EMP surges forward--her target not Adam but Seth. The young boy didn't matter to the assassin. He was only a distraction. Despite his ragged breaths, Adam clutches the hilt of his broadsword, rushing towards Seth.
She's too fast. He can't react in time, Adam's mind races, his feet pushing off the sterilized tiled floors. Seth steadies himself, clutching tightly on his blade's hilt. His eyes dart, trying to track her movements.
"Protection: Binding threads," Adam shouts, raising his hand high in the air. Golden threads shoot out, trying to wrap around EMP, but she crackles through before it ensnares her.
An assassin doesn't act on emotion; EMP's thoughts echo, remembering that fateful day. They act because they are always 10 steps ahead.
–3 years ago–
The air was filled with electricity, crimson blood splattered and stained the walls in its warm colors. The room is filled with corpses, lying everywhere on the cold, lifeless floor. Chairs were knocked over. Coffee is still steaming. Just silence.
EMP looms over the corpses below her, clutching a hard drive containing confidential surveillance footage. She slowly pulls down her hood and her mask to inspect the data.
"Aw. Someone got us to the job before us," Hanger's voice cuts through the air like a knife. Turning her head, EMP shudders her body like a computer virus, phasing her fist through Hanger's gut. The cannibal assassin grits his teeth, coughing up tears of blood. The droplets fall right through EMP's body as if she didn't exist.
"Oh, so it is true that there is a ghost." Thomas walks through the doorway, his hands placed deep in his coat pockets. His long black hair swayed over his gaze as he walked closer. EMP pulls her hand out of Hanger's body, making him wince in pain. Stitch glares with disgust, twirling with his bloodied scalpel on his fingertip.
"It's illegal to be on our turf," Stitch lowers his head, pointing his weapon directly at EMP. His voice was cold and sterile. " It's rude to hijack someone's contract without warning."
"So what about it?" EMP raises her hands in the air, her form stabilizing itself. "Money is money. I'll do all sorts of tasks to earn my share."
"Hmm," Thomas skeptically lowers his gaze. "I'm interested in you. Did you really clear out an entire operation just by yourself?"
"It was simple," EMP scoffs arrogantly. "Once my targets have enough tech in their crib–it's all a walk in the park after that."
"What's your name?" Thomas inquires, pulling out his right hand from his pocket, outfitted with a metal gauntlet.
"EMP," the hitwoman utters, her eyes narrowing with clinical annoyance. "You're going to kill me or something. I'm in my element right now— nothing can hurt me."
"Oh, I'm not going to kill you," Thomas reassures, opening his gauntlet's palm. His eyes narrowed with an eerie silence. "I am the Acid King. I'm really interested in your skillset, actually. I could really use a tech operative in my team."
"You want me to join your group of misfits just because you're interested?" EMP scoffs, shaking her head in disbelief. She takes a defiant step forward. "I'm not interested in a couple—"
"$50 million. 20 years in the business," Thomas cuts her off, causing EMP to back down in silence. "That's how much I can make in a year. With my partner's earnings combined, we make over $60 million."
EMP takes a cautious step back, her expression bewildered by what Thomas uttered.
How many missions have I done so far? Her mind races, and she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ten? Twelve maybe? $200k if I'm lucky. Maybe less. He's at least a billionaire.
Her breath catches.
He's offering me a seat? EMP's eyes widen, silenced by the truth around her. They probably have all the good hit lists out there. The ones that pay hundreds of thousands. I have to network with these people–I can't afford a second chance.
"Can't believe we're hiring a girl like her," Stitch rolls his eyes, slowly climbing up the stairs. Hanger clutches his stomach, following Stitch up to the surface. Thomas's hand sizzles as droplets of acid drop onto the floor.
"What do you say?" Thomas narrows his eyes, turning his body to leave. "Are you in or not?"
The echo of the memory fades as the present bleeds back in. EMP's eyes focused as she pulled herself forward towards Seth. Her fists cut through the air with deadly precision.
"Disappear, wretched dog!" EMP screams out, throwing her punch directly towards Seth's face. Pushing himself back, He nearly dodged the attack–but not fast enough. EMP's glitchy fist grazes Seth's cheek, carving a crimson line over his face.
