As expected, the group arrived at the Professor's office still with their own speculations as to these are all about. They all see the Professor and Pandora already waiting inside. The Professor instructed them to take their seats as they did so. The ambiance of the room is still unclear. It's so silent that even a heartbeat is heard. No one is talking in the first few minutes until the Professor broke the ice.
"What are they doing here? I was under the impression that this is about the military event. They shouldn't be here." The Professor said.
"Another change of plans, sir. The government announced the event to all platforms so they saw it on the news. We have also confirmed that that Inoue kid is one the rookies who will be participating in the said event." Zythandra explains.
"I'd like to ask permission for me to attend to that or at least go to the venue. I have to talk to Raf." Reaper said.
"Believe me, child. I know where you're coming from but consider the risk. It's exponentially high." The Professor commented.
"That's what I'm saying earlier, Professor. Once they sniffed you out and confirmed that you're an Anomaly, it the end of you." Beast seconded.
"What is there to sniff out? I may be an Anomaly but the one I have is not as extreme as you guys have. I'll still pass as non-anomaly." Reaper explained.
"You can't be sure. Think about it. The goal of the military is to round up all Anomalies to do God knows what to us. The fact that your friend Ralph, or whoever that is, joined the military now has the same goal. He saw you and Sprite manifest your Anomalies then he ran away, right? What makes you think he won't rat you out to the rest of the military force? If you were to be caught, there's no guarantees that we won't be dragged down with you." Beast made his point.
"I think that's too harsh but yeah I agree with Beast. You may still see him as a friend but that doesn't mean that he see as his friend too." Pandora commented then Reaper couldn't back himself up so he went mute.
"Zythandra, I'm still curious as to why they're all here when the agreement is only have you, me and Calcipher be aware and the only ones to execute the mission." Kitty said.
"Whoa, there's a mission? How exciting. I want to join. I'm really itching for some action." Surge said.
"I won't deny. That foes actually sounds fun." Glass commented.
"I want to join as well so long as I can wear my cute dress." Medusa added.
Zythandra explained that she initially planned to replace Calcipher with Pandora since she figured that even though they can't use the equipment that Calcipher made for them, they can still communicate with each other well throughout their mission with her Anomaly. That the reason why she asked Pandaro to see them in the Professor's office. The professor is here too to get his approval and just fetch Kitty to join them to rely the information. However, this thought changed the moment the news about the military event was seen by others.
"Oh, so that's how it went down." Kitty commented.
"So Professor, you heard my reasoning can we borrow Pandora and her Anomaly for this mission?" Zythandra asked.
"That's not up to me to decide. Ask her." The Professor said making Pandora slightly panic.
"I-I refuse." Pandora declined the request.
"Why? Tell me. Your Anomaly plays a vital roll in the success of this mission." Zythandra attested.
"I can't."
"Why can't you do it? You can freely use your Anomaly in the mansion. You can hold a conversation with any of us with ease at any point here in the mansion. You once reached Medusa from outside the mansion so what's the problem?"
"There are limitations to what I can with my Anomaly."
Pandora confirmed that there are things she can't do with her Anomaly. As she explains, she can only hold one thee-way connection but she can still connect with the others. She can still hear the others' thoughts and they can still hear her but the others' thoughts can't be heard by anyone else. For example, Pandora is having a thee-way discussion with Zythandra and the Professor so she can hear both of them and the both of them can hear each other. On the other hand, while she conducts a three-way discussion with Zythandra and the Professor, she's still connected to everyone else but if they are to say something only she can hear him/her. If she's to respond to that person, it's up to her if she wants to be heard by everyone whose connected or she can just reply to whoever she's talking to. For example, if Kitty wants to talk Medusa through their thoughts, since she's not originally part of the three-way discussion, they won't hear each other unless Pandora do the three-way discussion with them or Pandora relies the message to each other on their behalf.
"I see. Now that's probably a challenge." Zythandra responded
"Also, I'm concerned with the number of crowd. Our mental signals may be interrupted or may not be clear if there are too many people while I'm using my Anomaly." Pandora added.
"That's one more obstacle we need to consider I guess."
"Those are my limitations. That's why I know I can't be of any use in this mission of yours"
"Without any form of communication, the probability of the mission's success is low. But, it must be done." Zythandra said as she kept thinking of alternatives.
"I can use my phone. I believe you have one too. I think that's enough to keep us connected whenever needed." Kitty suggested.
