Blossom strolled through the woods alone.

She knew exactly where to go and what she was supposed to do. This mission was the easy kind, facing off with someone one-on-one. Sure he was an adult male but she was a superpowered child, she was at the biggest advantage here. She had this in the bag.

So why was she so nervous?

She had killed before, Mitch being the cruel example of that. This was supposed to be easier than that. She had no emotional connection with this man, the two were complete strangers. So because of that, this should be more simple.

Then why was she so nervous?!

She stopped where she was and looked up at the tree in front of her. It looked sturdy, as if it had been in this very forest for centuries. It reached up into the sky, allowing little sunlight to seep through to the ground. She placed her hand on the bark of the plant and felt its rough surface.

She could see her palm shaking.

"Y'know Blossom, I changed my mind."

Blossom was taken back to this morning when Jo had talked to her during breakfast. She remembered the golden omelette that was on her plate and the smell of the coffee that Jo was drinking. She had looked up into his calculating black eyes.

"What do you mean?" she had asked.

"About Mr. Lumpkins. You know when I said I want you to persuade him to come with you to the station?" he had asked.

She nodded once.

"Forget it." he had said it as if he was changing his mind about a meal he wanted at a restaurant. "Just kill him."

She nodded again, only once.

"Thank you."

He then headed out with Mr. Him and she was left with her omelette. She had decided not to eat it and just left the house to complete her mission.

She gritted her teeth and stared at the tree. Now wasn't the time for her to be scared, it was time to do what she was brought into this world to do. She was born to take down criminals and that was exactly what she was going to do.

Even if it killed her.

Blossom stepped away from the tree and walked around it. She had to find Lumpkins' house eventually. She had to see where he lived so she can figure out the best way to take him down. As she walked, she started to think of how things were for him.

More than likely, he lived alone. No one would build their house in the woods unless they wanted solitude. He would have no neighbors to speak of and the only people that would come around would be hikers and lost kids from the nearby park. Those individuals would more than likely be shot dead.

But that wasn't going to happen to her.

After a bit of walking, she had stepped on a twig. She let out a gasp, jumping into the air and covering her mouth with her hands. She peered around the tree she was next to and spotted a house.

It appeared old and rundown, as if it had been built ages ago and never fixed. The little porch out front had some wood missing from the floor and the rail. And on that porch was the man she was instructed to kill.

He was a little more lean than the pictures of him in the newspaper clippings showed even though they were newer articles. His red curls were all over the place, but his black eyes stood out around them, eyeing the world. The only thing he was wearing was overalls and old boots, no shirt to speak of. His freckles were everywhere, covering every exposed area of his body like tiny sprinkles.

His eyes had stared in her direction for a split second and she turned before he could even see her. She held her breath as he yelled.

"Who's out there?! Whoever y'all are, ya better come out of hidin'!"

Blossom gently placed her feet on the ground and composed herself. She had to act like everything was fine. Pretend that she was a lost kid, looking for her parents. She had to play the part, put him in a false sense of security.

She breathed in and out softly before letting out childish sobs and cries. She made herself hidden behind the tree and just cried.

He sounded confused. "Who's that?"

"I'm lost Mister…!" she cried. "I can't find m-my Mommy or my D-Daddy a-anywhere and...I'm scared!"

Lumpkins was almost sympathetic. Almost. "Well, where y'all comin' from? Ah need ta see ya ta help ya!"

"I-I don't know…" she sniffled. "M-my parents told me n-never to talk to strangers…"

"That may be true lil' lady but y'all talkin' to me now. So can Ah at least see ya?"

"O-ok...c-come here."

He let out a short chuckle. "Oh no no no, y'all have to come to me if ya want me to find yer folks!"

Blossom thought things over in her head. Either go towards this man and possibly get killed by a gunshot wound or persuade him to come over to make killing him so much easier. She breathed through her nose and asked one more time.

"P-please come over here...my Mommy and Daddy don't want me inside other people's houses…"

"Nonsense. Y'all can just say y'all were playing with my lil nephews. They're real nice and friendly, they'll love ta be yer friend~!"

Blossom could taste the sick sweetness of his voice from the trees. It was saccharine. It made her want to throw up.

