Alert: Deadman Tell no Tales

Los Angeles, the city of Angels. I can’t help but allow a small smirk to cross my lips when I recall that name. It was so long ago that Castiel was left here, found and saved by my son. I loathe the being, but they have given me a second chance as the light has slowly been snuffed from the Angel. Now he trembles, cowers in fear. He has powers beyond that of our reality and yet he crawls to me, begging. Once the angel Castiel, now the Eldritch horror known as Samhain. I tried to tell him, to warn him what would happen. I warned him way back in the days of his radiant light. I warned him, and told him the same thing I tell them all.

There is a difference between “Darkness” and “Evil”. You simply cannot see it. Not while you stand in the light, and not while the line in which thee change remains shrouded in darkness. I’ve been a horrible father. I’ve been the worst of the worst and despite all of this I remain...oddly unrepentant. My son, both of my sons have turned out to be wonderful young men. I used to scoff and say that there was no such thing as a good man, but feeling my sons sacrifice. Feeling him attempt to end my curse by taking it upon himself. I suppose in a way that broke me. It shook my world, the entirety of the darkness inside pouring out.

It was such a curious feeling. Being grateful. Feeling what it means to die. I wish I could have stayed that way, I wish I could hide my shame for who I am and what I’ve done. Yet somehow, I remain unrepentant. Perhaps it’s the cold sting of being what I am. Perhaps it wouldn’t matter if my heart beat for the actual purposes of survive. Perhaps I truly am what everyone makes of me. I had so hoped to change that. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen today.

I sit here in my car, with three large men in black suits and earpieces. I can hear their hearts beat. I can feel the thumps as they try to maintain their composure. The Secret Service was busy defending their designated duties, but these men were a “modest” force to be gifted to me for my protection. I was quite reluctant to accept the assistance, but I do have a personna to maintain. Especially with my current employment as the Secretary of State. They insisted that I not come to this place, that it was too dangerous. Of course I had to make it political. “If I cannot go and experience the voice of our people, I cannot dream to advise you of all peoples abroad.” I said. “It is my duty as an American and as a Patriot to subject myself to the people and their woes!” I yelled. It’s always such a good mask to wear, the mask of a patriot. The mask of someone who cares. The mask of someone who can.

“Sir, we should go. We’ve got reports of citizens in Ghost Masks ” My loyal protector would say. I cleared my throat and shook my head, my small smile still visible. I could tell that it was unnerving to be here. But I had a plan, and I had a goal in mind. I couldn’t turn back. Not here, and not now.

“A man’s character, is his fate.” I was all I replied. This was the first thing that came to mind as I pondered my impending meeting with these ghost-faced individuals. Here I was, taking a small break from the sun within the tinted windows of my car. Feeling the cellular degradation of my skin slowly stitching itself back together. My eyes shifted from what I watched from behind the tinted windows. The relief efforts, the sanctuary I was giving to those whom had been victimized within the violence. Tents with food and water, a manufactured refugee camp if ever I saw one. I had seen many of them, I remember them all. My eyes fell upon my guardians, they were perplexed by my still mind and my unworried attitude. I soften my cold, dead heart for a moment and suspend what small disdain I have for all of the living to speak to these men.

“When we talk of Philosophy most people think to Socrates. His revelations and his contributions becoming an entire branch to change the world. But so many people have forgotten the wisdom held by his predecessors. Heraclitus was the first notable man to form the concept of Logos “Everything flows” everything has a logical conclusion. But then one day he had a vision and he gave forth the concept that opposites are actually the only things that experience true unity. Chaos and Order are the same...life and death. The only difference is the transition, but neither to be feared, both to be embraced.” I could deal myself ranting, and I was unsure the necessity of such words to these men. They were going to die. Perhaps some part of me wanted them to find peace in those words? Comfort? I don’t know, neither of those were things I experienced, desires or things I wished to impart. These men had been close to me long enough. It was time….

Without any prompt, without any command their eyes grew heavy and their necks grew weak as they all seemed to slump back a small while. Their breathing became shallow, but they would not die. Death’s gentle cousin visited them while the Reaper sat in the car with them. I am very aware that violence is all that these extremists understand. I highly anticipate a hail of bullets to fire at any moment, but I can’t help but FEEL wrong. The fact I could feel at all was wrong. Perhaps my curse hadn’t fully separated me from my emotions yet.

I could see the men and women now, a small mob of people with them. I looked to each of the men I had placed into a deep, calm slumber, and for a moment I could swear I could empathize with their memories. Even though they were not mine, it made me understand that these were not my lives to offer up. One day I may lose this paltry compassion, one day I may not even have the humanity left to place them into slumber for a peaceful death. But for today, I am the man I am…

Even if tomorrow I am not the man I wanted to be…

I place my hand on the door’s handle and I pull upon the sleek silver handle, I stand up and I place my hands into the air, shouting. I try my damndest to pull the attention of the masked individuals, seeing the security force I had hired with my own funding with their arms trained.

“ENOUGH!” I yelled, I stepped forward, keeping my hands up. If I could be a sacrificial lamb for these radicalists I would gladly offer that to them. It would spare those whom had already been victimized. It wasn’t as if I had to worry about being killed either, how does one kill The Eternal? How does one kill The Great Promise? How could they kill The Lych? I step forward again, no shots yet fired. “No more casualties to either side. I am everything you target. The one percent, and a politician of promises and lies. They are the victims. I surrender. Please don’t take anymore from them. Like you they have nothing left to give...” I said, the words were far more heartfelt than I imagined. I felt something inside me shrivel. There was no media here, there were no ploys here. This wasn’t part of my political play, this was not part of my grand design. But perhaps if I could save someone, it would be enough.

I could feel the masked men walking over to me, several of them grabbing my arms while another took a crowbar to my knee with full force. I turned my knee in and yelled a feigned pain as I let my leg stagger, becoming dead weight as they dragged me off. There was one with a mask, substantially different than the others. He fired his gun into the air, and I watched as best I could as he pointed to those I had tried to provide for.

“Get out your phones. Record this...” he said, his voice sounded as if it had been altered. Not through any means of technology or magic, but with the way they spoke. It was strained, hoarse. The individuals questioned it, but as the man made a motion with his hand, the masked militia took to arms, the soldiers I hired outnumbered. The civilians began to comply as he spoke. I watched, listening intently for every little detail could gather. “They talk about this age, this country as if it were something great. They talk about freedom, and respect but when I turn to the news it’s always something about an officer who took a young man’s life! A child victimized while the crime is politicized for the benefit of some legal office, or attributing glory to the monster who escapes judgement because he can afford the greatest liar money can buy. We are told to share as children, but as adults we are isolated, separated and looked down upon by this “one per-cent”. They TAKE OUR MONEY by EXPLOITING OUR NEEDS! They call it justice, they call themselves entrepreneurs. They take advantage of us, and hold our happiness in bondage! IN SLAVERY so that we are dependant upon them and their faulty system! All while they kill, rape and mutilate the culture of the very society we dreamed of, a society where WE STAND TOGETHER! I cannot tell you personally if Alistair Marlowe is a good man, or not. I cannot tell you that good men, women and even children haven’t been hurt. But I can tell you that WE THE PEOPLE, GOOD PEOPLE have suffered indignantly at the hands of men like Mr.Marlowe. If we must lose good men, then so must they. THAT IS JUSTICE, the very justice the one per-cent had evaded their whole lives. This is not a war. This is the people rising up. So stand up, and be accounted! FIND YOUR PLACE IN THE REVOLUTION!” The man shouted as he fired his gun in the air. I couldn’t help but feel so horrifically mortified by what poison and lies the man was spewing. Did he truly see the world this way, or was he simply a puppet in a far larger game? That was my first intuition.

I was being dragged off, there was no bloodshed here. Not today, but I knew that this was not going to be anything of consequence come the morning. These were not a mob, these were not thugs, this was not a gang. These were revolutionaries in the chaos, snakes in the grass, the people whom felt as if they had been tread upon. I remember now, how it feels to be that man. For the first time, since my son plunged a sword into the both of us, I had felt true terror…

The news flashed as reports of Alistair Marlowe being captured by the radical “activists” throughout the entirety of L.A. The Vigilantes had been busy, and it was all hands on deck. Humanity may have been undefeated, he may have been able to defeat Atlas, but he was still only ONE MAN. He couldn’t cover the ground of an entire revolution. X was on watch, Khaos was on watch, Citizen Zero was on watch, Orwell was even helping out, fearing that The Black King may have had some involvement in this chaos. Humanity was actually at an impasse, however. Every time he left on patrol, he and all of his allies risked encountering Promethean, or even that renegade Vigilante. Life had certainly gotten complicated.

Humanity got the drop on two of the ghost-faced men as they walked the dark alley. A hack and a slash to the neck with his knife only silenced them before they could call out. Three of the others had heard and turned to look for their compatriots, only to see the hooded and fearsome form. Humanity tried to conserve his serum, however he couldn’t help but question if now was a good time. Guns trained they announced his presence to the entire group. Firing his grappling node to the wall he tugged, the motor pulling him up. Turning he threw his knife, a ringing through the air as it found it’s way right into a man’s side, causing him to fall over in pain. The gunfire followed after him as he rolled over onto the roof and out of sight. Reaching to his pocket he withdrew a few small spheres with clickable buttons. PRessing the three of them, he lobbed them over and listened as smoke hissed out of them.

