Michael's daily jog was pretty nice so far. He had beaten up two drug dealers and was looking for a third. He thought he saw a deal going on a bit aways, but it turned out to be nothing more than two friends.
This was his day job. Well, not 'job', but more of a hobby. It saddened him to see the drug called "M" desecrate his home city. It's torn communities apart, and he wasn't one to let that slide.
Furthermore, the very idea of a human gaining powers mortified him. Mutants were the only ones that could have powers, not humans. It was only natural, so the drug "M" was a double insult to him.
He didn't consider himself to be a superhero, just a decent person.
He entered a restaurant and sat down. 1 BLT and some fries later, he was in the bathroom stall. He snapped the fingers of his right hand and FWOOSH! His right hand lit on fire.
He held the flame a bit aways from his face, playing with it. When he finished having his fun, he peeked out the bottom of the stall door. When he saw no one else in the bathroom, he quickly flushed the toilet with his left hand, opened the door, ran to the sink, and ran the fire under the water, putting it out.

Michael's jog through Baltimore's park was ruined by a crying baby. The baby's parents were sitting on a park bench reading. They looked like they had jumped out from the 50's, wearing vintage clothing. He was jogging past the baby carriage when he knocked the baby's cup out of its hands, knocking it to the ground. The baby didn't like it one bit, and its parents got up and began to comfort it.

He apologized profusely, but they weren't having any of it. They let the child sit there in the carriage and would rattle its rattle, shake around a stuffed lion, or give it a binkie. The baby didn't like any of it, not even when Michael gave it the cup back.

He apologized again and set off on his jog once more. He helped an elderly lady get home, plucked some weeds, and save a squirrel who was stuck in a pond.

Drying his hands off, he started his way back home. By this time, it was nearing nightfall. He passed by Lexington Market, which was closed at this point, and saw the same couple from the park with the carriage, and they were talking to man in a suit. Upon closer inspection, he saw the mother was holding the baby (who was thankfully asleep), but in the carriage was a box. The other man grabbed the box and looked up and saw Michael.

The parents followed his gaze and saw Michael. They all stopped in their tracks. He waved to them, and went and hid around a corner.

Peering around the corner, Michael watched the scene continue. They thought he was gone and continued what they were doing. The man gave the father some money, the mother put the baby back in the carriage, and the couple went off into the night. The man stayed behind.

Michael thought to go over and ask him what that was all about, but thought against it once he saw a group of people, casually dressed, approach the man in the suit. They talked for a while. Michael couldn't hear what they were saying, but thought they were talking about the box. Sure enough, the man opened the box and showed its contents to the others.

Michael couldn't see what was inside, but given the money that the others produced and proceded to give to the man, he could tell it was a drug deal. The baby was a cover, and the couple were the deliverers.

Michael retreated further out of sight to contemplate what to do. There was no guarantee what the drug was, and whether or not he should even get involved. When he peeked around the corner again, he saw that one of the people had turned to stone, and the man in the suit appeared to be chastising one of the other people.

So it's the drug M. Snapping his fingers, Michael began to formulate his plan of attack. There was no one else around, and they were about 30 feet away. He counted 12 of them, including the man in the suit. A distraction would do nicely. Something to scatter them as well.

Michael threw his burning shoes to his right, making a 90 degrees angle between the shoes and the people. They all stopped and looked at the shoe. A few went over to check it out, but the smarter ones began to go over to where the shoes came from. They all appeared to be unarmed except the man in the suit, who had a pistol at his belt. The man and a few others didn't leave their meeting spot, and the man appeared to be trying to get them to come back. They weren't listening.

5 were at the shoe and 3 were coming towards Michael's hiding spot. When one got close enough, he rushed out, grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back around the corner. The guy he grabbed screamed in pain from Michael's burning hands. A punch to his head silenced him.

11

The other two jumped, and the quicker one put up an ice pillar between Michael and them.

'Did they all take M before the fight?' Michael thought. There were those few seconds when he looked away, so it could've been then that they all took it.

By now, the rest of them were watching what was going down. 3 by the shoes had run away once the fighting started. He'd have to track those down later.

7

The man in the suit was shouting at them to get away and form up to fight, but they weren't listening. Some just stood there. One from the shoes started running over to Michael's corner. The man drew his gun and began to approach as well.

Michael came out of the corner and pushed the pillar of ice over. It fell on a woman, and she got stuck under it. The other guy that made the ice pillar jumped back, and Michael proceded to round-house kicked him in the head.

