The Shadow Trilogy

by 1307954628

I combine idea's from Batman, Kick Ass, and several other superheros and combine it with my own ideas and thoughts. I have it divided it three short story segments each with their own story but still all connected. I wrote it and released it as a trilogy so please read it and tell me what you think.

The Rise of Shadow

By 1307954628

I'm not sure how to start this off exactly but I guess toward the beginning would be the best and most sensible place to start. I was born and raised just like a typical person and there wasn't anything extra ordinary about me. I was average. I wasn't athletic. I wasn't good at music. I wasn't good at spelling. I wasn't good at a lot of stuff. In all my nine-teen years of life it seemed the only thing that I could do better than anyone else was the ability to remember word for word of any cartoon episode I had ever seen and that's not very useful. I might be too hard on myself I was good in school and probably could have been one of the smartest if I actually tried. I learned the same way I watched cartoons were I just remember random things about the things I was learning and it would just stay in my subconscious. Maybe it would have been easier to find my special talent if my parents had been there for me growing up. Oh their not dead or anything like that but they just didn't really care what happened to me. They were always too focused on giving my older brother everything and had no live left over for me. Things only got worse when at age 16 I converted to Norse Paganism, and went off of their "one path" that they had set up in their minds as to which way my life was to go. So that was when they officially gave up on me, now of course they never said it out loud but I could tell by the way they talked to me. It's also hard to follow a path that you don't know you're on because they never talked to me about it or anything and most of my childhood I was alone. Not only did they give up on me but they down right didn't even support the choices I did make. This resulted in having me an antisocial, skeptical, unadjusted adult with serious trust issues and my brother being a sheltered, thinks "he's better than everyone else" douche-bag who thinks he'll never face any hard ships. Yeah great parenting mom and dad. But you aren't reading this to hear me bitch about the loss of my childhood and what terrible people my parents are so let's move on to the start of the interesting shit.

I was eight-teen and three quarters and was in my college dorm and just hanging out and browsing the web as there was nothing else to do on a cold Saturday afternoon in March. Eventually I came across the Massachusetts Lottery website and saw that the Powerball jack pot had climbed to a high of one hundred fifty million dollars. That would be seventy five million in cash and that would be awesome to have that kind of money. So I thought to myself 'well I've got nothing else going on' so I got up and took a walk down to the local convenient store and bought myself a Powerball ticket not really expecting too much. I was right, I lost. Two months later after school ended I went and bought myself another ticket and as it turns out I won! In cash it was only thirty two million but that was more than enough. The first thing I did was set up an appointment with my father's accountant to see the best way to keep the money so only I had access to it. Later that day my father asked me;

"What do you plan to do with all that money?"

"I don't really know yet but I'm sure I'll think of something." I said.

That was a lie. I knew exactly what I was going to do with the money. I was going to do what I had always wanted to ever since I was a young kid. I was going to become the world's first actual real life superhero. I had a goal and the money to do it now all that remained was to put a plan together and actually do it. I started by moving to New York City because there was much more crime there and no one would possibly know me. When asked by my family I just said that I wanted a new surrounding and life experience. Once there I had an apartment that I would use to sleep in and get mail at, but the real action was at the studio that I set up in the basement of an abandoned factory building. It only had one entrance that I put an un-hackable lock on. On the inside I cleaned it up and renovated it to be livable, added a work station, a workout area, weights to lift, pull-up bar, TV to watch the news, a computer with Wi-Fi, and a place to practice my hand to hand combat training. The benefit of being in the time we are in now I had access to lots of different comic book heroes and could see what they did right and what they did wrong, like Batman training his body to physical perfection and on the other end of the spectrum Kick Ass going out totally unprepared at first and almost getting himself killed. I knew before I even got a costume I would have to refine my skills and get my body ready for the physical torment I was about to put on it.

