The warmth in her voice had evaporated. This was Diane Fitzgerald the CEO, the woman who built an empire out of managing Heroes and their public images. This was the professional who made calculated decisions based on risk assessnt and long-term strategy.
I was losing her.
Change tactics.
"You’re right," I said. "I’m asking you to take a risk. For . That’s not fair." I paused, watching her face. "But think about what happens if this gets out. Best case scenario, I get flagged for enhanced monitoring. The IHL runs additional diagnostics, maybe figures out that my abilities don’t match any known manifestation pattern. They start asking questions about my parents, about my history, about why this happened now."
"And worst case?"
"Worst case, I beco valuable. Really valuable. The kind of valuable that makes agencies start bidding wars and governnt programs start making offers that aren’t actually optional." I leaned forward slightly.
"You’ve been in this industry for twenty years. You know what happens to kids with rare abilities when the wrong people find out."
Her expression shifted. Just a fraction, but I caught it.
"So you want to help you stay under the radar."
"I want you to help get through Halloran without becoming a lab rat or a recruitnt target." I held her gaze. "Once I’m licensed, once I have so agency backing, the risk drops. But right now I’m just a seventeen-year-old with abilities I don’t understand and no legal protection."
Diane uncrossed her legs, recrossed them the other direction. The movent was deliberate, controlled, buying her ti to think.
"If I agree to this," she said slowly, "you register as Channeler-type with telekinesis only. You don’t use the speed ability in public. You don’t demonstrate it for anyone. And you sure as hell don’t use it during the Halloran entrance exam where it’ll be recorded from six different angles."
"Agreed."
"And if the IHL ever does find out about the second ability, you tell them you didn’t realize it was separate. You thought it was all part of the sa package. You play the confused late-manifestation card and you keep my na out of it entirely."
"Done."
"And you tell the truth about what else you’re hiding."
My stomach dropped. "What?"
"Sugar, I’ve been reading people since before you were born. You admitted to two abilities way too fast for soone who was actually trying to hide sothing." She leaned closer, her blue eyes boring into mine. "So either you’re a terrible liar, which we both know you’re not, or you’re giving the second-worst secret to protect the first-worst one. Which is it?"
My brain scrambled. She was right. I’d folded too easily on the Blitz reveal because I was terrified she’d dig deeper and find out about the System itself.
The System chid in helpfully.
〘 Current success probability: 34%. Recomnd deploying emotional vulnerability combined with partial truth disclosure. Diane Fitzgerald responds positively to authenticity when layered with strategic omission. 〙
"You want the truth?" I asked. "Fine. I don’t know why I manifested two abilities. I don’t know why it happened this week. I don’t know if there’s more coming or if this is it." I let the frustration bleed into my voice.
"All I know is that for nine years everyone looked at like I was broken. The Unmarked kid living off charity, the one who didn’t inherit anything from his Hero parents. And now I finally have sothing and it’s weird and complicated and I’m terrified that if anyone finds out how weird it actually is, I’ll go right back to being the broken one. Just a different kind of broken."
Silence.
Diane’s expression softened. Not much, but enough.
"You’re not broken, Lukas."
"Then why does it feel like I am?"
She reached over and put her hand on top of mine. The contact sent electricity through my nervous system. Her skin was warm, soft, her fingers resting against my knuckles with just enough pressure to feel intentional.
"Because you’re seventeen and you’re scared and you’ve spent nine years thinking you weren’t good enough," she said quietly. "That’s normal. What you’re doing about it, lying to the IHL and gambling your future on a secret, that’s the part that worries ."
"Will you keep it secret?" I asked. "Please."
She looked at for what felt like forever. Her hand stayed on mine. Her Temptation Gauge flickered in my peripheral vision, rising slowly from 19% to 21%.
The System noted this developnt with what I swear was amusent.
〘 Physical contact during vulnerability increases attachnt. Diane Fitzgerald’s emotional baseline adjusting. Current trajectory favorable. 〙
Finally, Diane squeezed my hand and released it.
"I’ll keep your secret," she said. "But you owe . And not just breakfast."
Relief hit so hard I almost laughed. "What do you want?"
"Honesty. If sothing else manifests, if your abilities start doing things you don’t understand, you co to first. Not Sloane. . I have resources, connections, people who can help without involving the IHL." She stood up, smoothing her skirt. "And you work for my agency after you graduate. Non-negotiable. Three years minimum."
"Deal."
"Good." She walked toward the door, heels clicking, then paused and looked back at . "And Lukas?"
"Yeah?"
"Whatever you did in that theater room with my daughter, you better be serious about it. Because if you hurt her, having two secret abilities won’t help you. I’ll bury you so deep not even your Phantom Touch will find its way out."
She left before I could respond, the door clicking shut behind her.
I sat on my bed, staring at the space where she’d been standing, my heart still racing.
The System displayed the quest completion notification.
〘 ERGENCY QUEST COMPLETE: Damage Control
Success condition achieved. Diane Fitzgerald has agreed to maintain secrecy regarding undisclosed ability.
Rewards:
→ 100 SP
→ 1x Bronze Gacha Pull
→ Diane Fitzgerald’s Trust: Established
Diane Fitzgerald’s Temptation Gauge: 21% ( 2%)
New tric unlocked: Trust. Trust enables access to advanced quest chains and reduces suspicion penalties for future interactions. Current Trust rating: Moderate. 〙
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