Sudden Impact.
"Wake up traveller..."
Thomas Bane jerked up straight in his bed. Covered in sweat, heart pounding, breath ragged and teeth clenched. The black onyx that composed his skin and the tensed muscles of his body told of battle weariness. The fifty-four years old man, known to the public as Voyager, threw the bed sheets away from himself, as he stood up to walk to the wash basin of his prison cell. There was no other prisoner here, no other guests. Thomas Bane was the only human present in the fortress known as the Storm Palace.
In a truce negotiated during the Firebase Zulu war, Voyager had been left in the care of the Elementals, who referred to him as the "fire lord". They were afraid of him, but also had a tremendous, yet not quite understood reverence for the man. In their language, his name translated to the "Traveller", a creature of legend born eons ago, that sometimes fought for good, sometimes fought for evil, but always holding the balance between the two carefully. They saw in Voyager the incarnation of this "Traveller", and because of that, treated him as a guest who couldn't leave.
Splashing fresh water on his face, Voyager looked at himself in the mirror. Staring blankly into his fiery red eyes, Thomas Bane started to cry...
"My son....My son is dead..."
Falling to his knees on the ground, pounding a fist on the granite floor, he cried and screamed, undisturbed.
"It always begins this way, Traveller."
Bear Cat stood on the Liberty Bridge tower, looking over Independence Port, basking himself in the light of the fading sun. It was always a calming sensation to come here, and look at things from a vintage point. He wasn't a known hero to anyone, not even a rumour of one, and yet, he was the leader of the most ruthless hero organization of the city. The Hunters of Apocalypse.
The Hunters were the secret branch of the well known Riders of Apocalypse. They were, in themselves, a unit answering to no one, directing their own agenda, and most importantly, not held back by any laws or rules of conducts. They were a shadow organization, always moving in secret. They named themselves the Hunters, and were selected from the Turbo Star Academy of Heroism early on, to undergo the most gruesome training. The recruits simply vanished from the public eye. No one has ever proven the existence of the Hunters, and their actions have never been reported in the news, so far.
The Hunters, never arrested anyone, where they go, angels fear to thread. They are exactly what the name implies, predators, praying on the predators. They do not exact vengeance, extract justice or advocate for peace... They eliminate the selected targets. And Bear Cat was one of the few who decided what those targets were.
Letting his mind drift with the wind, Bear Cat thought about all the work accomplished so far, all that still lay ahead. The city truly needed the Hunters to act as cleaning agent. The other hero organizations were too restrained by the public eye. Funny how not being known, helped accomplished so much, how the Hunters walked a thin line between good and evil, but never crossed it long enough to be one or the other.
Looking below, he saw his target, the limousine of an influential yet corrupted city representative. Bracing himself, he jump from the bridge tower, his target was clear and in sight. He would land on that limousine rooftop, more than likely, crash through it, and kill all occupants. No witnesses allowed...
Turbo Starr sat at his office, reviewing the latest reports from the various departments. The academy was now host to more than one hundred and fifty recruits, its reputation spanning around the world. To think that a year ago, this very same academy, only housed a chosen few. More than four hundred requests for admission had been received in the last two months, and this was troubling him. The super-power community was growing faster than anticipated. And if some of these applicants were not taken in, the ramifications could be disastrous. It took a good deal of training to turn an uncontrolled explosion that was a new hero, into a self contained reaction. Newspapers were filled with the horror stories of undisciplined heroes destroying city blocks while attempting to arrest a low ranking gang member. The academy had a purpose, and it was understood by all who came here to learn.
His reverie was broken by the ringing of his phone. His secretary knew full to screen his calls. Although he was annoyed, he answered promptly.
Turbo Starr here. He said in a decisive voice
This Dr. Jenkins from the University. Said a female voice
Dr. Jenkins was the head teacher of the archaeological department at PCU. Turbo had contacted her soon after the Firebase Zulu incident to hire her services as an historical expert. He had asked her to look into the Traveller legend the Rularuu host believed in so much, the very same tale that had kept them from killing Voyager when they had finally subdued him.
What can I do for you, doctor? Asked Starr
The ancient Arameen text we deciphered recently contained some mistakes, which were just clarified. The part that mentioned the birth of a child, was actually translated wrong, it should read the death of a child.
Could you read to me the whole thing again, doctor? Asked Turbo, this time trying not to sound bored by this mumbo-jumbo.
Before darkness falls to ground,
Before the spirits will be found,
The death of a child for the traveller,
Brings forth the war monger.
After the darkness falls to ground,
And the spirits follow it down,
The wind frees the traveller,
And the dogs of war will answer.
The office door crashed open, to let in Cavalier. Turbo gestured with a hand for him to wait. He told Dr. Jenkins to fax a copy of the text to his secretary, and thanked her for the new information then hung up. Cavalier stood there, at attention.
Bad news? asked Turbo Starr to his most trusted captain.
We lost a recruit today, boss. Akritar Bane died saving a civilian. Said Cavalier, who never enjoyed reporting to his boss about such matter. Every time a recruit died, the newspaper started questioning the wisdom of using academy recruits in real life situations. But how else do you train crime fighters?
Turbo fell back on his chair, eyes lost in the distance. Only a chosen few knew that Akritar Bane was the son of Voyager. When the admission form was received, three months ago, Turbo had rushed his acceptance into the academy, afraid to let the child of one of the most powerful mutants he knew of, roam the city of Paragon without training or purpose.
The death of a child for the traveller, brings forth the war monger. Whispered Turbo Starr
.
Brickstown prison, 2 AM
Escorted by guards through D block, Shadow-Step was wondering what was going on. They had woken him a few minutes ago, put magnetic shackles on wrists and feet, and told him to come along. All he knew is that someone was here to meet him. He was being led to the exercise yard. What was going here, last time anyone came to see him, was a month ago, when his lawyer told him that his appeal had been turned down, due to his conduct in detention, which was less than pleasing. Numerous fights, refusal to submit to prison rules, various incitements to riot. All of these had gotten him thrown into solitary on a regular basis. But he didn't regret anything, this world was meant to be tamed, by any means necessary, and one day...One day, he would roam free again.
Entering the yard, basked in a half moon light, Shadow-Step saw a tall, hulking figure standing beneath the east sniper tower. The guards remained by the door, guns at the ready, while he trudged to meet this unknown visitor. There was nothing familiar about him.
"You got a funny schedule to wake me up for a conversation, man." Said Shadow, as he stood at least a head shorter in front the man.
"How's the prison life, Shadow-Step, food still tasteless?" Asked the soft, deep voice.
"Food is lousy, inmates are annoying, and I can't seem to get along with the warden, at all." Answered Shadow with irreverence.
