Dark Void, Jake, and Aio are sitting around a bonfire in front of the cabin that they're staying at in the mountains. They are cooking a few rabbits that Dark Void and Jake killed. They were hunted in a training exercise where Dark Void and Jake tried to perfect hitting small moving targets with their abilities. All three have become close friends over the past eight weeks of training. They trained together, they sparred with each other, and they were punished together. Armed and Neon made them do everything together trying to make them all in sync, also doing it in this way made it easier to keep an eye on Dark Void.
"Dark Void, I'd like to thank you for coming out here to help me with my training and perfect the first layer." Aio says to Dark Void. Jake glances up and almost winces at that comment, but hides it.
"You're welcome, I needed some training too, and it will help me attain my goal." Dark Voids replies, but he regrets it for he knows he revealed a bit too much about his past with that comment.
"I have a goal too, you've helped me in gaining more power to reach that goal. I will avenge my family that was murdered by a fade (a derogatory term for tainted)." Aio says.
"My family was taken from me too, and I want to avenge them as well. They were senselessly murdered in front of my eyes and there was nothing I could do, but now I can." Dark Void replies, he did not first realize what he was saying but he was saying those things because he finally had someone who felt the way he did and that he could connect to.
"I can help you, you have become a good friend of mine, and I always help out a friend in need." Aio replies with a sincere tone.
"No, this is something must do alone. I'll train with you but I can't do more." Dark Void says, he appreciates what Aio offered, but he knew that he couldn't allow him to help kill the heroes.
"I understand, I'll train with you." Aio says, he understood what Dark Void was saying, he knew that Dark Void appreciated the sentiment, but Dark void revenge is something that he needed to do alone for it to mean something. Aio understood, because he felt the same way about it.
Jake starts talking for the first time in the conversation "I don't want revenge for what happened, I just want justice, and to honor them by not letting it happen to anyone else. I want to protect the innocent."
"I know that we probably won't ever get too close but you're a genuine person." Dark Void says to Jake. Over the past two months Dark Void has seen how Jake and Aio act and treat each other and he has started to realize that some heroes are innocent.
"... Well it looks like the rabbits are done." Jake says after an awkward silence. He grabs the skewers and hands out two each to Dark Void and Aio and gives two to himself. Dark Void looks down at the food and pauses for almost a minute. "Uh, sorry man. I can eat yours for you if you want." Jake says jokingly. Dark Void just reaches up for his mask, and Jake drops his food and runs behind Aio in terror.
"He looks ticked man, you've got to protect me!" Jake shouts in terror while hiding behind Aio. Aio looks back at Jake perplexed.
"What are you doing? Besides you can't look ticked because you can't even see his face." Aio responds in confusion. Dark Void then removes his mask revealing a handsome and beautiful face that hides hurt, anger and years of suffering. He had gray eyes, and fair skin that was unblemished save for a small scar over on his right jaw. He had jet black shoulder length hair with the top in a small ponytail. Jake looks around Aio while still hiding behind him and sees Dark Void's face.
"I can see my chances with the ladies dwindling before my eyes." Jake says with much dread in his voices.
"Why did you hide behind me?" Aio asks
"I thought he would look scary, like have a mutilated face or a demon face." Jake answers. Aio just rolls his eyes and takes a bite of rabbit.
"Jake, eat your food." Aio commands and Jake listens. The meal continues and ends silently.
"Well I finished and I need to rest. By the way, my name is Jacen." Dark Void says while he gets up and walks away.
Armed and Concuss are sitting next to each other at a round table discussing with a few other heroes on the progress of the Stained investigation.
"Okay, we sent each of you in to investigate a different criminal organization, I need to know the details and what information you've gathered. You've been out there for two weeks you need to have something by now. Time is of the essence, and it is imperative that we get as much information as we can. We need to figure out who's making and distributing the serum before we have an all-out Civil War in our own city." Armed explains.
"Sensor, What did you find out about the True Separatists?" Concuss asks.
A man with big blue goggles, and in a slick blue and green super suit answers. "I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. There were just some rallies protesting in the Dragano Alliance, and a couple militia groups, but they weren't active in any tainted experiments." (Sensor has super sight and hearing, and is an Ace hero, but not a ranker. He also is part of the hero reconnaissance division). Concuss clenches her fist to hide her frustration.
"Shade did you fair any better?" Concuss asks hoping for better news.
A man in all black, with a black trench coat, a full face black mask and a black fedora answers.(He's one of the best in the hero reconnaissance division. His ability to slip into any shadow and transport to any other one, and can hide in any shadow.) "The Artinia Militia, at first, seemed like a likely target because of their advancement in making tainted, but I couldn't find much on any distribution of the serum or manufacturing of the serum. And it doesn't make any sense for them to do something like this. They mostly focus on hero owned buildings or heroes themselves and political targets. Besides the remnants of the Artinia military, they rely on gorilla tactics and full frontal military attacks, this isn't their MO."
