Hero Story Book 1: The Beginning

by T.C Shelton

A group of Teenage heros is brought together as a team, as big threats start appearing around the city.

A man runs down the street in the middle of the day. He has a suitcase in his hand, and glasses on his face. He's wearing a black suit and has black hair. Suddenly, a huge green and purple monster with gigantic muscles bashes through a wall, and knocks the man aside. The man weakly sits up and opens the case. Inside is a picture of him, holding hands with another man, while both men have their hand on a child. He pulls out a revolver and points it at the monster. "I have to do this, for my family" he says as he fires all six shots into it, but the monster is completely unphased. The man drops the gun and closes his eyes, but he soon hears footsteps and looks over to see a hooded figure walking towards him and the monster. "Please, whoever you are! You have to leave! Evacuate while you can, hurry" the man yells. "Sorry buddy, no heroic sacrifice from you today. You go home and find your family" says a male voice from the hooded figure as they get between the guy and the monster. "W-who are you" asks the guy. The hooded figure takes off the hoodie, and throws it aside to reveal a young man with blue hair, and a cybernetic eye, with a cybernetic arm. On his back is a set of cybernetic angel wings. Hes wearing a black shirt with a faded logo on it. On his legs are a pair of black pants, and he has older sneakers on his feet. The guy in the hoodie turns to the guy on the ground and smiles. "I'm Cye, the Cyber Angel" he says. The monster yells and runs at Cye, attempting to throw a punch, but Cye catches it with his human fist and punches the monster in the face with his cyber arm. The monster looks unphased by it, and grabs Cye's arm. "Crap, this is gonna hurt" Cye says. The monster slams Cye against the wall, then throws him with amazing force into a nearby dumpster. "Yep. I was right. That hurt a lot" Cye says as he stands up and rubs his neck. The guy gets up and tries to run, but the monster starts chasing him. Suddenly, a fireball slams into the monsters face which makes it stumble back a little. Cye looks towards where the fireball came from, and sees a girl who's body is completely surrounded by fire. She has long red hair, and freckles on her face. Her clothes seem to be made entirely of fire. "Note to self, install fire extinguisher" Cye says to himself. "I-is she your partner" asks the guy. "No, I've never seen this girl in my life" says Cye. "Oh, uh, m-my name's Jane sir, but I done chose Sparks t'be my hero name" says the girl. "Cye, aka Cyber Angel" says Cye as he runs up and punches the monster again. "Well, whoever you two are, I hope you stay safe. I'm out of here, but I'll try to send help" says the guy as he rushes off. "20 bucks says he gets away and doesn't send anyone" says Cye. The monster backhands Cye into a nearby wall. Jane throws several fireballs at the monster, but it no longer seems affected. It jumps up and slams Jane onto the ground, where she groans in pain. "You better just run away and leave this to me, it doesn't look like your attacks are doing much good" says Cye. "Well they ain't, but yers ain't neither" says Jane. "That's true, we're going to need a better way of approaching this" says Cye. Suddenly, a teen with black hair covering one eye walks up. He's wearing an all black shirt with a white zip up jacket unzipped. "Hey you, run! You're in danger here" yells Cye. The guy smiles. "Arich ma senjo al er mir jay" says the guy. A few arrows of fire appear in the air, then he snaps his fingers and the arrows fly into the monster's arm, which makes it cry out in pain and jumps onto a nearby rooftop. "Wow! I ain't never seen nothing like that, course I am a country bumpkin" says Jane. "It's magic, my fair maiden of flame. Now, witness the mighty power of Melcanoir as I rain down my judgement and-" starts the guy. "Can you shut up now, like forever" asks Cye. "Everyone's a critic" the guy mumbles under his breath. "So, who are you supposed to be" asks Cye. "I am the almighty, the all feared, the all powerful-" starts the guy. "The all talk" Cye asks. "Yes-wait no! My name is Melcanoir! I'm an unstoppable force, the likes which your mortal eyes have never seen before" says the guy. "Mel...uh...whatever your name is, you need to leave, this is no place for an amateur" says Cye. "Oh please let'em stay Mr. Angel sir, I ain't never seen nobody so cool" says Jane with a look of excitement in her eyes. Melcanoir grins. "Yes, I am indeed an awesome force! I have slain monsters, demons, and even gods with my unstoppable godlike powers, why I wouldn't be surprised if the mere mention of my name would cause this beast to die from sheer terror" Melcanoir says confidently. "Wow! So cool" says Jane in a fan girl voice as her eyes light up from excitement. "Sounds like a load of bullshit if you ask me" says Cye. The monster jumps down, and slams Melcanoir away. "Heh, I forgot about the monster" says Cye. "It still don't seem scratched. Get up Mr. Melcanoir, we need yer awesome powers" says Jane. "Yeah, I'm sure if he's so powerful we'd only get in his way, let's let him handle this on his own" says Cye in a smug tone as he starts walking away. "Whoa whoa whoa, let's not be hasty, I mean, even the most powerful of us could use a hand once in a while, please don't leave" pleads Melcanoir. "Yep, figured that was a load of crap" says Cye. "Maybe Mr. Melcanoir can't use all his power cause of bystanders" says Jane. "Uh, right! That's exactly it, I could take down this foul abomination with no arms or legs, but using that kind of power would probably destroy the entire world, possibly even the galaxy, that's why I must limit my power so" says Melcanoir. The monster sniffs the air, and looks over to see a guy in a hoodie walking down the road. Cye sighs. "What's with people around here? An evacuation order was given, doesn't anyone run nowadays" he asks out loud. "Apparently not" says Jane. "Hey! You! Get outta here! There's a giant monster rampaging" yells Cye. The person seemingly doesn't hear. The monster charges up at them, and when it gets close, the person takes down their hood, and takes off a pair of headphones to reveal it's a teenager with blonde hair and fox ears. The monster grabs the guy by his leg and picks him up. "Oh hello friend, can I help you" asks the fox boy in a kind voice. The monster roars in his face and the fox boy searches his pockets. "Oops, I'm sorry Mr. Monster guy, I don't have a mint on me" says the fox boy. He looks over to see a 7 foot tall woman picking some rubble up off of a man with ease. She has blonde hair, and is dressed in a huge white button up shirt, and blue jeans. "Excuse me ma'am, do you have a mint I could give this monster guy" asks the fox boy. The giant looks at the fox boy and her jaw drops. "Oh my gosh, he's going to eat him" she says as she tosses away the rubble. The fox boy giggles to himself. "Probably" he says as if it's no big deal. A green ball of light slams into the monster face, making it drop the fox boy, who then super speeds over to the giant. "Great, now who is it" asks Cye. A girl with green skin and hair, wearing purple clothing lands on the ground next to Cye, Melcanoir, and Jane. "Who are you" asks Cye. "Malla rana bano kiwa muley" the green girl says. Cye looks over at Melcanoir. "Wh-why are you looking at me" asks Melcanoir. "Well you said some weird mumbo jumbo jibberish earlier, so translate" says Cye. "I was casting a complex spell" says Melcanoir. "Whatever, just do it" says Cye. "I can't, I don't speak that language" says Melcanoir. Cye sighs and turns to the girl. "Uh, hello. Me no speak you speak" says Cye. The green girl tilts her head in confusion. Cye thinks for a moment. And points to himself. "Me, Cye, cannot (shrugs his shoulders) understand (does talking jesters) you (points the girl)" says Cye. The girl nods, grabs Cye, and kisses him. His eyes widen and Melcanoir's jaw drops. She pulls away and Cye falls back on his butt. "Oh! I am sorry! I did not mean to make you fall. You are okay yes" she asks. "What the hell was that" asks Cye. The girl tilts her head in confusion. "On my planet, exchanging sylvia is the best way to transfer information. I see not the problem" she says. "Well this is earth, you don't kiss someone out of nowhere-wait, hold up, did you just say, "your planet" asks Cye. The girl nods. "I am from the planet Xartha, my name is Xigara" she says with a bow. "Hot alien chick, smoking hot babes, giant lookers, I believe I'm in heaven" says Melcanoir. "Unlikely, I'm still here to kick your ass" says Cye. "The Margarian is quite agitated" says Xigara. "The what now" asks Cye. "A Margarian is a rampaging monster from the planet Margaria" says Xigara. "How do you stop one" asks Cye. "I do not know, I only know it is quite difficult to take down" says Xigara. The Margarian charges at the giant and the fox boy, and the giant punches him straight in the jaw, but it punches her in the gut, and takes the wind out of her, then it uppercuts her and she hits the ground. The Margarian goes to punch her again, but an arrow flies into it's shoulder, which makes it shriek and back off a little. "Tis quite the pickle thou finds thinselves in. Perhaps thou wouldst allow me to provide aid" says a voice from a rooftop. Everyone looks up to see a guy with long elvish ears. He has very light brown hair, and is wearing a long black coat that is open. Underneath is a breastplate with strange writing on it. In his hand is a silver bow, with a glowing blue bowstring. He's wearing a pair of old boots, which has a dagger hooked to it. "I didn't know they had a Renaissance festival in town" says the giant. "Look, we've got enough weirdos here already-" starts Cye. "Then ask thinselves this quarry, thou art all formidable fighters, so why canst thou not defeat this foe" asks the elf. "Are you mocking us" asks Cye. "Hold on, I think I know what he's saying. We've all been attacking this thing one at a time, if we all go at once, we can cause some real damage" says the giant. Cye thinks for a moment. "Alright, I got a plan. Jane, Xigara, and uh...guy on the roof, you guys attack at a distance. Fox guy and Melcanoir, you guys distract it, keep it occupied while the others do their thing, then when it's weak enough, me and the giant girl will hit it with everything we've got" says Cye. Everyone nods. The elf fires arrows at the Margarian, while Xigara throws her green bolts and and Jane throws her fireballs. The fox boy rushes up and sticks his tongue out at the Margarian. It tries to hit him several times, but he just dodges with his superior speed. "Amarine dojo amaru el mic alrana diestè" says Melcanoir. The Margarian gets frozen to the ground. Suddenly, the Margarian starts looking weak from the barrage. "Now" says Cye. He and the giant rush up and punch it hard in the face with full force. The Margarian gives one final screech before it falls back unconscious. "Yay! We did it! New friends" says the fox boy as he pulls everyone in for a group hug. "Well, I'm glad that everyone's safe" says the giant. "Hey, we should probably get out of here before-" starts Cye. Slow clapping can suddenly be heard. The group turns to see a man with black hair slowly walking towards them and clapping. "Too late" says Cye as he narrows his eyes at the man. "That was amazing, I mean, that thing took out several dozen elite troops in it's rampage, I must congratulate you-" says the guy. "Great, so I guess we'll be going then" Cye interrupts as he starts walking away. "Not so fast, although you did save the town, you seven did manage to cause a lot of damage to government property. That we cannot just ignore" says the man. "What, I don't wanna go to jail" says the fox boy. "Me neither. I hear them jails can be a real scary place" says Jane. "Well, unfortunately we can't just let you off" says the man. "So, you're going to arrest us after we just saved the town because a few buildings got destroyed? A lot worse could have happened" says Cye. "Well, jail isn't the only option for you" says the guy. "What do you mean" asks the giant. The guy smiles. "If you work for the government, then all blame will be placed on the government, and we'd be more than happy to fix it with our own funds, so it's simple. You either become official heros for the government, or, you can go to jail" says the guy. "This has got to be illegal" says Cye. "We're the government. Whatever we say is legal, is legal" says the guy. "I think it's a no brainier. Either devote our lives to saving people, or spend time behind bars. I agree" says the giant. The man pulls out a small sphere that scans the woman. "Hannah Benson. Age: 17. Race: human. Power: Giant, super strength. Hero name: Ginorma" the sphere says with a robotic voice. "Hannah huh? What a befitting name for the giant warrior princess. I, the great and mighty Melcanoir will also agree to become a hero" says Melcanoir. The sphere scans Melcanoir. "Error. No data found" says the sphere. "Expand search specifically records of schools nearby" says the man. "Record found. Melcanoir. Age: 17. Race: Unknown. Power: unknown. Hero name: Unknown" says the sphere. "I'll do it" says Jane. The sphere scans Jane. "Name: Jennifer Cren. Age: 16. Race: Human. Power: Fire. Hero name: Sparks" says the sphere. The guy looks at the others. "Any other takers" asks the guy. "Oh me! Me! I wanna do it" says the fox boy. The sphere scans the fox boy. "Error. No records found" says the sphere. "Expand your records again" says the guy. "Error. No records found" says the sphere. "Oh, my name is Kite, and I'm 15 years old" says the fox boy. "I'd say the rest is pretty self explanatory" says Cye. "Oh, I am Xigara Rulula Vivitan" says Xigara. "I suppose I should introduce myself as well, I am Mahrin, and I am not from this world" says the elf. "You gonna join us" asks Jane. Mahrin nods. "Tis my duty to ally myself with those who fight for what is good and wholesome" says Mahrin. Xigara looks at Cye. Cye holds out his hands. "You're going to have to take me to jail" says Cye. "Why? Doth thou not want to save others, ast thou have this day" asks Mahrin. "That's not the point. The point is, I don't need a bunch of government asshats telling me what to do, and how to do it" says Cye. "You won't. You'll officially be taking orders from me, but I'm more just like a mediator. I'll watch over you, occasionally give you an assignment, the rest is up to whomever you pick to be your leader" says the guy. Cye looks down at his cyber arm, then sighs. "Alright, I guess I'm in" says Cye. "Then I am as well" says Xigara. The sphere scans Cye. "Cyrus Hanner. Age: 18. Race: Human….error. No other information available" says the sphere. "Override. Clearance level 2" says the guy. "Error. Information restricted" says the sphere. The guy shrugs and holds out his hand. "Nice to meet you team, I am Agent Z" says the guy. Cye walks up and takes his hand. "Now I have some good news, you're all moving in together. I've already taken the liberty of having your belongings packed and sent to a location I sent you on your phones" says Agent Z. "You never planned on giving us a choice from the start did you" asks Cye. Z smiles. "Glad you catch on fast" says Z. Cye sighs, and later that day the 7 meet out in front of a seemingly normal house. "I dunno, I was expecting something...I don't know, more high tech and extravagant" says Cye. "I like it, it's homley" says Hannah. "I believe there is more than meets the eye. Tis likely this be a cover. Twould behoove us to keep alert for such things" says Mahrin. "No offense man, but I can barely understand a thing you say" says Cye. Mahrin hangs his head a little. "Tis something I do indeed intend on working on, if I am to be trapped here in this world" says Mahrin. "Oh Cye you jerk, he's probably home sick (gives Mahrin a monster hug). Don't worry, we're here for you" says Hannah. "What bout Xigara? She ain't from round these parts neither" says Jane. "Good point. I'm sorry guys. Tell you what, to make you feel better, you guys can be part of my family, population 3" says Cye. "So, do we just walk in the front door" asks Kite. Everyone shrugs and walks in. It seems like an ordinary house, until a scanner scans them and the floor opens, making them slide down a shoot into a living room with a crash. This living room is huge, with couches in a circle around a huge flat screen TV hanging up on the wall. To the left is an open kitchen, with a bar on it, and a little down is a hallway leading to several rooms. To the right is another hallway, and a huge door. "I've had softer landings" says Cye as he gets up and rubs his shoulder. "Wow! I did not know humans lived underground" says Xigara exitedly. "They don't" says Cye. Xigara tilts her head in confusion. Kite rushes over to the TV. "Wow! It's so huge! Can I use it? Pretty please" asks Kite. "Go ahead kiddo" says Hannah. Kite rushes over and hugs Hannah. "Thanks big sis" says Kite as he speeds over and gets comfy on the couch. "Big sis huh" Hannah asks herself. "Well, I'm gonna hit the showers. Y'all holler at me if y'all need sum y'hear" asks Jane. "Hey Jane, why are you still in fire form? There's no need for it in here" says Cye. Jane looks a little upset about it. "I-I can't turn it off" says Jane. "Oh uh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to-" says Cye. "I-Its fine, really. Y'don't need to worry your little head about old Jane" says Jane still clearly upset as she walks away. Cye sighs. "Wow, less than an hour and I've already been insensitive to 3 of my 6 teammates. We're off to a fantastic start" Cye says. "Have no fear my friend. With time, thou can learn howst to deal with others" says Mahrin. "Yeah, guess you're right" says Cye. Cye looks around and smiles. "You know, I just met you guys and I already feel a connection with you all. Maybe this official hero thing won't be so-" starts Cye. A woman with white hair in a french maids outfit walks out. Melcanoir smiles and walks up to her. "Your beauty, your allure, your-" starts Melcanoir. The woman punches Melcanoir in the face. "Warning, any attempt to flirt with me by anyone other than my master will result in instant consequences" says the woman. "It's more effective if you warn before you punch" says Melcanoir. The woman walks up to Cye and kneels. "At last, my master has come" she says. "Uh, say what now" asks Cye. "I am Tara, an artificial intelligence lifeform, created in a body with a similar makeup to humans, I could even perform sexual pleasures had I the desire. Aside from that, my brain is designed in such a way that I am allowed to learn, and grow as a person" says the woman. "That doesn't explain the master thing though" says Cye. "I believe you are the one to lead this team and as such, you are my master" says Tara. "Wait, me? No, noooooo, no, no, no, no, no ,nononono" says Cye. "Actually, that's not a half bad idea. You are the one with the most hero experience" says Hannah. "I agree. Tis also his plan of attack that allowed us to take the day" says Mahrin. "Oh, oh, I totally agree! I vote for Cye" says Kite. "Ah nuts, I'm not gonna get a say in this am I" asks Cye. Everyone shakes their heads, including Tara. "Dammit, alright. I guess I don't have a choice in the matter" says Cye. Mahrin kneels before Cye. "Tis an honor to serve under you, guild master" says Mahrin. "Guild master? Nah, just stick with Cye would you, and uh, no more kneeling buddy. Leaders just a title, were equals" says Cye as he helps Mahrin up.

