Felix sat down on the bench. The air was cold and sterile, and the light was sharp and white. In his hand held dearly a torn white mask, while his black trench coat folded beside him, hiding the massive hole in its upper torso. Through the windows of the patient’s room as he watched the injured agent slowly recover. The only sound was the slow beeping of the heart monitor.

As the door on the corridor opened, a familiar voice broke the silence, “What’s with the long face?”

“Did you get the key?” Felix asked in a lowly tone.

“Mission was a success, so care to tell me why you look so melodramatic? Did something happen to your back?” She commented, looking down on his lowered head.

“Murderer…” He squeezed the torn, broken mask between his fingers.

There was a brief pause as Maria looked to the side as she noticed the woman sleeping on the other side of it. “Did she call you that?”

“It wasn’t her… and it’s not the first time…” He looked at her with a smirk.

“But… it still hurts?” She asked understandingly.

“… Yeah.”

Maria’s eyes lowered as her expression softened, “That thing in your hands… Can’t believe you kept that.”

“Y-yeah… I’ll keep it until I get replaced.”

“Replaced, huh? Well, gimme it.” She took the mask from his hands.

“Look.” She put the mask on his face and explained, “When you put on this mask, you become the Blue Phantom. An agent doing your job. Don’t think about repercussions, just know that you have to kill.” She then took it off and continued, “But when you take it off, you’re just… you. Okay? Not a murderer, nor an assassin. That’s not you. At least, not the way I see you. Understand?”

“Then, what about the people I’ve killed… before becoming this Phantom?”

“Well, instead of carrying that weight on your shoulders, we’ll just have to blame it on the Blue Phantom.”

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“Hm…”

“We’re all hiding behind masks, you just more literal than others.” She jested.

“Right, I suppose.”

“But… is that really what’s bothering you?” She asked as she watched him force out a despondent smile.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Come on…”

“Well… there’s...”

The young man’s words echoed in his ears, “I don’t want to lose another family member.”

Felix remembered the gentle smile of a white-haired woman in the snow, “It’s nothing. I’ll figure it out on my own.”

“You can rely on me, y’know.”

“I know. I’ll ask you when I get it sorted.”

Maria smiled in response, then pointed toward the window, “So, care to tell me who she is?”

“Agent CT-2 from Cygnus Enterprise.”

“Oh? The one from Project HERCULES? I think I read something from her file once. She’s one of Cygnus Enterprise’s Advanced Armor users if I remember correctly.”

“Why did you have her file?” His eyebrows curled.

“Would you believe me if I said it had something to do with my hacking skills?”

Felix looked at her with an exasperated expression, while she shot back with a smug grin.

He returned his gaze to the patient’s room, however, the sight of a syringe lying on the table suddenly made him feel ill. Maria took notice of his sudden discomfort and let out a wide grin,

“Still afraid of needles?” She muttered with a confidence-destroying scoff

“Mhm…So, about the key?” He quickly dismissed.

“Here. To be honest, it was actually easier to get without you around.”

“Why’s that?”

“Hm, reasons…”

“How many did you kill?”

Ignoring the question, she opened her palm, revealing the small black chip. From it, a holographic, light-blue sphere is projected, crafted with circulating lines of letters and digits.

“So then, what’s it for?”

“I can’t make out its data the way that it is. But it’s called a key, so it has to open something.”

“And you’re sure this is it? We don’t want to make the same mistake twice...”

“Just because you’re bad with tech, doesn’t mean I am.”

“I’m… I’m not saying that. I’m just saying, what if it’s a fake?”

“If it were, it shouldn’t have had a three-tier encryption lock… It would’ve been too elaborate a prank for the Little Sun to guard so heavily.”

“Then what about the suspect?” He sighed.

“Taken care of. Permanently.”

Felix’s mismatched eyes widened, “You… you were supposed to take him in for questioning.”

“…There was a struggle, okay?”

“What is wrong with you?”

“A great, many things.” She answered.

Suddenly, he smiled and whispered to himself, “And to think I’m the one who got called a murderer…”

“Hey, that still kinda hurts, y’know…” She replied with an unfettered smile.

“Right, sorry…I guess it’s time to head back.”

“Way ahead of you.” She said as she already headed out the door.

Felix got up and then approached the window wall and placed his palm on it. On his face was a worried expression as she watched the brown-haired woman breathe weakly.

After grabbing his things, he walked toward the door. But before his hand could reach the knob, he heard a faint voice speak, “Thank… you.” The woman muttered out weakly.

He looked back again and smiled, “You’re welcome. Get better soon.”

~