Purity: *stares silently down the hallway for a good ten seconds*

Purity: “…”

Purity: “theo what the FUCK”

Theo handed Aster to her mother.  He felt dazed at the magnitude of what faced him.  Two years.

It’s as Jack said. This is gonna be interesting.

Kayden looked down at Theo, who glanced at Jack for just a second, then looked up at her and nodded quickly.  Urging her.  Jack wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t think he could get away.

Probably an accurate assessment, yeah.

“Alright,” she spoke.

Jack didn’t offer anything further.  His knife twirling in his fingers, he stepped toward the door by the elevators, kicked it open, and stepped inside.  As he made his way down, he whistled a merry tune, the sound echoing through the stairwell until the moment the doors shut.

See ya!

I like this character.

Jack waggled a finger at her, “Don’t bother, Purity.  See, I’ve been studying you.  I go into every possible fight armed with knowledge.  You have a weakness.  A flaw in that power of yours.”

For all that he appreciates unpredictability, he also knows the power of knowledge in this setting.

Truly a foe to beware.

Theo could see Kayden tense, but she obliged when he pushed her away from the door and towards the end of the hallway furthest from the stairwell, stepping back.

“Comin’ through!”

“While reading up on you, I tried to put the newspaper clippings and online information in chronological order, and a funny thing happened.  Seems like your power is weaker some days, stronger on others.  I mapped it out.  You have some form of internal battery or fuel that drives your power.  After going days without using your power, you’re stronger.  After periods where there’s more sunlight, your power is stronger.  You absorb light of any kind, I suppose, and later spend it to use your abilities.”

Huh, that’s really neat!

So how’s the weather been recently?

Theo thought he might have seen a tiny flash of concern on Kayden’s face.

“It’s been an overcast week, and you’ve been using your powers a great deal, trying to put the Pure on the map.  So think very hard about what you want to do next.  Because if I’m right, and your power is spent, you might not succeed in killing me.  And I would retaliate by killing all three of you.”

Even in spite of the deal you just sort of struck with Theo?

“You’re underestimating me,” Kayden spoke, her voice hard.

“Then blast me away.  Turn me into a smear in your hallway, if you think you’re strong enough, quicker with your light than I am with a knife.  Prove me wrong,” Jack smiled.  He waited a few seconds, and the only noises in the hallway were Aster’s mewling complaints.

Whether he’s right or wrong about her bluffing, the outcome should satisfy him. Either he’s right, or he’s surprised.

Jack stepped into the hallway and turned toward the stairwell.  “Thought so.  Be grateful.  That boy is the only reason you and your daughter are alive right now.  He’ll explain.  Train him.  Make him strong, make him vicious.  Let him take whatever path he needs to take.  You and your daughter owe him that.”

I… suppose they do.

Theo hurried forward to open the door, shifting Aster in his arms to open it.

Kayden stood on the other side, groceries in hand.

Ahahaha

Hiya!

Stern, she said, “Theo!  I called you twice.  Can you go down to the lobby and get the last two bags of groc-”

“Yeah, sure. Sorry, I had a couple visitors. Kayden, this is Jack. Jack, this is Kayden. Oh, and this is Oni, but I think you know him already.”

She fell silent as the door opened wider, revealing Jack.  In a moment, the bags in her arms were tumbling to the ground, and her hair, eyes, and hands were glowing with blinding light.

Good reflexes.

“Kayden,” Theo had to control his voice to keep it from shaking, “Let him go.”

Theo, on his part, is just trying to deescalate this situation however he can.

I feel like Kayden isn’t going to be super willing to just let him go, though.

“I had a wonderful conversation with young Theo here,” Jack spoke.  He rested his hand on top of Theo’s head.  Theo could feel the hard handle of the knife tap against his scalp.  “Very interesting.”

Yeah, it was.

“What are you-” Kayden started, her voice rising with anger, but Theo lunged forward, gripping her shirt and shaking his head.  She looked down, confused.

I really can’t blame her for her confusion. I don’t know if she recognizes the guy who’s standing in her apartment with a naked and bleeding Oni Lee over his shoulder and a knife in one hand, but even if she does, it’s a pretty confusing situation to walk in on.

Theo swallowed.  A thousand people?  Could he say no?  Could he refuse the offer?  Or would Jack carry what he threatened regardless?