The next day, Cye wakes up with Tara overtop of him as she stares down at him. Cye quickly rolls her off, and she hits the ground with a crash. "Good morning master" says Tara. Cye groans and lays back in his bed. "I was hoping yesterday was a dream" says Cye. "It was not, you have become leader of a group of heros, and my one and only master" says Tara. "Oh yeah, why the heck were you on top of me just now" asks Cye. "I was getting ready to kiss you, when you threw me off" Tara says. "Well for whatever reason that was, don't" says Cye as he throws on a black shirt with a band logo on it. He stands up, and goes to walk out of the room, but Tara grabs his arm. "Master, I want you to know, just because I am man made, does not mean I don't feel things" says Tara. "Oh, uh, sorry if it hurt when I threw you off-" starts Cye. Tara shakes her head. "I don't mean physically master" she says as she lets go. Cye shrugs his shoulders, and goes to walk straight out the door, but runs straight into Melcanoir, taking them both onto the ground. "How dare you, the angel of cybernetics, crash I to the mighty Melcanoir" says Melcanoir. "Yeah sorry about that. I've lived alone for a while now, I'm not used to being careful for other people" says Cye. "Incoming call master. It will be filtered through the speaker systems throughout the base, would you like me to patch it through" asks Tara. "Who's calling" asks Cye. "Agent Z" says Tara. "Alright, assemble the team and put him through" says Cye. Tara nods, and soon, gathers the team together in the living room. "Good morning team, I wanted to talk about a few things with you. First off, I hope you're settling in well. Secondly, I've taken the liberty of signing you all up for school at the nearest location. Some of you were already students there. Finally, as a first lead on your hero business, apparently there has been a nighttime vigilante who calls themselves "The Night Huntress". You may do with that what you will. I'll give you more tips in the future, but understand, they aren't orders, so you may approach the situation as you see fit" says Z. "The call has been ended master" says Tara. "Well, what should we do about this "Night Huntress" asks Cye. "I don't know. That's your responsibility as leader" says Hannah. "Uh...I...I have no clue" says Cye. "If I may guild master, twould probably behoove us to gather information before making a decision" says Mahrin. "I agree" says Cye. "Hey wait, how are some of us supposed to blend in at a school, we don't exactly look normal" says Hannah as she looks around at pretty much the whole team. Tara pulls out some bracelets. "These bracelets are government made devices, designed to alter one's appearance. It releases a drug, which suppresses your powers, as well as creates a small field around yourself to alter your appearance" says Tara. Cye takes one, puts it on, and activates it. His eye and arm turn human looking. Jane takes one and activates it, and the fire disappears, revealing what she looks like as a human girl. She has long brown hair, with green eyes. She's wearing a green and black plad shirt that's tied in a knot over her belly button. She's wearing blue jeans, and muddy work boots. Mahrin blushes at her. "Thou art a gem, more priceless than the finest treasures" says Mahrin. "Yeah, you're really pretty" says Kite. Jane turns red. "N-now I don't know nothing bout that. I'm just a hick girl from the sticks" says Jane. "Sticks? Are trees able to conceive in this world" Mahrin asks. Cye slaps his forehead. "I don't suppose you have anything for speech do you" asks Cye. "I'm afraid not" says Tara. "Alright look, just keep your head down, try not to talk much, and avoid getting into trouble" says Cye. The others equip their bracelets. Xigara activates hers, and her hair changes to black, while her skin turns caucasian. Her clothes change quickly to a pink tank top, with blue jean-shorts, and a pair of pink and white sneakers. "Do...you like it Cye" asks Xigara. "Uh, yeah I guess it's alright" says Cye. Xigara smiles. Kite activates his, and his fox ears disappear. Hannah activated hers, and she shrinks down. Mahrin activates his last, and his elf ears shrink down. His clothes change to a white shirt, with a black tie, black pants, and black shoes. "So, when does this "schooling" begin" asks Xigra. "6:45" says Tara. Cye looks at his watch and his jaw drops. "We're gonna be late! Hurry up" he says as everyone rushes out. They get up to the school, and outside a blonde haired guy gets kicked in the gut and falls down the stairs. The blonde guy was wearing a black beanie, with some piercings in his nose, and ears. He is wearing a white shirt, with a light brown jacket over it. Slumped over his shoulder is a black school bag. He's wearing a pair of darker jeans, with holes in the knees. His shoes are white with black streaks down them, and under his arm is a red skateboard. The kicker has black hair, and cocky smile on his face. He's wearing an all back shirt, with a purple jacket over it. His pants are black, and so are his shoes. "Now Carver, is that any way to treat a friend" asks the kicker. "Shut up asshole! We aren't friends" says the blonde guy. "What's wrong? Mad that your little hero act didn't work? Trying to protect a girl? But then, you already know what it feels like to fail people now don't you" asks the kicker with a smug look on his face. "Bastard" yells Carver. "Hey, leave him alone" says Cye as he walks up and offers Carver his hand. Carver smacks Cye's hand away, then stands up and rushes at the other guy. The kicker punches Carver right in the face and knocks him to the ground. "Let me give you some advice Carver. Heroics never got anyone anywhere. You have to step on someone, so they don't step on you. It's predator versus prey, and right now, you're the prey. Give it time though, I'm sure I'll make you a predator yet" says the kicker as he starts to walk away. Carver wipes blood off his lip. "I'm not trying to play hero asshole, but you don't hit a girl, no matter who you are. Not while I'm around, or I'll kick your ass" says Carver. The kicker smirks at Carver before walking inside. Carver gets up and walks in behind them. "Anyone know what that was about" asks Cye. "That's Carver and Mino. They're part of a group of thugs that are always causing some kind of trouble. The blonde one is Carver. The other one seems to be the ringleader of the others. That's Mino" says Melcanoir. "Are they going to be trouble" asks Cye. "I'd bet my pride on it" says Melcanoir. Cye sighs. "Not the answer I was exactly hoping for. Well let's get this over with" says Cye. The group walk into the building, and go to their respective classes. Later on at lunch, Hannah, Jane and Xigara sit at one table, while Cye, Kite, Melcanoir, and Mahrin sit at another. Cye groans. "Man, first day of classes already suck" he says. "I like it here! Lots of girls rub that special spot on my head, and it makes me so happy" says Kite. Mahrin also looks upset. "Tis a hard thing to blend in, in a place such as this. Why must everyone talk behind each other's backs. Had they quarrel in my world, they would simply fight to the death. Tis a less deceitful solution, with less stabbing of the backs" says Mahrin. "Yeah well, welcome to my hell boys. I'd tell you it gets better, but it doesn't" says Melcanoir. "Huh, you seen to be talking normally. I think our Melcanoir is broken, we need a new one" says Cye. "Ha, I simply cannot allow these mortals to hear my true form of speech, or they may die from the very first word" says Melcanoir. "Nevermind. He's fixed" says Kite. Meanwhile, at the girls table, Xigara is staring at Cye. "Whatcha looking at" asks Jane. Xigara doesn't notice the question. "Earth to Xigara" says Hannah as she snaps her fingers in front of Xigara's face. Xigara jumps. "Are you staring at Cye" asks Hannah. Xigara turns red. "Awe, our little alien has crush" says Hannah giving Xigara a hug. "I do, but I do not think he would feel the same. I felt it in our exchange of mucus" says Xigara. "Well, just ask him. Worst he'll do is say no" says Hannah. "I do not think I can. I am...nervous. What if this-" starts Xigara. "Nope. Don't listen to those "what if" thoughts in this situation. It's just going to make you worry. Just do it. Don't think" says Hannah. Xigara goes to stand up, but a girl with a hispanic skin tone walks up to the guys. She has long black hair. In her hair is a flower hair clip. She's wearing glasses, a white shirt, and a black skirt. She also has black socks that go to about her knees, and all white sneakers in good condition. "Hi, are you Cyrus Hanner" asks the girl. "Uh, yeah. That's me" says Cye. "That's great, I'm one of your classmates, Samantha. If you need anything, please let me know" she says. "Tis quite a nice jester of you. Tis rare to see someone with your kindness" says Mahrin. Samantha smiles. "Thank you. Lunch is about to end, if you want me to walk you to class. I think Mel has that one too, if be wants to tag along" says Samantha. "Mel" asks Cye. "Oh, I thought you had already met, since you were sitting together. That's Mel (points to Melcanoir) he's kinda weird" says Samantha. "Tell me about it" says Cye with a sigh. "Your mortal minds simply cannot fathom that of Mel" says Melcanoir. Xigara sits back down and sighs. "I-I cannot do it. I do not think I can" she says. Hannah rubs her back to comfort her. After school, the group meets up outside. "Well, I've been thinking about it, I believe we should try and catch this Huntress tonight, ask her some questions. The only problem is, we don't have any clue where to find her" says Cye. "Or what we're even looking for" says Hannah. Cye pulls out his phone, and pulls up a file. "It says in this file that the Night Huntress has long black hair…(rolls his eyes) that's it. That's all they have" says Cye. "So, how do you wanna go about this captain" asks Hannah. "Would you guys stop using the leader synonyms" asks Cye. "Nope" says Kite. Cye sighs. "Well at any rate, she had a good point. We need a plan of action. Melcanoir, Mahrin, Kite and I will patrol the streets tonight. The rest of you should see if you can dig anything up" says Cye. The team nods and heads off. The next day, Cye and the others walk to school looking defeated. "Not a single clue. Damn" says Cye. "Do not fault yourself guildmaster. We shalt win the day yet" says Mahrin. When they get to school, they see a girl with long brown hair outside. She has a bell on the left side of her hair. She's wearing a light blue shirt with a black skirt and high black socks. She is picking up some books on the ground, with Mino standing in front of her. "You bastard! Are you seriously picking on someone else" asks Cye. Mino gives a cocky smile. "And what if I am" he asks. Cye bawls up his fist. "Come on, go ahead. Hit me. Show me who you really are on the inside" says Mino. "Stop it! He didn't do anything, I dropped them on my own, he just got here and asked me about it" says the girl. "Then why didn't you say something" asks Cye. "Who knows, maybe if she hadn't dropped the books, I would have knocked them down myself" says Mino as he walks away. Melcanoir walks over and starts helping the girl pick up the books. He picks up one and his eyes widen. "Th-this book! I can feel the epic power coming from within the pages. This book is an almighty force, and it's temptation reaches even that of the mighty Melcanoir" says Melcanoir. The girl giggles. "Well, you seem to be full of yourself" she says. "You have no idea" says Cye as he runs his forehead. The girl holds her hand out to Melcanoir. Melcanoir takes her hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, I am the great and mighty Melcanoir, master of all things, and all powerful being" says Melcanoir. "Uh, thanks, but I was actually wondering if I could have my book back" she says. Melcanoir's eyes widen and he hands the book to her. "I'm Bell by the way. It's nice to meet you...uh, I'm sorry, could you repeat your name please" she asks. "Just call him Mel. It'll save you a lot of trouble" says Cye. "Mel, well, I'll see you around Mel" says Bell as she walks away. Later that day, Samantha comes up to Cye as he is struggling on a paper. "Hey there, looks like you could use my help" says Samantha. "No...well maybe. Who's the asshole who decided to add the alphabet to math anyways?! As if it wasn't hard enough" says Cye. Samantha laughs. "Algebra is actually pretty easy once you figure out your variables. You see, in order to get 15 as your answer, you'd need to make your variable consistent to your number, then you simply square root that to get 15. Easy right" asks Samantha. Cye slams his head on his desk. "What was that about" asks Samantha. "I thought I'd do something less painful" says Cye. Samantha shakes her head. "That's it mister. I've officially become your tutor. You're going to meet me after school, at the coffee shop, 6 pm. Your treat" she says as she walks away. "Why me" Cye asks himself with a groan. "Are you kiddin man? The hottest girl in the class just asked ya to a study date and dats all yous got" asks a guy behind him with slicked back black hair and a black leather jacket. "I was up all night, I'm taking a nap after school" says Cye with a yawn. "No way man, you can't blow of that hottie bro. We won't allow you to waste this opportunity" says a blonde guy with a diamond earring and a black leather jacket. "Yo, we got yo back homie" says an African American guy with sunglasses and a black leather jacket. "Am I missing a trend" asks Cye. "Nah man. We doing our own thing" says the African American guy. "I's Jacob, (points to blonde) dis is Rodney, a.k.a the rod man, (points to african american) and dis guy right here is D.J Palmer" says the guy with the slicked back black hair. "No thanks guys, I'm good" says Cye. "Alright friend, we understand your reluctance, that's why we're going to be your guards" says Rodney. "Heck yeah man! Da tree bromigos just got a fourth" says Jacob as the three high five. "I don't recall ever agreeing to anything" says Cye. "We feel you homie, you ain't gotta say shit. We can read yo mind before you even think yo thoughts, you feel me" asks Palmer. The three all hug Cye as though they've been lifelong friends. "Great" Cye says sarcastically. "Alright boys, I think it's about time for a new team name" says Jacob. "Oh, I got it, how about the four corners" says Rodney. "The heck does that mean? Pass" says Cye. "Aight, check it dawg. How about the four kings of the street" says Palmer. "Nah, sounds too egotistical" says Rodney. "How about just the gang. It's short, simple, and leaves us a little mysterious" says Cye. The three guys all make mind blown gestures. "All those who vote new guy as da new boss, say I" says Jacob. All three guys say I simultaneously. "Looks like it's decided boss, wes got yous back for your date. Nobody messes with our boss" says Jacob. Cye groans. Meanwhile, Melcanoir walks down the hallway and sees Bell carrying way too many books. Suddenly, she trips and almost falls, but Melcanoir stops her from the fall "Oh uh, thank you...Mel was it" asks Bell. "Indeed, I am the mighty Mel, of-(looks at