Birth of a Phantom part 12

They walked farther away, the density of people grew thin, and they were starting to stick out in the less populated area.

Behind them was a group of guards, ahead of them, a drone hovered overhead. They turned to corners and corridors.

But as soon as they shook them off, Maria stopped and noticed something on the ground, “Finally.”

She pulled him into another alley, “Over here.”

Dragged by her arms, he asked, “What’s this?”

“Our escape route. One where the drones can’t spot us and the guards won’t follow us.” The masked woman lifted a manhole cover, hopping in.

He followed her into the hole. As he landed, the wet splash from his boots reverberated in the tunnels. The air underground was thick, stagnant and moist, pungent with the scent of decay.

Old water trickled down from the pipes above them, like rain dripping to the drains.

The brickwork was covered in the green of moss, illuminated by the light of a holographic projection coming from Maria’s watch, as well as the faint blue radiating behind Felix’s mask.

Felix removed the makeshift outfit of worn out rags, but kept the mask on to cover his face. Though the thin plastic didn’t do much, it was better than inhaling the stench directly. He couldn’t find it in himself to part ways with it just yet.

He followed her through the dreary passages of the canal, each step sputtered and echoed, there was a feeling he could slip on the grime at any moment. “Do you actually know where we’re going?” He asked.

“The tunnels speak to me.”

“What’s wrong with you?” He asked half-jokingly.

“A great, many things.” She answered as she pulled out a transceiver.

“Haaa…. You really make no sense to me.” He replied, letting out an unhinged laugh, only to stop himself, “Ugh, the air is disgusting.”

She chuckled as she glanced back at him, “Just messing with you, I’ve had my fair share of making quick escapes. As long as we keep walking, it’ll eventually lead to an exit. One far enough from them.”

He shot her a startled look.

After everything that happened tonight, I didn’t really know how to respond.

At that moment, the transceiver connected under the sewers. A static blur noise sounded before Maria spoke.

“This is Venom Vanguard.”

“Venom—. Th— is HQ, do you copy?” A voice answered through the transceiver.

The replies were filled with static feedback, while the flow of sewer water echoed.

“We read you. The mission is complete. We need an extraction.”

“Roger— What———coordinates?”

“We’re underground. Somewhere in the sewage. I don’t know the specifics, but we should be somewhere North East from the festival. I’ll send our location when we get out.”

“Roger that, exfil at point Gamma on your map.” A holographic map suddenly popped out of her watch, marked with the location where the two of them are supposed to go.

“Understood. Over.” The transmission ended and she placed the transceiver on her side.

As the two of them navigated through the dark, damp maze, she muttered to herself, “Blue… azure… definitely not ghost… but poltergeist? No, that doesn’t sound right.”

He tilted his head, wondering what she was blurting out.

Once they found light piercing through from above, the two spotted another manhole.

Maria climbed up first, pushing it open with her palm. As the iron lid landed on the grassy ground, she got out and extended her hand Felix. He smirked and took it.

They took a deep inhale. A wave of fresh, cold air made them feel like they could finally breathe again. Maria whispered something under her breath, “Phantom.”

“Hm?”

“You don’t have an official codename yet, right?” She removed her yellow mask.

“Hm, yeah?”

“How about ‘Blue Phantom’? It really suits you! Your style, your speed, those unfollowable movements! You leave a glowing blue shadow every time you move!” She squealed as the wind blew from behind her. Her smile silhouetted against the light of the helicopter that came to pick the two up.

“I don’t think ‘unfollowable’ is a word.”

“We could always stick with Child of Stars.” She teased, stripping off the rags.

He then contemplated for a second, giving it just a bit more thought.

It sounds tacky, but I didn’t really have an argument. It was either ‘Child of Stars’ or Black Cat of Ruin. The title the professor insists on me, or being an omen.

“I don’t think now is the best time for this.” Felix replied as he took off his mask.

The dark-haired woman continued, “You should just register your code name as that! That white mask, and those glowing blue… eyes…” Her excitement instantly vanished as she turned to face him.

Felix’s soft smile also vanished as he realized what her expression meant. He placed his hand on his right cheek. The glowing blue eye had returned to pitch-black once again, leaving him with only a single blue iris.

He sighed, his expression turned solemn as he quietly accepted it.

With a somber tone, he remarked, “Well, that’s fine. It’ll turn blue soon enough.”

Their hair fluttered from the strong winds below the helicopter. She gave him a soft, understanding smile before boarding the aircraft.

As they ascended into the sky, the winds grew chillier. Felix covered her with a blanket as he watched her fall asleep.

He scratched his cheek, and took a sharp inhale, “Hey… about your question earlier.”

“Mhm…” She mumbled.

“…The reason why I want to be number one is because my mentor, Nocturne, wanted to become number one.”

“Oh… why’s that…?” She nestled into the blanket.

“She wanted to make changes beyond her means. It’s not something she told me to do that… but I promised myself that I would…” Felix placed his hand under his blood-stained shirt, holding something underneath, “If I didn’t become number one, then I’d feel like I let her down.”

“Is that so… well, I have a goal now myself…”

“And what’s that?”

“To… reprogram you…” She whispered her last words before drifting off into deep slumber.

With a smirk, he responded, “And how do you expect to do… ah…” But he stopped as her head fell on his shoulder.

He smiled before he could finish his thought, as he saw that she had already fallen asleep.

~