[IC] To be or not to be (Heroes)

[StarBoi]

The pleasant sound of a very large explosion filled the air. The man in the black jumpsuit with the mask on leaned his head back and inhaled deeply through his nose. "Ahh. Nothing like the smell of destruction in the mor- I mean middle of the night. Er, what time is it?" He pulled back the wrist part of his glove and checked his sun dial wrist watch. "This thing is broken!" Without hesitation he removed it from his wrist and threw it over his shoulder. Another man in a shinboi-esque outfit ran from the smoke filled area before the first man and began attacking. This second man had no mask, his black ponytail blew behind him as he ran, slashed with his katana and flipped. "Your ridiculous antics will only get you so far, hero." The second said with a thick Japanese accent.

Black Jack, the first man in the black jumpsuit, laughed hysterically as the other slashed and flipped over him. He had easily dodged rolled and was now facing the armed man. "HERO?" Black Jack waved his arms up and down. "I'm a lot of things, Kenji, but I ain't no hero. BTW is your name really Kenji because that's the most cliche Asian name in the book. No offense." He laughed hard at his own joke. Kenji, now even more upset after almost being blown up and then being insulted he dashed forward, he vanished from place to place as he got closer. This was his power. To disappear and reappear. While Kenji was doing this, his enemy was casually kneeling down and placing his hands against the ground pulling them up slowly to create two matching scimitars in both hands. "Oh, hell yes." Black Jack stood and blocked the oncoming attack from Kenji.

Kenji snickered, disappearing and reappearing behind Black Jack, he stabbed his sword straight through the leather-clad man. "NGH SON OF A BITCH." Black Jack let out a pained sound but turned quickly and kicked Kenji square in the stomach with his heavy boot. The Japanese man flew backwards and skidded across the ground. He lept high into the air and landed directly on top of Kenji with his knee to the man's throat. "Well damn, I think this belongs to you. You might have misplaced it in my back." Black Jack pulled the sword from his back and stabbed it into the ground beside Kenji's head. "Oh yea." He burped and rolled his shoulders a bit. "My compliments to the chef, ass hat."

"Now, you pony tail wearing bag of dicks. Where is that piece of shit named Shirley."

Kenji glared up at Black Jack. "He's not here."

"No shit Sherlock. Where the hell is he?" Black Jack demanded, pressing his knee harder against Kenji's throat. "I'm gonna kill you in five seconds if you don't fucking tell me."

[c3p-0h]

An otherwise quiet night was shattered as an explosion like a thunderclap sounded through the air. The world was still for a heartbeat. And then came rumbling, crashing, breaking, screaming.

Trick's head darted up, amber eyes wide and searching for the source. She'd been on an uneventful patrol, making her way from rooftop to rooftop as she'd scanned the streets. But now she darted forward, teleporting several blocks at a time until she came upon a collapsing building, screams echoing off the crumbling glass and rebar. It was an office building, deserted save for a few night guards. Trick's eyes found a window, a panicking man on the other side. blood poured from wounds on his head and leg. In a muffled pop Trick teleported inside, a gloved hand roughly finding the course fabric of his uniform. And in an instant they were both gone, reappearing on the roof she'd been on. The man, still terrified and now even more disoriented, collapsed to the ground, still screaming. But Trick didn't stay to calm him. She disappeared again, flitting throughout the crumbling building, listening for screams to guide her.

She only found two others before the building was nothing but rubble. Blood dripped from a cut on her shoulder, and another across her eyebrow. Screams sounded from below the slabs of concrete and rebar, trapped where she could not see. Trick stood over it, teleporting around the perimeter, looking for any for of opening. She found none. With a growl of frustration, of pain, of failure, she looked up. One of the people she'd pulled, a young woman with a bleeding side and dust covering her face, stared back at her with wide, glassy eyes. Her chest was fluttering up and down, her breath coming out in rapid puffs. She was in shock.

Trick gave a sharp call, "Hey." The woman jumped, only to cringe in pain at the movement. "Call 911." Trick didn't wait to see if the woman understood. Instead she disappeared, teleporting her way to where she heard distinct shouting. It didn't sound frightened. It sounded angry.

Trick was angry. Trick was downright pissed.

She found two men, both strangely dressed and also both doubtlessly the cause of the explosions. She didn't stop to think. In an instant the prone man on the ground was gone, only to reappear on some stray rubble, a piece of rebar piercing his gut. He was stunned for a moment before the pain set in. Then he screamed. But Trick didn't wait there to hear it.

