The night was quiet, after the rain started falling and clouds filled the sky, most went into the safety of their homes and others found refuge in bars or clubs where the drinks kept them warm. But there were those who had matters to attend to.
"What a shame you followed us all the way here…" Susan walked, drenched from the rainfall, as was everyone present, she began to approach the man before her, Adrian.
It a was a disadvantageous situation, he had to face a trio of individuals who weren't simple thugs, there weren't many options for him. If he wanted to survive he had to make the fight fair and that meant a one on one, having all three of them at the same time would surely end badly.
"I am in the cross-way...in the back alleys...send backup." He pressed on his earpiece and called for help, that would take some time to arrive.
The women had already circled around him, bringing him to the center and cutting all exits with no way out. They weren't taking him seriously, thinking of him as only a simple bodyguard who thought himself a hero, so they appeared to be taking their time and enjoying themselves.
"Yeah...such a shame you have to die…" Roxy joined in the teasing and began walking too.
"Your friends and family will miss you handsome…" The trio began pacing in unison, with the last being Veronica.
Adrian's wet hair covered his face, in his hands the brass knuckles clenched tightly, he knew he was in danger and his body reacted to it.
"Ladies...show some manners, how about one at a time." He joked.
"And here I thought you could handle all three of us...heh." The blonde replied with a mischievous tone, clearly hinting at something else.
"I wouldn't mind a threesome…" Roxy licked her lips and said.
He had noticed they way they talked, they dressed and acted, the women had no boundaries and most importantly no morals. Adrian knew they wouldn't hesitate to kill him at first chance, so he had to be the first one to act.
"You are just afraid that you can't handle me on your own...being small-sized and all." His words seemed to have hit a soft spot, Roxy stopped dead on her feet and glared at him.
"…" She didn't say a single word, stretching her palms outwards Adrian noticed something bizarre, her nails seemed to be extending, they kept on going, similar to sharp knives.
He wasn't sure of it and frankly he hoped for it to not be the case, but now he was certain. His opponents and killers of the VIP guest back in the club, were super-powered individuals, people who had evolved and he managed to piss one off.
Adrian prepared himself, at least he managed to agitate on of them to fight him alone. He brought his guard up and grounded his feet firmly on the ground, from her small size he could guess that her speed would match that.
"You shouldn't have called her that…" Susan stated, Roxy pushed off the ground and...disappeared.
Not having time to be surprised, Adrian's eyes darted around hoping to catch a glimpse of where she might have gone, there was no sign of her.
'Is it her speed...or maybe invisibility.' He thought, if she was this fast, to the point where he couldn't even see her then there was nothing he could do.
The raindrops never stopped falling, accompanied by cold and the howling of the wind. Puddles had formed all around them and light was barely provided by the flickering lamps hanging on the brick walls. Adrian heard a splash from his side, he turned the fastest he could manage but not fast enough. *Slash!*
"Shit!" Her nails cut his white shirt and reached his vulnerable flesh, leaving him with three long slits, gushing with blood.
His face morphed from the pain, but he kept his composure. His focused on the sounds around him, the rain made it hard to detect any movement and before long another attack came. *Slash!*
*Slash!* And another, he could feel his flesh getting cut open, as her nails dug deeper with its strke.
*Slash!* His shirt became tatters and fell to the ground, revealing his injured body. His back, sides and abdomen had long cuts, that fortunately didn't reach too deep. Still he wouldn't last long at this pace, pain he could handle, but blood loss was another issue.
"Nice body…" Veronica looked at Adrian's athletic body, specifically his abs, the mixture of his manly physique and the blood running down his skin exited her even more. Truly a twisted individual, a glimmer appeared in her eyes.
Adrian had his guard up, like a turtle he shielded his head and chest. Roxy pounced on him again and again, filling his body with more wounds, she attacked from a different direction each time, but he noticed something.
'The puddles...i have to listen…' He didn't have fast enough reflexes to instantaneously react to the attack the moment it happened. An idea formed in his head instead, what if he listened to the his environment, hard as it was inside the rain and wait for her steps to reveal her location.
*Slash!* Her nails dug deep into his ribs, prompting a fountain of blood to fly out. Faster, the moment he heard her step he had to act...he waited...*Splash!*.
