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Spoke's life was chaotic
He had a terrible reputation because of false allegations of assault and abuse. It all started after an argument with a drunken dictator who had somehow convinced people that spoke was an abuser
He wasn't
In reality, spoke was harmless
At school, he was constantly mocked and ridiculed, but he had stopped caring a long time ago. As long as he had jumper and planet by his side, he didnt care.
That morning, spoke headed to school with planet as usual. They always took the same route together
The two pushed through the massive crowds at the station, weaving between rushing commuters as they made their way toward the platform
As they waited for their train, a nearby conversation caught their attention
"Did you hear about that calling card?"
"The phantom thieves one?"
"Yeah, apparently someone found it yesterday"
"I heard they're going after that coach guy"
"No way..."
"I'm serious, it's all over social media"
Spoke glanced at planet
Planet glanced back
Both immediately looked away before anyone could notice
A woman nearby joined the conversation
"I hope they actually do something"
"My brother says they're just a bunch of attention seekers"
"Maybe"
Spoke had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing
If only they knew..
The train finally arrived and the crowd surged forward
As they stepped inside, planet moved closer to spoke
"Think he'll have a change of heart?" he whispered
Spoke smirked
"Depends if he takes the warning seriously"
Planet nodded
"Fair enough"
The doors slid shut
Outside, the station slowly disappeared from view
Inside, nobody paid any attention to the two students standing quietly among the crowd
Which was exactly how the phantom thieves liked it
Now here's the thing, both spoke and planet were the so called phantom thieves, along with jumper and minutetech
They had recently put up a poster, or as they preferred to call it an "calling card"
It was meant for a certain target, but the public had gotten their hands on it before everything was ready
Now it was everywhere
People were sharing pictures of it online, discussing theories, and trying to figure out who the phantom thieves were
Some thought they were heroes
Others thought they were criminals
A few people even believed they had supernatural powers
Whatever the case, the calling card had done its job
It had everyone's attention
In that calling card, they were threatening the coach, a man with a long history of abusing students yet somehow never facing any consequences
It wasn't because of a lack of evidence
If anything, there was too much evidence
Witnesses, reports, recordings, screenshots
The list went on and on
The problem was that the coach was untouchable
Somehow, he always managed to talk his way out of trouble
He manipulated students into staying quiet, convinced parents that the accusations were misunderstandings, and charmed teachers into taking his side
No matter how much proof surfaced, nothing ever happened
Which was exactly why the phantom thieves had chosen him as their target
Planet slowly turned toward spoke with the most dramatic expression imaginable
"Yo bro, we're famous! Our fricking calling card is getting recognized by people we don't even know!"
Before anyone nearby could hear another word, spoke slapped a hand over planet's mouth
"Dude, shush..."
Planet muffled something through spoke's hand
"We can't let anyone know we're the people behind this," spoke whispered. "Our goal right now is getting the coach to see it"
Planet pulled his face away
"Right, right"
A grin still remained plastered across his face
"But come on, this is kinda awesome"
Spoke rolled his eyes
"Focus"
"I'm focused"
"You're literally celebrating"
"And you're literally ruining the celebration"
Spoke sighed
Sometimes he wondered how planet managed to keep a secret identity for this long
The train arrived moments later
As the crowd began moving, planet looked back at the group of strangers still talking about the phantom thieves
His grin widened
Maybe spoke was right
But it was still pretty cool
Without saying another word, the two hurried off to school
Spoke felt miserable the entire morning
The lessons dragged on and on, each minute feeling longer than the last
He rested his head on his desk, counting down the seconds until the final bell would ring
Then something caught his eye
The classroom door opened
A student he had never seen before stepped inside
Immediately, whispers erupted throughout the room
"No way..."
"Is that actually him?"
"You're kidding"
"There's no way mapic goes here"
Spoke blinked
Mapic?
The teacher looked just as excited as everyone else
With a warm smile, she gestured toward the front of the classroom
"Come on, mapic. Feel free to introduce yourself"
The moment she said his name, the classroom practically exploded
"IT'S REALLY HIM!"
