For everyone else it was a typical morning. On a regular weekday, people wake up to go about their daily life in the monotone routine that they set for themselves. Yet for this person running through the alley, it was anything but typical. Nervous thoughts were racing through his mind as he ran. His oversized clothes sagged and flailed in the wind with each step. He was doing it again. Waking up late, rushing out to go somewhere, and being scolded for tardiness. Except this time, the stakes were much higher than just losing a job.

He ran as fast as he could until the streets were a blur. Nothing mattered to him. Even after a car almost runs him over, stopping soon enough to nudge the man, he kept going forward without dallying. All that mattered to him was that he needed to be there as soon as possible. As he was closer to his destination, he hears the sound of alarms and fear took over. Ahead of him, he saw the neon pillars which would tell him not to go this way. Yet, he runs past it and pushes himself even harder to get to his destination. A voice behind him tries to tell him to stop, but he ignores it completely. On the wall, there were rusty metal boxes which he knew covered the cameras. He followed the path that was planned out for him and zigzags between the streets and alleys.

Once he got close to his destination, he sees someone standing in the alleyway across the street. They wore a tan suit and a crystal ornament hung off the belt which gleamed in the dark alley. They seem to be staring at the rusty box bolted to the wall and seem to be pondering why it was there. The person jumped up and tore the box off the wall. A sheet of paper fell out of the box while the person was talking to someone on the phone. As they turn around, he saw the golden eyes of a man which seems to glow in the darkness.

The realization came instantly of who they were. It was the last person he wanted to see, the SDA Head Jin. Fear consumed him whole. He quickly hid behind a dumpster and slumped onto it before taking many deep breaths. His heart beats quickly and his hands tremble. He starts to get sick and nearly throws up onto himself, but he kept it down.

After a while, he takes one last deep breath, and concentrates on his left pinky. “What is he doing here,” he thought. “Did he find out?” He felt his pockets and noticed he forgot to bring his gloves. Without them, he wouldn't be able to get away with the crime he would soon commit. Instead, he tried his best to tuck himself away without being noticed and held his breath. He takes out his phone and sets up the camera to peek at the alleyway.

He saw Jin kneeling at the manhole cover. The man knew the cover was an illusion. His teammates had already climbed into the sewers to reach the meeting spot. Soon after, Jin walks out of the alley holding the warped metal box. He was walking away, much to his relief. Suddenly, he stops and turns around. The man's heart skips a beat and he stows his phone back into his pockets. Jin seems to be walking towards the dumpster. “Why is he coming this way!” He begins to hyperventilate again.

“Hello,” Jin yells. Thoughts flooded his mind as he wondered if Jin spotted him. He couldn't tell how he could've noticed. Was it his phone? Clothes? A sixth sense? Is that even possible? Maybe Jin was just calling someone else so he stayed completely still. When he heard Jin calling someone a second time, the man assumes that Jin was calling him. He decided to get up and walk away as quickly as he could.

As soon as he turned the corner he heard “Mr.Fullman” loud and clear. It was over. Now there was no escaping the SDA anymore. His face was known to them after all. He stood around the corner waiting for Jin to catch up. Thoughts raced through his mind as to what his next move. “What should I do? Can I fight him? Can I just say I was passing by? Is he just going to tell me to leave? I broke the security protocol, so he might ask questions first.”

Once Jin catches up to him, he turns around to face the imposing figure. Without much thought, he swings his arm around and hopes that his hand accidentally slaps him across the face. Unfortunately for him, his swinging arm doesn't come close to Jin. He was leaning against the wall at the corner. His golden eyes had narrow pupils similar to a panther while the expression on his face reflected how serious he was. “My name is Jin. I am from the SD-”

His dry throat lets out a response that squeaks at the end. “I know who you are. What do you want,” the man asked. His throat was parched from running so long and he wished to drink something.

Jin replied, “Eric Fullman. Age 42. Former occupation, butcher. You need to leave right now. This area will become dangerous soon.” The man named Eric didn't expect the warning. On the one hand, he's glad that Jin doesn't suspect him, but on the other, if he leaves, there's no guarantee of his safety later. He doesn't know if his accomplices will bring him up out of spite. More importantly, his livelihood was also on the line if he walks away right now. Once he goes home, he'll be back to figuring out how to raise enough money for his rent. They both look into each other's eyes and he recognized that Jin was suspicious of him. Rather than leave, he stays and tries to bluff him into staying.

