Barry stepped into the open space beneath the rooftop. He spread his arms wide and began absorbing electricity from the surroundings. The air around him crackled softly.
From above, Steve watched silently.
Steve's thoughts: "Why is he absorbing electricity? I have a bad feeling… something isn't right."
Barry stopped absorbing energy and began concentrating it into both of his hands. Blue sparks danced across his fists.
Barry: "I needed a way to attract the heroes here… and now, I've got the perfect idea."
A split second later—
BOOM!
Barry unleashed a massive lightning ray straight toward the rooftop. Steve reacted instantly, leaping back just in time. The lightning shot upward, tearing through the sky like a pillar of light. It was visible from the city—impossible to miss.
Even the remaining members of the smugglers' group, already heading toward the hideout, saw it. They immediately speed up.
And somewhere else… heroes will be going to mobilize by the organisation to check that area.
Back at the hideout, Barry activated his electric vision and scanned the rooftop.
Barry's thoughts: "Let's see if that guy's still standing."
He saw the electric flow of a body—steady, unharmed.
Barry: "Still conscious… and completely fine?"
Above him, Steve frowned.
Steve: "Why the hell did he fire a lightning ray at the roof? …Does he know I'm here?"
Barry clenched his fist.
Barry: "You won't dodge this time."
He condensed electricity tightly and fired another bolt at directly beneath Steve, making a hole there.
This time, Steve was thrown backward, landing hard near the hideout's entrance gate. Barry deliberately lowered the voltage—enough to disable, not kill.
Barry jumps on the roof and fired again.
But—
A solid LEGO wall rose instantly.
The lightning struck it—and did nothing.
Barry on the roof, stunned.
Barry: "So… you have powers. Then I won't go easy on you!"
He fired an even stronger lightning blast.
The LEGO wall didn't even crack.
From behind it, a familiar voice spoke.
Steve: "Stop. That's enough. I'm not your enemy."
Barry froze.
Barry's thoughts: "That voice…"
The LEGO wall split apart.
Barry: "What the—Steve?! What are you doing here? And since when… how… where did you get superpowers?!"
Steve: "I should be asking you the same question."
Barry suddenly noticed something moving far behind Steve. He focused.
Barry thinks: "A car, and it's coming here fast."
Steve: "What is it?"
Barry: "We need to hide. The other group is coming."
Steve: "What group?"
Barry: "No time. The remaining smugglers—they're coming back."
They quickly hide inside two large empty drums just seconds before vehicles arrived.
The smugglers stepped out, staring at the damaged hideout and the hole in the roof.
Boss: "What the hell happened here?! Did someone attack us? How did they find this place?!"
They rushed inside and found their men unconscious and tied up.
Boss: "Search everything. Whoever did this will pay."
Once they were gone—
Barry (whispering): "Nice. They went inside."
He knocked lightly on Steve's drum.
Barry: "Steve, they're gone."
They climbed out.
Barry: "We should get back to the city."
Steve: "Yeah, let's go—but wait. We can't just go straight or use the road. Because of certain someone, some heroes might already be on their way. If they see us, we'll be in trouble."
Barry: "Oh! About that, I have an idea."
Barry led Steve toward the car the smugglers' boss had arrived in.
Barry: "Why don't we make a distraction for both the heroes and those guys by sending this car toward the city from this side? What do you think?"
Steve: "Not a bad idea. But how is this car going to get through? The trees will block the way."
Barry: "You can use your LEGO power to make a key for the car or I'll get the keys from them in super speed. One of us will drive it to the road and there, you will lock the steering wheel, and then put something heavy on the accelerator. You know the rest."
Steve thought for a moment, then nodded.
Steve: "Fair enough. Let's do it."
Barry: "Okay."
The door of the car was not locked. So, they got inside and tried to start the car.
Barry: "Hey, Steve, quick question."
Steve: "Say it."
Barry: "Where's the LEGO wall you used to block my lightning?"
Steve: "I moved it behind the building."
Barry: "I didn't see you do that."
Steve: "I did it quickly. They were coming."
Barry: "Alright. Start the car."
Steve: "Okay."
The engine roared to life.
Steve immediately jumped out and hide, while Barry took control of the car and drove it straight toward the road. The sound of the engine alerted the smugglers, who rushed outside.
Boss: "What's going on?!"
They saw the car speeding away.
Boss: "Quick! We have to catch them!"
The smugglers jumped into their van and chased after the car.
Once Barry reached the road, he locked the steering wheel with a plastic stick and jammed the accelerator with a piece of the broken roof, and vanished behind the trees.
After the vehicles disappeared, Barry came back out. Steve soon reached the road as well.
Barry: "The plan worked very well!"
Steve: "Yeah… but we still have to hurry and get back to the city."
