《Blood Ties, Broken Bonds》 -Prologue- Late again, Jessica signed the last of her agency¡¯s paperwork, trapped in yet another night of desk duty. Jessica dreaded the work. She glanced at her clock, 1:27 AM, and realized it was too late to go outside and do her real job. The famous hero Lady Darkness was reduced to an office job. She set the pen down, rolling her cramped wrist. She wasn''t born for this type of job; she could feel the shadows itching at her fingers. She was made for the nighttime hero duty; crime was at its worst during the night. Her eyes went back to the clock, it said that it was Wednesday. Her husband wouldn''t be home until Friday. Next to the clock was her sister¡¯s unread letter. She hadn¡¯t had time to read it, but with her work done, nothing stopped her now. She knew the scissors were in the kitchen. Before she could get out of her seat, a soft creak shattered the silence. "Babe? Is that you?" Her voice trembled as she slowly got out of her chair and stepped foot into the living room. As she stepped into the living room, the darkness swirled around her hand, slightly brightening the room. There was nothing, all the paper work must be tiring down her brain. She stepped over to the kitchen and opened the fridge to grab a bottle of water. She opened the bottle and took a sip. As the water rushed down her throat, she looked over to the scissors jar that was on the counter, she noticed that there were only two pairs sitting there; she normally kept three. Then her pulse kicked in as she heard soft footsteps rushing up behind her. The shadows quickly formed a dark knife in her hand as she spun around and slashed at the intruder. The figure took a step back as the knife hissed through the air. Their movement was clean and practiced, like they''ve done this before. The moonlight highlighted the gas mask the figure was wearing. The moonlight also reflected off the scissors that were in the intruder¡¯s gloved hands; the same pair that was missing. Jessica growled and lunged forward to counterattack the figure''s dodge. They sidestepped, allowing her to run into the corner of the island. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Pain flared in her stomach; she dropped her knife as her arms wrapped around her stomach. She was reminded what was at stake when the intruder grabbed her shoulder and forced her to look at them. Her fist flew towards the figure''s chest and made an impact, pain shot up her knuckles like she just punched a brick wall. The intruder took advantage by grabbing Jessica and shoving her into the counter, the moonlight made the figure''s red eyes shine as they plunged the scissors into Jessica''s neck. She could hear the intruder''s breath hitch with a slow exhale after as her throat filled with blood. She tried to gasp for air but all that did was make her cough up blood. Her legs buckled under her weight as the figure let go of her. She landed onto her knees then onto her side. She could see the door to her room, she hadn''t gotten to read her sister''s letter. The intruder noticed her gaze and strolled over to her room. Their boots thumping onto the wooden floor and a soft clinking following the figure. They came back holding the envelope and opened it with the bloodied scissors. Jessica tried her best to get up and attack the intruder but it felt like there was a boulder holding her down. She could feel her consciousness fade away. The blood drooling from her throat; pooling onto the floor. The figure let out a muffled chuckle as they read the note. "Only if she knew," the intruder muttered, folding up the letter and putting it in the inner pocket of their trench coat. They crouched down to the now lifeless body of Lady Darkness, gliding their hand over her. From her ankles to her chest. From her chest to her mouth. The figure ran their finger over her teeth, stopping when they got to her top first molar. Soon, the collection will grow. For now, the intruder needed to prepare for the vigilantes. They grabbed Jessica''s ankles and stood up to drag her out of her apartment, leaving behind a smeared blood trail. -Chapter One- It was another normal day in Silverstone City. A bustling city full of heroes, economic potential, and day to day activities, but with a big city, there is also crime that comes with it. Even though the government has spent millions on agencies to help put heroes out on the streets to bring criminals in. Some criminals do sneak through the gaps of those agencies. Criminals that get to live a life acting like they haven''t committed the worst sins to mankind. It''s disgusting but that''s where the Silver Justice Vigilantes come in which is led by Ivan Perce. He keeps a strict schedule when it comes to his job as a vigilante. He wakes up early in the morning and takes a moment to enjoy the rising sun. Watching as people start to crowd on the street. He then takes his morning shower, always at the hottest temperature as it prepares him for any pain he might need to endure. Once he is out, he makes breakfast as his hair dries, he always cooks the classic American breakfast: eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, and toast. With years of experience, he knows how to make them perfectly to his standards. After he eats, he leaves the house and starts to drive to the vigilantes headquarters. He turns on the radio as he drives through the bustling streets. He always listens to the news to try and catch any wind of a criminal that went free. He couldn''t help but to tighten his grip on the steering wheel when he heard about unpunished criminals. It took him back to when he was younger. He lost his mother to a serial killer. Ivan never saw his mother but he still lost a piece of himself that fateful day. Thinking about how the police did nothing to save his mother. He couldn''t help but erupt into screaming. Punching repeatedly into the steering wheel. People gave him weird looks as he tried to calm himself down by deeply breathing in and out. His hands shook on the steering wheel as he remembered that day. Losing someone that was close to him, it was a pain he didn''t want anyone else to feel. So he set himself on the path to becoming a hero. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. He was going to become a hero if he wasn''t rejected after he passed the hero entrance exam. The pathetic excuse they came up with was that he had "anger issues." Ivan knows that being a vigilante was illegal but the system left him with no other choices. Ivan stopped at a traffic light. He looked out of the window that was to the right of him which was looking down a dark alleyway. He saw an old woman getting mugged. His body froze when he saw her. A woman who probably has kids. Even though she''s older, she is still someone''s mother. Ivan must save her. He unbuckled his seat belt and jumped out of the car, his heart rate raising as he approached the alleyway. As Ivan was approaching the two, bone started to grow out of his knuckles. Ivan was born with a rare superpower. He was a pure breed in the Biokinesis family. Which is the rarest family out of the second ring. He walked up to the mugger and swung, the sharp tips of his claws slashes the person''s face. Red liquid started to spill out. The mugger dropped the old woman''s purse, Ivan didn''t stop there, he pushed the mugger down to the ground. The mugger tried to crawl away from him, Ivan''s muscles tensed up as he tried to hold back, but his attempts were futile as his bone claws plunged into the mugger''s chest. He let out a soft gasp as he stopped moving. Ivan let out an audible sigh as he grabbed the purse. It felt like his heart got heavier. It wasn''t the best feeling, even if he saved someone during the process. He turned to the old woman. She was shaking and staring at Ivan with widened eyes. Ivan understood why. This always happens, people want to be saved but never by a vigilante. It always has to be a hero they saw on tv. Ivan could feel his muscles tense up again but he restrained himself. The woman said her thanks in a trembling voice and quickly took her purse, scurrying away like she had somewhere to be. Ivan took another deep breath before punching the brick wall over and over. He stopped as the pain became too much to bear. Punching a wall would have destroyed most people''s hands but his superpower had a little perk that came with it. His bones were a lot more durable than others. He''s done a lot of sports when he was younger, he''s super has saved him a few times. But that we''re his bones, the superpower doesn''t save his skin in a single bit. He grits his teeth as he shakes off the pain, he starts to make his way back to his car.