AN: Updated two stories today! One on 'better not rest' and the other one on here! Hope you enjoy today's special and this chapter!

Chapter 5 - It Will Hurt When It Stings

Snake's announcement came in like a tidal wave.

Shark and Webs glanced at each other, wondering if they should take the chance. The former wasn't comfortable, but as long as Diane kept to her promise that they wouldn't assassinate anyone, he could tolerate it. The latter had her hand already up, willing to join for this black-ops mission. While hung up from Hornet being unable to join, she could try to complete this mission on time.

Piranha and Hornet poked their heads out of a door, apparently finishing sorting things out with Fuchsia. The former wasn't sure about this due to the circumstances of the mission. He turned to Hornet, who gave him a stoic but resigned look.

Piranha sighed, nodding a little.

"Alright then!" said Wolf with a neutral look. "So this confirms the Bad Guys will help out!"

Piranha hummed. "Something still feels funny about this mission. Is there anything else you think is off?"

Hornet shrugged. "As much as I want to provide, I have nothing else. Just…use this to see what the 'government' is up to."

"Got it then! I'll stalk like a hawk!"

"Stalk who?" asked Fuchsia, suddenly poking her head from below them.

In response, Piranha calmly pushed Fuchsia back inside the room and Hornet slammed the door to ensure she didn't hear another peep from Wolf.

"What is that all about?" questioned Fuchsia.

"Nothing!" said Piranha, smiling nervously. "It's not what it looks like."

"I swear that I heard 'the government'."

Piranha and Hornet glanced at each other. It wouldn't be wise to share information about a secret task with an ordinary civilian. Hornet might have heard about it, but he wasn't left in the dark and given clear instructions.

Fuchsia, on the other hand, was someone who wasn't even known by Diane yet. Piranha knew the red-eyed piranha would be much to handle if she knew.

The little fish was struggling to come up with a response, giving Hornet a begging look. The little bug suddenly got an idea of what to say.

"It's community service," he said.

Fuchsia crossed her arms. "Community service?"

"They…were given the option to do so or not in exchange for reducing their prison sentence," said Hornet, fidgeting with his good right antenna. "The government needed them to do some specific clean-ups elsewhere."

What he said was the truth, so they could breathe. That would make Fuchsia oblivious to the actual task. Nevertheless, Fuchsia wasn't too convinced.

"Well, but the Bad Guys already went to prison once, and wouldn't the government have slapped community service onto you earlier?" she questioned.

"Hey," said Piranha, crossing his arms. "We're deciding for ourselves. Thank you very much."

Fuchsia shrugged. "Whatever it is, I wouldn't take the government's word kindly. You shouldn't even trust whatever they say."

The little fish's shoulders drooped. "Yeah."

"I'm getting a lot of vibes of that," muttered Hornet.

Fuchsia nodded, turning around to look through her backpack. "You know what, Pepe? I thought that becoming a criminal could change my parents' minds. Though, being with the Bad Guys? That's a bit low. They never lost interest in you."

"Hey!" said Hornet defensively. "We're not low! We're great as a team."

"I just noticed that being on the team made him soft."

Piranha whipped around, facing Fuchsia. "Soft? Soft?! You think that I cannot do anything un-soft?!"

"Whoa, whoa," said Fuchsia sarcastically. "Temper. Temper."

"Look, they are my family. I know you want your parents to hate me, but the Bad Guys are my family, not yours or theirs. And I got to go on the best adventures of my life." As if to prove this, Hornet landed on his head with a similar stony look. "So, I know what I'm doing and can do anything with them."

Fuchsia glanced at Hornet. "But, there are still people who will hate you for what you are. People like us. Don't forget, it's our instinct to feast on the flesh. I thought you lived by that before."

Piranha blew a raspberry. "Not for me."

"I thought that would happen since you went on a frenzy. At least nobody confirmed to me that you have a zero body count."

"Well, I'm telling you now," said Piranha matter-of-factly.

Hornet whistled. "The police assumed and placed on his criminal sheet that he was 'eating terrorists'. The only worst crime he did was breaking the bones of random thugs."

Piranha raised an eyebrow. "Wait, how did you get info on-"

"Best not to ask, sweetie," said Hornet. If he told him, then he and Webs would be in trouble.

Fuchsia wanted to argue but decided to refrain from doing so. Part of her motive was getting her parents off her back, but she always liked leaning into being the more carnivorous predator of the lake.

To see Piranha not being that was an annoyance. He used to be quite wild. Did spending time here soften himself?

Trying to think about something else, she observed Piranha's body to see if he changed compared to the last time she saw him. Her bored, dull eyes shifted around, seeing no significance.

Then, she suddenly realized that Hornet had called Piranha 'sweetie'.

She noticed the golden engagement rings they were wearing.

"Are you two actually a couple?" asked Fuchsia, her red eyes glowing. "Are the rumors true?"

"Oh yes!" said Hornet, pecking a kiss on Piranha. "We're engaged."

"For life!" added Piranha, grinning.

"Forever and ever!"

"Taken!"

"Unavailable!"

Fuchsia's train of thought paused, but she could get used to it. She had been developing in her tastes lately.

"Ah, alright then," she said, nodding. "OK, I'll give you two that since you did try. Anyway…Pepe and Hornet…did you two even try wielding a knife?"

"I'm sorry, what?" said Hornet, dumbfounded.

The red-eyed piranha threw open her luggage to reveal that it was meant to be a suitcase carrying numerous knives. From the knives you would use in a kitchen to blades that soldiers would use in a war. She probably had the whole collection due to how many sizes she fit in the suitcase nicely. When it opened, an intense shine emitted from the sharp bits.

Hornet was nearly tempted to cover his eyes due to the knives' shine. He gasped, wondering how many knives Fuchsia possessed. They must have acted as replacements for the knife currently hanging from her belt.

Piranha gasped, but he clapped his hands like an excited child. He had never seen a massive collection like this before!

"Would you…ever pick up a knife again?" asked Fuchsia, seeing the childlike sparkle in his eyes.

