Brooklyn

Jason awoke next to Aera, her being soundly asleep after a good night. He smiled as he ran his fingers through her dark blue hair. It was around noon, and they wasted no time last night, to say the least. Jason put some clothes on after he stretched out and took a shower. His phone received a notification.

Come to Protectors Tower, there is an assignment for you.

It was then when Aera woke up, still naked. She smiled at him.

“We got a busy day, hm?”

“I believe so.” Jason said. “They want us to come to their tower for an assignment. I think I’m ready for it.”

“We’re ready for it, remember?”

“Of course, I would never forget that we’re both leaders here.”

Aera nodded. She put on clothes herself, paying no mind to Jason as he stood there. The purple-skinned alien looked wonderful, as she wore a white T-shirt with short shorts. Jason loved that about her. When she was done she nodded with a smile, they were prepared for whatever the Protectors had for them.

They held hands as they moved through the Young Protectors’ base. There were other members their attending their own business. Being the leader of the members within this sector meant that Jason had the responsibility to ensure everything runs smoothly. Anya Azarova, also known as the Winter Witch, approached him.

“Got anything special going on?” Anya said.

“The Protectors are calling for us to report to them, said they have an assignment for us.” Jason said.

“Well, whatever it is, can you bring me with?”

“Really?” Jason said.

“I didn’t go on the last mission, and I haven’t been doing much lately. I signed up to be a Protector, not to hang out in a building all day.”

“I understand that. Whatever it is, we’ll bring you along. I promise.”

Anya smiled, not saying a word as she left them to their own devices. Jason and Aera walked into the garage where a car, specifically a Hyundai, awaited them. Jason owned the vehicle, having bought it with his own Protector money. He took his seat behind the wheel, while Aera rode as the passenger.

“Let’s see what the deal is.” Jason said.

The drive took just over thirty minutes when they reached the Protectors Tower. The car was parked, and they rode the elevator upstairs to offices at the top of the building. There were other Protectors there, who were older and had far more seniority than him. It was honestly rather intimidating to be around these people.

They approached the main office, where several members of the Protectors’ Circle of Trust were sitting there, awaiting their arrival. John Baen, Cobalt, Void, Green Gadget, and Seraph had something important, a mission to assign the Young Protectors, and it wasn’t going to be easy.

“I hope you two are having a good day.” John Baen said.

“We are, just after we had a good night.” Aera said. “A very good night, in fact—”

“Aera!” Jason said.

“Well, I’m sure we all have ‘good nights’, but let’s focus on the present.” Void said. “There’s a more urgent matter that we need a dedicated team to take care of. It’s only fitting it would be the Young Protectors.”

“Is it what I think it is?” Jason said.

“So you already know?” Void said.

“Young superhumans have been kidnapped across the country, across the world.” Jason said. “And these people have been training men and women my age or younger to be supervillains.”

“I’m glad you’re up to speed.” Green Gadget said.

“Then it should come as no surprise.” Cobalt said. “It’s ODESSA.”

“Organization of Differently Empowered Superhumans & Scientific Association.” John Baen said. “I guess ODESSA just rolls of the tongue better.”

Jason crossed his arms as he thought to himself. He had been studying the various supervillain organizations for a while, knowing that he could take on any one of them. So he’s going to be taking on ODESSA. Jason knew that he had to be prepared for this, just as how he had to be ready for anything.

“It doesn’t matter what kind of youth they kidnap.” Seraph said. “They could be enhanced, biohumans, magic users, non-humans… really, they just want to collect the youths with special abilities for their own purposes. If they don’t join them, they kidnap them, and I don’t know what it is they want. That’s where you come in.”

“I accept the mission.” Jason said. “I’ll lead the charge against ODESSA, so that the young who are unique and feel safe.”

“We’ll lead the charge.” Aera said. “We’re both equals here.”

“Yes, of course. That was my bad.”

“So, from this day forward we assign you as the Head of Anti-ODESSA operations.” Cobalt said. “Don’t screw it up, please. No pressure or anything.”

Aera glanced to the right, they were clearly still referring to Jason, even after she said that they’re equals. The preferential treatment towards Jason was starting to make her feel insecure.

“Where do we start?” Jason asked.

“As soon as you are able, fly to Austin to make contact with their superhero team.” Cobalt said. “I think they’re called the Battalion? They started recently, ever since the Lonestar Incident last year.”

“I heard about that.” Jason said. “A year ago a meteorite landed near Austin, and empowered a number of people at random. Only, the majority of them were youths, I think the oldest ones are in their early twenties.”

“Correct.” John Baen said. “They’re called Genos, I guess everyone part of some special event needs to have a name.”

“ODESSA has made several operations in that area.” Cobalt said. “Hardly a surprise, and their most recent kidnapping was two days ago. A fourteen-year-old named Zack Miller was abducted by three ODESSA agents, who made their presence known by throwing a damn car into the restaurant he was in.”

“Doesn’t sound subtle.” Jason said.

“You can’t be subtle when you look like this.” Cobalt said as he slid a picture of three ODESSA agents across the table for Jason to examine. “Razorback, Psyren, and Zero were the culprits who kidnapped Zack. As you can tell, they’re not going to fit in with a crowd with those tattoos and style choices.”

“What can they do?” Jason asked.

