The Five Evolution

『"Useless. Broken. Weak Link."』

Sophia limped out of the room dressed in a white T-shirt and brown cargo pants.

"Hey." She waved Hiro over.

He rushed towards her and placed one of her arms over his shoulder, glancing at her from the side of his eyes. "So what exactly is your plan here?"

"Easy. I just need to sync back with my Spirit Weapon." She shrugged. "It’s better than not trying anything."

"Right. Easy." Hiro shook his head. "Fine. But I’m sticking to you like glue. And the second—the SECOND—you show signs of collapse, I’m carrying you out of there. Understood?"

"Bite me."

They left the medical wing together, Hiro’s hand hovering near her elbow in case she stumbled, and made their way to the deployment bay where the rest of the team was already gearing up.

Amara looked up as they entered, her expression shifting from relief to concern to resignation in rapid succession. "Sophia. You shouldn’t—"

"I know. I’m doing it anyway." Sophia took her hand off Hiro’s neck and moved to her assigned locker, pulling out her gear with hands that shook a little. "Brief me."

Ethan looked unsurprised and didn’t bother arguing. He pulled up holographic displays showing the situation. "Big-Little Havana district, multiple city blocks affected. The rogue Awakener is wearing a crown."

"A little egoistic for my taste if you ask me." Raj looked at the hologram, both hands resting on the edges of his vest. He turned to Sophia and offered her a small smile that she returned.

"Clearly, that’s his Spirit Weapon," Ethan continued. "It amplifies his mind weave ability to insert negative emotions, turns people’s insecurities and fears into weapons against each other."

The hologram showed civilians attacking one another, their faces twisted with paranoia and rage.

A woman beating her husband while screaming about betrayal. Teenagers turning on their friends. A store security guard shooting at random customers.

"Jesus," Sophia breathed.

"Crown of Discord," Ethan expanded. "Makes people face their worst fears and insecurities. In their heads, everyone around them is the enemy."

"It’s really bad out there," Raj said.

"Yeah." Ethan turned off the projector. "Three Institute Awakeners already down trying to contain it. The crown’s range is expanding. If we don’t stop him soon, he’ll affect the entire district."

"So what good are you guys if he’s that powerful?" Sophia asked.

"The crown doesn’t work on Awakeners as effectively," Amara answered. "Our mental barriers are stronger. But it affects everyone around us, which means we basically have to fight civilians under his influence, while trying to reach him."

Hiro stared at Ethan. "Why can’t you do it?"

Ethan folded his arms. "If I had my shields on them before he got into their heads, I would be able to keep them out." He explained. "But this is a different case. He’s already in there."

"So you need someone who can get into the heads of the civilians," Sophia said. "Kick out the crown’s influence long enough to evacuate them."

Amara nodded. "Exactly. But your telepathy is—"

"Offline. I know." Sophia finished gearing up. "I can still run coordination. Be your eyes in the sky, so to speak. Call out threats, identify priority targets, manage civilian evacuation."

"Look at you and your soldier lingo," Hiro said with a grin.

Sophia scoffed, then looked at each of them. "So?"

They all exchanged glances with each other.

"I can see you all staring at each other. I’m right here." She sat down on a bench. "I’m not made of fucking glass, guys."

"Hey." Raj nudged her shoulder gently. "Just so we’re clear... nobody’s expecting you to save the day or anything like that."

Sophia rolled her eyes.

"Good," Raj continued. "Because if anyone’s throwing themselves into danger today, that’s my job."

Amara sighed and nodded. "Alright. Here’s the plan."

***

They deployed in Caroline while Yelena drove in front of then in an armored vehicle.

They moved through the streets of Pacific Creek. Twenty minutes later, the Big-Little Havana district came into view, chaos visible even from blocks away.

People were either running, screaming, or fighting. Store windows were shattered, and cars were abandoned in the middle of streets.

In the center of it all, barely visible through the crowd, a figure wearing a crown.

"Comms check," Amara said as they all got out of the van.

Everyone confirmed.

Yelena also got out of her vehicle and folded her hands. "Pretend I’m not here."

"We still need to be supervised?" Ethan asked, but Yelena ignored him.

Sophia’s expression hardened. "I don’t think it’s you guys she’s here to babysit."

"Let’s just focus on why we’re here." Amara stepped away from Caroline, taking a closer look at the chaos ahead.

