“Breaking news. Live.”

Raven absentmindedly glanced at the large screen at the corner of the cafeteria, shoving the steaming hot porridge into her mouth, chewing without tasting.

A smaller screen popped out beside the reporter, showcasing a caved-in building that seemed to have had been in the middle of construction. But now it was reduced into rubble, and the structure of the building was barely recognizable.

There was a limp body lying on top of the mound of steel and debris.

Bloodstains bloomed on what should’ve been a pristinely white bandage that wrapped around the person’s whole body and face, completely obscuring the person’s identity. Not even a single part of her skin could be seen.

“Isn’t that…” A gasp rose from a group of ladies whose attention was also glued at the TV screen like every single student within the large cafeteria.

“Breaking news,” the middle-aged reporter repeated, “Live from Downtown City. The most feared villain of the century, Ghost, has finally been subdued by none other than Void. This is the scene that is currently happening as we speak.”

The smaller screen grew, taking over. Dust clouded the live video, shaky, but the view was clear enough for everyone. A tall man, clad in all black, wearing a well-fitted suit and a faceless mask, took his time walking towards the fallen Ghost.

Raven’s skin crawled at the sight of the world’s strongest superhero, Void.

Despite the negative response of her instincts, her heart still skipped a beat. Her grip tightening around the spoon in hand.

Void stooped down and grabbed Ghost by her slim neck. But she was unresponsive. A weak raising of her chin was the only indication that she was still alive.

“You’ve been laying waste upon the cities around the globe for a decade now, Ghost.”

His voice was the sexy huskiness that Raven loved to download and replay when she was depressed. But this one had a hint of simmering anger within.

“All the deaths and injustice you’ve done have finally come to stab you in the back. But your death will not bring back those you’ve killed.”

“If you won't kill me...” Ghost’s shaky hand weakly latched onto Void’s wrist. “Then I’ll do it for you.”

As soon as those words escaped her mouth, sharp needles shot out from her neck.

Screams and gasps echoed around the cafeteria, but it wasn’t Ghost’s grotesque suicide that grabbed her attention. It was how Void froze at what Ghost had done to herself. Some of the thin needles were sticking out from the back of his hand. His blood trickled down to mix among the pool of blood on Ghost’s neck.

And the sight of his blood sent shivers down her spine.

How she wished it was her behind that bandaged body. It would be amazing to be stained by Void's delectable blood.

She gulped.

Her throat felt dry suddenly.

The sharp buzz of her phone made her jump, cutting off her thoughts. A glance at the caller made her stomach ache. Father.

She pushed her food away, grabbing her phone before slipping out of the cafeteria.

Raven fished her glasses from her pocket, putting them on as she made her way towards the nearest restroom, locking herself up in one of the empty stalls.

Clearing her throat, she took the call. “Hello?”

“Raven.” She flinched as her father’s sharp voice greeted her back, the tone of disappointment apparent in his voice, as it always did when he spoke to her.

“Yes, father?”

“You have not forgotten what day it is, have you?”

“No, father,” she replied, lowering her head. “I’ll be home before dinner.”

“Don’t show your face if you’re not properly prepared.”

“Yes, father.”

The call ended and a massive sigh escaped her dry mouth.

Washing her face with cool water eased her eyes a bit. When she looked over the mirror, some of her short-cropped black hair stuck to her forehead, her gray eyes staring back at her with dark circles underneath.

Ghost’s limp body flashed through her mind and she clicked her tongue at the memory. Someone would have to pay for wasting a good mechanical clone. She went through great pains in building her own soldier. And a single slip up reduced it into a messy corpse.

“C3, round up the contractors,” she stated.

There was a blink in her phone’s screen.

“Affirmative,” a female computerized voice replied.

Raven slipped out of the comfort room and she disappeared among the sea of students within the hallway.

No one gave her attention. And it was exactly what she’d wanted. She walked out of their department building and headed towards the mini woods at the end of the campus.

Within the empty woods, an old shack stood behind a massive rock. None of the students dared to venture deep into the woods. Strange rumors kept them away. Like a child crying within the shack if you end up finding it. Or eyes staring at you behind the bushes and within the bark of the trees.

Raven knew the rumors were true because she’d experienced them herself. But how could she fear the weeping child and the staring eyes when she'd made them herself?

