Time Traveling Hero

"I see you're back! Good, our preparations are all but complete now," Roberto said.

We were back inside the only building left standing, at the ground floor, where everyone in the squad was busy completing their preparations for the Mission.

"I actually have questions for you Roberto," I said, taking a seat on one of the boxes. "A lot of them."

"Seriously kid? Not this shit again, I swear if you pull another stunt like you did on the last mission-!"

"Oh c'mon, why ye of little faith? Besides, they're just basic questions, stuff that probably anyone in our organization could answer."

He narrowed his gaze at me before sighing. "Well, at least you seem to be doing relatively well now. Alright, let's play 20 questions. You only get 20, so make it worth your while."

Do I even have 20 questions? Eh, it's whatever, I'll just put the game on indefinite hiatus if I don't. "Deal."

"I'll help too," Beatrice said, sitting down next to her partner, and Anna sat down next to me. "I happen to be very knowledgeable about a lotta things, believe it or not!"

"That's because you laze around in my room reading books whenever we don't have a mission," Roberto grumbled, glaring at Beatrice.

"If you really hated it, you could've kicked me out. Face it, you like me."

"Ugh, why did I get stuck with a partner like you?" Roberto sighed out, which led to my first question.

"You make it sound as if you don't get to choose," I said, and Roberto perked up.

"Of course not, you know how unfair that would be? The Models we get are chosen randomly so that people won't automatically choose the stronger ones. Also, that counts as a question."

"Of course it doesn't, I didn't ask you anything. You just offered the information to me." I said, giving off a mischievous grin. "So now for my actual first question: Judging from what you said, there are different ranks for Models right?"

Roberto glared at me before rolling his eyes. "You're a crafty one, you know that? Yes, there are different ranks, or in the way we classify them, grades of Models. It goes from E at the lowest and A at the highest. My partner Beatrice here is a C+ grade Model."

Beatrice tensed up as Roberto used her name, and I let out a smile. "I see you decided to call Beatrice by her name!"

"I'm only doing it because it's easier than using pronouns, nothing more. Besides, you two idiots would give me flack if I didn't."

I guess I might've been able to change something, I thought as I glanced at Anna, who seemed pleased despite her expression not changing.

"I would've thought Beatrice would be higher, all things considering," I mumbled out. "She's pretty strong with that psychokinesis of hers."

"Yeah, sorry to disappoint, but I'm still above average in strength though!" Beatrice said, grinning. "If I could either lift up things that are bigger than me or lift up multiple objects that exceed my weight, I would be B grade for sure."

"How do they rank what Model goes where then? Each one is different, so grading them has to be difficult right?" .

"Not exactly Master." Anna said. "Since the Model's ability are easily classifiable, there are different tests for each one. In addition to that, there are other categories, like usability and flexibility in combat, among other things."

"And before you bother asking, that Model friend of yours is S grade," Roberto said, and I scowled.

"If that's the case, then why the hell hasn't she had a partner besides me?"

All three of them went silent at my words, confusing me even more. "It's uh, complicated kid. I won't count that as a question by the way."

"Oh, also something is that I used to be a B+ grade Model!" Beatrice said cheerfully. "But since Anna here showed up, they pushed all the rankings down by one, so she's the only S grade to speak of."

"There used to be more than one S grade Model?" I asked, this being my 4th question.

"Yep, before Anna showed up. They had to make another grade, E, because of how strong she is. All the other S grade Models couldn't hold a candle to her, so they pushed them all back. So, in total, there are 5 A grade Models at the moment."

"Which brings us to our mission," Roberto said, pulling up the mission details. "The target for retrieval is one of the five A grade Models. We really aren't able to discern her abilities, since her squad got wiped out, but we do know one thing: She's a teleporter, one of 15 in our organization."

"They must be rare then," I said, and Roberto scoffed.

"No kidding they are. All of the teleporters are at least B grade you know, although this Model outclasses them all. She's A++. She was quite close to being S grade, even after your Model showed up."

Just for teleportation? How strong is this girl? "She'll be hard to catch then, since she can just teleport away."

