"Breaking News! Nearly six hours ago, three apartments suddenly became unstable after an unknown explosion caused heavy damage to the structure. Miraculously, no one was hurt due to the swift movements of Red Justice!"
The News shows a clip of a red blur quickly moving around everyone at speeds they did not know were possible. Eventually, everyone in the building was at a safe distance, with Red Justice lying on the floor as he caught his breath. The screen then shifts to a reporter talking.
"Truly, many lives would have been lost; however, now some of them find themselves without a roof over their head."
The scene shifted to a woman weeping silently, wiping away her tears as she struggled to find her words on the microphone.
"Where am I supposed to live now? I'm an orphan, so I don't exactly have anyone to help at the moment."
Then it shifts to a man who seemed neutral, but a single, focused look could tell that this person was tired beyond belief.
"I've lived here for five years, man, it's crazy how everything could suddenly change in one second." He said.
"But that leaves one burning question on everybody's minds: who has done this?" The voice-over questions.
The scene then shifted to Red Justice, who looked tired and a bit rattled. His suit was a little dirty, and his RJ logo had a small tear exposing his skin.
"We have asked Red Justice, who was helping out civilians travel where they needed to after the collapse of the three buildings, here he explains the one who was responsible for the attack:"
"Uh, the one responsible is an individual, I fought recently, he was wearing high-tech armour and possessed heavy-uh-eq-equipment."
The footage shifts to a video recorded on a phone, on a rooftop, showing Red Justice fighting with an individual possessing black armour and whips that could even hurt the hero. Eventually, Red Justice got the upper hand and tackled him somewhere off-camera.
"I...may have thrown him some building, sorry to whoever owned it." Red Justice flashes a nervous smile.
"Anyways, I fought him a little bit more and he realized he couldn't beat me, pulled out a device and made the apartments explode to distract me while he got away." Red Justice frowns and looks at the ground, ashamed.
"Sorry for not stopping him sooner."
The reporter cleared his throat and asked:
"Did you know who this armoured individual is? And his motives for attacking you, did he communicate with you?"
Red Justice paused and licked his lip in thought. After several moments of silence, he speaks up.
"No, I don't know-"
The TV turned black as I pressed the power button. As soon as I did, I leaned on the couch and groaned. That was the longest I ever talked to the mic for TV. Usually, I would make an excuse and run away. I guess I'm just nervous, stuttering my sentences or making a fool of myself. But after what happened, the people should know the truth or at least part of it. I cranked my head to face the other side of the couch, where Gavin sat looking out of it. His eyes were red from probably not sleeping.
"I feel like we should have told them the truth," I said.
Gavin didn't say anything; in fact, his expression remained neutral, like he didn't hear me at all. Then he flinches as if now noticed he was being talked to.
"Maybe, but the thing is if we reveal too much to the public, it might lead to chaos and some nosey people might try to poke information they have no business learning, they might get blacklisted or...taken care of."
My face turned pale, and I gulped. "The government can't do that, right?"
Gavin shakes his head. "No, they can't, they'll still do it regardless. That's just how they are..."
He growls, and his face reminds me of Arc's expression back at that unfinished building. It made me gulp and tense.
"Who is Arc, and how did you know him?" I finally asked the question burning in my mind for the last five hours.
He glanced at me, his face shifting into a tired one. Gavin leans his back against the couch before taking a deep breath.
"Arc is...was an ally of mine back at my old squad; he was my leader."
"A fellow super soldier, I'm guessing?"
Gavin nods. "Yeah, but he's different now. Aside from whips, it seems his body has been upgraded like heck."
I snorted. "Body? You mean armour, right?"
"..."
"It's armour, right?"
His serious look made my jaw drop. The fact that all that metal is his body, not some kind of armour, would mean Arc is-
"A cyborg."
I wanted to say it was impossible. Sure, super soldiers could exist, I guess, but actual cyborgs? Half-man and half-machine, can such a thing exist? But then again, a kid like me shouldn't talk about impossible stuff.
"That's crazy." It was the only thing I could say that earned a chuckle from Gavin.
"Not really, I mean, bionic limbs were a thing ten years ago, and the military keeps tech several generations ahead of today. Though I don't know how much of his body is human, seeing as the last time I saw Arc, his left arm, legs and right chest were beyond repair and have to be replaced by cybernetics."
Gavin looks down at his carpet with a mix of emotions.
"I don't know why he's doing this, Ben. He would never have done this before. Heck, he would rather stab himself than blow up multiple civilian homes!"
