William knew that the Royal Repair Company was good at what it did, but he didn't expect them to restore that damage to such perfection. The Calming Clam looked almost brand new. The wall was whole again and the chairs, tables, and ceiling fan were replaced by new ones. Not a single trace of damage remained. Not even a trace of a sign from that brawl was left.
"... and it was all thanks to Natalya here." Orion finished, telling William about the woman who worked for the Royal Repair Company. She, Natalya, was sitting by the counter enjoying her free drinks provided by Orion as a sort of thanks. She raised her cup at him and said; "You're welcome."
The bar had been quiet today, with no more than a handful of customers present. That probably had to do with the Mayor of New Miami annual speech happening on the morrow. Most of the city wanted to sleep early to have front row seat and see the man in person up close.
"Besides," Natalya continued. "It wasn't all that much. A hola in the wall and a few broken furniture wasn't much work, not compared to some of what we had to repair in High Tier." She was an older woman, well over her forties, with short black hair and not half bad on her looks. Currently, she was in the middle of downing her fourth drink that evening, emptying her cups minutes after being refilled, and was now showing signs of drunkenness. "Though it'd be nice if Royals were more mindful of property damage when they decide to have their squabbles. By the by William, was it? Orion told me a bit about you. How much of it is true?"
William shot Orion a glare, not much liking the idea of Orion talking about him to other people, Royal or no. That was true now more than ever after what had happened days ago, where William was forced to use use his ability against Royal Elites. He wasn't too concerned though, trusting Orion enough to know that the man would die before revealing any secrets.
"Depends," He said. "What has he told you?"
Natalya chuckled, her cheeks red, then shrugged. "Not much, really. Just that you're a good friend, s'all. Another one please." She motioned Orion to refill her drink, which Orion did reluctantly. Free drinks meant loss of money and Natalya was becoming a net loss for the Calming Clam.
There had to be more to the woman's response, William thought, though he decided not to ask for further elaboration. He was supposed to be incognito by his sister's recommendations. Claudia had been calling him everyday after he left her Spectre base to remind him about keeping a low profile, at least until tomorrow.
Tomorrow. The start of Operation Overthrow. William had asked his sisters for more and more details every time she called, even though he had read the files. During one such call, he had insisted he take part in Phase One, but she had said no. William was supposed to be Spectre's key player and keeping him in the shadows for a surprise attack on Imperium was their ace in the operation.
"I think if you keep taking advantage of my generosity, Ms. Natalya, the bar will go into bankruptcy." Orion told her and she giggled.
"Relax boss man." She took a long swig of her drink. "It'll be worth it in the end, trust me."
"WHat does that even mean?"
Jill returned from the back office then and approached the counter. "My shift's over boys." Jill said to William and Orion. "Nighters. Oh! By the way, aren't you two going to the annual speech?"
They both shook their heads. "No."
"Why bother?" Natalya added. "The speech will be broadcast on every news channel and believe me, Beodulf is uglier in person."
It didn't surprise William that Natalya had met Mayor Beodulf in person. She worked for the Royals after all, though she wasn't one herself.
Jill shrugged and left the bar, waving; "See you in two days then."
After Jill was gone, Natalya looked at William. For an older woman, she looked beautiful. "You know, that reminds me, what are your thoughts on the Lord Ruler and his Hierarchy System? I already asked Orion here and he's... displeased to say the least. Not a fan of how the Lord Ruler runs his city. What about you, William? Share your friend's opinion?"
William couldn't trust anyone at the moment, especially those who work directly for the Royals. Natalya didn't seem like a bad person, but it was better to be safe than sorry. "I'll... be keeping my opinions to myself."
She smiled, then shrugged. "That's fair, I understand. We've just met a few hours ago. You've got no reason to trust me yet."
"That and you work for the Royals." Orion added. "And let's be honest here, what non-Royal wouldn't want favor with the winning team?"
Natalya nodded. "I agree. It's just that-"
She was interrupt by the ringing of bells coming from the entrance. Three figures dressed in black entered the bar, golden bracelet on their right hand.
Shit. Royals. Two men and a woman.
"Uh-oh." Natalya said. "That looks like trouble."
"Are you fucking kidding me." Orion said. "We just had the place fixed a few days ago. And it cost a damn fortune. Why's my luck so god damn shitty."
The Royal in the middle, a large man with square shoulders, looked around the bar, demanding attention from everyone. "We are looking for someone and we know he's here."
"Hey um, listen." Natalya made sure only Orion and William heard. "If things get ugly again, don't worry. I'll make sure you get a good discount for your next order of repairs." She winked at Orion. "You know, as thanks for the free drinks."
