"So you're telling me... You guys tried..."
"Stealing files from Syphon Tower?"
Hannah, Lex, and Gemini were laying low in the apartment. All doors and windows locked, closed, and shut tight.
"No, no, we did get them!"
Lexo adds, holding on to his injured arm.
"... Oh God... Oh no.. You guys are in so much trouble..."
She was getting visibly anxious.
"We knew that was likely going into it. Knowing what we know about that man… we couldn't just not do anything."
Gem states.
Hannah approaches a window, peeking out of the curtains.
Gemini was sorting through the files on her laptop, looking for any juicy info on Syphon.
"I'm sorry you had to get involved, especially with the kiddo."
Mentioning the child seemed to move Gemini. Her eyes started to sparkle, and she went right back to her computer before the others could see.
"Oh no, Clayton..."
Hannah's gaze shifts to the upstairs, where her son is currently in his room.
"Do you think... He'll come after us too?"
"Yes, that's why we're here."
He walks over to Gemini, peeking over her shoulder at the files.
"That's weird... Why do they all have extensions with a different company title?"
As Gemini scrolls the most hidden files, she notices that most of them relate to a 'ValTech' title.
"It isn't uncommon for a parent company to have multiple subsidiaries… but you'd think we'd have heard of it before. Let's take a look."
She opened one of the ValTech folders and glanced around the files it contained.
As the files load, they hear a knock on the door.
Fearful of who it could be, Hannah takes a few steps backwards from the door.
"Shhh..."
Lex stands up, and carefully paces towards the door. Taking a look out of the peephole to see who it was.
Gem quietly shuts her laptop and slides it into her bag.
"I'm guessing you weren't expecting company, Hannah?"
She whispered.
"Oh crap! Get down!"
Suddenly, Lex jerks his head to the side.
Almost instantly after, the sound of a silenced gunshot permeates the living room, with a bullet flying straight through the peephole. Embedding itself into the wall directly behind the door.
BOOM!
The door is blown from its hinges by a concentrated breaching charge.
A figure steps into the room. A black haired man with a face mask covering his nose and mouth, only showing his yellow eyes. His choice of attire is a long black trench coat, black pants and black boots.
Enter, Owen Walker.
Not saying anything, he aims at Lexo and Gemini with his silenced pistol, shooting to kill.
Reacting quickly as he sees the man aim at them, Lex dives in towards him for a tackle. The shots ring out, but they narrowly miss the two of them. After this he tries grabbing at the weapon, shouting back to Hannah and Gemini in the process.
"Go, get Clayton and get out of here!"
Hannah winces as the bullet whistles past her and Gemini. Shaking with anxiety as she tries to unfold the current events.
"What about you!?"
She asks Lex, concerned.
"I got this, just go!"
He looks back at them.
She tightened her bag against her body and ran up the stairs. She had a look of determination rather than fear, but she knew it was only a matter of time before that fear hit her.
"I'll get Clayton. I can get him out faster."
She follows Gem closely.
"Oh- Right! I'll follow you."
"..."
Owen is tackled back by Lexo. The voices in the apartment begin to die down more and more. Owen's exerting his power, effectively making audible communication pointless. At max, everyone inside can talk to a whisper.
As his gun is being grabbed by Lexo, Owen starts to try pointing it at the man in an attempt to fire at his chest. In the same motion, he throws a quick jab at Lexo's throat with incredible speed and precision. The jab is reminiscent of a coiling snake, attempting to collapse his windpipe.
Through this action, his fighting style is made clear. Going in straight for the kill.
Fortunately, he doesn't seem to care much for Hannah, only after Lexo and Gemini. Plus, his morals make him refuse to target the little kid, even though he wouldn't be shocked if Brett put a hit on the family too.
Lex puts up a guard, and takes the hit in his forearms. Stopping it just short of his throat. He stumbles back, and manages to shift his body to the side, causing the bullet to land in his shoulder instead of his chest.
The pain shakes him to his core as he grimaces in agony, quickly covering the wound with his hand. He could tell this guy was serious... And most likely, one of Brett's contracted killers.
"You don't have to do this..."
Lex says, pacing backwards while holding a hand up towards the man.
"Then don't make this difficult."
Owen finally spoke, taking aim yet again. He is confused. This is the same boy who somehow was making Brett exert himself a tiny bit, right?
His trigger finger tightens, preparing to shoot at Lex once more.
"Fine, then..."
"Let's go."
As the boy speaks, a bright flash of light engulfs the room. Blinding at first, but it dwindles after a moment.
Lexo seems to shed his clothes in a way similar to red hot metal freeing itself of an oxidized layer. Beneath, a skin tight suit of pure white energy is revealed to line his body from his ankles to his neck. Though the previous gunshot wound could no longer be seen with this new outfit, it was safe to assume it was quickly healed due to this transformation.
