In the air, a military aircraft was flying through the skies of Sanctuary in low altitude. The helicopter looked like a V-22 however instead of a tiltrotor, the aircraft’s wings had two VTOL plasma turbines and another at the back, right between the tail. The aircraft, called the D-20 but also known as the Dragonfly, easily weaved through tall skyscrapers without losing speed. [1]

Inside, a blonde man dressed in a black cameo military tactical suit approached the pilot. His young features would have anyone second-guessing his age but his battle-hardened eyes denied his youthful demeanor.

“How far?” he asked the pilot.

“180 secs, give or take,” the female pilot answered without turning her head. “Tell the boys to suit up.”

The blonde man nodded and his blue eyes flashed with appreciation before he exited the cockpit and entered the fuselage. The fuselage was quite simple, the windowless sides were supporting troop seats that currently had three occupants. Two were chatting while another cleaned her sniper rifle but all three straightened up when the blonde man entered.

“Alright, listen up guys. Here’s the operation plan,” he started off. “We’ve just received intel that a known terrorist group has been spotted in a heavily populated civilian area, the Theme Park.”

“This intel good, boss?” one of the members asked. He had a buzzcut that gave him a bold and tough look, his brown eyes and sunburnt skin signified it further.

“It was directly from a Phantom, you can bet your ass it was legit,” the only woman, who was still looking at her sniper rifle answered in place of the leader, her short blonde hair was styled like a pixie’s and her low voice indicated that she hadn’t spoken in a while.

“And that’s all we need,” the leader confirmed. “We’re reaching the LZ in 60 secs, get ready to lock and load.”

The dragonfly hovered over the park and the four-man team rappelled down a rope, before securing the landing zone and turning their attention to the panicking crowd.

“Junco, get to a higher vantage and report the situation. Do not fire,” the leader instructed the sniper who nodded before running off and jumping onto the attractions using her exo-powered legs to give her jumps a boost. “Suni, Dhole, civie escort!”

“Roger!”

“Got it, boss.”

Both teammates replied and ran towards the crowd trying to calm them while leading them to safety.

“Angel,” Junco called the leader through the comms embedded in their helmets. “150 meters to your 3 o'clock, your sister is there fighting the hostiles.”

“Michelle?! Merde!” The leader, codenamed Angel, was also Michelle's older brother, Raphael.

As he dashed towards Michelle's location, Raphael ignored everything else and focused only on running. His movements alerted the enemies as three assassins started pursuing him as well.

Almost there, He thought. “Junco, I need more intel.”

“She's fighting four of them, actually managed to take three down but I think the fourth one's a leader, she's too strong t-”

The comms crackled as the voice broke off followed by an explosion that caused Raphael to trip. The sound ringing in his ears jolted his brain and vision darkened as he tried shaking the dizziness away.

“Shit, shit, SHIT!” Raphael bellowed as he tried standing up again. Ignoring Junco's distorted and broken voice in the radio, and his own body that was screaming for air, Raphael continued running towards the explosion.

***

Junco who was atop the highest point of the frozen Ferris wheel tried to reconnect her comms with Angel but stopped when she noticed movement with her sharp eyes. Aiming her sniper rifle at the location, she peered through the scope, trying to see the moving target closely.

However, to her shock, she was unable to lock on the target, which only looked like a blur to her. The figure was moving through the roofs of the attractions, running at a speed that seemed inhuman.

“Angel, I've got a boogie moving in at your target at high speed, copy,” Junco called into her comms again but static only responded to her. “Angel, please respond, you've got incoming!”

Junco swore before aiming her rifle at the target. To her, it didn't matter if that was an enemy or not, she needed to warn them not to move any further. Before she could fire though, the static mumbling through her comm cleared as a melodious voice rang through it.

“This is Phantom operative Viperess to commando unit Salvation, special operative Fenrir is moving to engage the enemies. Please don't fire at him, or I'll have to kill you? Mmkay?” the voice which sounded professional ended on a much sweeter tone but the threat it gave sent goosebumps crawling up Junco's back as she immediately pulled her rifle back.

