《I don't want to be a hero》


 Introduction

    Hi! thanks for taking a look at my work


    I hope you check it out and enjoy it


    I am from south America Argentina, so I apologise in advance if my grammar isn''t great. I am seriously trying my best to make it enjoyable for all


    As for the story, I have a vague idea on how the story will go and the ending, but nothing is set in stone. New ideas or opinion from the comments will affect the story, in the long run, but I have a lot of material to go for, and an ending if it ever gets boring or tedious


    Also, for those that don''t know, this is my second work


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    My first work is called "the black sheep prince" and is a mystery fantasy fiction. The work is already compleat and follows the adventures of the disappointment of the royal family as he is forced into the throne after everyone is involved in an explosion


    If you like my work, I recommend checking it out on WordPress here</a>


    Or on Royal Road Here</a>


    [url=https://theblacksheepprince.wordpress.com/table-of-content/][/url]

 Characters

    *Will be updated as story advance


    Narrator


    The narrator of the main story. It is also one of the characters of the story and if you think about it, it should be too hard to figure it out


    Sara


    Our main character and the focus of the narrator. Raised in the slums by her big brother, have numerous traumatic events from heroes and refuse to follow their paths when she gets some powers of her own


    Max


    Sara''s big brother and practically her parent since he is the one who raised her. He took care of her and two other kids in the slums and in exchange he took the money they earned by begging.Something happened to him when Sara was 5 and she never saw him again


    Jess


    One of the 3 kids Max took care of


    John


    The other kid Max took care of. all four of them were brothers and sisters in name but were still a family


    Cat


    Class "A" Villan with "C" level threat. Works for the Irish Mafia and has Muscle memory and enhanced reflex. She also wears some claws with poison, capable of penetrating even reinforced skins


    Red Eyes


    Class "A" Villain with "B" level threat. Works with Cat for the Irish Mafia and  has the power of throwing Lasers through his eyes. He can manipulate power and intensity without problems


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Unicorn


    Class "A" Hero and team leader. Has toughness and strength as his powers


    Angel


    A helper class hero. Can heal anything she touches, including limbs. The larger the damage, the more she has to stay healing


    Blue Lighting


    Class "A" hero. Female speedster


    Aegis


    Class "A" hero. Capable of making force fields that could be used to protect or encapsulate people


    Missing


    Helper hero. Can make himself and anything near unnoticed. You would notice him or those he disappeared as soon as someone got close or he stopped his ability


    Silent Sniper


    Helper Hero. A thinker with amazing accuracy and different kind of shots according to the situation


    Doctor Pill


    Helper Hero. A thinker that use different pills, bandages, creams and shots to cure people


    Uncle Muscle


    Real name Frederick. Used to be called Prometheus in his villain days and now works as an information broker


    Mei Lin


    Friend from the research institute, telekinetic powers


    Meg


    A friend from the research institute. Half wolf


    Makombo


    Rival from the research institute. Speedster


    Legend


    S class hero

 Prologue

    Let me tell you the story of a little kid called Sara


    Her first memory isn''t one with her parents or in a house or any kind of appropriate place for a little kid first memory, or a little kid for the matter


    Her first memory, or the first that comes to mind when she looks back,  was of a fight between two people in the side walk


    Her parents would you think, right?


    Wrong!


    Besides telling you just 5 seconds ago, "it wasn''t her parents"(not like a kid around 2-3 could tell the difference), those two were two men with weird costumes


    Well, not like 2 men couldn¡¯t be their parents, since gay marriage had been legal since before she was born, and having weird taste on cloth isn¡¯t a crime


    Unless of course, the weird clothes had a meaning, like this case.One was dressed in a black shirt, black jeans, and a creepy smiling white mask with horns on it heads while the other looked like he was in his pyjamas, with a mix of red and blue with a white cape on his back


    And the meaning was simple. One was a good guy, and the other was a bad guy. I hope I don¡¯ have to point out who was who, right?


    The bad guy was the one with the white cape and pyjamas, obviously


    Only a crazy person would go out on his pyjamas and a cape to start a fight with an innocent shy guy that is afraid to show his face to the public, and even put a creepy mask with a horn so people wouldn¡¯t approach him


    Poor horn guy, having to deal with a crazy person just because he helped a pretty lady  to carry her heavy bag, and even went as far as go first at full speed so she could take her time to arrive home


    Such a nice guy, and what does he gets? And a-s hole that is trying to punch him in the face


    What times to we live in, right?


    He even say it to the crazy person, trying to clear the misunderstanding, but the crazy guy refused to listen


    Instead, he preached it was his duty as a ¡°good citizen¡± to punish evil, and started to attack the poor guy


    Sheesh!


    Luckily, the poor guy managed to dodge the punch to his face, and did a cross counter, or if you don¡¯t know box reference, he punch his face while dodging his fist, making double damage by taking advantage of the crazy guy momentum


    But for the looks of things, the crazy guy broke his nose, and the poor guy broke his hand


    If you ask me, one had good reflex or something, and the other thoughtless and probably strength(not like he showed it)


    Still, while the crazy guy was cursing like a sailor and holding his nose to stop the blood, the poor guy took advantage of his distraction and kick him in the balls


    I kind of wonder who should I call poor now, but let¡¯s stick with the original names so it won¡¯t get too confusing


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.Anyway, the crazy guy went down for the count, while the poor guy even limped a little after that, so I guess even down there he was pretty tough, but not tough enough


    And what did the poor guy do?


    He searched the crazy guy pockets and took his wallet, took all the money and throw the wallet to the floor


    I am sure it was to pay the medical bills the crazy guy caused, something completely fair if you ask me


    Besides, after counting the money and walking away, he saw what the little kid was doing


    You know, the one I told you at the start of the story? Go back if you have the memory of a fish or something


    The kid was just sitting on the sidewalk, with a sign on the side and a can with some money on the other


    And what did the poor guy did? He grabed one of the bills he took from the crazy guy and put it on the can


    See? He was a good guy in the end like I said


    After that, he just walked away while limping and still dutifully doing his job with the pretty woman''s bag


    As for the crazy guy, he managed to stand up after a while, grabbed the bill the poor guy left in my can, and call a taxi while holding his hand to his nose and moving in a strange fashion, and kind of crouching


    Bad guy if you ask me


    But I hear you saying, what are the odds of the first memory of the kid been two cape guys fighting, right?


    Pretty good actually. If you live in a big city, you will find yourself in a similar situation pretty often, it is simple math


    There is around 5% worldwide population with super powers. True, most powers sucks like making bubbles with your mind or changing your nails color, and some only have the potential to awaken, but never did or is so small they didn''t notice


    But 2% have a decent power


    If you live in a city with 10 million people, it means that around 200.000 people have decent super powers


    Well, you could argue that not all 200.000 people cause trouble all the time, and that would be true since a lot of 200.000 have good and honest jobs, but let''s say around 10% use them to fight, that is still 20.000 people going around punching each other, and others


    True, not that many in a big city, but from time to time you will see a fight here or there, and every day in the news of course


    Now, if you are constantly in the streets, the place where most fights happens, you are bound to find yourself in one of this fights sooner or later


    And as for why this is the little kid first memory?well most first memories are something that cause a deep impression when you were young, and if something like that doesn''t cause a deep impression, I don¡¯t know what would


    So if this is Sara first memory, I wonder what will happen next

 Chapter 1: Bad start

    Nothing much actually


    The kid is around 3 years old, ya know?


    At that age, you are barely smarter than a monkey


    If you are expecting anything more from something with intellectual level of a monkey, you read to many books


    Go watch some news or something and get some common sense please, then come back and kept reading, pretty please


    Well, now that you have more common sense, or had it in the first place, let¡¯s keep with the story


    What happen next was that the little kid got up, run o te taxi at full speed, stop it, took out the crazy guy from where he was sitting and after beating the crap out of him, he took back her money


    Not!


    Didn¡¯t I just say to get some common sense? If you even thought for a second it was true, go back and watch some news, or read history books, I don¡¯t know. I am starting to worry about your sanity


    Maybe see a Psychiatrist?


    Anyway, like I said, she was a little kid barely smarter than a monkey


    All she could do was watch the a-shole run away with her money


    I don¡¯t think she even understood she took her money


    She just stared into space and let time go past


    That is what they told her to do so that it was what she was doing. If she didn¡¯t she wouldn¡¯t get to eat later and other bad things that are kind of pointless to explain


    Anyway, that was just an excitement moment in a dull life of a slum kid trying to earn enough to eat


    Later, a grown up kid would come for her, and take the money to the handler, that would then give them so food, sometimes. Most of the time they would get a "good work" for him, and would have to find their own food


    You are probably thinking it is unfair, right? Sadly, the handler actually has a good reason to take the money, even if it make it look like an a-shole(and he kind of was, actually)


    The place Sara was begging would be considered a spot. To get that spot, you have to pay for it or you get kick out by others


    This others been: the police, mafia, villains, heroes, others from the slums, etc


    So you pay money for protection


    The better the spot, the more expensive it is, and it changes who you pay. Sometimes it is the police, sometimes it is the mafia, etc. Sometimes you even have to pay multiples factions to keep it, since all want a slice of the cake


    And how could a little kid handle all that? Instead, kid had to pay a handler, that then would give them a spot, and use the money they got so they wouldn¡¯t get in trouble with the local authority


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    In an ideal world, that would be it. Sadly, there are always a-sholes that want a slice of the cake, so there are always fights among groups and the little man(kid in this case) has to pay for it


    As for the little kid, besides not understanding all this complex stuff, she didn¡¯t find herself involve in all that trouble


    Lucky for her, she was well fed and take care off, thanks to a big brother she had(or at least dressed as a boy, since most slum girls did it for safety)


    No idea if he was actually her real big brother, but since she can remember, he always took care of her and two more kids


    She would take her to her working place, and return for her a few hours after.Then he would collect the money she and the other two kids he looks after earned, and after paying the handler, he would find or buy something to eat for all four of them


    Again, not an uncommon situation in the slums. Usually, big kids would take care of the small kids, and in exchange would get a share of the money


    And it wasn''t like there was a lack of kids. Thanks to modern medicine and campaigns, there wasn''t a lack of people, but supers fights did cause deaths, leaving behind a lot of orphans. So in big cities, there were a lot of little kids that needed someone to look after them. There were a lot of different organisations that look after the orphans(good and evil), but in the slum, usually big kid took care of small kids, and grown-ups look after big kids


    If the big kid was an a-shole, he would take all the money, and barely feed the kids he looked after. Luckily, the big brother wasn''t an a-shole


    He was 3-4 years older than her, so even though he wasn¡¯t an adult, he was big enough to handle a few kids


    And besides, he took care of her really well under the circumstances. She was well fed, and he would his time to teach all 3 how to speak, and later how to write and count


    He always said that the two most important things in life are knowledge and money. If you have them, you can get away from any kind of situation


    And having one helps get the other. The more money you have, the easier to get knowledge, and the more knowledge you have, the easier it is to get money


    That¡¯s why he usually went to school when he could, and would get them food and whatever he learned back to them when he did


    And when they grown up, he always said they should do the same


    I don¡¯t know if he came up with it or someone else told him that


    I, at least, believe he had the right mindset under the circumstances


    And he would stick with it for two more years, but only two more

 Chapter 2: Ominius

    Two more years.Ominous, right?


    By that time, the little 2-3 years old kid became 5 years old one


    Sara was grown enough she could count to 30, read some words, and talk like a normal 5 years old kid. I would say an average 5 years old kid, in general, but under the circumstances she was raised, it was pretty good I guess. She finally graduated for been on the level of a monkeyMaybe a dolphin now?they are pretty smart I heard


    Maybe a dolphin now?I heard they are pretty smart


    She still lived with her big brother max, and around 7 or 8 years old kid that was practically her parent at this point. And besides her big brother, there were also her little brother John, that was a little younger than her, and her sister jess, that was a little older. Like her, these two were around 5 years old and begged for money on the sidewalk


    All four of them lived in a corner of an abandoned factory with other people all around them. Some were kids in the same situation as them, others were old homeless people with nowhere to go, and from time to time,  some people that came to make a ¡°deal¡± or stuff like that


    The factory used to belong to a factory that got close down after a smart super(usually called thinkers) found a way to make their product cheaper and better.Soon after the factory declare bankruptcy and sold everything they could


    It was big and steamy, and since it would cost more to put down the building than the cost of the land some place else, it was left alone


    It was a perfect place to live under for people without a home, so it didn''t take long for the place to be filled with people like them


    Like the rest, they started living in that factory since it was quite hot thanks to the steam. It wasn''t exactly free since they did have to pay rent to the mafia, but it was cheap and "nice". Luckily the four of them got along nicely among them and the people around them, so there wasn¡¯t much trouble each day. And even though the 4 weren¡¯t actually blood-related, they were like a big family


    Soap story I know, sadly, that''s the story you get. Besides, it is a common story, like it or not


    There are lucky kids that born millionaires, or with super  powers, or even born in perfectly normal families


    On the other hand, why do you think a 6-month old kid is crying in the slum? because he is having a mid-life crisis


    dark joke, I know, but also true


    That''s how the world works, don''t ask me why


    And I guess you are wondering about the two years thingy, right? I even skip ahead two years, so you are probably expecting to tell you what happened?


    Did the big brother run away, was he kidnapped, did he suffer some major injury, did he just disappeared? Lots of possibilities, one answer


    But let''s just not jump ahead


    Let''s start at the day it happens. Why "it"? well, if I just went out and say what "it" was, you would miss the impact when "it" happens, so play the pronoun game with me for a little while


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.It all started on a typical night after a "comfortable" day of begging on the streets. Like most nights, Max was teaching the three kids and some of the neighbour kids some letters and reading something to them. From time to time some of the other kids would give Max candy as thanks, so he didn''t mind them joining


    Some of the old guys would watch as an amusement and others would do their thing, probably lamenting how their life turned out or stuff like that


    And there were a little more people than usual there thanks to the "deals" that happened in the factory from time to time


    The place belonged to the mafia so they couldn''t complain, and the real reason they left kids and old people to live there was to use them as a shield during those "deals". With them there, the "heroes" couldn''t use big attacks since it could hurt the innocent bystanders


    If the police came, they would just use one of the escape routes and use the bystanders as a diversion. If heroes came, they would use the bystanders as shields or camouflage and use an escape route to get away


    So heroes and the police usually left them alone since it wasn''t worth the risk


    Usually


    You could say there were two kinds of deals, the average ones that happened two-three times a week, with little to no escort and rarely good interrupted


    Then there were the especial deals, with a lot more people involved and some supers. Those happened 2-3 times a year, and Sara only saw them getting attacked one time before


    It was a compleat mess, but luckily they got out unharmed


    And as you can probably guess, these time, it was the special deal, instead of the normal one. Besides the increased number of armed guys, you could feel the tense air all around them


    That is why Max decided to read a book to the kids since it would help calming everyone down


    Besides, they couldn''t leave. Part of the deal for staying there was that they couldn''t leave during "deals" or they would get kick out. In exchange, they got reduced rent for every deal it went, and for the special kind, they would get a bonus


    They didn''t even had to pay rent for 3 months when sh-t broke loose the first time, for those that were there that time and survived


    It worked as an incentive to stay even if you have to risk your life a little.Besides, if you didn''t do it, you would get kick out and have to find a new place to live


    And even if the mafia didn''t care enough to see who stayed and who didn''t, those living there did care, and would tell who run away since it was unfair for them to receive the same the reward than those who stayed


    So almost no one leaves the place no matter what kind of deal was going on


    It could be said it was the only option they had, so it was the right choice or, at least, it would be in any other case


    Sadly, in a year from there, a new factory would be built there, since the land was cheap thanks to not having to pay for the demolition cost....

 Chapter 3: All hell broke lose

    You can probably guess what happened when I say they didn''t have to pay for the demolition cost, right?


    Let''s just say they wouldn''t have a place to come back after that day, so it actually didn''t matter if they stayed or not. Well, they didn''t know that


    Not yet at least


    To them, it was another "beautiful" day on the slums, full of fun and happiness, and rainbows, and unicorns, and candy and other "wonderful" things


    Life was "great" for them as you can probably guess, and the best part was that their life had all those things I just mention


    The deal involved "candy", they were happy and having fun at the moment, and soon they would see a "rainbow", a "unicorn" and other beautiful and deadly things


    I mean, you probably guessed, but soon they would get invaded by "superheroes", throwing around their powers and making a mess of everything


    But like I said before, let''s not just jump ahead


    It all started simpler. First came their  landlords, ordering them to move away but stay near. With no other choice, everyone on that side took their stuff and moved to the other side


    That was when Max decided to stop teaching us letters and started reading a book so everyone would calm down and don''t panic


    The landlords brought the usual grunts, all dressed in a cheap suit, black glasses and probably a "piece" under their clothes


    But unlike usual, they also brought 2 of their supers, Cat, and Red Eyes


    Cat, like her name suggested, liked to dress like a cat, with the ears, tail, and claws on her fingers. She usually dressed sexy in all black leather and sneakers(to some disappointment). her abilities were muscle memory, great kinetic vision, and great agility, so she can basically mimic any martial arts she saw, making her a master of close to close combat. Besides, her claws were extremely sharp with poison on their tips, making her an "A" list villain


    Like Cat, Red Eyes also was an "A" class villain, but different in both the way he dressed and his powers. He liked to wear expensive tailored suits, usually red or black according to his mood(red that day) and a pair of red glasses. His power was laser eyes, that he could control at will, so the glasses were actually unnecessary, just a fashion thing.He lost power the further away he was, and it drained him the more he used his power, but at close range, he would disintegrate a normal person easily


    And since this two were two of the three heavy hitters of the group, and they usually brought only 1 for the special deals, which made this special deal extra special


    Not like the kids and the rest of the bystanders notice.Even though they have seen those two from time to time during special deals, and knew they should stay as far away as possible, they didn''t see the difference between seen one or seen two, even if it was the first time they saw the two together. All because it wasn''t their problem, they were just bystanders


    Well, some of the old guys did leave, even when they knew everyone was watching then leave and wouldn''t be able to come back. Those probably managed to put two and two together and were wise enough to get the f-ck out of there before it was too late


    As for the rest, they either didn''t notice, didn''t care enough or decided to gamble


    And for the 4 kids, and most of the other young kids? they didn''t notice and paid the price later


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Some say ignorance can be a blessing, that wasn''t the case this time


    Instead, they kept on listening to Max story while the Landlords waited for their sellers to show up


    They had to wait an hour, but they did show up in the end


    It was a group of people in gray robes, all covering their faces with hoods, kind of intimidating I must say


    Meanwhile, Max stopped reading since all the bystanders(including the kids) looked at the new arrivals in a curious gaze


    They knew the usual buyers and sellers, so when someone new appeared, curiosity got the best of people


    Anyway, one of the robes guys was carrying a suitcase and approached the two supers from the mafia that were sitting on a table on one side, and took a chair on the other side while the rest stay standing


    "Did you bring the money?"(robe guy)


    "Here it is, did you brought the stuff?"(Red Eyes) said while showing the briefcase with money inside


    "Of course"(Robe guy) said while showing hs briefcase


    Inside you could see hundreds of yellow pills


    It didn''t take a genius to see it was a drug or something like that


    And it was the moment he showed the pills that they show up


    The heroes


    They didn''t show up guns blazing, instead, it turned they were there from the start


    Among the group was Missing, a guy that could make himself and anything near unnoticed. You would notice him or those he disappeared as soon as someone got close or he stopped his ability, but it was great for infiltration missions and for surprise attacks


    He also brought Unicorn, an "A" class handsome hero dressed in grey with a cape and a mask with a horn on his head.  He liked to call himself the defender of beautiful woman and he was the stupid though and strong kind


    Angel, a pretty lady in all white with a mask and wings on her back. She could heal almost any injury in a matter of minutes, and even regrown limbs


    Blue lighting, an "A" female speedster dressed in an all blue suit with white lighting around


    Aegis, an "A" hero capable of making force fields that could be used to protect or encapsulate people


    And outside was Silent Sniper, a thinker with amazing accuracy and different kind of shots according to the situation


    They were an "A" list group of superheroes that should be perfect for the situation. They would be great for both attacking, and making sure no bystander gets hurts, so they were pretty confident in dealing with the situation


    And you could tell by how they suddenly appeared to threaten both "criminal" groups instead of a surprise attack


    "Surrender now and no one will be harmed, we have the place surrounded so there is no escape"(Unicorn)said in a threatening voice


    Instead, both criminal parties look at each others, lifted their briefcases, and after a small nod, they throw it at each other


    For the looks of things, they were prepared in case something like that happened, because as soon as cat and the robe guy each catch their respective Suitcase, all hell broke lose

 Chapter 4: Going down

    The moment cat and hood thrown their briefcase while trying to grab the others briefcase, the others around them started to attack


    Red Eyes started to throw his lasers at the heroes while the grunts started shooting


    Meanwhile, all the hood guys started to attack, and for the looks of things they were all powered


    You could tell they were "C" class and maybe barely "B" class, but 20 of those were pretty dangerous


    And what is all this about "A", "B" and "C" class? well, in case you don''t know, it is a way to rank a person level of power


    The measurement standard is how many grunts would a person be able to take out under ideal circumstances


    In rough numbers, 1 grunt is 1 average 30 years old guy, so a "C" class is worth up to 20 grunts, meaning 20 guys, "D" is 10,"E" is 5, "B" is 80 and "A" is 250. The closer they are to the limit, the stronger they are considered. For example, if you are around 90, you would be a "B", 50? "B--", 110 "B+", 200 "A-",300 "A+", etc


    Well there is also the helper class, that works like a multiplier, and the "S", that are monsters, period


    By the way, a grunt with a gun should be considered "E", meaning 3-5 grunts. This work with other powered, meaning that if he or she has something that helps, their level goes up. For example, the claws on cat increase her power by 50 grunts approx


    So in this case, if we go by numbers, and we put together the hood guys and mafia against heroes, the heroes have a little advantage


    IF we go by numbers


    But the numbers are only a rough estimate of people abilities under IDEAL circumstances, and the place where they are fighting is definitely not ideal for the "heroes"


    The problem was the bystanders. The moment the battle started, all the bad guys run towards the bystanders while shooting anything they have towards the heroes or defending the shooters depending on their powers


    The supers, on the other hand, tried their best to take as many grunts and "C" class as they could while defending from the attacks and not hurting the bystanders


    With little success


    It was compleat chaos basically


    The bystanders were trying to get away while doing their best to avoid getting shot, cat and the hood leader were running to the escape routes hidden in the factory while Red Eyes, the grunts and the other hood guys were holding back the heroes


    Red Eyes was kept in check by the reflection of Aegis force shield while Hunicorn defended both Aegis and Angel from the enemy. Missing wasn''t really useful with so many people moving around, so he just left while Sniper and Blue lighting were trying their hardest to take out as many hoods and grunts as possible


    Well, that would be the rough estimate, but a lot more was going on. Since Red Eyes was constantly using his laser eyes, Aegis had to focus all 100% on him, since his powers could reflect Red Eyes laser


    Sadly for the heroes, this also meant that sniper couldn''t shot the guy thanks to Aegis shields constantly getting in the way, so he had to focus on the grunts with guns, and the hoods. Besides, since there were civilians involved, Sniper had to use stun bullets and they weren''t really effective against the hoods


    Angel could heal herself to some extent, but she wouldn''t survive getting shot constantly, and the powers of the hood guys were dangerous, and Aegis focus on Red eyes meant he could barely put an extra shield around him, so Hunicorn had to defend both of then and couldn''t move a lot


    The only one that had it easy was Blue lighting since she could move freely. Still, she had to dodge the bullets while keeping an eye on the hoods powers, so it wasn''t easy


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    As for the hoods, they were quite difficult to put down. The have a healer that would wake up anyone that sniper or blue lighting managed to knockout(and some grunts) while having a shield and some brutes protecting the healer


    In the end, Aegis and Sniper were forced to take down the grunt first so they both could focus on the hoods


    Meanwhile, the factory was a mess full of holes thanks to all the bullets, Red Eyes laser been reflected around and the powers from the hood guys while the bystanders were trying their best to get out from the small exit since the heroes covered the big one


    300 guys trying to geet out from a normal door at the same time while panicking wasn''t exactly a fast and organised process


    It also didn''t help the constant shooting, fear of dead, pushing, crying, cursing, been in the middle of the cross fire etc


    And to make matters worst, both Cat and Hood guy were getting away in all the confusion, making the heroes panic. If they didn''t catch them, all they would have to show tot he authorities would be a couple of grunts, a lot of innocent wounded and maybe, just maybe, some weak powered and Red eyes


    If they showed only with the grunts, the backlash from the wounded bystanders would be pretty bad. if they, at least, catch Red eyes or a couple of hoods, they would barely get out ok


    So if they wanted to come up on top, they needed to either catch a lot of hood guys and Red Eyes, and if they wanted a compleat victory, they needed either the pills or someone important that knew who made them(hood guy)


    They were running short on time,  but both blue lighting and Sniper were busy attacking and the others were busy defending. No one was free to pursue Cat or hood guy


    How could they get out of this situation? the answer was simple, a defender should start attacking


    "ARGHHHHH!!!"(Unicorn) Started yelling


    Almost every bystander turned around to see what was going on  and saw that after the yelling, he started punching the hood guys. That yell probably worked both as intimidation to his enemies and a signal to his allies


    He probably decided to go on the offensive at that moment since most grunts were taken care off, leaving him room to attack instead of just defending Angel and Aegis


    He punched all the hood guys that were close to him and send them far away, making it more difficult for the hooded healer to help them


    With this, it almost looked like the heroes would win, since as time went by, they had less and less opposition


    But there was a tiny little miscalculation. Can you guess?


    Let''s think for a second:


    First, there were a lot of bullets flying around


    Second, red eyes laser was been reflected, not stopped


    Third, the hoods guys powers were low, but flying all over the place


    Fourth, Unicorn was sending some of the guys all over the place so the hood healer wouldn''t be able to help them


    Fifth, Unicorn sent one of the guys to a supporting pillar of the factory


    Now, what do you think all this clues add up to? and absolutely crushing victory to the heroes?


    Nope


    Just saving the next landlord the demolition cost


    And if you can''t still understand what I mean with this, let me simply spell it out for you


    The factory went down, with a lot of people inside, including the heroes, hood guys, Red Eyes, a lot of bystanders and our heroine with her family

 Chapter 5: Help Please!

    It was after Unicorn throw a guy to a supporting pillar that the building couldn''t hold the roof weight anymore and the building went down


    Let''s just say it wasn''t pretty afterwards


    Some bystanders  got out, but most were buried under the selling or walls or pipes etc. The same could be said about the heroes, mafia and hood guys


    They were all buried


    And what about the four little kids? Well, unlike most bystanders that were close to the door, max though  it would be safer to get under cover away from the rest and wait it out until the fighting ended


    This allowed them to watch closely the fight and move to a different place if someone approached


    It wasn''t a bad idea considering they wouldn''t be able to get out for a while if they stayed close to the door, and most of the firepower was shoot near there


    But it didn''t help much when the building falls down


    In the end, they were buried like the rest


    And they died


    The end


    Did you fall for it?


    I guess not if you are reading this


    So yeah, Sara didn''t die, she was unconscious for an unknown amount of time, and when she woke up, she find herself surrounded by debris and a broken table


    Before the building fell down, Max ordered the kids to get under the table, but in the border


    Something that he learned in the school, and was a common safety class that the government taught everywhere thanks to the constant dangers involved powered fights


    The principal behind staying in the border of the table instead of the center is simply because the weak  point of the table is the middle, so it is safer to stay in the border, near the legs


    And they precisely stayed near a table in case something like that happened, or to use it as cover if some strange attack came their way


    This save Sara''s life, but what about the rest?


    Well.....


    Let''s just say that Sara won''t considers that day a day of celebration for coming out alive


    Both John and Jess looked fine, just pass out with a little debris on them. The problem was Max


    He was too big to fit in the table with the others, so he only managed to cover part of his body, while leaving the rest out


    And the part that he left out was cover in debris


    Sara panic when she saw that, she may be young, but even she knew that if something heavy falls down on you, it was bad


    She run to his side and tried to wake him up, over and over again without success. She could see him breathing barely, but he wouldn''t


    So when she saw what she was doing wasn''t working, she decided to get an adult helps, and what would be the best choice?the heroes of course


    Like every kid, she admired the heroes that fight evil and helped the helpless


    She believed that if anyone could help her family, it would be them


    Innocence, right?It wouldn''t take long for her to finally lose it


    Why? because heroes are a-s holes


    When she arrived at the heroes, she found Angel healing Aegis, after been burnt half to death. Blue lighting was nowhere to be found and Unicorn was rescuing the people near the exit(where everyone gathered before the collapse)


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    Sara saw Angel healing Aegis, so she realised she could help her family, so she didn''t hesitate and approached her


    "Miss, I need your help, my brother is in danger. Please help him!"(Sara) said to Angel when she approached her


    And Angel looked at her for a second, and then returned her focus to healing Aegis


    "Kid, I can''t move right now. Bring him over so I can heal him"(Angel) said while still trying to heal Aegis


    "But but but if we don''t hurry he may die! please come help me"(Sara) still tried to convince her while pulling her from her arm with one arm and pointing to her brother direction with the other


    Angel, on the other hand, force her to let go of her arm, and with an annoyed look responded


    "Kid, I can''t move from here right now, if you want to help your brother, bring him overhear or ask Unicorn to do it for you"(angel)while pointing with her chin to Unicorn direction


    She was basically getting rid of an annoying person. Not like the kid realised


    Instead, she just ran at full speed towards Unicorn


    She found him moving debris and taking out bodies under it, probably trying to find any survivors


    Somewhere moving to the side or asking him for help at his side, so some people survived the collapse


    When Sara approached him, she tried to grab his attention like a few of the other survivors, without much success


    He was moving all over the place at a faster pace than Sara could follow, but she didn''t give up


    And after a while, after following him all over the place and saying unicorn over an over again, he finally decided to pay attention to her


    "What do you want kid"(Unicorn) said while still moving around and trying to rescue as many as he could


    "My brother needs helps, please take him to the healing lady"(Sara) said while feeling a little glad her words finally came across


    "I am trying to help as many as I can kid, point me to his direction and I will see what I can do"(Unicorn)


    "He is over there"(Sara) said while pointing at a corner far away


    Unicorn looked at the direction Sara pointed at and he showed a serious expression


    "I can''t go there kid"(Unicorn) said while still moving debris and taking bodies and people


    "Why not!"(Sara)


    "Too far away, by the time I got there and back, I could have helped 10 people in a similar situation like your brother.Besides..."(Unicorn) was hesitant of saying something else


    "Please help him. He could die!"(Sara)


    "I can''t help you, kid, you will have to find someone else or do it yourself"(Unicorn) said while still moving all over the place


    Sara insisted a little more, but after realising he wouldn''t help, she started asking some of the survivors


    She asked any adult she could find, but they were either to hurt to move, busy looking for someone or something, or just didn''t care


    So with no other choice, she asked help from other kids, but they acted like the adults. They were either to hurt, too busy or an a-s


    She only managed to get the help from 2 kids that knew Max and were of similar age than her


    After seen no one else would help her, she took the two of them to where Max was to see if they could move him or at least help him

 Chapter 6: Healing

    She brought the two kids to Max, and after a surprise reaction from both of them, Sara told them to grab a side and start pulling


    She would bring him to the healer and fix him for  sure


    So the three of them started pushing. They were young so they didn''t have a lot of strength, and Max was bigger and heavier than them, making it harder for them


    Still, they didn''t give, and little by little they advanced


    They kept going, little by little, using all their strength the best they could


    The two other kids got tired after a while and took a rest, but Sara didn''t and kept pulling and pulling and pulling. It didn''t matter she barely moved him, even a little bit helped


    And after a minute or two, when those too saw how hard she was trying, they went back to give her a hand


    This kept repeating for a while until an adult stops them


    "Kids, let me take over"(adult)


    Sara turned to look and found a guy in green clothes. Basically a paramedic


    Since Sara knew an adult would do a better show than her, she move aside without hesitation and left him to do his work


    She saw him crouching and grabbing his hand, do something with his wrist and shake his head a little while cursing in a small voice


    "Bring a bag!"(paramedic) said aloud to another paramedic while putting a black wristband


    Of course, Sara didn''t understand what all that meant, so instead, she wanted to know if he was going to be alright


    "How is he?"(Sara)asked


    The paramedic looked at her with pity


    "Do you know of someone else hurt?"(Paramedic) avoided the question instead


    But instead of realising he was avoiding the question, Sara realised that John and Jess may be in danger


    "Yes! please follow me"(Sara) said while grabbing the paramedic''s hand and pulling him


    And unlike "angel", he follows her to both John and Jess side. As for the two kids that helped her, they also follow Sara


    As soon as they arrived, the paramedic showed a worried expression and crouched near John first while grabbing his hand and doing something with his wrist again. Again he shook his head and cursed a little but he didn''t ask for a bag like before.Instead, he just put the black wristband


    After doing that, he went to Jess side, and did the same actions he did before but this time with a little difference. When he grabbed her hand and did something with her wrist, his facial expression relaxed a little and he smiled


    He put one arm around her head while the other near her butt, and he slowly pulls her up in a prince carrying way


    The paramedic slowly turned around and started moving back where he came from while carrying Jess on his arms


    "What about John?"(Sara)asked


    "Someone will look for him in a little while, but this little lady is in more danger at the moment"(Paramedic)said half truths


    "Oh"(Sara) said reluctantly


    For the look of things, she did all she could, and now it was time for the grown-ups to handle things


    All she could do was follow the paramedic until he brought her to other wounded people. After putting her down, the paramedic put a yellow band on Jess''s wrist and gave Sara a Green wrist to put on.  After that, he told Sara to wait there and then he left them to attend other people


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    Sara decided to do what he said and sat beside Jess while looking around to see what was going on


    She first saw Angel near her, healing people. For the look of things, as long as she touched them, she could heal them. She usually healed 2 people at the same time(one with each hand but sometimes she healed someone with both hands


    When she touched someone, the wounds all around the body would heal, and when she used both hands, they healed faster


    The more wound the person had or the deeper the wound was, the longer she had to stay


    After healing a person, she would get up and search for a different one. She always checked the wristband and then she would either look for a new one or she would check the pulse. Then she would either order a bag while putting a black wristband or heal the person


    Meanwhile, another person on the other side was doing a similar process than Angel, meaning he would check the wristband, and heal when the condition was right


    There were a lot of police, firefighters and paramedics moving around and doing different stuff


    Unicorn was talking with some reporters with an annoyed face and Blue Lightning or Aegis were nowhere to be found


    It was while she was looking around that the other healer approached the two of them


    He was a 30-40 years old guy in a white lab coat, messy hair and pouches all around his body


    He took a device from one of his pockets and put it on Jess''s ear, then he made a small cut on jess, grab some of her blood, and put it on a different machine. He thought for a second, took a syringe and use it on her arm. After doing that, he marked<span style="background-color: #f5f6f5;"> the </span>wristband with a pen and took a look at Sara wristband


    "Well, since I am already here let me check you for a second. Don''t move for a second while I use this tool, ok?"(L coat) said while taking the ear thingy


    "ok"(Sara) agreed. After sitting down, she felt pain in some parts of her body, and if he also helped people, he should help with the pain


    After she agreed, he use the thing on her ear for a while and then she took a small scalper


    "Now, I am going to do a small cut, don''t move"(L coat)


    Sara nodded and grit her teeth a little


    The healer grabbed a finger, made a small cut and put some of the blood on a small machine


    He gave put a band aid on where he cut and then he looked at the screen for a second. After a while, he took 2 pills of different colors from a small container and gave them to her


    "Eat them"(L coat) said after giving them to her and he got up


    "wait, is jess going to be fine?"(Sara) Asked a little worried


    "She shouldn''t move much for a couple of days, but she should make a compleat recovery, don''t worry"(L coat) said with a smile and left them to keep doing his work


    Sara, on the other hand, sat again besides Jess to keep her company. Besides, she still felt some pain in some places


    But then she started to think again and realised she didn''t know what happened to John and Max


    So she decided to get up and look for them

 Chapter 7: Searching

    Sara wanted to look for John and Max, but she didn''t want to leave Jess alone. If she was awake, she could tell her she would be right back, but it felt kind of wrong leaving her alone


    What if she wakes ups and finds herself all alone surrounded by strangers?She would panic, be afraid and maybe even cry


    On the other hand, if she wakes up and finds both John and Max by her side, she would fell safer than with Sara alone


    At least, that was what Sara said to herself when she decided to look for the other two


    So she got up and started to look around to see if they may be around the wounded


    There were more wounded that she could count(she could only count to  30) so she felt a little dizzy when she saw so many wounded all around her.Some were screaming in pain, some were crying, some were quiet and some were sleeping. Meanwhile, paramedics all around were taking people on stretchers or putting them on black bags for some reasons


    Sara couldn''t find John or Max anywhere, so she decided to leave that zone and look the place she last saw them


    First she went where she last saw Max, since it was near, but found the place empty and with no one near


    Sara was tempted to ask around and see if someone knew where he was but decided to look for John first just in case


    It wasn''t really far since the two kids and Sara hadn''t pushed Max very far, but it still took her a minute or two to find the place


    She found all the debris and broken wood all around the place, but John was nowhere to be seen, just like Max


    Not knowing what to do, she decided to do what most kids would do in this kind of situation


    Get help from a grown up


    And the only grown up she trusted at the moment(besides her big brother max) was the paramedic that just help her


    He found both of them, so she was sure he would know where they took them


    Luckily, her memory wasn''t of a fish, so she remember how he looked like


    He had the green clothes, long brown hair and a piercing on his nose. The piercing and the hair were kind of uncommon in men, so  it caused an impression to some extent


    After searching for a few minutes, she even got it right at the second try. The first one was a girl with long hair in case you wondering


    He even recognise her when she talk to him since he made a weird face as soon as he realised who she was. Sara didn''t notice at the time, but it was probably a mix of panic, worry and sadness


    "Hey little kid, why are you here? I told you to stay with your friend, won''t she fell lonely without you by her side?"(paramedic) said while patting her head


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    "I want to find my two brothers first, so we can all be together"(Sara) said bluntly


    As soon as the paramedic hear her say that, he showed a pained expression while looking at her and kept patting her head. I am sure that if he had some candy on him, he would have given to her without a second thought


    Instead, all he could give her was the hard truth or a filthy lie


    "Your two brothers were taken to the hospital like most of the wounded.Only those that needed immediate attention stayed behind"(paramedic) chose to avoid the truth


    "Oh"(Sara) said with a disappointed voice while looking at the floor


    She wasn''t sure what to do now that she couldn''t find Max and John, so she just stayed there for a while trying to figure out what to do next


    "Why not go back to your friend?you can look for them later"(Paramedic) decided to give her a hand when he realised she wasn''t moving


    "Ok"(Sara) said with a low voice and trying not to cry at that spot


    Slum kids know that crying bring more troubles than solutions(for them at least) so it was a bad idea to cry at there


    All she could do was hold her tears while going back to Jess


    She didn''t know how long it took her since she was depressed and walking a little slower than usual, but when she arrived, Jess was nowhere to be found


    When Sara realised Jess wasn''t there, she started to panic, not knowing what to do. She looked all around her without finding her no matter how hard she looked, so instead decided to ask anyone near her


    Sara found and old guy near to where Jess was, and decided to approach him to try her luck


    "Excuse me, sir, did you see where my friend go?"(Sara)Asked the old guy as politely as she could


    "A little kid with a purple shirt?"(Old guy) asked back


    "Yes!"(Sara)said a little excited


    "They took her in a stretcher to the hospital like the rest"(old man) said to Sara


    "Thank you sir"(Sara) remember to thanks the old man after relaxing a little


    Even though she forgot to thanks the paramedic with everything that happened, she remembers what he told her a few minutes ago. All the wounded were taken to the hospital, and Sara was wounded


    It didn''t take a genius to put two and two together


    All she had to do now was go to the hospital and find her family


    -------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Sorry for the short chapters, Xmax time is a mess and I am trying to put a couple  of daily chapters to add some content. I will try to make them longer

 Chapter 8: SNAAAAKEEE

    I will make it short


    Sara didn''t find them on the hospital, not even Jess


    The reason was simpler, the hospital was a mess. They were in a state of emergency thanks to all the wounded, and no one wanted to pay attention to a little girl. They either ask her where her parents were, tell her to not bother her or send her to a guard


    And to make matters worst, sunrise was approaching


    Why does it matters, you ask?


    Think for a second what she did every single day since she can remember? Every single day. It didn''t matter if it was sunny cloudy or rainy, summer autumn, spring or winter. She always went to the same spot every single day


    And since she was four, she even went and come back alone


    Yes, she was worried about her family, she wanted to see them no matter what


    And yes, she didn''t have a full grasp about money and how important it was


    But she couldn''t do anything there, no matter how hard she tried, so her best option was going back to her routine and hope that maybe Max would find her like he always did


    Her spot wasn''t far from the hospital since a hospital usually has good traffic, and with no hope of finding her family there, she went to her spot like usual


    She tried to go back to her place and get her stuff, but the place was surrounded by the police and with a yellow line to stop people for coming in


    Instead, with no other choice, she just grabbed a can and put it beside her on her spot


    And she waited


    And waited


    And waited


    And waited


    All alone on her spot, hoping that someone would come look for her


    When night came, realising that no one would come for her, she grabbed the can and tried to go home


    But of course, the place still had a yellow line and some cops there, making impossible to come back


    Instead, she went to a back alley close by and started to gather a couple of cargo boxes


    She used them in her spot as cover, and as a bed at night(since and actual mattress usually gets stolen)


    And as for the money, she hid it at a hiding spot Max showed her before. He had two different hiding spots that he alternated from time to time, and he used them to hide any excess money since the place where they sleep was a dangerous place to keep anything valuable


    Why two placed? he learned a long time ago that if he kept everything in one place and it was discovered, he lost everything in one take


    Sara didn''t think that far(she was a 5 years old dude), but anything that Max said was like gods words to her, so she follow them to the letter


    Anyway, she hid the money and decided to sleep in a back alley close to her home, or at least, that was the idea


    It was when she was gathering the Cargo boxes that she hear


    "Hey kid, come here"(???)Said a woman''s voice


    And a smart kid would run like the wind when she hears something like that. Any smart kid would know that was the favorite phrase of kidnappers


    Sara wasn''t a smart kid


    "What is it miss?"(Sara) said innocently


    Would you be surprised if she got kidnapped 5 seconds later?I don''t


    And the options were innumerable, it could be a psycho looking for its next prey, a lolicon(sounds better than the other word), a mad scientist(no lack of those on this world) etc


    But the gullible Sara didn''t know that. She, she was warned a few times by Max, and his words were everything to her. Sadly, she was lonely, afraid, not thinking straight, and happy to talk to anyone in this kind of situation


    Rooky mistake. Never let your mood dictate your actions, especially in dangerous places like a dark alley late in the night


    What are your chances of something turning out alright?Not good I tell ya


    Not good at all


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    With her lucky strike, would you seriously expect that she could finally catch a break?


    Didn''t I tell you to watch more news or something a few chapters ago? The advice is still standing


    What do you seriously thing happened when she approached the voice?


    A.Got kidnapped


    B.Got killed


    C. 18+ stuff


    D.Other


    Well, let me give you a hand


    First, option C it''s not gonna happen in this story. it''s not like it won''t happen ever, but I just won''t write about it and probably just skip it or gloss over it. And lucky for her, and maybe unlucky for some of the more perverted readers, option C didn''t happen


    Option B didn''t happen or there is no point on telling this story. Well, there are some supers that came back from the dead, and there has been a Zomby attack or two. Reanimation is not exactly something impossible in this world. Still, not option B


    Which leaves us with option A and D


    After making all this build up, you are probably expecting option A, right? Or maybe, if you realised I am a troll narrator, you are expecting D, since that is what a troll narrator would do


    Well, there is also the 3th option, wich is you expecting me to know that you know I am a troll, which would take me, the narrator, to chose option A since it would be the option  you wouldn''t expect from a troll after all the build up


    Confusing, I know


    And the correct answer was D in case you are wondering


    I wonder how many got it right


    What Sara found out after following the box was actually Cat, hiding under a couple of cargo boxes


    "Kid, can you give me a hand? I will make it worth your time"(Cat) said while still hiding under the cargo boxes


    "Ok"(Sara) didn''t hesitate a second


    And no, it wasn''t out of the goodness of here heart that she did it, or because she wanted the reward, it was simply because she knew who she was. Everyone in the factory knew who Cat was since she was one of the landlords of the place. Sara was warned multiple times by multiple people that anything she said was the law, something even Max said, so she didn''t even hesitated when she asked Sara for help


    Besides, Sara liked how she looked. Like any kid, Sara liked cats, so she find the way Cat dressed cute


    Red,  on the hand, was scary


    "I need you to follow me to the corner, and tell me when it is empty"(Cat) Said while still hiding in the Boxes


    "Ok"(Sara) agreed


    And the two of them approached the corner of the back alley, near the street. Sara looked at both sides of the street while Cat was hiding in the cargo box


    She kind of looked like a certain operative with a snake as a nickname


    And when the street was finally empty, Sara warned Cat, and she moved the cargo box while only showing her feets


    She told Sara to follow her and warned her every time she saw someone, and every time Sara did, Cat would stop until the coast was clear


    Sometimes they moved without a problem, and sometimes they had to wait a couple of minutes until they could move


    One time they even had to wait an hour until they were finally alone


    Meanwhile, since Sara had the can on her, every time they stopped, she would put the can on the floor and ask for money like alway


    It was even Cat idea since it helped to blend in with the environment, making it harder to spot the inconsistencies


    They moved slowly like that until they arrived at another back alley with a long staircase


    They went up the staircase and when they reached a door, Cat finally got rid of the box, and with a set of keys opened the door


    "Come inside kid"(Cat)said while entering inside and turning the lights


    Maybe it wasn''t option D in the end.........

 Chapter 9: Pizza

    When Sara pass over the door(reinforced door actually) she found a small apartment with no windows


    From left to right,  It had a kitchen to the left, a small table in the front and a sofa with a tv on the right, and two doors on the far right


    Later she would find out that one had a bathroom and the other was locked and she wouldn''t be allowed to enter


    Anyways, when cat enters the apartment, she turns on the lights, put down a briefcase she was carrying with her all this time, and sit down while telling Sara to come inside and sit on a chair


    You could see how tired Cat was after everything that happened. She just stayed there looking at the ceiling for a couple of minutes, either in deep thought or spacing out


    Meanwhile, Sara just sat there waiting for Cat to say or do something


    "Thanks for your help kid"(Cat) finally say while stopping looking at the ceiling and looking directly to Sara''s eyes


    Sara, on the other hand, not knowing how to react, simply nodded her head, while been a little frightened


    "What is your name kid?"(Cat)asked while still looking directly into her eyes


    "Sara"(Sara)said in a low voice


    "Nice name, it fits you"(Cat)said with a smile to try to calm her down a little


    Cat waited for a few second until Sara calmed down a little, and then proceeded with her questions


    "Do you know who I am?"(Cat)then said while looking directly at her eyes


    Sara didn''t hesitate in nodding affirmatively


    "Why were you on the back alley you found me?"(Cat)kept doing questions while looking deeply into Sara''s eyes


    Sara wasn''t sure why, but she didn''t dare to look away or lie. It was probably her instinct telling her it would be dangerous otherwise


    "I was looking for a place to sleep"(Sara)answer truthfully


    "Do you usually sleep there?"(Cat)


    "No"(Sara)


    "Where then?"(Cat)


    And then, Sara choked a little and finally broke eye contact and said with a lower voice


    "On a big factory"(Sara)with little teary eyes


    "The one that fell down yesterday?"(Cat) ask while still looking at her, even though not directly at her eyes thanks to Sara looking down


    Sara simply nodded and did her best to hold her tears


    Cat, on the other hand, looked to the side and cursed a little


    "Where you there yesterday when it fell down?"(Cat) Said after a while


    Sara nodded


    "Did you saw me there?"(Cat)


    Again, Sara nodded


    "Do you blame me"(Cat)finally asked, while trying to keep a straight face


    " For what?"(Sara) Finally looked at her while still keeping her teary eyes but also with a confuse expression


    The answer catches Cat off guard since she didn''t know what to say. She understood from that question that Sara didn''t even thought to blame Cat for everything that happen, so there was nothing to forgive


    And for the looks of things, she either didn''t consider to start putting blame on everything that happened or was so use to stuff like that, that she didn''t even bother


    Cat probably didn''t know which was worst, not knowing it was her fault, or not caring


    "Never mind kid. did you get hurt?"(Cat)


    "I felt some pain when I sat down, but a nice doctor gave some pills and I fell better now.  But Max, Jess and John......."(Sara) almost about to cry


    "What happened to them"(Cat) said a little worried


    Cat didn''t know them, but she was feeling sympathy for the poor kid in front of her and was fearing the worst under the circumstances


    Sara managed to hold down her tears and look back at Cat


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    "They were taken to the hospital, but when I asked about them at the hospital, they either ignore me or told me to bring an adult. Do you think you could ask for me?"(Sara) Send a puppy eyes attack


    Critical Hit


    It was incredibly effective


    Cat looked away with an ashamed face, not daring to look at those eyes for the first time


    She could see the hopes it had on them, and knowing she had to crush that hope probably made her fell ashamed


    "I can''t kid, my life is in danger right now, so I can''t leave this place"(Cat) said while showing a mix of sadness, shame and reluctance


    "Oh...."(Sara)said a little disappointed


    Part of the reasons Sara decided to help Cat without doubt, besides following the orders others said to her, was in the hope that Cat may help her in her search for her family


    Sara cared more about them than anything else Cat may be able to get her. Sadly, her little idea didn''t work


    And since neither knew what to say, they stayed in silence for a while


    At least, until Sara''s stomach made a sound


    "Oh yeah, do you want to eat something?"(cat) Asked after hearing the noise and realising she also haven''t eaten something for who knows how long


    Sara, on the other hand, cheer up a little and nodded


    Question time!!!!


    Cat is a super with muscle memory, that has a lot of money thanks to being working as a villain. She can perfectly imitate the movements of a 5 starts chef easier than you tying your shoelaces. Besides, she has the money to buy anything she wants


    What do you think she prepared with all that amazing skills and more money that she can spend?


    Microwave Pizza


    She took a frozen Pizza from the freezer and put it on the microwave


    Done


    It is like having teleporting powers, and order Pizza delivery


    And it''s not like it is something strange. Just because you have legs, doesn''t mean you have to walk to work. You can take a bus or drive, even if it is more expensive and less healthy


    Supers are the same, just because they can, doesn''t mean they will


    Besides, pizza is always great


    You could tell thanks the anticipation on Sara''s face when she realised she may be able to eat for the first time in her life the mysterious food that most humans being in the world call pizza for some reason


    If eye''s could devour, the pizza would be gone by now, frozen and uncook


    She even got close to the microwave, stood over a chair and watched the pizza tour around and around and around. You could see salivating in front of the microwave, full of anticipation


    She watched as the cheese slowly crisped and the pizza smell filled the room


    Until she heard the microwave made the cling sound, and her face was full of hope and dreams


    Cat shoosh her over and told Sara to sit in the table while she brought over the pizza


    Without hesitation, Sara sat on the table full of expectation


    The table was ready with two plates, two cups with juice and two napkins. Done while Sara was focusing on the pizza


    Meanwhile, Cat took the pizza from the microwave, cut it in 8 portions, and serve one for the kid and one for herself while leaving the rest to the side


    The bliss in Sara''s face would make ou take our cellphone and took a picture, no matter how cold-hearted you were


    Sara even felt a small flash of light for a second, but she didn''t care, she just kept eating the pizza


    Later, Cat would show the picture back to her while laughing her a-s off, while Sara pouted a little as embarrassment

 Side Story: Angel

    7 hours before the fight at the factory


    I wanna sleep!!!


    I took the day off dammit!!!


    "WHAT!!"(me)screamed to the phone


    "Something came up and we need your help"(voice)said over the phone


    It took me a few seconds to realize who he was. Can''t someone sleep in peace for a change?


    "Can''t you ask someone else for help? It''s my day off!"(me)


    "The other healers are either busy at the moment or unfit for the mission. Can you come, please?I will owe you one"(Unicorn)


    "You owe me like 300 already!"(me)


    "Pretty please"(unicorn)


    "I wanna sleep!!!!"(me)


    "Please!?I won''t stop bothering you until you agree"(Unicorn)


    Yeah, he always does that when he really wants something


    "Fine!Fine! but I want double rate for the extra time, ok?"(me)


    "Deal, I just sent the meeting place to your phone, see ya soon"(Unicorn)hang up after that


    B-stard, at least, chat a little. It''s no fun if it''s all business


    Aghh!!! I wish the hero association would pay better rates. Sometimes I wonder if I choose the wrong profession


    Should I go private?


    Let''s leave it for another day, let''s get ready


    6 hours before the fight at the factory


    I had taken the day off, so the sudden call forced me to quickly dress up and join the rest in a meeting point


    I found Unicorn, Aegis, the b-tch lighting, sniper and Missing on the meeting point all waiting for me, which made me a little embarrassed


    Hey! I got a call at the last minute, don''t give me that annoyed face....


    "About time you showed up "angel" if you didn''t put so much makeup, maybe you wouldn''t take so long"(b-tch)showed her loooooooove like always


    I don''t know why she hated me so much, not like I would just take the punch


    "Makeup is a beautiful woman mask, too bad you have to use an actual one"(me) said mercilessly


    She even went all red and was just about to start running  when aegis put a shield between us


    "Calm down you two, we have more important things to discuss"(Aegis)


    "Fine!/Fine!"(me/Blue L)


    "Well, now that we are all here, let me tell you about the mission"(unicorn)


    I looked around, and everyone stop what thy were doing and paid attention. Good thing about heroes is that most are kind of similar to boy scouts


    "As you all know, the Irish mafia has a factory full of people that they use as a trading place, you all know which place I am talking about, yes?"(Unicorn)


    "Yes"(x4)


    Sh-ty place


    "Well, today they are doing an important deal with a new group, and from the looks of things, it is a pretty big one. Most of the time we leave them alone since it is only small deals, but we can''t let them do whatever they want. The bosses back at the heroes association sent me the info, and I agree that something must be done. Do you guys agree?"(Unicorn) Said while looking all around


    The other three instantly nodded, and while I wanted to run as soon as I heard what the mission involved, I accidently nodded under the pressure


    WHYYYYYYY!!!!!


    Everyone know that the factory is a media sh-t storm!!!!!


    One wrong move and your hero career could be over!!!!


    And this fools agreed!?


    "Great!Glad to have everyone on board"(Unicorn)


    I AM NOT ON BOARD!!!!!!!


    "Excuse me, aren''t we too few for a mission like this?"(Me) asked


    The more people are on board, more people to share the responsibility if something goes wrong


    What am I even saying, something always goes wrong


    "Too many would be bad since there are civilians involved. Everyone here is really good at avoiding collateral damage and capable of defending themselves"(Unicorn)


    "Yes, but we still need to take care of the enemy while not letting any civilian get hurt. Won''t it be too hard with only the 5 of us?"(Me)


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    Don''t give me the cr-p that heroes always win or something. It would be hard enough for this team to take just the Irish a-s holes, you want to take a new team also?


    "It is fine, from one side, we have Cat and Red Eyes, which can be easily taken down by me Blue lighting and Aegis.The new guys are only a "D" class group of 20 according to the intel we got. Sniper can easily take care of them. Besides, if anyone gets hurt, we have you there to save us"(Unicorn)


    It looks doable, and the intel is usually spot on. But isn''t the new force kind of weak?


    I can''t get away, can I?


    "Fine, but if something goes wrong, I will put all the blame on you, ok?"(me)


    "No problem, since nothing will go wrong"(Unicorn)


    Let''s hope you are right


    1 hours before the fight at the factory


    We make a battle plan, with different contingency and after we had everything ready, we follow Missing to the factory


    The idea was simple. Aegis would counter Red Eyes lasers, blue lighting would distract Cat while Unicorn would quickly take her out. Then, both Blue Lighting and Unicorn would focus on Red eyes, follow by what is left of the grunts and new guys. Sniper would focus on the new guys and grunts while I hide behind Aegis or Unicorn and heal anyone hurt afterwards


    If there were too many hurts, Doctor Pill offered his help after the fight. The association contacted him since he had a clinic close by, and he agreed to help only after the fight was over since he can''t heal himself, unlike me


    If we have a problem, it would be that we couldn''t take action before the new guys showed their content, since they didn''t have a criminal record. If someone was filming and they showed that we attacked before they did anything illegal, they could walk free of charge even if they attacked back, since it could be considered self-defense and other bureaucratic bullsh-t


    Thanks, Mr layers and "concerned citizens"


    WE even had to give them a chance to surrender or the self-defense could still work under certain circumstances. They even used that loophole last time a hero team attacked the factory


    Still, even with all the bureaucratic bullsh-t, the plan looked good on paper


    Let''s hope it works


    Minutes before the fight at the factory


    After waiting on a corner and been careful of avoiding any grunt that passed by, an hour quickly passed and the new guys finally showed up


    The new guys arrived like they owned the place and one that looked like the leader sat on a chair


    "Did you bring the money?"(leader?)


    "Here it is, did you brought the stuff?"(Red Eyes) said while showing the briefcase with money inside


    Sadly, even if it looks suspicious as sh-t, showing a briefcase full of money isn''t exactly Illegal


    "Of course"(Leader?) said while showing his briefcase


    Inside you could see hundreds of yellow pills


    Bingo!


    It was at that moment that we could finally show our selfs and ask them to surrender


    No one expected them to do it, but it was something we had to do if we wanted to avoid problems later. Besides, we could take advantage of the confusion and surprise to quickly take them out


    "Surrender now and no one will be harmed. We have the place surrounded so there is no escape"(Unicorn)said in a really threatening voice


    I expect them to panic like most would in this case. Instead, both criminal parties look at each others, lifted their briefcases, and after a small nod, they throw it at each other


    F-CK!!!!!!!!!


    Did they know!!!???


    It was too coordinated to be improvisation


    Wait! does that mean................


    Note: thx Neiden</a> for the help

 Side Story: Angel Part 2

    Start of the fight


    Yep, we are screwed


    They threw everything they had as soon as we revealed our selfs


    EVERYTHING!!!!


    And there is no f-cking way those new guys are "D"


    Aegis second shield can''t hold off all those powers plus the machine guns, no way


    Thanks to that, Unicorn can''t move, and blue b-tch can''t fight Cat alone


    We are on a f-cking stalemate, and to make it worst, both Cat and the Leader guy are escaping with the briefcases


    Which would make this operation a complete failure


    And we have no way of stopping them


    Blue b-tch is busy with the grunts and new guys since trying to take down Cat alone is too dangerous. Her Kung fu mixed with her reaction speed can land nasty hits, especially to a speedster. Even unicorn would have troubles alone if she used Aikido on him


    Basically, she is a pain in 1v1


    And for the looks of things, Silent Sniper has no way of hitting them and has no other choice but to hit the grunts and the new guys


    Or not, looks like the new guys are unhurt


    Do they have barriers or something?


    It''s so frustrating to only be able to look....


    But if I try to do something else, I will only be a bother


    <strong>5 minutes after the start of the fight</strong>


    Finally, things are looking good. Most of the grunts were taken care off


    Unicorn even has some room to kick some a-s! hell yeah


    I think both Cat and the leader guy must be already out of here, but if we managed to catch all this grunt, new guys and Red Eyes, we can make it look good on the press


    Still, these new guys are annoying as hell. Did the "C" guys make a group or something?


    That could be dangerous


    10 "C" can take down an "A" guy with some effort, even 8 if they have good compatibility. If it wasn''t thanks to my support, both Aegis and Unicorn could be down already


    Still, it is nice seen them fly all over the place now. I know he is doing it to stop their healer from fixing them, but it is therapeutic when you see a pain in the a-s fly away


    They are flying all over the place, I hope he doesn''t end up killing one. Well, he usually holds back pretty well, so there shouldn''t be a problem. Besides, the ones he doesn''t hold back, they are the though ones


    Like the one he is hitting now, he can really take a beating


    Wow, the guy is really flying. Looks like he didn''t hold back with that pu...


    SH-T!!!!!!


    THE CEILING IS COM......


    Wha......?


    Where am I?


    Everything is a mess around me


    Why is there so much concrete on the floor?


    How did I get here?Oh yeah, the ceiling fell down


    ............


    .................


    THE CEILING FELL DOWN!!


    F-CK F-CK F-CK!!!!!!


    Where is everybody? How long was I out?


    Oh! there is Unicorn


    Looks like he got out ok. Well, I doubt a little concrete can hurt the guy. Where is the rest? Silent Sniper should be ok since she was shooting from outside


    B-ch is fast, so she should have gotten out without a problem, and Aegis has his shield


    I guess we have to focus on the civilians, I wonder how many got out ok


    "Unicorn! Over here!"(me) calling the guy while waving my hand while still on the floor


    "Oh! Thank god! looks like you are fine. Did you see the rest?"(Unicorn) Smiled a little when he saw me and offer me a hand


    "No, I just woke up. How long was I out?"(me) asked while getting up


    "No idea, but it shouldn''t have been more than a few seconds. Help me look for Aegis"(Unicorn)


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    "And the rest? Are they ok?"(me)


    "Yeah. Missing left the building after the battle started. He was supposed to follow anyone that managed to escape. I told Silent Sniper to call the authorities and help them get here. As for Blue Lighting, she found me as soon as I got up, and I told her to get Doctor Pill. I am sure we will need him in a few minutes"(Unicorn) Said while looking around


    I, on the other hand, relaxed a little. We may be in a sh-tty situation, but no one likes it when a friend or co-worker gets hurt


    "Darn!"(Unicorn) Said in a loud voice


    I wonder what would make the boy scout say something close to a curse word, but as soon as I follow his line of sight, I realised


    I found Aegis half burned and bleeding to death


    I even started moving before I even thought what to do


    Years of experience forced my body to work on automatic in situations like this one


    So I approached him in an instant and started healing him the best I could


    Sh-t! He really is in a bad shape


    I can barely feel a pulse and he is really badly burn


    How did this happen?


