Changed by Time ✔

fifteen.

Wendy dug through their closet, throwing aside stray clothes and other empty bags within it. That was until she reached a rather heavy bag. She pulled it out, practically dragging it against the rough carpet as she finally got it outside the closet.

"What is that?" Nolan questioned, walking over to her as she opened the bag. "Is that a chest?"

"Yes, a locked one."

Wendy held up the combination lock to the somewhat large silver chest. She wasn't sure how they were able to sneak it into the hotel room due to its mere size and weight, but it was clear that there was something in there that would come in great use.

"Maybe the combination is hidden around here somewhere..." Nolan began looking around the room, tiptoeing around Titan to look near the curtains and on the other side of the bed.

Wendy got up as well, walking over to the bed that Nolan was looking around before walking back to the chest. Nolan shrugged as he turned back towards her. "I don't think they—" He jumped as he heard the loud, metallic crack of the lock breaking.

Wendy placed the gun onto the desk, having used the handle to break open the lock. She looked back to Nolan, whose face was still slightly contorted from the shock, as she asked, "What? These guys are top government operatives. They're not going to leave a combination to a chest with possibly very valuable and classified items in their hotel room."

"Why didn't you just say that?!"

"It was fun watching you look for it."

Nolan grunted as he walked over, kneeling next to her as she pulled off the lock and opened the chest. Inside were a couple pieces of folded paper, three syringes, and a throwaway phone.

"The chest must've been most of the weight," he commented as Wendy pulled out the pieces of paper.

She unfolded them, revealing a mix of handwritten and typed plans. Wendy's eyes slowly widened with every word she read. She looked back up to Nolan with a horrified expression, simply handing him the plans as she went back in to take the syringes out.

"They can't be serious..." Nolan muttered, looking to Wendy as she stood up with the syringes. "They're going to directly inject themselves with the substance?! They'll kill themselves in the process!"

"I know. If they don't die, they'll become some of the most powerful superhumans known in history." Wendy dropped the syringes on the group, stomping her foot onto them and shattering the glass. She twisted her foot as the metal parts within them bent beneath her added weight. "But taking their plans and breaking their syringes won't stop them. They'll just keep going no matter what."

"So what do you propose to do?" Nolan questioned as she took out the phone, dropping it to the ground and stomping on it as well. "We can go to the American Embassy and report them. Or we could go to the police—"

"That won't stop them either." Wendy turned back from the shattered pieces with a grim expression. "We're going to destroy the source of superhuman abilities."

Nolan's expression dropped as he nearly dropped the plans as well. "You... You can't be serious..."

"I know I joke a lot, but this isn't something I'd mess around with." Wendy walked back over to Titan and dug through his jacket, pulling out what she assumed was the second key to their hotel room. "It's a bit extreme—"

"A bit?! Are you serious?!" Nolan's tone became erratic. He crumpled the plans in his fist. "You're talking about destroying what could possibly be the absolute last source of superhuman abilities. A place filled with history that sparked what can be known as the fantasy part of history – even the library!"