"I am told your appeal has been turned down, so that means you're in for the long run, fourteen years to go right?"
"Yeah, so, what's it to you?" Shadow-Step didn't like to be caught by surprise, this guy wasn't a hero, or police related for sure, there was something edgy about him, something more of the wolf than the puppy.
"I am here to offer you a once in a lifetime proposition, turn it down, and it will never be offered again, accept it, and you will never know true peace again."
"Right, huh huh, and then what, you gonna fly me to Brazil and have my kidneys removed or something?" Shadow always was quick with a joke.
The hulking figure took a step forward, covering him with his shadow.
"Listen well, for I will not repeat. You are in jail because you were found guilty and charged with killing seventeen gang members, injuring five policemen, and destroying public property, throw in with that disorderly conduct while in prison with various misdemeanours. If you keep it up, you will die here." The voice was dead serious, and truly uncaring. A harsh man, a tough guy.
"So what, the Hellions deserved what they got, and the police shouldve stayed out of it, and as far as my less than pristine conduct here, it ain't none of your bizwacks." Answered Shadow, as he spit on the ground, next to the man, in a sign of challenge. Of course that guy could probably pound him into next week, shackled as he was, but who gives a flying [censored], Shadow-Step bows down to no one.
"I am here to offer you a job, a lifetime job. If you accept, you will work for me, answer to only me and a chosen few, and you will do my bidding. If you try and flee, I will kill you, if you fail, you will more than likely die, if you succeed, you will never be rewarded. What I am offering you is ticket out of jail, but if the authorities catch you, they will throw you back in, and we will not come to get you, but you will not be allowed to reveal our existence."
"Right, huh huh, got a dental plan that comes with this job, a union maybe?" Shadow was not impressed so far, this guy was either a joke or a criminal with good contacts in city hall.
"A union... Yes, we do have a union of sorts. Dental plan... Keep talking to me like that, and you won't be needing the "dental plan" anymore. This is a serious offer, you have what we seek, and we want you aboard. If you agree to this, you leave Brickstown tonight, and tomorrow, your new life starts." The voice was still soft, still uncaring.
"And what's in it for me, if I come?" Asked Shadow-Step, a bit more seriously.
"Freedom... To act, to make a difference."
"Well, let me think here... Shower time has gotten a bit more dangerous lately, they changed the soap and all. Also, I seem to be making less and less friends in there. Where do I sign up?" Shadow couldn't help it, he was a tad bit nervous about staying in D block much longer. And freedom, was such a good offer, at any conditions, that he wanted it.
The hulking figure took a key out of his pockets, and unshackled Shadow-Step. The magnetic restrains fell to the ground.
"Welcome Shadow-Step, to the Hunters of Apocalypse. You can call me Bear Cat" He then took a small portable cell phone from his belt, flipped it open and said: "TP us."
The two figures vanished from the yard.
O-Lan gently set down the unconscious Brahma Bullseye, in the grass in front of the Academy sport center. More than likely, he would wake up in the morning, if not found by ground security first. She didn't know what else to do with her former teacher, and this place was as safe as she could think of right now. It was three in the morning, and there was still night time left enough to hunt down her target.
Heading back towards Kings Row, she thought about all that happened to Professor Young in the last year. Crippled, disfigured, and according to rumours, it was best that he stayed in the special suit they had made for him. The sight of him, without it, was ghastly at best. Why would he go to Kings Row, to get drunk and raise hell? Why did he say that he was home?
She had to return to that building, and look more closely into this. There must be a reason why the one and only Brahma Bullseye was there. Upon entering the district, she headed in the factory direction. All was quiet, aside from a few street bums huddling closely to fires made in trash cans. Entering the abandoned building again, she proceeded back to main factory hall, to stand where she did an hour ago. All was dark, only the sound of rats and wind disturbed papers could be heard. Then...
Bear Cat and Shadow-Step appeared on the ramp above her.
"Be quiet and follow me" said Bear Cat to his new recruit.
They entered the side corridor, disappearing in the darkness. She nimbly jumped up, to land quietly on the second floor balcony. She didn't know the big tall ugly one, but she sure did know the small, annoying one... Shadow-Step, and he was supposed to be in jail. She should know, she helped arrest him almost a year ago. What was he doing out? She followed them down the corridor. Was this why the professor came here? To meet them?
The tall ugly guy spoke into a cell phone, one word. "Open"
The floor in front of him started to slide open, letting out a dim green light. They both started to climb down, what must've been stairs. She counted to three, and dove straight ahead for the floor panel, it was closing itself shut. Landing three feet in front of it, she tumbled on herself, and landed on the stairwell, the opening closing behind her. Crouching, waiting, looking around for surveillance equipment, she held her position for a few minutes, expecting guards, on the ugly tall guy, to come back and challenge her. There was sound, muffled, coming from down there. Then, she heard a cheer of voices. Proceeding down the stairs, more like a cat on the prowl, than anything else, O-Lan did what she did best, she followed her instincts.
Bear Cat and Shadow-Step entered the underground storage area, which was transformed some time ago, into the Hunters of Apocalypse headquarters, and were greeted by about twenty people. Bear Cat nodded to a few, others saluted him, military style, while others, probably hired help, went about their business without even a glance in their direction.
"People, I'd like you meet Shadow-Step, our newest member." Said the strong willed, strong armed Bear Cat. The small crowd cheered their arrival, some shaking hands with Shadow-Step, which was a bit confused about this reception. Most of the faces he saw were gruff looking, hard as nail types.
"I don't care who you clowns might think you are, but Shadow-Step, youre coming with me." said the feisty scrapper.
Shadow-Step turned around, to lay eyes on O-Lan. Surprised, but also, very much still attracted to the female fighter, Shadow-Step put on his best smile while walking towards her. Bear Cat made a hand gesture to his troops to remain still.
That criminal dares to still believe there might be something between us... What a puppy... Thought O-Lan, who flashed back her most charming smile. That's it, just a bit closer...
Shadow-Step stood in front of her, looking her up, appreciating the sight of female curves. It had been a while since he had seen a true woman, an equal in character. "Want to surrender now, honey?"
She looked over his shoulder, to the gathering troops around the big tall guy, then looked back at him, smiling softly. Bear Cat and his troops all let out a sympathetic breath of shared pain.
Sticking out from between Shadow-Step's legs, the protruding boot of O-Lan had knocked his balls to smithereens so hard, that the sound still echoed in the room a few seconds after. Shadow, himself, was looking straight at O-Lan, one eye twitching, the other one shedding a single tear, rolling down his cheek. He fell limp on the side, to the ground, curled up and throwing up.
