CHAPTER 9 Tour
The air between the three of them went quiet for a bit after the reunion. Sophia scratched Sally behind the ears while Ethan rubbed the back of his neck, smiling awkwardly. Evan just crossed his arms.
Then Evan finally broke the silence.
"Alright," he said, adjusting his jacket. "We've got to move. The faster we get out of the outer zone, the better."
Ethan blinked. "What? Why so soon?"
Evan gave him a sharp look. "You've seen it yourself. The longer we stay here, the higher the chance we get noticed. Let's not push our luck."
Ethan hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Right. But… before that, can I say something?"
Evan sighed. "Make it quick."
Ethan glanced toward Sophia, who was busy trying to make Sally sit still. Then he tugged Evan aside, lowering his voice. "You remember how we've been recording those superhero clips since we started, right?"
"Yeah," Evan said. "And?"
"And none of them got anywhere. Not even close to a high rating. We've done it all — action, slow-mo, drama — nothing worked. If we keep doing the same thing, we'll keep getting the same results."
Evan's eyebrows rose. "So what's your point?"
Ethan leaned closer. "What if we record something different this time?"
Evan frowned. "Different how?"
Ethan gave him a small grin. "What if we record our life here? With Sophia."
For a second, Evan just stared at him. Then he shook his head. "You're out of your mind."
"Come on," Ethan whispered. "Think about it. The superhero stuff's boring now. Everyone's done it. But us—living like regular people, meeting new faces—people might actually care about that. It's something new."
Evan didn't answer right away. He just looked at Ethan, then looked back at Sophia laughing as Sally tried to chase her own tail.
"Alright," Evan finally said, rubbing his chin. "Two days. We try this for two days. If our rating doesn't go up, that's it. We stop, and we start looking for the Amethyst Mythos. Understood?"
Ethan's eyes lit up. "Deal!" he said, raising his hand like he'd just won something huge.
Evan shook his head with a tired smile. "You're such a kid sometimes."
They both walked back to Sophia, who was still crouched beside Sally. Ethan smiled. "Hey, Sophia. So, uh, we decided to take a short break from work. We've been running around too much lately."
Sophia nodded. "That's good. You guys look like you haven't rested in days."
"Yeah," Ethan said with a grin. "So… since we're new here, maybe you could, you know, show us around?"
Sophia blinked. "You've never been here before?"
Ethan laughed nervously. "Nope. First time."
"Alright then," Sophia said, smiling. "Tour guide Sophia at your service."
What Ethan didn't tell her was that the "break" wasn't a real one. His suit had already activated a micro camera built into his collar, quietly recording every angle around him. Evan, on his end, had switched on his sound capture system — a small, almost invisible patch on his wrist. And to make sure they didn't miss anything, they even tweaked Sally's collar so it could record video and audio, though the quality wasn't as sharp as theirs.
The three of them — and Sally — spent the rest of the day exploring the city.
Sophia led them through busy streets filled with chatter and bright signs. She pointed out her favorite café, the park where she used to draw, and the tiny old cinema at the corner of the road.
They stopped at an ice cream stand.
Ethan looked at the long list of flavors, clearly overwhelmed. "How do you even choose?"
Sophia giggled. "You don't. You let your heart decide."
Ethan pointed at one. "Then my heart says chocolate mint."
Evan sighed behind them. "My heart says this is a waste of time."
Sophia looked back at him. "Then your soul needs sugar."
Even Evan couldn't help smirking a little.
Later, at the park, Sally chased after a frisbee that wasn't even thrown. When she returned, she proudly dropped someone else's frisbee at Ethan's feet.
"Uh… Sally, I think you stole that," Ethan said.
Sophia burst out laughing. "She's got a strong sense of confidence."
"Yeah," Ethan said, smiling at her. "She takes after her owner."
Sophia raised an eyebrow. "Is that a compliment or a confession?"
Ethan froze. "Uh… both?"
She laughed again, and even Evan chuckled quietly to himself.
As the sun set, they sat by the riverbank, eating snacks Sophia had packed earlier. It felt peaceful — different from their usual chaos.
For once, Evan didn't feel like an outsider. Maybe, he thought, outer zone people weren't so bad after all.
When evening came, Sophia stopped at her house. "So… I guess this is where I leave you two," she said softly.
"Yeah," Ethan said. "We'll see you tomorrow?"
"Sure," she said, smiling.
Ethan nodded. "Oh, and… can you keep Sally with you tonight? Our hotel doesn't take animals."
Sophia looked at Sally, then back at Ethan. "Of course. I'll keep her safe."
Sally barked once, like she understood.
Sophia smiled and waved as she went inside with Sally. Ethan stood there a moment longer, watching the door before turning to Evan.
"Let's go," Evan said.
They returned to the hotel. Since they'd already spent all the money Sophia had given, they used their powers to quietly slip inside and make it look like the room was still booked.
As they floated through the hallway, Ethan accidentally hit his head against the ceiling light.
"Ow!" he whispered, clutching his forehead.
Evan frowned. "That's odd. You never misjudge height when we're flying."
"Probably just tired," Ethan said, shrugging it off.
But Evan didn't shrug it off. Something about it felt wrong.
Later that night, when Ethan finally fell asleep, Evan stepped out onto the small balcony and quietly activated his communicator.
"Natasha," he whispered.
Her holographic form appeared, flickering faintly. "Evan? What is it?"
"I need you to check something. Is there any report about... power fluctuation in the outer zone?"
She frowned. "Power fluctuation?"
"Yes. Just do it."
Natasha hesitated, then nodded. "I'll ask Mr. Daniel."
Evan waited. After a few minutes, Natasha came back, her expression uneasy. "He checked. It's confirmed. The longer you stay in the outer zone, the weaker your powers get. If you stay too long… you'll eventually become one of them."
Evan's breath caught. "You're serious?"
Natasha nodded. "I'm sorry."
The hologram faded. Evan stood there for a moment, staring into the night sky.
He went back inside quietly, making sure not to wake Ethan. Then, he pulled out his device and started digging for any information about the Amethyst Mythos.
But there was a problem — his device didn't have enough power to run a proper scan. The only way to gain energy was to delete stored footage.
He hesitated, then sighed. "Sorry, Ethan."
One by one, he deleted some of their old clips — and some of the ones from their days with Sophia.
When the files were gone, he rerouted the freed energy into his system and started scanning.
Nothing. No results.
He leaned back, exhausted, eyes heavy.
"Just one night," he muttered. "I'll find it tomorrow."
Evan shut his device and lay down quietly. The city outside was silent, unaware of the slow changes creeping into their powers — and their fate.
End of Chapter 9