot her in the shoulder.

Astrid! Are you alright?

Fine, I’ve had worse. The good thing is now they can’t be rid of us using the airborne virus.

Are you alright though? And don’t give me that I’ve had worse shit.

Astrid didn’t have enough energy or blood in her arteries to make it that far. She remembered what Player had said about family. Her mother had also been a spy and her aunt as well. She was the only prodigy among the family though even though her father was an alien she was only one gifted with superpowers.

Astrid had known all along that her sister was a secret agent-in-training and that she went to a school made for training spies.

Astrid stumbled upon the door and nearly collapsed with blood dripping from her wound but held onto the doorframe for support.

“Sorry to barge in…” said Astrid weakly.

“Astrid…what…you’re bleeding,” said Kathleen. “What happened?”

“I… think… Cam… can tell… you,” said Astrid drowsily.

“She’s a spy…” said Cameron bringing her a pillow and water. Astrid took them gratefully.

“More than that,” said Astrid. “I’m a Phantom.”

The Phantom Agency is an elite paramilitary organization, tasked with foreign and domestic intelligence, and special operations. Phantom agents often worked alone and with people of their own choosing. The Phantoms were created as a safety when all other intelligence agencies had failed.

“Before that I…. I made a mistake, I might have joined a criminal organization, but I figured they were taking advantage of me. When I found evidence that they contributed to Dad’s death…” Astrid coughed. “I… came upon Joseph” her eyes fell on Joseph asking if she should tell them and he nodded. “Joseph who through the Phantom, was known as Valerius, he took me on and allowed… he taught me how to become a Phantom.”

“You found her before we did,” said Kathleen. “And you didn’t tell us.”

Joseph extracted the bullet from her shoulder and she winced.

“I told him not to,” said Astrid. “Worrying about you while I was doing my work would only put you in more danger. It might be harder now that you know.”

“I would love to work with you,” said Cameron.

“Absolutely not,” said Astrid. “I have been through tons of training and a lot of worse case scenarios and even then, I have got captured. You are still in school and young.”

“You should rest, sweetie,” said Kathleen. “Take some pain medications in that cabinet over there and

After Astrid fell asleep, Joseph ruffled his eldest’s hair affectionately as he watched her sleep on the couch. He got up from the couch.

“She’s right, you know…” said Joseph. “I never wanted her in this career in the first place. There’s no way I am going to be putting Cammie in that kind of danger.”

“Did you see any other wounds on her?” asked Kathleen.

“No… but she really needs the rest,” said Joseph. He cleared his throat. “I should probably tell you what I had her working on before she came here.”

He got through a good detail of her finding at Galaxy X and how it really was a cover for the Circle when Astrid woke up. It was late evening.

“How are you feeling?” asked Cammie. “Do you need some aspirin or ibuprofen? None is not an option.”

“Do you have Advil?” asked Astrid. “I think I have a migraine and the gunshot wound still hurts like a faint throb in the background.”

Cammie went to go get Advil from the cabinet while Astrid shrugged on a jacket and sat down at the table.

“These people, the Circle… I think that they are second family you told me about in your family’s story,” said Astrid.

“We don’t know that yet,” said Kathleen.

“But what if they are…” said Astrid.

“Then, I want you nowhere near it,” said Kathleen.

“Mom… I am a part of this family too. So, it is also my duty to find out the secret that the family is protecting,” said Astrid and she stopped with a sigh. “But first, I have stop them from killing all the potential superheroes and good people in the future.”

“Not right now,” said Joseph. “You can barely stand on your own and you need time to heal. A bullet wound, no matter where you got it, can hurt like a bitch. You also have a sprained ankle… do I really need to list the injuries?”

“No…” said Astrid.

“Your bedroom is still open if you want to rest there,” said Kathleen.

“How was it?” asked Cameron. “It must have been lonely out there all on your own.”

“It was not completely lonely,” said Astrid. She deleted Player’s contact and smashed her communication device throwing it in the trash. “I had help, but I hate to put people in danger.”

“You said he was your friend,” said Cameron.

“He’s a kid… and I feel like I am stringing him along in this dangerous adventure,” said Astrid. “But… mom was right, I should not have ran. It’s good to have some peace and quiet.”

While Cameron was at school the next day, Astrid was at home with the adults discussing what she had learned. She had known or met some of these people at different times.

“I agree on not involving the kids,” said Edward. “It’s too dangerous for them.”

“But what are you suggesting of doing this alone?” asked Abe as he stood up. “These guys are clearly deadly.”