Ewan wakes the following morning again to the smell of breakfast filling the air. He feels well rested today. He showers, then makes his way to the kitchen.

"Morning."

"Morning!" Echo looks at him with a smile, "Right on time. I'm just about to serve. Mind pouring the coffee?"

"Sure."

She serves up two plates as he pours the coffee, putting utensils on the table, followed by the plates. Ewan joins her at the table with the cups.

"I'm going out to follow up on a lead today"

"I'll go with you."

"I would prefer you didn't."

"I know."

"Then why?"

"Again, call it a feeling."

"Very well, I'll have you accompany me."

"No choice?"

"Oh? You're saying I don't have the choice to say no?"

"No."

She chuckles, "Sure. We'll then leave after breakfast."

"Where?"

"A place to the central East side of the city."

"Not too far."

"It really isn't. Apparently they might've visited there for business recently."

"What kind?"

She shrugs, "It differs."

"I see."

"I told you previously that they were born into crime, Well, their family is rather well known in some parts."

"So the operation is big."

"International, actually."

"Interesting."

"Yeah?"

"Lot of work to do."

"For you and the heroes, an endless amount. Like I mentioned before, you remove the easy to defeat ones, then it makes space for the more connected and established to come in."

"Eventually, I'll get them all."

"There will always be evil. And there will always be good to fight that evil. Sometimes good wins. Sometimes evil does."

"Not if you uproot either."

"It's in humanity. There will always be both."

Ewan shrugs.

"I could get rid of either, but it won't last long. There will always be someone bitter with the world and there will always be someone with a sense of justice."

"Unless you kill everyone. Which won't be good."

"Won't exactly be bad either."

"It'll be bad."

She finishes her coffee, "Suppose so. I'm going to take a shower, then we can leave."

She takes a while to clean up, appearing and going straight for the door, "Ready?"

"Yes," Ewan answers as he follows her out.

She starts the way down the street, walking at a relaxed pace.

"No teleportation?"

"Not feeling it."

"Fair."

"Plus, there's less time for talking with teleportation."

"You want to talk?"

"I've been enjoying your conversation, yes."

"Although I don't speak much?"

"Regardless. Apparently, you're easy to speak with."

"Oh?"

"You are. I mean, fuck, the amount I've shared with you already."

"I think it's because I don't talk. Can't spill any secrets if I don't speak."

"Aside from feeling that my secrets would be safe with you, you're just easy to spend time with."

Ewan shrugs.

"It's been a nice time for me."

"That's... good."

"So you just plan on doing this until either you're dead, or you've killed all the villains in the city?"

"Till I'm dead."

"Thought so. Why the strong sense of justice?"

"Vengeance. Not justice." He looks at her, "Justice would be putting them behind bars."

"So... vengeance against every bad person, then?"

"I suppose."

"Why?"

"No one deserves what I went through."

"Which is?"

"Tragedy."

"Tragedy happens every day in different ways."

"Shortest way to say it, I guess."

She now shrugs, "Well, I'll listen when you're ready to share, too."

Ewan takes a breath, "I was about 12. Family home was attacked, and we were held hostage. Several weeks it took for each of us to be the one to die. I was the youngest. So I had to watch. My father, my mother, my elder brother and then my sister. Our home was turned into a waypost for guns and drugs. My sister was paid for. As was my mother. My sister was 14. Eventually, I to was paid for. I just... snapped one day. Ripped a door off its hinges, took two bullets." He points to two scars in his neck, "Slapped the gun from the fuck's hand. He stabbed me repeatedly. The knife broke when my invincibility kicked in. I smashed his skull like an egg. Overall, a relatively bad birthday. 2 out of 10."

Echo remains quiet a moment, "That sounds like a horrible experience. I'm kind of feeling mine wasn't that bad, then."

"Not trying to compete," Ewan chuckles.

Echo smiles faintly, "I can only imagine experiencing that as a child. Losing your family in such a way."

"No shit?"

She now chuckles, looking ahead again as they turn a corner. She stops walking and her expression changes.

Ewan also stops, looking at her after not seeing what she does, "What is it?"

She takes a step back, pale, "We should... leave."

"Why?"

"They're..." Her breathing becomes irregular, "No... fuck..."

Ewan approaches her, reaching to take her hand.. She startles from his touch.

"Let's go." He starts walking, leading her away, "Where do we go?"

She now grips his hand tightly, shaking, "We need to hide."

"Where?"

"Anywhere... we have to hide."

They walk, but seem to not move from the spot.

"Shit."

Echo stops, slowly turning around, "If you get the chance... run. Please."

"I'm not the running type." He stays close to her side.

A man steps out of thin air, appearing behind them, "I thought it was you."

Ewan turns to look at him. A tall and decently built man has his icy blue eyes fixed on Echo. A deep scar runs from his hairline to his jaw, barely missing his eye. His blonde hair is tied back neatly. He looks almost stereotypically German. "Mitty," he smiles, "Oh, how I've missed you."

"Who the fuck are you?"

He waves a hand towards Ewan, making him skate away to the other side of he street. Echo remains frozen in place, her breathing still irregular. Ewan approaches again as the German puts a hand on Echo's hip, leaning forward. She goes stiff as he touches her. "Come now, Mitty, don't be like that. I haven't seen you in years. I thought you were dead."

Ewan now runs forward, planting a boot in the man's side and sending him flying into a building. He starts laughing, stepping out of the building as he dusts off his jacket, "Fine. You've got my attention."

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He steps through space again, appearing in front of Echo now, looking at Ewan, "Who might you be?"

Ewan immediately swings, wasting no time. His punch moves through the man, his own momentum throwing him off balance.

