Dewie's mom's Road Rocket had been designed for extreme comfort. It had plush leather seats that molded to one's form fitted with a massage mode, perfectly tempered glass, ample leg room even for Xena who was nearly five-eight at this point, and the pleasant scent of eucalyptus in the air. Not to mention, it also had a partition that could be raised in the middle to separate the kids from Lars. Of course, Lexie and co. never raised it because it felt a little snooty to do so and Lars was always so nice on the trip. Even though he barely talked, it was fun to sometimes watch his expressions.

But it was also good to know that they could get some privacy if they wanted.

The vehicle pretty much navigated itself so Lars was there mostly as a chaperone and also a partial DJ, ensuring that popular but child-friendly music continuously played on the radio.

Lexie sat sandwiched between her two friends, Dewie wearing his trademark pressed shirt, loafers, and bowtie, and Xena in an artistically ripped shirt, black leather pants, and beret.

Worry ruffled Xena's eyebrows, and Lexie marveled at how stylish her friend looked even when stressed.

"Do you know how to use it?" Xena suddenly asked, gesturing to the slightly-bigger-than-normal lighter in Lexie's hand. At least it looked like a lighter.

It was pink and sleek, with shiny metallic trim and two smaller buttons on the top. Clicking one of them had fire erupting from the top, like a regular lighter.

Clicking the other button had the lighter instantly unfolding itself into the shape of a small gun that shot sharp, slender bullets that could pierce through metal. Uncle Max said he couldn't figure out how to fit propeller bullets in this model, but he would make sure she had it in the next. He'd also given her a thin pink belt that doubled as a holster for the gun-lighter.

"Yeah," Lexie said in response to Xena's question. "My Uncle Max gave me lessons a few months after I turned eleven." They were secret lessons because even he admitted that her dad would probably disapprove of them. He'd continued them anyway, because, as he put it, "A young girl needs to know how to protect herself. Especially in this world filled with creeps and perverts."

He'd glared in the air when he'd said and Lexie had had a sneaking suspicion that he was thinking about Monty Ward again. Lexie didn't think Monty wanted anything perverted from her, but she still didn't like the [Hero] for trying to emotionally control her.

When she'd told her dad about the thing with Monty, his expression had grown hard. From that day on, he'd added on more lessons on how to resist pathway manipulation. And Uncle Max had taught her how to shoot.

Thanks to Max, Lexie was a pretty good shot if she did say so herself. Max thought so too. More specifically, he'd said she had her mother's aim, glowing with pride and wistfulness when he'd said it. He'd also taught Lexie gun safety, how to unholster, unfold, and shoot in three seconds flat. He showed her what the different buttons on the gun did and most importantly, how to reload after you ran out of rounds. Uncle Max had been exceptionally thorough with his lessons and Lexie was glad for it, especially on a trip like this when she was going into a dangerous neighborhood.

"We're almost there," Dewie announced. He didn't seem nervous about the trip. He seemed his usual happy-go-lucky self but maybe since he was used to seeing strange creatures everywhere, he grew fearless towards everything else.

Dewie's announcement wasn't necessary because the Road Rocket was equipped with a GPS map that hovered in the air and told them that they were close to their destination. Dewie waved his hand to banish it.

"Alright," Lexie said. "Going over the plan again. We just go in. Talk to your friend's friend about the cell phone and how to do the thing. And then we get out. Deal?"

Xena nodded. Dewie nodded too, and then Lexie turned to Lars and said, "Lars, do you mind parking somewhere around the corner, so you're a bit hidden but can still see the front of the shop? Just in case someone sees the fancy car and tries something. And Dewie, could you wait in the car?"

His face instantly fell, and Lexie rushed to amend, "It's just that…it's not safe for all three of us to go. I have my gun and Xena has my <Out of Sight> card but you would be defenseless."

"I'm not defenseless," he argued. "I'm an S-Rank Mage now, remember?"

"Do you know any attack spells?"

