As Billy and Jack ran toward the door after Ashley, Nae's phone suddenly
vibrated.
She stopped walking.
"So… how did it go?" a male voice said on the other end.
"It went well," Nae replied coldly. "But they need time. I'm sending them to
Mega Hick so they can live a normal life—as Mega humans."
"Normal lives?" the voice scoffed. "They were supposed to be here with me,
so I could turn them into weapons."
Nae's grip tightened around her phone.
"They are not toys," she snapped. "They are people. And they
are my kids now. I own the responsibility for them. You won't
have even one of them. Whatever they do from now on—that's on
me."
There was a brief silence.
"Fine, no need to get so emotional," the voice said calmly. "I was just
saying brainwashing them would've been easier. But I get it. Still… you won't
have a strong Mega Hero team if they have emotions. Emotions always get in the
way."
"Let me do it my own way," Nae said firmly. "I've made Mega Heroes like this
before."
Another pause.
"Fine," the voice replied. "But don't expect any of them to ever reach Nexus
Man's level. Do it your way. I've got a meeting with the Vice
President."
The call ended.
Nae slowly lowered her phone, her expression unreadable. She looked up,
walked back to the table, and picked up the book resting on it—gripping it
tightly.
Her eyes hardened.
The elevator doors opened on Floor 33.
"You know… she really cares about us," Billy said calmly.
Jack glanced at him. "What happened to your British accent?"
"I'm not British," Billy replied awkwardly, laughing. "I just like the
accent. It's hard to keep it up when people are talking normally, you know?"
Ashley stepped out first, with Billy and Jack following behind.
"Does anyone know where the clothing room is?" Ashley asked.
Billy and Jack looked at each other, then away.
"Assholes," Ashley muttered, annoyed.
In the blink of an eye, a Mega Hero suddenly appeared right in front of
them.
"Hey guys! Big fan!" the man said, speaking so fast they could barely
understand him. "Ashley, Jack, Billy—you guys are super powerful! Maybe a
little weak, but you get what I'm saying, right?"
Ashley frowned. "Who the fuck are you, and what's with the weird costume?"
"Hi! My name's Speed—wait, did I already say hi? I don't know—do you guys
want drinks? Or not? I can get some—wait here—or don't—"
He kept talking rapidly.
Before any of them could respond, he vanished.
The three of them stared at the empty space.
"Who the fuck names themselves Speed as a—" Ashley started.
Suddenly, Speed reappeared in front of them again. Papers flew into the air
as wind rushed past.
"Sorry! I was five seconds late," Speed said quickly. "I searched the whole
building for something nice, but I couldn't find anything. Do you know this
place has, like, sixty-six floors? How much do you think it cost? Oh—hey Billy!
I brought you my brand drink."
He shoved a can into Billy's hands.
Billy looked down at it. The label had Speed written across
it.
"You like it? It's my brand—wait, did I already tell you that?"
"Yes," Billy said, awkwardly laughing. "And please stop talking so fast. I
don't understand half of what you're saying."
Speed tilted his head. "Wait… I thought you were British?
"I'm not! Can't anyone tell? God damn," Billy snapped.
An old man wearing a black suit approached them.
"Sorry for making you wait. Your clothes are ready, Mr. Speed. You can leave
now—they might need you at headquarters," the man said calmly.
"Oh man, I still had so much to tell them," Speed said. "But maybe I'll see
you guys on campus."
"Wait," all three said at once.
"Oh yeah," Speed added with a grin. "I'm a teacher there. I teach math."
Ashley grabbed Billy and Jack by the arms and turned to the old man.
"Hey, old man—lead the way to the clothing room. Please."
"Yes, madam," the man replied.
He led them down the hall and opened a door.
All three froze.
From the outside, the room looked small—but inside, it was massive,
far bigger than it should've been, completely filled with rows and rows of
clothes.
"Welcome to my estate. Don't worry about the room size—or a bit of my
powers," the old man said calmly.