"That won't do. We can't risk the fact that the government is tapping in to calls made from locals devices. That's why phones, computers, laptops and other devices are not allowed in the mansion. The ones Calcipher made have encrypted codes in the network so it will be difficult to be detected or so he says. But without him to control them, it's useful." Zythandra explains. "I've decided. I'll do this alone. Kitty, do whatever it is you do in the event. But as much as possible, we shouldn't interact or else my play might get jeopardized."
"Are you for real?" Kitty reacted. "We're dealing with the military and probably some other enemies that we're still not aware of. You need my assistance."
"I will not allow you handling this mission on your own, Miss Ivanov." The Professor objected Zythandra's pitch as well. "Though I acknowledge that you're exceptional in this field, taking this task head-on without any assistance is simply suicide."
"I can handle it Professor. As you've said, I'm great at it and I'm very much willing to take risk in order for me to do my objective. Having them under my wing might hinder my work." Zythandra proclaimed.
"You already have plans in extracting information from the military about this Eve woman?" Kitty asked.
"I have some tricks up my sleeves. I'm sure they'll give the information I want and probably more." Zythandra claimed.
"Why is that the atmosphere's gone cold all of a sudden?" Glass cracked a joke to lighten up the mood.
"Oh my god. You're getting more gorgeous whenever you're serious and conning." Surge commented then Zythandra glared at him and somehow has an intent to harm him. "I'm sorry. Just thinking out loud. Don't mind me here. Please go on." He then said.
"Too bad. I might not be able wear any of my dresses." Medusa commented.
"You have dresses?" Beast asked.
"Well, yes. I just happen to find some time shopping for some clothes to relieve some stress and to find ways to spend my money. I got some from my Father before all of this happens." Medusa explains. "My uncle probably forgot about that since I can still have transactions with whatever's left of it.
"Oh, yeah. You're a MacMillan. Of course you have money." Beast commented.
"So, what's our decision? Are we going to the mission you're all talking about or Zythandra will just do it on her own?" Reaper asked.
The group continued to deliberate of what's the best course of action to take to ensure that the mission will be a success. Different pitches from each of them were suggested may it be in favor of Zythandra doing the mission alone or something else entirely. With a lot of brainstorming happened and back and forth debate, they finally came up with something they all agreed upon. Though it's very risky, it has a high probably that the mission will succeed and cover some possible loop holes in the execution of the plan.
They have agreed that Zythandra won't be the only one to take on the mission alone because they did consider that the military is not the only enemy present in the time of the event. Having that said, Glass and Surge will be joining in as back up just incase a fight ensues but they have to be discreet at all times to avoid being discovered. Next, Pandora was convinced to join in to manage the communication of the group she just requires a quiet area to maximize her Anomaly. Then, to cover Pandora, Medusa has been added to the line up as well. With Medusa's Anomaly, she can also protect Pandora if something happened. Lastly, as initially agreed, Kitty will be in charge of knowing the flow of the program mainly knowing where the targets will be or whatever it is that's happening backstage. Beast requested to be left in the mansion since it will just be a drag if the entire gang will be there which was approved by the Professor.
On the other hand, Reaper was also not included in the line up so he asked them again to let him join for him to have a chance in talking to Raf. It's evident that majority of them is not agreeing for Reaper to be included but the Professor saw his resolve so he approved of him joining the mission in the condition that if something went wrong, run. They continued to discuss how will they come to the venue without raising any alarms or even the slightest suspicions
"So since the party is settled, how do we go about entering the venue? I pretty sure that events like that are heavily guarded." Glass asked.
"I actually have something in mind but it's just for me and the girls." Kitty said as she pertains to Pandora and Medusa.
"What? How about us?" Glass reacted.
"I got that that covered but one of you boys should stay at the van to serve as a look out." Zythandra said as she figured that they'll be using the van to go the event.
"What a boring task. Glass, do you mind being the look out? I really am itching for some action." Surge asked Glass for a favor.
"As much I would love to hit some action too but yeah it's not a problem for being the look out." Glass agreed.
"That's easy. Right, so here's how it will go down." Zythandra started to explain. Kitty also explained to the girls how will they enter the venue.
Kitty and the girls will head to her agency and declare Pandora and Medusa as her guests so they can easily go inside the event. It turned out that performers can invite maximum of two friends or a relative to join the event. So from the agency, the three of them will just waltz in the night of the event. On the other hand, Zythandra and the boys will go straight to the venue from the mansion. Zythandra, Reaper and Surge will find a way to enter the event aside from the main entrance. She proposed to barge in from the roof, underground or somewhere else entirely. She said that the opportunity will reveal itself once they're at the location.
"So you're saying that you're not sure how we can get it yet?" Reaper asked.
