Revenant

When I wake up the first thing I feel is the aching of my entire body. I can barely move so I look around to figure out where I am. The last thing I remember is getting pulled into a helicopter after a building collapsed on top of me. The Deviant Killer! Where the hell is he? Have I finally been caught by The Government? Am I on my way to be executed right now? I start to frantically start to look around for a way to escape out of this helicopter. When I try to pick myself up I find that I've been strapped down to a chair. After realizing this my anxiety and fear start to pick up even more as the silhouette of a man appears from the darkness.

"You get the hell away from me you bastard! I'll rip your head off if you come any closer!" I yell at the man.

"Glad to see that you're awake and so full of energy Hiroshi. My name is Jo. Jo Juzo. Nice to meet you." He says holding his hand out to me.

I look down at my restraints and back up at him.

"You're joking right now right?" I ask him. I try to break free again but it's no use.

"Oh yeah. My apologies we decided that the best way to get you to calm down was to restrain you until we had a chance to talk to you." Jo says to me.

"We? Who are you talking about? Who else is working with you?" I ask him. Jo starts to laugh after I say that.

"Oh, excuse me where are my manners. I would like you to meet my associates. Eden, Kevin, meet Hiroshi; The Hybrid Killer." Jo says as two more people emerge from the shadows.

"Hiroshi. I introduce to you the two top members of the organization that I created. An organization that I founded to right the wrongs of this society. One that I'm positive will bring about change to this crooked and corrupt world. We are members of Revenant, and as the leader, I would like to ask you personally to join our group." Jo says holding his hand out to me.

"Once again. I can't move. If this is your sales pitch to me you aren't getting off to a good start here." I spit at him. "How about we start over after you take these restraints off of me."

"Jo. I don't trust this guy. I don't care if he really is the Hybrid Killer. I really don't think it would be smart to work with someone like him." The one Jo calls Eden says to him. "He doesn't even seem like the type that works well with others. I mean if he hasn't joined some sort of gang by now, why would he join ours now all of a sudden?"

Jo remains silent for a little while, he takes in what Eden said to him before he makes a decision.

"Kevin. Release him. I trust that Hiroshi here will make the right decision here." Jo says. I can tell from the tone in his voice that he isn't trying to threaten or intimidate me. The way he's saying it it's almost like he's placing his complete trust in me.

"Sir. Are you sure about this? We still aren't sure of his intentions. If he is who you say he is then he's a danger to everyone on this planet right now." Kevin says to him. Jo turns to face Kevin and he immediately backs down.

"Believe me. Everything will be fine okay? You can release him." Jo says. Kevin nods and with a wave of his hand, all of the restraints are immediately taken off of me.

I jump out of the chair and everyone except for Jo tenses up as I quickly look around the helicopter. I can feel the tension in the air start to rise the longer we stare at one another.

"Guys, Guys, Let's calm down," Jo says as he puts both of his hands into the air. Eden's hair flares up and starts to glow a bright red as flames start to radiate from her eyes.

"He's going to attack you, Jo! Can't you feel that murderous aura radiating off of him?!" Eden yells as she points at me. "If we don't get rid of him now he's going to get rid of us! I refuse to let him destroy all of the work that we've put into Revenant!"

"He isn't going to attack anyone unless we attack him first Eden. You need to stand down. Now." He says to her firmly.

"Eden. I think Jo is right. If Hiroshi wanted to kill us, I think he would've by now. Maybe you should stand down. Let Jo talk to him. Please." Kevin says grabbing her by the arm. Eden starts to calm down a bit after that and all of the tension in the air dissipates.

"Eden. I thank you for looking out for me and Revenant, but taking action solely based on fear is not how we do things. We are not The Government. We are not them. We are striving to make the world a better place. I need your help to achieve that, I can not afford to have you losing your cool because you're afraid." Jo says to her. Eden immediately nods to him and she takes a seat next to Kevin.

Wow. The respect those two have for him is remarkable. Just who is this guy really?

"Now, Hiroshi. I apologize on behalf of Eden here. No pun intended but she can get a little hot-headed at times." Jo says laughing. "I can assure you that we have no intention of harming you in any sort of way Hiroshi. I would just like to have a talk with you. That's all I ask."

I look at Jo and then I look at Kevin and Eden. They're both Hybrids. No wonder they were afraid of me. I would be too if I were them. I can't blame them. I look back at Jo and he gives me a warm smile. I can't sense any sort of deceit or ulterior motives coming from this guy. So I give in and I sit down to listen to what he has to say.

