- Coup

"Alright, Adam. Let's break down what we collected from the training these past weeks."

"Yes Sir."

Doc and his right-hand man were sitting in the old man's office. The suited man was loosening up his tie and scratching his eyebrow while wearing an exhausted expression; these back-to-back training are really starting to wane his patience. All that was just making the time before he could meet up with his usual date seem significantly longer.

"First, the long-range training with Ace and the defence training with Mohs went smoothly. They are also shorter than the others, so. None of what I have in my reports are important, they are all going to be somewhat addressed within my report of Whiff's training anyway. Thought I'd just mention that."

"So to start in order, we have number 2: Richter. Everything we made him touch was either destroyed or heavily damaged through vibrating force. It was mind-blowing. It makes you think there is nothing he cannot break. He was diagnosed with severe Parkinson's disease. Based on the fact that he gained an ability through a change in his body, I can assume that he falls in the type one: Direct Causal Link."

"After that, there's number 3: Chuck. She was efficient with any weapon we gave her; be it swords, batons, knives, you name it. From what the nurses' documents said, she has phenomenal hand-eye coordination. That's what allows her to be good with any weapon without any training, but her short memory capacity is practically just non-existent: she forgets where she is every few seconds. This will make it difficult to make her follow orders. Since she lost some of her brain capacity but gained efficiency in another part of it, she falls into type two: Equal Exchange. She stands out less than Richter, but she isn't any less valuable."

"Following her, there's number 9: Mute. I mean, there's not much to say. He's a freak of nature. He can't see, but he can hear and feel space, somehow. He's more aware of his surroundings than anybody else. He could even tell what a sealed box had in it. No one with eyesight can do that. And that's without taking into account his brute physical strength. Which, I'm not even sure how that works. Because from what I know, he's an Equal Exchange type. He lost his eyesight, voice and smell, but his hearing and touch sensibility are off the charts. The shot shouldn't have had any effect on any other parts of his body. That means his strength and speed are something he built on his own. Everyone talks enough about him, I don't think it would be pertinent to develop more on his case."

"Now for number 13. We've seen in earlier trainings what Sprout can do. And now, Whiff was able to draw out some of her potential with multiple exercises. So far, we've learned that she can pinpoint any part of her body and either stretch them or make them grow bigger. We saw it when her arm extended itself to reach further or when her hands grew bigger whenever she tried to punch someone. She's one of, if not, the one with the biggest body transformation so far. But in terms of actual power, combativity and reliability, she's far from perfection. She can't control her metamorphosis, and the power outputs behind her attacks are underwhelming. She's got potential though."

"Alright, now we got… number 16: Drool. The extent of her abilities is still really unknown. She seems to be capable of producing an unlimited amount of saliva with strange properties. Whiff sent some samples of it to Venom. She ran a bunch of tests and wrote in her report that on top of being inflammable, waterproof and adhesive, it's both cut and shock-resistant. To help calm her constant salivation, Whiff asked Forge, through Slash, to make her a mask with the supervision of Venom, that would contain and recycle the flow. While installing it, Venom noticed extreme damage in her mouth and throat. Her saliva was probably her body's reaction to the shot, trying to fix the damage caused by the injection, making her a Direct Causal Link type. While totally useless in a combat setting, she might prove useful in a support context."

"On the same note, number 21: Savvy, is also in a similar spot. Muscle atrophy and weakened bones completely cut down her possibility of fighting. However, through Equal Exchange, her nervous system's activities are now faster and more important, granting her acute reaction speed. While useless in combat due to her frail body, she can use that speed to quicken her thinking. She's really smart and clever enough to solve problems. On the battlefield, she'd be good at analyzing the situation from the rear and coming up with plans."

"The next one, number 26: Blister, gave us some problems. She sent most of our kids to the hospital before we could figure out it was her doing. It wasn't her fault though. Luckily, Whiff was able to catch up quickly on what was happening, mostly because his power was close to what she seemed to have. Her hormones and her glands are secreting odors and gasses through her skin. Whiff and Venom still can't decipher her abilities. At first, it seemed the chemicals act like a sleeping gas, but from what Venom seems to think, there doesn't seem to be a limit to the properties the vapors have. So yeah, I just figured it was too early for me to make a call on her case."

