Badd absolutely did not approve of Goldy's relationship with his baby sister. Who did he think he was? Zenko was too young for any kind of romance. Not that she or Goldy were aware of that. They were being silly kids, but it still grated Badd's nerves.

Once I get back, I'm gonna give him a talking to, Badd promised himself.

He looked left and right, strolling through the dark streets. There was no sign of any of the heroes that had supposedly gone missing. He shrugged. No luck. The Neo Heroes were going to be disappointed for sure, but there wasn't much he could do. The heroes were simply... gone.

Need to get home quick, he thought. Sis will be worried.

He began walking, when he heard an eerie sound. A dark presence came creeping up on him from behind.

Heh heh… you really think you can get between us?

"Who's there?" Badd growled, turning around.

A form made its way out of the shadows. A sadistic grin was on its face. It was humanish, but its figures were hard to pinpoint. Aside from its horrifying grin, which made Badd clench his bat.

"What the Hell…" Badd trailed off. He held out his bat. "A monster?"

And then before he could blink, everything went black.

"Big bro?"

Zenko frowned, walking into the empty apartment. Her brother was gone. So was his bat.

Goldy appeared beside her, grabbing her hand. "Don't worry, Zen. He's probably just gone on one of his hero missions. He does that a lot, right?"

Zen. That was what her brother called her.

"I guess," she agreed, feeling comfort from Goldy's grip. "But he usually tells me before he goes somewhere. Or at least leaves a note..."

"Maybe he was too busy this time?" Goldy suggested. "Sweet Mask gets called away for hero stuff all the time. He's always busy."

Zenko frowned. "I guess I'll call him later." She crossed her arms. "That idiot."

Goldy just laughed, squeezing her hand. He gave her the infamous smile, but it wasn't as entrancing as it had once been. Zenko wasn't sure why. Something about it was almost… malicious.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid, she thought. Yeah, I'm sure big bro is fine.

"What do you want to do now?" Zenko asked.

Goldy's face lit up. The maliciousness was gone; his face was kind again. "Let's go upstairs."

It had been a few hours, and Badd still wasn't back.

Goldy had been picked up in a golden limousine some time ago, leaving Zenko alone. She desperately missed her brother. While she was glad she moved away from her grandparents, at least living with them meant she wasn't completely alone when her brother wasn't around.

She spent some time playing with Tama and the kittens. They were all adorable, but she couldn't get rid of the looming feeling that something was horribly wrong. She placed Badd Jr on her lap, sighing deeply as she pet her. A bodyguard was hired to look after the kittens when Badd wasn't around, but he had been called away to deal with 'something important'. So it was just Zenko now, alone with the cats.

Badd Jr's getting so big, she thought, staring at the ball of fluff on her lap. Big bro would be so proud.

She decided to ring her brother. To her annoyance, he didn't pick up. She rung him a few more times, but no response. She slumped against the wall, still petting Badd Jr. She began texting Goldy, who said he missed her already.

I miss you too, she texted back.

Hopefully we'll see each other again soon, he texted.

She was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. She sat right up, eyes wide. She began to remember a memory with her brother.

"Now, sis," he told her, "if someone knocks on the door when I'm not home, don't answer."

"Okay," Zenko had nodded. "But what am I supposed to do when they knock? Ignore them?"

"Yeah, just ignore 'em," Badd had said. "If they're important they'll come back when I'm there."

And Zenko had heeded his rule. That was why she stayed deadly silent, daring not even to breathe.

"Hey, you there, Zenko?" a familiar voice asked. "I need to talk about something important."

Zenko gasped. It was Child Emperor! She supposed she could make an exception for him, since she knew him.

"Coming!" she chirped, answering the door.

Child Emperor was standing there, Deputy awkwardly looming behind him.

Zenko glanced at Deputy. "Uh…"

"Long story short, he's my lab assistant," Child Emperor said, crossing his arms. "Anyway. We need to talk about something important, as I said." He gestured to the indoors. "Can we come in?"

"Sure," Zenko nodded, letting them in.

