Isen/Season 2 pt 2

## Plot

### Discord

Despite Isen's fears, it seemed that John lost interest in destroying Wellston. (The school was still standing days into his return). So business at Wellston went on as it did for the past month, including the upcoming Safe House weekend trip Isen had helped Remi organize. There was one big change though: John gave up his title as Wellston's King. Arlo didn't take it back, so it was to be bestowed on Blyke when he came back from *his* suspension. The Safe House prepared a surprise party for the new King the day he returned. At the party, Isen congratulated Blyke, joking that he was owed thanks after "turning down" the position. He then mused that the once-enticing title being so easy to part with was a sure sign that times have changed. Isen called for an abrupt end to the new King's congratulations and insisted that they get on with the best part of the festivities: the cake Roland baked!

After school, the reunited trio returned to the dorm Blyke would once again occupy. As they discussed the possibilities of what they would do in Rowden, they were reminded that John was Blyke's roommate again. They tried to turn away, but John had business with them. As he and Remi spoke about the possibility of him joining the trip, Isen kept his back turned. He couldn't believe his ears when Remi firmly said that John was welcome to try actually becoming a member of Safe House before negotiating his inclusion on their activities. John took his leave right afterwards.

With a new King of Wellston, came the appointment of a new Jack. With his status in the rankings, Isen was selected to take the role to support his friends. He didn't want the job, but Remi and Blyke mandated that he would have to take it if no other candidates were available. Isen recalled that Cecile outranked him, and suggested that they run the idea by her first. So the trio went to see if she was still interested in continuing the position she had under John. But she crushed his high hopes, saying that she wanted nothing to do with his friends. Without any sense of shame, Isen fell to the floor and started to beg. She suggested that he simply seize the opportunity to become a part of something greater, an idea that didn't sit well with such an "independent" guy like himself. He tried to warn her that if neither of them took it, then Zeke would get his greasy mitts on the title. But Cecile refused to change her mind for the sake of Isen's "freedom." Isen's friends picked him up, but he even as he was being dragged away he urged Cecile to take all the time she needed to reconsider. Ultimately, Cecile didn't rescind her refusal, so Isen was forced to become the new Jack.

Isen spent a lot of time sulking in Safe House, while other club members tried in vain to tell him how good he had it now. But Isen failed to appreciate just how attractive others found his new title to be. He was certain that responsibility would be suffocating to an independent agent like himself. When John entered the room shortly afterward, the atmosphere went from mopey to terrifying in an instant. But John didn't start any fights. He asked if he could sit down at a desk. To the disbelief of Isen and everybody else, Remi allowed it, reminding all that it was the rule all members agreed to. To her credit, she told John that he was OUT at the first sign of trouble. And so it was that John sat, while everybody else watched him. It was totes awkward. So much so that Isen sent a text to Seraphina saying as much, asking her for help. She answered the call, and Isen nervously directed her to John's seating place. She took John outside, and he didn't come back in that day. But everybody heard his foreboding vow to return.

After a week of trying his hardest to fulfill Remi's prerequisite, John had to stay out of the room while the other members determined whether it was enough to get him his coveted spot on the field trip. Those in favor had to raise their hand, so Isen kept his down. There was a surge of yeses towards the end when Arlo put up his hand, but the vote ultimately ended with a majority vote for keeping John far away from Rowden. The next day, the group met up in front of the school. Isen helped with loading the bus. It would have been quick, if *his majesty* didn't keep insisting on "handling things with care".

### Infiltration

When the bus pulled up to their hotel, Isen agreed with Blyke's assessment that pictures didn't to the place justice. After a long, strenuous evening of letting his friends see to all the students' needs, Isen was ready for a good night's sleep. He insisted that Blyke slept nearer to the door, so that he could be a human shield against any intruders. Isen scoffed at his friend's supposition that such danger might enter from the window side, and was promptly vindicated when a terrifying individual walked right in. John, who had apparently stalked the group all the way to their destination, was going to be sharing their room. It would certainly make things cozier, seeing as how Arlo was also staying in the room due to signing up for the trip late.

