The laser beams roared past—massive, straight-line shots of concentrated heat. Lucius dashed backward, ice hammer disintegrating in his hands as the beam carved through it. The edge of the laser kissed his shoulder.
The disguise cracked.
Not fabric tearing—something else. A spiderweb fracture spread across his shoulder like glass breaking, holographic fragments glitching at the edges. The illusion flickering under stress.
He pressed the comm, breathing hard. "Rose, I thought you handled this guy!"
From somewhere above, Rose's voice came through calm and unbothered. "You're the one who said no killing."
Lucius responded "Pretty sure i saw at least three courpses before i jumped out of the building"
Rose "They got in the way of my bullets."
Lucius raised both hands in surrender to no one. "Fine, fine. Just take care of him or something."
---
Across the district, Rose stood atop a building, part of the rooftop edge blown away by Snake Eyes' earlier attack. She lowered her sniper rifle, opened a shimmering portal in the air—her pocket dimension—and placed the weapon inside smoothly.
When her hand emerged, it held a minigun.
She aimed down, red eyes tracking the street below with mechanical precision.
---
Snake Eyes emerged from behind a building on the far right, opposite where Sho had been thrown. The man's eyes glowed red resemblance uncanny to his code name,with a head wrappedaroundwith bandages, laser arrays spinning up for another volley.
Rose squeezed the trigger.
The minigun roared. Bullets rained down in a relentless torrent, tearing into asphalt, shredding concrete.
A figure leaped directly into the bullet storm—one of the couriers, hands raised. A large shimmering forcefield materialized, absorbing the hail of gunfire. Bullets flattened against the barrier, falling harmlessly.
Snake Eyes stepped behind the courier's protection, already charging his next shot.
---
Lucius turned back toward Asad, ready to finish what he'd started—
Movement. Right beside him.
Asad lunged, arms stretched wide, fist cocked for a devastating haymaker.
Lucius caught the motion in his peripheral vision. He leaped upward, pulling water around himself into a protective sphere just as the fist connected.
The impact launched him backward like a cannonball. The water bubble absorbed the blow but the sheer force rippled through—the holographic disguise fractured deeper, cracks spreading across his chest and arms like shattering glass.
Lucius ricocheted off a building wall, bounced across a rooftop, careened off another structure—a pinball made of water and regret.
Asad leaped after him, following the arc with terrifying determination.
Lucius crashed into Victoria Harbour, the bubble splashing apart. Cold water enveloped him for half a second before he extended both hands.
Ice spread across the harbor surface—rapid crystallization, molecules locking into lattice patterns. A wide expanse froze solid in seconds, thick enough to support weight.
Asad landed heavily on the frozen river. The ice cracked under his bulk, spiderwebs spreading from the impact point.
Lucius pushed himself up from the ice, water streaming off him—for about half a second. He concentrated, raising the temperature of the water molecules clinging to his clothes and skin. Steam rose in wisps, evaporating instantly. Within moments he was dry, jacket no longer weighed down.
Strange hologram-like glass began to shatter across his entire body—Davis's bald head, the glasses, the unremarkable features—all fracturing into glowing fragments that dissolved into nothing. The illusion fell away like breaking mirror shards, revealing the person beneath.
Olive skin. Royal blue eyes that carried far too much calculation for someone his age. Dark hair still damp despite his efforts. His left arm was bandaged from hand to elbow, obscuring whatever was underneath. He wore a black turtleneck and regular jeans, and over it all, that dark blue jacket with the fur hood—dried now, still stuffed with whatever arsenal he kept in the pockets.
Lucius straightened, rolling his shoulders, shaking off the last remnants of the hologram.
---
On the nearby beach park, civilians had gathered—Jasmine's evacuation zone. Families, workers, curious onlookers stood watching the harbor.
A young child pointed excitedly. "Look, Mom, a superhero!"
The mother smiled, holding her daughter close. A small group of young people nearby pulled out phones, recording.
A bald middle-aged man in office clothes shoved forward, face red with frustration. "That's not a superhero! Those bastards dragged us outta work!" He gestured wildly at the frozen harbor. "Don't they know some of us gotta make a living? I got deadlines! Bills! And these costumed freaks think they can just—"
"Yeah!" another worker shouted. "My boss is gonna dock my pay for this!"
"Fucking NovaBreeds," a third muttered. "Always causing problems for normal people."
The mother turned, voice firm but polite. "Please mind your language. There are children here."
The bald man's face twisted with rage. He stepped closer, jabbing a finger toward her. "Shut the fuck up, bitch! I don't take orders from you. You think just because you got a kid—"
She cut him off, voice dropping to ice. "Mr. Wang Wai, is it?" She'd met him before—one of the office workers from her husband's company. "Perhaps your eyesight is failing you. Take a good hard look at who you're speaking to that way."
Recognition dawned. Wang Wai's face went pale. He'd seen her at the office visits—the boss's boss's wife.
"Oh. Oh shit. I—" He stepped back, hands raised. "Alright, alright. Sorry, ma'am. I didn't... my apologies."
He retreated into the crowd, suddenly very interested in his shoes.
---
On the frozen harbor, Lucius felt their eyes on him. Dozens of gazes, boring into his back, judging, recording, analyzing. Civilians watching every move.
His feet shifted on the ice. Unease crawled up his spine.
He pulled steam from the harbor water below, using residual heat to create vapor. It rose in thick swirling columns, spreading across the ice, forming a dense fog bank that soon covered both him and Asad completely.
The civilians' view disappeared behind the wall of white.
*Damn. I can feel their eyes on me. I don't like it.*
The steam thickened, obscuring everything. Lucius allowed himself a small smile.
*Much better.*
He cracked his knuckles, ice forming around his hands. "Now then. Let's finish this."
Through the steam, Asad charged—a massive silhouette barreling forward with single-minded fury.
Lucius gestured. The ice beneath Asad's feet melted instantly, molecules unlocking, solid becoming liquid in a fraction of a second.
Asad plunged through, into the frigid harbor water below.
Lucius walked to the edge of the hole, looking down at the thrashing figure. He smirked. "Dumbass. Did you really think I'd fight you head-on when I could just drown you instead?"
Asad's struggles grew weaker. The drugs would keep him strong, but even enhanced lungs needed air eventually.
Lucius turned and walked away briskly, back toward shore.
One problem down.
Several more to go.
---
TO BE CONTINUED