Godfuckingdamnit, who knew that crazy killer was involved. Junco sighed as she locked her rifle into safety mode while trying to look through the hazy mess that the explosion caused. Sorry, Angel looks like you're on your own.

***

Raphael came across the blast zone and quickly looked over the situation. He could see several bodies whose conditions were unknown along with Michelle who he was able to recognize due to her exposed prosthetic arm. Above her was a female assassin, the one Junco mentioned as being the leader, who raised a Kukri to kill Michelle.

Raphael quickly aimed and fired a shot at the Kukri, hoping to disarm the assassin but failing as the latter turned to look at him. An unnerving sensation warned him that this was no ordinary assassin so he shot one bullet at her to test his intuition. The assassin easily blocked deflected the bullet away, while throwing a knife at him, hitting and damaging his assault rifle.

A Practitioner?! Raphael removed the strap holding the damaged rifle and threw it away while pulling the knife from his shoulder harness out with his right hand. Flipping to a reverse grip, he also pulled out his handgun from his thigh strap, aiming at the assassin with his left hand.

Raphael was prepared to fight the assassin when he realized that she had relaxed her battle pose and the hair on his neck rose as he heard a faint crack behind him. Realizing that he was compromised, Raphael rolled sideways just in time to avoid a slash aimed at his neck; the three assassins from earlier had caught up to him.

Unlike the ones Michelle faced, these three were as experienced as the one Jason faced and after a few exchanges, Raphael was beaten to the ground. His arms were reach held by one assassin as the leader approached him.

“Take him,” she instructed the other assassins. “He may prove useful.”

The other assassins nodded and were about to follow her instructions when the sound of metal clanging sounded out. All eyes looked up to see a figure holding a chain and swinging down from it, his target their location. Before anyone could respond, Jason kicked the lead assassin away as he landed between the three other assassins who discarded Raphael and prepared to fight the newcomer.

He shaped his hand into a knife-palm and struck one on the throat while turning and kicking the nearest one at the leg, breaking his kneecap. The third raised a sword to slash at him but Jason closed in on him and dislocated his shoulder before grabbing him into a chokehold and snapping his neck. Before the body could fall, Jason grabbed and used it as a hammer, slamming it into the assassin with a broken leg, knocking the latter out. The first assassin, still clutching his bruised larynx, tried to punch Jason but he dodged it and lifted the assassin into the air with one arm. He turned to look at the fallen leader who stood up before crushing the throat of the one he held, an effective reminder of what he would do to her.

“You okay?” Jason with his gravel voice asked Raphael who picked himself off the ground.

“No,” Raphael answered. “Be careful, she's a Practitioner. A strong one at that.”

As if to prove his point, the female assassin threw a knife at Jason who tried grabbing it before it reached him. Unfortunately, the force was so strong that Jason wasn't able to fully negate the force, causing the blade to sink an inch into his shoulders. Jason with narrowed eyes pulled the blade out and threw it at the unconscious assassin that he knocked out earlier, killing the assassin with a broken knee instantly.

“Call for an airlift and stabilize the girls,” Jason told Raphael, his eyes never leaving the female assassin. “I'll deal with her.”

“Fine. But after this, we're going to talk,” Raphael jogged to the girls who were slowly moving, clearly awake after being knocked unconscious from the explosion.

“Alright,” Jason's eyes flashed with guilt when he heard what Raphael said. He knew that this was all his fault and he understood that the girls and their guardians would hate him after this.

Focusing the guilt he felt into rage, Jason started to walk towards the remaining assassin who pulled her last Kukri from her hip. The two engaged in a fierce fight, Jason using his assault gloves, and the assassin her Kukri.

Jason deflected an attack with his armored hand before rotating his body and elbowing her from the side. The assassin responded by trying to slash at Jason and he dodged it by moving his upper body away while locking her wrist with his hand. She dropped the Kukri into her other hand and swung at his chest, forcing Jason to release her and pull back.

