"I'm more than capable on my own. I don't need a babysitter." Coupé crossed her arms, speaking out on the group channel, while squinting at him across the office. Sean wondered why most of the Z-Team were so hostile to him. Of course, he pushed back a bit and criticized how they conducted themselves and their attitude towards colleagues and their work in general… Perhaps he did know why they didn't like him.
He was trying to finish the massive meal quickly. His talk with Royd had delayed his lunch, but he wasn't going out without eating, especially since that was his foremost theory on why Kojin had died. And because he could now sense ki, he also directly noticed his ki had grown.
"It's just some shots fired in a warehouse of some gun trafficker. It's probably a gun deal going wrong, and now the two sides shoot each other." Coupé continued. "I'll just go ahead and eliminate them-"
"No!" Stacy's response was emotional. There had been a few signs during the assignments, making Sean guess Stacy was rather afraid of their in-house assassin. Something that should be normal, but his sense of normal had been slipping through his fingers these last days. He was only surprised to hear her previous profession when Invisigal gave him the rundown of the Z-Team members.
Her attentiveness had been noticed, but how could Sean have guessed it was because she used to be an assassin? His first impression was that she was a passionate fashion designer, judging him for his simple armor.
Usually, when it was revealed that someone was a real assassin, fear would have been more appropriate, but now his first emotional response was excitement for what they could teach him or if they could give him a good fight.
Although he hated to admit it, he was starting to understand Goku's hiring of Hit. Not understanding intellectually, he could already do that before, but he emphasized with that decision now. Give him a few more months, and he might do the same.
"Y-you can't eliminate them! N-no killing."
"Relax, if I'm not getting paid, I won't… unless they piss me off. Regardless, I'll be fine on my own." She shot him a challenging look.
"I've lost my memories and haven't cooperated with anyone else besides Invisigal, so I need to mix it up a bit. Get some variety in how I do missions, so I'll know what I'm doing wrong and what I can improve on. And since you're the most professional on the team, Stacy probably thought it would be a good idea for you to show me different ways to approach these missions. Isn't that right, Stacy?"
"How is she the most professional-" The ego's bruised were ignored.
"Y-yes, exactly as he said. He needs to mix it up and get used to working in different constellations." At least, she picked up fast on the excuse. There was no doubt that she had only assigned them together because Invisigal was taking a break.
"Just don't get in my way," Coupé said in her breathy, measured way of speaking.
"Sure. You're the boss."
"Then let's not waste any more time." She was nimble, cutting through the office, arriving outside in just a few moments. Sean was only able to keep up because his raw speed was just higher. They already have the location and some details about the gun trafficking happening at the harbor.
"There will be some guards. How do you want to deal with them?" Let her take the lead and assign tasks. This way, they wouldn't get in any major conflicts right from the get-go, as later it was likely that things might escalate. Since he was more of a brute, it was almost inevitable that a fight would break out later if he just went in. However, Sean was confident to pull his weight in any combat situation.
Not only was he getting stronger and faster, but his reaction time and quick wit were improving with every mission. The mental sharpness he had gained from having to improvise almost on every mission due to the lack of information was significant.
She smirked as he caught up to her. "Just wait and see how it's done-"
"No, that won't do." She frowned at his refusal, but before she could speak, he continued, "If you don't tell me what you're going to do, I might risk messing up your plan and alerting the entire warehouse to our presence. Tell me from where to observe and when to intervene or draw attention for you to do your thing."
It looked like she wanted to refute out of principle, but something made her hold her tongue. "Fine. Follow me." Like all heroes, their pace was high, and their routing was impressively efficient. At least, that was the case for Invisigal and Coupé. They knew which streets to avoid because of high traffic or persistent gang presence and where the best observation spots were. Good spatial awareness and routing.
When they arrived, Coupé led him into a building and up the flight of stairs. "The warehouse is visible across from this apartment complex. It has an easily accessible rooftop." Just as she finished, she reached for the door and lockpicked it with familiarity as if it had been her practice lock. Through the heavy-looking door, they entered the sparse rooftop. Fortunately, no one else was there.
She approached the edge and tilted her head towards a rundown warehouse. A building that would definitely be difficult to find a buyer for. It was walled off with only a large metal gate allowing access into the courtyard.