"All right boys, it's party time..." Screamed O-Lan as she jumped into the fray. Only to land her face on a huge fist that moved faster than she had anticipated. Bear Cat had just achieved what no one could in a century, he had punched her lights out. She was stopped in mid-air, and landed like a limp wet cat, at his feet.
Letting out a long breath, Bear Cat said : "Get the doctor."
That guy, will be singing soprano for a few days, and this one over there is a regen, shell be fine." said the doctor to Bear Cat, who had just walked in the infirmary to inquire about them.
"I sedated Shadow-Step, I doubt he'd be able to walk around without assistance, and more than likely, the pain in his pelvis would be unbearable." Continued the doctor, who was looking wonderingly at O-Lan.
"Something else you should see." Bear Cat always was a quiet one when the doctor spoke, reverence and respect, made him listen well to the old woman who had come to help them, about a year ago, when the Hunters were in dire need of a professional healer. She was not the most caring person in the world, but she was really good at patching his people up, and that's what counted the most, to get them back on their feet and out there. Almost seventy years old, she was a retired physician left homeless after the Ritki war, and who had dedicated her life to helping other homeless, the forgotten, as she called them.
"Look at this kid, Bear Cat, and tell me what you see." She stood next to Shadow-Step's bed and brought down the sheet covering his chest.
"Well now, that's interesting." Replied Bear Cat.
Shadow-Step's chest was covered in scars, most of which had healed by themselves, no stitches. They criss-crossed his rib cage, arms, shoulders. Some looked deep enough to have cause major bleeding.
"Got any theory on these scars doctor?" Asked the leader of the Hunters
"The angle on some of the cuts, also notice the separation between the smaller ones, and here, if you look closely, the sharp, deep, cutting edge that left that long one from the clavicle to the solar plexus." She looked at Bear Cat, expecting him to put all of the facts together.
"This kid was almost killed by Tsoos, Bear Cat, and it's a wonder he survived at all. But more importantly" She grabbed Shadow-Step by the left shoulder and rolled him over to his right side. "Look at the back of his shoulder."
Bear Cat leaned over, looked where the doctor had indicated, then straightened up, flipped his cell phone open, pressed the call button and said
"Code red."
A second later, all the lights in the underground factory went from soft white to green.
"Doctor, is this thing active?"
"Yes, and I cannot remove it without killing the kid."
We need to know which frequency it's broadcasting on, there's only one other person who had such a device installed on him, Voyager, and that was just before they had banished him to Firebase Zulu. With it, the authorities could pinpoint his location and life signs." Was the city about to banish another person there? Has it been done more than once?
"Never heard of him, but what matters now, is that it cannot be removed without surgery, and even then, I would need a stasis scalpel to do it. There is only one scalpel of this type in the city, and Crey Industries owns it."
"I'll see what can be done, thank you doctor." Bear Cat walked out of the infirmary more puzzled than anything else. He had reviewed extensively the "Voyager report", and knew almost all that could be known about the issue. But what if, what if, the city authorities had been banishing fallen heroes there, on a regular basis. Are there more of them roaming the Firebase Zulu grounds? Is there a clear and present danger accumulating itself over there? Could that forsaken place be considered the first real prison for super-powered beings?
Captain Gillis stood behind the corporal, both of them looking at a surveillance video of the Storm Palace. The Peregrine Island treaty that followed the Firebase Zulu war of last year, allowed for both parties the possibility of keeping an eye on each other. For the humans, that meant a stationary electronic spy satellite aimed at the palace, for the Rularuu, that meant a stationary Observer, looking constantly at them, floating a few miles from the base entrance into the shard. Gillis is in charge of the night shift security for the entire facility. When Corporal Jones called him, a few minutes ago, he actually had to exercise his memory, as to when that had happened before. The last time, was almost a year ago, when the fuse box for the surveillance building had gone on the fritz.
"Play it again, corporal." Said Captain Gillis
The monitor showed the always still picture of the Storm Palace. That picture hadn't change in almost a year, never moved. The Rularuu had not communicated once with the humans since the treaty, not a word from them. Then, the huge round shaped stronghold of the Host, seemed to cave in on itself for a second, not so much as to implode, but as if a circular pressure had been applied to it, making it compact itself.
"Rewind that part, sharpen it, and I want a frame by frame." Gillis said tensely.
They both looked at the images in slow motion, while the corporal digitally measured the shrinking effect on the huge structure. It was the first recorded event of any activity from the Rularuu. This was news of importance, even the general public would feast on it. The Host was still alive and kicking.
While they were both actively looking at the playback screen, an orderly called their attention to the live satellite feed screen. A whisp was flying towards the surveillance system, coming straight for it. All eyes in the room were glued to that screen, another sigh of activity from the Host. The flame being came to a stop in front of the camera eye, and said something, that no one understood, only one word, then turned itself about and headed back for the mother ship. Gillis's mind was racing, should he wake up the general, should he call in the heroes or should he evacuate the base.
"Get me that university professor that's been begging for months to explore the shard." Said Gillis, who recalled that this young man could actually understand some of their language. How, it was beyond him, but they had to use translators from both sides after the war, and this guy, actually followed a language class on basic rulaarite language. Maybe he would know what that flame thing came to say. The authorities had granted him access to the base, so he could study the Host. The live feed camera was still centered on the ship, still showing the whisp flying back to wards it.
"Prepare a recording for the nerd." Said Gillis to the corporal, who nodded and executed the captain's orders. Minutes went by, nothing happening, but a sense on impending doom was lingering in the room. Then, the doors opened to let in two soldiers escorting a frail looking, glasses thick as bottles wearing, library rat type, still in his pyjamas man.
"What's your name son?" Asked the captain to the young man.
"Raoul Beauregard sir, from ze university of Montreal. I am a student of archaeology and also hold a teaching position in Paragon University as a forgotten language teacher." Said the geek looking man, with a strong French accent.
"Well, mr. Bawreaguard (badly mispronounced), can you translate this for us?" Asked Gillis, while gesturing for the corporal to start the playback.
"****** de *****, mais c'est quoi ce machin la?" Expressed the young man, while stepping closer to the screen. He was having his first look on a whisp, and didn't hide his shock. No one else in the room understood what he said, but they all recognized outraged surprise, when they heard it. The small man listened intently to the word the flame being spoke, asked for a playback, listened again, then turned to look at the captain.
"Ze word in itself could mean three things of different origins, and also, it could be interpreted differently, but, according to what we know of ze Rulaaru language, it means..." said Beauregard
'Sir!" cried the corporal, pointing at the live satellite feed camera.
The picture there showed a huge explosion on the upper right side of the Storm Palace. Flame gouging from it, must've reached the five hundred meters. The shockwave itself was being recorded by instruments, and the spikes on it were almost off the chart. The Storm Palace started to fall, like a sinking ship, rolling away from the picture.
