Story Chapter 1a:

The room before him was a horrifying sight to even look at, so Brandon closed his eyes tight. The darkness of his eyelids comforted him, but they couldn’t drive away the image of the massacre that had happened in the room. Seven men were dead, all adorned in a borderline black purple and red. Each had a bloodied knife or shuriken lodged deep in their throats, the blood pooling around them. Brandon could smell their corpses, the rancid smell making him cringe. He almost choked on it, opening his eyes reflexively. He averted them away from the bodies and stepped further inside the small house. It was a rather rundown house, with a broken gate and dirty fencing. It’s walls were a drab beige matched with gray and it was shaped like an imperfect square.

Inside the house, in which these seven men were lying dead, was a rather large safe hidden behind a tiny, almost invisible door. The door should have been nearly flush with the wall and hidden by the old CRT TV on the ground. Except it wasn’t hidden at all. The TV seemed to have somehow melted, a gray, thick liquid pooling around the dripping hole that had been melted through the TV. It sparked dangerously and Brandon wisely stayed back, staring at the small door. It too was melted through, the wallpaper completely gone, and a gray, metallic looking sludge very similar to the TV’s was inside the tiny frame. Behind it was darkness, but in the dark cubby lay the main reason the house was even remembered: the safe.

The safe belong to the Nightmare Knights, a rather unpleasant group that offered infamous mercenary services alongside being a gang. They weren’t the type of people to play nice, but Brandon considered it fortunate that their leader, Blight, was a more diplomatic type of person then his subordinates. Unfortunately for Brandon, he was one of Blight’s more diplomatic subordinates. Specifically he was Blight’s primary accountant, handling the Knight’s money, laundering it, and depositing the reserve cash into the hidden safe. A primary part of of Brandon’s job was the accounting and tracking of the now ruined safe.

Hastily, Brandon hurried from the house and into the street. The street wasn’t much better then the house, ugly grays and beiges colored the walls. Dirty windows and cracked sidewalks were common as weeds here. The weeds poked through the cracked sidewalks.

He had no interest in waiting for Blight or his proxy to arrive. Brandon was, after all, the prime suspect because he was the trusted accountant. Briefly, he considered calling Blight to give him a warning, but decided against it. At the very least, Blight would immediately send patrols of Knights looking for him if he called. As it stood now, Brandon had a few minutes before he did.

Brandon glanced around before pulling up his red hoodie’s hood and briskly walked down the street. His hands were jammed deep in his pockets as he walked. Any faster then a brisk walk and he could draw attention to himself. He couldn’t let that happen and get himself killed.

Brandon didn’t have many places to run to. If he hid on the street, a Knight patrol would find him. That left his day job coworkers. Milo wasn’t even an option, the kid was barely sixteen and still living with his parents, and Gabby lived too close to the area to provide any sense of security. Lastly, Toby lived far enough away, but he was on the other side of the city. Brandon’s own apartment was out, that was too obvious.

Brandon checked his watch; Gabby would probably be at the shelter helping out around now. Perhaps he could hide in there? So long as he wasn’t followed, it could work.

He peered around every corner he came across before finally turning down one. His head was on a swivel to the point that his neck hurt from turning so much.  Brandon was painfully aware of his surrounds though, and that could pay off. Things seemed safe as of the moment, so he considered his options. The cops could be helpful, but he couldn’t exactly go to them considering he was a member of the Nightmare Knights, even if he was just an accountant. It wasn’t like he could state the problem either, as only an idiot would say that illegal money had been stolen. The Registry would be capable of taking down whatever thing had melted the safe, but they weren’t an investigative group like the cops and they would probably hand Brandon over to them afterwards. Regardless, the Superhero Registry was underfunded and understaffed as of late. They had bigger issues to worry about, like actual supervillains. The city didn’t have too many of those, but they existed.

Suddenly, Brandon paused, becoming acutely aware of someone else’s footsteps behind him. They were almost perfectly in sync with his own, less then a second off beat. He broke out into a run and got a few feet before his legs were swept out from under him. He crashed into the ground, wincing at the impact. Brandon tried to scramble away, but a steel toed boot slammed into his side as a reward for his effort. He winced, curling into a ball. Pain radiated through his ribs. He caught a look at his attacker and he regretted it instantly.

He’d rather have taken Blight hunting him down instead of the sadist who stood before him.