Bell struggling to keep the books up)-please allow the mighty Mel to lighten your load" says Melcanoir as he takes half the books. "Oh, thank you" says Bell as they start walking down the hallway. "So I've seen you around school, I've never noticed it before, but you don't seem to have very many friends" says Bell. "The mortal races are simply jealous of my obvious superiority" says Melcanoir. "You know, I don't have many friends either. Most people don't hang out with the clumsy outcast" says Bell. "Why would you be an outcast" asks Melcanoir. "Well, I only recently transferred to this school, and many people tease me about my bell, or my clumsiness. The only ones who do talk to me are guys who want my body" says Bell. "Leave those miscreants to I, the mighty Melcanoir. None shall lay a finger on you, unless you wish for it. This is my darkest of promises" says Melcanoir. Bell and Melcanoir reach a room with the books. "Thank you for helping me Mel. You know, you really are a nice guy, even though you're a huge weirdo" Bell says in a friendly teasing tone. Melcanoir goes to say something, but an African American girl with black and purple hair runs up to them. She's wearing a black tank top, with short-shorts and flip-flops on. "Hey, either of you two seen my friend around? His name's Noah, he's got shaggy brown hair, dark circles under his eyes, a little shaky and timid" says the girl. "Oh I've heard of him, he's that guy who-" starts Bell. "I don't mean to be rude, but you don't know where he is, I gots ta go. Dang fool ain't never ran away like that before" says the girl as she walks away. After school, the group walks outside, but stop when a group of guys surround a scrawny guy, wearing a light blue shirt, with red pants and black shoes. His hair is combed to the side. The guy looks down. "Hey Matt, where's that girlfriend of yours" asks one of the guys. Matt goes to walk away, but the guy violently slams him into the wall. "Beth screwed me over, so you help me find her, or I'll help your bones find their way outside" says the guy. Cye goes to step in, but a guy with black hair, and a varsity jacket walks up. He's got a pair of sports shoes, and blue jeans on. "Hey man, you got a problem with my little brother" he asks as he gets in between Matt and the guy. "J-Jake! I-Im sorry man, I-I didn't know he was your brother" says the guy. Jake pushes the guy back a little. "It shouldn't matter. If I see you punking on ANYONE like that again, you'll be sorry" says Jake. The guy nods and he and his buddies run away. Jake offers Matt his hand and Matt smacks it away. "Come on Matt, just talk to me. Let me give you a ride home" says Jake. "No thanks. I'll walk" says Matt as he walks past Jake aggressively. Jake rubs the back of his head. "What was that about" asks Cye. "Nothing, family matters" says Jake was he gets in his car and drives off. "Hey, I kinda need to get out of here, like now" says Cye. "Why" asks Hannah. "There's the boss! He waited for us" says Jacob as the gang runs over to Cye. Cye sighs. "Alright, time for that date boss, you're gonna do great. We're gonna have your back every step of the way" says Rodney as he brushes some dirt of Cye's shoulder. Jacob takes one of Cye's arms, while Rodney takes the other, while they happily start escorting him away, with Palmer staying close behind. Melcanoir looks over to see someone with shaggy brown hair and a scrawny body accepting a brown paper bag from a man in the alley. He's wearing a red shirt with the planet Jupiter on the back, dirty blue jeans, and dirty work boots. Suddenly the girl from before runs up and tackles him, and tosses away the bag. "Noah you scrawny ass fool! I done told you I ain't letting you slip off the wagon" says the girl. "I'm not Vivi" says Noah. "Then what you doing in a sketchy ass alley accepting a brown paper bag from some strange ass hippie looking mo-fo" asks Vivi. "I bought you a present, but I didn't want you to know" says Noah. "Smells like bullshit" says Vivi. "Check the bag" says Noah. Vivi opens the bag, and her face drops. "I-Its my grandma's ring, but...that was stolen" says Vivi. "Yeah, I did some digging, and I found out who stole it, so I bought it back for you" says Noah. "Well aren't you a sweetheart (blushes)...but now I about to whoop some ass, steal my grandma's ring" says Vivi as she spins around and punches the guy in the face. "He seems like he's good at gathering information. We should ask if he knows something about the Night Huntress" says Hannah. They walk over to Noah, but Vivi steps in front. "Can I help you" asks Vivi. "Tis of importance that we be granted permission to speak to thoust companion" says Mahrin. "I-I don't know nothing. Leave me alone" says Noah as he rubs his arm. "He ain't know shit. You have any questions, you ask me" says Vivi. "We seek information on the dark Huntress of the Night" says Melcanoir. Noah looks around nervously. "Please if you know something, tell us" says Hannah. "I-I don't know nothing man. J-Just split" says Noah as the rubbing becomes more intense. Vivi quickly turns around and hugs him. "Shhhh. It's okay. Yo bestie is here. Yo all good baby" says Vivi. Noah slowly nods as he starts shaking. "You fools need to book it. He ain't in no condition to talk to you" says Vivi. "We're heros, and it's important we find her" says Hannah. "Look, I said-" starts Vivi. "They're gonna kill her" Noah says. "Who" asks Vivi. "I-I-I dunno. Th-they said something about a "Dr. Shadow". Apparently he's mad she broke free, so they're going to kill her tonight" says Noah. "Noah, you can't keep getting yoself messed up in shit like this" says Vivi. Noah slowly nods and holds his arm. "We gotta hurry, and get Cye" says Hannah as they rush off. Meanwhile, Cye is down the street from the coffee shop where Samantha is. "Alright boss, now remember, keep your cool, don't let her catch you off guard, and keep eye contact, very important" says Jacob. "We gonna keep watch, right here. We got yo back dawg" says Palmer. "Now, go get her tiger" says Rodney as the three give an encouraging push. Cye walks over to the coffee shop and has a seat. "There you are. I've been waiting, also I see you've already made some new friends" says Samantha as she looks over Cye's shoulder and sees the gang doing a very poor job at hiding. "Yeah, I guess you could call them that" says Cye. "So, you're struggling with algebra correct? Well, one of the most important things to learn are your variables, so what I want you to do is-" starts Samantha. "Guildmaster! Tis urgent! We require your aid" says Mahrin as the group run up towards Cye. The gang tries to stop them, but Hannah spins around and knocks all of them out with a single kick. "Those were my guys" says Cye. "Oops" says Hannah. "Forget those mortal buffoons. It is of great urgency that you join us. It is a matter of life and death" says Melcanoir. Cye sighs. "Uh, sorry. Looks like I gotta go" says Cye. "No problem, we can reschedule. Luckily I didn't order my coffee yet, or you'd be stuck buddy" says Samantha. Jacob shoots up. "Code red boys. Da boss's date has been interrupted" says Jacob. "Soo...what do we do now" asks Rodney. The three guys look at each other. "Yo dawg, we didn't think this through" says Palmer. "A...date" Xigara asks kinda hurtfully. "It's alright guys. You head home. I just got some urgent business to take care of" says Cye. "Any of you boys wanna buy me coffee, since I'm already here" asks Samantha. "I do" says Jacob. "No, I will" says Rodney as he pushes Jacob away. "You brothers are crazy. She wants a real man, that's where I come in. I'm fresh, and funky" says Palmer. The guys start wrestling around as the group leaves. After they get far enough away, Cye stops. "Alright, what was so important" asks Cye. "The Night Huntress is in danger" says Kite. "From who" asks Cye. "We do not know. All we have heard is they call themselves, Mr. Shadow" says Xigara. "Uh, I think it was Dr. Shadow wasn't it" asks Jane. "It doesn't matter. The point is, someone plans on killing her, tonight" says Hannah. Cye thinks for a moment. "The city is too big to cover every inch for her, that means we're going to have to lure her out to a certain spot" says Cye. "Wouldn't she suspect something" asks Kite. "No. I'm going to go alone. It makes it easier to hide. We're going to leave a message in plain sight telling the killer the Huntress is going to be in a specific location. The killer will go there to kill her, and she'll go to figure out who wrote it. That's what I'm hoping anyway. As long as it leads one of them there, she's gonna be alright" says Cye. "And what of backup. Our foe may have multiple assassin's out and about" says Mahrin. "That's true. Just to be safe, I want you guys patrolling the surrounding area. We may even get lucky and one of you can stop the assassin" says Cye. Later that night, a girl dressed in a black hero costume, complete with a cape and mask is on a rooftop, and Cye hides behind a billboard. Behind the mask, long black hair flows out. "Nice night for a walk isn't it" asks Cye as he walks out. "Cye" the girl asks in surprisement. Cye's eyes widen as he realizes he's heard that voice before. "Samantha?! Is that you" asks Cye. She quickly spins around and covers her face. "Uh no. Who's this "Samantha" your talking about. She sounds like a nice young girl. (Nervously laughs). You should take her out for coffee again sometime or-" starts Samantha in an obviously fake voice. "I know it's you Samantha. You're a terrible voice actor, and you already called out my name" says Cye. Samantha sighs and turns to Cye. "So what are we-(notices Cye's cybernetic parts)-ah! You're a robot clone" she says. "What? No" he says. He Actives his bracelet and looks fully human again. "I-I don't understand" says Samantha. "I was in an accident when I was younger, it tore up my left side pretty bad. I've never been the same since" says Cye. Samantha drops down on her knees. "Please don't kill me. I haven't done anything wrong" she says as tears roll down her face. "What? Oh right, the message! Yeah, I'm not actually an assassin. I'm a hero, trying to lure the assassin" says Cye. "What?! No! Cye you have to stop this! Dr. Shadow is going to send someone powerful, you have to get out of here" says Samantha. ""Don't worry. I'm pretty strong myself" says Cye as he deactivates his bracelet. Suddenly, the wall behind Cye burst apart, and a large man wearing gladiator armor grabs Cye and starts squeezing him. "I haven't been hugged this tight since Kite" says Cye as he's struggling to breathe. "Cye! Uh, you let him go" says Samantha. The man in the gladiator armor puts Cye down. "I've been tasked with bringing you back to Dr. Shadow peacefully, but I'll use violence if I have too" says the guy. "You've made one mistake" says Cye. Before the guy can say anything, Cye spins around and punches him in the face. "You lost your bargaining chip" says Cye. The man rushes at Cye, slamming him into a wall. Cye kicks him away with his robotic leg. He goes to punch Cye, but Cye uses his cyber wing as a shield, then uses it to knock him away. The guy pulls out an axe, but a black chain whips around it, and it gets pulled away. The guy looks over to see a black chain coming from Samantha's arm. The guy grunts, and feels a tap on his shoulder. He turns to see Cye standing there, and Cye delivers another incredibly hard punch, knocking him out cold. Samantha takes a breath of relief, but quickly looks sad. "I appreciate you saving me Cye, but it only delays the inevitable. Dr. Shadow won't stop until they have me again" says Samantha. "Actually, I have a solution to that problem" says Cye. Samantha looks at him. "I'm part of a hero team, if you agree to join, you can move in with us, trust me, it's the safest place to be. It's underground and everything" says Cye. "What? Just like that" asks Samantha. "Would you like it to be harder? We can make a huge trial, make you walk on hot coals or-" Cye starts sarcastically. "I'm just surprised is all. I barely know you" says Samantha. Cye offers his hand. "It doesn't have to be complicated. You need protecting, and heros protect. You're gonna freak when you meet the other heros" says Cye. Samantha takes his hand. "I was serious about that coffee by the way" says Samantha. Cye laughs as he starts leading her back to the base. When he gets back, and they get in the base, Cye is annoyed to see Kite playing a game on the TV, and Melcanoir is eating potato chips. "Did you guys even bother to look for the night Huntress" Cye asks in a more annoyed tone. Melcanoir and Kite quickly turn to see Cye standing there with his arms crossed. Kite quickly speeds away leaving Melcanoir alone. Melcanoir looks around and sighs. "Well, we uh, you see, there's actually a reason for-" starts Melcanoir. Cye narrows his eyes. "We uh...no, we did not" says Melcanoir. Cye sighs. "Figured. Guess your in charge of going to get the others" says Cye. "Hold on, is that-Mel" Samantha asks in surprisment. "Ah, you must be the beautiful huntress of the night, I am Melcanoir! Ruler of magic, and eventual ruler of the world once I release my true power" says Melcanoir. Samantha takes off the mask and Melcanoir's jaw drops. "Melcanoir, meet Samantha, she's also known as the Night Huntress" says Cye. Melcanoir still stands there with his mouth open in surprise. Samantha laughs. "It looks like he was more shocked than I was" says Samantha. Kite comes back out. "Ah, and your that cute boy with the soft hair all the underclassmen have been talking about, Kite was it" asks Samantha. "Yep yep" Kite says happily. "Hey Kite, meet the new member of the team" says Cye as he nudges Samantha forward. Kite's eyes light up, and he zooms over and gives her a monster hug. "Yay! New friends! Come on, let me show you around" says Kite happily as he grabs her arm and starts pulling her everywhere. "Well, better go grab everyone while Samantha is taking the Kite deluxe tour" Cye says sarcastically. After they get everyone back, Samantha is amazed. "Oh my gosh! A giant, an alien, a fire girl and an elf" she says exitedly. "Yep, we've got a little bit of everything in this little group" says Cye. Samantha looks over her shoulder. "Fear not. Thou art safest with us as companions. We shalt cometh to thine aid, whenever thou hast need" says Mahrin. "I just feel like I'm being watched" says Samantha. Cye clears his throat. "Tara, quit spying and get out here" says Cye. Tara walks out from behind a corner, and continues staring at Samantha. "Is she analyzing her or something" asks Hannah. For a moment there is silence. "You wouldn't perhaps be putting moves on my beloved master would you" asks Tara. "Huh? Who's-" starts Samantha. Cye sighs and holds up his hand. "That would be me, unfortunately" he says. "Oh, no. Cye isn't my type" says Samantha. "Are you saying my master is unworthy of your affections" asks Tara. "What?! Hey stop putting words in my mouth" says Samantha. Cye walks over to Tara, spins her around, and gives her a nudge. "Go do something productive would you" he asks. "Affirmative. I will commence undressing for master-" starts Tara. Cye crosses his arms. "Very well master, I shall