"Yeah, it would easier to just kill her," Roberto muttered. "And before you start throwing a fit, of course we're going to try capturing her alive, but it'll be difficult, that's for sure. Now, any more questions?"

"Yeah, how does the apocalypse happen?" I asked without skipping a beat.

"I don't know. Now, any more dumb questions?" Roberto said.

Huh? Before I could ask, Beatrice spoke up. "Think about it like this. If we knew how it was going to happen, then don't you think we would've stopped it already?"

Oh, that makes sense. "But that still doesn't explain why we can't just go and see the event with our own eyes!"

"It is because the sword disallows it," Anna said, shocking me even more. "There are certain times and events that we are unable to go to, simply because the sword does not wish it."

What? How the hell am I meant to respond to that!?

"We theorize it's to prevent paradoxes and other time related stuff, but we really don't have a clue. We basically can't go 50 years before or after the apocalypse occurs, among other events, like the founding of the TRTF over 2000 years ago."

"I-it's been around that long?" I could only be dumbfounded, and Roberto grinned.

"I won't count that as a question either. And yes, this organization has been around for a long time. Of course, our objectives have changed slightly over the years, but that's neither here nor there."

"Then, you must, at the very least, know when the apocalypse happens, right!?"

"863 years, 9 months, 27 days, and 13 hours," Anna said, looking down at the ground, her eyes whirring in and out of focus. "From our present anyway.

"Basically, August of 2883," Beatrice said, blowing a bubble from her gum. "Can't be bothered to do the exact date though. If you wanna know specifics, we have a doomsday clock back at the base."

"It sounds pretty arbitrary, but that's the current date for the apocalypse. It changes depending on the actions we take." Roberto glanced at his watch before standing up. "Anyway, we have to finish this later, since we've finally located her."

"Oh, one last thing. Is it really safe for us to be out and about? It's a hellscape out there you know, and the atmosphere can't be good for our health."

"Of course it's not safe." Roberto said simply, putting on gloves and shoes that glowed to life. "But we should be fine for a couple hours. Remember all those shots they gave you when they were doing that physical? That's to help you withstand the effects of the atmosphere no matter when you are. Of course, even with that, we can't stay here for too long, unless we brought special supplies." He slung his gun over his back before looking back at me. "Odds are this'll be a multi-day mission, so be prepared kid."

Of course it is. What else did I expect?

"Sir, we found the target!" One of the squad members, a woman with platinum hair whose name was Ruby, judging from the nametag, ran up to Roberto.

"Good, where exactly is she?"

"Uh, that's the thing sir. She's right outside."

Silence.

"C'MON OUT ALREADY! IF YOU WANNA BEAT ME, YOU'RE GOING TO NEED AT LEAST YOUR ENTIRE SQUAD!"

"Master, she is quite ċȯċky," Anna said.

And with that we all rushed outside.

---------------------------

"We've got her surrounded sir! What do you want us to do!?"

I watched as the squad all surrounded the mission's target, leaving Anna and I behind.

"Stay here kid, you got that?" Roberto narrowed his eyes at me. "And I do mean that. Don't be doing anything crazy, got it?"

"I wasn't going to rush in there anyway. I actually have a plan you know."

Roberto stared at me for a moment, before another shout drew his attention away. "I mean it kid!"

"What exactly is Master planning?" I turned towards Anna, who was watching the group with earnest.

"When I give you the cue, I'm going to need you to follow me, got it? No matter where we might end up."

She tilted her head quizzically, but I ignored it, turning my gaze towards the beginnings of the fight.

----------------------

"Sir, we have her surrounded, what are your orders!?"

I glanced back at the new Hero, who was clutching something around his neck; what I couldn't tell. Damnit, I don't have time for him.

I turned back around to our squad, which, including Beatrice (God I hate that) and I, consisted of 10 soldiers and their partner Models.

"She hasn't moved yet?" I asked, and Ruby shook her head.

"No sir, it's very strange. It's like she's waiting for something."

