"Mykhail…Mykhail…"
A bright flash of light appeared, and Kiran was standing there, smiling warmly.
"Make sure you take care of Kumiko," Kiran said. "She can be a handful, and she's a bit misguided at times, but she has a good heart, and she really likes you, man!"
He extended a hand. "Don't lose her. When I return, all three of us will have the party we deserve."
…???
Mykhail immediately woke up, his mask damaged. He pulled it off and looked around, noticing he was in the sewers. Yasuda was next to him, his mask torn as well. He slowly lifted his head.
"Ha! We're alive!"
Mykhail helped him up. "That was one nasty fall. I'm surprised you're not hurt."
"Haha!"
"No sign of Kumiko," he noted. "Damn, they must have got her. That means they're coming for the rest of us too."
Yasuda nodded. "Makes sense!"
"We've gotta save our friend," Mykhail declared. "But why did that guy just let us go instead of capturing us too?"
Yasuda pointed to Mykhail's sword. "A bright red flash of light repelled him before we blacked out! I think the sword doesn't like evil people!"
"Yeah," Mykhail agreed. "That guy is definitely evil."
Yasuda dusted himself off. "What next?"
"We should head back up," Mykhail suggested. "Once we get our suits repaired, we can investigate these tunnels. We'll raid that entire damn Syndicate if we have to."
He noticed a chunk of ice on the floor. "Something's off, though. Kazuma doesn't have ice powers. Is it possible to have more than one general ability, or is this someone else helping him?"
Yasuda shrugged. "Unclear! But I think this was a tag-team mission!"
"Yeah. That fits. We can check it out more once we're topside."
Mykhail grabbed Yasuda and flew out of the wreckage. After flying high enough, they grabbed onto a ledge and pulled themselves out. Luckily for them, the entire area had been abandoned due to the fight.
"Good," Mykhail remarked. "No civilians here. If we can get into a shop or something quickly, we can change before anyone sees us—-!"
"Not so fast."
A sharp voice interrupted them, making Mykhail freeze. He heard footsteps walking behind him and slowly turned around to find Kaori Sakuragi, a hand on her hip as she glared at him.
"Shit," he sighed. "Of all the times…"
A shadow landed next to her. "I was right to send this. Imagine my surprise when I see the kids in my gym class battling criminals in the streets like some illegal video game."
"You spied on us?" Mykhail questioned.
She stepped forward, standing right in his face. "It worked didn't it, Justice?"
Mykhail turned to Yasuda. "Did you know about this?"
"I suspected it!" he replied, smiling.
"Just great."
"You took a hard beating there," she commented. "But I have to admit, you're pretty strong. Must have been playing me for a complete fool, huh?"
Mykhail dusted his clothes off. "Ha, ha. Now you know. If you'll excuse us, we have bigger things to handle, so go along and don't tell anyone."
They started to walk away but she cleared her throat. "I don't think so."
Mykhail groaned and turned around. "What, woman? What do you want? Money? Praise? Minions?"
She causally walked toward him. "I want to join you."
"Very funny. Now seriously."
"I AM serious. Add me to your little hero team."
Mykhail looked her up and down, pointing. "You. You. Dressed like some teenage biker girl, also a known bully, and seems to have 0 manners in the art of human decency? You want to be a hero?"
"That's what I JUST said."
Mykhail placed Yasuda in front of her. "Yasuda, tell me if she's lying."
Yasuda narrowed his eyes, scanning Kaori. "All her body functions and expressions seem to be genuine! She's not lying!"
Kaori put a hand on her hip, lifting an eyebrow. "Well?"
"But why?" Mykhail asked. "Why spy on us? Why do you want to be a hero?"
"Because. It seems fun," she answered.
"…Eh?"
"It looks exciting," she clarified. "Fighting those who can push you to the brink of death, doing missions that risk lives, not like those stupid nightclub fights where I beat everyone with the back of my hand."
"That is a good reason," Mykhail remarked. "But still!"
"Plus you and that girl seem strong enough," she added. "The boy, not so much. But I can tolerate him if you're around. I don't know if you've noticed, but I only associate myself with strong individuals."
"That's cute," Mykhail scoffed. "Now is your little application speech done?"
"Let me in the group," she demanded. "Now."
"If I say no, are you going to just walk back home?" he asked.
"No."
