Fred POV
"Aaaaand... Go!" I yelled. Then, ignoring my surroundings, I grabbed the glass standing in front of me and drained it. Before the sharp taste of alcohol could attack my esophagus, I emptied the second and third before I got an acute bout of coughing.
"Gosh... that was... terrible idea!" I mumbled, trying to grab a glass of water, but the brunette sitting to my right quickly took it out of my reach.
"That's what you get for being a child." She announced with a shitty smile. Not playing around, I used telekinesis to rip the glass out of her hand and place it in mine, then quickly emptied its contents.
"That's seems funnier in the movies." I confessed feeling better now and rubbed my mouth. "But still, three to two. I won!" I exclaimed to my other teammate. Finn however, shrugged and continued writing on his phone.
"Don't brag, it's not cool." The boy pretended he didn't care about his disgraceful failure. "I'm changing my review for this place. The drinks keep getting better and so is fun. Selfie on the Fanpage!" He grabbed my arm and, before I could react, dragged me over to his side of the table and took a picture of us.
"Bionic heroes get drunk in a low-level Bulgarian bar. Your fans will love it." Our team leader, Samantha announced in a sarcastic tone.
"This makes us seem more relatable to them." He muttered nonchalantly.
"Sam, chill out for a while. We just have completed our 100th mission. If you relax for one evening, nothing bad will happen." I pointed out.
"Whatever. I'm just here to make sure you two don't cause any trouble and bring shame on the academy. Again." She added. I sighed. That's Sam for you, but then again, her maturity and responsibility is a great balance for me and Finn.
But if there is a day when she should chill out a little, it is today. We just completed our 100th mission, which translated into a hefty bonus to our already substantial earnings as a bionic heroes. When we weren't participating in missions, we trained. Sam's tough leadership didn't leave us with much free time or energy. Not that we hold it against her. Thanks to that, our team was one of the most effective in the academy, only surpassed by mentors' ones.
Anyway, yesterday we completed our 100th mission and decided that it was a great excuse to finally try alcohol. I mean to celebrate all these saved human lives, of course. That.
The only problem was that as a 19 year old we couldn't legally consume alcohol, but what was the use of having the ability to teleport anywhere on earth, other than to go somewhere where it is legal? Logan recommended Bulgaria, beautiful place during the holiday season. A short visit to one of the numerous Currency Exchanges, and here we are.
"Seriously guys, this is your first contact with alcohol. Even a non-radical amount can make you feel bad the next day, and I'm not going to bother with you when that happens." Our leader grumbled.
"We know smartass, it's called hangover. Adam says other people our age are having it all the time." Finn smirked.
"Yes, Adam..." Sam grimaced as her not-so-well-disguised aversion to an irresponsible leader battled with her innate respect for authority.
"She isn't wrong though. We could take a little break and see what else this place has to offer. Logan had a lot of praise for the city over the holiday season, and it would be a shame to spend the entire evening at this bar." I proposed. Finn's face lit up.
"Oh, we can play the slots or try out what the locals call the wahadelko."
"Wahadelko?" I looked at our leader. Bionic intelligence allowed her to recognize every language, so she would surely know what it was.
"A roller coaster in the shape of a swing. Not the best idea in a set with alcohol." She noticed.
"Stop being dramatic, we barely started."
"Let's go, you'll be able to take more pictures later." I proposed, a moment later we all got up and headed for the exit, leaving the table to be cleared by the waiters.
Once outside, we heard a distinctive beep signifying a police vehicle. We turned to the main street curiously, and the sound became more rhythmic. Two policemen in a strange local police car danced to the music played by their rooster, happily waving to the crowds next to them, as the people were waving back.
"See? Even police officers around here are wasted!" I smirked to Sam and waved as well.
"Where did you two bring me?" She yelled pitifully.
"I need a bathroom." Finn announced, and without waiting for our reply superspeeded on a small clearing behind a makeshift amusement park.
"You may have used the bar's restroom a minute ago you animal!" Our leader yelled after him, and if the boy heard it, he wouldn't give any sign of it.
