Troubled Paradise

Everything started with a boom. Countless screams soared through the air of the once-famous bridge connecting both sides of LoopSide City. One explosion caused a chain reaction and not long after there was only a long line of fire. The unfortunate civilians moved like ants from one place to another, never standing still, but no matter where they went it only posed the same degree of danger. Now there were only wildfire and damaged vehicles. The bridge especially had a part of it falling apart because of the pressure. Screws were loose and metal stuck out here and there. Surprisingly, even though the situation taking place was quite serious no one was actually injured by the dangerous flames or explosions. They either got pushed down by their own or purposefully injured themselves to take advantage of the insurance policy. A male no older than 18 dressed in a green oversized jacket, its front opened revealing a black shirt underneath, jumped from vehicle to vehicle, and only actually walked on the ground when he had ran out of cars to jump onto. His bright red hair and ripped jeans were unique and wouldn't be forgotten easily but the dark-skinned youth would be remembered in the wrong way. He jumped around avoiding his own explosions, even narrowly missing some but not even the fact of being faced by his own danger stopped him from throwing a few more explosives here and there, soon he slowed to a stop resting on top of a truck that hasn't been affected by the blasts as yet. He scanned his surroundings in amazement and a sense of accomplishment entered his mind. He never knew why but destroying various landmarks had always felt like a task left for him. It wasn't the same for all of the buildings and only a selected few were protected from the dangers he had. He wondered where this strange desire came from but he didn't care enough to full-on investigate it. He had an objective, even if he didn't understand it. The youth, now known as Ferris to the public, admired his works. With the damage done now, he could easily bring down the whole bridge. In fact, he would've already had done so if it wasn't frequently used but it was what connected the two cities. How couldn't it be bustling with life? Therefore he did what he had to do and tried to scare the people off the bridge. While in his observation he noticed movement in a particular small area of the bridge. It seemed unnaturally... claustrophobic and that was only what he could actually see. He peered over to a part of the bridge, to his left, that hasn't gotten much damage except for a few sparks of isolated fire. He sighed, annoyed, as he noticed the small cluster of people. It had been a while since he had last communicated with others since there was never a chance to do so. He was excited with the thought of talking to others but also knew it wouldn't be like striking up a normal conversation, the other will always be anxious, looking for a way to escape. His mood dimmed a little bit but never the less he marched over to the cowering group, it wasn't in his plans to hurt others so he might as well let them go before he accidentally caused a few causalities. The group had almost no space between them, packed tightly together in fear of being spotted. They attempted to shield and hide behind a few turned over cars. He skipped over to the group of people, their numbers were great but compared to how close they were he wouldn't be surprised if there were little ones in between. There were people like this in every location he went to. The type that thinks that staying in one place would persevere their lives. He doesn't blame them for thinking that way but the bridge is quite literally being burned down. Ferris waved as he saw a man probably in his late 50s, indicated by the silver strands that poked out around his hair and face, attempting to calm them down repeating things like, 'the explosions won't reach us all the way over here', 'he has more important things to do so we should just stay here and not attract his attention.' Ferris spoke up at once when the other didn't see his greeting, there was no need for him to hide when there was no threat. "Hello, brave citizens!" He greeted. A wide curious smile spread across his face as he looked down on the mixture of males and females noticing children also mixed within the group. Their attention was immediately turned to him and the once calm unlucky spectators erupted into a sea of panic and terror as they met Ferris' smile. They looked wide-eyed as Ferris causally tilted his head from side to side to check their numbers. He stared down at them from above a school bus that got caught in the unfortunate events. The 'leader' that was trying to calm them down also had a face of surprise but still forced himself to keep a stern face, not revealing his fear. Ferris had already gotten a glimpse of it through just a few seconds but didn't care for the male's worries. He smiled as he stood up from his hunched position, "I'd like to offer a deal since you guys have quite horrible luck." he announced, "You're all free to go." He said as he pointed in front of him and everyone's eyes followed. There showed the side of the bridge that had not yet faced any explosions. He saw a glimpse of hope in their eyes and internally rolled his eyes. He was a bad guy but that didn't make him the bad guy. "Don't stick around the bridge. That's it." They were all dumbfounded at his deal and looked warily at him. He couldn't stand their gazes that screamed, 'shady business,' at him. They didn't want to take his word for it but a woman who looked quite young but could be well over 30 picked up her daughter and set off towards the opening. Ferris said nothing and only thought about how she could make the track and field Olympics someday. She was soon off the bridge. Others looked on him with clear disbelief in their eyes with mouths hanging wide. He was annoyed at how badly they thought of him but couldn't do anything so just dropped it and stared into the distance. He was actually allowing some