Etienne stood behind a tree just outside of the office building's front.
"There are a few buildings around here, I don't even know if the brainwasher is in this one. I guess there's only one way to find out."
Etienne grabbed a shuriken out of his hoodie and brought his arm back. He watched closely as the security guards stumbled around the front hallway, their beet red eyes snapping to any loud noise.
Etienne tossed the shuriken and watched as it soared above the guard's heads and landed near the end of the hallway. Etienne switched places with it and ducked behind a wall to avoid the guard's sight.
"There's no way I'm going to just stumble onto that meta human among all these people. I need to draw them out. When I was scouting this place, I think I saw…"
Etienne peeked around the wall and looked near the shambling security guards. He spotted a megaphone sitting among the glass near the guards feet. Etienne smiled and bolted down the hall, towards the guards. He slid in and grabbed the electric megaphone. Before the guards could turn to face him, he sprinted back the way he came. Etienne's run slowed to a walk as he turned the corner, even as he heard footsteps stomping behind him.
Etienne fiddled with the megaphone, pulling out the microphone from it and putting it to his mouth.
"Hey coward, can you hear me?" He turned the volume on the megaphone to the maximum, "Are you gonna come out and talk to me? Or are you too busy having fun controlling people?"
Etienne pushed open the door at the end of side hallway, leading to a set of emergency stairs stretching up to the top of the building. He looked behind him and spotted the zombie guards running at him with reckless abandon.
Etienne galloped up the stairs and yelled into the megaphone, "Hey brainwasher, let me give you some advice. You may think you're so in control because you have these people under your influence, but you're wrong. These office workers can't protect you, they can't save you from your insecurities. If you just let them go, I promise to take it easy on you. It's your choice."
The moment he finished his sentence, a horde of office workers bashed through a wooden door a few floors up and began racing down the stairs. They pushed each other over and stepped on each other attempting to reach Etienne.
"Looks like our culprit is in this building. And right on the…fifth…no the sixth floor."
Etienne grabbed a shuriken from his hoodie before being grabbed from behind by one of the guards.
"He got to me that fast? How?" Etienne questioned to himself.
He fought the guard off as he grabbed onto his chest, ripping his hoodie. Most of his shurikens and caltrops spilled onto the floor. He successfully pushed the guard off of him as the others got close.
He looked up the staircase at the broken wooden door. He watched the horde barrel towards him, nearly stampeding each other in the process. He looked at the guards behind him, close to getting a hold of him.
"I need to time this perfectly," Etienne thought as he closed his eyes. As the stomps of the horde got louder and the zombie guards lunged at him, Etienne threw his only shuriken up the emergency staircase near the broken wooden door. He traded places with the shuriken and grabbed onto the stairs, hoisting himself up quickly. He walked through the broken staircase and looked around the extravagant office buildings. There were small rooms partitioned off by glass everywhere. Rows of cubicles stood in front of Etienne, and many of them had a worker seated at it, napping.
Etienne walked up to one worker and put two fingers under their jaw.
"This one's alive too. This has to be someone's power…" Etienne's thoughts trailed off as he continued to search.
The area was in disarray. Computers were left on,with spreadsheets and documents still on the screen. Chairs and desks were strewn everywhere. Etienne walked over to one of the shattered floor-to-ceiling windows and looked out of it. Emergency crews finally arrived, rendering aid to some of the workers outside. The cars in the front still burned brilliantly in the darkness of the night.
Etienne stared out of the window for a while until he heard a voice somewhere nearby. He pulled up his mask and skulked down one of the dark hallways. With every step he took, he got closer and closer to the voice.
Through the darkness, Etienne spotted a man in a shiny pink vest, sitting on a long desk with his legs crossed. Two men in a zombie-like trance stared at him blankly.
"…And that's how we ended up in this godforsaken country. I'm not a fan so far. Hopefully, the king returns soon…"
Etienne watched on as the man in the pink vest prattled on. He went to relocate and accidentally kicked one of the office rolling chairs.
"Sh—"
Before he could finish his thought, one of the men in a trance closed the distance and hoisted Etienne up by his neck.
Etienne struggled against his grasp, "Another metahuman? Damn it, what is going on? There are too many unknown factors!"
