CHAPTER 35 : BLACK & WHITE PART 1

Ali sat at the edge of the building, the wind blowing the fabric behind his mask. Mikael swung himself and landed on the rooftop where Ali was sitting. The sky had turned orange, signaling that it was evening."Did you find the White Tigers' base?" Ali asked."Found it, but it's not in Klang; it's in Shah Alam," Mikael replied, and Ali nodded in understanding."That makes sense. Shah Alam is close to their operational area... It's also quite far from Kuala Lumpur, where the Special Forces base is," Ali said, slightly pulling down his mask to reveal his nose and mouth."The Shah Alam base isn't that big; I think it's just a backup base," Mikael continued, and the bird mask covering his face disappeared."Sorry. Are we late?" Mei asked as she and Chyou appeared before them."No, I just got here," Mikael replied."I didn't wait long," Ali added, and the four of them gathered closer."We found the White Tigers' base in Telok Gong; it's more hidden compared to their base in Port Klang," Mei said, pulling down her mouth mask."I think I found their main base," Ali replied."What makes you think it's their main base?" Mikael asked."The White Tigers' leader is there. No underlings know his real name, but everyone calls him White. He's at the base in the middle of Klang; they're using an office building that's actually just a front for their base," Ali explained, recalling his arrival at the White Tigers' headquarters. He had entered the ventilation system and observed from a distance, noticing White and Alex walking together."Did anyone catch your attention while you were investigating?" Ali asked."At their Shah Alam base, there's a guy in a leather and fur outfit; he seems to be the guard or leader of that base," Mikael replied."At the Telok Gong base, there's a woman with a big hat; she has a Mutant aura. I'm sure of it," Mei added."I think we should bring all our information to the others and think about the second phase," Ali suggested."Alright, I'll call them," Mei said, pulling out her phone and dialing Khalid.At the same time,Khalid received the call, and all the HOPE members with him had already removed their costumes, sitting in a still-open drink shop. Khairul and Nasuha were chatting with Kyoko.Khalid quickly answered the call."Yes? Oh, you're done? Alright, we'll head to your house immediately. See you there, Mei." Khalid turned to Khairul, Nasuha, and Kyoko after hanging up, and they all looked at him."The recon group's investigation is complete; it's time for the second phase," Khalid announced."Okay, let's move out," Kyoko said. Nasuha quickly finished her iced tea but choked, prompting Khairul to pat her back several times."Ahem! Hem!""You..." Khairul looked at Nasuha with a bitter smile."Sorry, sorry," Nasuha sighed.Time passed, and all the HOPE members and Ali gathered in Mei's house. A laptop displaying a map was set in front of them, with three White Tigers bases marked."We know where the White Tigers' bases are, the weapons they possess, and the operations they carry out. What we don't know is the capabilities of their Mutants, but I'm confident that with the three principles we always use in our battles, we can face them," Khalid explained, placing ice cream sticks with drawings of each HOPE member and Ali on the table."Wow... You really can't draw, Khalid," Kyoko teased, looking at Khalid's messy and somewhat poor drawings."Hey, that's not important right now. The first group will attack the base in Shah Alam, since it's smaller than the other bases. Mikael said he would handle this base alone," Khalid said, placing the ice cream stick with Mikael's drawing in front of him."Seriously, old man?" Khairul questioned."I know there's a possibility there's only one Mutant guarding that base; besides, it's a small base. I can do it alone," Mikael replied, crossing his arms."I've seen Mikael's abilities during our training in the Mind Dimension before. I believe he's the strongest member of HOPE, even stronger than I am," Khalid supported."Alright then..." Khairul conceded."I'll continue. The second group will consist of Ali, me, Mei, and Chyou. For Ali, who doesn't know our three principles, you and I will be the frontliners who face the enemies head-on. Mei and Chyou will be our backup, with Mei focusing on defense and Chyou able to rescue us from dangerous positions. The four of us will attack their main base in the middle of Klang," Khalid pushed the ice cream sticks with their faces forward again, and Ali placed his hand on his chin."Got it," Ali nodded."We expect a strong counterattack, especially from the White Tigers' leader, a guy named White. He's the Mutant who took down all the gangs in Malaysia alone, solely with his powers," Khalid added."He took down all the gangs in Malaysia but only operates in Klang?" Kyoko asked."The White Tigers' operations actually span across Malaysia, but their head is in Klang. If we take down their leader in Klang, their other operations elsewhere will fall too. Without a head, the body of their organization won't be able to move. White knows this; I'm sure he won't fall easily..." Ali explained, addressing Kyoko's question."The third group will consist of Khairul, Nasuha, and Kyoko. You have experience fighting other Mutants and have succeeded. Not only that, Nasuha has flexible powers, making her good in any situation. Mei confirmed there's a Mutant at the Telok Gong base. Nasuha, you are the key to the success of group three," Khalid turned to Nasuha, with Khairul and Kyoko doing the same."M-Me?" Nasuha asked, pointing to herself."Yes. Ms. Star's powers make you one of the more powerful Mutants; your abilities are vast. You can unleash strong attacks and have impenetrable defenses. Khairul is good as a frontliner, but he lacks powers that give him protection. Kyoko is fast, but she has the same problem as Khairul. You are their shield, Nasuha. Do you think you can do it?" Khalid asked, and Nasuha looked at everyone, then turned to Khairul.Khairul smiled at her, and Nasuha let out a sigh. She recalled all her previous battles, facing Stray Farah, then her fights with Syakir and Lilly, as well as with other Strays."I'm sorry for putting such a heavy responsibility on you. I wish I could be there to help you, but I can't take the risk. White is definitely a powerful Mutant; I need to work with Ali to bring him down." Khalid bowed his head slightly, his expression one of regret."Don't worry, Nasuha... you're stronger than you think. You can do this," Khairul supported her. Nasuha merely looked at him, her face