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  -Koshi City- South Japan 10 PM. -

  Six hundred years ago the world was changed forever. People were changed. At first it started small, a few individuals had uncanny abilities that increased their capabilities, like above average strength, intelligence or speed. At the time people believed them to be highly talented prodigies. But overtime other abilities began to emerge and in higher numbers too. Millions and soon billions of people around the world began to manifest talents of their own. Some that even defied all laws of science as previously known.

  Now in the year 2038. society has been molded by the addition of these "talents" that nearly 99% of all humanity possesses in varying degrees. Before what would have taken a hundred skilled laborers to make, a person with the talent of metal manipulation can create entire buildings by themselves. Where armies were once needed to fight, a single man could take on a thousand armed combatants. And thanks to the added protection of Talent limits, what once could of been fatal injuries are mere bruises and scrapes.

  With the talents came great strides in human ingenuity and society. But along with it came those who wished to undo the progress humanity has made. These people, who use their powers for selfish and evil reasons, began to start appearing all across the world. With this rising threat a new organization had to be made to combat these talented villain's with their own talented counterparts. So the Hero's Protection Association was founded. It was formed to help those with extremely strong talents be able to use their powers safely and in a way that would benefit society.

  Professional Heros have risen to fame from their deeds of bravery and action. It's thanks to their sacrifices that the world has endured decades of peace and prosperity.

  "Today marks the six month since the Murder of Japan's greatest and longest serving Hero, Bannōjin. Police and the H.P.A have ushered statements insuring the public that they are doing everything they can to bring in those responsible for this tragedy. However these statements seemed to have only led to more unrest, and crime rates to sore as more handlers and heros are pulled away from their regular patrols to aid in the efforts.- Hmm What's that? One moment please."

  The news anchor put his hand to his ear for a few seconds, his face changing as he focused on what he was being told.

  "We just received an alert and will now go alive at H.P.A Headquarters where the President of the H.P.A, Masaru Hoshizora, will give a address personally on the current case."

  The News channel TV in the stores rain drenched window changed from the Hero News Network Studio to that of press conference. The camera was focused on a long table with multiple Handlers and Heros sat in a line. In the center sat a man in a well tailored blue suit, his hands were clenched into fists but across his knuckles had characters tattooed across them that spelt the word "VICTORY!"

  The crowd of reporters all swarmed in front of the table raising their mics to the air while also sending a unrelenting onslaught of questions at the seated panel.

  "What updates do you have regarding the murder of Bannojin."

  "How do you plan to address the rising villain attacks in the northern sectors?"

  "How many more Heros are gonna die before the culprit is apprehended."

  "The Villain to that killed Bannojin, do we know what their talent is?!"

  Mr. Hoshizora the retired hero Victorious stood up from his seat. He was an intimidatingly huge man, but he always wore a friendly confident smile that brought the barrage of questions to a stop.

  "My fellow citizens of South Japan, I, In the deepest part of my soul, wish I could tell you that we caught the murderer of the protector of our great country, co worker, and personal friend. But I can not.

  His face was down turn with genuine sadness at his own words.

  "I will not tell you lies during these dark times we find ourselves in. But I will tell you this, we will continue on, we will not let this injustice go unpunished. Rest assured, you have mine, and the promise of every Hero under the H.P.As roster, we will find those responsible for this. I understand the fear, anger, and sadness you all must feel now, for those losing faith in justice, in us. I ask that you hold on just a bit longer."

  The president gave a bow to the camera and reporters in the room. The other heros and Handlers did likewise, rising from their seats and bowed.

  "I promise you all, we are doing everything we can, I Promise you we will succeed, I Promise we will have-" The president stood upright, slammed his knuckles together which lead out a burst of energy, that covered his knuckles in a yellow glow along the tattoos.

  "VICTORY!!"

  Another one of the people at the table now started to speak to the camera while the rest took their seats again.

  "To Honor the memory of Bannōjin, We, will hold a ceremony for him before the new Hero student tryouts begin in the coming weeks. We hope that this will help rejuvenate our fighting spirit within the next generation of great Heros. Who will assuredly arise to any obstacle that will stand against them.-"

  The news cut back to the station studio where the host and co host began to discuss the recent broadcast, but the show was interrupted when the ground shook and the tv screens in the display case all turned black.

  The villain known as Locomotive came crashing through the stores entrance.

