Ray departed his apartment having locked the door tightly behind him as he did so. The all important briefcase which contained his payment had been tucked away inside it. His home wasn’t anything fancy, it was cheap and police of any kind never came anywhere near it. He had hid himself in the sleazier part of the city, it was a strategic maneuver more than anything. Very few people ever tried to mess with him, those that did didn’t make the same mistake twice.

He walked down a flight of stairs, as he popped off the final step he weaved himself around a bickering couple arguing about money problems. Ray didn’t speak to his neighbors and they didn’t to him, it was something he was fine with, he valued his own privacy and respected other’s. He stepped out of the front door and turned left as he walked towards the parking garage where he had left his vehicle. On one of his fingers he twirled the key around, unsure of where he was going next, perhaps to a different bar or the gentleman’s club.

As Ray approached his vehicle, he noticed more people than usual populating the small parking garage. A few in particular lingered around his motorcycle. These men wore plain clothes: a leather jacket, a blazer, jeans, sneakers, sunglasses, one had a cigarette. Despite their casual appearance- it was clear that they were cops. Upon noticing Ray, two of the men lingering around the bike started casually approaching him, and he could sense another two slowly walking behind him, cutting off any clear escape.

The one with the cigarette was the first to speak, his hands never leaving his pockets. “Villarreal?” He asked plainly. His stance was casual, and his face was obscured by a large pair of round sunglasses, but his demeanor appeared confident, and his right hand, while still in his pocket, hovered near what was likely a concealed handgun holster. 

Ray internally cursed at the sight of the group, it was a very unusual sight as the garage was often barren. This was something different, they weren’t gangsters, more than likely undercover cops, he had seen those before and they stuck out like sore thumbs when they chose to dress like they did. Out of the corner of his ear, he could hear the squeal of tires and brakes as vehicles stopped outside the parking structure. He had slowed in his walk and come to a complete stop as the man spoke to him.

“Yeah, that’s my name. What’s it to you?” He asked as he locked eyes with the fellow through his sunglasses. Ray had his own handgun tucked inside his jacket, it was loaded and ready though he didn’t want to use it. He was surrounded and would be mince-meat if this guy’s companions were armed. He didn’t like it at all.

“It doesn’t mean anything to me, honestly.” The peacekeeper replied with a lazy shrug. “But we were told to bring you in by any means necessary. So why don’t you do us all a favor and do this the easy way, huh?”

“Go fuck yourself. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve done nothing wrong and will be on my way, step aside and let me leave or you’ll regret it.” Ray stated, anger starting to boil inside of him. His powers gave him a possible way to get out of the situation, but from the noises he had heard outside it seemed he was pretty surrounded.

“Suit yourself. You’d be amazed how far medical technology has advanced.” The cop with the cigarette said with a smirk, as he spat out his cigarette and ground it on the floor. His hand went for his pistol. At the same time, the other man in front of Ray drew an electron mace. The two behind him also drew an assortment of firearms and electrically-based clubbing gear. The one in front of Ray with the club began quickening his pace as he approached, his club held down and out to the side. 

It was a fight and Ray was completely fine with that. They had no warrant for his arrest and nothing to prove they were officers of the law, he’d have to teach them some manners. He stretched his fingers as he watched the cocky man level a gun at him, as the other moved towards him with a stun club. Others had drawn guns, predictable. With a smirk Ray used his powers and disappeared from his spot, he appeared behind the one that moved to approach him. 

Ray threw a swift kick to back of the man’s knee, then another. He had both hands on the cop as he knocked the weapon away from him, kicking it in a different direction. With his left arm he locked it around the fool’s neck, then with his right hand drew his own handgun. He spoke from behind his now human shield.

“Drop the guns and leave.” Ray spat out, pressing his own gun into the man’s back as he maneuvered in a way to face the others, keeping them in front of him.

The man in Ray’s grip struggled roughly to get out of his grip, while the others leveled pistols at Ray, trying to surround him before he could get his back against a wall. “Give it up Villarreal, you’re not walking a free man today.” A second man with holstered his pistol and drew a club, and rushed at Ray as well, as the other two trained their pistols on him. 

“Fuck off.” Ray replied as he kneed his hostage in the back as if to tell him to stop struggling. There was not much risk of the man escaping his grasp, he was strong and had done this type of situation before. He backpacked, his eyes on the others. He aimed his pistol towards one of them that had drawn their weapon, the casing bouncing to the floor as the bullet impacted into the man’s leg. Then he fired a shot towards the other club wielding, hitting him in the hip. 