An argument broke out the instant they caught sight of each other. Isen did not look forward to Kings butting heads all night, and Blyke's attempts to quiet them down were hampered by his own deep-seated resentment towards John. Isen proposed an ideal solution: give the room's two beds to the strongest occupants, while the other two slept on the foor. Blyke angrily replied with the absurd notion that people should stand up for themselves more often. Isen reminded his hypocritical friend that they were supposed to be quiet. John may have ended up having one of the beds to himself, but Isen had the entire floor. With socks on, he was clearly the most comfortable!

It was 7:15 in the morning when Blyke woke the others up. It was too early to rise for Isen, and *far* too early to stick around for one of John and Arlo's impending confrontations. He got out of there ASAP, and followed Blyke down for breakfast. After eating and meeting up in the hotel plaza, it was learned that John was en route to Wellston after a word from Seraphina. It sounded like good news to the reporter who didn't listen with his ability active. When they reached Rowden Park and everybody dispersed, the Jack, Queen, and King decided to do things together, as usual. But before they even picked what to ride first, Seraphina and Arlo latched onto to the group. The former didn't stick around for very long, and left before they could get on the Obelisk. Isen didn't let that stop him from goofing around with the others. Except Arlo, who was too tense to appreciate a game of cowboys on the carousel.

Not that the happy mood lasted anyway. John chose to stick around after all, in the very park as the rest of them. Blyke argued with him, and when they were gone Remi and Arlo argued about going after them. All in all, too much drama for Isen's liking. By the time they got around to looking for the two hotheads, panic broke out in the park. Isen had an inkling about who was at the center of the commotion. But a tip from a park employee revealed that the local Royals were the ones who stirred up the trouble in the first place. Apparently, the teens did this regularly with impunity. But as they are wont to do, Blyke and John had ultimately gotten themselves involved. Isen arrived in time to see John dominating the Rowden Royals. He would have done worse than beat them up, were it not for Arlo getting his attention with a Barrier. Without another word, John deactivated his ability, and Arlo did the same. Other than an easily thwarted sneak attack from the Rowden King, things did not get any uglier. Isen noticed that John looked really traumatized for a winner, and pointed it out to Blyke. He then watched as the two of them were taken into custody for their part in the conflict.

Soon enough, all of Safe House knew that John was in town and of his role in Blyke's fight. The group still didn't want him around, but Arlo and Seraphina did not let them overlook John's behavioral shift. It took some doing, but the two managed to convince the others to uphold Safe House's creed now that John finally warmed up to it. The spectacle of them working towards a common goal felt like a really long fever dream to Isen. He stayed behind to wait until the stragglers were released. When they caught up, Isen filled them in on what happened before they grabbed a cab to head back for dinner.

When they arrived, they saw that others were hearing Dylan recount the events. To the hungry reporter, storytime wasn't nearly as interesting as the full-course buffet Remi pointed to. He and Blyke promptly dug in. After eating, Isen was one of several students to go for a dip in the hotel pool. He thought it would be a hoot to shove Blyke into the water. Remi wanted swimming lessons, so Blyke helped her. A fear of getting shocked silly kept Isen far away.

The big split the day after started off strangely. Despite the even vote, the hiking group was a lot smaller than the tour group. When Blyke decided not to cancel their plan over this, Isen offered to join him to keep him company. When John's request to go with them was honored, several tour students switched activities. When the group arrived at Rowden Hill and began their ascent, Isen walked ahead alongside Blyke. They covered a lot of ground before their first break. Everybody stopped and had a drink, calm as can be. And then it happened. John made a grab for Terrence and tried to make him confess to some scheme.

Blyke tried to get the situation under control. John somehow got a level head, and ordered Isen to keep a close eye on the disappearing kid. The shaken reporter agreed. He wondered if John's actions meant that he knew about Terrence's illicit background. If so, was there a *very* good reason to lose one's cool while hiking with a suspected accomplice of disabling kidnappers? Isen told Blyke, who thought John was just going crazy again, that they should give the guy the benefit of the doubt. He would handle the group until they returned from their private chat. When they did, Blyke told everybody that they were going to leave the remote wilderness. And then it happened again, only worse. Like the rest of the group, Isen felt a debilitating sort of pulse. By the time he got his bearings again, he heard John shouting about Terrence, who had slipped away.

