Marie's voice echoed in the earpieces, clear but laced with tension. "Sir, I found nothing in them. They seem clean."
"Understood," replied the boss at the other end of the line. His tone was firm, but there was a hint of concern in his words. "Stay alert. For now, we can't trust anyone."
"Understood," she responded before cutting off the communication.
Meanwhile, Podbe's team advanced through the desolate landscape, accumulating a total of 2,000 experience points and reaching level 12. With two skill upgrade points pending, each member was ready to face whatever awaited them. However, the ship carrying Eduard's team had also been shot down, crashing in the middle of the inhospitable Nevada desert. There, under a scorching sky and surrounded by golden dunes that seemed to stretch endlessly, they stood before Radar's operations base, led by Aragon Barns.
Aragón didn't hesitate for a second before sending his super soldiers to test the intruders. Thanks to the telekinetic powers of Rachel and Ada, who managed to keep everyone on an improvised floating raft, the team survived the impact. Upon landing, the two agents approached the three children accompanying Eduard, gently touching their cheeks with affection. The little ones, blushing and frightened, hid behind their leader. All except Benjamin, whose mask caught the attention of the agents from Team C.
"It's not a wolf," protested Benjamín when asked about his outfit.
"But it looks like one," they teased with mischievous smiles.
"I'm not taking it off," he declared firmly before running back to his friends, seeking refuge alongside the others.
"Girls, calm down. There's plenty of Gat for everyone," said Gat, strutting proudly, though the agents didn't even glance at him.
Suddenly, something in the air shifted. An electric sensation ran down Eduard's spine as he raised his hand in warning. "Something's coming," he murmured, feeling an unknown object hurtling toward them at high speed.
"Guys, move!" he shouted just in time. A massive metal bar soared through the air like a projectile, heading straight for them. Without hesitation, Eduard pulled his gloves from his backpack and struck the bar with superhuman strength, splitting it in two.
"Wow, these new gloves can actually handle my strength," he thought aloud. "I'll have to thank Adrian later."
"It's time to get ready and fight, everyone," he instructed firmly.
Twenty figures dressed in black emerged from the shadows, their faces hidden behind impenetrable masks. One of them, the one responsible for throwing the bar, began generating another out of pure metal, as if conjuring it from thin air.
"That kid can create metal out of nothing," Eduard reflected as he adopted a defensive stance.
Rachel and Ada took the broken pieces of the bar and turned them into improvised weapons, repelling the enemies with fluid and precise movements. "Remember, we're not here to kill them—just neutralize them," Eduard reminded them.
Ask
Explain
Gat, ever impulsive, launched ten small explosive balls toward his opponents, leaving a trail of smoke and confusion. Five enemies surrounded Floud, who still seemed nervous.
"Floud, be careful. Remember your training, and don't hurt them," Eduard warned. The boy nodded and began to move with agility, touching his adversaries before launching small bursts of energy and fire that incapacitated them without causing permanent harm.
"What was that, kid?" Gat exclaimed, impressed.
"It's Floud's power," Riota explained as she touched Gat's hand. "While I can copy physical abilities, he can copy magical ones."
"Ah, I'd forgotten about that," Gat admitted with a grin. "And you, fox-boy? What can you do?"
Benjamín didn't respond. Instead, his body began to transform, taking on the shape of a giant fox with a lizard-like tail that shimmered under the relentless sun.
"That little guy can turn into any animal he wants and even combine their parts. Isn't that awesome?" Eduard remarked while blocking attacks from the metal-generating foes.
"Show-offs," Gat muttered as he knocked down another opponent.
"Electro shot," Floud announced, sending a burst of electricity that left several enemies unconscious.
The battle continued with a mix of strategy and controlled chaos. Finally, Eduard managed to defeat the two boys generating metal, and the team regrouped to assess the situation.
"Alright, we're done," Eduard declared. "What now?"
"For now, we need to take them into custody. We can use that metal to create a temporary prison," Rachel suggested.
Floud, whose hands still burned with the fire he had copied from one of the enemies, nodded. "I'll help."
"If telekinesis is a physical ability, maybe I can contribute too," Riota added.
Together, they created an improvised prison for the twenty attackers.
"This is so easy," Gat commented with an arrogant smile.
"Yeah, you're right. Too easy," the girls agreed.
"Alright, we should head toward Radar's base. Aiden might be there," Eduard instructed, taking charge.
"Good. You cadets, stay here and guard the prisoners," Eduard ordered in an authoritative but calm tone. "And you agents, you're coming with us." As the mission leader, his voice brooked no argument.
