Under the puzzled gazes of John Wick and Lao Ma, Ted walked towards the window.
"Ted, this is the 5th floor. You don't plan to jump, do you?" Lao Ma asked in shock.
"The elevator's too slow. I can't let them wreck my place, even a little." Ted said, then leaped straight out the fifth-floor window.
As Ted neared the ground, he wrapped his feet in chaos magic. His feet glowed slightly red, slowing his descent until he landed gently. Ted could have jumped down without a second thought, given his self-healing factor, which would let him survive a jump from even the 20th floor. But he preferred not to make noise and disturb the neighbors.
"Damn it, there's a Superman down there," a sniper cursed, peering through his scope.
John Wick and Lao Ma hurried to the window and looked down. Ted had landed smoothly, without a scratch or sound.
The two exchanged glances of disbelief. Even as experienced killers, they had never witnessed anything like this.
If Ted could read their minds, he would've brushed it off, calling them amateurs. He rarely used his superpowers to avoid unnecessary trouble, but after meeting Tony Stark, Ted realized the age of superheroes was dawning. The future belonged to beings like Thor and the Hulk. Ordinary people, like Hawkeye, would be lucky just to scrape by. Ted wasn't going to play that small game.
Five gunmen appeared, aiming at Ted as soon as he landed. They pulled the trigger, unleashing a rain of bullets.
Ted glanced behind him and noticed the restaurant door. "Damn it," he muttered, then waved his hand. Red light shot from his fingertips toward the bullets. The moment they were touched by the red light, the bullets lost their power, falling harmlessly to the ground.
The assassins paused for a second, stunned, but then resumed shooting. One of them pulled out an RPG from somewhere.
With a bang, the RPG launched toward Ted.
Ted swiftly waved his left hand, encasing the RPG in red energy, sending it soaring into the sky.
While Ted was focused on his chaos magic, a sniper's Barrett bullet rocketed toward his head.
In an instant, it was about to strike Ted's skull.
"Quite the team you've got," Ted remarked, unfazed as the bullet neared him.
His eyes glowed red, and the bullet immediately reversed direction, speeding back toward the sniper.
As the RPG exploded in the sky, the five gunmen and sniper fell to the ground, struck down by their own bullets.
"Dad, look! Fireworks!" A child pointed from a nearby window as she watched the RPG explosion.
With the assassins dead, the street fell quiet, though the residents of Hell's Kitchen had clearly noticed the skirmish. Unlike most places, where people might be terrified, Hell's Kitchen was used to this kind of chaos. The locals, hardened by their environment, watched the spectacle with curiosity rather than fear.
Just as more gunmen in suits arrived to back up their fallen comrades, one of them accidentally shot at a BMW parked nearby.
A tattooed man watching from a window yelled angrily, "That's the car I just stole, you idiots!"
In response, the killer fired back at him, warning him to shut up.
The bullet missed the man, who was now furious.
"You've messed with the wrong people!" he bellowed, pulling out an RPG and aiming it at the suited gunmen, completely unconcerned about the damage firing an RPG indoors would cause to his apartment.
The assassins panicked. Their bulletproof suits were no match for an RPG.
The killers scattered, terrified. Even these seasoned professionals hesitated as they saw the explosion. Hell's Kitchen was a place beyond their worst nightmares.
Who steals a car with an RPG? And in Hell's Kitchen, no less?
Ted laughed as he watched, then turned to survey the scene.
"See? You didn't just mess with me—you messed with the residents of Hell's Kitchen. They're not as forgiving as I am."
As if the RPG was a signal, Hell's Kitchen's residents began firing from their windows with guns of all sizes. Bullets rained down from all directions. Some of the killers had bulletproof suits, but their heads were vulnerable.
Cars sped by, joining the fray. The Marquis's reinforcements were gunned down by the people of Hell's Kitchen before they even reached Ted's block.
Upstairs, John Wick stood stunned by the sight of Hell's Kitchen's residents driving the killers away.
"Are the customs here always this wild and… efficient?" John Wick asked Lao Ma, who seemed unfazed.
"What do you mean 'here'? This is our Hell's Kitchen. If you're in Hell's Kitchen, you're one of us. What, you plan on leaving after we helped you?" Lao Ma smiled knowingly, understanding Ted's desire to make John Wick part of their world. Lao Ma himself had grown attached to Hell's Kitchen after living here for a few years, and he was excited to see the changes Ted could bring.
John Wick didn't respond, just smiled and watched as the chaos below unfolded. It seemed like he might just belong in Hell's Kitchen after all.
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Thanks Joe Thigpen for your support, he's my first supporter so this extra chapter is because of him.
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