"We all know the plan," she recapped. "Ethan creates barriers to funnel civilians away from the epicenter. Raj focuses on subduing hostile civilians who diverge from the funneling."

"And I provide rapid response and extraction for anyone who hasn’t been mind weaved by this asshole," Hiro said quickly.

Amara nodded. "I’ll push toward the crown wielder once the path is clear. Sophia—"

"Overwatch," Sophia said. "Coordinate from the van, call out threats, manage response."

"Exactly." Amara met her eyes. "And if you feel yourself slipping—"

"I’ll call it. Promise."

"So what do we call this guy?" Raj asked. "We’ve got to give him a name."

Ethan’s shields went up immediately, translucent blue barriers that created safe corridors for fleeing civilians. "I don’t know. I don’t care."

Raj grew to twelve feet tall, his presence alone enough to make some incoming affected civilians hesitate and retreat to regroup. "I was thinking something like Crown Man."

"Too on the nose, Raj," Amara said with a small grin as she called forth Angel’s Bane. "Maybe something like... the Mentalist."

Hiro chuckled. "I believe it’s safe to say I’m the best bet when it comes to naming things." He raised both hands. "For the record, I would have gone with Discord King."

"You don’t say," Ethan said flatly.

Raj scratched his chin. "Actually, I kinda like the Mentalist."

Amara’s smiled. "Really?"

Raj nodded. "Yeah."

Her smile widened. "Why, thank you."

"I mean, it’s not great," Raj clarified.

"Never mind."

"Guys." Ethan’s voice cut through their conversation. His eyes were fixed on the far end of the street. "I think we’ve got more important things that villain names to worry about."

Everyone turned towards where he was looking.

The civilians had stopped retreating. They had regrouped. Hundreds of them. Men. Women. Teenagers. Every single one with the same vacant expression.

Some carried baseball bats. Others gripped pipes, knives, broken bottles, pieces of torn street signs. One man was dragging a friggin chainsaw across the ground.

The entire crowd stood motionless for a moment. Then, as one, they charged.

"Non-lethal force only," Amara reminded them immediately, and they charged toward the approaching mob.

Meanwhile, Sophia remained by the van, monitoring drone sensors, and trying to coordinate six different things simultaneously without the telepathic edge that usually made it effortless.

"Amara, chainsaw man and three other hostiles incoming from your six o’clock," she called into comms.

"Copy."

Raj laughed into the comms. "She said chainsaw man."

The sounds of Hiro and Amara laughing also flooded the comms.

"Sophia, I think we’re the only normal people here right now," Ethan said.

"Tell me about it," Sophia responded and continued monitoring the feeds from the drones. "Hiro, elderly man trapped in overturned car, northwest corner. Needs immediate extraction."

"On it."

"And Ethan, your—" before she knew it, the crown’s influence slammed into her so hard, her knees buckled.

You’re useless without your powers

The team would be better off without you

Your mother was right, you’re just broken

Everyone’s going to realize you’re the weak link

They’re going to abandon you just like you abandoned her

She hadn’t realized that her powers being offline meant even the basic mental fortitude Awakeners had built up were compromised for her as well.

Sophia placed both hands on the edge of the van, panting. And Hiro, ever vigilant, caught this and dashed toward her and the van.

"Sophia, What’s wrong?"

"The crown... I can feel it..." Her voice was choked.

"Then we’re pulling you out."

"No!" She grabbed his arm, forcing herself to focus through the barrage of negative thoughts. "If the pendejo is in my head, it means I can get into his."

But the crown wielder had noticed her vulnerability. His attention focused as the crown’s light intensified, and suddenly Sophia’s eyes rolled to the back of her head.

She held her head with both hands, groaning as she released a psychic backlash, her mind trying desperately to reject the assault.

Just like hotwiring a car, her offline telepathy sparked back to life in one uncontrolled burst.

The crown wielder staggered, his weapon’s influence suddenly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of raw emotion.

In the distance, the man who once stood motionless, surrounded by raging civilians dropped down on one knee and the team noticed.

The inhabitants of Big-Little Havana suddenly became cognizant for all of one second before they reverted to their primal, savage nature.

Sophia on the other hand, collapsed, her mind shutting down again to protect itself from damage it couldn’t sustain.

The last thing she saw before darkness took her was Hiro’s face, twisted with fear and determination, as he scooped her up and ran.

Meanwhile, Yelena, who had watched the entire exchange without intervening, lifted a small communicator to her ear. "Director," she said calmly. "We have development."