Hello everyone! I'm so happy that one person reviewed (God bless you!). If I'm making one person enjoy this fanfic, then that's all I need! But, if I get more support, then I will probably update faster (which I suck at, I know). So please, please, please review?
This chapter jumps back 3 years to when Zero and Scarlett first met. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
3 years ago
"Zero! Train the new girl." David North's boss ordered him, his hand on a new assassin-to-be's shoulder.
Zero nodded and his boss left the room.
"Rule Number 1," Zero stepped right up to the new girl, leaving maybe a few feet between them, "know your enemy." He whipped out a gun from a hidden holster and pointed it directly at the new girl's face.
She didn't even flinch.
"You're right." Her smooth voice sounded. "I'm Scarlett. They call me Eclipse." She quickly disarmed Zero. "And I'm not as easy as you think." She held up his gun at face level.
Zero didn't flinch either, but realized that Eclipse was quite a contender.
Zero had Eclipse set up in the firing range, testing her skill.
Eclipse fired the whole clip into the outline of a human, most of the bullets landing the outer extremities, but landed a couple through vital organs.
"Not bad." Zero remarked as Eclipse loaded another clip into the gun. "I'll give it a C plus."
Eclipse moved to the next target and fired again. She did better.
"B minus." Zero announced.
"B minus my ass." Eclipse muttered under her breath.
Eclipse moved down the row of targets, never earning anything above a B from Zero.
Zero stepped forward, into Eclipse's face. "What does he see in you?" Anger grew in his voice.
"Potential." Eclipse fired back at Zero. She shoved the gun into his hands and left the firing range.
Zero was forced to take Eclipse on her first mission.
The two were crouching behind a large shipping crate within the large factory. It was the site of where Eclipse had to prove herself.
"Alright. There are 11 men in there. One is your target, but you'll probably need to kill them all." Zero prepped his gun. "I'm just here in case you can't handle it." He added.
"Actually, there are 12 men in there, and I can handle it." Eclipse spat back, turning the safety off on her gun.
Zero sat there as Eclipse moved away shooting through two men already. He sighed and shot the man coming up on his right.
Zero stood up and trailed Eclipse. She picked off four more men and Zero took out the one behind him.
When Zero turned back around, he lost sight of Eclipse through the mazes of crates and factory machines. He heard four more gunshots, a pause, and then another. He heard a gun and a body land on the ground. Zero rushed around a corner, and then another and walked into a small room.
He saw five bodies on the ground and Eclipse sitting on a chair, picking at her fingernails.
"About time you got here." Eclipse spoke.
Zero rolled his eyes.
1 month later
"Congrats on moving up." Zero walked up to Eclipse in the hallway.
"Thanks." Eclipse replied, monotone.
"I see they've already stripped you of emotions." Zero mocked her in monotone.
"Ha. Ha." Eclipse rolled her eyes. "Very funny."
"I guess they left your humor." Zero replied.
"I see they left your cockiness." Eclipse turned a corner.
"I didn't mean-" Zero tried to apologize.
"Stop. Just stop." Eclipse whipped around, holding up a hand.
"But-" Zero tried again.
"I have a mission tonight. If you want to bother me, do it after that." Eclipse sighed.
"First solo one, right?" Zero asked.
"Yes." Eclipse spoke through her teeth.
"Good luck." Zero added.
"Not that I need it." Eclipse muttered as she quickly walked away from Zero.
Zero saw Eclipse approaching him, back from her mission.
"How did it go?" He asked. "I heard there was a guy twice your size."
"It went fine." Eclipse tried to walk straight past Zero, but he caught her arm and made her face him.
"What happened to you?" He asked.
"So now you're suddenly concerned with my well-being?" Eclipse asked rudely.
"Is that your blood?" Zero asked, looking at the smear on Eclipse's cheek, and then down at her shirt and hands.
"No." Eclipse tried to get out of Zero's grasp.
Zero grabbed her other arm and she winced in pain. "I'm taking you to Med Bay." He practically ordered.
"I'm fine." Eclipse tried to protest as Zero practically dragged her down the hall by the arm.
Zero led her into an exam room and rummaged around for something to clean up Eclipse while she sat down on the stiff leather examination table. He pulled out a clean cloth and poured a little antiseptic solution on it.
Zero took Eclipse's hand and began rubbing off the blood. She cringed as it stung. Zero pulled back the cloth to reveal several cut knuckles. It was the same on her other hand.
"What happened to you?" Zero asked, wrapping up her hands with bandages.
