Righteous Lad
#5[ Back At The Silver League Headquarters ]

"It's almost unreal how every lead we had and could've had just went up in smoke. Literally." The Crow comments just as he leans back into his seat and crosses his arms.

"It is..." Righteous Lad utters with his elbows resting atop of the table he and the rest of his team are sitting around. His hands held together in front of his mouth as his jade green eyes stare blankly at the surface beneath his arms.

 

"You should have just shared what you knew sooner. Maybe we could have salvaged something long before that explosion went off." The Crow nonchalantly adds.

 

"I should have..." The hero in charcoal black and cyan responds in the same low-energy manner, then goes on to speak more.

"Maybe those guys that we took in could've been saved, too. Maybe I should have asked them questions, as well... See if they had any unique information or knew any more significant names amongst their movement."

 

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. I didn't expect any of this, either. They didn't really seem like much of a big deal at first." Alexecute throws in a notion of reassurance.

 

"That hardly matters. Big or small, we should've been able to take them down fast. Crime doesn't just standby until we all have free time to deal with it. Every second counted, and a day was wasted in vain." The Crow counters.

 

"Hey, cool it, will ya? It was an honest mistake. For all we know, that place was booby-trapped to go up in flames the second we tripped over a wire or something." Matrix chimes in this time.

 

"Maybe... But he still has a point. If nothing else, I could have at least investigated the building myself the day before." Righteous Lad calmly admits.  

 

"It's not exactly a great start, but the data they stole from the MOBA company will undoubtedly allow them to make plans for their next move. We can be more precise and quick to decapitate their schemes at the bud. The flash drive I found back in the CEO's computer has not even a single file on it, however I was able to discover it was transmitting to a lot of different places in the US, China, and Russia. I'm not entirely sure what sort of conspiracy it's implying, but they obviously have peers in different places." The Crow informs the group. Righteous Lad looks toward him right after.

 

"China and Russia?" Tyson repeats.

 

"That's right. However, there's no solid evidence. We can't go making any sort of baseless assumption. We'll just end up looking like a bunch of paranoid fools." The teen warns.

 

"What, what? Is there something we should know about China and Russia?" Matrix asks while shifting her focus between the two males of their team.

 

"Yeah, I think I get it, but I think I might need it elaborated, too." Alexecute adds.

 

"No, not necessarily. Theories of political intent without evidence is nothing short of promoting partisanship. For the time being, we have nothing solid to go off of. We have to wait and see if anything else they do can give us more crucial information." Righteous Lad explains. 

It's then that the building's emergency alert begins going off, drawing the attention of every single samaritan inside, including Righteous Lad and company.

 

"Should we check it out?" Alexecute asks after a moment of silence between them allows the alarm to whine without interruption.

 

"Yeah. Yeah, maybe we should go and see what's up." Tyson answers before rising up out of his seat. His teammates do the same and follow him out of the room, down the stairs where the sight of a sea of their peers can be seen heading toward the largest gathering in the facility. The band of four join the rest in heading that way, as well. As a horde they enter a massive circular room with a navy-blue carpet flooring bearing the initials 'S.L.' in bold white letters at the center and an enormous supercomputer that takes up 1/3 of the wall in the room. The screen before them is 30 feet in height and 50 feet in width, allowing every single eye to see what's on display. A radar bearing an identical shape to the structure of the US on the globe, and one with a red ping giving off waves. One of the members of the establishment sits at the chair and hovers his hands over the wide panel in front of their screen, and soon a holographic keyboard presents itself. He uses it to zoom in on the distress signal and answer the call.

 

"I think I just got through! H-hello? Hello?" The first thing to pop up is the face of a young woman with wavy blonde hair that cascades down the majority of her face and a domino mask with lenses that hide the color of her eyes by presenting them as monochrome pupils.

 

"We're here. What's going on, Glitter Pop?" The one sitting at the computer asks.

 

"There's weird guys who came out of nowhere. The local authority told us they just showed up out of nowhere and started causing damage in the middle of traffic." She explains - just before the sound of a flying car smashing into a nearby building rings out, startling the girl enough to cry out with a shriek. A masculine voice in the background then begins speaking.

 

"I urge you to stop wasting our time, humans! None of you have the mettle to face the likes of us, so lay down your pitiful attempts and just tell us where the young Olympian God who lives among you resides. Come now, the sun will not sit still while you stall!" 

 

"Is he... talking about Captain Righteous?" 

 

"Maybe, but I'm not sure. Judging by how vague he's been this entire time, I don't think they really know either." Glitter Pop answers. The onlookers inside the Silver League begin talking amongst themselves, filling the room with low and incoherent murmurs.

"Look, just send some help, okay? Especially heavy hitters! These guys are strong and flinging us around like dolls." She requests.

"I think... I think they're talking about me... But..." Righteous Lad contemplates outwardly under his breath, soon realizing he's missing just one too many clues to piece it all together. Anxiety and a hope of resolving the conflict peacefully, the young man begins taking his leave. Moving at a speed that renders him but a barely noticeable blur as he exits the building and immediately takes flight. He arrives at the scene in just a blink and a half. So fast, that his voice can be heard on Glitter Pop's live communication feed a moment later.

 

"Hey!" He calls out to one of the tallest of troublemakers firmly - the very one who pauses midway of chucking a cop car with two officers inside of it. The four beings who stick out like a sore thumb, all shift their sights onto the raven-haired newcomer.

