The Adventures of the Hope Squad
Season 1: Chapter 1: The Green Light Lab
Years ago, a red heroine, with her determination and her magical earrings, was able of saving the city from a terrorist with a magical brooch that was able of creating supervillains.
But, well, time passed, and things changed. The heroine had a serious argument with all her teammates, and they split up.
Later, she was recruited to another superheroes team. The most famous of the world. They decided to scatter the miraculouses all over the world. This way, they were safer from falling in the wrong hands.
As you can imagine, things started to change as time passed. A powerful scientific organization got bigger and bigger as time passed. Now, we are at 2018, and the Green Light Lab has become the third or the forth most respected organization in the world!
You probably have heard about it, right? Oh… you haven't, don't worry, I will tell you all about it.
As said before The Green Light Lab is seen as one of the greatest labs in the world. It's known for helping the animals and nature. They have a lot of inventions that have ecological purposes and are Masters of Technology. They usually receive a lot of donations. There might be other labs like this, but the Green Light Lab also accept children to teach them how to become scientists.
But… there are some problems they like to hide. The competitivity here is so intense that it usually becomes toxic. They can also be really… harsh on their punishments.
How do I know so much? Well, I am one of their prodigy scientists. My name is Harry. I am on the blue ranking and my codename is Indigo.
I have been on this lab for almost 4 years, and, let me say that my opinion on the lab has been changing for quite sometime now. Mainly after what they did to my best friends… to be honest they are the main reason I am still here. I can't leave them alone.
Well, now the story can finally properly start…
On the Green Light Lab, all of the young scientists were on their rooms, working on their own inventions. All the walls were cold, made of metal and technological. The only colorful area were big green circles on the walls, that, inside, had the wires that supplied electricity to the entire facility.
Their rooms didn't have doors, beds, or other things like this, only desks. They looked more like cells than proper bedrooms.
Even though, most of those prodigies seemed to be cold and unhappy, one of them, somehow, managed to smile.
"And, just a few more adjustments…" said Harry, while working on one of his inventions.
"And, done! Energy blades! Just with the touch of one button of my armor. Perfect for self-defense" said the blue scientist, pressing a button to generate a blade using the part of his armor that was in his hand.
"Sigh… maybe, they are going to like this improvement" said Harry, feeling happy with the result of his project. His late projects weren't pleasing his superiors anymore.
Every young scientist had the important duty of, besides helping the adults in their bigger projects, create their own inventions and their improvements to their armors.
As soon as the blue scientist put the blueprints on a drawer, he noticed that two adult scientists arrived at his room.
"Young scientist Indigo, your presence is required on the vaporization ray" said one of the adult scientists.
"Immediately" added the other. Both were serious and harsh. Harry nodded and followed them, leaving his room.
The three arrived at the room where the vaporization ray was being constructed.
Meanwhile, one of the scientists was writing something on his digital clipboard. While Harry solved the issue with the invention, he was also going to be interrogated by the scientist.
"So, are you working hard on your semestral projects?" asked the scientist, on a cold and harsh tone.
"Well, I have been working on something big lately… it won't disappoint you" said Harry, a little bit nervous, but trying to sound confident.
"You said this about… last time, and we both know how that ended" the scientist interrogating the boy said on a threatening tone.
Yeah, the lab was a place where you better do the best you can so that you can survive. If you don't… well… things won't turn out well for you.
After some more minutes, Harry was able of solving the problem easily. In the end, it was just a piece that wasn't adjusted well enough.
"This problem apparently had an easy solution. Which kind of failure the past yellow scientists have made?" asked the adult scientist.
The indigo scientist had no idea of what of what answering. If he told the truth, those yellow scientist could be punished and demoted into the orange ranking.
Before he needed to answer though, the bell ring that indicated lunch time rang, which allowed Harry to run away from the room.
The boy quickly arrived at the Meal Hall. At first glance, it looks like a normal school cafeteria. But, just like the rest of the lab, the walls were just cold metal, and no one was truly happy. There were also two adult scientists at the doors, prepared to electrocute any troublemakers.
Harry grabbed a tray and put a little bit of the "nutritive paste" the lab produced with the help of a machine that poured food after recognizing the scientist through a chip at their necks (not their literal necks. They were attached to their armors). It was a goo filled with good nutrients to keep the scientist feed and healthy.
He ended up sitting on a table that was empty. He usually ate there alone, but it wasn't always like this. On his first days as a prodigy scientist, he would be eating with three other boys. Boys he considered his best friends… but things change as time passes…
He started to eat, while trying his best to avoid having bad memories that could cause him pain. Quickly, though, he was stopped by the sound of someone shouting.
