Elites Chapter III: New Empire Rising

Epilogue

October 29th, 2018
Three Months Later
Miami, Florida
Noon
Shortly after Endgame's main citadel fell, their soldiers received no further orders. The attack the Elites anticipated never came. In under a month, all the remaining operatives were arrested, and tried for crimes against humanity. The overthrown governments were re-established, and elections were held for offices Endgame Operatives once held. Media covered the recovery like a swarm, but not once were the Elites mentioned. The US Army and Navy were credited for the attack on Atlantis and the killing of Endgame's leader Arnim Kaiser instead. Their existence was completely covered up, but reports started coming in of people with paranormal abilities. There was no more denying that the "enhanced" walk among normal men.
After the final Endgame stronghold was taken, the Elites took a well-earned vacation, and laid the groundwork for an initiative of their own.
Inside a condo blocks away from the wreckage of the Elites' destroyed base, Natalie and Nicole were sitting down with their father. The condo was fairly large, with a view of Coral Gables. There were also four large suitcases at the door. Their old man was a tall, Caucasian man, with squared spectacles. His hair was black, aside from a few grey spots. "In the past few months, I've done more world travelling than some people do in their lifetimes." Nicole said, enthused. "For a while I was worried about where our missions might take us, but at this point I don't think there's anything we can't handle at this point. I mean we stopped an apocalypse for God's sake." Mr. Gonzalez spoke "I'm proud of you...both of you. Your mother would be too." Natalie muttered "I hope so." This turned Mr. Gonzalez's attention to her. "Dad, I'm sorry I ran off before without saying anything. I was scared, and ashamed of what I did to my friends. They were scarred for life because I was selfish and I wouldn't listen to them when they were just looking out for me." Gonzalez put down his tea, and replied "I don't think I'm the one you need to be apologizing to. But I think they'll appreciate the sentiment." Nat was wiping tears away when there was a knock at the door. Gonzalez opened the door and was facing Laura Simmons. "I'm a little early." She said, sporting a sheepish grin. Gonzalez said "No, you're fine. You all only have a couple more hours before you need to leave right?" Laura responded "Yes, sir." Gonzalez then replied "Just call me Dan. Please, come on in." Laura put her own luggage by the door, and joined the Gonzalez family at the table.
Chicago, IL
11am  
Samantha Grim and Wade Turner were in their apartment, which was nearly empty. There were seven boxes at the front door. Zachary was with them, carrying boxes to the roof, where an Elites jet was parked to take them to their next stop.
Tallahassee, FL
12:40pm
Jayson Thomas and Robert Hilton were also packing up for their journey, as they would be travelling by car. Rob was wearing a sling around his right arm. His left arm had healed, but his dislocated shoulder was still healing. He stood in his now empty bedroom, thinking back on when he first left home to join the Elites four years ago. Jayson then knocked on the door, and said "Hurry up, we hit the road in two minutes."
Rob then ran outside to his Model X, and Jay was in the driver's seat. The back seats were all folded down and filled with Robert and Jayson's belongings. "Thanks for helping me pack." He said as he climbed into the passenger seat. Jay then pulled the car out of the driveway, and onto the road. "So why did you come along?" Jay asked calmly. "What do you mean by that?" Rob asked in response. "I thought you were done with us, but here we are. So why did you come back?" Rob sighed, and spoke "I think what Kaiser said got to me. He was right, there's always gonna be another threat, another battle, another foe. That's why we need to be ready to face them all. For the longest I thought Atlantis would've been the end, but it wasn't. That's why I can't stop now. Our work has only begun. And that's why I wanna help get the new guys ready to pick up our work." Jay continued driving, and replied "Very mature." They pulled onto the expressway, and left Tallahassee behind.
Five hours later, they arrived in their new hometown.
Atlanta, GA
6pm
The Tesla was navigating the busy streets of Atlanta when Jay asked Rob "You know where this thing is trying to take us?" Rob looked at the car GPS, and responded "Wherever it is we're about 15 minutes away." "This place better be close or else we're gonna have to plug up for a while. We've only got 20 miles left on the battery." Jay said.