  Black choking smoke bellowed from his mouth as he charged straight through the entire building and out its back.

  "OUT. OF. MY. WAY!" He yelled as he charged head first into the brick wall behind the store, he tore straight through them leaving six foot holes in the walls. Building after building he smashed his way through.

  The longer he ran the more smoke poured from his body, and the redder his skin turned and the faster he ran.

  His talent, made him virtually unstoppable once he got up to speed.

  He was gonna kill whoever made that annoying Banging sound that alerted the authorities to what they were intending. Why couldn't they have minded their own God Damn business like the rest of them.

  And now he was on the run.

  Under any other circumstances he wouldn't be running away like a damn coward, but this wasn't his typical smash and grab heist. And seeing as there's very little chance of success now considering how quickly the Hero's showed up Ishiara Akane decided to cut his losses and get out of there. Though he refused to leave this night empty handed he still took the chance to grab at least the stores ATM machine and take it with him as he tried to escape. A far cry from the bank truck they had been hoping to stop. Akane clutched the quickly crumpling ATM close to his body as he crashed through building after building. Not wanting to lose his only prize of the night.

  He should have known better than to team up with that show boating floating dimensional warper nutcase. Cause as soon as they both spotted a Hero on one of the rooftops he just started cackling to himself and didn't even try attack the damn hero.

  He could have at least tried to teleport them both away but instead he just started having an argument with himself!

  Meaning Akane had no choice but to try to escape by himself.

  Running through the buildings slowed him down but they provided him with cover and if he just so happened to injure a few by standaders, well they would make excellent distractions for the hero's allowing him to get away.

  Akane knew he must be nearing the street soon as he'd had run through about a blocks worth of apartments, a small business and other abonded buildings.

  He crashed through one more wall, and came into a living room of another apartment, He didn't stop to heide the screams of the occupants, a small family watching tv in their living room. He tore through the final wall and onto the main street. Nothing would stop him now, it was a straight shot, not even a car in sight.

  "Perfect."

  He lowered his head set his shoulder and braced to give it his all to make his escape.

  His first step cracked the pavement as he pushed off with all his might giving him a bounding leap forward.

  There was a sudden sharp pain in his shoulder and a very audible THWACK of a something hard slamming into his right shoulder that held up the ATM.

  His muscles against his own desire released the ATM as a numbing sensation shot up and down his body. His leg buckled as it felt like his leg's weren't obeying him, this stumble sent him in to an uncontrollable roll down the street. His own speed and size throwing him hard against the ground. He hit the ground with such force he bounced off it and into the air. Time slowed in that moment and as his body turned through the air he got a glimpse at the hero who had arrived.

  "R-RONIN!" he cried out in fear and realization.

  The villain was sent into a spiral that made him skip like a stone across a lake, He struck the ground with so much force he felt his limit shutter, before completely breaking. Coming to still stop a few hundred feet away from his self made exit of the building. He didn't get up.

  Ronin hefted his reinforced, still sheathed blade over his black and tan kevlar shoulder piece. His finger annoyedly tapping at the finger guard

  He let out an exhausted breath, but his body stayed rigid like a statue despite feeling as if he hadn't slept in weeks.

  Took nearly everything I had left to catch up to him. If I had been any slower he would have gotten away. Unacceptable.

  Kazehaya Nobuhito, the hero Ronin chasided himself for this mistake. Had he been quicker he could have prevented the damage of multiple buildings. It was only by sheer luck the charging brute didn't trample anyone as he tried to escape. Which he had failed at.

  His eyes followed the villains body as it tumbled to a stop forty meters away, studying the villain as he laid on the ground. After a few moments of no movement he came to the conclusion that his talents limit was broken rendering him completely unconscious.

  "WELL WELL WELL HERO! NOT BAD!! NOT BAD AT ALL NO SIR!!....MMMMMRRRRmmmm BUT I'VE SEEN BETTER SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF BETTER! THINGS YOU WOULDN'T CONSIDER!! THEY WOULD BREAK YOUR MIND MUAHHAHAHAHA!!!"

  Ronin turned to see the second villain, who surprisingly didn't try to run like the other, but instead was heading straight towards Ronin.

  Ronin refocused his thoughts on the only remaining threat. Each twist and turn of his body perfectly controlled, he placed his hand on the handle of his weapon and leveled his eyes on the new target.

