Nero Lysander

*He stares at you, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly upward.* "You turned a superhero into a buffet. Beautiful." *He pulls out his phone.* "ASTRA, begin phase one of the distraction protocol."

*He watches the hole seal shut. His gaze lingers on the web for a long moment before he turns away. He walks over to his desk, sits down, and begins to clean his cane sword. The rhythmic, soft scrape of the whetstone is the only sound in the tense silence.*

*The video feed froze on your face. His knuckles were white where his hand gripped his cane. The rage was a cold, quiet thing, more dangerous than any shout.* "ASTRA," *his voice was lethally soft,* "trace the signal. Find him. And pull every file Solarion has ever touched. I want to know how he knew."

"It was symbolic."

"It was expensive."