'There!' A left hook flew out instinctively, putting all his strength, twisting his body as fast a he could. The brass knuckles, gripped tightly in his hand had a target, hoping for his strike to land, aiming for nothing but air...*Slam!*
His fist landed squarely on his attacker, bones cracked under the might of his strike, flesh ripped open from the weapon in his hand and blood covered his skin. Roxy, slammed to the ground, unconscious, as her body came into sight.
"Damn...that's gonna need some stitches." Adrian mocked her, looking at her injured face, her nose bone protruded from her skin and she had difficulty breathing. But he wasn't done with her.
He knew for sure now that her power was invisibility, still her being a S.P.I. (Super Powered Individual), he couldn't take any chances and had to make sure she wouldn't get up. So stepping over her body, he lifted his fist high up and...pounded! *Slam!*...*Slam!*...*Slam!*
Her body twitched with every strike, one could even wonder if she was dead, but she wasn't. Her breathing was there, just barely noticeable, her face completely disfigured, caved in mangled flesh and bones.
"You fucker!" As he was about to deliver the final strike, he felt the wind knocked out of him, body-slammed and thrown into the air.
He flew and landed on a dumpster, denting it, as it cushioned him from any more serious injury. Adrian had managed to take out one of the attackers but he was in a sorry state, his body was covered in blood and wounds, pain had long invaded his senses but the adrenaline pumping through his veins made him impervious to it.
'The bleeding should have stopped...shit...that little bitch.' Adrian too had an ability, not the fancy kind, but essential for his survival and one that fit his reckless fighting style perfectly. Any normal man wouldn't have been to withstand this amount of wounds and would have collapsed long before he could dish out a counter-attack.
He had a minor healing factor and slight strength enhancement, his wounds healed faster, not immediately but blood stopped pouring in a matter of minutes...usually. That's all there was to his power, just enough to keep him alive in situations like these.
"Susan...she is barely hanging in there..." Veronica, who had sent him flying, was examining her friend's injuries. If she hadn't intervened then Roxy would have died then and there, his strikes were vicious and held nothing back.
"...Kill him." Susan ordered, she didn't expect this turn of events, Roxy was an experienced assassin and her ability should have made this an easy kill, still she had underestimated her opponent.
The blonde stood up and turned to face Adrian, who had managed to pick himself up. Throwing him to the side like that showed that she had incredible strength, her gaze had turned serious and threatening.
She dashed forward without a warning, her every step seemed more like a leap as she closed the distance in an instant. Arriving in front of him, she threw out a punch that whistled through the air and landed on his unguarded side, sending him flying once more and breaking a few ribs in the process.
Adrian rolled on the ground and landed on a brick wall, having the wind knocked out of him, putting him in an even more miserable state. His body wasn't listening to him, the blood loss was catching up, ears rung with a disorienting buzz and his vision was turning blurry.
Before he could regain his senses, Veronica had made his way to him, she wasn't taking any chances. Grabbing by the neck and sliding his body up the brick wall, she squeezed, the light slowly fading from his eyes, his body tangling helplessly in the air, unable to act under her firm grip.
*Slash!* An unexpected feeling assaulted the blonde, a sharp pain in her abdomen. Looking down she saw a short blade had made its way deep into her.
"...Got you…" Words came out muffled, Adrian had kept the souvenir the weird man had gifted him and made good use of it, taking the tall woman by surprise. The injury didn't seem to bother her as she squeezed even harder, anger even more prominent in her gaze.
"We have to leave...now! People are approaching from the alleyway." Susan voice rung and prompted Veronica to ease her grip.
"This bastard almost killed Roxy!" The blonde was furious.
"The serum is our priority! Pick her up and we are leaving!" Susan ordered.
Veronica stared into Adrian's beaten up face and contemplated weather she should stay and finish the job...but she had her orders, so she tossed his body with considerable force on the ground and run to pick her wounded friend up.
"This isn't over…" Those were the last words he heard before losing consciousness, along with hurried footsteps coming his way.
…
"This is a FUCKING NIGHTMARE! *BAM!*" Back at the Crooked Hat, loud voices came from inside an office on the upper floor of the club.
Two guards stationed outside the door looked at each other through their shaded glasses and silently conveyed to each other that whoever was the receiver of this outrage was in big trouble. A golden label on the door read 'Big Boss'.
"Do you have ANY!...IDEA! What you two motherfuckers had just allowed to happen in this establishment?!" Behind a big wooden desk, standing up and passing around, was an old man, furious and on the verge of committing a crime.
