"What the fuck is this? Why are you arresting our guy?! Why are you people here again?!"
In front of the RLRD building, the sound of pavent cracking reverberated through the night as Harvey burst through the front doors. His usually cheerful deanor had vanished, replaced by sothing Adam had never seen before—anger.
The other RLRD mbers followed behind him, each one stretching and cracking their knuckles. Sabrina hovered a few feet off the ground, her eyes darting between the agents. Evan’s fingers drumd against his thigh in an ominous rhythm. Derek lted into the shadows cast by the SUV headlights, while Mira’s eyes had shifted to an unsettling golden color.
"Not again..." Agent Suarez sighed, straightening his tie while shaking his head. "Mr. Smith is under suspicion of destruction of public and private property, and engaging in destructive combat with another Hero while unregistered, in violation of—"
"Proof," Beatrice stepped forward with her arms crossed. "Show us proof."
Suarez reached into his briefcase and pulled out a series of photographs, spreading them across the hood of the nearest SUV. The images showed aerial views of a desert battlefield—the 243rd Ga. In several shots, a figure in black armor could be seen wielding a massive sword.
"These were taken during the last Ga," Suarez explained. "Drone footage clearly shows him holding a sword that is in our—"
"I don’t see shit," Harvey interrupted, squinting at the photos. "Could be anyone."
"Yeah," Sabrina joined in, landing beside the SUV. "That’s just so guy in armor. Could be literally anyone."
Caleb leaned over the photos, his massive fra casting shadows across the images. "Hair’s too dark. And the build’s all wrong. How can you even see? It’s so far."
The agents exchanged glances. The RLRD mbers were clearly lying—the figure in the photos was obviously Adam, just from the hair alone.
Beatrice picked up one of the photos, studying it with exaggerated confusion.
"This man in the photo has a sword—Adam does not use a sword."
"That’s what I was trying to say before your friends cut off—we have the sword in evidence," Suarez said, his patience wearing thin. He placed another photo on the hood of the car, which showed the Shion.
Adam saw that, and he let out a small sigh.
It was never going to last, was it? But less than twenty-four hours? You’re almost feeling sorry for yourself, aren’t you? You thought you found a place you belonged to?
"Eh. I don’t buy it."
"That sword could belong to anyone. I have that kind of sword."
The RLRD mbers continued their protests, their voices growing louder and more agitated. Several agents shifted nervously, hands moving closer to their weapons.
Of course, they were nervous—if a fight were to happen, they were against ten Heroes. And just one of them could kill them all. Their only hope was Agent Suarez and his partner... but his partner wasn’t here.
Adam saw how tense the officers were becoming, and he just raised his hands in surrender and sighed.
"That’s... enough," he said.
The arguing instantly stopped, and everyone turned to look at him.
"Thank you, everyone," Adam said quietly, looking at each of his new teammates. "But this is my problem."
The mbers of RLRD could only stare as Adam approached Agent Suarez.
Suarez nodded and escorted Adam to his SUV.
Adam lowered his head. He’d known this mont would co eventually, but at least it wasn’t—
"What the?!"
And all of a sudden, a trendous crash shook the ground as Caleb dropped from above, landing directly on top of the SUV. The vehicle crumpled like cake, its windows exploding outward in a shower of glass.
"Oops," Caleb said, brushing dust off his hands. "Slipped."
Agent Suarez’s team scrambled backward, drawing their weapons.
"Hey, Adam!" Sabrina called out cheerfully from above. She was hovering about thirty feet up, waving down at him. "Did you see that? You saw that, right? You saw that?! I totally threw Caleb! New personal record! I should’ve gone higher, but then that would take too long and the damage would be majorly catastrophic like kaboosh!"
"The aning of this—" Suarez spoke, but his words were cut off as Evan stepped forward, his fingers drumming through the air. The rhythm built, and when Evan slamd his palm down, a massive shockwave rippled outward.
The remaining SUVs were launched backward, tumbling end over end before crashing into each other. Several agents were knocked flat, their weapons scattered across the pavent.
Those agents still standing tried to draw their high-caliber firearms, but Derek erged from the shadows behind them. He placed his hand on the ground, and tendrils of darkness shot upward, wrapping around the weapons and dragging them down into the earth.
"Gentlen," Derek said politely, "I’d recomnd keeping your hands where we can see them."
Agent Suarez opened his mouth to speak, but found his path blocked by a massive brown shape. Buster, Ryan’s... emotional support monster, had positioned himself directly in front of the agent, breathing heavily through his snout.
"Buster, no," Ryan called out nervously. "B-bad boy. We don’t intimidate federal agents."
The creature ignored him, fixing Suarez with an unblinking stare.
Fortunately, Leona stepped forward, shaking her head in exasperation. "Ryan, call your pet back."
"B-Buster, co here," Ryan tried again, his voice cracking slightly. "Co on, boy."
Buster snorted once, then reluctantly lumbered back to Ryan’s side.
Agent Suarez straightened his jacket, trying to regain so semblance of authority. "What is the aning of this? You’re interfering with a federal investigation."
"I could ask you the sa thing," Leona replied calmly. "What is the Hero Disaster Investigations Unit thinking, barging into our facility like this?"
She gestured toward Adam. "He’s one of ours now. Did you really think you could just waltz in here and take him?"
"We handle disasters when they happen," she continued, her voice growing colder. "We’re the ones out there risking our lives when things are actually going to hell. You people show up afterward to write reports and just point fingers."
"What we do is completely different from you." Suarez sighed. "And he destroyed—".
"What, your face?" Leona interrupted.
"Because the only damaged property I see here is your face."
Suarez’s jaw twitched, and frost began forming along his left arm. He took a step forward, ice crystals spreading across his sleeve.
"You and your team... always ddling."
"Oh? Do you... really want a fight to happen here?"
From the RLRD building, Selene was holding her wine. She sighed at the sight, shaking her head.
"Ha. Children..." she muttered. "...More wine for , I guess."
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