CHAPTER 31 : NOW'S NOT THE TIME

Aisyah was in her room, her hair tied back. She was reading an article on her laptop about the case of the "Masked Man." Aisyah propped her head on her hand and sipped the coffee sitting next to her laptop."I can't stop thinking about it after seeing my brother in that condition. I was angry, very angry. Before I knew it, I had put on a mask and beat up the thugs... I nearly died, but my Mutant Cell activated right on the night the Mutant Cell was released..."I spent the whole night just listening to Ali's story. It was obvious something was wrong with him in the head, but I'm not a therapist.Well, I think I'm the same; there's something wrong in my head... that's why I became a Mutant.The doorbell rang, and Aisyah's expression immediately changed to fear as she turned around. She glanced at the clock; it was 10:43 PM. Aisyah stood up from her chair and grabbed her hijab.The doorbell rang repeatedly as Aisyah approached her front door. She clenched her fists, sweat dripping from her forehead.He never came from the front door. Who?She opened the door slowly, poking her head out first. Khalid was carrying the severely injured Ali, with Mei accompanying him. Aisyah quickly opened the door wide."Come in quickly! Before someone sees!" Aisyah instructed as Khalid and Mei hurried in, bringing Ali with them."Lay him down." Aisyah said, and Khalid placed Ali on the sofa. Aisyah immediately placed her hand on Ali's chest.He's still breathing... but his heartbeat is weak. What happened to his right hand?Aisyah laid Ali's right hand on his body, tightly gripping his hand. A bright green light emanated from both of Aisyah's hands; her right hand healed Ali's right hand while her left hand worked on the right side of Ali's burned face."You're a Mutant; no wonder Sui'ra brought us to you," Khalid said."Yeah... It seems you guys are the same," Aisyah replied, her eyes focused solely on Ali. The injuries on Ali slowly healed, even though Aisyah was using her healing powers."What happened?" Aisyah asked."We're not sure. We were on patrol; our intention was to meet the Masked Man, but when we found him, he was fighting a strong Stray. We tried to help him, but... we weren't strong enough, and he used an attack that injured him to eliminate the Stray," Mei explained, and Aisyah looked disturbed hearing Mei's story."I'm sorry; if I had known he would use such an attack, I wouldn't have let him," Khalid sighed."You guys are the Mutants who eradicate Strays out there, right? I read about your story..." Aisyah asked."Yes, my name is Khalid.""My name is Mei. We are HOPE; we're a group of Mutants who want to use our powers to protect those who cannot defend themselves." Khalid and Mei introduced themselves, and Aisyah finally turned to look at them."I'm Aisyah."After a few minutes, Ali's injuries had healed, but he was still unconscious. Aisyah placed her hand on Ali's chest, closing her eyes. She could see the bleeding, the cells in Ali's body, and his beating heart."He's stable now." Aisyah stood up, exhaling a sigh of relief mixed with fatigue."Your power is amazing..." praised Khalid."If you want to invite me to join your superhero group, forget it. My fight is in the hospital." Aisyah replied, and Khalid smiled bitterly."Yeah, we understand. But I just want to ask for your permission to borrow your power if needed." Khalid requested, and Aisyah crossed her arms."Sure, but next time, don't come through the front door. Knock on the balcony window four times... and only come at night, after 11 or 12 PM." Aisyah replied."I didn't expect you to agree, honestly," said Khalid, and Aisyah let out a small sigh."That's the least I can do to help you with your superhero work. I don't have a Mutant power that allows me to fight." Aisyah clenched her fists."Looks like HOPE is quite popular, huh?" Mei placed her hand on her chin."The media and the public don't recognize you as 'HOPE,' just 'powered humans.' Some see you as heroes, while others see you as more dangerous than 'mutant monsters.'" Aisyah replied."What do you think of us?" Khalid asked."My first impression of you is that you brought my friend half-dead and laid him on the sofa I just cleaned, so it's a bit complicated; my feelings are mixed between being annoyed and grateful you're here for him." Aisyah glanced at Ali, who was still unconscious for a moment."You seem close," Khalid remarked."He's the first Mutant I've met and the person who makes all this nonsense make sense. What's crazy is, I just found out his identity yesterday." Aisyah smiled bitterly, but suddenly her chest felt heavy."Sorry... I need to