One month later
It had been about two months since Nyx's death, and one month since Nerissa went missing. Contrary to the attempts of Sanctuary, there had been no sign of Nerissa or Z. There wasn't a sign of the Ace of Hearts either, and it made everyone on edge. Danny had been spending most of his time taking care of Soul, who was...not doing well at all. She had lost her mother, Nyx, and Nerissa in the span of two months. Nate had been spending most of his time in Sanctuary's gym, building muscle and sparring with Rhys. Today however, they were outside in the yard.
"You're doing great, buddy. Good to see you back." Rhys said to Nate as they stretched their arms after an intense sparring match.
Nate brought his arms down and stretched his right arm in a windmill fashion. "To be honest, I'm not fully back just yet...it's probably going to be a while but...right now, I'm feeling okay." Nate finished as he lowered his arm and flexed his fingers.
"Yeah, I know but...ya know, it's good to see you out in the sunlight instead of hiding in your room." Rhys teased his friend a little, hoping to get a laugh out of him. It worked a little and a small smile graced his face.
"Yeah, I kinda missed sunlight." Nate's voice went lower as they started walking towards the benches on the side of the room. Rhys looked over at his friend with a somber look. He noticed that Nate's skin had become slightly paler from two months of barely being outside. He was getting better though, and that's what mattered most. "But uh..." Nate spoke up again, catching Rhys' attention. "How have you been doing?" Nate spoke quietly, but he knew he had to ask. Rhys seemed so distraught after Nerissa went missing, and it was clear that he was now holding those emotions inside.
Rhys dropped his head with a sigh, "Not great, I'm slightly furious that we haven't found her yet. There hasn't even been a single fucking lead!" Rhys lifted his head as he got slightly angry before calming down.
Before Nate could respond, one of Elizabeth's agents peeked his head out of the door back inside and looked at the two boys sitting on the bench. "There you are, you're needed in the Chairman's office, now." The agent said rather rudely before he stepped back inside the building. The two boys stood up swiftly and walked back inside. This had to be because Elizabeth found something.
When they entered her office, Kyle, Orion and Danny were already there. Oddly enough, Soul was there as well. She was standing next to Danny and she looked horrible. Her skin was paler than normal and she had dark bags under her eyes. At first glance, it seemed like Danny hadn't been doing a good job of taking care of her. Thinking about it more however, there was a good chance that this was holding it together for her. "Soul? What're you doing here?" Rhys asked as they approached the desk.
"I asked her here." Elizabeth responded in place of Soul and Rhys looked at her. "I have a lead regarding Z. Supposedly, he has targeted a small faction of Gifted who has taken it up on themselves to engage in vigilante work." Elizabeth typed on her keyboard before the light screen appeared in front of the desk. The group saw an image of a large stone building that looked to be on the outskirts of the city. "They're called Iris, and this is their headquarters. Our intel suggests that Z will be attacking Iris headquarters tonight in an attempt to wipe them out."
"Wait-" Danny held up his hand, "-I thought he was taken by the Ace of Hearts?" Danny asked as the realization hit him.
"I guess he escaped, this Intel was intercepted directly from the police. It's unlikely that it's fake." Elizabeth answered quickly. Danny thought for a moment, if Z escaped the Ace of Hearts, then why couldn't Nerissa? She was definitely capable of it if she really needed to.
"Well, at the very least, maybe if we finally kill that fucker it'll piss off The Ace. He'll show himself and we can get Nerissa back." Rhys said in a stern tone as he looked at the image in front of him with his arms crossed. Nate peeked over at him with a raised eyebrow, but stayed quiet.
"You have a few hours to prepare and plan your approach. Do not take chances with this man, and do not take chances with Iris. Just because they are Gifted does not mean they are like us. After researching them further, I discovered that they claim to be justice seeking vigilantes, but in reality they are ruthless and selfish. They only save who they want to save, and any Gifted outsiders are deemed the enemy." Elizabeth sounded serious, which made the group worry a bit.
