In New York City, the largest bank in the country was surrounded by police officers and the National Guard. Across the street, every single window of every building had a sniper rifle sticking out into the air.

“Does anybody have eyes on the suspects?”

A voice said over the radio.

One by one, the snipers replied.

“Negative.”

At the very end of the building, on the top floor, one of the snipers was able to see right into a high end corner office. Two of the four walls were windows to the outside, with the inside walls being regular wood and drywall. Inside was a woman tied to a chair while one man walked around and another was hacking into a computer.

“Negative.” The sniper replied.

Inside the office, one of the men was typing away on the computer with a large drive attached to the computer. His back was to the window facing the building full of snipers.

He had short black hair, stubble covering the lower half of his face, and was wearing a very well tailored black suit.

The other man was walking around the room, dressed similarly but with longer hair that stuck out haphazardly in every direction, and thick framed black glasses sitting on his nose. He was looking over items on the shelves along the walls as well as the bookcase on the far wall across from the desk. He leaned down and picked up a framed picture of the woman and a small child. The door was wide open, other men and women walking throughout the floor going through every computer that sat in large cubicles, downloading more information onto small thumb drives.

“Your child looks quite beautiful. They look a lot like you.”

The man walked over to the owner of the bank, tied down to a chair with more tape covering their mouth. The woman looked over with anger in her eyes as he held the picture up to her face

“Don’t get too upset,”

The man standing next to her snapped his fingers.

A red laser dot appeared on the woman’s chest.

“Any sudden movements and that spot right there is going to be pierced by a fifty caliber bullet.”

The laser suddenly disappeared as the man put the picture on the desk.

“I gotta say, I was expecting more security on this system.” The man typing away said.

“That makes it kind of sad. So much important information and we can just waltz on in here and take it all away.”

The two men continued to work as the woman kept sitting in the chair. Behind her back, she had managed to sneak her keys to her hand and began to quietly but quickly use them to cut the tape.

“How much longer?” The man wearing glasses asked.

“Should be another two minutes. As long as the police don’t enter the building…”

“The police are entering the building.”

A voice came over a walkie talkie attached to the computer man’s waist band.

“Well…shit.”

The man wearing glasses seemed to pull a handgun from thin air as he cocked back the slide.

“Alright everyone, we got two minutes till the information is downloaded. Protect Cyber at all costs!”

The other people on the floor got up from their spaces and quickly made sure their guns were ready to go.

Cyber, as his name was revealed, continued to work on the computer, thousands of files being downloaded from the computer onto the drive he brought.

The woman sitting in her chair was finally able to slice through her tape, but continued to sit still.

“We’re down to thirty seconds Capone.”

Capone smirked as he stood in the doorway. The other people with them were all ducking inside cubicles as they watched the elevator across the room. There were three elevators, and every single one was on the ground floor. The light up numbers that sat above every set of double doors began to flick through the floors one by one. They were all coming up at the same time, moving at the same pace. As the elevators got within five floors, all of the guns locked and loaded once again.

“Almost there.” Cyber said.

The elevators all dinged. The CEO could hear them all at once and jumped up from her chair, tackling Capone onto the floor. All of the other thieves turned their attention back, but the elevator doors opened. All three were packed with police wearing head to toe riot armor, the front lines all holding shields down to the ground. Gunfire rang out loudly, filling the floor with a deafening cacophony of sound. Nobody could even hear themselves think as bullets flew every direction, shredding whatever they came across.

Capone looked down at the CEO who tried to stab him with her keys, but he just laughed as she couldn’t get them into his skin, only just able to puncture his clothing.

Cyber finished downloading and held up a thumbs up symbol.

The sniper across the street fired a round, shattering the window behind Cyber while the bullet was nowhere near. Cyber unplugged the drive and pulled out a briefcase that was hidden underneath the desk. Once it was shut, another bullet flew nowhere near and hit the wall, making it look like the sniper was trying his best to hit him.

The CEO was crawling along the floor to hide from the sea of gunfire. She managed to get inside a cubicle and crawled under a desk as dust, gunfire smoke, and shrapnel from everything being shredded by bullets created a thick cloud that made it difficult to see. After nearly two minutes of pure noise and carnage, the firing suddenly stopped.

