"...What?"
Jet's mouth almost fell open, and Rapido's eyes widened in shock.
'Not only that, but I'm getting feedback all over the city! There's almost a hundred different people causing mayhem—'
"How many monsters?"
'...Three. And I've never seen them before.'
Jet and Rapido shared a glance.
"Never seen them before?"
'Hold on. Lemme send the images over.'
Jet and Rapido closed their eyes, and soon three images appeared in their minds.
Rapido's eyes shot open. "New species? How?!"
Jet gritted his teeth. "The last time a new species was discovered was four years ago..."
He sighed, then began stretching. "Code. Alert the Heroes back at school about the terrorists. I heard that a few of them came to the city today anyway."
'Roger that.'
"Good. Now, are all of you present?"
'Yes, SIR!'
There are roughly six other Hunters out today, including Rapido. Three unfamiliar Mo. Three on one would be ideal, but...
"Rapido, you head towards the east. Deal with that freakish reptile."
Rapido nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Good."
Jet took a deep breath, and a black substance began to crawl up his face and hands. It thickened at the base of his jaw, then transformed into his Akana—his battle mask.
"Everyone, your orders are simple. Deal with the Mo with as little collateral damage as possible. Fight in groups of three. If there are any civilians nearby, make them your top priority. That is all."
Rapido gave a salute and turned away, his Akana coming to life over his face.
"Now," Jet said as he grabbed his wrist.
"Let the Hunt begin."
****
"What... is this?"
Leprechaun stared at the running crowd in shock, but before he could say anything—
"Leprechaun, to the east."
The red-haired Hero glanced at Nocturne, then turned his attention in the indicated direction. He could see two objects falling fast in the distance. One was a huge blue box, and the other...
"Is that... a human?"
Nocturne nodded, then pulled at his tie. A faint ripple went through his dark suit, and a black blindfold covered his eyes.
"That person landed in a construction site. You deal with that one."
Nocturne put a hand in his pocket and turned in the opposite direction. "The District Heroes will evacuate the people. It's up to us Top-Class Heroes to deal with the bigger threats."
Leprechaun paused, then nodded.
"Let's go," he smiled as he turned. "We've got people to stop and lives to save."
Goliath slammed his bottle down in irritation and looked around the empty bar.
Ugh, he thought as he stared at the bottle of whiskey. There just had to be an attack on my day off.
The bar was a large, members-only establishment, one that sat at the top of a five-storey building. Goliath had joined under a different name, and had made sure to hide his face whenever he attended their branches.
I only signed up for this job to get it easy in life. Why does stuff like this always happen?
He stood up and stretched, then paused.
"...Who's there?"
There was no answer, but Goliath's sharp ears caught the soft sound of quiet steps approaching him.
"Last time I'm asking." He sighed as he lowered his hands. "Who's there?"
Silence.
"Ugh."
Goliath turned to look in the direction of the central ring, where fights that were gambled on took place.
Standing before the front-row seats, several metres away from Goliath, was a man. He was thin, had dark hair, and an exhausted countenance. He was muttering to himself, and he wasn't trying to be discreet about it.
"...Yes, I know... shut up. Whatever... leave me alone..."
What's up with him? Goliath stared. That aside, he seems dangerous. Everyone else evacuated the moment the alarms went off, but he stayed. If he wanted to leave, there isn't any reason to be quiet or slow about it.
"...I know, I know. I'll kill him..."
Goliath sighed. Looks like someone decided to trap themselves here with me. What an idiot.
Goliath cleared his throat. "I'm guessing you're with the terrorists?"
The man turned his attention to him and sighed. "Like I have a choice."
Goliath raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure I'm your mark though? I—"
"Obviously," the man cut in. He pointed at Goliath's neck. "Even though you're wearing a Capo Disguise Device, you can't hide your body."
Goliath scratched his head. "Being seven feet tall is a problem, but..."
He narrowed his eyes at the man. "How did you know I'd be here?"
The man remained silent. After a few seconds, he shrugged.
"Doesn't matter."
Goliath stared at him, a difficult expression on his face. Then he chuckled.
"Sure, whatever."
Goliath reached up and ripped a thin collar off his neck, and the well-styled hair and relatively average face fizzled out of existence, revealing a rugged face topped by messy hair.
He ripped off his sleeves with a grin, and the man before him sighed.
"What a drag."
His body rippled and bulged, and two overlapping voices came out of his stretching mouth:
"Let's get this over with, Goliath."
****
"I just met you guys! Why do we have to separate already?!"
Bullseye chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Calm down, Glitch. We have our orders, so we have to carry them out."
