We all sat round the dinner table. Obeten had taken off his supersuit and changed into the extra shirt and shorts he'd brought along from his house. Myself and Nene sat opposite each other. John sat at the head of the table, leaning forward and resting his clapsed hands on the edge of the table. The broadcast said we had three days - well, two and the half now - but we decided it'd be a lot smarter to make our move as soon as we could, just in case they decided not to honourably keep to time.
There was a GLS issued hologram device on the table. Obeten spoke some commands to his AI and a 3D model of the Landmark Hotel laid itself out across the table, showing blueprints and all its access points.
Obeten had previously presented his GLS issued gadgets to the team; first, the communicators that would allow us hear and talk to each other as long as we were within three hundred feet of each other in any direction - we wouldn't need to yell to each other during a fight like we did last time.
Next, the 'Ability Augmentation Bracelet' which augmented the wearer's ability for a limited period of time. It was designed to look like a wristwatch and Obeten only had a pair - one for himself and one for Nene, since they were Threes. John had taught Nene how to use her pyromancy to create a mega strong defence that could rival a Sigma Two Invulnerability ability - plus her initial ability to phase through objects which was a very handy ability in a fight, augmenting her abilities would really increase our chances. Where my Invulnerability couldn't cover me during a fight with a One, my healing ability would greatly help. Since Nene and Obeten had long range attack abilities, that meant they would most likely be hitting the enemies from afar while evading substantial danger but would still be mostly fine if they needed to get up close and personal - thanks to the bracelet, I could focus on healing myself as fast as I'd get wounded.
Next, charge bombs; those were sure to come in handy in case we needed a diversion or additional attack power.
John definitely had to be the one going up against the telepath - he's the only one among us who could get near the telepath and negate his/her abilities without being in much danger himself. We still didn't know how many they were - The Inevitables - so at some point, we'd have to rely on improvisation and luck.
Outside, the wind was gradually picking up speed. We could hear the distant rumbling of thunder and the rattling of unstable roofs in the distance threatening to fly off in the wind. It started to rain. I and Nene shared a knowing look. She smirked. We were so lucky her Pyromancy wasn't affected by rain. She could probably even burn under water - we hadn't tested it out yet, so we didn't know for sure though. I caught myself being proud of how powerful she had become. The only thing that separated my sister from a Sigma Two was the stats of pure strength and Invulnerability. Although, with what Obeten had gifted her, it looked like she had that covered, although for a limited time. The plan was to hopefully make sure the battle ended before the bracelet's energy ran out.
Our first issue with our big mission was getting close enough to the enemy camp successfully and knowing exactly what we were up against without being identified as a threats until we decided to strike. We had started to reconsider the previous infiltration plan, even though we knew that would most likely cost us more time - and time was a luxury we didn't have. I was beginning to get frustrated and then it hit me - John was the key.
"Guys, I've got it", I said, banging my fist softly on the table. "It's John...", I started.
"What?", John and the others perked up.
"John is how we get to The Inevitables. He's a One. Ones are the most valuable on the Sigma Scale. If he walks up to their front door and they get a wind of what he is and what he can do, they'll swing their doors wide open. No matter how powerful they may be, I doubt they can refuse the proposition of having more powerful people join their ranks", I said, gesticulating.
"So...I'm going to be a Trojan horse, basically. Nice", John smirked, folding his arms.
"Great. Now that we've sorted him out, how do the rest of us get close enough?", Nene asked, tapping her fingers on the table. She motioned to the hologram, "If the info you got from that perp - about up to half of their gang joining The Inevitables - is correct, you know they'll most likely station those loyalists all around here, here and there. So how?".
"Easy; we literally follow the Trojan horse through the city gates", I said. "He'll tell them we're his goons or whatever...or they'll just assume we're with him and we came to sign up to join them anyway...", I answered.
"...and then what? When we find out who and how many they are, we're just supposed to rush head-on into the fight without a back up plan?", Nene retorted.
"Not exactly. Obeten would have set some of the charges here, here, there...and here...and we'll definitely need a big explosion here", I said pointing to areas in the hologram 3D model of the area. "So, he won't be with us when we're following John through the front door. The idea is, we keep up appearances so we can buy him enough time to set all the charges in their respective places and THEN when we're certain of who and how we're going to attack..."
