ALL THAT REMAINS

Austin stood over the remains of a quarter of the the Animal farm.

The skeletal remnants of the white walls and floor of Advantagem lay bare to the constant attack of black smoke and dust, colouring them from a pure white to dark brown at best and a dirty black at worst.

That dust and debris coated every surface in a thick gray shroud, muting the untainted white that adorned those walls of Advantagem.

Austin couldn't help but stare at the destruction. It reminded him of an event thst plagues his mind after so many years.

Ace...

But he needed to gather himself. His revenge was complete. Ace was dead.

Or so he thought...

A moment ago he was hunting what remained of Mr E's clones then suddenly he heard a loud drawn out explosion. After passing a few rooms and corridors, there he was.

A large chunk of the base was gone, a little less widespread as Ace's explosion but still devastating nonetheless.

Austin didn't understand why.

If the culprit was his mutoxin bomb, the explosion would be fifty times larger. Taking Empire City with it in an inferno of pure mindless fiery chaos.

If it wasn't the bomb, what could it have been? And why didn't the bomb explode in turn? Or could it be the black reactor exploded? It did make a bit of sense the more he thought about it.

From what he could remember from Mr E's first attempt at making a bomb, an attempt Austin and his Danger Squad stopped on their first mission, the bomb could only go off if a specific chemical reaction occurred. One catalysed by the addition of the black reactor.

Take that away and destroy it, and the resulting explosion from the reactor would take out the bomb and the chemicals within it like they were nothing but multicoloured science experiments.

The more Austin pondered this, the more he felt in his element. He was a natural born detective and deciphering mysteries like this were his forte. Well, that was until he lost his closest friends.

But now the question remains though. What does he do now? Ace is dead and Mr E as well. He has gotten his revenge at last.

Now what?

Does he return to fight crime? Does he join the Super Society and register to be a super for the government?

No.

Never again.

He'd never dishonour Bufford by opting to be a Government dog.

Bufford.

Suddenly his attention turned towards the clone once he heard a loud cough coming from his direction.

The clone, Kal Jordan, as Mr E called him to insult Bufford in a way, was standing next to him with Zack Scott, Bufford's protege, unconscious in his arms.

The boy turned his gaze to Austin and they made eye contact. He opened his mouth to speak but an unrecognisable sound escaped his lips. Like a baby asking a parent for something. His voice didn't really do Austin's ears any favors.

He couldn't say a word thanks to Mr E not teaching him how. He was a weapon. Nothing more. Austin had no idea what his plans for this boy were but was glad he couldn't put them in place.

Now he could live a normal life. One that Austin never got to live when he got his Hawk knight abilities. Maybe this was his fate?

To raise this boy to live the life he never could? Not just him but the entire squad as well.

Everyone in the squad had their childhood taken from them one way or another so they could be weapons. Kara and Claw were made from their father, Major Payne, to be weapons. Diamond Light was the same.

Ace, well, he never learnt Ace's origin.

But that didn't matter now.

What mattered now was this boy.

And giving him the life he and his friends could never get.

Austin placed his armored hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled. He smiled back, tilting his head quite a bit while still holding Zack.

"Why don't you let him go? We're gonna live a new life together. We don't need him." Austin said, still smiling to the boy before pulling Zack off the boy's shoulders.

He resisted.

Austin kept pulling but not hard enough for the anger the boy. Mildly annoy him yes, but anger him? No. Austin wanted the boy to trust him but still didn't like him being near someone like Zack.

Someone who might fill his head with Super bullshit once he wakes up. He didn't want that life for the boy.

Never again.

Suddenly he heard his name from afar. Two figures emerged from behind him from a ripple in the ground, as if it was liquid.

It was Stacya and... a girl he didn't recognise. She was a very thin and lanky brunette with a pretty roughed up ponytail wearing a dirty pink shirt and jeans. She seemed to know him from the obvious wide eyed nervousness written all over her pale face.

Austin yanked Zack off of Kal's shoulders and threw his unconscious body to them. The girl he didn't know was visibly distraught. Shaking and trembling all over as she ran to catch Zack in her lanky arms and comfort him.

Who the hell was she? For a pretty thin looking girl she seems to be pretty strong.

"Friend Austin! There you are! I was hoping to encounter you eventually."

"Wish the feeling was mutual." Austin muttered, pulling a smile Stacya could easily tell was fake.

"I don't see the need to treat Zack like he was trash. Why did you throw him like that? You couldve just handed him to us gently. And where is Jake?The two split up from us to pursue Mr E. Where is he?"

