Elliott furrowed his eyebrows the moment he heard Karen's words. He was just on his nightly walk when he heard his explosion.
The boy is the same boy whom he had fought just almost two and a half weeks ago. Back then only rage can be seen within those eyes.
But now there is a complex emotions within those gaze.
Fear, exhaustion and despair.
And then, a red blur sped passed the hero.
A punch landed on Karen's face, sending him flying. The dark face mask that he had formed using his aspect cracked upon contact.
Karen landed on the ground, his consciousness fading.
"It's Flashpoint!" Another civilian shouted in excitement the moment she sees the hero in red.
Flashpoint noticing the attention he is receiving smile towards the camera.
Only Elliott noticed Karen's figure slowly retreating into the background.
He wanted to give the boy a chase but stopped when he noticed the fire getting bigger.
Without waiting for anything, dark tendrils shot out from the dark mist covering his fist and he swung into the building.
Flashpoint naturally does not recognised him. Unlike most heroes, Dark Whip hates media attention.
"Civilian! stop right there!"
Dark Whip completely ignored him.
A few miles away inside of an alleyway, Karen's figure slumped against a wall. Karen's eyes landed on the poster.
Another poster of Crimson Witch.
The United Federation of America or the U.F.C for shorts was the first country to introduce the hero system to the world. It was because of this that despite having lost much of their influence, the country is still influential. Despite no longer being a superpower like their predecessor that had once known as the greatest country on earth before the Great Cataclysm, they still has somewhat of a presence globally.
Their heroes are well known as the strongest heroes on earth.
Crimson Witch being a hero halted from the country naturally is well known globally.
Like a child seeking warmth, Karen slumped his body against the poster. The image of the burning buildings and the image of the boy's body blown to pieces from the explosion overlapped with the image of a burning mansion.
Karen didn't even notice a figure approaching him, mind too occupied with the scenes of the past.
The figure pressed the nozzle of a gun against his forehead, forcing Karen's head to be titled back.
The boy's eyes met the man's cold gaze.
"Just over almost a week ago you've caused some trouble for us. Unexpectedly here you are crying." The man sneered.
What followed after is a gunshot that revebrated across the alley.
A while later, a teenager in dark sleeveless turtleneck ran into the alley.
The teenager is none of other than Makoto.
The moment he stepped into the alleyway, Makoto froze.
There stood Karen over the unconscious body of a man. Blood stained the poster of the heroines on wall.
On the ground are pieces of the gun the man had just held while in Karen's hand is the magazine.
Karen's gaze was blank as he look at the blood stained poster of Crimson Witch. If he had been a second too late then it would have had been his blood staining the poster.
Just seconds before the man could fully pull the trigger, Karen had reached out for the gun. Grabbing the gun, he swiftly dismembered it before smashing the man's head against the wall.
Karen glanced at the redhead.
Makoto instantly froze.
Karen's eyes had completely lost it's luster. If before his eyes albeit empty, has that gleams that showed emotions. But now his eyes does not shows any of signs of emotions.
Karen turned, approaching the redhead. As he walked, his fingers pressed against the magazine, pulling the bullets out one by ine with each step. In the end, only one bullet remain. One of which he placed inside his pocket.
"Karen, we need to get away right now." Makoto said in a panic, "The heroes are after your head and remember the bikers we've fought over a week ago? Turns out they are members of a syndicate and they are also after your head."
Karen completely ignored him and walked passed without saying anything.
"So it's them who caused the explosion." Karen said absentmindedly.
Just now, he had completely reduced his amygdala activity while also releasing controlled bursts of adrenaline and norepinephrine, sharpening his reflexes and focus. Neurotransmitter had been also been forcefully regulated, stopping dopamine and serotonin drops that could cause emotional collapse. In addition his heart rate and blood flow had been adjusted to maintain combat efficiency despite the emotional shock.
As of right now, he had completely 'turned down' his emotions. Now without much emotions getting in his way, his mind is akin to a supercomputer. Processing every bits of details and informations he knew.
It was too much of a coincidence.
But why?
Then Karen realise the reason why.
In this city, or at least in Undercity, the laws are nothing but fancy words on paper.
Here, much like what Makoto had once told him, a lawless place where the strong devour the weak. An ecosystem of villainy.