Dewie shook his head. That wasn't one of the things the pre-awakening class taught apparently. So, although he had vast wells of mana, neither he nor Xena knew enough about pathways to be able to activate it right now.

Which left Lexie and Lars as their defense. For the past year, Lexie had been working on outfitting her party planner cards with attack capabilities, mostly by mixing and matching and boosting certain aspects of their pathway while reducing limitations. It still may not be enough.

Dewie still looked mulish but he nodded.

"We'll get you something nice," Xena said to further placate him and he nodded again.

Eventually, Lars parked in the corner of a street that was made up of cracked asphalt, faded paint walls and blocks of cinder held together by hope. Torn missing posters highlighted each wall, the ground was strangely wet as though something seeped from the sewers and the place was deserted except for a few rats.

"Are you certain this is the place?" Lars asked, concerned and disapproval in his voice. His voice was deep and rough from lack of use. Lexie assumed he remained mostly silent during rides because Vera Azure probably did enough talking for the both of them.

For him to speak up meant that he was truly worried, and he also seemed reluctant to disengage the door locks so they could get out.

"Yup." Lexie gave him a brief smile, trying to seem more confident than she actually felt. "We'll just be in for a few minutes. Probably five minutes tops. If we're in there any longer then could you please call the number I gave you and tell him we need help?" It was Uncle Max's number.

Lars nodded. "If you're in there for more than five minutes, I'll come after you myself."

Aww. That was nice of him. He didn't have a strong-looking build but it was the thought–and his concealed weapons–that counted.

"You guys are being dramatic," Xena said, rolling her eyes. "Nothing is going to happen."

Lexie certainly hoped so.

With deep breaths and a 'Good luck' from Dewie, Lexie and Xena stepped out of the car. Lexie immediately activated the <All Eyes on Me> card, which she'd adjusted so it would give her more information about what was going on in the immediate environment around her. It gave her prickles on her neck if anyone was staring or talking about her, and it also just alerted her sometimes if there were people in the general vicinity. It also boosted the effect to mark urgency.

She didn't feel anything so she told Xena, "The coast is clear."

Xena nodded and they hurried to the entrance, a door that had been knocked off its hinges and rewelded. The Genius Bar was scrawled into the peeling paint on top of it.

The Genius Bar. Lexie had a little chuckle at that.

The interior of the place was lit up with neon colored tubelights. It also featured blood-red wallpaper, a slowly spinning fan, and a bright yellow ripped-up couch. The counter held a glass display case filled with broken motherboards, and different computer components.

And at the other side of that sat an older teen with ratty black hair, who smelled a little stale and had eye bags underneath his eyes. He was using a funny-looking screwdriver to tinker with what looked like a gamepad, and according to his facial expression, it wasn't going very well.

"Hello." Xena approached the counter first, calling out but the boy didn't look up. "Are you Isaac?"

"Who wants to know?"

"Xena." She cleared her throat. "I'm here for you to hook up my…cell phone to the Undernet."

He stopped what he was doing, gave them a single glance, and shook his head. "No."

Xena's expression fell. "I don't understand. My friend Tony told me about you. He said you could get us hooked up for an affordable price."

"I could," he said. "But I won't."

"Why not? Name your price."

"No price." He gave them a grim smile and then pointed to the door. Then he turned back to what he was doing.

Xena and Lexie looked at each other confused. What had just happened?

"Um excuse me," Lexie called out but he didn't stop with his tinkering to answer her. "Hello? Did we do something?"

"No," he said. "But I don't want to talk to you anymore. I don't speak to your kind."

Their kind? How rude.

But also puzzling.

Xena and Lexie shared another confused look. They couldn't figure out what it was about them that he was discriminating against.

"You mean out-of-towners?" Xena tried. "Or is it because we're not mundane."

He sighed and finally put down his screwdriver to stare.

"It's because you look like you have parents who actually give a damn about you," he said. "Get lost, kids."

"Not even for a thousand credits?"

That gave him pause. "You got a thousand credits on you?"

