Chapter 35: You're Better Than You'd Think

  Zhon paced back and forth in the navigation room, hands clasped nervously behind his back. "Where could they be? They've been gone for hours now. Even Mother Phoenix hasn't shown herself since—"

  He suddenly raised his head in panic. What if she took them out somewhere and got rid of them?

  He shook his head. No, that can't be. She needs us. Without us, she loses all hope of stopping Razak.

  He closed his eyes and stood still for a few moments, letting his mind clear. With a sigh, he opened them again and looked at the holographic projection from earlier. He approached, sat down, and began scrolling through the many documents until he found the 12th Squadron files.

  His hands shook slightly before he pressed on it.

  Nine members appeared on the holographic table, their schematics including DNA from various creatures they had encountered and defeated on Earth. Zhon's eyes narrowed.

  "Were the people on Earth not the real 12th Squadron?"

  He zoomed in on the schematics. These models are still in development, which is good for now. But still, I need to find the others and—

  "AHHH!" He spun around to find Mother Phoenix standing there with a smirk on her face.

  Zhon exhaled heavily. "Fuck... how long have you been here? And where are the others?"

  Mother Phoenix sat on the holographic table and crossed her legs, playing with the schematic files and rotating them with her hands. "Such fantastic specimens. To this day, I am still amazed at how you each inherit your predecessors' findings and skills. Except now, this won't be to our advantage." She paused slightly and looked at Zhon with a curious expression. "Unless..." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

  Zhon slammed his fist on the table. "I said, Where are the others?"

  Mother Phoenix sighed, uncrossed her legs, and began floating. "Relax, they're not in danger. Or maybe they are—" Zhon's frown deepened. "Relax, I'm joking. They're training with duplicates of me. I came here because I need to talk to you. Zhon, was it?"

  Zhon crossed his arms. "You want to talk? What about? And can't it wait? I'm kind of trying to figure out what we're about to go up against, so—"

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  Mother Phoenix raised her hand, halting him. A short silence passed.

  "You are so much more than you let yourself be."

  Zhon's eyes widened in confusion. He stumbled back slightly but quickly regained his balance. "What are you talking about? I am the technician of the team. That's all I ever do. And even then..." He looked down, his eyes becoming watery.

  She slowly tried to get closer.

  "We're not friends. I don't need your comfort. Just tell me what you want to say."

  Mother Phoenix's expression briefly showed sadness before becoming unreadable again. She muttered softly, "You remind me so much of him."

  "Razak?"

  She looked at the ever-expanding space beyond the viewport. "Like you, he was also the weaker one between us, yet he always wanted to do more and help people—always with a smile on his face. Which is why I now don't understand why he would try to shatter our shared dream for control."

  Zhon looked at her but stayed silent.

  "Which is why I think you may be able to be the one who can turn the tide in our battle."

  Zhon scoffed. "Me? How?"

  Mother Phoenix turned to him. "The DNA orbs you found multiple times on your journey—you do know how they work, correct?"

  "I'm not sure that I follow," Zhon said slowly.

  "The orbs themselves that you crushed—they never were real to begin with. We made them appear that way to simplify the squadrons' absorption of new DNA, which happens with direct touch. By making you 'crush' the orb, you were ultimately able to acquire new abilities permanently while also transmitting data to us."

  "But?"

  Mother Phoenix pointed at him. "That's where you come in. The abilities you have acquired on Earth can never be taken from you—the DNA is within you. The same cannot be said for Squadron 13. They're like a replica of what you have, which means—"

  "Which means their functions can be tampered with!" Zhon said, light dawning in his voice.

  Mother Phoenix nodded with a smile.

  "But how am I supposed to do that? I fix people and upgrade them. I don't know how to do that—not yet, at least. Although if we were to have one of them, I might be able to figure it out?"

  Mother Phoenix pointed toward space. "Going to Mars and attacking is definitely bound to get eyes on us. We can almost be sure that they will be sent there to deal with whatever problem we create. From there, we will need to capture one of them and escape right away because there is no way we will survive with sheer force—they are way more advanced than your group. We will need to leave immediately."

  "On paper, this sounds great, but we can't assume things will go as planned."

  Mother Phoenix crossed her hands behind her head. "Which is why YOU will come up with a plan—and a safe plan in case things go wrong."

  "I'm not the one who makes the decisions, though. I can't just—"

  Mother Phoenix cut him off, her wings flaring slightly. "Well, today you are. Without you, these two and I are doomed. You know how things work. You know how to exploit them. And more importantly, you know how to treat your comrades, tend to their wounds, and repair them. From where I stand, you are the most qualified to become the team leader. Irene's death was unfortunate, but right now this team needs a leader—and it's you."

  She brought her hands together. "So are you going to step up and take control? Or are you going to keep pacing aimlessly and stressing while your friends are actually doing something to give us a better chance?"