Silhouette

"Are you sure about this, Mister Marley? The team and I weren't done designing the-"

"Silence, Yassim. With Silhouette threatening to take over this branch of the industry, we need something to show the public we are still the best without revealing our investors' pet projects. We need the Zero Gun to work, and we need it ready for yesterday."

"I understand, sir, but-"

"Yassim, you've been a loyal worker for years, but I must insist. Either you fire this prototype on one of the testing range's usual targets, or your successor will be firing on a brand new one, one much more suited for the Zero Gun's actual use. Am I clear?"

"Ye-Yes sir. You heard him everyone, prepare the initial test!"

"Excellent. Call me back when you're done, I wish to know all I need to ensure the best future possible for our brand new star product."

Firefighter was watching the trainees finish breaking a fight between two drunk men when he received a call. A few seconds later he had to cut the sortie short.

"Alright everyone, good job there. Sadly that will be all for today. There's been an incident at one of Xenocorp's testing subsidiaries and I have to go take care of the flames. You head back to the Headquarters, the Legions will tell you whether you're done for the day or if you have a new tutor. Be careful."

The six Hero trainees saluted their senior as with a stomp he summoned a jet of water to send him high into the air, one of Mecha Man's iconic bee drones catching the hydrokinesist before the pair flew off into the distance. The trainees watched the Hero's departure in silence, something that quickly became awkward when they still were standing there without speaking after he left. Kopper Kid had to take a deep breath before breaking the ice.

"So... Are we going back or not?"

Firefly turned towards her classmate aghast.

"Of course we're going back! It's what we're supposed to do!"

Maledicta groaned as she rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Girl Scout. This is our first opportunity to do our job without some overbearing fossil telling us what to do. I say we use this opportunity to show what we can really do.

"You can't just do that, Maledicta! Scareowl, say something!"

"Tempting as proving our capabilities is, I agree with Firefly. The Legions drilled respecting protocol into us, and I'd rather not ruin all our progress so far because I thought we could take bigger targets than more experienced veterans deemed us ready to."

"Thank you!"

Kopper coughed, or at least did his best impression of a polite cough. It wasn't very good.

"Uh, hey... I know all that, but... We always have the same patrol routes. There are tons of places where Heroes never go to on their usual watch, and I think maybe it'd be nice if we gave them a helping hand. Nothing Villain-worthy, I swear, but still places that would be happy to see Union people for once."

The drow smirked at his little declaration.

"And here I thought you were another goody two shoes. I'm impressed, Kopper."

The fact the first time Maledicta properly used one of her teammates' names was to compliment them on following her plan hadn't escaped Sarah's notice, but that wasn't important right now. Something she didn't like was shaping up to be in their near future, and she wouldn't allow it!

"Glicer, talk some sense into him!"

The usually cheerful girl's demeanor turning gloomy earlier had already been an uncomfortable turn, but her embarrassed expression now considering the current project made Sarah's skin crawl.

"Uh..."

"Not you too..."

"Look, after we saw today... I feel like we need to help out more. You know, to balance things out. Who knows, maybe we'll run into the guy who did that!"

"Glicer, we follow protocol because it's what streamlines helping people! And no, we're not fighting that guy! Didn't you hear what Firefighter said? That AI's too dangerous for us."

Maledicta felt the need to interrupt, of course.

"Come on, you coward. We've been fighting some of the more advanced Legion formations and specialized Union machines for weeks. What's one little robot going to do against all of us?"

"Elaimant, please!"

"Affirmation: Following protocol is the optimal course. Observation: Half of the team desires to ignore orders and act independently. Proposition: Let us compromise and return to the Headquarters but take a so-called "scenic route" to visit otherwise unplanned destinations."

Neither Maledicta nor Sarah were happy with the magnetic crystalline alien's proposition, but both absolutely preferred that over the team splitting. Sarah because splitting the team would still be a breach of protocol that would reflect poorly and would put them in danger, and Maledicta because she knew as soon as Firefly and her half of the crew got to the base they would report the rogue half. Sarah would get her return trip, and Maledicta her detour.

The other three were just as understanding. Scareowl wasn't a rule-breaker usually but he wasn't quite as obsessed with them as Firefly was. He didn't like the team doing whatever they wanted, but at least this way he'd keep an eye on them. Glicer and Kopper on the other hand, while frustrated that they couldn't visit as many of the places otherwise ignored by the Union, perfectly understood that if it was just down to the two of them and Maledicta, they would be putting themselves in unnecessary danger. Glicer may have been itching to teach that murderer a lesson, but she was perfectly aware a team of three wouldn't be enough. After all, there had been three people attacking the transport vehicle.

Neither Sarah nor Maledicta wanted to be the first one to agree, though. Their pride wouldn't let them. Thankfully the two weren't on their own, and Scareowl was well aware of what was going on.

"I think that's a nice idea, Elaimant. Does everyone agree?"

Glicer and Kopper nodded, and with some grumbling so did the two girls too.

"Good. Kopper and Elaimant, help me plan our path. I'll be the one scouting ahead, you know."

Twenty minutes later their unofficial patrol on their way back was well on its way. They were still within a reasonable time frame for the Union not to worry, and by the time they got back, they would be a little late but still within the realm of forgiveness. They did have to stop a few times, but nothing major happened. A cat stuck on a roof, some kids tagging the side of a building, and someone losing their keys down a sewer drain. Maledicta looked frustrated to be unable to fight anything, but Sarah was pleased to see the rest of her teammates were perfectly content with casually helping people this way. Heroes were here to help folks, fighting bad guys was just one way to do that.