"This is the warehouse the anonymous tip had called in for."
"You think someone from this apartment had called us?" At his question, Coupé looked at him as if he were stupid.
"The less we know, the better. Let's not ask any questions that would be difficult for our client."
"Yes, you're right… How often do calls like this end up being traps to get to some hero?" If she was surprised by the question, she didn't show it.
"Not often. You can't ensure which hero is being sent, and no one would hand over a hideout for a small chance."
"So, what's the plan?" She glances at him before turning her attention back to the warehouse. From the apartment, one could see two small figures moving about since it was just 100 meters away. Coupé then glanced at the horizon before smiling.
"The sky should be covered for at least the next hour."
"Okay?"
"Additionally, we are high enough, which means that my shadow won't be cast for them to see it." She then proceeded to jump onto the ledge of the rooftop. "People rarely look up. Even if they are patrolling against heroes, since most heroes can't fly."
Sean thought the wings were an aesthetic choice, since Visi said her powers were about controlling blades. He had assumed it was just something to hold her blades. "Yes, I can fly." With that, she jumped off. "Just watch and learn how a professional does it!" She added through the mission channel.
Sean watched as she glided through the air. Although the patrols seemed to be on high alert, they were oblivious to her landing on the roof. Even from a distance, he could tell how controlled she landed. "You must have put a lot of effort into making your landing that smooth. You'll have to teach me how to do that." Her figure could be seen almost stumbling before her head swirled towards his direction. He held up a thumbs-up to signal that no one had detected her.
It wasn't clear to him why his words earned him a middle finger. Perhaps it was a taboo to ask an assassin to learn their skills? Sean sat down at the edge of the building and waited. Missions usually didn't last that long. The longest one had been a couple of dozen minutes. Coupé would only have to go in to confirm where the guns were and confront the gang members.
A few minutes later.
"Jin, we have a problem. I see chained people being brought into a container, mostly women. This isn't just about a deal going wrong or trafficking guns. There truly had been a gunfight. Several bodies are lying around. They are currently cleaning up. It won't be long until they move."
Sean immediately stood up, "I'll act as a distraction and try to get most of their people to confront me. Don't make your presence known and focus on the victims. We will have to move as soon as possible. The police are already on the way. If these criminals think they are being cornered, they might turn to the victims to use them as hostages. Protect them by any means."
"By any means, huh?"
"Yes," Sean answered without hesitation. If it were preventable, he wouldn't want to cause casualties, but he knew there were moments one just had to stop holding back, because the alternative would be even more difficult to bear.
"The hostages are in the north-east. There are too many patrols moving around, I'll have to cut down the numbers-"
"Don't. I'm about to arrive." The wind wooshed past his ear. He had jumped off the building, cracking the ledge to launch him toward the warehouse. His body was dropping fast, and he was still too far away. His ki moved in response to his need.
The world tunneled toward the warehouse as his perception warped. He was faster. Still falling, but faster.
'I need to be higher. The angle is wrong.' His mind raced, and his body reacted. His trajectory copied Coupé's gliding until he couldn't anymore. Dust was pushed away as he landed heavily inside the courtyard, behind the warehouse's gate. His figure immediately attracted attention.
Guards aimed their rifles at him.
Sean responded by pointing his palm at them.
KIAI
"Haaa!" Air pressure shot invisibly at one of the guards, throwing him through the first floor's window. Confused shouts came from inside.
Ratatatata
Shots swished at him. A dodge to the side, then forward. The guard did not perceive the change this quickly. A jab, and his body crumbled to an unconscious heap.
Ki pooled into his palm. A white sphere lit up. More energy.
Sean tossed it at the warehouse's metal door.
Bang
Thud thud
The large metal door was blown off its hinges. It bounced off the ground as it disappeared somewhere inside.
Sean stepped inside only to be greeted by the sight of a panicky criminal group. They scrambled to their weapons. Sean pointed a palm at one, hoisting up his rifle.
A push forward, pressurized air.
It pushed him over the railing. A loud crack sounded out as he hit the ground.
"Argh, fuuuuck." He held his shoulder as he curled up on the ground. Most of them were stunned by the attack, but a few were more experienced.