Etienne struggled against the portly man's grip, attempting to hit him and push him to no avail. Th man in the pink vest walked behind the portly man and smiled at Etienne.
"Hello Ninjaman!" The man in the pink vest spoke in a jovial voice, "My name is Cupid! The God of Desires! My associates told me you'd be coming for me."
Etienne glared at Cupid, "Your buddies at the Black Company right?"
Cupid frowned and walked to the side of Etienne, "I don't want to talk about them. I want to talk about you, Ninjaman! I arrived in this state a few months ago, around the time you began your hero career. And all this time, all I can think to myself is why? Why settle here? Why waste your great ninja abilities in humble Oregon?"
"I don't need to explain anything to you, Cupid," Etienne spat them name out at him.
Cupid frowned and watched as Etienne squirmed and struggled, "That's such a dreadfully boring response. But I have a feeling you are not a boring person. I want you to tell me something, Ninjaman—"
Etienne pulled a shuriken out of his hoodie and flung it toward Cupid. He switched places with it and brought his leg back to kick him.
The other man in the trance, who stood perfectly still until now, grabbed Etienne's leg right before it struck Cupid. With a lackadaisical swing, he effortlessly tossed Etienne through several walls and back near the emergency staircase.
Etienne groaned as he sat up. Just down the staircase, he heard the sounds of dozens of footsteps approaching.
Cupid and the two officers workers in a trance walked over to Etienne. Cupid smiled at the office worker who tossed Etienne and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you Joshua. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Joshua stood perfectly still and his eyes remained fixed on Etienne.
Cupid turned toward the recoiling Etienne and bent down in front of him. Even though Cupid stared directly at him, his pink pupils were fixed on something else entirely.
"What is the depth of your obsession, Ninjaman?" The question turned the air cold in the room.
Etienne looked at Cupid, confused, "What are you talking about?"
Cupid sighed and stood up, "Let me put it simpler…what would you sacrifice to achieve the things you desire most? If you could have it exactly as you pictured it?"
Etienne's eyes bounced between Cupid and the entranced men, "I would sacrifice everything. Who wouldn't?"
Cupid nodded his head slowly, "I wonder if that's really true, Ninjaman. Let me see for myself…"
Cupid lifted his hand up and snapped his fingers. Etienne covered his eyes and braced himself, but there was nothing. No flash of light, no sparks and no explosion.
Etienne uncovered his eyes and looked on as Cupid hyperventilated and looked at the ceiling. After a few seconds, Cupid calmed down and turned toward Etienne. Blood dripped from his nose, and he wiped it quickly.
"Wow. I didn't expect your desires to be so…violent. But I now see, who you truly are. And what you want most."
Etienne threw his head back and laughed. The crowd of office workers finally arrived at the top of the emergency stairs and they stopped at the entrance. Cupid and Joshua stared at Etienne, perplexed.
Etienne smiled at Cupid, "You said you see who I truly am right? I don't believe it."
All of the lights in that floor exploded, one by one. Cupid watched as the lights on the emergency stairs blew right after.
Cupid looked back to where Etienne laid, but the darkness was too overwhelming to confirm if he was still there.
A laugh echoed all around Cupid, causing him to stumble backward.
"Let's see who knows more about the human heart: the God of Desires or the Ninjaman," Etienne's voice boomed across the dark office floor.
Cupid yelled out, "Search for him!" The large group of entranced people scrambled across the office, flinging every door open wildly.
"I never had to read anyone's mind to learn about humans, Cupid. I learned from experience. I learned that most people's minds turn shadows into monsters. That's how ninjas can be so effective."
Down the hallway, Cupid heard metal strike flesh, and he felt the vibrations of bodies hitting the ground.
Cupid spoke into the darkness, "I can see the innermost workings of your heart now, Ninjaman. I know what kind of man you are."
Etienne laughed echoed across the office floor once again as bodies continued to hit the ground.
"Are you sure Cupid? I hear the doubt in your voice. That doubt and that fear…those are the links that make up the chains of anxiety. Once you're bound by anxiety, you're easier for me to catch…"
Cupid swallowed hard and continued backing up until his back hit a wall. Something metallic grazed Cupid's forearm, and he yanked it back.
