The only time Brandyn would hear of this department was then they would send routine payments to his account. He no longer had parents after all and was seen by a government official every few weeks to check if everything was okay with him.
However, it had to have been a year since he had received any form of letter from them.
Ripping open the letter with one of his claws, he took out the paper from inside and was more than confused about what he saw.
"Due to [Brandyn Santiago]'s non-contract job, a 12 month reduction has been placed for not informing the department of this. After the 12 months, routine fortnightly payments will return to the subject but before then, payments have been reduced by 55%."
Brandyn read the entire letter but this section alarmed him. A 12 month reduction? How could they place a penalty on a child who has no other sufficient source of income to pay for his needs?
"This has to be illegal! I can't pay for everything with that non-contracter! I can't even go into the field of entertainment because I'm just too weak right now. What option do I have?!" Brandyn realised, more than surprised and shocked.
Hours passed and Brandyn just sat at his kitchen table, dismayed. How was he going to pay for everything now?
"All this corruption. Helios presents itself as a free and prosperous state but then goes on to do this?! There's nothing I can do, I have no family or money to lay back on and will legal action even work?"
*BANG*
Outside the window, Brandyn heard the sound of some sort of projectile weapon then heard the clattering of feet in several directions.
Living in an area like this, hearing such chaos was a normal thing but it sparked something in Brandyn's mind.
"These people. All of the crime. They must make some good money, right? I mean, crime is just another profitable activity, like other industries. If I just make my money and leave, it can't be that bad, right?"
***
This was a thought that Brandyn kept with himself for the majority of the night and it kept him awake almost all night. This was a tough situation for him but he has faced death many times before. A little bit of criminal activity couldn't faze him, right?
Once the school day was over, which was mostly lecturing, Brandyn returned to his neighbourhood and really wondered how he would do this.
He stood still in the middle of a pavement and he thought about how he was going to do this. He had always heard of gang activity on the news and even heard it physically. However, he never knew how it would begin.
***
*rustle*
*whoosh*
A man rushed through a forest and seemed to have insane levels of speed. What was on his waist was a weapon that looked like it released large balls. The man charged forward and he ran directly ahead with a clear intention.
The evening sun had already left and the dim blue sky started to darken to black. The number of people in the streets swiftly declined and this meant it was the time for the criminals to wake.
Another man, much smaller and shorter, at around 5'10, strolled through an alleyway with a grey hoodie. He seemed quite calm and the scene was very tranquil. His hands were even in his pockets and he barely paid attention to his surroundings as he sauntered through the alley.
*click*
"What?" He thought, hearing this random click from behind him.
He heard no subsequent sound and wondered what was going on. After this happened, he pulled up the arms of his hoodie and metal fins began to grow across his forearms.
His eyes became restless and scanned his surroundings as if they were surveillance cameras.
Nothing.
"I'm always on edge now." He thought to himself, continuing on his path home.
*BANG*
*thwip*
With this energetic whistling sound, the hooded man turned only to be hit by this high-speed ball of rock.
*crack*
Landing directly on his shoulder blade, this bone cracked and shattered at the point of impact.
"What was that?! My arm's busted!" He realised, feeling an overwhelming pain in his upper torso.
The pain felt like a bomb had went off on his back and it was almost unbearable.
A man with a pistol aimed with both of his arms stretched outward, slowly closed in on the opponent with his eye fixed on the centre of his reticle.
"You're done!" The hooded man was furious and he immediately began his own assault.
As he took his first stride, he snatched the rock from the ground then forced it forward with an explosive push. As the rock soared across the alley, the shooter dipped right under it to be left unscathed. With his gun loaded once again, he fired and fear could be seen in the hooded man's eyes.
His body seemed to move on its own and he swerved right out of the way of it.
"GRR!" He snarled, with sharp teeth that had now become sharp and metal.
His collection of teeth now resembled shark teeth and his muscles looked quite a bit more sharp and large. The hooded man charged directly at this man and swung at his weapon, launching it out from his hand. Due to the use of his ability, his strength had increased quite significantly.
Once the gun slammed onto the ground, he threw out a right punch that slammed into this guy's jaw. Once the fist crashed into his jaw, this made the gangster just retaliate by slugging his fist ahead. Somehow, the hooded man swerved past the punch and retaliated with another punch with his only healthy arm.