Chapter Four

Chapter Four

-Hidden headquarters of the Hybrid Hero Project; [REDACTED], Ukraine; May 5th, 2009-

Beep. Beep. Hanna pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it in disbelief. “He hung up on me?!” She shoved the phone into a pocket and grabbed her sword. “Who does he think he is?!” Hanna muttered to herself in anger. “He’s going to regret messing with my friends and he’s gonna wish he never messed with me!” As Hanna was gearing up, a young woman with fox ears and brown hair entered the room. “-wants to talk to you… what are you doing?” she asked, staring at Hanna. 

“Hey Mariah,” Hanna answered, pulling on a pair of boots and lacing them up. “Something’s come up. I need to go.”

The girl tilted her head and blinked. “Go? But you just got back,” Mariah replied in confusion. “Where are you going?” 

Hanna didn’t answer. Instead, she stood up and stormed out of the room. Mariah followed close behind. Hanna pulled her phone out and scrolled through the contacts until she found the number she was looking for. The phone rang twice before someone on the other end answered. “Allo?” 

“Zhenya, this is Hanna. Are you busy?” Hanna spoke in Russian as she walked. 

“I just got off work,” came the slightly annoyed reply in the same language. “Whaddya want?”

Hanna paused before answering, “I need to borrow a plane.”

“Are you joking?!” Zhenya asked in surprise. “You don’t have the clearance for that!” 

“No, but you do,” Hanna answered. She took a big breath and continued in English. “Listen, Zhenya, one of the guys on our wanted list took my friends.”

“All the more reason to stay home,” Zhenya responded in Russian with a huff.

“Zhenya, please,” Hanna said. She stopped walking and turned to look at Mariah, who was still behind her. Hanna continued in English again. “He took them to the Arctic Circle. I can’t make that flight by myself, but I will if I have to. And if I have to do it by myself, they’ll be dead by the time I get there.” 

Mariah’s shoulders sank and her eyebrows furrowed, understanding. Zhenya must have understood too because Hanna could hear her slowly saying “Ai-yai-yai” in the background followed by a long pause. There was a sigh before Zhenya finally asked, “Can you confirm their location?” 

“Yes,” Hanna answered without actually knowing if she could or not. She could hear another frustrated huff. 

“Ok, but you owe me,” Zhenya said. “You’re going to get us both fired. Or worse.” 

“We’ll deal with that when my friends are safe,” Hanna responded before thanking her and hanging up. 

“Who did they take?” Mariah asked. 

“Lui and DJ,” Hanna answered. “I’m not asking you to go with me.” 

Mariah shrugged. “That’s okay. I’ll go anyway.” 

“I’m serious, Tang,” Hanna said. “Stay here and hold down the fort. I don’t know if EDJ has this location or not. He shouldn’t, but he might. If he tries to send someone, I need you to take care of the team.” 

“There hasn’t been much of a team lately,” Mariah commented with a frown. 

“That was never a job I wanted.” Hanna frowned at her in return. “Trust me, they’re better off without me. Where’s Savannah?” 

“Computer lab,” Mariah answered, watching Hanna nod and keep walking down the hall. She did not follow. 

Hanna entered the lab to see a woman hunched over and typing away at a laptop. This isn’t going to go well, Hanna thought to herself as she approached. Savannah glanced over the screen and stopped typing. “I know that look,” she muttered, sitting up straight and pushing her glasses up her nose. 

“I… uh... I have a favor to ask,” Hanna started. “A couple favors, actually...” 

Savannah crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “I’m sorry, I forgot I only exist when you need something from me,” Savannah said. “Why don’t you go ask your friends at Interpol?” 

“I pulled them in too already,” Hanna answered, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. 

“Then you don’t need me.” Savannah rolled her eyes and turned back to her laptop. 

Hanna pushed the laptop screen halfway down. “This is important.” Hanna pulled the phone out of her pocket and set it on the desk. “Can you trace a call?” Hanna asked. 

“Can I?” Savannah asked, tilting her head from side to side. “Technically, yes.” 

“That’s all I need to know,” Hanna said. 

“This isn’t going to be like your last escapade, is it?” Savannah asked. She tilted the laptop’s screen back up, plugged the phone in, and resumed typing. “The one where your evil nature revealed itself and demolished an entire building with your team still inside?” She glanced at Hanna over the rim of her glasses. 

“No.” Hanna folded her arms. “That was an accident. I keep that side in check.” 

“Till it gets out again,” Savannah said above a whisper. 

“That’s not going to happen,” Hanna said with a glare. “I won’t let it.” 

Savannah shrugged and held up the phone while it was plugged in. “Your call.” 

Hanna took the phone and stared at it. She took a deep breath before dialing and setting the phone on speaker. 