"So you're saying, that not only will we be up against Z, but we are also up against an experienced Gifted organization?" Nate stepped forward and spoke next.
"That's correct, which is why I'm telling you to be prepared." Elizabeth said before she reached down to something out of sight. When she brought her hand back up she was holding a small USB drive, "This has the schematics for the Iris headquarters. Study them before you leave." Everyone looked at each other before Danny took the drive and they all walked out of the room.
"Hey, guys." Danny spoke up quietly once they were all out of the ear shot of Elizabeth. They all looked at him with intrigue. "I have something...kinda cool to tell you all." Danny had a small smile creep onto his lips, a rarity in these times. "I think I may have... actually figured out my Super Prediction."
Nate raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean figured out?"
Soul and Danny exchanged a look, "Well, Soul has kinda been helping me with it. At the basic level, all Gifts are really very similar in the way that the energy is used. They start off strong, but they can be weakened from excessive use, or a mentally debilitating event. Different forms of a Gift can take more energy than others." Danny gestured to Soul with one hand. "Soul here, has assisted me in figuring out how to call upon my latent energy, much like using my Electrokenesis. But instead, I focus it into Super Prediction. Watch." Danny said with another smile before he lifted both his hands in front of him with his finger tips together. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply while Soul watched with a small smile. When Danny opened his eyes, they were shimmering like he was using his Gift to open a coded lock. "Kyle, hit me."
Kyle suddenly perked up after zoning out during Danny's rant. "Huh?"
"Hit me. If you can." Danny said with a coy smile. Kyle raised his eyebrows before he looked at the rest of them. Nate swiped his hand upward slightly, wordlessly sending the green light. Kyle looked back over at Danny and shrugged before he sent a punch at Danny's jaw. Danny immediately reacted and diverted his fist.
Kyle scoffed after he stood up straight again, "Well duh you can dodge a punch when you're expecting it." Kyle had some attitude in his voice.
Danny rolled his eyes, "Ugh, fine." He grumbled before he turned around with his back to Kyle. He lifted his arms at his sides in a sort of grand shrug. Kyle raised an eyebrow and waited a moment before he tried throwing another punch as quietly as possible. Danny reacted and took one step back with his right foot and reached around his head with his left hand. He gripped Kyle's wrist and pulled his arm forward, causing him to stumble forward slightly. Danny pivoted his body to face Kyle as he stumbled and Danny placed the side of his forearm against Kyle's chest. He shoved Kyle back and he slammed against the wall, causing Kyle to grunt in slight surprise at Danny's physical strength. The rest of the group watched with slight pride, seeing how far Danny had come. Kyle saw the silver shimmer in Danny's eyes fade as he stepped back and released him.
"Okay, alright. I see you." Kyle said casually as he stepped away from the wall. "Respect." He added before he held up his fist for Danny, who smiled softly before fist bumping him.
"So, you can see any hits now?" Orion asked in awe with a smile on his face, also a rarity in these times. Danny turned around to face him and returned the smile.
"Kind of, I can see any form of danger. I can see non-lethal hits when I focus, but obviously I can't be focusing constantly or I'd burn out. Then I wouldn't even be able to see the lethal hits. So, I have to choose when I activate it carefully." Danny responded concisely, it seemed like he was almost back to his former self but the exhaustion was still obvious.
"Dude, that's awesome!" Nate actually sounded excited. "That gives us a huge advantage!" This was the first time Nate had been this happy since Nyx's death and it warmed Danny's heart.
"Hell yeah it will, but let's take a look at this drive. Just because Danny got a buff doesn't mean we can run in blind." Rhys said in a confident tone before they all moved to Danny's room to use his computer. Danny sat down at his desk and slotted the USB into the computer. After a moment, Danny pulled up the map of the Iris headquarters.
It was silent for a moment as everyone surrounded Danny, studying the blueprints. "Okay, well it seems to me like the back wall of the building is right up against a forest. We could approach from behind and get onto the roof. Then we could use this roof entrance to get inside, if it's unguarded." Danny pointed at the rooftop entrance and paused for a moment. "Well, even if it is guarded, that won't really matter."
