The Man in Black (G)

The Man in Black

As soon as Titan joined the Honored, he had to return to Brazil. Fortunately, the flight was smooth,no attacks, hijackings, or mechanical failures. A true miracle, considering his recent streak of bad luck.

When he arrived home in Minas Gerais, he tossed his bags onto the bed and quickly sorted everything: shirts, pants, groceries… and, of course, his suit. Stored in a small device, it could shrink and adjust automatically to his body, just like any Honored member's gear. He looked at the two suits in front of him,one, sewn with his own hands; the other, a technological marvel. His past and present, side by side.

Exhausted, Michel finally lay down. But peace didn't last long. In the middle of the night, his phone rang. It was a friend's brother, and the news hit him like a punch to the gut,Matheus had been murdered. A mysterious figure had killed him under the cover of night.

The pain came with an odd sense of inevitability. Matheus had gotten involved with the wrong people. But there was one coincidence Michel couldn't ignore,he had died shortly after an investigation into a certain "Man in Black," a ruthless vigilante who hunted criminals. That couldn't just be a coincidence.

Michel called Thomas.

"Hello, Michel?"

"Thomas, something happened near where I live… You might find it interesting."

"What is it?"

"A friend of mine was murdered. A criminal… And according to the description, the killer was dressed in black."

"Damn! I'm sorry, man. But this is serious. Even though it's late, we're on our way."

Without wasting time, Thomas gathered John, Will, and Zoe. He quickly explained the situation, and within minutes, the Honored suited up. Zoe teleported them directly to Brazil.

Michel, now as Titan, greeted them with arms crossed.

"Let's get straight to the point. Titan, where do you think this happened?" Tomb asked.

"Probably in Morro das Pedras, a nearby favela. But it's far… Zoe, can you take us there?"

"Not exactly," she said, crossing her arms.

"What do you mean?"

"My powers only work if I've been to a place before or if I know someone from there, even just by imagination. I've never been to this place."

Michel sighed.

"Now what?"

"We do it the classic way," Thomas said. "Running or flying. We need to investigate as soon as possible."

They took off immediately, crossing the city. Forty minutes later, they arrived at their destination.

"We should split up," John suggested. "I'll go with Zoe, Tomb with Will. And Titan… well, you go alone. Is that okay with you?"

"As long as you guys don't get lost," he replied, a bit reluctant.

"Relax, we'll find our way," Will assured him.

And so, the hunt for the Man in Black began.

Michel moved through the dark alleys of the favela, staying alert for any suspicious movement. His heart pounded. He knew this wasn't a safe place, especially at this hour. In a narrow alley, he spotted a group of young men leaning against a graffiti-covered wall, smoking something questionable. He wasn't looking for a fight, but he decided to ask discreetly.

"Heard anything about a guy dressed in black around here?" he asked, his voice firm but not threatening.

The boys exchanged glances. One of them, a skinny guy with wide eyes, scratched his head before responding.

"Yeah, I know who you're talking about. The guy showed up yesterday. Beat the hell out of two guys near the entrance of the favela. They say no one saw him coming or going."

Michel narrowed his eyes.

"Do you know where that happened?"

The boy pointed toward an abandoned warehouse further down, near a steep hill packed with small houses.

Meanwhile, Tommy and Zoe patrolled a more isolated area of the favela. Zoe, visibly uneasy, murmured:

"I don't like this energy. Something's off here."

Thomas, focused, noticed strange marks on the ground. Blood trails mixed with the dry dirt. He looked around, sensing something hidden nearby.

Tomb and Will followed a different path, checking alleys and rooftops. At one point, Will pointed to a dark figure moving swiftly between the shadows.

"Tomb, I think we found our guy."

The chase began.

Will alerted the others, and they all started pursuing the Man in Black. He seemed to teleport,disappearing into the shadows and reappearing elsewhere. Confusion filled the Honored's minds. Who was he? How did he operate? Did he have powers?

From the top of a rooftop, Titan watched closely, trying to locate the mysterious vigilante. Until suddenly…

"Michel…"

A chilling voice froze him in place.

How did he know his name? Who was speaking? Titan turned,and saw something he would never forget.

It was the Man in Black.

"Y-you're the Man in Black!"

"No, I am not that person."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!"

"Cleaning the streets. That is my mission. Filthy criminals who kill, steal, and destroy lives… I take them out. So I'll ask you and your friends to leave and stop interfering."

His voice was cold, calculating.

"Oh, and your name? I know everyone's name. I know their pasts. I can see something like a file… but a divine one. I know who is pure and who is not. This place is so filled with corrupt energy… it disgusts me."

"DID YOU KILL MATHEUS?!"

The Man in Black remained silent for a moment.

"Matheus Carvalho? He is dea-"

Titan landed a punch on the Man in Black's face, and the fight began. The Man in Black's body had cracks and glowing red eyes. These cracks acted as portals, capable of creating weapons made of Corrupted Matter. But what exactly was Corrupted Matter? To understand that, one first had to know who the Man in Black really was.

