Vincent clenched his fist,looking at the five new teenagers he just kidnapped.
With a pistol in his hand,Vincent approached the five tied up teenagers:"Alright here's the deal you little shits.Make no noise,listen to everything I tell you and we can get this over with quick and easy.If you don't,well...."
Vincent loaded his pistol and fired to the ground next to the teenagers,startling them in horror.
"I hope I've made my point clear.Move to the truck,now."Vincent commands the teenagers who reluctantly moved towards the vehicle he was pointing to.Alan,his right hand man approached him,whispering to his ear:"Vince,the Chairman wants an update..."
"Tell him we have 30 teens ready to be transported by the end of the week."Vincent answers Alan,who began forwarding the message on his phone.Vincent looked down at his clothing,a thick leather jacket,covering his combat gear.
Bullet proof combat armor strapped to his chest,shoulders,forearms,knees and legs,painted with his signature skull...feared by many who had once faced him in combat.On his back,twin AK-47s strapped to him and a helmet,made of reinforced iron with a fierce skull symbol sprayed onto it.His Demonshot alias,ready to take on anyone who tries to bust his next pay day.
Two dozen men,each of them armed with an assault rifle guarding the abandoned scrapyard they were in,using the facility to store all the teenagers that they have kidnapped in order to sell them at a higher price to whoever was willing to pay them.
This will redeem myself in the Chairman's eyes...Vincent hoped to himself.
Whoosh.
An engine roar shot through the sky,grabbing Vincent's attention instantly,making the human trafficker squint his eyes to try and spot the object in the sky.It didn't take long before Vincent realized he was looking directly at a human like figure,flying straight into him.
"WEAPONS FREE!"Vincent roared,taking his aim and firing onto the incoming suit of armor.
Starlio Stex,in his Model 1 armor went full speed,Vincent's bullets bouncing off harmlessly against the armor which smashed right into Vincent,sending him flying in pain uncontrollably across the scrapyard and crashing directly into a pile of metal.
Before the other human traffickers could react,Starlio raised his arms,activating both mini guns on his forearm,pointing the weapons at his opponents with his voice,booming through the armor's loudspeaker:"Drop your weapons now.Or I will be forced to use mine."
The rest of the human traffickers looked nervously at each other,contemplating on their next move.
"Make your move wisely."Starlio warns before noticing from the corner of his HUD,Vincent,getting himself out of the metal pile he was knocked into,placing on a skull painted helmet onto his head and roaring to the rest of the traffickers:"Shoot him!"
The traffickers listened,unloading their AK-47s onto the Model 1.
Starlio stood there,knowing his armor in and out and confident with it's ability to hold it's own as the bullets struck the armor,hitting the reinforced steel that made the Model 1 and doing almost nothing to it."You've been warned."
Starlio returned fire,his mini guns gattling bullets that tore though the ranks of the human traffickers.
"Take cover!"Starlio heard the human traffickers who were all scrambling to get out of the way,at least a dozen of them already reduced to corpses on the ground with just one of Starlio's attacks.Starlio found himself looking at the bodies of the men he just killed...their blood soaking into the ground...
An unfamiliar sour feeling shot through him,subconsciously making him lowering his guns.
"Please...don't make me attack again."Starlio's voice trembled.
What...Starlio did not expect the guilt he would feel.A chain of endless thoughts filled his head.Is he doing the right thing?
Before Starlio could do anything else,a powerful force struck him by the side of his helmet,slightly denting it before being blown backwards.Starlio was shot back into reality to see Vincent,fully suited up as the Demonshot,charging at him with superhuman speeds.
Starlio got up,about to unload his gattling gun when Vincent ducked right under it,kicking the barrel upwards and making Starlio shoot into the sky before jumping into the air and delivering a devastating round house kick that shot Starlio right through a lamp post,smashing it like cardboard.
Bullets rained down onto Starlio,Vincent firing both of his AK-47s at the same time,knocking Starlio backwards and forcing the teenager to raise his forearms in defense,tanking the incoming bullets when it finally stopped.Starlio placed down his arm,ready to counter attack only to realize that Vincent wasn't in front of him anymore.
What?
Starlio felt a sharp pain shot through his back as Vincent shoved a sharp piece of steel right through the back of the armor,which fortunately was still sturdy enough to hold it's own structural integrity,only a small part of the steel piece reaching Starlio within the armor.
"UGH!"Starlio groaned,pushing himself away from Vincent which leapt forward,tossing a crazy punch that Starlio blocked with his forearm.
The Demonshot's fist left a dent at the side of the Model 1's forearm armor,Vincent himself,stopping to catch his breath,tilting his head and drawing a combat knife from his belt:"Your voice...have we met?Who the heck are you?"
