Star flakes, this was the essence of the modern day heroes.
Ingested at controlled quantities, one can harness and cultivate the power of the sun, and from there, emerged to be a hero, with unique gifts granted to some.
Working legally as a hero, one can be paid a small quantity of star flakes, alongside their salaries.
"With that said, illegal possession of a large quantity of star flakes are an incredibly serious crime, one can even be branded as a terrorist. Yeah, imagine it, a group of random punks being stronger than our heroes? That would be catastrophic, our own way of life will be threatened by them." Said an expert to the reporter.
"Today, we found quite a quantity of starflakes being smuggled and consumed illegally. Well, here's the good news: thanks to a duo of crime prevention officer, or C-class heroes, those starflakes were safely recovered, with minimum casualty, even." A reporter said to the broadcast crew.
"We have Mr. Long here, representing our heroes on the scene, please, sir."
"Well, as you can see, our officer responsible for this case were undergoing intensive care, so for now I will speak on their behalf." Steven said while awkwardly looking at the cameras.
"Uhm, well. Thanks to their quick judgement, the townsfolk in the area were unaware of their danger. Thus, minimizing panic among the people. That's a job befitting a crime prevention officer. For that, I, no, our entire department thank them for the job well done." Steven said as he left the broadcasting crew.
"Well, there she is! That's one of the duo heroes that saved the day. Please miss, may we know your name?"
"Yes! Say yeahh!!" The entire broadcasting crew all had their hands up, and yelled "yeah" In unison.
"That's my name! Follow my quicklittre add Sayyea to know more about me! Peace!!" Sayyea said as she left the scene after doing a victory pose.
That afternoon, in the office near bus stop 3F. Meeting room. Sayyea was seated in front of her seniors and superior.
"What the hell were you doing?! You should have reported to us first of your findings. Follow the protocols, noob!" A female officer chided her.
"You should have, only done a recon, that itself will give you a hefty score to move up the ranks. Then, if you are willing, you can even participate in the raid team that was going to be formed later." Steven explained calmly.
"And how long will that take? Hours? Days? We even didn't know what they have planned! That's why we decided on the spot, and see, we nailed it."
"Yeah, right, with your colleague nailed to the bed! Job well done! And we can't even question the only surviving suspect!"
"And you think nothing of what you did? You killed those boys, outcast or not, they still have long life ahead of them! And yet you ended so many, for what? Giving speeches to the public? Boosting your own rep?" Steven finally exploded.
"Smoke, go talk some sense to your junior! What the hell is Bob telling her about the job?"
"Careful, Steven. You're talking to a superior here." Said the female officer calming him.
"Fuck you, Amanda, fuck those youngsters with substance abuse! They think a hero only need power? Smoke! You dare ignoring me now, now that you grow taller?"
"Please, Mr. Long. Calm down! I still got their trails, I still have ways! It's not all for nothing. Sayyea, your deed today might have earned you a promotion. But, those violations of protocol you did, was severely dragging you back down." Breath interjected.
"Well, now here you are, moving nowhere." Breath added.
"But, as a kind senior, and compensation of your deeds, we'll give you a bonus worth one month of salary."
"The only silver lining here is, that she kept the townsfolk safe, regardless of her breaching protocols." Amanda, the female officer added.
"Alright, thanks, good bye now!" Sayyea said, standing up and hurriedly leaving the room.
"Hey! You are not dismissed yet!"
"Please, Mr. Long, watch your blood pressure." Breath interrupted.
_________
That evening, for the first time, Sayyea rode a bus home that is not fully occupied.
Finally having a taste of the bus seat, she sat comfortably. Looking out the window, there were neon lights being lit, signs with bright lamps were illuminating the night city.
With three levels of flyovers, there also comes three layers of neon arrays.
The lights being reflected by the wet asphalt make it looks like an eternal fireworks blooming.
This was the first time Sayyea saw the East Alley Side at night.
As she was enjoying the view, the bus ran over a bump on the road. It wasn't serious, but the impact made the inner lighting of the bus to flicker.
"Hey, Noi. Didn't see you there. I didn't know when you boarded the bus, wait, the bus didn't stop even once. Were you with me the whole time?" Sayyea greeted her quiet senior.
"You know, Mr. Long gave me a long speech earlier. But, I know, he means well. You seemed like a strange couple, with you like this, and Mr. Long that never stops talking." Sayyea tried to change the subjects.
But why does she bother to change a subject to someone that uttered no word?
"Noi, did you see the news? I'm, kinda in there."
There was a long silence between the two ladies sitting side by side.
But then, the one to break the silence was as expected.
"Yeri, behave, will you?" Noi said, while looking at Sayyea sideways.
Hearing her talking for the first time, Sayyea were taken by surprise.
It was her voice, Noi had exactly the same pitch of voice as Yeri is, the same as her spell.
It was back to silence.
But now, Yeri no longer denied her wrongdoings.
With a single tear dropping in her cheek, she finally answered her senior.
"Yeah, got it."
---
It was past dinner time when Yeri finally arrived at the lodge. But still, her roomates were sitting there at the dining area.
"Sit, get some meal, first. It's meat." Mr. Heller told Yeri.
"I know what happened. I know you got yourself a bonus, so, as someone responsible for the tax, I steal some of your bonus to treat the kids to some meat." Mr. Heller said as he make a smile that's rarely seen.
"I'll report you someday, sir" Yeri said as she sat down.
"Well, look at you. Barely two days of work, but you got yourself on the news." Jade commented.
"Heh, i know what you feel. If not for those stupid rules, I'll be a special class by now." Bridge added.
"Quit flattering yourself, it's because you always head on first at every possible villainy. And you need someone to grab you by the tail." Jade told Bridge off.
"Careful, bridge. We got someone writing those stupid rules here." Breath added.
"And Yeri, sorry for earlier, I have tried my best to support you."
"No, breath. You can consider it even, for yesterday." Sayyea jested.
"So this girl also hold grudges." Jade said while slurping the meat soup.
"Speaking of which, where's Arjun?" Yeri asked them.
"Well, he left early today. That means he got himself on another project. He won't be back before he finishes, what, you miss him now? After what you did to him?" Bridge answered.
"Not now, bridge, not now. As you can see, I look like shit now. So please excuse me, I have a cleansing ceremony to attend to. Mr. Heller, thank you for the meal." Yeri said after excusing herself for the night.
Passing the room just beside hers, Yeri stopped to glance at the door. It was only for a moment, then she opened the door to her room.
---
*Beep beep beep*.
With the sound of the warning bell. Nurses and a doctor came rushing to a room.
"Hello, Mr. Yan. I'm Richard, the doctor responsible for taking care of you. Please, don't try to move? Are you aware of what had happened to you? Do you remember anything?"
It took a while to get an answer out of the patient. The patient was just a young adult, barely passing a quarter century old. But such young man had suffered quite a severe injuries.
Fortunately, his breathing seemed to have stabilized. Eyes responded normally to stimulus that was given. Heart rate a bit low, but stable.
"We've administered a painkiller, so your drowsiness you felt right now would be the side effects of it. We've also given you a blood transfusion, as you were bleeding a lot, especially from your chest."
"It's ok, you don't need to force yourself to speak. What? I can't hear you."
As the doctor can't hear what the patient said that well, he leaned closer to the patient, positioning his ear near the patient's mouth.
"*cough*, I.. see him, he was there, I don't remember much but, *wheeze*.. I heard a call, and.. A moment later.. Someone came.. Dressed in all black, he came from above.. He's alive, doc, I saw it." The patient talked with a voice that continued to falter.
"A man, with gold shining on his fists."