His hair is swept up, and pushed back by a strange unknown force, and a braided tail of hair whips from the back of his neck.
His eyes meet the assassin head on, with a confident, stern expression. But, his mind ran wild. Confidence couldn't be further from the truth of what he was feeling.
"Twenty percent... Twenty percent... I still can't tell what that means."
"I'll just try testing the waters of what doesn't damage me..."
Owen's eyes widen, he witnesses the man's transformation. So that's how he was able to actually fight Brett without getting killed instantly. He aims and fires at Lexo's skull, aiming for a clean kill right then and there.
As the fight occurs, Gemini pulls open the window in Clayton's room and picks the boy up. She held his head tightly and dove out the window with him. She rolled over her shoulder and somersaulted back up to her feet, gently placing the unharmed boy upright.
"It's alright Clayton, we'll get you somewhere safe!"
With Hannah trying her best to keep up with Gemini, the three of them flee the scene.
Owen's gun kicks back, and the shot rings out, Lexo's body jolts. However, after taking a moment to process, he could now see the bullet traveling... A whole lot slower. His eyes widen, and he steps to the side. Time resumes its normal pace, and the bullet is lodged into the wall behind Lex. He looks back at the hole, and then back at Owen. He looked confused for a bit, but then...
"I get it," he grins.
He takes one step towards Owen, but then, after a bright flash of light –he was already within close quarters of him. Towering over the man with a curious expression on his face.
"Let's see just how far I can go."
Lexo adjusts a fist below his torso.
As he watches Lexo near instantly dodge the bullet that was aimed at him, that confirms that a upfront fight with him is near suicidal. Owen shudders.
Acting quick, or rather as quickly as he physically can when facing someone with light powers, an incredibly loud and painful frequency shoots out of his body toward Lexo in an attempt to stun him. He then aims and fires at him yet again.
"Holy-!?"
As the frequency is released, Lex shouts in pain, stumbling backwards as he body seems to... Distort and vibrate? The sound clearly affected him, but the gunshot however, landed dead center of his forehead, and flattened upon impact.
Lexo regains his composure, breathing heavily as his mind runs wild with questions.
"... What was that?"
He asks, glaring up at Owen as the bullet from earlier drops to the floor.
As the sound lets up, Lex's body returns to normal, and he steps towards Owen once more.
Owen was shocked as well. The hitman struggled to wrap his head around the situation… His sound didn't normally have an effect on people to this extent.
"Could it be...?"
Wasting no time, his body ripples, preparing to release a sort of sonic wave at point blank on Lex! Abandoning the firearm, noticing clearly that it was going to be rendered useless against his target.
"Oh no you don't!"
A heartbeat, Lexo clears the distance. Meeting Owen face to face, as he releases a right hook towards his face. Trying to prevent him from doing whatever that was again.
As he moves, his mind quickly sorts through questions and wonders. A pattern is beginning to arise though, and he could tell. The light cast from his movements, the effect vibration has on him that nothing else does? The shattering scar markings? Somehow, it's all loosely based around how light operates. Though, he had no idea how to piece it all together.
"... None of this is making any sense!"
He continues his assault, ducking low as he throws another punch, a jab, right into Owen's torso.
Owen couldn't physically react to any of Lexo's moves. Right as he's right in front of him, he had felt the hits. A moment, he was up. The next, he was headed straight towards the floor. Searing pain sets in at the points in which he had gotten hit.
Lex sweeps Owen up as he falls, snatching him by the collar of his jacket. He holds him up as he slowly levitates from the ground.
"Right... Uh, how do I do this again...?"
He lifts Owen above his head.
"Who do you work for!?"
In the midst of his question, his voice cracks.
"..."
"... I'm not telling you shit."
He said with pure hostility.
"Oh really? Well, how about I ask you this way..."
Across the street, Gemini and Hannah successfully make distance from the conflict.
"Hurry, this way!"
Hannah motions Gemini to follow her. She held Clayton close, as he nuzzled his face into his mother's shoulder. He was scared, and really confused.
The three head almost a block away, and into a nearby gas station. From here, they could see the apartment.
Gem shuffled behind them into the gas station and pretended to browse the snacks as she watched the fight.
"What's going on? I can barely see a thing..."
Hannah stands close to a window, holding Clayton over top of her shoulders.
From here, they could see lights flashing... Unsure on whether or not they were gunshots, or Lexo moving.
Then, the roof of the apartment erupts, as a beam of tumescent white light rises towards the sky above. Hannah tries leaning in closer, to follow the motion of whatever, or... Whoever that was
"Woah!"
"Rocket ship!"
Clayton throws his hands up.
"Oh my god…"
Their eyes all catch a distant glimpse of Lex in the air, dangling Owen from the clouds above.
"Wait... What is he thinking?"