"You should remember me."Starlio says,charging forward with his bulky armor which Vincent easily dodged,counter striking the Model 1 with a barrage of punches that knocked Starlio back over and over.Before Vincent could land a truly damaging hit,Starlio managed to duck under him,grabbing the Demonshot by his arm and discharging the tasers installed within his hands.
"AGHHH!"Vincent yelled in pain,kicking in the air desperately and getting himself out of Starlio's taser grip,landing on the ground several feet away from the teenager.
"You...?That kid?!"Vincent recognized the taser weapon.
"You haven't learnt your lesson the first time around huh?!Stop what you are doing and surrender yourself to the police.I don't wish to use more violence than necessary."Starlio warns before hearing a chuckle of Vincent:"You have caused me enough trouble and blood already kid.The fact that you returned to finish the job...gives me an equal opportunity to finish you as well."
"I guess only one of us is walking away then.Bring it!"Starlio ignored his fear.
Vincent got up,about to charge when Starlio fired his gattling gun,raining bullets onto the incoming human trafficker whose armor began shredding apart by the teenager's bullets,each shot breaking apart chunks of the Demonshot armor and forcing Vincent to retreat into cover.
"What are you guys doing?!Fuck him up!!!"
Several human traffickers gathered together,pulling out a heavy duty machine gun,mounted onto a turret and began shooting armor piercing shots that struck the Model 1,piercing dents right into the chest piece of the armor...a weapon that Starlio did not consider when designing the armor.
"Shit...shit..."Starlio was going to be shredded by the heavy machine gun's rounds if he does not react quickly.Out of desperation,Starlio flicked another switch on his wrist as a small barrel popped out from the Model 1's shoulder,a laser pointing itself towards the turret.
A missile shot out,exploding the turret into flames and blasting several of the human traffickers near it,instantly killing them before Vincent leapt out of cover with a sharp tipped metal pole.
Starlio noticed the Demonshot too late as Vincent shot the metal pole at Starlio like a javelin,piercing right through the Model 1's shoulder cleanly,poking right out it's back.
"UGH!"Starlio was lucky the metal pole missed any vital parts of him,but he could still feel several rogue chunks of metal scraping itself across his skin,tearing it apart and blood,slowly flowing down his arm.Starlio grit his teeth,determined to endure the pain,retaining his combat stance and found Vincent,already closing the distance between them.
Vincent landed a kick right at Starlio who quickly stepped back,barely ducking the attack with the little martial arts experience he had,shooting out a counter attack with his armor's enhanced strength,striking Demonshot right in the helmet and knocking it clean off Vincent's head.
The Demonshot helmet cracked,shattering on the floor as an injured Vincent landed.
Starlio flew himself forward,grabbing Vincent by the face and smashing the human trafficker into the ground mercilessly and with one last attack,discharging electricity from his hand with Vincent still in his grip.
"NOOOO!"Vincent cried out in pain as Starlio's heart weakened,letting Vincent fall onto the ground weakly,not being to bring himself to finish the job.
I...I cannot go down this path of killing.
"Why....must you?"Vincent tried to say before coughing out some blood from his mouth."Why must I what?"Starlio looked down onto his defeated opponent.
"Why...are you so persistent in stopping me...?I never...I never did anything to you.Must you make my life a living hell in order to be happy?!"Vincent looked up at Starlio,who made a sarcastic chuckle:"Not doing anything to me?!You kidnapped my friends,broke my arm,almost killed me and tried to sell my friends into slaves.You think you deserve a happy ending doing all these?!"
"You think I want to?!"Vincent roared back.
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"Then why are you doing it?"
"You're just...a kid aren't you.You couldn't possibly understand-"Vincent was cut off by an enraged Starlio:"So what if I'm younger?!Does it really matter?That my age somehow hinders me from understanding basic English taught to us in school?!What so hard to understand?!If you have a good reason for doing what you are doing you tell it to my face."
"Your age doesn't hinder your ability...Starlio...was it?Your maturity and lack of experience in life is why.You lack empathy."Vincent spat a piece of his teeth out.
Starlio found himself disgusted by Vincent's ideology,ignoring the human trafficker and dialing a number for the cops."Hello?Yes I would like to report a human trafficking ring.Yes.Okay."Starlio was communicating with the officer on the line when Vincent stumbled back,leaning against a pile of debris behind him,too weak to really move.
"Kids...when I was your age I had hope for this world as well....that somehow my youth would give me the strength to solve any problem that came my way.Look where I am now."Vincent scoffed.
Starlio ended the call with the police officers,grabbing the almost lifeless Vincent by the arm:"Where are the teenagers you have taken?!Bring me to them."