"Well, I'm not using it to kill people," said Piranha, picking one up. "Maybe I can just use it for…well…you know! Cutting ropes! Slicing other weapons! Being up in a deadly sword fight! Oooh! Maybe cutting open those pesky watermelons!"

Blabbering away, Piranha gradually became lost in playing with the knife, swiping the air like a sword. The knife suddenly looked more like a toy, complete with the unhidden glee from Piranha as he imagined himself as a dashing knight.

Hornet chuckled, watching his boyfriend play around. He could sometimes be a goofball, making him really loveable and endearing. It was also impressive since Piranha even caught the knife when he threw it upwards.

Fuchsia randomly took a photo of the moment. "Huh. So that's why slasher villains are like this, Mister…"

"Oh, it's Hornet," said Hornet, turning around.

"Aren't you an Asian Giant Hornet? AKA, 'Murder Hornet'?"

A full second Hornet needed to get through first. "Don't call me that. I'm nothing like the hornets who slaughter other colonies. Just…" He paused for a second, closing his eyes. A faint voice from a memory, but he blurred it out. "...don't ask further."

"Right. OK." Fuchsia cleared her throat. "Mr. Hornet, right? Are you running this detective department run by mercenaries? I heard about it when I first landed."

"Yeah, though I'm not exactly the employer. I'm more of their lead director and run my own business. There are other detectives in the department; most of them are mercenaries. But I let them do their own thing unless we need to do a Code Orange to assemble for a crisis."

Fuchsia thought for a while. "So you go out there to arrest…other criminals?"

"Only on the worst of the worst," said Hornet, rubbing his hands. "Also, while I'm at it, I'm cool with whatever my clients tell me to solve. It's basically finding some thief who…burnt all of their body pillows down. I just 'love' how much they needed my help on that."

"That explains a lot," muttered Fuchsia. "A department run by bona fide criminals would lead it to disaster. That's more for the police."

Hornet grunted. "Well…I might have gotten into some deals with the cops for the right reasons, but I can reassure you that the criminals working alongside me are reliable. Maybe…better than your current mindset?"

Fuchsia grinned sarcastically. "Though, if I were you, I would have used such power to take out your enemies. That way, this would make life easier without the weeds growing in your backyard."

Hornet frowned, trembling from her implications. "That doesn't sound right."

"It shouldn't be too hard," said Fuchsia nonchalantly. "Sure, you're not willing enough to make the rest of the world burn. But if you can do some good with it, maybe take out whites? Some Afghanistans? Aren't they the ones who breed terrorists? Maybe a few Jews since they just don't seem to bring peace into the system? There's a lot of people causing trouble in the States."

The whole room fell silent. Her casual, childish words went unnoticed. Hornet and Piranha couldn't believe what she was saying. Hornet flinched in discomfort when she first confirmed her bigotry. Piranha was only left standing with a long gaze at Fuchsia yet a little annoyed. This woman kept her horrible view of everyone. No wonder why she wanted to be the worst type of a criminal.

Hornet tried to hide it, but his lips were trembling. It reminded him too much of what hornets were like in real life. At least from his own experience. A sudden chill strained his head, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut. His teeth clattered when he could hear the droning noises of bad memories. A lump formed in his throat and he focused more on swallowing it. Stuffing all these memories away, he opened his eyes and stared at Fuchsia in disbelief.

"That's…that's so cruel," he said. "This isn't the type of service I would ever do."

"Better than letting problems prolong," said Fuchsia eerily. "You're a Murder Hornet. It's part of your species' name."

"That name is JUST a name," growled Hornet. "I don't do murder.

Piranha was about to talk, but Fuchsia beat him to it. "And what about you, Pepe? If you are given the option to shank someone for all the crimes they might do, would you do so?"

Piranha looked down at the knife. A sword in his mind, but in reality, it was still a dangerous weapon. A common way to kill people quickly. Focusing back on reality, it felt strange holding a real knife around like it was nothing. Piranha grunted to himself, not having the heart to kill. He might be the crazy one, but sheesh, not THAT crazy.

He shook his head. "I'm not a murderer, Fuchsia. The Bad Guys aren't. It's not our thing."

"And how do you deal with your hijinks?" asked Fuchsia.

"We just do what we do to s-stop villains." Fuchsia rolled her eyes at the stutter. "Don't roll your eyes. OK, you're more on specific types, but it isn't about being righteous over another."

"Yeah," agreed Hornet. "Killing would have a much bigger impact. It would be more merciful for everyone not to kill unless that kind of extreme measure is…" He was about to add 'acceptable for the situation' but it was starting to become too much for him to say it.

Fuchsia tilted her head. "And what about the bloodlust when in fights?"

Piranha shook his head. "I don't know. Wait, actually, yeah. I only make sure to injure them without making it fatal. In your own words, ahem, 'leave them in pain'?"

As he said that, he threw the knife behind him. Only problem was that it was accidentally tossed out of the window, smashing through the glass. The noise of the glass cracking was unmistakable.

"...my aim is still bad, is it?" he asked, sounding too casual.

Meanwhile, below, two guys outside the hideout were in a quick discussion since one of them was late.

"Hey, would you like to take this watermelon with you?" said one man holding the large melon.

"Nah, dude," said the other, sitting on his bike. "I cannot take food into my workplace. It's too big! I don't have the time to deal with it right now!"

And then, the knife from above flew right down onto the watermelon, slicing it in half cleanly. The two halves of the melon nearly dropped to the ground, revealing its juicy, fruity flesh.

"...never mind!" said the man on the bike. "I can take one slice now to eat."

Back in the hideout, Fuchsia had a thought about Piranha's half-hearted suggestion. Hornet thought about it as well. He raised his finger, seemingly agreeing to it…before lifting it down in disagreement, shaking his head at the thought of 'leave them in pain'.

"OK, that makes sense," said Fuchsia blankly.

The door slammed open and the trio spun around. It was just Wolf with Moe coming right in, keeping close to his feet.