"He's name is William Dia!" The Royal continued, looking at everyone faces. "And no one leaves this bar until he identifies himself."
Silence.
He smiled, clearly expecting the silence almost as if wanting it. That was the excuse he needed to act. William noticed his Aura ignite and four mechanical arms sprung out from his back resembling octopus's tentacles. The metallic appendages reached out, stretching like rubber, and grabbed four costumers by their throat. They struggled fruitlessly to break free while being lifted upwards.
"Let rephrase what I just said." The Royal said. This time he sounded glad for the defiance he was receiving. "To make sure everyone understands. If William Dia does not introduce himself to me right now, I'm going to start hurting people on his behalf."
To make his point, he slammed one of his hostages down on a table, shattering the wood. The woman cried in pain.
William clenched his fist. Claudia warned him about the consequences of getting into another fight with the Royals. But this... He had to do something. Damn the consequences. The Royals clearly knew of him already. They had videos of him fighting, they knew. How else did they know where to find him. He was about to confront the Royal when Orion pushed him aside.
"I'm William Dia." Orion said, walking up to the Royal. "Now let these people go."
"Are you?" The Royal looked Orion up and down skeptically, but at least he released the hostages, mechanical arms retracting though they still looked menacing enough. "Alright then, prove it."
The costumer's ran for the exit, but the other two Royals, and shot man and woman, barred their path.
"I'll do whatever you want once these people are safely outside and out of harm's way." Orion's Aura ignited as he said that. "Tell you buddies over there to let them leave."
Keeping his smug smile, the Royal nodded to his two companions and they stepped aside, letting the customers through the door. They started to leave quietly, anxiously, not knowing if the Royals would try something.
William stayed, keeping his eyes on the Royals. He knew exactly what the Royal had meant when he demanded proof. Proof that Orion couldn't provide. If Orion decides to reveal his ability, they would see through the lie and since Orion was an Ability-User in hiding, who knows what the Royals will do to him. There was no way out of this situation without a fight. William had to step in.
"I'll take that as my queue." Natalya said, standing up. William had almost forgotten she was still there. He nodded at her.
"Wise choice." He told her.
"Tell your friend not to make a big mess." She took one last sip of her drink before following the rest of the customers out, helping carry the injured woman.
After everyone had left, the only people remaining were the three Royals, Orion, and William who remained behind the counter, staying quiet. If he could avoid stepping in, he wasn't going to try. Maybe there was a way for him to avoid fighting.
"I heard you took down two of Imperium's best Elites some nights ago." The Royal barely gave Orion time to respond before throwing the first blow; a kick to Orion's stomach which caused him to stagger backwards a couple steps. "Show us the power you used to beat them. We were told you had a... unique ability."
"You know," Orion stood, straightening himself, then conjured an Aura sword on his each of his hands. The looked like short swords made of light. "I've been meaning to let loose on you Royals for some time now. I'm going to beat the shit out of you people." He rushed forward, swinging his Aura swords with trained movements.
Though the the Royal was large in size than Orion, his movement were quick and nimble. He dodged a couple of swings before Orion found an opening, cutting through flesh with a downward slash aimed at the right shoulder. The Royal cursed, blood oozing from his shoulder. "You're not-"
Orion didn't let the man finish the sentence. He continued his assault, hacking and slashing at increasing speed. The Royal was forced to use his mechanical arms to block the barrage of swings and slashes. Sparks flew in all directs as blade met metal and though the Royal's defense seemed strong, Orion's swordsmanship proved stronger yet, pushing the Royal back. Orion finished his sword dance with a strong kick to the Royal's chest, sending the man stumbling against tables and chairs.
"He lied!" One of the two Royals standing by the exit said. It was the female. "He's not William."
"I know." The Royal fighting Orion said, using his extra arms to stead himself. "Don't matter now. We'll come back again another day." He looked at Orion and grinned. "But before that, I'm going to enjoy beating this fucker."
"Need assistance?" His companion asked. "He looks like he can fight and his ability seems dangerous."
"It resembles Wren's, don't it?" The other one said.
William had heard that name before. Wasn't he the Royal Elite with the ability to conjure animals made of Aura?
Orion pushed some chairs and tables aside, opening up some space, then looked at his opponent. "You sure you don't want help from your buddies?"
"After I'm done with you, I'm taking you to the Lord Ruler." The Royal released a barrage of long distance thrusts using his mechanical arms. Orion dodged and parried effortlessly. During one of his dodges he rammed one of his sword through a mechanical arm, pinning it to the ground.
Good idea, William thought.
