The Difference Between Shackles and Freedom Pt.5

-Link --5-



Hayabusa stood back and admired his work as he dropped his thirty-fourth gasoline canister, he had always liked birds of prey, considering he was named after the peregrine falcon, his trademark was a burning falcon. And what better way than to draw a giant one that would light up the sky for an excellent number of miles which could potentially go well into their hundreds maybe even thousands and char-grill the Woodhouse estate in the process. And anyway ash is good for soil.

Ever since he was infantile he had always been obsessed with fire. Always loving the way it looked, the lingering smell of smoke left on his clothes, he took pleasure in setting fire to trees and minor things like cars- to him, they were unnecessary things that helped global warming along, and all the rest of it.

He had burnt many thing in the past and continued to do so in the present, things that you wouldn't believe a boy would dare to do, let alone burn; he had started a bushfire in his local village when he was nine, when he was eleven he burnt down the village hall, and when he was thirteen he had at long last plucked up the courage and confidence to inflict his fiery revenge on all those who had ill-treated him and deprive them of their livelihoods, how they had deprived him of a happy childhood.

He struck the match with a clean swipe and flicked it over his shoulder without any hesitation, it had taken all he had not to light it before it was finished. He casually put his custom match box back into its designated pocket concealed in the folds of his black clothing.

Hayabusa pulled out his PDA and chose his next destination from a list of addresses, three of which had lines through them. His body remained in a state of inertia as the Woodhouse estate exploded behind him, his expression concealed by a mask that covered the entire bottom half of his face. To on lookers, predominantly the judgemental individual, with the mask he looked as though he might be some sort of ninja, that, or a hooligan.

He continued his journey onfoot, walking back to the centre of Cobbleton unhurriedly along the bustling high street surveying the blithering idiots that make up the human race. This town alone would be thrown into turmoil if they knew just what was going on behind the sealed doors of the IPI; he wasn't about to go into detail as so many of the people who knew what he did had already done it for him, but at the same time, what would society be like if they realised their friends and family or at least twenty-five percent of them had one or more 'abilities'. He had one more to go before he went searching to see if the rumours were true, even though this should have been his first resort and not his last... This is how he had always been, he liked to take action before considering discussion and manipulation before reasoning.

After he had completed his business, he would find this Phoebe character that apparently knew everything about everyone- someone that gave that person and himself a run for their money.

Hayabusa turned into a cul-de-sac named Toro Walk after leaving the centre of town for suburbia. Surprisingly there was only four moderately sized houses on the road- numbers eighty to eighty-four. He walked up the side of the house numbered eighty-three, fully aware of the surveillance camera above him that seemed to be looking the opposite way, deciding not to question it he lent on the wall that separated the alley from the house putting his hand deep into the folds of his clothes after a second of searching he had found his PDA, gripped it tightly and effortlessly somersaulted over the wall. At the same time using the joystick to navigate around the icons on the screen. Shortly after he touched the ground there was a deep snarl, he had disturbed some sleeping beasts somewhere... his eyebrows receded into his hairline as he observed the situation before him... there stood four Doberman, all of them had docked tails and a vicious set of jaws that complimented their figure. Of all the species of dog in the world it had to be the one he disliked most. Each of them bared their very large and pointed teeth at him- magnificent, just wonderful, hounds. Big hounds at that... do I eradicate them? Anaesthetise them? Paralyse them or communicate? Notice manipulation before reasoning.

He laughed into the silence, urging the dogs to step forward, all of them growling menacingly at him, their trained eyes feral. Anaesthetise them it is, 'Stay.'  He commanded. And in an instant they were quietened- almost like he had micro chipped them. Not such a terrible idea but that would require time, time, he did not have to waste. It was essential he got in and out within the hour.

After reaching into the depths of his clothing yet again, he pulled out something no normal civilian would carry with them on a day to day basis; a syringe. After a moment of thought he pulled out a small bottle and inserted the needle into the airtight bottleneck before briskly stabbing the first dog in his hind leg and moved on to the others, taking time to change needle after each one. Even though he didn't like them he wasn't one for causing animals harm.

When this was done he made his way across what he assumed was the garden and then into the main house. He pressed his ear lightly against the front door and almost chuckled to himself, this lady seemed very careless! By now she should be paranoid locking all the doors and windows frequently checking them over and over again, using the tightest security systems in order to keep herself protected... there was no way on this earth she did not hear of the news or see it first hand- All her former colleagues dying. One would surely be able to connect the dots... Unless...

She welcomed death? Maybe she realised she had caused so much of it that she may want to repent for her misdemeanour's; it's never too late to apologise despite what OneRepublic have said.

He walked into the house as he would his own, relaxed and indifferent. He took a left and went up some stairs having used his custom PDA device to find the net of the building so that he could navigate himself around. If he was the type who cared he would have commented on the houses designer interior but like he addressed previously he wasn't the type. She was clearly materialistic and liked to buy things with the blood money she had earned from tormenting and slaughtering his people. He stepped onto the landing and soundlessly walked up to the first door, checking the time on his PDA as he paused. Fifteen minutes had already passed and he didn't have long to do what needed to be done. Letting out a silent sigh and pressed his ear against it. He was looking for two specific things: movement and pulse. From them he could tell if she was sitting, standing or lying down, and pulse, if her demeanour was calm or panicky. In his eyes her heart should be in her throat and she should have been pacing up and down her room... but she wasn't.

The woman turned around as the door handle went down, she smiled and held her arms out as though greeting an old friend.

"It's time isn't it?" She spoke softly while walking across the room and embracing him, the angel all in black with a mask covering half his face that has come to relieve her of the guilt she carried on her shoulders for so many years.

Hayabusa didn't know what to do with himself, he didn't like being touched, he was unsure of what he should do... he stood there as stiff as a plank of wood. he was going to kill the woman in a matter of seconds. He cared not about what she thought, even so the concept of kindness had always baffled him and compassion was something else he was unfamiliar with so in an attempts to acknowledge what she was doing, he gingerly put his hand on her head. He was at least a foot and a half taller than she was...

The woman's hair was red  and curly, she stood in her nightwear, something like a flowery slip- that was all the detail he could be bothered to take in, in a minute from now he will have forgotten her pink and freckled cheeks her warm smile and brown eyes.

"Will it hurt?" She asked with sincere eyes. "...Ah, I realise that you are not death, but one of them, avenging the brutal death of your people". Ding, ding, ding!!! "That mask... You don't talk do you?" ...Fifty points for the lady with red hair. He didn't realise that he was this sarcastic. That person had always said that he had a heart of stone, but so did she.

"Have you killed me yet?" This was a naïve question, he hasn't poisoned her- truth be told it took far too much time to make something that was of a strong enough potency for what he liked to do. Again, time that wasn't his to waste furthermore, she would be dead already if he had poisoned her previously. "My lord!" She exclaimed, "Are you blind? Can you see with your eyes closed?" He nodded slowly, not at her question but as he realised-

...You're stalling, you don't want to die, but you have identified that it is the only way you can forgive yourself. He frowned at her and stepped back- that was enough contact for a lifetime. 'I can see perfectly, now; please stay still.' He projected his thoughts clearly into her mind. She gasped at the quiet voice in her mind and stayed put like he had asked.

Hayabusa unlocked his powers using very precise and fast-moving hand gestures. The woman was mesmerised, she had never seen anything like this, it was like some kind of intergalactic sign language.