It was deathly silent.

Something rolled on the floor towards the elevators. As the officers looked down, it looked like a grenade. While all of their attention was on the grenade on the ground, more flew high in the air and managed to land inside every elevator behind the officers.

“Get out!” One officer shouted.

All three elevators exploded simultaneously, sending blood and guts everywhere as all three boxes became shredded from the inside out. All three suddenly became too damaged as they all fell straight down, the sound of every one crashing into the ground floor filling the elevator shafts.

All of the thieves got up from their spots, the only wounds coming from splinters and shrapnel creating very minor cuts.

“Well…we gotta find a new way out.”

Capone said as he got to his feet.

“We got the data?” One of the women asked.

“Sure do.” Cyber said, walking out of the office with the briefcase.

One of the other people went over to the fake grenade on the ground, picking it up and reattaching it to their waistband.

“Well the drop is only fifty feet.” The person who reattached the dummy grenade said.

“You jump first, then catch all of us, yeah?” The woman joked back.

“Will you two shut up?”

Capone rubbed his eyes.

“Alright. Dynamite and Silent will set up some reppel lines. Eagle across the street will make sure you don’t get found out. Me, Cyber, and Stone will keep guard. Watch and Jumpstart will continue to download files off the computers.”

The group all bumped fists before moving to their positions.

Dynamite was the guy who picked up the fake grenade. He was a short man with buzzed blonde hair with matching blonde stubble. He had multiple small scars covering his head and neck, signs of a history of violence. He was wearing camouflage pants, jacket, and bullet covered in pouches full of explosives and ammo. He was holding a military grade assault rifle with a grenade launcher attachment under the barrel.

Silent moved to the corner office. They were dressed in all black, able to blend into shadows seamlessly. They were already the slimmest of the group, but the black only made it more exaggerated. The only weapons on their body was a pistol with a large silencer as well as incredibly small yet deadly knives. She had black hair as dark as her clothing down to her shoulders, almost making it all appear as a single fabric.

Stone was by far the largest of the group, towering over everyone with bulky muscles making them look like a bodybuilder drawn by a caricature artist. He had a large and bushy brown beard along with a bald head. He wore similar clothing to Dynamite, but his vest was unable to clip together, so he took some rope and tied it around to make the vest stay wrapped around his torso. He was carrying a large machine gun that had a long trail of ammo dragging along the floor. The gun was nearly the size of Dynamite and looked unwieldy to everyone else, but he threw it around like it was made of paper.

Watch was dressed in between the extremes. They weren’t in camouflage military gear, but not a fancy suit either. He was dressed more like a casual citizen. A nice salmon colored dress shirt and khaki pants, a very expensive watch on his wrist. He was holding two golden pistols, each one having been snucked in by holsters inside of his pants.

Jumpstart was the woman bickering with Dynamite. She had black war paint under her eyes and on her forehead. Her brown hair had blonde streaks showing in the elaborate braid she had running down her spine. She was holding a large pump action shotgun and was wearing a camouflage tank top and matching yoga pants. The only thing that could be considered armor on her body was steel toe boots that were obscured by the pants.

Cyber and Capone went into the corner office, Capone sitting behind the desk while Cyber sat where the CEO had previously been tied up. Dynamite and Silent made their way over to the blasted out window, carefully securing the end of the rappel lines before dropping them down along the wall.

“We gotta wait for the police to clear out.” Cyber said while pulling out a box of cigars, handing one to Capone. Capone lit the cigar for himself before tossing the lighter to Cyber. He grabbed the walkie talkie that was hidden underneath his suit jacket and attached to his waistband around his back.

“Distraction unit ready?” He asked.

“Yes sir.” A voice responded.

“Go.”

A few seconds later, a loud thunderous boom filled the air, having enough force to make the bank building shake. They could quickly hear the police vehicles start to drive quickly, sirens filling the air. Dynamite peeked over the edge to see the only vehicles left being a few ordinary patrol cars.

“Still got a few left.”

Capone removed the cigar from his mouth and used his walkie talkie again.

“Distraction two.”

Almost immediately after, another explosion came from the opposite direction. Dynamite watched as the remaining officers all got in their vehicles and drove off.