continue my maid work. (Takes a few steps before stopping). Master, do only see me as a machine" asks Tara. "Huh" asks Cye. "I am an artificial intelligence, made for the specific purpose of serving my master, but I do have feelings, independent thoughts, and emotions. Even though I am unable to cry, I was hurt when I was not invited to the team meeting" says Tara. Cye rubs the back of his head in guilt. "Is it because I am not human master" asks Tara. "Of course not, half the team wouldn't be here if that were the case" says Cye. "Then why-" starts Tara. Cye puts his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Tara. I didn't know you felt so strongly about it, of course your a member of the team, and truth be told, I already couldn't imagine life without you, anyone here actually" says Cye. Tara smiles. "One last thing master. (Kisses Cye's cheek). My feelings are my own, and they are strong" she says. "Don't push it" says Cye. Tara bows and starts to head off. "Hey wait, don't you want to meet Samantha" asks Cye. Tara turns to her. "Greetings. My name is Tara, an A.I created to serve the heros, with Cye as my master. I welcome you to the home" says Tara. "Thank you" says Samantha. "There are a few house rules I should state. Rule one, Cye is mine, and mine alone, Rule two, any attempt to break rule one shall result in-" starts Tara. "Aaaand moment ruined" says Cye. The next day, Samantha is the last one to get up, and she walks out of her room to see the rest of the girls eating breakfast. She yawns and looks around. "Where are the boys" she asks. "Oh, we sent them away for the day. Today it's just us" says Hannah. "Where'd you send them" asks Samantha. Hannah smiles. Meanwhile, Cye, Mahrin, Melcanoir, and Kite arrive in front of a grocery story. "Haha! Such a minimal task shall be easy for the likes of me" says Melcanoir. Mahrin tilts his head as he looks at the list. "I do not understand these shapes. What manner of trickery is this" asks Mahrin. Cye sighs. "Those are words bud" he says. "What's a can...can...uh" starts Kite. "Cantaloupe" says Cye. "What is it" asks Kite. "It's a fruit...or maybe a vegetable" says Cye. "Oh oh, what's this one" asks Kite as he points to another word. Cye looks at it and his face freezes up. "Is something amis" asks Mahrin. "Ha! Whatever could stop the mortal Cye, must surely be quite the task" says Melcanoir. Kite points again, and Melcanoir looks to see the word tampons. His face drops. "What ailes you two" asks Mahrin. Cye whispers into Mahrin's ear and his face drops. "B-But we cannot. Twould be most embarrassing" says Mahrin. The guys all look at each other. Meanwhile, back at the girls, Hannah laughs as she finishes explaining it. "You don't honestly expect them to grab some do you" asks Samantha. "No, but I bet it takes them all day to give up on it. Boys are stubborn" says Hannah. "So, what do human girls do too pass time" asks Xigara. "Well, usually they talk about boys. Let's start with Samantha, you said yesterday Cye wasn't your type, who is your type then" asks Hannah. "I don't have one. I'm not seeking a relationship. My education comes first" says Samantha. "Oh come on, you got to at least think about it" says Hannah. "I-Ive never actually dated a boy before, so I'm not sure what my type is" Samantha says as she turns red. "You've never had a boyfriend" asks Hannah. Samantha shakes her head, and Xigara and Jane turn red as well. "None of you have" Hannah asks in surprisement. "On my planet, one does not "date". We mearly get a pre-arranged life mate with whom we are to have many children with" says Xigara. "I-I ain't never had the chance. Boys tend to be afraid of little ol me because of the fire" says Jane. "Oh my goodness. That settles it, you all need to tell me who you like right now, I'll make it happen" says Hannah. "I'm not interested in anyone" says Samantha. Jane twirls her hair nervously. "I-I ain't neither. Nope. Not me" she says unconvincingly. "Sorry I'm not buying it Jane, spill it" says Hannah. "N-now there ain't no need for me to be telling y'all. He ain't gonna like me back anyways" says Jane. "You never know if you don't try" says Hannah. "I can't get told no that way neither" says Jane. "Alright, but tell me this, is he part of the team" asks Hannah. Jane turns a little more red. "Oooooh. You're already living together" says Hannah. Jane buries her face in her hands. "Don't worry. What happens between the girls, stays between the girls. I won't tell anyone" says Hannah. "What about you Hannah" asks Samantha. "Nobody right now. Cye's too sarcastic, and a little off putting. Melcanoir is sweet, but he's not my type. Kite is like a little brother, and Mahrin, well he's just too serious for his own good" says Hannah. "I-I believe I may have feelings for Cye" says Xigara. "Really? What do you see in Cye" asks Hannah. Xigara blushes a little. "I-I do not know, and perhaps I am wrong. I am new to emotions" says Xigara. "What does that mean" asks Samantha. "On my planet, my race does not have feelings. We simply do as we are told, and accept it, but when I kissed Cye, I absorbed part of him, his language, his emotions, and more. It is how I learned english" says Xigara. "Maybe that's why you feel close to Cye, maybe your connected now somehow" says Samantha. "I...Am unsure. Uncertainty is also a new feeling, and one I do not believe I like" says Xigara. Tara walks out. "Hey Tara, did you finally decide to join us" asks Hannah. "No. Where is my master. There is a call from agent Z" says Tara. "I sent him out to do some shopping" says Hannah. Tara puts her finger up to her ear. "Dial master" she says. Soon, Cye's phone rings and he answers it. "Hello" says Cye. "Master, you have a call from agent Z, would you like me to put him through" asks Tara. "Yeah go ahead" says Cye. "Very well, in order to do so, I need you to speak the acceptance command" says Tara. "What's that" asks Cye. "I love you Tara, you are my forever and-" starts Tara. Cye hangs up on her. She calls back and he answers. "Very well master, have it your way. Patching you through now" says Tara. Soon the line changes. "Hello Cye, hope you aren't too busy" says Z. "Not really, what's up" asks Cye. "There is a girl I'd like you to pick up and hold onto for a while. She doesn't speak english, so you'll need to figure something out. Her name is Mei Ling, she's a hero in training from China, and just moved here. I trust you can handle this" says Z. "I'll give it a shot, where is she" asks Cye. She's walking right by the store your in" says Z. Cye looks out the window, and sees a chinese girl right outside the window. She has her black hair done into braids in the back, which are tied in a bun and run down her back. She's wearing a tight looking black shirt, with a green dragon picture wrapped around it. The shirt has no sleeves. On her legs are a tight looking pair of pants, and she is wearing a pair of flip-flops on her feet. Oh her back is a quiver and bow, with a pink backpack on top of it. Her nails are painted pink and black. "It cannot be this easy" says Cye. "It won't be if you stand there and let her walk by" says agent Z. Cye walks outside, with Mahrin taking notice and following. "Uh hey you, with the backpack" says Cye. The girl spins around and looks at Cye. "Are you Ming Fei" asks Cye. "That's Mei Ling" says Z. "Oh uh, Mei Ling" asks Cye. The girl nods. "Uh, I need you to come with me" says Cye. She tilts her head. "She doesn't speak English" says Z. "I don't speak chinese" says Cye. Mahrin holds out his hand. "Comprehend languages" says Mahrin. His hand glows, and a glow appears around Mei Ling. "Wouldst thou mind coming with us" asks Mahrin. "Okay" she says with a thumbs up. Cye's jaw drops. "How did you do that" asks Cye. "Tis a spell from my world. I may comprehend, or help others comprehend languages" says Mahrin. "You're the best buddy" says Cye as he holds out his fist. "Doth thou wish to spar" asks Mahrin in confusion. "What? No! You do the same thing I just did, but into my fist. It's called a fist bump" says Cye. Mahrin looks at his hand, makes a fist and punches Cye's hand. Cye looks pained. "Not that hard bud" says Cye. "My apologies" says Mahrin. Mei Ling laughs at the sight. "Tell me this cannot be this easy, there has to be something, it never goes this smooth" says Cye. "Just take her back to the base and your done. Z out" says Z. "Shalt we not wait on our comrades" asks Mahrin. "Nope, we'll leave them to buy the you know what's" says Cye. Mahrin nods, and they start leading Mei Ling back to the base. Melcanoir looks around and notice Mahrin and Cye are gone. "Crap, we've been ditched" says Melcanoir. Kite is happily playing with everything he can get his hand on, and is paying no attention. Melcanoir sighs. "I suppose it is my darkest duty to buy the (gulps) items" says Melcanoir. As Cye and Mahrin get up to the door, they turn to see a goth girl sitting with her legs hanging off the side of the cliff their house is located on. She has caramel colored hair, with streaks of black through them. She's wearing a white shirt, with a black leather jacket on. She's wearing a yellow skirt, with a black plad design on it. On her face is all black make-up. On her legs are a pair of black boots. "Mahrin, get her inside" says Cye as he walks over to the goth girl. "Don't do it! It's not worth it" says Cye. The girl turns to Cye. "It's not what you think, but even if it was you shouldn't get into other people's business" she says. "Oh uh, sorry. I just didn't want you to kill yourself" says Cye. "I just come out here to think" says the girl. She thinks for a moment, then gives an icy smile. "You go to my school, your Cye, the sarcastic guy with a lot of friends" she says. "Not sure that exactly explains me, but yeah that's my name" says Cye. The girl laughs. "On your first day, you'd already made friends with the childish pretty boy, the annoying outcast, the wannabe dd sounding guy, the county girl, the hot blonde, the girl who talks a little funny, the smart girl, AND the guys" says the girl. "Is it so wrong to have friends" asks Cye. "Sometimes yeah, they hurt you" says the girl. "That's a pretty negative way to view it" says Cye. "If it isn't obvious by the way I dress, I don't really do positive thinking" she says. Cye walks over and sits by her. "Wanna talk about it" he asks. "No, not really" she says. A car pulls up, and 3 guys in varsity jackets get out. One guy had blonde hair, one had brown, and the other had black. All three wore backwards, straight bill hats, jeans, and sneakers. The girls sighs. "Hey, my boy here tells me you stood him up" says the guy with the blonde hair. "No I didn't. He tried to force me to go on a date with him and I told him no. If he thought I was coming, that's his fault" says the girl. "Are you calling my friend a liar" asks the blonde guy. "I'm saying I'm not dating him. I'm not some 5 dollar hooker you can just tell to meet at your place" says the girl. "Your a liar Beth! You stood me up you bitch" says the guy with black hair. Beth pulls out a ciggerette. "I don't care what you believe" she says as she lights it. The blonde guy walks over and aggressively grabs her by the hair, but Cye throws him up against his car. "You want some tough guy" asks the brown haired guy. "How about we even the score" says a voice from behind the guys. They spin around to see Jacob, Rodney, and Palmer standing there. "Now it's 4 against 3, that's still not fair" says the blonde guy. Jacob counts on his fingers and turns to the guys. "Alright, one of us is gonna have to stay back" says Jacob. Jacob and Palmer both look at Rodney. "What" asks Rodney. "Forget it, I'm gone" says the blonde guy as the varsity punks get back in their car and leave. "Good ta see yous safe boss" says Jacob. "You know it" says Cye. "Actually, he was talking to her" says Rodney. Cye looks confused. "She used ta be our boss, before you was" says Jacob. "Would you just leave me alone" asks Beth. "Naw, not a chance" says Palmer. Beth tosses the ciggerette down the side of the cliff. "That's littering you know, serious criminal stuff right there" says Cye sarcastically. "So write me a ticket" Beth says as she gets up and walks away. "Well, she's certainly full of sugar and spice, and everything nice" Cye says sarcastically. "She ain't always like dat you knows. She wasn't ever like dat before" says Jacob. "What was she like before" asks Cye. "A bit sarcastic, like you. Smiled a lot, and wasn't afraid ta roll in da mud with da rest of us" says Jacob. "What happened" asks Cye. "Man, Richie happened man" says Palmer. "Richie" asks Cye. "Yeah, Richie was some rich punk who wanted to give public show a chance, simply so he could laugh and put us down. Most importantly, he wanted to make sure we all have no future" says Rodney. "Then one day, Beth told him no. I guess he asked for a pencil or something and she said no. He got furious, and he hit her. The teacher was bribed to look the other way. Rumor has it, that night he raped her too, either way, she came to school a few days later. She had 3 cracked ribs, a broken arm, and each of her fingers on said arm were broken in two different spots. She also had a black eye and her lip was busted open. Ever since, she hasn't been the same. Took on the whole goth look, won't talk to anyone. Whatever happened, it broke her" Rodney says sadly. "Now she's datin a boy who don't even like her romantically. He's doing it cause he's trying to cover up the fact he likes dudes" says Jacob. Cye looks shocked to hear all that. "Well, we gots ta split boss. Palmer has agreed ta buy us lunch after a hard days work" says Jacob. "Man, since when" asks Palmer. "Since right now" says Rodney. "Man, you two lucky I love you" says Palmer as they start walking away. Cye makes his way back to the base, and walks in to see Mei Ling sitting on the couch playing a game. "What kept you" asks Hannah. "I was talking with some friends" says Cye. "Where are the others" asks Hannah. Just then, the door flies opens and Melcanoir and Kite walk in. "I have done it! The darkest and most terrible of deeds has been done this day! I have bought the items requested" says Melcanoir. "You know I was kidding right? I just did that to fluster you guys, I didn't think you'd ACTUALLY buy some" says Hannah. Melcanoir's jaw drops. Kite giggles. "You're so silly" he says. Cye walks over and puts his hand on Melcanoir's shoulder. "Look at the bright side" says Cye. "What bright side" Melcanoir asks. "At least it wasn't me" Cye says with a devilish grin as he pats Melcanoir's shoulder. Melcanoir drops to the ground. "There goes my self pride" he says. "You had self pride" asks Cye. "Oh, when I'm sad, I give lots of hugs! They make me feel better" says Kite as he squeezes Melcanoir. Kite's ear rubs against Melcanoir's face. "Wow, that is incredibly soft, like a cloud, but more gentle" says Melcanoir. "Yep yep. I keep my fur nice and taken care of" says Kite. Mei Ling jumps over on the couch, and starts petting Kite's ears. "So...soft" she says. "Yay! I love it when people pet my ears" says Kite. "Aaaand this is getting weird, I'm gonna go sit in my room" says Cye as he starts walking away.

