He waited thirty days between arriving in a new city and offering his insurance services. Thirty days to let news of his arrival spread. Thirty days to quietly warn the other metahumans that their wanton violence would no longer be tolerated here, that a new player had arrived to keep them in check.
The body count still piled up, but it gave him justification in the eyes of the masses.
It had been thirty-four days since he arrived in San Antonio. He had sold hundreds of coverage plans on his first day of business, and it had taken less than a week for careless hero-on-villain violence to destroy a shopping center who had taken his services. Mortell surveyed the destroyed building, still smoldering from the fires of the 'hero' who had cut loose against his 'villain', with a neutral expression.
"I saw the fight," he said, turning to the business-owner who stood behind him, hat in hand and head bowed slightly. "Every news station had a chopper or a van in the area. There's no question as to the authenticity of your claim, merely the amount. File your paperwork with my assistant, and I'll see that you're compensated."
The man bobbed his head, stammering out, "Thank you, Mr. Mortell."
Mortell nodded as he turned away again, the future dancing in his vision as he looked ahead. The villain in question had been locked away in a supermax, out of easy reach, but also not a flight risk. He could be dealt with second. The hero, on the other hand, still roamed free, and as soon as he realized he'd destroyed a building insured by the Mortell Group, he might try to flee the city. As he climbed into the back seat of his town car, he pulled out his phone and searched the hero's headquarters; it made his job much easier that licensed heroes were required to be publicly accountable.
Three hours and one planning session later, Mortell stood across the street from the hero's office building, the long coat that concealed his gear flapping slightly in the breeze. The cars packed the street bumper-to-bumper, which allowed Mortell to cross without worry, and which would delay emergency response times.
He pushed open the double doors and stepped up to the front desk, giving the receptionist a warm smile. "I know you're just doing your job, so I'll get right to the point. My name is Declan Mortell. I'm here to kill Superhot, and any other metahuman that tries to stop me. Warn him or don't, as you wish, but I recommend evacuating the building when you're finished. Superhot is not known for restraint."
Wide eyes stared up at him, and he could feel her gaze on his back as he left the desk, making his way through a door and up the stairwell. He took the stairs two at a time, a physically powerful form hidden beneath his tailored suit, mentally counting down how long it would take the hero to get the news. On floor 24 of 30, the building shuddered as an distant blast echoed down the stairs from above. Right on schedule.
Mortell burst through the door onto the top floor, taking in the situation at a glance. The formerly-glamorous penthouse office was, to one degree or another, on fire, and Superhot, his back to the stairwell, was throwing things into a suitcase, though at Mortell's entrance, he turned to face him, a scowl on his face, and immediately launched a stream of flame from his palm.
The flames singed the hem of Mortell's coat as he danced aside, flicking his wrist to draw a single dagger from a hidden sheathe as he sprang forward. Superhot raised a hand once more, but Mortell had changed trajectories before the fire even left the hero's hand, ducking beneath it and driving his dagger into Superhot's chest with surgical precision.
Dark crimson stained the brighter red of the hero's costume as he staggered a single step backwards, slumping against his desk into a sitting position, his breathing faltering. Mortell straightened his coat, gazing down at the fallen figure with no more expression than he'd shown at the site of the hero's destruction. He reached down and withdrew the weapon from the hero's chest, prompting a fresh gush of blood, then smoothly dragged the blade across his victim's throat. A choked death rattle escaped him, and the fires that had been feebly clinging to his fingertips died away.
Mortell produced a handkerchief, wiped the dagger clean, and dropped the cloth onto the hero's body. Carefully stepping over the growing pool of blood, he crossed to one of the windows, then pressed the tip of the knife against the glass and gave it a firm strike with the palm of his hand, cracking the glass. A hard blow from his elbow caused the window to shatter, but rather than climbing out onto the ledge, he stepped across to the stairway entrance, drawing a second knife as he pressed his back against the wall.
Running footsteps echoed up the stairs, and two more metahumans came running into the room, both of them stopping short, one letting out a cry, as they saw their fallen employer. Mortell stepped forward, coming up behind them both and driving one blade into each of them, puncturing the lungs. One fell immediately, but the other, a more hardy sort of fellow, spun around, lashing out with a backwards elbow that Mortell ducked under, coming back up to stab a second time, piercing the metahuman's other lung.
Even the most durable hero needs to breathe, and after another feeble swipe, he, too, collapsed at Mortell's feet.
All threats dispatched, Mortell made his way to the broken window, carefully cleaning his daggers with a second handkerchief which he also discarded. He stepped out onto the ledge, pausing for a moment to listen to the distant sirens that approached, then leapt forward, clearing the narrow alleyway to land, rolling to bleed momentum, on the roof of the building next door. As he adjusted his coat, he pressed a button on his wristband, calling his driver. "Everything went down according to plan. I'll be there in ten."
Without waiting for confirmation, he crossed over to the roof access bulkhead, pulling it open and making his way down the stairs. His thoughts already cast forward, mentally running down the weaknesses and opportunities of the supermax where the villain was being held. The job, after all, was only half-done.
@gingerly-writing I hope you don’t mind the tag! You seemed very fond of/interested in Mortell’s story.
Thanks to the creative gingerly-writingon Tumblr, I’ve recently acquired a set of characters and the bare bones of a story based in a world populated by super-powered metahumans, heroes, villains, and all shades of morality in between. Our two main characters are Declan Mortell, an arguably psychopathic businessman/supervillain who uses his powers and schemes to further his company, and Aurelia…
