Dust drifted in lazy spirals through the small filing room in an office building on the southside of Hero Society. Papers still floated down like feathers after a storm, the steel door groaning where it lay embedded in the wall.
Manifest 2 stood still in the center of it all. Expression blank.
He balled the paper up and threw it over his head, before a voice from the other room called out to him. "Ayo! Anything good in there?"
Manifest 2 shook his head and yelled back to him. "Nah, just more junk. Don't know what I expected."
He turned back and walked into the main room, he was greeted by 2 figures standing at the other end of the room.
A man wearing a black tank top and black bandana with short spiked brown hair.
Slither—#3 B-Rank Villain.
He nodded his head with a cunning smirk. "We sucked this place dry. Nobody seems to know anything. Oh well."
And a top-heavy set man with an all black biker outfit and a short waves haircut.
Doreman—#2 B-Rank Villain.
He checked out of the buildings third story window with a cautious look. "Let's just go. No point in sticking around for the Core Heroes to show up. We'll find em next time."
Manifest 2 walked through the room to approach them. The place was destroyed, rubble piled on the floors, holes lined in the walls where it looked like spikes jutted out from. Blood streaks painting the room in a ghastly red tint.
And bodies scattered around the floor.
Men and women alike.
Dozens.
Office workers, security guards, even managers, and HR reps. All of them taken down by the three Villains.
Most lye face down on the floor, barely conscious, faint groans leaking aloud.
The others? There was no telling if they were even alive or not.
Manifest 2 strolled through it all, completely unfazed. His face showed irritation more than guilt.
Until he passed by something else—
A man lying lifeless on the floor while a woman kneeled over his bloody body, crying as she tried to perform cpr on the poor man.
The echo of Manifest 2's boots clacking against the floor clashed with her desperate pleas to the lifeless man lying next to her. "Oh god. Baby, can you hear me? Please wake up… it's gonna be okay… I'm here… I'm… with you."
Manifest 2 payed the woman no mind as he continued to walk past her.
Until—
grab—"What the?"—Manifest 2 looked down.
The lady was grabbing at his ankle. She looked up at him, tears were flowing down her face in long streaks. Her voice cracked with every word as she spoke. "My husband… you… you killed him."
Manifest 2 paused for a beat. Then disgust flooded his face. "Uggh get the fuck off me, lady."
He yanked his leg back.
BAM—he kicked her straight across the face—she flew backwards tumbling across the ground and landing on her side.
She grabbed her nose and looked up, he was already kneeling over her, expression unreadable. "Do me a favor… don't ever touch me with those dirty ass hands in your life."
He reached out to his side and opened his hand. In a second—atoms pulled together, molecules stitched into place forming a machete in his grip. The sleek handle pulsing with tech.
He slowly put it to her face and wiped the tear from under her eye with the edge of the blade. "Ima need you to change up the emotion… im not a big fan of the crying."
She looked up at him, disturbed and distraught. He flashed his eyebrows at her, faint smirk on his face. "Try… I don't know… anger? Fear? Guilt? Regret? Cmon… give me sumn to work with here."
She was completely stuck, unable to speak or even move. All she could do was stare and shake her head.
Manifest 2's smile dropped. "Hurry up already." He dropped the blade to her neck. "Or should I just put you outta your miser—"
He was cut off by Doreman yelling out at him. "Aye. The boys are here."
Manifest 2 walked over and looked out the window.
A swat team of Core Heroes charged through the first story entrance, racing up the building. Different powers flashing as they zipped ahead.
Some had some had Source infused rifles, surrounding the building and blocking off any civilians.
Others were rescue duty, using their powers to evacuate any survivors out of the building.
They moved fast and efficient, at least 2 minutes until they reached the top.
Manifest 2 smiled. "Oh, see that Slither? Our welcome party has arrived."
Doreman was still looking out the window. "Let's just get outta here. Your dad's gonna be pissed if he finds out what we're doing."
"Not if we don't get caught." Manifest 2 said.
Doreman looked over at him. Manifest 2 was holding up a detonator in his hand. "Quit worrying, Dorey. I made sure to leave em with a little parting gift."
