The exit ramp of the grav-jet lowered, revealing a girl with red hair and a man.

A man with a twitching eye.

“Wow, so this is America, huh? I want to see the Statue of Liberty. And a baseball game! What’s baseball anyways? I don’t know, but I want to see it. That’s American, right?”

“...”

“Oh a secret hanger! I thought you said you weren’t going to dissect me? If you’re going to dissect me that doesn’t count as working for you and I can leave, you know?”

“...”

“Silence means yes!”

“For the last time, we are not dissecting you.”

“Well of course not but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to try.”

Bob let out a deep sigh.

“For the last time, we are not going to attempt to dissect you. You are an employee. That’s it.”

“What’s an employee anyways? And I thought kids don’t work in America? I’m a kid, right? I mean, I don’t know my birthday and all, but I’m pretty sure I still count as a kid here.”

Bob just sighed and walked down the ramp.

Cikizwa was waiting for him.

“Looks like another success?”

“Yes…success…”

“Oh a lady person! Is she your girlfriend? Or wife? Hi Mrs. Wife, did you know your husband is tricking teenage girls into shady contracts?”

“I’m Ms.Mzolisa, and yes, I knew. I found you in the first place.”

“Oh drat, she’s in on it. And you found me? Are you some kind of stalker? Is this a trafficking ring? You know, committing crime doesn’t really count as work. Ergo, I’m not working for you sooooo…”

Bob just held his head.

“...you can leave if you give back the money.”

“Right so what are we doing next, boss? Kidnapping more teenage girls? Robbing a bank? Setting fire to orphanages? Human sacrifice to our dark gods? No matter the mission, Saydaa never fails! Unless someone is a dirty cheater.”

“Just…just follow me…”

“Right away, cheater boss man!”

Bob entered the room, rubbing his temples. He looked around the room…Elise was still standing in the corner. He heard a whistle as Saydaa stepped around him.

“Wow, this is nice. Is this where you keep the slaves? Or is this for the customers?”

“For that last time, we are not a trafficking ring.”

“Then what else do you call it when a girl is forced to obey you against her will and taken from her home?”

Bob just rubbed his temples some more. As he did, Elise walked over to him.

“Status Report: This unit is fully refueled and rested, Commander Bob. No abnormal occurrences detected. Elise awaiting orders.”

“...Elise…did you do anything other than stand there this time?”

“Answer: Negative, this unit will not require another refueling for 23.62 hours to maintain optimal performance.”

“Oh wow! A robot girl! And…she’s also really young. Did you trick her into a contract too?”

“Requesting Clarification: Commander Bob, what is this unit’s designation?”

“Friendly. And no, Elise is here of her own free will.”

“Helpful Addendum: Affirmative, it is my primary directive to serve and obey Commander Bob.”

Bob just held his forehead and sighed.

“Oh, wow, I thought I was joking. I didn’t know you actually enslaved her. Or brainwashed? Messing with my mind is not part of the contract by the way.”

“...Elise meet Saydaa. Saydaa meet Elise.”

“Greeting: Hello, this unit is designated NSLICE-000P, colloquial designation ‘Elise’. It is nice to meet you.”

“Hello! Nice to meet you, fellow victim! Want to help me plan a revolution?”

“Requesting Clarification: Neither unit ‘Elise’ nor friendly ‘Saydaa’ have been designated for termination. Please provide clarification on ‘victim’ status.”

“...um…”

“Neither of you are victims, Elise. And you can ignore most of what she says.”

“Acknowledgement: Victim designation canceled, deactivating terminator protocols. Friendly Saydaa designated as low-priority.”

“L-Low-priority?! I’ll show you low-priority!”

“She is a killer cyborg and will immediately respond to threats with deadly force.”

“Hi there, Miss Low Priority right here! Just minding my own business…”

Bob let out a sigh.

“Elise, do you know where the other two are?”

“Answer: Friendly Amano Kiyosuke is in his room, currently planning hostile acts towards unknown target. There is a probability of 36.85% that the target is Commander Bob. Recommended Response: Immediate termination.”

“Denied, target is his older brother and unrelated to us.”

“Acknowledgement: target designated, rerunning threat calculation. Answer: Friendly Ueno Nana is in the training facility.”

Bob let out a sigh and dropped his shoulders. At least one recruit he didn’t have to worry about.

Definitely not.

Well, time to get the hard part over with.

He walked over and knocked on Kiyosuke’s door.

“Kiyosuke, come out. Greet your new teammate.”

Silence.

Bob knocked once more.

“Kiyosuke, we know you’re in there. I don’t care what you do after, but you need to at least recognize the people you’ll be working with.”

“Leave. Don’t get in the way of my revenge.”

Bob was rubbing his temples when Saydaa pushed him out of the way.

“Excuse me, boss-man. I got this!”

Saydaa waved her hand in front of the door, her eyes glowing as she did. There was a click and the door opened on its own.

“Open says me! Hi! I’m Saydaa, fellow vict…um unwilling employee! Want to start a revolt?”

“...get out.”

“I mean, that’s what the revolt’s for! What do you think I’m trying to do?”

“Leave…or I’ll make you.”

“Wow, someone woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning. Then again, you remind me of someone I know, what with the man-of-few-words routine and the death glares and all. Maybe you’re related? Boss-man is he your son?”

“No.”

“Oh wow, immediate response. Looks like you guys have some history, eh? Well, not stepping into those daddy issues, thank you very much!”