Pew pew
Sean was already on the move. The sounds seemed to slow down. The shots sounded almost muffled. The interval between shots grew slower than that of a handgun. The eyes of the guard widened as Sean ripped the rifle out of his hands. A roundhouse folded him around Sean's leg. He dropped breathless to the ground.
Shots followed him, but the difference in speed was overwhelming. Even if light had hit their eyes, it would take a couple of hundred milliseconds for them to process what they saw and move accordingly.
Sean just had to reach each of them and fold them one by one. They could not stop him. They could not resist. And they wouldn't be able to outrun him. This reality slowly settled in when Sean dropped the 7th with a single punch. Three were already starting to run, but as they turned around, one of theirs was thrown over them, crashing through the window next to their exit.
"Aaaah-" A shout from behind.
The one in the lead risked a glance back. No one was behind him. A hand gripped the back of his skull and picked him up. He thrashed around, kicking to free himself. The warehouse suddenly spun, and then he blacked out.
"Five more are coming your way. There is only one left. I'll take care of him and secure the victims."
"Got it, be careful-"
Sean's eyes narrowed as he heard approaching shouts from behind a double door. The closed doors opened, something flew inside, and the door closed again. His vision and reaction time weren't what they used to be anymore, so he instantly recognized it as a grenade. A flash-bang.
Bang
The door burst open immediately afterward. They fanned out. Swept the area with precision. Organized. Everyone knew what to do. They saw the bodies. However, one question came to their mind: where were the attackers?
"No visual on hostile."
"Shit. The entire team's down-"
"Stay sharp. They must be close."
'They really don't pay attention to what's above them.' Sean thought as he let gravity pull him back down. He was already moving at superhuman speeds. A few days had passed, and his strength was multiplying with every meal. He was more than twenty times as strong as before, which also scaled almost equally to his speed. It wouldn't be wrong for him to be accused of being a speedster. Reacting to a flash-bang tossed inside, even as a surprise, wasn't fast enough to detonate to catch him off-guard.
His body accelerated. A flying kick before using the body to slide across the ground. He stopped next to the double doors and grabbed them by the edge. His hands squeezed the metal, feeling almost like modelling clay to him.
The hinges snapped off the wall. Like a frisbee, Sean flung it towards the remaining turning gunmen. Two ducked just in time. For the other three, Sean propped up the remaining door and punched it. They tried to jump to the side, but were too slow. The door crashed into them. Bones could be heard snapping. Guns went off accidentally. They were flung across the warehouse, slamming against some old machinery with another crack.
The other two couldn't stand up in time. "Goodnight," Sean announced before kicking them unconscious. The room was filled with groans, wheezing, and crying. In the distance, one could already hear the approaching police sirens.
"You're lucky the police are here soon. Don't try to run." Their whimpering shut up as their lives depended on it.
In the next room, he could hear the sounds of struggle. Coupé must have encountered more adversaries. There was no time to waste. Some old machinery obstructed his view, along with assembly lines and crates of dusty beer bottles, as expected in an old brewery.
A leap and he was on top of a catwalk. Here, he had a better overview of the place. In his periphery, a light lit up through an entrance. Without hesitation, he headed there. His jump caused the catwalk to creak heavily. Midair, his ki sense scoured the place and quickly detected a few figures. They weren't differing much in intensity, but he wasn't going to underestimate them.
Even though the heroes he had encountered had more ki than a normal person, they differed greatly, and he hadn't noticed a direct correlation between their ki and powers.
Just as he crossed the door threshold, a giant object headed his way. His ki stirred. It was pure instinct to slap it away. It was only when his palm dug into the material that it registered to him. It was a slab of concrete.
'Who just throws concrete at people?' The concrete shattered into a million pieces. His ki protected him from the debris, deflecting it. His body was completely clear of even the dust. His eyes homed in on the person with the unfamiliar ki. A thin man in robes with blonde hair put up in a man bun. His eyes had an unnatural glint in them. Several women in chains behind Coupé, cowering, with some cuts on them.
Coupé was roughed up as well. She had taken a beating. The guy had probably targeted them to force Coupé to take the hits. Knives swished through the air, while the guy seemed to be yanked through the air by an invisible force.
