Chapter XXII

Level Two

Like a gong sounding before prayer, the impact of Niels fist plummeting to the ground took everyone to their knees. The earth trembled from the hit as far as the eye could see. A dust cloud covered the entire area as the screams and groans of the children filled the woods. In the distance Benu was observing the trials when he almost fell off the tree he was sitting on. "What a monstrous power... I should at least gather some data." Benu pulled out a tape recorder and pushed the record button.

> "Today is the thirteenth of December 2024. The overhuman children located in Younen village are attempting to reach level two via the mountain-bolt grass trials. The following data is what I collected from observing them, and from Rusty listening in on them. The first one is Niel Aires. Powers are unknown at the moment, but it seems to encumber him greatly."

The dust created on impact was quickly blown away by the other kids activating their powers. Ken’s arms started glowing with the same energy that usually appears on his hair. But it did not stop there. The glow expanded to his whole body creating an aura around him. As the wind took dust towards him the dust disintegrated upon contact with the aura.

> "Ken Leonnas. Powers are some kind of force-field casting. Mainly on his hair. It seems unclear what this is, but it seems to be highly destructive. This power compliments his personality well."

Taran also cleared a part of the field. As he dropped to one knee columns of rock rose around him forming a wall about three meters high.

> "Taran Aurus. Powers: rock manipulation. I've met overhumans with similar abilities before, he seems to have an average output. Time will tell if he can utilize it well."

The biggest impact on the dust came from Iiwa who uncontrollably turned her body parts into her crow form. And at one point both her arms morphed into wings blowing the debris away along with some feathers.

> "Iiwa Grovi. Powers: crow-morphing. Animal-morphers are a dime a dozen, but she seems to have good instincts when it comes to semi-morphing. Figuring it out this early is impressive."

Now that the dust settled and Hook and the others could see, they witnessed what the mountain-bolt grass made the kids manifest. The first thing that caught their attention was the blue light coming from Luna. The lightning that usually appeared in her hands was poking out of her back in the form of three rods. She moaned with her back arched, as the bolts curved back and electrocuted her eyes and mouth. She slowly reached back to make the bolts discharge on her hand instead.

> "Luna Miegin. Power: lightning creation. A strong power if mastered. Right now, if she tried to use it at full output, it might cause more pain to her than her opponents. Some power more complimentary to her eyesight would've been more beneficial. Like this, she's a mele fighter with the eyes of a sharpshooter. Unfortunate."

Meanwhile Marco tried to keep his body from changing. One second, he had the face of Ken, the next Rosa, then Watch and this switched around with every person he has ever seen. He held his head in pain as the uncontrollable morphing made him nauseous.

> "Marco Tarias: Powers: shapeshifter. He can change into people for a short amount of time. The grass seems to disrupt his powers the most. Feeling your body morph every second must be maddening."

Ginna handled the challenge the best. Because of the simplicity of her power and because it needed a wound to heal, her hands just glowed with the usual hue as she tried to muster the pain the herb caused. Her powers healed wounds but did not alleviate pain. But it wasn't easy for her for long. Suddenly Vhiz's thoughts invaded everyone's mind. Like a storm of ideas, knowledge, feelings and worries it seeped into everyone around and made concentration impossible. They saw what Vhiz saw and had to feel his pain.

"Stop it Vhiz! Get out of my head!" Luna screamed while still struggling with her own powers.

These thoughts did not stop at the children. Far away from them, even Benu's mind was invaded by Vhiz. "Damn it! My head will split!" Benu flincehd as sharp pain radiated in his head. He needed a second to get used to the feeling before continuing the recording.

> "Ginna Libery is a healer. Right now, her healing abilities are alright, but it takes too much out of her. Vhiz Cypra has the power to share his mind with others. Good for communication and strategizing, but only if the user can control it. Right now, it's a pain in the ass."

Faul was struggling to keep the hair on his body from over growing and this distraction made him lose focus. His hair contorted into spikes all around his skin and when they got to around twenty centimeters long, they blasted out of his body, like harpoons. Ginna barely dodged one, Iiwa and Luna were both scratched while the likes of Taran and Ken destroyed them before they got to them.

> "Faul Pisces. Powers: it seems as though he can change the keratin levels in his hair. Making it condense into quill-like spikes. Additionally, he can eject them. Good for self-defense."

