A few days later. Pier.
The air hung thick with the smell of salt, fish, and diesel fumes. Gulls screeched overhead, circling the docks. Crates were stacked haphazardly, and ropes lay coiled like sleeping snakes.
A huge ship had just arrived, its hull groaning as it settled against the creaking wooden pilings.
The dreadlocked guy, named Lexer, was sleeping inside his room. The small cabin was dim, lit only by a porthole streaked with salt. The steady thrum of the ship's engines vibrated through the metal walls.
"Vice Commander!" one of his subordinates said, rapping sharply on the cabin door before opening it. "We've arrived."
Lexer opened his eyes slowly, blinking against the sudden light from the corridor. His expression was momentarily blank before sharpening into focus.
"Is that so..." he said, yawning widely, stretching his arms above his head. He swung his legs off the narrow bunk. "Where's everyone?"
"They're waiting on the deck," the subordinate said.
Lexer picked up a worn leather jacket from the sofa and shrugged it on over his shirt.
"Alright, let's go," he said, his voice still rough with sleep but commanding.
On the deck, fifty people were already waiting, lined up with military precision despite their varied appearances. The wind off the water tugged at their clothes. They watched Lexer approach, a collective stillness falling over them.
"Seth, Nick, Elliot, you guys follow me," Lexer said, pointing at three figures near the front. His gaze swept over the rest. "The rest can wait here but be ready to move out anytime."
"Yes, sir!" they said in harmony, the sound crisp over the lapping waves.
Lexer got off the ship via the gangplank, followed closely by the three named men. Their boots thudded on the weathered wood of the pier.
---
West side of Cardio City, the same place where the shark guy group and Joker Roulette fought. It was unnaturally quiet now.
"Seth, do your thing," Lexer said, scanning the empty intersection. "Find out where Zack got hurt."
"Okay," Seth said. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose. His nostrils flared slightly as he turned slowly, sampling the air.
His eyes opened widely, locking onto a specific spot near the center of the street.
"This way," he said, walking a few paces and stopping. He pointed down at the cracked pavement. "It's faint," Seth said, crouching slightly, "but I can still smell his blood. I'm sure this is where Zack got hurt."
"Alright, good job," Lexer said, a satisfied glint in his eyes. He turned to the next man. "Nick, it's your turn now."
"Yes," Nick said, stepping forward. He cracked his knuckles.
Nick used his power. He raised his hand, palm up, fingers splayed. The air above his hand shimmered faintly, and something started to form from the empty air, coalescing like mist into solid shape. Suddenly, something that looked like a sleek, modern smartphone appeared in his palm.
He held it up, aiming it at the empty street where Seth had pointed. The screen lit up, capturing videos of the present day.
"Let's set it a couple of days ago," he said, his thumb flicking across the screen, setting up the phone's temporal parameters.
Suddenly, the video that should have recorded an empty street flickered and dissolved. It reformed into a clear, ghostly scene overlaying the present location: Zack's group was confronted by Liam and the others. The spectral figures moved silently.
"Here it is!" Nick said, holding the phone steady.
"Pretty good," Lexer said, leaning in to look at the smartphone screen, his dreadlocks falling forward slightly. He watched the silent playback intently.
"Wow, what just happened?" Lexer said, his eyebrows shooting up as he saw Liam instantly kill Adam on the screen. "Interesting! So he can still use his power even when stunned by Adam?" He tapped the screen where Adam fell.
"Seems like it," Nick said, rewinding the ghostly image slightly. He pointed. "He attacked with something black there. See it?"
The video continued its silent replay.
"I see, so that's how Zack lost his arm," Lexer said, nodding his head slowly as he continued watching Zack clutch his bleeding stump.
"It seems like he used something similar to sword?" Lexer said, squinting at the fleeting image of the past event. "Very interesting."
He kept watching intently, arms crossed, as the spectral Zack fled down the alley, stumbled into a dead end, and then desperately swam into the concrete wall. The video ended, the screen flickering back to showing the present-day empty alley.