  A man whose body was hard to look at floated over the buildings towards him and the unconscious villain. He came to a stop hovering in the air a few meters above Ronin. His body twisted and contorted continuously in ways Ronins mind found hard to comprehend, it was rather annoying. His head continuously rotated in place but if you ever focused on a part of his body it would begin spinning the other way like an optical illusion, his skin was transparent and showed flashes of constantly changing images, buildings, peoples faces, forrest. It changed every second.

  From what Ronin could tell from observations the mans talent was one of dimensional shifting As he'd seen him disappear and reappear a few times while he was watching them from the rooftops.

  What was his range, what could he teleport, did he create micro dimensions or was it more like instant movement?

  Ronins mind automatically ran through some of the questions he'd been trained to use when fighting a teleporting enemy. To answer the first one Ronin flipped open a pouch on his chest armor and pulled out a small knife with a rounded tip that was meant for bludgeoning and not stabbing, and quickly threw it at the disjointed man's body. The knifes rounded head reduced its speed, but it was not meant to puncture, he even doubted it would breach the mans talent limit.

  The knife flew true and was about to reach its mark, center of mass, but to Ronins concealed surprise the villain didn't even try to move as the knife flew through the air towards him. The knife disappeared into his body and his skin rippled like waves in water.

  Okay, so that was a problem. Ronin thought, not only could this man teleport, his body was partially nocoporal meaning any physical attack against him would be unlikely to do any real damage.

  The villain didn't even seem to care what Ronin had done but rather continued on with a conversation he seemed to be having with himself.

  "Hmm?? Yes YES YES!! I Saw it, Small Fast Thing But Did YOU SEE THIS!.... OH YES I DID SEE THAT!! I STILL SEE IT!! I CAN'T STOP SEEING IT HAHAHAHAH!"

  The knife that Ronin had thrown suddenly shot back out from the same spot it had entered at lucracris speed. Ronin had to move to the side least he be hit with his own weapon.

  The knife struck the ground and shattered against the pavement into a thousand black shards and a puff of ice.

  Ronin began processing the new information.

  Range, long, probably connected to some place cold guessing by the knife being flung back frozen to its breaking point.

  Talent, a physiological teleportation, where the users entire skin is the gateway. Making physical attacks useless.

  Avoid direct contact with body to avoid extreme temperature change, possible solutions, render unconscious through sleeping gas, if that doesn't work call for backup.

  "But but but DId You SEE HER?! Hmm The Girl?? Yes Yes no... YES! I Saw her! She's like us she is! But also not! More not than Is like... She's Scary!" The villain continued to talk to himself in a manic senseless way.

  Possible mental side effects to talent use. Could make him unpredictable. Apprehend with caution.

  Ronin reached into another one of his armors pockets and pulled out a small glass vial that contained a gaseous form of a sleeping agent that was produced by another hero by the name Pheranominal. He'll need to get close and crack the vial near the villain to ensure he doesn't just teleport it away if he tried to throw it like his knife.

  "Friends! More Friends! Wait NO Not Friends! Bullies! They're hear to Hurt me! Yes Yes they are hear to hurt me! Why are they gonna hurt us?! I don't Know?! " The villain put his hands to his head but they slipped through his skin and in to his own head.

  "NOOOO!! YESSS!!! MAYBE!!!! DO YOU SEE THEM!!?!?! I CAN SEE THEM ALL!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM ALL THE TIME ANYMORE!!!" The Villain shouted into the night before pulling his hands back out of his head and twisted his body past the point any normal person could. He wound his back several times before rapidly unwinding and flighting his now encased in ice hands outwards.

  "COLD!! ITS TOO COLD!!! CAN YOU FEELT IT'S BURN!? WHY DOES ICE BURN?!"

  Frozen Ice Shards blasted out of the mans skin and towards Ronin.

  Ronin dodged around the attacks as he quickly began closing the distance. As the ice shards shot past he could feel their intense cold as they passed by his face and shattered against the ground. But one came at him dead on, with muscle memory he pulled the trigger on his swords handle. The grind wheels began to spin up sharpening the blade to a grade 3 edge. With another trigger he reversed the wheels orientation which shot the blade out at an incredible speed slicing sideways and up at the ice shard, they parted in the middle and passed by him harmlessly.

