WELCOMING PART. 2

Everyone had exited the building and got to safety perimeters, at least long enough to avoid what was about to happen next.

A puncturing force pummels out of the building rooftop. It was the black suited vigilante, he had punched the silver helmed man so hard in the guts it sent him through the building top.

He faded and rematerializes atop this man, squeezed his palm into a fist and punches him in the chest, inducing a heavy amount of force that sends him back into the building, crashing through floors till he met his fate and landed on the last floor.

The impact of the silver helmed man had left a huge dented hole in the middle of the last floor of the building.

As a result. . .

The man was unconscious. The latter was still deep in mid air when everyone began taking pictures. Words went round about his identity but nothing came out from it.

The latter soon soars away and vanishes in a bright fading light.

Jake who saw it happen had a rigid glare strapped to his face. His eyes fixated on the point the unknown figure had vanished into.

His face read he didn't like this vigilante at all.

It soon ran across all news television about the scenario that occured. Reporters flew around to fetch a story , the GLCPD tried their possible best to prevent much attention towards the place.

Jake was still busy processing everything when Debbie walked up to him in haste and hugged him.

“Debbie?!”, his eyes widened in shocked. “What the hell are you doing here!.”, Jake reaction was sharp, he wasn't expecting to see her at all. “You could have called and how did you get here??”

“Kat... she brought me with and we did try calling.”, Debbie said as she broke the hug. “I called a thousand times but you weren't picking up.”

“Yeah, we called.”, kat showed up abruptly. “ We are glad nothing happened to you.”

“Yeah it okay ”, Jake said while nodding then he Stopped, he looked around and asked. “Monday didn't come with?”

“No...”, Kat responded. Vehicles honking sounds were prominent as cars struggled to move along the road with the blockage the cops were causing.

༺ ༒ ༻

UNCERTAIN LOCATION,

HUFANGG DOWNTOWN

HQ,

“This wasn't a minor attack ”, A voice said. “Those guys were after something and whatever it was they didn't get it, thanks to you but.”, the young youth was saying. “ We might need to investigate what those guys were looking for.”

“Look.. Az, ain't that the cops job?”,

“Yeah, we could leave it for the cops or we can just get this piece of info for our own findings. ”, The youth uttered as he walked around the platform. Series of computer and other sets of items and stuffs that made it look like secret layer. “The cops won't know how to operate on whatever they find but we can, so we need to get it.”

The latter folded his hands. “So what are we looking for.”

“Good question.”, The youth turned around and tapped the face of the screen. It showed a small futuristic levitating ball. “You see that stuff over there.”, the latter stood forward a bit with his eyes picking interest in whatever that is. “That thing there is a nuclear energy generating core, covered up with Microscopic nanites that are Strong enough to seal it. It also a mind blowing technology that can advance , create and even uncreate.”

“Wo... slow down. How do you know that?”,

Az turned back to look at the holographic image of the core. “My dad told me about it when I was still little. ”

“Your dad?”

Az sighed before taking a seat. “ Look ... my dad once worked for Hayward Tech and he knew a lot , as well as the core. They have been working on it for years, extracting all forms technology they could lay their hand on and imbued it into this thing. ”

“What did they want to use it for?”

“The former boss of Hayward Tech, Kyle Xander, he wanted to create an ultimate weapon , something he believed would be capable of making the world a better place. According to one of my dad's theories; he wants to destroy and rebuild everything.”

A gasped escaped the latter in an all covering black suit and a matching black jacket, his mask remained untouched.

“Then where is Kyle?”

“That the problem, I don't know , a lot changed when Qualcomm came into the picture.”

“Qualcomm?”

“Yeah, my dad said Qualcomm got himself involved in this whole mess and a lot went down after that. There was a showdown that occured and it nearly ended everything. ”

“That night...”, The latter muttered. “It was the same night he vanished.”

“Yeah...we all thought they were dead, the core was destroyed but now, I think the core still exist.”

“How Az... that explosion was like a nuke in the sky.”

“That doesn't stop some other genius from trying to recreate it if he has the blueprints. And it explains a lot why those men came unless you want to go down there and do some questioning?”

“I am not verified to just do anything around here... I'm not qualcomm.”

Az sighed while making a nod before turning his chair around to the screen. His eyes locked on it and the core. “Well, whatever happens, we need to find that core and destroy it before it creates another . . .crisis.”

༺ ༒ ༻

BACK AT HOME;

Jake dropped the car key on the table as everyone entered.

“Okay ... you know what, I'm fed up with Mondays attitude already. So he wasn't even bothered in the slightest that something might have gone wrong? we are a family for Gods sake!.”

Debbie rolled her eyes. ”It not really a big deal to him and we're just going to have leave with it ”

“Yeah and for the record... mum and dad are coming back tonight.”, Kat annouched. “Todays their anniversary so we might wanna keep all things bad and annoying and at the same time crazy and focus on that.”