"As I've said, the opportunity will reveal itself once we're there. Just be prepared. Besides, letting ourselves in is the easiest part." Zythandra said.
"Whatever it is you're planning, I'm all for it." Surge commented.
"Don't mind me. I'll just keep the van safe." Glass said.
"How exciting! I'll get to wear a dress of mine. P, can you help me pick a dress to wear? If you want, I can have you borrow one of mine." Medusa said with her ever so excited tone.
"Sure, I can help you out. If possible, you can just lend me the most simple dress you have." Pandora commented.
"Simple? Me? A MacMillan? No way. I'll transform to a quiet girl, well you are literally quite but you know what I mean, to a stunning lady. The boys will drop their jaws off because of your beauty." Medusa exclaimed.
"I can't wait! This keeps getting exciting every second." Surge said.
"You know I have dresses back in my apartment at the agency. I can lend you one of mine if you don't mind." Kitty suggested.
"We're good. My dresses might feel lonely if they're not use at times like this. Thanks for the offer though." Medusa responded.
The Professor took the lead in reviewing the plan before the meeting adjourned because at the back of his mind, huge risks are at stake as he agreed to all of these to be executed by those children. There's this possibility that the military may be onto them and catch them in one fell swoop. There's also a possibility that a fight may erupt if not with the military but with Eve's associates if there's any. But at the end, all he can do is trust them and trust the teachings of their mentors. Most of them are proficient in defending themselves may it be in the physical aspect or the application of their Anomalies. Even Reaper's resolve makes up to his lack of Anomaly use. Little by little, Reaper is building his strength in hand-to-hand combat.
"I'm positive that it's already settled. I'm looking forward to your return in one piece." The Professor said. "I will send a report to The Council only after this mission has ended so that they can be aware of our advances."
"What Council?" Reaper asked.
"Oh, right. I haven't been able to disclose that information to you yet. Let me explain briefly." The Professor.
As the Professor explained, he and the other Anomaly enthusiasts refer themselves as The Council. And as he added, though they share the goal, there are information that he hasn't disclosed to the other council members so most likely, the report he will share to them after this mission will be altered specifically the fact that he's been sheltering Anomalies. The council is only aware that the Professor is running an orphanage with the help of Zythandra and Calcipher. The mentors' identities are not altered for the rest of the council members to avoid some sort suspicions.
"Well, I guess I'll be staying here then. Lucky." Beast commented.
"You'll miss out all the fun, man." Glass teased.
"What's the fun in sitting back and watching the van?" Beast fired back. "It's better to sit back and watch the television isn't it?"
"Burn!" Surge yelled at Glass.
During this ruckus, Reaper has been thinking. He's been contemplating of what they'll wear on the event as well. Since the girls' are already prepared ahead of time, their group should be prepared as well. He's thinking of borrowing someone else's suit since he doesn't have one. He figured that it wouldn't be a problem since it appears that the boys seems to be on same sizes. But right before he ask the question, he was already interrupted by Zythandra it's as if she's already aware what Reaper is thinking.
"Since we'll probably enter the venue in an unorthodox manner, I don't think we will be needing a formal wear." Zythandra explains.
"Does that mean we won't be able to mingle with the crowd unlike the girls?" Surge asked.
"No we won't. Our target is to work in the back lines so it's not necessary for us to actually be part of the event."
"No! Think about the beautiful ladies that I can get to know."
"Well, you can just watch them from afar I guess."
"Tough luck, man. Tough luck." Glassed teased Surge.
The discussion has finally been concluded. Medusa hurriedly took Pandora to her room to have her try on multiple dresses that she can wear at the event. After they have decided on what to wear, Kitty brought them to her agency that same night so by tomorrow evening, They'll head straight to the event as they have agreed upon. On the other hand, Zythandra headed to her office and reviewed the blueprints of the Infinity Lounge to look for an alternative route of entry for her and the boys.
To kill the night and since the boys doesn't have anything else better to do, they decided to keep their heat up by training for the night. Glass initiated the challenge in training and asked Surge to spar with him. They have invited Reaper as well since like them, he doesn't have something else to be busy about. initially, Glass and Surge thought of sparring without maximizing their Anomalies since they'll be facing Reaper so they thought that they might need to go easy on him but, Beast declined and proposed to be go all out because he plans to spar with them as well.
As soon as the four of them arrived at the training area, they prepared for the spar right away. Glass, Surge and Beast are pretty much impressed at Reaper because he seems to be confident in facing one of them in a one-on-one match even though he knows that he' not that proficient in using his Anomaly. On their first spar match, they've decided that first clash will be between Beast and Surge. Reaper couldn't hide his excitement for this matches because he knows to himself that even thought his Anomaly is not as effective for offense and slightly useful in defense, he can compensate it with his fighting ability.
