Surprisingly, the boys’ side was completely different from the girls’.

5: “Hellooo?! Heroooes..? Anybody home...??”

6: “SHHHHH! Stop it! What are you doing? What if they heard what you were saying??”

5: “Uhhh...then we kill ‘em? Boss and 1 already confirmed they didn’t announce for a hero to babysit the little tykes since they would all be left alone for only a few hours. We just gotta grab their bloody little heads and be done with it before then. ‘Sides, we’re mercenaries! WE ARE THE NUMBERS!! Naturally *lights cigarette* we’re used to killing some heroes too.”

6: “Oh stop it. We aren’t even B ranked villains yet! We can barely break into this place and THAT’S with the help of an insider! A POWERFUL one at that! If I had to say, I’d call our ragtag group a bit pathetic.”

5: “...you can heal any injury at the cost of one single day of your life! 1 can manipulate space AND magnetism! Do you realize how amazing this kind of thing is?? NOBODY manipulates space!! No mortals anyway…”

6: “Besides those connected to a ‘God’, but yes: I get what you’re trying to say. 1 is pretty amazing. He’s like our second boss.”

*RING!*

6: “Oh! Speak of the guy and he comes a’knockin~! That’s him calling now! I wonder what he wants? Let’s see~

*BEEP!* Hello?”

1: Any sign of the heroes? If you see anything out of the ordinary, get out of there immediately. 5 can handle calling me back – you just need to prioritize your own safety. Remember that.”

6: “Yeah, yeah. I know already – stop griping about every little detail regarding the mission you old codger!”

1: “...I’m only 27 though…”

6: “You look like you’re around 40! That’s WAAY too much stress in your life!”

1: “The pay...it’s...no. Forget it – just remember what I told you.”

*BEEP!*

6 “...This man..”

*RING!* - *RRRING!*

1: “Hello? 6 I’m on duty, what is it now-”

6: “How come YOU GET TO CALL when you’re worried but complain when I call?! And WHY AM I STUCK HUNTING the boys team? I’m better than 3 for handling that ape-like woman! All brawns and no brains have always been the easiest kind for me – and with 2 around to play the role of my vanguard – we’d take her out no matter what she tries to pull! Why won’t you have more trust in me??”

1: ”6. I placed you on the boy’s team because it’s harder to predict what the Principal’s granddaughter is capable of, compared to Elijah. He lost his powers. Even if he tries to manifest them, he isn’t a match for ‘5’.

But that monster girl, even with most of her strength sealed, as per the rules of the school, we can’t underestimate what damage she can deal out. For that reason only, I don’t want you near her...You are our entire group’s life-line. Without you, we’ll be doomed to lose every mission as difficult as this one. Oh, and I just started losing ‘4’s’ life signature. Prepare to send support when I ask for it. Don’t want to heal him just to lose him again. Wait for my signal.”

*BEEP!*

6: “Tch! Fine old man – I’ll play along with your safety pla--

...What? 4 was BEATEN??”

5: “What happened? Is next boss One doing okay? Did he run into a Super Hero or something??

...An Elite Hero perhaps?”

6: “...4 is down.”

5: “...Huh? 4? what about 4? I can’t hear because of your mumbling.”

6: “I said:

*Deeply Inhales*

Haaah.

…4 is down. Somebody beat him.”

...

5: “...4? He…

heheh...

4 FAILED?! Impossible! Was he captured by them already?!?”

6: “1 only mentioned that 4’s life signature was weakening. Most likely a very powerful hero was hiding in the shadows...”

5: “Did he run into a hero already?? Damn...that sly old woman… she TOLD us nobody would be here! And isn’t it a little too early for anybody to notice? They were supposed to have that pesky Monitor Man called out for an emergency in the city the moment he arrived home, so that WE had an OPENING! Don’t tell me it’s the Monitor Man…???”

6: “...It’s not the Monitor Man.”

5: “Well, how do you know? You JUST said that 1 only mentioned 4’s life weakening and nothing more. Anything’s possible at this point.”

6: “Because we wouldn’t BE here if it was the Monitor Man. We would have already been transported to his location on a full beating course and ready to serve to a set of prison cells!”

5: “Aah, right. I forgot about how scary Monitor Man is...he’s too OP.”

6: “SCARILY OP. Don’t forget that…”

*RING!*

6: “Again? What is it no—oh, right. The signal.

.

.

.

*BEEP!*

...”

1: “Hello? 6?”

6: “I’m here. is it time?"

