Why Is It Never Simple

Chapter 8

Phil had been able to contact Techno who wasn't happy to help out, but understood the situation. Wilbur however hadn't answered his phone and Phil had to guess that the music from his practice was just too loud. Angel still had reports to fill out, a few documents to sign for the scuffle with Diamond, a whole new stack of paperwork regarding the issue with Puffy's cafe(which he made note to look for Niki before touching any of that information.)

He'd already be out looking if he hadn't been called in by Warden as an important matter of business. Angel cursed himself for ever believing such a lackluster ploy. Now he and a few other heroes stood in Heroes HQ labs while Warden displayed various objects to the group, laid out on a metal table. A golden rod, a group of small yellow and black boxes, an orange stone hololith bracelet, a hilt of a sword colored in a light shade of black, and in the center of the table sat a black plastic brief case.

"Weapons?" Totem asked, reaching forward to touch the orange bracelet. Warden slapped his hands before he could touch it.

"I've been designing these over time for a while now, but it's taken some time since crime in districts one and two have been increasing at a staggering rate as of the last few months." Warden sighed. If Angel was petty enough he'd make a remark about the other districts always having a higher crime rate that he never had to deal with or about how crimes have been increasing everywhere, not just in his districts.

"Crime has been increasing everywhere, not to mention it's always been higher in the lower districts as it were." Okay, so maybe he was that petty. There was a snicker from Totem and wavering smiles signalled that the others agreed with him without it having to be said.

Warden glared at the avian who turned his head, feigning innocence. " Anyway, I couldn't get everyone's ready in time and I have more on the back burner for us, but for now I figured I could share the items that are ready for field testing."

He held up the orange hololith. It looked like hardened amber, but inside you could see the circuitry that ran through it. A small button was pressed causing the bracelet to unlatch. He ushered for Blaze's hand.

"This should extend your range for your fire blasts and increase the power by double the normal capacity while minimizing risk to yourself." Warden explained as he clipped the bracelet around Blaze's wrist.

The hero was immediately hit with a burst of energy as the bracelet powered on. "Woah. I feel great. Lazerbeam!" He got ready to try out the new tech when Warden grabbed his arm and lowered it.

"Please all of you refrain from using your powers in the lab unless it is the designated testing area." He sighed. "You can head there if you want and I can observe after this is all done. Or if you want to use these on the field and just report any issues with the items, that should be more than efficient."

"Oh can I be next?" Totem asked enthusiastically. He was bouncing in his spot like a dog with too much energy. Reminded Angel of a golden retriever.

"Yes, let's see." Warden looked over the table before grabbing the golden rod. He handed it to Totem who looked at it confused. He took it, looking over it a bit before finding a small button on the side. When pressed it sprang out into a full three pronged trident, patterns that matched Totem's outfit were etched into the handle.

"Oh my Prime." Totem breathed, running a hand over the metal which seemed to hum in his hands.

"It's retractable to make it easier to carry since having a whole trident strapped to your back is inconvenient. You'll find a lot of the weapons here share that aspect." Warden explained. Under the mask he sounded happy, proud with his work. "It's been especially designed for you. It should be able to channel your electrical energy into attacking. Hypothetically it should also be able to launch you at varying distances in the water."