6 years ago.

Mina was young, in her mid-teens when she met Victor. She had not yet learned of what it was that her parents did, and they were lenient, so they did not send many guards with her when she went out. As she left her parents mansion she headed towards a game and comic shop that was next to the dance studio she often went to on the weekends. She looked younger than she was, mostly due to her height, she was even shorter then than she is when summoned to Aethion. She stood at around 4 and a half feet in height, being much shorter than many adults and even those her age.

Soon enough she arrived at the Heroes United Comic Shop, she stood back as one of her guards opened the door, while the other stepped in to the shop first. After he gave a nod signifying it was clear, Mina stepped in. As the door closed behind her and her guards Mina took in a deep breath as she basked in the atmosphere. Loud thumping steps could heard before a deep gruff voice spoke. “Excuse me Little One, could you move, please?”

Mina opened her eyes, and looked up, and up, the figure of the man in front of her was tall and imposing. At the sudden appearance of the man, her guards began to enter their stances for close combat. The man was at least two feet taller than her, but her small frame his pronounced musculature seemed to make the height difference between the two of them much more pronounced. She raised a hand to gesture for her guards to let it go. She cleared her throat and started to speak, “A- ah, yes, I apologize Mr? I am sorry, I think I have seen you before here, but do not know if we have actually met.”

As Mina and her guards stepped away and to the side the taller man paused briefly before speaking. “My name is Victor Armstrong, Little One. You seem to truly enjoy your time here, so I shall not hold you up any longer. I also apologize for interrupting your enjoyment of the atmosphere.” With those words Victor left. As he did so Mina’s guards started to breathe easier, that man just had an inherently aggressive atmosphere about him, despite the soft and gentle words he had spoken before leaving.

Mina looked towards the silhouette of Victor briefly as he walked away. He held the body of a warrior of old, all brawn and sinew that shifted under skin that barely contained it. She was broke from her thoughts as one of her guards tapped on her should and gestured into the interior of the shop. She nodded before walking into the shop, beyond the foyer area. The shop sold Comic books, and as the name suggested, it mainly sold Hero related comic books, as well as Anti-Hero and Anti-villain Comics. They sold some amount of video games as well, but they were the most well-known for a Tabletop RPG they created, called Heroes United.

The game was complex, but has evolved since then, so much more. It spawned an online MMO and a Comic Series. Mina was not here for that however, she was here for a particular Comic Series that had been made into a movie, Elektra. She was an admirer of the character, and a bit of a fan, she often came here to read the issues the store had. She could simply buy them, but it felt more, normal to just go to the shop to read them. It also served to take up time before and after her dance classes before their ride would show up.

She had just crossed the street walking past an alleyway just after she exited the comic shop, when it happened. A high pitched sound could be heard followed by a thump and a grunt after which one of Mina’s guards stumbled before falling forward. The other guard was in the process of turning with one hand on his gun when a bullet hit him between his eyes. His corpse fell forward and Mina gave a slight scream as one of her attackers grabbed her. A cloth was put over her mouth muffling her screams, before the chemicals soaked into it took effect.

She awoke in an abandoned garage off of an Apartment building that was being renovated. She was strapped to a chair with zip ties and duct tape holding her arms and legs. There was a strip of duct tape across er mouth as well, but she was unharmed aside from that. She was alone in the room except for one person who started yelling to another when she began to stir. “Hey man, the kids waking up.”

After he yelled some noises could be heard in an adjoining room. Soon enough a door opened and a slimly built man entered the room. He was relatively tall, probably standing at close to 6 foot in height, he had short brown hair and features that could be considered handsome if not for a large scar from some sort of blade crossing an eye and most of his face. “Greetings Ms. Hasegawa.” The man paused for a moment to give a brief bow before he continued.

“Due to your father’s inability to back down, I was forced down this path. If there is anyone to blame, your father should take that spot. I apologize for what you will experience, but it is necessary.” Mina’s eyes opened wide in panic as the realization of what the man had said settled in. The man held a finger to her lips before he spoke again. “Please, be quiet, if you stay silent, this will be so much easier.”

The man and his partner left the room for a moment, at that time Mina’s struggles intensified to no avail. Eventually her limited stamina and strength ran out, it was then that the two entered once more. The shorter and more overweight one, the man who had been in the room when she awoke had a camera and a tripod. The taller almost handsome man had a syringe with him, along with a series of small ampules full of different liquids with him.

“You need not worry too much Ms. Hasegawa, this shot you are about to receive, will make things so much, better for you, now hold still.” After speaking the man stepped towards her, while the other man set up the camera a few feet from her. Though she struggled, the fear of actually being injured by the needle, as well as the fact that she was still weak and tired from her previous struggles, made her current ones not last long. There was a sharp pain for a moment as the needle entered her skin, followed by a rush as the chemical entered her veins.

The man removed the strip of tape from her mouth, but Mina was too groggy and affected by the shot to do much. He then stepped back to where his partner was, who had just finished setting up the camera and tripod. As they waited a slight flush crept onto Mina’s skin, and she started breathing heavier. The man pulled out a knife and stepped towards Mina, he first cut her clothes a bit, and removed them, revealing her lithe form. He then cut Mina’s bonds, he was about to lift her from the chair and push the chair back when a rattling noise started.

It was the sound of the Garage door to the place being moved, the man and his partner froze for a moment. The man brought his knife back out and slowly crept towards the door. It was at that time that large hand grabbed the bottom of the door and shoved up forcefully. The force was so great that the pulleys and such broke, but they still held the now askew panels to the door up. The man held the knife he was holding up and rushed the large figure that had just broken in.

The large figure who was in fact Victor, grabbed the wrist of the man holding the knife. The man tried to struggle, and succeeded in escaping the strong grip of Victor, but not before he was disarmed. The man swiftly swung around and punched at Victor trying to catch him off guard. He swiftly blocked the jab then grabbed the smaller man’s arm and swung him to the side near effortlessly. As he did so he wrenched the arm up and stabbed the shoulder joint, the man screamed as it happened.

Victor let go of both the man and the knife, the man grabbed the knife from his shoulder and tried to stab at Victor again. Victor swatted the knife away and lifted the man up and forcibly threw him to the side. A gunshot rang out, it missed Victor completely, he turned towards where it originated from. The shorter overweight man was shaking and was holding a gun, Victor just gave the man a look. The man fired again, this time however his shaking and trembling threw off his grip, so the recoil forced the gun back into his face.

Victor merely shook his head and then went to where the girl was, she was on the floor next to the chair, sobbing. Victor picked ehr up and cradled her small frame effortlessly, He paused as sirens approached, followed by the shuffling of footsteps, and muttering of several people. He sighed as a voice yelled towards him. "Put the girl down and put your hands behind your head." Victor sat Mina down in the chair and kneeled and placed his hands behind his head.

Even kneeling he was taller or almost as tall as most of those present. His blood spattered clothes lent an ominous air to him, and increased how intimidating he was. Victor spoke as one of the officers approached him, "I really must stop trying to be a hero one of these days." As more people showed up, the surviving member of Mina's guards arrived with the police, he had only been hit in the back, instead of the head like the other man.