Equalizer was a tall woman and wore a bandolier full of jagged knives, each slightly different, over a somewhat torn shirt. A faded red scarf was wrapped around her mouth and she had two guns in her hip holsters. Occasionally a hand would stray to a gun and grip it tightly before letting go. Brandon winced again as she slammed the boot back into his side, groaning in pain. She pulled the scarf far enough down that the top of her mouth was visible.

Equalizer snapped a few times, drawing his attention. She smiled a predatory smile and slowly pulled a butterfly knife out of her pocket. She placed a boot on Brandon’s chest, making him wince and stifle a grunt as his aching ribs were  crushed under her boot. Equalizer crouched, drawing closer to him and started playing with her knife, twirling it dangerously fast. It was only inches away from his face. Eventually, she stopped, holding the knife open and against Brandon’s neck. Her terrifying grin somehow widened, “Pity Blight wants you alive, I heard traitors cry the longest.” Her voice had a melodious quality that could have been nice to listen to if anyone except Equalizer had it.

Equalizer tapped her chin, as if in thought, with the blade of the knife, “You think Blight will mind if you happen to ‘accidentally’ get stabbed? So long as I don’t cut your throat, I don’t see how he could say no. Not that I was planning on it, yet. I’d rather not cut your screams short before they even start. You know, I made a  little list and I just so happen to recall you were on it. Let’s see, how did it go... it wasn’t the boiling oil, or the suffocation by rats.... oh well. Guess I’ll just have to improvise.”

Equalizer jabbed at his chest with her knife, sending short bursts of pain through Brandon. There was literally nothing he could do, no way to fight his way out. Talking didn’t work on people like Equalizer unless you had something they wanted. Brandon wasn’t about to offer his life up to the deranged villain. All he could do was try take the pain. So he did, he grit his teeth and took the long minutes of stabbing pain.

Equalizer frowned, “You aren’t going to scream? That’s a shame, I was kinda hoping you’d freak out. It makes it that much more enjoyable. You’re such a buzzkill.” Equalizer dragged her butterfly knife across Brandon’s neck. He shivered, trying to press his neck as flat against the ground as it could go. Equalizer laughed, a terrifyingly joyful sound with dark undertones layered underneath. She stood up, kicked Brandon in the side again, and turned her back to him. He winced in pain and grunted, making the sadist give out a dark chuckle of glee. “Jeez Louise, you really are such a bore. Scream, cry, fight, fucking put some effort into it damnit. Your just going to let me sit here and stab you? That’s fuckin boring. I expected fun, I expected broken bones and a chase, not some lameass accountant who doesn’t even scream!” Equalizer pulled a knife off her bandolier and threw it towards Brandon. He clenched his eyes shut and stiffened, opening them moments later to see that the sadist had purposefully missed. The sadist pointed down the road in the direction where Brandon had come, “Look, you are annoying me enough that I’m tempted to tell Blight to go fuck himself and kill you here. It’s really pissing me the fuck off. So I’m letting you go. That’s it, your free. Run along.”

Brandon stares blankly at Equalizer before pushing himself up. His ribs desperately ached and protested his movement, but he pushed onward. Shakily he got to his feet and ran as fast as his ribs would allow him. Every step sent jolts of pain through him, worsened by the fact he was running. He risked a glance back at Equalizer and saw her facing him, twirling two large hunting knives between her fingers. She seemed to be mouthing words. It took him a few too many seconds to figure out what she was doing.

She was counting down.

Brandon ran faster, ignoring the pain that made him wince with every step. He had to run, to get away from her before she finished her countdown. If Brandon knew anything, it was that countdowns never ended in a spray of confetti when a villain performed them. Especially not Equalizer.

He stumbled to the end of the street, turning a corner. Briefly he stared at Equalizer from around the corner. Her wicked grin simply widened and she held four fingers up. Her eyes shone in a way that promised pain as she lowered a finger to show three. Brandon bolted around the corner, faintly hearing the sadist’s melodious laugh fade away.

His lungs ached as he ran from Equalizer, the pain in his ribs making running a true challenge. Slowly, it was starting to subside, but Brandon didn’t doubt he had bruises. Over the sound of his breathing, he could hear something else. He heard Equalizer’s footsteps pounding down the concrete, following him. She was playing a cat and mouse game with him.

