He had woken up out of mere impulse. Nothing much, just a feeling to get out of bed.
His eyes were heavy, and as he trudged to the small bathroom in the room, he almost stumbled and fell.
Everything was surprisingly available in the room, so he didn't really have to ask for much. Facing him, hung on the wall in what seemed like a small basket, was a new toothbrush and toothpaste.
Axel took it and started brushing, not wasting time and doing so quickly. He showered quickly, the water warm and nerve-soothing. His face was indifferent, and if one didn't look well, one would say he was just sleepy.
Having bathed and creamed and all, even dressing up in a really 'cool' outfit he found in a wardrobe in the room, he paused for some seconds, looking the room over before saying with a slight nod:
"Impressive stuff."
He then went out of the room, taking an elevator downwards.
---
Firstly, before any other thing, they went to the dead superheroes' burial. The atmosphere was sad and gloomy, the sky even.
Axel watched as their coffins were laid inside the ground, and for a split second, he almost cried. It was a sad scene.
And then, to make the scene more scenic, it started to drizzle. Light droplets of rain fell on them, and some superheroes, in sympathy, sobbed sadly.
It was a picturesque scene for sadness, actually. The girls sobbed more loudly, the boys—well, about two sobbed, but they were strong. Axel stood afar off, Dan standing by him, their heads bent down.
"They didn't deserve to die," Axel said.
Dan smiled. "They actually deserved to," he said grimly.
Axel was so stunned by the words he had to look Dan over.
"What do you mean?"
Dan smiled.
"All superheroes deserve to die. It's just by luck that we actually don't."
Axel nodded repeatedly and remained silent, his face bent downwards. The words were deep, and at that point, he understood.
"You didn't deserve to lose your mother, father, and your uncle. That is, on a normal note, by the way. But, well, you did, you lost them. You didn't deserve to. You are too young and naive to do bad, but then, BAD did you bad," Dan said.
Axel looked at the sky and then let the droplets of rain enter his eyes. He blinked, and then, tears followed.
Axel was crying now.
Dan looked at him, now concerned.
"I'm sorry if I sounded harsh or blunt. I'm just trying to tell you how the world works."
Axel nodded his head in the affirmative, using the back of his hands to wipe the tears that were trickling down his face.
"I know. I'm not crying because of anything but just because of how life can be cruel," he said.
Dan nodded slowly, and coming out of it, he said:
"And the thing is, this is the fault of the people in power. Power causes pain, and pain causes hopelessness and death."
Axel could relate. He could relate in the sense of what the government almost did to him. They wanted to kill him because he possessed powers and wanted to save the earth. Axel had been sort of happy when he got his powers, but now, just about two days after getting them, he felt it unbearable.
Moreover, he wasn't going to get paid for saving the day. He decided to ask Dan.
"Would I, by chance, get paid for being a superhero?"
Dan nodded in the affirmative.
"Of course, all superheroes get paid. But you—Royal Cloak seems to like you because of what you did back there, and so, using you to save Superpolis, he will definitely be paying you handsomely."
"But I'm to save Khaos Realm and Earth."
Dan smiled. "Well, you'll do so, but you'll sure be needing the help of other superheroes, as the mastermind behind all this might control an empire on its own. Noting the symbol stuff we saw and the type of supervillains and monsters we had encountered, this is done by an almighty supervillain, so yeah, it'll be very tough stopping him or her."
Axel immediately remembered the force that had beaten Patrick. Patrick had told him that it was stuck in an interdimensional realm and was seeking to get out. Perhaps that was another villain entirely. He had a gut feeling that soon he would be up against it.
---
HQ…
Axel leaned against the wall, watching with blank eyes as the superheroes flexed their muscles and powers, getting prepared.
This training session was combat, and they were awaiting the arrival of Royal Cloak. Axel didn't know how they would do it, but, well, they would have to combat, he knew.
He had seen on the training board the stuff they were meant to do.
He had seen:
Combat training
Survival training
Instinct training
Superpower training
Realm battle training
And lastly—
Dimensional training (Interdimensional, semi-dimensional, ultra-dimensional)
What caught his attention was the realm combat training and dimensional training. So they would be going to realms to battle and even dimensions?
Axel decided they would be doing so only on missions.
Royal Cloak stepped out of an elevator and walked into the hall, nodding slightly to greet Axel specially before turning to greet everyone officially:
"Morning, students, or should I call you almost real superheroes?" He accompanied that with a short laugh before clearing his throat and continuing: "Today, I'll be training you guys on combat. But before I do so, I would love to see your levels in combat, and so, each of you will face each other. And so I'll know who's the strongest and your weakness, helping you to improve on it."
The superheroes all nodded in the affirmative.
"Firstly, it'll be Neon Blitz versus Aura Strike."
Axel was a bit surprised. Aura Strike—the girl who he had earlier admired?
Royal Cloak continued:
"Neon Blitz's profile:
Zadie Cross
Converts absorbed light into kinetic energy, allowing for speed bursts and plasma-charged attacks.
And,
Aura Strike's profile:
Rhea Voss
Generates and manipulates energy halos that can be used as shields, weapons, or thrown like boomerangs."
Axel nodded slightly.
'Two females with dope powers. Well, this is going to be interesting.'