To start this process I started by taking a series of different karate classes to get a good feel for all different techniques and see which would work for what I was doing. I had taken karate in the past but nowhere near this level of training, I was much more serious about it then when I was eight. In addition I started scoping around looking for criminal hot-spots and practicing my free running to see how much work it would need. It needed a lot of work. I was also working out every day at least for an hour every day and running in the mornings to build up my stamina. I took a lot of boxing lessons and street fighting lessons as well to learn more about actually fighting people who would be trying to kill me. After about three weeks of this very solid training regimen I had made enough traceable progress that I felt it was time to start making my costume. I started with the cloth itself, it had to be water-proof and somewhat resistant to knives and fire so as it would be able to hold true in dangerous situations. I was able to by some dark grey pieces of Dragonwear™ cloth that is breathable, water repellant, and fire-proof. After I had the cloth I obtained several large pieces of black leather, which I then brought all the materials to a local sew-shop where I paid extra to be kept off the books. There I had them sew my pants and a long sleeve shirt made out of dark grey pieces of the cloth, I also had them make me a pair of leather boots that went up to my knees and a belt that would hold any ranged gear I might want to have out of the black leather. Afterward I used waterproofing spray to make them water tight as well, I also added grip pads to the bottom of the boots to make climbing and free running easier. Now I had my costume done but I wasn't going to go out there unprotected so I needed some armor.

At a gun store on the other side of town they were selling some high military grade ballistics armor and I went to see what they had for sale. I was not disappointed; they had just what I needed. Armor that covered the main areas like the chest, back, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, quads, knees, shins, and of course a cup. After talking to the store manager I bought the best ballistics armor set that they had in the store that could stop bullets from a standard issue military riffle. Once again this transaction occurred of the records but before I left the manager also hooked me up with a military grade covert ops Kevlar head and neck cover that resembled the mask that Archer had in the co-op story line in the game Splinter Cell Conviction. Needless to say I bought it in a heartbeat. Next I went to a weapons store and bought a set of eskrima fighting sticks and a set of three hundred shurikens. I then found a place that sold a grappling hook and some rope. I then spent time getting accurate with the shurikens and attaching all the other tools and weapons to the utility belt. All the while this is happing I continue to train and work out in the background.

All of the training I had done and getting everything together took a total of ten months of nonstop preparing and training and it had all been leading up to the moment of truth when I saved that first person. I woke up that March morning and thought to myself, I've trained enough I have turned from being a kid with an average build with no talent into a man with a cut build who's talent was to be the first person to stop being a bystander and stand out ageist corruption. It was time for a test run to see if all that training was worth it and so that night I suited up. I was looking at myself in amazement for a moment, there in full costume, it was what I had dreamed about ever since I was a kid and now it was happening. The black leather boots, black shin guards, black knee pads, dark gray pants, black quad covers, dark gray long sleeve shirt, black chest and back armor, black utility belt with the eskrima sticks hanging in a holster, black shoulder pauldrons, black bicep and triceps guards, black bracers, black gloves with the knuckles in them, and all topped off with the Kevlar head and neck cover. I looked bad ass and like a real superhero ought to look like if you ever saw one. No capes, no tights, no spandex, no bright colors, no exposed body parts, no big attention drawing logo, just no silliness. When people saw me they would know I meant business. Enough self-admiration it was time to get out there, it was time to live my dream.

So as soon as the sun set I was on the move, I started by checking out the hot-spots I had identified earlier and then just moved around looking for anyone in need of assistance but it was pretty dead. For six hours I went around and there was nothing so I decided to go around to the hot-spots once more and then call it a night. On my way between spots three and four I found myself looking down in an alleyway to see an old man and his grandson being mugged by a group of seven guys most likely in their late teens or early twenties. I made my way down as quickly and as silently as I could but made a loud thud as I landed about one hundred feet away from them. They all wiped their heads around and laid eyes on me.

"Who the fuck are you supposed to be? Fucking Batman?" The first thug shouted out.

I just stood there in silence letting their imagination and fear take them to where I wanted them to be.

"Who the fuck cares who he is," Said another thug. Then turning to me; "Get outta here before you get your ass shot bitch!"

I stood my ground unflinching and in my most heroic voice said loud and clear; "No."