As the two continued fighting, Jason began losing the initiative as blood dripped from his wounds on the shoulder. And despite being a woman, the assassin had nearly the same strength as Jason due to being a Practitioner.

Need to end this now, Jason thought as he growled and finally took a step back, the first time he retreated since the fight started. Strange, why is she so familiar with my moves?

“Hey, did we ever … ?” Jason asked the assassin. “I'm only asking cause we are quite … intimate. That, and your ass is … I've grabbed that ass before, haven't I?”

The assassin twitched ever so slightly in a manner that most would fail to detect but Jason picked it up. He smiled as he realized that this could be used to his advantage. He added the last line to shock the assassin and succeeded as he lunged forward towards her.

The assassin's shock slowed her reaction time allowing Jason to press a continuous slew of punches that she needed to fend from. As he controlled the tempo of the battle, Jason closed in and pulled the cloth covering her face and threw it at her face, blocking her view with her very own scarf.

At the same time, he spun in the air with a leg pulled back like a taut arrow fixed in a bow. As his spinning reached its apex, Jason released his leg into a powerful kick that was aimed at the assassin's chest. The latter, despite being blinded, realized that an attack was coming, crossed her arms in front of her as the kick collided with her.

A faint cracking was heard as she flew backwards and landed onto the ground. Both her arms had fractured from the force of the kick and she couldn't lift herself up as pain coursed through her entire body causing her to cry out in pain.

“Who are you?” Jason looked at her with narrowed eyes. That voice …

The assassin refused to answer as she lowered her head, allowing the hood she was wearing to shield her face from his glaring eyes. Jason walked to her and grabbed her to try and lift her up when she pulled a hidden knife and stabbed his leg with it. Jason grunted with pain as he kneeled and the assassin kneed him in the face as she backflipped.

Stars flashed through Jason's eyes as the pain from his injuries faded a dull noise flitted through his ears. Jason fell on his back as the assassin got up and ran away speed that contradicted her previous act of injury.

“Ah, she got me,” Jason muttered as a Dragonfly hovered above them, escorting two first-aid transports. He groggily stood up and staggered to the girls whom Raphael was looking after.

“How are they?” Jason asked.

“Not good,” Raphael replied, his voice was cold signifying his unhappiness with Jason. “Michelle was lucky, only her prosthetic arm was damaged. But the others …”

Jason stopped breathing when he saw Emily, Alice, and Nikki. Emily had the worst, several shrapnel shards had pierced her lungs, and one larger piece cleanly pierced through her body and struck Alice's body. Worse, it struck her brachial artery. Nikki, fortunately, had some scratches and a possible head concussion.

“Nikki!” Ken came running to Nikki and slid next to her, his voice panicking. “She is hurt? What do we do?”

“Take a deep breath, kid. Now let it out,” Jason instructed him as he waved his hand over the girls. He was supplying them with life energy to keep their lives from falling into a dangerous state. “Nikki's suffered a concussion, we need to take her to the hospital. That's what they're here for.”

Jason gestured to the two ambulance aircrafts that had just landed and from the exit came a team of paramedics along with their bots, each pair held a stretcher. As they placed the injured into stretchers and treated the severely injured on the spot, Alina came running along with Asami.

“We'll discuss this later, follow them to the hospital,” Jason saw Alina wanting to speak to him and he stopped her. As he stood up, vertigo crept onto him and he nearly fell back down.

“Jason?” Alina asked concerned as she grabbed his shoulder to help him stay steady.

“I'm alright, just took a lot outta me,” Jason muttered. “Let's go.”

***

Hours later, at Robbins Memorial Hospital, Jason waited outside the operation room with Ken, Alina, and Asami. Nikki, Emily, and Alice were sharing a private room after the latter two came out of surgery, and all three were currently resting. Michelle, on the other hand, was in a military ward separate from this one, where she was getting a replacement prosthetic for his arm.