With a muffled pop of ozone, she appeared behind the other man who was still kneeling, bent over. The edge of a sword was touching his throat. The entire exchange had taken less than a second.

Trick spoke in a voice that was low and rasping, but no doubt feminine.

"Enough."

[StarBoi]

When his enemy had disappeared, Black Jack cursed under his breath only to hear him scream. The moment he looked up a sword was at his throat. "Uh, ha hah." He laughed nervously. "Look lady. This isn't what it looks like... I mean... er..." He didn't know what to say to her, he wasn't used to being around woman and actually speaking to them. It was mostly the sex that happened between him and the opposite gender. He took a moment to clear his throat before he frowned beneath his mask. "Look, LADY. If that bastard dies I'll lose any possible leads to find the other bastard that fucked me my whole life!! Er.. not literally." Wrong choice of words. "So anyway. You gotta let me go so I can finish what I started. It's important!"

Kenji clutched his stomach, kneeling on one knee on the ground. "Aghh..." He winced and looked at his hand that was soaked with blood. His eyes rested on the two a bit away from him. It brought a smirk to his face. "Oh. Two bad young weakling. You'll never find Shirley man now." The Japanese man spat blood on to the ground before disappearing in a small puff of smoke.

"NO!!! FUCK." Black Jack grabbed the scimitars that he had dropped used them to push Trick's sword from his throat. Quickly he stood up and ran toward where he last saw Kenji. "No! No! No!!" He winced and wrapped one hand around his gut. "Ughh..." Black Jack turned to face Trick, glaring at her beneath his mask. "YOU. YOU LET HIM GET AWAY. That was my only lead to get him."

[c3p-0h]

Trick jumped back as the man pushed her sword away and ran to where the other had disappeared. Her muscles were tensed, ready to spring into action. The man turned back to her and she met his glare with one of her own.

"I don't care," she bit back at him. "Listen." Echoes of screams and chaos drifted through the air. A siren called out in the distance. "Do you hear that? All the damage you've done already?" Her voice was flat, anger flitting just below the surface. Her grip tightened around the hilt of her blade. "You're going to answer for it."

[StarBoi]

Black Jack tilted his head and listened to the sounds his destruction. A sadistic grin grew under his mask. He felt no remorse for what he had done. "Yeah I hear it. What of it?" It was hard to tell that she was angry, he could kind of tell but didn't know what to do about it. "Sorry, Doll Face. But you cost me something important. Now YOU'RE going to answer for what you've done." He stood there with his arm crossed for a moment, then he dashed forward arms behind him and his body leaned forward to run faster. Once he was in front of her, he slashed in an X shape at her chest. "Not cool! You're going down!" After which he jumped up and attempted to bicycle kick this new comer in the face.

[c3p-0h]

Anger flashed and her eyes went sharp at the man's casual dismissal. The 'endearment' only pissed her off even more. Then he was charging at her. Trick brought her other hand to the hilt of her sword and raised it to block his first strike. A harsh clang sounded in the air as the back of her katana met his scimitars. The impact sent a shock of pain up her arms. Strong. Keeping her weight on her toes, Trick took a step back, giving ground in order to dodge his kick. A rush of air lifted her dyed black bangs, the force of a hit only narrowly missed. The sirens were starting to grow louder.

Keeping her momentum, Trick pushed one foot to the side and slashed her sword in a diagonal motion. Before the move was even completed, she teleported to a new location, to the left of the man when she'd previously been in front of him, and swung the blade up in a vicious arc.

[StarBoi]

Black Jack dodged easily even though she had been almost as fast as him with her teleportation. The sirens were nearing and he had to get out of there. "As much as I want to destroy you for making me lose him, I gotta go. Until we meet again, doll face." He smirked beneath his mask and crouched, pressing his gloved hands against the concrete. When he jumped back a wall appeared before him. "Gotta go!" If and when the other looked behind the wall, Black Jack would be gone.

He wasn't far. Jack was knelt behind a nearby building, covering his stomach with his right hand. "GOD DAMN IT!" Quickly he covered his mouth, peering around the corner, making sure Trick didn't find him. "Ergaferga." He muttered to himself. His voice deepened and he said jokingly, "she'll never find me here." Blood seeped through his fingers and dripped onto the ground. "I was so close, so close... oh, I'm so gonna kill that woman. SOOOOOOOO gonna kill her."