A deep breath. 'Don't kill him.' Sean pointed his palm at the guy, getting a dismissive wave from him.
Metal snapped
Backflip.
For a moment, he was confused about why he had done that before seeing a door pass where he had been.
"It's Mindsweep- He has telekinesis!" Coupé shouted.
"Make sure the women are safe." Sean hollered as he punched out.
KIAI
A shockwave of compressed air.
Mindsweep dodged. He was too slow. His shoulder was clipped. He spun around, thrown over a forklift.
"He is dangerous. We should work together."
"The victims take priority! Let's go." He rushed towards the girls. "Can you walk?" His body was still turned to where he could sense the guy's ki.
"Please, get us out of here!" "Yes!" "N-no, my ankle," One was sobbing.
"Don't cry. You will be safe, but you have to be strong now. Coupé, carry her out. You! Run out that exit! The police are just two rooms separated from us."
"Oh, how sweet, Saiyan." Mindsweep rose above the forklift, "Instead of running away, you're approaching me? Trying to save the damsels in distress-" A knife swishing past, interrupted him.
"We can just eliminate him and-"
"Coupé, just move!" Sean spoke through gritted teeth. He was already pissed off and didn't have enough patience left.
"…" She quickly went to work, hauled the girl over her shoulder, urging the others to run toward the exit, while she covered the rear.
"Oh, no, you don't!" The forklift trembled before shooting toward the group. Sean sidestepped into the path. The forklift crashed into his palm. His feet dug through the concrete floor, stopping just a meter.
A step forward and a push. The forklift shot back. Mindsweep dodged. The forklift cut down a pallet rack. Heaps of crates with beer bottles came crashing down. Some started to shoot at him. He couldn't dodge. They weren't behind the bent yet.
He slowly stepped backward, covering their retreat. His fist shattered the bottles. The crates and pallets broke against his arms. Some heavy machinery suddenly rammed him aside. Moving him out of the way.
"You can't save shit!"
The shards of the shattered bottles pierced through the distance. Coupè's eyes widened. A wall of blades formed to protect them.
The shards pelted harmlessly against the impromptu shield.
"Bastard, eat this!" Sean shouted as he flung a ki blast at him.
"W-what?" The guy was shocked, instinctively trying to keep a distance while pushing the sphere away. Unfortunately, his telekinesis couldn't affect it, similar to Coupè blades.
Bang
The explosion didn't quite reach him. The shockwave just blasted him into a pallet rack. The wooden crates were crushed beneath his weight.
Both of Sean's hands lit up before he started thrusting them forward. Mindsweep reacted quickly, throwing everything in the way. Four ki blasts flew in an arc. The pallet racks moved to intercept.
Bang Bang Bang Bang
Pieces of metal and glass wooshed past Sean. He had to dodge when a steel pole pierced through where he stood.
"F-fuck is wrong with you?" Mindsweep's body was slumping. Blood was oozing from numerous cuts. Burn marks covered his arm. However, he still opened his arms. The entire warehouse's inventory trembled.
"Enough of this." Sean raised a hand. Light emitted through the gaps of his fist before he slowly opened it, revealing a tiny dot of light. Just looking at it caused pain.
The dot of light hovered above his palm as he stretched his arm toward Mindsweep as if offering it to him. It was smaller than the ki blasts he had thrown earlier, but Mindsweep felt deep dread rising.
Steel beams, crates of beer, rubble, debris, and everything in between shot towards Sean. That was the trigger. The light dot shot forth. Meeting it in the middle. It was like a light switch turned on. The entire warehouse lit up with a blinding white.
Then came the pull. The air was sucked towards it before it erupted. A heatwave blasted forth. A wall of wind so strong it might have been a train ramming into Sean.
He was blasted back. Through the two walls behind him. His world spun.
Where was he?
He could only gather that he was outside and his body was still moving. Pain erupted. His back, then his face, and other parts of his body bounced across the ground.
At some point, he noticed he was looking up into the already dimming daylight. His ears were ringing. There were some distant, muted noises. Should have left some ki to protect himself. It would have been better to make distance before attacking as well.
