10 Years Ago
Levi laughed at how skittish Peter was as they snuck through the undercity passages. He didn't get why the boy was so afraid. They'd both come from this hellscape after all. And with their training from The Watch, nobody was going to mess with them. Eve was staying quiet, watching their surroundings, and hoping for a fight. She wasn't necessarily a tall or short girl. In her gray military jacket, most people wouldn't even notice her presence; they'd never know how dangerous she could be. Levi glanced back at her, meeting the light eyes of the dark-skinned girl. She was glaring at him.
Levi found it charming. "Be patient." He laughed. Eve rolled her eyes and searched for something to entertain her.
Peter scooted away from a collapsed tramp and then scurried to catch up with the others. "Levi. Remind me why the hell you brought us here?"
Levi shrugged. "It sounded like fun."
"That's what you told me earlier, but unless you call tunnels full of piss fun, this has been a waste of a rest day."
"Chill out. Fun will come soon enough."
Peter sighed, annoyed by Levi's immaturity.
In some twisted way, Levi's promise turned out to be true. The place he was bringing them turned out to be an illegal trade between Blackbird and a local gang. Tension was palpable in the air of the abandoned subway station.
Levi, Peter, and Eve were all hidden within the remains of a shanty home. "How did you find out about this?" Peter hissed.
"Keep your voice down… I may or may not have snuck into Miss Ferris's office."
"You did?" Peter asked, and the shadows around him pulsed. "Why the hell were you snooping, if she finds out we're screwed?"
Eve rolled her eyes, and Levi spoke. "She won't find out, I didn't take anything and made sure to put everything back where I found it." Levi moved away from Peter and looked back towards the gangs. His eyes flashed back and forth from person to person until he found his mark. After reading his master's report, he'd decided to investigate.
The man he was looking for was rather unimpressive, dressed in a distressed suit jacket that hid the mutations from his deviation. Levi vaguely remembered the man making a deal with his father. Blackbird had never been fond of Levi's father, and this man had delivered the final threat. Levi hoped the man would lead him to whoever had killed his father.
Someone tapped his shoulder. He turned to see a shadowy outline pointing towards Peter. Levi glanced up and saw Peter signalling towards the far right entrance to the tunnel. Two massive Blackbird thugs came lugging a large box. Even from the shelter, Levi could hear something raging inside the cage. Eve's wide eyes analyzed the two thugs; they likely had enhancement deviations, and she was puzzling out how to beat them. Levi tapped her shoulder and signed for her to be patient. She glared at him but nodded.
Levi was still curious to find out what the gang was giving in exchange for the beast. One of the gangsters walked towards Levi's target and handed him a briefcase. Two thugs walked forward as the target stepped back to open the case.
The man looked down. Levi seized the opportunity. Without a moment of hesitation, he raised his wings and shot down his quarry and the two nearest guards. The second after he shot, chaos erupted. Thugs on both sides drew their weapons and started firing. The two thugs who'd held the cage rushed forward, shrugging off bullet fire, and slammed into gang members. A stray bullet hit the shanty house. Peter and Levi stayed low. Ever raised her head and searched for an opportunity to strike.
The fight between the gangs didn't last long. Most of the splinter gang lay dead on the ground, and the remaining Blackbird thugs grabbed the briefcase and began to walk away. Peter peeked out to watch. Levi followed suit. He looked down at the carnage and identified the bloodied body of the Blackbird dealer. Levi hadn't aimed to kill. If luck favored him, the man would still be alive.
Someone screamed. Levi's head whipped to the side just in time to see one of the smaller Blackbird operatives get ripped in half by a shadowy beast. The two big thugs rushed forward and began pummeling the creature as their allies ran. They weren't proficient in Lumes and struggled to hold the beast back, but they did well enough to dissuade the monster from pursuing.
