The Weight of Hidden Fire
1199 Words
The technical department had grown quieter now.
Cleanup crews still moved around outside carrying damaged equipment and body bags while broken wires sparked from shattered walls. Smoke drifted faintly through the building, leaving behind the smell of destruction.
Inside one of the secured meeting rooms, the atmosphere was heavy.
This was no ordinary gathering anymore.
It was a secret meeting.
Only the people directly involved remained inside.
Merson, Mirabel, William, Kaiden, Schizzel, Lena, Kennedy, Jersey, James, Ava, Shine, Lacey, Derek, Louise, and Clarence.
Nobody looked relaxed.
Especially Lena.
She sat quietly on one of the sofas, staring blankly ahead while everything replayed in her mind.
T.L.
Or rather…
Total Fox.
Her cousin.
The thought still felt unreal.
All this time T.L. had been beside her—laughing, arguing, acting normal—without knowing what she truly was.
And now nobody even knew where she was.
Mirabel stood near the center of the room, her expression tense.
“We don’t have much time,” she said seriously.
Everyone looked toward her.
“We need to get to Total before Scarlet’s group does.”
William crossed his arms quietly while Kaiden listened carefully.
Mirabel continued.
“Right now, the only people who know Total is a Full Total are us… and Scarlet’s family.”
Her eyes darkened.
“And trust me… if the wrong people discover what she is…”
She paused briefly.
“There are organizations, governments, and groups out there that would do anything to control her power.”
Louise frowned nervously.
“Ooh…” she muttered. “Like when she touches those LATOT books and explodes everybody like some giant chaos bomber?”
Mirabel nodded immediately.
“Yes.”
The room became tense again.
“And we cannot allow anyone else to know who Total truly is.”
Derek smirked slightly.
“She doesn’t even know what she is herself.”
Kennedy suddenly raised his hand casually.
“Okay… I have a theory.”
Everyone turned toward him.
Kennedy shrugged.
“Why don’t we just give T.L. to her mother?”
Silence.
Kennedy continued confidently.
“I mean… Scarlet Fox is insanely powerful. She literally broke through the Heroes Academy forcefield like it was nothing.”
He spread his hands.
“Wouldn’t T.L. technically be safer with her?”
Merson’s face hardened instantly.
“Are you even listening to yourself?”
Kennedy slowly lowered his hand.
Merson stepped forward slowly.
“If Scarlet Fox gets her daughter back…” he said darkly, “Heroes Academy is finished.”
Nobody interrupted him.
“The world won’t be safe anymore.”
He pointed toward the destroyed technical department outside.
“Look at what she already did here over one book.”
His eyes sharpened.
“Now imagine what she’ll do for her daughter.”
The room went silent.
Mirabel’s expression became painful.
“And Scarlet Fox still doesn’t know I took her daughter from her.”
Several people looked toward her immediately.
Mirabel inhaled slowly.
“Because if she knew…”
She glanced around the damaged room.
“…I don’t think this building would still be standing.”
Jersey blinked slowly.
“Woah…”
Clarence sighed quietly while Shine and Lacey exchanged uneasy looks.
Then suddenly—
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
A holographic call signal appeared in the room.
Schizzel looked up immediately.
“So did Kaiden and William.
“It’s for Merson,” Schizzel said.
Merson picked up the call quickly.
A frightened-looking director from the Quadriplee Department appeared.
“Sir… Scarlet Fox was here.”
Everyone reacted instantly.
“What?!” Kennedy shouted.
Merson’s expression darkened immediately.
“Scarlet Fox?” he repeated sharply. “What was she doing there?”
The director swallowed nervously.
“She took something.”
Merson narrowed his eyes.
“Were there casualties?”
The director shook his head quickly.
“No… surprisingly… she didn’t kill anyone.”
Merson froze slightly.
Then quietly whispered to himself,
“That’s not the Scarlet I know…”
Schizzel looked toward him carefully.
“She has another plan,” Merson muttered darkly.
The director continued nervously.
“She took a book.”
Mirabel immediately stepped forward.
“What book?”
“I—I don’t know,” the director admitted. “I didn’t even know it existed until she found it.”
Merson’s voice sharpened.
“Describe it.”
The director tried remembering.
“It was old… dusty… fragile…”
He swallowed.
“It looked like it had survived a hundred years.”
Merson slowly closed his eyes.
That alone confirmed it.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “We’re coming.”
The call ended.
Everyone immediately looked toward him.
Schizzel gestured impatiently. “Well?”
Merson hesitated briefly before finally speaking.
“It’s Scarlet.”
Nobody even looked surprised anymore.
“She got another LATOT book.”
Clarence frowned deeply.
“Another one?”
Merson nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Mirabel immediately started pacing.
“There are seven LATOT books.”
Her voice carried tension now.
“We have to get to them before Total touches all of them.”
Lena finally spoke for the first time in a while.
“What if she already has?”
Everyone looked toward her.
Lena slowly stood up.
“What if T.L. has already touched all seven books?”
Mirabel looked directly at her.
The room fell silent again.
Then Mirabel answered carefully.
“If Total touches all seven books…”
She paused heavily.
“…the entire world will know.”
Several uneasy looks spread across the room.
“If she’s with us when that happens,” Mirabel continued, “then maybe humanity gains the strongest protector it has ever seen.”
William nodded slightly.
“But if she ends up with the wrong people…”
Mirabel’s eyes darkened.
“Or people obsessed with controlling the world…”
Merson finished quietly.
“Then it becomes chaos.”
Suddenly—
BEEEEEP!
BEEEEEP!
An emergency alert echoed through the room.
A holographic notification appeared instantly.
BANK ROBBERY IN PROGRESS.
Ava groaned loudly.
“Must it always be a bank? Every single time?”
Kennedy laughed slightly.
“Seriously. Criminals need creativity.”
Louise folded her arms.
“A burglary attack? At a time like this?”
Merson looked toward the younger heroes immediately.
“You guys need to go.”
Nobody argued.
“So nobody suspects anything unusual is happening here.”
Then his eyes landed specifically on Lena.
“Behave normally.”
Lena understood immediately.
He wasn’t just talking about the robbery.
Kennedy stood up dramatically.
“Alright team, let’s move!”
Jersey stretched his arms.
“Finally. Something less emotionally traumatic.”
James laughed quietly while Ava rolled her eyes.
One by one—
Kennedy, Jersey, James, Lena, Ava, Shine, Lacey, Derek, Louise, and Clarence all headed toward the exit.
As Lena walked out silently, her thoughts continued racing.
T.L.
Total Fox.
A Full Total.
Her cousin.
And somewhere out there…
Scarlet Fox was searching for her too.
The doors finally shut behind them.
The room became silent again.
Mirabel slowly turned back toward Merson, William, Schizzel, and Kaiden.
Her expression hardened.
“Now,” she said quietly, “let’s discuss how we find Total before Scarlet does.”
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