First thing's first, all the disclaimers in the world! There's a certain three characters I don't own, you know who they are, maybe some others.

So this fic might be in the levels of strange. It takes place in a novel I wrote long ago back in high school. So apologies if things might make sense. Anyway I found a few left overs from it and combined with my never ending love for The Shield, I made this. (I know it's the end of 2k16 but I miss The Shield days damnit!). *ahem* So apologies if there's a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense, they'll be eventually explained. This is my first time even writing something like this. But I did have a lot of fun writing this, and hopefully there will be very little down time between chapters. (I update like a turtle, cause school and work, I DO MY BEST THOUGH!) If you do have questions or suggestions I'll be more than happy to answer them, I'm always looking to improve my stories.

Anyway enough of my ranting.

The Assassin

Being locked inside a jail cell huddled in a corner by myself in a fetal like position wasn't a good look for me. How did I manage to find myself in this situation? To suddenly become a lab rat for the Alliance's military. I was supposed to be the best, the best of my people...to show that my people we weren't about to bow down because the Alliance were so gracious to lend a hand to my people. Before my thoughts could continue the opening of the cell caught my attention. The only thing I could make out through blurred vision were two burly guards in full desert camouflage tactical gear. I could hear them stiffle a laughter at my dismay. Seeing me looking like a defeated dog especially after the crimes I committed should have been a glorious sight to them.

Seeing them, just laughing at me caused my blood to boil, it sent every vindictive thought straight to my head. If I wasn't in so much pain, I'd choose to batter these two senseless til they were begging for their lives. I chose to ignore the burning sensation that was shooting through my forearms. I could only glare as I was too weak to even try anything else let alone walking. For the last few hours walking had been hard, my knees were weak. I felt a hand grab my wrist which instantly shot a fierce wave of pain though my body. I winced and made probably the most pathetic squealing noise a man could make, which only made the two guard laugh even harder.

The one that had grabbed me gripped my wrist and forced me to my feet, despite that my knees were already starting to give way he didn't care, he had a job to do. He looked down at my arm and smiled at the same time looking utterly disgusted. His other arm had shot out to grab my other wrist despite my reactions that he was putting me through great pain he inspected my forearms. He looked back at the other guard that had come in, giving him an order about grabbing the lead scientist's attention. I could barely make out the words as I was overcome with exhaustion from the sheer screaming I had done only hours ago, I had not even the strength to tell him that he was doing me a great disservice by making me stand and holding me up the way I was.

He turned his attention back to my forearms. Still holding me by my wrists he wrenched my arms around getting a good look at them from every angle. He looked utterly bewildered as his blonde brows furrowed in both confusion and utter excitement. He was able to see completely through my arms. I hadn't seen things the same way. I was fatigued, I was in agony, I was wanted the dumb oaf to let me go so I can get to sleep. It was discomforting as he stood here jerking me around like I was a doll.

He finally released me and shoved me back, my back hitting against the cold cell wall. Slowly my back just slid against the wall blurring my vision of the cell door. I noticed that the other guard had come back looking both out of breath and in panic. I could barely make out what it was saying it sounded like he needed help holding down one of the test subjects. The one looked back at me with a malicious grin before turning and leaving the cell locking the door behind him. I didn't care, I just wanted him to leave so I could get some sort of resemblance of sleep.

The smells of the facility they were holding us in, smelled of iodine and blood, but that was supposed to be typical for these kinds of research facilities, at least that's what we were told. Stone walls around every corner and as far as I could see only jail cells similar to mine as far as I could see.

I was too weak to stand at this point, with only my burning arms to carry me across the hard stone floor, I was able to crawl slowly to my cot. Lifting myself despite the screaming agony of my arms, I eventually was able to crawl into the cot and lay my head down on the pillow. Even though this place had nothing but unjust torment written on it, they were at least nice enough to give us a comforting place to sleep on. My head began to pound as I laid down, one of my hands reaching up and pulling out a few loose golden strands. I inspected them, I could see the other ends that were rested behind my fingers so clearly. From my fingertips to my elbows were completely invisible.

What did they do to me? What was this hell they were forcing me to endure?