"Moving on, we have number 31: Bass. Her situation is familiar to Drool's, but inverted. Instead of having her ability to heal her throat like the latter, her ability is damaging it. Her sinus system was destroyed, but she was granted a mutation in her larynx and vocal cords, hence why she's an Equal Exchange type. She can scream really loudly, producing ultrasounds and shockwaves. But this power is destroying her throat and her mouth whenever she uses it. Her ability and Blister's are both a pain in the ass to use in squads, due to the potential for collateral damage."

"Anyways, now we have number 35: Bang. Her abilities are pretty straightforward: through Equal Exchange, her body suffered muscle tissue fractures but gained flexibility and strength in her joints. So far, she used it to extend her arms really fast to throw jabs that pack a punch and in her legs to run fast through quick leaps. She's really good at close combat fighting, so that's helpful knowing her power. She can definitely kick some asses. I'll try and see if Blue could do some tutoring, but knowing her she won't accept. All and all, she's a normal but reliable foot soldier."

"Compared to that, number 42 is a bit more complex. Lunchbox. It took a while before Whiff could make anything work with him. But you are aware of that, Whiff asked for you to step in. So as you know, the mutation in his digestive system made him a Direct Causal Link type. Depending on what he eats, he gains different capacities. We found out that iron makes his body tougher, sugar gives him an energy and speed rush and protein makes him stronger. We are yet to make him try more pills and see if mixes work. He's high maintenance and resource dependent, but he's worth the investment."

"Following him, there's Butcher. Number 43 is a really special one. He seems to be able to completely control his muscle fibers unconsciously. One of the ways he does it is by switching back and forth between slow and fast twitch fiber, depending if he needs resistance or power. His muscles seem to also regenerate almost immediately. In theory, he can just keep training over and over and over again and never get tired. It also means he can have his limbs shredded, but his muscles would heal immediately. That's a strong power; however, the downside is important. Equal Exchange cursed him with no regeneration in all the other fields. So for example, if he gets cut, his skin will never close and the blood will never stop. It's the same thing if he breaks a bone. His body won't heal on its own without some sort of medical attention. It's a very risk-based power."

"After that, we have another Equal Exchange type, number 47: Spike. While having her skin damaged and her muscles weakened, her bones powered up. She has a shield constantly covering her. They are also malleable, so she can do whatever she wants with them. She can extend them and give them the shapes she wants. She mostly uses them as some sort of weapons or swords. She has good defence and good offence. She's extremely versatile. Great asset."

"And now we have number 48. His name might be the most fitting: Undead. He's the only Supernatural State Type of the year, and the past years too. It's the first time I witnessed one. There's just no explanation for his power. He's practically immortal. He regenerates. Always. No matter the wound. Slowly, but without fail. Even his cells are constantly restored. Venom could only conclude that it might even make him age slower. He's honestly scary. He's a monster. He didn't earn anything else though. He's as strong as me, which is not strong at all. I don't know what use we will have with him, but he's invincible. This is beyond me."

"Urghh.. Alright. Almost done. Number 51: Nuke. So, the shot increased her body temperature. To survive, it needed to cool itself down. She then gained an ability from that. Classic Direct Causal Link scenario. The burns on her skin are actually frostbite. It seemed chemical reactions happened in her body, and now she can form some sort of bootleg liquid hydrogen, seeping through her pores to cool down her body if needed. Now, because of the incident between her and Spike, we were lucky to witness something interesting. It's kind of like how normal hydrogen would work, it's flammable, and well, explosive. Last time, the impact between her sword and Spike's created a spark and ignited the hydrogen on her. It seems complicated and not really something I can understand, but Whiff seems to think she might be able to learn to control and use her power to create explosions at will. That's another one that's going to be a pain in the ass. Now we got number 56, Jab-"

"Pass that one."

"... Right. Umm. Number 67: Cortex. He's sadly probably our less valuable asset. He's paralyzed from the waist down. Though with Equal Exchange he is really smart. He could be a good tactician.. but I think that with him in a wheelchair, he'd be more of a nuisance for his team than anything. There's nothing much to say, I really don't think he's cut for it. We might as well spare the kid and let him go."

"So now, for number 84, Whiff is still uncertain. We set Morph as a Direct Causal Link type, but that's just because we don't know. Whiff thinks the stress caused by the injection awoke her deepest natural instinct. That translates through incredible reflexes, staggering intuition, you name it. It's like she grew a second conscience. She's living purely off her survival instinct; perfect for a foot soldier. Hence why she lost some of her most humane capacities such as communication skills and such. If we can train her to follow orders, she'd be a good weapon."