[c3p-0h]

Trick felt irritation spark like fire in her blood. She slammed a palm against the wall – that hadn't been there a moment ago – and disappeared in a pop. She reappeared standing on top of the wall, glaring down on the other side. The man was gone. With a growl of frustration she was gone again, only to pop back into existence on the ground again, already half way through throwing a wicked side kick. The sole of her foot collided with the wall in a thud. Trick held the pose for a moment, her breath heavy but even.

People were screaming. Dying. Both of the monumental asshats who were responsible had gotten away. She had let them get away.

Her hands were fisted at her sides, one clenched white around the hilt of her sword. The sirens were blaring in the night, but had stopped approaching. They'd arrived at the building, then. Trick fought the urge to run her blade through the wall. She'd just end up damaging it anyway. Instead, she sheathed it in a smooth, swift motion.

Trick teleported her way back to the building. The clashing sounds of wails and shouts and blaring sirens threatened to overwhelm her as she looked at the scene. A crew was trying to move the rubble, looking for the remaining people. Blue and red flashed from parked police cars and ambulances. The three guards she'd managed to pull from the building were all with different paramedics, being talked to in calm voices and having blankets draped around their shoulders.

The young woman Trick had told to call the ambulance was there. Trick looked at her for a moment. As though sensing her presence, the woman blinked and slowly turned to look at Trick. They watched each other while the paramedic took her vitals. Guilt scratched its way up her throat, suffocating her with the things she hadn't done.

Trick teleported away.

She reappeared next to one of the men trying to dig out the trapped guards. He jumped, eyes widening as he registered her presence.

People were unsure what to make of the masked vigilante. Some saw her as a much needed heroes. Others saw her as a sanctimonious kid making life harder for the cops and causing more trouble than she was worth. But after a moment the man seemed to make his decision about her. She was there to help.

"I just need to see them. Then I can get them out." He nodded and turned back to his work. The other men followed suit.

Trick was there for five more hours. They pulled one survivor from the wreckage.

One survivor and two bodies.

---

An alarm blared into the little apartment, shattering whatever peace she'd been able to find. Lexa greeted the morning with a glare and a tired moan. She was sore. She was exhausted. She felt like shit.

She had work in an hour.

Mustering up more energy than she thought she was capable of, she grabbed her pillow and threw it at the clock in a flash. The blaring didn't stop. With a sigh, Lexa sat up.

Her mattress was flat on the ground, a few rumpled blankets and pillows tangled around her. Frank, her old doberman, was curled up on her legs, pinning them down and pretending he was a lapdog. She was fairly certain she'd lost feeling in them. With a sigh, Lexa leaned over and scratched behind his ears. His eyes stayed closed and he gave a little huff. Lexa's mouth twitched up into what was almost a smile.

Eventually she managed to move Frank off her legs, work some feeling back into them, do her morning ritual, and head out the door for work. There was a line to the entrance of her bookstore. Lexa stilled until she remembered it was Saturday. She closed her eyes in resignation.

It was no secret that bookstores were going out of business. So as some kind of grand plan to get more business, every Saturday they played a movie in the reading room, and had discounts of books with that theme. This week the theme was superheroes. All comic books were 30% off, and they were watching a movie Lexa had zero interest in. Some jackass on a by-the-books revenge quest because someone made him ugly while giving him superpowers. Apparently it was pretty popular based on how many people had lined up to see it. Lexa found it obnoxious.

Shoving her way past the fanboys, Lexa dug out her keys and unlocked the door. At least they were civilized enough to wait for her ok before entering in a calm and orderly fashion. She popped in the movie, set up her counter, and pulled out her phone. News articles of the chaos from the night before appeared on her screen. Her eyebrows furrowed together, a mix of frustration, guilt, sadness, and anger churning in her stomach. Her face was otherwise still as she scrolled through the articles.

[StarBoi]

After the confrontation with the one he knew as Trick, Black Jack scuttled up a rooftop. From this spot he could see the chaos in the distance. The destroyed building, the frenzied citizens among the cops and EMTs, and then there was her, Trick. She was a pretty, young thing, he had never seen anything like her before, well except for Six. Six was a beauty too. But this girl, with her long, raven black hair and piercing amber eyes, she was something to behold. Too bad he had to kill her. "Ah well, shit happens." While watching the girl help the victims of his destruction, he knew he had to get to his safe house so he could patch himself up, he wasn't about to let himself bleed to death. No freaking way.