  The villains body seemed to slow as he used this attack. Ronins eyes tracked the ripples in his skin that had began to slow down as his hands began to freeze up to his elbows. The images that constantly swapped on his body slowed too in the frozen section.

  "T--too Close!!--- Yes Close, But-t-t-t Tooo c-cold. It. Yes. It. NO. IT HURTS!. HAHAHA!"

  The villain slowly began twisting himself up again, reading up to send out another barrage of ice at Ronin.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  He's gonna freeze himself to death before his talent limit shuts off his talent. I need to stop this now.

  There was only a few feet to go, he just had to get up the wall and-

  A concrete wall shot up in front of Ronin, causing him to slam hard into it shoulder first.

  Even with the Kevlar padding he felt the impact. His limit shuttered from the impact but the sudden stop still left him jarring.

  What the hell? I'm confident there were only two villains so whose talent was this? No hero he knew of in this area could manipulate concrete like this.

  "YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER FEARED! FOR I, CONCRETE PETE! HAVE APPEARED!!" On a neighboring building, a man in his forties with an obvious dad bod struck what he thought was some reassuring hero pose. But his dollar store home made costume ruined any sense of actual competence and professionalism.

  Ronin felt his blood pressure increase just from the stupidity of this amature who just announced his presence rather than using the element of surprise to attempt an attack, he decided to showboat for his own ego, and he stop him with this wall which was now keeping him from getting close enough of to the villain to render the villain unconscious.

  There were so many H.P.A Violations that this new comer could only be what Ronin really wished he didn't have to deal with again tonight.

  Another Vigilantly.

  "Mm-m-mah more MORE MORE THERES ALWAYS MORE NO LESS, C-cold, its cold everywhere..... NO, NO. GO AWAY!"

  The villain unwound himself again. Ice shards shooting out towards the vigilante who was on top of the building completely exposed. But using his talent, he quickly erected a wall between him and the projectiles.

  The ice shards slammed into the wall one after the other, chipping away at it.

  The vigilante hastily tried to reinforce his wall with more concrete from the building he was standing on. The roof melted and slid forwards to his wall, but it didn't move fast enough.

  One of the shards broke through and grazed the vigilante in the arm. He gave a cry of pain and grabbed his left arm, dropping to his knees. And huddled himself behind his dwindling shield.

  "HEY!" Ronin was forced to yell out to draw the villain attention to save the vigilanties life.

  The villain's head rotated backwards until his head was facing Ronin. His body twisting in all different directions, twisted the firing cone of ice towards him, pincushioning the street with increasingly larger and larger ice shards.

  Ronin reinserted his sword into his sheath, and grinded its blade to a level 4 edge. He'd need a sharper blade to cut through these thicker attacks.

  "HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! DIE, DIE! YOU WILL DIE WE WILL DIE, US WILL DIE, YES YOU AND US WILL DIE!"

  The attacks were bigger and didn't shatter on impact like before, but the trade off was they didn't come as quickly before. Pulling the second trigger he shot out his blade towards the first flying glacier heading towards him. The blade meeting the ice and cutting straight through it, then the next and next.

  The constant cutting and blocking were slowing Ronin down to the point he wasn't making much ground. And he was beginning to feel his arms start to slow with the exertion. A red light on his biometrics reader flashed on his wrist, and in his comm piece he heard the sound of someone from the H.P.A trying to reach him. But he couldn't answer the call that was most likely coming from his handler.

  "HAHA! EVIL DOER! TRY TO DODGE MY PILLAR OF PROSPERITY!" Yelled the vigilante in a shaky and husky voice.

  No longer pinned from the villains attack the vigilante had left his hiding spot and placed his hands back on the building that he had been steadily feeding off of to create his concrete constructs. Most of the remaining front entrance melted away exposing wires, piping and floors that bega to buckle under the weight of the upper floors without the supporting wall.

  A long cylindrical pillar like the ones at athens shot out from the building and with deadly momentum slammed through the villain and into the apartment behind him. There was a explosion of debris that blocked Ronins sight of the villain.

  "Ha ha! I Did it! Take that VILLAIN!" The vigilante got up from his crouched position and struck the same pose as before his hand raised in a fist of "triumph".

  There was a ear screeching crack as the building he stood on began to finally collapse as the extended pillar from its roof was too much for it to bear. The collapsing roof caused the vigilante to stumbled as he desperately tried to keep his footing.