"But yeah, number 88 is barely any different than number 67. Rouge suffered damage to every organ in her body. That and the internal bleeding almost killed her. Luckily, she's still alive. Somehow. But now she's extremely frail. She won't survive long as a soldier. I even don't know if she gained any abilities, really. I mean, even Venom didn't find anything going on about her, so it's pretty hopeless. Maybe she just got unlucky and didn't awaken any power. That'd be a first."

"Anywho, number 89. Kage is also an Equal Exchange type. Her long-time memory is decaying rapidly. It's degenerative. However, she's got an incredible photographic memory. It's almost a sixth sense for her now. Everything she sees, she remembers, and she can reproduce. Whiff asked for Swift to help train her. Kage was able to completely assimilate every technique and move set she showed her at first sight. She copied and reproduced them perfectly. The power and strength aren't the same, obviously, but still. Now Whiff wants to ask Slash to try if it also works for weapon mastery. With that power, her limit is boundless and her growth will be exponential."

"For Flow, number 91, her situation resembles Rouge's, but the damages were lesser. With a Direct Causal Link, the inner trauma gave her somewhat good control over her internal body. So far she learned to move her organs around, avoiding lethal stabs or knock-out punches. I don't know much about Swift or the Commanders because that info is off-limit, but from my knowledge, Flow's power is extremely similar to hers."

"Number 98 is our last one, in the original batch that is: Gum. He's also a Causal Link type. To heal his skin, his metabolism creates and secretes sticky substances through his pores. Depending on the usage, it's a good external barrier to absorb attacks or a strong restraining tool. Knowing how much of a pain it can be to our enemies, the same goes for our allies. In a squad, Gum is going to be a distraction in his comrades' minds, trying not to get caught up in his abilities. But, he's also a threat for the opponents so, yeah."

"Alright, finally. The last one. Number 101: Akuma. Whiff still couldn't pinpoint what his power was. Multiple people, myself included, witnessed some changes in the guy. We use "shadow mode" to refer to this new mode he can tap into. His eyes glow red and he just isn't the same. Blue said it's as if something takes over. I agree. I mean, he doesn't stand out. At all. He's average at best. But when he uses the switch, he can almost keep up with Commander-level opponents. The change is too drastic. It's like an echo of himself, his shadow, takes over for him. We are still not sure about everything that other form can do, but so far it has shown unbeatable durability and extra sharp reflexes and intuition. In the end, we couldn't put him in any category. He doesn't seem to have any physical loss. So yeah. There you go. That's all of them, sir."

"Thank you, Adam, your hard work is appreciated. Go rest. You deserved it. The trainings start again tomorrow. You're dismissed."

"Yes Sir!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're his direct respondent. That's what you wanted, right? A cozy spot at the top? So why are you complaining to me now?"

The silk of her hair was glowing, reflecting the white of the night lamp. Her delicate hands were mindlessly running around the man's chest, while his fingers were playing with the strands of her long blond hair. Naked and cuddling under the sheets, they alternated between passionate coitus, long silence, and profound talk; in no particular order. Adam was smoking a cigar, despite his company's refutations. He slowly exhaled the toxin he just let in.

"You're right. I shouldn't complain about my problems to you. I'm sorry."

The woman chuckled.

"Don't be sorry. I don't mind it. That's my job, isn't it? Doing everything in my power to please you, be it with my mouth, or my ears to listen to you."

She raised her head and looked at him with her playful aquamarine eyes. Adam smiled before kissing her gently.

"Your wits never stop to amaze me. Also, I was wondering. You know all about my job, but I don't really know about yours, do I? Like, actually know."

"Oh? You want to know what I do with my other clients? You can come along next time and watch us if you're really into that."

"I'll pass. Not my jam."

"You don't know what you're missing."

"I don't think I want to know, thanks. But what I'd like to know is why a beautiful woman like you, who's sooo smart and sooo good at comebacks and has such a great sense of humor can be bought by a guy like me?"

"I have low standards I guess."

"I'm serious Rose. You deserve better than that"

The night worker stayed silent for a moment, her eyebrows squinting faintly.

"I told you Adam, I have no other choice."

"Explain to me. Please. You shouldn't have to continue like that."