    It looks like Red Eyes powers got him. Nothing else in the factory could have caused this kind of burn marks. Did he try to stop the collapse with his second shield, leaving an opening for Red Eyes?


    Mmmm


    I guess that''s what happened. Since aegis would by instinct try to stop something like that, and Red Eyes would take advantage of an opening without hesitation


    Idiot


    "Miss, I need your help, my brother is in danger. Please help him!"(????)


    Uh!?


    A kid?


    Sh-t! I forgot about the civilians


    Damn, she looks pretty bad. Did she say something about her brother?


    "Kid, I can''t move right now. Bring him over so I can heal him"(me) said while still trying to heal Aegis


    "But but but if we don''t hurry he may die! please come help me"(kid)tried to convince me while grabbing my arm


    This is bad


    I need all my power to heal Aegis. I can''t waste half of it in the kid, especially when she doesn''t need immediate treatment


    Let''s try to buy some time


    "Kid, I can''t move from here right now, if you want to help your brother, bring him overhear or ask Unicorn to do it for you"(me) said while pointing with my chin to Unicorn direction


    Kids usually have priority, and it is more efficient to bring the wounded here or put them on the same place than having me moving around all over the place


    Great!Looks like it worked


    The kid went directly for Unicorn


    Not like Unicorn paid attention to her


    He is really working hard there. I would have puked after the 3 body, but he keep going relentlessly


    Come on kid, you can do it, don''t give up


    Come one, come on


    Yes!


    Finally, Unicorn paid attention


    Looks like they are talking


    Good good


    And she is pointing to some place far away


    Sh-t!


    Kid is screwed


    There is no way Unicorn will go there


    One of the first things you learn(if you want to live long) is to never follow a civilian blindly


    I can''t count how many times I heard about some hero that follow a crying civilian to a dark alley, to suddenly getting attacked by some a-s hole


    And sometimes, they don''t come back alive from it


    In situations like that, you have to properly question  the civilian, and if you dare, follow him or her with caution


    Sadly, right now not only it is too risky, it is also unproductive. Even if it is true, Unicorn can save 3 kids like him in the time it takes to save just that one kid


    Poor kid


    But she isn''t the only one with problems

 Chapter 10: Stuff kids hate

    Note: Happy new year


    ---------------------------------------------------


    Sara fell asleep shortly after finishing her meal, tired of a long day without sleeping. Even when she tried to sleep a little in her begging spot, the worry she had didn''t let her relax enough to manage to sleep profoundly, only a light sleep


    It  was only after finally eating something and manage to tink of something unrelated to everything that happened that she finally relaxed enough to instantly fall asleep


    The next day, Sara woke up on the couch with a blanket over her


    After looking around a little, she found Cat on the table using a laptop and drinking some coffee


    "Good morning"(Sara) said to cat


    It was a habit since she got from her brother, that always said good morning when she woke up, so she always answered back, or said first if she woke up before him


    "Good morning kid. Go brush your teeth and take a bath.The bathroom is the left door over there"(Cat) said while pointing at the bathroom door


    "Brush my teeth?"(Sara) showed a confused face


    Meanwhile, Cat showed an expression of shock. Was it possible she didn''t know what brushing your teeth was? was what her face said


    "You don''t know what brushing your teeth is?"(Cat)Surprised


    Sara, on the other hand, shake her head


    It must be understood that she was raised by a kid from the slums. I can''t say for sure if Max knew what brushing your teeth meant, but he probably didn''t know or didn''t like it like most kids. As for Sara, since she didn''t watch TV, she never saw a Colgate add or learned from a grown up or in school about it


    Besides, dental care isn''t something a slum kid can really afford


    Still, it was a big shock for Cat. It was one of the thinks you first learn when you are a kid, like it or not


    "Follow me kid"(Cat) said while getting up from her chair and going to the bathroom


    Sara followed her shortly after


    Inside, she took a package with two brush inside, one blue and one pink, and open it


    She gave the pink one to Sara and she took the blue one for herself


    And she taught Sara how to brush her teeth


    I could explain all the process, like Cat explaining and showing while Sara tried her best to imitate, and kind of failed thanks to using a brush too big for her


    But you do know how to brush your teeth, right? What a youtube video otherwise


    Anyways, Cat managed to teach Sara to some extend all the process of brushing your teeth and told her she must do it 3 times a day


    Sara, on the other hand, wasn''t happy about doing it 3 times a day but decided to do it anyway since big sis for her to do it


    Who is big sis? Cat obviously. Cat told Sara to call her big sis for now on while explaining how to brush her teeth and Sara agreed without hesitation


    To Sara, Jess was only her sister, John her brother and Max her big brother, so she didn''t mind calling Cat big sis. Besides, Cat had been kind to her so far, so she was even a little happy when Cat said that


    Why wouldn''t she? Kids are simple, you are nice to them, and they like you. You are not nice to them, and they hate you. Cat was one of the few people that had been nice to Sara in her whole life, so of course she would be happy to call her big sis


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    Even if she forced her to do two of the things that small kids hated to do the most, brushing your teeth, and what would come next


    The infamous and completely hateful thing for kids called taking a bath


    It hasn''t been explicitly told in the story, but it isn''t hard to imagine that the hygiene of a slum kid isn''t exactly the best


    And by not the best I mean even a street dog smelled better than Sara


    A bath is an unnecessary luxury for a slum kid. Besides, it was unproductive since smelling like sh-t helps get pity from people, allowing them to earn more money


    So even Sara, that could only count to 30, would be able to count how many times she took a bath


    Not like she actually counted, but she could


    IF you add the months of time without a bath, plus all the dust and blood from the factory and who knows what else, she looked like a mess


    Luckily, Cat forced Sara to eat the pizza with a napkin, or she may also have to worry for a stomach infection


    Well, she may have to worry anyways, since Sara didn''t eat "clean" food all the time, or even bother to wash her hands


    Anyways, Sara looked like sh-t, so Cat forced her to take a bath after brushing her teeth, and I must tell you, it wasn''t easy


    Not because Sara refused to take a bath. She may not have wanted to take one, but she didn''t want to defy Cat


    No, the reason was the layer of dirt Sara had developed over time


    It was really hard to take off


    They only had a cheap sponge and regular soap, so it was really hard to take all that dirt and who knows what else from Sara''s skin


    And it''s not like her hair was much better


    Even a super powered person with muscle memory couldn''t find a way to solve the problem


    All that Cat could do was simply work hard until the problem was solved


    Sara had so much dirt on her, that the water in the bathtub almost turned solid


    Well, not really, but you get the point


    It was definitely a death wish try to even drink a little bit of it


    They worked for who knows how long, but they finally succeeded after a long time and effort


    At the end of it, Sara almost looked like a normal 5-year-old girl (except for having her skin all pink and been a little skinny)


    Cat felt a sense of accomplishment and Sara felt hurt all over the place, her opinion about definitely didn''t improve after all that


    Happy ending, right? welllllllll, not exactly


    There was a tiny little problem they had to solve after all that trouble


    Can you guess it?


    Cat had a nice place, with electricity, running water, gas, cable, internet necessary tools and food


    The place was designed to solve any daily necessity that Cat would have in case she needed to lay low for a while


    <span style="background-color: #f5f6f5;">Any daily necessity that Cat would have it the point I am trying to make</span>


    After doing all that hard work, and finally cleaning all the dirt and stuff Sara had on her, she still had to wear something afterwards


    And all she had to wear was the dirty mess that she was wearing before.......

 Chapter 11: Getting clothes

    "I know the answer but I must ask anyway, do you have more clothes?"(Cat) asked reluctantly


    Witch Sara answered back by simply shaking her head


    Not really a surprise actually


    "And all your clothes are buried, right?"(Cat)asked again


    And Sara nodded this time


    "Where did you get clothes then?"(Cat)


    "From the church"(Sara)finally talked


    Which caused Cat to show a surprised expression for a second. Not because Sara talked, but simply because she realised it was a little obvious if you thought about it


    Cat pondered on the answer a little bit, and after a while, she nodded to herself as if she finally made up her mind


    "It was the church near the factory, right?"(Cat)Finally said


    "Yes"(Sara)confirmed


    "Ok, let''s do this, put those clothes and come eat something. Afterwards, I will give you the directions on how to get there, and you will ask for some clothes, ok?"(Cat) said


    And Sara nodded


    "Do you know how to read?"(Cat)


    "A little"(Sara)


    "Ok, I am going to write the directions and explain them to you, put on your clothes and come to the table"(Cat) said while getting up and leaving the bathroom


    Sara let go of her towel and put the dirty clothes she was wearing before


    It wasn''t anything special. It was some underwear, a pink shirt with a pony and a blue short. It was in the middle of summer, so it wasn''t cold outside


    The pony shirt was actually her favourite one, so she usually wore it at home or under another shirt so it didn''t get ruined


    I guess she was kind of lucky for wearing it that day, even if she wore it most of the time at home. Silver lining I guess


    Still, after putting on her clothes, Sara left the bathroom and sat on a table where she found some cereal and milk


    It was actually dehydrated milk, but since it was the first time Sara actually tried cereal with milk, she didn''t care


    It was bliss time for the small minute it took to finish it


    With a sneak flash on the side


    Sara even put more cereal and milk a second time to have another minute of bliss time


    Meanwhile, Cat was writing something on a paper while looking into her laptop and taking sneak pics on the side


    When Sara finally finished eating her cereal,  Cat sat by her side and started explaining the content of the paper


    It was a map that started by the house and showed all the way to the church, including landmarks and street names in case she got lost


    Sara saw the paper and read all the names of the streets and landmarks while asking anything she didn''t understand


    Like what is a Starbucks or stuff like that


    Cat also wrote left in her left palm and right in her right palm so she doesn''t forget on her way


    Cat also told her, that if they asked why was she so clean when she was a street kid, she must answer she was forced to take a bath at the clinic


    Then, she told Sara to repeat what she said to put it to memory


    Finally, Cat rubbed Sara''s head and told her it should be ok


    Sara smiled back at her and approached the door with confidence while saying goodbye before leaving


    "Bye bye big sis. See you soon"(Sara)waved before closing the door


    "Good luck kid"(Cat) said with an anxious face


    And with that, Sara was finally outside


    She didn''t have a clock, so she didn''t know the time, but the sun wasn''t all the way up  yet, so it was before midday


    The day was kind of hot but not unbearable, so  staying by the shadows of the building would be enough to prevent a heat stroke


    Even a little kid knew that been too hot was bad. If you fell better by been in the shadows of a building in a hot day, why wouldn''t you do it


    So, by following the excessively detailed instructions while staying in the buildings and trees shadows, Sara slowly walked to the church while double checking all the landmarks


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    If you are wondering why she had to go to all this trouble instead of just buying new clothes, it was simply because they couldn''t


    Cat couldn''t go out and buy the clothes since she was wanted at the moment. Same problem if they order online since she would have to open the door and receive them


    Sara, on the other hand, wouldn''t be welcome at a store with the clothes she was wearing, and being too young didn''t help. Even if she showed the money, the store would suspect she stole it, take all the money and call the police


    Their only option was to get clothes this way


    Not like Sara realised all that, for all she knew, you only get clothes from the church


    The concept of charity was something she didn''t exactly understood


    And she knew she needed clothes to change, so even if she didn''t like going there, it was something she had to do


    Luckily, she arrived there without a problem and was received by a nun


    "Hello little lady, what bring you to gods house"(Nun)


    "I lost all my clothes and I need new ones"(Sara) said honestly


    The nun saw her for a second, and after seeing her clothes, you could see a sign of pity on her eyes


    "Were you at the warehouse the other day?"(nun)asked while still showing some pity


    Sara nodded without hesitation or realising what that look really meant. Well, she didn''t know what it meant, but she was used to seeing it all the time


    "Did  you go to the hospital?"(Nun)asked


    Sara nodded again


    It wasn''t a lie since she actually went there. Besides, Cat instructed her to say she took a bath there if they asked


    "And you went back to the streets afterwards, right?"(Nun)


    "yes!"(Sara) answered without hesitation, or lying


    The nun probably meant she got away from the hospital before they took her to an orphanage, but Sara left simply because no one paid attention to her


    The nun, misunderstanding what she meant but still understanding she really needed the clothes, sighted in the end


    "Follow me"(Nun) reluctantly said


    There was nothing the Nun could do. Most of them realise over time that some kids prefer the streets over living on an orphanage. And considering how some of them were, it wasn''t that big of a shock


    This left the Nuns with no other option but to "support" their way of living or leave them to fend for themselves


    This nun chose to give Sara a hand


    She took Sara to a room where they store all the donations and picked a couple of clothes for her


    After the destruction of the factory the other day, the church received an increased amount of donations, so they could afford to be a little more generous than usual


    Sara ended up receiving 3 shirts, 3 pants, 3 pairs of socks and underwear, and a small coat


    Only one was in perfect condition since most donations were used clothes from people that grown up and couldn''t use them anymore or too ugly for them


    It''s not hard to guess how "pretty" was the one in perfect condition


    Not like Sara complained, she was to receive new clothes


    The Nun put everything in a plastic bag and handed it over to Sara. Since it wasn''t heavy, she grabbed without a problem


    "Thank you"(Sara) said while bowing


    Something her big brother told her to always do when someone did you a favour


    "May god bless you child"(Nun) said back to her


    And with that, Sara left the church after waving at the Nun from afar


    She remembers the way back, to some extent, and with the help of the excessively detailed paper, she shouldn''t have a problem getting back


    But first, she had a couple of places she had to visit


    ----------------------


    Note: thx Neiden</a> again for the help

 Chapter 12: Homeostasis

    After getting the clothes from the church, Sara knew that Cat was waiting for her, but still needed to check a couple of places


    First, she went back to the factory, but the place still had a yellow line on it


    There were no people around or inside, so she could pass over the line and get inside. She even hesitated a little, but there was no point


    All their stuff was crushed and no one inside meant that they weren''t there


    Instead, she chooses to try her luck with their different spots


    But before we go there, let me ask you a question Have you ever heard of homeostasis?


    Have you ever heard of homeostasis?


    In case you don''t know and don''t fell like google in it, it is the ability or tendency to maintain internal stability in an organism to compensate for environmental changes


    Basically, if an external influence affects an organism state, the organisms tries it''s best to reach an equilibrium again


    For example, if the body is too hot, a person start sweating to cool the body down


    Drink too much water? You go to the bathroom more often


    Drink too little, cells break down to create water while the throat and mouth become dry, so that the symptoms of thirst motivate the organism to drink


    And you are probably wondering, where I am going with all this, right?


    Well, let''s think a  little


    1.5 days ago a factory full of homeless people that spend most of their time begging on the streets were incapacitated after it fell down. Some died, somewhere wounded and very few got away ok


    All this people had to put food on the table somehow, and they all did in different ways


    Some begged


    Some looked in the garbage Some sold cheap stuff on the street, etc


    Some sold cheap stuff on the street etc


    etc


    But after the building collapsed, all this "works" suddenly became open


    The spots they had before were now free to use


    And some of them were pretty good, or, at least, better than others


    Now imagine this


    Each zone in a city has a limit amount of resources


    Since each zone had a limited amount of resources, it could only sustain a limited amount of people


    When too many people were in one zone, some were forced to move to a zone with fewer people or more resources to share


    That way, even though each zone had a different amount of people, there was a balance


    No matter how profitable a zone was, when it reached a certain amount of people, it was more profitable to move some to a different place


    Each zone usually increase or decrease a few people at the time, always maintaining this balance


    But what do you think it happens when suddenly a zone becomes empty?


    Homeostasis


    People that had a limited amount of resources in their zone tries to move to the new zone with fewer people to share with(more for each)


    So what do you think Sara saw when she went to her and her brothers and sister spots?


    People already using them


    In her spot was a guy without legs


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    In Jess, a new kid


    John place? Lady with a baby


    And in Max''s place, a blind man


    Each time she went to one of the spots and found it occupy, she went to the next one in hope of finding her family


    But when she finally reached the last one, the one she wanted to check first but at the same time was afraid of doing it.... she lost hope


    She lost hope when she saw the blind man


    Part of her hoped to see Max just sitting there, with his arms open, saying everything was going to be ok


    She wanted to believe and was afraid to confirm at the same time


    So when she saw the blind man, she just stared at him, not knowing what to do


    IF it had been a kid, she may have gone and fight him while screaming. If it was a normal adult, she may have shy away since there was nothing she could do


    But a blind man? Part of her wanted to go there a fight for her brother spot and another part of her thought not only that it was wrong, but that there was no point


    It was a fight withing her sadness and her anger


    And she had this internal fight while staring at the blind man


    She saw how that guy was just sitting at her brother spot, with a can on his hand making coin noises


    She even felt irritated when she heard the constant noise of coins hitting the can, asking for more from the people on the street


    *clang**clang**clang**clang**clang**clang**clang**clang**clang**clang**clang**clang*


    Was the constant sound she heard


    With each *clang*, she felt a little more annoyed, a little more angry and a little less sad


    Why was he on her brother spot?what right did he have? it was unfair for him to be there and not his brother


    What if her brother came back and found him there? he may give up and go someplace else, losing her opportunity of seen him again


    Her thought reached such a point that she closed her fists, and was just about to go fight that guy when something happened


    It wasn''t that the blind guy notices her, or anyone tried to stop her


    What happen was simply that a small kid with his mum gave a coin to the blind guy


    The moment the kid did that, the *clang* sound stopped


    "Thank you"(Blind guy)


    "You are welcome"(Kid) said while his mum dragged him away


    After hearing the kids voice, the blind mind was surprised for a moment but did nothing else


    He just stayed there, without doing the *clang* sound, while showing a sad expression for some reason


    Meanwhile, Sara stopped moving again. All that made her forget her anger for a moment, and when the kid was far away while the blind mind was quiet in Max spot, she just didn''t felt like fighting


    Instead, she started looking at her fist for a moment, thinking of what she was just about to do, when she saw "right" wrote on her right hand


    She noticed the weight of the bag on her left hand and remember why she was out and that someone was waiting


    Sara took one last look at the blind mind, turned around, and when back to the church


    Afterwards, she followed the paper back to her new home

 Chapter 13: News

    When Sara returned to Cat''s hideout, she knocked on the door and waited for Cat to open


    The door had a camera at the side, so when Sara knocked, Cat could see it was her


    "Welcome back"(Cat) said as soon as she open the door while going out a little and looking at both sides


    "I am back"(Sara) said cheerfully


    After looking around a little, Cat finally showed a relaxed face and let Sara get inside while closed the door behind her


    "Did you get the clothes?"(Cat)


    "Here"(Sara) showed the bag in her left hand


    "Good good. Go to the bathroom and put some new clothes. Meanwhile, I am going to cook something"(Cat)


    "Ok"(Sara) said and went to the bathroom


    When she came out a little while with her new clothes, Sara found Cat cooking hamburgers and some instant mash potatoes mix


    Sara decided to sit at the table and while looking around, she saw a photograph of the destroyed factory on the laptop screen


    Her curiosity got the best of her and she decided to approach the laptop


    What she saw was an article besides the picture that Sara couldn''t stop herself from reading


    The article said


    The truth behind the deaths at the Old Scoundrel Factory finally revealed


    "After the incident that took 70 lives and countless wounded, most people were wondering who was to blame for all this


    Some blamed the irresponsibility of the heroes, others blamed the Irish mafia that owned the place and has been using that place for shady deals for years


    But unexpectedly, it turned out it was neither


    Forensic evidence shows that it was actually a sabotage made by the new third party


    Little is know about this new group besides all of them using grey hoods and all of them being low-level powers, but it is believe that it is a new rising suicide cult


    This theory comes from the facts that every single person the heroes managed to catch died after having ingested a pill shortly after their capture


    If you add that all of them dress the same and belong to a specific group of people, the likeness of this being true is really high


    No statement have been shown from this new group, but the forensic evidence is unrefutable, making this cult a dangerous group that must be avoided at all cost"(Article) said


    Sara read the whole article, and even though she didn''t understand all the words in it, she understood who was to blame


    Before,  she was not only confused from everything that happened but also didn''t understand exactly why the factory felt down


    Now, on the other hand, she knew there was someone to blame


    Someone to sent the anger she felt when the blind guy was on her brother spot


    Someone to blame for all the misfortune that she had suffered in the last few days


    And someone to help her forget the sadness she felt inside


    Meanwhile, Cat was busy making the hamburgers, the mix and even bread with a bread machine


    So when she finally finish making the food and was just about to put the plates, she found Sara looking at her laptop


    The moment she realised what was inside, she quickly closed the laptop, but after seeing Sara''s expression, she realised it was too late


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "Did you see it?"(Cat) asked a question she already knew the answer


    So it didn''t surprise her when Sara nodded in agreement


    "F-ck"(Cat)said in a small voice


    She sighed for a moment and looked at Sara in the eyes


    "Did they do it?"(Sara) asked before Cat could say her next question


    "Who?"(Cat) didn''t want to make assumptions


    "Was it the hood guys who did it?"(Sara) asked while trying to hold her anger


    Cat was surprised for a second and looked the other way


    "According to the news, that is what happened"(Cat)said while still looking away


    "Why did they do it?"(Sara)


    "Nobody knows for sure, but most people believe they did it to get away"(Cat)


    "Will someone catch them?"(Sara)


    "I don''t know"(Cat)


    "oh"(Sara) finally said with a low voice while looking down


    Shortly after, Cat patted her head


    "Let''s eat, ok?"(Cat) said while trying to cheer her up


    "Ok"(Sara) Agreed


    And shortly after, they started eating


    Sara again tried something delicious she never had before and cheer up a little


    But she wasn''t in bliss like before, she was still processing what she read


    Meanwhile, Cat was quietly eating her burger


    Afterwards, Cat went to brush her teeth with Sara and watched some kid movies with her in the couch


    Since it was Netflix,  it wasn''t hard to find kid movies, and after two, Cat put her a kids tv show and went to her laptop


    Meanwhile, Sara was delighted with all that, and for a moment, she forgot the anger inside


    It was already nighttime when Cat called Sara to the table, and they ate some spaghetti


    Again, something new she never had before, but she wasn''t in complete bliss like the first two times. Still, she was in a far better mood than in the afternoon


    Even Cat had a better expression than in the afternoon after seen the cheerful smile of Sara


    Cat even watched some chapters of the TV show with her afterwards and send Sara to sleep when it was getting late. She gave Sara a blanket and let her sleep on the couch


    Cat, on the other hand, went to the other door beside the bathroom, where her room was


    "Good night Kid"(Cat)Said while turning the light


    "Good night big sis"(Sara) said back to her


    And close her eyes, but not her mind yet


    She started thinking about what she read, and what she felt


    She wanted to do something about those hood guys, but she didn''t like how big sis looked when she talked about it or the factory


    Believe it or not, children are really perceptive of other people''s mood, especially when the child makes a living of peoples feelings


    So she noticed Cat''s sadness and didn''t like it


    Sara felt grateful for everything that Cat did for her, so seeing her suffer made her fell bad


    But that didn''t mean she gave up on her brothers or doing something about the hood guys, she would simply try to find about them on her own


    ---------------------------------------------


    Nothe Thx again for the help with the Grammar Neiden

 Side Story: Field Test F07

    21/7 20:07


    Field test F07 going fine so far


    Mr P confirmed the heroes presence and that they asked for his services


    The buyers are already waiting and confirmed not only having the compensation for our products but even brought their two powered at the requested location


    Decoys confirmed inside, enough to provide cover when fighting against the heroes


    The buyers were already informed of the heroes "probable" appearance and how to proceed when the heroes attack


    Proceed with Field Test F07?


    <yes>


    22/7 12:22


    Return Successful


    Disposal of compensation complete


    Starting analysis of Field Test F07


    Analysing Video feedback


    Attaching video feedback


    Analyzing data from subjects I022 and I034


    Attaching data


    Sending report


    Internal messenger system 22/7


    Seriously Jorge, why must we send all the reports so mechanically 14:12


    If we don''t, Monica starts b-tching around all day. Besides, it is easier to read and saves time. You would go nuts after reading hundreds of reports full of unnecessary stuff 14:13


    Fine! but it''s still a pain to write 14:13


    How did it go? 14:14


    Fine, I guess. Better than we expected and worst than we hoped. They could hold their own, but they slowly lost ground as time went by 14:15


    At least, you got out fine 14:15


    No problem there. As soon as the fight started, I caught the money and ran away as fast as I could 14:16


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Did the teleport work fine? 14:17


    Yeah, no problem there. Vomit a little after the teleportation but that is normal. Did we really have to dispose of all that money?It feels like a waste 14:19


    You know they could be marked, right? it was too risky for so little 14:19


    I wouldn''t say 3millions is little, but I get it. It still feels like a waste of money though 14:20


    We waste money in stupid stuff all the time, what is a little more? We spend 50millions a few months back because you wanted a playroom  14:22


    Point taken. And don''t act like you don''t use it from time to time  14:22


    I was trying to make a point!  14:23


    Fine fine 14:23


    Anyways, how many came back? 14:24


    Half, some died after the ceiling fell down and others were captured  14:25


    Did the pills work?  14:25


    Phil said they worked fine. Poor guys  14:26


    Yeah, but nothing we can do about it. If we didn''t put a safety measure, everything could be compromised. Besides, they knew what was at risk, they should have tried harder   14:28


    Still, it doesn''t leave a good after taste   14:29


    Don''t feel so bad. At least, we got a lot of useful data out of it 14:29


    Yeah, but was it worth it? 14:30


    Yes it was 14:30


    -------------------


    Note: thanks again for the help Neiden

 Chapter 14: Uncle Muscle

    The next day, Cat woke up Sara like yesterday, and after dressing and having some cereal, she went to brush her teeth


    When Sara was finally ready, Cat waved to Sara so she would sit by her side, and took a paper similar to the map from yesterday


    "I need you to go out again, you think you can do it"(Cat)


    "No problem"(Sara) said cheerfully and full of confidence


    Cat smiled a little at her response and showed her the map she drew


    "If there is something you don''t understand, tell me"(Cat) said, and let Sara take a look at the map


    Again, Sara asked questions about the landmarks she didn''t understand, and Cat draw left and right on her hands


    Finally, when everything was over, Cat make sure Sara remember the extra instructions Cat wrote and Sara had to follow when she arrive at the new place


    "Remember, after touching the intercom, a voice will answer and you must tell him that Gato sends you with an envelope. Thena  muscle old man will come down and you hand it to him.Finally, you tell him you will come back tomorrow for an answer, repeat please"(Cat)


    "After I arrive, I call the intercom, tell a muscle uncle that Gato send me and hand over the envelope. Then I just tell him I will come back tomorrow, right?"(Sara)


    "You got it kid"(Cat) Said with a thumbs up


    Sara mimics the thumbs up and gets down from the chair


    "Here, and remember, not a word about me"(Cat) hands over the envelope and the map


    "Thanks, and don''t worry"(Sara) took them and went to the door


    "Good luck kid, don''t get lost"(Cat) said while Sara opened the door


    "See ya soon"(Sara)said before closing it


    And that was it. She was out again on the street


    She felt a little more confident than yesterday, but she still follow the instructions really carefully so she wouldn''t get lost


    The place was further away than the church, and in a place she has never been before, so she took a lot longer than yesterday to arrive at the place


    But she arrived fine anyways


    The place was a not too old or too new tall building with numerous floors and apartments. It had a security camera at the door but strangely, no Janitor or security guard


    Not like Sara cared about all that, she simply approached the intercom and after finding the right button, she touch it. It didn''t take more than a few minutes for a deep voice to answer


    "Who is it? What do you want?"(Voice)


    "Bi.. I mean Gato send me with an envelope for you"(Sara)


    "Gato!? Is she ok!? do you know where she is!?"(Voice)


    "She is fine, but I am not supposed to say anything else"(Sara)


    "Wait there, I will come down"(Voice)said


    So Sara waited. It  took him a couple of minutes for the voice to show up


    It was 50-60 years old white man with white hair and a body full of muscle. He had a scar on his forehead and a manly chin with an average face


    When he saw Sara, he showed a serious expression


    Normally, if you saw a guy like that with that expression, you would probably panic and maybe even sh-t your pants


    Luckily, Sara was used to seen scary people all the time, so it didn''t have an effect on her. It may even reach such a point it that she consider that kind of face normal


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    "Hand over the envelope kid"(muscle) demanded


    "Here"(Sara) handed over the envelope without hesitation


    The muscle uncle took the envelope, open it and notice it had something else besides a letter


    He put the envelope upside down and he started shaking it so the content would fell on his hand


    The thing is, the moment the content fell down on his hand, he notice what it actually was, and panic a little. Then he quickly put the content of the envelope on his pocket while looking around to see if someone saw him


    He then relaxed when he confirmed they were completely alone. HE took the letter and started reading the content


    While reading, you could hear him mumbling a little and showing a serious expression on his face


    When he finished, he even started over again but finally stopped after reading it twice


    "So, you are coming back tomorrow for an answer?"(Muscle)


    "Yep"(Sara)said cheerfully


    "Fine, come back tomorrow around the same time, but don''t make me wait, I am a busy man"(Muscle) while making a go away hand gesture


    "Ok uncle muscle"(Sara)said while going away


    The name catches Uncle Muscle unprepared and took him a minute to react


    "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WITH UNCLE MUSCLE!!!"(muscle) finally said, but it was too late, Sara was far away and didn''t even notice uncle Muscle was frustrated


    She simply walked all the way back to Cat''s home by following the map


    But before going back, she went to Max jess and john place again to try her luck


    No luck


    Same people that were there yesterday, including of course the blind man, again with his wonderful and constant *clang* coin noise


    She was even tempted to go kid the guy like she almost did yesterday, but she simply went back to Cat''s place


    Sara knocked on the door, got inside, told what happened with the muscle uncle, eat, chatted, played etc


    The next day she went back to the Muscle Uncle. He not only handed her a new envelope, he even tried to make her call him with a different name, without luck


    Sara refused to call him any other way


    It was simply because when she was a kid, she met a muscle "lady" that worked on the streets, and "she" told her if she ever saw another muscle "lady" or uncle, Sara must present him to "her"


    Since she always got candy when she did, she always called them muscle lady or muscle uncle as a habit


    Sadly, the uncle "lady" was arrested a few months back and she hadn''t come back yet


    That didn''t change the fact that he was an Uncle Muscle, so she called him Uncle Muscle


    In the end, Uncle Muscle gave up, and just handed over the latter. Sadly for him, later some else would hear the nickname, and it would stick


    Anyways, the following days, Sara spend her time eating tasty food, having a good time with Cat, going on errands and visiting her family spots from time to time. If it wasn''t for her family missing, it could be considered the best time of her life, without a doubt


    But sadly, her happy times would come to an end

 Chapter 15:The end of happy times

    Of course, the happy times had to come to an end


    Eating tasty food, playing games, watching tv and only doing some minor help from time to time?


    How long could an ideal situation like that last?


    The answer is more normal than you would expect


    until the end of summer


    Almost every single kid would play around on summer and go back to school at the end of it


    Normally, a slum kid wouldn''t have the possibility of going to school, or would only be able to go from time to time like Max


    But Cat wouldn''t have that. She already decided to take responsibility for the kid, so missing school would kind of miss the point of taking Sara under her wing


    If there was one problem about all this, it would be that Sara wasn''t registered in the government data base


    Well, maybe she was, but they have no way of contacting someone that would know


    The government technology wasn''t so advance that they stored every single newborn baby ADN and fingerprints in a computer database


    So Cat was forced to create a new ID for Sara


    Normally, a person would try a legal way of doing it. Since Sara was only 5 years old, it shouldn''t be too hard to create an ID legally. Usually, a person can get a country''s ID by being born there, having a parent who was born there or living in that country for a specific amount of time


    So basically, for Sara to get an ID from their country, the best way would be for her to be adopted by Cat or someone


    The thing is, Cat was a wanted criminal, so adopting her would be kind of tricky


    Besides, CAT WAS A F-CKING CRIMINAL!!


    Why the f-ck would she use the legal way?


    She talked with some guys, that talked with some other guys that pay some government officials and voila, new ID


    Simple, right?


    No paperwork, no lines, no waste of time, no bureaucratic bullsh-t, and no pain in the a-s


    Cat did have to spend some money, but she wasn''t lacking in that department


    Besides, even thought she obtained it in an illegal way, it was still a "legal" ID as valid as one obtained by normal means


    It was just done faster


    It took some work since Cat couldn''t leave the house, but with the help of muscle uncle and money, it was done relatively fast


    All Cat had to do next was found a good school near the place


    She settled for a private school 5 blocks from the house


    It went from kindergarten to primary school with a High school next to it


    Cat liked since it had a nice reputation, went from 9 am to 3 pm with optional extracurricular activities and offer lunch at the place


    She could pay it with her fake bank account she used to pay all the bills at the hiding place, so it wasn''t a problem there


    The place even had a cute uniform, which she wouldn''t be able to resist to take a couple of pictures later on(something that Sara would absolutely hate)


    Basically, it was perfect


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    And there was no way Sara would be able to avoid going there, like it or not


    The funny thing was that Sara actually wanted to go there. The moment Cat told Sara she was going to school, Sara was actually happy about it


    Seeing Cat face, you could tell she didn''t even expect that kind of reaction, and it easy to understand why What kid would like to go to school?


    What normal kid would like to go to school?


    The problem was Sara wasn''t a normal kid. She was a slum kid


    Most slum kids dream of a normal life, like loving parents, eating three meals a day and even something like going to school


    Wich does it sound better? Spend hours with people the same age you can even make friends with or staying in the streets begging all day?


    Besides, her big brother Max always preached about the importance of knowledge, and since her big sis also agree with it, why would she refuse them?


    So basically, both completely agreed on Sara going to school


    Cat even used Uncle Muscle as the guardian so he could sign all the paperwork, and go in her place if something ever happens


    And like I said before, the moment the clothes arrived, Cat forced Sara to put it on and she practically started a photography session, causing Sara endless suffering


    But a happy suffering


    Besides, she had a warm roof to sleep, hot tasty food to eat, free entertainment, warm clothes, new school and a big sister that look after her


    She may have some anger inside her, and still wanted to find her family, but she was happy


    The day after the uniform arrived, Cat told Sara to go to Uncle Muscle place so he would take her to school


    Later she would have to go alone, but she went with him the first time so they could sing some papers and so they could show Sara the school and the classroom where she was going to study


    There they also found out she could go to school before the year started since some parents needed a place to leave their kids when they went to work and the school provide it


    Uncle Muscle informed this to Cat in one of his letters(since Sara "Forgot" about it) and after finding out, she told Sara to go there and get to know some kids before school started


    Besides, it would be a good trial run to see if she could blend in with kids of normal upbringing


    The simple answer? she could


    She spent most of her life surrounded by kids, so it wasn''t exactly hard to get along with new kids


    Most were new to the place also, so there was no problem about groups or stuff like that, and since all of them were small kids, they didn''t notice her "unique" upbringing


    Everything went without a problem, so she kept going to school almost every day(it was optional until class started) and had fun with the kids at school and with Cat at home


    She even went to Uncle Muscle pretty often to deliver letters and other stuff, and he ended up warming up to her and even smiled a little when he saw her


    Life went normally like that, until three weeks later when Cat left to live in another city without Sara


    ------------------------------------


    Note: Thx again for the help Neiden, and I also took the advice from Leafyesyes417

 Chapter 16: Goodbye Kid, take care

    In case you are wondering, this is not a trick or something like that, Cat really left Sara


    She didn''t just disappear one day while Sara was away, or was taken by the police or some hero


    She left the city in her own accord


    And the reason was pretty obvious, she couldn''t stay in the city


    The news may have blamed the hood guys but the people also blamed the Irish mafia and the heroes, wich didn''t make things easier for them


    From the heroes part, not only did Aegis stayed in a coma after the incident and Blue Lighting ended up quitting the job since she couldn''t handle the pressure, The heroes association and all the heroes associated with it received a lot of critic for handling the incident so poorly


    And as for the Irish mafia, to escape the legal repercussions, they decided to simply blame all of it to Cat who disappeared after the incident and Red Eyes who was confirmed dead after the collapse


    All this meant that Cat had no protection from her ex-associates, the public hated her and the heroes wanted to punish her


    If she wanted to survive, she had to seek the protection of another group in another city, that would ensure she would be safe from the hate of the locals


    People from other cities wouldn''t care much for something that happened far away, and the heroes of that city wouldn''t be much bloodthirsty if they hardly knew the guys affected by the incident


    So she didn''t have much choice but to offer the drugs and her powers as a bargaining chip and strike a deal with the government, her old group and a new group from another city while not revealing her hiding place


    Which made Sara the perfect helper


    She could move around freely since nobody knew her, she didn''t belong to any factions and needed Cat help as much as Cat needed her help


    It was a symbiotic relationship that lasted one month


    In that month, Cat managed to contact the Muscle Uncle via letter(much safer than using email thanks to powered hackers and thinkers) who was an information broker and friend with Cat


    With his help, they managed to strike a deal with all parties and move to another city without many problems


    She would have a bad reputation and would have to do small deals for a while, but everything would go back to normal with time


    It was the best move she could make if she wanted to keep doing what she did


    The problem with all this was Sara of course


    What to do with Sara?


    Cat received a lot of help from her and kind of got attached to her but not enough to take Sara with her it seems


    I can''t say exactly why not since I am not her or find out why but one can speculate


    Maybe she was afraid of corrupting Sara


    Or was afraid for Sara''s life if she follow her to a new city


    Or had a trauma from the past that didn''t allow her to take Sara with her


    Or <span lang="en">thought </span>it was the best for her


    Or she simply found it annoying to take care of a little kid for who knows how long


    Again, I can''t say for sure


    All I know is the reactions she had the day she left


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Some time before a car came for her, Cat told Sara that she was leaving the city and she was leaving her in the care of the Muscle Uncle


    She was supposed to go to school every day, work for Muscle Uncle in the evening and sleep in the hideout


    She would give Sara the house, would take care of all the bill and make sure Uncle Muscle give her some allowance


    But Cat couldn''t stay in the city anymore(for reasons already explained) so she was going away


    Of course, Sara was confused at the start and begged her to stay at the end with crying and all that


    She already lost 3 family members, she didn''t want to lose any more


    And as for Cat, you could see the sadness and even a little of hesitation


    But she explained again and again, that she couldn''t stay in the city no matter what


    It sucked, but it was the truth, she couldn''t stay


    So why not take her to the new city?


    That was the sudden idea that came to Sara


    If the mountain doesn''t come to Mohammed, Mohammed goes to the mountain


    She didn''t know the saying, but the principle was the same. All she had to do was say it


    It was true that Cat made all the necessary preparations for Sara to live relatively comfortably there, and for some reason, she didn''t offer Sara to take her to the new place


    But Sara believed that Cat was hesitant of not taking her to the new place, and if she asked for it, she may end up convincing Cat to take her


    All she had to do was ask, simple


    The thing is, Sara hesitated


    Just when she was about to ask Cat if she could take her to the new place, she remembered why she couldn''t leave the place


    Sara had unfinished business in the city


    She was still angry with the hood guys for what they did, and she still wanted to find her family. She even went to the blind guy place almost every day just to see if there was any sign of Max or the rest


    If she left the city, she may forfeit any chance of finding her family or revenge


    Yes, she liked her big sister a lot and knew she would be happy with her. But she was a 5 years old with the sudden question of choosing wich parent do you want to live with


    Of course she would hesitate


    And that hesitation, that may not have lasted for more than a minute, was what probably sealed the deal


    Moments after she started wondering if she should choose her big sis or her big brother, someone knock on the door


    Cat made a shh! signal, and slowly approached the camera recording while asking who it was


    The guy said he was told to bring Gato with him and showed some credentials to the camera


    Cat looked at the guy, put a serious face that replaced her sad and hesitation one and while grabbing a bag, she simply say


    "Goodbye kid, take care"(Cat)


    And left the place


    ---------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: thx again for the help Neiden and Leafyesyes417

 Chapter 17: Inevitability

    I guess it is kind of obvious, but after Cat left, Sara cried a lot


    And I mean A LOT


    But in the end, she calmed down and just sat on the couch


    She didn''t turn on the tv or start reading a book or something


    She just laid there, looking at the roof, while being completely depressed


    She regretted her indecision and felt a little more depressed every time she thought about how she could be with her big sis if she only dared to speak up


    She just stayed there, completely depressed for who knows how long, until her stomach grumbled


    Depressed or not, a person has to eat sooner or later


    And Sara was no exception


    She didn''t want to move, but she hated the idea of hunger. She had been hungry her whole life, so she understood and hated hunger more than most people


    Being in constant hunger is not a pleasant feeling, especially when you have a way to avoid it


    This past month, besides the few first times, Cat spent some time teaching Sara how to cook and buy food


    It wasn''t anything complex or involving fire


    Every food she learned was the type you cook in the microwave. It was simple, you take the food from the refrigerator, put it on the microwave and cook it for a couple of minutes


    Cat even left behind an instruction book made by her on what food to buy, the price and how to cook it in the microwave. All this with a stupidly detailed amount of instructions


    It showed how much she worried for Sara, and how much free time she had on her hands.....


    I know I know, it is not exactly the healthiest food in the world, and if she eats that kind of food every day for the rest of her life, she would be lucky if she lived past 40


    But she was supposed to also get her meals from the school and Uncle Muscle, so eating microwave food from time to time wouldn''t kill her


    And with food ready to cook, a detailed book on how to cook it and hunger in her stomach, Sara had no excuse to not eat something


    So she got up from the couch, went to the refrigerator and took a frozen pizza from there


    She put it on the microwave, cook it like the detailed instructions said, and put the table while she waited


    Then, she took it from the microwave when it was done and put it on the table


    Finally, she took a portion of the pizza, started eating it and then she started crying again


    She remembered the first food she had eaten with her big sis, and she couldn''t help herself


    Why take the pizza if it was going to make her cry? because it was the first food she had eaten with her big sis


    Of course, she would pick it to commemorate her, and(of course) she would end up crying in the end


    It was an inevitability


    She ate the pizza while crying and thinking of her big sis


    You could say she was a M, but it was more like her way of dealing with the situation, and maybe a punishment for not asking if she could go with her


    A sad thing, yes


    But that is how the situation went


    Cat had to leave the city because she was wanted, but if she had never been wanted, she wouldn''t have met Sara. It was because Cat needed her help that they ended up meeting each other


    And it was the thing that she needed help with that ended up separating them in the end


    An inevitability


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    The only thing she could have done to stop the inevitability was to follow Cat to her new city, but her doubt on choosing her or her big brother and family and revenge sealed the deal


    She would be stuck alone in the city unless....


    And that was when an idea came to Sara


    She may have lost her big sis, but she still could find the rest of her family


    All she had to do was to put more effort into it


    She was afraid to ask Cat for help since she was sad every time she talked about the factory, but Uncle Muscle should be able to help


    It was a perfect idea


    So she grabbed the keys to the place(something Cat gave her last week and forced her to carry at all times) and left the house


    There wasn''t a problem about the time since she usually went after lunch, and it was around that time anyways


    She was even used to get there, so she didn''t need the map anymore


    She simply walked all the way there, with some hope of finally finding out where her family was


    So, she touched the Uncle Muscle intercom button and waited for him to answer


    "who is it?"(muscle)


    "it is me uncle muscle"(Sara) said with a rough voice


    Side effect of all that crying


    "I am coming down"(Muscle) said, and 3 minutes later, he was down


    He open the door to his building and showed a sad expression after opening


    "You look like sh-t kid"(Muscle) said after seeing Sara''s face


    Again, side effect of all that crying


    "Uncle Muscle, I need a favor"(Sara) said


    The moment Sara said Uncle Muscle, his face twitched for a second, still not used to been called that


    "What do you need kid? Before you ask,  I can''t take you to Gato. I promised her that"(Muscle) said with a serious face


    It wasn''t what Sara was going to ask, but when she heard that he wouldn''t take her to Cat, she got depressed a little. She didn''t realise at the time, but asking Uncle Muscle to take her to Cat was an option, and now she knew it wasn''t


    "Don''t cry kid, ask me anything else and I will see what I can do"(Muscle) panicked after seeing Sara''s reaction


    Probably worried she would start crying again


    Sara, on the other hand, looked straight into his eyes and asked


    "Can you help me find my big brother Max, my brother john and my sister Jess?"(Sara) finally asked


    And Uncle Muscle put a f-ck expression. That subject was a land mine and he knew it


    Cat probably warned him before hand, because Sara never told him about them, but he already knew about them for the look of things


    "Ok"(Muscle) agreed


    "Yes!"(Sara) was happy that she may finally find her family


    She may have lost Cat, but finding her family was also something important to her


    "But under one condition, you must work diligently for one year before I help you find them"(muscle) put as a condition


    "Uh?"(Sara) said a little confused


    I am sure this was also inevitable


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thx again for the help Neiden, maybe I will some day learnt the proper use of being and been :P

 Chapter 18: All Alone

    "Why"(Sara) asked a little confused


    She didn''t understand why must she work for one year so that Uncle Muscle would help her


    "Kid, nothing is free in life. I promise Cat that I would look after you in exchange of you working for me. I don''t really need your help, but I took you in as a favor to Cat. If you want any more from me, you must pay the price first"(Muscle) said with a serious face


    Of course, Sara didn''t understand half of what he said, thanks to the sudden panic she was in


    "Bu-buttt...."(Sara) tried to argue back, unsuccessfully


    "No buts, if you want my help, work for it kid, simple"(Muscle) Stopped her from arguing


    Wich, of course, made Sara cry after processing what he said


    It was like offering a candy to a crying kid and suddenly taking it away


    She was already depressed before coming here and was barely holding up with a little bit of hope. When Muscle Uncle said ok, her hopes went up a lot more, so when he put the restriction of one year, the hope she already built up were completely crushed


    Who wouldn''t cry after that?


    Not like Uncle had much choice. It was kind of obvious what happened to her family after the incident, and telling her they were probably dead after losing Cat could crush her


    The best solution was to make her work while keeping her hopes ups and building different relationships with people that may keep her from shutting down after finding out


    Basically, wait for the wounds of her heart to heal up before inflicting new wounds


    It was the best choice for her, even if it made Uncle Muscle the bad guy


    Or maybe I am wrong and Uncle Muscle wanted an incentive for Sara to work hard for, at least, one year


    I am not a mind reader


    Anyways, the moment Sara started crying, Uncle Muscle started panicking a lot, and the best idea that he came up was simply pat her head gently in an attempt to calm her down


    "Kid, I promise that if you work diligently for one year, I will help you find your family with the best of my abilities, so calm down. It is only one year"(Uncle Muscle)tried to calm Sara with the best of his abilities


    Wich had a minor effect since Sara look up to him and said


    "You promise?"(Sara)looked at him with puppy eyes and tears around her cheeks


    Critical hit!


    It was incredibly effective


    Uncle Muscle was fatally wounded


    He even clenched his hand over his heart after seeing that face


    "I promise kid. Now come on up so you can wash your face while I bring you something to drink"(Muscle) said while offering Sara to enter the building


    "ok"(Sara)said while calming down a little


    She was still sobbing a little, with tears in her eyes but, at least, she wasn''t crying


    The two went to the elevator, up until the last floor, and got out of it there


    The hallway had two doors, one on the left and one on the right. One was Muscle uncle House and the other his office, but they were also connected on the inside also


    Even so, Uncle Muscle went to the office side, open the door and took Sara to the bathroom for visits


    It was a simple bathroom without a shower, but it was good enough for what Sara needed


    She simply washed her face a few times and dry it with a towel after


    When she came out, she found Uncle Muscle sitting in a chair by a desk, and a glass of milk on the opposite side besides a chair


    "Sit over there please, the milk is for you"(Muscle) said from the chair with a gentle voise


    So Sara sat in the chair, and with some effort, grabbed the glass of milk


    "Thanks"(Sara) said and started drinking afterward


    "no problem kid"(Muscle)said


    He then waited for a little until Sara finished the milk, and then he started talking again


    "Well, now I will explain to you how are we going to work  from now on, ok?"(Muscle) said with a serious expression


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "ok"(Sara) tried to mimic his expression


    "It is simple, you come back here every day after school or in the evening, and I will give you a job or tell you to go back home for the day, ok?"(Muscle)


    "yes!"(Sara)


    "Good! Now, about the food. I will give you something to eat after a job, or if I send you home. You know how to heat food in the microwave, right?"(Muscle)


    "Yes! big sis explained to me how"(Sara)


    "Did she ever tell you to never ever put metal in the microwave?"(Muscle) ask just in case


    "Yes, she told me numerous times"(Sara)said a little annoyed


    "Do you know what metal look like?"(Muscle)


    "Yes! I am not dumb"(Sara) said a little offended while pointing at a metal thing on the desk


    "Ok, ok, just been careful. You can die if you ever forget"(Muscle) tried to scare her


    "I won''t forget"(Sara) Lied


    The old man sighed and gave up


    Instead, he changed the subject


    He took a cell phone out of a drawer in his desk and passed it over to Sara


    "Here kid, always keep it with you, ok?"(Muscle)said after passing the cell phone


    Sara simply nodded


    "Now, let me explain a couple of things"(Muscle) said while getting up from his chair and approaching Sara


    He basically explained how to turn it on, how to charge it, how to answer calls, how to call him and how to use the map function


    After making her try it a few times, he gave her a small bag with a cord, just big enough to put the cell phone so she can put it around her neck, wich she did


    "When you come every day and if I have a job for you, I will give you the directions and you just put it on the cellphone map and follow its indications. Simple, right?"(Muscle)


    "Uhu"(Sara) affirmed


    "I may call you if something happens or if I have an urgent job. If you ever forget something or have troubles with something, tell me and I will give you a hand, ok?"(Muscle)


    "Ok"(Sara)


    "Good good. Now here, take all this home and come back tomorrow at the same time. Just to be sure, put your home address in the phone and follow it. Then call me went you get there, ok?"(Muscle)


    "Ok"(Sara) affirmed again


    Not really eloquent, but part of her was still assimilating all the new information she just got


    "Take the phone kid, so you can put the address"(Muscle) said after realising Sara wasn''t actually paying attention


    "Ah, yes!(Sara) finally reacted


    After some effort, she was just about to put her home address when she suddenly realised she had no idea were it was


    She just knew how to get there


    "Uhhhh, Uncle Muscle, what is the address?"(Sara) said a little embarrassed


    I am actually surprised Uncle Muscle didn''t make a face palm in that moment. Instead, he wrote something on two pieces of paper and handed them to Sara


    "The one that says Uncle, it is my address, and the one that says home is your home, put them in the bag when you are done"(muscle) patiently explained


    Sara took both papers, and after carefully inputting the address in the phone map, she put both in her phone bag


    She took the bag that Uncle Muscle had prepared for her(that had a charger and that day''s  dinner) and went down to the front door with Uncle Muscle


    When she was outside, she said goodbye to Uncle Muscle, followed the cellphone map to her home, and called when she arrive


    Just like Uncle Muscle told her


    Finally, she got inside the house and found herself all alone


    ----------------------------------


    Note: thanks again for the help Neiden


    By the way,  the narrator is a character in the story, that is why it is not a mind reader

 Chapter 19: One year

    One year


    For a grown up, one year may be short


    Especially when you get older. Each passing year becomes more and more common, making the impression that they pass faster and faster


    Or at least, that is what most old people complain about


    But for a kid, a year is a long time


    A really long time


    There is not way around it. When you lived 5 years, and taking into consideration no one remembers when they were 1, 2 or 3 years old, 1 year = half her life


    Can you imagine waiting half your life for an answer to the most important thing in your life?


    Maybe at the beginning, you can just suck it up, but after a while, you would crack


    You would try to find a way to get new information or do something about it


    And Sara tried


    She asked, again and again, for the information to the old man, without result


    She tried searching the internet for any kind of information but only found out most kids after the incident were sent to an orphanage


    And even finding out that took a lot of effort


    With only their name and partial description, it was impossible to find anything else


    Try to find which orphanage? impossible


    If she even tried to approach one, they would force her to stay


    The only way would be to beg someone to ask the different institutions in he place


    But the only person she knew that could do that would be Uncle Muscle....


    Basically, she had no way out but to simply wait a year


    So that is what she did


    She still tried to search online from time to time


    With no other result than an increase of frustration about her findings and hatred for the hood guys


    Meanwhile, she went to kindergarten and worked for Uncle Muscle


    In kindergarten, she did ok basically. She knew most of the stuff being taught there, so there wasn''t much problem from that part, and she got along with her classmates


    She had 3 uniforms, and brought them to Uncle Muscle every time one got dirty, and she was eating healthier food than before, so she didn''t look like she had troubles at home


    Besides, thanks to all the kids running like crazy to the exit when school was over, no one realised she went home alone


    It was thanks to all this that she never draw attention to herself, and no one realised in what conditions she lived


    As for her work with Uncle Muscle, it was mostly as a messenger


    She had to wear regular clothes(since her school clothes would draw unwanted attention)and a backpack with an emblem on that could be translated to "don''t mess with her or else...."


    Each faction in the city had a different emblem with a similar meaning, so people would know who they were f-cking with if they messed with the person with the emblem


    Unless you were from a rival gang, an outsider, a crazy person or a hero, no one messed with a person with an emblem


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    And the old man was powerful enough to have an emblem of his own


    His jobs were buying and selling information, act as middle man, consultant, and a lot more


    He worked mostly on the evening and night, and rested during the day


    Since he knew some dangerous individuals, he usually send Sara home after giving her a job or two, and Sara rarely meet a client or other of Muscle Uncle workers


    As for the Jobs Uncle Muscle had for her, they were mostly errands


    He would send Sara to buy stuff he needed and from time to time, he would send her to deliver or retrieve a letter or a small package after putting the address in her phone


    She usually went to 3 different places and rarely someone knew to deliver or bring something from there


    The three places she usually went was a bar, a lawyer office and a really secure house


    The bar had a deaf lady as the waitress and was a famous meeting place for shady deals


    The lawyer was a famous one that usually worked with criminals. She one time asked the lawyer if he could help her find her family in the orphanages, but he said that she couldn''t afford his hourly wager, so Sara gave up from that front


    And as for the really secure house, it had a camera at the door, an intercom and a bin where you put and took stuff.  She never met the guy or even knew his gender since he used a modulator


    She never met someone from one of the gangs or a power user(that she know of at least) so the jobs were the relatively safe


    She went to Uncle Muscle place every day, with a tapper from yesterday''s dinner and her clothes. There, she would get a job most of the time and after the job or if there wasn''t a job, she would return home with that day''s dinner and clean clothes


    A few times she got an urgent call to her phone with a job from Uncle Muscle. All of them were a deliver or take something from the usual places, but nothing else


    It was basically a routine job, that even a kid could do and had few risk


    Every day, she would go to school, then go to Uncle Muscle, visit the blind man place(and the other 3 from time to time), go home, watch some kids TV show, movie or use the computer(both had parental protection on), eat the food Uncle Muscle gave to her, brush her teeth and go to sleep


    With a bath every 2,3 days(she didn''t like baths) and go buy something from time to time with the money Uncle Muscle gave to her


    Sometimes she would go buy something


    She did that every day, and after what looked like an eternity to her, a year passed and the promised time came


    There was no way out for Uncle Muscle


    It was finally the time for Uncle Muscle to spill the beans, tell the hard and devastating truth and crush Sara''s hope and dreams


    That is, of course, if Uncle Muscle was an upstanding citizen that believed that the truth was the best choice in any situation


    Uncle Muscle wasn''t an upstanding citizen


    ---------------------------------------


    Note: thanks again for the help Neiden, I always some mistakes :(

 Chapter 20: Where are they?

    When the day finally came, Sara was pretty anxious, wondering what Uncle Muscle would say


    The moment school finish, she left the classroom at full speed and went as fast as possible to Uncle Muscle place


    Luckily, she wasn''t hit by a car on the way there or something like that and managed to arrive at Uncle Muscle place without a problem and half an hour earlier than usual


    She used the intercom and Uncle Muscle let her come inside like usual(door could be open from the office)


    She went upstair by the elevator, rang the door bell and Uncle Muscle let her come inside


    They have been doing it for a year now, so it was almost a routine


    The only difference with most days was that today was finally the day


    She had been waiting for what looked like an eternity for this day, and Sara couldn''t be more anxious about it


    She sat in her usual chair while Uncle Muscle sat on his, and she asked


    "Uncle Muscle, you promise you would tell me about my family today, did you find them?"(Sara)


    Uncle Muscle, flinched for a second, and instead of answering, he took a bottle of whiskey from one of his drawers and pour it on a glass


    Sara saw him do this a couple of times and knew he wouldn''t answer anything until he  finished his glass, or at least, drank some of it


    Sara had no other choice but to wait, like it or not


    Uncle Muscle slowly sipped the whiskey one sip at a time while making hmm noises from time to time


    After what looked like an eternity to Sara, Uncle Muscle finally put down the whiskey and looked directly to Sara''s eyes


    "Look, kid, I searched searching for your family members before we even made the one-year contract. I didn''t tell you sooner simply because it was at a bad time with you, with Cat gone and all that, so I decided to make you wait one year so you had time to settle down your fillings"(Muscle) said honestly


    Wich made Sara really worried


    She read numerous reports about the incident for the past year and knew that most kids were either put for adoption, in a hospital, death or missing


    With the way Uncle Muscle said it, the first conclusion Sara came up with was obviously the worst, death


    "are they dead"(Sara) mustered all her courage and asked


    She was just about to cry, but she was holding it until she got an answer


    "No no no no no, they are not dead"(Uncle) lied with a panicked reaction


    And Sara completely bought it. Why wouldn''t she? She trusted Uncle Muscle


    Besides, even thought I told you the event in details, Sara didn''t remember everything that happened


    Or more like every time she tried to remember, she would panic, and even if she forced herself, she would end up vomiting


    She even had nightmares from time to time, but she wasn''t sure what was a dream and what was reality


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    All she knew was that they were there, and asleep while she was the only one awake. And she wasn''t sure of even that


    So when Uncle Muscle told her they were alive, not only did she believe him, a burden on her heart lifted a little


    "Where are they then?"(Sara) finally asked after relaxing her shoulders unconsciously


    "Well, that is the thing. I don''t know"(Muscle)said with a pained expression


    Wich caused Sara to panic again


    "What do you mean?"(Sara) said a little afraid


    "Well, the thing is, your brothers John and Max were reported missing, and your sister jess was adopted"(Muscle) said


    And Sara didn''t know how to react. Missing, adopted?what was he talking about?


    "Look, about Max and John, I asked at the hospitals, orphanages and morgue but no one saw any kid with their description. I also asked survivors people that worked that day, etc, but no one saw them or knew where they were"(Uncle Muscle)lied


    "But what happened to them? where could they be? why did they never contact me?"(Sara) said while been a little confused with the whole situation


    "I don''t know. Maybe they went to a different hospital than the rest or went to a different orphanage or something like that. I will try to find them, but I can''t make any promises"(Muscle) kept the lie going


    But Sara was half listening and half thinking


    Missing, it was one of the three options. After the incident, some kids were reported missing, and no one knew where they were, but there were theories


    One of them was what Uncle Muscle said, but the most common theory was a different one


    The hood guys did it


    They were the scapegoat for everything that went wrong that day, so it isn''t a surprise they were blamed for it


    But Sara believed it. She already hated the guys, so why wouldn''t she think they were the incarnation of evil and everything wrong with her life?


    She was about to ask about them being behind it, but uncle Muscle kept going


    "And about your sister Jess, I found her in the hospital and one of the orphanages, but she was quickly adopted after the incident, and when I found her tail, she was already outside the system"(Uncle Muscle)  said


    Wich distracted Sara from her previous train of thoughts and made her thing about Jess situation


    "But who adopted her?"(Sara) asked


    "I don''t know, it is a confidential record. They don''t tell strangers about who adopted who and it took me some time and effort to finally found who adopt her"(Muscle)


    "Who was it?"(Sara) asked expectantly


    "The superhero angel"(Uncle Muscle)


    --------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks Neiden for the help with the grammar :D

 Side Story: Angel part 3

    "Do I really have to do it?"(me)


    "You don''t have to do anything, but if you want to get away from the media mess, yes"(manager)


    Sh-t!


    I knew it was a bad idea the moment they said we were attacking that f.cking factory


    I will take full responsibility, said the a-s hole Unicorn


    All he did was look better on camera when he took the blame


    Meanwhile, I was blamed for most of the deaths simply because I can heal people!!!!!


    What the f-ck do people expect!!!!???


    I can''t revive the f-cking dead!!!!


    I am not god!!


    Calm down, calm down


    Sh-t, why am I in this mess??


    Aegis got scot free thanks to the coma and sniper doesn''t give a sh-t about press and all that


    The only one affected even more me was the b-ch, thanks to having to deal with the press plus her crush in a coma. I would even feel sorry for her if she wasn''t such an a-s


    "Fine, I get it, but it''s completely unfair I have to do something like this"(Angel)


    "It''s not about what is fair and what it isn''t, the world never worked like that. If you want people to like you, you have to do stuff that they like, simple"(Manager)


    Yeah yeah. Why are people so hypocritical?


    They don''t give a sh-t about homeless people, but heroes suddenly screw up, and they suddenly matter


    A-s holes


    "But is adoption really the best move? Can''t I just donate some money to charity or something"(Angel)


    "Do you even have the money to donate? I know how much you spend, so don''t give me that bull sh-t"(Manager)


    Shoes are important dammit!


