**October 31, 2026. 2:00 AM.**
A shadow moved across the rooftops of La Vendetta, silent and purposeful. When it reached a particular hotel building, the shadow climbed the wall and slipped through a window left deliberately unlocked on the fourth floor.
Itachi landed softly in the room where Beto and Ji-won sat awake, talking in low voices. They looked up as he entered, unsurprised by the unconventional arrival.
"You're back," Ji-won said.
"Yup," Itachi replied, moving to sit with them. "I got everything we need. Storage room layout, security routines, guard shift changes, escape routes. The auction ends at eight PM tonight. We move immediately after."
"And Marvel?" Beto asked.
"Having him changes everything," Itachi confirmed. "Instead of sneaking in through vents and dodging security for hours, we just teleport directly into the storage room, find the pills, and get out. Simple, clean, minimal risk."
Beto smiled, a rare expression of genuine amusement. "Anytime Marvel's with us, work just gets done fast. No extra stress, no complicated plans. Just in and out."
"Don't get cocky," Ji-won warned. "Even with Marvel's ability, something could go wrong. We prepare for complications."
"Always," Itachi agreed. "But this is as straightforward as a heist gets."
They spent the next few hours reviewing the plan in detail, memorizing the layout, discussing contingencies. By the time the sun rose, they were ready.
**October 31, 2026. 6:00 PM.**
The Black Market Auction had begun two hours earlier at 6:00 PM sharp, and it was already being whispered about as the biggest in La Vendetta's history.
The venue was a converted theater in the heart of the city's criminal district. Outside, well-dressed criminals and fugitives arrived in expensive vehicles, each one carrying enough money to buy small countries. Inside, the atmosphere buzzed with barely contained greed and ambition.
Rare artifacts from ancient civilizations. Weapons that technically shouldn't exist. Information that could topple governments. Experimental drugs that pushed the boundaries of human capability.
And somewhere in the storage room beneath the theater, carefully secured and catalogued, the vital energy enhancement pills waited to be sold to the highest bidder.
Itachi, Beto, and Ji-won didn't attend the auction itself. They waited in their hotel room with Marvel, watching the clock tick toward 7:45 PM—when the auction would be nearing its end and security would be focused on the theater floor rather than the storage areas.
"Everyone ready?" Itachi asked.
They nodded. Each wore dark, practical clothing—nothing that would reflect light or make noise. Weapons were secured but accessible. The enchanted katana rested at Ji-won's side.
Marvel pulled out his phone and showed them the app Itachi had installed earlier. "Press this button when you're ready for extraction. It'll make my phone ring. No voice communication, no chance of being overheard. Just a silent signal."
"And you'll be with Stephanie the whole time?" Ji-won asked.
"Safe in our room. If anything goes wrong, she's my priority. But I'll be monitoring the signal constantly. The moment you call, I'm there."
"Good," Itachi said. "Let's go."
**7:45 PM.**
The storage room was located two floors beneath the auction theater, accessible only through a heavily secured stairwell that required three different key cards and biometric verification.
Unless you could teleport.
In a dark corner of that storage room—one of the few areas not well-lit by the overhead fluorescents—a half-face appeared. Just eyes and part of a nose, peering out from shadow as if emerging from water.
Marvel scanned the room carefully. No guards visible. Security cameras pointed in predictable patterns. The layout matched what Itachi had described.
He emerged fully, stepping out of the shadow like passing through a curtain. And with him came three others—Itachi, Ji-won, and Beto, all maintaining physical contact with Marvel to pass through his shadow-travel technique.
The moment they were through, Marvel vanished again, returning to his sister.
The three stood in silence for a moment, letting their eyes adjust and their ears attune to the building's ambient sounds. Above them, muffled through layers of concrete and steel, they could hear the auction continuing.
The storage room was massive—as large as a warehouse, filled with rows upon rows of shelving units, display cases, and secured containers. Everything valuable that wasn't actively being auctioned was kept here.
"Start searching," Itachi whispered. "The pills should be in the pharmaceutical section, marked with a blue tag."
They spread out, moving between the shelves with practiced stealth.
In the center of the storage room, elevated on a platform and visible from most angles, stood something that made all three of them pause.
A rectangular glass case, perhaps eight feet tall, standing vertically like a monolith. Inside, suspended by nearly invisible wires, was a katana.
But this sword was different from the one Ji-won carried. Where hers was black as midnight, this blade was pure white—from the guard to the pommel to the sheath. It seemed to glow faintly in the storage room's lighting, as if it contained its own inner luminescence.
Another enchanted sword. One of the legendary four.
Ji-won's hand moved unconsciously to her own blade. "We should—"
"We're not here for that," Itachi cut her off. "Focus on the mission."
They resumed searching, but none of them could completely ignore the white katana's presence. Such weapons were priceless, powerful beyond measure. Having two of the four would give Night Wolf an enormous advantage.
That's when they heard footsteps.
The three immediately melted into the shadows—what few existed in the well-lit space. They pressed against shelving units, controlled their breathing, and watched.
A young man entered the storage room through the main door. Not sneaking, not hiding—just walking as casually as if he owned the place.
He looked about eighteen years old, dressed in an immaculate green suit that probably cost more than most people earned in a year. His hair was blonde or possibly white—difficult to tell in the fluorescent lighting—and a single white feather was tucked into it, giving him an almost whimsical appearance.