Sighing I replayed the events in my head, over and over, but the only thing I can remember is the burning agony. I closed my eyes slowly hoping that sleep could just take me. I guess I should introduce myself...My name is Tyler Black, or at least that's what my masters taught me to have you believe. The grogginess began to overpower me, I just hoped I could fall asleep even for just a little it could clear my head some in time for the next set of tests and experiments they had for me.

Ever since I could remember, roughly around the age of ten my destiny was decided for me. My family trained some of the greatest assassins the world over. When I asked my father about he used to always tell me that the world needed people like us, or the world would fall to corruption. My father would tell me stories about the corrupt politicians, and how if it wasn't for his efforts the damage caused by them was kept to a minimum.

He started me off small, teaching me basic hand to hand combat, and soon at the age of eleven I was learning how to combat with knives and small blades. My father called me a natural, quickly picking up on his combat prowess. The better I got the bigger smile on his face, I didn't understand it at first why he was so happy. I wasn't sure if it was because he was happy to see me progress or if it was because he has something else in mind. He would smile, but the look in his eyes always said something different. He had big plans for me, I could tell. Maybe even bigger than I could imagine. For now I tried to pay it no mind as I could only continue my training. I wasn't about to let my family down.

As I continued my training, I found myself getting better and better with all kinds of different weapons, however I did find myself favoring the dual knives. If I recall I had to be about fifteen years old, when my father called me into his library. Bookcases stacked high almost to the ceiling, in the corner a cozy fireplace with two reclining chairs sitting right in front of it and a small mahogany side table in between the two, with a white tea set decorated in blue carnations. My mother was always the one who knew how to pick out the finest of decorations, for any part of the mansion we had lived in. I never questioned the luxurious life we lived in, although throughout my life my father had reassured me that our life, our wealth was only a ruse to keep those who were nosy out. They had the power to pay off anyone who were suspicious of them. But I was sure my father didn't call me in there to talk about the riches we had. The library was where he went to think, where he held his business meetings. To call me here had to mean he wanted to have a serious talk. I swallowed the lump in my throat.

I took a deep breath and stepped inside the large room. It astonished me how many books actually were in existence. I looked around the chamber to see that my father had been sitting on one of the recliners. White gloves held open a red leather bound book, I squinted my eyes to try and catch what it was he was reading, but I couldn't catch the glimpse before he gently shut it closed. He placed a hand on the other reclining chair patting it gently.

"Sit, Colby." he said with his endearing but very firm voice. Slowly I approached the recliner keeping a steady eye on the chair he was sitting in before coming around and just as slowly seating myself. When ever looking at him it was almost like I was looking in a mirror. He had clean cut short black hair with brown eyes, his beard neatly trimmed, and he always had the good taste for fashion. The white dress shirt he wore looked cleanly pressed, with a black vest and gold trimmings, black slacks and brown leather dress shoes polished to perfection.

I watched him carefully place the leather bound book on the small table between the two of us, a gloved hand tapping on it. I eyed the book wondering if it had any significance to why he called me here. There was a bit of an awkward silence between the two of us as I waited for him to speak. I never really spoke to my father unless spoken to so I patiently waited, it wasn't often that my father had spoken to me.

"Your training progresses well." he said finally breaking the elongated silence. "I don't need to go into detail on why we do what we do, so I'm going to give you your next step in your training." I watched him carefully pick up the leather bound book once more, and hand it out to me. "Study this book, learn its secrets. When you finally understand it, you'll soon realize everything rests with you. You are our people's salvation."

I reached out and took the book. I didn't understand what my father had meant but all the secrets must be in the book. For the next year and a half I spent learning the secrets of Tyler Black. He was the best of the best of assassins, he was the hope of the people of his time. He killed generals and kings before disappearing never to be seen again. By the time I was seventeen, I understood what it was I had to do. My father didn't just want me to learn his secrets, he needed me to become Tyler Black. His style, his technique, they were all in the book, it even had secrets that went straight down to poisons that didn't even seem possible.

Our people hated our king, he was driving us into oblivion by refusing the hand of the Alliance.

