It’s fair to say Youri wasn’t too fond of the idea initially. He begged me to elaborate and had a little defiance, which eventually died out. In the end he accepted the little task I gave him. It’s better this way to be honest. I can delegate my squadmates to different missions so we can be in multiple places at once. We need more people though. Jeremy’s recovery has been steady but I’m not going to have him jump into action straight away. Besides, he's just our transport. Roxy stays behind the computer, Reggie’s ancient and could be fossilized during any of our conflicts, and we haven’t recruited anyone else yet. Youri would make a good enforcer. 

“Relaxxx. It’s not that big of a deal. Nothing you can’t handle”

“But did-didn’t Rox-Roxy say not to fight the Banes? And bes-besides, WHY are we hav-having this con-convers-conversat-conversation here?” He hissed.

“She told ME not to fight them. And I won’t. I’ve got other things to focus on. You’re more experienced in your powers while I just discovered mine” Oh right, I still have to tell him about that. “And besides, I never said you’ll be fighting them”

“Oh thank god” He leaned back, more relaxed. 

“That being said, you will most probably end up fighting them” I realized. He groaned, holding his head in hands. “But not today. Tomorrow during class. It’ll probably end up in a fight if you’re not careful”  

“My class?”

“Show me your class list”

“Why would I have such a thing?”

“Ask your beloved rep. She should have it”

“What if she does-doesn’t?”

“WHY WOULD shE NOT? I have the lists of all classes from all four years for my department and I’m not even in that position. It’s pitiful and shameful if she doesn’t. The hell is she rep for then?” 

“O-okay I’ll ask her. Why though?”

“There’s this guy in your AI class with grey or silver hair and similar eyes. He’s probably very quiet and reserved, keeps to himself mostly. My guess is someone who sits at the back more often than not. Probably hasn’t talked much or gotten much attention from others yet” The burglar who placed those brownies was a man who worked for the Banes, but wasn’t in direct contact with Lord Bane himself. He worked for his son. He said the person who sent him was “Christi”, before being assassinated. The autopsy report gave me all the info I needed. Lord Bane had 3 kids. Arkos, Darius, and a third. Darius was the one who lost his life in the oil rig explosion back in 2019. That was when I first gained their attention. Since then the entire family’s been on my ass. Arkos is the one I fought last August at Hollentor, blowing him up, along with the entire prison. This third kid, he’s probably the black sheep of the family. Knowing Roxy she’ll figure out a way to doxx him. He’s the one I faced and lost to during my starting days as a vigilante, and he’s the one who almost killed me a few days ago” The only logical conclusion I can come up with is, “His name’s Christian but he’s most definitely going by another name” 

“Hm, grey hair and eyes. Yes, there is som-someone like that. Oh, Ro-Roxy sent the list. OH, this is him. Ty-Tykel B-Beau-Beaug- I’m not ev-even go-going to both-bother say-saying this” He sighed, pointing at the name. 

“Tykel Beauguard” Real name: Christian Bane (Most likely). If he’s in Youri’s batch, he’s probably only 18, making him the younge- Hold on…. I got my ass kicked by someone 3 years younger than me, twice?? That’s just….. UNFORGIVABLE. Next time I face him, I’m going to win and put him in his place, no matter what. Losing to him just ain’t an option anymore. “Do you have a picture?” I couldn’t catch a good look at his face but I’ve seen enough to piece it together. 

“Here” Youri pulled up a photo of him via the uni database. 

“Perfect, thank you” I pulled out my notebook and a pencil, recreating the picture before me. “So on that day, the mask covered the majority of his face. It was shaped very weirdly but still looked pretty cool. The eye slits were big enough to show me their shape and color. His lower lip and chin were also partly exposed too. See, it looks something like this” I stated, showing Youri the finished product. 

“What are you say-saying?” He cried out, not understanding a word of what was going on. 

“C’mon Roxy already told you what happened that day. THIS was the dude I encountered. He beat me but I managed to escape with my life” Not true. “He’s also the person who hired that thief to sneak in and hide those Pitch Black Five brownies in our house that Jeremy ate. I got the autopsy report back from Sutner and read through it earlier. The guy’s name was Iain Dimanche” I get that “Dimanche” is the most common surname but the fact that the two I’ve met have been up to some suspicious things is NOT a good sign. Youri still looked confused and lost.

“Please slow down, I don’t und-unders-understand”

“Huh? I’m literally just explaining everything that’s happened so far. You already know all of this. Anyway, let me finish. Iain is a lowlife subordinate for the Banes. Specifically, Christian Bane’s personal servant”

“If he’s just a lo-lowlife, how does he work for the Banes? Aren’t all of their work-workers well off?” In a perfect world, yes.

“Well Christian Bane is PROBABLY considered the black sheep of the family. He’s the only one I haven’t heard of. He’s most likely the bastard son of Lord Bane. Or maybe he’s the mom’s bastard. No one knows. I’m sure he gets some benefits and all, but growing up he was probably treated much worse than his other siblings” Not that it matters now since both of his other siblings are, you know, dead. “That’s why he’s in Monarch, while his siblings attended much more ‘prestigious institutes’. So he has his own little posse, but his legacy, if you can call it that, is self-made. Poor kid inherited very little from his own family”

“This is confirm-confirmed or just a guess?”

“It’s a safe assumption. Despite being the less favored child, he’s probably still a spoiled brat and egotistical bastard who can’t handle not getting what he wants. It makes sense why Iain was so willing to sell him out” I realized. Just need Roxy to doxx. 

“I see. So what do you want me to do? Fight him?” Woah he didn’t use a single two-syllable word in that sentence!