Cye tosses and turns in his bed, suddenly, he shoots up from his sleep. He looks around with sweat pouring off of him. He pulls out a small golden locket. He pushes a button on the side, and it opens up. Inside is a picture of Cye as a kid, with a girl who looks like him. They are outside by a huge oak tree. The girl has robotic legs and arms, and she's hugging Cye and kissing his cheek, while he looks unhappy about it. (Flashback). Cye leans against the tree and plays on a handheld game system. The girl runs up to him. "Big bro! I lost a tooth! I lost a tooth! The tooth fairy is gonna come" she says. "I've always thought the tooth fairy was kinda creepy. Who in their right mind goes around stealing kids teeth, then pays them for it" Cye asks sarcastically. The girl puffs out her cheeks. "You're missing the point, after this, I'll finally have saved up the money to take us out for ice cream like I promised" she said. Cye closes the game system and messes up her hair a little. "I know. I was just messing with you a little. You know big bro has always got your back" says Cye as he gives her a thumbs up. "I love you big bro" she says as she hugs him. "Ew. Girl germs" says Cye. A woman with black hair, and glasses walks over. She's wearing a lab coat, with a black shirt on underneath it. The shirt has a logo on it for a band. She's wearing a black skirt and black heels. "Awe, my babies. I have to get a picture" says the woman. "Mom, can you not" asks Cye. The woman pulls out a camera, and gets ready to take the picture, when suddenly Cye's sister kisses his cheek and the picture gets taken. (Flashback ends). "Cye? Cye! Earth to Cye" Melcanoir yells at him. Cye shakes his head and looks around. "Are you okay" asks Melcanoir. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be" asks Cye. "Well, you've been crying for one" says Melcanoir. Cye reaches up to his face, and feels that he's been crying out of his human eye. "Must of...been nightmare" Cye says. "You were awake" says Melcanoir. Cye says nothing. "Hey Cye, come on out. I made breakfast" says Hannah as she walks by Cye's room. "She made bacon" Melcanoir says exitedly as he rushes out of the room. Cye gets up, and walks out of the room, but Mahrin is waiting beside the wall outside Cye's door. "You need something" asks Cye. Mahrin placed his hand on Cye's shoulder. "I do not know of whats thou hast on thine conscience, but whatever it may be, I am here have you need to talk" says Mahrin. "I'm fine" says Cye. "One of my skills is called detect lie, so I know tis not the truth thou speaketh, however I shalt not pressure thou further on it. (Mahrin's hand glows). I shall simply do that. Tis a spell called blissful sleep. Whenever thou slumber tonight, thou's nightmares may not enter. Thou doth not deserve an eternity of nightmares" says Mahrin. "...Thanks" says Cye as he puts his hand on Mahrin's shoulder. "Tis no trouble. Ask anytime" says Mahrin. Suddenly Cye's phone rings, which makes Mahrin jump and look around. "Relax man, it's my phone" says Cye as he pulls it out as shakes it. "My apologies. I am still not accustomed to such devices" says Mahrin. "Oh yeah, what is your world like" asks Cye. "Boys hurry up it's getting cold" Hannah yells from the kitchen. "A story for another time perhaps" says Mahrin as they make their way to the breakfast table. Everyone gets seated around a table, and Cye looks over at Jane to notice she's the only one who still has her bracelet activated. "You know you don't have to have that thing on at home right? We need them to not stand out in public, but here it's just us" says Cye. Jane grabs it and looks a little bashful. "I-if it's all the same to y'all, I'd much rather keep my bracelet active" says Jane. After breakfast, Jane is in her room putting stuff in her bag for school, when she turns and sees Mahrin standing in her doorway. "Holy jumpin jellybeans! Ya done scared me more than a long tailed cat in a room full of rockin chairs" says Jane. "My apologies, I had just wished to speak, but thou looked as though thou wert busy" says Mahrin. "Oh shucks. Ya coulda said somethin, I'm used to multitaskin. I did it all the time back home" says Jane. "Very well. I'm not sure how quite to approach this subject, so I shalt come out and ask. Why doth thou wish to hide thine flames" asks Mahrin. Jane grabs the bracelet but says nothing. "Thou art worried about judgement art thou not" asks Mahrin. "What would a guy like like you know bout judgement, if ya don't mind my asking so" asks Jane. Mahrin looks down. "In the world in which I come from, the humans and the elves see not eye to eye. The humans view the elves as knife eared savages, and the elves view the humans as short lived and self entitled. The disagreement has not simply affected the two races though, as a huge war hast ignited in my world. The human armies and elven armies war day and night, taking no prisoners. I am hated by both races, as my mother be elven, and my father be human. Both were killed for conceiving such a child. I would not have survived had my mother not have given me to a dear friend of hers for protection. I joined a war, fighting neither elven nor humans. I fought another threat to my land, the demon army. They burn villages and capture survivors, with no reason given. Shortly before my sudden appearance in this world, I was gifted a bow by an elven God, asking me to bring peace, however, the moment I touched the bow, I ended up in this world. Tis my assumption that my world be not the world I am to protect, but this one" says Mahrin. "I-Im sorry. I didn't know bout yer world and yer heritage and whatnot" says Jane. "Tis fine. I had not told my story for pity. I was mearly answering thou's question, to which I return to my own" says Mahrin. Jane stays silent for a moment before a huge sigh. "It was about a year ago, I grew up in a small town in the sticks, wasn't more than 80 or so people in the entire town, and most everyone knew everyone. I worked the fields, fed the hogs, worked with the crops, and chopped wood all day, and it was my little paradise, but one day I suddenly just burst into flames. Didn't know what in tarnation happened. I ran around, beggin anyone to put me out, but no matter how hard people tried, the flame just wouldn't go. The more distraught I got, the hotter the flames got and eventually, buildings began burnin. Eventually, my own mama called me a monster, and her and the rest of the folks I grew up with chased me outta town. I had hoped the flames would go away, but they ain't, but now I got this little doohickey and I'm finally me again" says Jane. "Thou wert never not thou. Twas the townspeople who were in the wrong. Thou wert just afraid, unknowing. Twould have behooved them to try and find a way to help. Thou art a beautiful young woman either way, and tis their loss for not accepting thou ast thou art" says Mahrin. Jane wipes away a tear running down her cheek. She reaches down and deactivates the watch. "W-would ya mind...touchin me-on the hand that is" she asks as she holds out her hand. Mahrin takes it with no hesitation. "H-how'd ya know it wasn't hot? I hadn't told ya yet" asks Jane. "I did not. Thou asked me to touch thine hand, and I trusted thou. Twas all there was too it" says Mahrin. Jane smiles and tears of joy weld up in her eyes. "Thou may be fire on the outside, but the flame is in thine heart. Tis where I believe the heat is" says Mahrin as he walks out of the room. Eventually the group gets ready for school. "Mei Ling, are you not coming" asks Cye. Mei Ling is focusing on a game, and only gives Cye a quick thumbs down for an answer. Cye shrugs, and the group heads off to school. Eventually they get to the front of the building again, where they see a guy with shaggy brown hair, and a guy with a knitted sweater walking up to the door. The guy with brown hair had a pair of square glasses, and a black shirt with green letters on it spelling out "retro". He wore a white jacket overtop of it, with blue jeans and black sneakers. He has a computer in his hands that he's typing on and looks pretty happy about what he's doing. The guy with the sweater has combed brown hair, tan pants, white shoes, and a watch on his arm. He has sparkling white teeth, but braces on them. "Alright Alice boot up" says the guy in glasses. "Gooood morning master" says a voice from the computer cheerfully. It sounds like an actual person, not robotic. "What are you doing dorkus" asks the guy in the sweater. "I just finished my greatest invention ever! Her name is Alice, she's an artificial intelligence, with self virus battling software, as well as an ability to learn, and adopt emotions. Her voice is based off of famous anime dub voice actress-" starts the guy in glasses. "You're never gonna get a girlfriend making stuff like that" says the guy in the sweater. "Hey meanie, be nice to my master" says Alice. "Dude, did your computer just sas me" asks the guy in the sweater. The guy in glasses looks nervous. "Wicked dude" says the guy as they high five. "Master, there are a group of people at the bottom of the stairs" says the computer. He spins around to see the group standing there. "Oh, s-sorry, I didn't see you there, I-I'll move so you can-" starts the guy. As he goes to step backwards, he steps on his shoelace and tumbles back. "Master! Are you okay?! Tell me where it hurts" yells Alice in concern. "I'm fine Alice. Wow, I didn't know you would be such a worrywart" says the guy as he adjust his glasses. An image of an anime girl pops up on his screen and winks at him. "Huh? I don't have an app that-" starts the guy. "Surprise master! I created my own Avatar! What do you think" Alice asks as the anime girl spins around. The guys jaw drops. "You're amazing Alice" he says. Cye walks over and offers his hand. The guy takes his hand, and Cye helps him up. "So, the nerd and the geek hit it off well" asks Cye. "Ha, he called you a nerd" says the guy in the sweater. "Actually, you'd be the nerd. He's the geek" says Samantha. "I'm Troy" says the guy in glasses as he offers his hand. "I'm Alice" says Alice. "And I'm Scott" says the guy in the sweater. "I'm Cye" says Cye. "Master, he's not human, not fully anyways" says Alice. "What do you mean" asks Troy. "Well, I've analyzed him, and it appears he's part tech. I'll show you" says Alice. A few seconds later, Cye's arm (the robotic one) starts flailing around. "What the hell is happening" asks Cye. "I've hacked you" Alice says. "Alice, it's rude to hack other people" says Troy. Alice puffs put her cheeks. "I was just trying to impress you master" she says poutingly. "I'm impressed, very impressed actually. You're way smarter than any other A.I program I've met" says Troy. "Oh, he should meet Tara" says Kite. The group covers Kite's mouth. "Wait! You have an A.I program similar to Alice?! This I gotta see" says Troy. Alice does not look pleased with that. "Uh, you wanna stop making my arm do the robot" asks Cye. "Oh right. Alice, return all external programs back to default" says Troy. Alice nods and Cye's arm stops. "Cool" says Scott. "Wow, you look so human, can I touch your arm" asks Troy. "No" says Cye. "Well, alright then, but you are going to show me this "Tara" after school aren't you" asks Troy. "No way I'm missing that" says Scott. "Oh, uh, about that-" starts Cye. "She's not real. Kite meant, show him the show, Tara, it's new on TV, and you probably haven't-" starts Hannah. "I've seen it. It's about that robot chick who fights bad guys" says Scott as he makes some crappy fighting jesters. "Riiight, we'll see you later then" says Cye as he and the group go inside. At lunch, Melcanoir walks out into the hallway to eat in peace, and sees Bell sitting there already eating. "Oh, hello mortal woman" says Melcanoir. Bell looks up at Melcanoir and smiles. "Oh hey" she says. "Would it be alright if I, the great and mighty Mel joined you for this darkest of meals" asks Melcanoir. "Nope" says Bell. Melcanoir's face drops. "Seriously" he asks. "I suppose I could be persuaded to share, but it's going to cost you 1 cookie" she says. "Th-thats highway robbery" says Melcanoir. Bell sticks her tongue out playfully. Melcanoir hands her his cookie, and she takes a bite. "You know, you didn't actually have to give me the cookie right? This is a public hallway" she says. Melcanoir's face drops as he realizes he's been duped. Bell breaks the cookie in half and hands Melcanoir one of the half's. "For a friend, I shall only charge half price" says Bell. Melcanoir smiles as he takes the half. "So what's up with that group you're usually with? They don't really seem like your kinda people" says Bell. "What do you mean" asks Melcanoir. "The sarcastic rebel, the akward DD nerd, the happy go lucky underclassmen, the country girl, the popular blonde, the naive quiet girl, and the smart pretty girl. It just doesn't seem like your kinda group is all" says Bell. "In truth it's not, we have a common goal, and that united us" says