use the bathroom for a moment." Aisyah walked away, while Khalid and Mei just watched her leave. Aisyah entered the bathroom, covering her mouth and sitting weakly on the bathroom floor.Thank goodness... Thank goodness my power could heal him...I swear I didn't think I could, but I tried anyway...Ali...You make me worry like crazy, you know?"Ergh..." Ali woke up, opening his eyes. He saw Mei sitting beside him and Khalid standing in front of him."You're awake," Mei said, as Ali propped himself up, placing a hand on his head which felt dizzy.Ali looked at his body and right hand, which had healed, and then he felt his face. He wasn't wearing his mask, and then he realized he was in Aisyah's house."Hah..." Ali sighed."Your power... it seems your body can't handle the impact of your own power," Khalid teased, and Ali turned to him."I just want to say thanks for helping me," Ali said."No problem. Anyway, my name is Khalid, and this is my friend Mei. I think you already know who we are, right?" Khalid introduced himself and Mei to Ali."Yeah, Sui'ra told me about you... My name is Ali," Ali replied. Aisyah finally came out of the bathroom, Ali turned to her, smiling bitterly, and Aisyah just sighed at him."Looks like you're okay now; I guess we'll leave first," said Khalid, and Mei also stood up from her seat."I thought you'd invite me to join your group..." Ali sighed, but Khalid just smiled at him."Rest for now. We don't want to disturb you right now... after what happened." Khalid replied, and Ali just nodded."This is our location. Come tomorrow, and let's discuss; who knows, we can help each other." Mei handed Ali a piece of paper with the location of her house written on it."I can't promise I'll come," Ali replied."Even if you don't come, we know where to find you. Just try to come, okay?" Khalid and Mei moved toward Aisyah's balcony, opening the balcony window."See you later, Ali... Aisyah. Take care of yourselves." Khalid said as Mei just waved her hand. They both jumped from Aisyah's balcony together, and as they fell from the sky, Chyou suddenly appeared. He caught Khalid and Mei."What were you thinking? What would happen if I was late?" Chyou asked."I knew you were close, that's why we were confident," Mei replied, and Chyou let out a small sigh."Don't forget to take my car first... We need to go to the factory building earlier," Khalid instructed, and Chyou brought them both along with him."Are you going to meet them?" Aisyah asked while Ali was just observing the paper Mei had given him earlier."Maybe... It's worth a try," Ali replied, Aisyah resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him."The abilities of the White Tigers are more than I expected," Ali sighed again, his expression showing signs of disturbance."I agree if you want to ask for HOPE's help. Don't put yourself in such a dangerous position again. What if they don't show up suddenly? You could die," Aisyah warned, and Ali put away the paper and leaned his head against the sofa."I'm sorry... I'm burdening you again, Aisyah," Ali said, and Aisyah turned her gaze away."Try not to be half-dead again when you see me," Aisyah requested."Yeah, yeah, I'll try. Besides, I don't think Sui'ra will help me again... He said this is the last time.""That alien seems to be interested in you. Why?""How would I know..." Ali sighed.Thank you... Khalid... Mei...If you weren't here, I would have definitely died...Right now, I know the true agenda of the White Tigers. Even though I hate to think about it, I really can't face them alone if they have Strays or Mutants like before...We need to stop their operations as soon as possible. Otherwise, many people will get hurt, people who can't defend themselves.This power... is a shared responsibility."We were lucky to escape from the Masked Man. He's more powerful than we thought. I don't know if the Stray I created can kill him or not," said the man in the white coat with messy hair, sitting at a long round table. White and Alex were there, along with two other men and a woman with a large hat."But... Eric has shown good potential, so I don't consider it a total loss," the man in the white coat added with a smile."Not a total loss? What are you talking about? Now the authorities will know what we've been doing with the Strays' bodies that we stole. They will see us as a dangerous threat; you've put us right in their sights," White looked angry, clenching his fists tightly."I'm not a Mutant like you guys; I'm smart but even I can't see the future. I didn't know that the Masked Man would attack. As I said, I was lucky to bring myself and Eric away. Without me, you won't