The Afternoon Of The Week Of

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[11:41 a.m.]

The Mirrored Gala was once a summer mansion for the princess of Sweden. The vain princess had told the architect that she wishes to show off her flawless skin and beautiful blue eyes, to which he reluctantly agreed. Thus, the Mirrored Gala was born. A three-storied, multi-winged Greek mansion that stood atop the Carmine Bluffs. The beleaguered architects had filled the mansion grounds with immaculate glass sculptures whetted to shiny perfection, culminating in a ten meter tall diamond-covered fountain. The same architects designed an arc of crystalline statues that traced the walls of the courtyard alongside an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Artificial trees shaded the sides of the pool, which were adorned with fruit-sized diamonds.

Hanging by the pool were a pair of long legs attached to an olive-skinned woman. Her one-piece bikini both highlighted and hid her curves and delicate assets as she laid on a beach bed, enjoying the cool breeze of the highlands. Her piercing dark blue eyes left unbothered by the half-ton of sunscreen smeared across her face.

Mishka Alvarez, nee. Basnet is a woman of great interest; Last heir to a hidden Khasas tribe fortune, the first superhero to be featured on Vogue, and the first Protectorate Guild member to save the lives of three presidents at the same time. The It Girl of superheroes.

"Ohmygod! Bassy, if you weren't already taken, I would so marry you instead of Tony." Elaine Mully faked a gasp as she saw her maid of honor's body. The 6 ft. (182 cm) tall blond couldn't tear her gaze away from Mishka and when she did, a real gasped escaped her lips, "also if you weren't wearing a fuck-ton of lotion. What is that SPF 5 million?"

"Please. You couldn't get me even if you wanted to, darling!" Miska said as she slipped into her fake posh British accent.

"Oh, honey. You don't need to do the accent thing. It's just me." Elaine held a pitying look on her face. She placed the large binder between her armpits on the beach bed beside Mishka's. The wedding preparations had run her ragged. She couldn't believe the amount of responsibilities needed just to get married.

She let out a big huff and sat on the beach bed next to Mishka.

"Sorry. I mean, I'm pretty much ok with you and everyone. It's just reflex at this point." Mishka said, gradually removing the accent.

She grabbed a hot towel from a tray beside her and wiped the cache of sunscreen on her face. She then burrowed her face in it as she let out an enormous sigh. The rehearsal and the wedding day would be a hard day to keep appearances, though being amongst friends and family would ease her somewhat.

"Alright, then. Still, you should probably be more confident since you're getting a new partn- I mean, since you're gonna meet a lot of people in our wedding." Elaine nervously smiled through the slip-up.

"What do you mean by new partner?" Mishka asked, confusion marred her flawless face. Being a closet shy socialite had its perk. One of which was an inhuman ability to perceive gossip from miles away.

"Nothing, Bassy! You misheard me." Elaine hid her nervousness with a chuckle. "What are you still doing here, anyway? Don't you have an emergency?"

"Hmm. Fine, keep your secrets!" Mishka grunted as she knew Elaine had many secrets and knew too much for a civilian, but she was the soon-to-be wife of their leader and her field partner.

"Thank you! Now what about that emergency thingy? Tony couldn't even be bothered to come inside. He even had that little French sweatshop deliver the wedding dress at the guardhouse." Elaine explained.

"Emergency? Haven't heard anything from my phone." Mishka's brows furrowed. Her phone was right beside her this whole time. She picked it up and pressed the home button, to no avail. She bit her lip and long-pressed the power button, hoping for the best. Her face went beet red when the OmniSyde logo appeared on the screen.

"Haha! Bollocks..." She simpered at Elaine. The possibility of her partner, Elaine's husband-to-be, going to the emergency alone and getting hurt was very much high.

"Ugh. Just... go!" Elaine palmed her face and released a tired sigh.

"Right on it!" Mishka hurriedly ran towards her car, not daring enough to look at Elaine's face.

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[11:29 a.m. Outside Beifurt Trust]

Anthony Fresco sat in his car, clad in his uniform. A sleek black jumpsuit under a dark red tactical vest bedecked with a variety of blades, guns, explosives, and tactical tools. His gaze travelled the streets that were littered by the corpses of BCDP police officers. A terrible sight for him to behold, more so for the bystanders that were cordoned off in the side; It froze most of them in fright, but some were there to gawk in the clusterfuck of a police operation.

