This was a shitfest, nothing new.

"Heya Gabriel," And then there it was the biggest issue to this whole fiasco.

"What do you want V?" [V-8] one of the superheroes that was most commonly known for being both an asshole and a dumbass, the first was intended, the second... well, on the second the opinions weren't sure.

"Do you wanna go grab a drink after this?" [V-8] asked, as soon as he started walking this way most of the minions and sidekicks ran away as far as possible, at least the minions had the good sense of staying within their area of activities.

Something that the sidekicks didn't even bother to do, that was enough to make a grown man shed a tear...

"Stop the weird camaraderie. V. Don't make me ask it again. What do you want?" Gabriel said, he had been a friend of [V-8] when both were Sidekick and Minion, just when [Haephestus' Forge] was starting up.

They had found each other on the streets and had made a game of catching each other, a teleporter and a speedster running around and fighting.

Never outrunning or quite managing to run away...or at least it looked like that to the masses anyway.

"Rhapsody." [V-8] said, his tone serious, "What's the deal with that Minion, what is....what is that?"

"She is a new Minion, one that we are very interested and invested in." Gabriel answered, "One you aren't and will not attempt to break."

"... She is not normal." [V-8] said shaking his head, "She... She saw me moving."

"Bo fricking ho," Gabriel barked a laugh at that statement, "So what? That is not particularly hard, everyone sees you moving at least once."

"Before I touched her, before my power spread to her, before... Before she should be able to see me." [V-8] said, shaking his head, "You know how my power works, you are among the few that actually understand how it works, and you should know what this means. That girl, what is her [Core Power]?"

"Kinda rude to ask that, even for you V. I haven't told anyone how your power works, and I know you haven't told anyone about how mine works." Gabriel answered looking around to ensure no one was close, "Or do you want me to spill the beans about how your power works to Rhapsody? Not that she needs to know."

Gabriel knew of that encounter, and the multiple encounters they had, it seemed that Rhapsody was building a reputation with [V-8] as a nemesis.

But that was interesting, to find out that Rhapsody could allegedly perceive [V-8] even in the frozen time, what kind of [Mythical Core] would allow that?

Rhapsody herself wasn't sure what a [Mythical Core] was, and while her powerset implied one, if the girl couldn't awaken the true name of it, it was meaningless, it also didn't help that her powerset wouldn't trully bloom unless she realized her true nature.

Rhapsody may have a flawed understanding of the nature of her power, and in turn that meant that she was using it wrong to achieve the correct results.

"She probably already knows, as I said, she saw me moving, she reacted. She planned and she acted." [V-8] said shaking his head, "Why is that one dressed as a normal Minion, and not a Lieutenant?"

"Because she is a newbie, but if you really need to know. We accepted her under the theory that she was a super villain daughter." Gabriel said throwing the first theory they got, not the correct one or the one that Rhapsody herself had confirmed. They knew more about her thanks to what Rhapsody had revealed herself.

And Gabriel planned to raid a few choice known Villains, Supervillains and mobs that had experimentation testing grounds and a few corpos that they suspected did this kind of thing.

[Vulcanus] wouldn't attack without concrete proof... But he was not [Vulcanus].

"Fricking knew it," [V-8] spat at the side, "Any idea whose daughter she is? I want to know how bad it is if I rough her up a little."

"......You?" Gabriel said looking up and down [V-8], he was... competent as a Hero, there was no doubt about it. He had a powerful [Core Power] and knew how to maximize his power, he was not a mythical one, but Gabriel didn't think he had it on him to defeat Rhapsody.

He doubted there were many [Heroes] capable of that, at least from the degree of combat prowess that Rhapsody had shown in that last attack from the zombies.

She went for the kills, no doubt, no hesitation, and even when she wasn't going for the kill, she went to incapacite her enemies... permanently...

It was thanks to that that they had managed to get a few of those zombies to confirm that they were beyond salvation... At least from normal healing methods. [Vulcanus] did confirm that he suspected high-order [Healer Cores] would be able to fix them.

And perhaps a few of the high-end [Mind Cores] would be capable of that too, not that there were many of those around to go. A few Supervillains and a couple of corpo bodyguards...

And of course, the goddamned Saintsworths. If anyone wanted to sell their soul to them that is, and no one wanted to do that. Gabriel himself didn't know the Saintsworths had something like that, but [Vulcanus] had guaranteed that they could do it.

And Gabriel wouldn't doubt that.

"Yes, what about it?" [V-8] answered with a grunt, "She got me a few times by surprise, but now that I know she can react to me, I only need to blindsight her."

"Right...." Gabriel said, he doubted that someone could blindsight Rhapsody, the girl seemed as if she had a sixth sense that allowed to monitor her surrounding, she seemed to react to things she couldn't see before they came into her area.

