Chapter Text
Date: February 15th, 2336
Place: Vladivostok, Russia.
Time: 9:30 PM
BREAKING NEWS!
THE TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS HAS BEEN HIJACKED.
A reporter is seen in an overly crowded train station in, Vladivostok, Russia as she says, “An unknown terrorist group has hijacked the Trans-Siberian express after it left Moscow. The train has reached Vladivostok after six days but none of the passengers were allowed to get down. After refueling, the train has just left to Moscow”.
The police, the military and few heroes are taken away in stretchers as another reporter says, “The SWAT team tried to enter the train, but they were immediately subdued by the quirks the terrorist possess”. As the ambulances pull out of the station, a reporter posted outside reports, “It has been confirmed that the British Royal family was present in the train. The said royal family were on a vacation in Russia. The terrorists have asked a total of one billion USD as ransom. If the exchange doesn’t go well, this might end up creating a strained relation between UK and Russia”.
A man sighs as he was looking at footage his colleague had recorded, while sipping his hot coffee in the news van. The back door on the news van opens up and woman who was wearing warm clothes to shield herself from the cold, climbs in the van but not before asking, “What are you sulking about, Alexei?” The driver who was sitting at the front and the cameraman sitting beside him turn around in their seats as the former says, “Today is Mr. Orlov’s anniversary. He is sulking because he had to miss it”.
The woman chuckles and says, “Poor Alexei. I hope your wife doesn’t mind you missing out your anniversary?” Alexei grumbles and says, “Not funny Natasha! I was on a fucking leave! Lately the news channel has been very busy, so I asked for a leave a week prior and now, this happens! Any person would get mad”.
The cameraman laughs and says, “Provided, you didn’t forget it in first place”, to which Alexei says, “I remember it, Igor. For fuck’s sake, it is my first anniversary!” Natasha pats him on his head and says, “The boss was unreasonable this time. I will personally call Elena and apologize to her for taking you away for work. I can do this much for my precious junior”.
“You better!” says Alexei which causes everyone to laugh. At that very moment Natasha’s phone rings. She looks at the phone to find that her boss, Mr. Makarov, who she calls demon behind his back, is calling her. “Oh! The demon is calling! Quiet down!” she says as everyone starts quieting down. She picks up the phone and says, “Hello?” The silence follows as Natasha hears what her boss had to say. The inhabitants of the news van eyes widen as they see her face contorts from that of annoyance to confusion and then of horror.
“Are you sure about that? I can report this to viewers only if this information is credible”, Natasha says, which causes everyone to pay attention to her. She remains quiet when suddenly she yells angrily and says, “I DON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT TRP! SAY ME WHETHER THIS INFORMATION IS CREDIBLE OR NOT!” Natasha quickly realizes her mistake and says, “I am sorry sir! We are a bit stressed over here! That won’t happen again”. The boss says something and she replies, “Ok sir. We will report it right away”. She quickly pockets her phone and says, “Igor! We have work to do”.
“What did the boss say that you went so ballistic?” asks Sofia, the driver.
She looks at the group, who were looking at her with anticipation and says, “Sources say that few people have been spotted at Blagoveshchensk, to be precise, at the bridge which spans Amur River. The sources believe that the bridge is rigged”. A look of shock and horror pass the crew’s face and Alexei says, “What!? If that bridge goes down, it could seriously hamper Russia. And not forget, also the relations between UK and Russia”.
“That is totally bad!” says Igor as he starts setting up the camera. Natasha sighs and says, “Let us hope that things don’t turn ugly”.
Date: February 15th, 2336
Place: Geneva, Switzerland.
Time: 11:30 AM
WCRF. World Crisis Response Force. It consists of group of world’s renowned heroes who made sure that the peace reigns everywhere. It was created by UNO along World Hero Association, also known as WHA. Their Headquarters are based in Geneva, Switzerland and right now, the representatives of North America, Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and Australia are arguing about the situation currently happening in Russia.
“We have to do something”, says Divyansh Malhotra, WCRF Asian representative. “The crisis has scaled to international level. If the royal family is harmed in anyway, then the whole world will fall into chaos”, he reasons as his hologram is seen flickering because of the raise in his voice.
“What teams of WCRF are available now?” asks Zuri Kanumba, WCRF African representative.
“Team Phoenix is posted in North Korea, but currently their hands are full”, says Maria Garcia, WCRF South American representative. “Team Aurora is currently in Antarctica, checking on the illegal fishing”, replies Noah Smith, WCRF representative of Australia as the fur on his dog ears stand up.