John needed someone to blame, and Isen found himself the target. Blyke put a stop to the admonishment and asked Isen to scan the area for the missing fellow. Isen tried, but found that Hunter was nowhere near as encompassing as it should be. Terrence was beyond what he was able to cover. Isen asked John if what they felt was the Dampener. John confirmed that the device had dropped all their levels 50%. When asked what he could do in his current condition, Isen answered that he could manage detecting approachers if the group huddled around him.

Despite their disadvantage, the students were forced to press on. It didn't take long for the screams to start. Isen turned to see Evie and Dylan had been seized by masked marauders right outside of his range. Naturally, John thought this was the perfect time to renew his crusade in faulting Isen for letting them all down. The Jack snapped and said that if anybody was in charge of protecting the group, it was the guy who knew what was going on and had the most useful ability. Blyke interjected and told them both to focus on the knives held to the throats of their charges. The bad guys wanted them all to stand down. John whispered that Isen and Blyke should rush in for an attack while he provided cover fire. He then knelt in false surrender, and the other two followed his lead. More enemies appeared from the opposite direction. Isen focused on attacking them the minute their guard was down. Evie and Dylan were rescued, but Isen told everybody that there was still danger in store for them all.

He was immediately proven right with long range beams began firing on them. Isen and John were held up by some goons, but they managed to regroup with the others. The students made it to the trees, but not before several of them are wounded by the snipers. If things weren't bad enough, those snipers were still firing at their hiding place. Isen felt that he could make out their locations with his limited power, and suggested they use the knowledge to fire back. The weakened and wounded Blyke wasn't in any condition to do so, which left John. He stated that he could only muster enough power to copy and amp Blyke's ability, which meant that Isen had to play spotter again. So together, they initiated a counterattack. The trouble was that the sniper they couldn't focus on was able to hit John. Isen was horrified, but John was glad that their shot wasn't a *complete* waste of effort. Unfortunately, Isen pointed out that the remaining sniper would have moved, and the ground forces were ready for another scrap. John told them that the odds were good enough for them to try to fight their way down. But as they prepare to do so, another nasty surprise gets sprung. Enemy reinforcements from behind attacked, and Isen got badly hurt by a third sniper. Only John was able to muster the will to fight this new batch of foes.

Isen didn't catch any breaks though. Blyke told him he was needed as a rear guard, to protect the Safe House while he and John fought separate fronts. Isen learned that Blyke needed protection from the distant sniper still on the loose. He barely managed to tackle him out of the way. The act would have got him a knife in the back, had Blyke not disrupted the threat. Isen saw that they weren't doing enough damage, but Blyke told him not to give up.

Eventually, John was shot again, necessitating aid from Blyke. So Isen had to fight solo for a while. His blows alone weren't enough to knock any of his opponents out, but thanks to Blyke, John survived to provide supporting fire. Kicking the shot thugs didn't solve their ongoing sniper problem. So Blyke volunteered to draw his fire so that Isen could help John take him out and get everybody out of there. Isen feared this could be suicide, but Blyke replied that they'd better make due with what they had.

John was nearly fainting, but Isen roused him and got him to face the direction the shot was last sighted. They waited a bit, and the sniper fired again. They returned the favor, and Isen rushed forth to assist Blyke with the original squad. John provided more cover fire, while the rest of Safe House gathered their wounded and began to move out.

And then it happened. In the worst way yet. As Blyke was calling for John to join the rest of them, he was knocked away. Isen was surprised, but quickly deduced that it was an invisible person. He tackled who he believed to be Terrence. But Isen realized that he had a stranger in a headlock once the invisibility wore off. Even worse, somebody else was taking advantage of his distraction. Isen called for help as he barely managed to hold off whoever snuck up behind him. Blyke punched away the syringe-wielding creep before he injected Isen with its contents.

