January 22nd 2006 (3rd POV)

It’s been 2 weeks since Makenzie had initiated his plan to dominate the entertainment industry. So far he’s been met with resounding success. Having Sombra as an ally meant there was always someone perfecting the programming or out ‘acquiring’ the funds they needed. His own video playing/streaming platform ‘Prime’ has easily overtaken Youtube with its ability for shortened content.

He’d also created a social media platform called ‘X’ that had blown Fastbook and its competitors out of the water. Lastly, he’d started to release things from his own time: songs and novels mostly but Mercy had volunteered to start drawing manga. With their superhuman bodies, copying the original designs had been too easy.

The real struggle had yet to start. The industry was still shaken by the rapid expansion of a new company across all its major components but soon they would fall onto Makenzie like Vultures. Mackenzie and Sombra had created a VI (Virtual Intelligence) to track and identify any attempts at breaching their systems. 

There was also the worry of Makenzie’s supercomputer not having enough power to handle the software once they began to really catch traction. This had forced Makenzie to stop his vigilante duties temporarily as he spent time making more supporting hardware as Torbjorn. 

That in turn required the whole of their underground home to be expanded. Thankfully Hell's Kitchen had become something of a Caution zone to New York’s residents and with so many dead criminals Makenzie’s whole street was abandoned. 

All that said, it was with a sigh of relief that Makenzie exited his home as Soldier and started to scale the nearby buildings to begin his patrol. Mackenzie had never been one to sit in front of a screen for hours typing. Even in school he’d preferred to use a notepad and pencil compared to a laptop. Moving through the streets of NYC helped him release the stress he builds up when left to his own devices.

He’d done well in the past few weeks to move past his mental blocks and become the hero he wants to be but the future hung around him like a noose and everyday that passed seemed to make it tighten. It was hard not rushing into Stark industries and just executing Stane on the spot or killing Pierce in his office or removing the WSC or stopping any of the dozen threats he knew about prematurely.

But he couldn’t. These events defined Marvel’s heroes without Stane Stark wouldn’t be kidnapped, wouldn’t end up in that cave, wouldn’t build a suit, and wouldn’t become Iron Man. That isn’t to say Makenzie plans to let all of them happen though in fact he’s made a list and is systematically looking for events he can cut off or change to reduce casualties.

“Ahhhhh HELP…Mhhhm.” A scream attracted Makenzie’s attention and he jumped down from the rooftop he was on into an alley to the south of 10th Avenue. What greeted his sight as he fell was three men standing around a fallen woman whose clothes had been torn. Alongside her bloody lip it was easy enough for Makenzie to see what these pigs were about to try.

Without thinking any further Makenzie’s leg shot out as he used his downward momentum to twist his body allowing for his left leg to lash out slamming home into the skull of the nearest man. Watching him crumple to the ground brought a familiar dark kind of satisfaction to Makenzie. 

Mackenzie enjoys taking criminals off the streets permanently, he enjoys making them feel the helplessness and despair they cause others. He’d never let it get in the way of his work as a hero and he wouldn’t give someone more than they deserved but knowing how corrupt the US government is he likes to make sure any criminals he crosses gets their fair share before they reach a courtroom. 

Moving quickly Makenzie turns and slams his fist into the intestine of the man to his right. Withholding his strength so that he doesn’t accidently kill him Makenzie temporarily ignores him in favour of delivering a back kick to the final man who had run at his back with a knife. His heavy duty boots slammed into the man's stomach causing him to vomit and fall to the ground gasping for air. 

Turning Makenzie brought his foot down on the side of his jaw, knocking him unconscious and breaking his jaw. Turning back around he chuckled darkly as the only remaining man attempted to stagger his way out of the alley while desperately clutching at his sides. Not bothering to give chase, Makenzie picks up a nearby stone and lighthearted tosses it after the man.

The stone sailed through the air nailing the man in the back of his head knocking him unconscious as his body crumbled to the floor. Relaxing slightly now that the perceived threat was gone, Makenzie only barely managed to jump out of the way of a sword swing coming from behind him. 

