"Well, I did not say you passed with flying colors."
Claire shrugged.
"I am asking how I passed at all."
"Because context matters."
Claire was direct.
"You nearly killed people, yes.
But these people followed you, they provoked you, mocked your murdered parents, and ignored repeated warnings to leave."
Claire paused for a mont, then—
"But that doesn’t excuse the lack of control that you showed during the fight, so yes, you passed, but you passed with a strong recomndation for supervision."
Lucian looked at her, then, he let out a dry laugh.
"That sounds like a terrible grade."
"It is. But it is still a grade."
"Doesn’t sound like a very difficult test, honestly."
"You would be surprised how quickly morality disappears when soone realizes ordinary humans cannot stop them."
Claire’s eyes turned cold, as if she thought of a disgusting mory.
"The Enclave does not recruit every being who suddenly gains strength. First, they are monitored in silence and once they show their true self, once we find out what they do when they realize they are above everyone...
We react accordingly."
"Accordingly?"
Lucian raised an eyebrow.
"We either recruit them or..."
Claire looked at Lucian with her grey eyes and—
"We erase them."
"So you kill them."
"Yes."
Claire didn’t hide it.
"Is it you who does the killing?"
"There are people better suited for it."
"And... what if I do not join you? Will these people kill as well?"
"We may not be selfless, nor am I asking you to romanticise us.
But we do not force anyone to join us."
Claire shook her head.
"You wouldn’t have to, after all, if I don’t join you, I will be overwheld by those lawyers, I have no choice but to join you."
Lucian just laughed, more at himself than anyone else.
But again—
Claire shook her head.
"We will take care of those lawyers for you whether you join us or not."
"...what?"
Lucian’s expression changed.
"We watched you from a distance, we had the power to stop you anyti we wanted, but we didn’t because we wanted to see how far you would go.
So the ss you are in is our fault as well.
And we fix our sses.
Rest assured, those lawyers will no longer bother you."
Claire spoke as she collected the file in front of her, as if she was planning to leave.
"I take it you do not wish to join?"
She asked.
"You will take care of those lawyers even if I don’t...?"
He asked, just to be sure.
"That is what I said, yes."
Claire nodded.
"Just know that this will be the only ti we will cover for you. The lawyers will disappear, but you will be on your own again. You would need to adjust to your body, to your powers, to your... state."
She paused, looking at the hard-on Lucian had for a mont before looking back at him.
"I will give you one warning though, the world the Enclave has been hiding all this while is closer to you than you think.
You will beco a target.
Especially if that Incubus figures out you survived—
He will co after you."
The instant she said those words, Lucian’s eyes changed.
"That Incubus..."
He could already tell who she was talking about.
"He will find on his own...?"
His purple eyes shined.
"Yes, but if you et him as you are right now, you will not survive.
The gym and MMA won’t help either."
Claire didn’t exactly laugh, but Lucian could sense how dismissive she sounded.
"And if I join you? Will your training make strong enough to kill him?"
"We do not know."
Claire shook her head.
"We do not know your potential yet.
But joining gives you the best shot at your revenge."
Lucian lowered his head as he started thinking about it. He rembered what Coach Hale said, he rembered how he suggested that he should join another centre but honestly, Lucian knew it already.
Other MMA centres won’t be any different.
This wasn’t about better machines, sports doctors or Olympic-level coaches, those were all for... humans.
And he was no longer... a normal human.
So...
"Alright."
He looked at Claire and—
"I will join."
He agreed.
Revenge.
That was all that mattered.
He would kill that bastard no matter what it took, no matter how low he needed to fall.
Claire nodded back, she didn’t seem particularly happy or sad about his decision, she simply nodded.
"Good. Then be ready by nine."
"By nine? Today?"
Lucian raised his eyebrow.
"Yes."
Claire nodded as she stood up.
"What about the university? Will I be able to attend my university?"
"Of course. You are not going to disappear overnight, that will raise too many questions. You will keep attending your university during the day and co here in the evening."
She answered as she placed a card in front of him.
"Voss Security Solutions?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"That’s my company, we provide private security to those who need it. You will be hired as a trainee guard, you will even get a salary, though most of it would be through other channels because what you would earn as an active mber of the Enclave won’t ever match what a re bodyguard would earn."
"Wait, I get a salary?"
Lucian blinked and that made Claire tilt her head in confusion.
"How else do you think people who work for the Enclave live?"
"I thought it was more of a day... Hero by day, journalist by night kind of... thing..."
Lucian answered, his voice, however, trailed off on its own by the end as he saw Claire looking at him.
After a few seconds of silence, Claire sighed, then—
"Be ready on ti, soone will pick you up from here.
And take care of that."
She spoke as she looked down there before looking at him again.
"Be like you were yesterday evening."
Lucian tried to hide it but Claire had already turned away.
"Hey! You will take care of the lawyers, right!?"
He raised his voice.
"If you ask that again, I will have you arrested myself."
She answered without turning around.
Then, the woman left and Lucian...
He didn’t know what he was supposed to do.
It was 4 in the evening, he still had about 5 hours and just as he thought about taking a shower—
Bzzz
His phone buzzed.
It was Naomi.
*Naomi’s Picture*
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