Night settles unevenly across Haven City. In three quiet homes, the three heroes attempt to relax after their hectic day. What matters far more is what unfolds elsewhere, far from warm lights and familiar walls.
Beyond the city limits, a reinforced transport vehicle barrels down a near-empty highway, its engine humming steadily beneath layers of armored plating. Blue-white lights flash against the asphalt as power dampeners run at maximum output. Its destination is Halenthrow Prison, the largest maximum-security facility for superpowered criminals in the state of California. Few who enter its walls ever leave.
Inside the vehicle, the remaining members of the Alley Cutters sit restrained and subdued.
Bone Soldier is barely conscious, slumped forward with shallow breaths. Saraya stares blankly at the floor, her usual restless energy smothered by suppression cuffs. Jozu sits rigid, jaw clenched tight, every muscle coiled with frustration and exhaustion. The air smells faintly of ozone and disinfectant.
At the far end, Summoner Solomon reclines against his restraints, battered but composed. Blood stains his collar, his face still swollen from the beating he took earlier, yet his expression is almost serene. His eyes are half-lidded, lips curved into a faint, knowing smile.
One of the guards notices. "You got something to be happy about?" he mutters.
Solomon doesn't answer. He only closes his eyes again.
The transport shudders violently.
Metal screams as something massive collides with the side of the vehicle. The guards barely have time to react before the vehicle swerves, tires shrieking as it skids across the road. Alarms blare. Inside, bodies are thrown against restraints as the transport slams to a halt.
Then the rear doors buckle inward.
A hulking figure crashes through the reinforced plating like it's cardboard. The thing that steps inside is massive, towering over the guards with a thick gray hide and a single brutal horn jutting from its head. A rhinoceros of a man. He snorts, breath steaming, and charges forward without hesitation.
Gunfire erupts. Batons crack. None of it slows him.
He barrels through the guards with terrifying force, bodies flying as he swings heavy arms and lowers his horn. Each impact is decisive. Bones crack. Weapons clatter uselessly to the floor. Within seconds, the interior of the transport is littered with unconscious bodies.
Heavy footsteps follow.
A second figure steps inside, moving with calm precision through the wreckage. He wears fine, almost medieval clothing, dark fabrics layered neatly with subtle embroidery along the seams. His posture is relaxed, hands clasped behind his back as if he's strolling through a garden rather than a ruined transport.
His hair is dark with streaks of gray, his face sharp and unreadable. His eyes drift slowly across the scene before settling on Solomon.
"Well now," he says, voice slow and flat, carrying a southern drawl stripped of warmth. "This ain't exactly how I wanted to spend my evening'."
Solomon opens his eyes fully, grin widening. "Brother," he says softly. "You came."
The man exhales, something like annoyance flickering across his face before vanishing just as quickly. "I did," he replies. "And I'm already regretting it."
He steps closer, examining the state of the Alley Cutters like a man appraising damaged goods. With a small gesture, the restraints disengage. Jozu and the others stumble free, relief flashing across their faces.
"Decay sent you, right?" Jozu asks. "You're here to get us out."
The man tilts his head slightly. "Decay sent me, yes," he says. "But not for the reason you're hoping'."
His name, he explains without ceremony, is Brother Kaine. He speaks the words with practiced calm, his tone monotone yet unstable, emotions flickering beneath the surface.
He snaps his fingers, and shadows beneath the group stir.
At first it looks like a trick of the light. Then the darkness thickens, pooling unnaturally at their feet before surging upward. Jagged, shadowy spikes erupt from the floor, piercing Bone Soldier clean through. He gasps once before collapsing. Saraya barely has time to turn before a shadow blade impales her, her body going limp instantly. Jozu stumbles back, shouting in disbelief, only for the darkness to spear through his chest and slam him against the wall.
They fall in silence, bodies hitting the floor in dull thuds.
Solomon's grin finally shatters. "Kaine," he breathes, panic bleeding into his voice. "What are you doing?"
Kaine turns slowly, eyes glistening now, expression fractured. "Cleaning house," he says quietly. "Decay hates failures."
Solomon strains against his restraints. "We can fix this."
Kaine steps closer, shadows curling around his boots like obedient hounds. "No," he replies, voice suddenly sharp. "Not this time."
"But I'm your brother," Solomon whispers, blood pooling at his lips as the shadows begin to coil around him.
Kaine pauses. For a brief moment, something breaks through the cold glare. His jaw tightens. A tear slips down his cheek, unacknowledged. "I know," he says softly. "And I loved you."
The shadows strike, and Solomon gasps as darkness pierces his chest, pinning him to the wall. His eyes flicker wildly, searching Kaine's face for something that isn't there anymore. Slowly, the light drains from them, leaving nothing behind. Solomon, along with all the other Alley Cutters are now dead. Kaine steps back and regains his composure. He turns away without another word.
Outside, the rhinoceros man waits patiently, arms crossed. Kaine approaches him, voice steady again, though his eyes remain distant.
"Luther," he says. "I want everything you can find on the hero who did this."
Luther grunts in acknowledgment as they both begin walking down the road away from the scene they'd just caused. "Emerald Atlas," Kaine adds, a hint of venom creeping into the name. "Dig deep. No matter what it takes."
They disappear into the night, leaving the ruined transport and its dead behind, all lying there bloody and defeated.
Brother Kaine, one of the five high enforcers who oversee and enforce the will of Decay's vast criminal organization, now turns his cold, calculating gaze towards the newly minted hero. In the depths of Haven City's underworld, Emerald Atlas has just been marked.