"What's up, everyone?" he said. "I'm hoping that you got our new visitor comfortable."

"She's well informed," said Piranha, bowing playfully. "Now, I hereby declare her fit to engage with other criminals."

"Charming," muttered Fuchsia.

"No question," said Hornet, knowing how things might end for Fuchsia.

"Oh, Hornet," said Wolf, kneeling on one knee to reach the little bug's eye level. "I'm sorry that you won't be able to come along. I really wish you can. We did promise you we'll stick together no matter what. Perhaps we can try sneaking you in?"

Hornet nearly considered the thought, but he eventually relented. "Wolf, I don't think…it's gonna be a good idea to accept the offer. However, if it's a thing that you want to clear up with the government, then do so ahead. I don't really trust the black-ops anyway."

"Right then. You still have our phone numbers. Keep us updated as well."

"We got that sorted out!" said Piranha. "Isn't that right, Abejorro?"

"Certainly," said Hornet, smiling.

The little fish squealed a little, jumping up to give a kiss on Hornet's cheek. At this, the little bug then flew close to Piranha's invisible ear to whisper something.

"If Diane asks, tell her that we only had our first stand-off in this hideout, got it?" he asked.

"Okey dokey!" said Piranha, not taking it seriously.

"One more thing, Hornet," said Wolf. "We might need you to do something. I'm wondering…if you can take care of Moe for me?"

The orange cat meowed, looking up at Hornet. However, it was a different story for Hornet. Babysitting the team's pet? Wouldn't Wolf bring Moe along for the ride?

"Really?" said Hornet.

"Well, thought if you need some company," said Wolf, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I-I could also call Mira to take care of him or…"

Out of curiosity, Hornet fluttered down closely to Moe's face. The two of them didn't interact that much before, mostly due to Moe liking to be near Wolf. However, that seemed to change when the cat meowed and nuzzled Hornet close to his belly. The little bug yelped as he felt himself pushed. But it was a gentle push. A gentle sign of affection from the cat to show no harm.

Despite only feeling close to Wolf, Moe was rather quick to warm up to Hornet.

"He makes a nice friend, chico," said Piranha, petting Moe's head.

Hornet didn't need to think twice. "Actually, I can take care of him. Call Mira over here to grab his necessities and I'll be on my way. I'm sure that he can fit into my space."

"I'm not sure about having cats," said Fuchsia sceptically as she came close. "Though, that would be due to me being a dog person-"

SHRRPP!

Taking offense to what she said, Moe IMMEDIATELY clawed Fuchsia over the face. And it was rather quick, as you would have missed Moe looking rabid before he returned to looking sweet and calm.

"AH!" shouted Fuchsia. "TAKE HIM AWAY NOW, AVISPÓN!"

And she took a picture with her phone of her scratched face.

Night Time, Hornet's Detective Agency Building

"We have to wait at my office, so that Mira can take us home, you got it?"

"Meow?"

"Are we on the same page that staying in this small hallway is deadly?"

"Meow!"

"Then let's go inside my office!"

"Purrrrr…"

"No, please don't play with that loose string from the carpet."

It didn't take long for Hornet to bring Moe to wait at his department agency office. The secret office where he runs his detective business alongside other mercenaries. It wasn't easy finding a space at first when starting a side career, but over time, due to the Bad Guys connecting with more criminals, they managed to rent this abandoned building.

Where was it located? Classified. Cops would know, but finding it would be like searching for the exit of a gigantic maze. It was probably for the best since a lot of people would come to the darkest alleys of LA to enlist the stealthiest spies and detectives. The office, however, was also small since a bigger building would attract unwanted guests.

Right now, they were in a long corridor with many doors leading to different offices, belonging to different detectives. There weren't that many people around despite crime activity still likely to occur at night time. If anything, it gave the feel of a classic night hotel lobby instead of a workplace. This could be due to its lush green carpets, the smooth brown wooden walls and green-tinted windows with cinema-like mauve curtains.

Why Hornet and Moe have to stop here? Mira was running late and Wolf wanted to buy food for Moe first, so they decided that it would be best for Hornet to show Moe around his office first. The cat would likely come often to this new place, so he should be familiarised with it. After a trip to the market, Hornet and Moe were dropped off at his office. Thankfully, no one had attacked the cat so far.

Hornet sighed as he watched Moe playing around with the carpet strings. Not even a second in and the cat was bouncing off the walls. Strangers was another story, but apparently, Moe was more attracted to the shiny things he could find around the place.

"Kittens," said Hornet, tapping on Moe's head. "Who knew that it can be hard to direct them?"

"You forgot to bring over a cat's treasured toy," said a familiar voice, opening the door behind them.

It came from a brown-skinned woman with dark hair tied up in a ponytail with front loose bangs. Her red glasses were distinctive to her looks. Adopting a casual formal outfit, she wore silver earrings, a light beige blazer, a dark navy blue collared shirt, a black skirt held up by a brown belt, dark brown leggings and black shoes that looked like a combination of slacks and sneakers.

Her right eyebrow could match Wolf's due to the small rip in it. Though, that could be argued to be recently received from a random run-in.

And this here is Mira Rosa. Fellow journalist of our antics, Hornet's secretary and partner-in-crime at night. She's gonna be an honorable member of the Bad Guys soon, though she has been keeping a low profile. She recently joined Hornet's department, taking note of the daily situations we often fall into.

"Mira," said Hornet, wiping his forehead. "Thank God, you are here."

"I'm guessing this is our new client today?" joked Mira, pointing at Moe.

"Why yes. And what he wants us to do is to find something that he can play with."

"Good thing I quickly brought this along," said Mira, taking out a toy.

It looked more like a baby rattler. She shook it and the bell attached to it caught Moe's attention. Cooing, the cat crawled towards Mira until he was close to her feet, eyes on the bell. Immediately, she picked him up and the cat's head moved to cuddling in her chest.

"...why do you have that here with you?" asked Hornet.

