Amirah walked through the busy halls of the Hero Association local building. There are many of these tall buildings scattered around the country nearby to police stations. The main one is tucked away in the capital, reserved for the highest of threats.

Today, the halls were bustling with activity ever since Omnipresence got listed as a fatal threat. It was the first one they had in a few years and the first few victims were heroes as well. Amirah trudged through these halls with a messy mind.

She couldn't believe how childish she was this past week. Helping Technus? How could I have even thought of that? She never once thought she would stray so far from her original goal. From her main purpose. Amirah spent a sleepless night re-evaluating her feelings. What exactly made her cave in so easily? Does Dray really have that much power over her or...or is she just that selfish? Did she spend an entire week, letting such a huge supervillain run wild for the sake of her own happiness? Did that selfishness result in the death of 6 heroes?

...I just met Lotus a few days ago...She seemed nice.

She couldn't exactly link Technus to Omnipresences' actions. Judging from Dray's own reaction, he seemed just as shocked as she was. Or so she hoped. Every action Dray made this past week. No, every action Dray has ever made the entire time they knew each other could've been a lie. A big, fat falsehood that she conveniently ignored because...

Was it the new house? The marriage? The company?

Maybe, she didn't want to accept it. Some part of her thought that maybe she could just ignore it. That maybe Technus was not as bad as she thought. That maybe her husband which she held so dear to her is not the monster people say he is. That maybe her husband was not the monster Technus wanted to be. Now, as she walked into the main meeting room, she hoped she could get another excuse.

As she entered, there were several other heroes present, all with dark looks on their faces. The people there lost friends to Omnipresence. While Talon didn't know them well, being stationed in this new district meant she had to help.

Not that she was going to ignore it anyway.

She took her seat at the backend of the table and waited as the presenter stood up to grab their attention.

"Welcome everyone. I'm...sure you're all aware of the current situation so I won't waste any more time."

The presenter pushed a button and up came a picture of the Omnipresence crime scene. It was just as brutal as Amirah thought it would be. The heroes in the picture were mangled, their bones bent out of shape and their costumes were drenched in blood.

"Last night, a gruesome killing took place that resulted in this scene in front of you now. Through autopsy reports, these heroes were killed that very same night, all probably within the same time frame."

A worried murmuring occurs between the heroes. Amirah chose to think of the implications of this on her own. They were all killed on the same night and brought to the same place during that very same night...I never thought Omnipresence could do such a thing.

"The Hero Association believes that group allegedly involved, Omnipresence, could not have been the perpetrators."

The murmuring in the room stopped.

"The group known as Omnipresence, as you all should be aware, was taken down by the Hero Association over 4 years ago."

The presenter took a look around the room to verify the silence before continuing.

"We made the discovery that Omnipresence was another group of single hire mercenaries following orders from a separate group of 4 people. 2 out of the 4 were caught 4 years ago while the remaining 2 disappeared off the map. Omnipresence was never that big of a group to begin with. Only one of their robberies were ever publicly reported on while the rest were kept hidden due to Hero Association never really considering them as a huge threat."

So... someone is using the Omnipresence name to...what? What was the point of the killing? Why would a group like Omnipresence risk being listed as a fatal threat anyway? Unless...

"We at the Hero Association currently believe that the name Omnipresence is being used by a different villain group. One that probably is already listed as a fatal threat. Such killing was too flawless for that to not be the case."

" What do you mean by flawless?" a hero piped up. Talon looked over to see that Banshee spoke up, gritting his teeth while doing so.

"Ah- I didn't mean it like that. I was trying to say how the killers left no evidence behind."

Banshee seemed to have calmed that at those words so the presenter continued.

"Yes. As I said, there was little to no evidence left behind. The only thing of note other than the brutality of the scene itself was the wounds on the heroes. Large burns were found on the victims in long streaks around their bodies. It looked like they were...mind the phrasing, wrapped in a hot wire. The lack of any sort of trail left behind suggests that the people actually behind this are experienced."

Experienced...very few villain groups survive for too long. They usually make too much noise and are dogpiled on before getting extinguished.

"We currently know of 9 villain groups active. Only 3 of these have been listed as 'fatal'. Out of these 3, the group known as 'Skelter' seems the most likely. However, that is just an assumption. Please do not go out of your way to find Skelter, they are out of your caliber."

Some of the heroes there glared at the presenter rage started to fill the atmosphere in the room. And yet no one spoke. They knew he was right.

"On the other hand, we have reason to suspect that the villain 'Technus' has some sort of involvement in this."

...?

"Our ears on the ground have made reports on how some nameless have been walking around, asking for ways to contact Technus. When confronted, they admitted to only being hired to ask around by a 'shadowy figure' and they weren't involved in anything else other than that."

Banshee sneaked a look at Talon only to see a sight he never expected to see. Talon was pale. She looked afraid, completely taken aback by this information.

"Technus is a villain that is well-known for being so hard to catch. I won't go into detail on his past actions, they're readily available for you due to his activeness within this district. many of you have probably met him before. He has been silent for the past week or so which is not too long for someone of his nature but his name popping up so soon cannot be taken as simply coincidence."

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

The heroes started discussing amongst each other again, Amirah struggling to fully comprehend the situation

"So, currently, our enemies seem to be one of the most dangerous villain groups still active and one of the slipperiest to date. Report anything suspicious back to the Hero Association immediately. Please, stay safe everyone. Dismissed."

Amirah shakily stood up from her seat and exited the room swiftly. She could feel her heart rate rising and herself hyperventilating. She started walking faster. Faster and faster before she walked outside and into a nearby alleyway. There, she rested her head against the wall and took deep, long breaths.

