The cry of a newborn baby echoed through sterile white halls. Dim lights flickered overhead as a nurse passed by, barely acknowledging the life that had just entered the world.
"I hate my father..."
The statement was simple. Heavy. The kind that carried more weight than most people were willing to bear.
Now— Lunchtime at Hollow Bridge High, and the cafeteria was its own kind of warzone. Students clumped together like tribal units, each table with its own unspoken code. Laughter, shouting, gossip— it all blended into a haze of noise
Tony sat alone, tucked in the corner near the far window. His wired earbuds were in— not because he loved music, but because it gave him a reason not to be approached. His tray of food sat half-finished as he chewed slowly, eyes fixed not on his lunch, but on the people around him.
He wasn't necessarily interested in them. He didn't trust them. And he definitely didn't want to be like them.
Across the room, Akane was holding onto all the attention, her sharp tongue slicing through conversations, her presence effortlessly drawing attention. She was cold, commanding, yet beautiful in a way that turned heads and shut people up when she spoke.
Tony only watched her for a moment, not out of affection, but out of curiosity. She was like a flame; mesmerizing, dangerous, untouchable.
"People like her only leave you burned" Tony says as he looks away.
He dumped his tray and left before the bell rang. The cafeteria was too loud for someone who preferred the silence of his own thoughts.
[After School]
Tony didn't go home. Instead, he wandered through the alleyways and faded streets that wore the years like bruises. This part of the city wasn't so kind, but it didn't pretend to be.
The sun had started to set at this point. casting long shadows acrossed the cracked pavement. As he turned a corner near an old convenience store, he heard something. Dull thuds. A choked grunt. Pleading.
Tony froze.
In the Alleyway, three guys were beating up a single guy. The man on the ground tried to curl up, arms shielding his face, but the kicks didn't stop.
Tony clenched his fist, visibly angry. He'd seen enough violence to know how fast it can escalate, and how easy it is for people to turn a blind eye to things.
He hated this. But he hated being a bystander more.
"The hell are y'all doing?" Tony says as he walks towards the thugs. The three thugs turned toward him slowly. One of them, lanky with a buzzcut, stepped forward and smirked.
"Get lost kid. This is none of your business. Unless you want to end up like this guy" The Lanky guy says.
Tony wasn't fazed by the lanky guy's threat
Tony quoted Mark Twain without breaking stride "A man once said.. Never regret anything that makes you smile." Stepping closer the thugs exchange confused looks.
"What the hell are you talking about?" The lanky dude says as he steps closer in front of Tony.
Tony smiled— but not the kind that comforted.
"This is self defense" He muttered.
Then without warning, he stepped closer and cracked the lanky dude in his jaw. He stumbled backwards, stunned. The other two frozen.
"What the hell!?" The other thug shouts.
The largest of the three. The Boss, stepped forward with a crack of his knuckles. There was something off about him.
And then it happened.
A flash of green light materializes. A mask formed over his face, not worn, but summoned. It wrapped itself around his head like it belonged there, with faint glowing lines running across it's surface.
Tony stood there, confused and worried.
"What the hell is that thing" Tony muttered, eyes fixed on the glowing mask.
Before he could even react, the Boss lunged forward. A punch aimed straight for Tony's ribcage, fast, much faster than a guy his size should move.
Tony barely dodged, turning his body at the last second.
Tony thought to himself.
"I barely evaded that attack, if that had landed, my bones might've been broken.. What is that mask?"
The fight isn't over it has only begun.
The Boss stood tall, cracking his knuckles, the green glow of his mask flickering in the dim alley light. It was smooth, bone-white with emerald veins pulsing faintly from the center of the forehead. No straps. No seams. It had just appeared.
Tony's eyes narrowed.
"You just made the worst mistake of your life, brat." The Boss claims.
Tony didn't respond. His breathing steadied, fists clenched.
The Boss charged. The punch came so fast, blindingly fast.
For a guy that bulky, he shouldn't have been able to move like that. Tony barely turned his body in time, the blow grazing his ribs with a sickening thud.
The pain bloomed, but he stood tall.
"If I get hit, I'd probably die. No way this guy is human." Tony can only complain.
Maybe he should've stayed put, maybe let the cops handle it, he was never asked to help anyway, should he give up and run away?
No— Tony continues the fight with a left jab aimed at the Boss's jaw.
The boss leaned back just enough to avoid it and swung low, slamming a heavy boot into Tony's shin.
Tony stumbles.
The second punch came instantly, a hook to the jaw. Tony reeled but rolled with the impact softening the blow. Tony rose— just in time to catch a third punch square to the jaw, sending him flying into a wall.
Tony slumped against the crumbling wall, blood on his head, bricks at his back.
"I can't fight him head on. He's too strong.. Too fast.. that mask, it's helping him somehow"
The other two thugs cheer "Good job Boss, beat him up!"
"I don't need an audience for this. You two go. I'll kill this brat and catch up later." The boss responds.
The other two thugs didn't argue believing in their boss, leaving Tony and their Boss alone to fight.
The mask's glow only intensifies.
"You're quick. I'll give you that. But this." The boss taps his mask "This makes me more than just human." The boss states.
Tony said nothing. His vision was already adjusting, watching his every movement, looking for an openning. His muscles burned, but he was still thinking.
The boss decides it's about time to end this, so he charges at Tony still in the wall.
Just before contact, Tony disappears below the boss, and turned his body to kick the boss in the stomach with his heel. (Donkey kick) Enough impact to drive the boss backwards.
Tony used this opportunity to throw a left jab.
The boss still having a bit of leverage, he dodges.
Tony follows it up with a right elbow to the mask.
crack..
The boss froze, blinking. That wasn't supposed to happen.
"Huh. Guess they're not as durable as they look" Tony says.
"You little—!" The boss roars, swinging wildly. Tony ducked, drove a fist into his ribs, then a second to the kidney.
The mask's glow flickers.
Tony closed the gap, too tight for another punch, and drove his knee into the boss's gut.
The unconscious boss falls to the ground, the mask shattered— fading into green particles then nothing.
Tony stood over the boss's body, chest rising and falling, bruises already forming along his ribs and jaw. His knuckles were scraped raw, and his side ached with every breath—but adrenaline kept the pain at bay.
Clap... clap... clap...
The sound echoed through the alleyway.
Tony turned, eyes scanning the dim space.
From the far end of the alley, a man emerged— tall, dressed in a dark trench coat, a gloved hand still slowly clapping.
"Wonderful, just wonderful" the man said, his voice smooth and amused. "You know... I was planning on recruiting that guy to a certain club."
He nodded toward the unconscious body on the ground.
"But it seems," he continued, stopping just a few feet away from Tony, "you'll have to take his place instead."
The man reached into his coat and pulled out a letter—black envelope, gold trim, and a strange seal pressed into the front.
He held it out.
Tony stared at it, confused, still catching his breath.
"What the hell is this?"
The man only smiled.
"An invitation."
He held it out. Tony hesitated for a moment before taking it. The stranger turned and began walking away, his footsteps echoing off the walls.
"Tonight you'll understand everything" he said without looking back.