"No? Fine then Mr. Badass you can have your reward," turns and shoots the pistol directly into my chest which causes an ear-deafening blast to echo in the alley, then watched with satisfaction as I fell to the ground with a pleasing thud. Turning back to the old man; "Now then where were we in our transaction?"

I would be lying if I said that it didn't hurt even with the ballistics armor, I felt like an unarmored kick to the chest, but I was alive. Moving quickly and silently behind them I got right behind the thug with the gun who shot me, then all in one motion I through him to the ground and smashed two others heads into each other. The remaining four quickly started to react but I was prepared to take them down moving like a blur I was able to take all four of them down only with taking minor damage like an occasional punch to the face of a kick to the back but they were subdued and someone passing by had called the police at the request of the boy. A pretty successful first actual encounter if I don't say so myself.

"Um excuse me sir, but what's your name?" The boy asked shyly.

I turned and said; "Shadow."

I could hear the police sirens so I decided it was time to leave. Moving swiftly over to the fire escape I jumped and started to climb away when the old man shouted after me thank you. It was two a.m. when I got back in my apartment after dropping all my gear off at the training studio, my layer I guess. I was beat, my face had some bruising and my chest still kind of hurt so I decided it was time to sleep, it had been a good night. Maybe the best I'd had in a long while.

The next morning I couldn't even contain my excitement I had to see if there was anything about me in the news or on the web or something so I rushed to the layer and turned on the local news. There was nothing. I went online and saw the was a video that some kid in the coffee shop across the street had taken on his phone labeled 'guy takes shot to the face and lives' as it only shows me being shoot and then standing up again. On the local newspapers website there was a short piece about a mugging being broken up by a guy in all black who calls himself 'Shadow'. Well at least they got the name right, but it was only like a two paragraph piece. Not that I was doing this for attention but it's still nice to get recognition. But it was a start and as I moved and got more videos and pictures of me my name became an internet myth and legend. I was taking down criminals left and right and stopping muggings and breaking up small gangs and cracking down on drug lords and just typical superhero shit. It wasn't until I stopped a major bank robbery that my name was all over the news and the papers, we're talking headlines and front page stories like 'who is the Shadow?' and 'is Shadow a menace or a hero?' typical shit like that. To be honest I just happen to be in the right place at the right time, just parkouring my way from hot-spot eight to hot-sop nine and happened to see a guy in a mask with a gun inside the bank and stepped in to stop them. But now that my name was plastered everywhere I found it harder to be the silent hero I wanted to be.

I had wanted to be on main-stream news hoping to inspire people to get off their asses and join me out on the streets but I didn't want to be a celebrity or thought as a sell-out. It did end up working out to my advantage as people did start joining me and helping out all over America, Canada, and parts of Europe. Most of them were way out of their leagues getting their asses handed to them or just being all about getting themselves famous or other agendas like advertising but it was good to see people doing their part. They always wanted me to join their team or make them my side-kick or to be partners but my response was always the same. 'I work alone.' That was always my response because the caliber I worked at was too advanced for them to keep up. It was nothing personal but I didn't want them getting killed. They didn't have the same training I had and even when they did they were still easy to track back to who they really were. It wasn't till one night when I was taking down a gang lord in his hide out and because they were prepared for me that I was slightly overwhelmed and took a sledge hammer to the back that I actually thought seriously about having a partner. But I didn't want just some random person off the street who had two bucks to spend on a cheap Halloween mask, I wanted someone I could really trust and that someone was my best friend.

Shadow's Fall

By 1307954628

I had been on patrol every night for the last four months and I knew now there was enough coverage to take a night off to go and talk to my friend and ask him about joining me out in the night. As the heat of the summer day died down and the cooler night took hold I moved to and knocked loudly on the front door of my friend's apartment. After a moment the door opened to reveal a short blonde haired man whose head only came to the top of my chest, and I at six feet tall was happy to see him. It had been months sense we had last seen each other and we exchanged a quick handshake and then I moved into the apartment and made sure no one was listing.

"So Josh how have you been?" I said in a normal voice.

"Eh you know. You?" Josh answered without hesitation.