“Oh fuck this.” Growled the cop as he fell to the a knee. He clutched his leg with one hand as he fired his sidearm, concrete dust showering Ray as the bullet smashed into the wall beside his head him. A second round smashed into the concrete again, much closer this time. At the same time, the cocky cop sunglasses began circling around to the side, looking for an opening for him to fire as well. The one who was shot in the hip cursed as he fell to the ground, going for his sidearm as well.

Ray heard the bullets impact near him, they weren’t screwing around even if he had one of their own in a headlock. He had to act quickly and precisely, he really didn’t want to get shot, it was never a fun experience. With a grunt he struck his human shield in the side of the head with the butt of his handgun, hard enough to knock the man out cold. Right as he did that he used his powers to teleport once more, appearing behind the still standing gun wielding cop.

Ray tackled the man from behind, throwing himself on top as he pistol whipped him. He didn’t want to risk killing any of them, if they were actually police then such an offense carried a harsh penalty. The authorities could and would hunt him down for killing a cop. As he was going down with the cop in his hands he teleported near the one he had shot in the leg. 

He slammed the fool in his hands on top of the other, using one to crush the other. He was back on his feet and quickly started running then used his powers to teleport himself right in front of the cocky cop. His momentum allowed him to throw a harder punch into the man’s face. A smile was on his face as he watched the cop go down, he took pleasure in taking that one down a notch. 

“Now all of you stay down, I’m sure you have families to go home to. A few broken bones and concussions are enough for them to worry about.” Ray muttered as he sprinted towards his motorcycle, climbing on top of it and sticking the keys into the ignition as quickly as his fingers could do so. As his ride came on he slammed his foot on the pedal and zoomed towards the exit. A smirk was on his face as he got away from the one’s that jumped him inside the garage. 

His motorcycle roared as he cleared out of the building, then the grin on his face disappeared as he noticed the armed group waiting for him, who had much heavier ornament than the ones inside. He hadn’t expected that, at most a police car or two, instead, he found himself face to face with a trio of armored vans, with some dozen heavily armed peacekeepers staring him down through the barrels of their rifles. [i]This[/i] was a problem. Ray couldn’t get away from this as easily. He hit the brakes, the tires skidding as he came to a stop. He’d hear these guys out a bit more than the others.

“Damn it.”

“On the ground!” Demanded one of the officers, his finger hovering over the trigger of his rifle. The peacekeepers wore full kit- security grade body armor, ballistic helmets, breathing masks, the works; and were armed with a fairly even spread of shotguns and carbines. Alongside the dozen officers were another 6 X-2 Security Mechs, dispersed between the officers, these human-like mechs were almost indistinguishable from the officers, many equipped with the same kit and weapons that the other peacekeepers were, the only dead giveaways were the metal arms showing underneath the rolled up sleeves of their fatigues.  

“This is such bullshit.” Ray mumbled as he stepped off his motorcycle, his hands raised to show he wasn’t going to try anything. There were too many of them that were too well armed, the best decision was to surrender to them. His eyes lingered on the shotgun one of the men were carrying, and then shifted to another. He could always escape from custody later on. He still had no idea why they sent such a force after him. The only thing he’d done recently was kill that dealer scumbag and that wouldn’t have been enough for them to send a damn army after him. It had to have something to do with his powers. 

“I still haven’t done anything wrong. Your buddies inside the parking garage jumped me, gave me no proof they were police and had no warrant. Just looked like a bunch of thugs to me,” Ray exclaimed as he got down on his knees, his hands still raised. He spoke once more, though he doubted they would care what he said. “I had every right to defend myself from them.”

“Save it for someone who cares.” Was the last thing Ray heard as one of the peacekeepers approached him and fired his shotgun. There was a thump and Ray was knocked back by a mass of coagulating, sticky substances that promptly shocked him into a state of unconsciousness. 

When Ray came too, he found himself in a dark cell. His legs and arms were bound by stun cuffs, and it was pitch dark, save for a single, bright, almost blinding light that shone in his face. He could hear the sound of footsteps against hard tile, and could tell that they were somewhere in front of him. 

“Ray Villarreal.” The voice spoke, his voice smooth, and of moderately low pitch

Ray woke up in the cell as he slowly opened his eyes only to almost shut them right away to the annoying light being shined right into his face. The current situation he was in had angered him more than anything else, if he broke free from his confines then the first thing he was going to do was track the scum that shot him into unconsciousness and shove his gun down the man’s throat. But he was bounded pretty badly, his powers were useless for now.

