Once upon a time, there was a well armoured car called the ‘Fist-mobile’. It was heavily armoured, ugly like shit, and stick out like a sore thumb along the streets of Velocity City. Victor believed that the name was suppose to be a joke. A pun on his well-deserved reputation with the ladies, but Victor loved it. He loved that car.

Unfortunately, being so prominent was a problem. Assassins knew the vehicle Victor would be travelling in and that made Victor an easy target. So, the Fist-mobile was never replaced after being shot up.

When Victor arrived at Jennifer’s Place, it was in an inconspicuous black sedan with black-out windows. Let it not be said that an old villain couldn’t change its spots.

Victor was not alone. Three villain support were with him. Victor didn’t think they were necessary, but as the most infamous villain in Velocity City, it wouldn’t do to be seen to be alone. When people see a powerful man on his own, it gives them ideas.

Even powerful villains need cannon-fodder.

Victor was also not the first to arrive at Jennifer’s Place. The heroine known as Night Leopard was already outside the diner with two police officers. The officers’ presence reminded Victor that the Kings was part of Night Leopard’s beat. Night Leopard wasn’t just a heroine, but also a part of the Velocity City Police Department. Like most police departments nowadays, the VCPD had a Hero division and Victor had to stop himself from cursing. Months after his release, there were still things Victor could not get used to, and this was one of them. Twenty years ago, there was a clear line between The Game and civilian life. Some things had changed and Victor was less than happy about this one. Nothing good could come with blurring the lines between the two ways of life. Victor got out of the sedan and was immediately noticed. The heroine approached him with the two police officer behind her.

“Master Fist.”

The tone of the greeting from Night Leopard was flat but polite, and Victor wasn’t petty enough to take out his dislike of the world on a hapless beat…heroine? Even thinking about it made Victor winced.

“Night Leopard, right? I’m surprised to see the VCPD here.”

“We had reports of a woman in the diner with a gun. Considering the location, I was told to ‘wait’ for your arrival.”

Victor was surprised by that. He knew that the city was slowly getting used to his presence, but he didn’t know that the city was so accommodating that they would stop a heroine from doing her job. Night Leopard was certainly unhappy about the order, but it was probably a good thing she didn’t confront Koyuki. Then, it hit Victor. Maybe it wasn’t about him. Maybe someone in VCPD knew who Koyuki was.

“Looks like you have someone smart in command. That order may have just saved your life.”

Night Leopard looked surprised, but Victor ignored her and entered Jennifer’s Place. He saw her immediately. Koyuki Niwa was sitting along the long counter in a white blouse and a pair of trousers. The clothes looked good on her, but Koyuki always dressed well. She was always plain-looking, but she looked older now, with wrinkles and a touch of grey in her hair. He guessed things haven’t been easy for her since he left her. Victor also saw the revolver on the counter, the magical six-shooter that once made Koyuki known throughout Nexus as the Six-shot Samurai.

There was a quietness in the diner, and Victor saw that everyone was staying well away from the counter. Only Jennifer was near Koyuki, standing near where a concealed gun was located under the counter. Shockingly, there were still customers in the diner. Two of them were even taking videos. Victor thought about ordering his villain support to confiscate the cameras but realized he was probably too late. Victor sighed. With the modern world, those two idiots were probably streaming the whole thing. He gave his daughter a reassuringly nod before sitting beside Koyuki.

“Coffee, please.” Jennifer’s eyebrow raised, but she played her part. She came over and poured Victor a cup with no sugar. Just the way he liked it.

“Was the six-shooter really necessary?” He asked as he took a sip of the coffee.

“It was the best way to get your attention. You are a famous name now, Victor, but word is you care about your daughter.”

“You could have just called H.A.V.E to make an appointment.”

“I don’t have time for that. Our son does not have time for that.”

“I see.” Victor took another sip of his coffee. “Jennifer told me you said Takuma was in trouble. What happened?”

Instead of answering, Koyuki glanced at him. Victor waited. Then, Koyuki placed a device on the counter and pressed a button on it. A holographic video appeared, and Victor saw a handsome young man walking in a destroyed building. Victor recognized him. He seen a picture of the young man before. He was Takuma Niwa, one of Victor’s children.

Takuma was talking about how exciting it was to be in a former base of a hero and what a great adventure it was. Victor couldn’t see it. Maybe it was because he had never heard of this superhero, Ice Aura, but the whole thing looked a little boring to him. Then, it was no longer boring.

Takuma found something buried in the ground. He dug it up and it was a scroll. Victor growled as his idiotic son opened the scroll and summoned some sort of ghost. The video ended with the wolf-like ghost entering Takuma’s body. He looked questioning at Koyuki who answered his unspoken question.

“Takuma is alive, but he is in a coma. The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with him. Physically, he is fine, but he just won’t wake up.”

“Magic?”

Koyuki nodded. “When science didn’t work, that’s what everyone thought as well. I called in some favors and got a few magic-users to look at him. They believe the problem is spiritual in nature and tried a few treatments. Nothing worked so far, and they are running out of ideas. They have no idea what to do about this.”

“So, you came to me.”