"I've never been better," I replied. "…I suppose I should get down to why I'm here."

"Not really but you're going to tell me anyway." Said Josh with a sigh.

"First, what do you think about all the superheroes?" I asked slowly.

"The freaks that don't have to pay taxes, why?"

"What would say if I told you I was a superhero?"

"I rest my Case."

"Well I am a superhero and I'm here tonight to ask you if you wanted to join me and be like my…"

"Side-kick? Forget that. Not happening." Josh interrupted.

"No not a side-kick I was thinking more along the lines of a partnership. You know someone to watch each other's back." I said quickly to clear up any confusion and so that he didn't close his mind of to the idea entirely.

"Oh I see not like a Batman and Robin thing but more like a Batman and Nightwing thing were they both are equals."

"Right."

"Yeah I could get involved in something like that. Where are we stationed out of?"

"I have an apartment and a layer in NYC, you can just stay with me how long will take you to pack?"

"Not long at all. I can have all my stuff ready in like an hour or two."

The drive back to my apartment in New York took about three and half hours when we got there Josh and I had completely caught up and talked about the plan for me training him. After he was all unpacked and moved in we decided it was time to get some sleep we would have a lot to do the following morning. The first day went just as I had thought we lifted, traded some punches, went over some fighting techniques and then I let him train on the punching bag. The second day is always the worse and I knew he wouldn't want to go full force but I made him put all the effort he had to give. He was not happy. Then he got his coffee, and then his day improved. It wasn't until after four days of training that he asked;

"Why do I have to do all this shit?"

"Because you have to be ready to fight."

"Yeah but if I'm tired then I won't be very good in fight now will I?"

"Then build up your stamina so you're not tired."

"Come on what's wrong with me taking a break every now and then?"

"You train like you fight; if you take breaks in practice then you won't be ready in a real fight."

"Dude, seriously, I bet even Bruce Wayne took breaks sometimes."

"Yes but here's the difference Batman is a comic book character. This is not a comic book, this real life, people are trying to murder you and will stop at nothing to get what they want."

"Next time you're in a fight and I have to come down to save your sorry ass that's when you'll wish you took a break."

After a long moment of silence Josh had another question to ask.

"When do I get my costume?"

I sighed and said "whenever you're experienced enough to go out on your own and not die or need me as back up."

"How long did you train?"

"I spent ten months training and getting all my gear together. You won't have to wait as long because you have me here to teach you and don't have to figure it all out on your own like I did."

"Fuck you, Give me my costume."

"It's not that I'm saying your lesser than me but let's just say I've seen a lot of bodies of kids in costumes and I don't want to see yours be one of them."

"I don't like your attitude towards me."

"You don't do you? Me trying to make sure my best friend doesn't end up as a bloody mess on the six o'clock news? This is serious shit, a lot more than just putting on a mask and saying funny lines." I said starting to get pissed off.

"Fine you win." Josh said in a dissatisfied tone.

It was a long three months of stressful training as tensions raised as to be expected in a high tension environment but it was finally over, Josh was ready to work on his own. I was probably happier than I should have been to be out on my own that night but we both needed a break from each other or we might strike for blood. Josh was set off in grey ankle high leather boots, grey ballistic armor set (shin, knees, quads, chest, back, shoulders, upper arm, and bracers), blue Dragonwear™ pants and long sleeve shirt, and a grey Kevlar head and neck cover. Tucked neatly on his back wear two razor sharp Katanas. After three long months and lots of preparation Josh was truly ready.

It wasn't even two nights and Josh had called me and said he needed 'help' in taking down a drug lord that I had never heard of. I was very skeptical but I trusted that Josh had done his research and after he had showed me the evidence I was prepared to go in and kick ass. Apparently this lord was living on the third floor of a penthouse complex and had guards in stolen police uniforms to make it look more legit. I was ready to move when I saw that Josh had a long range high powered sniper rifle, after seeing my confused look he explained.

"The sniper? Yes I plan to cover you from the roof top so you don't get over run" Josh said in suspicious tone.

"Alright then cover my six and don't kill unless it's necessary." I said firmly.