"In case of emergencies!" said Mira, stroking Moe's head. "It's always useful to bring everything along."

"So you brought a blanket and a warm bottle of milk along?"

"Unless I brought an ankle wrist to strap the bottle to my leg."

"And if it spills?"

"Then I'll just say that I stepped in a puddle by accident."

"Some people might think that you were leaking." Hornet immediately backpedalled. "I-I mean, the urinal way…"

Without thinking, Hornet slowly flew to his office with Mira behind him.

"Anyway," said Mira. "I would have been here to pick you and Moe up earlier if not for my unpreparedness."

"Is that why you were late?" asked Hornet, following behind her.

The journalist wrinkled her nose. "Yes. It turns out, a client I bumped into long ago had the idea of dropping by a visit at my day job."

Exactly 3 Hours Ago, Channel 4 Newspaper Company HQ

Mira didn't need to make everything polished, but she decided to clean up her room before the janitor would arrive. She was already in a good mood after the success of yesterday's paper, so that inspired her to blaze through today's news. It was a bit strange since there was news about the Bad Guys getting wrecked by the patrons of a fight club, but she was sure that they would be fine.

It was crazy ever since she met them. First met Hornet before being introduced to the rest. It changed her life a little and helped her understand more about criminals. The criminal world was intimidating at first glance, but she took the opportunity to be Hornet's secretary in his career. It wasn't easy doing two jobs, but she had a broad work experience.

She smiled at the thought of going over to the Bad Guys and to pick Hornet and their pet Moe up. She was glad they didn't end up in prison again, but they had to deal with a task. Mira wasn't precisely told yet about everything, but she sure hoped so. If she could finish wiping her table clean, then she would be on her way!

However, when she wiped the table underneath, she smelled something funny. The tips of her fingers moved away from the cloth, feeling something squishy. Like it was jelly. At first, she feared that it was gum. One sniff when close and she confirmed.

"…this is glue!" she said.

She tried moving, but her fingers refused to pull out from underneath. Super strong glue. Her hand now attached to the table. Mira groaned, looking around to see who was the culprit. Knowing that her other colleagues were far away, she reluctantly walked out of the office.

All while dragging the heavy table glued to her hand.

Hornet couldn't help but laugh at this. This was probably another criminal making a naughty prank. Mira wasn't amused by this, placing Moe gently on a shelf.

"Now, Mr. Wolf said there was some business the Bad Guys have to do," she said curiously. "But…why aren't you allowed to come?"

Hornet wasn't sure of telling Mira this. The two had been working with each other for a few months, but they weren't close yet. While welcoming, Hornet hadn't made many close friends outside the Bad Guys. Not all the clients and criminals he met were willing to be close. Mira, on the other hand, was trying to be friendly with the clients, no matter if they were criminals or not.

But given that Mira was his secretary and partner-in-crime, he might as well share. As long as she didn't write this in the newspaper.

"Diane said that the government is giving them one chance to not end up in prison again while I'm somewhat good to go," he explained, putting both hands over his forehead. "They are gonna be brainwashed."

Mira raised an eyebrow. "The government is recruiting them for something?"

"An international mission from a black-ops organization."

The journalist was surprised. "A black-ops organization? I didn't know the city had one! I thought espionage forces are gone today."

"Neither do I," said Hornet. "Apparently, they are so secret that the military can't even reach them! They claim they are a league of heroes made from the best agents. However…" He groaned, shaking his head at the disappointing idea of what the Bad Guys could land themselves into. "I don't trust what they want with my friends. What if they do something the government only wants for the wrong cause? What if they get hurt?"

"I'm not sure they will be blindsided," pointed out Mira. "They are criminals like you, so they don't have the same mindset as by-the-book agents."

"But what about the whole Love Crater Meteorite incident? With Marmalade?"

Mira's answer was simple. "They would have learnt their lesson. But they need solid evidence to confirm if they are working on the right side."

Hornet nodded. "Yeah. I just…hope so." He rubbed his engagement ring, praying that Piranha would be safe. "Mira, be honest with me, do you think that the reason why the government needs them badly is because of what they are?"

Mira had a thought about it. "I cannot say for sure. I've been in touch with the media, but there's so many data flying around that true facts and evidence could get lost in the sea of people."

And that wasn't false. Growing up to be a journalist, she learnt a lot about how media itself could twist even the most fundamental.

"It's chaotic and the Bad Guys already have a polarized appearance. But I not only believe but see them saving the day many times. And when it's confirmed true to the public eye, the government would notice. And by having them be free for a long while, they…might see that the Bad Guys' knowledge is needed to maintain the city's peace."

Hornet was confused. "Wait, but what peace exactly? I-I'm aware that Diane has better intentions, but…what about the others running the city?"

"The fox might not make it through with staying good for long," commented Mira. "She is on two sides now: with us and with them. But I don't exactly know about the other side since it's..." She shrugged, a little frustrated. "Confidential."

Hornet nodded. "I suppose so. At least there's…neat order in this town. You think that is why the government is interested in the Bad Guys?"

"That can be a reason why," said Mira. "Though, what I don't understand is why you aren't allowed to come, given how successful you are."

"Diane told me it was due to the city still needing me. But for what?"

As a frustrated Hornet tried to think of what Diane enacted behind his back, he observed his office in boredom. He remembered his previous reluctance to have an office this big. It felt like he owned a hive for himself without sharing it for anyone. But it kind of grew on him over time due to many tall human clients and criminals wanting to have a private meeting with him.

He wished that he had decorated the room. While some of the necessary equipment he had was small, they somehow fit the gigantic table. An unlimited space for whatever he wanted to have. Aside from a lamp nearby and a shelf that contained archived files, there wasn't that much. However, there were several framed pictures of Hornet and the Bad Guys, making the room a comfortable and happy place for him.

"There's…something that I want to ask you, Hornet," said Mira, opening one of the drawers from the wooden shelf.

"What is it?" asked Hornet, crossing his arms.

"I've been trying to find the folder of one of your clients from your shelf earlier and…" She took what appeared to be registration sheets. "These came from Sunnyside Labs. They were just in there and fell out."