He definitely wasn't a staff member. And he clearly wasn't supposed to be here.
But he walked with absolute confidence, heading directly toward the white katana's display case.
The trio watched, fascinated despite themselves, as the young man reached the platform and placed his palm flat against the rectangular glass.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the glass simply shattered—not with explosive force, but as if it had suddenly lost all molecular cohesion. It dissolved into powder that fell like snow, leaving the white katana suspended in empty air.
The young man plucked the sword from its suspension wires and examined it with casual interest. Then he turned and walked back toward the door, whistling quietly to himself.
He left as casually as he'd entered, the door closing behind him with a soft click.
"What the hell was that?" Beto whispered after several seconds of stunned silence.
"Someone with very specific abilities and zero fear of consequences," Itachi replied. "Not our problem. Keep searching."
Ten minutes later, Ji-won found them.
A secured medical container, marked with a blue tag exactly as Itachi had described. Inside, carefully packaged in temperature-controlled vials, were twelve pills.
Each one contained concentrated vital energy—drawn from sources unknown, processed through techniques that bordered on miraculous, capable of temporarily boosting a person's life force reserves beyond natural limits.
"Got them," Ji-won whispered, securing the container.
Itachi pulled out his phone and pressed the signal button. Marvel's phone, wherever he was, would now be ringing silently.
They waited.
One minute passed.
Two minutes.
Marvel didn't appear.
"Try again," Beto suggested, his voice tight with concern.
Itachi pressed the button three more times in quick succession.
Nothing.
"Something's wrong," Ji-won said. "Plan B. We use the escape route."
Itachi led them to a section of the ceiling where ventilation grates provided access to the building's duct system. He'd mapped this route during his reconnaissance—it would take them through several rooms and eventually to an exit point that bypassed the main security checkpoints.
They climbed up, moving through the narrow metal passages as quietly as possible. The auction above had ended, and they could hear voices as people dispersed, but so far no alarm had been raised about the storage room intrusion.
The vent passed through several rooms. Storage areas, offices, utility spaces—all empty at this hour.
Then they came to a room that wasn't empty.
Through the vent grating, they could see into what appeared to be a private study or office. Nice furniture, expensive decorations, the kind of space reserved for important guests or high-ranking syndicate members.
And sitting at a desk, reading a book by lamplight, was a man.
The man looked to be in his early to mid-twenties. Slim build. Black hair neatly combed. Wire-frame glasses that gave him an intellectual, almost academic appearance. He wore a white lab coat over professional clothing, and his posture suggested someone accustomed to long hours of precise, detailed work.
He looked up from his book, as if sensing their presence above him, and smiled.
"Hello there," he said pleasantly. "Didn't expect visitors tonight."
Itachi and Ji-won froze. They hadn't made any noise. How had he known they were there?
But Beto's reaction was different.
Completely different.
The moment Beto saw the man's face, something fundamental broke inside him. His breathing became rapid, shallow. His hands began to shake uncontrollably. Sweat broke out across his forehead despite the cool air.
Fear. Raw, primal terror.
But mixed with something else—rage. Hatred. The kind of fury that comes from deep trauma, from wounds that never truly heal.
And beneath it all, PTSD. Memories flooding back. Things he'd buried, things he'd tried to forget, all crashing over him at once.
His body shook so violently that he lost his grip.
Beto fell.
The vent grating gave way under his weight, and he crashed through into the room below, landing hard on the expensive carpet.
The man in the white lab coat stood up from his desk, setting his book aside carefully.
"Ah," he said, his smile never wavering. "I thought it might be you. It's been a while, hasn't it, Beto?"
Beto struggled to stand, his legs barely supporting his weight. When he finally managed to look up at the man, his voice came out as a hoarse whisper.
"You..."
"Yes," the man confirmed pleasantly. "It's me. Though I suppose you remember me better from before. Back when you were my most interesting patient."
He adjusted his glasses, the lamplight reflecting off the lenses in a way that made his eyes impossible to see clearly.
"You can call me what everyone else does," he said. "Just 'The Doctor.'"
Above in the vent, Itachi and Ji-won exchanged glances. They could see Beto shaking, could see him trying and failing to control his breathing, could see the absolute terror in his eyes.
Beto—who could regenerate from almost any wound, who could create fire hot enough to burn through steel, who had faced down trained killers without flinching—was completely paralyzed by the presence of this slim man in a lab coat.
What had The Doctor done to him?
"Come down," The Doctor called up to them. "Both of you. I think we should all have a conversation, don't you? It's been so long since I had interesting visitors."
He walked over to Beto, who flinched but couldn't make himself move away, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry," The Doctor said softly. "I'm not going to hurt you. Not today, anyway. But we really should catch up, shouldn't we? After all, you owe me so much. Your abilities, your strength, your very survival—all of it came from our time together."
Beto's eyes went wide with horror and recognition.
"That's right," The Doctor confirmed. "You remember now. The laboratory. The experiments. The procedures. How many times did you die on that table, Beto? I've lost count. But I brought you back every time. Made you stronger. Made you special."
He looked up at the vent where Itachi and Ji-won remained hidden.
"Come down," he repeated, his pleasant tone taking on an edge of command. "Or I'll have to come up and get you. And I promise, you won't like that option nearly as much."