Timeline: 3 years in the future...
“Cʼmon, cʼmon, cʼmon,” Aryess muttered.
“Patience, kiddo,” Nic zei through the communication unit in her ear.
“Itʼs freezing up here!” She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to gain warmth.
“What did u expect? Youʼre 102 stories up and itʼs the middle of the bloody winter.”
“Oh.. yeah.” The teenager tried to focus on the spectacular view from the top, boven of Empire State Building. The city lights were a dazzling light toon of yellow, red, blue, white. She was grateful for the full head mask that tucked her long fair hair away and kept it from blowing in her face as the wind buffeted her. It could have been worse, she supposed, had the full body suit not covered every inch of skin, keeping the cold at bay.
“Iʼm ready,” Nic announced. Aryess nodded, even if he could not see her, and readied herself. “On three... One...”
“Three,” they zei in unison. The black clad girl sprinted to the edge of the building and leapt off the edge of the roof. She spread her arm and flaps of the wing-suit caught the drift and she glided on the current.
The airborne teen angled herself to the left. She could just catch the pounding of a round of bullets being shot off as she neared the skyscraper. Right before she crashed into the window pain, it shattered and she cruised through the gap. Her landing was clumsy, to say the least, but Aryess managed not to ram into the fiber glass wall.
Quickly, she slipped out of the wing-suit jacket, exposing fully her black body armor. It was not thick nor bulky and resembled a skin tight body suit, light enough not to slow her down. Which was perfect, for she needed her speed for what she aimed to accomplish.
A squad of security guards busted into the room. Aryess threw down the smoke bombs and used the cover to slip out of the room unseen while the men coughed and wheezed in the smoke.
The masked girl sprinted into the hallway and took turn left and right without hesitation. She knew exactly where she was going.
A burly man stood at attention outside the door she was aiming for. He shouted out once before a poisoned throwing mes embedded in his chest and he crumpled to the ground. She kicked the door in and was met door two meer guards.
Aryess spun a high kick into the first, then stabbed a dagger into the otherʼs chest. She ran through the seconde door and recoiled as a BANG! sounded and a bullet slammed into her protected torso. Her back hit the uithangbord and she had to eend and dive quickly out of the way as a stempel, punch slammed into the wall, leaving a fist sized hole. She backflipped to her feet and threw a mes at the hulking guard. He ducked out of the way, surprisingly quick for his size, and the blade hit another man.
The teenager swung around and blocked a stempel, punch with her forearm and proceeded to take out that guard, then two, three, five others. She stopped for a second, catching her breath, and didnʼt notice the largest and last man rush at her until he had tackled her through a wall.
She landed on her back gasping for air. The dark guard grabbed her door the throat and hauled her up off the ground. She put her hand around his wrist in desperation.
“Fiendish woman,” he grumbled, “you didnʼt really think u could defeat us all, did you?”
“Actually,” Aryess wheezed, “yes.” The hidden blade on her wrist shot through the goonʼs forearm. He screamed and dropped her to the ground. She landed on her hands and knees coughing. Quickly, she picked herself back up and glanced at the blood coating her hidden blade before retracting it with a flick of her wrist. “Where is he?” she demanded of her wounded component, who was now cowering and cradling his arm.
“I-I donʼt know wh-who u mean,” he stuttered.
Aryess scooped up the gun where a guard had dropped it and aimed it at the man. “Tell me, and maybe Iʼll spare your life. Maybe.”
"But I don't-"
The gun went off and a bullet pierced the uithangbord an inch from his head.
“On the roof!” he cried. Aryess swung the gun at his skull, knocking him to the ground, leapt over his unconcious body, and sprinted to the stairs.
“Blaze!” she shouted into her comm as she ran. “I need u to open the roof acces. Now!”
The door clicked open just as Aryess burst through it. She stood panting for a moment, feeling the pain of her wounds, the freeze of the winter air, before spotting the man standing on the edge of the roof. He was turned away from her, toward the view, hands clasped behind his back. His black three-piece suit contradicted the greying, slicked back hair.
“This. Ends. Now,” Aryess hissed.
“I could not agree more.”
------------------------------------
“Niccolo!”
“Do u have to yell so loud?”
“Where the hell is she?”
“Who?”
“Donʼt play dumb ass, dumb ass!”
