“Holy shit, Lexi! Where have you been?” I said as I released my hold, “Do you know how much we could’ve used your help two years ago?”

She let her gaze drop to the floor, “I know, but I had to leave.”

I gave her a skeptical look, “Why? Also why the games, and why did you hold me at gunpoint?”

She hit the clip release with her thumb allowing it to drop into her free hand, before racking the slide back to show me there was never any ammo in the weapon. This only made me more confused.

“As for the games. I had to ensure you weren’t being followed, but that is all I will say for now. Let’s get back to your hideout and I will explain more,” she said before stepping past me and heading for the exit. Even after all these years her hard demeanor never changed.

I let out a small sigh before following after her. My brain reeled with questions, and from those questions more arose.

Where did she go? What did she know? Why now did she come back? Why me? Can I trust her?

They just kept coming.

When we made it back to my hideout, Lexi slid off the back of my bike and immediately made her way to my computer. Without an ounce of hesitation, she pulled out her laptop and plugged it into the tower. Screens full of text began popping up as she began typing at breakneck speed.

“Hey uh Lex…”

“Shh.” she hissed, cutting me off.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, as I waited for her to finish whatever it was she was doing. Another few minutes went by before the various windows vanished to be replaced by a giant map of the city. On this map were several red dots.

Lexi set her laptop on the table, before spinning in the chair to face me, “I have upgraded your firewalls and upgraded your systems software. Now no one but me can hack into your computer. Additionally, I have taken the liberty of marking several hotspots throughout the city to help you gather equipment, and to rebuild yourself under a new name.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” I said waving my hands out in front of me, “Slow down a bit. Gather equipment? Rebuild myself? What are you on about? I only agreed to meet you because you said you have information about Dimitri’s death.”

She sat back and crossed her legs, “I waited years for you to pop up. For you to return. Was last night not the beginning of a new era, or are you just gonna sit by and let the city rot?”

Her tone came off condescending, and borderline furious.

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“Lexi, last night was a one-time thing. I only meant to tie up a loose end that made itself known. After the end of the Silver Angel, I left that life behind me,” I replied trying to convey some sort of empathy.

She sought me out for something that I wasn’t willing to do, and something told me that if I didn’t agree to return, this would be our final meeting.

“Hmm, and here I thought that maybe you figured it out.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Figured what out?”

“That everything that happened was planned. From the reemergence of the Blood Tridents to the death of Dimitri. All of it was a scheme to take you out of the picture.”

“Okay, and they accomplished that,” I replied.

She tilted her head, “So…”

“So I don’t see a point in trying to make a comeback. The Silver Angel is dead. My brother is dead, and ultimately the league is fucked. There’s nothing left for me in this city, and being a hero isn’t going to change that.”

A small smirk crept onto her face, making her glasses shift, “Then why are you still here?”

I leaned back against the wall and looked at the windows above, “Long story short, I have some unfinished business.”--

“You mean your brother’s killer.”

I nodded in response, “If it weren't for that fact, I'd be long gone.”

“Would you be willing to come back if I told you I could get you his killer?” she asked, her smirk ever present.

I bit my lip in contemplation.

With a sigh, I looked at her, “You can get me his killer?”

She smiled brightly, “Yes. All of them in fact.”

Now that caught me off guard, “What do you mean all of them?”

“There’s more than one. To be exact, there are five,” she tilted her head side to side, “Well four now.”

“Who was the fifth?” I asked curiously.

“Sao Sung,” she said nonchalantly.

I narrowed my eyes at her, “And the others?”

She wagged her finger at me tauntingly, “Nuh, uh, uh. You have to give me your answer first.”

I stood up straight and walked over to where my mask lay. I picked it up and stared into the eyes for a moment as I mulled over her demand. An eternity seemed to go by before I looked over my shoulder to find her staring me down, eagerly awaiting my response.

“You get me those names and locations, and I’ll make a return. My only condition, we do things my way,” I said as a strange sense of resolution came over me, “I’ll take on the city one criminal at a time, but I’ll be the judge, jury and executioner.”

“Now that’s the Darrian I know. You’ll have those names and everything about them from where they sleep to when they go take a shit in an hour.”

I turned to face her, “I assume you have bigger plans and a specific reason for this?”

She shrugged and spun around to face her laptop, “You know me. I always have a reason and a plan.”

“Then let’s get started, shall we?”

She looked back at me to flash an evil grin, and I could see a twinkle in her eye or maybe that was the light reflecting off her glasses. Either way shit was about to get real for Victory City.