"Either Salazar fucked up or they're just too good. Tsk." He clicked his tongue in anger. There were almost two dozen casualties seen on the streets. What more of inside the bank? He didn't dare tarry as he donned his helmet. He had altered his old motorcycle helmet and had replaced the helmet's shield with a ballistic face shield. A wave of calmness surged through him as the helmet settled on his face.

"One last time." He muttered.

Crimson Bandit got out of his car and took out his retractable shock baton. He could hear gunshots inside the bank, so he ran faster until a cop stopped him.

"I'm sorry, sir, but this is an act- fuck! CB, sorry about that! Lieutenant McCuish's waiting for you inside." The cop put up his hand, only to lower it when he recognized him.

"Thanks, Ryan! Wait. McCuish? Isn't he in Narcotics?" Crimson Bandit's step faltered as he heard the cop's word. His brows narrowed under the helmet.

"He... ah... he just got transferred to Robbery like an hour ago! W-wait, you know my name?" The police officer named Ryan stammered; his face flushed and red. His favorite hero knows his name.

"Shit. Alright. Sit tight and if you see Snow Slayer, tell her to go check the back entrance. Got it?" Crimson Bandit replied. He then strode forward towards the bank entrance where policers officers lay injured.

"Y-yeah! What do you know? Crimson Bandit knows me name." A joyous smile appearing on Ryan's tired face.

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[11:32 a.m. Biefurt Eternal Trust Main Hall]

A splutter of blood drenched Lt. McCuish's suit jacket as a S.W.A.T. fell beside him. McCuish had used the confusion from the Ultrex Flashbang to advance forward, only to meet a hail of bullets that rained down hell on his remaining men. Normally, the CBPD S.W.A.T. armor would catch high-caliber bullets with ease, but these robbers' bullets had mowed them like grass. They cut the barely fifty cops down to a couple of dozen. It was, as his mentor said, a veritable clusterfuck of negligence and utter incompetence.

He aimed and shot his sidearm at an exposed robber, making him stagger back and get hit by the other S.W.A.T. officers.

"Do prdele! Sněz ty kulky, Trente." The man he had shot roared in pain. Another robber grabbed him by the armpits and began moving him back to the elevator as a man dressed in black armor and a luchador mask ran towards the gunfire.

"Enhanced. Get the Wrestler!" McCuish roared as he began firing at the Lucha Libre, which the other police followed up. The Lucha Libre began laughing as he literally ate the bucket of bullets rained down by the police. A tiny, almost imperceptible shimmer enveloped the Lucha Libre as the bullets redirected their trajectory towards his mouth.

It stunned the cops to see such a display of power; nevertheless, they never stopped firing. The first rule of dealing with enhanced individuals was to never ever, for the love of all gods, stop until they're dead. The second was to determine if they're hostile or amicable.

The Lucha Libre' roar resounded across the bank floor as a shower of bullets launched towards the cops. Drenching the destroyed bank entrance with ichor and guts of the police officers. A rookie McCuish hadn't seen before hesitantly crawled in front of him, only to be hit on his neck with the regurgitated bullet; his neck sprouted like a blood fountain.

The Lucha Libre cackled and ran towards the elevator; his fellow robbers providing cover fire.

"No..." McCuish crouched and gently pulled the dead rookie towards him. He then removed the broken helmet and saw the bloody holes peppered in the side of his face. A few holes near the corpses' ears had a thin, slender metal protrusion. He grunted and pulled the metal protrusion, causing blood to spray across his mug. Their 'bullets' were not bullets at all.

"Darts..." He muttered gravely as a thought came into his head, '2-inch long orange dart with a shiny silver tip. Round glass balls that seem to secrete some kind of liquid. Poison, if I had to guess. Shit. This all seems familiar...'

The gunfight continued in the background as McCuish scrutinized the dart, an unnerving focus permeating his body. The officers covering behind him wondered when they had last seen him this serious about being a detective.

