Relic-Verse: Champions of Hope

Chapter 38

-- Part 1 --

The soft hum of lights filled the waiting room as a small crowd of hero students sat on one side of the room, their faces varying mixtures of fear and worry. The only students not present were Vivian, Catherine, and Juliet, and the group of six barely seemed to take notice. Avery sat on the end of a row of chairs against the back wall, her eyes bouncing between the doors and the muted TV. Next to her sat Arica, who was staring blankly at the floor while gently holding Avery's hand for the first time in a while. Evan sat next to her, followed by Lillith, Croal, and Micheal, all of them quietly focused on either the opposite wall or the TV.

The television was broadcasting a live aerial news feed of a battle ongoing at District 4. The students were able to spot some of their mentors fighting against the Wardens and an assortment of criminals who were teleporting in and out of the fighting.

Evan watched as someone who appeared to be Nightstalk was thrown out of a window, before being grabbed midair by a red blur, who Evan presumed to be Cardinal. The boy watched the fight, before gritting his teeth and turning away from it. "We were too slow."

The room fell back to silence, his classmates slowly processing his statement. Lillith was the first to respond, "None of us could have known."

"We did know." Everyone bar the Kennedys turned to face Evan, prompting the boy to continue. "Kraken attacked us. At Von's Manor. In broad daylight. And he literally told us exactly what his plan was- and we still fell for it."

Avery turned to the boy and growled. "We didn't fall for shit. We were fighting for our lives."

"We could have been faster. You could have gone faster if you didn't try to melt that villain."

"Excuse me?" Avery stood up from her chair and moved to stand in front of Evan. "Would you rather have let him kill me, and then move on to you and Arica? Would that be better than your friend sitting in the hospital?"

"Samuel is dying, you were just trying to be a badass."

"And your friend being a hero in secret isn't trying to be a badass?" She sneered, leaning forward to the point where her and Evan's faces were inches apart. "Because it sounded like that's what got him almost killed."

Evan glared at her, a quiet crack of lightning coming from within his stomach, before Arica jumped between the two. "This is not solving anything. Both of you need to calm yourselves and sit back down." Her voice was monotone, but had hints of anger in it. Avery huffed and sat back in her seat, prompting Arica to return to her own.

Evan went silent and gazed back at the TV, before being jabbed in the shoulder by Lillith, who pointed towards Avery. Evan sighed and turned towards the charcoal winged girl. "I'm sorry."

"Fine." Avery made a point to turn her head completely away from him and study the doors. Silence returned to the group, before Avery shifted and looked back at the boy, "I'm sorry too."

They sat in silence for several hours. After some time, everyone except for Avery and Arica had pulled out their phones. The winged girl was intent on watching for anyone to update them on Samuel's condition, while Arica sat motionless and quiet in her chair, staring off into the distance as the day's events replayed in her mind. It wasn't too long before it seemed like the battle had cleared up in District 4, and within half an hour of the camera feed switching off, a particular detective and father arrived in the waiting room.

Faron was covered in small cuts and bruises, his trenchcoat torn in a few places and burnt in others. Behind him followed Vishnu, who had ash in her hair, cuts along his face, and a ripped business suit. The two of them took a seat across the aisle of the waiting room, facing the students.