Concuss then brings her fist down on the table and yells. "Scrap! Our two most likely groups are a bust!" Armed places a hand on her shoulder and whispers into her ear, and calms her down. Flare looks down at some papers she brought and asks.
"What about the Yakuza, Muslim extremists, Mankind's Saviors, the Irish Liberation Front, or the gangs in tainted town?"
"The Yakuza doesn't have the ability to manufacture anything like that, maybe they might be distributing it, but we have not seen any evidence of that. There's only a couple Muslim terrorist groups left out there and we haven't seen them do anything like this. They are mostly conducting mass shootings or bombings, and besides they think that it's a heresy to use powers. The Irish Liberation Front just once Ireland's sovereignty, it wouldn't make sense for them to do anything like this, they pretty much only focus on political infrastructure or politicians. Lastly, Mankind's Saviors think that the gifted and the tainted are the downfall of the human species. They wouldn't do something like this, they want to kill us not create us. Though you might be on to something with Tainted Town. Shift, didn't you look into that?" Armed asks.
An asian man with a black hood and a mask that covered his mouth, nose, and cheeks; speaks up. He had light armor on with no cape or cloak all of which was a dark blue or black (He has the ability to teleport and create his own pocket dimensions. He uses one pocket dimension to store weapons which you can pull out at will and use to fight. He's a skilled weapons master and martial artist. He can also create pocket dimensions whenever someone tries to hit him. Their hand or projectile would pass right through him or he could use portals to redirect any attack.) "The only thing I found out of the ordinary, was just outside of Tainted Town, two tainted men met with a couple of ordinary humans. The humans gave the tainted some money and the tainted went right back into Tainted Town."
"Well that's not conspicuous at all." Armed says sarcastically. "It looks like we know where to look now." The group then gets up, and begins to walk out to head towards Tainted Town to get a better look at what they were dealing with.
Aimi Ito, who was in the air vents listening the whole conversation slowly begins to inch back out. She lands into the custodial closet where she first entered, and then sneaks out of Hero HQ.
"I've got to take this to the others." She thought to herself. She changes into her civilian clothes and then walks back to the school. She then runs around and uses her powers to locate Clarissa and Aurora at the lounge.
"I have something to tell you guys. Go get the others." Aimi says.
"Why?" Clarissa asks.
"Just do it." Aimi replies begging.
"Okay, I'll do it." Clarissa says with a sigh and grabbing her phone, Aurora does the same. It takes awhile but everyone arrives.
"So what did you want to tell us?" Clarissa asks.
"I was at hero HQ and I was listening in to the latest debriefing for the Stained Investigation."
"Wait I have two questions for you, how did you get into Hero HQ and what is the Stained Investigation?" Clarissa asks, interrupting Aimi. Those few words peaked the attention of Ros who was sitting nearby.
"Okay, to answer the first question I was trained well by my father, who I have the same powers as. And there was really no other hero who had the ability or the experience to detect me such as Pinpoint or Neon. To answer the second question the Stained Investigation is an investigation into that serum that turned that one guy super muscular." Aimi answers.
"And what did you want to do with that information?" Clarissa asks with skepticism.
"Well I thought since we started the investigation into the Stained Serum I thought might as well finish it, snd isn't that what heroes do." Aimi answers.
"Except we are not heroes, and we were explicitly told to stay out of this. This is a very bad idea. Let's forget this conversation ever happened." Clarissa exclaims and walks out. The rest of the group disbands shortly there after.
Ros, after everyone leaves, walks up to Aimi and asks her where the investigation into the Stain Serum lead.
"The heroes talked about going into Tainted Town to investigate a weird transaction between two non-gifted and two tainted." Aimi answers
"Thank you." Ros says, as he bee lines out the door.
Aimi thinking his behavior was weird goes out to find Clarissa and Aurora again. She eventually finds them walking into the dorms.
"Wait up guys, I have something to tell you." Aimi yells out.
"I don't want to hear anymore about the Stained Investigation." Clarissa says with a little bit of irritation in her voice.
"I have a million better things to do than hear you talk about the investigation." Aurora said sounding monotoned and irritated at the same time.
"It's not about that I promise, well it does have something to do with that, but not what you're thinking." Clarissa and Aurora roll the rise and look at each other annoyed. Aimi continues "Ros came up to me after you guys left and asked about where the Stained Investigation was going to lead and I told him, that it was in Tainted Town. He then quickly ran out the door and I'm worried he might be headed over there." Aimi says
"That idiot! Come on we got to get everyone together and stop him from doing something stupid. I don't want anyone else getting in trouble for this." Clarissa yells out while running towards the men's dorm.
Ros, while running towards Tainted Town, thinks to himself. "Finally I can get my dad's approval."
Next Time, Chapter 20 Stopping Ros...