His powers also had to be the reason he was imprisoned like this. Only reason he could think, normal criminals didn’t get treated like this, he had spent night in jail cells before. This was something special, but not the good kind of specia. He lifted his head up and looked into where he could hear the footsteps coming from, then spoke.

“Who are you? What is all of this?” 

“I am an individual in a rather special position. You see, against the better judgement of my affiliates, I’ve decided that you are more useful to us as a tool rather than a test subject.”

There was a tapping sound, as though the man was checking a holopad. “Citizen 4129-6776-0208, Raymond Villarreal, Earth born, former marine, currently a… what would you call it? A military freelance? - and also a man in possession of a peculiar set of talents, most notably, teleportation. Does all of that sound right to you?”

“The U.N. is currently in the process of capturing all you… ‘Supers’ for security and testing purposes.” The man continued, the footsteps resuming as he walked back and forth. “Now, if my peers had it their way, you’d likely spend the rest of your life in this cell, subject to whatever tests they wish to put you through. However, I think you can be more useful to us than as a test subject.”

“After reading your file, I believe a man of your… nature… would be a great boon to us. As such, I’m going to make you a simple offer- you work for me, you hunt down the rest of these ‘Supers’, and you bring them in for testing.”

Ray listened to the voice, processing every word, some of it he liked and other parts he did not. He took great exception to being referred as a tool, a tool couldn’t fight back, if he really wanted to he could kill many inside this facility on his own. He wasn’t one hundred percent for fighting for people that had kidnapped him, but if they promised him his freedom and a payment then he’d seriously give thought to it. 

“Freelancer is the most correct term, I work for whoever pays me the most, and I’m damn good at my work,” Ray replied, confidence in his words as he spoke them. He wasn’t a modest man. “I don’t work for free, a group like yours has a near limitless amount of funding. If I were promised an appropriate amount of payment for this partnership then I would strongly consider agreeing.” 

“Freedom as well, I enjoy that greatly. If I agree to this then I want that promised. In fact I want that in ink. Whoever has to sign off on it, get them to. Once our partnership is over, I get total freedom from whatever the hell you’re planning to do with the other freaks I help you nail down.” Ray added, he was making sure to cover all the bases. He wasn’t particularly in the position to negotiate, but his history spoke for itself if they truly had it [i]all[/i] on file.

“I know it may seem ridiculous for someone in my position to make demands,” Ray glanced at his restraints. “But, the work I do will be worth every single penny.”

“You are correct, in that you are in no position to make demands,” The voice agreed, “However, I would not be so arrogant to assume that you’d do our bidding for nothing more than being able to see the light of day.”

“Rest assured, you’ll be rewarded handsomely for your services, and we shall also provide you with all the tools necessary for your success. My colleagues may see you as a freak of nature, and perhaps they are right, but what’s the harm in letting one go, if we can get the rest of them in return?”

A light popped on in the distance. In the light, Ray could make out a face- but nothing more. It was a older man, his hair pepper black and gray, with piercing ice blue eyes. 

“My name is Jason McKnight, and I represent the Lorne Corporation in cooperation with the USF. As such, I have effectively infinite access to USF resources, which will be available to you in your task.”

“Nice to meet you Mr. McKnight and I’m delighted that we see eye to eye. I’m eager to get right to work. Now could you please remove my bindings? I’m not huge into the whole restraint thing.” Ray said, as he locked eyes with the man once his aged face appeared. Jason’s words sounded truthful and hoped for both their sakes that they were indeed true.

“Of course. However, for my own safety- as it would be unwise for either of us to be so trusting this early in our relationship, I will not be personally releasing you,” Jason said, as the light around his face shut off. There were the sounds of more footsteps, and the sound of a door opening and shutting soon after. A moment later, his voice crackled over an intercom.

“You will fall asleep shortly. In a few hours, you’ll wake up in your apartment with an advance on your payment- I believe 10,000 credits should be sufficient, as well as a RFID watch, to prevent USF Peacekeepers from interfering with you during your mission. You’ll also be provided with target information and dossiers, as well contact information for a few off the books USF units to provide you with any resources you feel you may need- arms, armor, robots.”

“We’ll be keeping in touch, Mr. Villarreal, I hope to hear of your success soon.” The voice system crackled off, and the soft hiss of gas soon filled the room.