Righteous Lad
#4After work, Tyson arrives at the Silver League headquarters around 7:30pm. Presenting as his "alter ego", Righteous Lad, as he walks in through the building's front entrance. 

It's awfully difficult to truly get an estimate of the facility's size, but it serves as the heart -- the gathering point of heroes and aspiring heroes. So massive in size, that you couldn't necessarily be blamed for thinking it was some sort of ultra museum or one of the world's most prestigious colleges. In addition, its exterior and interior are modeled after the White House, though 3 & 1/2 times larger in size. At the very top of the building sits a massive steel stand that holds up a coin-like structure with the initials 'S.L.' on it in bold lettering.

 

The inside is bustling with life that keeps an ambience of meshing chatter constant throughout its nexus of a hall. People from all over the USA, hailing from different states thanks to the convenience of either individuals' powers or the advanced science of teleportation technology - particularly machinery called "Port Booths". Thanks to the financial and technical backing of the American Deeds Association, which is a renown group made up of America's most famous and adept superheroes that work very intimately close with the US government. The finest representatives of America, in fact. An opinion the general populace of the world shares of them.

 

Along the stainless marble floor within, Righteous Lad's cyan boots audibly 'clack' against the firm surface with every step he takes. As of this moment, he's on his way to his team's usual meeting spot. A room just on the second floor and right next to the left diverging stairs. He arrives soon enough and enters the room, where Alexecute and Matrix were already inside waiting. The space was just about like any other. Fairly large with a round table at the center, several chairs and two loveseats available for a group with a handful of members. Privacy was rather limited, given the hidden camera inside - though it was something every other room inside the building has, as well.

 

"Yo, boss." Alexecute greets with a subtle raise of her hand.

 

"S'up, R.L?" Matrix greets without tearing her eyes away from her cell phone screen for more than two seconds.

 

"Evening, you two. As soon as The Crow arrives, we can--"

 

"I'm here." Before Tyson can finish that thought, the teen in black enters the room and circles around others. He then sets a puffy envelope down onto the table.

"And I think I might have stumbled upon something interesting... Something interesting that could become an issue very soon." He informs the others, piquing the curiosity of the three.

 

"What is this?" Righteous Lad asks as he picks up the bulging evidence of The Crow's claim.

 

"Are those jars inside of it?" Alexecute asks while studying it with narrowing eyes. During, Tyson proceeds to open it and pull out one of the two containers inside.

 

"Experimental substance made to amplify the powers of experiments like you, or Power Inheritors. It's something new and definitely would be in demand amongst those who don't know any better. Or even the desperate..." The Crow answers her. While explaining. Righteous Lad holds up the barely hand-size up to eye-level to examine the radiant liquid inside. Honey in color and vibrant enough to be an independent light source in the dark.

 

"So, it's true, then." Righteous Lad comments softly.

 

"So... It's a drug that can improve people's powers? You think it's dangerous?" Matrix asks.

 

"Yes. Given I heard it straight from the mouth of a seller I interrogated hours ago. He told me there can sometimes be unpredictable side effects, something he claims his boss explained to him. Cardiac arrest, mutations, comas, internal swelling and rupturing. They call it Neon Nectar."

 

"Woah. Kind of sounds like an alcoholic drink." Alexecute states.

 

"It's just like what the guy I carried off to the station told me... He was injected with this stuff too, I believe. We need to crack down on this immediately and find out where it's being produced." Righteous Lad tells the others.

 

"Agreed. The sooner we snip this in the bud, the better. You said you had a lead the other day, right?" The Crow asks.

 

"That I do." Righteous Lad responds, pausing a moment to fish out the folded piece of paper in his pocket.

"The guy I took to the station wrote down some information for me. Address, time of their next meeting, the date, and other potential hideouts." He goes on to explain before handing the paper over to the solemn teen in black.

 

"What...? Why would they meet at a potentially compromised location?" The Crows questions as he furrows his brows skeptically.

 

"I was wondering that, as well. But I have no other leads. I was honestly hoping they were just incompetent enough to be that slop--" Before Tyson could finish his thought, the sudden ringing of his cell phone interrupts him. With little delay, he plucks out his cellphone and takes a look at the caller I.D. He's a bit surprised to see it's from the Chicago police station, nonetheless he answers it.

"Hello?

 

Yeah, this is him.

 

Uh huh. What is it?

 

...what? All of them? But--" By now, the other three were staring once his tone shifts to one of concern.

"Okay, okay... I understand. I have to check up on something immediately, but thank you for informing me of this.

 

Yeah...

 

Yeah, you, too." And with that, the call comes to an end.

 

"Who was that? Is everything okay, boss?" Alexecute asks.

 

"That was the chief from the police station. The... The group we apprehended... They're believed to have been assassinated or coordinated suicide. All of them dropped inside their cells." He answers dishearteningly.

 

"Are you serious!?" Matrix practically shouts as she shoots up out of her chair.

 

"Oh my Gosh..." Alexecute murmurs under her breath.

