It was a day like any other where people went about their daily business. Children went to school, and people worked, bought, sold, and enjoyed themselves, completely unaware of the threat looming above them.

"I've waited so long for this,"

Marcelo said, his voice trembling with excitement. He floated high over New York with a half-crazed expression on his face. And then, he did the unthinkable.

"Be sucked into another dimension by this ever-gluttonous mass of dimensional energy!"

After he had commanded the space, he threw his right hand up and formed a black hole in his hands. As it consumed more and more mass, it grew in size until it became visible, even from high up in the stratosphere. 

The people began to panic, but it was already too late for them, as the black hole sucked them all up instantaneously. It didn't just stop there, either. It kept expanding and devouring more land until the entire country had been swept up by it. When Marcelo saw all this unfold, a twisted, satisfied smile crept up, and he said,

"My work here is done."

And teleported to where he had sent the victims. 

 

***

 

Jeffery and Dwayne were at a bar when it happened. Suddenly, everybody disappeared, leaving Jeffery and Dwayne alone to process what they had witnessed. 

"W-what just happened?!"

Dwayne asked in a panicked voice, but Jeffery replied calmly,

"This must have been lord Marcelo's work..."

"H-how do you know?"

Jeffery took a sip from his cup of wine and answered,

"I've worked with him before, so I know some of his tricks."

Then, he emptied the cup in one gulp and continued,

"That Administrator can bend space and time to his will, so I wouldn't put it past him to cause something of this magnitude."

"What do you mean?"

Dwayne asked.

"Look outside, genius."

Dwayne reluctantly stood up from his stool and walked outside, only to discover that—

"Everybody's gone..."

"You can say that again,"

Jeffery said as he walked towards the exit. He stopped right next to where Dwayne was, and as if he had suddenly remembered something, he added,

"Also, I wouldn't put it past him to mess with the Coliseum."

Dwayne looked at him and frowned, saying,

"I'd be grateful if that were the case. I hate that place."

Jeffery shrugged and replied,

"To each their own, I guess."

"How can you be so calm?"

Dwayne asked, and Jeffery placed his hand on his chin and considered it for a while. Then, he answered,

"I dunno. I've always been able to read people, so this doesn't come as a surprise to me."

He narrowed his eyes as he continued,

"I could tell he had a deep-seated grudge against the Americans for whatever reason. It showed especially when we were tasked with killing the vice president. I was sneaking glances at him, and the hatred in his eyes as he stared at the White House lives rent-free in my mind."

He paused and furrowed his brows.

"He was also strangely impatient, but he did well to hide it."

The two of them lapsed into silence for a few seconds before Dwayne asked,

"How do you know he messed with the Coliseum?"

"Oh, that? It's just a hunch, really... Wanna confirm it?"

"Yeah,"

Dwayne replied, and then they journeyed on in silence. So many thoughts raced through Dwayne's mind as they approached the Coliseum.

He always seemed to be so aloof. Was that an act? If he really can read people as well as he claims, I wonder what he'll have to say about—

The idea struck him like a lightning bolt, so he asked,

"What do you think about Lady Lydia?"

"She's my goddess! My savior! The most beautiful woman to ever exist!"

I guess love is blind, after all. Well, no luck there, I guess...

Just as he was about to write him off, he added,

"She's wickedly smart, but she also tends to be overconfident. It will lead to her downfall if she's not careful, but her pride will never accept my warning."

"Did you try to warn her?"

"Yeah, but she laughed it off and told me I worried too much."

They had arrived at the Coliseum, where a chaotic scene awaited them. Jim came running out of the Coliseum, panting heavily. He always seemed like such an easy-going guy, so whatever could frazzled him to this extent had to be something serious. 

"What happened?"

Dwayne asked, concern written all over his face.

"The Madam..."

He said in between his ragged breaths, 

"No, let me start from the beginning."

He looked at both of them and started recounting what happened.

"We were watching the finals when suddenly, our two contestants vanished before our very eyes! And it didn't just stop there! Further investigation showed that all the participants had disappeared with them, and when the Madam found out..."

His voice started trembling.

"She— She burned with fury! And then, one casualty led to another and just— please don't go in!"

"Well, what do you know? I was right,"

Jeffery said with an aloof smile, but Dwayne retorted, 

"This isn't the time to be saying things like that. Anyway, where were you going?"

"I don't know! Anywhere from here would be fine!"

"Okay, let's go..."

But Jeffery seemed to be lost in thought for a moment.

"Jeffery!"

"Oh, ah, sorry. Yes, let's go!"

And so, the three Irregulars returned to the bar and hid there.