"Really interesting," Lexer murmured, a predatory smile playing on his lips. "Such a fascinating turn of events." He looked up from the phone.
"Elliot, it's your turn now," Lexer said, shifting his gaze to the last guy in their trio.
"Alright," Elliot said, stepping in closer to Nick. He adjusted his stance, focusing.
Elliot looked intently at Nick's phone, staring at the paused video image that clearly showed Liam and the others' faces. His eyes seemed to lose focus, looking through the screen rather than at it.
"That black-haired guy," Elliot said, his voice taking on a slightly distant quality as he stared harder at Liam's image. "His name was Liam Black. He was the leader of a local criminal group named Joker Roulette."
"I see, so he was the leader," the dreadlocked guy said, smiling wider, the information slotting into place.
"The one with glasses, called Milo," Elliot continued, his gaze shifting fractionally on the screen. "He was the closest aide of Liam. Loyal."
"And the last, the tallest guy was Ridley," Elliot said, focusing on the large man. "He had a strong hatred toward Zack. Let's see..." Elliot furrowed his brow, concentrating deeply.
"It seems like his close friend was killed by Zack, or something. I can't see deeper, I apologize," Elliot said, blinking and refocusing on the present. A slight sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead.
"Not a problem, that's good enough information," Lexer the dreadlocked guy said, clapping Elliot lightly on the shoulder. "Solid work." He turned back to Nick.
"Anyway, Nick, try to look around more," Lexer instructed, gesturing at the surrounding buildings and rooftops visible in the background of the paused scene. "It's possible that other members of this Joker Roulette were around at that time. After all, it seems that this fight was revenge from them. I wouldn't be surprised if they're hiding some members in the shadows, watching."
"Alright," Nick said. He adjusted the settings on his phantom smartphone again. The viewpoint on the screen began to shift, panning upwards and scanning nearby rooftops and alleys as it rewound through time.
"Oh, I found something," Nick said after a moment, stopping the scan and zooming in on a rooftop corner.
Lexer and Elliot leaned in again to look at the phone. The screen showed four spectral figures observing the fight from a high vantage point.
"Four more people," Lexer said, studying their indistinct forms. "So, they're Joker Roulette too? But the situation seems kind of odd." They weren't interfering, just watching.
"No," Elliot said immediately, shaking his head. He focused on the figures. "The three of them... were from Arcane Keepers, an organization that tries to keep the peace, something like wannabe police, I suppose." He pointed at three specific figures on the screen.
"I see," Lexer said, his tone turning dismissive. "And the last one?" He nodded towards the fourth, bulkier figure.
Elliot concentrated again. "It says Bog... a potential member of Serpent's Slaughter," Elliot said, surprise flickering in his eyes. "Seems like he was someone Zack was trying to recruit. Before... this."
"And he immediately got caught by them?" Lexer said, throwing his head back and laughing, a sharp, humorless sound that echoed slightly in the quiet street. "Pretty funny! Zack really did an amazing job, didn't he?" He looked at his men, inviting their reaction.
Seth and Nick chuckled nervously. Elliot managed a thin smile. They all laughed, the sound cutting through the tense atmosphere Lexer had cultivated.
"This Arcane people, for now, let's ignore them," Lexer said, waving a hand as if brushing them off the screen. His expression turned serious again. "We will deal with this Joker group first before making a mess with another group. Focus."
They all nodded, the brief levity gone.
"Is that all?" Lexer asked Nick, looking around the now-familiar ghostly scene on the phone.
"I think so," Nick said, sweeping the phantom camera lens randomly across more locations in that past moment, checking for any other observers.
"Alright, then let's wrap it up," Lexer said decisively, straightening up. He cracked his neck. "And we can start looking for this Joker Roulette group." He turned, ready to head back towards the pier.
"Wait!" Nick said suddenly, his eyes widening as he stared at the screen. He frantically adjusted the zoom and focus. "There's more! Look, there are two people on top of that building!" He pointed urgently at a different, taller building visible on the edge of the phone's reconstructed view. Two faint, spectral figures stood silhouetted against the skyline, watching everything unfold below.
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