Ren had a fraction of a second to react to the oncoming spikes he reached out towards them, and a human-sized, hand-shaped ice structure snatched the bolts and crushed them. As Ren put his hand down spikes all around his body appeared. He was surprised by the unintentional summoning, and tried to call them back. Growing ever larger the spikes neared others. Ren looked around to see the spikes closing in on Niel and Marco. He tried his hardest to control them, but as he desperately demanded control, the spikes picked up pace and grew even larger. Damn it! Come back to me! Why can't I control it? Neither of the boys were in a position to dodge the oncoming danger.

> "Ren Sciron. Power is ice creation, or it could be temperature manipulation. Strong ability, but it seems he has a hard time controlling it. Concentration is crucial for every creator type overhuman. Without that they cannot use their powers to their fullest potential."

In the last second Hook bashed through the spikes from the side. "Don't worry, Ren, my boy!" Hook turned to show his confident smile to Ren. "Try to control what shape the ice takes rather than stopping what has already formed. We will keep everyone safe!" Ren had a chance to breathe and relax and the spikes slowed their advancement. He was warmed by his mentor's smile and nodded.

"Sledge! Watch! Take the steel plates and protect everyone from Faul's quills. Med! Help Vhiz focus his thoughts on you! The kids have enough to deal with already!" As Hook was giving out orders, he felt a hand touch him from behind.

"I'm sorry... I need to control someone... I need this itch to subside! Calm!" Sun put his hand on Hooks back and the large man fell forward completely unconscious. The young boy was shaking from the uncontrollable need to use his power. This pushed him over the edge, turning him into a mindless manipulator.

> "Sun Miegin. He seems to lack the eyesight of his sister. But what he lacks in hereditary traits he makes up for in his power. Subduing someone with a single touch is impressive. The other two children who went home were Terry Raccen and Rosa Quary. Terry can turn invisible but only if he moves, and Rosa seems to have a minor control over fluids around her. Both of them are at the bottom of the list when it comes to their ability."

"Hook!" Sledge screamed in disbelief. She was ready to rush Sun to subdue him, but he was stopped by Blitz's hand.

"We cannot risk losing you too! The herb pushed him into critical zero. I am the only one who can evade him for the remaining time!" Blitz declared as he walked towards Luna.

"What are you doing?" The girl looked up still in pain.

"Making sure I'll have the speed to juke your brother for seven hours." Blitz reached out to Luna until he was blasted back by her lightning. He hit a tree as he was flung back by the attack, but he quickly recovered. "Now I can activate my pump it!" Blitz panted while his legs nearly doubled in size. He shouted to grab Sun's attention. "Hey kiddo! I bet your power won't work on me!" Sun's hollowed eyes fixated on Blitz as he dashed towards him.

"I'll keep him busy! Wake up Hook and everything will be fine!" Blitz said as he disappeared into the woods with Sun chasing after him.

"Med, Watch you do what Hook said. I'll wake him up." Sledge said as she turned her arm into a hammer. "At any cost."

Medicine reached Vhiz and put his hands on his shoulders. "Vhiz! Concentrate on me! Focus your thoughts into my mind!"

"I'm trying to shut it off completely!" Vhiz's voice trembled as he tried his hardest.

"That's useless. The herb is forcing you to use it. All you can do is try and control the output."

"Alright! I'll try!"

Meanwhile Blitz was dashing through the forest with Sun close behind him. He had to carefully choose his speed. Running too fast could cause Sun to change target, but if he slowed down too much Sun could touch him and immobilize him. As he was running past trees and bushes Sun stopped chasing him and disappeared. Blitz immediately stopped in his tracks looking for the boy. "Damn it! Where did he go?" He was ready for a sneak attack, listening for any sign of the boy moving. What he did not expect was to hear him shout from the distance. "Rage!" As the boy's voice echoed among the trees a flock of birds flew towards Blitz screeching. Blitz jumped back knocking the birds away with a kick. He can affect animals too? He was almost caught off guard by a hand reaching out of a tree's shadow, but his reaction time was keen enough to evade. Sun took one more step towards Blitz to continue his pursuit, but his leg got caught on something. Something which wrapped around him and pulled him up to a taller branch, dangling him upside down. Blitz looked puzzled at the situation. A trap? Who set this up? Blitz approached the tree while Sun was swinging around. Should I untie him? We don't know who this trap belongs to...

"Don't try to free him. All my traps are double layered. You'd just get yourself trapped too." Benu walked into view. Blitz shocked by the presence of the stranger, turned around ready for a fight.