The sounds of footsteps caught my ears as my eyes snapped back open from my slumber. I was still pretty groggy from the lack of sleep, but at least the short nap let my head clear out some. The dull pain and throbbing had stopped for the time being. I sat up from my cot looking out my cell door. Two guards, thankfully not the same two from before were holding up an unconscious man down the hall his feet being dragged along the floor. I inspected the man, my eyes widened in horror seeing the state he was in. Was this the subject that needed to be held down. My stomach turned and twisted as I saw the trail of dried blood that was coming out from his ears. Short brown hair, and blue eyes complete glazed over, it was a horrendous sight to look at. I wanted to vomit at the sight. Seeing that I had to reach up and feel my own ears, thankfully they were fine. Had that man gone through a different test than I? I suddenly looked down at my own hands remembering that I had gone to sleep still being able to see right through them, for now they were fine.

I tried to think back to before my short nap when my arms had turned invisible. I was pretty sure my arms were fine before the guards walked in. The more I looked back on it, I think I began to understand what had happened. I was scared, nauseous, I was down right exhausted. Had the experiment reacted to my emotions. At that point I felt like I wanted to disappear. I got up and approached the cell wall to see if I could still see the two guards and that test subject in sight, but they were gone. They must have put the subject back in his cell. I can't get over the sight of those glazed eyes out of my mind. He had to be as terrified as myself. With weak legs I carried myself back onto my bed, the only means of comfort I had in this god-forsaken facility. I leaned back against the wall and curled my legs into my chest resting my chin on my knees. I gave a deep sigh, just wondering how many people were in this facility, and how many of them were absolutely terrified.

My black cloak was the only veil in this night that I had. The clouds blocking out the moonlight, as if it was trying to assist me on the mission I had been dead set to do. I had spent two years studying the journal of Tyler Black, and one the realization had hit me...I knew the task my father had laid before me. Tyler Black had killed his king...and now I was to kill mine.

I was like a black cat in the dead of this night. Unseen, yet completely aware of my surroundings. It was all set up, everything was set up perfectly for the night of my first kill. The day I thought I had pulled my people to salvation. As I made my way through the streets it's hard cobblestone streets and the old rickety solid wood buildings, I had wondered to myself: if the rest of the world was starting to teeter technological breakthroughs why hadn't we? We were still mostly stuck on these old traditions, and any means of real technology in our country had to be at least sixty to seventy years old compared to the rest of the world, maybe even older. Was my people scared on what the rest of the world was doing? As far as I knew we were mostly alienated from the rest of the world, not wanting to dabble in their problems as we were dealing with our own. But with each passing year, the world was getting bigger and bigger and I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be long until we were consumed anyway. I remember looking up at a cloudy sky, I wanted no part in that.

My destination was in clear view now. A gorgeous four story mansion that looked as if it was built out of the finest redwood known to man. I can't remember how many windows I saw on the front of that mansion, there were that many but only a few of them dimly lit up. But that was about the extent of our technological research, we had the capabilities to wire our houses up to illuminate our buildings. I took a deep breath running a hand over my long dark hair that I tied so neatly into a bun. Pulling the hood up over my head I made my way towards the mansion avoiding any sight of guards I could. I came closer to my destination and gave an exasperated sigh. Leave it to the rich king to surround himself in a wall with a guard posted at every corner.

My body shook in both anticipation and in excitement. I had no assassination experience and all the consequences started to weigh in my mind. If I was caught I was dead, no matter what. This was trespassing on the king's property which was a risk of it's own, but in my mind, the reward was worth the risk. With only my cloak to give me a veil in this darkness, I managed to sneak my way up against the wall. Looking both left and right, I could see two of the guards coming closer. Each had a flashlight in hand and short ranged rifles on their back equipped with bayonets. In this moment time seemed to move slower, my nerves creeping up on me, slowly I removed the knife strapped to my thigh. If I failed here I was a dead man.

I made the jump for the guard on my left. I covered his mouth to prevent him from making a noise as the other charged me I lept up to kick him in the nose to prevent him from also making a sound, knocking the red beret off his head. While he nursed his now broken nose I reached up stabbing my knife into the jugular of the first one I charged. I grabbed him by the leather jacket he had on and whipped the lifeless corpse into the stunned one knocking his head into the wall. I heard the grunting noise he made which no doubt would attract more guards, which was already one mistake that had to sit in the back of my head. I saw the blood the pouring out of his head, he was gonna be dead within minutes.

