Chapter 9

Brad stammered as he croaked. "No way, you are his tree hugging sister?!" He yelled in disbelief as he looked at Iris who in turn just huffed as she began to finish her lunch, eager to get away from the blonde. Her friends followed suit which made Brad even madder. "Hey dont ignore me!" he yelled at Iris and was met with silence. He then advanced towards Iris only to be blocked by Isaac. Seeing his towering figure, Brad retreated as he said "Just you wait. I'll get you for this."

....

(Later)

Iris was walking to her next class through an empty corridor when she heard people talking from inside an empty classroom. She looked inside to see a group of girls cornering another girl against a wall. One of the girls was pulling on the cornered girl's hair as the rest of her entourage cheered. Iris frowned as she briskly walked up to them. She then slapped the hand which was pulling the girl's hair. The bully winced in pain as she began rubbing her hand. She then glared at Iris only to gasp once she saw who had slapped her hand. It was quickly replaced by anger as she hissed. "Mind your own business Griffith."

Iris ignored her as she checked other girl who was hiding behind Iris. Seeing that she was mostly unharmed, Iris turned back to the bullies. Her eyes glowed for a split second before she pulled the leader towards her until their faces were inches away from one another. Iris then opened her mouth and light blue mist came out of her mouth which was inhaled by the bully. Immediately, the bully's expression became blank and Iris said. "Classes are about to start. We should leave now if we don't want to be late." She then let go of the bully who walked back a few steps before turning to her followers. "Let's go. If we are late, Professor Parson will give us detention." She said before walking away. Her followers, while surprised chose to follow her leaving Iris alone with the other girl.

Iris turned to the other girl and sighed. "I see nothing has changed." The girl nodded timidly. This girl was Laura Mendez, Iris's seatmate at several classes. Unlike Iris, Laura had a timid personality which made her a perfect target for bullies. While Iris did defend her, she was unable to do so all the time.

" I'll talk to the teachers. Those girls really need to be taught a lesson." Iris sighed only to Laura to grab onto her arm with a panicked look. She then began to shake her head furiously. Iris stared at her for a few moment and sighed in defeat. "Well I'll see you back in class." Iris said as she patted Laura's head causing the latter to blush furiously. As she turned to leave, Laura grabbed her hand once again. Iris turned to her with a questioning gaze as she fidgeted. "Did.... did you hear?.....She's back."

Iris was about to ask her to elaborate but got her answer when she heard someone speaking from behind her. "Hey Iris" Iris slowly turned around to see a blonde girl she had not seen for ages. Her eyes widened in surprise briefly before they they narrowed down to a cold glare. She then grabbed Laura and began to briskly walk away from the newcomer without sparing her a second glance. Laura looked back at her and saw a look of hurt on her face. As their eyes met however, she glared at her with venom causing Laura to shiver and look away.

.....

Elsewhere,

Jonathan Vance sat, looking at a man smoking a cigar. His hands were inside his pocket clutching the small derringer pistol inside. The man in front of him puffed on his cigar before he began talking. "Chief Vance, it has come to our attention that someone knows of your "extracurricular activities". Needless to say, we are concerned whether this interloper knows about us."

Jonathan cleared his throat as he said."Mr Smith, I assure you, I havent told a living soul about you. My men, even my useless son only knew that we were hired."

Smith looked at him dead in the eyes as he analysed the man in front of him before sighing. "Very well, I'll choose to believe you this time. But keep in mind that we can't protect you should a similar event occur nor do we have an obligation to do so keep in mind, the Kingpin has deep pockets, disappoint him again, we can have someone else at the office even before your body touches the ground. Are we clear?"

Jonathan gulped as he nodded. Smith then asked." Now let's talk about the attacker. Have you made any progress to find out who it was? " Jonathan sighed." No. The IA most likely has me in their crosshairs. They are very likely to put me under surveillance after what have happened. I cannot take any steps to find whoever had done this without jeopardising my position."

"Even through legal means?"

"Yes, we couldn't get any finger prints from the drive or anything in the area other than the Labradors. Moreover, the cameras nearby were wiped out. Who ever did this came prepared. We know next to nothing about the culprit. Except that he is most likely a mutant. "

Smith blinked in surprise."How do you know?"

Jonathan placed several photographs on the desk. Each showed the deceased Labradors with punctures on them. "These are definitely not from any conventional weapons."

Smith rummaged through the pictures before he sighed. "If a mutant is involved it's best if we leave him to professionals".

Jonathan frowned. "Who did you have in mind?"

Smith then looked him dead in the eyes and muttered. "Stryker."

.....

Sina was on her routine, midnight walks. She had a habit of venturing into the most crime-ridden areas in the city, most likely to pick a fight with the numerous criminals who live in the area.

It was then, two people started following her. Sina however seemed unaware of them as she continued to walk down the road while humming a tune. Her pursuers became more confident as they began to pick up their pace. Suddenly, Sina walked into an alley. With the two pursuers not far behind. The latter walked into the alley only to see it completely empty. He was in the midst of calling his partner when he felt a heavy blow to the back of his head. He faceplanted into the asphalt, cracking it followed by a sickening crunch.

The remaining pursuer stood shocked, looking at the remains of his comrades. He then looked at his attacker, the same girl they had been following. The girl in question looked at him with a bored expression before taunting him. Anger boiled inside him after being underestimated by a mere human and he let out an inhuman growl, showing off his fangs. The girl became stunned momentarily and he took the opportunity to throw a punch at her. It did not connect. He stared dumbfounded as the girl grabbed on to his arm and flipped him over her head. He fell on the ground with a loud thud before getting up with a snarl. The girl now had a smug smile as she taunted him once again. The man began blindly throwing punches, not giving the girl any chance to counter. He swung around 6 punches before the girl hit him in the chest with her open palm.

The creature felt the wind get knocked out from him as his knees buckled. He fell on his knees, wheezing as his target stood within arms reach. A strong hand suddenly grabbed his throat and lifted him off the ground. But before he could react, he was slammed into a nearby wall repeatedly until he was beaten to a pulp. The girl then brought him close and said. "Here is the deal. I want to know where the rest of your friends are? Now we can do this the easy way or my way. And trust me, you will not enjoy my way."

His body was shaking with fear until he saw his partner get up from the ground. He stood up clutching his nose which was bent the wrong way. He began to creep up to Sina hoping to ambush her.

Alas, fate was not kind as he suddenly felt something stab him from behind. He froze as his strength left his body and he collapsed on to the ground with a tendril poking out of his chest cavity.

And I front of their eyes, the man turned to Ash.

"So is there anything you wish to tell me. " A voice echoed from the shadows, scaring the surviving pursuer. Sina could only awkwardly scratch her head.