Greed - Greed (Latin: avaritia), also known as avarice, cupidity, or covetousness, is a sin of desire like lust and gluttony. However, greed (as seen by the Church) is applied to an artificial, rapacious desire as well as the pursuit of material possessions.
The man stared at me, dazed from what was most likely a concussion he got during the blast.
I shook him hard, and he started to speak again.
"My boss? The King? You do NOT want to fuck around with that guy! Listen man, if it's his brother who sent you, you can take whatever you want from our warehouse, I swear! Just don't hurt me, please man!"
Maybe an all-black outfit didn't scream 'hero' at first glance. I dropped the guy, who tried to catch himself with his broken wrist only to writhe in pain. I crouched down so that we would be at eye level, and he flinched back in terror.
"Listen here, I'm not working for anybody. You take me to this weapons shipment, then we go to your boss. No funny business, or you die. Got it?" I made my demands short and to the point so he would understand.
"Yeah, it's at the mayflower. There are a few private branches, you see, and they uh- t-they are one of them." The Mayflower was an Enabled construction project that made a large shipping waterway across most of the United States. It was only completed around eight years ago.
"Fine, lets go." I signaled for the man to follow me, and he shuffled quietly behind me as I walked towards the docks. Now would be a good time to regain my energy, and the place he said the meeting would take place at was only a half-mile out. As we walked, the man tried to make small talk.
"Hey, so uh- Mr. Uhh.. Black Mask guy? What's your deal man? You got beef with our boss, but you also wanna stop this weapons shipment?" He seemed genuinely curious, so I filled him in.
"I just want to do some good, and maybe get something for myself along the way."
He looked suspicious. "Nah man, you Enabled are always up to some shit. You fucking killed my friend back there, you know that, right?"
I looked over at him. He had every right to be angry at me. "Then why not do anything?"
"Because then that would be two dead guys, instead of one."
After that, we walked in silence.
The port was sunken down, so that loading cargo off ships and into trucks would be made easier. Because of this, I had a nice vantage point at the top of the road leading out of the loading area. From here, I saw only two men, each of which were tall and muscular.
What? Only two? And then came the final man. He stepped out, and I almost missed him, he was so short. He was a little fat and at most four feet tall. He spoke some words I couldn't hear with the men, and they both drew their pistols, aiming at the man. Shit! I was fine with him dying, but I wasn't sure how to proceed. Did they threaten him for more guns? A discount? Maybe they were just going to kill him for shits and gigs. Whatever the reason, I had to move now. After a few more words to the man, they shot him repeatedly and walked over to a van that was parked in a large storage unit behind him. I leapt onto the roof with a telekinetic boost, and then the last thing I expected happened.
I had told the man who had given me the information to lay low and stay quiet, but he was now shouting.
"'He's on the fucking roof you idiots! Shoot his ass!" The two men turned around to face the roof I was on and pulled out two large guns from the van they had been searching through a moment ago.
They looked like something out of a movie, somewhat rectangular with a massive slit-shaped barrel at the end of the weapon. They fired large energy charges at me, not too different from those that I could use. I dodged backwards, giving myself plenty of distance from the area they had shot. The shots connected, and a massive crater formed in the roof where I had been standing just a moment before. These assholes meant business. The other one who ratted me out, was now moving closer to watch. I'd kill him soon enough.
I punched a hole through the roof using an energy blast and leapt into the dark interior of the storage unit. The men were both still standing outside the garage door, not realizing that I had jumped down. Each of them aimed their guns at the roof. Now was my time. I hurled two energy charges, one for each, knocking them backwards. I sprung forward, punching one in the gut and following through with an uppercut. Since my hands were coated in raw energy, I had the upper hand in a one-on-one situation. Unfortunately, that was not going to happen here. I felt a grab at the back of my neck, and the next moment the other man had lifted me and thrown me at the walls of the unit. I braced myself telekinetically, but it didn't fully stop the blow. The two men grabbed their rifles, which were definitely strong enough to kill me. I didn't want to use too much telekinesis in case someone was watching, but all three of the men present were going to die anyways.
Ah, fuck it. The men shot their rifles, and I created a barrier at the mouth of the barrel. Each of the energy shots hit the barrier, instantly exploding on the inside of the weapon, killing each of the men and scattering an assortment of body parts. The rat sitting at the top of the road now sprinted away, clutching his damaged wrist as he did so. With nothing left to hide, I flew up into the night sky and charged a sniper shot in my fingertip. I needed maybe... three more seconds? He was running, nearing a turn into an alleyway where I wouldn't be able to shoot him.
He's almost there. Three.
He's about to round the corner. Two.
He's around the corner. Fuck! I allowed the charge to fade, and I pursued him into the alleyway. By the tagging on the walls, I realized where we were. We were in the King's territory. All of the markings matched the tattoos of the men from earlier. While their headquarters weren't here, it was surely nearby. The man probably was going to reach it before I could catch him, so I instead needed a plan. I didn't know what king's power was, so the best choice of action would be a sneak attack. If I dawdled for too long, the man would tell him I'm coming, and sneaking up on them might be impossible. I resumed my flight, getting closer to the place I was told housed their operations by the man I interrogated earlier. Should I trust his information? Probably not. Did I have another option? Definitely not.
I landed in front of an unmarked two-story building, and it matched the description I had received earlier. Even if this was a trap, I couldn't help but lick my lips from pure excitement. I was about to become even stronger. Until this point, I had heavily relied on telekinesis, but I might not even need such a thing after stealing the King's power.