Despite being a lawless part of the city, many sees this place as a way to make a name for themselves.
Each are eyeing for every opportunity.
And Karen having disrupted their mission just a week ago naturally caused them to be dissatisfied with him. As for how Nicardol is tied to all of this, Karen doesn't know. But that man is already in his soon to be killed list.
The sound of engines roared fiercely can be heard. In the distance,three individuals can be seen
Makoto's face paled.
He recognised those bikes.
The bikers stopped not far from them. In their hands, they all held different forms of weapons.
Eyes filled with killing intent stared at the two boys.
One if the men stood out.
"So, these two are the idio-" The man wasn't able to finish his words when Karen's fist had already landed on his helmet.
The sound of the helmet cracking can be heard as Karen grabbed the man by the head and smashing him against the ground.
The man tried to fight back but the moment he tried to do so Karen had already swiftly pulled out a dagger from underneath his coat.
Stab!
The disgusting sound of flesh tearing can be heard as the dagger was latched into the man's shoulder. The man was mmediately pinned to the ground, screaming with a dagger piercing his shoulder.
Makoto cringed hearing the blood curdling scream.
The others reacted. Pulling out a gun from his pocket,he aimed the gun at the boy.
The sound of gunshot resounded, silencing the entire alley.
What followed soon after is the screaming of the man, "My arm! My arm!"
"Oh damn, getting a cybernetic arm would cost a lot in this economy." Makoto can't help but felt bad for the dude.
Karen had inexplicably grabbed the man's hand before redirecting the gun to be aimed towards the other member of the gangs.
Guns in 25th century are highly advanced. The usage of bullets are considered illegal and may as well be considered a war crime. The guns these days mostly used energy or high concentrated blast of air.
That is to say, bullets haven't fully gone extinct. In fact, the technology revolving around bullet based guns had improved greatly.
In the outside world, bullets are a sign of status for those related to the underworld. In Undercity, bullets are considered as a necessity.
Bullets in the modern world, is strong enough to tore off through a person's limbs. The gun might be small, but the power it carries is strong enough to tear through an entire limb.
The man holding the gun watched in horror as his companion's entire limb was detached from his body.
Grabbing the man's hand, Karen pulled him closer before his fist connected with the man's face.
The man's body was thrown back a few steps bsck but Karen still hold firmly to his arm. With another pull, the man's body was pulled towards the boy and the boy's fist smashed against his head multiple times until the man was fully knocked back.
Karen's attention turn to the man who's entire arm had been detached from his body. As of right now he is kneeling on the floor in pain while clutching to the spot where his arm used to be.
Seeing this, Karen approaches the man.
The man panicked, trying to run away only to have the back of his collar grabbed by the boy.
Seeing the bloody mess where the man's arm used to be, Karen's eyes remain indifferent. His hand reached out, grabbing the still opnen wound.
Upon contact, the man can feel extreme pain on his wound followed by an intense burning heat. He screamed in even more agony.
In reality, upon contact with the man's wound, Karen's molecules had already vibrated at a high speed. This resulted in his arm becoming a literal fire, burning the wound and stopping the bleeding.
"Noisy," Without much emotion Karen smacked the man out cold.
He turns to the leader who is still pinned to the floor.
Sensing Karen's gaze, the leader panicked even more. He had seen Karen's actions and realize how ruthless this boy is.
Karen grasped the dagger and pushed it deeper.
The man tried to scream only to have Karen literally stuffed his entire fist into his mouth. His entire fist immediately melted, filling the man's mouth and hardening into a soft metal.
Then, under the light of the streetlights, Karen pulled the dagger off of the man's shoulder. Still, because he wasn't gentle with his actions, this only caused the man to be in more pain.
In an attempt to hold his pain off, the man gritted his teeth, biting hardly on Karen's fist that had filled his mouth. It can be understand just how much pain 5ue man is in.
Not that Karen cares. In fact, the moment he sees the pained expression on the man's face, his eyes had gone colder. Without any consideration for the man's pain, Karen's molecules vibrate at high speed once more, generating enough heat to burn the wound off.
"I'm sure you know what I want." Seeing the man's bleeding had stopped, Karen whispered right into his ears.
The man nodded with tears flowing down his cheeks. Whatever words he wanted to say only came out as a muffled sobs.