"You bought me, didn't you? Multiple times. If you want me to stop, shouldn't you stop doing business with me? Aren't you just contributing to the problem here?"

Rose said as she let go of her embrace to sit at the edge of the bed.

"I don't need you to tell me what I can or can't do."

"I'm not. I'm just telling you, you deserve better. You joke about it, but I can see it in your eyes. Every time you talk about your job, their blue darkens. The life in them just... leaves. It sinks and hides. And I hate that. I can tell you don't want to do this. Stay with me."

"And why do you care? You think you're better than them? What are you telling yourself at night? I'm not like the other pigs that do what they want with her? It's me, so I'm better? I treat her better? Breaking news, that's what they all think too."

"Please don't say that, you know it's not like that."

"Why do you speak for me? How can you know what I know? How can you know what's better for me? Why is everyone deciding for me? Why can't I ever decide for myself?"

A warm and thick flow of tears was leaking down her angry face as she sobbed uncontrollably. She aggressively turned to face Adam. Her red eyes were looking into his. She was going back and forth from one eye to the other; both were as concerned as they were worried. She kept looking into them for help. All he could do was bring her in his arms, holding her close. He immediately feared his decision, thinking he was the last thing she wanted to do anything with right now. But she didn't push him back. They both found out at the same time that he was the very thing she needed right now. Everything pent up in her chest found a way out without her consent. It just got out.

"Y-You don't know. Anything. Inside. The way it works. It- It's just. Everyone owns something. Like a-a fucking monopoly. All the food and cooking are made by one family and everyone buys from them. All the building o- or carpeting or whatever is another one. You're obligated to go to them. You can't get anything on your own. And m- me. M- my family. The- They own sex, pleasure and lust. That's what we do. Old, young, male, female. It doesn't matter. We're all stuck in this shit. I- I- They are menacing to kill me, Adam, if I don't do what they want. They didn't say it like that, but they said they were going to throw me outside the walls. Same thing to me. I- I told you. I have no choice."

Adam felt all the weight of her words rest on his heart. He was sad. He truly cared for her. But he was taken off guard when he felt this happiness come to him. He felt important to her now. He felt important to someone. Her sharp sobbing breath and her constant cries brought him back in the moment. He squeezed her harder.

"It's ok. I'm here. You're with me now. I'll save you. I promise. Leave everything to me. Okay?"

"O-Okay.."

"Okay."

They broke their embrace just long enough to look each other in the eyes. They felt a force pulling them. They kissed. Their first kiss free of charge, not included in the contract.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We can do this. I'm sure we can."

"Shit man. This is risky."

"Shh! Keep it down you idiots. He could hear us."

Those guys are actually serious about this. I don't know how it happened, but all the recruits gathered in the back of the Coliseum, close to the Dorms Branch's door. From afar, it looks like kids hanging out. But it's actually a coup meeting. I don't know about all this. Doc is always so sketchy. I wouldn't be surprised if he was hearing us right now.

"I don't care if he can hear. He can't do shit about it. I mean, come on you guys! We've seen what we can do today! Like fuck, this guy is immortal and she's a walking bomb!"

She's right. We've seen guys like James and Adam, they are no match for us. I don't doubt we can take Doc's men. I just don't think we can take him on personally. Without insight at least.

"That's cool and all, Bang, but what is your plan? You want us to just start walking around attacking people?"

Lunchbox sounds mad. It's probably just because he's scared.

"Come on now. Of course not. We need to take our time. We also don't need to kill anybody. I say we wait for the best moment when lots of his men are gathered at the same place. We knock them out and capture them so we won't have to worry about them. For Doc.. hm well.."

"That's another story now, isn't it Bang? It doesn't matter how many of his pawns we take down. We still have nothing on him."

"You're all bitches! What is that old man going to do against all of us? We can just all gang up on him and do him good!"

"You don't know what you are talking about."

I was surprised he didn't say a word until now. I wonder how much trust they are going to put in his drunk words.

"And what do you know, Jab?"

"He killed a nurse right in front of us just by looking at her. Don't think I don't want to kill that bastard. We just can't afford to miss him, cause if we do, we're all dead. We have to do this right, and that means we wait."

"Hun. Speaking with some senses. What did you put in that flask?"

"Shut it. And by the way, you guys can plot and bitch around all you want, but Doc is mine."

