It was raining by the time the funeral was over with. The lot was devoid of life, save perhaps the single young man standing over a fresh new grave, flowers decorating its abode. The headstone was hardly anything special, but it was more than enough to make the man feel some sense of relief. He had been worried that, because of the circumstances, his brother wouldn't get a proper burial.

His fears were unfounded.

Even so, however, there was still hate burning in his heart. Numbly, and uncaring of the rain that pelted his body, he gingerly touched the grave's headstone, messy hair covering his eyes. "Don't worry, little brother..." he promised to his dearly departed sibling quietly, hand shaking. "I'll make them pay."

For a brief moment, one could make out glowing eyes from beneath the bangs of his hair.

"I will make this world pay for what it has done..."

...Revelation.

The word bears numerous meanings. A dramatic reveal done in spectacular fashion. A plot twist in a movie or novel. Today, the word bears a great significance to the course of history.

It is the name of those who were shunned by society, who values power. It is the name of those who would challenge the order of the world.

And its agents of chaos are those who will reduce this world to ash. The Black Royals. The Aces of Spade.

...the Four Horsemen.

An UnOrdinary Story:

"Testament"

EPISODE II:
Mall Mayhem

The day after Drake's enrollment into Wellston, the weekend arrived in time for John to prepare for his outing. He took a good portion of his morning to apply gel in his hair and find something somewhat decent. It wasn't a date, so he didn't see any real reason to dress all fancy. Drake, on the other hand, would tell him otherwise. Then again, he was nowhere near as bad as Erica. That girl would sooner dump his ass in a ditch if she found out he tried wearing something dingy.

'I doubt Clay would say anything, so long as I was squeaky clean.' John thought with a hint of nostalgia. 'It's been so long since any of us hanged out... Maybe I should give them a call sometime?' As he threw on a shirt, his cell went off. "Oh, that must be Sera." Walking over to his desk, he snatched it and answered the call. "Hello? Sera?"

[I don't know any Sera, but considering that's a girl's name, should I be concerned you have a girlfriend now, Johnny?]

John's eyes went wide. "E-Erica?!" In his shock, he nearly dropped his phone, playing a game of hot potato to keep a hold of it.

[That's me~! Everyone's favorite girl~!] The girl chirped cheerfully.

"Wh-why are you calling me?"

[Mou...is that the treatment I get? You never called in the past couple years! I just had to reach you when Drake told me he found you again! It's like you dropped off the face of the planet! You wouldn't meet with us or anything!] She whined.

"I-I'm sorry!"

[No. I won't accept your apology. Not until you hang out with me!]

"Huh?!"

Seraphina stared blankly at John, as if silently judging him, before she finally spoke. "I know you said she was a model, but damn."

"Thank you~!" Erica smiled cheerfully. She was dressed in a pair of jean shorts with knee socks. She wore a white tank top with a black cardigan over it. Despite the jacket, her figure left very little to the imagination. "It's so nice to meet you! I'm so pleased what John finally got himself a girlfriend!"

"She-she's not my girlfriend!" John spluttered, cheeks cherry red. "She's my f-friend! Dammit, Erica, you promised no teasing!"

Erica smirked, wagging her finger. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, little Johnny. I told you I wouldn't embarrass you! I said nothing about teasing~" She then returned her attention to Sera, holding out her hand. "Anyway, I'm Erica! I'm a Junior at Maxwell Private High School, but I'll be transferring to Wellston near the end of the month. It's nice to meet you!"

"You as well." Sera greeted politely with a smile. "And wait, you said you were transferring?"

"Mm! My caretaker got a new job, so he's been thinking about moving a bit closer to his new work place. So I'll be transferring schools. It's kind of a hassle, but if it means I can keep an eye on Drake and John, it's a sacrifice worth enduring."

John pouted. "Oh, come on. I'm not that bad."

"I beg to differ. Speaking of Drake, how'd he do on his first day?" she asked curiously, slipping her hands into her pockets. "No fighting or anything?"

"No. Not really. Well, aside from someone trying to trip him up in class. The guy didn't get away with it though." John said honestly.

"Well, aside from that jerk, I'm glad. I hate it when my friends get hurt."

John involuntarily shivered. She spoke the absolute truth. And he didn't dare think what would happen once she came to Wellston. Assuming Drake hasn't told her what happened, she was going to react very badly.

Very. Verybadly.

"Anyway... Let's get this shopping trip started!"

"Remind me again." Drake deadpanned, standing a fair distance away from the three while Clay sat on a bench next to him, fidgeting and twitching as if being here was putting him on edge. "Why the hell are we here?" Also, will you knock it off?! It's bad enough your scrub mask and gloves are making people look at us weirdly, but its another thing entirely when you're looking ready to murder someone!"

"I can't help it!" Clay hissed. "Everything is just so-so filthy! How in the hell can people this?!"