"I'm not 100% sure how close I am, but I think I know whom you're here for. Put down the car and we can talk this out. Clear up the confusion." The hero suggests calmly with a solemn expression. His approach seems to amuse the one holding the vehicle - the male cracks a smug grin. This one has a muscular and lean physique underneath a somewhat revealing attire. His skin is a tanned complexion that's decorated by a few tattoos on his arms. Though his short hair is as white as snow and his eyes a shade of steel silver, he appears to be, at most, 21 years of age. Lastly, he looks to stand at about 6'3 feet tall.

 

"Heh. Very well. At least one of you pests has some decency." The male of white hair obliges with apparent disdain before casually and outright tossing the car like a football into the air down the street.

"Not like that!" Righteous Lad shouts as he lays witness with disbelief. With another gust of wind, he takes off like a bullet to beat the patrol car where it's bound to land horribly and levitates upward to catch the flipping vehicle between his arms sideways. His right arm hooking underneath while his left over the roof.

"I got you, I got you..." He assures the two inside while carefully lowering to solid ground to set them down.

"You guys okay?" He asks afterwards, now bending down to peer through a window.

"Y-yeah... Oh, man.. Yeah, I think we're good."

 

"Thanks for the save, Righteous Lad. I thought I could see my life flashing before my eyes for a second there!" The two respond.

 

"I'll take it from here, okay? You guys did plenty being brave enough to answer when people were in need of help." He smiles softly and gives a nod at the pair before ascending a few feet into the air and floating his way back to the band of troublemakers.

On his way, one of the officers spare a moment to lean out a window and shout words of encouragement.

 

"Kick some tail, kid!" 

 

Soon, Righteous Lad's boots come to meet the surface of the street again with around six or seven feet of space between him and the arrogant individual from before.

"Amusing display... I suppose worthless bugs could only value other worthless bugs." The male comments, then proceeds to lift and fold his arms across his chest.

"Is that all you see these people as? Not very fair, don't you think?" Righteous Lad responds.

 

"Fair? The weak are owed no such luxury. Such fragile beings... Blink and they'll age right into dust, as well! I can't even tell humans apart from one another."

 

"Fragile or not, that doesn't take away their value as living beings. Their lives hold value to me and to others. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. Just because you don't care, doesn't mean someone else caring is less important." Righteous Lad reasons. His words wind up removing the other's grin and replacing it with a look of mild annoyance.

"...What utter and useless drivel. The human species are NOTHING compared to the Olympian Gods." The male responds, now taking his turn in earning a disapproving frown from the hero.

"I grow bored of this pointless debate. You said you could take us to the Olympian God who lives here in this region on Earth. Fulfill your claim or remove yourself from my sight." The tanned male adds and demands firmly. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Righteous Lad lifts a hand and places over the flag symbol adorning his chest.

"You're looking at him..."

 

"YOU? You're the son of Apollo?" The other questions as if taken aback.

"I am, but look... I would appreciate it if you didn't go back home and spread that little bit of info around. It's kind of a sensitive subject." Righteous Lad requests. Not concerned with the hero's concern, the white-haired male cracks a toothy grin while looking over his shoulder at one of his companions. A tall blonde with long blonde hair, fair skin, and sunny-orange colored eyes.

   

"Seems as if we found him already, 

 

Asclepius.

 

How confident are you in this sap's words? I can check to see if he's telling the truth if you'd like." The male offers with mischievous delight. The two exchange looks for a moment before the blonde shuts his eyes and gives a reluctant nod.

And with that, the male with snow-white hair returns his attention to Righteous Lad once more and begins sauntering closer. He rolls his neck  in a circle and rotates his shoulders as he walks, stopping until he's standing side by side with the hero and facing the opposite direction.

"Hey..." He calls to Righteous Lad without looking toward him.

"We're taking this very seriously, you know. So I'll ask you one more time... Are you TRULY the bastard son of Apollo?" He proposes the question with a serious scowl upon his handsome features.

The other, the hero in charcoal black and cyan, looks up and to the side where the other stands. Standing his ground, Righteous Lad answers as clearly as possible.

"I am Apollo's biological son with no shred of a doubt about it." Is the answer given.

 

"I see." The tanned skin male utters before another grin he cannot hope to fight back takes form across his lips again. He lifts a hand and sets it upon the hero's shoulder.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I pry undeniable proof from you..." Choice of words that lead to Righteous Lad arching a brow.

 

"What do you mean by--" Before the hero can finish that question, the other abruptly grabs hold of him with both hands, takes him for a couple of spins, and then tosses him away with such tremendous force, that the sound barrier is broken upon release. In just a split second, Righteous Lad is crashing through countless buildings, leaving debris of glass, bricks, metal, and stones in his involuntary wake. By the time he slows into tumbling along the street, bouncing off the roof of a few cars as he does, he's far over in Washington D.C. He ends up face down when he finally stops, but not out. In fact, he seems to be in a slight daze than any actual pain when he begins pushing himself up onto his knees. He looks toward the direction he came from and sees a sizable hole in the last building he smashed through, blinking in disbelief as he drinks it in.

However, he isn't given any more time to gather his thoughts. His assailant was closing in and dropping down from above.

 

"DEFEND YOURSELF, SON OF APOLLO!" The being roars as a psychotic toothy grin takes up his entire mouth.