I reached up to climb the stone wall. Finding my footing I lept over the wall, spotting a nearby balcony. From the wall I lept up to the balcony on second story of the mansion, and climbed into the mansion through an open window. I found it a little too convenient that there would be an open window to a dark hallway but I'd take advantage of the blessings I've been given. I swiftly and quietly made my way up to the top of the stairs treading through the hard wood floor. Entire hallway floors had beautiful red and gold rugs that matched the red painted walls decorated with gold leaves. It astonished me how such a crooked man lived in such a lovely home.

Finally I had made it to the top. The stop floor was one entire bedroom, it was the king's bedroom. There was no doubt that the room was locked tight, I'd have to find another way inside. Suddenly another blessing made it's way to my feet. A key that looked like it'd be a perfect fit for the room. I looked behind me making sure to keep my face hidden. I was surprised to see one of maids had been there. Had she been watching me? Did she warn the guards? No, she couldn't have...because she just tossed me the key to the king's bedroom.

She looked to be no older than myself, her golden blonde hair wrapped neatly into a bun, and brown eyes that looked terrified. "Why?" I asked her.

"The king must disappear." she explained to me in a shaky voice. "With him in power we will never find our footing in this vastly growing world." Was this what my father wanted? Was becoming a legend really what was gonna be the difference between life and death for my people. I reached down and picked up the key from the floor. I looked back at the scared girl, and she nodded. She placed a finger over her lips. I knew what she was trying to tell me. She wasn't going to tell a soul what happened here. "Don't worry," she started. "If my sacrifice has to be the one that frees us then so be it. You have to live." I sucked in a deep breath. How'd she get this key? There were more questions than answers. I could hear a commotion coming from below us, that meant only one thing. There was no time left.

Using the key I hastily opened the door to the bedroom. It dark, the perfect spot, he was fast asleep. All I needed was one quick stab and it'd all be over. I pulled the knife off my leg again. It utterly disgusted me that someone so twisted could sleep so comfortably. Here was just an older man snoozing away while his people suffered in the midst of confusion. Staring at him made me sick, his lengthy gray beard the white covers on his bed. The sight of it...made me cringe in anger. I didn't hesitate, I was quick.

I stabbed the knife into his throat.

As much as I could relive the memory of me killing my king, I can't say it's one of my fondest moments. My first kill it plunged my people into more chaos. Without thinking, I killed our king and now our people were without a leader. I saw the signs, people rioting in the streets, people scared thinking their death was next. I couldn't stand the sight. It had only been a month after the assassination and now everything was falling apart. It was a depressing sight to see. I let that guilt sink in, and I've carried that guilt for years. I caused my country to fall apart.

I pulled my legs closer to my body just thinking about what could have happened to my family. My beautiful mother, my charismatic father, back then I couldn't think about what could happen to them. I left without saying good bye, I roamed from place to place for two years before landing myself in Astros, the central capital of the Falishian Alliance. I was mystified that so many provinces in our land mass could come together to form an alliance under one pact. Astros was so different from Wyndmere, it's technological advancements were far beyond that of my people. I honestly, settled in quickly. With all the new surroundings, the atmosphere of it all..I was able to further my technique. I, would become better than Tyler Black.

Sitting alone with only my thoughts, I didn't notice right away that my cell door had been opened, I had hoped it wasn't one of the guards. When I lifted my head from my knees, with blurred vision and baggy eyes it was finally nice to see a new sight. A beautiful brunette nurse dressed in all white, and a warm smile on her face. "Good news, Mr. Black. We're transferring you out of this ward. Since your testing was a success there's no reason to keep you in maximum security." I watched her pull the clipboard from under her left arm and planted a pair of reading glasses from the top of her head. "You don't show any of the negative signs, and you're now being recommended for rest and relaxation. The film we implanted should slowly take over the rest of your body, integrating itself with the rest of your skin." she looked at me smiling placing the reading glasses back on top of her head. How could she be smiling while sitting in a place like this? It was all too confusing. "Congratulations, Tyler...you're the first successful subject."