  Making it even worse, the idiot tried to pull more concrete underneath him just to support himself, and not the building he caused to collapse.

  Behind the vigilante there was a flicker of light before the villain remimerged, right behind him.

  "BEHIND YOU!" Ronin called out.

  "Hmm? What? WHAT?! HOW DID YOU SURVIVE MY PILLAR OF-"

  The Villain lunged at the vigilante wrapping himself around Concrete Pete, who was pulled kicking and screaming into his portal.

  "D-d-d-die, Die Die!! F-frf--fr-FREEZE!! DIE!"

  Damn it.

  Ronin sprinted towards the now partially collapsed building, using the ruble to make his way up the floors. Along the way he finally answered his comms.

  "Kraiger!"

  "Ronin! I've been trying to contact you, your vitals are getting high, what's happening."

  "No time, Send Steel Spike and and any other structural support heros to my location.... And Bring an ambulance."

  "Okay, I'm also sending Phera, your vitals need to be brought back down."

  "Don't I'm fine Kraiger."

  Ronin closed the comm as to not invite anymore debate on that.

  Reaching the fourth floor through a crack in the ground he lifted himself up, behind the villain, who was no longer talking to himself, but just floating still shivering.

  Carefully Ronin snuck up behind the villain. The cold leaked through his portal like skin. Making the Spring night air feel like the dead of winter. Ronins steady and controlling breathes fogged out into the night.

  And with reluctant resolve dove into the man's body.

  Takahiro Fujimoto felt their skin ripple as someone unknown entered his portal.

  Who Who! You know who it is? I know who it is! Its the Hero! Yes Yes it is I see him inside! Cold! He's Cold! Like us! Always soo cold. Fujimotos mind was getting fuzzy as the use of his talent constantly tonight was weining on him.

  He should leave shouldn't he? The Hero's are dead, time to leave, but he didn't, why?

  A loud banging sound from below pulled his often fractured attention together for a bit.

  Whos making that noise! Fast fast fast, slow, slow, slow, slow, Fast, fast, fast. Is it music? Pretty music, its horrible sounding, but still beautiful.

  A black coated sleeve and hand rippled its way through Fujimotos chest. He looked at it quizzically as it turned and the sound of glass breaking came from the hand when it tensed.

  There was a sweet aroma suddenly in the air, his eyelids felt heavy, he couldn't keep his eyes open.

  tired? Yes sleep, sleep now.

  Ronin reached for anything for his frozen fingers to grab on to to give him leverage after breaking the vial, hopefully putting the vilain to sleep soon, so they had a limit time to escape.

  His fingers brushed a part of the broken floor and dug in, with all his remaining strength he pulled himself and the frozen limp vigilante he carried in his other arm.

  His head emerged to the sound of approaching sirens in the distance. Pulling the man threw the portal body he pushed him off to the side before finally gripping the ground with both hands and pulling himself the rest of the way out.

  It was difficult to stand upright as he could feel the cold all the way into his bones, freezing up his joints, he was on the verge of hypothermia even though he was only in there for no more than a minute..

  Talent, teleportation, but also has a micro dimension of a frozen tundra within himself. Ronin thought to himself as he watch wearly the villains breathing as it gradually slowed, and he fell asleep.

  Moving to his next priority, he pulled the vigilante to a more secure part of the roof. His clothes were frozen stiff and he was unresponsive.

  Setting him down Ronin began to assess the man, his lips were a dark purple boarding black and his fingers, were no better. Ronin began shaking the man's shoulder.

  "Hey! Hey! Come on. Hey!" But his eyes remained closed.

  Ronin couldn't feel for a pulse with his frozen fingers. So opted to pull out a thin metal probe from his vitals sensor and placed it on the man's neck.

  It took a few grueling seconds for the readings to finally display.

  Internal temperature: -3 Degrees, Heart Rate: 0 BPM.

  He was dead.

  Ronin sat next to the vigilante for awhile, unable to get himself to answer Kraiger who had been trying to call him repeatedly.

  Not again....

  Not again.

  "Ronin?" A woman’s voice broke through his thoughts, dragging him back to reality. Looking up, he saw what people often called a walking ball of sunshine, but to him, it was just Miyuki Shio—Pheranominal. Her spiky green hair made her easy to spot, even if she wasn’t in her usual patrol gear—a hoodie with her symbol, black leggings, and a sash filled with vials of pheromones she used to manipulate emotions.