I nodded, looking back at our target. She was rather small for a Model, probably just under 5 feet, and had long flowing hair that reached her knees. She had a lollipop in her mouth, her eyes closed as she diligently suċkėd on the lollipop.

"This everyone then? I feel kinda hurt. Do those higher ups really think that this'll be enough to beat me?" She opened one eye, it whirring into focus. "I don't see that Hero with you. What, is he too scared to join the fight?"

"We can take you on without his help, Model 38118121520205," Beatrice said, blowing another bubble from her gum.

"Oh wow, you guys know my Model number and everything," the Model said, a small smile on her face. "Guess I should feel honored and everything." She spit out the leftover stick and pulled out another lollipop from her oversized jacket, taking the wrapper off. "Hmm, this won't even last me one lollipop. What a shame."

She stuck it in her mouth, before grinning. "Now let's go!"

She appeared to the right, taking out Raquez with a well-aimed chop to his neck. His Model, a bright green haired girl, reacted promptly and shot her weapon, an energy handgun, right at her legs.

"You gotta be faster than that!" She dodged the blast, landing on her hands and swiftly kicking the Model in the face with a loud crack, causing her to go unconscious.

This could be troublesome. It hasn't even been 30 seconds and she already took out a tenth of our squad.

"Hey Beatrice, you know what to do," I murmured, and Beatrice popped her bubble.

"Rodger that!" She grinned as she controlled eight energy guns with her psychokinesis and started blasting at the target.

"Oh wow, so there's someone like you here!" The target grinned, dodging another strike from one of the soldiers, a man by the name of Reuben. She teleported underneath his arm, sending an elbow strike directly underneath it, breaking it with ease before dodging backwards to avoid Beatrice's blasts.

"Damnit, she's too quick!" The target did a back flip before grinning at us, disappearing from view.

"Gah!" She took out Ruby's Model this time, one with lightning blue hair, with a knee to the solar plexus before flipping off her body, teleporting away to land back in behind another pair, her slender leg already getting ready to roundhouse kick them both.

"Oho! This one has some reaction speed!"

The soldier, whose name was Ryan, managed to put up an energy shield to block the attack, holding strong against her kick as she kicked off the shield, right into a blast from Beatrice.

"Gotcha now!" Beatrice yelled out, only for her to have vanished once again.

"Man, you are quite annoying, you know that?"

I immediately threw a punch at the target, who had appeared right next to Beatrice, letting out a fist of energy that shot out from my gloves.

"And you must be the squadron leader then," the target said, sidestepping the attack. "I guess I'll have to deal with you two later."

"Like hell you will!" I did a high kick, sending out a wave of energy from my boots towards the target, which she promptly avoided by teleporting on my shoulders.

"Thanks for the boost!"

She kicked off, causing me to lose my balance. I stumbled into Beatrice, who managed to steady me quickly, but not before the target took out Ruby, as she slammed her face into the sandy ground, knocking her out.

"Damn, she already took out 4 of us, and Reuben is outta commission with his arm broken like that. It's looking pretty bad for us Rob."

"What have I told you about calling me that!?" I charged up my gloves before sending out two punches, directly towards the target.

She teleported away, back in front of Ryan as she kicked him up in the air before pushing off the ground with her tiny arms, sending him up even higher.

"Here, enjoy the gift!" She launched herself up in the air again before teleporting once again, this time behind Ryan, as she grabbed his arm and sent him flying towards another four of our squad, knocking them all out (Ryan is a big guy).

"Now Beatrice!"

"Already on it!"

Beatrice shot all eight of her guns directly at the target, aiming for nonvital spots. The target let out a laugh.

"This is more like it!"

She once more teleported, taking out Ryan's model, a girl with dark yellow hair, with a knee to the back of the head.

"C'mon, be faster than that! Faster than I can react!"

She had already taken out over half of us, in little under 2 minutes. I glanced back at the kid, who was still watching from the back; the only difference was that a heavy frown was on his face.

"C'mon Rob! I dunno about you, but I'm sure as hell ain't aboutta get annihilated without her getting a scratch! So come up with a plan already!"

