Rays of light shone through gaps in the buildings. Bringing warmth to the chilly morning air, as the city woke from a restful night’s sleep.

On one of the many arteries of the city, cars whizzed by a man as he finished his morning coffee. Long since cold to the touch. Discarding the cup, the man glanced down at his newspaper, looking at an article on high school swimming for the fourth time today. He wasn’t really reading what was in front of him, calling it that would be far too kind. Even scanning the article would be gracious as the man simply stared blankly at the page, waiting.

He’d been waiting far longer than originally planned. At first, he thought this would take an hour. When it reached two, he’d sighed and settled in for the long haul. Those he was here for had a tendency to make people wait. And he wouldn’t complain about it, that wasn’t his way. And there was no one to complain to. Plus, it didn’t matter how long they took as he had all the time in the world.

The man contentedly leaned back on the bench and enjoyed the sun on his back. Its pleasant warmth spreading through his limbs. He wouldn’t be mad about the wait, instead he’d be grateful for this rare moment of rest.

Folding the top of the page down, the man glanced over it. His quarry was still missing, deep in the large building across from him. Bringing the newspaper back up, the man adjusted his hat. Keeping his face obscured between the two. It wasn’t like he needed to hide his face. With powers like his, no one would remember he was ever here, let alone put a name and face together. But old habits die hard, so he continued to play the spy.

His targets were sure taking their sweet time today. Most likely because of the new guy. Sure he’d already been with them for a few months, but this was his first time visiting this spot. The rest of the group must be showing him around. Playing up what they claimed to be. It wasn’t like they were doing any real good up there. At least not like they used to, when everything was pure and correct with the world.

Turning to the next page of the paper, the headline jumped out at him, ‘Murders Unsolved, Pressure Mounting’. Taking a moment to actually skim through this article the man found nothing new. The piece regurgitated old news on the two recent murders in the city. The press had long since discovered both were related. Having The Hunt appear at both sites was a big enough tell for even them to figure it out. Still it’d been a fun day for him when they did. Imagining The Hunt squirming under the pressure made it even better.

The man noted this article had a little of its own pressure to it. The press was getting a little testy as they pushed for answers. Not happy with the lack of progress from The Hunt. Not like they would make any progress the man noted. There were very few people who knew what was happening in the city, or could piece it all together. He was one of them. And there was no way he’d speak about it until the plan was complete.

That being said, the new kid on the team might figure it out. If he had brains for things besides his toys. It was always hard to tell with techies. Especially one with no apparent specialty. The man smiled at the thought. It’d taken him a while to figure that one out himself. But afterwards things about the kid’s armor fell into place.

When the kid first showed up the man had been worried. It was a move he never expected Ullr to make. And the man was very good at predicting just such things. Luckily, the kids arrival had only delayed the plan for a few months instead of setting it back years like he originally feared.

To make sure everything was still going smoothly, he’d spent the last few months watching the kid. Mostly keeping the project on hold and only pushing forward when he had to. Eventually, he met the kid face to face while the other Heroes were busy. Risky he knew, but it ended up settling several unanswered questions.

The kid would be a pain at worst, but he wouldn’t stop anything. Everything was still on track. And so, here he was making final preparations for phase three. With any luck it’d start in the next few weeks. That was when things would heat up. He couldn’t wait to see the look on The Hunt’s faces when everything came crashing down. It was the fuel he lived on.

Noticing his heartbeat racing, the man tried to calm down. Beginning a breathing exercise he’d been using since that day, a few years before. Taking deep, soothing breaths before exhaling slowly. Each one becoming a steady rhythm for him to live off of.

As he calmed down, he turned over another unread page of the newspaper. Next time he’d have to bring something more entertaining to read. This thing was wrong about so many things it wasn’t even worth picking up anymore.

Lowering the newspaper again he spotted them. The Hunt, in all their supposed glory were leaving the hospital. Maybe they’d been kicked out, the man hoped. Knowing it was nothing more than a silly joke. But even his stupid humor wasn’t enough to brighten his mood. The wait had been far too long. Both here today and over the last few years. But the end was in sight. All that was left to do was keep the train pointed forward and then everything would take care of itself.

As The Hunt left, they separated into teams. Skip jumping them to different parts of the city. Watching them, The Hunt didn’t even notice the man on the bench. That wasn’t strange though. Even with his powers off only those he wanted would notice him. And that didn’t include The Hunt. Not yet at least. There was a time when anonymity would be dropped. Like when you let a fallen foe see who’d vanquished them. That was what he was waiting for.

As the final member of The Hunt vanished, the man got up. Trench coat falling down to his knees. He threw the useless newspaper in the garbage. No need for that anymore. While this little observation hadn’t been the most useful, it was still more information for him. Maybe it would come into play at a later date. Correcting the lay of his hat the man headed to his next errand. A little skip to his step as he knew this journey’s end was in sight.