"...Help"
The Chantry territory
They both stood on an outcropping of rocks, on the floating island they called home now. Seven months, they had survived, them, and their little community, left to rot in enemy territory, stranded there until they died. They refer to themselves as the "Exiled", a name given to them by Windsor, their first leader, who has been dead for two months now. She had pulled them together, and found them a home, she had convinced them to live, to not give up.
Lil Smoke and Wild-Star, both stood there, looking towards the heart of the shard.
"You think it's gonna happen, I mean for real?" Asked Wild-Star to his small, bulky friend.
"Who knows, Jaden, Windsor said it would, so it's good enough for me, but you have to admit, it would be pretty freaky, if it did." Answered Lil Smoke to his now best friend in the world. The two of them had seen their share of battles, and they were both wearing Rularuu armour parts, cut out from the flesh of the Brutes and Observers, their old clothes were long discarded, from battle wear and tear.
Their eyes remained locked in the distance, searching.
"That it would, but when was she ever wrong about her predictions?" Ja net "Windsor" Pinkerton had developed the ability to foresee the future at times, and it was that ability that had them both standing here today, waiting. "She said he would fall like a star from the sky on this very island." Which was the reason why she had them establish their headquarters in a cave nearby, to await the arrival of the one she called the traveller.
Everywhere the eye could see, broken islands, floating about, undisturbed. As if caught in a ballet without purpose, drifting in the orange murky sky. Lil Smoke couldn't help but repress a sigh, thinking of Windsor, how she had died so he could live, how she had insisted, with her last breath, that he'd be here this morning. He did not believe in the story anymore, too much hurt and pain had gone by since, and hope, which was most needed, didn't find a good place lately in his heart. They would all die here, and no one would know or care about it.
"Look!" Said Wild-Star who was pointing at a tiny spec of light that had appeared in the distance. "The old woman was right, holy [censored], she was right, he is coming..." There was awe and wonder in Wild-Star's voice.
"Get ready Jaden, we don't know what's coming for sure." Answered Lil Smoke. All of his experiences here had thought him that nothing good came from Windsor's prophecy, so why would today be any different.
The distant light slowly became a trail of fire, like a falling meteor, with dark smoke on its tail, the angle at which it was coming towards them, was that of a slowing decaying arc. Closer and closer it came, never wavering one iota from the intended course. They looked at it, in silence, part amazed, part scared. Windsor had promised that from this falling star, would come their freedom, their way back home, but also, that there would be a great price to pay for leaving this place.
The streak of flame and smoke, flew over them, and they both saw a man in the middle of the flames. He crash landed in the grass, tossed about like a rag doll, unconscious. He slid on the grassy hill all the way up to the edge, hit the rocks there, and remained still. Smoke and the smouldering sound of fire were all that accompanied his entrance.
They both came closer, looking at the new arrival. Dark skin, dark as night, fiery red eyes could be seen under almost closed eyelids. The man was hurt, big time, no doubt about it. protruding bruises could be seen on his body, deep gashes made by brute claws also. He was in bad shape all right, and was in need of a healer. But Lil Smoke recognized him, from old news, from about a year ago, he was the first exiled, the most famous fallen hero he knew of.
"Voyager" Whispered Lil Smoke
"Who?" Asked Wild-Star
"The Arch-Villain, Voyager, is our saviour...." Whispered Lil Smoke.
Visitors
The small group appeared by the entrance to Orebanga, Turbo Starr and the recruits looked about themselves, taking hold of the scenery. Circe Island was covered in vegetation and had the most white sandy beaches of all of the Talos Islands. It as also here that the secret entrance to the underground magic city, was located. Turbo hadn't come back here in almost a year, not since the final battle that had put an end to the Circle of Thorns activities. He felt sad and tired as he looked at the entrance to the cave system, felt as if he was fifty years older than he was. When the Riders had come here last, the fierce battle that had followed, the merciless enemy that had faced them, had made it a grim day for all who had met them. So many deaths took place here, so many ghosts.
"Sir?" Asked a pimply recruit to the famous leader.
"Yes, harrumph!, welcome class, to the forbidden city of Orebanga. We, as a supergroup, have been granted access to this place, for studying purposes, much like the palaeontology department of PCU, with no restrictions." Phrased Turbo Starr in his most official tone. "We come here to explain the dangers to our recruits, to study the mistakes of the past and learn from them. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them." He finished that last with an award wining smile. It felt awkward to be a teacher for a change, and not the administrator. These kids were selected to become Knights, and they fell under Cavalier's supervision.
"Now, if you will all form a line, we will proceed into the cave." That he felt like a first grade teacher, wasn't even a joke.
The group made their way down the corridors of quartz and rocks, stopping here and there, to take in the scenery, and talk about the events that happened here. There, a body imprint of Bloodrock left a permanent mark in the rock, here, the burnt marks of Voyager imps, and there, on the broken boards of a wooden bridge, dried blood from the fight. Everything in this place smelled dusty, undisturbed. Still heading down, the group came upon a sigh that was hanging over a wooden door:
"BEYOND THIS POINT YOU ARE ALONE"
The class read it in silence, looking over their shoulders, back the way they came from, which was about a mile up.
"Once we pass this door, no outside communications will be possible, if you get lost or injured, you won't teleport out either. We are now too deep for any rescue to reach us." Turbo had a twisted sense of humour, and everyone who knew him never could tell if he was serious or joking.
The class walked a bit more, to what seemed to be a dead end in the cave system. Turbo, arriving there, pressed a nondescript rock, which emitted a click. The wall in front of them suddenly opened.
"Welcome, future Knights, to Orebanga." Said solemnly the famous scrapper.
They all stepped inside the entrance, to lay foot on a rocky ledge. The next step would send them falling down into an underground lake, which was disturbed by a waterfall to the far right of the huge cave. Ahead, the magical city of Orebanga waited, silently. It was ominous, lighted by torches on its walls. From afar, it looked like a huge, horrific statue of a long forgotten demon. Everything they saw, spoke of evil times, dark deeds and forbidden knowledge. Only the sound of the falling water could be heard, as if everything was muffled, voices, noises and whispers.
"I'll call over the university lift, it will take us down to the wharf." Yelled Turbo to overcome the sound of the waterfall. He then pressed the green button on a control panel that was hung on the wooden ramp, and waited.
They then stepped onto the platform, secured the railing, and started their way down across the lake. The city was coming to meet them, and all of them had a dead serious look on their face. None of the recruits felt safe anymore, none of them could pinpoint why, but this place was unfriendly.