Orion continued his movement, taking advantage of the Royal's struggle to break it free, and pinned another one of the mechanical arms down. He ended it with another hard kick to he Royal's chest. This one knocked the big man down on the floor. Another sword appeared in Orion's hand as he approached the defeated Royal
"Leave my establishment, now." Orion said, the tip of his sword touching the Royal's neck. "Or I'll be forced to do something I've always wanted to try."
"Watch out!" William yelled, warning Orion of the golden plated armor wielding a greatsword rushing him.
Orion jumped back, narrowly dodging the downward swing. The greatsword sank into the concrete floor with a loud clang. "What's this? I thought you said you could take me on your own." Orion said.
William noticed that the Royal who had conjured the golden plated armor was still standing by the exit, her hands moving like one would to make a marionette puppet move. She was controlling the plate armour.
The Royal that Orion had defeated managed to free his machinal arms from the ground, causing the swords to vanish in a puff of smoke, and stand. He clearly wasn't too happy about having been bested. "Fuck it. Lets take this fucker down, Hera."
Both Royals, or rather, one Royal and a plate armor puppeteered by the female Royal, rushed. They attacked Orion from two sides, mechanical arms from one, greatsword swings from another.
Orion was a strong fighter, using his ability to conjure both swords and shields when needed, but it was clear that he was at a disadvantage fighting two opponents at once, especially when one of those opponents could strike from almost any direction. No matter how you looked at it, Orion was going to lose. He dodged a downward swing from the greatsword which split a table clean in two which was followed by a mechanical arm aiming for his ribs. The arm slipped through his defenses, drawing blood. Orion fell on his knees, hand on his wound, and cursed in pain.
William watched with rising anger as the Royal lifted Orion by the neck with one of his mechanical arms and proceeded to punch him with the others. If it wasn't for the innate endurance effect provided by Aura, Orion would've lost conscious by now. Probably died too.
It took William a great deal of willpower to hold himself back, telling himself that eventually the Royals would leave. That willpower was fading quickly.
The Royal stopped the beating after Orion's face was red with bruises and bleeding from cracked skin. "How about instead of taking you the Lord Ruler, we make a deal." The Royal dropped Orion. Thud. "You must know who this William guy is. You tell us who he is and how to find him and I'll leave you in peace for... Let's say a few months? A year? What do you say?"
"I.. I'm...William..." Orion said through haggard breaths.
The Royal 'tsked' and shook his head. "Protecting the guy until the bitter end. Admirable, but mistaken." He raised a mechanical arm for a final blow when-
"Stop!" William yelled. "It's me." He waited until all three Royals were looking at him before continuing. "I'm William Dia." He copied the Royal's ability, feeling his own Aura swell with power and conjured four mechanical arms of his own from his back.
The Royal smiled. "Ah... There you are."
"...what?" Orion stood on shaking feet, leaning on a table for support. "Will, your... ability?"
"So it's true." Though the Royal was clearly surprised by what he saw, he wasn't as shock as the Elite with electricity that William had fought that night. These men had been told about William's ability it seems.
The Royal continued. "You really CAN copy other abilities."
"Seems you know what I can do." William said, holding back his anger and impulse to fight. Maybe he could scare them off. "And now you've see my face and got what you wanted. So I'll give you the chance to go now and leave at that. Because unless Lord Ruler himself decide to come face me, Royals don't stand a chance at beating me."
"Cocky bastard, ain't he?" The female Royal said, her conjured plate armor standing beside her. It didn't look like she had any fighting skills and relied on her ability to do the dirty work.
"If you fight me, you'll lose." William warned. "Unless you have a way to stop me, leave. Last warning."
The Royal with the mechanical arms let out a laugh. "This motherfucker. His ego..." His laugh stopped suddenly, throwing a barrage of whipping strikes. Metal met metal as William mirrored the move. Tables, chairs caught between the two shattered into pieces.
"Not bad." The Royal said.
William didn't feel like talking. He copied Orion's ability, augmenting his Aura even further and feeling the surge of power within him swell. He conjured a spear made of Aura, it materialized in his hands like solid smoke. Using the metal arms as distraction by clashing against the Royal's own, he thrust the spear and felt it sink into flesh. The Royal gasp, looking down at the wound on the side of his stomach.
William noticed the plate armor approach from the side. It swung its greatsword down at him. He dodged and followed the move by conjuring a two-handed hammer using Orion's ability and bashing the plate armors' helm.
It didn't work.
The armor wasn't a person. Unhindered by William's blow, the armor began to swing wildly, slicing through tables and chairs like butter. William released the Aura hammer, it dispersed in a puff of smoke, and conjured a shield instead for blocking. All that did was put him in the defensive, all the while keeping an eye of for mechanical arms trying to grab him. He needed a change in tactic. or better yet...