How did he get this close without me noticing him? But his question was put on hold as he realized who he was looking at. "You are that man who entered the village a few days ago." Blitz recognized his yellow eyes, but something else he noticed was the attire he wore. This time he was in his cleaner outfit which helped Blitz relax a bit but raised a new question. "Wait! You're a cleaner?"

"I am. What are you and the kid doing?" Benu looked at Sun who was trying his hardest to get out of the trap.

"We are training. He hit critical zero and I was keeping him busy." Blitz answered conveniently leaving out part of the situation.

"I see. I guess you pushed him too hard." The two of them exchanged suspicious looks, trying to keep their intentions hidden from each other.

"What are you doing here?" Blitz demanded an anwer.

"This is my designated area." Benu answered coldly.

Blitz's skepticism for the man rose. "Why would this place need someone like you? Uradoori is in a much more dire situation. Clean up there before coming to an empty village!"

Benu, clearly offended by the attack lost his cool for a second. "Because you live there you think it's more deserving of attention." Blitz was caught off guard by the accusation.

"Home? How do you..." Blitz looked back in the direction the trial was happening and saw some small flashes of lightning in the distance. "You were spying on us, weren't you? Your eyes could see us clearly from here."

"Shit." Benu's expression became more hostile.

"Why would you spy on us?"

"Leave now. Take the kid and go." Benu raised his hand in front of his body turning it into a bear-trap.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Blitz took a step back surprised by the ability. But after regaining his composure he stood his ground. "No. The kid is better tied up there. And I think we both have information the other could benefit from."

"What intel do you have that would be so important?" Benu scoffed at the suggestion.

"How about information on Turtle's killer."

"That track is long cold."

"My friends went to the place where he was killed. They found evidence that could identify what the power of the killer is. Cross-referencing that data with the overhumans in this area and you could narrow the list of people down to a handful of individuals." Blitz explained with a snarky smile. Benu was clearly interested but he tried to keep his composure.

"What do you want in return?"

"Money!" Blitz declared.

"Do I look like an ATM?"

"You don't have any on you?"

"I'm a Hottomite. If I'm hungry I hunt. If I thirsty I go to a river. I only have money on me if the mission requires it." Benu clarified as he lit up a cigarette.

"Oh and when you have to smoke..." Blitz taunted the man.

"I roll these myself."

"Then tell me why you're spying on us!" Blitz returned to the main topic.

"Or I can just beat the information out of you." Benu let out a puff of smoke, through which Blitz saw his eyes glowing bright.

"You can certainly try, but I'll won't go down easy. And my friends might come to my rescue."

Benu let out a deep sigh. "An old friend asked me to look out for the kids."

"An old friend?" Blitz tilted his head in confusion.

"That's all I'm willing to say. Now tell me what you know."

"Alright. The overhuman could somehow control rainfall. At least that's what my friends deduced from the area. Their biggest evidence was a dead paperfish behind a nearby tree."

"Rain manipulation..." Recieving this infromation Benu's face lost som color.

"Is that any help? Might be something simpler. Like water manipulation, or creation. You might still have a couple of candidates."

"No... no... If it is truly rain manipulation, then I know who it is. And it would explain how fast they left the crimescene. Storm Dancer." Benu dopped his cigarette as the name left his mouth.

"Storm Dancer? They are an urban legend!" Blitz chuckled.

"Urban legends are created by people who are too afraid to look under their beds. The Storm Dancer is real. Though we don't know who they are. They are an elusive fellow. It is said that they travel with rain and disappear before you could blink. They are not hooded ones for sure. So, they were hired to kill Turtle, for something only he knew."

"What...?"

"I told you what you asked. Everything else is confidential. Now go before I arrest you for obstructing cleaner activity. You can take the boy back to your people. My trap won't let go of him as long as I concentrate on it." Benu's expression went even more serious as he demanded Blitz to leave.

Blitz nodded and took Sun back to the others.

Meanwhile Niel was shoulder deep in the ground unable to move. Back to this sorry state! The herb makes me unable to turn my power off. I fucking HATE this! I hate how useless I feel!

"Hey Aires! Do you want to feel less pathetic?" Ken shouted as he tried to limit his aura to his hair.

"What do you mean?" Niel asked betweent two grunts.

"Look at you on the ground! Is this how you plan on protecting her? You better find a good suit because the next time you might go to her funeral!" Ken provoked him with a slimey smile.

Niel's eyes went blood red as he groaned.

"Who cares if you can't turn it off? Pull your hand out already! If I had that power, I'd already be controlling it just fine!" Ken continued his mockery.

Niel turned away from Ken as he pushed his free hand under himself.