Cupid's voice shook slightly, "Hey Ninjaman, let's make a deal. If you give yourself to me, and agree to become one of my Amores like the rest here, I promise I will give you what you desire most. I will reveal the identity of your parent's killers. All parties involved."
The room went silent. The only sound audible was Cupid's heavy breathing. Etienne stepped towards him with loud footsteps, his face still concealed by the shadows.
"How does it work," He asked calmly.
Cupid crossed his arms and snickered, his posture relaxing slightly, "You really don't know? And here I thought I was famous. My ability, Love/Hate can grant the greatest desire of any human. Your conciousness goes into a dreamlike state while you live out that fantasy or receive whatever knowledge you desire. And in return…"
Etienne cut in, "In return, your victims agree to have their bodies under your control. They're like zombies, they can only carry out simple commands and follow their most base desires."
Cupid smiled, "Exactly! You catch on quickly. An inadvertent side effect is that the stronger your desire is, the stronger you will be as my Amore, or zombie as you so rudely put it. It seems as though that side effect has turned out to be a positive…Joshua!"
Etienne stepped out of shadows and into the light of one of the computer monitors. He drug a spherical metal ball attached to a rope across the ground.
"Joshua and the rest of your zombie crew won't be coming. They're sleeping off your mind control right now."
Etienne picked the metal ball up off of the ground and pressed it against Cupid's face.
"Tell me why I should give you the same treatment right now? Why shouldn't I hit you in the jaw with this a couple times?"
Cupid laughed wildly, startling Etienne slightly.
"Do you really not know who I am?" He could barely speak between fits of laughter, "If you don't, then be my guest. Hit me as hard as you can. But if you know what's good for you, I would stop while you're ahead."
Etienne pulled the metal ball away from Cupid's face and put his free hand in his pocket. He lifted his ear piece up to his ear and before he could even put it in, he could hear Petey yelling.
"Petey, slow down, man! I put the earpiece in, what's wrong?"
Petey stopped with his incoherent yelling and took a deep breath.
"Did you find the culprit for this attack? Have you engaged with them yet?" Petey's tone was unusually stern and curt.
"I found him, and I was just about to subdue him. What's the problem?"
Petey breathed a sigh of relief, "You haven't attacked them yet. Thank goodness. Stop whatever you're doing now and retreat. The INHO has recalled its alert. They are calling all heroes on sight or en route to retreat immediately."
Etienne backed into the shadows as Cupid watched on with a smile, "I have this guy dead to rights already. All civilians are safe, only a few are slightly injured. Why am I pulling back?"
Petey sighed deeply, "Look I've read all the files Uncle Pace has on you. I know you don't like to listen to authority, but this is not the battle you want to fight. That guy Cupid is a member of Esoterica's royal family. If you just put your hands on him willy-nilly, it may start an international incident."
Etienne darted down the exit stairs, "Esoterica…that's the country they formed for the dangerous metahumans, right? They have a royal family? And they hold so much political clout that they can commit crimes in America with no consequences?"
Petey let out a dry chuckle, "You gotta keep up with current events better my man. Esoterica is a country for unranked metahumans, essentially metahumans with unmeasurable potential. That doesn't necessarily mean they're dangerous or even particularly strong, but most unranked metahumans are. And as for their actions, it has almost nothing to do with political clout. It's about power. They say the King of Esoterica is the strongest metahuman in the world…"
Etienne walked slowly down the front entrance corridor, "And so what would you have me do Petey? Just leave this monster to destroy this area?"
Petey typed on his computer, "Nope. That's the other thing I wanted to tell you about. The INHO has sent in one of its contingencies. I'm not sure which one, but they'll be wrapping it up from here."
Etienne grabbed his head, "You're throwing so many terms out I've never heard of. What are the contingencies?"
Petey sighed, deeper this time. He mumbled, "Man I heard you didn't know much about metahumans but…"
Petey spoke up, "The contingencies are heroes who need to be authorized to go on missions. They're basically the INHO's secret weapons. Most heroes can just respond to any situation they hear about, kind of like us heroes for hire. But those with abilities that are too destructive, or people who need to be in specific conditions to activate their ability get labeled as contingencies."
Etienne ran past emergency workers in the parking lot, being sure to cover his face. He thought to himself, "The royal family of Esoterica…the INHO and contingencies…there is still so much about this that I just don't know."