"What you are feeling now, kids, is the aura of the city. Everyone not belonging to this place is affected by it, even some of the mages were not immune to this effect. Orebanga was built by magic, most of its stones are from a different plane of existence, imported here by the mystics who embraced the dark ways." Turbo loved giving this speech, he had heard Cavalier tell it so often to others, while at the academy.
"Sir, I think I'm gonna throw up..." Said a young girl, who seemed to have turned a lighter shade of green, as soon as they started going down.
The lift arrived at its destination, on the city wharf, and stopped itself harshly on the rubber break. They all walked off it, and assembled themselves before the bottom stairs that lead up to the first tower.
"Those circles you are looking at on top of the towers, were actually dimensional portals that could summon demons and ghosts to the city. When me and the team got here, ten of them were active and had to be destroyed." Turbo thought back to that day, when all hell broke loose, and they had to break all the rules, in order to survive. What a dark day that had been for the Riders. The rules they had followed, as a unit, to behold the law, had taken the back seat to an all out battle that had killed almost everyone in their path.
"Oh my God!...Sir!" Screamed a student.
Turbo turned around and looked in the direction the student had pointed. There, coming down the stairs, walking in unison, were six Circle of Thorns guard, preceded by a soul mage. All of them had their hoods down, all of them had their hands crossed and folded inside their sleeves.
Turbo reacted immediately, taking a fighting stance and a sharp breath, concentrating all of his being. The Circle of Thorns group walked down the stairwell, and stopped itself at the bottom, blocking the path up. They all waited there, no one moving. Turbo was ready, any unfriendly move on their behalf would be met by a swift kick in the teeth. What the hell was going here, was the Circle, once more, active?
The soul mage stepped forward, while slowly removing the hood that was covering the face.
"Dr. Jenkins??!!" Said Turbo Starr
"Hello, Mr. Starr, we were not expecting you this morning, where is Cavalier?" Asked the university professor who was smiling at them, while searching the surroundings for the squared jaw Cavalier.
"I had to replace him on a last minute emergency. You want to tell me what's going on here, doctor?" Said the famous leader.
"Oh, me and some colleagues were re-enacting a portal summoning, and when we heard the lift being called, we thought of playing a little joke on Cavalier and his group. Last time around, he scared the living daylights out of us, so we were simply returning the favour." Answered Jenkins.
"Re-enacting a portal summoning, is not what I would consider falling under the palaeontology curriculum, doctor." Said Turbo with disdain in his voice. Something was fishy here.
"We study the ancient civilizations, their habits, their beliefs, Mr. Starr, and Orebanga provides an ample source of rediscovered knowledge. While me and my colleagues do not approve of the ways of the Circle of Thorns, we still have to study and understand the reasons that brought them to such pagan practices. The mere fact that they could channel such energies, imbue the city itself with a part of it, summon beasts and demons, requires us to better understand the myths behind the facts."
"Still, doctor, you have to admit that parading around Orebanga dressed as Circle fanatics, is a stretch." Turbo was not liking this at all. That the smartest people the city had to offer, were dressed as evil magic users in the abandoned citadel, was not how he defined the "unlimited access for studying purposes" the Emergency Committee of Paragon City (ECPC) had in mind.
"Mr. Starr, are we gonna stand here and argue all day about this, or you gonna allow your class to witness the ceremony of the portal opening?" Jenkins was still smirking, part derision, part amusement, at Turbo Starr. He felt a bit foolish at being this bent on rules of conduct, after all, Dr. Jenkins was an honorary member of the Riders, providing the supergroup with valuable information and donating some of her time to the academy for special classes and projects.
"Fine, doctor, me and the recruits will accompany you." Well, this was certainly gonna be a different kind of field trip. When recruits came here for the tour, they usually saw university people dusting off some old books, or urns, bent down on the ground and cataloguing artefacts.
They all walked up the stairs, climbing up the middle, and highest tower, which was the location of the main portal. When they reached the top, Jenkins started explaining to the recruits the purpose of the positioning of each portal in relation to the others. She also went on in length about the magic stones, which were not of this world, imported through the dimensional doors ages ago. They had tried many tests to date the rocks, but to no avail, the mystical energies flowing in them prevented any scientific analysis. Then, she lectured them on the stone rings themselves, doorways to the other dimensions. One incantation would open them to the Shadow Realm, while another could very well open it inside the city also. They had catalogued at least two hundred chants that permitted access to different parts of the known world and beyond.
"Now, if you would all stand outside the pentacle, we will demonstrate one of the rituals." Said Jenkins
Turbo and the future Knights positioned themselves outside the arcane ring, silently watching. Five acolytes put themselves in a kneeling position, at each point of the star that was carved on the floor, while the sixth went to stand in the middle. Dr. Jenkins stood directly in front of the portal, with her back to it, looking back at the small crowd. She smiled gently, looking at the recruits.
"This is how the mages positioned themselves for the ritual." She then took out an old parchment from her sleeve, and unrolled it. "This scroll contains a chanting to channel enough energy into the door itself, which would open, if the correct spell were to be used. I will now recite the words, as it was done in ages gone, by the Circle of Thorns." She looked at them still, smiling. "Don't worry, it requires a full mage to open a portal, and my, shall we say, lack of magic expertise, makes this demonstration a safe thing."
The five kneeling acolytes began chanting, while bowing themselves.
"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon"
The one in the middle removed his robe in one swift motion to let it fall on the ground. He stood there naked, body painted with cabalistic symbols.
"Prat-Seh" Said Dr. Jenkins, who then stomped her right foot on the ground. The vibration was felt all around
Magic had been used.
"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon" Continues the five kneeling chanters.
"Sir, I can't move" Said the pimply recruit
"Neither can I, son." Answered Turbo, who had just realized that only his head still had motion.
"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon"
"Jenkins, what are you doing?" He asked her
"We were not expecting you this morning, Mr. Starr, we were expecting Cavalier. But you will do just as well, our master forged a sword which a champion can wield. He has been waiting a long time, and today, he waits no more." Answered Jenkins, smiling still.
"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon" The chanting grew in strength
Jenkins then held the scroll in front of her, looked at the man in the center of the circle and nodded. The chanting chorus grew in strength.
"Brig Aamaleth boak Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon,
Brig Polomiek askii Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon."
Red glowing energy started to appear around the man, encircling him, moving up to cover his body. The magic symbols on his skin glowing a soft white. He stood there, eyes wide opened, afraid. The chanting went on for a few more minutes, rhythmic, unaltered. Turbo and the future Knights were still rooted in place, unable to take action, unable to flee.
"Stop this Jenkins, if it's me you want, then let the kids go." Said the famous leader.
"Brig Aamaleth boak Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon,
Brig Polomiek askii Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon."