Off to the side, Code was muttering something unintelligible, her head swivelling from side to side. Her hands were held before her, and she seemed to be typing something. The next moment, she grabbed at the air and tilted her hand from side to side, as if she was holding a joystick.
Glitch sighed and pulled down her face mask. She popped a macaron in her mouth and pulled the mask back on.
"Whenever Xi—I mean Code—uses her Venma, she looks so funny."
Bullseye rolled her eyes and looked around the cafe they were in. She turned back to Glitch with a sigh.
"What are you going to do?"
Glitch raised a hand, and it took Bullseye a second to realise that she was chewing.
After swallowing, Glitch spoke.
"There are way too many goons in the city. I want to stay with you guys, but..."
Bullseye nodded. "I get it. You've got a job to do. So do we."
Glitch chuckled. "I really hate it when you say so little. It always ends up as the right thing in my head."
She sighed, then waved at Bullseye. "Alright then. Let's go out again after this whole thing is over."
Purple sparks bounced off her, and with a sound like rolling thunder, she vanished in a flash of light.
Bullseye sighed, then glanced at Code.
Jet, Rapido, Diamond, Sixteen, Code, Anansi, and me. Three on two, meaning Jet'll be taking one by himself.
Bullseye patted Code's head before picking up the large guitar bag near her chair and headed to the stairs that led to the roof area.
When she got there, she opened the bag and pulled out a large red-and-black guitar.
Then she got to disassembling it.
Within less than a minute, the guitar had become a sniper rifle.
"Time to connect to Code..." she muttered as she pulled a visor over one eye and tapped the attached comm.
"Code, this is Bullseye calling in."
'Took you long enough. Hold on, I'll connect you to the Network.'
Bullseye took a breath and let her mind wander. The next moment, a sharp charge went through her mind. She felt her thoughts getting solidified and restructured, and she exhaled sharply.
'This is Bullseye. Who else is on this channel?'
There was silence, then...
'Anansi. What's your status, Bullseye?'
'I'm above the Operator now, ready to give support at your command.'
Something resembling a chuckle came through, and Bullseye tilted her head to the side.
'Is there a problem?'
A pause.
'No. Just thought of something funny. I believe Operator Code has sent the image of the target Mo?'
'Yes. It's been a while since a new species has appeared.'
'Indeed. Four years to be exact. During that Mo Incursion...'
Both Hunters fell silent as a melancholy air fell over the channel. Before it could get any heavier, though, an indignant voice cut in.
'Can you people please focus on the job and stop dwelling on the past like old people?'
Bullseye and Anansi chuckled at Code's words.
'Anyway,' the young Hunteress continued. 'Bullseye, you're pretty far away from the target. Not a problem for you, but it's better if you got a better vantage point.'
Bullseye pursed her lips, and as if reading her mind—
'I know you're worried about me, but I assure you that I'll be safe. Go.'
Bullseye sighed, then turned to look at the taller supermarket nearby.
"Alright, Code, if you say so."
****
Spirit bounced off several pieces of rubble as countless earthen spikes tore into the terrain behind her. She landed on a patch of grass, slid a few metres, then exploded forward.
His Venma's definitely a manipulation of earth, or at least something similar.
She zigzagged between several more shots, then leaped upwards to avoid the heavy slam of the giant hammer Terra had created.
"Speedsters are so annoying."
Spirit twisted round and crossed her arms. For a single moment, she made eye contact with Terra, who had a calm smile on his face and a fist cocked back.
The next moment, she went hurtling down into the ground.
Dammit! she thought as she threw her feet forward, forcing her body to flip back. She landed on her feet and slid back, and immediately went back to dodging.
Enough of this!
She barrel-rolled in place, dodging a spear. A hand shot out to grab it, and she ripped it out the moment she planted her feet on the ground.
"Hm?"
Terra landed square on his feet with a chuckle. "You want that? Why not? I can play along."
Spirit swung the weapon immediately, deflecting a large spike.
"How will you do against these, I wonder."
Spirit gritted her teeth in frustration as all the spikes that had attacked her from before rose into the air.
Terra pointed at her. "Go."
Suddenly, the ground opened up beneath her feet.
She blinked, and the spikes fell in a torrent, quickly filling up the hole.
Terra paused, then leaned back as a spear tore through the air. It planted itself in front of him, and he looked at the angle it landed in.
He glanced to the side to see Spirit standing on a large beam several metres away.
He grinned.
"Not bad, not bad," he chuckled as he pulled out the spear.
Spirit rolled her shoulders back. "I figured you'd try to pull something."
Terra tilted his head to the side. "Oh? Then it seems you'll be taking this a lot more seriously."
"Yeah," Spirit said as her image wavered.
Terra blinked, and black filled his vision.
"I will be," Spirit said from beside him, her foot speeding towards Terra's face.