"Because we can stand a little dirt. Now, seriously, why are we here? All I see is Erica hanging out with John and maybe later interrogating him when they're alone."

Clay sighed. For the sake of the mission the Boss gave them, he would withstand this. He would. But when he got back, he was going to take a very long shower. Just being in this space made him feel dirty. "Somewhere in this area, there's a vendor who makes a small living by measuring people's abilities. According to one of our Tenshi, there's a strong possibility that they're involved with EMBER, or with the NXGen Research Facility."

"NXGen?" Drake asked. "Ain't those guys the ones looking into why people have super powers?"

"The very same. Recently, they've been working on a rather peculiar project. As to what it is, we don't have an idea what it could be. But it was obviously important enough for an EMBER operative to try and break into the research facility to try and steal it."

"No shit?" Drake asked. If EMBER was involved, then it had to be something serious. "Did they steal it?"

"They tried. And failed. However, the fact that he broke into the facility was worrisome, so they transferred the project to another facility. The Tenshi suspect a leak of some kind."

"Okay, so... How does the vendor work into all this?"

Clay's eyes curved upward. "The Tenshi did a little investigation. The people who he's measured, and are considered high tier, have either gone missing...or severely crippled to the point they're hospitalized and in NXGen care, with their abilities being mysteriously hampered."

"Seriously?! Does that mean this guy's...?!" Before Drake could finish, Clay raised a hand.

"We don't know for sure. However, there's a good chance he may be affiliated with EMBER. The fact he generally measures high tiered users somehow fits their agenda of targeting high tiered ability users."

"But if what you said is true, then how the hell were they even found and attacked?"

"Apparently, he gives out prizes to people who scored high enough. I bet you that those 'prizes' are tracking devices of some sort. And since we have three high-tiers, and who knows how many others here in one space, it's best if we keep an eye out for them."

"I get it..." Drake hummed. "If either of those three gets a prize, we'll have Erica look into it. And if it does have a tracker in it-"

"-we take the vendor and let Erica have at him. Her ability is the best suited for interrogation, after all."

Drake snorted. "Best suited my ass. She's gotta be stronger than everyone in our fancy group, except the Boss. So long as you're in her line of sight, you are fucked six ways from Sunday." He then sent a sly grin to his friend. "Of course, in your case, it's quite literal in a whole different context."

Clay gave Drake a glare. "Do you want to find your head separated from your shoulders? Including your 'third leg'?"

"Whoa now! Let's not get hasty!" Drake backed away as far from him as possible.

"Then shut up and focus. We need to make sure the vendor is cut off from escape. Make sure no one interferes with the mission. Discreetly."

"Alright..." Drake sighed, scratching the back of his head. He was relieved that he managed to dodge that bullet. Normally, decapitation could kill a guy, but when done by Clay's hands, well...the feeling and overall reality of the situation was even more horrifying. After all, even though your neck wasn't on your body anymore, you were still capable of breathing. And seeing. And talking. Overall, it just felt scary as fuck and he really didn't want to have a repeat of that kind of situation anytime soon.

Still, he had to admit, he was a bit curious to see how this date was going to go.

It hadn't even been ten minutes before John wanted to dig himself into a hole and die.

"You're kidding." Seraphina was stuck between trying her hardest not to bust a gut laughing and losing to the urge. "He actually did that?"

"If you think that's bad, maybe I should tell you about the time he and Clay got stuck in the closet that one time! Let me tell you, it was all sorts of-"

"Erica, please stop." John interrupted, mortified to the point where he couldn't even look at the two girls in the eye, face buried in his hands. "Please? I don't know if I can live with this kind of shame!"

Seraphina wanted to start a conversation with Erica to get to know her better. And much to the male teen's horror, she broke the ice by sharing one of his most embarrassing moments. Then she told her even more stories that made him want to crawl under a rock!

And the worst part was that she promised not to embarrass him! He should've known she'd never agree to that. She practically lived on teasing others. Back in his time in New Bostin, she took great pleasure in teasing and flashing a bit of skin towards Austin. Poor guy looked ready to pass out. Of course, Drake and he both knew that she was mostly doing it to rile up Clay. And it only worked in the mildest definition. At best, he was only annoyed, but rather than out of jealousy, it was because she was making Austin look like a poor fool.

'I hope he's doing okay.' John thought with a grimace. He never treated the guy with much respect. Hell, he was practically his punching bag. In the present day, he regretted treating him like that, especially considering that despite everything he had done, from ridiculing and beating him up, Austin always stuck by his side. 'I wonder how things at New Bostin are.' Ever since Seraphina inadvertently reminded him of his own past, he wondered if the school had recovered from the shame he delivered on it.

And speaking of his past, he casted a glance at Erica, who was animatedly chatting away with Seraphina, swapping stories and such. He thought back to the trunk with photographs of happier days and the leather jacket that was given to him as a present for discovering his ability.