"I remember... 9 years ago." McCuish's brows rose in realization, "Metro-Root Mass-"

"Metro-Root Massacre. Two villains captured Silver Dawn inside of her home. They experimented on her and extracted 5 liters of blood. Special blood, which she uses to coat her weapon and make it nigh-indestructible and extremely sharp. They then sold it to the NightEnd Crime Syndicate. NightEnd then used it to kill 23 heroes during the Annual Metro Guild Convention; announcing his return to the world of supers." Crimson Bandit cut off. It surprised him to see McCuish doing his job, but this was neither the time nor the place.

"Fuck. Duffy and Liger came into town." McCuish sighed as he glanced at Crimson Bandit, who was fending off the darts with a retractable round hand shield.

"They may have been dumping their excess Silver Dawn blood. Find them and they might point us to whoever runs this group." Crimson Bandit ordered, "l'll look for a vantage point and take them out."

"You think this is some local gang with new tech?" McCuish asked. There were a couple of gangs and criminal groups ran by powerful enhanced villains or corporations based in the city, "Makes sense. High-end tech like this might've made their heads too big ,"How about Biefurt bank?" Lots of gold. Direct access to the mayor. Lots of hosta-"

"No. Too high-profile. Veteran Guards. Intricate security system. Lots of foot traffic." Crimson bandit said as another idea bloomed in his mind, "Why would they take on a goliath when there's a ton of jewelry store uptown? Too much risk."

"For too many rewards." McCuish retorted," Ten billion gold inside that vault."

"Then they'd need a fence to sell that gold out of the city."

"What about Duffy and Liger? They'll have connections."

"Not anymore. Silver Dawn's been hunting them down since she escaped. Their last sighting was in Iraq three years ago. SD chopped up Liger's leg."

"So not local. Home-grown then?"

"No. The guy screaming over there's from the Baltics."

"More like central Europe."

"How'd you know?"

"Am one."

"I thought you were Irish?"

Boom!

As the hero and cop bounce theories off each other, the firefight continued to ravage the bank. No more than a dozen cops were alive and standing. The EMTs were forced to enter the bank and remove the injured cops from the battlefield.

"Alright. Contact Alkatech and see if she can use the Club's satellite to locate their location." Crimson Bandit took out and equipped a kukri in each of his hand, "I'll finish this!"

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[11:38 a.m. Biefurt Eternal Trust. Second Floor]

Crimson Bandit hid behind a large pillar and studied the entire bank. The robbers barricaded the grand staircase leading to an open second floor. The robbers were huddled near the elevator like a child hugging a beloved stuff toy. With no other choice, Crimson Bandit took out a small portable grappling gun and fired it above his head. It stuck to the ceiling of the second floor; he pulled it taut and started climbing. Although the robbers were unable to see him because he was hidden behind the pillar, the other cops marvelled in awe at the sheer absurdity of his action.

As he hanged at the ceiling, Crimson Bandit reached for a black spray can. He shook it and sprayed a circle on the ceiling, spewing a thick foam that ate through the concrete. He grabbed the edge of the hole as he pulled himself up and looked around the second floor. Noticing no one in the vicinity, he crouched and rolled towards the marble balustrade. The thickness of the balustrade hid him from the robbers.

Crimson Bandit strode forward and low with a kukri in both hands. Hopping towards the first robber, he stabbed the robber's eyes through the slits in their mask. He then brought his other kukri to slash their neck as blood splashed against his helmet. The robber dropped to the ground spasmed slowly as blood continuously flowed out of his neck wound.

"Cíl je zde!" The injured robber saw his attack and hurriedly fired at Crimson Bandit, causing him to hide behind an unlocked lounge room. He closed the door and grabbed a nearby table to barricade it; only to be broken by a surge of blue energy. A figure glowing with purple light entered the room, blade in hand.

"Goddamn Omni Suits!" Crimson Bandit met the blade with his own kukri; both blades screeched with each blow and parry, "Come on then! Charge your blade"

"Gladly!" The Omni Suit host graciously accepted the courtesy. The sword in their hands snaked with purple lightning. They swung the crackling blade towards Crimson bandit's chest only for him to dodge backwards and roll next to a plush sofa. He stealthily attached a black string connected to a black pouch to the hilt of his kukri.

Crimson Bandit grinned under his helmet and changed his weapon's position into a reverse grip; sacrificing speed and accuracy for power was the most optimal tactic for a power suit of this caliber. He launched forward, slashing his left kukri towards the Omni Suit's chest only to be blocked by its left forearm. As if expecting the block, Crimson Bandit rapidly forced his right kukri to a kink on the Omni Suit's inner thigh and twisting it; eliciting a yelp of pain from the host.

