Mr. Abrams: “No.”

His eyes glowed fiercely, brightly, incessantly. Almost like a strange pair of LED lights shaped to resemble and replace, human eyeballs. The blue ring pulsated and grew.

It grew until it towered over the trees. It seems as If Mr. Abrams changed the ‘ring’ into a cylindrical shape, donning a brand new set of properties in the process. From a fiery, blue ring that would burn any stupid enough to consider crossing it; to a cylinder stretching past the clouds – barring any force from entering, or leaving, effectively DISALLOWING others from crossing it.

One could only gaze up at the monolithic, magical barrier. Only – right now, it felt more apt to call it a prison. The air distorted strangely, almost like the fluctuation intense heat waves cause, but more pronounced. There was an odd unseeable energy permeating the field, now. It had no color, just like his gravity magic. Instead of taking shape or clinging to one of the two men standing here – it merely flowed, free and unfettered.

.

.

.

The problem was, now One’s device began acting wonky! This invisible energy was another variant of space magic – one that interferes with other space related abilities! This device was his hidden trump card in case he had to rescue 6 and escape post-haste! It CAN’T act up ... not now!

If both his golden bunny brooch AND the teleportational device failed in their designed mission to stop Monitor Man from...uhm, stopping his escape…

Then he’s fucked.

Mr. Abrams: “Are you prepared?(Dammit. I can’t decide. Logically I shouldn’t let this criminal go free, but...again, logic reasons that a soul oath would be an effective countermeasure. I can set the orders so that he never steps foot on campus unless I allow it, and request certain information pertaining to the children’s safety. In exchange for his own freedom, and maybe his daughter’s.

Greater than that; By striking a deal with this man here, I can prevent the brooch from activating at his distress, while simultaneously putting an effective halt on that possible bomb in his brain being set off. This boss of his doesn’t sound like the kind-hearted type. Putting aside the fact that she was probably tricked or brainwashed, I wonder what she saw in them?

...If only I could rip that brooch away from him right this instant...!

Dammit – why did I have to have it made to activate at the wearer’s distress, and lock itself on them until they are completely away from danger? Should I continue pushing him… he might accidentally trigger it.

Later on, I have to make the creator modify it a bit to allow room for my own personal master code. Without a master code, any Joe-Schmoe or Jane-Shmane she fancies can use it against her.

I shouldn’t think about such things right now. More importantly, I need to act quickly.

…But this bastard took the lives of my defenseless little class! I cannot tolerate that!

But then again…)”

One: “(Aah, Monitor Man keeps making strange faces – he’s mad! Definitely angry at me! If I had a chance, I wouldn’t mind fighting against him, but this stupid golden bunny only made him angrier at me! What should I…)”

Although both looked at their opponent with eyes that screamed of a steely resolve, their inner consciousnesses were incomparably uncertain.

Lives were on the line! The lives of every student Mr. Abrams had been charged to protect, and the man codenamed One’s very own family: His wife, and his daughter.

Both sides were trying to remain firm on their stances, however One obviously caved first. Now was the big moment, but ‘Monitor Man’ couldn’t readily accept a deal from his students’ murderer!

Unfortunately for him, he lacked the time to consider his options more carefully.

His earlier ‘no’ demoralized and severely distressed One. This sensation of ‘distress’ triggered the brooch to activate, all in response to the mercenary’s emotions!

*Shiiing!*

Slowly, its shine was glowing brighter. Mr. Abrams knew now that he could no longer hesitate. He needed that information! He could always capture the man later. His ‘Lazy Teleportation’ went unrivaled!

Mr. Abrams: “Okay. If, and ONLY if, you follow my orders TO THE LETTER: I will grant you and your daughter free passage. But ONLY this once!”

One felt his legs grow wobbly and he nearly collapsed right there.

One: “(Wh-What? It … worked? It worked...right?

...It worked! My begging did the trick? Seriously?)”

Mr. Abrams: “It seems you are being unappreciative. I’ll take that silence as a rejection. Farewell.”

The Cylinder suddenly closed at the top, forming a makeshift cone. The cone immediately inverted downwards and flashed brightly. The first three seconds it barely managed to emit a tiny flicker. But that flicker grew. After the 6th second, it was already bright enough to replace the sun’s far off rays above them.

One: “Wait – Wait! I wasn’t rejecting you, your offer is a sound one! Thank you—-ah. Hold on a moment. - can I include this guy? He never killed anyone. If anything, it was your student that nearly killed him. Look at how he’s barely breathing.”

