"Why do you do this to me?" Ryker asked lifelessly after taking another punch to the jaw.
"Why? Why!?" Rick, a black-haired teen, scoffed, "It's because you're rich, and your kind doesn't know the meaning of pain. So we're sharing the love."
THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP!
A glint of madness flashed across Ryker's eyes as he heard Rick's words.
"I'm rich?" Ryker laughed breathlessly with trembling eyes, "I don't know the meaning of pain?"
THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP!
Samuel, a blonde teen with buzzed-cut hair, scoffed in disbelief.
"Are you rich? You better be jokin' with that talk, or I'll crack you fuckin' skull!" He yelled in a vitriolic rage, spewing the smell of alcohol into Ryker's nostrils.
"Look at our clothing, then look down at that fancy fuckin' suit you're wearing.
Don't you dare say you're poor! You probably have a fancy home, loving parents, everything!" List, their brown-haired leader, barked.
Ryker looked down at the suit given to him for his mother's funeral.
THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP!
It was a symbol of proof that negated everything List had just said.
"You think we're criminals, don'tcha?" List scoffed.
"No, you're the criminals. You're fuckin' monsters. When you shit on us, hurt us, take away everything we have.
Then you pull out your suit and fancy legal teams and get away with anything you want.
You can get away with murder!"
THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP!
Ryker's eyes swirled with madness. His mind was clear, blank aside from a lingering thought.
He took his hands out of his pockets and wrapped them around List's hands, which were gripping his lapels at the collar.
"Tell me; I need to know. This suit. This suit is all it takes for me to fit in with the upper echelons for you?" Ryker asked with a crazed expression.
"Esha, what? Whatever, stop holding my hands, gay boy! And what the fuck's up with that look on your face!?" List yelled.
He tried to pull away, but Ryker clenched the teen's hands with enough grip strength to make him wince in pain.
"The fuck!?" List yelled while trying to pull away.
Like magic, Ryker pulled the teen in close with surreal strength. The teens were bewildered by his mind-bending demonstration of power.
"Answer me." Ryker chuckled in a crazed voice, "This suit, what I'm wearing. Is this all it takes to fit in with the elites?"
"What!? Fuck ya it does, now let me go!" List yelled.
"Yo, pretty boy. If you don't release List right now, we're going to break you to the point they can't fix ya!" Samuel threatened while raising his fist.
"Oh, no, no!" Ryker laughed, "I'm one of the elites! That means you're not going to touch me, and I can do whatever I want to you!"
Rick's face trembled in anger, flushed red with killing intent.
"You're delusional, you freak! No cops come round these parts. No one's gonna help ya!" He roared.
Ryker started cackling. He couldn't believe the arrogance of the scum in front of him.
"Cops?" He chucked, "Are you insane? No, I'm telling you that no one will punish me when I kill you."
The look in Ryker's eyes was so crazed and delusional that List's fight or flight response kicked in.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" List yelled, pulling back with all of his might in an attempt to break free.
CRAAAAACK!
"AGHHHHH FUUUUCK! WHAT THE FUCK!?" He screamed.
Ryker initially pressed up on the bottom of his index and pinkie joints and used immense grip strength to fold the man's hand bones over each other. It snapped a bone and tore the joint on his right hand.
Rick and Samuel froze in fear at the surreal display.
"Wh-What the fuck happened to you?" Rick stuttered to himself, "We just beat your ass last week."
"Oh, that…. I'm a ranking champion in three forms of military combat styles." Ryker cackled with trembling eyes.
"W-What?" List stuttered with fearful eyes, "W-We're sorry, just let me—"
CreeeeeeaAK!
Ryker applied grip pressure to the teen's left hand, slowly snapping it with a smile on his face.
Rick and Samuel watched the event and listened in a surreal haze of fear and disbelief.
"See, I was forced to start fighting to defend myself against someone who did whatever he wanted." Ryker laughed.
"So I never hurt you because I didn't want to be like him. But now I see it had nothing to do with morality; I just felt helpless, thinking I could never be like that. Turns out, I had the power all along."
"Bro, what the hell are you talking about?" Rick asked hesitantly, "We're listenin', but you gotta make sense. Just let List go, and we'll hear you out."
"What's so hard to understand?" Ryker laughed in bewilderment.