5

The woman and the man in the suit that were coming slowed down as they approached. Michael spread his arms wide, showing his flaming hands. The woman flicked her wrists and her body became surrounded by black smoke. It emanated off of her. The man in the suit pointed his gun at Michael and yelled for him to get down or else.

Ignoring his request, Michael proceded to rush towards the woman. The man fired 3 shots at the running guy and missed. The woman raised and thrust her hand at Michael, shooting forth a stream of smoke. It hit Michael straight on, knocking him back. She took a few steps forward, pinning him there with her smoke. It wasn't real smoke, of course. It felt solid, but sure looked like smoke.

The man in the suit stopped, and raised his gun to the sky in a relaxed stance. He was letting her have her way with me. When she was right next to Michael, he swooped his feet around and tripped her. As she fell, her smoke hold over him let go, and he jumped up, grabbed her, spun her around, and held her hostage as the man in the suit pointed his gun at him, unsure if he should shoot.

She was in pain from the burn marks he left on her and was shying away from his flaming hands. Michael stood there calmly waiting for the uncertain man to do something. The woman was wiggling, trying to escape, so Michael shoved her towards the man. She tripped over the ice pillar and onto the man has he tried, and failed, to catch her. They both fell to the ground.

Michael looked over at the other people, who up until now had simply stood there in awe and watched the fight go down. One show of aggression towards them by Michael sent them running.

2

Turning back to the man and the woman, Michael picked up the woman and threw her against the wall. She fell to the ground unconscious.

1

The man sat up, leaning on his hands. He had dropped his gun. Michael kicked it away and out of his reach. The man crawled and backed up, trying to get away. Michael feigned going to grab his head with his burning hands by having them slam to the ground on either side of his head. He blew out the flames. He picked him up by the lapels and shoved him against the wall.

"What group do you work for?" Michael asked.

"Huh?" said the man.

"What group? Ya know, what gang?"

"The Farmakos, but I thought you knew that already."

Michael heard of them before. A Greek mob group known for drug trafficking, cock fights, prostitution, the usual s$@t. Co-run by a guy named Demetrios and a girl named Theodora.

The sound of coming sirens interrupted the interegation, but the Michael wanted more information. He knocked the man unconscious, slung him over his shoulder, grabbed his gun, went over to get the box (which had been left closed at the meeting spot), and bolted.

Back at his house, Michael had undressed the man to his underwear and tied him to a chair set up in the kitchen. The man only had money on him and he was still unconscious, so Michael turned his attention to the box. He had set the gun and the box on the countertop next to each other. He opened it.

He didn't find M inside, but instead found some heroin needles.

Michael closed the drapes to prevent anyone from looking in and dimmed the kitchen lights. Pacing around the unconscious man, he got to thinking.

If those were heroin needles the man was selling, then that means the people he fought didn't use M and were therefore mutants, not humans. It sickened him to think that he had beaten up his own kind, but it sickened him even more knowing that a guy was getting his brethren hooked onto a drug. Now this guy has to pay.

For the interrogation, he'll want to make an impression. He put on a white shirt, blue tie, grey suit, and a brown belt and shoes. He put a pair of leather gloves where a pocket square would normally be.

Standing in front of the unconscious man, he stared at him for a while, thinking of how to proceed. He leaned in and slapped the guy across his face. The man flinched, waking up quickly. Standing up straight, Michael took pride in the man's panicked expression as he looked around the room.

The man seemed to understand he wouldn't be getting out, so he stared Michael straight in the eye and attempted to put on his bravest face. It was a bit comical, actually, given how he was just in his underwear and here he was trying to act tough.

"Don't bother calling for help. The neighbours won't hear you," Michael said.

"What you want?" He said, after a moment. Michael simply stared at him, looking from one eye to the other. He put on his gloves and began to walk around the chair.

"Ey, what you doin'? Huh?" The man tried to see what Michael was doing but couldn't turn around.

Michael stopped behind the man. "Let's introduce ourselves."

"Huh? What's this about? Is this some sorta game?"

Ignoring the question, Michael said, "You can call me Stephen. Or Steve for short. What's your name?"

"I ain't tellin' you s&!t!"

Michael hit the back of his head.

"F$&!?%g...! Ah, whatever. I'll tell you. I'm Theodore. Or Theo for short." The man spoke in a blatantly fame accent. Probably trying to sound tougher.