"Do you want to bet that after the pathetic amount of vodka we drank, he will fall over while superspeeding?" I smirked, and she faceplamed. I shrugged. It's not a big deal; Speedsters fell all the time. It may have bruised, but with our enhanced bionic endurance, it posed no health risk. "You know what? You are drinking the next round with us and I am not taking no for an answer."
I said and immediately followed Finn lest she had time to reply. Yes, maybe for the first time in her life, Sam will relax.
"Finny? Finny Finny Finny Finnyyy!" I called out, and for some reason found calling my best friend like a little kitten extremely funny.
A few seconds later, Sam materialized next to me. Now that I think about it, teleporting is a much better idea than speedsteering through this brush. Such a smartass.
"He's there." She pointed to a dark spot between the trees, and moments later Finn actually walked out of there.
"Oh look at me, I'm Samantha and I watch people pee with thermovision." He mocked in a squeaky voice.
"Eww, no! I wouldn't be even able to see... Nevermind." The girl cut herself off, remembering her resolve that she was not going to be caught up in verbal scuffles with us. I smirked wondering, how long is it gonna last.
"Okay guys, I'm a liter lighter!" He exclaimed happily, which made Sam winced again. "Now I'm ready and steady for the wahadelko!"
As the boy ran past us and we were all about to head towards the huge machine visible from a distance, when a sudden flash of light illuminated the darkness. The light disappeared as soon as it appeared. It looked like lightning, but there was not a single cloud in the sky. When we turned around, we noticed that it was actually made by a phone in the hand of a girl approaching us from the side of the town.
Human eyes wouldn't be able to see it at this distance, but our bionic eyes were far superior to human ones. The stranger must have seen how we use bionics and came after us from the city, because it is impossible for her to notice us here. From the broad smile on her face, I could tell she was excited about the meeting, probably a fan of some kind. The girl was very short, that was the first thing that caught my eye. She had black hair, but the two ponytails pinned up at the sides were dyed pink.
"Oh, hi." I waved her hello, surprised. The stranger did the same, then she slowly moved to meet us.
"Good evening." Sam greeted calmly, as if meeting in the clearing in the middle of the night was perfectly normal, then added. "Do you speak English? знаеш Ли български език?" she repeated in another language that was probably the native language of the local. God, thank you for our leader with bionic intelligence.
The stranger looked at Sam, then stuck out two fingers and pointed at the first with her other hand.
"Just English then?" I reasoned and she nodded. Ok, that's weird. She spoke English, so why didn't she speak up? She didn't look abashed, so maybe she was mute? I was not perhaps the most socially adapted individual, no one from the island was, but even I knew that disabilities are not supposed be mentioned right of the bat. My best friend on the other hand...
"You're mute?" He asked in a tone too cheerful to suit the question. While I wanted to set him on fire with a look (I actually could do that) a girl with a still happy expression on her face tilted her hand several times to the sides, which I interpreted as 'sort of'. But sort of? How can you be sort of mute?
"Did you need something from us?" Sam asked, certainly capable of recognizing girl's answer, if she had used sign language. The stranger did not do it; instead she nodded and showed her phone display to Finn, who was standing right next to her now. The boy's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Oh, you're following my posts? It's so cool! Were you like tracking us based on photos and reviews I published today?" He asked, being a volcano of energy, and the girl nodded her head with equal enthusiasm multiple times, still smiling happily.
So we have a fan? It's not unheard of, but they're usually not that open-minded and brave. But if we are to make the poor mute stranger happy, why not? (It would make Finn just as happy).
"So you probably already know, but I'm Finn, this is my best friend Fred and our fearless leader Samantha. Nice to meet you!" He exclaimed cheerfully, then they shook hands.
"Remind me, what you just did with that hand in the woods?" Sam muttered, but the stranger didn't seem flustered. I was wondering if it was possible to give her name in sign language or if she would write it down on the phone, but Finn didn't give her a chance and continued.
"We can take a few selfies and then we are about to check out the wahadelko. You can come around if you would like to..." He was talking, and I was about to kick him to give the girl a chance to give her name to us, when he broke in half sentence. "Dang girl, you have a strong grip." He praised with a struggle in his voice.
