Numb

Although Isaac was surprised by Jay's sudden revelation, he was expecting to hear something like this after Jay's constant peculiar behaviour today. On the other hand, Flag's face stayed emotionless, leading Isaac to conclude Argus had already known about Jay's background.

As they ran through the long corridor, passing multiple doors and rooms and sometimes even wide and large staircases, Jay continued with his story as Isaac listened carefully.

"My mother died giving birth to my… to me, leaving me with my father who raised me the best he could. He was a lawyer, a damn good one at that, who typically had a lot on his plate."

"Eventually, my father passed away too after overworking himself. My father was a good man, but that couldn't save him from the fatigue that came with his constant good service. After that, I was alone. It was as if the countless people I knew forgot about me once my father died. As if I had become insignificant and unimportant without him. With nowhere to go, I wandered the streets, surviving off the smallest of scraps I could find. From shelter to shelter, dark corner to another, I was barely alive. This was also the same time when I was figuring out my abilities."

"One day, a man approached me. Promising me wealth, power and an opportunity to take control of my own life. That man was Victor. At the time I was desperate. I had no other choice. He brought me to this mansion where I was clothed, fed and given everything he had promised. But unfortunately, in this world, nothing comes without cost."

"I had reached a stage where I had thought of Victor similarly to a father. So much so that I told him about my abilities. It was the biggest regret of my life." After saying this, the three of them started to see familiar Ninjas running toward them. With Flag's expert-level shooting, Jay's quick beams and Isaac's superior martial arts and speed, they were made quick work of, allowing Jay to continue with his story.

"I was quickly introduced to the Syndicate and made a member. After basic training, I was ordered to carry out low-level espionage. According to Victor, no one would ever suspect a child of these crimes. And he was right."

"I was an exceptional spy, primarily wielding my youth to the fullest capabilities. Until Victor sent me on a certain mission. An assassination. A leader of a rival crime syndicate."

"He could have easily asked the Hexagon to burn the whole syndicate to the ground, however, he specifically wanted me to carry it out. A test if you will. And I did it. I killed the man where he slept with my blade. I was scared. My heart threatened to jump out of my chest. But I knew it was either my life or his." Isaac stared forward with a straight face, saying nothing and listening carefully.

"Do you still feel it? The pain. The guilt." Asked Isaac, to which Jay gave a slight pause.

"No. At the time I did, but the pain eventually withers away as you become numb to such things. Leaving an empty carcass, absent of normal human emotions. It made killing after that easier. That's how I appeared on Argus's radar. Too many coincidences were starting to surround me." He explained. They continued to run, both Flag and Isaac quiet as Jay spoke. They would sometimes come across the Ninjas, however, they posed no threat to the three of them, leading to countless bodies being littered inside the hallway.

***

"This is boring." Complained a certain pink and blue-haired female. He carried her trusty giant mallet on her shoulder as she walked, dragging her feet as she went.

Harley, George, Floyd and Nanaue currently strolled through a similarly designed hallway to the one Flag's group ran through. Unlike Flag's group, they seemed extremely disinterested in their current missions. As evidenced by Harley's bored demeanour and George's nonchalant attitude. However, this didn't include Nanaue who felt satisfied with crunching on some Ninjas.

"Quiet down. This place is crawling with those masked freaks." Said Floyd, prompting Harley to stare at him with an unsatisfied face.

"How are they different from the masked freak that you are?" She said in a monotone voice, pointing at his white mask.

"I don't jump around with swords. I use guns. Like normal people." He said while still staring straight.

"Sure. Like normal people." Mocked Harley, however, the sarcasm wasn't noticed as Floyd's steps came to a halt. His three partners stared at him, asking why he stopped. All he did was point, prompting them to look down the hallway. Before them, a large and intricately designed door stood.

"We're approaching the dwelling of the target in the south-east side of the manor." Said Floyd, speaking into his walkie-talkie. Before he could say anything further, Nanaue, Harley and George bolted to the doors, yelling as they went. Floyd sighed as he stared at them. He was somewhat expecting this.

Nanaue crashed through the twin doors, breaking them off their hinges with ease. Inside the large room was a king-sized bed, countless decorations that screamed wealth, such as a chandelier, a gold engraved bed frame, full-body knight armour in the corner of the room and a streaming bathroom that a man stood before.

"Who are you?" Said the man. He had wet black hair with grey streaks, and hazel eyes, wearing a white robe as drops of water trickled down his face. He stared at the intruders, his face showing a few wrinkles, further indicating his old age.

Deadshot aimed his weapon at the man. Without a second thought, he shot at the man's knees, causing the old man to yell in pain and drop to the ground, blood colouring his once clean, white robe.

"I'll kill you!" The man yelled in between his cries.

"Well, that was easy." Said Harley. In the next second, countless SWAT officers flooded the room, grabbing the man and putting him in handcuffs. Nanaue, Harley, George and Floyd stared at the man as he was carried out of the room. After a few seconds, a familiar dark-skinned female entered the bedroom, looking at Floyd.

"Congratulations Mr Lawton. You're today's hero." Said Waller, however, Floyd gave no reaction. Waller's compliments meant very little to him.

"To commemorate this achievement, I have something you'd be interested in." As she said this, Waller turned her body and pointed to a young girl behind them, escorted by a SWAT officer.

