After about an hour of walking, the group finally arrived at the Airport. Aran was carrying Luce in her arms while everyone struggled with their baggage alone. They went with Cameron's plan like they said they would, passing through customs, the shady figure of a woman watching from afar. But we won't follow this figure, as they pass by Cornelio's Party, who spotted them from afar.
Cornelio dismissed their appearance, sending his guards in his stead to follow them as they made it to their lobby. Cornelio lit a cigarette between his lips, a bored expression worn in his sunken eyes.
The sound of feet hitting marble could be heard beside him, approaching. He figured they'd pass by him, but they felt purposeful, not straying from their path. It's easy to hear it sometimes, when someone is going at you directly, if you listen hard enough. Humans are intuitive like that which is how, even while distracted, when someone has enough situational awareness, will move out of the way for certain objects coming their way if they determine that they're blocking their path, which is exactly what Cornelio did, turning on the balls of his feet, taking a glance at the figure clad in white.
He froze at the sight, a humanoid being wearing all white, a beanie over its head with headphones layered on top, attached unnaturally to its ears. It looked like to was wearing a coat of some kind and had screws for eyes, the roman numeral for one slapped onto it's forehead.
Cornelio quickly assessed that he was getting attacked. Someone took the opportunity to ambush him when his guard was down. In a public place like this, well... it was the last place you'd ever expect an opponent to appear before you. Cornelio reached for a radio on his breast, commanding his guards to return as he began to step back from the approaching figure.
Cornelio was curious to see if it could communicate with him since it didn't appear that its user was nearby, so he spoke up. "Stop your approach, or I will act violently."
No response, it continued its persistent approach.
"Do you even know who I am? I'd suggest you step away, or face the consequences, do you hear me?"
It paused for a moment before circling Cornelio like a hungry wolf. He kept his eyes closely on the creature as it slowly encroached on his position.
"I warned you, and you chose not to heed my warning. I will eliminate you."
A quiet... a stalemate. A momentary calm before the storm. Cornelio narrowed his gaze. It isn't sentient, and the user isn't looking through it in some way. It's just here. Is it a Bane? That could explain it, how it was able to appear before me like it did without its user around. Either that... or the user is here somewhere, hiding. The question is, where?
"Global Groove." Cornelio kicked the ground, his shadow moving in response, firing out at his opponent at high speed, prompting it to block in response. Cornelio lunged forward, striking the shadow, the parts that he struck bouncing forward into the ability's form, causing the white figure to stumble back. Quickly, Cornelio grabbed the shadow still up into the air like a cape, draping himself in it and disappearing.
Cornelio hid himself in the shadow of a passerby, slinking out when he thought he was far enough away from whatever was chasing him. Suddenly, he heard running from behind, forcing him to slide away by grabbing his shadow, narrowly dodging another one of these humanoid creatures, but instead of the roman numeral of one, it was two.
"A duo."
He raised his stance, readying himself for a fight before they suddenly switched places, the first one appearing again, the ground beneath it looking to bend against its will.
"W-What the hell is this ability?"
One of Cornelio's guards, a young man with short black hair, shaved at the sides, approached. He took out what looked to be a laser gun typically seen from 70s-90s cartoons, pointing it at the approaching entity. "Duck!"
Cornelio dropped to the ground, kicking his shadow. The shadow bent against an invisible force surrounding it, Cornelio's body being pushed in response, alarming him.
Multiple shots came out from the laser pistol, but the beams that came from it bounced off whatever defenses this ability had, all streaks of energy bending at odd angles before burrowing themselves into the nearby walls. "W-What!?"
Cornelio grabbed his shadow, spinning himself like a top to get away, taking out a pistol and firing into the entity. The bullets broke against the field that surrounded it before suddenly, it seemingly warped over to Cornelio, and with one hand, the space around it being pushed awkwardly, broke through the gun, causing it to collapse in on itself, his finger breaking in response as well. "W-What!?"
