A turning point

New York,

The buzzing night life of the city is at its peak. The cops, as usual, were patrolling and looking out for troublesome people. Everything is peaceful. Across the night sky, a subtle bluish streak moves, invisible to the passerby below. The streak halts on top of a building, and a silhouette appears. As the silhouette lands, he stands as the wide city comes into view—a mesmerizing view. As he walks into the light, the device on his hand glows blue. He's wearing a hoodie and joggers below.

"Recalibrating network." Zeus says

"Why are you recalibrating?" Axel asks

"I am currently calibrating it to work more effectively within a 5 km radius so that the mistake from last time does not repeat."

"Oh, yeah, we accidentally went into the wrong house, and they were not very welcoming about it." Axel says, giving a concerning look.

"Yes, configuration is completed."

"Good, so what have you got for me?"

"There's an armed robbery happening a few blocks away."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Axel levitates in the air and zooms into the sky. He flies through the buildings and stops right in front of a building. He scans the entire building. Five men on one floor; a few more spread across floors. People taken as hostages are seen huddled in one place.

"Okay, we are going to need a plan of action."

"Axel…"

"Zeus, let's first take care of the five men grouped together. Others won't be a problem anyway."

Axel swoops in towards the floor with five men.

"Axel!"

"What happened?"

Axel appears inside, and 4 of them point guns towards him while one of them just stands there, reclining on the back of a sofa.

"Welcome, ghost. I was expecting you." The guy standing speaks, his face hidden by the shadow.

Axel halts right there and stands across from him. The guy walks in from the shadows, revealing his face.

"You have been making quite a buzz." Josh says

Axel whispers, "Zeus, what's going on?"

"As soon as we approached the building, I noticed multiple heat signatures around the compound and a few snipers a little far off. They have us surrounded, and by the shoulder patches on their uniforms, they are military."

Axel looks around and takes a step back.

"Hey, don't worry, we only want to talk."

"Yeah, that's why you have so many people surrounding the compound with snipers."

Josh raises his eyebrows. "That's just standby, no need to be concerned. I know it looks fishy, but we really just want to talk."

"I don't think you guys realize this, but this is not how you talk to someone."

Axel looks around again. "Especially with guns pointed at them. It looks to me as if you are here to arrest me."

Josh pulls his right arm up and lowers the fingers to signal everyone around him. All of them lowered their guns. Axel notices this and just stays still.

"We cool now."

"For now. What do you want?"

"Judging by your looks, you are a college student at max."

"What do you wanna talk about?"

"Oh, no small talk?"

"See, let me be frank. I am not doing anything wrong. Plus, I don't want anything to do with you guys."

"Ghost, we are not here to judge you. As I said , we just want to have a talk about you and your powers."

Axel takes a step back "So that's what this is about. You guys want my powers."

"No, no. For our knowledge, we just want to know. I think even you realize that your existence in itself is questionable."

Axel stays quiet.

"We just want to make sure that you and us are on the same side."

"I think I have made that very clear with my actions." Axel takes another step back.

Josh takes a step forward. "Don't worry, we won't harm you. I know what you have been up to. You have stopped many crimes and we are thankful for it"

"Then just let me be. I won't harm any innocent lives. Is that not enough."

"See, I think you are grown enough to understand that something beyond our understanding scares us."

Axel takes another step back. "I don't think I can extend this talk anymore."

"Ghost, wait."

Glass breaks, a whooshing noise screeches through. Axel's facial expressions tighten, Josh's eyelids widen. Axel looks below. Blood starts pouring out of his right side of the abdomen. He has a hole there. A sniper's wound, Axel quickly puts his hand over to stop the bleeding. He looks at Josh, activates his phase shift, and zooms out into the sky. Josh puts his hand on his ears.

"What the hell did you just do? Who fired the shot?" Josh's face turns red as he screams.

He looks in the direction of the ghost's escape. Squints his eyebrows, stays still for a sec. He slams the ear piece on the ground and walks away.

Somewhere above the city,

Axel soars through the sky, breathing heavily. He goes down and lands on top of a building. As soon as he steps on the roof, he puts his hand on the wound.

"You need to get home. Movement will only make the wound worse."

Axel pants "I can't go home in this condition."

"You have a fatal wound and if you continue to move, I won't be able to repair the wound. You have to go home."

"I think..." "I think I'm losing consciousness."

"Axel, you have to remain conscious until we get home."

Axel closes his eyes for a sec. "Get me home. I can't…" "I can't take it anymore."

"Okay, leave that to me. You just stay conscious."

Axel's eyes flash blue, and he jumps from the roof.

"Who told you to fire the shot?" Josh, fumming, asks the sniper.

"Sarge, I was ordered by the Defense secretary to take the shot."

"It was my command. Shit! I almost had him."

"Sorry Sarge."

"Not your fault." Josh looks away and calms down.

At Blaze's Mansion,

Eve just arrives home and enters through the door. Sofia closes the door behind them. David collects the bag from Eve as she relaxes on the sofa. Sofia walks towards her and suddenly, through the door, Axel appears and lands straight in front of them. Both Eve and Sofia are shocked to the core. Their mouths are wide open. Eve quickly notices the wound.

"Axel! What happened?"

"Sorry, but he just went unconscious." Zeus says

Startled, Sofia and Eve backed a little.

"Sorry to startle you, but we are low on time."

"What? Who?" Both are still recovering from the shock.

A giant hologram head pops out of the device. Their shock turns into total despair. David arrives at the scene, and now the trio are shocked, surprised, and horrified at the same time.

"We are losing him. Can any of you close his wound, I will handle the rest?"