"Obviously, we wouldn't walk in here with that kind of money," Lexie said, giving Xena an 'are you insane?' look. "But we can work it out if you really can get us on the Undernet."

The boy stared at them silently for a few seconds and then shifted his seat back, getting up. He immediately caught himself on the edge of the desk, blinking a few times as though woozy. Lexie knew that look very well. It was how her brother looked when he played video games for a weekend straight while forgetting that he had to eat and bathe and probably do some stretching at some point. When he finally got up, he would nearly pass out from all his bodily needs hitting him at once.

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After he recovered, Lexie noticed another similarity. Isaac also walked with the same slight hunch Logan sometimes got from bending over a computer all day.

He held out hands with dark fingernails. "Give it."

Lexie reached into her pocket and held out her phone. As his hand closed over it, she suddenly had a realization.

She couldn't risk Isaac tampering with this phone, at least not until she knew him a little better. All her precious memories were in there, her texts with her brother and the character sheets. She'd locked those messages but he was a technomage and he could probably get access if he wanted to. He may not be able to figure out who Logan was talking to. Lots of souvenir cellphones on Earth 9 had texts for their original owners still on there, and people got a kick out of reading through those texts and imagining what was going on in that person's life at that moment.

But, it was too much to risk it. Maybe she should try connecting to the Undernet on another phone first.

"You won't do anything bad to it?" she asked. '"Right?"

"Kid, I don't start work until there's money in hand."

That assured her and she released the phone. Isaac looked it over and under, frowning. "This is an old, old model."

Yeah. It was seven dimensions old.

"Can you still work on it?" Xena asked.

"Can I work on it?" Isaac quoted, chuckling to himself. "I could probably connect a toaster oven if I wanted to and you would be able to use it to contact anyone anywhere in the world." His eyes glinted. "Of course for the right price."

"What about across dimensions?" Lexie asked. "Would you be able to rig it so that I can make calls across dimensions?"

Isaac gave her a look like she was crazy at first, and Lexie felt her hopes lowering. But in a stunning shift, his expression turned thoughtful instead. He scratched the stubble at the side of his chin and muttered to himself, his eyes glazing over in thought.

"Hmmm," he said. "I wonder if I could. Funny enough, you're not the first person to ask me that. But why do you wanna know?"

"Just out of curiosity," Lexie lied. "I mean I know about the ISTS and the contact system there. But I wanted to know if there would be a way to bypass that."

"The Undernet bypasses all system communication. But interdimensional communication will require something more than what we have currently. And it would cost a lot more than a thousand credits."

"How much?"

The man chuckled and handed Lexie back her phone. "Let's not put the chicken before the egg. First off, let's see if we can get this thing rigged to the Undernet and then if I like you enough as a customer, we can go from there. Deal?"

Lexie turned to Xena who was staring at her. She shrugged and Lexie nodded to Isaac.

"Deal," she said.

"So? You got a thousand credits for me?"

No, she didn't. She hadn't bet in a while so she just had regular allowance savings now. And she knew Xena didn't have the money either.

But for whatever reason, Xena blurted out, "Yeah, I can get it for you next week."

Lexie's eyes eyeballed her friend. Huh? Where did Xena plan on getting the money from?

"We'll definitely get the money for you next week," Xena said firmly.

WE? Lexie sent Xena more wide-eyed signals but her friend stubbornly refused to meet her gaze as she continued negotiations.

"So can you start work?"

Isaac shook his head. "What? Do you think I'm sweet in the head or something? Do I look easy to rip off?"

"We're not trying to rip you off. Look, I'm serious. We can–"

Isaac tutted. "No can do. Get lost until you get the money." He returned to his seat and the two girls stared at each other in dismay.

What do we do now?

Well, there was nothing to do but leave and figure out a way to get the money. Filled with crushed emotions, they started turning away.

"Wait."

Both girls spun back to him, eyes filled with hope. Isaac seemed to struggle with himself before he reached into a drawer, pulling out a cream, coin-shaped object that looked like a button. He tossed it over to them and Xena, being the taller, more athletic one, caught it.

