-Next Day, The Meeting Room-

Pilot rubbed his chin. "I thought she was different."

"Wait, you knew she was not physically there?" asked Christina.

"I could not sense her when I first met her. We were only detecting the monsters she produced and not herself."

"True," Reinstar said. "I noticed a bug flew through her when I first saw her at the center."

The leader nodded. "Those would have been the opportunities to capture her... though one should never underestimate your opponent." The leader looked at the teens. "She might have an escape waiting if I was about to kill or apprehend her."

"Oh... I thought one of you would die if you fight, or the city might erupt if two powerful figures fight." said Jake.

A grin so menacing formed on Pilot's face that he spooked the kids. "Jake, you are overestimating my strength. Thank you." His smile vanished immediately after.

"Uh... you are welcome?" The fire user chuckled nervously.

"Wow, that was intense." whistled the electric teen. "Man, I want to do that to people who think they can defeat me. Teach me the Pilot smile."

"Strangely alluring." The ice woman covered her face. "Damn."

The light user also covered her face as she had a deep shade of red.

"Man, I'm never sleeping again. Thanks." muttered the wind man. "I'll leave the light on."

The water user blushed heavily, then slapped herself to regain her composure. "Okay, so what do we do? Two more nights?"

"Unfortunately, we discovered the second race was a ruse to trick the authorities." He grumbled. "There was a report last night. So we are betting on the race on Wednesday. Samuel, do you still have the coordinates?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Then we will have to bet on that."

The group nodded. Sam grimaced at the thought of his cousin while Christina sighed about her uncle.

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-July 6th, Wednesday-

On the outskirts of town, on a highway with no traffic, many have gathered to participate in this illegal event. Guys looking as if they were hardcore or badass, women looking hardcore or exotic, and cars equipped with expensive and illegal gear to compete in this event. There were few here who were under the age of 18. That was how the Radiant felt when they finally came across the event after teleporting a distance away and walking over.

"Okay, maybe I should rethink trying to pull off the leather jacket." Ryu eyed all of them. "Amy, your brother forced Lance, Jamie, and I to watch a few episodes of The Fonz and some movies about Greasers."

"That was a phase," Amy mumbled as she stood away from a guy leering at her. "His love of old movies never ended."

"So... what are we going to do?" Tanya glared at a woman, giving her the stink eye. "I can see plenty of things that would make father unhappy and try to shut it down."

"But he's an attorney." said Jake.

"Oh, he'll find a way to prosecute them if he could." Tanya hummed. "And somehow instill fear to shut down this waste of gasoline."

"Does this feel personal to you?." said Sam.

"This is bad behavior, and it should be shut down." She crossed her arms. "If a monster appears, every car is going to get frozen over."

"Easy," said Christina as she stepped forward. "We're here for a reason. Right Jake?"

"Right." The fire warrior nodded steely. "Remember, gang, we have to keep our senses up in case someone is more angry than the next person." He glanced at Sam and Christina. "Do they know you both are here?"

"Of course not." The water warrior looked around. "If he knows I'm here, he would tell dad about it. Being here is a risk of earning my dad's disappointment."

"Cousin expects me here because he thinks I owe him." The wind warrior crossed his arms. "I will give him one last chance to stop this, then... I am done with him."

No one said a word and nodded wordlessly. They walked through the event as a group. Splitting up may not be a good idea due to the rough crowd. Their senses were not picking up anything at the moment, but if something happened, they would know.

"What are you doing here?"

Christina jumped. She looked to her left and spotted her uncle approaching them. "Hi."

"So... does your dad know?"

"I'm here to convince you not to do this."

His eyes flashed red for a moment, something the group noticed. "Oh, you think." He leaned toward her, his eyes looking crazed. "You think you can save me and the environment, little niece. Don't try to stop what you can't handle."

"But."

He raised his hand up. She flinched while others looked ready to tackle him. He dropped it and walked away.

"Has he ever tried to hit you before?" growled the redhead.

"No." She spoke somberly. "If he did, dad would kick his ass after I kick him."

"His eyes." The ice girl spoke apprehensively. "You all saw that, right?"

"They flashed red." spoke the chestnut-haired girl softly. "It's here. She made her mark here, with him."

"You!"

The others saw Sam's cousin standing before them. They flinched when they saw his eyes glowing a ruby red before ceasing. "Aubrey."

"First of all, I wanted you to come alone." He walked forward and grabbed the wind warrior's shirt. The others readied themselves as if expecting something. "But you brought those scrubs and these girls with you."

"Aubrey," The wind warrior spoke carefully. "No."

He raced his fist to punch him while his eyes flashed red. The others were ready to jump him while Sam held his hand out to stop them.

