In This Country Act 01 Ch. 01

In This Country

*****Hey Readers, this is the revised version of the Crystal Series. I hope you like it seeing as how changes in this one compared to the last one. I know you guys want a story as realistic as possible so this is going to (hopefully) meet your expectations. Because I am making this as realistic as possible though, I do think it might not transition well, so if you need help better understanding, please send me your email. I have prepared a PowerPoint with all the characters I've made up for this series, along with the Plot, Setting, and Timeline. Remember, if you have anything to say, comment! I want to know where to improve. - DM23*****

*****Special thanks to Decal_last for proofreading this story.*****

Arc One: Brutal Beauty

Chapter One: Fearless is Terrifying

"Alright, I presume everyone is present, correct?" Commander Shinobay asked as he stepped in the Meeting Room. Counting eight individuals, he marched to the front of the room and set down the files in his hands. "First of all good morning crews. Before we get started, I'd like to put the Speedy Siblings in the spotlight for a quick second for protecting the city of Matpith yesterday from Acrobat's aggressive antics."

A few seconds were dedicated to give Zipper and Swift a round of applause. They high-fived each other then cringed in pain as yesterday's bruises throbbed throughout their bodies.

"Because of your service, you both have a week off to recover," Commander Shinobay declared. Before they had a chance to speak, he continued, "Now for business. I have reason to speculate that Target might be trying to get in contact with Replica. Recently, her minions have been spotted in a number of areas Replica has been seen in before. If it's true, we need to put a stop to their plans as soon as they put it in motion. Does anyone have any input?"

"Isn't Target in prison?" Osprey asked.

"She is," Commander Shinobay confirmed. "The possibility of her minions trying to get extra help crossed my mind first. Cherry, you and Jasper will be assigned to Cape Cavon for the next few weeks to see if my speculation turns out to be true."

"Great, I just had to be stuck with the reckless one," Cherry sighed.

"I'm not happy either," Jasper crossed his arms. "You're not exactly my favorite person to work with."

"You're nobody's favorite," Cherry glared at him.

"This isn't up for a debate," the Commander frowned. "You're doing this whether you like it or not."

"I sure don't," Jasper sneered.

"You're such a child," Cherry rolled her eyes.

"ANYWAY, Acrobat is still at large since his confrontation with the Speedy Siblings," Commander Shinobay interrupted them. "Hyper, I'll need you to search for him and bring him in."

"No problem," she nodded.

"Osprey and Ghost," Commander Shinobay moved on, "I need you guys to patrol the cities inside the mountains. A few police precincts are requesting assistance keeping the streets safe from gang violence, so see if you can do anything about that."

"Sure thing," Osprey nodded.

"We can handle it," Ghost replied.

"And Crystal, you'll patrol the waters as always," the Commander finished. "Swing by Cape Cavon too, to help if the minions and Replica attempt to break Target out of jail."

She only nodded her head once.

"Okay, if there's nothing else, you all may leave," Commander Shinobay dismissed them.

The only thing Crystal needed was her jug of water, so she was in and out of her room in less than a minute. The journey to the first floor was only five minutes but by the time she walked through the Heroic Headquarters entrance, she could already see Osprey and Jasper flying off towards their respective destinations . . . and leave her to deal with the media they left behind.

Crystal had no doubt each of them spoke to the media, possibly telling them (and all who're watching) the duties that everyone's been given. Whether they did or not wasn't her problem. She was just going to do her job as a heroine without any interference.

Unfortunately, she had to put that on hold as the media turned their attention to her and quickly moved to impede her path, firing off questions in a race for views and news.

"Crystal, where will you be patrolling today?" an anchorwoman asked.

"Have you discovered anything else about the villains' plans?" another anchorman asked.

"Will you personally seek out Asphalt in revenge for last week's beat down?" a third anchorman asked.

"When will you respond to your fan base?" a fourth anchorman asked.

For some reason, one of those questions dug underneath her skin and it wasn't the defeat by the hands of Asphalt. Even dwelling on it instead of her thoughts earlier was ticking Crystal off, and the media crowd knew it as they could feel the temperature drop significantly even though it was already cold for a June morning.

