Chapter 25

It had been a week since John had found himself in the Dark world. When he returned, he found out that Shadow Wolf tried to kill Dr. Lee but survived. The agent guarding him was fatally wounded and had to be taken to the emergency room. Now John found himself outside of Valentine manor on a late afternoon. Liza the maid slowly opened the door for John causing the sound of music to pour out of the building.

Gizmo had planned a small party which he wanted to use as a cover to plan his next move. John stepped inside looking around to see that everyone dressed in fancy clothes. All John had on was a black hoodie and black jeans. He never dressed properly for any occasion, but he didn't care. Many people stared at him as he made his way through the building. Gizmo stepped out of a room with a woman John never saw before. He shook his head in disappointment as Gizmo approached him.     

"Why can't you chill out and focus on one woman?" John asked in an annoyed tone as Gizmo shrugged. He waved as the woman walked away.            

"I have to keep up the playboy act, so no one realizes I'm working for the task force and have powers. Since Giz-tech is shut down for reconstruction, I bought another company in Hyper city. Now people think I'm in Hyper city when I'm on missions." Gizmo said in a serious tone as he looked around the building. 

John noticed Briana and her sister had come to the party.

"Why do you have to hide being a superhuman or the association with the task force?" John asked as he followed Gizmo down the hall. Gizmo seemed nervous as they pushed through a crowd of people. 

"My father hated superhumans, and everyone thinks I feel the same way. If they knew I was a superhuman, then people would be hesitant to work with me. I'd rather wait for a better time." Gizmo replies as he pushed open a door as he enters a large room. John peered inside to see Scarlet and Eris sitting at a table. They were both dressed in fancy clothes.                    

"Why don't you ever dress for the occasion?" Scarlet asked as she furrowed her eyebrows while pointing at John. He looked down at his hoodie before shrugging casually. Hoodies were comfortable to him so he always wore them. He walked over to the table and sat down near Eris as Gizmo approached the table. 

"I hope some of your friends are coming as well, John, because we'll need them too. We have three priorities right now: the cult, the task force, and the berserkers." Gizmo said as he held up three fingers as he looked at the three people sitting at the table. John wasn't sure how they would manage to take down the task force, but he assumed Gizmo had a plan.  

"I'm going to be honest about this when I say going after the task force isn't the best call. I've done my share of exposing organizations and people to know that it only causes mass hysteria." John said cautiously as Gizmo looked at him strangely. He figured Gizmo would be pissed off at the fact he was already disagreeing with him.            

"Michael Stoker's execution was posted on social media and already has people asking questions.  Exposing the task force would bring us closer to war." Eris said to back up John's opinion, which caused Gizmo to appear worried. He placed his hand on the table as he rubbed his fingers through his hair with his other hand. 

"I have solid proof that twenty superhumans who were supposed to be in the decagon were seen at the carnival. Someone released them, and I managed to recover deleted security footage at the decagon. I designed everything in that facility, and if don't report this now then my company goes down with them." Gizmo said, sounding worried as John looked down at the table. John looked back up at Gizmo with a look of enlightenment on his face.    

"We can't target the entire organization because we don't know if everyone on the force is guilty. All you can do is publicly cut ties with the task force. Tell everyone you've come to question the integrity of the task force's purpose in society. After that, don't discuss it with anyone outside of this room." John said in a serious tone as he looked at everyone.

Gizmo rubbed the back of his neck as he turned away as he tried to think it over.  

"As long as there is no evidence of you doing anything questionable then you're fine." Eris said, causing Gizmo to look over his shoulder. John could feel a sense of shame radiating off of Gizmo as he turned around. It gave him a sickening feeling as he waited for Gizmo to reveal his secret.

"Three months ago, Captain Grey gave me this assignment to investigate at an abandoned factory in Ashbourne. I found homeless superhumans living in there, and one of them was the person who helped kill my mother. I got reckless and ended up killing everyone in that factory. If I go public, he'll expose me, and I'll still lose my company." Gizmo said, sounding regretful and frightened as he looked at John. Scarlet covered her mouth as she looked away from him. Gizmo's face turned red as he slammed his hand on the table, causing John to stand up.                                

"We'll worry about him later, but you still have to go through with stepping down. That means you no longer work for the task force in any way at all. Scarlet, you're stepping down too because of your association with Gizmo." John said as he looked over at Scarlet. She appeared worried, but she nodded her head as she covered her face. Gizmo cursed as he placed his hands on his head.  

"I don't know how you feel about superhumans, but if Captain Grey exposes what you did, then it will only bother superhumans and supernatural beings. What Captain Grey did is career-ending while you still have a chance to fix your mess." Eris said in an emphasized tone.

Gizmo seemed relieved as he appeared to ponder her remark. John glanced at Eris as she began to make him uneasy. He wasn't sure why she had been allowed to help, and she seemed too eager to be a part of the discussion. 

"Fine, I'll make an announcement at Michael Kang's press conference. Hopefully, this works and it doesn't backfire." Gizmo said as they heard a knock on the door.

A woman was standing at the door with a worried look on her face. She held out her phone to show a video of the news being aired. John and Gizmo walked over to see what was being aired. It was a reporter named Skylar Presley, and she was at an unknown location. Behind her was Shadow Wolf with Captain Grey tied to a chair.            