“I live around here,” Eric replies.

“Your home is far from here Mr.Fullman.”

“I recently moved. I still need to change my address.”

“Where do you live?”

“In that building.” Eric points to a skyscraper which he hoped to be an apartment.

“That's a business building.” Eric flinched. He questions why he didn't say around the corner to make it more believable. “Mr.Fullman. I will ask again. For your safety, please leave the area.”

“If I refuse?” Eric's legs tremble as he said that. Sweat forms on his forehead and trickles down his face. Regret formed inside his mind. Questions about whether the SDA will quickly end him or torture him for answers swirled around his head.

“Then you will be arrested for obstruction of authority.”

“Arrested? Where's the danger huh? How do I know you aren't just pushing me around!” He puffs up his chest and struts closer to Jin with a false sense of confidence. His voice roared loud enough to catch the attention of the people living nearby. However, Jin remains indifferent.

“This will become dangerous. I'm doing my job of ensuring everyone's safety.” Eric thought of himself well at reading people. He remembered his many nights of poker at the club with strangers. Yet, Jin was unmoving, and spoke dispassionately. Nothing seem to change about him from their first encounter.

Jin continues, “Walk away now or face consequences.” The two waited in silence staring at each other.

Eric hoped that Jin would believe his bluff, or that he would leave. Instead, it seemed that Jin understood the situation more clearly. Thoughts raced through Eric's mind of what he should do. “Can I fight him? Will he let me go?” He glanced into Jin's eyes. “No. There's no way. And if those guys get caught, they'll spill.”

Without any other choice, Eric takes a deep breath in. A rush of air flows through nose and into his lungs. From his chest, a cooling sensation flows throughout his body. His aching muscles tremble and expand as the fatigue leaves through his mouth. He felt himself growing larger with each breath and his clothes fit around his changing body. Soon, he looked down at Jin, refreshed and ready to fight.

Despite the change, Jin remained where he was and looked up into his eyes. “No reaction,” Eric thought. “Guess it comes with being the boss. It was now or never.” Eric slides his right leg backwards and launches a right hook aimed squarely at Jin's face. He dodges easily with a quick jump to the side, pulverizing the wall he leaned on, and another jump to graze the follow-up chop from Eric's left arm. He examines Jin's chest and found nothing out of the ordinary. “I know I hit him,” Eric reflects. He looks at the finger he scored him with and, to his shock, notices it was bleeding at the tip. “What's the suit made of?”

Eric runs forward and delivers a flurry of jabs and punches which are effortlessly avoided by Jin with short side steps. As a final attempt, he tries to grab the leader's head to push down only to dig his hand into the ground. Eric was at a loss of what to do. He knew it wasn't going to be easy but never did he expect the fight to be so one-sided. Jin stood far away from his buried hand composed and calm. When Eric wipes the sweat from his brows, Jin appears in front of him poised to strike. He couldn't believe his eyes and tries to jump back but his hand was still stuck in the ground. He felt a fist pressed against his stomach and was launched into the air, freeing his trapped hand.

As Eric flew out of the alley, echoes of pain pulsated from his stomach. The feeling of an invisible fist crushing his abs and digging into him kept him in complete shock. He crashes into the sidewalk pavement bouncing off the ground and rolling across the empty street. He coughed aggressively with wide open eyes, clutching his stomach trying to soothe it. The energy and relief he felt in his body was fading, and his muscles shrinks as he tries to regain his breath.

Jin walks out of the alley and stands across the street from a recovering Eric. He coldly asks, “Mr.Fullman. Why are you intent on staying here?” Rather than answering, Eric concentrates on breathing. His stomach made it difficult to take large breaths of air without a bolt of pain running through his body. Slowly and unsteadily, Eric stands back up and guards himself for another attack. The air which once rejuvenated his body burns his stomach with each breath. He glanced at his arms and noticed they were shrinking quickly every second.

