Chapter 29: Among Us

In the center of the Blue City was a building that was the headquarters of the city’s superheroes and in this building were different rooms for the novice superheroes.

Superheroes were rare compared to the normal population, and those who had a powerful ability were even rarer.

Alix was one of them and since she came from the more rural regions of the federation, she got a dorm room in the building.

She was also the City Sun’s apprentice, and it gave her an advantage in choosing the dormitory.

Living room, dining room and the bedroom... To Alix, the supposed bedroom was a bigger apartment than she expected.

“It’s not stylish,” Alix murmured calmly.

She was in her room watching a full body projection of herself and in that projection she was wearing a superhero costume.

It was a bright yellow synthetic material costume with a gold cape that fluttered in the wind.

The mask was light and did not cover the entire face, aiming more to emphasize appearance than to cover identity.

Superheroes could wear costumes and uniforms to their tastes, designing a style of their own and the goal was not to hide their identities.

There were other, better methods if someone wanted to hide, though most were useless against the powerful.

And Alix was at a crossroads of choosing her superheroine costume.

“No, no... It’s lousy. Too bright and yellow,” Alix muttered, erasing the design.

Having no other idea to go on, she opened the panel of the most popular designs in the last month and frowned at the sight of a costume that barely covered her body.

“Looks like a one-piece swimsuit...” she muttered at the sight of a one-piece suit that was tight and snug to the body.

It revealed too much skin and Alix no doubt moved on to other better suits.

The materials of any superhero clothing like her had to be designed with highly resistant materials or they would probably end up destroyed by combat.

For people like her, who were high strength and destructive individuals, the suit was vital if they wanted to have decent battles.

Just as she was switching to the heavier suit designs, she stopped.

“...”

A subtle, light ripple hit her almost imperceptibly. If it wasn’t for the fact that she had extremely sharp senses, she wouldn’t have felt it.

Sharpening her senses further, she opened her eyes.

“Transcendental...”

The voice reached her ears, subtle and low, giving the feeling that it was a murmur she barely managed to hear, but the power and strength of the voice made her tremble from head to toe.

Heading for the balcony, she leapt high into the air and flew up into the sky, seeing the tall buildings and their windows revealing the glow within.

The moon overhead added to the majesty of the night and she looked off into the distance, searching for the direction the voice came from and swallowed hard.

The voice was entering her mind, piercing subtly, leading her body to instinctively react defensively.

Alix hesitated whether to head for position, but before she could decide, she breathed a sigh of relief as she saw a small sun rising over the city.

Nathaniel Arsenault, the City Sun, was rising in the sky and he approached her, facing the same direction as Alix.

“What is it, master?” Alix asked, holding her breath without realizing it.

Her master was frowning and wore a serious expression, evidencing that the matter was not simple.

“I don’t know... I felt like space was ripping,” Nathaniel replied and gave her a signal to follow him.

Alix put on a serious expression and followed her master, flying through the city.

The city was still as usual, except for those of great strength and a few Code Reds with keen senses soaring through the sky.

The city had also begun a silent security process and vehicles were taking off from the buildings to watch from the sky.

As they approached the city limits, they both crossed through the forest that surrounded the city.

The Blue City was coastal and surrounded by extensive forest and had no other cities or towns nearby and the few that were there were in special areas.

The reason was the extensive forest and the dangers that could hide in the forest.

Even Alix, who had lived in a rural area, had seen failed experiments attacking her town and even supernatural events... In the last year, she had been home.

They both flew at a speed similar to fighter jets and in less than several seconds they flew away from the forest of the mansions and reached the densest forest in the area, approaching the most jungle-like part of the area.

Just as they were about to cross the mountain that divided the jungle from the forest, they both stopped when they heard a thunderous sound from space.

From the sky, ten metallic boxes fell burning from the intensity of the fall and landed in different parts of the mountain.

However, the sound came not from them, but from a figure that came from space, breaking the sound barrier and as it approached, it stopped in front of them without leaving a sound.

The male figure watched them.

He was a tall, thin man, who, because of his physique, the idiots would think was weak... And probably most of those idiots would have died.

The gray hair was recognizable to anyone and the man’s pleasant appearance was nice to admire, but what everyone truly idolized was the man’s mind.

He wore a white robe similar to those seen in laboratories and that garb gave his name to the title they all knew.

The Investigator fell from the sky and with a moment of the hand, the boxes that fell next to him opened.

Alix, who looked at the box halfway down the mountain, noticed that they were not boxes, but space capsules.

At the Investigator’s command, the capsules opened and a huge three-meter tall robot with enormous arms and a thick silver-colored frame came into view.

Those giant robots activated their thrusters and flew off in the direction they had been going.

“The Lab has detected a distortion in space. It’s best to stay away,” said the man calmly, and as he pointed to the robots, he added. “They will take care of verifying the danger before sending a report.”

What she sensed was space movement? They were tens of kilometers, perhaps more than a hundred kilometers from the city, and for a ripple to reach the city was certainly surprising.

However, Alix felt relaxed that unmanned robots were what were approaching.

She was a Code Red, but she doubted she could survive unstable space waves and, unlike her master, who could even go into space, she was still lacking.

And having the Lab take over was a good thing.

Those at the Lab were not superheroes even though they had supers in their ranks, but they were researchers, and many of them introduced significant changes in the last few years.