A dark smile etched across his face. "Let's blow this joint."
He looked over at Slither and nodded his head, Slither nodded back with a chuckle.
Slither put his hand up to his mouth and briefly touched his tongue to the tip of his finger. A faint black aura shimmered around his hand.
With a smirk he walked up to the wall, tapped it with his fingertips, and instantly—the wall started melting—Drywall and metal studs liquifying into a puddle of goop, forming a gaping hole in the center of the wall.
Manifest 2 approached the hole, as he walked forward he put up both hands.
The air in front of him shivered.
Loose particles gathered at the ground, pulling together like magnets. Molecules stitched upward in fast, visible layers.
Frames took shape first—thin outlines of steel rising from nothing.
Then the engines filled in, parts locking in with mechanical precision.
Tires formed next, rubber growing outward in solid spirals.
Panels, seats, headlights, and a rocket placed at the back for added kick.
Each piece clicked into existence as if being 3D-printed out of thin air.
In seconds, three fully-formed motorcycles stood in front of him, rocket-powered engines humming with fresh life.
He cracked another wide grin and eyed them both. "Cmon. Let's get outta here before this place gives me an infection."
Slither and Doreman both whooped in agreement as they hopped on their bikes.
The engines roared to life. Manifest 2 hopped on and got ready to blast out of the building.
Suddenly—
A voice, soft and broken, spoke out to him. "…please…"
Manifest 2 turned around. The same lady, sitting against the wall stared back at him with pleading eyes.
Tears, blood, and dirt was smeared across her face. Her voice ached with sorrow. "…i have a family."
Manifest 2 didn't respond. He let her words hang in the air for a second.
Then he smiled.
He put his hand up, tilted his head down.
Kissed the palm of his hand.
Motioned his hand towards her.
And blew her a kiss with an amused smile.
Then—
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
All three stories exploded, erupting the entire block Into a massive ball of fire and ash.
The three motorcycles blazed out of the collapsing building as the riders ducked low and sped through the destruction.
In the lead was Manifest 2–leaned back, one hand on the bars.
"HAAAHAAA. OHH MAN! WE REALLY GONE AND DID IT NOW HUH?" Slither yelled over the chaos.
"Definitely too far!" Doreman yelled. "Man your dad is not gonna be happy about this!"
Slither waved him off. "Ahhhh you think too much, COME ON LETS GO!"
Manifest 2 leaned over to speak to him. "Like I said, if we don't get caught… there's nothing to worry about."
He revved the throttle, reckless grin on his face as he started picking up speed. "So if I were you, I'd make sure to keep up!"
They all roared ahead, weaving in and out of traffic and racing past pedestrians.
———
Back near the impact zone—two figures stood in a nearby alley.
Trio and Speed.
They'd seen the explosion, the bikes, the smoldering skyline. They watched in shock as they saw Manifest 2 and the others rocketing away on their bikes.
Speed blinked twice. "Wh-who are they? Criminals?"
Trio shook his head, anger in his gaze. "Nah… they're wearing all black. Those aren't some average street thugs… those are Villains."
Speed flinched slightly. "Villains? In Hero territory?? That's… rare."
Trio walked forward balling his fists. "They're either really strong or really stupid to show up here. Come on, we gotta check it out."
He ran towards the destroyed building, already using his ice to form a grind rail ahead of him.
Speed hesitated for a beat, teeth clenched, heart pounding. Then he reluctantly followed behind with a ZOOM.
———
Manifest 2 and the others continued racing forward through the dense suburbs of New Metro City.
Until another SWAT van of Core Heroes raged behind them. "STOP!" A voice boomed through the loud speaker. "You three are under arrest."
Camera drones swooped in over them, capturing live feed.
Manifest 2 reached his arm out—a kunai manifested in his grip—he flicked it at the drone, the kuna smashing straight through its center console.
More SWAT vans pulled up behind them.
Manifest 2 growled through clenched teeth. "Dammit. I can't keep wasting my Source on these grunts."
