"Hey, hey..." Flash whispered in confusion, peering through the passing crowd at his teacher Kira Yoshikage and the sexy heroine Susan Storm, who were engaging in a pleasant conversation by the arrow exhibit - "What's going on here?!"
"What's wrong?" Liz asked lazily, glancing first at Flash then in the direction of his gaze. Her eyes widened in surprise a second later - "Wow, I definitely did not expect this," Liz whistled.
"Why does this skull lover get all the luck?!" Flash nearly exploded in outrage, but Harry's hand on his shoulder calmed him - "Come on, they're probably just discussing something 'intelligent'. I doubt it's anything more..."
"Yeah, right..." Liz sighed dramatically, capturing the boys' attention - "As a girl, I can tell he's definitely caught her interest."
"Agreed!" MJ beamed, hanging on her friend's neck - "I can confidently confirm Liz is right!"
Harry raised an eyebrow - "Are you serious?"
"No, do I look like a psychic?" Liz responded with a question.
"Yeah, go shave your head," Harry smirked, glancing at Flash - "Why so sour?"
Finally calming down, Flash turned away to distract himself - "Jerk. He should've died in that mutant attack."
"..."
"There's more envy in him than brains," Harry chuckled.
MJ nodded - "Expected, they've never gotten along with the teacher."
× Kira ×
"How long have you been working at the school?" Susan asked, tilting her head slightly.
"For a while, and let's keep it informal," I glanced at her with a faint smile - "I'm not that old."
"As you say," the woman nodded, then something caught her attention across the crowd, making her look towards her brother in the far corner, who waved her over - "Um, I need to step away... See you around, maybe."
"Until next time," the next second, I watched as Susan turned invisible and quickly disappeared. Handy ability, it wouldn't hurt to have it. She distracted me a bit but also provided some information about the arrows, one of which was right before me. It's within arm's reach; I could just use Sticky Fingers to take it, but the theft would be noticed for sure, and worse, an alarm might go off.
Feeling a scrutinizing gaze, I looked around to see several men looking at me with evident disdain - "Is something wrong?"
× The Same Evening, 20:34 | Unknown Location ×
In an almost empty room with just a couch sat a man in his forties. Silence around him was broken only by his heart's intense beating. With a ragged breath, the man clenched his fists tightly - "Who... who dared?..." he rasped, barely containing his urge to destroy everything.
His head was no longer covered by a helmet; only here, in a room made of special metal, could he stay unprotected without fearing mental intrusion. But this supposed place of peace offered no relaxation - "I'll kill him... I swear..." Eric gritted his teeth. If anyone saw his face now, they'd be horrified by what this incredibly powerful man could do.
× Kira ×
"Ah, how nice to be home again..." I breathed in relief, relaxing on the couch and loosening my tie. After the crowd at the exhibition, being alone in silence was incredibly soothing, especially for someone like me. Too bad I'd have to go to bed quite late tonight. I had devised a plan to stealthily steal the arrow. With my current abilities, I couldn't sneak in unnoticed, even with Sticky Fingers and Stone Free, but that doesn't mean someone else more experienced couldn't - "Can't wait to have a new ability."
× Tuesday | 2:34 AM ×
"Let's see..." a mysterious figure hummed at the window of the vast museum. Cutting a circle in the glass with a claw, a woman in black slipped inside without making a sound - "Perfect."
Easily navigating the building and bypassing all cameras, the woman knocked out the dozing security guard before he could react. He'd think he just fell asleep in the morning - "Glad I remembered all the blind spots," the lady chuckled, disabling the cameras with a computer.
Making sure no one could see who was responsible for the theft, the woman leisurely walked between the displays, caressing them with her hand and humming an unknown tune with a smirk.
The lamps only lit certain areas, leaving many places in darkness. Moving from shadow to light, the woman reached the painting that interested her. Extending her hand towards it, she froze, hearing someone's voice behind her - "I was beginning to think this attempt would fail too. You know, you're quite hard to find."
Swiftly turning around, the woman, momentarily startled, managed to see the source of the voice. A man in a suit, but his face obscured by shadows since the light didn't fully reveal the stranger - "Heh, so I've been caught?"