Everyone decided to join hands, forming a united circle in the face of the threat surrounding them. "We are THE FINDERS," Melisa declared firmly, confronting their fate without hesitation. "If we're going to die, we'll do it together as a team." Her tone was resolute, but there was a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. She closed her eyelids for a moment, reflecting on everything she had experienced up to that point. "Well, this is what a reporter does," she murmured to herself, accepting the seemingly inevitable outcome. "I have no regrets."
Melisa smiled at her companions—Creg, Philip, Ian, Michele, Choy (whom she had only recently met), and Professor Kile—with a calmness that inspired even the most frightened among them. It was a smile that said: "Do not be afraid." With that attitude, she managed to lift everyone's spirits, helping them face the bitter end with dignity.
"What happened?" Choy asked, confused. She opened her eyes and looked around. "Are we dead? Or what? Because I don't hear any attacks... And what's this yellow thing in front of us?"
The others opened their eyes as well and realized they were enveloped in a translucent, gelatinous mass shaped like an enormous bright yellow gummy bear. Inside the viscous substance, enemy attacks seemed to move in slow motion: steel rods floated suspended in the air, electrical bolts zigzagged lazily, and everything was wrapped in an unreal atmosphere.
A feminine voice echoed through the gelatin, using the mass as a natural amplifier. "Are you all right?" The silhouette of a young woman appeared before them. She placed her hands on the surface of the gelatin and leaned closer, amplifying her question. The group tried to respond, but their words remained trapped within the viscous mass.
"Oops!" exclaimed the young woman, laughing softly. "I forgot about that." With a swift motion, she removed the gelatinous mass, taking with it the suspended attacks.
The figure left standing before them was striking. A girl with long, dark blue hair tied into two large buns, pale obsidian skin, and enormous orange eyes that glowed like flames. She wore a white blouse with blue stripes, a short blue skirt, long black stockings, and elegant boots of the same color. A bear-shaped mask covered part of her face, giving her a mysterious aura.
"Hello," she said with a friendly smile. "You shouldn't be wandering around here; it's dangerous. My name is Agent E-4."
"Is that even a name?" Michele retorted, frowning. "It's just a letter and a number."
"Well, I can't tell you my real name," she replied with a shrug. "But what I can do is keep you safe. I've come to help."
"Another agent," Melisa muttered, eyeing the newcomer suspiciously. "She probably belongs to that Marie's group," she thought to herself. Still, she knew they had no other choice. "For now, we'd better take cover," she instructed her group, who moments ago had been prepared to face their end.
"Good thinking," commented a deep male voice. Everyone turned toward the source of the sound and saw a tall, muscular man with tanned skin and silver mohawk hair. His piercing green eyes gleamed intensely under the flickering flames. He was dressed like a boxer: shirtless, showcasing his perfectly defined physique, with wraps on his hands and feet, and tight shorts that left little to the imagination.
"Agent B-3," he introduced himself briefly, assuming a defensive stance just as a metal bar flew toward him at full speed. It struck his stomach directly, but the man didn't flinch. The bar bounced harmlessly off his hardened abdomen.
"Wow! So tough!" Choy exclaimed, amazed to see the attack hadn't caused him the slightest harm.
"Show-off," muttered a third feminine voice. Before anyone could react, a young woman appeared before the group, moving with the grace of a professional gymnast. With seemingly effortless precision, she delivered a kick that split the metal bar in two. The force of the impact not only destroyed the projectile but also cracked the ground beneath the enemies who had launched it.
The girl appeared delicate, but her strength was undeniable. She wore a form-fitting turquoise suit, fingerless gloves, and ballet slippers on her feet. Her short violet hair framed an angelic face, and her crystalline blue eyes sparkled mischievously, capturing the attention of every man present. Creg, Choy, and even a groggy Ian—who had just come and was muttering something about "where have you been all my life"—couldn't tear their eyes away. Even Professor Kile seemed impressed.
"Hey! We were only supposed to immobilize them, according to what the old scientist said," chimed in a metallic voice coming from a small robot the size of a child. It wore a dark green helmet with a bright visor reflecting blinking lights. Its gloves and boots, along with its green chest plate featuring a yellow "V" in the center, completed its futuristic design. This was Agent D-4.