"Fine. I'll hear what you have to say to me. You better not waste my time either." I say to him. Jo's eyes light up after I say that.

"That's good to hear Hiroshi. Now let's begin, shall we? Let's start with what Revenant is and the dream that I have attached to it." Jo says as he sits down across from me.

"Is it gonna be a long story?" I ask him.

"It'll be as long as you make it," Jo says to me.

"That's what she said." Kevin spurts out from the back. Jo and he both explode out in laughter as I let out a deep sigh. Jo wipes a tear from his eye as he finally starts to calm down.

"Okay, okay. In all seriousness now. Revenant is an organization that I created to fight against the Government and their discrimination of Deviants. I've sat back for a long time. Over twenty years in fact and I've seen how they treat people just because they're different." Jo says as Eden gives him a cup of tea. He takes a sip of it and he thanks Eden as she bows to him and sits back down.

"You sat back and watched this Government gun down innocent kids and women for twenty plus years and you just now decide to do something?" I ask him. "I've been fighting against the Government ever since I could use my abilities. I saw first hand as a Deviant myself what they do. They have soldiers come in and slaughter the men of a town that make the choice to stand up for themselves and they either rape or kill the women. The kids' man. They would string the kids up if they found out they were Deviants, and if they found out they weren't Deviants and they were Hybrids instead they would take them back with them and train them to kill Deviants themselves."

"I understand all of that Hiroshi. I'm aware of everything that was going on." Jo says to me. "And believe me, every time I stumbled upon a town and I saw the death and devastation that was left it made me angry. Angrier than you could possibly know, and I wanted to fight. I did. But I knew that acting irrationally because of what I felt would not solve anything. So yes. I sat back and I saw everything happen, and no I didn't do anything."

"Why the hell not?!?!" I yell as I quickly stand up. I grab him by his collar and I pull him out of his seat. Kevin and Eden both immediately shoot out of their seats but Jo puts his hand up signifying them to stand down. "Why?? You must be powerful if you have an entire organization following behind you!"

"It wasn't the right time Hiroshi," Jo says as he tears himself from me. "How powerful I am doesn't matter. What would I accomplish if I took on an entire army of soldiers and Hybrids?

"Those people would've lived! That's what would've happened!" I yell at him.

"But at what cost? Why risk the Government coming down on the Deviants harder than they already intend to do in the first place." Jo asks me. "Hiroshi. Revenant has been keeping an eye on you for a while now. We've all seen what you're capable of doing. Where I refuse to spill blood on my hands I know that you're willing to, because even though that I may be angry, I do not have the same experiences as you Hiroshi. I was not there...." Jo trails off as he starts to stare blankly at me. The look he's giving me is almost like he's looking into my mind.

"Jo. You can see into people's heads can't you?" I ask him. Tears start to roll down his face as he looks away from me.

"Hiroshi. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what the Government did to you and your family." He says to me. My mind flashes back to what he's talking about. I can only remember bits and pieces but the one thing that stands out in my mind is seeing my father put his body in between the blade of a knife and my mother who was protecting me. I remember her pushing me away from her into an open door and I just remember running. Running as fast and far as I can away from my home. I had no idea where I was running. I just knew that I needed to get away from there.

I wipe a tear from my eye as Eden and Kevin both look at their feet. Jo looks and he nods him to me.

"Forgive me for doing that without your permission Hiroshi. But I needed to truly experience firsthand why you are the way you are. What happened to you was tragic and no child should ever have to witness anything like that ever." Jo says to me.

"So now you know why I don't sit back and watch people have their lives taken away from them. Now you know why I fight and kill Hybrids Jo." I say to him.

"Yes. I do. But allow me to ask you this. How big of a dent do you think you've made in the Government? Do you think that they even notice their losses? I'm not saying this to deter you from fighting Hiroshi at all. What I want is for you to join us in our fight to take the Government down. That's my goal Hiroshi. I want to make a world where people won't get discriminated against because of their genes, and with you, I know that I can make that a reality." Jo says to me.

"You want me to join you as to what? Your lapdog? I'm not going to work for you if that's what you're trying to imply. I work alone Jo. That's how It's always been. I've survived long without you, and I'll continue to do the same." I say to him as I sit down. "I appreciate you saving me. I do, and I appreciate the offer. But I'm going to have to say-

"Wait. Before you give your answer I just have one more thing to say to you." Jo says. I slump back down in my chair and I allow him to finish speaking.