"Why have the Farmakos started selling drugs to mutants?" Michael continued pacing around the chair.

"Why do ya care so much?"

"I want answers, not questions. Why have the Farmakos started selling drugs to mutants?"

"Well, since ya care so much, I'll tell you we're, ahem, 'expanding to new markets.'"

"Who were those two that handed you the box?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean Troy and Marcia? Uh..." He paled, realizing he shouldn't have said their names.

"Troy and Marcia, huh? And what about the baby?"

Theo regained his composure. "They didn't kidnap it, if that's what you were wonderin'. No, it's theirs alright."

Using a baby to help them cover up drugs? Despicable. "The mutants you sold to, are they regulars?"

"'Were' would be better, but I'm no Grammar Nazi. Some would frequent my, ahem, 'stocks', but I doubt many will come back after what you did to them."

Michael stopped right in front of the man. He picked up the gun off the counter and pretended to examine it. "As I'm sure you've noticed, I'm a mutant, and the Farmakos are poisoning my brethren. I'm not used to fighting your syndicate, but now I don't think I have a choice." He turned to Theo. "You're going to help me do that." He pointed the gun at Theo's head. "I want names, dates, places. Where you people meet, who you meet, where your storage is, where your hideouts are. All of it." He pulled out his phone and opened up notes.

"You...you want me...you think you can..." Theo began laughing. Slowly at first, but built it up. "Ah, f$&k, man." His accent was gone now, so he sounded like a typical Baltimorean. "You're so f$&@%#g screwed." Laughter. "We-we in the Farmakos, we look after each other, if ya catch my drift." More laughter.

Michael understood it perfectly well: they'll be coming for him. He pistol whipped Theo, knocking him out again. Poor guy probably has a concusion, but it's not the time to worry about that.
It's time to plan.

Michael figured the Farmakos will use their influence to keep the police out of this so they can get him themselves. His first thought was to stay and fight, but figured that's what they expect him to do. So he'll have to run and hide somewhere. They'll probably have security camera footage and witnesses, so he shouldn't go out in the open any time soon.

He took out his phone and went into his contacts, calling a friend. Thankfully, he was home.

"Hey, Parker. It's Michael."

"Michael? What is it? It's pretty d@&n late." Parker was an old friend of his, since high school.

"I need a place to stay. Is it alright if I stay over to your place for the night?"

"Well, Jesus Michael, it's been months. Hadn't heard from you. Uh...let me see." He could hear Parker move around a bit. "I got a sofa for you to sleep on. Will that do?"

"That'll be perfect. I'll head over right now."

"Alright. See ya-" Michael hang up then. Parker could tell that Michael was in a bit of trouble, and thankfully Parker had some heart in him to let Michael stay.

Throwing Theo and a suitcase full of his belingings into the back of his car, he started making his way down to Parker's house. It was a brick row house, like most homes in the city. He of course drove around a few blocks to shake off any tails. When he got there, he checked to make sure no one else was around before he got out of the car. He carried Theo and his suitcase up the steps and kicked his foot on the door. Parker opened it, surprised at the sight.

"Jesus!" He yelled. Michael shooshed him. Parker made room for Michael to pass through. "Is he...is he dead?"

"No, just unconscious," Michael said, stepping through the doorway. Parker breathed a sigh of relief.

Once Michael had settled in, he explained his situation without going into too much depth. Someone didn't like him and was out to get him and Theo. That was his story anyways.

Once Parker went to bed, Michael tied Theo to a chair again, and he happily fell asleep on the couch after such a long day. In his tired stupor, he had forgotten to take off his suit.

--------------------------------------

Waking up to Parker trying to sneak people upstairs was a bit of a surprise to Michael. He wasn't used to hearing a surprised gasp then feeling someone jump on top of him while shouting "Michael! Jesus Christ, it's Michael!" and then laughing.

It was Taylor, another friend. After Michael got up, Parker explained he had been trying to sneak them in without waking him up so they could talk and drink, but the plan backfired. He said he had forgotten he had invited them. Who Parker had invited was none other than members of Michael's old gang, the Slaughterhouse. The reunion was interrupted when they spotted an unconscious man only in his underwear and tied to a chair in the corner of the room.

Michael checked his watch and was dissapointed to see it was only 7 in the morning. He wasn't in the mood for explaining things this early.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) for him, Parker jumped in and said that Theo's a member of another gang, Michael had captured him, and offered Theo as a gift in an attempt to rejoin the Slaughterhouse.