Raven stood within the empty shack, kicking the tin can lying on the center.

There was a buzz and a spherical white droid detached itself from the wooden wall. The fake wall containing hundreds of small droids, lying in wait for any superheroes and villains who would end up finding her secret hideout.

A blue light came out from the droid in front of her, screening her face and whole body.

“Welcome back, Master.” C3’s voice came out from the droid. Her ever-loyal friend who was everywhere, and her greatest invention.

A circular area on the floor where Raven stood came off, rising a bit before going downwards into the earth below. Unlike the old shack on the surface, her personal headquarters almost seemed like a high-tech laboratory out from an action movie. Metallic walls and pristinely white floors decorated the large expanse of her underground laboratory. And there was a gigantic cylindrical glass at the center of the room containing Ghost’s clones floating within the bluish liquid.

Raven undressed and the tiny droids wrapped white bandages around her body and face, not a hair or layer of skin to be seen. She plopped down on her plush office chair, twirling once before facing the numerous arrays of computer screens.

“Bring them up, C3,” she said as she brought her knees to her chest, hands resting on the armchair.

The computer screens flashed ten faces ranging from a teenage boy to a middle-aged woman.

One of the ten looked particularly nervous and sweaty.

“Greetings, my dear friends.” Raven’s voice came off friendly and inviting, like the voice of a mischievous child who was about to play a twisted game.

She inclined her head to the side, smiling sweetly behind the bandage. “Can someone please tell me why I’m declared dead across the globe?”

And in such a pathetic way. A needle in the throat, seriously? But plus points for dying in the hands of Void.

“I…I’m sorry, Master,” a girl in her twenties stuttered as she chewed on the tip of her thumb. “V-void took me by s-surprise and his f-fighting style and strategy seemed very d-different from usual.”

“And so you panicked and lost focus.” Raven finished for her.

She squinted her eyes at the girl. Despite knowing them for five years now, she couldn’t for the life of her remember their name. Perhaps that’s the reason why she simply called them by number. When the first lucky person to find her link in the dark web and actually accepted her offer, she just called him One.

“I-I’m sorry!” She squeaked. “I won’t do it again. I promise! P-please, give me another chance. I swear I won’t do the same mistake again. I swear."

“All is well that ends well,” Raven stated. “C3, why don’t you give Third a visit.”

A buzz of response came from the numerous droids hiding in the dark.

“Thank you, Master. Thank you!” Third smiled widely. Her face sparkling despite the dark shadows under her eyes. “I will not let you down.”

“I know you won’t.” Raven waved her hand and the screen showing Third shut down.

She glanced over the rest of her contractors.

A minute later, a live news feed blinked to life, showcasing a residential district. A certain house was blazing like an inferno, with thick black smoke rising into the sky.

“She didn’t disappoint alright." Raven smiled.

The nine contractors visibly gulped.

“I pay you money as long as you do your part of the contract. You fight for me, and I fight for your well-fare. I provide my avatars and you control them." She eyed them, making sure they were looking at her. "If you don’t live up to it, you don’t live at all.”

The nine of them nodded eagerly.

“One, it’s your turn.” She looked towards the youngest boy. The boy genius who was her first contractor at the age of nine. “Show the world that Ghost remains undefeated. We wouldn’t want other villains getting ideas, especially not the Ballevereon Family."

“Roger,” the boy replied. His eyes brightening at being chosen, not as nervous as the others.

A mechanical tendril dipped into the bluish glass and fished out one of Ghost’s clones. It gently lowered the body down behind Raven as the clone slowly stood on its own weight. But this clone had no free-will unlike the original. A different consciousness would take over her clone.

“Enjoy your rampage, One.”

Once the meeting was done, Raven ordered C3 to deliver her clone to the boy’s residence. Now she was alone in her own laboratory. And the first thing she did was immediately log into her social accounts.

News about Ghost’s death was trending the internet. But Raven did not pay any attention to her own death. She was more interested in the new fashion magazine with Void as the main model. Watching him in other clothes aside from his usual black suit made him look hotter than he already was. But his face was still hidden by the faceless black mask. 

Disappointing, but predictable.

How she wished she could go out there and fight him herself. Then she would be able to feel his dominating power in flesh.

How she wished she had been born supernatural like her siblings.