"If you died today what would you be remembered for?" Jo asks me. Once he asks me that I get hit with a wave of Deja Vu. The Deviant Killer mentioned something like that to me when we were fighting one another. I could never answer that question myself and for some reason, it really irritates me. Just being known as a killer isn't something that I want to be remembered for. I don't want to be the same as those people who kill Deviants. The thought of being in the same category as soldiers or Hybrids makes my skin crawl. So, for the time being, I'll go with this guy and join Revenant.

I look up at Jo for a little bit before I take a deep breath in and out.

"Okay, Jo. I'll join Revenant." I say as I stick my hand out for him to shake. Jo shakes my hand in return and everyone lets out a deep sigh as Jo makes himself another cup of tea.

"Kevin. Give Hiroshi here the papers to sign so that we can get everything underway." Jo says as Kevin pulls some papers and a pen out of his bag.

He hands me the paper and pen and I start to sign my name across the dotted lines.

"What am I signing this for? You're not going to harvest my kidneys or anything while I'm sleeping right?" I ask. Jo starts laughing as I hand him the signed papers.

"Thanks for the idea but no. What you just signed was a contract. One basically saying that you agree to work with us for the next four years. In return, we will give you a paycheck, food to eat, and a place to stay." Jo says as he hands the contract to Kevin. "Don't worry. You aren't trapped in it. You can choose to void your contract at any time and go on about your life without any interference from us. We aren't forcing you to stay here and work with us Hiroshi. We just want to make sure that while you're helping us that you're taken care of."

"So what happens at the end of those four years?" I ask him.

"Two things can happen. You can either leave us and we'll make sure that you and whoever you choose will be taken care of for five years or if you choose to return you are eligible to be promoted to a higher position. Like maybe my second in command if you perform your duties well enough." Jo says to me. "But no need to worry right now. Everything will be explained in greater detail once we reach the headquarters. Now is the time for you to rest Hiroshi. I have a good feeling about you. You're going to help us a lot."

After he says that I can feel myself starting to drift off to sleep. That fight and the shock of thinking that the Government finally caught me drained way more out of me than I had originally thought. So I close my eyes and I allow myself to get a good sleep for the first time in a pretty long time. But this rest doesn't last for too long. What feels like a couple of seconds after I close my eyes I'm being shaken awoke my Jo.

"You slept like a big baby Hiroshi. But the time for rest right now is over. We've arrived at the Revenant headquarters." Jo says as I get out of the helicopter. I stretch my arms and legs as Kevin and Eden follow closely behind me as I look around me. I'm definitely not anywhere I recognize. The only thing that I can confirm is that we're somewhere far out from any sort of land in the middle of the ocean. The light from the moon makes the water glisten as the platform that we're standing on starts to slightly sway back and forth with the motion of the waves. I can feel myself getting sick to my stomach as everyone stretches their arms and legs.

"Wait, Kevin. We can't have this huge helicopter just sitting on the platform, can we? You think you can do something about it?" Eden asks him.

"I'm already on it," Kevin says as he puts his hand on the helicopter. For a couple of seconds, nothing happens, but after that, the helicopter starts to deconstruct and reconstruct itself into what looks like a cell phone that Kevin puts in his pocket.

I'm speechless for a little bit. Jo puts his hand on my shoulder as Eden laughs at me.

"Oh yeah. I think you can guess Eden's ability. She has something relatively simple, fire manipulation. She's been with Revenant for over three years and in that time she's risen to the top of my squadron that specializes in attacking and in some cases recruiting Hybrids or Deviants that our research team recommends to me." Jo explains to me as the three of us follow him to an elevator that takes us into a bunker that goes underneath the ocean. "Hiroshi. I've decided that you'll be joining Edens squad. Your skills as a known killer and your abilities are a perfect fit for her squad and I know that Eden will be happy to have you join her. Right?"

Eden's face scrunches up as she looks at me but when Jo meets her gaze her face softens and she nods at him.

"Yes sir. I would love to have The Hybrid Killer join my team. Nothing would make me happier." Eden says to Jo as she places her hand on my shoulder. When she does that I can feel her hand start to heat up as she smiles at me. My eyes start to glow as I cut her abilities before she can do any more real damage to me. Jo looks over at us and he starts laughing as the elevator door opens up in front of us.