Austin simply shrugged.

"I demand an explanation friend Austin." Stacya added, folding her arms.

"I dont need to explain anything to you. Don't get this wrong. Just becuase he had a little talk before all this nonsense doesn't mean we are friends. I'm going my own way and I don't want you to follow me. Understand?"

"Fine. But who is that boy behind you? He seems... familiar." Stacya asked, eyeing the boy who gave off a strange aura. Like prey ready to attack a predator after being cornered.

"No one that concerns you. I'd focus on getting your real friend to a hospital." Austin replied with a snicker as he held the boy's hand and sprouted red metallic bord wings from his back. As he turned and was ready to take flight, he turned back to the girl, silently trying to wake Zack up.

"And one more thing, who is she?" Austin asked, still staring at the girl who tried her best to not make eye contact with him

Stacya looked at him for a moment and turned her attention to Paulina. She was starting to sweating and was holding Zack more tightly. She didnt know why but she felt this was real. She wasnt pretending to be nervous. She was genuinely shaking. Not for reasons Stacya could answer though.

Why didn't she want to reveal to Austin she was alive?

She was among those of the Danger Suad that died but thanks to her failsafe she survived. Whatever that means. She was living the rest of her days with Zack and never tired to contact Austin from the look of things.

Whatever the reason, it had to be a good one.

"You failed to answer my question so I don't see why I have to answer yours." Stacya said with a slight smirk.

"Touché." Austin replied, smiling back at her.

With all that said, he jumped high into the air and sored off into the distance with the boy in tow.

As Austin flew further and further, Stacya decided to turn to Paulina and ask her why Austin didn't recognise her. And why she doesn't want him to.

Then Stacya noticed something about the boy. Something that left her shocked for a moment. It's not Hawk knight that carried him away. He flew away with him. And she gasped when she noticed how.

"D..did you see that?" Stacya asked Paulina who was now examining Zack's wounds with her cybernetic eye.

"What?" Paulina replied, still examining him.

"The boy... his legs ignited... like a Rocket. Just like Captain Rocket. I thought muman abilities couldn't be shared. Why do they have the same ability?"

"I asked myself that too but it seems i have an answer. I did a comprehensive scan on his genetic makeup, something pretty difficult without making eye contact with Haw knight, and it contains components of Captain Rocket's muman cells."

Stacya was speechless. She took a few steps back in shock and nearly tripped. To think someone could clone Captain Rocket. And to think it was Mr E of all people.

"Not just him, but cells of Kara and Claw from my old team. Somehow, Mr E managed to extract the muman cells of those three and put them in that kid."

"Then why are we here instead of following them?! Isn't someone with that much power dangerous? Not only does he have Captain Rocket's ability which is bad enough but two other members of your old squad. What if that power falls into the wrong hands?"

"I doubt that we need to worry. If Austin is anything like his old self, the boy is she in his hands. Although is rough exterior is more prevalent from the looks of things, I'll still keep my hope in him."

"All right I guess. Speaking of Austin, why doesn't he recognise you?"

"I have multiple faces and multiple identities. Hell this isn't the only one called Paulina. What you see now isn't how I look when I was with my old team. This is my face when im with you two."

"I get that, buy why didnt you reveal yourself to him? Seemed like a perfect opportunity for a reunion."

Paulina was silent for a second, her cybernetic eye's auspex buzz being the only sound Stacya could hear from her. Suddenly, her eye returned to normal. She carried Zack's unconscious body on her shoulders and began to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?! I asked you a question!"

"We have no time for that. We need to leave. My multidirectional sensors detect three helicopters on the way. Likely a result of the two explosions. I detected three mumans in them. Possibly supers. We must not stay here if that's the case."

"No."

What? Are you serious? You do realise you're the one in more danger here right? The average Joe may not know of Atlanteans and may see them as myths but not the government. They dont take kindly to immigrants. Especially Atlanteans. If you get captured you would either be executed for trespassing or experimented on to find weaknesses in your people."

"But what about Jake?"

Paulima raised a brow and sighed. She then walked over to Stacya and patted her shoulder.

"I'm sorry but judging by the wreckage behind us I don't think he's still alive. He might've sacrificed himself to save the city one way or another. Hes a hero but that doesnt mean we don't need to leave. It's what he would have wanted."

Stacya knew she was trying to be sincere but it didn't work. She was like an open book with a mismatched cover.