I started to giggle at my friend overpovered by a younger girl, but when he not only grimaced but also fell to his knees, I realized something was wrong. And when a terrible scream escaped from his mouth I knew something was wrong.
"What are you doing?" My brain hasn't cath it yet, still shocked by the situation, but Sam has already taken action. The lack of super speed didn't bother her as she instead teleported right next to the couple.
"Stop!" She exclaimed, but before she could strike, the younger girl waved her hand casually, telekinetically pushing my leader away. Sam groaned in pain as she landed in the bushes in the more overgrown part of the clearing.
My initial confusion vanished and all traces of alcohol intoxication disappeared as well, as my training took control. I quickly assessed the situation, then threw a ball of pure energy at the stranger. She had superpowers and attacked us, posing a threat to my team, which meant no leniency. Not that the girl needed it.
With superhuman reflexes, she caught the ball with her free hand, like we were planning basketball. She smiled again as the ball in her hand turned from blue to red and then trew it back at me. I was about to jump back, but Sam formed in front of me, quickly creating a force field to block the attack. It was effective, but I had to catch her on her back when she was pushed from behind to keep her from falling to the ground.
It didn't bode well, as she usually blocked my attacks without blinking an eye. The villain (I've decided call her that for now) had to significantly increase the power of the energy ball. But who the hell was she, and how did a kid like her get so powerful?
"I called a back up." Sam announced after regaining her balance. Meanwhile, Finn seemed to regain his sanity despite the enormous pain, as he tried to teleport to escape the attacker. For a tiny fraction of a second his body turned into countless black fragments, but his hand... It's hard to express it, but the stranger only seemed to keep him in a material form with her grip on my friend's hand. In the same second his body returned to its material form. How powerful this person was?
"Did you hear?!" I exclaimed to the villain. "Our back up will arrive soon! Let go of him and surrender, then..." I haven't had a chance to finish. The girl did indeed grant my first request - she released Finn, letting the groaning in pain boy fall on the ground. However, at the same moment disappeared only a millisecond later to reappear right in front of me. I hadn't even had time to register her before, courtesy of a mixture of superhuman speed and strength, I was thrown several meters back.
It didn't knock me out, but I was a little dazed by the impact and the ground. Thanks to my bionic eyesight, I could see Sam showering her opponent with a barrage of aggressive blows, but the villain was avoiding them seemingly with no much effort. The irreverent smirk I had found adorable a minute ago, never left her face.
"Check on Finn! "Sam exclaimed, catching a glimpse of me getting up. Wasting no time arguing, I teleported at my friend's side. He was crying in pain, and the bones on his wrist were unnaturally twisted, but it didn't seem to be life-threatening. Within this short time, the villain managed to temporarily knock Sam to the ground. But instead of seizing the opportunity, she turned to us. I stood up, putting myself between her and Finn, ready to protect the injured compan. When girl's look met mine, she crouched down to grab a handful of dirt. I prepared to activate the force field in case she wanted to throw it at us. But it's pointless, even with super strength, ordinary dirt would not be able to...
My thoughts were interrupted when she joyfully threw the dirt up. She stretched her arms out in front of her and, using telekinesis, stopped right in front of her. But what levitated was no longer grains of earth. Each of them turned into a very small piece of glass, or something like that. I've seen Lexi and Emma do something like that, but they've only ever changed the source material. Transforming objects to change their shapes as well was impossible, even for our most gifted students.
I didn't have time to dwell on it, because as soon as my opponent took her hand in my direction, some of the glass shards moved straight at me. I immediately activated the semicircular shield, blocking all objects flying in my direction. There was the sound of dozens of disintegrated objects as they hit my shield. But then her mischievous gaze went to my barely conscious companion lying on the ground. She waved her hand and all the remaining shards flew towards him.