Crimson Bandit suddenly jerked backwards, narrowly being missed by the Omni Suit's horizontal slash. The arc of purple lightning dissipated, only to be replaced by a flurry of sharp blows from Crimson Bandit. The clangs of kukri and power suit echoed across the room as Crimson Bandit edged in deeper and deeper until he hit a softer surface. His red helmet reflected a flash of violet as the Omni Suit sent forth a wave of retaliation.

The blast of energy pushed Crimson Bandit towards a nearby pillar; his back dented the pillar as he grunted in pain. Smoke and blood came out of his vest as the blast ate through the weaker parts of his uniform.

"I have to say she told me that even with the Omni Suit, I would be hard pressed to kill you." The Omni Suit host strode forward and grabbed him by the helmet. They tightened their grip, which elicited a yelp of pain, causing the glass shield to shatter, revealing Anthony's bloodied face. The Omni Suit then pushed Anthony deeper into the pillar and ground his body upwards until they were in the same height. "That I should watch out for your... what was it? Ah, yes. "Your inexhaustible need for Derring-Do". But I guess she was wrong?"

"I wouldn't call it: Derring-Do" Anthony smiled as she pointed at the kukri stuck between the chink in the Omni Suit's abdominal armor; it had a thin thread on its hilt that extended to a pouch at the back of his belt. Anthony unbuttoned the pouch and out came a spray can that traced back to the kukri, "I prefer to call it: Tactical Improvisation"

The electricity surging through the armor struck the can, causing grey foam to spray out and seep into the armor.

"What the fuck!" The Omni Suit host cursed as they felt the foam eating through the metal; their power armor creaking in destruction. The Omni Suit host removed his hand from Anthony's helmet. He flailed about the room as his hands moved to remove the foam, to no avail.

Boom! Thud! Thud! Thud!

A series of thuds echoed around the room as the non-metallic part of the armor crashed onto the floor. Anthony stood up and stared at the once majestic Omni Suit, now a pathetic mess of junk metal.

"See... It's tactics!" He smiled as he took a Walther PK380 from a front pouch and shot a bullet to the host's brain.

Thud!

He glanced at the woman who used to be the host of the Omni Suit. A 6'2 ft tall blond woman lie dead, her tanned-skin chaffed from the heavy armor she was wearing. His eyed widened in recognition, "Oh, fuck. Anarchist?"

Borislava Tamarava was a Serbian-born Russian neo-anarchist whose sole goal was to destroy western democracy. The Avian Society and the Cosmo Czars hunted the Unerring Fury, her father's anarchist group, down to dissolution. Intelligence agencies reported her survival and her subsequent recruitment to...

"Silver Claw mercenaries. FUCK!" He bellowed as painful, repressed memoried bombed his mind. Images of destruction flashing through his eyes. Anthony huffed out a shaky breath as he forced himself to calm down. Years of therapy and emotional training helping him set aside the anger and confusion and to focus on the now.

He took out his phone and started messaging his team.

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[To: Blackhart; Basnet; NAPG Walters]

[Confirmed Target. Sending a picture now. Silver Claw mercenaries in Biefurt. McCuish is looking for the Argent Couple. Might be related.]

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He hit send and took a picture of Borislava for further confirmation. A thought then came into his mind as sent another message.

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[To: Basnet]

[Where the fuck are you?]

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[From: Basnet]

[Am here! Just finishing up the robbers.]

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[11:51 a.m. Biefurt Eternal Trust. Main Hall Staircase.]

Snow Slayer replied to her partner's message as she flew in the air, dodging the hail of darts fired her way. She pocketed her phone and grinned at the robbers staring at her on the ground. With a flick of her wrist, a whip of flames curved in the air and hit a robber below, pounding him to the ground with an enormous boom. Debris flew everywhere, which she used to dive and attack the next robber. The robber screamed as a ball of fire drilled into his chest that sent him careening into the elevator door. She then stomped her feet and a wave of fire blew the nearby robbers and debris a meter away.

She gazed around found only five robbers standing. "Anybody want to surrender?"

The robbers looked at each other and simultaneously shrugged. They then began firing at her, which she blocked off with a wall of fire. Although the darts were extremely sharp and can pierce armor, Snow Slayer's fire melted them with extreme ease.