“All clear.”

Dynamite and Silent finally let the lines go all the way down to the ground. Stone walked in, carrying a large gym bag for every person. They all wrapped them diagonally around their torsos as they began to rappel down two at a time. Cyber and Capone were the only ones remaining when Capone stopped.

“Do you know what happened to the CEO?” He asked.

Cyber shrugged.

“Probably escaped.” He responded.

“Good. She didn’t seem too bad. I mean, she’s not the one who did this.” Capone said. Cyber handed Capone his lighter back.

They repelled down as the CEO finally came out from under the desk, looking around the destroyed floor. Nothing was salvageable.

The team all made it to the ground floor, but immediately went into the alleyway right next to the building. Stone removed the manhole cover that sat in the middle of the alleyway as every person climbed in one by one. Stone was the last person to walk down, pulling the cover over.

Eagle across the building continued to stare into the corner office. He was dressed head to toe in police riot gear, a massive sniper rifle sitting on the windowsill of the evacuated apartment building. He was the youngest of the team, no facial hair at all and almost a look of innocence.

The only people left over were the snipers across the street, a sniper on every floor.

“Any updates?” The commanding officer asked over the radio.

“Negative.” Repeated over and over by all of the other snipers. Eagle spotted the CEO and quickly pulled their gun back, attaching a large silencer as quickly as they could.

“Top floor?” The officer asked over the radio.

“Nothing sir.”

Once the silencer was attached, he got back in position before firing. Over a seperate radio, he heard Capone.

“Remember…no witnesses.”

Without hesitation, Eagle fired his gun in relative silence. The bullet managed to go between two panes of glass, driving through the building material and preventing either pane from breaking. The bullet raced forward and hit the CEO right in her solar plexus, causing her to gasp as her body was thrown backwards.

Blood was pouring from both holes in her torso while more began to pour out of her mouth. She stared at the fluorescent lights inside the ceiling while dust was thrown into the air.

The cloud of dust floated around quite peacefully, creating a dream-like haze that the lights illuminated quite beautifully. The CEO kept staring as tears ran down her face.

The tears mixed with the blood and caused it to pool faster and spread out quickly onto the multicolored carpet floor.

The dream haze began to fade as the light became fainter and fainter. She closed her eyes until there was no feeling in her body.

The team that just successfully robbed the bank were currently underground in the sewer system.

“Witness taken care of.”

Eagle said over the walkie talkie.

Every member turned on flashlights, carefully walking through thigh high sewer water with everyone seeming relaxed.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Capone lead the charge as they all walked single file. The tunnel was pure darkness, the only light coming from their flashlights that didn’t shine too brightly, more of a dim and faint light that spread out wide. The only sound was the team moving through the disgusting water, colored a mixed hue of dark brown and green. Cyber was at the back of the line reading over a small map he had on his smartphone, falling behind just slightly.

The team made it to a large circle, multiple tunnels stretching out. The sound of sludging through the water began to disappear.

“Cyber, which direction do we go?” Capone asked.

Strangely, Cyber didn’t respond.

Capone turned around and looked into the dark tunnel they just came from, not seeing any light. The rest of the team were huddled together, their lights pointed down to the water. Capone lifted the flashlight and pointed it down the tunnel. Cyber was standing still with wide eyes.

“Cyber?”

Capone took a single step forward, but Cyber’s body was suddenly shot vertically into the air, sending water spraying everywhere. A loud snapping sound filled the air as the team all jumped back, the light leaving the tunnel. Capone gathered his bearings and quickly pointed the light back.

Cyber’s body was hanging from the ceiling of the tunnel, moving very subtly as it spun slowly side to side.

“What the ****?” Capone whispered to himself.

“Are we all thinking what I’m thinking?” Watch asked.

“Shut up. That urban legend ain’t real.” Dynamite replied, with a small hint of fear in his voice.

“Let’s hope not.” Stone replied.

They all looked around, realizing that Silent was nowhere to be seen.

“Oh sh…” Watch started.

He suddenly felt a violent slap across his face. He stumbled back and reached out to grab whatever hit him. It was Silent’s severed arm, which made him scream loudly. Jumpstart quickly covered his mouth, the scream bouncing off all of the walls and making them go deaf.

