Chương 4: Chapter 4: Master Mike

An asian looking young man stood near a a hallway with a backpack full of something and a massive axe holstered between his back and backpack. With him stood a very visually nervous american. The kid looked at the young man and asked "So, why are you here?"

The sudden question snapped Hughie back to reality, as he looked towards Mike and said "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Mike rolled his eyes "What you daydreaming about? You miss your girl or something?" Hughie's eyes dilated and it felt as if the world around him collapsed. He went into a state of shock and stared off into the void. The memories of how a certain black super ran through a girl. 'I can't stop. I can't stop. Can't stop!' . He balled hist fists and could swear he still could feel the sensation of clutching her bodiless arms.

"Hughie? Hughie!"

Mike shook Hughie's shoulder a bit and clarity seemed to have returned to his eyes. Mike pat Hughie on his shoulder and sighed "My condolences. I don't know about your life or how it happened, but it will be alright."

Hughie nodded and said "Ah, yeah, thanks. I'm just, you know... I... I watched one of you run through my girlfriend. It was... Painful. The worst part, I couldn't even get one fucking apology for what he did!"

Mike sighed and gave Hughie a tight hug "Don't worry about it, we'll get that bastard and I promise you, you will be the one to land the final blow on the filth."

Hughie returned the hug and said only a single word "Thanks."

Mike patted his back and comforted the young man, while internally he was remembering his wife, Curro. *I'll be back* He glanced at his backpack and sighed.

The beacon he had brought to connect the two worlds together was nonfunctional. Not even because of some error on his friends and teams end. The reason it doesn't work, is that his teleportation device worked too well.

The original goal of the teleporter was to connect to either the hell world or one of the sub dimensions where the elementals lived. Deus's invention worked too well and transported him to a whole different world, so the beacon doesn't have enough range to connect to something. To establish a connection portal, he will have to increase the beacon's strength or wait even longer for his team to gather even more resources and open a new gateway to retrieve him.

He sighed and watched the corridor as Butcher walked out and said "Alright, the invisible cunt just spilled some big beans. Before we get going." Butcher smiled and turned towards Mike "Now, you wouldn't happen to be a bit bloodthirsty, kiddo?"

Mike smiled and said "I may look young, but I am anything but. About killing him? I think Hughie here should be the one to kill him."

The three of them looked at Mike with a confused expression. Frenchie asked "But how will Petit Hughie kill him? Even you, petit Mike, couldn't?"

Mike looked at Frenchie and said "Say, do you guys have tortoises in this world?" Frenchie nodded his head twice and waited for Mike to continued. "That will make my explanation way easier. People who are injected nanites, or Vought in this case, gain super powers, that are centralised. The guy's power is carbon skin, so he has skin as tough as diamond, like a tortoise shell, meaning..."

Frenchie's eyes widened "His, his insides are like anyone's, soft and squishy."

Mike nodded and continued "Put a bomb in his mouth or something and have Hughie blow him up."

Hughie opened his eyes and looked at Mike. "What? Me?! I-I can't do that! I can't kill him!" Mike turned towards Hughie and said "Hughie, you are going to become my apprentice and I am going to teach you how to use a combat art, like I did. You have an affinity with one of the classes I know. I can guide you and help you achieve your revenge. All I ask, is that you say 'yes'... and kill Translucent."

"You can teach me how to be as strong as you?" Mike smiled and said "My power is... Unlike many others. Reaching my level is unrealistic, as I personally set the bar, but with your affinity, rank 50 is guaranteed. Hell, you might even be a full 100 for all I know?"

Butcher looked at Mike and asked "Alright, what bout us? What rank we two at?" Mike looked over at Butcher and said "You're a wayfarer, a special case. You can learn most basics, but any effort you put into learning advanced techniques will be worthless. Frenchie is a mystery to me. I'd go with a generic super soldier, but I'd need to cook him up a special drug for that and I doubt you have the required herbs on this planet, considering the whole 'no classes' thing."

Butcher nodded and clappedp "Well, you heard what the alien said." Butcher turned towards Frenchie and said "Frenchie" He turned to Hughie "Hughie. Time to blow up a supe."

Hughie looked at Mike with pleading eyes and he sighed "Look, Hughie, I was once in your situation, a naive man, who couldn't ever imagine killing another. Hell, I even nursed one guy, who tried to kill me and let him go, only for him to return said gratitude with a knife and a club. Even then, I still didn't kill him, I didn't help him survive, but neither did I end his survival. Until a certain piece of shit turned up at my doorstep When I was 14. He was like that translucent guy of yours, a nanite enhanced, ones we call ancients. The fucker could breathe fire."

The look of anger was unmistakable, as even the room temperature dropped by a few Celsius. Mike pointed at his right eye and opened both of them wide for everyone to see. It was miniscule, but the difference was there, his right eye was still black, but you could vaguely see dark brown, while his left eye was just black. "He burned my right eye directly out of my fucking socket! The first man I ever killed with my own hands."

A grim smirk appeared on his face as he continued "Eye-ronically enough, he was a perfect match to be an organ donor for me. That's where I got THIS eye from."

The boys stared at the young man and winced at his story. Even Butcher felt bad for him. Getting a third degree burn is bad enough, but having your eye melted directly out of your socket is a pain not even he can imagine.

Mike turned towards his apprentice with a gentle expression "Hughie, there comes a point in someone's life when they have to make a choice. Now is your turn. Kill a filthy mongrel, who sold away his humanity. Someone, who will do what those bastards did to me without hesitation over a thousand times! Or you can stay clean, go back, forget about the speedster and walk away. Continue living with your dad and mom your peaceful, but never completely safe life. What do you choose?"

Time seemed to have stopped, as Hughie stared at the kind expression on Mike's face. He seemed to genuinely mean what he said. *He is right. If I can't kill a monster, who even tried to kill me, then how will I avenge Robin? I'm just a guy, who does cables. My enemies are superpowered monsters, who turn humans into a blood splatter on the sidewalk.

I can learn how to fight, make myself stronger! learn how to fight for those, who can't defend themselves, I can become a true hero! But, can I really kill a man? No, that's not me. I... I can't.*

Hughie looked up at mike with a saddened expression. Even with all the grandiose he imagined for himself, he still couldn't bring himself to do it. Killing someone is not something he can see himself doing. *I just want to go back home to my dad.*

With his mind made up, he looked towards Mike, ready yo say no to the proposal, but when he looked up, he couldn't help but stiffen up, his eyes glued to a certain spot. *Robin!*

The love of his life stood before him. Her hands nowhere to be seen and she was bleeding from her wrists. She raised her hands upwards and the scene repeated itself again. She exploded into a gory mess once again. Hughie stared for a minute and didn't move. His heart rate was ever increasing.

Mike snapped his fingers and brought Hughie out of his trance "What's your choice, Hughie?" Mike smiled as he looked into Hughie's eyes and saw it, the wrath in it and the wish to unleash it *He will make a splendid death knight!*

"Frenchie, I'm coming with you!"

Mike's smile widened and he said "Good choice, Hughie. And Butcher, I'll teach you the basics of Wayfaring. At least you will be able to resist an attack from a gun."

Butcher nodded "Alright teach, when do I begin?"