One Year Ago - Heathrow Airport Road, United Kingdom

Six black SUVs drove in a straight line along the express road leading away from Heathrow Airport. Each of these vehicles carried within them, high tiered Visors.

High above the road, floating several meters in the air, a figure watched them carefully. It was Dorian Graves. He wore military-style tactical gear that made him look like a professional soldier or a special agent, which ever one suited the description.

He pressed his hand to his ear and spoke into the communication device there. "I have eyes on them. They're moving," he said.

Back in a control room somewhere else, Lena watched the vehicles move across multiple computer screens like dots on a tracking system.

She spoke back to Dorian through her own communication device. "Remember, each person in those vehicles is at least S-rank level. They might have already sensed you're there! Once you get the item, fly away immediately," she warned him.

"What are your orders?" Dorian asked simply. He wasn't bothered about the strength levels of the men within the vehicle.

"Take them out and get it back!" Lena replied.

From his position high above the road, Dorian stretched his hand down toward the moving vehicles. A ball of magical energy began forming in his palm, glowing brightly.

The energy orb started small but quickly grew larger and larger until it was massive. Then he released it, sending the huge orb of energy flying toward the vehicles below.

"Everyone stop!" shouted a voice from the passenger seat of the lead vehicle. All six SUVs immediately came to a halt. The other operatives riding in the other vehicles had heard the command through their connected communication systems.

The man who had shouted turned to look at a woman operative sitting behind him and simply nodded.

She understood exactly what he wanted, and in that instant, an orange-colored dome made of pure energy appeared over all the vehicles, covering them like a protective bubble.

Dorian's energy attack slammed into the orange dome, and what happened next was devastating. An intense explosion erupted that covered the entire road network. BOOM!

The blast was so powerful that it destroyed everything in the area. Dorian showed complete disregard for human life, and didn't care about the innocent people who might have been sharing the road with the SUVs.

When the explosion finally cleared, the results were mixed. The protective dome had been completely destroyed, with only fading bits of orange energy floating around the vehicles.

However, it had done its job and the vehicles and everyone inside them were completely unharmed. Unfortunately, the vehicles couldn't move forward anymore given that the road in front of them had been caught in the explosion and was now cracked open.

Parts of the road had caved in, and debris was scattered everywhere. The operatives inside all six vehicles stepped out to assess the situation and deal with the threat.

From one of the vehicles, a huge man got out of the passenger seat, and a woman climbed out of the back seat. The woman was carrying a black briefcase, and the big man immediately said to her, "Get this to the boss quickly."

The woman nodded and then vanished from sight. It looked like teleportation, but it wasn't magic, she was just moving incredibly fast.

Dorian watched everything from his position floating above. He noticed the black briefcase in the woman's hands before she disappeared and inside that case was the item he was supposed to steal.

Even though his main objective was now speeding away from him, Dorian didn't look worried at all. He didn't even try to chase after the woman either, especially given that all the other operatives below had started floating up into the air toward him.

There was no way they were going to just let him fly after the woman with the briefcase. Most of these operatives were S-rank level, which meant they were extremely powerful. But the huge man in the regular shirt wasn't just S-rank, he was the strongest person there and that was the real problem Dorian faced.

All of the floating operatives charged straight at Dorian, ready for battle. A wicked grin spread across Dorian's face as he charged right back at them, ready to fight them all at once.

…

About ten minutes later, Dorian stood among the scattered bodies of his enemies, with blood splattered his face and hands as he caught his breath, having just taken down twelve men in brutal combat.

Lena's voice crackled through his comm device: "We've located her. She's currently flying through Fassnidge Park. Can you reach her before she transfers the item?"

Dorian took a deep breath and scoffed. "Chasing an S-rank? Oh, please."

Without hesitation, he launched himself into the air with such force that his takeoff created a crater in the ground. The shockwave scattered the lifeless bodies around him like paper in the wind.

Moving at blinding speed, he flew toward his target's location while listening to instructions through his comm device. Within minutes, he caught up to the woman mid-flight.

She sensed his approaching energy signature and turned to see Dorian's bloodied face twisted into a devious grin.

Panic struck her as she desperately increased her speed, but escaping someone several levels above her in power was impossible.

Her flight path led them into central London, weaving between towering skyscrapers and high-rise buildings. Dorian followed in relentless pursuit, closing the distance with each passing moment.

The tremendous force of their movement shattered windows throughout the buildings they passed, sending glass cascading down onto the streets below and endangering innocent civilians.

"Get on with it quickly, Dorian," Lena's voice cut through his device again. "The VRA might get involved any minute."

Dorian said nothing. Instead of continuing to chase while carefully avoiding the buildings, he made a calculated decision. He burst forward with explosive speed, smashing directly through the structures in his path to cut corners and reduce his travel time.

He then caught up to the woman instantly, grabbing her with both hands and driving her through a large building as they continued on progressively to crash into a large fuel tank on the other side of the building, which then erupted in a massive explosion that lit up the London skyline.

When the smoke cleared, Dorian stood over the woman's unconscious or probably dead body, with the box firmly in his grasp. His tight-fitting shirt had been burned away by the flames, leaving him in only his military-grade pants.

He was breathing heavily, especially as he was exhausted from the intense chase and battle.

Then he reached for his communication device to report his success to Lena, only to discover it was damaged. The device produced nothing but harsh static feedback. It had gotten spoilt due the explosion he'd been caught in.

Suddenly, Dorian sensed multiple energy signatures approaching his location. "Shit," he muttered. These had to be the VRA agents Lena had warned him about. The Visor Regulation Authority was the United Kingdom's equivalent of America's USOV, and Dorian had no intention of getting entangled with them.

He vanished from sight at incredible speed, weaving through street corners rather than taking to the air where he'd be more visible.

He needed to find a safe place to hide and figure out how to contact Lena without his damaged communication device.

Back in the control room, Lena spoke repeatedly into her headset: "Dorian, are you there? Do you copy?"

One of the operatives monitoring the screens turned toward her with concern. "Boss, we've lost him."

"Shit!" Lena slammed her fist on the table in frustration. This was beginning to go in an unprecedented direction.

…

An hour later, as darkness settled over the United Kingdom, and Dorian found refuge in a half-constructed building. The construction crew had gone home for the day, leaving the site empty and quiet.

He sat down on a steel beam lying across the concrete floor, finally allowing himself to rest after moving randomly through the city to avoid detection.

The box also lay beside him, and then he muttered, "Well if these fools could risk their lives for you, then you gotta be some jackpot"

Likewise his current contract description with Lena and the group she worked for hadn't included asking questions. His orders were simple: retrieve the item from the group he'd eliminated today, report back to Lena, and collect the remaining two million dollars of his payment.

But right here and now Dorian couldn't shake his curiosity about what exactly he'd been hired to steal.