Both Thorben and the man went into the sitting room where the man's fellow colleagues were seated. The man gestured for Thorben to sit down on the couch opposite. Thorben sat down while he joined his colleagues.
"So what are we talking about?" Is one of you guys Mr Stuart?", questioned Thorben.
"What are we talking about?", another one put on a grimace, "Are you not the one that's meant to let us know what your decision is?"
"I know, I know", Thorben gestured for him to calm down, "Are you the Mr Stuart?", he asked. From his judgement, he felt the man was an authoritative kind of person, though it was not really correct. This man in question is the driver.
"None of us is the Mr Stuart", replied the first man.
"So where is he? He isn't coming?", asked Thorben.
"He's here with us", replied the third man. Thorben looked round in a state of confusion to know where Mr Stuart was. "He's not here in this room", he gestured for Thorben to stay calm, "When you see him, don't panic."
"I don't understand. What's wrong?", Thorben got baffled.
"Out came Mr Stuart all of a sudden into the sitting room. The sight of a human-sized ant coming towards Thorben petrified him a lot that he got up immediately and trotted far away from the couch. "What's that?", he gasped out.
"That?", the driver behaved dramatically surprised, "This is Mr Stuart our boss!", he exclaimed.
Thorben could not believe both his eyes and ears. "What?!", he reacted, "The Mr Stuart, the popular scientist in Munich is a human-sized ant all this while. I see why you've been keeping your identity a secret", he gaped at Mr Stuart.
Mr Stuart heaved a sigh, looking disappointed. "This is the last thing I wanted to hear."
"And it actually talks", he got awed, staring at Mr Stuart. Mr Stuart got slightly provoked over what he said - his three employees could see so.
The third man then cautioned Thorben. "That was offensive. Address Mr Stuart as he", he scorned.
"But Mr Stuart is an ant. Are ants addressed as he or she?", he asked, feeling surprised what he said was taken as offensive. Little did he know this statement was rather a lot more disrespectful. Everyone, including Stuart stared at him with a straight expression to show they were not happy with him. Thorben decided to mind his language to avoid a possible outrage from everyone from igniting. He went close to Mr Stuart and offered a handshake. "Hi! My name's Thorben", he introduced himself formally. Mr Stuart ignored him and went to sit at the armrest of the couch where his employees were seated. Thorben slowly sat down sheepishly on the couch reserved for him alone.
"So what's your decision? You've agreed to be a Super Creature?", inquired Mr Stuart.
"Yes! I'm willing", he answered with zeal right away, "Anything to save the city of Munich." Mr Stuart observed him closely for a while and turned to the three men, who glimpsed at each other, wondering why he was looking at them. Suddenly, Stuart turned his focus back to the boy.
"You know it ain't an ordinary villain you're gonna battle against right? It's a super villain", he notified Thorben.
"Is there any Super Creature that didn't face a super villain?", Thorben asked rhetorically with a casual smile.
"Yeah! That's true", he replied vaguely. He thought of what next to say.
"So...I said I'm willing to be a Super Creature", said Thorben, "Is there anything I need to know? Anything I need to do?", he inquired of them.
"First of all", Stuart introduced, "I'm Mr Stuart and if things go on smoothly for both of us, I'll be your Super Creator", he said.
"Oh! Okay", Thorben reacted and nodded his head to show he was paying attention.
"You're gonna be Antboy", Stuart continued, "You'll enjoy some stuffs ants always enjoy. Climbing up vertical surfaces like the walls of buildings, powerful limbs, light weight so you won't break your bones when you fall", he paused so Thorben could assimilate what he had just said.
"I was beginning to feel I was gonna be a Super Creature with some ant attributes from the moment you said you are to be my Super Creator", Thorben blurted out. He realised what he just said was a bit offensive when he saw everyone looking at him flatly. "I didn't mean to be rude. My bad", he quickly apologized.
Mr Stuart heaved a sigh in an attempt to overlook Thorben's accidental offense. He continued;"You'll be able to burrow into places, you'll enjoy super strength and have some expertise in martial arts."
Thorben was left awestruck after hearing the multiple awesome powers he was going to enjoy as Antboy. "Awesome!", he reacted, "They're awesome and a lot. I could even point out one or two super abilities ants don't even enjoy", he said.
"They wouldn't have been this many", Stuart replied, "The super abilities that were not even known for ants were the ones I'd only made the necessary substances for except for the climbing part. I think the only things known for ants I took into consideration was their small size nature and them being able to climb. I made it possible for you to be as minute as an ant whenever you desire", he explained.
"Really?", he got amazed, "But you didn't mention it when listing the super abilities I'm likely gonna have."
"Well...it's one of the benefits the Antboy costume comes with", replied Stuart.
"That's awesome", he reacted, feeling much more willing to be a Super Creature.
"You know being a Super Creature got some bad sides right?", asked Stuart, "You'll have to sacrifice a lot of time saving people. You could also sustain some injuries of some sort while - you know - tryna stop the villain", he added.
"Those ain't what will make me not to accept working under the SHC as a Super Creature", said Thorben, looking determined.
"I'm surprised you didn't take long to accept being an SHC's Super Creature", Stuart gazed at him, "What made you accept the offer? Is it for the money?", he inquired.
"No amount of money is valuable as someone's life", Thorben squeezed his face in surprise, "I accepted the offer mainly because of the chaos that could befall on us if no one's able to stop the villain emerging soon as you guys foresaw. There would be a lot of interference in our daily activities", he gave his reason, bearing in mind the upcoming annual games event.
"I love your reason. It shows you're gonna be committed to the very end", Stuart gave him a nod of approval.
After a short reign of silence, Thorben questioned; "So when am I gonna be made officially Antboy?"
"Uhmmm", Stuart thought for a short while, "How about you meet us same venue the next day by 4pm?", he suggested.
"No problem then. See you tomorrow by 4pm then", Thorben replied.
The man that met him with the offer, said to him; "You'll be driven from here to our company."
"Then why don't I just meet you guys at Mr Stuart's company?", Thorben suggested.
"We're trying to make sure the public doesn't see you walking into my company's premises. They may see your face and if Antboy emerges, you could be suspected. I don't want to take such risky move", Stuart replied at once.
"So will driving me to your company chage anything?", he asked rhetorically, "I'll still have to come down the car and walk into the building myself." The three employees and Mr Stuart looked at each other, all aware they had to let him know of their plan. Thorben felt there was something they were yet to tell him and got curious about it. "What's on you guys mind?", he asked them.
"You'll have to hide in a box. They will carry you inside my company while you're in the box", replied Mr Stuart, referring to his employees.
"I'll be in a box? How will I even breathe?", Thorben got startled.
"Don't worry about that", the second employee assured him, "Holes were made all over the box. Thorben looked at four of them strangely - he felt hiding in a box was completely absurd.