“Team Maelstrom is in pacific, trying to crack down whale hunting”, replies Harry Allen.
“We have to do something. Kremlin will not able to do anything if Trans-Siberian Express is compromised. We recently received the news that the bridge near Blagoveshchensk city is been rigged”, says Adam Greene, the head of WCRF.
“WHAT!?” everyone shouts which causes their holograms to disrupt temporarily.
“You don’t have to worry about anything”, says Helen Sanders, the representative of North America. “Why is that, Miss Sanders?” asks the head. Helen gives a smirk and says, “The very moment we speak, my team is closing in on the train”.
“Let me get this straight. You have five teams under your jurisdiction. Team Gamma is in Iran. Team Conclave and Team Zeus are in Kenya along with Africa’s Team Kilimanjaro. And Team Might is at Panama for all we know”, says Divyansh. He then thinks for a while and like a clockwork, he figures out what Helen was saying. He starts, “Wait a minute! Don’t say me…”
“Perceptive as always, Divyansh. Yes, I am talking about them”, says Helen.
“How capable they are Helen?” asks Zuri as her white eyes look at the blonde American.
“One of the team members has already infiltrated their ranks when the train stopped at Vladivostok”, says Helen. She then looks at them and says, “It is only matter of time”.
“Well that team does have lot of successful missions under its belt”, says Harry.
“And is also known for being unfair”, says Greene.
“Well what do you expect from the former group of villain-turned heroes?” asks Noah.
“Well, life has always been unfair. They might be former villains, but you guys are forgetting their leader. He is the most heroic one we have seen so far. His members follow his commands till the very end”, says Helen.
“Not to forget their analyst! She is well prepared every time! Sometimes i wonder what if the squad gets hungry? Will she pack some cereals with their gear. I swear on god, she is less of an analyst and more like a mother”, says Maria. The meeting room is filled digital laughter when the head asks Helen, “Helen, are you sure they can pull this off?” Helen gives everyone a small smile as she says, “With everything I know, this team is perfect. There is no adversity they have overcome. I assure you, Team Paragon will prevail”.
Date: February 15th, 2336
Place: Trans-Siberian Express line, somewhere between Vladivostok and Blagoveshchensk.
Time: 9:42 PM
“Take a break”, a grey haired man says, as he stuffs the man who looked similar to him in the cabinet of the pantry car. The man in question looks around to see if anyone is around, and pulls out a circular device from his pocket. He then touches the center of the device and suddenly, wings start to form and the circular device morphs into a flying insect. The man touches the microphone in his ear and says, “Monarch, the drone beetle is active”.
“Copy that!” says a feminine voice that is identified as Monarch.
“What is the situation?” the man asks quickly as he sees the beetle flew away in the vents.
“Vampyress, be patient. Currently Solute, Compact and Salamander are at one end and Inferno and Khione are at other end of Khabarovsk bridge”, says Monarch as she scans the whole train using her drone beetle while at the same time checking the location of the members who are currently at the bridge. She quickly locates the hostages and the VVIP, when the man who is identified as Vampyress asks, “And what about him?”
“He is on his way”, says Monarch as Vampyress chides her and asks, “Can’t you ask him to come fast?”
“And why do you assume that Kinetic would arrive quickly at my request?” Monarch asks as she proceeds to check the person in question’s location. She smiles when she sees the ping speeding towards the train’s path.
“Because he is your husband! And being the only hero on this hijacked train is quite stressful!” Vampyress nearly yells as he proceeds to pick up the rifle dropped by his double. Monarch chuckles and says, “You forgot something Vampyress. Kinetic does not mix personal and professional life”. “Yeah yeah! Say that to me when you don't have sex with him in the office", retorts Vampyress.
"That was only one time!", exclaims Monarch as she was flustered about thinking how Vampyress walked in on them.
"What do I have to do?” Vampyress asks while ignoring the analyst's protests.
“The train is very old, so it still runs with diesel. I want you to reach the main engine and hijack the hijacked train”, Monarch says as she calms herself down and uploaded the schematics of the train to the hand held device Vampyress was holding. “Wouldn’t that be considered hijacking?” he asks as he proceeds to walk towards the door leading to train cars in front. “Well hijack and hijack cancels each other out. Now put on the game face. I have to contact the bridge squad”, she says as she cuts her off. Vampyress takes in a deep breath, and opens the door, gets into his character and starts harassing the hostage while slowly making his way to the engine room. Monarch, as soon as she switched off the Vampyress, proceeds to quickly contact the bridge squad.