As if by reflex, they stepped back and continued to do so as she moved through them, only thinking about her daily duty for the people and definitely nothing else. For a good fifteen minutes, Crystal power-walked her way through the city of South Lineck until she arrived at the bridge connecting South Lineck to North Lineck. Instead of crossing the bridge though, she went down to the water, creating a raft of ice with a wave of her hand and sailing off as onlookers watched from the bridge.

*****

The sun was at its highest for the day but he couldn't feel it. Whether it was of the cold or the pain coursing through his body, he didn't know, but he knew he needed to lie down on something more comfortable than the alleys and other backstreets he'd been hiding in all night.

Thinking carefully, he remembered the instructions for admittance and picked up a handful of dirt on the side of the road. He carried it all the way to an abandoned warehouse before throwing it with all his might, jarring his bruises awake and receiving their complaints with a grimace.

"Were you followed?" a look out asked, coming out of the abandoned warehouse.

"Does it fucking look like I've been followed?" he demanded, waving his good arm furiously.

"Answer the question or you don't get to enter," the look out glared.

"Fuck you and no, I wasn't," he spat as he shivered from the cold.

Frowning, the look out opened the door to let the beaten man in, only to trip him up and sending him crashing to the ground in a torrent of pain. Crawling to his feet, the beaten man glared despise at the lookout before moving on while the look out returned to his position.

As for the beaten man, he made his way through the abandoned warehouse . . . which was anything but abandoned. What looked like a building full of holes from a fire caused by a certain hero a couple of years ago was actually a humongous laboratory in disguise. Scientists of every field were working on different projects that they hoped would be approved once successfully tested in future experimentations.

He even had his own team of scientists waiting for his return, but before he met with them, he knew he had to go meet the head scientist. The head scientist was located on the top floor, which meant the beaten man had to take the painful steps to give what he stole over to the head scientist. There a door was already open so he just walked into the head scientist's lab and cleared his throat when he got as close as he dared to get.

"Dr. Genie," he called out to her.

"Yes Acrobat?" she answered right behind him, causing him to flinch.

He didn't even hear her.

She was a small woman in stature, but large in intellect. Her glasses were about to slip off her nose again, but she pushed them up at the last second. Covering her forehead were a pair of goggles and behind that was her short, frazzled hair. As always, she had her favorite lab coat on, despite it begging to be thrown away.

"I got that yellow jacket DNA sample you told me to get," the beaten man said, pulling the sample from his pocket.

Dr. Genie's face quickly went from boredom to maniacal as she plucked the sample from his grasp. She dismissed him with a wave of her hand and went behind one of the curtains. There, a young man was lying on a mechanical bed, breathing through the bed's oxygen tank.

She pinched him just to make him squirm.

"I got the final piece to the puzzle," she said, waving the sample in his face. "I can now continue and finish the experiment. There will be pain, but that is the price to pay for rapid development."

"And that will help me get my revenge?" the man asked.

"Only if you agree to do what I say afterwards," Dr. Genie demanded.

"That wasn't the deal," the man frowned. "I paid you to heal me. There was no talk about doing anything you said afterwards."

"There wasn't?" she feigned surprise. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

And with a smile on her face, she flipped a switch with her foot, shutting the bed down and stopping the flow of oxygen. The young man gasped almost immediately, struggling to grab the doctor who had preemptively moved out of his grasp. Turning blue, the man reached for the power switch she flipped but it was out of his reach as well.

With no other options, he weakly tried to nod his head, cutting Dr. Genie's enjoyment of his despair short. She waited until he was just about to faint to flip the switch, providing him a third chance at life that most people never got. There was a new look in his eyes now.

A look of fear and terror was in them.

"You'll do whatever I say, right?" she said with the same deadly smile on her face, her foot on the switch. This time the young man didn't have to answer. He just nodded his head, knowing he had better stay on her good side if he loved the life he had. And ever so creepily cheerful, she chirped, "Perfect."

Downstairs, Acrobat handed his flight pack over to his team of scientists to be repaired while he sat back to relax and get rested. The beating he took by the hands of those damned speedsters was embarrassing simply put. He knew the girl could fly when she reached a certain speed, but he didn't know the guy could throw that fast or that far. He had welts before he hit the ground!

"Ah, if it isn't Acrobat, the saddest villain these islands have ever seen," Acrobat heard behind him.

