Inside a cafe, Noah and Asher relaxed at a corner table, sipping their coffee. Sunlight streamed through the window.
Suddenly, Asher's phone buzzed loudly on the tabletop. He snatched it up, eyes scanning the screen.
"Milo found the shark boy!" Asher said, leaning forward, his voice a mix of excitement and urgency.
"I see," Noah said, setting his mug down. A slow smirk spread across his face. "The path to ruin has already begun."
"Come on, don't say something like that!" Asher said, frowning. "Don't jinx it! We're still riding the same boat, aren't we? We will get affected too if something bad happens, then!"
"For now," Noah said, shrugging dismissively. He glanced out the window. "Don't worry about it. So, where did they go?"
"Oh, I know this address," Asher said, tapping his phone, reading the next message. His brow furrowed. "But wait, the boss said that we don't need to do anything yet."
"Oh?" Noah said, turning back sharply, his interest visibly piqued. "Does that mean Liam is going to take action himself?"
"It seems like it," Asher confirmed, pocketing his phone. A flicker of anticipation crossed his face. "I guess revenge is more satisfying if you do it yourself."
"Interesting," Noah said, standing up smoothly. He tossed some bills onto the table. "Let's go find a good spot to watch. I don't want to miss it."
Asher nodded quickly, scrambling to his feet. He was interested too. Finally, he had a chance to see how strong their boss is. This is going to be a good reference for what's possible in the future.
They walked to the dimly lit corner of the cafe, near the restrooms where people couldn't see them clearly. The air shimmered faintly for a split second, and then they were gone.
---
The wind whipped across the rooftop of a tall, old building on the West side of Cardio City. Bricks were crumbling at the edges. Noah and Asher suddenly appeared on top of it.
"Whoa! So high!" Asher yelped, staggering as he looked down at the dizzying drop to the street far below. His face paled. He immediately flailed, trying to grab onto something solid. His hand latched onto Noah's arm.
Noah smacked his hand away sharply. "Don't grab onto me," Noah said flatly, adjusting his sleeve.
"So-sorry!" Asher stammered, stumbling backwards until his back hit the rough concrete of a ventilation shaft. He clung to it. "But you should have told me first we were going to teleport to a high place like this!"
"You should have known that already," Noah said, unconcerned. He walked calmly towards the roof's edge. "We're going to watch, of course we will do it from a high place."
"I get the logic but..." Asher sighed, pressing himself against the solid wall. No use, Noah wasn't going to listen, so he stopped trying. He took a few deep breaths, willing his legs to stop trembling.
"So, where are they?" Asher said, squinting as he tried to pinpoint the Shark Guy's team and the Joker Roulette's members in the streets below.
"Oh, interesting groups are moving this way," Noah said, his grin widening as he peered over the parapet.
Asher carefully shuffled forward to look in the direction Noah was focused on.
There are more people than Asher anticipated. On one side, the Shark Guy Zack, and his tattooed partner are running down a wide avenue, dodging abandoned cars. Chasing after them, closing the distance fast, were Liam, Ridley, and Milo. Liam moved with focused intensity.
On the other side of a debris-strewn plaza, a huge guy – the one from the prison, the one that hit Asher for no reason – lumbered desperately, crashing through a chain-link fence. He was being pursued relentlessly by three figures in dark gear.
"What happened here?" Asher said, confused, his head swiveling between the two separate chases.
"You can't tell?" Noah said, not taking his eyes off the scene.
"Can you?" Asher asked back, genuinely perplexed.
"Isn't it obvious?" Noah said, a hint of condescension in his tone. He pointed towards the huge fugitive. "How do you think Milo found the Shark Guy? Not to mention that Bog guy is all over the news right now."
"Oh!" Asher said, his eyes widening as the pieces clicked. "They're trying to recruit him? And the ones chasing him are... Arcane Keepers? They're trying to capture him back?"
"Took you long enough," Noah said, his gaze fixed like a hawk's.
Asher looked at Noah with amazement. "He got all of that just from a glance?" he thought to himself, feeling a chill despite the sun. Not only was Noah strong and dangerous, he was sharp too. The type that Asher really didn't want to be enemies with.
But on the other side...
Asher glanced down at Liam, far below, now closing in on Zack with Ridley and Milo flanking him.
"Can he even compete with Noah?" he thought to himself uneasily. Being a boss at such a young age obviously because he was strong. And based on Milo's story, he is as dangerous as Noah, probably more so in some aspects. Even though it's hard to tell if he's exaggerating it or not. Milo shut him down when he asked exactly what kind of power Liam has.
"You will see it yourself when the boss decides to use it in front of you," Milo had said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Asher remembered how disappointed he was being pushed away like that. Aren't they friends? Isn't he part of the group too? Why can't Milo trust him at least that much?
Asher shook his head, trying to put out his unnecessary thoughts. He can't think of anything else right now. He gripped the rough concrete edge of the roof.
The fight has begun.
---