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Jacin
Jacin stared down at the tablet in his hands, imagining onyx eyes narrowed into a glare behind the sheer veil displayed on the screen.
"I assume that you have already seen to it that the hacker won't be able to leak any information that she's picked up over the years." Levana said sharply.
Jacin shrugged. "I would've, but it's kind of hard to commit murder in a building that's full of superheroes."
"Don't use that tone with me Guard!" she snapped, "Don't forget that I am your queen!"
"Apologies your highness, I'm merely pointing out that killing 1-0 isn't exactly easy."
"You simply need the right plan." Levana practically purred in reply, "Double Ganger has come up with a most elegant little scheme to snuff out that impertinent child before she can do any more damage. All you and Soul Blood have to do is get her into the square without drawing suspicion."
"You're including Winter in this?" Jacin cried incredulously.
"Well of course. Soul Blood has reported some useful information, but she still hasn't done nearly enough for our organisation. A small contribution here and there will help to fill her debts.'
Debts, Jacin thought bitterly, as if she owes something to you for the years of torture you put her through.
"My Queen, if I may, Winter isn't suited to be part of an assassination. She hates death! Death is pretty much the main feature of her hallucinations! Being instrumental in killing someone might accelerate the decline of her mind!"
Levana adjusted her veil unconcernedly. "Soul Blood knew the potential consequences of neglecting her telepathy from the very beginning. The only one she has to blame for her current mental state is herself."
Keep telling yourself that your highness. Whatever helps you sleep at night.
"I will have Double Ganger compile the plan into a simple instruction format and forward it to you within the hour." Levana continued, "You are to ensure that Soul Blood will cooperate within that time."
Without ceremony, she ended the call and Jacin's screen went dark. He looked up at his dorm wall and contemplated throwing the device at it. Nah, that would probably do more damage to the wall than the actual tablet. Damn technology and its annoying durability.
"Guess I'd better find Winter." He muttered and strode over to the door.
As it turned out, finding Winter was much easier than Jacin thought it would be. As soon as he opened the door, he saw her standing just outside. Her eyes shone with unshed tears.
Sighing, he opened his arms. Winter immediately dove in, burying her face against his chest and wrapping her arms around his middle. He held her gently as her body shook with quiet sobs.
"Don't worry Trouble," He murmured, "I'll find a way to get you out of this. You won't have to do it."
Winter's only response was to squeeze him tighter.
"Winter, look at me."
She did, tears running down her cheeks and carving tracks that blended with her scars.
"You won't have to help kill anybody." Jacin told her, cupping her face in his hands, "I'll see to it. I promise nobody's blood will ever end up on your hands."
Winter shook her lovely head and stared up at him hopelessly, almost sympathetically.
"I promise."
Levana sent the instructions for the plan half an hour later. Again, Jacin thought of just throwing the tablet at the wall once he saw what Winter's role in the plan was. It was useless! Levana knew full well what the effects of being a part of an assassination would have on Winter's already fragile mental state, and still she gave Winter an utterly stupid role just for the sake of torturing her! For punishing her for no other reason than she was more beautiful than the queen could ever be! The thought made Jacin shake with rage.
As they were instructed, Winter and Jacin went to find Cress at around lunchtime, offering to show her around the city.
"Oh, I'd love to!" she squealed, "Are the others coming to?"
"Scarlet left to have lunch outside HQ and the others are on duty." Jacin told her smoothly.
Cress's face fell slightly with disappointment, but her eyes still shone with excitement as they left the building.
The next step was to take her to the square. Why the Lunars chose such a public place for a murder, Jacin had no idea. Double Ganger hadn't deigned to include that in the instructions.
Cress practically skipped into the square, her incredibly long blonde hair whipping in every direction as she spun on the spot, gazing at her surroundings with wonder and completely unaware of the people who were being hit in the face with her stray locks.
Winter choked out a sob and bit down on her fist to muffle it. Jacin placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
They'd done their part. Now, all they could do was wait.
A howl, low and eerie, rang through the air. The crowd stirred nervously, unnerved by the malicious sound. The square, which had been alive with chatter mere moments ago, had fallen into a deathly silence.
It wasn't long before a new sound pierced through the thick quiet, one that was even worse than its predecessor. A scream, shrill and terrified and painful.
That scream was soon joined by another, and another, until the people were all shrieking and yelling as they shoved and pushed in their panicked haste to get away from whatever was the source of their terror.
Cress seemed to have frozen with fear. Jacin and Winter stepped in front of her. To an outside view, it would appear they were protecting her. Really they were just making her location clear.
Eventually, the crowds had thinned enough that Jacin could make out the cause of their terror. A man, tall and bulky with muscle was stalking towards them, every inch a predator. His face was covered in blood, and when he grinned, it stained his teeth. Behind him were various people lying on the ground with their throats torn open or their heads facing backwards. There was no question as to who the blood on the man's face belonged to.
With an excited snarl, the man leaped forward, green eyes gleaming viciously.
Jacin charged forward and rammed his shoulder into the man's chest. He growled with annoyance and grabbed Jacin by the throat.
Gasping, he started to claw at the merciless fingers, trying desperately to get them to release their grip. The man only grinned and threw him hard onto the ground.
Jacin's skull hit the concrete pavement hard and stars blinked in his vision. He clumsily struggled to his feet just in time to see the man punch Winter in the gut and toss her aside as if she was no more than a doll.
Cress tried to run, but the man simply grabbed a fistful of her hair, stopping her in her tracks. She cried out in fear and pain as he dragged her toward him, grinning madly. Soon Cress would be within reach and he would tear out her throat or break her neck or smash her skull on the pavement. Soon, she would die.
A blur suddenly shot into the square and zoomed up to the man. It paused and condensed into the shape of Thorne, who wasted no time in pressing the barrel of a gun against the man's head.
"I'd advise you to let her go pal." he warned, sounding more serious than Jacin had ever heard him.
The man bared his teeth and tried to swipe at Thorne, but he simply zoomed out of the way.
A metal Iko suddenly ran out from behind a nearby building and threw a punch at the man's face. He howled with pain and clutched his nose, which had abruptly started spurting blood.
He roared at Thorne and Iko, who were circling him cautiously. He didn't notice the extra figure sneaking up behind him. Didn't notice her raising her shining metal hand. He heard the click as the tip of her pointer finger came off, but before he could even finish turning around, a dart was embedded in his neck.
The man swayed on his feet. He blinked once, twice, and then he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Jacin exhaled and made his way over to Winter. She shot him a bewildered glance which he met with a smile. "I promised, didn't I?"
A/N: Well. That was intense.
The attempt on Cress's life was a failure, but will it be the last one? Who was the man who attacked her? Why have I refrained from writing Jacin for so long?
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