Alina was trying to convince Jason to get medical help when several people arrived and approached them. Jason looked away for a moment and swore under his breath before standing up and greeting them.

First was Ken and Nikki's guardians, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Next was Raphael who was walking behind a tall woman in a military suit with a badge that indicated that she was a Colonel in the EOU, the European Offense Unit. While Raphael looked angry, the older woman was rather calm and she exchanged a nod when her eyes met with Jason's. Behind them was an Asian man dressed in a suit and sunglasses, and lagging further behind him was Silvia who was in a holo-call. [2]

“Sage,” the Colonel nodded as she stood straight in front of Jason who felt a natural aura of intimidation emanating from her. The other guardians did not speak up in respect to her but they nodded to indicate that they were there to Jason.

Jason looked at the colonel, he stared at her blonde hair that was styled in a bun and then at her blue eyes that were curiously studying him. He took a deep breath in, he had a sinking feeling that this was Michelle’s mother. What flabbergasted Jason was that she was too young to be Raphael’s mother.

“Colonel LeBlanc,” Jason saluted her.

“It’s Watson,” the colonel corrected surprising him. Regardless, this was none of his concern so Jason shrugged it off as she continued speaking. “I understand that there was a terrorist attack that harmed my daughter?”

“Not terrorism,” Jason clarified while looking down. He took a deep breath and looked back up at everyone, preparing himself for the worst. “It was an assassination attempt, an attempt that was aimed at me. The children were … they were put in danger because of me.”

Watson’s silence implied that she was already aware but Mr. and Mrs. Jones exchanged glances before looking back at Jason.

“Can you clarify what you mean?” Robert Jones asked.

“I-” Jason looked at Silvia who was behind the rest and she nodded at him; she was permitting him to reveal his identity. “I am a Phantom Operative.”

The surrounding crowd had different reactions. Watson and Raphael both were unbothered as they already knew the truth, however, Robert and Susan both took a step back while the man dressed like Agent Smith placed his hand in his jacket.

“Forgive me for being blunt, but should a Phantom even be teaching?” Robert asked Silvia whom they seemed to be acquainted with.

“Jason’s … profession is exactly why he is the best combat instructor that the Academy can provide to its students,” Silvia answered perfunctorily; it was obvious that she prepared this statement from beforehand.

Before anyone could respond to this a young boy ran into the ward followed by two security guards who tackled him to the ground.

“Lemme go!” the boy yelled. “My sister is in there!”

“Let him go,” Silvia ordered the guards who released the boy. The boy turned to look at Jason his eyes wide with worry.

“I’m Jared, Emily’s brother,” he introduced himself. “Is she okay?”

“Brother?” Jason looked at the kid, who couldn’t be older than thirteen. “Where're your parents?”

Various complicated emotions passed through Jared’s eyes as he looked away sulkily.

“They- they couldn’t make it,” he finally answered.

“Hmm,” Jason and Silvia both narrowed their eyes as the former grunted. “She’ll be fine, I promise.”

“I know this won’t make things right,” after reassuring Jared, Jason turned to look at everyone else and cleared his throat. “But I am willing to use a poultice to heal them. I will also hand each of you an extra set as well.”

“Fils de … Do you really think that solves everything? You put children, your fichu students in danger!” Raphael harshly replied while the others were mostly confused.

“Raph,” Colonel Watson stopped Raphael with a glare when he wanted to continue. “As Fenrir, he could’ve shirked this without accepting any responsibility, but he’s willing to owe us a favor. That’s enough for me, considering his identity.”

“Fenrir?” Robert looked aghast as he looked at Jason with a baffled stare of fear and confusion. “You’re that Fenrir? The famous Merc?”

Jason nodded as Silvia shot Robert a look of bemusement.

“How does a shop owner know of Fenrir?” she asked Robert.

“I- after my sister died, I was looking into their deaths,” Robert looked away from both Ken and Susan, both of whom were surprised. “I considered hiring a mercenary to investigate and my top pick was Fenrir. But, you were too expensive so I hired a private investigator instead.”