"The detective from TV!"
"I watch all of his interviews!"
"Dude, he solved that huge case last year!"
Several students were already pulling out their phones before the teacher immediately shut them down
"No pictures in class"
Mapic stood at the front of the room, completely unfazed by the attention
Or maybe just used to it
His messy dark hair framed an expression that looked more tired than excited
Meanwhile, the rest of the class looked like they had just met a movie star
Even some of the students who normally slept through lessons were paying attention
Spoke raised an eyebrow
Great
As if school wasn't annoying enough already
Now they had a celebrity detective sitting in their classroom
The guy supposedly named mapic looked at the class "Hello guys i'm mapic.. i hope we can get along."
The whole class kept glazing him..
But spoke didn't get the hype, mapic looked average, ordinary nothing really special.
The teacher shushed the class before looking at mapic with a warm smile. "Sit wherever you like."
Mapic looked around the classroom before spotting an empty seat next to spoke
Without a word, he walked over and sat down
He didn't greet him
Didn't even seem to acknowledge him
Spoke sighed
Great, another quiet kid
"Yo, uh... so do most people already know you? You famous or something?"
Mapic turned toward him
For a moment, his smile looked almost rehearsed
"Aha, yeah, I guess I am kinda famous"
He let out a small chuckle
"They call me the detective prince"
"Huh.."
Spoke nodded and immediately returned to staring at his worksheet
Mapic blinked
That was it?
No excitement
No questions
No fanboying
A moment later, planet leaned over from behind spoke and nearly smacked him in the back of the head
"Bro!"
Spoke jumped
"What?"
"The most famous kid in the city is literally sitting next to you and you're not even asking for an autograph?!"
Spoke glanced at mapic
Then back at planet
"Why would I want an autograph?"
Planet stared at him in disbelief
"Because he's the detective prince!"
"Cool"
"Cool?!"
"Yeah"
Planet looked genuinely offended
Meanwhile, mapic just quietly watched the exchange
For the first time since entering the classroom, he seemed slightly interested in something
Most people treated him like a celebrity
Spoke was treating him like some random transfer student
And honestly
It was a little refreshing
Spoke muttered "Dude he's not that cool.. i don't get the hype." he just continued working on his assignment.
After school ended, he went to the metaverse along with planet, jumper, and minute
They rushed through the distorted corridors of the palace, moving deeper until they reached the heart of the castle
There, they found it
The corrupted version of the coach
It towered over them, twisted by desires and control, its presence heavy with the weight of every lie it had ever told
But none of them hesitated
They had done this before
Changing hearts was just another mission now
With precise coordination, they struck down its defenses, exploited its weaknesses, and brought it crashing down.
When it was over, the palace began to collapse around them
"Time to go," jumper said
They all made their escape and returned to reality
After that, they split up
Minute had work
Jumper had other missions
Planet had to study
Spoke stayed behind in the city as the rain started to fall
Cold droplets blurred the streets, turning neon lights into streaks of color
He pulled his hood up and quickened his pace
Then he bumped into someone
Hard
"Whoops, sorry, didn't see you" they spoke
Spoke looked up
It was mapic
Mapic extended a hand to help him up, but spoke ignored it and stood on his own
"Right, uh... hey mapic"
Mapic smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes
He already knew
Not that spoke hated him exactly, but that something about him kept people at a distance
"Fancy seeing you here," mapic said lightly
Spoke scoffed
"We're literally in the middle of the city"
Mapic let out a small, awkward laugh
"Right, well anyways, I just came back from a photoshoot and thought I might need a break"
Spoke muttered "Rightt.."
"I was heading to the local café. Would you like to accompany me?"
Spoke raised an eyebrow
"Uh... Sure, I guess. But you're paying"
Mapic nodded
"Deal"
They quietly made their way to the city's local café, leblanc
A few customers immediately recognized mapic, but he ignored the stares and kept walking
Spoke watched him for a moment before sitting down across from him
"So, uh... you're pretty famous. Must be awesome, huh?"