Eventually, she would catch him. He wasn’t a runner or a fighter. She was both. His only advantage had been the headstart she’d given him. There was no way to victory, no way to win. But that didn’t mean Brandon was giving up. It simply meant that if he couldn’t win, why play?

Brandon glanced around, spotted a side alley, and hustled towards it. Halfway down it, he could hear Equilizer getting closer, having finally seemed to walk around the corner. Brandon grunted, the sound seeming painfully loud, and ducked  behind a dumpster. A glance further down the alley showed it was blocked off. He had accidentally trapped himself.

Brandon slouched to the ground, leaning against the wall. There was no way out of this for him, so he would have to wait and hope Equalizer got tired of chasing him. He doubted she would, but Brandon held to that hope.

Long minutes passed in nervewracking silence. His heart pounded in his chest and he swore it echoed off the walls of the grimy alley. He could hear slow, measured footsteps walking closer. They were audible as they grew closer, heading down the dark alley. Brandon’s breath hitched and he stuck his hand out, looking for a rock or any weapon. For a moment he felt cool metal beneath his hand. He tensed at it rolled away from his hand, loudly moving against the ground. Brandon’s hand shot out and grabbed the pipe, tightly holding it with both hands.

He tensed as the footsteps got scarily close. He froze, unwilling to move. Even his breath was held, his quickly beating heart the only part of him that was moving . Equalizer stepped past the end of the dumpster and Brandon shot up, swinging the pipe at her.

She batted it away with her hand and just turned to stare at Brandon. The pipe clattered loudly on the ground and rolled away. Equalizer’s gaze was as predatory as her wide smile, showing unbridled restraint as she sized up her prey. She twirled a knife around her finger before pressing it to his neck. Her other hand wrapped around Brandon’s neck, pulling him behind her while she walked. She trailed her knife in patterns along his neck, making him shiver as he was pulled behind her. The silence between them grew and Brandon shifted uncomfortably at the predatory aura Equalizer seemed to emanate. “Look, I didn’t do it. Do you really think I would steal from Blight?!”

Equalizer looked back at him, “Do you think I care?”

Brandon gulped, talking to her was useless. But it was either that or fully freak out, and he wasn’t about to give the sadist the satisfaction of watching him break down. He knew this would end in either one of two ways. Blight would get him, or Equalizer would kill him. Both ultimately led to the same end.

But he couldn’t die, not yet. He had bills to pay, he had things to do. He had a child to raise. He most certainly wasn’t about to let Anna grow up an orphan. Which meant he couldn’t let Blight get him. Which meant he had to get rid of Equalizer without dying.

Brandon knew a few things about Equalizer simply due to his close proximity to her. He knew that she was a supervillain with balancing powers. When she activated them, a fight would balance itself out so it would be an even match. Sneak attacks would fail and anyone affected by it would either find themselves stronger or weaker. Brandon was also aware that she had weaker control over her powers while angry.

It seemed he would have to anger a heavily armed sadist whilst having a knife at his throat. What could possibly go wrong?

Brandon cleared his throat for the moment that could end him, “Hey, Equilizer,” the villain in question turned her head to look at him, “you’ve been trapped in the HQ for weeks now. Care to share before I, you know, kick the bucket.”

A slight growl escaped Equilizer’s throat. Brandon gulped and started to reconsider his plan. “Fuck off rat! Traitors like you have no place to talk. Unless, of course, it’s begging and screaming for mercy. By all means, go ahead and scream.”

Brandon closed his eyes tightly for a few moments before finding the courage to finish the death sentence he was writing with every word he spoke. “You didn’t answer the question. Blight doesn’t want you, that’s why he left you behind doing paperwork. He doesn’t need you in the Knights so he keeps you out of sight. Your like an ugly stain covered by a painting. You won’t leave, so Blight hides you away from everyone. Away from your predator games.”

Equalizer glared straight into him with an intensity that if looks could kill, Brandon would have been dead twenty times over. Her lips had stiffened, pressing firmly together. Her blade at his neck pressed deeper, reminding Brandon of his place. Momentarily he felt a brief surge of energy course through him, which vanished soon after. He felt more exhausted than before now that it was gone, but it meant that his plan was working. A few more words and he might have a fighting chance.

“If another word comes out of your damn traitor mouth, I will fucking make you scream. And scream. And fucking scream until your damn vocal cords shrivel up in a pathetic mess and die,” Equalizer threatened.

