— A Day Later - Pre-Celebration —
As dusk falls over the city center, crowds begin gathering in anticipation of the Victory Week night parade. Neon lights flicker to life, illuminating packed shops, malls, and bars filled with revelers ready to celebrate.
Police officers redirect those dressed in dirty clothing—beggars and holess individuals—toward the outskirts. Every year during Victory Week, slum dwellers attempt to enter the city center for free food and drinks, often making others uncomfortable with their drunken behavior or poor hygiene.
To maintain order, authorities have no choice but to restrict entry to those who appear unkempt. However, those who dress neatly and control their habits are permitted to join the festivities.
With nearby roads closed to all civilian and private vehicles due to the massive crowds, people stream into the venue on foot.
— Watchtower - Security Command Center —
Inside a watchtower bristling with monitors, communication equipnt, and venue maps, police and UEC law enforcent personnel oversee security caras and coordinate with field teams to handle troublemakers. Among them is Thomas Baker, required to remain on duty, Oldcowboy, who casually flips through a gun magazine nearby, and the last one the UEC Officer from the IHB (International Hero Bureau) Heinrich Strauss.
"Sir, has the Hero from Central arrived yet?" Thomas asks Strauss who are sharing the watchtower with him.
Heinrich Strauss, The Officer clad in a long coat adorned with dals and badges bearing the UEC emblem, 'a sword-crossed shield over a globe' turns to Thomas.
"The Central Hero will arrive soon, Captain. Don't worry, that villain won't get a chance to cause trouble," The officer assures with a confident smile.
He's referring to Necrotox, a villain whose threat level exceeds what Arkadia City's local Heroes can handle. The UEC respond with sending a powerful hero from the central to handle him.
The UEC officer checked his wristwatch, noting the Central Hero was already ten minutes late. Outside the watchtower, he and Thomas saw a woman in a blue-and-gold suit descending slowly from the sky.
The officer glanced at his watch again as the heroine landed on the road below, imdiately drawing a barrage of smartphone caras. She marched toward the watchtower with supre confidence, her head slightly raised in that borderline arrogant way heroes had.
When Photon Fury entered and stood face-to-face with the Strauss, he gave her a wry smile, his posture visibly uncomfortable.
"Why are you here, Photon Fury?" he asked.
The heroine clearly bristled at the question. "Don't be a bigot. I'm replacing The Shade because he's too lazy," she said, hand on hip.
"The Shade?" The officer's skepticism showed. He knew The Shade well - that lazy bum always followed UEC orders, however reluctantly. The only exception was when soone else volunteered... "Are you sure you're not volunteered and that lazy bastard didn't just use this as an excuse to ditch his job?"
Photon Fury's eyes sharpened, her irritation spiking. "You sexist! Hmph! Typical white n!" she spat before storming out, fuming all the way outside.
"Verdammte Scheiße!" Strauss cursed in German, punching a nearby locker hard enough to dent it. After taking a mont to calm himself, he muttered, "This is bad..."
"Sir, what's wrong?" Thomas asked. "Isn't Photon Fury one of the top ten most powerful heroes? Shouldn't we be glad soone of her caliber is helping us apprehend Necrotox?" Though he didn't understand the German curse, Strauss' expression clearly suggested nothing good.
Strauss slowly adjusted his tie and composed himself before turning to Thomas. "It would be a good thing... if we were hunting a powerful villain in the Wild Lands."
"But?" Thomas sensed the implication.
"But!" Strauss vented, "She has near-zero control over her powers! She doesn't even bother training them! If our Number One Hero hadn't beaten her senseless and forced her to train seven years ago, she might have killed soone just by landing from flight!"
"I see..." Thomas murmured, at a loss for words. He turned toward Oldcowboy, who was still flipping through his gun magazine.
"Mr. Blackwood, I think we need to handle this ourselves. We should head out soon."
Hearing this, Oldcowboy closed his magazine and placed it on the monitor console. "Well... Can't be helped," he said in his usual southern drawl. "Best we get to work."
Both Oldcowboy and Thomas, who are coordinating with their police precinct, are divided into two task forces—one for each precinct. The first team is tasked with maintaining order in the city center. At the sa ti, the other goes into the field to find clues about Necrotox and locate him before anything happens.