As good news as that was...why didn't it feel good? And the first successful test? What did that even mean? There probably had to be hundreds of volunteers here. How many died? How many were still there still left to experiment on? This was so frustrating! I hated when I ended up with more questions than answers. Sighing, I realized I wasn't going to get the answers here. I needed to rest, and they were offering it to me. How could I not accept leaving this eye sore for a place?

Slowly I crawled off the bed. Making sure I had both feet planted firmly on the floor, I began to slowly walk towards her. My legs were still a bit weak but she had no issues lending me a hand to help me stand. We walked down the stone halls where we passed many cells but one in particular caught my sight. A larger dark skinned man, looking rather defeated. I couldn't get a good look at his face with his back to us and his forehead against the wall. All down his arm was a tribal tattoo and lengthy black hair to match. This one looked different than the other subjects we passed by. He was well built, and although he looked like an emotional mess. His stance, the way he stood...he hadn't been much affected by the experiments.

The nurse saw the curiosity in my face and felt she had to speak up. "That's the Lieutenant Colonel," she explained. "He's one of the overseers of this facility as well as a test subject." She said, just loud enough for me to hear...but in hopes that he couldn't hear it. I opened my mouth to ask a question when she quickly yanked me away leading me down the hall some more. "Don't ask too many questions, Mr. Black." she said taking me down to the second level where there were another set of hall ways with cells.

After leading me down the halls we finally came to a set of thick set of double doors made of steel. I looked at the doors curiously, they were so simple for such a high tech facility. Didn't look like they were meant for keeping things in or out. I sighed quietly to myself, things just weren't adding up again.

She handed me a piece of paper with some information and what looked to be a room number. "Feel free to explore the facility. Just remember to try and stay out of the soldier's way. Other than that the grounds are for you to use as you see fit, and remember to let us know if you think you might be feeling side effects to see one of us right away. We'll be back to check on you soon." She turned like she was about to head back before turning to me one last time. "Oh and in your dorm there's a set of paperwork you need to fill. Each soldier of the Alliance is given another name be sure to think about the name you might be called for the rest of your life." With that said she walked away leaving me to my thoughts.

After exploring the grounds I retired to the dorm I was assigned. It was different from the experimentation facility. My dorm was compact and just big enough for one person. It consisted of a single bed complete with a side table and an alarm clock, a small closet sitting on the other side, and an oakwood desk on the wall in between. I was surprised to see all my personal belongings already transferred to the room. I didn't have much on me save for a few sets of clothing, including work out clothes, a personalized tablet, and of course the journal of Tyler Black. I had spent a good solid hour filling out the paperwork signing where I needed to be, but the last question boggled me. I remember the nurse's words clear in my head. I had to pick a name that I could get used to being called the rest of my life. They wanted me to become someone else, I was no longer allowed to be Tyler Black.

For hours I thought long about who I was gonna be. I paced around the room, lied on the soft bed, even thought about it in the small shower I was provided with the room, but then it hit me. I hastily grabbed the red leather bound journal off the side table next to the bed where I left it, and started quickly flipping through it's delicate pages. There was a name that constantly popped up in Tyler's journal. A rival, someone he spoke highly of...someone he respected but also someone he feared. Someone he thought might be the one who'd be the one to finally take his life after the countless he's taken. It was his apprentice, someone he taught his secrets to. Someone to carry on that legacy, sadly...the end of the journal never said what happened to him or his apprentice. Something told me he might have died shortly after. But the name kept running through my head again and again. Maybe I wasn't meant to be Tyler Black...maybe I was meant to be his apprentice. I learned all his secrets from his journal. I understood now...I understood who I was truly meant to be.

I rushed back over the oak wood desk sitting back down staring down at the paperwork. Time seemed to be moving slower as I swallowed the lump in my throat. No matter what happened after this day, Tyler Black was dead. I picked up the pen taking a deep breath I signed the new name.

Seth Rollins

Let me know what you think, if things seem a bit awkward, I'm sorry. This is only the first chapter, any questions though I will be happy to answer.

~CrisisExceed