There was a whoosh of air and a thud. A kunai knife embedded itself into the door frame. Saydaa stood still with wide eyes, and slowly reached up to her cheek. She looked down at her fingers.

And saw blood.

“Get out, I’m not warning you again.”

“You…”

“I’m not here to make friends, now leave me alone.”

“WHAT THE HECK IS YOUR PROBLEM, YOU JERK?! I’M JUST INTRODUCING MYSELF AND YOU THROW A FREAKING KNIFE AT ME?! I’LL KILL YOU!”

Saydaa clenched her fists, eyes glowing and hair starting to sway in the air. Kiyosuke’s eyes narrowed and another kunai appeared in his hand.

“You’ll try.”

And then Bob put a hand on her shoulder.

“WHAT?! THIS JERK CUT ME! DON’T YOU DARE GET IN THE WAY!”

“Not here. We have a place for this.”

Kiyosuke walked past them both, scoffing.

“This is a waste of time, let’s finish this quickly.”

Saydaa shook as he walked out of the room.

“You…did he just?! Oh, he’s dead. He’s so dead.”

Bob opened his mouth, and then closed it and shrugged.

Oh well, whatever happens happens. Worse comes to worse, he always had a spare ninja teen.

The four walked to the training room in silence. On the way, Bob saw Nana in the target practice room, hurling knives at moving targets.

Each one hit dead center.

“Hello, Miss Ueno.”

The kunoichi jumped and spun around.

“O-Oh, hello Bob-sama, welcome back. D-Did you have a good trip?”

“...Somewhat.”

Nana’s eyes widened slightly as she watched Kiyosuke and Saydaa storm past her.

“U-Um…”

“New teammate, but it’s not a good time. You can introduce yourself later.”

“U-Understood.”

“Want to come watch?”

“Ok…”

Nana fell in with Bob and Elise as they walked towards the sparring room’s observation deck.

“By the way, I see you’ve been training.”

“Eep! Um…yes…I-I just hope…I can improve a bit…”

Bob nodded.

“That’s good, keep up the good work.”

“Y-Yes! I’ll definitely be useful to you…Bob-sama. I’ll do…anything…”

Bob resisted the urge to rub his temples. She’s just enthusiastic. Girl on her first job, eager to impress. That’s all it is. That’s all.

Please.

Saydaa glared at the jerk from across the room. Bob had said something about a buzzer and not killing but she didn’t care. She never agreed to it, so it didn’t matter.

All that mattered was punching that jerk’s face in.

3.

2.

1.

Saydaa held up her hand and surrounded herself with a gust of wind. Several knives clattered to the floor as they blew off course. Saydaa smirked, her eyes glowing red and her hair fluttering in the wind.

“Heh heh heh..that won’t work on me anymore, jerk. You’re about to find out…you messed with the wrong girl!”

She lifted her hands. As she did, the knives on the floor around her floated into the air, and turned to face the jerk. She turned her hand into a fist, pointing one finger at him. The knives shot forward.

CLANG!

They collided with another set of knives, falling to the ground in between the pair.

“Is that it?”

Saydaa smirked again.

“Oh, I’m just getting started.”

She leapt off the ground, a whirlwind forming underneath her and obscuring her lower half. She sped forward on the whirlwind, fist pulled back.

“Die!”

She swung her fist forward. The jerk just leaned back, the fist passing by his face. She swung again and he leaned forward. She swung and she swung and she swung some more, back and forth, back and forth, left and right, left and right.

She grit her teeth.

“Stay still so I can hit you!”

She spun around and kicked her feet at the jerk. The whirlwind shot forward, rapidly growing in size. The jerk frowned and leapt to the side…but was caught and pulled into the whirlwind.

“Hehehe…aHAHAHAHA! Got you now, you jerk! Now DIE!”

Saydaa floated into the air, eyes glowing bright and her hair now twisting in the air like an open flame. She spread out her hands. The knives on the ground floated in the air.

And that wasn’t all.

Wind blew around the room, metal started to creak. SNAP! Metal tiles began to break off the walls, floor, and roof, revealing the structure underneath. The tiles began to spin in the air, circling the whirlwind.

Saydaa sneered.

And slammed her hands together.

All the tiles and knives flew into the whirlwind, smashing together in a mighty crash. Saydaa then lowered herself to the ground, the glow fading from her eyes and her hair falling back down.

Saydaa panted for breath, but made a smile.

So this is what it was like to go all out.

The edges of her mouth curled up.

She liked it.

CRASH!

Saydaa jumped as a huge ball of twisted metal slammed into the floor. She winced as she looked at it.

Ok…maybe she went a little far. But the jerk was asking for it! He definitely deserved it…probably…maybe…

“Is that it?”

Saydaa’s eyes widened.

“All that power, wasted on a clone. Wasted on you.”

“Y-You…”

Saydaa tried to spin around when she felt a hand chop down on the back of her neck.

“Gah! …kill…you…”

And all went black.

Up in the observation deck Bob let out a sigh. Looks like the boy learned a lesson from his last encounter and managed to survive the full wrath of a mystical being. A young mystical being who had never used her powers like this, but that still counted for something.

If nothing else, at least the kid’s capable of learning something.

Not basic social skills or emotional health, but something.

Bob closed his eyes.

Now he just had to deal with a very angry and clearly volatile mystical being…

And then form this mess into a functioning response team…

He let out a deep sigh.

Teenage supers are so annoying.