Diligence is carefulness and persistent effort, as well as a constant state of self-betterment. Diligence is viewed as a virtue that should be pursued by all beings in hope of enlightenment. It is indicative of a work ethic, the belief that work is good in itself.
I'm going to do things a little better.
Since I've told myself that, a few things have happened.
Most importantly, the news stations in the city have taken notice of my nightly crime-stopping deeds in the week since the events at the dock. I've received a lot of attention from the public, for being one of the few heroes to go out during the night, and the other 'Heroes' have gotten some shit for not stopping real crime. My plan is going well.
Another major development, this time in relation to my power, is that I am limited in the number of abilities I can use in a short time span. I found it out close to sunset. I wanted to practice my powers, namely Energy Manipulation in my feet, however once I used both forms of energy manipulation as well as telekinesis, I saw several different memories of those I've killed, and nearly passed out. I had a splitting migraine for nearly an hour after.
Since then, I've made a schedule, where I take two hours after my last use of telekinesis before my first use of any two other powers at once. Right now, my only other two powers are Energy Manipulation, but in the future, I'll have to choose which power is right for a situation, and if I'm wrong, I'll be stuck with it for multiple hours.
Since the death of King, crime rate in his side of the city has increased, and it's been mostly Disabled. The main issue I'm having as an unregistered vigilante is that I can't take the criminals to the police station, or they'll try to arrest me along with the criminals. I've resorted to bringing several zip ties around, tying up unconscious criminals and leaving them out to dry.
Another drawback to killing King is that I'm working with very limited information on his family. The two men at the docks, supposedly in King's brother's gang, had no identifying traits, no tattoos or clothing to show who they worked for. I've questioned a few suspicious criminals, but it's like they've gone into hiding. Tonight, I'm on another patrol, so it's crucial that I find some details on the gangs in the city soon.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
A loud timer woke me up from my nap on the couch. Two hours had passed, and I hadn't used any abilities in that time. I threw on an all-black bodysuit, putting on armor overtop to complete the look. As I leapt out my window and onto a fire escape I knew all too well, my feet began to glow, and I trembled with excitement. I launched towards the roof of the building, touching the ground and going into a sprint. I was running far faster than any human, around 40 miles an hour last time I checked. While I was capable of going multiple times this speed, it ate up my stamina far faster than I liked.
I jumped from rooftop to rooftop, catching a strong breeze that made my eyes water, even through my suit. I took in the sights of the city as I listened for crime. There was a river not too far in the distance, shimmering in the night with the glow of the city. Buildings shot into the night sky, ablaze with lights from every window, tens of stories up. Cars drove by and people laughed on the balconies of lavish apartments below. The smells of different meals in restaurants filled the air. The city had true inner beauty, but, unfortunately, there was something covering up that radiance.
I looked around once more, and the ugliness of this city, this world, shined through. The river in the distance was polluted, large boats drove through daily, and people walking next to the river had thrown in their trash as if that was where it belonged. The buildings in the distance now resembled spears attacking the sky, and the smoke billowing from factories on the outskirts of the city had made the stars, once glimmering with power, nearly impossible to see. There was no sky, and every night was cloudy. The smell of garbage filled the air, and drunkards too. All of the world's ugliness far outweighed its beauty. There was nothing here worth keeping, which is why I was here.
I had to fix it.
I tuned back into my patrol, focusing my hearing the best I could, despite the wind howling in my ears. To my left, there was a nightclub, with loud music playing out the doors and a mile-long line spanning all the way down the street. I was trying to make some distance from it to make my hearing better, when several screams arose from the line. I had already moved some rooftops away, so it was nearly ten seconds before I could see what was going on properly.
The line had been broken, and people were scattered into the streets, running every which way. I couldn't at first tell the reason, but it soon became quite apparent. Several identical figures swarmed the entrance of the nightclub, attacking both the bouncers and the civilians inside. They all wore what once could've been considered a white suit, now stained with the blood of those being attacked. Their faces were pale, scarred, and disfigured. Their faces had no orifices or hair. The simplest way to describe them would be faceless and inhuman. One of them gave an ample display or strength as he tore a bouncer's arm off.
