Chapter 226 – Floor 40: Part 2

  Elena walked through the sleek lobby of the League of Heroes headquarters, the hum of activity swirling around her. She clutched a stack of papers tightly, the crisp edges of the folder containing them dug into her palms.

  Before she could react, someone stepped in front of her and she dropped the folder. Papers spread across the ground and she scrambled to pick them up. She apologized as she did so, only to realize that the person she had accidently struck was helping her.

  “In a hurry?” Officer Tarek asked, the Executive looked amused that she had walked into him. Elena glanced up from the papers, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

  “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there.” She exclaimed as she snatched the last of the papers off the ground and placed them back in the folder.

  “No harm done. I think we could both use a little more attention to our surroundings.” He said, his handsome face smiling down at her. She noticed that his dark uniform contrasted sharply with the bright colour of the lobby, drawing attention to him.

  “Thank you.” She stammered.

  “What’s got you so worked up?” Tarek asked with curiosity. He looked at the few papers in his hand as he held them out to her. A Rank ‘D’ certification card was on the front, with a description that looked to have come from this person’s initial Hero assessment.

  Tarek didn’t have a chance to see before the papers left his hand.

  “I have to deliver a new certification, and I’ve been assigned to do a reassessment.” Elena explained as she took the papers from Tarek and arranged them carefully in the folder with the others.

  “Oh? That’s pretty standard, nothing to get excited about.”

  “You’re right, I’m just a little nervous I guess. I want to make sure I get things correct.” Elena said, before gripping the folder in her hands tighter and walking out of the lobby. Tarek watched her leave before shaking his head and getting back to work.

  Page Break

  Elena rushed out of the Headquarters and down the road to where the lower ranked heroes were lodged. Checking the file to confirm she had the right room, she rode the elevator to the correct floor and sped down the hallway.

  She had begged her boss for the opportunity to cover this file, as a Junior Assistant it could be her chance for a promotion! Coming to the right door, she hurriedly knocked while making sure her brown hair were still tied back in a ponytail without anything out of place.

  She checked her cloths, a tailored white blouse and dark pants, before nervously checking the folder once again. This Hero had been the one to capture ‘Brutus’ the day before, meaning he was clearly a cut above the rest.

  After waiting for a minute, she was bout to knock again when the door opened.

  Mathew Larson looked at her from inside, and she felt her heart beat rapidly. Incredibly handsome, he had an athletic appearance accentuated by a black jacket, white shirt and jeans. His hair was long and dark, curling slightly past his ears.

  She could smell him, a spicy scent that she associated with Heroes and the Aether inside them that powered their superhuman abilities. Elena was one of the only people at the Association that could detect it just by being near them.

  “You’re from the Association?” Mathew asked, gesturing for her to enter the room. She was surprised by the reaction. Had he been expecting her?

  “How did you know?” Elena asked, only for Mathew to point at her lapel.

  A League pin was clearly displayed there, and she flushed red in embarrassment. Of course a Hero would take in all the details of a person, and someone in Mathew’s position would have been expecting someone from the League after his performance the day before.

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  “I’m Elena Martin, Junior Assistant for the League of Heroes. I’m here to give you this.” She said, taking a card from the folder in her hands and holding it out to Mathew. He took it immediately as she continued speaking.

  “And I’m here to inform you that I have been assigned to your file. I’ll be conducting your promotion assessments, and providing assistance to your activities. I would have told you this over the phone, but you didn’t leave a contact number.” Elena explained.

  Mathew shrugged and flipped the card over as he read it.

  “I don’t have a phone. This says Rank ‘D.’ Why did I need a new card?” Mathew asked, tossing it on the table in his room before taking a seat.

  “You have been assigned a number, meaning you are officially a Rank ‘D’ Hero. You’re numbered 4376th in Rank ‘D’.” Elena clarified, taking a seat opposite Mathew at the table and opening up her folder to make a note about his lack of a cell phone.

  “The number refers to your specific ranking in ‘D.’ In the event that you are called upon to act with other Heroes, the higher number is in command of the scene. Also, when the League receives information regarding a criminal act or emergency, we may limit action to those of a certain Letter and Number Rank.” Elena finished.

