Rehab for SuperVillains (18+)-Chapter 126: First of all

Kael’s grin faded, his expression turning serious as he leaned against Clara’s car.

"First of all, this mission, you’ve got it wrong," he said, his voice solemn.

"This wasn’t just a mission. It was an entrance test—for REAPER. To see if you two could work as a team, if you were A-class material, if REAPER could even form a team with just you both. And you proved it."

Freya’s blue eyes narrowed, her mind replaying the chaos of the tunnel.

"But you killed the queen," she said, her voice sharp with confusion. "Weren’t we supposed to kill the queen? Wasn’t our mission to clear the sewers of rats?"

Rhea nodded, her amber eyes glinting with the same question, her body still but her mind racing.

Kael shook his head, a faint smile returning. "You killed the queen—the breeding one. I took out her mother, the big one with the crown. She was past menopause, couldn’t breed anymore. Your mission was to kill the queen and fall back if you couldn’t fight. You did exactly that. You passed."

He paused, his smile widening. "And it reminds me of something."

He looked into Clara’s car, pulling out a comm device and speaking briefly into it, his voice low and clipped.

Then he reached again into the car, retrieving a small remote, his thumb hovering over a red button. "I have been itching to press this button" he said, his grin turning almost feral.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of muffled explosions rumbled beneath the street, the asphalt quaking slightly under their feet, sending a faint vibration through Freya’s and Rhea’s battered bodies.

Freya’s blue eyes narrowed, her gaze snapping to the manhole as tendrils of smoke curled upward, the acrid scent of chemicals mingling with the city air.

"What was that?" she asked, her voice sharp, her exhaustion tempered by suspicion.

Rhea, still sprawled on the pavement, propped herself up, her amber eyes peering into the manhole’s dark maw, her crimson hair falling into her face.

"Yeah, what’s going on down there?" she demanded, her voice hoarse but laced with curiosity.

Kael leaned against Clara’s car, his grin unfazed, a smoke bomb dangling casually from his fingers.

"Smoke time bombs laced with rat poison," he said, his tone matter-of-fact. "The tunnel’s blowers are reversing airflow now. The smoke will circulate through the whole system, wiping out any rats left."

Freya’s brow furrowed, her mind replaying the chaos of the sewers.

"But I had ice walls up, and there was a blockade," she said, her voice edged with skepticism. "How’d the smoke get through?"

Kael’s grin widened, a glint of mischief in his hazel eyes. "Yeah, I had to break those on my way in."

Freya’s eyes widened, her suspicion deepening. "Were you following us?" she asked, her tone accusing, her blue eyes boring into him.

Kael’s smile turned almost boyish, his shoulders shrugging nonchalantly.

"Couldn’t let my favorite clients die, could I?"

"Fucker," Freya said, but a reluctant smile tugged at her lips, softening the word.

Kael’s grin mirrored hers, a shared understanding passing between them, the tension easing under the noon sun.

Rhea, still propped on her elbows, wasn’t satisfied.

"We had a swarm of rats waiting for us on the other side of the wall," she said, her amber eyes narrowing. "How’d you follow without making a sound?"

Kael chuckled, his teasing tone returning. "They were mostly after you two. Also, the unlucky rats that sniffed me out?" He held up another smoke bomb, its sleek casing glinting, then sauntered to Clara’s car trunk.

With a flourish, he pulled out a compact submachine gun, its silencer gleaming faintly. It was far smaller than the hulking machine gun he’d wielded earlier, designed for stealth.

"Say hello to my little friend," he teased, winking at them.

Clara smiled.

Freya and Rhea exchanged a glance, shaking their heads in disbelief, a mix of exasperation and amusement crossing their faces.

It was as if the whole ordeal—the blood, the shrieks, the queens—was just another day for Kael.

They realized he must’ve ditched the silenced SMG somewhere in the chaos, switching to the machine gun when they were being chased by the queen’s mother.

"Show-off," Freya muttered.

"Hey, let me have my moment. Those don’t come around often," Kael said, sliding the SMG back into the trunk.

"So, what’s next?" Rhea asked, pushing herself to a sitting position, her voice steady despite her battered state. "Did we pass?"

Kael’s mouth opened to answer but then...

DHUM!

A deafening sound erupted in front of them, the air crackling with electricity.

Dust exploded upward, shrouding a silhouette in a haze of grit and sparks.

Freya and Rhea tensed, their hands instinctively glowing with faint traces of ice and fire, their eyes locked on the figure emerging from the settling dust.

"Barely," a familiar voice sneered, dripping with disdain.

Lightning Lass stepped forward, her sleek suit sparking with residual electricity, her palm clutching the lifeless body of the breeding queen, a gaping hole scorched through its chest thanks to Freya and Rhea.

Her sharp eyes raked over Freya and Rhea, her lip curling.

"All that time to kill this thing. And you call yourselves A-rank." Lightning Lass said, her tone dripping with mockery, her lips curling into a sneer as she tossed the queen’s body to the pavement with a wet thud and stepped on it, electricity crackled beneath her shoe and the next second, were charred remains of what was once a queen.

Kael stepped forward, his expression neutral but his eyes sharp. "Liss volunteered to invigilate the test," he said, addressing Rhea and Freya, his voice calm but carrying a hint of warning.

Lightning Lass scoffed, her electric-blue eyes flicking to Freya and Rhea. "I still can’t believe I’m in the same rank as you two."

"Give them a break, Liss," Kael said, his tone firm, his hazel eyes narrowing. "Those rats weren’t easy."

Liss turned to him, her sneer sharpening. "I thought you trained your toys better, Kael."

Kael didn’t flinch, his glare matching hers, a silent challenge passing between them.

The air crackled with tension, the street suddenly feeling smaller.

Liss broke the stare first, her lips twitching into a smirk.

"Whatever. I’ll send the report. You passed—barely. You two will be stuck in A-rank forever anyway." She turned to Kael, her voice clipped. "Clear the remaining rats, and you’re done."

Without waiting for a response, she pivoted to Clara, giving her a curt nod.

Clara returned it, her green eyes steady, her doctor’s bag still open at her side.

Lightning Lass crouched, electricity surging around her, and with a crackle and a burst of dust, she launched into the air, vanishing into the city skyline, leaving only the faint smell of ozone behind.

Rhea broke the silence, her voice laced with irritation.

"What’s up with her? It’s like she’s got a personal grudge against us."

Freya’s blue eyes glinted with a mix of exhaustion and defiance. "I should’ve kicked her harder that day when I had the chance."

Rhea’s head snapped toward her, a spark of excitement breaking through her fatigue. "You kicked her?"

Freya smirked, leaning back against the wall, her platinum-cyan hair catching the sunlight. "Damn right. Ask Kael. I had the collar on me that day, else her spine would have split into two."

Kael nodded, his grin returning, a touch of pride in his expression. "She sure did."

Rhea’s lips curled into a weak but genuine smile, and she raised a shaky thumbs-up.

"Good job."