“I’m sorry. Really, I am,” Equalizer’s grip around his collar tightened. Brandon stifled a cough and slowly moved his hand forward, closer to the sadists hip, “Sitting around in an office all day, fetching coffee and filling paperwork, why, if anyone saw you they’d think you’re the prey. You can’t even fight Blight because you’re too weak, even with your power.”

A surge of heat rushed through him and Brandon felt the power rise within him. He could feel a rapid buildup of energy waiting to be used. Equalizer’s actions seemed slower too. Not slow enough to be dodged or do anything fancy, just slow enough so Brandon could register what was happening. It felt like an adrenaline rush.

Equalizer’s knife stung as it pressed deeper into Brandon’s skin, going for the kill. At once, Brandon moved, using his slightly boosted agility to his own advantage. One hand grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the knife, stopping its progress. His other hand shot forward, yanking the gun out of Equalizer’s holster. Lastly, his leg shot forward, trying to knock her down.

The strike didn’t connect and the sadist turned with a speed that Brandon almost missed even with Equalizer’s powers. Equalizer’s hand shot out and grabbed the barrel of the pistol, pointing it away from her. Brandon grunted in pain at how his wrist twisted when she jerked the gun. Her knife hand fought to press into his neck, drawing a thin line of blood but not pressing further. It was a stalemate on that front. She brought her knee up and slammed it into Brandon’s ribs.

Brandon fell back onto the pavement, his gun falling out of his hand. His ribs ached with the sudden weight and impact, not fully recovered from the kicks he had gotten. Equalizer straddled him, removing one knife from her bandolier with the hand that used to hold his collar. The hand pressing the knife against Brandon’s neck had dug it in deeper, causing him to wince in pain. Hastily, he used his free hand to grab Equalizer’s forearm, trying to push it away from his neck.

Far above him, Brandon saw a distant shadowed figure. He couldn’t make out the shape, but he could see... wings? Brandon didn’t have time to think on it, as Equalizer had pulled out an oversized hunting knife. She smiled ferociously before jabbing it forward. Brandon moved one hand from blocking the knife at his neck to grab at the forearm of other knife. The blade scraped against his hand, drawing a line of blood that slowly leaked down it. The knife continued onwards, the hand not delaying it in the slightest. It sunk into Brandon’s shoulder and he screamed.

Pain exploded from his shoulder and he flailed his arms. Brandon faintly heard Equalizer laugh before she twisted the knife. The pain multiplied, shooting painful tingles through his body. By a miracle, Brandon ripped a knife off of his attacker’s bandolier, thrusting it forward into Equalizer’s chest. It met resistance at her clothes and didn’t slide in any further. She laughed at his attempt.

Suddenly her eyes widened and she grabbed for her gun. She pointed it up, only for a throwing knife to sink into her wrist from above. Reflexively, she pulled the trigger as her wrist bent, firing a shot into an upperstory window. Wingbeats rapidly pounded above him. Brandon looked up at his savior.

One could describe easily her as the child of some angelic being and a mixture of a fish and a lizard. Three throwing knives shaped like fangs rested in her gloved hands. Mottled brown-gray wings beat behind her, keeping her aloft. They extended a good length past her sides and jutted out from her shoulder blades through a long blue tunic. Besides the wings, the most startling feature about her was the mask she wore. It looked reptilian in shape and looked to be covered by light green scales. Two pink, long whiskers extended from the top of her mask, as they did from the bottom. The most noticeable feature was the mask’s mouth, which showed a set of jagged teeth in its stretched out, open state.

Distantly, Brandon recognized his savior, but any thoughts of recollection were drowned out by the pain radiating from his shoulder and the knife flying through the air from the flying girl’s hand. Equalizer jumped off him, rolling to the side to avoid the knife. The girl landed in front of him, unfurled her wings wide a moment, before drawing a long baton. Equalizer grinned and raised her gun towards the newcomer.

Brandon saw his opportunity and sat up. His body ached with protest, his shoulder crying out in pain. He wrapped his hand around the knife stuck in him and pulled it out. It hurt, sending a piercing pain through him as it moved. Slowly, Brandon watched the red stained steel leave his body. Numbly, he let the knife fall to the ground. With one hand covering up his shoulder wound, Brandon ran as fast as he could. He was fishing his cellphone, which he had forgotten about in the chaos, and rounding the corner, when he heard the sound.

A gunshot cracked through the street he had just left behind him and moments later, a scream pierced the air.