The guests loved it.

"Welcome back, Mikey!" one shouted.

"What gang's the f@&$#r from?" another asked.

Michael decided to deal with Parker's lie later. For now, he'd have to dodge all their questions and attempt to usher them upstairs. He saw Parker's wife was standing up there, looking not at all pleased with all the guests or having been woken up by such a loud comotion. She stepped aside regardless. Parker led her back to their room as well. Michael hoped she wouldn't go downstairs. He didn't want her to scream at the sight of Theo.

After the reunion ended and they had drunk a bit, the gang started to file out of the house. All that was left was Michael, Parker, and the gang's leader, Trey.


Trey was the kind of guy that was a bit too cautious. He sat as though he wasn't sure Michael was his friend or foe.

They got to talking about Theo. Michael decided to tell the truth. Michael had defeated and captured Theo, who was a member of the Farmakos. Trey seemed please by this. The Farmakos and the Slaughterhouse, he explained, were facing some tension. Fights had broken out between the two, and a hostage was a perfect way to leverage what they wanted.

Then they talked about whether or not Michael should be allowed back in. Michael made himself seem uninterested, but Parker kept pressuring Trey to let him in. Trey eventually gave in. Michael would be allowed access to the gang's HQ, and Trey expected him to participate in any projects he had.

Once Trey had left, Michael confronted Parker.

"You can't just force me into this!" Michael said.

"I know you're mad, but things are more complicated than you think," Parker said, "I need you here. With us."

They went back and forth for a bit. All the while Michael was thinking about how Parker had always had his back in everything. It was only fair for Michael to repay the debt. He'd let the lie slide.

Michael was unlucky to soon see his house burning down on the news. Unfortunately it had spread to neighboring homes, killing 1 person and injuring 8 others. The police say it was an accident. Leaky gas line. But Michael had no doubt in his mind that the Farmakos were out for blood. He just hoped they wouldn't follow him to Parker's house.

For the time being, Theo's been been taken to a safehouse: The basement of a donut shop. The shop graciously accepted the custody of Theo, what with them being in the Slaughterhouse's sphere of influence.

On the streets, however, skirmishes between te Slaughterhouse and the Farmakos have taken place. According to Trey, they suspect they'll have to begin targeting their money supply. Strategic strikes to the Farmakos' infrastructure will weaken them and ensure they lose support and strength in Baltimore. Stealing their drugs, beating up their p!&$s, scaring those in their sphere of influence, etc. Hit them where it hurts thanks to the information 'extracted' from Theo.

The plan backfired within 12 hours. They had hit the Farmakos in the appropriate areas, but the Farmakos had responded quicker than expected, and harder. They didn't beat up our p!&$s. They shot them. They didn't steal our drugs. They burned them. They didn't scare those in our influence. They robbed and beat them up.

Needless to say Trey was upset. He put the entire blame on Michael for even kidnapping Theo in the first place. Of course Trey had wanted to attack the Farmakos for some time but he'd never say that. To punish him, Trey had Parker assign Michael a mission just for him. He wanted Michael to go kill one of their p!&ps.

------------------------------

With a gun at his hip and a pair of gloves on his hands, Michael set out into enemy territory. His target was a guy named Anthony. From what he'd heard, Anthony was everything one could expect from a p!&p. He was a hard a$s. Wouldn't just let anyone touch his prostitutes. He'd never let anyone he deemed "ugly" touch them.

Michael approached Anthony's usual den: a strip club called "The Saucey Crab". He saw a some scantily clad women approach him. He ignored them and attempted to push on, only to be stopped by a burly bouncer.

"ID", the bouncer said, staring down at him. Michael gave the bouncer $50 and made his way inside.

He wasn't fond of strip clubs. He'd been a few times but never found the atmosphere at all enjoyable. The music was too loud and the people too annoying. "The Saucey Clam" was no different, but Michael pushed that aside and began looking for his target.

According to Trey, Anthony was a fairly short guy. A tattoo of a small knife on his chin and extremely sharp fingernails should be the giveaway.

Michael sat at the bar and ordered a shot of whiskey. One of the girls walked up to him and asked if he'd like a show, to which Michael promptly refused. The girl sweared at him as she walked away. He didn't want to ask any of the girls where Anthony was because if word got to him that someone was trying to find him, he might try to give Michael the slip.

