[Nicholas Acker Villin]

The pizzeria was smaller than the one already established in Los Eurosia, but it was owned by an Italian family eager to bring their own recipes to the town. This one was one of the most exhausting jobs Acker had ever taken. Not because of the animatronics, he loved a challenge, but because of the human factor. The owners kept talking to him in Italian and being all touchy-feely like only an Italian could be. Exhausting. Especially because he had to put up with it, not because they could fire him, but because of his reputation around town, he was a Villin so he had to behave in a certain way, in this case pretending to be all friendly-like with the owners.

Acker was missing not having his assistant around because he would have dealt with the owners while the mad scientist would have spent all the time working on the animatronics. No matter, he had time now. As per usual, the owners insisted to offer Acker to cook dinner for him that he could eat while working. He was munching on the delicious slice of pizza while checking that every entrance was closed to avoid being interrupted.

The dogs were with him and barked at Acker eating the pizza. Even though the two dogs didn't need to eat, they could still eat, and the dogs enjoyed the taste of food since the power upgrade. Acker rolled his eyes but with a smile on his face "Sure, I can't eat all of it anyway" Acker grabbed the plate and placed it on the floor for the dogs to reach. Zeus didn't wait a moment and immediately stuffed his face into the pizza while Apollo looked up at Acker asking for confirmation "Zeus! Leave some for your brother!" there was a little growl coming out of Zeus, but the dog complied and let Apollo have his turn.

While the dogs were busy eating pizza, Acker entered the back of the kitchen and washed his hands and mouth, paying particular attention to his Hercule Poirot moustache. Finally, it was time to work. The mad scientist entered the pizzeria's backroom where two animatronics were standing in the middle of the room. The animatronics looked like a metal skeleton at the moment because Acker was working on their inner mechanics. He took off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his black shirt then he wore a pair of gloves with buttons on them. The doc pressed a button and two round drones woke up and flew towards the animatronics, eager to start working.

Acker put on a pair of goggles and started working on the animatronics with the help of the drones. He was so immersed in the work that he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings.

Genesis Donovan

[Genesis Donovan]

But leaving now would be a good idea
So catch me up on getting out of here

CW: intended murder

---

Genie had a new assignment, a new target - Nicholas Acker Villin. Her first thought was to just get it over with as quickly as possible, but then she read the notes from past failed hunts. She realized this was going to be more difficult than just getting in and out of the man's house. He had money, both family money and he owned a tech business. From what she could gather, the house he lived in was a giant trap and she didn't want to risk going there. So, instead, she had been following him around, trying to get his schedule down and pick the right time to strike, in public.

It was always more risky, going after someone in a public place. As she had been observing him from a distance, Genie noticed that Villin had been coming to this pizzeria and staying past closing time, so she figured this was going to be her best shot. Once she had her plan in place, she used her invisibility to slip into the restaurant shortly before closing time.

She was going to wait patiently. Her plan was to approach him when he was alone, slide a knife across his carotid artery and let him bleed out in less than 20 seconds. It would be the quickest, quietest way to get the job done. It would leave some mess, but that wasn't her concern.

As the customers filed out and the staff was busy finishing up their end of the night tasks, Genie made her way to the rear of the restaurant, looking for her target. She watched as he set a plate down for his dogs. Who brings dogs with them everywhere? It had been something she noticed, but she wasn't too concerned about them. She'd gotten around dogs before, as long as they were distracted with food like they were now, they shouldn't be much issue.

Genie made it to the next room in time to watch Villin finish cleaning himself up. Still invisible, she walked with practiced gentle, quiet steps that were necessary to remain unnoticed. She paused, letting the man get engrossed in his work. It would be easier to strike when he was bent over. She wanted this to be quiet, not to draw any unnecessary attention. Once he was working on his project, she drew even closer, fingers twitching against the handle of the switchblade in her pocket.

When the right opportunity came up, Genie bound into action. But before she could connect with the side of his neck, than man had moved, and she missed her intended target, only the very tip of the blade making contact with skin. Where had it hit? She didn't think it was going to be enough, but the jig was up. Genie was prepared to flee the restaurant. She started taking slow and quiet steps back, hoping to make a clean exit. She could fight, but wanted to avoid it as much as possible.

---

Tag: Nicholas Acker Villin
Note: Let me know if it needs any changes.