That will provide some cover. He said as he stood up, using adjusting his grappling node once more as he aimed for another building across the alley, jumping and swooping into the smoke. As he disappeared into the smoke there was one that shouted. Humanity had to give credit, these people had very good communication skills for radical common folk that just randomly enlisted in combat. It made it difficult for him to spare their lives, since slitting throats tended to put a nice damber on enemy communication.

His fists were the only weapon he needed, hitting a man in the stomach and stepping aside. His arm went around his victim’s neck as he held their arm, pulling at the trigger. A small hail of bullets fired off and splattered the blood of another human across the brick wall. Twisting the neck of the man he helf, the sick snapping noise left the man to slowly suffocate as he dropped to the ground, dying. Dicking down, Humanity tackled another man to the ground, aiming low since everyone expected him to be standing tall. As he tackled he felt a sharp pain in his thigh, causing him to dive downward, planting the man. With a reach and a twist of the wrist, he disarmed his floored target, scampering around as he bent the man’s arm across, snapping his hand, and placing a knee on his throat, reaching for his side-arm and letting out shot at another man. There was silence for a moment, Humanity waited a moment, he had forgotten to take count of the group and how many there were. It was simple mistakes he made like this, against humans, that caused him the most injury.

With a sigh he took his knee off the man’s throat, allowing him to breathe again. The smoke began to clear and suddenly he heard a gunshot. Ducking down he pulled the man he had been suffocating up and using him as a human shield as the bullets riddled him. Humanity holstered his gun and waited to hear for a reload. Once he heard the bullets end, he dropped the man and shot his grappler to a lone trash can behind the man, pulling it with force the motor bringing it towards him with impressive speed as it smacked the last ghost in the back, setting him off balance, and causing him to drop the magazine.

The threat no longer apparent, Humanity casually walked up and took the man’s throat into his hand. He began to squeeze as he reached down and took the man’s belt off, sliding it through and allowing the side-arms to drop to the ground.

“Drifter, Charlatan. Anyone near the intersection of Eighth and Remmington Drive?” Humanity asked through the their secured communications link. Drifter was a natural at this stuff, he was grateful to see that Luke was able to excel in assisting the vigilantes with innovative firewalls. They didn’t need the stupid dual-names any longer.

Revolution has come to Las Angeles.

Pat had found out from various internet forums had peeking over Drifter’s shoulder while he did the heavy tech work. They were mostly targeting the rich and privileged, something that sounded like he would have supported. Why people thought killing rich people would  somehow fix inequality was a curious thought, though he didn’t put too much mental information. There were more things that he had to worry about than worrying about the problems of weird social revolutions. He even went out of the way to get his hair colored a nice cosmic conglomeration of shades still cut in his normal low medium length and slightly messy in style. Hopefully no one decided to grab him by it, because that was a thing that people apparently did when they fought.  He should have stayed out of the mess, leaving it to the vigilantes that were skilled in that aspect and heroes that were..better equipped to do so.

That was not the case however. Seemed like every vigilante within the city was on the move.  X, Khaos, Citizen Zero and even Orwell despite his strange connection with the leader of their group. He didn’t know if the guy wanted to kill Humanity, though he didn’t ask any more questions than he needed to.  ”Good to see some action I can actually deal with.” There were likely in the back of that battered looking van Luke drove around, filled to the brim with the tech that he needed to keep his career going. Hacking stuff that would have made even the most skilled Hollywood movie hacker blush. Honestly, he was just good at that portion of his job and maybe even the part that involved kicking some ass. With a low hum he worked over Baptism by Smash, making sure the smashing bit was attached to the  end of it.

There were one or two times it had come undone, flying into a window and setting off like twelve different alarms. Sliding back on the literal and metaphorical mask of a Charlatan, he turned to his friend with a now hidden smirk. If there was one person that he would have been fine with having his life in the hands of, it would have been either Matt or Luke. Khaos was a close third, and then CZ if he needed to rely on him.  It was nice to know he had such reliable people around, willing to bring the good fight where the men in their uniforms could not. Breaking from his thoughts, he heard the sound of the comm.

”Yeah, we’re...a minute or so away,” He stated looking at one of the signs outside any real outside looking point on the van. Patting himself down to make sure all of his gadgets were in check,  he strapped the smashing weapon to his back and prepared. Mentally and even physically. This was going to be a major pain, that much he could assume and even expect. Even the least organized of civilian militias were dangerous if they had guns and he didn’t want to go through being shot. He had been shot once and he didn’t want a taste of that again. Even if Brandon’s brother knew a little bit of the healing stuff to help him out then.

Knowing Humanity, there would be many ghosts of the more literal kind by the time this was all done. Thinking about it made him feel ill, that pit within his stomach that didn’t allow for him to really calm down. Anxiety and excitement all in one. ”Drifter, think you can get us some visuals on this whole mess. Perform your hacking magic on some cameras or whatever?” He was certain that was how hacking worked, otherwise things would have gone differently for their little missions.

He trusted his friend could get the job done.

Now with two weapons strapped to his back and even more under his coat and within the satchel at his side, once the vehicle slowed down he stepped out the back of the van. Feeling the impact of concrete against his feet and hearing the sound of gunshots close. Dangerously close. All of his muscles tensed up, like coils ready to spring. No Ghosts immediately within his line of sight, ducking around the side of the van, he used it as cover in multiple sense. No way in hell was he just going run head first into a hail of bullets and death. Now that would have just left a good looking corpse for all his friends and eligible bachelors across LA to mourn. Don’t laugh. It totally makes sense within his own head. Drawing Sparky from whatever impromptu holster on his back, Charlatan moved towards the gunshots. Taking the  high road so to speak, using fire escapes and the like while also thanking the fact he had taken up exercise likely. Soon enough he would have a four pack even aside from this indecisive two pack.

Not to say that it was an easy way of doing things as at least one of them were not taken out by Humanity. Catching sight of him long enough as he moved over one of the rooftops to point their gun and miss like the marksman they were before being clocked in the side and against their head. Falling to the ground in an unconscious heap. "Who else are we workin with? Any idea how many spooks?” He sent the message across their whole protected thing, hopping down to street level once again with the smoke in sight, keeping low and away from the bullets.

Luke drove the van with tight grips on the steering wheel. It had happened. It had finally happened. This wasn't just some riot, this was indeed a revolution. The people had reached their breaking point, and were taking it out on people that weren't necessarily responsible. The inability to move up because of bad policy and a shot economy was finally bearing it's rotten fruit, just like Drifter had expected. This was bad, very bad.

It was true, Drifter had gone after rich people before, but he had also gone after poor people. He had also gone after middle class people. He went after dirt bags, and that was the bottom line. He didn't attribute someone's faults to their group. Those were all on them, and had nothing to do with their class, race, gender, or anything else. That's why lashing out at people simply because they had as much money in their bank accounts as some shady, corrupt cheaters wasn't justice—it was the punishment of the innocent for the crimes of others.

Thankfully, every vigilante had more or less agreed, politics aside, that this was not right, and were moving into stop the revolt. Drifter and Charlatan were on their way to meet up with Humanity, who was already infiltrating one of this groups safe houses. Matt worked quickly, that was for sure. Drifter had barely had time to put his pants on before he got the call. Or, rather, the text.

"Vigilantes Unite!"

Considering what they did, it was a bit playful and cheesy. Luke couldn't help but shake his head and laugh at it. Matt understood the irony, no doubt. It was some solid humor.

After some wild driving through an even more chaotic than usual LA, they had finally arrived at their location. Humanity had been moving around a lot, so it was hard to pin him down, but the vigilante eventually let them know exactly where he was. Luke pulled into an alley and stopped, loading his gauntlets with electrical darts. Just then, Pat asked if he could get a visual on the cameras.

It didn't take long to tap into the network. It was just a matter of sniffing it and capturing enough packets to acquire the master password. Nearly all the cameras in LA had been 'upgraded' to a more digital storing method. That had unfortunately become their weakness. Whenever you made something less mechanical, it inevitably became vulnerable.

The cameras in all the alleys and streets in the area appeared on the screen of his computer, and on Drifter's wrist computer as well. He tossed Pat a cheap smart phone, which was also linked up to the feed. He didn't know how useful it would be, but Luke supposed having a better visual couldn't hurt.

Pat got out and started to find his own way into the chaos. Drifter, however, opted not to follow. He saw a group of three men standing guard in the alley just around the corner from where he had parked the van. They seemed to be unaware of what was going on, smoking and laughing. Apparently their radios were off.

Even if they weren't coming for the vigilantes, they were too close to leave behind. These three weren't a threat now, but they could definitely be a headache if they were simply ignored. If he just moved on, he could end up getting flanked and pinned down. Luke got out of the back of the van, gently shutting the doors as to not make any noise. He didn't want to lose the element of surprise. If he could ambush them, he'd be able to take them down pretty efficiently.

Walking while crouched through the alley, he heard their cackling voices from around the corner. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but from what Drifter could tell it was essentially gloating from two of them. One of them, on the other hand, nervously chuckled, going along with the antics of the others. That was interesting.

Luke peaked around the corner. Their guns, an AK47 and two glocks, were all holstered or propped up against the brick wall. Luke couldn't help but smile at that. These guys were packing some heat, but they were amateurs. They weren't ready for a teenager with a baseball bat, let alone him.

