Rika hasn't moved; she's still in the chair where I left her. I twist my ring, switching my helmet to the opposite setting. Water comes misting out, and I rotate it again to be stronger. The spray splashes her in the face. Rika groans, sputtering as water gets in her mouth and up her nose. She shakes her head, sending water everywhere like a dog. Rika tries moving but stops when she realizes she's tied up. She raises her head and glares at my projected face. My helmet's face is currently dark red, the light from it bathing her in a faint crimson glow.

"You," she said vitriolically.

"Me," I responded, using her own voice.

"What the hell?"

"You misjudged me. You bit off more than you can chew, and now you're going to choke on it."

"You don't know who you're fucking with. Forget the Triad, X-Train is going to kill you for this," she threatened.

"Xander doesn't scare me either. You've already seen that I'm not capable of it. There's nothing and no one I'm afraid of. I'd tell you to check, but you can't, can you?"

Her eyes focus on me, opening and closing her eyes repeatedly. Straining them, she continues to stare at me in hopes of her aura sight returning. Womp womp. It's never coming back. She tries to speak, opening her mouth, but nothing comes out. Shock. Good. I want her to wallow in the realization of what I did to her.

"It's gone," she whispered hopelessly.

"It is; I took it. But I'm going to take even more from you before tonight's over. What was it you said about me, that I was broken? Well, I'm going to break you now. You're going to suffer, Rika, and then, and only then, will I let you die," I said, smiling.

The unsettling nature of my helmet's face, combined with hearing her own voice, should help break her earlier. How should I begin? I need supplies; there isn't that much to use here in the office. I'll have to go to the break room to gather some tools. Before that, I get close to her and go through her pockets to remove her cell phone. I'll need that for later.

"Why are you doing this? We're both Cowls, I can help you," Rika said desperately.

How pathetic, already trying to beg and plead. She's not a worthy opponent. I laugh, and Rika's own laugh fills the room. There isn't a single thing she could offer to make me stop this course I've set out on. She's no longer a person; she's another piece for me to use. But she needs some changing before she'll fit the mold I need her to be.

"Truthfully, I just wanted to drink and chill tonight. But you decided to coerce me into a conversation, and this is the price you pay for that. None of this would've happened if you could've just ignored your curiosity about me. You have nothing to offer me, I've already taken the only thing I wanted from you," I said.

"This is bullshit. How was I supposed to know you were a fucking maniac? I shouldn't have to die just because I inconvenienced you. You may think you have nothing to fear from retaliation, but the Triad is not an enemy you want to have, I promise you. You may have beaten me and Carl, but I'm not even close to the strongest Cowl in our group," she warned me.

How cute.

"Actually, the Triad is exactly the type of enemy I want to have. A fragile coalition of Cowls, each with their own goals and motivations, will make for easy pickings. I'll break down your group into pieces and parts, rob you all of your powers, and take everything you've all worked so hard for. I can't wait to see what kind of resistance the Triad can muster," I said.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Nobody," I answered casually.

I can't find anything to bind her legs with. Powerless and unarmed as she may be, she could still escape and get help. There's only one way to stop her from running away. My eyes zoom around the room, looking for something that will work for what I have in mind. Filing cabinets aren't what I have in mind, but they represent an interesting opportunity. I'll take their records too. Continuing my search, I finally decide on what I will use. X-Train's desk has a sizable paperweight on it. It's a solid white marble bird nest with a sparrow made of some type of black stone. Perfect. I remove the bird, and it's much heavier than it looks. Second option.

"What are you doing? Hey. Hello? What are you doing? Stop ignoring me," Rika said, trying to engage with me.