I tried the door. Unlocked. I walked into a large reception area, which lacked any receptionists to go with it. On either side, there was a hall. On one end there were lights, but almost complete silence. The other side was the exact opposite; no lights, but voices could be heard. I chose the latter of the two. I carefully walked to the edge of the hall, where I saw a large black curtain concealing the light of a room at the other end. I carefully lifted enough of the curtain to see into the room, where the voices became louder than ever before. Inside the room, there were three people; a man in a suit holding a wine bottle, the man who had ratted on me before, and, on a large throne-like chair, a man with mostly casual wear, except for a golden mask covering both his face and his nose. On top of his head, there was a golden crown. He looked maybe a year younger than me. King? Surely not. He was fifteen at best!
He began to speak, and I listened carefully. "So, you're telling me that you were supposed to steal a weapon's shipment from my brother's boys, and instead you got your ass kicked by some unknown hero? You mother fucker." He placed his foot on the man's head and forced it to the floor.
"No, no please! I beg yo-" The man tried to plead, but out of the bottom of the boy's foot shot a powerful burst of energy, completely erasing and trace of the man's head from his body.
"Murray!" He gestured to the man in the suit. "Clean up the body, will you? I've got some hero to kill." The servant rushed over to the body and began to drag it away.
Now!
I shot a concentrated beam from my fingertip straight to the boy's head, a shot that would've instantly killed him. Instead, his right foot shot up, and he coated it with energy to block the shot. He was knocked backwards, but otherwise unharmed.
"So, you're the guy, huh? Guess that makes my job easier." He dashed forward, with energy from his feet increasing his speed, as though they were jet engines strapped to his feet. I shot a wave of telekinetic force at him. It pushed him back, but the force from his feet stopped him from going into a spin. I continued the force, and we were at a near-standstill. I began to get closer, but then he broke through. He launched towards me at an insane speed, doing a 180 as he performed a deadly combination of kicked with his feet. I blocked nearly all of them with my energy-coated hands, but one caught me in the stomach, making me nearly throw up. As he made connection, I shot a energy blast of my own into his side. We both were launched backwards, but he was first to recover. I forced him into the floor with telekinesis, and I began to see glimpses of memories. A family that excluded him. He managed to kick a wine bottle on the floor at me with full force, and I cancelled my telekinesis on him to catch the bottle. He got super close to me, and roundhouse kicked at my head. With my left arm, I caught the kick and lifted him into the air as he as much shorter than me. Now he was upside down with one leg suspended in the air. I pulled him up as far as I could with my hand and let go. simultaneously, as he began to drop, I threw a right hook into his side, launching him a few yards to my right. His family excluded him because he had no powers. He would do anything for powers. He got up and this time, he led with a fake roundhouse into a switch kick, surprising me and launching me into a wall at the far end of the room. He had good kicking and footwork in general, as opposed to the boxing I had learned at camp.
He ran towards me, this time not boosted by energy. He got to a medium distance, maybe four feet away, and chambered a side kick. Instead of throwing it, his chambered foot shot a pulse of energy that hit me in the stomach harder than any kick. I was pushed into the wall again, cracking it and leaving a large crater in the brickwork. He tried to use the same move, but I pushed him back with telekinesis. This time, instead of catching himself like he had before, he hit the floor. He went to a special dealer that travels the country. He was rumored to have the super-power granting drug. People had warned him that it was dangerous, but he had to get powers. His memories clogged my focus, and he stood back up, hunched over and clutching his knees as though he were out of breath. Does he not have full control of his power since it was given to him so late in life? he ran towards me and kicked, but it had far less power this time. I blocked, pushing his leg down and jabbing him in the nose. He fell backwards, not getting up.
Another memory.
He was strapped to a chair. He knew he shouldn't have gone to such a suspicious dealer. The man was testing a superpower formula on him, injecting him with all kinds of needles. He was in pain for days, but eventually, something happened. When the man injected him with something new, he kicked his feet in pain. Shooting a wave of energy that killed the man in front of him. After a day of practicing his new power, tied up and alone, he managed to escape. His family hadn't even cared about his appearance, counting it as a blessing. Out of pure anger, the boy started a gang, ruling by fear and power alone. His family was part of a long line of mafia bosses, and the generation before him was lucky enough to be first generation Enabled. Since then, they were one of the top gangs in Chicago. The boy tried to best them, but with an experimental and limited power, it was to no avail.
The boy had lived a somewhat similar life to me. Surrounded by powerful people, but unable to have what they did. After finally getting what he wanted, things didn't change as he had hoped. He failed, just as I did. It almost made me feel bad.
Almost.
I walked over to him, stopping by his unconscious body. "Sorry it had to be this way. If it makes you feel better, I plan to kill your family, too."
I put my palm over his mouth, filling it with energy, and his body exploded, splattering blood everywhere.
I sat back; my job was almost finished. I felt a new type of energy in my feet. Perfect, now I had full body energy control.
I flew out of the building, leaving the body for the servant to find. I went back to the weapons shipment, where I split all of the weapons into three parts using energy. It was enough that the person who found it would know what they were but couldn't use them for harm. Now, I had to sign my vigilante name onto the van so the world could know who I am.
But... what was my name? I was just a hero doing what I was supposed to stand for, unlike what all the others did. I stole powers, and I wanted to make the world better. What name could convey all that?
Then, I got it.
Rouge. A bit cliche, even a little unoriginal, but that's the idea. It was short and simple, and told the world I was going to do things a little different than other heroes.
I was going to do things a little better.