Hendrix and Molly sped around the corner of the building.
They held their masks steady so as to not reveal their identities to the Officer.
Hendrix had taken a dragon mask while Molly had picked up the jack-o-lantern mask.
The two rushed into an alleyway, catching their breath as they hoped that the Officer would speed past.
The alleyway was narrow and dark, only letting enough light in to comprehend basic outlines.
"Is he gone-" Molly stopped talking when Hendrix put a hand over her mouth.
A few moments of silence passed.
The two could feel their own pulses race as the seconds passed by.
"What a beautiful place to hide." A voice echoed through the alleyway as the two looked at each other with nothing but fear in their hearts.
Hendrix started to channel his Spirit into his hands, jumping into the middle of the alleyway.
"Show yourself!" Hendrix's hands started to glow his Spirit's pitch black.
The voice cackled, each chuckle echoing through the hallway like a crowd of laughter.
"Hendrix." Molly whispered as she slid her back down the concrete wall of the alleyway. "He appears out of nowhere. I don't know anything else about his abilities-"
A set of arms phased through the wall that Molly leaned against. They wrapped around her face as her eyes began to widen.
"Molly!" Hendrix yelled, reaching for her.
Molly screamed bloody murder through the hands covering her mouth.
In the matter of a few moments, she was pulled through the wall by the mysterious hands, disappearing into nothingness.
Hendrix was left in shock. Even in this cruel and unusual world, he had never witnessed something so close to magic in his life.
The echoed cackling returned. This time, Hendrix was able to pin point where it was coming from.
An AC unit hung from one of the walls of the alleyway high above Hendrix. Hendrix froze, unable to believe what he was seeing.
The Officer, chuckling to himself, seemed to be pulling himself from out of the solid bottom of the AC unit. When Hendrix had noticed him, the Officer's upper half was extended out, with his hands pushing himself up and out of the solid surface.
"Let me introduce myself, young heretic. I wouldn't want you dying confused now, would I?" The Officer pushed his legs out, flipping into a landing on the ground before Hendrix. He was now blocking the only exit out of the alleyway. "I am Officer 9274. I'm in charge of the Japanese sector of the United Nations' state of Asia." The Officer bowed slightly.
"I've fought people like you before. Deputies, Officers, Advisors, every one of you. You're gonna be running from me just like the rest of them! Now where's my friend?" Hendrix exclaimed through his mask, balling his fists.
"Oh? And what Advisor have you fought, young heretic?" The Officer was now genuinely intrigued.
Hendrix paused, deciding if he should entertain the question.
"The Advisor of North America." Hendrix answered.
The Officer burst into laughter once again, clapping his hands. "That explains it, then."
"What are you laughing about?!" Hendrix began to get worried as his attempt at intimidation failed miserably.
"Shezmu, the weak link of the Advisors. How hilarious! The North American State has gotten too comfortable with the excellent job their first Advisor did. Now, they're a joke compared to the other five States, especially compared to our State. Once they get past the basic training in the academy, those North American idiots don't get challenged ever again. Their Officers are at the level of our deputies, and their Advisors are at the level of our Officers." Officer 9274 smiled as he finished.
Hendrix's eyes widened. He tried to brush it off as a bluff, but it would explain how this Officer was using such a strange ability.
"So, if I nearly died to the weakest Advisor, then…" The confidence Hendrix had grown in his combative abilities was now collapsing before his eyes.
"How sad. You must have thought that you had achieved something, didn't you? Well, do not fret. I'll put you out of your misery now, young heretic." 9274 raised his leg, causing Hendrix to assume a combative stance.
The Officer slammed it into the ground below him. The leg passed through the floor like the concrete had turned to liquid.
Hendrix felt something slam against the side of his face. After catching himself in a stumble, he looked to his left to see the Officer's leg ejected from the wall Hendrix was standing next to.
"I control the darkness, young heretic. And the darkness is everywhere." 9274 smiled at Hendrix.
It was now clear that the Officer's Mode was darkness, but how does one counter such an ability? Hendrix knew that 9274 was right, the darkness was everywhere. The boy in the dragon mask began to panic as his situation seemed more and more hopeless.
The Officer sank into the floor, keeping his eyes on Hendrix.
Suddenly, he felt two hands grab his ankles. Hendrix instinctively shot his strings out, reaching towards the AC unit.
