Two suited guards stood dutifully at the front door of the mansion belonging to retired mobster Omar Oliver. The quiet of the night was broken by two gunshots in split-second succession, killing both guards. On the walls of the front gate, the shooter stood with smoking revolvers in each hand. He wore a black cowboy hat, his face obscured in the shadows cast by the moonlight, and his neckerchief hung loosely around his neck on his long, buttoned-up black coat. His pants and boots matched the dark colour scheme of his ensemble, making him blend perfectly with the background of the night sky. He jumped down from the wall and sprinted towards the front doors, aware that he had alerted the other guards inside. He opened his coat, revealing a small army's worth of ammo hidden within, and reloaded his revolvers with the bullets inside. Without hesitation, he burst through the front door and into the bright white entrance room, outstretching his arms to shoot down two moving guards. From aro

Crusaders' base…Kon paced around his dorm, muttering to himself the same sentence over and over again. He kept an eye and ear aimed at the door so that nobody caught him doing so and occasionally readjusted his hair. His stomach churned with an indescribable feeling he hadn't felt since he was in high school. Eventually, he gave up on the prospect of strategy and decided to wing it. He boldly stepped out and looked into the living room. Gunk sat watching a documentary detailing the First Age of Superheroes, while Lizzy stood in the kitchen staring at the slowly burning bacon she was attempting to cook in the hopes of emulating Andrew's famous breakfasts. Kon purposefully made his way towards her, intentionally letting instinct take over and blocking out all rational thought."Lizzy." He said, drawing her gaze."What's up?" Her bright blue eyes met his own, her straight crimson hair hanging like curtains at the sides of her spotless white face, and suddenly those rational thoughts kic

Los Angeles…The sweating, heaving James burst through the unlocked door to find the apartment in shambles. Pieces of broken plate and some food scraps littered the floor before him. The glass door to the balcony had been shattered, and the gentle draft played gently with the flowing, almost translucent curtains. He dashed to the bedroom, finding it devoid of Nick and El Bandido's presence, just as expected. He ran his hands over his face as he was flooded with an unmatched sense of overwhelming dread. The ringing of his phone kept him from suffering too greatly, and he once again saw the caller ID as Nick's. Under any other circumstances, he'd be filled with relief. As he raised the phone to his ear, he could almost hear the sadistic smirk spread on Bandido's face."Where is he, Luis?" James immediately asked, stern anger dancing on his words."In due time, old friend." Bandido's voice echoed through the speaker. "For now, something greater is afoot.""What do you want?" Bandido laug

Los Angeles…James walked out of the apartment building, his eyes dashing around the street in a paranoid manner for reasons only he knew. In the waist of his jeans, concealed by his shirt, he carried the present that awaited him in the vacant apartment from which he came: two revolvers, paired with a stockpile of lead bullets. Moments ago, he received another phone call from Bandido, saying the two would 'pick up where they left off' in a message with obvious meaning to James. He moved as fast as he could past the alleyway, but couldn't escape the hands that gripped his shoulders before spinning him around and slamming him into the brick wall. His hands moved instinctively for the guns in his jacket, and he swiftly raised the barrels into the face of his attacker. Then he realised who he was dealing with, and stopped, prompting his assailant to quickly snatch the weapons."What are you doing with these?" He asked."Good to see you keepin' that paranoia in check, Hikaru," James said.

New Mexican desert…Nine minutes were left on the clock for Jimmy Nomad as he prowled across the large rock in search of El Bandido. His search ended when Bandido tumbled out from beneath the formation, turned around as he stood, and fired up at his opponent. Jimmy spun sideways, narrowly avoiding the bullets, and leapt forward off the rock to land behind a smaller stone structure. He grunted as he hit the ground shoulder-first, but he managed to quickly pull himself up to lean his back against the rock he chose for cover. El Bandido swiftly found protection for himself as he reloaded his revolvers, noting the low amount of ammo he carried in his coat. He shot up from behind the rock with his weapons raised, but the moment he did so, an already standing Jimmy Nomad shot him in the right shoulder. In a spin, Bandido fell to the ground, a scarlet mist bursting off the black coat upon the bullet's impact. Jimmy sprinted to his fallen target as fast as possible, bounding over the rock his