The Culprit

(3rd Person View)

"A Paperbag?!" Michael exclaimed, "Our heroes were killed by a fuckface wearing a godamn paperbag?!"

Michael and Aanya were sitting next to each other in one of the meeting rooms in Purgatory HQ. They had been called to a meeting that the CEO had called for the Guardians to attend. So far, only them are present.

Mr. Lee told them about the murdered only because Michael had insisted to be told something.

Mr. Lee looked at him, "We don't know much else." He said, "Let's wait for the rest to fully debrief you all."

It has been a couple of days since the murders. The press has been trying their best to get information from Purgatory but everyone has been tightlipped.

Michael stood up and slammed his hands on the table, obviously angered.

"Listen here, Lee." he said, "Tell me right fucking now, where is this scumbag so I can apprehend him!"

Mr. Lee shook his head, "Wait for orders, Michael." he said, "Lady Hyejin should be here soon."

As in cue, the door opened and Taejoon walked in. He was wearing his usual clothes of a dress shirt and pants with the fur coat draped over him. His sword was in his hand. You could not make out his eyes since they were covered by his shades.

Behind him, a woman walked in. She was shorter than Taejoon, standing about 5'8 and wearing a dress suit with heels. Her black hair was tied back in a bun and her brown eyes could be seen through a pair of glasses she was wearing.

Aanya stood up and bowed immediately, "Lady Hyejin." she said before sitting back down

Taejoon went to take a seat in one of the chairs as Hyejin made her way to the front of the room and took a seat in the head of the table. She had a handbag in her hand which she place on the floor next to her. Mr. Lee stood next to her with his hands behind his back and did not say a word.

He glanced at Michael and his eyes silently told him to sit.

Michael nodded respectfully at Hyejin, "Boss." he said sitting down

Hyejin cracked her knuckles and placed her hands on the table slowly. She looked at the three heroes that were in attendance but didn't say a word. After a few moments, she looked at her watch she wore on her left wrist. She looked at it for a few seconds and glanced at the door seemingly waiting for someone. Her face had a serious expression, one that made the atmosphere a bit too heavy than usual.

Taejoon didn't say anything either. He merely crossed his arms as he leaned back on his chair.

There was a long period of tense silence before someone actually spoke up.

"Geez." a voice said, "What's with the awkward faces?"

Mr. Lee turned to his left to see a figure emerge from the wall. He saw as a figure of a woman emerge from the wall wearing a white hero suit with a hood and mask. Her body flickered as she came into view. She stood at around 5'4 and was a bit petite. This was one of the other Guardians.

"White Ghost." Mr. Lee said, "You're here."

White Ghost sat down in a chair and crossed her arms, "But of course, Lady Hyejin made the call." she merely said, "I have to follow orders."

Before anything else, the door quickly flew open and they saw a red blur enter swiftly. Hyejin merely looked to her left to see a man in a aviator jacket sitting next to Taejoon. He had a bag of chips and a can of soda in his arms. He had dark lensed googles on his face covering his eyes and his mouth was exposed due to his mask being pulled down.

He grabbed a handful of potato chips and tossed him into his mouth before looking at the others. He quickly chewed the chips and then took a large sip of the soda before placing the can down and giving a large burp.

Mr. Lee nodded at his arrival, "Engine."

Aanya scowled, "Show some damn manners, you jerk." she said, "Doing that in front of Lady Hyejin."

Engine wiped his mouth with a napkin, "Hey now, I was hungry." he said, "Had to grab a quick snack before the big meeting. Not too often all 10 of us are in this room together."

Michael rolled his eyes and said nothing while he crossed his arms.

Engine smirked before looking at Hyejin, "Oh and our Vampire is here." he said while pointing at the door

As soon as he did, a man in a grey trench coat walked in. He was tall, standing at 6'4 and had long white hair that reached his shoulder. He had a really tired look on his face, his red eyes only showing nothing but melancholy. There was a large red marking that ran down the left side of his face, something that caught a lot of people's attention. He had his hands in the coat's pocket while he walked towards a chair.

Mr. Lee cleared his throat, "Blood Drive, you made it." He said, "We appreciate you leaving Seoul for this."

Blood Drive said nothing as he took a seat. He merely closed his eyes while crossing his arms. He gave a feeling that he did not want to be there at all.