Luke ran out from behind the corner, charging the men. He jumped onto a trash can, using it to launch himself into an aerial kick at the first man's head. As he did this, he fired his gauntlets into a second member of the trio. The man who took the kick hit the ground, apparently knocked cold from the force, and the second man went down convulsing from the taser darts that were sticking out of him.

The third was a bit quicker than Drifter had realized, drawing his handgun and pointing it in the vigilante's face. Luke's eyes went wide. He was expecting a bullet to the mask, which might not have been lethal, but it would have certainly taken him out of the fight. Fortunately, though, this Ghost hesitated. His hands were shaking. He was new to this.

Quicker than a viper, Drifter used a Systema technique to peel the weapon from the Ghost's hand and then quickly follow that up with a stiff elbow to the face. The revolutionary tumbled backwards, falling onto his ass as Drifter removed the mag from the gun and cleared the chamber. He then advanced on the downed goon.

"W-wait! Hold on! Don't kill me! Let me get this off, Equalizer!" the Ghost said, sounding much younger than he expected. The guy was at least 5'11", but he sounded maybe sixteen. More shockingly, he used Drifter's title, The Equalizer. It was something he used for a little while when he first started, but had since dropped. Luke was going to just knock the guy out, but these two things made him stop.

The mask came off, revealing a boy. He wasn't much older than Luke had guessed. He looked, well, terrified. There was a man known for killing people in this city standing over him after having just beat up his friends, so it was understandable. What wasn't understandable was why he was getting involved with these retards. He was going to get himself killed. Luke was furious.

"And just what the hell do you think you're doing, kid?!" Drifter yelled. He heard the one he had kicked getting back up. He had a feeling that wouldn't take him out for the long haul. To rectify it, he just fired his gauntlet behind him, hitting the guy with a few taser darts to bring him down without even looking away from the young man below him.

"W-what do you mean? We're dishing out justice, like you have been for the last year. We're The Equalizers. We're named after you! We're helping you get rid of the corrupt in this city. I understand this is kinda your turf, but why not just talk to us, ya know? We want the same thing!" the kid said. Luke was utterly blown away. He wanted to puke. Had this been his doing? Was this the example he had set? Jesus H Fucking Hot Christ.

"First of all, not my turf. It belongs to Humanity and his vigilantes. Second of all, you seem to have misinterpreted what I was doing, kid. I was getting rid of those people because they were monsters that law enforcement couldn't touch—dirt bags like any random murderer or car thief. I took them down because they were evil, not because they were rich. You and your fucking 'Equalizers' are killing people simply because of the size of their bank accounts. Your leader just said he didn't care if good, innocent people were lost! You call that justice?! I call it class warfare! I call it murder for guilt by association!" Drifter said, walking closer to the boy. He picked him up by his collar, looking him dead in the eye through his mask.

"I'm....I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I just....I just wanted to make a difference, like you!" the kid said. For that he got a stiff punch to the face, causing him to yell out in pain.

"You want to make a difference? Go home and rethink your life. Become an engineer or something, and stop holding yourself back with a preoccupation with those that have more than you. If I ever see you on the streets with a fucking mask again, I swear to God, I'll cut your dick off and feed it to you. Now FUCKING SCRAM!" Luke was livid. They had taken his crusade against high profile crime and turned it into some kind of communist revolution, and they were bringing hard working, angry people into it—leading they astray. This just got a whole lot more personal, and a whole lot more complicated.

After the boy ran off, Luke made walked in the opposite direction, where Humanity was supposed to be. It was honestly the longest few moments of his life. He dragged his feet, and hung his head low as he walked through the maze of alleyways. Thoughts raced through his head—questions. Everything he had been doing the last year and a half was up in the air. He had to reevaluate things, because if this is the message he was sending, it couldn't be good—it couldn't be moral.

Eventually, Luke made it to backstreet where he thought Humanity would be. He sighed in frustration. It seemed Matt had pulled a Batman already, and that Charlatan was God knows where. He could catch up later, though. Right now he needed to fill the others in on what happened just a few moments ago. Drifter played the recording of the conversation he had with the boy over the new communications server, sending it from his wrist computer. Once everyone got a chance to hear the recording, there was dead silence for a brief moment. Luke looked at the dead bodies Humanity had left in the alley, looked at his own holstered gun, and looked at his hands. Luke sighed, finally speaking.

You can do whatever you want with the leaders, but this is my fault. I'm not going to let a bunch of average people get killed just because they have been blinded by ideology that I indirectly lead them to. Nonlethal unless we know they are absolutely responsible for this, or I'm out. If we just start killing people for being a part of this movement without even trying to understand their individual plight, we'll be just like the radicals. We have to be better and have some fucking principals, or there is no justice, just tribes fighting for their arbitrarily chosen beliefs, Luke said over his communicator. He was prepared to walk right the hell away from this mission if Humanity didn't agree. He wasn't going to save the city from extremists by using extremist tactics.

“Secretary of Defense. You seem like such a good man. But we both know that’s a lie. A ruse. Something you wear like a second skin.” A familiar voice taunted me from the darkness. There was no kiss of the sunlight, only the cold embrace of darkness. My guise was quite thankful for this, despite it’s...compromised integrity. Several cuts and sore spots burned as I felt alcohol poured into the cuts on my arms. They needn’t bother, though I suppose I should be grateful. If I were truly alive, I’d likely need to worry about tetanus in a hole such as this one.

“You’re strong willed. But eventually you’ll break. But we need to discuss the matter at hand. You’ve recently become a sponsor of an anti-vigilante task force. Some sort of combatants that are going to clean up the streets. You suggested a tax raise.” The voice came. This was all true but it was hardly intimidating. Truthfully anything in politics you thought was a secret would be whispered in your ear by everyone and their ugly aunt with a smile as if they were in on some good secret. I could only clear my throat. My eyes kept in darkness by a cloth wrapped around my head.

“It looks like someone’s been watching CNN.” I said, just as emotionless as I could. I did not want to give these men the satisfaction, but I still needed to feign injury. I needed to force myself to wince and hiss through my teeth as he grabbed my ar, pushing his thumb into the wound.

“You have no idea what you’re up against. You could hide behind your life of luxury, in your fancy cars and your hired guns. But we see you for what you really are.” The irony was too much for me to bear, I couldn’t help my mouth turning to a smile as he threatened me with those words. My feigned grunts and yells turning to almost manic laughter. “It’s only a matter of time. The Equalizer will come, and he’ll be the one to put you in your place. In an oblong box.” The words were far from intimidating. In fact the comfort of an oblong box sounded quite nice right now. To rest would be a wonderful thing. But this ruse was one that I found myself far more...invested in. It would be a wonderful time for me to keep the perfect facade of a normal human.

“I once met a man who said the same thing about the one they call “Humanity.” Said that he would come for me, that he would end my tyranny on the world...but Humanity never came.” I said, speaking the truth. The man in the skull mask with the emblem glowing in the eye socket made me feel like he was trying to be my number one fan. Of course there was a much deeper lore to this most likely, one that I could not actually force myself to care about. “Perhaps because I’m not who everyone thinks I am, and that I am not pretending. Perhaps I truly am one of the only men on this planet who cares. Can you feel sanctified in what you’re doing?”

“Humanity is a coward! He could never lead the way The Equalizer can! He has no vision, he’s a homicidal maniac with nothing to lose. He doesn’t stand for anything. But us? We do. We’ll still be here when he’s long gone...” The man said, though I couldn’t help but feel a hollow and emptiness inside me. I leaned back and relaxed as I shook my head slowly. Perhaps he was correct. Perhaps he was not. But there was one thing that was certain and clear. This was not going to end well.

“I will hope that your Equalizer comes soon. That way whatever is to be will be. ” That was all I left it at, then I felt the slice of steel on my shoulder. I let out discomforted groans and even a little growl. They wanted a monster to lynch? They shouldn’t have picked The Lych.

Humanity grumbled as he looked around. Well these were wasted lives. Not all of them. But out of everyone, there were at least two that were dead. He let out a sigh, recalling everything that happened. It was like a painful memory, what happened in Chicago. Shaking his head he heard Drifter going on a rant about doing things non-lethal or he was out. Matthew, not Humanity, Matthew wanted to unleash all Hell over the communications system. But that would do no good. That wouldn’t make his painful quandary right here any easier. It wouldn’t make his reflexes and his inherent resolution of bloodshed stop. It wouldn’t make the itch in the back of his neck disappear. Does this motherfucker think that he’s opting to kill innocent people? To be the bloodthirsty beast he’s been accused of being!?

“If I witness them taking an innocent life, they die. If they shoot me, they die. Otherwise, I’m not LOOKING for a reason to spill blood. This discussion is over.” Matthew said, his modulator off. There was this level of distrust aimed at Matthew ever since it happened. He could understand that, he could respect that even. But he didn’t have to like it and he didn’t need to take it lying down. Truthfully he was more sensitive than he let on, especially when it came to Luke and Pat. Their judgement was always met with assertive force, not overwhelming as to bend anyone to his will, but steadfast determination to show he wasn’t budging. It was an almost defensive shell he put up to anchor down. Truthfully he acknowledged that this was his way of crying anymore. His friend felt the need to remind him not to kill good people. He was already broken inside, and now he had to worry about this.

