Kyo’s dead eyes stared daggers into my soul, even if it wasn’t intentional.

Kyo was naturally intimidating, his pure drive and dedication made him seem intense to most people, but to people like me, it made him the leader the Equalists had been looking for.

“You already know this, but going into this encounter with Riot, you are likely to die. No, it’s not a likelihood, it's almost certain,” Kyo said, his voice stern and monotone.

“I understand,” I responded, but honestly, I didn’t want to do this.

I hate Riot as much as everyone else in this organization, but I don’t want to die. I know it’s selfish, I know I’m a bad person for thinking this.

“Listen, we’re doing this with the slim chance of Riot switching to our side. If he does try to kill you, I’m confident you can survive. You’re one of our most capable members. That’s why I put you on this mission, it’s because I trust in your strength,” Kyo’s voice didn’t change, but weirdly comforted me and made me more confident about the mission.

“I won’t let you down, Kyo,” I replied confidently, “This world will be equal.”

With that, Kyo nodded at me, his signal that the talk was over. His eyes went back to the paper he was reading before our talk. I only got a glimpse of it, but I could see that it was a map, with red marker circling different parts.

I got up from my seat and exited the warehouse.

I grabbed my phone from my pocket and checked the time. It was 12:13 pm, so I had plenty of time to kill.

I decided to go home and watch TV, trying to distract myself from the dreaded 8:00 pm date with Riot.

At this point in Riot and I’s ‘relationship’, being nicely dressed for dates didn’t matter much. Especially since I’d just be visiting his penthouse. I decided to stay in my business casual outfit since I couldn’t be bothered to change.

I drove to the headquarters to prevent suspicion and being followed, but that wasn’t an issue now.

I stepped out onto the balcony of my apartment and lifted myself with the air around me. Using my wind manipulation, I’m able to make myself fly. I save a lot of gas money.

The sun had already set at this point and combined with the fact that it was winter, it was cold flying around. The wind hitting constantly to keep me flying didn’t help either.

I’d been to Riot’s penthouse many times using my flying, so it wouldn’t be any shock if I showed up like this. Riot liked me because I was one of the only superhumans who wasn’t freaked out by him. Unfortunately for him, he did make me uncomfortable, I can just hide it well.

I landed on his marble balcony and entered through the window. His house was obnoxiously pretentious, with murals and portraits of him all around the house. His furniture’s color scheme was even based on his hero costume.

I saw Riot lying on his velvet couch, still in his hero costume, clearly exhausted. The only thing I’d say to Riot’s credit was that his power was extremely physically demanding.

He looked at me and smirked, “Well there you are, I thought you’d never come.”

I resisted every urge in my body to roll my eyes. I responded in a fake sensual tone, “I’m here now, so just relax.”

Riot’s smirk evolved into an off-putting smile, and his eyes looked like they were looking straight into my soul.

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“I’ve got something I need to talk to you about, Ronald,” I let out, my breath getting heavy, “I’m a part of the Equalists organization, and I want you to join us.”

Riot’s eyes widened, his smile turning to an uneasy open-mouth expression. He looked horrified by the statement.

“Y-you’re… you’re not serious, are you?” Riot questioned, his voice shaky and wavering.

I could feel the air of the room change, negativity seeping out of every word we spoke and intoxicating the air.

“I’m serious Ronald, you know superheroes are corrupt, and superhuman dominance is wrong! You don’t have to be like them, you can help make the world a better place!” I shouted, my true feelings about the topic bubbling up all at once due to having to hide this side of me for months.

Riot’s eyes grew crazed, and his eyebrows furrowed. His expression turned from that of shock and horror to that of an anger that couldn’t be contained. He stood up from the couch and started walking towards me, his chest puffed out as a form of intimidation.

“They’re terrorists, don’t you know that? How long have you been in the organization? Were you only with me to manipulate me?!” Riot screamed, his voice echoing through his entire penthouse. He began to clench his fists, his anger brewing to an almost uncontainable level.

“That’s what the government labeled us as, but we’re a freedom-fighting orga-” I was suddenly cut off, punched by Riot, and sent across the room and dented the wall.

The wind was knocked out of me through the impact, and I felt some of my bones crack.

Riot got into a position, his legs looking like they were about to push off, and then he lunged at me.

His raw strength sent both of us through the wall and into the air, right outside the penthouse. Everything was moving so fast, I couldn’t process it. The neon lights of the city all mixed into one distorted image. I was disoriented from the impact, but I felt Riot holding onto me, ready to punch again.

I realized this and sent a gust of wind as powerful as a hurricane’s at him. Riot was flung straight off of me and into another building, the sound of glass and metal smashing was clear.

Almost as suddenly as I had sent him flying with my wind, he was back, propelling towards me with his fist cocked back, charging up a punch.

I managed to stay in the air using my wind manipulation to fly, but these constant attacks from Riot threw me off. It was already difficult enough to use wind manipulation to fight and fly, let alone dodge high-speed assaults.

I used my wind to push myself to the side, avoiding Riot’s punch, but his other hand grabbed my blazer. He spun around, charging a throw, and sent me flying across the city.

The constant change in the winds around me messed with my ability to use my power.

Just as suddenly as he sent me flying, Riot appeared next to me and punched me into the ground, the earth creating a crater. Riot didn’t let go of me and held onto me even when I landed in the crater. Smoke and ash were filling the air, so I couldn’t see anything.

I tried to use my power to push him off me, but I was so out of it because of the constant movement that my winds could only push Riot slightly, especially considering his body mass.

“Are you scared now?! Are you?! How dare a traitor like you tell me what’s right and wrong. You’re no different from those powerless weaklings.” Riot yelled, each syllable feeling like the impact of his punches.

Riot began to cock his fist back, charging up another punch.

“Never again-,” Riot yelled, exasperated, “Never again will I allow someone to manipulate me like you did. You used me!”

My power caused the smoke and ash to clear faster, and a figure was made clear.

A teenage boy, wearing a lab coat that was tightly tied around him. He had black, messy hair, and unmistakably bright purple eyes. He was on the ground, most likely due to the impact of Riot’s explosions. I realized that if this boy stayed here, he’d not only be killed by Riot but he’d be traumatized for life if Riot did manage to kill me.

To save the boy, I screamed, “RUN, GET AS FAR AS YOU CAN AWAY! DON'T STAY HERE!”

Riot took his other hand and held it over my mouth, muffling my screams. Riot then stood still for a moment and looked at the boy.

“Mind your business kid. I’m just dealing with a villain,” Riot said coldly, all feelings or care he may have had for me disappearing, a deep hatred replacing it. A hatred flowed through his veins, and into his arm as he finished his punch that he was charging up.

One moment I felt agonizing pain, and the next, nothing.

It was all over.