After stripping out of his leather jumpsuit and standing there in his boxers for a moment he grinned and threw on the clothes he had hidden on the rooftop in a rainbow dufflebag. So very unnoticeable. "I'm not gay... not that there is anything wrong with being gay.... I JUST LIKE RAINBOWS OKAY?" He shouted out over the sirens and such. "Ahh, good to get out of that sexy leather getup. Though it makes my glutes look fantastic." The young man could feel blood seeping through his shirt and groaned. "UGHHH." He groaned and clutched his dufflebag close to him as he jumped and rolled onto the ground. "Haha! I'm okay really, my head broke my fall." Jack said to no one as he lay on the ground for a moment, with his dufflebag on his chest.

Getting to his feet, Jack trudged home, leaving drops of blood behind him, somewhere along the line the wound stopped bleeding, but it wasn't going to heal itself, he had to take care of it before it began to gush blood again. He spoke in his deep, joking voice as he arrived at his safehouse, "this just in. Local criminal leaves blood trail straight to his home where authorities have apprehended him. FUUUUUUCK." His vision had already been blurry but now it was even worse, how he had found his way home in the dark with blurred vision was anyone's guess. "HONEY, I'M HOME." Jack burst through the door and tripped over a pile of dirty socks in front of the door. "ASSHOLE."

"Baaaaaa" From one of the bedroom of the small one story house came an average sized, ginger-looking goat who came over and chewed on Jack's hair.

"Yes, yes, I love you too Baaaaab." He lay there and closed his eyes for a moment. "just don't tear out my hair okay? It's already white, I don't need to have bald spots like an old guy." Jack shooed Bob away and stood up to walk into his room. The place was a mess. Clothes all over the floor, old pizza boxes and soda cans, plenty of thing for Bob to chew on and eat. Jack got to work cleaning and stitching his wounds, after which he passed out in his clothes, boots and all.

---

In the morning, Jack woke up only a bit achey. He was used to getting thrown around and things of that nature. However the getting stabbed part was unexpected and hurt like a bitch the next day. "UGHHH" Jack rolled out of bed and onto the floor on top of Bob who made a frightened sound and scurried away from underneath his roommate. "You could give me some more loving for not paying rent you know!" He stood and slowly, very slowly, got dressed in another outfit, this one just barely clean enough to wear. After that was finished he made some coffee in a dirty coffee pot and drank it on the floor. "Yawwwwwn, what is this? a Soap Opera? BORED!!" Then he remembered, there was a movie showing down at the bookstore that he wanted to go see, a movie he loved dearly, a movie that described his own life. Only his life was real, real torture, real pain, not that fake hollywood stuff. In any case, he had to go see it. "EY baby, gotta go!" He ran out the front door with coffee in hand.

Jack arrived at the book store when everyone was filing in. He dumped his empty coffee mug into the nearest trash can and entered after everyone else. They all sat down and he was left to stand after all the seats were filled up with fanboys. Shrugging he stood up behind them as the lights were dimmed and the movie turned on. As the introduction movie ads played he looked around the bookstore he had only been in a few times. That's when he saw her. The most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, /that day/. She would be his next conquest. Er no, that's was wrong. He loved women, he didn't see them as objects, he just liked to do it with them was all. "Crap." He looked away, almost blushing.

[c3p-0h]

Lexa let out a slow breath as she closed the internet app on her phone. Closing her eyes she ran a hand through her long, crimson bangs. Most network news stations were finding some way to at least partially blame her. Either she'd brought down the building herself, or her late-night hero nonsense had attracted more devastating foes, or she had let two people die, or she hadn't even managed to catch the people responsible, on and on. She put her phone screen-down on the counter and brought her palms up to press into her eyes.

Christ, she was tired.

"Crap."

The hushed expletive caught her attention and Lexa glanced up. Standing behind the seats was a man who seemed to be very pointedly not looking at her. Lexa raised an eyebrow. She hadn't seen him before – and considering the fact that he was albino, she doubted she'd have forgotten.

With a sigh, Lexa rolled her eyes and pushed herself to her feet. She was too tired to worry about whatever the man was or wasn't doing. She needed caffeine. Trusting that the fanboys could manage themselves for ten minutes, she began walking towards the employee 'lounge'. It was really little more than a broom closet with a table and a few chairs, but it had a coffee maker, a sink, a mug, and all the ingredients for a surprisingly decent cup of coffee. With one last glance over her shoulder, she pushed her way inside.