He copied the female Royal's ability, and conjured a plate armor of his own. It turned out that the finger movement he saw her making earlier wasn't all necessary for controlling the armor's movement, though it did prove more difficult. He found he control the armor's movement with his thoughts alone by envisioning in his mind what he wanted the armor to do, though that made it slower and weaker than the Royal's. Still, that was enough for what he needed it for, which was to ram it into the Royal's.
The clash sent them both sprawling across the bar, barreling through the counter which crumbled from their weight.
"This guy's a monster." The third Royal, who had been watching the whole thing quitely, said. "Elek wasn't exaggerating. I'm getting the hell out of here." He opened the door behind him and rushed out of the bar.
No!
William pressed his attack with increasing strength and speed, finishing off the Royal with mechanical arms by doing what Orion did; Pinning the appendages to the ground and bashing the mans chest with a conjured greathammer. Bones cracked and broke, beneath the hammer's weight.
The female Royal froze after watching her companion be brutally beaten. Her expression was that of shock and fear. William barely had to do much to knock her out.
The last Royal was already in the air, when William ran outside. He copied the man's ability, which was flight, and took pursuit immediately, launching himself into the air. He ignored the gasps and looks of surprise from onlookers, a few of which no doubt had been at the bar earlier and knowing what was going to take place had decided to remain and hide while recording the fight inside to later give to the Royals for reward money. At times, William found it difficult to sympathise with these people.
He continued the chase through the air, the Royal flying with practiced movement over houses and building. The further from the bar they flew, the harder it became to hold his other copied ability. The mechanical arms went first, disappearing from his back. That was followed by the female Royal's ability, though all he felt here was her Auras' presence disappear from his.
Before losing Orion's ability he conjured one last spear and threw it as hard as he could at the fleeing Royal, hoping...
His aim was true; the spear caught the Royal by the arm before disappearing, along with Orion's ability. Still, the spear did it's job and William managed catch up, grabbing the Royal from behind in tight lock.
"Who sent you?" It was an unnecessary question really, since the obvious guess was the Lord Ruler, but he wanted to hear it out loud. "How did you know where to find me?"
"I can't say."
Can't say that the Lord Ruler sent you? William thought. Odd response, but it didn't matter. "Then I guess there's not much to talk about. Brace yourself, this is going to hurt-"
"No-no no no, wait wait. Please."
William stopped, though said nothing. He honestly didn't care what the Royal had to say. But there was one thing he wanted.
The Royal realized William wasn't going to say anything and continued; "I- I can't tell you who sent us, but I can answer the other question."
"Go on then."
"A few of the of the higher ups in Imperium saw your video. The fight between you and Elek."
"If they, whoever they are, already knew what I could do, why send you three? Why not at least bring more of you, or did 'they' expected that three would be enough?"
"N-n- no, of course not. We three were simply sent to- to test your ability." The Royal said, voice shaking. "To see what you were capable of. Learn your limitations. Th- that's all I know, I swear. Please, just let me go."
"Oh, I will. But before that I'll have you deliver a warning." William started to rise, flying higher and high until he was close enough to the dome's threshold that he could stretch his arm out and tough it. "Tell whoever they are that this is what I intend to do every time they send Royals against me or my friends."
"H- hey man w- what are you doing?"
"Dropping you."
William dived, descending, the ground zooming with increasing speed. "See that car?" The car was getting closer and closer, faster and faster. "It's going to hurt." He halted feets before hitting it while while at the same time pushing the Royal down.
Bang!
The Royal crashed onto its roof, smashing it and setting off the alarm. He'll survive. The Aura's innate effect to provide endurance beyond human limit would keep the man from death, but the impact will hurt. A lot. He sighed, still hover in the air, and looked up at the night sky. The second moon Lunam stared down at him judgingly, burning with it's golden and lightless fire. "Royals don't deserve mercy."
William landed on the sidewalk, how far was he from the Clam? He pulled out his phone from his pocket and called his friend. "Hey."
"Hey." Orion said.
Silence.
The silence felt understandably awkward. Orion had just revealing his ability to William believing that William didn't know about it and William had just revealed that his ability wasn't just a copy of his sister's.
"So..." William cleared his throat. "Can you come pick me up? I'm at 57 street and 29 Ave."
"Yeah, sure. Be there in fifteen." After what felt like an awkward pause, Orion added; "You've got some explaining to do, you know that right?"
William nodded, though he knew the gesture was pointless when Orion couldn't see it. "Yeah, I know. I'll answer all your questions over drinks at the usual place. How's that sound?"
"Sounds reasonable."