It hissed and cried, the sound a horrid mixture of grinding stone and crying children. Levi had seen smaller creatures like it; his father used to keep one as a pet. This one wasn't quite so tame. It walked on four legs made of metal shards, and a curved human torso twisted out of it. Its head was almost entirely its mouth, and its arms ended in cruel, machine-like claws. What small part of its head was left was occupied by a cramped nose that twitched violently as it stalked away from the Blackbird agents. It ignored most of the bodies, but slowly crept towards the Blackbird leader.
Levi cursed under his breath as the creature drew near to its mark.
"Levi, Eve, we really should get out of here," Peter whispered. He looked ready to run. Levi knew Peter was right, but part of him wanted to recover his target. He looked back in time to see the man get his head torn off.
"Fine, let's go." Levi began to stalk away. Peter followed. Eve hesitated.
"What the hell are you doing?" Peter hissed. Eve had drawn her weapon. She was watching the beast. "We need to go." He said.
She looked back, a primal feeling in her eyes. "It knows we're here." She said, Peter looked up, Levi didn't want to slow down but quickly looked back. The creature's nose twitched rapidly, and it scuttled closer.
Levi wanted to run, but he didn't want to leave Eve. For half a second, he faltered, and the creature attacked. Its speed betrayed its bulk. Peter reacted with lightning speed, shadows warping off the ground and holding the creature. It pulled against the ethereal bodies, and Peter strained. Eve shot forward. The cement morphed around her body and coated her hands. She was quick and threw the monster back with a powerful punch. A spray of teeth fell from the creature's mouth. It didn't slow but shot forward again. A horde of shadows grabbed the creature's back leg. Peter struggled to maintain enough bodies to hold the monster. Eve ran forward to strike again. The beast snapped at her, warding her back. She ducked a blow and struck a joint at the torso. The creature buckled, and she prepared a heavy strike. As the creature tilted, its torso stretched and its mouth curved over Eve's head. Levi shot forward barely quick enough to pull her out of the way. He shot a barrage of smaller feathers into its head. They scraped off harmlessly. Peter's shadows suddenly dissolved. Levi was prepared to grab Eve and run. The creature stumbled, then looked up and rushed towards Peter. Peter switched places with a shadow. The beast swung a lumbering claw towards him. It connected and threw Peter into the air. Levi launched four feathers to catch the creature's front legs. Metal scraped against metal; the monster fell. Peter scrambled away.
The creature rose to strike again, but never got the chance. A sudden blur of silver shot through the creature's back legs. It fell again, and a larger blur appeared on its back. There was a flash of golden light, and when it faded, the creature lay motionless. A hooded figure knelt on the dead monster's back, dagger in hand. She looked up to glare at Peter, then Eve, and finally Levi.
Peter quickly stood and bowed. "I'm sorry, Master Mercury." His words were jumbled and quick.
"I told you not to call me that." She shook her head.
"We're really sorry, Valery," Eve said. She made sure not to meet Valery's eyes.
"Yeah, sorry." Unlike Eve, Levi glared back.
She hopped off the creature's back and walked towards Levi. "You're not nearly as sneaky as you think you are." She said, "And now you're lucky that I got here in time. What the hell were you thinking?"
"We're really sorry, we just-"
"Peter, I'm not talking to you at the moment."
"I just thought we'd help," Levi mumbled. They both knew it was a lie.
Valery wasn't quick to push the subject, "We'll talk about this later, but there will be consequences. Whatever the case, I need to head back to the compound. If you're late again, there's nothing I can do to help you." She gave Eve a smile, and with a flash of silver, she was gone.
Levi scoffed and started walking. He didn't listen to whatever Peter was worrying about. His mind was stuck on the man. He'd been close to figuring out who'd killed his father, and then he'd screwed up. His hands were clenched. Peter looked at Levi with frustration in his eyes. Levi kept his eyes on the ground.
"I know that..." Peter cut himself off. "I'm really sorry that I couldn't hold it back," Peter said.
Levi held back a curse. "It's fine." It wasn't fine. It wasn't fair that someone as weak as Peter was in the same program. It wasn't fair for someone so weak to train with the best of The Watch.
Levi clenched his fists. No. That wasn't fair. Even if he wanted it to be true, he couldn't deny Peter's strength.