"Fine, if you wanna join so badly, you have to beat me and Yasuda in a fight," he proposed. "Two vs one—-!"
BOOM.
She launched a large shadow warrior at them, blowing them back. "I win. Let me in."
"Hey, I didn't say start!" Mykhail exclaimed.
"Doesn't matter."
They both got up, and Mykhail finally relented. "Fine. I guess you can join."
Her face turned into a satisfied smirk. "Good."
They turned to leave, but she caught up to them. "Now, what are we doing? Rescuing your friend? Thwarting the Villain Syndicate? Going into war?"
Mykhail slapped his forehead. "This is gonna be a hassle."
"We're going to change!" Yasuda answered.
"For what?" Kaori questioned.
"Well, we need to fix our costumes," Mykhail pointed out. "And if you're gonna be a hero, you need a costume and superhero name as well."
"That's so childish," she scoffed.
"You can always go back home," Mykhail suggested.
"I'll do it," she said, rolling her eyes. "My house is boring."
"Well, we should stop by Takehiro's house," Mykhail remarked. "He'll probably want a check-up on where I am."
At Takehiro's house…
Takehiro and Kurumi were busy watching the news as Mykhail and the others walked up, all in normal clothes. They immediately opened the door when Mykhail knocked.
"Mykhail!" Takehiro exclaimed. "Kumiko was looking for you! Where did you go?"
Mykhail pointed to Yasuda. "Found this one getting into trouble, so I had to get him outta it."
Kurumi noticed Kaori. "What's…she doing here?"
"I don't even know what I'm doing here myself," Kaori remarked. "I don't know you people."
Mykhail glanced back at her. "We were talking about something and she wanted me to walk her home. I would have preferred not to, but she was persistent."
Kaori glared at him.
"That tracks," Kurumi stated.
"Did you see Kumiko on your way back here?" Takehiro asked. "We saw another big fight on the news, and we were worried you guys got caught up in it!"
Yasuda prepared to speak but Mykhail interrupted him, keeping his composure. "Nah, we didn't see her, nor did we know of a fight. I can keep an eye out for her while walking this Queen B home, though!"
"I hope she's okay," Takehiro worried. "She can be a bit impulsive."
"She'll come back, don't worry," Mykhail assured.
"Alright, get home safe."
His friends waved him bye as he and the others walked down the road. Once they were a good enough distance away from the house, Kaori grabbed Mykhail by the shoulder.
"Queen B?" she repeated. "Is that supposed to be an insult?"
"No, no, Madame Queen B. It is the greatest compliment one could bestow upon one such as yourself."
She gave him an unimpressed look. "You're toying with me."
"Not at all! But we need new costumes so, to my house we go!"
She reluctantly followed as Mykhail led the way to his house, and once they got there he opened the door and let them in. His mother and father were on the couch watching romance movies.
"Hey, son!" they greeted, not even paying attention.
"Hi Mom, hi Dad," he said back as he shook his head. "Still as oblivious as usual."
He walked Kaori and Yasuda into his room, where he opened his computer and started typing on it. Kaori put her hands on her hips. "What are you doing?"
"Ordering replacements!" he answered. "After all, can't be super without a costume!"
She snorted. "Then what am I going to wear?"
He looked her up and down. "No clue. I would love something that screams inspiration, but you seem dark and edgy."
"What's THAT supposed to mean?" she demanded.
He shook his head. "Nothing. Perfect! They've added new stuff to the shop! Here, Yasuda, put in what you need!"
Yasuda went to typing away at Mykhail's computer, and soon he was done. Mykhail clicked a few items as well before turning to Kaori, scanning her. "How do you want yours to look?"
"Powerful," she replied, no hesitation.
"I see."
He clicked a few more times and then sat back. "Okay! Should be coming in an hour! Only cost me 300 extra for it, though!"
"So what do you plan to do?" Kaori inquired.
"We're going to do a raid on that organization and get our friend back," he stated. "Easy."
She lifted an eyebrow. "Sounds interesting. How do you plan to find them?"
"That same place you found us, we're going to go down there and explore the sewers. They appear to like their properties underground, so what better way than the sewers?"
"Ew," Kaori spat. "That's disgusting."
She stepped away from the computer, noticing Mykhail's dog aggressively sniffing her foot. "What does this thing want?"
