The Tech Competition.

Marine Avenger's voice echoed through the ocean's dim blue haze. "This is the end for you both."

Decibolt's shoulders sagged. Bubbles rose lazily from his hoodie as he groaned, "My attacks are too slow in water. I can't swim—and you're pretty much useless without my speed."

Molecular Girl folded her arms, the water swirling obediently around her. "If your attacks are slow, then all we need is to get you close enough."

"Yeah, except..." Decibolt flapped helplessly. "Still can't swim."

"You won't have to."

Before he could protest, Molecular Girl seized him with her molecular kinesis. The water warped around her palms as she spun him like a turbine and hurled him straight toward Marine Avenger.

Marine Avenger sneered. "Your efforts are futile. No one can stop the queen of the sea."

A violent jet of water blasted from her trident, roaring through the depths. Debris spiraled in chaotic currents as Kira yanked Decibolt aside at the last second.

Marine Avenger shrieked, "Haa!"
Her trident shot forward like a thrown spear—but Decibolt braced behind his shimmering Deci Shield and deflected the strike.

"Sonic Cannon!" he bellowed.

A thunderous sonic burst pulsed through the currents, slamming Marine Avenger backward. The water trembled from the force.

"HAA!" she roared again.

She dove through the water with predatory speed, snapping at Decibolt with her jagged beak. Kira dragged him downward, and he countered by shooting upward with a powerful kick that launched her into a spin. He followed with a series of sonic discs, trailing ripples of distorted water.

"You can't defeat me," Marine Avenger snarled. "I'm the queen of the sea!"

Her swirling current twisted her trident back into her hand.

Decibolt rolled his eyes. "We heard you the first time."

She swept her trident in a wide arc, summoning crushing tides that hammered toward them. Kira's kinesis guided Decibolt through razor-thin gaps, then hurled him forward. He caught Marine Avenger by her beak, strained, and threw her aside.

"Sonic Pulse Blast!"

The shockwave ruptured the ocean around them, driving her into the seabed with a muffled boom.

Marine Avenger rose, trembling with fury. "Enough... Marine Mode Three!"

Her nose smoothed as her body bulged with new muscle. Her skin darkened. Her teeth elongated into serrated shark fangs.

Kira gasped. "Her power just spiked to 607."

Marine Avenger's voice deepened. "Now face the full strength of a great white shark!"

She lunged, jaws clamping painfully onto Decibolt's arm, a cloth of blood forming on his hand.

"Her grip is too strong!" Kira cried. "I can't pull her off!"

"Let—go—of—me!" Decibolt roared. He punched her hard enough to break her hold.

Marine Avenger wiped her mouth. "You call that a punch?"

She pummeled him relentlessly. Each impact boomed like muted thunder. A sweeping strike of her trident smashed him into the seabed and shoved him deeper, sand bursting upward.

"Your turn."

She spun her trident, conjuring enormous water arms that surged toward Kira. Kira dodged one, slipped past another, evaded the third—until the fourth slammed into her and threw her back. Marine Avenger streaked forward like a torpedo.

"Full Body Repulsion!"

A sphere of force erupted from Kira, blasting Marine Avenger away. Kira's aura brightened, the currents around her bending like metal to a magnet.

"Gravitational Kinesis Attack II: Anti-Gravity Beam!"

A shimmering beam distorted the water around Marine Avenger, lifting her helplessly against gravity's pull. Kira hurled Decibolt upward with a burst of molecular force. He erupted from the ocean in a fountain of white foam. Kira followed, water droplets streaming from her hair as she burst into the air beside him.

Above the Water

"Sonic Storm!" Decibolt shouted.

A spiraling barrage of sonic blasts tore through the sky, rattling the air as Kira vaulted beside him. Together, they struck Marine Avenger with a synchronized double punch that sent her spinning.

"Urgh!" she grunted.

Two massive arms of water materialized from her trident, coiling around the heroes and yanking them downward into the depths.

"Time to end this!" she roared.

Decibolt sighed. "You've said that like three times. Are you bluffing?"

Marine Avenger grinned. "Is this bluffing?"

She spun her trident again—and six massive whirlpools erupted around them, spiraling violently.

Decibolt blanched. "Okay... that actually looks bad."

"I've got this," Kira said, aura flaring.
"Gravitational Kinesis Attack IV: Cyclonic Gravity!"

Her power locked all six whirlpools in a single gravitational field. They twisted together like a monstrous helix, merging into a colossal cyclone. With a shout, she hurled the swirling mass back at Marine Avenger.

"No—!" Marine Avenger screamed as the cyclone consumed her.

Decibolt surged with energy. "Super Sonic Decibolt!"

Ripple portals spiraled around him as he blitzed Marine Avenger from every angle, each strike detonating with sonic force. He reappeared beneath her, electricity humming through the water.

"Now this is how you end things!"

He unleashed a point-blank Deci Cannon, blasting her upward. A ripple portal blinked him beside her.

"Final Super Sonic Ripple Blast!"

A devastating surge of power, a combination of a Decicannon and Sonic pulse blast exploded her into yellow smoke. Decibolt dashed across sonic platforms, reached the summoner, and knocked them out, grabbing their shards.

Kira surfaced moments later, gasping.

"How do you like my final attack."

