Threat Level: E

Destructiveness: E

Killability: C

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Might: E

Survivability: E

Recovery: D

Mobility: D

Spark: D

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Powers: Enhanced Sight and Hearing, Sonic Blasts, Durable Arms, Metabolic Regeneration, Desert Jackal’s Reflexes, Aether Drain, Elastic Tension

Classification: Bruiser/Stalker

Danny was pleased to finally find himself alone with Druid. Fenrir, Mista Fista, and the Freaks needed time to recover after the rift outbreak. They had found leads of their own which the leading hero considered more reliable and Nyx agreed with him. The pair didn’t trust Danny’s tracking abilities either. However, Fenrir believed that leaving any stone unturned was a bad idea.

A pair of mushroom men walked ahead of them, moving between cover, and scouting the path ahead. Danny’s pull towards his remaining eye had drawn them to a decrepit neighbourhood ravaged by past rift attacks. It sat on the border of Islington and Hackney and mostly the homeless populated it. The MoDS and other government departments regularly cleared them out in the interest of public safety—the neighbourhoods were breeding grounds for dangerous substances and villains, after all. However, bureaucracy and other priorities always delayed regeneration projects and others repopulated the vacant areas in that time.

An eye floated above Danny’s head and kept him informed of all movement behind and around them. He walked casually with Druid. The licensed hero claimed there was no point in hiding. Power Merchant’s people and the civilians living in the decrepit neighbourhood would inevitably have people with enhanced senses.

“It’s perhaps better to look like two heroes on patrol than spies or infiltrators sneaking up on a hidden facility,” Druid had said.

Danny didn’t completely agree. It made his role as a Stalker-type pointless. Yet their reliance on his sensory abilities to find the objective and watch their back made him feel useful.

As the pair walked, squatters drew their curtains. He heard heavy furniture dragged across floors and barricades forming, too. Afterwards, conversations resumed like nothing had changed. Danny imagined such patrols and occurrences were a regular occurrence.

“How long ago did you awaken?” Druid asked, breaking the silence.

“Almost a year now,” Danny replied.

“Lie.”

“Since when is lie detection a part of your power set?”

Druid didn’t reply. Instead, he stopped walking and glared at Danny. “When I first gained my powers, I didn’t know what I was doing,” Druid said. “I had not long lost my family… it was a lonely time. It’s not easy awakening when you’re all alone and have no one you can confide in. That person for me was an Indian kid obsessed with supers and powers. He didn’t just help me understand my powers but kept me sane. Do you have something like that?”

“I suppose, I do,” Danny replied, staring at the hero and pondering what he was getting at.

Is he fucking with me?

“Is that why you have said nothing to me yet?”

“What?”

“The kiwi might have passed through your system, mate, but I can still sense traces of my magic on you. My mushroom men can feel it, too.”

“What?”

“What? What? What? Is that all you’re going to say?” Druid chuckled. “I’m tired of beating around the bush. The point is, I know who you are.”

“How long have you known?” Danny asked.

“Since I first laid eyes on you,” Druid answered. “Don’t worry. I didn’t tell Fenrir or anything else. I wouldn’t ever… I am disappointed you didn’t tell me sooner, though.”

Danny sighed. “I tried to contact you, mate. You or whoever that was using your HoloLens turned me away. Believe me, you were the first person I wanted to tell.” He paused, frowning at his friend. “You never told me you were magic.”

“I didn’t know enough to explain it,” he answered. “My family didn’t tell me a whole lot before they passed. It wasn’t until I met Dryad that I figured it all out. But she made me swear an oath to keep it all secret.”

“I suppose we have a lot to talk about once this is all over, don’t we?”

Druid continued walking, and Danny followed. “There’s no telling how long this bloody mission will last. But, sometime soon for sure.” He laughed. “I can’t believe you finally have powers, mate. I’m ecstatic for you. Why the asset program, though?” Druid raised an eyebrow. “Is it because of the source?”

Danny nodded.

“Success on this mission should fast-track your entry. Things will get easier when you join the League.” He paused. “Dryad was right. Ma—Supers like us attract one another.”

“So, I’ve heard,” Danny replied. “I can’t help but wonder whether we ended up meeting the way we did because of it.”

“It's for the best if we discuss this later.”

“Indeed. We’re close. I can feel it.” Danny pointed at an old estate. It stood tall above the neighbouring decrepit buildings. Most of it was dark, but muted lights leaked through several windows.

It felt like a subtle tug. The connection to the eye hovered at the back of Danny’s mind. The pull had grown significantly ever since they entered the decrepit zone. It surprised Danny that no one had found or destroyed the eye yet. As they got closer, he could see through the eye, too. It floated in a glass cube surrounded by similar containers filled with the knights he’d not long slain.

They must think it’s a rift creature or an extension of their abilities.

Druid recalled the mushroom men, and they shrank into his pocket. It surprised Danny for a moment, but when his eyes spotted a pair of shadowed figures hiding around the corner he understood. The hero wanted to appear casual. Danny sent a pulse into the nearby wall with his left hand. He detected two armed males and primed the taser gloves. Physiologically they appeared normal, so he hoped a good shock would be enough to stun them.

“We’re just here to talk!” Druid called, placing an arm on Danny's shoulder. He nodded towards the nearby alley. It led to the estate. Danny got the message and crept towards it. He heard a conversation start up behind him.

“There was two of you,” one man said.

“He’s checking the perimeter,” Druid replied. “We can’t have some League bastard listen in on our conversation.”