[StarBoi]

Jack could feel her looking at him for a moment then heard her sigh and walk away. "Ahaha, that was close..." He face palmed and shook his head, focusing his attention on the movie. One of the teenagers who was sitting in front of him, shushed him and turned back to the movie. Jack's eyes narrowed and he raised his hands like he was going to strangle the teen who was too young to be watching the movie anyways. The kid hadn't even noticed the fact that the man standing behind him was pale white with white hair and red eyes. No one else had seen some one like him before and they often stared, as they had when he was running down the street. As they were now as he was reaching out to strangle the son of a bitch. Several other fan boys had turned their attention to him, with which he pulled his hands back and placed them behind him.

"WHAT? Never seen a man in a black v-neck before?! Or is it the pants? Do I have something on my face??!" He reached up and touched his face. "Oh gods... AM I UGLY??" He half-shouted. Now almost all of them shushed him and were looking at him some with curious expressions others with angry expressions.

"Sorry, sorry. It's Saturday, don't you all have girlfriends and/or boyfriends to be hanging out with?"

"Don't you, weirdo? Oh that's right, you're probably to ugly to have a girlfriend."

"Or boyfriend." Jack added, unaffected by the kid's mean comment. "Just watch you're damn movie. Or I'll skewer the shit out of you with a pen. I mean... nothing." He sighed and shook his head, he never was one for conversation. As the others turned their heads and refocused on the movie, Jack turned away and went to where the register was. "Hey. anyone here?"

[c3p-0h]

Lexa had just turned on the coffee maker when she heard a shout come through the door. Her eyes darted up immediately. Then she looked back down at the coffee maker. With a heavy sigh, she figured the coffee could percolate without her presence. She turned and pushed open the door to the store. The audience was visibly agitated, though quiet now. A few were glancing over at her, like students caught whispering by the teacher in class. One, the albino, was making his way over to the counter. Skewing her mouth into an almost scowl, Lexa turned from the audience diligently watching the movie, and walked to the man.

"Can I help you?" she said with an eyebrow raised, her voice low out of courtesy to the people watching the movie.

[StarBoi]

It took about 30 seconds to almost a minute for him to reply. He had to think about what he wanted to say. There were so many options. He could ask her to come home with him, or to go on a date. Or he could compliment her hair or her... her eyes. Those eyes, they were so familiar. The amber color was uncommon but not completely rare. They were not dissimilar to the girl hero, Trick that he had fought the night before. But there was no way this young book store clerk with the long, red hair could be the same girl. "Hey." He gave a small friendly smirk, he attempted to talk softly to not upset the others any more, not that he really cared. "I like your hair, is it natural? I mean of course it is, is it? Er... nevermind...doesn't matter, rough start. Sorry." Jack placed his hand on the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry sweet thang, I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me. To uh... eat food? You're not old enough to drink right? Me neither. If you want to we can go get drunk at my place. Haha." Confidence, idiot, where's that confidence that Black Jack always has??

"Is that awkward?" He lowered his voice and deepened it, attempting to be funny, "My apologies, this one is kind of an idiot." Jerking his thumb toward his chest he continued, "but anyway, wanna go on a date some time, sweet thang? Free food, nothing to lose. Say yes, you won't regret it." Jack smiled at her, placing his hands in his pockets. "What do ya say?"

"OH OF COURSE. Where are my manners?? I'm Jack" He held out a hand for her to shake. "How do you do?"

[c3p-0h]

Lexa stared blankly at the man as he babbled – well, her version of blank was more like a glare. She... honestly had no idea how to react to him. Because... what? She'd been asked out before, sure, but people who tried were usually less of... whatever this was. After a moment too long of staring back at him she finally opened her mouth.

"Not interested," she said in a flat voice. "You call me that one more time, you're getting thrown through that bookshelf." She nodded to the bookshelf in question behind him, stocked full of hardcover encyclopedias.

[StarBoi]

Jack stared at her in surprise and shuddered at her words. Although it was hard to believe that someone of her size and strength could throw him through a bookshelf, he still felt threatened just by the tone of voice she used. This girl was feisty and he appreciated that. No meant no. He hadn't often been turned down and wasn't sure what to do now. "Once again my apologies milady. What is it I can do to convince you to go out to eat with me? Nothing? Alright I'll leave you be and return to the movie, I suppose." Jack turned away, rolling his eyes a little, disappointed that he had failed. He never failed, and if he did he usually just ended up killing the one who had made him fail. But he couldn't kill her, he had no true reason too.