'It couldn't be them, could it?' he thought, frowning. 'Beating so many high-tiers means you'd have to be God-tier. And there are only three other people I know of who could take down so many Royals, especially if one of their opponents was Mary.' He knew who Mary was. Back during his Tyrant days, she was an upstart who constantly needed to be reminded who was stronger. They had only met on few occasions, and each meeting had been one-sided beatdown. 'But, there's no way it could be them, right?'

"We're going to change the world." he remembered them saying to him. "Once we hone our Abilities, we're going to make the world see us for who we are, not what we should be. And that includes everyone else. Even Cripples!"

John never understood the full meaning behind that sentence, but if they really were these "Aces of Spade," then...

'Maybe I'm reading too much into this. It has to be a coincidence.'

He shook his head, banishing the thoughts from his mind before he noticed that Seraphina was walking towards a nearby vendor. "Where's she going?"

"Going to get us some drinks." Erica told him. "Weren't you paying attention?"

"Sorry. Got lost in thought."

Erica raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "Whatever, little brother. Actually, now that Sera's gone for the moment..." John suddenly felt his skin turn ice cold as Erica rounded on him, eyes narrowed and glowing while her fingers pinched at his cheeks. "What. The fuck. Were you thinking?!"

"Ow!" he cried. "Ehricka! Thaf fhurhts!"

"Tough shit! Seriously, the actual fuck?!" She released her grip on him, leaving his cheeks stinging red while she put her hands on her hips, glaring at him to the point where he wished the ground had swallowed him whole. "Drake told me about what you've been doing in school! You seriously told them you were a Cripple?!" John winced. He shoudlve known that Drake would blab that part to Erica. He should've made him promise not to tell. Because unlike her, he actually keeps his promises.

But there was now no way he can get out of this mess.

"Well?!" She expected an answer.

"...I'm sorry?" was all he could offer weakly.

Erica had a blank expression on her face. Where one may think the silence was relieving due to a lack of an outburst, John quickly grew terrified and tried to run.

Tried being the key word, as her hands shot out to grab his cheeks again before he could flee.

"Sorry isn't gonna cut it!"

"Ouch! Sthop, plheaze!"

"Sorry I'm late." Erica let go of his cheeks, making him whine as he tended to his now sore pieces of flesh while Seraphina approached, holding three cups of refreshments. "The guy was taking a while. His machine was kind of on the fritz, so...John? What happened to your cheeks?"

"N-nothing..." he said, weeping while Erica looked utterly innocent. Someday, he'd pay her back for this. But for now, he would live in fear, especially since she was now aware of his circumstances.

And for that reason, he dreaded for the safety of everyone in Wellston. Hell hath no fury like a woman with an Ability that could turn your brain into mush.

The festivities continued on, with Erica utterly dominating the arcade before they encountered a small vendor. One who was currently facing down the wrath of an older woman who looked utterly livid.

"This is an outrage!" The woman snapped. "There is no way my ability is that low! I demand you check again!"

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am..." The vendor tried to placate her to no avail. "But those were the exact numbers I read."

"Well I call this whole thing a sham! Give me back my money!"

Sera frowned. "What's going on?"

"I think it's an Ability Measuring Vendor." John said, looking at the scene with a frown. "They're run by people who can measure the strength of your ability. Kind of like a sensor. I don't really know how it all works, though. From the look of it, though, I'm guessing that woman must've been told her Ability is weak."

"Looks like." Erica wrinkled her nose. "What a racket. And today was going so good too."

"Should we step in? He kind of looks like he's in trouble."

Seraphina shrugged. "Only if you want to." she said before smirking. "Just don't expect us to help you if she tries to blow you into kingdom come."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." John rolled his eyes, knowing full well Seraphina was joking. The male of the trio approached the livid woman and cowering man. "Hey, can you please stop? You're causing a racket for everyone else."

"And who do you think YOU are?" She snapped back at him. "Can't you see I'm busy?!"

"Hey, I'm not the one causing a scene." John said, holding his hands up. "Can't you just calm down? It's just a reading."

"A FALSE reading, you mean!" She pointed at the man running the booth. "This little swindler is telling me my power ability level is mid tier when I'm obviously elite tier!"

"So, you're causing a scene over a ten dollar refund? Aren't you just overreacting?"

"How dare you speak to me that way?!" Now her anger was directed at John while Sera and Erica stood beside him. The woman raised her arm as her eyes flowed. "Brats like you should keep their mouths shut!"

'...Ah, crap.' John summed up in his head.

He really should've expected this to happen. Still, should an adult really be saying stuff like this? They were supposed to set examples, weren't they? Putting on a small grin, he shrugged. "Go right ahead." he challenged her, making her eyes grow wider. Seraphina choked, staring at John as if he were insane while Erica smiled thinly. "I mean, if you attack me, I'll have three witnesses who say you attacked me first. Wouldn't that look pretty bad for you, I mean? Attacking a minor out in the middle of public?"!