"This just came on thirty seconds ago." The woman said as John took the phone. He held it up so Gizmo could see as they saw Shadow Wolf unsheathe his katana. The look of fear was in Captain Grey's eyes as he struggled to escape his restraints.                            

"People of Darko City. This man is guilty of corruption. He's abused his power with the task force to free dangerous superhumans on various occasions. On the day of the carnival, he allowed a superhuman named Derrick to be sent there. This superhuman was a walking bomb that would've killed thousands of individuals. Beware, for I will come for the rest of the guilty." They heard Shadow Wolf say before he proceeded to slice the throat of Captain Grey.

John handed the phone to the woman as he turned away. His skin began to burn as he felt this intense rage coming out of him. He didn't understand why any of this was happening. He placed his hands on his head as he turned to face Gizmo.            

"How the hell did he know? There's no way he should've known all that. You did this, didn't you? Did someone pay you for the blackmail on the Captain?" Gizmo questioned, he had an angry look on his face as he walked over to John. John looked at him confused as his rage nearly exploded out of him.                    

"I didn't come here to be accused of shit so you can forget my help." John said as he pushed 

Gizmo aside to leave the room. He felt a hand grab his arm causing John to lash out. He threw a left hook that struck Gizmo in the face. Blood poured out of Gizmo's nose as he stumbled backward. John felt this burning sensation from his hand, causing him to look down. His skin was peeling away, which allowed him to see the flesh. He covered his hand as he rushed out of the room.

People in the hall crowded up the area. It took him a minute to get through the crowd before he got to the door. A figure appeared in the doorway as he stepped outside. It was Diane who appeared to be upset. His senses heightened, which allowed him to see a faint aura around her. He didn't know what these auras were that surrounded certain people.        

"Why didn't you tell me that my father was alive?" She questioned as he stepped out of the doorway. He looked away as he tried to figure out the proper response.        

"I was worried you'd set out on another quest to hunt him down. I thought putting him in the past was the best thing to do. It's why I didn't tell you, I'm sorry." John said as Diane remained silent. He couldn't read her eyes, so he didn't know what she was thinking.                

"I can understand your reason so thanks. It's just that something has been happening to me lately. I've started to see this aura around me and this feeling I can't explain." Diane explained as John looked at her confused. He didn't know what to say as he glanced at his hand to see the skin returned normal.                    

"We'll figure it out together right?" John asked as he stepped closer to Diane. She started to blush as she jabbed him in the ribs. He winced in pain as he followed her down the steps.                            

"I guess you're right." She replied as they made their way to the trail to leave. John glanced over his shoulder to look at the building.                    

"How'd you know I was here and about Dr. Lee? It was Jazlyn, wasn't it?" John questioned as Diane nodded. He grunted as he shook his head feeling annoyed. As they continued walking, he heard footsteps running behind him. He turned to see Eris, who came to a halt as she looked at Diane. She started to blush as she looked away. John silently waited for Eris to speak up, but she didn't. Instead, she seemed embarrassed as she rubbed her vigorously.   

“Why do you look like me?" Eris asked as she looked at Diane appearing confused

. John knew if they met that it would be awkward. He found it uncomfortable to watch as they both seemed to have difficulty processing the moment.                                

"I was birthed in a lab. My father used someone’s genes to stabilize the ailments affecting me. Which means…you’re the one whose DNA is the source for the superhuman serum.” Diane answered.       

“I don't want people to know about me so please don't tell anyone I'm preternatural." Eris said as John looked over at Diane. He decided it is best to redirect the conversation.        

"Why'd Gizmo allow you to know what's been going on? Did you tell him that you're preternatural?" John questioned as Eris' attention returned to him. She shook her head slowly as she looked over her shoulder.            

"I wanted to enlist in the task force, but he convinced me not to join. Then he told me he's making his own force. He asked me to join because he trusts me and holds no allegiance to the task force." Eris said as John looked at Diane surprised. He still had this suspicion toward Eris, but he didn't know why.                    

"Well good luck because I'm not helping him. Let's go, Diane, there's something I want to check out." John said, turning away from Eris. He noticed Diane looking at him with an unusual look on her face.                

"John, are you ever going to talk to me for more than a few minutes?" Eris questioned as John looked over his shoulder. He turned around to face Eris.                

"I'm sorry, but right now my focus is Shadow Wolf. I need to know who he is and take him down. Too many people are dying the longer I take." John said as Eris walked over to him. She had a serious look on her face. Diane stood beside Eris as well which made John blush.

"She can come with us for now, John. Let her talk to you for once. How many girls do you run from in a day? It's getting hard to count." Diane said, sarcastically as John glared at her angrily. He got in her face as they both began to growl aggressively toward each other. Eris chuckled as she stood watching.                            

"Whatever let's go. We're going to club to Typhon so I can talk to Estella if she's there." John said as he turned away from the young women. He could sense them glaring at the back of his head as he headed to the gate.        

"Why are going to see her?" Diane asked in an annoyed tone. John continued walking as he heard her following him.                                

"If she didn't get deported she might know who's making the berserkers." John said as they headed down the neighborhood street.

He knew it would be a long walk to zone B, but he didn't mind. He needed to clear his head after seeing another man be executed. John knew it would only get worse if he didn't figure out who else was in trouble. He also needed to figure out why they wanted Rena.