Michael looked around. He saw the VIP area, which was roped off. He saw the bathrooms, which had their signs removed. And he saw a guy in a hood in the corner trying to touch one of the girls, which she kept hitting away. He was promptly kicked out by the bouncer.

Michael thought that the best course of action was try to get into the VIP area. He could see some girls huddled around a guy, but Michael couldn't see his face. Michael sat there at the bar and began to formulate his plan. From where he sat, he could see another bouncer blocking access to the VIP area. Michael wasn't on any list so there was no way he could get in the conventional way.

Once he had come up with his plan, he paid for his drink. He got up and started for the bathroom. He had to ask the bartender which bathroom was the men's, to which he said it didn't matter. Michael shrugged and opened the bathroom door. He could hear a guy and a girl in one of the stalls, and saw another was occupied. But he didn't care about those. He went right up to the wall, jumped up, and pulled loose the grate on the vent. He climbed up and in, putting the grate back.

He crawled through what must have been the worst kept ventilation system ever. A mouse was rotting in a mousetrap and a fly ran up his nose. He had to sneeze to get it out. But his struggles paid off as he reached another grate. Looking through, he could see he was in the VIP area, and he saw a man with each arm around a girl. His nails were viciously sharp.

He didn't want the patrons to be witnesses, so he decided to sit and wait for a bit. Fortunately, it was almost morning so the club would be closing soon.

Once there were only 1 or 2 patrons left, Michael reached for his gun, holding it out at an odd angle. Anthony had moved since then and was making out with one of the girls, who easily was about a foot taller than him. Michael slowly opened up the grate, pointing his gun through the opening and aiming for Anthony's head. The girl Anthony was making out with opened her eyes and saw the gun pointing through the opening. Michael missed his shot from her terrified scream as she ran away. He cursed and jumped out the vent and into the VIP area. He raised his gun but Anthony was quicker. He tackled Michael, slamming him into the wall. The VIP's bouncer turned out to be just for show since he turned and ran at the sight of Michael falling out the vent.

Michael pushed Anthony off of him, finding he had dropped the gun. Anthony, however, made his hand into the shape of a claw and thrust it out. His sharp nails flew forth from his fingertips and into Michael's arm as he tried to block. Anthony's turned out to be a mutant!

Reeling from the pain, Michael got up and threw off his gloves. His gun was nowhere to be seen, so he'd need to use other methods to deal with Anthony. With a snap of his fingers, his hands burned bright with fire.

Anthony, smirking, asked, "and why the h3/l are you trynna kill me, huh? We blood now!" Michael didn't answer. He found his silence a way to spite Anthony. Put him off edge. Michael charged him, palms raised.

Anthony matched Michael blow for blow. When Michael went to for a right back hand, it was blocked by Anthony's right arm. When Michael snap kicked, it was kicked aside by a crescent moon kick. They eventually were staring each other down, both too exhausted to make another move.

Michael had scratch marks all over his body with a few nails in his skin. Anthony had some burns and had thrown off his jacket, which lay to the side, smoldering. Michael watched as Anthony's nails regrew for what must have been the 50th time that night. That's his power: he quickly grows extremely sharp nails that can then be shot out like bullets. Michael could tell Anthony was planning to launch more but wasn't sure he could last another attack. He would have to act quickly.

He dashed forward, almost stumbling down from the exhaustion. He raised his flaming palm up to strike, but Anthony was ready. Anthony raised his hands and crossed them, making his hands into the shape of claws. As Michael went in to strike Anthony's belly, he feigned to the right. Anthony was caught off guard and just for a moment turned to follow. Michael reached down with his other hand and grabbed Anthony's leg, pulling it out from under him.

Anthony fell with a thump, and Michael proceeded to drag him over to the burning jacket. He laid Anthony on top of it and let the fire take its course. But before Anthony's outfit caught the flames, he had shot his nails out to Michael, hitting him in the head. Michael fell to the ground unconscious as flames erupted around Anthony.

-----------------------------

Michael woke up to a bright light and monitors. It was a hospital. His hands had gone out and there was one nurse over by some cabinets. She didn't know he was awake so he nearly scared her to death when he asked for some water.

For the next week he didn't get many visitors. Only members of the Slaughterhouse. Trey visited him, of course. Common courtesy. He said the mission was a success. Sort of. Anthony was dead and the Slaughterhouse would keep the police off Michael's back, but "The Saucey Clam" nearly burned down and Michael was so badly injured he won't be doing another job any time soon.

