Zteel

"So much for organized crime," Kilo joked sarcastically. "They were obvious with this one."

Despite the thick smog that loomed the street, and all the other uncertainties of the moment, one thing remained clear.

Whatever was happening at the bank couldn't have been good.

Between aiding and protecting bystanders and local citizens, who were seemingly in good shape, and addressing whatever was occurring down the street, Nyota, Sage and Kilo had to make a decision.

Nyota initially concluded that it was most important to ensure the safety of locals. But then he thought about it a bit more. The people seemed fine more or less, no obvious casualties could be seen around.

So, with his MO activated, he rushed through the haze to the scene of the bank.

Kilo prepared to follow him.

"Hey!" Sage called. "What about the people? We've got to think about this a bit."

Kilo turned around briefly before quickly following behind Nyota. "Look around, man! Everybody's fine. Plus, it's the Big Three we're talking about. If anything, our roles should be reversed right now. They'll be good."

Sage acknowledged the logic behind Kilo's words, so he left after Nyota and his brother. "Again? Again, I have to run after these guys," he half-heartedly chuckled to himself.

Quickly approaching the row of men blocking the street with riot shields, Nyota charged up a kick. "I've just got to breach a hole in their wall," he thought to himself. "If I can do that, then there's no touching me."

"Stand your ground!" Nyota could hear one of the men shout. "Back row, prepare to fire!"

He forgot to consider that there were more men that he couldn't visually see, let alone those that could have been armed with weapons other than shields.

This didn't stop him though. He figured he had too much momentum to stop. He had to push forward.

"Blue Lightning MO," at this point, Nyota left behind a trail of blue radiance within the smog. He felt faster than he did during his fight with Doran.

"Thunderbolt Drive!!"

He kicked over a couple of the men, then quickly sprung up high into the air above the stationed vehicles so the men with firearms couldn't get a clear shot.

"He's too fast!" Some of the men called. Nyota chose not to worry about the rest of the men behind him. He was focused on getting to the bank tens of meters away.

However, Kilo and Sage decided to quickly face them.

"Blue Flames MO: Blazing Carousel!" In a twisting kicking motion, Sage knocked a cluster of men to the ground and crashing back into the windows and hoods of their vehicles.

Kilo got low and completely turned into a sweeping kicking motion, tumbling a few others. Sage and Kilo were now back-to-back, easily defeating the men around them.

When they were all defeated, one of the men knocked to the ground reached out for a plasma rifle on the concrete. Once he got his hand on it, he crawled over and aimed at Sage.

Kilo saw him at the last second. Instinctively, he jumped in front of Sage, put his hands up and closed his eyes as he braced for impact.

Accidentally, Kilo formed a wall of fire in front of him and Sage, large enough to fully shield the both of them.

Sage, catching wind of the man with the rifle, formed a small ball of blue flames in the palm of his hand and threw it at the man, rendering him unconscious.

The brothers looked at each other.

"Did you just…—"

"I didn't…—"

They spoke over each other then took deep breaths and laughed. "Okay, cool, back to work."

Meanwhile, Nyota had reached the bank. The large glass windows of the bank had shattered, and all regular people inside had already left.

He walked inside the building, stood and briefly watched as a few men dressed in black took stacks of money from a large safe and stuffed them into bags.

They were being instructed by another tall, built man and a woman dressed in black as well.

It was Quade and Ivy.

"Boss," one of the mafia troops called, pointing behind them. "Look."

Quade and Ivy turned around. Sage and Kilo had finally caught up to Nyota.

"So, what are we dealing with?" Kilo asked, taking deep breaths. He paused and looked around.

"Oh, okay."

"Hey!" Quade called, approaching Nyota and the brothers. "Didn't I say get lost? Go on, I already said this establishment is out of business right now."

"And what are those guys doing out there?" Ivy asked. "They had one job, all they had to do was block the street off. How'd kids get through?"

"Gotta do everything yourself," Quade said as he reached out for Nyota.

Nyota, Sage and Kilo looked at each other and nodded. "Blitz."

Promptly, Sage formed a ball of blue fire in his hand and threw it at the bags the men were stuffing money into.

Kilo ran at a few of them, jumped and slid onto the counter and kicked them into each other, toppling over a large heap of money.

Nyota swatted Quade's grasp away, threw a few punches, knelt down and kicked upward. However, Quade effortlessly dodged his attacks.

