The Villainous Cruz Family - Chapter 18

“Uwah, he’s so annoying…” Atlas commented as Xero’s televised press conference came to an end.

“This is an outright declaration of war on us. We have to retaliate.” Vin added.

“But how?”

“Mmm…how about we ambush their headquarters?”

“Don’t be stupid!” Vin slapped Atlas’ thick skull. “There’ll obviously be strong guards guarding it.”

“You didn’t have to hit me, Vin, you idiot.” Atlas complained with tears in his eyes.

“Humph.” Vin crossed his arms and turned the other direction.

“Cotton can distract them while we sneak in and, and…” Iris thought for a bit before adding with a bright smile, “we’ll release poison gas in the vents and kill them all!”

“Cotton can’t distract all of them.” Vin rebuted.

While the three were discussing various ways to annoy the heroes, Albert and Victoria watched on with smiles and Ian sat there mute. Cain on the other hand was just questioning if he really was seeing elementary schoolers plot the death of hundreds with innocent smiles on their faces.

‘Welp, as expected of Boss’ kids,’ he thought to himself with a sigh.

Time went by and D-day for the opening of the hero division arrived.

“Roar!” Atlas pounced at the man dressed in a sweat suit with all his might, sticking out his claws and flashing his teeth. The man jumped to the side to avoid him and kicked him like a soccer ball along the way.

Iris supported Atlas from behind, swinging a whip made from her ability at the feet of the man. When the whip wrapped around his leg, she flashed a rejoiced smile and celebrated with a hop. However, the very next second, the man pulled back his leg, dragging Iris whom the rope was attached to along with it. Iris immediately loss balance and the man easily picked up the rope with his hands, swinging her in the air. The swinging Iris immediately collided with Atlas whom was trying to attack the man again.

While the two were dizzy on the ground, the man freed his feet and quickly subdued them.

“You’ve improved, Atlas, Iris.” The man praised.

Atlas undid his transformation and pouted. “I couldn’t even touch you, Instructor.”

“I thought I had you…” Iris complained.

“I may be retired but I still won’t let myself be beaten by two brats.” Instructor Dan laughed uproariously and pat the twins’ heads. “You did well to aim for my legs, Iris. If you had pulled my legs, you would have successfully caused me to lose my balance, allowing Atlas to make an attack. However, there is no point if you don’t have the strength to back it up. All you did was allow your opponent to use your ability against you.”

“Then what was I supposed to do?” Iris inquired.

“What do you think?” Dan threw the question back at her.

“Oh, oh! I know!” Atlas raised his arm excitedly, eager to answer.

“Do tell.” Dan encouraged.

“She could have made some very sticky thread and spread it on the floor when I attacked you. If Iris had done so, you would have stepped onto it when you dodged and gotten stuck.”

“Very good. But it is also possible that Atlas could have gotten stuck instead, so do be careful.”

“”Yes, Instructor~!”

“Now, go put some clothes on.”

“Hehe.” Atlas giggled and ran off to get his discarded clothes.

Meanwhile, Iris redirected her gaze to the other end of the gym/dojo. There, Albert was beating up a sandbag like it was his mother’s murderer. Hitting the sandbag with his barefists, he dodged left and right when it came swinging back. Occasionally, he would raise his leg, showcasing surprising flexibility and kick at the bag with a loud thud. Albert was huffing and puffing, sweat dripping from his forehead but he persisted.

Iris looked away and glanced over at Vin. He was training his ability. Hovering various daggers around him, he guided them with his hands, threw them at the target. About half stuck onto the target while the rest missed and fell to the ground. Frowning, Vin used his telekinesis and repeated the process again and again.

“Albert, Vin, it’s almost time to leave.” She informed.

They both stopped whatever they were doing and glanced at Iris.

“Okay, we can leave after I shower.” Albert gently smiled and said. “Thank you for the lesson today as well, Instructor.”

“No problem kid. Say hi to Boss for me.”

“I will.”

They all got changed and freshened up, arriving home just in time for the live broadcast of the opening of the hero division.

Hero Xero was donned in his mask and costume as usual, shaking hands with a guy that looked important. They both stood in front of a red ribbon and greeted the reporters.

“Thank you all for coming here today to attend the official opening of the hero division. I am honored that one of my life long goals can finally be fulfilled in this way and pledge to serve the people ’til the day I die.” Xero announced.

The people cheered like fans at a concert and cameras flashed rapidly.

“Well, why don’t you make that today?” A voice yelled from the crowd. “It’s a perfect day to die, no?”

Everyone gasped in horror. They flipped back to see who exactly said such horrible words.

There, a man of a tiny stature smirked and flipped the whole crowd in front of the cameras.

“Ahahahaha~!” Atlas and Iris burst out laughing from the comforts of the living room. “The cameraman is so mad the camera’s shaking!”

“I know he’s flipping off other people but somehow I’m irked.” Vin commented in annoyance.

“I hear you’re a great hero, greatest of all time, they say.” The rude man put down his finger and continued. “How about you showcase that to me!”

Suddenly, the tiny man’s glowed and he grew bigger and bigger, gaining muscle and weight. His loose clothes were now tight on him, barely stretching to his size. The now giant man cracked his knuckle and leaped to the stage with gusto.

“Idiot.” Victoria spat with mirth. As usual, poor Cain was providing her with sight so that she can watch alongside the family.

Rather anti-climatically, Xero just glanced at the dude with his glowing eyes. The dude in question fell face first onto the ground, lying flatly, just like a frog run over by a car.

“As we were saying, the hero division is now officially open. Many great heroes such as Terra, Frost, Sora, Jing, Peace, etc have already joined us. So once again, I welcome all those interested to join us and support us. Thank you.” He cut the ribbon and bowed towards the cameras before vanishing.