Sorry for not uploading last two days. I had accidentally put wrong date on publishing. It was next month. I hope you still continue reading. 🙏🏻
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Alex leaned forward at his desk, eyes glued to the screen. Beads of sweat trickled down his temple as his fingers blurred across the keyboard. His mouse hand spun in tight swirls, reacting with precise clicks. His breathing was steady but intense—completely locked in.
The silence of the office was broken only by the rapid tapping of keys and the occasional distant hum of government drones passing by the building.
On-screen, his last opponent peeked from behind a wall—too late.
BAM.
"Yeah baby!" Alex shouted, thrusting a fist into the air.
The words 'Winner Winner Chicken Dinner' splashed across his monitor. His first victory of the day.
Bliss, perched atop his desk, gave a soft approving squeak.
Alex leaned back in his chair, grinning. "Took long enough."
---
Later that morning, riding the high from his win, Alex turned serious again. The memory of the last day at the Reserve Hero Agency still lingered in his mind—especially one item that had left a deep impression on him. It had sparked an idea that wouldn't leave him.
"Alright," he murmured, standing in the middle of his summoning zone. "Let's see if I can get something just as useful."
He raised his hand, mind pulsing with the familiar strain of energy flow. First, he tried to summon a multi-form vehicle—a hybrid of bike, drone, and skis. But what materialized before him was… different.
A curious item floated in front of him. It shimmered like liquid metal but held its shape—small, like a core with shifting edges.
[ITEM SCAN: IMITATION CORE]
Rarity: Rare
Function: Can absorb the properties of a single item and mimic its function temporarily. Cannot mimic organic matter. Cooldown required between uses.
Alex blinked. "Okay… that's unexpected."
The cube hummed faintly in his mind, verifying the scan.
"So you're a wildcard," he whispered, staring at the core. "Let's see what I can do with you."
Alex placed the Imitation Core on his desk, watching its metallic surface ripple like disturbed water. He considered the possibilities. "Let's test you on something simple first."
He opened a drawer and pulled out a standard police-issue flashlight. As he brought it closer, the Core responded immediately. Its tendrils of energy reached forward, lightly wrapping around the flashlight.
With a faint hum, the Core enveloped the flashlight. In seconds, the metal dissolved the object into itself, absorbing it completely. Then, with a soft pulse of light, the Core reshaped itself—elongating into a near-perfect replica of the flashlight, mimicking its features and function with eerie precision.
[IMPRINTED ITEM: FLASHLIGHT]
Duration: 20 minutes
Recharge time: 3 hours
Alex turned it on. The replicated beam was just as strong, if not stronger. "Useful," he said, jotting the test result into his cube log.
Bliss watched curiously, ears perked.
Alex pocketed the Imitation Core and geared up. With mental energy waning from the double summoning, Alex steadied himself. But the rush of progress, the momentum — it pulled at him. 'Just one more,' he whispered to himself.
He extended his hand again, eyes narrowed, focus burning. The Cube shimmered briefly as if unsure, but obliged.
A small wooden box materialized, organic and moss-covered, shaped like a beehive with vents on all sides.
[SUMMONED ITEM: EYEHIVE]
Type: Surveillance Tool
Function: Generates insect-like drones capable of silent aerial surveillance. Transmits live feed to user's device or visor.
As he lifted the Eyehive, a few tiny metal-winged insects buzzed out and hovered in the air like silent guardians. He tapped a control crystal on its surface, and one flew out the window, blending with the environment.
Bliss nudged his leg, channeling her passive calming field again, helping stabilize his drained mind. He breathed out slowly, grateful for her presence.
He picked up the Eyehive again and set it gently on the table. With a quiet pulse, several insect-like drones emerged and zipped silently out the open window. He synced their feed to his workstation.
One drone circled over Kian's training yard — the young man was fiercely striking at a reinforced dummy, the gauntlet flaring slightly with each blow. Another hovered above Leena's greenhouse setup, where vibrant plants pulsed faintly in rhythm with her gentle touch. The third tracked Toru in the workshop, watching him test odd item combinations under agency supervision.
Alex leaned back in his chair, monitoring them quietly. "Let's see what you're all made of," he murmured.
His communicator buzzed. A new mission alert.
Without delay, he sent Zipline ahead to scout the area. The hoverblade-enhanced heroine zipped across rooftops with a blue streak in her wake.
Alex turned to Kian. "You're with me."
Kian nodded, strapping on his gauntlet. They both mounted the government-issued bike.