    "Fine, but can''t I just work for a charity or something? Like going to a hospital every day for a month or give soup to the homeless"(Angel)


    At least, I wouldn''t have to look after a kid for years


    "Unless you want to look like an a-s hole, you shouldn''t do that right now. It is the move most celebrities and politicians do all the time, and nobody buys them anymore. Adopting, on the other hand, is way more serious, and in this case, it shows you actually feel responsible for what you did. You may even get even more popular if you play your card right"(manager)


    Great, now I have another reason to hate politicians. How many do I have now? 3000?


    "F-ck, did I ever tell you I hate this sh-t?"(me)


    "Only all the time"(Manager)


    At least, you get pay for listening to them. I have to pay when people complain to me.....


    Maybe I should get a shrink


    Naa, too expensive, and would look bad if people find out


    "Let''s say I am ok with doing it, can I actually do it? I am not married or even with a stable couple"(Me)


    Heroe life and love life really don''t go well together


    "Usually, yeah. But you are not only a recognised hero that has worked for the institution for years, you won''t be taking a normal kid. The reason your application was accepted was for a number or reasons


    First. politicians and the heroes association wanted to make heroes look better, so they gave a hand. Second, by being a powered yourself, you are technically more "prepared" to look after a kid with potential, even if they haven''t awoken it yet. Third, you are a hero, so you already proved you are truth worthy and not a sociopath"(Manager)


    "So basically, you are saying that I am the scapegoat to make it look like the heroes aren''t a-s holes, right?"(Angel)


    Awkward silence...


    "Yeah...."(Manager) confessed


    Make it 3001


    "Do I, at least, get some compensation?"(Angel)


    "Not on paper, but we can probably strike a deal like an increase on salary later on or preferential treatment"(Manager)


    Well, at least, there is that


    "Fine, get me something extra and I am in"(Me)


    <strong>Some time later - Orphanage</strong>


    "I am glad to have you here Angel. Thank you for deciding to take one of our kids under your wings"(orphanage director)


    Public face public face. Don''t make sarcastic comment on stupid pun, don''t make sarcastic comment on stupid pun


    "Thanks for granting me the opportunity"(me)


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Great work at self-control, yay!


    "My pleasure, there is nothing I wish more than granting this kid a place with a good family they can call home"(director)


    I wonder how much is true, you would be out of a job if everyone was gone


    "I hope I am ready to take such a big responsibility"(me)


    I hate my public face


    "I am sure you will do fine"(Director)


    "If you don''t mind me asking, how many kids can we choose from? considering they need to have potential and were present in the incident"(manager)


    Thank you, any more nice act than that and I may consider shooting myself


    "I feel responsible for not been able to help more at the time, so at least, I want to make it up for one of the most affected ones"(me) lied


    It was the line we practice for me to say when people asked or talked about it


    "I understand. In the hospital, we checked every kid that was there, and we found 7 kids with the potential. You can choose any of those 7"(director)


    7?


    "isn''t that too many? how many kids were inside the factory that day? 200?"(me)


    "It''s not because of how many kids were inside but how many orphan kids had the potential. Since the development of the machine capable of detecting if a kid has the potential of becoming a powered or not, some parents gave up on their kids when they found out. Some end up on the street and some end up here. That is why there are so many"(Director)


    Have I said already that I hate society?


    A-s holes


    "That is the world we live in, right?"(Angel)


    Probably not the right world considering I usually put a nice act, but that is the nicest thing I can think off after hearing sh-t like that


    "Sadly, yes"(Director)


    Silence


    "Excuse me, can we look at the candidates?"(manager)


    Thanks for the save!


    He really earns his keep


    "Ah yes, there are 4 boys and 3 girls with potential, here are their files with a photo. Choose who you like and we can go and take a look"(Director)


    "I would like to look at the girls first. I think a girl would be easier to raise"(me)


    A boy would be too hard to handle and I don''t have a brother so I have no idea how to raise one


    Besides, what if he falls in love with little cute me? I don''t want an Oedipus complex


    "No problem"(director)


    3 folders then


    Let''s see what we got


    Folder number one


    Maria, 7 years old, potential not awaken. The face is ok, she looks a little skinny but it''s understandable under the circumstances. Black hair may be a problem since it would look opposite to my blond hair. Still, it''s not a bad option


    Option number 2


    Jess, 5 years old, potential not awaken. Jess? short for Jessica? I guess I can register her as Jessica and call her Jess for short if I take her. She look cute enough, and even though she looks like a boy with her short hair, it can grow. Besides, with her blond hair, she could pass as my actual daughter


    Still, I feel like I have seen her before for some reason. Did I heal her that day?


    No, the only blond kid I healed that day was 7 and a boy


    Then from where.....


    Ahhh, yes!


    She was with that other kid that begged for help that day


    I remember feeling bad for that kid and was glad when I saw her besides another kid later


    So she was trying to rescue her?


    mmmm


    If I actually buy the sh-t I am saying, and I am trying to compensate for the people I couldn''t save, the kid would be the right choice


    Besides, her age and looks are perfect


    I may have to find someone to look after her sister, but besides that, she is perfect


    "Ma''am, I think I made my choice"(me)


    ----------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks again for the help Neiden. The 3 kids/girls mistake made me remember the joke about a newspaper report saying"A plane crash killed 30 people and 3 Mexicans"

 Chapter 21: I am a bad guy

    Superhero angel


    Of course, Sara knew who she was


    After searching the net a lot for a whole year, she knew the names of all the known persons in the different groups


    Sara knew all the names of the Mafia and Heroes involved, and the names the press gave to all the hood guys


    So the moment Uncle Muscle mentioned Angel, Sara knew exactly who she was, and even remembered a little about her from the incident


    Let''s just say Sara''s memories of her weren''t exactly good ones, so she didn''t show a pretty expression when she heard the name


    Besides, she was one of the reasons Cat had to leave town, so Sara really didn''t like her


    "Can''t we just go to her and ask if I can see Jess?"(Sara)


    "Kid, she is a superhero, and they are pretty serious about their secret identities.I am not exactly in the heroes good books, and if I try to find her secret identity, I will be targeted and be forced to leave the city like Cat, or arrested, or killed"(Muscle) confessed


    And it was the truth


    People that tried to uncover registered heroes secret identities were usually caught before they got close, and were imprisoned, killed or completely disappeared


    It was thanks to the help of numerous powered Hackers, Clairvoyant and others that worked to stop stuff like that. Add their work plus the serious consequences of even trying, and most were too afraid to try


    It was one of the biggest perks of belonging to the hero association


    Even if a normal civilian tried to uncover one of their favorite heroes secret identities, they were usually warned first and arrested later if they keep trying


    News network were sued for trying and the reporter fired and sometimes imprisoned for going against the law, so no one was safe


    The only exception would be criminals and vigilantes(not registered heroes), but they were a problem of their own


    Usually, uncovering their secret identities meant death. And not only of the one uncovering, sometimes it included their families or anything they cared about like their companies or houses etc


    Basically, uncovering people''s privates life was a taboo that no one broke unless you were insane or had nothing to lose


    The only exceptions were the public powered, people that were insane or too dangerous to leave alone, criminals or vigilantes that no one liked and the calamities


    So when Uncle Muscle warned her of the dangers of finding a hero secret identity, she didn''t know what to say


    "Can''t I just go and say I am her sister?"(Sara) asked after thinking a little


    "Wouldn''t work kid, for starters, you weren''t in the system with her, so they won''t believe you if you say that. To make matters worst, heroes are paranoid, so they wouldn''t let an unknown kid, with known affiliation with bad guys, to meet a superhero kid"(Uncle Muscle)


    "But Uncle Muscle isn''t a bad guy"(Sara) with absolute certainty


    How could a guy that took her for a year without complaining much be a bad guy? At least, that was what Sara thought


    Reality doesn''t work that way


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    "Half the time I work with people that don''t follow the law, wich make them bad guys. Me working with bad guys make me a bad guy, and you working for me, makes you also work for the bad guys, making you a bad guy. Believe it or not, I am a famous guy kid, and you working for me makes you famous. There is no way the heroes, that should know, or would found out the moment you come out, that you work for me, would let you even come close to Jess"(Muscle) tried to explain


    Of course, even if Sara could be considered smart for a 6 years old kid, she wasn''t smart enough to understand all that. TO be honest, sometimes when Uncle Muscle talked, she just nodded and pretended to understand


    If it wasn''t such an important thing, she would probably gloss it over and just follow whatever Muscle Uncle said


    "I don''t understand, why can''t I see Jess if I know who has her!?"(Sara)said a little stubbornly and angry


    But it didn''t catch Uncle Muscle by surprise, instead, he just filled his glass with more whiskey and after a few sips, he talked again


    "I will make it simple. Heroes hate me, and you working for me makes the heroes hate you. Someone that hates you won''t do you a favor, even a hero"(Muscle)tried to explain as simply as possible


    "But heroes are the good guys, and good guys help people"(Sara) tried to argue back


    "Heroes follow the law(most of the time), that is all. There are good heroes and bad heroes. Just because they are heroes, doesn''t mean they are good guys. Besides, if you even try to talk to a hero, as his jobs command, they will send you to an orphanage and be done with you instead of trying to help you"(Muscle)


    The moment Uncle Muscle said the word orphanage, Sara got a little scared. When she was on the streets, she heard the name sometimes and even asked her brother Max about it. According to him and some of the other kids on the street, it was a bad place where they made kids work hard all day, give them little food, and punish them if they didn''t do what the adults wanted


    Of course, not all orphanage were like that, and they could be considered the minority, but the majority of the slum kids that escaped from one and were on the streets belonged to one of those


    This made the story repeat itself and a common understanding in the streets was that they were a horrible place


    So the possibility of going to one really scared Sara, especially when she consider that she might never see Uncle Muscle or Cat again or find her missing family


    "How can I see Jess again Uncle Muscle?"(Sara)said with puppy eyes


    It wasn''t intentional on her part, but it was incredibly effective on Uncle Muscle


    He even drank the content of his glass in one gulp to calm himself a little


    "Kid, I promise I will do my best and find a way, but for now, go back home and try to not worry too much. I am sure you will be able to reunite with your family one day"(muscle)lied to calm Sara down


    Sara, on the other hand, just agreed, and after taking the usual bag and saying a barely understandable goodbye, she left Uncle Muscle place, she had a lot to think about


    -----------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: sorry for the delay and thanks Neiden for the help with the grammar

 Chapter 22: Informants

    What now?


    That was the question Sara was asking herself


    So far she had worked hard in hope of satisfying Uncle Muscle''s demands for her family information while looking a little bit herself on the sidelines


    But now, she didn''t have a motivation


    Her two brothers were missing without any kind of information of their whereabouts and Jess was in a place she couldn''t go


    She could ask a hero to take her to jess, but she believed uncle Muscle''s warning that she would probably be taken to an orphanage


    And she couldn''t ask Uncle Muscle to ask on her behalf since he just told her the heroes didn''t like him


    She had no info on her missing brothers, and had no way of contacting her sister, so all she could do was think her hardest on the sofa


    It is there where she suddenly remembered something


    Missing and disappearances


    In her extensive research on that day incident, she also searched for clues on the hood guys and found some interesting stuff


    There were a lot of  known facts like they made a living by the selling of unique drugs, all of them having low-level powers, the teams were a mixture of cyborgs and powered, and they would kill themself if they were capture


    But besides the known facts, there were a couple of rumors going around


    The most common one was that the group was a suicidal group of low level powered. It was known that there were ranks since there were some that were more protected than others so there was a hierarchy in the group, helping the theory of a cult


    Besides the most commonly accepted cult theory, there were some other interesting theories including one that interested Sara


    They kidnapped children


    Of course, most people didn''t believe that theory since the hood guys were practically the boogie man after the factory incident and there were a lot of nasty rumors about them


    Like they catch low levels powered and brainwashed them, or that they produce all the drug circulating the streets, that they murder normal people for fun, etc


    But for Sara, that already believed they were the incarnation of evil, she believed it


    Not only did she believed it, after considering what Uncle Muscle said about them disappearing after the factory incident and how nobody found them yet, she started suspecting they were kidnaped by them


    Or more like, she wanted to believe they were kidnapped by them


    They were there, they kidnapped children, they were the reason of everything bad that happened to her and that both  her brothers disappeared after everything that happened


    She even remember that they were there and suddenly they were gone, helping root on her mind the theory that they were kidnapped


    So the moment she started following that train of thought, she went from suspecting that it might be true to being completely and absolutely sure it was their doing


    Who else would it be?


    Which took her to one obvious conclusion, she must find them and see what they did with her brothers


    Since she was so sure of their guilt, finding them equals finding her brothers


    But that is where the problems started


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.How could she find them?


    They were wanted by the heroes and authorities, and the group hadn''t been cached yet


    How could a 6 years old kid do what heroes couldn''t?


    On the other hand, she didn''t want to catch them, she just wanted information on them


    And wasn''t Uncle Muscle an expert on finding information? or, at least, that was what he bragged all the time


    Sadly, when Sara asked about the hood guys, he could tell it was for revenge and never told her anything about them, so asking him was pointless


    Even if she tried, she suspected that all she would get was some yelling and a warning to not even try


    If asking about them wouldn''t work, what other option did she have? Simple, follow his example


    When she realized that asking him wouldn''t work, she went for plan B, how would Uncle Muscle find them


    She already spent a year working for him, and the first thing she noticed is that he rarely left home to search for information


    Instead, he had other people do it for him


    She never knew what the information was about, but she knew he got it from the people she meets in her deliveries and probably a lot more she didn''t know


    Those guys were his informants(well some of the guys she met maybe be competitors or buyers) that funded the information for him


    If she wanted to imitate Uncle Muscle, she needed her own informants since asking Uncle muscle informant would lead to them telling Uncle Muscle


    She didn''t want Uncle muscle to find out since she would be scolded and stopped, so her best option would be to find Informant of her own


    But how?


    She didn''t know how to get informants since Uncle Muscle never told her, and even if she found them, she doubted they would do it for free


    She stayed on the couch who knows how long on thinking how to solve this problem when she suddenly realized she was starving


    She took the food from the bag and heated on the microwave like usual, and thought while waiting how lucky she was of having something warm to eat


    If it was her of the past, she would have done anything for something warm to eat


    And that is when a flash of inspiration came


    No one wanted a warm or tasty food more than a homeless person


    She had free warm food and even money, but for her of the past and any slum kid, It was a luxury they would do anything to have


    Since she had the extra money Uncle Muscle gave her, plus saving, she could afford to spend some with other slum kids like her


    Slum kids were easy to please, satisfied with cheap stuff, would do almost anything for a little of food, knew more than what it looked like and since she used to be like them, knew what they would like the most


    They were the perfect source of information for her


    And she wouldn''t hesitate to use them to find her family


    Besides, she would be helping people like her in the process


    It was the perfect plan


    Absolutely


    Right?


    What could go wrong?


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks again Neiden for the help :D

 Chapter 23:Old friend and Greatest Enemy

    Sara decided to follow her excellent and wonderful plan that was impossible for something to go wrong


    It was perfect, absolutely


    How hard could it be to "persuade"(bribe) some kids to do her bidding?


    As easy as she thought actually


    She brought a big bag of cheap candy and looked for her old acquaintances around her old neighborhood


    She wore her usual working clothes that were mostly kids clothes in decent conditions but not perfect(holes, stains, discolorment, etc).Uncle Muscle usually gave her that kind of clothes since she could pass as an average kid with not so wealthy parents or a slum kid with relatively new clothes


    Usually kids her age ruin clothes relatively fast, so it wasn''t so strange for them not to be in perfect conditions, and clothes like that were what people usually donated to the church


    As for why Uncle Muscle gave her that kind of clothes, it was to not draw attention. A kid alone in a bad neighborhood with good clothes draw attention. On the other hand, a slum kid or street kid wouldn''t draw attention, since they were more common


    Which worked perfectly fine for Sara under the circumstances. If she wore nice clothes with her old acquaintances, things could turn bad thanks to envy, but with those clothes, it would be relatively fine


    She did have to spend some effort in finding some of her old acquaintances since most kids were taken to an orphanage, but she even managed to find one of the two kids that helped her drag Max


    The kid was a blond boy around her age that usually hear the stories Max read, and sometimes play with Sara, John and Jess on the few occasions they had some free time


    He was one of the few kids she could consider friends since Jess Max and John were her family


    I guess you could call him Sara''s childhood friend


    She found him begging on the streets like she used to do, but on a different spot


    "Sam, good to see you"(Sara) said with a smile when she found Sam


    Still, by this time, Sara had already found a couple of kids and traded some information for candy, but nothing she didn''t know. They only knew what they heard people talking on the streets and what they remembered of the incident


    So she didn''t have much hope on finding something new by asking Sam, but she was still glad to see him


    "Sara! I thought you were taken like the rest!"(Sam) said while smiling back


    "Na, I am working just somewhere else. What happen to Lisa?"(Sara) Asked Sam


    Lisa was the other kid that helped Sara move Max''s body and one of Sara''s friend and Sam "sister"


    The moment Sara asked that, Sam got a little depressed and looked to the floor


    "She was taken to an orphanage like the rest"(Sam)


    "Oh..."(Sara)said while also looking down


    Like I said before, to slum kids, an orphanage was like going to prison for an adult, so it was a sad news


    They stayed quiet for a few seconds, but since Sara had something important to ask him, she made up her mind and went directly to the point


    "Sam, did you hear anything about Max or John after the factory collapse?"(Sara)asked


    When Sam heard the question, he looked up and found Sara looking directly at his eyes with a serious expression


    "No, sorry. I thought they had been taken like the rest"(Sam) shaken his head a little while answering


    Sara found no surprise there since none of the other kids or Uncle Muscle knew anything about them


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Instead, she decided to ask the next question


    "Do you know anything about the hood guys?"(Sara)


    "Who?"(Sam)


    "You know, the guys with hoods that were at the factory that day"(Sara)


    "Ah! those guys. No, sorry. Haven''t seen them since that day"(Sam)


    Again, no surprise. From what she heard from the other kids, they had been avoiding that zone since the day of the incident


    Probably because besides having to worry about the police and citizens, the mafia and people of the streets hated their guts on that area


    Not a good zone to roam around


    "Yeah, no surprise there. Do you mind asking around? I am trying to find anything related to them. I am paying for anything valuable like their whereabouts or where they operate"(Sara) Said to Sam while handing him some candy


    He gladly took it and out it on his pockets but still asked


    "Why the interest on those guys?"(Sam)


    "Because they kidnaped Max and John"(Sara)said with absolute certainty


    In her mind, there was no doubt that they had them


    "Wow! Really? no wonder you are willing to pay to find them"(Sam) said with a surprised look


    "Exactly, so please, help me look for the hood guys"(Sara)pleaded


    "Ok"(sam) Nodded in agreement


    And like that, Sara got her first reliable informant


    She said goodbye and let him continue begging on the streets or he would have big problems later


    She could have offered him to stay at her home, as payment for his help, or since they were friends, but she couldn''t. Uncle Muscle Explicitly told her numerous times she couldn''t allow anyone else to enter her home, and that he wouldn''t help anyone else but her with their problems


    He probably didn''t want to deal with more brats than he absolutely had to, so she warned her in advance in case she ever felt sorry for people in the same circumstances than her


    There was also the possibility that someone would end up killing her to take the place for themselves, since the streets were never a nice place full of good people


    Still, she got what she wanted in a way


    how it actually turned out was different than what she expected, but it was still something


    She gave away most of her candy, and got almost nothing in return, she just got a little lucky with Sam, and lucky in the sense that he would look into it, not on what he knew


    If it wasn''t something so important to her, she may have been discouraged. Instead, she decided to try a new approach


    She heard some of the kids curse at the hood guys like her, and found out that most people in that area hate them(like I said a few lines before if you have a fish memory) so she figure it out that asking around a place they didn''t dare to approach was a bad idea


    She would have to go further away if she wanted to find any kind of information about them


    Maybe it was time to face her greatest enemy since she started working with Uncle Muscle


    The bicycle!!!


    --------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks Neiden for the grammar checks :D

 Chapter 24: Master of knowledge

    Bicycle


    To some, it is as simple as putting your butt on the chair and start pedaling


    To others, it is a torture chair of hell full of humiliation, sadness, suffering and disappointment


    As you can probably guess, to Sara, it was the second choice


    It all started around 6 months after she started making deliveries for Uncle Muscle


    After she got the hang of using the cell phone to locate new places, Uncle Muscle felt more confident in Sara''s abilities and decided it was about time he started increasing her range of action


    Since she was a kid, she could only travel a limited distance by foot, so the obvious conclusion was to give her a bicycle and expand her area of operation


    Besides, a bicycle would have a basket, so she could carry even more stuff if necessary


    It was a win-win for Uncle Muscle, and even for Sara, it would save time from the usual deliveries


    Well, that is if thing went as he planned


    Except there was a tiny little problem


    A bicycle wasn''t an expensive thing, and Uncle Muscle didn''t lack money, so the problem wasn''t there


    Both Uncle Muscle wanted Sara to use a bicycle and Sara to learn how to ride one, so there wasn''t there


    The problem was Sara''s ability to ride one......


    She sucked


    Really really bad!!


    Well, maybe I am being a little harsh, since Uncle Muscle never bother to teach her personally, and since she fell from the bike a few times, she grew more scared each time, leading to more falls


    It was basically an endless circle


    After a while, she basically gave up, and Uncle Muscle offered to put training wheels, wich she fervently refused


    Let''s just say that training wheels were embarrassing, and as a kid, Sara wanted to avoid stuff like that


    She may have searched in the garbage for food, asked for money, wore horrible clothes, and a lot more that would embarrass a lot of different people, but that is irrelevant to this point


    Thanks to tv brainwashing mixed with the memory of the laughter from her schoolmates when another kid brought his bike with training wheels made her refuse the offer


    It is like when you wear a shirt you like and suddenly a person or numerous people say it looks horrible on you. It has an effect on you


    Anyways, affected by her environment, she refused to use training wheels, and since she was afraid to ride thanks to falling all the time, she basically gave up on using a bike and Uncle Muscle decided to leave it alone for a while at least


    Uncle Muscle might have wanted to wait until Sara had grown up a little more before trying again, or saw that it wasn''t really necessary. Basically, he didn''t push her to learn, and Sara wasn''t in a hurry to learn it either


    But now things were different


    There was no way she would be able to reach a place where the hood guys were active by foot (if she didn''t want to walk like 3 hours to reach there and 3 hours to go back)


    So if she wanted to pursue her desire of finding more about the hood guys, she had no other choice but to learn how to ride a bike or use training wheels


    The thing is, just having more determination won''t solve the original problem, right?


    Normally, yeah


    But she had grown up, ya know? and I don''t mean in the physical sense, but on the mental sense


    Since the last time she tried, she found a great teacher that could solve her problem


    A master that knew almost every single thing that there is to know about anything


    The teacher was so great, that he was constantly bothered by questions of strangers from all around the world, but he always answered with the best of his abilities


    I am talking of no one else but the master google of course!


    She just opened her browser and wrote "how to ride a bike" on it


    Simple and effective


    The information came from one of her classmate in school, saying how Master Google taught him how to beat a boss in a game by just typing how to and adding the boss''s name


    Sara even used it one time to beat a boss from one of the few games Cat left behind(the none violent ones)


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Since Master google helped her beat a virtual enemy, Sara was sure she could use Master Google wisdom to beat her enemy in the real world, the bike


    And he delivered, as expected of master google


    After asking Master Google, it took her to a video that showed her the steps to beat the boss


    Exactly like when she tried to beat the video game boss


    The only difference was that instead of using a virtual avatar, she would use her own body


    She knew it wouldn''t be easy, but it was her only option if she wanted to find the hood guys


    The video showed her the steps she should follow to ride the bike properly while giving some encouragement to try again if it failed the first time


    Sara, with no other choice, decided to take the bike Uncle Muscle gave her outside and give it a try


    It was a complete failure


    But the failure didn''t discourage Sara


    Oh no


    She kept trying


    Like with the game boss, she knew it could take more than one try to succeed, so she tried again


    And again


    And again


    And again


    And again


    And again


    Etc


    By this point, Sara was kind of wondering what was going on


    Besides the annoying part of failing constantly, she was bruised all over the place after falling off the bike so many times


    She stopped trying for  a second and started thinking on a solution to her problem when she suddenly heard a voice


    "hey, little girl, let me check the bike for a second"(voice)


    Sara suddenly heard a voice and was caught completely off guard. She was so focused on the bike, she didn''t realize when some guy started watching


    It was a teenage boy that probably found amusing watching a kid fail time after time in trying to ride a simple bike


    The boy didn''t even wait for Sara to say something, he simply approached the bike and took a look at it


    he took a look at the chain, then he tried to move the pedals, and finally looked at the handler


    He saw a dial on the left handle, move it and tried to move the pedals again. After moving them a little he started laughing a lot, and I mean a lot....


    It took him a minute to finally calm down, but when he finally calmed down, he handed the bike back to the confused Sara


    "Try now"(boy)


    Sara, confused after the sequence of events, decided to try instead of arguing back or ask questions


    The moment she tried to pedal, she was surprised at how easily the chain moved unlike before and was glad that it finally worked


    She could even ride it just fine now!


    It went from impossible to easy as pie


    Delighted of finally being able to ride the bike, she stopped cycling around and got off the bike


    "Thank you!"(Sara) said sincerely to the boy


    "No problem kid"(boy) said while trying to hold his laughter and walking away


    "Bye!"(Sara) said cheerfully to the boy since he was leaving


    And the boy simply waved a little  walked away


    Meanwhile, Sara was grateful for what the boy did. She didn''t know what he did, but she was sure he fixed what was wrong with it and now she can finally ride it


    With the bike working properly and she being able to ride it fine, everything was in order for her to go to the places the hood guys usually worked


    Her dream of finding Max and John was one step closer


    By the way, in case you didn''t understand why the bike didn''t work and what did the boy do, it turned out it was a geared bike and he simply switched the gear from 5 to 1......


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks for the help with the grammar Neiden and sorry but nope. Spanish speaker, not french

 Chapter 25: Hood guys

    After finally learning how to ride the bike, Sara was ready to go looking for the hood guys, kinda


    First, she practiced for a couple more days to get used to the bike and started using it to go to uncles place and school


    Uncle Muscle even gave her a new place a little further away than usual to test Sara


    It went without a problem


    The bike had a place in the middle of the handlers to hold her phone while riding and allow her to see the GPS function of the phone, so it was relatively easy to get to a new place


    Since some streets had a special lane for bicycles, she didn''t have to worry about getting run over by a car most of the time, and she rode really carefully when there wasn''t a special lane


    Traveling by bike was a lot faster than just walking, and after a few days of doing errands for Uncle Muscle, Sara felt confident in reaching the hood guys zones of activities


    If there was a problem, it would be that they were far away places


    To reach there, Sara needed to travel for an hour or two to reach her destination, plus the time she would spend there and the time it would take her to come back


    Basically, it would take a long time to reach her destination, so she could only travel on a day where Uncle Muscle didn''t have work for her


    Funny thing is, thanks to her been able to ride a bike, Uncle Muscle had more jobs for her since she could travel longer distance now


    She had the tools to reach the destination, but not the time......


    Still, in the end, Uncle Muscle gave her a day off after a while, and Sara finally could go to the place


    And let me tell you, it was hell for Sara


    She managed to reach her destination in the end, but not without some effort and perseverance


    She even had to take a few small brakes on the way, since it was a long trip for a small kid


    But she made it


    And take two of her plan started


    She chained her bike, took her bag with candy with her and started looking for small slum kids to help her find information about the hood guys in exchange of candy


    It wasn''t a bad idea, but it didn''t go as good as planned


    For starters, she didn''t know anyone in the area, so the kids were more wary of her than near her old neighborhood


    The second problem was that since the hood guys were active in that zone, people were afraid of them


    No one liked a rat, so telling information off dangerous people near you to a complete stranger was a bad idea. Basically, she didn''t found any clues about the hood guys on her first try


    It would make it look like her two hours trip was completely pointless but to Sara, it wasn''t


    She used to live in the slums like them, so she understood that they were afraid of talking bad things about the leaders of the area


    When she tried in her old neighborhood, no one was afraid of talking, but at the same time had nothing to talk about


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Here, on the other hand, had something to talk about but were afraid to do it


    Even if it was harder and more frustrating, it was better to try at a place where they have something but refused to give than a place where they didn''t have anything useful to give, even if the things they give where easy to get


    All she had to do was try a little harder


    The first day may have ended as a failure, but she didn''t give up


    She went back home for the day, slept like a log, and went back to her usual routine of school and Uncle Muscle until her next free day


    Her week was mostly going to school, visiting Uncle Muscle and when she had a day off, she would take the long trip to the hood guys area


    She always brought different candy on every trip and asked around to different kids about what they knew


    Just for talking to her, she would give them some candy, and the more they knew, the more candy she gave


    Some kids were smart enough to realize that if they asked for money, she would hand over some to them in exchange for the information but most kids were happy with the candy


    Sadly, no one told her where to find them or how they operate


    All they knew, or at least, all they told her was that they sold pills in the neighborhood to some of the dealers and then go away after collecting the money


    They also told her how they fought with a couple of heroes a few times or how happy the dealers were with the product but no one told her where did they come from or at what time or place they would appear


    It was probably a safety measure to prevent surprise attacks by the heroes, and a frustrating one for Sara


    She could have tried other places, but she thought the result would be similar or worst, so it was better to develop friendly relationships with the people of that place and wait until they open up


    luckily for her, Uncle Muscle reputation was strong enough that no one dared to bother her in a bad way thanks to her bag


    It was thanks to the bag and been a kid that she managed to ask around(even if she was unsuccessful at it) and she kept trying for three months until finally got what she was looking for


    Of course, she kept going to school and working for Uncle Muscle in the process while going there on her days off, and she kept doing it for three moths without rest


    And finally, after three moths, she finally got some answers, kinda


    She arrived at the place like usual and started asking questions about the hood guys to the kids she got along the best, like usual. The information they had was the usual, and everything was going as usual until something unusual happened


    Three hood guys appeared out of nowhere and kidnaped Sara

 Side Story: Class

    "Ok class, today we are going to learn about powers and where they come from"(Teacher)


    "Does someone know what  a 1 dimensional, 2 dimensional and a 3-dimensional object is?"(Teacher)


    "No one? ok, a 1-dimensional object is usually represented as a dot or a line, a 2-dimensional object is usually represented as a square and a 3-dimensional object is usually represented as a cube. Does someone can guess why?"(Teacher)


    "No? Well, the reason why is because they represent how we perceive them. To put it simply, each dimension has the properties of the one before plus some more. A group of lines form a square and a group of squares form a cube. You kids get it now?"(Teacher)


    "Yes, Timmy?"(Teacher)


    "What does all this have to do with powers?"(Timmy)


    "I am getting there! Look, the world we live on is a 3 dimensional one, ok? We can do anything a 2-dimensional world can, plus more. Now, let me ask you this question. If powered people can do anything a non-powered human can do plus more, why do you think that is, Timmy?"(Teacher)


    "Iiii  I I I doon''tt know"(Timmy)


    "If you had paid more attention to the explanation instead of waiting for me to get to the point, you would have gotten it. Let''s try again...... Sara, Why do you think?"(Teacher)


    "Uh?Oh! yes!let see....... maybe because they are from the 4 dimension?"(Sara)


    "Good! you got it almost right. It''s  not that they are from the 4 dimension, but that they can access it. Or, at least, that is the most approved theory by scientist right now"(Teacher)


    " No one knows for sure, but most researchers agreed that their powers are somewhat related to the 4 dimension. That is also why most people believe that the powers can be soo completely random. Some can turn into animals, some can change form, some can run fast, some can heal while others can bent spoons, throw bubbles from his mouths etc. Yes, Harry?"(teacher)


    "Why do they have different powers?"(Harry)


    "A yes, that is a good question. Powered people are people that have the potential to connect to the 4 dimension, but the powers they get depends on their personality or circumstances. It has been proven that if you submit people to the exact same circumstances they can get the same or a similar power. For example, twins usually get similar powers.


    Still, it is more complicated than that. Sometimes powers look the same but work completely different and sometimes they look completely different but are actually really similar


    Most runners look the same, but actually, there are different types. Some generate force fields to spot the wind resistance, some can resist the wind resistance and some simply nullified it. The result is the same, but the process is completely different


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Yes Timmy...."(Teacher)


    "Why some powered get more powerful with time or learn new powers?"(Timmy)


    "4-dimension again. As time passes, powered people keep accessing the 4-dimension and their power grows stronger or sometimes develop a new ability. It is a mixture of talent and luck, and most powered never have an increase of powers or get new ones. Besides, meddling too much with the 4 dimension usually leads to a calamity. Who knows what a calamity is?" Francis?(Teacher)


    "A monster that threats humanity?"(Francis)


    "It looks that way, but it isn''t. It is actually a powered that got to close to the 4-dimension. When a powered gets too close to the 4-dimension, he or she either leaves the 3 dimension forever or becomes a calamity. Basically, they usually lose their minds and go on a rampage with their powers. Any powered can become a calamity at any moment and that is why most people are afraid of even the ones that only has the potential. In reality, calamities rarely happen and most are contained without many troubles. In this country, only 200 cases were reported in the last 50 years, and only 10 of them had major casualties.It may look like much, but it is only on the level of a couple of storms each year with a tornado or hurricane every 5 years, nothing catastrophic. Yes, Susan?"(Teacher)


    "Can I access the 4-dimmension like the powered?"(Susa)


    "You, or any kid on this facility for the matter, can''t access the fourth dimension. Not in a get powers way at least. Everyone here probably heard about tests to see if a person has the potential, and no one here has that potential. As for studies for a normal person to access the 4-dimmension, they all ended in failure


    Well, "Failure". To be more exact, they always either disappear or end up becoming a calamity, so most stopped trying"(Teacher)


    *Riiiiiing*


    "Ok kids, recess is here, go grab something to eat and don''t forget to take your pills"(Teacher)


    "Yes, doctor Harrison!"(kids)


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thnx Neiden with the help with the grammar and I hope this help clarify some of yours and other readers questions about powers. If someone has a question about something just ask and I will either try to answer the question in a future chapter or just answer back(but do it in the last chapter publish)

 Side Story: Uncle Muscle

    Frederick, or Uncle Muscle as Sara calls him, was for some reason thinking about Sara in the morning


    He usually had 3000 stuff on his mind, so he couldn''t afford to waste his brain power on something useless


    Sadly for him, it was something that happened from time to time since he met her


    If he had to be honest with himself, he had a lonely life. He was an old man already, and even thought he had a couple of girlfriends over the years and an ex-wife, he had no children


    He blamed his busy criminal life when he was younger and bad parents, but part of him regretted never raising one


    That didn''t mean he was thrilled when Cat begged him to look after Sara


    Quite the opposite, he first tried to tell her to just take Sara with her, but she kept refusing, and then he tried to come up with excuses to avoid the responsibility, but Cat ended up persuading him. She even used a favor he owed her to finally force him to accept


    And even thought he reluctantly accepted, he decided to do his best at raising her, or at least, put some effort into it


    He also asked why she wasn''t just taking Sara with her if she was already doing so much for her


    As for the reason, well, it turned out she knew that if she wanted to properly raise Sara, she had to quit her criminal career. It was too dangerous to raise a kid that could be used as a hostage by other criminals, including her bosses


    If she kept doing her work, she would put Sara''s life at constant risk and there was also the fact that she didn''t do morally correct things almost all the time. Could she raise her properly while keeping her safe and not showing the sh-t she did? impossible


    And as for the option of stopping her criminal career, there was no way she could do that. It wasn''t just the money, she needed the adrenaline and lust for blood that only that side could fulfill


    Even thought she liked the kid, she knew that the best thing for her was to be as far away from her as possible, and Uncle Muscle had no word to refute her. Not only did he lived a similar life when he was younger, he knew the dark side of Cat, and couldn''t refuse her fears about raising Sara herself


    He ended accepting looking after Sara, and now he finds himself in the serious problem of getting attached to her like Cat


    For a guy that had a lot more dead friends than live ones, he knew how dangerous it was to get attached to something, but he ended up getting attached anyways


    It''s not something you can prevent, and it always happens because of little things


    Like the different expressions and faces she showed according to what food he gave her, even though she always eats it all. Or how stubborn she was in not using training wells even thought it was impossible for her to use the bike in gear 5


    He realised after she complained to him the following days and even though could have changed the gear 5 to 1, he founded funny the pouting face she showed. He even felt a little disappointed when she figure it out and could ride the bike fine


    It was little things like those that made Frederick get slowly attached to her, and it worried him


    What if someone used her to get information out of him or money. What if she died? He would feel like sh-t for who knows how long, especially if she dies because of him


    But what option did he had? He gave his word to Cat, and crook or not, he always kept his word


    *RIIIIING*


    The sudden call surprised Frederick


    Most people contacted him by letter, text or mail, almost no one called him


    "Hello?"(Muscle)


    "Mister Frederick talking?"(???)


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    "Yes, who is it?"(Muscle)


    "I am her teacher, she didn''t come to school today and I was checking if everything is alright"(Teacher)


    Frederick(or Uncle Muscle) found it strange, so far Sara never missed a day of school, so it was weird to get a sudden call


    Still, he didn''t know why Sara didn''t go to school, so he had to lie and see what happened


    "Sorry, she suddenly caught a cold and I let her stay home. Sorry I forgot to call the school"(Muscle) lied


    "No problem sir, it is the school policy to check. She never missed a day of school and always pays attention to class so there shouldn''t be a problem if she takes a few days off to get better. I hope she gets better soon"(Teacher)


    "Thanks, I hope that too"(Frederick)


    And with that, they said their goodbyes and hang up


    But that didn''t change the problem of not knowing why she didn''t go to school


    The first thing he tried to do was call her to her cell phone and when that didn''t work he tried to call to Cat''s hideout but that also didn''t work. He tried Sara''s GPS function, but it wasn''t working as well. It happened a few times when she forgot to charge it, so he wasn''t panicking yet


    Usually, he could wait until it was evening and see if she come, but under the circumstances, he thought it would be better to check her home and see if everything was ok


    Cat''s old hideout was close to his office, so it didn''t even took him half an hour to get there, and since he had a key just in case, he got inside


    He didn''t have a problem coming inside, and when he did, he found all the lights out. He though that she was either too sick to get up or wasn''t home


    He decided to turn the lights and look around, but he didn''t found her anywhere. He even looked at Cat''s private room but didn''t found her inside, just the usual stupid amount of guns and weapons


    He even helped her collect some of those, so he knew what was inside and why it was locked


    Still, it was worrisome that she wasn''t anywhere inside, so his best option was to see if there were any clues left behind


    The first thing he noticed was that his tapper food was left untouched. It could mean that she just ate something else, but considering she always eat what he handed to her....


    Well, there was also the option that she thrown his food and just handed him an empty tapper


    Frederick decided to look a little more before arriving at any conclusion and the second thing he found out was that her bike was nowhere to be found


    That is when he started to get a little worried


    His next step was checking the laptop. He simply turn it on and watched the browser history, it was the best place to find something about someone


    Sadly for him, all he found were some youtube links of an annoying YouTuber called pie something and some research about stuff about the factory like the hood guys, the hero angel etc


    With all this information, he had no clue where to look for here


    WTF should he do now????


    -------------------------------------------


    Note: I am planning to do a valentine side story for the event. the only thins is that the story has to advance a little more to reach the part I need for the story(since it has huge spoilers) so I may hurry the story a little. Next few chaps will be regular ones


    Btw, thx naiden for help with the grammar and thx zenla for pointing out the bike part(changed a little to make it clear)

 Chapter 26: Interrogation

    Sara found herself sitting on a chair in an empty building surrounded by 2 hood guys


    Let''s just say things didn''t look good for her


    It is true that she wanted to find them, talk to them and ask them some questions, but her idea was in a more "safe" environment for her


    Who would want to be at another person mercy?


    And for the looks on their faces, she could tell they weren''t happy with her


    One was a girl around 20, with black hair, big boobs and dressed in the typical grey clothes with a hood like every hood guy


    The other was a 20 years old bald guy with the same clothes as the girl and a seriously buffed body. Even more than Uncle Muscle


    The girl had a little pity in her eyes while the muscle guy had anger in them. Let''s just say Sara was really scared the moment she woke up


    The last thing she remembered was three guys suddenly appearing and hen suddenly throwing some kind of spray to her face and then everything went black


    She didn''t know how long she was out, but when she woke up, she found herself looking at this two hood guys and her first instinct wasn''t to scream, it was to run away as far as she could


    It was one of his big brother''s lessons. If you see something dangerous, just ran


    Sadly, the moment she tried to run away she found out she was tied tightly to the chair, with no way of getting free


    "So, are you awake little girl? Why not answer some of our questions"(bald) said while looking really threatening


    "Calm down a little, let the girl breath a second. Are you ok kid?"(boobs)asked Sara in a soothing voice


    But Sara was not only really really scared, she was panicking on the inside and wasn''t paying proper attention


    "Hey kid, kid, wake up. Are you ok or not? nod if you are ok"(bald) said  while clapping in front of Sara''s face


    Sara finally managed to compose herself a little(she was still scared) and managed to nod a little shyly


    "Be a little nicer, please. Kid, can you tell me why were you asking about us?"(boobs) said with a "kind" smile


    But Sara was still scared. It took all she had to just nod a few seconds ago, so answering back a difficult question was beyond her at the moment


    "Talk kid"(Bald) said in a threatening face


    Wich had an opposite effect obviously


    "Stop that, she won''t talk if you keep scaring her with that ugly mug of yours. Let''s go slowly, What is your name kid?"(Boobs) said with a smile and a kind voice


    It was a nice attempt and an unsuccessful one.  Kind voice or not,  Sara was still scared and panicking inside


    "Calm down, kid, we won''t hurt you. We just want you to answer some questions. Can you please tell me your name?"(boobs) kept her cool


    So Sara musters all the courage she had and finally decided to talk


    "Sara"(Sara)


    "What a pretty name, it suits you. Now, do you know who we are?"(boobs) kept her smile


    "Hood guys"(Sara)Said seriously


    It was the name she usually called them, but it was the name she used. They never said their organisations name yet, but most called them The Grey Cult. The moment Sara said she called them hood guys, the bold guy took his hand to his mouth and turn his back from Sara trying to hide his giggle while boobs smile crumbled a little and showed a real smile for a moment


    Sara could even hear contained laughter behind her for some reason


    It took them a moment to finally calm down


    "Sorry about that. Now, let''s go back to what we were talking about, why were you asking questions? Did Prometheus send you?"(Boobs) said with a kind voice and her "smile" from before


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Prometheus?"(Sara) never heard that name


    "You know, one of the first Supervillains. A big guy old guy with almost as much muscle as this guy. Works as an informant at the other part of town. The Logo you wear on your bag belongs to him"(Boobs)


    "You mean Uncle Muscle? he told me his name is Frederick but I like calling him Uncle Muscle. Never heard that photesus something name before"(Sara) said a little doubtful


    The words took a few seconds for the other two(actually 3) to register, but unlike with the hood guys reference, the moment they started imaginings a great super villain of the past suddenly been called Uncle Muscle, they broke into laughter


    It was like imagining a thought guy suddenly appearing in a tutu, the image didn''t fit right and they couldn''t hold themselves


    This time, bald guy started laughing without holding back and boobs joined him in the laughter, Sara could even hear a third person laughing in her back


    Meanwhile, Sara didn''t know where to hide. She didn''t know why they found it so amusing and found the situation quite embarrassing


    The minutes passed and passed and while the laughter slowly calmed down, Sara was getting redder and redder


    When they finally stopped, everyone was red and with tears in their eyes, just that Sara''s tears and red face were from different emotions than the other 3....


    "Are we sure she works for Prometheus? It looks to me she could make a career in the entertainment business"(Bald) said while still smiling a little


    "There is no mistake, the logo IS from him, and his civilian name IS Frederick, she just didn''t know his villain name"(boobs) said with a serious face, and not smiling this time


    It looked like the good cop and bad cop reversed, but it was more likely that they showed their true faces for a second. Still, they quickly realised their mistake, and Boobs went back to her smile and bald guy went back to his scary face


    "Sorry about that little Sara, we lost our composure for a second. Going back to our previous question, did this Uncle Muscle, as you call him, send you here to gather information?"(Boobs) said with her old friendly smile


    As for Sara, she calmed dow a little, and after seeing then laughing so hard, she kind of lost the fear she had, even though she still felt a little embarrassed, but still managed to speak normally


    "No, I wanted to find you, not Uncle Muscle"(Sara)


    This surprised boobs a little, probably since it was the last answer she expected from Sara


    "Why?"(Boobs) asked a little confused


    "Because you kidnapped my brothers!"(Sara) said a little angry, after remembering why she went to all this trouble


    And boobs and bald didn''t show surprise but comprehension and a little pity. The thing is, unlike Uncle Muscle or Cat, that would show pity because they knew they were dead, the look was for a different reason


    It was because they believed her and knew where they would have to be if it was true


    --------


    Note: probably will be realising more chapter the next few days. Thanks for the grammar help Neiden, and I was planning to make Class part 2 explaining the history of supers(doing it later thx to valentine event) but it basically started in word war 2 and was revealed to the public in the 70 thx to a calamity

 Chapter 27: Interrogation part 2

    "So I guess you heard the rumor that we kidnap little children, and you just believe it?"(boobs) play dumb


    "I know it''s true! You have my two brothers"(Sara) said with no doubt


    By this time she was completely sure they had them, even if it was a form of denial


    "Fine, let''s just say for arguments sake that we did kidnap them, what did you think  would happen if you ask around about us?"(boobs) fished for an answer


    "I wanted to find my brothers'' location and rescue them"(Sara)Said her master plan carefully planned


    It sucked......


    Don''t expect a masterful plan from a little kid guys. It was already decent the way she tried to get information, she just didn''t expect someone to tell on her


    "Did you think a little kid like you could take on all of us and rescue your brothers? Dream on kid"(bald) tried to taunt her


    "If I couldn''t, I would have ask help from uncle Muscle, I am sure he would have found a way!"(Sara) fell for it


    "Then why not ask help from the start? If you are so close, he could have come himself instead of doing everything yourself"(Boobs)


    "He didn''t like it when I asked about you, so I have to find the information myself"(Sara) said a little embarrassed


    She depended a lot on Uncle Muscle and felt a little bad for doing this behind his back, but finding her family was too important to be left alone to luck or chance. She wanted to find them no matter what, even Jess that she kind of knew how she was


    It is true that she didn''t properly consider the dangers of doing this, but even if she knew it was more dangerous than she thought, she would have done it anyways. It was that important to her


    And as for the other 2(3), from the looks on their face, they understood a little more about the situation


    If they believed what Sara said, she knew and worked for Prometheus(as they called him) but he refused to help her searching for information about them, so she came alone


    Actually, they did believe her, since what they said next kind of confirmed it


    "Was she telling the truth?"(bald) asked boobs


    "Yeah, or, at least, she believes what she said. She could be brainwashed for all we know"(Boobs)


    "Na, Prometheus was a villain, but he had some principles. He wasn''t the type to alter people''s minds"(bald)


    "Mmm, let''s see. What do you plan to do if we let you go kid?"(boobs)


    "Keep looking for my brothers"(Sara) said honestly


    Hard to say if it was the best idea under the circumstances. Saying that would mean she was still a threat, but they probably had a way to tell if she was lying according to the conversation they just had


    As for Sara, she didn''t think that far. She just felt there was no point in lying


    "Shit, she isn''t lying, isn''t she? wwhat do we do"(Bald) said while panicking a little


    "No idea, sir?"(Boobs) finally addressed the third guy, hiding on the back of Sara


    "Well, scaring her would be a possibility, but considering she knows Prometheus and may even be in good terms with him, it is too dangerous to try. Sara, right? how does Uncle Muscle treat you?"(guy 3) Said the guy as he appeared in Sara''s line of vision


    Unlike the other 2, that had developed parts all over their bodies, and were around 20, the third guy looked more normal. He was 25-30, had an average face with black hair and a pair of glasses, was around 1.75m and it looked like he didn''t train his body at all and had a calm expression on his face


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    Compared to the bald guy just beside him, it was like an elephant and a mouse beside each other. The funny part was that like an elephant, you could see the fear in the bald guys eyes, and in boobs too


    He was the leader of the group, and probably more than just that


    Not like Sara noticed all that. To her, it was just one more guy appearing, and an answer of why she heard some laughter on her back


    "He cook me food and give me jobs"(Sara) admit, but didn''t felt like telling all he did for her, it was none of their business


    "So you do jobs for him and he pays you food?"(third guy/boss)


    "No, he give me food and I do jobs for him"(Sara) It sounded similar, but the meaning is different


    "So, I guess they are close?"(Bald) asked the boss


    "It could also mean she is just thankful and he is taking advantage of her"(Boobs)


    "Uncle Muscle isn''t taking advantage of me!!"(Sara) said in an angry voice


    She didn''t like that someone was bad mouthing someone she cared about


    "Fine, fine. Sorry for doubting about Uncle Muscle"(boobs) said apologetic


    No point in arguing with a little kid


    "So, what do we do with her sir? kill her, release her, threatened her?"(Boobs)asked his boss


    "Mmm, hard to tell. We can''t release her just like that since she wants something from us and won''t stop until she get''s it. Both threatening and killing her may piss off Prometheus, and no one wants that. I guess we have no choice but to kidnap her and see how Prometheus react"(Boss)


    "But sir, we can''t look after a kid. We are too busy to look after her properly, and if she managed to get away, she may jeopardise the whole operation"(Bald) said while waving his hand in refusal


    "Who said we would be looking after her. I was thinking more in the line of granting her wish"(boss)


    "You don''t mean sending her there, right?"(bald) asked a little scared


    "Why not? we have a hole system that looks after kids, it''s impossible to escape, she will be monitored all day, and as long as we don''t put her on the dangerous experiments, she should be fine. It''s perfect"(boss)


    "And if she has powers?"(boobs)


    "We have one for powers too, you know? It just works differently than the one you two came from. I am sure you fought some guys you never saw before that had strange powers"(Boss)


    "I thought they were the special projects"(Bald)


    "Na, just from the other facility. Any more questions? We don''t have all day and we still haven''t dealt with the kid"(boss)


    "Sorry boss"(bald/boobs)said apologetic


    "Knock her down then, we are taking her to the research facility"(Boss) said while pointing at Sara


    Sara, meanwhile, was confused by the whole situation, but before she could sort out everything they said, Boobs sprayed her face with some gas and was instantly know out


    -------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks again for the help Neiden. Any help is welcome, it doesn''t has to be the whole chapter

 Chapter 28: Pink

    As you can probably imagine, Sara was knocked out for an unknown amount of time again. A side effect of not having a watch and falling asleep


    Well, even if she wasn''t knocked out since she didn''t have a way of checking the time, she wouldn''t we able to tell how much time had passed anyways


    It could have been a few hours or a few days or maybe even more


    All she knew was that she was getting tired of all the knocking out and appearing in new places already


    And for some reason, she suspected this wasn''t going to be the last time...


    At least, this time, she didn''t wake up tied to a chair but sleeping in a soft bed


    It was an improvement


    The other good news was that the bald guy, boobs, and their boss were nowhere to be seen


    Instead, she found herself in a big room full of beds, all occupied by children. The room was all pink, without windows. All it had besides beds was a big hospital double door and some air vents


    There were around 20 beds, all near the wall with a free space to walk in the middle


    As for the residents of the room, it was full of girls of different ages and races, all dressed in pink clothes. It was a pink pair of pants, pink t-shirt, pink socks etc. They all also had  pink wristband and a pink band-aid on their left hand


    Of course, she was also wearing those clothes and wristband


    It was seriously becoming an overload of pink at this rate. The one that designed all this had a serious fascination with pink or was the kind of idiot that thought girl=pink....


    The first thing Sara did was  to take the band-aid and see why it was there. What she found after removing it was a needle mark on her arm. She didn''t know what it was for, but she saw that everyone had a band-aid just like her, so everyone probably had a needle mark too


    So, after making sure that there was nothing else weird on her body, she started looking around and checking the situation


    Around half of them were still asleep on their beds, but some girls woke up and were walking around or talking to each other


    Sara decided to get out of her bed, check if she could walk fine, and approach the nearest group of girls


    She could have tried the door first, but the first thing that came to mind was getting information instead of running away since there was nothing that looked dangerous in the room


    The girls Sara was approaching were three Asians kids. 2 were around her age and the 3th one was a  little older and since they were talking to each other, she decided to try her luck


    "Excuse me"(Sara)  said when she got close enough


    "&$$%¡¤"(older Asian)said with a confused expression in a different language


    The girl wasn''t speaking in English, so Sara didn''t know what she said


    "Do you speak English?"(Sara) tried asking with some hope


    "^*$¡¤?%=&)/¡¤"¡¤/($%$&"(older Asian) said again in her own language, this time with a higher voice and panicking a little


    "Never mind"(Sara) give up while trying to signal with her hands that she was going away


    There were more girls awake, so Sara was sure that someone should speak English, right?


    Righhhhhhht...........


    Her second try was a black girl around 7, but she didn''t understand a word just like the Asians girls


    For her third try, she approached two tanned girls, but let''s see if you can guess the result? success or failure?


    Let''s just say she had to try a 4th time, and this time, she even went to a white blond girl, she was sure it was going to work this time


    Not


    She was even starting to doubt if she may have hit her head and forgot how to speak or something. She saw it happen in a TV show, so she was sure it was possible


    TV never lie


    What if she was stuck that way all her life? and if she couldn''t also read? she would be left uncommunicated all her life


    Sara was panicking a little(well, maybe more than a little) when suddenly


    "Excuse me, I saw you trying to talk to the other girls, do you know what is going on?"(girl?)said from Sara''s back


    Sara followed the sound of the voice she just heard and found an Asian girl just behind her. She was around Sara''s age


    and you could tell she was a little scared


    She wasn''t one of the group of 3 she just tried to talk to and from the look of things, she could speak English, so Sara calmed down a little


    At least, her head was fine


    "Not really, the last thing I remembered, I was kidnaped by the hood guys and then I found myself here, you?"(Sara)


    "I was sold by the person that was looking after me"(Asian girl) said in a low voice


    "Ohh......"(Sara) said in a kind of depressed voice since she didn''t know how to react


    Topics like betrayals weren''t something a little kid could handle really well


    "So what is your name?"(Sara) tried to change the subject


    "Mei Ling, you?"(Mei)


    "Sara, nice to meet you"(Sara) said while stretching her hand


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Mei took it and both of them shake it and smiled a little


    Sh-ty situation or not, meeting someone new and making a new friend was always something good


    But the excitement was short-lived


    *RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGG*


    A bell sound was heard all around the room, startling every girl inside, awake or not


    A few seconds later, speakers at the top of the room started speaking


    "Follow the nurse,***************,&&&&&&&&&&&&&,+++++++++++++,///////////////////,%%%%%%%%%%%%%"(speaker) said in different language


    Moments later, a nurse opened the room doors and stood there waiting


    Some girls started approaching the nurse, followed by the rest, including Sara and all the girls that were sleeping until now


    Mei was just by Sara''s side, and the others  girls did similar things by staying near the girls they were just talking before, forming little groups and making something like a line near the nurse


    The girls at the front tried to say something to the nurse, but she just ignored them while waiting for everyone to form a line


    When everyone was more or less in line, the nurse walked out of the room and started walking slowly to some place. The girls up front started walking behind her and the rest follow in the same fashion


    When Sara finally got outside the room, she found a group of kids in blue clothes coming out of a room in front of theirs following a nurse just like them


    Behind Sara were two more doors, also with two groups of kids, one with pink clothes and the other with blue clothes


    It didn''t take a genius to realize blue=boy, pink=girl


    Let''s say the place won''t get an award for originality


    Every  group followed a nurse, and after walking a little while and passing some closed doors, they arrived at some kind of dinner


    It had long tables with long chairs, a place with numerous strays and another with numerous different types of foods to choose from


    Translation, eat!


    So some boys and girls took a stray and started choosing what to eat, and then the rest did the same


    Sara and Mei went together and each chose something of their liking. Sara chose some cereal while Mei took an apple for some reason


    Then, both of them Sat on a chair and started eating while the others did the same


    The room was deadly silent, only hearing the sound of munching and coughs or whispers from time to time


    It didn''t help that most speak different languages and no one could tell which talked witch just by the looks. Well, not Sara at least. Most Asians sit together, black with black, tanned with tanned, white with white, boys with boys and girls with girls


    No one told them to do it like that, but it just came to be like that. Probably since people felt more comfortable with people that looked like them or because the chance they spoke the same language increased


    Sara and Mei were the first to sit on their table, but slowly, some of the kids started approaching their table and started asking if they could sit in English, which both of then just nodded and the kids sit


    Like that, you could say that different groups, separated by a language barrier were formed


    As for Sara''s group, unlike the rest that had almost always one type of skin color, hers had a mixture of all


    At the start, no one talked and just ate their food. It took some time, but someone on the table finally asked if anyone knew what was going on, but nobody answered. Then other asked how they got here and each started to tell their story


    I could tell you each individual story but they were all pretty similar. All of them were either slum kids or unwanted children that got sold or thrown out of their home and somehow ended up there. People no one would miss or realize they were gone


    Only Sara''s story was a little different than the rest since she was kidnapped and questioned. They even started to ask questions about the hood guys and what did they do, which Sara tried to answer the best she could since she knew a lot about them


    It helped her story that some kids knew about them and their shadiness. Well, that and that they were kids since adults would suspect her or think she was trying to grab attention


    Everything was going fine until it happened again


    *RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGG*


    "Follow the nurse,***************,&&&&&&&&&&&&&,+++++++++++++,///////////////////,%%%%%%%%%%%%%"(speaker)


    Four nurses  stood near the door all of them came in and waited


    Kids formed lines like before, but instead of rooms, they were organized by table. 4 lines were formed like that and when the nurse started walking, they followed her again


    ----------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks for the help again Neiden. At least, there wasn''t a been/being mistake, this time :D

 Chapter 29: Tests

    A room full of Tables with chairs, screens and headphones connected to them


    That is where the nurse took the group


    It would look like a classroom, except it didn''t have a blackboard, windows or even a clock. Only the tables, a desk and two extra chairs


    Oh, and an extra nurse waiting inside. But like the one that brought them there, she didn''t say a word, she just stayed put on her chair


    All the kids follow the first nurse inside the classroom and started looking around, but as soon as the last kid got inside, the doors closed, followed by a locking noise


    Basically, they were trapped with no explanation of what to do next


    Well, no direct explanation at least. Even if not all of them got it, some of the kids(including Sara) instantly realised that they were supposed to sit on one of the chairs


    The two nurses sat near their desk, and when one of the kids tried the door, it was closed as expected, so their choices were to wait indefinitely while standing up or just sit on one of the chairs


    It didn''t take long for some of the kids to sit first, and for the rest to follow


    Sara and Mei sat beside each other, and Sara put the headphones on her head. She took a look at the screen and saw images of a hand with a wristband touching the screen in a loop


    Sara decided to give it a try and touched the screen with her pink wristband


    "Hello-Sara"(Voice) suddenly spoke, scaring the sh-t out of Sara


    It took her a moment to realise that it came from her headphones


    "Now-you-are-going-to-answer-a-series-of-questions-.-Please-take-your-time-and-answer-only-with-the-thruth-.-If-you-need-to-go-to-the-bathroom-raise-your-hand-and-a-nurse-will-take-you-there"(voice)said mechanically on the headphones and the screen


    "Question-1--Can-you-read?-you-can-say-yes-or-no"(voice)said on the headphones again while offering yes and no options on the screen


    Sara said yes and the screen and voice went to the next question


    Basically, it started testing if she could read and count, asked her age and if she went to school, what year she was and how much did she know. Could she count, knew the ABC, etc


    But after the knowledge questions ended, the voice started asking more personal questions like her favorite animal, if she were an animal which she would be, which she wouldn''t be, favorite color, etc


    The questions looked endless, but she kept answering one after another like she was in a trance. She didn''t even pay attention to her surroundings, and after who knows how long, the questions finally ended


    "Please-don''t-remove-the-headphones-and-wait-for-instructions"(voice)said finally and Sara finally woke up from her trance


    She started looking around and found that most were still answering questions and only a few were looking around or watching something on their screens


    Moments later, a kids movie started to play on the screen and Sara started watching it while looking around from time to time


    She wanted to talk with Mei but she was currently answering her questions, so Sara reluctantly watched the movie and waited


    It was actually the old Mage of Oz from who knows how many years ago, but Sara still enjoyed it


    Still, she didn''t manage to watch a whole lot of it since a message suddenly pops up


    "Follow-the-Nurse"(Voice) and text said and the movie stopped playing


    Sara looked around and found some of the other kids were also getting up from their seats and approaching one of the nurses so she did the same


    Meanwhile, the rest of the kids were still answering questions in full concentration


    Moments later after she got close to the nurse, the nurse opened the door after she heard a *ping* noise and went outside the room, so all the kids follow her


    They were back on the hallway again, and the nurse took them to the dinner again


    Like before, there was food on a table to grab, but this time, it was more lunch orientated instead of breakfast, and the room was a lot more empty than before. when they arrived the first time, there were around 80 kids all around the place, but at the moment, there were only 10, including her


    The place was big enough to have more than 100 kids, so with only 10, it looked pretty empty


    Still, all of them were somewhat hungry, so they didn''t hesitate to grab something and they ended up sitting all at the same table


    After a while, a kid raised his hand and asked if he could go to the toilet, and for the first time ever, the nurse did something


    She pointed at a door on the far side of the room that said bathroom.....