The previous ki blasts caused too small explosions, so he decided to go with almost all of it. Obviously, that had been too much, and now he was suffering the consequences.
'I'm such an impatient idiot.' He berated himself. Crushing his opponent had been the only thing on his mind. It wasn't like him not to think through it before risking something like that. It had been his first day throwing ki blasts around, after all. He felt strong. In control. Too sure of himself, and just because he didn't see Mindsweep as a real threat, just as disgusting vermin to be crushed, he thought he could just end it quickly…
Having spent so much ki made him sleepy, so he was about to rest his eyes. It was then he remembered Coupé and the girls. His eyes snapped open, and he propped himself up.
His ki sense tried to locate them, but nothing. Panic rose before he extended his sense. People were running toward him. One of them was Coupé, and behind them were the girls, standing among other people. Probably the paramedics.
He really needed to learn how to control his power, maybe use some piercing effect instead of blowing shit up.
Mindsweep's ki was still there. It was barely holding up. Sean could guess how he looked after taking that attack, even though he was hidden behind a warehouse of items.
The police helped him stand up, even though he would rather continue resting on the comfortable tar.
…
The rest of the mission went as usual. Police and paramedics took care of the injured, while the gang was locked up. Coupé glanced at Jin, who, despite looking like he had pulled three all-nighters, gave a rundown to the police. Although on paper the mission had been a success, Coupé felt like she had failed to execute it correctly. If she had taken the mission alone as she had intended, she likely would have had to flee and leave the girls behind.
She should have thought things through with him from the start. It wouldn't have needed to get out of control as it did. She wasn't sure what exactly happened, but she could tell that the victory hadn't come easily.
Assessing the risk of a mission and executing it efficiently was something she took pride in. She should have had it under control. However, her blade, no matter how sharp it was, hadn't been able to reach her opponent. Her ego resulted in this mess.
"During a mission, we can't have a back and forth, especially during combat." Jin's voice suddenly called out. She hadn't realized that he had approached. Of course, she knew that it was a misjudgment on her part. Even arguing that he could have brought the girls to safety while she handled Mindsweep wasn't something she could do.
After all, she wouldn't have been able to win against him while he did.
"Which is why I wanted to apologize." Her gaze snapped towards him. He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "You didn't know what I was capable of, so we had a mismatch of what would be the best course of action."
It would have been the perfect excuse for her failure to assess the situation, but she wasn't one of the best if she did that. "…Don't be stupid." She pushed herself off the wall. "The time you've taken to enter the warehouse and take out the others made it clear you're… more efficient than I."
"Well, you were preoccupied with fighting against a villain while protecting the victims. It would be asking too much of you to make that deduction and factor out any other circumstances that could have helped me." He held up his hand as she was about to retort. "Look, I just wanted to apologize for not communicating better and almost blowing up the entire warehouse."
She scoffed at that. It was surprising that he could do that, but everyone had their secrets. "Let's just make sure we exchange more to have better synergy for future missions. You're close to Punch Up, right?"
She nodded affirmatively.
"Maybe we can organize a sparring session, have a two v two or three v one. Perhaps, we can even think of a team training session."
"I… think that's a good idea."
"Great, I'll organize something. I'll go and ask Blonde Blazer if we can get an area as our training space…" He continued to talk about the sparring and the possible training gadgets we could request before yawning heavily.
She watched him enter Blonde Blazer's office for a few minutes before coming out with a paper and gave her a tired thumbs up before saying he would go for the couch in the R&R. Punch Up sat down next to her as she watched Jin head down.
"Heard ya done a great job on that human traffickin' mission." Punch Up commented as he placed a drink in front of her. "Earned yourself lots of points, eh?"
"I've only played a minor role." She answered, earning a strange look from Punch Up.
"It's not like you to act humble for such a win."
"Humble?" She asked, confused, before Punch Up showed her the completion tickets that Jin must have filled out.
She read it in a whisper, "Infiltrated, located the guns and the victims? Defended against the criminals until help arrived… It makes it sound like I did most of the work."
Punch Up raised an eyebrow. "Is it not true?" She opened her mouth to retort. However, she did all that. And even though she couldn't say it was a lie, it didn't sit right with her.
"We need to train more." She finally declared.