"I know I'm probably wanted and all, but you guys do not look like law enforcers and definitely not heroes."
The abducted boy had been talking ever since Eagle Eye brought him to their hideout.
However, he was tied to a chair inside a cleaning closet, where he could see mopping sticks and buckets.
"Oh yeah, there's something about this gauntlet, Nanny said-"
Having heard enough of the boy's constant gibberish, Einstein sealed the former's mouth with his detached wrist.
And locked him in the closet.
"What do you mean Goliath got sent to the moon?" Eagle Eye asked.
He was expecting all three of his teammates to arrive, but only the dead doctor made it back with an unbelievable story.
At first, Eagle Eye couldn't believe the radioactive beast, the mighty Goliath, got slapped into thin air and just disappeared.
On top of that, he kept hearing Einstein mention that one of the seven masters of deception was there waiting for them.
If that was true, then the person should be on their side and not against them.
On top of that, why would such a villain come for a simple task when he could send dozens to fetch the kid?
When he asked about Ghostness, Einstein fell into complete silence.
"What happened to her?" he asked again.
Einstein gritted his teeth. Clearly, he had no idea. "I don't know, I..." he stammered. "I tried to warn her, but shit, she wouldn't listen."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know!!" Einstein raised his voice and slammed his head against the wall. "He killed them all."
Eagle Eye couldn't exactly relate to what was happening, but he swore whoever this person was would pay for what he had done.
But Einstein's next words left him speechless. "You'll only end up like the rest of them, don't you get it? He's one of the-"
Before he could say what he intended, the device inside Eagle Eye's pocket began beeping.
It was meant for communication between them and the villain organization.
The one who ordered the abduction of the kid was Fallen, but the person in charge of this rogue team was a villain by the name King Mummy.
One of the masters of deception. The fifth.
The circular device displayed the villain wrapped in bandages all around his body, at least that is how he looked.
But they couldn't see that clearly because of the dark cloak he wore that barely revealed his face.
"Report," was the first thing he said.
"We got the kid, but-" Eagle Eye clenched his fist. "We lost Ghostness and Goliath," he added regretfully.
"Details," the villain asked further. What he heard was just the surface of what happened.
"He was there, one of the masters, the first," Einstein said. Even now, he felt his throat go dry as he mentioned the name. "Opposer was there."
Of course, Eagle Eye still remained clueless, and King Mummy maintained his composure as he growled.
"Bring the kid at once," he said.
Just after he said that, they heard a crumbling sound and felt as if the building was about to collapse.
Eagle Eye quickly opened the closet, only to find an empty seat.
"Down here, losers," the kid said. He decayed the floor beneath the group and jumped down to the lower floor of the building while holding the gauntlet.
"Yeah, so I was tryna tell y'all, the gauntlet has to be charged," he said and walked away. However, as the building crumbled again, he came back.
"And oh, the building is about to collapse, lol. Don't try following me 'cause I'll be with that guy y'all are scared of, hahaha."
He ran off.
"Fools, bring him back."
---
Meanwhile...
Underneath the lower section of the cave, Ghostness was tied unconscious to a metallic chair.
Her hands were cuffed with ability dampers created by Aiden's little sister, Asami.
Slowly gaining consciousness, when she looked straight ahead, she saw a reflection of her bruised face, her makeup staining her face completely.
When she struggled to escape, she couldn't. The seat didn't even budge, after all, it was pinned deep down.
Regardless, she kept up her futile struggles.
"You're obviously dumb," a strange voice echoed through the small square room where she was held.
"Why don't you come and face me, coward?" she cursed.
"Hahaha, I wouldn't want to risk you pissing your pants twice, hahaha," her tormentor was none other than Ray.
"Seriously though, there are some nasty things in your head, girl, like you never telling Goliath how much you loved him, hahaha. Bro was slapped to the moon, hahaha, and how you begged for your life, haha. Gosh, Aiden is the man."
Eva scoffed. A detail had been omitted when Aiden gave a report of what happened to their supervisor, Electro Doc.
The part where he, for no reason, killed the Nanny.
And also, she kept trying to understand how Aiden was able to crush Ghostness in her own game.
Aiden took the mic from Ray, who frowned like a child. "That's enough," he said and turned to face Eva, who was leaning against the side of the door.
"You said you'd interrogate her yourself," he added.
With that said, Eva walked into the interrogation room. Everything being said there would be heard outside and also sent to headquarters.
So she had to keep it clean. Before she interrogated the girl, Eva slammed Ghostness's head hard against the steel table, which gave the villain a nosebleed.
Eva sighed. "That felt good," she said. "Oh please, Ghostness dear, don't cooperate. I wouldn't want to miss this chance," Eva grinned.
Ray felt uneasy about what was happening there. He had already told them what he saw inside the villainess's head, but still, Eva said it wasn't enough.
They needed more information, but that was a fat lie. He got it now, there was beef between those two. Ray was certain of it.
"I think I should stop her," he said.
Before he could take a step, the exit door was opened by Asami.
"Big bro, your satellite picked up unusual decay activity. I think it's the boy," she informed.
---
All his life, he had never experienced anything normal. When he finally escaped Einstein and Eagle Eye, the little boy didn't go back to the orphanage, he went to the children's playground.
When he saw different kids and their dads, he clenched the gauntlet tightly.
He experienced it as if it were yesterday, the day Fallen sucked the life out of his father through the brain.
It was just a normal day. He was going home that night with his father when their car suddenly tumbled.
Before his father could get out of the car, he was already pulled out by a face he could never forget.
"Run, Milo, run."
He didn't hear that from his father, he read the lips. Those were the final words.
Milo decayed part of the car and ran as fast as he could. Although his vision blurred due to tears in his eyes, when he turned back, he saw his father screaming in agonizing pain.
When Milo finally opened his eyes, it was already nighttime. He had stood all day, watching the kids play and leave the playground with their dads.
"Tsk, how can I get those heroes' attention? Shit, should've just followed them when they came for me back at the orphanage."
Milo sighed. Then, staring at the restaurant opposite the playground, he came up with a devious plan.
"Yep, that should do it," he smirked.