There was no mistaking who it was: Asphalt, the second most feared villain on the islands. The guy literally had it all. He possessed the strength, the durable 'street skin', geokinesis, and more than enough sarcasm for his own planet. If he said jump, people begged Dr. Genie to give them wings. The only person not afraid of Asphalt was Dr. Genie herself, and that's only because she knew his weakness.

Actually she knew everyone's weakness . . . and wished someone would cross her so she'd exploit theirs.

But behind her was Asphalt. There's almost no one who could go toe to toe with him. The only exception would be Carbon if he could control his abilities better. Once, Carbon had pissed him off and Asphalt tried to his teeth out the back of his skull. Instead, Carbon turned intangible and possessed Asphalt, making the rock villain humiliate himself as he was forced to bludgeon himself in the face.

However, Carbon couldn't keep control over Asphalt and was expulsed from the villain's body. For revenge, Asphalt beat him unconscious and sent him deep in the earth. He was only brought back because Dr. Genie needed him for a future purpose and wanted him around.

"What is it Asphalt?" Acrobat asked.

"How does a guy like you get beaten by a girl like her?" Asphalt burst out laughing. "Please, tell me because I'm dying to know."

"She has super speed man," Acrobat replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "I couldn't block what she dished out."

"That's a lie as big as the sun," Asphalt scoffed. "She beat your face, your body, and your ass like a damn drum!"

"So?" Acrobat snarled. "What do you expect me to do about it?"

"Be a man," Asphalt glared, suddenly serious. "You're a fucking disgrace to the male gender and an embarrassment to every villain here."

"I did what I'm supposed to do," Acrobat gulped.

"And got your ass handed to you," Asphalt seethed. "If you stop settling for small accomplishments and focus on bigger goals, then you'll be a threat like me. I beat women because I don't let anything stand in my way."

This was coming from the guy who doesn't look Dr. Genie in the eye and also has to go toe to toe with Crystal every time he goes out in public. Sure, he beat Crystal last week, but those were few and far in between. Compared to how many times SHE beat HIM (and even worse than Acrobat's beating yesterday), it almost sounds comical that he'd even say that. Just thinking about it almost made Acrobat laugh.

"What was that?" Asphalt glared.

"What was what?" Acrobat asked.

"That noise," Asphalt growled. "You made a noise."

"I didn't make a noise," Acrobat shook.

"I heard you make a noise," Asphalt replied, holding Acrobat up by his neck.

"I'm sorry," Acrobat choked out. "I only thought . . . it was funny . . . how right you were . . . if I did what you said."

"You better be happy I'm buying that, you little piece of shit," Asphalt declared before dropping Acrobat to the ground.

"Move Asphalt," Dr. Genie demanded.

And like a bunny, the villain hopped out of her way.

"I want you to go back out and get me a yellow jacket," the doctor demanded once Acrobat slowed his panting.

"You want me to go back and get another sample?" he asked, confused.

"No, this time it's just a piece of clothing," she replied showing him a picture of it on her phone.

"I can't," Acrobat blurted out without thinking, "the heroes are still looking for me."

"Oh, really?" Dr. Genie replied. Quick as lightning, she grabbed a bruised area on his side and squeezed it tight, making the villain cry out in pain. "Then you better end up in prison before I see you without that yellow jacket, right?"

"Right! Right! Right!" Acrobat chanted so the whole laboratory could hear.

"Good," she said, smiling once more. "Now get going."

And with that, Acrobat rushed to his team of scientists and ripped the flight pack from their hands and left the hideout as fast as he could move.

"Ruthless," Dr. Genie called.

"Yes, doctor," she answered, uncertainty replacing her nonchalant demeanor.

"Find Replica and Target's minions and tell them to hold off the attack for three weeks," Dr. Genie ordered.

"Sure thing," the villainess nodded before leaving.

"Carbon, Mad Master," Dr. Genie called next. They came running over as if they had super speed themselves. "Keep the heroes occupied from now on, but don't get caught."

"Will do," Mad Master said.

"No problem," Carbon replied simultaneously.

"And me?" Asphalt asked slyly.

"Be a good guard dog and watch the house," Dr. Genie smirked.

"What?" He frowned.

"Do I really have to explain myself?" Dr. Genie sighed.