It rang once before it was answered. “Calling to ask for directions, dear?” a familiar voice answered. “Or do you want to skip ahead to the part where you surrender?” 

“I’m not surrendering to someone as pathetic as you,” Hanna answered. “You have succeeded in getting my attention as well as my aggravation.” 

“Though not your sense of urgency, it seems. You do realize your friends aren’t weatherproof, right?” EDJ asked. 

“Where have you taken the hostages?!” Hanna demanded. 

“I already told you,” EDJ answered with snark in his voice. “Center of the Arctic. Fly North. It’s not that difficult. Unless… you don’t want to save your friends.” 

“Of course I want to save them!” Hanna shouted at the phone. Savannah shot her a look and Hanna followed up with her inside voice. “I shall rescue my friends. You don’t know me. You know nothing of what I can really do! You have yet to witness true power. I will bring you to justice.”

“Is that before or after I destroy them?” EDJ asked lightly. 

“Tell me what you’re planning!” Hanna almost shouted again, glaring daggers at the phone. 

“Bwahahahaha!” Hanna winced and turned down the volume on the phone as EDJ continued laughing. “Why would I tell you my plans? I’m not an idiot,” EDJ answered with a chuckle. “But I would hurry, if I were you.” The phone beeped as he hung up on her again. 

Hanna looked up at Savannah, who was staring at her with raised eyebrows and her arms folded. “Done with your little tantrum?” Savannah asked. 

Hanna frowned. “Did you get the location?” 

“As soon as he answered,” Savannah responded with a nod. “Everything after that was completely unnecessary.” She unplugged the phone and slid it toward Hanna. 

“And I suppose you would have handled it better?” Hanna asked, taking the phone. 

“I wouldn’t have handled it like an obnoxious child with something to prove,” Savannah answered. ‘If that’s what you’re asking.” She pulled open a drawer and took out a small device. She plugged the new object into the laptop and clicked away at the keyboard. 

“You can be so judgemental sometimes,” Hanna muttered, putting the phone away. 

“I’m trying really hard not to be, but you make it so very easy,” Savannah answered, not looking away from the screen. 

“You hold me to an impossible standard!” Hanna shouted. 

Savannah turned to glare at her. “I hold you to the same standard I hold everyone else in this operation to. My house. My rules.” She unplugged the device and held it out. When Hanna went to grab the device, Savannah pulled it back. “If you don’t like it, maybe you shouldn’t come back.” She held the device out again. 

“Maybe I won’t.” Hanna snatched the object and stormed out of the room. She was halfway down the hall with tears in her eyes before she looked at the device. There it was, a green blinking dot on the screen indicating the exact location of the phone. The dot was currently hovering over a location in Greenland Hanna couldn’t pronounce. Hanna took her phone out and texted Zhenya to get an update on when their transportation would be ready. She sniffled and wiped her eyes. 

“Sis?” A quiet voice asked. “Are you okay?” 

Hanna looked up to see a woman her age with big blue eyes and bright pink hair. 

“Oh, hi Kandi,” Hanna answered with a nod. “I’m fine. Just got in a fight with the Original again.” 

Kandi blinked at her. “Anything I can do?” 

“Nope.” Hanna shook her head. “Not unless you can go back in time and stop me from doing whatever it is I did to make her hate me.” 

Kandi tilted her head. “She doesn’t hate you.” 

“Sure feels like it.” Hanna leaned against the wall, checking her phone for any new messages. “She gets so mad at me for trying to figure things out. Like if I don’t do things exactly the way she does them, I’m the problem.” 

Kandi nodded in thought before speaking. “She’s not mad at you. She’s mad at herself.” 

“For creating me?” Hanna asked too quickly, checking her phone again. 

“For not finding us sooner,” Kandi answered with a little smile. Before Hanna could say anything, Kandi wrapped her sister in a big hug. Hanna begrudgingly accepted the hug, patting the top of Kandi’s pink head. The phone in Hanna’s hand buzzed. She glanced at the message. Time to go. “Thanks, Kandi,” Hanna said, pulling away. “I need to leave. Take care of them for me, will you?” 

“Hai,” Kandi answered with a nod. “I almost have dinner ready. If you wait a second, I can make you a plate to go.” 

Hanna shook her head, already continuing down the hall toward the exit. “No time. I’ll see you later!” She disappeared around the corner with a wave. 

Mariah stepped up beside Kandi. “She’s gone already?” Mariah asked. 

Kandi nodded. “Do you know where she’s going this time?” 

“She went to rescue Lui and DJ,” Mariah answered. 

“Eeeeeeh?!” Kandi turned to her in surprise. “Awwww, I wanna get rescued!” She looked down the hall with a pout. “That’s so romantic.” 

Mariah laughed. “Don’t let Hanna catch you saying that, she might throw up.” The two continued giggling to themselves.