"Who's this little guy? Looks like one of those robots from that movie I used to watch as a kid," Creg remarked, leaning forward to observe the peculiar android curiously.
"Ugh! Spoke the brainiac," Agent B-2 shot back, bringing a hand to her forehead in exasperation. "He's right," added the muscular Agent B-3, crossing his imposing arms. "And you—stop being indecent. Put some clothes on." He gestured toward the girl.
"Great, I got stuck with the fools," muttered the child in the robotic suit, shaking his head as if resigned.
"Hey, stop fighting!" E-4 tried to calm them, raising her hands in a gesture of peace. However, her intervention only provoked a sarcastic response.
"And you stay out of it," the gymnast and the muscular man said in unison, too busy arguing with each other.
"I guess I'll have to be the voice of reason," declared the robotic boy in an artificial but firm tone. "Stop messing around and get ready. More are coming."
Melisa's team, now safe, decided to continue on foot through what appeared to be a narrow, dark alley. She turned to Ian and instructed him: "Go with Philip and find a vehicle. We need to keep moving."
"We almost got killed, and you still want to keep going?" Michele scolded, crossing her arms in frustration. "We had an agreement, Melisa. If things got dangerous, we'd stop the journey," she reminded her in a tense voice.
"Yeah, I think she's right," Creg seconded, adjusting his glasses. Professor Kile nodded silently, supporting the group's decision.
"Fine, alright," Melisa conceded finally, though her tone made it clear she wasn't entirely convinced. "But at least let me record videos of those who are fighting."
"Agreed," Michele replied, glancing at her with a mix of distrust and resignation.
Creg pulled a smaller camera from his backpack and, from one of his pockets, extracted tiny drones that began to hover around the scene. The cameras captured every detail of the battle unfolding before them. The agents who had saved them fought with almost superhuman precision against the mind-controlled children.
"They're just kids without training, but with the blood of killers," B-3 commented as he easily blocked an attack. A direct punch hit him in the stomach, but he didn't even blink. "If you want to hurt me, you'll need more than that." With that, he stomped hard on the ground, generating a shockwave that knocked out the five attackers surrounding him, rendering them unconscious instantly.
Meanwhile, B-2 moved like lightning. She leaped agilely and positioned herself behind the mind-controlled children, using only a fraction of her strength to knock them out with precise blows. Her grace and precision were hypnotizing.
Agent E-4, on the other hand, summoned strange gelatinous creatures resembling giant worms, which enveloped her opponents like sticky nets. The enemies were trapped, gasping for air until they collapsed unconscious.
The boy in the robotic suit threw a grenade to the ground. Instead of explosions, it emitted a high-pitched sound that caused all the attackers to collapse into sleep instantly. "Too easy. I don't understand why the other teams had trouble," D-4 remarked in his monotone metallic voice.
"It must've been because they didn't have powers," E-4 suggested innocently.
"I doubt it's that," the muscular B-3 interjected, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I trained with some of the men they mentioned, and I don't think they would've lost so easily."
"Well, we're done in this sector. Now let's head to Radar's office. It's underground, according to what A-4 indicated," the robot boy proposed.
"There's no need. I already know where it is," announced a new voice. From the ground emerged a young woman whose hair was divided into four long, flowing strands, like silk curtains of light brown. Her silver eyes gleamed with an almost surreal intensity, and her dress seemed woven from multicolored rocks and stones, forming a vibrant rainbow. She trapped the defeated mind-controlled individuals in a solid earthen prison.
"Alright, enter this opening and follow me. We're going after them," she instructed calmly, pointing to a gap in the ground. Without hesitation, the others followed her.
"Did you record everything?" Melisa asked, turning toward Creg.
"Yes, all of it, boss," he replied proudly, showing her the screen of his camera.
"Good, it's time to go," Professor Kile announced as he noticed Ian returning in another vehicle. But when Melisa glanced back at the path they had come from, she realized it had completely disappeared, whether due to the battle or some other unknown cause.
"Well, we have no choice but to follow this path and look for a ship or some transport to get us back to the plane," Melisa declared with determination. Everyone silently agreed, aware that they had no other option.
"Oh well. It seems like everything is going my way this time. The story won't slip through my fingers," Melisa murmured to herself as a faint smile spread across her face, illuminated by the glow of the flames still consuming the horizon.