Standing Up For Yourself

Dream Rise House, Nature's Harmony Neighborhood.

Since Zed was at the academy, the villa was empty besides the humanoid droids that were carrying out miscellaneous chores.

The first floor of the underground section consisted of the high-tech laboratory where Kiba would often visit for his body check. The Cosmic Spark gave him unrivaled powers, but he was afraid there might be side effects of fusing with such a powerful cosmic entity. This was the reason he built the lab where even high-grade human experiments could be carried out.

The second floor of the underground section was also special, but its security arrangement was on a different scale. Hundreds of battle droids were constantly on guard while the walls and floor were embedded with sensors that could detect even the presence of a tiny particle.

Dozens of droids were always on a scout to detect any unusual activity while the laser guns were ready to tackle any disturbance. One can say that the security arrangement was no less than a high-grade military base.

The reason for such a security arrangement was simple: the floor was the lifeline of the villa!

And what was the lifeline of the villa? It was Claudia! The artificial intelligence system that was responsible for helping Kiba in all possible ways.

Thousands of high-processing units constantly collected and analyzed data they received through various means. All the processing units had one thing in common: they were all connected to a single data chord. The data chord, in turn, merged with a large floating orb.

The orb has a radius of ten meters with various types of wires connecting to it besides the data chord. There were green inscriptions on the orb, radiating glow resembling electronic circuits.

The orb was covered by a golden force field, and if one looked closely, the golden color slightly resembled the golden lightning that has appeared in the wasteland. It wouldn't be wrong to say that the orb enjoyed no less protection than the bunker reserved for the president of the World Government.

If the scientists from the World Government were to see this mechanical orb, they would be beyond shocked. They wouldn't be shocked by the advanced circuit diagrams or its ability to handle massive data but by the composition of the orb.

It was made of Divine Particles! It has to be known that those particles were largely responsible for the current mutation on Earth. The science community believed the Divine Particles carried the secret to eternal life but now god knows how much of the particles were used to make the orb.

Back when Hank found very small traces of Divine Particles inside the metallic biscuits, he was incomparably excited. 

Yet so many Divine Particles were used to form a metallic orb. If the news was leaked then it would lead to a large-scale war. World Government and other mystic organizations would launch an attack on Kiba to get their hands on this orb.

Kiba might compromise on some things but he would never agree on giving away this orb. Because this orb was the source of Claudia!

She was an advanced intelligence agency with no form or body. This orb was her brain. One can say this orb was her very source of existence!

Some distance away from the orb, there were dozens of virtual screens focusing on the important tasks she was carrying out. On one screen, there was the image of Kiba's 'caretaker'. Claudia was trying to track his origin so that Kiba can get his revenge on those who tried to kill him after he was born.

Another screen showed the live feed from the Royal Heart Academy's security network. It showed Kiba entering the building where his classroom was located.

Few of the other screens showed the activities of Agatha, Eva, Olivia, and many other women with whom Kiba had shared a physical relationship. Not only them but there were screens showing details about Meghan and Carole with whom Kiba planned to form a relationship!

If Kiba came to know of this then he would be shocked. He could never imagine Claudia would carry out surveillance on women without his permission. While Claudia wasn't able to spy 24*7 on these women, she was able to collect enough data for her to know that they didn't carry nefarious thoughts against her master.

[[Everything is for his protection]] Claudia said to herself.

Two new virtual screens appeared focusing on Sarah and Daniel.

[[It is much more difficult than I initially thought. I will need at least 3 days before I can activate the plan for reducing the mess my master created.]]

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Royal Heart Academy.

Zed stepped towards his classroom absent-mindedly when he suddenly bumped into someone.

"Ah!"

The sound of a female's exclamation brought Zed back to reality. He saw a woman, in her early twenties, on the floor, searching for her glasses. She was a brunette with a fair complexion. Her eyes were mesmerizing and there were traces of tears in them.

"My apologies," Zed helped the girl in collecting her glasses.

"I-it is not your mistake. I was collecting my glasses on the floor..." The girl stopped in between as if she was afraid to continue.

Zed noticed her body was slightly trembling. He then looked around and saw a group of female students making warning gestures towards her. Some of them were even recording her actions through their mobiles.

"Bullying?" Zed wondered. He could pretty much guess what has happened.

He focused his attention on the brunette girl again and finally remembered details about her. He didn't have much impression of her but he knew she was in the same class as him. As far as he could recall, she was a scholarship student.

The academy was reserved for the children of rich and powerful but to create goodwill among the city residents, the academy offered few scholarships to people from the backward section.

"No wonder they were bullying her," Zed thought. The rich students were proud of their status so how could they stand to see a girl from a poor household enjoying the same benefits as them?

It was like how a prince would feel if he finds a beggar eating food on the same table as him. A prince might feel pity for a beggar and give him a few coins, but the prince absolutely couldn't stand to see the beggar enjoying the benefits of the royalty.

"Thank you," the girl said as Zed handed her the glasses.

"Jessica, right?" Zed asked.

"Ah...yes," Jessica nodded her head nervously. She was surprised that he knew her name.

"If you allow others to take advantage of you, even once, then this cycle would continue forever. The only person that can help you break this cycle is you."

He looked into her eyes as he said this.

"I..." Jessica didn't know how to reply. She knew Zed had realized her situation. This made her feel ashamed of her poor display.

The group of bullies also heard Zed's words, but they remained silent. They knew Zed was not someone they could afford to anger, even though he originally belonged to the slums. Now, not only was he rich but he was also one of the most talented mutants in the academy. The worst part was he had a good reputation in the academy. He was often referred to as the perfect youth.

"Let's go," Zed told her. He didn't give another glance to the bullies, nor did he care about the trouble they could create for him. If anything, he wanted them to create some trouble so that he could vent his frustration.

"Where?" Jessica asked in surprise.

"Obviously to our classroom unless you have an appointment elsewhere," Zed replied.

"I don't have any appointment but..." Jessica's gaze unconsciously moved towards the group of bullies. She was afraid they would bully her more severely if she left with him.

"If not, then let's go," Zed said with a smile.

Jessica noticed the group of bullies making threatening gestures, warning her not to go with him. She was extremely nervous and hesitant, but just then Zed extended a hand towards her.

She took a deep breath and made her decision!