"Ka-boom", Obeten said, as he made a ball of electricity detonate - harmlessly - between his palms. Nene glared at him. He raised his hands in apology. In his defense, I don't think he knows just how much lightning irks my sister.
"I'm hoping the explosions work on three fronts; kill some goons, thin out the herd and give us cover when we go up against the Ones", I said.
"Well, I personally like the plan. I think we can handle whatever surprise that comes our way if we keep working together the way we have...", John said, shrugging. "...just let me be the gentleman I am and do the heavy lifting when it comes down to it", he said as he fumbled with an imaginary bowtie.
I grinned at him and he winked at me.
"Oh get a room, you two", Nene quipped, rolling her eyes. Obeten chuckled.
We decided to try the comms and the AAB out. We placed the comms in our ears. It allowed us hear even the faintest whisper from anyone of us over an open channel only accessible to us. Next, we tried the AAB - Obeten and Nene wore theirs and activated them. I couldn't see any physical changes but the hum coming from both bracelets meant it was working. Nene clenched and unclenched her fists a few times and smirked.
"Feel any different?", I asked.
"Oh yeah. I feel stronger", she replied as she lit her index finger on fire. The flame seemed to burn brighter than before.
"Cool", I grinned.
"Alright guys", Obeten said, rubbing his hands together. 'Let's try to get a good night's rest - we're going to need every ounce of energy we can get for tomorrow's showdown. John and I will use the couches and cushions, so you girls don't need to worry about sharing your room with us. We leave at 0700 hours morning, so set your mobile phone alarms accordingly. For transport, we need to find a car. I'm sure we can 'borrow' one around, considering the circumstances. With our abilities we don't need the car but it's gonna be the first place I'll set a charge on, in addition to the rest I'll be placing while you three 'mingle with the party'..."
"Yeah...coming in a vehicle will look a lot less suspicious entering their general environment than simply powering in, plus we don't want them immediately knowing what we're capable of...", Nene thought out loud. "Nice".
"Yeah, exactly. I'll set the charge under the car before we leave for Oniru. You guys have to park the car over here...", Obeten said pointing to a hidden parking lot in the Hotel's vicinity. "...you continue on foot while I sneak out of the car and do what I have to. When you guys give me the signal, I'll detonate the charges and the fun can begin".
"Awesome sauce. I finally get to not hold myself back", John said, visibly excited.
If there's anyone who would love the idea of a fight like this - no holds barred - of course it would be John.
"Even with the ability augmentors, I think we're all going to be pushed to our limits. But yeah, it's going to be fun incinerating those monsters", Nene said, nodding at John.
"I guess that's that", John said, banging the table softly as he got up. "Time to rest up. Tomorrow, we do our part in saving the world by saving our city".
Nene got up. After a moment's hesitation, she walked over to John and hugged him. John was surprised at first then he relaxed and reciprocated the hug. "Thank you...for everything", she said softly.
"It's okay. We survive tomorrow and you can thank me properly with dinner at an expensive restaurant", John replied. Obeten looked outside the window and smiled sadly. I decided I was going to ask him what was up either during the drive to Landmark or back from Landmark, presuming we all made it back and Lagos was still above sea level.
Nene chuckled. "You've got yourself a deal, tallie". She said to John then she fist-bumped Obeten and headed to her room.
It was my turn to get up. "Thanks a lot, both of you. Don't know what we'd have done without your help", I said to the two Sigmas standing in front of me.
"Don't be silly. You're 'The Sisters'. You've stood up for yourselves and your town this long. If we weren't here, you'd still have found a way...", John waved it away, grinning.
"...but we're glad we're here. Go. Get some rest. You need it, team leader Oyiza", Ben finished.
I hugged Obeten first then hugged John's tall, broad shouldered frame next and bade them goodnight. As I walked away, I heard Obeten offer John some Whiskey he brought along. John answered positively and made his way to the kitchen to get disposable cups. Even though Nene and I would probably have declined if he'd asked - we don't drink and there was the issue of saving the world tomorrow - it would still have been nice if he offered us some.
'Men', I thought, tutting to myself. I locked the door behind me as I entered my room. Tonight, we rested...tomorrow, we went to war.
Outside, the rain had started to come down heavily.