"There you go, Jab is back."

Sprout said.

"Feel how you want about Jab, but you have to agree with him. Yes, we got stronger. Way stronger. But we are still far away from Doc's level. I'm not saying this to bring your hopes down. I'm not. This is good. We got powered up and we are cooperating as a group. A team. We made a shit ton of progress toward taking him down. But, because there is a big but, we're still not ready yet. We can do this. I know we can. Just, not right now. Later."

Funny how nobody is responding to that. They are all silently agreeing with Savvy. I agree too.

"Sure, whatever. But I'm not gonna fucking wait forever. You're still pretty damn weak, Savvy. So of course you're scared. But look at me. I can walk up to them and blast them to bits! I'll be good to you guys, and wait. But I'm not going to sit my ass down and eat shit from them for too long still. I'm just warning you."

That's pretty reasonable. I think Nuke is being fair.

"I'm sorry, but I'm with her. I'm just tired. And afraid. Soon they will send us out there.. I don't want to go.."

"I know Gum. We all are. But that's why we gotta stick together and get through this shit. You're right, Nuke. I am weak. And maybe that does make me extra cautious. I won't argue with that. You can call me weak all you want. But if you dare question my will to kill that asshole, fuck you."

Everyone felt that fuck you. We stayed quiet and looked at Nuke. I think even Savvy regretted saying that. Her whole face blushed and her eyes looked scared. I hope Nuke won't do anything . . . She's grinning.

"Alright. I see you, Savvy."

She's holding her hand out. Savvy is as perplexed as all of us. It took her some time before smiling and shaking her hand. I guess they respect each other now.

"So like. What's the plan now? If I can ask."

I don't think I've heard Richter speak until now.

"Well, I think that we should wait until after the Trials. The training tired us all. And we are not finished. We still have Bowie's. We will barely have a break before they throw us in the Trials. However, my guess is that we should get a longer break after that. They will need to organize missions and teams before being able to kick us outside the walls to go fight. We should behave until then. Complete a couple of missions. Let things settle for a bit. We should even try to get the Commanders on our side while we're out there. Only after all that should we strike."

Even though it's hard to hear her with that muzzle in her mouth, I think we all understood Drool's plan.

"Sounds good. Any objections? .. No? Great. Now let's go rest while we can. See you guys later."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, did they meet your expectations, Doc?"

"Yes. Brilliantly. Though, they are a bit rebellious. But that is only a minor issue that will be dealt with as the time comes."

"Rebellious you say?"

"Nothing to worry about. They are plotting to take me down. As if the recruits before them and the recruits before that and the ones before those didn't try. I'm used to it. You see, it's not only recruits that are plotting murderous schemes in my back, Mob."

"Is that so? I wonder who would do such things. It must be hard for you to feel safe. I mean, from the sound of what you're telling me, you never know when a sharp knife is waiting for you around the corner."

"I live every day with plenty of, hmm, feelings. Emotions. But fear has never been one of them."

They again exchanged looks in the quietness of Doc's office, both of them being the only entities around.

"So.. The Trials. They're coming soon."

The Father broke the silence.

"Indeed. Is yours prepared?."

"Perfectly settled. But I do have a question."

"Go on."

"As fellow Commanders, we have complete control over our terms, don't we?"

"That is right."

"So, all of us can make our test as we like, and no one can interfere?"

"Not even me."

"Great. I just wanted to make sure."

"Of course. Do you need any help from me? Did you want to ask for specific recruits?"

"No need for you to go to such lengths, sir. Anyone will do. I'm not picky."

"Agreeability has always been my favorite trait from you, partner."

"Why, of course! I am here for business. And I believe equity and fairness make the best transactions."

Mob finished his drink.

"I believe our affairs are settled then?"

"Indeed. You shall leave to your occupations. Until our next meeting."

The Commander took his cane out of his thick coat and began to walk to the door. He stopped in the doorway when Doc spoke to him.

"By the way, Frostbite is yet to report to me from his last mission."

The palm of Mob's hand squeezed painfully hard around the golden sphere mounting his stick.

"Sorry about that Doc. But you see, he still hasn't come back from his mission."

"Really? It was only a low-level assignment. I would assume that a soldier of his caliber would have done it rapidly."

"I agree. It is very strange for him to take that much time on this low-level mission."