And then my liberation began as I moved into the facility and was ready to take this lord down. As I moved the waves of thugs became increasingly heavier and heavier and I felt a total lack of support from my 'backup' on the roof. Finally I entered the third floor and I saw thirty five guards all armed with shotguns and AK47's and they were waiting for me to step out of the elevator.

"Shadow down on the ground and surrender yourself!" Shouted the head guard loudly.

My actions spoke for themselves as I ran straight towards them and took down the first three guys, hard. I then took down two more as I jumped behind cover to avoid automatic gun fire. I then waited till I heard people reloading and then ran out and hit two with my eskrima's and then in a blur of fists, blood, and gunfire I took down twelve more. I remember breaking a man's arm and kicking him firmly in the sternum before then moving on to the next. I had now taken down twenty two men and only made it halfway down the corridor. After then taking down another three and then a fourth started to be overrun and started get my ass handed to me and got shot several times in the left are causing me to drop one of my eskrima sticks, and I was pinned down. The suddenly seven shots were fired through the window all hitting there marks and that gave me the distraction I needed to stand and advance close enough to bring down all but one and he had a .44 magnum aimed right at my face at point blank range.

"I think it's time for you to give up freak." The thug said gruffly.

"Why don't you put that gun down and fight me like a man." I replied calmly.

"Fine but that only means you're going to die slower." He said slamming the front of the gun right above my right eye sending me to the ground.

I quickly recovered and then proceeded to muster up the strength to fight and even with a bleeding arm full of bullets I was able to beat him with a kick to the chest, a knee to the head, a chop to the throat, and I finished by slamming the back of his head ageist the ground with a loud thud. I then took a moment to assess the damage done to me; my left arm had four rounds in it, one in the forearm two in the bicep and one in the shoulder, it was all a glistening bloody mess and the armor was mostly cracked and had pieces broken off. My side was bleeding as a bullet had passed right underneath my right armpit and was now leaving a small trail of its own and right above my right eye was bleeding down forcing me to keep it closed. But after everything I had been through I was ready to kill this lord and get on with it. I looked out to see if I could see Josh out on the roof but I couldn't, maybe it was too dark or he had moved to a better position, but he wasn't out there as far I could see. I then kicked the large brown traditional double doors of the penthouse and saw a man sitting at his desk with his back turned and an mp3 player connected to headphones on the desk. I moved quickly over to the desk and spun the chair around, he was surprised to see me but before he could speak I snapped his neck. There I stood with blood on my arm, side, and face and I couldn't help but bask in what very well be my greatest victory and by far hardest fight. As I looked on the desk my eyes feel on the name . Oliver Vidic was the name of our town's mayor, I look with the disturbing revelation that the man in the chair was indeed the mayor of New York City, which meant all the guards who were now subdued and some dead were actually police officers and Josh not coming in with me was all a complicated set up to frame me for his own twisted agenda. I needed to get out of there as if it mattered there was high definition video evidence of me breaking in attacking police unagitated and then killing the mayor in cold blood, regardless I needed to flee but as I turned to go…

"Turn around slowly you murderous scum." Quipped an eerily familiar voice.

"Wha? What do you think you're doing?" I managed to get out in my confused, betrayed, and broken state.

"Don't waste your breath. James Sven, undercover cop, your crime spree is at an end." Josh said.

It wasn't until later that I learned that Josh had somehow planted evidence that 'stated' that every criminal I had ever brought down was somehow an undercover cop or an FBI agent or something effectively ruining the reputation of Shadow as being a mentally diseased serial killer rather than a hero. The source of this betrayal is still confusing even now as I recall this tale. I certainly couldn't put together what happened when it did because as I was trying to figure out what I happened I figured the best way to save my name was to give up and speak out ageist Josh in court but Josh knew this and as I was getting ready to surrender he shouted;

"He's going for a weapon take him down!"