One day Parker decided to visit. The guy had the nerve to show up it seems. Michael was aggressive towards him from the moment he came in.

"How dare you show your face in my room!" He sternly said to Parker as he entered, "you didn't tell me Anthony wasn't no human. He was a g@$$&m mutant!" They were alone so felt free to say whatever he wanted.

Parker raised his hands in defense. "Easy there," he said, "I knew you could handle it so I found no reason tellin' you."

"No reason? That son of a b!$&h nearly killed me!"

"And he didn't. What you DID do, however, is cut off some of their money."

"F&$/%€g money, man. Who gives a s&!t! Don't mean nothin' anyways. You sure I'm... Hey, what you mean you knew I could handle it? All I had was a gun."

Parker gave a short breath. "I know you're a mutie, Michael. Known for a while actually. That's why I knew you could handle the fight. Knew when you burned Taylor a few months ago. Knew when you took on 4 people over at Lexington Market. And I knew when you killed one of the most powerful muties in Baltimore a few days ago."

"How..." Michael wasn't sure what to say. "How'd you know I did that over at Lexington?"

"One of the muties you scared off was a friend of mine. Well, 'friend' is being too nice. He's an informant for me. Spies on the Farmakos."

"Does...does everyone else know too?"

"Nah, just me. I assume you'd like it to stay like that...for a few favors."

"Are you...are you blackmailing me...?" Michael was genuinely surprised. Parker was an old friend, or so he thought.

"Never really liked the word 'blackmail'. But let's just say you're in no position to resist." He rested his hand on a monitor and began fingering one of the wires.

Michael closed his eyes and sighed, opening them. "What you want?"

"I want you to kill Demetrios."

"The Farmakos leader?"

"One of them, yes."

"Why you want it done so badly?"

"Trey wants a ceasefire between us. We've had too many casualties. I don't want that, so you're gonna kill him. You see, the Farmakos are blocking us from becoming one of the most powerful gangs in Baltimore, and wiping them out would make us shoot up to the top. Right up there with the Crips. We need to destablize the Farmakos and end them."

Michael agreed to it and would formulate a plan with Parker on how to take down Demetrios once he was out of the hospital. Another part of it he didn't like was that he had to work with Theo.

Theo had been relocated several times and was considered to be one of the biggest bargaining chips Trey had in the ceasefire negotiations. Theo wasn't exactly pleased with the idea, but he was quite frankly confused at the man that had captured him melting the zip ties binding him off his wrists and ankles.

He was fully clothed, having been given a uniform from the doughnut shop.

Theo was very compliant. More so than Michael had thought. He pointed Michael and Parker in the right direction. They would have to break into an office complex in downtown Baltimore. That's the Farmakos HQ. He told them about Demetrios' guards, their guard shifts, their locations, the locations of every camera and alarm, and he even drew a map of every floor to show it all.

They'd have to go in at night as that's when Demetrios is most likely there. He goes out and about in the daytime. Meeting with clients and other gang leaders. He would stay in the office every night on the 13th floor (officially the 14th floor but let's be real here). He was peculiar like that. His sister Theodora hated it. She preferred to stay in their mansion in the countryside. But not Demetrios. No, he liked being engulfed in his work. So much so, his bed is stuffed with files on every person he's come into contact with. He liked keeping things within arm's reach.

-------------------------------------------

On a peculiar Wednesday night, a hooded man parked a car a few blocks down from a certain office building. He got out with a briefcase and walked towards said office building. He went right by it, entering a nearby abandoned home. He changed clothes first before he got to work. A bit of gasoline here, a small match there, and soon firefighters and the police had closed off the entire block. It was a small fire, not much worth noting, but the closed off street prevented anyone from entering or leaving the entire block.

The hooded man would have an hour, he reckoned, before they packed up and left. He fled the burning home, darting into an alleyway behind the office. By now the office's guards would be on alert. Good.

He took out a bobby pin, putting it inside the lock of the back door. Once it clicked open, he opened it. A few heads in the maintenance room turned to see the man walking in from the alleyway. They paid no mind however once they saw his janitor's uniform. He walked right by them, retrieving a janitor's cart from a closet and started to push it through the door to the lobby. A few raised their eyebrows, but their fellow janitor explained he had received a call from the 10th floor, asking for janitorial assistance. None of them argued with him, despite the fact that none of them had ever received such a call. They were either to lazy or too tired to object.

