"Ah, shit."
The two policemen pointed their guns with intent at the masked man, they made it clear, any wrong move will result in his permanent end.
"This is unit 13, we have the suspect cornered at 16 Avenue. Requesting backup over." One of the officers reached up to the walkie-talkie clipped to his shoulder and called for backup.
The two men aiming guns at him were no real threat to him, his body armor was more than enough to stop ordinary bullets, but that didn't mean he was out of danger.
With his injuries, he couldn't take them head on even if he wanted to.
'Hava, how bad is it?'
[You have a fractured shoulder master, the day you complete a mission without fracturing at least one bone will be a miracle.]
"Oh shut up." His eyes twitched at H.A.V.A's response, and before he knew it, the words slipped from his lips.
"Shut up? Cocky son of a bitch! Hands in the air!"
"On your knees! Do it! Do it now!"
The two officers closed in with measured steps, fingers poised to fire at the faintest sign of movement.
Sirens wailed in the distance, their overlapping echoes making it clear that more than two squad cars were closing in.
[Master, satellites has detected that the rapid fission build up has disappeared.]
'What's that supposed to mean?'
[The core has been reunited with the reactor and has now stabilized.]
His eyes widened in disbelief. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted the robber leader lying unconscious in the distance, so how?
'The van, is it still at the location you pinpointed earlier??'
[I cannot provide an accurate answer master, now that both the reactor and core has been reunited, their respective energy levels has disappeared until they are separated again or activated.]
"On the ground now!"
"Tch, damn it, I don't have time for this." Immediately, he tossed a smoke grenade to the ground before he sprang into the air with all the strength he had left.
The next moment, it detonated into a cloud of smoke covered them all, blocking their vision.
"Hey!" Though they couldn't see their target, they fired anyway, emptying their magazines into the spot where they had last seen him before the smoke swallowed their view. Fortunately for the masked man, the rounds bounced harmlessly off his body armor as he vanished across the rooftops.
As the cloud of smoke settled to the pavement, the masked man had already disappeared.
"Damn it all.." They holstered their sidearms as the squad cars rolled in. Approaching one of the vehicles, they stood at attention. The instant the door swung open, they pressed a fist to their chests as a tall figure stepped out.
"Lieutenant!"
A tall man, easily six-foot-three, stepped out of the car with unhurried ease. He wore a sleek black suit under a matching trench coat, a polished watch gleaming on his wrist, and dark shades concealing his eyes.
He remained dead silent, slowly turning his head as he analysed every detail of their environment, from the debris that nearly crushed the couple, to the bullet holes in the wall, and finally.
"Take him." With a calm, commanding tone, he ordered his men, his gaze drifting to the unconscious leader lying in the distance. Their arrival had been delayed by Lady Impulse's parting gift on the road, though they had no idea who took them out.
"So, he got away." He slid his shades off slowly, his gaze shifting to the smoke that clung low over the pavement. "You won't escape me next time... Vigilante."
His eyes burned with resolve. Since the age of heroes began, the police had lost most of their work to these heroes. Now, all they were good for was cuffing and locking up the criminals the heroes caught, but now.
Now, with the rise of the vigilante, his career finally a meaning, it was a task the Heroic Factions wouldn't give two fucks about. And he wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers.
____________________________________
After making sure the room was empty, Mason slipped in through the window, careful not to strain his injured shoulder or draw his aunt's attention.
The mask dissolved into tiny particles from his face, as if disintegrating, and his body armor also vanished the same way. He slowly peeled off his torn hoodie and eased himself onto the bed.
"AAARGH." Despite his best efforts, he couldn't mask the pain that tugged him at his shoulder.
"Hava, inititate Nano regeneration." He spoke under his groans, biting his lower lip in order to mask the pain.
[Affirmative, the regeneration process requires ten minutes, do you want to administer some anesthetics?]
"I've lasted thirty minutes in bed with Vanessa, I can take this..."
[Initiating Nano Regeneration.]
For a moment, his corneas glowed a soft blue, and then a sudden heat surged through his veins. It was the millions of nanites scattered his bloodstream, all activating at once to repair every flaw in his body.
Now that law enforcement had finally confronted the vigilante, Mason couldn't help but wonder what would come next. But one thing was certain, there was no turning back, especially not after crossing paths with the lieutenant.
_______________________________________
Minutes after the hijackers' leader was taken down, a van rolled up to a remote warehouse, the very place where the robbers had been dealt a harsh beating by the vice leader of the Syndicate.
As the van's engine died down, Dr. Helen and the Purple Syndicate's vice leader stepped out of the warehouse and made their way to the vehicle. When they opened the rear door, there it was—the V-core securely installed at the base of the van.
"You were right Dr Helen, those useless excuse of a robbers already failed once, what stops them from failing twice? So I sent one of my men to shadow them, complete what they couldn't."
"I'm always right, now that we have the core, we can begin Project V.E.X.A.M, though it'll take quite a while to separate the complete reactor from the van."
Dr Helen pushed her glasses back up her nose, she didn't smile, she didn't grin. Her philosophy was, proper planning and calculations results in unmatchable victory. Science was her ally, everything else was a flaw.
"About that... There's something we have to do before we begin Project V.E.X.A.M."
"What? This was not part of the schedule, what's so important that we have to wait."
The vice leader stepped away from the van, glanced up at the night sky, and let out a soft sigh. "It's become clear that we both have a common enemy, I spoke with my men as he shadowed the robbers. Lady Impulse was there."
"What?" Although she was surprised, her hones behavior made it seem like she expected it a bit. "A hero was there? Since when did heroes meddle in affairs such as a car robbery?"
It was a variable she didn't account for.
"Who knows? But this all happened because of that Vigilante, this is the second time he's interfered with our affairs, he's the real problem. As long as he's still breathing, there's no telling when he's going to interfere with our plans again. In order to carry out Project V.E.X.A.M and prepare the city before the boss arrives."
He turned his gaze back to Dr Helen.
"We have to kill him."