Approaching Sage, Ivy reached her hand outward to the side, magnetism emitting from her glove. A metal pole soared through the air from the ground into her grasp.

"This is getting annoying," she sang acerbically.

"So, you do have abilities," Sage said as Ivy swung at him only for him to block her attack with his forearm. "Although not of your own."

"It is mine," she replied, a medley of kicks and punches thrown at Sage as he continued to block and hide behind counters.

"Why don't you focus on the fight at hand, hm? Although I can tell it's a bit hard for you to focus on your own business."

"Sounds like someone's got an insecurity." Sage joked as he continued to dodge until he jumped onto the counter and kicked Ivy in her stomach, propelling her backward.

"I'll have you know this very much is my business. You're disturbing public peace, and I need you to comply and turn yourself in."

Kilo was still fighting the men with bags. A couple tried to shoot him with plasma pistols, but he was too close.

He propelled a punch at a man waving a gun at him, followed by a kick in the chest of another lurking behind.

One last man tried to lunge at him from his peripheral, but he quickly balled his hand into a fist. His fist quickly became covered in flames and he propelled a right hook into the side of the man.

As Sage was fighting Ivy, he noticed Kilo's strike. "Nice moves over there!" He joked.

"It's hot, gonna take some getting used to." Kilo replied. "I'll call it 'Red Flames.'"

"Fine by me. Just remember that my blue ones are still much hotter." Like Kilo, Sage balled one hand into a fist that quickly became enveloped by blue flames and swung at Ivy, striking her in her arm.

She winced at the heat, then retaliated. "Don't patronize me! Quade!" She called. "Where's Ford at? He's taking forever!"

"I'm sort of busy here," he said as Nyota continued to strike with electrically charged kicks. "Kind of having a hard time."

Outside of the bank, Ford quickly arrived at the scene from the backseat of a black car with tinted windows. He opened the back door.

"Yo! Get in!"

"About damn time!" Quade yelled as he and Ivy ran away from Nyota, Sage and Kilo and into the vehicle. "Drive!"

"Stop them!" Sage yelled as they ran after them into the middle of the street.

The Big Three, Doran and Maverick arrived at the bank at the same moment.

"What's going on?"

Nyota and Sage noticed the glove that Ford was wearing. It looked exactly like the one Ivy used to grab the metal pole from before.

"C'mon Sage," Kilo yelled. "Can't you throw a fireball or something?"

"Quade, hello…" Ivy called hurriedly. "Now's the time."

Before Sage could form one in hand, Quade pressed a button on his earpiece. "Brace for impact."

Ford and Ivy covered their ears as the car drove away. Ultrasonic waves emitted from the earpiece and traveled everywhere within a kilometer radius, rupturing Doran, Maverick and the cadets' hearing.

Unable to do anything, they stood in place and tried to preserve their hearing, some knelt down to the ground in agony.

"They're… they're gonna get away," Kilo struggled to speak.

As they continued to fight the ultrasonic waves, many of the other vehicles that arrived left to catch up with Quade, Ford and Ivy. Once they were about a kilometer away from the scene, Doran, Maverick and the cadets' hearing returned to normal.

"Everybody, follow me. Maverick, send out a call. We're going to rendezvous at the precinct, ASAP."

"Roger that," Maverick spoke into his handheld transmitter.

Kilo palmed and scratched his head. "We were so close!"

"We apologize, Doran." Nyota spoke. "We could've stopped them."

Doran turned to look at him and shook his head. "No, it's on me, should've been here much earlier. You guys did a good thing.

Right now, let's focus on getting together so you can update us on everything you saw. We'll leave the cleaning and local questionnaires to ambulances and other law enforcement."

Enki, Tatius and Idalia followed after Doran and Maverick. Nyota looked around, and although he saw no apparent deaths, he did see some injured civilians.

He looked down at the ground, quiet.

Sage and Kilo came over and patted him on his back. "We've got a lot to be happy about right now. Don't worry, we'll get them. Let's go, orders are orders."

"Yeah, sure." Nyota was still upset. He felt as though he let his peers down.

He failed the people he sought to protect. It was a new feeling for him, one he already dreaded deeply.

He was going to ensure that it wouldn't happen again.

--

"Shit!" Quade shouted in the vehicle as he threw the small grip of money he had.

"Quade, calm down! We'll be fine."

"Calm down?" Quade laughed. "Oh, she wants me to— Ivy I can't calm down. Some random kids just foiled the plan. Didn't you see those cops they were with? And the way they fought… They weren't no regular kids.

