The Office of Spatio-Temporal Affairs

Chapter 2 :Justice

Everyone in the warehouse seemed to be holding their breath. The silence that had settled in the room after Thomas' attack was broken only by Miguel's insults. He was bleeding, but for someone who had just crashed into a wall, he seemed fine. Was it the effect of the famous drug he was boasting about? Anyway, if the concrete had barely scratched him, Thomas was in for a rough time. But he didn't seem impressed. He assumed a fighting stance as Miguel lunged at him. He struck him, and Thomas blocked the blow, but he still flew back under the influence of the supernatural force engulfing his opponent. Miguel renewed his assault, but this time, Thomas was ready: dodging the blow, he counterattacked with a kick to the ribs, then followed up with a punch that sent his opponent to the ground. With a kick, he ensured that Miguel remained unconscious, then turned to the dealer who had stayed in the background:
"Hey, I can tell the difference between a lackey and the mastermind, come on out.
"You're pretty confident, kid," the man replied, unimpressed by the show of strength, "what do you think you are, a vigilante?
"A vigilante? Heh heh, yeah, you could say I'm one, in a way!
"Too bad for you, we're not in a fiction, in this world, people like you end up six feet under."

As he spoke, the man pulled a long knife from his coat. But the young student didn't seem afraid, he just chuckled before lunging at his opponent. Under Celia's frightened gaze, it was a series of exchanges between the two. The dealer clearly seemed to dominate the fight, and blood began to fly on the concrete floor. Yet, when they separated, it was the one holding the knife who seemed the most out of breath. He shouted:
"Damn, I'm gonna kill both of you!"
Upon closer inspection, the cuts on Thomas' arms seemed only superficial, and marks of blows littered his opponent's coat. But who was this guy capable of controlling an armed opponent and towering over him in size and weight? Thomas replied with a smirk:
"Go ahead, try it. Are you sure you can handle it? You don't look so good.
"Damn kid, I didn't want it to come to this, but anyway, the other one is out cold on the ground and you won't be leaving here alive, so there won't be any witnesses..."

Thomas rushed at him again, but he was suddenly grabbed by a shapeless red mass that emerged from the man's coat. He struggled free as best he could, and the substance covered the dealer's arm. It looked like some kind of jelly, which now spread to try to catch his enemy, who was doing everything to dodge. But it was too fast, and Thomas temporarily lost his balance. The man smiled, retracted the slime into a blade, then hurled it at his opponent, unable to dodge. All of this seemed like an eternity for Celia, who watched, powerless, as the fight unfolded. She wanted to scream, but a gag prevented her, and suddenly, the blade froze in mid-air. No, it was the man himself who was motionless. Thomas quickly repositioned himself, then turned, astonished, to Celia:
"Impossible... he murmured."

But he didn't have time to ponder any longer: behind him, his opponent had started moving again, retracting his blade before forming a thick mass that struck the young man. Surprised, he took the blow full force and flew against a wall, before collapsing, limp, blood running down his face. A muffled scream came from Celia, followed by the dealer's shrill laughter:
"Was this kid pumped up on hormones or what? Well, he's out now. I'll take care of you before finishing him off," he said to the young woman.
As he did so, he advanced towards her, once again forming a blood-red blade.

Suddenly, a bolt tore through the air, and blood began to trickle down the man's cheek:
"What the..."
But he didn't have time to say more. Golden rays pierced the room again, piercing his arms and legs. Uttering a curse, he raised a shield with his weapon and stepped back to face the shooter. At the other end of the room, Thomas was standing, with an almost frightening smile despite the blood staining his face. His eyes had changed from brown to gold. He had raised his arm in front of him, and his hand gleamed with a mysterious golden light. He exclaimed:
"Well, this mission is definitely more interesting than expected! I would have liked to have a little more fun, but I have a feeling I'll have to cut it short! Victor Manfred, from dimension 274, in the name of the Office I arrest you for unauthorized dimensional travel, transfer offense, unauthorized use of power, and aggression against a Office agent! Any questions?
"Yeah, when are you gonna kick the bucket, damn it?"

The man named Victor projected tentacles in Thomas' direction, a thick cloud of dust rose:
"The Office, huh? I was warned that you might give me trouble, but I didn't expect you to find me so quickly! Golden rays, you must be Thomas, right? You're way less powerful than he said you were!"
Something shot out of the dust cloud at high speed, whistling through the air. Thomas, surrounded by golden flashes, darted at inhuman speed towards Manfred, who didn't have time to react.
"I see my reputation precedes me, I'm flattered!" he said, continuing to rain blows on him. "But tell me, you just said 'he' and 'they', right? That means you're not alone in this, huh?
"Damn it, shut up!"

Victor thought back to his meeting with his boss, before the start of this mission, they were in a dark office, and the man had said to him:
"Victor, before you leave, I have to tell you to be careful.
"Ah, why? The cops can't do anything to me!
"I'm not talking about that, but about a danger that those practicing our style of business know well. There is a group, calling themselves the Office, who hunt people like us.
"And then?
"If they ever find you, you won't be able to escape them, so make sure not to reveal anything to them, but if you have to die for it, understood?"

Victor projected his slime on his opponent again, but this time, he was ready. Forming a sort of baseball glove with the energy coursing through him, he caught the attack, then the glove turned into an orb that imprisoned the slime. Taking advantage of his enemy being disarmed, he pinned him to the ground, then generated chains that definitively neutralized his enemy. Thomas knelt in front of him, then said:
"You are officially under arrest, know that everything you say will reduce your sentence and the time of your interrogation. So?
"Go to hell," was the only reply from the man, "we are much more powerful than your pathetic Office. It's over for you, you won't stop us..."
Then Victor clicked his tongue, and under Thomas' gaze, a plant grew in his mouth and infiltrated his trachea, causing the criminal to breathe his last in a cry of agony.

Thomas cursed, then turned to Célia, who had witnessed the entire scene without being able to act or understand anything. He freed her, then said:
"Are you okay, can you stand up?
-Yes, I think so...
-Listen, I'm sorry you got involved in this, but I can't let you go now. People will come to pick us up, you need to follow them with me, and I promise I'll explain everything afterwards. Can you trust me?"

Célia was lost, tired, but she nodded. After what had just happened, she could trust him, and above all, she wanted answers: how could a man manipulate by thought a jelly capable of cutting flesh? How could another shoot rays from his hand? What was this "Bureau" he had mentioned?

Seeing Célia's reaction, Thomas smiled and took out his phone. He dialed a number and began to speak:
"Yes, this is Thomas, Omega Division, ID 113206. I need to send a cleanup team, I got my target, but she committed suicide. And guess what, I found the new TM. No, it's not a joke. No, I don't know either...
-Thomas, your T-shirt!"

He looked down at what Célia was showing him, then saw the blood stain growing under his ribs. He chuckled nervously, then added to his correspondent:
"Send a medical team too, please. They're coming to pick us up, you need to follow the men who arrive, okay, it's important," he added to Célia after hanging up.

Then he passed out.