Of Heroes and Villains

Interview With a Vampire

As soon as he entered the city, Sean moved as fast as he could to hide behind one of the buildings. The smell of the gas was prominent enough for even a regular human to detect it, so it overloaded his sense of smell.

He couldn't blow this, not only because the mission depended on his success, but because he couldn't let the others down again. His inability to keep himself in check had allowed Erin to tie her strings around him, and he almost wound up getting the people he cared about killed.

"You know it doesn't matter whether you succeed or not; They'll still see you as the bloodthirsty monster you really are," he heard her voice say, and saw her standing next to him. She no longer had the ability to influence him physically, but her words cut like always.

Peeking around the corner, he saw two identical Destroyers patrolling the streets. The horde of the corpses was gathered around Diocletian's palace, which could only mean Omen was right where the former ZONE members had told him he'd be.

From the way Don had described Split, the woman controlling the poison would be on the other side. He had to keep quiet. Alerting only one Destroyer to his presence would be the same as alerting them all. Failure wasn't an option.

Turning around, he circled around the building from the other side, where the street was empty. He quickly moved forward, crossing the length of four buildings, then hid behind one again and checked his surroundings. No Destroyer was there, but that didn't mean they had no way of locating him. If there was another flying one inside the barrier, he was in trouble.

"Ignoring me, huh?" Erin asked. "I may be dead, but the trick I pulled on you did enough damage for your mind never to fully heal. You might as well learn to live with me."

Paying no mind to her words, Sean moved again. He only stopped when he reached a street which crossed with his own. Crouching down, he placed his ear on the pavement and listened for footsteps. A single person was walking around the area in a circle, clearly bored. Waiting for the footsteps to start going away, Sean sped across the street, then stuck to the walls of the house he'd reached. He continued sneaking through Split, and he finally reached a spot from where he could see the woman. Two Destroyers were chatting to one another in front of the house on the roof of which she sat, spreading her vines through the city.

'With an ability like that, it's no wonder we've never heard of her. Had she tried using it, she would've attracted massive attention from the media. Those two are distracted, but I can't kill her without alerting them to my presence. All three are gonna have to die quickly.' Taking out Shen's vial, Sean downed it.

"Why even bother? You're just gonna fail them again," Erin teased, but he ignored her once again. Using his amplified speed, he moved across the street, then crept closer to the house. Jumping on top of it, he charged at the woman, preparing to rip her head off with his claws. He brought his fist down, but then a barrier of green light surrounded her, and his hand failed to go through it. He had failed.

"There you are," the woman said. "I've been wondering which one of you would come after me. I get the pleasure of taking on the boss, huh? Name's Elizabeth, but I'll shorten that to Liz for a cutie like you." A vine flew from her palm, but Sean jumped back before it could even touch him.

'One of the two must have the ability to protect her. I've got to take him down first, then.' Jumping down from the house, he got ready to kill the two instantly.

One of them was ready, and had his palms turned upward so they faced Sean. Two steel arrows flew out of them, piercing Sean's shoulder and thigh, resulting in him falling unto his side as his body hit the ground.