I lunged back and activated my shield again, but didn't have enough time or space to properly cover both of us. I felt a few shards of glass dig into my exposed legs, but I held the force field until the wave ended. Once I blocked all of the targets I looked at Finn - I think he wasn't hit, but we were both in such a condition that we couldn't get up. At least three pieces of shrapnel dug into my left leg, and the right one was only scratched. Suddenly I noticed that the glass that was stuck in my leg disintegrated. Apparently, this girl's creations didn't last long, which didn't help mine leg, though. Speaking of devil, she slowly walked towards us.
"Can't we talk this through?" I asked pleadingly, and it was then, for the first time since she appeared, that a malicious smile left the girl's face. It was also a time when I realized that it wasn't the wisest thing to say to mute person. "Wait, I didn't mean to..."
She obviously wasn't interested in what I had to say, because with a furious grimace she raised her right hand and it started glowing red. I tried desperately to push her away with telekinesis, but after taking a step back, gritting her teeth, she managed to resist.
"Hey!" suddenly our leader appeared right behind her. Sam grabbed the attacker's arm and before she could react, my friend delivered a super-strength-assisted blow that crushed her jaw. Literally. The girl's head, and a moment later the whole body broke into thousands of microscopic particles as the fist touched her. There was no guts and no gushing blood, just... It's hard to put into words, it's just like old games, when defeated bad guy broke into thousands of pieces.
The only difference is that Sam's opponent was not defeated. Little black dots have parted in all directions and then formed behind her back, becoming smirked tiny girl again. She wasted no time, and Sam barely had a moment to turn around before being kicked in the stomach. My leader tried to defend herself, but after a few seconds she was knocked to the ground by a series of inhumanly strong and fast blows. However, she was quickly picked up by a girl grabbing her by the throat.
"Leave her alone!" I screamed, but when I tried to get up, the wound on my leg reminded of itself.
"Take Finn and run." She muttered weakly, struggling in the villain's embrace. As I stared frozen, a thin white glove materializes on the free hand of the other girl. She stretched her index finger towards Sam, then for the first time I heard a sound coming from her lips. One, short word.
"Poke." She whispered playfully, and her finger moved forward, hitting Sam's eye. The shrill scream was all I registered before the guts hit my throat.
NON POV
A short girl with colored hair materialized in the center of the enormous hall. It was a laboratory filled with computers and all kinds of modern equipment. There were a few scientists in white coats in the corner, staring at computer screens, showing vital signs and various incomprehensible graphs. The girl carefully takes off the bloodied glove and throws it into the air. Then she bows with a smile, and the subject disintegrates before hitting the ground.
"The experiment was a success. As expected, object C1SS95 showed no side effects while abusing Arcturion's energy. Bionic soldiers, as expected, were outmatched despite being outnumbered 3 to 1." The scientist announced to a small device held in the hand. The 'subject' winced, clearly dissatisfied with the indifferent reaction of the newcomers, but the smile returned to her face as the three figures approached.
"You disregarded my instructions." Chloe Castello accused, standing at the head of the group. The girl pointed the thumb at herself and opened her mouth in fake surprise. "Yes, you!" Other girl yelled, getting more and more nervous. The shorter one smiled impassively and looked at the boy standing on Chloe's side, looking for help.
"Actually, you wanted her to find them, beat them, use as many powers as possible, but not kill anyone. Done, done, done and done." Tim happily extended his hand towards the girl. "Cassie, this is your first iconic fight and you rocked it. Atta girl, high five! Other five." He added quickly when Cassie lifted the hand she had permanently disfigured a certain bionic girl moments earlier.
"Stop encouraging her!" The blonde scolded the boy, boiling inside. Why did she have to work with such ... children!
"I agree with Chloe." The only voice of reason other than her spoke. CEO wasn't Sebastian Krane's biggest fan, but at least he was taking things seriously without teasing and horrible jokes. "You crushed her damn eye. That was not the plan." In response, Cassie shrugged apologetically. "And stop with that silence, I know you can talk..." His voice became menacing as he made step by step towards her, but Tim placed his hand on his chest to stop the other bionic man.
"Calm down." He said and handed the chocolate strawberry shake to the colorful girl. (How did she manage to drink it and not throw up, was beyond the rest of them) "You did great kid, I'll take it from here." Cassie nodded, taking the drink with glowing eyes, then danced away satisfied.