He had attempted to surprise her a few times and the girl always reacted before he came into view. That also gave credibility to his theory that the girl was a [Mythic Core] wielder.

All the mythic class had that weird sense, like they could feel the world around them in a different form.

"Sir!" And before he could elaborate again on that, a particularly brave minion came running to them, "We have a situation!"

The minion came running with a tablet, one of Billy's tablets. They didn't connect to the wider network, but they had a permanent connection to their inner network so long as [Vulcanus] was around. Or they had one of the transmissors...

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Gabriel hated the transmissors, they taxed his [Core] too much whenever he had to act as a relay transmission. Granted that his [Core] could work them, but he wasn't made to transmit that much information!

His Core wasn't an [Information Core] dang it!

"Let me see... Go away [V-8], unless you want to get shot." Gabriel said materializing the bolter rounds around him, hard light turned into a weapon.

"You will give me the due answer Minion." [V-8] spat before moving away using his [Core].

To everyone else, the man had turned into a streak of blue lightning that shot back to his spot.

To him?

The world had turned momentarily gray as V walked away at a lazy pace. From how V had explained to him, he could accelerate his thoughts and body, but he wasn't 'Fast'. Even if his [Core Power] was that of a speedster.

And the reason why Gabriel could see him?

It was because he himself was [Light], his powers came from one of the seven Heavenly Seats on the theological concept of a higher power that looks down and protects humanity.

Gabriel himself... didn't believe in a higher power that nurtured and cared for them, if there was a god looking down on Terra Nova... He was a cruel entity that merely wanted amusement, if not... Why would they allow the cruelty that befell them?

Why did they allow [Vulcanus] to end in that body? Why would they allow Eleanore to end up like she had? Why... Why had they only blessed him? The one that wanted the lest, the one that dreamed the lest... The one who fought the least for freedom? The one that didn't strive to help others?

Why... Why did they grant him the power of one of the seven Heavenly Seats?

So Gabriel twisted it, he twisted his [Core] from an Archangel to a Fallen Angel. He stunted his own growth, yes. But the powers he acquired even like that were enough that if he really wanted he could rise to a super villain like [Vulcanus].

"Show off," Gabriel sent the message using [Light] to V, who merely answered with a rude gesture before the world returned to normal.

"Now, what is the issue?" Gabriel asked as the Minion blinked in surprise as they had been left alone without too much issue.

"... We got a rescue signal from one of the VVIPs and sent a Minion to rescue them." The Minion answered, showing the tablet to Gabriel.

It was standard procedure, whenever one of the pet projects of big corpos wanted to live adventures they sent them as sidekicks or minions (Most of the time as sidekicks, the idiots). And then paid [Haephestus' Forge] to keep them safe.

In this case it was a pair of brats, two sidekicks called Body & Soul.

"So? The Minion in question roughed them up too much?" Gabriel answered while taking the tablet and shutting up, the Minion in question was Rhapsody... "Please tell me she didn't cripple them..."

"What? No sir, the issue is that said Minion encountered another Sidekick and sent an SOS, here is the drone, it just arrived to us." The Minion said pulling out one of Billy's drones, these were supposed to be used as scouts, but Rhapsody had used it as a messenger.

"Clever girl..." Gabriel said, taking the drone and pulling out the memory card, you needed Lieutenant level clearance so the thing didn't self-destruct. When he did that, a tap to his wrist and a reader came to life; he merely needed to insert it, and the video feed would play on his mask.

No one would peek at what he was seeing unless they were a [Tinker Core] or a [Technopathy Core], and both were too rare to be exposed to this kind of mission.

"I see..." Gabriel said as the video started playing, Rhapsody had found a third Sidekick who had a power too weird and she ended up accepting her as traveling companion.

Clever girl, when dealing with sidekicks, you either incapacitated them and left them in a place for recovery, or kept them as company. In the sewer the girl would die, so Rhapsody keeping her was the smart choice.

Most minions would have attacked anyway, and most minions would have ended up with too much heat for [Haephestus' Forge] to deal with.

"Well, this may be an issue..." Gabriel said as the recording came to the spot where Rhapsody had showcased what was obviously a super villain base, one that he didn't recognize.

That only meant one of two things, either was a new super villain... Or a supervillain had taken over a black site, and in this city... In this location...

"[SuperForce]!" Gabriel screamed at the top of his lungs, the black haired hero coming from the sky straight next to him.

"Did you find the target?" The black haired hero asked, "Where is it?"

One of the former friends of [Vulcanus] from the before, Gabriel himself didn't know him and didn't know how he could be a friend of [Vulcanus].

"Worse," Gabriel answered, "One of our minions found a super villain base, one that reeks of black site."