My train of thought was then lost as I took a high powered shotgun blast to the chest sending me flying through the air clear over the desk and clear out the window, down three floors and into a dumpster. I would have been dead if it weren't for my armor, but I tell you it has never been harder to breath. I could feel my blood pouring out of my chest like water through a strainer, and to make matters worse my legs felt pretty banged up themselves and my back was definitely dislocated. I couldn't move and felt my world spinning I could feel everything going dark, I didn't even feel myself being lifted up into a car and brought to a medical clinic in Queens.

I awoke several hours later with lots of bandages wrapped around my body and my left arm. My Back was in a brace as well as my legs, and from the reflections of the metal table to my left I could see a bandage on my head no doubt holding my new stiches. My head ponded and my whole body ached like nobody's business. My gaze then found its way over to a small boy and an old man who were looking at me excitedly to see I was waking up. They were the first people that I had ever saved, and I could tell they didn't see me as a monster.

"How do you feel?" asked the boy softly.

"Lousy but alive. Thank you." I said as strong as I could.

"The media says that you are a murdering psychopath who killed the mayor, but we have reason to doubt." The old man said nervously.

"Forget doubt, it was me," I said sadly. "I was set up, I was told it was another drug lord take down operation, and then when I realized my mistake I was betrayed and shot by the very person who told me about the job and gave me all the fake information."

"On the bright side you look like an android." Said the boy enthusiastically pointing to the x-rays.

He was right in a way, all of my joints had been reinforced with metal hinges, and my spine now had a metal brace visible from the outside of my body to give it extra support. And my ribcage was now coated in metal along with a number of other bones in my legs and arms. I then decided it was time to get all of my gear and lay low for a bit elsewhere while my bones took some time to knit back together. I had a lot to think about between now and when I came face to face with Josh again, and I could think about was getting him back. Someday soon.

The Darkness Before Dawn

By 1307954628

I know I should have lain low, had it been only three weeks since my betrayal and only six days since the hospital deemed me fit to start taking care of myself, but I just couldn't lay still long enough to sleep knowing that Josh was out there. I could only fear what terrible plans he had for the city now that his alter ego James Sven had assumed the position of mayor and, from an inside source, he has also told all police squads to look for me after he reveled my secret identity. It was going to be harder than before to take him down now that everyone was looking for me and afraid of me, but I had a plan. I didn't have to worry about police or Josh getting their hands on my gear because Josh didn't have a very good memory and did not remember where it was, and even if he found it he didn't have the code to get into the layer. He would however remember the general location so to be on the safe side I had Conner (the kid from before) sneak in and move all the important stuff back to his grandfather's house where I was now staying. I needed a new persona both in and out of costume. To change my appearance I cut my hair that was down to my chest to a short buzz cut, I also had to shave off all of my facial hair which made me look like I was seven-teen instead of twenty and a half. Most of my facial wounds from that night four weeks ago were healed so I barley looked like the picture that the police were using to look for me; so I was good in that aspect. For my new name I started calling myself Markus Heidevolk and if questioned I was Conner's uncle from the Netherlands. As for my new masked persona I hadn't decided on a name yet but I knew I was going to be a vigilante set on evening the score with Josh rather than being a superhero so it was time to get my new gear together.

I started this process the same way I had started the making of Shadow. I went to Dragonwear™ and got more of their cloth, this time all black, I was able to reuse the boots, utility belt, gloves and the Kevlar head piece but most of the ballistics armor was trashed. Not that it mattered; I was planning for an upgrade anyway. I bought a new set of ballistics armor and then I was on a plane out to London because I had found a local blacksmith who was rather good and I needed his expertise. Once there I had him make a set of armored metal plates the same shape as the ballistic pieces only just big enough to fit over each piece, as well as a metal face mask that I would wear over the Kevlar mask. After he had finished that I had him make me the finale tool I needed, a thirty inch long, two inch wide, one inch thick, and razor sharp sword made out of high carbon steel in the shape of a traditional Viking sword. Now that I had all my new armor and weapons I returned to New York and started preparing for the final encounter. I started by attaching all of the metal plates to the corresponding ballistic counterparts for extra protection and strength, then I painted all the metal black. Then I brought the new black cloth to the sew-shop and had them make me a new pair of pants and a long sleeve shirt and I also went back to training every day. I got deadly accurate with the shurikens and faster with moving in terms of my parkouring. In addition to my sword, shurikens, grappling hook, and rope I also decided to get an arsenal of guns and become accurate with those as well. I bought an AK47 machine gun, two MP-446 pistols, a long range sniper rifle, and a M1014 shotgun which I then painted black and attached to a harness which I would wear over my armor. Josh had better look out because when I was back up to full health and could move fluently with all the extra gear I was ready to kill his ass.