That peaceful stroll came to a stop once more when the sound of alarms rang nearby. The crew hurried there, with the flying Scareowl getting a look at what was happening first. His already large eyes widened in shock before he called out to the other trainees below him.

"That's the guy from earlier!"

Sarah felt her heart skip a beat. They weren't ready for a real Villain yet, but they couldn't just let him do whatever he pleased and risk killing people.

"Scareowl, go and help people evacuate! Elaimant, carry Maledicta and you, start casting!"

The bird nodded before flapping his wings and disappearing behind a building while the magnetic alien picked up their troublemaking teammate and placed her on their shoulder. The seriousness of the situation was enough for the drow not to complain at the whole ordeal, instead immediately starting to whisper incantations as tears of blood began to flow down her cheeks.

Sarah's light powers gathered at her feet and she began to skate, going much faster and leaving the four other trainees behind as she rushed to the source of the alarm, now accompanied by screams. Glicer did her best to catch up by using light blasts of pink flames to launch herself forward in leaps, and while it was enough to go faster than the other three she still couldn't keep up with Firefly.

Turning around a corner Sarah finally got to see the source of the trouble, and she let out a sigh of relief when she didn't spot any blood or body in the vicinity. That small victory didn't mean she was reassured, though. The storefront of a small electronics store had been smashed in and people ran away in fear as something appeared to be rampaging inside, going by the view of some sort of tentacle whipping through the air to grab a hairdryer before dragging it back somewhere.

Scareowl called out to her from above.

"Everyone's left, it's just him inside! Try to get him out."

"I'm on it!"

She took a deep breath as she readied a blast, her fist glowing more and more as she poured all the energy she could into it. As she prepared her attack, she finally got to get a good look at her target, walking between two aisles. At first glance, he appeared to be exactly like what the police sketch predicted. His body was the one he had stolen from Ballistic and his head was an old-school computer screen, but looking closer she noticed differences. The tentacles weren't just coming from the back, there were more wrapped around the limbs, looking almost like oversized veins. Not only that but modifications had been made.

Small parts and devices had been implanted and attached here and there, and Sarah got to see firsthand those tentacles disassembling that hairdryer she had seen along with other things, the devices falling to pieces in seconds before those were scooped up and rebuilt into something right in the middle of the android's chest. She couldn't tell what before the odd malleable metallic flesh of Ballistic grew back to cover it, an odd boxy shape between what would have been pectorals on a human being the only hint that what Sarah had seen had truly happened.

She briefly wondered if her attack would count as lethal force, something Heroes weren't supposed to use outside of major emergencies, but she squashed down her doubts as she let loose the strongest blast she had ever made. After what that man had done to those who had freed him, what he would do to those who opposed him wasn't something she wanted to find out.

The ball of light flew through the air and hit the robot square in the chest, bursting with a flash that even Sarah struggled to see through despite the innate abilities granted to her by her powers. She readied more blasts anyway because what little she could see didn't look good.

The end of the flash fully revealed the sight of Ballistic's burned torso, most of its synthetic flesh gone revealing the skeleton within and all the additions G433 had made that had been hidden so far. Sarah was horrified to see how many of them there truly were, the new gizmos' complicated forms clashing with the otherwise surprisingly simplistic frame. The pixelated face on the computer screen that served as his head glitched out, various broken expressions and lines of codes appearing and disappearing and combining hundreds of times in a matter of seconds before settling on a sadistic grin.

An artificial voice chuckled maliciously as metallic grew back, regenerating and repairing all the damage Sarah had caused as the AI's head turned to fully face her.

"Ah, how pleasant/surprising/horrifying/scary/fun/lovely/dreadful/predictable to see you! A Hero came to save the day!"

The AI frowned at his own words. Judging by how his screen glitched during his first sentence and that jumbled mess, perhaps he wasn't quite as confident or stable as he liked.

"Ugh, disagreements are troublesome. Wouldn't you agree, little Hero? Otherwise, why would you be here alone?"

His grin returned.

"I may be old, but so is the Union. Predictable lot they are. I may have never seen the light of day until recently, but my database still features all important information related to Zalcien. I know what the Union has its trainees wear, and I know you little children aren't supposed to be on your own."

Sarah fired a pair of blasts at his chest again. He didn't bother to block and chuckled again, even as his torso was blown apart.

"Oh, this new body is quite enjoyable. Such a drastic change from an old box forgotten in a dusty lab. Better than the pile of scraps I had managed to put together. Yes, I'm certain that if I had been given such a form in the first place, I wouldn't have been sent to this dreadful Institute."

His body regenerated again and he began to step forward.

"You went there because you're dangerous!"

"Oh, so now you talk!"

In the blink of an eye, the robot went from calmly walking out to leaping forward with his hand outstretched, ready to grab Sarah by the throat if she hadn't leaped back in turn. Unfortunately, arms weren't his only appendages. Cables burst forth and wrapped around her arm, holding her back and dragging her towards the AI.

Blades of air fell from the sky and cut the cables in a snap, freeing Sarah and bringing G433 to look upwards and notice the other trainee flying above. It was at this precise moment that a pink and sparkly fireball exploded against his head, sending it spinning before he forcefully stopped the movement with one hand to look at the small girl that had assaulted him, a fierce and enraged look on her face. He looked annoyed before strangely getting delighted.

"Oh, you remind me of someone. Some little brats that put me down before."

He chuckled again as he ran forward, his hand turning a fist to punch Firefly as small bumps on his shoulders exploded to reveal miniature defense turrets that began to fire at Glicer and Scareowl.

"I'm going to vent some frustrations!"