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The kid didn''t hesitated a second and started running at full throttle to the bathroom while the rest just ate in silence


    A while later he came back, and some of the kids follow his example and at some point, even Sara went


    Surprisingly, the bathroom was normal. There was one for boys and one for girls, so the wasn''t a urinal in hers, only 3 toilet stalls and 2 sinks


    After doing her thing, she checked herself in the mirror and didn''t found anything strange, so she just went back to the table and waited


    She did ask the kid beside her what they asked him about(it was a boy) and all the questions were the same as hers, but he did manage to answer a few more about knowledge, since he was 1 year older


    They keep talking about the questions when the annoying speaker talked again the message "follow the nurse" in different language


    The kids, already use to it, just approached her and followed her to a new place like usual


    On their way, Sara saw a different group of kids going to the dinner, so for the look of things they were taking turns or something


    They also passed the room they took the test and the one she woke up in, but the doors didn''t have windows, so she didn''t saw what-what was happening inside


    Instead, they kept going into a new room she didn''t visit before. The nurse went inside first and the kids follow, like they did before, and the door made a locking sound, just like before


    The room, this time, had 5 chairs with a helmet on it


    Sara instantly realised what it was for since she had used that helmet as a "medical exam" to enter her old school


    It basically told you if you had the potential or not


    Since it was a private school, they had the privilege of not allowing students that didn''t pass the "medical exam" to enter


    Some parents complained about it, and tried to sue some schools, but it all turned unsuccessful thanks to the fear of Calamities(and even normal powers), that they were private and that there were schools that did accept them


    At the time, she was a little excited with the possibility of becoming a superhero and maybe develop a power that helps her find her family


    She was pretty disappointed went she find out she was normal, and part of her hoped that the chair was wrong


    Well, knowing what the chair did and wanting a second opinion didn''t make her jump to the chair at the first chance, it still looked pretty scary


    And it''s not like she was 100% sure that was what the chair did


    "Sit on the Chair and put on the helmet,.........."(speaker) said again in different language


    But no one dared to do it, so the voice repeated again after a few minutes


    "Sit on the Chair and put on the helmet,.........."(speaker)


    and again


    "Sit on the Chair and put on the helmet,.........."(speaker)


    and again


    "Sit on the Chair and put on the helmet,.........."(speaker)


    Until finally, Sara decided to sit first and just put on the helmet. She knew there was no way out of there until they all did it, so she may as well do it sooner rather than later


    And it is not like it was uncomfortable or anything, it was just put the helmet, wait a few minutes and it was done


    In theory, it checks your brainwaves to see if the manage to find the 4th dimension or something like that


    So she just did it, and in a few minutes, it was done. She knew because it made a strange sound and a light turn red


    "Are you ok?"(boy) asked the one she was talking to at the dinner


    "Yeah, I think it is to check if we have powers. Red is normal and green is powered. I did a similar test before to entering school"(Sara)


    Most kids there were from poor families or slum kids, so they never did the test and didn''t know how it worked. The moment they found out it was to check for powers, they were more willing to give it a try and test their luck


    As you can probably imagine, most kids want the powers. Sadly, most people usually develop a grudge when they fail, and since the chance is around 5%, a lot develop one


    Even with this group of 10 kids, only one little girl had the potential in the end


    You could even see the envy in the rest of the kids eyes, including Sara


    Little did they know, that their wish would be granted


    Kinda....


    ----------------------


    Note: Thanks for the Grammar help Neiden :)


    As for the bathroom mistake, we say bathroom to both the toilet one and the one with a bath in Spanish, my bad :P

 Chapter 30: Who are the hood guys?

    Now, I think it is about time I explain a little more about the hood guys and what do they do


    For starters, most people believe they are a sect since they all dress in the same clothes, kill themselves when they are captured, and all the members have low-level powers, which are usually look down and oppressed by society


    Most cults are people easily gullible, with weak minds thanks to being oppressed that follow a rustles leader that doesn''t care if they live or die as long as he gets a profit


    If the hood guys don''t look like a cult, I don''t know what does


    And that is how the hood guys group mascarade their true purpose


    Most members of the hood guys are actually normal humans that the "hood guys" had experimented on so they could mimic powers


    The experiments don''t involve forcing a person to access the 4th dimension since every recorded experiment so far had ended in complete failure. Every single case ends with the person eventually becoming a calamity or simply disappearing from existence, every single one


    Besides the extreme difficulty of forcing persons to access the 4th dimension, ending blowing up in your face didn''t leave the best track record


    Well, that didn''t stop people from trying from time to time, and maybe some may have succeeded in some secret research facility, but the hood guys weren''t trying to give powers that way


    Instead, they took advantage of the knowledge they got from the 4th dimension to "improve" normal people


    As you may or may not know, some people only get knowledge from the 4th dimension, but that knowledge is incredibly valuable


    It usually focuses on one aspect only, but that knowledge is far more advanced than what we know today. They usually are prodigies in biomechanics, drugs, nanomachines research, algorithms, medicine, physics, etc


    This allows then to make amazing stuff beyond what present technology can allow and in most cases, can be replicated under special circumstances


    Well, most of them, since there are some that are able to use laws of the 4th dimension but only them and on the stuff they build


    Still, people that had access to knowledge from the 4th were called thinkers, and could do amazing stuff, including giving "powers" to normal people


    Kinda


    And why is all this relevant to the hood guys?


    The thing is, the hood guys is actually an association of thinkers, normal scientist and some investors. It''s not an evil organisation or a government facility and I am not even sure how it started


    All I know is that a group of thinkers gathered together and said "Hey, wanna do something completely f-ck up?" and the rest said yes


    As for what kind of "improvement" they did, well....


    There were the biomechanics(See game Deux ex: Human Evolution for reference), nanomachines(original Deux ex), chimeras(half human half beast), body enhancement by drugs or/and operations(captain America) and more


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    They also did psychological test and other types of research like cloning just for fun


    Basically, it was a get together of mad scientist trying the limits without having to worry about stuff like the law


    And they have been doing it for enough time to do a test batch(hood guys outside)


    The poor guys had to follow the orders of a handler(boss guy in Sara''s kidnapping) and if they were captured, they would get killed since they had a pill inside them that would make it look like a suicide


    They also made them addicts of a special drug they made and only took those that passed a rigorous psychological analysis, so they had their bases cover


    Nice place, right?


    That is the kind of place Sara was at the time, or to be more exact, where she would be send


    The hospital/school mix without windows was simply a test facility to see what experiment would the kid be more appropriate to do


    They started testing the intelligence of the kids, followed by testing if they have powers


    Which are the test that Sara already did, but what more was there?


    Well, after that, Sara went to different rooms that tested her fitness, endurance, strength, agility, reflex, decision making and morals


    All automatic and the worst part is that they never went back to the hallway. After testing if they had the potential, a new door opened, and then another and another etc. They had to proceed or wait, and they chose to proceed, hoping that it would be the last one


    Even when one of the kids pee its pants, they didn''t give him a change or something. He had to suck it up and continue to do the tests


    It s-cked


    I could tell you what the tests were about but it''s not that complex


    One had a giant running machine, other had a grip machine, one shoot rubber balls, other had you climb a climbing wall, and the last one let you stop the test if you killed a dog by pressing a button


    F-ck up


    By the way, Sara didn''t kill the dog, and that was the last test anyway so it didn''t matter actually(not that they knew it was the last)


    By the end of it, they were completely exhausted and worn out, and since the last door actually had some comfortable chairs, all the kids just sit there


    Relaxing for a minute in a comfortable chair made of leather and that vibrated


    And before they notice, the sleeping gas slipping under their feet took effect, and the round of test finally came to a close for them


    All that awaited them was human experimentation for who knows how long


    And sadly, not all of them would make it


    And I can''t say for sure that Sara actually made it too


    Seriously


    ----------------------------


    Note: Next chapter, narrator identity finally revealed. Thanks Neiden for the help :D , and yeah, big fan of Deux ex

 Chapter 31: Scream contest

    I know what you are thinking, you are trolling me again, right?


    How could the MAIN CHARACTER die just like that


    What would be the point of all this story if that was the case


    But let me ask you one little thing


    If you are suddenly tossed into a lab full of crazy scientists, doing inhuman experiments of all kind and forms, how sure can you be that you are actually you and not a clone, a person with fake memories, a cyborg, someone from a parallel world or who knows what else?


    Because I sure as hell don''t know for sure


    And if you include the part about Sara being a hostage, even if she died on the operating table, they had to find a way to make it look like she was alive


    So yeah, I am not sure if Sara survived the surgery or I am a clone, someone from parallel universe, a different kid that they put her memories and did some plastic surgery, or a homunculus(human imitation)


    All I know is that I woke up in a room for two, and my last memory was of Sara resting on a chair after having to choose if I kill a dog or not(chap 29)


    So yeah, you have been reading my life story so far, or, at least, my memories of Sara


    So why the 3th person until now? Well, you have to look for the reasons why I am writing all this


    All this has 2 purpose


    First, check how accurate my memories are since I can''t be sure if everything is real or some parts were implanted just for fun, some kind of twisted test or to fake my death


    Second, to check my mental stability. I will corroborate more in future chapters, but let''s just say that the other test subjects didn''t have the best mental stability, thanks to numerous experiments, drugs, environment, etc


    Let''s just say that having an idea of how I behave before the surgery and after helps a lot in checking how far I have fallen from the rabbit hole of insanity


    Sadly, after everything that the hood guys put me through, I can''t be sure if I am really Sara or someone that has the same name and face


    There is also the part of me not knowing for sure about everything that happened during surgery, but since I never had to go to one like that later, at least I know the person I am now it''s the same person that came out of it(probably)


    Well, let''s not be so cryptic, ok? I am me in the end, and I may not be the original Sara, but I am Sara and will live as her the rest of my life


    And what I am telling you are the memories of my past plus information I gathered here and there(yes, I managed to live a couple of years, with luck I may even reach 18)


    So, let''s go back to where we left off


    Like I said, I woke up in a bed in a room with a bunk bed


    I was at the bottom bunk bed, and a little confused with a really bad headache


    Of course, I didn''t suspect I was me or not at the time, all I thought was how much my head hurts and where the f I was


    If I wasn''t a kid at the time, I am sure I would be cursing like a sailor


    Feeling like sh-t, getting thrown into unknown situation time after time and suddenly appearing in an unknown bed for the second time after being knocked out for the 3th time after passing really f-ck up test, anyone would fell like cursing like a sailor


    Innocence


    Wouldn''t last much long in a place like that


    I mean, you know what was the first thing she saw the moment she got up from bed? well, actually darkness because the light were off and like before, there were no windows


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    I had to move around until finally I found a light switch and turn it on


    Ass soon as she turned on the light, she saw the room and wasn''t particularly impressed


    It had a bunk bed, a closet, a desk and a bathroom in the back, with a shower, toilet, and sink


    You would think that with billions they probably expended on the place, they could afford betters rooms....


    Still, the first thing I did after turning the light on was to check myself


    I found out I was wearing the same pink clothes again, but this time, I found something else, a scar on my arm, with an identical one on the other


    The moment I found them, I run to the bathroom, and I looked all over my body, finding scars all over the place


    But the strangest part wasn''t having scars all over my body, but that they were already healed


    It makes you wonder, how long was I out?


    Usually, one would scream or panic at that time, but before I could even react, I saw movement from the top of the bunk bed from the mirror reflection


    The moment I saw movement, I instinctively turned around to see who it was, making me forget about the scars for a second


    And what I saw coming out of the blankets helped me forget for more than a few seconds


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"(me) screaming for my life


    I mean, what came out of the blanket was something out of a horror movie


    Not the disgusting type like a zombie or Freddy


    But actually a werewolf


    I mean, a freaking werewolf was sleeping on the top bunker!


    It had the teeth, all hairy, with wolf-ear and a wet nose


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"(werewolf)started screaming back at me


    Then, a screaming contest started


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"(me)


    "AAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!"(werewolf)


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"(me)


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"(werewolf)


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH*cough**cough*"(me) lost :(


    And for some reason, the werewolf started smiling like it won. It looked kind of spooky with all those teeth actually


    "Are you ok?"(werewolf)said with a girly voice, it really didn''t fit the scary face


    It took me a couple of seconds to catch my breath, but I finally managed to say a few words


    "You are not going to eat me, right?"(Me) asked while still being a little scared


    "Why would I eat you?"(werewolf)turned her head to the side in a cute way


    "Because you are a werewolf, and werewolf eat people?"(me) asked while questioning the statement a little


    It''s not like I met a werewolf before, right?How would I know what they actually eat


    The werewolf, not understanding my answer, took a look at its hands and.....


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!"(warewolf)


    Did I say already that the place was full of mad scientists?


    -----------------------------


    Note: Thanks for the help Neiden  =D


    by the way, I haven''t decided yet if she is the original Sara or not, since it could be an interesting arc in the future

 Side Story: Wolf Lab Valentine

    Note: Happy Valentine. It was a pain to write, seriously. Don''t hope for another of this character


    Btw: thx for pointing out the mistakes Neiden and Zenla


    -------------------------------------------------------------


    What to do what to do...


    They suddenly told all of us to make some chocolate and give it to someone


    I mean, it sounds nice and all but those guys can be really evil sometimes


    Considering that they made me this half wolf half human without asking, that they make us fight constantly, that they never let us go outside or that they do constant tests, they force us to study and force me to eat vegetables from time to time


    I AM A WOLF!!! I SHOULD EAT MEAT


    I like meat! I want more meat!!!


    MEAT!!!!!!!


    Where was I? Ah yeah, chocolate


    Can I eat chocolate? I heard you can''t give chocolate to a dog or something like that


    But I am a wolf-human something, so it should be alright, right?


    I like chocolate, so let''s eat it anyways


    They heal my wounds properly after the fight, even when I lose, so they should give me something for the stomach if I feel bad, right?


    At least, they treat me better than my old home. There they punch me and never care to treat me or something, and the food is better


    I can eat a lot of meat! even if they force me to eat vegetables from time to time


    I want more meat


    MEAT!!!


    why can''t they give me more meat? I want more meat


    I wonder what happens if I mix meat with chocolate?


    Would it taste good? It should taste good, meat is delicious and chocolate is delicious, so it should be double delicious!!!


    Oh! wait, I am supposed to make it for someone, not for myself


    Does that mean that even if I make the delicious chocolate meat, someone else will eat it?


    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!


    My chocolate meat!!!!!!!


    That is unfair, I should be the one to eat the chocolate meat


    What is the point of making the chocolate meat if you can''t eat it? Sara was right, they are evil!!!


    Forcing me to make something so delicious like chocolate meat and telling me not to eat it, only a monster would do it


    I want my chocolate meat!!!


    I am sure it''s going to be super delicious


    It''s chocolate plus meat, two of the most delicious things in the world!!!


    I want to eat it!!!!


    Maybe if I ask nicely, they are going to let me eat some of it


    Oh! I know, if I ask Sara to make me chocolate meat, I can eat it!!!


    I AM A GENIUS!!!!


    Chocolate meat, chocolate meat, chocolate meat


    I wanna eat chocolate meat


    Chocolate meat!!


    I should find Sara and tell her my wonderful idea


    Let''s see.......


    Her smell is........


    I forgot


    Let go back to the room


    ...........


    Here we are


    Now, should I smell her clothes? She got a little mad the last time I did it, but but but


    Ahh!! I am doing it!


    Mmmmmmm!


    There!


    Found the scent


    Let''s follow it


    She went this way


    It''s not an old trace, right? Na, it''s getting a little stronger with time


    She went to the class, not here


    She went to the bathroom, not here


    She went to t


    BALLLL!!!!!!!!!


    BALL BALL BALL BALL BALL!!!!


    BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    The scent continues to the dinner


    I am kind of hungry, so it''s probably eating time


    I wonder if they have meat, I want to eat meat


    MEAT!!!!!


    "Excuse me!"(??)


    Uh!? who is talking?


    Oh! A boy is behind me, don''t sneak behind me, it''s rude


    Why the angry face?


    "The ball, please"(kid)


    Ball?


    "Wfefw bdfe?"(me)


    Oh! I have a ball in my mouth for some reason!


    It happens from time to time


    I want to keep it! but but but


    Sara said I must give it back if someone ask for it :(


    Let''s give it back


    "Here"(me)


    Done, now he is holding it, so he can''t complain


    Why the disgusted face?


    Didn''t he want the ball back?


    If you don''t want it, can I have it?


    "Maan, look at what you did to the ball, it has your teeth mark and it''s full of your spit"(boy)


    Hey, it''s not my fault it suddenly appeared in my mouth!


    "Just go, ok? I am going to wash it or something. At least, you didn''t crush it"(boy)


    Sheesh, what a rude boy


    What was I doing?


    A yes! chocolate meat!!


    CHOCOLATE MEAT!!!!!


    No! wait! wrong! I wanted Sara to make me Chocolate meat!


    CHOCOLATE MEAT!!!


    She was at the dinner, right?


    Because of that rude boy, I almost forgot


    Yeah, her scent is at the dinner, let''s go


    ......................


    "SARA!"(me)


    There is Sara, Sara is there, let''s go to Sara


    Let''s hug Sara


    Sara!


    "Hi meg"(Sara)


    Ohh! she smells nice


    She was eating Meat!


    Meat!


    Let''s get some meat!


    "Hi Meg"(mei)


    Oh, Mei is here too!


    "Hi Mei!"


    Mei is nice, but she eats too much rice, she needs more meat!


    Meat!


    Let''s go get the meat


    There is a line!


    let''s wait in line......


    Meat!


    Meat!


    MEAT!!!!


    yay! Meat!


    Let''s sit with Sara and Mei


    LET''S EAT!!


    ouch!!


    Sara hit my hand


    "Use the knife and fork! how many times I have to remind you"(Sara)said a little angry


    I forgot =P


    Let''s see, knife....., fork..... cutting ........


    I wonder why I can''t use my hands? it is faster


    But they complain if I don''t do it


    MEAT!!!!


    delicious!!


    Why can''t they serve meat more often


    Delicious!!


    I want more meat!


    Oh yeah, Sara can make me the Chocolate meat!


    "Serghufsdfe ahfeuohfaea"(me)


    "Swallow the food before talking Meg"(Sara)


    OK!


    Done!


    "Can you make me chocolate meat for me?"(me)


    It''s sure to be delicious!!!!!!


    "Chocolate meat? Ah! you mean for today''s event. We were just talking about that with Mei"(Sara)


    "Chocolate meat? what is that?"(Mei)


    Mei doesn''t know? Wow! that doesn''t happen often


    "Meat bath in chocolate of course!"(me)


    ?


    why the disgusted face?


    "Meg, we are only allowed to make normal chocolate. They don''t allow extra ingredients"(Sara)


    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    MY CHOCOLATE MEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    WHY?!!


    "Don''t be so sad meg, I am sure that they will let you make it if you spend some points"(Sara)


    "Really?"(me)


    "Yeah, so we can make it another day, today is just normal chocolate"(Sara)


    Yay! I can eat chocolate meat!


    "So, what do you think we should do Sara? you think it''s a trap?"(Mei)


    Chocolate meat!


    "Who knows, All I care is that whenever they ask us to do something, they usually give handsome rewards. The only thing I am sure of is that it won''t end in just giving chocolate"(Sara)


    Chocolate meat!


    "Yeah, you think they will poison us? Like with the free pizza Friday event"(Mei)


    Pizza!


    Oh yeah, that pizza day, it smelled funny so I didn''t eat it. Sara acted funny after trying a little bit


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Or throw us into a prepared dungeon like "pick a friend" event"(Sara)


    Dungeon! That was a scary one, I don''t want to go back there


    "So, how do we do this one?"(Mei)


    "Mmm, Why not share with each other? At least, if they throw us into a dungeon, we will be three at least. Just don''t eat all the chocolate in one go, you heard Meg?"(Sara)


    Uh!? Not eat all?


    "Why not?"(Meg)


    "Just don''t, ok?"(Sara)


    "ok.."(me)


    I want chocolate.....


    "So, we share with each others or m?Meg-Sara Sara-me me-Meg?"(Mei)


    "We see how it goes"(Sara)


    ----------------------------------------


    KITCHEN!!!


    Is there any meat?


    no meat :(


    "Ok girls, take a seat. Form teams of 2 or 3"(teacher)


    Oh! the teacher is here! Is he explaining how to make it?


    "Come meg, there are three sits there"(Mei)


    Mei is pulling my hand! let''s follow her


    I can see some stuff on the table


    "Do you smell something weird?"(Sara)


    *Sniff*


    Mmhh, it smells good!


    "It smells delicious!"(Me)


    Why is there no meat? I want meat


    "Everyone in place? good, heat the water in the pot. Careful with the fire"


    Oh, there is a pot full of water there


    Mei is starting the fire, I guess I will wait


    "Now, Combine the cocoa powder and butter in a bowl. Cream together until you have a smooth paste. Use a fork to eliminate lumps"(Teacher)


    "Here Meg, do it slowly"(Sara) handed me the bowl with the stuff


    Yay! Stir, cream stir


    Done


    "Here"(me)


    "Good job"(Sara) is petting me!


    Yay!


    Pet me more!


    "Done? Add the cocoa powder mix to the hot water and stir. Allow the temperature to rise back up"(teacher)


    Sara is doing it now


    "Pour the hot mixture into a bowl"(Teacher)


    *Sniff* Smells really good!


    Why can''t I add meat?


    "Add the Sugar and milk. Blend until it is smooth"(Teacher)


    "Any questions?"(Teacher)


    Oh, I have one, I have one!


    "Yes, meg?"(teacher)


    "Can I add meat?"(Meg)


    ................................


    Why is everyone looking at me like that?


    ---------------------------------------------------------


    No chocolate meat :(


    Why not? It should be super delicious!


    Maybe too delicious?


    Oh! It is too delicious!


    Still I want to see how delicious it is


    "I want to eat it!"(Me)


    "ok, later we will get you some. Just write my name and Mei in the paper, ok?"(Sara)


    Ok!


    Mei Lin Sao, Sara Mars


    Done!


    "Can I eat the chocolate now?"(Me)


    "Yeah, but only part of it, leave the rest for later"(Sara)


    Ok!


    It''s good!


    I want more!!!


    "No more Meg"(Mei)


    I want more.....


    More is always better!


    But but but, I guess I will leave it for later


    "Girls, did you write the names on the paper? hand them over please"(Teacher)


    Sara is passing the papers to another girl


    The girl handed over to the teacher


    Is it done then?


    "Did everyone had it over? Good, you can go now, don''t forget to hand over the chocolate"(Teacher)


    "Let''s go"(Sara)


    "Ok!"(Me)


    "Should we prepare or something?"(Mei)


    I can smell a little fear from Mei, I wonder why?


    "Take a nap I guess, it could be a long night"(Sara) smelled normal


    I guess it is ok, Mei gets scared easy


    "Come Meg, we are going to take a nap"(Sara)


    NAP!!


    I LOVE NAPS!!


    -------------------------------------------------------------


    "Meg, wake up"(???)


    Uh?


    Oh, Sara


    "What is it?"(Me)


    "We got a message in the cell, I am taking T-22, you are taking T-45. Mei also got one, T-8. Let''s go"(Sara)


    "Ok"(Me)


    I hate the teleport, it always make me feel sick and there is always that noise after


    I don''t want to go.....


    "Come on Meg, stop stalling"(Sara)


    "ok.."(Meg)


    ---------------------------------------------


    T-45


    Put wristband at the thingy so the door opens


    "Megan Wolf recognised"(voice)


    Sigh.....


    Let''s go inside


    *Swishh*


    The door closed like usual


    "Waiting for others"(voice)


    I hope I don''t have to wait much, I want to see Sara and Mei


    "Teleporting"(voice)


    Here it goes.......


    ***************


    *bluarghgh*


    ugh.... I hate teleporting


    Nooooooooooooooo!! My chocolate


    Was that why I was supposed to not eat it all?


    Luckily I listen!


    They always help me....


    I wonder if they are near


    Oh! there they are


    Since the room is all wait and without anything in it, they are easy to see


    Wait! Isn''t this the fighting room? Are we fighting? Is the noise coming?


    Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, me, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come, Don''t come


    iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii


    Cover my ears!!! Don''t listen,  Don''t listen,  Don''t listen,  Don''t listen,  Don''t listen,  Don''t listen,  Don''t listen,  Don''t listen,  Don''t listen,  Do


    Two targets


    Left looks weaker


    Attack left


    Attack


    Right is coming, dodge


    Left is coming, dodge


    Can''t dodge


    Attack


    Attack


    Attack


    Attack


    Attack


    Attack


    Attack


    Atta...


    -------------------------------------


    Uh? oh, I am in a bed?


    Oh, it''s my bed


    "Are you awake?"(???)


    Sara!


    "Are you ok Sara? did I hurt you?"(Me)


    "I should ask you that, you know? We did gang up on you"(Sara)


    "But but but, are you ok, did I hurt you?"(Me)


    "We are fine, just some scratches. Well, you did focus more on Mei, so she may be grumpy later. I even took her down easier after thanks to that, but we are ok"(Sara)


    Good, I hate that noise, I always lose myself when I hear it. Luckily, Sara and Mei never hear it, I wonder why?


    They say they never lose it when they fight. Is it because they can''t hear the noise?


    I whish I didn''t either


    "come on, cheer up, we know you couldn''t control yourself, we are not mad. Come, I got a lot of points, so I can ask for some chocolate and meat"(Sara)


    meat!? Chocolate!?


    "CHOCOLATE MEAT?"(Me)


    "yeah, chocolate meat, just don''t be disappointed if it tastes bad"(Sara)


    How could it taste bad? it is chocolate meat!


    --------------------------------------------------------------


    Chocolate meat, Chocolate meat, Chocolate meat, Chocolate meat, Chocolate meat


    It is almost done!


    "Here, try it"(Sara)


    OHHHH!


    Chocolate meat!


    Let''s eat!!!!


    crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch


    DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Side story: History Class

    "Ok class, today we are going to learn the history of powered people. Does anyone know who is the first recorded powered? Yes Rob"(Teacher)


    "Jesus?"(Rob)


    "Hohoho, don''t let a priest hear you. It is true that religious figures like Jesus and Thor or important historical figures like Joana of Arc and Leonardo Davinci are believed to be powered people, but those were never confirmed as such. The first confirmed powered is actually David Stavisky, the first calamity in 1971"(Teacher)


    "He was a famous boxer famous for never being knockout in a fight, only losing because of points. No one knows what happened exactly, but one day in the streets, he just became a 10 meters calamity and started destroying anything in sight. They tried shooting him, planting bombs and even a tank, but nothing hurt him. Only when a group of powered came and took him down, did the rampage finally ended. Afterwards, everyone started asking the government for some answers, and the government admitted both the existence of powered and calamities. Now, was he the first calamity?Jessica? Jessica? wake up Jessica!"(Teacher)


    "uh?"(Jess)


    "This is not the time to be sleeping young lady! Now answer the question, was David Stavisky the first Calamity?"(Teacher)


    "No?"(Jess)


    "Why not?"(Teacher)


    "Because there were calamities before his?"(Jess)


    "When?"(Teacher)


    "I don''t know"(Jess)


    "Then don''t sleep in class! Anyways, Jess is right. There are confirmed calamities that the government admitted covering up over the years, and other countries did the same later. They said they was getting harder and harder to cover it up, so they may as well come clean. Anyone knows why it was getting harder and harder to cover it up? Tom"(Teacher)


    "Overgrowing population? My dad said that 40% of the all the human race that ever lived on the planet are alive right now"(Tom)


    "I don''t know if it''s 40%, but it''s true that one of the reasons is that there are a lot more people now than in the past, but that is not the main reason. Apparently, during WW2, somehow the potential of humans increased. Some say it was a consequence of a research going wrong, and others say someone opened a door that led to the 4th dimension. Anyways, the potential for humanity went from almost none to 5%, and if you add the increasing population, it was almost impossible to cover up. In the end, everything blew up in 1971, causing a world crisis"(Teacher)


    "Since superheroes comics like batman and spiderman existed since the 40 and 50, as soon as it became public, people started dressing as superheroes and super villains while fighting all over the city. The military tried to control the situation for a time, but it ended in a disaster, so the heroes association was created, and works side by side  with the government since then. Yes, Mary?"(teacher)


    "Do I have to join the Heroes association if I want to use my powers?"(Mary)


    "Nononono, it is completely optional. Only if you want to fight crime while having a secret identity you must join them. And if you just want to fight crime, you can always join the police, FBI or even the military. Yes, Tom?"(Teacher)


    "And what about Shadow? he isn''t in the Heroe Association and fights crime anyways"(Tom)


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "He is a vigilante, and what he is doing is actually illegal. Please don''t follow his example"(Teacher)


    "But he helps people, why is it iIlegal?"(Tom)


    "Because they take the law into their own hand without proper procedures. It looks faster and more effective, but most of the time they work on assumptions and end up hurting innocent people that were wrongly accused. Imagine this, someone lost money and thinks someone in class stole it, then everyone say it was Kid A because he was the poorest in the class, no one has proof so another kid punches him until he confesses, is that ok?"(Teacher)


    "But if he hadn''t done that, we would never have known it was him"(Tom)


    "Ah, but that is the thing, I never say it was him. If you were punched constantly until you say you did it, wouldn''t you say you did it? Even if you didn''t do it, you would say you did so he would stop. That is what vigilantes do, they carry punishment without gathering the proper evidence first, and even if they did, what right do they have to ..."(Teacher)


    *RIIIIIIIIIIINNGGGGGGGGGGG*


    "I guess class is over, think in what we talked about, and Jess, don''t fall asleep in class next time"(Teacher)


    "Yes, miss Harrison"(All)


    ---------------------------------------------------


    "Hey Jess, you ok? want to leave it for another day?"(Susan)


    "No, I am fine, I just went to sleep late searching on the internet. Can we really leave your house without problems? won''t your family get mad or something?"(Jess)


    "No problem, as long as we don''t come back too late, we will be fine. Let''s just leave our stuff at home and look around for your sister. You think she will still be around your old neighbour?"(Susan)


    "it''s worth a try. If she survived, I am sure she would stick around those parts, at least for a while. I am sure someone saw her at leat. I wish I had known sooner she may be alive"(Jess)


    "But how sure are you? If she was alive, shouldn''t she have tried to reach you?"(Susan)


    "I don''t know, maybe she  just didn''t know where I went or have no way to contact me. As for her being still alive, I am also not sure. Since I confirmed that both John and Max were dead and I never saw her at the hospital or orphanage, I thought she was one of the unidentified bodies that got they head crushed. It was after mom told me the whole story a few weeks ago that I realized she may still be alive"(Jess)


    "But why not ask your mom for help? I am sure she wouldn''t mind looking for your sister"(Susan)


    "She tried, but she didn''t find her, and she wouldn''t let me go there myself since it is a dangerous area and I am "too small to go", so I have no choice but to do it behind her back "(Jess)


    "But isn''t going there dangerous? Won''t someone try to rob us or kidnap us?"(Susan)


    "I am sure nothing bad will happen, I use to live there, you know? We will be completely fine"(Jess)


    -------------------------------------------------------


    Note; Thanks again for the help Neiden :D

 Chapter 32: From horror to horror

    Have you ever seen a werewolf scream? let me tell you, with all those teeth, yellow eyes and hair all over the place, it looks scary as sh-t


    I didn''t know what to do at the time, surprised by not only meeting something out of a horror film but finding out it was panicking


    The thought of my own problems slipped my mind and all I could think about was how I could stop her from panicking. It looked really scary you know? What if it went on a rampage or something, how could I stop a f-cking werewolf alone?


    So I went to her side and started petting her head. Maybe not the best idea under the circumstances, since it was like going to a moving truck to stop it, looks nice on paper but is it incredibly dangerous


    Luckily, it kind of worked, since 5 minutes later she finally calmed down. She just hugged her legs while hiding her face behind them


    "Are you ok now?"(Me) said while still petting it head


    It simply nodded but didn''t say a word


    "What is your name?"(me)


    Awkward silence


    "Megan"(Meg) said while still hugging her legs and hiding her face


    I was a little surprised after hearing her says her name since I didn''t know werewolf could talk! Well, not really, but with all that hair I didn''t know if it was a boy or a girl


    "So Meg then, I am Sara. Nice to meet you"(me)


    "Mhm"(Meg) said while staying in her shell


    More Awkward silence


    Hey! don''t expect me to suddenly become an expert at persuasion!


    I did pretty well by stopping her panic state!


    Sadly, I was stuck. I wanted to see if we were trapped in our room or if we could look around. On the other hand, I couldn''t leave her alone after how she acted, I wasn''t a monster(even if the werewolf kind of was)


    So what did I do?


    I threw her out of bed. Since she was half wolf and not half cat, she hit her head when she fell down, but I felt a little accomplished of what I did, besides, her attitude pissed me off a little. It not like she was the only one with problems


    "Hey, why did you do that!!"(Meg)


    See? she looked more lively after being thrown  out of bed


    By the way, I regretted it a little the moment I did it. Think a werewolf is scary? Imagine looking at one that is pissed at you


    Still, I don''t know how I did it considering I was 6, but I managed to put up a brave front without sh-tting my pants


    "Stop moping around Meg! We have more important things to do!"(Me)Acted all piss off and intimidating


    It was more like acting tough than actually being tough, but being in front of a werewolf forced me to do it or else I was going to get eaten


    "Like what?"(Meg) said while acting a little confused and surprised


    So I guess it worked to some extend


    Now, what did I say next? I kind of just went with the flow. I was improvising more than an actor that forgot his lines in the middle of a play


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "Like finding out where we are, you moping around won''t get us any answers"(me)


    "Fine! let''s look around!"(Meg)


    Yay! It worked, but Meg got a little mad at me. At least, I didn''t become werewolf snack


    "Ok!"(Me) Said while acting like I knew what I was doing


    Now that I think about it should I consider an acting career? I think I did pretty good then, and it''s not like it was the last time I had to bluff myself out of a situation


    Mmmm, Maybe I will look around a little bit


    Anyways, I went to the door and after realising it had a panel and an image of a hand with a wristband touching it by its side, it didn''t take a genius to figure out how to open the door


    So I gave it a try, and moments later, the door opened just like that. So after the door opened itself, me and meg went outside the room to see what was out there


    And let me tell you, it was like horror film number two


    Seriously


    But it changed from the cliche werewolf horror movie to  one like Freddy


    In case you don''t know the classics, it is about a guy that hunt you in your dreams. First, everything looks fine, but suddenly, something goes totally wrong and a dragon comes out of nowhere and eats a guy


    Well, the situation outside was exactly the same


    First, outside the room, was actually a bigger room(since it had a ceiling) with a big playground in the middle and a lot of small doors and some big doors on the walls. They lead to other rooms like ours and facilities like dinner or the classrooms


    Now, you are probably thinking, that looks more like another type of horror films like Saw, right?


    But the thing is, the first thing we notice wasn''t the playground or all those doors, or that the place had a ceiling


    The first thing we notice were the kids playing on the playground


    Like in a Fredy movie when he invaded a dream, at first, everything looked fine


    Just a bunch of kids playing around happily and all that. Some kids were reading books, others were playing with the monkey bars, others were just chilling, etc


    Good dream


    Then, when you started to pay more attention, came the stuff of nightmares


    A lizard thing playing catch with a guy with a bionic arm, a girl with seriously buffed legs playing catch with a panther and a boy with bionic legs, and who knows what else


    Because I didn''t dare to find out, I just closed the door and went back to bed


    You can say something is wrong with a place when a kid finds the safest place there to be a small room with a werewolf in it.......


    ------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks again for the help Neiden :D even when I re-read the chapter I always miss a lot

 Chapter 33: Learning some ugly truths

    I know I know, hiding in a room hoping everything goes away isn''t really a brave thing, but what else do you expect from a kid?


    I just went to my bed and started thinking


    Nothing important actually, just trying to organize my mind a little after everything I went through


    For starters, I noticed that my head was a little clearer than before. It''s not like I had problems thinking in the past, but it was easier to think about stuff and it was also easier to remember stuff that happened before


    Basically, I became smarter. I didn''t realise at the time, just something I gradually learned over time


    Also, even though my movements were a little restricted at the time, like trying to move your body after depleting your stamina, over time, it became easier and easier and after a few days, I would be faster, stronger and tougher than before


    In summary, I was a jack of all trades, with improved capabilities in all areas. I was faster, stronger, tougher, smarter, healed faster, had better reflex and was more flexible than the average person


    As to how they did it, it was a mix of body modification and nanobots with drugs to both stabilise and improve my body capabilities


    Nice, right? except for the small little detail of not living up to 40 even if I am not killed before that, and the last years will be in a hospital bed eating liquid food from a straw while suffering dementia


    Those would be the side effects of the surgeries I had and the drugs I must take to keep my body in top condition. I could stop taking the drugs, but it changes from 40 to 50 and I become a lot weaker


    The price I was forced to take in exchange for super powers...


    By the way, they never tell you all this on the facility, I had to find it later by unorthodox means


    Anyways, Ying yang and all that bullsh-t


    Like I was saying, at the time I was organising my thoughts while checking my body condition. I wasn''t paying attention to Meg at the time, but for all I know, she was playing around with her tail or something


    I don''t know how long I was lost in my thoughts, but suddenly someone knocked on our door and while I just stayed on my bed confused about what to do, Meg just went and opened the door


    I didn''t have time to react and stop her. I mean, who would just open the door when outside was something out of a horror film? Isn''t that common logic? Not that I would expect much logic from a werewolf...


    "Thanks for opening. You must be Megan, right"(???) said a young girl voice


    "Uhu"(Meg)just nodded while answering


    I could only hear the girl''s voice since she was behind the door, but the moment I heard her say Meg''s name, my panic level went up 3 levels. Not only did she knew our names but how we looked like, so it wasn''t just a social call


    "Can I come inside?"(???)


    "Ok"(Meg)


    ...............


    Yeah.....


    No wariness......


    If it was the me right now, I would have punched her in the face after doing something so idiotic.......


    WHAT CAN OF IDIOT LET''S A SUSPICIOUS EXTRENGER SUDDENLY COME INSIDE OUR ROOM WHEN OUTSIDE IS FULL OF MONSTERS FROM HORROR MOVIES!!!!!????


    You can probably guess I wasn''t murdered by this sudden stranger since this story is just starting, but if you allow suspicious strangers come inside without wariness or even asking some questions, you wont live a long life. Just a warning


    Meg just moved aside and let the girl just come inside


    She was a girl around 8, with blond hair, and no scary monsters parts(that I could see at least). Unlike the pink clothes me and Meg were wearing, she was wearing normal clothes, a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt with a unicorn


    She looked like any other kid you see on the streets, and to be honest, that scared me more than an actual cyborg suddenly coming inside


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Finding a rabbit among many rabbits isn''t suspicious, and finding a wolf among many wolves isn''t either, but finding a rabbit mingling among wolves? You know that must be one badass rabbit


    "Hi! you must be Sara. My name is Susan. The researchers send me to explain some things to you two so you can adapt better to the place "(Susan)


    Well, that explained why she came to our room at the time, but that didn''t make me drop my guard, unlike someone else......


    "And what do you get for giving us a hand?"(me)


    "Points"(Susan)


    "points?"(me)


    "Yes, points. To put it simply, 1 points is around one dollar outside. With those points, you can buy stuff, ask for favors, pay for information or benefits, etc. For example, you wanna drink a coke?  spend 1 point and you get a can, want a shirt? depending on the design, it can cost from 5 to 50 or even 200 points. This shirt cost 7 points for example. Depending on what you ask, it may take some time, but if it is a common item, they get it pretty fast"(Susan) explained


    Not really complicated, even though I had no idea how much a shirt cost outside, I did know a coke cost around 1 buck(depending where you buy it). It also explained why she would do this


    "Oh! how much did you get?"(Me)


    "10 points"(Susan) said happily


    Of course, I had no idea if it was a lot under the circumstances, but I knew $10 was a lot of money(for a kid) so I understood why she would do it


    "And how much do you get each month?"(me) asked to get a better sense of how much was 10 points in total


    "Well, it changes from person to person. Everyone gets 10 points each month, but you can get points in other ways. Winning fights, gambling, acing the tests, helping around and events. The average is of 30-70 points depending on how hard you try. Of course, there are some kids that get only 10 points and others that get more than a 100 but usually is around 30-70 among everyone here. I, for example, get around 60 each month"(Susan) kept explaining


    I was paying attention, but Meg on the other hand.....


    Let''s just say I started to notice she had the focus of a fish


    "And I must use those point for food and other stuff?"(Me) worried a little, $30 each month would be barely enough if you take into account only food expenses, if you had to pay for lodgings, clothes, electricity, etc, it wouldn''t even come close to be enough


    "Nononono, that is for personal use. You will be provided food, education and a place to sleep for free. Classes aren''t mandatory, but you get deducted one point for each day you don''t go, and if you go in the red, you just don''t get points that month. Besides that, it is mandatory to take all the pills they give us and fight 1 random battle every week. If you refuse to take the pills or fight, they will force you to do it, and let me tell you, it isn''t pretty how they do it"(Susan) warned me


    And I believed her. after everything they put me through, I knew they weren''t saints


    "Wait, I must fight every week? Isn''t that kind of harsh?"(Me)


    "No choice there. You get thrown into a fight each week like it or not, and it doesn''t end until they say one won. You can refuse to fight and the only consequences are that the other will beat the sh-t out of you. It is only when both refuse to fight that things get ugly, and I mean really ugly, for both of them"(Susan)


    "Just what is this punishment that is so ugly?"(me)


    "Well, they just stop giving us the addictive drug they have us on"(Susan)


    ---------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thx for the help Neiden and Dragrath, I ask forgiveness for the u/you part :(

 Chapter 34: Knowing the place

    "Wait! I am on drugs?(me)


    To be honest, I panicked really bad


    Most TV programs for kids put drugs as the incarnation of evil, and to be honest, I had been successfully brainwashed


    Well, it is not exactly wrong


    "Yep, we all are. It''s a really effective antidepressant. As long as you take it, it''s really hard to get sad or depressed. On the other hand, if you stop taking it, you will suffer severe withdrawal syndromes. The worst part is that even if you manage to get over them, they will just give you some more later"(Susan)


    It came as a shock at the time, but I am not really surprised that they did it. I mean, what better way to control hundred of kids than with a leash. Besides, stopping them from feeling sad or depressed made it easier to control and research the kids


    Still, all that didn''t change the fact that I felt mortified after hearing about the effects and side effects. It also didn''t help improve my impression of the place, and it was pretty low after everything I find out so far


    "Anyways, I have to give you a tour if I want my 10 points, so get moving"(Susan) grabbed my neck and dragged me out while I was still a little confused by the news


    "Fine fine, I walk. Let me go please"(me) a little embarrassed


    "Good, you two follow me"(Susan) said and started walking


    So, without much choice, I started following her with Meg by my side. For some reason, Meg was amazed and shocked instead of being surprised and scared


    Wich is understandable to some extent, considering the place gave a futuristic feeling. It had automatic doors everywhere, cameras, turrets(Non-lethal) ventilation drafts, and robots in charge of cleaning and other stuff


    Susan showed us around the place and took us to the different facilities. We had the dinner where we could eat whatever we wanted but was only open from 8-10, 12-14, 17-19 and 21-23


    Well, they did analyse our "business" and told us to eat something specific if we were low in a type of vitamin or something( we lost a point if we didn''t eat it). They also did it to check if we took all the pills


    Other important places Susan showed us were the classrooms, teleport facility, recreation rooms(cost points), rest area and infirmary


    She also warned us of what we could and couldn''t do, and the 3 most dangerous individuals we shouldn''t mess with


    Finally, when all the explanations were over, she handed us 2 cell phones


    "Here, it is locked individually and you can request a new one with all the data for 10 points. It can also save other people''s numbers so you can call them or text them. It also has a calendar with the classes you are supposed to take and the class number that gets updated on its own, but the most important function is telling you about events. It tells you when there is an event, and what you have to do. It also tells you wich teleport to take, and sometimes who you are supposed to fight. It even allows you to bet on your fight or others since fights are not only schedule but also can be seen in one of the recreation rooms. But don''t try to cheat the system, since you get punish if you get find out and no one has fooled it yet. Any questions?"(Susan)


    "No"(Me)


    "No"(Meg)


    "Good, if you need help with anything, I will give you a hand but after a month, you are on your own. Bye bye"(Susan)


    "Bye"(Me)


    "Bye"(Meg)


    And like that, Susan left. We were tired from all the walking and long explanations, so we barely could hold it at the end. We just dragged our tired bodies to our room and just sleep. Luckily, during the explanation, we went to eat something so we weren''t particularly hungry and we were allowed to sleep peacefully


    And I mean, really peacefully, since what woke us up was our alarms clocks telling us that classes started in an hour


    I reluctantly got out of bed and started dressing in the wonderful pink clothes that I loved so much and went to the bathroom


    After getting ready, I was just about to leave the room when I realised Meg was still sleeping in her bed without worries


    To be honest, I was tempted to just let her sleep and go to class alone, but the idea of losing a dollar just for being lazy (especially knowing how hard is was to get one) made me throw her out her bed again


    It was starting to become a habit


    "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!"(Meg) said angrily from the floor


    "School"(me) said a little annoyed


    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    I am not a morning person. Never was, never will


    "What is the point! I am never going to live a normal life so why go to school!?"(Meg) said angrily


    "Money"(Me)


    "Uh?"(Meg)


    "We don''t get pay if we don''t go, did you forget? besides, do you have something better to do?"(me) Answered truthfully, I lived in the slum so there are few things that I hate more than losing money


    "But but but.... Look at me! everyone is going to be scared of me"(Meg)


    "It''s going to be fine, the school is full of scary things, what is 1 more?"(Me) said while petting her head a little


    "But..."(Meg)


    "Meg, stop it, we are going to school, so get dress or I will drag you down to school like that"(Me)sent the ultimatum since she was still in her underwear


    I was sleepy, I wanted to eat and I wouldn''t make it if we kept arguing so I forced her to choose


    And to be honest, I may even have done it if she had refused. Pain all over the body, a headache, being sleepy, hungry and forced to go to school didn''t put me in a good mood. And let''s not forget I am not a morning person


    Funny how all the fear I had of her disappeared after one night. Her easy-going personality helped a lot probably


    "Fine! give me a second"(Meg) conceded and part of the reason may be that she saw in my eyes I was serious


    She simply got dressed, went to the bathroom a minute and she was ready


    So we got out of our room and went to the dinner to eat something


    To be honest, it would look like a normal dinner like any other school, and it would pass as one except, of course, for its students. Besides the half beast, cyborgs and extremely buffed kids, you had kids using telekinesis to eat, twins that turned out  to be clones, kids using strange contraptions to eat, and a few "normal" ones


    It reached such a point that the normal ones looked like the strange ones


    Wich would make me a normal one, or a strange one?


    I had scars all over my body at the time, so I guess I would look strange, but they were hidden under my clothes and hair, so I guess I looked "normal"?


    Anyways, the dinner was full of kids with all kind of looks, that went from the age of 6 to 8 and it had a capacity of 200 kids. It was all automatic so you couldn''t see an adult anywhere, only robots, machines and self-service


    By the way, there was a second dinner, exactly the same as this one, just way further away from our room


    So what did we do? We grabbed something to eat, finish our breakfast while trying to keep a low profile and went to class


    We had our classroom number on the cell phone, and luckily, we were in the same class, so we headed there together


    The room was exactly the same as the one we went when they did all those test, with a chair with screen and headphones attached to it. The only difference was that instead of having a desk and chair for the nurses, it had a giant screen on the wall


    Also, since we did it before, we knew exactly what we had to do so we just went to two random empty chairs and after using our wristbands on the screen, the computer started


    We could have said hello to other classmates, but besides not knowing anyone and being intimidated by more than half the class looks, they were all with their headphones on their heads, so it was kind of pointless and rude to disturb them


    We just sat on our chairs and activated the screens


    And exactly at 9 am, class started


    It was a guy dressed as a scientist teaching about basic stuff through the screens and the big tv by the wall


    Sometimes he would ask a question to someone in the class and he or she would have to answer


    Pretty standard


    Classes were of 50 minutes with 10 minutes of recess, and at 1 pm they let us go eat lunch


    So after 4 hours of learning, Meg was on her last leg, barely holding herself from all that thinking and with dead fish eyes, almost looking like she wanted to die. The moment she heard food, the light came back to her eyes, her tail started swinging at full speed, and was just about to drag me to the dinner at full speed when I suddenly saw a face I recognised from before they made me this thing


    Someone I wasn''t sure I was ever going to see again


    ---------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks again for the help Neiden  :grin:

 Chapter 35: Mei

    "Mei, good to see ya"(me)


    I didn''t notice her when I came inside or during breaks thanks to Meg constant bugging and Mei being in the back, but when Meg was dragging me away to go eat something, I just managed to catch a glimpse of her so I approach her


    "Oh! Sara! I thought I would never see you again, where were you? I have been here a week and I never saw you"(Mei)


    "You have being here a week already? I woke up in my room yesterday"(me)


    "Ah! I guess we just didn''t arrive at the same time..."(Mei)


    Yeah, turned out people didn''t arrive at the same time since some projects took more time than others. By the way, Meg came from a different batch that arrived before us, it''s just that her development took a longer time


    Also, I had no idea what date it was, since the phone only say the time and day(Monday, Friday, Saturday, etc)


    "I guess so..."(Me)


    "Is that "lovely" werewolf your friend?"(Mei) said a little scared


    I then realized I forgot to introduce Meg, and she looked a little angry since she was being ignored


    "Sorry about that, yes. Meg, I present you the lovely Mei, I met her the first day at the place they did all those tests. Mei, she is Meg, my roommate"(me)


    "Hi"(Mei) said a little shyly


    "Hi! can we get food now? I am hungry"(Meg) said a little disinterested


    I wouldn''t say she wasn''t interested because she was unsocial, it was simply because food was her number one priority most of the time


    Ok! Ok! it is a lie! it was her priority all the time


    Especially meat, she even screamed meat in her dreams and sometimes even ate her pillow by accident


    If I could read minds, I am sure half her thought would be about meet


    "Fine, let''s go. You coming with us Mei?"(me) Asked just in case, since she may had other friends


    "Ok"(Mei) on the other hand easily agreed


    And that''s how Mei joined our group, and the three of us went to the dinner


    As you can probably guess, it was full of people at the time we arrived so we had no choice but to grab a plate and eat outside


    We went to the "park" near all the rooms and just sit on a set of stairs while holding a tray


    At first, we ate quietly, but after a while, I started asking some questions about the place, about her and what she had being doing so far


    Mei told me she had telekinetic powers (awoken artificially) that basically allowed her to move stuff with her mind. In a fight, she could slow down or even stop her enemy or throw stuff at them from a distance


    She wasn''t a Jedi, so mass actually mattered when she was levitating stuff, but it could be annoying to fight her. In team fights, she was great since she worked as support, but in 1v1, it was hard since it was difficult for her to finish the enemy


    For example, her first fight that she had 2 days before we met her, she fought against a cyborg and she told me how it went. When she tried to throw stuff, he just blocked with his metal arms, and the metal arms had a long distance laser on them, so when she tried to slow him down, he just shot at her, so she had to use her powers to mess with his aim. In the end, she got tired both physically and mentally and lost with one punch from the other guy


    Fights in the facility were like that, some had an advantage over specific powers but were weak against others, or work best under specific situations. Still, how you use your powers made all the difference in the end


    Anyways, she told me that for what they told her, you usually get at least 5 days break up to even 13 days break(Monday to Sunday of the following week) but we could fight more times if we wanted


    If two agreed, they could fight against each other and even bet points, or you could sign up for random battles whenever you wanted


    Since the Facility battles were random battles if you did, at least, one before they assigned you one, it counted for the week, but you could do one every day if you wanted (but only 1 per day)


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Mei also told me about "missions" that you could check on one of the apps for the phone


    Basically, they were stuff you could do that would give you points like  "helping the new guys" that Susan did for 10 points


    By the way, you could get 10 extra points each month if you reported your activities every day in a journal and 20 points in total if you told your biography. Most of the information you are reading right now come from me doing both during my stay in the facility that I also kept in a USB flash drive(bought with points)


    Still, I had the sense of omitting anything related to Cat or most of my arrangement with Uncle Muscle in my "biography" since I remembered the conversation they had when they kidnaped me and I didn''t want to get them in trouble. I did mention all my time with Max, John, and Jess in hope of maybe finding them in the facility since I still believed at the time that they would be there


    I mean, the first week I spend checking everyone in the facility in hope of maybe seeing one of them (unsuccessfully of course)


    You know what the saddest thing is? When I was writing my biography, and remembering everything that happened in the factory, thanks to the sh-t they did to improve my memory and the drugs that stop me from getting depressed, I could remember a lot more of what happened that day. I won''t say I remember everything perfectly, but part of me knew at the time they should be dead, and I still refused to admit it, I still wanted to believe they were in the facility


    I just avoided thinking too deep about it


    I was like a kid that saw Santa lose his beard in the mall and still refused to believe Santa was fake


    Well, let''s stop with the depressing stuff and let''s go back to the story


    After we finished eating, we kept talking about different stuff while Meg suddenly decided to take a nap


    Mei told me about some stuff about herself, and I told her some about me. It turned out that the reason she didn''t get along with her roommate was because she was actually her second roommate. The first roommate disappeared one day(probably dead)  and she just didn''t want to get close to another one. So, With no roommate, no one she knew, being a little shy, and finding herself in a strange environment, Mei couldn''t make any friend this last week


    Luckily, she wasn''t bullied or something like that, just lonely


    Not like there wasn''t any bullying in the facility. If you beat someone in a fight that person was an a-s, that boy/girl would come after the fight with two or three friends and beat the crap out of you if you didn''t have friends to back you up, or beat you when you were alone


    Well, there were those that picked on the weakest guys just for fun like in any other place


    The only good thing here was that you could "pay" half your points to the facility in exchange for protection. Your wristband would change color and anyone that messed with you (as long as it was unprovoked) would get punished by the facility


    Luckily, we were 3 and fairly strong, so as long as we didn''t mess with any big group, we were fine


    We even spend the next few days without troubles


    We woke up around 8, went for breakfast, went to class, eat again, chat, went to an extra class the days we had gym in the morning( 3 times a week), play at the playground, tried some of the free apps and even went to some of the reacreation rooms


    For 1 point per hour, 4 people could watch from a selection of movies and tv series, so we enede up spending 2 points each and watched some tv shows


    Of course, there were other recreations rooms like an arcade, console and PC gaming, pool, karaoke, and some more. Each with diferent pricesis


    Since we only have 10 points each, watching movies were one of the cheapest


    Anyways, we spend our days like that, until I got a notification on the phone


    My first fight

 Chapter 36: First fight

    I knew it was coming


    Meg had her first fight already, and Mei her second, so it was about time I got mine


    I received a message on my phone, saying that my fight had already been decided and that I had to go to teleported T-25 at 5 PM


    I didn''t know who I was fighting, or even what type of fight it was, only the time and place, with the option of betting in my favor for double the points


    The a-s holes really wanted to foment gambling in kids....


    Luckily, I wasn''t the type to take risks, especially when I had few points to bet. I only had 26 at the time and 20 of those were thanks to the biography, a 1-time thing


    So, I wanted to win


    The three of us spend 2 points each and watched different fights recorded in the system, so we could develop different tactics


    What we found out was that there were different types of powers, and you could p¨´t them among 2 groups, and among those groups there were levels


    Kids powers were usually pure or mix. I was a mix of reinforcement and mental increase with the support of drugs and nanobots. Mei and Meg, on the other hand, were pure, with only 1 type of improvement and support of drugs and nanobots. Everyone had the support of drugs and nanobots, but they could have from o to 3 extra powers


    By 0, I mean that the person only had a stupid amount of nanobots or drugs on their body. With a stupid amount of nanobots, you could heal your body and others really fast. Drugs, on the other hand,  didn''t feel pain and unlocked all the body potential(limiters the human body had so it wouldn''t break) leaving them half dead after a fight


    The extra powers were Psychic powers(Mei), Chimera(Meg), Body reinforcement(me), Mental increase(me) and Cyborg parts


    Of course, there were different types in each category and a different level of power. You had the balance type, that had good power and performance, and the unstable type, that had great power but big side effects


    What did all this mean to me? Well, since I was a jack of all trades I didn''t have a weakness but I also didn''t have a strong point. When fighting an enemy, instead of using the same trick over and over again, I had to change my strategy according to the enemy, striking their weak point. Basically, the more I knew about the enemy, the better


    I didn''t realise that at the beginning actually. I just watched the videos to get a better grasp of how the fights went and what type of enemies I should expect


    And it helped a lot. To be honest, the first thing I thought after watching a few fights was that I seriously didn''t want to fight a chimera like Meg


    I realised after watching a few chimera fights and talking with Meg after her fight, that they usually lost their consciousness in a fight and they go on a rampage. They didn''t go for the kill, but a beast throwing everything they had without a care looked really scary for young me


    Of course, going full killing machine had their good parts and bad parts, like all, but for young me, a monster coming with what looked like intent to kill was really scary. I even had to watch some horror movies to get over the fear


    Luckily, my first fight wasn''t ageinst a chimera


    The day of the fight, I pumped myself up before the fight and went to the teleport after Meg and Mei wished me good luck


    I was really nervous since it would be my first real fight ever. Before, if I ever run into trouble, I followed my brother Max advise and run for my life


    Sadly, I couldn''t run from this fight. There was no escape, I had to win or lose, no middle ground


    Still, when I arrived at T-25, I was a little scared. Not only because of the fight but also was the teleport thingy. I never had used a teleported before(actually, not my first time, I was just knock out then) so it was kind of intimidating. I knew teleporting wasn''t uncommon in today society thanks to the thinker that made it open source, but it isn''t exactly common


    Besides the expensive price of hiring an expert (you don''t want to hire a newbie since it can easily kill you) and buying it parts, the energy cost of 1 is astronomical, and those guys had 45, and that was in one part of the facility, there were a lot more in different parts of it. The guys really didn''t save money in expenses


    And let me tell you, as someone that had to do it a lot of times, teleporting sucks. For starters, there is the fear of not being correctly deconstructed and reconstructed at some place else (something that happens from time to time), and even if you aren''t afraid of that, you usually fell like sh-t after doing it


    It''s almost unavoidable actually. You have to suffer a sudden change in pressure and atmosphere, sudden movement of who knows what distance and your body is deconstructed and reconstructed in the blink of an eye. Not getting affected by that is really really hard


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.So I don''t feel ashamed of showing what I eat for lunch that day. Well, not really really ashamed at least. Doing that is never something you feel proud of


    To be honest, I was sweating more than a hooker in a church. I am surprised I didn''t do it before the match or even when I got inside the teleporter and had to wait a few minutes until the match started


    I even managed to hold it when the countdown before I was teleported started, but as soon as I arrived at the place.....


    Hello hamburger and fries, I hope you like the floor


    It took me a minute to get my composure back and see my surroundings. The place I was teleported to was actually the place I saw the most in the videos. It was a big white room with nothing in it except some cameras, a door, me and the guy I was supposed to fight


    The other guy was a 6 years old black boy with long black hair and seriously buffed legs. It didn''t take a genius to realise he was a runner. Usually, if they were seriously buffed, they were of the pure reinforcement type. There were some seriously buffed with an extra power, but those were the experimental type, and usually quite unstable


    The reinforcement type came in different categories. There was the serious buffed type in individual parts, like legs or arms, and the whole buffed body. I belonged to the whole body type, and they usually were less buffed than the buffed parts, but still buffed overall


    The only reason I wasn''t seriously buffed was because I also had increased mental capabilities, so to not break my body and mind, they couldn''t buff me too much. Well, maybe they didn''t buff me too much so I could move faster, making me Mohamed Ali and the full reinforcement type Mike Tyson


    It was like an RPG if a normal person had 10 in each stat, I had 15 in strength, agility endurance, speed and intelligence while others had 20, 25 or 30 in some and 10 in the rest


    At first glance, at least, the other guy probably had 25 in speed and maybe 15 in strength and endurance. But in the end, it was only a guess that came because he had buffed legs


    At the time, I wasn''t thinking in numerical numbers, but he did give the impression that he relied on his legs mostly


    So, what did I do? First, I jump backwards a little bit to gain some distance, and put a battle stance like I saw in some videos, then I waited


    Since the guy would run at full speed as soon as the countdown started, my best bet was to hold my ground and hope for a lucky hit


    "Battle Start in 5"(Voice) started the countdown


    The other guy also put some runner stance and started to get ready


    "4"


    I could see his face full of confidence, already believing in his victory


    "3"


    Me? I was getting scared more and more by the second


    "2"


    "1"


    Yeah, I could hear my own heartbeat going louder and louder


    "Go"


    Full adrenaline rush. My perception of time increased by at least 3 times, making everything look slower, one of my powers I guess


    But even with my enhanced perception, and seeing everything slower, I was seeing a bullet coming at me at full speed. It was like seeing a truck coming at you, and your legs gave up thanks to the fear


    Why wouldn''t I be? It was my first proper fight, against a super-strong boy that came with the full intent of hurting me


    I could see him get closer and closer, meanwhile, I was paralysed by fear and didn''t know what to do. I was scared, ok!?


    20meters


    15 meters


    10 meters


    5 meters


    2 meters


    He approached me at an unbelievable speed for a 6 years boy while I was completely paralysed by fear. I could even see him clenching his fist and preparing a hook to the head with a smug look on his face full of confidence


    So you are probably thinking, this is the part where I conquer my fear and strike the bastard or get hit at full speed and get my head blown over to the other side of the room, right?