  She didn’t need heavy protection; her talent wasn’t combat-focused.

  "Ronin? You alright? You're looking more... worn out than usual," she teased, her voice light and cheerful, though with a hint of concern.

  "Phera? What are you doing here?" Ronin’s tone was blunt, more tired than anything. "I told Kraiger not to send you. I'm fine."

  Phera tilted her head, a playful smile spreading across her face. "Kraiger? He didn’t send me, actually. Someone else led me here. But why didn’t you want me here, Ronin? Too embarrassed for me to see the ever-stoic RONIN, Japan's up-and-coming top hero, curled up like a wet black cat?"

  The snow and ice that had once covered him began to melt, soaking his clothes, but his mind was elsewhere. He motioned toward the vigilante who lay a few feet away, unmoving.

  Phera's face shifted from playful to confused. "Is he one of the villains that attacked you?"

  "No," Ronin replied, his voice flat. "He was a vigilante."

  Phera blinked in surprise. "Oh? Well, I guess that means another night of paperwork for you, getting one of your vigilante finds in line for becoming a licensed hero..." She trailed off, noticing the lack of movement from the vigilante. "Wait—he’s not...?"

  She placed her hands on his neck, feeling for a pulse. Her expression turned to shock as her eyes widened. "Ronin, he's—"

  "He's dead." Ronin’s voice was cold, matter-of-fact.

  "No, not yet! There’s still a chance!" Phera snapped, urgency flooding her voice. She quickly began administering CPR, using a mix of adrenaline and stimulants in an attempt to restart his heart.

  Seconds ticked by, but the man remained still. Ronin stepped back, arms crossed, his face as emotionless as ever.

  "GET A MEDIC UP HERE NOW!" Phera shouted over their comms, her voice desperate.

  Within moments, Steel Spike appeared at the rooftop’s edge, holding a large steel pole that served as his lift. He dropped the pole and the medic onto the roof, grunting as he got to work.

  "Wow, Ronin, I see things got a little out of hand," Steel Spike said with a grunt, surveying the devastation around them. "Look at all this. Buildings are half-falling apart, debris everywhere... It's gonna take me and a crew at least a few hours to inspect all these structures and stabilize ‘em again." He kicked a piece of rubble aside with his boot. "Wouldn't want any more to collapse today, right? We’ve already got one casualty, no need to add more to the body count."

  He sighed, shaking his head as he took a few steps back, eyeing the damage. "Man, you really went to town on this place. At least the civilians got out, but this... this mess? It's gonna take until morning to fix it."

  The medic steel spike had carried moved quickly to Phera’s side while Steel Spike secured the villain teleporter, struggling as the restraints slipped into the man’s inner dimension.

  "Son of a bitch, I hate these guys," Steel Spike grumbled under his breath. "Okay, Phera, I’m gonna need you to keep him sedated until we figure out how to move him. I’ll call it in."

  Phera moved aside, letting the medic take over. She turned to walk across the roof, administering another dose of sleeping agent to the villain before returning to Ronin. Her hand clenched tightly around the broken vial she had given him earlier, her mouth down turn in what was a rare frown to see on her.

  Phera’s tone was still light, but the frustration was evident beneath it.

  "Ronin, care to explain why the vial I gave you a week ago wasn't used until tonight?"

  Ronin barely spared her a glance. "Seemed more useful as a weapon than wasting it on my sleep."

  Her hands went to her hips. "Ronin, it’s not a waste if I gave it to you for that specific reason! When’s the last time you even got a full night’s sleep? Also, I heard reports about you in Toroshi this morning—how long have you been out here? And don’t lie to me. I can tell."

  Ronin wasn’t sure if her ability actually let her detect lies or if she was bluffing.

  "I took on a few extra routes."

  Their comms crackled, and Kraiger’s voice cut in. "He means six, Phera."

  Phera’s eyes widened. "Six?! Ronin, that’s insane! One person can’t keep up with all that. Stubborn pride or whatever the hell your talent actually is—you can't keep this up!"

  Ronin exhaled through his nose. "What choice do I have, Phera? People need protection, and we’re short on heroes. Windbreaker and Banshee are still in the hospital. Banshee’s waiting on another surgery—if he’s lucky, he might walk again with a prosthetic, but his hero career is over. We can’t just leave these streets unguarded."