She then took another deep breath. She had a choice to make. Either deal with this joker sweet-talking her or come out. But if she did show herself, she'll get shot at and probably die. Then she would be nothing more than a number on the death counter.

"P-prove it." she sniffled.

Lumpkins said nothing for a second, his breathing hitched. She smirked, glad that she caught him in a lie. He then let out a laugh before saying. "T-they're sleepin' right now. Why don't y'all come inside for somethin' ta eat. Ya like meatloaf?"

"I'm not hungry…could you just come over here and take me to my parents now?"

"Let me see yer face and Ah'll help y'all out."

Blossom huffed. She knew she was going to get nowhere with this. She had to risk her life to kill this guy. It was either that or simple back and forth for hours on end.

Slowly, she stepped out of hiding. First her foot, then the rest of her. Eventually, she was exposed and walked towards the house.

Lumpkins looked genuinely happy at first to see her. But as she stepped closer and closer to his house, his smile morphed into a sneer. Immediately afterwards, he grabbed a shotgun from the rocking chair on the patio and fired directly at her.

She flew into the air before it could hit her.

Lumpkins' eyes widened. "What the-"

Blossom tsked. "You have awful aim...you know that Mr. Lumpkins?"

His eye twitched. "Why Ah oughta…"

He then shot rapidly into the air in every direction she happened to swerve and fly to. None of them hit her, she was just too fast for his gun. Eventually, he ran out of ammo and gritted his teeth in irritation.

"I guess it's my turn." she stated and he looked up at her.

Just then, she shot two beams of light directly at his feet.

He screamed in pain and ran into the house with Blossom close behind.

The interior was spacious and mostly empty, with dull green walls and a busted old television pushed up against the wall. Photos hung on the wall of his family and a discarded banjo laid on the floor.

Blossom eyed the entire living room area until she saw Fuzzy pop out from the kitchen and he started firing again. She dodged each bullet with ease before he ran out of bullets again and went to go fetch more.

This was going nowhere.

"Get outta mah house!" he yelled, firing at her so fast, it was almost a blur. "Get off mah property!"

Blossom continued to dodge but she felt the graze of the bullets on her legs. She looked at herself as she moved and realized that the heat from the bullet had burned through her stockings and left a mark on her ankles. She gritted her teeth and shot her laser eye beams directly at the gun.

Lumpkins yelped in pain, dropping his weapon as it continued to be affected by the beams until it exploded to pieces. Both individuals shielded their eyes from the burning metal and once it had ended, Blossom landed on the ground.

"Any last words Lumpkins?"

Fuzzy stared at his weapon before looking at the girl, shock apparent on his features. He then let out a wicked laugh.

"Ah ain't goin' down without a fight! So bring it on girly, without those eye beams of yers!"

Blossom's eyes narrowed. "I may be a person of reason but based around all the lives you've already taken…"

She shot her laser eyes directly at his left arm, burning it clean off to the joint. His bone and muscle were exposed as he let out a blood curdling scream. As what was left of his arm gushed out crimson, she finished her statement.

"...I'm not holding back for scum like you."

Lumpkins clenched his teeth, holding onto his bloody limb and glaring at Blossom. "You lil bitch. Y'all know what the hell Ah'm do to ya once Ah-"

He was cut off when Blossom aimed her laser eyes directly at his chest. Straight through him like a knife through butter. His breath hitched as he fell to the ground, blood coming out from his severed limb and mouth as he coughed out.

"G-god damnit…"

"Any more fighting words Fuzzy?" Blossom asked, approaching him. "Anything else you wanna say before I kill you?"

Lumpkins spat blood in her direction, nearly soaking her dress. "Go to hell ya lil' devil."

"You too Fuzzy."

Blossom shot the man again, making sure to sever his heart. His anger expression twisted into one of intense pain as she did this. She kept going, tearing his body to shreds until he was nothing but burnt, bloody body parts.

She hovered above him, scanning his body for any signs of life. With his body ripped to pieces and burnt to a crisp, there was no way he could've survived that. She then stared into his lifeless eyes and noticed that that entire face had that shocked expression still there.

She sighed, turning on her heel towards the door and closing it behind her.

Mission complete.