The Sended Heroes
In the city, after the massive lightning ray was seen, three heroes were immediately dispatched to investigate what had happened.
The first was a hero who could produce glue from any part of his body. The strength of his glue depended on the food he ate, and he could control its density, even setting the exact time when it would harden. His superhero name was Sticklock.
The second hero had thrusters built into his limbs. Even though he still had fingers on both his hands and legs, the thrusters allowed him to fly freely through the air. His superhero name was Jetframe.
The third hero was a girl with the power to sense anything within a radius of around two to two and a half kilometers. Within that area, she could know the exact location of anyone and see what they were doing, as if images were continuously being sent directly to her brain. Her superhero name was Tracer.
The three of them had worked together before, so they were a well-coordinated team. Jetframe went ahead first to scout the area from the sky, while Sticklock and Tracer headed toward the location by car.
Now back to Barry and Steve.
They decided to head toward the city by walking along a path slightly away from the main road.
While walking, Barry broke the silence.
Barry: "How long do you think it'll take to reach the city?"
Steve: "I'm not completely sure, but if we keep walking like this, it'll probably take around one and a half to two hours."
Barry: "What?! That long? Why can't I just run us there at super speed and carry you?"
Steve: "Because there's a chance we could get spotted by the heroes, or someone might see us entering the city like that."
Barry: "Oh, come on. Please, let's just go at super speed."
Steve: "No. I told you—no means no."
Barry sighed.
Barry: "Well, if that's the case, I'd rather walk this long distance while talking."
Steve: "What do you want to talk about?"
Barry: "Don't you want to talk? There are so many questions—how you got your powers, what you were doing there, and a lot more."
Steve: "I do have those questions too, but I thought we could talk about them later. Still, if you want to talk now, then fine."
Barry smiled slightly.
Barry's thoughts: "That was easier than I expected. He doesn't seem to mind talking about it. But we both know we didn't have these powers before. We've known each other for years. He could tell my father about my powers… and I could tell his family too. Still, I think we both want to hide this."
Steve noticed Barry had gone quiet.
Steve: "Yo, why are you thinking so deeply? Didn't you say you wanted to talk?"
Barry snapped out of it.
Barry: "Yeah. I was just wondering… does your family know about your powers?"
Steve: "What do you think?"
Barry: "Most probably not."
Steve: "Yeah, you're right. What about your parents? Do they know?"
Barry: "No, they don't."
Steve: "Then why are you hiding your powers?"
Barry: "Don't ask me that when you're doing the same thing."
Steve looked at him for a moment.
Steve: "Barry, why are you being so friendly all of a sudden? You never liked me. We usually try not to interact with each other."
Barry: "I don't know… you just seem different now."
Steve raised an eyebrow slightly.
Steve: "Different? Is it my powers that are attracting you?"
Barry: "No, it's not just that. You also seem interested somehow, so I just started talking with you."
Steve let out a small breath.
Steve: "I guess that's because I first started following you to ask you to join my group."
Barry looked at him in surprise.
Barry: "Oh, really? Why do you want me to join?"
Steve: "You never showed that you were soo good at web-related work."
Barry shrugged.
Barry: "I think that's because I never do that outside."
They walked in silence for a few seconds, the wind brushing past the open plain beside the forest.
Before either of them could speak again, a loud whoosh echoed above them.
Jetframe descended from the sky and landed right in front of Barry and Steve, the ground cracking slightly beneath his feet.
Jetframe: "Hey. What are you two doing out here, in a place like this?"
Barry's eyes widened instantly.
Barry: "Yoo! You're Jetframe! You're the hero who's saved so many people and patrols the city every day!"
His eyes sparkled with excitement.
Steve: "Nice… now you're acting like a kid, Barry. Stop that and come here."
Steve pulled Barry slightly back.
Jetframe: "It's okay. You don't meet someone interested in heroes of our rank every day."
Barry couldn't hold back.
Barry: "Hey, what do you mean heroes of your rank? You work every day to maintain peace in our city."
Jetframe paused for a moment.
Jetframe: "Yeah, I do. There are peoples who thank me for that. But there are also many people who think peace only exists because of the top-ranked heroes."
Barry: "That's not completely true. Criminals and villains do fear top heroes, but even with that, there are villains who work in the shadows. Heroes like you make sure those things don't happen."
Jetframe looked genuinely surprised. A small smile appeared on his face.
Steve: "Hey! Are you two done chatting?"
Barry: "Oh—sorry. I just couldn't control myself."
Jetframe: "Honestly… same here. I ended up saying things I usually keep to myself because of the workload."
Then Jetframe's expression shifted—serious again.
Jetframe: "Alright, kids. You dragged me into your conversation. Now tell me—what are you two doing here?"