"Fine. Have it your way." She propelled off the ground, using blasts of fire on her sole and palm. She circled the robbers and launched a volley of fireballs that accurately hit their pelvises and jaws. Groans filled the hall as the robbers flew from where they were standing. She sent some careening down the staircase while others merely fell to the floor, clutching their body in extreme pain.

She blew the flame on the finger gun she made. "And that's Monday!"

"No, it's not!" Anthony said as he emerged from the lounge room. He had removed his helmet, showing his bloodied face and broken vest, "We need to get to the main vault and check the gold."

"Aw, really?" She whined, despite knowing it won't work on Anthony. She was just hoping he wouldn't bring up her late appearance.

"Yes. Lockley's order. Foreign investors need verification." He said as he removed the incapacitated robbers and put them aside. He then removed his jacket and took out some essential tools.

"Alright! I'll grab the code from the assistant manager." Snow Slayer said.

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[11:59 a.m. Beifurt Eternal Trust. Elevator.]

Anthony, now clad in a riot helmet and his PK380, and Snow Slayer waited for the elevator to descend to sub-basement 3. Their stance was taut and ready in action; the rescued hostages said that the robbers separated and went to the main vault alongside Robert Biefurt, their acting manager.

"As soon the door opened, funner blue fire to the ceiling and destroy the mounted machineguns." Anthony ordered as he hid behind Snow Slayer, his gun aimed forward.

Ding!

Before Snow Slayer could answer, the elevator opened, revealing an empty hallway and a trail of blood leading to a bend. Snow Slayer pointed her palms at the ceiling, finding none of the machineguns mentioned by the assistant manager.

"Curious." She said as she entered the sub-basement. They did not see any dust or debris except for the blood trail. A curious sight for a place that was supposedly broken into by mercenaries.

"Very. There's a guard lounge after the bend. If there's a body, then it would be there." Anthony agreed as he followed suit.

He strolled forward and took cover just before the bend. He pulled out a tactical mirror and directed it towards the edge of the bend. A second later, he saw the body slumped over the doors to the guard's lounge.

"Found a body. Might be Robert." He said as he retracted the mirror.

"Alright. I got it! Watch my back." Snow Slayer jumped beyond the bend, arms forward. She approached the body and found it cold and, oddly, devoid of blood. She then entered the guard's lounge, again finding nothing.

"Shit. No guard corpses. Just Robert's." she said as Anthony stood behind her.

"We should proceed to the main vault." He ordered, walking towards the next room.

A meter tall and thick chromium alloy vault door stood in his way. At least, that's what's supposed to happen. Instead, a pile of rusty metal parts lay broken where the door should be. The large brown hinges were barely hanging by the frame. An empty pallet jack laid asunder sat on by two figures. A blond man wearing a white fur coat and a masked brunette in a tactical vest much like his. A silver signet ring on both of their finger depicting a head of a wolf.

"Shit." He cursed as he step through the non-existent door. He then nodded to the couple and aimed his gun at the woman. "Where's the rest of your crew?"

"Gone like the wind," Dark Fur winked at Snow Slayer, "but still alive. We have what we came for and more."

"Then why are you still here?"

"To meet you, of course, and is that Snow Slayer hiding in the worker's lounge?" Dar Fur spoke gruffly as he reached into his coat and took out a lit large cigar. The years of chain smoking had apparently taken its toll on the mercenary leader.

"Afternoon!" Snow Slayer said as she broke her cover and entered a combat stance. The vault room became silent as neither group spoke first, merely observing and assessing each other's threat.

"Long time no see." Anthony broke the tense silence as he greeted Dark FUr with gritted teeth.

"It has been a long time. When was it? 5 years ago?" Dark Fur replied, a grin spreading across his countenance.

"5 years, yeah. Pentagon was our last encounter." Anthony cocked back the hammer to his gun as he pointed it between Dark Fur's thighs..

"You've changed, Tony." Dark Fure said.

"I have?" Anthony inquired as he tilted his head to the side.

"Of course. A few years ago, you would have shot first before asking question. Now, look at you. cautiously assessing my partner's threat." Dark Fur, his grin turning into a scornful smirk.