It attempted to grab Cornelio before he once again disappeared into the shadows. He stumbled out, clutching his broken index finger.
"D-Don't approach! We need to assess its ability!"
Cornelio's eyes opened wide, his Guard attempting to create distance from the first instance of this unknown ability, running straight into the second, making a pinching motion from afar. Something about this motion caused the first instance to be warped to Cornelio's ally, and he watched in shock as they were quickly cornered.
CLAP!
Suddenly, the Guard disappeared between the two, stumbling next to their comrade. A tall man with a pointed beard, brow knit in contemplation. "God, you're a lifesaver!" They paused, looking at the two creatures that stood before them, wearing nearly identical outfits. "What the hell is their deal!? How do they even work!?"
Cornelio straightened his back, a sigh escaping his lips. "Be careful, they're both lethal in their own right. The first one especially so."
"Are you alright, boss!?"
"They broke my finger and destroyed my gun instantly." An ability like this shouldn't exist. I fear... if my assumption is right, there's no winning this unless we find the user. Cornelio sighed, "I think I know how they work now."
The first humanoid acted first, warping straight to Cornelio. The space around it wasn't repelled, but the instant it tapped Cornelio with its finger, it sent him straight into the ceiling above.
"What!?" He groaned, violently shoved into the roof of the airport by an invisible force. "I-IT! They both manipulate space!" Cornelio gasped for air, "The first one repels... the second attracts! They're likemagnets!"
The young guard with the laser pistol aimed straight at the second humanoid, firing multiple times into its incorporeal body. It attempted to run away to avoid the lasers but was hit by each of its shots, sending it spiraling into the floor. "Got you, fucking dipshit!" The guard yelled out before suddenly being warped to the second humanoid. "Idiot! It just makes it easier to--"
"NO! They can switch places!"
CLAP!
The guards are back together, snickering to each other. The guard with the sharp beard vanishes, the second humanoid taking their place, and just before the clap could be heard, the first humanoid appeared right before them. In barely a millisecond, its hand came down like a guillotine, bending the space around it violently enough to sever one of the guard's arms from their body.
CLAP!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" They cried out, holding the bloodied stump of their bicep, all attention suddenly falling onto them, more than they had previously from all of the conflict that was stirred at the airport already.
On the other side of the airport, Luce's group watched as various security and civilians began curiously walking in the direction of customs. Luce blinked curiously as well, "What's going on over there?"
Nello returned to the group after speaking with someone else nearby about the issue. "Apparently, it's a fight of some sort? At least, the guy I asked suspects it is."
Nero narrowed his gaze. "Maybe people in the family started butting heads?"
"This soon though?"
Aran cocked a brow as Cameron looked bothered. "What's with you?"
Cameron threw his arms up. "Fuckin' pricked my finger on the seat as I sat down."
Aran chuckled, "Oh shit, yeah, that sucks, dude." Her eyes widened as his nose bled. "Oh, shit. You've got more issues than just that, bud."
He recoiled in disgust. "Yeah, no. I can taste it. Goddamnit."
"All the heat gettin' to ya?"
"Never been good with it." He grabbed a handkerchief from his bag, pressing it up against his nose.
Luce sighed, "I hope everything's alright..."
Cornelio, with the leave of the first humanoid, was released from his captivity from the ceiling, falling to the ground, using his shadow to dampen the fall. His men looked at him with worry in their eyes, crying out, "What do we do!?"
Cornelio sighed. "Retreat! We need to run!" He made a resigned expression before lifting his hand that sported a newly broken finger, grabbing the base and pulling it as hard as he could. With a pop, it re-aligned itself for the most part, bruised beyond before, but he didn't stop, pulling it even harder, his shadow pushing his form to the limit as the flesh split, tendons severing, and the sound of wet snapping wood could be heard as his index finger was fully ripped away from his hand.
For the first time throughout this fight, the two humanoid figures hesitated, visibly shocked by Cornelio's sudden sacrifice. Civilians on the sidelines watched in horror before he sank into the shadows once more, his finger thrown as far as he could throw it toward his enemies.
