The newest members of the Torres community, as it was becoming known, were delivered and settling in. Cass left them with his mother so she could give them the orientation and expectations. It was only a few days until the Challenge started and everyone needed to be ready.

With that in mind, he had one more errand to run.

He skidded to a stop at the shore of Lake Michigan, knowing he was close. The group of people they had seen on Madison's map was just a few miles north of his position and shouldn't be hard to find, considering how much it had grown. Based off of their estimates the group was now up to close to 500 people, with no one left in any neighboring area. They had scooped up or recruited everyone within a few days' march and brought them to the strip of mansions that lined the lake. If I can bring them to us that will be an army that can defeat anything!

Excitement flooded Cass at the thought, but the bigger excitement was seeing his old mentor and friend. He knew his family hated Gabriel, but they just didn't understand. What was someone who was weak supposed to do? You gather stronger people around you and build them into a community that is stronger together. Wasn't it the exact same thing his family was trying to do? Gabriel's methods were different, sure, but they were effective. Cass never believed what Ed and his father had said about mind control - wouldn't Cass have noticed if he was being mind controlled? No, they just didn't understand that Gabriel was just using what The System gave him to help influence people who were lost. It wasn't control, it was guidance.

Guidance Cass desperately needed right now. His sister was so far removed from him in power and abilities that he couldn't go to her anymore, which hurt. She used to be who he'd go to, but she wasn't there for him anymore - all of her attention devoted to Madison and her own powers. His mom was the most like him, but she had grown reclusive and uncaring - completely ignoring Cass in a way she never would have before. And his dad… That stung the most. His dad had left him and didn't even seem to regret it. In fact, he'd seemed happy to go on his little excursion. He was so obsessed with power that the only thing he saw in Cass anymore was weakness. Cass had no one - the support system that had been so strong his entire life evaporating out from under him, leaving him in a freefall. Before The System had arrived he'd always had a safe place at home, a place where he could rest in support and love. Now? Now he was alone with no one left to care for him.

No one except Gabriel. He was the only one that had ever made Cass feel powerful. The only one who had ever given him the skills and tips to navigate a world of people who wanted to take advantage of you. When he was scared and insecure, Gabriel gave him a place of power.

He wanted to reclaim that power now.

He sped north, eventually coming to a stop in a copse of trees that lined a massive yard that had become a military encampment. Hundreds of people milled about, performing tasks Cass could only guess at. He ran further north, scouting the limits of the encampment. Dozens of houses had been converted and Cass guessed that they had been correct - at least 500 people were here. He sprinted through different areas, doing his best to stay out of sight just in case anyone else had a speedster that would be able to see him, or some other method of detection.

When no alarms were raised he realized that they probably didn't need it. Anyone even remotely close was here now and they weren't looking outward. Not yet at least. He heard the familiar sound of motorcycles and ran to the first house he'd seen, guessing that it was the one everyone stayed at.

If he's anywhere he's probably here, he thought. He took a deep breath and channeled more speed than he had previously. He needed to not just be fast, he needed to be invisible.

The instant he saw the front door open he moved, flying through the opening while being careful not to touch anyone on the way. He searched the entire house, not finding who he was looking for. There was a large group of men in the backyard, motorcycles parked haphazardly across the yard. He found a house filled with half-dressed women with haunted eyes, which almost made him pause, but what was he going to do? Bring them all back? The house itself was filled with random people, some carrying out housekeeping tasks. All of them frozen in time for him.

His frustration mounted when he couldn't find Gabriel. He searched again, this time noticing a stairwell into a basement that he'd ignored before, since it was fully dark. He rushed to the bottom then stopped, letting his eyes adjust.

Careful steps brought him further into the darkness and he was getting ready to turn around when he heard the sound of soft sobbing. Feeling carefully around furniture he made his way to the back of the basement, his eyes barely making out a nude figure laying prone on the cold floor.

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"Hello?" He whispered.

Chains rattled as the figure sat upright, scooting backwards as fast as his damaged limbs would allow. "No! No more, please!"