"Quantum storage… or space manipulation?" Jack said, surprised and clearly
impressed. "Damn, that's a good pow"Quantum what now?" Billy asked, confused.
Ashley was already scanning the room, her eyes locking onto a black
jean jacket hanging high up.
"It's a space between space," Jack explained. "An endless amount of
storage."
"I don't see what's fun about that or what's so amazing," Billy said,
rolling his eyes.
Jack immediately punched Billy in the cheek.
Billy rolled across the floor, hit a rack of clothes, then stood up rubbing
his chin.
"You asked for it."
Ashley dragged a ladder from next to the door and positioned it under the
jacket.
"There we go," she said, climbing up.
Billy suddenly charged at Jack.
Jack reacted instantly—clothes flew off the racks, wrapping around Billy's
arms, legs, and torso, pinning him in place mid-step.
At the doorway, the old man calmly closed the door from the outside.
"I'll let you finish this yourselves," he said before walking away.
The door shut.
Billy growled as smoke started rising from his body, heat spreading through
the clothes trapping him.
"You asshole," Billy snapped through clenched teeth.
"I'll kill you."
Billy's body flared red-hot as the clothes trapping him burned to
ash. In a flash, he broke free and sprinted straight at Jack.
Jack smirked, planting his feet.
"Come on, show me what you've got. You say nothing's fun about physics—well
it's what holds the whole world together."
"Well for your information," Billy snapped, "I don't know what the hell
physics even is."
Billy swung.
Jack met the punch head-on.
BOOM.
A shockwave blasted through the room. Racks rattled, air screamed, and
Ashley's jacket flew off the hanger—sailing all the way to the fourth
row.
Ashley's eye twitched.
She growled under her breath and yanked out the second section of the
ladder, climbing higher.
Jack slammed his fist into Billy's stomach—
—but Billy's body melted into lava, burning the floor
beneath him.
Jack froze.
"…Clone."
He spun around—but Billy was gone.
"Heads up, you dipshit!"
Jack looked up.
Billy was above him, both hands gripping a twenty-pound hammer made
of molten lava, coming down full force.
Jack dodged.
The hammer crashed into the ground, sending cracks and heat through the
floor.
At the same time, Ashley reached for the jacket—but the impact blasted it
farther away.
She lowered her head slowly, gripping the ladder.
"…Really?"
She rolled the ladder sideways—its wheels squeaking—repositioning herself
toward the jacket.
"Nice," Billy laughed. "I missed."
Jack smiled back.
The lava spreading from the hammer ignited nearby tables and racks. Clothes
burned, smoke filled the room.
Billy reshaped the lava into a sword—then hundreds
more formed behind it.
He sent them flying.
Jack took off, sprinting across the room as molten blades slammed into the
floor and racks, setting everything ablaze.
Burning clothes flew into the air, blocking Billy's vision.
He sliced them apart—
—and Jack appeared right in front of him.
Billy had already predicted it.
Their fists were about to collide—
"Holy hands."
WHAM.
Ashley smashed both of them on the head at the same time.
Silence.
They dropped instantly.
Ashley stood over them, breathing hard. Her jacket lay nearby—burned
slightly on the shoulder.
"Assholes," she muttered.
"Fuck—you act like kids."
Billy groaned as he opened his eyes.
"What the hell happened… my head hurts," he said, rubbing his skull.
Jack stirred beside him.
"The fuck…"
They were sitting in a car.
The door suddenly opened.
"We're here. Now get the hell out," Ashley said flatly.
Sunlight blinded them as they stepped out.
"What the fuck…" Billy and Jack said together.
The school in front of them was massive—two towering
buildings, alive with movement.
A student flew over their car.
Another played fetch with themselves—teleporting back and forth to catch the
ball.
One girl formed a horse from below her wrists, a white
construct galloping beside her.
Students of different races, powers, and forms filled the campus—laughing,
racing, fighting, playing basketball mid-air.
A man in a gray suit, with a long beard, approached calmly.
"Good
morning," he said, bowing slightly.
"And welcome to Mega Hick. I'm Professor
Grayson—head of the school