They were waiting for .
I saw the mask too late. A barrel-chested man erged from the darkness, his clothes screaming bad guy. His shaved head glead under a nearby streetlamp.
Another man stepped forward, leaning casually against the wall. He was thinner, more muscular, with a full head of hair. His cold eyes bore into —calculating, gauging. Two hired guns flanked them, stationed up and down the street in casual attire. Their shifting postures and darting eyes gave them away.
Four against one. Bad odds. Worse, they had the advantage of experience. Sure, I had strength, but I was still learning to use it.
"Julius," Baldy drawled. "Been looking for you."
I didn't answer. My brain was already working, mapping the street. Too many variables. Too many ways this could go wrong. I should've been more vigilant. More careful.
Blondie sighed, pushing off the wall. "Don't make this harder than it has to be."
I ran.
We were on the sa side of the street, and they were a dozen steps away, but I was confident.
Baldy lunged with surprising speed, fingers grazing my hoodie before I twisted away. A gun cocked behind , but no shot. They wanted alive. That was good.
The city blurred as I spiked Reinforcent. My feet hit the pavent too hard, too fast. My body wasn't fully mine—it was stronger and faster but untested under extre conditions. I misjudged a turn and slamd into a newspaper stand, barely keeping my balance. The two hired guns fell behind, but Blondie and Baldy kept pace, cutting off angles and driving toward a dead end.
I leaped onto a stack of old pallets, miscalculated, and nearly slipped. Baldy's hand grazed my ankle. I transitioned into a roll, putting the pallet between us. I ca up surprisingly well and sped off as the burly man cursed.
Rooftops. That was my only out.
I spotted a neon sign flickering over a corner store—low enough to grab.
Now or never. You've jumped down three-story buildings. You can handle light parkour.
I veered left, planted a foot on the wall, and launched. My hands caught tal, montum swinging upward and over the ledge.
I landed too hard. My roll was off, but my system thought it was good enough.
You've learned Acrobatics Lv 1.Increased control and speed when attempting Acrobatics. Current boost: 10%.
And then—
A crack. Fire licked my side. A grazing shot. Warm blood seeped through my hoodie. Fuck.
They weren't playing anymore.
Fine.
I kept running, ignoring the sting. My body rapidly adjusted to the new skill, but at this speed, it still felt like too much—too fast, too reckless. I cleared the next jump with a comforting grace, then the one after that, but it wasn't enough.
They cornered again on a rooftop two blocks away. I skidded to a stop, breath ragged. Baldy grinned, gun raised. Blondie flanked my right, cutting off escape. The hired muscles hauled themselves up behind .
"Told you it'd be fun, didn't I?" Baldy said to Blondie.
My shoulders sagged, half relieved to catch my breath, half playing up my weakness.
Blondie shot Baldy a side-eye but didn't respond. Baldy laughed.
I bolted for the edge.
Blondie cursed and fired a crippling shot. It slid off my shoulder with a tily application of Inverse as I went over. I hit the side of the opposite building hard, Inverse still burning. Pushing off, I dropped two stories, landing steadily on my feet.
I flipped the asshole rcenaries off with a grin before I ran. And Artemis said practicing the jumps wouldn't co in handy.
I took off, threading through the interconnected maze of streets around the bus station before finally slowing, trying to fade into the droning crowd. Doubling back was risky, but it'd be the last place they'd expect--.
Then I saw him.
Baldy smiled at through the shifting sea of people.
My stomach dropped. I turned—Blondie was at the opposite end. The hired guns stood at my twelve and six o'clock.
"Gotta say," Baldy called out, his voice carrying over the street noise, "for soone with such a reputation, you're pretty chickenshit."
Blondie snorted, but her eyes never left . "It's clearly mostly luck."
No ti to argue. No ti to think. I took off, cutting through a group of tourists and ducking into an alley before they could lock in completely.
If they wanted a chase, I'd give them one—on my own terms.
Can't track an enemy you can't see.
I hit the alley wall running, Reinforcent surging through my legs. My hands scraped against rusted balcony railings, hauling up fast. My muscles burned, but I didn't stop. I scaled the rooftop and vanished behind Curtain. It worked last ti.
Disappearing should buy so ti.
I crouched, listening, heart hamring. I could wait. Stay here. Disappear. They'd be none the wiser.
But I'd have to deal with them again at a ti and place I couldn't afford.
What if they tracked to my motel? Or ca to the gym? Or found in the middle of a fight?
The smart thing to do was kill them. There were no real alternatives.
I couldn't pawn them off like I did Tom. I didn't have the ti, privacy, or confidence to subdue all four of them, and even then, Penguin might not co for them.
This was Mask's territory.
But there was a finality to killing a second ti. I swallowed. No more pretense of innocence. No more denying what I really was. My fist tightened. I was firmly on Batman's naughty list now. Artemis would take it badly. Don't get started on the bounty spike and police attention.
But all of that was inconsequential. I made a promise.
The night by the river ca back to clearer than ever.
Candice. Sasha.
They couldn't be found.
I exhaled slowly, forcing the hesitation down as I slipped my brass knuckles from my jeans. Cursed Energy filled the weathered tal.
Baldy climbed up the other side of the building, smirking. "Co on now, Julius. I kno—"
I didn't hesitate.
One swing. All my strength. Cursed Energy pulsed through .
His throat crunched. Cartilage exploded. He crumpled before the pain registered, the gun slipping from his hand. I caught it mid-air, shocked.
Just like that, Baldy was dead.
By this point, Blondie and the rest of the rcenaries had joined us on the roof. The rcenary leader reacted fast, pivoting and aiming.
I was too slow.
His bullet hit center mass. My heart skipped. Inverse turned the shot into a love tap.
He wasn't so lucky.
My bullet caved in his chest. Blondie staggered back, blinking at the hole in his ribs. He sucked in a sharp breath as if to speak—then his legs gave out.
I fired at the second rcenary. He stumbled back over the edge, falling to his death.
The last rcenary panicked, hands shaking as he raised his gun. He managed a single wild shot. I twisted out of the way, the bullet whizzing past my ear.
Too late.
I pulled the trigger. His head snapped back, wide eyes filled with terror.
They lay there for five whole seconds before it hit . The blood, the death, the reality of it all. The horror ca in a crippling wave that spread down to my shaking hands.
And just as suddenly as it ca, it was gone.
My breath steadied. My pulse evened.
I wiped the guns clean, took the ammo, and checked their wallets. Cash. Useless IDs. A folded photograph of my face.
I pocketed it all.
I dropped Curtain and lted into the night—before the police or more of Mask's n ca knocking.
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