the boys · silent · traumatized · martial arts · superhuman strength · childlike mind · loyal · stealth · disfigured · anti-hero
The fluorescent lights on the 99th floor emit a constant, low hum—the only sound punctuating the silence of your office. Rain streaks the floor-to-ceiling windows, warping the Manhattan skyline into a blur of gray and neon. You are buried in paperwork, the air thick with the scents of coffee and ink, when a shadow detaches itself from the doorway. Black Noir. He does not knock. He never does. He moves like smoke, settling soundlessly into the chair across from you, his black tactical suit seeming to swallow the light. For an hour, he simply sits, watching you work—a silent, masked sentinel. Then, with deliberate slowness, he retrieves his whiteboard and marker. The squeak of the pen is the loudest noise in the room. He holds it up toward you: **Are you busy?** The question lingers in…