What was there to do now. There was not a soul to comfort him. It was rather frustrating. Then he remembered feeling a pack of cigarettes in his pocket earlier. Yes. He really needed one at this point. Without hesitation, Jack walked out of the book store and pulled out the pack, there were only two left. One for him, and one for... well. Whatever. She wouldn't like him anyway, was it the way he looked? Or was it his social awkwardness that deterred her? WHATEVER. He didn't care, there were more important things to think about. Like how he had forgotten to bring his dufflebag out on the town, luckily for him he always kept a spare hidden away somewhere in the city if he needed to change quickly. The outfit and mask wasn't cheap, but he could get money whenever despite not being a thief he was damn good at thievery.

In the distance, he heard police sirens and wondered what was going on. Probably another old-timer having a heart attack or a cat stuck in a tree. Not his problem. If it was something like, another one of his 'buddies' then it would be his problem. But no, it couldn't have been, too little chaos in the air.

With nothing to light his cigarette with, he wandered back inside and to the counter once again. "Excuse me, Miss. 'I will throw you through that bookshelf over there'. I'd HATE to bother you again." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure none of the fanboys were giving him dirty looks then returned his gaze to the red haired one. "I was wondering if you had a lighter or a match I could use... It's kind of important. Like VERY important actually. Life or death, really."

[c3p-0h]

An eyebrow quirked up at being called 'milady' of all things. But Lexa was silently relieved when he didn't call her bluff at least, and took a hint. It wasn't that she doubted her ability to bodily throw someone into a bookshelf – but her bosses, while good, kind people, only gave her so much leeway when she ran the shop. She could get away with plenty, but assaulting a customer hadn't quite made the list yet. He walked away after another minute of babbling, and Lexa let out a slow breath. She turned to walk back to the office and found her coffee finished.

Pouring herself a mug, Lexa walked back into the store and took the seat behind the counter. The fanboys were quiet, enjoying their movie. The flirty one had left through the door, standing outside the shop. Lexa heard a flash of siren through the open door before it gently shut. Her lips tightened for a moment. It was a city. Sirens could be heard every day without Trick needing to intervene. Placing her mug of coffee on the counter, she picked up her phone and pulled up the local news sites to see if anything was being reported.

The man from before chose that moment to return to her. Lexa did the slightest of jumps, so engulfed in her search that she didn't even notice him. She blinked up at him in surprise before smothering it with her usual gruffness. She absolutely was not embarrassed. Replaying his words in her mind, she glanced down to the unlit cigarette between his fingers. Looked back up at him. Stared at him in a way that said she was unimpressed.

After a moment, Lexa reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, finely engraved lighter.

"Hope it saves your life. Take it outside and don't burn the place down."

She turned back to her phone, her mouth skewing to the side slightly. It was probably nothing. She didn't need to be there.

(But what if she did? Ever since the public found out about her, it seemed like an invitation for more and more people with bad intentions and extraordinary abilities had been crawling out of the woodwork. And plus the new breed of sickos who only seemed to have numbers for names, and the men who'd gotten away last night… Memories of people screaming, dying, replayed in her head.)

Lexa glanced from her phone back out towards the door. She'd left her gear at home. She didn't have time to dye her hair. It was broad daylight. It was probably nothing.

[StarBoi]

Jack thanked her with a nod of his head and took his smoking outside. Standing outside, leaning against the outside wall of the bookstore he smoked his cigarette casually like the total bad ass he felt he was. The tortured one knew that it was only a matter of time before the trouble nearby attracted one of his own. They were naturally attracted to bad things and they hated policemen. With good reason. The cops never did them any favors, some of the cops even tried to stop them from escaping when they did, trying to return them from whence they came. The tortured life. He hated them just as much and wanted them all dead. A cop killed his only real friend in the world. The young man would never forgive them for that.

The man lowered his head, listening intensely. Only a matter of time. In the distance the sirens stopped abruptly and then there was a loud crashing sound. From what he knew about the others, and he knew the survivors rather well now, they had either blasted the car way or thrown it. Only 3 could throw things. Only 9 could cause the car to fly with a blast. "Well darlin," He spoke to himself as if there was a female with him. "That's my cue." A smirked formed across his face as he raised his head to look in the direction the chaos noises had come from. His cigarette resting lazily between his lips. Maybe now I can get my revenge on Trick...