"Lex oh my god put him down you're drawing so much attention to yourself!"
People begin to gather below the scene. Holding their phones above their head, recording Lexo. Gasps and judgmental whispers flood the populace. Hannah looks over towards Gemini, wondering what they could do, if anything at all.
Lex loosely hangs on to Owen's jacket, looming over Petrichor city, almost as high as the peak of Syphon Industries.
"Now, feeling talkative yet?"
Owen was bewildered to say the least. It was almost as though he blinked, and suddenly he was up in the sky, lifted by Lexo. He glanced down, realizing real quick that if he's dropped, he's done for.
He masks his gradually growing nervousness and anxiety with hatred.
"T-Tch... Are you crazy?!"
"As crazy as you want me to be..."
His grip loosened more, only holding onto the man with his pinky finger.
"Wait! Okay, what do you want to know?!"
He instinctively grips onto Lexo's arm out of leverage. It's got through to him that he's going to die if he refuses to comply. Beads of sweat form on the surface of his skin, his grip is unstable, shaky and slipping as they speak.
"I, uhh… Ahem."
He pauses for a second. Scoffing as he tries getting his voice deeper.
"Tell me who sent you!"
The sound of whistling within the skies catches Lex's attention. He looks over his shoulder, and witnesses a multitude of high velocity weaponry rapidly approaching him! Upon closer inspection, each and every ordinance has Dr. Syphon's brand logo on them… His question was answered before his adversary spoke.
"Syphon!"
He looks down, realizing that nearly half the town had gathered in the streets below. A feeling of incompetence grasps him, knowing that Brett finding him once more was completely his fault.
"Jeez, I'm bad at this superhero stuff."
... Another thing he notices though... He accidentally dropped Owen.
"Wait, no!"
He begins to fly towards the falling adversary!
Owen begins to scream as his grip waivers and he's sent hurling downwards in a free fall towards the ground below.
"Oh God! He just dropped that man!"
Screams echo from the crowd, as Owen begins to fall.
The crowd erupts in gasps, witnessing what seemed to be Lexo dropping the man on purpose. News choppers catch up to the scene, with law enforcement and reporters soon following. It was clear to them what this set up meant... Brett Syphon was going to be portrayed as the hero, and Lexo was going to be seen as a threat to humanity.
A vibrant streak of light stretches throughout the sky as Lexo tries catching up to Owen, however, time runs out almost instantly. Just before Lexo could reach him – the first ballistic missile breaches his immediate vicinity!
"No, no, no!"
A direct hit! Precisely, the ordnance contacts Lex's chest, letting off a violent explosion in the process. The force from it sends Lexo flying back upwards into the sky., and the shockwave of the attack reaches even the people below.
The impact from the sudden focused explosion in his chest sent a visceral feeling of pain throughout Lex's entire nervous system, and his breath was taken away. He blinks in and out of awareness, but eventually he regains his mind. Though, it was nearly too late once more, as Syphon's weaponry continued tailing Lex at insane speeds.
Another missile whistles towards Lexo's face, one that the boy could luckily duck below! Immediately after, it collides with another one that was interning on hitting the man from behind, and they violently combust into a menacing cloud of flames.
Lex looks back in horror, but he then picks up on the screams of Owen!
"Oh no, Oh no!"
His body glows, releasing a blinding flash of light equivalent to staring directly at the sun from a close range. And just like that, he was gone!
"I got you!"
He grabs a hold of Owen's shoulder, gradually slowing his fall.
Owen's screams die down, realizing Lexo was slowing down his fall. Why is he saving him? He was literally about to kill him.
Just inches before they would've impacted the ground, Lex slows the both of them to a complete stop, levitating just barely above the surface. The crowd around them grows silent, and faint debris falls from the skies above.
The blonde haired hero was unsure what to say. The crowd was silent, afraid, and instead of being greeted by applause he was greeted by judgmental stares. His eyes suddenly shift towards one side of the gathering, watching as a particularly familiar individual pushes past the blockage of people.
Dr. Syphon himself, accompanied by law enforcement and security guards. He steps forward, and he and Lexo maintain eye contact for a small while. He didn't make an aggressive move towards the boy. Probably wanting to avoid collateral damage to the surrounding people. Instead, he grins as he speak to him...
"... There will be nowhere for you to run, Lex."
Holding on to Owen, Lex doesn't respond. Though, before anyone else could say anything – another blinding flash erupts over the crowd. People shout, jolt, and gasp, but as the light fades… Lexo was no longer there. Brett remains calm, as he walks into the center of the gathering.
His eyes turn to face the crowd, scanning every individual that surrounds him. They all pointed cameras at him, a mixture of awe and applause slowly flooded the scene.
He scoffs, and straightens out his suit.
"... People of Petrichor..."
He begins with a deep, demanding tone. His eyes fixated on the news report cameras primarily…