Then, the man in the center of the circle started to scream, blood had began to ooze from his eyes, ears and any place it could flow from. The portal behind Dr. Jenkins started to glimmer blue, a faint blue. Turbo felt his heart skip a beat. The blood from the man was channelled from the circle to the portal, activating it.
"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon"
"Brig Aamaleth boak Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon,
Brig Polomiek askii Kan,
Parsheeh eth Absalon."
"Insha-ala Kar'smattii Absalon"
Suddenly, all sound disappeared, Turbo could see the moving lips of Jenkins, could see the screaming man in the circle, but no sound. He looked to his left, and saw the recruits screaming silently also. Then, the portal opened, glimmered bright blue, and for a fraction of a second, the image of another Orebanga flashed itself on the surface of the dimensional door. The man in the middle of the magic ring had collapsed to the ground, most likely dead. The acolytes stood up. They each grabbed a recruit, and started to carry them into the portal, to the other side. Jenkins walked up to Turbo Starr, looking him down defiantly.
"Before darkness falls to ground,
Before the spirits are found,
The death of a child for the traveller,
Brings forth the war monger.
"I envy you, Turbo Starr, for you are about to serve a purpose that only a few could claim. Sleep now, War Monger." Jenkins blew dust from her hand to his face, Turbo coughed, sneezed, tried to break free. He felt the dizziness overcome him. He couldn't pass out, mustnt pass out...
These are the dreams
"I say we throw him in the void, and be done with him." Takeo Murasaki, know also as Metal Core, when he resided in Paragon was dead serious, borderline angry. When Lil Smoke and Wild-Star had brought in Voyager, badly injured, into the cave, he was busy fixing his Rularuu body armour, which had ripped at the seems.
"We will do no such thing." Replied the beautiful Jade Rade, the radiation imbued mutant, who could heal or kill any who came within her reach. She was kneeling besides Voyager, passing glowing green, mechanical hands over his body. She had been with the Exiled for a month now, mending their wounds, caring for them.
"That man is a menace." Takeo was angry now, pointing at Voyager, screaming, as if a louder voice would make a difference.
"C'mon Takeo, none of us, here, are what you would call altar people." Lil Smoke was trying to be the voice of reason. Small, but massively built, the fire tank who had given up hope, couldn't believe they were gonna execute a human, even in this place.
"Windsor said a saviour would come, Takeo, and she was right." Continued Wild-Star who was trying very hard to understand why Takeo was so angry.
"Jaden, Lil Smoke and even you Jade, shut up." Takeo was screaming now. "You guys have no clue what this man has done, what he is capable of. He is an arch-villain, tried, tested and true." Metal Core punched a huge fist into the rocky wall, next to him. "He kills people."
"And so what, we kill him, we become him?" Screamed Lil Smoke back at the Exiled Leader.
"Quiet!" Yelled jade Rade "I will heal him, but only enough so that he will not die, nothing more. Even if he were to wake up, he will be so weak, it will be weeks before he walks straight, he will pose no threats. But I will not listen to any talks about killing anyone, anymore, is that understood?" Jade had a tendency to be bossy with them, at times. After all, she saved their lives more than twice already, and began to develop the same nasty attitude Windsor used to have with them, more like a mother, than an ally. She looked at the three men defiantly.
Metal Core sat down on the rocky floor of the cave.
"You don't understand guys, I was there, I saw it." His eyes were lost in the distance.
"C'mon Takeo, it couldn't have been that bad, you told me yourself that that battle had been the most exciting thing you had ever seen." Replied Lil Smoke, who knew very little about what took place during the Firebase Zulu War.
Metal Core began to speak in a soft, resigned voice.
"Heroes from all walks of life came to the rescue, the base was falling to the Rularuu, it was only a matter of days. Twice the shield had fallen, and twice it was brought back up by the sacrifice of electric blasters who had transferred their powers into the generators. The army people had been fighting for days on end without sleep, to stop the Host from going into the portal, and gain a foothold on Earth." The room had gone quiet, only the low humming of Jade's hands over Voyager's body could be heard.
"Then, the Riders of Apocalypse joined the battle. I was only a new hero then, but these guys had experience, had seen it all, done it all. It brought new hope to our fight, and for a day or so, the tide seemed to change. We were doing so well, that a plan to attack the Chantry had been devised and accepted by the military. Preparations were made, last minute details were tweaked, troops and heroes were briefed." Passing a tired hand over his face, Metal Core couldn't repressed a sigh of sorrow.
"That day, we were all gathered on the island in front of the base, making the final preparations, army officers were screaming orders, hero leaders were boosting morale. And then... Then, the sky in the distance started to fill up... It filled up with so many Rularuu, that we couldn't see behind them, so many that our army of thirty thousand was dwarfed to it. They came to an alt about a mile before the Island, floating there, waiting. And that man" Takeo was pointing at Voyager, screaming "Came out of their ranks." The small group all looked at Thomas Bane, the Voyager.
"Turbo Starr went to meet him halfway, on a floating rock. They talked for a while, no one but him or Turbo Starr himself, heard what was said. Then, Turbo left the floating rock, and that...that monstrosity you are trying to save today yelled... None shall pass, go back now, or die this day." Takeo Murasaki was crying softly, tears rolling down freely on his cheeks. "The battle that followed was a bloody mess, the Rularuu showed us no quarter, and we gave none. We fired nukes directly on our battle position, irradiating ourselves, as well as them. The army of heroes fought like tigers " Takeo pounded a fist on the ground " to gain the advantage. Then... He... He came into the fray, and fulcrum shifted almost all the power present that day. The sky exploded, bodies vanished into it, while others were thrown into the void. Nothing was left standing, not us, not the Rularuu, we had all been beaten down by it. Everything became so quiet, then we started to hear the sounds of the injured, it was... A sad day." Metal Core stood up, to walk towards Voyager.
"He passed out after the explosion, fell on the human side of things. Cavalier and Turbo Starr, you know them, the famous leaders, picked him up and brought him to the healers. A cease fire was called after this, the host had lost a great deal of its people, and our losses were severe too. I don't know what was negotiated after the battle, but I know this, Voyager was sentenced by the military authorities to die. Only thing that prevented it, was the peace treaty that was signed between us and the Host. Apparently, they wouldn't endorse it, unless Voyager was left in their care, they said he was a legend amongst their people, and deserved life." He was now kneeling next to Thomas Bane, looking at the aging man, very wanting to crush his skull with a rock. "I lost many a good friend that day... You should die, Voyager..."