"It's smart of you to come here with a gun and all," he said, his eyes flickering down to Lexie's gun-lighter holster. "But it's a little overkill and might draw the wrong type of attention."

Lexie blinked. How did he know it was a gun? Was that part of his powers, knowing how any technology worked? She'd thought it was limited to computer networks and things like that. How interesting.

"Next time go through the proper channels and show them that coin," he said. "That way they know you're with me."

"The proper channels?"

"You'll probably meet with them next time."

Lexie and Xena swallowed. That didn't sound good.

"Don't worry," Isaac said with a wicked grin. "Just be polite and honest, and it should all work out for you."

Ok, that's it.

Lexie grabbed Xena's hand and immediately started pulling her out of the store, wanting to rush back to the safety of the car. She activated her <All Eyes On Me> card at the same time as they stepped out.

But she noticed something.

The Road Rocket was no longer there.

"Oh no." Lexie thought, dread sinking in her stomach. "No, no, no, no."

She immediately texted Dewie asking if he was okay, but there was no response. There wasn't even an error message on the text, as though it never sent. What the heck? Was there a system jammer? She'd never seen anything like it before. She didn't even know that could happen.

There was a prickle at the back of her neck and sudden fear pulsed through her. She felt like she was surrounded. She tried to go back in but the door was closed.

And then, a bunch of rough-looking young men blinked into view.

Lexie almost screamed but one of them put a finger to his lips and said, "Shhhh. Quiet, alright? We don't want to have to hurt you but we will if you make a sound."

Xena tensed, backing against her. Lexie was also on alert, but in the back of her mind, she was trying to figure out what just happened. How did they just materialize out of nowhere?

The answer came to her when she saw the large mechs wrapped around their wrists.

Forcefields. They must have used reflective force fields, the kind that TechnoCrat sometimes used to shield his location and cast illusions in his matches. And they were using some type of communication jammer to prevent texts too.

Lexie wondered if there was a way to bypass it. She wondered if Dewie and Lars could see them or if they were hidden by the forcefields too.

"We don't have any money," Xena said. Lexie was impressed. Despite the fear she could feel emanating from Xena, her voice didn't shake.

But one of the men with a blonde mohawk didn't buy it. "Why would you come to the Genius Bar without money?"

"Because we wanted information. To know if Isaac could do something for us."

"Isaac doesn't give out information for free."

Xena swallowed. She held up the round button. "He gave us this and told us to come back when we saved up enough money."

Mohawk stared at the button and shrugged. "And what does that have to do with us?"

Xena's eyebrows furrowed with confusion and she swallowed. "I thought..." She didn't seem to know how to answer that.

"Look, we don't mean any harm," the one who had spoken first said, shooting Mohawk an annoyed look. He looked about eighteen and talked in a soft, quiet tone, "Like we said we don't want to hurt you. Just come with us and we'll call your parents to send us some money. Once we have it, we'll send you right back to them."

Yeah right. As if we'll fall for that.

Meanwhile, Lexie was wondering what the right course of action was here. Obviously with everyone staring at them the <Out of Sight> card was out. And so was the gun because even if she managed to shoot one of them, her and Xena would immediately be subdued by the rest. The <Getting Out of Hand Card> would only affect one of them at a time so that wasn't a great option either.

What to do now?

Lexie thought about it. She could buff up the clumsiness factor of the <Getting Out of Hand> card and combine it with the collective choreography of <Shut up And Dance>. That way she could target all the men with <Getting Out of Hand> all at once.

The problem was that <Shut Up and Dance> was kind of difficult to activate, and she would need to skip the node that extended the effect to her. It would need to be the waste card in this equation. She mentally calculated which node she had to combine with <Getting Out of Hand> forming a perfect picture of it in her head. She'd never tried that combination before but there was no time like the present.

Once she got it, she went back to back with Xena, and materialized the cards, hiding the activation with their bodies.