Blyke mentioned that the forces surrounding them seemed to have gotten timid. Isen took a moment to test a theory, and found out that his power was returning. Their would-be killers made a break for it, but the two friends wouldn't let that slide. Blyke slowed them down for Isen to knock flat with an earth-shaking punch. Just when they wrapped things up, Seraphina, Arlo, and Remi arrived from their own battle. The only person unaccounted for was John.

He was soon found, all worn-out from his clash with Terrence. Once Seraphina and Arlo found and recovered him, the group descended. Isen and Blyke supported each other on the way down, and the Authorities were called to make as many arrests as they could, Terrence included.

### Escalation

Isen was one of several students who needed to recover in the hospital. He shared his room with Blyke, and the two got visits from Arlo and Remi. Irate that Blyke healed quickly, Isen claimed that he wouldn't have to wait to leave if the hospital's medicine was any good. He found himself wishing that they still had their terrifying nurse to take care of them. Arlo said that the doc was sure to have moved on from literal child's play, a remark that cut Isen deep. The conversation had shifted to John, who was discovered disabled back on Rowden Hill. Remi said they would check in on him next.

Eventually, everybody was discharged from the hospital. Despite the problems the headmaster was facing over their incident, the Safe House was right back in the swing of things. Isen decided to play a round of Unopoly during one of his supervisor shifts. John and Seraphina arrived just as the board was set up, and joined in. Isen wound up with the power to bestow John the last property needed for a set. He wanted a king's ransom for it, but pressure from a bored Seraphina lowered his price. He made sure to blame her when the other players chided him for the trade. Isen braced himself for the damage John might do on his next turn.

The next day, Isen and his pals were about to go out and grab lunch. But Blyke made the astonishing decision of inviting John to join them. As they walked and talked, Isen stated that the Spectre organization behind the disabling was cuh-ray-zay. John asked why a couple of softies such as themselves haven't talked to the Authorities about it. The knowing Remi and Blyke simply said they were against the idea. The group soon came across a lost older man, whom John identified as his father. The trio put on their best welcome faces while John's dad fussed over his recently hospitalized son. John wanted to escort him away, but Mr. Doe didn't want to get in the way of him hanging out with his new friends. Isen had trouble wrapping his head around the fact that this considerate, smiling man was the father of the Shadow King. Remi asked him to come to partake in their meal, which he accepted despite John's protests.

And that's how the trio came to dine with John and his father William. They told him about the attack on their trip, but they couldn't bring themselves to divulge the motivations behind it. Isen claimed that they were waiting on the Authorities to answer those questions for them. Safe House was also a talking point, and William told the trio that he was delighted by their perseverance to go against the norm for the sake of those less gifted. Isen seemed pleased by the compliment. When they finished, the group split, with John wanting to stay with his dad during the visit.

### Division

A couple of days passed with John and Seraphina absent from school. Isen overheard Evie and Dylan wondering what became of them. So he took a break from irritating Blyke and suggested that they were among those that were reported as disappearing off the streets. Both Blyke and Remi smacked their terrible friend and clarified that Seraphina notified then that she was due to return. After school ended, the trio wondered what kept them both occupied. Isen bet on more Spectre business. The matter was put on hold when they noticed a tall stranger with a ponytail looking in their direction.

Remi knew this strapping fellow, so Isen asked for his name. She introduced him to her friends as Kuyo, who attended Wellston alongside Rei. Isen half-heartedly shook his hand, not that Kuyo was that interested to meet him either. For some reason, it appeared that Blyke was the one he came to see. Kuyo said he had met Blyke before, and this coupled with Blyke's twitchiness made Isen suspicious. Blyke wanted a private word with his mysterious acquaintance, but Isen and Remi decided to shadow them and get some answers.

The journey took them to Hilford Park, where Blyke's friends eavesdropped on him from behind a tree. Kuyo wanted to know whether Blyke knew John and Seraphina, and if he knew that somebody tried to murder the both of them. Shocked, Isen and Remi realized that Seraphina must have lied to them under duress. Kuyo also revealed that he saved their lives, but wanted to know why it was necessary for high-tiers to need rescue. He had a theory that Isen had only joked about. The hit must have been connected to all the disappearances after all, though Kuyo didn't seem to know Spectre's hand in it. The discussion shed light that the two of them met each other as vigilantes. Isen asked Remi if it might have been possible that Kuyo knowing Rei in high school meant that they worked as partners in crimefighting. Remi decided that she wanted to ask directly. While she was at it, she demanded to know if he saw Volcan kill Rei.