"You just made me realize that the ability to hurt, destroy, or kill someone is simple so long as the people you do it to are weak.
And you three won't be missed by anyone, especially your awful, equally disposable parents.
Don't you understand? I put on this pretty boy suit, and now I can kill you with impunity. Isn't that something?"
Everyone's eyes began trembling.
Ryker was in a tailored suit with punch marks on his chin. They were scum, drinking illegally and doing drugs in an alleyway.
It was case closed.
In a panic, Samuel pulled out a switchblade and flicked it open, causing Ryker to chuckle in mindless bewilderment.
"Do you think that toy will save you in the face of overwhelming strength?" He asked mockingly.
"Heh. THE AROGANCE! Try dodging a knife List's legs and two fists!" Samuel roared while pointing his knife straight and preparing to charge.
"Fucking idiot." Ryker laughed.
CRAAAAACK!
"GUUUUAAAHHHHH!"
Samuel smashed against the other ally's wall, confused about what had just happened.
He looked up and found List against him, screaming in pain.
Instead of rebounding, he was pressed against Samuel, pinning him against the wall.
Samuel looked down, and his eyes trembled in shock. List stuck to him because Ryker push kicked him into the blade, cracking his ribs.
Meanwhile, Rick also charged forward, believing that Samuel would back him up.
Ryker casually dodged multiple blows, playing with his food.
"See?" He laughed with a crazed expression, "This is what power looks like, but I couldn't do anything in the face of institutional power. But I put on a suit, and I have free reign!"
"Shut. Up." Rick growled, throwing more punches in a flurry.
"Thanks for helping me see what was in front of me all along." Ryker chuckled while dodging the man in circles.
"Shut. Up!" Rick yelled at full volume.
"The thing is, you can do anything you want. It's just a matter of [how] you do it.
It's a simple yet profound concept, don't you think?" Ryker mused.
"SHUT UP!" Rick roared.
"Hmmm. Your friends look like a mess, and screaming isn't a good look." Ryker frowned.
"I have a place to go, and I certain person to see. So I can't get bogged down with self-defense legal issues."
"I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU—"
CRRRAAAACK! Rubble, rubble, rubble….
Ryker casually ducked under a sloppy punch, grabbed Rick's head on the left side, and smashed it into the wall. He did it so hard it cracked the man's skull and broke the bricks.
His lack of self-restraint was indicative of his sincere lack of caring.
Once the man dropped to the ground, Ryker turned to Samuel, laying the groaning List on his stomach.
"So then. Do you want to die? Or do you want to live and forget about my face?" Ryker asked with a malevolent smile.
"I-I… I want to live. I'll forget all about you!" Samuel yelled.
"Hmmm. Lies." Ryker replied with a pondering expression.
Two people were likely to die since they wouldn't get medical treatment. Then they'd arrest Samuel on murder charges and interrogate him to find out who cracked List's ribs.
There was obviously a fourth person, so it was a problem.
After pondering it for a moment, Ryker developed a wide grin.
"When you get arrested on murder charges, remember that I let you beat my ass. Not just today, I let you kick the shit out of me a dozen times with witnesses." He laughed.
"I'll just say I left like usual and no one will believe you due to your arrogance. So don't try.
However, if you do try to wrap me up in court documents, I'll ensure you're put down like a rabid dog.
You can't escape death by my hands. I'm only letting you live to prove that I can kill in broad daylight [like my mentor] and get away with it.
So you can expect me to kill you from behind the scenes."
Samuel trembled in shock and realization. He would get murder charges for killing his friend, perhaps two, to close the case early.
He was now living out the life described in his vitriolic rant.
Ryker wasn't having the same introspective experience
The irony of his behavior wasn't lost on him; it was just irrelevant now.
He loved what Maxwell taught him that week because it made him realize something.
Despite all of his power, prestige, and influence, Ryker could kill the man [without retaliation].
—And he vowed to do it in broad daylight and be called a hero afterward.—
Suddenly, his trip to Lexicon didn't feel bad anymore. On the contrary, he was looking forward to it. Every step he took towards his home felt effortless and liberated.
He walked back onto the main sidewalk, continuing his walk without a care in the world.
When Samuel tried pleading for mercy, he found himself talking to an empty alleyway.
Ryker was long gone, whistling down the street after fixing his lapels.