"Hell yeah, Marcus totally took care of that chick!" Chris's voice echoed across the meeting room.
"You should've seen him zoom like a ninja with that bike of his and burn her down to dust, it was epic!" He cackled, overly agitated.
In the nick of time, footsteps could be heard and three people appeared in the meeting room.
"That's enough exaggeration Chris" Marcus said with a faint smile.
"Oh, you're back!" Chris turned to look at them.
"Welcome" Master Benjamin smiled.
"Finally, I was getting sick of waiting" Elise sighed. She had been sitting on the large table and stood up on her feet the moment they arrived.
"So....how did it go?" The master asked.
Marcus then lifted his thumb to point towards Jules. "He's got a fair knowledge about our history now"
"Nice" Master Benjamin simply said and turned to the others. His body relaxed and he placed both arms on the desk.
"This is the second time you kids are encountering C-ranks so it's safe to assume that they're abilities don't tend to be all that unique and strong" His expression remained serious and focused.
Elise then raised an arm.
"Go ahead" the master spoke.
"A transformer is amongst them though, we can't really rule out that fact" Elise mentioned calmly.
"You're right" master Benjamin nodded. "The C-ranks are not all that strong when compared to your abilities but....."
"Marcus, what's a transformer?" Jules whispered to Marcus.
"Oh, they're ability users who are able to change their body shapes and form into something abnormal" Marcus whispered back.
"Wow, so that kid from earlier was a transformer..." Jules came to the realization.
"In that case, I presume you kids would be experiencing them more often and...are you two even listening me?!" Master Benjamin yelled upon noticing how Marcus and Jules were caught up in their own little chat.
They both flinched.
"Uh...sorry Dad" Marcus laughed to brush off the situation.
"Ha" The master placed a finger on his temple. "I can't let you guys stay here for too long as some of you have responsibilities back at your homes"
"Well, I've got nothing to do" Chris shrugged.
"He's talking about those with responsibilities Chris, you're just a spoilt kid with no guidance" Anne snickered.
"Hey, how dare you speak to me like that?" Chris gave her a glower but Anne simply rolled her eyes in response. "Now, you're getting angry?"
"In that case, you're all dismissed" master Benjamin's words diverted their attention.
"Yes master" They replied.
"Wait!" Marcus suddenly yelled.
They all turned to look at him.
"Gosh, I totally forgot" he facepalmed and began walking closer to the master to stand next to him.
Marcus suddenly reached out to his jacket pockets and brought out a few objects, placing them on the table afterwards. "Take a look at these"
"Are those watches?" Master Benjamin raised a brow at the sight of the old looking brown wristwatches on the table.
"They're much more than that" Marcus grinned.
The other four stared down at the four watches on the table, it was easy to tell they were meant to be for them. The watches had an unusually big red button at the middle.
"Woah" Chris grabbed one and placed it on his wrist. "These must be some cool devices if they're from you Marcus"
"Wristwatches?" Jules spoke
"And so not fashionable ones at that" Anne said irritatedly.
"Hey!" Marcus called out. "It wasn't easy to invent those things, the steel blade saviour and I even had to join heads so fashion should be the last thing to consider right now" he said defensively.
Master Benjamin suddenly grabbed Marcus by the ear. "The steel blade saviour huh? So that's what you've been up to these past months? Skipping school and going all the way to Gambrid city to meet that kid again!"
"Ah ah ah.....it was for the missions Dad, for our group!" Marcus winced in pain.
"Ha" master Benjamin sighed and released his grip from Marcus' ear. "Don't ever do that again without informing me beforehand" he added sternly.
"Of course Dad" Marcus nodded aggressively.
Jules stared at them deep in thought. 'The steel blade saviour?' He wondered. He turned to the others and they didn't seem to have any reaction at all, perhaps they were aware of what Marcus meant. 'Could that mean there are other saviours somewhere else?', 'No, I should ask about it some other time' he thought. The topic of discussion right then was the wristwatches so he was gonna bring it up some other time.
"Now, are you ready to tell us what the watches are for?" Elise asked.
"Oh, of course" Marcus smiled and turned to the others. "It's a replacement for the outfits machines"
"Wait really?" Chris asked with widened eyes.
"I figured it would be best to have an easier means of changing into our uniforms from wherever we may be. You guys are high school students and missions usually come up when you're at school right?" Marcus explained.
Elise reached out to one of the watches and placed it on her wrist "Wow, that's actually smart" she said, although her expression and tone remained as bland as ever.
'It's really hard to tell how she actually feels' Jules thought.
"They're programmed to react to your energy cores and adapt well with your energy so they can detect what uniforms belong to you making it very easy to just switch outfits" Marcus said with a calm voice making it easier for the others to understand him.
The next moment, he brought out another watch from his pocket. It's body was silver coloured making it look more fancy than that of the others. "And here's one for my lovely Dad" He smiled and stretch out the watch towards master Benjamin.
Master Benjamin stared at him with a blank expression. "I don't go on missions so I don't change into anything" he bluntly said.
"Of course I know that" Marcus smiled. "This is for sending out signals"
"Signals?" The master asked.
"Yeah, all you gotta do is press on this big red button and the button of our watches would begin to beep indicating that we have a mission to attend to" Marcus explained.
"I see, so how do I inform you guys of the landmark?" Master Benjamin asked with a raised brow.
"Well...I guess you may have to send that to the group chat" Marcus scratched his neck awkwardly.