  Phera softened slightly, but her voice remained firm. "That’s not what I’m saying, Ronin. Helping people is my priority too. But you could have asked us to split the workload. I could’ve taken more. Steel Spike, Coggy, Ill-Fated—hell, any of us would’ve helped if you asked."

  Ronin had no argument. She was right. And tonight’s failure proved it. If he hadn’t pushed himself past exhaustion, maybe he could’ve stopped the two villains before anyone died.

  His gaze shifted to the vigilante’s still body on the rooftop. The medic had exhausted every option. It hadn’t been enough.

  Phera placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as the medic pulled out a cloth to cover the fallen.

  Then Ronin felt it—her ability creeping in. A manufactured sense of restfulness, soothing but foreign. His heartbeat spiked as he immediately grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away.

  "Don’t do that again, Phera. I’m fine." His voice was as flat as ever, but the sharpness in his grip made it clear—he meant it.

  To prove his point, he turned and began making his way down the rubble. The building had been stabilized with massive metal spikes driven through its structure, courtesy of Steel Spike. The place looked like a pincushion, but it was holding.

  Footsteps behind him. Of course.

  "Ronin, a deaf bat could see you’re exhausted. Just let me give you a boost." She darted in front of him, planting her fists on her hips in defiance.

  "This is why I told Kraiger not to send you." He exhaled through his nose. "I told you, I’m fine. Who sent you here, anyway? You should be near Kyoto."

  Thankfully, the change of topic worked. Phera's frustration melted into excitement. "Oh! Right! That’s what I was gonna tell you! Someone led me here. And they did it in a really weird way."

  Ronin raised an eyebrow. "Weird how?"

  Phera grinned. "So, a few days ago, I was on patrol when I heard this loud banging—like someone wailing on a dumpster with a metal bat. At first, I figured it was just some kids messing around. But as I got closer, I could feel it—desperation. Someone was panicking. I started running, but before I reached them, the banging stopped, and they ran down an alley."

  "A setup?"

  "I thought so, but nope. When I followed the noise, I found someone unconscious in the trash—bloodied, beaten, barely breathing."

  "A mugging?"

  "Before they were taken to the hospital they regain consciousness and that's what they said, someone jumped them and pulled them into the allyway before taking their wallet and phone and leaving them there.. But here’s the thing—whoever led me there stuck around. I could still feel them nearby. The second I called for help, their desperation disappeared, and they took off."

  Ronin frowned. "Why not just call the Hero Hotline? Or the police? Why lead you instead?"

  Phera shrugged. "No clue. But it keeps happening. At least twice a night since then, they’ve been leading me to muggings, break-ins, gang fights. They’re helping, but they won’t get involved directly."

  Ronin crossed his arms. "And you think this person led you here tonight?"

  "Ye-p," Phera chirped, popping the 'p.'

  "But here’s the thing, Ronin—by the time I arrived, everything was already over. The big guy in the street—the one who tore through all those buildings? Already unconscious. And the buildings? Falling apart, but the people inside had already been led to safety."

  "By who?"

  Phera’s grin stretched wide. She wiggled her eyebrows like she knew Ronin would figure it out.

  "You think the person leading you to crimes also evacuated the civilians?"

  "Mhm! No one else claimed responsibility, so I started asking around. A few civilians caught in the fight said that while you were busy, someone—face covered—rushed in, guided them through the debris, and got them two blocks away from the battle."

  Ronin hummed, considering. It was rare to see that kind of tactical awareness in a random good samaritan.

  Phera’s grin grew impossibly wider. "And you know what that means, Ronin?"

  He already dreaded the answer.

  "It means my little helper is officially on their way to becoming a full-on vigilante!" Phera pumped a fist in the air, practically vibrating with excitement.

  Ronin’s expression didn’t change. "That’s not a good thing. They’re going to get themselves hurt or killed."

  "Which is why you’re going to catch them and turn them into a hero!" she declared, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

  Ronin sighed. "Why me?"

  Phera wagged a finger. "Oh, come on, Ronin. Everyone knows you’ve got a soft spot for vigilantes. Ever since Little Tattler a few years ago. And you have the highest vigilante recruitment record. What is it now? Seven? You’re a natural."

