Free Web NovelChapter 81: Chapter 80 - The Higher Ups
Point-of-View: Inoka Fonseka
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Looks like I’m the first one back, huh. Well, considering that I had Neo’s portals to rely on while the others had to use regular modes of travel, like a bunch of normie peasants, that’s not exactly surprising, I suppose.
A few hours had passed since we got back, Neo had gone to report what happened to the higher ups, and I was just lazing about in my room.
Still, though...that was a seriously rough mission, mentally speaking, anyway. And having experienced that, my whole perspective of Harmony has changed now, as has my understanding of Meta-Human society in general.
Neo had seemed kinda cold at the start of our mission, but now I see that he was just trying to put on a brave front, it was pretty obvious now that I look back on it.
And you know what, in a fucked up way, I do kinda understand why this mission was necessary, or rather, I can understand Harmony’s perspective on it.
Just to be clear, I absolutely don’t agree with it. I’m just saying that I understand it, that’s all. But what I don’t understand is the cruelty of sending someone to kill their own brother...surely there were others that qualified to carry it out?
"Hey, Inoka, come with me for a bit," Suddenly came Neo’s voice from my left, making me jump as I got startled.
"Wha-...!? Seriously, couldn’t you just use a door like a normal person?" I sighed in exasperation, as I glanced at him.
His head was poking out of a portal a couple of meters away from my bed, before he widened the portal and stepped out.
"Sure, sorry. Anyway, come with me...the higher ups want to talk to you," He replied, his eyes looking slightly dead.
There was none of his usual wit or dry remarks...man, he must be going through a lot right now. Also, back up a sec...
"Wait, seriously? Your higher ups have never interacted with any of us Outliers directly before, so why now?" I responded incredulously.
"Yeah, just...come along, it’s easier to see for yourself than for me to explain," He sighed, sounding drained.
I’m feeling kinda suspicious about this whole thing, but...the way he is right now, I kinda feel guilty about arguing, so I’ll go along quietly, just this once.
"Alright, fine...lead the way."
He then gestured to me to follow his into his portal, I obliged and stepped in, before emerging into a large room. There were a couple of older men and women at the front, glancing up as I walked in, their eyes fixed on me.
There were also a few laptops, with video conference apps active and displaying feeds of more old people...must be some other of the higher ups too. If I remember right, all of them are former Category 0s and 1s that are now retired.
A lot of them are supposed to over a hundred years old or close to it, but they look a bit younger...Meta-Humans age a bit slower than normal humans do, and the average lifespan of a Meta when it comes to natural deaths is around a hundred and twenty to a hundred and thirty years old.
Meta-Humans’ Auras start to deteriorate and diminish by the age of sixty, and by the age of around eighty-five to ninety, their Auras are effectively gone. They’re little more than normal humans at that point, but they’ve still got about thirty to forty years left to live, assuming they’re healthy and whatnot.
The majority of the Metas I’ve met have looked a bit younger than their actual ages...not by drastic amounts, mind you, and not to a level that’s unattainable to normal humans, but since Metas age differently and more efficiently, their primes tend to last a lot longer than normal humans.
Anyway, these old farts and hags may have been hot shit in the past, but now, they’re just a bunch of old has-beens with no powers, or at most, severely weakened powers. Just what the hell do they want with me?
"Ah, good, you brought him, Neo," Remarked an old man, sitting in the middle of the others.
"Yes, sir," Came the half-hearted response. freёweɓnovel.com
"Now, then, Outlier...do you know why we summoned you?" The old man asked me.
"Well, first off, I have a name, you know. And no, I don’t have a clue," I shrugged in response.
"Tch...we called you here because we’d like to talk to you about the recently concluded mission that ended in failure that you were a part of, Outlier."
Did that old shit just...click his tongue at me? And his tone was very pointed when he called me ’Outlier’ again...what a wrinkly old dick...
"Oh, yeah? What about the mission?" I replied with a raised eyebrow.
"I’ll get straight to the point. Keep the details of what happened to yourself, do not tell the other Outliers about it."
Ohh, so that’s what this is about...
"May I ask why? I mean, it almost sounds like you want to hide that particular aspect of this organization...oh, but wait, since Harmony has such a righteous goal, that surely can’t be the case...right?" I remarked with an icy smirk.
"I see that you need to learn your place, Outlier, you have no right to question our decisions. We have been gracious enough to provide you with hospitable treatment, despite your standing, and we can just as easily change that."
"My standing, huh? Why don’t you be a bit more specific, old man?" I shot back defiantly.