Hornet's heart skipped a beat. He swore he buried them deeply in that shelf for good reason. But the plan to burn them later on came too late.

He flew forward and snatched one of the files. Wanting to believe it wasn't what he feared, he scanned through them and glanced back at Mira. Looking back, he spotted the logo of Sunnyside Labs on the top…and the rest of the paper was a fill-out form covering his biological details. A picture of what looked like him was right at the corner.

It was a long time since he heard about Sunnyside Labs. Ever since the Bad Guys freed the guinea pigs from the facility, this sent the company crumbling down. It only got worse when Marmalade, found to be one of their lead researchers, was arrested, thus leading to a complete shutdown of all Sunnyside facilities. It should be a good thing for Hornet since that could mean those bastards could finally face the consequences…

"It's a success! He is coming to now!"

"Hold on. Would the weapon work on him?"

"Hornet?" called Mira, waving a hand over Hornet's face. "Yoohoo?"

The little bug shook his head, snapping out of his memories. He clenched his teeth, trying his best not to shiver. He just remembered right in front of Mira. This wasn't a good time for him to be talking. Even if Sunnyside Labs was no more.

"What is this about?" asked Mira.

"N-Nothing!" lied Hornet, forcing a grin. "Nothing at all."

"Were you…at Sunnyside Labs before?"

"No, that's a long time ago." Hornet crumpling the registration sheets in a ball. "Those weren't made by me."

"Then who did?"

Hornet refused to answer, his good antenna twitching. "Can we please not talk about this?"

"Hornet," said Mira softly. "You can tell me what is bothering you."

"We don't know each other yet." To emphasize this, he threw the crumpled ball away.

Mira's eyes softened, wanting to understand. "I'm a friend, Hornet. That's why I chose to be here, even though you and the others warned me of the risks. I may not be one of the Bad Guys yet, but I'm here to talk if something bothers you."

There was a minute of silence between them. Hornet nearly considered telling Mira about this. The journalist was waiting patiently, concerned about him. Even Moe sensed something was wrong, sitting up straight. The cat meowed curiously, waiting for Hornet to say something.

However, Hornet found himself hesitating to reveal. It was choked up in his throat. It was like he couldn't even spit it all out. And spitting out felt like a danger. Dark memories of before threatened to overtake him, whispering in his mind. He blinked a few times, trying to grasp onto his sense of reality. Eventually, feeling too complicated to explain, he gave up.

"Mira, I-I…" He paused for a moment, wiping tears before they could spill out. "I don't want to talk about Sunnyside Labs or anything like that. Even if it's a thing that ever happened, it'd be MY business. OK? You don't know ANYTHING about the people like me or the Bad Guys or…" Hornet gulped, trying to re-compose himself. "I-I can't do it now. I'm sorry. It wouldn't matter anymore. Marmalade is one of their lead researchers, so the cops would have already cleared through the facilities right after his downfall."

He didn't mean to sound bitter, but Mira immediately could tell that anything to do with Sunnyside Labs was personal to him. In fact, it was something he preferred to really burn to the ground. Mira tried forming some kind of loophole to find out more, but…she found herself with the short stick. It wouldn't be worth anything.

"O-OK then," said Mira sadly. "Understood."

The little bug didn't respond, only giving a slight nod as if to say 'goodnight'. Moe leapt down from the shelf to follow Hornet. With both of them gone, this left Mira alone in her own thoughts.

He might be right. Despite what she heard from the media and a taste of the criminal world, Mira wouldn't know about the lives of criminals and mercenaries. But she just learnt that not all of them were bad. A sense of being unable to connect to a higher status was undeniable, but Mira wanted to downplay it. Yet, the reasoning for the motives of criminals was just a mystery to her.

She scoffed to herself, a little disappointed in herself. "A mystery. That's what the other journalists told me. How much do I need to unpack to know?

The Mecha Underlords' Devil Ship, ?

"...you know that you didn't need to look THAT unpacked!" said Shaård in disbelief.

Let's all agree that Mira is somewhat correct because there is a fair amount of unpacking to know some criminals well.

Overlord Dread Splaarghön and Underlord Shaård couldn't believe what they were seeing. They expected Oscar the Great White Shark to make a grand entrance or scare them with some lame horror movie cliche. However, they didn't expect him to be crawling onto their ship like it was a cruise.

The luggage bags behind him were something else, but his outfit was distracting: a pair of sunglasses resting over his eyes and an ugly red shirt reading 'HI HUNGRY, I'M DAD'. And to top it off, he was sipping on a milkshake. It looked ridiculous in contrast to the sci-fi-influenced, dark hallway they were in, neon colors highlighting each side of him.

Talk about coming over for a party.

"You seriously think this is a game?" said Splaarghön, dumbfounded.

"What?" said Oscar, gulping down his drink. "I might as well make myself comfortable when resting in Australian seas. Might not be summer now, but it's the best place for a holiday."

"When you're at the beach," said Shaård flatly before turning to Splaarghön. "I knew that this was a horrible idea, Splaarghön! We shouldn't have brought him here."

Splaarghön rolled her eyes. "Keep that talk to yourself now. We're in front of him."

"Fine, but I'm gonna complain the whole time."

Oscar just laughed, cocky. "You kids have rather smart mouths. But you don't need to worry. You said that you're all immortal cyborgs, right?"

"Oh yes," said Splaarghön, not getting the intimidating implication. "We wasted years of what could have been university to build all these parts onto ourselves. Now, we have given ourselves better upgrades to ensure we can survive longer. W-Well, not exactly fully immortal, but we don't need to worry if we lose a limb or so."

"Hmm…if I chop your head off, would it grow back?"

Without warning, Oscar whipped out a sword…

"Hey, sir!" said a passing-by cyborg. "Would you agree to focus on the problem of our smoke-?"

SLICK!