"Zero manners, it seems."

He lifts Echo's hand, planting a kiss on top, "A proper hello, my dearest."

Ewan gently pushes Echo out of the way as he follows with more attempts to hurt this man. But nothing lands. The next moment, Ewan finds himself pulled into the ground up to his neck. The German steps over Ewan and walks around Echo, seemingly inspecting her, "How did you survive? From what my sister told me, you were already gone. Where's your scars?"

Ewan breaks up from the ground, climbing up, "I've just about had it with you fucking concept types."

He stops behind Echo, lifting her chin. He looks at Ewan a moment, then kisses Echo.

"So in addition to being a bleeding puss, you insist on sexual assault?"

He laughs again, spinning the still stunned Echo to face him, "Oh, the fun we've had. A tragedy what happened. But you're here. Alive. I really have missed you, Mitty."

"Let her go."

He gently touches the side of her face, "Come with me."

Ewan rips out a piece of tarmac, throwing it at the German's head. It disappears and instead hits Ewan behind the head. The man looks up, seemingly into the distance, then sighs, "I have to go, Mitty. Think about it, please."

He lets go of Echo and steps back, disappearing.

"I already want to fucking gut him."

Echo goes to her hands and knees, hyperventilating. Ewan lifts her up, starting the way back to her place. She holds tightly onto him, only really calming down once they're quite a distance away. She keeps her face hidden in his neck as he walks.

"You can... put me down now."

He does.

"Thank you." She walks now, "I didn't... expect either of them to be there."

"It's fine."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"I panicked."

"I noticed."

"I haven't seen either of them since..."

"No need to share."

They continue on in silence, reaching Echo's home. She goes up to the room. Ewan just takes a seat, leaving her mostly on her own. He only checks in on her throughout the day, feeling the need to keep watch. Echo dismisses him each time, making it clear that she wants to be left alone. Ewan eventually falls asleep on a chair outside her room. Some time later, Echo comes out, quietly moving to the kitchen.

She boils the kettle, staring at it , her thoughts far off. Ewan wakes, making his way down, sitting nearby. Echo doesn't seem to notice him, giving a deep, frustrated sigh.

"Stupid fucking idiot..."

"Who? Me?"

Echo looks to him, startled, then laughs, "Perhaps."

"How do I smash his teeth in?"

"You'll have to catch them by surprise. And neither is easy to surprise."

"I dislike him. Strongly."

"I understand that. He probably does everything you hate and more."

"I'll kill him."

She looks back to the kettle as it finishes boiling, "I could..." She shakes her head as though to get rid of the thought, "No, won't work."

"Talk."

"If I accepted his offer to get close."

"I could rip his heart out?"

"Me getting close will not automatically get you close."

"What would?"

"I don't know. I just need time to think."

"Take the time. Then let me know."

She nods, "I will."

"Even if only for him taunting me."

Echo speaks after another moment of silence, "As you can probably assume, we used to be... involved."

"I assumed."

"I wonder if that's why I can't face him."

"He abused you, yes?"

"He was actually a strangely wonderful and respecting partner. Might even go as far as to call him ideal. Soft and open. Yet protective and fierce. He knew me in ways no one will ever again."

"No one reacts to what he did like that. Unless he did what I think he did."

"It was his sister's idea to torture and kill me. She weighed up my lack of importance against the importance of her family. She tried to... she made him do things to me."

"Both of them deserve to die."

"Probably." She makes coffee, "I'm going back to the room."

Ewan takes his cup and follows, taking a seat outside the room again.

"You can come in if you want," Echo says as she steps in, leaving the door open.

Ewan follows in, bringing the chair with to sit across from her as she herself takes a seat on the bed. They sip their coffee together, engaging in small talk until Echo falls asleep. She sleeps rough, tossing through the night. Eventually, she gets up and goes to the kitchen again. Ewan following.

"You're really watching me like a hawk, aren't you?"

"Especially now. I don't know what you'll do."

"What do you expect me to do?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think I might accept his offer? A chance to get back to my old life."

"I don't know," he repeats."

Or are you afraid that I'll lose my mind and go blow off some steam?"

Ewan grows frustrated, "I. Don't. Know."

Echo pours herself a glass of water, "To be perfectly honest, I'm tempted."

"I'm tempted to let you, if it'd lessen the chance of others being harmed."

She sips, leaning against the counter, "Who's on your list?"

"What list?"

"Your to kill list?"

"I don't list them. I've got another two names. So I suppose they'll be next"

"If I get you two replacements later, can I have these?"

"Why?"

"Because you won't allow me to just kill anyone I feel like."

"Why does that matter now?"

"At this stage, I can not afford to make you hate me even more."

"I'll ask again. Why?"

"You saw how I froze up. If I can use you to help me in some way and you walk away more satisfied, why not?"

Ewan now sighs, "I've never been needed like this. You can have them."

She looks at him, disbelief on her face, "Are you sure?"

"If it'll prevent innocents and save me effort, sure."

She stands straight, putting the glass to the side, visibly excited, "Give me about an hour."

"I'll come with you. Just in case those bastards show."

"But you'll wait outside?"

"I will."

"Then sure." She holds out a hand towards him.

He gets up, "Teleporting?"

"Walking the streets now will be an unnecessary risk."

He nods, taking her hand.

They teleport to the first address, immediately greeted by guards outside. They disintegrate from their legs up as each turns to acknowledge their arrival. Ewan stands at the door as Echo enters. He hears screams and all sorts of panic. He hears horrible sounding deaths, limbs and organs falling to the floor. Gunfire and gargling. Silence.