Shadow Blood and Fire

"In recent news, Mrs. Amari Dengaré, leader of the Dengaré Group, Second Noble Family and the sole producer of the world's strongest alloy solution Zastasthium, had been accused of murdering her husband Jonathan Denmark in their penthouse at around 5 p.m. The evidence of the murder was recorded by the Dengaré satellite . analyst claimed that Mrs. Dengaré's act was due to drug intoxication, as she could have deleted the evidence otherwise."

In front of a door, a doctor wearing a white lab coat was talking to two people wearing blue shirts and black pants with badges on their left sides. They were a man and a woman, detectives from the special crimes unit. "You can't go in now to question him. He needs more time," 

"Oh, I think it's okay. He's the heir of the Dengaré Group. He's probably been through worse," the man said. He had a plain look that one could easily forget, but his partner was beautiful, with brown hair tied up and a piercing. Her suit hugged her tight, accentuating her figure.

The man and the woman entered the hospital room. It was a first-class hospital, and on the bed was a handsome boy with red hair and blue eyes. His name was Eli, and he was the son of Mrs. Dengaré and Mr. Denmark. His eyes were fixed on a projected screen, showing the news report about his parents.

"While people had condemned the act of Mrs. Amari Dengaré, she was part of the top ten group with the noble title and the only one who produced the Zastasthium used by the government. So killing her husband was not much of an offense, as without the ten noble group, the government would have had a hard time keeping their position as the top four strongest hold, just below the big three…"

The projected screen was suddenly switched off, and it turned out that the woman detective had done it.

"Why are they saying Mom killed Dad?" Eli asked, with a calm voice that hid his turmoil.

The man detective took out a pack of deluxe cigarettes and lit one. He blew out a blue smoke that was supposed to be beneficial to the body. Deluxe cigarettes were common among the rich folks, as a pack cost up to three million. It was strange that a member of the police force had one. "Don't listen to everything you see on the news," he said, as he took a seat next to Eli.

His partner played a recording from her communicator. It was a video that Eli recognized. It was a woman with red hair, his mother, in a massive parlor. Her movements were strange, as she was behaving like she was mad or drunk, scattering everything in the parlor. But Eli could tell by his mom's footwork that she was fighting someone, even though there was no one there. After some time, she ran into the master bedroom, and Eli saw his dad being thrown back by a force and bleeding from multiple wounds on his body.

"What ability do you think she used there?" the man asked, as if he was watching a movie.

Eli stared at him with killing intent, before returning his attention to the screen. After some time, his mother fell to the ground, her movement looking restricted. Eli saw that, because that was how he found her, being constrained by a strange blood-like vine. But there was no vine in the video. He continued watching, and he saw himself entering the bedroom and looking at his mom. After some time, he was lifted up and flung into a nearby wall. Mrs. Dengaré got up and activated her bio-weapon then she shot a blue lightning into Jonathan Denmark's stomach. The recording stopped there.

"What weapon is that?" the man asked his partner.

"Asuora II bio," she answered. "That cost the funds for a planet exploration."

The man leaned over Eli's hospital bed, his voice dripping with false sympathy. "You know, your mother didn't have to disappear. She's a noble, the only one who knows the Zastasthium formula. The government doesn't care if she wipes out a whole planet, as long as she pays them off." 

Eli shook his head, his eyes burning with anger and pain. " She's innocent. There were others in the house that night. A man and someone in a hood."

The lady next to the man scoffed. "Do you really believe that? You're deluding yourself, Eli."

Eli couldn't take it anymore and lunged at the man. But before he could strike, the lady moved swiftly and jabbed a syringe into his neck. Eli felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him, and his vision blurred.

The door slid open, and a middle-aged woman entered. She wore a fur coat and a pendant, both adorned with moving artistry that showed her wealth and status. She was Mrs. Starie, the leader of the Starry Group, a powerful corporation that had a monopoly on interstellar transportation. She looked at the man, who had reverted to his true appearance: a middle-aged man with gray hair and a scar across his left eye. He was a spy, sent by a powerful unknown group to gain the secret of Zastasthium, a rival corporation that specialized in advanced technology and research.

"What do you think?" Mrs. Starie asked the spy. "Don't you find the recording strange?"

"There was someone else in the house," the spy's partner said. She was also a spy, posing as a police officer. "The Dengaré satellite was built by a collaboration of researchers, scientists, and ability users with technology aspect, with at least seven mutant cells. The satellite cost hundreds of trillions, and it was better than most of the government's satellites. The security system was the Augustus Net C-08. Even ability users at the limit would be torn to pieces before they could reach the Dengaré home."

Mrs. Starie nodded. "But anyone who has surpassed the human limit and become a Saint King, capable of holding up to fifteen mutant cells, could breach the Augustus Net and remain unseen by the Dengaré satellite."

The spy frowned. "There are only Saint Kings: the Big Three, General Carter, and Olivia. But none of them has an invisibility ability."

Mrs. Starie smiled. "That means there is someone else, as formidable as the Saint Kings, and Amari Dengaré offended them somehow. Maybe they wanted the Zastasthium formula, or maybe they had a personal grudge. Either way, they kidnapped her and left a fake recording not to incriminate her but to create a reason for her disappearance"

The spy stood up and approached Mrs. Starie with a smile. "Amari Dengaré is not our concern. Her disappearance just happened to fall in our favor. Did you manage to get the Zastasthium formula?"

Mrs. Starie smiled back. "A little. We can add some other exotics to make it work."

"THWACK!"

The spy slapped her hard, making her stagger. "I spent zillions in sponsoring the Starry Group's transportation system, and this is what I get? A little? How are you going to pay me back?"

Mrs. Starie still kept her smile, but her eyes turned cold. "I already did, Elon. You paid with your life."

Elon felt a surge of panic and jumped back, covering his body with a blue skin-tight shield. "What are you talking about?"

Mrs. Starie checked her comm. "Thirty minutes now. That's how long it took for the poison to activate. I switched your deluxe cigarette with a fake one. It contained a slow-acting toxin that bypasses your shield and attacks your organs. There's no antidote, Elon."

Elon started coughing blood, feeling his body shutting down. Blood was flowing from every opening on his face. He collapsed on the floor, his eyes wide with disbelief. "You poisoned me," he gasped, before his life faded away.

Mrs. Starie turned to the spy's partner, who had watched the scene with no emotion. "How did you switch his cigarette?"

"I slept with him twelve times," she answered flatly.

Mrs. Starie nodded. "Good. Start acquiring all the shares of the Dengaré Group. We'll take over their business and their secrets."

"What about Amari Dengaré?" the spy's partner asked. "Do you think she's still alive?"

"It doesn't matter, Rachel. If someone as powerful as the Saint Kings kidnapped her, they'll be just as ruthless. She's either dead or wishing she was."

"What about the heir of the Dengaré Group?" Rachel asked. "The boy, Eli. What do we do with him?"

"We can't kill him. Amari Dengaré has friends just as powerful as her. They'll come after us if we harm him. We'll alter his memory and make him forget who he is. He'll be a nobody, living on the streets, with no clue of his past or his future."