Presence- The Marked

by L J Branch

  “We’ll see,” Diamond said, a handgun held tightly in her grasp. Jezebel’s eyes widened ever so slightly when she noted the golden “M” on the back of Diamond’s glove though she said nothing. A tense silence passed between them before Jezebel threw the blade at Diamond.

  * * *

  “Whoa!” Kat exclaimed as she ducked just in time to avoid a knife that lodged into the wall next to her, burying itself up to its hilt. “This guy’s not playing!” Kat said as she ran with Samuel hot on her trail who pulled his blade from the wall as he ran past it. Samuel took aim at the thief once more and threw the blade again only for it to miss when Kat lost her balance next to a “wet floor” sign.

  “Seriously!?” Samuel asked before he too lost his balance and crashed into the floor. Frustrated beyond belief, Samuel scrambled to his feet while Kat did the same. Kat took her whip and swung it toward a display case, which made it wrap around its leg tightly. Kat then pulled the display between herself and Samuel. Samuel cursed when he crashed into it and fell down to the ground once more as Kat collected the Shield and continued on with her escape.

  * * *

  “Over here,” the guard told Jebediah as they entered the exhibit. Soon a fist slammed into the guard’s jaw and knocked him out instantly. Jebediah turned to face the culprit who was the seemingly downed guard who had pulled the alarm. Before Jebediah could get a good look at the attacker, Jack returned his face to normal while his suit maintained its disguised appearance with the exception of his mask.

  “How did you get in here?”

  “You don’t really expect me to answer that do you?” Jack asked skeptically before he released a devastating right hook at the man whom quickly blocked it. Jebediah grimaced a bit as he felt the sting of the blow and his arm trembled from its unexpected weight.

  “Nice punch,” Jebediah said and then, to Jack’s confusion, the skin on his hand turned silver. A malleable metal tore through his sleeves and coated his arms before he slammed a powerful blow into Jack’s stomach that knocked Jack back a bit. Jack grunted from the force of the blow and glared at Jebediah. The power from the attack was felt even through his mod-suit.

  “Back at you,” Jack said as he shrugged off the pain before the two immediately found themselves locked in hand-to-hand combat. Much to Jack’s frustration wherever he would land a blow would just get covered by the strange metal and protect Jebediah from harm.

  * * *

  “Where did he come from!?” Haylen questioned as the cameras showed Jebediah and Jack rain blow after blow upon each other. The way the two attacked each other was reminiscent of a boxing match with the way they bobbed and weaved around one another’s attacks.

  “Like I said, it’s too late,” Xavier said which made Haylen glare at him.

  “Fine, since you seem to be an expert on what’s goin’ on, what do you propose we do?” Haylen asked angrily. Xavier hummed in thought as he took in the current situation.

  “First things first, cut off the alarm and send the authorities away, if anything they’re going to be a hindrance to us,” Xavier instructed. “Those thieves are going to use them to protect themselves and escape in the confusion.”

  “Protect themselves? Protect themselves from what?”

  “Me,” Xavier said as a smirk graced his lips. “I’ll be damned, they even took my own pride into account,” Xavier mused as he realized just why his brother pulled the alarm. The thieves had figured there was a high chance that he wouldn’t take his previous defeat lying down and prepared countermeasures in case he had decided to intervene anyway.

  “You? What can you do?” Haylen asked as she went to shut down the alarm.

  “I wonder,” Xavier said as he gave her a wink. Without Eve, he was at a disadvantage and he knew it, that said, he figured he stood a better chance than the civilians and also deep down wanted to know just what his limits were without his servant. “Next, we wait for your team to tire them out a bit more, we need them separated for as long as possible. Don’t worry they don’t kill, that’s not how they operate.”

  “I wasn’t worried about that.”

  “Is that so?” Xavier asked skeptically which made Haylen scowl at him. “Just figured I’d let you know.”

  “Just what are we dealin’ with, Magnus?”

  “Exactly what you think, thieves,” Xavier answered. “Just of a different breed than you’re used to.”

