John stood outside the door of Valentine manor. It was a cold afternoon as the breeze was stronger than the day before. The snow had stopped but the weather was always unpredictable. He was dressed in a black hoodie with dark gray jeans. His shoes were a dark blue shade. He waited patiently as the door finally opened. Scarlet stood before him with a confused look on her face. They stood awkwardly as they stared at each other. Liza the maid appeared beside Scarlet with a welcoming smile on her face.

"Please come in, John." She said as she pushed Scarlet aside so he could come in. John glanced at Scarlet as he stepped passed her, noticing the annoyed look on her face.

"I'm guessing you and Gizmo are a thing now." John said as he headed down the steps. He looked over his shoulder to see a disgusted look on Scarlet's face.

"Definitely, not anything with him. I've been assigned as his bodyguard in case Dante comes after him." She said as John became curious about her response. Why would Dante target Gizmo?

"What would make him want to go after Gizmo?" John asked curiously as he walked over to a couch in the living room. He sat down as Liza appeared with a can of soda. She handed it to John as she glared at Scarlet. He didn't know why Liza disliked Scarlet but it was obvious. 

"There is a plan to deport all of the people with abilities to vacant Islands. Gizmo is considering helping the effort to fulfill this goal." Scarlet said as John squashed the soda bottle in his hand. Soda spilled all over the floor. Scarlet stared at him with a look of surprise on her face.  

"Where is he right now?" John said angrily as Scarlet rolled her eyes as she pointed up at the ceiling. John's heightened senses awakened as he began to hear everything going on upstairs. He heard crashing and giggling from at least three women. It was clear Gizmo was exploring the anatomy of the female body. John wondered if he should barge in, but he figured that was too weird.

"What's the deal between you two? Last time I saw you, he had beat you up pretty bad." Scarlet said as John looked around the room. The place was filled with so much artwork done by Melina. John knew that Gizmo loved her deeply but he never went about things the right way.

"His father took me in when I was fourteen. He and I became family the few years I lived with them until a few months before senior year. His mother was murdered and we were both there. He blames me for what happened to her." John said as he walked over to a sculpture a few feet away from him. 

John thought about Melina as he looked at the sculptures and paintings. He still was amazed by her creativity and talents.

“How exactly did you end up staying with them?" Scarlet asked as John stood silently. He never told the truth about what happened that day.

Flashback 

John stood alone in the living room of his home, staring off into space. His guardian had been gone for two weeks, and there was no sign of him returning. There wasn't a note to be found, he was gone as if he never existed. John tried calling, but the phone had been disabled. John knew he'd have to start paying bills to keep the lights on. Unfortunately, he wasn't old enough to get a job yet. If he didn't go to school, then he'd be sent away to a foster home. John didn't understand why someone would abandon their kid or their home. He started toward the kitchen until he got this eerie feeling. 

The atmosphere in the room changed as the wicked breeze flowed about the room. John took a deep breath as he turned around. A woman stood in the living room, holding one of his pictures. She had platinum-colored skin and long black hair. The sclera of her eyes was gray, and the iris of them was a mahogany color. John felt tense as she looked up at him with a strange look on her face.

"You don't even know what you are, do you? Such a shame, but I must erase you." She said in an emotionless tone as a mahogany shade of energy spiraled around her.  

John moved thoughtlessly across the room. A small table in front of him causes him to grab it. As he throws it, the energy disintegrated it into ash. He continues running up to the second floor. John stopped in the hallway and placed his hand on a spot on the wall. A trap door opened to reveal a stash of weapons. He grabbed a handful of shurikens and started throwing them. Effortlessly, her energy attacks disintegrates them. John grabbed two daggers breathing heavily as he readied himself for a fight. 

He lunged forward and lowered his body as he rammed his shoulder into her. They went crashing down the steps, and once hit the ground, he rolled to his feet. The woman stood up as she popped her arm back into place. He swung the daggers cutting her deeply as he pushed up against the wall.

"Who are you?" He asked as she tried to hit him with the energy that seemed chaotic and unnatural. She began to look annoyed as this strange form of energy spiraled around the room. John stumbled to the ground as the floor began to rumble. What was happening, and who was this woman? John crawled over to a vent on the wall, but it became harder to stay on the floor. He took off the cover of the vent, revealing it wasn't an actual vent. Behind the cover was another trap door. Behind the trap door, John had illegal fireworks that were explosives. He grabbed a lighter, and all the fireworks he'd stored away. John was floating in the air struggling to light the fireworks as everything began to disappear. 

Lights flickered out of control as the electronics in the room exploded. John managed to light the fireworks, throwing them in different directions. The fireworks began to explode and fire everywhere around the room. The woman was getting hit in the face as a fire erupted in the living room. John still floated in the air as the house caught on fire. The fireworks still spiraled out of control through the house as he was sent crashing through a window. John rolled on the ground to extinguish the flames on his clothes. He breathed heavily as he coughed in pain. He rolled onto his back as he realized it was raining. The cloudy night sky showered the earth with heavy rain. He winced in pain and closed his eyes.

Present

John turned around and looked at Scarlet as they both stood silently. He sighed as he walked over to her. She had her arms folded across her chest as appeared to be waiting for an answer.       

“Someone set my house on fire. After that, Mr. Valentine came to see me at the child protective service facility.” John said as Scarlet seemed to be doubting his answer. 