of them to leave? With that many other parents also took their kids and ran, even their leader who Ferris thought was quite old made it to the frontlines. He took back what he said before. Hell, all of them could make the Olympics. Everyone was so set on escaping that they looked like thousands of chickens that just got released into the wild. This is where Ferris saw their true numbers, at least 20 of them. Others were only in hiding. After watching, the people run for their lives he collapsed onto the roof of the bus. It wasn't comfortable and was especially hot in the day's sun but he stayed there anyways and every once in awhile knocked his foot to the glass. After laying there for only a couple of seconds a car exploded to remind him of his task. He huffed and sat up but before moving off he noticed a red dot beside where his head was before. He quickly looked around trying to find the source but as soon as he moved his gaze away from the dot it made it's way closer to Ferris in a dash. Ferris turned back only to see the dot rushing towards him however as he was about to move it stopped. He was confused but decided it was best to get away from it. He doesn't know what dangers it will bring and he wasn't some cat to chase it around. He walked away still taking glances on the dot every once in a while and once again it 'ran' over to him, this time it wasn't stopping. Ferris, seeing it coming, dodged out of the way of the dot but it just turned back towards him full speed. Who knew the person in control of the dot would be dying of laughter while he tried to dodge it at every move. "He's like a cat but instead of running towards the dot he's running away." The person snickered to himself. He didn't let the dot touch him once but then the dot took a different approach. Instead of chasing him only on the ground, it aimed directly at his forehead. Ferris had seen the dot move and he instinctively touched his forehead causing it to appear on his hands itself. He stared at it for only a few seconds when he felt a type of vibration running through his hand, he instantly ducked just missing the bullet that was intended for his head. His eyes were wide as he observed the destruction the bullet caused. There was a car behind him before and instead of just the bullet hole, the side of the car the bullet hit was bent in. It was the mark of a car accident but it was instead caused by a bullet. Bring whatever that was to a gunfight Ferris thought to himself. He had started destroying the bridge from the right side since it was the closest to the police station, not even taking into account all the obstacles in their way that bullet isn't something he had seen them used before. He had destroyed only 4 buildings/landmarks in the span of 2 years and that doesn't include the time he spent creating bombs and learning how to make them. He had been in this city for as long as he could remember and never once had he heard or seen anything about a new weapon. Although that information wouldn't be disclosed publicly. If they got something new that's probably want to use the city's troublemaker as a test subject. He could only stick to his final thought and he didn't like it at all. He just hoped it wouldn't be them. He wondered if the police had gotten tired of not being able to catch him and instead just called in the professionals. He snapped out of his trance and hid out of view behind a few cars and buses. That should temporarily solve the problem as long as it can't penetrate through a series of cars. It was as if the dot was listening and just waiting to prove him wrong. It sounded as if the air was being ripped apart as the bullet easily penetrated through the metals. All of this happened so quickly that Ferris only noticed after he felt the metal poking him in his side. He quickly moved as another bullet broke through the air, where he had previously been was struck with the bullet, the only thing it didn't break through like the others, and instead, the metal stretched out around the bullet. The farther it traveled the further it stretched out. Ferris was amazed by it that he forgot it was someone trying to kill him. It stretched more and more until finally, it looked like it was going to break. A loud noise rang through the air as the metal snapped but unexpectedly there was a blinding light accompanying it. The light caused him to squint his eyes and soon enough it was too painful to look at it so he crouched down to rub his eyes. Luckily his decision preserved his life, for the time being, everything behind of Ferris had a sharp deep cut from whatever object was thrown his way, they tilted and fell to the ground. Ferris knew for sure now that these were completely different people, Lumins, and probably high tier ones too. Ferris wasn't too familiar with Lumins, even though he was one, but the media had its ways of pushing it in front of everyone's faces. He was sure that the man he was face to face with now was definitely the popular international Lumin he was forced to watch, Bruno. His only suspicion to lead him on was the mystery weapon that was engulfed in bright white light, his signature weapon. Ferris squeezed his hand into a tight fist, hearing crackles before finally unleashing the powder on the man. The powder was crushed down to fine particles and scattered in the air, as soon as Ferris was sure that it was somewhat close to the unsuspecting man he squeezed his hand into a tight fist. He felt the same vibration he did when the bullet was first unleashed. The familiarity felt weird but it definitely wasn't new. Just what the hell. Bruno had a slightly confused look that was interrupted by the sudden blast sending the man back only by a few inches. Expected for a high tier. He originally had wanted to keep using grenades but by seeing who he was facing that was purely out of the question. He would be attacked before he could pull the pin, even throwing it at him was out too since he had heard the many suspicions around the older male's weapon, especially with the nullification ability