Eclipse remained silent but shrugged off her jacket, revealing the bruise on her arm that Zero suspected earlier. Zero stopped moving and stared. Eclipse pulled up the edge of her black shirt to reveal a large black and blue bruise that started at her lower rib cage and ended above her belly button.
"That guy was at least three times my size." She finally spoke, dropping her shirt back down.
"At least you got him." Zero replied, moving to wipe the blood off her cheek.
Eclipse hissed as it stung. Zero rubbed more lightly and then stopped to reveal a cut running right across her cheekbone.
Zero took out a butterfly bandage and pressed against Eclipse's cut on her cheek. He hand one hand against her neck to keep Eclipse's head steady.
Eclipse stared at Zero, surprised at the close contact.
Zero paused and looked back at her.
Eclipse leaned in closer, her lips just a whisper away from Zero's.
"Scarlett." He whispered.
Eclipse's heart skipped a beat. "You remembered, Zero."
"David." He quickly corrected. "My name is David North."
"David." Eclipse repeated. "I've already gotten used to Zero."
Zero pressed his lips to hers. Eclipse gladly kissed him back, wrapping an arm around his neck.
Slightly breathless, Zero pulled away.
"I've already fallen in love with you." He said, brushing a piece of Eclipse's hair out of the way.
Eclipse smiled and kissed Zero again.
Eclipse woke up the next morning in her bed, alone. Which was totally fine with her. She sighed and got out of bed, using her telekinesis to levitate her clothes out of their drawers. She quickly got dressed and washed her face in the bathroom. She quickly swiped on some mascara and a little bit of lipstick. She rewrapped her knuckles with clean bandages and put on a new butterfly bandage on her cheek.
She left her room and walked down the hallway to get something for breakfast.
"Hey." Zero called out from behind her.
Eclipse turned around. "Hey."
"They just assigned me a new mission. They need me to get intel." Zero explained.
"Sounds fun." Eclipse replied.
"They assigned you to it, too." Zero added.
"Really?" Eclipse asked.
Zero nodded, taking Eclipse's hand in his.
"When do we leave?" Eclipse asked.
"Now." Zero replied.
"Where is it?!" Zero yelled pressing the tip of his gun against a man's forehead. More specifically, the leader of the company that Eclipse and Zero were sent to interrogate and then kill.
Eclipse kept one eye on Zero, who was a few feet away from her, and one eye on the rest of the company men. She had an assault rifle gripped tightly in between her hands.
"Much obliged." Zero replied to something the man said, and then a single gunshot rang out. The man flopped over onto the ground, dead.
"You got the rest?" Zero asked walking past her.
Eclipse nodded and pulled the trigger. Fifteen bodies dropped dead. Eclipse walked up to Zero.
"What did he say?" Eclipse asked.
"In his safe in his office." Zero replied. "Thirteenth floor."
"Let's get going." Eclipse ordered, heading towards the steps. She held her rifle high, ready to shoot if anyone was going down the stairs.
Zero followed behind her as they made their way up countless steps to the thirteenth floor.
The two assassins safely made their way to the thirteenth floor and Zero located the leader's office.
"Cover me while I crack the safe." Zero ordered.
"On it." Eclipse replied, turning while holding her rifle up as Zero bent down to try and access the safe that was in a cabinet behind the oak desk.
Not even a minute passed when company security walked in to find two people trying to open the safe.
The first guard yelled "hey" while the second called for backup.
"Better hurry it up, Zero!" Eclipse warned, shooting the two guards.
A dozen more guards made their way up the stairs. Eclipse took out half before they could even fire.
Then Eclipse and Zero took on fire. Zero shielded his head as he dragged the entire cabinet behind the oak desk so he finish cracking the safe. Eclipse ran behind the desk as well and would momentarily peek out from the top or sides to let out a few shots.
Eclipse eliminated the remaining guards and sat behind the desk to reload. "Did you get it yet?" She asked urgently.
"It's more complex than I expected." Zero huffed.
"Just take it with us and do it in the car." Eclipse reasoned.
"I'll probably have to." Zero dragged the safe out of the cabinet.
"It's clear. Let's go." Eclipse slowly stood up, surveying the room and exit as Zero picked up the safe.
Eclipse expected a grunt and a groan and Zero holding the safe with both hands, struggling with the weight. Instead, Zero took a sharp breath and tucked the safe under one arm.
"Let's go." He walked towards the door, a gun in his free hand.
