"It'll be easy, you said. Just a little job, you said. There won't even be any danger."
An explosion of ice went off close enough to rattle my teeth. I slammed my back harder into the fridge I was hiding behind, cold metal biting through my jacket. When I risked a quick peek, I saw Mr. Freeze in some stripped-down, not-quite-super freezebot getting swarmed by the Bats.
I ducked back and swore at the idiot who'd talked me into this job in the first place.
"Easy work, my ass!"
I kicked Terry's frozen body as I passed, my toe ringing dully against ice-hard denim. The moron had thought stealing jewelry during an actual robot fight was a good idea. A literal supervillain brawl, and he focused more on the two-hundred-buck chain.
The idiot got what he deserved.
Another beam of ice screamed past, close enough to frost the edge of my cover.
Shit.
I bolted. The warehouse had dissolved into pure pandemonium as I ran. The whole job they'd been "prepping" had been some cracked scheme from the start. Terry had lied, and I was the idiot who believed him.
Damn it. I knew the free lunch was fucking suspect.
A gout of flame tore across the floor ahead of me. I dropped, slid, and rolled under a storage bin just as the heat washed over my head. My heart was trying to punch its way out of my chest.
I peeked up.
Firefly was airborne, laughing or shouting or something as he torched the place like it was the best damn day of his life.
Just an easy job stealing fridges. Goddamnit, that's all I wanted. There's a reason I never signed up for any of the crazies' crews.
"Jean!"
I twisted around. A couple of the other hands who'd been hired were huddled behind a toppled crate. I recognized one of my pals immediately.
"Rodney! What the fuck is happening?"
Rodney was a big guy. Usually, the muscle, the one who stood menacingly and scared punks off without throwing a punch, just with a glare. Right now, his face was pale, eyes wide, looking more like a terrified kid than a tough guy.
"Crazies got busted outta Arkham," he said.
"No shit!" I waved at the very obvious caped disaster ripping the warehouse apart. "Who else got busted out?"
"No, Jean. All of them." He swallowed hard, eyes flicking to the fire and ice tearing through the building. "Arkham's empty. Last I heard, some meta teleported every psychopath, madman, and criminal out in one shot."
Oh… shit.
Another massive boom shook the building. Dust rained down as the ceiling groaned, old beams screaming in protest. The warehouse was already on its last legs.
"Run!"
I didn't know who said it. Didn't matter. I was already booking it for the door.
Unfortunately, this was Gotham, and nothing ever went right. A wall of fire cut off my escape route. I skidded to a stop, barely keeping my feet, and watched the others scramble through smoke and debris to safety.
Crap. Crap. Crap.
My head snapped side to side. The center of the warehouse was a warzone. To my left, flames climbed the walls. Ahead, ice spread like a disease. The only way out was the dock leading straight into Gotham's water.
I hesitated. God only knew what kind of nightmare stew was floating out there, especially this close to the dumps. Best case, you simply stank. Worst case, you grow extra limbs or get cancer by next week.
The choice was ripped away from me as a blinding light flared. Freeze's suit began to glow.
Oh fuck.
I sprinted down the dock and jumped.
"ACK!"
Since when was water hard?
I slammed down and didn't sink. My hand slapped the surface and met something solid, smooth as polished glass. I stared down, heart hammering, and saw the waves of Gotham Harbor rolling beneath me, clear as day.
I wasn't falling.
I looked up and sucked in a sharp breath. Dozens of holograms floated in the air, each one playing a different scene from around Gotham. At the center of it all, a high-end lounge chair sat casually reclined, as if this were a private show. Someone was stretched out in it, watching everything unfold like a movie.
"Hmm. Should I wait a bit longer for the chaos to kill more people? Might earn me more points. I made sure to teleport Joker near that children's hospital. Or maybe Zsasz, send him near Barbara Gordon's apartment and let him have his way? Oh, oh, maybe lead Bane to kill good old Wayne's butler. The face he'd make when his second father dies in front of him. Ahh, so many choices. I bet the League—"
The voice dissolved into a wet, delighted cackle.
Something clicked in my head. An instinct honed from years of dealing with lunatics and the worst human scum Gotham had to offer.
It told me loud and clear.
The person in front of me was irredeemable trash.
I yanked out my old revolver and fired.
The shot should've taken him in the back. We were only a few steps apart. Instead, impossibly, he slipped aside as if the bullet had politely warned him first. He stood and turned to face me, and I finally got a good look at him.
Ugly. Not in the physical sense, but deeper than that, like you could see the rot and oil leaking straight out of the man's soul.
I fired again.
He dodged, strolling toward me like he was taking a casual walk. He smiled, wide and smug. "Well, well. If it isn't your lucky day. Or maybe unlucky. How'd you end up in the pocket field?"
"You! You did this?" My hands were shaking, but the gun stayed up. "Do you know how many people are going to die because of those assholes?"
"Yes?" He tilted his head, genuinely confused. "Of course they're going to die. But they should be happy. They're netting me points—"
Bastard.
I fired a third time. The bullet went wide, missing clean. He didn't even bother dodging now.
"It's useless," he said cheerfully. "You probably can't even comprehend what I tell you, but I bought a Protection from Arrows servant skill. You can try all you want. I'll just dodge. Even with my eyes closed. Come on." He actually shut his eyes and spread his arms wide. "I'll even let you shoot–"
I kicked him in the balls.
"Ugh—wait, you were supposed to—"
I kicked him again, harder this time. Steel-rimmed boot, dead center. He folded instantly, collapsing to his knees with a wet, choking scream.
"Aghh! Agent, I want a refund! This wasn't how the event was supposed to go…"
I ignored his nonsense. I cocked the revolver and pressed the barrel against his temple, close enough to feel him shaking.
"Wait!"
"Fuck you."
I pulled the trigger. The recoil jolted up my arm. His head snapped back, body slumping back as the shot echoed through the frozen air. I stood there, breathing hard, and covered in blood.
That was the first time I'd ever killed someone.
I spat on the bastard and flipped him off.
A chime rang in my ears.
[Congratulations! For killing a rival from the Institute of Tyrannical Order, you have been awarded a contract with Chaos Incorporated!]
[Feat Achieved! Slay a Contractor!]
[+1 Platinum Gacha Ticket]
What the fuck…
I didn't get long to process it. The ground beneath my feet vanished.
"Oh shitttt!"
I dropped straight down and hit the water.
***
This is my own speed write challenge that I'm doing this month. I'll be striving to post a single chapter of this every day for the next month. Also, I'm currently running a 50% discount for my Patreon till March 1st for anybody interested.
Comments and Thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Likes are like a drug to me and boost my creative juices.
I have advanced chapters on my Pa tre on/daisyberry if you wanna read ahead.