I turned back to the target, who had landed gently back in the middle of the remains of our encirclement. "We just gotta get rid of her momentum, that's all."

Beatrice shot more at the target, who teleported up into the sky, high above us. "Okay, how do you plan to do that!?"

"We put her in a situation where she can't teleport!" I turned to Rebecca and her Model, a tall, dark burgundy haired girl. "I need you two to fill the sky with as much explosions as you can, got it!?"

"Yes sir!" Rebecca took out her energy grenades and tossed them up into the sky, and the target grinned.

"You're actually trying now!? Finally, I was starting to get bored!"

She teleported over to where she took out Reuben, and right as she landed, Rebecca's Model caused five explosions to erupt around her.

"Damn, that was pretty good!" The target leapt up into the air right before the explosions touched her; how she has the strength to even achieve that is beyond me though. "But you'll have to do better!"

She teleported in front of Reuben's Model and knocked her unconscious with a simple punch to the face, leaving only eight of us left.

"Rebecca, keep doing what you're doing! Rory, Rosie! Surround her now!"

"Right!"

"When I give you the cue Beatrice, I want you to use your power to fullest, understand?" I whispered these words in her ear, and she let out a shaky smile.

"You sure know how to push us Models to the brink. Fine, just don't die."

"All of you are rushing me at once? Perfect, I was starting to get tired of you running away!" Rory and Rosie (and their respective Models) managed to surround her, brandishing a sword and spear made from glowing blue energy.

"We got you now!" They both stabbed towards her, and she teleported behind one of the Models, smiling.

"Enjoy the gift!"

There was a loud pulse of sound, taking out the four immediately. Damnit, this girl is truly worthy of being A++ Grade.

"Oh no you don't! C'mon, together!"

Rebecca and her Model both made explosions towards and above the target, causing the dust to whirl around us, blocking our vision.

"Well, that wasn't very nice of you."

As the dust settled, the target had already taken out Rebecca and her Model, leaving…

"It's just you-!" Right as the target was about to speak, I was already in front of her, my fist about to nail her in the face.

But, of fuċkɨnġ course I missed.

"DAMNIT!" I yelled out as the target appeared next to me, a smug smile on her face.

"Sorry."

And right when she was about to hit me, I activated my bodysuit. I felt energy course through me as I managed to pivot out of the way, using my momentum to slam my left fist into the side of her face.

"Whoa, that was close! Eh, not really."

She just managed to teleport out of the way, appearing a little above me. "Sorry, but I got you now!"

I grinned. "Fuck you."

Her expression immediately changed as she saw all the energy guns surround her, a total of 20, all having already taken their shot.

I managed to grab her by the arm, and her eyes widened at my actions. "Like I said," I pulled her close, slamming my head into hers.

"FUCK YOU!"

She reeled back, right into the shots that pierced her body, blood spurting-!

"And this is why I wanted to take you out first!"

Wha-! I watched as the target had already taken out Beatrice with a simple chop to the neck.

"Geez, any closer and I would've been in some hell then. You two are pretty good, you know that?" She appeared in front of me, her knee about to hit my face.

"It's just, I'm better."

Was it enough, kid? I managed to get a good look at his face, and I felt relief fill my body.

I'll leave you to it then…

And I blacked out, seeing the Hero grinning to himself.

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I put my key back underneath my shirt, as I stared at the target.

She had taken out an entire squad in about 5 minutes, an impressive and awe-inspiring feat.

She had long, azure colored hair that reached her knees, an oversized jacket, and a black spiked collar around her neck. She let out a sigh as she turned towards me, brushing off the dust she had gained during the battle. Her yellow eyes whirred in to focus on the two of us, and she grinned.

"Looks like it's just you left Mr. Hero and S Grade!"

I only had one thought in my mind as I got a good look at her, and one thought alone.

"… Are you meant to be some sort of Miku Rip-Off?"

"… I don't know who that is, but I get the feeling I just got insulted."

And thus, does his first encounter with the target begin.