I don't get it." He continued. "I just don't get it. We're screwed. We do all the dirty work and Drew just sits back at his little desk? I can't believe this. We're guinea pigs! We always were!"

The car grew silent for a short moment. The only sound that filled the space was the roaring of the engine.

"So much for caring, huh? 'Care about the powerless' my ass."

"They got our faces." Ford started. "They saw our abilities. We've got no other choice. Either we make it big by controlling the area for as long as possible, or we're done for good. And honestly, both options sound pretty terrible."

Ivy shed a tear, then wiped it away. "I can't go back. I can't afford it."

Ford shook his head. "None of us can."

--

"Alright," Doran called for the attention of all personnel in the room.

"As you might have figured, we're dealing with the mafia yet again. This was their boldest move in a while, and it's now to their detriment that we have their identities.

The explosion in the hotel was likely a distraction. Their main objective was to rob the bank of its assets. This mafia doesn't particularly like to physically harm people.

They tend to stray away from that when possible. Moreover, the bomb was strategically placed in the hotel in an area where guests hadn't stayed.

Quade Anderson, Ford Bennett, and Ivy Hedera." Holographic portfolios of the three appeared on the roundtable at the center of the room for everyone to analyze.

"These are the three identities of the felons who were on the scene, and if you take a look at their logs, you'll notice a couple trends."

"They all have a somewhat extensive history." Sage rubbed his chin.

"Sure, but what else?"

Nyota pointed out. "They don't have MO."

Doran snapped his hand and pointed at him. "Correct. Now, we did some interrogations of their subordinates. As you could imagine, they were reluctant to comply.

But one thing we can almost be certain about is that they're among the higher ranks of the mafia, they're who these common guys we keep catching report to."

"But there's got to be someone at the top of the pyramid, right?"

"Of course!" Doran confirmed. "There couldn't possibly be three people all equally sharing wealth in a business like this. For your guy, look no further than Drew Lockmore."

Drew's enlarged portfolio appeared next to Quade, Ford, and Ivy's. Everyone in the room murmured among each other.

"Yep, you see how long his list is. Forget thin ice. As far as I'm concerned, he's already broken through the cracks.

Luckily for him, he hadn't been heard of for a few years now, he was doing some good hiding, that was until now."

"Cadets," he paused, then looked at Nyota with a smirk. "What else do we know?"

"If it's true that they don't have MO, they certainly had some sort of abilities. We didn't get into a direct altercation with Ford, he was part of the getaway. I'd still bet he has one, though.

And as for the other two, Ivy had some sort of magnetism ability. Unsure of who's ability it was, someone else had ultrasonic waves, capable of stretching for many residential blocks, capable of agitating auditory perception."

"We took note of their gear," Sage added. "In battle with Ivy, she used magnetism through the gloves she wears. Ford had them on, too. Quade had an earpiece, but that was it."

"How observant." Doran commended them. "It seems to be the case that only those of the highest ranks get special gadgets, so it's safe to assume Drew has one of his own.

Whether you two are right or not, we're going to fact check that for you once we catch them."

"We've located their headquarters, virtually in plain sight." Maverick added. "A building located northwest of the region."

Doran looked around the room. "Any questions?"

"No sir!" Everyone replied in unison.

He turned to Maverick. "I believe we're ready, Chief. Let's roll out, and remember to tread lightly."

As everyone left the room to prepare themselves, Doran called the cadets to stay.

"I just wanted to recap with you all. As of right now, you've all got a little something, right?"

"Yes sir!" The cadets shouted in unison.

"Great," Doran addressed the cadets one by one. He put his hand on Enki's shoulder, who looked at his hand then back at him. "Enki, Earth partnered with brute strength, you're our tank."

He moved onto the next. "Tatius, Teleportation, remember what I told you about dynamics. Try not to be too predictable, alright?" He held out his hand to shake Tatius's, then embraced him with a hug.

"Idalia, friendly yet fierce. Impressive practice of manipulating your environment to your advantage. Let's see more of that, alright?" The two shook hands.

"Yes sir!" She nodded with zeal.

"Sage, Blue Flames. Very attentive and intelligent. Continue to use your wisdom to make great decisions, both in battle and in life. Tonight, you get the chance to impress me more than you already have."

Sage looked at him with a smile as they shook hands. "Of course, L.T."

"Kilo, Red Flames, it's about time."

The cadets laughed as Kilo shook his head. "Oh, c'mon, it was bound to happen eventually."