Blaze sighed and checked his scope. A figure completely concealed in midnight black stood battle ready, yards away from one of the richest men in the country. “On the roof.”
“You sent Aryess door herself?”
“She has to do this on her own, Seeker,” the fire-caster paused, “Seeker?”
No response.
-------------------------------------
“An entire decade, and u havenʼt stopped even once to reconsider joining us?”
“I will never become one of u murderous low-lives,” the 17-year-old growled.
“Muderous? And what is it that u vigilantes call it when u kill a ʻbad guyʼ?”
He was stalling. Aryess knew it too. But she was going to say what needed to be zei for the last ten, excruciating years. “You killed my parents. u left my brothers and I orphans. I wondered so many times why they had died. For nothing.”
“Youʼre parents were traitors,” the man zei with venom dripping from his tongue. “Roxanne was one of the greatest assassins in the League of Shadows for nearly twelve years. So much blood and sweat and money was put into her upbringing and training. We went on missions together, I trusted her!” Anger heightened the volume of his voice. “Then she abandoned us for that scientist scum. They deserved everything they got. And you're just like her. The Angel of Vengeance, daughter to the Mistress of Revenge.”
“And Daemian?” Aryess yelled. "Did u know your precious League executed him? Do u even care that a little boy is now fatherless?" Aryess almost screamed the last word.
The man didn't verplaats from his position. A helicopter rose into view, churning the already windy air.
The Magistrate turned to face the girl who's parents he had ordered the execution of, who's brothers he had kidnapped -one who escaped, the other who he shot himself-, who left her nephew without a father, and who wasn't going to admit to any of it.
"None if this was my fault!" he yelled over the wind.
"You lying, murderous, greedy bastard!" Aryess screamed. Rage filled her. This man was going to get away.
The hero-turned-vigilante ran three steps and lunged at him. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Magistrate pulled out a charge-gun and shot 8-thousand bolts of electricity at her, causing her to fly back. He leapt back, onto the helicopter.
As it rose into the night sky, the Magistrate watched a man with fair hair and sky blue eyes bust through the roof access and catch his little sister's limp body right before she hit the gravel.
“Cʼmon, cʼmon, cʼmon,” Aryess muttered.
“Patience, kiddo,” Nic zei through the communication unit in her ear.
“Itʼs freezing up here!” She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to gain warmth.
“What did u expect? Youʼre 102 stories up and itʼs the middle of the bloody winter.”
“Oh.. yeah.” The teenager tried to focus on the spectacular view from the top, boven of Empire State Building. The city lights were a dazzling light toon of yellow, red, blue, white. She was grateful for the full head mask that tucked her long fair hair away and kept it from blowing in her face as the wind buffeted her. It could have been worse, she supposed, had the full body suit not covered every inch of skin, keeping the cold at bay.
“Iʼm ready,” Nic announced. Aryess nodded, even if he could not see her, and readied herself. “On three... One...”
“Three,” they zei in unison. The black clad girl sprinted to the edge of the building and leapt off the edge of the roof. She spread her arm and flaps of the wing-suit caught the drift and she glided on the current.
The airborne teen angled herself to the left. She could just catch the pounding of a round of bullets being shot off as she neared the skyscraper. Right before she crashed into the window pain, it shattered and she cruised through the gap. Her landing was clumsy, to say the least, but Aryess managed not to ram into the fiber glass wall.
Quickly, she slipped out of the wing-suit jacket, exposing fully her black body armor. It was not thick nor bulky and resembled a skin tight body suit, light enough not to slow her down. Which was perfect, for she needed her speed for what she aimed to accomplish.
A squad of security guards busted into the room. Aryess threw down the smoke bombs and used the cover to slip out of the room unseen while the men coughed and wheezed in the smoke.
The masked girl sprinted into the hallway and took turn left and right without hesitation. She knew exactly where she was going.
A burly man stood at attention outside the door she was aiming for. He shouted out once before a poisoned throwing mes embedded in his chest and he crumpled to the ground. She kicked the door in and was met door two meer guards.