“Razorback is super strong and super durable, Psyren is a psionic who we think can sense others with special abilities, Zero can manipulate time.”

“Good to know.”

“They may be young, but that makes them no less dangerous.” Seraph said. “Don’t underestimate them.”

“Wasn’t planning to.”

“Gather the team you wish to bring with you as soon as you can.” Green Gadget said. “Then depart of Austin. We’ve already told the Battalion we’ll be sending a team in to assist them.”

“Understood.”

Jason got out of his chair. He was ready to undertake the mission, as an organization like ODESSA needs to answer for the crimes they commit. Before he left, another voice called to him.

“I’m glad you’re taking on this task.” Void said. “But don’t forget that you are only human.”

Jason smiled. “You would be surprised to learn what someone who is ‘only human’ can do.”

Jason left the office, and Aera retreated to join him, walking by his side. They went through the building, neither wishing to talk until they were in the car. With the mission on its way soon, they had to prepare for what could be a long game. Jason and Aera entered their vehicle, and Jason took the chance to talk.

“Alright, it’s time we get started.”

“Yeah.” Aera said. “We’ll assemble a team and be in Austin soon.”

“It seems like something’s wrong, anything upset you?”

“Oh, you know.” Aera said. “They always turn their attention to you as the leader, when we’re both supposed to be equal partners here.”

“Aera…”

“Well, it is true.”

“We are equals, don’t think we won’t ever be.”

“I just don’t think they think that.”

“Relax. I think you’re worrying too much about that.”

“Maybe.”

“We’ve got a task at hand, and I already know enough about ODESSA to know we’ve got to take them down.”

“Alright.”

They drove back to their base in Brooklyn. With the trip to Austin soon to commence, it was time to assemble a team together for the mission. Jason sat in front of a computer and looked up all the operatives that were on the East Coast.

“Anya already said she wanted to go, so it would be rude not to take her. Ezekiel is too busy with school, and I don’t really want to make him absent again. Daren is away on his own mission. Roy is off-duty right now. Let’s see… I could recruit Shy Child, the magic user of the Young Protectors. She’ll be useful for any magic-related matters we come across on our operations. While she’s currently in Boston, I’ll just give her the call to meet us here for our mission.”

He looked in the computer further for more operatives to assist. He had access to all currently on-duty Young Protectors that were on the East Coast, and could call them to join at any time. Some interesting profiles came up, and he knew who he wanted to join him on the mission.

“Energize, someone who absorbs ambient energy around him for his own abilities. Dust Devil, a controller of the elements such as earth, wind, and heat. Architect, able to create constructs out of light. These should do just fine for the mission.”

Aera approached him from behind, putting her hands on his shoulders. The time to start was approaching them. Jason got out of his seat, after pressing a button on the computer that sent the call to the selected agents. Soon enough, the screen displayed that they accepted the call. It would be a few more hours until everyone was together and ready to go.

Jason got up and stretched. They smiled at each other. All that was left was to wait for everyone to gather together, and then they were headed to Austin. A few hours later, everyone had arrived. Shy Child, Energize, Dust Devil, and Architect were in the building, standing side-by-side as Phantom and Aera approached them.

“Alright.” Phantom said. “Are you ready?”

“If I wasn’t ready, I wouldn’t have joined.” Dust Devil said.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Then another ran in hastily.

“Don’t forget about me!” Winter Witch said.

“Wasn’t planning to.” Phantom said.

Shy Child examined Winter Witch, looking at her with curiosity. The magic user wore a cloak over a white mask that concealed the upper part of her face. Rarely would she directly speak to others, hence she was named the ‘Shy Child’. Winter Witch joined the team, looking very excited to take part in a mission.

“Alright, everyone. Let’s move out.” Phantom said.

Phantom led the way as the rest followed. They went to the rooftop where the Eagle sat on the helipad. They boarded the ship one-by-one and soon enough they took off in the skies. Their destination was Austin, which they would arrive in just a few hours. While the others took the opportunity to relax in the quarters, Phantom decided to speak to Aera. She sat in the front, looking over the sky as it was in autopilot.

“Don’t worry about being sidelined.” Phantom said. “I won’t let you be in my shadow.”

“It’s hard not to feel that way when you’re such a great leader, and the others look up to you for it. Plus, you’ll always be more ‘normal’ than me.”

“I don’t think anyone in this business is ‘normal’.” Phantom said. “We’re a team, and I don’t think I can do it without you.”

Aera smiled. “Thank you.”

Phantom understood how Aera was feeling. She’s only been one Earth for two years, and while she’s adjusted well she’s still on the outside for obvious reasons. Her title as one of the leaders meant she held the responsibility he did, but even Phantom noticed that the others were naturally drawn to him more than her. At least, when it comes to being the leader.

This was the second time recently she brought this up, the first being back in San Paraíso. It’s clearly been on her mind, and Phantom wasn’t sure what he was going to do to help ease her troubles. Aera left to her private quarters, while Phantom decided to sit in the cockpit, and relax in the chair upfront. He could see the sky from above the clouds as the Eagle flew in the direction of Austin.

The Battalion would be awaiting them, and Phantom wanted to make a good impression to the other teams and organizations out there. But more importantly, he knew he had to bring an end to ODESSA before more innocents, superhuman or not, can be harmed.