“Shut up.” She gritted through her teeth.

Suddenly, Dynamite jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Silent’s other severed arm.

“Capone, we gotta get the **** out of here as soon as possible.” Dynamite said.

“I know. Let’s get…”

All of the flashlights suddenly shut off at the same time. The bulbs didn’t break or burn out. It was more like the darkness took them over.

All of the guns suddenly cocked before everything went silent.

Watch screamed and began to fire his two golden pistols. Everyone began to fire their guns, except for Capone who hid just inside one of the tunnels. The flashes of the gunfire all burst out in different directions, illuminating each person. They suddenly were able to see something else with them. Somebody dressed head to toe in black moving at the speed of a shadow before their fist blasted out and hit Dynamite in the face. The sound of bones breaking rang out as his assault rifle flew from his hands. He fell into the water as Jumpstart quickly grabbed his rifle. Watch and Stone jumped out of the way as she fired the grenade launcher attachment. An explosion hit the wall, creating a blinding flash that created a perfect silhouette of the shadowy figure.

They stood with his back to the explosion, Dynamite being held by their clenched fist around his throat. Dynamite was motionless while the figure stared with a blank face into Jumpstart’s soul. Before the light could disappear, the figure moved at inhuman speed and grabbed Jumpstart by her hips, throwing her back into the wall seperating two tunnels before her head was smashed right onto the corner. She spit out blood before her neck was slammed into the corner over and over until the sharp rock punctured her skin, causing blood to pour out into the sewer water. Her head bent unnaturally and was holding onto the neck by a thread as life disappeared from her eyes. Watch and Stone were standing back to back gripping their guns tightly. Stone was stoic and still while Watch was shaking so violently that his gun pistols and watch around his wrist were all jiggling and making a large racket.

“Will you shut up?” Stone whispered.

“Easy for you to say.” Watch whispered back.

Stone suddenly grunted. Watch slowly looked over his shoulder as Stone fell to his knees, creating a large splash that sent Watch stumbling back. He leaned against the wall and held out his pistols, both arms trembling all over the place. He fired one of them, creating a large flash as he heard the bullet hit the wall. He fired again and was able to see Stone sitting on his knees in the water. Watch quickly found a flashlight floating in the water and turned it on, the light shooting out and hitting Stone’s back. Stone’s head slowly turned and looked over his shoulder back at Watch. Tears were running down his face.

“Tell my family…”

Before he could finish, Stone practically exploded and sent blood and guts flying in every direction. Watch screamed very high pitch before he felt a fist punch through his chest, burying through like it was nothing. He looked down to see the shadowy arm sticking through him. The arm pulled out as he fell forward into the dirty water. Where the arm had punched through also left a large hole in the wall, the arm burying through with just as much ease.

Capone was quickly making his way down the tunnel he had snuck his way to. He had his flashlight, but was putting it under his shirt to still illuminate the path but not be too bright, hoping he could sneak away. He kept moving as he heard Watch’s loud scream. He gasped and tripped on a solid something underneath the water. He dropped his flashlight and watched as the light faintly made the brown and green water glow. He could see around him, everything had a green hue as the water made the light reflect beautifully on the dirty walls. Capone coughed quietly and kept walking quickly through the water, trying to move quickly while still staying quiet. He spotted a small beam of light appearing from the ceiling. He smiled and kept walking quickly, but he could feel a crawling and lurking cloud behind him. He turned around to look behind him.

The darkness that stared back was darker than anything Capone had ever seen before. Like space without stars.

Capone felt his stomach starting to turn itself into knots as he turned back to look for the light, but he was still surrounded by the darkness. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his lighter. He tried to light it, but nothing worked. He tried again, with a single spark flying out and drifting around in the shadowy void.

“Come on…please.” Capone whispered to himself.

He finally got it to light, holding it close to his face. His face was illuminated with a bright orange hue. Over his shoulder, the shadowy figure was illuminated as well. A man covered head to toe in black.

Capone hadn’t realized yet. He was breathing heavily, sweat covering his face as he moved and looked for the ladder to head up to the manhole cover. He splashed through the water, the figure moving in sync with him to keep the sound singular.

