The city was quiet, but the old factory was never truly silent. The place carried its own breath at night—pipes creaking, walls groaning. Still, what tore Vanessa from her sleep wasn’t the usual factory noises.
It was the sll.
Sothing sharp, thick, and nasty burned its way into her nose. The scent of charred at. She jolted awake, sitting up with a scowl as her stomach twisted in irritation.
"What the fuck..." she muttered, her voice rough, half-asleep.
Dragging her body out of the mattress, she pushed herself up. Her hair was a tangled ss, her tank top clung slightly with sweat, and her patience was already wearing thin.
She shuffled to the door and yanked it open. The mont she did, the sll hit her harder—smoky, greasy, and wrong. Her nose wrinkled instantly. And then she caught the noise. Crackling, sizzling, like sothing frying under unnatural heat.
It wasn’t just one sound.
There were multiple.
Brows furrowed deeper, she walked through the dim hallway, bare feet brushing against the cold concrete. When she reached the main room, the scene froze her for a second.
Ann stood dead center, shadows swirling and crawling around her body like living serpents. They stretched and bent, trying to take shape, flickering like dark flas before slowly, painfully forming the faint outline of wings. She gritted her teeth, sweat sliding down her temple, and the shadows twitched like they were alive.
Vanessa tilted her head slightly, watching. "The hell..."
But Ann wasn’t the only one.
Across the room, Seo Yeon was leaping from the top of a broken table. At first glance it looked stupid—like she had lost her damn mind. But Vanessa’s sharp eyes caught the detail. The way the air shifted around her legs each ti she landed. The way her speed slowed, just slightly, like she was dragging the wind itself into her control. She wasn’t just jumping for fun. She was forcing her powers into obedience.
"Smart," Vanessa muttered under her breath, giving a tiny nod.
Her gaze slid sideways, and there sat Kelly. Headphones clamped on, bed dragged right into the corner of the room like she owned the damn place. A snack bag lay open beside her as she chewed with lazy rhythm, eyes glued to whatever flickered across her device screen. No training. No powers. Just chewing and watching, like she was camping in the middle of all this madness.
Vanessa’s lips curled with irritation, but she didn’t comnt.
Because that was when her eyes landed on the real problem.
Dickson.
He sat cross-legged near a busted crate, hands hovering over a slab of beef he must’ve stolen from god-knows-where. Blue-white sparks flickered around his palms, thin arcs of lightning snapping and hissing as they licked the at. It sizzled violently, filling the air with smoke and that god-awful burnt stench.
Vanessa dragged her hands down her face, exhaling through clenched teeth. "You’ve gotta be shitting ."
She lifted her eyes to the digital clock on the wall. 12:42 AM.
"For fuck’s sake!" Her voice cut across the whole room. "Hey dickhead, what the hell are you doing?"
Dickson didn’t even flinch. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, electricity buzzing tighter around the beef as he rotated it slowly with his free hand.
She stomped closer, voice rising. "DICKSON!"
The na bounced through the factory, echoing against the rusted tal walls. Ann’s shadows wavered for a second as she turned her head, curiosity breaking her focus. Seo Yeon landed on her feet and looked too, her expression flat but attentive.
Everyone was watching.
Except the idiot himself.
"Shhhhhh," Dickson hissed, raising his finger like he was silencing a child. His eyes never left the at. "Gim a minute, alright? I can’t fuck this up. If I miscalculate the charge, it’s ruined."
Vanessa’s jaw dropped. She stared at him, stunned by the sheer stupidity of it.
"You’re roasting beef with lightning at midnight?!" she snapped.
"Exactly." His voice was calm, almost smug, sparks dancing in rhythm across the beef as he carefully turned it. "You think I can just half-ass this? Nah. Every arc, every spark—it’s gotta hit perfect. dium rare, baby."
Her eye twitched.
She wanted to strangle him. She wanted to rip that half-cooked beef out of his hands and shove it down his throat raw. But the way his lightning was flaring—slipping across the floor, snapping against tal—it was only a matter of ti before he lit the whole place up like a fucking torch.
So, for the sake of not watching the factory burn down with them inside it, she clenched her fists, shut her mouth, and folded her arms tightly across her chest.