  Ronin exhaled slowly.

  Why did everyone assume that? He hadn’t saved Tattler. He hadn’t saved tonight’s vigilante either. So why was she so confident in him?

  Phera, as always, could tell what he was thinking.

  "Ronin, we can’t save everyone. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying to save the next one."

  Her voice was softer now, almost reverent.

  "Trust me. I have a good feeling about this one. I think they’re something special."

  Ronin couldn't agree, because he once knew someone who tried a similar thing almost a decade ago when he was new to being a hero. At first they stayed safe, only leading the Hero's to crimes. But one day they didn't, they tried to fight a murderous villain who had a talent only meant for maiming..... The Little Tattler was killed right in front of him. Just a child.

  Just who was this new vigilante.

  Ronin, Phera, and Steel Spike stood near the no longer collapsing building, surveying the damage. Steel Spike was wiping his hands off, his eyes scanning the structure for any other signs of movement.

  "Well, that was a hell of a mess," Steel Spike muttered, a faint sneer on his face. "Could’ve been worse, though."

  Ronin was still silently assessing the scene, his eyes narrowed but expressionless. Phera was bouncing on the balls of her feet, looking far more upbeat despite the carnage around them.

  "You did good, Spike," Phera said, grinning.

  Steel Spike scoffed. "Yeah, no shit. Could’ve done without that whole 'liquidated foundations, but at least it’s done. Damn whole streets gonna need a lot of work, though."

  Phera shot him a teasing look. "Oh, come on, you love the work. Besides, you're like a walking repairman, you and your boys will have this place back up and ready to live in in no time."

  He raised an eyebrow, a smirk creeping onto his face. "Don't get all cute on me, Phera. I’m just here to stop buildings from falling on people, I'm no damn miracle worker."

  Ronin, barely reacting to the banter, turned toward the street where the last of the civilians were being treated, some had cuts and bruising but no serious injuries he could see. But He was still scanning for threats, eyes darting between every shadow, every movement. Phera noticed.

  "Are you going to be alright, Ronin?" she asked, walking up to him. "Look, I can give you another one of my vials, but promise me you’ll actually use it on yourself? Preferably when you get home." She slipped one of her silver and glass vials from her sash and held it out for Ronin to take. Reluctantly, he did.

  He didn’t look at her, but his voice was still as cold as ever. "Fine."

  She placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to ease his tension, but didn't use her talent this time. "Come on, your job’s done. Leave the rest of the work to Spike and me. You need to relax. You’ve been at this for hours, you’re barely standing."

  Before Ronin could brush her off, Steel Spike grunted from behind them. "Phera, leave him be. The guy’s as stiff as a board, and not in the good way."

  Phera shot him a playful glare. "Shut up, Spike. I’m just trying to help. And besides…" She leaned over, covering her mouth with her hand as if she was trying to keep a secret. "I think I’m starting to wear off on him." she said with glee.

  Steel Spike rolled his eyes, but there was no anger in his tone—just tiredness. "Yeah, yeah. Sure you are. Like rubbing pink paint on a suit."

  The other two heroes went back and forth between each other, while Ronin just kept looking around the now controlled battlefield.

  He made far too many mistakes tonight. More people could have died if it hadn't been for the other vigilante.

  Maybe Phera was right, but honestly to himself, Ronin hoped that this would be the vigilante’s last night risking their life. He, as a hero, should be the one risking his life, not the average citizen.

  The thought of more vigilantes dying because they felt the need to step up—because they felt like they had no choice—gnawed at him. If they were taking matters into their own hands, it meant he wasn’t doing enough, that he was failing in his role. Vigilantes didn’t have the training, the resources, or the experience to handle situations like this. They shouldn’t have to fight for their lives in the streets, not when heroes like him were supposed to be there.

  The idea of another innocent life being cut short because they thought they could play hero haunted him. It wasn’t just the danger—it was the thought that maybe, just maybe, if he’d done more, they wouldn’t have felt the need to get involved in the first place. If he was doing his job right, no one would feel the urge to take risks they weren’t prepared for. And yet, here they were—another vigilante, another death waiting to happen.

  Ronin clenched his fists at his sides. He couldn’t afford to fail like this again. Not if he wanted to protect the people, not if he ever wanted to make sure no one else ever had to die on the streets because they thought they were alone in the fight.