Chapter 358 - 358. Organized Attack

The gym was silent except for the occasional whisper while everyone waited to hear what the situation was. It was standard protocol for the students to be brought in to one of the designated safe buildings in the case of an emergency. The gyms were the safe spots set up with sealing devices and hidden food stores. 

On top of all of this, there were separate internet connections that only the staff knew how to work. This was made in case the school was attacked or if the school was hacked in to. With the development of super powers around the world, many super power holders were found to have destruction capabilities. It was only natural for the world to adapt to this. 

There were people that could cause tidal waves when they sued their super powers and accidentally flood a coastline. There were people that could accidentally set city blocks on fire. There were even people who could zap all electronics in to a fried melted hunk on the floor. 

The thick walls of the gym were made up of a special alloy that couldn't be manipulated by most of those with super powers that could manipulate metals. The woods uses actually had nano chips in them so that they could disrupt telekinetic super powers. There was even knock out gas that could be used to put attackers to sleep. All of this was just a basic compared to the higher end panic rooms some people would have installed in their homes and offices. 

Unfortunately, none of these safety walls for the gym felt safe enough. The situation outside was more or less unknown. The staff had set themselves up to defend the school if need be. Even Garnet and coach Winters were prepared for the worst. It was their job to do so.

"Ha! I got the news to come in on my phone!" One of the boys was leaning on the wall in an odd angle with his hand held high in the air. This spot was perfect to get a proper internet connection and play the live news cast through maximum volume. The other students crowded around immediately. Even the staff members slowed down to listen since they were unable to open their own phones and search. 

"The city has been shut down by the police forces and heroes have been dispatched to multiple locations. The attacks appear to have been an organized villain group known for plotting against hero corp higher authority in the past year. They have already claimed they have stolen vials of the new double does evolution shot." The news anchor looked afraid as the camera switched to multiple locations. 

"That's the mall where my mom works. It doesn't look bad but the entire front entrance is gone." Art could tell the higher floor laboratories and offices had not been touched by the explosions but that did not mean people had not entered where the staff researched. 

"Locations like the city's largest mall were lucky to have retired heroes working at guards and in the nearby area. Fifteen villains were arrested while none escaped. Other locations such as the downtown seismic lab were attacked and raided leaving twenty injured and four missing her corp scientists." The words caused a significant amount of weight to fall on everyone's shoulders. This was much worse than they expected. Kidnapping and possible murder. 

"The motivation for the attacks was stated to be the desire to strengthen their ranks. The fact that these villains are looking to drag the young in to their schemes is the reason we as a people must stand strong in these times. Hero corp has yet to release a statement but the event is still unfolding."

"These people are crazy. They literally only attacked places that were doing important research. Then they also dealt with retired heroes. They must not have brains in the heads. They were better off staying hidden away from the world." One of the students nearby thought that the villains had lost their minds. There were not many people that would risk going against retired heroes that had many years of experience under their belts. 

"The trigger for this was the release of documents against hero corp researchers' wishes. The data gathered from the testing of the double dopes showed an amazing achievement. The double dose proved to be more effective and unlock more dormant genes than the previous shots. This led to new super powers being discovered and some existing super powers manifesting more powerfully. The rare super powers also showed a seven percent increase when compared to the other evolution shot variations. "

The anchors' remark was enough to get the rest of the students whispering and even talking out loud. A seven percent increase of rare super powers was more than ground breaking. It was something that would change the world if this evo shot became the main shot used in all schools from now on. 

The group was looking at each other knowing that these claims of a better shot were more than true. For them, they were living proof. Janes' super power was exceedingly rare while Asher had received a strange new super power. Art even had two. One that allowed for metal manipulation and metal poison immunity. They could be called the living secrets of the hero corp research. 

"The destruction was not limited to the laboratories' mad public. Two private laboratories and seventeen researcher homes were attacked. Here in the higher class district, we have a mansion that was attacked in the same explosive manner at the same time. The damage to half the mansion is extensive and the injured hero of the family was recovered and in a coma. The owners of the mansion were at work and already reported as safe. It was not clear why these homes were attacked." 

Art's home was on the television screen for a moment before other homes with similar damage were shown. The group knew that it was Art's home and that it had been his older brother brought to the hospital. 

There were mixed emotions surfacing on Art's face. He was worried since it was still his brother after all. Even if there were many things that were not explained that had come from the recent actions, he was family. There was relief that his parents were safe and that they would be able to remain as such due to the protection from the hero corp employees. 

"Art, we can head out right now if you want." Asher knew that this might be one thing that Art wanted to do. However, betraying what he thought, Art started to shake his head and surprise Asher. 

"No, I will stay here. If I don't get stronger I could fail to protect you and my parents. My brother knows what he has gotten involved in and he proved that. I will visit him later if he isn't recovering. But knowing him, he has something sneaky planned." 

Part of Art did not believe his brother was actually injured. "In any case, we are here and ready. " Jane was supportive as well while the anchor continued to list those injured. 

"Breaking news. Right now the hero corp acting president has released a statement that they are launching a full assault on the potential headquarters of the villain group. This is the swift action that has come to be expected from hero corp. They also promised the top of the line medical care for those injured."  This put the students at ease. Some even left the space to relax and wait for the lockdown to end. 

"I am glad my parents are safe. I think this has been a stressful day." Art flopped on to the floor and the group went to sit and wait for the lockdown to end as well. 

"I am trying to figure out why they would want the double dose of the evo shot. If they have people with super powers already then why would they need the shots?" Louis was brainstorming ideas and was stuck on the why. 

"They could be taking the second shot and hoping they get another super power. Villains are crazy. Who knows what they might do." Sammy actually made a lot of sense with this theory. The villains wanted power and had displayed that which they had at the moment. 

"It was super organized. The earthquake happened from all of those explosions at the same time. That screams organized and planned." Laura could feel the weight of her words as she said them. This was not a small time attack. It was organized, powerful, and had affected one of their friend's family. 

Even with the fact that Art's brother had done some bad things to his own family, it was family. They all swore in their minds that they would be training a little harder to become super heroes. When they reached that point they would be able to stop things like this from ever happening. That goal alone was motivation.. Furthermore, it was a cause worth fighting for; peace.