"Dark Revelations"
Detectives Lennie and Anna arrived back at Lieutenant Hodge's office, feeling frustrated after their visit to City S.
"Back so soon?" Lieutenant Hodge raised an eyebrow, noticing their dejected expressions.
Lennie sighed. "Yeah, it didn't go as planned, Lieutenant. We thought we had a lead from a bartender who we later found out was a fugitive. He ended up dying in the crossfire of a fight between the heroes of the Hero Association branch and a villain, I'm guessing... and the bar was destroyed. But before his untimely death, he described a man who could have been a business associate with Shadow's brother. However, he didn't show up on any of our criminal databases. It seems like a dead end."
Anna nodded in agreement. "We might have to fish for more leads."
Hodge bowed his head feeling a bit disappointed. "I was hoping you guys would have found something by going to that awful place."
Lieutenant Hodge leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on Detectives Lennie and Anna. "Well, if he's not in our database, I guess you need access to the FBI's or from City S's detective bureau. Which would you guys rather?"
Lennie exchanged a glance with Anna, weighing their options. "City S's detective bureau might be faster," Lennie said, considering the urgency of the situation.
Anna nodded in agreement. "Agreed. Let's start there. We need to move quickly on this one."
Hodge nodded, reaching for the phone on his desk. "Alright, I'll get the ball rolling. You two should get a cup of coffee."
Following Hodge's suggestion, Anna insisted they go out for coffee instead. "The coffee here isn't good enough," she said.
As they passed by an alley, a hooded figure suddenly pulled them both in, pressing them against a wall.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on, buddy! What's your problem?!" Lennie shouted. The hooded figure pulled back his hood, revealing himself to be Blaze, one of the heroes from the City S Hero Association branch.
"You guys might not remember me, but I was one of the heroes back in City S. I've got something to tell you," Blaze said.
"If you've got something to report, you can do it at the bureau," Anna insisted, but Blaze stopped them as they tried to walk away.
"It's very serious," he insisted.
As Blaze told them about everything he heard from his captain's call, Lennie and Anna looked at each other.
"Do you know what you're saying right now? How sure are you that this call is related to our case and that your captain is a dirty hero?!" Anna asked.
"I can't say how sure I am, but what I can tell you is all I heard from the call," Blaze said. "And please don't mention that you heard it from me to anyone, not even to your lieutenant, please."
"Alright, you have our word," Lennie said, and Blaze left.
"Well, I'm at a loss... What in the hell is going on with this case?" Anna said.
"All we know is that shit just got heavier," Lennie replied.
The next day, Frostbite woke up to an emergency meeting call and quickly got prepared to leave, heading back to the branch. When he arrived, he found the security door wide open to access the building, and there were no security guards in sight. The entrance was splattered with blood, but there were no bodies.
"Captain Valor? Frostbite? Thunderbolt? Is no body here?" Blaze called out, but there was no response. He took a few steps forward, his heart racing with fear and anticipation.
"What the hell happened here?" Blaze muttered to himself, surveying the gruesome scene. "This can't be good. I need to find out what's going on."
He walked cautiously through the splattered blood, his senses on high alert.
When Blaze got around the corner to the hallway, he saw the meeting room door crumble up like a ball. "What the hell? That door was supposed to be impenetrable, even by force. Could Captain Valor have done this?" he said to himself. As he walked up slowly to the entrance of the meeting room, he looked inside and saw Captain Valor sitting there patiently, as if nothing had happened.
"Captain Valor, what happened here? Where is everyone?" Blaze asked, feeling a sense of dread.
Captain Valor looked up, his expression unreadable. "They're in the storage room, but don't worry, Frostbite and Thunderbolt haven't arrived yet. But me and you, we have much to discuss, Blaze. And so, I will first ask you what this is."
He extended his right hand and revealed the microphone Frostbite had hidden on the under-side of the glass steel table.
"You don't have to say anything," Valor said, his tone calm yet firm. "At first, I didn't find out, but after going through significant pain to get my full power back, I'm fully aware of everything now. When I got back here in this meeting room and found out what you did, I thought to myself, 'Welp, guess the truth's out,' so why the hell waste time pretending anymore?"
Blaze's eyes widened in shock, a wave of realization washing over him. "What... what are you talking about?"