"Do I want to listen, child?"

"We're done."

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Fine." He dropped his arm and let go of the teen. "Don't bother me again, no more owing me for your supposed guilt." He turned around to leave.

"Okay... him too?" Jake spoke hesitantly.

"No." Amy looked around. "All of them, look."

They turned around and immediately knew the situation turned ugly. Every single person had the same dangerous glowing red eyes. Each person sported a dangerous grin as they walked around. Two people wanted to start a fight, but a flash of red in their eyes made them stop, and then back away.

A bead of sweat went down Ryu's face. "Okay, this is something. Like we're in a horror movie, and we're the normies."

"Or more in line with us being the predators, and they are the aliens." said Sam as he clenched his fist.

"Besides the point, are we fighting multiple monsters?" Amy said apprehensively.

VROMMMM VROMMMM

Their senses kicked when they saw every person, in unison, facing a gray sports car near the road. Robotically, they raised their hands in the air and shouted in unison.

"ALL PRAISE THE MISTRESS!"

They continued to shout as rage energy poured out of them and into the car.

"This is a cult." Tanya whispered in horror. "She turned them into a cult."

"This is weird." Christina whispered in fear. "Is it the people or the car?"

"We..." Jake gulped. "We..."

"Calm down, children."

The group jumped at the familiar voice and turned to who they expected to be... but it was a pale-skinned woman with blonde hair, yet her eyes seemed familiar. She also wore a familiar jumpsuit and white coat.

"...Uh..." Amy mumbled.

"It's me, Luka."

"LUKA!?" They all shouted.

"It's a disguise." She smiled as she pulled out a big gray ball. "But now is the time to fight. That car is the source."

Jake nodded and calmed himself. "Right."

"Say the rally call!" shouted Ryu.

"The what?" Sam questioned.

The red warrior steeled himself as he faced the car while people were mesmerized. Luka threw the ball on the ground. Once smoke erupted, he shouted. "Call of the Elements!"

"Raging Fire!"

"Rippling Water!"

"Freezing Ice!"

"Wondrous Light!"

"Blistering Lightning!"

"Howling Wind!"

"Ignite!"

The group jumped out of the smoke, looking like a team of warriors. Each sporting a serious look as they raced toward the glowing car that was in the process of undergoing a transformation. It quickly morphed into a nine-foot-tall robotic lizard beast. Once completed, the lizard roared. Then, it jumped in the air and landed further down the street. Once its feet touched the ground, it started running down the highway. The Radiant jumped and landed on the road as they witnessed the monster run further away. Bolt took a deep breath and shouted.

"YOU RUSTY FAKE IGUANA! COME BACK AND FIGHT LIKE A BEAST!"

"Like that will work." scoffed the ice warrior.

The monster skidded to a halt, then glared back at the Radiant while its eyes radiated an evil red color.

"Your big mouth made it mad." The water warrior groaned.

"Don't we want that?" spoke Aero.

"Here it comes!" shouted Lumina.

The robot lizard growled and sped toward them as the Radiant held their ground. Blaze narrowed his eyes, then shouted.

"Spread out!"

The group split into two groups as they went opposite directions from the road. Blaze, Frost, and Aqua were on one side, while Lumina, Bolt, and Aero were on the other. The machine beast slid to a halt, then glanced between the Radiant before settling on Lunina's group. It jumped toward them while raising its claws. The group jumped away before it could slice them. However, the lizard whirled around, unleashing its tail at the trio. The one strike sent them spiraling away.

The lightning warrior grunted as he hit the ground. He shook his head as he looked up. He gasped and rolled away as the monster struck the ground with a sharp claw. The lightning warrior got up and jumped over from being punctured again, but was smacked away. The wind warrior jumped in and punched the monster in the face, while the light warrior jumped in with a double kick to the chest. The beast growled before grabbing them and slamming them into the ground.

"Ah, oh no." squeaked orange.

"Dumb robot." growled gray.

The robot growled and roared at them.

The wind warrior mocked it by sticking his tongue out.

That offended the robot. Before it could do anything, it got hit by a stream of water that damaged it and made it lose its grip. The duo freed themselves, and then moved further away. Aqua stood there with her finger aimed at it while Blaze and Frost were ready to attack.

The robot growled and sped toward them with the speed of a car on nitro. The gang barely reacted before being rammed into and tossed aside. The Ice Radiant was tossed into the Wind Radiant, who caught her.

"Thank you."

The wind user nodded. "No problem, but this thing is fast."

"and furious." Bolt stood next to them with a big rock.

The ice warrior groaned while the wind user snorted humorously. Aero noticed the huge rock in Bolt's hands. "Got more?"