"So you do you think will win between the both of them?" Glass asked Reaper as the both of them sat at a nearby bench.
"I'm not sure. Beast's Anomaly is pretty bad ass and from what I heard, Surge's Anomaly is pretty bad ass too so there's no telling who will win." Reaper responded.
"Want to bet on it?"
"We can't do that. This is just an exercise and besides, there's nothing we can wager."
"Let me see. If you win, I'll keep my task in our mission as it is. If I win, you'll be the one to watch the van the entire time while the rest of us will have in that event. What do you say?
"That's a weak proposal don't you think? How about you will help me train my Anomaly on extra hours for a month if I win but if you win, I'll do errands for you in a month as well. Like being a butler or something."
"That's pretty nice. Fine. I'll go with it. But to be fair, let's do a toss coin."
Both of them agreed that if turned out to be heads, that's Reaper's and if it's tails, that's Glass'. Who ever wins in the toss coin, he'll have the first pick of who'll most likely to win the match. Who ever loses, will do the consequence they've agreed upon. Reaper took his time deciding on who might win the sparring match. At first, he thought of going for Surge because from what he heard so far, he'll going to dominate the fight but he instinctively went for Beast because he thinks Beast has something up his sleeve against Surge.
"You sure? Surge's Anomaly is more dope than Beast's." Glass tried to persuade Reaper.
"I'm not so sure but I feel like he can win the match."
"100% sure? You can still change your fighter before I toss the coin."
"The longer you convince me to go for Surge, the more I'm being confident to stick with Beast. Do you want to go for Beast as well?"
"Fine. Here it goes." Glass gave in and stopped bugging Reaper to change his decision. It turned out tails. Meaning, Reaper wins but Glass still has a chance if Surge wins the match.
And so the fight begun. Due to the conditions of Surge's Anomaly, he opted to go on the defense mode and receive all physical attacks that are coming from Beast as his opponent maximizes the use of his gorilla arms. Luckily, Surge is not gaining that much damage due to his durability. As soon as Surge has the opportunity to strike back, he took it but Beast anticipated it so he made a move himself to avoid it.
"Whoa! You're doing great guys. You're breaking the roof. Literally!" Glass commented after Surge did his first attack. Surge threw a punch directed at Beast. Even though there's still a significant distance between them, he's expecting the shockwave will reach him. In an instant, right before the shockwave hit Beast, Beast transformed the lower half of his body into the lower half of a kangaroo then jumped his way out of the attack path.
"Those guys are insane! I didn't know they are this powerful. Surge can create shockwaves his punches? Beast can now transform half of his body?" Reaper was left in awe of what he's witnessing.
"Pretty cool, huh? And yeah, since Surge can multiply the strength of the energy he stored in his body, he can create shockwaves from his attack. The last time I saw him use his Anomaly is when Blast first came in. Surge's Anomaly is pretty useful that time. As for Beast, he can do that a for a long time now. It's probably the first time you saw but he's been able to do that even before you got here." Glass explains he guards himself and Reaper from the occasional shockwaves coming their way using Anomaly.
The fight continues between Beast and Surge. From time-to-time, it seemed like Beast is just showing off as he changes his partial transformations from one animal parts to another. There are times that he uses his python arms to restrain Surge. There's this other time when he transformed his hands into a bear's so that he can bombard his opponent with claw attacks. Also, there's this time that he transformed his head into a lion's just to put out a menacing roar to intimidate Surge.
On the other hand, Surge seemed to be having a hard time because he doesn't have a spare energy stored so he's dependent on the force coming from Beast's attack making him be more defensive most of the time instead of being on the offensive as well like his opponent. What makes it more harder for him is that for the attacks that he let out, none is hitting Beast if it does, it only makes minimal damage because Beast avoids them very well.
"Hey, is this even legal? I mean, look at them going all out. Do they even know that they're still in a practice match. Can't they chill out a bit?" Reaper reacted.
"You chill out, man. This is 100% normal for us. Well, for us three at least." Glass said.
"You expect me to fight like that with my unflashy Anomaly?"
"Don't worry. Who ever wins between Beast and Surge will face me. Then after I won, and yes I'm very positive that I will, I'll try my best to be easy on you."
"That's sounds off but I guess that'll do. This is just a sparring match so you mustn't go all out on me."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
"You're pretty confident about your Anomaly, huh? It seems that you really over power the two of them. If you fight them both in a three-in-three match, will you be able to defeat them?"