Using his arms Makenzie sprang out of his role and twisted around to face the women allegedly being assaulted before he interfered. Instead of the damsel in distress he had seen earlier she was now akin to an emotionless doll only much scarier what with the katana in her hands.

Mackenzie was about to speak up and question the girl when movement from above him stole his attention. From above 4 masked ninjas landed beside the girl. Another two landed in front of her stabbing the two would be assaulters. A final ninja landed behind him killing the last man before finishing the encirclement. 

“So, you're from the HAND then.” Mackenzie causally commented as he cracked his neck preparing for his hardest fight since his reincarnation. None of the people in front of him showed any reaction to hearing the name of their organisations, not that he had expected much. Brainwashing was the preferred method of the HAND when training their soldiers. 

The two ninjas closest to him initiated the fight, throwing Kunai at him from their sleeves before charging at him with swords raised. The ninja behind him also moved into position as the 5 remaining enemies moved to support their allies. 

Deciding to act quickly in case more HAND ninjas were on the way, Makenzie quickly unhung his rifle from his back and held it across the front of his chest. The bulky rifle weighed next to nothing in his arms and would make sure anyone he hit didn’t get back up. 

The three HAND ninjas carefully and patiently stepped closer to him looking for a weak spot they could use. When they didn’t find any they switched strategies. The one to his left jumped forward forcing him to shift to the right and dodge his attack. The attack left him open and Makenzie slammed the butt of his rifle on the back of his head.

The other two ninjas lunged at him at the same time Makenzie struck their ally. Their blades danced through the air elegantly trying to trap him in place so that one of the extra 5 could stab at his blindspot. Moving quicker than either could react, Makenzie snapped his elbow down on one of their blades, breaking it at the halfway point.

Using that momentum Makenzie levelled his gun with the approaching ninja and shot through both his legs. They might be trained to avoid bullets but lasers were too fast for anything human. He face planted into the ground and dragged forward a few metres before stopping. Turning Makenzie used his foot to kick up the broken half of the blade on the ground and hit it with the side of his gun taking down another of the ninja’s in front of him.

The other 3 ninja showcased incredible flexibility and used the walls of the alley to get behind me. That placed two of them in front of me and three behind me. A smile crept onto Makenzie’s face upon seeing their placement and before they knew what was happening he dashed at the two in front of him while turning and launching his Helix Rocket’s behind him. They landed perfectly in the middle of the 3 ninjas blowing up and knocking them all out with the blast.

Using the extra boost from the explosion Makenzie arrived in front of the last masked ninja and brought his gun down on his head, knocking him unconscious. However, before he could retrieve his gun Makenzie’s danger sense warned him and he jumped back just as a slash landed where his arms had been.

Turning to observe his last opponent Makenzie took notice of the speed she had reacted to him with. A normal human shouldn’t have been able to catch up to or react at all to his attack but she’d not only seen it but acted quick enough to disarm him.

“Impressive.” Mackenzie spoke, knowing he’d receive no response to his comment. Tilting his head slightly Makenzie focused his senses on his ears briefly and caught the distinct sound of sirens in the background. Clicking his tongue Makenzie reached into his back pocket and removed a baton he always carried on his person.

Rushing the mystery woman before she could decide to retreat Makenzie made a wide swing with his baton aiming for her shoulder. She moved to his left effectively removing herself from his range before she made to stab him through the stomach but before she could the baton Makenzie held seemed to move with impossible grace and arced across his body hitting her sword, shattering the blade in the process.

Before she could react, Makenzie's baton had already cracked against her jaw, knocking her unconscious. Grabbing his rifle Makenzie slung the women over his shoulder and jumped onto the nearest roof before beginning to make his way home.

Now that the HAND has made their opening move he needed to decide how he’d respond.

AN: Sorry for the shorter chapter. I'm not feeling too well. Hopefully I’ll be good to write full length chapters for the weekend.