Romaine's POV
"So what's on the board for today?" I questioned
"Hopefully nothing." Dondre responded
"He's right." sided the Prince, "Let's hope we don't encounter anymore issues such as last night and get a chance to analyze the information."
"What's there to analyze?" Dondre questioned, "Crazy freakazoid Black Zero stole Romaine's speed with some weird stone and gave a another psycho powers."
"It's not that simple." defended my older version, "Maybe I didn't give them the proper credit they all deserved."
"What do you mean?" the Prince inquired
"Black Zero's no joke, and I want you all to take this seriously. He's much smarter and more conniving than you all think."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Dondre questioned
"I won't go in detail, but you'll all find out soon enough. All I can say is, be careful of what you all do from this point forward, because you might just be playing into Zero's plan."
"And about those dudes?"
"Right, Black Zero's Hunters. Believe it or not, man's done his research; all five members of his team are notable scholars in specific fields of science. He tracks them down and recruits them to his team, after which he gives them powers based on their field of study."
"Which would make them highly skilled with their abilities despite having no practice." Cas concluded
"Exactly. They know the ins and outs of their field, the powers and limitations of what they could do with their abilities; and even with some of those limitations, the philosophers' stone enables them to defy science in many ways."
"And can you give us any leads on these guys?" Dondre posed
"No, I can't. However, based on my own experience with them, I know you'll all figure out everything in due time."
"Can we at least count on no more appearances from Zero or his 'Hunters' any time soon?" Cas asked
"Though the philosophers' stone is now fully charged with Romaine's speed, Zero needs time to find all his targets and wait for them to be at the right place at the right time. In my timeline he took roughly a week to get the other four."
"Then we have time." Cas said
"Time for, what, exactly?" Dondre questioned
"I think it's about time we all got a break from all of this." she explained
"We're listening."
"It would be best if we all took our minds off of everything. We should all take the week off."
"I'm sorry, is this coming from Cas? The world's biggest workaholic?"
"Haha, humorous Dondre."
"You gotta admit, it's a bit out of character." I reasoned
"I just happen to know how to prioritize better than the rest of you."
"So tell us more about this vacation of yours." Dondre refocused
"Since we won't be at the mercy of Black Zero or his Hunters during the week, we should all go do something to take our minds off of the subject; from November we've had back-to-back problems, it's about time you all destress."
"But what if there's another X-Genist attack?" posed the Prince
"We still have Dondre, along with the other two children. If anything happens I can ping them."
"I don't know Cas." Dondre muttered, "I'm not really feeling the whole vacation thing. What if Black Zero sends his dudes after one of us?"
"I did account for that, hence why I decided to divide everyone into groups; each consisting of at least one speedster and a scientist."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, and the groups are as follows: Team 1, consisting of Romaine and Dondre. Team 2, made up of Donte, Shante and the Prince. And lastly Team 3, being myself and future Romaine."
"Team 3 seems a bit unbalanced;" I pointed out, "my older version's Team3's speedster right?"
"Oh- um, yes of course." She stuttered
"Well is that so wise?" I posed
"Trust me, Team 3 is more than capable of handling itself should anything happen."
"If you say so."
"Well what are you all waiting on?" She questioned, "Go in your groups and go unwind; see you Sunday."
After she hastily pushed us all into the elevator and joyfully waved goodbye, those of us in the elevator were exchanging concerned looks.
Cassandra's POV
"Did I seem calm back there?" I questioned the mature version of Romaine, "I looked calm, right?"
"If by calm you mean angsty to get rid of everyone, then yeah. Totally calm." He responded
"Oh please." I chuckled
"So what's all this about?"
"Well, I was thinking that if I had the lab all to myself, I'd be able to focus on the speed drug much better, and probably take care of our little 'problem'."
"By problem you mean your speed?"
"Precisely."
"Well I mean, I can train you, if you want? Just to help you get control of them of course."
"I don't know about that Romaine.."
"Come on Cas," He came closer, "you were always there for me; this is the least I can do for you in return."
"Hm, well... there is that abandoned campsite we set up the trap for Zero at, maybe we can go there to do so? And come back to the lab when we're not training to work on the drug."
"Brilliant. We can start whenever you're ready."
"I think I prefer to stay here and work for the night.
"Sure thing."