The woman grit her teeth. How dare this upstart speak to her like that! "You asked for it you damn brat!" A mass of energy gathered in her hand. She raised her arm to throw it only to be stopped by another voice.

"What is going on here?!" One of the mall security officers approached the ruckus. Seraphina breathed a small sigh of relief. Erica, however, looked at the mall officer with a hint of scrutiny. The officer then saw the vendor. "You?! Didn't I tell you to leave the last time I was here?!"

Sep 16The poor guy recoiled. "H-hey, I'm just trying to make an honest living!" he said as he shrunk in his seat. "Not my fault people make a racket because they got pissed!"

"And you're nothing more than a scam artist!" the woman snapped angrily.

John bit back a scowl. "And that justifies you trying to attack a minor and harass someone?" he said, causing the mall officer to look at him. Then he turned to the woman, who gritted her teeth. "Look, let's say he did screw up on your reading. What's it matter? There are plenty of people who can read your Ability level!"

"Shut it, you brat! Or do you want to-"

"Hey." Seraphina looked at Erica in surprise. The cheeriness in her voice was gone, replaced by something else. Something she couldn't quite describe. She was still smiling, but it didn't look real. It felt fake. And her eyes. She swore she saw them glowing. "Does it really matter what the situation is, mister officer?" The mall officer looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Putting aside the harassment she was giving the poor guy trying to make a living, she was threatening a minor with her Ability. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that be considered attempted assault? Especially a severe one, since someone was going to use their Ability?"

The woman looked at Erica with glaring eyes, teeth gnashed together. John could swear he heard them starting to crack beneath the pressure she was putting on them. "Y-you! I did no such thing!"

"Oh, bullshit. We both saw you threatening John just now." Erica retorted coolly. "And I'm willing to bet the crowd of people you drew in with your racket will say the same thing." The woman's eyes widened as she looked around. True enough, there was a sizable group gathered around them, looking on as if having witnessed a car wreck. The model smirked and then looked back at the officer. "Your problem with the vendor aside, shouldn't this woman be arrested for attempted assault with her Ability? Or at the very least, questioned?"

"You're absolutely right, miss." The officer nodded, his eyes glazed over slightly. He then grabbed the culprit by the arm. "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me ma'am."

"Wha-?! Unhand me!" She struggled, but his grip was like iron.

"No can do. Not only were you disturbing the peace by attempting to use your ability in public like this, but you attempted to assault a minor with it just for trying to stop you. Please don't make this any worse for yourself." He then gave the vendor another glare. "I'll let you off the hook this time, but if I catch you here again...!"

"Y-yes, sir..." the vendor nodded dumbly. The mall officer grunted before he pulled the woman away, who was struggling to break free, obviously still feeling as if she were in the right. Shortly afterwards, the vendor sighed and reclined in his chair. "Whew... Saved by the bullet this time." He looked up at the three and smiled. "Thanks. Normally that guy's a real hardass. Half expected him to try and make me give her a refund. And sorry you three got mixed up in all that."

"It's fine. That woman was acting like a hardass. You looked like you needed some help. No big deal." John shrugged.

"Well, I appreciate what you all did for me. As thanks, how about I give you three readings? Free of charge." He offered as he gestured to the sign next to him. "If your reading is high enough, you get a free prize. What do you say?"

John naturally declined, holding up his hands. "I'm fine, dude. I'm a Cripple. I know my reading."

"Whoa, really? Damn. You've got guts." the vendor said with wide eyes, impressed by his willingness to stand up to someone like that woman earlier, despite being "normal". "How 'bout you two?"

"Nah, I'm good." Erica shrugged. "I already had my Ability measured about a few weeks ago. Sorry to disappoint. How 'bout you, Sera?"

"Sure." the girl shrugged as she extended a hand. "Not like it'll hurt or anything."

"Alright, let's get started then."

"Smart move." Drake hummed. "So, he the one?"

"Based on the phone information out Tenshi obtained, yes. Physical description and demeanor fit perfectly." Clay answered as they hid from view behind a pillar.

"Perfect. Once they're all done, we'll move in. Gotta say, Erica using the officer to arrest that lunatic was a nice touch."

"It was quite obvious she would, given how she was threatening John." Clay responded with disinterest. "That being said... If I had been in her position, I would have separated her arm from her torso. There is such a thing as personal space."

"She looked pretty violent to me." the other teen responded before he went back to watching the scene play out. The vendor's eyes glowed as a soft aura circled around his and Seraphina's hand. After a minute or so, however, the vendor had a look of surprise, smiling before handing her a small stuffed bear toy. "A teddy bear...? Yo, Clay! How much you wanna bet something's in that thing?"

"I'll have Erica look into it. With her Ability, even someone like the Ace of Wellston can't resist. I imagine John would disapprove, though." Clay said as he stood up, tugging at his gloves. "Alternatively, we can go in and ask the man himself. Since the Boss appointed you field leader for this task, what do you suggest?"