"Yes, it is very strange indeed. I hope nothing happened to him. It would be such a shame to lose him, the great man that he is."

"Yes. It would be such a shame. Now if you would excuse me."

"Of course. Goodnight, Mob."

Doc was smiling frantically in his chair, while the Father had veins throbbing on his hand and forehead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is some bullshit!"

A veil of icy particles was strongly persisting in the thick warm air of this rocky dead end, somehow barely illuminating the area. Through the dim light convened by it, a pair of red glowy eyes were floating high up from the ground. A strong and huge stature was defined by streams of red gulp flowing through and around its silhouette. The heat of its barbaric breaths was creating a thick fog as they were released into the cold air. A Hollow. A strong one, navigating through the darkness of these underground tunnels and caverns. Growling and snarling, he was hunting down his prey, heavy stumps one after the other.

"Well fuck me!"

Frostbite was facing a wall. Literally. He turned around, just to set his dark eyes on the monster. He lowered his stance, and in a not so majestic manner, waved his arms. Bursting out of his palm, a geyser of icy crystals spread in front of him under a loud crackling ruckus. In a flash, a frozen screen elevated itself between him and the predator.

"Alright. That should buy me tim-"

The Hollow screeched a loud and deep grunt that resonated behind the glacier before putting all its weight in its punch, cracking the ice on impact.

". . . Well, some time. Just enough. Hopefully."

The Don took a deep breath, his veins shining with a light blue under his flesh as the icy oxygen was coursing through his body; a scattered and frivolous blue aura flowing out of him. The Hollow kept pummeling the frosted wall with blows, slowly breaking its way through. Frostbite felt the fear crawl up his skin, as long as the adrenaline rush. He unconsciously started to jump in place, relaxing his body. He shut his eyes and his brain. A huge clawed fist pierced through the shield, crumbling down on itself, revealing the menacing figure covered in white dust and blue fragments. Frostbite let out a battle cry that echoed in the underground before leaping at his enemy. Mid-run, he was punching the air, firing a slave of frozen shards. The projectiles were cutting the outer flesh of the wild beast, earning its painful screams.

That didn't stop it from making a charge of its own with powerful steps, breaking the ground. With its prey in its reach, the Hollow threw its arm in front of itself, closing its claws around Frostbite. The man slid swiftly between the legs of the beast on a floor of ice forming itself following his movement. As he did, he morphed his arm into a spiky limb, using it to slash the inner leg of the devil, bringing it to its knee. He then used his momentum to jump off the ground and pivoted in the air, now facing the back of the Hollow. He proceeded to yell and extend his spike arm, creating a long piercing stalactite extending all the way down to the Hollow, perforating the other leg of the monster, sticking in the ground. The beast is now grounded. And angry.

The soldier was retracting the spike, pulling him towards the devil. He turned his other arm into an icy sharp sword, planning to cut the head off its body. But his enemy didn't flinch and dug its claw deep in the frozen rod, breaking it into pieces. His momentum was still pushing him towards the now standing Hollow, slowly approaching the giant claws reaching for him. The soldier yelled as he put his hands in front of him, releasing a huge wave of ice, both completely covering the dark figure and propelling him back.

As soon as he landed further away, he leaped forward to charge at his enemy, still amidst the gust of ice. As soon as he was about to stab the icy shroud with his spike arm, claws slashed through the smoke right in his face. The man just had time to cover his face with a layer of ice when the claws sunk through the side of his head, slashing away the frozen skin shield. It was right when he thought he dodged that the other hand burst out of the ice and violently grabbed his neck. The powerful limb was crushing his throat while pulling him closer to its gapped and salivating mouth. The soldier could feel his spine crack and the light fading out.

Frostbite's survival instinct took over. His blue aura concentrated in his core, creating a sphere of light right around his stomach. The ball of energy then busted open, creating a huge explosion of spikes, all coming out of him, in every direction. Chaos incarnated. The spikes tore easily through the Hollow's body in multiple spots, leaving the beast screeching and loosening his grip.

Blood was oozing out of the Don's mouth when he started yelling. A huge ice-cold beam blasted out of his mouth, cutting the Hollow's head clean off of its body. The man crumbled on the ground, choking on blood, gasping for air. Next to him, the inanimate corpse of a Hollow, decapitated. His eyes bloodshot and having faced death, he realized. He was framed.

"Fucking bastard! I will so murder your ass!"