“X, I want a full report. Also, Citizen Zero, acknowledge Drifter’s command as my own. Non-lethal if possible.” He said, feeling almost dirty telling the crippled kid that he couldn’t use his gun to defend himself. It was true that he had that arm brace, but anyone with a gun was going to obliterate him. “Actually, why don’t you fall back a bit and see if you can’t get us a ping on where the others are at tonight, eh?”

Humanity gripped at his stomach, slightly off to the side as he shook his head. The wound wasn’t fresh, but it still felt as if it were. It felt like he was still bleeding there on the ground. He began to shudder as his breathing grew shallow. His mouth felt like it was stuffed full of cotton, drying out as his saliva felt thick. His heart began to race and he shook his head, trying to wrack his mind back to where it should be. After a moment he looked around, shooting his grappler up to the nearby roof and allowing the motor to take him up. He swung a leg over and rolled onto the roof. Pulling the hood over his face he ripped off the mask, gasping for air. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small sleeve with ten small yellow pills. Taking one into his gauntlet, Humanity put the pill under his tongue. It would be disgusting, but it would take effect faster.

"X, hurry up on that report." He said, it was obvious that his mask was off as he spoke this time, but he muted himself again before his gasps for air could be heard.

"We're dealing with a small militia here. I just took out three with a stun grenade. Got'em bound up nice and tight. There's news that there's a few people wandering around Chinatown that don't fit in. Then you got the warehouses that are crawling with people. Are you sure I can't pick off one of the little sick ones? I'll just twist their arm a little..."

Chaos and smoke composed the scene around him. Gunshots ringing out in the distance as he moved through it. Kneeling and pressing his back against what felt like a parked car, bullets whizzing past his head, some even an inch away from splattering his brains across the street. If there was one thing that he had on his side it was luck. A very thing that stopped him from getting splattered across the walls like many vigilantes who were less than lucky.  Might have also been the fact that he was aware of his own human frailty, and what he couldn’t take. Good ole Sparky was heavy within his hands, this wonderful weapon composed of solid wood and a few wires wrapped around meant to transfer the nasty current. ”This is a nasty little circumstance we got goin on here.” He muttered to himself, heart hammering within his ear and likely dangerous individuals just beyond his budget barricade.

Something was happening over the comms, however that seemed between Humanity and Drifter. Not something that he wanted  get himself put in the middle of regardless of where they were in the conflict. Taking a few, measured breaths he rose from his crouched position and turned to what looked to be people running through the streets. All of them carrying automatic weapons in their hands and quickly he crouched again, knowing they could probably do away with him in the pull of the trigger. The mental image was not exactly the most pleasant of things but he had to do something. A few more breaths and he ducked out into an alleyway, still pressed against one of the walls while working through the more complex portions of a plan.  Considering his not killing rule, he wouldn’t be any good near Humanity anyhow, and likely would get in the way.

If only he were a bult thirty something year old with a dead parent complex and years of martial arts training. Honestly that sounded pretty good right now, minus the obligatory cat based love interest. Could have made his whole thing much easier. Stepping out one of those alleys, he was free of smoke but well within the sights of one or two of those trying to...well start their own revolution. Weapons were quickly pointed in his direction and bullets impacting brick as he pulled back. There was no looking back, just running away from the sound of gunfire which  quickly cut off once they realized they weren’t going to hit him like that.  Perhaps they would chase him, or perhaps they would try to punish the 1%. Hard to figure out really, though he didn’t want to think too hard on the concept.  Perhaps he could meet up with one of the other vigilantes and get them to help him. Two were always better than one.

Ducking to the side he heard more gunshot, metal dumpster slammed into as they proved they were chasing him.  Great. Now he had people whipped into a frenzy trying to turn him into a gory representation of swiss cheese. Digging around into his bag and pulling out a jolt cola, he frowned, before putting it back and digging around.

Dr Chili. No.

Cola. No.

Lemon lime. Yes.

Shaking the can up as much as he could, Charlatan ducked around a corner and chucked the can back. Hearing someone curse before a loud sound followed, a bright light flashing from where he threw it. Should give him a few minutes at best to escape, so he ran as quickly as his little legs could carry him before he paused at a corner. ”Hey, anyone mind offering up some back up?” Looking to a sign, he hummed.  Giving the information of where he was. Cross sections really but then again this whole thing put city life on a hold for a little bit. ”Preferably soon. Have a few bogeys with guns that don’t quite like me.” He didn’t want to waste too many of his gadgets, which meant being frugal overall. Sliding  behind what looked like some kind of food cart thing, he counted over his cans. Slowing down, he realized that his leg hurt and looked down to see a small graze. Fabric broken and a small amount of blood flowing from it.

This isn't about you, Humanity. Shocking, I know. It's about me and the part I have in this. This is my fault, and the deaths caused by it are equally so. I don't feel like having any more innocent blood on my hands than what there is already. That's it. I'm not trying to patronize or demean you. I don't even have a moral high ground to do it from. I'm a sin eater, same as you. All I'm saying is that enough pointless death has been caused by this fucking revolution as is, and that we should try to avoid adding more, even if it's not practical, expedient, or what our instincts say. Luke was talking over his communicator as he ran through the alleyways. He had heard Pat's backup request, and was using his wrist computer to find the smart phone he had given him earlier. Hopefully he could get there in time....

I get it though, and I'm sorry. Do what you have to do to lead your team. I'm just asking you to try, not judging you. Communists aren't exactly the people you should be fighting with ends-justify-the-means tactics. Luke continued to talk even as he approached a group of the revolutionaries. They pointed their guns at him, but again, they hesitated. It wasn't simply an unwillingness to kill another person, though. Sure, it was a little bit. These people were civilians, after all. But, more so it was as if they had spotted a friendly, lowing their guns steadily, as if not to hurt him....

When three in this group did this, and Drifter immediately struck. He got up close to the trio, and grabbed the lowered gun from the one in the front's hands. He then proceeded to hit him in the face with the butt of the weapon. The two other men either didn't have a clear shot of Drifter while he was taking the first man down, not wanting to hit their friend, or they didn't want to hit their namesake. Either way, Drifter wasn't hesitating. After the first man dropped to the ground, he raised his gauntlets, firing a flurry of taser darts into the remaining extremists. They hit the ground convulsing, same as always.

Luke was breathing heavy, the adrenaline setting in. Whether it was worry for Pat, the conversation he was having with Matt, or the fact that he was at risk of getting shot from any angle, he didn't know, but he was for sure high as a kite on the fight or flight response right now.

"The ones that were chasing you are down! You can come out, Charlatan!" Drifter said. Pat was in the area, most likely behind cover. But, the area was safe now. No goons with machine guns for a half a block, guessing from the video feed on his wrist computer.

The man Luke had hit with the gun held his mouth. It was bleeding. He groaned and turned over, spitting out two teeth as he laughed, smiling at Drifter.

"You're working with these vigilantes, Equalizer? You sly dog! Taking em' down from the inside. I like your style even more," the man said in a rough, obviously middle aged voice. Luke sneered under his mask. He was getting pretty sick of being complimented by Marxists.

"You're a fucking dumbass. If I was doing that, you would have revealed it to the guy you were just chasing. You got some really nice covert ops skills, dude,"   Luke said, brandishing the rifle he had used to knock the guys teeth out. The man looked nervous, even with the Ghostface mask on.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry 'bout that. Hope I didn't ruin what you had going on there..... Um, say, what are you doing with that?" the goon said. Luke turned the gun, butt facing the man.

"Making sure your dental bill is more than the government will pay for," Drifter said. He then brought the back of the gun down on the man's face again, and again, and again, and again. The mask broke, and the man hollered out in pain with each savage, kinetic strike. After the forth hit, he was obviously not going to be getting back up any time soon. He was in a heap in the alley, blood mixing with trash fluid and puddles of water.

True to what Drifter had said, the man was missing a few more teeth.

We need someone with some influence. A ringleader. I'm surprised these guys have the cognitive ability to pull a trigger. What do we have?

X marks the spot
------------------------------------
   X arrived quite quickly to Drifer’s location, looking to Charlatan and nodding. X was a very interesting vigilante. He wore all black and had a huge white X across his chest that seemed to wrap around his body. He actually wasn’t that interesting to most people, in fact he was pretty basic. He just utilized a cool Dazzle-Camo pattern when you looked at him from the side, but a big white X when you looked at him head on. They were outfitted with a bunch of what looked to be military grenades, flash-bangs to be more specific. The Non-lethal X walked up, the mask covering his whole face and looking between the two.

   “Well good news guys. It didn’t take much persuasion. I got where they’re keeping the Secretary of Defense, with one of their leaders. But I got some bad news alongside it. First they plan to kill him, second they planted bombs at the higher-end complexes and two penthouses. I got Dirge on standby, I’ll get Foxy and Lady on the line. Citizen Zero, Khaos do you copy?” X asked, seeming to request some confirmation as to the present parties. There was a slight delay though when he looked he realized that Humanity had gone offline, their GPS was down too.

   “I’m en’route to Humanity’s LPO. Gonna check on him and come back around.” citizen Zero announced, though it wasn’t long before he’d arrive.

   “Affirmative Ghost-Rider. I’m here. Harder to do this with a broken wrist than I thought.” Khaos stated, musing a little after spending two weeks hospitalized. “Martial and Lady aren’t gonna pick up. It’s date night.”

   “I so hope ghosts ruin their date…. I’m headed to the warehouse, I’ll ping the location. Rendezvous there. I’ll get Foxy on the line to disarm the penthouse bomb. Maybe we could send another to deal with the other bombs?”

