"Boss, are you alright?"

"I'm fine!!" Alexia glanced at his name tag and added, "Is everyone okay, Clayton?

"Everyone's safe, they're in the basement right now. Let’s go! We need to get there too; it’s not safe here!"

"Nah, the basement won't cut it. Look at them—do you think it can handle one of their punches? I doubt it," Alexia retorted.

"Just one punch and it completely destroyed a car," Sarah added.

"Speaking of cars… is that my car? No no no! Oh, come on!, that son of a bitch just threw my car. I just got it this morning!"

"What do you mean you just got it? Didn’t you buy that car a year ago?" Clayton asked, puzzled.

"Oh shit… I messed up," Alexia thought. "I meant, I got it back from the detailers just this morning."

"Oh, I thought you just bought the exact same car, because that would be out of your character."

"No, no... you know me," Alexia chuckled nervously. "The real question is, who's gonna pay for all this? Especially my car, I liked that car.”

"I don't know, this is a first for me too. From what I’ve heard, the government usually covers it," Clayton replied, his gaze steady on Alexia. "Alex, we've been friends since, what... elementary school. Since when did you care about cars? You never even bothered with oil changes before.”

"Damn, messed up again," Alexia cursed internally. "Well, I just really don't want to waste my money on another one," she said aloud, crossing her fingers in hope he would stop probing.

"Sounds about right!" Clayton replied, nodding.

"But in all seriousness, how long are they gonna keep fighting? It needs to wrap up already. Look at all those destroyed buildings. It's gonna cost a fortune to fix 'em. And who knows how many lives have been lost in this mess?” Alexia voiced her concerns.

"Who knows, it's a tough call. The villain in the black armor, Commander Raventhorn, is just as strong as Sunstriker, maybe even stronger. They're from the same planet and have the same powers and everything," Sarah explained excitedly.

"They've gotta have some weaknesses, right? Like maybe a rock from their home planet that somehow messes with their powers, or something like that. There's gotta be something," Alexia wondered aloud.

"No way, Alex. How convenient would that be? Just throw a rock and their powers are gone?" Clayton protested.

"Well, there's gotta be a scientific reason behind it, like maybe those rocks have some special attribute or radiation that messes with their abilities," Alexia countered.

“Well, that type of rock doesn’t exist”

Suddenly, the sky rumbled ominously as a cascade of metal objects plummeted from above, encircling the Villain, each piece fell into place with precision, locking the Villain within a perfect prison of steel. As the cage completed its assembly, lightning bolts crackled and struck its surface, illuminating the scene in a dazzling display of power and intensity.

“Here comes Metal Bat Wonder! He’s so cool!” Sarah excitedly shouted.

Sure enough, from the sky descended a figure clad in sleek black and golden metal armor that encased him completely, leaving no vulnerability exposed. His imposing armor bore retractable wings reminiscent of bats, which folded smoothly upon his majestic landing. The helmet, shaped like a fearsome bat's visage, added to his menacing presence as he stood amidst the dramatic backdrop of the sky.

"He does look pretty badass, I'll give you that. But seriously, what's his plan?" Alexia quipped.

"Don't sweat it, he's always got something up his sleeve, because that cage won't hold forever," Clayton reassured but still worried as he saw the Cage slowly getting wrecked by the Villain.

"Wait, what's he holding?" Sarah's voice was tinged with urgency.

"Those green liquid tubes? They're gonna poison the jackass, aren't they?" Alexia observed.

"Yeah, looks like it,” Sarah said.

The Villain suddenly stopped hitting the Cage.

“And... It's working! It worked! We're saved!" Clayton cheered with relief.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Hell yeah! That's payback for my car, you Dickhead!" Alexia exclaimed triumphantly.

They erupted into jubilant celebration, hugging tightly and jumping around in circles, their relief palpable in the aftermath of the intense battle.

"That was awesome, they did it! We’re saved!” Sarah exclaimed.

“Guys… they’re still here. They haven’t left yet. Kinda strange, don’t you think? Is it not over?” Clayton asked, glancing around nervously.

“Relax! It’s over. They’re just talking now. It’s totally normal to chat with your buddy after a big win,” Alexia replied.

“I guess. But usually, they just fly away right after a fight. What do you think they’re talking about?”

“Sunstriker is really upset with the commander and himself. He was too arrogant to think that he could convince the commander to coexist peacefully with humans. But he’s owning up to his mistake and plans to personally ask forgiveness from the people of this planet,” Alexia explained confidently, admiring Sunstriker's bravery.

“Really? How do you know? You have super hearing now?” Clayton asked skeptically.

“Uh, yeah, I heard…” Alexia caught herself mid-sentence, realizing the implications. “I mean, I read his lips. He was speaking clearly and facing us directly, you could do it too if you tried,” she quickly improvised, trying to cover her newfound abilities.

“Yeah, it’s not that hard. I can do it too, but not as good as the boss,” Sarah said.