"Did I not just say that you have no right to question our decisions? We have functioned for centuries because the authority of those in charge is absolute, you need to understand that, or you will regret it."
"That’s laughable, considering that you’ve got a traitor in your midst and even after all these months, you still have no idea who it is. Face it, that’s proof that I’m far from the only one questioning how ’absolute’ your authority really is," I stated objectively.
"How insolent!" Snapped one of the fossils watching through a laptop.
"Watch your mouth, you’re nothing but a tool for us to use as we please!"
And there it is, they finally said it out loud.
"Can I go now? I really don’t see why I had to do this directly," I signed in response.
"Why, you bastard-...tch, you can leave after you agree to keep the details of the mission to yourself."
"Out of curiosity, what if I don’t?" I retorted with a raised eyebrow.
"We will consider separating you Outliers. For now, we’ve determined that the benefits of keeping you all together outweigh the drawbacks...but if that changes, there’ll be no reason to continue the status quo."
Well, that’s playing dirty. These old shits. Wish I were even close to as strong as Aurora is, then I’d be able to have my way by force. But I’m not, so it’s a moot point.
"Alright, fine. If it means I can leave, then sure, I’ll agree to that. It’s not exactly a pleasant conversation topic anyway, so whatever," I shrugged, before turning around and heading back to the portal.
"You had better fix that attitude, or else."
"Hm...you should know, I hate being told what to do, especially when you say something as clichéd as ’or else’," I remarked mockingly as I paused by the portal, before glancing back with a cold glare, "I don’t care if you see us as nothing more than tools or whatever, it really doesn’t matter to me...but take my warning, we’re not just gonna be quiet and let you use us as you please. We’ve all got our own circumstances and sets of issues, but I can guarantee that none of us, not me nor any of the others, are so weak that we’d let ourselves be pushed around by the likes of you. Don’t think you can control us, got it, you old shits?"
With that, I headed into the portal, Neo stepping in after me, as I ignored the several death glares directed at me in unison from the higher ups.
"Okay, we’re back," Said Neo, as we reappeared in my room.
"Hey, man, not that I needed it, but a little back up would’ve been nice back there," I sighed dryly.
"Oh, okay...sorry, I wasn’t really paying attention."
He probably needs to be left alone for a while, he’s clearly got a lot to think about.
"Man, that wore me out," I muttered to myself, as I flopped onto the bed.
Neo then took out his phone as it suddenly rang, glancing at the screen before answering it.
"Hm...hm...okay. Send me your coordinates," He mumbled in response to the caller.
He then received a notification and tapped on the screen, pausing for a moment before opening a portal and stepping through.
Good, I wasn’t sure how to tell him to get out of my room in his current depressed mode without coming off like a total asshole. I just wanted some peace and quiet after that mission and the interaction with those stupid higher ups.
I lazily rolled onto my side and unlocked my phone, absent-mindedly scrolling through some apps as I let out a stifled yawn. Failure or not, that mission was still a short one, but I’m still totally wiped out.
Hm? I think I just heard one of the nearby doors open...is one of the others back? Oh, maybe that’s what Neo’s call was about. Well, whatever, I’ll go see who it is later, or maybe they’ll come to me instead. I’m just too comfortable to get up right now.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, I heard the sound of a door shutting, and footsteps approaching...they sound pretty light, so it’s probably Alexis. Zoraiz likes to wear thick-soled boots, and Aurora’s footsteps are super silent and quiet.
Heh, look at me, being all detective-like and stuff. I guess this much is only natural, considering that I’ve spent the majority of my time with them for several months. A knock on my door then rang out, before the handle twisted down and just as I’d guessed, Alexis poked her head in, and then walked in as she spotted me.
"Hey, I see you’re looking as lazy as ever," She greeted me dryly.
"Hi to you, too, kiddo. So, how’d your mission go?" I responded with a yawn.
"Well, let’s just say that I understand how Harmony operates a little bit better now," She sighed wearily.
"Oh, you too, huh?" I replied with a wry smile.
"Yeah, it’s a long story. How was yours?" She asked me.
"Hm, how to put this? It was so shitty that I literally can’t talk about it," I replied with a sigh.
"Huh? The heck’s up with that?" She responded with a bemused look.
"Well, the gag order aside, I’d rather not talk about it anyway," I muttered as I stared up at the ceiling.
"A gag order? Ew, I just pictured you with one of those BDSM gags," She groaned in disgust.
"Wow, really, you dumb little blonde?" I responded with a raised eyebrow.
"Tch, you really piss me off, you dick."
"Right back at you, shitty brat."
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