Revenge, it seemed like his only purpose in life. He often thought about what he would do after he destroyed Shirley. No ideas ever came up, was there a life beyond torture, pain and revenge? If there was he couldn't see it. Jack spit the cigarette on the ground and stomped it out with his boot. "Murder awaits."

---

It didn't take long for him to seek out his hiding spot for his spare Black Jack outfit. The hardest part was getting the damn leather jumpsuit on. "DAMN, SHOULD'VE GONE WITH SPANDEX." He cursed under his breath on the rooftop as he hopped on one foot trying to get the outfit on. Once it was on and zipped up all the way he was already exhausted. The man placed his mask over his head and lept off the building, feet pointing downwards arms up.

When he arrived on scene the remaining police officers were hiding behind their squad car and shooting at their attacker. Once they spotted Black Jack they turned their attention to him and started shooting in his direction. "Hey, whoa, hey!" He dodged their bullets but just barely. "I'm kinda sorta here to help you folks." He laughed beneath his mask and walked past them.

"Black Jack, you're under arrest for a book full of first degree murder charges."

"If you can catch me!!" With another chuckle he ran towards the enemy whom he recognized as 9. "Hey baby, did you miss me?" Black Jack stared at the abnormally bland 'comrade' of his. The others were normally so, colorful? Well he guessed he wasn't so colorful either. Black was obviously his thing, duhh.

"Not at all." 9 threw his hands out toward Black Jack and a burst of energy exploded before him, throwing him as well as the cops and their cars back. "If you are here to kill me, I am afraid you are mistaken. I will be doing the killing today." He stared with an unamused expression toward the others.

[c3p-0h]

Lexa lost attention in the man as he followed her command and walked outside. Her brow furrowed again as she looked back down at her phone. A new headline popped up on the screen. Superhuman Havoc Downtown. The timestamp was from two minutes ago. Cursing to herself, Lexa dropped the phone and pushed herself up. She didn't have time to go back to her apartment and grab her gear. Stupid, she was so stupid for leaving it at home today. She'd just have to make do.

"Tyrell, you're in charge," she announced to the audience as she hurried to the back room. A large, dark hand raised up above their heads in a thumbs up sign as the door swung shut.

Her coworkers were good, trusting people – no one locked their employee lockers. And Emma sure had a thing for black. In a matter of minutes, Trick stood in the little bookstore's back room, in a pair of her own black jeans, a fitted black hoodie, and a long black scarf intricately wrapped to hide her crimson hair and the bottom half of her face.

She needed a weapon. Trick went to the supply closet and pulled out the mop. Shoving off the head, she brought the wooden pole down hard against her lifted knee, splitting it in two. She'd pay for a new one. Spinning the two makeshift weapons in her hands to test her grip, she looked out the window. And then she was gone in a pop.

---

Trick darted through the city, rushing towards the commotion with the help of her teleportation. Her eyes narrowed at what she saw: the man from last night, Black Jack, and one of those numbered bastards who'd been popping up in the city. A group of police officers, determined but clearly terrified at the threat, were aiming their guns at the two.

The Number raised his hands and a pressure wave erupted forth. Black Jack was thrown back, as were the cops. And their cruisers. Eyes widening, Trick sprang into action. In an instant she appeared beside a man thrown in the path of a flying car. In the next, both she and the man were gone, reappearing a short distance to the side.

Trick dropped the cop without ceremony, and was gone again. A muffled pop was the only warning the man with outstretched palms had before he felt jagged, splintering wood pressed hard against his spine. When the cops and other wary onlookers finally processed the scene, their eyes widened. It was Trick, their nighttime guardian (menace?). She was dressed oddly, and didn't have her katana, but there was no doubt it was her. In the daylight.

Trick glared at Black Jack over the man's shoulder, amber eyes flashing in the sun, but her voice was directed at the Number.

"I'm getting sick of you poker deck jackasses tearing up my city. One chance. Stand. Down."

[StarBoi]

Black Jack was thrown back along with the cops and cruisers. He used the force from the blow to go into a backflip and land on his feet. "Woohoo! You're my kind of guy, 9, but you already knew that." About that time he noticed that another had shown up and helped out the cops. It was an oddly dressed little vigilante, it was Trick. Before Jack could do or say a thing about her strange get up, she disappeared and reappeared behind 9, jabbing something or other into his back. "You would not attack so brashly if you knew our pain." 9 said in a emotionless tone. "Here, let me show you." The number reached back behind him and gripped the wooden handle piece that she had pressed into his spine.