"Alright, sounds like a plan to me." Nate said slightly coldly, he had reverted back to his serious and methodical mannerisms. "Let's go get this fucker."
"I'm coming too." The group looked surprised when Soul spoke and turned to face her.
"Really? Are you sure?" Danny asked her with a hint of concern.
"I get your concern, but I want this guy dead as much as you do. I'm sick of staying at the sidelines, I want to help." She replied decisively, causing Danny to smile slightly.
He was happy to fight by her side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The group approached the building through the woods behind the Iris headquarters. All of them had their hoods up, masks on, and weapons stowed. It was eerily quiet, other than the soft ambient noise of the wilderness. When they got to the building, Soul crafted a platform of shadow underneath them and lifted them all to the roof. They stepped off the platform and it faded away, Danny stood still for a moment and activated his Super Prediction before moving towards the rooftop entrance. He took the lead and opened the door before stepping inside. It was a small staircase that led down into the building, once they reached the bottom. Danny halted and his body tensed, the group could immediately tell something was wrong.
"What is it?" Nate whispered at him, Danny turned his head and peeked at Nate from over his shoulder.
"Do you smell that?" Danny replied in a slightly shaky whisper. It was then that the group focused on their sense of smell. There was a sickly sweet scent in the air that they all recognized immediately. Blood.
"Shit..." Soul said under her breath before she heard Danny take a deep breath and reach for the doorknob. He opened the door and the smell immediately grew stronger. When Danny stepped into the hallway, his eyes went wide when he saw what was in the hallway. The rest of his friends filed in after him and similar looks spread across their faces. It was a massacre, there were bodies peppering the hallway, flat on the ground, leaning against the walls. There was blood coating the walls, ground and even the ceiling.
"What...the hell happened here?" Orion uttered softly, not necessarily shaken from the sight, he had seen worse. He was staying quiet to avoid being heard, if there were any survivors.
"Looks like Z got here first..." Nate responded with a slight hint of anger. Soul could feel a strange pressure in her chest, a realization hit her after she had studied the bodies a bit further.
"No..." The group looked at her when they heard the uneasiness in her voice. "It was Damien...Damien did this..." The group tensed as the memory of the last time they saw Damien rushed through their minds.
"How can you be sure?" Nate stepped forward and gave Soul his entire attention.
"I know my brother, Nate. I know how he fights, I know how he kills. While he is capable of killing with a single well placed strike, he loves to make his opponents bleed and suffer." Soul said as her eyes were glued to a single corpse, a young man who was slashed across the chest and had a horrible stab wound on his abdomen. It was clear that the cause of death was blood loss.
It was silent for a while, "Why would he do this? Why would he even be here?" Danny sounded slightly afraid, but was still staying strong.
"Maybe he is after Z as well." Kyle piped up as he stood there with his arms crossed. "Shame we missed him, I wanted to pay him back for what he did to Oliver." He sounded angry and Danny noticed the almost feral look in his eyes.
"Don't get cocky, Kyle. You've never gone against this guy, he is slaughter made flesh." Danny warned him in an earnest tone as he locked eyes with Kyle, who scoffed at his warning.
"I'm sure he's not all that." Kyle responded passively with a wave of his hand, Danny clenched his jaw and his hands became fists. He stepped forward until he was about a foot away from him. He had to look up a bit because of Kyle's height.