  “Do you have any information for me now?” Mathew asked, only to see Elena shake her head.

  “Not that I’m aware of. Wait – Where are you going?” Elena asked as Mathew stood up and began to walk to the door.

  “I was just on my way out for something to eat, then I’ll wander around and see if anything pops up. Feel free to tag along, if you want.” Mathew replied, leaving Elena to scramble to gather her things and follow along.

  Page Break

  “I am AcidFang!”

  The monster stood twelve feet high and weighed more than a thousand pounds of muscle and fat. Its skin was scaled like a snake, with a sickly green hue discoloured by patches of brown. Each breath it took echoed like thunder.

  It wide, gaping maw revealed sharp, jagged teeth that glistened with corrosive saliva that dripped to the ground, sizzling on contact with the pavement. Its eyes were sunken and glowed a menacing yellow as it fixed on the police cars and Heroes around it.

  “I will cleanse this world of its weakness!” AcidFang roared as the ground trembled beneath the weight of its body. With a single breath, AcidFang sent a torrent of acidic venom from its mouth, creating a hissing cloud that ate away at everything in its path.

  Several police cars immediately corroded, the paint peeled away, and their metal frames melted. A few unfortunate officers turned into pools of liquid in an instant, and even the Heroes weren’t immune. Before they could escape, one Rank ‘D’ wearing a red costume with flames on it tried to stop the acid cloud by burning it away but was soon devoured.

  Acid Fang leaped into the air and landed beside the remains, lapping them up with its tongue. It could feel the Aether within the blood and remnants. AcidFang’s body burned with new power and it grew several inches taller as its strength was enhanced.

  Elena watched from the corner of a building down the street as AcidFang destroyed another car, sending it crashing into a building with a flick of its clawed hand. She had been following Mathew down the street when they had heard sirens.

  From the League’s files, AcidFang was a Class ‘C’ Villain, requiring several Rank C Heroes to subdue. These Rank ‘D’ Heroes should retreat and wait for back up!

  ‘Rank C – Local Menace. Villains that can create chaos at a community level.’ Elena thought, reviewing the description in her head from her recollections.

  Approaching the monster, Mathew had told her to stay there as he walked down the street toward the Villain. He didn’t seem concerned about the monster; he walked with self-assurance and even had one hand in the pocket of his jeans.

  Elena winced when AcidFang saw the young man coming toward it.

  “Another brave soul! Come, Hero! Face AcidFang!” The Villain boasted, and Mathew couldn’t help but scoff at the words. Compared to the demons, devils and monsters he had faced on past Floors, the Villains of this world were full of themselves.

  AcidFang, seeing his words had no effect on the young Hero, breathed out another cloud of acidic breath. The pavement turned pitted and began to bubble, and the streetlights and cars began to dissolve. Long before it reached Mathew, he had raised his hand and pointed.

  “Shield.”

  A transparent bubble formed around him, keeping the acidic breath away. AcidFang seemed shocked by the strange power that Mathew had revealed, and, to Elena’s disgust, it vomit a green glob of liquid into its hand and threw it toward Mathew.

  The green liquid struck Mathew’s barrier with a wet ‘splat’ and left a streak as it fell to the ground and dissolved a hole into the pavement.

  “I am AcidFang! I am the Strongest!” AcidFang roared, and Elena clapped her hands over her ears at the deafening noise. She couldn’t believe someone so far away could be so loud!

  Mathew, his hand still raised and pointed at AcidFang, responded with another word.

  “Combust!”

  There was a flash of intense light, like someone turning on a light in a dark room without warning, and then turning it off once again. Elena saw AcidFang, its body was whole and threatening in appearance, and it changed in an instant. It fell to the ground in pieces, its upper body wiped from existence.

  It took a second before the shockwave and sound reached her, and the force of it pushed her off her feet. As she sat on the ground, her ears ringing and the afterimage of the light in her eyes, she thought about Mathew’s assessment.

  It was clear to her that he needed to be reassessed immediately.