126 THE THREE RANK C
"Don't worry," Kail said. "We planned for this. I'm hijacking the call—Garius is talking to an AI actor as we speak."
"What's the plan, then?"
"They'll think you're an android. Ignis will want to prove otherwise—to show off. He'll be the first to come close to you. That's when you bang his head."
"And if it's not him?"
"It will be him. Garius loves his little flame boy and flame boy loves to show off to papa."
Zairgid's pulse was hammering.
"Kail… you sure about this?"
"Now! Bang his bloody head," Kail barked.
Ignis leaned in to inspect Zairgid's face. Zairgid could see the shadows of the flame pyrokineticist through his blindfold.
"Come on this better work", Zairgid told himself before he slammed his forehead forward.
The crack echoed like a gunshot.
A pulse of fused energy detonated inside Ignis' skull.
"Momentum Collapse."
Blood and fire sprayed across the walls.
Before anyone could react, Zairgid activated Flash Dash and burst through the window, breaking the glass. The usual force field protecting the window was turned off at the last moment.
Wind howled and gravity seized him as he fell from twenty storey high.
Then a drone caught him mid-fall, pulling him up into the night sky. Zairgid waved cheerfully as the tower's occupants screamed below.
Garius lunged to the window, his gun drawn but outside, twelve drone autocannons swiveled toward him in perfect formation.
He dove for cover.
The autocannons opened fire as the tower lit up with plasma. The thugs never stood a chance. Even Ignis Flame was erased in the encounter.
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Zairgid stormed back into SynGen HQ later, smoke still clinging on his clothes.
"Kail!" he shouted. "You risked my life! Almost got me killed…I can't believe you call yourself my friend!"
Kail and Dorin were laughing.
"What's so damn funny?" Zairgid demanded.
Kail grinned. "Told you not to worry. I had it covered."
"If Ignis hadn't come close, I'd be toast!"
Dorin smirked. "That wouldn't have happened."
"Why the hell not?"
Kail leaned back, smug. "Because twelve autocannons were tracking you the whole time. If Ignis hadn't backed off, his skull would've been turned into a ventilation hole—plasma rounds through the forehead, neat and clean."
Zairgid froze, then groaned. "You had autocannons on me the whole time? You could've killed Ignis right from the start!"
Kail shrugged. "Sure. But then we'd never learn who's pulling his strings, would we?"
"Damn you people."
Kail chuckled. "Relax. I've got good news." He grinned wider. "Big Brother's coming back."
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[Snow Industries- Headquarters]
"Chairman, have you decided on whether to stop our android production line? Our stock's piling up in the warehouses with no buyers," Gail, his assistant, asked.
Quest Snow tapped his fingers on the table, his expression tightening. "Fortress Myrone… they're being stubborn still. Have they called about our shipment?"
"They did," Gail said carefully.
"Well?"
"They're not chasing delivery, sir. They're canceling the order."
Quest's hand froze mid-tap. "What? Are they insane? Who else can supply their drones and androids?"
Gail hesitated, then leaned in. "I've received intelligence that Aukouma Industries has established secret production lines in the city—drones and androids."
Quest shot up from his chair. "That bastard Zolan! Drones and androids are our domain! How dare he cut into our business?"
"It appears Fortress Myrone no longer needs us," Gail said. "They're buying directly from the Aukouma."
Quest paced, fists tightening. "What about the other families?"
"They're in the same position. Stocks are overflowing with no buyers. Garius Zetheris even attempted to abduct Zairgid Aukouma last week. The attempt failed. There's talk of war between them."
Quest stopped pacing, sinking back into his chair. The room fell silent except for the faint hum of the city outside. Then his phone buzzed.
A message appeared:
"Mr. Quest, are you interested in selling your stock of drones and androids. We'll pay 50% above market value."
Quest frowned, typing rapidly:
"Who is this?"
The reply came instantly:
"I am Zairgid Aukouma."
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"Zairgid's sedan is on the main road," Dackerie reported, his voice low in the comms.
"All right. Move now," Airbender replied.
Holographic feeds tracked the sedan's progress. A truck ripped out of a side street and slammed across the road, forcing the sedan to a halt.
"You think he'll fall for the same ambush twice? This is too easy," Aura asked.
"Last time they sent Ignis, that useless good for nothing," Leviathan said. "Now we've got three Rank-C metas. If we can't pull this off, we're useless too."
Thugs spilled from the truck and swarmed the car, but Zairgid's twenty layered force field held.
Dackerie clicked his tongue. "Looks like you metas have to move. He's armed to the teeth. This is something conventional couldn't accomplish."
Airbender rose with a gust.
He could bend momentum and air, lifting himself into the sky above the sedan.
With a single, theatrical sweep he called down a tornado shaped like a spinning blade. The vortex slammed into the car, grinding at the force field until the shield fractured and the vehicle rolled.
"See, piece of cake", Aura boasted.
"Don't forget our mission. We need him alive", Leviathan reminded.
The car skidded, slammed into debris, and came to rest on its side.
A man crawled out from beneath the wreckage as the team closed in. Airbender landed, his wind still crackling around him.
"Zairgid Aukouma—come with us, or we kill you. You won't be so lucky this time," Airbender demanded.
The figure under the cloak didn't move.
Shadows pooled around his face. Where the fabric split at the sleeves thin threads of silver bled out and snapped like live wires.
"Are you sure this is Zairgid?" Aura asked, her eyes narrowing.
"He could be wearing a power suit or some trick," Airbender said. "Does it matter? We've got three Rank-C metas here…Get him."
A laugh, cold and even, rolled out from beneath the hood. "Rank-C cowards dare show off in front of me? Come get me if you can."
The team tightened, their muscles coiled. The street hummed with the distant siren, while the man's cloak flickered with those silver streaks, as if the suit underneath was breathing.
Airbender stepped forward, wind whispering at his feet.
Aura shifted beside him, the pressure in the air thickening as her mental aura readied. Leviathan and Dackerie spread to flank, weapons and comms at the ready.
The man's laugh faded into a smirk. "Is that all you've got?"
Airbender's expression hardened.
He raised his hand and the air screamed—condensing above him into a spinning spear of wind. It twisted like a hurricane, its razor tip gleaming as it shot downward.
The street buckled. Tree roots ripped free, and asphalt peeled like paper under the pressure.
"Hey—Airbender! We're taking him alive! Don't kill him!" Aura shouted, flashing between the blast and the target.
The moment froze.
Airbender clenched his jaw, then lowered his arm. The roaring wind guttered out, leaving only the hiss of settling dust. They waited as smoke curled around the wreckage of the destroyed ground.
But Zairgid Aukouma wasn't there.
The space where he had stood was empty—only the echo of his laughter lingering in the air.
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