“Yer a League bastard, mate,” the second man said.

“I know but I’m not a right dickhead, am I. Look, I don’t want trouble. You do whatever you’re doing. I just want to know if any armoured trucks have been through here.”

“Don’t know, buddy. Why don’t you and your friend just turn around and get out? We don’t need your kind sniffing around.”

“Look. I know we’re not welcome here.” Druid sighed. “However, those trucks brought in dangerous rift monsters. This neighbourhood neither has the tech nor the manpower to keep them in check if things get out of control.” Danny’s hands detected rectangular items leaving the hero’s pocket. “I’ve brought gifts. All you gotta do is talk to me.”

Once Danny left hearing range and picked up the pace. The information broadcasted through the trapped eye got clearer. The one hovering above warned him about more people walking around above. They carried weapons similar to the two men with Druid. Danny guessed they were part of a gang or served the Power Merchant. Their presence slowed Danny down, but his senses helped him weave around them with ease.

Occasionally, he paused and scouted his surroundings with a supersonic pulse. Once sure no one was around, he continued. By the time Danny reached the building, his heart pounded in his chest and beads of sweat dampened the back of his neck. He checked over his shoulder and was relieved to find no pursuers.

A fire exit stood not far from where Danny waited but he didn’t dare approach it. There was no telling whether or not the door was alarmed. It would be a waste of time and resources if his carelessness compromised the entire operation. Instead, he walked along the building’s side with his hand pressed against the walls. The palm mouths eagerly listened for ambient sounds. They informed me of a quiet spot below several boarded-up windows.

After a short runup, Danny uncoiled his calf muscles, launching himself up to the first floor. One hand grasped the window ledge while the other studied the sounds beyond the wood.

Clear!

Danny pushed the wood using his enhanced strength, focusing on the four corners. Eventually, they wobbled and started giving way. Within a couple of minutes, it came loose from the nails that held it in place, making an opening just the right size for him.

A dark room full of dust and broken furniture awaited me inside. No one had lived in the apartment for a long time. The area lacked the infrastructure for electricity, running water, and sewage. Most likely preferred staying closer to the ground floor. Fixing up the area and the building could fix the city’s homelessness problem, but Danny pushed aside such thoughts for later.

“I’m inside,” he whispered into the Holoscreen’s communicator. The device translated his words into text before sending them to Druid and then the mission channel. Things could get dangerous on their end, and there was always the risk of someone with super-hearing. Communicating verbally wasn’t safe. Danny’s palm-mouths assured him there was no one nearby, so he continued to vocalise the messages. “I’m on the first floor. After investigating the current floor, I’m going to head upwards.”

Understood. Druid replied in text a moment later. I’m in the underground parking garage. After the basement, I’ll check out the ground floor. Make your way upwards, and let me know if anything goes wrong.

The apartment next door was abandoned too. Danny heard a crying baby in the distance and a couple arguing. They were far away, on the other side of the building. He continued through the dirty, dimly lit corridors with my palm mouths pressed to opposing walls. Several televisions blared all around him, but nothing suggested Assistant activity.

It wasn’t until Danny reached the third floor did he spot something suspicious. He sighted an Assistant—Doctor Flux’s hench women—having a heated conversation with a man in a leather jacket and a hoody. They appeared to be arguing, and the woman had a shock baton in her hand. Diya sent a floating eye ahead to investigate while stalking towards them. Their conversation got louder as he got closer, and it looked like they were going to exchange blows. All of a sudden, the Assistant peeled off her white mask and slapped the man. He growled and lunged at her. The pair disappeared through a door to my left and loud grunting followed.

On a silver platter!

Danny sprinted to their position. He clenched his fists, preparing to join their fight and knock them out simultaneously. It came as a shock when his eye reached them and found the Assistant straddling the now bottomless man. The woman was violently vibrating on top of the man, while his muscles bulged significantly. It took him a moment to realise that they were having ‘super-sex’.

Danny almost felt bad sneaking up behind the woman and knocking her in the back of the head. She fell on top of her partner, unconscious. The surprised man pawed and kissed at her not realising what had just happened. It was too late by the time he saw Danny. A sharp blow knocked him out too. He used zip ties to bind the two unconscious individuals before gagging them. Then Danny flagged the location on the Holoscreen so they’d know to return to the spot and arrest them after the mission.

A quick investigation of the area led Danny to a weapons room. Most of the racks were empty but he did find one of the net-launching firearms the Assistants used for capturing beasts. Danny armed himself with one and was about to exit the door when his eye alerted him of movement. Another Assistant-hoodie duo were heading towards his position. They’d spot Danny as soon as he exited the room.

Can’t have them flee or find the lovebirds.

The duo paused a couple of metres from where he hid. They looked back and forth with confused expressions on their face.

“Where are they?” The man whispered.

When the Assistant reached for the side of her mask, Danny jumped into action. He leapt out of the door and fired his weapon. A glowing net shot out of the muzzle, flying towards the pair. The Assistant jumped out of the way at superhuman speed, but the man was much too slow. The net wrapped around him and he fell on the floor, spasming violently. Then Danny uncoiled his calf muscles, launching himself towards the Assistant before she could regain her balance. She ducked, but Danny successfully grabbed her mask and took it with him as he passed.

“Missed me, arsehole!” The woman hissed, glaring at Danny with a golden pair of eyes.

“Not really,” he replied, dropping the white mask, and stomping on it. She winced as something audibly cracked inside. “Just wanted to make sure that you can’t contact your friends.”

Then she screamed at lunged at Danny.