 

"Tch. I'm not surprised... They were probably told to give up information in a deceitful way that could buy them time or were sold a complete lie." The Crow theorizes while folding his arms.

 

"Whatever it may be, there's one more I have to check on. In the meantime, you three can head on over to that address and see what you can find. Just please be careful if you decide to go." Righteous Lad gives his parting words to his team before turning to leave the room with haste. Sadly, he couldn't depend on his ability of flight to get to his destination - not when it's past 6pm and the night begins creeping in to claim the sky above. Such was the duality of his capabilities. Come sunrise or sunset, natural abilities shift and exchange, and right now he doesn't have access to the ability to traverse faster than the speed of light nor the ability to fly. However, he was still far faster than the average human and grounded animal. The young man was able to travel up to the rate of 101 mph on foot.

 

While making his way toward the exit, he makes sure to avoid both bumping into anyone and tearing one of the doors down from his momentum while heading out. However, once he is outside, he takes off with a mighty gust of wind into a mad dash. Heading straight before making a sharp turn to swiftly make his way down the block.  Once he comes up upon the corner and promptly leaps into the air with great force. Not too much, just enough to allow him to jump onto the rooftop of a nearby building. From there, he makes his way to the CPSD by jumping from building to building, regardless of how tall or short they were.

It takes around three minutes or so for him to reach his destination. After making one last and especially careful jump, he lands in the middle of the trafficless street below that's a straight shot toward the station. He bolts onward until he closes off the rest of the distance, then eventually brings himself into a skidding halt in front of the building. The young man hurries inside and immediately begins calling out for assistance.

 

"Excuse me, sorry! Can someone help me out here? I need to check up on someone I brought in the other day. It's an emergency!"

 

"Woah, woah there. What's the issue, son?" Out of the bunch who turn their head toward the male's sudden appearance, it's one of the female officers who approaches to confront him.

 

"I think the individual I brought in yesterday may be in danger, and I want to make sure he's okay." He answers her.

 

"I haven't heard anything going on here, but I'll do what I can to help. Do you know his name? Maybe some sort of description of him?" She asks in turn.

 

"He told me he goes by number forty-five. He's about my height more or less, kind of on the large size in weight, was wearing a mask, and... I believe he was placed inside some sort of specialized cell because of his power."

 

"Aaah, okay. Yeah, I think I know who you're talking about. Follow me, then." She instructs and then proceeds to lead him toward the area they keep potentially hazardous suspects. They head through a pair of double doors and travel through a spacious corridor. Walking straight before taking a left at the third available turn, then a right at the very next one - where a more secure door lays in waiting. She plucks out an I.D. card from her person and swipes it through the card reader beside the door, then punches in a five digit code on the number pad that's right beside the swipe device. A buzz goes off and she pushes through the doors to allow him inside. The room was eerily red. An overwhelming shade of red, in fact. Instead of iron bars, cells were in the form of transparent boxes with steel doors being the only way to either enter or leave them. They two pass several doors before eventually halting at the fourth within the L-shaped room. 

"Hey, Gerald! You've got a surprise visitor today." The officer informs just before stepping aside and gesturing to the hero to step forward in front of the glass square window on the door.

 

"Oh, thank God! You are okay. I was really worried they might've gotten you, too." Tyson comments upon seeing #45 sitting inside through the window.

 

"Righteous Lad? Dude, what are you doing here? And what do you mean by... Gotten me, too?" #45 asks as he rises up from his cell bed and moves toward the door.

 

"I'll explain, but first I need you to tell me if you've been having any suicidal thoughts at all."

 

"Ou-what!? No, man. I don't wanna' kill myself. Why would you even think that?" #45 asks in turn.

 

"Alright. Well, the other foot soldiers, including Pierre, collapsed in their cells a few hours ago. They've all been checked and... They're all gone. I want to make sure that doesn't happen to you, as well." 

 

"Oh my God... You're... You're serious?"

 

"I am." Righteous Lad assures.

 

"Christ, Dude... Those were a lot of guys. Are ALL of them really dead?"

 

"That's what I've been told. Do you have any idea who or what might've caused it?" Righteous Lad asks.

 

"No, not really. I haven't a single--.. No, wait. Maybe it could've been the false tooth Pierre gave us. He said 'it'll be our way of getting out and reuniting somewhere safe if things got bad', when he gave it to us. I lost mine the day we went to carry out the plan. Hoo boy... Good thing I did, too." #45 explains.

 

"Poison, then. Alright, I appreciate you sharing that with me. I better get a move on and meet my team at the place. There's no telling what's going on right now." With his business concluded at the station, Righteous Lad departs from the building and begins making his way to the far opposite side of the city.

 

Meanwhile, the others - The Crow, Alexecute, and Matrix - arrive just in time to lay witness to an abrupt and fiery explosion. The location they were meant to investigate, a storage warehouse, just went up in flames. From a rooftop nearby, the three watch as the structure crumbles and burns under the relentless caress and crackle of flames consuming it.

The Crow, much like the others, comes to realize that whoever was behind the terrorist attack wasn't as dumb as they might've initially thought.