"Let's take it outside." Chloe gestured the boys to the door, then called to the scientists still dwelling on their data. "Prepare a report on the stress on the nervous system while using power, and then get the chamber ready. Sienna will tell you what to do next. If we keep the schedule, we will finish the third phase this week."
The scientists dutifully continued their work, and when they left the room and found themselves alone in the corridor, Sebastian continued his tirade.
"Why isn't she trittoned? This is a delicate operation, and this kid is out of control." He accused.
"You said she would obey." Chloe added. Tim raised his hands in a defensive gesture.
"Calm down guys. Chloe, Cassie did what you ordered, so let her have a little fun in the meantime. Seb, I know the plan originally included your brothers and sisters, but face it, bionic is out of date. Soon we will have an army of all-powerful soldiers, it makes no sense to regain the older generation. It will be much easier to just ki... neutralize them."
"We don't neutralize anyone." Chloe stopped him. "That should be enough to send the message. But Tim is right too. Having an army of people like Cassie, we don't need bionic humans. At the same time, there is no need for pointless murders or tearing people's eyes out!" She accused.
"I'll talk to Cassie." Tim promised with a loud sigh.
"Do I need to remind you that the two of us is also these outdated bionic people? Arcturion worked well for Cassie, we have a chamber. I say let's just grab this rock, and have Sienna bring us back to live. I'm sick of relying on that damn piece of metal exploding in my neck when I use too much power." Sebastian started losing his patience. Chloe rolled her eyes, remembering why Sebastian was no better than Tim.
"Power, power, power, more power! You're worst then Tim." Chloe pointed. "Before we start with the three of us, my scientists need to make sure if the chamber works well with magic. We have to test other people. Do I have to remind you that a slight miscalculation can turn us into literal ashes?"
"Now you are starting to act like a leader. I'm so proud and Calla would be too." Tim ignored the punch line as usual.
"Whatever. Just keep this crazy chick away from my eyeballs." Sebastian walked away angrily, making Tim chuckle.
"Keep her under control." Chloe repeated, as Tim saluted and walked away in search of his short friend.
Kaz POV
Peace and quiet. This is what I have been wanting for passing weeks. It's been two months since Tim stole the Arcturion. Or since we gave it to him. Since then, the psychopath has gone underground, not disturbing anyone in our group, not even Chloe. Part of me wanted to believe that he couldn't help himself and touch it, but whatever you say about him, he wasn't an idiot. Tim was basically Bridget's right-hand man, and like the rest of her minions, must have seen what it entailed. But maybe he couldn't help himself? Or maybe his secret benefactors killed him after he did all the work and delivered the rock? I hadn't stopped looking, but there wasn't the slightest hint of Tim.
MISS was checking world monitoring all the time and nothing. I contacted Drake; reportedly several villains are fighting for a place on top after "The Shadow" disappears. I don't know what to think about it. I wanted to kill him, I wanted him to suffer, just as he made me, made us suffer. But the world and all our friends would be safer without him. Anyway, I've exhausted all the leads, but I had one more project that I was leading. Basically Skylar and I.
We were looking for something, anything about Oracle. The demon family wasn't very helpful. Contrary to appearances, they were very talkative, prison can cause this, but the brothers denied knowing about this individual. They did not pay much attention to others, were excited about their quest to take over the world, but she wasn't their family, she wasn't like them.
The comics weren't very helpful at first, but we did come across something in the Doctor Wraths notes. The word Oracle was mentioned in the context of some spell, and Rani promised to have a look at the research of the former boss. She did it rather in fear that we would turn to dark magic to bring Dani back, but I appreciated the gesture.
It gave us many new leads. Magic, any mysterious rituals, be they Satanic or more common sources like the Bible or Koran. Skylar may not have been a master of research, but having access to advanced AI with access to any mobile data in the world can make it work. Thank you Calla.
