Travis sits in the tiny bathroom, taking a few minutes to gather himself while Veta "lays Terry to rest," whatever that means. He perches on the toilet lid staring at the cellular burner phone in his hands.
When he asked Veta if there was any way he could make a secure call, she handed him this, it's an older model from the days before they rolled out the H-Chip. Veta says she rigged it to be untraceable and Travis believes her, though he assumes she also must be able to listen in on every word, at the same time.
It doesn't matter, because he needs to call Jenny.
All that's left is to decide what to say to her.
"This had better not be who I think it is," Jenny's voice crackles over the cell phone. It's so strange to hear Jenny and not be able to see her. How did people ever carry on conversations like this?
"Jenny, it's me," Travis says.
"Have you lost your mind?" Jenny hisses, obviously holding back a scream.
"I know what I'm doing seems crazy, but listen, you have to—"
"No. I get a cryptic call from Grandma Fade telling me to come over and when I get there, I find a police ambush and the news that you've both escaped with Veta? Crazy doesn't even begin to cover it! Where are you?"
"I don't have time to explain, I don't know how secure this call really is," Travis start. "But I need you to trust that I'm doing the right thing… please don't try to find me, I don't want you risking your life again."
Travis hangs up before Jenny has a chance to argue with him.
It may be harsh, but he knows it would be selfish of him to ask Jenny to help him, considering the risks involved. A true team player wouldn't ask that of anyone.
Taking a deep breath, he lean back against the wall. So much has happened, so quickly. He hasn't had a spare second to try and gather his thoughts—he has been acting purely on instinct, without any time to stop and think.
So he takes a moment to read over the letter from his parents that Grandma managed to slip him, figuring that nothing else will help more to ground him and remind him what he's fighting for.
Holding the letter in his hands, he scans the words, knowing that his favorite part has to be: This is not the life we had hoped for ourselves, but to see you doing such incredible things, it somehow makes it all worthwhile.
Reading this over, he knows that he has to do this for his parents, no matter the cost to his career as a hero. He have to save them.
Because if he doesn't't, this could be the last he hear from them. Ever.
The odds are stacked against him. President Victon has placed a reward on him and Veta, so every bounty hunter, law enforcement agent, mercenary, hero, villain, and government agency will be looking for him to cash in. Not to mention that he has limited use of his Powers, are working with a madwoman, and have a very real ticking clock on his parents' execution.
Under these conditions, how will he navigate a hostile nation in time to save his parents and topple a president?
Despite these overwhelming odds, he's going to find a way.
Because he doesn't have any other choice.
With that thought in mind, Travis places the letter in his pocket and steps back into the lair to find Veta sitting in a massive swivel chair, legs crossed and waiting for him.
"Seriously, do you practice ways to be creepy?" Travis asks, nearly jumping as he see her.
"What can I say? It's a gift," Veta says, springing to her feet. "All-righty-roo, now that we're alone, I can finally tell you the secret location where Miss Artillery is being kept!"
Travis paused, because he thought it was going to be much tougher to get that information out of Veta. He remains silent, hoping she'll just roll right into this very important intel.
"Blessed be The Meek, for they shall inherit the earth," Veta hums. And as she does, Travis blood runs cold.
"Wait, are you saying that—"
"Indeedily doo, The Meek are holding mother darling hostage," Veta finishes for him. "On none other than the Blessed Vessel, the newly-created Meek movement independent nation, which is located on a giant mobile cruise ship that moves around the American coastline."
As Veta finishes her florid announcement with one final twirl, all Travis can think is perfect.
Now he can add breaking into the most remote, secure, and anti-Powered hub on the planet to his list of impossible tasks.
Two days later....
Travis stares up at the wall of paintings and his stomach turns. They're grouped by category with neat, minimalist headers like POWERED BRUTALITY and HUMBLE TALENTS, with scenes depicting each subject. Though the most horrifying section by far is titled MEEK INHERITANCE, featuring futuristic portraits of bucolic family life set beside mass Powered graves or concentration camps.
Looking these over, he feels sick, like someone has run poison through his veins. Then he felt a cold rage pour through him instead. So this is what The Meek movement really stands for, behind closed doors?
"Travis, now is not the time for gallery gazing!" Veta hisses from down the hall. "I found their computer mainframe room."
Travis and Veta agreed that accessing the remote computer system at The Meek movement's Hoshi City headquarters was the fastest way to determine the Blessed Vessel's current location. Since it was already the middle of the night—or really, the early morning—they both figured there was no time like the present to break and enter.
Before they left, Veta told him that her Fringes lair was going to be useless now that Juhi had seen them there. So they both ransacked it for anything that might prove useful and Travis snagged a grab-bag full of goodies. He never thought he'd be sporting a utility belt filled with Veta-invented weaponry, but since he can't use his Powers, he's going to have to find some creative ways to fight the enemies he's bound to face.
After that, Travis piled into a custom-built hoverpod Veta had parked in a nearby garage. He asked Veta why she couldn't just whip up some teleport technology, but she said that she doesn't mess with teleportation much—apparently the science is crazy-complicated and the radiation damage wreaks havoc on the body, if overused. Veta only ever made her Telepoints because she was able to sell them for a small fortune, but apparently it takes her months to craft just one. And those are only good for short distances between one-way rooms.
Instead, Veta stashed these egg-shaped hoverpods all over Hoshi City to get around. In fact, Veta explained that she used one of these hoverpods to get to Travis lakeside safe house, but the police had already discovered it by the time they needed to escape.
The hoverpods are designed with completely smooth edges to avoid radar detection and are mirror-coated, making them near-invisible. They're also equipped with the finest anti-tracking security systems and are capable of hitting 400 mph with hairpin maneuverability, even in upper-atmosphere conditions.
Once they arrived at the Meek HC HQ, Travis had no trouble breaking in undetected—thanks to Veta's Powers—and luckily, the building appears to be empty. They were expecting some kind of high-tech complex, but really, this HQ is just a low-security building that houses some computers and private Meek collections, so it's not highly guarded.
They have been searching for The Meek's on-site computer hub so Veta can hack in and discover the Blessed Vessel's scheduled itinerary. Though once Travis entered the restricted halls, there were all kinds of nasty surprises, posters touting anti-Powered doctrine, pictures of secret celebrity Meek members, self-defense training rooms…the list goes on and on. Though he was most distracted by this little homemade art gallery, where he still stand.
Travis shakes his head as he walks out, trying to brush off some of the disgust he feel. He has always known that beneath their peaceful, altruistic facade, The Meek movement is a militant organization built on fear and hatred. He just never realized how it would feel to see that hatred materialized and memorialized like this.
Especially as he spotted his own face depicted in a portrait near the door. There he stands, right beside The Crush, Veta, Retribution, and Black Magic, under a banner that reads, UNIQUE POWERED DESPOTS: The Face of the Enemy.