Kuyo owned up to failing to save Rei, but he told the outraged Remi that his killers made it impossible to even extract his body. Isen called attention to him talking about Volcan in plural, and learned that EMBER operatives worked in teams too. At Remi's behest, Kuyo divulged the full story of Rei's death.

*The vigilante duo were ambushed during an investigation on the amplifiers circulating the black market. Fighting one EMBER agent was nearly impossible for the high-tiers, and a sneak attack from Volcan sealed their doom. X-Static tried to take them down with one final sacrificial super-attack, hoping that Kuyo would at least survive to continue their work. But Rei was the only one to perish, while the unharmed EMBER agents prevented any attempt to gather evidence.*

Isen and Blyke had remained reverently quiet as Remi listened to the account of her brother's final moments. She was grateful for getting the painful details denied to her by her enemies, and offered to help Kuyo if he helped her avenge Rei.

Isen and Blyke were seen playing soccer, with the latter had his face spurned with the ball.

Isen parted with Remi and Blyke after having group dinner and went their separate ways.

The next morning, Isen listened in to Blyke complaining about the new arrangement at his dorm, namely Seraphina crashed in and the resulting awkwardness from it. The Jack secretly chastised his friend for not taking such opportunity, then wondered if Blyke could at least ask her and John regarding the Spectre stuff. When Blyke responded by pointing out that getting info out of those two were impossible and most likely will results in him blabbering about his personal life, Isen agreed. He then asked about how long Seraphina will be there and whether they were expecting something after that.

Later, Isen eavesdropped on a conversation between John and Seraphina, telling Blyke that he only managed to catch about their former nurse being their contact and an upcoming meeting. The redhead wondered if those two are going to meet Spectre, to which Isen confirmed its likelihood.

Isen nearly got caught eavesdropping when Seraphina approached the room. He managed to salvage some semblance of cover by pretending to read a book... upside down. When she asked Blyke for some spare suit that John can borrow for an "interview", the roommates pretended to believe it. They (and John) were later enamored by the sight of Seraphina in a suit. Isen wished the two good luck for their "interview", before tailing them with Blyke at a safe distance. They discovered the two were meeting someone at Hilford Park before the three disappeared. Isen resigned the fact he can't track a teleporter, but overheard the fellow was called Kayden. They decided to inform Kuyo of this information.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 236
2. ↑ Chapter 237
3. ↑ Chapter 238
4. ↑ Chapter 240
5. ↑ Chapter 244
6. ↑ Chapter 245
7. ↑ Chapter 246
8. ↑ Chapter 247
9. ↑ Chapter 248
10. ↑ Chapter 249
11. ↑ Chapter 251
12. ↑ Chapter 252
13. ↑ Chapter 253
14. ↑ Chapter 254
15. ↑ Chapter 255
16. ↑ Chapter 256
17. ↑ Chapter 257
18. ↑ Chapter 258
19. ↑ Chapter 259
20. ↑ Chapter 260
21. ↑ Chapter 261
22. ↑ Chapter 262
23. ↑ Chapter 263
24. ↑ Chapter 264
25. ↑ Chapter 265
26. ↑ Chapter 266
27. ↑ Chapter 269
28. ↑ Chapter 278
29. ↑ Chapter 279
30. ↑ Chapter 280
31. ↑ Chapter 281
32. ↑ Chapter 282
33. ↑ Chapter 283
34. ↑ Chapter 285
35. ↑ Chapter 286
36. ↑ Chapter 292
37. ↑ Chapter 293
38. ↑ Chapter 300
39. ↑ Chapter 301
40. ↑ Chapter 302
41. ↑ Chapter 303
42. ↑ Chapter 304
43. ↑ Chapter 305
44. ↑ Chapter 306
45. ↑ Chapter 308
46. ↑ Chapter 318
47. ↑ Chapter 320
48. ↑ Chapter 322
49. ↑ Chapter 326