   “Once we got Humanity located we can send him after the bombs. It’ll minimize the body count.” Khaos said very matter of factly. Humanity’s voice could be heard screaming about getting the fuck out. Citizen Zero let out a slightly confused chuckle before clearing his throat and turning his communications device off. GPS still on.  




No Remedy to make me come alive...
-------------------------------------  

   “You surprise me more and more, every time.” A very distinct voice stated, a wry chuckle from behind him. Matthew turned and froze in fear, seeing something he hadn’t seen since he was doused by Williams. Silver and greying hair hidden within the black, slick hair. A dress appeal that would make even Chelle feel old, finely woven and dyed three different colors as a stark duality was portrayed. One eye blue, the other eye a brandished gold, a brown-orange ring seeming to outline it. Matthew’s gun fired off a couple rounds in shock. Matthew’s mind was racing, he closed his eyes and shook his head, though they said nothing. With a single flick, the communications device was turned off, the GPS was killed when he crushed it and he contemplated shooting the device for good measure. He didn’t trust that it wasn’t going to record him and hold information.

   “I really don’t have time for this.” Humanity said as he pivoted to turn, opening his eyes as he did so, bumping smack into the hallucination. He dropped his device and it clattered to the ground.

   “I agree, should have just taken the Mindfall Remedy and saved us both the trouble.” The hallucination replied with an almost somber smile. The hallucination stepped forward placing a weightless hand of Matthew’s shoulder. “Too bad you destroyed it...oh wait. You had more as backup! Hah! Look at you! Always prepared, that’s something I admire. So why don’t you just go ahead, take a puff and we can sort this business with the ghosts all out?” Matthew’s hesitation must have been obvious, or rather his mind was quick to acknowledge his lack of desire into taking the substance.

   “No. No killing-Fine by me, we’ll just maim them. That’s obviously an acceptable and healthy alternative. Killing is immoral, at least traumatic brain damage can put them on welfare for Stoic-Luke’s  beloved tax-payers.” The conversation seemed to be one-sided at this point, Humanity had nothing to say. It was just a matter of sheer willpower now, without any leverage he wouldn’t trust the Mindfall Remedy. Especially if he was going to experience these hallucinations for such a long time afterwards.

   “Look. I’ll even offer you a deal. You take that dose of Mindfall Remedy, the one we both know you’re carrying, because of your failure to trust anyone. In return...I PROMISE that it will be the last time you have to worry about anything. I’ll take over from here.” It said with it’s wide and manic smile, though the way it flourished it’s arms and provided it’s jazz hands actually worried Humanity what was going on in his psyche more than the hallucination itself was.

   “Oh gee, you will? How thoughtful. I don’t wanna be a burden though.” Was all he could reply as he walked past the person, recalling how real the illusions felt to him. It was just best to walk away, especially when he wasn’t sure what kind of words would subconsciously click and make him feel more manically happy at the thought of murder.

   “I’m fluent in sarcasm.” It sneered, speaking through its teeth as it only glared at the human.

   “Oh thank God, I thought maybe I’d lose that if I took too much MFR.” Humanity added, walking to the edge of the rooftop. He wondered if dropping down was going to be the thing to do, just jump down and let his adrenalin snap him out of this before zipping to safety. Would that even work? His mind felt heavy.

   “Oh C’mon. I’m literally taking the fear out of your next dose. When is it going to happen? Right now! The Party starts right now, baby! I’ll even finish up this mess for you, in the way your little friends want. I will ALSO promise you that they will in no way be harmed by myself, or my assets directly for the rest of their natural born lives. This extends to your family too. Your little brother, and Chelle...I know a secret….” Matthew closed his eyes and shook his head. It was bullshit, it had to be utter bullshit. He’d taken the Mindfall Remedy so many times and hadn’t even come more than a twenty foot distance away from curing Chelle of her Red Energy sickness. He began to tremble as he felt a hand actually grab him by the shoulder, patting him and giving a friendly but firm shake.

“You already failed them. Your parents? Look at Humanity. Luke? He’s got that nice new hand as a testimony that you couldn’t protect him. All your fears made real. You WANTED to shoot him in the head...that’s not very brotherly. Patrick? Oh now that’s a sad spot. Maybe if you had taken me up on my offer...Patrick wouldn’t have become the Black Beast. So by not doing this, you’ll fail him...and you’ve already failed him. I mean C’mon. This is basically a Soap-Opera and he’s the third wheel to that sweet-sweet Humifter Fanservice. Why is he even here? He was just calling for help and you’d rather stand here on a rooftop and talk to yourself. I can help them. I can protect them. If ya really, REALLY love them...you’ll let me.”

    “GET THE FUCK OUT!” Humanity shouted, though as he turned around he saw a completely different person, a hood up and their arm in a sling. They wore what appeared to be a poor-man’s cosplay of Lucius Alba down to the trench coat and creepy shadowing.

   “Of the...outside?” He asked, stepping forward, obviously concerned. Matthew sighed and shook his head. “Humanity, your GPS went off after the gunfire and you weren’t responding. I came to check in. I’m not here to fight….”

   “Well you checked in-Who were you talking to?-It was...Victor. Pup, Silus? They got into my armory my Heads-up. It uh...informed me. I had Guilty Spark send a message to them. Get the fuck out.” Matthew tried to recover this as best he could, Citizen Zero was such a good soldier that he blindly accepted this answer. Though Matthew was certain that he knew that Humanity’s mask didn’t have a Heads-up interface, unless he assumed Matthew put one in.

   “Charlatan’s secure.” was all that Citizen Zero said, approaching Humanity with a curious look, as if he were waiting for danger to strike. Matthew scoffed, how typical. Even the one he trusted most was treating him like some blood-crazed monster.

   “Yeah, I heard that. Drifter did a good job. I was on my way but, he’s a bit faster.” Humanity replied, clearing his throat and hoping that Citizen Zero didn't hear his entire rant to a hallucination. Especially without context; oh who was he kidding. That was probably why he was keeping his distance. He'd try to cover himself up a bit by saying he was on his way to help. Which wasn't a lie at all, he just got all turned around by his own fucked up mind.

   “That’s...literally the opposite direction.” Matthew seethed as Cameron wasn't going to let the sleeping dog lay. He couldn't have just accepted this? So much for the perfet soldier comment earlier.

   “I uh, know a short-cut.” A simple answer

   At a one-eighty degree angle from the target location? Motherfucker....

   “Since when do you, of all people, start questioning me?” That was a genuine question. It was unlike Citizen Zero to question his mentor, at all. Not unless it had some educational or enlightenment to be shed on them. This was a very odd occurrence for Matthew to need to backtrack with Cameron.

   “Since you became Sans from Undertale and can apparently short-cut to random places regardless of what direction you’re going.” Oh fuck you and fuck whatever Pat was doing to you. Now we have Undertale references?

   “I can’t handle this right now-” He was going to simply disengage the conversation and go about his business, but of course that wouldn't have been okay. That would have given him time to cool down. But people don't seem to like letting each other cool down, or digest information. No they feel this compulsion to just pile more and more shit into it.

   “You know for the undefeated badass normal trope you say “I can’t” an awful lot recently. Have you noticed that? You went from this confident, and almost arrogant calm and controlled person to being the kid that whines when the game isn’t going his way.” Matthew froze in place, turning and giving a rather unintended but all too entirely malicious glare to his right hand man. Citizen Zero could feel the hair stand up on the back of their neck. The last time Matthew looked at someone this way...they wished they were dead..

   “Watch yourself...” A fair warning, but nope. The crippled kid decided to prove a point and press further.

  “Yeah! Like that. Thanks. Was looking for a good example. So what if I don’t stop? What if I keep going. Your gonna shoot me? Your friend, your loyal follower. The only one who WANTED to share your burden with you. C’mon big guy. Shoot me.” Citizen Zero stepped forward, holding his arm out and making himself an easy target. Humanity growled as he turned and took a step forward.

   “Why is everyone so convinced that I want to shoot them?” His irritation was quite present as he leaned in, grabbing Citizen Zero by the collar, eyes glaring at him through the mask, the contacts making his iris disappear into a hazy white. “I don’t want to shoot anyone, let alone the people I actually give half a fuck about. So if you’re intent is to test my loyalty, you succeed only in trying my patience.” He released Citizen Zero from his grasp, letting them go back down from the tips of their toes to a flat-footed position.

   “You were gone for two weeks and three days. Everyone thought you hung up the mask. Just like that everything went to shit. Ashtyn’s spent time in the hospital because Guilty Spark will only listen to you. I’m no leader, and X is about as strategic as bull in a china shop. Orwell still feeds me info but otherwise he’s not very helpful. Fear was in charge for a small bit but then returned to “Find his center” or whatever that means. Vigilante is still going rampant and we can’t stop them, Promethean’s the only one who went silent, but of course as soon as he’s quiet we got an old friend pop up. Legion. Killing people like they’re you and leaving you little love notes. ‘Don’t worry, I got this one.’ and ‘Take your time, Don’t lose your conviction!’. One of my favorites is ‘You’re still OUR hero. XoXo Legion’ with ten printless finger marks in blood and a heart at the top of the page.” Citizen Zero was listing off all this information. A lack of surprise on Matthew’s posture indicated that he had known all of this, causing his friend great irritation. Matthew had seen everything go to Hell, but instead of coming back to help he just let them all fail. He wanted to blow up on him so badly, but instead he tried to focus himself. He tried to remember all the times that he had failed the group.

