Evolving Infinitely From An E-Class Hero-Chapter 63: Ponders

"What the hell are you two trying to prove?" War Man’s voice continued.

"That you’re strong? We know that already. You think you’re heroes because of flashy moves and raw strength? No. You’re heroes because people trust you not to destroy everyone when you egos get bruised... Otherwise, you’re just a punny villain."

Silence followed his short speech.

His massive metallic arm pointed towards the wreckage. "You see all this? You think civilians will care who started it? You think they’ll sleep better tonight knowing it was only an S-Class scuffle?"

Golden Guardian rolled his eyes immediately and scoffed.

"He’s not even S-Class, he’s just an E-Class nobody..." He said with disdain.

"You get my point!" War Man boomed back.

I lowered my gaze for a second. This whole dilemma was a real surprise to me.

I had expected Golden Guardian to be the beacon of morality amongst the Strongest— The Guardian Corps.

But as it turns out, War Man seems to be the one intune with morals and holding up the heroic code while Golden Guardian gave off the spoilt kid if a rich folk energy.

I had expected it to be the reverse. Considering War Man’s history; he’s literally a billionaire so It would make sense if he was arrogant and egotistical to a fault.

War Man sighed, rubbing the back of his armored neck.

"I’ve been doing this longer than either of you. And the scariest thing I’ve learned? It’s not the villains that destroy the society we live in. It’s when heroes forget why they became heroes in the first place."

Clap!

The Apostle clapped once. "That’s enough, War Man. I think you’ve made your point."

He turned to a large portion of the agents dressed in black. "Clear the scene. Secure what’s remaining of the Calamity Creature and we’ll transport it to the ISA headquarters for thorough analysis."

"At least we have an opportunity to make sense of the anatomy of these creatures. Maybe we’d figure out something about them that would be useful to us."

"For crying out loud, I can never get a break. I have a long flight back to HQ, this squabble is dismissed... "

I nodded and took a couple steps backwards as a sign that clearly said "I’m backing out... But this isn’t over"

He— Golden Guardian still kept his gaze in me. Watching and waiting. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

I turned and blasted off the ground, kicking up dust and debris in the wake of my departure.

***

ISA Headquarters

Tower A

ISA President’s Office.

The moons silver beams shine through the tall windows of the ISA Headquarters, stretching across the black tiles.

Her office was sited at the uppermost floor of the tower, it has a reputation for its loud silence. The walls were painted thick black and polished to a mirror sheen, while the ISA emblem glowed faintly from behind her desk.

An eagle, surrounded by twelve interlocking years, each representing a critical division within the International Superhuman Association.

Viola Travis stood by the tall window, her arms folded across her burst.

She was tall, dressed in a tailored navy blue suit. Her silver hair was braided backwards and a head piece with the emblem of the ISA shone effortlessly on her head.

Sitting right across her office table, in a high backed chair, was Dr. Tancredi James, Head of Bioengineering Research. His lab coat was open, revealing a row of crazy lit pens and other protrusions clipped to his vest.

His thin rimming glasses were perpetually titled at an angle, and his eyes shimmered with fear and something else — curiosity.

On the table before him was a holoprojection of the Calamity Creature’s corpse, rotating slowly.

"Huh... I still can’t get over the structure of its spinal segments," Dr. Tancredi muttered with a dry voice.

"Carbon reinforced bone lattices fused with silicon based filaments. It’s like every other living thing with that kind of makeup... Except it has no excretory if reproductive organs".

"A creature without excretory organs killed thirty seven people and injured an A-Class Hero under five minutes," President Viola said coldly, turning to face him. "That was just at the seaport in Sector C alone. It would’ve gone further if Bionic or Skateboard Man whatever his name is hadn’t gotten there in time."

Dr. Tancredi tapped a portion of the tablet, zooming in on a cross section of the creature’s chest.

"Here... See, that right there? That’s not natural evolution. That’s design. Someone made this thing. Gave it claws capable of slicing through just about anything without any back drop".

"These Calamity Creatures are certainly a new discovery as far as science is concerned... And also, each Calamity Creature looks different from the next. They don’t have the same physical and anatomical properties... This applies to the ones we’ve been able to sight"

President Viola moved behind her desk, her footwear making measured, echoing taps across the floor.

"I feel like theirs more to these creatures than meets the eye. We certainly don’t want another Gravehowl incident all over again" She narrowed her eyes at the projection.

"But this? According to the report Tech Armor gave us, they apparently have a certain level of IQ and can make decisive decisions during combat... This ain’t no Gravehowl zombie situation!"

"We did take a look at the specimens brain... Although it was dead, We obviously couldn’t find from much from it, but it looked and felt just like a humans or even any other primates brain".

"Apes... "

"Orangutans"

"Gorillas..."

"Gorillas?... Mutating and evolving gorillas?"

"In today’s world, it doesn’t sound impossible your Excellency..."

Then there’s was a tense pause.

President Viola’s fingers steepled under her chin.

"You think its some kind of Gravehowl copy cat?"

"I’d say no," Dr Tancredi replied.

"Gravehowl didn’t introduce his minions to us like a movie teaser. It was a series of deliberate attempts to overhaul Sector D... This one has two incredibly enhanced creatures way stronger than Gravehowls minions popping up at several parts in different Sectors"

"If I might snowball here... It’s like someone is testing them out, see how strong they are and how they would hold their ground against our heroes... It’s like a... "

"...A war drill..." President Viola finished grimly stealing the words right before Dr Tancredi finished speaking.

Dr. Tancredi nooded in agreement. "Exactly, it’s like someone’s stress testing our defense protocols."