“Yes! Thank you, Sarah, you’re a lifesaver,” Alexia thought to herself.

“Oh yeah? What’s he saying now?” Clayton challenged Sarah.

“Something about a supermax prison,” Sarah replied.

Clayton shifted his gaze to Alexia.

“Yeah, it’s too fast now, but I did catch something about a prison called the Abyssal Void. Wish I could tell you what the Metal Bat Wonder is saying, but he’s got that helmet on,” Alexia played dumb, despite hearing everything clearly.

“Okay, apparently, I’m the only one who can’t read lips here. Whatever, I’ll go check on the others. Call me if you need anything! Come on, Sarah, follow me,” Clayton conceded and left.

“Sure, buddy. I’ll stay here, and… yeah.” Alexia said.

“Yeah, yeah!”.

As soon as Clayton and Sarah left the floor, Alexia dashed towards the gym in her office.

"I've got super hearing, maybe I've got super strength too. Let's start with 50kg," she muttered, setting up the barbell.

She gripped the bar and hoisted it up with ease. "Hmpf... Easy. Let's try 100kg."

She quickly added more weight and lifted it with a bit more effort. "Yes! Did it! Not as easy, but manageable. Now, let's go for 150kg."

She loaded up the bar again, but this time, the bar didn't budge. "Welp... no super strength to be found. Maybe superspeed?" She set herself up to sprint. "1... 2... 3!"

She took off, moving no faster than a brisk walk. "Nope! No superspeed. Let's try super jump..." She hopped in the air. "And yep, no super jump either."

Frustrated, she flopped onto her desk chair. "Great, I've got super hearing and absolutely nothing else. That’s sad" she grumbled, glaring at her messy desk.

She then walked to the Gym again, and stood in front of the mirror.

“At least I have killer abs, and look at those guns… yeah that doesn’t help! ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s give it up to Eavesdropper' that's so sad.’”

She slowly walked back toward her desk, mulling over the fact. "This is for the best," she thought. "If I want a simple life, I don’t need superpowers."

“You know what, let’s see how super my hearing is”, Sitting down, she closed her eyes and concentrated. She could clearly hear cars passing by outside, people talking in the streets, and the hum of the office. "Okay, about 50 meters, give or take." she whispered to herself, feeling a small sense of accomplishment.

"Now that I know what my power is capable of, I need to focus on Ryland, I need to know what she's like,I can’t afford another slip-up" she muttered to herself. "First, let's see what I know so far. Cars, Ryland didn’t care about them. Second, Clayton and Ryland knew each other for a long time and apparently she loved statues, but that's all I know."

She closed her eyes, trying once again to access her memories. Fragments floated in her mind—bits and pieces that didn't form a coherent picture. Frustrated, she sighed. "Why can’t I remember? Do I need to unlock it first? But how? Maybe I need to find things to trigger it."

Deciding to shift tactics, she turned on the sluggish old PC on her desk. As it booted up, she tapped her fingers impatiently. "Come on, come on…”

As the machine slowly booted up, Alexia tuned into the conversations downstairs using her super hearing.

"I don’t get it," one employee said. "Yesterday, she was all fire and brimstone. Today, she’s all smiles. What’s going on?"

"Yeah, she’s like a totally different person," another replied. "Do you think something happened to her?"

"Maybe she got some bad news or had a near-death experience. People change after stuff like that," someone suggested.

"Or maybe she’s just faking it," a skeptical voice added. "You don’t go from The Bitch to Miss Sunshine overnight.”

Alexia frowned. "The Bitch?... What did you do Ryland?"

She turned her attention back to the PC. "Come on, hurry up," she urged the slow machine.

While waiting for the PC to finish booting up, Alexia's mind raced with another questions. "What happened to Ryland? Is this some kind of body-switching situation? Did Ryland’s soul get replaced by mine? Or was Ryland dead somewhere, and I was sent to replace her?"

The computer finally finished booting up. Alexia leaned forward and said, "Yes!" She immediately dove into the emails. As she scanned through them, she found several messages from unknown senders asking Ryland for meetings. But these emails weren’t straightforward; they were coded.

"What the hell?" she muttered, trying to decipher the messages.

After some time, she stumbled upon a selfie of Ryland. It was a romantic dinner with a man who looked eerily familiar. Her eyes widened.

"No way," she shouted. "Is that Sunstriker?"

Just then, Clayton knocked and entered. "Everything okay, Alexia?"

She quickly minimized the email window. "Uh, yeah. Just... surprised by something."

Clayton looked curious. "Surprised by what?"

Alexia hesitated, then decided to play it cool. "Just some old emails. Nothing important."

"Alright," Clayton replied, still looking a bit puzzled. "Anyway, the others are waiting for you."

"Right, of course. I’ll be there in a minute," Alexia said, trying to keep her composure.

As Clayton left, Alexia thought to herself, "Okay, this just got a lot more complicated. It’s never simple, isn’t it?”