He pulled himself up by his strings, making 9274 release his grip.
Hendrix shot up towards the AC unit, where he saw the Officer begin to rise from the surface of the unit, holding his fists together in preparation to strike Hendrix.
The pink-haired boy grabbed the roof lining of the opposite, pivoting himself midair.
Hendrix had an idea. He grabbed the other roof with his other set of strings, now holding both sides of the alleyway.
Hendrix flung himself downwards like a steel slingshot.
The Officer twisted his half body upwards to look at what Hendrix was up to, his eyes widening at the sight.
The Officer was met with two black boots to the face, momentarily losing consciousness before regaining his composure. The Officer fell from his surfacing point on the AC unit, landing on his feet while he dusted himself off.
In that moment of unconsciousness, Molly shot out from the wall she was consumed by, her eyeliner streaming with her tears.
"Molly!" Hendrix exclaimed, running towards the crying girl.
Hendrix picked Molly up. He noticed he was now standing at the entrance to the alleyway, so he made sure he stood on sunlit ground as he assessed the situation.
"So he has to be focused for anyone to stay inside the darkness, including him." Hendrix concluded with himself. "I need to get out of here before it gets dark."
The sun was starting to set as the streets were covered in that orange tint. The masses walking the sidewalks began to thin out, the curfew was coming.
Hendrix booked it down the sidewalk with a sobbing Molly in his arms.
In a few seconds, Molly would overexert herself and pass out, leaving Hendrix alone to find a way out of this predicament.
The Officer slipped into the darkness, following the sprinting Hendrix, jumping from shadow to shadow like a frog hopping from pond to pond.
He got an idea. Hendrix's mind flashed back to that fight in the shopping district that felt like eons ago. "Officer 1060 fled when civilians started to ask questions."
"Help!" Hendrix screamed at the top of his lungs. The crowds of civilians turned to the masked boy. They were more confused than anything, as they laid their eyes on a boy in a dragon mask holding an unconscious girl who he purposely hid the face of.
In response, 9274 repositioned himself so as to look like he was running from out of an alleyway. His maniacal grimace dropped for a worried look like an actor playing a role.
"Don't call for help now, you kidnapper!" The Officer rebutted. "Citizens! Please help this nation stay clean and catch this criminal!"
The crowd's confusion turned into shock, terror, and anger. The mask, the hysteria, and the girl in the boy's arms all made sense to the civilians now. The masses hyped themselves up as they closed in on the masked boy.
Hendrix's plan had now turned on him in one of the worst ways possible.
Back at the compound:
Jason stared at the setting sun from his chair as everyone's worry began to amplify.
"That son of a bitch took Molly with him, too." Biggie muttered from his bed.
"She went of her own accord." Jason shook his head as he stood up. "Bloom, Alex, can I talk to you for a second?"
Bloom and Alex nodded and got up, making their way into the hall and closing the door behind them.
"What do you think they're gonna talk about?" Amora asked her friends. They all shrugged and shook their heads in return. The day's events had worn them to their core.
They began to hear commotion from the hallway.
"There's no way I'm agreeing to that!" Bloom exclaimed.
"I haven't been able to use my Mode since Manny died and you're an emotional wreck right now, no offense. Alex can guide them and-" Jason was interrupted.
"Alex, why aren't you saying anything?!" Bloom turned to Alex, tugging at the sleeve of her leather jacket.
A few moments of silence passed. Alex looked at the ground, thinking to herself.
"We don't know who Hendrix might have provoked out there. We'll need all the manpower we can get without causing too much commotion-" Alex was interrupted.
"What the fuck! Did you not see what happened to that poor boy in there? These kids aren't ready!" Bloom clutched her hair, trying to slow her breathing. "I- I'm going to our room." she made her way down the hallway, towards her and Alex's shared room.
Jason and Alex looked at each other and nodded. They opened the door to the infirmary as every kid in the room turned their attention to the two adults.
"This is your first mission," Jason started. The teens' eyes widened. "The objective is as follows: bring Hendrix back to the compound while minimizing public attention. You'll split into two groups of three. Akilah, Kai, and Taro'll make up group one. Chase, Amora, and Slim'll make up group two. Be ready in ten." Jason finished, leaving the room in a hurry.
"I'll be right behind you guys, don't worry." Alex assured the kids as she made her exit.
The shock in the room was palpable, each kid turning to each other in confusion.