Mismatched Eyes part 2

After the briefing, the two operatives, Felix and Maria readied their gear. With briefcase in hand, they stepped outside to the wide blue skies. A gust of winded greeted them from the black jet parked and waiting for their arrival.

They settled into their blue leather seats across from one another, without saying a word.

With hours still left before they could reach their destination, the silence stretched. Felix opened his briefcase and examined his gear. Inside was a radio, firearms and ammunition, documents, a data storage device and other tools.

He pulled out a box-shaped firearm, cobalt in color, sleek grid of glassy black squares on top and deep blue ornamental patterns etched into the sides.

Maria saw her reflection in the weapon’s dark, glossy surface, and with an awkward expression, broke the silence, “Soooo, anything on your mind?”

“I’m thinking of how to infiltrate the building. According to this, there’s only one entrance, so getting in is going to be tricky—” He responded blankly, still focused on the weapon.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Ah, then what?” Felix awkwardly smiled.

“I was thinking more like... talking about things other than the mission.”

“Oh, why?”

“Like the chief said, we should get to know each other. Build trust, y’know?”

“Um…” Clueless and put on the spot, he placed the cobalt-colored gun atop a black case and put his thumb against his chin.

“Oh god, what have they done to you?” She blurted out.

“I’ve never really done this before, so this is all rather new to me.”

“That’s not inspiring confidence in me.”

“Don’t worry. Rest assured; I’ll protect you.” Felix answered.

A sudden ding sounded, grabbing both of their attention. A flight attendant approached, holding a pen and paper in hand.

With a polite smile, she asked, “Mister Aster, Miss Readman, what would you like today?”

“Mimosa!” Maria spoke with excitement.

“Coffee, two creams, three sugars.” He said.

“Understood, your orders will arrive momentarily.” The attendant responded with a polite smile before leaving.

“Being intoxicated isn’t good for the mission.” Felix scolded.

“Nah, it’ll be fine. We’ve got a few hours.” She dismissively waved it off, only for her to point her finger at him, “As for you, that’s your third cup of coffee in the past hour.”

“Fourth, actually.” .

“I know you’re ‘superhuman’, but isn’t that a taaad bit too much?”

“We’re not exactly normal people anymore. I’ll be fine.” Felix gulped down the last bit from his cup.

“…I don’t know how to respond to that. Still, two creams and three sugars? Didn’t expect you to have a sweet tooth.” Her lips stretched slightly while her eyebrows curled.

The young man tilted his head for a moment and answered, “Mhm, it’s how my mentor used to make it. Guess it just stuck.”

“Hoh?” Her curiosity piqued, “Must’ve been something you picked up from him.”

“Her, actually. It’s probably the first thing she taught me.”

“I see, so are you two close?”

“Yeah, we— were...” For a brief moment, his eyes light up before solemnly lowering his head.

“Were? Oh…oh, sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” She spoke in a way that sounded like an apology, twiddling with her fingers.

“It’s fine… it’s been a few years so I’ve moved past it.”

“I see…probably not the best topic.” Her head tilted her head towards the ceiling. It was difficult for her to find something to talk about, “What else can we talk about?”

He looked down to the table and asked, “Um…Do you like coffee?”

“I don’t dislike it… what about you, anything you like?”

“Co—”

“Other than coffee, I mean?” She dismissed him before he could even finish.

Felix went silent and pressed his thumb against his chin as he thought deeply.

Maria’s expression turned to stale annoyance, “When I heard that I was going to work with the ‘Child of Stars’. I felt a little excited, but now…”

“Excuse me for disappointing you.” He snidely replied, his eyebrows furrowing as he followed, “Also don’t call me that.”

“Sorry, it’s just… I wanted to see someone who was irreplaceable.” She looked to the window, staring distantly.

“…Define irreplaceable?”

“Hmm…” She placed her finger against her chip, “Someone at the top, I guess?”

“At the top, huh? I’m not even in the top ten yet.”