…and Oscar cut the cyborg's head in two, horizontally. The cyborg's body dropped like a ragdoll. The top half of the cut head rolled across the floor. What Oscar didn't expect was yellow liquid pouring out in place of blood. And the flesh appeared in the form of heavy steel material, barely spilling out sloppily.

Oscar sniffed. It didn't even smell like blood. It smell like…oil. Both cooking oil and petrol oil.

Like he was inside a cold industrial warehouse.

Splaarghön placed her hand over her forehead, shaking her head in disappointment.

"That…was someone from the leader council," muttered Shaård.

"Oh, I thought…he was an enemy," said Oscar awkwardly. "Will he be fine?"

"Look, roll the other part of my head back to me," spoke the mouth of the fallen cyborg flatly. "And…I'll try reattaching it."

Oscar felt that this was weird. Usually, his victims dropped dead once he killed them. But to see a cyborg suffering a splitting headache and STILL talking with no angsty reactions were new. He wondered if this was a common thing around here.

For some reason, he felt a little unnerved by this occurrence.

"It's going to be impossible to find new meat to chomp on, isn't it?" asked Oscar.

"We don't have that much time until we need to head to the next meeting," continued Splaarghön casually. "Do you need help to put your…bags away?"

"Nah! I'll be fine!" The Great White Shark gulped down the entire milkshake cup before picking up all his luggage bags in one pile. "I can take this."

Then, he waddled over to the top half of the disembowelled head and kicked it to the still-breathing cyborg body.

"Thank you," said the cyborg weakly, slowly moving his limp hand to the missing part of his head.

"...good luck!" said Oscar, his grin noticeably strained.

While the unlucky cyborg tried to fix his head, Oscar followed along with the two cyborgs, bouncing on his heels for the tour. However, as soon as Splaarghön wasn't looking, Shaård glared at the shark. He motioned his finger crossing over his throat, warning Oscar not to even think of putting a finger on anyone. The only response Oscar had was a childish pout, looking in the other direction.

Oscar had to admit that these kids knew what they were doing. He had a hard time trying to get Lou into shape until he ran away to Los Angeles. He thought it was usually the parents who taught their children how to be better thieves. However, neither Splaarghön nor Shaård looked like they were in their 30s, yet they owned an enormous ship that acted as one and a submarine when underwater.

The hallway was probably for show, but Oscar noticed the stripes running through the black walls. They looked like tubes of some sort. Whether electrical or chemical, they produced pink, purple and blue colors, matching Splaarghön and Shaård. For their implied ruthlessness, they got some style. Maybe he didn't like the pink, but he liked the aesthetic of a twisted club.

This could be a modern style of darkness he could get used to. If that was 'darkness' for sure.

They settled in one of the laboratories. Upon Shaård unlocking the door to let them in, it looked more like a classroom. A boring classroom to Oscar. Rows of tables lined neatly, a large whiteboard and the same black walls. However, dangerous equipment and tools were scattered on these tables. In the large spacing, there was a large machine that had a ray gun attached to it. Next to it was a wheelie table with a box carrying tiny turquoise orbs.

"What is that over there?" asked Oscar, pointing to the glowing orbs.

"Oh, you mean these little things?" said Splaarghön, a smirk crossing her face. "You're not gonna believe it, Oscar."

She picked one orb up in the manner of a child showing off her candy and Oscar's eyes were filled by the sparkling glow of it. The outer shell seemed to be made out of glass. Beneath it was a jumble of mechanical parts. It gave the orb a turquoise glow. The brightness presented its abundant storage of life compared to the old sturdy machinery Oscar saw from pirate ships before.

"These are Eden Apples," said Splaarghön proudly. "These are some of the first batches we found in the city."

Oscar, at first, didn't understand. But then, he faintly recalled from rumors that moved throughout radios. "The ones from Sunnyside Labs? I thought that the government took them away the second they closed them down!"

"They never got their hands on the Eden Apples. We have records tracing their use and how they were escorted out. The associated researchers didn't want anyone to have these weapons, so they scattered in this state and America. We found one scientist trying to bury his boxes in the forest last year."

"And how are they…doing now?"

"It seems that all of them are now trying to retreat to here in Victoria," explained Shaård, sitting back on a table. "It took us a long time to find that out. Sunnyside Labs used to have a base here in the 1900s, so they thought it would be much easier to recover labs left behind. The ones resting in the States disappeared, including the Eden Apples they possessed."

Oscar nodded. "Huh, so staying in America would likely get the researchers arrested."

"Erm…" said Splaarghön, unsure how to say this. "I don't think they were arrested. It was said in the news that they disappeared."

"Disappeared?" asked Oscar, looking more disappointed than concerned. "Hmph. Oh well. No fun that other criminals got to them. Scientists are valuable targets, after all!"

"When you have all of them disappear in a cryptic pattern, yes," snarked Shaård.

"Remind me again," said Oscar, tapping one of the Eden Apples on display. "What can they do?"

"We found they can extend an organism's lifespan when attached to them," explained Splaarghön. "They made so many that it could provide humans immortality! It's a never-ending battery because…the link to its host keeps that battery running, I think."

Shaård cleared his throat, coming close to the two. "We've tried using it for our technology. We believe that it could enhance not only the lifespan, but also the durability of new cyborgs. We had some interesting results, but we haven't tested on our fellow workers since…we already turned ourselves with the old tech. The power of the Eden Apples might not blend well with the current process."

"And that's why we invented a machine to extract the energy from Eden Apples, combine them with our new ray and transform a host into a cyborg immediately! This ray would be more safe in extracting the right amount of energy from the Eden Apples, enough to speed up the process."

Oscar raised an eyebrow, eying the ray gun machine next to them. "So you're gonna use that thing?"

"Oh no," said Shaård, grinning. "That's just a prototype. We actually have a bigger one already built in this ship. It should allow everyone to become a cyborg. They'll never die, never get hurt again."

"But we need to test it out to see if it would actually work," said Splaarghön. "We need a test subject."