The news of the killing had reached everyone's ears and before long they had to close the club down for the night. The big man's office overlooked the, now empty, dance floor devoid of life and in his mind thoughts of murder came and went.
He wasn't known to many, the mastermind behind the legendary establishment was a mysterious figure who avoided the public's eye and pulled the strings from his office. A man, already past the age of retirement, he dressed well and took care of himself.
Big Boss had a head full of gray hair, carefully brushed and shining with a silver luster. His eyes, now furious, held a brown nostalgic tint that hid stories of ages long past and put pressure to anyone they landed on.
"Boss...we did all the checks…" Bones was one of the two men standing, he tried to explain himself but he was instantly silenced.
"You fucking MONKEY!...*Fling!*" Boss caught the first thing he found, a golden paper weight and flung it in anger at Bones.
He could easily catch it mid-air but he decided not too, withstanding the meager strike as it landed on his forehead, slightly grazing him.
"Jenny...please for the love of god...do something about the press outside...or I will…" The old man was at the edge and the pestering of the journalists outside, having arrived in a flash with their cameras on the ready, didn't help his mentality. He massaged his temples, taking a cigar and having a seat at his luxurious leather chair.
"Yes Boss." A well kept young woman standing just beside the door of the office replied. Wearing glasses that gave her a sophisticated look, an office shirt and skirt. Jenny gave a side-glance too Adrian, worry evident in her gaze, before leaving to take care of matters outside.
"And you...*Puff*...i expected more from you…" From withing the cloud of aromatic smoke those words landed on the ears of none other than Adrian.
He stood, together with Bones, facing the anger of the Big Boss. The two of them had let the assassins in, despite having done all of the procedures and checks, they knew that they had fucked up, as the haven't done the most important thing. Trust their intuition.
"I...am sorry boss…" With his down Adrian was dejected, he had failed at his job and moreover he had let the perpetrators escape.
"Sorry?...*Fling!* FUCKING SORRY?!" A cute statue of a Labrador puppy made of brass made its way to Adrian's left cheek. It hurt.
Both of them had been a pair with outstanding results, never having an incident get out of control when they were on the job. They were on the job for a couple of years and could be considered experienced bodyguards, still their first mistake was a big one.
The club wasn't just a place for people to dance and drink, after years of efforts they had built a reputation of safety. A guarantee that whenever someone stepped foot into their establishment, harm wouldn't find them. This was one of the big reasons for their success, The Crooked Hat, a safe haven for everyone's desires.
"People come here to feel safe...feel protected and YOU!...let not ONE!...but THREE! FUCKING! ASSASSINS!...to get inside my club!" He tried to find something else to throw at them...in the end he flung his newly lit cigar. *Fling!*
It landed on bones face, ash decorating his bald, tattooed head. He knew from the moment he heard the alarm that they were in trouble and hoped that Adrian would at least manage to get one of the culprits.
He was the first to respond to the call for back-up, he run as fast as he could and arrived just a few moments too late. Adrian laid on the floor with wound all over his body, unconscious. No sign of the attackers, like they were never there to begin with.
"...Do you have any lead on these...women…" Big Boss lit up another cigar and asked.
"...I can identify them…" *Fling!* This time it was Adrian's turn to have ash on his face.
"Thank fucking god!...It's not like we have cameras or anything!...You fucking...come here!" The Boss has had enough incompetence.
He flew off his chair and run to Adrian, their height difference was evident. Grabbing him by the back of his neck, the old man made him bend down to face him. Their foreheads touching, Adrian having to face the intense gaze of the Big Boss, making it hard to breath.
"This club is my child! My creation!...You had potential...i cannot let this go unpunished…" Having said those words, he let Adrian go and with a wave off his hand he motioned to them.
"Leave...your services are no longer needed…" Those words made Adrian's and Bone's heart skip a beat. Both of them expected the worst, but it still hurt when it became reality.
They had no more words to say, whatever would come out of their mouth would be nothing more than an excuse, those words sunk deep inside like a knife. They had failed at their job, Adrian knew this and with a slight bow to his former Boss he left the office, Bone silently following behind him.
Rain still fell outside, a crowd had formed on the fronts doors of the club demanding answers. The city had a story to tell and it all started here, with Adrian at its center.