Beneath the mask

As Solomon sat beside Leroy, who was reading a weathered old journal, he looked his colleague carefully. When the three first acquired their powers, Solomon had promised to the other two that he would never read their minds, so he had to now resort to studying them with his eyes to figure out what they were thinking. Briefly, Leroy glanced up at Solomon and frowned.

"Do you ever take off that mask?" Leroy asked. Unlike Solomon, Leroy took his mask off when they were in their study. His hair was short, and black, and his eyes a sharp green. Very appropriate for the man who can become a crow, Solomon always thought.

"No. I never find the need to." Solomon replied.

"It's unnatural." Leroy responded. Solomon did not need to probe Leroy's mind to know that he was concerned about Solomon.

"Sanctimonia is unnatural. Maybe when we find the link, it won't have to be. I won't have to debase myself for basic funding." Solomon was adamant about keeping the mask on. Ever since he begun to wore it, he always felt unsafe at the mere notion of removing it, like a sense of impending doom.

"You're still thinking about the goblins. It was just that one ti-" Leroy begun, but was quickly cut off.

"I killed nine, Leroy. Nine with a thought." Solomon interrupted.

"I know you. You would never use your powers if it was unnecessary." Leroy insisted.

"Is it ever necessary?" Solomon was, as Leroy could easily tell, very much troubled. But before Leroy could reply, there was sound of struggle in the next room, and then a crash, and then silence. "There's an intruder. Someone's got A-" In a moment, Solomon was on his feet, ushering Leroy to get his mask on. "Leroy, take your book and get out of here. It's not safe." Many things rushed through Leroy's mind at that moment; questions about what happened to Arya, and the suspicion that Solomon actually sounded scared for once, but they were all moot when his closest friend forced him to the nearest window, and urged him to make a hasty escape without another word.

Moments after Leroy disappeared out the window, the door to the room came crashing down, and standing before Solomon was a man he had never seen before. The man stood tall, possibly over six feet, with graying hair, a thin beard, and deathly, piercing eyes. The overcoat he wore was unusual, to say the least. It had almost a metallic sheen to it, like steel was woven into the very fibers. Solomon knew this was all not nearly as important as the fact that to the intruder's side, held in his right hand, was a unicorn mask, spattered with blood.

"Where is Arya?" Solomon demanded, his voice cold.

"It doesn't matter anymore." The intruder replied, his voice as calm, collected as Solomon's ever was.

At that moment, Solomon reached out with his infuriated mind, wanting nothing but to induce an aneurysm in the intruder's brain as he reached out with all the power of his mask. It was difficult, however. The intruder's mind was fogged. Warped. Twisted. Hard to describe. Adjective. It was all a mess to Solomon, impossible to decipher, but all of Solomon's attempts came crashing down anyways as the mask was yanked off his face, causing Solomon to instinctively cover his face. How the intruder had made it across the room i n the blink of an eye was a mystery to Solomon, but he tried desperately to keep the intruder from seeing face.

Solomon always hated showing his face to people, ever since he was little. It was an explainable fear, to say the least. None of this mattered, however, as Solomon's thoughts were interrupted by a blade, puncturing the side of his head, causing him to fall to the floor, limp and lifeless.