A second chance

Chapter 8

Hey guys! I'm back. Easter break will soon start and I'll be able to post more regularly.

"Hey," called Max as he entered his lair. "How does decryption going?"

"Almost done," Colosso said. "Took a little longer than I thought. However, I found something disturbing."

"What?"

Colosso went silent for a moment. "I have discovered the names of all business Mastermind has and what they are used for. We can let the authorities know and we'll deal a severe blow to Mastermind. I also found a video of how Mastermind was able to kill Hyper Light."

"Play it," Max said. Not keen on seeing someone get murdered, but it might contain useful information.

Colosso did as he was told. It showed the young hero, a girl only one or two years older than Max, advancing on the lone figure of Mastermind in a darkened warehouse. In a flash the villain was on the ground, handcuffed. She took off the villains mask only to discover that it was actually a robot. Suddenly a bullet ripped through her from behind and Hyper Light fell down on the ground, clutching the hole in her chest in pain. From the shadows, the real Mastermind emerged as he casually walked towards the downed hero. Standing tall above her, the villain shot her in the head. The video ended with Mastermind dragging Hyper Light's body in the darkness.

"He took her body," Max mumbled.

"Yeah. My guess is to either study it or clone it."

"But, why keep the video, though?"

"Momento, maybe? To brag? Regardless we now have proof what happened to Hyper Light."

"Find out more about Hyper Light. Something doesn't quite add up here."

The next day

"What are you working on?" Colosso asked as he munched his carrot.

"You'll see," he said and took off his protective glasses. He walked in front of the target dummies he had set in his room. He took one of the silver balls, they were at the size of a tennis ball. He threw one at one dummy and turned to ice.

"Wow," exclaimed Colosso.

Then he threw the other one at the last dummy and it burst into flames and turned to ashes.

"I sealed my breath in these containers and turned into make-shifts grenades," Max explained.

"Impressive, but what's the point of this if you have your breath?"

"I don't what people to figure out my identity. I can't risk exposure."

"MAX! COME QUICKLY!" yelled Phoebe. The vigilante heard the panic in her voice.

"What's going on?" he asked as he entered the living room. Everyone was there looking at the Thundermonitor, who displayed the news. Cinders was terrorizing the Hiddenville Mall.

"Cherry is at the Mall. We were supposed to meet there," whispered Phoebe as she grabbed hold of his arm, seeking comfort.

"And that's not all," said President Kickbutt as her face appeared on the Thundermonitor. All cities who don't have a protector in Central America are terrorized.

"Why would they do this?" asked Hank.

"We believe that they want to flush White Knight out," the president explained and Hank narrowed his eyes, his opinion on the vigilante worsen.

Max agreed with Evelyn. If they found out where he lives they could focus all their attention on one city and keep him grounded in order to advance their operations.