Battle Heroes X: S01E04

"Blood in the Water" is the fourth episode in the Battle Heroes X series, the fourth episode in Battle Heroes X Season One, and the fourth episode overall. It is also the penultimate episode before the Season One finale. The episode is about Zack, Cloud, and Julius recovering in the hospital while Bane puts his henchmen to the test.

As the heroes recover in the hospital, Bane puts Chan and Hoji to the test.

## The Episode

It was a dark night in Fowler City. In a rougher neighborhood on the east side, three hooded men were walking across the street towards a rather run down house with cracked and boarded up windows. One of them held a briefcase in one hand and with the other, he knocked on the door. After a few seconds and some shouting from indoors, a man just as rough looking as the house answered. There was a chain preventing the door from fully opening, so only his face was shown.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" He asked.

He held the briefcase up.

"Perfect. Come on in," The door was closed and after some locks were unlocked, it fully opened for them to enter. When they entered the house, they were greeted with a sparsely furnished room. The only furniture was a couch on the right side of the room along with a small TV. Three men were sitting on the couch.

"Boys, we got visitors. And they has something for us," The three got up.

"I see you have the goods," The man reached for the briefcase, but it was moved from his grasp.

"You think we're stupid? Show us the money first," One of the hooded men demanded.

The man snapped his fingers and one of the three other men walked over to behind the couch and pulled out his own briefcase, handing it to his superior. The man opened it and revealed multiple stacks of hundred dollar bills.

"So, now that I showed you mine, you'll show me yours, huh?"

The other two hooded men examined the cash before nodding to the one with the briefcase. He opened his up, revealing multiple bricks of a white substance.

"Jackpot."

Suddenly, the entire left side of the house was rocked by an explosion, knocking the seven men off their feet. There was a gaping hole in the left wall.

The man who answered the door got up first and withdrew a pistol from the waistline of his underwear. "You set us up!"

The hooded ones were in varying states of getting up. "What? This wasn't us, honest!"

Their argument was cut short when something entered through the hole at an extremely fast velocity and hit one of the hooded men, sending him flying into the wall with a sickening crunch. He didn't get up.

The others slowly crept over to look at him. There was a crystal lodged in his stomach. "What the f--"

Red beams of light flew through the hole, hitting all the men regardless of side. Soon, everyone inside the house was dead, crystals stuck in their bodies. Bane, Chan, and Hoji entered and surveyed their handiwork. Chan and Hoji no longer only wore a breechcloth. Both wore black coats and pants with brown work boots.

Bane pointed to the briefcase full of money. "Collect the money."

After the money was collected, Bane, Chan, and Hoji departed through a shadow portal. Outside, people were screaming and calling the police to report the crime that had just occurred.

The next morning was sunny and bright morning in Fowler City. Our heroes were yet again in the hospital. It had been almost 2 weeks since Bane had disappeared in Japan. It had been hard to explain how the three managed to leave the hospital undetected for 2 days, but they had come up with a story involving trying to escape to get home, then getting lost. It didn't really fool anyone, but everyone was relieved to have them back and not dead or worse. Zack and Julius' injuries required a little more attention than Cloud's, so they were in a separate room next to his. The two were in beds on opposite sides of the room facing each other. The room was silent, until Julius began to speak.

"This...is all your fault, Zack."

Zack remained silent.

"This is all your fault, you hear me! Why would you run off on us like that?!"

At that moment, Cloud hobbled into the room on crutches. "Hey...did I come in at a bad time?"

Julius answered the question. "Not at all, Cloud. I was just yelling at Zack about how stupid what he did was. Care to join?"

Cloud set down his crutches and had a seat in a chair. "I know you're angry about how things in Japan went down. I am too, but blaming each other isn't going to get us anywhere."

Julius softened up a little. "It beats sitting around licking my wounds. Wouldn't have to if Zack hadn't gone after Bane alone. Bane, who defeated all three of us individually in the same night!"

"Placing blame won't bring Chan and Hoji back, and it won't bring Bane back. How were we supposed to know that was Bane's real plan? How did he know how to do that, even? None of us can corrupt people with our powers."

Zack finally began to talk. "Things aren't always as expected, the voice said. Proceed very carefully," He put a bandaged hand out in front of him. "I saw what I wanted most," He then closed his hand into a fist. "And reached for it, walking right into Bane's trap. I really thought I could end it right there. I thought things would be over."

Julius sighed. "Yeah, well, it's not over. Not by a long shot."

"Yeah, it sucks." Cloud looked at his two friends. "Tensions are high because of how Bane played us like that. He got the crystals and ran off, but I think I might have news on his whereabouts."

"What's the word?" Julius said.

"Turn on the TV and find out."

Julius turned on the TV and the three watched as a news reporter began to talk outside a neighborhood and the remains of a house.

