New York wasn't dead yet — but it looked like hell when Elian Blaze landed on top of the burning tram.
The rain did little to soften the crimson crackle of the sky. Neon ads flickered behind plumes of smoke, and somewhere below, someone screamed like it was part of the city's regular soundtrack. Elian crouched low, one hand pressed to his earpiece, the other clutching the tram's twisted railing.
"Status," a cold voice demanded in his comm. "Threat level—"
"Moderate," Elian interrupted, monotone. "One hostile. Civilian panic high. And for the record? This tram was five minutes early. That's more suspicious than the guy with the plasma cannon."
"Funny," the voice snapped. "Just bring him in. Cameras are rolling."
Elian muted the line.
Below him, the so-called "hostile" — a man in a tattered raincoat, mask made of soldered mirror shards — paced the platform. He was talking. Loudly. To the crowd. Maybe to himself. Maybe to God. Elian couldn't tell.
Another heroic entrance. Another speech. Another takedown.
Elian inhaled once, deep and mechanical, like starting a machine.
With a blur of movement and a crack of heat, he dropped to the platform.
The man turned to him. "You're early."
"So are you," Elian replied, voice flat. "We both had bad timing today."
A pause.
Then the man smiled under the glassy mask. "You ever wonder if you're fighting the wrong war, Elian Blaze?"
The plasma cannon on his arm charged with a hiss. Citizens screamed. Cameras zoomed in.
And Elian didn't move.
Instead, he asked, "Do you really want to do this? Or do you just want to be heard?"
The man hesitated. Just enough.
"Because if you talk," Elian said, stepping forward, palms open, "I'll listen. One minute. That's all I can spare before the system kicks in."
"What system?"
"Auto-combat override. They'll take control of my suit and do it for me."
The man stared. Rain hitting metal filled the silence.
Then, the cannon powered down.
"You've got one minute," the villain said. "And I'm not the villain you think I am."
Elian smiled — but it didn't reach his eyes.
"I know," he said quietly. "Neither am I."