Bear Cat, who always slept during the day, was having a troublesome dream. In it, for was everywhere, but he could hear people calling out to him to be rescued. And he could feel the presence of an enemy, lurking in the distance, wanting, waiting for him to make a mistake. This wasn't the first time he had this dream, but it did feel different to him, this time around. The low, guttural laughter of a beast filled the space around him, taunting him. Then the wailing voices began to call him. He walked in the fog for a while, and found himself standing in front of two giant doors, made of wood and iron. He pushed on them and they started to separate, to let him. He knew this place, the hall of warriors. To his left and right, pedestals held statues of great warriors gone, and great warriors to come. He stopped to look at the granite statue of himself, standing upright, arms folded across the chest, looking in the distance. The details were amazingly well rendered, he could even see the old scar under his chin, the one he got when he fell on the sidewalk while running, when he was seven years old.
His reverie came to a stop when the sound of a huge bell was heard. It resounded across the hall, coming from another room deeper into, what he now could only fathom as being, a palace. He walked towards an archway without a door, the sound which repeated itself at a regular interval, was coming from there. The echo of it made everything rattle in the statue room. Entering the second room, Bear Cat was stopped short. Within this huge room stood a only a pyramid, about one hundred meters tall, and on top of it, was a bell. Next tot he bell, was the figure of a man, using a hammer to ring it. He swang it at the bell, pounding the sound out of it. Bear Cat walked towards the pyramid, then started to climb up to go meet the mysterious bell ringer. When he reached the last step, the man stopped swinging the hammer, turned and looked at him.
"Darkness has its champion." Was all he said, then extended his arm, which held the hammer, as if to give it to Bear Cat.
He jerked up, and sat up on his bed, sweaty, breath short.
"What the [censored]??!!" Said Bear Cat to himself.
A beacon in the night
Driving back from the doctor's office, Cavalier was lost in his thoughts. Troubling reports from all over the city had made their way to his desks, one of which involving O-Lan being reported missing, another mentioning the murder of city counsellor Parkinson on Valor Bridge, a Brickstown prisoner escaping without a trace. All these events by themselves, combined with the bombing of the Centaur building had him wondering what was gonna happen next. His train of thoughts was pulled away by his cell phone ringing. It was central dispatch.
"Sorry to disturb you sir, but we have recorded magical activity in Orebanga earlier this morning. We tried reaching the boss, but he was unavailable." Said the female voice over the phone.
"This is odd, was any experiment or study group scheduled in the ruins today?" Asked squared jaw Cavalier.
"None that we are aware of sir, but we can say for certain that the event lasted only a few minutes, than stopped." Continued the base dispatch.
"Send a team out there, and have them report any findings. Turbo and a group of Knights recruits were visiting there this morning, and I would hate to think someone pulled a rabbit out a hat while they were there." Answered the scrapper, with a bit of laughter in the voice. If anything went wrong down there, more than likely Turbo had dealt with it promptly. A lot could be said for his teaching abilities, but when the chips were down, even Cavalier wouldn't dare go toe to toe with the boss.
Exiting for Talos Island, he directed his car towards the HQ. Another duty awaited him this morning, one he disliked every time he had to do it. The burial ceremony for Akritar Bane was scheduled to start in a few minutes, and he was to be making the eulogy. Some of his classmates would be talking before him, which was good, because he didn't take the time to know every one of the students at the academy anymore, too many had come, too many had gone. Was he growing complaisant and distant? He recalled a time when everyone he met was important to know, everyone brought something to the supergroup. Nowadays, it feels more like a routine of waving helloes and being an image.
Entering the underground parking lot of the academy, he stalled his car in the place reserved for it. Was it possible that time had made him indifferent to the needs of others? So many friends had passed away, Page of Sword who had disappeared, Bloodrock who fell in the void during the Zulu war, Star-Crusader decommissioning himself and trying to be a normal person. So many more that had left without saying a word. Yes, he did feel cold and separated from the newcomers.
He walked down the corridor, heading for the Hall of Heroes, a room created by heroes, for heroes. There, Apocalypse people assembled for ceremonies, official duties, and...Eulogies. The room was furnished with taste, reminiscent of the House of Lords in Britain. Beautiful woods and selected tapestries garnished it, long tables and comfortable chairs were present to sit close to three hundred people. There was enough space to accommodate five hundred people, if some were standing. The high domed ceiling was copied from a sixteenth century chapel. Paintings of fallen heroes were presented on the walls, Halcyon, Foalmir and others were there to remind people that sacrifices made for the greater good, was a goal to be achieved.
The doorman opened the doors, to let him in to an empty room. He stopped on the footstep, taking aback by this. He couldn't recall when he ever saw this room empty for an eulogy. Only a handful of recruits were there, sitting in the front row, close to the coffin. They turned to look at him, so he continued walking towards the front of the room, to reach the pedestal, without faltering. No heroes, no family present for this kid, who had died heroically, saving someone else instead of saving himself.
"Would anyone like to say anything?" He asked the few recruits that were present. They looked at each other, then back at him, nodding negatively.
Cavalier cleared his throat, this was taking him by surprise, to say the least.
"Does anyone know if Mr. Bane had any family, were they informed of his passing?" The recruits remained quiet, but Cavalier heard one of them mumble something.
"What's your name recruit?" He asked the girl who had just spoken under her breath.
"They call me Psyphoon, sir, third year recruit, graduating next week, sir." She answered with a sharp voice, a bit nervous.
"All right, Psyphoon, could you repeat what you just said, so we all can hear it?" Cavalier took the tone he used with first year students, when he wanted everyone to know and understand that not speaking your mind was a lack of faith, trust and intelligence.
"I said..." she hesitated "I said who would want to bury the devil's child, sir" She blushed and looked at the floor.
"The devil's child..." Repeated Cavalier, almost amused.
"It was well known that Ak Bane was Voyager's son, sir. We liked him and all, but being the son of the turn coat who betrayed the Riders made him unpopular." She spoke in a small voice.
Cavalier took in that last statement like a slap on the face. He looked at the coffin, looked back at Psyphoon, then looked at the empty room, the pictures of the fallen heroes, the atmosphere this place was supposed to bring in.
"So, the sins of the father fall on the children now?" He took a stern voice. "Voyager may have betrayed us, but only because he thought it was the right thing to do. None of you were there, during the Firebase Zulu war, but I was. And for anyone in this room, this academy, or even this city, to pretend to understand the magnitude of the sacrifices made during those battles, for anyone, they would have to have been there, and have been faced with the same choices we were then. The sheer unforgiving nature of war, makes us all killers, makes us all monsters waiting to be unleashed." Cavalier pressed the all call button on his belt, which transmitted a signal to the head secretary, who would in turn summon all people present in the school to the hall.
"I saw this kid die, and what he did that day, deserves a hero's send off. He gave his life so that others might live, and most of his team was injured too seriously to be here today, but I am sure they would say of him, that he wasn't a coward, or a traitor." He was getting angry, at the ignorance that fed on ignorance. Yes, Voyager won the title of Arch-Villain during the war, but did he really deserve it. The man had followed the orders that Turbo had given him, nothing more. No one, but a chosen few knew this. People were starting to arrive in the hall, to fill up the empty seats that shouldve been full in the first place.
