Shocker tightened the grip he had on his chisel just as he grabbed a tiny hammer from his workbench. He then put his left hand above the long, narrowed, and curved piece of plastic, right next to the symbol covering the inside of the piece.

The mark was composed by what looked like a simple depiction of a bullet surrounded by nearly a hundred tight ovals, which were congregated in different groups and parts of the piece, mainly around the four vertices that formed the square that encased them, and the bullet. Above it, was the main part of the symbol.

A cloud formed by straight lines which curled into spirals, just as they turned right, creating a noticeable, making the drawin asymetrical. Just below the cloud and above the square were straight lines that stretched downwards, then diverting to both sides before reaching the geometrical shape. The lines splitted again as they reached the lateral ends, and once more near the upper and bottom ends of the piece, covering the entirety of its face.

Shocker laid his chisel on top of the ovals, lightly hammering it down after, completing one oval at a time before passing to the next one. After a moment worth's of hammering, Shocker left the chisel and the hammer on top of the bench.

The symbol was now finished, ninety-seven ovals in total. Shocker rubbed his eyelids as he took a big gulp of air. He then exhaled and started the mechanism.

The bullet engraved on the piece began to gleam with a clear blue light, sparks appearing in its tip just as they went downwards and through the rest of the symbol. Once the sparks reached the bottom, they sped up and began to run around the thin ovals encasing the bullets, like a fireflight flying in circles in a dark night. With every turn, the electricity got brighter and faster, eradicating the oval as it was completed. The sound of static electricity was rough and audible across the room.

Ninety-seven ovals, each adding thirty seven point five volts, each making the electricity stronger. The sparks disappeared just as they finished rotating through the ovals, leaving the room silent and only illuminated by the lamp to Shocker’s right.

Then, the cloud suddenly lit up in a bright blue light, just like a storm, and that would have certainly blinded Shocker. It was a good thing that he knew beforehand and had a welding mask on. The electricity augmented its intensity, making and even louder noise than the one before. With a sudden flash and thunder, the electricity traveled through the remaining lines covering the rest of the piece in less than a second. The brightness began to dim until it reached a constant soft and clear blue.

Someone clapped behind him.

“I gotta say. Your Rune Enveloping is by far the flashiest one I’ve ever seen.”

Shocker turned his head. He found Finesse laying with the side of his body on the door frame.

He had a white suit that seemed to stick to his muscles: white gloves that reached his elbows, white pants with white protecciones, military white boots, a white belt… And a white kite shield with a red cross on his right arm. Out of all the potens Shocker had worked with, Finesse was hands down the one that took better care of his costume, pristine and clear as the waters from a manantial. Though one piece of his equipment was missing.

The absence of his helmet let Shocker see his wild dark hair contrasted by his trimmed beard. Shocker had always paired him with vikings, with that white skin of his and those stoic eyes. The only thing that didn’t match was his height. He was a bit shorter than average, but still. Shocker was sure there had been short vikings somewhere.

“Yours is pretty flashy, right?”

“But it doesn’t have any lightning,” Finesse said while mimicking the supposed ‘lightning’ with his fingers.

Shocker faced his work and grabbed the black duck tape he had on the desk. He then began wrapping it around the face with the symbol, hiding its shimmer.

“Aren’t you supposed to be hiding? My men haven’t told me anything about Armstrong leaving.”

“Yeah, about that,” Finesse’s tone got deeper and his voice got smaller. “I’ve already gotten rid of the problem.”

Shocker had finished covering the piece’s face with tape and was now attaching it to an airsoft handgun with his welder. The instructions of the mark were the same that all of the other guns he had made. It would envelop the projectiles being shot with electricity equivalent to the amount of ovals just as it sensed movement below the symbol. It was curious how the tape's purpose was to hide the mark, while at the same time the detecting part of it didn't care for the tape.

“Really?” He said, his tone still the same and barely paying attention. Shocker didn't like being interrupted in the midst of his work.

“Yes. Although I would have preferred another method.”

Shocker stopped what he was doing, putting his hands on the table. There it was. The thing Finesse said when he fucked up something.

“What did you do this time?”

His voice sounded like a father’s.

"I..."

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"What did you do?"

“I… I tricked a guy from out of town to work at the shop. I told him to use my name if there was any trouble and… Apparently, there was.”

Shocker took a big breath before giving out a long sigh.

“What did I tell you?”

“I’m sorry,” Finesse said with a nervous posture. “It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Why did you do it?”