achieve what you want, White. I'm not your subordinate or your worker. I'm an important asset," the man in the white coat explained, glaring directly at White."You—!" White almost exploded but stopped. The man in the white coat just smiled calmly; White sat back down, exhaling deeply."Our focus remains the same. Just do your job, Vincent," White sighed."Alright," Vincent replied. White then looked at everyone else at the round table and cleared his throat."The Masked Man is becoming a problem if he is still alive. We need to kill him as soon as possible, and as for the police, if they dare to interfere with us, we'll show them. They are not in a position to confront us," White said, his face looking serious."A body of a giant mutated monster has been found in Klang! Illegal experiment operations discovered." News articles and media were filled with what happened in Klang. Khairul and Hazim were watching the news early in the morning, and Khairul looked worried as he watched it.The aftermath of the battle that occurred that night looked very destructive, with iron containers that were hollowed out, factory roofs completely destroyed, and the captured White Tigers gang members along with images of cages holding Strays.When you think the situation can't get any worse, everything just gets even more terrifying..."Ugh... You guys woke up early," Nur greeted while yawning, her long hair messy."You were the one who woke up late," Hazim replied."What's for breakfast?" Nur walked towards the kitchen, and Hazim followed her."Just nasi lemak...""That'll do..."Khairul also walked to the kitchen, seeing that Hazim had already prepared nasi lemak for him, while Nur had started eating."Let's eat together," Hazim invited, Khairul smiled and sat beside Hazim."I've been wanting to ask. Where do you go every afternoon, Khai?" Hazim asked, and Khairul, who was just about to eat, froze."Uh...""Hum..." Nur also looked curious, glancing at Khairul."About my dad's case. I have to meet the police investigating my case," Khairul replied."Oh... I see," Hazim replied, but Nur still looked suspicious."How come the police have time to investigate your case when they're busy dealing with monsters out there? I mean... your case isn't as big as what's happening outside," Nur continued to press."Uh—" Khairul lost his words."Nur! Don't talk about Khairul's case like that," Hazim scolded, looking a bit angry."Ergh... Fine, fine," Nur shifted her gaze away with a dissatisfied look.N-Nice save...Khairul left Hazim's house and looked around.Nasuha said she would pick me up. I should go to the place we're meeting, don't want to keep her waiting too long...Khairul hurried away from Hazim's house, walking. Unbeknownst to him, Nur was watching him. She stepped out of the house, keeping an eye on Khairul as he left."Where are you going, huh? Walking like that..." Nur questioned herself."What are you doing, Nur?" Hazim asked, seeing Nur standing in front of the gate."I was just wondering... What is he really doing? Obviously, he's lying," Nur sighed."He'll tell us when the time comes. I know Khai, so I trust him," Hazim said, while Nur sighed softly."You... care about him more than your own sister.""Hey, that's not true... You just always make me angry; it doesn't mean I don't love you. If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't let you stay with me and cook for you. If you weren't lazy and purposely causing trouble, I wouldn't have to scold you," Hazim replied, and Nur kicked Hazim's leg repeatedly."Ouch! That hurts!" Hazim complained, and Nur stuck her tongue out.Suddenly, a purple seed fell between the two of them. Hazim and Nur looked at the seed, and a purple flower grew rapidly, their expressions turning strange and confused.Purple smoke came out of the flower, and soon after, Hazim and Nur, who inhaled the smoke, fainted in front of their house.Zaki, Syakir, and Lilly were on the roof of Hazim's house. A sinister smile formed on Zaki's face as he, along with Syakir and Lilly, descended from the roof. They dragged the unconscious Hazim and Nur into their house.I will hurt you... Khairul.Destroy you completely, take everything you think you have.You will suffer like I did.And you will wish... that you should have died...Only then will I be satisfied to take your worthless life.Syakir moved his wires toward the unconscious Hazim and Nur, his expression cold. Lilly watched what he was about to do with a sad face."I'm sorry..." Lilly whispered softly.The wires of Syakir entered the back of Hazim and Nur's heads.I was humiliated... Defeated by those kids...They will regret not wanting to be my tools.