  * * *

  “Oh, come on, you’re a better shot than that! Your last ones proved that!” Jezebel taunted after a bullet shot past her head. “I have an eye for talent and I know when someone is messing around and missing shots on purpose,” Jezebel said as she took a shot at Diamond that forced the thief to dodge. The action caused Jezebel’s second shot to hit her gun and knock it from her hand. Diamond cursed before she dove behind a vent on the roof and used it as cover while another handgun formed in her palm. Diamond hated being forced to dodge Jezebel’s shots but she knew she was unable to simply shrug off gunfire in front of a civilian. Diamond had to be creative in how she approached this situation. “See, just like that, you must have a good pair of eyes to dodge that. Probably even better than mine, you could be someone amazing if you learned to stop hesitating.”

  “You’re actually lecturing me about hesitating?” Diamond asked with a scoff. “Pray tell, what would you call what you’re doing now?” Diamond asked before she took two shots at Jezebel which forced the sniper to take cover.

  “This? This is a personal project,” Jezebel said with a laugh that sent a shiver down Diamond’s spine. “You got the drop on me, that’s something that hasn’t happened before. Seems you made the mistake of gaining my interest!”

  “Well I don’t want it, take it back.”

  “You’re not that lucky,” Jezebel called out as she reloaded her gun. “Your hesitation betrays your youth, you know? I used to be like you, back when I was younger. Thought I knew what I was doing with a gun, robbing people to get by.”

  “What’s this, an intervention?” Diamond asked which earned a laugh from Jezebel.

  “On the contrary, I want you to be better. See, I got the drop on the wrong person and paid dearly for it. When I came to, I was branded, forced to be a servant for her. At least that’s what I thought. She trained me, showed me what I needed to become if I wanted to keep using a gun. It was the best and most hellish year of my life, I was broken and made into something stronger, better, deadlier,” Jezebel said as she rolled up her sleeve, finding a small black “M” tattooed on the other side of her wrist that was identical to the one on Diamond’s glove. “For that year she gave me a home, of course not one near her family, but she gave me a start and the price for it all was simple. She said to pay it forward, that it was the honorable thing to do.”

  “And what do you know about honor?”

  “More than you know, girl, more than you know,” Jezebel said as her heart thundered in her chest. Jezebel glanced to the side toward the gallery and she could see Jack and Jebediah fight. As she watched them, she noticed that Jack managed to get the upper hand when he tripped up Jebediah and slammed him down into the floor. “Without honor, there’s no difference between us and the dirt beneath our feet,” Jezebel said just loud enough for Diamond to hear. The words made Diamond freeze as Jezebel smirked knowingly. “You remind of the woman who taught me that, but your gaze is too soft.”

  “What are-” Diamond was interrupted when Jezebel suddenly leapt from her cover and rushed toward her sniper rifle. She took two shots at Diamond with her handgun to force Diamond back behind cover before she discarded it. Jezebel picked up her rifle and aimed at the building. When she focused on Jack, the crosshairs in her eyes locked on to him before she pulled the trigger.

  * * *

  Having enough of being chased, Kat stopped suddenly before she spun around. The action caught Samuel off guard and left him helpless as she slammed the Shield into his face. The force of the blow knocked him out and sent him down onto the flo
or. Kat smirked at her work and ran to the ancient civilization exhibit. To Kat’s surprise, she found Jack and Jebediah already inside.

  “Seriously, you’re not done?” Kat joked however before Jack could respond with something witty as usual his mind suddenly exploded with pain. Thanks to the suppressor, Jezebel’s shot was practically silent except for when the bullet passed through the now shattered window. Silent, however, was not a word that could be used to describe Jack’s pained shout when the bullet tore through his left shoulder. The armor piercing round ripped through his suit with ease and Kat could do nothing but watch Jack fall. “No!”

  “Jack!” Abbie exclaimed as she watched their enforcer fall to the ground.

  * * *

  Diamond’s heart clenched as she heard the screams of Kat and Abbie before it was filled with Kat’s fear and sadness. Those emotions, however, were quickly drowned out by a surge of pure anger that consumed Diamond’s powerful heart and flooded the emotional link between Band 13. Her heartbeat was loud as her Royal Blood pumped through her body.