Her glare could’ve killed a man.
He finally leaned back with a sigh, sparks fading from his fingertips. Twenty whole minutes of pure focus, his little masterpiece at last complete. He rubbed his hands together like a man who had just cracked so legendary code, then slid the roasted beef onto a chipped white plate.
"Perfect," he whispered, covering it carefully with another plate.
On the table before him sat everything: fork, knife, and even a half-filled glass of cheap red wine he had managed to find. He had planned this whole thing like it was so five-star restaurant.
He exhaled hard, shoulders dropping in relief. "Finally... worth it."
That was when it hit him.
He froze, rembering the weight of eyes on his back. Slowly, like a guilty kid caught stealing candy, he raised his head. "Oh... shit."
Vanessa.
He could almost feel her glare burning through his skull. He hesitated, then turned around, ready for the verbal smackdown of a lifeti.
Except... she wasn’t looking at him.
Neither was Ann. Neither was Seo Yeon.
All three were facing past him, eyes locked on the large old flat-screen bolted against the far wall.
Confused, Dickson spun around. He had been facing that sa direction the whole damn ti—yet nothing on the screen had pulled him away from his beef.
How the hell did he miss it?
Then he saw it.
The words at the bottom of the screen flashing bright red: BREAKING NEWS.
The anchor’s voice was tense, urgent.
"We are reporting live from downtown. Authorities confirm a violent robbery is currently taking place at Union Federal Bank. Eyewitnesses report a group of unidentified super-powered individuals stord the premises approximately twenty minutes ago. The situation has escalated quickly. Police are unable to contain the scene, as the suspects are reportedly using their abilities against responding officers."
The footage cut to shaky live video. Helicopters hovered above a massive glass building, searchlights stabbing down into the chaos below. Broken windows glimred under the beams, smoke drifting up from the front entrance. Panicked voices could be heard beneath the roar of rotor blades.
The anchor continued over the live feed.
"We have confirmation that at least ten civilians have been injured. Two officers have already been pronounced dead on the scene. Authorities are attempting negotiations, but dozens of hostages remain trapped inside. The suspects are heavily ard and are demonstrating advanced combat abilities, making any direct assault far too dangerous."
Dickson blinked, his mouth hanging open as the screen zood in on ard n dragging civilians toward the shattered front entrance. The caras caught flashes of unnatural power—a man’s hand glowing like molten steel, another one lifting debris with ease.
His stomach twisted. "Oh shit... this is bad."
Then his brow furrowed, confusion crossing his face. "Wait—who the hell works at a bank at night?"
Vanessa’s head snapped toward him so fast it was a miracle her neck didn’t break. Her jaw tightened. Her voice dripped with venom. "Probably the security, you idiot!"
Dickson’s eyes widened, and he mouthed an exaggerated "oh" like it had just clicked.
"Oh! Right, yeah, that makes sense." He scratched the back of his head, then turned toward Vanessa with a grin like he had a brilliant idea. "Okay. Do your thing. Go save them. There’s already two dead, can’t waste ti."
Vanessa just pointed at him, her glare colder than ice. " and you are going together."
Dickson froze. His smile slid right off his face. "...Huh?"
"You heard ."
His stomach dropped. "Wait—?!" He jabbed his finger into his own chest, eyes wide. "What the hell do I have to do with this?"
Then it hit him.
He had powers now.
His shock morphed quickly into excitent. His eyes lit up. "Oh shit... I actually get to fight like Liam. Super aweso." He pumped his fist, adrenaline already rushing.
But then reality sucker punched him in the gut.
Hold on.
Didn’t that an one wrong move, and he might actually lose his life? He pictured it—bullets, blood, soone frying him alive before he could even crack a joke.
His skin turned pale.
"N-Nope," he stamred, shaking his head quickly. He turned back to his plate and lifted the cover like it was the most important thing in the world. The beef still glistened faintly under the light. His safe, cooked, non-lethal beef.
"I think... yeah, I think I’m just gonna stay here and eat my beef." His voice wobbled with fake confidence as he reached for the fork. "Yup. Good plan. Let the heroes handle that ss."
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