Barry opened his mouth first.
Barry: "We were just walking."
Jetframe raised an eyebrow.
Jetframe: "Walking? This far from the city?"
Barry: "Yeah. Are we not allowed to walk here?"
He said it with a teasing grin.
Steve: "Hey, Barry, stop talking like that."
Steve turned to Jetframe.
Steve: "We were heading toward the other city to meet an old friend who shifted there. When we saw that lightning ray, we thought of checking it out. But halfway through, we changed our minds and started heading back."
Barry: "Yeah… that's what I meant. I just didn't explain it properly."
Jetframe studied them for a moment.
Jetframe: "I see. Well, I'm in a hurry, so don't stay out here too long. Head back to the city."
With that, Jetframe ignited his thrusters and flew toward the hideout.
Steve let out a breath.
Steve: "Were you crazy, Barry? Saying we were just walking near that hideout?"
Barry: "Well… he didn't seem suspicious."
Steve: "Alright. Let's move—and remember, no using powers."
Barry: "Oh, come on…"
They started walking again toward the city.
When Jetframe reached the hideout, he saw that the other two heroes had already arrived.
Sticklock stood near the entrance, while Tracer was focused, her eyes slightly narrowed as she scanned the area.
Jetframe landed beside them.
Jetframe: "You two got here fast. Did they give you any trouble?"
Sticklock: "They did try to put up a fight, but they were nothing serious."
Tracer: "There were more people here before, but most of them left. I can sense two people inside right now. No traps."
Jetframe looked toward the damaged roof.
Jetframe: "Anything—or anyone—capable of creating a lightning ray like the one we saw?"
Tracer closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating.
Tracer: "No. I don't sense anyone with that kind of power here. But let's go inside and check ourselves."
The three heroes entered the hideout together.
Inside, they discovered that the place was being used to store various smuggled goods. They also found the two smugglers who had been tied up earlier. After questioning them, it became clear that the men couldn't remember much—most of their memory had been wiped out by a powerful electric shock.
With nothing more to extract, the heroes decided to head back to the city and report everything.
On the way back, Jetframe flew above the road. From the sky, he noticed that Barry and Steve were still walking and hadn't reached the city yet.
Jetframe descended and landed beside them.
Jetframe: "Yo, you two need a ride?"
Barry's face lit up instantly.
Barry: "Yeah! I want a ride with you!"
Steve: "I'd prefer going by car."
Jetframe nodded.
Barry climbed onto Jetframe's back, and in seconds they were flying through the sky.
From above, Barry noticed something strange on the road ahead.
He saw the smugglers frozen in place, completely immobilized.
Barry: "Hey, Jetframe… is that Sticklock's doing?"
Jetframe: "Yeah. You're absolutely right. Want to know what happened?"
Barry: "Yeah, I do."
Jetframe began explaining.
Before, when the smugglers were chasing the empty car, Jetframe had spotted them from the sky.
Jetframe: "There's a car and a van ahead. Looks like the van is chasing the car."
Sticklock: "I'll handle it. You go ahead."
Jetframe: "Alright."
Tracer: "They're getting close. Should I stop the car?"
Sticklock: "Yes. Stop it."
As the car approached, Sticklock quickly created a thick glue wall in front of it. The car crashed straight into the wall.
Sticklock frowned.
He had expected the car to slow down or stop, not crash into it so recklessly.
When he moved closer to check, he realized something was wrong.
The car was empty.
Before he could think further, the van stopped behind the crashed car.
The boss stepped out and spoke quickly to his men.
Boss: "Don't fight them. Hurry up and take the van back."
Sticklock raised his arm.
Sticklock: "Hey! Stop right there!"
Ignoring the order to retreat, Sticklock launched glue balls at the van's tires. The glue hardened instantly, locking the wheels in place.
The boss clenched his fists.
Boss: "Looks like we don't have any choice now."
He turned toward Sticklock.
Boss: "Hero! I'll give you one warning—leave now, or we will fight!"
The smugglers spread out, preparing for battle. Everyone was a mutant with different powers like spicks in head, sound waves from hand, guns in hands, etc.
Sticklock's expression didn't change.
Sticklock: "Seems like I got a whole pack. If you're not ready to surrender… then so be it."
In seconds, he glued their legs to the ground, then covered their bodies layer by layer. He restrained the ones with ranged abilities first, sealing their hands so they couldn't use their powers.
Within moments, all of them were immobilized.
Back in the present, Jetframe gently lowered Barry near the city.
Steve arrived by car shortly after.
Barry: "That was amazing…"
Steve: "We should go. Let's meet tomorrow and talk properly."
Barry nodded.
Barry: "Tomorrow."
They went their separate ways, both knowing that this was only the beginning.