Killing is usually defined as an “act of causing death, especially deliberately” and is seen by some as one of the worst crimes around. But for a popular organization, this is completely acceptable. In fact, it’s apart of their brand.
You see, in the year of 2067, a former Admiral of the U.S Navy—Sasha Cogsworth, who was better known as Admiral Chi—retired after 12 years of service due to unknown reasons. Right after her retirement, she would create an entire organization dedicated to killing and the lives of Hitwomen/Hitmen, Assassins and Bounty Hunters; Killers International, or K.I for short.
K.I’s public slogan is “Killers International; we kill people so Criminals don’t have to”; and this is exactly what they do. Through either becoming a K.I Employee or simply being hired by either a K.I Employee—who becomes the Killer/Killers’ Handler—or Sasha herself, one can actively participate in the art of Killing with several benefits for both K.I Employees and regular Killers;
- Flexible Payment: K.I accepts any payment requests, such as Cash-only or a high payment for out-of-state and/or international Hits.
- Pre-Paid Housing and Travel: once a Killer and/or an Employee is hired for a Hit, their Temporary Housing and Travel are both paid by K.I in advanced.
- Medical Coverage: In case of a Hit going wrong, K.I will pay for the Killer’s and/or K.I Employee’s Medical Bills as well as fund any Emergency Surgeries if absolutely required.
- Law Enforcement Protection: Finally, all Killers and K.I Employees are protected from being caught by Local and State-level Law Enforcement through currently unknown means.
Although both Killers who work either as an associate of or with K.I and K.I Employees have the same benefits, K.I Employees have Rankings. More specifically, only the top 50 K.I Employees are ranked using Roman Numerals, with their Rank being based on Power, Skill Level and number of Successful Hits. Anyone underneath the top 50 are considered to be Unranked and must gain their Promotion by either killing a Ranked Employee or outdoing them in terms of stats. This is why Ranks 40-50 are the most conflicted Ranks within K.I, as new Employees are constantly getting killed off and replaced in that Ranking Group.
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So what kinda work does K.I and the overall Killing Business exactly do? Well, besides killing—obviously, there are actually 2 forms of work that all Killers and K.I Employees do; Uncontracted Hits and Contracted Hits. The explanation for each is the following;
Uncontracted Hits: The more unconventional Methods of Hits, Uncontracted Hits are where a Killer isn’t hired by an Employer/Handler and/or isn’t bound to a Contract. Instead, it’s where a Killer finds their Target/Targets either using the Internet or through their surroundings and commits the deed by themselves. Emergency Hits—Hits where the Killers is sent out to kill a Target/Targets without needing a Contract due to possibly dangerous circumstances—are also grouped with Uncontracted Hits since they always have a lack of Contract.
- Benefits include; Not requiring to show I.D, no requirements for an Employer/Handler or Contract, more local options and being able to use whatever Methods they deem necessary to kill their Target/Targets.
- Downsides/Risks include; Lack of Contract-based Benefits, lack of Law Enforcement Protection, requirements for paying everything by themselves and overall high danger levels for oneself.
Contracted Hits: This Method is the more popular one of the two. It’s where an Employer/Handler and the Killer agree to and sign a Contract that specifies what the Killer will and won’t do alongside having the Employer/Handler signing up using their information and being required to give information on the Target/Targets to the Killer.
- Benefits include; Contract-based Benefits, the Killer being able to set Self-Limitations, flexible payment options and the chance to travel for the Killer.
- Downsides/Risks include; The Killer being required to show I.D, the Killer and the Employer/Handler being required to agree to both sides of the Contract, the Killer being required to kill the Target/Targets within the set amount of time the Employer/Handler states and potential risk of betrayal for both the Killer and the Employer/Handler.
It is possible for a Killer to work with both Uncontracted and Contracted Hits. However, maintaining such balance between the two is challenging when the Hits may all have different schedules and such.
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Finally, let’s discuss the idea of Powers. While it’s unknown how exactly they came along in the first place, it is known that the majority of Earth’s population has them. Currently, these are all the ways one can get Powers:
- Abilities via Inheritance/Birth: Over 57% of Earth’s population are born with unique Abilities. This is more common with an offspring of two Superpowered individuals, but one can get their inherited Powers later on in life.
- Chemical Mutation: By injecting oneself with certain chemicals, one can be easily granted Abilities extremely fast. However, chemicals like these are extremely expensive.
- Experimentation: Being Experimented on is actually extremely effective in turns of gaining Powers. Of course, this route can be both painful and immoral, but it’s still highly unlikely that it goes wrong nowadays.
- Radiation: Exposure to certain Radiations can mutate someone, granting them immense Abilities. However, Radiation is obviously very dangerous and can leave one scarred permanently and left with severe damage to their body.
- Training: Through hard word and extreme exercise, people can become extremely fast, strong and agile.
- Powers via Cybernetics: Certain Cybernetics can grant someone Capabilities so long as they have it on/attached to their bosy. However, these Objects can be easily stolen or broken, leaving the person powerless once again or even killing the person in the process.
- Mental Training: While many Mental-based Abilities come from birth, they can be unlocked through mental strengthening and training one’s mind.
However, with Powers came in unique beings dubbed Supernatural Phenomena. These entities are internet at best and downright dangerous at worst. Some have even managed to mate with Humans, creating Hybrids in the process. And although Killers have managed to take care of some of these threats, more will continue to come..
What are these Supernatural Phenomena, you ask? Well, they’re mainly known as Psemyths; descendants of Mutated and/or Altered Humans who’s Physiology became artificial versions of Mythical Humanoids. This is caused by Powers distorting one’s entire being to create a stronger yet more dangerous version of themselves. The following are the types of Psemyths one can find;
- Therimyths: When a Human becomes distorted enough to take on the form of a Monstrous Animal, they become known as Therimyths. Therimyths are said to be associated with the Myth of Werebeast and—due to this—are nocturnal-only in terms of activity. A Therimyth may gain the ability to Shapeshift into their own Monstrous Animal, mimic the sounds of Animals and even gain Magic and Abilities associated with Werebeast, such as a Trasmutative Bite or Lunar/Moon-based Abilities.
- Daemyths: Said to be based on the ‘manifestation’ of Sin(s) and/or the Myths surrounding the Sinner-only Afterlife, Daemyths are the most dangerous type of Psemyths around. This is because of potential corruption of oneself during distortion that can cause malicious behavior within them. After their distortion is complete, all Daemyths can either gain Abilities related to a Sin or Sins and/or gain Abilities based on the concept of Demons themselves, such as Demonic Magic.
- Vamyths: Vamyths are based around the Myth of Vampires; nocturnal bloodsucking entities who’re also Undead. Therefore, a Vamyth is capable of gaining Blood-related Abilities after their distortion. They can even become empowered through drinking Blood.
- Reapmyths: Said to be the second strongest Psemyths around, the Reapmyths are based around the concept of The Underworld and the idea of one being carried over to the Afterlife after death. Due to this, it’s said that all Reapmyths gain Power through absorbing the Souls of those they can. They can also become both Intangible and Invisible alongside being able to possess up to 10 people at once.
- Kaimyths: Finally, there’s the Kaimyths; Psemyths based on the Japanese folklore and mythology of Yokai. They’re considered to be associated with both Daemyths and Reapmyths and come in various forms with various types of Abilities. It’s even said that Kaimyths could control and distort the world around them if they wanted to due to the majority of them possessing the ability to warp Reality itself.
All Psemyths are considered dangerous due to their power and uniqueness, even in the eyes of K.I. But it is possible for only a few Psemyths to gain their Humanity again, although this has created complications with the idea of wiping them off of the world completely.