   “You are my heir. You WILL learn to do this without me. I won’t be around to do this much longer. I had such a will to live after my near death experience in Chicago. But that fire quickly faded, because here we are back at this shit all over again. I was happy being away. I was happy TRYING to be Matthew, trying to wear the skin of a man who’d died. I spared, the one human I hate more than any metahuman to try and feel like I was him again. I felt like him again. I felt like suddenly I was someone else. Horrified at what I’d done, ashamed of who I had become. I am so pumped full of anti-anxiety meds at the moment that I can actually see clearly. I see that I’m near the end of my rope. I can’t go back to being Matthew because I’m so stained, so drenched in blood. I can’t keep being Humanity because I keep falling into this darkness. One way or another… it has to end. I gave the last of my connection to Yamm up, I told Nihilus it was HIS turn the world was counting on HIM now, Now I’m telling you soon, I’ll give up on Humanity. As a whole. It will be time to do the very thing I trained you to do. It will be YOUR turn, it will be on you now to be the voice of a nation, a million faces formed together to oppose the elevation and powers that wrong us and subject us.” Matthew pulled his mask off and looked at Humanity, the mask to him began to ripple and reflect his fear. The recurring nightmare he had still haunted him in the waking hours.

   He pulled his hood down and took a deep breath of air. He wanted to live, but there was no life left for him.  He wanted to die but his life was not his to give. He’d given it to others. He thought of his mother, his father and his brothers, all four of them. He’d thought of those he loved, Chelle and Victor and all the others. Matthew looked to Cameron and sighed as he shook his head.

“Then be someone else...”


The Arrival
---------------------------

   X was busy leading the way to the warehouse where he had been told that they were keeping the Secretary of Defense. He had hoped that Charlatan and Drifter had joined them he was quite uncertain of his own capabilities to deal with what might have been a small army.

   “Citizen Zero and Humanity, copy. Everything checks out. Just a small scuffle. No fatalities.”

   “Dude, I just got out of the hospital. I am not going’ back because yo dumbass wants to give me a heart-attack.” Khaos chuckled It was interrupted by the sound of a loud crash and a car alarm. “Ah-fuck. Guys, I got eyes on Vigilante. He’s dropping these guys off buildings. I’m gonna engage!”

   “Bad idea! Bad idea! He JUST PUT YOU IN A HOSPITAL BED!” Citizen Zero shouted, though Ash turned his communicator off, his GPS still on.

   "Go. I'll take care of this." was all Matthew could be heard saying in the background, his modulator apparently off as Citizen Zero took off running.

His leg stung pretty bad. Not enough to keep him from running about like he normally did but it was one of those things that stuck in the back of his mind for a good few minutes.  It was the fact there were likely people trying to hunt down and kill him that were the issue. This revolution didn’t have much love for the vigilantes like him, considering he didn’t want to actually put an end to anyone's life like that.  Hearing Drifter and Humanity argue at one another made him feel all the worse however. As if a bullet through the gray matter was actually a reprieve rather than something terrible. Taking a deep breath he pressed the palm of his hand against his thigh and it came back stained a dark red. ”Huh, this might leave a little scar.” He huffed, keeping back pressed against the wall he was against now until he heard the sound of people grunting and then hitting the floor.

”Finally. Thought you and Humanity were gonna start cyber sexing on the coms.” He rolled his eyes, hefting sparky onto his shoulder and looked to X who had arrived a few seconds late to aid him within his time of need. Not that he was by any means sour towards the vigilante, if at the very least he had tried to help. He seemed to grimace from the gunbutts to the downed man, causing a few more teeth to shatter or come loose. Well, if they were good looking before that was not the case now. If the guy hadn’t been trying to shoot him, Pat would have actually felt bad for him to some capacity. ”Yeesh, sure you needed to do that?” He questioned, feeling almost sick looking at it but he kept strong. There was more to worry about than the looks of some thug.

Offering a wave to X he was already trying to work on what they could do next. There had to be something that he could offer in the mission, other than running, asking for help and getting grazed by bullets. He looked up and saw him, standing on the edge of a rooftop with a smirk beyond the mask he was wearing. Did all of this amuse himself? Well, they looked like him but that couldn’t have been him. He ground teeth together, turning away before looking back and seeing them gone. Vigilante was dropping people off buildings he had heard before Khaos cut off his communicator. That was his friend too sorta, and who knew if the next time would be just the hospital.  His mind was reacted with so much that he already had the choice made for him.  His own limbs moved, following X through the streets to the warehouse where they were keeping that important person they wanted to kill.

What did catch his attention was another figure, one he didn’t recognize moving across the rooftops in black gear with a strange black helmet. Just a flash of them before they disappeared. They were an issue until the body fell from a roof not too far from them, splattering across the ground and his eyes kept on looking ahead.  ”So what’s the plan about those bombs? I think Drifter might be able to do something about one of the bombs. He seems to know a good bit about explosives.” He offered, feeling his heart begin to race even faster as his mind ran over what should be done. There was so much happening and he didn’t know what part he had to play. Would he even be able to change anything here? Nothing was better from the time that they had tried to fight off The Black Beast.

”I need to check on something guys. I’ll...meet you there.” He broke off, into an alleyway and followed what looked to be the black armored individual.

"I said no killing. I said nothing about beating the shit out of them," Drifter said in response to Pat, moving to each of the goons and putting cuffs on them. It only took a few taps on his computer to tip off the police. Sure, they were spread thin, but perhaps they would jump on the opportunity to grab a few free scumbags for questioning. If not, well, he was sure they'd get around to it in a few hours. The Ghosts could wait.

Looking at his wrist computer, Luke saw that Humanity's communicator and GPS were down. He hadn't noticed until now due to the fight with these dudes. His heart spiked in fear for just a moment, but then he heard that Citizen Zero was close enough to get to him. That was better than hearing nothing from him for God knows how long.

X arrived just in time to answer Drifter's previous question about finding the ringleaders. Apparently he had secured information on where they were keeping the Secretary of State. Drifter could barely wait. He wanted to get to the bottom of this. His name was being used for this repugnant movement, and that transgression required........... Correction.

It wouldn't be easy, however. There were apparently bombs in a few locations, and they also had limited time before the revolutionaries killed their hostage. It would be tricky saving everyone. Luckily though, as Pat pointed out, Luke had some specialty in the explosives department.

"Do we know if they have electronic detonation systems? That's most likely the case if they intend to remotely set them off. If they're electronic, I can hit them with my EMP on it's highest setting. Should fry the circuits and prevent detonation, depending on what kind of explosive they're using. But If it's just conventional stuff, like gas, dynamite, or fertilizer, with no sophisticated detonation system? Someone has to be there to light the fuse or set it off, and they'd need a shitload of the stuff to do any major damage. Either way, we have means to stop this," Drifter said, tapping on his wrist computer once again. He pulled up a map of the area.

"X, send the locations over the server. If the bombs are conventional, we can get rid of the people who are on standby to set them off. If they're sophisticated, we we can fry them. I'll go after one of the penthouses. I'd have no issue leaving this to Humanity, but he can't get rid of all of them at the same time," Once Drifter got his location, he would be off, running back towards the direction of his van. He left mere moments before Pat did.

There was some commotion about Vigilante over the communicators. Apparently Khaos was going after him. A stupid decision, to be sure. If the guy had beaten him that badly at full strength, what would he do with Khaos still recovering?

Stand down until you get back up, Khaos. Don't be a dumbass. Drifter spoke over the communicators with a blunt authority in his voice. No, he wasn't officially any sort of leader, but that didn't mean he wouldn't put his two cents in when somebody tried to do something retarded.

Once Drifter got back to his van, he sped off in the direction of one of the bombs. He honestly hoped they were using more sophisticated means of detonation. It would make this a lot easier, though potentially more deadly should he fail. Even still, dealing with a bunch of goons standing there ready to light a fuse or a fire was a bit too unnerving for Drifter's taste.

“Foxy is on board. They’ll get the two closest to them. It’s a sophisticated system, but it’s got a dead-man’s trigger. EMP is going to trigger the sequence.” A familiar voice came over the coms, the sounds of gunshots and then people screaming in pain. It’s not like Luke could say much, because if they were screaming in pain they were obviously alive. “I...can’t seem to remember how to disable these types. Cut the red wire, right?” Humanity asked as he audibly began pulling at things on the bomb. Of course he had to know that there was more to it, there were entire backups upon backups, not to mention the fail-safe that he obviously identified.

   “Hey-uh. No. So you don’t want to cut ANY wires.” It was a new voice, one that leaked through on the comms system through a secured access point. It was probably one of the other vigilantes Humanity had requested a device for prior to his two-week vacation to the beach. The voice came across a little more light-hearted and optimistic than he probably intended.

   “Well hel-lo Foxy. How about you come give me a crash course on these little things, put your bachelors in Engineer to actual use?” Was Humanity’s immediate reaction to the sound of the new voice.

   “Oh fuck you dude. Keep talkin’ smack and I just might.” The new voice said with a rather sharp laugh. There was almost no feedback form their end of the system, as if they were sitting still or moving slowly.