He turned to Doreman. "You don't wanna get caught right?" Doreman glanced back at him. He continued. "Then do something."
Doreman nodded at him. While the bike still raced forward, he stood up, balanced on the moving bike, turned to face the approaching Core Heroes, pointed at them, then—
ZAP.
——
Back at the blast zone, Core Heroes moved fast and efficient.
One Hero had used her powers to create a force field around the remaining victims, shielding them from the explosion.
The rest were on damage control, putting out fires, searching through rubble, helping out any survivors and implanting healing pods into their chest.
Through all the wreckage, the Heroes pulled out a familiar face. That same woman from the office. She was unconscious, barely breathing, but alive.
As they started working on treating her, Trio and Speed dashed up with urgency. "What happened!?" Trio yelled.
One of the officers stepped forward trying to push Trio and Speed away from the scene. "Alright, get back. This is a restricted area, no place for kids."
As the officer stepped forward with his arms out, Trio swiped his hand away, expression laced with irritation. "What the hell are you doing!? Aren't yall gonna go after them?"
Speed just looked around, taking in all the carnage around them. His breathing grew heavier as his thoughts started racing.
Another Core Heroes moved in to speak to Trio. "Calm down, son. We have a team working on stopping them. Right now, what's most important is making sure these people make it out safe—"
Then the broken voice of the woman spoke out as she awoke. "Please! Help!"
Trio and Speed looked over at the woman. "Calm down, you're okay." A Core Hero said as he tried to help her relax.
As he rested her on a gurney he spoke in a soft, calming voice. "You're not in danger anymore, it's okay."
She grabbed his collar in a soft, pleading motion. "They raided the building, broke in by melting a hole into the floor. They never said their names…but… they said they were looking for someone, when we couldn't provide any information, they… started…"
She broke out into crying unable to even finish her sentence. The brothers just stared in shock as they listened to her speak.
The officer walked up, Trio and Speed stood right behind him. "They were looking for someone? Who could they be looking for?"
She tried to compose herself, her mind still rattled as she tried to remember. "They wouldn't stop… we told them we knew nothing but… they just wouldn't stop. Room by room, person by person, they just kept asking the same question. 'Where are… the sons of Tony.'"
Trio and Speed's eyes simultaneously went wide. Speed's face showed worry. Trio? Fury
The lady started crying again as they carted her off.
Trio's chest heaved, his breathing grew ragged as his anger ascended higher. The woman's words blazing in his head.
Then—he turned and started sprinting towards the direction of their escape route.
Speed hurried behind him. "Hey! Trio, what are you doing?"
"What do you mean what am I doing? I'm going to kick those bastard's ass for what they did here." Trio said not even turning around.
Speed zoomed ahead of him, cutting him off. "Hey, stop! Chill out man, I don't know if that's a good idea. Those guys aren't just anybody… they're actual Villains, they could kill us."
Trio eyed him with intense fury in his gaze. "What, you scared or something?"
Speed didn't respond. Trio stepped forward, getting in his face. "…then stay here."
Speed froze. Trio continued. "Go ahead, stay back and play support with the rest of these weak ass Core Heroes. I'll handle it myself."
He looked ahead, cracking his knuckles, cocky grin on his face. "And I'm already pissed off from this school day too? I've got some pent up aggression to let out." He started removing his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt. "Those dumbasses chose the wrong day to come searching for me."
He stepped forward, bumping past Speed. Speed just stared ahead, unsure of what to do. "But…"
Trio turned back and grabbed his shoulder. "Look.." he said as he pointed back at the destruction.
Speed turned back to see all the innocent civilians, barely breathing, barely conscious, barely alive. Trio spoke to him. "You said you wanna help people right?"
Speed didn't respond, he just stared.
"That's what I'm doing." Trio continued. "I'm helping them by taking down the assholes that did this to them."
He gripped his shoulder tighter, his voice hardening. "If we let them get away now… we're both failures."
Speed looked back at Trio, Trio met his gaze with 100% assurance. "So… you coming?"
Speed looked back at the victims, he paused for a beat, then faced Trio again. He balled his fist, dropped his chin.
"Yeah…"