Suddenly, Eclipse heard the wind pick up outside the building and then saw a helicopter outside the floor to ceiling glass windows. "Zero!" She warned.
Eclipse bent down onto one knee and began firing at the cockpit. The gunman swung his machine gun into position. Eclipse shot through the broken windows and killed the gunman. She moved to the side and killed the pilot. The helicopter went haywire and went down. It crashed and exploded in the parking lot.
Eclipse turned around to see a figure lurking behind Zero. It looked like an overly muscular specialized security guard. He unsheathed a knife and readied to throw it into Zero's back.
"Zero!" Eclipse warned, running towards him as the guard threw the knife.
Zero turned around to see what Eclipse was yelling about. But it was too late.
The knife neared Zero's heart.
The figure sneered with delight.
And then the knife stopped mid-flight.
"What?!" The guard growled.
Zero immediately stepped to the side and turned so he could see both Eclipse and the guard.
Eclipse had a hand extended out, her palm flat, like she was holding it up to say "stop."
The knife spun around in place.
"What the hell are you?" The guard snarled.
"Your worst nightmare." Eclipse flicked her hand and the knife went flying back and lodged itself into the guard's cheat.
The guard coughed up blood and then fell forward to the ground.
Eclipse breathed a sigh of relief, and then stopped halfway through, realizing that Zero saw what she just did.
"Zero..." She tried gently.
"You're one of us." Zero let out a half-smile.
"Us?" Eclipse asked.
Zero walked up to Eclipse. She cringed, afraid of what he would do.
He gently pushed a piece of hair that escaped from her braid back behind her ear. "Freaks. Mutants." Zero saw the sad look in Eclipse's eyes. "Special." He added quietly and kissed her gently on the forehead.
"What can you do?" Eclipse asked.
"Superhuman reflexes, agility, and marksmanship." Zero replied. "You?"
"Telekinesis and invisibility." Eclipse replied.
Zero nodded, thinking.
"Put the safe down." Eclipse ordered.
Zero complied and put the safe down.
Eclipse lifted a hand, made a fist, and lifted her arm from the elbow. It made a peeling motion and the door to the safe peeled off. Eclipse bent down and pulled out a manila envelope.
"Let's go." Eclipse tucked the envelope under her arm and walked out of the office, with Zero at her heels.
2 months later
Eclipse was lightly sleeping when she heard the door to her room open. She quickly whipped out the gun from under her pillow, but the figure was already looming over her, and disarmed her.
"Scarlett, it's me." Zero whispered.
Eclipse's heart raced at Zero saying her name. "What are you doing here?" She asked.
"There's a man here hunting for mutants to recruit them for something." Zero explained.
Eclipse's eyes fully adjusted to the dark. "Here? Now?" She asked.
"Yes. He doesn't look like the nice type." Zero added as Eclipse pulled the covers off of herself.
"What do we do?" Eclipse asked, looking up at Zero.
"You need to pack." Zero pulled out a large duffle bag from her closet.
Drawers silently slid open and clothes poured into the bag. "I don't understand. What are you doing?" Eclipse pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She stepped into some shoes.
"I'm going with him." Zero sighed.
"What? Why?" Eclipse stepped back, looking away from him.
"He already knows I'm a mutant. He doesn't know about you." Zero stepped up and put a hand under her chin, making her face him. "I love you and I'm trying to protect you." He explained.
"Where do I go?" Eclipse asked.
"Somewhere safe." Zero replied.
"Okay." Eclipse nodded. "I know a place."
Her duffle bag floated over and Eclipse pulled the strap over her shoulder.
"I love you." Zero tilted Eclipse's head back. "I hope you know that."
"Of course." Eclipse wrapped her free arm around Zero's waist. "I love you, too."
Zero leaned in and kissed Eclipse. It was long and meaningful, full of passion and sorrow. Zero pulled away.
"Now, go. Please." He begged.
"I love you. Nothing will ever change that. Ever." Eclipse kissed Zero one last time, memorizing everything about the man she loved.
Zero handed her the gun he still held in his hand. The two walked to the door.
"I love you." Zero kissed her on her forehead.
"Goodbye, Zero." Eclipse took one last look at him.
"Goodbye, Scarlett." Zero let her go.
He watched her run down the hall, the duffle bag silently thumping against her hip. Then, she turned invisible and Zero lost sight of her.
"Goodbye, Scarlett." Zero whispered to himself.
The next chapter is resuming where Chapter 3 left off. I don't know when it will be up, but it should be soon since it's almost done.
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