I could feel the air crashing into my ears. My body was spinning out of control as I fell down the dark elevator shaft.
just then, I finally see a part of the ground being illuminated.
It would've been a good sight if it weren't for the fact that I was falling down towards it at an alarming speed.
"WAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"
I screamed as I closed my eyes and braced for impact.
"...."
"Huh?"
When I finally opened them, I saw what seemed to be the floor only inches away from my face as my body glowed a dark purple.
Looking towards my left, I saw Elio floating upside down. The same situation I was in.
A few moments passed before the purple light flickered out as I gently fell down to the ground.
Well, maybe calling it gentle is being a little generous...
I feel down with a thud.
"Oof..."
"Ouch..."
Elio and I both said in unison.
Looking above us, we saw Mr. Isaac floating down slowly before perfectly landing on his feet. He was the one who stopped our fall.
"You could've given us a warning first!"
I yelled at him as Elio nodded his head in agreement.
"Yeah! What the heck was that?!"
"I apologize. It's a little prank of mine that I do with my comrades."
"Sigh... Well I'll admit. You got me good."
I told him.
"But seriously, that scared me half to death! I can still feel my heart beating out of my chest!"
Shaking my head, I tried to stand up and look at the elevator door in front of us.
"I'm guessing we can just bust this open?"
I asked Mr. Isaac.
"Yes. Our top priority is to save my daughter. You and Elio's job is to find her and escape along with the evidence you've collected. You can leave most of the fighting to me."
"Alright, sounds like a plan... Elio, get ready."
"Mhm, I'm all warmed up!"
Elio said as he pumped his fist.
It seems like this night is finally coming to a close... Surprisingly enough, we were able to make more progress than the police.
The main reason being is that the police department has a mole planted in their ranks.
Whatever the case, this will end tonight. We'll find enough incriminating evidence to take down Veda Corp. and our lives will be safe again.
Hold on...
Just before Mr. Isaac forced the door open, I realized that I didn't have my weapons with me.
"Wait, Mr. Isaac!"
I called out as Mr. Isaac deactivated his powers.
"I don't have my gauntlets with me! I don't think I can defend myself without those!"
"I see... Just a moment."
Mr. Isaac told me as his eyes started to glow purple.
Elio and I were a bit puzzled at this sight, before two glowing orbs of purple floated down from above us.
They were my grappling gloves!
"Wait, but how?"
I asked Mr. Isaac.
Clearing his throat he explained.
"My ability allows me to effectively control gravity for combat in a 30 meter radius. The closer the object is to me, the stronger my ability can affect them. However, if it's not for combat, I am still capable of picking up a small object farther away."
"How did you pin point my gloves though?"
I asked him.
"It's because I knew their general location."
"I see..."
Trying to shift our focus on the matter at hand, Mr. Isaac looked at the door and extended his hands.
The metal bent before opening up as if it was made out of fragile tin cans.
Seeing this, Elio and I prepared ourselves.
"Let's go." Mr Isaac told us.
"Right!" Elio and I replied.
Satisfied with our readiness, Mr. Isaac nodded and led the way.
________________________________________
It was a dark room. Every corner of the walls was covered by several monitors that showed the visuals of every camera installed throughout the facility.
Multiple people were overlooking these monitors 24/7 with different workers covering different shifts.
The entire day, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until just a few hours ago, three guards seemed to be patrolling the wrong path.
At first, they did not think anything of it. The guards were free to take breaks whether it be for beverages or other matters.
Their numbers were enough to fill in the gaps in their security.
But still their movements seemed strange. As if they were looking for something.
They merely watched over them and did not do any action until one of them destroyed the elevator floor and jumped down the shaft, disappearing from their view.
A few moments passed until one of the monitors showed the three suspicious figures again after one of them destroyed the elevator landing door on the basement floor.
He didn't even use his hands. It was as if he generated a great force that forced the doors open.
Seeing this, one of the guards on monitor duty sounded an alarm and spoke through the speakers.