Jack may be a psycho, but I think he’s a man of his word. He might still end up with a bodycount like that, but I think these 1000 would just be on top of those anyway.

“Well,” Jack spoke, smiling.  “I’ll be off.”

Hey, you gotta wait for a response! I mean, if you just wanna fuck off anyway without a deal, that’s fine, but if you want to make this a deal, you need the other party to actually seal it.

Although you’re not exactly Lawful, so maybe it’s silly of me to want to enforce these sorts of rules.

He stepped into the bathroom, turning away from the door for the second time in his entire ‘visit’.  When he emerged from the bathroom, he held the naked form of Oni Lee over one shoulder, a knife in his free hand.

Also I still wonder why he’s bringing Oni around with him.

“A treat for a teammate, this is,” Jack winked.  “Doesn’t need to be alive.  Just fresh.

I… see…

I don’t know if that’s supposed to imply cannibalism or just messing around with a corpse, but either way it’s not exactly good.

Would you get the door, Theo?”

“Sure, sir.” *opens door to see Kayden, reaching for where the handle just was* “Oh hi, Kayden. Don’t mind the Slaughterhouse Nine member carrying a naked, bloodied Oni Lee over his shoulder, he was just leaving.”

Theo glanced at the phone.  It glowed and moved again.  Was Kayden in the lobby?

Second attempt. In case he just didn’t catch it the first time.

After this, perhaps, it’s time for “something’s wrong” mode.

Jack went on.  “If you fail in this, I’ll kill nine hundred and ninety-nine people in your name.  I’ll even break my usual rules to get the body count that high, so it’s something special, beyond my usual habits.

Wow.

Maybe a bomb, maybe poison.  I’ll come up with something.  I can target the people you love, those you’re closest to, people you’ve affected.  Aster there can be the nine hundred and ninety ninth, and you’ll be the thousandth.  Perfect.

Oh hey, that would imply he’s going to spare Aster too. For now, I mean.

Canceling out the impact you’ve made in the world, it’s poetic.”

I suppose so.

Something tells me that if Jack had been informed about Dinah’s prophecy, he’d love that. Knowing that his impact was on such a global scale.

That is, if he doesn’t already know by virtue of whatever way this impact takes place.

“Two years then.  Two years to get your powers, to train, to do whatever it takes to become the motherfucking badass you describe.  That should be long enough without risking that one of us gets offed by bad luck or picking the wrong fight.

Two years, huh. That figure sounds familiar.

At that two-year mark?  You hunt me down, you kill, disable or sneak past my Nine, whoever they are two years from now, you look me in the eyes, and then you try to kill me.  If you fail?  If you cannot find me?  If you chicken out?  Hmmm… what’s a good consequence?”

I mean, the straightforward one would be that Theo gets killed in return, but I get the sense you’re looking for something more “interesting”.

In his hurry to resolve this before the door opened, Theo made the first suggestion that came to mind, “You kill me.”

“That goes without saying.  No.  It should be meaningful.  What’s your name, boy?”

A death that somehow relates to gods? Religion?

“Theo.”

“Fifteen year old Theo.  How many people’s lives will you touch in these coming two years, because I’ve spared your life?  Two hundred?  Five hundred?  A thousand?  How far will the flaps of your butterfly wings extend?”

Who knows. Besides Dinah, I mean.

“I’ve changed my mind,” Jack said.

…about what? Killing Theo? Are you thinking of allowing him to live so you can see what he’s good for against you later?

Theo stared, trying to fathom what the man was saying.

“Don’t let it be said that I can’t delay my gratification.  Listen carefully now, I’m making you a deal.”

Sounds like it might be something like that.

Theo nodded, mute.

“I want to see this.  This picture you paint.  So I’m going to give you a chance to make this happen.”

Yeah. But what’s the cost? Just that he does this?

Theo nodded slowly, but his thoughts were on Kayden’s approach.  How long until Kayden opened the door?  Would Jack attack her?  Attack Aster?  Despite what he was saying now?  Or would Kayden attack him and provoke something?

Jack is right about one thing. There are a lot of ways this could unfold.

“How old are you?  Fourteen? Fifteen?”

“Fifteen, sir,” Theo said.  Hurry up, finish before she comes.

Despite enjoying puns and occasional innuendos, I consider jokes about innocent meanings of “come” being interpreted sexually to be one of the lowest forms of humor. But “finish before she comes”?

This sentence is just asking for it.