Thomas and Oldcowboy haven't ntioned anything about Photon Fury or tried to recruit her to help them. They're worried that if she were to find Necrotox, she might burn down the entire city block before even killing the villain.
While they're working, they notice Photon Fury giving autographs to her fans nearby. Her fanbase appears to consist of a group of feminists, both male and female. There are two lines in front of her: one made up of won and another only composed of n.
Though only three people are in the male queue, Photon Fury deliberately ignores them, focusing solely on the female line, where she smiles and tirelessly signs autographs.
Seeing this, both Thomas and Oldcowboy choose to ignore her. They figure it's better than letting her roam the city, apprehending small-ti criminals while burning down buildings—or worse, finding a villain and torching an entire city block due to her uncontrollable power.
Ti passes, and reports co in from various precincts. Many troublemakers have been apprehended, but there's still no sign of Necrotox. The K-9 units have been pushed to their limits, and nurous drones and cutting-edge detection systems have been deployed... yet Necrotox remains at large.
Now, with the parade's start ti approaching, their window to act is growing narrower by the minute.
— Night - 30 Minutes Before Celebration - A Small Warehouse Near City Center —
— ??? POV —
I've arrived at the designated location. Now, all I need to do is install so "spice" on these puppets and march them to the city center. Then—boom! Chaos erupts, and my future research project will finally earn their approval!
Spark! Zzzzppp!
The sudden zap of electricity cuts out, plunging the warehouse into darkness. I whirl toward the window—lights still glow outside. This blackout is localized. Those lazy maintenance bastards didn't do their jobs again. Can't even keep the damn lights on.
"You two! Check the breaker!" I command two puppets.
They shuffle off obediently. I wait. Five minutes pass. No light. No return.
"You! Go find those idiots!" I snap at another puppet.
Another five minutes. Silence.
Annoyed, I storm toward the breaker room alone, leaving the remaining puppets behind.
"What the—?!"
My breath catches. Three puppets sprawl unconscious on the floor. No signs of struggle. No traces of an intruder. Not that I could see any in this suffocating darkness.
"Goddamn it!" I seethe. If they're knocked out, the control drugs will wear off. I'd used a mild formula to avoid leaving evidence post-operation—and now this!
I sprint back to the main area. The parade starts soon; I'm running out of ti—
All my puppets are down.
Sa as the others. Clean takedowns. No noise. No clues.
Who the hell is doing this?! Three—no, four—grown n neutralized without a trace. A ghost?
No. Impossible. Ghosts don't exist.
Clank! Clink!
"Eeeeeeek!" The crash of tal sends jumping. Fuck! Fuck! This is bad.
I scan the darkness. The sliver of light from outside feels like my only sanctuary.
"Show yourself!" I shout. Nothing.
Then—a shadow flickers at the edge of my vision.
"WHO'S THERE?!" I spin toward it.
Empty darkness.
My pulse hamrs. The void itself seems to watch .
"S-Shit... Shit..." I can't stay. I can't. This place isn't safe—
Ten ters. The exit was ten fucking ters away—a distance I could sprint in seconds. Yet with every step, it's farther... and farther, as if the darkness itself warped the space around .
The shadow flickered again.
This ti—behind . Closer. It's coming after !
I crashed through the gate, the shadow freezing at the threshold like so cursed thing bound by rules. Stumbling into the night, I gasped. My tailored black suit clung to , drenched in sweat gone ice-cold.
Not safe. Not yet.
The parade—where crowds, light, and people gathered—was my only chance. I veered into the alley, drawn toward the distant glow, the muffled fanfare.
"Hh—!" My cry for help died as a calloused palm crushed my mouth shut.
One step. It's only a f*cking one step!
My outstretched fingers grazed the golden light of the main street. Laughter and music swirled just beyond.
"Hey..." A voice like grinding bones slithered into my ear. "Did you have good dreams?"
Then... I was yanked backward... into the darkness....
— Parade Venue —
Thomas Baker and Oldcowboy are feeling lost... Despite spending a lot of ti and manpower to track down Necrotox, they've made no progress. Now that the parade has started, they still haven't caught him.
Just then, a voice crackled through Thomas' earpiece.
"Sir! We've received a report! Soone found a man lying unconscious in a dark alley—he was cleanly knocked out. We also discovered a group of immigrants unconscious in a nearby warehouse, just like the first one."
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