Capone reached out and gripped the ladder rung, but his lighter went out. He audibly swallowed loudly before the sound of his body being thrown violently into the wall. Bricks and bones breaking filled the tunnel as Capone groaned. He tried to get to his feet, but a stiff punch to his face sent him falling back with blood pouring from his nose and mouth. Capone’s breathing was slow and pained, like it hurt to breathe.

“Shut up…this will show him.”

A voice whispered as Capone felt the figure feel around his face. Capone gasped when he felt a finger be driven into his eye. Capone screamed out as the hand suddenly pulled away. Loud and chaotic splashes filled the air when the finger was suddenly driven back. Capone screamed again when the hand was pulled back again.

“Let me do this. Stop fighting it.” The figure seemed to be talking to themselves.

Capone was breathing heavily when his head was smashed back into the wall and the finger reached back in, but this time Capone could feel his eye be pulled violently out of his socket. Capone went to scream, but he immediately passed out from the pain.

In the Lower East Side of New York, there were plenty of peaceful and quiet streets. It was late at night with the full moon illuminating whatever the street lights couldn't touch. The pale, calming blue and white light of the moon mixed with the harsher yet still relaxing orange light beaming down from the artificial bulbs. Nearly all of the buildings lining the streets were made of red brick, which sat faded and dull after decades of being built but not well maintained. Inside one of the buildings, the shadowy figure stood in front of a wooden door, struggling to get the key lined up with the keyhole. He tried to push it into the thin slot, but missed. His suit was soaking wet, covered in liquid of unknown origin as well as blood from the team of criminals. The figure sighed before lowering the key and punching the door, sending it flying off of the hinges. They walked inside the small apartment, grabbed the door, and leaned it against the doorway so that it mostly lined up. They reached over and flicked a light switch, filling the small studio apartment with a single faint light. The apartment only housed a couch that was held together by duct tape, a small circle table holding a potted flower, and a small television sitting on top of a wooden box. The . The figure made their way along the dirty and broken hardwood flooring.

They continued walking until they turned and stepped into the small bathroom, holding an old bathtub that sat on the floor without any curtains. The toilet was incredibly clean, near reflective white surface all over. The counter was small and only held a single toothbrush and bottle of toothpaste. They slowly began to peel off the all black uniform. The material was thin and stretchable like spandex, but tough like rubber. The body revealed was that of an adult man, late twenties at least. His body was covered nearly head to toe in scars. Once the clothing was off his body, he threw it all into the bathtub before turning the faucet on, filling it with water and soaking the clothing. He moved to stare at himself in the mirror.

His eyes were bright green, staring into the reflection of himself with a look of sleep deprivation. Dark bags under his eyes, wrinkles all over his young face, and gray roots of his dark black hair.

“I really don’t want to go over this again.”

His voice was smooth and clean, middle register. It wasn’t too deet, but not very high either.

The man was gripping the counter tightly as he stared into the mirror. His reflection was leaning forward as well, but their elbows were on the counter, hands right onto the chin holding their head up while a massive smile covered their face.

“Oh come on. I love having conversations like this.” The reflection said. Instead of the bright green, their eyes were a deep and dark shade of red.

“I said no killing.”

“I left the last one alive.” The reflection responded with a shrug before standing up and turning to sit on the counter, putting his feet on the counter and continuing to smile.

“You ripped his fucking eye out.” The real world body said.

The reflection rolled his eyes.

“What’s funny is he won’t be able to do that again.” The reflection laughed.

“Polymon, this is serious.” He said.

The reflection groaned and leaned forward, closer to the mirror.

“Sim, I think we can both agree that you had fun.” The reflection replied.

“I would disagree with that statement.” Sim said. He stared at his reflection continuing to move on its own.

“Do I need to explain how this works to you again?” Polymon asked.

“No matter what I say, you’re going to.” Sim rubbed his eyes. His body began to go weak as he nearly collapsed. Polymon kept watching in the reflection as Sim reached up, his entire arm shaking from years and years of built up pain. He opened the window to reveal a medicine cabinet that was overflowing with bottles and bags of painkillers. Multiple bottles spilled out onto the cabinet and into the sink as he collected however many he could, throwing two entire bottles of pills into his mouth before turning on the sink water, cupping his hands and swallowing handful after handful. He coughed violently, spitting out water as the mirror closed back on its own. Polymon was still smiling and looking at Sim.