    Well, wrong in both accounts


    The guy was just about to hit me in the face when he suddenly slipped for some reason. I was still watching everything in slow motion, so I could see his smug face change to one of confusion and then panic as he slowly approached the ground


    Me? My panic was suddenly exchanged for a realisation that it was my chance. I didn''t know why he slipped, but seeing him defenseless, even if it was for less than a second, give me the courage (or at least, the reflex) to strike back


    I just moved my knee to his falling head and landed a beautiful hit to the face


    Instant-win


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks for the help Neiden :) and by yhe way, hooker on church joke </a>

 Chapter 37: Need more training

    "Victory goes to - Sara Mars!"(Voice) confirmed my victory


    I wasn''t exactly sure if a knee to the face would be enough to knock the guy out, but from the look of things, it was more than enough


    "Please proceed to the teleporter, if you can''t move, a robot will assist you shortly"(Voice) said  and the door at the end opened and a robot came out of it


    It had tank wheels, something similar to a crane and two hands. He went to the boy side and slowly picked him up and put him on his crane part, then he turned and took the guy pass the door he just came


    Meanwhile, I was trying to process everything that just happened....


    Just how did I win? That was the question that was going over my head again and again. Just when he was about to punch me in the head, he just slipped for some reason giving me an opening to strike back. I just knew what happened, but I didn''t know why. Luck? idiocy? some secret power I didn''t know I had? A side effect of running so fast?


    I didn''t know what it was by just thinking about it so I simply turn my eyes to the spot the kid fell and I finally realised what happened


    Hamburger and fries


    I could see a shoe mark on the beautiful content that used to be in my stomach, making pretty obvious what caused him to slip. My puke


    Nice, right?


    My plan worked perfectly, from the puke to moving back just at the right distance to land a punch after slipping, to him moving in the route I predicted without zig zagging or paying proper attention to his footing. I even acted scared so he would feel confident and would fall into my trap


    NOT!!!!!!!!!!


    I am not Sun Tzu, ya know?


    It just kind of happened. A mix of luck and stupidity that brought my first victory


    Would you be surprised if I say I had mixed feeling about the win? for one part, it was my first victory, and it was a complete crush of my opponent without even sustaining any kind of injury. On the other side, I won thanks to puking......


    "Please proceed to the teleport"(voice) said


    After seeing the puke and realising what happened, I started reviewing everything that happened in my head, so enough time passed for them to send a warning


    Since there was no point in watching my puke anymore, I just turned around and went to the open door


    I went through the door and found myself in a hallway that led directly to another open door with the teleporter inside. The hallway also had one more door to the left that was closed, and marks on the walls and floor that showed that the walls could open themselves and robots came out. There were probably some for cleaning, other for taking care of the wounded and finally, some for suppression


    I never saw the cleaning robots, but there are videos showing the suppression robots and the medic robots, so I suspected they were there


    Suppression robots weren''t lethal(at least the ones I saw) but I didn''t want to stay long enough for them to throw a few at me, so I just went to the teleporter and waited for it to activate


    Unlike when I came, it wasn''t necessary for them to synchronise our arrival, so the countdown started instantly


    I was teleported beside the Infirmary, but since I won without even getting a scratch, I just kept going


    I just went to the playground near all the rooms and sit on a set of stairs. Why? because I was still a little shocked after the fight


    For starters, It was really scary, and I mean REALLY SCARY. I Had met people that threatened me before for money or a-sholes that were mean just for fun, but it was my first time meeting someone that not only wanted to beat me, but I also had to beat


    And the worst part was that I choked. If the guy didn''t slip like an idiot, I would have been the one at the infirmary instead of him. I wasn''t an idiot, I knew that I couldn''t count on being lucky two times in a row. If I didn''t want to lose miserably from now on, I had to make sure I would, at least, try to fight next time


    Easier say than done


    Well, there was also the chance I just choked because I was unprepared, but if you have to keep fighting from now on, would you leave it to chance?


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    So I made my mind, I decided to try a martial arts class. It cost 1 point per class and considering I had to few to spend and it was only a more specialised gym class, I also found it annoying to have to spend points on something I wouldn''t enjoy


    But after my first fight, my opinion about it changed. First, I needed to get used to fighting. Second, knowing how to fight would increase my chance of winning, meaning more points and fewer wounds. Third, martial artists in movies and tv were cool! Who wouldn''t want to be like Bruce Lee?


    The bruce lee pitch even helped me convince Mei and Meg to join me in the classes!. After deciding to become Bruce Lee, I went to look for them and told them both about the fight and what we should  do from now on and they agreed, I believe thanks to my Bruce Lee pitch!


    Not


    Mei agreed since she panicked even more than me in the fights and Meg just went with the flow


    To make matters worst, we ended up going to a boxing class instead of a Kung Fu class so I lost my chance of becoming Bruce Lee....


    It was just more practical. When choosing a class, you have to select two things, Martial Art and language. Usually in class, you have everyone speaking the same language and during fights, it was only a countdown, and sometimes they even said it in other languages


    But the Martial arts class were different. They were optional, so not everyone went to them, making it harder to make a full class. The first requirement for a class was to have 5 people in it at least. If it had 10, you get 2 classes for 1 point and if it had 20, you had 3 classes for 1 point


    We were 3, so getting to 5 was easy but the more popular it was, the more class you had for the same amount of point so it was better to choose the most popular ones


    Sadly, The most popular classes in English were Karate and Boxing, while Kung Fu was more popular in Chinese. By the way, for some reason Lucha Libre was also popular in Spanish speakers, don''t ask me why someone would spend points on something like that


    I seriously wanted to be like Bruce Lee but considering it was "cheaper" to chose Boxing or Karate, we ended up choosing Boxing


    The classes were like this. We choose a day(generally the next day) and classes started after school as an extracurricular activity. The class place was inside the facility(no teleport) and was in a place similar to a gym with typical boxing equipment but at the right size for children. The place also had a big tv screen and a robot in the middle


    As for how the class went, first, you use your wristband before entering inside the classroom.  If before the class ended there were more than 20, the next one would be free, and if it happened again, you would get a free class one more time. Still, ones it reached 30, you couldn''t enter the class. Boxing reached 20 pretty often, so it was a great class to take


    Well, after entering the class, the monitor would start and the "sensei" would start sending instructions.It usually started with a light run to warm up, followed by some training exercises and ended with a light spar (with globes)


    The first few classes, I paired up with Meg since no one wanted to fight against a werewolf, but later, we realised that Meg coming to the classes was pointless since she wasn''t in control in most of her fights and because she fought with her nails(more like claws actually) boxing wasn''t really useful for her


    In the end, only Mei and I went to the classes while Meg took a nap or played around. On the plus side, we made acquaintances with most of the class since it was beneficial for all of us if we worked together so we could get free classes. We were more like a Wassapp group than friends, but at least, we knew each other names and faces more or less and sometimes say hi if we walked by


    But this happened slowly and over time, and before all this, I had to go through a lot of stuff in this wonderful facility


    Like receiving a duel request from the vomit slip guy 3 days after our fight


    -------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks for the Help Neiden ::) I guess I need to pay attention to for/from now besides the been/being :P

 Chapter 38: Revenge Match

    Revenge Match


    It was a privilege of the loser and it was an opportunity to ask for another match. After each fight, an app in the phone stored the match data that included a photo of the rival, time the match lasted and if you won or lost. In case you lost, you had the opportunity to challenge the other person by betting at least 10 points and if you won, you also get 30 points(10 you bet +10 victory + 10 extra)


    Unlike normal challenges where the challenged could refuse and nothing happened, if you refused, you had to pay 10 points to the other party. The challenged didn''t lose any points if he or she lost the revenge match, and even gets 20 points after if he or she won, plus whatever extra points they bet


    By the way, if you went in the red, you would have to pay half of all your earnings until you pay the debt. Well, at least, you didn''t have to pay interest


    But going back to me, I was in a pickle. There was no way I would pay 10 points to get out of the fight, so I had to fight even if I didn''t want to. The problem was that I didn''t feel confident I could win


    I managed to go to 1 boxing class, and I managed to spar relatively well against Meg, but that didn''t mean I was ready for a serious fight. For starters, most matches were all out so you could get killed if you were unlucky. In a spar instead, you could get a little hurt at most


    Remember that I watched a lot of fights, so I knew how bad it could go, and let me tell you, it wasn''t pretty. The funny thing about fear is that knowing the result of something can be worst than not knowing nothing at all. That is why they say "ignorance is a blessing"


    Since I couldn''t pretend not knowing how bad it could go if I wasn''t careful, my second best option was to learn how others cope with the fear and how could I beat a speedster fair and square. Now, can you guess what was the best place to learn all that?


    The place that gave me the fear in the first place, the "recreation room" with all the recorded fights


    There was also the option of asking someone older or even my "helper" that explained everything the first day, but I found it a little intimidating to talk to someone older so I decided to go to the simpler solution


    I even took Meg and Mei with me to the "recreation room" since they allowed up to 4 persons, but since it was for me that we went, I spend the points


    In the "Recreation Room", you had one smart tv with 3 categories. TV, Movies, and Fights.  When choosing fights, the program chooses some for you according to past search, and you could either search according to tags, fighters name or fighters type


    First, I wrote Sara Mars to see my fight against the other guy, and after seeing everything that happened, I couldn''t help myself and smiled a little bit. Meg and Mei, that knew what happened, couldn''t stop laughing for a few minutes since it almost looked like a comedy sketch


    What did I learn from it? I was really really lucky the guy was an idiot


    I even tried to look for the guy other fights, but it was the first one, just like me


    So I went to plan B, see fights against speedsters. The way they usually fight was simple, newbies would run to the enemy as fast as they could and try to land a punch in the face before the other could react. The pattern usually went with a good hit or a dodge from the other guy follow by a counter


    If it landed the first hit and the other didn''t fall and if the speedster didn''t fall back or dodge the counter, the speedster usually lost, if it did fall back and repeat the attack, his chances improved


    What I did notice was that most of those that resisted the first punch, followed the trajectory of the punch, meaning that they would either turn their head or jump backward. Later I would learn that it helped diminish the impact of the hit but I did notice it helped at the time


    After that, I saw other tactics most speedsters use like zigzagging before approaching or running around the enemy and attacking his back but the scariest was also the simplest. The guy would simply run at full speed, make a small jump and kick


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Let me tell you, of all the guys that took that kick, only 1 managed to keep standing, and only because he had a full cyborg body. So yeah, it was dodge or die


    Not that it was impossible to dodge, it was actually slower than a normal punch since having to jump slowed down the other guy a little, but it was 10 times as scary since you were done for if it hits you


    Did seeing all this help having an idea on how to beat the crap out of that guy? yes


    Did it help decrease my fear for the next fight? absolutely not!!!!!!!


    Before I only imagined what could happen in a fight against a speedster, now I knew....


    I even saw one of the guys that took the kick die!!!!


    Come on! that is trauma stuff!!!!!


    So yeah, I was screwed. I knew how to fight the guy, but in the process, I learned in how much deep sh-t I was


    Have you ever play one of those games where you have to follow a specific set of instruction to beat a boss? Even if you saw the instructions online and follow the steps, if you screw up you are dead. In the game you can try again if you fail, but here.......


    Broken bones, broken arms, broken legs, punctured lung, lost an eye, a few teeth and even dead, and I saw it all happen on video


    Nice, right?


    Like I wouldn''t panic after seeing all that!!


    Still, at least, I paid attention to what everyone did before a fight, and I realized some would start breathing deeply in  a rhythmic way with their eye close and would focus again just before the countdown ended


    I didn''t know how effective it was at the time, but with no other alternative, I decided to give it a try before the fight


    Actually, I also learned that you could attack someone before the countdown started and nothing happen to the attacker afterward. It seems that following the countdown time was more like a sportsmanship or gentlemen rules than an actual rule with consequences if you didn''t follow them


    Not that knowing that would stop me from actually trying the breathing exercise. Like it or not, I don''t think I would be able to calm myself unless I tried that, and even I wasn''t even sure it was going to work actually


    So, after watching violent videos for 3 hours with my points, I was as ready as I was going to be for the fight the next day. We ate something, discussed a little about the fight, went to sleep, went to school, ate again and the fight was just around the corner, so I went to the Teleport that the phone indicated


    I was getting more nervous by every step I made, so I tried the breathing exercise and it helped a little


    I got on the teleport and waited while still breathing deeply and shortly after, I was teleported to the same place as before, with the same guy I fought before, only now a little angrier instead of being confident


    If stares could kill, I don''t think I would be alive right now. I could see the hatred the dude had against me for some reason, he looked really really pissed, and considering how he lost the last fight, I could understand


    "Battle Start in 5"(Voice) started the countdown


    Breath In, breath out


    "4"


    Breath In, breath out


    "3"


    Breath In, breath out


    "2"


    Breath In, breath out


    "1"


    Breath In


    "Go"


    ----------------------------------------------


    Note: Cliffhanger, yay :D


    Thanks Neiden for the grammar help ::) and good point with the zigzag. I didn''t think that far when I wrote it, but they probably do small jumps when they zigzag, taking advantage of their leg muscle(like a gazelle)

 Side Story: Mei

    Mei''s family came to America around 1900 so she was more American than Chinese, but her family still belonged to the Chinese community. She mostly speaks English but knows a little Chinese from her parents and people from her neighborhood


    Her parents died when she was 5, so Mei and her little brother were sent to live with her uncle, the only relative that would take them


    Believe it or not, her uncle wasn''t exactly a bad person. He would send them to school, buy them clothes and feed them every day, he worked hard and never mistreat them


    The problem with her uncle was that he had a gambling addiction. He wasn''t exactly a bad gambler since he mostly kept an even balance on how much he won and how much he lost and  when he won he would treat both Mei and her brother to something. But even if he wasn''t a bad gambler, gambling isn''t a merciful game where everything turns out alright if you are decent enough


    One day, when he was playing at the usual underground casino, he had a really strong hand. He was playing against people he had played before and knowing some of their habits made him felt confident in his hand. Since it looked like they weren''t as good as his, he asked for a loan and bet it all on his hand


    He lost


    It was actually a typical set up where they give a guy a good hand that just barely lost to the other. It was a typical scam, but he fell for it, ending up in a big debt


    Gambling and loans in the Chinese community in America are usually handled by the Tongs, a criminal organisation with some connections with the triads in china, and they weren''t people you wanted to be in debt with


    Since he asked for a loan in the heat of the moment, the amount of money he asked wasn''t a small sum. Mei''s uncle asked for so much, there was no way he would be able to pay the debt since he barely earned enough to cover the monthly interest


    So, what bright idea did Mei''s uncle had? He tried to do what most gamblers do in situations like that, earn it by gambling


    The problem was that unlike before, he was in a bad state of mind, making him play worst than usual, and making him increase his debt even more over time


    It was at that moment when he was close to hitting rock bottom than an offer came


    "Give us the girl, and wipe away the debt"


    Take into consideration that the kids were well fed, knew English and were somewhat educated, so their value was greater than the average street kid. Besides, having the guardians concession helped in some situations


    Mei''s uncle wasn''t stupid, he knew that if he sold one of the kids, they would probably end up as mules or prostitution, but he didn''t have much choice


    If he didn''t take their offer, the debt would only increase over time, so they would take 2 or even the three of them if he waited long enough. There was also the option of selling himself to pay the money or just try to run away, but both were dumb ideas


    If he sells himself, who would take care of them? They would end up in their hands anyway, but if he sold one, at least, the other would still be alive


    Running away? there was little hope in that. There were hundreds of ways for the triads to find them, like powered with an extremely sensitive nose, hackers, oracles, etc. Besides, when they caught them, they would sell all 3 of them, earning enough to pay the powered service so he was sure it was a horrible idea


    His only option, if he wanted to save at least one of them, was to sell the other to the Tong. In the end, he sold Mei to them since Mei''s brother was only 3 at the time. Part of the reason was because Mei was older but deep down he knew that the other reason was that Mei''s brother wouldn''t remember Mei when he grow older and that he didn''t want to die


    And that was how Mei ended up in the Research Facility, another unfortunate soul that ended up there because of sh-tty circumstances, but there was a little more to the story to that


    "Mei Lin Sao, right?"(???) said a female voice


    After being sold out and spending some time with the Tong, she was taken to some place else and told to wait in an empty room. It took a while until she finally heard a voice


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    When she heard someone talking to her, Mei turned around and found a woman in her 30 dressed in a lab coat. She had a pair of glasses, blond hair and a radiant smile directed at her, which didn''t help Mei to calm down


    "Yes?"(Mei) managed to say timidly


    Even if she was afraid, after staying a couple of days with the Tong, she "learned" to answer back even when afraid


    "I heard you have a little brother and an uncle? Do you love them?"(labcoat)


    "I love my brother"(Mei) said honestly


    She wasn''t stupid, she knew that her uncle sold her to pay a debt so she hated him deep down. As for her brother, her parents always told her to look after him, and she wanted to keep that promise


    "If you do some work for us, we can look after your brother"(Labcoat)


    "What do you mean by look after? are you going to take him away too?"(Mei)


    She didn''t know what was going to happen to her, but she knew it wouldn''t be pretty and she definitely didn''t want for her brother to go through the same stuff


    "No, we will simply send him money and make sure he lives happily with your uncle"(Labcoat) said calmly


    "Ah.... and can I see them again if I work for you?"(Mei) said with a little hope


    "If you do a nice job, sure"(Labcoat)


    And Mei smiled, she really wanted to see her brother again someday


    ---------------------------------------------------


    The mission they gave her was simple, they show her a picture of a girl and force her to memorise the girls face. They told her that she would wake up in a room full of girls around her age and that she should look for her among all the girls. She would be the only one speaking English so it shouldn''t be too difficult to find a reason to talk to her


    Later, she should just stick with her and to know each other, nothing else. If they get separated, she should just follow what the speakers indicated her


    Mei didn''t know why this girl was so important, but she did it anyway. It''s not like she was doing anything bad, and it would help her family so she did it without any regret


    And it''s not like it was really difficult, she found her looking around the room she woke up, and when she approached her, it turned out she was quite friendly. She managed to stick with her for quite a while until she went to the classroom where she had to answer a lot of questions. When she finally finished with her answers, she realised that the girl was long gone, but without much choice, she just proceed with the program while worrying if she screwed up at some point and they would refuse to help her with her family


    In the end, she finished all the test without killing the dog and was put to sleep while wondering if she did ok


    Luckily for her, she did


    From what it looked like at least, she did a good enough job, since they gave her new instructions after waking up in the research facility with the others test subjects


    They told her by her phone that she would found the target again one week after she woke up and that she should get used to the place in the meantime


    Mei instructions were simple, she would find her target in the same class as her one week later, and she would simply make contact with her


    Afterwards, she would tell her about the "missions" in the phone, and recommended the biography and daily reports for extra points. The rest of her mission would be to ask about her past without drawing attention and report back anything she says


    They promise that as long as she does all that, they would give her family $500 each month and make sure both her uncle and her brother were fine


    Mei agreed to help, even if it made her feel a little guilty


    -------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks Neiden for the grammar help :) sadly, a from/for mistake slip in :(

 Side Story: Jess

    Jess went to her old neighborhood alone. She asked her friend Susan to provide an alibi  and left her stuff from school at her friends home. Even thought her friend helped her,  Jess decided to go alone to her old neighborhood since it was a little dangerous and she didn''t want to put her in danger


    After 3 years of not going back, Jess found some change here and there, but mostly it looked the same. If there was one big difference from before, it would be the new building that some construction workers were making in the place where the old factory was before


    Everything else looked almost the same. Stores open, people walking, cars running, people begging, etc


    Jess first tried to look at the old factory first, finding it was a construction in progress, she decided to try her luck in other places. She went to take a look at their old spots, but all she found was a kid she didn''t know in her spot, a lady with a baby on John''s, a guy with no leg in Sara''s and a blind guy at Max spot


    There wasn''t even a graffiti on the walls or something like that anywhere, so she didn''t know how to look for Sara or where she may be


    She couldn''t stay too long there since her mother would come look for her in the afternoon, and it took some time to get from there to her friends house. Without much time or options, Jess decided to look around for acquaintances from her past, even if it was one of the mafia guys or something


    Luckily, after looking for a while, she found Sam, and old friend of hers and her old family. He was a blond kid that use to hear stories that Max told in the factory and got along with Jess and the rest. He did look a lot bigger since she hadn''t seen him in 3 years, but she still managed to recognize him when she found him begging in the streets in his old spot


    He had the typically miserable dead eye look on his face that any good beggar had, with a cup by his side with a few coins inside


    When Jess  approached him, he didn''t recognize Jess after taking a look, so Jess had no choice but to approach the guy and try to make him remember


    "Hey Sam, remember me?"(Jess) said in the hope of jogging his memory a little bit


    When Sam heard his name, his dead eye expression changed and he took a hard look at Jess


    "Jess?"(Sam)a little uncertain


    "Right! How have you been Sam!(Jess) happily answered


    Meeting old friends is always a good thing


    "Surviving I guess. I thought I would never see you again, where have you been?"(Sam)


    "Oh, I was adopted, my new mom didn''t let me come so I had to slip up"(Jess) kind of told the truth


    Actually, until she found out a few days ago that Sara was alive, she didn''t really wanted to come back. Too many memories


    "You were adopted? good for you I guess. Do you know if Lisa was adopted too?"(Sam) asked a little hopefully


    Lisa was Sam sister like Sara was Jess sister


    "Sorry, she wasn''t in my orphanage"(Jess) said while feeling a little guilty


    She actually didn''t even bother to look for her, but she didn''t remember seeing there anyways


    "Oh......"(Sam) got depressed


    "Actually, I came looking for Sara. I thought she died like Max and John.."(Jess)


    "Wait, Max and John are dead?"(Sam) Interrupt her before she could finish


    "Yeah... I asked for their whereabouts after I woke up, and after telling them their description, they showed me their bodies to confirm if it was them"(Jess) said a little sad


    "Oh......."(Sam) got even more depressed


    "I thought Sara died there too since she wasn''t in any of the orphanages, but I just recently found out she may still be alive since she was the one that looks after me when the roof fell, she just didn''t go to the hospital"(Jess)


    "Yeah, I helped her move Max body to a doctor, but I guess it was too late by then. We went diferent ways after that, but we did saw each other a year later"(Sam)


    "So she is alive then! Great! Do you know where she is?"(Jess) Got extremely excited


    "Dead"(Sam)


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "Uh?"(Jess)


    "She messed with the Grey Cult, and they took care of her shortly after we talked"(Sam)


    "WAIT!! Is she really dead? did you see her body?"(Jess) started to panic


    "Well, I didn''t see the body, but I knew she was asking questions about their activities, and a friend of a friend saw her being taken away by them. No one saw her again after that. You know what that means, right?"(Sam)


    "but why!? why would she try to do something so dangerous!? It doesn''t make any sense!"(Jess) was practically screaming at this point


    "Because she believed they kidnaped Max and John"(Sam)


    "That doesn''t make any sense. They are dead, why would they have them?"(Jess)


    "Sara didn''t know that, she heard they kidnaped children and since they weren''t at the hospital or the streets, she thought the Grey Cult kidnaped them"(Sam) said


    And Jess froze


    She was processing what she just heard. It was insane!


    She finally found out that at least 1 person in her family survived all that and now it turned out she died in a fools errand!


    It just didn''t make any sense!


    "Aaare you sure?"(Jess) tried to confirm, in hope pf hearing a different answer


    "Yeah, no doubt. She lived around here you know? but she never went back home after that day"(Sam)


    And everything in Jess mind went blank


    She just left Sam there and started walking to her friends house. Her mind was in such a mess, no thought was coming through, only though about going back


    She didn''t know how long it took her to arrive at her friends house, but it took her long enough, since when she arrived, she saw her mom Angel waiting at the door with a relieved face follow by a furious expression that wouldn''t show any mercy


    It was even the first time Jess saw Anger make such a face, and normally it would make her panic and try to find a way out of the deep sh-t she was in, but instead when she saw Angel, she actually feel relieved and started running to her instead of trying to escape her fury


    She just ran to her, and she just hugged her while crying her heart out


    She just cried like she never cried before


    Even when she thought she was all alone after the incident, since she didn''t have anyone to open up at the time, she just got really really depressed


    Even when she was adopted by Angel, it took her a long time to finally cheer up again. It was like part of her heart was like cover in ice, refusing to move for others


    But now it was different. At the start, she had a hard time opening up to Angel, in part because she was afraid of being a bother and losing her place, or getting close to her to later lose her to something else. It was a fear that started strong and slowly fades away with time, but part of it still remained in her heart


    It was after finding some hope and being crushed again by reality that the final broke the ice in heart and finally depended on Angel when she needed her the most


    On the other hand, Angel didn''t know what to do. She wanted to scold Jess for doing something so dangerous like going alone to the bad parts of town, but not only it was a bad moment to stard a lecture, it was the first time she saw Jess cry like that and she didn''t know how to comfort her


    All she could do was hug her back and wait for Jess to finally calm down. Angel was sure she would scold her later for the idiotic thing she did, but for now, she would wait until she calmed down and ask her why she was like that


    If she was sure of one thing, it was that when she finds out who makes her cry like that, she would make them pay for what they did no matter the cost


    No matter the cost


    ------------------------------------------


    Note: Susan mistake fixed, thanks for pointing it out Neiden. Originally, I wrote that Susan and Jess went together, but since it made more sense that Jess went alone, I erased most of the Susan''s parts, it looks like I missed one :P

 Chapter 39: Newton third law of motion

    Insta-kill


    The fight didn''t last even 5 seconds


    The guy just started running as soon as the countdown ended. Like before, the time slowed down a lot, allowing me to see his mix of anger in his eyes, plus a smile on his face showing he was sure to beat me this time


    Unlike the others speedsters, the guy just ran in a straight line like a bullet while making a fist with his right hand and preparing a punching motion


    It was the most basic of the basics. After seeing moves that would make a normal person p-ss their pants, seeing a simplistic action coming towards me, helped me calming down a lot, and part of me wanted to do a face palm for a second


    IT WAS THE SAME MOVE HE DID BEFORE, DAMMIT!


    What did he think? That I was an idiot? That I wouldn''t know how to react to the SAME EXACT THING!?


    True, I panicked the first time, and he was a kid, so he probably thought his amazing speed was enough to take me out, a weak girl that trembled in fear. That doesn''t change the fact that it was a wrong move, especially when he lost the first time


    So, what did I do? The thing I thought the first time, just punch him in the face when he got close enough


    I did learn from watching the videos, and a little from my boxing class, the proper way to punch the guy


    I just spread both my legs with my left up front and my right in the back. Then, I clenched my right fist, trying to make it as compact as possible while holding my other fingers  with my thumb. Finally, thanks to my improved perception, predicted the right timing to hit the guy in the face while avoiding his fist since he had better reach


    Complete success


    I could see how the guy approached me with a smug expression like before, now completely sure I didn''t have a trick up my sleeve like last time. He was smiling while looking at me like I was a weak prey he was about to hunt, and he throw me a punch in the face with absolute certainly it would hit me


    I don''t think he had enough time to realise his fist miss before I hit him straight in the face without mercy


    In case you don''t know or forgot when I explained before, a cross counter not only gives the target the damage of your own hit but also the momentum of the adversary. Considering that the guy was moving at a stupid velocity, and was suddenly hit by a strong opposite force, the damage the guy got to his face wasn''t something minor


    Basically, it was an instakill


    Sadly, the laws of physics also apply to me......


    Like Newton said in his third law of motion, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction


    It means that the force that was generated by hitting the speedster in the face also bounced back into my fist. To be honest, I am 80% sure I broke his skull, but I am a 100% sure I broke my fist and dislocated my arm


    It didn''t help that I hold my ground while punching the ground, increasing the force of my punch and at the same time, the force that bounced back


    I have been punched, starved, operated, and a damn roof fell over my head, but the pain I felt after punching that guy was the most painful experience I ever felt. Well at least until that moment


    The operations were under drugs, so I didn''t felt a thing, the roof didn''t felt over me so I wasn''t hurt too much, and no punch would hurt as much as breaking your hand and dislocating your arm.....


    Hunger, on the other hand, it''s an annoying thing. It doesn''t hurt as much, but it''s a pain that constantly follows you and you have no choice but to try to ignore it or trick it the best you can. There is no way of ignoring or tricking a broken fist


    So I screamed like a ***** and cried like one too


    I didn''t even notice I won until a robot took the poor guy away like before, making me realise that if I went to the teleporter, I could go to the infirmary


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    So I went to the teleporter while trying to hold my tears that started to come up who knows when


    I must admit that everything looked kind of blurry with the tears in my eyes and all that, but the door was like a big black spot on a white wall, follow by a linear corridor, so it wasn''t that hard to get to the teleporter, even with reduced vision


    The thing is, the teleporter didn''t take me to the infirmary in the school, but some place else


    As soon as I teleported, I found myself in front of a robot with a big monitor instead of a head. It had arms at its sides and track tires to move, with a "person" showing on the monitor


    "Hi!-I-am-nurse-Emily-please-follow-me"(Emily) said in a robotic voice through the monitor


    What the monitor showed was a white screen with a 3D image of a 20 years old woman with a pink hat on her head with a red plus sign in the middle(like the one use in the hospitals)and a smile on her face


    It started moving and it took me to a room with a big complex machine inside. It had a big red cross on the floor that basically said, stand there, so I did before I was instructed since I wanted to end the pain fast


    "Please don''t move while the lights are on"(big machine)said


    A moment later, hundreds of lasers went all over my body for a couple of minutes, and then it suddenly stopped


    "Please-give-me-your-left-hand"(Emily) said again in her robotic voice


    And since the pain was still unbearable, I didn''t hesitate even for a second. If I had known what was going to happen next, I am not so sure I would have done it as fast, or even at all


    Basically, the robot relocated my hand without even saying a word, like it was taking a band-aid from a wound


    Do I have to say I screamed like a ***** again?


    It did feel better after a few seconds, but the pain I felt when it did that was worst than any kind of physical pain I ever felt in my life before. So yeah, it sucked


    Did I hear an apologise, or even a word of comfort afterwards? Nope, just


    "Follow-me"(Emily) said


    And I reluctantly follow her


    It basically took me to some kind of strange metal chair with human form instead of the typical scare form, and it basically meant I had to sit on it, so I did


    Moments laters, my right arm was tied by a belt that came from the chair arm, follow by being completely encapsulated thanks to some stuff that came from the side of the chair, forming some kind of metal capsule in a cylinder form


    After my arm was completely cover, some gel stuff started pouring inside the cylinder, until it was full


    Half an hour later, my arm was completely healed


    To be honest, I didn''t dare to see how bad it actually was, since the pain was completely unbearable, but after 30 minutes of that gel stuff, my arm felt as good as new, so after trying to open and close my fist for a while to see if anything was wrong, I went back to the teleporter and found myself back at the facility


    Usually, I would feel happy that I won, or happy that the pain was gone, but instead, I was more surprised on how effective that gel was. I wasn''t a doctor, but even I knew that a wound like that would take to heal at least a month, under normal circumstances, so it was a little awe-spiring, even with all the sh-t I have seen so far


    Anyway, I recovered after a while and went to tell the good news to Meg and Mei and was planning to celebrate my first proper victory with a movie since I have new points to spend


    By the way, the guy challenged me again a month later, and many more times after that


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note:  Thanks again Neiden for the help with the grammar :)

 Chapter 40: Free Pizza Friday

    Celebrating, a good thing to do after a "sweet" victory


    Ok, I know I broke my fist and dislocated my arm, but it was the first time I won thanks to my own hard work and not some random luck


    Why wouldn''t I celebrate?


    Sadly, there wasn''t much stuff you could do to celebrate, and anything that would be considered a reward for winning cost my "oh so few" points


    I did watch a movie with Mei and Meg like I said, but it wasn''t enough, I wanted something else, something special


    And suddenly, something special fell right into my lap


    It was something rare, it was free, it was special, and I didn''t have to do anything to get it. It was perfect


    "Look, look, free pizza Friday!!!"(Me) said excitedly as soon as I watched a collective text they send to my phone


    As soon as I said that, both of them took a look at their phone and smiled happily like me


    You are probably thinking, don''t you get food every day? why is pizza so special?


    First of all, if you think pizza isn''t something to be happy about, shame on you


    Shame on you!


    Second, we usually got what you could call school lunch. It''s ok, but it isn''t anything special


    You can usually get pasta, rice, fruit, salads, vegetables, strange unidentifiable thing(it actually tasted good), sausages, meat(if you were fast enough), and some more stuff


    But tasty things? like hamburgers, pizza, ice cream, pudding, stakes, etc


    Once a week if you were lucky


    So yeah, we were pretty excited when the offer came, and when I say we, it includes almost everyone else in the place. The only people not happy were the 3 guys that for some reason didn''t like pizza since there would be pizzas for those with lactose intolerance and coeliac disease


    Best of all, it included coke and the other type of Sodas! something we never get to drink since they only gave us water, milk and juices to drink usually


    What a great night it was going to be


    When night arrived, all three of us went to the dinner for the pizza party. Unlike most of the time, the dinner was full of kids before it opened its doors. Everyone wanted to arrive early and make sure they got some before they run out of pizzas


    An understandable reaction since the meat was one of the first items to disappear in lunch and dinner, something that constantly bothered Meg. We also belonged to the group that was afraid of losing the pizza party so we went early like the rest


    We didn''t try to force our way through to the front of the mass of little children pushing other kids to try to get closer to the door. Instead, we were around the door and planned to rush inside as soon as the door opened


    We really wanted some slices of pizza


    In my case, the pizza brought good memories of my first time with Cat, even if it was the frozen cheap supermarket microwave type of pizza, so it was a fitting way of celebrating my victory


    Even today, when I feel down, I order some pizza and it cheer me up. I also order some when I am too lazy to cook, but I also order Chinese or others types of foods, but when I have a bad day, I usually order pizza


    It''s pizza, ya know? I guess you could say it is one of my weakness and, at least, it is better than a stupid green rock that that super guy is so afraid off in the movies. Well, I am also weak to explosions, bullets, stabbing, lasers, black holes, falling from high places, deadly virus, crushing, cuteness, radiation, starvation, and 300 others things that can kill me, but pizza is one of them


    What can I say, it is delicious, easy to eat, fast to make or order, and it brings back good memories. What else can I ask for in my food?


    Healthy doesn''t count


    So yeah, we waited for the doors to open, and we all rushed inside while pushing each others to try to get there first. Luckily, it looked like the bastards at the research facility planned things well and decided to leave both sodas and pizzas on all the tables so you could sit and start eating instead of having to look for the pizza. There was more pizza were they usually brought the food, but having it serve already in the table stopped most from trying to go look for some more there


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Like most, the three of us decided to just sit in one of the tables and start eating from the already present pizzas. That was the idea at least, but even thought me and Mei started eating some of the slices of pizza, Meg showed an ugly face and refused to eat


    "What is wrong Meg? You don''t like pizza?"(Me) asked a little worried, I mean, who doesn''t like pizza?


    "I don''t like the smell"(Meg)


    "Of pizza!?"(Me) BLASFEMY!!!


    If there was a religion about pizza, I am sure I would check it out at least, and maybe joining if they make good pizza


    "You should try some, it is tasty"(Mei)


    "I don''t like the smell"(Meg) repeated


    "Fine, try some of the other ones at served over there, I am sure one of them should "smell" nice"(Me) said a little annoyed


    In case you didn''t get it, I really like pizza


    "OK, be right back"(Meg) said without her typical cheerful attitude, probably realising something wrong from my tone


    She got up from her chair and went to look for some food she may like. Meanwhile, me and Mei happily ate our pizza and drank  some soda until there was nothing left at the table and we had no choice but to get up and look for more


    And it was at that moment that my memory starts to get  foggy. I remember getting up, and going to a table that still had pizza in it, but as I started to move, my memories start to get foggier and foggier, until I forgot everything that happened later


    I am not sure how much time passed, but my first memory after everything went foggy was finding myself on a sofa next to Mei and two other kids I didn''t even know, plus others 5 all over the floor. For some reason, we were all completely naked, with no clothes near us


    My head was killing me even worst than went I woke up for the first time in the facility, so it took me a few seconds to realise I was in one of the recreation rooms, with the tv on showing the Teletubbies for some reason


    I was never a big fan of that particular TV show, so I just kept watching for a couple of seconds before I thought I wanted to change the channel, still not really getting what the f-ck was going on


    I wanted to find the remote to the TV so I could change the channel when I started to wonder who was paying for all this, so I decided to get up from the sofa. While trying to not wake up Mei, the others in the sofa or those in the floor, I went to the door so I could access the panel and see who was paying


    Outside the recreation room was a hallway that leads to other recreation rooms like the one I was in, and at the end of the hallway, was a door that leads to the playground with all the rooms, including mine of course


    The place was really quiet for some reason like it was 4 in the morning with no one coming in or out. There was one kid sleeping on the floor, but besides that, everything looked normal


    I was still half-asleep, with a headache, and a little cold thanks to being naked, so I decided to take a look at the panel and see who was paying for the TV program since I had a bad, really bad, feeling. I used my wristband on the panel(the only thing I had on me) and the screen activated and read what the screen showed me


    "Sara Mars 8:44:53"(screen) said my name with a timer that was going up


    F-ck

 Chapter 41: Great after party!

    Kids, don''t do drugs


    Well, I didn''t take them by choice, but my opinion of them didn''t improve after finding myself naked, confused, hurt, and with less money than when I started. Luckily, I was a kid like everyone else present, or I would have to worry about some extra stuff(babies, HIV, etc)


    That didn''t change the fact that I spend at least 9 points on something completely pointless. It was a waste of my hard work damn it!


    Of course, I instantly stopped the program from continuing sucking my points, but nine were already spent, like it or not


    I wish I could say that my next step was to put some clothes on myself, but there were no clothes near where I was, so I had no choice but to go back to my room and grab some from there


    I really really wanted to go as fast as possible since being naked outside my room was kind of embarrassing, but my friend Mei was sleeping on the couch and I couldn''t leave her alone. My first choice was to gently wake her up, but considering that I may wake up the other kids in the room, I decided to just slowly carry her between my arms(princess carry) to my room and let her sleep in my bed while lending her some clothes when she wakes up


    If it worked right, I may even save her the embarrassment of finding herself naked in a room full of other naked strangers, something you can''t really be proud of (unless you are a nympho or a dude)


    Luckily, I was stronger than a normal kid thanks to the "wonderful" experiments, so carrying her in my arms wasn''t impossible, just really difficult. To be honest, I was considering forcing Mei into a diet afterwards, she really had a couple of extra pounds on her


    But I suck it up


    I kept my numerous complaints about her weight in my heart and slowly moved around the room to make sure I didn''t wake up Mei while trying to avoid hitting one of he numerous naked kids on the floor. Not that I could move really fast while carrying the "definitely not extremely heavy" Mei


    After I reached the door, with some difficulty thanks to something "definitely not heavy", I went to the door that would lead to the rooms area while cursing my wonderful idea of carrying Mei in my arms for an extended period of time


    I could even feel my sweat coming down from my forehead, get in my eyes, and kept going down all over my face and naked until it finally leaves my body and falls to the floor


    Can I say it was hell?(don''t tell her I say that)


    Have you ever exercised for a long time, getting really really tired?When you reach that point, of getting really really tired, and you see a finish line, instead of feeling relieved, you fell extra weight in each step to make, praying to god to make it end? That is how I felt as I got closer and closer to the dorms door


    Each step was harder than the last, so when I finally reached the door, I felt a little glad that at least half the distance was done


    Usually, I would have being worried that when I open the door, hundred of kids would see me and Mei naked, getting humiliated and causing me and Mei to hide in our rooms for who knows how long


    Sadly, I was so tired after carrying Mei for so long, that I completely forgot about that: all I wanted was to reach to my room


    So when the door automatically opened, I wasn''t prepared for what was on the other side


    A battlefield (or what remained of it)


    Burn marks, cracks, sand, dust and metal parts all over the place. Some kids were covered in some kind of gel or more like gum, others were just sleeping on the floor(I hope they were sleeping), and you could see the remains of some robots parts all over the place


    It didn''t take a genius to realize a big battle happened there. Since you couldn''t see any wounded or dead around, they were probably taken to the infirmary after the fight, but it looked like they didn''t have the time to clean up the place yet


    Not that I thought all that at the time. All I could thing is what the f happen while I was out, and part of me was glad I was lazily watching TV instead of getting involved in what happened near the dorms


    The sight shocked me so much, that I "accidently" dropped Mei. Well, I am 80% sure I did it accidently, but I think that in some corner of my mind, I didn''t care enough about keeping her in my arms after seeing something like that(that, and my arms were really really tired)


    "Ahu.... wwhaat is going on?"(Mei) said a little confused while opening her eyes and looking around


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    It took her a couple of seconds to realise that A) she wasn''t in her bed, B) She was outside, C) outside was scary, D) she was naked


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"(Mei) panic


    "Mei, calm down!"(Me) said while grabbing her arms and shaking her a little so she would stop screaming


    I definitely didn''t want to draw attention to us, thanks to being naked and all that


    "Wwwaht hhappen?"(Mei)


    "I don''t know, I woke up naked in the recreation room with you and other kids I don''t know. I was trying to take us to our rooms when I saw all this...."(Me)


    "What doo wee do now?"(Mei)


    "Come on, let''s go to my room and get some clothes, we can figure it out later"(Me) said while extending my hand to Mei


    Mei saw my hand, and after making a small nod, she took it and I helped get up. We went to my room, and luckily, we didn''t found anyone on the way. Most were probably asleep, healing, afraid to come out or dead


    I got close to the door, used the wristband in my hand, and the door opened like usual. I was just about to enter my room, when something suddenly tackles me, making me feel pain in the stomach and thanks to the fall, I also felt pain on my ass and back of the head


    "Ouch"(me) Complained a little after feeling pain in multiple places


    "WHWUEHAWEHWUERAE YOYUUOYUY(where were you, I think)"(Meg) Tried to say while sobbing


    I did want to complain about the sudden tackle, and the pain that brought, but considering that my stomach was wet thanks to the fluids that came from Meg(if you think something perverted out of this, you got problems), I decided to let it go. I just waited for Meg to calm down a little


    It took her a few minutes, but the sobbing finally ended, allowing me to finally be able to do something. Meanwhile, Mei asked me with some signals if she could come inside and I gave her the ok, so came inside the room and after taking some clothes, she went to the bathroom


    "Are you ok now, Meg?"(me) said while still being on the floor, naked, hurt all over the place and full of mucus and tears


    "Uhu..."(Meg) noded


    "Can I get up?"(Me)


    "Ok"(Meg) said while still holding me and not moving


    "If you don''t move, I can''t get up"(Me)


    "Ok"(Meg)reported but didn''t move


    "Fine"(Me) gave up and just got up while Meg kept holding on my belly


    It took some effort, but I managed to stand straight, and since Meg didn''t want to let go, I dragged her into the room and closed the door. Then, I just sat on my bed and waited for Meg to calm down a little more while petting her head


    After she calmed down, I asked her if she knew what happened, and she told Mei and me that after she went to look for something to eat, everyone started to act strangely, and started to do all kind of weird stuff. After everyone went crazy, she tried to find us but she lost track of us in all the mess. Since she couldn''t find us, and it was hard to find our scent with all the people moving around erratically, she went back to our room


    She got more nervous as time passed alone in the room, and later, she started hearing a lot of people fighting and she got really scared. She hid in her bed all scared until everything calmed down, and then she got afraid that something may have happened to us since we didn''t come back and started crying


    It was when I opened the door that she finally relaxed and just jumped at me, ending with me feeling pain in the ass, the back of my head and full of tears and mucus all over my belly


    Great day!


    3 days later, everything was back to normal, and most students were back. Don''t ask me what happened to those that didn''t make it back


    BTW, I had to spend 10 points to get a new phone, since my old one broke thanks to all the mess. Basically, I lost all the points I got from my revenge match......


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks for the help Neiden. I hope the reason you found so few was because I got better, but it was probably a miracle :P

 Chapter 42: 2 years

    You could say that the Pizza event was a trigger, but I probably would have followed the same path anyway


    What path am I talking about? The kick ass kind


    I wanted more points to spend since I was tired of feeling bad about losing 30 points in stupid stuff. I wanted to have enough points to not even care if I wasted 10 POINTS in a f-cking Teletubbies T-shirt


    Basically, I started going to matches more often, instead of waiting for the mandatory match. I admit that I did it mostly for the points, but I also enjoyed winning against unbelievable strong opponents, making me feel strong


    But mostly, I wanted the points


    Usually, as long as I was healthy(not feeling like sh-t after getting my a-s kicked) I would go for a match or a revenge match


    My process was simple, If I was ok, I would go for a match. If I won and wasn''t badly wounded, I would go for a new fight  the next day or the day after. If I won but I was a mess or not at 100%, I would wait until I was better


    If I lost, first, I would wait until I was at 100%, and in the meanwhile, I would do a little research. First, I would think what I could have done better, and then I would research ways of beating the crap out of the guy again. If I saw myself winning, I would issue a revenge match, and try my best. If I won, then I would do a normal match next, and if I lost, I would repeat the process. If I didn''t see myself winning, I would just leave it alone and do a normal match next


    It was the most efficient way to earn points, discounting the "special events" those a-s holes liked to throw at us from time to time


    I also kept doing my diary, since it helped as a review of my fights and how they went, with a personal analysis of what I did ok, and where did I screwed up


    Of course, fighting so many people also had it''s troubling stuff, besides the obvious physical pain. For starters, there were the revenge matches, but I also had to deal with the normal revenge, harassing, threatening,  being ostracised or completely ignored


    Luckily, I had Meg and Mey. Even though I fought them a couple of times, they kept being my friends


    Besides, the revenge matches were a good way to earn money, since I barely lose those. The only person that never gave up asking the revenge matches was the first speedster. I don''t know if he held a grudge, didn''t know the word surrender, or fell in love with me at fist sight, but he never stopped. I was even tempted to just let him win once just to get it over with, but I never did


    Part of the reason was that I could see he always gave his 100%, so just giving him a victory as a reward didn''t feel right. Still, the main reason was that I loved the points. He may not have sent me a revenge request every day, or even every week, but it was a good steady income that I came to love, even if I felt a little bad for taking so many points and kicking his a-s so many times


    But I guess you are probably wondering, besides the constant idiot that kept challenging me, How did the rest of the fights usually go?


    Well, pretty good I guess. Like I said before, I was a jack of all trades, master of none. Having no strengths or weaknesses had its good things and bad things. Having strong points also meant they had weaknesses, so as long as I took advantages of them, I could win. The problem was that if I never fought or researched the guy I was fighting, defending properly against its attacks or knowing where to hit became extremely difficult, and in most cases I lost


    There were also the cases where I fought the guy before, or researched him, but he ended up winning because he used a move I never saw before, or simply defended his weakness really well while attacking me in a way that I just couldn''t properly defend, or he was simply more skilled than me


    In the end, I can''t say I won all of them, but I had an average of a little more over 50%, and 60% in revenge matches(with a 20% of just giving up and sending me the 10 points)


    Since I never found my life in real danger, I ended up fighting a lot and earning a lot of points in the process


    As for the points I earned, well, I used them on a lot of different stuff


    First, I spend a lot of points on research. Since researching helped a lot in a fight, it was a necessary spending, like it or not. I mostly watched reinforced fighters against every type, and the fights of people in my revenge match list, both those they send me one or those Iw as planning to send one


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    The second place I also spend a lot of points on was training. I mostly did boxing since it was easy, cheap and well balanced, but over time, I also tried others like karate, kung fu, aikido and even fencing and kendo. It was hard to get to 5 in some of them so I had to bring Mei and Meg to fill the numbers and compensate them later for it


    Which lead us to the true place I spent most of my points, entertainment


    Hey! don''t judge me!


    In the end, the real reason I worked so hard was to have enough points to do whatever I wanted. Without points, there wasn''t much to do besides sleeping, eating, studying and socializing, so if you wanted to have fun, you had to spend the points. I mostly used them to watch tv with Meg and Mei, play some video games, download apps, junk food, and some other stuff I can''t remember right now


    The fourth place I spend my points were in bribes. If I fought against someone annoying, since I couldn''t hold back or the a-holes watching would make it difficult for me, when I won the fight, I usually bought them something so they wouldn''t be too hard on me. You would be surprised how many troubles I saved myself by just buying an ice cream for the loser, and some of his/hers friends. I also had to bribe Mei and Meg to do me favors like going to some of the martial classes, but luckily, they weren''t the kind of friends that stayed with me just because I bought them stuff


    And as for the place I spent the least money on, it was things like clothes and other stuff. I did bought a couple of shirts and pants, and some other stuff like pens, books, and a memory card for my phone, but not much else. I had the option of buying some nonlethal stuff to help me in a fight like a smoke grenade, tear gas, body armor, stun grenade, etc. The thing is, not only were they more expensive than what you would get from a match, if you lost the fight and didn''t use it, the winner could get them from you for free


    Bad business for a money gru.. I mean, getting used to winning fights without them helped get me stronger faster, so when I used them, they would be even more effective since I would be stronger than if I constantly used them. It was definitely not because I hated spend points in stuff like that, definitely


    Well, basically, I spend most of the points I had and didn''t bother to save much. I always made sure to have at least 20 points, but I never bothered to save much more than that


    As for Mei and Meg, they did their stuff. We spend most of our time together, talking, eating, studying , going to the martial art classes, watching tv, etc


    The only difference was the fighting. They didn''t do it as much as I did


    Mei didn''t like to fight, and she wasn''t really good at it actually, so it made sense. For starters, she didn''t like hurting her enemies, so she hesitated a little when she fought. She also didn''t use her powers really well, so it was hard for her. The good thing was that over time she got better, and the fight system was relatively fair, they usually put weak v weak and strong versus strong, meaning that if you lost miserably often, they put you against people that lose miserably often and vice-versa


    Meg, on the other hand, was actually strong in a fight, but she was afraid of losing control. The bastards send some kind of signal that made her go berserker and attack anything that moves, and she hated losing control. The berserk mode luckily didn''t go for the kill(at least the one that they used) and they didn''t use it all the time, but fearing that they may use it, she usually didn''t fight unless she had to. Over time, she also got used to it and started fighting more, but she always hated when they forced her to move instead of just let her do her thing


    And like that, we spend 2 years in the facility. Usually, when a kid reached the age of 8-9, it would be sent to a different facility for older kids. Since we only saw kids from 6 to 8, it was probably true


    The thing is, just a few moths before we would be sent to the new place, something happened


    ----------------------------------------------------------


    Note: sorry for the delay, University started this week(south America have different school year than north). I will try to keep releasing at least 3 chapters every week, but I make no promise


    By the way, thanks Neiden for the help like usual :grin: , thanks Makakarer for pointing out the repetition and thanks again Dragrath helping in case Neiden didn''t show up =p


    And yeah, research facility ark is over :;^^:

 Hiatsu

    Look, as you guys probably realised, I realised 1 chapter in the last 14 days. Like I said before, I started university, and after a long long class, plus the study afterwards, I don''t have the energy to write a chapter. Even in the weekend, I sleep most day and I don''t find the energy to just write a chapter


    I am sorry, but until I find the energy, motivation or get used to studying and writing, I won''t be releasing new chapters


    I hope you guys can understand, and don''t hate me too much because of it


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    By the way, happy Aprils fools =D


    New chapter tomorrow, after tomorrow and the day after that (3 chapters) as an apology

 Chapter 43: Stalker

    In a day like any other, me, Mei, the idiot speedster, 2 girls and another dude were in one of the optional classes. It taught how to use a long staff (Poles, cane, etc) effectively


    Like you can probably see, the number of people in the class showed it wasn''t a popular one. No surprise there, since most people went to martial arts classes, and even those that learned weapons, they chose stuff like kendo, fencing, throwing knives, archery, etc


    I still did boxing 3 times a week, but after trying different weapons, I liked using long staffs the most. There were multiple reasons like it was cheap(10 points for 3 wood staffs)  so when I lost or my weapon broke, it wasn''t a pain to replace. It also helped me a lot since by being a girl, I had a shorter reach than some of my adversaries, so a weapon with long reach gives me an advantage. Finally, I liked that I could use it as a staff, a spear, a mallet, a sword, a cane, a shield(last resort), or a throwing weapon


    Since most of the 8 years old had enough points and experience to make most fights a pain, having a weapon helped a lot. If I wanted to keep winning, I had to choose one and after trying a few (and watching some clips) I went for the staff


    Mei also chose the staff since keeping her enemies at a distance made her less nervous in a fight. Besides, she could slow down an enemy with her telekinetic powers, making it easier to fight from a distance since a long staff had a long reach(obviously)


    As for the speedster, he was just following me, probably. He never talked, just glared at me most of the time or ignore me, but after kicking his a-s who knows how many times, he started following me around


    He went from idiot to stalker


    I must admit that his stalking made it harder to deal when he issued a revenge match, but for some reason, he still couldn''t beat me. Part of the reason was that I also watched what he did, and after fighting against him so many times, I knew most of his habits and tricks. The other part was probably a psychological lock, he got so use to losing that he couldn''t see himself winning or something like that


    Still, that didn''t stop him from stalking the sh-t out of me


    In a way, I want to praise his determination to never give up. If I was in his shoes, I am sure I would have given up a long time ago. Besides, I would never spend sooooooo many points in something that look hopeless. I guess he is the type of guy that goes to a casino with a million dollars and lose it all in the blackjack because he was sure his lucky break would come soon


    So what did I do? I ignored him


    No much choice in the matter. I couldn''t stop him, and he would ignore me or avoid me if I confront him. Since I couldn''t sign for a restraining order(I looked for it at the points catalog and it wasn''t an option) I had no choice but to give up


    The good side of it? it became easier to get 5 people for a class. Thanks to that, I didn''t have to ask Meg to come to the unpopular classes like this one to fill the numbers. Unlike Mei that could use martial arts and weapons, Meg relied mostly on her claws, animal instincts, senses, and automatic programming when they send the f-cking signal


    Since Meg had a sudden mission from the facility and we had enough numbers for the class, we  decided to go to the class like usual while she went to her special mission


    It wasn''t anything strange. Everyone had, at least, one of those over time. They were usually test or experiments they did from time to time, for specific individuals, and they always gave points afterwards. They could be pretty sh-tty, but if you didn''t do it they could either deduct points or even drag you there and they didn''t give you a reward afterwards


    So, me and Mei went to the long staff class without worrying too much about it and started the class without a problem


    it was 20 minutes after the class had started that something happened


    All the regular lights went out, and moments later they were replaced by a red light follow by a message in various languages


    "Emergency-power-activated-please-remain-where-you-are-until-further-notice"(speaker) suddenly said


    "What do we do?"(Mei) Said while showing a panicked expression and trembling a little


    The others in the room weren''t much different, looking around and trying to figure out what to do next


    Like the rest, I started looking around the room and decided to try the door first. It was locked as expected


    "It''s locked"(Me)said after trying the handle at the door a few times


    "Let me see that" Said the other male in the room beside the speedster


    Of course, the result was the same


    "Sh-t"(guy)


    "Nnnow wwaht?"(Mei) said while shivering in fear while looking at me


    The other 2 girls were also shivering a little and looking around while showing a panic expression but weren''t doing much else. As for he speedster, he was just looking around unconcernws


    So, what did I think I should do at the time? Well, first I looked around the room to see if there was another way out. The place wasn''t particularly big, I would say it was around 5x5 meters with nothing else but some cushions on the floor, a big tv screen and some wooden staff you could borrow but got penalty points if you took them outside the class. Besides that, we had the closed door we came in, and a ventilation vent since the place didn''t have windows


    Can you guess what went to my mind after seeing all that?


    Try the ventilation vent of course, except it had some problems. It wasn''t particularly big, it was near the ceiling so I couldn''t reach normally, and it had screws in the 4 corners. Since we couldn''t reach, we didn''t have a screwdriver or any tools for the matter, and it was really small, it would normally look impossible under normal circumstances


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The thing is, we were small, so we could fit, if we step or climbed onto each other, we could reach, and even though Mei''s telekinesis wasn''t strong enough to rip it apart, it could turn the screws until they fall over the floor in theory


    Problem solved, right?


    Not!!


    If it was that easy, why did no one try it before? Because people tried before and it ended miserably


    You think those bastards wouldn''t realise it was a security concern? Of course they did


    The vents were full of sensors and traps that would either knock you out or hurt you really really bad. Basically, it was a dead wish


    So why was I considering using the vents? Because of the power failure the automated response just mention. If what it said was true, it could mean that the normal defenses were out of order and this was an opportunity I couldn''t miss


    I knew it could be a trap, like half the events those bastards did, but if it was, so what? It''s not like they would kill me or something, just take a few points and a few days in the infirmary. But if it was true, It meant a way out, so why wouldn''t I take it?


    Besides, with all the crazy sh-t they were doing there, it wasn''t unthinkable that something could go horribly wrong, allowing us a chance to escape


    "Hey Mei, can you unscrew the screws in the ventilation vent?"(Me)


    "Why?"(Mei) said with a frightened face, probably realising where I was going


    "Can you do it?"(Me) decided to just ask again to avoid the obvious complaints


    "I think I might"(Mei)


    "Try it then"(Me)


    "It would be easier if I could  touch them, but I can''t reach them"(Mei) Said a little hesitant


    And it made sense. Delicate work like slowly turning something wasn''t the same as just hammering something with force to stop its movement, and it''s not like Mei had a lot of reasons to practice delicate procedures


    Sadly, I had to reluctantly sacrifice my body, literally


    "Fine, get over my shoulders, you should be able to reach it that way"(Me) said reluctantly while getting on my knees


    Thanks to my reinforced muscles, even though I didn''t have superman level of strength, I was strong enough to carry someone of my age, even if Mei was a "little" fatter than me


    So Mei timidly sat over my shoulders and I "easily" carried her to the vent so she could use her telekinetic powers. Two minutes later, the vent was open


    I put her down since her "light" weight was hurting my shoulders and I moved my arms a little to relax my hurt shoulders


    "Now what?"(Mei) said while looking at me with a little hesitation


    "We go into the vent and try to get out of here"(Me) As it was obvious, and it kind of was


    "And the security mesures! you know what happened to the kids that tried going through there, right!?"(Mei) said almost shouting


    "Relax, they just anounced that the power was down, so they shouldn''t be activated. That means we may be able to get out of here if we act fast enought"(Me) said with absolute security, even if I wasn''t really as sure as I sounded


    "What if it is a trap? It wouldn''t be the first time"(Mei)


    "So what? worst case, we go to the infirmary. Do you really want to waste a chance of freedom just because you may get a little hurt? We get hurt every week, so what is a little more pain?"(Me) Tried to deal a sound argument


    "Can''t we just stay? I am afraid something may happen"(Mei)


    "Mei, I am going with or without you. This may be our only chance of getting out of here and I am not wasting it. Do want to come or stay? I won''t force you"(Me) Said while showing my determination


    There was no way in hell I would waste a chance to get away from there. I knew that no good future await me staying in the facility, so I might as well take the oportunity to get out


    As for Mei, she was looking at the floor while hesitating. I could see she would prefer to stay there than to risk it, maybe afraid of the uncertainty, or because she felt a little comfortable there. I was about to give up on her and just proceed ahead alone when she suddenly looked directly at my eyes


    "Ok, let''s go. But you go first"(Mei) said with a straight face


    I am surprised I didn''t twitch my eyes a little in annoynce, considering she was practically saying "Go first and get hit first if something goes wrong" but I guess I can''t really blame her since I was kind of forcing her to come along with my plan


    "You guys are coming too?"(Me) asked just in case


    I didn''t really care, but some extra numbers wouldn''t hurt


    "No, I am staying"(Boy)


    "I will wait here"(girl 1)


    "Mee too"(girl 2)


    And as for the speedster, he just remained quiet, watching me with an unconcerned look


    So, without making a fuss or wasting another second, I jumped to the now open vent and got inside it. It was big enought that allowed me to turn around, so I managed to help Mei get up there and the two proceeded over the vent


    A few seconds later, I heard a small grunt, follow by the sound of metal bending from our backs


    Stalker level went up from "I may need a restraining order" to "I am afraid he would follow me even if I put a bullet in his head........."


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: In case you saw the last chapter but didn''t see the end, the hiatus was an April fools joke, and like I promise as an apology, here is the first of the 3 daily chapters release. It is even the 2 longest chapter I had written so far (first is Meg side story)


    Thanks Neiden for the grammar help :)

 Chapter 44: Lab

    Luckily, the vents defense were out for some reason, not that I complain that they were. I don''t know exactly what type of defence they had installed since I never tried using them before, but they were either down because the power was down, or because someone purposely deactivated them before hand


    But even though I know now they weren''t activated, at the time I was scared sh-tless. Every step(crawl actually) I made, I looked around and clenched my teeth reflexively while expecting some kind of surprise that would either knock me out of feel extream pain


    Even if I acted confident at the training place, and knew that it may be my best hope of getting away, that didn''t change the fact that I was 70% sure it was actually a trap, and I was just gambling by the remaining 30%. And to be honest, I knew I was being optimistic with the 30%


    Still, that didn0t stop me from thinking what was the best curse of action if it was the extremely lucky 30%


    When I went inside the vent, I realised that the ventilation system was connected to all the room. I could tell since the vent we got in took us in a straight line to a fork that went left and right, where each side had a lot of forks at either left or right according to which side we took


    I knew that the forks close to us would take us to rooms similar to the ones we came from, but the big question was, would it takes us to a place we could never reach before? I was betting on that


    Luckily, I had a good sense of direction, and I could tell wich forks would take me to a place I could visit, and wich should take me to a place I never went before


    I must admit that with the fear, and considering we were scrawling plus the constant complaints from Mei and the silent pressure from the Speedster made the time I spend in the vents look eternal but after crawling for what looked like an eternity, we finally reached a fork in the vents that should take us to a zone we would never be able to access before


    And it did


    The first vent took me to a room full of robots in stand bye, so it wasn''t really useful. I could have tried to get down there, but considering I may nor find a way out and since it was extremely dangerous if they sudden activated, I decided to look around a little more the second room was a jackpot.