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

The mad scientist's adrenaline flared so suddenly that his body started tingling for a few moments, and a small surprised but concern cry escaped his lips. Acker jerked back and pressed his hand against his throat then he opened up his hand and looked down at the palm: there was blood. He was bleeding. He had been cut. But, by what? What was happening?

Suddenly, one of the drones stopped working on the animatronics and instead turned around. An infrared light came out from the drone's surface, as if it was a disco ball for infrared. The room got engulfed in red rays. Melodic sounds were produced by drone and Acker frowned. The drone warned that there was something in the room, but it wasn't visible.

Still pressing the hand against the cut, Acker stood up. The only positive was that all the costumers and staff members had left the building, meaning that Acker could engage in some beta testing. Whatever there was in the room, they were gonna have to deal with his latest creations. The animatronics' eyes lightened up and their heads moved left and right to gather their bearings. Then, in unison, they moved their heads towards Acker. After a moment, their eyes turned red and then started running after whatever this invisible thing was.

The doc smiled, and not a normal everyday smile, but a stereotypical mad scientist smile. Red meant scanning, it meant being able to see whatever Acker's eyes couldn't see. Also, he could observe his creations at work. Sure, this was an unusual beta testing, but field data was still field data.

Genesis Donovan

[Genesis Donovan]

But leaving now would be a good idea
So catch me up on getting out of here

---

Failure was tauntingly close. Genie hated being a failure, but if it was between her getting hurt or failing, she was going to chose failure. She had a tendency to flee at the first sign of danger to herself, and this was going to be no exception. She'd missed on her first shot, but still cut him. She wasn't sure how deep it had gone, but certainly it wasn't deep enough.

Memories of past failures washed over her. She knew there would be consequences, but she wouldn't be the first hunter to fail at eliminating Nicholas Villin. She had a feeling that she wouldn't be the last to fail, either. There were some targets that were just harder to eliminate than others. This man seemed to be on that list.

Genie was considering striking again, or just cutting her loss and bolting for the exit. She was stopped in the middle of the room, and then the two monstrosities of wires and metal that Villin had been working on seemed to, well, come to life. Genie wasn't sure what they were doing, but it didn't seem like it was going to be anything good. She started backing up again, but before she knew it, they were running in her direction.

"Shit..." Genie whispered, barely audible. There wouldn't be enough time to get out, but when she looked back at Villin she realized she was still closer to him than she was to the door. If she succeeded, would the technology stop working? The smile he had on his face was terrifying.

So, fight instead of flight it was going to be. Genie steeled herself, then launched back toward Villin. When she was within striking range again, she clutched the knife in her hand and reached out to strike, aiming to stab into the side of his neck again. It was a stretch up, but she felt like it was her best option to try and end this quickly.

---

Tag: Nicholas Acker Villin
Note: Let me know if it needs any changes.

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

Well, sure. Killing Acker was more difficult than killing another Gifted, but to be fair, he was a genius and his power only made his genius even more prominent. And no, Acker didn't believe in false modesty, he believed in hard work and its fruits.

Also, he was a vengeful guy. Hunters knew by now that Acker retaliated against the Hunters who tried to kill or kidnap him. Some Hunters even warned that Acker didn't seem to have all of his sanity in check because he seemed to enjoy being under attack. That wasn't normal. But, high risk high reward, so some Hunters believed themselves skilled enough to capture or kill this particular Gifted with a distinctive moustache.

This Hunter wasn't the exception. This Hunter seemed skilled enough. In fact, they had managed to cut him without his machines even noticing that there was something amiss. Not even the security cameras in the pizzeria. To be fair, these cameras didn't have any sort of heat vision, just night vision to be able to record during night hours. However, the mad scientist was going to make sure that the cameras would malfunction eventually.

Acker frowned when the animatronics suddenly stopped moving. Then one of them, the nearest to him, moved their metallic arm to the side so that it was like a barrier between him and nothing that he could see. Acker stepped back and via the power the dogs in the other room sensed that their creator was in distress.

So, Zeus and Apollo stopped what they were doing and ran in the room where the Hunter and the Gifted were. The dogs' eyes turned red too like the animatronics' eyes. Apollo started barking towards the Hunters' direction. Not only the mechanical dogs could smell that there was a new odour in the room, but also they could see the stranger.

Instead of barking, Zeus attacked the stranger who was trying to harm Acker. Zeus leaped, aiming at the Hunters' throat.


