"Something happened with the stealth generator last night," Max said.
"What happened to it?" asked Colosso.
"During the mission, I accidentally released some telekinesis waves and messed it up."
"What do you mean by 'accidentally released some telekinesis waves'?"
"I got angry and lost control of my telekinesis and damaged the stealth generator. Now it only turns me transparent. But that's not all. Just watch."
Max put the stealth generator and turned it on, making him transparent. Before Colosso could say anything his hand went through his workbench.
"You can phase through objects," said the shocked rabbit
Max smirked. "I know. If I could turn invisible it could have been the most impressive stealth tech ever created. Still, I'm quite pleased with what I have. I'm going to test it when I am going to steal from Cinders. Speaking of which, tell me about Cinders."
"There is not much to say. He's a new villain who robbed a few banks. As the name implies he has pyrokinesis abilities. No arch nemesis yet. I would be careful, though. Even if he didn't kill anyone yet, we have no way of knowing what his limits are."
Max needed the money for the new phone, but instead of filling it with useless photos, music, and games, it will be of more use to his mission to stop Mayhem. Combined with the newest smartwatch he will be able to communicate with people without being traced. While he would have liked to spent time with Phoebe he needed the money fast, so he along with Billy and Nora gambled on their mother at the cup stacking competition. By the end of the day he was able to buy the phone, sadly he still needed more money for the watch. As he was getting used to his new phone, an exhausted Phoebe entered.
"Where did you get that?!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, I bet on mom at cup stacking. She very good at it," he said matter-of-factly
"But, why didn't you let me in on it?"
"I would have, but between me, Billy and Nora we barely got the money. How is work?"
The-hero-in-training let out a tired sigh. "Though. Wong is a slave driver and the pay is not so great."
Max smiled sympathetically. "That's rough."
"Tell me about it. I have to work for Wong for another two weeks before I can make enough money. Is there any other cup stack competition any time soon?" she asked hopefully
Max shook his head. "Not until next year."
His sister let out a forlorn sigh and Max rubbed her back encouragingly.
"I'm going to take a shower," she said as she stood up.
Max's eyes never left her back until she disappeared up the stairs.
The time has come. Max sneaked out of the house after he made sure that his hoodie masked his eyes and his black scarf covered his mouth and nose, using his jetpack he quickly arrived at the deposit. He got on a catwalk, observing the meeting from the shadows. He saw Cinders, alone, talking with the black market merchant. The villain wore a simple red jumpsuit with a red mask and black visor, further cementing the idea that Cinders was new to the supervillain gig. From the shape and height of Cinders' body, Max deduced that Cinders was male.
"Show me the merchandise," commanded the villain, his real voice distorted by a voice modifier.
"Of course sir," the merchant said.
Cinders and the merchant looked at the back of the van while the thugs that accompanied the evil merchant stood guard.
"Looks good."
"I can assure you my friend my merchandise is the best."
Max used his telekinesis to throw an empty barrel into other barrels, causing everyone to jump.
"What was that?" growled the villain.
"Probably a stray animal. Nothing you need to worry about my friend. And to prove it my men will check it out," the evil merchant said and with a gesture most of his henchmen went to check the commotion, leaving only two of them to guard their boss.
Max quietly got down from the catwalk. Once down he activated his now phasing device and entered the van. Once inside he pulled a small orb that emitted small electric energy, not big enough to damage the engine, but good enough to destroy any tracking chips. Thankfully, the keys were in the ignition. Max quickly turned on the van and hit the acceleration, bashing through the rusted gates with the villains shooting behind him. Because of the head start, he had on them, Max managed to lose his pursuers. He parked the van down the street his house and quietly sneaked in, grabbed the Animalizer and went to his room.
"Is that...?"Colosso asked as his wide got huge when he saw his old invention.
Max wordlessly blasted the former villain, turning him human. "Come help me with the crates."
They started to move the crates to his lair as quickly and quietly as they could. After they managed to move the crates, the duo dumped the car near a park and they managed to finish at four in the morning. Colosso eyed the Animalizer before looking at Max.
"If we're done, I would like to go sleep," he said.
The young vigilante stared at his friend for a moment before nodding. Taking the Animalizer he turned Colosso into his rabbit form. He put a blanket over the crates and went to bed.
"Max! Wake up!" an annoying voice yelled.
The young man opened one eye and saw the angry face of his mother. He grumbled a 'go away' before closing his eye.
"Max! You're late for school!" Barb huffed annoyed as she pulled the cover off him.
"Who cares?" he rasped
"I care!" yelled an annoyed Barb, making Max wince. "Now get dressed quickly, wash your teeth and go to school. I've already made a sandwich for the road."
Max did as he was told and in ten minutes he was out of the door, walking to school with his twin.
"Did you spend all night gaming?" she asked when she saw him yawn for the nth time.
"You know it," he lied with a casual smile.
Phoebe just sighed and rolled her eyes.
"What?" he asked.
"I just don't like it how you're wasting your potential,"
"I'm not wasting my potential, Pheebs."
"How is staying up late playing video games and pretending to be a supervillain is not wasted potential?" she asked sarcastically
"Hey! I'm not pretending! I am a supervillain!" he protested, but it lacked the usual bark.
Thankfully Phoebe didn't notice or if she did she assume he was tired. "I don't think you want to be a supervillain, Max, especially after your little monolog on Ditch Day. A supervillain is someone who only cares about himself and you clearly care about me."
Max said nothing for a moment. "Maybe I'll be a different kind of supervillain," he offered. He inwardly cursed himself for that moment of weakness, but he couldn't help it. He felt she deserves to know that he loves her since in the previous timeline he never told her how much she means to him.
"Max," she said and grabbed his hand, his heart skipped a beat. "I'm sorry."
His eyes almost popped up in disbelieve. "For what?" he asked softly.
"I know why you want to be a supervillain. It's because our parents put me on a pedestal, isn't it? I know it's not fair since you are smarter than me. And I never encouraged you, in fact, I made fun of you when you failed. And I'm sorry."
The young vigilante was floored by her confession. "What brought this on?" he asked as he stared into her beautiful brown eyes.
She lowered her gaze. "I've been thinking ever since we had that heart to heart and I realized that I never told you that I love and I haven't been the best sister either."
His throat constricted and his heart rate sped up. "Pheebs, that's fine. I was much worse than you. And how are parents pay you more attention? It doesn't bother me anymore. I know they love me and that's all that matters."
She looked up at him in disbelieve. "But-" she tried to protest, but he cut her off.
"Look, how about this: from now on we stop putting each other down and help one another. Does that sound good?"
Phoebe smiled. "I would love that."
"And about me being a supervillain, you are right. I don't want to be a super villain anymore, but I don't want to be a hero either," he said and when he saw the look of confusion on his twin's face he continued. "I don't know what I want to do just yet. I'm still looking for my path."
She nodded. "I understand."
"I would like to keep what we talked a secret from the rest of our family."
"What?" she asked in surprise. "But mom and dad would be so happy that you stopped being a villain and-"
"I know they mean well, but they would influence my decision. It's my life and if I am to become a hero I want it to be my decision."
"Alright."
"I want you to Thunder swear."
Phoebe stared at him with wide eyes. She had never seen her twin so serious. He stared at her intensely, waiting for her answer. No one looked at her like that before, his focus was solely on her. "Alright," she said a blush formed on her face. She held out her pinky and Max grabbed her with his "I Thunder swear not to tell anyone."
Thank you for reading. If you have any constructive criticism or feedback, leave a review or just PM me.