Alex now wore the official hero dispatcher suit — a sleek black jumpsuit with blue stripes across the chest, paired with a hero-grade helmet for visibility and protection. His suit had mild armor plating at key points — enough for defense without sacrificing mobility.
As the bike revved to life, the city lights reflected off their gear.
"Let's move," Alex said, voice steady through the helmet.
The bike tore through the streets, following Zipline's beacon toward the mission zone.
___
At the scene, Zipline was already in motion. She darted across the air with hover-assisted leaps, her movements sharp and fluid. Beside her moved Kian — now going by the hero name Buster — with fierce momentum. The energy from his gauntlet rippled with each strike, his brute strength punching through debris and shielding Zipline from danger.
Alex stayed behind, parked near a broken barricade. He held a government-issued riot shield in one hand, crouched by his bike, scanning the area with sharp eyes. While not in direct combat, his attention never wavered.
He kept one eye on the battlefield, the other on his communicator feed. Every move of his summoned hero and new recruit was being calculated.
He muttered under his breath, "Let's see how they handle pressure."
The sound of clashing steel, electric sparks, and compressed air from hover-jumps filled the zone as Zipline and Buster worked in tandem.
Alex quickly summoned Fixer, who arrived with a metallic stomp, visor glowing faintly. Without waiting for instructions, Fixer began reinforcing damaged structures and helping create safe paths for evacuees.
Buster continued smashing through collapsed rubble, clearing blockades with raw force, while Zipline zipped in and out of danger zones, escorting civilians to safety.
The local police formed a perimeter, putting up barricades and rerouting traffic. Coordination was seamless.
Then a noise crackled through Alex's earpiece — the police intercom.
"We've got eyes on the target," the officer reported.
Alex looked up sharply as the target came into view: a lanky figure in a reinforced vest with a series of pipes and valves attached to his arm. Steam hissed from the apparatus as he waved his arm through the air — triggering concussive explosions from the empty space around him.
He grinned manically as debris flew and the ground cracked beneath his feet.
"We've got a bomber with some kind of pressure detonation rig," Alex muttered.
He clenched his riot shield tighter. "Everyone — brace for engagement."
Alex relayed the bomber's location to his heroes.
Zipline moved swiftly, prioritizing the safety of nearby civilians. She ducked, weaved, and skated at blistering speeds, pulling people out of the blast zone just before the concussive waves hit.
Buster charged in, his gauntlet flaring with energy as he engaged the bomber head-on. The fight was brutal. The villain moved unpredictably, his detonation waves forcing both Buster and Zipline into defensive footing.
They weren't gaining the upper hand.
Alex frowned and unsummoned Fixer.
He took a breath and focused his mental energy. A portal opened — and from it stepped a tall figure in a worn leather jacket, cowboy hat tilted slightly downward. Two pistols rested at his hips. He glanced at Alex with a calm, serious gaze.
"Eagleeye reporting for duty," he said with a deep voice.
Alex nodded quickly. "Incapacitate the target. Try not to hurt him too much."
Eagleeye nodded back, pulling out a classic Colt pistol — aged, but perfectly maintained. Alex squinted. "That old thing...?"
But then Eagleeye activated his power.
Twin rings of golden light circled his pistol. A glow shimmered around the barrel as he took aim — and fired once.
BOOM.
The concussive blast sent the villain flying backward, screaming in pain as he hit the ground.
Buster moved in quickly, landing a solid punch that knocked the bomber out cold.
Zipline arrived seconds later. She removed the villain's vest carefully — the strange pipes on his hand retracting back into the gear.
She handed the vest to Alex.
His visor blinked with data. "It's... sentient. This vest has a mind of its own. It thrives on chaos and combustion. When worn, it overrides the host's thoughts — and turns them into a walking explosive."
He looked at the unconscious villain.
"We were lucky," he muttered.
Back at the office, Alex leaned back in his chair as he typed the incident report. Yurei arrived shortly after, congratulating Buster — or Kian — personally and urging him to rest.
Alex gave his debrief, including his analysis of the sentient vest.
Yurei folded her arms, eyes narrowing. "You're not the only one. Other Dispatchers have reported similar rogue items cropping up. I'll dig deeper on my end. Keep your eyes open."
She left with a curt nod.
Alex returned to his desk, pulled out the Mindcube, and let it hover just above his palm. He felt its faint pulse in his mind as he thought through the events of the day — from the new recruits to the sentient gear.
The cube shimmered slightly as if responding to his thoughts.
Something strange was unfolding.
___