"I don't get what you mean," he crossed his arms.

"Crystal patrols the waters, remember?" she pointed outside.

"Yeah, but she barely comes behind this island," Asphalt told her, "Since there's no cities behind the Greater Mountain Range. She's usually protecting the northern island or the river between both islands."

"And why would she do that?" Dr. Genie rhetorically asked. Not giving him a chance to answer, she said, "Because she's looking for you, Asshole. So even though she barely comes around here, that still means she's coming around. And if she finds this place, I want her to beat YOUR ass first while the rest of us get away. Now do you understand?"

"Give me a real job," Asphalt grit his teeth. "Your lousy look out could do that."

"Fine, he'll do that," she agreed with that deadly smile. "Your job is to drink some acid I have upstairs."

"Never mind," Asphalt replied with wide eyes. "I'll be the best dog in the world. Bark. Woof. See?"

"I thought you'd say that," she said as she returned upstairs.

As for Asphalt, he was trembling with rage. Despite what he said earlier, Dr. Genie just made him swallow his words. Everyone was now staring at him, no doubt mocking him in their heads.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" he demanded. "GET BACK TO WORK!"

They did, but they still mocked him in their minds.

Outside, Mad Master and Carbon had parted ways to carry out Dr. Genie's plan. While Carbon made his way around the Greater Mountain Range, Mad Master took his shortcut over the mountain range where he saw Acrobat motioning him to come down.

"What do you want?" Mad Master demanded as he landed.

"I need your help," Acrobat requested, his breath showing up in transparent puff.

"And why's that?" Mad Master smirked. "Can't you do one job right? It's only a jacket."

"You know I can't do this," Acrobat said. "I can barely fly much less stand an attack from the heroes."

"Okay," Mad Master grinned evilly. He knew what was coming next.

"I need you to distract them while I make my getaway," Acrobat informed.

"Piss off, you rodent," Mad Master glared as he started to fly towards Zekember.

"I'm joking, I'm joking," Acrobat quickly. "I actually need you to get the jacket to Dr. Genie."

"You can't do that?" Mad Master asked distrustfully.

"No, I'm going to get the heroes attention so you can fly under their radar," Acrobat replied. "Since I'm not at my best to fight, I'll sacrifice myself and be sent to prison while you get Dr. Genie that jacket."

"If I'm going to do this, I'll need to be compensated," Mad Master said.

"How much do you want?" Acrobat quickly asked.

"Fifty percent of your wages," Mad Master answered.

"And what the hell am I supposed to live off of?" Acrobat demanded. "Twenty percent."

"You want me to do a job for cheap pay?" Mad Master crossed his arms. "Forty-five percent."

"Cheap job, cheap pay," Acrobat responded. "Twenty-five percent."

"That means I have to do two jobs, mine and yours," Mad Master pointed at him. "Forty percent."

"You're going to help me one way or another," Acrobat sneered. "Either you get the heroes' attention and fight them while I stealthily get the jacket, or you wait until I get the heroes' attention and then get the yellow jacket to Dr. Genie. Thirty percent."

"I don't have to do anything right now, so your ass is on the line," Mad Master taunted as he started to rise off the ground. "Thirty-five percent, take it or leave it."

"Deal," Acrobat agreed.

As Mad Master flew away into the wintry sky, Acrobat smirked to himself while he stumbled down the mountain side. The reason was because one of them was going to prison. It didn't matter whether it was him or Mad Master. He wasn't planning on paying the guy anyway.

*****

The next day, Friday, saw Crystal and Hyper anticipating the opening of a new clothing story in Ithamite. Along with them was a crowd of people bundled up in thick clothes, waiting to see the new store. There was a massive sheet covering the entire store so that no one could see what's inside ahead of schedule. In front of the store was a wooden platform for the speaker to address the crowd when the time came.

Even though it was a good day and nothing bad happened (yet), Crystal wasn't a person who liked to waste time. Cherry and Jasper were back at Cape Cavon while Osprey and Ghost were scoping out the city, helping the police with their gangster problems. Crystal initially denied the idea to take a break, not wanting to be seen lazy like Jasper. However, Hyper's insistent persuasion eroded her rejection until Crystal agreed to only see its opening, NOT to shop.

"Remember, we're leaving right after," Crystal reminded her partner.