Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 546: The defiant princess and her dragon mother.

Ala seemed to be taken back, like she did not expect a scolding from Sunshine. Her wide eyes sought Leah for help.

Before Sunshine could continue, Leah moved. With a speed born of motherly instinct, she stepped directly in front of her daughter, shielding her.

"Sunshine, stop," Leah said firmly. Her voice was calm, but there was a steel in it that made the nearby soldiers turn their heads. That was the kind of voice used by Leah when she was anticipating a fight. And 99% of the time, she won those fights.

So, was this finally the day they got to witness the fight between the powerful aerokinetic and cryokinetic?

"I know you’re angry. I’m angry too." Leah sent Ala a sharp look before turning her eyes back to Sunshine. "But she is a child who is terrified but pretending to be brave. My child. Only I get to shout at her for being stupid, others are not allowed to do so. I will not have you scaring my baby any more than you would want me to do the same to your boys. So please, refrain from snapping at her in public. I hope this will never happen again or we will have problems."

Someone gasped.

It sounded like threats were being made.

The two women stared at each other_ one a frustrated leader of a fortress who had the duty to keep everyone safe, the other a survivor who had just fought through hell and a mother that would do anything to protect her child against all forces that sought to hurt her in any way.

Sunshine’s jaw worked, her chest heaving. It wasn’t that she did not understand Leah, but she was angry. Ala was wise beyond her years, and she had all these superpowers. Her boys and the other kids on the squad did not. Ala should not have teleported them to the forest.

But, knowing Ariel, he had supported Ala’s decision fully. Maybe he had even suggested it. If she were in Leah’s place, she would not want a stranger yelling at Ariel either. Disciplining could wait until they had some privacy. Finally, she closed her eyes and let out a long, shuddering breath.

"You have my apologies," she looked from Ala to Leah. "But this is not over. We will continue later."

She turned away, to begin an inspection of the area. They needed to know if the watchers had dropped anything else that they missed. As she paced, trying to cool her temper, her boot kicked something metallic on the ground. She looked down and picked up a black plastic device with a single green button. It looked like a toy of some sort, then she saw Mickey holding another one just like it.

"What is this?" Sunshine asked, holding it up.

"Ala said that it is called nullifier," Earl said, stepping closer, displaying his.

Mickey spoke up eagerly. "We used these things to stop the mutants from making that humming sound. It’s the only reason we were able to fight back. Without them, we’d all have frozen or.... what is it that you said would happen?" She looked at Ala who did not respond.

Sunshine turned the device over in her hand. It was not sophisticated at first sight but with a closer look it was too sophisticated, the material was nothing she had seen before. She looked at the Kid Squad. "Where did you get this, Ala?"

Ala didn’t flinch. She just looked away and shrugged, a classic "I’m not telling you anything" gesture. She still carried herself like a princess that she truly was_ not answerable to anyone except her parents.

Leah brushed the top of Ala’s head. "It’s okay baby, you don’t have to say anything."

Sunshine sighed. A princess and her obsessed dragon mother, what a pair they made!

Phillip walked over then, pointing at the strange guns the kids were carrying. "And while we’re asking questions... what kind of guns are those? I saw the kids take down those mutants with single shots; the beasts turned into ashes. They are much more impressive than the dragonoids. It makes no sense that kids have them and we don’t."

He gave Sunshine a look that said: do something about this quickly. Confiscate the guns and give them to us.

The adults began to look closer at the kids’ gear. It wasn’t just the guns. There were gloves with strange, glowing strings that shot arrows, but no sign of any arrows. They had knives that seemed to emanate an energy. One stab and fifty percent of the beast’s ability was compromised.

Sunshine frowned and quietly asked the system about the weapons.

A light rolled over the children as the system scanned the weapons.

[Host, the weapons and nullifier are from Boulder creek. A quick scan has detected prime core energy within. It is likely that these are some of the weapons that royal family of Boulder Creek created. The rumors that they failed must be lies.

Perhaps you can persuade her to sell us some of the weapons she has. I guarantee that with my abilities that they can be upgraded.]

Sunshine’s eyes narrowed. She looked at Ala, who was now relaxed in her mother’s embrace. The girl looked exhausted, but there was a secretive glint in her eyes that made Sunshine even more curious about her secrets.

Was she truly a child, or an adult soul in a child’s body?

"Ma’am check this out," An officer showed her two burnt, orange-tipped devices, "I picked them from different spots in the area. what could they be?"

Sunshine believed that it had to be another weapon that Ala had brought with her from boulder creek.

"Ala," Sunshine said, her voice dropping to a low, serious tone. "I am going to need you to handover all your weapons for assessment, and we need to have a conversation."

Leah felt the shift in the air and pulled Ala even closer, wrapping her arms around the girl as if she expected Sunshine to snatch her away right then and there, take her to one of her dungeons to be interrogated by Carson.

"She’s tired, Sunshine," Leah said defensively. "The kids are all tired. Can we please just get home before the next wave of beasts hits us?"

Sunshine looked from the mysterious weapons to the defiant girl, and her even more defiant mother. Then, she looked back at the dark forest. "Fine," she said, though her desire for the weapons screamed no. "We can go home. But the moment we pass those Fortress gates, the ’Kid Squad’ is officially suspended until further notice. And Ala? You and I are not done."

Mickey sighed, leaning her head on her giant log. "I knew it. Grounded until forever. Totally worth it, though."

Pico closed his eyes briefly, regret flooding his veins. "Oh men."

"We all knew there were consequences." Ariel said.

"I highly doubt that." Ala suddenly spoke. "If you want to find out about that small orange device before it is too late, then you will take back your decision to suspend our squad."

All around them, people’s jaws dropped. Never had they seen Sunshine’s authority defied so much. By a little girl at that!

Sunshine’s brows flew upwards. "What?"

"You have got some balls young lady." Nimo said.

"Neems!" Leah covered Ala’s ears. "Watch what you say."

There was a loud growl far away as if reminding them to get out of the forest as soon as possible.