Rule 1: Don't Mess Up

"Good people sometimes make bad decisions. They mess up, and they let others down. But that doesn't make them bad people. We all make mistakes."

-Anonymous

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"All clear."

I called into my ear piece. I pointed ahead with two fingers, giving my teammates the go ahead. One figure darted into the next room with another trailing behind. I quickly followed in suit. The first figure that darted in had a female's body type while the second had a male's. My teammates were all clad in black and dark blue tech suits with a bulletproof vest overtop. We also all had pitch black helmets on to conceal our faces in the starless night. All three of us held pistols close to our chest, ready to extend out our arms and shoot at a moments notice. The house we were currently infiltrating was dusty, beat down, and clearly unlivable from the way that ceiling beams were failing and how the rest of the roofing and walls had given out already. That's how I knew it was already night.

"All clear." The second female sounded from her ear piece. "Let's go Isle and Mr. Handsome."

The male chuckled nervously at the remark. "You probably should focus more on the mission and less on creating new nicknames for me."

"Aw but that's no fun Erik." The female whined playfully as the trio moved into the next room. Erik called the room clear and they continued onwards. "I like to do something while on the hunt for bad guys."

"Hush up already. You're clogging my ear with unnecessary sounds. Besides we have to focus on the mission. One slip up and the hostage gets killed, remember Clarine?" I reminded my two teammates, emphasizing my female teammate's name.

"Yeah, we got it." A sigh could be heard on the other side of Clarine's ear piece. "We know."

"Good. Now be quiet so we can focus." It was dead silent after that, but with Clarine on the team it wouldn't stay that way for long.

Not 10 seconds later Clarine spoke again. "Hey, why do we have specially coated bullets again?"

I paused and audibly sighed. "Because we are dealing with an Irregular. Did you forget that part already?" I could already feel the hate boiling up inside me just from that one word. "These bullets are the only thing that us Regulars can use to hurt them."

"Oh right, how could I forget..." Even if Clarine didn't have the helmet on, I would have still known she was rolling her eyes. "They are used for the guys with superpowers." She turned to me. "Why don't we just call them superheros?"

Yes, Command City, the most unruly and crime infested city around, has real life, living, breathing superheroes. No, supervillains would be a better description. Nothing good ever came from superpowers.

I narrowed my eyes, even though my teammates couldn't see it. "Because they are in no way shape or form heros. Now stop talking and focus on the mission already." I brushed past Clarine and headed into the next room.

She let out a low whistle and her head followed me as I passed. "Hey Erik, how much do you think I pissed her off on a scale of one to ten?"

"A solid seven."

"You know, I'm still connected to you by ear piece."

Clarine probably cracked a grin. "I know."

Even though I was frustrated with her, I couldn't help but let a small smile crawl onto my face. Then there was a scuffling noise and I stopped mid step. "Freeze." I whispered and my two teammates froze. I slowly put my foot down and placed a listening device against the wall. Nothing. I would have said it was my imagination, but I don't really have one of those. "In there." I gestured to the room beside me. "This is the Irregular with shadow manipulation, so be careful and stay away from the shadows.

I figured that since it was dark outside, the villain would try to make his own shadows by using light. By glancing at the bottom edge of the door and seeing how it glowed, told me he'd done just that. I glanced back up. My two teammates had pressed themselves against the wall on the opposite side of the door as me, Clarine glanced at me and nodded.

"Wait Clarine." Erik piped up. "Don't go in yet, it could have-"

He was cut off when Clarine turned and slammed open the door with her foot. She stepped inside and disappeared from my view. A yelp sounded from my ear piece and I peeked my head around. Amidst the assorted rubble lying about the room, Clarine sat dejected on the floor with a rippling shadowy cage around her. Her gun laid outside the cage, just out of her reach.

"-traps..." Erik finished his sentence with little enthusiasm.

I grit my teeth in frustration. We hadn't even reached the hostage yet and Clarine was already causing problems. From day one that I met her she was always doing something unruly or making a mess. And quite often, she would do both.

"Come on Erik." I whispered and headed into the room. Lamps were scattered around the room in seemingly random patterns, but then again we were dealing with and Irregular that could control shadows. There was no moon light, which was odd, since that should have been another source of light. I looked up. There was a roof. I narrowed my eyes. Something was wrong here. Then I remembered. The roofs had all crumbled long ago.

So a second trap then. I glanced at the cage that a distressed Clarine was in. A trap inside of a trap. I took another look around the room but it seemed to be empty. Something wasn't adding up. Why double trap a room if they weren't going to stay in it? My eyes then widened in realization.

Because they never left in the first place.

Now for what happens next, picture this: You're lying in the sun soaking up the heat and UV rays trying to get that perfect tan. It's warm and sunny and a perfect day to be out and about, but then suddenly everything gets cold. You open your eyes to see that someone has stepped in front of the light. That is the only time when shadows can be felt. They're not something tangible, or something a normal person can manipulate. You don't ever know they're there, until the temperature drops. So when I got a warning on my internal helmet screen that the temperatures on my lower legs were decreasing rapidly, let's just say I wasn't a happy camper.