He gives a shaky deep breath as he finishes his rant and just sits there. He wasn't going to burst into tears or anything, but I could tell he was hurting from the inside. Gavin looks so vulnerable right now; his large body and muscles only serve to make him smaller somehow. I move up to him and lay a hand on his shoulder. We sat in silence, just basking in the moment, only for me to shoot up from the couch and stare at the door leading to the exit of the mancave. I could feel someone's silhouette climb down the stairs.
"Expecting visitors?" I asked, I tensed up, hoping it wasn't Arc.
Gavin turns to the door and smiles. "Ah, about time."
The silhouette types in the code, and surprisingly, the metal door opened, revealing a tall man with black hair with streaks of white. Clean-shaven and had bright blue eyes, he also possessed tanned skin and was wearing a black suit with a red tie. He was a bit shorter than Gavin and several years younger. The two men walked up to each other, glaring intensely. What the heck is even happening?
Then all of a sudden, they had a goody grin and tightly embraced each other. "Jessie! Long time no see."
'Jessie' shot him a grin. "Right back at you, you certainly got old."
"Right back at ya!"
"Uh...who's this?" I walked up and chimed in, feeling a little awkward having walked into a weird yet touching interaction.
Jessie lets Gavin go, looking at me, analyzing me. He goes around me, every part of my body, which leaves me exposed. I cleared my throat awkwardly and looked at Gavin.
"Hey Gavin, did you get this guy from a mental hospital or something?"
My words earned a smile from him.
"Hmm...I see 'The Crimson Angel' has a bit of bite, nice."
My eyes widen, clearing my throat awkwardly before speaking.
"I...have no idea what you're talking about, I'm just Gavin's slave working for five dollars for his shop."
"H-hey! That's slander and so not true, at least not all of it!"
Gavin glares at me before he clears his throat, bringing his hand up to gesture at Jessie.
"This guy is Jason, Jason Maplewalker. A friend of mine in the army, I just call him 'Jessie' because he's a dork with no taste."
"Oh, excuse me for enjoying slice of life anime instead of those dumb brainrot Shonen!"
Gavin was about to say another insult, but just shook his head. He then gestured to me..
"This guy is the one and only Ben Armstrong, also known as Red Justice."
I blinked before my jaw dropped to the floor. So, we're just dropping secret identities now? Gavin noticed I was about to have a meltdown, and so he ruffled my hair.
"Quit it!" I hate it when he does that.
"Will you relax? Jason knows your identity because I told him you could trust him, especially since he's the one who gave you all the good toys like your suit."
My eyes and jaw grew wide.
"Woah, you mean you built the suit?" Jason nods his head.
"Well, I didn't build it, but I certainly commissioned it. It's in the factory right now being repaired after you're little bout with Arc."
"Oh, so that's why I couldn't find it. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Jason."
Jason grunts as well as rolling his eyes.
"Please drop the mister, I hate it when people address me professionally, it makes me feel older than this old fart." Jason gestures to Gavin, who shakes his head in annoyance.
"Anyways, you got the info we need?"
Gavin's face turned serious, and it didn't take long for Jason to make the same face. He nods and, without a word, heads to Gavin's laptop and plugs in a USB. After typing for several moments, the screen changes to a white background.
"Ooh, a mission briefing like last time?"
"Yeah," Gavin confirms.
Jason's blue eyes scanned us. "I don't need to tell you that what I'll be telling you is very sensitive information. Telling anyone would risk them being blacklisted."
His eyes tried the both of us, but I knew his words were meant for me.
"I suppose, I'll tell you how I got this information before you ask," Jason mutters before clearing his throat.
"You see, Ben. After World War two and the launch of a nuclear weapon, everybody realized a war using these weapons would surprise, surprise, end all of humanity, and so the Monarch Seats were created." He paused, allowing the information to sink in.
"They are essentially the true leaders of the country. Presidents or Prime Ministers are often figureheads rather than the ones who lead the country. We learned that those with high political power tend to be assassinated, so the identities of the Monarchs are top secret, not even I know their true name and motives, what I do know is that they are very influential and powerful. The Monarchs represent the country, and two years back, I became Canada's Monarch."
"So you're basically the super Prime Minister of this country."
"Pretty much yeah."
Okay, you know what? Yeah, I'm just going to accept the fact that the leader of Canada is in some basement of a super soldier who thinks he's part of Gen Z and is talking about sensitive information that would no doubt get me shot. I guess this is my life now.
"That is why I have access to this information, but before I go ahead, I have bad news for both of you."
I gulped while Gavin leaned back in his seat. Jason gives a tired sigh before speaking.
"Arc's group broke out Atlas from Max Prison and is now running with them."