Engine chuckled, "whoa there big guy, don't talk too much or your throat will get raspy." he said as he looked around, "huh? where are the others?"

Then, a drone floated from the corner of the room, "I've been here for a while." Cyberknight spoke through it, "Amily is-"

"Here." a voice said

They all turned to see Amily walking in. She was not in her hero uniform but in some casual clothes. She wore a leather jacket with a t-shirt underneath, blue jeans and sneakers. This was her day to day life clothing. She did not feel like wearing her hero uniform despite being called to a meeting.

She sat down in a chair and did not say a word. Aanya looked at her with a worried look and wanted to say something to console her but she knew that she was in no mood to say anything.

Hyejin looked at them before clearing her throat, "8 of you, that'll do." she said

Engine looked around still, "Where's Energy?" he asked, "And the Big Man?"

Cyberknight's drone looked at him, "Who knows" he said, "But I did tell Energy to come here."

Hyejin shook her head, "No matter. We'll start without them." she said before waving Cyberknight away, "Alright, Guardians. you may already have heard of the news."

She looked at them to see their response. The majority of them did not want to make eye contact. She knew very well that the deaths of the heroes hit them hard. Be it Low Rank or not, they still cared about their fellow heroes.

She then looked at Cyberknight, "Let's go over what we know, Cyberknight."

"Yes ma'am." the drone then shone a light from its red eye to the wall

They then saw a projected screen on the wall, on it they saw a blurry picture of a man in a suit with a paperbag over his head.

"This is what one of the security cameras near the crime scenes caught." cyberknight explained, "Only they were the closest things to a witness that night. This is all we got, so far. The authorities are near damn sure that this is our murderer."

Hyejin nodded, "yes." she said, "The police are still working on the case and Cyberknight here is still gathering data as we speak. But all we know is that this is the man responsible. But what we don't know is his identity and his ties to the underground."

Engine rubbed his chin, "Is he Superhuman?"

"Not sure." Cyberknight said, "My guess is he ain't. He used a pistol as his murder weapon. No other signs of physical trauma on the bodies, well.....except one..."

Amily clenched her fists and looked away.

Hyejin looked at the screen, "All we know is that because of the weapon, he has some sort of ties to the underground." she said, "Also, they got a faint print of the murderer's boots."

"Yes. I've tried my best to track down the records of every possible boot it could be but I couldn't narrow it down past the thousands." Cyberknight noted, "Also, his suit is a dime a dozen and it could be from any tailor in the country."

Mr. Lee cleared his throat, "But still, we are 100% sure he is tied to the criminal underground?"

"Yes. No doubt." Cyberknight replied, "There was some peculiar reactions from some of the gangs in Busan ever since the news were released. There is no doubt in my mind that they are involved."

White Ghost scoffed, "Really? Those gangsters finally decided to do something?" she said, "I suppose the scare Apex gave them wasn't enough. They must've regrown their balls."

Hyejin shook her head, "No, I doubt they're directly involve." she said, "No matter how big their ego is, they would never attack Low Rank heroes. If they were to cause a big commotion, they'd target the High Rank heroes or one of you, not something they're foolish enough to do."

Mr. Lee nodded, "Yes. If they were involved, they'd attempt to murder one of you, not them." He said, "But the question remains...Who is this man? And why did he do it?"

Michael spoke up, "To get some attention?" he offered, "This is some jackass wearing a fucking paperbag going around killing heroes. No matter who he is or why he did it, he done fucked up regardless. He made an enemy of Purgatory whether he likes it or not. We have to find out more about him and bring him down as soon as possible."

Cyberknight then turned off the projection, "We have to proceed with caution, Michael." he said, "We can't just spearhead this and expect results."

Aanya shook her head, "I am with Michael. The sooner we deal with this, the better." she said, "The more time passes by with him on the loose, the more scared the people will get. Think about it, this happened the night of the charity event. We just partnered up with the idols in order to make them feel safe and secure, don't you think this will ruin it?"

Hyejin nodded, "I agree." she said, "This is not good for anyone. I fear not only for the Low Rank, but for the general public. We have to quickly do something-"

"No." a voice said

They all turned to see Energy walking in.

Engine chuckled, "Hey, look who it is." he said, "Finally decided to come down from the skies, eh?"