The man entered the lobby and was subject to a security check with a pat-down. He immediately made his way to the elevator afterwards. No one seemed to pay him any mind. One man in the elevator gave him a funny look, but ignored the janitor once he saw the janitor only pressed the button for the 8th floor. The janitor got out onto his respective floor and the other man continued up.

42 guards in the entire building. 38 of them armed, but only 12 with sub-machine guns. 21 would be on duty at any given moment, with the majority near the top where the barracks were. They'd change shifts every 2 hours. The next one was in 8 minutes. In the meantime, the janitor got to work and then made his way to the fire alarm. He checked his watch. The guards would be changing shift. He made sure no one was around before he pulled the lever.

The alarm was loud, but so were the footsteps storming down the stairwell. He saw guards go by the window in the door to the stairs with Demetrios. He also saw their confused expressions at the various chairs and desks blocking the way down further. They knew something was up. The janitor hid as they opened the door to the 8th floor.

The guards that had guns pulled them out upon seeing the janitor cart next to an activated fire alarm. They spread out, checking under desks and into rooms. They soon found an unconscious guy in a janitor's uniform on the floor.

They talked a bit. Well, Demetrios did most of the talking. They decided someone was trying to mess with them, but given how the police and firefighters were already there, they would have to follow common procedure and exit the building. They searched a bit more before they got back to the stairwell, carrying the unconscious guy with them. They began to move the furniture blocking their path. It was too late for them though. The man was already among them, keeping his stolen gun close to him.

Once they were in the lobby, they filed out of the building as police and firefighters entered it. The guards escorted Demetrios to a police officer, where he explained that it was all just an accident. The police officer explained that they would take no risks given how a fire just broke out nearby. He must've been new or stupid. All cops know who Demetrios was very well. Demetrios had to concede. He decided to spend the night over at his mansion. He called his limo and a got inside. A certain guard offered to protect him on the way, to which Demetrios agreed. It would be nice to have some company. The guard sat next to him.

It was just Demetrios, the guard, and the driver. Once they were well away from the office and into the countryside, the guard took out his gun and pointed it at Demetrios' head, telling the limo driver to stop by the side of the road or else he'd shoot Demetrios. The sight of a guard threatening to kill his own employer in the rear-view mirror greatly surprised Michael, and he almost lost control of the limo.

Michael slowed to a stop, unsure of how to proceed.

"Get out," the guard said, to which Michael complied. Michael kept his hands over his head. He felt the guard's eyes on him. Demetrios and the guard got out as well. "Lay down on the ground," he said. Both Michael and Demetrios followed his orders. They laid next to each other on the side of the road. Demetrios turned his head to look at Demetrios.

"You're not my driver, are you?" Demetrios said to Michael, "You didn't bring a gun. I have all my drivers carry guns on them."

"Quiet!" roared the guard as he gave Demetrios a light kick. Michael deduced that the 'guard' was an impostor as opposed to a turncloak given how small the guard uniform is on him.

Michael's plan was supposed to be simple. He had no plan to actually break into the office building. Too much security. No one with his resources could do it. He would instead break into the limo driver's home (information acquired from Theo), tie him up, take his uniform, and drive Demetrios to a secluded place the following day where he would kill him. How should he have reacted to receiving a call late at night for a ride? And now this...'guard' comes along... He couldn't call for backup. He only hoped Parker would notice the him missing in the morning and would go out searching.

The impostor seemed to be very interested in Michael. How often was it that someone would impersonate a driver? "What are you doing here," he asked Michael, stepping around their legs to get on the other side, "who are you?"

"You can call me Steve," Michael said. He turned his head to look up at the impostor. "And who are you?"

He didn't answer. He looked to Demetrios, pointing the gun at him and clocking it. "Well? Where are they?" From this angle, Michael could see that the gun was a revolver, if it was even real. Michael had doubts. If this impostor can't even buy a decently fitting uniform, how could he possibly get the gun right?

"You need to elaborate," he said calmly, "I have many people locked away somewhere, and they-"

A gunshot to the left of Demetrios' head silenced him. The impostor clocked his gun again. "I'm not kiddin' around, hun. Where are Marcia and Bonnie?! You have them, I know you do! So just...tell me where they are!"

Marcia and Bonnie? Loved ones most likely. And from the shakiness in his voice...Michael could tell he didn't think he could get this far. There was also the question as to why he hadn't killed Michael yet. He had no reason to let Michael live, so the only logical conclusion is that he doesn't want to kill anyone. Most likely hasn't killed anyone ever.