"Use the anger you feel! Prove me wrong!"

Niel grit his teeth pushing as hard as he could. His bicep pulsated as blood rushed into it. Letting out a harrowing scream Niel pushed himself out of the hole and flew across the sky like last time.

Meanwhile Sledge looked up at the boy flying away. "Damn it, Hook! Wake up already!" But no matter how she tired the man was snoring peacefully. Thankfully Blitz just returned dragging Sun behind him. He jumped into the air catching Niel. As he caught him they both plummeted straight into the ground.

As the dust settled once again Blitz walked out limping, holding his forearm. It was a gruesome sight, seeing his arm twisted the wrong way. "You kids are too much!"

"Blitz! Shit! Go to Ginna! At least she can use her powers on something." Sledge shouted. She looked back to Hook lying on the ground and he finally woke up, slowly opening his eyes. Did the impact wake him up? Doesn’t matter, I should check on Niel. "Hook get your shit together." Sledge left Hook with those words and went to check on Niel. She reached the crater caused by the boy and noticed his legs poking out of the ground. She was ready to pull him out when Hook addressed her.

"Don't try it, Britta. If you pull on him, he'll just fly away again."

"What should we do then?" As Sledge turned to him Hook was already there. He cracked his knuckles before turning his hands into hooks. He began to dig up the dirt next to Niel until his face appeared.

"Did you pull your hand out of the ground by yourself, Niel?" Hook asked with a wide smile.

"Yeah... but I just could not stop myself from flying away!"

"That is still progress! Congratulations!"

Niel looked away in embarrassment.

"The next time you do it I'll catch you!"

"Last time that happened we almost left the village."

"But this time I'll be ready! I'll use my hooks to keep us tethered. Just tell me when you're ready!"

Niel stayed silent, and though he was uncertain, he nodded.

Meanwhile Blitz got his arm healed by Ginna. "Thanks!" He patted Ginna's head who just put her thumbs up while flinching from the pain.

"Blitz! How did you tie up Sun?"

"It wasn’t me." Everyone's attention turned to Blitz. "I met a man in the forest. A cleaner."

"Cleaner?" Luna raised her head.

"What's he doing here?" Hook inquired.

"That is hard to answer. Simply put he's observing us."

"Us? What did we do?" Sledge asked innocently, while Watch and Medicine looked at each other suspiciously.

"Nothing. But we should worry about the kids for now. We'll have plenty of time to talk about it later."

Elswhere, back when the trials started...

Master Puppet was in the library of his lair when Niel's fist hit the ground. A couple of books fell to the floor from the earthquake. He instinctively turned to look up, at the ceiling where the hanging lights were swinging back and forth.

"Sir! Are you safe? Mantis is on his way to find the origin of the quake." Wellit barged into the room checking on his boss.

"Call him back at once! It doesn't matter what it is. A cleaner is in the village. The last thing we need is our hideout to be discovered."

"Yes sir!" Wellit nodded and left the room.

Not long after Vhiz's thoughts seeped into Puppet's mind. He felt what he felt, he saw what he saw. "The children are attempting to level up." Puppet stormed out of the library.

"Where are you going sir?" One of the guards asked while holding his head.

"I'm leaving early. Tell Anvil to keep everyone inside for now. Only use the escape routes through Uradoori." She should be back by now...

"Roger!"

As Puppet turned a corner Firecracker appeared in front of him. "Did you feel it too? Something exciting is happening outside!"

"Yeah! But you must stay here."

"But where are you going? Why can't I come?"

"That's none of your business." Puppet walked past her coldly. "Do not leave the building until I say so, alright?" As Puppet said that he felt a sudden gust of wind passing him. He looked up to see Firecracker standing in front of him.

"You're forgetting why I'm here. You might've bought my silence with promising Lendo's head, but that just means we are on an even playing field. Keeping secrets disrupts that... partner!"

"I am going home. Anything I do outside of this facility is my private life." Puppet was growing more and more impatient.

"You have that? People in our family live and die as hooded ones. Private life is out of the picture." She took one step closer to him.

"You know my intentions. I am more than a hooded one." Puppet ended the convesation with a snarky smile and walked past her again.

"Certainly. So your big secret is that you live in Younen?" Puppet stopped. "It was mostly a hunch but I have a good sense for these thigs."

He turned around and walked back to Firecracker who was grinning excitedly. He locked eyes with her. He raised his hands around her neck, but not toucing it. She eagerly awiated what he would do. He contemplated his next action for a second before putting his hands down and speaking. "Everyone has a home. Mine happens to be close by. Still, the secrets I keep help me stay alive, and as long as you are working with me, they keep you alive as well, partner." Puppet put on his coat and left.