“Who are you working for,” Jin questions indifferently. Eric doesn't reply. Frantically, he runs at Jin again to punch him across the jaw. To his surprise, Jin slides down and trips him with a wide sweeping kick. As he falls over, he felt something gripping his ankle. The next moment, he was twirled around and thrown into the air. When he gets back on his feet, he realized he was back to where he was.

“Why are the cameras covered up, “ Jin questions. He walks forward slowly and calmly. The ornament swung slowly around back and forth as if to say hello. Without any other options, Eric reaches into his back pockets and grabs out an inhaler. As he inhales the whole canister, his body becomes light as a feather and quickly grows to be twice as large as Jin, pulsating with power. The pain in his stomach disappeared as he crushed the inhaler in his hand.

With a burst of confidence, Eric bends his legs. He jumps high into the air causing the sidewalk underneath to sunder. Immediately, Jin dashes forward staying low to the ground. As Eric lands where Jin once stood, a large crater forms with a pair of footprints at its centre. Without any delay, he spins around and readies himself to sprint at Jin, who was running away backwards. His feet digs into the ground and he lunges forward faster than a racecar. The foot scrapes across the ground sending a wave of rubble to bury Jin. As he readies his other foot for a roundhouse kick, he saw nobody in front of him. “What the. Where is he,” Eric thought with wide eyes. The wave of rubble splashed harmlessly onto the sidewalk.

“That inhaler is against your SDA contract, Mr.Fullman.” Eric turns around to see Jin standing on the crater he made. He didn't understand how Jin could still be faster than him. However, Eric worried more that he didn't look tired nor fazed by the destruction. “Since you broke it, you know the punishment.”

Eric takes a gulp and ran at Jin. With his speed and strength, he tries to grab Jin but, to his shock, Jin easily avoids the attempts and manoeuvres around him. Eric grabs a mailbox and swings it at Jin like it was a club. The mailbox misses and warps under the stress. He tosses the box at Jin but it missed. Jin punches his torso again but Eric doesn't flinch and instead makes an attempt to capture Jin in a bear hug. He slips out under his massive arms and keeps distance between them, with his left hand behind his back.

A sense of relief warmed Eric. Jin's attacks couldn't push him back like before. Yet, they were at a stalemate and Eric knew he cannot have a drawn out fight. The effects of the inhaler were wearing off and he felt his body shrinking quickly. There weren't many inhalers he could carry. He sweats profusely at the unknown behind Jin's back. As he uses another inhaler, he searches for any chance to strike.

Jin continues, “Who were you mee-” With a glint of hope, Eric zooms forward as fast as he could before Jin could finish the question. The wall of a nearby building collapsed and the crater where Eric stood became deeper. He rises out of the rubble and a little girl screams out of fear. The family inside take her and run into another room. Eric pushes away the rubble and staggers outside in a daze. In horror, he stares at Jin standing there patiently with his arms crossed. He was sure Jin was pushed along during his charge and yet, he was still outside unharmed and unfazed.

As he looked at Jin's feet, he noticed several inhalers. When he felt his pockets, he realized those were his. “Give up Mr.Fullman. You'll put yourself at risk.” His muscles shrink quickly as he hyperventilated. He runs at Jin screaming and tries to push him away to get to his inhalers. Unexpectedly, Jin stood his ground and kicks him. Staggering back, Eric was stunned at the sudden strength. He was sure that the inhaler was still working. As he was about to try again, an overwhelming force slugs him across his face. Each attack was getting stronger than the last and his body shrunk in spurts.

In a desperate attempt, Eric slams his hands into the ground and water sprays out. It splashes onto Jin's face blinding him. Sensing his last chance, Eric tries to grab Jin's leg to crush in his hand. Jin drops tiny black balls which explode into a flash of light. Eric closed his eyes and trips forward. When he opens it, Jin was nowhere to be seen. His hands were bloodied but the pile of inhalers were in front of him now.

After taking a step forward, he trips. His body felt heavy and shrunk back to his normal size. Soon, a strange stinging sensation was itching his arm. He looks over and sees several small darts. Hs body ached all over, overworked and exhausted. His vision starts to blur as he sees the shoes of the victor. “It's over. He's going to exile me.” He could hear something before he lose consciousness.

“Police Chief Agnes. A culprit has been detained. Someone's in the sewers...Who? Don't let the reporters in!”