Danny adjusted the Bluetooth earbud he was wearing on his head. According to Will, blue and grey earpieces were another silent tip-off they had. Once he had gotten sober again, Will was able to actually tell them the plan in a coherent manner.

He didn't know much about what he called Messengers, but Will was trained on how to spot them. Black and red colors, blue and grey earpiece, glasses without lenses in them. They were one of the ways Will was supposed to communicate with people up the ladder from him. They come in, aren't bothered by anyone else, approach the last person in the chain of command before Will's position, and got on a private line with him where they would ask any questions they needed and he would give them the answers they needed. According to Will, the only thing a Messenger wasn't authorized to know was the command hierarchy of local Sentient. He stressed very harshly that is he asked anything even remotely related to that he would probably get shot.

As Danny climbed into the tunnel, he went over the questions again in his head. Will had also drilled him on that, a Messenger can't stutter. He has to know every single thing he is going to ask going in and cannot afford the time to think. It isn't his job to think, it's it to ask questions and get answers.

"Relax," Cheshire said through his earbud. "Will and I are both here to cover all the bases. The camera in your glasses is working perfectly. We've got this." Danny didn't answer, knowing that he wouldn't be able to tell if someone was listening or not. Besides, he knew that if anything happened Nova and Glory Girl would teleport in and start destroying everything while Cheshire and Panacea moved in to get him out. He let out a shuddering breath and forced himself to relax. Everything was going to work out fine.

He emerged on the other side and found himself in a location similar to what Lisa had described to him when explaining the mission. A checkpoint underground with an electrified fence in his path. Only there were five soldiers waiting for him.

"Spin in place five times, bend over and untie both shoes, and retie only the right one." Will said in the microphone. "Then approach them and wait for them to part out of your way, when they do so don't walk forward. Wait ten seconds and they'll ask you the passphrase. Tell them and then continue on your way."

Danny started doing everything he said as he described it. The silence coming from the guards making him feel uneasy as the seconds ticked by. The shoe untying and tying took an uncomfortable amount of time, but once he was done the guard reacted just as Will had said. They moved aside to let him pass. He didn't take it.

In exactly ten seconds of prolonged silence, a guard asked, "What's the passphrase?"

"Adkins S Montgomery is Ragnarok," Danny answered then moved forward without ceremony. He put a had on the electrified fence without hesitation, knowing that would also give him away. It didn't shock him, so he moved forward.

He came to a ladder and started to climb.

"The moment you come out go to your left," Will said. "Walk to the edge of the warehouse, then turn left again. Walk the length of the warehouse sticking as close to the wall as possible until you find a trap door in the floor. Open it and descend downward."

Danny silently followed his directions. People shot him odd looks, but no one stopped him as Will had said. When he found the trap door people were actively looking away from him. Pulling it open, he found there weren't any steps or a ladder, just a short drop into a tunnel.

"The door isn't meant to be an exit," Cheshire stated. "Only an entrance."

Danny resisted the urge to nod and dropped into the hole.

Will and Cheshire guided him down the twisting hallways that made up the underground base. They were made to be intentionally confusing and absurdly space consuming. There were even some halls that didn't lead anywhere, only hitting dead ends. Danny had attempted to remember his path at first, but quickly forgot bits and pieces and only served to give himself a headache.

Eventually, he found himself in an office area. It was at the end of a long hallway and didn't have a door so the man at the desk could see whoever was coming. Danny went through the motions of the other anti-cape protocols that he needed to, including displaying the earpiece, some minor silent motion, running down the length of the hall and back, and stating the passphrase again.

Danny was getting a little annoyed with the sheer absurdity of the silent tip-offs and the amount of time they consumed.

When he was finished, Danny held out his hand and The Sentient member that was sitting behind the desk picked up the phone off the desk and placed it in Danny's had.

"Messenger speaking," Danny stated into the phone.

"Malice Triv," A woman's voice spoke on the other end.

"That's who they replaced me with?" Will said on the other end. "Quite honestly I'm offended."

"Question," Danny stated in as monotone a voice as he could. "Inquiry into recent recruits. Specifically, kidnapped members."

"Clarify," Malice said, "Which kidnapped member?"

"Theo Anders."

"Ah, was sent to Boston yesterday for training. Is going to be re-educated and then trained as a squad leader. In the event he triggers he'll become a mole in the New York Wards branch."

"Acknowledged," Danny said with a nod. "Question two," he stated. "Inquiry into the local numbers as of this day."

"Clarify, what numbers?"

"Active members, arrested members, active moles in local PRT, deceased."

"Ah, one thousand three hundred and two active Sentient members across the city. Five hundred thirty-two members arrested. Forty-nine moles in the local PRT. Unknown amount of deceased. Lung and Supesu responsible for at least fiftey confirmed deaths."

"Acknowledge." Danny said. "No further questions."

"Understood, have a nice day." The other end of the phone clicked as she hung up. Danny put the phone on the desk and nodded to the man behind it. He paused for a moment and waited for Will or Cheshire to say something. They were silent.

Suddenly, an alarm went off throughout the base, a green flood light on the wall of the room blinking rapidly. The Sentient member behind the desk held up a hand and grabbed a phone from under the desk. This one had a cord that connected it to some other location Danny couldn't see.

"We have a problem." The man told Danny. "Someone assassinated a hero, framed us for is. Perform actions Alpha 6 and Eclipse 4." Once again, Will and Cheshire were silent.

Unable to do anything else, Danny turned and started walking away when the man behind the desk said,

"Stop and turn around slowly." Danny held up his hands and turned.

"Why didn't you- wait, aren't you Danny Hebert?"

Danny froze and felt the blood drain from his face. The man behind the desk was pointing a gun at him.

"Yeah, I recognize you. You were at the top of the list for potential recruits. I guess your Thinker pal didn't tell you about the faraday cage I was turned on the moment your call was over?" Danny didn't say anything as the silence stretched between them. The man behind the desk sighed.

"A shame, you would have made a good coordinator." With another word, he fired the gun and Danny felt searing pain blossom through his side.

Danny cried out in pain and collapsed on the ground and clamped his hand on his wound. He gritted his teeth as blood began to cover his fingers. The man walked around the from behind the desk and leveled the gun at him.

"I'm not supposed to kill you, a massive injury to your side to incapacitate you until I can secure you. But I have more important things to worry about. You think they'll believe me if I said you had cape enhancements to use?" The man cocked the gun. "I guess we'll find out."

Danny clenched his teeth and closed his eyes as he waited for the gun to fire. But then a thought entered his mind.

He wasn't there for Taylor when Annette died. He hadn't been there for her in a long time as she grew more and more distant from him. He watched her grow happier and closer to him ever since she got her powers. He let Lisa stay with them a not long after that. He offered for Amy to stay too. And now he wasn't going to be there for Taylor, she was going to lose another parent. And he wasn't going to be there for Lisa and Amy if they needed him. He was about to let his daughter and her close friends down. It hit hard, to know that despite all the progress he had made in recent days was all about to be dashed against the rocks. It hurt. It hurt really deeply.

Danny felt something click into place as his consciousness expanded and he felt power at his fingertips. Suddenly, Danny lashed out at the man that almost made him fail his daughter for a second time.