The first client calls before six.
It’s going to be a good day.
I ready myself with a swish and a click,
None will stand in my way.
My blades slide smoothly into their scabbards,
My holstered guns lighten my belt,
I don my Aurobelis armor, beaten and battered,
Every glancing blow today will be felt.
But I do not care, as I prep my deadly munitions:
Knives, explosives, and perhaps a little surprise.
I check my target — oh, someone has great ambitions,
Given the generosity of their proffered prize.
This bounty is a challenge for even the best hired guns,
By this force, even twenty men could be easily overrun,
But I do not hesitate to tell my client, “Consider it done.”
I punch in the coordinates, smiling. This should be fun.
A void of blue and white sends me across the globe,
Deposits me near the home of my next victim,
I ready my sensors, and begin my probe,
Assessing my foe and trying to predict him.
I silently hope today will throw me a curveball,
Something new that I have not foreseen,
But when you’ve faced one Dealer you’ve faced them all,
All too easy to complete the job unseen.
I slip into the lieutenant’s home, skulking about,
Silently dispatching a few guards on the way,
They never even glimpse me, these outlying scouts,
As I sneak up and coat the halls in a blood spray.
I approach the target’s chambers, almost bored,
But the tips of my mouth perk up as I detect a horde
Of nearly fifty soldiers with shield and sword,
I chuckle in delight, my will and focus restored.
These are the moments for which I live,
The thrill of rushing in, guns blazing, head clear.
I unleash everything that my armaments have to give,
Laughing as these sellswords scatter in fear.
Oh, what a sight! What a joy! What delight!
Watching them be torn to pieces and shreds,
Some dare challenge my martial might,
Only for me to put a bullet in their head.
Some part of me recalls that I was supposed to stealth,
But with such swift victory it hardly seems a need.
Everything fades as I deprive my foes of their health,
There is only my job —and what a job it is indeed!
Dancing through the crowds, all my guns firing,
Blowing past my foes, who are futilely conspiring,
Trying to coordinate, but weak and perspiring,
My whole body tingles with energy inspiring,
I rush forward with a roar, relentless and untiring,
And gleefully hack at guards till they’re expiring.
Mine truly is a life to which all should be aspiring.
Finally the bounty before me drops to his knees,
His defenses are all dead, he has only his pleas,
Offering to triple my considerable hunting fees,
And I entertain him with a mischievous tease,
I accept his large bribe, and watch him sigh with ease,
And then suddenly, viciously, it’s his throat that I seize!
Mine is the last face that this Dealer sees.
And just like that it’s over. There is fun no more.
A quiet falls over these massacred floors.
My battle rush gone, I stand there in a miserable bore.
This silence post-brawl is what I most abhor,
I grow so miserable so quickly without blood and gore,
Then a call reaches me, offering another great score,
And I smile, feeling again that drive I live for.
Truthfully, the money is nearly nothing at all;
It’s the peril and danger that I adore.
My performances pave way for others’ downfalls,
And I have time for so many more encores.
[Author’s Note: This poem about Danger Powers, master mercenary and future Guardian of Gamma, was originally written February 18, 2022. This, I confess, is not my best poem, but it’s not bad and the site needs stories. Danger Powers, in his youth, is not a particularly complicated person, and that’s actually a great part of his issues that he has to deal with when he’s handed far, far more responsibility than he could have ever expected, and quite possibly more than he should ever have been given. From this starting point, he goes on one of the most drastic journeys in all the Thyriaverse, and I do hope I can spend some more time with him in the future. Until we have need of one another again.]