Genesis Donovan

//please, tell me if i need to edit anything!//

[Genesis Donovan]

But leaving now would be a good idea
So catch me up on getting out of here

---

Genie was trying her best not to panic. She would rather not have been the one to go after this man. Villin wouldn’t have been the top on her list of targets, but an assignment was an assignment. The only thing that would be worse than failing to eliminate him would be not attempting. Going against guild orders would have consequences. So, here she was, in this sticky position.

It was clear when his robotics began tracking her that being invisible wasn’t the same advantage that it usually was. It was still the only card that she had in her deck, so she held her invisibility. At the very least it should be somewhat harder for him to track her movements, even though it wasn’t impossible for him and his technology.

When she moved to strike Villin again, his robotic monsters got in the way and stopped her. She took a quick breath, attempting to regroup and come up with another plan. This wasn’t a viable plan. She wasn’t going to succeed here. So she had to figure out how to get away instead. Clearly, sneaking back out wasn’t going to be an option.

Before she had thought out a new plan, the dogs had come into the room. She watched as their eyes changed, and knew that wasn’t a good sign. The first dog was on her before she could react. ”Fuck!” Genie’s invisibility dropped as she yelled out. The dog had bitten her in the arm, appearing to have aimed for higher. Now her focus was on evading another bite. She was no longer on the offense, she was on defense.

”What are the chances of a truce?” She was sure it wouldn’t work, but it was worth a try in vain.

---

Nicholas Acker Villin
Let me know if it needs any changes.

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

Acker was staring at the Hunter. Caught. Of course. He didn't say anything for a while, letting the moment speak for itself. He wanted the Hunter to fear for her life a little bit more, also he was scanning her face. His heart started beating faster and faster when he realised that this person's life was on his hands. His decision. He felt a sudden urge to laugh manically, but managed to keep it in, even though it had been more difficult than it should have been. Odd.

Oh well! Who cares! Fun times ahead!

"I know you Hunters are careless, but this is a public place" he was scolding the Hunter as if he was her father but in a mocking way "The owners could have come back, still could, I know that Hunters want to keep our status a secret, so this attack was the most irresponsible thing you have ever done, missy!" he was pointing at the woman with a judging index finger going up and down.

Ok, the father-scolding-daughter bit was over.

Zeus kept his position on the Hunter just in case he needed to attack again. Apollo positioned himself between Acker and the Hunter.

The animatronics were still ready to attack.

"You can turn invisible...useful, perhaps I could find a way to use it with my technology" his tone had gone from mocking to serious "What would you do for me if I accepted this plea for a truce?" even though Acker understood why this Hunter would ask to be spared, a part of him was disgusted by it. Usually, Hunters fought until death. Instead, this Hunter seemed a coward.

Genesis Donovan


//Acker has scanned Genesis' face with his glasses, what kind of information can he get? Nome/Surname? Other info?//

[Genesis Donovan]

But leaving now would be a good idea
So catch me up on getting out of here

---

Genie was in a terrible position. She knew it, and her target knew it. She’d played out all her cards. She was mentally kicking herself. She had thought this would be simple, almost easy. Even though she knew how dangerous this man was, she should have had every advantage. She thought she would have caught him off guard, and it would be over in moments. She had been very, very wrong.

When her target began to lecture her, she rolled her eyes. All the risks he mentioned, the owners, had been accounted for. If they came back they would have been considered collateral damage, acceptable losses to take down Villin. However, none of that mattered right now. Genie was failing, and she was infuriated with herself for it.

All of his defenses were still at the ready. As he spoke, Genie glanced around the room, looking for a way to escape. She felt like a cornered cat, all sharp claws and bitey, but still outmatched.

Of course he wanted to find a way to turn her ability into something else that he could use. Something he could turn into another weapon in his already stocked arsenal. She wasn’t surprised by his interest. She was surprised when he asked about the truce comment, however. She hadn't even expected that to have been acknowledged. She’d said it as a throw away, a last stitch effort to more easily get out of here.

”I won’t come after you again. And I won’t add any information about tonight to the file.” He had to know they were compiling information about him. This wasn’t the first time a hunter came after him. Each one who failed (and made it back alive), added what they learned. The many failed attempts against him meant they had more information on him than they did on most of their targets. Less, though, than there had been about her father. He was less dangerous, though not by much. Genie could see the monster in him, see the evil at work.