  “Whatever your line of work is, if it involves weapons, you better be prepared to use them. Your hesitation could end up getting your allies killed,” Jezebel advised as she glanced over at Diamond and smirked at the pure hate she saw in her eyes. “Now you look like her,” Jezebel said before she raised the rifle at Diamond and pulled the trigger. Jezebel’s eyes widened a bit, as the bullet slammed into Diamond’s shoulder and made her stumble back a step. The shoulder of Diamond’s suit was torn but her skin remained unscathed as the bullet fell to the ground. Jezebel took aim again but was too late when a bullet ripped through her visor and shot through her eye. Diamond remained silent as she popped her shoulder back in place and gazed down at the bloodied sniper.

  * * *

  “Jack!”

  “Jezebel!” came the shouts from Xavier and Haylen who both looked at two different screens. Xavier himself couldn’t believe how fast the situation went south and Haylen was stunned as she looked at the screen. Xavier had not expected both Jack and Jezebel to find themselves gunned down. He realized that it was now that he’d have to interfere before things got even worse. With a grimace Xavier glanced at the horrified face of Haylen before he grabbed her shoulder.

  “Stay put, I’ll deal with this. Whatever you see, just stay calm, I’ll explain it later,” Xavier said urgently and Haylen stumbled back in shock when the man suddenly disappeared before her very eyes in a blue flash of light.

  * * *

  Xavier appeared on the roof right between Diamond and Jezebel’s body. Xavier was startled when, without hesitation, Diamond shot him three times only for his shield to stop each of the bullets. Xavier conjured a fireball in his palm threw it at Diamond which forced her off of the roof when it exploded into a large inferno. Diamond allowed herself to fall into the dark alley and disappeared in the shadows of the buildings. Diamond reappeared from a shadow on the roof of the gallery as both of her hand guns formed in her hands.

  * * *

  “Kat, stay back,” Jack gasped out as he weakly looked at Kat who had rushed toward his side, her eyes filled with tears. Jack weakly reached into his pocket and pulled out his flask and sipped from it. Jack shivered as he felt his wound stitch itself together before he punched the ground with his right hand. Diamond’s anger flooded his veins as he forced himself back to his feet. “Don’t interfere,” Jack instructed as he pocketed his flask and turned to face Jebediah who looked surprised to see the younger man apparently shrug off a shot from a sniper.

  “You can’t fight in this condition,” Kat said as Jebediah grimaced.

  “Kid, ain’t no amount of money worth your life,” Jebediah said. “Put the artifact down and leave.”

  “Like hell, mate,” Jack said as he raised his right hand. Jack clenched his fingers in a way that made his hand resemble a claw while his left arm hung limply at his side, seemingly useless. “This is about more than money, it’s about honor,” Jack told Kat. “Get out.”

  “I’m not leaving you here in that condition!” Kat said angrily.

  “Then don’t interfere, this fight is mine,” Jack said before he charged at Jebediah who did the same.

  * * *

  Santa Monica, One-week prior

  “Vivi gave you a solid foundation, but it’s time for you to learn a style more suited for you,” Meifeng said before she straightened her posture and turned her body toward Jack. Her right hand raised before her, her fingers clenched in a way that made her hand look like a claw while her left arm hung at her side. “Mimic my stance, I will begin teaching you the first lesson of Hēishǒu.”

  “Hēishǒu?”

  “Black hand,” Meifeng translated. “It’s a style I created from my father’s teachings that’s based around misdirection,” Meifeng continued as Jack mimicked her stance. “Your dominant hand and your legs are your main tools. Through each blow you land, you will use your presence to siphon the strength of your enemy. You should be very familiar with how to do this given your treasure,” Meifeng said as she circled Jack while she maintained her stance as she did so. “And then, when you’ve gathered enough strength and effectively distracted your opponent…” Jack blinked and suddenly found Meifeng’s left fist directly in front of his face. Jack had watched her movements so closely and followed her words, that he completely forgot about her other hand. “You take them down using all the power you gathered in the unseen hand, the black hand,” Meifeng explained before she tapped a stunned Jack on his nose. “This is Hēishǒu.”