After sounding the alarm the entire facility lit up with red, signaling an emergency.
[Attention all personnel. There are three intruders that have broken into the basement floor. Prepare and detain all of them.]
This warning was not only heard by the entire facility, but Aran, Elio and Isaac too.
Clicking his tongue, Isaac adjusted his gloves as he looked at the halls that were surrounded by armed men.
"Stay back!"
Isaac yelled at Aran and Elio as the guards pointed their guns at them before firing.
Thinking quickly, Isaac used his ability to create a small orbit around himself, making the bullets fly around him before firing them back.
The bullets weren't just returned randomly either. Each and every one of them was shot back with a specific goal in mind; To incapacitate the enemy, not to kill.
And so, the bullets hit the hands of the guards, making them unable to shoot their weapons, effectively disarming them.
Some determined guards tried to run towards Isaac and engage him in hand to hand combat, but were quickly defeated as they were pushed down to the ground, unable to stand because of the intense gravity that he produced around himself.
Due to the increase of G-force, they lost consciousness on the spot.
The two boys who were watching this fight unfold were shocked at how quickly Isaac disposed of the enemies.
Looking back at them, Isaac tells Aran to follow the tracker before tossing a camera at him to catch.
Hearing Isaac's instructions, Aran nodded as Elio crouched down to carry Aran on his back again.
"We'll definitely find her!"
Aran said before Elio dashed away like a bolt of lightning.
Isaac stood there silently watching them before whispering.
"Thank you..."
________________________________________
"Turn right at the next turn!"
Aran told Elio as he ran through the halls of the underground facility. It felt like they were running through a complicated maze that just kept stretching further and further.
If it weren't for Aran's tracker, they would have been lost.
Up ahead, the two boys saw a group of guards spotting them.
Before they could open fire, Elio sped up and knocked them out with a spinning kick just in time.
As Elio landed, his shoes squeaked as they rubbed against the floor.
"Alright, they're down. Where should we go next, Aran?"
Elio asked his friend who he was carrying on his back.
Scratching his head, Aran cleared his throat before speaking.
"Uh, we're already here. The man we're tracking is most likely just through this door."
"Okay."
Elio said as he let Aran get down from him before going into a fighting stance, facing the metal door.
"Stand back."
In an instant, Elio hit the door with a side kick. The blow was so powerful that it cracked the concrete walls around it and forced them open.
Inside the room were three men that were guarding the place. Just behind them was a cage with a little girl inside it.
Her hair was red, a trait she got from her mother.
There was no mistaking it. They found Isaac's daughter.
As the dust from the cracked debris settled, the three men prepared themselves to fight Aran and Elio.
This was until Elio quickly knocked two of them out with powerful strikes while Aran wrapped his ropes around the third one and performed a martial arts throw, incapacitating him.
Aran was surprised that even he was able to take one of them down without much trouble. He assumed that they'd put up more of a fight against someone like him because they'd have strong abilities, but no.
They seem to have the capabilities of a civilian rank or low Infantry ranked Distortion Divers.
Shaking away his thoughts, Aran shifted his focus towards Isaac's daughter.
The poor thing was crying and shaking.
Seeing this, Aran told Elio to look for a key in one of the men's pockets as he tried to comfort her from outside the cage.
Taking off his hat, he greeted the little girl with a soft smile.
"Hey, remember me?"
The girl's eyes widened as she saw the familiar face of her savior.
Elio walked towards them and also greeted her as he gave the key that he found to Aran.
"Don't worry, okay? Your dad is here with us right now! He's really strong!"
He told the girl.
After Aran unlocked the cage, he let Elio pick her up and carry her as he took pictures to collect the needed evidence for the Bureau of Security.
Although they didn't have any evidence concerning the identity of the bribed mole in the police department, if the Bureau of Security is involved, they'd have full control over the investigations and will find the mole, given enough time.
"Alright, this should be enough... Let's get out of here."
