QuickBae - Chapter 22

Alternate’s form had improved. He no longer seemed to be the old speedster he was! If anything, he was more dangerous. He continued walking further more towards QuickBae who couldn’t even move a muscle. The evil speedster then raised QuickBae from the ground, up from his throat with one hand and ripped off his mask half way through; in a manner that revealed Kayleb’s identity from the right side;

Alternate: Well, well, well! The prodigy; Kayleb Malone, also know as QuickBae…is now defeated before me. How pathetic!

QuickBae: (talking despite being choked by Alternate) I, I, I, am not defeated yet….Not while I am still alive!

Alternate: I have always known you would never give up hope….that is what you stand for after all (Alternate then flings the injured speedster to the ground) But don’t worry! (Now walking towards Kayleb with his hand vibrating in a high velocity) You will die at my hands too….just like how I killed Dr Smart Wilson!

Four months earlier……

Dr Smart, Presh, Ali, Teekay, Kayleb and Joey were already ȧssembled in Team QuickBae’s base by 11:45AM; on the Friday morning they all prepared to leave Sterling City. They were waiting for Hafsat and Aeres to show up;

Dr Smart: Joey, what’s taking your daughter so long?!

Kayleb: Hafsat isn’t here as well and we are leaving in the next fifteen minutes!

Joey: Sorry about that. Aeres is running late because her Fiancé bumped into us while we were about leaving the house. He was a bit shocked when he found out that we were all leaving without informing him; so she and he had to talk. She told me to go on ahead, that her and Hafsat will come in after me

Kayleb: I see..

Joey: So are we all set to leave? I mean, I have already announced that I am leaving for a while to the people of Sterling city and I have ensured their security while I am gone!

Kayleb: I just realised that they will be no human dynamo around to protect Sterling City if we all go!

Ali: Yeah, I also realised that too

Just then, Aeres and Hafsat walked into the base. Aeres seemed rather more disheartened than ever. Joey then spoke up to her;

Joey: Let me guess, it didn’t go well, am I right?

Kayleb: You mean with Emdee?!

Aeres: Yes. He was recently promoted in work and was posted to another country to serve there. He came over to my house to inform me about it!

Presh: Isn’t that good news?

Aeres: He also wanted us to get married this Sunday so that we will both move in together; in China!

Ali: Whoa! China is far from Sterling City….

Teekay: Is that why you called off the engagement?

Aeres: Not really. But what we are setting out to do is more important. I had to turn him down (now sobbing gently)

Joey: (hugging his daughter) I am sorry baby, but everything will be alright! I will support whatever decision you make

Aeres: Thanks dad! But don’t worry about me. I’m fine, I promise. (Now cleaning up her tears) It’s almost time for us to leave, is it not?!

Ali: I will stay behind then…I will support you guys from the base

Presh: Ali….

Ali: Kayleb and Dr Smart are right guys! We may not have much crime rates now but we still need to be cautious. We can’t abandon Sterling city, atleast not now of all times

Teekay: Then why don’t I stay behind? I think I am the least important member of the team

Ali: Don’t be silly TeeKay, I am better suited for staying behind and you are better suited out there! If anything goes wrong and I can’t handle it, I will communicate to y’all and let you guys know!

Kayleb: I believe you can do it Ali….You will be our brains from Sterling City. And I know you can keep the city safe, I believe in you!

Presh: We all do! We will all be back before you know it, I hope!

Ali: Hafsat, you are familiar with Kent now, am I right?

Hafsat: Yeah, we are really close allies!

Hafsat: I understand. Just leave it up to me!

Kayleb: It’s 12:00PM now. I ȧssume we are all ready?!

Dr Smart: We are! Let’s all head to my hanger underground the base and board our private Jets. Thanks to the coordinates Ali helped us find, I was able to hire three pilots who can take us all to our various destinations

Ali: Very well team QuickBae, I wish you all the best. I hope y’all packed some gadgets with you? Like communicators, guns, etc..?!

Presh: Don’t worry Ali, we are all prepared

Dr Smart: Like Presh said earlier, we will be back before you know it. Take care!

Ali: I will!

Joey then hugged his daughter and entrusted her to Kayleb; for her wellbeing. Kayleb ȧssured the Mayor that he was going to protect Aeres with his life. The two men then hugged each other.

Afterwards, TeeKay, Presh, Dr Smart and Joey then headed straight for the hangers and shortly after, the two groups boarded their flights and flew off to their respective destinations. Kayleb waited a bit behind though to talk to Hafsat;

Hafsat: Take care of yourself, Kayleb. And also, take care of Aeres. She needs that right now

Kayleb: I will….but, where does that leave us?