“Then someone like the so-called first enhanced human.”

Felix let out an exasperated sigh, “Give me a break. The whole point of resuming the project is to turn more people like me.”

“Right, right.” She twiddled her fingers. “Curious though, what’s it like having abilities?”

He raised his eyebrows and asked, “You can’t use it?”

Maria shrugged.

“Oh right… Stage one… Baseline enhanced human.” He muttered.

“As much as I’d love to have glowing eyes, after what I went through… I’m not sure orange is really my color.” She let out a dull snicker.

“You could go for blue…” He smirked.

“I like being alive, thank you very much, Mister Masterpiece.” She leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling.

Felix paused and thought to himself;

She’s the sole survivor of her batch.

“Yeah. I completely understand.” His gaze shifted towards the table, recollecting his own hazy experience. “For me it was... it was like…”

Nothing was coming back to him, nothing specific.

But as he forced his mind to bring it back to the surface, vague, fragmented recollections came crashing in.

His hands grabbing on to cold-iron bars in the darkness.

Followed by the sight of a burning, golden sphere, right in front of him.

And then a yellow flash, and the sight of a severed hand covered in rubble, reaching for the sky, as shafts of sunlight pierced through sifting dust and crumbling, gray ruins.

“Are… you okay?” Maria’s voice pulled him back to the present.

With a sharp gasp, Felix snapped out of it.

He looked up with a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek, his eyes met with Maria’s concerned gaze — her irises were pitch black — as she stood in front of him with her hand on his shoulder.

“Ah, yeah… I’m fine.” He nodded, closing his eyes tight for a second.

She took her hand off his shoulder and sat back down.

“Your question... what it’s like having abilities, right?”

“Yuh-huh”

“It feels… hot, like your skin is burning. It feels like electricity is coursing through you. I’d show you what it’s like, but…” He opened his palm, hoping for something to happen. But looking at his empty hand was all she needed, and understood immediately.

“Ah… I see.”

“Yeah… we’re in the same boat.” He lamented.

“You’ll figure it out. You kinda have to if you want to be rank one, at least, according to Chief. Why do you want to be rank one, anyway?”

“It’s only natural for the strongest to want to be number one, right?”

“… In our line of work where we risk our constantly lives? I don’t think there’s a point. Come on, tell me the real reason.” She prodded.

Felix scratched his cheek and answered, “Tell you what, if we make it out of this alive, I’ll give you the answer.”

“I could wait a couple hours…” Maria tilted her head with a playful smirk, “Still, anything but rank thirteen would feel out of place for the Black Cat of Ruin.”

“Again, not my official code name.” He reiterated.

“Ah, then what is?”

“I… actually haven’t registered one yet.”

“We’re gonna have to fix that. We can’t just call you Felix in the field, can we?”

“... I’ll come up with something.”

“Alright then, Mister Rank Thirteenth of the Twelve Organizations Alliance…” She rolled her eyes. “If I’m not mistaken, you were put into the top twenty, not because of your proficiency, but because of your potential.”

“How do you know that?”

“Chief did say you’ve only dealt with simulation battles so far. The more merits you raked in, the higher your rank, right? Wasn’t hard to deduce.” She then leaned forward, “It begs the question… what have you achieved? How many missions have you actually been on? Your privileged position probably pisses off the more accomplished operatives.”

He leaned back in response, pressing his head against the leather as he looked at the ceiling, “... For the most part, I’ve only ever went as back-up to learn the ropes. My first and only solo mission so far was almost ten years ago. On the mountain during a blizzard…”

“So they threw you to the wolves just to see if you’d survive. Seems counter-intuitive, considering how much they’ve invested in you.” She tilted her head.

“… Not exactly. My mentor told me that there was another agent inside the villa that day.” He smirked, “There was no chance they would leave the life of a CEO in the hands of a thirteen year old boy. So they had someone else was supposed to do the real mission while I was expected to runaway at the sight of the blizzard.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I almost did…” The face of the heiress flashed in his mind, her frozen fright. His eyes narrowed, “But I knew that I couldn’t let her get killed.”