Doran continued. "The youngest of the bunch, you've finally got your MO, now work to make it the strongest amongst your peers."

"Yeah, that's not happening." Enki joked, prompting Tatius and Sage to snicker.

Kilo apathetically struck Sage on his shoulder. "Uh-uh, now why are you laughing?"

Doran moved on. "And finally, Nyota, Blue Lightning. Your speed is certainly one of a kind. And lightning… I can only wonder how you got an MO like that."

"I mean, it isn't that unordinary. It is an element, so it's not too crazy."

"I suppose. But my point is I'm proud of you, all of you. Also, you all didn't think I was going to let you waltz out there in the field again without forms of communication, did you?" He joked.

"Maverick, get them some earpieces. We're not going to have anybody late to the scene again. Get some weapons, too. They're capable of using them." He nodded to the cadets.

"Sure thing, you've got it."

The cadets rejoiced together as Maverick led them down to the Solomon Sector.

"I can't believe it!" Kilo stated enthusiastically. "I actually get to shoot somebody."

Nyota laughed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… Slow down." Sage warned. "We need them back alive. It's to defend yourself and to get people to comply."

"Actually, you're right." Kilo joked. "Why use this thing when I can use my Red Flames?" He balled his hand into a fist, prompting it to be engulfed in fire.

In a large squadron, Doran and the rest of the group sped to the location of the Midas Mafia's headquarters. They blockaded the street and surrounded all entrances and exits. 

The squadron broke up into smaller groups to cover every floor of the building at once. Along with other officers, Doran, Maverick and the cadets traveled to the top floor of the building.

"Freeze!" Doran shouted. "Lunanova law enforcement! I need everyone down on the ground now!"

In a quick panic, all mafia members did as they were told. Officers promptly apprehended everyone on the floor. Doran instructed the cadets to spread out, so they spread into their two respective groups.

With his gun drawn in hand, Nyota quickly turned the corner of Drew's office, Sage and Kilo closely following behind.

However, there was no one inside.

"What?" Sage complained.

On the opposite side of the floor, Idalia, Tatius and Enki searched as well. However, there was no sign of Drew, Quade, Ford, or Ivy.

Idalia sighed.

"You've got to be kidding me." Tatius facepalmed and rubbed his face.

The cadets reported back to Doran and Maverick.

"There's no sign of them."

Doran frowned, an expression of agitation riddled on his face. He rushed to the nearest couple of mafia members, who were seated on the ground in arrest. They quickly grew frightened.

Doran grabbed onto the shirt of one of them, closed his eyes and exhaled. "Listen, I don't want to have to do this, but don't think I won't. Comply, or we're going to have a problem. Now tell me, where are they?"

Although fearful, the mafia members didn't respond.

Doran pulled out his handgun and raised his voice, "I'm not playing, where are Drew Lockmore and his pets?"

"W-We don't know!"

Doran sighed again, pointed his gun to the ceiling and fired quickly. Then, he held the gun barrel to one of the members' chins.

"Let's try this one last time," Doran's voice got deeper.

The cadets looked at each other with concern.

Sage whispered to Nyota and Kilo. "He's ruthless."

Idalia nodded and Tatius shook his head. Enki remained quiet.

"You think?" Kilo stressed underneath his breath. "Haven't even seen him do anything for real and I can already tell he's a killer at heart!"

Doran continued. "Where… the hell… is Drew?"

The members still refused to answer. Doran began to pull on the trigger.

"Okay, okay!" They yelled. "We promise you we don't know where they went. But we can tell you where they might be."

"Go on."

They sighed breaths of relief. "There's a bunker in the northern forest hills preserve. Only they have access to it, just the four of them. No one else has ever been permitted to enter alone, as far as we know."

Doran stood up. At the same time, a couple of police exited the elevator. "Now that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"Lieutenant," One of the officers interrupted. "There's a level downstairs filled with weapons and firearms. A whole dealership's worth."

"Great." He responded. "Laundered weaponry, more things to indict them with. We've got our momentum Maverick, get some guys to get this filth out of here."

Doran headed for the elevator, as did the rest of the cadets.

"Calling them filth is a bit of a stretch, right?" Nyota turned to Sage and Kilo. He understood the purpose of everything they had done, but he couldn't help but feel a tad bit of remorse and pity.

Sage shrugged his shoulders. "You've got to do what you've got to do. Not much else I can say."

"Sure, I guess you're right."