Oversight

Chapter 14 Getting Stronger

Mark waited for what was only an hour, but felt like a day. The wall between him and his students sunk into the ground and the controllers keeping up their protection moved to the side. Everyone with a weapon put it away. The master walked out of the room. Over his shoulder Noah could see the aftermath of what they had done. The four still lay on their rock beds, unconscious. One of them, probably Steven, glowed a bright light, which was the only source of light from the once brilliantly lit room. Fires that once danced around the room were frozen in ice. An impossible sight that Mark found difficult to look away from. Vines shot out of walls around the room, creating what looked like a laser grid system. But of all of these things, Mark got shocked the most by seeing Andrews body lying on the floor in front of the doorway. Mark looked to his master but the master's expression didn't change. Without even looking towards Mark he said, "It's a duplication, not the actual boy."

The master stopped after he walked past everyone, turning on one foot so he could address everyone at once. "It has been done successfully. They have been fully informed on their abilities and their weaknesses. After this matter has been dealt with, they will need a place to conduct their business so the world can turn on. I am planning on sending the boys Will and Richard to the jungle base, Andrew to the city base, and Steven would stay here. Any opposed." Nobody spoke. "Good, so it is settled. The task ahead is going to be a difficult one for the boys. They are strong, but so is their opponent. They are the least likely to be killed immediately, but it may not be enough. Does anyone else want to volunteer to help them?"

Nobody was volunteering, either out of fear or they were needed here and they knew it. "I understand your opposition. But sadly, some of you may be needed. After assessing the situation, it is worse than I first assumed and I would not like to leave this to chance. So I will be choosing a select few to aid these boys on their mission." He looked over the crowd at the faces staring back at him. 

"Grimm, mover of earth, you will be needed. Nokomis, controller of fear, you must go to keep our warriors strong. Mark, recruiter of the strong, you know these boys more than the rest of us. You are going to be needed in the days to come. Adam, bender of water, you control his weakness. You are needed most of all in this battle. The four of you will accompany the four boys to take down Noah."

Mark was the only one to speak up. "What about the team? They're meant to deal with this kind of problem. Have you sent them in?" 

"They have already been sent, but I don't believe they will be able to handle the situation. It seems that this Noah is running off of his anger and it is making him more powerful. He must have been training in secret, developing his powers beyond what we have seen before."

Mark was about to say something else but the master cut him off. "No more. We must prepare. Those of you going must rest. I fear you won't be getting much of it in the next couple days."

...

A police officer and his partner walked around the scene. Three men, seemingly dead, lay around the alley. The only survivor was a boy, laying on the ground unconscious. His feet lay in a puddle and he looked like he had fallen hard on his face. The officer looked closer at the boy, checking for any signs of other injuries while his partner said something into the radio. The officer rolled over the boy so his face was looking up at the sky. He seemed in a healthy condition to the officer. He called over his partner and together they lifted the boy and set him next to the wall away from the puddle. They sat him down so he was leaning against the wall. 

The officer checked the pulse one more time and tried to wake him up, but the boy was out cold. The sun peaked between the buildings above them and shined onto the boy as the officers stood up to inspect the deceased men more closely. They couldn't find any cause of death. There was no puncture wounds anywhere to be found on the body. There was some burns around the neck and waist of two of the men but they didn't seem bad enough to be the cause of death. Just one more question they had to answer.