Catcall Part 8

The next time I opened my eyes, it was to the sound of a beeping monitor. I looked towards and quickly scanned the area using what little speed I had. From the equipment alone, I could tell that I was somehow in the upper levels.

I wish I could say that my mind was coming up with thousands of possibilities of what happened. Or that I had thought up the five different escape routes I saw right in front of me. But I can't change the past, and I didn't even care, in all honesty. So instead, I waited patiently as the nurses noticed me and called "him" to the stage.

Despite wearing the most formal of clothes, I quickly recognized the man in front of me because I knew those terribly cold eyes anywhere with the outfit or not. Nitrous decided to make his appearance in full as he called the nurses away to speak for me in private.

With my throat still very much sore, all I could do was wriggle in alarm as the heart monitor started to go crazy. However, that fear went from wild to a cold suppression as soon as Nitrous placed his hands on mine.

"Don't be afraid; I'm not going to hurt you. Though your continued quality of life very much depends on what you decide. Right here and now," he said. He then said with mechanical resolve.

With that, he made himself comfortable, pulling up a chair while not letting his grip over me go for a second. His expressions then softened to a small extent, all so that he could explain his ulterior reasoning for "saving me."

"I must say, despite not knowing each other that well, I think that both of us are very similar in some respects. In that dumpster, I didn't see another powerless dreg who barked more than it bit. No, I saw someone who had true power and sought to exercise it at full force against all odds without regrets. Am I correct?"

From there, all I could do was nod, both out of a mix of fear, truth, and submission.

"Yes, I knew it. After all, my family taught me to believe that those who have the might deserve to dictate what's right. To that end, I've always done what I've pleased, taken what I've wanted, and solidified my family's reign far into Krimo. I'm sure on some level you can relate, right?"

Once again, I nodded, staying silent as a mouse, my wounds still very much aching at his presence.

"Yet despite all of my work, despite all of my achievements, I know that it's only temporary. Maybe it'll take ten years or maybe even twenty, but it still very much happen. Not even Omna, for all her power, can keep up with time. So while I'm still strong, while I still have the might, I feel like my current right should be to leave my generation behind in a better state than I left it. To leave behind an heir. So for months, I've tried to find the woman that would help me in that regard, the one who would complete me. And I think I've found it in you."

Alarm widened my eyes; quickly putting the pieces together, I thought of coming up with some terrible lie, but instead, he saw all through it and cut to the chase.

"I've been a hero for a very long time. I can analyze a person's power from a couple of mere glances. And I can tell that you have the one factor that I very much lack; for all my speed and training, nothing can get done to make up for my lack of reflexes at full speed. But if we combine our powers, our heir's speed would become unrivaled. My family's legacy would finally be complete," he said almost wistfully as he looked right through me.

A deadly cocktail of emotion started to swirl inside me like bile: pride, hate, fear, and anger. Picking up on this, Nitrous then refocused to show his "generosity."

"I understand if you're reluctant; after all, power, breeding is a very controversial and difficult process. This is why if you do, I will make sure that you get happily compensated; of course, I would have to manufacture a new identity for you to layout a cover story or 2. Nevertheless, if you agree, I promise that you will have a fortune that will make those diamonds you took look like cheap creds. You'll finally be where you rightfully belong amongst the mighty."

He then started to grip down harder against my arm, warming it just enough to give me flashes of our previous battle.

"You do have every right to refuse my offer as well. After all, you're strong enough to decide your fate free of my influence. However, freedom always has a price, and something tells me you don't have the strength to pay it. You've unleashed quite a lot of havoc across the middle levels; authorities say that you've stolen millions worth of items and caused almost just as much in property damage," he said with creeping intensity.

At that moment, I flashed through every steal I've done, every person I've hurt, every inch of guilt I didn't bother to feel on my way to the top. Waves of regret quickly followed after that as Nitrous continued.

"With the way these cities treat its criminals, I wouldn't be surprised if you were put away for a long time. That wouldn't be a problem for you, though, right? Since we are both people who have true power and seek to exercise it at full force against all odds without regrets. Am I correct?" he said as he stared into my very soul.

Even in my sorry state, there was some part of me, a small part, almost insignificant part, that spoke for me.

"No, no, no, no, no," it would repeat with everything it had again and again and again inside my soul.

But that answer came out. Instead, that flame got put out as the fresh sting of my first complete defeat seeped into my very core. Leaving me as nothing more than a vessel, a vessel that happily accepted her new role. Three years of my life got utterly wasted in a flash as every essence of my former life vanished.

Not that I had much stake in my name, but I had to give it all up. Now I was Blaise Mercury, founder of a "foreign" home security company that decided to move to Krimo as a way to "help" the less fortunate. Eventually, Nitrous caught my eye over several weeks, attracted to his admiration for possessions. Once we squeezed out as much drama as we could from the news, we eventually got publicly married as Krimo's most prominent power couple.

Once we got married, we quickly got to work. But after multiple failed attempts with various methods, it became pretty clear that our "first'' meeting left scars that ran far more profound than both of us could imagine. Simply put, I couldn't exactly give Nitrous what he wanted, meaning to him I was nothing more than a paperweight, a trophy, a constant prized medallion that reminded him of his failure.

Eventually, a grave rift managed to form between us, as finally, we only met each other when we had to pull a facade for the camera. And because my company was a hidden proxy for Nitrous Inc, I was only running it by name. Which meant that for sometimes a week at a time, I would do nothing but sit back and relax with every whim I had gotten answered at once.

Though most of the time, I was usually silently pondering by myself, with a hidden sound that was more deafening than thunder. Because despite how hard I tried to stuff it all down, that little part of me, the part that told my inner truth, still very much persisted. It seems to have only gotten stronger the more I tried to bury it.

No matter what type of lie I conjured up, it always had a counter, as eventually, this endless stalemate reached a simple conclusion. If I had just given that bastard a piece of my mind, if I had just shown some nerve and fought back, then I would've been in jail, yes. But I'd much rather die free than life in this prison of defeat and submission.

That is why I decided to wage this war with "him." That's why I decided to adopt the alias Nerve. I truly respect The Cons for my jokes and seductions because despite all their apparent flaws. They've shown far more nerve than I ever had. And no one symbolized that better than the man I'm talking with right now.