"Fine, lemme just..." Demetrios began to feel around in his pockets. He grinned as he pulled a gun out and poked it into Michael's ribs. "Don't shoot!" He yelled, "Or I'll shoot him instead."

The impostor didn't know what to do. He shuffled his feet, keeping the gun trained on Demetrios. "Please," he said, "I just want my wife and kid back..."

Ah. Michael remembered him. Troy. The guy from the park. So his wife and kid are being held hostage by his former employer? How interesting. Turns out he's both an impostor and a turncloak. Furthermore, he's at Demetrios' mercy even though he has no gun pointed at him. How pathetic. Though Michael shouldn't expect too much from a human.

Demetrios started getting up, keeping the gun in Michael's side. He pulled Michael to his feet as well, holding him tight with his free hand. "And why should I give them to you...?" Demetrios said, "You're nothing but a traitor to us, to me. You have stolen a guard's uniform, his gun, and his decency. You threaten to shoot me and this...man. You have done nothing to deserve your family."

Troy looked about ready to cry. He started shaking at the realization he had no chance of making it out alive regardless of whether or not he had a gun. He's too weak willed. "Give 'em to me!" he cried.

"No," said Demetrios, so collected and calm. He pointed his gun at Troy. "Now get in the car, or you die."

Michael was having fun, that's for sure. But he was starting to get bored. He snapped his fingers, setting them alight. Demetrios's jacket caught on fire as well and he jumped back in pain, accidentally firing his gun. It hit the ground as Michael spun around for a backhand across Demetrios' face, making him fall to the ground. Demetrios was screaming in pain from the burns until Michael stomped on his back, hearing a pleasant crack. His screams ended, but the fire began to slowly spread over his body. Soon there'd be nothing left of his corpse.

Michael turned to Troy, who had just stood there in fright. He was shaking, pointing the gun to the ground. "You...you killed him..." he said. How astute. "You're one of them..." Poor thing looked horrified.

Michael gestured blew his hands out and motioned to the burning body. "Search him," he said, "before there's nothing left." Troy complied to the demand, if a little shaky, and came back with a phone and a wallet. Michael gestured to the car with his head. "Get in," he said, "You're driving. I've done enough for today."

-----------------------------------

So they got to talking. Each told their story of how they got into the limo with Demetrios and why they did it. Apparently people COULD break into the office. Troy's wife and baby were being held hostage because he had gone rogue. He didn't like the idea that the Farmakos were recruiting mutants now. He especially didn't like being told what to do by one either. So now that Demetrios was dead, Troy would need to find Theodora to get his family back, to which Michael said he wished him luck.

Michael explained who he was. How they had bumped into each other at the park and how he had seen him use his child as a cover for drugs. How he worked for the Slaughterhouse. He decided to leave out Parker and his blackmail. He instead asked why the Farmakos were so keen on wearing vintage styled clothing, to which Troy said was that they were trying to bring back a "more refined taste in clothing".

Michael had him drop him off a few blocks from Parker's house. He thanked him and Troy sped away. Michael cursed himself for forgetting to take the phone and wallet from Troy, but he was too tired to chase after him. Once he was in Parker's home, he laid back on the couch. He was home alone.

Some time passed before he realized that not even Parker's wife was home. He went upstairs and found nothing. The bed was made and nothing was out of order, yet no one was home. He did see, however, his phone in Parker's room. What was it doing there?

He opened it up, only to find it opened up to the Notes app. There was a message.

"Go to the docks. You'll know where to look."

Michael checked the other apps. Whoever had opened his phone up had only left the message it seemed. Nothing else was open and nothing was missing. But why leave a message on his phone?

Now why the docks? What was over there that he knew...other than where the ceasefire negotiations were taking place.

-----------------------

He arrived at the docks in the early hours of the morning. The negotiations were taking place in a secluded warehouse, but when Michael arrived, he found it on fire an no one was around.

He scanned the area. He looked all around for something until he saw a laser dot on the ground. He froze. The dot moved towards him, onto his foot, up his leg and body, and onto his forehead. Even from there, he could see a sniper on the roof of a nearby building.

He got a text. It read: 'Turn around'
Michael did so, only to see Parker.

"I'm sorry if I come across theatrical," Parker said, "but it's quite the intimidation tactic."