Then, we found various more and less credible leads. False prophet, demon devouring children. The form of a little girl was repeated surprisingly often, but never in official releases. MISS even extracted a few sketches of priests of minor religions from several centuries ago: The girl looked very much like the one I saw. It was as if someone wanted to make sure that the existence of this being would never be revealed. She was almost always portrayed as some kind of goddess of knowledge.
Researching aside, my relationship with the rest of the team... Let's say it warmed up. I tried to spend as much time as possible with Oliver, but as Skylar had advised, I gave him space for his regrets. Chase on his chasey way was trying too. He felt clearly guilty about our situation as a team leader and I had no heart to push him away. Same with Calla. The girl really did try to help us after Dani died, but I was too angry with the time machine to accept it. Now that I knew she was right about the terrible machine and I was wrong, I tried to make it up to her. She was more than happy to start fixing things between us. I don't know if our team will ever manage to get back to what we were, but it was definitely going in the right direction.
Today we decided to take a break from demonology. What too much is not healthy, especially with such a thing. However, Chase, Calla, Bree, and Jaden have been summoned to a bionic island, some emergency. Oliver and Skylar wanted to go on a date, and considering how Oliver cared about it and how much help the alien had given me in recent months, I decided not to disturb them.
Sara was seeing her friends. The girl managed to befriend so many people immediately after arriving in the city and did not hesitate to use her Elite Force membership status. That's it for hiding from Tim. I've been with them once, but the group was so damn positive I didn't want to spoil the mood.
I also wrote to Chloe, but she dismissed me by saying she was running some ultra-important project that would change the fate of the world. Pfft, boring scientific nonsense. I'm sure it won't be anything important.
So I sat on the couch enjoying a slice of pizza alone. Peace and quiet, peace and quiet. Yeah, I know I could use some, but I've never been good at enjoying these stuff. Maybe I'll catch up on some overdue series? I don't know, The Flash? I mean I could, but this whole Cicada sucks as a villain so much.
"Where have all the good man goooone,
And where are all the gods..."
I jumped up from the couch surprised to hear an overly dramatic singing. I was about to scold MISS for starting the music unexpectedly when I located the source of voice.
"Where's the strong wise Hercules,
To fight the riiiiising oooods."
The little girl was standing on the table with closed eyes, feeling into her dramatic cover. Brown hair, few freckles, slightly crooked teeth, and when they are open, big eyes the color of her hair. The one I have been looking for in countless manuscripts, but very much did not want to see her live. When she finished her short performance, jumped off the table with a smile in my direction.
"Kazyyyyyy!" She exclaimed happily, and I reacted immediately.
"MISS, turn off the cameras, stop recording anything on this floor." I ordered.
"Don't worry Mr. Broadman, you can masturbate as much as you want. This is a completely natural reaction of the human body." Ohh, damn Calla and her AI's lame sence of humor. But what was I supposed to say? Now I'm going to talk to an entity that no one else can see so I don't want you to notice me talking to myself?
"MISS." I repeated begging.
"In fact, it's a pretty healthy process for your organism..."
"MISS." This time my tone was much more angry.
"As you wish." She replied, and I swear I caught the amusement in her voice. With a sigh, I turned an angry glare at the creature that now leapt onto the couch.
"Don't worry, I'll hang out with you!" She exclaimed, undaunted by my (in theory) threatening look.
"Like hell you will. What happened to waiting for me to come back, crawling to you for help?" I asked sarcastically, trying not to show fear to the creature.
"Yes, but considering how much you Leoed-up, since we last talked, I thought you'll die first. Besides, now that you've calmed down, maybe we can actually talk." She jumped up a few times on the couch and then fell on her butt. Strange thing. All the while, I wondered how she is able to interact with material objects while not exerting any influence on them. I moved to sit next to her. She wasn't doing anything wrong, she had that happy, friendly attitude, and yet these strange vibes caused me anxiety, as always.
"I mean, I watched the angry crowd demanding execution, set myself up for a bloody slaughter, but guess what? Nothing happened.*1" She rested her chin on her hand, looking even more like a real kid. "In the meantime you lost one of the most powerful objects in the galaxy to your arch nemesis, even though you had him in your cell!"
