Mason was lounging in his favorite chair, drinking a beer that was turning to slush. He loved sitting outside in the snow, watching all the pussies shiver from the cold, too scared to go inside without his permission. He raised his bottle to his lips when suddenly there was a penis in his face.

"What the fuck?" He roared as he clambered backwards.

"Mason, quick - listen!" Gabriel said.

"How the fuck did you get out of the basement?" Mason struggled to his feet.

"Later! Listen, there's a kid here to kill you. He's a speedster, he'll be here in a second. I'm giving you warning, just let me back in."

"What?" The brain cells in Mason's head were fighting over which part of the situation to understand first.

"Here he comes now!" Gabriel stepped backwards and lifted his hand in the air.

Mason's head rocked to the side, causing him to stumble. He didn't fall, though, and the blow straightened his brain cells out. He roared and spun, looking for the source. Another blow struck him, then a lot did. Mason felt his ribs creak and a tooth break free in his mouth.

"Where the fuck are you?" He roared. His lieutenants had been slow to react but they were moving now, all of them facing different directions. It was the enchantresses that came to his rescue. Lilith unleashed Banshee Wail, soundwaves ripping up the earth and shattering the ice in the pool. It only targeted enemies, though, so it passed through Mason without damage and hammered into a shape that was blurring at them.

The attack disoriented Cass and he was suddenly spinning directionless, running straight at the pool. He skipped across it like a rock but the last step caught the edge, sending him sliding face-first across the lawn. Ravena stepped forward and pulled off her dark glasses, her purple eyes casting Nightfall Gaze at the boy as he stood. Suddenly Cass was swinging wildly, fighting enemies only he could see. Jonas unwrapped his chain from around his body and lashed out at Cass, Chain Bind locking the boy in place before the illusion could fade.

Cass's eyes cleared up and he tried to run, but Jonas's chain held him firmly in place. Mason stomped around the pool and picked the boy up by the throat.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Cass scratched at the man's hands but Mason didn't notice. He pulled out his batons and struck with such rapid-fire attacks that it sounded like a machine gun. Mason roared and dropped the boy, following it up with a punch. Cass's shield caught it and he punched back, sending Mason rocking with the force of his own blow.

Cass looked around, eyes wide with panic. Dante stepped forward and Cass's heart lurched when he recognized the man.

"That's him, boss! That's the kid that Viktor shot! His mom killed Viktor!"

Mason whipped around to face Cass again. "Oh, you're the kid of that bitch? This is going to be too much fucking fun then." He balled up his fists and approached.

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He and Cass exchanged blows, Cass being pushed backwards with every hit, but pushing Mason back in return. With a frustrated roar Mason grabbed the shield and pulled, trying unsuccessfully to rip it from Cass's arm. Cass went flying, rolling to the ground. Mason was on him, kicking the boy across the yard. Cass wanted to run, wanted to fight, but the chain held him in place.

"You come here." Kick

"To attack me." Kick

"In my own fucking house." Kick

"And attack blindly like a fucking pussy??" He picked Cass up by the throat, knocking the shield away and punching Cass in the chest hard enough to cause a spray of blood to erupt onto his face. Mason wiped it away with glee as Cass flew backwards.

"Well I hope it was fucking worth it!"

Cass could barely move - barely breathe. He hurt like he never had before, even his advanced healing having trouble recovering from the damage. He popped a healing pill and watched his health gauge go up, but his legs were wobbly and he knew he was on borrowed time. He needed to get out of there!

A plan formulated in his mind, possibly the last plan he'd ever have. Mason sprinted forwards now, leading with his shoulder to tackle him. Cass intercepted with the shield, knocking Mason backwards onto his ass. Instead of counterattacking he sprinted down the length of the chain, punching Jonas in the face hard enough to make him lose his grip on the chain. He activated the Magnetic Deflection charge on his shield, sending the chain flying away. Mason was bearing down on him and Cass didn't know if he had the speed left to get away, so he did something he'd almost forgotten about.

Cass activated Sanctuary Recall and disappeared.

Mason slid to a stop, panting heavily as everyone stared at the space the boy had been a moment before. Once the realization set in that the boy was actually gone Mason stomped over to the naked man shivering by the pool.

"You better fucking explain yourself right now!" Mason was looming over a cowering Gabriel.

"The kid came to me downstairs. He thinks I'm a friend or something - he's the one that helped me escape from that crazy family. I think he saw me in the chains and thought I was a prisoner or something."

"And he didn't try to get you out of here?"

"He offered! He was going to speed me away to his family, but I knew they hated me. Besides, this is where I want to be. This is where I'm meant to be. I would rather be here with you than in some fucking podunk family in some random neighborhood!"

Mason chewed on his lip as he studied the man. He hated that he couldn't tell if people were lying to him, especially little weasels like this. In the end he decided it didn't matter, what mattered was that the punk was on his knees practically pissing himself. And that he'd been attacked. He turned and moved to sit in his Gerard Butler chair.

"I checked out his level," Mason said. Once his army had grown to a certain size he'd gained a skill to see the basic information about people, since it helped with identifying skills and levels that would help in his army. "He's level 15 but doesn't have a lot of skills. Seems like he's mostly a speed dude. He had some pretty bad ass equipment though. Where do you think he got those?"

Gabriel had told him before but he knew better than to mention it. "They have some people at their compound that make some really cool gear. Stuff I've never seen before."

Mason considered this for a long moment. "And you know where to find this place?"

Gabriel nodded enthusiastically. "It's a little fuzzy but I can find my way back there. I know the general area."

Mason slapped the arm of his chair with a loud crack. "Okay then - here's what we're going to do. First thing, we're going to kick this Crypto Challenge's ass - get our men nice and leveled up. After that we're going to fucking kill that entire god damned neighborhood and take all of their cool shit."

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