The night breathed a heavy sigh, flooding warm air in through an open window, raising goose bumps on the arms of the man inside. He lay there, on his bed with hair fanned out behind him. Slowly closing his eyes, he sat up, feet making contact with the cold wooden floor. An unwelcome feeling, yes, but it was needed all the same. He needed to think clearly at the moment. Standing up, he slowly made his way to his window. Leaning on the frame, he gazed into the city below him. So full of life, bright, joyous. A feeling he lacked all too much these days. He focused his vision on a particular group; teenage girls, heading in to a club with a bright neon sign. Night life was an interesting thing, he could watch it all night. Then again, he was never the type to watch, he preferred to act. Leaving his windowsill, he walked to a cabinet in his room, and pulled out a large, rectangular glass bottle filled with scotch. Pouring himself a glass, he plopped several square E-crystals into the deep brown liquid. Yes, that was his poison of choice. Odd, perhaps even dangerous to a human, but he was no human. A reploid, a beautifully made one at that. Originally intended for battle, his makers had seen fit to give him human organs, among other things.
One woman in particular had enjoyed his company for many years. One Ceil of the guardians, whom he spent many years alongside.
On the guardian ship, she would often cry to him, clutching him while he would hold her, cradling her while telling her it was all okay. And in truth, it was. In the small world that was her room, everything was okay. That was what she needed most nights. Some nights, she would request comforting that was a bit more… physical. It was an awkward procedure at first, but gradually it started to come naturally. When the deed was done, she would curl up into his chest while he would whisper sweet nothings to her, waiting until she fell into slumber to do the same. There came a time, however, when things like that would come to an end. When he killed Weil once and for all. He had survived the impact by a stroke of luck. He caught Weil's carcass and used it to break the impact of landing. He had just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Fate wasn't done shitting on him just yet.
He took a sip from his drink, trying to recollect the events of that day. The Guardians had seen fit to give him an honorable discharge. The party was truly a great sight. At first glance. He had worn a crimson tux, and had met Ceil before, and she was on his arm the entire time. And he had smiled, for her, and only for her. He had only smiled because it made her happy. For him, at least, it was a heartbreaking experience. Odds were he would never see her again, so he made that night special for her. Very special. That night, she had screamed so loud for him, the next door neighbor complained. And got his ass kicked.
Zero smirked as he poured more of the sickly sweet liquid into his mouth. He gazed out the window again as he tried to recollect the events of the night.
He had woken up the next morning and found not her, but a note, explaining that she was needed with the guardians, and could not stay. He hit rock bottom that night, drinking all he could afford and isolating himself to his house. In the darkness, he sat, contemplating the meaning of his life without a purpose. He swallowed hard and took another swig of his drink. Setting the glass down on his nightstand, he began to think about his life again. Those were dark times, when he thought he had no purpose. Now, he had become at peace with his situation. No girlfriend, no social life, but things would solve themselves in time. Right now, it was just too much of a hassle. He was still recognized as a big hero, and always found people making a big deal about his presence. Even making a trip to a coffee shop could become a fiasco. That's why he only went out at night anymore. The youth of this time were too concerned with their own lives to care much about affairs. He could continue like this for years. He was over a thousand years old, and could go another couple thousand without a maintenance. By then, the people would dismiss his presence as that of a normal person, and he could go out into public freely again. He wanted to go out, and that was truth. It was just another hassle to deal with in life, and he, quite frankly, didn't like people. The human race was a fickle one, and only once in a great while will you come across a good one. Most humans, or at least a good deal of them, were bad, evil, or just a plain jackass. What he needed right now was an excuse to go out, to convince himself he had to.
Picking up his drink again, he went back to the window, leaning out as he gazed upon the nightlife. That same group of girls were coming out of the same club, stumbling awkwardly.
"Great… just what I need, a group of drunken girls." He didn't know what it was that compelled him, but he saw it as his duty to act as sort of a peacekeeper at night, keeping all the rapists and criminals in their place in this city. Grabbing a helmet and a buster, he slipped it on. Nothing was really special about it, just a couple of modifications. Black paint job, a facemask, and a visor. Nothing special, just kept his identity under wraps. Slipping the buster into a slot on his belt, he slipped on a combat jacket. Taking a running start, he grabbed the upper frame of his window and swung to the top of the apartment complex. Taking a light jump, he hopped to the next building. Then the next, and the next, and before a short while, he was simply following the girls from the rooftops. Sure enough, the girls were met by a group of shady looking men.
"Hey there, beautiful. Going somewhere?" Zero simply waited, now was not the time to make assumptions.
"Yeah, We're going home. Like, without you creeps, duh."
"Is that so?" Another group of men circled in behind the girls, closing them in. "you see, we were in the mind that you would come home with us." The group of girls was now pressed tightly into a circle, confined by the group of men surrounding them. Now it was not a question of if, it was one of when. And when is… NOW!
Zero jumped into the midst of the larger group of men, taking several out. A sweeping kick dispatched the rest. Unlatching his buster from his belt, he knocked out the first line of the latter group. The rest came at him with energy daggers. Barbaric tech, really. These poor bastards couldn't even afford decent weapons. Performing a somersault, he jumped over them and knocked one out with the butt of his gun. The rest were unlucky enough to meet his fists. Zero sighed. He wondered how it felt to have your stomach cave in on itself.
When he was finished, the girls looked shaken, to say the least. With them cowering in a corner, he carefully approached them. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Go home, those guys are history."
They were still in that corner when he leaped up to the roof.
M-E-G-A-M-A-N-Z-E-R-O-
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