"Thanks," Child Emperor nodded. He glanced around the room, before turning to Zenko. "So, anyway, have you been keeping up with the news?"

"Not recently," Zenko shook her head. "We've been busy."

What, with helping the Neo Heroes and the kittens, Zenko and her brother's schedule had been full.

"So you don't know about the disappearances of some heroes," Child Emperor said, gravely.

Zenko paled. "Disappearances?"

"Y-Yeah," Deputy stammered. "A lot of heroes - A and S Class included - have gone missing recently. Those disciples of Atomic Samurai are some of the victims too, and they're high A Class."

"We've got a bit of a mystery on our hands," Child Emperor agreed. "We're trying to get to the bottom of it."

"That's awful," Zenko commented. She went tense. "But, um… why are you telling me about all of this?"

"Well, that's simple," Child Emperor said. His expression darkened. "Your brother's gone missing too."

When it came to investigating a mystery, Zenko had to admit she did not have much experience.

But she did have a lot of experience in worrying about her annoying yet loving elder brother.

Alongside her was Deputy and Child Emperor, and another friend of hers.

"Hey," Poppy said, leaning against Child Emperor's desk. An invention of his groaned.

"Stop that," the hero snapped, shooing her off. "You'll make a mess."

Poppy glowered at him. "Hey, lighten up. I'm trying to look like the cool detective here."

Child Emperor glared at her. "This isn't a game, Poppy. People are going missing. They could be dead, do you understand?"

Poppy tch-ed, casually. "Yeah, I know. It sucks."

"Poppy!" Zenko cried. "My brother's gone missing as well! It's not funny!"

"So you care about my opinion now, huh?" Poppy asked, bitterly.

"What are you talking about?" Zenko asked. "Of course I care about your opinion!"

Poppy glared at her. "Yeah, well, it doesn't seem like it recently. You've been spending a lot of time with that Goldy guy. Plus, Lily's gone missing too, but no one seems to care about that."

Zenko frowned. "Well, that's because Goldy's my-"

"Guys, cut it out!" Child Emperor shouted, waving his hands. "We're supposed to be investigating the situation!"

Deputy kept typing on his computer. He felt extremely awkward, being a good few years older than the children, but also being a lot less mature.

"Um," he coughed. "So, uh, about the situation at hand…"

He showed footage of the A Class hero Spring Mustachio. He was walking down the street, minding his own business, when he simply… disappeared into thin air. Only a trail of black smoke was left behind.

Child Emperor narrowed his eyes. "What the Hell…"

"Did someone grab him?" Zenko asked.

"I've looked over this footage multiple times," Deputy told her, shaking his head. "No one else is there."

Poppy frowned. "You sure about that? Because it seems pretty obvious to me."

"What does?" Child Emperor asked.

Poppy stared at him. "Aren't you supposed to be an S Class hero? Look closer."

"And you're starting to act like Tornado," Child Emperor grunted. He stared at the footage. "Anyway, I don't see… wait… OH. Ah, it's in code. Deputy, how did you not notice that? That is very obvious."

Deputy made a face. "Sorry... I forgot to put on my glasses..."

"What did you see?" Zenko asked.

Then she noticed. In the background, at the beginning of the video. Signs that she didn't understand, but something she knew well.

She saw a figure dressed in gold.

Goldy.

"Me? A kidnapper? That's ridiculous!"

Goldy crossed his arms, glaring at the group. Child Emperor was in front, head titled.

"You're Galreon, right?" Child Emperor asked. "Sweet Mask's cousin?"

"Yeah," Goldy nodded. "But call me Goldy."

"Alright, Goldy," Child Emperor said, scowling. "If you're not behind all this, then what were you doing in that video?"

"That's not me," Goldy argued. "I'd never do something like that!"

Child Emperor raised his brow.

"I'm serious!" Goldy insisted. "I swear on my life, I'm innocent!"

Zenko nodded. "Yeah, there's no way he'd do something like that!"

Poppy had a scowl on her face. "I'm not buying it. Your boyfriend is a liar."

Zenko's cheeks burned. "B-Boyfriend?!"