I should probably get over there.
I landed on the street and sprinted toward the nightclub at full speed. Which power should I use? I had already used Energy in my feet, meaning I had one slot left. If I were to use telekinesis, I would be able to fight from a distance and use it for defense, but I would be lacking offensive power in the case that the entities had durability to go with their strength. If I chose to channel energy in my hands, I would have enough offensive power to deal serious damage to them, but I would have to get close enough to hit them. Not enough time to think this out. I channeled energy to my fists and neared the nightclub entrance.
The first two were easy marks. They were distracted, cornering a man in his late 30s who clearly wasn't fit to defend himself. I sped behind one of the entities, and before it could react, I threw my hands together in a clapping motion, collapsing both sides of his head with the sheer force of the energy. The thing's friend turned away from the man to face me, hunching over in a fighting position that resembled a wild animal. Before he could make me his next victim, I expended a decent amount of stamina, channeling energy into my feet and dashing behind the entity, far faster than it could react. Then I shot a concentrated beam from my fingertip, going through its head and instantly killing it. Both of the faceless beings I had killed were beginning to fade away, and trails of light made a path from their bodies, all the way to a faceless entity standing alone amidst the chaos. He seemed to collect the light, and then he leaned back, with his face looking straight into the sky. His head seemed to open up, making it even more disfigured than before. Out of his skull, two more of the beings sprung out, identical to the ones I had seen earlier.
The source?
If I were to kill it, there's a chance that the rest would no longer be able to regenerate. It wasn't a perfect plan, but I had to give it a shot. Unfortunately, the rest of the beings had seemed to pick up on what I was doing, and now there were nine total beings, all of which were making a shield formation around the one that was making more of them. I charged a large ball of energy with both of my hands and charged forward at an insane speed. Maybe 10 feet away from the closest one, I diverged from the straight line I had been running in, instead leaping onto the nightclub wall to my left, running on its side. I pushed off as I was in line with the middle of the group. I was soaring across, and time began to slow. I was directly over head the one that had made more of them, and I let the energy charge loose right onto its head. The force launched me away, and most of the entities were killed in the explosion, their bodies seared all the way down until all that was left was their feet. The two that had lived had gotten the same treatment as I did; launched flat onto their asses.
I got up, dazed and a little tired from using so much energy. All I had to do was kill these two, and I could call it a night.
Then they did the last thing I expected.
Both hunched over simultaneously, and their heads tore open. Fuck. Several more faceless beings began to pour out, and now my odds were even worse than before. One charged me on all fours, like a dog. I sidestepped as it leapt towards me, swinging its hands wildly. i caught one of his wrists, and I used my foot to kick him in the side. The force of the kick combined with me holding its arm was enough to separate the limb, splattering blood all over me and leaving the entity severely weakened. Maybe I was just being stupid, or maybe I was stunned from my lack of energy, but I was caught completely by surprise when another one of the things caught me from the side, tackling me to the ground. He wailed onto my head, and I used my arms to defend myself, but it did very little. I managed to get my foot between us, and I used the last of my energy to shoot a large burst of energy, disintegrating the top half of the beast as though it were never even there.
Two pale hands grabbed my arms, and another two grabbed my legs. The beings were now surrounding me, dragging me around. They let go of my limbs and began to attack me from all sides. I curled into a ball as I was kicked, punched, and generally beaten. If it weren't for the armor, I'd be dead.
Then, all the hairs on my body stood up. I felt the air dry out and the crackle of electricity in my ears. The entities must've felt it too, as a few of them slowed down in their beating. I felt a shadow pass over my head, like someone was on the roof above.
Boom. It sounded like thunder, and the bright flash of light before me resembled lightning.
A girl dashed between the monsters with a trail of lightning following behind her. Each time she reached a monster, she swung a baton in the blink of an eye, making a thunderous boom and vaporizing the monster. The more she hit, the faster she moved, until she was just a blink of light. The thunderous noises became overwhelming, and then, when all the entities had been killed, the world went silent. The bright lights and loud thunder ceased all at once, and in front of me stood a beautiful heroine.
"You're that vigilante, aren't you? The HQ said you're under arrest, you know."
That's not good.