“Where’s Monday.”, Jake demanded.

“Up in his room.”, Debbie responded dolefully and watched her brother leave for the next floor.

“I will go talk to him.”,

“No don't.”, kat stopped him. “You don't need to go up there and try to be his father. We both know why he is being distant from us, but yet he acts like he isn't. Shouldn't we be trying to accept that and let him be?”

“Mum and dad is coming home tonigh---”

“Fuck that. It doesn't concerns Monday”, Kat sighed and looked back at Debbie before fixing her eyes on a restless jake. “We never treated Monday like he was family. Sometimes he get bullied, we don't do a thing. . . I mean Monday can't even stand up for himself, he's takes every word shot at him and let it dies down and later brings it back up and cry when he's in his own personal space.”

“That doesn't matter, it all in the past... ”, Jake was saying till Kat intercepted.

“Because we found out his dad was the one keeping the universe safe till he vanished. We all know we only began treating and respecting Monday when we found out his dad was Qualcomm. We are showing him love because of that ... none of what we do is genuine.”

There was short form of silence in the room after that, Debbie sighed. Her small eyes that had the glint of guilt radiating freely closed and opened up with her heart pacing fast. “She’s kinda right Jake...”, She broke the silence.

Monday who they were talking about had came out of his room , barefooted making his footsteps unheard. His enhanced level of hearing soon kick-started and picked up on the conversation that was going on downstairs.

“Monday acts like his okay but he isn't. So why bother him, Instead of giving him the actual space he needs. He had relationship issues but he couldn't share it with any of us, it got to a point those relationships broke him to an extent that he doesn't even want to know what it like to be loved anymore. And the worst we can do is to boss him around.”

“He makes a living Jake. Don't try anything that you will regret.”

Jake chuckled. “You know with everything you are all saying. So it means Monday over here is the masked vigilante? because the masked vigilante can't just happen to have the same abilities as Qualcomm.”

Debbie nodded with Katherine palming her head.

“No.. you girls should listen, I'm trying to make a point. What if he's the faded shadow? running around in all covering black suit and leather jacket with some mask that seals his identity.”

Debbie stood forward with hands gesturing Jake to stop. “And what if he's the faded Shadow? I mean how does it matter to you or us? considering the fact that this same faded shadow is protecting lives out there.”

Jake chuckled. “Yon don't get my point.”

“You know what... lemme burst your tiny bubble.”, Debbie thundered.

“What?”, Jake uttered with a raised eyebrow.

“ I know Monday is the faded shadow.”

***

***

Right now , Jake felt torned in pieces when he heard sister, Debbie utter the statement she had said before. His face carefully stationed itself to kat who didn't held any surprise look either.

“So you know as well that Monday Is that Faded Shadow guy and no one bothered to tell me about it? ”

“It not like that. We figured it out, but we weren't sure but deep down we knew he was the one, I mean, why else will Monday disappear all the time when you least expect. ” , Kat exhaled her breath. “We knew if we told told you ... you would freak out and---”

“Who said anything about freaking out, at least I deserve to know the truth. He's out there always risking his life for others and yet---”

“You can all stop the drama and I don't see anything in what you are saying Jake ... no points, no sense. ”, Monday interrupted as he came downstairs. “You all should really stop this. I don't care if you know I'm the faded shadow or not. That your problem and not mine ”

“Why didn't you tell us earlier? ”, Jake confronted him. “You could have at least shared that with your family. ”

“You’re not my family. ”, Monday retorted. “You guys are just acting. Weird stuff for you all to do now, acting all emotional like you care. ”

“We actually do care about you. ”, Kat stoop forward but Mondays reply sent her back.

“Lies... ”, he thundered. “You Know Everytime I try to get along, Debbie shows me my place. She makes it clear that I will never fit in with the cool kids... that was fine, till she and her friends humiliated me so badly that I was nothing but a loser in everyone's eyes. She denied me as her cousin. I didn't care... I just let it all slide and told myself everything was going to be okay but ... I was deceiving myself.”

“I am deeply---”

“I don't need your apologies Debbie. Beside, it all in the past but everything remains in the presence with me. Me being the faded shadow as nothing to do with any of you, I don't need help. I have all the help I need. ”

“Monday, let try and talk this out. You don't have to leave , we can settle this. ”,

“Oh stop it Kat... here's an idea. How about you all get ready and set your parents up for their anniversary dinner . I don't need to be here for that, so I will be out for a while. ”

He walked pass Kat and towards the exit. Kat followed till they were outside and she pulled him back. “If you want to go then that's fine, just tell me where the hell you're going to be while we are busy with my parents dinner. If you can't tell them, at least... you can tell me. ”

“Either Az or Naomi's place. I'm not sure where but you can call any of them if you want to check up on me. ”, his voice deep and lacking the emotional strings. Katherine could barely stand when he shot out of there like rocket into the night sky and vanished out of sight.

Her mind so pestered she felt like the world was crushing on her.

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