"Oh my God, his eyes are opening."
"Thank fuck, I thought we had screwed it up when we dropped him."
"Oh hush, you brat! Having all those muscles; not even able to lift such a young lad."
"The kid's fucking larger than me, woman! How 'bout you try carrying him, huh?"
"Enough out of the two of you. Shit… I can't believe he stopped the two of those guys."
"I can't believe he took those hits and is still alive."
"He certainly looks like he could take them and keep on chugging along just dandy."
Kage opened his eyes to see the night sky, no longer covered by stormy clouds. He deduced from all the chatter that he had been taken out of the bunker with the civilians now standing around him bickering on some minute subject. Like his weight…
'I don't weigh… that much.'
Shifting his mass to his elbows, Kage changed his posture to an upright position. However, he was shocked by a tight sting that tore at his chest with an ache that pooled in his right arm.
"WOAH THERE!" The people flooded to his side pushing him to his back again. "You can't just walk off such wounds, boy." The face these words belonged to was of a heavily bearded man with scabbed knuckles and blistered palms.
'He must be the one who tried lifting me earlier.'
From looks alone the high-pitched voice certainly didn't match the bearded man's wide shoulders and tree trunk thick thighs. Scouring the wide array of faces and heights of all kinds accompanying their placement, Kage was astounded by what he saw. Sweated through suits, ripped rags, stained chef caps, as well as the sweaters and sweatpants of stressed-out college students. Stretched skin that sagged at the old age of thirty, while the same skin could be cared for with products to appear newborn.
Yet, among them not one officer or security personnel stood at the ready. They had been kept like sardines in the dark to rot to death without a passing worry for them.
'What bullshit!'
Before Kage could dive deep into his anger, he remembered that when he awoke, he had seen the sky and not a concrete ceiling. The night had grown brighter since the last time he was out there before its somber appearance.
The journey through the bunker had felt like years.
'Wait… where's Isaiah?'
Kage, again, attempted to push himself up only to suffer another terrible shock forcing a whimper from between his lips.
An eastern Indian man brought the top of his head, bald with the exception of a few black strands, into view. "Is he trying to get the stitches pulled out or what?"
Barking out, "THERE WAS SOMEONE ELSE!" Kage then took several deep breaths as the pain clouded his thoughts. "I had a friend up here watching out… Did anyone see him?"
"OH! Of course we did!" A young girl, her pink skirt mopped by rain and ballet shoes scuffed, with her brother in tow jumped toward Kage. Her face was gaped by awe, it appeared she had finally just met her idol face-to-face for the first time. "When we came out he had taken out a bunch o' bad guys!"
"Yeah! He went like 'Shwoom' and 'Slam!' Throwing these balls at them." The boy picked up a white sphere composed of several hexagonal faces in the same format of a diamond when cut. However, it was barely the size of the tip to the boy's thumb.
'Such instruments were used as weapons to take down Villains?' It was another mystery that Kage added to his internal database.
He had to ask Isaiah how he used them and if they were naturally produced or another hidden aspect associated with his ability. If they were made from his body, then Kage became very hesitant to know the exact method. Nine times out of ten, it was usually disgusting.
"Where is he? He's fine, right?" Kage frantically asked.
The Indian man came over again with two bloody hands raised. "Yes, yes. I worked on him just as soon as we got out here. From all the fighting out here looks that he was equally as crazy as you." Kage breathed a sigh of relief half closing his eyes. "Fucking insane brats risking their lives for some worthless folk."
A rambling crowd spoke out against the doctor's words arguing his dourness. "What?! What?!! I saw all you running away when the punks came on down. Don't You Dare Argue That!"
"You did the same retard!" A can came flying from the crowd missing his hairs by the cusp of a pencil's tip.
"HEY! WHO DID THAT!" The crowd grew louder while Kage just watched. This wasn't a heated quarrel but some playful conversation, a way for them to temper the traumatic experience they had all partaken in. The kids ran back into the bodies chasing one another. Mothers calling for them to be quiet and stay still so their own worries could be quenched.