"I'm sorry that we are not like you and we're not sacrificing our friends or entire dimensions for our own benefit." I growled.
"You wouldn't have to sacrifice anyone if you knew someone who knows all about everything and could tell you where Calla was being held. Oh wait, I could!" She pointed two thumbs at herself.
"And yet you didn't come to say it. You waited for me to call you to ask something in return." I accused.
"You sound like it's bad. You don't have that moral dilemma while trading favors with this would-be villain Drake." She mocked.
"Well Drake didn't destroy an alternate reality the last time I listen to him."
"That wasn't your reality. You would just want it because your girlfriend was alive there. If it comforts you, she still is." Demon dropped casually. It actually cheered me up, but I couldn't process it because she continued.
"This is a funny thing with humanity. You call yourself the smartest animals on earth, and yet you are the dumbest. In fear of each other, you created a societies, moral principles that are always strangely good for your interests. At the same time, they bind you so that you cannot do what you really want."
"We can be selfless." I argued.
"Sure, as a rule of thumb, do not do something displeasing to another. You are kind to others because you expect them to do it for you in return. You give love because you want someone to love you back. You have lived in this charade for millennia and have convinced yourself that you are good creatures. In fact, there is a selfish motive behind every action you take. Even to make you feel better with yourselves."
"We help strangers even if..."
"Spare it Kazzy. I see many things. Your textbooks consider World War II to be the greatest tragedy of all time, but that's not true. Many equally exquisite and ingenious genocides have occurred in human history." She looked dreamily at the ceiling, and before my eyes I could see a picture of a child to whom someone had just promised cookies.
"Are you going somewhere with this, or...?" I paused waiting.
"Yes you dum dum! The things that you people look at with such disgust are happening throughout the existence of your species. Time you live in isn't different. America, contrary to memes, is quite a peaceful corner of the earth. Europe? Let's say. But Middle East? Iran? Israel? India? Other third world countries? Do you have any idea what life is like there? Sure yes, the news mentions it from time to time."
"I repeat, how this relates to our current topic?" I asked, not understanding how showing my kind's flaws would make me more willing to help her.
"You see, there are people living there who could actually benefit from the help of a superhero. Famines, religious wars, rapes, smoking at the stakes are commonplace in some parts of the world. But you're not helping there, no. You play in your safe yard, extinguish a fire, save property, and occasionally stop a robber. Nothing to jeopardize you. And you know why?"
"Legal regulations? We are not soldiers, and even if we wanted to, we wouldn't stop wars, and the presence of superpowers would only add fuel to the fire." I defended us, reluctantly getting drawn into the conversation.
"Not in the bigger picture, no. But for sure you would be able to safe some individuals. Isn't it how it goes?" Relinquishing the serious mood she had eagerly or reluctantly created, she jumped back on the table and began to sing again.
"Sometimes it's worth to take the risk and fight, fooor eeeevryyyy liiiiiive!" She jumped back onto the couch next to me and continued as if nothing had happened.
"But no. You prefer to save the people of rich countries when their leg collapses. And the rest of the world? The one that does not concern you provides the cheap labor that makes you live in luxury? Look away and pretend they don't exist."
"What I am asking of you is exactly that. Look away. Forget about that little world where you and I have brought misfortune. One of many where people suffer, and as you yourself said, you wouldn't save them all if you wanted to."
"Oracle, I'm not in the mood for philosophical arguments. And they certainly won't convince me to help you destroy my world." I crossed my arms to annoy her by imitating her childish demeanor.
"I don't want to destroy your world. I want to save it! Well, in the short term." She raised her hands as she dropped to the backrest.
"Where's the selfish motive in that?" I asked. She seemed more pleased than embarrassed by the question.
"The association I was talking about, the ones behind Tim. I want them gone. I will help you, but not only with him. If we are to work together, we will get rid of them all." She smiled darkly.
"Why?"
"Why not? You will also benefit from it. They use villains to do dirty work, they are a threat to all of you. You beat Poseidon, it didn't help. You beat Tim, they'll find someone else. There are many wronged people who will wreak havoc if only the resources are provided to them, and believe this organization has a lot of resources."