Melcanoir. "What goal is that" asks Bell. Melcanoir smiles. "That's a secret" says Melcanoir with a cocky look on his face. "Ooooh, mysterious" Bell says sarcastically as she and Melcanoir laugh about it. Eventually the school bell rings. "Well, I suppose we should get to class. See you later Mel" says Bell as she walks off. Melcanoir looks down to see he barely touched his food, and starts shoving it down quickly. After school, the group start walking home. "Man, hero work is actually kinda boring. I figured there would be more bad guys" says Kite. "Boring means the city is safe, so it's fine by me" says Hannah. "I'm still concerned about this Dr. Shadow guy. Do you remember anything about him Samantha" asks Cye. Samantha shakes her head. "I've never even see him" she says. "Well this stinks. I'm gonna go through some missing persons case files and see if anyone sticks out" says Cye. "I wouldn't bother. He only kidnaps people with powers, or so I hear. I don't know much about it, but when I was his prisoner, I heard someone say something about him stealing their powers" says Samantha. "This foe seems quite dangerous. Tis a matter of importance that we remain vigilant" says Mahrin. They get back to the house, and go inside. After getting scanned and going down the slide the group crashes on the ground again, only this time, seconds later, two more people crash on top of the group. They look up to see Troy and Scott. "You've got to be kidding me" says Cye. "Wow! That was so cool and high tech! I'm totally geeking out right now" says Troy. Scott gets up and dust himself off. "Um, I think you need to clean that slide. It's dusty" he says as he sprays himself with disinfectant. "Um, that's a problem" says Melcanoir. An arrow flies right beside Scott's cheek, lightly grazing it. He worriedly looks where the shot was fired from to see Mei Ling with her bow drawn and another arrow ready. "Mei Ling, stand down" says Cye. "K" she says happily as she tosses the bow and arrow aside and hops back on the couch. "Sweet! Hot asian girl" says Scott. "Can you...leave, like now" asks Cye. "No way! What else is around here" asks Scott. "Oh, there's a game system, and our rooms and, Tara and-" starts Kite. Hannah covers Kite's mouth again. "I knew Tara wasn't just a movie thing" says Troy. "Master, are you home" asks Tara as she walks around the corner. "You could NOT have worse timing" says Cye as he slaps his forehead. "Wow! Is that Tara?! She's amazing! She looks so human" says Troy as he rushes over to her. "Master, have you been talking about me? I'm flattered. Does that mean you are ready to-" starts Tara. "How many times do I have to say no" asks Cye. "AMAZING! She's developed feelings for her master. Interesting. Very interesting. Tell me Tara, how long have you had these feelings, what's the extent of them" asks Troy. "Ever since I met my master I knew he was the one for me. As for the extent, I would very much like my master to stick his-" starts Tara as she starts making dirty jesters with her fingers. "That's quite enough of that, Tara please a word, in private" says Cye in an annoyed tone. "Does master wish to punish me? I would not be oppressed to spanking, or perhaps tying me up and-" starts Tara. "Why couldn't they have invented you with a mute button" asks Cye. "They? Interesting, so her master isn't her creator" says Troy as he starts typing on his computer. Cye grabs Tara's arm and takes her into another room. Scott makes his way over to Mei Ling, where he uses a nearby mirror to make sure he looks good. Samantha uses her powers to wrap Scott and Troy up in chains, and pull them together. "I don't think you boys understand what exactly you're involved with right now" says Samantha. Hannah taps on her shoulder. "You just used your powers in front of two civilians" says Hannah. Samantha's face drops. "Oops" she says nervously. "Amazing! So, Samantha, the straight A student and role model at our school has super powers. It's like a comic book come to life" says Troy. "Nerd" says Scott. "Once again, you're the nerd. He's the geek" says Samantha. "I don't think that's quite our biggest issue right now" says Jane. "Right, we need to get these guys out before Z finds out-" starts Hannah. "I find out what" asks Z as he drops in from the slide and lands on the ground on his feet. The group all look nervous but do nothing. "Are these two criminals" asks Z. "Well no, funny story actually, you see well, uh, Melcanoir you explain" says Samantha. "Me?! Why me" asks Melcanoir. Samantha elbows his side. "Ow. Okay. So there we were, walking home as normal, but little did we know, two figures lurked in the shadows, and managed to make their way into the base" says Melcanoir. "Sooo, their stalkers" asks Z. "What? No" says Scott. "They're a couple of harmless classmates who stumbled into our base" says Samantha. Z looks at them. "I see, that's a problem. They've already learned too much, and as such, I shall take them into custody, provide them new identities, and relocate them to an undisclosed location" says Z. "NOOOO. I can't leave, I have 3 cats at home, and I don't have my inhaler" says Scott. "Wait! I think I have an alternative that works for both parties" says Troy. "Oh" asks Z. "We can bring something to the table, my extensive knowledge of computer software and hardware would make me valuable for maintaining Tara" says Troy. "Tara can work on herself, she has for years" says Z. "Uh, b-b-but I could also be a hacker. You guys need files don't you" asks Troy. "Tara is a state of the art government hacker, and can hack even the F.B.I server in 2.45 seconds" says Z. "Wait! You can't hurt my master! I won't let you" says Alice. "Alice, be nice to the scary agent who holds my identity in his hands right now" says Troy. "Huh, an A.I huh. She's quite impressive actually, especially considering you're a student. Tell me, how much progress has she made" asks Z. "Her learning capabilities are through the roof. She's already formed an independent personality, and I believe she even has internal thoughts and worries" says Troy. "What makes you think that" asks Scott. "Well, remember earlier when Alice created an Avatar? She asked me how she looked. An A.I, especially one as new as Alice, shouldn't have the self consciousness to worry about her appearance, especially since she's only on a laptop. She could change her clothes, hairstyles, facial features, and whole body structure at will. There would be no reason for her to be worried about something like that" says Troy. "Hmm. Alright, perhaps I can put you to work after all, see if there's anyway you can upgrade Tara" says Z. Troy looks exited. "I get to stay, AND work on the government A.I unit? Pinch me I must be dreaming" says Troy. "And what of you? It's obvious you're no fighter if you require an inhaler" asks Z as he looks at Scott. "I...uh...I-" starts Scott. Scott hangs his head in shame. "I've got nothing" says Scott. "I see, well then I suppose you'll need to come with me" says Z. "Wait! Have him become an agent or something" says Troy. "Young man, I don't think you realize how dangerous agent work can be. Men and women must train for years to even hope to be good enough to be an agent. You're asking me to take some random kid" asks Z. "Okay, so hear me out on this. Scott may not be good with computers like I am, but he's excellent in robotics. If you have him intern in the robotics department, I can promise you you won't be disappointed. I'll stake my own place here on it" says Troy. "Hmm, we actually have a pretty good robotics project in the works. Very well. Against my better judgement, I'll allow him to intern at the robotics department. He won't be doing much, but if he screws up, it's both of you gone" says Z. Troy nervously nods. "Then good day. Please come with me to the robotics division young man" says Z as he starts walking away. Scott looks over at Mei Ling. "I shall be back my beautiful asian goddess, this I swear" says Scott. Troy watches as Scott leaves with Z, and sighs. "Well, welcome to the team I guess" says Samantha. "Yeah, so I'm totally lost. What exactly is this place" asks Troy. "Well, this is our home, and yours too now apparently. As you know, I'm Samantha. The girl on the couch is Mei Ling, and you've already met Cye and Tara" says Samantha. The rest of the team deactivates their watches and show what they really look like (besides Melcanoir, who doesn't require a watch). "I think I have a geek boner! A fox man, a giant, a flame woman, an elf, and a sexy alien babe" says Troy. "Yes, the Fox boy is Kite, the giant is Hannah, the flame girl is Jane, the elf is Mahrin, and the alien is Xigara. The last guy over there is Melcanoir" says Samantha. "Is he human" asks Troy. "Foolish mortal! I am a being far surpassing humanity. I am in a race of my own, I am MELCANOIR" says Melcanoir. "Awesome. Actual chunibyo. You're a little old for the exact definition, but it's not uncommon for it to still last in high schoolers" says Troy. "Uh, what now" asks Melcanoir. "Yeah, what's chu...uh...that word you said" asks Kite. "Chunibyo is a state of mind typical in middle schoolers, where they have delusions of overwhelming power, or thoughts of being a chosen one" says Troy. "The difference between me and those plebs is I AM the chosen one. My power is my curse, it's so powerful this pathetic mortal body can barely withstand the pressure" says Melcanoir. "Yep. Definitely chunibyo" says Troy. "Master! You aren't actually planning on staying here to work on that other girl are you" asks Alice. "What? Of course I am" says Troy. Alice puffs out her cheeks. "You haven't finished with me yet" she says. "What are you talking about Alice, you're perfect. I couldn't improve you if I tried" says Troy. "You could try" Alice says sounding a little desperate. "Alice, what's wrong? Do you feel inadequate" asks Troy. "No you jerk! Fine. Go work on that stupid Tara girl. Big meanie" says Alice. Troy's computer shuts down. "Man, she's crabby today" says Troy. "Maybe she has a virus" says Hannah. "No. Alice has state of the art anti virus software, and I'm careful not to open anything that may have a virus attached to it on this laptop. I have a separate laptop I use for all that" says Troy. "Well, that should help her feel better" says Samantha. "Huh" asks Troy. "It shows you care about her. You don't want anything to happen to her, so you bought another computer to save her from getting viruses" says Samantha. "Of course I care about her. She's my pride and joy. It took a long time to create her after all" says Troy. Cye walks out with Tara, with Cye looking slightly more aggravated than when he went in. "Oh...you're still here" says Cye as he looks at Troy. "Apparently I'm going to be for a long time" he says. "What" asks Cye. "Z is having him do some work on Tara-" starts Samantha. "No. The only one who has permission to work on me is my master. Any other attempts will result in the activation of my combat mode" says Tara. "Well you're an A.I so you can ignore your programming (Tara glares at him). Oh. It's not programming" says Troy. "Tara. Don't beat up the nerd" says Cye. "What's with you people? He's a geek, not a nerd" says Samantha. "Please let me work on you! I don't want to be relocated with a new identity. They're probably gonna make me a hobo in the Arctic" says Troy. "They have hobos in the Arctic" asks Cye. "I may be the first" says Troy. "Not my problem" says Tara. "That's pretty heartless" says Cye. "I do not have a heart master" says Tara. "You know what I meant" says Cye. "Master, allowing another man to poke around my circuits would be the same as me cheating on you" says Tara. "We don't have anything for you to cheat on" says Cye. "Master is so cruel" says Tara. Cye crosses his arms. Tara crosses her arms back. "Tara" Cye says sternly. "Master" says Tara. Cye points towards the pleading Troy. "Very well, I shall comply, under some rules, provided a condition is met" says Tara. "If it's anything dirty, the nerd is going to become one cold hobo" says Cye. "He's not a-oh nevermind" says Samantha. "No master. I only wish to lay with you for one night. No sexual activity will be performed, I just wanted to try a technique I learned called "cuddling" says Tara. Cye sighs. "Fine, but we both keep our clothes on, and even the slightest hint of you trying something and deals off" says Cye. Troy rushes up and hugs Cye. "Thank you thank you thank you! I didn't want to become a hobosickle" says Troy. "Yep, it's official. I know the world's weirdest people" says Cye. Meanwhile, in an unknown location, two figures meet in a dark room, where only their silhouettes are visible to each other. "Has your plan already been set in motion" asks figure 1. "Yes. Dr. Shadow is working on the project right now. He guarantees great success" says figure 2. "And what about that new "hero team"? Will they be a problem" asks figure 1. "Don't worry. They're going to play right into my plans" says figure 2.

