A Hitman's Guide To Becoming A Hero

On the rooftop, smoke drifted into the air from a cigarette as Jack exhaled slowly. He flicked the cigarette to the ground and pressed it beneath his boot, extinguishing it.

"I should check on the kids," he said to himself.

Picking up his binoculars, he turned toward the building. Peering through the partially open glass window, he observed the scene unfolding inside.

"Ohhh, what’s this?" Jack muttered, a grin forming beneath his mask. "Smells like trouble. And I just wanted to relax for a bit."

He lazily rose to his feet and moved toward the sniper rifle resting nearby. Taking a seat behind it, he let out a slow breath as he looked through the scope.

Behind the pure white mask, his eyes remained completely blank, devoid of emotion.

Then, slowly, black miasma began leaking from them.

It seeped through the eyeholes of the mask like thick smoke before spreading into the air.

----

Nicholas sat across from the two. Hexi and Shadow stood frozen, their eyes wide with confusion as they stared back at him.

"Did a cat catch your tongue? My patience can be thin," Nicholas said, snapping the two out of their thoughts.

Hexi gritted his teeth and turned to Bolt.

"Attack him."

Bolt slowly shifted his gaze toward him.

"You fucking brat!"

Before Hexi could react, Bolt’s fist shot forward and slammed straight into his jaw.

BANG!

Blood filled Hexi’s mouth as he staggered backward from the impact.

He wiped the blood from his lips, still stunned as he stared at Bolt.

’My ability isn’t working.’

The realization hit him like a truck.

His hands immediately moved to his hair, clutching it tightly before slowly ripping out several strands.

Shadow wasn’t faring any better.

She scratched frantically at her arms and neck, muttering strange words to herself as blood slowly leaked from the fresh marks covering her skin.

The panic in her eyes only continued to grow.

While Hexi remained trapped in his shock, Bolt stepped forward again, his fist tightening as he prepared to throw another punch.

"Enough!"

Selena’s voice tore through the room.

"Bolt, calm down. We need to interrogate them and get answers."

Bolt stopped, though the anger in his eyes remained.

"Creepy bastard," he spat through gritted teeth, glaring at Hexi.

He still hadn’t forgotten being used like a puppet to attack the others.

"Hey."

Nicholas’ voice cut through the silence.

"I don’t want to ask again."

The sharp tone snapped Hexi out of his daze.

He slowly raised his head and looked toward Nicholas.

At first there was confusion.

Then realization.

And finally—

Excitement.

’It’s him.’

Hexi’s eyes widened.

’He’s the one stopping my ability.’

The fear that had begun forming inside him vanished almost instantly, replaced by a twisted fascination.

A grin slowly stretched across his face.

His fingers dug into his scalp as he stared directly at Nicholas.

The excitement in his eyes grew stronger and stronger.

Almost obsessive.

Almost fanatical.

As though he had finally found something he desperately wanted to understand.

"Master, we found your cure!" Hexi said, an uneven laugh echoing through the room as he stared at Nicholas.

"Master will be so happy. Look, Shadow! We can’t use our abilities!" Hexi’s croaked voice echoed through the room as he shouted. His voice rose hysterically, laughter spilling out between every word.

Shadow paused her scratching. She looked at Hexi before slowly turning her gaze back toward Nicholas.

"Yes... Master will be happy."

Nicholas and the others stared at the two in complete confusion.

Every face in the room carried the same bewildered expression as they watched the strange children. None of them could understand how the pair still had the audacity to laugh in a situation like this.

"These kids are crazy," Bolt said, irritation creeping into his voice.

Frezia and Goggle Boy didn’t say anything, but the looks on their faces made it clear they agreed with him.

"Master?" Selena muttered.

"So someone sent you."

Nicholas frowned.

’I was actually starting to think they were doing all of this on their own accord. To think there’s someone behind all of this.’

His eyes narrowed.

"Who is your master? What is it that he wants?"

Hexi looked Nicholas dead in the eye.

A wide smile stretched across his face from ear to ear.

"Master wants you... Phantom, was it?" he said, tilting his head.

"Master wants you."

The smile widened even further.

"I’ll eat your brain if Master gets you."

Suddenly, Hexi felt a hand wrap around his neck.

His feet left the ground.

The room blurred for a moment before he found himself staring directly into Nicholas’ face.

The dark lenses of Nicholas’ X-shaped glasses reflected his own shocked expression back at him.

’He’s fast...’

Selena’s eyes widened.

’He can still use his own abilities despite shutting down everyone else’s?’

She couldn’t help but swallow nervously.

The more she learned about Nicholas’ powers, the more unsettling they became.

Nicholas’ fingers tightened around Hexi’s neck.

Hexi clawed at his wrist, struggling for air as his feet dangled helplessly above the ground.

His breathing became strained.

His face slowly began to redden.

Shadow instinctively took a step forward.

But the moment she remembered she couldn’t use her abilities, she froze.

For the first time since arriving, genuine fear appeared in her eyes.

She could only stand there and watch as Nicholas held Hexi suspended in the air.

"I hate vague answers when I ask questions. So I’ll ask again—who is your master, and what does he want? What is it about me that he wants?"

There was a cold edge to Nicholas’s voice that made Hexi’s eyes widen with fear.

For the first time, he felt scared.

’Scary brain... I don’t want his brain... scary...’

Hexi thought as he stared at Nicholas.

{Attack incoming}

The X Glasses chimed in his ears.

Nicholas felt every hair on his body stand on end as he caught the flash of light coming from the window. He reacted instantly, turning and using Hexi’s body to block the path.

Looking from the rooftop, Jack smiled.

"No. He wasn’t the target. Sorry, you can’t escape my shot."

The bullet ripped through the air, but at the very last second, just a meter away from tearing straight through Hexi, it suddenly paused.

As though it possessed a mind of its own.

Then it twisted.

Maintaining the same terrifying speed and force, the bullet curved around Hexi and ripped straight through Nicholas’s shoulder.

Nicholas’s eyes widened.

’An ability?’

"What was that?" Frezia asked as she took a step forward.

In that split second, another bullet tore through the air.

SWOOP!

Frezia stood frozen, her gaze wide.

The bullet ripped through her temple, blood leaking out as she fell face flat to the ground.

"There’s another attacker!" Goggle boy said in a panic.

SWOOP!

Another shot followed immediately.

Goggle Boy’s neck exploded into a spray of blood as the bullet tore through him.

Nicholas’s eyes widened further.

Only three people were left standing.

He had already been attacked.

The last two were—

’Supervisor Selena!’

Nicholas quickly shifted his gaze toward Selena.

SWOOP!

A bullet had already torn through the window, catching a glint of moonlight as it sped straight toward her.