   “Fuck me, or show me how to work the bombs?” Humanity asked, though one might have expected that more form Charlatan. It was a new type of interaction from what he might have been used to hearing from the fearless leader.

   “Does it matter? Either way, you’re gonna blow.” Well, that escalated quickly. It was cut off by the sound of X coughing and Humanity trying his hardest not to laugh...and failing as he tried to internalize it.

   “I hate you so much...it’s like someone copy-pasted Charlatan and made him a furry.” He finally responded, throwing in the comparison to his other friend. No one had the chance to say much before X cut into everything.

   “Can we focus here? Anyone got eyes on Khaos or The Vigilante yet?” X asked, frantically trying to reclaim the communications system from the quickly derailed and light-hearted conversation. The situation was serious and X wanted to keep it that way, but to have things with such levity was sort of nice. Even X had to admit that much.

   “I’ll have two down in ten minutes, Raph. Matt, is there a timer anywhere on it?” There was a moment of silence. So Foxy was referring to people by their names and trying to help coordinate their knowledge. “Matt?”

   “I’m looking for one. Doesn’t seem to be one. Granted, I’m not the demolitions specialist.” Humanity said curtly, the more annoyed and bitter side slipping through as he sighed.

   “That’s both relieving and alarming. We’ve got no actual time limit, but we’re at the whim of these goddamn radicals.” X stated, as if he found some form of grand discovery. Someone slapped their face with their hand, whom it was remained unclear.

   “Says one of the dudes who plays dress-up and tries to beat up criminals. That’s like that Entei douche burning all the cops. Did ya hear about that one.” Foxy sighed and let out a little snicker. X audibly groaned and huffed as gunfire was heard on his side of the line. The sound of bullets bouncing off metal began to cause a slight set of panic.

   “Yeah bro, old news.” X said, sounding rather panicked at the moment. Meanwhile Foxy seemed to think nothing of it.

   “Well I didn’t know. I put up the ears a while ago. So Raph, Matt, Ash is taking on Vigilante. Where’s Cam and where’s Pat. Legit the only one of you assholes I can stand. Aaaand whose the other guy? Haven't given him a chance yet. Hey!” He asked, though he wasn’t intending to be rude. He simply had met everyone else and had no idea that Drifter was actually someone he didn’t know.

   “Be right back, Fam.” X said before turning down the coms, the faint sounds of struggle heard. The noises left enough to the imagination, the sound of someone hitting metal and the sound of firearms crashing to the ground.

Khaos’ Vigil
-------------------------------------
   There wasn’t a blow that he could make that this man didn’t seem to anticipate from behind his strange helmet.  Ashtyn was a damn good practitioner of Aikido, as good as Humanity when he was Azrael, but this guy wasn’t having any of it. Dual tonfa spinning as Ash relied on his mobility and dexterity. The helicoptering tonfa slapped off The Vigilante’s forearms as he blocked each blow, Ash spinning himself as he alternated in random patterns between striking at the torso and dropping down to strike at the knees, like a wrestler sliding in.

   His teeth were gritting as his domino mask began to itch, the eyeblack beneath it the only saving grace to such an ailment. He let out forceful breaths, grunts and growls, while the Vigilante remained quiet and ever quick to predict the next blow. The occasional grunt as Ashtyn’s blows seemed to reverberate through the plated combat armor. Overall Khaos knew he was stronger than this Vigilante, but that was the ONLY thing he had.  Vigilante was smarter, more trained and honed in. They were more mobile and their technology was much better. Their armor was even about the same.

   “The real difference between you and me? Khaos. Both of us are soldiers, doing the best we can for good people. I’m just not blind enough to believe a monster like Humanity could ever be redeemed.” The Vigilante said as he turned, wrapping an arm around Ashtyn’s broken wrist and diving onto his side, pulling the wound hero to the ground with little issue. After he finished rolling, Vigilante twisted the broken limb, forcing the release of the tonfa, and proceeded to use it to hit Khaos in the only place his armor didn’t cover. Once, twice and a third time.

   Each blow was a thunderous one to say the least a full on swing, meanwhile Khaos’ face was left against the rooftop, his vision blurring as he lay face down and helpless. The Vigilante dropped the appropriated weapon and stood up, pressing Khaos’ head into the rooftop as he stood, an extra measure. He kicked the tonfa over the side, a few feet away. Then he walked over and drove his heavy booted heel onto his fallen foe’s hand, a loud snap heard as pone protruded form the skin.

   “I’ve tried sparing you. Several times. But I’m finding my mercy and empathy running on E. You’re enabling him, Khaos. If I had my way, he’d be gone and you’d take his place. The HEro they should really look to. But unfortunately the only thing standing in the way of that...is you. As long as people like him are around, people like the ghosts and Legion will always rise up. They aren’t the problem. They are good people lead astray. HIM. He’s the problem.” The Vigilante withdrew his side-arm a gun obviously brandishing a custom color, though the make and model resembled that of a modified Desert Eagle. Pulling at the slide and then taking aim, The Vigilante seemed to focus in.

“I’m sorry.”  and he pulled the trigger.

He didn’t know what he was doing. Chasing after this unknown person through the city streets of LA while people killed one another for stupid ideals. They didn’t even know what they wanted, beyond the fact that they were following the example of some Equilizer like a god. That was what these figures ended up being right? Luke and X could deal with the bombs, they were more skilled than he was in so many ways so he did what he could. Something drew him to following after the masked individual, picking out a fire escape and scrambling up it as fast as his legs could carry him.  The metal clanged beneath him, slamming against his knees and drawing small sounds of annoyance from the vigilante until he reached the roof top and felt something slam into his back. Forcing him to pitch forward and roll until he was turning to the person behind him.

This familiar face looking down at him, ruined with a collection of burn scars the left side of his face down to the neck and beyond, and a smirk formed on his lips. "Like looking in a mirror right? Have to say it’s a little disappointing seeing myself so young and naive. Still doing that whole no killing thing? " He scrambled back from the...older looking him? What was all of this about anyway?

”What the hell?!” He cried, reaching into his bag and throwing whatever his hand grabbed. The can grabbed mid air as it exploded, though that seemed to do nothing more than amuse him. Not even a scratch on that black leathered hand. ”That...was...supposed to hurt you.”

"I know. Used to use these things on my Charlatan run, but they didn’t do me any good." He stepped down, approaching the man trying to scramble backwards before pushing himself to his feet. Now taking a more defensive posture. "Do you think it’s wise to waste time with me? Not that i’m going to insult myself, but there are people that need you more. Like more Ash for example."

”What do you know about him?” He demanded, eyes narrowed and even more on edge than before.

"He’s dying you know. That Vigilante guy is going to kill him. Probably already has actually." He noted, taking these slow, methodical steps towards him. Someone called out in the distance and there was the sound of gunfire, though the next thing he knew the stranger was behind him. Looking to  someone that had let off some rounds at him. "No no no, that will not do. There’s only one that can kill me and..." They clutched their throat, the faint sound of choking followed by their head exploding in a fount of blood. "it’s me."

”What the hell? You killed them!” He swung the bat futily against his head, bouncing off as if he had hit something solid.

"They’re not innocent Pat. All it took was an excuse and they rose, weapons in hand to kill innocent and guilty alike. Good people, bad people. They don’t care who they kill. They’ll kill Cam, they’ll kill Ash, Matt, Luke and anyone else you vaguely care about. None of them are innocent, so what’s the issue with removing these blights on society before they kill more?" The eyes appraised him, hollow despite the light they reflected. A fist collided with his chest, sending Charlatan skidding across the rooftop. "Too late now. He’s gone." He seemed to look down at a watch attached to his wrist, frowning deeply. "This is your fault you know? If you had just gone after him, but you trusted other people to do it. We both know our supposed best friends can’t do anything on their own. You have to step up. It’s always up to us isn’t it?" He wanted to refute that but he couldn’t. Despite everything else he couldn’t help feeling as if that were...true.

He turned away, eyes scanning the horizon. Smoke, fire and gunshots the new norm for this section of the city. "In this whole wide world we have no one but ourselves." He stepped off the edge of the rooftop, but there was no impact sound. Leaving him to gasp on a rooftop, at least one rib feeling as if it were broken and breathing even more painful.

Drifter had reached one of the penthouses. He kicked the door down, gauntlets raised. To his relief, nobody was here. That could only mean the bombs were intended to be remotely detonated—they weren't poor man's explosives. Drifter could work with this. He just hoped it was within his capabilities to disarm one of these things.

There was some chatter over the communicators. Apparently Humanity had made it to one of the bombs. Instead of getting to the disarming, he decided to have some friendly banter with a couple of the others. Usually Luke wouldn't have an issue with that, but they were literally defusing fucking bombs. Not only that, but it was a huge swing from Humanity's earlier mood. He acted like he didn't just get pissed off and then go dead on the coms.

But whatever. In all reality, Luke was glad to hear his voice. It was verbal confirmation he was alright.

Luke looked high and low in the penthouse for the weapon. It wasn't in the middle of the floor or anything. They'd hid it. Drifter was resorting to trashing the place, turning everything over that he could. Eventually, though, he did end up finding it, under the kitchen sink of all places.

Fuck Drifter said over the communicator. The bomb was computerized. Luke saw the single board chip on it. It could have any number of programs running on it, meaning he had no way of knowing what would blow this thing up. It could have had a command to blow if he jacked into the computer, cut any wire, or disconnected the chip. In fact, it most certainly did. You don't make a computer controlled bomb unless you want to make sure any tampering at all triggers a program to blow it up. He had few options.