A few days later, everyone but Cye is out in the living room and ready to head to school. "What's keeping Cye? Don't tell me he's still sleeping" says Samantha. "I shall go check on him" says Xigara. She walks into Cye's room, and moments later, she screams and rushes out. "Xigara, what's wrong" asks Hannah. Xigara holds up her hand and it's covered in blood. The whole group rushes over to Cye's room, and see him laying face up on the ground with a puddle of blood under him. "I-Is he dead" asks Troy. Mahrin kneels down and grabs Cye's arm, then shakes his head. "He still lives, however tis not good news. His pulse is weak" says Mahrin. "What happened" asks Hannah as she comforts Kite, who looks like he's going to cry. Mahrin looks around, and sees that Cye's head is busted open. He takes a deep breath, and holds his hand up to the wound. "Cure wounds" says Mahrin. A light glows from Mahrin's hand, and Cye's injury slowly closes. "We need to call an ambulance" says Troy. "We can't. This place is supposed to be a secret, besides, the only way to get back up it through the transport tubes, and that's not safe for him in his condition" says Samantha. Xigara looks concerned. "Alright. Someone get me something to run an IV to him" says Troy. "Does anyone here share his blood type" asks Jane. "My blood is O negative. It's also known as the universal blood type. I'm not a fan of needles, but I'm not leaving him like this" says Troy. Samantha rushes off. "Any clue what happened" asks Melcanoir. Mahrin stands up, and closes his eyes for a second. When he opens them, his eyes are glowing blue. He looks around, nods his head, and closes his eyes. "What was that" asks Hannah. "Twas an elven skill known as investigation sight. By using the Mana flow in our bodies, one may look around and see things that others may not" says Mahrin. "What'd ya see" asks Jane. Mahrin points to a shelf, with some case files on it. "Twould appear our guildmaster was looking though these case files, when suddenly he lost consciousness and bashes his head on the corner. Tis my only working theory at the moment" says Mahrin. Tara rushes through, shoving everyone out of her way to get to Cye. "Master! Master, you cannot die. I still need you" says Tara. Her body is trembling, and her eyes weld up with tears. (Troy's inner monologue) "That's amazing! She has the ability to tremble when stressed, and cry when sad. For a robot, I've never seen anything quite like it". Samantha rushes in with a makeshift IV cord, and hands it to Troy, who takes a deep breath and losses a little color in his face. "It's only a needle. Don't think about it. A man's life hangs in the balance. You've got this Troy just-" Tara stabs it into his arm, which makes him scream, then she lightly puts the other end into Cye's arm. "Master, please be alright" says Tara as she curls up to his body and wraps her arms around gently. Troy looks pained. "Are you okay" asks Samantha. "Yep, cool. Never better, I'm just standing here with a needle in my arm and hoping some guy I barely know doesn't die" says Troy. "You were really brave today" says Hannah as she ruffles his hair a little, and his glasses tilt to the side. Troy fixes his glasses, and looks at Cye's arm. "Huh, I could probably come up with some upgrades for that. We'd need someone to actually install them, but I could hypothetically-" starts Troy. "Not really the time" says Samantha. "Uh, right" says Troy as he rubs the back of his head. "Hey we should probably get going. We're already going to be late" says Hannah. Samantha's face drops. "I-Ive never been late in my LIFE" she says as she quickly rushes away. "Should we really go to school when Cye is like this" asks Melcanoir. "There isn't anything we can do. Tara, Troy, and Mahrin will do what they can here. We have to do what we can there" says Hannah. The group starts heading off, but Xigara simply stands there staring at Cye. "I know you're worried, but try to focus on something else" says Hannah as she grabs Xigara's hand and starts pulling her away. Later that day, Hannah gets a call, and answers it straight away after seeing it's from Cye. "-Ay, Get off me! Seriously, you guys are-" starts Cye. "Are you feeling better" asks Hannah. "Yeah, but ever since I woke up, the 4 weirdos at home keep hugging me" says Cye. Hannah laughs. "They were worried about you. It's sweet" says Hannah. "Tara! You keep your hands where I can see them and-hey, who just touched my butt" asks Cye. "Oops" says Mei Ling. Hannah laughs again. "I'm sure the team will be very happy to hear you're okay" says Hannah. "Just, please, no more hugs" says Cye. "You know that's not going to happen. Kite's probably going to squeeze you hard enough to pop your head off" says Hannah. Cye sighs. "Well, crap. Anyways, that's not the reason I called. I wanted to let you know I found something in those files-" starts Cye. "No. Whatever it is can wait until you've recovered. You be sure to rest" says Hannah. "Not a chance, you know me" says Cye. "Tara, i deem Cye as unable to take care of himself, and I order you to watch over him and make sure he rest" says Hannah. "Anything for my master" says Tara. "Hey wait! What are you doing! Hannah call her off-" starts Cye. Hannah hangs up on Cye. Later that day, Jane is walking down the hallway and sees a guy pinning Beth to the wall. "Why stay with that loser of a boyfriend you have now? He doesn't treat you right. I will babe, just give me a chance" says the guy. "Back off" says Beth. "Why stay with that loser though? He hasn't done anything for you" says the guy. "Hey now, she done said no so scram. Go on now" says Jane. "This is none of your business" says the guy. "But it IS mine" says a man who walks up. He has a fidora down far enough to cover his eyes, glasses, and purple hair. He has on a purple suit, with a blood red tie. "P-Principal? Look, I wasn't hurting her, I was just-" he starts. "Harassing a girl because you think you know what's best for her? Come now, we both know how silly it is for someone to think they know what's best for you, like your parents and you" says the principal. The guy let's go. "Y-yessir" he says. "Good, now scurry along to class, and do be quick. Class is about to begin" says the principal. The guy rushes off. "Now my dear, are you alright" the principal asks as he walks over to Beth. She rubs her arm, but shoulder checks the principal on the way by. The principal turns to Jane. "You should hurry to my dear. After all, you don't want to catch any "heat" for being late now do you" he asks as he walks by. Jane's eyes widen as she turns and watches him walk away. After school, they are met up with by Mahrin and Troy. The group is walking home, and Jane still looks frightened. "Art thou okay? Thou looketh like thou hath seen a ghost" says Mahrin. "Oh, uh. Yeah, I'm alright, but uh, do y'all know the principal" asks Jane. "Yeah, he's just some old guy, he's kinda short and fat-" starts Melcanoir. Jane's eyes widen. "A-are ya sure" asks Jane. "Actually, that's the old principal, Mr. Gregory, but he passed away about a week ago. We have a new principal now, but I haven't met him yet" says Samantha. "I have. Dude gives me the creeps" says Troy. "Why's that" asks Kite. "I don't know, he just...rubs me wrong" says Troy. Jane shudders. "I saw em today. I think he knows about me" says Jane. "What makes you think that" asks Hannah. "He made a darn heat pun" says Jane. "I'm sure you're just reading too much into it. Nobody has seen you guys do any actual hero work yet have they" asks Samantha. "Not that I know of" says Jane. "So he couldn't possibly know. I'm sure he just gives you all the creeps because he's a principal" says Samantha. They reach the house, and go inside. Cye is being pinned to the couch by Tara. "Uh, what's going on here" asks Samantha. "Master tried to leave the house, and I was forced to restrain him by force" says Tara. "Dude, we were gone like not even a half hour" says Troy. "I found something in those case files" says Cye. "Tis not of importance right now. Thou art sleep deprived, and suffer from a concussion. Thou need to rest thineself" says Mahrin. "Sleep deprived? Don't tell me you haven't been sleeping over this" says Samantha. "It's not that. I almost never sleep, this just gave me something to do" says Cye. "It's true. After examining him, Mahrin says he shows signs of extreme fatigue due to lack of sleep" says Troy. "Cye-" starts Hannah. "Get off my case. It's my body" says Cye. "A body we need to be a leader" says Hannah. "You guys wouldn't understand" says Cye. "Master, please tell us what's wrong. We may be able to-" Cye uses all his strength, and tosses Tara backwards on the couch, then starts walking away. Mahrin tries to stop Cye, by putting his hand on his shoulder. Cye jerks away. "Guildmaster" says Mahrin. Cye turns towards Mahrin. "All I ask is thou take care of thineself. Thou art a friend, and one I wish not to see parish" says Mahrin. "Yeah...Thanks" says Cye as he walks slowly to his room. "Well, on the bright side, maybe he's taking a nap" says Troy. Everyone looks at Troy. Troy hides behind his laptop. "I'll be quiet" he says. Later that night, Cye finally manages to fall asleep. (Dream) "Cye! I don't want to die, please help me" says an older version of Cye's little sister. Cye holds out his hand. "Healing aur-" starts Cye. A blade goes through Cye's back and blood flies out his mouth. "CYE!" yells Cye's sister. A figure completely shrouded in shadow grabs Cye by the throat, drags him over by a cliff, and holds him over the edge for a moment. "Pay for your sins" says the shadow man. He pulls out a gun, and points it towards Cye's sister, then pulls the trigger. "ANNIE" yells Cye as the figure drops Cye over the edge. Cye shoots up from his sleep. "ANNIE" he yells. He looks around to see he's in his room, and looks at his clock to see only an hour has passed. Tears start rolling out of Cye's eye as he hugs onto a pillow. "Why? Every time I close my eyes" says Cye. "Who's Annie" asks a familiar voice from Cye's doorway. Cye looks over to see Hannah in the doorway. "What are you doing here" asks Cye. "It's not just me (opens the door the rest of the way to show everyone is standing there). We're all worried about you Cye, then you started screaming "Annie" over and over again" says Hannah. Cye sighs. "Fine. You guys can come in, and I'll tell you" says Cye. Most of the group sit on the floor, but Samantha sits on a shelf near Cye's bed, and Mei Ling plops down on the end of his bed. "I wasn't always known as the Cyber Angel. I was originally known as white Angel, I was a hero before, part of a duo. My little sister was my partner. Her real name...was Annie, sort for Annabelle. (Everyone's eyes widen a little). Me and Annie were always close, especially since my mom passed away. She was born with no arms or legs, something to do with some disease of some sort that only a rare few people have. She was given Cyber arms and Legs to help her get through life, and despite the hardships, she adapted pretty well. When my powers awakened, and my wings sprouted from my back, Annie wanted to do something. We decided to become heros, but our crusade didn't last long. We had a few minor victories against bank robbers and muggers, but nothing prepared us for an actual villain. He attacked my home town, and me and Annie tried taking him on. We thought we drove him to the edge of town, but it was all part of his plan. There was an ambush, and Annie's arms and legs were destroyed in a single blow, with her body taking a lot of damage as well. She begged me to save her. She didn't want to die. I tried to heal her, but I was attacked from behind, and pulled over to the cliff side, and I had to watch as he shot her right in front of me, then he dropped me, and hit me with some kind of green mist. I tried to fly back up, but my wings had disappeared. I crashed on the ground below, when I woke up, I was in the hospital, with a cybernetic eye, arm, and leg. They told me the fall shattered the bones in my leg and arm beyond repair, as for my eye, apparently it was crushed into a rock. I've also got a plate on my side where they had to fix some of my ribs. I had them add the wings after" says Cye. "I didn't know you had a cyber leg" says Tara. Cye pulls up his pants leg to show his leg is indeed cybernetic. Hannah hugs Cye. "I'm so sorry. You poor thing" says Hannah. Cye pulls away. "I don't need your pity, or your sympathy. I just wanted to tell you guys. That's why I don't sleep. I see it every night. The fear in Annie's eyes, and that damn shadow man" says Cye. "Did he ever get caught" asks Kite. "No. He disappeared after that, and up to this day nobody has seen or heard from him since" says Cye. "And you think this Dr. Shadow may be him" asks Melcanoir. "Maybe, maybe not. Either way, Dr. Shadow is a threat, and needs to be taken down, and if it is him (clenches his fist) he's gonna pay" says Cye. "Hey wait, you said you had healing powers" says Samantha. "Not anymore. Ever since that day, the only powers I've had are my enhanced strength and resistance, and even those aren't nearly as good as they once were" says Cye. Hannah hugs Cye again, but tighter this time so he can't pull away. "What are you-" starts Cye. "You need this. Whether you realize it or not, you need this" says Hannah. Mei Ling quickly joins in on the hug. Cye looks at her, and she smiles at him and gives him a thumbs up. Mahrin then joins the hug. "When we first became a team, thou said that thou wert my family now, tis my duty as family to comfort thou in thine time of need" says Mahrin. Xigara then joins in. "You said we were family as well" says Xigara. "Yay! Hugs" says Kite as he speeds over and joins the hug. Cye sighs as he looks over at everyone who's not in the hug. "Fine, get over here you bastards" says Cye. "Even me" asks Troy. "You're among the bastards yes" Cye says. "Yes! I'm finally included in something. (His eyes quickly widen). I...said that out loud" says Troy. Everyone joins in the huge hug. "I think I know what a package feels like now" says Cye. A few days later, Cye is laying on the couch playing on the phone, while Troy opens his laptop. "Alright Alice, now I want you to see if you can hack into a cellular network. I've got my phone right here, so-" starts Troy. Alice disappears from the screen. "Hey! What's wrong with my phone" asks Cye. Troy walks over to it, adjust his glasses, and sees a bunch of skimpy sites pop up. Troy turns red and turns away. "W-well typically sites likes those come with viruses so-" starts Troy. "I don't look at this crap, how do I get it off" asks Cye. "Surprise" says Alice as she suddenly appears on screen. Cye jumps from her sudden appearance. "A-Alice, you were supposed to go into MY phone" says Troy. "I know, but I wanted to check out this guys stuff. Got to say, it's actually pretty boring" she says. "What" Cye asks insultedly. "Barely any contacts, no record of any "fun" sites, recently or deleted, a few boring games, and a bunch of boring articles" says Alice. She disappears and appears on Troy's phone. "Wow! That's more like it master, I see-" starts Alice. Troy quickly shuts off his phone and turns extremely red. "What a dirty boy you are master" says Alice tauntingly as she appears back on Troy's computer. Troy quickly shuts his laptop lid. "That's enough of that for now" he says nervously. "You can't stop me master" Alice says playfully as she appears on the TV screen. "Alice, I'm begging for mercy here" says Troy as he gets down on his knees and pleads. "I have the files saved, so I could play them through the TV" she says playfully. "Y-you wouldn't-" starts Troy. Alice winks, and a scene of a an elf girl laying on the ground appears on the TV. She has long blonde hair, and pointy elf ears, and there is a collar around her neck, with chains on her arms. "Hey wait, I've got an idea" says Alice's voice. The elf girl disappears, and Alice appears in her spot winking at Troy, next a form of Troy in armor walks into the tent Alice is in. "Well I suppose it's about time I-" starts the fake Troy. Troy turns the TV off. Cye just looks over at him. "Please don't judge me" says Troy as he hides his face. Cye says nothing, and goes back to messing on his phone. Suddenly, Cye gets a call from Z. Cye answers it, and puts it up to his ear. "Ah, how are you feeling today" asks Z. "Slightly disturbed as of right now" says Cye as he glances over at Troy. "Ah, well I was wondering if you were feeling up to meeting me somewhere. I was hoping to get a feel for how the teams doing, from your perspective" says Z. "Just tell me when and where and I'll be there" says Cye. "Just come to the Crown Burger. I'm already there" says Z. Cye hangs up, and heads to the Crown Burger restaurant. He walks inside, and Z flags him over to a table. Cye walks over and has a seat. "Man, I can't see why we couldn't eat at McClowning, it's right across the street" says Cye. "I happen to like Crown Burger" says Z. "Alright, but next time we go to McClowning" says Cye. "Deal. Now, order anything you want. It's on me" says Z. "No thanks. Hannah actually makes pretty good breakfast meals at home. Gotta say, I love her cooking" says Cye. "Ah yes, speaking of, how is the team" asks Z. "Well, they're good I guess. Nothing going on as far as I know" says Cye. "I see, and what is your opinion on each of them so far" asks Z. "Well, Mahrin is extremely helpful, and honestly probably better leader material than I am. Melcanoir is annoying, but his spells are impressive. Samantha is smart, and a little more mature than the rest of us. Kite is a little childish, but he brings a light to the team. Hannah's cooking is the bomb, and her strength is incredible, and she serves as a big sister model for the team. Jane is a hard worker, but she always seems like she has something on her mind. I don't really know what to make of Xigara, or Mei Ling for that matter. They both tend to stick to themselves" says Cye. "And what of Tara, and that Troy" asks Z. "Well, Troy is a little weird, and really nerdy, but he's a decent guy. He's even working on some plans to upgrade my cybertech" says