¨Listen, I'm not gonna hurt cha' bud,¨ Owen reassured, leaning over a bit, to slowly ease Anthony back into his bed. With his chest feeling sore, Anthony let out a wince, with his chest feeling sore as he looked down. His chest had been scarred from the chemicals. The scar was a salmon-pink, a contrast to his tan skin. The scar had covered most of his chest.

¨How are you feeling? When you breathe, do you feel discomfort?¨ Owen asked, sitting back down.

¨I can breathe fine,¨ Anthony answered. Looking back at Owen. ¨My main concern is what happened,¨

¨Well, you obviously knew about the press conference,¨ Owen stated, ¨But what you didn't know was that it was a prime target for a hit,¨

¨A hit?!¨ Anthony cried out., ¨How'd you know? How did you know it was a hit? Did you do it?¨

¨And risk my image to kill some old guys two steps away from being senile?¨ Owen scoffed, ¨Nah, it's not even in my interests.¨

¨Then why were you there? Who even are you again?¨ Anthony questioned. He was unsure that he could trust this man.

¨Owen Koslowski,¨ He replied, pointing a thumb to his chest. He let out a small snicker, a big grin stretched across his face. ¨I was a bodyguard for the meeting, but may I say how BORING it was! I was so bored, I went to get a cup of coffee. But it just so happened that someone planned a hit on the CEO, Troy Tallendger,¨ Owen sighed, running his fingers through his long blonde hair. ¨Just so happened you showed up shortly after. Don't worry, I didn't try to shoot you. You were in the middle of the little stand-off we had. I was hiding behind one of the overturned tables.¨ His grin became bigger, as if joy took over his body. ¨But you gave me the opportunity to shoot the jerk right in the collarbone!¨

¨So you used me as fodder?¨ Anthony seemed a little agitated at Owen, as Owen nodded. His brow furrowed. ¨Weren't you supposed to be the bodyguard? Why couldn't you try to save one person?!¨

Owen snapped his fingers, pointing his index at Anthony. ¨I did," He'd smugly shot back, ¨You're still alive aren't you? I was the one who brought you to the hospital. So with your logic, I did my job.

¨That's,¨ Anthony paused, staring off into space. A moment later, his jaw clenched as he yelled out, ¨No! Even then! One person out of-¨

¨Thirty-six casualties.¨ Owen stated. The number rolled off his tongue nonchalantly. It seemed he really didn't care.

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¨Do you even FEEL BAD?!¨ He yelled at Owen. He tried to get up, but the restraints forced him back. ¨Some of those casualties were my friends!¨

¨Your friends. I couldn't really care about them,¨ Owen stated.

Once again, Anthony tried wriggling around to get free. The veins on his forehead showed through his skin. His grunts and dilated pupils was a clear indication that he was not happy.

"You know this REALLY isn't convincing me to become a Mercenary!" Anthony yelled,

"Convincing? I'm not gonna convince a little fuck like you, you already are one, silly," As Owen replied, he threw his phone at Anthony like a ninja star. Anthony was met with great pain upon the phone landing on his chest.

"OW! You dick!" He whined, while Owen freed his hands from the leather straps.

"Just check the damn phone already," Owen mumbled, "Passcode is 6934," Once Owen leaked the code, Morcana entered it into the phone. Once the phone unlocked, he was met with something unexpected.

"Anthony R. Morcana, dead at 24 after a fatal shootout...?" He said to himself, mumbling the rest. Anthony slowly looked up to Owen, who had been dazed. "You mean to tell me you faked my death."

"Well we weren't going to until we received some test results," Owen used a fingernail to rub the bridge of his nose. "It seems you've got a special power, bud."

"Special power? Like what 'The Force'?" Morcana sarcastically replied, "Give me a break."

"See when they did the eye exam, your pupils had a fluorescent glow when it dilated under the flashlight. Also your pulse becomes more tense. You have an ability like me." Owen took off one of his gloves, and his wrist gauntlet as well. He walked over to the sink, taking a knife out.

"What are you-" Morcana paused, before panicking as he tried to get up. "WAIT DON'T!"

Owen bit down on the glove as he began sawing through his own hand, blood spurting in the metal sink while doing so. With tears streaming down his face, the muffled grunts emphasized the pain he was in. It was easy for him to cut the bone, but the muscle tendons were a pain. After a few seconds, a metal thump could be heard. The clench Owen had on the glove was gone as it fell to the floor. Looking to Anthony, he tried to give a thumbs up, but his hand was severed. Anthony let out a yell, standing up and ripping the IV out of his arm to help Owen. But when he scurried to Owen, his hand was back. It was confusing at first, but Owen snickered as he tapped his chin.

"This is the ability of a Pantera Eye, the culmination of when you have an abundance of Spiritual Energy and Spiritual Flames." Using his bare hand he used his fingers to pull down his eyelid. Owen's green eyes having three arrows circle around a plus sign. "This is the Hyper Regeneration Eye, I can heal from almost anything," Owen dropped his hand, and patted Anthony on the shoulder. "That is the reason why you and I were recruited. Because of our Pantera Eyes. It'll take a bit for you to unlock yours, but who knows what it will be! But don't worry, me and the boys will make you feel right at home. Even though- y'know, we're Mercenaries."

"Alright then," Morcana sighed, looking away. He thought about the offer-turned-demand. Anthony turned to Owen, with the blonde perking up. "Now what?"

Owen grinned, "Welcome to the team."