Ethan was hungry.
He hadn't eaten much the day prior, and his new and improved Titled body likely needed more fuel. Some chips and a drink as a late breakfast would do just fine to begin with, but of course, someone had to ruin it for him.
"Ethan!"
Mace was walking over, crooked nose as ugly as ever, sharp eyes locked onto him. His fists were clenched, and he wasn't exactly smiling.
'Is he that pissed cuz I beat up those two kids he has running around for him?'
Ethan straightened.
'Doesn't matter anyway. I'm a Titled now, and even before that-'
Pain exploded in his stomach.
"Ghk-!"
Ethan doubled over as Mace's fist buried itself into his gut, the blow knocking the wind clean out of him. The soda slipped from his hand, bursting open as it hit the ground.
'Since when could this bastard hit like that?!'
Ethan staggered back, sucking in air as he raised his fists. He hadn't even seen the punch coming, yet his blue eyes burned as they locked onto Mace.
"Couldn't you just let it go?" Mace asked, jaw tight.
"Let what go?" Ethan shot back, retreating a step despite himself.
"Those two idiots selling here."
Ethan might have if they hadn't touched the old man, but he didn't need to explain himself to anyone.
Instead, he scoffed. "Didn't feel like it."
Mace sighed. "You're forcing my hand. I left you and your friend alone, but now-"
"My friend?" Ethan laughed hoarsely. "You mean the one who smashed your face? You're lucky we retired from this street bullshit. Otherwise, you wouldn't even look me in the eye."
It was a bluff, and Ethan knew it.
That first punch had made one thing painfully clear: Mace was different from the person he had been before prison.
Almost too different...
"I think your mind's still stuck seven years ago," Mace said calmly as he stepped closer. "We run all of Brooklyn now."
"Is that so?" Ethan questioned calmly, before suddenly swinging his fist.
Mace didn't dodge, attempt to block, or even flinch.
His lack of reaction was so unusual that Ethan even hesitated as his fist slammed into his chin.
It felt like punching a brick wall, and pain immediately shot up his arm.
'Thank fuck I held back last second, otherwise… I would've broken my hand on his face'
That confirmed it for Ethan. "So you're a Tit-"
Mace blurred forward.
His hand clamped around Ethan's throat, lifting him clean off the ground before slamming him into the brick wall of Mr Cho's store.
"Don't worry about what I am," he growled. "Worry about what I can do."
Ethan clawed at his arm, pounding uselessly against something that felt like solid steel.
"This world changed," Mace continued coldly. "And we run this part of the city now. So, just keep your head down and stay out of our way."
He released him.
Ethan collapsed to the ground, gasping, clutching his neck as spots danced in his vision.
"Next time," Mace said, stepping away, "I won't be so nice."
Ethan could only stare up at him.
The difference between them was terrifying.
Mace could've crushed his throat without effort, and it seemed like he wanted to, but was holding himself back. There wasn't a single way Ethan could have hurt him; even with Beast Assimilation and a weapon, he still would have been helpless.
"How the mighty have fallen," Mace laughed, walking off.
Ethan stayed down for a moment longer.
Then he laughed too, though there was a dangerous look in his eyes.
"So he's a Titled," Ethan muttered as he pushed himself up, wincing. "And a strong one."
His body screamed in protest, back aching, neck throbbing.
The pain and humiliation were one thing, but it was the fact that he was so powerless against Mace that bothered him the most. It would likely be the same with most Titled, after all, he was only E Rank.
That realisation came the hard way.
'Guess I need to grow faster,' was all he said to himself, but he definitely wouldn't forget this.
"Are you okay, Etan?" Mr Cho called from the doorway.
Seeing the man who laid waste to two others with ease the night prior be overpowered so easily, Mr Cho was shaken even more than his store when Ethan was slammed into it.
The blue-eyed man just nodded, pulling up his hood and already walking away.
Despite his rumbling stomach, he left his spilt drink and bag of chips and retrieved another cigarette, like the addict that he was.
Exhaling smoke slowly, Ethan couldn't help but be on edge.
'Anyone around me could be a Titled, from Mr Cho to every passerby.'
It was a troubling thought, but one that changed his entire view of the world.
'It might be harder to keep my promise to Mark now that I'm Titled, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes.'
With that, he continued on his way, but his mind couldn't help but spiral as he did...
-
Ethan quickly put some distance between himself and Mace.
As he did, he could feel the gazes of others on him.
A few onlookers lingered on the edges of the street, pretending to scroll through their phones or stare into shop windows. Others didn't even bother hiding it, their eyes following him until he turned the corner.
The people who lived around here knew the rules: keep your mouth shut, mind your own business, and whatever you saw? You didn't see it.
But that didn't change the bad taste in Ethan's mouth.
'What the hell have you been up to, Mace…?'
His thoughts whirled despite his best efforts to rein them in.
From Titles to Ranks to Affiliations - just how much had it changed the criminal underworld he was once a very small part of.
'I mean, it makes sense for there to be criminal Titled, and if these powers truly are given at random, there's probably a bunch of them. But what does that mean for me?'
He had no interest in that world he and Mark had dabbled in as youths, but that wasn't to say it couldn't drag him back in.
'They're practically getting a free pass.'
With the chaos ensuing in the world, the focus was on dealing with the Gates and occasional Gate Breaks. As long as they remained under the public radar, they could do as they pleased.
Selling drugs, facilitating prostitution, and who knew what else.
But where did Mace fit into that picture?
He was roughly the same age as Ethan and Mark and had always been slimy and cautious. Sucking up to those above him and trampling those beneath him, he always looked out for himself.
With a strong Title to boot, it was no wonder he rose the ranks and was part of the gang that supposedly ran Brooklyn.
Ethan could wrap his head around that all, even without knowing the details of the current landscape. What he didn't understand was...
'Why did he hold back?'
It wasn't just a little, either.
If Ethan were in Mace's position - if someone had messed with his people, his money, his territory - he would've erased the problem completely. At the very least, that meant beating them until they never even showed their face again.
That was without factoring in Mace's vendetta against Mark, and by extension, Ethan.
Yet he had let him walk, which meant one of two things:
Either Mace was afraid of something or someone who had an interest in them.
Or, he had something even worse in store for them - a deeper, more sinister revenge.
Ethan wasn't sure which, if they were even correct, but regardless, he had to keep an eye on Mace and was oddly intrigued by him.
'I'd bet he isn't even registered as a Titled.'
He was certain plenty of people weren't, especially in the lower ranks.
Why bother with the Association when you could use your abilities off the books? Gates weren't the only way to make money after all. Not if you were creative or ruthless.
The old Ethan might've done the same.
But that version of him had died somewhere between concrete walls and iron bars.
He wasn't just looking to survive or make quick money anymore.
Ethan sought purpose, direction, something real.
Still… the truth was unavoidable.
There was too much he didn't know, and by having this conflict with Mace, he was getting sucked back into his old life.
But right now, it was all far outside his control.
Shoving the thoughts aside, he flagged down a taxi, feeling that same sense of deja vu. This time, however, things would go very differently at the Titled Association Headquarters...