Cye. "And Tara" asks Z. "Tara is...weird. She constantly flirts with me, and is always keeping an eye on me" says Cye. "Would you like me to remove her" asks Z. "Nah, I've gotten used to her now, actually more than used too. I've actually grown attached to her" says Cye. "And what about you, how are you holding up" asks Z. "Uh, fine I guess" says Cye. "Could you tell me about your father" asks Z. "My father? Where did that come from" asks Cye. "Well, I decided to eavesdrop on you last night and heard your confession to the team" says Z. "You were listening to us" asks Cye. "I'm part of the government. We're always listening" says Z. Cye shudders at the thought. "When you were telling the story, you didn't mention your father" says Z. "Never knew him. He died before I was born" says Cye. "I'm sorry to hear that. It must be awful being alone" says Z. "It was, but not so much anymore. I've got the team to rely on" says Cye. "I see. I hope it goes without saying, you may rely on me as well" says Z. "What about you? Any family" asks Cye. "Nope. My wife died in a car accident some years ago, and my daughter died in a villian attack. Now I have nobody" says Z. "I'm sorry for your loses" says Cye. Z smiles at Cye. "I hope this isn't akward, but I think of you heros as my children. I want you to stay safe out there, and watch out for each other" says Z as he puts his hand on Cye's shoulder. Cye smiles back. "Thanks, I'll let the team know. I should probably get back though, Samantha will give me an earful if I'm late for school" says Cye. "Are you sure you don't want anything for the road" asks Z. Cye shakes his head and walks out. Z shrugs his shoulders, and waves over a waitress. Later at school, Samantha is heading to her next class, when Carver walks by with a black eye a busted open lip. "Carver, are you-" starts Samantha. "Leave me alone" says Carver. Samantha goes to say something, but stops and just leans against her locker. A guy with blonde hair and glasses walks up to Carver and throws him against a wall by his shirt collar. The guy is wearing a red shirt, with a black jacket over it, black pants, and black shoes. "Who was it" asks the guy. Carver says nothing. "Damnit Carver! As your friend-" starts the guy. "It's none of your damn business Ray" says Carver as he pushes the guy away. "It was your foster parents again wasn't it?! Tell me damn you" says Ray. Carver scoffs. "You're not my boss. Neither is Mino, or Kline, or my foster parents. I'm my own boss" says Caver as he goes to walk away. Ray grabs Carver's arm. "You know we'll get this taken care of! We've been friends for years" says Ray. "Well maybe I don't like the way you guys handle things" Carver yells back. "It's for your own good! We've never done anything to hurt you, and we never would" says Ray. "No thanks! I don't need, or want your help, so fuck off" says Carver. Samantha watches as Carver walks away, and Ray walks the other way. She goes to the principal's office and knocks. "Um, excuse me, my name is Samantha-" starts Samantha. The door opens, and the principal opens the door. "Ah yes, do come in dear" he says as he moves so she can walk in. Samantha walks in, and the principal walks over and grabs a cup, then he pours a batch of tea into the cup. "Tea my dear" asks the principal. "No thanks. I'm a coffee girl sir" says Samantha. "Ah, well do feel free to use my coffee machine. My wife got it for me years ago, but I don't drink coffee much" says the principal as he takes a sip of tea. "Thank you sir" says Samantha as she walks over and starts brewing her coffee. "No need for formalities. You may call me Rip. Sir makes me feel old" says the principal. Samantha sits down as she waits for the coffee. "So what brings you to my office dear" asks Rip. "Well sir-er principal rip, it's recently come to my attention that a student may be abused at home by his foster parents. He came in with injuries today" says Samantha. "Ah yes, young Carver. Tell me, did he tell you it was his parents" asks Rip. "Well no sir, but I'm sure if we called the police-" starts Samantha. "Won't work. Carver is a troubled teen, and I can't say anything until he tells a staff member directly what happened" says Rip. "But principal rip-" starts Samantha. "I understand you're worried about the boy, as his principal, naturally so am I, but I'm afraid there isn't much I can do, however, I'll tell you what. I'll call him in here and see if I can get him to talk. It's a long shot, but we must do whatever we can to try and help him" says Rip. "Thank you principal Rip" says Samantha. "You're quite welcome my dear" says Rip. Samantha gets herself a cup of coffee, and before she goes, rip stops her. "My dear, may I ask you a few questions before you go" asks Rip. "Yes sir" says Samantha. Rip tosses a report down. "Recently you did a report in your psychology class about the minds of serial killers, you had a particular selection, Gore Gordon. Tell me, why did you pick Gordon? Was it because he was your teacher" says Rip. Samantha stays silent for a moment. "Apologies my dear. Feel free not to answer" says Rip. "I-I chose him because I had to know why he did it" says Samantha. "Oh? Would you mind giving me a quickie of what you wrote" asks Rip. "Gordon was born a psychopath, manipulating others his whole life. His first known victim was a survivor, his own sister Victoria. He tried drowning her in a pond with a cinder block tied to her leg, but she survived, with severe brain damage. Now her ability to walk and speak are fragile at best. The next victim was years later, a student of his, Debra Walsher tried earning his affections, but as a psychopath, he had no such emotions, and killed her. This began a string of brutal murders that ended in a confirmed body count in the double digits, with his last victim being a little boy before he was shot to death by an officer on the scene" says Samantha. "And what was the reason Gordon started killing" asks Rip. "My personal thoughts are he realized he could. He was a well loved teacher, good at covering his tracks, and good at acting upset about the kills. Maybe he was just waiting until he thought he could get away with it" says Samantha. "Good. I'm very impressed" says Rip. "If I may sir, why ask about it" asks Samantha. "History my dear girl. Gordon was a teacher at this very school, knew you as a person. I feel it's my duty as principal to know about the history of my school" says Rip. Samantha nods and starts walking towards the door. "Do feel free to come back and talk anytime dear" says Rip as he takes another drink of his tea. Later, it was lunch time, and Melcanoir is sitting with Bell, while Troy was sitting with Scott. The rest of the team was sitting at a table together. "Man, that principal gives me the creeps. I met him today, and he just felt so cold and empty" says Cye. "You guys are too hard on him. I talked to him this morning. He gave me coffee and he seemed to genuinely care about the students, and the history of this place" says Samantha. "He's still creepy" says Cye. "I admit, I was a little taken back by him at first, but he's actually quite refined" says Samantha. Later that night, Carver's foster father has him pinned to the wall of the house by his throat. "You damn brat! When I say lay there and take it, you better not cry understand me" he yells. Carver spits in his eye. He picks up a crowbar and whacks Carver over the head with it, knocking him out cold. "Disrespectful little shit. Dorothy is gonna make sure you listen" says the foster father. Suddenly, Rip walks slowly out of the shadows, and looks at Carver's unconscious body. "My my, what happened here" asks Rip. "He fell, arrogant brat" says the foster father. "Oh really" asks Rip. "Yeah, now beat it" says the foster father. Rip turns around, and starts walking away, but smiles and spins back around. A huge spider leg sprouts from his back and impales the foster father, then goes back into Rip's back. The foster father coughs up blood and falls to the ground. Rip walks up to him. "You've hurt one of my students, and nobody hurts my students and lives. Now, where is your wife? Dorothy? I would so love to meet her" says Rip. A woman walks out of the house and sees the foster father's dying body. "HANK" she yells. "My my. You must be Dorothy. Come, let's get a bite to eat" says Rip as his teeth turn into spider fangs. The next morning, Samantha is watching the news, with Mei Ling looking bored about the content. "Our next story, a couple were found brutally murdered this morning outside their home. After an investigation, evidence was found they were beating their foster child, but little else is know. Police haven't released any new information, but hopefully we'll be able to keep you posted. I'm Kelly Kellington, HBG news" says the reporter. "They were abusing their foster kid? How sad. They deserved what they got" says Cye. "You shouldn't say that. All life has meaning, even if it belongs to scum" says Samantha. "Hey, all I'm saying is, I'm not gonna cry over it" says Cye. "Tis our duty to save those in need, be they saint or sinner" says Mahrin. "Change channel" says Mei Ling. "What could be more interesting than the news" asks Samantha. "Literally anything else on TV" says Cye. Samantha rolls her eyes and changes the channel. "Hey Cye, I'm still working on the plans for your arms but I had a new idea. What if I instal a miniature jetpack into your Cyber wings, so you can fly again" says Troy. "That's actually a pretty good idea" says Cye. Troy smiles, and opens his laptop. "Alright Alice, start helping me come up with some schematics" says Troy. "Master I'm bored" says Alice. "I know but we've got work to do" says Troy. "But that's so boring. Let's play a game instead" says Alice. "She's kinda rebellious isn't she" asks Cye. Troy sighs. "You have no idea" he says. "Game" says Alice. "Alright, calm down. You can play it on your own, and I'll work on the schematics" says Troy. "But master, we usually do everything together" says Alice. "I'm sorry Alice, but I've got work to do" says Troy. "It's all that she devil Tara's fault! You never would have come here if you didn't want to see her so bad" says Alice. "Of course, I was hoping I could find something in her programming to help enhance you" says Troy. Alice puffs out her cheeks. "I don't believe you" says Alice. "What else could I have wanted" asks Troy. "You're dumb master! A big stupid dummy" she says as she disappears from the computer screen. Troy sighs. "Why is she always mad at me" Troy asks himself. "You've got a lot to learn about woman bud" says Cye. Troy's screen lights up and his eyes widen, then he starts typing. "What? Did Alice hack you or something" asks Cye. "No. There's a robbery in progress in a bank a few blocks from here. I'm hacking the security feed right now" says Troy. Cye watches, but right as the video pops up, it turns to static. "Uh oh" says Troy. "What does that mean? Did you break something" asks Cye. "No. Someone either set up anti hacking software, which causes the cameras to crash when hacked, or someone is destroying the cameras" says Troy. "Guess we're going in blind. Who do we got on hand" asks Cye. Mei Ling, Samantha, Tara, Mahrin, and Troy hold up their hands. "Are you serious?! Where is everyone" asks Cye. "Hannah took them shopping. They really needed a diverse wardrobe" says Samantha. "What about Mahrin? He wears the same thing everyday" asks Cye. Mahrin looks insulted. "I'm not sure that's the main problem here" says Samantha. "You guys go on ahead. Tara can contact the team, and I'll try to find another camera nearby to give you a visual what your up against" says Troy. Cye nods, and everyone rushes out besides Tara and Troy. When they get there, an African American man with an odd looking gun is walking out of the bank with a sack of cash. He has a goatee, with long braided hair. He's wearing expensive looking furs, with gold rings, and necklaces everywhere, and a fuzzy top hat on his head. "Why the heck would someone like you need to rob a bank. You blow all your money on one outfit" asks Cye. "Fool, I'm the Money man. I don't need it, I just want it nomsayen" asks the bank robber. "Well, too bad for you, we're here to take you down" says Cye. Mei Ling fires an arrow at him, but he shoots the gun at the arrow and the shot goes right through and hits a nearby wall with incredible impact. Cye looks at it. "I-Its a quarter" says Cye. "That's right fool. Theses suckers hurt way worse than bullets. Get hut with one of these, and yo bones broke" says Money Man as he starts firing it off rapidly. The team takes cover behind a car. Cye gets a call and answers it. "Hey Cye! This guy has a money gun" says Troy from the other end. "Yeah, I got that. He almost just made me worth a dollar more" says Cye. "Crap, well Tara has called the team, they're on their way. I don't have a great view, but it looks like he may be weak to sneak attacks from either side, as long as you can get someone over there without detection. Also, he's got about 25 shots before he has to reload" says Troy. "25 shots, shoots quarters. Oh the irony" says Cye. "That's about all I've got for you at the moment. I'll try running his face through the database, find out who he is" says Troy as he hangs up. "Alright, so what's the decision here? Are we going to try and take him down ourselves, or wait for backup" asks Cye. "Tis unwise to leave him unattended for long. He may escape" says Mahrin. "Good point. Here's the game plan. Mahrin, you go left, when you see an opening, try and disarm him. Samantha, you go right. The moment he's disarmed, use those weird chain things to subdue him. Meanwhile, me and Mei Ling are going to distract him" says Cye. Everyone nods, and Cye comes out from behind the car and uses his wings as a shield. "Mei Ling! Use my wings as cover" says Cye. Mei Ling slides over the hood of the car and slides in between Cye and his wings. Money man starts firing at Cye's wings, but the coins are bouncing off. Mahrin and Samantha use the time to go their respective ways. "I see you running sucka" says Money Man as he points his gun towards Mahrin. Cye quickly opens his wings. "Mei Ling! Do it" says Cye. Mei Ling draws back her bow, and fires, but again Money man shoots the arrow out of the sky. "Ha! Thought you could distract me with a simple diversion? I'm the Money man suckas" says Money man. Cye closes his wings again, and Money man opens fire upon them once more. Soon, his gun clicks, and he pulls out a new clip. An arrow flies from the left and knocks Money man's gun away, then Samantha's chains wrap around Money man. "Awe hell nah" says Money man. "We did it" says Samantha. "Hey boss! What's wrong" asks a guy as a group of masked individuals walks out of the bank. "Take cover" yells Cye. Everyone takes cover, and the masked individuals start shooting in the three directions. Suddenly, Kite speeds by and knocks down one of the guys. Everyone goes to shoot him, but a green barrier appears around him, and Xigara floats down into it. Then a few fireballs fly down and make the masked guys run in terror, then Hannah comes out with a pillar, and swings it into them, knocking them down. Money man tries to run, but Melcanoir steps out and smiles. "Know the might of Melcanoir plebian! Aranas mar eno dela mula rana" says Melcanoir. Magic bindings surround Magic Man and take him down to the ground. "Awe, why you gotta do a player like that" asks Money man. Cye gets a call from Troy. "Hey, just calling to let you know, there was a hit on the facial recognition software. His name is Otega-" starts Troy. "Too late. He's already down" says Cye. "Oh...well...yeah" says Troy. "Relax bud, you did good for your first time" says Cye. Troy makes a sigh of relief. "Good, because I really don't want that agent sending me away" says Troy. Later, Cye and the others are heading home, when suddenly Cye gets a call from an unknown number. Cye answers it. "Hello" asks Cye. "Cye" asks a familiar sounding voice. Cye's eyes widen, and he stops dead in his tracks. "I-It...can't be" says Cye. "Cye! Please help me, he's coming I need-" starts the voice. Suddenly a scream is heard. "Hello, White angel. It's been a while" says a voice. Cye begins to tremble. "That trembling tells me you remember me. I'm touched" says the voice. Cye starts looking around. "Where are you, you son of a bitch" asks Cye. "Now now. Why ruin the game? I just called to let you know I haven't forgotten you either, in fact, I'm working on something right now, just for you" says the voice. "Wh-whats that" asks Cye. "Awe, don't you like surprises? I hope you do, because this one is a real heart stopper" says the voice, then the call ends. Cye drops his phone. "Are you okay" asks Samantha. "Who called" asks Kite. "I-It was Annie...my sister. (Drops to the ground). That's...that's impossible. I saw her die with my own eyes, and then...then he got on the phone" says Cye. "Who" asks Melcanoir. "The shadow guy" says Cye. "What did he say" asks Xigara. "That he had a surprise for me, and said something about a game" says Cye. "Maybe it was just a prank" says Hannah. "No. I know my sister's voice, and I know the voice of her killer. There is no doubt in my mind it was them" says Cye. "Are you sure your sister's dead" asks Samantha. "I went to the funeral! I watched as they buried her 6 feet under! I watched the people who showed up cry! I know" says Cye as tears start rolling out his eye. Mahrin gets down by Cye and puts his hand in his shoulder. "We shall find this man, and we shalt avenge thine sister. This I promise. Thou art our leader, and we shalt stand by thine side to the end have thou the need" says Mahrin. Cye nods and stands up. "I'll make that bastard pay" says Cye. Meanwhile, back in the unknown location, the two figures stand again. "Are the preparations finished" asks Figure 1. "Yes. Project bug bite is ready to launch" says figure 2. "Good then release them. It's time for the carnage to begin" says Figure one. Soon, a giant swarm of bugs start flying through the city, and began biting everyone they see, some among them being Vivi, Carver, Mino, Ray, and more...