Drake folded his arms, tilting his head. What would be the best course of action? Assuming they were wrong and this guy was innocent, the poor bastard was going to be scarred for life. Their interrogation technique was not exactly the most pleasant. Erica using her Ability to look into the bear seemed to be the safest bet.

...but then again, their target was already in sight. It would be a shame if they just let him go without giving him a proper greeting. "Let's head on in." he decided with a wicked smile. "How should we do this? I drain him and you make sure he doesn't squeal while you chop off a limb while nobody looks? Or just go right for the usual?"

"The first option is the safest this time around. There are too many witnesses for the second method."

"Then let's go. They're leaving now." He pointed out to see Erica, John, and Seraphina leave the booth. Due to the commotion earlier, there was no one else in line.

The two males approached the vendor, who was surprised by Clay's attire. "C-Can I help you two?"

"If you can, yeah." Drake put on a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head. "And sorry about my friend's looks. He's a major germophobe. Guy can't set one foot outside his apartment without freaking out about how dirty everything is. You can read a person's Ability, right?"

"Yeah. I was just about ready to close up shop, but I have enough time for one more." the vendor nodded. "Want me to measure your ability?"

"Sure. Have at it, boss." Drake held out his hand, which the vendor took. "By the way, you mind if I ask ya a question while you work?"

"What is it?"

"...how many people did you kill, using this method?"

The vendor's eyes widened in alarm as he looked up at his client, no longer sporting a smile of any kind. Drake's expression was one of cold indifference. "Wh-what did you say...?"

"You heard him right." Clay interjected. "Measuring random strangers powers and giving them a prize if their strong enough? Seems awfully biased toward the stronger tiers of society. Especially if the prize is a simple teddie bear they can get at the toy store cheaper than your prices. But then again, as cute as the bear is, a cheap, harmless stuffed toy would be a good hiding place for a tracker to keep tabs on them, correct?"

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about." He tried to end the conversation. "If you'll excuse me-" but before he could pull away, Drake had him in an iron grip as his eyes glowed. The vendor could feel his energy gradually slip away.

"Ah-ah-ah...it's rude to leave a conversation unfinished. But given how you reacted, my friends questions must be on the mark. Now, let me ask another before you answer my first. Who are you working for? EMBER? Or NXGen? And don't bother screaming...No one will notice. Besides, I doubt you have the energy to do so anyway..." To the truth of his statement, there was not a single person within range. And those further away paid no attention to what was happening at the booth. Each one had a dazed expression.

"I-I don't-"

Clay walked over, sliding behind the table and grabbed his shin. His eyes glowed. In the next second, the vendor felt the weight on his leg suddenly lessen. Looking down, his eyes widened in horror, now suddenly finding his leg now on the ground, and what was left was reduced to something as meager as a stump. However, there was no blood. In fact, it didn't even look as if it had been severed.

"My ability comes quite in handy for things as mundane as this." Clay said, his voice low. "Oh, and if your limb is separated from your body for a certain period of time, I can't re-attach it. At best, you have maybe four, five minutes. So talk."

"O-o-okay!" the vendor whimpered. "I-I'll talk. I'm the biggest coward you've ever met!"

"Hm. That's quite a claim."

"It's true! I-I've already wet my pants!"

Clay's eyebrow twitched, now tempted to separate the man from his lower torso. Drake, however, snickered. "Congrats. You made it into the top ten." he said sarcastically. "Now start talking. Who do you work for? Why target high-tiers? If it were NXGen, I imagine it would be for research, but EMBER isn't outside of the realm of possibility. It would be best to nip any odds of powerful high-tiers going vigilante in the bud, am I right? So, let's hear it, my man. Who do you work for?"

"B-both!" Clay and Drake looked at one another before they looked at one another in confusion before they turned back to the vendor, who was trembling. "S-some of the higher ups at NXGen made a deal with E-EMBER. I-in exchange for helping them f-fund their research, t-they f-field test their products when they g-go after someone! T-that's all I know! I swear!"

"Somehow, I don't believe you. You know, rather than worry about missing a limb, you should be worried about your health." Drake told him with a sadistic look in his eyes. "At the rate this is going, you'll be drained of all your life energy before your leg is permanently separated."

The vendor's eyes widened in panic. "O-only a few people in NXGen k-know about the deal! All the others are-are locked out of the loop. They just w-work on their projects w-without anyone else knowing."

"And how does all this tie in to individual's abilities being hampered or dampened to the point where they're Cripples?"

"I-it's part of what we got from NXGen! Not all of us are high tiers! We can't go after vigilantes on our own, so we were given stuff to weaken their abilities!"

"So you do have means of suppressing their powers. Good to know. That explains why all those high tiers were killed off so easily by you cowards. But for what end? I can get EMBER for targeting vigilantes, but what does NXGen profit from this?"

"D-Data! They get data of how their stuff works and use that for their ability research! That's all I know, I swear!"