“You should really find a better way to ease your pain mate.” Polymon replied.

Sim gave him a dirty look as he lifted his head back up.

“No.” Sim rubbed his face aggressively, waiting for all of the pills to start working on his body.

“The medicine is getting expensive. You gonna be able to afford it?” Polymon asked him.

Sim coughed again before wiping his mouth.

“Any plans for the night?” Polymon asked.

Sim looked confused before stepping out of the bathroom, looking out the window at the night sky.

“What time is it?” Sim asked.

“I’m not sure. I can’t exactly see any clocks in here.”

Despite leaving the room, Polymon was still in the mirror, looking around the bathroom.

“God damn this place is filthy.” He said to himself.

Sim walked back in as the bathtub was about to overflow, quickly turning the faucet off.

“All that blood and sewage…will be a pain to get out.”

Sim grunted and stared into the water, which began to change color from the liquids washing out of the clothing.

“Pretty ain’t it?” Polymon asked.

“Stop being weird.”

Sim got back up and made his way back to the kitchen. Polymon slowly faded from the mirror, leaving it a reflection of the empty room and nothing more.

“What are you making?”

Polymon was now inside of Sim’s head, Sim the only person able to hear it. He began to make coffee using his machine, the only appliance he owned. He opened a bag of already crushed up coffee grounds before pouring them into a filter.

“You’re seriously going to ignore me?” Polymon asked again.

Sim continued to pour grounds, hoping to make the coffee stronger. He placed the filter inside the machine before filling a glass pitcher with water from the sink. Once it was all ready to go, he pressed the button and leaned back against the counter.

“Pot of coffee at three in the morning? The heck is wrong with you?” Polymon asked in his head. Sim immediately jumped and looked outside. Nothing in his apartment was able to tell the time. Sim ran over and turned on his television, which opened up to the news. He looked in the corner to see the time and weather outside.

“You need to cut it out with the time manipulation bullshit.” Sim said to himself, turning up the volume so he could hear it from the kitchen.

“Stop zoning out, it's not my fault.” Polymon replied.

Sim sighed and stared at the pot of coffee very slowly dripping down, a drop every few seconds.

“You should get a new coffee maker.” Polymon said.

“Can you please just shut up. I don’t need you to commentate on every minor thing.” Sim said, all of his annoyance coming out at once.

“Alright…fine.”

Once Polymon finished speaking, it felt like all the sound around Sim went away. Everything was deathly silent. Sim stood with his arms crossed, staring at the coffee maker as drop by drop fell.

Sim opened his mouth and tried to speak, but the sound never even left his chest. He rolled his eyes as he walked over to the bathroom, no sound coming from anything.

Polymon was filing his nails in the mirror, looking down as Sim made his way inside. Sim waved his hands around, but Polymon kept filing his nails. Sim was visibly getting very upset when he suddenly punched his mirror hard, sending some shards flying out and crashing to the counter while the majority of it sat in place with a large circle with cracks shooting out in every direction.

Every section of the broken mirror alternated between reflections of Polymon or Sim, but the ones containing Sim seemed to be all independent and unique.

“You don’t have any money for a new mirror. Dumbass.” Polymon said.

Sim gritted his teeth and clutched his bleeding hair. Sim quickly opened the mirror, grabbing hold of broken pieces and slicing up more of his flesh. He downed an entire bottle of painkillers within a few seconds before cupping his hands and drinking the mixture of water and blood. Once he swallowed them, he grabbed the roll of toilet paper and wrapped most of it around his bleeding hand.

“I have to get some rest. Will you please just leave me alone while I’m sleeping?” Sim asked.

“Maybe.” Polymon replied.

Sim sighed and looked back at the full bathtub, the black costume barely visible through the murky and dirty water.

Sim made his way over to the kitchen once again. The coffee pot was about halfway full as he gripped the handle, lifting the pot up before pouring the steaming coffee down his throat. He put the pot back and went over to the couch, laying down and watching the news on television until his eyelids became heavier than the building he was inside, shutting and quickly falling asleep. His body was filled with soreness and pain, the feeling of everything shutting down making it impossible for him to even think about staying awake.