“Did you find anything?” asks Monarch as she switches her screen for the drone the bridge team was using. “Well I can’t believe the fact the under this busy bridge, the terrorists have planted a bomb”, says a feminine voice, who is identified as Khione on Monarch’s screen.
“And not to forget, they are being guarded. Spotted multiple patrols”, replies Inferno.
“But they appear to be noobs”, says Solute as he proceeds to tighten his gloves.
“Ok! Proceed with caution. Salamander, you scout ahead but stay behind the scouting drones. Solute, if you find the bomb, you know what to do. Khione, cover Inferno’s six. If things go haywire, Compact will come in”, says Monarch as she controls the drones.
“Can I take care of the bombs?” asks Inferno to which Monarch says, “Sure! But make sure that they burn upwards, rather than outwards”.
“Got it!” says Inferno, grinning which causes his wife, Khione to blush slightly.
“Roger that!” says Salamander as he proceeds to climb the steel structure.
“Anything from the leader?” asks Compact as he sneaks along with Solute. Monarch looks at her husband’s location once again, while saying, “The orders I gave right now are from the leader. He can’t speak to you because of the turbulence. I barely made out what he said”. Suddenly screen gives a small alarm, notifying Monarch that Kinetic was contacting her. “Ok guys! Please be safe! Monarch out”, says Monarch and she quickly switches to Kinetic’s radio. “Monarch?” asks a masculine voice and Monarch would have been lying if she didn’t feel weak in her knees. He always had that effect on her.
“Hey! Do you need a sitrep?” asks Monarch.
“Yes please”, replies Kinetic.
“Vampyress has successfully managed to infiltrate the terrorist ranks. The bridge squad has finally reached their destination and you have just reached point of contact. Also Russian Police and Heroes are diverting the traffic away from the bridge. We might have Interpol working along with us”, says Monarch.
“Hmm. Say everyone to be careful. Also say Vampyress that if her cover is about to be exposed, feel free to change the skin. I should have send Salamander with her”, says Kinetic.
“Anything else?” asks Monarch.
“Nothing much. Upload the train schematics in my HUD and once I drop, take over Pandora for me”, says Kinetic.
“Also I am sending a batch of nanites and microbots with you. Feel free to use them”, says Monarch as her fingers hover over the keyboard as she prepared the taking over protocols of the Pandora, Team Paragon’s personal aircraft. “I am sorry to make you work at this hour”, Kinetic says as he unbuckles his seatbelt. Monarch gives a look of confusion and takes a brief look at the time on her table clock, which read 2:42 AM. She was not that shocked considering that Los Angeles was nearly 18 hours slower than Vladivostok.
“Not a problem. How can you expect me to sleep, when my husband and my team is out there working?”, says Monarch which causes Kinetic to smile and say, “Yeah! I forgot that you are the girl in the chair”. Monarch clicks her tongue and says, “No honey! It’s not GIRL in the chair. It is QUEEN in the chair. That is the reason I took my name as Monarch”. “My bad”, says Kinetic as he presses the button to open the aircraft hatch. The interior of Pandora turns red as the hatch opened. They remained silent as the hatch fully opened and as the cold wind of Russia starts blowing in the craft, Monarch says, “Be careful. I want you to come back home without a scratch”.
“Can’t promise that!” says Kinetic and as he jumps Monarch asks frantically, “Don’t say me that you didn’t take the parachute!?” A grin forms on his face as he dives towards the train, while listening to his wife rant away. The train was narrow and he had to get the timing right. As soon as he was in the optimal range, he spread his body like starfish. The nanites in his suit, which he and his wife created together, react to his body posture and form flaps under his armpits and crotch. Monarch silences herself as Kinetic starts to focus on his landing. Slowly by slowly, he inches towards the train. He then quickly realizes that he is going to undershoot the train, so he stretches his arm in front of him and fires a grappling hook. The hook attaches itself to the roof of the last car and the sudden jerk stopped his descent. Kinetic winces lightly as he landed. He looks into his HUD and sees that his suit has stored in the kinetic energy he gained from landing. Even though having six Ph.Ds. he couldn’t help but marvel at the science and technology which was working behind the suit. For a second, he thought how much powerful he would have been if he still had his quirk but quickly shakes the thought away. He and his wife are quirkless heroes and he intends to stay that way. He didn’t want to go through that stuff again, like he did in Japan, 10 years ago. He straightens himself up, and connects himself to his team and says, “Paragon! It’s time to work!”