Stacya grimaced in disgust.

The fact that he possibly gave his life for people like her made her cough.

"Oh don't give me that!" Stacya shouted, pulling Paulina's arm off her shoulder. "You barely knew him! Even if he isn't alive it would be dishonourable to leave his body here. Please, lets give him a propper burial! We owe him that much at least." She continued, a small tear at the corner of her eye.

"We don't have time for that Stacya. I'm sorry but we need to go!"

"But.."

"I get you! I Really do. I may look like i dont understand how you feel but i do,despite my maxhine parts i still have a human heart. I still love Zack after all. Sadly, can't let this get us into trouble. Would Jake want us to linger here any longer? I won't claim to know him as much as you do but do you think he'd be fine with us wasting time here to find his corpse?"

Stacya was still for a moment. No matter how she wanted to deny it she was right. Jake wouldn't want her to linger on his remains if it meant being in danger. She wanted to cry for her friend, to grieve for someone she admired despite knowing him for only a short time, but she couldn't.

It was too late for that now.

She needed to leave.

While wiping the tear that managed to escape her eye with her sleeve, she held Paulina by the waste who was also holding Zack in her arms even closer.

She then dived into the advantagem floors and they made their escape.

Just in time too, as the supers in the choppers decided to scout out the area before they landed.

"You're sure you saw people here?" One of them, Sno, a walking snowman in a blue jacket and jeans, asked the other two. He was young but experienced; earning him a 3 star super rating.

"That's what my scanner indicated. And it's never wrong. Could be they escaped before we arrived." Another super, Dr Small, a tall lanky brunette wearing an oversized and messy lab coat retorted to Sno.

She was older yet a bit clumsy and new to this life, only joining the Super Society a year ago. She had a comfortable 2 star rating but intended to change it soon.

The third super snickered. He was a short yet bulky man with dark grey skin and red clearing eyes and was wearing an orange bird themed spandex costume.

However his was more owl themed. He was Dr Hoo, Dr Small's husband. Despite looking like a 60 year old man, he was only 25, and Dr Small who looked 20, was 5 years older than him. That didn't stop him from being the older one in the relationship. He had an impressive 4 star rating. A sign he was a veteran super.

"Just accept we lost track of them dear. C'mon, let's check the wreckage for survivors. I wonder what the hell happened here." Dr Hoo said in his old gruff voice.

"Just hope we don't find any bodies. I've had enough death after that whole Guardien's incident." Dr Small said while deactivating her machine.

"Let's not talk about it now dear. The funeral is coming up soon and with Rocket gone too I'm not in the mood for more death. Let's just go. We've got a lot to do here. Plus seeing this much Advantagem in such a small place needs serious investigation." Hoo said, placing his long muscular arm on her shoulder to reassure her.

The trio then checked the wreckage for survivors, using their abilities to lift the advantagem debris. While Dr Small grew in size and lifted them like mere pebbles, Hoo used his immense strength to throw them around with ease. Sno on the other hand just froze the metal and destroyed them with his raw snow covered fists.

Sadly they wouldn't find any survivors.

Meanwhile, far from the wreckage and even the island itself, a small submarine was making its escape in the cold saltwater below.

"Do you think they've seen us sir?" An android said plainly as it drove the underwater vehicle.

It was a 5 foot thin yet smooth chrome body with a small shiny television for a head. The screen displayed three intersecting circles surrounded by endless grey static.

"Not with stealth mode on Surge. Now keep focus. Were almost on main land." His creator, Milten, CEO of Miltron labs, said. Looking over his seat to relish the bounty he aquired from that fiasco.

"And why this one sir? I sense no muman presence in him. The energy that he displays in my scans seems muman on first glance but it's entirely different. Seems of alien origin."

"And that's exactly why we need him Surge! Not just for our plan but also for a contingency I'm working up if the Lost Light ever make their move. Right now we may have the most powerful weapon on earth right now and not even know about it. Now focus Surge. I appreciate you being more chatty today but right now I require silence."

"I apologise sir. I wish not to cause any inconvenience. I am merely an automoton. Nothing more. I have no grasp of emotions like a human would so your need for silence now is a bit alien to me." The machine said with a small snicker, surprising Milten a bit.

"Oh don't worry. That will change very soon." Milten assured, placing his hand on the android's chrome shoulder.

The submarine then passed through a tunnel deep below the docks leading to a secret base on main land.

And now Milten's plans can fully begin...

To be continued...