This thing is computer controlled, and looks to be rigged to about a hundred pounds of plastic explosives. I..... Have no clue if I can disable it. But I'll try. We don't have time for me to wait for anyone. Drifter was breathing heavy, his eyes dilating. He took his hoodie off—it was cumbersome and hot. He needed a steady hand while doing this. He needed to think. One mistake and he'd be screwed.

The chip was plugged into the bomb by a simple connector, but he didn't dare pull it. It needed to be there, or it'd go off. This wasn't necessarily true, but there was no other reason someone would make it so simple to remove.

We're dealing with a professional somewhere in the ranks of these idiots. I've never seen a detonation system so tight knit. I'd be nerding out over his tech skills if they weren't actively trying to kill me. I'm guessing special forces experience, or maybe an intelligence agency. Luke spoke simply to occupy his mind. He didn't want to think about what he was doing. If he did, he didn't know if he could do what was needed. He had to remain detached—calm. He had an idea now about how to do this, but it needed a clear head.

Luke tapped on his wrist computer rapidly. He was setting up a quick program he hoped would defuse this thing. Once it was on his systems, and set to run automatically on boot, he shut the computer down. After that, it was only a matter of getting the chip out.

He smashed his wrist computer against the ground a few times, then started ripping into it with his other hand. He didn't have time to do this properly. He dug into his device, only being careful not to damage the board. The rest of the computer was inconsequential.

Eventually, he pulled the chip out, then discarded what was left of his computer over his shoulder.

I wrote a program that I hope will tell this thing not to divert power to setting the explosives off once it's connected. In order to run it, I'm going to try to replace the single board on the bomb with the one in my computer....... But, I'll have to activate mine and deactivate his at the EXACT same time, and even then, this guy could have anticipated that. He's good...... Let's just hope I'm better. Luke was thinking out loud now. He pulled the connector from his old computer, then attached the wiring to the explosive and connected his own board. The bomb now had two computers, his own, which was off, and the bomb maker's, which was on. Now it was only a matter of switching their status

Luke was sweating. This could be it. He didn't even know why he was doing it, really. A couple years ago, he couldn't have given a shit less about people being blown to hell. But here he was, putting his life on the line. Oh, how things change.

With the touch of a wire, Luke's computer was turned on, completely connected to the bomb. At the same time, he ripped the other chip off. For a moment he was sure it would blow up, but it didn't. He'd done it. His computer replaced the other one, and the only command it had was to not detonate the bomb under any circumstances.

Luke gasped for air, sighing in relief.

Oh Jesus, thank God....... It worked. We'll have to alert bomb squad when this is over, since the explosives are still active....But, for the time being, this one isn't going off. How is everyone else? Luke was unaware of the whole business with Khaos and Vigilante. He'd gotten no response, but his mind had been on defusing the bomb, not worrying about Ash. He could only hope he was alright as he gathered his things and made for his van once again.

“Woah, Matty you got yourself some actual skill on this group now. You’re really not just playing dress-up. I dig it.” Foxy laughed a little they clapped a little into the com.

“Yeah! Drifter’s the man! Dude’s saved our asses a lot.” X stated, it was a mixture of matter-of-fact with just a little bit of envy. “I got one. Foxy you got those two? Drifter’s got Penthouse? So that means Humanity’s got the last one, right?”

“Uh-yeah. I got one. CZ is here with me. Citizen Zero is making his way to the warehouse. I’m going to do some disposal with The Vigilante.” Humanity stated as the com cut off. This was a miraculous little feat they had just pulled. They had bested a demolitions expert, managed to keep their crew together for the most part, and no one had any serious injuries that they knew of. That was perfectly fine by him. Though this still felt wrong, deceitful. He sighed and shook his head.

“Not sure what you did, but good job on that Drifter.” The com cut back again and turned off for a moment. It left X and Foxy actually able to chat with Pat, Ashtyn and Citizen Zero’s coms on standby.

“Oh so you’re Drifter then? Alright, alright. You’re the leader then. Meet y’all back at the warehouse. I’ve gotta put a face with the legends.” Foxy said with a friendly chuckle, his coms turning to standby as well.

“Drifter...I’m on your way...can I uh...can I get a ride?” X chuckled nervously as he made his request, wholly expecting it to be a no.




Back from the dead
------------------------------

Khaos forced his eyes shut. This was the end. The feeling of the bullet-wait he couldn’t feel anything. Just that annoying pain radiating in his hand. Struggling to lift his head he looked back. Hearing the gun fire again and again, he flinched again and again. But no matter how much of a flash went from the barrel The Vigilante’s gun didn’t seem to fire anything but blanks. The man cocked his gun back and dropped the clip from the butt, catching it.

“What the Hell? These aren’t blanks, I just shot someone earlier.” The Vigilante said to himself as he looked. There was the noise of metal clinking and clattering to the rooftop. “What did you to my gun?” The Vigilante questioned, his voice was aggressive but he seemed far more interested in what happened.

[color:7338=#slateblue]“You got me on my belly. It ain’t me...” Kahos said with a chuckle, feeling a wave of relief and a sudden burst of butterflies in his stomach, his heart feeling weightless as he let out a sigh. Adrenalin was a hell of a thing, but even now to just enjoy the fact he was still breathing was a blessing.

“Then who else could it have been, smartass?”
“His guardian angel?” The Vigilante felt a subtle force push him forward, and then he was pulled off his feet. As if on instinct he dropped his clip and pulled out his combat knife, blade back as he tried to turn himself, using the momentum to attempt and leverage a strike to whatever was pulling him. But the time he arrived at the end of the pull, his forearm plating was snagged by a silver plating that seemed to be charred black The knife seemed to menace as it hovered over the mask of someone The Vigilante hadn’t seen in a very long time. The moment was taken by advantage as the new challenger drove a foot into the side of the Vigilante’s knee, dropping him for a thick plated knee to smash into his face, his visor shattering with a small shower of sparks.

The Vigilante swiped with his knife, pivoting on his knee as he stood and got into his trained martial stance. Knife blade back hand up and focus pinned to his new opponent. COntrasting Vigilante’s black color scheme, this individual was a familiar contrast of colors. A lighter yellow on whites and purples with blacks.

“Thought you were dead, years go.” The Vigilante laughed a little, almost as if he were expecting quite a bit of entertainment form this encounter. The other did nothing but speak quietly.

“Drop the weapon and walk away. I’ve little mercy for someone who would kill a fellow Hero for simply believing in the principles that guide them all.” That was a to-the-point statement. They made it quite clear that Vigilante was not welcomed here. Of course Vigilante's obsession with bringing justice to the one whom terrorized metahuman and mankind alike was blinding. He missed the point entirely.

“So what, now Humanity’s got you on his payroll too?” They growled, hissing and almost seething as they stood up, fists clenched and their form getting a bit sloppy. Their anger was clear to see.

“Oh ye of so little faith.” The contrasted man said. The Vigilante charged. The man moved as best as he could, the slice of Vigilante’s knife moving past the man, the shift in momentum causing him to turn and sweep at his opponent’s legs. The contrasted man seemed to jump, and as Vigilante spun up to slash he landed and put his arm up to block the incoming knife. It sliced at the metal plating's on his arm, a piece actually breaking off as the gauntlet began to throw several fists right into The Vigilante’s abdomen. Before long The Vigilante lashed out, aiming to slash at this intruder’s throat, though they were able to avoid that, they let out a roar as the black-clad combatant spun ever so swiftly and managed to sink his blade into a crevice between the armor plating, hitting the brighter schemed intruder in the side, the blade sinking into flesh as red began to form around the area. The Vigilante went to pull it’s blade out, but it felt it’s opponent's hand on his wrist, locked on tight. Their other arm came up and locked around The Vigilante’s nearm and neck, pulling them backwards as they stood, slightly lifting The Vigilante off the ground.

“ALL. ARE. JUDGED.” It said as it walked towards the side of the roof, and twisting Vigilante’s wrist, a sickening crack heard as they released the combat knife, yelling in pain, the cloaked figure releasing them with a forceful push, sending them down to the street below, crashing onto a car. The man whines a little, groaning as it looked to the knife in it’s side. Leaving it there, they walked over to Khaos, who looked up and scoffed.

“Thought you retired.” They chuckled, their apparent ally doing so as well before they leaned down and picked up the transmitter, turning it on and clearing his throat.

“H-Hi guys. Got my ass kicked. He almost killed me...Got a friend here though.”

“Humanity. I wanted to tell you that your suspicions were correct. I’ll get the information to you. I’m taking Khaos to get medical attention. Appears to now have several protruding bones from their hand. After tonight...we’re even.” They said as they let Khaos have the transmitter, placing hands under their arms to help lift them.

“Gha! Fuck. Hey it could be worse. He saved me from 4 DEagle shots to the back of the head...not sure how but-” The transmitter was snatched up and turned off.

“Let’s get you into civilian clothing. I’ll show you someday.”



Aftermath
-------------------------------------------------
“Citizen Zero, I don’t trust that. At all. I want you to go make sure Khaos gets to a hospital. I’ll Rendezvous with the others. Charlatan, where the fuck are you? I’m on my way to your location.” Humanity said across the com system. There was a more worried tone to his voice. Charalatan had been gone for quite some time.