Chapter One Hundred and Three

"We have just received reports that a shooting has just occurred at a local diner," The news anchor reported in the background. Leila and her three roommates watched the news from the safety of Edward's apartment. Edward, however, was on the other side of the room with a phone against his ear.

"Why the fuck did you show your powers in public?" The voice of Mrs. Snow shouted from the other end. She was angry, rightfully so, after hearing about the events at the diner. Edward sighed, then replied with as much of a calm voice as possible.

"It was an emergency. Somebody had already been injured, and I found myself rushing in before I even knew what I was doing," Edward explained, "I got out of there quickly, though. Everybody else was hiding, so I don't think many people saw my face."

"That's not the point! I don't give a shit whether people know everything about you or whether they thought you looked like Gandhi! You just displayed your powers in public— it'll be impossible to cover up. The news is already talking about it!" Mrs. Snow's voice said. Edward turned to the TV and took a moment to listen to the anchor.

"The shooting ended quickly, thanks to the intervention of a mysterious bystander. Only one person was injured and is currently being treated. The exact details of his injury haven't yet been released to the public," The anchor said, "the bystander's identity hasn't been confirmed. However, the story given to us by the witnesses to the event tells a startling strange story."

The picture changed, showing a recording of one of the diner's employees standing next to the building's main doors while facing the camera crew. The employee appeared disheveled, though her eyes were wide with excitement.

"It was crazy! I thought we were done for, I swear, but then this guy stepped forward and walked to the shooter. Then, he was shot several times, yet he wasn't injured! It was crazy. After that, he crouched next to Jeremy— I don't even know how to explain this— burned his wound, I guess? I didn't see him holding a lighter, so I have no idea how he did that."

"He took several bullets and was fine?" A voice behind the camera asked. The employee nodded, "And he wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest?"

"No, he wasn't! I know he was shot, too, because I saw the bullet holes myself. I can hardly believe it myself, but the bullets didn't even hurt him! It was crazy!"

After the employee's testimony, a few other witnesses spoke about the events they saw. One person, in particular, caught sight of the scales on Edward's hand when his glove was burned off and suspected them of being some kind of armor he attached to his body.

After all of the witnesses gave their version of the event, the news anchor was put back on the screen.

"This is just another addition to all of the other rumors of super-powered individuals that we've heard of over the last week," the news anchor stated, "However, this is the first time so many people were there to witness the event themselves. Could this man have superpowers, or is he just another addition to the false rumors we've heard so far?"

Edward turned away from the TV and returned his attention to the phone call.

"It's too late to try to do damage control— you're right," Edward said as he took a few steps away from the TV, "By this point, it won't be long for the truth to come out. What have you planned so far?"

Mrs. Snow sighed deeply from the other end of the line, "I've started building a bunker far from the city. We hid it well, so nobody should be able to find us there, but the bunker isn't even close to being finished!"

"Okay. I want you to review my list and bring everybody to this building. Put them in residential rooms so we can get them away from the city," Edward told her, "Especially my parents. They take the highest priority. I wanted to tell them about Avalon Online myself to have them start playing the game. Half of the reason nobody has shown their powers is because the world doesn't know about them yet, but that will change soon. The city will be in chaos."

"Understood," Mrs. Snow conceded as she hung up the phone. Edward turned back around and looked at Leila and her roommates. They had all turned to him, some with an uneasy look in their eyes.

Edward turned to Leila and found her resting on the couch as if it were her own.

"Are you finished?" She asked with a chipper smile. Edward slowly nodded as he slid his phone back into his pocket. Then he walked back into the living room and turned his attention back to Leila's roommates.

"I'm sorry about what happened today, everyone," Edward apologized, "Feel free to stay here until the city calms down. I'll get Mrs. Snow to give you some rooms so you can relax in solitude."

Leila stood up, then smiled at her roommates, "You should all stay in mine. It'll be like we never left the dorm. Come on, let's all get up."

Leila began to pull her roommates to her feet before she turned to the door. As Leila and her roommates slowly left the apartment, she smiled at Edward.

"We'll have to do this again someday," Edward told her with a smile. Leila's face soon turned red as she slowly nodded before returning to her roommates. They were all shaken up by what happened earlier, but none of them dared to approach Edward to ask him about it themselves. Soon enough, Leila and her friends were gone to rest in Leila's room.

Once he was alone, Edward turned around and walked into his bedroom. Then, while wasting as little time as possible, he grabbed his DDS and began to make his way to the hallway again.

"I've already wasted too much time," He muttered to himself as he entered the elevator. He traveled all the way to the ground floor and walked into a separate room. The room was the size of a small gymnasium, but a small bed was in the center. After Ikarus had grown larger, Mrs. Snow thought it would be good to change where Edward logged out. Thus, he had been told to log in and out while his body was kept in this large room.

Edward walked to the bed in the middle of the room and before he laid down in it. Once he ensured he was comfortable, Edward raised his hand and pressed the power button.