---
Henry was at home, sitting on the couch and scrolling through his phone. He was chatting with Eve when he suddenly remembered he still had to deal with Grundy, who was currently imprisoned on the Moon.
'I have to go, Eve. We'll talk later,' said Henry, letting out a sigh.
Eve, who was at home with an injured leg, asked with concern,
'Did something happen?'
'Nothing serious, I just have to take care of something. How's your leg?' Henry asked.
Eve was lying in bed with her phone in hand. She glanced at her leg before answering,
'Honestly, it feels like it's healing way too fast.'
Henry knew the GDA had advanced technology. They probably used the best they had to help her recover, so it wouldn't take long for her to fully heal.
'That's great, Eve. What about school?' Henry asked.
'I've been discharged, but school won't stop sending homework...'
To be honest, Henry wanted to keep talking to Eve, but he got a message from Cecil. Yes, that Cecil. He had gotten his number a while back.
'I really have to go. Bye, Eve,' said Henry.
'Bye.'
Henry got up, stretched his back, and grabbed his phone to check Cecil's message. He saw he was being called in, and Cecil wanted to show him something. He replied quickly, saying he'd be there in a few minutes.
Henry went upstairs to his room. Before suiting up, he sat at his computer and checked his bank account. He had asked Cecil for help setting up the account. Henry wasn't worried about Cecil stealing from him—Cecil wasn't crazy enough to mess with his money, and besides, he didn't care about that kind of thing anyway.
At the moment, Henry had $700,000. He and Ned had sold around 400,000 copies of their game, and the numbers kept growing. It was starting to go viral. With Cecil's help, Henry had opened a game studio, and right now, he and Ned were working on a new game called Manicraft in their free time.
Over the years, Henry had spent about $300,000 building his Fortress. He bought all the metals, equipment, and supplies he needed. With the help of robots, he gathered and transported everything to the Fortress of Solitude.
After checking his finances, Henry put on his suit. He lived in a middle-class neighborhood, and before leaving, he told Cecil to prepare a cell for a monster. The GDA had plenty available, so that wouldn't be a problem.
Floating in his room, Henry checked to make sure no one was around, then flew out the window. He climbed slowly at first, then sped up once he reached a safe altitude, breaking the sound barrier and exiting Earth's atmosphere.
Now in the vacuum of space, Henry could survive there, but it wasn't comfortable, so he hurried. He flew to the Moon and used his enhanced vision to locate Grundy, who was suffocating in space. Grundy was immortal, so he couldn't die, but he was constantly choking and regenerating—dying and coming back. It looked like the worst kind of torture.
Henry approached, grabbed Grundy by the neck, and brought him back to Earth's atmosphere, relieving his suffering and taking him straight to the GDA. When they arrived, soldiers were already waiting with special equipment to contain creatures like Grundy. Among them was Immortal, overseeing the operation.
Henry landed and handed Grundy over to Immortal. With the soldiers' help, they managed to restrain him. Grundy's fate probably wasn't going to be a good one—now under GDA custody, they'd surely run experiments and try to develop new weapons or tech based on his physiology.
Henry greeted Immortal and headed to the back of the GDA. On the way, he came across Robot and Dupli-Kate.
'We've been waiting for you.'
---
Rex Sloan grew up in a poor family. One day, while trying to steal food to take home, he was tackled in an alley by a man. That man was Radcliffe.
Radcliffe was a middle-aged African-American man, bald, with a distinct scar running across his eye. He was a former GDA director—and he saw potential in Rex.
Radcliffe gave Rex special abilities and trained him to be a living weapon. He used Rex to destroy several facilities and sent him on classified missions. Now, he wanted Rex to carry out yet another mission supposedly for the government—but in truth, they were just Radcliffe's personal goals.
'All you have to do is destroy the place. I guarantee no one will get hurt this time—I checked, there's no one there.'
'Alright…' Rex agreed, reluctantly.
He had been sold by his own family, but he never tried to escape. Rex had been conditioned to stay and work for the government. Honestly, he didn't have anywhere else to go, so he just obeyed.
He wore a black uniform with a red visor and elite soldier gear. Along with his powers, he had also learned hand-to-hand combat and stealth.
At that moment, he was outside a mansion belonging to one of Radcliffe's targets. Rex jumped the wall and slipped in quietly.
Once he landed inside the property, he used his ability. Rex could charge inanimate objects with kinetic energy, turning them into explosives.
He grabbed a baseball and threw it through the window. The glass shattered. The mansion's owner, hearing the noise, rushed to check. When he saw the ball lying on the floor, he figured it was just some kids playing around—an accident, nothing serious.
He bent down and picked up the ball. At that moment, it began to glow.
(Explosion)
The entire mansion was destroyed. Flames erupted and lit up the night.
Rex watched from a distance, a tight feeling in his chest. He hated doing this.
He turned to leave, unaware he was being followed. In the sky above, three figures were watching him: Robot, Dupli-Kate, and Henry.
Robot and Dupli-Kate were on a flying motorcycle that could carry three people. Henry, on the other hand, was flying on his own.
They had seen everything—the exact moment Rex used his power. Right before the man in the mansion was 'killed' by the explosion, Henry activated his super speed and pulled him out. He walked in slowly, retrieved the man, and got out. To Henry, everything was in slow motion. He saw the exact moment the ball exploded and the blast spread toward the kitchen.
Cecil had told them a government super-soldier was destroying facilities and killing people. Their mission was to investigate and find out who—or what—it was.
'Let's move. Quietly,' said Robot.
'Got it,' Dupli-Kate replied.
They kept following Rex without being seen.
---