Meanwhile, Xena was still trying to talk their way out of this.

"You guys should know that we're [Hero] mages in training," she said. "If we go missing, a lot of people will be looking for us. We're not allowed to use our magic on you but we will use it if we're sufficiently threatened."

The men shared a look, but greed shone in Blonde Mohawk's eyes. "Even better. We saw the car you rode in on. I bet there's a nice mage somewhere that would be willing to pay a handsome ransom for you two. Now if you come with us nicely this doesn't have to be messy."

In the meantime, Lexie finished the activation and pointed at their collective feet.

The boys immediately lost control, stumbling on each other in a choreographed manner.

"What the hell?" their leader said as Lexie grabbed Xena's hand and ran. She could see from the timer in her head that the effect would only last for ten seconds but she didn't care. By the time they managed to break out of it, hopefully they would be on the other end of whatever forcefield was blocking them from seeing Dewie's car.

She was about to try calling Lars when suddenly she felt a very familiar pull backward.

Shit. They had magnetic powers. Because of course, they did.

Luckily, the magnetic pull was not as strong as Mouse's, probably because, unlike Mouse's, it was mech rather than magical. If she had to guess, these kids were mundane and could only use such powers thanks to the gauntlets on their wrists.

The other lucky thing was that, after the incident with Mouse, Lexie had obsessively spent the last year looking into workarounds, something she could use if she ever tangled with magnetic powers again. She did it now by combining the <Easy Clean Up> with <Shut Up and Dance>. Basically, she used the mirroring node of <Shut Up And Dance> to mirror the magnetic field that was enacted upon her and used <Easy Clean Up> to send it back to them. That would cause like forces to interact and the generated effect should automatically repel her in the opposite direction.

So after about five seconds of being dragged back, her body suddenly shot forward in the air and she dropped to the ground rolling. A second of elation filled her as she got to her feet ready to run. Great! Her workaround worked.

Unfortunately, she hadn't planned that workaround to include Xena too.

Lexie had run a few steps when Xena screamed as she was snatched up.

Lexie spun round to find that Mohawk had snatched Xena by the hair and was trying to wrangle the rest of her struggling body.

Lexie, without thinking, drew her gun and pointed it at the guy's head, willing to shoot.

"What the hell?" one of the men muttered in surprise.

"Shit, I knew this would get messy," another one said.

Mohawk, maybe wanting to save face, didn't flinch. He smiled. "You think you can shoot that before I finish her off?"

Lexie was pretty sure she could and she wasn't all that concerned about the morality of killing him either, except she didn't want his brain matter all over Xena and also didn't want his boys to retaliate.

"She might not be able to." A deep voice echoed beside her and she felt more than heard Lars walk up with a drawn gun. "But I can."

His voice didn't sound like what she was used to. It was deeper, more dangerous.

Some apprehension flickered across the men's faces.

"You should know that I was trained by special assassin forces in District 8," Lars said. "I could kill you all before you even blink. But I won't because I like to give people a second chance. Also I've sent out a Hero alert so they should be on their way."

The boys looked at each other in genuine fear now.

Mohawk wasn't paying attention though. He had an irritated look on his face, and his finger touched his ear as though someone was calling him.

After a few seconds, he sighed deeply and released Xena, pushing her away from him.

"You're lucky," he said angrily. "Someone just called in a favor for you."

"You're the one who's lucky," Xena said boldly as she ran from him and to Lexie's side.

And then Lexie watched the boys vanish into thin air again.

Lexie's heart raced. She finally dropped her gun and looked to Lars and then back to Dewie who was still in the car staring wide-eyed at them.

"Are you okay?" Lars asked her.

She nodded, swallowing. "Yes. I'm okay. Zee?"

Xena looked a little pale but more so embarrassed than afraid. "Yeah. I'm sorry I got you involved in that Lex. You too Lars. I didn't think...I mean my memory of the place is different from..." She didn't seem to know how to finish, guilt tangling her tongue.

"It's fine," Lexie sighed. "Let's just go home."

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