She was trying to make a deal with a devil, and she hated herself for it. It was almost enough to make her want to go on the attack again, but she was now fully visible and had lost any advantage she may have had. He had more weapons, more tricks up his sleeve, than she could have imagined before walking into this pizzeria tonight.

The more Genie thought about it, the more she realized she probably hadn't been meant to succeed tonight. Sure, it would have been easier for the Guild if she did, but she wondered if her tendency to cut and run when things got out of hand was the reason why they sent her. Were they looking for more information before sending someone more likely to succeed? She’d been careful to say she wouldn’t attack him again, but not make a promise on behalf of the Guild. Even if she had, it wasn’t like she was in a position powerful enough to make any of those promises. Her hands were tied. Hell, she’d still have to tell them what she learned about him. There were consequences for not following orders.

”You’re bleeding. You should probably have that looked at soon.” Genie taunted. She wasn’t sure how this was going to end, but she steeled her nerves, preparing for another fight or flight response if he threatened her. She had to at least try.

---

Nicholas Acker Villin
Let me know if I should change anything.

He would have only gotten the most basic of information, whatever was on her driver’s license probably. So full name, Genesis Mary Donovan, date of birth, an address (but it’s not her actual address), she’s not an organ donor. Anything else the government would have would be limited, she’s basically made herself as invisible as possible in more ways than just her ability. She’s like a ghost when it comes to databases.

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

“Oh yes, my file! My section in your Book of Shadows...what an honour” he was making a mocking reference to that book in the tv series Charmed where demons had their own sections with all kinds of information about them. He didn’t care about his file, sure, he would have liked to read it to boast about his survival rate though.

Also, he wasn’t stupid. This wasn’t the doc’s first rodeo. He knew that this poor girl had to report back, she didn’t have a choice “Wrong answer” that’s all he said about that. He didn’t even check his blood loss when she mentioned it. He just kept staring.

“Tell your Guild leader, or whatever, that every breath you take is my Gift to you” he was going to let her go, having someone with an invisibility power in his lab could prove deadly dangerous “But first, samples, and if you try to run away before I’ve finished then I cannot promise your safety” the doc warned while fetching a small rectangular box from his jacket pocket. Inside, there were tools to take samples on the go. He fetched the box without showing his back. He kept looking at her all the time, careful with every movement.

Acker wanted to take a blood sample, hair sample, saliva sample, etc. You know, the works. Anything that he could take at the moment. He would have loved to take a skin sample too, but a more clean environment was needed for that. So, the mad doc approached her with the intent to take the samples. If she fought back then his power would fight back too and the Hunter was at a disadvantage here.

Genesis Donovan

[Genesis Donovan]

But leaving now would be a good idea
So catch me up on getting out of here

---

[attr="class","GENpost"]
Genie certainly wasn’t the first hunter that had been sent after Villin. She couldn’t have even been the first one that he’d caught. She wondered how many had come before her, and how many of them had managed to get away from him? Had he killed more of them than got away?

It didn’t bear dwelling on at the moment. She was stuck, unable to use her gift to disappear and slip away like she normally did. She didn’t like it. She relied on her invisibility, on the way she could just poof and that was that. Now she had to actually think, to get creative and figure out how to keep herself alive when he had her trapped.

It was no surprise that he knew there was a file on him. He called it their book of shadows, and she had to admit to herself that he wasn’t far wrong about that. The people they kept tabs on, wrote notes about, had been the ones who had eluded them. Dangerous Gifted who needed to be stopped. So they watched them, gathered information and planned. At least, most of the time they planned.

He didn’t seem to care about her promises though. Not that she would have kept her word, anyway. She’d tell the Guild everything she learned about him. How he was able to use his gift to circumvent her own. If she made it out of this, she would even report on how she failed to take him down when she had the chance, how she’d missed with the knife she only grazed him with.

It made no difference that it made her look bad or incompetent. Facts were facts, and that’s what would go in the report.

He gave her a message to bring back to the Guild. Was he planning to let her go, then? After she’d come after him? She was confused, but didn’t have time to work it out before he mentioned taking samples. What the hell did that mean?

“Samples?” She questioned, watching as he pulled something from his pocket. She was still cornered by the dog and the animatronics, her bitten arm a painful reminder that she was trapped even though her every thought was about fleeing from this insane man.

---

Nicholas Acker Villin
Let me know for changes.

[newclass=.GENpost b]color: #C2B280;[/newclass]