Seven Heroes Redux

Stalor and 4-S leave the room.

— Done, guys. I guess we'll keep looking for more computers to hack, so go ahead and give us a call if you need us.

They leave.

— Any suggestions, bro?

— Can we... go to the laboratory?

I need to see for myself. I guide her to where Kataki was last seen. My sister touches the metal door and destroy it silently. We walk in. There's nothing here. My sister looks confused.

— Yuto, what did you want to see here?

— Nothing... looks like I was mistaken.

I don't think I should say anything related to her to my sister. She gets serious when I mention her name.

We enter a spacious room, as dark as the others. A few lights are shining down on us from flashlights. A punk can be seen in the center, on the top floor. He has a pink mohawk and wears a black jacket, typical of a vandal.

— Hey, girl! I knew you were up to something. You intended to use us and take all the money and merit! But if we defeat you, we'll earn a much bigger reward!

My sister doesn't answer, just looks at them with a look of disdain. Are all these thugs the pawns she hired?

She raises her hand, as a threat. They start jumping from the ledge running towards her. She nods at me.

Is she asking me to use a reverse barrier on myself? If I use myself as the center of gravity, I can reverse it and repel anything that comes near. It's a shield, but it can kill people if I'm not careful.

I put up my barrier. My sister brings her middle finger and thumb together. The bandits don't stop coming.

She snaps her fingers, releasing an absurdly powerful shockwave. It completely disintegrates the room and many meters beyond. The entire building shakes violently. Phew, if it wasn't made of energy-nullifying material, it would not contain the damage inside and would affect the city. I'm pretty sure she held back a lot, though.

The thugs are gone, literally. There's nothing left of them, not even a single cell.

— Sister! You had promised that you wouldn't kill anyone unnecessarily!

— They betrayed us. They were bandits, their lives had no value like ours.

— Even so...

— Sorry, Yuto. I'll try to hold back next time.

I think she was already holding back... I see a strange figure hanging from the ceiling. I fly to reach it, my sister follows me jumping and punching the wall to pin herself. It's a girl, she's wearing ragged brown clothes, like a prisoner. Her hands are tied to the wall, with handcuffs and a chain. She's unconscious.

Her hair is... mint green? Wait, she's that girl who gave me my power! I touch the handcuff to destroy it, but it releases a powerful electric current. I use my power to destroy its circuits so they can't hurt the girl.

We lay her down on the ground, taking a better look at her. She's still sleeping, even after all this destruction. I don't even know how she's still alive.

Ouch, what is this? A shrill sound... It's getting louder... Argh, I can't hear anything! My sister is feeling it too...

Suddenly, she is sent flying upwards, passing through all the ceilings and reaching the sky. Someone punches me... I fall to the ground, spitting blood... argh, it hurts so much...

I turn around and see an old man looking at me. It's Sage, the second strongest! An old man with long, gray hair and green eyes. He wears a black suit with a green tie, a black top hat and white gloves.

He approaches me and grabs me by the hair. I use my supreme gravity on him, forcing him to the ground. He takes no damage. Suddenly, Stalor flies towards him, trying to hit him with his feet. His shoes release a powerful wind and they are both sent flying in opposite directions.

Before Sage can recover, Stalor uses his shoes to propel himself and send out powerful winds, which are countered by mysterious forces. He catches up to the old man and launches a series of supersonic punches, which are easily blocked with his arms.

The old man kicks him in the stomach and sends him flying. Stalor somehow teleports behind him and kicks him in the head. Nothing happens. With a loud thud, a mysterious force throws him towards 4-S, who was helping in the fight.

She tries to stretch the space, but the same sound and mysterious force crush her arms and legs. Stalor hits her on the way and they both fly out of the building.

Something hits the ground with such force that I'm thrown several meters away. It's my sister! She punches Sage a thousand times in a second, but he's only pushed away. She grabs his arms and swings him, releasing him towards the sky.

She follows him and punches him down. His impact with the ground causes a major explosion in the city. She kicks him so violently that his body pierces many buildings in its path, a mountain and travels many more kilometers.

She comes back.

— I forgot to tell you his powers, Yuto. He is one of the few heroes that has two: Sound and Immutability. The first caused this deafening noise and the mysterious forces. The second nullified any damage he took, at the cost of staying still.

She reaches out her hand to me. I stand up with her help.

— Thank you, sis.

— I didn't kill him so as not to break our promise.

— He was definitely not an innocent person...

— So I could have killed him?!

— Actually, I think it's better this way. He'll not return soon, right? About the others...

— Don't worry about them, they wouldn't die this easily.

— If you say so...

I remember the little girl with the green hair. I run to her to see if she's okay. She's still intact, somehow. I give her a piggy bank ride while she sleeps.

We arrived at a very long corridor. The wall on the right is a glass window that gives a beautiful view of the city. The rest is blue metallic surfaces.

— S-Stop! I-If you continue from that point, I'll shoot!

There's a man in a suit at the end of the hallway, holding a pistol and aiming it at us. Before I can say anything, my sister's arm is already through his head.

— Sister...

I gasp in surprise. I run towards her and slap her face.

— You promised not to kill innocent people anymore!

— Y-Yuto… I'm sorry… I s-shouldn't-

— Didn't that promise mean anything to you?

— Yuto, I know you're mad at me, but-

— No more excuses! I won't forgive you this time!

She freezes, desperate. She kneels, crying.

— Y-Yuto, I… I can't… I can't live without you! Please, I beg you, forgive me! I won't do it again! I know you don't believe me anymore, but you are the reason for my existence! Without you I'd rather die!

What's going on? She's never cried like this... actually, I've never seen her cry.

— C-Calm down, sis, no need to cry, I'm angry but it's not that extreme-

Something, or rather someone, breaks through the metal wall to my left. The hooded figure punches my sister in the side of the face. She's sent flying in the opposite direction.

Huh? The stars, they're stretching out... Kanata... she leaves a white trail as she flies away... The city... where are the buildings? There's nothing but empty space everywhere!

Everything is going back to normal... wait, this place... this place isn't even Tokyo! This is at least 77 kilometers from where we were!

The hooded figure takes off her hood. She has dark blue hair, blue eyes... wait, she looks like that girl who bumped into my sister at the beach...

— Thanks for protecting me there, kid. I really thought I was going to die. That sister of yours is hard to deal with, I feel sorry for you.

She approaches me, with a demonic smile.

— But you know, business is business.

Before I know it, my fingers are inside her eye sockets. She writhes in pain and tries to grab me, but I grab the green-haired girl and walk away.

It's raining. I search for my sister, with no success.

Where am I even going?

What am I even doing?

This can't be happening, right?

She can't be dead.

She's the strongest. She's invincible.

She'll come flying to me, right?

I put the girl down and climb onto the edge of a bridge.

— What do you think you're doing?!

— Huh?

— Why? Tell me!

— Why not?

— Look at me! You saved me, right? Live for me, at least!

— But...

— No buts! Come on, crybaby!

I give up on doing it and take her hand.

We start walking.

This time, I'm going home.

There's nowhere else left for me.