Tale Of Heroes: Rise Of The Hero Squad

They all paused, Vilex Readied his bow, Frost icy blades looked sharper and Larry just stood. They were seemingly waiting for who was gonna attack first.

"Get ready sir." Riri said to Larry. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Without another thought, Vilex loosed three arrows at Larry, but he dodged them with the aid of his suit’s Dynamic Response System.

Evading the arrows was in Vilex plan cause he didn’t look worried about Larry not getting it, Larry himself noticed that when he evaded them they just went with the flow of how he dodged.

The arrow didn’t blow up like the last one that was unleashed at him so he just tilted his head to see them but they just got hooked on the wall, beeping a white light. The light stopped, the arrows exploded not causing an explosion but sending AMP surge that struck Larry bringing the suit to temporary power off.

Thanks to the suit backup it quickly recovered but before Larry and the suit recovered fully Frost ran straight at him giving him a powerful kick that sent Larry crashing out of wall.

Larry got on his feet. Charging at him were the other guys. He knew he couldn’t handle them both—he didn’t have experience in fighting—but he was smart. He took advantage of the suit’s speed. Yes, he didn’t have combat training, but all he had in mind was: dodge fast, and throw a punch at any opening he saw.

Vilex converted his bow into a short staff, swinging it in his hands with deadly precision. Frost’s mastery of his icy blades showed in the razor-sharp control behind each movement.

A swinging hit from Vilex to Larry’s raised arm caused it to drop, as if it broke. Then came a ferocious punch to his chest From Frost Brought him to the ground. It was one-sided because they were fighting an amateur who was outmatched.

Riri couldn’t bear to see her boss in a critical state, so she took over. The suit transformed back to its original size. Just as Vilex and Frost were about to land their strikes, the suit stopped the punch, pulled them closer, fixed Larry’s hands on their faces, and smashed them both into the ground.

"Riri," Larry called out. "What is happening?"

It replied, "We are now in Command Mode, sir. This mode activates anytime you’re in a critical state. It will help eliminate your opponents without much effort."

"Alright—wait." He noticed something. "No, we are not eliminating anyone. Cut the mode off."

"But sir, they are also trying to eliminate you," it said.

"No, it’s just a misunderstanding. So switch it off," Larry ordered.

The suit returned to its normal state, and Larry stood waiting for the guys to get up.

"You’re Vilex... and you, I don’t know," Larry said to them.

Vilex dusted the sand off his clothing and said, "So you do know who I am."

"Hey, listen—we don’t have to keep this going. It’s a misunderstanding, and I want to explain. But if you want to continue the fight, I won’t hold back," Larry warned.

"Let’s go on with the fight then. What’s there to explain, other than you hitting a civilian?" Frost snapped at Larry.

Larry sighed before speaking. He faced Vilex.

"Does your sidekick do most of the talking? I just said there’s an explanation for what happened."

Vilex replied, "Rule one of a hero: when you see a civilian in trouble, you find a solution to the problem. You’re the problem."

Larry couldn’t believe what he heard—those words pissed him off.

What sort of bullshit is that?

His tone changed—now furious. "How can you call yourselves heroes if you won’t even listen to a civilian’s justification? You know, I’m not someone who believes in this hero bullshit. And if I ever had an ounce of belief in it, it’s gone now. From what I see here, you guys are irresponsible fuckers. I’m leaving."

He ordered Riri, "Take us out of here."

The thrusters ignited, and he took off.

Frost tried to stop him, but Vilex gestured for him not to.

"Let him go."

[Narrator]:

"That was a badass confrontation. Now they’re enemies—but we wait to see how they’ll form an alliance. Author’s doing a good job, can’t lie about that."

An hour later, Vilex and Frost returned to the Hero building with the unconscious Egist. He was in critical condition; they had to take him to the Health Department to see if he would be okay.

Meanwhile, Timothy and Raymond met up with Commander Layla and Jonathan in the surveillance room.

Layla welcomed them back—she had seen what happened through the cameras.

"Welcome back, boys. Tough first mission. I saw everything. Seems you made a friend."

Raymond replied, "I wouldn’t say we made a friend—more like we added to the list of problems we have."

Timothy added, "You got anything on him yet?"

"It’s little, but we plan to get more," Jonathan said.

"Alright, give it to me," Timothy told him.

"First, that suit is Moztech-made. It’s a new model they’re working on. Since we had officials infiltrating the company, we got info that it’s the first of its kind," Jonathan shared.

"Okay. Any info on who got the suit first?" Timothy asked.

"No. Our officials say they secretly made it but didn’t want to mass-produce it for some reason," Jonathan said.

"So we can say it’s among some of the top brass of the company," Raymond stated.

Jonathan shook his head. "No. Steven Stones isn’t stupid. The man wouldn’t let any of his colleagues just take the work for themselves. He doesn’t trust them that much."

They all felt confused about the matter, but then Raymond got up from his seat.

"What if Steven Stones gave it to his son? We know he has mixed feelings about his co-workers. What if his son has it?"

"You’re right." Timothy realized the idea too. He signaled to Jonathan.

Information about Steven Stones appeared on screen. His son’s info was shown.

"Larry Stones, age nineteen. A party kid," Jonathan said.

"Alright. Tonight we go to the guy. He might have a little knowledge about the man in the suit—or could be the one we’re looking for," Timothy told Raymond.

Timothy was leaving the room for the top floor when Jonathan stopped him and also called Raymond.

"The guy you brought in... he’s dead," Jonathan said to them.

Both men felt remorse—their expressions said it all.

Timothy asked, "Cause of death?"

Jonathan replied, "His awakened powers. The guy was a junkie—already sick. And the powers he awakened were just too powerful for a body already dying. His insides were deteriorating, and the awakened powers just took the life he had."

"Fuck... well, that’s sad," Raymond said.

Timothy exhaled. "If that’s all, I’ll take my leave. If you need me, I’ll be in my quarters."

Timothy left the room for the top floor. From where she sat, Layla saw the look on his face. She knew him long enough to know that Timothy is someone who takes the blame for the death of a person—even if he doesn’t show it.