I continue to ignore her, lifting the bird nest. It's bigger than my hand and probably weighs about twenty pounds if I had to take a guess. Walking back to her, I put a wicked smile on my face. Knowing my helmet will mimic my face, I'm going to lean into her perception. She thinks I'm a fucking maniac, well I'd hate to disappoint. I pull the chair over to me as she continues talking. The paper weight moves through the air as I give it a little toss. Before she can ask me another pointless question, I catch it and smash it into her right knee as hard as I possibly can. Rika's words get cut off as she screams out in pain. Her leg spasms from the hit, and I avoid the kick. It isn't broken yet. She's crying, sniveling from the pain, but I'm not stopping until I'm sure she can't walk. I grab her ankle with my left hand as she tries to make me let go by shaking the limb. The marble statue falls onto her knee like an executioner's blade. Another. I wind back like a pitcher and slam it right into the front of her knee. Three strikes, you're out of here. Something gives, and she lets out a sound I've never heard before. A throaty, warbling cry that I feel in my chest. Probably her patella. I place the paperweight back where I got it and walk toward the door.

"What do you want?" Rika asked between deep sobs.

"Nothing," I answered, shutting the door behind me.

"I'm back," I said to my captive audience.

"Stop this, please," she begged.

She's right where I left her. Through the rips in her tights, I can see that her knee is black and blue. It looks quite painful; it definitely hurts. I place my breakroom supplies onto X-Train's desk, organizing them. My haul includes cleaning chemicals, three knives, a large bucket, an oven mitt, a mop, and the toaster. I plug the toaster in first, balancing one of the knives so that only the blade is inside the appliance. Then I grab the bucket and lift her legs to put them inside. More yelling commences as I jostle her bad knee. There is something about hurting others that I wouldn't say is enjoyable, but it is something I'm good at. I take pride in the work I do.

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No one has come to check on us back here. I'm unsure if that's because of Vixen's reputation or a respect for X-Train's right hand. I'm not one to shoo away good fortune, especially after the day I've had. These bastards just won't leave me alone. I detach my canisters and carefully fill one with bleach and the other with some all-in-one grime and mold remover. Then I twist them back into place on my helmet. Rika's head is hanging, and she's not crying anymore.

"Hey, bud, you doin' all right? You don't look so good. Might want to see a doctor," I said, still using Rika's voice.

"You already got your revenge, you've broken my fucking leg. Please, I learned my lesson. I won't bother you; I'll disappear from the city forever." Rika doesn't even look up at me when she speaks.

"No, I haven't. Your leg isn't broken, your patella probably is, and that's not even a life-threatening injury. We still have more to come. We're just getting started," I said.

"No, no, no," she whined softly.

I put the oven mitt on as the toaster goes off. The blade is discolored from the heat, appearing dirty. Even with the oven mitt on, I can feel just how hot the knife has become. She turns to look at me as I go around to her left side and press the tip of the blade into her thigh. More yelling, more crying, more pleading. Do you ever shut the fuck up? The skin begins to bubble but holds firm, the light pressure not enough to pierce through. In one swift motion, I stab the knife blade deep into her leg. Her leg sizzles like eggs in bacon grease, and I leave it stuck in there.

"You know this is a lot like the night of the fire you kept asking about. The scent of burning flesh isn't one you forget about easily," I shouted over her cries. "It smells terrible and wrong. Like your brain instinctively recoils from it. Isn't it funny how we're able to do that? A single whiff of something and you just know it's poisonous."

Rika doesn't respond, but I hear a noise coming from inside my helmet. A blinking notification that one of the secure lines is being pinged. Miles is already here? He's calling me from his communicator. Fantastic job, Kai. If our hero has arrived, then I need to hurry up and get our villain here quick. Grabbing Rika's phone, I move her hair off her face and hold the screen up to it. The screen lights up as the facial ID works. Tapping contacts, I go to favorites and find X-Train's number. Gotcha. Before I call him, I need to make sure Rika doesn't ruin the surprise. My jacket should work nicely as a dampener. I put the jacket on her head, zip it shut, and twist the arms around her head tightly. It does make her slightly quieter, if not completely silent. I call X-Train and wait for him to pick up.

"Hello," X-Train said.

His voice is quite deep.

"Hey, X-Train, there's a situation over here at the club. Gonna need you to get over here fast," I said in Rika's voice.

"Who is this, and why do you have Rika's phone?" X-train asked calmly.

"What? Stop messing around, we need you here," I repeated.