it came with. Ferris quickly scanned around for an escape route. He had to leave earlier than expected. "Why did you attack the bridge?" He scoffed, he was asking himself the same question too. He chose to keep silent. The older male's silver hair matched with his sword, giving off a similar glow in the sunlight, partly hiding his angry expression. It was the same as snickers in the hand of an obviously angry person but not even that worked. Ferris didn't keep his attention on the man and only kept looking around. He didn't care how obvious it looked, he needed to get off this bridge. "Friends with the red dot?" Ferris asked finally. He might as well go along with the conversation to reduce his badly he would be beaten. He returned the smile that was on Bruno's perfectly carved face if it could be called a smile anyways, Bruno's face hardened giving off the illusion that the upper part of his face had darkened to match his mood, in other words, the smile didn't reach his eyes. Ferris quickly refused to look to the man in the eyes, "Cool, cool." He said in an anxious tone. Ferris thought he made people uncomfortable in conversations but he met someone that would kill him with the simple change of a mood. The security would increase next time but he would deal with it when he came to that problem. He took off his oversized jacket and threw it towards Bruno. It was as if everything was in slow motion from the time when the bullet pierced through his jacket to when Bruno also sliced at the jacket, but of course, it wasn't that big and thick for nothing. Ferris dodged the bullet that managed to graze his cheek. He ran off while glancing back at the smoke. Looks like the nullification part was a lie. The sniper probably wasn't within range and depended on someone else to navigate for him, in this case, is Bruno and that's only going off the fact that Ferris couldn't trace to the source of the dot. If the person was actually independent then he would be a lot closer than he thought. He shuddered at the thought. He didn't want to get involved with them! Ferris was already far out on the bridge, now wearing a black long-sleeved turtle neck as he dashed to get off the bridge. It's not that he couldn't fight them or rather it was exactly that. If the police got so annoyed by him that they called a Lumin team to get rid of him then it would be best to not fight them and attract attention to himself. Just the difference in experience alone had made it difficult for him to make his escape. He had never or allowed anyone to get hurt but thinking back to what his objective was he couldn't help but side with the police, however facing a special team was simply too much. Did he piss them off that much? Who knew what would happen when they caught him or if they accidentally kill him first. He was frustrated at the thought. Ferris was almost off the bridge but he had forgotten that it was a team and not a pair. Two meant more since no matter what lumins are always sent out as a team. As he was getting ready to rejoice another man dashed out from wherever he was hiding and launched at Ferris. Ferris, who had no time to react could only receive the punch. He didn't have time to attempt to block the attack and so his shoulder was hit. He was launched to the side from the force of the punch. He spun and collided with a car that tilted and fell over with him as he made some dents in the side. The taste of a metallic substance filled his mouth indicating blood. His back and head were in pain and he couldn't bear to move. Ferris was baffled at how the force of a punch was able to send him back that far until the person launched again showing off his iron gauntlets. No shit The only way he was able to travel that far just from a punch wasn't because of his palms alone. His shoulder had gone numb from the attack but not rendered completely useless he dodged and even countered, managing to drog a grenade on him in the span of a few seconds and quickly distanced himself. His breathing was getting heavier and heavier and he wanted to just lay down and sleep right there but he doubted he would ever wake back up so he didn't dare test it. The man grew curious about why Ferris had suddenly distanced himself, raising a brow. The Ferris saw his expression and pointed to his side. The man looked down and noticed the grenade, "f***s sake-" It exploded sending him back but hadn't done the same damage as with the other Lumin. Ferris took note of it even though he might not even be able to make it home to create it a new model. Maybe a little less thick and more g*n powder. Who was he kidding? These changes were only because he was facing Lumins who he hadn't before. Ferris, while running to the exit avoided another s***h from the glowing weapon, and this time Bruno had no traces of a 'smile' on his face. Only a cold hard expression left as he charged towards Ferris. Well of course he wasn't gonna be too happy about that. Ferris dodged a few moves but his injuries were starting to get in his way. Only now did he realize that he could only repeat his attacks. He hadn't taken note of that before either and now he wanted to slap himself for being arrogant. Bruno's movements were getting increasingly aggressive and now he couldn't even guess what kind of weapon he was using, sometimes it seemed as it was an attack from a sword based on how it swung through the air, and another it was being brought down with such weight that a sword didn't possess. Ferris crunched together his hands once more but this time leaving them to be a little bit bigger. He launched it towards Bruno who didn't hesitate to cut the powder making it lose its effect. He was shocked when he couldn't trigger the powder. Now there is the nullification effect? Ferris raised his foot to kick straight at Bruno's own, but he was already met with it halfway, a strange gust of wind scattering around in ripples. Ferris quickly withdrew his foot feeling a slight ache at the impact, "You guys really are superhuman." You're a Lumin too dumbass. He squeezed up more powder in