Moments later, Jayson's phone started ringing. Robert picked up his friend's Pixel 3 and tried to put it to Jay's ear. "You see what I'm doing right now? Put it on speaker!" Jay snapped. Rob then put the phone on speaker. On the phone, was a voice they had not heard for a very long time. "Good evening gentlemen." The voice said. "Good evening Director Francisco, how's everything?" Jayson asked. Francisco responded "Never been better. Anyways I'm about to catch a flight out to the UK on some business, so I'll cut to the chase. The world owes the Elites an unpayable debt, even if it hasn't been mentioned recently. But with the rise of superpowered beings, we needed a couple of places where you and the other enhanced could lay low for a little bit." Robert then replied "So you're essentially leading us to our prison cells." Suddenly, he looked out the window and laid his eyes on a massive, yet elegant building, on the edge of a small cliff, which was surrounded by forests. The facility itself was three contemporary buildings, linked together by covered catwalks, on a 20 acre plot of land. The buildings were each three stories, the first one held dorms and living space for up to thirty Elites. The second building held training quarters and simulations, while the third building served as the research and forensics labs. The Research building also held all the computer systems for the entire facility. "I was thinking more so leading you to a new base since your old one was destroyed. This one was just completed two weeks ago." Francisco said. The car continued around to the front of the facility. "It's beautiful." Jay said. Francisco responded "There's a second facility being set up in Wales, that should be ready in about a year. When the time comes, you can decide what to do with it." Suddenly, the car was filled with the booming noise of a jet flying over the facility, and landing near the front.
The front gates opened, and the car pulled in. Jayson and Robert were home. There was a second aircraft that was already on a landing pad, meaning Laura, Natalie, and Nicole had already arrived from Miami. They pulled up to the landed aircraft as the back doors opened. Out stepped Sam, Wade, and Zach. The entire jet was filled with their belongings. Wade instantly said "New ride Jace?" to Jay as the two shook hands and embraced. "Well you know, I needed something to get around now that the i8 is gone, so here it is. It's just a lease though." Zach then interrupted "If you're done screwing around, we should head inside. We do have a schedule to keep and we're already behind."
They all entered through the frosted glass doors of the training facility. It opened into a large balcony. On the floor below, stood twenty-three new trainees, including Natalie, Samantha, and Guardian. They were all wearing the same outfit, black sweatpants and a long sleeve polyester shirt. The left shoulder on each of their uniforms signified each Elites' rank, using orange, green, or blue accents. Trainees with blue accents were the closest to being an official Elite. Natalie was wearing the blue accents, while Sam wore green. Wade wore an orange accent on his shoulder.
After a couple of minutes, Jayson, Nicole, Robert and Zachary walked up to the balcony. Their outfits were white, with black accents on the torso of the shirts. Both shoulders of their outfits had their personal colors, but Zach's color was changed from white to pale blue. On the back of their shirts, they each had their codenames printed at the top in their colors. Upon their entry, the entire room fell silent. Before they stepped forth and turned on their microphones, Jayson asked "You ready?" Nicole nodded nervously. She held Jay and Rob's hands, and Jay held Zach's. They all stepped forward and turned on their microphones. Finally, Nicole spoke.
"Starting now, we are going to teach you everything. All our secrets, all our methods. For the next ten months we will be working side by side in order to turn you into the next generation of Elites. Your current rankings will be changing over time, and those of you at the top will have to work hard to keep your positions. At the end of this program, we hope to establish a second team of Elites with the highest ranking trainees, in order to aid with international affairs." Jayson then continued "You all will be training around the clock to gain real life experience with combat, stealth, and rescue efforts. On top of training, You will be shadowing us on missions in cycles. It's the best way to sharpen your skills and learn from the best." Zach picked up where Jay left off "Don't take these missions lightly. The Elites is not a place for the faint of heart. This isn't just some regular job shadow. You will watch teammates get injured beyond repair. People die in your arms. But don't let my words discourage you. Instead let them motivate you to do your best. Don't hold back."
"I want nothing less than the best from you all. Everyone should be gunning for that top spot. I want all of you to go beyond! But don't be afraid to have fun and socialize a bit. Between training and classes you are allowed to visit the city, but the gates close at 11pm every night, and your access passes won't work until 5am the next morning. Without further adieu: Welcome to the Hero Academia." Robert then stared at Nicole and smirked. She immediately shook her head in disapproval, cuz she knew what he was about to say. She had told him several times before not to say it, but he knew that this was a reference that had to be made. Just as Nic started to take his microphone, Robert yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Go Beyond! Plus Ultra!!!"