Goldy turned to face her, offering an apprehensive hand.

"Uh…" he coughed. "Well, I kind of see you as…"

Zenko reached out as well, but hesitated.

"He's crazy, Zenko," Poppy said, scowling at Goldy. "Leave him to rot."

Zenko glared at her. "Poppy! Just… shut up!" She began to cry. "Just shut up, you monster! Why are you being so mean?!"

"Hey, uh, c'mon," Child Emperor awkwardly waved his hands. "Zenko, it's okay."

Goldy held out his arms, giving Zenko a hug. She cried into his shoulder.

Poppy tch-ed.

"Um," Deputy spoke up. "If Gal- uh, Goldy, really isn't the one in the video… who is?"

"Or what," Child Emperor mused.

"Who else could it be?" Poppy muttered.

"What's your problem with him?" Child Emperor asked, turning on Poppy. "You have some kind of grudge against him."

"She's jealous," Goldy stated.

"I am not," Poppy huffed, glaring at him. "I just... I just know you're bad news."

"You can't say things like that without evidence," Child Emperor told her. "On the other hand… the person in the video looks just like you, Goldy."

"It must be a coincidence," Goldy said, playing with Zenko's hair. "A monster who looks just like me!"

He sighed dramatically.

"We need to go on a date, away from these guys," he told Zenko. "They don't accept us. We'll go to Nezumi Sushi!"

"You're a monster, Goldy!" Poppy snapped. "Just like me!"

"I'm not a monster!" Goldy shouted.

"He's not," Zenko agreed. "And besides, monsters can be redeemed! You were redeemed!"

"No, Zenko, he's different," Poppy insisted. "He's not like me. He's crazy."

"You seem sure of yourself, Poppy," Child Emperor said, crossing his arms. "Why do you think he's crazy?"

"Because… we've met before," Poppy admitted.

Goldy grabbed Zenko's hand. "Poppy, don't start this. You said you'd never speak about it again."

"No, she needs to know the truth about you," Poppy said, glaring at him. "This can't go on any longer."

"The truth?" Zenko asked. "Poppy, what-"

Goldy suddenly led her away. He ignored Poppy's shouting.

"Hey, where are you going?" Child Emperor called.

"We need to talk privately for a bit," Goldy explained.

"Kind of suspicious," Child Emperor muttered, but Goldy ignored him.

"Goldy could be a monster," Deputy suggested. "I've heard theories that Sweet Mask himself might be a monster."

"Wouldn't be surprised," Poppy huffed.

"Tell us," Child Emperor stared at Poppy. "Did you really meet Goldy beforehand?"

"It was around a year ago," Poppy said. "But the funny thing was, he looked completely different than he does now. But I can tell it's still him. He's a shape-shifter. I can't forget that smile." She scowled. "He knew how I was angry about with my sister, and he wanted to help me get revenge, but..."

"... she turned me away," Goldy explained. "She was scared of me for some reason. I was kind of upset about it, but I never did anything to hurt her! I just got a bit mad, that's all. She's just overreacting. She was fine with it at first, but then she changed her mind, turning me away. Ironic, since she became a monster anyway, without my help."

"Is that the truth...?" Zenko asked, feeling her body go tense.

Goldy nodded. "Of course! And besides, I'm over her now. You're the one I want to be with… forever."

His eyes flashed red. Zenko took a step back.

"Forever?!" she asked. "We barely know each other!"

"That's okay," Goldy grinned. "Because I know… you're the one for me, Zenko. We'll be together… forever. No one will get in our way."

Zenko's blood ran cold. She stared into his blood-red eyes. And then she understood.

"What did you do to him?!" she demanded. "Where's my brother?"

"I had to make a few sacrifices," Goldy shrugged. "But it's okay. Now we'll be together, without any interruptions!"

"No!" Zenko slapped him away. "Bring Badd back!"

Goldy tilted his head. "Heh heh… not a chance. Not until we rule the world together."

And she screamed.

A/N: I don't really like how this is turning out but I can't be asked to change it so...