I dial down my increased Perception to be really here, in the moment. There are a few sounds downstairs, but my Danger Sense is silent and all I can see in front of me is Eddie. We’ve got all the time in the world.

  Still holding his revolver in one hand, sitting amongst broken debris in his pajamas, Eddie holds up his other hand. His palm is out in supplication and even without my Perceptions dialled up I can see his heart is racing.

  I stride forward and swat the gun from his hand. It bounces around the room spinning as I haul him up by his shirt and hold him off the ground to stare at him in his eyes. I snarl with my teeth clenched and let my rage flow through me. So much anger, a focus for everything that’s gone wrong. He puts his hands on my forearms, trying to get himself free, but he might as well be trying to bend a metal bar.

  “Calrik! The Barrister…”

  He doesn’t get to finish as I give him a little shake, hard enough to rattle his teeth. I’m not interested in hearing whether it was The Barrister’s Oaths or his own greed that locked me out of the estate. My parents trusted him to run our affairs if they weren’t able to, and he betrayed that trust. Betrayed me and everything they stood for.

  Eddie lashes out, trying to punch me in the face. I release his shirt with one hand and grab his flailing limb and squeeze. The bones of his forearm crunch and shatter as he screams and I twist my wrist to bend his hand right back to his elbow, then pull his Status and really, really look at him.

  Edward Midlane (Lawyer)

  Rank estimate: F

  Level: 61

  Redux: 0%

  Power: Document Processing (Tier 2 Minor)

  Conditions: Oathbound, Shock

  As Eddie whimpers I use my Mana Sense to try to explore the Oath that The Barrister has bound him with. I feel the way it’s intertwined all through him and his Mana channels, and the way it’s wrapped up and all through his brain and aura. It binds him tightly, his loyalty to The Barrister assured. Not anymore.

  Seething in a sea of rage, wanting to rip everything from Eddie, I reach out with all my Mana and lock down on all the strands of the Oath at once. Everywhere it flows and twists through him, intertwined through him. I overload myself and strain, and then pour more and more into it, to the point it feels like my own body and soul is vibrating with the strain. I keep going. I don’t care what’s supposed to be possible, I just want to tear into his soul and break him, leaving a husk of his former self like he tried to do to me.

  And then I rip.

  I rip the Oath from him, like yanking a tumour out of his body and mind. I rip the Mana away and scatter it to the winds, exploding the weaves into a billion pieces that evaporate into the ether. A part of him comes with it, I can feel it as my Mana and physical Regeneration both kick in to rebuild the reserves I’ve just emptied. He screams an agonized cry and convulses, hanging off the ground as I hold him at arm’s length.

  The sound is like music to my ears and even though part of me is trying to pull me back, I’m too far gone in my rage and my grief and my sense of justice; of revenge for what he did to me and the memory of my parents and so much more. I drop my arm a bit. His convulsing hasn’t stopped and when Eddie straightens his legs I stomp on his left knee and snap it like kindling. He screams wordlessly and his vacant eyes roll back in his head for a second. Disgusted, I toss him to the ground and check the time.

  Nine minutes left.

  Perfect.

  I pull a hammer out of my Inventory.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Calrik?” Eddie stammers, and looks up and back at me from where he’s laying on the floor. His broken arm and leg are positioned at impossible angles.

  I snarl at him, but something in his tone gives me pause. I flip him over with my foot and he cries out, his limbs flopping around. They’re starting to go dark from the internal bleeding. Somehow he fights through the pain. There’s something not quite right about him and I wonder if I actually did manage to break his demented mind.

  “Sign it…” he croaks out, and reaches out.

  “Fuck you, Eddie!” I exclaim.

  “Sign it…” he croaks again. “Forced to…” He trails off, practically unconscious. There’s no electronic communication possible because of whatever Rakeesh did and so I reach out and accept the direct connection. I see he’s sent me a contract.

  I open the document and stare at it. It’s the Power of Attorney and it says he’s handing everything to do with the estate over to me… and he’s already signed it. I look at him, wondering what the fuck brought him to the point he got in bed with The Barrister and if he now regrets it. Freed from the Oath, it’s the first thing he does? Is he trying to redeem himself? To make things right?