My legs were swiftly pulled out from under me. If I hadn't been prepared for it I would have hit the floor and been out like a light, but I knew it was coming. I immediately dropped my gun and and placed my hands back to soften the landing. My back hit the ground with a thud and I gasped for air when the wind was knocked out of my lungs. A shadowy tendril dropped from the ceiling like a vine and moved to impale me. I rolled out of the way, snapping the binds on my ankles in the process. I heard a sickening crack behind me as the tendril splintered the wooden floor where my head had previously been.

I jumped up, snatching my gun that was lying on the ground in the process. I pointed it at the base of the tendril coming from the ceiling. A shot rang out and the shadow fell, writhing around on the floor before dissolving into the light. That's when I saw it. A small pocket of darkness in the corner of the room with no light at all. "Erik, get Clarine out of there. I'll keep the Irregular busy." I then pointed her gun towards the corner and shot.

Immediately the cover was ripped away and the dark figure darted away to avoid being shot. Still in the corner was a silently sobbing teenage girl bound by shadow rope, with a bullet hole a foot above her head. I cursed under my breath. I nearly just killed the hostage.

The dark figure was perfectly still, crouching on top of some debris left behind from the crumbling wall. The body type was male and by the way he was crouching he was clearly taller than me. So he had the physical advantage, but I knew I probably had the mental advantage. Unfortunately everyone knows from comic books and mangas that a character, especially if they are strong and not smart at all, almost always win. Good thing this isn't a comic book.

I turned and shot at him but he melted into the shadows before getting hit. I slowly spun in a circle and then looked up. If not around or above me, then... I glanced down as hands reached up and shoved my legs upwards with inhuman strength. I hit the makeshift ceiling and pain sparked all along my spine. I barely recovered out of the fall by doing a roll at the last second. The temperature behind me decreased and I, still crouching, swung my leg behind me with as much force as I could muster. My heel connected with something that cracked instantly, and the dark man was thrown into a pile of an already wrecked table and chairs set.

I pick up my gun, which had been knocked out of my hands when I hit the roof, and strode towards him. Two steps later, the wood beneath my feet snapped and fell into an abyss, taking me along with it. I grunted as I was forced to hang onto the ledge to keep from falling. I managed to keep my head from falling beneath the wood floor by hooking both arms on the edge of the ledge. Of course he would use the shadows on the floor boards to create an endless pit. Why hadn't I seen that coming?

I grappled for something to hold onto to keep myself from slipping any further. My left hand found a heavy metal file cabinet and I latched onto it will all my strength. In my other hand I was still holding my gun.

Behind a focused Erik, a shadow from the wall peeled away and took the form of a man. "Erik!" I managed to grunt out. He whirled around and just barely dodged a shadow tendril aimed to kill. Erik scooted back and the Irregular followed. He swung a punch at Erik and almost hit him, but the other male grabbed his forearm and used the Irregular's momentum to carry him up and over himself. Erik rolled and stood up, facing the man on the ground. He was too preoccupied by the tangible Irregular, that he didn't see the multitude of shadowy tendrils gathering behind him.

"Erik behind you!" Clarine shouted. Erik turned and managed to escape being punctured, but the Irregular caught him with a strong kick to his stomach. Erik yelled in pain and was sent into the wooden wall with a resounding crack. Under the pressure of the collision, the wall crumbled and collapsed on top of him only leaving his head visible. "Erik!" Clarine shouted again, but this time in worry. She gripped the shadow bars tightly.

It was like watching a train wreck from the inside. And this train hadn't even crashed yet.

I raised my gun ever so slightly off the ground. I had an idea, but it was a gamble. It could end up with me falling alive or me falling dead if I messed this up, but currently it was the only option I saw. I aimed at Clarine's fallen gun. I took a deep breath. Steady. Then I fired.

The bullet hit the other gun on the floor at just the right angle, knocking the pistol close enough for Clarine to grab it. She turned at the gunshot and immediately snatched up her gun when she spotted it. She aimed at the Irregular but took a second to aim. Within that one second, the Irregular took notice at the gun aimed at him and manipulated the shadows behind the cage to leap forward. They slammed into it as a shot rang out, but the cage had knocked Clarine down, making the shot go wild.

The bullet whizzed past the Irregular, Erik and myself. There was a thud as the hostage fell to floor, unmoving with a bullet hole in her forehead.

The Irregular suddenly froze and the shadow cage around Claine disappeared. A low growl came from my throat. "Clarine." I snarled. A dazed Erik stumbled out if the pile of rubble and walked over to help me up. He offered a hand and after dropping my gun, I took it. He was only a little taller then me, and that said a lot considering I had just reached 5'1, while on the other hand Clarine was probably nearing six foot by now.

I glared at Clarine who was rubbing the back of her neck. "Oops."