Teleport the Devil

The Arcane Keepers headquarters was quiet, the air smelled like stale coffee.

Fiona, who was sitting on the sofa, immediately stood up when the door opened. Her heart leapt into her throat as a familiar figure stepped inside—tall, lean, with hair like snow, Jasper.

"You're back, leader," she said, couldn't help feeling relieved.

Jasper dropped his travel bag by the door, the weight thudding against the concrete floor.

"Yes, I'm back," he replied. He didn't miss the shadows under her eyes or the way she hugged herself. "Rough week?"

Fiona just smiled. Instead, she asked, "How are things going?"

"It's going fine, fortunately." He slumped into the sofa, exhaustion lining his face. "Dealing with the government was hard, to put it lightly. But it's fine now. We've got tentative approval."

The girl nodded, sinking back onto the sofa. "I see." The words came out hollow.

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" he asked. A faint smile touched his lips. "Are you expecting I've failed?"

"No, that's not it!" Fiona hurriedly replied, heat flooding her cheeks. "I just... To be honest, I don't really get it. Why do you want to cooperate with the government? I feel like it's only going to limit our actions. And worst, we might need to follow corrupt politicians or something..."

The white guy smiled.

"I-I'm sorry if I'm saying something stupid," Fiona mumbled, suddenly feeling small.

"No, not at all," Jasper said gently. "I do enjoy vigilante activity. The freedom of it. But if we continue like this, we will be no different from these criminal groups."

"There's no way we are the same!" Fiona protested, jumping up.

"Really? Then explain our detainment cells. We're holding three people downstairs right now. No warrants. No trials," Jasper said. "Sure, they're dangerous and all, but we don't really have the authority to do such things. Isn't what we do not so different than kidnapping people?"

"But..." Fiona wanted to argue, but she had no idea what to say.

"And then, what if we deal with a murder case, for example," Jasper continued. "If we keep being independent, we won't be able to freely come and go to the crime scene. The police will hinder us from investigating what happened. And so on. I can give you another example if you're still not satisfied."

"No, it's enough," Fiona whispered, her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. I never thought that far."

The white guy laughed. "No need to worry. I didn't think all of it myself either."

Fiona blinked. "Really?"

"This should be obvious," Jasper said, "but we aren't the first organization doing something like this. That makes sense though because superpowers have existed since forever. The number is obviously way less than today, but still."

"I see," Fiona murmured. "So you learned from the past groups?"

"Yes," Jasper said. "And one's still active. They called The OWL."

"Seriously?" Fiona's eyes widened. "I've never heard of them!"

"So do I," Jasper admitted. "But if we think about it, that's not surprising. They only deal with superpowers; there's no reason for them to show up publicly in front of normal people."

He stood, pacing to the window overlooking the city's skyline.

"Anyway, the government agents argued that they didn't need us to exist when the OWL was already out there," he said. "But I think they just didn't see this problem as important enough, despite the signs that more and more people are awakening their powers." Jasper sighed. "Instead, they proposed that we just join the OWL instead."

"Is that... a bad idea?" Fiona asked.

"I don't know much about them yet," Jasper said. "Too soon to decide if we can trust them. And just because they've existed longer and the government seems to trust them, doesn't mean they're a good organization, right? Not to mention, I'm not too eager to just drop everything we have and everything we've done to go join another group. That's why the meeting dragged out for so long."

"I see," Fiona said softly. "Sorry, I'm stupid! I shouldn't have asked that!"

"No, not at all, stop that," Jasper said. His voice was firm but kind. "If you don't understand, asking questions was the only right way to do."

Fiona nodded, looking relieved.

Jasper smiled. "That's why," he said. "It's my turn to ask you some questions too."

"Yes?" Fiona said, a little confused.

"There's something that you want to talk about, right?" Jasper said. "Don't try to hide it. I noticed it when you sent me a message. That time I was busy, so I didn't question you more. But now we can talk freely."

Hearing that from Jasper made Fiona teary-eyed. For a while now, she thought she was alone. Nobody could help her. But she was wrong.

She then told him everything. About Noah, about what happened to her this whole week.

"I see," Jasper said. He acted calm, but it was clear from his eyes that he was holding his anger. "I'm sorry; you must have been suffering alone all this time. If you had told me sooner, I would have gone back immediately."

Fiona shook her head.

That's exactly why she didn't tell him. She didn't want to bother him, especially when he was dealing with important stuff.

"Anyway, let me handle it now," Jasper said. "You don't need to meet him anymore. We probably need a couple more days to call everyone back, but don't worry; I will make sure we will take him down."

"But... how are you going to find him if I don't meet him anymore?" Fiona asked.

"You don't need to worry about that," Jasper said.

"But I can't!" Fiona said in frustration. "This was my fault! I can't just run away without doing anything!"

Jasper sighed. "Fine," he gave up. "Try to stall for a couple more days. No more than that. I will make sure we're ready to deal with him."

---

Next day. Foridian Cafe.

Fiona sat in their usual booth, feeling miserable. She had arrived twenty minutes early, holding a tea that had already gone lukewarm. Soon enough, the familiar figure entering the building made her flinch.

"Oh, you came early," Noah said as he slid into the seat opposite her. "Don't tell me you actually missed me?" he added with a smirk.

Fiona snorted, forcing disdain into her voice. "Not at all," she said. "I just want this to end as quickly as possible. The faster we start, the faster I'm free of you."

Noah shrugged. "Fair, I guess."

He sat down, stretching his legs under the table. Fiona launched into the script Jasper had helped her craft—useless gossip about Arcane Keepers members, complaints about training schedules, anything she can say that not too important. She kept her voice flat.

"I see," Noah said, noticed something. A cold smile spread across his face. "You've been telling someone about our little deal, huh?"

---