Drake looked at Clay. "What do you think?"

"...he's telling the truth." he said after a moment. The vendor breathed a heavy sigh of relief when Drake let go of his hand. He felt so weak. "So, how do you want to handle the 'other' problem?"

Wait, what?

"Well, except for you, he's seen my face." Drake sighed, running a hand through his head. "Only downside to all this, really. But, hey. Who's gonna miss a piece of shit like this?"

Clay hummed in agreement while the vendor immediately panicked. He tried to pull away, even though he only had one leg, but the masked teen was faster. His hand ran across his neck. In the next moment, he felt the world suddenly become twisted. The view changed. Suddenly, he was on the ground, but he felt so weightless.

"W-what?" he gasped. Why was it so hard to breathe all of a sudden?

"Fucking hell." Drake grimaced. "I never get used to that."

"Really? This is what disturbs you? On a normal basis, you drain your targets of life energy until they're unconscious or dead. And your definition of fun is to beat them with a baseball bat when they're down."

"Yeah. But mines fun. Yours is kinda gross. Look at him gasping."

"What do you expect? I separated his head from his body, after all."

The vendor's eyes widened.

"Actually, now that you bring that up, how the fuck is he still breathing? Doesn't decapitation usually end with you dying seconds later? He's still kicking."

"I restructured his head so that his brain can still function for a few minutes at most. While has no lungs or heart to pump oxygenated blood into it, he's not bleeding out. So he has more time to remain conscious and aware."

"Damn dude...you're scary."

"Well with our occupation, it comes with the title. But enough goofing off. We need to clean up. Erica won't keep everyone away and hypnotized forever."

The vendor saw the two leering down at him. If he could he would have gulped. "P-please..."

"Ah, shut it. You brought this on yourself."

"I'm so sorry!"

"Erica, seriously. It's fine."

"B-but I ruined your bear!"

"It's a cheap bear. Besides, it's not really my sort of thing anyway."

John stared as the two girls went back and forth. After leaving the mall, Erica asked Sera if she could see the bear. And not even ten seconds after holding it, she tripped and the stuffed animal flew out of her hands and landed in the middle of the road...where it was promptly run over by several speeding cars.

It was now promptly roadkill.

Now he was watching his old friend apologize to his new friend over and over.

"C'mon, Erica..." John laughed nervously. He had never seen her like this before. It was rather strange to see, honestly. "It was an accident. Besides, like Seraphina said, it wasn't really that big of a thing anyway."

"B-but..."

"I said it fine. Seriously. Don't worry about it. I was probably gonna give it to Remi or my room mate anyway." Seraphina added. Then again, she was fairly sure Elaine would find it in bad taste. Girl had a picky taste in "cute." Remi, on the other hand, would accept it in a heartbeat if it had a thunderbolt symbol somewhere on its presence. "So you can stop with the waterworks. If you do, I'll treat you and John to some food back at my place."

Erica promptly cheered while John's eyes widened. "Your place?" he asked, suddenly finding his throat dry. "Isn't your roommate Elaine?"

"Yeah, she is. Why are you... Oh." Seraphina's eyes widened, then promptly slapped herself in the face. She should have remembered that her friend hadn't exactly held John in the best of regards. Low-tiers were tolerable to her, as she even treated a few of them with respect. John, however, wasn't worth a modicum of respect in her eyes, as he didn't possess any power whatsoever. "Crap, that's right. Sorry."

"It-it's fine." John waved a hand in dismissal. "Why don't you treat Erica? Might make for some great bonding between you two. After all, you got to know Drake."

"Are you sure, John?"

"I'm sure."

Erica sighed. "And there you go, acting like a third wheel." she said, palming her forehead. "Why must you be so hard to deal with? You do realize its because of your thick skull that you can't find a girlfriend, right?" John spluttered, face turning red. She ignored his reaction and instead cast a glance at Seraphina, who tilted her head. "Actually, let me rephrase that. How in the world have you two not hooked up yet? I mean, really, Sera's a knockout. Ten out of ten."

"E-Erica! Can you please stop?!"

"What? I'm just stating facts here!"

"...you do realize the 'knockout' is standing right here, right?" Seraphina asked, finding herself slightly annoyed.

"Oh, I'm well aware. Just wanted to make it obvious to the boy that's as dense as osmium over here." She snaked an arm around John and began to pull his cheeks again.

"Stahp Thahd!"

Erica then let go of his cheeks, leaving him to tend to them again. "But I'll have to pass on the invite. I'm still in the process of moving all my crap to our new place."

"That's a shame." Seraphina said apologetically. She really wanted to get to know the girl more. Especially after all the juicy stories she told her about John. "See you later, then."

"Sure thing!"

The two then watched Seraphina leave, her back vanishing into the distance. Once she was out of sight, John, being the gentlemen he'd like to think he was, offered to escort Erica back home, much to her delight.

That being said, however, there was another reason behind this.