"...Thank you. Now I'm here in Fowler City, where a gruesome crime occurred last night. Seven members of two known street gangs were brutally murdered right here in this neighborhood. The men were seemingly a drug deal that went awry and led to their deaths. The contents of one case possibly containing money were missing, while another containing drugs was left untouched. Residents of this neighborhood are saying that it was an attack by a third party rival gang, but the authorities think otherwise, due to a lack of gunpowder on the scene. They think that it was a malfunctioning gas tank that blew up. More news at 8...."

"You think Bane and his new goons did that?" Julius asked, pointing to the TV.

"It makes sense, doesn't it? No signs of explosives, but Bane's shadow balls could do damage like that," Cloud stated. "What do you think, Zack?"

"Something to look into, once I'm out of here."

Julius glared at Zack. "That sure worked out for you last time, didn't it?"

"Cool down, Julius." Cloud said as he turned to Zack. "That seems pretty dangerous, Zack."

A nurse peeked her head into the room and looked at Cloud. "Your aunt is here to visit you, Cloud."

Cloud grabbed his crutches and got up to leave. "I'll be back, bros," He exited the room with the nurse.

Julius got under his covers and closed his eyes to sleep. Zack continued to stare at the ceiling before he too closed his eyes and fell asleep.

While the heroes slept, the day continued and the sun started to set on the city. The south side of the city was where the docks were located, a place where ships came in with their goods and other merchants came with their own more deadl wares.

At the moment, four men wearing all blue were standing behind several cargo containers. Behind them, an 18 wheeler reversed in. In front of the men, 2 trucks drove in, six men exiting. Each man brandished an assault rifle but one, who came out holding a briefcase. The other 5 men brandished Uzis except for one, who held a briefcase.

The four men from the first group withdrew pistols from holsters. "What is the meaning of this?" One asked.

The man holding the briefcase held his hands up in a form of apology. "Relax, they're not for you, unless you try anything. It's an extra precaution against anyone who want to jump this deal."

"Because of what happened last night?"

"Exactly. Now what's for sale tonight?"

Two of the men turned to the 18 wheeler and opened the trailer door, starting to unload three boxes. Looking inside the first two, there were numerous firearms ranging from handguns to submachine guns and even light machine guns in each one. The last box came out containing ropes and ropes of ammunition.

"Good. Now, the money?"

The briefcase was opened, showcasing stacks of money.

"Mind if I count while your men load up the guns?" The blue gang leader asked.

"Go ahead. I just want my guns and to get the hell outta here."

As the deal went down, Bane, Chan, and Hoji stood above the gangs on a cargo container. Chan and Hoji were wearing the bloody hoodies of the last gang they killed.

"You're up, Hoji. I want the money *and* the guns," Bane said, pointing below them. Hoji looked down, formulating a plan of attack. After a few seconds, he began to climb down the cargo containers until he was down on the ground level behind the blue gang. Summoning a crystal shard, he held it in his hand and aimed for one of the gang members getting ready to load the guns. Firing the shard, it hit him dead in between the eyes. The gang member crumpled on the ground, dead. After seeing one of their own down, the gang members aimed them at the blue gang.

"We're getting played! Take 'em out!" The leader yelled. His men began firing on the blue gang, who attempted to return fire to no avail. The blue gang was mowed down until every single one was dead. While the remaining game were reloading, Hoji stepped out of the shadows and created even more crystals shards to fire at them. The last gang on the scene dropped dead, crystals lodged in their bodies. Bane and Chan appeared through a shadow portal behind him.

"Good." Bane said. "Same thing as last time, take the supplies. I must set the new plan in action..."

Back in the hospital, Zack, Julius, and Cloud were eating dinner together. Cloud held the remote in his hand and turned the TV on. A different news reporter was reporting from the city docks.

"Earlier today, 10 more gangsters died as a result of a deal gone wrong on the Fowler City docks. Money and weapons were taken from both sides. A peculiar set of clues found on the scene were several crystals," On the TV, pictures of the crystals were shown. The trio looked at each other knowingly.

Zack said what was on everyone's' minds. "Those are the crystals Chan and Hoji use."

"Yeah. Looks like Bane is really behind the two raids after all," Cloud added.

"Those gangs won't be happy about that. Maybe they'll go after Bane for us? Save us some time, huh?" Julius said hopefully.

"How would they know Bane did it, let alone who Bane is?" Zack questioned.

Julius sighed. "True. What do you guys think Bane's planning to do with his new wealth?"

"No clue," Cloud drank from his cup of water. "Weapons? A base of operations?"

Zack rubbed his temple, frustration in his voice. "Once again, we're left on the defensive, waiting for Bane to execute his next move."

"Yeah, but we're gonna get out of here and bounce back, Zack,"

"That's what we said before, and we're back here. Bane's going to kill and ruin lives, just like he did last night, just like he did in Japan, and *exactly* like he did the first night!" Once again, Bane was out of his reach. Once again, she was out of his grasp, maybe forever this time. "And it's all my fault . I feel so...powerless."

Cloud looked at Zack. "Don't be. You got two other bros who have your back. Try to remember that you're not in this alone."

Zack didn't answer him and looked out the window.