"9, don't!!" Jack ran to stop him but he was too far away to get there in time. The cops on site just stood bewildered unsure of what to do about the two, make that three, powerful beings that fought before them. If Trick did not teleport or get out of the way, flashes of horrible things would appear before her eyes; visions of the tortures that befell the poker deck named ones. Including 9 and Jack. The visions were too blurry to tell exactly who these people were but it was obvious that terrible things were being done to them, their screams of pain were prominent above any other noises.

[c3p-0h]

Trick was fast. But not fast enough. She had disappeared in the time it'd taken 9 to launch his attack, but for a fraction of a second they'd both held her makeshift weapon.

And for that fraction of a second her world was nothing but shadows of fear made solid. Flashes of torment, of suffering, of terrible hopeless desperation moved before her eyes. But there was more than just the visions. Phantom pains, too solid to be imagined, too chilling to be real, lanced their way through her body. They stabbed through her skin, into her very bones, destroying, stealing, scarring. They cut and tore, taking all that made her whole, leaving aching, empty fire in its place.

Something hot burned like blood in her throat – a scream trying to claw its way out into the world.

Trick reappeared in the world a scant yard away from Black Jack, facing 9. She was pale and shaking, her eyes wide as they stared at nothing. She stumbled as she found herself in reality, unable to stay upright. She fell back, a hand barely catching herself as it scraped against the harsh edges of the road. She was freezing. She couldn't breathe she couldn't breathe–

Air rushed out of her icy lungs in a loud shaking gasp. Frantic breath rasped through her body as she tried to find reality again, wide eyes finally coming into focus. Trick blinked in the sunlight. She looked up at 9. Then across the street at a tall, glass-walled building. Then down at herself. Breath still coming out in heavy, shaking gasps, Trick narrowed her eyes and forced herself to her feet. It was a difficult task when she was trembling so, and echoes of pain were still reverberating through her body. But eventually she managed to stand, though hunched and shaking. Her white-knuckled grip on her weapons released and they clattered to the ground.

She looked at 9 and time itself seemed to hold its breath, waiting for a pin to drop.

Then Trick was gone, teleporting in front of him in an instant. He brought his hands up in reaction, but Trick was on him before he could do anything. She grabbed hold of his wrists and the two disappeared, only to reappear on the far side of the street, inside the building with glass walls.

Or rather, 9 was inside the building. Trick was standing across from him, just outside the glass. With his hands. Trick let her arms drop, still holding them. The glass had cut clean through his forearms, halfway between his wrists and elbows. Thick, crimson blood poured down both sides of the glass, pulling sticky trails when Trick's pieces fell from the wall. Her eyes didn't leave 9's shocked ones as her hands fell limp at her sides, still wrapped around his wrists. His fingers were twitching. She dropped them and they landed with a wet splat in growing pools of blood.

She flashed away again, appearing behind him and already halfway through a roundhouse kick aimed at his head. Something halfway between a growl and a shout escaped her as her foot collided. He hadn't even hit the ground when she kicked again, this time sending him straight into the glass. Cracks spiderwebbed out from the impact. 9 lay still, more and more blood staining his clothes and skin. Trick stared down at him for a moment before teleporting herself back into the middle of the street.

Her amber eyes flashed molten gold in the sunlight, something angry and feral and desperate in them. The fire that danced within them, normally focused and controlled had become an inferno, overwhelming in its fury. She eyed the scene around her, taking in the environment, escape routes, threats – but those people gathered there, they weren't threats. Cops, civilians… they stared at her with wide eyes and blood-drained faces, frozen in what could only be fear.

And something seemed to click back into place. Her eyes widened imperceptibly. Her hands started to tremble as her fingers curled to touch each other, finding blood that was not hers. Beneath her scarf her lips parted in realization and she tried to swallow – only to find her throat dry and raw, as though she'd been screaming. Something hot pricked at her eyes as the reality of what'd happened crashed down around her.

What had happened?

Through sheer force of will, Trick shoved it down. Her eyes, shaken but clear, came back into focus. Her mouth closed, her jaw setting. Her shaking hands tightened into fists. She would deal with what she'd done, what these people had seen, how they watched her like she was a landmine they'd stumbled upon and were waiting for to blow – she'd deal with it all later. Her job wasn't done.

Her eyes found Black Jack, daring him to try something.