Firecracker just smiled as he left. He said secrets...

The remaining seven hours passed. Niel could pull his arm out five times before passing out from exhaustion. Five hours in Faul collapsed. Not long after Luna and Taran followed. Six hours in, Marco fainted as well. As people fell Ginna had a chance to use her powers but after healing Niel and Luna she passed out as well.

The ones who stood when the timer ran out were Sun, Vhiz, Iiwa, Ken, and Ren. "Congratulations to the five of you! I'm happy to say that all of you are on the same level as us!" As Hook congratulated the children, the pain they felt subsided and the five of them fell to the ground as well. "That is understandable. I too passed out when I leveled up." He smiled proudly.

"Now that they are out. Tell us what happened with this cleaner!" Watch approached Blitz impatiently.

"Jeez! You are more energetic than I have ever seen you." Blitz was taken aback by the sudden question.

"It does not help that we are being spied on right now." Watch answered quickly.

"If it helps, he is actually interested in the kids." Blitz said nonchalantly. But Watch’s reaction was anything but calm.

"The kids? What did you tell him?"

"Nothing about the kids. I told him the info we learned in the forest, that’s all."

"Did he pay you?" Medicine stepped a bit closer.

"No. He is a Hottomite, he had no money on him. But he paid with some information. He told me that an "old friend" asked him to look after the kids."

Watch’s eyes drifted away as he calculated what that could mean. "Anything else." He requested in a more composed tone.

"He said that he thinks the killer might be Storm Dancer."

"They exist?" Hook asked intrigued.

"He believes so."

"Good thing we dropped the case then." Watch commented with sweat trailing his on face.

"Have you seen them before?"

"You do not ever see the Storm Dancer. They come, kill, and go before you see even a silhouette." Watch said with his voice growing more and more stressed.

"It seems something disturbed you Watch." Hook remarked looking at his comrade.

"The Storm Dancer obviously..." Watch shifted his eyes awkwardly.

"No. Not just that. You've been like this for a while now." As Hook tried to find eye contact with Watch, the man finally broke.

"Alright! Alright! There is no use in hiding it from you guys..." Watch braced himself, finding reassurance in Medicine’s eyes. "Ren has said it a couple of times before... and if the cleaners are interested in these kids, it just confirms it even more." Watch swallowed before continuing.

"What did Ren say?" Sledge raised her eyebrows.

"That he entered the Second Reality before the wave hit."

"Watch. Don't tell me..." Hook stared at him in disbeliefe.

Medicine broke his silence interrupting the conversation. "Listen! He said it multiple times! It is not just a coincidence! He might be the Fire without light!"

"You too Med? Stop it! I don't want to hear about it!" Hook looked at them disappointed.

"No! Listen Hook! If he really is the Fire, we can pick up where our master left off! Everyone is looking for him and we have him right here!" Medicine walked closer to him with a hopeful smile.

"Our master DIED for this.” Hook raised his voice making his teammates flinch. “Something he wasn't even sure about. I won't risk it!"

"How can he rest in peace if you won't honor what he dedicated his life to? Me and Watch are the ones who knew him the longest and followed his path! All you did was make it all about training!" Medicine’s anger erupted to the surface pushing Hook away.

"If you don't see how I'm honoring our master you two might just be the most blind sighted overhumans out there. Leave the kids out of this!" Medicine and Hook squared off before. The tension was palpable in the air. Blitz stood in between them putting his hands on each of them.

“Enough with the drama! It is too late to be this pent up on anything.” Blitz tried to make the situation less serious, but Medicine shrugged his hand off of him before turning around.

"Come Watch! Hook likes training so much, he'll love getting home by foot." Medicine called Watch to the van.

"Hey wait!" Blitz tried to stop them, but Hook grabbed his hand.

"Let them go. Med needs some time to cool down. And so do I. Not to mention we still have to guard the kids." Hook ordered as he took his eyes off of his friends and turned it to Ren. Ren... I hope it's not true!

As the shouting of the Five Champions echoed through the forest Benu turned around annoyed. "I hate listening in on arguments. But this Medicine seems more ambitious than the rest of them. I should keep an eye on him. He fed a seed to Rusty as he turned his gaze to the night sky. His eyes widened as he focused on the view. "Weird... If I didn't know any better, I'd say there's a new star in the sky."