"This is unacceptable!" the voice shouted. All of the young scientist turned their heads to see where the sounding was coming from.
It was from a girl from the Purple Ranking, the lowest ranking of the Lab hierarchy. If you are at purple, it means you are probably not very smart at the superior's eyes or have rebellious tendencies.
An adult scientist quickly approached the table the purple scientist was sitting. When a scientist approached you like that, it never means something is about to happen.
"Young Scientist Violet, what is this tantrum about?!" asked the adult scientist. It was a woman with a Cyan lab coat. She was from the Blue Ranking but was close to getting at the Green Ranking.
"It's unacceptable what you are doing to Percy! He hasn't been able of eating for three days in a whole because of that punishment!" screamed the girl, not being able of handling this injustice anymore.
"He needed to be punished! He failed the physical test" the woman retorted. The girl gritted her teeth in anger.
"Look at his size! He was too small to reach that lamp!" the Violet Scientist screamed back, not changing her mind.
"Shut up right now, ungrateful brat!" the Cyan scientist said on a threatening tone, she activated the electric properties of her armor.
"Or what?! Electrocute me! I am not afraid of any of you anymore! We won't accept the way you guys treat us anymore" the Violet rebel screamed.
The Cyan scientist didn't care about any of the things the girl said, electrocuting her and grabbing her.
"Hopefully, you will be better at the red ranking. Or you will be discarded" said the scientist, taking the girl out of the meal room.
Harry shivered at the thought of the red ranking. It was the worst fear of any young scientist.
He grabbed a little bit of the remaining food on his plate and put it on a plastic bag and then got up. He was going to save the girl from that painful fate.
He walked into the imprisonment room. At the door was two older scientists. Both were at the yellow ranking.
"Young scientist Indigo, what are you doing here?" asked one of the scientists on a cold tone.
"I came here because I need the help of young scientist violet for a project. I need her to be released immediately" said Harry, on a formal and cold tone, not wanting to show weakness.
"Scientist Cyan told she must remain imprisoned until she is put in the red ranking" said the other yellow scientist.
"Since the Green Ranking Scientists still haven't judged her guilty or innocent, this means that a Blue Ranking Scientist can still free her from the punishment. And I need her for an experiment" said the indigo scientist on a cold tone.
The two yellow ranking scientists nodded in agreement. The boy was right. The rules allowed that. They allowed him to enter the room.
Harry quickly went into the girl's cell and used his chip to deactivate the electric cages. He helped her get up, because she was tired from the previous attack.
"Thank you, Harry…" the girl whispered, not being able of saying much more. The Indigo Rebel smiled, happy to be able of helping.
With his help, the girl was able of leaving her cell and walking into the hallway's direction.
After some more minutes of walking, the girl seemed to be slowly recovering from the attack. At the end of the hall, there was two boys waiting. One was Percy, and the other was around Harry's and the girl's ages.
"Chelsea! You are okay!" said the older boy, running to hug her. His name was Breehn, he was from the yellow ranking, and was Chelsea's boyfriend.
"Thanks, Harry. You are a hero" said the Mustard Scientist, thankful for the boy's kindness.
"No problem. But, Chelsea, please be careful. The Lab is going to focus more and more on you. If a Green Ranking Scientist punishes you next time, I won't be able of helping" said Harry, truly worried about the girl's safety.
"We need to put the plan in action as quick as possible. It's getting more and more dangerous for us" said the Mustard Scientist, forgetting that the indigo scientist was there.
"Plan?" asked Harry, not understanding what they were talking about. The two other teen scientists exchanged glances. They didn't want anyone to tell about it. But, they trusted Harry.
"Harry… lately, the three of us have been thinking about running away from the lab. It started some months ago, but after Percy's punishment, we have decided we needed to do something soon. And now, we need to do it even sooner. We are in danger here, Harry. It's only a matter of time." said Chelsea, explaining what was happening.
"I have also been searching and researching things, and I think that I have found somewhere safe from the lab" said Breehn, finishing the explanation.
"The plan was just the three of us going, but we would like to invite. For everything you have done to us and the others" the violet scientist continued.
"So, what do you think?" asked the mustard scientist. The three scientists kept looking at him with warm smiles, hopeful that they could help him.
The Indigo Scientist sighed.
"Sorry, but I can't" he said. It was clear that it was something a part of him wanted, but couldn't.