"Rika has never called me X-Train in our entire lives. So, despite you mimicking her voice, it's obvious you aren't her," he said.

"Ahhh, you got me. Rika's a bit tied up at the moment, so she can't come to the phone. But you should get to your club if you want to see her alive ever again."

"You're trying to threaten me into cooperating? That won't work. All my soldiers understand what war is. War is all about sacrifices, and there's nothing I have that isn't replaceable," he stated.

"We'll see about that, Xander. I'm going to take everything from you: your territory, your businesses, your soldiers, your allies, your power. One day, you will wake up and have nothing. You aren't the first opponent I've had who believed themself untouchable," I warned.

"If we are to wage war, then what's your name? I want to know what to put on your tombstone."

"Oh, little ol' me? I'm Nobody. Have a good night, Mr. Trainer. You won't be seeing me until it's too late," I said, hanging up the phone.

I kept my cool on the phone, but inside I'm fuming at the way he spoke to me. He thinks he's smarter than me, but I'll show him. No one is smarter than me, let alone some overconfident gangster. He talked to me like she did. That stupid space bitch might be my opponent, but some ignorant drug dealer thinks he has what it takes to go against me? Absolutely fucking not. I rip my coat off Rika's head, and she starts gasping for air. Good, you're still alive. From behind the chair, I yank her head back by her hair.

"Just spoke to your boss, X-Train," I said aggressively.

"Mhmm," Rika weakly laughed. "You tried to ransom me or something. You're an idiot. It doesn't matter what you do to me. You may beat me, you may beat the Triad, but you're never gonna beat Xander."

Forgetting the original plans I had for Rika, I position my head facing directly down at hers. Face to face, I switch the ring over to spray from both canisters. Rika has accepted her fate; there isn't fear or pain in her eyes, only acceptance. Fuck you and fuck X-Train. I blow, and the mixture of chemicals combines into a jet of liquid that goes right into her open mouth. She tries to spit it out and quickly close her mouth, but already chemical burns are forming all over her face. The extremely toxic concoction starts burning her trachea, making her gasp for air. I resume shooting more and more into her, holding her hair like the reins of a horse. She can't twist or turn her head away. Once I'm confident I've given her enough, I step away and spray the remainder onto her body. She coughs and chokes, then starts seizing. It's done. I finally respond to Miles.

"Hey, sorry about that. I was just finishing something up," I said.

"No problem, Nobody. I'm here and ready for your signal," Miles responded.

"Good. I need you to take care of something when you begin. There is going to be a jacket inside the back office, along with some filing cabinets. I need you to incinerate the jacket and secure all of the files. Bring them back to the base once you finish."

"I understand, I'm ready," Miles said confidently.

"I know you are. Start with something big and flashy, through the ceiling in a minute and a half. I'm going to agitate the gang into attacking you."

"Understood," he said as the line stopped.

I leave the office door open and quickly make my way through the hallway. I'm on a timer, I have to be quick. I'm keeping count in my head as I wait right behind the door. Cracking the door ajar, I see a sword of fire the size of a bus plunge through the ceiling. Jesus Christ, Miles. All over the second floor, Triad members are getting up and pulling weapons out, but they haven't started attacking. A ball of fire and electricity comes through the fresh hole in the roof, and I yell out in Vixen's voice.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! KILL HIM!"

I transform my helmet back into a mask and put it inside my shirt. The civilians hanging out on the second floor start screaming as bullets whiz through the air. I run over to join the mob trying to escape down the stairs. Following the crowd, I rush toward a fire exit. The flashing lights, Neuvohuman attacks, gun fire, and screams make for a chaotic scene, but I make it right to the exit before a woman next to me notices the blood on my clothes. Fuck. We're pushed against each other, and based on the look on her face. I'm going to have to do something I don't want to. I slip the gun out of my waist and press it against her stomach, pulling the trigger repeatedly before dropping the gun onto the ground. I scream, and the cluster of people pushes even harder, pouring out the doors. No one stops to help her, too afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. The crowd tramples her as everyone starts running away.

Fuck.

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