Cornelio stumbled up to his private jet, his men walking with him as they made their way up the steps rolled out before them.
Once they made it inside, they began staunching their wounds, keeping each other close, sweat pouring off their desperate, distraught forms. "Fadilio," Cornelio spoke up, referring to the only non-injured guard in his party. "G-Get... uh... get me." Cornelio blinked, attempting to stay conscious. "Take my lighter, put it over my wound."
"W-What about Jack?" He pointed to his dismembered compatriot.
"I've already got a solution, just..."
Fadilio quickly grabbed Cornelio's lighter, snapping it on and putting it against the stump on his hand, cauterizing it. Cornelio flailed in pain, lashing out against the chair he was sitting in, almost breaking it before Fadilio pulled back. Cornelio stood up, flaring out his coat and grabbing the hem, ripping it, handing it over to Fadilio to wrap around Jack's wound.
The fight had only lasted a minute, and they were left in shambles. Tending to their wounds, permanent or otherwise.
The door to the jet closed and they began take-off, heading straight to Spain like they had originally planned.
Cornelio's gaze darkened, thinking back to his finger. That... I've signed their death warr-
Something pulled its way through the hull of the plane, lanky and white, its Twin in tow.
A moment of respite that had lasted only 3 minutes. Somehow, those two humanoids caught up to them, pulling themselves through the hull of the ship as if coated in a thick resin before finally stepping officially onto the jet's floor, looking around, inquisitively taking in their new surroundings. "T-They followed...?" Cornelio was in shock, the second humanoid immediately starting, touching one of the jet's seats, everything in that vicinity being pulled toward it as the first humanoid took steps toward Cornelio.
Who!? Who could it be!? Who is this user to be this determined to take me out!? Is it even a user at all!? No... it doesn't have tells of a Bane, and it's possible to be hurt. It falls under too many lines of reason for it to be a Bane. Damnit! Who is it? Who was it at the airport that could've had this ability!?
The first and second humanoids switched places, the first one moving to eliminate Cornelio's guards as the second one went to confront Cornelio directly.
This is an absurdity... He thought to himself as it approached.
Cornelio's shadow launched him to the side, an item behind him suctioning to the second humanoid's hand. Its fingers wrapped around the grip of what looked to be a cup, swinging it down at Cornelio as an improvised weapon.
Cornelio wrapped his shadow around him like a cloak, bringing up a segment, watching the cup sink into his semi-transparent mold.
CLAP!
Fadilio and Jack were teleported over to Cornelio.
Cornelio took a few breaths, attempting to keep his composure, sweat trailing down the side of his face. "I hope you all are ready to put your lives on the line."
To them, an impossible threat was set before them. Might as well die trying, unfortunately, there isn't much else they could do, but fight until their last breaths.
Aran gave a pointed look to the group, a wry smile spread across her face, "Guess what, boys?"
Nello cocked their head to the side. "What?"
"I got ourselves some first-class tickets~!"
"You held onto that until now?"
"Yep~! Not as good as a private jet, but it's better than Economy. Shits like this essentially got whole private rooms and stuff that we can lounge around in. Plus, no way my big ass was squeezin' into some economy ass seat!"
Luce clapped. "I'm excited to see what it's like."
Cameron sighed, "Hell yeah... though I sorta expected this."
Nero shrugged, "I think we all did."
They all make their way onto the plane, seated close to each other, but each gets a separate compartment that they get to mess around in. Luce was sitting with Aran, of course. Twins were paired up together whilst Cameron was mostly left on their lonesome. He looked displeased by the setup, leaning over the backrests of his seat to look at everyone. "Y-Yo! Why am I alone!? Shouldn't I be at least with you two!?" He pointed to the twins.
The twins looked at each other and at the same time, spoke in response, "Isn't it nice to have your privacy, though?"
"And, isn't it safer if I'm with you guys? Luce got his girl at the very least, but you guys are just... barren? Like, didn't you hire me?"
