Egotistic - J.JK.

Three

I sat there on the bed, huddled in the corner of the room. I hugged my knees to my chest, staring off into space. The empty feeling inside me still remained after the small fight, no warmth or power surging through my limbs.

I had burned out.

The stupid hero took me somewhere back to their base, the part of town it was in not familiar at all. After they had pulled off my mask, they never said a word to me, not even one. It was like they had gone mute once they saw my face, which was odd because they were the one that usually talked while I was silent.

Coming to their base, I was a little bit fearful. It wasn't usual that I was afraid from how invincible I felt sometimes, but they were someone on the same level with me, a broader spectrum of abilities rather than just being a normal person that wandered the streets day to day.

I didn't have enough time to take a glimpse at the base in a whole because I was ushered down narrowed halls that were much different from a large room I had seen when I came in. These halls were lined in concrete and cold while the room was filled with technology I had never witnessed before and a comfortable temperature.

It was like they wanted to keep me in the dark and hidden away from others.

So there I sat, the room white like one of those rooms you see a psychotic person in that are in movies. It had blaring florescent lights that hurt my eyes at first, a deep silence that I couldn't get over. Everything was sleek and clean, a small half bathroom in the corner while the bed was in the other. There were no TVs, no cellphones, just the blank walls with nothing around.

I didn't know how long I had been in the room for, but the door to the cell-like room opened. I was met with a tall man walking into the room, his hands clasped behind his back. Searching over him, I found a few things that were odd about him.

On his belt hung a holster for both a gun and a knife, them slightly hidden underneath the dress coat he had on. He wore a suit and tie like he was going to a business meeting, his platinum blond hair done nicely. He didn't have a cold expression on his face, but he seemed like he meant business.

We stared at each other for a minute or two, the door that opened for him closing and audibly locking. He didn't seem afraid, and the fear inside me was still small, but they were going to find out my weakness soon enough and I was growing scared for that.

"Do you go by a name?" the guy asked, sounding patient as all get out. He didn't stutter, he didn't sound scared, he sounded relaxed.

I didn't dare say anything, only glare at him while pressing my back more and more into the wall. I wanted to cover as much of the back of my neck as I could.

"Alright," the guy said with a shrug, wandering more over to me but stopped enough away to where I wouldn't get spooked. "Then we'll keep calling you by the name we've been using for the past couple of years: Class 3: Ego 12."

I couldn't help but feel confused over that, but it had to be some code for who I was in whatever system they had going on. I would just have to role with the punches and go by that for then on.

"We've been hunting for you for over two years," the man continued, his eyes sparkling a bit. "You're quite slick enough to slip away, especially with the powers you have. Do you live in society like the rest of us or do you hide away somewhere until it's time to strike?"

"After two years, I thought you might have already figured that out," I mumbled sarcastically, slipping a hand down between my stomach and legs, rubbing the spot on my left thigh that still ached a little, even after hours of healing. The guy must have done a number on me.

"A word out of you finally," the man said, his eyebrows lifting high. It seemed like I had taken him by surprise. "We weren't sure if you could talk or not."

I rolled my eyes a little at that. "How stupid are all of you? Of course I can talk."

"You killed that man tonight," the guy said, now seeming to grow excited from my new expression. Though he was excited, my stomach sunk at his words. "Why did you do it?"

"My business is to remain silent," I said coldly. "I have my own reasons and plans. I don't plan on sharing them anytime soon."

"What you have done throughout the years is considered assault and manslaughter. You can easily be locked up for this, maybe for at least one life sentence."

I leaned my head back against the wall, hating of being reminded of that. They still haven't understood my motives yet, which was extremely idiotic of them for not figuring it out over the years. If this was where the hero had taken me, then they should have been able to even figure out something, but it was apparent they hadn't.

"Lock me up," I murmured under my breath, closing my eyes with a small sigh. Defeat was drawing closer and closer. I wasn't going to be able to continue my act for much longer. My powers had no use anymore, especially when there was no physical threat to trigger my anger. "That's what you wanted all along."

"The authorities don't know that we have you yet." I heard the guy rustle through something for a moment, maybe in his pocket. "If you don't want to be put in jail, we may have an alternative for you to take."

I paused in my lowering emotions for a moment, opening my eyes to see the guy holding onto a piece of paper and a pen. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You have always been our trickiest Ego here," the guy said, unfolding the paper in his hand carefully. "Quick, decisive, cunning. Our best man couldn't even lay a hand on you. We need someone like that on our team. We need an excellent problem solver to take back the population's innocence."

"I don't want any part of your team," I told him, shaking my head. "I'm not on your side. Not after what's happened."

"We need you," he told me, giving a small smile. "Many of the Egos we take in turn into our finest heroes. You have all of the qualifications for the job."

I glared at the man for a second, then down at the paper. "What is that?"

"You can read over it," he approached me, holding out the paper and pen. "It just explains the basic knowledge. You can purposefully do major damage to our property, you have to follow our rules, you have a curfew, and some other things. It's really rules and an agreement to your new job."

Once he made his way over to me, I took the pen and paper from his hands, scanning over the words that were typed clearly in just some brief sentences. I gnawed on my lip as I read the letter, but something caught my eye.

I slowly peered up from the paper and to the man, furrowing my eyebrows together. "Two years?"

"Oh, yes," he also said, waving a hand at that. "The minimum amount of years until you're able to retire is two years. That's when you can return to society and continue life like a normal citizen."

A bit of excitement sparked through me. "Two years? That's it?"

"If you follow all the rules, yes," he nodded his head. "If you go off of the guidelines, though, you'll either be expelled and put in jail or retry your years of service."

With the thought of that, I could return back to the normal world, find a new job and have a new life. I could start all over again, change my name and person. I could finally become something that I've been wanting to be for years.

I hesitated for a moment, but I pulled the paper up to my knee and threw my signature on the line on the contract. The burden of defeat suddenly lifted off my shoulders, but something ate my stomach lining, telling me that I may have made the biggest mistake of my life.

I gave the guy back the pen and paper, fading back into my huddled position. He took it, looked at my signature, then held out a hand towards me. "I'm Namjoon. Welcome to Bangtan Services, Y/N."