The Ninth Department was only halfway through breakfast when the alert came in.
[URGENT MISSION - THREAT LEVEL: S-CLASS]
Somner read the notification aloud with a sigh and wiped syrup off his lips. "And here I was thinking we'd have a peaceful day off."
Fiero chewed on a strawberry pancake. "S-class? That's gotta be Void-related."
Victorina was already putting on her combat tutu. "Sounds like it's showtime, Cloud Nine Squad!"
***
The Cloud Nine Squad arrived in the field fifteen minutes later, crammed in their department van that still smelled like Cam's chicken curry.
What they saw made silence crawl into the vehicle.
The anti-Threat protest was massive. A throng of mostly older, graying citizens packed into the plaza, red-faced with rage, waving signs that read:
They waved signs that screamed hate louder than any megaphone:
[THREATS ARE JUST VILLAINS WAITING TO HAPPEN!]
[VOIDLINGS, MUTANTS, MONSTERS—ALL THE SAME!]
[BORN WITH POWERS? DIE WITH RESTRAINTS!]