The day when I felt I was ready to strike it had been an additional six months, but it was well worth the wait. I had never felt more unstoppable in my life. No longer Shadow the superhero, now I was The Dark Avenger a war monger with the goal of vengeance. I suited up for the last time hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Head to toe in black protective gear and then armed to the teeth with weapons. I said my goodbye's to Conner and his grandfather, the first two people I had ever saved, I had to leave so they were not hurt if I were to fail. I set out and was ready to draw blood, I had evidence that would clear my name and incriminate Josh's corpse, but it didn't matter I was gone. After the deed was done I planned to leave America for good anyway. I didn't know where I was going to go because all I cared about was killing that scum Josh. And so I made my way into the cool, dry June night air and for a moment was at total piece; total calmness of mind like the calm before a storm. The storm was coming and it won't be good to be a guard at Joshes penthouse tonight, there was no mercy.

It would have been the easiest thing in the world to set up my sniper on an adjacent roof and just snipe him. Quick, untraceable, and clean. But you don't prepare to engage an army if you're only going to be a pussy. I suppose there was a pride thing as well, I wanted him to know it was me who was effortlessly slaughtering his men and that no one betrays me and gets away with their life intact. So I left the sniper in my hotel room in Boston and made my way back to Josh's condo with only my sword, pistols, shurikens, and my machine gun. It was only twenty five minutes before sunrise, the darkest part of the night, and I decided it was the perfect time to strike. After a quick survey of Josh's forces by hacking into security cameras, I then choose the front door as the best place to enter. I disabled the silent alarm, activated a device so it was a cellular dead zone, cut all land lines, and then I kicked in the front door and let out a hail of machine gun rounds into the lobby killing all seven-teen guards. As expected the other guards on the floor ran in and started firing rounds of at me. Their guns were not strong enough to get through my armor; it only chipped off some paint. I then reloaded my AK and took them out, I waited until I could no longer hear the panicked breathing of the guards and then I proceeded to the stairs, Josh was on the sixth floor so this was going to be a fun night.

As I climbed the stairs I could hear some guards making their way down to take care of me. I heard them mention how it was impossible since there was an 'army' of them and that a second group was going down in the elevator like I had figured. I put the AK on my back and got my pistols and then I ran up the stairs as fast as I could as to take them by surprise. I remember turning the corner and seeing one and he said 'oh shit there he …' he didn't finish because I shot him through the throat and he feel bleeding profusely out of his neck. Some of the other's had managed to fire off a few shots, one even got me between two plates of armor, but they were no match. After things calmed down, relatively speaking, I noticed that these guards had Kevlar vests on which meant it was only going to get harder as I went further on. I exited the stairs and was almost decapitated by sniper rounds, I quickly got behind cover. I then peeked out and fired off six rounds into some of the guards and heard them fall but I was out of bullets. So peeking out I saw there was only twelve guys left so I ran out and through three shurikens and killed three people then I killed two with my bare hands. I then pulled out my sword and decapitated four more, slashed a guy's arm off, and then stabbed a guy in the chest grabbed his gun and shot the last guy in the head. Pulling my sword up through the guy's sternum and then back down through all his organs and then out, cleaning the blade, and then returning the sword to its sheath. I then turned to the only guard still alive and proceeded to beat him to death with his own disembodied arm. Just then the elevator opened and the other team from before entered the main part of the condo were I was, saw all the carnage, and trained their weapons at me and before they could even pull their triggers I was already breaking the first guy's neck. The other five watched in horror as my gazed laid on them and I pulled out my AK and finished of the clip. I dropped the now empty machine gun in a pool of blood. The only weapons I had left was my sword, my shotgun, and my own hands. I removed any broken pieces of armor as they would only be dead weight, I only had to remove my upper arm guards and my quad covers. I was ready to fight Josh. I made my way through the sea of corpses and over to the door into Josh's personal office. I placed a hand on the handle, sighed deeply preparing myself to kill a man who only ten months ago was my best friend, then I opened the door.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the office I thought to myself 'hiding in the dark like all cowards do'. When my eyes were fully adjusted I stepped into the office and closed the door behind me. It was a simple office, a desk with a computer and a phone, two guest chairs, a book shelf, and a display case with the ballistics armor that I had given him with the intent of him using it to be a hero by my side, well Shadow's side, and he betrayed that trust. As far as I was concerned he didn't deserve it and I could sell it back to the store and get some kind of refund. I went over to the desk expecting to find him cowering in the dark but he wasn't there. I pulled out my phone and checked the security cameras to see where he might have gone. In the video he saw me down on floor one, told all his guards to hold the hallway, then he put on the ballistics armor, turned off the lights, and got into the. My phone was then smashed as a two handed great sword came down and nearly cut my hand off. I recovered and spun to face off with the armored Josh.