    The second room the vents took us was the jackpot. It was where they made the pills


    Well, actually, it was a small room with a computer, but it had a glass and on the other side, they made the pills


    I knew if I ever wanted to get out, knowing what I was taking and knowing the effects and how to make them could help a lot. I didn''t know how important were the pills for my powers to grown, but I definitely wanted to keep this powers in the future


    Who wouldn''t want to have super powers? I already paid the price in blood, so I might as well keep them


    The only problem was that we may get find out or activate an alarm if we tried to use to computer, but the chance was too good to just let it go


    "Mey, can you open this vent?"(Me) Said after deciding to risk it


    "Did you find a way out?"(Mei) said while sounding a little worried


    "Nope, but the second best thing, you think you can open it?"(Me)


    "I can give it a shot"(Mei)


    Then came the tricky part. The vent wasn''t big enough to let her squeeze through me, so we had to go back a little , I have to move to one of the forks, and let her through


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Moments later, she managed to open the vent and catch it before it fell off. Then the two of us plus the silent stalker came down the vent


    The room had a computer over a desk, a door to come in normally( Dhu! I don''t think they were crazy enough tow come through a vent), the now open vent, and a glass window that let you look inside the pill facility


    The pill facility had a lot of different machines working at the same time producing individual pills constantly and putting them in the small boxes we usually get later in the day. For the look of things, instead of producing large batch of pills for all, the facility produced individual pills for each kid


    After the three of us went down to the floor, the first thing I did was start using the computer. It was on and it didn''t have a password and had a software for the pills already installed and running. Since it had a search function, I first tried inputting my full name in hope of maybe find information about me, but it didn''t work


    "Sh-t"(me)


    "What is wrong?"(Mei)


    "Using my name didn''t work, and I don''t know what to try next"(Me)


    "Did you try our serial number? It is written on our wristband"(Mei) said while showing me some numbers written on her wristband


    Since it didn''t hurt to try, I wrote her numbers in the search engine and a moment later, a detailed medical record showed up


    "Good idea May, thanks"(Me) Said with a smile, and Mei smiled back a little probably happy that her idea worked


    It was even the first time I saw her smile since all the sh-t went down, so it even help me relax a little for a moment. not that the info I saw helped keep my relaxation


    The info I saw in the computer included her physical and mental condition,side effects of her treatment, life expectancy and drugs she must take. The program also included the amount and type of drugs she should take over the years according to age, weight and if she went through puberty or not, and for the look of things, her age and weight were input automatically, so everything worked on its own without the need of outside help. It also included what was inside the pills, the quantity of each component of the pills and how to process it, so we would be able to make them on our own in the future


    The system probably worked that way to facilitate the delicate handling of the numerous kids that were present in the facility. I don''t know how they got all the calculations and recipes for each individual, but the system worked in a way that it shouldn''t be necessary to bother again with someone once it was in the system


    It was a blessing for the two of us since we could download all the information on my phone, and it should allow us to take the right medicine with the right amount for years to come. As to how I upload it on my phone, there was a phone charger near the computer, wich was the typical one with a USD cable with the charger part


    I just took the USD cable and connected to the PC, and copy pasted the info of both me and Mey to my SD phone card. I offer to do the same to the stalker, but the guy took his own phone and after forcing me to move away from the computer, he put it there himself


    A-s hole


    Anyways, with the info already installed on our phones, now it came the "easy part". Find Meg and a way out of there

 Side Story: Rachel

    Having a power that helped programming could be extremely useful, and at the same time extremely disappointing. Rachel could easily do the work of 20 programs without even breaking a sweat, so finding an overpaid job was easy. The thing was that her power wasn''t anything special or unique


    Her power could only make her work better and faster than others, but it wasn''t something that only she could do. Her power wasn''t cool like making black holes, flying or throwing laser from your eyes, it was something that anyone could archive with a little time. In the end, it was at the level where she could do in a day something that a normal person could archive in 20 or 30, nothing else. Some people even could archive the same level of programming without the use of powers, making her fell even more disappointed in her power


    It caused some sort of inferiority complex compared to others powered. When someone praised how great her power was, she would put a fake smile while cursing the guy to death for reminding her of how pointless her power was, and she would complain to her family or friends from time to time about it


    Part of the reasons she may have felt like that was because she got her powers at the age of 8, and when she reached 12, she could already program as effectively as a team of 20. At that age, you don''t dream about getting a well-paid job, you dream about saving lives, going to space, or at least, doing something special or remarkable with your life. Getting your future secure it the last thing on your mind


    So, when she was 16, a strange offer suddenly came. It was from a friend of hers, that also  had a "thinker"  power like her, and after hearing her complain about her powers he started talking about a group he belonged


    He told her that his group was a collaboration of thinker powered, support powered and some really smart people looking for ways to give powers to people without accessing the 4th dimension. The idea was to use the knowledge of different thinkers and the powers of some of the supporters to grant abilities to normal people


    As for why they need her, her programming skill would be useful to make different systems in the research facility, even if she wouldn''t be contributing directly with granting the abilities herself


    The idea interested her for obvious reasons. If it worked in normal people, she may be able to get a power herself, and finally have something cooler than being more efficient and effective than the average person


    She agreed to meet some of the people in his group, and shortly after, she was also a member


    After working 8 years with the group even thought there were thing she didn''t like, she got used to the place over time


    After joining the group, she was a little freak when she not only found known heroes in the group but also renown and wanted super villains also working there. Of course, there were also some like her that worked for private companies or independent and didn''t belong to either the "good" guys or the "bad"guys, and some intelligent people without a power, but what surprised her more was how both heroes and villains worked together without a care and just pursuing new knowledge


    Of course, there were some Divas, that made everything harder, but over time either the rest of the people got used to them, they calmed down or they simply got kick out with their memory erased as a precaution


    But those divas weren''t the real problem of the place. If she had to admit that something was almost a deal breaker for her to remain in the group was how they used little kids as ginny pigs for the experiments. She knew it was wrong to use kids for the testing, and some left the group because of it, but realistically speaking, it was the best choice for all


    According to some of the people working there, including the "heroes", they were actually helping them. Almost all the kids they pick were sick kids, kids with lost limbs, future war soldiers, kids sold to debts that would end up in prostitution otherwise, orphan and street kids without a home or bright future, etc


    Mots of this kids would end up dead or in a really bad environment if they didn''t take them. On the other hand, thanks to being their ginny pigs, the kids would get food, clothes, decent education, and a cool super power


    At least, that was what she told herself


    Well, the other reason they only brought kids in that sort of situation was simply because they were cheap, and small kids were the best test subjects since they were in the process of growing up, making them more resilient to experiments, drugs and conditioning


    She didn''t like it, but she told herself that it was not only the best for them, but their "help" would be useful to the whole world in the future


    And after 8 years, she got use to it. She didn''t really care as much as before, and even when they did a questioning thing or two, she looked the other way since what they were doing was so important, and they invested so much in it would be a waste to lose it all


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Usually, you could put the people in the facility in two groups, those with the same line of thinking than Rachel, and those that took advantage of the environment to do those questionable things from time to time


    Well, there was also sometimes where everyone agreed that they went to far like when someone did the free pizza Friday as an April fools joke that went horribly wrong, but most of the time, some people could get away with doing a questionable thing or two from time to time


    It wasn''t perfect, but the research they were doing was really going forward. Even though most of the experiments did reduce the life span of the kids, the experiments most damaging to the body went from allowing the subject to live from 20 years in the worst cases to 40 years, and there was still room for improvement


    As for the cyborg and chimera research, those could be considered a complete success so far. There wasn''t too much of a reduction in their lifespan after going through the procedure, and even thought they had a high mortality rate during the operation, it went down from a 70% to a 20% chance of death for the chimera experiments, and from 50% to 10% in the Cyborg operation, with an increase according to the number of cyborg parts


    And event though the danger leased, the strength of the kids actually improved over time, as they learned a better training environment and improved the quality of the different researchers


    Everything was going "great" if you forget the fact that they lost 10-20% of the kids they brought, and 60-70% wouldn''t live past 40...


    But it was true that the research they were doing was really useful. If things kept going as they were going, in a few years or worst case a decade or two, they could make all this research public(omitting the illegal parts obviously)


    Things were going in the right direction, with mortality going down, efficiency going up, and side effect slowly decreasing


    As for Rechel, she didn''t exactly knew all the thing they did, even though she knew not everything was morally correct, but she was happy in her believe that she was making the world a better place in the long run, and was happily working in a new software for the kids phones when she suddenly got a private message to one of her private channels


    DP-are you there?-


    DP was doctor pill, one of the "heroes" that worked in the group, and one of the senior members


    RV-yep, everything alright?-


    DP-We have to abandon the facility-


    The statement made her hesitate for a second. Abandoning the facility would slow down everything they achieved so far for moths and even years depending on how it went


    RV-Why?-


    DP-Heroes found the location of our facility-


    RV-s**t, do they know who is involve?-


    DP- I don''t think so, or they wouldn''t have invited me in-


    RV- what do we do then?-


    DP- I asked someone else to deactivate the generators, forcing the system to use the backup generator, I need you to deactivate all the defenses and activate all the irrelevant electric appliances you can-


    RV-why? that doesn''t make any sense?-


    DP-There is a safety device that activates when the power and defense are down and someone suddenly penetrates the facility without permission. It makes sure to erase all the data in the computers. That way it''s important to make sure they are all on when it happens


    RV-Won''t it be a waste to lose all the research we have done so far?-


    DP-Don''t worry, I already have someone else retrieving all the data before everything is erased


    RV-And the kids?-


    DP- we can''t take all of them, so we will take the most useful ones, and leave the rest to the heroes-


    RV-Ok, count me in.How much time do I have?-


    DP-2 or 3 hours at most-


    RV-Then I should start working right now-


    Even though most of the programs in the current facility were done by her and she worked faster and better than when she was 12, it was a big facility and she didn''t have a lot of time, so every minute count


    DP-Good luck-


    RV-You too-


    What Rechel didn''t know, and doctor pill did, was that the "safety device" that activated under those conditions actually didn''t just erased the data, but everything in the facility with it


    -----------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: The last of my apologize for the joke 3 release, now the normal wait of a chapter every 2-3 days =P


    Next chapter will be also a side story, but I have4 side stories to chose from and I am not sure what to pick. We have Uncle  Muscle story this past two years, the invasion from Angle perspective and DR pill perspective and Stalker past and circumstances. I am not sure if I should write the 4 now, or 2 now and 2 a few chapters later

 Side Story: Doctor Pill

    DP-Good luck-


    RV-You too-


    And done


    That should be enough


    Even if I don''t like her opinion about her powers, that girl is a monster. She can probably do it in half an hour without breaking a sweat


    Hell, almost every program in the facility was made by her, except for one or two from the guys we hired before she appeared. I wouldn''t be surprised if she told me it was done already considering she would only need to change a code or two of her own programs


    Why can''t my powers work like hers? dammit!


    She doesn''t even understand the suffering others had to go through. Going to medical school, studying all kind of medicines, drugs, vitamins and much more! Every time a conference about some new drug or medical advancement comes out, I have to go and see what it can do, damn it!


    I have to spend years researching, studying, going to conferences, classes, etc. YEARS!!!!


    It''s annoying that I had to learn the properties of something before my power could tell the most accurate treatment of anything. I am not like that complaining b-tch that has everything serve from the beginning


    SHE EVEN GETS BETTER WITH TIME, WITHOUT ANY EFFORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    Calm down, calm down


    Don''t let the b-tch get you


    I wish I could let her stay in the facility like the others


    Wait wait wait. Don''t go there. You know you didn''t have a choice. It is for the greater good. It''s not your fault the heroes found out. There was nothing you could do


    I am sure they would understand. It''s not like we could leave the facility empty, right? If the  heroes don''t find bodies, they would try to find the next one, and the next one, and the next one


    Besides, we can''t take them all, it''s just impossible. We were too greedy,  we grew too big, we prioritised speed and efficiency over safety. We shouldn''t have tried field testing yet


    Good thing we had a backup test facility ready in case something like this happens. Even if it isn''t as big. Good thing most smart people are paranoid


    Now that we have enough data from all the field testing, we can lay low for a few years until we are more prepared next time


    It''s a shame we will lose some of the subjects, data, and researchers in the process, but it''s a necessary evil. We can''t leave the place empty,right? Right!


    Luckily, we can pin it to Cesar. The guy has been dead for 4 years now, but the place has around 12, so we can say it is the remnants of his research or something like that to the heroes. Besides, he was the one that decided to put the bomb that would activate if the power failed


    It also works if one of our researchers asks what happened. We can say we didn''t know about the bomb and that we were as surprised as them


    Perfect


    We may not be able to advance the research as fast as before, but this way we can get rid of the useless, the dangerous, and the stupid researchers. It''s a shame about the kids


    Even the most useless one could be recycled into something of value


    It might be a small setback, but when we are done with our research, my name will be in history as one of the greatest scien..!!


    "Hey, doctor pill!"(??)


    Uh? What?


    Red Wind?


    "The meeting is about to start, you ok?"(Red wind)


    "Oh! yeah, sorry, I was lost in thoughts"


    Sh-t! I was so worried about the attack I forgot I was part of it


    I can''t stop thinking how ironic it all is. I am helping the guys that are trying to screw me over. At least spending all this time trying to get into the heroes good books wasn''t a waste


    "No problem, you ready?"(Red wind)


    "Yeah, let''s go"


    Everything is ready, so it doesn''t really matter what plan they have. Still, I wonder how they found us. It doesn''t look like someone high in the hierarchy rat us out, or I wouldn''t be here


    Still, I am surprised how many show up. It is a well-rounded group of teleporters to get in and out fast, medics in case something bad happens, some precogs and an attack force of 15 A heroes and 1 S hero. Even at full power, I don''t think we would have lasted long


    I wonder why so many came? It''s not like we were big or something like that. We always dealt small time and fought small group of heroes from time to time to gather data, but never anything big or notorious


    Considering it was a last minute call, a lot showed up. Did we cause that big of a grudge? I know it was a Hero Association call, and with the meeting being in one of the heroes association headquarters, it''s not that hard to get there, but the number is still too big for a sudden call


    Well, at least, they prepared some comfy chairs to sit and something to eat on the side, even if some can''t eat thanks to their suit. Luckily mine is simply a lab coat full of pockets all over the place, a flashlight on the head and a lens over my eyes that provides me with some extra data, nothing covers my mouth


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Sadly, the only things they have to eat are some cheap donnas and bad coffee. What is this a bad Starbucks? Not that there is a good one actually


    Oh! looks like Legend is taking the commanding of the attack. Not really surprising considering he is the only S class hero here


    "OK people, as you may know, we are about to attack the Grey Cult. They are a small time group of drug dealers that works all around the country. It is a suicidal cult composed of a few low-level B criminals, the rest are mostly C and D class powered. If they get caught, they always kill themselves thanks to a pill in one of their teeth, or by the poison they already ingested before we encounter them. They usually fight with all they have, so be careful"(Legend)


    Yeah, they don''t have much choice actually. Considering we pick those that pass the loyalty test, told them of the consequence of not taking the teeth poison and forcing then to take a poison that needs an antidote every 4 or 12 hours while on the job, they don''t really have much choice on the matter


    "Now, I know some of you are probably wondering why are we mounting a sudden attack without much preparation, but as some of you may know, when attacking a big base, the faster we start the operation, the fewer chances are that someone may leak some information by accident or on purpose"(Legend)


    I can''t deny it''s a good policy, considering I had been working my ass off this last 2 hour so we can make it in time. I would consider myself lucky if it wasn''t for the other 2 from out group here


    "As for why we brought so many heroes for what it looks like a small time group, well it''s because it''s not so small. Like I say, even though they are small time drug dealers, they have bases all over the country, making then actually not so small, but that is not all. Surprisingly, they are well equipped, with a base only accessible by teleporting, and only at the top, with jams all around the rest of the base so we are forced to land where they want us to land"(Legend)


    Of course we have jams. They are a must in any underground base.We can''t jam the whole place or we wouldn''t be able to get inside, but jamming the place isn''t that complicated if you know a guy, and considering we are mostly composed of Thinkers, it isn''t that hard. Besides, Jams only works for coming from outside to the inside, not the other way around, so they were perfect for our facility


    I would only worry about some of the undesirable researchers getting out of the death trap, except that running on emergency power stops all the teleports from working. Not enough energy. Considering 80% of the energy expenditure in the facility goes to the teleports, I am not surprised


    "The attack plan will be like this. Everyone in the attack force will wear a camera and a bracelet on themselves so the precogs can predict if something bad happens before it happens and we can teleport you out before the bad thing happens. Considering this is a suicidal cult, we can''t be too careful. I will go first, and after confirming there isn''t any immediate threat, the tanks will follow, then the heavy hitters, healers, and support. Any questions?"(Legend)


    Some guy that I don''t know raised his had


    "Yes?"(Legend)


    "How did we found the place? Are they expecting us?"(???)


    "An anonymous source gave us the info, and no, they shouldn''t be expecting us but you can never know, so be careful"(Legend)


    A different hero raised his hand. This time, someone I knew


    "Yes?"(Legend)


    "How do we know it is not a trap if it anonymous"(Bionic)


    "The source only wanted to maintain it''s anonymity as part of the deal. We have already confirmed it is reliable information"(Legend)


    Damn, I wish I knew who it was


    RV-everything ready-


    Good good, lets contact Steven


    DP- Turn the power down


    JS-Done


    "Any more questions? Ok, two last things. First, it is possible there are kidnaped children inside the facility. We believe they kidnap small kids with potential and brainwash them from a young age. If we found a kid, it is our priority to get them out of there as fast as possible so they don''t get hit in the crossfire. As for the cultist, you are allowed to kill if necessary, but only as a last option. If someone has something to say, now is the time"(Legend) looks around


    Mmm, looks like no one will talk


    "The operation starts in 20 minutes, everyone get ready"(Legend)


    Well, let''s see how it goes


    --------------------------------------------


    Note: Neiden is back for some help editing :)

 Chapter 45: Sneaking around

    The door that led outside the lab was a regular one with a handle instead of the automatic we had all over the "regular facility". It also didn''t have a keypad or something like that on the inside, even though it also didn''t have a key hold


    It actually had a keypad on the outside, but I couldn''t see it at the time, I would only realise moments later


    Since there was no point in staying in the lab, and it looked like we could get outside the room, I didn''t hesitate in going for the door


    I did hesitate a little in opening


    First, I wasn''t sure an alarm would ring out suddenly for some reason. I did consider going back to the vents for a second but considering the chances of an alarm were pretty low. Not only no alarm sounded while we were inside the vents, it wouldn''t make much sense to activate an alarm for opening the door from the inside, it usually worked the other way around


    The thing is, there was still a second thing to worry about before opening the door. I needed to check if there was someone or someones on the other side of the door


    Sadly, even though I had better strength, agility, toughness, memory and reflex than the average kid, I didn''t have enchanted senses. I guess I reached the limit with so much versatility, so my senses of hearing and smell were completely normal. I did think I had better sight than the average person, but I am not sure if I always had it or it was thanks to an experiment


    It was a shame we didn''t bring Meg with us, besides the obvious reason that we now need to search for her, since she had enhanced senses like hearing and smell. In everyday life, it was probably a bother, considering that noises I couldn''t even hear made her miserable, and she could smell a fart 20 meters away and 30 minutes after it happened. It also probably affected her behaviour really badly, since I caught her more than one time smelling dirty clothes, other people asses, and reacting to small objects moving  fast


    On the other hand, in battles or situations where you needed to be sneaky, the enhanced senses were extremely useful. She could find someone easily even if they were hiding, and could detect a person before the other could notice you, giving you a tactical advantage. In this situation, she would have been able to hear if someone was on the other side of the door, or maybe smell it at least


    Bad luck I guess


    Since I didn''t have Meg support, and neither of us had enhanced senses, we had to do it the old fashion way. First, I put my ear against the door and tried to listen to any kind of noise


    Complete silence


    Not that it helped reassure me of anything. There could be a person behind the door, just really really quiet, like playing with his phone, distracted, guarding a door, etc. Well, I doubt he would be playing with his phone under the circumstances, but you never know


    So my next step was to open the door really slowly and take a small pick while crouching down since most people only see the top and not the bottom first. Worst case scenario, I see someone in the hallway and I quickly retreat behind the door, so it would only look like the door open itself. If I was lucky, the person would come check it out and I may be able to knock him out(not really likely actually)


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    But no one was on the other side


    I admit, it makes me looks completely paranoid, right? I am paranoid


    There is an old wise saying "just because you''re paranoid doesn''t mean they''re not out to get you". It was probably said by a seriously paranoid dude, but it''s not like he wasn''t right


    And considering people were actually out to get me, it was completely reasonable to be paranoid under the circumstances. Better safe than sorry


    My next step after slowly opening the door was to slowly sticking out my head and to look at the sides. No people on sight again


    Since there was no one near, and there was no point in staying in the lab, we got out from the lab and started moving. To be honest, I just picked a random direction and started walking  in a sneaky way(like in games, where it looks like you are crouching while walking). I wasn''t sure how effective it was, but since most games and movies did it, I just copied it. As for Mei and the runner, they followed me from behind, mimicking my movements


    The place was a long hallway, with forks, and different doors with handles and keypads similar to the lab. There were also some doors without keypads, but they were bathrooms, kitchens, some offices, etc


    Strangely, there was no one in sight, and I didn''t know if they were hiding for some reason, if the place always had low personal, or if they were in a specific place I didn''t know about


    I must admit that the place was extremely big, with no windows like the places I could visit normally and vents all over the place. It even had maps, something that it didn''t take me long to find


    There were a lot of names, like sector B,H,S etc, and I was currently in sector F. Unlike the other sectors that were in red and only showed how big they were and how to reach there, the sector F part showed different parts of what was inside it


    I could see the red point marking where I was, a mark pointing where the lab I just came from was, and other places. There were the bathrooms, the offices, a kitchen area, some other places I didn''t bother to remember, the teleporting pad, and where I was planning to go next, the Command Center


    I thought it was the best place to find out where Meg may be and a way to get the f-ck out of that place


    Since I knew where I was and where I came from, thanks to the map, it wasn''t hard to find where I had to go. I admit I would have wanted to take the map from the wall just in case, but it was nailed to the wall, so I had no choice but to remember how to get there


    Luckily, I have a good memory and a good sense of direction, so it wasn''t hard to get there. After a 10 minute walk, while crunching and paying attention to my surrounding for any noise or presence, I arrived at the Command Center without problems


    My original idea was to either look for a vent and go that way or try to break the door if it was locked. Luckily, the door was actually opened and you could see the inside of the place from outside


    The only problem was that there was someone inside already


    --------------------------


    Note: Thanks Neiden for the corrections =D especially the command room mistake, since it was the title of the next chap

 Chapter 46: Command Room

    "F-CK!!!!"(guy)


    Before I looked inside the Command Room, I already heard the guy inside cursing for some reason, so I started moving even more carefully than before to make sure I wouldn''t make any noise or grab his attention


    I did get a little afraid considering I didn''t know how many were inside, and if I could take him or them out or avoid them for now at least. I could even hear my heart beating a lot faster than before, and even the slow time effect activate on its own, even if it was pointless under the situation


    I slowly approached (extra slow thanks to the adrenaline effect) the door and took a look inside. The Command Room had a big console, with different switches and a keyboard,a map of the place on top and numerous monitors all around the console plus only one guy doing something inside


    After taking a better look, I noticed that the guy was watching some of the monitors and using the keyboard while trying to do something with it. One monitor showed what he was trying to do(some coding or something like that) and the others showed what was going on around the facility. The monitors mostly showed different people doing different activities all around the facility


    After looking at the monitors for a while, it could be said that there were 3 different groups, all reacting differently to the situation


    The first group would be the test subjects, like me. All of them were trapped in different places like classrooms, the dinner, their rooms, or the hallways. As for what they were doing, they were either confused, afraid, fighting among each other, moving restlessly, or trying to distract themselves with something


    The second group would be the lab guys like the one operating the computer near me. Unlike the test subject groups, most of them showed only one kind of reaction, panic. They were all running around trying different stuff. Some were trying to activate the teleporting devices all over the facility unsuccessfully, others were getting as far away from the top while others were trying to go to the top, others were looking for a place to hide, and some were in other Command Rooms like this one trying the same thing this dude was doing, or something similar


    As for the third group, they were the answer as to what the f-ck was going on around here. The third group was a group of heroes fighting most of the robots of the facility, a few of the turrets and some the older test subjects of the facility


    It didn''t take me long to realise they were the reason we were in emergency power and some of the place defenses were down. I didn''t know if they had a power that could accomplish that or they have some inside help, but I knew it wasn''t a trap, trick, some sick joke, or some test. It was truly an invasion, and an opportunity to get out


    Now, the question was what to do next


    I may have enhanced strength, agility, and reflexes, that came in handy in a fight, but it came in handy in a fight with people of the same age. I was eight at the time, and thanks to the reinforcements, I could probably win against a twelve years old boy without many problems, and probably put up a fight against a 14 or maybe 15 years old girl


    The thing is, that was a grown up, a male grown up, with the strength and reach of a grown up. He could beat the crap out of me if I wasn''t careful


    I did have the advantage of 3 vs 1 plus a surprise attack, but not only did I need to beat the crap out of him, I also needed him to answer some questions, so I couldn''t knock him out. I also didn''t want to make much noise, since it would attract attention to us, and that wasn''t good


    A knife or something sharp would have been good to threaten the guy if he didn''t cooperate but I didn''t carry one around, and I didn''t think the other two did. I could have asked for ideas, but it would make noise, and I didn''t want to lose the element of surprise


    Other options would have been to make a run for the heroes, and avoid any kind of confrontation on the way, but it didn''t take me long to realise it was a bad idea


    For starters, I was on the lowest floor of the facility according to the map, and to reach the top would take me a long time, and I would come across a lot of the different researchers running around the facility trying to find a way out. While paying attention, I was sure I could avoid most of them, but considering that people in panic move in unpredictable ways, and I didn''t have a hiding ability or any kind of enhanced senses, I was sure I would get find out sooner or later


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The other problem would be that if the heroes catch me, there was a 95% chance they wouldn''t let me go. Best case scenario, they would put me in a special institute, and if we follow usual movie plots, I would be put in a research facility like this one, and experiment on me so they could find how to recreate the procedure


    No thanks


    My best bet would be to teleport outside the facility in some way. Problem was, even if I beat the crap out of him and looked for some answers, it looked like the researchers couldn''t teleport themselves out of the facility, and that was why they were panicking


    So my choices were to run to the heroes, hope to not get caught and hope I don''t get experimented on again, or beat the crap out of some low-level researcher (who I definitely did NOT hold a grudge against) in hope of getting some answers. Besides, I also needed info on where was Meg


    Can you guess what choice I made?


    Kick his a-s of course


    I decided to go with a simple combo hit


    First, I signal the two of them to follow me while I slowly approached the guy from behind


    "SH-T!!! NOTHING IS WORKING HERE, DAMN IT!!!!!"(Guy) was still panicking like all the rest on the monitors, and didn''t notice us slowly approaching him


    While moving, I paid close attention to the floor, so I wouldn''t step on something like a cup, paper or pencil on the floor that would make noise if I stepped on it


    When I was just behind the guy, taking advantage that he still haven''t noticed me, I started my combo attack


    The first part was to hit him on the back of his knee.It was a move I learned in a zombie movie where one of the characters taught a kid how to kill a zombie. The idea was to force the zombie to fell so the kid could hit him in the head with a small axe


    I didn''t have an axe, and I didn''t want to kill him, but I did the second best thing as he fell thanks to the attack. I grabbed the back of his head and push it so it would hit over the console


    I knew I wasn''t strong enough to knock him out with a hit like that, considering I had the strength of thirteen years old kid, but it was strong enough to leave him confused for a few seconds, more that enough time in a fight


    I let go of his head after it had hit his head on the console, and the guy instantly fell all over the floor, while showing a pained and confused expression on his face. I could have kept hitting him all over the place until he couldn''t fight anymore, but I needed answers, I couldn''t risk hurting him too much and it was dangerous if we had an extended fight


    Instead, I simply put my foot over his throat, or more specific, his Adam''s apple


    My other foot was on the ground, so I could apply pressure the moment he moved, and it worked as an intimidation tool. Again, I learned from an Arnold Swarseneger movie, don''t ask me which one. Actually, it may have been a Stallone one, but who cares


    I waited for a few seconds for him to realise what was going on, and the moment I saw his expression change from pain and confusion to panic and worry, I knew it was time to start the questioning


    "Hi"(Me) Said with definitely NOT a sadistic smile, I hope


    To be honest, seen how pale he turned after seen my smile, doesn''t give me much confidence, even though it might have given me a little satisfaction after everything those a-s holes put me though


    I was definitely going to get some answers from him


    -------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks Neiden ::) there were a lot of mistakes this time around and an old one :P

 Chapter 47: No way out?

    "How did you get here!?"(guy) managed to ask while still having a foot on his throat


    I would have being impressed if he wasn''t one of the a-sholes that put me there


    "Vents"(Me) answered truthfully, it is not like it mattered


    "Impossible! They are booby-trapped!"(guy)


    "I know, the emergency power must have turned them down"(Me)


    "They should have worked even in emergency power!"(Guy)


    "You do know you are under attack, right? They probably turned down most security systems in some way"(Me)


    "F-CK!"(Guy)


    Again, not it wasn''t really necessary to tell him all that, but it didn''t matter if he knew, and I did want to gloat a little. Even if it was thanks to a mix of courage, luck and brains that worked out perfectly in the end, I did feel a little proud of how everything was turning out


    Besides, he couldn''t complain I wasn''t being fair by only asking questions and not answering them


    "My turn to asking questions. First, where did you take the kids from this afternoon mission"(Me)


    I wanted to know about Meg specifically, but there was no way he knew, so it was faster to ask about the mission instead of the individual


    "I don''t know"(Guy) said


    Of course, I applied a little pressure on his neck while trying to avoid his Adam apple, so he would be more inclined to talk and don''t spill bullsh-t


    "WAIT! I really don''t know!"(Guy)


    "Why not?"(Me)


    "Not my department"(Guy)


    Great news, right? not like I would give up with just that


    "Ok, What do you know?"(Me)


    "They are not here. They were taken to a sudden mission with some of our sta....."(Guy) Suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, and turned even paler than before


    "What?"(Me) asked while being a little curious


    I could see he just realised something important, but I didn''t have a clue of what it was


    "No way, no way, no way no way nowaynowaynowaynowaynowanowaynowaynowaynowaynoawnoway"(Guy) Started to panic


    So, I applied a little pressure again, so he would calm down a little and answer my questions again. I did accidently touch his Adam apple thanks to the movements he did in his panic state. He started coughing after I did it, stopping him from repeating the same sentence like a broken record over and over again, so I guess it worked in my favour


    "What?"(Me) said with a mix of annoyance and curiosity


    And yeah, I didn''t feel like treating the guy gently


    It did take him a minute to get his composure back though. He Tried to say a few words and fell short thanks to the coughing, and his voice was kind of low after he did manage to say a few words


    "They *cough* left us behind"(Guy) said a little pale while coughing


    "What do you mean"(me)


    "CAN''T Y*cough* see? The higher ups knew the heroes were co*cough*ming and they left the useless researchers and research subjects behind!"(guy) finally managed to say while coughing during and after his outburst


    I was shocked by the news. For obvious reasons I didn''t know the circumstances around the base at the time, so of course, I didn''t realise why the sudden special mission until he pointed it out. I would be more surprised that the guy took so long to realise he was left behind until I asked about the missing kids, but considering he (and most of the people in the base) was in panic, he didn''t have the composure to think straight under the circumstances


    As for me, after the initial shock of what the guy said was over, I started to think about what it meant and I began to worry about Meg. I realised I would have a good chance of getting out while she would have to keep being a research subject for who knows how long


    I felt a little sad of how lucky I was and how unlucky Meg was. I would be able to finally get out of this cursed facility, with worst case scenario being a research subject for the government with a best case scenario of going back home to Uncle Muscle and maybe even Cat


    Well, at least that was what I was thinking about after what he said, but the next few sentences did make me stop worrying about Meg, and start worrying about me


    While I was thinking about what the guy said, the guy finally stopped coughing and started to draw my attention, since I was lost in thoughts for a moment


    "Kid, let me go, please! I have to get out of here as fast as possible!"(Guy) said while looking whiter than before


    After everything that happened, I am surprised he didn''t pass out actually


    "Not until you answer some questions, unlike you, I am not worried if the heroes catch us"(Me) said a little cocky


    "You don''t get it! If they knew the heroes are coming and they still left us behind, why would they let the heroes catch us alive! Dead men tell no tale!"(Guy) said in a mix of yelling and screaming


    For the first time since the conversation started, or even the day started, I turned as white as a sheet of paper like him. I could even hear some gasp from behind me from Mei, probably having a similar reaction


    "Tthhey wouuuldn''t ddo ttaht rright?"(Me) asked while trembling a little in fear, more as a last hope than actually believing what I was saying


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "The higher ups definitely would. They do all kind of sketchy stuff all the time, all for the "greater good". I am sure they will make it look like we "die for the cult" and start someplace else while the heroes think we are dead. Considering we are being promoted as a suicidal cult on the outside, I wouldn''t be surprised if that was the idea from the start"(guy) Said whit a grim look


    I couldn''t really refute him, considering all the things these guys did, but after thinking for a moment, there was one thing that didn''t make sense


    "Iiiif wahtt you said iiis trrue, whhy aare wee sttill aalive? Thee herroes are heere allready, iisn''t it ttoo rrrissky iff they wait too long?"(Me) again, trying to speak while trying to control my fear of sudden death


    "I am pretty sure they just don''t want to make it to obvious. All the people they are fighting will die even if they get captured, so it doesn''t matter if they fight. My guess is that they will wait until a time limit pass or the heroes reach a dangerous place. Either way, we are screwed if we don''t find a way out soon"(Guy) said in apathy, now with dead fish eyes


    Yeah, I completely panicked there. I am lucky the guy wasn''t bluffing to distract me or something, considering he would have easily taken me down in my panic state. Well, maybe he was worried about the other two since he could see their reactions unlike me that could only focus on him and what he was saying but it was more likely he didn''t care at the time


    It was maybe thanks to his attitude and how believable it sounded that I completely believed everything he said. Considering I had no way of getting to the heroes in time or finding a way to activate the teleports, I didn''t know what to do


    It was the speedster that managed to step up first instead of waiting for someone to say something or react. For a stalker, at least he could be useful under certain conditions


    I may put him down a lot, considering he never beat me in a fight so far, but he was more experienced in fighting his fears over an over again, or he wouldn''t have challenged me so many times


    By the way, even if I never bothered to remember his name, after hearing it so many times in the intercom before the fight, I did end up remembering


    "How we get out?"(Makombo) said with a thick accent


    Probably the third time I ever heard him say a word in English, and the first time it didn''t have curse words in it


    "I don''t know. The teleports don''t have power and we will probably die before we can reach the heroes"(Guy) said again in apathy


    "Can''t we give power to teleport?"(Makombo) Tried again


    "No, I tried. Or more like everyone in the facility tried. I guess they made sure they wouldn''t work, no matter what we do"(Guy)


    Silence


    No one knew what to say


    The teleports weren''t working, and the safety measure would surely activate before we could get to the heroes. We were screwed


    "Teleport with no power?"(Makombo)


    "We need power to teleport, no matter what. Those machines don''t work without the necessary power, and the amount they need is not something an emergency source could work with. I remember Frank explaining to me that most of the teleport power goes to accuracy, since even a 99% accuracy can kill you if you are unlucky and get stuck in a wall or something. There is no way to deactivate the accuracy from those matchings unless you are the one that builds them, and Frank isn''t here"(Guy) still in apathy


    Luckily, I recovered my composure a little, so I could ask some questions


    "What if Frank had a way to reduce the accuracy in his locker or something?"(Me)


    "Mayb.. wait! You are right! Frank did have a low accuracy teleport he was working on!"(Guy) finally left his apathy and looked like he found religion


    "Great! Let''s go! You lead and we follow. Don''t try to run away"(Me) Said a little excited and even took my foot off his throat, but I still remember he was our hostage, kinda


    To be honest, if I was a little older, I would have been more suspicious of everything he said. He worked there, and you needed to be smart to work there(I hope) so considering he was smart, there was a good chance a lot of what he say was a lie to lower my guard, lead us into a trap and screw us over. I know that if I was being threatened by a kid, I would lie through my teeth to get out of the situation


    Part of the reason I was so sure of everything he said was because a kid is a lot more gullible than an adult, but on the other hand, her reactions, arguments, everything happening so fast and the situations surrounding us may have made me believe him anyway


    The question is, how much of everything he said was true. I would soon find out, and pay the consequences of not doubting him


    ----------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Another chapter edited with the help of Neiden. Thank for the help :)

 Chapter 48: Consequences of trust

    Even If I was a little hasty in trusting everything he said, I wasn''t dumb enough to lower my guard just because he was cooperating


    What we did was simple, I would go first to check if no one was near, while the guy was behind me telling me directions. Mei was behind him and would trip him or shut his mouth with her telekinetic powers if he tried anything and Makombo was at the end, both watching our backs and ready to chase in case he knocked out Mei or something


    We explicitly said it out loud so he would hear us and not try anything funny, but we were actually in a hurry so we did try to move fast. After we got out of the room, I would check if no one was near and I would start to move as fast as possible while the rest followed behind


    "How far is it?"(Me) asked while we were on travel


    I kind of forgot to ask in the excitement of a way out, but it was important to know how far it was from where we were


    "Not far. Frank main job was to check and calibrate this floor teleports, so he had most of his stuff here, even his projects. He was one of the researchers that were called to assist with the "mission", so I guess he was considered valuable unlike us"(Guy) said a while being a little irritated


    I wasn''t surprised that he felt betrayed by his higher-ups as he called them, but I didn''t really felt sorry for him. In the end, he did agree to work for those bastards, so he deserved what he got


    If I was going to fell sorry for someone, that would be the poor kids that had being used as research subjects and were thrown away as an alibi when it was convenient for them


    At the time, I never even thought about rescuing the poor kids. Look, I don''t think I am an a-s hole but I am not a heroine. If there was a chance, I may have considered saving them but under the circumstances, it was difficult to save myself, and I didn''t have the time to find a magical way to save all the kids. Time was precious, and the only way out only allowed a few at the time


    Even if I risked the little time I had, I would only be able to save a few kids, if I was lucky enough to reach them and then the teleport before the place blown up. Considering I didn''t know how much time I had, didn''t know if it was going to work, and the more time I take in getting out, the less chances I had of actually getting out, risking my life wasn''t worth it


    I would have done it for Meg or Mei since they were my friends or for Jonh and Max if I actually believed they were alive, but where was no one else in the facility I cared enough to risk my life to save. I had a lot of people I got along with, but I wasn''t a saint, I wouldn''t risk it all for people I got along with


    I didn''t like it, but I didn''t really had much choice. Not that it wouldn''t give me nightmares for a long time. Those nightmares would be in my top three including Jonh and Max death and Cat leaving me behind


    I really need a therapist.......


    Ah, in case you are wondering, I did find out Max and John weren''t there. Thanks to having written my biography, and the f-cking drugs that stop me from being depressed or sad, I kind of finally remembered what truly happened the day they died. The worst part was that I couldn''t even cry after realising they were probably dead, thanks to the drugs. All I could fell was apathy


    I did try to search for them in the database, and I looked for every Max and John I could find on records, but I never found anyone that resembled them or heard of them


    It''s funny that I was captured because I was looking for them, and I had to go through all this because of my delusions, and in the end, I found out what truly happened thanks to this bastards


    Anyways, I sidetracked for a moment. We were talking about how I was leaving all the kids to die because I wasn''t willing to bet my life for acquaintances and strangers, but I did try a little while we were on the way


    "How many people can we take?"(Me) Asked, both worried if it could take us all and maybe some more


    "I don''t know. Teleporters are like elevators, mass and size matters more than numbers, but it should be able to carry 3 adults or 6 kids, so 1 adult and 3 kids shouldn''t be a problem"(Guy) said misunderstanding my question


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Will it work more than one time?"(Me)


    "No. He was working in a portable teleporter. It consumed all it''s energy in one try but it worked. The thing is, he was working in increasing its accuracy as much as possible. Like I said, most energy spend goes to increase the accuracy of the teleportation"(guy)


    "How accurate is it!?"(Me) Said a little worried


    "No idea, last I heard, it was 70 or 80%?"(Guy) said with indifference


    "Didn''t you say 99% was dangerous? isn''t 70% like 3000 times worst!?"(Me) asked surprised at his indifference


    "Kid, you got your math wrong. If we don''t use the teleport, we have a 100% chance of dying, at least with the teleport, we have a 70% of getting out alive. I would be happy with a 50% chance, so I can''t complain"(Guy) said his logic


    And I couldn''t argue


    If we didn''t teleport we would die, simple. Besides, 70% was better than the chances you get by throwing a coin. It was even the typical odds in a casino (if you were the house of course)


    Without much choice, and while trying not to think about all the poor kids I was leaving behind, we proceeded to Frank locker without many troubles


    We only found one guy steering at a wall while muttering something, so I quickly knock him out from behind before he could do anything


    I expected the lab guy to say something like "can we carry him?" or something along those lines. They were co-workers, so I would expect he would want to save him or something, but he simply ignore him


    I think he was a little surprised about how quickly I knocked him out, but besides that, he wasn''t really interested in the poor guy. He simply looked at him for a second and proceed to keep telling me where to find Franks locker room


    As for me, I didn''t bother to rescue the poor kids that were in the same circumstances than me, why would I care about one of the a-sholes that put me there in the first place?


    Yeah, he would die, and yeah, I could rescue him without risking too much unlike the kids. But would you save a pedophile when it brought you no benefit, it decreased your chances of success and it was his own fault he was in that situation? I wouldn''t and I didn''t


    Ok ok, he isn''t exactly a pedophile, but let''s be honest, if you kidnap little kids, lock them up and do disgusting stuff to them all year around, I can''t see much difference


    Screw him


    We kept going and no one said a word against it


    Luckily, we didn''t come across any other person on the way and arrived at Frank locker without a problem


    Well, arriving there wasn''t a problem


    As soon as we reached the locker, we found three of the scientist with a device on their hand


    "everything ready?"(scientist 1)


    "Yeah, it just needs a few seconds to calibrate and we are ready to go"(scientist 2)


    "Great, let''s gets ready then"(scientist 1)


    Said the scientists


    It was kind of obvious they had the teleport working and had the same idea than us, they just got there faster


    As you can probably guess, I did manage to teleport from the place, and it would be in a few seconds from now, but I am 100% sure that if I had hesitated at any moment before coming there, or doubted the guys word, slowing down our pace, I would be dead now


    Like I said, trusting every word of that guy, without doubting them even for a second, had great consequences. Trusting the a-sshole actually saved my life......


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Well, new interface, lots of problems. Too bad it is harder to quote now or we may have had the typical Neiden list of corrections :( . Well, at least Dragrath send one anyways :)

 Chapter 49: Teleport

    Important note: If you are in one of those countries that don''t use metric system and never bother to learn it(you really should)


    1 meter = 3,3 feet


    -----------------------------------------------------------------


    "Mei, Makombo, attack"(Me) said the moment I realized they were ready to teleport at any moment


    Time started to slow down thanks to the adrenaline and I started to run for the scientist with the teleport


    There was no time for hesitation, if we didn''t take the teleport from them fast enough, they would get away and we would get stuck in the facility. Basically, we get the teleport or we die, those were our options


    I started to move as soon as I told them to attack but even though I was the first to move, I was the last to attack


    The first to actually attack was Mei. Since her power had range, she just attacked from where she stood and surprisingly, she went smart about it. She went for the teleport


    Usually in a fight, since the other person is moving, she can''t take the weapon or weapons the other is carrying since it is hard to affect accurately a moving object. She usually has to conform with attacking a leg or an arm since she can attack a wider area that way. That would be the usual way, but this time, since it was a surprise attack, the teleport wasn''t moving, so she could accurately just lift it from the scientist guy that was carrying it


    Considering they might just press a button and teleport right away if they panic or something, it was the right choice to take the possibility of them first. The only bad side of that idea was that it would be 2v3 instead of 3v3


    It could be a problem considering that they were grown ups and we were only 8, but we had the first strike advantage of a surprise attack, had the powers those bastards gave us and had a lot of experience fighting people


    2v3 wasn''t really a problem


    A few seconds after Mei lift the teleport from the scientist, Makombo went directly to him and use one of his favorites attacks, The Missile Kick. He just ran at full speed, jumped and kicked. Simple and effective


    "Shi.."(scientist 1) tried to say before he got a kick directly in the stomach and flew away


    RIP


    1 down, 2 to go


    Thanks to the slowing down of my perception of time, I realized Makombo was going for the teleport guy too, so I changed target for the one further away from the teleport guy. The idea was for him to take care of the guy near him after taking care of the first guy, but just to be safe, I said a couple of commands


    "Makombo, take care of the one near you. Mei, take the teleport all the way up"(Me) instructed


    The first order was simple, I was just splitting the remaining two scientists between us, but Mei''s order was a precaution. I was afraid that if she tried to grab it, the guy that brought us here would try to steal it from her or maybe someone in the hallway or someone else, so it was better to just keep it out of everyone''s reach until the fight was over. Better safe than sorry


    All that was left was to simply kick this two people''s a-s


    I went directly to my target while keeping an eye on the other guy just in case. My target was a slim guy with long black hair, a lab coat and a pair of glasses. He didn''t look buff, and he didn''t put a stance when I was approaching


    Instead, I could see the guy''s expression change from the shock that came from looking at the first scientist fly away to panic as he saw me approach with the intention of doing the same to HIM


    "Noooo.."(target) said in slow motion while trying to intercross his hands forming an ex between his arms and then separating them


    It was an obvious attempt to try to signal me to stop or something like that but I didn''t give him a chance. I followed Makombo example and jumped while sending a kick to his stomach


    Simple and effective


    Usually, I wouldn''t use a move like that. For starters, it was used too often in the battle arena, so most people could dodge it. I also preferred using a punch or my staff, since it was more accurate, and I could easily throw a second attack if it missed


    This time, though, I could easily tell that the guy never fought against someone in his life, was in a panic state, wouldn''t be able to react in time and a normal attack wouldn''t be strong enough to take him down since he was bigger than me


    Even if the guy was a noob at fighting, there is a reason for weight classes in boxing. The more you weight, the harder you punch and the more hits you can take. Considering that a punch may not be strong enough to take him down fast, a kick that is considered 3 times stronger than a punch should do the job, and it did


    My kick may not be as strong as Mokombo since it was his specialty, but it was strong enough to take down a guy with 0 muscle. He took my kick directly in the stomach and flew a few meters until he hit his back to the wall


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I turned around to see if Makombo took care of the other guy, and was pleasantly surprised that the other guy was down


    With that, we took care of the three guys in less than 10 seconds


    I did bother for a moment to check if they were down, but as soon as I confirmed they were down, I looked at Mei and said


    "You can put the teleport down now Mei"(Me)


    "Ok"(Mei) Nodded, and slowly lowered down the teleport


    I stood directly down from it and waited for the teleport to come down. The teleport was a relative big black box with a screen in one of it faces that had the size of around 0.5 cubic meters. When it finally descended, I grabbed it and realized it was kind of heavy. For its size, it weighed around 2-3 kgs, around the same of a 3 l coke, which surprised me a little


    It''s wasn''t a weight I couldn''t carry, so I didn''t have a problem from holding it in my hands, but sadly, I didn''t know how to operate it


    "Hey, do you know how it works?"(Me) asked the scientist guy that brought us here


    The guy was behind the door where we came from while peeking with one eye, and was a little startled when I asked him


    "Yyyes? Probably. I need to have a look first"(Guy) said a little nervously


    "Before that, do you know how the teleportation works? We need to touch each other or it just teleports anything around it"(Me) asked just in case


    The last thing I wanted was for him to teleport without a warning


    "It has an area of effect. All teleportation machines work that way,the only thing that changes is the area of effect and mass carried. He bragged that it could carry 3 adults without problems, so the mass it could carry should be around 300kgs and the radius should be at least 1 or 2 meters. It is designed to ignore roof and floor, but it will take everything else. I don''t recommend touching each others since we may end up sticking together like a horror sci-fi movie"(Guy) explained


    I shivered at the thought of staying stuck to another person for the rest of my life, but what he said made sense. I wasn''t sure about the sticking to each other part, but that it had an area of effect made sense. Remember that the place used teleports, and each teleport had a mark where you had to stand if you wanted to teleport, with a warning of what may happen if you don''t(missing the body part that isn''t on the mark)


    Reluctantly, I handed the teleport to the guy, but stayed really close to him and signal the other two to stay close to me and the guy


    The guy turned the screen on and smiled a little after he saw it


    "Good, looks like it is ready to go. Looks like it''s set to teleport us outside Capital City. Everyone is ok with that?"(Guy)


    "Yes"(Me) agreed


    "No!"(Mei and Makombo) did not


    I turned to look at both of them and asked


    "Why not!?"(Me)


    "I live in Cleveland"(Mei)


    "I go home"(Makombo)


    Well, I also wanted to go home, and my home was in Capital City. I had no other choice but to bargain if I wanted to get home fast


    "Look, my uncle has money and I am sure he can spend some money in two plain tickets plus some extra money just in case. Can you two offer the same?"(Me) confront them


    "No....."(Mei) reluctantly said


    And Makombo just stared at me in anger but turned the other way when I confront him with my angry look


    "No complaints then? Ok. One last thing, do we take those 3 guys with us?"(Me) Asked just in case


    Part of me wanted to just leave them there as punishment for what they did, but I was afraid of becoming a monster that would leave a person to die, even though I could easily save them, just because they pissed me off. Part of me knew that the "morally" correct decision would be to try to save those a-s holes


    "We are already close to the mass limit, so I wouldn''t say it is a good idea. If you pass the mass, the teleport may not work, won''t go over the limit and leave random mass behind, or the accuracy may go lower than the already low 70/80%. Do you really want to risk it?"(Guy) said


    Did I want to risk it?


    "Nope"(me)


    "No"(Mei)


    "No"(Makombo)


    No heroes here. Can you blame us?


    "Me neither. Ok kids, brace yourselves"(Guy) Said and pressed a button on the box without hesitation


    A white light surrounded all of us, and moment later we found ourselves looking at the night sky


    I would have been happy with finally getting out of that facility and breathing some fresh air, except for a tiny little problem


    We were 70 meters above ground


    ------------------------------


    Note: Thanks Neiden ::) luckily, the quotes are back. Bad day for the S I guess =P

 Chapter 50: Hard Fall

    Another adrenaline rush with the add slow time effect


    It was  not the first time my body activated the slow time effect numerous times in short intervals, it was the second. The first time was in a stupid event where we had to form a team and run through a Maze while fighting anyone we came across


    I didn''t mention it before because it wasn''t really interesting. I formed a team with Meg and Mei, moved in the labyrinth, beat two teams and lost to the third. It wasn''t a pretty story, but I did learn something from it


    I don''t have great stamina


    Usually, battle arena fights are short. It is rare for a battle to go over 10 minutes, and I was never in a fight that passed over 15 minutes


    Now, why is this relevant to me being 70 meters above the ground?


    Well, consider this. I have been in a highly tense state of mind for around 2 hours, used my adrenaline slow time effect 4-5 times, I had been moving constantly the last 2 hours, I lost most of my tension the moment we got the teleport and I hadn''t taken a moment to rest in like 4 hours thanks to being in the middle of TRAINING when everything happened


    I was really really tired


    Or to be more exact, exhausted. I was practically running on fumes, and I was suddenly thrown into a new situation again. I am surprised I didn''t think "f-ck it" and leave everything to fate


    Did I panic and try to form a ball to protect my body parts in the fall?


    Nope


    Did I ask Mei to magically levitate 250kgs of mass?


    Nope


    Did Superman come out from a comic and rescue us like he does with Luis Lane all the time?


    You guess it, nope


    How about an actual real superhero? There are like thousands of them!


    I guess they were occupied taking over the base and causing the death of everyone inside


    Some supervillain maybe?


    Yeah, right. The job requires them to be an a-shole, why would they try to save 4 random strangers


    Some random civilian with a heart of gold?


    Haven''t met one yet


    Give up, leaving everything to fate and ending paraplegic in a hospital bed?


    Not yet


    So what did I do?


    Meat pillow


    What is a meat pillow you ask? It is using a body as a cushion to decrease the damage of the fall. Watch Jason Bourn(the first one) and you will get it


    The moment time started to slow down thanks to the adrenaline rush, I looked around and tried to find something to hold onto. The only thing big enough to do it was the guy in front of me, so I did


    We were all close enough to make sure the teleport wouldn''t leave us behind, so I didn''t have to stretch really far and managed to reach his arm. I pulled the arm to me, hugged it like a koala and with all the force I could muster, I made the guys body to face the ground. Sadly, before I could try anything else, we reached the ground


    The good thing? There was a tree in the way so it helped break our fall a bit


    Bad thing? it was still a 70 meters fall


    The most ok out of the 4 of us was Mei. Thanks to her levitation powers, she managed to slow down her fall a bit, giving her more time to take action. She even managed to push herself to the tree trunk and did the same koala thing I did, but with the tree trunk. All she got were cuts from the branches


    The second would be me, with some broken ribs. Thanks to the tree branches that slowed down our fall, using a meat pillow and my reinforced body, all I had to suffer was the recoil from when the guy hit the floor


    Third place goes to Makombo. He did the Superhero Landing. The tree and his reinforced legs helped a lot, but he still completely messed up his legs. He didn''t lose his legs, but it wasn''t a pretty sight


    The last place goes to the poor guy. The guy had the help of the branches to slow down his fall a little, but he still had to deal with a 70 meters fall, the hard concrete floor and my force impact over his body. Besides, he didn''t have any kind of exchanged ability that helped with the fall like us. He landed with his full body, hitting with the opposite arm that I was holding while hitting the side of his head on the floor and suffering my body weight crushing him from the other side of his body


    He was bleeding from his head, his left arm was dislocated and really bloody, all his ribs were broken and I am pretty sure he had a perforated lung. I am surprised he didn''t die there, but he would definitely die if I didn''t do something about it soon


    Did I left him to die there? He was one of the guys that put me in the facility, it is not like it was my fault he was like that(not completely), I wouldn''t get anything out of helping him out and someone may even find out we got out of the facility somehow, so it wouldn''t be strange if I did


    It wouldn''t, but I didn''t leave him there to die anyways. I didn''t even hesitate, the moment I saw the poor dude bleeding to death, I searched his pockets for a phone. I had my phone, but it didn''t have a chip and I wasn''t sure it would work, so I had to find his phone if I wanted to call for an ambulance


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Problem was, I was kind of messed up after the impact. Remember when I said I broke my ribs? or when I said I had really bad stamina? Or the part where I have been in constant movement in the last 4 ours, plus 2 of high tension? Let just say I wasn''t in a great physical or mental condition


    I was on the floor after the impact, so I had to get up and move to the guys side if I wanted to find a phone. The bad part? the broken ribs really really hurt when I started moving, every muscle in my body hurt, I was pretty bruised after the impact, I had cuts everywhere thanks to the tree branches and my head seriously hurt


    At least, the pain all over my body, plus the screams of pain from poor Makombo helped me stay awake. I slowly got up while sucking up the pain and approached the "I am not so sure he is still alive" guy. I knew that if he had a phone, it would be in one of his pockets, so I started searching the right pocket, because if it was the other, it would be crushed


    Luckily, he brought it with him and it was in his right pocket, so it wasn''t crushed in the fall. It was a new Samsung Galaxy phone with a cracked screen, but it worked fine when I turned on the screen


    The problem was that it had a password protected screen


    It was the one with 9 dots that you had to follow a trail to open it. If you don''t know, imagine a regular phone with numbers 1 to 9 and you had to drag your fingers horizontal, vertical or diagonally. There are hundreds of combinations since you can pick from 1 to 9 numbers in whatever order, so  guessing the correct number sequences would be really really hard


    I even started to use that type of password protected screen after everything that happened, and the irony is that I found out that most times, there is a finger oil trail on the phone and if you follow the fingers oil trail, you can guess the password


    Sadly, I didn''t know that at the time, and I wasn''t in the best shape to figure it out on my own. The good thing is that even if it was password protected, it still let you make emergency calls, meaning I could call 911


    "911 call center, what is the emergency?"(Lady)


    "Me and three others were in a teleportation accident. We need medical attention"(Me) Said thoughtfully, but feeling intense pain when I talked


    We weren''t in great shape, and knowing stuff like that may help with the procedures they do while they  try to fix us


    "What kind of teleporting accident? Is someone trapped between walls?"(Lady)


    "No, we fell from a really high place. One is in a critical situation, another broke his legs and I think I have a few broken ribs. I don''t know what happened to the last one"(Me) Said


    I could tell I had broken ribs since i suffered that a couple of times, I knew about the guy since I saw it myself and I knew Makombo broke his legs since I followed the screams. As for Mei, since she was hugging the tree like a koala and was too scared to talk, I didn''t know where she was


    "Ok, can you tell me your location?"(Lady)


    "I don''t know, we were teleported here"(Me)


    "Are you outside or inside?"(Lady)


    "outside"(Me)


    "Can you look for the address then? there should be a sign with the street name at the end of the street"(Lady) Said and I listen


    It was late, and it was dark, but even though we were outside of the capital, we were still in a street and it had enough artificial light to see around. After looking around, I realized that we were on the sidewalk near the street and we fell over a decorative tree they usually put around the streets. We were closer to the end of the street than in the middle, and I could see another street crossing the one we were, and it was relatively close, with the sight that the lady mention. Since my sight was pretty good and there was enough light around, I could see the street name without needing to get closer to it


    "We are at ***********"(Me) said


    To be honest, I never bothered to write the street name at the time, and by now I already forgot what street it was


    "Ok, we will dispatch some ambulances soon, please don''t move from where you are"(Lady) Said and I hang up


    I kind of collapsed on the floor and started looking up since I was resting on the floor. I could see how much we messed up the poor tree and I finally found Mei. I felt relieved when I found her just fine and smiled a little since she looked like a bad comedy sketch with her arms holding to the tree trunk like her life depended on it


    --------------------------------------------


    Note: Another chapter edited thnx to Neiden help :)


    By the way, I definitely didn''t include the street name because it fits with the story definitely :P

 Side Story: Angel

    Running out of options, Angel had no choice but to visit Prometheus. She didn''t want to visit a known retired Class S supervillain, who would? But she didn''t have a choice


    After she saw Jessica cry for the first time in front of her, how could she leave it alone? She needed to find Sara or at least avenge her death, no matter the cost


    But finding information about those hood guys was extremely difficult. For starters, most heroes didn''t bother with them


    The first reason was that if they managed to catch one, they always ended up death. Having people dying in your watch always looked bad, even if it wasn''t your fault, so most only tried to repel them and didn''t bother to capture them since it was pointless


    The second reason was that they were small time. They only did small drug deals, didn''t force their product, and didn''t sell to kids directly. They just sell to anyone that ask, nothing more, nothing less. They were drug dealers, but they weren''t as bad as many others all around the country. They would be even considered one of the better ones if it wasn''t for the dying thingy


    The third reason was that they didn''t have a bounty. The heroes association  usually put bounties on known criminals to "incentive" both heroes and private contractors(mercenaries and bounty hunters). For example, both Cat and Red Eyes had a bounty of $100.000 and after the factory incident, Cat bounty went up to $250.000 but only in Capital City. By the way, the reward was only valid if they were alive, only mass murderers or calamities got the dead or alive bounty


    As for the grey cult, they had no bounty on their head. Not for the level c and b grunts, or the leaders. With no money plus death after capture and that they weren''t really a bother, most heroes just left them alone


    Usually, after attacking a group, heroes would write a report, leaving behind some information about them. The hero association also hired people to track and research about different dangerous groups, and others heroes could use that information for free or for a price according to rank. Sadly for angel, since no one attacked the group and the Hero Association didn''t even bother many resources to research about the Grey Cult, the information she could get in the association was barely better than an online search


    With the heroes and the hero association being so uninterested in them, it was hard for Angel to get proper information about them by her regular ways, which made it difficult to find out anything about them


    She even sent a request to the association asking them to spend resources in researching more about the Grey Cult, but all she received in response was a simple generic reply that basically say "we will think about it", wich could be translated to "nope, we won''t do it"


    That left Angel with little choices. She could either ask for favours from her friends and acquaintances or she could pay someone to research the group. The first option would be ideal, but sadly, most of the people she knew were good at kicking a-ses and not researching. The closest one would be Missing, but she barely knew the guy, she just worked with him a couple of times


    The other option would be to hire someone, but researching about a group like the Grey Cult would be dangerous, so it would be expensive and she didn''t have a lot of cash. It is not like she didn''t earn well, but she had an expensive lifestyle plus Jess expenses. She did slow down a little with her expenses, and had some savings, but she didn''t think it was enough to find what she needed about the Grey Cult. She could ask a friend to introduce her to another friend and maybe get a discount or something, but it would still be expensive


    In the end, she decided to try to ask the infamous information broker Prometheus. He went by Frank actually, and if you tried to arrest him for his cape days, he would simply layer up and play dumb, but would advertise he used to be that Super villain in any other case. She didn''t like the guy, and never actually visit him before, but his reputation was top notch in what he did. You couldn''t go to anyone better than that guy if you wanted to find out something about someone


    He also had the best prices, so if she wanted to know how much it would cost, he was the best guy to ask. If it was too expensive, or he simply refused, she would try her friends, and maybe collect a favor or two. The only reason she didn''t want to use the favors first, was simply because she wanted to use them when she attacked the Grey Cult after she collected enough information about them


    She wasn''t stupid, she knew that even if she handed all the information on a silver plate, they wouldn''t move since there wasn''t anything in it for them, so her only hope was asking for favors , and maybe a guilty trip or two to the more honorable ones


    The best case scenario would be to get the information at a good price, convince a couple of heroes to attack and destroy them before they can react. It would also be great if she found Jess sister on the way, but she didn''t have her hope ups, she would be satisfied if she just took revenge on them


    So with not much choices, she asked for an appointment with Prometheus and went in costume to his office the next day. She didn''t want the heroes to find out she dealt with the guy, but if she went without costume, she was afraid Prometheus would find out her secret identity, which would be much worst


    "Miss Angel! a pleasure to meet you. I must admit it''s rare that a hero asks for my service, but I never refuse a client"(Prometheus) said in a polite way from his chair behind a desk


    It was the first time that Angel meet him in person, and she must admit he looked intimidating, even when sitting in a chair. With his over showing muscles and his deep scar in his forehead, he almost looked like a thug from a 90''s movie. Being suspected of having an S level of power also didn''t help. If there was something that helped her relax a little, was that he looked really worn out for some reason, making him look more human than monster


    "Nice to meet you. If you don''t mind, can we go directly to business?"(Angel) said in a really respectful way


    She really didn''t want to mess with him or piss him off in any way. Besides, she didn''t want him to overcharge her because she was rude or he dislike her attitude. But even if she didn''t want to be rude, the less time she spends there, the better


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "No problem. What bring you here then?"(Prometheus) Said while showing her a business smile that in no way helped her relax


    "I want information on the Grey Cult. I want to know what information you could get me and at what price"(Angel) Said directly to the point


    If Angel would have paid a little more attention, she would have realised that the moment Angel mentioned the Grey Cult, the attitude from Prometheus changed. He straightened his back, stared directly at her eyes and face expressions and even put his hands on the desk while interlocking his fingers while getting a little closer to her to get a better look at how she reacts


    "Why do you want that information"(Prometheus) Said in a completely serious tone, that even sounded a little threatening


    Angel didn''t notice the change in attitude with his movements, but she did notice he was serious now, instead of his business smile and attitude from just a moment


    Even if she had come close to death a couple of times in her hero career, that was definitely one of her scariest moments ever


    "I want to take them down"(Angel)


    "Then why come to me? Ask one of your hero friends"(Prometheus)


    "The organisation has them at a low priority for the moment, and I don''t think they will change their standing int he near future"(Angel)


    "I see. And why this personal vendetta? if you don''t mind me asking"(Prometheus)


    "It''s personal"(Angel) Dodged the last question


    She didn''t want to involve Jess in any way in all this


    "Oh! For your little kid then"(Prometheus) Said as a matter of fact


    He was actually fishing, trying to see if it was because of that or another reason, but Angel completely fell for it. She showed a surprise expression that practically spelled "How did you know?"