Aran said as Elio nodded and carefully carried the girl outside.
Their job was done. They had everything they needed. All that's left to do is to get back to the city and deliver the girl and the evidence to Isaac's acquaintance in the Bureau.
________________________________________
[Isaac]
A gust of wind blew as I watched Aran and Elio disappear from my field of view.
It was strange. I haven't known these boys for long, but I decided to entrust an important job to them. I've seen what Elio was capable of. I'll even go so far as to say that his ability is close to being at the level of an elite ranked Distortion Diver.
But I can't say the same for Aran. He saved my daughter, but when I saw him, he was a bloody mess while Elio was for the most part, fine.
I know that Aran has potential. I've seen how fast he can think on his feet, but as of now, his strength leaves a lot to be desired.
However, when I looked into his determined eyes, I couldn't help but think of Brok.
The fire inside those eyes was the same as the man who has saved me countless times.
Although Brok was weak, his ingenuity and quick thinking was what made the difference between life and death. But most of all, the determination to save as many people as he can was his real strength.
It was as if he himself forced himself to bare that heavy responsibility of saving lives just because he can.
Because of that, I somehow trusted Aran.
Maybe he was the same. My trust was further amplified when I found out that he was the boy that Brok was raising.
It was illogical, it was dangerous...
However, my instincts were telling me to believe him.
I sighed to myself before walking further inside the facility, swiftly defeating any guard that gets in my way.
________________________________________
The guards on monitor duty that saw the overwhelming might of Isaac's power were left stunned. Not only that, but the two boys that were with him were quite skilled as well.
The situation was dire for the facility. The two boys have already collected enough incriminating evidence and were about to escape.
They were also shocked at the fact that they were tracked down.
The only reason they've gotten away with their actions for so long is because they had a mole working in the police department to slow down any progress of investigations or lead them astray.
But these three don't seem to be connected to the police.
They were like a group of vigilantes...
Thankfully, they had a powerful weapon hidden inside one of the rooms, but they doubt that even "He" could stand a chance against Isaac's ability.
The only choice they had left was to call their leader for any chance to save this operation from falling apart.
Despite it being their only choice, one of the executives felt hesitant to call their leader. As if something horrible was going to happen to them.
He took a deep breath before going along with it.
"Alright... Here goes..."
One of the executives said as he entered the leader's number on his phone.
________________________________________
A man wearing a white suit was riding through the city in a long, black limousine. Two women were clinging on both his arms as a table of delicious food was laid out in front of him.
His expression was full of pleasure as he indulged in the luxurious moment.
That was until his phone rang, snapping him out of his trance as he saw the number of the other line.
Although irritated, he was still a businessman at heart. He can't ignore anything that was important to his work.
He sighed as he pressed the call button.
"What's the matter?"
[I'm so sorry to call you at this late hour sir, but—]
"Get straight to the point."
[Yes sir... There are intruders that have broken into the facility. Two of them can be easily dealt with, but... The other one...]
"Yeah? Who is it?"
[After doing a background check on him, he seems to be a Level 3 Elite Ranked Distortion Diver... His name is Isaac Graveda.]
The man holding the phone went silent as he heard Isaac's name. It was as if time slowed down.
He didn't do anything besides putting his fingers to his forehead, gently rubbing it.
Behind his bangs was a large scar that felt rough as he rubbed it with his fingers.
His shocked expression distorted into a chilling smile that lusted for blood. His breathing was heavy as he started to salivate.
"Driver."
He called out.
"Let's head to Veda Corp..."
"Yes sir."
The driver said before making a U-turn.
Putting his attention back to his phone, the man in the suit gave an instruction to the executive on the phone.
"Wait for me. I'll be there soon. In the meantime, release 'project Igor' to prevent the intruders from escaping."
[Yes sir. Right away...]
At this point the women that were practically wrapping themselves around the man's arms had started to break into a cold sweat as they saw his face.
Haah... I can't wait to rip you to shreds, Isaac...
________________________________________