Acting on his feet, Seth blocks the next strike with his blade, cleanly slicing through EMP's arm. Her arm splits cleanly, distorting like a frozen video feed--no blood.
Pushing back, she creates enough distance. Adam swings his sword in a wide arc, slicing through her hand, but her body phases just in time. The blade passes through harmlessly.
Jagged thin lines resembling fragments of code reroute like network paths on EMP's arm. Her split appendage reconnects like a code of zeros and ones. A digital wave smooths over any corrupted polygons. Coiling her arm like a spring, EMP shoots her arm out like lightning.
The impact slams into Adam's body with a brutal force, sending violent ripples throughout his body. Adam grits his teeth as his body is flung into multiple shelves, his arms flailing around as if gravity is catching up to him.
"Adam!" Seth screams out before EMP suddenly appears in front of the young boy as if she jumped frames in a video. The code running over her body slowly receding like a tide. Seth swings his blade, but the attack passes through harmlessly.
In a panic, he swings higher than necessary. The blade cut through the air cleanly, but the power behind it lacked control and weight. He nearly stumbles on his feet as he loses his balance.
She grabs Seth's neck, sparks hissing out like broken neon.
"You think you're some hero?" EMP inquires, pulling down her hood and mask, revealing her youthful appearance. Her long blonde hair contrasted with her dyed electrifying blue tips. Seth frowns, trying to free himself from her grasp. His leg kicks at her, but he phases right through her.
"Spare me your righteous glare," EMP barks back, bringing Seth closer towards her. "You think you're brave? You're just wearing stupidity as a cape, kid." Her eyes darted to see a photo tucked deep in his open suit pocket.
Emp pulls out the photo while clenching his neck. Seth tries to kick Emp to let go of him, but each strike feels like comfy marshmallows.
"Are these your parents?" EMP smirks to herself, her fingers rubbing against the photo. "You miss them or something."
Seth's gaze drifts, and he clenches his fist, trying to brush aside the intimidating tension in the air. EMP's eyes narrow with a cold, clinical gaze, slowly creasing the photo.
"You really think you matter? All this effort to make yourself look big and strong?" She says, her words hitting like daggers. "You're just a stray boy. Not even your loved ones cared to come looking for you."
Seth felt his heart sink, her words sinking into the cracks he had been trying to fill. He wanted to say something back, but he couldn't. EMP just crumbles the photo of Seth's parents and lets it drop to the ground.
"Keep trying to prove yourself, kid," EMP leans closer, her voice dropping lower than before. "You're living in a delusion. It's what they say all the time: you're just another body in a pile."
EMP clutches tighter on Seth's neck. His heart sinks at the weight of her words. He felt small, worthlessness - like the earth could consume him.
"You're just a leverage," EMP says, eyes sharp like a razor.
"You're just a leverage," EMP warns, her eyes sharp as a razor. "You serve no purpose other than that." Her body solidifies with a solid snap like a hard drive clicking into a laptop.
Adam rushes over with a calm presence, his footsteps calculating.
EMP disappears behind Adam–no sound. She grabs onto Adam's collar, but he couldn't hit her. It just went through her like a ghost. She pulls Adam closer to her fragmented face of code.
"You're lucky I didn't phase my arm through your face," EMP remarks, her tone icy and casual. She kicks her leg into Adam's chest, the appendage glitchy and jittery as it glitches through Adam's body. Adam's eyes widen as a shot of electricity rips through his body. Her glitchy leg didn't pierce any of his organs, but the pain felt real.
"You're a good boy, but a dog like yourself? Gets put down," EMP adds, pulling out her leg. Swinging in a wide arc, she strikes Adam's head as if it were a soccer ball. Adam's neck cracks back and forth as the force smacks next to his spine.
Stepping back, Adam maintains his composure. He doesn't fall. Raising his sword high in the air, Adam switches to low guard mid-swing. He launches an underhanded slash that catches EMP off guard.