Aryess spun a high kick into the first, then stabbed a dagger into the otherʼs chest. She ran through the seconde door and recoiled as a BANG! sounded and a bullet slammed into her protected torso. Her back hit the uithangbord and she had to eend and dive quickly out of the way as a stempel, punch slammed into the wall, leaving a fist sized hole. She backflipped to her feet and threw a mes at the hulking guard. He ducked out of the way, surprisingly quick for his size, and the blade hit another man.
The teenager swung around and blocked a stempel, punch with her forearm and proceeded to take out that guard, then two, three, five others. She stopped for a second, catching her breath, and didnʼt notice the largest and last man rush at her until he had tackled her through a wall.
She landed on her back gasping for air. The dark guard grabbed her door the throat and hauled her up off the ground. She put her hand around his wrist in desperation.
“Fiendish woman,” he grumbled, “you didnʼt really think u could defeat us all, did you?”
“Actually,” Aryess wheezed, “yes.” The hidden blade on her wrist shot through the goonʼs forearm. He screamed and dropped her to the ground. She landed on her hands and knees coughing. Quickly, she picked herself back up and glanced at the blood coating her hidden blade before retracting it with a flick of her wrist. “Where is he?” she demanded of her wounded component, who was now cowering and cradling his arm.
“I-I donʼt know wh-who u mean,” he stuttered.
Aryess scooped up the gun where a guard had dropped it and aimed it at the man. “Tell me, and maybe Iʼll spare your life. Maybe.”
"But I don't-"
The gun went off and a bullet pierced the uithangbord an inch from his head.
“On the roof!” he cried. Aryess swung the gun at his skull, knocking him to the ground, leapt over his unconcious body, and sprinted to the stairs.
“Blaze!” she shouted into her comm as she ran. “I need u to open the roof acces. Now!”
The door clicked open just as Aryess burst through it. She stood panting for a moment, feeling the pain of her wounds, the freeze of the winter air, before spotting the man standing on the edge of the roof. He was turned away from her, toward the view, hands clasped behind his back. His black three-piece suit contradicted the greying, slicked back hair.
“This. Ends. Now,” Aryess hissed.
“I could not agree more.”
------------------------------------
“Niccolo!”
“Do u have to yell so loud?”
“Where the hell is she?”
“Who?”
“Donʼt play dumb ass, dumb ass!”
Blaze sighed and checked his scope. A figure completely concealed in midnight black stood battle ready, yards away from one of the richest men in the country. “On the roof.”
“You sent Aryess door herself?”
“She has to do this on her own, Seeker,” the fire-caster paused, “Seeker?”
No response.
-------------------------------------
“An entire decade, and u havenʼt stopped even once to reconsider joining us?”
“I will never become one of u murderous low-lives,” the 17-year-old growled.
“Muderous? And what is it that u vigilantes call it when u kill a ʻbad guyʼ?”
He was stalling. Aryess knew it too. But she was going to say what needed to be zei for the last ten, excruciating years. “You killed my parents. u left my brothers and I orphans. I wondered so many times why they had died. For nothing.”
“Youʼre parents were traitors,” the man zei with venom dripping from his tongue. “Roxanne was one of the greatest assassins in the League of Shadows for nearly twelve years. So much blood and sweat and money was put into her upbringing and training. We went on missions together, I trusted her!” Anger heightened the volume of his voice. “Then she abandoned us for that scientist scum. They deserved everything they got. And you're just like her. The Angel of Vengeance, daughter to the Mistress of Revenge.”
“And Daemian?” Aryess yelled. "Did u know your precious League executed him? Do u even care that a little boy is now fatherless?" Aryess almost screamed the last word.
The man didn't verplaats from his position. A helicopter rose into view, churning the already windy air.
The Magistrate turned to face the girl who's parents he had ordered the execution of, who's brothers he had kidnapped -one who escaped, the other who he shot himself-, who left her nephew without a father, and who wasn't going to admit to any of it.
"None if this was my fault!" he yelled over the wind.
"You lying, murderous, greedy bastard!" Aryess screamed. Rage filled her. This man was going to get away.
The hero-turned-vigilante ran three steps and lunged at him. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Magistrate pulled out a charge-gun and shot 8-thousand bolts of electricity at her, causing her to fly back. He leapt back, onto the helicopter.
As it rose into the night sky, the Magistrate watched a man with fair hair and sky blue eyes bust through the roof access and catch his little sister's limp body right before she hit the gravel.
Devin the Cherubim