“Then I’ll help you look into their deaths,” Jason said immediately before looking back at the children. “I should go and administer the poultice, excuse me.”

“Ms. Chiba, you’re parents requested me to escort you back home,” the man in a suit and sunglasses bowed towards Asami as he spoke. He had remained silent until Jason left.

“I’m staying,” Asami answered. “I don’t want to leave my friends like this.”

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, ma’am,” the bodyguard replied.

Asami sighed and turned to Alina who nodded at her and they stood up to hug.

“Tell me when they’re awake, I’ll come as fast as I can,” Asami said.

“Don’t worry, they’ll be fine,” Alina replied.

Asami walked away with the bodyguard as Robert turned to Watson.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what is this poultice?” Robert asked her.

“As Fenrir, Jason has mentored under many reclusive masters, including a poison master who was well versed in mutated plants,” Watson explained slowly while Raphael sighed, unhappy at her for speaking of classified intel. “This master taught him how to heal too and this poultice is one of Jason’s creation. It can bring anyone back from the brink of death but it is highly toxic so it needs to be given in small doses.”

“Can something so magical exist?” Susan asked stunned. Watson turned to look at her and flashed an enigmatic smile at her.

“You would be surprised at how little we now know of this world,” Watson replied in a whisper.

***

Jason slowly injected a small dose of the poultice through a needle into the access port on the IV bag. He had done the same for Nikki, and was preparing to help Alice too but paused when he saw Emily's sleeping face.

He reached out his hand to fix her hair but pulled back when his hand came into his vision. His knuckles were scraped, his swollen fingers were bruised to the bone, and his hand was covered in blood that wasn't his own. He lifted his other hand and noticed that it was in the same condition and he quickly wiped his hands on his jeans, but his hands' condition didn't improve. Jason closed his eyes and focused on breathing through his mouth as screams of his victims, of the people he killed and harmed, echoed in his ears.

Calm down … breathe … it's not real … it's not real, Jason kept praying in his mind. It's not real … there's no blood … it's just … not real ...

The steady beeping from the machines monitoring the girls' heart rate pulled him back to reality as he opened his eyes. Looking down, Jason found his calloused hands in pristine condition, no sign of injury or blood that he saw before to be found on them. He looked back at Emily and walked away without touching her again.

“Sorry,” he muttered to her as he passed her bed, making his way to Alice. He studied Alice's sleeping face and couldn't help but give her a small smile. Jason then prepared to inject the poultice into her when he saw something strange.

Alice's face had a small scratch from the debris but right now it was healing at an impossible speed. The scab slowly came off to reveal her perfect, unblemished skin underneath it.

I was right, Jason thought. There is something off about her … that speed, it's impossible for even a Practitioner to heal at that rate unless they were at a post-Master level. [3]

Jason turned and exited the room and he reunited with the others who were still waiting outside. Robert and Susan looked at him eagerly, waiting for news on Nikki.

“She'll wake up soon,” Jason told them before looking at Silvia. “I need to move Emily and Alice away as soon as possible. It would be better … if … you … could…”

Jason couldn't finish his sentence before he stumbled sideways and fell to his feet.

“Jason?!” Alina hurried to him and he shook his head.

“I'm alright ... I just ... need to rest,” Jason shrugged her off and got up again, turning to look at Silvia who was supporting him from his other side. “I need you to transfer them to your ... mansion. They'll be … they'll be safe there. And I'm … I'm going to rest ... now.”

Jason closed his eyes as he fell asleep, his energy spent from the battle and constant healing he provided to the injured.

“Take him to a private room and check his vitals discreetly,” Silvia instructed a nearby medi-bot that contacted the nearest free nurse. Silvia sighed as she watched a team place Jason on a stretcher and hover him away.

Honestly, Jason, Silvia thought. You keep this up and you'll end up dying.

Unlike the others, Silvia had an inkling on how dangerous Jason's abilities were.