slightly flushed, and she quickly averted her gaze."I'm really stuck with these two lovebirds, huh," Kyoko sighed."We have three groups, three bases that we will ambush. Our main objective is to stop any illegal operations that the White Tigers are conducting. For the members of the White Tigers, especially the Mutants, we need to capture them, but... if they are too dangerous, don't hesitate to kill them; they won't hesitate to kill us," Khalid said with determination. For a moment, everyone fell silent, and Ali looked troubled."Killing them is the last option, right?" Ali asked."Yes. If possible, we should capture them, but as I said, they won't think twice about killing us if they get the chance, so we have no choice. It's either let them continue operating and hurting many people... or stop them immediately now," Khalid replied."What Khalid said is true. We can't let innocent people get hurt anymore; I won't hesitate to kill them either," Khairul supported him, recalling when Zaki transformed into a Stray and killed many people in the hospital."I have no problem with that. It's not the first time I've had to kill troublesome thugs," Mikael said coldly.All the members of HOPE got ready, each putting on their costumes again. They walked out of Mei's house, but they all froze when they saw Rose leaning against the fence waiting for them. The sky had darkened, and Rose turned to face them."Sister Rose?" Nasuha asked."It seems you're all ready to attack the White Tigers," Rose said."Why, Rose? Is something wrong?" Khalid asked."I just wanted to say... Whatever happens, make sure you stop the White Tigers. The Special Force has someone undercover investigating the White Tigers; they've found out there are Mutants in the White Tigers and their illegal experiments," Rose replied."Does that mean the Special Force is planning their own attack too, right?" Mikael said."Yes. Their operation will take place tomorrow, and even some police officers, including those under my unit, have to go with them. You need to stop the White Tigers; we won't be able to fight them... I'm sure. Most people don't know the true abilities of Mutants..." Rose pleaded."Alright, Sister Rose. We'll make sure the White Tigers fall," Nasuha responded with a smile."So don't worry too much," Khairul added. Rose looked at the two of them and let out a long sigh."I trust you guys..." Rose said."It's time to move everyone; good luck. And this is my last message... if you lose your fight, run away. Don't die," Khalid instructed everyone.Mikael swung himself from building to building, while Group Two, with Chyou's help, teleported again to move. Group Three flew beside them, and upon reaching a skyscraper, the three groups separated and headed to their respective locations."They're each going to different locations. It seems he won't be back early today," Lilly said. She could track the movements of each HOPE group that had split up thanks to the seeds she had planted on all of them, one of the roots of her power showing their locations."That's fine, we can wait. It's even better if he comes back tired or weak; it'll be easier to break him," Zaki said, sitting at the dining table in Hazim's house."A-Ah! Stop—Stop it!" A woman's scream was heard. Nur was bound by numerous roots, her eyes covered, and wires from Syakir were at the back of her head."A-Arrrghhh!" Hazim screamed as well, finding himself in the same predicament. Syakir appeared to be focusing on controlling their minds."Besides, you seem to need time to turn them into Mutants, Syakir," Zaki remarked."They're... Argh! Just be quiet. Let me focus!" Syakir replied, while Zaki smiled and merely rested his head on his hand."The war is about to happen. Mutants will evolve, especially when they face powerful enemies as well. Tonight, I will witness it, the will of the human spirit and the evolution of many Mutants! I haven't felt this excited in a long time... What do you think will happen, Xa' Ur?" Sui'ra spread his arms wide, a bright smile and an excited expression lighting up his face as a hologram showed all the members of HOPE moving toward the White Tigers' bases.Sui'ra turned around, a man with long black hair and a tattoo-like mark on the left side of his face to the nape of his neck was with him. Xa' Ur appeared cold and indifferent."To me, humans are very disappointing. They are all too short-sighted. They are still chasing their human's desires. None are truly seeking the desire to become the strongest beings. Look how long they've been fighting among themselves... Even their desire to fight is still a desire to preserve humanity... It's all disappointing. I don't understand what you see, Sui'ra," Xa' Ur sighed, glancing at Sui'ra."Oh, Xa' Ur... You don't understand. They are not like other beings in the galaxy; humans are divided. They are not united, unlike other beings. Perhaps because Earth is the largest planet with living beings on it. Their fractured humanity creates many desires, and humans will never unite... so they will fight more than other beings. The answer is, we will see even more powerful Mutants compared to other planets..." Sui'ra stood up, walked to examine all his holograms, then approached Xa' Ur."Humans differentiate each other by race, language, skin color, and religion. They are tribal, hiding, concealing things from one another. The powerful do not want to fall, and the weak will continue to be oppressed. They are beings who cannot unite and continue to fight; even before we came, they had already destroyed each other. Think for yourself, Xa' Ur... Humans do not face threats from other planets, yet they possess weapons capable of destroying planets, like atomic bombs. Why do they create them? They create them to destroy each other... Hahaha! Humans are indeed... fascinating!" Sui'ra laughed, pondering the nature of humanity, while Xa' Ur crossed his arms."In my view... they are all foolish beings. They could accomplish so much if they united and didn't harm each other, yet they hurt one another. Perhaps it's because they have no threat from other beings, beings more powerful than they are, but... even with powerful beings present, they are still divided, secretive, deceitful, and oppressive to one another... Humans are foolish beings. They will surely become extinct once the strongest beings finally emerge," Xa' Ur explained. Sui'ra returned to sit on his sofa, gazing at his holograms."We will never understand them, Xa' Ur. We Zoturians are too different from them. I don't think we will achieve understanding with humanity," Sui'ra replied.