  * * *

  Jebediah released blow after blow at Jack whom simply slapped the blows away and deflected them from his body. Jebediah noted that Jack had gone on the defensive and realized that the younger man was far nimbler than he let on. Kat watched apprehensively, not sure what Jack had planned as she had never seen him fight this way before. It was only after the next blow which failed to connect that Jebediah realized his attacks had become weaker. Unfortunately for him, it was just after this realization that Jack went on the offensive. Like Jebediah did at the start of their encounter, Jack slid inside his guard and slammed his fist into the older man’s stomach. The metal moved to protects his stomach and absorb most of the damage. Jebediah glowered and looked up only for Jack to kick him back into a wall. Startled by the sudden increase in Jack’s strength, Jebediah was forced to defend as Jack released a barrage of expertly executed punches. The metal above Jebediah’s skin moved to ward off each blow. Distracted by Jack’s attacks, Jebediah never noticed the fingers on Jack’s left hand begin to clench. Before Jebediah could realize what happened and move the nanites in his body, a devastating left hook slammed into his jaw with an audible crunch. Jack gritted his teeth through the pain of the bullet still lodged in his shoulder. The force of the blow made Jebediah’s body spin around before he collapsed and lost consciousness as Jack stood victoriously behind him.

  “What was that?” Kat asked in surprise as she had never seen Jack dominate an opponent like he had just done. Before Jack could respond, Xavier teleported into the exhibit while Diamond dove down from a shadow on the ceiling and released shot after shot at Xavier. His body repeatedly flashed blue as his shield deflected each of the bullets.

  “Jack?” Xavier asked in surprise at seeing Jack already back on his feet.

  “You want to play for keeps? Fine then, it is war after all,” Diamond said as she gently landed down on a display. Diamond hopped off of it and walked in between Kat and Jack. The whites of their eyes turned black as a storm of golden presence erupted from Diamond’s body and consumed her bandmates. Kat and Jack shuddered as they felt the full brunt of Diamond’s anger. The golden presence coursed over their bodies menacingly as three pairs of electric gold eyes glared at Xavier. Diamond stepped back and raised her weapons while Kat placed the Shield down. Quickly, Kat moved to flank Xavier while Jack rushed forward. Gauntlets formed from ash around Jack’s hands as Arondight shone brightly with a “II” emblem inside of it. Xav
ier’s hand erupted with fire before he released a fireball at Jack whose body became encased in ice right before it slammed into him. The force of the spell shattered the ice around his body instantly but he remained unharmed. Before Xavier could figure out what to do next, he felt his leg get snatched from beneath him after Kat wrapped her whip around it and pulled back. As he fell, Diamond shot him twice and weakened his shield even further before Jack slammed a devastating blow into Xavier that knocked him back into a pillar. Xavier’s head slammed back against the pillar with enough force to crack it. Before Xavier could react, Jack moved forward and pinned him in place with his hand wrapped tightly around the mage’s neck. Jack gritted his teeth as he pulled back his right fist. Gold presence released from Arondight’s eyes as a blue light began to fill the light between Arondight’s second and third circles.

  “Damn it,” Xavier cursed, caught off guard by the unprecedented show of power from Jack. Xavier attempted to conjure another fireball but before he could, Jack slammed his fist into Xavier’s face. Upon impact, a torrent of ice erupted from the blow with enough force to shatter Xavier’s shield and freeze him against the pillar.

  “You’re trembling Xavier,” Diamond said darkly as Xavier felt the full force of the biting cold from the ice produced by his brother for the first time. Xavier shivered from the cold as golden sparks danced across the frozen crystals. The power of his fallen shield made Xavier’s eyes blacken as they became filled with stars. Yet, before he could use his increased power, he felt it being drained by Arondight. Xavier’s attempts to break free were stopped when Diamond approached them. The handgun in her right hand turned gold as she took aim at Xavier. It was then that Xavier realized that he was going to die.