It just… was right.
The bearded man cocked an eyebrow smirking to himself. "That's some smile you got going there, kid." Without even realizing it, Kage had exposed his mouth as well as his injured gums to the open air. Never had he experienced such a moment of peace. Day after day it was like a war that would only grow larger. This night that war had finally taken a second to cease its fire.
"So peaceful… good."
The man stroked his beard downing a bottle to drown inhibitions. "Ya can say that again." Some fireworks began to light up the air accompanied by a chorus of whoops and cheers as some distant battle was brought to its climax. Who would be the victor?
Kage doubted any of those called by its action knew. They just sought some bit of hope to this bloody day.
Shifting to the doctor, Kage inquired, "Can I see my friend?"
"Of course you can, he's to your right... dumbass brat."
Even lower than the makeshift stretcher Kage had been plopped down upon was Isaiah who didn't have the luxury so was reclined to his position on the concrete.
"Yo."
"hi…" Isaiah's face was swollen on his left side while his lips approached a purple hue causing his words to be soft while grating at the same time. A sling was made for his arm out of some fencing and a dress coat. Then, stitches lined the outer side of his thighs.
Catching Kage's eyes roaming his injuries all Isaiah did to assuage the fear was to shake his head. "How are you feeling?"
"hurts... bad… yeah."
The crowd had changed from their idleness to looking through the wreckage, calling out to those trapped or endangered. The kids from before had discovered more of their kind and were embracing the ones that held tears close. As they separated, another sight took Kage's attention.
The Villains from the tunnel were shackled together around a light post with four burly men aiming guns at them. On another not too far away were six others equally as subdued with ten, possibly more, training the ends of their barrels at them.
"You did that?"
"Mhhm." Nodding his head.
"They did that?" Kage traced a finger over Isaiah's wounds.
"yep."
"Did any get away?"
"nah."
"Then… Did you get what you needed?"
A single finger rose to Kage's direction inciting a light fit of giggles from them both.
"You'll find it someday. Thank God you came with me. I don't know what you did to take that many down, but no one would have made it out of that bunker if not for you. So, thanks."
Isaiah pointed at Kage, "helped… as well… dick."
The tip of Isaiah's finger drooped back to a relaxed position. Beyond Isaiah's body had the pile of dead been stacked. It was unlike when burnt, the citizens took great care to align them separately from each other with gentle sobs pervading their movements. The sight left Kage to recount the words bestowed by Isaiah. Too many had died. He had sent too many to die. If only he was faster, more experienced, older, maybe then he would not have been too cowardly to face that fucking blade sooner. He had not done enough to save those who needed it.
These manifestations of depressive conundrums racketed his actions yet were seemingly stolen as the night gave way to more noise. The meow of stray cats and barks from rampant mutts hurried on close. Clatter of families exiting their homes to give items to the displaced ones lined up the street. Neighbors chatted cleaning the mess of their community. Whatever had happened in the park had ended. Although this was a situation unlike any other, they had experienced, most could not tell the difference. The Villains, they come and go, same with the Heroes. A cycle breeding to an eternity.
After all is said and done, the Agency will send their employees while the government will bring in the national guard. Curfews would be instituted that serve to only restrict those that question the faults of what occurred.
It was so tiresome.
"I'm going to nap for a bit. Don't wake me if any more excitement occurs."
Isaiah gave a grunt as his indication.
Yet, before the boy could wander to a sleeping astuteness the glare of a yellow sparkle danced about his head. It fell from on high as a figure drew roaring yells of gratitude. A man, No! A Devil flew above raining joy to those in most need of it. It was a once in a lifetime experience for those nestled in the slums of life, to gaze upon the handsome mug of that who saved them.
Meanwhile, their stares did not spot the element Kage took sharp notice of. A hand draped to the side of the Devil seeped with a darkened matter. His glove had been tainted with his own fluid. The Devil had bled. The Devil could bleed.
That final proud discovery gave way for Kage to fall asleep carried by the blare of emergency horns coupled with a worried yelling from the doctor.