"By the trailer truck."Vincent sounded done.
Starlio dragged the lifeless Vincent across the barren and dust filled land of the abandoned scrapyard,eventually finding the truck and with just one punch,Starlio shot a hole right through the lock of the trailer,opening the doors to find five terrified teenagers,looking at him horrifically.
"Don't panic...I'm here to help.The human traffickers are dead and the cops are on their way."Starlio tells them,making his way into the trailer and with the superhuman strength provided by his armor,ripped the bands off the five teenagers,freeing them all and as he brought them and the defeated Vincent out of the scrapyard,Starlio noticed the police sirens in the background,slowly getting louder.
"You really think you're a hero...such is the thinking of a child."Vincent mocked.
"I freed five innocent teenagers.I don't regret what I did."Starlio tells Vincent who scoffed:"Does...people you shot.Murdered.They had families too....if we were all born into first world countries and have it's luxuries,do you think we still need to smuggle humans to survive?"
"There's more ways to earn money.You just took the easy and cruel way to do so."
"It's not always about the money..."Vincent looks at Starlio,who ignored him,turning to the five teenagers:"Alright,tell the cops what happened.Get those traffickers who are alive into jail,especially this one."Starlio points to Vincent.
"Who are you...?"One of the teenagers asks him.
"No one.You don't have to know who I am."Starlio says before taking off into the sky,knowing that the police would ensure their safety.
-
Starlio's Lab,The Navarro Warehouse.
Conner Hans looked in awe as Starlio landed back onto the roof at midnight.
"Holy sheep you are really crazy Chip!You saved them?!"Conner asks a tired Starlio,who removed his helmet,allowing cold air to blow through his hair as he smiled:"Yea...yea I saved them.The human traffickers should be in jail soon."
Conner began analyzing the damage on the armor.A hole torn through his shoulder and multiple dents across the armored plates of the Model 1:"What...what kind of weapons did this?"
"The weapons barely did anything.It was him...the man I fought back then when trying to get Shannon.The guy that broke my weapons and shattered my arm,he had some sort of superhuman strength capable of rivaling the Model 1.To be honest if I was just a little slower,I would have died already."Starlio admits.
"So...time for repairs?"Conner asks.
"Repair...yea...yea.But...I think the base design of this armor is...limiting.Now that I know how to integrate myself into the armor...I think I can do better.I can start working on an upgraded version,one that would get rid of the weakness of the Model 1."
"Wait...every time I talk to you,you come up with something crazy."
"I'm not joking...anything that I can built into my armors before combat is going to determine the life and death of the people around me and myself."Starlio tells Conner,who noticed the massive scar across the Model 1's arm with blood dripping out from it's cracks.
"Bro...first aid.Come on let's go downstairs,get yourself healed up."Conner says,escorting Starlio down to his lab where some medical supplies are held.Starlio walked downstairs only to see someone at the door of the warehouse,requesting permission to enter the facility.Shannon Ray and Roy Brandon,both of them standing at the door.
"Wait-did you tell them to come here?"Starlio asks,looking around at the now quiet warehouse with most employees already ending their shifts.
"I didn't say anything."Conner tells Starlio who proceeded to let the two of them in.
Roy found his way to Conner and Starlio first,with Shannon right behind him."What are you guys doing here?"Starlio was still in the Model 1 with only the helmet removed.
"Dude...you...you rescued the kids and bust a trafficking ring?!And you didn't invite me?!"Roy asks.
"I thought you weren't free just now when Conner messaged you."Starlio answered.
"I mean yea...by the way.You're all over the news,again."Roy crossed his arm when Shannon brushed past him,punching Starlio lightly in the Model 1's arm before looking at his face,which had sweat and dirt all over."Starlio,please...you can't continue doing this all the time."
"I know,which is why I built this armor.It protected me well and saved those teens."
Starlio began unlocking the plates of the Model 1,stripping the armor components off himself as Shannon took out her phone:"Your rescue is already on the news.There's news out there and the police might be looking for you soon."
"The news are reporting bodies."Roy adds in.
"Those are bodies of the traffickers.No innocent party was caught in the crossfire.I made sure of it."Starlio guaranteed the three of them,who stared at him silently."Starlio...you realize...that you killed people right?"Conner asks.
"I know what I did..."Starlio's voice softened.
"I'm not going to judge you for what you did Starlio,but you have to make sure you yourself can live with it.Alright?"Roy tells Starlio who nods:"Yea,yea I know.If I could...I would rather avoid bloodshed as well but when I was there,my instincts told me it was either us or them."
"Did you know who you fought?"Shannon asks.
