Inside Out

Hero

"Kayn!"

"On it!" Dropped to the floor, hearing the hiss of the air. Something large passing over. "HAAH!" One leg shot out, kicking the knee, catching behind the ankle. Locking the leg. Other foot camp up, kicked-

Snap.

"Ohohoh!" Something deep and melodious cackled in his head. "That would've hurt!"

"Oh you don't fucking say?" Kayn leapt away like a deranged cat, mismatched eyes swinging desperately around the area. Room. Twelve by twelve, maybe thirteen. Four in the room, one incapacitated. Door in the far corner. No idea how many outside.

"So?" A voice that sounded like a talented baritone mixed with literally Satan. "Got any sort of plan in that big head of yours?"

"Of course" He snapped. Closest person. Tall, well built. Eyes glittering sharply. Some form of animal quirk. Possibly strength enhancing.

Kayn soared off the flooring. Dashing in low, planting right foot, left arm coming up low, right arm high in a fist, in his face. The man growled like a rabid animal, falling for it. At the last second, right hand came away, left up, feet pushing into the ground, his body twisting-

Feeling flooded his hand that could only be described as anything but remotely human, the harsh metal grinding against their cheek. Kayn grinned. Again, fists into their sternum, pressure points, squishy spots. Make him hurt, make him make noise. The others were starting to come in, so Kayn jammed a thumb into their eye.

The screaming got the other two to pause for a second. Good. All the time, take the biggest one first, then break him. Make an example.

Arms rapped around theirs, snapped, knee in-between legs, elbow into their throat, again, again. Rear hand back, snap into face, brake the nose, next shatter the jaw, duck down and rip the Achilles tendon.

"Mmm," Kayn could literally taste the maliciousness of that noise.

The other two were backing away, staring horrified at the broken husk of what was once a functioning person. He had room to breathe, he didn't have to be here longer.

"But there's still so much left to destroy..!" Kayn snorted at the child like whining. Like if unparalleled violence was a new toy.

Nope, we're out of here, he thought.

He took a deep breath, then two, a third. Fourth. He exhaled deeply, letting out everything, focused on his chest, his center-point. Then, the feeling crept up and held on to him, wrapping him in gentle tendrils of shadow.

He sunk through the floor.

Kayn gasped at the inky abyss that met his retinas. His brain adjusting to his new senses. It was like being a deep, deep underwater fish. No light could reach him hear, but he could tell where he was by other senses. Some new. Noise, ricocheting off of every surface, almost painting him a mental map of his surroundings. The vague sense of heat that lingered on every living thing. The heat that his body no longer provided right now.

He shivered.

"There's an alleyway twelve meters away," Whispered that almost seductive voice. "Nobody around. Wouldn't be a horrible place to pop out of the floor." Kayn nodded absently, gliding through the darkness. Noises and voices whispering to him. He shuddered again.

Light exploded into his vision, blinding him. The redbrick alleyway coated in fresh snow. His body slowly returned to tangibility, cold and shivering. Kayn collapsed in the blissful heat of the sun, of anything. "Not quite hypothermia" The voice in his head mused, "But close."