"We'll be fine, you get to keep to yourself, plus, like you said, what's gonna happen? It's super unlikely that anyone is gonna attack us." Nello explained, practically lying down in their seat.
Cameron sighed. "Problem is, we don't know if some guy is crazy enough to just either take the whole place down with 'em, or attack us anyway. The compartments sorta make us vulnerable, no?"
"Look," Nero put their hands up in surrender to catch both of their attention, "We'll be alright, just keep an open eye, and open ears." Nero laid his legs across his brother's, "We need a bit of rest anyhow. We got you two, and you two, Aran and Cameron, have proven yourselves to be extremely dependable. Plus, I'm pretty sure that Aran can just use her's whenever she wants and essentially resolve the situation in no time flat. No way someone like them is gonna be reckless enough to try and cause havoc on a flying vehicle in the sky!"
Cameron sighed, "I see your point. But imma remain on guard. I'm gonna be watching you guys as close as I can from here, okay?"
The Twins shrugged.
Luce is lying flat on his back. "Maybe this setup is a little awkward."
Aran is lying on her side, watching Luce with a smug look on her face. "What's awkward about it?"
Luce's eyes narrowed, taking his cane and lightly pushing it against Aran, pressing himself against the wall due to her being practically unmoving.
"What are you doin'?" She chuckled.
"I-I dunno... instinctual defense mechanism, I guess...?"
Aran flashed her pearly whites, "What? I'm not some sort of predator or anything?"
"You got the gaze of a huntress."
Aran sat herself up, arms at her sides, ready to grab. "Hey, I have an idea. Like good 'ole times, Lover Boy, how bout we wrestle?"
"E-Eh? N-nah, I think I'm good, let's not get hasty now." Luce raised his cane defensively.
Cornelio's mind wandered. Barely clinging to life, a palpable rage bubbled beneath the surface as he grasped for reasons as to why this had occurred. Who was it!? The user... the user, it... It's someone I saw. They saw me, and they sicced those damn Twins! Maybe... Twins... maybe it was...? No... it isn't them. They wouldn't do something like that. I hate them, but I know them as their brother. They didn't even notice me at the time in the airport either. So who was it!? I allied with Eulalia, surely she wouldn't have betrayed me like that either. Cornelio blindly reached for a handle in the deep black that surrounded him.
"It all led me here, the finger, everything! A trap they could've never predicted! My ability isn't that limited. I made a gamble..." And it paid off. This... this will lead me to my goal!
Cameron sighed, leaning over his seat to get a look at Luce and Aran, who were caught fighting each other in the back. "Hey, when you guys summoned your Boons, what was the feeling you both used to do it? Or rather, use to do it."
Aran rested her chin on the Twins' backrest. "Hm... that's a hard question to answer. For me, I just wanted to protect people real bad."
Luce raised his head from the Twins' backrest as well. "For me... it was my need to become better. To not be what I thought was useless. I didn't like how I was and wanted to change that, and that emotion typically brings it out, and after that, it sort of just becomes natural."
Cameron looked back at his hands. "Emotions."
Cornelio pulled himself out from the plane's bathroom, his clothes a mess, blood staining the floor. "I get it now! Sometimes... It's who you least expect. I need to think of someone I wouldn't expect... someone I would never even consider!"
After a moment of silence, Cameron exclaimed, "I got it! I did it!"
Everyone excitedly looked to see.
"I got a name... Fieldworks. That works." He smiled, and what stood before him. What stood before everyone was a humanoid clad in white, the number two on their head written in Roman Numerals.
Aran looked curiously at the Boon. "Why's it got a two?"
Cameron shrugged. "I dunno."
Cornelio lifted himself, straightening his back. "It's them... the one I least expected." He looked from across the way, watching as Fieldworks II peeked its head out from one of the First Class compartments. "Wait... where...?"
Two hands grasped Cornelio from behind, dragged into the unknown.
Cameron looked at his Boon in awe. "Fieldworks is a good name, right?"