"Hiroshi. Welcome to the Phoenix Squad Of Revenant." Jo says as he puts a patch on my shoulder. I look at the patch and it's in the shape of a phoenix. Eden and Kevin both exit the elevator before I do and before I leave I catch the same exact patch on Edens back.

We walk through a series of doors that eventually lead to a huge area filled with computers, Holograms of the planet, and a ton of people wearing different colored patches all over their clothes. I see a multitude of blue and black ones but close to no red Phoenix patches. But before I even have the chance to fully process everything that I'm seeing everyone immediately stops what they're doing and they either stop in their tracks or they rise up out of their seats the second Jo walks onto the floor. He raises his hand and everyone relaxes.

"I applaud the hard work that you guys have put in while I've been gone. Thanks to our great research team my mission to find the person that could turn the tide in our fight against the Government has been found and recovered. I would like to introduce to you, Hiroshi; The Hybrid Killer." Jo says as he steps out of my way and he starts to clap for me. I awkwardly wave my hand as only a couple of people clap for me. The rest of them give me either a disgusted look or a look of fear.

"Don't start clapping all at the same time now," Jo says. "But yes, I am aware of his reputation and I just want everyone to rest easy knowing that I wouldn't bring anyone here if I felt like they would bring harm to anyone of you. You guys all know that your safety is my top priority. You have my word that Hiroshi is mot a threat to anyone in this room." After he says that the tension in the room starts to go down a bit as everyone goes back to doing whatever it was that they were doing. I don't think I've ever met someone who has the full trust of an entire group of people like Jo has. He defused that situation before it had any chance to boil over into anything major just with his words alone.

I still don't get what he sees in me. Why he trusts me so much even though we just met a couple of hours ago. It makes it difficult to not think that he has some sort of hidden agenda aside from the one that he's trying to show people upfront. There's no way that someone can be this trusting without thinking he has something to gain for himself. I catch myself staring daggers at Jo and Eden puts her hand on my shoulder.

"I know what you're thinking. You think that how Jo acts is just a front right? That he's doing all of this just for show?" Eden asks me.

I nod my head.

"How could he put his full trust in me after only meeting me not too long ago? It's unnatural." I say to her. "Has he always been like this?"

"Yeah, for as long as I can remember Jo hasn't changed at all. He recruited me with the same energy and charm that he did with you. He has this way of making people feel welcome even if that person themself doesn't feel like they belong anywhere." Eden says as we both look at Jo interact with some people. He's talking to them and making them laugh. If you were looking at them from the outside you would've thought that they were lifelong friends.

"I was one of the first people that Jo recruited to join Revenant. During that time it only had about ten to fifteen people at the most. They were operating out of some old abandoned buildings in Texas. When he found me I had just got done burning down a small town by accident. My ability was incredibly hard to control and I was convinced that I would never be of use to anyone in my life." Eden says. "I thought my ability was a curse. Something that I would never be rid of. There came a time where I was considering ending my life. But Jo, he saved me. He was the first person who wasn't afraid of me and what I could do, and he was the first person who made me believe that I could be more than just someone who burns everything around them. That I could actually help people."

I stand in silence as I see what looks like a tear start to form in her eye, but before it has a chance to fall it completely evaporates into a little puff of steam.

"Jo is genuinely a good person Hiroshi, and if I'm truly going to show him that I'm grateful for the kindness that he's shown me, I'll embrace you the same way Jo did me. I won't judge you for what you did in the past. I'll give you a clean slate and a chance to prove the type of person you truly want to be."

"Jo really must be a good guy huh?" I ask her.

"He really is Hiroshi. I know just me telling you won't do him any justice. I know there's going to come a time where he'll show you that you can trust him." Eden says. After Eden finishes talking Jo walks back over to us and he wraps his arm around me as he drags me with him.

"Eden. Can you get Hiroshis sleeping arrangements ready? We have a busy day tomorrow, and I want would really like to start putting my plan in order in the next couple of weeks. So tell the Phoenix Squad that Hiroshi is going to be joining them, and make sure that they don't tear him up too much when he meets everyone." Jo says to her with a smile. Eden nods to him and walks through a set of doors that lead to a staircase upstairs.

"So Hiroshi. I just want to give you a quick rundown on how everything works here, and what role you play in all of this okay? Afterward, I'm gonna let you go and meet your squadmates alright?" Jo asks me. I nod my head and he walks me over to where Kevin and three other people are. They're all typing away on their computers.

