The Hero's Fall

Fall of a Giant

"Lights, camera, action."

The muttered words from Mei helped me focus on my part. The camera was rolling and those of us in frame now had a role to play.

"Do you know why you've been brought here, Hawks?" I asked, in that weirdly formal tone I seemed to adopt whenever I was trying to be serious.

"Aren't you going to kill me like you did Endeavour?" Because we were acting again, Hawks was bound to a chair to make it seem as if he had been taken. Of course that would change by the end of the video.

"No, you seem to have potential. We have seen your files and scoured through your history. And my team and I agree that you can be saved."

"And what would I need to do? Join your little death club and start killing the people that get me upset?" His acting was perfect, it had to be considering he grew up with the commission.

"Not at all. In fact, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. You could join us but stay away from the conflict and just stay hidden, or you could help us with research on all of the heroes on our list. Or if you want to you can leave and live as long as you stay true to the real hero ideals."

"Oh yeah, and what exactly are those ideals?"

"Protect everyone who needs protection and save those in need. Not for the cameras, not for the glory, not for the fame or riches. Do it for the people. That is the hero ideal."

The camera showed that the words had gotten to Hawks and he was thinking them over. And shortly, the look of realization crossed his face.

"So the heroes you go after are the ones that only help people for the fame, money, and glory?"

"That's precisely it."

"And ... if I join you, you won't make me fight?" The desperation was clear in his voice, even if he tried to hide it.

"No, we won't make you do anything you do not want to. You will be able to make your own choices."

He thought about the offer for only a few seconds, though they seemed to drag into minutes. "Ok, I'll join you. But I won't do any fighting or killing."

"That is completely fine, we have enough people willing to do the dirty work anyway. Now, let's get you untied shall we."

I turned to the side and beckoned for Kai to help me untie the hero. Once freed he stood up and stretched out his arms and wings. Even being tied up for only a few minutes was uncomfortable for him.

We watched him stretch out and settle down before holding out our hands for him to shake. He eyed them with only the slightest bit of suspicion before shaking my hand and then Kai's.

"So hero, are you going to change your name or do you wish to keep Hawks?" Kai asked.

"Hawks is the name of a Hero, and I guess I'm not a Hero anymore am I? Then I think I should change my name. You can call me Fallen Angel from now on."

"Very well Fallen Angel, welcome to the Assassination Association."

With that the cameras were cut off and the stream was ended. We quickly shed the personas we had adopted for the performance and went back to our research and patrols.

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Gauntlet and I were out on patrol tonight. As were Neith, Loki, Zeus, and Caelestis. We were tasked with finding our next target, so we ended up back in our old neighborhood as there had been sightings of her there. None of us particularly wanted to be here because it brought back memories of our high school days. But we had a job to do and we would do it with everything we had.