"Surrender now, Dark Fur! You have no chance of beating us." Snow Slayer butted in. A burst of flame appeared on her palms before dying down.

"And I believe you. You are an extremely powerful woman capable of melting my regenerative flesh to ash. But what about your partner?" Dark Fur stood up from the pallet jacks and slowly removed his fur coat.

Flames appeared yet again at Snow Slayer's palm, but unlike the other times, the flames grew brighter and began forming a blue hue.

"Stand Down, Snow." Anthony ordered as he looked squarely at Dark Fur.

"We can ta-"

"Stand Down!" He repeated.

"Fine!" Snow Slayer reluctantly agreed, though the flames on her palms have yet to disappear.

"Enough games, Henrik! You know why we're here." Anthony turned his attention back to the mercenary leader, even mentioning his real name.

"Was it about our ambush 5 years ago?" Dark Fur retorted, sarcasm rolling around his tongue.

"No! The fuck-"

"Or was it for Valerie?" Dark Fur's eyes crinkled in unmasked joy.

Bang! Bang!

Anthony pulled the trigger on the gun and fired 2 bullets between Dark Fur's thighs. The first bullet tore away his leather slacks, entering his scrotum and, miraculously, grazing only one testicle. The second bullet followed suit, only to whizz past his figure as a dark red cloud enveloped him, making him vanish.

"Our intelligence about your group seems to be outdated. There were no records of a Grade-6 Teleporter in your files." Anthony pointed his gun at the brunette whom teleported Dark Fur with but a wave of her pale hands.

"Care to tell me your name?"

"Red Moon." The woman's lips parted as a strange sensation entered Anthony's body. His grip on the gun faltered, his lips under the riot helmet trembling.

"R-red Moon?" He asked as he lowered his gun, but to no avail as the woman soon enveloped herself with the crimson clouds and vanished, leaving Snow Slayer and him alone.

"Shit." He cursed.

"Yeah..." Snow Slayer agreed as she removed the flames on her palms.

"Mishka."

"Yeah."

"She sounded familiar, right?"

"Yeah."

Clang! Boom! Thud!

Crimson Bandit's metal boots clashed with a scrap metal as he let his frustrations out on it with a good kick, sending it hurtling towards the vaults' inner walls before bouncing back and dropping onto the ground, "You were late."

"Yeah."

Anthony holstered his gun and sat on a pallet jack as he contemplated on their encounter: A veritable clusterfuck. Two dozen dead cops, two billion gold missing, dangerous black-market merchants, and a powerful mercenary group with a vendetta. Yes, a clusterfuck.

"Hey, Mishka."

"Yeah?"

"Did you know that McCuish is from central Europe?"

Snow Slayer looked bewildered, "What? Isn't he Irish?"

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[Unknown]

A crimson cloud materialized over a dark forest as Dark Fur, holding his bloody crotch, hopped in apparent pain. The cloud grew bigger as a masked woman followed after the man. She snapped her finger, which made the cloud disintegrate.

Dark Fur trembled as grey fur grew out of his body, his eyes glowed golden, and his nails screeched as he transformed into a full-blown werewolf. A three meter tall grey-furred bi-pedal wolf howled unto the red moon above the forest.

"That goddamn motherfucker!" Dark Fur swiped his claws at a nearby tree, slashing it in half.

Thud!

The masked woman side stepped over the falling tree as she held her arms akimbo. "Are you done?"

"Puta madre! I'm sorry, he just gets under my skin, you know?" Dark fur growled.

"I know. But I am surprised he actually held a decent conversation, considering..." The woman said.

Dark Fur chuckled as he remembered their previous encounters. "But what about you? How was it? Seeing him again."

"It was... weird." She admitted as she removed her mask. She then caressed her face, feeling the scars of her burned skin.

Dark Fur merely sighed as he inched closer and transformed back into his human form. A 5'9 f.t (152 cm) tall olive-skinned man cradled the woman's head as he brushed her hair, "It's alright. You've grown stronger and better over the years. We'll deal with him AFTER we sold the gold."

The woman nodded in reply.

"Besides, since the ambush, he hasn't gone back to the lab. It'll be very easy to kill him." He continued, a shit-eating grin spreading across his countenance.

Tears threatened to fall on her face, but she willed them back in. She had promised herself that she will never cry again. Not until she gets her revenge.

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