The voice rocked Cass. "Gabriel?"

"Who? Who is that?"

Cass stepped forward and squatted in front of the thin man, Gabriel pushing even further backwards against the wall. "Gabriel, it's me - Cass."

"Cass?" The word sounded unfamiliar as it left his mouth, but recognition soon followed. "Cass? Cass!" His voice became an excited whisper. "Cass, my child - I'm so, so happy to see you! You have to help me!"

"Here!" Cass thrust a healing pill into his hand. "Take this, it'll heal you. What did they do to you?"

"They locked me down here because I was trying to help your friend - the artist guy."

"Ed? I saw Ed, he said that you tortured him."

"What?" Gabriel's voice cracked with a light sob. "Hurt him? Oh my god, Cass, I wouldn't do that! They were trying to kill him and the only thing I could do to keep him alive was bring him down here where they would forget about him. I was going to let him go as soon as they weren't paying attention, but there are just too many people here. I couldn't get him out. I was hoping to get him out once everyone left for the Cryptid Challenge, but before I could do that he got free and attacked me."

"Well yeah, if he thought you tortured him then of course he attacked you."

Gabriel's sigh was one of long suffering understanding. "Yes, I understand that. I never blamed him for it, he was like a wild animal trapped in a snare, snapping out at the hands that were trying to free him."

"That's what I said!" Cass whispered.

One hand came up to stroke Cass's face. There was no power in that touch, but there didn't need to be. "You always understood me the best, even when the others didn't. Unfortunately this world doesn't reward people who try to help. It rewards the strong and the cruel. Men like you and I, who are just trying to help others - it leaves us to be beaten and killed."

"How can I help you?"

"First, I need to get out of this chain." He held up the chain that was locked around his wrist.

"I think I have the strength for that, hold your arm out." Cass pulled out his batons and inserted them between two of the links, then leveraged them to stretch the chain apart until it broke. Gabriel let out a sob of relief as he massaged his wrist.

"Okay, I can get you out of here and bring you back with me."

"No!" Gabriel said before clamping his hand over his mouth. He whispered "No, your family will kill me on sight and there's nowhere else for me to go."

"I could bring you to Milwaukee. There are a lot of places there, you could find a place."

Gabriel mulled it over. It did sound enticing, but he'd spent a lot of time influencing the army here and he didn't want to lose that. All that time spent would be a huge loss of experience if he just abandoned it. He'd been down here for who knows how long, he needed to reassert his control.

"No, son, what I need to do is take control of my army again. This army I have built would be a powerful force to help us both with this Challenge. We need them."

"Okay, how do you do that?"

"I can't just leave here - the man who locked me down here took control over my community. I spent the entire time since I left you building up a strong community that can survive together, then he rode in with his biker gang and stole them from me. We need to eliminate him, maybe his posse too. Have you gotten stronger since I saw you last?"

Cass puffed his chest. "You have no idea, Father."

Gabriel smiled and stood, stretching muscles that hadn't been used in too long. "Good, good. Have you seen the guy? He's huge, long hair, long beard, probably surrounded by a bunch of other bikers."

"Yeah, he's in the backyard."

"Even now? It's winter. Those idiots… Okay, do you think you can take him?"

"I can," Cass said.

"Can you get us both there without him noticing?"

"Sure. You want me to just pop up in front of him and attack?"

"I know it sounds unfair, but it's the only way, son. He's too strong and if you give him a chance to react he'll take you out."

"The world is unfair, Father. We need to take any advantage we have."

Gabriel smiled. "Okay, here's what we need to do. You drop me in front of him - like directly in front of him. Give me a couple of seconds to distract him, then you come in and take him down. I'll lift my hand like this when he's distracted, you come in then."

Cass smiled. It felt good to be appreciated for his strengths again, especially by someone who was willing to put himself in the line of fire to be a distraction.

"Ready?" Cass said as he gently took Gabriel's hand.

"Ready." And they were gone.

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