There's no avoiding it now.

She didn't get an excuse. No, now she needed to prioritize. She can neither ignore the deaths that had happened nor can she ignore her husband's apparent involvement in it. She could feel her breathing get more unstable again so she quickly removed her wig and costume, making the change as quick as she could.

Why...no, I can't falter here. Dray's involved. He...he could say something. I need to...

She took a breath and slapped herself.

I need to do my job.

~~~

What would a guy like that want something to do with me?

Dray has anxiously checked his phone for the past few minutes. It is the day after the news report was released and Emi had got back to him stating that 'Omnipresence' or whoever was behind it all wanted to speak with him. Dray was no stranger to death or to tactics like this but Dray definitely was a stranger to tactics like this being used with him involved. In most cases, people never dared to touch Technus. They couldn't in the first place. This allowed Dray to expand his empire however he pleased. If someone was being frisky on the Internet, Technus would outshine them. If someone was in the way of Technus in the physical world, Technus would get rid of them. A combination of his unparalleled sense of caution mixed with the strength that he acquired either through his generals or grunts that were at his beck and call, nobody dared bother Technus. Now, there was someone actively looking for him. Looking down on him. Forcing him into a corner.

Dray had to meet him. He couldn't even begin to think of the damage this guy could do to Amirah. The feat of killing 6 heroes is no joke. It is equivalent to knowing the enemy had heat-seeking missiles and then deliberately sitting next to an open fire. The Hero Association will start pulling out all the stops, whether in the form of the more powerful heroes or their own 'army'. Dray didn't want to get involved as it would mean more heat on him as well. But for Amirah's sake, he needed to do something.

As if summoning her, Amirah walked through the door at that moment. She looked worse for wear, her dirty blonde hair in a mess, and her eyes barely open. Dray looked up at her and smiled with whatever joy he could muster.

"Hey, Mirah. You alright? I feel like I'm asking that a lot nowadays." Dray asked with a laugh.

"I'm...I dunno."

"...Is the Omnipresence thing from yesterday bothering you? You still carry around that taser I got for you right? you need to be careful-"

"Hey, Dray...do you...do you know anything about Omnipresence?"

Hm?

"Uh...why...why do you ask?"

"I just...I thought a group like that was popular among your techy types."

Dray laughed softly. He looked back to Amirah. She was not laughing with him.

"I...no? I guess I...heard of Omnipresence before but out of all their crimes, I don't remember them doing this back then..." Dray said with an awkward smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

"How do you know about what they did back then?"

"Hm?"

"All of Omnipresence's crimes were hidden from the public. Only one was officially reported on."

"I...just made a guess? I mean, they seem like a..uhm...talented group so I assumed they did a lot. How do you know they did multiple crimes anyway?"

"From Jana."

"Right. Jana."

The two of them stare at each other for a few more seconds, Amirah's unchanging gaze of seriousness burning a hole through Dray. He decided to speak up once it was clear Amirah was looking for a more specific answer. Or perhaps a confession.

"Anyway...are you...going to take a shower first? I can get dinner ready."

"...Yeah. I'll take a shower real quick."

As Amirah walked away, Dray stood up and walked to the kitchen, pretending to be busy.

No...No no no...could she...could she have found out? When could that have...the move? But that doesn't make sense. It's been over a week. But I've been so careful

Dray knew it was never going to last long. That his selfish desire to keep his wife in the dark and safe from his plans were not grounded in reality yet he still clung on to that hope.

Okay...calm down Dray. It's not that bad. Maybe she only suspects something. Maybe she doesn't know I'm Technus but thinks I'm involved in some other way?

Dray thought to himself for a few minutes before realizing a crucial thing was missing. The bathroom sounded eerily quiet. He dropped what he happened to be doing and hurriedly walked into his room. Sure enough, Amirah was sitting at his desk, browsing through his computer.

"H-Hey, Mirah. What are you looking for?"

"Oh, Dray. I thought I wanted to use your computer for a bit."

I wouldn't be caught dead keeping my villain-related stuff in my own personal pc. But still...Amirah suspects me of something. I can't risk it any longer. I need to put a stop to this.

Just before Dray could make a move, his phone pinged. Dray took out and checked his phone.

"We're missing our window. We either get back to Omnipresence now, or something happens."

"...Is that work?"

"...Yes."

"Well...take care."

Dray picked up his backpack and with one final glance back at Amirah he walked out of the apartment.

~~~

Amirah shoved away all the horrible feelings she had building up inside her. She had to focus. In her trademark impatience as Talon, she might've tipped off Technus. She couldn't help it though. There were lives at stake. She needed to focus. She desperately needed to...

The door to the apartment closed as Dray left. Amirah slumped over at his desk.

Please...make this easy. Don't come back.

Amirah would rather Dray just take this hint and leave. Leave so that it would be so much easier for her. No messy breakup, no fight. Dray would just disappear, never to be seen again as Technus runs wild. Then the next time they meet, maybe Amirah wouldn't be so conflicted. Maybe her way of speaking just now was deliberate. Maybe she wanted to give him a chance to run. Or perhaps it was all part of her plan for her to track him down to wherever he was going.

But no. Amirah couldn't bring herself to move.

~~~

Dray rushed over to his meeting room and found his generals waiting. He stopped whatever they were about to say with a wave of his hand. He quickly sat in his seat and opened another correspondence with 'Omnipresence' or whoever it was.

"Ah, Technus, I suppose you've seen my message."

"I have. I want to meet."

"Woah now, isn't that a bit too soon?"

Emi put her hand on Dray's shoulder but Dray just brushed it off.

"I got your message. Whoever you are, if you really have the ability to kill Talon, I want to see it for myself."