"This here is our research team. Cerberus. They specialize in tracking down Deviants, Hybrids, and they let us know where the Government's next big strike is going to be." Jo says as he walks over to Kevin. "Kevin here has created almost all of the technology that you see here. He has quite the unique ability, would you mind telling Hiroshi here?"

"I can manipulate any form of technology that I can touch. An example is when I turned the helicopter that we rode in outside into my cell phone. As long as I can get my hands on an electronic I can turn it into anything I want or I can change how it works, as long as I understand the structure or the program that I'm turning something into." Kevin says to me.

"Kevin is the most brilliant person we have here at Revenant, and he's the leader of the Cerberus Squad. We wouldn't be where we are today without his help. He was a bit reluctant to join with me giving his past experiences but I can say with full confidence that I would go through heaven and hell for him if it means that he gets to stay here with us." Jo says. "When you go out on missions you are to always report to him so that he can give you the information that you need to ensure that your mission goes smoothly. I can vouch for Kevin. Your life couldn't be in better hands." Kevins' eyes light up after hearing Jo say that. There he goes again.

"Alright. The next thing we have is our squadron that specializes in the defense of our headquarters. We call this out Hydra Squad. Now this team is relatively new. So new in fact that as of right now I'm the only active member of it on top of being the leader of Revenant. But that's where you come to Hiroshi. I'm going to need you to do what I did for Phoenix. I need you to go out and recruit members for the Hydra squad with Eden and the rest of her team." Jo says to me as he walks me over to a table with some chairs around it. Both of us sit down and he presses a couple of buttons on the keyboard in front of him. When he does that a hologram of three people shows up with stars over their heads.

"These three people are who I've had my eye on for a while. The first person that I want you to recruit is a guy named Vex. We don't know his ability as of right now but just going based off the star level they gave him and the damage he's caused around him, he's a pretty big threat. The higher the amount of stars a person is given determines how much of a threat they are on a global level. Vex here has a star level of seven out of ten. That's pretty high compared to what we have here. Just for comparison, Eden has a star level of six, Kevin has one of 4, and you have one of only about two."

"Wow. A two threat level. Thanks for the inspiration Jo, I feel really good about myself now." I say to him. Jo starts to laugh as he shuts the computer down.

"Hiroshi. A level isn't the be all end all. With abilities like yours, you could beat someone with a star level of around five to eight. Your ability to copy and negate is something the likes of which I've ever seen. Even though you aren't ranked as high as you feel like you should be it really shouldn't matter. Your worth is determined by you and you alone. If It makes you feel any better I feel like you would give me a run for my money." Jo says nudging me with his shoulder. I scowl at him and he playfully backs away from me.

"So. How're you feeling about it everything? Do you have any questions that you want to ask? Now is the time, because starting tomorrow we start to put our plan of overthrowing the Government into action." Jo says.

"How confident are you that this plan that you keep talking about will work? How will you react if everything you thought was going to happen doesn't? You say your first priority to these people is their safety but how are you going to do something as big as overthrow an organization that rules the entire world over without losing lives?" I ask him. Jo takes a deep breath in and out before he starts talking.

"I'm aware that it's impossible to ensure that every last person that fights in this war will come back alive. I know that, but I trust that the people who do decide to make the decision to join us know the risks that come with it. I understand that changing the world will result in the loss of life on both sides but don't you think that the future of this world is worth that if it comes down to it?" Jo asks me.

"What about your life? Are you willing to put your life on the line if it comes down to it?" I spit back at him.

"Yes, I am." He retorts. He pulls the scarf from around his neck to reveal a huge scar leftover from a knife going down his neck. After he puts the scarf back around his neck he takes a contact out of his eye, my heart skips a beat when he does this. One eye is blue and the other is completely whited out. He's a Deviant. He puts the contact lens back in his eye before he turns and walks away from me.

"Go meet up with your squad. You have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow Hiroshi. We're going after that man Vex, and where we're headed is right in the heart of Government territory." Jo says as he walks off.

He leaves me completely speechless as I stand in the middle of the floor. Everything is happening so fast that I can barely keep up. Just a couple hours ago I was content with just surviving on my own, and now I've been thrown into a fight to change the dynamic of the entire world.

•Authors Note: "So, If You Could Have Any Ability What Would It Be? Also If You Could Be Apart Of Any Of The Squads Which Would You Join? Phoenix With Hiroshi And Eden, Cerberus With Kevin, Or Would You Join Hydra With Jo? Who's Your Favorite Character So Far Out Of The Three That's Been Introduced? Let Me Know In The Comments."