“Well, Christian is in your class. I have my own vendetta against him and the Banes in general, but Roxy forbade me from seeking out revenge for now. SO I just need you to plant a tracker on him and follow his movements” Actually, “Wait no, even better. Befriend him. Don’t immediately ask for information OBVIOUSLY and don’t seem too excited or interested. He’s mostly quiet and reserved right? Maybe you two could bond over how your families treated you”

“You don’t know how my fa-fam-family trea-treated me”

“Oh, right. Ahem, anyways yeah. Find some common ground and don’t get exposed” As if that even needs to be said. “Play the refugee card. Say you noticed he was mostly alone and by himself, and you know that feeling all too well, and it hurt seeing someone else go through that. And um, yeah that’s it. Good luck! Keep me updated on how things go” I stated, getting up.

“Why are you say-saying that as if I’m leav-leaving right now? Aren’t we both go-going back home first?”

“Oh, right. So like, you accept this task right? It’s not too much to ask?”

“I mean, not real-really but we’ll see. The way you brought it up made it seem so much worse” He actually talks really well, it’s a shame he has an impairment like that though. 

“WHAT’S TAKING YOU BOTH SO DAMN LONG?!” Roxy demanded, barging into the cafeteria. Thankfully most of the other students were gone by this point and it was just us. 

“Oh uh, sorry we both got a little caught up. We’re leaving now, for real” I assured, walking towards the exit. The two of them followed.

“Is there an-anyth-anything else we have to do?” 

“Not at the moment, no. I’ll let you both know when something comes up” The three of us got in the car as I drove off back home. Reggie awaited us by the steps, as always. 

“Welcome back, I take it you all had a good day?” The Butler enquired. 

“More or less yeah. I’ll be downstairs if anyone needs me” I stated, heading towards the basement. 

“Ah, welcome back Mister Torakirri” I flung my Wakizashi at the source of the voice, only for the blade to fly straight through the hologram and into the wall. Hm, so my powers don’t release just like that. There’s something more to it. 

“Do you just aim at anyone who tries to talk to you?”

“You already asked me this. What do you want?” I demanded, going to collect my sword. 

“I have a mission for you” 

“Does Franz even know about the strings you’ve been pulling in the dark and all that you’ve been up to?”

“Yes, Longsight is well aware of our plans. He himself will reveal them to you when the time is right” Longsight? That’s his codename?

“As long as he’s not kept in the dark. What would you have me do?”

“There’s this new menace who’s responsible for the development and spread of Pitch Black Five. He’s not in line with the Banes or anything. He’s not really a drug dealer either per se. He’s um, the manufacturer” 

“You want me to go after the creator of Pitch Black Five?”

“Why not? He’s just a pharmaceutical entrepreneur. Nothing too bad or out of your league. Just a normal human in a powerful position. You’ll make a massive difference if you do end up taking care of him. You’ll definitely gain some media presence as well. The people will begin to acknowledge who you are and take notice of you. You’ll become a beacon of hope as humanity will come to know their savior”

“You’re acting as if I want to be any of that. Don’t forget that all I’ve been doing has been for myself. My goal and the thing I’m fighting for has always been the same” I interrupted. 

“Hmm, selfish, but noble. Then again, who am I to judge? I can respect that. Either way, your goal will be achieved. You want to make a difference in the end, correct? This is where you start. I heard you’ve discovered your powers too. That will most definitely be of help”

“I’m still not experienced enough and I need to actually understand them first. I don’t think I can take on someone of high status yet. Which is why I’ve chosen to lay low”

“Like I said, this shouldn’t be too hard for you. I have faith in you, now you must have faith in yourse”-

“Cut the bullshit. You’re nothing more than a conduit between Franz and me at the moment. Until I figure out more about you and what exactly you want. Don’t consider yourself my boss or my friend”

“Oh my dear Uitver, I believe you have it the other way around. Your ‘Franz’ is just a conduit between me, and you” He smiled. “I can’t tell you too much yet. But just know that you and I will be in touch a lot more often” So Franz is just the one relaying things on his behalf? “You’ve done well building your team by the way. When do you plan on recruiting the others?”

“Sometime after Jeremy recovers. Also, I’m planning on adding Christine Ziegler to the team. We could use a medic. And she’s already helped me out a lot with the Pitch Black Five thing”

“That was, unexpected, to say the least. I’ll need some more information before I can commit to that. Either way, just know the creator of Pitch Black Five shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Contact me via holo-net if you need anything else” Youri will be dealing with Christian, Jeremy’s still unconscious, Reggie’s too old, Franz is off doing his own thing, and Roxy isn’t combat adept. I should probably go recruit the others before doing anything else. Especially since I’m still in the process of understanding my own powers. 

“Can’t you send your acolytes to deal with some of this stuff?”

“They are, elsewhere at the moment. We have other issues that have shortened our resources and left us a bit stretched thin” He admitted, bowing his head shyly. He’s got an excuse for everything at this point…

“So basically you want me to put an end to the creator of Pitch Black Five and his schemes, right?”

“If you’re not going to do it for me, do it for the countless others, including Jeremy, who have suffered. And besides, you don’t have to do it NOW. If you feel you aren’t ready, that’s fine and good. Take as long as you need. Just know that the longer you wait, the more people are going to be hurt, and the worse the situation will get. Consider it a matter of relatively high priority” He explained, tilting his sunglasses down. 

“Emotional blackmail won’t work” I scoffed. 

“I am not trying to do any such thing. I’m just trying to let you know that time is of the essence. If you’re not going to deal with him now, at least focus on the issue in your very own Monarch University. Your dean will brief you on that issue soon. Until then” The projection vanished without another word. Shit, maybe I do have to stick to recruitment…