"It's because of them, right" Chelsea asked, knowing the main reason Harry kept living there.
"Sigh, I need to protect them. If I don't, who will? I am the only Indigo that can protect the other prodigies and them," said the indigo scientist.
"We understand" said Breehn, knowing and respecting the reasons the boy wanted to stay there.
Before the conversation came to a definitive end, though, Harry grabbed the bag he put food before from his pocket.
"Oh, and for you, Percy, I have a little bit of food here. If you want it, you can have it" said Harry, handing the little boy a part of the food he stored there.
"Thank you! Thank you!" said Percy, happy and grateful for the food. He quickly grabbed it and started to eat it as quickly as possible.
"If you three don't mind it, I need to go somewhere" said the indigo rebel, trying to sound happy.
"Going to check on them?" asked Chelsea, on a slightly melachonlic tone.
Harry's face turned into a small frown, and he nodded. It was something that hurt him a lot, but also brought relief to his heart in a way.
The boy returned to the previous room. This time, the guards weren't there at the door. He walked for a while before arriving at a purple electric cage.
It was written "Soundblast" in the control panel of the cell. He approached it and used his chip to create a small opening.
"Hey, I have some food" said Harry, putting some of the food at a plate like object at the corner of the cage through the opening.
He heard slow and cold metal steps approaching the plate's direction. It was someone who used to be his friend. Now, he turned into a cyborg with sonic cannons instead of hands.
Soundblast did his best to remove the metalic part in front of his mouth so that he could it. Since he didn't have hands anymore, he kneeled on the ground and tried his best to lick it.
The Indigo Scientist was on the verge of tears, but he couldn't cry. Not yet, at least. He needed to look optimistic, even if he wasn't.
Then, he started to move in the direction of the cell nearby. This one was red, though. The control panel of this one had the codename "Tameless" written.
But, different than the first one, while Harry was putting part of the meal at the plate, Tameless, a sort of animal and human hybrid creature, almost ripped the boys' hands off with its teeth.
Luckily, the Indigo Scientist managed to remove it right on time. Tameless was eating that meal like he was a starved wolf. Well, in a way, he was a starved wolf.
Harry sat with some safe distance in the middle of the space between the two cells. This way, he could look at the two experiments at the same time, even if the two were behind electric bars.
"It is almost like old times, right?" asked the Indigo Rebel, trying to make the other two smile. But it didn't work… as usual. Those two stopped being who they were a long time ago.
"Still as emotional as always" said a voice coming from somewhere nearby. It was a serious and dry voice, devoid of any feeling or emotion. The worst part was that Harry knew who the owner of the voice was.
"What are you doing here? Are you going to mock us?" asked the indigo scientist, looking at the owner of the voice. It was another prodigy scientist.
He was from the green ranking, though. The highest ranking any scientist could be. His uniform was similar to Harry's, but the colors were green instead of blue, and he had technological limb-enhancers.
"I came here to verify the state of two important experiments of the lab. And you?" Lime asked, on the same emotionless tone.
"Came here to take care of our friends. After all, I still care about them. Unlike you" said the Indigo Scientist, answering on a harsh tone.
"They are this way now because of their laziness and lack of hard work. If they had worked harder, like me, they would have gotten much farther, like me" the green ranking scientist said, on the same tone. This time, though, there was a bit of arrogancy on his voice.
"Your hard work? We both know you are only on the Green Ranking because of me, Jeff!" Harry said furiously. Lime was slightly surprised and scared by it, walking away in fear. It didn't took long though for his arrogancy to return.
"That's… Don't call me that! The Lab wants us to cherish the codenames they gifted us!" said Lime, finally breaking the silence.
The Indigo Scientists didn't even had time to formulate a clear answer on his head, because an alarm went off.
"Attention. All of the Scientist must appear in the main hall in the next 45 minutes. Green ranking scientists must present themselves right now" said a voice through a speaker.
Lime tried to recompose himself to look perfect for his superiors. It seemed like that entire argument didn't even happen.
"If I, were you, I would prepare myself to look more presentable at the reunion. Maybe the superior might finally promote you. Now, if you don't mind, I have important green commitments to attendance" the lime scientist said, leaving his old friend alone in the room, with the experiments that used to be human.
Harry was disappointed, but not surprised. Jeff had changed a lot during their stay in the lab. Well, all of them had.
He sighed. Time to prepare himself physically and mentally for what sort of announcement the lab had this time. It probably wasn't good, because it never was, but it was his duty to be there.