The Deck of Cards

Prologue

"HELP! HELP! PLEASE STO-"

A fist collided with his back, causing the poor man to cough up copious amounts of blood. He whimpered, looking back at the terrifying masked man. 

"I'll stop! I promise! I'll leave this city and turn myself in!"

The masked man stilled. He glared at the man with his eyes, the only part of his body that wasn't covered by something. This guy was truly a monster. He even had creepy eyes, one that lit up blue and one that lit up orange. For the first time, the man heard him speak. 

"How could I ever trust you to go to the authorities yourself?"

With that, a kick was aimed at the man's shin, making him cry out in pain. 

"I never want you to see you ever again."

The man nodded furiously.

"I'll go to the authorities myself too-"

The injured man gulped as those creepy eyes glared at him once again. 

"No. Don't go to the authorities. Just go home and shut up for the rest of your life."

The man blinked. No authorities. Just a beating as a lesson. Odd.

He slowly stood with a pained wince, then hobbled off, looking back every now and then at the man standing there. He was pretty tall. Taller than himself no doubt. He wore black everywhere, from his hairline to the tops of his boots. The only color emitted from his body was the power-up color around his eyes. He had no distinguishing features, making him even more scared if that was possible. His mask revealed nothing. 

"Don't tell anyone I was here. If news gets out, I'll kill you."

The man started to run. The masked man knew that it was only out of fear and that he wouldn't have to worry until his name came out on the news. 

 **************

John stepped out of the bathroom, his hair freshly cleaned. Blyke looked up at him from the couch, smirking. 

Blyke: "Squeaky clean now, aren't you?"

John glared down at him. If it had been just a month ago, Blyke might have been scared. But to be honest, they were quite close now. 

Blyke: "Did you work again?"

John gave a curt nod. Blyke was used to wordless, short answers. John was purely objective-driven.

Remi smashed into the room, holding up a package of papers, slamming them down into the glass table. John winced. The table wasn't going to hold up much longer, was it. 

Remi: "Here are your college letters. Oh my freaking gosh, I'm so excited!"

John stared at the huge amount of papers. How many applications had they done? 

Remi proceeded to rip apart every single one, frowning when she saw the REJECTED in bright red letters. She should have expected this. With such a mark on her record, she wouldn't be able to get into many schools even with a high tier ability and decent grades. Remi and John had been labeled as the perpetrators. Blyke had originally also been accused, but eventually, they let him off. 

It was precisely the reason John hadn't bothered to do any applications. He didn't care for school anymore. 

He had a mission anyway, that took up most of his time. 

Remi: "YES! I GOT IN!"

She held up a letter from Maple Valley University. Not a top tier school, but a fairly decent one. Isen grinned when he saw hers. 

Isen: "Good job, but can you beat THIS?"

He held up a big fat accepted letter from Providence College for the Elite. It was one of the best colleges in the area, making Remi huff. 

Remi: "Good job Isen, but you can stop shoving it into my face!"

John groaned, and walked up the stairs again. John, Isen, Remi, Blyke, and Seraphina were all living together. It was partly to save money, but it was also to discuss their missions in private. There were 3 bedrooms, along with 3 bathrooms. Remi and Seraphina had one of the bedrooms and bathrooms, and so did Isen and Blyke. John had a room and bathroom for himself, as he was the one paying for most of the bills. He loved it, but also felt... lonely at times. 

Occasionally, he had imagined rooming with someone else. He had imagined rooming with both Isen and Blyke, but it just didn't fit right. 

Only if Arlo was here. He would annoy John right out of this state. 

Seraphina: "John, where's your next mission going to be?"

John shrugged. He hadn't thought of the next destination yet. 

Seraphina: "Just tell me a day beforehand, so that I can start hacking into the cameras."

Seraphina still didn't have her ability yet, but she helped in many ways. She often shut down the cameras before John went on scene, and reported information on the enemy. If she had applied to some of the CS revolving colleges around here, she would have excelled. But she, just like John, decided to devote all her time to fighting crime. 

Inside one of the loose floorboards under his bed were his suit and mask. He wasn't going to reveal himself to the world just yet, as he would be the first suspect, with his heavily tainted record. He presumed murder would also be on there, as he had killed Keon. He had to live a low life for a while. 

Seraphina: "Once you introduce yourself to the world, what's going to be your superhero name?"

John smirked. 

John: "Joker. Obviously."

*********************

People knew them as a legend. People would say that a masked army would come, and defend the city. People sometimes called them "The Defenders". 

People also called them, "The Deck of Cards", comprised of the Jack, Queen, King, Joker, and Ace. A melee fighter was named Jack, an electricity user was named Queen, and a beam shooter was named King. Joker and the Ace were a little harder to understand. The Joker had too many abilities, although he used a barrier ability more than once. Nobody ever saw the Ace in person, causing many people to question if they even existed. But a few still believed they were there, sabotaging the enemy. 

The authorities had a vague idea of them. However, they had no proof to determine if these legends were true, making them ignore the commotion over them. 

Which was what John exactly wanted. 

He would reveal himself on his own terms. 

********************