“Her?” She smiled warmly, “And you succeeded?”

“Just barely. I nearly died in that blizzard. Which is why I haven’t been allowed to go on missions on my own.” He admitted with a dry laugh.

“So they kept coddling you, not willing to risk losing their most valuable asset.” Her voice trailed off.

With a smug grin, Felix shrugged, “Still, me being the thirteenth strongest in the world doesn’t sound too far-fetched, does it?”

She exhaled deeply, leaning forward, “Only if you lived in the twelve agencies’ bubble. The world is a big place — full of mechanical menaces, and walking weapons covered in exoskeletons. There are monsters out there.”

“Monsters…” He echoed, his eyebrows furrowing curiously, “Like the Jackal?”

“I guess but…” She chuckled, her tone turning frigid, “I highly doubt a little terrorist is the most dangerous person in the world.”

Nervously, Felix muttered out word by word, “He’s probably not… But he should definitely be taken care of soon.”

“Mhm, he really should.” She showed a poppy smile before glancing to the side with a satisfied expression.

“I’m surprised you’re not one of the survivors looking for revenge.”

“Do you get those often?”

“A lot, actually…” He answered weakly.

“Well, rest assured, I have no vendetta against the faceless terrorist…” She shrugged, her voice growing cold, “I have other plans.”

A chill crawled down his spine as she uttered those words. The warm feeling evaporated.

There was suddenly a suffocating tension in the air.

I only noticed this now, but her eyes are almost pitch-black. Unnaturally so. They clearly shined, but they were glassy. Like the way they reflected light was artificial. The darkness within them were like long stretches of abyss that did not appear to end.

The attendant returned with both drinks in a tray, “Mister Aster, Miss Readman, your drinks.”

“Thanks!”
“Th-thank you…”

After placing the drinks on their table, the flight attendant left as soon as she came, and a feeling of discomfort lingered in the air.

“I may have spilled too much spaghetti.”

“Huh?”

“Sorry, I just let my thoughts slip out, forget I said that!” She recklessly tried to make the unpleasant atmosphere fade with an awkward smile.

“R-right…”

She sipped her drink, “As long as you’re around, what do I have to worry about?” She smiled brightly.

He smiled, nodding along.

Maria then stared out the window, Felix finished his coffee and resumed looking over his equipment.

Irreplaceable, huh?

With nothing left to say, the silence persisted for the rest of the trip.

After looking through the documents one last time, Felix leaned against his chair, and closed his eyes, waiting for the feeling of unease to fade.

The plane descended slowly, cutting through the night air as it approached their destination. The hum of the engines was the only sound filling the cabin.

“Felix?” Maria called out. The agent slowly opened his eyes, barely rested, “We’re here. Are you ready?” She asked.

Clutching his shirt, he glanced out the window and saw the darkness of the night, “Yeah… I’m ready.”

The plane landed in a clearing just outside the city.

Maria stepped down and stretched out her arms, dressed in a black cat suit, adorned with an array of belts and straps that carried her limited equipment.

Outside was a dense woodland.

Felix set his iron-soled boots on the ground and took a deep inhale. The air was thick and hazy, and explosions could barely be heard from the distance.

Nearly his entire body had been covered in a thick black trench coat that was left open in the middle, on his collar was a strip of metal with both points shaped like arrows.

The faint blue light from his left eye stood out in the evening darkness.

With a weak voice, he muttered, “China…”

His eyes narrowed, and his fist tightened. The cool evening air filled his lungs.

They marched through the thicket, the sounds of the city grew louder with every step forward.

As an alleyway came into view, Felix crouched behind the bushes, scanning the shadows. But he was caught off-guard by how Maria pulled out a grappling hook, swiftly swinging through the buildings.

Felix blinked, then followed. He quickly climbed through the old windows and crevices. When he made it up the building, a Chinese dragon kite flew overhead, pulled by a drone.