    "wha..? how..?"(Angel) tried to ask, but she was in such a panic state she barely managed to say those words


    "Come on, everyone knows you adopted a kid after the incident in the factory, and everyone knows who was behind it. You haven''t confronted those guys in the last few years, and they haven''t caused any other important incident since then so that only leaves your kid. It''s  my job to know this stuffs"(Prometheus) Lied


    He knew a lot about a lot of people, but there was no way he would remember every single action every superhero made. He usually just added the new information to their file and would look at it when necessary. Same with incidents and their connections


    The only reason he remembered Angel took a kid was because it was actually Sara''s sister, and the reason he remembered about the factory was because he was deeply interested in the Grey Cult, and because of Sara of course


    Still, Angel totally believed him, and even increased her respect for him a little


    "I see, I guess I shouldn''t be surprised"(Angel) Said reluctantly


    "Like I said, it is my job, right?"(Prometheus) Said in a way that sounded funny, but was still staring directly at her eyes


    "Yeah... so, what can you get? And for how much?"(Angel)Said still a little nervously


    "I can get you their underground main base teleport address, plus its design"(Prometheus) Said casually


    Wich took Angel by complete surprise. She was expecting to be directed to someone and his price, she didn''t expect for him to already have important information ready


    "Hhhow Much?"(Angel)


    "Just two things. First, you don''t wait, you must strike between the next two days, and tell as few people as possible until the last moment. Second, you own me a favor. If you are ok with those terms, the information is all yours"(Prometheus)


    "How do I know they are legitimate?"(Angel)


    "Kid, I have a reputation that has been kept for years, I lose more by lying than you"(Prometheus)


    "What kind of favor will it be?"(Angel)


    "I don''t know, I doubt it will be something extreme, but it may be something illegal. It is up to you if you take the chance"(Prometheus)


    And it was. He probably knew she didn''t have the money to pay for that kind of information, so he offered an alternative. From the start, she was willing to ask and demand a couple of favors to get what she wanted, but it was not the same to owe a favor to a hero than to a criminal. The question was, what was she willing to do to get what she wanted


    "Deal"(Angel) Decided to risk it


    "Great! Give me a second and I will get you the info"(Prometheus) Said with a smile


    Probably the first true smile he gave in all day, and actually for a long time. He quickly grabbed a pen drive, connected it to his laptop, and added some information to it. Then he grabbed a pen, some paper and wrote a number on it


    "Here is the pen drive with the information, and here is a number you should definitely call. Just tell him who gave you this number and what you want to do and he will help you"(Prometheus) Said while handing her the stuff


    "Thank you?"(Angel) Said, a little confuse with the extra service


    "No problem, and if you don''t mind, I am a busy person so if you don''t have any more business, please go"(Prometheus) Said, and shortly after he started to look at his laptop while completely ignoring her


    It was a simple tactic so she would leave fast, and have no time to change her mind until it was too late, and like before, she fell for it. She left her chair and got out of his office and building shortly after before she could even finish processing everything that happened inside


    She went home, still a little dazed, and started looking into the files. It had both teleportation coordinates and the facility blueprints, with a rough estimate of enemy forces


    As for the number, it was a number, but she didn''t know it or appeared when she searched on google. With not much choice, she gave it a try and called


    "Hello? Legend speaking"(Legend) said


    Turns out, it was the phone number of an S class hero


    ------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks Neiden for the grammar help  ::)   not much to say exept this and the next one were really long chapters :;^^:

 Side Story: Uncle Muscle

    It''s been two and a half years since he got a call from the school telling him that Sara didn''t go to class that day


    Even though he didn''t know where she was at the start, it didn''t take long to find out where she went, and why she didn''t come back. He cursed his stupidity when he found out


    He was an information broker, so he didn''t just find out who took her and why, but why she was looking for them in the first place. When he found out that she went to look for them, trying to find her missing family, he deeply regretted never telling her the truth


    It''s not like he never had to tell a crushing truth to someone before. As an information broker, he sometimes found out some pretty nasty stuff and had to tell the truth to his clients. The thing is, he got attached to Sara and now both were paying the price


    He was afraid she would break if he told her the truth, but she ended up being kidnapped thanks to his lies. He could only curse at the irony of hurting her more by trying to protect her from harm


    The guilt was also the reason he went from drinking a glass of whisky from time to time to a bottle every day, and sometimes two. The curses and crying sound of Cat over the phone when she found out didn''t help with his guilt, adding another reason to go back to the bottle


    The worst part was that he had his hands tied. Shortly after he found out the gray cult were behind it and was in the middle of finding out as much as possible about them, they sent him a message of their own telling him they had Sara as a hostage. They sent him a picture of her sleeping in a chair and a message saying they would kill her if he kept digging information about them or tried anything that could bring them problems


    The moment he received the message, he stopped researching and waited, expecting some kind of ramson or something like that. Instead, all he got were more pictures without any message. He was sure they send them to prove she was alive, but they never made any demands, just send the pictures


    He waited a month for some kind of reaction or word or something, without any result, so he lost his patience and started digging


    He wasn''t obvious about it, but he wasn''t discreet either. He wanted to know how they would react. It may have been a gamble, but he couldn''t just leave it alone and wait forever


    He didn''t wait long for an answer


    The next picture was one of Sara full of bruises and a cast on her arm. It was a simple answer. You do nothing and we stay quiet, you move and we hurt her


    It was probably there where he started to drink a bottle or two of whisky a day


    But he didn''t give up. He stopped for a time, but shortly after, he started looking for information about them again. He did it more discreetly, but he still looked for anything important about them


    He asked friends, he hired third parties, he collected favors, and even  took a risk or two, but he didn''t get much. One reason was that he couldn''t be too open about it or the next picture would be her getting hurt, and if too many of those accumulated, they would just get rid of her and hire someone to take him out


    He wasn''t too worried about the assassin since he knew he was hard to kill, and so did everyone else, that is why he understood it was more effective to have a hostage against him than trying to kill him. It was a lesson he learned years ago, and the main reason he left the cape business


    He hated that kind of thing, even when he was a criminal, but there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn''t even find good information about that cult, even if it was a cult. It was weird


    In cults like that, there were always parents looking for their brainwashed children, or family complaining about how they were conning their relative of all their money or they were used to gain popularity or do big things. Instead, this cult kept a low profile, did small thing, barely made a buck, but had the resources to move all around the country, the numbers to have people all around the country, and the discipline so nobody talk


    They didn''t advertise, they didn''t cause problems, they didn''t bring rich kids and for what he could see, they were in the red. For a cult that looked low level, their level of security and how well they managed information leak were also pretty weird


    Still, the weirdest thing was the number of low-level powered they had in their ranks. It is true that a low-level power is barely equal to a trained military person, but if you have 200-300 of those, it should be considered a small army, and no one was saying anything about it


    In this day an age of powered people, having an organisation with power equal to an army wasn''t weird, but it was weird that an organisation like that wasn''t famous or well known. The only possibility he could think of, it was that the organisation was well connected. Too well connected to his taste, and that made it even harder to look into


    It was at the moment he was between leaving it alone or make some risky moves that he came with an idea. Analyse the photographs he had being getting so far


    Usually, the photographs only showed her doing something or sleeping, but if he sends them to an expert, they may find out something from them, and they did. Thanks to the photos, he found out she was trapped in some kind of bunker, and not only that, it turned out it was a big bunker with a lot of kids. That information came from the artificial light (windows would produce a natural light that never showed on the photographs) shadows of people and reflections that sometimes were accidently captured by the camera


    Thanks to the information of being a bunker, and that they had a lot of kids, he started searching information related to those clues. Thanks to working with super villains for years, he knew what was necessary for a secret underground base, and the usual contractors


    The problem was getting the information discretely without them finding out. Well, he had to visit a couple of them, steal the information by different means and eliminate the different possibilities, but he ended up finding out the location


    The problem was, what to do with it


    He couldn''t just hand it over to the heroes. Not only was he pretty sure they had someone on the inside, they wouldn''t trust it. Who would believe he would give it for free?


    The other option would be to do it himself, but he couldn''t. He didn''t have the resources to attack a base like that fast enough. HE could do it, but it would take time, and it was more likely that he would be found out before he got close enough, and they would not only run away but kill Sara on the way


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    He was in the middle of debating how to proceed with the information, when an angel suddenly appeared at his doorstep, literally


    Ok ok, it was actually a hero that called herself Angel, and she called before arriving, but you get the meaning


    He heard a rumor of a little girl asking questions about Sara a few weeks ago, and shortly after, Angel started digging about the Grey Cult, unsuccessfully. He wasn''t  100% sure it was connected, but his guts told him it was, so he started considering her a good candidate to hand over the information


    Of course, he decided to cross-examine her before doing it, and after a few questions and seeing her reactions, he decided to gamble on her


    It was a good choice. If someone asked, he actually had an excuse for handing over the information without looking suspicious, he was sure she would do her best in taking care of the group and rescuing the kids, and he even added an insurance


    An old rival


    Legend was one of the oldest heroes around, and even though they didn''t like each other, there was a great level of respect among the two of them. He was sure that if he sends Angel on Legend''s way, Legend would do his best to take care of the situation, and in a way, he was owing Legend a favor by doing this. It was a price he was willing to pay


    He considered sending the information to him from the start, but it was the same as handing it over to the Hero Association, there was no way Legend would believe he would hand it for free


    But now, all that speculation was over. No one would doubt he handed accurate information to a paying customer, and the customer owed him a favour big enough, he would probably get Sara away from them if they tried to keep her for some reason


    Still, he wouldn''t leave things to chance. He did know a couple of heroes bent the rules enough to allow slip of information about something(And a couple that did more than that). He was sure he could find one or two that would be called to the subjugation, and get information on how things were proceeding with the attack


    At the end of the day, he was an information broker. The first step was always being up to date with the information, and only after that, he would choose what to do. All he could do was wait, hope everything turned out alright, and do his best after that


    At the day of the attack, he was informed by one of his hero sources 1 hour before they started. He would have complained about the sudden news, but he also found out they called all the heroes at the last moment, so he couldn''t complain


    He sent some money as thanks for the information and asked him to kept him update on the attack on the base


    The hero couldn''t call during the operation since he would look suspicious and was a  little afraid someone might hear him, but he did send text message to Frank(Uncle Muscle) with updates of the attack


    It was a simple text every 5 minutes telling him where they were at. It started telling him they were getting ready, they were about to start, Legend went in first, other heroes follow, healers went in, support went in, resistance was meet, taking care of resistance, capturing resistance, taking care of defense, searching for traps, taking care of more resistance, etc


    The text went like that for around 2 hours, when suddenly, the text stopped


    That is when he started to suspect something went wrong. The first option was that someone caught up what he was doing, and he was being arrested, and the second option would be that something bad happened, and he had to deal with it


    Usually, someone finding out the leak would be the worst case scenario for him, but in this case, it might actually be the best. At least it meant nothing really bad happened in the bunker


    He got his answer later, with a phone call instead of a message


    *Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing*


    "Hello?"(Frank) answered his phone


    "Frank, everything went to sh-t!"(Seer) Said the "hero"


    "What do you mean?"(Frank)


    "They blew up the place!"(Seer)


    " Is everyone alright!?"(Frank) Said, actually worried for Sara


    He didn''t really care about anyone else


    "The heroes are alright, we had a couple of precog like me on the team, so we could get them before the place blow up. Everyone else in the facility should be dead. We send a team shortly after and they reported that all that it left is a big black hole now"(Seer)


    Frank turned completely pale when he heard all that, and started to panic like never before


    "Why!? Why would they do something like that!? It doesn''t make any sense!"(Frank) Lost his cool


    "How the f-ck should I know!?They are a suicidal group! We already knew they prefer dead than being captured, that is why they brought so many precogs like me! You think there was anything we could have done about it!?"(Seer


    Frank stayed quiet for a minute, trying to figure out what to do. Meanwhile, Seer cool down a little


    "It is over anyway. I kept my end of the bargain, so don''t take too long in sending the money we agreed"(Seer) Said and hang up


    Frank went in automatic, and send the money to Seer secret bank account like usual, but after that, he just stopped


    He just stared at the ceiling thinking about nothing. Or more like he refused to think, because he knew where his mind would go


    He would start blaming himself for all the wrong decision he made, leading to Sara''s death at the end. He just stared at it, for who knows how long, and when he finally looked like he would move, he just opened the already familiar cabinet, took a new close bottle of expensive whisky, and poured over into a glass like he had done so many times this last two years


    He tried really really hard to stop the whispers on her mind telling him over and over again "You killed her", "Everything you did to do to help her ended up killing her" , "It is your fault she died"


    He tried to stop the voices of blame with alcohol, but he knew it wasn''t working. He knew a little girl was death because of him, and there was nothing he could do about it


    *Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing*


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Note: Long chapter  [th_083_v2.gif]  Thanks again for the help editing it Neiden :)

 Chapter 51: Long Day

    I closed my eyes for what I thought was a moment, and before I realised, someone touching my left wrist woke me up. It wasn''t the sudden feeling of someone touching me that woke me up, but the intense pain I felt when he did


    The guy that was touching my wrist turned out to be a paramedic that was checking my pulse, and for what it looked like, I passed out for an unknown amount of time. I also realised that my left arm was dislocated


    I can''t blame myself for not realising since I was hurt all over my body, and I only used my right arm to use the phone, but the sudden pain I felt when he tried to check my wrist did woke me up


    "Oh! you are awake! good. Can you tell me where does it hurt?"(Paramedic) Said with a friendly voice and smile


    I looked around, and there were more people around me than before, including 2 or 3 paramedics, some random citizens, and a police officer


    I could also see Mei almost at the bottom of the tree while a random citizen was encouraging her to come down. He probably promised to catch her if she fell or something like that


    "Do you understand me?"(Paramedic) Asked since I was looking around and not answering


    "Ah! yes, sorry. I think my left arm is dislocated and I probably have a couple of ribs broken"(Me) Said after thinking back on what he said


    "I see. Follow the light please"(Paramedic) Said, and started flashing a light in front of my eyes


    "Ok, you also have a light concussion, try to stay awake for the next 12 hours"(Paramedic)Said


    And I just nodded to express I understood


    "Ok, this is going to hurt"(Paramedic) Said while grabbing my left arm


    It wasn''t the first time I dislocated my shoulder, so I knew what he was going to do and was prepared for it, but it still hurt like hell


    I did yell a little


    "Oh!you took it pretty well.  Most kids would be screaming and crying"(Paramedic)


    I could only nod and smile ironically at that statement. You get used to it after doing it a dozen of times, like it or not. I heard some even start to enjoy it, but it looks like I am not a hardcore M


    "Wait here for a second, I will get you something for your arm"(Paramedic) said while getting up


    He left me there and went to the ambulance and came back a minute or two later with a sling for my arm(google it if you don''t know what it is)


    "Here kid, let me help you put this around your arm"(Paramedic) Said while helping me put the sling around my arm


    I didn''t think it was necessary, since I never wore it after dislocating my arms so many times, but there was no point in refusing. besides, it made me look more pitiful, that would help avoid any hard questions if someone asked


    "Leave it like that for now. A doctor will have a look at it later after an X-ray. Let''s get into the ambulance so we can take you to a hospital. Can you stand?"(Paramedic) Said, and offer me a hand


    I took it, and with his help, I got up from the floor. It did hurt my ribs a lot when I was trying to get up, but I managed to suck it up


    Can I repeat that I am not a masochist? it really gets annoying fast when you are hurt all over the place. Every movement hurts, breathing hurts, standing hurts, talking hurts, even resting hurts. It sucks


    But like I said, I sucked it up and got into the ambulance. Luckily, by that time Mei had managed to get down from the tree and was already sitting inside, with only some cuts all over her body, burn marks from the friction caused by holding to the tree while falling down and maybe some bruises. She got lucky


    She was a little scared, though. I could see her relieved face when I approached the ambulance, but she was still shaking a little


    "Hey Mei, you ok?"(Me) Managed to ask when I got into the ambulance


    When she heard me, she gave me a simple nod


    "And you?"(Mei)


    "I will live"(Me) Said with a radiant smile


    I am sure my cool attitude would make all the ladies go crazy, not. But at least I managed to make Mei smile a little


    "Do you know what happened to the other two?"(Me)


    I asked since they weren''t around . I could see some blood where they were before, but I didn''t see them near us, or any other ambulance for the matter


    "I saw them being taken to an ambulance by some of the paramedics. You think they are ok?"(Mei) Said a little worried


    "I don''t know. I am sure Makombo will live since he has good legs, but the other guy..."(Me) wasn''t optimistic


    The poor guy had to suffer a 70 m fall, to the ground plus working as a cushion for me. I wasn''t optimistic


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    We stayed quiet for a moment and then Mei suddenly asked


    "You think we can finally go home?"(Mei)


    "I am sure"(Me)


    I wasn''t actually


    We arrived at the hospital quickly(the advantage of going inside an ambulance) and they took us to a community room I guess. It was a big room with many beds and a lot of hurt people. One had burn marks, others were bleeding or bandaged, a kid was crying for some reason, and others looked normal, but probably had something going on


    They told us to wait on the bed and soon a doctor or nurse would come to check us out. On the way, the paramedic cleaned most of Mei and my wounds and properly bandaged them, plus my ribs didn''t hurt much as long as I didn''t talk much or move fast, so we weren''t in a hurry


    It was annoying, but we weren''t in a hurry. Hell, I even had a little time to finally relax, after everything that happened the last few hours


    If you consider I had a full day of classes, worked out for almost an hour before the lights turned red, moved around the facility while being concerned about my surrounding and it all end ups with me and the rest falling down from 70 meters in the air, it had been a really long day


    With finally a moment to relax, I started thinking what to do next. My first thought was calling Uncle Muscle, and then I realised I still had my cellphone in my pocket. The thing is, I didn''t use it to call the ambulance for the same reason I wouldn''t be using it to call Uncle Muscle. I doubted it would work outside the facility


    My second thought was that I should destroy it. I watched enough movies to know you could be tracked with it, so the best option would be to break it. Luckily, the bed had a curtain, and I was strong enough to break it with my own hands, so after taking out the battery and the sdd card, I broke it in two and asked Mei to give me hers. She gave it to me and I repeated the procedure and hid the broken parts and the batteries under the bed


    Now that the paranoia part was over, the next part was getting a phone to call Uncle Muscle


    Luckily, Uncle Muscle forced me to remember his phone number over and over again, like his street name, in case something happened. If there was anything to worry about, it would be that he moved and changed his phone number, but it didn''t hurt to try


    Well, I was also worried that he had forgotten about me. I acted confident before when we were trying to decide where to land, but I wasn''t 100% sure if he would actually care


    In the end, I was nothing more than a street kid he just happened to pick up, you know? Besides, it had been more than two years, two years! Even if he cared about me, feelings fade over time


    There was also the part where I was abandoned multiple times over my life. First, by the parents I never knew, and then, by Cat, shortly after I met her. Could I be loved by someone? It was something I wasn''t sure


    But even if I felt insecure in my heart, I also knew that the only grown up I could trust right then was him, and no one else. And the first step would be getting a phone


    As for getting a phone, I just went to the bed beside us and asked if they could lend me their cell phone for a small call. Thanks to my training in the street, I was quite skillful at making the pitiful face that would break your heart if you looked the other way(Good face to make if you want to get more coins),so they didn''t try to weasel away when I asked for it


    "Here, just don''t make it too long"(Dude) Said kindly


    "Thanks"(Me) Said with a radiant smile


    I took it and started dialing the number he so many times made me remember. The phone started ringing, so at least it was a good sign


    "Yes? Who is it?"(???) Said a tired voice from the other end of the call


    I heard Uncle Muscle voice countless times, and even though I hadn''t heard it in two years,I was confident I would still remember it, but I could barely recognise it. It is true that a voice sounds a little different over the phone, but that voice was so unlike Uncle Muscle


    It was a tired voice like he didn''t give a crap about anything anymore. It was hard to believe that someone as cool and confident as Uncle Muscle would sound like that. It made me worried for a second that I might have dialed wrong or that he had changed his phone number


    "Uncle Muscle?"(Me)


    -----------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks Neiden for the grammar help again :)   I seriously need it =P

 Chapter 52: Who are you?

    Awkward silence.....


    "Who are you?"(Uncle Muscle) Finally said, this time with a little more energy in his voice


    "Sara"(Me)


    I could have said, "how are you doing?" or something like that, but the tone of Uncle Muscle voice made it kind of hard...


    "Sara who!?"(Uncle Muscle)Said with a little more intensity


    Did he forget about me? was what I thought. Like I said, I was insecure about him remembering me or caring about me and hearing that didn''t help


    "Sara Mars. We spend a year together two years ago. Did you forget?"(Me) Said a little afraid


    Even though I never had a last name before, he gave me his 3 years ago and I had been using it since then. Besides, I heard it over and over again every time I was about to fight someone at the arena


    With that much information, I hoped that he would at least remember me


    "You can''t be her. She is dead"(Uncle Muscle) Said as a matter of fact


    "I am not dead!"(Me) Said a little offended


    I was pretty sure I wasn''t dead or I wouldn''t be talking to him, right?


    Well, even though I am not 100% percent sure I am the original Sara, considering I came from a place where they could easily clone and map brains like a normal person makes an omelet, but at least I am sure that I am alive


    Unless you go all that ancient Chinese philosopher and say this is the dream of a butterfly or something like that(google it)


    "I don''t know who you are, but I am not in the mood to play any kind of sick games. If you don''t want me to visit you and beat you to a pulp, you better stop spilling bullsh-t!"(Uncle Muscle)  Said angrily


    Hey, I had been fighting constantly for two years, someone yelling  wouldn''t scare me, especially over the phone


    "I AM ALIVE, HOW MANY TIMES MUST I REPEAT IT"(Me) losing my cool


    So I got angry too. Considering I was in pain, had a really long day and was not only accused of being dead but also threatened to get beaten to a pulp for saying the truth, anyone would lose their cool. I may have anger issues....


    More awkward silence


    "Fine, tell me where you are so I can bend my anger on you kid"(Uncle Muscle)


    I remembered seeing the hospital name when we entered, so I didn''t have a problem knowing the place


    "San Peter hospital second floor, here in Capital City. I am at the place with many beds"(Me)


    "GPS confirms it, see you soon kid"(Uncle Muscle) Said in a mix of cheerful and threatening voice at the same time and hang up shortly after


    I am a little surprised how fast he could triangulate the signal from the cell phone, but considering what he did for living, I probably shouldn''t


    "Everything alright?"(Mei) said with a worried voice


    Considering what she must have heard on her end, anyone would be


    "Don''t worry, everything should be alright when he arrives"(Me) lied again with a straight face


    I was a little surprised that he thought I was dead, but considering I disappeared for two years without notice, I shouldn''t have been. Still, I was afraid that he wouldn''t recognise me or even if he did, he would ignore me for some reason, even if it didn''t make much sense for the way he strongly reacted


    Fear never makes sense


    I just stayed in the bed with Mei, in complete silence, waiting for someone to show up. I could complain that a doctor should have shown up by now, but considering it was a public hospital, we weren''t in critical condition and we weren''t bothering anyone to pay attention to us, I shouldn''t be surprised no one came to bother us


    I should even feel glad no police officer came asking some questions of what happened, considering we were in an accident that may end up in someone dying plus 3 kids in a hospital, but the officers probably didn''t act fast enough or they left us alone since we were kids. Knowing the authorities, I am pretty sure it was a little bit of  both(since working hard was a pain)


    We just waited in silence for no more than 5 minutes when a sudden earthquake hit the hospital. It wasn''t a big earthquake that shakes the whole city, destroying buildings, glass and anything fragile all around. It was a low earthquake or a big vibration like what an explosion or when something heavy hit the ground causes


    Three minutes later, I could see Uncle Muscle at the open door of the community room or ward or whatever that place was called


    It should surprise me how fast he arrived, considering he was really far away from this hospital, considering Capital City was a big city. He should have driven at like 200km per hour to arrive that fast to the hospital, right? I mean, he surely drove to there, right? The earthquake and his sudden arrival are a complete coincidence, right? Let''s just leave it at that, it''s better not to think about it


    Let''s just leave it at that, it''s better not to think about it


    Actually, what I was thinking about when I saw him was something completely different. I didn''t care how fast he got there, I cared how he looked when he arrived


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    First, it was his clothes. He usually wore a clean suit without a wrinkle, a nice clean white shirt, some nice pants, a black tie and some shine shoes that looked of really high quality and gave him a refined look. But today, even though he was wearing the usual clothes, they looked completely different


    His shirt and suit were full of wrinkles, he had some stains all over his shirt, his shoes weren''t shining, his pants had a cut or two here and there, and his tie was completely loose. There wasn''t a glimpse of his typical dandy appearance that earned him the title Uncle Muscle


    But what shocked me wasn''t only that, but also, how bad he looked in general


    Fo starters, the white hair that he usually cared about more than anything else, and that he constantly complained how it looked he had little less every day, was a complete mess. It looked like he had less than ever, and it looked like he didn''t even care to cut it for moths, and was all over the place


    Then came his face. He never told me his age, but he looked like he was between his 40 and 50 the last time I saw him, now it looked like he was definitely in his 60


    Lastly, was his expression. It was the kind of face that said "Die word die" as he looked around. It was a face I saw a couple of times at the facility, but I never thought I would see it at the gentle face of Uncle Muscle


    He looked all around, full of anger, and even after fighting all kind of battles this last two years, I was a little intimidated by that look. I hesitated for a moment, but with all the courage I could muster, I managed to raise my hand


    Shortly after I did it, Uncle Muscle looked directly at me, and his face changed from fury to shock in an instant. I was just about to say something when I suddenly felt a breeze that forced me to close my eyes for a second, follow by a big hug before I could even react


    "You are alive!"(Uncle Muscle) Said while hugging me


    I must say, I didn''t expect that. Well, I did say I was afraid he would ignore me or something like that, but even thinking optimistic, I expected something like a casual acknowledgment of me still being alive or something like that


    Worst part, even if my initial response was surprise, and I felt glad that he actually cared for me, I had a little problem


    Broken ribs, in case you forgot


    I think he was hugging me a little more strongly than he should, but what hurt the most was the pain from my ribs. I was used to be in pain, thanks to the arena experience, but constant pain plus the feeling of suffocating isn''t something you can just suck it up, ya know?


    I did try for what feels like hours since it felt wrong stopping the touching moment, but in the end, I couldn''t hold it anymore


    "Uncle Muscle, it hurts"(Me) Managed to say


    Uncle Muscle was a little surprised when I said that and quickly steps away like he finally realised we were in the real world and not a dream or something


    ¡°I am sorry, are you ok?¡± (Uncle Muscle) Said with a worried expression


    ¡°Just some cuts, some broken ribs, a contusion, and a dislocated arm¡±(Me)


    Uncle Muscle expression changed from worry to panic and a little anger


    "Did I hurt you?"(uncle Muscle)


    "It''s ok"(Me) I had it worst


    ¡°What happened?¡± (Uncle Muscle)


    ¡°We were teleported 70 meters above ground, I am lucky I was only hurt this much¡±(Me)


    "Teleported? Why wou... Oh!"(Uncle Muscle) Realised something


    He started thinking for a moment like something finally clicked


    "So, you find a way to teleport yourself out of that bunker"(Uncle Muscle) Said as a matter of fact


    As for me, I was a little surprised. I didn''t know that Uncle Muscle knew I was in a bunker


    "And your friend over there also came with you?"(Uncle Muscle) Said while finally noticing Mei


    I kind of forget about introducing her after the way he reacted, so I panicked a little when she was mention


    "Ah! Yes, this I s Mei Lin, a friend of mine. Mei Lin, this is Uncle Muscle"(Me) Introduce them


    "Nnicce to meet youu Uncle Muscle"(Mei) Managed to say a little nervously


    "Nice to meet you too. I hope you can keep getting along with Sara from now on"(Uncle Muscle) Said with a dazzling smile


    After the two of them introduced themselves, I remembered about the other two that weren''t here, and should be taking care of(not in a mafia way) before the authorities get to them, or a lab check recognises the strange substances in their bodies(at least Makombo)


    "Uncle Muscle, we had two others that came with us when we teleported. Can we take them to a "private" hospital?"(Me) Said while changing the tone in the private part so Uncle Muscle would realise the importance of that aspect


    "Sure, give me a second"(Uncle Muscle) Said while taking out his cell phone


    He did get what I meant


    -----------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks for the help Neiden, even the little mistakes help a lot

 Chapter 53: Retelling of the last 2.5 years

    To make it short, after he made a few phone calls, we went to a private clinic by cab, and the guy there used his powers to fix both me and Mei. He did grunt a little since it was late, and he hated sudden calls, but he did his job properly


    On the way there, I gave uncle Muscle my SSD from my phone that had my diary and pills recipe just in case I lost it or something. I also asked Uncle Muscle what was he going to do about the other two, and he told me he would "persuade" the hospital to release them soon, erase any records of them there, and have them properly look after by an expert


    After the healer was done fixing us, we took another cab, went back to Uncle Muscle place and both me and Mei fell asleep on the cab


    What can I say, we weren''t in pain anymore, we were extremely tired and it was late


    Usually, I slept 6 to 8 hours at the facility. It is a side effect of all the experiments or drugs I took where I don''t feel tired even if I don''t sleep a lot. I still slept 8 hours there because I liked it and I didn''t have anything better to do at the time


    But that day, I probably slept around 10, and still felt a little sluggish in the morning. Part of the reason was because of everything that happened yesterday, but the other part was how the healer fixed wounds


    Nothing strange, it just improved the body healing factor, but it drained you of a lot of energy. Taking in consideration we were low on batteries before we went there, I am surprised I didn''t sleep more


    Well, actually not. It was my addiction kicking in but let''s leave that for later


    When I got up, I was sleeping in a big bed with Mei by my side, covered by a blanket. I was in my underwear with my clothes on a chair close to bed, so I guess Uncle Muscle Stripped me....


    Now, don''t think that the guy is a lolicon because of it, ok!


    Perverts


    Shess, people this day. Thinking the worst out of people in any situation


    Anyways, I got dressed and looked around a bit. It was a room I never went before, with a big tv on the wall, opposite to the bed, a couple of dressers, closets, plus pictures and newspapers pages all over the wall or the dressers. The pictures were mostly of Uncle Muscle with some people I didn''t know, plus one with Cat and another with me. As for the newspapers, they were all about stuff that he did when he was a super villain


    It was pretty obvious that it was Uncle Muscle''s room. I never came inside before, but it didn''t take a genius to realize that


    When I finished looking around for a bit, I went to the bathroom to do stuff I won''t tell, and that I hope your perverted mind doesn''t try to imagine, and, after washing my hand and face, I looked around the house for Uncle Muscle


    I found him looking at the computer at his desk intensely. He looked far better than yesterday, with clean clothes and his hair combed. He still looked older than 2 years ago, but he looked a little better than yesterday, and with more spirit


    "Good morning Uncle Muscle"(Me) said hello cheerfully


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    Uncle Muscle looked away from the monitor and when he took a look at me, he smiled a little


    "Good morning. Did you eat something?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Not yet"(Me)


    "Go grab something to eat, we can talk later"(Uncle Muscle)


    Since I was a little hungry(actually, really really hungry) I decided to do just that. I knew where the kitchen was, and Uncle Muscle didn''t throw the stuff that I used or changed the places he usually put everything, so in no time I had a bowl of cereal in my hand and I was happily eating it


    The institute had cereal, so I did eat it from time to time, but I missed eating it from my own bowl with my own spoon in a quiet place without hundreds of children all around. I happily ate it, and when I was done, I went back to where Uncle Muscle was


    "Done"(Me)


    "Good. Now, can you tell me everything that happened this last two and a half years? Starting from when you were captured"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Ok"(Me)


    And then, I started the retelling of everything that happened those two years, from what I remembered at least


    I told him about the kidnapping, the place they took me, the tests, the experiments, the pills, what I could do, where they took me after the test, and everything I could remember of the facility and what we did in there


    Mei woke up in the middle of the explanation, so after I helped her with her breakfast, she joined me with the explanation about the place and what we did


    Finally, we told him about the final day. How they took Meg to a special mission, how they left behind a lot of scientists to increase body count and get rid of unnecessary factors, how we were lucky to find both the pills process information and a guy that knew of an experimental teleporting device


    Looking back, we were incredibly lucky


    As for Uncle Muscle, he had a pretty grim look while we told him all this. He asked questions from time to time, like how the facility looked like, or what powers did the kids had


    He only went specific when we started talking about how we escaped, especially the time. He asked when was Meg called for her "mission", when did the power went down, at what time did we teleported, and how long since we teleported and we called him. Basically, he made a time table


    We talked for hours, explaining everything that happened, plus the help from my diary that helped provide the details we forgot in the process. The only part not written in the diary was the last day, but it was still fresh in our memories plus Uncle Muscle wrote all  of it in his computer


    By the end of it, our throat hurt, our head hurt, our ears hurt, we were sweating a lot, our mouths were dry, our eyes were red and we felt like we wanted to throw up


    And that was only the start of what was to come


    -------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks again for corrections Neiden ::)


    I won''t deny the plot armor at the facility =P but at least it was used in her origin story ;)

 Chapter 54: Best week ever!

    "What is happening? Why did the two of you suddenly got sick?"(Uncle Muscle) Said when he took his eyes away from the computer screen


    At the start, it was barely noticeable, only an uncomfortable feeling, but as the hours went by, and we were getting closer to the end, we started to feel the symptoms more and more


    I never experienced this before, but I knew what was going on. I saw it a couple of times at the facility when they punished some of the kids for doing anything bad


    "Withdraw symptoms"(Me)


    Withdraw symptoms, like a drug addict. Well, technically we were, but it is kind of hard to label us as such when they kind of forced the drugs on us and never had the opportunity to stop


    I wouldn''t call someone that is in constant pain and has to take prescribed painkillers to get on with the day a drug addict. So even though we didn''t need it, we were forced to take it so I won''t say I was one. Well, if we did keep taking the drugs so we wouldn''t get the withdraw symptom or because we liked the drug effect, that would be different


    "Oh, darn! You mention that. Do you know what you took and the effects?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "I only know that it works as some kind of anti depressor, and it causes a serious addiction"(Me)


    "Yeah, I thought it would be that one. It is their main product on the street and it is popular. If it wasn''t for its serious addiction problem, it would be even legal to buy at a pharmacy"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Is there a cure available?"(Me)


    If it was popular, it wouldn''t be strange that there was an easy cure to the addiction with today''s technology, or at least that was what I thought


    "No, only the hard way. Survive a week until your body gets it out of your system"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Sh-t"(Me)


    "What do you want to do? I can probably take you to a clinic that deals with this stuff, and it should be out of your system after a week. The other option would be to keep taking the drug for now and maybe find a way to deal with it later since the drug isn''t hard to get, for now at least"(Uncle Muscle)


    It was a hard choice to make. It''s not like the drug did anything bad with my body as long as I take it. It only made it hard to get depressed. Would you spend a week in hell to fix something that barely causes a problem, and it could be considered helpful in some occasions?


    It was a hard question to ask, and to be honest, after writing all this, I am starting to wonder if I am not actually a hard M


    "Let''s go to the clinic"(Me)


    Well, even if it put in doubt if I am actually an M deep down, I actually had a good reason to want it out of my system. I saw first hand what drugs did to kid and people in general


    In case you forgot, since it was way at the start of this story, I used to live in the street for years


    Years!


    Do you know how many junkies I saw in my days? A lot


    For starters, I didn''t like them. They did stupid stuff all the time, were extremely annoying to talk to, would bother you for the smallest stuff, most of them were a-sholes, and had serious anger issues. To make it worst, they were in constant rotation, since it wasn''t strange for one or two to disappear every day, and get replaced by a new one. When I was younger I didn''t care, I had enough problems, but now I can probably guess that they either died or got thrown to jail or kidnapped


    To make it worst, the guy that took our money for "protection" was also a junky, and I saw him a couple of times buying sh-t with the money we gave him. The notion of becoming like them made me feel sick in the stomach


    If I had to choose between a week in hell or becoming a scumbag, I would choose hell any day


    "And you, Mei?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Is the drug expensive?"(Mei)


    "A pill isn''t expensive, that is how they get you. The problem is that you start feeling sick if you don''t take it one a day, and you feel great if you take more than one. Over time, it adds up to a serious sum of money. Besides, now that the Grey Cult is out of commission, the drug will be hard to get in the future, inflating the price a lot"(Uncle Muscle)


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    From the looks of things, the only distributors were the hood guys, so there was no way to renew the stock. It was possible that they were planning to keep selling them after they secure their base, but it was unlikely


    "Then let me go to the same clinic, please. I will find a way to pay you back"(Mei)


    "Don''t worry about it. Think of it as a thank you from my part for being Sara''s friend. Besides, How could I take money from a little kid, I wouldn''t be able to sleep at night. Do you want me to have problems sleeping at night?"(Uncle Muscle) Said to Mei with his dazzling smile


    "No"(Mei) Said shyly


    She even blushed a little. I must say, I am sure Uncle Muscle was a lady killer in his youth, not that he wasn''t now


    "Good. Then give me a minute, I will find a good place and take you there"(Uncle Muscle)


    A good place was actually a white room, with a bed, a tv on the wall, a security camera, a small bathroom with a shower, a sink, a toilet, a window with bars and an iron door with a hole to pass the food and meds


    Why a small cell? Simple, since the pills were an extremely effective antidepressant, people usually wanted to kill themselves during the treatment


    The drug usually helped repress all the sh-tty feeling inside you, so when all the sh-t it was blocking suddenly came at you at the same time, plus when you were feeling like sh-t because of the side effects, it didn''t end pretty if you weren''t being looked after. It was like another safety measure that stopped you from quitting the pill


    So without much choice, they had to constantly monitor the patient and remove anything that may be used to kill themselves. Food was mostly liquid since the patient would throw up almost all the content, and the tableware was plastic and practically child approved


    They would give you some meds to help with the symptoms, you could use the tv all you wanted(even if most channels were banned with the parental security thingy) and you were taken out for a walk, and for some blood test, take your pressure and some counselling


    As for me specifically, by the third day, I received some extra pills. They were my old pills that the facility gave me for body improvement. I guess it took Uncle Muscle 3 days to find a way to manufacture them and get the approval from the local doctors


    Thanks to it, I had to go to some extra test to make sure everything was alright, including a not so pretty colonoscopy


    Worst test ever!!!!


    Seriously, I had nightmares afterwards. Even at the facility they never did a test more horrible than that one. Is it bad when an evil organisation has better medical treatment than a place to cure drug abuse?


    Shouldn''t it be the opposite!!?? It''s like a bad guy that heals wounds and a good guy that breaks bones!!


    By the way, it is a common thing in this world. Can I say that the world is f-ck up?


    Anyways, I spent a wonderful week watching tv, throwing up, feeling like sh-t, feeling depressed, with a high fever, eating liquid food, talking about my feelings, getting my blood taken, doing numerous tests, having a camera up on my a-s and remembering all the bad sh-t that happened like Jonh and Max''s death, Cat leaving, thinking about everyone that I left behind at the facility, thinking about the guy I used as the meat shield and how I may have killed him, etc


    Best week ever!!!


    -------------------------------------------


    Note: A lot of edditing this time around :(  Thanks for pointing them out Neiden :)

 Chapter 55: One bad thing dealt with, two to go

    Luckily for me, I wasn''t dead, so I eventually got out of hell 10 days later


    Wait! didn''t you say hell week? A week last 7 days you know? Is what a smartass would say


    But yeah, I was 10 days in that cell. The worst part with a fever and throwing up lasted  around 6 or 7 days, and the last 3 were used as a check up. They wanted to see if my had mood improved or if they might have to lock me up a little more


    It was standard procedure since some people actually took those pills because they were really depressed and their family forced them to quit it. The thing is, they were actually the minority


    Since it was sold on the street, most were simply junkies and used them for the kick they got if they took 3 or 5. Well, some of those that took them for the kick actually had pretty sh-tty lives and went to the drugs to get away, so they did get really depressed when the effects were over even if they took it for the kick


    Anyways, the point is that most were in a really dangerous state of mind when it was over, so they would keep you in the "safe room" for a couple of extra days to check on you, and would advise the family to leave the patient there for a while until a local psychologist gave the ok. If the family refused to stay, they would advise to keep the patient under family observation and have a professional look after them


    We decided to leave the place since the "ok" from a psychologist implied telling him everything that happened at the facility, which was a big no-no. We said goodbye to the place staff and left without regret. I was kind of tired of being locked up in a place again


    Uncle Muscle even took us for some ice cream on the way back home, and we loved it of course. If was 10 times better than the crap they gave us at the institute when they felt "generous", and since I never spent point in an actually good ice cream, or even went to an ice cream store before(only supermarket ice cream) it was the best ice cream I ever had


    And it was a really good ice cream store!


    I didn''t cry, in case you are wondering. It''s not like I never had a delicious thing before! But I was really glad we went there, and I could see Mei cheerful face while eating it, so I wasn''t the only one enjoying it


    Did it make my week in hell worth it? Probably not, but it was a great price, and it is not like I did it because I would get the ice cream at the end. It was more like a bonus for a job well done


    After we finished, we went back home, and both me and Mei relaxed on the sofa while uncle Muscle sat in an armchair


    The moment I saw his face, I knew some more bad news were coming at any moment


    "Well, there is something important we have to talk about. It is about the medicine they gave you at the facility"(Uncle Muscle)


    "What about it?"(Me)


    "Well, it is toxic to your bodies"(Uncle Muscle)


    Me and Mei went pale when we heard that. As far as we knew it, it was a medicine we had to take because reasons, we never thought it would be actually harmful to our bodies


    "How toxic?"(Me)


    "If you stop taking them now, I doubt you will live past 50 years. As for Mei, she may reach 60 or 70 if she is lucky but she would lose her mind around her 50''s"(Uncle Muscle)


    Yeah, not a long life. In this day and age, the average is around 80-90 years old if you don''t take into consideration accident or fatal illnesses like cancer. Basically, if I didn''t die in an accident, I would still only live until 50 at most, and Mei wouldn''t be much better


    "and if we keep taking them?"(Me)


    "According to some of the data you gave me, If we change the method they were using, while still keeping the effectiveness of the medicine, both of you would live until 40 instead of 50, but would keep your special abilities until your 30, probably"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Wait, better method!? If there was a better method, why didn''t they use it before"(Me)


    "Well, it is a daily intramuscular injection instead of the pills. I am not sure why they didn''t use it that way, but if I have to take a guess, it was probably because there were too many kids and because they were too young. It would be a nightmare to schedule daily injections for so many kids, especially when they were so young, making it both dangerous and difficult. There is also the possibility that injecting the drug when you were too young would be more damaging to the body. They may have planned to do it when the kids were older, you girls just didn''t reach that far"(Uncle Muscle)


    Still, it makes you wonder what would have happened if they had done it from the start. My life expectancy may have reached 60 or 70 if they did a better job at it


    "And if we don''t take them, we lose our abilities?"(Me)


    "Not instantly, but as you grow older, your abilities will only weaken with time instead of getting stronger, until you will barely know they were even there. Sadly, they modified your body and your body already have the toxins in them, mutating it with irreparable damage. There is nothing that can be done about it"(Uncle Muscle)


    Like I said before, in a way older chapter, my options were to either keep taking the toxins, and live a short life, or stop taking the toxin and live a little longer. It wasn''t an easy desition to make


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Well, if we searched hard enough and paid a power with the right ability, we may find a way to cure the toxins in our body and "fix" the modifications they did, but it would be hard, expensive, improbable and we would still lose all our abilities


    "I choose to keep taking them"(Me)


    It didn''t take me long to decide


    Right now, I have a lot of reasons why I think I made the right decision then, like living up to 50 is already pretty hard without superpowers in today''s world, with crazy people doing stupid stuff all the time without regards for normal civilians. Plus there are a lot of people that don''t even reach 30 because of sickness, accidents, or even suicide


    But my reason at the time was quite simple. I didn''t want to be normal


    Yeah, I would die young, and yeah, it would suck. but considering I was almost 9, and my memories start practically at 4, 30 years from then would be like 6 times my entire lifetime( 30/(9-4)). For a little kid, that is a lot of time


    But like I said, being special, even if it was for a shorter time than most, was way better than being a normal person for a longer time. Besides, the difference between losing all and keeping all was minimal in comparison to what I got in return. If sacrificing 10 years of my life was all I had to pay, it was worth it


    It is not like I had a death wish, but I also didn''t want to live a normal life. Besides, a lot of people don''t know when they will die, at least I know my expiration date


    "And you Mei?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "It is expensive, isn''t it?"(Mei) Said while looking at the floor


    "It is not like I can''t pay it. I have enough money"(Uncle Muscle)


    "But I don''t want to be in your debt!!! You already did enough for me, I can''t keep taking advantage of your generosity"(Mei) Said with some tears in her eyes


    At the time, I was surprised at her sudden outburst, but if you think carefully, it made sense. Mei was sold to the Tong to pay her uncle''s debt, so she was reluctant to owe money to other people. Call it a trauma


    I didn''t care as much since not only did I relied on Uncle Muscle a lot, I intended to work for it like before, I just never managed to tell Mei about working for Uncle Muscle with everything that happened


    "Calm down Mei, I told you that I used to do errands for Uncle Muscle, and it was one of the conditions for him to look after me. I am sure that he will cover the expenses if you do it too. Besides, you are technically a powered now, so you can get a good amount of money if you pick the right jobs, you don''t have to worry about owing money to anyone if you do it right"(Me) Tried to calm her down


    When Mei heard my argument, Mei looked directly at my eyes, and I could see a mix of worry, fear, and a little hope all together


    "Really?"(Mei)


    "Really. Right uncle Muscle?"(Me)


    "Uh? Oh, yeah, sure. I can always use some extra hands. But if you want to go back to your house with your family, I can always take you there"(Uncle Muscle) Offered her a way out


    Mei didn''t answer instantly, instead, she kept looking at the floor with tears in her eyes while thinking about something. Both me and Uncle Muscle just silently waited for her to come to a decision instead of forcing her to choose fast. We weren''t in a hurry and it was an important decision, so it was better to give her time to make the right choice


    It took her a couple of minutes, but she did make up her mind in the end


    "I will work for you, but can you do something about my family?"(Mei)


    "Something like what?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "See how they are doing, and maybe find a job for my uncle over here?"(Mei)


    "Sure, it shouldn''t be too hard"(Uncle Muscle) Nodded and smiled at Mei to reassure her


    "Thanks"(Mei) Said while doing a small bow while sitting


    It was my first time seeing Mei so serious, but I could see that she really cared about her family. She did talk about them from time to time, especially about her brother, but I could tell she was doing all this because she was worried she might be a burden to her family if she didn''t find a way to pay for the drugs


    "Now, Sara. There is something else we need to talk about. It''s about Cat"(Uncle Muscle)


    The moment Cat, I started to panic


    "Is she ok!? Did something happened to her!?"(Me) Said a little worried


    Uncle Muscle never told me about her since we escaped from the facility, so I didn''t know how she was doing, but considering her line of work, it wouldn''t be strange if something bad happened to her


    "She is fine. The thing is, she wants to take you to her city for your own safety, and I also think it''s for the best"(Uncle Muscle)


    --------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks Neiden for both the usual shameful grammar correction, plus a math one. The math one is probably my most shameful mistake so far :(

 Chapter 56: Happy Meal

    Things got a little blurry afterwards. I could even feel how all the blood left my head, making me almost pass out. Considering it was like your father suddenly telling you he doesn''t want you anymore and you are going to live with your mum in another city, it is understandable


    I had to suffer a week in hell, I was told that I won''t live past 40 but I can tell you with absolute confidence that what Uncle Muscle said there was what crushed me the most


    I felt like he was getting rid of me because he didn''t like me or thought I was a bother. It was a big shock for an almost 9 years old, considering I saw Uncle Muscle as a father figure


    I can tell you I almost threw up and felt unconscious on the floor when he said he was sending me to another city. Still, even in that state, I managed to ask


    "Why...?"(Me)


    I didn''t want to know, but I wanted to know. Or, to be more exact, I didn''t want to hear him say he didn''t want me anymore, and I hoped he had a nice reason for sending me away


    "It''s is too dangerous for you to stay near me if the Grey Cult is still alive and running"(Uncle Muscle)


    I admit I did feel a little better when he said that. I don''t know what would have happened if he had said that he didn''t like me or something like that. Still, that didn''t change the fact that I wanted to stay with him


    "Why would it be? They should think I am dead, and it''s not like they check every kid''s background or even care about it. It should be the same if I stay here or go away"(Me) Argue


    I really didn''t want to leave him. I was thankful for Cat, and I admire her, but I was also a little afraid. In the end, she did leave me with Uncle Muscle while she went to a place far away and we haven''t talked once ever since. I did ask Uncle Muscle from time to time how she was doing, and I was worried when he suddenly mentioned Cat with a worried face, but I trusted more Uncle Muscle , that took care of me for more than a year, than Cat, that took care of me for a month


    Even though I knew that it was because of Cat that I met Uncle Muscle and had a roof over my head


    "It''s not that simple. Remember how you were captured? Well, they knew we had a connection when they captured you, and they have been blackmailing me this last two years. They would send me pictures of you from time to time, and if they find out I was snooping around, they would send pictures of you beaten up all over the place"


    And that is how I found out why Uncle Muscle didn''t try to rescue me. I admit that the first few months, I was sure he would rescue me since he was a super cool guy, and I was a "little" disappointed when he didn''t. I even felt glad when I found out he had not only been blackmailed to stop any activity, he was afraid they would hurt me even a little bit


    Funny how the mind works


    "Buut those photos came from the arena fights, right?"(Me)


    "It doesn''t matter. The point is that those guys kept an eye on me and knew we were related. Since they didn''t die but want to make it look that way, if they find out that you are still alive, they will try to kill you. They should think you are dead, but if they find out a kid with your description is near me all the time like before, they will realise you survived somehow and things will get complicated"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Can''t I dye my hair or maybe have plastic surgery or something?"(Me)


    "Even if you dye your hair, your general description is the same, especially if they find out your abilities, and you are too young for plastic surgery, it can''t be done at your age"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Can''t I stay anyway? I don''t want to leave you"(Me)


    When I said that, I saw how painful that last line was for Uncle Muscle. His expression until then was one of concentration, with a glimpse of sadness or fury from time to time, but I could tell that I really hurt him with that one line. Again, I felt bad for being a little glad for that show of pain


    "You can''t, sorry. Cat left you with me because she trusted that I would take care of you.  Now she doesn''t and I can''t blame her for that. Besides, it is safer if you stay far away from me"(Uncle Muscle)


    "But it''s not your fault I was captured!"(Me)


    "It is. I was your guardian, I was supposed to look after you and I failed. There is no argue that"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Buuuut I doonn''t waannt to be separed ffrom youuu!!"(Me) Finally cried


    I really didn''t want to separate from him. It was unfair, he looked after me and took care of me but because of something I screwed up, I couldn''t see him anymore and he felt guilty about what happened


    It wasn''t fair, and I knew I couldn''t do anything about it so like the kid I was, I cried


    Life sucks


    "Don''t worry Sara, we will see each other again. It is not a goodbye, just a see you  later"(Uncle Muscle)Said with a soothing voice while patting my head


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    It did help me calm down a little


    "Really?<sniff>"(Me)


    "Really"(Uncle Muscle)


    "You promise?"(Me)


    "I promise"(Uncle Muscle)


    It took a while, but I finally calmed down, even though I still felt depressed. I ended up reluctantly agreeing with Uncle Muscle''s proposal, so there wasn''t much to discuss on that part


    What was left to decide would be what to do with Mei''s family. Uncle Muscle was sure he could get her a job for her and her family in the city, but he wasn''t sure Cat was willing to do the same over there


    "What do you want to do, Mei? I can try asking Cat or you can stay here, it is up to you"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Can you ask Cat? if it isn''t too much problem"(Mei) Said, a little shyly


    "Sure, and don''t worry. Even if she refuses, I will find something for you and your family over here"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Thank!"(Mei) Said while smiling shyly again, and turned a little red


    Uncle Muscle gave her his dashing smile as a response and decided to change the subject


    "Well, now that the important subjects are over, it is time we talk about the other two guys"(Uncle Muscle)


    Makombo and the scientist guy. To be honest, with everything that happened, I kind of forgot about them. For starters, I wasn''t that attached to Makombo, and I didn''t really care about the scientist guy, even if I felt a little guilty about maybe being responsible for his severe injuries


    "How are they?"(Me) Said, still a little down, but better than before


    "Well, Makombo is still in rehabilitation, since he started the treatment 2 days later, but his legs have been completely healed. As for the other guy, he is in a coma and I don''t know if he will wake up"(Uncle Muscle)


    It wasn''t that bad actually. Makombo''s recovery was good news, and even though I felt a little responsible about the guy''s coma, at least he was still alive, and I am sure he would be dead if it wasn''t for our help


    "So Makombo also chose to get clean? Did he tell you what he plans to do next?"(Me)


    "He told me he wants to go back to his country and I told him I would give him a plane ticket and some money. He thanked me and he told me he would pay me back some day with a determined expression. He looked like a nice young man"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Did he give you any trouble?"(Me)


    "A little at the beginning. He didn''t know where he was and tried to run away, even though his legs weren''t completely healed yet. They found him crying while trying to get to the door. He struggled a little and they gave him a tranquillizer and chained him to the bed. Later I told him I was your uncle and that you asked me to look after him, it was then that he finally calmed down"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Oh! ok. And the scientist guy?"(Me)


    "Well, nothing much, he is being taken care off in a private clinic and we will see if he wakes up"(Uncle Muscle)


    I did feel a little bad about that, but there was nothing I could do


    "You think he will wake up?"(Me)


    "No idea. For now, it is best to see if he wakes up on his own, but there is always the option of calling a "specialist" or two. We will see how it goes"(Uncle Muscle)


    At the time, I thought he mend the healing specialist, but now that I think about it, he could have meant, a different kind of "specialist"


    Still, I could say we are even, so I don''t really care that much. He worked at the facility willingly, so if Uncle Muscle decided to use forceful methods to extract information, as long as I didn''t find out, I wouldn''t mind


    Karma


    What I did mind was when was Cat coming, since it would mean how much time I had left with Uncle Muscle


    "When is Cat coming?"(Me)


    "Tomorrow morning"(Uncle Muscle)


    I felt depressed again. I had less time left with him than what I hoped


    "Don''t fell so down. I told you, this is a "See you soon", not a "Goodbye", we will see each other again. Come on, give Uncle Muscle a nice smile"(Uncle Muscle)


    I looked at him, and I could see the plea in his eyes, so I reluctantly smiled a little


    "It wasn''t that hard, right? Now come on, let''s grab something to eat. Do some Mac burgers sound nice to you two?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Yes"(Mei)


    "Uhu"(Me)


    So it was decided, we went to a Mac and order a combo plus two happy meals. The food was good, but I think I liked the toy better


    It was a cool guy all in black with two horns on his head


    -----------------------------------------------------


    Note: A lot fo Grammar mistakes this time around, especially with "felt", thanks Neiden for the help :)

 Side Story: Makombo

    Note: Sorry for the long wait, and for this being only an extra chapter of a not really important character. Still, I hope you guys enjoy it


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Makombo isn''t weak like his father


    That was his everyday motto


    He told himself that every day and he always wanted to prove he was strong, unlike his father


    When he found out the research facility actually gave him super powers, like some of those bandits that captured him a long time ago, he was actually glad. He was sure that he wouldn''t ever be weak like his father from now on


    He was so full of himself, he ran around excited with his new speed the day he woke up after the procedure


    Of course, with this new power plus his unfounded belief of him being strong, he went full of himself to the arena


    His first fight was a boy from Africa like him, only with buffed arms instead of legs. The only big difference was that he was trembling in fear, like his father a long time ago


    The moment the fight started, he didn''t hesitate. He started running at full speed, and while the guy was panicking, he punched his face with all his strength and kept punching him until the speaker told him to stop


    The bandit group he used to be in made him fight other kids from time to time and that was how the fights would usually be like there


    He walked away satisfied that he proved again that he was stronger than his father


    A week later, a new fight was arranged, and he was ready for it


    When he arrived, he found a little girl on the other side, vomiting her lunch on the floor. He also felt sick when teleporting, but he was man enough to hold it in, so he was disappointed in his rival. To make it worst, after she composed herself, he could see she was scared, like the guy in the last fight


    If there was one small difference with the other guy, it was that she was looking directly at him, unlike the guy before that didn''t know where to look


    In a way, the way she looked at him made him remember how his father would always look directly at the bandits even if he was trembling in fear


    That similarity, plus the puking and that she was white and a girl, made him even more sure that she was weak, and would be easily defeated


    Makombo ran at full speed and was ready to punch her in the face when he suddenly lost balance, follow by some pain and complete darkness


    He found himself back in his room the next day, with a headache and a little confused at what happened but he understood one thing


    He had lost


    When he found he could fight again if he issued a revenge match, he didn''t hesitate and called for it. He couldn''t accept that he lost to someone weak like his father, especially when he realized he slipped from her puke


    He just couldn''t accept it


    When he found himself in the arena again, with the girl at the other side, he was sure he wouldn''t lose this time. Unlike the time before, the girl didn''t puke on the floor this time, but she was still trembling in fear a little bit and looking at him, just like his father


    Without hesitation, he started running at full speed again, with the simple thought of punching her. What could go wrong?