Meanwhile, at the desert base, Aragon Barns observed the scene from his command post, using his aura to sense how the team had neutralized his super soldiers with surprising ease. He frowned, annoyed but intrigued. "I'm not fond of this," he muttered to himself, "but I'll increase the standard of these kids. Send out the next wave." His voice was cold, calculated, as if he were playing a strategic game where human pieces were mere pawns.
The ship carrying the team led by Azulema had also been hit, though not destroyed like the others. The impact forced an emergency landing in the middle of a vast African desert. The suffocating heat and scorching sand surrounded the area, turning the environment into an unrelenting oven.
"We were so close to arriving," Azulema lamented as she inspected her black boots, now covered in golden dust. "These boots are going to get dirty, and they'll be full of sand." She shook one leg in annoyance, though her tone carried a hint of humor.
"Don't be so pessimistic, friend," Ezequiel responded with a reassuring smile as he pulled some supplies from the damaged ship. "Alright, Marky, follow me," he said to his younger companion, who was already ready to act.
"Sir, I detected some strange readings. Something is approaching from the east," Becky, one of the technical agents on the team, reported. Her formal tone contrasted with the group's informality.
"You don't have to be so formal, Becky. Call me Ezequiel, like everyone else," he replied with a smile. "You're starting to sound like someone I know…" He glanced toward the horizon, thinking of Marie.
"Ma'am Azulema, aren't you going to ask about us?" interrupted three female voices. Teresa, Alicia, and Samanta emerged from the back of the plane, slightly stumbling due to the dizziness caused by the abrupt landing.
"Oh, I forgot you were with me," Azulema admitted with a nervous laugh as she glanced at young Mark, who remained alert for any signs of danger.
Suddenly, the agents' sensors began emitting warnings. "Sir, something is approaching underground," they alerted.
"What could it be?" Ezequiel asked, preparing for the worst.
A thunderous roar shook the ground as a boy with a shark-like face and octopus arms emerged from the sand, lunging directly at them. Unfazed, Azulema extended her hand and flung him away with superhuman strength. "Too slow. Get out of here," she declared dismissively. Meanwhile, Mark quickly fired to stun him.
"Well done, that's my Marky," Azulema celebrated proudly, winking at him.
But the calm was short-lived. "More are coming!" the agents warned. This time, the enemies controlled the sand, launching massive waves like tsunamis that threatened to bury them.
"Watch out!" the agents shouted as they tried to take cover.
Ezequiel, whose powers were more effective in close combat, was forced to take shelter alongside Becky. The other agents opened fire, but the sand waves quickly engulfed them. However, the three girls—Teresa, Alicia, and Samanta—used their telekinesis to repel the waves, causing the enemies to collide with one another.
"Thank you, girls," Azulema said gratefully as she adjusted her defensive stance.
"If that's all they've got, they'd better send something better," she remarked arrogantly as she playfully tugged on Mark's cheeks, who protested with a grimace.
"Yeah, this is very strange," Ezequiel reflected, analyzing the situation. "Alright, I'll create a sort of prison for now." Becky, communicating with what remained of the damaged plane, assembled an improvised metal cube where they placed the twenty neutralized enemies.
"You cadets, stay here and guard them," Ezequiel instructed. "In the meantime, we'll move forward toward Radar's headquarters."
From the monitors at the base, Aldos, Radar's leader in Africa, observed with a sinister smile. "Great, more subjects. They must be that team of super agents we were told about. I thought they had perished when we destroyed their ship, but I see they're still there. That's good… I love a good hunt," he murmured, chuckling under his breath. "Come to my party, even though you weren't invited."
Near some ancient ruins located a few kilometers from the Great Wall of China, Ray, the blind samurai, wielded his sword with millimeter precision, facing every enemy who dared approach him. His sharp perception compensated for his lack of sight, allowing him to anticipate every move. By his side, Margaret, Marta, and Sheila tried to protect several agents injured in the plane crash.
Suddenly, Ray was surrounded by a group of adversaries who threw knives at him. Before the blades could reach him, a red flame erupted from nowhere, incinerating the projectiles. It was Ramona, engulfed in flames, furious at having been left out of the fight earlier.
"Thank you," Ray said calmly, though his tone was firm. "But don't forget: we're not here to kill them, just incapacitate them. They're children."
"Yeah, fine," Ramona agreed, though her expression remained fierce. "But more keep coming."
"So it seems," Ray agreed as he blocked another attack. "They've sent many to wear us down."
From the shadows, Jeti Fin, Radar's leader in Asia, watched with satisfaction. "It was a good idea to disable the plane instead of destroying it and luring them here. Soon they'll tire, and they'll bring them to me for questioning," he muttered with a sly smile.