  Whatever the reason, I read the simple document through to make sure there’s no fish hooks and sign it to complete the transaction. With communications still suppressed it’s not officially lodged yet. I look around, wondering if anyone’s on their way to save Eddie, then I look down at him; he’s in bad shape. I still want to end him, but what’s the point? Maybe The Barrister will do more to him than I ever could in the remaining seven minutes. Maybe he’s made it right enough by transferring the contract that he deserves another chance. He’ll never be able to take anything from me again. Good luck to The Barrister and his fucking cronies if they come after me.

  Eddie groans and I don’t feel sorry for him, but I don’t feel as much anger either. Cold blooded killing doesn’t sit well with me, even as worked up as I am. You’ve got to draw the line somewhere and I’ve got what I came for. Instead, I turn and leave the room then drop down out of the hole I made in the bedroom wall and race out of the property, hurdling the high walls. As I leap through the air I can see three bodies on the front lawn, all taken out by Rakeesh’s rifle.

  Rakeesh is nowhere to be found, but that’s fine with me. I take off at high speed and as soon as I get a hundred meters from the house I’m reconnected and the contract is automatically lodged. Dozens of notifications flash up in the corner of my vision and that quickly, I’ve got what’s mine. I can’t help but wonder who’s going to try to take it from me, and I can’t help but say a quiet word of thanks to Auntie V. Even though she exposed me to danger, if everything with her hadn’t happened, I probably would still be Powerless and wasting this untapped opportunity.

  Has anyone ever risen through the Ranks as fast as I have? From nothing to this? I continue running at high speed and place a call.

  “Sharon King - Chambers,” answers an enthusiastic female voice despite the time. Sharon and her crew run a 24/7 operation because you never know when people like me are going to get into trouble.

  “I need to talk to Sharon. It’s Calrik Corvin.”

  “I’m sorry Mister Corvin - she’s not available until tomorrow at 10am.”

  “Even if it’s life or death?” I ask as I flash through the city streets. I keep an eye on my Stamina but so far I can run almost full out for seemingly forever and still carry on a conversation.

  “I’m afraid so, Mister Corvin. I’ll have her call you, or I can put you through to Steven.”

  For this, Steven’s not going to cut it so I hang up and place my phone back in my Inventory. I wonder what’s got Sharon out of action, but put it aside and keep running. It’s around 16 miles to the airport, so I make it comfortably in ten minutes and slow down to normal people’s pace. By now, whatever alarms Eddie had are probably letting The Barrister and anyone else know that his location’s been compromised.

  I’m not dressed that normally with my armored jumpsuit on, especially not at an airport, so I slip into the concourse under the concrete overhang and into a stall in the men’s bathroom, where I can pull a ‘normal’ outfit out of my Inventory, and I swap out my slightly damaged armored jumpsuit for some jeans and a T-shirt.

  As I pull out my phone again and scroll through flight options, I look around. The airport isn’t that busy; there are only a few red eye flights tonight, and it feels weird that not that long ago I was inside Eddie’s house snapping his bones and doing the impossible in my rage - ripping an Oath right out of his being. Normal people go about their business, bored and waiting for their flight to be open for check in. Probably not wondering when or if a Supervillain will try to take some revenge. Their Powers are all mine to replicate if I choose - an endless variety Sparks mostly, with the occasional Minor Power.

  I can’t access the Credits from my estate now, not without Sharon’s help, but I’ve got more than enough to splurge on a beer and a hamburger and an early morning flight to Tampa. Around the corner from the restaurant I find a row of seats and stretch out on them. I don’t really need much sleep with my Constitution so high, but I feel exhausted and wrung out. Mentally I want to be fresh tomorrow, so I pull a pillow and blanket out of my Inventory and close my eyes.

  I fall asleep after checking the contract twice to make sure it’s real. Flashbacks of the look in Eddie’s eyes when I took the contract from him roll through my head, but sleep claims me quickly.