"Damien tried to kill me because I accidentally knocked him down in the hallway of Zachariah's compound. After we broke out, he kidnapped and tortured me for hours on end, threatened to kill my sister in front of my eyes and became the first and only person I've ever killed. He came back from the dead and then kidnapped Nerissa and Nyx, and tried to force Nate to choose between killing Nyx or killing me. He slaughtered an entire festival of civilians just to try and kill Nyx and drop her corpse at Nate's feet. He killed Oliver. He is not...to be underestimated." Danny spoke clearly and Kyle's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh..." Kyle said quietly, a lot of that was new information for him. He was surprised to feel his hands shaking slightly, a feeling that he hadn't felt for a while creeping under the surface. Danny wordlessly turned around and walked down the hall, stepping over bodies. He was done with this conversation and was now looking for clues, or Z's body. Kyle looked over at Nate for a moment before Nate closed his eyes with a small, one shouldered shrug. Nate then went down the hall and followed Danny, the rest of them followed soon after.
After searching the headquarters, they only seemed to find files on Iris' activities, and they didn't find Z's body. None of the bodies were noticeably killed by bullets or the thick blade they knew he possessed. After a somber moment of defeat, they decided to leave the headquarters through the main entrance. Danny peaked out of the main entrance and saw more bodies, but still not Z. He held his hand behind him to tell his friends to wait before they left the doorframe, he had a bad feeling. When Danny took one step out of the door, a vision quickly flowed into him.
He saw himself get shot right in his forehead.
He was brought back to reality and sidestepped back inside and avoided the gunshot by an inch. "Sniper." He whispered, knowing that they would know. Nate clenched his fists and they shook slightly. That urge to kill creeped into his system again. Nate stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked to see Kyle.
"I got this. Danny, where is he?" Kyle suddenly sounded serious before his eyes started glowing neon pink. Danny looked into his eyes but hesitated before he answered.
"There's a second building outside, he's on the roof. I think he assumes we're part of Iris too so be careful." Danny said sternly as he leaned towards Kyle slightly.
Kyle nodded with a smile before the group saw him back away from the wall and stood in front of the doorway, not close enough for Z to see from his post. The group watched as Kyle suddenly split into 6 identical clones. "Keep connected to me, no matter what." He whispered to Nate before all the clones took off outside. It was a moment before the gunfire started, the group quickly moved to a position where they could watch the situation without being in Z's eyesight. Z aimed for the clones at random, he took one down and it faded away in streams of pink digitized energy. He shifted his aim and shot at another, same thing. Z's eyes narrowed before he adjusted, aimed for the one on the far left and fired.
This time...Kyle bled.
His head jerked backwards as the bullet went through his forehead and out of the back of his head. The group halted and gasped in horror at what they were watching. Kyle's body fell to the ground and blood pooled fast under his head as the rest of the clones faded away. Nate stared with trembling eyes, the image of Nyx's body in that same state burned itself into his mind.
On the roof of the other building, Z exhaled deeply after he had taken his shot. He stared through the scope, waiting for the rest of them to try and make a move. His breath hitched slightly when he felt a presence behind him.
Now, Nate.
Nate gasped softly when he heard Kyle's voice in his head, Nate took a split second to thank himself for not subconsciously stopping the connection of their minds. The bleeding clone that they had thought was Kyle faded away in front of their eyes. "Kyle's not dead, move!" Nate yelled before they all ran out of the doorway.
Back on the roof, Z pivoted his body and avoided Kyle's foot as he tried to stomp down onto him. Kyle quickly took out his knife and stood in a ready position with his knife held backwards. Z faced him as he unsheathed his thick sword, the blade that almost killed Danny. "Illusions, huh? Interesting." He said in an even tone as he spun his blade. "I take it you're friends with that gravity brat I killed, am I right?" Kyle gritted his teeth slightly.
"Yeah, I was. So, now I'm gunna kill you. Well, I won't kill you, Nyx's boyfriend will. He hates you." Kyle said with a cocky smile.
Z chuckled once. "That reckless little mind stealer? I'm really scared." Z taunted Kyle slightly, knowing that Kyle likely knew that Z had almost killed Nate as well.
Kyle smiled again and a cocky chuckle left his mouth. "You have no idea what that guy can and will do when he gets his hands on you, but hey, go ahead and underestimate him." Kyle stood up straight and flipped his knife in the air a few times before it fell back into his hand.
"It'll be the last thing you ever do."