Mapic didn't answer right away
Something about his expression tightened for a second
"I'm guessing you hate it?"
Mapic exhaled slowly
"Every goal has its ups and downs, right?"
"I mean sure," spoke said. "But if you hate it that much, why not just quit?"
Mapic went quiet
The question landed heavier than expected
For a moment, the mask slipped
Fame wasn't his choice
It never had been
It was something built around him, for expectations he didn't fully understand, for a future someone else decided for him
But the waitress arrived before he could answer
Spoke ordered a strawberry milkshake
Mapic ordered a black coffee
The rest of the afternoon passed in a strange calm
Mapic talked more than before, mostly about philosophy, half explaining ideas like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else
Spoke mostly listened
Occasionally he nodded, occasionally he just stared out the window
The next morning at school, spoke walked up to jumper and planet with a grin
"Dude, I got some dirt on mapic"
Jumper looked up
"Really?"
"He doesn't want to be famous. I think someone's forcing him to do all this"
Jumper sighed
"That doesn't really sound like a fun fact.."
Spoke shrugged
"Never said it was. But I'm pretty sure we could ruin his reputation with it"
Jumper just looked at planet, giving him a long "is this guy serious?" expression before slowly turning back to spoke
Spoke shrugged like he hadn't just said something completely unhinged
Planet immediately pointed at him
"See? He's jealous"
"I'm not jealous"
"You are though"
"I'm literally not"
Jumper rubbed his temple
"..can you two be normal for like five minutes?"
Before planet could argue back, the classroom fell quiet again
The coach walked in their class in front of everyone, his voice shaking as he started confessing everything he had done
"I'm so sorry for abusing, manipulating, and harassing so many of you," the coach said, his voice breaking. "I'll turn myself in and accept whatever comes next, just please... forgive me!"
But spoke wasn't really listening anymore
Neither was jumper
Planet was, but only halfway
They already knew this moment would come.
Everyone turned toward the door
The principal had just entered and pulled the coach out of the class to the point he was quite literally dragging him off the floor while he continued sobbing.
Planet smirked
"The mission worked"
Spoke slowly turned his head toward mapic, expecting some kind of reaction
But mapic didn't react at all
No shock
No confusion
Just calm silence
Almost like he had already known what was coming.
After school, the police arrived to arrest the coach
Classes ended early, and students were allowed to leave for the day
The hallway buzzed with noise, rumors spreading faster than the footsteps leaving the building
Spoke, planet, jumper, and minute met up at their usual spot behind the alleyway near the station
Minute had missed school entirely, so the others started filling him in immediately
"bro you should've seen it! the dude just broke down in front of the whole class and confessed everything" planet spoke
Minute blinked
"Wait, like actually confessed?"
Jumper nodded
"Yeah, police showed up right after. Took him straight out"
Minute leaned back against the wall
"That's actually wild.. seems like the plan worked."
Planet grinned
"We're kind of insane for that one"
Jumper gave him a side eye
"You're the least serious person I know"
"That's my charm"
Minute crossed his arms
"So the calling card actually worked?"
"Worked perfectly" jumper said
"Like always" planet added
Spoke didn't say anything
He was staring at the ground, unusually quiet
Planet noticed first
"Yo bro, whats up with you?"
Spoke blinked
"Huh?"
"You're thinking way too hard right now"
Jumper glanced over
"He's right. You good?"
Spoke hesitated
Then finally spoke up
"It's just... mapic"
Planet tilted his head
"What about him?"
Spoke looked up slightly
"He didn't react"
Minute frowned
"React to what? "
"Any of it," spoke said "The confession, the coach breaking down.. nothing. He just sat there like he already knew it would happen"
For a moment, there was silence
Then planet shrugged
"Dude, he's a detective. Maybe hes just used to weird stuff like that"
Jumper nodded
"Yeah, doesn't sound that deep"
Minute shrugged as well
"Probably overthinking it"
Spoke didn't look convinced, but he let it go
"...maybe"
The conversation slowly shifted back to jokes and school talk
The tension faded again like it was never there.