'Seen better'

"If we're lucky," Decibolt said, as he de-transformed and shacked water from his hair, "we can still catch the exhibition winner."

"Definitely not you," she replied while Deactivating her suit.

It would have been me, if I didn't have to leave.

They stepped through the portal.

At the Tech Exhibition

Hakim waved frantically. "They're just about to announce the winner!"

Decibolt and Kira rushed inside.

"And the winner is—" the MC said, then paused. "No one."

The crowd froze. Dozens of thugs emerged from the shadows, brandishing stun batons and crackling gadgets.

"This entire exhibition was a setup," the MC said stiffly. "Hand over your gadgets unless you want something bad to happen."

Chaos erupted. The thugs grabbed every device in the hall, then sped off on motorcycles.

Hakim patted his bag. "Good thing I kept my project with me—otherwise they'd have a way to track summons."

Kira scanned the exits. "We need to follow those thugs. They might have shards with them."

They ducked behind a booth, transformed, mounted their bikes, and sped after the thieves.

The Chase Begins

Um, boss, those heroes are after us. One of the thugs cried.

Give'um the old smoke bombs.

Smoke grenades burst ahead, flooding the streets in thick gray fog.

Decibolt coughed. "Ugh—we lost them."

"They stole every gadget," Decibolt said, frowning. "Including the electronic charger."

"Which is?" Kira asked.

"A device powered by static electricity emits a rare frequency. Adjust the tracker to that band and... boom. Sector 73, Block 7, Street 15."

Decibolt revved his engine. "Let's go."

Sector 73

They arrived in a silent, empty street.

"There's nothing here," Decibolt muttered.

"You sure you typed it right?" Kira asked.

"Yes. They should be exactly—Wait," Decibolt said. "Deci-Locate."

He closed his eyes, senses stretching downward. "Underground chamber. Entrance is... right here."

He punched the pavement. A concealed door cracked open.

Kira pinched the bridge of her nose. "Pretty sure there was a better way to do that."

"Maybe. But mine was faster."

They descended into a narrow tunnel.

Underground

Thugs cheered over their stolen tech until the heroes burst in.

"Not you two again..." groaned Thug 3.

Molecular Girl stepped forward. "You're no match for us. Surrender while you still can."

The boss smirked. "Maybe. But Gunk is here to help. Gunk!"

A female summon appeared in yellow smoke.

"Alki Suit—activate!"

Acid poured from her belt, forming a green, bubbling suit with brown streaks. A mask slid into place.

Molecular Girl blinked. "Did you say junk?"

"It's Gunk." The summon glared.

"How is that any better?"

"You won't be laughing when I melt your face off."

She hurled acidic spheres. The heroes dodged, steam rising as the acid ate through concrete.

Decibolt smirked. "Too bad acid can't melt sonic discs."

He launched six shimmering discs.

"Don't need to," Gunk said.

Slime stretched from her arm, engulfing it. She crushed the discs with ease and slammed both heroes into the wall.

Kira scanned her. "Category Elemental Manipulator, Combat power 492... extremely low. She shouldn't be a problem."

"We'll see. Toxic gas!"
A noxious green mist billowed outward.

Molecular Girl gagged. "Ugh—worse than the Level Four zombie's breath!"

Gunk pummeled them relentlessly.

"Finish them!" the boss shouted.

Gunk fired a stream of acid—

"Full Body Repulsion!"
Kira blasted the attack back and slammed Gunk into the wall.

The battle escalated. Decibolt blurred into motion.

"Sonic Step!"

He struck Gunk repeatedly in rapid succession as Kira spin-kicked her across the chamber.

"This isn't good," the boss muttered. "Gunk—give them an ocean of gunk!"

"Gunk Wave!"

A tsunami of slime swept forward.

Decibolt's jaw dropped. "This is worse than the sea."

"Gravitational Kinesis Attack III—Up-and-Down Gravity!"

Gunk was yanked upward, then slammed into the floor. Up. Down. Up. Down. Her green suit cracked.

"Super Sonic Decibolt!"

He launched upward, pummeling her into the ceiling.

"Mercury... water... now gunk." He groaned. "I'm ending this. Final Super Sonic Ripple Blast!"

The massive blast hurled Gunk through the ceiling in an eruption of yellow smoke.

They climbed out of the chamber.

"Shards," Kira demanded.

"I—I only have one..." the boss stammered.

She plucked it from his hand and knocked him out.

"The others escaped," she muttered. "Tracker can't pick them up."

Decibolt shrugged. "What's the worst a few thugs can do with stolen gadgets?"

"I'll drop him at the station," she said.

"I'm gonna lie down."

"Who's cleaning all that gunk?"

"Definitely not me. The city can handle it."

He vanished through a portal.

30 Minutes Later — Kira's House

Kira crossed her arms. "I heard you say all the female summons gave you a headache. Doesn't that mean females are better than males?"

Hakim blinked innocently. "No... it just means Theo has a crazy imagination."

Are you gonna tell me what your defective tech does? He mocke

It scans the crystal energy of a summon and categorizes it into 5 types—Enhanced physical abilities (EPA), Animal Symbiosis, like the first summon we fought and Marine Avenger; Tech-based; Elemental Manipulators, like that pebble kid, and Specialists, like that ghost we fought. Then it calculates their battle power out of 1000.

Doesn't matter what category they're in—I'll always be superior. He said proudly.