"Here?" [Superforce] asked surprised, bringing his own cellphone and tapping it a few times as if searching something to make sure, "... We are at the border of the Saintsworths territory... Right next to [Vulcanus] and The Mistress of Vengeance's territory...."

"You forget that this is in the sewers..." Gabriel pointed down as he spoke, "The spider prowls on this area too..."

[Superforce] groaned at that mention, "And you say this is a black site? Are you sure it isn't a super villain lair?"

Gabriel understood that feeling. Someone setting up base here? This near the Saintsworths, [Vulcanus] and The Mistress of Vengeance? Near The Spider?

You needed to be a madman to do so, most Super Villains would fit the bill, there was no sane super villain. But...

"Check it out for yourself," Gabriel said sending the part of the clip that showcased the building, "That is corpo construction, pre made even, the only personalized thing is the name. If not why would they put a parking at the side?"

The video started only showing the building and the weird Sidekick that Rhapsody had adopted.

"Beacon of Justice?" [Superforce] suddenly said, rewinding the video and pausing it on the midget, "I thought you said it was a Minion who reported it? Why is a Sidekick there, one that should be up here, safe."

"Our Minion was chased by this one, they spoke and decided to traverse together, by her report this Sidekick refused to return and so our Minion decided that she would be safer coming down." Gabriel said, Rhapsody hadn't said as much, but [Superforce] didn't need to know that, besides, the man was a sucker for this kind of bullshit.

"...Which Minion is that toughtfull?" [Superforce] asked narrowing his eyes, the man wasn't buying it? Why? Was that brat important?

"Rhapsody," Gabriel answered, pulling Rhapsody's ID from [Haephestus' Forge]. Granted, it was merely a picture of Rhapsody wearing the full suit, so it would barely help to identify her from the rest.

"... Fine," [Superforce] relented after that, " If it's Edwards successor I can trust her..."

....What the hell?

"Anyway, the issue is that she said that two of your sidekicks had sent a rescue signal from there, and while Rhapsody is good at her job, she followed procedure and asked for reinforcement, can your [Heroes] not screw this for the next five minutes while I go there?" Gabriel didn't trust them, not with [Chrysalis] around, but the other Lieutenants would need to hold the fort while he went there.

If that was a blacksite... the name... The name gave Gabriel a bad feeling.

" We will go too, the location is roughly where our tinkers think that the test subject would go." [Superforce] said and whistled, all the [Heroes] turned to stare at them.

Damned planes of hell.

"We require the coordinates, as stipulated in our ceasefire accord," [SuperForce] said as his body started shining in the distasteful color of his [Core], "What are the coordinates [Fallen Angel Gabriel]?"

"...Here," Gabriel relented after thinking it for a few seconds, he gave them only the coordinates, not the route or the map that Rhapsody had given them, "I will rendezvous with our forces and go down myself. I assume you don't need anything else? You do understand that managing to send a data transmission from these coordinates to here would mean not all the data could arrive, yes?"

Not a lie, but also not the whole truth. Now if only V didn't open his goddamned mouth...

"[V-8], how long would it take you to get there and scout the place?" [Superforce] asked still staring at him.

"Too long, we don't have a map and all the Sidekicks that should be near that area started going in the opposite direction," V answered, he didn't rat him out.

"... So he says, did any of your minions go in that direction?" [Superforce] asked, he already knew the answer.

"Only the one that sent the data transmission." Gabriel answered, Rhapsody shouldn't even be there, but she had went for the VVIP signal.

"I see... Well, then we will see you there." [Superforce] said and the animal flew into the floor, opening a hole and going into the sewers, there was a manhole a few meters behind him.

This was a power move, one to remind them that not a single one of them had the strength to stop him...

But they didn't need strength, they needed wit and cunning.

"Minions!" Gabriel screamed while the [Heroes] and [Sidekicks] started to go to the other side and plot their routes, [SuperForce] would only scout the area, he would never leave the weaker [Heroes] and [Sidekick] alone.

[Superforce] was a softie, like [Vulcanus].

"We will start moving forward to a possible target, ignore the [Heroes] and [Sidekicks], but if anyone attacks remind them why we are at the top of the [Minion] business!" Gabriel said not minding the glares the [Heroes] send his way.

"Woooh!" And the minions answered in kind to his voice.

"Lieutenants and captains, I will scout ahead, the data that Rhapsody transmitted us will be sent to your masks, use it wisely," Gabriel said as he started the synchronization of data, he removed all personal data that Rhapsody sent, such as the message with her theories about the [Core Power] of that girl.

Beacon of justice.

Rhapsody was way too smart to have found out so much in so little time, now...

Now he only needed to teleport ahead and help Rhapsody, worst case, save her.

They didn't pay him enough for this.

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