"Ah so it's basically pointless to use the watch when I still have to send a message through the group chat after all" master Benjamin stared at him with a blank expression.
Marcus froze and drooped afterwards. "You don't have to put it that way Dad"
"I think I get it" Elise suddenly spoke and turned to the master.
"Sending us a signal beforehand will enable us to be aware that a dark associate is near and that would make us check the group chat immediately" she spoke.
"Of course I knew that" master Benjamin chuckled. "It just feels so nice to see your brother at a lost for words"
"Hey, that's not nice" Marcus raised his head and stared at the master with an annoyed pout.
"You're 23 years old Marcus, grow up" master Benjamin simply patted Marcus on his shoulder while rolling his eyes.
"These sound amazing" Jules spoke while staring at his watch.
"Hey, how come both you and master get silver wristwatches while we're forced to use these things!" Anne ranted.
"High school students aren't allowed to use silver watches sniper" Marcus snickered.
Anne frowned. "Tch"
Chris let out a loud chuckle. "With these watches, this feels like a secret organization!"
Anne sighed. "Maybe because we are a secret organization"
"Alright kids, make sure to put on your wrist watches at all times, you're dismissed" master Benjamin spoke and walked towards the door of the meeting room to leave.
"Report back to headquarters by 4pm on monday, you guys deserve a break after that battle" He said before disappearing out of their sights.
The meeting room remained silent and it lingered for a long while until Chris spoke.
"Who wants to go to Hail burgers after this?" He asked.
"Not me, I've got kids to babysit" Anne replied and waved casually as she walked out of the meeting room.
"Sleep is more important" Elise spoke and left the meeting room as well.
Chris then turned to look at Marcus who sighed at his gaze. "I've got to catch up with my studies so I'll pass" he said and hurriedly rushed out of the meeting room.
Jules had his eyes glued to the brown watch on his wrist, his mind seemingly all over the place, everything felt so surreal and he seemed to be adjusting to this foreign situation a little too fast. That was until someone jolted him back to reality.
"I guess it's just you and me buddy" Chris smiled.
"Huh?" Jules looked up in surprise. What was he talking about?
"Let's go eat some burgers and have fun". Before Jules could process what was happening, Chris had wrapped his arms around his shoulder and was already dragging him out of the meeting room.
'Oh so he wants to hang out' Jules thought and paused in his tracks.
"Um...well...sorry Chris but..."
"Hey, don't tell me you've got something else to do just like the others!" Chris stared at him with raised brows.
Jules flinched. "Well...my sister Charlotte would be worried... and.."
"Hey, Charlotte can wait, she's gonna totally understand okay?" Chris reassured. "So, what do you say?" He asked with gleaming eyes and a bright smile.
'Is he trying to be cute right now?' Jules thought and shivered upon the thought. He then sighed afterwards, "Okay but we'll just get burgers and walk back to our houses"
"Deal" Chris chuckled.
Jules smiled back. He couldn't help but wonder how lonely it must feel for Chris to live all on his own, perhaps that was why he was always so outgoing and willing to talk to people.
The two then made their way out of the headquarters for a short outing.
Evening came and Jules stood in front of the gate to the Martin family home. He had intended to get back home right after having burgers with Chris but he ended up getting dragged to karaoke and an arcade as well. He had just previously departed from Chris in the intersection leading to this street.
"Ha" he sighed. He felt really nervous. 'Charlotte's gonna be mad, Charlotte's gonna be mad, Charlotte's gonna be mad' the words replayed in his mind and his hands trembled as they moved closer to the intercom.
DING DONG, Jules rang the intercom after contemplating for a few seconds and soon enough Charlotte could be seen making her way to the gate.
"Jules Martin, where have you been?!" Sure enough she knew Jules was the one beyond the gate the moment she stepped out. She soon opened to reveal him standing tall with his casual clothes and fidgeting whilst looking down.
"Let me guess, you went to hang out with Chris again?" She stared at him, arms folded across her chest and a neutral expression.
"Ah yes, that's right" Jules immediately regained his composure and looked up at her.
"Ha" Charlotte sighed. "I'm overjoyed that you've got a best friend now but sometimes you gotta tone it down, you've barely been spending time at home you know" she interrogated.
"Hehe" Jules chuckled awkwardly. "Alright sis"
"Perhaps you could even invite him over instead but don't go running out of this house without my permission you got that!" she said sternly and Jules nodded instantly.
"Got that sis"
Charlotte patted Jules on the head. "Come in and make dinner with me, have you had anything to eat all day?" She asked as she made her way into the house with Jules following behind her.
"Oh, I went to a burger restaurant with Chris earlier" Jules replied.
Charlotte spoke "Ah, not bad although you've got to be moderate on the junk food"
"Of course" Jules smiled.
Night came and Jules made his way to his room with his pyjamas. He dried his short brown hair with a small towel as he had just gotten off the shower. "Well, that felt nice" he let out a sigh and collapsed on the bed.
"Whew"
He then looked up and stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind wandering back to the day's events. "Those poor creatures" the sight of the burnt body of the female dark associate from earlier and the dead body of Perry covered with blood flashed in his mind.
Honestly speaking, although he had tried to act normal and pretend like he was used to seeing the dead bodies of those creatures, it still made him feel sympathy for them, perharps it was because they looked a lot like humans.
"I should get some sleep" Jules said to himself and slowly closed his eyes hoping to fall asleep soon.
Those dark associates were dead and he now had a fair knowledge about the saviours history, he was sure to learn and adapt more as time passed.
New experiences awaited him.