"...hey, Erica."

"What's up, Johnny?" Erica turned around, walking backwards with her hands clasped behind her back and a cheshire grin present. "Thinking about asking me for advice on how to ask Seraphina on a date?"

His cheeks flushed, but he shook his head. Now was hardly the time for teasing. He sucked in a breath, trying his best to compose himself. "...do you remember that gift you gave me, back on the day when I learned how to use my Ability? When you gave it to me, you and the guys said that you were going to change the world."

"We were. Why'd you ask?"

"Seraphina told me last night about how there was a group who took down Royals from several schools all at once. One of which being the Queen of New Bostin." he said. Erica was still smiling, but the way she smiled had changed subtly. Enough for him to notice, and confirm his suspicions. Even so, he continued. "And that the guy who did it was wearing a jacket with a scale on it."

"Come on, John. Don't beat around the bush." Erica waved a finger at him. "Just ask me the question: Are we the Black Royals? The Aces of Spade? Well, to answer your question..."

Her smile widened, revealing her sharp canines.

"...yes. We are."

"...why?"

"...Is that it? You got your answer, and that is all you can ask? Why we're doing this? Why we gave you that jacket?" She questioned him. He could only nod.

"Hm, where should I start..." She hummed. "How about long ago...even before we met. None of us had abilities when we were young. We were late bloomers. And the others reminded us of our powerlessness everyday. At a young age, we saw the ugly side of this world. Beaten. Bullied. Trampled. All because we didn't have the power to stand up for ourselves. I'm sure you know this quite well. During our lowest moments, we all lost something because of the way this world is. And there was nothing we could do. What we lost would never come back. And those bastards kept laughing from their high horses while we suffered."

She shook her head, letting the memories sink in. Her hands were balled to fists as they replayed.

"But then everything changed the day we got our powers. We were being bullied and abused as usual, but then we finally snapped. And you know what they say about a cornered animal...those bastards got what they deserved. But I can honestly say that the best part...was that we found kindred spirits with one another."

"You mean me, Clay and Drake."

Erica nodded. "That's right. But it was more than that, John. We didn't just find each other. We found our purpose. Tell me, when you first got your powers, didn't you ever once think about how screwed up things were? How people with stronger powers constantly looked down at others? Why nobody ever seemed to step in whenever things got too dangerous? Did you ever stop to think about why people never made rules about how people use their Abilities out in public, or in school?"

"W-wait, hold on a second." John raised his hands. "Erica, what're you saying? What the hell did you and the guys get involved in?"

'What were you trying to get me involved in?' he wanted to ask, remembering the jacket he was given. Instead, he remained silent.

Erica sighed, and shook her head. "I can't tell you. At least, not yet." she said, making him frown. "Oh, don't give me that look, Johnny. There's a lot of stuff I'd rather prefer you not know about right now." She then turned on her heel, slipping her hands into her pockets. "Anyway, I really do need to get going. I'll see you again soon enough at Wellston with Drake. Clay'll also be transferring, though because of his own job, he won't be here until the next month or so."

"Erica..."

"Before I go, there's something I want to ask you." She looked over her shoulder briefly. "Does Seraphina know...that you're not a Cripple? More importantly, does she know that you used to go to New Bostin?" John's expression blanched as he back pedaled half a step. He didn't say anything, but his reaction was all Erica needed. "I see. So you haven't told her. I would be careful, John. Even though your dad covered things up...rumors can be a scary thing when the wrong people are involved."

With her warning delivered, Erica walked away, leaving John to stew on her words. He knew she had a point. The past couldn't be covered up forever.

Even so...

'Monster.'

He bit his lip and stared at the ground, knuckles white. "If only it were easy to tell people, big sis..."

"Don't you think that was kind of cold?" Drake asked Erica after they met up. Unbeknownst to John, he and Clay had been watching the whole exchange from a safe distance and eavesdropped on the conversation. While the former was a bit miffed that Erica had given him a few details already, he could understand her concerns about him. "I mean, if I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were trying to, you know..."

Erica shook her head, her face pained. "Believe me, Drake, I didn't like saying what I did either. But John needs to understand something. Just because the school covered up what he did, doesn't mean others have forgotten. Bloody Mary made it clear to us that there's a lot of people who want a bit of payback. If even one of them finds out that John's at Wellston, and that he's pretending to be a Cripple, idiotic decision aside..."

"Then the life he's tried to build will come crashing down." Clay finished, closing his eyes. "The school will look at him with fear, rather than condescending arrogance. People will try to challenge him to bring him down. And worse case scenario, he'll lose Seraphina."

"Even so, you could've dialed back the ice queen routine." Drake shook his head. "But whatever. Did you get rid of the tracker?"

"Please, who do you take me for?" Erica wrinkled her nose. "And how about you? Did you guys finish up on your end?"

