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Force 127 HQ

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"Are you sure this will work Robin?"

Jonah asked, fidgeting with his fingers.

We're all on edge after the events that took place not too long ago. Cassidy is especially nervous.

The Boss checks in on us once a week either by video call or in person, and today is that day. Luckily for us, he's checking on us by video call, but we're all still scared for our lives.

"I'm sure it'll work. Our success is ensured by at least ninety-eight percent"

"W-What about the other two percent???"

Cassidy stuttered.

"That last two percent is the probability of our impending doom"

"Well, at least it's a small percent"

Marshall tried to stay on the bright side.

"Maybe The Boss won't be too mad..."

Jamie mumbled.

"Are you kidding? This is The Boss were talking about. He's a god of destruction with two Stands that possess completely unmatched abilities. He can easily destroy us if we get on his bad side enough"

Damian hissed.

"Chill out hyung. We're the only ones that he trusts. He chose each of us specifically to do his bidding. He wouldn't destroy his only assets"

Jean explained.

"That may be true. But we set Renjun free, THE Huang Renjun, one of the most powerful beings in all of the galaxies, aside from The Boss. Besides The Boss, no one can compete with him when he's at full power. He's gonna be beyond pissed..."

Right after he said that, The Boss's call showed up on the lab's big screen.

"Oh fuck.."

"Keep calm Jonah. It'll be over before you know it"

I reassured him.

Everyone put on their best poker face, and I answered the call. He immediately appeared on the screen, and we all gave him our undivided attention.

"Sound off"

He sternly ordered.

"Jean Parc, code came Black Mamba"

"Cassidy Zhakata..., code name Barbarian..."

"Jamie Naomi, code name Oculus"

"Damian Leone, code name Black Ice"

"Robin Hyo, code name Devil"

"Marshall Lea, code name Hunter"

"Jonah Lyee, code name Dark Knight"

We all finished.

"Good. Now let's get down to business. How are the possessed heroes doing around the perimeter?"

Jonah stood up to answer.

"All possessed heroes are accounted for. They're patrolling the perimeter on the ground and in the sky"

"Very good. And what about the status of the possessed members of Renjun's team?"

Damian stood to answer as Jonah sat down.

"Unfortunately, they've all returned to their side. The earrings were destroyed and they never returned to us"

"And they didn't retrieve any of the children either. Is that correct?"

"Yes sir... That is correct..."

Damian started to look a bit scared.

"I see... Well I guess that can't be helped. They were great assets while they lasted. Now, onto the subject of Renjun. What's the status on his condition?"

We all immediately became tense, but Marshall stood to answer as Damian quickly sat down.

"Renjun...has escaped sir"

"...Did I just hear that right? He escaped??"

"Y-Yes sir. We found that he had escaped a few nights ago"

Cassidy stood with Marshall.

"I was in the room guarding Renjun sir. But my system somehow malfunctioned, and I could not stop the culprits in time sir"

I stood as well.

"So this happened a short while ago. Why does it seem that you all failed to inform me of this?"

"Well sir... We felt that since you would check on us today, that we should wait until now to tell you"

Jamie stood as he explained.

"We're really sorry for the inconvenience sir..."

Jean apologized from his wheelchair, while the rest of us stood together.

"..."

The Boss stayed silent for what seemed like forever, causing concern to arise in me.

"Boss?"

"You think that's a good excuse...?"

Chills immediately ran down each of our spines.

The Boss was suddenly right behind us, the eyes of his mask burning red with rage.

"You knew that he escaped days ago... And none of you had the common sense to inform me of this setback?!"

The rage he felt enabled his aura alone to blast us off into the wall and hit the ground.

"Jean!"

Marshall was the first to get up and check on Jean.

Unlike the rest of us, he can't use his legs at all. He lost the ability to use his legs at a very young age. And even though The Boss knows that, he just knocked him out of his wheelchair, and he can't get up.

The rest of us immediately flocked to him to protect him from The Boss, while also making sure that he wasn't too hurt.

"Jean, are you alright...?"

Jamie questioned, assisting us to help him sit up against the wall.

"I-I'm fine, r-really I am.."

We could all tell that he was lying.

He looked absolutely terrified.

"This is the first time you all have let me down you know. So this time, I'll go easy on you. But know and understand this"

Before I could comprehend what happened next, I was being held up off of the ground in a chokehold by one of The Boss's Stands, King Crimson.

It looked up at me dead in the eyes as it held me tightly by my throat.

"Robin!"

The others all immediately became worried for me.

"You all have three chances total. This is your first strike, in which I'm letting you go without much of a punishment"

The Boss held up one finger.

"The second time you all fail me, there will be immense pain unlike any pain you have experienced before"

He added a second finger.

"And the third time..."

He added a third finger.

"...The third time. Strike three, you're out, starting with the cripple. Capeesh?"

I immediately nodded, and his Stand released its grip on me, making me fall to the floor.

The others immediately came to my aid to make sure that I was okay and to protect me.

"Listen to me well Robin. You're their leader, so make sure that you keep your team in check"

"Y-Yes sir..."

"Now, all of you get some rest. Since Renjun's team is all back together, you seven will go after them yourselves. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

The others immediately answered.

The Boss said nothing more and left us, exiting through a portal of darkness.

"Robin... You're.."

Damian pointed to my face, and that's when I noticed the droplets of water streaking down from my eyes.

"That's never happened before.."

Jonah mumbled, immediately becoming concerned.

"You're scared of him too, aren't you...?"

Marshall asked.

"T-There's no way... I'm n-not supposed to feel fear.. I'm not... I c-can't......"

Cassidy helped Jean back into his wheelchair, and they came back over to comfort me.

"Come on. Let's clean this place up"

Jean tried to stay strong for us.

"W-What are we gonna do..?"

Cassidy questioned us, quivering with fear.

"Are we still gonna help Renjun and his team..?"

Jamie inquired.

"...Yes"

I answered without hesitation.

"But, we only have two chances left. Wouldn't helping them just make our deaths come quicker...?"

Damian tried reasoning with me.

"The Boss still doesn't know that we helped Renjun escape. And remember what Nitro said. He said that once they complete their mission, they'll come save us"

"They do have seven planets left to visit as we speak. If we each go after them, one of us for each planet, then we'll have only lost our second strike. They could save us before we lose our third strike"

Jamie explained.

"How do you know how many planets they have left to visit??"

Jonah questioned him.

"I kinda peaked into Renjun's memories while he was in the memory pod. He remembered each and every planet they had to venture to"

"But, the second strike will result us getting beaten probably very close to death"

Jean reminded us.

"That may be true. But being close to death is still very far from being dead. We just have to trust in them to help us before our time is up"

Robin reassured them.

"And what if they fail huh?? What do we do then??"

Damian inquired, fear laced in his eyes.

"They won't"

"..."

"But what about The Boss? Unlike the rest of us, he brought you back from the dead as his creation. Are you really ok with betraying your master...?"

Marshall asked for clarification.

He may have brought me back from the dead, but there wasn't an ounce of love in his reasoning. There was nothing but hatred and the will to destroy.

I'm not betraying my master if he was never a master to me in the first place. I'm just a piece of metal for him to manipulate. That's all I've ever been to him, nothing more.

"You guys don't have to worry about that, because he's not my master anymore"