"I get that, but why do you care?" I skimmed it.
"About that... I could've... form this group 6000 of your years ago?" She smiled innocently.
Chase POV
"I can't understand who could have done this." I repeated sitting at the academy table. After dealing with the crisis, our original team came together to discuss the surprising situation.
"Fred says it might have been some kind of psycho fan." Leo reminded us with an anger in his voice. Fred was the only member of the attacked team whose condition was good enough to talk to us. Fortunately, neither of their lives is in danger, but Samantha has lost an eye and Finn will probably need a bionic arm like Leo.
"The psycho fan doesn't beat three trained, bionic heroes like they were nothing!" I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. Douglas, have UPSEI technicians finished checking the area?"
The man approached us, triggering the holo-screen.
"We found no traces of DNA, and the glass she was using in combat was disintegrated immediately after use. We don't know what could be the source of her power. However, thanks to the photographic memory of Samantha, we know how the attacker looked like. Eddy ran her through government databases and we know who she is with 99% certainty."
A face of a young girl appeared on the holographic screen. The only thing that differed from the one in Sam's memory was the hairstyle. She didn't have her pink ponies, all her hair were black. What caught my eye most, however, was the expression on her face. She was just incredibly sad, which contrasted with the confident smirk she was giving the trio during their fight.
"Cassandra Hamilton, only fifteen?" Jaden read surprised. Douglas nodded.
"A child from an orphanage. The files were established in 2014 when she was a victim of a high-profile scandal of domestic violence. Four children were sexually abused." Douglas took a break, look down.
"Damn it." Bree expressed our thoughts quite delicately.
"When she came back she was physically fine, but according to the papers, it was quite an effort to make her say even a word." My second father continued.
"And they left her like that?" My wife asked, horrified.
"She was referred for treatment, but apart from her reluctance to speak or make any contacts with other people, according to psychologists, she did not pose a threat to herself or others. She wasn't aggressive, just very introverted."
"No wonder. But how did she become a super powerful villain during this time? Has she escaped?" Leo interrupted.
"Yes, but just two months ago. Nobody saw anything, nobody knows anything. But we have a different lead. Guess who else was brought up from this orphanage? Let me give you a hint, a month after these events, he was adopted by the Castello family." I cursed mentally. I think we found the responsible one.
"I spoke to one of the orphanage employees. Your friend Tim reportedly took care of Cassie after she returned, and when he was adopted, the girl shut herself up completely." Douglas kept talking, not letting us slip in. "Coupled with your recent loss of a certain cosmic rock, we can guess at the source of her power."
"Damn it. I was really hoping he touched it and died." I murmured.
"Guys, I guess I'm not up to date. How did she do that and didn't die?" Adam spoke for the first time on the dyscussion.
"We're not sure, but I have some suspicions." My wife looked at me.
"Magic. We suspected that Tim had kidnapped Sienna Heing to have someone fighting by his side, but he never took her with him. He probably wanted her to find some way to safely use the Arcturion." I reasoned. I hate when magic is involved.
"So guy from an orphanage gathers his pals with a life as hopeless as his own and turns them into the strongest creatures on earth?" Adam summoned up.
"To simplify it, yes." I sighed. It was the worst-case scenario, but we were preparing for it. "They certainly wanted to test their new capabilities, but it also allowed us to see what we were up against. Adam, Leo, contact the team leaders and bring all the bionic heroes back to the island. The next time he hits, we must be ready to counter attack immediately." I ordered, and my brothers nodded. Now I have to get in touch with the rest of the team. I got up from my seat to do this when Taylor burst into the room.
"Everyone, come with me quick!" She ordered and without waiting for our reaction, she turned back. We immediately ran after her. I bow down to my fathers invention. Thanks to her glasses, although she was blind, the girl moved through the corridors so quickly that although she did not use bionic speed, it was difficult to keep up with her.
What we saw was certainly not what we expected. Logan and Freya were holding one of our opponents, Sebastian, chained. The man smirked seeing me.
"Chase, best friend." He looked at me. "We should have a word."
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