"I knew you would come after me eventually Matt. Or should I call you Shadow? How about Markus?"

"You can call me The Dark Avenger you son of a fucking bitch."

"Well if we aren't going to stand on ceremony with politeness I say nether of use wears our masks." Josh retorted calmly as he removed his grey Kevlar head cover.

"Fine by me." I replied taking off my face mask and black Kevlar mask.

"You cut your hair?" Josh said half astonished half tauntingly. "You?"

"Shut the fuck up and let's finish this once and for all."

Josh charged as I drew my sword and we clashed several times before ending on different sides of the room. We both turned and we continued to fight in a pattern where he would throw an attack, I would block and counter attack, but after a while his lack of experience and his low stamina allowed me to take the upper hand. He started by making a simple mistake and almost falling and then it was over. I slashed his leg, causing him to drop his sword, and then I slashed upward across his chest and face. I cut off his left arm, both legs at the knees and then finished the combo by stabbing him through the stomach. I could hear the air wheezing out of his body as I threw his nearly lifeless body to the ground. Just then the sun's cheerful rays just started to peek over the skyline and I saw Josh waiting to be coated in its rays before he died. After a few minutes and not feeling the warmness on his face he opened his eyes confused and saw me blocking his path to the sun.

"Evil scum like you don't get the sun." I growled.

I went over then and stomped his head in. Josh was dead, in a way killed by the very man he created. I looked over at the mirror in the office and saw that I took some minor damage in the fight. I then left the real evidence on the desk and saw a file folder that josh had about Conner and his grandfather I broke the window and lit those files and the ones about Markus Heidevolk (me) on fire and watched it flutter down to the street below. I again felt that calmness and sat with the cool morning breeze blowing on my face. I then turned and looked at Josh again, and thought of how he was when we were younger before he became what he was today.

"Good bye my friend. I will remember you the way before you became this monster. In death I hope you find peace."

With that I turned and gave the signal to my friend Jeff on the adjacent roof who then shot a zip line over to me and I then slid down and landed on the other roof with him. As he drove me back to my hotel in Boston we didn't talk at all, there was nothing to talk about. When we got back to the hotel I said;

'Thanks Jeff I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem, where will you go now?"

"I've still got two million dollars so I think I live the easy life out in Norway."

"Alright then well take care of yourself."

"Any time you, Joe, or Timmy wants to come and visit just call and I can get you tickets so you can come over."

"You got it. See later."

And with that Jeff drove off and I climbed up the fire escape and snuck back into my hotel room. I slept for eight hours, checked out and went to the docks to buy a ride out to Europe and from there I would get my way to Norway. I found a guy who I offered a good price to get me to England and 'not remember me' so I said yes. As the boat could barely see the shore I thought about what lead me up to this, what I could have done differently to get a different outcome, but it's not wise to dwell on the past.