The trio looked around, wondering what they could use. Unfortunately, none of them had a potential test subject to use. Unless they kidnap someone. But kidnapping someone on the ship was useless since the two leading cyborgs had a consent policy. The mechanics in flesh would be somewhere else. Everybody on board was practically already a cyborg.

Except for one person.

"I volunteer myself!" piped up Oscar with a big toothy grin.

"What?" sputtered Splaarghön.

Shaård scratched his chin. "Are you sure about this? We don't know if it might kill you."

Oscar laughed. "Please, I've been through worse than getting my heart stabbed. The only shame is that death is never easy to gain. Your empire is gonna change the world soon, so I have to really help if you're hiring me on good money. Let me be the first one of your new era."

Splaarghön was surprised to hear this. It wasn't easy finding recruits since most of them would think she was crazy. While growing in numbers, they were wrong and it was hard to get the word out without getting caught by the military. And this was coming from the most infamous criminal in the world; the one who barely gave a damn about others.

A part of her feared that it would hurt her new recruit. However, she could see his eagerness. His enthusiasm. It wasn't holding him back. "Alright."

"Yeah," agreed Oscar, nodding as well.

"Wait, shouldn't we think about this?" asked Shaård, raising a finger.

"Why think about it when we think about it afterwards?"

"Because I hate to see that it might make you more insane."

Oscar snorted. "I'm not THAT stupid! I can be sane whenever I feel like it."

The male cyborg narrowed his eyes. "Sure…"

"Just stand right in front of that ray gun," instructed Splaarghön blankly. "Don't move a single muscle."

"Got it!" said Oscar, hopping his way over to where he imagined the X spot would be at.

With the obedient Oscar waiting patiently, Splaarghön and Shaård immediately got to work on activating the ray gun machine. With the Eden Apple still in her hand, Splaarghön placed it in a small compartment. As soon as it was dropped in, a glass shell covered it up and the humming machine began to absorb power from it. Meanwhile, Shaård poured electrical metallic liquid from a small beaker through another compartment.

"OK," reiterated Shaård, trying to compose himself to be professional. "The latest experiment has gone successful. Eight out of ten guinea pigs have turned into cyborgs without any harm or loss of consciousness. Combined with the Eden Apple's energy, it allowed the hosts to be like us within seconds."

"And the side effects?" asked Splaarghön. "You know how serious we made that chemical. We might be offing our best new recruit."

"We'll see. That depends on how strong Oscar is."

The pink cyborg nodded. "Guess we have to find out."

Both cyborgs activated their headsets to flip the visors over their eyes. They didn't need to, but their eyes could still be irritated by anything flying into them. Even as cyborgs, they were still vulnerable to getting hurt physically.

A nervous Splaarghön pressed the red button on the machine and the ray gun slowly lifted upwards. Pointed at the grinning and fearless Oscar.

Immediately, the Great White Shark tore off his tacky shirt. A white singlet remained, but that should be fine. Would mean he would get to see the change on his striped arms.

SHING!

A large turquoise beam burst out from the ray gun, covering Oscar's entire body. The first thing that came to mind was the burning sensation. He let out a yell, dropping to one knee. He didn't realize how much it hurt to the point he could feel himself nearly DISINTEGRATING. At the same time, there was a cold sensation seeping into the skin.

This new energy, burning inside him, wanting to take him over. To be his new body. And once he could feel it, he felt like he wanted to let it all out. To his surprise, he let out a loud cry as he felt the chemicals take over.

The metallic chemicals already made their way inside Oscar's body alongside the power of the Eden Apple to speed up the process. He braced himself for pain, but instead of the feeling of bones cracking or flesh shifting in the wrong places, he could only describe it as a sore sensation running through his body. Spreading over his flesh, organs and bones like paint, replacing them with cold machine parts and wires.

His skin was starting to harden, but still flexible to move around. He could feel a good part of his face, the underneath of his arms and his palms hardening. They were becoming cold as metal, no longer his original skin. Inside, he could feel all his blood sucking away, turning into unlimited, electrical energy of the life gem. His flesh no longer felt soft, turning into hard metal and replacing all bodily senses to become numbness.

Despite feeling the entire changes, the changes to his head were the most painful. He could feel unrecognizable parts consuming the inside of his head, moving into his skull. He could feel his mind suddenly becoming a little lighter. New wires connected to his brain, stinging the organic regions of it. He shut his eyes close, feeling like they were literally on fire.

For a while, he was blind.

When opening them again, his vision was completed with a red HUD display with rapid details of every corner.

The procedure completed, the ray gun turned off. The two cyborgs waited patiently to see the result. They could only see turquoise fog engulfing the Great White Shark. As it faded away, Oscar's silhouette was visible, slouched.

And then, he began laughing.

It was a quiet snicker.

Splaarghön narrowed her eyes in anticipation.

The snicker slowly developed into laughter.

An unhinged, delighted laughter.

Oscar slowly lifted his head up and his face was never the same again. Despite adopting the 'mostly-human' looks of the Mecha Underlords, he was changed quite drastically.

His left cheek, the left half of the back of his head, his dorsal fin, the underneath of his arms and his palms were coated in a black shell. There was even black shell surrounding his left eye and eyebrow. Additionally, red glass-like material with lighter stripes decorated the left side of his face. It could give his normal self a run for his money.

The creepiest thing was that his right eye turned red with a single yellow pupil. And just the way the pupil was shrunken made him look mad.

He was grinning. The pain was over. The relief was coming in. And with that, he was given the time to regain his composure. He felt cold. He could only feel the metal beneath him.

It felt amazing.

"How are you feeling?" asked Splaarghön, cautiously taking a step forward.

"I feel…I feel…"

A smile crossed over Oscar before he leapt onto his feet. Once more, he bounced around on his heels.

"I feel AWESOME! This is really amazing! So is this how it feels like to be a robot? You don't have to feel your body warming up or your belly being stuffed!"

"Guess that milkshake of yours got turned into pure energy instead of waste, huh?" asked Shaård.