Clay nodded. "It seems EMBER has a deal with certain people at NXGen. If my guess is right, this 'experimental project' of theirs that they tried to steal is why people's powers are hampered to the point of being Crippled. However, the company itself isn't fully involved, but they are making bank off of what EMBER is doing. Quite ironic, don't you think?"

"Shit." Erica grimaced. "That is bad. What do we do?"

"We do nothing. We leave it to the Tenshi. For now, we continue the job the Boss gave us. Shape John Doe into War." the masked teen answered. "And speaking of our little brother, Erica, you are not allowed to use your Ability while at Wellston, unless it is for self-defense."

"What?! Why?!"

"Because the last thing we need is for you to hypnotize the whole school into doing something stupid. I'd like to believe you wouldn't force everyone to go kill themselves, but my point still stands. We're trying to find potential recruits and keep a low profile. Drake's already integrated himself into the school and made people believe he's a low-tier. You could probably pass your Ability off as Suggestion, or a mild form of hypnosis."

"Tch. Fine!" Erica snapped. "But if John's in trouble, the gloves come off. No butts."

"That is perfectly fine. Just as long as you don't stand out too much. The last thing we need is too much attention. And given how your ability is essentially hijacking a person's body through the nervous system as well as their mind...yeah, you would stick out like a sore thumb."

Erica stuck out a tongue at the two and proceeded to blow a raspberry. "Whatever."

"At any rate, let's go report this to the boss."

The man couldn't remember the last time he came to the graveyard. Unlike before, however, there was not a rain cloud in sight. Rather, it was sunset, almost close to nightfall, creating a beautiful scene that put his mind at ease for a short time. The grass crunched beneath his shoes softly as he walked over to his brother's grave, which hadn't worn out in the least. There were a few chips, here and there, but otherwise it looked like it had been cleaned recently.

It was a sight that pleased him, given that he instructed close subordinates to maintain it.

He would be damned if he let anyone desecrate his brother's grave. He lowered down to his knees and pressed a hand on the stone surface, cool to the touch.

"It's been a while, little brother... I think the last time I came to see you was when I made you that promise, wasn't it? It feels like so long ago..." In reality, it could've been so long ago. Time has been something of a triviality to him nowadays. But even so, he should've costed more often. "But that's in the past. Things are finally looking up, brother." he said, a thin smile touching his parched lips. In the years since he last came here, he developed a sizable beard that covered the lower half of his face, curling around his upper lip and crawling up the sides of his face. His hair had grown longer as well, now reaching to the shoulder blades. "It will be a long while before the dream comes to pass, but we've made progress. It's thanks to those young men and women who stand by my side."

"They understand that this society is so rotten. They have the drive to change it where no one is trampled upon again. And they have the power to do so. I just wish you could've met them. You would've liked them...how far they would go for one of their own."

His hand gently traced the carved name of the tombstone, a somber smile touching his face as he lowered his head. "I promise you, my little brother... This world will learn its hypocrisy. And when it does, we will be there to rebuild it." he swore. "A world where you can find peace. A world where no one would have to suffer like you did. That is a promise."

He set down the flowers on the grave.

"...this world will know Revelation."

The man stood, and with a bow of respect and grief, turned to walk away, eyes glowing just as fiercely as they had before the last time he came to see him.

Shadows danced together, weaving to make a painting of horrid brilliance. Before her eyes were four teens her age, each wearing black jackets. And each with a symbol and power.

The one bearing the scales stood amid piles of bodies, either dead or groaning in pain while their lives drained away, flowing into him as he drank greedily, the shadow of death looming over him like the grim reaper.

The one bearing the crown and bow watched from atop her makeshift throne as men drove themselves into madness, fighting against each other with soulless eyes, like puppets commanded by the maestro. Death itself commanded them to move. And move they shall until their dying breath.

The one bearing the sword that pierced the bloody earth fought like a man possessed against countless foes, a black aura dancing around him that was constantly changing shapes. His hands became claws, commanding ferocious winds, time his mistress and thunder his hammer as he laid waste to all opposition.

The one bearing the scythe stood alone while bodies were scattered around him, all dismembered. Not a drop of blood stained the ground, however. Worse still, the man held a skull in his hand, as if gazing at it, before he crushed it.

The shadows dispersed, and wove together again to form a new image. Fire danced all around her while two men stood across from one another. One a man in white, tugging at the collar of his suit while the other cracked his fingers, darkness shrouding his form. A moment passed before they struck one another.

And then the shadows consumed her.

With a gasp, the poor girl threw herself up from her bed, sweat caking her skin and struggling to breath.

She breathed heavily as she tried to slow down her heart rate. once it returned to normal, she got out of bed and walked over to the window, unable to fall asleep anymore. She rested her head against the cool glass as her red eyes gazed out into the darkened city below.

That wasn't just a nightmare she had. It was another vision. One even more horrific than the last.

But, what did it all mean? Who were those people? And more importantly...

"Why was John among them?"

For the first time in a very long while, Claire had no answers...

-END-