A young boy was sitting inside a booth of a small diner. The tile floors were black and white leading to bright red and silver counters and tables. The walls were entirely covered by black and white pictures of celebrities sitting in the booths or posing with the servers. The young boy read over the menu while his short legs were moving back and forth, too short to be touching the ground.

“Hey Simon, good to see you again.”

A young and beautiful blonde woman made her way over. She was dressed in a button up white shirt with a black bow tie and black dress pants. Her hair was pulled back and her lips were bright red with lipstick. The young Simon smiled and looked up from the menu.

“Hi Julia. I’ll have the usual.” He said with a big and light smile.

“Sounds good. Is your Dad on his way here?” She asked.

“He should be here soon. I guess you could go ahead and make his coffee.” Simon said.

“Alright, will do.” She replied with a big smile.

After she walked away, a middle aged man walked through the entrance, wearing a large brown leather jacket and walking over to sit across from Simon. He had a thick dark brown beard and quite messy brown hair. He removed dark sunglasses and had a very warm and inviting smile at Simon. Simon lit up and smiled brightly.

“Hi Dad. How was service?” He asked.

“It went well. Not as any people as last week, but what can you do?” He shrugged as Julia brought over the mug of coffee. He smirked and lifted it up.

“Thank you Julia.” He took a sip of the hot coffee.

“Simon’s food is already being worked on. What would you like?” She asked him.

“I’ll just have an omlet please.” He said once again with his warm smile.

After Julia walked away, he removed his jacket, revealing strange symbols written on his arm. They were tattoos of strange looking runes.

“How has school been?” He asked Simon.

“It’s been…well…”

Simon looked nervous.

“Principal’s office again?” He asked.

Simon subtly nodded. Instead of getting angry, his Father just chuckled.

“History class again?” He asked.

“Everything they teach his just…” Sim sighed.

“I’ve told you before, just sit and listen. Once you’re older, you can make up your own mind.”

“But how is history something that changes? Like shouldn’t there just be one history and that’s it?” Simon asked.

“Sim, buddy, the world and people are complicated. Just do me a favor and go along with it.” He said, trying to stay warm and happy.

“I know Dad. I’ll try harder.” Sim pouted his lips.

“How are your other classes going?” His Father asked.

“Science is another class that annoys me. But the service trips are pretty fun.” Simon replied.

“Helping the homeless?” His Father asked.

“That’s part of it. But mom doesn’t let everybody in which is sad.”

Simon’s Father sighed and reached out to take his Son’s hand.

“Don’t let that get to you. She has her ways, and even though I don’t agree with them, it’s how she wants to run things.” He replied.

A plate holding a large omelet was placed in front of Sim’s Dad while a big stack of chocolate chip pancakes covered in whip cream and chocolate syrup were placed in front of the young boy.

“Hope you two enjoy.”

Sim’s Father laughed as Sim’s entire face lit up with excitement. Sim buried his face into them, getting chocolate and cream all over his face.

“You really are a funny boy.” Sim’s Father said.

Julia looked at Sim’s Father, noticing the tattoos on his arm.

“I’ve never noticed those before. Are they new?”

Sim’s Father looked at her confused before looking down at his arm. He quickly hid it underneath the table.

“It’s nothing. Just some art.” He smirked and turned to eat the omelet with one fork and hand. Sim lifted his chocolate and whip cream covered face, looking confused at his Dad.

“But…”

Sim’s Dad shot him a very serious look, making Sim stop right in his tracks.

“We can discuss it another time. I’m still tired from today.” He replied.Julia had a worried face as she walked away, going behind the counter and talking to other people sitting on stools nailed down to the ground.

“Is everything okay Dad?” Sim asked quietly.

“Yeah buddy…just adult stuff. I’ll tell you about it when you’re older.”

“Oh…okay.”

Sim opened his eyes. He was laying face down on the ground of his apartment, groaning in pain as he tried to push himself up, but his arms and back were incredibly weak.

“Hey Sim…we gotta go.” Polymon sounded afraid and panicked in his voice.

“What, why?” Sim asked weakly.

“There’s a big problem.”