"Zoe?!" Exclaimed Floyd as he dropped his weapons and pulled off his mask, his lips quivering and his voice cracking.

"Daddy!" Yelled the little girl as she ran into his arms. Usually, Floyd would hate to have his daughter see him in this uniform, in the same room as a man who he had just shot. Not to mention the few psychopaths beside him. However, this time he didn't care. It's as if he, a cold assassin who took countless lives with no remorse, finally had his prayers answered. All he could do was tightly grasp his daughter as tears poured down his face.

Meanwhile, George stared at Victor who sat in his luxurious room. He wore a blue suit, on a throne, stroking a tiger as he puffed on an expensive-looking cigar. George walked in front of Harley, Floyd and Nanaue who stared at him with admiration.

"Ya wanna do this the easy way or the hard way?" Said George, pulling a few boomerangs from underneath his trenchcoat.

"Oh, great Captain Boomerang! Please, I beg for your mercy. Who would dare go against you?" Said Victor, dropping his cigar and bowing down in a timid demeanour while George laughed loudly. Harley, Floyd and Nanaue patted him on his back as they showered him with endless compliments.

During all this, Harley slammed open the twin large doors as she was left bewildered at the sight she saw. By herself, she entered a dark room. It wasn't pitch black, more like the darkness of night, constantly being battled by the light of the moon. The room had morphed into a maze with stone walls of sorts as she wandered through it aimlessly.

As she walked, she came across two corridors. One on her left and the other opposite it, to her right. With a straight face, she looked at one, then at the other. Although she had a deep feeling she had to keep going and that she couldn't stop, she couldn't help but feel like something was stopping her. She was somehow conflicted with two simple choices of picking a corridor to walk through.

As she stood quietly, she started to hear something. It was as if circus music was playing. What sounded like a crowd laughing and elephants bellowing came from the right corridor. After taking a slight glance, she saw countless blinding lights coming from it and shadows of clowns, countless seated people and dozens of animals. The sight unleashed a chaotic whirlwind of countless scenes, a frenzied kaleidoscope that spun too fast to grasp, guaranteeing a mind-numbing frenzy for anyone who dared to witness it, plunging them into the depths of maddening madness in a matter of mere moments.

However, what truly stood out to what seemed to be the lifeless carcass that stared at the scene, was the giggles that soon emerged from the corridor. Maddening cackles that grew louder and louder by the second. Harley stared on with a straight face. However, soon, her lips started to contort as a large grin that hung from ear to ear was quick to crawl onto her face. She started to trod toward the laughter, nothing holding her back, nothing saving her as she felt something pulling her in. And soon, she started to laugh as well.

***

Nanaue stood as he licked his finger and held a human in his other hand, staring at his three companions who had suddenly stopped in their steps, looking forward with no emotion on their faces, eyes wide open and not uttering a word. Yet, Nanaue seemed more interested in his meal as he watched them intently.

"Interesting. I should have accounted for the fact that you aren't exactly human. I thought the gas would show less effectiveness given your difference in biology and psychology, but instead, it had no effect at all." A female stood before the team, holding two knives while a strange pink gas surrounded her. She wore a skintight black bodysuit with silver trimmings and a high collar, a blue cloak that went down to her ankles and high flexible boots.

Nanaue looked at her seemingly uninterested as he continued with his meal, crunches and snapping of human bones echoing through the hallway.

"Or perhaps you already have what you desire." She said while staring at the Ninja going into his mouth. As Nanaue finished his snack and licked his fingers, he stared at the female, his stomach grumbling. Clearly, he was hunting for seconds. He leapt at the female without hesitation, arms stretched out, ready to clasp her. However, in a show of great agility, the female dashed toward him, throwing herself on the ground and sliding between the giant's legs.

Nanaue looked around the ground, confused as to what just happened. He eventually turned his head to look behind him, only to be met with the sight of the female holding a knife to the throats of George and Harley, ready to slice.

However, before she could, she felt something press against the side of her head, causing her to stop in her tracks, pausing in her movements as the knives hovered over the two's throats.

"How did you break free?" Asked the female. Despite her murderous actions, her voice was gentle and played as a complete opposite to her demeanour.

"Your mind games don't work too well against common sense. All I had to do was think logically for a second and I was out." Answered Deadshot as he held his gun strapped to his wrist at the female's skull. Usually, he would pull the trigger, however, with the amount of pressure on the knives, her deadweight might become enough to do some serious damage, as evidenced by the slight blood trickling down the two's throats.

"Intelligence? Or maybe willpower? Either way, I wonder what kind of man you have to be to deny your true desires." She said as they both stared at each other, at a stalemate.

"Deadshot! Lawrence's bedroom isn't at the southeast end of the mansion! Something's wrong!" Yelled a voice coming from the walkie-talkie strapped to Floyd's shoulder. As Floyd pressed a button on the side of the communications device, ready to reply, someone interrupted him, surprising everyone.

"Jayson?" Said the female, her voice shaking and the pressure on her hands weakening, evidently surprised at Jay's voice. Floyd was confused, but it didn't stop him from noticing her sudden downed guard as he prepared to take the kill shot. However, the next word he heard made him pause.

"Amelia?"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Power of the stones. Also known as POWERSTONESSSSSSSSSS!!!!

Also, what are you waiting for? Join the discord!!

discord.gg/wfxxZv8j4B