The dusk sky was filled with excitement and color, as the loud sound of bangs, clangs and crackles could clearly be caught in every direction.

“A festival?” He asked as the flurry of lights reflected in his eyes, “Enjoying the fireworks?”

He looked at her, the wind brushing her hair.

“Well… ” She responded vaguely, pointing forward.

The whereabouts of their targets were supposedly unknown, but standing atop the buildings, it did not take long for them to discover what they were looking for.

In the center of the excitement stood a wide, twenty-story office building. At its front was a tall metal gate with only one entrance. Though the town had buildings, none came close to as tall or as gaudy as the one in the center.

“Now why would a skyscraper need a guarded gate?” She asked.

He glanced over to her and replied, “Unless they’re hiding something worth protecting.”

They exchanged smirks before jumping off and moving on ahead.

Lanterns swayed above, while banners fluttered in the breeze. Both of them walked through the streets, their dark outfits sticking out like a sore thumb, while everyone in the crowd dressed in vibrant red and gold, with minor tinges of jade-green. Some of them even wearing decorative masks lined with yellow markings.

Maria walked with a lackadaisical smile, humming. Felix walked slowly behind her, his eyes scanned the surrounding stalls. Several of the stands had logos of Golden Lion Pharmaceuticals, as well as the other organizations from the alliance — all of them vandalized and covered with trash.

Rows of food stalls lined the streets as the two walked through the crowds, only to stop at a particularly small stall with a red bird standing on two intersecting arrows shaped like an ‘x’.

Felix knocked on the wooden counter, “Excuse me.”

The man inside the stall glanced at the two agents, hanging on the walls were festival masks, trinkets and other knick-knacks, “Anything you like, anything you see, all only a hundred.”

“You’re a robin, right?” Felix asked, “We’re from the agency.”

“We need the word, word bird.” Maria added.

The man turned around and with a grumpy tone replied, “There’re a lot of agencies.”

Felix pulled out from his pocket a small golden pin with a lion and symbols engraved. “Felix Aster, and this is Venom Vanguard.”

She nudged his ribs, “I told you to use V.V.”

“Right… V.V.”

“Golden Lion, huh? I take it you two wanna get in that big building over there?” The man responded as he pointed towards the structure with his chin.

“How’d you know?” Maria asked.

“Another Elite Agent came by earlier, lookin’ for a way in, same as you. Requested me to scout the area. Left a while ago after I told ‘em there was no other way in.”

“From which organization?”

“Confidential, but not Golden Lion. Looks like you’re both on the same mission. Tough luck, place is crawling with guards. Can’t even see it from above. They shoot down my surveillance drones whenever they get too close.”

“Is that so?”

“You’d think the mafia would be more reclusive.” Maria expressed her disbelief as she looked at the building.

The robin scratched his chin, “It got renovated just a month ago. According to sources, it was funded by some corrupt politician who wanted to line his pockets. Made it bigger and faster, with cheaper materials. As if this country wasn’t already full of ghost towns.”

“Thanks for the info.”

“Before you go, care for a mask? Only a hundred.”

“No thank you.”

“Then, how about taking these with you? On the house.” He said, reaching out to give him a pair of sunglasses.

“What? Why?”

“Might want to hide those eyes of yours, Black Cat. You’re already dressed in all black, might as well complete the set.”

“You know who I am?”

“Black hair, glowing blue eye. Wasn’t too sure at first, but once you showed me your badge, well, I didn’t need an introduction. Word goes around in the Robin Network. Anyways, better to be safe than sorry.”

“Thanks.” Felix answered as he took it.

“Got anything for me?” Maria perked up excitedly.

“All out of freebies, I’m afraid.” The robin shrugged.

Maria waved goodbye to the old merchant and followed Felix. As he put it on the sunglasses, he saw the red dot flickering in the distance. The private jet has left. From this point onward, they were on their own.

~