"The same guy who beat me up when I was coming after you."Starlio tells her as Shannon shook her head,taking a seat right opposite him:"The African American man?His name is Vincent Khumalo,it's all written on the news.Apparently he's some infamous hit man in Uganda who is known to assassinate politicians all across Africa."
"My suspicions about him were right.He does possess extremely high levels of strength,capable of denting my armor with just his fists."Starlio explains.
"The Demonshot...I think he was the one responsible for a huge political crisis around Africa....Yea I've heard about him.What's he doing here in America?"Conner asks.
"Beats me,I'm just glad he's going behind bars."Starlio smiled.
Starlio finally took off the Model 1 completely,revealing his arm which had a scar slit right across his bicep from his shoulder with blood,slowly dripping out to the floor.Roy and Conner both stared in horror as the prodigy ripped his torn sleeve apart,revealing metal shards,impaled into his shoulder.
"Ow...."Starlio tried to move the shards,not even noticing his own injury before this.
"Oh my god..."Conner gasped as Shannon got up from her seat,instantly sprinting towards the first aid box located at the corner of the lab:"Okay clear the way,Starlio put your arm on the table now.If we don't clean this it might be infected."
Shannon placed the first aid box down,getting multiple anti bacteria wipes,bandages and a bottle of medical alcohol.
"Do you know how to use them?"Starlio asks.
"My mom's a nurse,I learnt a few things here and there.This is gonna hurt so bite onto something."Shannon tells Starlio,tossing him a packet of tissue to bite on as she poured the alcohol onto his wounds.
"Shit....."Starlio clenched his fist,gritting his teeth to endure the sharp itching pain streaking across his entire arm,shutting his eyes and making tears uncontrollably flow out.Shannon quickly placed her hand on his,grabbing his free hand tightly:"Alright...the pain will pass,just let it cool a little before I remove the shrapnel."
Starlio turned to Roy and Conner,who both gave him a cheeky smile.
"Come on guys."Starlio smiles as Shannon turned to them:"Hm?"
"Nothing...uhhh,why not go to a hospital?"Roy suggests when Starlio quickly explains:"And tell them I built a military grade armor with the ability to wipe out legions of soldiers?I was already lucky that Javier got me back the jet pack.I'm not risking it."
"Alright,you must be famished.I'm going to get some Taco Bell so just text me your orders alright?Roy come on I can't carry all the food along."Conner turns to Roy,who naively replied:"It's not that many bags man."
Conner shot him a look,before directing his eyes to Starlio and Shannon.
"Right!Alright let's go."Roy finally got the hint,both boys exiting the lab to get their meals.
Starlio and Shannon found themselves accidentally staring into each others' eyes before the both of them awkwardly looked away."Okay...is your arm now numb?"Shannon asks Starlio who nods:"Yea numb with pain."
"That's enough.Okay I'm sorry but try your best to stay still."
Shannon took a tweezers,slowly extracting the rogue chunks of metal shards,more blood seeping out as Shannon carefully placed more cotton over the wounds,trying to contain the blood."Sorry..."Shannon felt extremely bad,taking out the shards as painless and quickly as she could.
Starlio's heart squished,looking at Shannon...unknowingly fluttering.
"Why didn't you tell me you were building this to fight those human traffickers?"Shannon began,stitching his wounds together.Starlio was thrown out of his daydream as he sighed:"I...I knew you would worry."
Shannon blushed,pursing her lips together and took a deep breath."I...yea...I would.But please...if you are going to do things like this again,I don't wanna stop you.I know you did it because you felt that it was right.I,at least...I hope I am important enough to you to tell me the truth because...I...I really cannot bear knowing that you are in danger."Shannon's voice quivered.
"Hey hey...it's alright...I'll tell you.I do trust you Shannon."
Shannon smiled,wiping a bit of her tears aside before tying up the bandage around Starlio's arm."Rest well alright,don't keep working in the lab,let your arm rest."
"I will."
-
Vincent was arrested,sitting in the back of a police transport with reinforced chains that held him down,along with about ten of his men remaining,all arrested along with him.About six armed guards were sitting in the same transport truck as them and around them,several police cars and motorcycles surrounding them to ensure their path to court and prison safely.
I'm so dead.Vincent closed his eyes,knowing that he had once again failed the Chairman.
There's no escaping him.The Chairman had a reputation as the biggest and most deadly crime lord in the entirety of America and to an extent,maybe even the whole world...and Vincent just lost millions of dollars to Starlio who foiled his operation twice.
"This is the end I guess."Vincent mutters to himself
As Vincent quivered in his seat,a bright orange glow emerged from the window holes of the transport vehicle,followed by a thundering boom that shook everything around them."He...he's coming for us isn't he?"A terrified trafficker asks Vincent.
"Yes he is."
Next Chapter-Recognition