Chapter 4

The heroes association.

"This isn't good, this isn't good at all!"

"We have no reports of Melee Brawler or Garou. There have been no sightings of their children either. It's like they fell off the face of the earth!"

"I want a full report on this, where they were going, their last known location, everything!"

"What's with all the fuss?" Tatsumaki walked in on a bustling room of agents, all scrambling in trying to find the M Class dragons. "It's no big deal, they will show up sooner than later, after all. Freak boy has to eat!"

"They've been missing for a week!" said one of the head agents. "This is not like them. Melee Brawler answers her phone all the time when we call. We found it in ruins within City K."

"City K? That dump!" she said.

"That's not the only thing we found." One of the secretaries came in with another report. "They have just located two body parts. One left arm… female, one right leg, humanoid with coiled serpents. We believed it to be the leg of Garou. Their phones have also been found, destroyed by intense fire power."

The room froze.

"Are you certain?"

"There is no doubt that the arm belongs to Melee Brawler, the scales on it are a match to our records and the same with the DNA. The leg however we are not certain, but we can assume it is Garou's leg. It's all we have been able to find of them, their phone has been smashed from a powerful explosion."

Not even Tatsumaki could believe it. "You mean to tell me something took out Freak boy with his girlfriend?" she demanded.

"We don't know for certain, but I am fearing for the worst. Still, we don't know what became of their children. No one has seen them either."

Tatsumaki's arms crossed, she turned away disinterested. "I'm not going looking for three little creepy kids!"

"We need to find them, if not, we knows what will happen to them. These children are the sons and daughter of Garou and Melee Brawler! Powerful children with no guidance, no supervision…"

"So what? Send them to a zoo or something, I don't care!"

"You should when they may have your esper abilities" said one man.

"Wait, WHAT!"

"These children have the potential of possessing your esper power, if they do, they could rival even you Miss Tatsumaki. If that is the case and they are on the wrong path, it could be a problem in the future."

"Those little freaks!"

She was quick to fly off, leaving the association. Tatsumaki took to the skies. "All right you little brats, where are you?" she said.

'At home, with their parents.'

She froze, no. It couldn't have been him! 'Garou?" she demanded.

'One and only, thanks for not saying my name out loud, we're trying to keep up the appearance of being dead.'

'What the hell is going on freak boy? You got the whole association in panic mode right now!'

'You know where I live? Come see Melee and I there. We will explain everything, but leave all devices behind. It has to do with metal Knight and he listens in on everything.'

'Paranoid much?' she thought with a snicker.

'At the moment, yes, I am. No phones, come to the house!'

She nearly didn't go, after all, she HATED Garou with a passion and would love nothing more than to see him suffer. Yet, she couldn't help but sense that desperation. He wouldn't want her near his house unless he was. So, with a shrug, she left her phone on the rooftop of the association and took off. She got to mountains in minutes but found the house oddly empty.

'You better not be leading me into a trap, Freak boy!' she thought.

'I don't like traps, if I wanted to fight you I would confront you head on arrogantly!' he said. 'But I also can't fight right now. I am a little bogged down.'

'Humph, you have a point' She descended down and invited herself in. At first the house appeared empty, yet. Tatsumaki sent a pulse through the house. Melee appeared because of it. Glowing the same green she was.

"I…"

'Telepathically only, please'

She rolled her eyes. 'Fine! What!' she demanded.

Melee merely waved her over and brought her into the bedroom. She hovered just in the doorway, only to stare at a bloated Garou! 'What… on… earth…'

'We can explain everything, but let me say this. Metal Knight is not to be trusted!' said Melee. 'He tricked us, tricked our children and took them to a facility in City K to 'test' them. Forcing them to fight to their limit, because of that, our children developed rapidly and grew into teenagers. He fired upon us when we tried to get close to the building. I lost my arm and Garou lost a leg.'

Tatsumaki stared at Melee's severed left arm. It wasn't a lie. 'So why am I here?'

'We have kept up the illusion of us being dead. We are able to hide our vitals and bio signatures with the esper powers we have. But, we cannot hold on to it long. Melee isn't as strong as you, I have no experience with this and am trying as I go. But, I have to be sure that we are hidden until the time is right… I need your help' Garou thought the last bit begrudgingly.

It brought a grin to Tatsumaki. 'Oh? But what's in it for me? Why should I believe any of this to be true?'

Garou's sides began to shift and churn. Tatsumaki nearly looked sick as his right side opened, the serpent uncoiled and released Hunter. She had seen Hunter once before as a child, but, not as a teenager!

He stretched himself out and yawned, Melee however threw arm around him, bracing him close to her. "Mom?" he whispered.

'Not so loud, we're being watched remember?'

Hunter quickly silenced himself. But he saw Tatsumaki floating in the room. "Hi…" he said meekly.

"My God, he is his father's son!" she said aloud. "What the hell happened to you that turned you from a kid into that?" she demanded.

Hunter fell oddly silent, he then tucked his knees to his chest and refused to talk about it. Tatsumaki rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll see for myself!" She placed a hand to his head, from there she saw everything.

She saw the arcade he went to with his siblings, the trap they were pulled into, hearing Metal Knight's voice as he challenged the children. Then, the fights they took on. The robots, monsters and weapons fired upon them by Metal Knight, all for the sake of 'testing' them. She saw Pac bleeding nearly to death, Alley wounded and Hunter trembling out of fear and weakness. Worst still, the chrome walls appeared to show the children their parent's final moments, before being 'eliminated'.

She pulled away as Hunter began to weep. "He hurt us… so badly… Pac… Pac got hurt because I wasn't strong like him. Alley got hurt because I couldn't keep up."

For the first time, she trembled a little. She turned to Melee and Garou, surprised to say the least. "That chrome asshole" she muttered.

"Miss Tatsumaki… I know you don't like us very much. But please, can you help us? My brother and sister have been working on a plan. We think it will work and we will get Metal Knight to confess everything. But, mom and dad…" he paused.

'We need to be hidden.' Said Melee. 'Then we go after Metal Knight!'

"No!" he protested. "We go after him, we want our justice!" Hunter turned to Tatsumaki once more. 'I felt as if I lost my mom and dad once before, I can't lose them for real again! Please… can you help us?'

Her arms crossed she appeared disinterested once more. "I don't like your family, I don't like the people who started your family. I don't like being used," she said.

Hunter hung his head as he once more curled up, "But…" Tatsumaki said. "I will consider it. After all, whose to say the same man won't come after my sister and I for the same sake of 'progress' I will think about it." With that, she left without another word.

'I knew it was a bad idea' thought Garou. 'If she blabs…'

'I don't think she will.' Said Melee. 'Give her time, she may help'