The beam dissipated as quickly as it formed, but the inverted cone shape remained. Its threatening presence almost acted as a threat – a deterrent of sorts, to ensure that nothing stupid was done by the man codenamed One.

In spite of his leniency, his response was clear and concise.

Mr. Abrams: “Don’t push your luck.”

One: “...This boy is only 22. He is like a son to me, I can’t abandon hi-”

Mr. Abrams: “I SAID not to push your luck, you fucking child murderer. Should I sympathize with the fact that he didn’t manage to kill my student, and instead got beat? What left my student with no choice BUT to exert himself so far? Face reality; If not for your intel and a job I have planned for you, I wouldn’t have minded sending you, this man AND your daughter into a set of hospital beds, BEFORE transferring you to a prison cell. And if not for the fact that everybody was brought back from the dead, I might have even left your daughter in a similar state as your broken ‘son’. Be thankful these coincidences helped quell an OUNCE of my fury!”

One: “...Agreed.(I’ll bail you out Four. No. After a few more shady jobs, the two of you won’t have a reason to continue this line of work. There won’t be a reason to call either of you by numbers.

Maxis... Cornelia…

My beloved Juniper…

Soon. Bear with me for a mere, few moments longer.

Pretty soon...and all of our troubles – everything... will end.)”

The barrier surrounding them nullified all sound from escaping. Within the tower of blue, two men spoke of rules and stipulations regarding one father and daughter pair’s escape.

Mr. Abrams: “First: You are to return that golden brooch to the girl named Natalia whom your ‘boss’ borrowed it from. I don’t want it entering your boss’s hands again, unless Natalia herself decides to hand it over. That has to be the FIRST thing you do. Detours are not allowed.

Second: You are never allowed to come back here without my consent. This rule is indefinite and if, by chance, you end up forced to enter this school against your will, then you must immediately seek me out.

Third: You aren’t allowed to speak with my students anymore, unless I grant you my consent. I don’t want you to poison their easily impressionable minds. This applies to the ENTIRE school. SO you better stay away from our school’s uniform.”

One: “Wait, what If I’m ordering food and I don’t know the high schooler behind the intercom is from your school?”

Mr. Abrams: “Then you die.”

One: “…

That’s…”

Mr. Abrams: “…Although you deserve this much treatment……Fine. You are NOT allowed to talk with students who you RECOGNIZE or reasonably suspect as a Hero High School affiliate. This includes fresh applicants to the school. Or their relatives: almost forgot that possibility.”

One: “Mmm. Ok.”

Mr. Abrams: “Fourth: You WILL tell me everything you know about the next attack. You WILL tell me everything you know, plus anything extra you can find out, about those that hired you. And you WILL share with me a safe method to contact your boss.”

One: “I cannot do that last one.”

Mr. Abrams: “Oh? And why not? Do you not value your freedom as much as you tout?”

One: “...Be-Because he is my boss.”

Mr. Abrams: “And?”

One: “It would be a betrayal. I’d be killed if I commit ANY acts of betrayal.”

Mr. Abrams: “I never said to give me YOUR method of contacting him. I only mentioned in my demand a SAFE method of contact. I’m sure your boss has a replaceable phone or two lying around. Don’t tell me they don’t. All super-villains do.”

One: “I...I don’t actually have any other ways to conta-”

*Ding!*

Mr. Abrams: “Hm? My cellphone?

Let’s see now...A text. That bratty son of mine DARES to text ME of all people when he should be busy training? Is he asking for a beating when I get bac...k?”

Despite Mr. Abrams’ initial assumption, the text came from an unknown number. After opening it, he quickly learned who his mystery ‘texter’ was.

?: “[To Mr. Houdini Abrams, A.K.A: the Monitor Man. 1) I am not a super-villain. I’m a mercenary. I barely make ends meet because I am so selective with my missions. This does not mean that I will stop other members within my group – the ‘Numbers’, from choosing any of the jobs that I turn down. Such a thing is the case for you today. He was desperate enough to ask for the list of missions I personally refused. If one member drops it, another may pick it up. That one had the highest payout upfront, which I suppose is why he took it. If you wished to contact me in order to inquire details about that golden brooch, then I’ll save you both time and effort.

I gave him the token Natalia allowed me to borrow because I felt pity for his family.

There wasn’t any ulterior motive behind it, like a threat against her or some such. I’m not interested in boring things, nor am I interested in boring people. As for how I got the brooch...Ask Natalia yourself.

2) This is my replaceable and ‘untraceable’ cell phone. I have unlimited text and calls, but not for long distance.

Sincerely, your new chat buddy: Zero.”

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