“I… I… I don’t know. It just… Seemed too good of a chance to waste. This way I could get rid of Armstrong fast enough and make sure I didn't become a puddle of flesh and blood! Maybe... Maybe It was because I was scared! I didn't know when she would come for me. Besides, I wouldn’t have done anything while hiding! I wouldn’t have been able to help people who were in serious danger! Like that family near Monster's territory. No one would have gone to save them when they needed help! I was trading a life for another one that could save other lives. I did It for the better good!”

He then gave a pause and let his head fall.

“People who I can save. Unlike that guy," Finesse said, ashamed.

Shocker then gave another sigh. He then turned around and slapped him across the face.

(Maybe it was logical. But that didn't make it a good choice.)

“Does someone know about it?” Shocker said before he turned around once again and chugged from his flask. He always found alcohol calming. Good old scotch.

“No. Although... I did gave the kid one of my knife’s. Thought it would… Make it more…Believable.”

“That isn’t much of a problem. Symbologist’s items get stolen pretty frequently. But you say it was a kid?”

"A w-way of speaking. He was twenny something!" He hurriedly said.

"What's his name?"

He would have to make sure the kid's family got compensed for the trouble...

“I think it was Ludwig Lock…”

Shocker scraped the table with his fingers, making them bleed in the process.

(Of course it was.)

“I’m gonna move you to another district. One in the north of Wet Wood. You’ll keep an eye on The Wolf,” Shocker then said.

“I’m sorry! You don’t need to. I promise I won’t do it-”

“It’s not that. You are in danger. Move before the sun gets out,” Shocker said while pressing a button under the desk.

(Your punishment will have to wait,) Shocker thought to himself.

The entire wall and the long desk filled with lots of tools began to rotate until they became indistinguishable among the other walls painted in a light green color. He then began to move towards the only door in the room, going to a room filled with laundry machines.

“And what are you going to do?”

“Talk with an old friend. Now get out”

Shocker left the room and went up the stairs next to the entrance of the building.

His building.

It had been abandoned a while ago, not long after his group got new blood and better income. With the increasing number in the ranks and money, Shocker had decided to buy the building. Nevertheless, it had been quite pricey. So technically, it was sixty percent his whilst the other forty percent was distributed among the members of the group. It was basically their headquarters.

Shocker got his keys and opened the door to his apartment, located on the top floor of the building. He was greeted by a coatracker with some brown, blue, and gray jackets on, and a red carpet with little yellow rectangles across it.

Shocker went to his living room, but stopped midway, in the hall that connected all of the rooms except for his bedroom. The window to his right was closed, with both curtains over the glass.

He always let the right one out of the way.

Shocker stopped by the kitchen and grabbed a low glass and an entire bottle of scotch before continuing to the living room. He put on some music on his laptop, which was connected to the smart TV, and poured himself some scotch.

An ad interrupted his playlist. It showed a cereal bar.

“The GOGetter gives you all the energy you need for the day. Making you as super, as a hero.”

The cereal bar then began to fall upwards until Gravity grabbed it. She then flew off.

“You sure are famous, eh? Even though you’ve been a professional hero for three years, you seem to retain your popularity pretty well.”

Shocker then turned and looked at his ceiling, where a crouched Gravity without her mask was watching him. She changed her gravitational pull and fell to the floor, landing with both feet.

“I’ve found a bunch of your men dead and beat up on the street, next to a destroyed airsoft shop. What were they doing there?”

(He was trying to do some good, but he’s still young and a fool. Too of a fool.)

“I don’t know. Unlike your company, I don’t keep track of everything my subordinates do twenty-four seven.”

“Don’t play dumb with me Patrick! If you don’t tell me I will-”

“You will what?!” He bellowed at her all of a sudden. “Are you gonna arrest me? With what? And what would you accomplish with that? Maybe more criminals out in the streets, so you and your partners can go out and play heroes, while people praise you for getting your ass kicked while they munch on their fucking… Cereal bars with your logo on it?!”

He was looking at her directly in her eyes. Those blue eyes which had once looked at him in praise, those blue eyes which had looked at him amazed, those blue eyes where he had found once the most similar thing to a daughter.

Those blue eyes which were now looking at him in pure anger and disbelief.

“Your choice.”

She walked next to him, bumping shoulders. She then opened the window and put one foot above its frame.

“I would be careful if I were you, Shocker.”

She then fell to the dark night.

Patrick turned around, put on some music, and grabbed the scotch bottle. He then began to chug it straight.