Completing The Commission

Given that the odds were slim, I stopped taking a step forward and thought things through more carefully. Meticulous thought was the father of relief.

I don't think I've heard anyone say that before, maybe I should copyright it…

Moving past the thought of declaring a copyright in a post-apocalyptic world, I focused on a way to help my current predicament.

Seamus was injured and if Colt, Mohawk erm Hawk, and I charged up we would surely be met by the dazzling scene of gunshots. The moment they saw us we would undoubtedly be shot full of holes.

I couldn't help but remember Kaiser's action of surviving such a shooting… How puzzling…

Nevertheless, I maintained my train of thought and realized that the answer was in fact simple. The moment they saw us… then they just had to not see us, or at least not see me.

While my presence was thin, I was not invisible. An expectant armed group would at most have a millisecond lapse in attention in regard to my entrance. But that didn't necessarily have to be the case.

My fist for example contained a constant state of near insensability…? I was no scholar but that was undoubtedly a proper word.

Still, what I was getting at was obvious. If I could cover my fist why not my whole body? When I first acquired this ability my energy was limited so naturally the items it could cloak was similarly limited.

Now however I was already at grade 6… The energy at each grade went up exponentially and therefore…!

Black smoke covered my entire hand.

That was it. I frowned slightly.

I tried to release more of the ominous gas but it felt like a futile struggle.

"Failed…" But I was stubborn, I wouldn't take no for an answer. The main reason why my hands were able to release this gas was apparently the mutation, if I needed to mutate my whole body I…

I wouldn't, I just had to try and cover every single bit of my body with the smoke and have it stick.

Pulling back my sleeve, initial trials proved unsuccessful. My arm or more accurately my skin seemed incapable of maintaining the weird black smoke for long. If I insisted on containing my presence amidst the armed goons I would need some material.

Fortunately, I didn't forget to wear clothes that day.

I ran my hands across my entire wear and tried my best to cover it thoroughly, while the smoke would still wane, the duration was already much longer than when applied to my skin.

My long pants and large hoodie now covered in black smoke, I ran up the stairs without much of a care.

"...oming up soon, stay alert" I could hear someone say as I appeared in front of the upper floor doorway.

Their guns were firmly pointed at my position, all of them locked onto different parts of my body. My legs, arms, chest, head, were all being targeted by someone.

Click

The click of a gun signaled the release of one of the goon's safety, they were ready to fire.

A smile crept onto my face. My heart became filled with a twisted euphoria.

One second

Two seconds

I was alive.

They were aiming at me but I was alive, none pulled the trigger. Haha haha, I was so stupid. Why didn't I think to realize this sooner?

The abilities that were bestowed upon me by this cruel alternate world were much stronger than what my limited mind could possibly muster. Something as elementary as this...

I really wanted to chuckle, but at the same time I was afraid that if I broke out onto laughter my cover would be blown.

The room was largely empty, there were pillars of support but otherwise mostly empty. There were all sorts of places from where the thugs could take cover however and this also meant lots of line of sights from which I could be shot.

There were at least 20 people so at least 20 different guns to consider...

So memorizing the layout, I turned and proceeded back down the stairs. As the smoke on my clothing faded, my presence would become increasingly noticeable. I needed a recharge.

"Dan… What happened? Is no one there?" Hawk asked seeing me approach.

"No there are plenty" I replied.

"Then why didn't they…?" Hawk was confused. It made sense too, I allowed the smoke to waft off my body on the way down. As it was already nearing its time limit, Hawk was able to sense me per usual and was understandably confused.

"Hehe… They couldn't see me" I responded to his confusion by letting out an involuntary chortle.

"Let me borrow all of your knives" Since the leader of this group insisted on staying holed up like a turtle… I had the leisure to take these risks.

Hawk and Colt both shared glances before relinquishing their knives. I shoved them into my hoodie's pockets.

"Thanks" I replied before hurrying back towards the stair. Of course, I didn't forget to coat myself again.

My already dark clothing was covered by the smoke and I became near invisible. I returned to the doorway and observed the goons. They had sweat running down their foreheads as they waited anxiously.

Some made small gestures like scratching an itch or looking to others for direction. They were at a loss… why was the intruder taking so long?

There was a tense atmosphere as they asked themselves this question.

I waltzed in yet the question remained in their heads.

Tap… Tap…

My steps were light, barely audible. Yet that was enough for them to overlook me walking past.

I was reminded of the time I entered the library, I was reminded of that feeling of power. What I was reminded of was the possibility of a bright future.

I walked to the back of the room, I positioned myself at an angle from where a window stood and…!

I threw a knife. It dug into the neck of a thug before coming out on the other end. Their expression was a mix of surprise and pain as their vision grew hazy and they fell to the ground lifelessly.

As for the knife I threw… It stuck itself onto the ceiling.

"What-!? The window?!" One of the thugs said coming up with a logical reason for their comrade's demise.

Thud

But another fell, from another window, but they fell.

"Stay away from all windows! Enemies!" Someone shouted but before that two more fell.

There were now four daggers stuck onto the ceiling unbeknownst to them. They probably believed the thugs were getting shot at from outside.

Crack

Following the shout to stay away from the windows, everyone either huddled in a corner or moved the objects in the room and hid behind their center.

"Oh! F*ck, Lenon's dead!" One shouted finally realizing that I snapped someone's neck amidst the sudden movement.

"Wait… He was strangled!" A chill ran up the reporter's spine.

"There's a traitor!" Someone declared but…

"No… that's not it! There's a monster!" Someone else shouted.

The tense atmosphere was now thorny. Without knowing what shape this monster took they couldn't determine friend or foe.

Thump

"Over there!" Someone yelled after hearing an odd thump.

Bang Tatatat Bang!

The sound of gunfire enveloped the concrete room making for ear bursting sounds. The most damning aspect however was the bright muzzle. I squinted before shooting some bullets of my own amidst the chaos.

"Argh!" "NooO!!!" "Help!!!"

Thud

"Stop friendly fire!" A strong man shouted. Was he the leader I wondered...

Thud

Another body fell as I pondered… This man was not too dissimilar to the picture I was handed over... Frankly, since I intended to kill everyone I didn't think to take a closer look.

"There are only 17 of us left already! Alert the leader!" Someone from a corner group said.

Oh… So that guy wasn't the leader… I may have overcomplicated the job by failing to do proper research.

You live you learn, but I now needed to resolve this quickly. I couldn't allow them to alert their leader lest he go into hiding.

"Looks like I'm going to have to silence you all" I muttered before cracking my knuckles. Better get to work.