"There's more. Environmental damage."

The wind warrior set the girl down. "Should be better than wasting energy."

The ice girl turned to him. "Is there a log I can throw?"

Meanwhile, Lumina ran up and fired her Bright Shot at the beast from the side. The monster shrieked at the hit, then turned and fired a stream of oil at her. Blaze jumped in and held up his arms to block the stream. The attack sent him flying away and onto the grass. The light and water warriors ran up to him with worried looks.

"Blaze!" cried out Lumina. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he got up while covered in oil. "This will take time to get out."

An idea popped into Aqua's mind. "So... normally, I would not suggest something crazy, but maybe use that oil to cover yourself in fire."

"And tackle it!" He smiled brightly, then frowned. "It would see me coming."

The light user's eyes lit up. "We could toss you, give the ol he hoe." She grinned madly.

Aqua nodded. "But could it see you coming?"

The fire user looked ahead and smirked. "The others got it."

The robot lizard was about to pounce, but was struck by a larger rock that knocked it forward. It turned around to find who hit it, only for another rock to hit it in the face. The creature roared before a log smacked it across the face. It shook its head and glared at the three who attacked it. Bolt had a crap-eating grin, Aero stuck his tongue out while Frost looked at the creature with indignation. The three saw orange and blue spun around before tossing the oil-soaked red warrior at the metallic creature.

"Blazing Fist!"

Erupting his fist caused the fire to erupt around his body. The creature felt something and turned around too late as it was hit by the fire-coated Radiant in a brutal way that sent both flying away. Blaze landed on the ground and rolled over until he stopped. He stood up while still being covered by fire. The ice user quickly dosed him with ice. He shivered as he looked in her direction with confusion.

"It does not hurt me."

"You can't be too sure!" scolded the ice warrior as she walked and looked him over. "No scarring, good."

"Uh, thank you?"

"That was dangerously sweet, but crazy." The wind warrior walked up. "Did that finish it?"

The beast got up and roared out in anger, then glared at the six radiant.

"Maybe we can open its mouth and slam an adroit or two in." The warrior in yellow slammed his fists together. "A unison raid. Aqua, let's combine our attacks."

"Let's get going." smirked at the water user.

"Alright." The warrior in red walked forward. "We'll pry its mouth open, and you toss it down. Before that, Frost, can you slip it?"

The ice warrior smiled at him. "I will assist."

The monster roared before running toward them. The four remaining Radiant rushed at it. As they got close, the ice warrior unleashed her attack on the ground, causing a trail of ice to manifest under the monster's feet. The monster slipped and landed on its back. The four quickly got on top of it. Lumina and Frost grabbed the arms while Aero and Blaze grabbed its mouth and held it open. They struggled as they tried to hold the monster in place.

"Now!"

Aqua and Bolt leaped into the air while gathering their power. Aiming at the mouth, they unleashed their signature attacks and poured lightning and water down its throat. The group jumped away as the monster started thrashing violently before bloating up, and exploding in a burning fireball. The group covered their eyes from the explosion and pieces of debris. As the explosion dispersed, the group uncovered their eyes and looked at the burnt-black soot where the monster was. A sigh of relief escaped their lips as they felt tired from the fight.

"That is our victory." groaned the fire user. "Man."

"I think we destroyed someone's ride." The light radiant sighed.

"Insurance does not cover destruction by six-powered teenagers." The ice user waved it off.

"There were too many jokes about car racing." The electric warrior smirked. "I held my tongue."

"You added furious after I said fast." The wind warrior stretched and looked around. "I agree you are corny."

"But..." The water user took a deep breath. "What about the people?"

Blaze grimaced. "It's one thing to have one mad person, but a whole group?"

"I hope not." Lumina spoke sadly.

Aero sighed. "I said I was done with him, but have him more stark mad. No."

"We should walk over." spoke Frost. "Wonder if Luka is okay."

The group approached the fallen crowd while looking worried. As they moved closer, they noticed some people were waking up. Luka spotted them approaching as she helped a man stand up while he was holding his head. "It seems Mistress M's spell does not have a side effect this time."

"What?" The electric warrior gasped with hope. "So they are not about to go crazy?"

"It's best you leave tonight while I examine them."

"Are you sure?"

Before anyone could say anything, Javo teleported in while sporting shorter ears. "Relax, I am here to keep guard." He grinned. "No need to fear."

The physician nodded. "It will be fine."

The group nodded and were immediately teleported as the Luka began to examine each person. It would take a while, but she would need to know if there are side effects.

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Mistress M smiled viciously as she held up a red ball of energy that was two sizes bigger than a basketball. "Now, this is progress!"