The next day, Liu went to school and was greeted by an enthusiastic Netnet. Nenet annoyed him into telling what happened with the assessment. At first, Liu wanted to keep everything a secret, but they overheard a group of students talk about how Karma is a newly appointed Beta of southern Quezon City. Netnet was overjoyed that he was all over the place giggling and laughing like a lunatic that Liu was forced to stop him out of secondhand embarrassment, so Netnet calmed down and asked if it was true to which Liu confirmed. Netnet got overjoyed like a lunatic again. The other students in the room were staring at him again, but Liu just accepted it and smiled. He was just glad that Netnet was feeling that way.
They continued to overhear the students talk about the news. Some of them were happy that Karma is now officially a superhero, while the others think that the fame has gone to Karma's head and that he'll probably stop being the real superhero that everyone needs since his actions must abide by the rules now.
Netnet whispered, "Don't mind them, Liu. I'm just happy that you have the opportunity to make a real change now."
"Thanks, Net."
"So... how does it go? Do they call you when they need you or what?"
"I don't know yet. They just told me that I'm responsible for dealing with street-level crimes."
While they were having a discreet conversation, Liu didn't realise that Kagi was on his seat secretly listening to their conversation.
-
Meanwhile, in the Ginto Syndicate's base of operations, all 9 remaining seats were gathered.
"Our dear friend Karma is now a Beta", said Tinto, one of their 5-star Omegas, the 8th Seat.
"Is that gonna be troublesome for us?", asked Alab, one of their 6-star Omegas, the 6th Seat.
Noise was starting to fill the room because of the sudden turn of events. Some of them felt that it was a big trouble because that meant he could have backup, while some were curious what city he's assigned in. Then, their boss, the 1st Seat, said, "There's nothing to worry about, everyone. He's the new Beta of the southern part of Quezon City. I think things just turned in our favor."
"How, boss?", Tinto asked.
Their boss answered, "His jurisdiction is Quezon City. That means he can't do his thing in Manila anymore or in any other cities that we operate in."
"But how am I gonna get my revenge?", Haso asked.
The 1st Seat replied, "Save your energy, Haso. He's merely a B-rank. The others can take care of him."
Haso replied, "With all due respect, boss, you sent out Manika who's supposed to be able to take down a B rank but look what happened."
"As my left hand, I expect you to have more faith, Haso", said their boss. Haso just lowered his head in shame and apologised. "7, 8, and 9... You're up. Take care of that meddling fool once and for all", their boss added as he smiled menacingly.
-
Back in LPU, their professor, Epdelion, arrived and started teaching them the ancient Filipino script, Baybayin. As the lesson went on, Liu and Netnet felt that the script was familiar.
Netnet whispered, "Hey, Liu. Doesn't that look familiar to you?"
Liu answered, "Yeah. That's the sigil on the teleportation spell and on the puppets."
Epdelion noticed that the two were having a conversation so he called them out. He asked them what the fuss was about. With his quick wit, Netnet said, "Sir, we're just wondering why that looks familiar. Is that the same script that the magicians use in their sigils?"
Epdelion answered, "Ah! Good question. The answer is yes. The magicians of our country use this script in their sigils. Are you interested in magic, Juanito?"
Netnet replied, "Sir, you can just call me Netnet. I don't really like hearing Juanito. But anyway, I was just curious, and now I'm interested."
Epdelion smiled and said, "That's good to hear, Netnet. If you wanna learn more about the sigils, you can join my PMF club."
"We sure will, sir. Thanks!", said Netnet.
Then, Liu whispered to Netnet, "What do you mean we?"
"Oh... my bad", Netnet whispered and chuckled.
-
At noon, the boys went to the fast food chain near the university to have lunch together. Netnet took the opportunity to talk to Liu about his newfound purpose.
"Liu, you're a Beta now. This is exactly what I envisioned you'd be. Not that I intended to put you in trouble. But anyway, are you gonna keep Karma's brand?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know... vigilante style of crime fighting... beating up criminals and injuring their arms to prevent them from committing crimes again. I mean I know that you are against the things that I--"
"Yes. I intend to keep the identity that Karma is known for."
"Wait... Did I hear that correctly or is this soda making me drunk?"
"I just want to honor the identity that you have built."
"But I thought you hated what I was doing."
"I didn't say I hate it. I just didn't agree with your methods."
"Didn't? So does that mean..."
"Yes, I agree now."
Netnet's eyes glistened and he started getting teary-eyed. Liu noticed and chuckled, and said, "Behind that tough Karma persona you made, you really are just a softy, huh?"
"Oh shut up. I just didn't expect you to change your mind. I mean I kinda did but not this quick."
"Hmm. I see. It's not that I didn't agree. The truth is... I've always known that I'm meant to use my abilities to do great things, specifically, this superhero stuff. It's just that I grew up with overprotective parents. They told me to keep my abilities hidden. I didn't fully understand why, but I understand that they must have a good reason. But then I realised that it's time I walk down this path."
Netnet paused to ponder on what Liu said. He felt bad that he argued with him over the vigilante thing without understanding his situation. He apologised to Liu.
Liu said, "Don't worry about it, Net. It's not your fault. Besides, I forgive easily even if people don't seek my forgiveness."