"Probably for you to get out of my room," Mykhail explained. "It's his room too, and he doesn't like visitors."
She moved away from the dog, sitting on his bed. "Well, hurry this up. I don't want to sit around."
Mykhail shook his head again. "Women."
She noticed his sword plopped on the floor, and she decided to pick it up. "Damn, why is this thing so heavy?"
It began to glow light blue, and it repelled her. "Ow, what the hell?"
"I don't think it likes you much either!" Yasuda laughed.
"What are you talking about?"
"So," Mykhail noted. "Not rude enough to be considered evil, but still rude enough to be considered a morally toxic person, makes sense."
She folded her arms. "Whatever. It's probably not that impressive anyway."
"Now we wait for the costumes…" Mykhail said. "I know just what to do."
Mykhail pulled up a fighting game, and for the next hour, he and Yasuda played each other in the game while Kaori watched.
"Stop cheating!" Mykhail yelled.
"Haha!" Yasuda laughed.
Kaori rolled her eyes and got up, checking out Mykhail's room. As she looked in his closet, she noticed a comic book with a superhero on it. She flipped through the pages.
"Is this where he got the idea from?" she wondered. "Where did this book even come from?"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Mykhail got up. "That's gotta be the suits!"
He left the room, and when he came back, there was a massive box in his hands. "Surprise, surprise, everyone! Ready to suit up?"
"Yeah!" Yasuda cheered.
"I guess," Kaori replied.
He opened the box and pulled out his outfit first, which was mostly the same as before with the additions of more plating and shoulder pads. "Perfect!"
Yasuda pulled out his, which appeared more advanced and even had the goggles built into the mask, which now covered his full face. "Yay!"
Kaori's outfit was left, and when she picked it up, she noticed it was a white, light blue, and black bodysuit, with a skirt attached to the lower body and complete with thigh-high boots and a light blue cape. There was a light blue mask as well. "This is not what I meant by powerful."
"But is it wearable?" Mykhail asked her.
"I guess," she sighed. "Do I put this on now?"
He nodded. "We should suit up and head out!"
A few minutes later, they were all geared up and ready to go, but Kaori stopped them. "Wait. What am I supposed to go by? I don't have a code name."
Mykhail and Yasuda shared a look, talking amongst themselves.
"How about Eclipse?" Yasuda suggested.
"Yeah, that's not bad!" Mykhail agreed.
She stared at them as if she had been hit in the face, but she shook it off. "Whatever. As long as I can hit something."
"Justice, Kita, and Eclipse," Justice announced. "We're going to save Xenova, and bring down the Villain Syndicate!"
Meanwhile, inside a lab…
Yuiko kept watch over the cryogenic pod, taking notes as she observed its condition. "Nothing of note yet. It's been years without any movement from the boy."
She heard a knock on the lab door. "Who is it?"
"A very special guest!" a voice answered.
Yuiko got up, suspicious. "Who are you? I don't recognize you!"
The voice, a female, chuckled. "Sweetheart, your boss allowed me in! I'm here to help that poor, poor boy that's been sleeping for so long! Don't you wanna help him?"
Yuiko gasped before hesitating. After a while, she opened the door, and The Nurse was standing there. "Thank you. My name is Ms. Rachel. Your boss talked to my boss, and he knows exactly how to save Kiran."
"How?" Yuiko asked. "We've tried everything so far, and nothing has worked!"
Rachel put her hands behind her back, deeply analyzing the pod. "This plan may be risky, but it is the best we've got. My boss has faith in it, and so do I."
"What do you suggest?" Yuiko questioned.
Rachel set a nurse bag on the table and pulled out a small red crimson gem. "The last thing my boss told me before he went quiet was to use this on the boy."
"A strange stone," Yuiko commented. "I've never seen it before."
"Neither have I," Rachel admitted. "But I can feel its power just by holding it. Is there any way to insert this into the pod?"
Yuiko scanned her handprint into a computer, which slowly opened the front of the pod. "Handle him with care."
"Of course."
She stepped forward, holding out the stone. The moment she did, it immediately shot out of her hands and embedded itself into Kiran's chest, causing a wave of red energy to swarm him. Yuiko closed the pod quickly.
"Now, we wait," Rachel said.
As the pod closed, for the faintest of a moment, Yuiko saw the fingers of Kiran move, before they went still once more.
—-