Her body short-circuits as she drops Seth unceremoniously onto the floor. In a blindfold rage, she leaves with a right hook. Twisting his neck, Adam barely dodges the strike.
Swinging his sword in a wide arc, Adam slams the tip of the blade onto the ground. The force cracks the ground, sending a massive dust cloud to form. Waving her hand in the air, EMP pushes aside the mix of dirt and grim away from her.
A silhouette emerges, slow and deliberate. Adam whips through the haze, parting the dust like curtains. His gaze locks forward, unwavering.
Adam's gaze narrows, his dark and light blue spiritual energy flaring up over his body. Stepping forward, he leaps forward, closing the distance.
"Icicle fang," Adam puts his hands together, and a gusty white haze engulfs EMP in an instant. A crackling burst in Adam's ear as his opponent was trapped in a pillar of ice. A sharp chill radiates from its core. Sparks fly out as EMP, bursting out of her icy prison like a jumpy video frame.
"Did you really think that could stop me?" EMP sneers.
"No, but your codes almost gone," Adam cuts off, pointing at EMP's clothing. The fading cascading ones and zeroes covering her body are nearly depleted."You're now tangible ... that means my blade can cut through you."
EMP looks dumbfounded at Adam, shocked at his ingenuity. As Adam leaps forward, his steps are agile yet playful, dancing around EMP. The assassin's mood changes as she tries to avoid Adam's swings.
Using the last of her ability, EMP disappears in a smear of electricity, traversing all around the tech store. The light flickered uncontrollably, illuminating and then dimming the world in an instant. Adam looks at the small strand of static still in front of him.
She wasn't running away.
He approaches Seth, carefully carrying him off the ground. Seth does not give Adam eye contact, the glimmer of his eyes were dismal and sullen.
"Don't listen to her words, Seth," Adam comforted, placing his hand on the boys shoulder. Seth inhaled deeply and allowed himself to sit half-defeated on the floor. The atmosphere became somber.
"You're right, Adam," Seth whispered, clenching his forehead. "I should have just ran when you told me."
"Why didn't you?" Adam inquires, tilting his head.
"I just wanted to look brave," Seth reluctantly says, trying not to maintain eye contact. He clenches his fists together. "I just wanted to look like a hero. Be more than... a kid."
"But you are a kid," Adam kneels, meeting his gaze.
Seth falters, his voice almost inaudible.
"I want to be like the ones fighting for something bigger," Seth says as he recalls the heavy weight it carried. The words came softly, almost like he was afraid that saying them any louder would somehow make everything feel more substantial. "I thought it would make me…. someone."
Adam's face softens in recognition of the gravity of Seth's words. He leans in a bit closer, his hand finding Seth's shoulder, a gentle reassurance as he speaks.
"Being a hero isn't about being perfect or being grown up," Adam says, his voice slicing through the stillness. "It means to fight when you're scared and to stand up when things get hard. As well as knowing when to ask for help."
Seth's breath catches in his throat, his eyes darting down unwilling to face the weight of his words. He felt something growing inside other than doubt.
"You don't have to be big to make a difference," Adam says, low and reflective. "Whether we want to or not, we do make a mark. We have to keep repeating the same mistakes until we learn different."
Seth's head tilts slightly. His eyes widened, mouth half–open in disbelief. His brow furrows slightly, thinking Adam is trying to mess with him.
"What the?" he remarks, genuinely shocked. "Wait…where did that come from? When did you get so deep?"
"Philosophy class," Adam rolls his eyes. "Zhang has always been a stickler for motivational speeches."
Seth blinks.
"Now here's your chance to be a real hero," Adam smirks, slowly rising off the floor. "I need your help to make sure this plan goes smoothly. We need to deplete her code entirely."
"How do we do that?" Seth inquires.
"Just follow my example," Adam laughs, hoisting the tip of the blade high into the air, "We're going for the darkness and we'll turn the dark into light." He declares as he theatrically gestures with the vacuum indicating he was in the deserted mall.
"Do not say that," Seth bluntly utters, putting his hands over his face. The TVs start to glitch as the screens turn pure white. The electrons and protons in the air fizzle like firecrackers as the voltage grows more intense.