1: “Mm. Yeah. I’ve collected one--”

Rise: “...Found ya!!”

*CRASH*

…

*BOOM!*

1: “As I was saying. I’ve eliminated 1, no...

2 of the children. I’ve made contact with two more. Unfortunately, these two kids managed to do 4 in!

6: “Chil...Children?!??”

1: “Yeah.”

6: “I want to doubt your words so fucking badly, but it sounds like now isn’t the time – so I’ll just take your word for it. You owe me an explanation later!”

1: “Thanks 6. Please restore him back to fighting strength.”

6: “Got it – one day away, to let my ally rejoin the fray.

.

.

Give me 1 full minute.”

1: “Thanks.”

*BEEP!*

6: “…”

5: “...”

A bright light absorbed her temple, with 6’s civilian disguise beginning to change form and reverting back into a set of modern clothes that closely resembled a wizardry robe connected to a skirt. A number seemed to appear in the center of her forehead: ‘36’. Then, without warning, the light surrounding her temple shot through the roof and wound up disappearing in an unknown direction.

5: “36...that’s the number of times you’ve saved everyone.”

6: “Ugh don’t remind me. The bigger news is...I found out from 1 who beat 4!”

5: “Oh, really…? Was it a hero stationed here like we thought? Dammit – either she TRICKED US or...this school’s rulling body is not entirely under her thumb, as she so HASTILY surmised.”

6: “…”

5: “What? What’s wrong? Why are you looking down for?”

6: “...Childr..n”

5: “Huh?? You’re mumbling again 6. Just spit it out already or else I’ll never know what you’re saying.”

6: “Mmm! CHILDREN! 4 was beaten down by 2 CHILDREN! That extremely powerful 4, who managed to hold his own against ranked Heroes on MORE than one occasion and PERFECTLY combos with 1, lost to a pair of BRATS!!”

5: “...You…

...

...You’re kidding. You’re kidding, right?

There’s no WAY that 4 of ALL people would lose...to a pair of brats!”

6: “!!! Wait!”

5: “Yaah! Oh...wh-what is it...?”

6: “...What… What was that? That ‘Yaaah’..?”

5: “You SCARED me! How am I suppOSED to react after finding out there’s demon children lurking around here, and then you just out of the blue yell ‘WAIT!’ ...Cut me some slack, okay?!?!”

6: “...Anyhoo, remember when I used my ‘day away’ healing to save 4?”

5: “Umm, yeah. Kind of hard to NOT see a massive ball of light appear in front of me, crash through the ceiling and other floors above us, then fly off like it’s not my business. Hiding such a thing right before me would be a crazy feat to accomplish!”

6: “Drop the corny sarcasm 5. Think about it for a sec: 1 PERSONALLY asked me to heal 4...instead of crushing that pair of kids right there. What do you make of such an act?”

5: “...That he’s too cautious?”

6: “1 is the only person of the ‘numbers’ we gathered who can be classified as an A+ ranked criminal. If HE ends up asking for help from 4 against two measly kids that BARELY managed to take 4 down by working together in a 2 v 1, that would be extremely disappointing given his status as an A+ ranked criminal! Do you get what I’m implying?!”

5: “...No.”

6 “...I am SAYING..!

Those kids must be powerful enough to scare him, if he asked me to bring 4 back for a 2 on two bout. It probably wasn’t even a close call when they defeated 4. Since 1 put the request in for healing, FULLY aware of the risk I take when using my power...It might have just been 1 sided.”

5: “Just who are those kids…? Are there more like them..? Are THESE kids… like them?”

6: “Well...if you think about it...wasn’t 4 taken out only a few minutes ago? We just started this mission too...If a pair of brats really did take him out...then 1 probably just didn’t want to take any chances. At least that’s what I’m going to tell myself so I don’t assume every single hare is a hyena!”

5: “Fine. Let’s go, then.”

6: “Mm! Onwards with the mission!"

…

And while they were conversing…

*Zzzwooom!*

Ian: “…”

Brennan: “…”

Li Shun: “…”

a tiny robot flew back to Ian while the three boys stared on in silence.

One had no powers.

Another actually HAD powers, except that it only allowed him to converse with nearby animals.

And although the third child took out a bunch of gadgets, gizmos and miscellaneous goods for everyday use..!

- He hadn’t packed any weapons. The only things he brought with him were household items and cleaning supplies.

Right now, these three youthful males shared a single thought in each of their minds:

(We’re royally screwed.)

---