Chapter 6: same aura
The man refuses to answer and instead, fires another stinger from his coat towards Luke. He vaults the incoming stinger and kicks the assassin straight to the skull. The impact sends the two out of the doorway and into the open alley. The man wipes the blood dripping from his nose and stands up. Now having a clear visual on the stinger, it's comparable to that of a scorpion's. Luke doesn't have too much time to process it as the man sends the stinger down towards him. Luke dodges backward and flips onto his feet. With a thrust of his elbow, he summons a plasma spear through his gauntlets. The man whistles,
???: "There's something to you. We're alike."
Luke recoils in confusion before running towards the man with his arm held out to his side. He goes for a diagonal slash upwards, but his target leaps into the air before sprouting two more tails. He brings them together and spins his body back into Luke, having the blunt part of the tail hammer him into the concrete. He gasps for air before the man places his hand on Luke's mouth. He leans his body forwards and whispers into his ear,
???: "I was wrong. You're nothing compared to me."
Within an instant, the man feels an unbearable pain as he feels his tails disconnect from his body. He snaps his gaze over to the culprit, Jace and his new sword. The man snarls before turning around and lunging towards Jace, slamming him into the wall. With his hands around Jace's throat, he begins to close his fingers. Through a quick breath, Jace mutters,
Jace: "I'm not getting cornered...that easily..."
The man begins to feel the right side of his body heat up. He glances down and notices Jace's robotic arm generating heat around his mid-section. With an explosion of flames, he sends the man hurtling away towards him. To follow-up, Luke manifests another spear and stabs him from behind and through the shoulder. He screams before the spear is retracted, causing only mild-burn damage. He drops to the floor and struggles to catch his breath.
Luke: "I guess I'll ask again, who the hell are you?"
Henry: My name is Henry Grimes. I'm...a mid-ranked bounty hunter. I just got promoted...there's no way I'm already done..."
Jace: "Already done?"
Henry: "When I report this to my boss...fuck, he's gonna kill me for sure. Eye for an eye, y'know?
Jace: "Then don't report it. You wanna stay alive, don't ya?
Luke: "I don't want him alive."
Jace: "I'm not asking you. Henry, right? You said Luke and you were similar. Wanna explain that?
Henry: "We both have the power of auras and manifestation. I can voluntarily add certain venomous aspects of animals to my body. I couldn't tell you how or why though."
Luke: "I use these gauntlets as a way to focus my energy further than what a normal manifestation can do. I only summon melee weapons, I couldn't tell you how or why either. Maybe we are alike."
Henry: "Great, I finally meet someone I can relate too and my head gets to be sliced clean off my body by tomorrow..."
Jace: "Does your boss know anything about androids?"
Henry: "He hates them with a passion, but they're his most profitable customer. It's supposed to go to the city I'm from, but he blows it all on personal shit."
Jace: "You're not from Bluestone?"
Luke: "I'm not from Bluestone."
Henry: "I was raised in the mountains. Rose Rocks, it's just north of here. It's a dump, but apparently it was beautiful at some point."
Jace: "How about we patch you up and have you bring us there and more importantly, to your boss so me and Luke can ask him some questions?"
Luke: "What's wrong with you? He has a mission to complete! If he help him, what's stopping him from killing us at any point?!"
Jace: "I think someone wants to get back at their boss now that they finally have someone on their side. Whaddya say?"
Henry: "I think you're borderline insane, but you're onto something. The three of us could pose a threat. We'll be there by sundown."
Jace reaches his arm out for Henry. He grabs his wrist and pulls himself to his feet. He stumbles and staggers to handle his footing, but he's able to recover. They all walk into their new apartment and begin to discuss tonight's plan.