Gustavo was a Brazilian man who lived peacefully in his city. His life was as balanced as a scale with nothing on either side. He was married and had a daughter. One day, while taking a walk, he had an epiphany. He looked up at the sky and smiled,until he heard gunshots.

When he looked back, his wife and daughter were on the ground, dead, shot in the head and neck. He froze. He didn't know what to do. Then, he blinked,and suddenly found himself in a completely white room, with red stains on the walls. He was consumed by rage. Then, he heard a voice offering him the most lethal mission of his life.

The voice made him an offer:

"You will never feel hunger, never feel tired, never feel pain. But in return, you must accept the mantle of the new Harbinger of Death, wielding powers from the Corrupted Dimension."

A distorted parallel world appeared before him. In that place, animals had no skin, the vegetation was dead, and monstrous, lethal creatures roamed freely.

Gustavo accepted this burden,but under one condition:

"I will only eliminate true evildoers, people corrupted by malice, those who commit atrocities without hesitation. If I ever willingly kill an innocent person, I will succumb,and burn in the deepest pits of hell."

From that moment on, the Harbinger of Death began his mission, eradicating the wicked with the Blade of the Wronged,a sword made entirely of Corrupted Energy, capable of annihilating those who inflicted suffering for their own twisted pleasure.

Titan and the Harbinger clashed fiercely. However, the Harbinger wasn't fighting with full intent,because Titan was not evil. There was no reason to kill him. Instead, the Harbinger opened a portal beneath Titan, transporting him to the other side of the street.

"It wasn't me who killed him, you bastard," the Harbinger said.

"HOW COULD IT NOT BE? THEY TOLD ME IT WAS YOU!" Titan shouted.

"They said a dark figure killed him. That wasn't me. The man we're looking for is named Marco Antônio, a despicable criminal. He's the one who murdered Matheus."

At that moment, the other heroes arrived, ready for battle, assuming their fighting stances. The Harbinger raised his hand, signaling for them to calm down. He explained who he was and who he was really after. Then, he opened a portal beneath himself and teleported to a nearby wooded area,where Marco was hiding.

Marco ran, desperate to escape. He sprinted through the underbrush, trying to avoid whoever might be lurking in the darkness. But soon, he reached a metal fence topped with barbed wire. No way out.

Then, the Harbinger appeared in front of him.

"Who the hell are you, man?" Marco asked, fear in his voice.

"The one who's going to kill you," the Harbinger replied.

A strange red mist enveloped them both. Marco waved his arms, trying to see through the thick fog. When the mist cleared, he found himself in a landscape eerily similar to the one he had just left,except everything was red. The plants were dead, the air was suffocating.

Where were they?

The Harbinger stepped forward.

"There's no escape. A man like you should not be alive."

"Wait! Matheus,he wasn't innocent either!" Marco pleaded.

"Matheus got involved with the wrong people, yes. But he wasn't a criminal. He didn't kill. He didn't steal. But you murdered him,just because he couldn't pay a debt."

Marco's eyes widened in horror.

He was already dead.

"We are in the Corrupted Dimension. This is your end,an eternity of torture for you."

After saying this, the Harbinger snapped his fingers.

"Did you feel that?"

Marco felt an indescribable pain,his bones, his muscles, his entire body was consumed by agony so intense that he could hardly believe what was happening.

"W-what… was… that…?"

"I killed you and rebuilt you. Your brain, your muscles, your organs… all brand new. So you can feel this pain for the rest of eternity. And I will do this forever. I don't get tired. And even if I die, you are already trapped here… forever. You're not the only one, not the first, and certainly not the last. No one escapes."

"Snap."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Haha… again. You will suffer for every man you killed. For what you did to those women… to those children…"

"I'll get used to it," Marco thought.

"Idiot. Didn't you hear what I just said? I will always rebuild you. You will always feel pain, as if it were the first time, every single time. And if that's not enough… I have other ways to make you suffer."

"HOW CAN YOU HEAR MY THOUGHTS?!"

"Here, it's as if you're inside my mind. Nothing escapes me. Now, enjoy your torture."

The scene shifts back to our dimension.

Marco had been beheaded by the Blade of the Wronged. The Harbinger held his heart in his hands. Then, using one of his abilities, he purified it,causing a crimson fire to consume what was left of Marco's body.

After all of this, the police found the remains and continued their search for the Harbinger.

Titan, shaken by everything that had happened, decided it was time to seek out more heroes in Brazil,so they could better protect their country from crime.

Meanwhile, the Honored returned to the United States.

Sebastião received a call from Afonso.

"Hello, Afonso? It's been a while!"

"Sebastião, the day of war is approaching. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I had to warn you. We're coming there,me, Genivaldo, José, and Wladeírson. As soon as possible."

"Alright. I'll send you my address. I'll cover the tickets."

"Thank you, my friend."

Sebastião exhaled, his mind already racing.

"Now we must prepare. This battle will be the most important of our lives."