"On a three-on-three match it will probably end up as a draw but we're not that sure since a lot of things can happen within a match but if I'll go one-on-one, let's say with Beast, I'll have a higher chance of winning the match. That's because I know his weakness. Actually, the three of us knows each others weaknesses. Surge is unlucky enough that he was Beast's opponent."
"What do you mean by that?"
If there's an Anomaly form of Rock-Paper-Scissors, it will be the three of them. That is how Glass puts it. Glass proceeded to explain their weaknesses to Reaper. First, even though that Surge appears to have impeccable durable because of his Anomaly, it's downfall is that it only works on the outside of his body. Meaning, his bones can easily be targeted and broken which is an easy task for Beast. Beast can jump quickly at the back of Surge using his kangaroo legs and lock him using his gorilla arms. Right at that moment, Beast can threaten to break Surge's arm. If that happens, Surge can only do kicks as his form of attack but it easily be targeted by Beast.
Second, Beast will definitely not be on the safe side if he was matched to Glass. If Beast's transformed limb may it be arms, legs or any part of his body received enough damage, it will transform back to normal. Glass can easily use his hovering glass discs to target Beast's transformed body part so it can go back to normal and continue to attack until Beast gives up or Beast passes out due to the intense damage.
Lastly, Surge gains the upper hand if he were to be matched to Glass. Glass' primary weakness is close combat. His reaction time is significantly low since those hovering glass discs are intended for short to mid-range attacks. Also, he can't simultaneously continually create glass discs while holding up a glass dome/box to shield himself for incoming attacks. Surge can easily rerelease his stored energy to his feet to propel himself towards Glass as fast as it het be and once he's in arms' reach, he can proceed to do devastating blows to Glass rendering him defeated eventually.
"That is so intense." Reaper reacted after hearing Glass' explanation.
"It is. So if we have spare time, we see to it that we work on our weaknesses so it can be polished and eventually be more badass. You'll never know when you need to defend yourself." Glass commented.
Just as about Surge do something about him being taken over by Beast, Beast started on attempting to lock Surge whether it's an arm, head or leg locks to harass Surge into surrendering by harassing his joints just like Glass said. Surge did his best to free himself from Beast's attempts but he ultimately failed. Surge surrendered. As agreed, even though it's an additional work for Glass, he will be having extra training sessions with Reaper to hone his familiarity with his Anomaly.
Glass proceeded to face Beast. Right after Beast transformed his arms his trusty gorilla arms, Glass immediately targeted them with his glass discs. Glass confirmed earlier during his conversation with Reaper that the more he manifest his discs the duller it gets but they're still enough to deal damage to his opponents. The first few discs he creates are the sharpest but it slowly becomes dull every time a new disc was created.
As Glass planned, Beast couldn't get close to him and due to the continues damage Beast receives from Glass' attacks, the gorilla arms keeps on reverting back to its original form. Beast tried his best to lessen the distance between them always failing to do so because Glass' continues attack. Not for too long and probably because of Beast's earlier match, Beast got defeated not too long after his match with Glass started.
"What are you guys doing here?" Zythandra asked as she walked in to the training room.
"We're just doing some sparring matches." Reaper answered.
"You. Sparring match? With them? Look, I appreciate the fact you want to get stronger but look at those guys. Their Anomalies are made for combat but yours are not. You couldn't even control that Anomaly of yours yet."
"I know but if I happen to master the use of my Anomaly, I can just nullify theirs and fight fist-to-fist."
"I like that resolve. To be honest, you're picking up very well with our combat training so keep pushing yourself. You might one day defeat Cal in a one-on-one fight."
"Thanks. I can even defeat you too."
"Don't bother. No one can defeat me. Think of you just about to hit me with your first strike and in a blink of an eye, you're already lying on the ground unconscious."
"I can't argue with that. You're the best assassin I know because you're the only assassin we know actually."
"You don't want to know some others I know. There are a handful of assassins that kills just by the fact that someone knows they're alive."
"For real? So you're saying that if I know an assassin and that assassin even got the slightest idea that I him, I will be targeted and killed by that assassin."
"That's absolutely right. So just stick of you knowing just me."
Zythandra took the other's attention and advise them to rest for the night since they have a big assignment coming up. She reminded the boys to always be alert and report to her if something suspicious happens. She confirmed that the girls will be heading out early morning then they'll meet up at the venue by the evening. Pandora will connect to our thoughts once she senses that we're already on the area. Everyone agreed and took off to call it a night.