John Thick joined a special military unit fresh out of high school and surpassed his fellow recruits, garnering attention from powers in the country that the public was unaware of. His skills were apparent in open warfare, but they saw more in him. Because he outperformed others when solo, he was given a unique designation and missions exclusive to that role. They called him ‘The Silencer’ due to his expertise in avoiding detection with stealth protocols. Even outnumbered, John would miraculously arise as the victor, besting even the fiercest enemy forces.

A special order came in to visit the home of an ambassador to a foreign land. John visited the compound that night to hear who his target would be. He walked past construction crews erecting a new building just beside the main house, where he could see an armory within.

“The Silencer… here in my home. And not to kill me!” Ambassador Chauncey’s belly bounced as he laughed heartily. His face intensified, “I’ve got a problem, John.” Despite his seriousness, the ambassador was steadily pacing around, perusing a long table covered in an assortment of foods and slowly offering John some as he picked his own bits and pieces to eat. John refused it all.

“What’s the name?” John asked, ready to get to work.

“Matthew Maynard.”

“The physicist?”

“The charlatan.”

“Consider it done.”

“Put a thick one between his eyes, John. This one is unlike any you’ve seen before.” Chauncey warned.

“Good.” John replied, welcoming the challenge.

Always quick to carry out his services, the assassin tracked down Maynard with ease. Beneath the LabTech building, deep underground, he worked with a small team, studying new physics and different particles. John knew it well from school, as he learned of Theodore Relativo founding that site during his history classes.

John gained entry to the LabTech building at midday with his Special Access badge from the military. Maynard’s company, ‘LabTech’, had many ties and was heavily funded by the government. He followed a scientist into the elevator quietly, and hid behind them the entire ride down. The door opened and the scientist exited. When they turned around the next corner, John left the elevator as well. He already mapped out the labs prior to entering the building, so he made a beeline to Maynard’s office.

Guns out, John kicked open the metal door to the lab and saw Matt Maynard standing behind a control panel. He shot immediately before the physicist could move; one in the head, one in the chest. Maynard collapsed onto the floor and John approached him to grab an item for proof of kill.

As John bent down, Maynard breathed in deeply and reached up with both arms to grab him by the neck, strangling him with arms of lead.

“Chauncey sent you to kill me?” Maynard stood up, lifting John by the neck. His skin was turning metallic starting from the bullet holes. “Your employer is having a fit that my experiments worked on me and yet I refuse to share this power with him. He told you to kill Matt Maynard. He didn’t warn you to survive MATTER MAKER!”

Maynard’s skin spat out the two bullets and it changed from metal into some kind of translucent material. He was turning into the air. John realized he was also changing into air as Matt flew upwards through the ceiling, turning into steel like the ceiling, then stone like the earth. When they were above ground again, they turned into air and flew back to Chauncey’s home.

“Ambassador!” the expansive air being shouted, dangling a breathless John Thick from his wispy hands.

“Maynard! I funded your research. You owe me everything!” Chauncey shouted from a porthole, a bunker built just for this encounter.

“I won’t let you corrupt this power. It doesn't matter anymore, I have your assassin.”

“And we have you.”

Maynard and John looked around to see a metallic cage around them two. The mad physicist flew around and found that there was no escaping the boundaries. In a rage, he took John and slammed him into the armory being constructed. His entire body was forced into a single brick of the wall. As a brick, he watched Maynard shrunken down by Chauncey’s cage device until he was a single particle. His secretary came out and collected the large particle in a canister and calmly 

“Good riddance to both of them. Let’s see what we can do with this.” Chauncey said, taking the particle.

John sat in that wall for days, growing accustomed to the calm life of retirement from being a soldier of fortune. He enjoyed the sunsets, and the fresh air outside. Being embedded as a brick in a brick wall came with a high degree of stability. Each day was the same, and he gained appreciation for that simplicity. He even became friends with a fragment of one of his fellow bricks which fell on the floor beneath him, calling it ‘Brickolas’. He thought of it like a little pet; a companion.

John awoke one morning and watched the sunrise. “Look Brickolas… isn’t it magnificent?” Though Brickolas didn’t respond, John felt that he, too, was looking. “Brickolas, you’re all I have in this world. I know you can’t talk back to me, but it means everything that you’re just…here.” John bared his soul.

Another morning came and the Ambassador was shouting about needing to raise their defenses. He stormed out of the main house and stomped towards the armory. John witnessed, helpless, as directly in the heavy-set man’s path was Brickolas. Each step, John’s stone heart pumped harder and harder, just hoping Brickolas would survive. Chauncey’s heavy boot cast a shadow from the magnificent sunset directly over John’s pet. John closed his brick eyes and felt the pain as the ambassador retrieved the weapons inside.

John reopened his eyes to see that Brickolas was still intact. “BRICKOLAS!”

“Fa…ther….” Brickolas said, which confused John, who didn’t realize other bricks were sentient. In his excitement, he didn’t realize the ambassador was leaving the armory. His boot again slammed down onto the fragment below. Brickolas let out a brick whimper as he was turned to rubble. John stayed firmly in the wall -as if he had a choice- until the pain was too great.

John wiggled his body slowly, wearing down the mortar holding the wall together. With every bit of extra room, he moved more wildly. Finally, he popped out into the armory, free of the wall. He grabbed two pistols and made his way to see the ambassador.

Recognizing John’s hair, Chauncey shouted as guns were pointed at him. “John Thick??”

“John Brick.” John corrected, shooting repeatedly until revenge was exacted.