"So when do we start testing my new powers now?" asked Oscar, rushing close to the two cyborgs. "Is there a training room for that? Do I get super speed? Can I shoot rockets out of my hands? Can I even fly?"

Splaarghön and Shaård briefly glanced at each other, leaning back. God, Oscar was really tall. He looked more like a robotic teddy bear instead of a deadly, scary shark. His red eye was glowing in excitement, fresh with new energy. And just being towered over by Oscar's monstrous height was enough to question the havoc he would bring.

"...and do you feel a bit tired?" asked Shaård.

"Nope!" said Oscar. "For some reason, I feel that sleep is just a habit that I have! I must have good stamina!"

Shaård looked concerned, lowering his gaze. "Oh dear…"

"What's wrong?" asked Splaarghön. "The procedure worked, right?"

"Yes, it did. But if he is given that much energy from the Eden Apple, who knows how long until he drains it all up. That's what I'm seeing. If he is that energetic, then I don't know what limits are there…" He sighed, looking back up at the Great White Shark. "I don't mean to be a party pooper, but your body is still new to your cyborg form. It could be deadly."

Oscar frowned. Shaård wasn't exactly wrong about this. No matter how good it felt, it might backfire on him. However, he didn't feel too different. No headaches, no soreness, no worrying thoughts. He laughed, his booming voice echoing through the empty room, carrying his dominance to the new foundation. And with a hint of his fatherly side, he slapped Shaård on the back.

"Kid, I told you that death isn't an easy option for me," he said, sounding a little more friendlier than before. "Of course, we still need to look over if the changes are good. I know all kinds of transformations due to my past encounters and experiments. Man-animals, werewolves and humans being able to turn into animals. But while not all of them are consistent with the myths, we can all tell that it's the lack of control that makes them more irritable and weak."

The two cyborgs stared at him, wondering how that could be possible. Then again, Oscar was always psychotic and he didn't look too different than before. He even knocked the side of his head to explain his point further.

"This guy here still has an empty mind! I'm still in control. And don't get overworried; that would worsen the potential side effects."

Shaård grimaced at the stupid smirk the giant shark gave him. He didn't really like it, but Oscar was being himself. He came up with a really good point. Before Shaård could decide, Splaarghön placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Shaård," she said. "Remember what I told you before? This power has been given to all of us for one reason; to change the world to what it should be. And you couldn't take the top spot without being a cyborg yourself."

Shaård took a moment to stare down at his hand. He could see his black metal fingers. Wiggling them, he recalled the cold sensation that overtook him when he built himself to be a cyborg.

"This is a new level and it's literally in our grasp," continued Splaarghön. "He's right. We shouldn't think about the negatives. I'm not saying to be dumb, but I'm saying to keep your head lifted higher so that we can understand this better. If you want this power to go well, then we need to gain its control without tempting the worse."

Shaård knew that he would come to understand Splaarghön better and she was right. He couldn't say that his friend was lying to her. They had the same goal in mind, but they would need to plan things out first with an ideal mind. They must stay bright for the future to keep their spirits high and wise.

"And while I'm at it," said Splaarghön. "Me and Oscar will be making a new chemical to mitigate any side effects of this transformation. He knows more about transformations than we do, so he would have a way to make sure that the next hosts won't suffer from the effects."

It was brief, but the two cyborgs swore that Oscar was suddenly frowning. When Splaarghön mentioned a 'new chemical'. For a while, it nearly looked like he appeared…regretful.

Just before they could ask, Oscar's signature clown smile masked over his discomfort.

"All in for the revolution?" he asked.

For now, Shaård decided to not let his anxiety get in the way. Never again. "All in for the new revolution."

"All in for the new revolution!" declared Splaarghön, lifting her fist upwards.

If you think that things couldn't get worse than this, then it's not over. And remember when I said that there is no twist in the tale? Well, at least not in the sense of who are the true villains. NOT the real danger.

AN: And thus, the main act for Day 1 is completed. There's something special after this, but this marks as the last chapter for the first act before we move to the next day. Hope this will keep you on your toes!

Fuchsia is such a silly, horrible mood. She's a state of mind. It took a while to make her a bit unlikable aside from her being racist towards some people. But the final input looks good enough and even serves a poignant moment for Piranha and Hornet. As to why she keeps taking selfies, that's her coping mechanism. She likes keeping notes.

Piranha and Hornet piping up on words that they are proud to be in a relationship with and already taken actually takes inspiration from the song 'Crashin' a Muthafuckin' Wedding' from Helluva Boss! Rally came up with the idea and it was an excellent way of showing their relationship status.

Mira Rosa's, Rally's OC, inclusion puts her as one of the last few to be part of the official main cast of the story. I decided to explore more of her role and relation with Hornet given that they'll be working close to each other. Like her original counterpart, she'll be potentially voiced by Stephanie Beatriz. Interestingly, her new appearance takes inspiration from Beatriz's look at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con!

Furthermore, I think this would be my take on extending the mysteries of Sunnyside Labs and for those who don't know, extends some more on Hornet's background in this AU.

Also, Mira's hand getting glued to the table is a reference to the 'ABC3: Cricket Smackdown'. A brilliant show I loved as a child.

Moe coming along is something needed. I can't have him being placed in the background. The cat will have his moments to shine! I promise!

For all the surrealism of the Mecha Underlords, you get to see more of them and their lair. And their immortality as well! I'm gonna have a lot of fun getting these cyborgs repeatedly maimed in situations that could have killed them. Given they don't die easily unless crushed to death, they're pretty much punching bags without making them expendable. And avoids too much gore since they're made from mechanical parts and yellow liquid. So, expect seeing this nonchalant slapstick soon!

What do you all think of this chapter so far? What are your thoughts on the interactions between Piranha, Hornet and Fuchsia; Hornet and Mira; and the three villains themselves? Let me know in your review. The next act will enter the stage for the main plot. Thank you for reading this chapter! If you enjoy this story so far, be sure to favorite or follow. Constructive criticism is appreciated, but if any flames, then it's down the drain.

Until next time, keep on rocking!