You can manipulate energy, but you can't create it, Silvia shook her head as she eyed Alina discreetly. Currently, Alina was having a tense discussion with Ken. Silvia only hoped that her hunch was wrong and that Jason's ability did not work the way she believed it to be.

***

Hours after midnight, Quentin and his rowdy gang exited a nightclub, each one of them too intoxicated to even walk properly.

“Boss, are we really letting that girl go?” the mohawk subordinate asked Quentin.

“Idiot, you know who that guy was? He was a Phantom! A real fucking in the flesh Phantom!” Quentin swore as tried kicking the mohawk in the ass but tripped on his feet. “We're lucky to be alive!”

“C'mon boss, you really believe that kid was a Phantom? He probably got a fake badge or something,” another replied.

“I don't care, I ain't stupid enough to try and test him,” Quentin said while waving his arm. “I'll tell the big boss and let him deal with it. Huh? Why're even here?”

Looking around, the group realized that they walked past a bunch of alleyways and were far away from the parking lot where their cars were. The temperature began dropping as they tried walking back, frost slowly covering the windows nearby as they shuddered.

“Is it just me, or is it colder?” Quentin muttered as vapor excited from his mouth, the breath solidifying into a mist.

Soon after a scream shattered the quiet surrounding and everyone spun around and looked at the subordinate that let out the ghastly scream. Their eyes widened in terror as they saw that subordinate being held by a being that looked like it came out of their nightmares.

The being was wearing a tattered black cloak with a hood that covered his entire face. The darkness underneath the hood made it seem like there was no face hidden beneath it, only gaping darkness that swallowed all light. The being was shrouded in black mist that coiled around him, and the mist slowly formed into screaming souls that clung to him begging, screaming, and crying silently for mercy.

One soul noticed the being holding the subordinate and crawled slowly to the latter who watched in horror as it slowly stroked his cheek. Soon after, the subordinate died as another soul formed around the being, a soul that looked exactly like the subordinate.

The living were frozen with fear as the being turned to look at them. Like a signal, Quentin's men ran like they were possessed as soon as they saw the empty hood turning to look in their direction. The being simply pointed a finger at them and the souls swam towards the fleeing men, each of them silently howling as they flew closer to their victims.

Quentin realizing that running was futile, turned and pulled a gun at the being.

“Fuck you!” He swore as he fired his gun continuously. Each bullet was fired accurately, all of them were headshots that were aimed at the shrouded being who walked closer to Quentin. The bullets flew into the hood but disappeared into the endless shadows inside the hood as the being walked closer to Quentin, unharmed.

A clicking noise was heard as Quentin's gun ran out of bullets but he still continued firing. The being was now so close that Quentin was mere inches from the hooded face but the former realized with horror that there was nothing under the hood. The being raised his closed hand and slowly tilted it while opening it. The clattering of metal rang out as bullets dropped from the being's outstretched hand and Quentin realized with horror that those were the same bullets that he fired.

“What are you?” He whispered.

The being did but respond but instead grabbed his throat and lifted him up into the air. As Quentin struggled to escape and breath, the being tightened the grip holding his neck and a cracking sound erupted as Quentin's struggle slowly died out.

The being tossed Quentin away before slowly fading back into the shadows. The alleyway regained its warmth and the ambiance within it returned back to normal, with the corpses lying on the ground being the only clue that something gruesome had occurred here.

[1] Sorta like these: (https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23431264-500-plasma-jet-engines-that-could-take-you-from-the-ground-to-space/)

[2] There’s the EDU, but that’s the European Union's defensive division, the EOU is the tip of the spear that is aimed at any enemy of the EU.

[3] This is the stages for cultivation I made for the moment:

Scholar

Disciple

Adept

Fighter

Master

Grandmaster

Sovereign

Monarch

Emperor

Pre -> mortal stage, earth stage

Mid -> sky stage, true stage

Post -> golden core, nascent soul

So, for example, the first stage would be Mortal Stage Scholar, then Earth Stage Scholar, etc.