He knew he never came up with a solid story, but he stuck with it. Although, he wasn’t lying about setting his house on fire. He didn’t feel it would be safe to say a woman burned down with it. John knew he would have been sent to jail for murder and arson. Despite the fact, a body was never found in the rubble of his old home.  

"Do you believe Mr. Valentine was an honest man?" Scarlet asked as John stared at her in silence. 

Mr. Valentine did a lot of positive things and was kind to many people. John saw Mr. Valentine's true self on many occasions. The most John could say was that Mr. Valentine tried to be, but he was often a troubled person.

"I think he was a decent man, who had his fair share of demons." John said as he heard laughter causing him to look over at the imperial staircase. Gizmo was walking the steps in a robe and holding a bottle of champagne. Three women wearing only shirts were with him as well. John noticed how beautiful they all were and that they were of different ethnicity.

"What are you doing here?" Gizmo questioned as he stumbled around drunkenly. He laughed as the girls chuckled while holding on to him. John sighed as he rested his face in his right hand.

"I hear you're sponsoring a carnival that's supposed to be happening soon. I just wanted to tell you that Dante might attack then." John said as Gizmo laughed as he approached him. He rested his hands on John's shoulder as he looked at him with a smile. John hated seeing Gizmo like this, and he knew it would only get worse.

"The task force will be everywhere, so don't worry, everything will be fine." Gizmo said reassuringly but John didn't feel it was safe to keep the carnival scheduled. 

"Will they be prepared to stop a bomb in the form of a superhuman?" John questioned as Gizmo began to frown as he backed away. He scratched his head as he appeared to be thinking. John watched as Gizmo took a sip from the champagne bottle. He noticed Scarlet watching with a look of disgust on her face. It disappointed John to see Gizmo doing this to himself. He knew Gizmo disliked certain things about his father, but he was acting like him.

"The carnival will happen regardless of what I say, dude. All I can do is have everyone on guard." He said as he turned away to face the three women sitting on his couch. He walked over to them dancing drunkenly, causing them to giggle hysterically. John was disappointed at the fact Gizmo act so careless. He looked over at Scarlet who shrugged as she appeared to be annoyed.

"The way you're acting might be why you lost Melina, Gizmo." John said in a serious tone as he turned away. He started walking toward the steps to the front door. Gizmo appeared in front of him with a deathly glare on his face.

"Neither of us deserved someone as special as her. Now don't come back here or I'll kill you." Gizmo said in a serious tone as he stepped to the side. 

John nodded as he stepped passed him and grabbed hold of the door. He took a deep breath as he pulled it open to the outside world. John took no time lingering around as he was already in the yard walking. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked down the trail to the front gate. John decided the best place to go to was the club Typhon. He figured he could get more information about Dante's plan. If Dante's followers were there he could figure out who'd be attacking the carnival for him. He wasn't in the mood to travel to zone B, but he had no choice. John wanted to stop Dante as soon as possible. Once he was in custody, then John could pursue Dr. Lee. 

John walked silently through the neighborhood of Blackthorn District. Many homes had been burned down at the hands of Jason. This was one of the men involved in the death of Mrs. Valentine. As John thought about him, he realized Jason could be dead. He remembered the power he had, which sent Jason hurdling out of the building at Reaper Island. John's hands trembled as he worried he was a murderer. He breathed heavily as he stumbled down the street as he grew panicked. John rubbed the back of his neck as he knelt over, struggling to catch his breath. His sense suddenly heightened again as he started to hear his heart beating fast.

"Stop being weak." A voice said causing John to stand up straight to look around. 

He grabbed his head as he breathed heavily, unsure of what was happening. John didn’t see anyone around him. A strange gust of wind blew by him. It sent chills down his neck causing him to rub it vigorously.

“Who said that?” John asked loudly as the strange eerie voice didn’t speak again. 

He continued to look around as he started walking nervously. He scratched his head as he finally calmed himself. What the hell was happening to him he wondered? John took in a deep breath as he continued down the vacant street. As he continued walking, he heard footsteps behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Diane following him. She appeared to have a perplexed look on her face. She was wearing a black jacket, black jeans, and black boots. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

"You know the rich guy?" She questioned as she finally caught up to John. He nodded as he continued walking with her beside him. The roads in the neighborhood seemed lifeless. No cars seemed to pass by as John strolled passed a burned down residency.

"Unfortunately I do but why are you here?" John questioned as he looked over at Diane. She shrugged as they crossed the street together. John shook his head, feeling annoyed as he realized she was simply nosy.

"I wanted to apologize for earlier I shouldn't have forced you to fight me. Also, I shouldn't have punched a hole in your stomach. It was uncalled for, and you'd be dead because of me. I'm sorry." She said with an apologetic tone as John rested his hand on her head. She appeared to tense up as he looked down at her with a calm look on his face.

"If I'm going to find out what I'm becoming, then I need to be pushed. I need to know my limits, so I can surpass them. Whatever weaknesses and strengths I have, I need to keep working on them. As of right now, whatever that secret power of your is that's a slight weakness. It’s slowed my regenerative process." John said as Diane nodded as he turned away from her.

“Where are you going?” Diane asked from behind John. He looked over his shoulder to see her still following him. At this point he was no longer annoyed by her and actually liked her.

“If you’re going to follow me, then shut up and follow me." John said as he continued walking. 

He was trying to do his best to figure out how he would beat Dante, and Dr. Lee when he faced them. Both of their abilities were energy-based, and Dr. Lee could teleport. John took in a deep breath as he cleared his head and continued on his journey.