Energy stood in front of the table across from Hyejin and looked at the others with a serious look on her face.

"Look, I don't have much time, so I will make it quick." she said

Cyberknight's drone turned to face her, "Where is Apex?" he asked, "The call was for all 10 guardians, not 9."

Energy looked at it, "He's busy." she merely said, "And I believe it is for the best if we leave him be for now."

While she said this, Amily shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Something that Hyejin noticed right away.

Energy then crossed her arms, "Listen, everyone." she started to explain, "I understand that this criminal is of top priority right now, he did murder three of our own. But we cannot, no, we must not rush anything."

Michael scowled, "Are you joking!?" he exclaimed, "This is not only for the safety and assurance of our people, but our reputation as this country's Hero association!"

Hyejin nodded, "I agree." she said sternly, "But I will allow you to speak your mind, Energy. Please continue."

Energy sighed, "I know what this means for us and for the country. If we cannot protect our heroes, the people will lose faith in us." she said, "They will start to panic because of a single man who we are not even sure is a superhuman. But I will be blunt with you, he is not going to be our only concern all because we will play into his trap."

Mr. Lee spoke up, "What do you mean, Energy?"

She pointed at him, "You should pick up your slack, Lee." She said, "We have bigger threats than a single criminal from the underground. According to reports, Torrent and Manti-Gore were spotted in China. Who knows what they're up to over there, but knowing the fact that they have their issues with us, they will strike while we're distracted."

Lee's face went pale, he was definitely not expecting to hear that.

"What?!" he said before taking out his phone and quickly dialing a number and moving to the back of the room

Energy then looked back at Hyejin.

"This was my mind being spoken, Lady Hyejin." she told her, "And now I will speak Apex's."

Aanya raised her eyebrow, "So you're his messenger now, Sister?" she asked

Before Energy could respond to that, Hyejin crossed her arms and spoke up.

"And what is it he has to say, that man?" she said, "Ignoring my call."

Energy looked at Amily, "You are to stay here in HQ." she said, "And for the rest to return to their stations and await orders. That is all."

Amily merely looked at her without saying a word.

Michael stood up , "What the hell does he mean by that, Energy?" he exclaimed, "This is some serious shit and he wants us to sit still?"

"In the meantime, we let the police do their job and try to advance on the investigation. Lee here can be kept up to date." she said, "There are superhuman threats out there that are waiting for their chance to cause a ruckus here in South Korea. This man is nothing but a small fish swimming in the vast ocean full of much bigger giants."

Amily stood up and looked at her, "But why?" she asked calmly, "Why should I stay?"

Energy looked at her with a sad look, "Minju...." she started, "I know how much this means to you at the moment, I know how much she meant to you....she was your junior.....but he does not want you on the field in your current emotional sta-"

Amily slammed her fist on the table, "AND WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS TO MAKE THAT DECISION?!" she shouted with an enraged look on her face

The guardians were taken by surprised by this, even Mr. Lee who had to hang up the call he was on.

Hyejin looked at this with serious expression. She knew exactly what Apex's decision was for. Amily was in no emotion state. With her grandfather's death anniversary and her junior's murder, Amily had to be kept in surveillance.

Energy walked up to her and placed her hand on her shoulder. She gave her a compassionate look as she rubbed her shoulder while Amily shook out of anger.

"He only cares for your well being." Energy said, "We all do. I am sorry, but he's right to make that call."

Hyejin stood up, "She is right, Amily." she said before looking at Mr. Lee, "Stay up to date with the police department. The rest of you can go back to your cities to await orders. We must be on guard especially considering Torrent and Manti-Gore looming over our country. And keep an eye on the crime bosses."

Energy nodded, "Yes ma'am." She said, "I will return to my patrols. Have to expect a Titan attack these days. I am assuming word of this incident has reached other countries by now."

With that, Energy left the room. Amily stayed standing there, not wanting to look up.

Aanya looked at her with a pained expression. She did not know how to say something without setting her off again.

"Well, you are all dismissed." Hyejin said

Then, the other guardians got up and left the room, with the exception of Taejoon who was still sitting there.

Suddenly, his head jerked up.

"Huh? What'd I miss?" he said while he took of his shades and wiped his eyes

Hyejin was walking up to Amily before stopping and looking at her son.

"You took a nap?" she asked bewildered, "Unbelievable."