They were bringing humans into the stellar age and the man in front of her was known as an important member of that institution.

Nathaniel gave a glance into the distance, and after a few seconds, nodded.

“Let me know if you detect anything...” Nathaniel said and turning his gaze on the man, he added. “Or if you need help to stop someone.”

Alix felt the tension in that silence and then remembered what they said about some investigators.

That from time to time troublesome villains appeared was because of illegal research and experiments that sometimes got out of control.

The Lab had an excellent reputation, but Alix had not yet gotten to know them too well and now she felt her master was pointing to the possibility that he was hiding something.

“I understand,” replied the Investigator observing seriously.

The man was serious and always seemed to be calm and this time he was similar, seeming to ignore the tension.

If he was as strong as his wife, then it wouldn’t be so strange if he didn’t need help from others.

Nathaniel gave her a command to move, and they both flew away again at high speed.

Even though they flew, her master remained silent and Alix didn’t know what to say until they finally reached the outside of the city.

When they stopped, Alix couldn’t resist.

“Do you dislike him?” Alix asked and seeing that her master was watching her, she added. “A lot of superheroes dislike the two of them.”

“Why would I dislike them?” Nathaniel asked, relaxing as he saw her nervous.

She became more confident as she saw her master relax and, after hesitating for a second, she continued.

“Because... You already know... They are not of this world,” Alix muttered and looking at her master, she whispered. “They are aliens.”

It wasn’t like it was a secret, but it was a fact known to everyone and it was impossible not to know about the superhero couple that came from outer space.

When Alix found out she was a child of about ten years old and it was a surprise, as she expected the aliens to be big head beings with green antennae and skin.

Not beings that resembled humans.

However, the more she got to know, the more she realized that many people rejected the pair, and the reasons ranged from them being ‘aliens’ to this world or not bound by the rules of the Society of Heroes.

The Last Defender was a planetary heroine, and the Investigator was a scientist and both were important in the federation and not as parts of the hero society.

She thought her master was one of those superheroes who didn’t like those two.

“No. You’re overthinking it,” Nathaniel replied and smiling at her to calm her down, he detailed. “The more you get to know, the more you’ll realize the term ‘alien’ is meaningless. There are beings that come from other worlds and dimensions, just as there are beings that come from planes, but they all live among us.”

Alix, listening to her master’s explanation, gave a half smile as she felt like a country girl who didn’t know the world.

She knew about those beings her master was referring to and had seen those with lineages of heavenly and even humanoids of other races, but had not categorized them as ‘aliens’.

“And the Lab owns up to its mistakes and researcher Austin is strong, even if he doesn’t engage in battle or work as a hero,” Nathaniel replied and looking out over the city, he muttered. “What worries me is the voice.”

The voice... Did her master hear it too?

Alix swallowed hard.

If it was as the researcher said and that there was a spatial effect, the likelihood that it was a dimensional being was high.

It wouldn’t be the first time someone created a spatial entrance to try to enter or voices from the other side entered this world.

This time the voice was loud, but his master had probably faced dangers of this level and was equally serious.

“Is this about the ‘transcendental’?” Alix asked curiously.

That was the only word she could hear and as she said it aloud, Nathaniel gave her a serious look.

Alix didn’t know if the word referred to a supervillain’s title, the name of a race, or something else, but she was sure her master knew more than he appeared to.

“Come on. Looks like the members of the Society of Heroes are waiting for us,” Nathaniel said, pointing to the edge of the city.

Several figures were flying around the outskirts of the city on alert and she, with her master, headed for the main building.

Very few probably managed to sense the wave, let alone the voice, but seeing all the heroes mobilized, she frowned.

Security was high for such matters, but this time the situation seemed more hectic than usual, and it was odd.

Her master sensed it too and landed in front of the squadron captain in the area.

“What’s going on?” Nathaniel asked as he sensed the seriousness.

The captain approached with a serious look and....

“The Prophet has had a prophecy...” said the captain and swallowing seriously, he muttered. “About the end of the world.”

******

Zack felt his body tired and his mind sluggish because of what he did.

His mind was overwhelming, but his physical body limited it and unfortunately, he was too weak to make displays of power like the one he did.

However, it was worth it.

“Hehehehe...”

Zack chuckled in amusement at what had happened and opened his eyes, realizing he was in the babysitter’s arms.

His senses could barely take in his surroundings and the only thing he recognized was that he was already back in the mansion where the jailers lived.

“You really had fun today, young master,” the babysitter murmured and watching him gave him a rare smile on the man’s face.

Of course, he had fun! How could he not have fun?

The babysitter, the brightest transcendental and practically all the minions, was fearful that he would lose, fearing a giant monkey and his son.

To Zack, it was a bad joke.

So he showed them what he was capable of.

Even though he was imprisoned in the body of a child and even though he was suffering the consequences of a physical body, his strength was unquestionable.

His title was not for show.

And now everyone was amazed, even though what he showed was a small part of what he could achieve.

It was all done with the strength of the people he captured, but even if someone else used the same trick, they wouldn’t be able to get as much out of it as he did.

Imagining what he could do if he controlled hundreds of thousands or millions of minds thrilled him... Although nothing compared to regaining his freedom.

Slowly, he was getting closer to an opportunity to regain his freedom.