Hafsat: When we were stuck in X’s territory for all that time, I fell in love with you. Especially after I helped you regain your memory. But now, I am a Cabenaro and I have obligations to uphold. I am sorry Kayleb, but I don’t want to continue our relationship anymore. Besides, I now realise that your heart yearns for another! (Referring to Aeres)

Kayleb: I understand what you are saying. And even though what you just said is the absolute truth, it doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a moment I didn’t love you back

Hafsat: I know Kayleb, I saw it in your eyes. You do have the most sincere eyes, you know that?! Anyways, I’d better be going now….Goodbye Kayleb! (kissing him on the cheek)

Kayleb: See you soon, Hafsat

Hafsat then went towards Aeres who also seemed to have finished saying her goodbyes to Ali; to hug her. While hugging her, she thanked Aeres for all her hospitality. After that, Ali opened a portal to Stanbic city and Hafsat jumped through; all suited up, to begin her quest. After the portal closed, Kayleb then spoke to his best friend;

Kayleb: I know we are only going apart for some time but it feels like this is goodbye. I don’t know why I am having these feelings though….

Ali: Come on man, don’t talk like that. We will be fine!

Kayleb: Yeah, you are probably right (hugging Ali) Take care my friend

Ali: Likewise brother; you and Aeres both!

Kayleb and Aeres then went straight to the hanger after bidding Ali goodbye. They boarded the last private Jet with their belongings too and shortly after, they flew off to Atlanta City.

It took three days for Aeres and Kayleb to arrive at their destination. They had the Pilot Dr Smart hired, land the private Jet on a sandy region 2 metres away from the ocean. They also instructed the Pilot to stay in the Jet, along with their belongings; ȧssuring him that they will be back soon. Kayleb and Aeres then came down the Jet with air tanks and some swimming suits. Dashing back and forth, Kayleb managed to take both Aeres and the swimming items quickly to the ocean shores;

Aeres: Ali told us that they are very deep in the water, that is the Aqua people?!

Kayleb: I know. That’s why we came with Air tanks….Aeres, I really still think you shouldn’t follow me down there, it seems very dangerous

Aeres: You’ve already tried to persuade me in the Jet but I have already made up my mind. I’m going down the depth of this Ocean with you!

Kayleb: I promised your dad that I will look after you. What if we keep swimming deeper into the Ocean just to reach Atlanta City? Or rather, what if the place is very deep and we run out of oxygen from the tank? There is no guarantee that I will be able to save you! And let’s not forget that there is a possibility that sharks and other dangerous creatures might be swarming in there?! I can run on water but not in water. Which means, my powers are limited inside water….

Aeres: I considered all that and yet, I still want to go with you, Kayleb. I cannot bȧrė to sit down and wait anymore!

Aeres: I’m sorry Kayleb but I am going down there with you. So let’s just change into our swimming suits and dive in

Kayleb: Since you are being difficult, I guess I can’t stop you. Very well then….Let’s get changed and go in!

Kayleb and Aeres then changed into their swimming suits and wore goggles. The two backed each other when they changed;

Aeres: So, how precisely are we going to find these Aqua people?

Kayleb: I have a compass with me. Before we left, Ali told me their exact location. Comparing that location with my compass now, we just have to keep swimming Eastwards until we reach Atlanta City

Aeres: And our clothes? We can’t just leave them here! We should have changed in the Jet

Kayleb: Don’t worry about that….I mean, we are in a deserted area. No one will steal our things

Aeres: I pray convincing these Aqua people to join our side will be a lot easier

Kayleb: It’s not going to be that easy! It might take time. Besides, we don’t just need one Aqua person but an army. It may even take months before we are able to accomplish our goals

Aeres: I see. So the plan is to find them and get back to the shore before our oxygen runs out?

Kayleb: Exactly. We will figure out what to do afterwards. Let’s go!

After saying this, both Aeres and Kayleb jumped into the ocean and swam deep towards Atlanta City. With the compass in Kayleb’s hand, he was directing Aeres as they swam. They kept swimming deeper into the ocean and still didn’t approach Atlanta City. But they continued their quest and after a while, Kayleb and Aeres started approaching to what felt like a different body of water. The current of the water was so light to the extent that the two humans could walk on the soil of the Ocean. They had finally reached the Pacific realm; Atlanta City. But both Kayleb and Aeres had used half of the oxygen in their tanks. They have been swimming for a while. So, the two humans decided to swim back to the shore before they ran out of Oxygen. The two were almost successful in reaching the shore when eight sharks suddenly appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the two humans. Kayleb then dragged Aeres closer to himself and started using his arms to create water tornadoes; by spinning them in a circular manner at a high velocity. He was able to keep the sharks at bay for a while as the tornadoe’s were pushing them back a bit. But Kayleb couldn’t handle all eight sharks at once while protecting Aeres.. Not just that, they were almost out of Oxygen too. Kayleb and Aeres were really in trouble!