"I understand. Anyway... I have something to show you at home. Come with me after class."
-
Later that day, they went to Netnet's house in the Binondo district. Netnet was thrilled to show Liu what he made for him. When they entered his room, Liu was surprised to see a mannequin in upright position wearing a black hooded robe with a belt, and a black cloth wrapped around its mouth like a ninja.
"What's this, Net?", Liu asked.
"It's your costume. I meant your... superhero... uhm... uniform? Yeah, your superhero uniform!"
Netnet noticed that Liu had a skeptical look on his face. He added, "I chose black because I felt that's your thing. You know... being gloomy and all. Oh! I also added the face mask thingy to make sure your identity is hidden." He noticed that Liu still looked skeptical about it. He asked, "It's too much isn't it? You can let me know so I can make changes. I spent the night working on this by myself because I already knew you'd be a superhero, and I thought you need a costume... I meant a uniform."
After staring at the outfit for a few seconds, Liu said, "Hmm... I like it."
"Really?!"
"But... isn't there supposed to be a logo?"
"Huh? A logo? Oh! You mean like the superheroes in comic books? Nah. No superhero in real life uses a logo. I mean there's a few, but it's not a thing in real life. Only comic books do that. I don't know... maybe for the purpose of selling merch."
"Oh... I see. I thought it's a thing, even the secret identity thing."
"Oh, that's a controversial topic. Some heroes don't hide their identity, some do. Aliases are a thing a though."
"Hmm... looks like I have a lot to learn about this hero stuff."
"For sure. But don't worry, Liu! I'm happy to help!"
"Hmm... I don't know how that's gonna work, but thanks, Net."
"Anyway, wanna try your outfit?"
Liu went and tried his outfit for the first time. It was a perfect fit. He turned to Netnet to show what it looked. Netnet said, "Hmm... you kinda look like a member of a cult... in a good way of course. It makes you look intimidating, probably even scary."
"I can make it look even more intimidating."
"How?"
"Turn off the lights."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
And so Netnet turned off the lights. He couldn't see a thing. Suddenly, he saw a glowing pair of blue eyes staring him down. He felt goosebumps and genuine fear that he immediately turned the lights back on, and said, "What the hell was that?!"
"That's my special ability. When my eyes glow, I'm able to see people's aura. It allows me to gauge someone's power."
"Whoa! That's cool! Do you have other special abilities?"
"Hmm... not that I know of."
"Well, what you did was really cool. I actually felt fear for second there. The outfit with those eyes are just perfect! You look like... an undead assassin."
Liu chuckled and said, "You play too much video games, Net."
"Speaking of assassin, what weapon are you gonna use?"
"Hmm... I think--."
Before Liu could even finish his sentence, they heard an alert coming from Netnet's computer and phone. They looked at each other and thought the same thing. Netnet told Liu that he should go, but before that, he handed him an earpiece so they could communicate. Then, Liu rushed to the crime scene. While on his way, Netnet briefed him about the situation.
"Liu, this one's a special case. It's an abduction. 6 suspects in a black van, OBC 545. It's currently at Bambang street. I think it's about to take Mendoza street. Victim is a male with short hair, wearing green shirt and grey pants. You need to hurry."
"I am in a hurry. The problem I have is... I don't know where those streets are."
"Oh boy", Netnet murmured. He asked Liu where he was to access the camera feeds of that location and guide him where to go. He had a hard time doing it because Liu was just too fast that he could barely keep up.
A few seconds later, Liu was able to keep up to the van. He jumped high up in the air and perfectly landed on top of the van on his knee. The people in the van were rattled by the thud on the roof. Then, Liu punched a hole on the back door and pulled it apart. The criminals inside panicked. The driver pulled over and the others pulled out their guns.
"What the hell was that?!", said one of them while the victim was crying and shouting for help.
5 of them went out the van to see who was on the roof. To their surprise, nobody was there. Then suddenly, Karma appeared behind them, and one of the men saw him and was terrified because of his glowing blue eyes. That man pointed at Karma with his shaking hands. The others looked behind and they were all frightened. Out of fear, they immediately pointed their guns at Karma. However, he quickly disarmed them that they didn't even notice that he and their guns disappeared. All their brains could process was a black streak passing by them.
"Guns... the weapon of cowards", said Karma as he looked at the guns he took from them.
Then, he swiftly mauled them leaving them lying on the ground in agony due to fractures all over their body. The last one left, the driver, witnessed all of it in the rearview mirror. He panically pulled out his gun and removed his seatbelt, but when he looked back at the rearview mirror, Karma was no longer there. He sensed that someone's staring at him. In the edge of his eye, he could see someone standing at the door with glowing eyes. His whole body shivered as he slowly looked to his right. Then, before he could even use his gun, Karma punched through the window, pulled the guy out and slammed him to the ground, instantly knocking him out.
Netnet saw the whole thing through one of the camera feeds, and thought to himself, "Oh, I'm so glad I'm on his side. He's really frightening."
Then, Liu opened the van's side door and untied the victim. The victim tried his best to calm down despite the trauma, and asked, "Are you... Karma?" Liu deactivated his enhanced vision to appear less intimidating to the guy, and said, "Yes, I am. You're safe now." Then the guy wept in relief.