    Except that in moments later, he felt pain and blackness again and found himself in his bed the next day


    He had lost again


    Even after losing two times, he didn''t give up. He couldn''t accept that he was weaker than his father. He knew that Sara wasn''t his father, but he couldn''t help but see his father and Sara as similar persons


    Even when  she stopped trembling in fear, it was the same as his father, since he stopped trembling in fear over time. But even if he stopped trembling, he would always stare at the bandits, even when he was handing his tribute


    But what he couldn''t accept the most was that he couldn''t win against her, no matter what he did. He was supposed to be strong, so he couldn''t lose to someone weak like his father


    He tried getting faster, but no matter how fast he was, she would always beat him


    He tried new moves, that he thought of himself or saw others doing them, but she would always find a counter


    He tried fighting people against whom she had lost, but even when he managed to beat some of them (after a few tries sometimes) he couldn''t still beat her for some reason


    He tried fighting her friends, but that pissed off Sara and she would be ruthless in her fights, unlike the usual fights


    That is when he started stalking Sara everywhere he could


    It started simply, by learning English so he could communicate with her. Then, he started following her movements when he found her in the crowd, and then he started eating at the same time she did or "chilling" at a place he knew she would walk by


    One of the first things he learned was that she frequently saw people''s fights and studied them. It wasn''t something he did since he usually learned by experience, but he decided to follow her example


    Of course, the first things he saw were her fights


    From them, he learned a couple of things. For starters, he realized she didn''t lose often, which made him a little proud even if he always lost. He also learned that when she lost, sometimes she would ask for a revenge match, but she never asked a revenge match again(unlike him)


    As for her fighting style, it wasn''t specific. Usually, most kids at the facility did the same thing over and over again and hope it was enough. On the other hand, Sara changed her fighting style according to her opponent


    For example, Sara fought defensively against him, always staying rooted in her place and waiting for him to come. He never realized that, until he noticed she used different approaches with other types of opponents. If it was a telekinetic, she would be extremely aggressive and even throw stuff like rocks at them. He even realized that with enemies slower than her, she would usually be aggressive, but with people faster than her like him or the chimeras, she would act defensively


    But even when she acted aggressively or defensively, she acted differently according to the enemy. Like sometimes throwing stuff at them, or moving around them while attacking or not giving them time to breathe, etc


    It made him reflect on his usual pattern of running really fast and kicking the enemy every single time. He did use other patterns from time to time when he realized it wasn''t effective, but it was true that he used that most of the time. He never bothered to research others before a fight, he just winged it


    But after realizing how effective it was, he started to follow her example


    His stalking didn''t stop and only got worse over time. He started to shadow her when she was outside her classroom, would follow her to her training classes and would even play the same video games she was playing


    It reached such a point that since he would try to stay hidden when Sara looked around, Sara would see a dark shadow and she started to believe there was a ghost of a dead kid that couldn''t move on and haunted the facility. She even told Meg and Mei and other people, that told other people, until everyone started to talk about the ghost of the kid and even invented a tragic story behind it


    Makombo would even hear that story later, and felt pity for the poor ghost kid


    Anyways,  he could never beat her even if he tried the revenge match over and over again and even after following her around all the time, but he never gave up in winning or his observing(Stalking)


    He even started to pay attention to stuff unrelated to fighting, like her habits, her friends and her relationships in general, and those didn''t stop him from remembering how his father acted


    For starters, she was deeply aware of the different groups in the facility, and would offer some kind of tribute from time to time when she offended someone in a group. He even realized she lost a couple of times to weak individuals that were infamous for being nasty outside of the arena fights. He knew that since not only he thought it was suspicious how "weak" she suddenly got on those fights, but when he challenged them later, they weren''t particularly strong. He ended up suffering their nasty acts of revenge later


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    He even started thinking for a moment that he might win against Sara if he followed their example, but he decided against it since it wasn''t the kind of strength he was seeking


    But in a way, the way she was careful of other dangerous people reminded him of how his father would always try his best to not anger the bandit group. This reinforces the thoughts that she was weak like his father and making him wonder why he couldn''t win against such a weak person


    As for how she got along with her friends and how she acted every day, they were completely different from the way his father acted


    For starters, she was greedy, always trying to find ways to earn more points. She would do missions, fight often and even bet from time to time when she was sure she would win


    On the other side, she also spent a lot, to the point that she would spend almost as much as she earned. It would go into watching fights, watching movies, playing video games, training, weapons, food, clothes, bribes, etc


    It was completely different from his father that wouldn''t spend a penny on anything unnecessary, and spend much of his time with him and his 3 years old brother


    This made him believe this was one of the key points as to why he couldn''t win, and he started spending his points in watching fights, going to training classes, etc


    The other difference would be how she got along with other people


    Unlike Makombo''s father that was a loner, Sara did her best to get along with everyone, and she spent most of her time with her two friends. The Chinese fat ass and the crazy dog girl


    Makombo didn''t like them very much


    One was a weak-willed, easily scared, shy pig. Even when she had to exercise a lot, thanks to eating a lot of sweet stuff most of the time made her rounder than most kids her age, and Makombo hated weak willed people like her


    As for the other, she was nuts. She ran around the place all the time, liked smelling people, talked about meat whenever she opened her mouth and had the attention span of a squirrel. She was annoying


    Makombo didn''t understand why she spent so much time with those girls


    To make it worst, she would get really angry if someone messed with them, she would stop her usual "friendly" attitude, and would go full demon on those that messed with them


    In a way, that hurt him the most. Considering his father let the bandits take him away, this made it, in the end, the biggest difference between them


    Makombo never expected to get away from the facility just like that. Ever since he got captured by the bandits, he never expected to regain his freedom ever again


    It was definitely unexpected


    He did break his legs in the process, but they were quickly healed, like inside the facility, and a really buffed old man even asked him what he wanted to do from now on


    This old man introduced himself as Sara''s guardian. That meant he was the guardian of the only person he couldn''t beat in the last two years no matter how many times he tried. Makombo would normally wonder why an old man would help someone like him, but for some reason,the old man looked thrust worthy


    Since Makombo was strong, not being able to beat her meant she just was the strongest ever, so it made sense she was raised by a capable person and was able to escape the facility, something no one else managed to do


    By this time, he thought she was only similar in some aspects, but was completely different from his father. Makombo was sure that the only reason he wasn''t as strong as Sara was because he was raised by his father for many years, unlike Sara


    If he was the one that raised Sara, he was sure he wouldn''t mind a small favor


    "I want to go back home"(Makombo) answered him


    It was something he thought about  during his escape, and after thinking about it, he definitely wanted to return home and confront his father that sold him to those bandits


    "And the drug in your system? We have been giving you some to delay the withdraw symptoms, but you got to choose if you want to clean yourself or keep taking them"(Old man)


    He instantly decided to clean himself without hesitation. He was a strong man, no doubt about it. He only lost to Sara because she was too strong, but he didn''t doubt he was strong so getting clean shouldn''t be too hard


    Right?


    Hell!


    He was definitely in hell!!!


    How could someone survive a torture like that!?


    He couldn''t help himself think about all the times he lost to Sara, how he was a weak scum that couldn''t even beat a weak little girl


    But worst of all, he couldn''t stop thinking about how his father let him get taken away by the bandits


    He started remembering the day again and again


    He remembered how he was coming from his village school. It was a simple classroom with a couple of kids and an old man that taught them how to read and count. It was nothing special compared with the materials at the facility, but he enjoyed it a lot


    But when the school finally ended for the day, the bandits were waiting for them outside


    They were 3 guys, all of them with an Ak-47 on their back, a pistol, and a knife. They  had a small truck on their back and were waiting for us to come out


    They told them that their parents let them takes us back to their base, and if any of them tried to fight back, they would be punish


    A kid did try to run, but one of the three quickly catchws up to him, hit him in the head with the back of his pistol and loaded him into the truck


    No one else tried to fight back


    They were just about to board the truck when one of the three suddenly talked


    "Who is Baraka Son?"(Bandit) Asked


    Of the three, he was the most poorly dressed, with cuts, bullet holes and red stains all over his body, his hair a little rowdy and the string holding his AK-47 broken. He looked a little pitiful. He did look angry


    Most kids were a little scared when he suddenly asked since the kids noticed he was angry for some reason and no one wanted to be the target of his fury so they instinctively looked at the person he was looking for


    Makombo, Baraka''s son. A poor and scared 5 years old kid


    "So it is you! Your father made sure I would take extra care of you"(Bandit) Said while showing an evil smile


    And since that day, Makombo would get special treatment


    Since the guy in messy clothes was actually one of the powered of the group, with regenerating powers, forcing a little kid with "special treatment" wasn''t really hard for him


    He took Makombo to fight and train with people 2 years older than him and was treated the same as people that age, so he would be punished when he couldn''t keep up


    Since that day, he would always repeat the same words


    Makombo isn''t weak like his father


    And would work hard to try and keep up with the rest of the group while cursing his weak father that sold him out to the bandits, and was given "especial treatment" which lead him to be sold for experimentation


    In the rehabilitation room, he remember all that and a lot of other stuff that made him sad, but at the same time, it made him want to go back home, and complain to his father about everything that he put him through, just because he was too scared to fight and too weak to do anything


    But Makombo was only half right.


    ----------------------------------------------------


    Note: Thanks for the grammar help Neiden ::)    Changed two recommended stuff that included the pistol and Makombo''s father name, besides the usual mistakes =P

 Side Story: Mei

    Things finally started to look good for Mei, after years and years of dealing with crappy cards


    First, she lost her parents, something that sucks no matter what. Then, she got sold to the Chinese Mafia by her uncle


    Then she got sold again to a research facility and got experimented on with the side effect that she won''t live past 50


    Then, she was forced to constantly fight, even though she sucked at it, and even developed an eating disorder to try to calm her anxiety


    She was really pitiful, in her opinion at least


    Well, at least she knew it wasn''t all bad. Her uncle did try to take care of them and was still taking care of her little brother. She wasn''t alone at the facility and she even managed to get out alive from there, with a secure future from now on


    Things finally started to look good for her, and it was thanks to Sara, and now that she thought about it, it was kind of funny how they got to know each other


    It all started with the mission the researchers at the facility gave  her. It all started with getting to know her and ask her to do this or that. She didn''t though she was doing anything "bad", and she was helping her family which was a "good" thing, so she didn''t feel too guilty about it. She did keep her mouth shut about it though


    Besides, they never went over the top with the request. All she had to do was keep a log of their activities, conversations, and after a while, they asked her to take pictures of Sara alone


    To make it look natural, and not so sudden, she started taking photos from time to time about different stuff with her standard cell phone. It was kind of difficult for those two to willingly appear in photos at the start. It was mostly because Sara and Meg didn''t like appearing in photos, but Mei kept insisting on it and even managed to persuade Sara by saying it was to help Mei feel confident about her looks (which she ended up buying it) and the two of them managed to persuade Meg


    It did end up helping Meg with her image problem, so it wasn''t a bad idea actually


    So with the good deed as an excuse, she kept taking pictures of Sara on the side and sending a few to the research facility for money for her family. Mei also received an audio file from her little brother saying "Thanks" and "I miss you" among other stuff, but it did help her worries and confirm that they were keeping with their end of their bargain


    As for how things went from there? Well, nothing much. Over time, they lost interest and would just ask for some photos and the log every 2 months, meanwhile, she kept living her life


    She ate with Meg and Sara every day, would go to some of Sara''s extra classes, and would spend most of her points on sweets or entertainment


    Luckyly for her, the fighting system wasn''t unfair. It was like a ranking system, the more wins you had, the better the opponent you would have to fight against. If we put a 50% as a standard, those above 50% would fight more often with those above 50% while those below 50% would generally fight with those below 50%


    This did mean she lost more than she won, but she had always around a 40% win rate while Sara had around 50% at the start but went up to 65% in the end (if you forget Makombo''s revenge challenges in the equation). Meg, on the other hand, had a 60% average from beginning to end


    By the way, Sara and Meg fought 4 times in total, and they are technically even with 2 wins and 2 losses, but one was a 2v1 of Sara and Mei against Meg, so Sara''s pride was a little hurt that she only won once fair and square. Of course, Mei never won but she only fought against them one time each in a 1v1 fight


    And if she had, to be honest, she was thankful for getting to know those two. If it wasn''t for the mission they gave her, being kind of an introvert, Mei would have never approached Sara the first day, or any other day for the matter, which would probably have ended up with her being all alone until the place ended up blowing up


    So not only did she get some great friends, knowing Sara and Meg ended up saving her life and even finding a way out of the facility. So Mei was basically  both unlucky for finding herself in those situations and lucky for finding a way out of them


    She did spend one week in hell, getting tormented by the death of her parents, the betrayal of her uncle, all those kids left behind, abandoning Meg, and selling her friends for money


    It had been though, and there was no way she would have gone through it if she had known what was about, but once she was in, all she could do was wait for the symptoms to go away, and after a week, she was finally out


    Now, she was happily eating pizza in a really big apartment with a kind and extremely buffed old man, and her friend. Something she would have never even dreamed of before


    She did feel sorry about Meg, but at least she knew she was probably alive, unlike all those poor children they left behind and she hoped that she would one day find a way out like them


    "How is it?"(Uncle Muscle) Suddenly asked


    If Mei had to give an opinion about him, it would be that he was both scary and gentle. He looked really really scary, with some scars, oversize muscles, and a stature above average. On the other hand, he always dressed cleanly, he was really well dressed, had a calm attitude and gentle eyes. It was a strange mixture


    "It''s good"(Sara) Said happily


    "Yep"(Mei)


    It was strange for Mei to see Sara so happy if she had, to be honest. She did saw her smile from time to time, and she also saw her in a good mood quite often, but it could be said it was the first time she saw her genuinely happy and relaxed


    Usually, even when she was happy, there was some kind of barrier or something like that. It was as if she was always on guard for something to come at her, no matter where. To put it short, she was never completely relaxed


    But now it was different. She was relaxed, happy and she didn''t look like she had to hold the weight of the world on her shoulders anymore. It was a first time for Mei and a big surprise


    Considering that Mei kind of admired how Sara would always look composed and confident no matter what, it was a big shock when she finally saw her defenceless. It was like seeing your favorite artist without make up


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Still, it is not like Mei thought Sara was perfect. Mei knew that Sara was incredibly greedy, a little pushy, paranoid, distrustful, had a temper, had a video game addiction, etc. Mei knew Sara had those flaws and more, but it was still a little disappointing that one of the sides she liked most about her wasn''t as good as she thought it was


    Did that mean that Mei didn''t want to be friends anymore? Nope. Did it mean she thought less of her? Nope again. It just meant that Mei knew Sara a little better now


    Besides, she was thankful for everything that Sara did for her. Being her friend, looking after her at the facility, helping her get out, finding her a job and helping her family. And let''s not forget helping with her addiction problem and even giving her a warm meal after they got out


    Hell, she was eating the best Pizza she ever had


    <Thud>(noise) of something really heavy hitting something


    Mei was eating her second pizza portion when she suddenly heard a noise to her right. It happened so suddenly and it was considerably loud, so she couldn''t help herself and looked to her right


    What she found was Sara sleeping in on the table for some reason


    Mei, a little confused and afraid, quickly approached Sara and started shaking her to see what was going on


    "What happened? Are you alright?"(Mei)


    But no matter how much she shook her or what she said, Sara didn''t respond


    "She is fine. I  just put some sleeping pills in her glass"(Uncle Muscle) Said in a calm tone


    "WHY WOULD YOU DO TH!a...?"(Mei)


    When she turned so she could take a better look at Uncle Muscle, she found him staring directly at her for some reason, and it looked really really intimidating


    "So we can talk"(Uncle Muscle) Said as a matter of fact


    "Aaaabout wwhat?"(Mei)


    "About you taking orders from the Grey Cult group"(Uncle Muscle)


    Mei went from being a little white to almost completely white after hearing that


    "Everrry one toook orders from them"(Mei)


    "And did everyone send information and pictures of their friends to them?"(Uncle Muscle)


    The cat was out of the bag


    "I doonn''t know?"(Mei)


    It''s not like she wanted to play dumb, but it''s not like she knew what others did on their own. It''s not like it was impossible that Makombo also sold information on Sara too(he wasn''t)


    "Fine, let''s stop beating around the bush. Did they ask you to send pictures and information about Sara? Yes or no?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Yes"(Mei)


    No point in lying


    "Why did you do it?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "They send money to my brother and uncle if I did it!"(Mei) Said really fast while looking at him


    "And did Sara know all this?"(Uncle Muscle)


    She hesitated for a moment, thinking about lying but instead just looked at the floor and decided to tell the truth


    ".....no"(Mei)


    "Why not"(Uncle Muscle)


    "..........."(Mei)


    Silence


    "Why not"(Uncle Muscle) Repeated


    "...... I was afraid she would hate me"(Mei)


    "Then why did you keep doing it?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "I was worried about my family and it was only taking pictures and writing a diary. Nothing bad"(Mei)


    "And what if they had asked you to hurt Sara. Would you have done it?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "No way! She is my friend!"(Mei)  Finally looked back at Uncle Muscle, a little angry


    They stared at each other for a few seconds, until Uncle Muscle broke the silence


    "Fine, tell me everything they asked you to do from the start. Don''t omit anything"(Uncle Muscle)


    So Mei told him everything she knew, from the time they gave her a picture to how often they ask her for pictures. When she told him everything she knew, Uncle Muscle stayed quiet for a minute, thinking about something while Mei just stayed quiet, a little afraid of what he may say


    "So it is not like you sold her out, but were a mole from the start, right?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "I guess. They just showed me a picture and asked me to get close to her. But I do think Sara as a friend, even if I only got to know her because of what they asked of me"(Mei)


    "And you never thought of confessing?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "What if she hated me? I would be all alone in that place, and would be dead by now"(Mei)


    After she told him that, he went for the whisky by his side, and after pouring some in a glass, he started drinking really slowly


    Not being able to handle the silence, Mei decided to ask about her future after what she said


    "What is going to happen to me, now that you know what I did..."(Mei)


    Uncle Muscle didn''t answer instantly, and instead just kept drinking slowly . When he finished his glass, he put it down and stared at her


    "Look, I am going to be honest. If you weren''t her friend, I would have kicked you out of here and told you to never come back. Lucky for you, I can''t do that or she will be deeply hurt, both for your betrayal and for losing a friend. This is what we are going to do, you will never tell her what you told me, ok?"(Uncle Muscle)


    "Ok"(Mei)


    "And if you ever do something like that, I will "take care" of both you and your family, do you understand?"(Uncle Muscle)


    Mei turned really pale when she heard she would be killed and disposed of if she ever betrayed them, but still managed to nod in agreement


    "Ok, then keep looking after Sara for now on"(Uncle Muscle) Said with a "beautiful" smile


    -----------------------------------


    Note: Well, no more side stories for a while now(not like I couldn''t write like 8 more if I wanted) they were mostly to show another side of Sara that she omits to mention on her story or never noticed, besides showing that some stuff happened behind the scene that she never realised


    And thanks Neiden for helping again :)

 Chapter 57: Road trip

    Before I noticed, I was in a car with Cat and Mei going to a new city


    The day before ended pretty suddenly with me falling asleep after eating Pizza at Uncle Muscle''s place( I was more tired than I thought), and when I woke up the next day, Cat was already at Uncle Muscle place


    I was happy when I saw her and even went for a hug, but when it was time to say goodbye to Uncle Muscle, I did end up crying....


    In the end, I reluctantly got inside the car, said goodbye to Uncle Muscle and Mei, Cat and me headed for a new place inside Cat''s car. The new place we were headed to was the place where Cat move out after she had to leave the city, and it was called Silver Sea


    Even though the city is called Silver Sea, it is actually near the Ocean and not the sea, and it is famous for its beaches. It used to be a fishing town a long time ago(reason why it was called Silver Sea) but it changed to a tourist city since it brought more money


    Thanks to having a port and being a tourist tra... I mean attraction, it is a great place for criminal organisations to make good money from gullib... innocent tourist, and idiot teenagers that came to party. It was a great place to both sell drugs, bring drugs, and laundry money


    A criminal''s paradise


    Of course, they tried their best to make the place look "clean" on the outside, like Vegas, but it was deeply rooted on the inside. It reached such level, that for some reason, it was "common" to have "battles" of "good vs evil" during high season with almost no harm to civilians or property damage(for some strange reason) it just casually happens every year and was one of the town attractions


    Even when there is property damage or a civilian casualty, most of the time it just casually happens that the place or the person had problems with money with a great insurance or were making life difficult for some extremely well-connected people


    You can guess why a person like Cat would be interested working in a city like this


    Still, it is not like everything is perfect there. For starters, there are multiple gangs fighting for a cut of the pie, plus the police, politicians, reporters and superheroes, and all want a slice of the pie. To make it short, there are a lot of fights on how much pie each group gets, all wanting a little bit more


    It is not a jungle since no one there wants to scare the tourist. Plus, if someone makes too much noise, there is an agreement where all the groups work together to put down the noise maker, but on the other hand, as long as you don''t make too much noise, anything is ok, and I mean anything


    I can see why Cat was reluctant to bring an unpowered 5 years old kid to this place. On the other side, since it is a tourist city, it is only during summer when everything gets dangerous, and the other 3 seasons, when normal school starts, everything is a little calmer


    It works mostly like this, the groups slowly regroup and fight each other during the 3 offseasons  to see how much pie they can get and hold on, and they use all their cards during the high season. To make it short, steady work for 3 seasons and hard work with great pay during the high season


    Not the best city in the world to live in, but everyone has to eat, right? And in the end, people like Cat can only live in places like that. Like it or not, we were heading there in a pretty nice car ride


    As for why a nice car ride, well...


    "Look look Mei, look at all that corn!"(Me)


    "Wow!"(Mei)


    To be honest, we were pretty excited at all the things we were seeing on the way. It was the first trip out of town we ever had, considering we had been trapped in a bunker the last 2.5 years. It was Mei and my first time seeing corn fields, cows, big trucks etc


    "You like the view?"(Cat) Asked in a cheerful tone


    "Yes!/Yep!"(Mei/Me) Exited


    "Enjoy it while it lasts, you will get bored after a while"(Cat)


    "No way!"(Me)


    Half an hour later, I got bored


    "How long till we get there?"(Me)


    What can I say, anyone would get tired of seeing the same thing over and over again after a while, and Mei wasn''t  much different. At least it was nice while it lasted


    "Let see, the distance between Silver Sea and Capital City is around 1000km, and we have been driving around 2 hours now, so I guess we have around 6 hours left"(Cat)


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    To be more exact, it took us 1 hour to get out of the city, so we had been traveling  for 1 hour, and the trip there from Capital City usually takes a 10 hours drive. If you take in consideration that she was also taking into account the stops, like food and gasoline, you would think her maths were wrong, unless you take into account how fast she was going


    It was really fast. The car wasn''t a Ferrari, but it was a nice and new black BMW


    "Is it nice there?"(Me)


    "Well, the beaches are nice, and it gets quite lively this time of the year"(Cat)


    Translation: Summer was coming


    "We will go to the beach when we get there?"(Me) A little excited


    Considering I never went to the beach before, it was something I really wanted to do. Luckily, I took a couple of swim lessons at the facility(for fun), so I didn''t think the sea would be dangerous


    By the way, I know it is technically the Ocean, but people say sea and not ocean when they go for a dive into the water


    "Nope kiddo, first we will settle down, then we will buy you two some new clothes and swim suits and then we can go to the beach but it will be tomorrow or the day after"(Cat)


    "Oh! And how is the place we are moving? Will I have my own room?"(Me)


    "Yes and no. For a few days, you will be sharing your room with Mei until her family comes back. It has a bunker bed so it won''t be a problem"(Cat)


    "My family is coming!? What did they say!? Everyone is fine!?"(Mei) Suddenly got out of her phone and got interested in the conversation


    Like me, she got bored of looking around the place after a while, but she has always been kind of shy to strangers, so she started playing around with her new cell phone, or at least she was until cat mentioned her family and got excited


    "Calm down. Both of them are fine, and your uncle agreed to come to Silver Sea with your brother since we were getting him a job. They should arrive in a couple of days. You should give them a call once we arrive. Frederick gave me their phone number before we left"(Cat)


    As for why Mei hadn''t call them yet, it was simply because she didn''t know their number. She knew her uncle''s and her mother and father''s name, and knew the city where she lived, but she never memorised her home phone number, so Uncle Muscle had to search for them the old fashion way


    It looks like he found them a couple of days before we left, but with the clinic stuff, she couldn''t call them there, and after we got out we went to eat, bought some daily necessities like clothes, hygienic stuff like toothbrush and shampoo, and 2 cell phones. She may have been able to call at night when we went back to Uncle Muscle place, but for some reason, she didn''t. Maybe she forgot?


    And now that I think about it, why did we had to go buy even more clothes when we get there? Let me tell you, it was hell going there with Cat


    "Can I call them?"(Mei)


    "You could, but cellphone reception on the highway isn''t great, it is best that you wait until we get there and you can call them from a line phone"(Cat)


    "Ok....."(Mei)


    She was a little down after hearing that, and I understood why considering I would also love to talk with my family


    "Don''t worry, you will talk to them soon enough"(Me)


    "Yes..."(Mei)


    After that, there was a little of awkward silence, so each did their thing. Cat kept driving, while me and Meg started playing with our phones


    On the way to the city, Cat did break the silence a couple of times while asking things like what music we liked, so she could pick a station or favorite color, or how did we see Uncle Muscle, what tv shows we liked etc. Small talk basically


    And after a trip of around 7 hours which I enjoyed to some extent, we finally arrived at the new city


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: Another chapter corrected by Neiden :)  thanks for the help


    For those that wonder, both Silver Sea(Mar del Plata) and Capital City(Capital Federal) name and form come from 2 cities from my country but the country they live in is technically like North America in form, place, and power. I just can''t use cities there as a place for the main character to live since I never visited. I may use a couple if it is only a short visit

 Chapter 58: Small Vacation

    When we finally arrived at Cat''s home, it was already late in the evening  and almost nightfall. Thanks to being a tourist city and still not in high season, there wasn''t a lot of traffic on the way and we managed to reach to Cat''s home pretty quickly once we arrived at the city


    The neighborhood was pretty clean and illuminated, full of houses all around. The houses all had different designs unlike some tv comedies were all the houses looked exactly the same, so there was little chance of someone picking the wrong driveway because of it. As for their looks, there were some houses that looked quite old and some that looked either renovated or just plain new


    In Cat''s case, it was a new house, with a driveway and no grass up front, just asphalt. It had a front door with a security camera and a garage on the side


    When the car was getting near, she pressed a button on a small remote in her keys, and the door to the garage opened and got the car inside


    "Come on girls, let''s get inside"(Cat)


    So, After the three of us left the car, Cat went to a door, and after entering a key code in a panel by the side, she opened the door and got inside the house


    "Tada!"(Cat)


    The garage door led directly to the living room, and with a big smile, Cat showed it to us. It was nothing special, it had a table for eating, a sofa, a big TV with a ps4, and a clean new kitchen at the end with all the usual stuff like a refrigerator, a microwave, coffee machine and stuff like knives, forks etc


    She explained to us like where was the food, plates, bowls, how to use the tv(it had 3 remotes), and how the alarm system worked. She later texted me the alarm password to my cell phone so I wouldn''t forget and gave me a set of keys


    After that, Cat showed us her room(bed, tv, desk, computer, lamp) and my and Mei''s room, which had a bunker bed, closet, desk with laptop and a tv


    "Pretty nice, right?"(Cat)


    "Yes!"(Me) Exited of having my own room


    After that, she showed us the second floor, that had a recreation room(Music, pinball, cushions)  and a small gym. There was also a door to the basement, but it was closed and she never show us what was inside


    There was also a small yard with a pool, that you could access from the living room through a glass window and had a BBQ area. The whole yard was surrounded by concrete wall on all sides, so unless you got over the wall, you wouldn''t see a thing on the other side


    And that was the whole house. It was pretty nice in my opinion. As for why was my room ready, it looks like it used to be the guest room, and Cat just changed the normal bed to a double bed


    Later, we just order a pizza, and Mei asked Cat for her family phone number, which she called shortly after. I saw  her shaking a little bit when Cat gave her the phone number in a small piece of paper and when she started dialing the number, so I did the only thing I could do, just put my hand over her shoulder to try to say "I am here"


    I think it helped a little, but I could see how worried she looked as she waited for someone to answer. It took a minute, but his uncle finally answered


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    I don''t know the full extent of the conversation afterwards, since I could only hear half of it, I left them alone after Mei calmed down a little and I never asked what they talked about, but for what I understood, her uncle asked her for her forgiveness for what he did at some moment and Mei forgave him after she found out that he properly looked after her brother this last 2.5 years


    I think she even managed to talk with her brother later because she looked pretty happy when she finally went to bed. I admit I was both happy for her and a little envious


    Nightmare


    No, I don''t mean that I had a nightmare during the night(I did have some from time to time but not that day), it just that the following day was a complete nightmare


    Remember when Cat say we were going to buy some clothes? Well, it turns out buying some clothes basically mean becoming dress up dolls for her....


    I tried more clothes that day than in my whole life altogether. Shoes, swimsuits, t-shirts, skirts, full dresses, costumes, etc. You named, I tried at some point. And not only me, Mei received an equal share of the nightmare, trying anything that would hide her extra size or would still look nice in it


    When we finish, it was already pretty late, so we went back home after buying some groceries, and the car ended up full of bags. It took us like an hour to organise all the stuff we brought and when we were finally done with all that, Cat made some pasta and we finally went to bed. It had been a long and tiring day


    On the plus side, since we had our swimsuits, change of clothes and even sunscreen we brought on the way, we were ready for the beach, so the next day we got up early


    Since Cat had a tent on a private beach, it was a sunny day and it was hot enough you felt like going into the water, we didn''t have any problems and had a blast


    I swam in the ocean, enjoyed the waves, and almost drown =P


    Let me tell you, the sea current isn''t something to joke about, the moment your feets leave the ground, if you are not careful, you can get swap away by the sea current and end up in Mexico as a drowned corpse. Luckily, I have strong legs(thanks to you know what) and managed to swim back without needing rescue from the coast guard, but it was a really sh-tty experience


    Did I get scared and never went back? Nope, I just made sure to never be in a place where my feets never touch the ground(A good advice I found the hard way)


    As for Cat and Mei, Cat enjoyed  tanning herself at the beach, and Mei never dared to step too deep into the water, but we all had a great time


    And like that, our vacations were over, it was time to go back to work


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: No cookie reward, so here are the names, "Mar del Plata" and "Capital federal" from Argentina which literally mean "The Silver Sea" and "Federal City"

 Chapter 59: Meeting a pig

    Originally, Cat offer me to just go to school and make a normal life if I wanted, but I refused while saying a heroic thing like I didn''t want to leave Mei alone


    In truth, I just wanted money Living in the streets and having to buy anything I want in the facility with points made me a little greedy with money. I learned you can never have enough of it


    Living in the streets and having to buy anything I want in the facility with points made me a little greedy with money. I learned you can never have enough of it


    Well, there was also the thing about not trusting Cat 100%. I mean, I owe her a lot and it looked like she was telling the truth when she said she would look after me even if I didn''t work for it, but the fear of her leaving me again still hadn''t left me. What if something happens and she has to leave me behind again? Or if she gets tired of me? Or if she dies?


    It is a scary thought, but I am the kind of person that expect the worst and gets pleasantly surprised when things turned out right. With the life I had so far, you do that or suffer disappointment over and over again


    So yeah, I used Mei as an excuse to get a job and earn some extra cash on the side. Sue me


    What was I going to do with the money? Use some of it if I wanted anything, and save the rest for emergencies. Like I said, expect the worst, besides, the job didn''t look too difficult


    And what job were we going to do? A similar job than with Uncle Muscle actually. Our job would be to deliver "stuff", and messages to other people for the mafia


    In case you are wondering why the mafia would hire little kids to do their "Stuff"(when I say "stuff" I mean not so legal things), there were a couple of reasons


    First, getting arrested. Kids don''t get in a lot of troubles when they are caught by the law, and even if they go somewhere, it is only to a reformatory for a couple of years, no matter the crime


    Best part, it wouldn''t go into record, would get a proper education, free food, and exercise. It was a better condition than most kids in the street had


    Second, kids don''t draw as much attention as adults, so they manage to slip by more easily. Who would suspect that a kid with a hello kitty bag was actually carrying 3kgs of weed?


    Third, most people think twice before thinking about hurting some kids for something they are not even sure it is worth their time, and even if they do, they usually ended up blacklisted by other groups and heroes. No one likes a child abuser


    I know that hiring kids would technically make them child abusers, but as long as they gave them a proper pay, it was considered better than just let them root on the street. It is not like the government or heroes were doing a fine job looking after them, in case you are wondering


    Fourth, kids are usually more innocent than adults, so there is a lesser chance to get screw over. They are also more gullible


    Fifth, kids are cheaper than adults. Why do you think so many countries use 0child labor, even if they have a bad rep for it?


    Six, getting them early on meant they would we trustworthy and already used to the organization when they grow up. Basically, early brainwashing


    Seven, if they had super powers, all the above reasons made it even more worth it to get them early on


    For all those reasons plus having Cat as a reference made it the obvious choice for the organisation to be more than happy to hire both of us without any sort of complaint


    By the way, they also didn''t complain about bringing Mei family here and were even glad about it for one simple reason, they worked as hostages to keep a powered person on a leash(Mei). I was also Cat leash in a way, but I didn''t realise at the time, thanks to my young and more naive mind


    I guess you could say that the eight reason would be that it helps keep on a leash some of the mafia members that have their sons and daughters working inside the organisation


    So, because of all that, the day after we went to the beach, Cat took both of us to one of her organisation offices, wich it turned out it was actually a bar owned by the mafia. The mafia also had a chain store of Pizza places called Luigi and a couple of Italian restaurants La Parolaccia


    As for their business, most stores had to pay "protection" money, and in the Luigi chain store, if you order stuff like "Pizza a la Madona extra crispy", the pizza box came with a "special" reward. They also had a couple of gambling dens, some prostitution, and probably more stuff I didn''t even know about, so they did have a big slice of the cake


    This group was bigger than the one Cat use to work with, but at the same time, it was smaller. Cat used to work with one of the mafia groups in Capital City, that only had 3 super powered, but the actual group was a lot bigger, she was just part of a branch family. The only reason she changed from a 3 A powered group to a 7 A powered group was because she did a good job (under the circumstances) 4 years ago and she got promoted


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    So, thanks to having been working for 4 years there, as soon as we got to the bar, all the people there both recognized and greeted Cat with a smile


    "Hello Celina"(Random mob guy 1)


    "Hey Celina"(Random mob 2)


    "Who are this two pretty ladies that came with you?"(Creepy guy 1)


    Etc


    The place had mostly guys, except for the bartender and a couple of girlfriends and "girlfriends". I am pretty sure that all of them were Italian or at least European descendants, making Mei the only not white person in the bar


    As for how they dressed, they were either in a suit, or at least dressed nicely and not even one was wearing something like a t-shirt or shorts. They were wearing a suit, vest, shirt, dress, or similar stuff


    Things were a little different in the high season since it was a popular place, and there wasn''t a strict dress code there, but that was only in high season and at night. In the morning, and evening, the place was a meeting place for those in the organisation and if they needed to have a private meeting, they just closed the place for the evening


    We went in the morning, so the place was only half full( The place also served coffee) and there was nothing going on at the time, so the place was open to the public. We would have enter anyway if it was closed considering Cat importance in the organisation, but it would have been a lot more awkward in that circumstance


    Since the people there weren''t really relevant, Cat(or Celina) introduced me as her adopted daughter(that shocked most people there) and Mei as my friend. We said hello a little shyly, and proceeded with Cat to an office in the back


    The office wasn''t anything fancy, it had a reception room with a sofa, table couple of chairs, some cabinets and a door to a smaller office. As for the smaller office, it had a desk, some chairs, some decorations and a pig


    When I say pig, I don''t mean an actual pig or a decoration of a pig, but a really fat and sweaty, almost completely bald, with serious troubles breathing, and below the average height that looked like he was stuck to the chair all day long "human" that we went to see. You can see for the way I presented him how much I respect the guy


    "Cat, good to see you! how are you?"(Pig) Said as if he was seeing an old friend after a long time, with a nice smile and a pleasant tone but he did that with almost everyone


    "Everything is fine, and as you can see, I brought what we talked about"(Cat) Said a little indifferent and she sat in one of the chairs


    We followed her example, and we sat on the two remaining chair in the office. You could see that there was a great difference in quality between our chairs and the Pig chair, but that was the usual office standar


    "I can see that. You don''t mind if I test them,right?"(Pig)


    "What do you have in mind?"(Cat) Said cautiously


    "Nothing dangerous, just test that what you said is true. I brought a handgrip dynamometer so I can test their strength"(Pig)


    After saying that, the pig took a dynamometer from one of the desks and throw it to Cat. She caught it easily and after looking at it for a bit, she handed it to me and showed me how to use it


    "Squees it for 3 seconds"(Cat)


    So I did exactly that. Still, I had to do it pretty often over at the facility to test my progress over time, so I actually knew how to use it


    "36"(Me)


    Last time I did it, it was 34, so it wasn''t bad. For those that doesn''t know, 36 would be the average strength of a 15 old boy, so it wasn''t bad for a 9 years old girl. Those that had only reinforced arms would reach around 60 when they were around 8-9 from what I heard but I have no idea how it would go from there


    "Let me see"(Pig)


    So I handed the dynamometer to him so he could see the result. He even tried it himself and I think I saw 40 for a moment


    "Well, looks like you really have powers kid. How about you? Can you lift something in the table for me?"(Pig) Said while looking at Mei


    When the pig took a look at her, Mei panicked for a second, but she composed herself and nodded. She looked around the table for a moment, and she decided to levitate a small decoration at the table. She just lifted it, moved it a little and put it down exactly where it was


    "Not bad, not bad. Wel I guess I will take them. Congratulations, you two are hired"(Pig) Said with a what I guess I should call it a smile


    Yay....


    ---------------------------------


    Note: Still alive :P

 Chapter 60: Talking with a pig

    "Now, let me tell you what you two are going to do from now on"(Pig)


    While he was saying that, he took two cellphones from his desk and handed them to us


    "There are mostly two kind of jobs, normal delivery, and message delivery. In both of them, I will give you an address and you will deliver something from here or from there to somewhere else. Easy, right?"(Pig) Said casually


    Me and Mei nodded in agreement


    "When delivering a package, you will never open it, no matter the circumstance, and you will always make the guy receiving it sign a paper with the date and hour he got it. Ok?"(Pig)


    We nodded again


    "Now comes the tricky part. In this two cell phones, there is an interesting app you will use pretty often from now on. Open the translation app, it should be somewhere on the first screen"(Pig)


    So we turned on our cell phones and easily found the app there


    "Found it"(Me)


    "Me too"(Mei)


    Meanwhile, Cat was just peeking a little but staying quiet


    "The app is a cracked version of a really popular app that was released 3 years ago. It was made by a group of powered programmers and can accurately translate and teach any kind of language. It has a lot of functions, but one of the most interesting parts is how it allows you to add any kind of language that isn''t already in the system, even if it is made up. Any guess why?"(Pig) Asked the two of us


    Since I delivered messages from time to time when I worked for Uncle Muscle, I could guess pretty easily


    "Because you can send encrypted messages?"(me)


    "Exactly. You use that when delivering messages from or to me. We use it so that if someone is listening, they don''t know what we are talking about. Even if they recorded and find a way to translated, it can''t be used in court since translations aren''t 100% accurate, especially when they are done orally. That is why you will have to read it instead of just hand the text directly. The other reason we do it this way is so we don''t leave any paper trail behind just in case. Can you two handle it?"(Pig)


    It didn''t look too difficult, unless of course...


    "Will we have to memorize each encrypted message?"(Me)


    "No no no no, it will be saved on the screen once I said it, so all you have to do is read the encrypted message to the client and erased after you are done.  It even tells you the right phonetical sounds and it tells you if you repeated correctly, so there won''t be a problem there. Still, try to say it right the first time or we will lose credibility. Any other question?"(Pig) Said with an ugly smile


    Since it was similar to what I did with Uncle Muscle, I didn''t find it too difficult, and Cat probably chose this job because I knew how to do it and was used to it. Mei did have something she wanted to ask


    "How many hours we will have to work every week?"(Mei)


    "Well, since we are close to summer, you will work from 9 am to 1pm 5 days every week plus special deliveries from time to time with extra pay. The rest of the year will be after school or on weekends, and also 5 days every week. Your payment will go to a bank account at the end of the month but I think Cat already took care of that"(Pig)


    We both turned to Cat and she gave us a small nod


    "I asked a friend to open the bank account, I will later show you two how to take money from it"(Cat) Followed up with what the pig said


    "Any other questions?"(Pig) Asked


    And we both shook our heads


    "Well then, come back on Monday for your first job. Bye bye"(Pig) kicked us out of the office


    So we left his office and the place


    That was my first time meeting the Pig, and he didn''t give me a bad impression originally. If you follow the conversation, you would notice that he wasn''t too rude and even answered our questions, but there are some tiny differences between how I met him the first time and how I would meet him from now on


    The first big difference was that he was making a sales pitch to convince us to join, so he couldn''t act like an ass. Second, Cat was there, so he had to be careful with his words. In reality, he was an ass


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    He was the kind of person that thinks he owns you since he pays you a salary and expects that you would work at 120% al the time or he would get mad for no reason, even if the pay was miserable. He would even complain about how useless you were since you didn''t work as hard as you expected


    To make it worst, he was smelly, sweated a lot, had a bad temper, was incredibly cheap, spit while he talked, rude, lazy, a-s hole, sexist, racist and much more. I am surprised he lived for so long and that I didn''t kill him


    Don''t get me wrong, I have never killed someone(probably) or  even like the idea of  killing someone, but that guy really tempted me again and again


    And that kind of guy would be my future boss


    Yay....


    Still, before I started working for him, a couple of things happened. In the following days after we met the Pig but before we started working with him, we were pretty busy


    Fist, Cat allowed us how to use our bank accounts. nothing fancy, only how to use an ATM, how to use a credit card and how to buy stuff online. The credit card only had a limit of $200 just in case something happened, but it was better than nothing


    Second, she checked our academy level and what schools we could get into after summer was over. Technically, we could still transfer to a school at the time, since school year wasn''t over yet, but with less than a month before classes were over, and considering that we would have to falsify the information anyways, it was better to just transfer next year and be done with it


    As for our academy level, it turned out it was way better than average for both me and Mei, so getting to any schools wouldn''t be a problem from that side. The only problem would be deciding which type we would get into the type that allowed powered people, or the type that didn''t


    The type that allowed powered people, or the type that didn''t


    Considering we weren''t technically powered, we could pass the test without a problem(we even tried it just in case) but on the other hand, we wouldn''t be able to use our powers if we join that kind of school and would get in trouble if we accidently used them. We would also get in trouble if we used them and it actually turned out we didn''t have powers, so it was the kind of situation that sucked no matter the choice


    In the end, we decided to go to the best school in the city, which was the one that actually didn''t test kids for powers, allowing powered people to study there


    So, with money and education done with, the only other thing that was left was the thing with Mei family


    They arrived on Saturday, so it was before we started working with the pig, and it allowed Mei to settle down


    Well, the whole ordeal was quite awkward, with Mei still blaming her uncle, and her uncle feeling guilty for what he did, but both me and Cat helped them move to their new home, and Cat even introduced him to his new job, so Mei ended up moving with his uncle the same day they arrived


    I don''t know how well he got along with her uncle from there, but she did visit Cat''s place pretty often (with her brother even) and sometimes she would go back pretty late or  even stay over. Luckily, Cat didn''t mind, and neither did I, so we were happy to have her. At least she did call her uncle when she was getting late or starting over, but to be honest, I don''t think they ever patched up things properly


    It is a little sad if you ask me, considering they were family, but on the other hand, her uncle did sell her to the Chinese mafia. At least, she got along fine with her brother and was extremely happy to see her after almost 3 years


    I guess you could call it a good ending on that part


    Sadly, our work environment wasn''t


    -----------------------------


    Note: Important question, do you guys prefer to add a little extra flavour to the story with extreme Deux Ex Machina or just skip it?

 Chapter 61: A day of work with a pig

    Let me tell you a little bit about my first day of work with the pig. I arrived with Mei on time and went directly to his office and the first thing he says is...


    "You are late"(Pig)


    I didn''t think we were late, so to make sure, I took a look at my cell phone and it said 9:02. I was about to say something but before I even said a word, the pig talked first again


    "A good employee arrives 15 minutes early and leaves 15 minutes late"(Pig) Said as if it was a truth of this world


    I really really wanted to complain about never saying something about that the other day, but I managed to keep my mouth shut and so did Mai


    "Well, since you arrived late, only half the pay for today''s work"(Pig) Said it as if it would be an injustice otherwise


    That part hurt, ya know? Cutting in half my pay for something he never talked about was completely unfair! You don''t take money from two defenseless little girls.....


    I know I know, technically, we weren''t two defenceless little girls, but we did look like it!


    Probably...


    Mei at least did


    "Did you come from the front door?"(Pig)Suddenly asked


    "Yes?"(Me)


    It''s not like I knew any other way to come inside


    "That is for costumers! Next time come through the back door"(Pig) complained about


    Again, how was I suppose to know that if he never said it


    "Do we get a key then?"(Me)


    "You think I would hand over the key to my place to two unreliable little girls? I am sure you will lose them in a day or two. No, knock and someone will open it for you"(Pig) Said it while giving us a look like saying, are you a moron?


    Was it that hard to just say no? There was no point in insulting us in the process


    "Now, let me explain to you how things will go from now on. You will arrive on time and you will report here and I will give you a job. If there is no job at the time, go look for Jean at the bar and she will ask you to help around the bar and I will call you when a job comes. When the day is over, come back to the office before you leave. Any questions?"(Pig)


    Both of us shake our heads


    "Good, here are your clothes and bags. Go change now and come back for your first job"(Pig) Said while throwing at us two Hello kitty pink bags


    I easily catch it and Mei slowed hers down a little before catching it, we both took a look inside the bags and found a skirt and black t-shirt with the logo, phone number and address of the place. To be honest, it was kind of sh-tty but he was literally paying us to wear it so we went to look for a dressing room or bathroom


    We found a bathroom


    At least it wasn''t on the level of a gas station, so we managed to change without a problem or fear of cockroaches of the size of a dog suddenly appearing over our heads. When we were ready, we came back to the pig office, the pig looked at us for a second and then pointed at two packages on table


    "Take them and deliver them. The address and name of the receiver is already written on the package, and don''t forget to make him sign the paper with the date and time. I already put the sign papers and a pen in your bags. Come back here when you are done"(Pig) Said at us, and then started looking at his computer monitor


    I am sure that if we stood there for too long, he would complain about something, so we reluctantly took a package each, and went to the addresses after looking for the address in our cell phones. Luckily, both of us came here by bike that we bought a few days back, so we didn''t have any problems going to those places


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    I got there, gave the package, made the dude sign the paper and come back


    I think I did a pretty good time considering it was my first time going there, but guess what was the first thing he said when I arrived


    "You are late"(Pig) Obviously said


    I didn''t argue with the guy, just handed over the signed paper. The pig took it, looked at it for a few seconds and stored it in a file cabinet. When he was done, he handed me a piece of paper


    "Go to this address, ask for the package and take it to this other address"(Pig) Order


    So I obeyed


    In case you are wondering, the reason I could put up with this was simply because I was used to a-s holes. Not with Uncle Muscle, but before I met him, there were more than one of those types that would only complain no matter what you did, like the guy that we had to pay for the spot or the caretaker of the place we slept in. You quickly found out that you either suck it up or find yourself with a knife in your back. In theory with this guy, we would only get fired, but considering he was a mafia guy, I wouldn''t dismiss the knife in the back possibility


    With not much choice, I followed the directions, found the guy, asked for the package, made him sign the paper, delivered the package to the other guy, made him sign and went back to the bar


    "What took you so long?"(Pig) greeted


    I could have said some kind of answer, but considering he just complained for the heck of it, I just handed him the two papers. He filed the two of them like te one before and handed me a new piece of paper with one address this time


    "Go there and bring me the package"(Pig)


    Nothing strange happened, so 40 minutes later, I was back. I think a normal person would be exhausted at this point, especially a kid my age, but thanks to my reinforcements and being used to exercise, I was doing ok, even after 3 hours of constantly moving around


    And the pig? he didn''t care. He took a look at his watch, complained how late I was and after storing the paper, he told me to deliver two packages this time, to two different addresses and when I was done, it was past 1 o clock, so it should be over for the day, right?


    I went to the Pig office when I arrived, and I found Mei already there with a boy at her side I never saw before. He had  the same suit we had, but he was wearing pants instead of a skirt, and since he was around 15, it was much bigger than us


    "About time you show up. Like I was saying to your friend Mei over there, this is Thomas. He and two others work in the evening and night shifts. You will probably meet them in the following days before you leave. Thomas, this is Sara"(Pig)


    "Hi"(Me)


    "Nice the meet you"(Tom)


    "Yeah yeah, stop wasting time. Here, the address is in the box"(Pig) Said while throwing a box to Tom


    The moment Tom took the box, he quickly left the office, already used to the bad temper of the pig. After he left, Pig handed two pieces of paper over to us. I took a look at it, and I found out it had s strange language and some English words in it


    "Practice the words written here with your phone. Make sure you two study it properly, because tomorrow I will test both of you"(Pig)


    Yay! Homework! What every kid loves


    -----------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: And Neiden is back! A little bit, but any help is welcome, specially when I made horrible grammar mistakes that a 5 years old wouldn''t make

 Chapter 62:Life goes on

    Mei learned from Tom that there was an actual dressing room for employees so when Pig was done with us, we went there to change. It was nothing fancy, it only had a couple of small lockers and a place to hang coats. Tom even told Mei what locker was empty and ready to use, so we took it


    We also got a second set of working clothes that Pig told Tom to get us and Pig would deduct from our salaries(yay!). Basically, he forced us to buy his sh-tty clothes so we would advertise his store


    Why the f-ck must I buy a horrible looking shirt!?


    Luckily, he didn''t force us to buy his mugs or ashtrays he also sold at the store with his t-shirts(the reason we could get some so easily), but I say he should give them for free, or at least with an employee discount, damn it!


    I had the feeling that if I wasn''t careful, that guy would find a way to put me in debt by working for him


    "So how was your day Mei?"(Me) Asked while changing clothes


    "Tiring and scary. I almost got lost a couple of times, got yelled at when I returned and after 2 trips, I told him I was too tired to deliver anything else. He got mad at me, told me he would cut my salary and he told me to help at the bar for the rest of the day. Do you think  he will fire me?"(Mei) Said while turning a little white


    "Don''t worry about the yelling, he would have done it anyway, no matter what you did, he is that kind of guy. Besides, there is no way they will throw away a powered person, at worst you will be allocated somewhere else"(Me) Reassured her


    Before all this, I asked Cat if we would be a bother to the organization, and she told me it was actually the opposite. I did explain why before, so I won''t repeat it, but I knew at the time that one of the main reasons was exactly what I said to Mei


    "Does that mean we will be separated?"(Mei)


    "Probably not, maybe they will make you keep working at the bar or something like that. By the way, how was it working there?"(Me)


    Unlike the errands, I never worked in a bar before, so I had no idea what they did. Besides, asking about it would help her think about other stuff


    "I had to help move a lot of ice around, check the bottles, wash some glasses and cups, and cut lemons. Nothing difficult"(Mei)


    "Was it hard?"(Me)


    "No, and Jean was really nice. She showed me how things were done around the place and never got angry when I made a mistake or asked something"(Me)


    "Well, at least it wasn''t all bad then"(Me) Said with a smile


    We were almost done changing, so we finish what we were doing and left the Bar from the back door like the Pig said we should do. We already said goodbye to Pig, Tom wasn''t there and Mei already talked with Jean before we left, so there was nothing else to do but go home


    "Wanna come home and study what the P.. boss gave us?"(Me) Offered


    I really didn''t want to study that sh-t, but it wasn''t like I had much choice in the matter


    Mei thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement, so we both went to Cat''s place and hoped that Cat would be awake. Since Cat worked mostly in the night, she would be sleeping in the morning and usually woke up around noon


    Luckily, Cat was awake when we arrived


    "Hey girls"(Cat) Said to us when we opened the door


    I saw her relaxing on the sofa while watching some old movie on cable wearing what she called house clothes(T-shirt and pants)


    "Hi!"(Me) Said cheerfully


    "Hello..."(Mei) Said shyly


    "Did you girls eat anything?"(Cat)


    "Nope"(Me)


    "Ok, give me a second and I will fix us something"(Cat) Said while getting up from the sofa


    From time to time she would ask us if we wanted anything special, but most of the time she just cooked what she wanted to eat, and I didn''t mind actually. Thanks to her muscle memory ability, she could cook like a professional chef, so it was better to leave her to do whatever she wanted and eat something new and unique than just asking for one of the few dishes I knew. Besides, it was fun to watch her cook and I even learned a thing or two by just watching


    20 minutes later, the food was ready and we all sat at the table to eat. It was really really good, like usual, even though I didn''t even know what the f-ck I was eating, like usual


    "So, how was your first day?"(Cat) threw the bomb questions


    How should I answer a question like that? Should I honestly say everything that happened, or should I sweeten the experience so Cat wouldn''t get too mad and force me to quit?


    "It sucked, I am used to going all over the city to deliver stuff, but the guy really has a bad attitude. He even gave us homework"(Me) Complained a little


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    That wasn''t even half of what I thought, but I decided to stick with the job for a little while at least, so I couldn''t complain too much


    "Homework? Why did he give you homework?"(Cat)


    I was about to answer but, to be honest, I wasn''t completely sure. Seeing my hesitation, Mei answered for me


    "We have to practice and learn the coded language the organization uses so we won''t make a mistake and send the wrong message when we start delivering them"(Mei)


    She knew a little more about it than me since she talked longer with him and Tom while I focused mostly on my deliveries


    I could see that Cat didn''t like it one bit, and after a while, I also learned why and completely agreed with her


    Think about it, he forced me to learn a completely useless language that can only be used under really specific circumstances because it will make his job easier and he isn''t even paying me to do it


    And worst of all, since it is only a code, I may have to learn a new one if it becomes useless for some reason!!!


    So basically, I am learning a new language that can only be used in specific circumstances and may become completely useless in the near future, forcing me to learn a new language again, and again and again, and I will never get paid to do all that


    Yay!


    At least, if it was Chinese or Spanish, I can watch foreign films without subtitles or visit a country that speaks the language, but what can I do with a coded message that only the mafia use?


    Nothing....


    So yeah, it was one of the parts that pissed me off the most


    "If you want, I can have a "word" with him"(Cat) Offered


    I understood what she meant with "word", but I shook my head in denial


    "It''s fine, it is just a few words, it is not like he will force us to learn the whole code, right?"(Me)


    You know, I think it is a curse or something, every time I deny an improbability because it goes against common sense, it turns out it become true for some reason. Murphy''s law I guess


    "Ok... but if you ever change your mind, just say the word, and I will take care of it"(Cat)


    And like that, we quietly finished our lunch. Nothing much happened afterward, we did our homework, played around a bit, and Mei went home afterward. At night, Cat went to work, and I went to sleep


    Just like that, my first day of work was over, yay!


    So what did I learn on my first day of work? That my boss is extremely cheap, complains a lot, will try to find any excuse to reduce my pay, has horrible taste, force me to learn completely useless things, doesn''t pay extra time, is completely unreasonable and treats his employees like sh-t. Great boss material


    I really thought of saying all that to Cat, but part of me hoped that it would get better with time and that it was only was my first impression


    Did it get better the next day?


    No


    Next week?


    Nope!


    Next month??


    Definitely not!!


    Every day would be the same. We would arrive early, get unreasonable complaints all day long, and get more homework at the end of the day. Instead of getting better, we just got used to it


    At least for Mei, it wasn''t all that bad. Since she didn''t have as much stamina as I did, she would end up helping in the bar, and thanks to her telekinesis, she even got popular with the clients as an entertainment


    By the end of the month, since it brought more profits for him having Mei helping at the bar, she would spend most of the time there and would only deliver packages when the Pig had urgent packages to deliver and I wasn''t available


    Me, on the other hand, just got more responsibility. Each time, he would give me more deliveries at the same time, or more homework than before(and than Mei), without one word of appreciation when I did everything right. I am surprised I didn''t quit after a few weeks


    I think the reason I suck it up so much is simply because of pride, since giving up would mean I lost to the a-shole


    And just like that, after almost two months of working my ass off, here I am, still working for that a-shole for some reason


    What is wrong with me?


    ----------------------------------------------


    Note: First, Thanks Neiden for the help:) , no matter how hard I try, there are always at least like 20 mistakes :(


    Second, as everyone could guess already, I decided to catch up with the narrator timeline so I could spice things up in some chapters with Sara not knowing what will happen. I don''t think she has anything she shouldn''t know unless she is a lot older, but tell me in the comments if I forgot something

 Chapter 63: My every day life

    Like I said, it been two months since I started working with the pig, and a couple of things happened


    For starters, my relationship with Cat improved a lot. At the beginning, it was pretty awkward with the two of us considering we haven¡¯t seen each other over three years, and she kind of left me behind last time we saw each other, but like most things, time healed it all


    After eating together, playing together, watching TV together, exercising together and sometimes even bathing together, the wall that separated us practically crumble. Hell, I even started to call her mum after she insisted repeatedly. The first time I said it, it was pretty embarrassing and she almost cried for some reason, but over time we got used to it


    So yeah, we were getting along just fine


    She also started teaching me some martial arts for protection. Nothing fancy yet, just improving my punches and kicks since there were some flaws here and there, thanks to learning from a TV screen and not directly from a teacher


    Another thing she started teaching me was how to properly hold and handle a staff. Since it was my weapon of choice and she agreed it wasn¡¯t a bad weapon, she agreed to teach it to me besides the other martial arts. She even brought me a detachable staff that I could carry in my bag and attach it pretty fast if I ever need it in an emergency


    If I have to be honest, training with her is a great experience, and I have a lot of fun, but there is just one tiny bit annoying part. She always forces me to take a bath with her afterwards for some reason¡­..


    It is one of Cat quirks I guess, one of many. For example, she loves to dress me up in all kind of clothes and take hundreds of pictures for some reason, or when my school uniform arrived, she forced me to change into it, had a big pleasant smile when I put it on, and obviously took pictures a few moments later. She complains a lot when the clothes I wear doesn¡¯t match or aren¡¯t cute enough, and forces me to take a bath every day, and tries to take one with me every time she gets¡­¡­


    She sleeps and moves around the house in her underwear, takes almost one hour to get ready to go out, is extremely competitive when playing video games and is a bad loser when she loses, sometimes leaves food on her plate, picky eater, bad-mouther, bad temper, manipulative, likes sweets a lot, over protective, loves cute stuff, charismatic, and much more


    You could say she can be pretty annoying from time to time, thanks to all her habits, but it is not like it reaches and unbearable level


    As for her daily activities, when she isn¡¯t out doing who knows what or sleeping, she mostly trains, cooks, tan, watch¡¯s TV or plays video games


    Now, I may have mentioned it before, but she does has a reason to watch a lot of Tv and plays a lot of video games. As I had said multiple times, she has muscle memory, which is the ability to imitate any move she sees flawlessly. If she sees every single move of a karate master, she can imitate perfectly all his move sets, making her a karate master


    Of course, she must practice it a little bit to make sure she got it right, and the proper way to use it, but she  saves years and years of training by just watching and practising for a few hours


    The thing is that her muscle memory helps her with a lot of other stuff. For example, she can watch a cooking show, and learn how to cook onions perfectly without the 1000 hours of practice and the 20000 vegetables you must cut to learn the process, she can watch the Olympics and learn the perfect balance a gymnastic finalist has, or she can also watch a Nascar race, and learn how to perfectly drift a car


    She can also watch movies like from Jackie Chan and learn how he deals with his enemy¡¯s using the environment or one from medieval times and learn how to properly handle a sword. It also helps a lot when characters get taken over by stun mans and made dangerous scenes with them


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    As for video games, since people has to make research of actual things to put it in their work, she can learn from their hard effort. For example, if you play the game Tekken 5, most characters are based on actual martial artist moves so she can practice different moves of different marital arts by just playing a video game. It also helps her a lot with improving her reaction time and reflex, so they help a lot actually


    It is true she does it because she enjoys it, but it can¡¯t deny it that doing all that does help her become stronger, something that is always good in her line of work. Why not do something that is good for you and you enjoy? If you love you love what you do, you don¡¯t have to work a day in your life


    She has her good points and her bad points, like everyone else, but I enjoy a lot my time with cat and she does a great job taking care of me, or at least I think she does


    As for my work environment, not so much


    I think I have expressed how much I love that f-cking Pig, and his attitude didn¡¯t improve one bit in this last two months, and I think it even got worse


    On the other hand, the others are pretty nice. Fist is Jean, the bartender that takes care of Mei most of the time. She is a 20 years old bartender with Red hair and a pleasant smile. Since I am pretty busy with the deliveries, I don¡¯t usually go to the bar, but Mei tells me that she is pretty nice and the regulars love her. She is the one that lets us come in every day after knocking the back door, so that gives her a lot of points in my book


    Then we have Tom, or Thomas if you like. He is around 15 years old and has been working for the Pig as a delivery boy for more than a year.  I usually catch him when I am leaving or he is coming to work, but he did give a tip or two, and he seems pretty nice


    There is also Susan and Fred, two others in charge of delivery. They are around 16 and the oldest in the group, but I rarely see them since they work at night mostly, so I don¡¯t know much about them


    Finally, we have James. He is the youngest (excluding me and Mei) at 14 years old and started a month after I started when summer vacations started. Among all the employees the poor kid has the worst luck since he has to come in the morning, evening or night according to when there are more deliveries or someone has his day off. Basically, he fills when there is a lack of manpower


    Tom told me that most start that way, and only when he or she proved he could handle it without quitting that he would get an actual schedule. The only reason I was treated differently was because of my powers and contacts. Not that it helped me much with the Pg yelling


    Then, there were the regular costumers I delivered stuff. I had some pizza joints, some restaurants, private homes, offices, a police car, a lawyer, a private detective office, and some more. None of the treated me badly and didn¡¯t complain much when I asked them to sign the paper, but only a handful gave me a tip after the delivery. Obviously, I didn¡¯t say anything to the Pig about tips, or the a-s would deduct it from my payment for sure


    So I guess you could say that things are going pretty good, all things considered. I have a house, warm food, a loving parent, a good friend, good coworkers, a sh-tty boss(but who hasn¡¯t, according to tv), powers, ¡°good health¡±, and I even have enough free time that I can even write this thing I could call a diary, I guess


    Yep, things are pretty good


    Unless of course, I forgot to mention a tiny little fact. I am pretty sure I am being targeted for some reason