Valor leaned his body forward still sitting down, his gaze intense.
"You planted that microphone under the table, didn't you? You thought you could eavesdrop on my conversation. Clever, but not clever enough."
Blaze's heart pounded in his chest, panic rising within him.
Valor chuckled darkly. "Does it matter? The point is, I know everything. And now that I've got my full power back, I'm unstoppable."
Blaze's mind raced. "I was just trying to do the right thing... I had no choice..."
Valor's expression softened, though the darkness still lingered in his eyes. "Oh, Blaze, don't worry. I won't kill you. Not yet, at least. I'll be torturing you first until the others arrive.
Valor flickers the glass steel table towards Blaze. Before Blaze could react, Valor was already close, his glimmering blue eyes a sign of menace shining through the glass steel table. He released a punch, shattering the glass steel table and hitting Blaze under his chest with a thunderous impact. The force sent Blaze flying through every solid defensive concrete, and he ended up outside, lying on the road, stunned and in pain.
Valor stepped outside through the holes left by Blaze, remarking, "Impressive, you're still quite alive. I've just regained my full power and couldn't hold back on that punch so much."
Valor approached Blaze's prone body on the road, beginning to discuss his past and his real name.
"You see, Blaze, Valor is not my real name, and I'm no captain either. My real name is Valorine, I was once a Tier S hero. Ten years ago, when I was 40, I wanted to be vice president of ASH. I made a bet with the current one in the past, who I thought was too young and naive at the time. When it came down to the fight, I barely lasted 20 minutes. And according to the bet I had to get my powers restricted by the Tier S curse power user, whom I won't name, and ended up in this god forsaken city, where I would've rotted for the rest of my life, if I hadn't had a little help of course."
"It… feels like… my entire… nervous system has been shut down… I can't move my body even a single inch… I could hardly make out what he's saying… something about a bet… Tier S and… Vice president…? Captain… Is he saying he used to be... a Tier S... hero... and made a bet with the vice president...?" Blaze thought to himself, blood trickling from his eyes, mouth, and ears.
"Oh no, seems like I'm losing you buddy, let's heal you just enough so that you won't die," Captain Valor said, channeling his power to perform "Force Healing" on Blaze, ensuring he remained alive, albeit unable to move and speak.
Captain Valor possesses the incredible ability known as "Force". With one of his unique abilities "Force Healing", he can manipulate the body's natural energy, accelerating the body's natural healing process and mend wounds at an accelerated rate.
Blaze started to wake up again, his vision becoming clearer as he looked up to see Valor. "You came back. Almost lost you there," Valor said, with a hint of indifference in his voice. Blaze glanced around, turning his head left and right. "The others still haven't arrived yet. You faded away just for a few seconds. I still have more to say to you," Valor continued, his tone serious.
"Not only was I humiliated and sent here, I had to accompany you B heroes the association sent my way and act like your captain. And another secret as to why they send heroes here is because they can be expendable, the worthless of the bunch that the association doesn't care much about. And now that I'm free from their shackles I can do whatever I want, and until the others get here, me and you," stomp (he stomps on Blaze's chest enough to make him groan in pain) "we will be having some more fun."
Five minutes later, Frostbite and Thunderbolt stumbled upon a gruesome scene. Valor was holding Blaze by the throat, his body bloodied and beaten like roadkill, but he was still breathing thanks to Valor's "Force Healing". With a gasp of air, Blaze told them to run.
"Captain!! What are you doing??" Thunderbolt shouted.
"You guys finally came, I was just waiting here with Blaze," Valor replied calmly.
"Captain, why are you doing this? What the hell is happening here?!" Frostbite shouted.
"Don't you yell at me, you lowlife. Now that we are reunited, let's get this over with, shall we?" Valor swung Blaze by the neck towards Frostbite and Thunderbolt, who were standing next to each other. They both caught him, but Valor launched a force blast at them. Before they could react, their lives flashed before their eyes and the blast made a loud crashing sound, leaving a huge crater on the ground.
"Hmm, that was pretty fast of you," Valor said. He looked up and saw someone floating in the sky, along with the heroes floating next to the unidentified man, surrounded by an electric barrier.
"And who might you be…? Man in the 3 piece suit." Valor asked.