James And Michael

The past was revealed but the gunshot that echoed in the present reverberated.

Blood splattered everywhere but there was no body on the ground.

"I see…" Thanatos muttered, Damon managed to teleport just before the weapon could burrow into his head, showing Thanatos that just because something was making physical contact with his skin didn't mean he couldn't dodge it.

Damon had mastered his powers and he could teleport without his clothes if he wished to, but he wasn't the only one that had mastered his powers.

Thanatos was a lot more composed compared to his past self, this was interesting considering he could best be described as a sociopath.

"I will fucking kill you," Damon cussed.

"If you could, I'd be dead already," Thanatos said flatly, unimpressed by how emotional Damon had become.

Damon was out of breath and had at best three more uses before he ran out of energy and Thanatos was aware of this.

"I want to ask why…. Why us?" Damon asked, Thanatos could tell this was a man in need of closure and he had the power to give him this closure or deng him.

"You really don't know who your father was?" Thanatos questioned, Gina was surprised that Damon got him to speak this much.

Thanatos rarely spoke or cared to explain himself, he just did whatever he felt like when he felt like it.

"Stop the bullshit! Nothing is worth wiping out my family…" Damon cussed out.

One could only imagine the bottled-up emotions finding their way to the surface, even Damon couldn't hold up his brave face.

"Axel The Butcher…" Thanatos said as he casually walked towards Damon.

Damon sensed no I'll intent from him, it looked like Thanatos intended to give him the closure he sought but Damon knew that his energy was almost depleted so it would be a lot easier for Thanatos to afflict him with his powers.

Thanatos never truly recovered the full potential of his power after what Grace did to him, he has been in a nerfed state since then and even with that, he managed to refine it to such a level.

"The Butcher? My father never hurt anyone!" Damon fired back.

"You're right, he never hurt anyone, he butchered them…" Thanatos said bluntly. Gina wanted to step in but she knew better than to interrupt Thanatos when he was talking but he was revealing too much.

Thanatos was closer to Damon as he was mere inches from him at the moment.

"Axel was a butcher for a man you know quite well…"

"... The Razor Riddler," Thanatos concluded.

Damon's eyes widened the moment he heard this, did this mean it was the Razor Riddler that had his father killed?

"That's enough Thanatos," Gina finally spoke up because it was against policy to reveal their client's name but Thanatos wasn't stupid.

He knew that they were already aware of their involvement through Fred so there was no point keeping it hidden.

Damon had a look of disbelief on his face but deep down, he knew that this might be true.

The things he overlooked when he was little, he revisited them when he was grown and recalled things his younger self couldn't perceive.

"It's fine Gina, they already know of his involvement. That's why they're here but I wonder why Percepta is after him…" Thanatos muttered.

Damon tried to punch him but Thanatos caught his fist with his open palm.

"Do you know why I have allowed you to live for so long?" Thanatos asked, but Damon had no interest in hearing why more mumbo jumbo.

Damon retracted his hand that was caught, yanking Thanatos forward in the process due to how tightly the villain was grabbing onto it before Damon proceeded to grab Thanatos's face with his other hand and smash him into the ground head first, creating a huge screen in the process.

Enough for Gina to guide her sight from the dust particles that enveloped the area and with the dust subsiding. Neither Fred nor Damon was anywhere to be found.

"They got away…" Thanatos muttered to himself as he had no injuries on his face.

-

Michael was feeling strange, the rush of emotions he got when Elizabeth embraced him was something he had never felt before but it made him uneasy.

The moonlight illuminated, and Michael took a deep breath to relax his mind and nerves.

He looked over his shoulder and he was met by James, who quietly sat beside him without saying a word.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" James started small talk because he knew that Michael might still be on guard considering what he had just done to him.

"James…" Michael called out his name, James was surprised he didn't call him sir but he allowed it considering the situation he found himself in.

"Yes, Michael?" James responded as Michael's lifeless eyes descended on him.

"What do you want from me?" Michael asked and James knew at that moment that there was no longer any reason to beat around the bush.

He inhaled deeply before exhaling to soften his voice, James knew Michael was mentally unstable if anything after that test and how easily he was willing to discard his comrades showed that his loyalty was only to himself so James needed to be careful, he needed to make sure his goals aligned with that of Michael or he might be the next thing that Michael was willing to sacrifice.

"What do you think makes Apex Protector so strong?" James diverted the conversation for a second.

"Because he is strong?" Michael responded with a raised brow, this was rather a stupid question from James.

"There are a lot of strong people in this world yet none as famous as Apex. Apex is not only strong but it is a product that's been advertised to perfection. The strongest hero alive, that title gives the citizens a false sense of security…." James said, pausing as Michael remained silent. He didn't know where he was going with this but he wanted him to finish.

"I want you to take away that security. I want you to take Apex Protector's power, that is why you're here Michael…"