"P-power?" Janine asked.
"Precisely." The man smirked.
"I-I don't know. I just got this job a-"
The man quickly leaned in.
"Think about it J.V.!" The man cried.
"People here consider you nothing but a lowly intern or... a pest." He narrowed his eyes.
"But!" He exclaimed.
"Come with me, and we'll give you all the damn power you want!" He cried.
Janine's eyes widened.
"R-really I don't-"
"Hey, hey..." The man whispered.
"Aren't you tired of being considered a burden?"
Janine's face went pale.
"Tired of not being able to show your true potential as a tech goddess?"
Janine didn't respond.
"That's what I thought..." The man whispered, pulling away.
"You do want power, after all, Ms. J.V.!" He laughed.
"Where do you work...?" She whispered.
"Huh?"
Janine looked up with a determined look in her eyes.
"I'll come with you," she said.
"You..." The
"Hey, boss, we're coming in," Mim announced."She's here?" A voice questioned."Oh!"Janine quickly turned around, met by the man the voice was coming from."Pardon my surprise." He chuckled."Well, come in; we have much to discuss." He smiled."Mm..." Janine nodded.*As the three sat down, the man held out a plate of pastries."Would you like one?" He asked."No, thank you," Janine said, shaking her head."More for me." Mim chuckled."Well, I suppose it's about time I introduce myself, huh?" The man said, relaxing in his seat."That would be nice," Janine said."You can call me Larkin." The man smiled."What exactly do you do, Larkin?" Janine asked, sitting up."Well..." Larkin turned to Mim."He's trying to gain inhuman strength...or something like that." Mim shrugged."So, you don't even know your own bosses’ ambitions..." Janine frowned."Do
Larkin peeked his head inside the kitchen, watching Mikael set the table."What the hell are you doing?" A voice suddenly called out.Larkin quickly turned his head."First of all, watch your mouth," he scolded."Second of all, why aren't you in bed?" He questioned."Can't sleep," Rick said calmly, followed by a yawn."Anyway," he continued."Why are you spying on Mikael?" He asked.A smirk slowly crept across his face."Oi, Larkin..." he whispered."Don't tell me you've got a cr-""Be quiet; he's coming!" Larkin cried, grabbing Rick."Oi,” Mikael said, coming around the bend."What the hell are you two doing?" He asked, narrowing his eyes."O-oh...you know," Larkin began, chuckling nervously."J-just bonding...!" He stammered."Are we, though?" Rick asked with a hint of sarcasm.Larkin quickly smacked him on top of the head."Ow!" Rick cried."W
As the bedroom door slammed shut, Norio slowly began stirring."Huh...?" The boy looked around sleepily."It's nothing, Norio; just go back to bed,” Larkin whispered."Nori, did you know that Larkin has a crush on-"Larkin quickly smacked him once more."You jerk!" Rick cried."Enough already, you little brat!" Larkin shouted.Amid their arguing, the bedroom door creaked open."Hah!?" Rick and Larkin shouted in unison."What are you doing..." A tiny voice asked."Good going, you woke your sister up!" Larkin hissed.Rick, in return, stuck his tongue out.Iris Azalea crawled on the bed with Larkin and Rick."W-what is it...?" Larkin asked hesitantly."Hold me..." She whispered, hugging Larkin."F-fine..." Larkin mumbled, scooping up the little girl."All three of you should go to sleep soon, though before," he then cut himself off."Before...?" Norio asked curio
“FOLKS, IT’S SHOWTIME!” A voice cried.Just as he said that flashing lights and smoke filled the room.“NOW, FOR THE MAIN EVENT!” The voice roared.“PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR OUR TALENTED ALVARO!”Suddenly a man came rising onto the stage.“My friends!” He greeted.“Thank you all for coming once again to see our show!” Alvaro cried.“For my first trick, my assistant, Mim, and I will demonstrate to you piercing swords in the box!”“Now, now, he’ll be unscathed…hopefully!” Alvaro roared with laughter.“Are you ready!?” He cried as he locked the door with Mim inside.After all the swords pierced the box, the lock fell off.With that, Mim climbed out of the box.“LOOK AT THAT, COMPLETELY UNSCATHED!” Alvaro cried.The audience roared with excitement.*After
“N-new boss...?” Mim whispered.“B-bullshit, don’t give me that!” He cried.As he said that, police sirens began sounding.“S-SHIT!” Mim cried.“Don’t worry, boy, if we get out of here now, we can escape the government’s watchdogs.”“What the hell are you on about!?” Mim shrieked.“You’re the one who needs to run; I haven’t done shit!”“Now, now, what did I say earlier?” The man asked, narrowing his eyes.“I told you, the uprising assistant jealous of his boss’s power killing his boss for the glory…it makes quite the juicy story.”“But there’s no evidence. I didn’t even touch his body!” Mim shouted as tears began to well in his eyes.“OPEN UP THE DOOR.” A policeman shouted through a megaphone.“We don’t have time, Mim!&rdqu
As Kari lay wide awake in bed, she could not help but get lost in deep thought.Tears welled in her eyes.I wasn’t strong enough to protect papa, big sis Janine, or big brother Mim… And now they’re all gone… She thought to herself as tears trickled down her cheeks.“I want to become stronger…” She whimpered, as she closed her eyes.*“Kari?” A voice called out.“Yo Kars, Tammy’s here, you ready?” Another voice questioned.“Ah!” Kari exclaimed, rolling out of bed.“I must’ve overslept!” She cried as she began rushing to get ready.“Honestly…” Abbey sighed as Kari came barreling out of her bedroom.“Leave her be Abbey, she’s still growing.” Sena giggled.“I guess…” Abbey mumbled.“More importantly,” Sena began.&ldqu
“When we were planning to break into your hideout, I remember the others saying how I should be the one to watch Maru because, well…” She smiled sadly.“I’m not the strongest or most reliable, I guess…” She whispered.“Then when the others were fighting off enemies, all I could do was dodge them…” She bit her lip.“Those moments haunt me…” She whispered.“Big sis…” Kari whimpered.“I guess what I’m trying to say is…”“I can relate to you wanting to become stronger because I want the same!” Tammy exclaimed.Kari stared in awe, then gave a hard nod.“I wonder how we can become any stronger…?” Tammy questioned aloud.Just as she said that, Rick walked by with Maru.“R-Rick!” Tammy cried.Rick and Maru quickly turned around.“Oh!&rd
As Kari and Tammy arrived at the park the next day, a whistle blew.“You two are late!” A voice exclaimed.“Eh!?” Tammy cried.“You said to get here by nine, and we did just that!” She frowned.“Yeah, I even got up earlier than usual…” Kari muttered, wiping her eye.“Well, you were two minutes late!” Rick exclaimed, trying to hide a smirk.“Anyways, welcome to Mr. Summers’ training camp, girls!” He beamed.Maru tugged on Rick’s shirt.“Rick, I don’t have to do this, right…?” She whimpered.“Of course not, silly!” He laughed.“Just sit back and relax,” he assured, petting her head.“Now then!” Rick blew the whistle.“Ten jumping jacks, go!” He instructed.“That’s not so bad…!” Tammy giggled, as the two did th