his hand preparing to throw it in the air but unsurprisingly it never came as he was punched in the stomach by the gauntlet guy from before. "Nice of you to ignore me." You're welcome, looked like a piece of s**t anyway. The other man scratched his head and few brown strands of his hair curled around his fingers. Ferris couldn't get his breathing under control. First, the hit to his head and back and now one to his stomach. They were definitely planning to kill him. He gripped his stomach and gasped for air. He was hunched over on the ground but still threw the powder up, covering the little distance between them. "You planning on killing me?" He struggled out. His explosion wasn't thought out but it was a huge size, the first explosion seeming to set off a chain reaction. The man who beforehand seemed to be dressed in a sort of casual outfit had a striking resemblance to Bruno's own, most likely their uniform. Ferris attempted to get up but as soon as he felt the painful throb in his stomach he quickly settled back down. Escaping these guys are starting to look like a daydream, not good, not good at all. Ferris shook his head as he felt he shouldn't have gotten involved on this bridge in the first place, but how could he just suddenly stop? He sighed before hearing a commotion to his side. He turned hearing it get even louder as the excitement grew. Reporters already? "The downfall of the treacherous criminal, Ferris!" One of the reporters shouted happily, absolute glee spread across her square face. "Seriously?" He wondered how got such a title when he hadn't killed anyone in the first place but the destruction of buildings within the city was self-explanatory. He pointed his hand in the direction of the reporters who were quite stunned by his sudden change in movement. He loaded the gunpowder into a single part of his palm and before it fired off he switched to a different location. It was a part of the bridge that was particularly rusty and old. The hit caused to bridge to tremble before suddenly dropping a bit. The reporters had wanted to go on the bridge so they could get close-ups of the criminal but didn't expect the ground to suddenly be so low. Many almost doubled over. "Are you crazy? You want to involve innocent bystanders?" Iron gauntlet shouted, face red with anger. Ferris glanced at him and scoffed, "I don't see how blocking their entry is getting them involved." He said mockingly as he planted his palms onto the surface of the road, "Why should I care? Even after getting a warning, they stayed there and one day it's gonna get them killed." As if the man's face wasn't red enough already he added gas to the burning flame. "You should go take care of your s**t. You look constipated" Ferris smirked. The man adjusted his position ready to strike. "That's why I'm cleaning you up." He smirked as Ferris had no more chances of escaping. Bruno now stood in front of the audience, where his escape route would've been. As if indicating the start of the fight a bullet flew towards Ferris but only ended up cracking the side of his barrier. He didn't want to use it to use because of the amount of concentration and power it took but now he couldn't even move properly. The fight had hardly lasted a few seconds when his shield was completely down. Fighting between 2 top skilled people he had gotten injuries but he always returned the favor with either a blast, fire, or a grenade even with his sluggish movements. All the while, while avoiding the bullets by simply using his opponents as cover. It seemed the gauntlet man was getting tired of the fight and punched towards the bridge itself, crumbling the parts below his fist that led straight up to Ferris, who had quickly switched locations. He clapped his hands, "Great great! I hadn't reached that part yet." The man was annoyed with his comment but still, a smile arrived on his lips. Ferris was uneasy with the odd change in expression but didn't have to think too long before he felt the familiar vibration. He quickly turned to look behind him and instead his shoulder was hit. He staggered backward almost falling into the big hole in the bridge that led to countless gallons of water. His wound felt as if it was on fire and his shoulder was being drenched in blood. The gauntlet man erupted into a fit of laughter even holding his stomach. "How's that for you?" Tears welling up in his eyes. Ferris was the total opposite, face full of anger he decided to pay special attention to the sniper as he was becoming a danger to him. It was either the sniper had moved locations or there was another since the bullets were fired as if they were coming from all around him. He had originally thought the sniper was always to the east of the bridge, where all the attacks came from. As if confirming his suspicions another bullet swooped past him from behind. He quickly turned but it was impossible no matter how he looked at it from that distance. Now it didn't seem like the person was making guesses but rather provoking him or giving him a warning. Ferris diverted his attention facing the opponents he could actually see while looking for a spot to cover himself. His back was stained with his own crimson blood. His opponents looked as if they were convinced that they had won as they didn't move to fight. Bruno even dimmed his weapon until it was nowhere to be seen. Ferris was utterly confused and angered by the sudden change in behavior, they sure as hell wouldn't let me go after what I did so what's going on? He decided to take the chance he had to at least try to cover himself but before he could even move his wound erupted in pain. It felt as if he had touched an open wire with wet hands. His hands covering his wounds fell limp, Ferris was struggling to get air into his lungs because of the pain as he faced both the gauntlet man who was smiling so happily and Bruno who couldn't care less. The one he couldn't even see was the one to immobilize him. He staggered to the edge and like he was hit by a truck he coughed up a mouthful of blood falling off the bridge.