"What is courage? Surely, not the simple fact of arresting the bad guys. Surely not following blindly orders or beating the snot out of low ranking Hellions." The room was almost full now, teachers, students and heroes were listening to him. He started walking on the stage, his voice being carried by the room. "Fear, is the reason behind courage, it's the fuel that makes you burn inside when the others run. It's the tightly wound, unbending resolve that let us say to ourselves: "I will not give up". Without fear, we wouldn't need each other, wouldn't call out for each other when dire times come. We would not wonder if our actions, or lack of, would endanger innocents, or friends. We wouldn't decide, in the blink of an eye, that this life" And he pointed to the coffin "is worth more than mine."
The silence in the room was palpable. Cavalier didn't come here to make a speech about the duties of a hero, but he did.
"You people should be ashamed. None of us deserve the treatment you bestowed upon this recruit. He died a hero, and we bury him a villain? Shame on you, shame on the principles that made you decide that he wasn't worthy to be in the same room as you." Oh yeah, he was angry.
"How dare you treat a Fellow of Apocalypse like this, how dare you?" He screamed that last one. "We come here to learn from each other, to be brothers and sisters, come what may. But what do I see here today? I see a bunch of complaisant people, who would have left Akritar Bane's cry for help unanswered. He stood by his team, died for them, doesn't that say something about the man?" The room remained silent. He looked at them, defiantly staring everyone present down.
"Today, we must renew our vows to each other. Today, we have to look to one another and trust in the fact that we are a supergroup. We are united in the battles to come, and we have to believe that each of us" he pointed to himself, then to the people present "are here, watching the other one's back. Today, we stand as one, and tomorrow, we fight as one! What say you?" He asked to the room
A few mumbled voices were heard.
"What say you?" He yelled once more, pounding a fist on the podium.
"Aye" More voices answered this time
"What say you?" He looked at them
"AYE!" screamed the room in unison
"What say you?"
"AYE!"
The education of Turbo Starr
Dr. Jenkins looked at the man they had captured. What a prize, the one and only, most famous, Turbo Starr. Upon entering the alternate Orebanga, the captives had been brought into the central yard, where they had all been crucified on wooden beams, planted in the ground, reminding her of the old phrase: X marks the spot. None of them were awake yet, and this was a good thing. Madness mages were busy quantifying the amount of powers all the young recruits possessed, and she was comparing the soul imprint of the leader of Apocalypse, to insure a safe and secure transition. The Master had planned this so carefully, nothing could go wrong, everything depended on that transfer. A group of acolytes was busying itself by laying magic garlic dust in the form of a pentacle around Turbo Starr's X. Lifting a radiography of Turbo's chest to the light of a torch, she checked again where the heart was, the all important heart. They had went to great lengths to obtain it, it was a year old, but it served the purpose. When the ceremony would take place, she couldnt afford to miss the thrust.
"Scan him" She told a mage that was standing behind her. She needed to know everything was right with him, needed to make sure there was no anomaly that had developed since that last x-ray. The mage stepped forward, concentrated, whispered a few words, and Turbo began to glow a soft green. She looked at him, how unfortunate they couldn't get their hands on Cavalier, this whole process wouldn't have been necessary. But, the spell required a hero amongst hero, and Turbo Starr certainly qualified, he would do quite nicely.
The mage completed the magic scan on Turbo, turned around and came to stand in front of Jenkins.
"The radiography, I need it." He whispered. She handed it over. He lifted it to the soft glowing green light of the crystal, shook his head.
"What's wrong?" Jenkins asked tensely.
"The heart isn't on the left of the chest, this man has it on the right. You were looking at this x-ray the wrong way." He gave it back to her.
"His heart is on the right?" Jenkins suddenly felt weak. What if she had stabbed him during the ceremony not knowing this detail... Her master would've had her stripped of powers, tortured to death and resurrected daily, to undergo the same fate again and again, for centuries.
"Take a blood sample, right away, and have it analysed. I want to be sure about the power of the vessel, before we proceed." A whole year of preparations, an entire lifetime of dedication was hanging by a thread here. If the vessel didn't have enough power, all would be lost, and the coming battle would be for nigh. She looked again at the x-ray, something was bothering her, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Uuuughhh..." Turbo was coming to his senses. She walked in front of his cross, careful not to displace the pentacle of dust. He was bleeding less from the nails that were holding him to the cross. Not one to take chances, she had told the ghosts to lay magical bindings on him, to hold him there.
"Wake up, Mr. Starr, your time has come." She taunted him.
"Jenkins... I'm gonna tear you apart..." Turbo replied in a weak voice, eyes closed, still very much fighting the limbo of the magic powder she had used to subdue him.
"Now, now, now, Mr. Starr, that is not a very heroic thing to say." She looked over at a Behemoth Fire Lord, standing guard and awaiting her biding. She pointed at him, then pointed at Turbo. The beast stepped forward, to come and stand in front and to the left of the famous leader. She then motioned for a life mage to approach.
"Make sure that he lives through this." She told the magician.
"What are you up to, Jenkins?" Asked Turbo, who had just finally opened his eyes. He looked around himself, saw the future Knights, all nailed to similar crosses as him, saw the city, filled with ghosts, beasts and acolytes. He knew he was in the heart of evil, knew this was going to be a long day. Jenkins looked at him, not answering at first.
"When my master learned that we had captured you, he ordered that you should suffer for all the crimes you have committed against the Circle. I don't need you alive and "kicking", I just need you breathing for what is to come. Please, feel free to scream as much as you want. I have preparations to make..." She then turned around and vanished in a building.
The Behemoth laughed, a deep rumbling guttural laugh. Turbo felt a hand grab him by the hair. He looked at the beast in front of him, a fire sword had appeared in its hands. The Fire Lord started to rub the blade sideways on his legs, the searing heat burning his flesh on the surface. Turbo clenched his teeth, while fear crept itself in his heart... Torture... The life mage stood there, looking a them, awaiting the need for his powers to sustain life in the famous leader. Turbo started to scream, the Fire beast was brushing the fire blade all over his flesh, the smell of burnt skin filled the area. Life force was infused into him, the mage was doing his job, he would live, wouldn't be allowed to pass out. Then, the monster used both of his hands, imbued with fire, and pressed both thumbs on Turbo's eyes, burning them shut forever, melting the skin, fusing them. Turbo screamed in agony, unable to do anything but suffer. The beast laughed while it went on working on the famous leader.
Jenkins was listening to the screams from her study, shivering at the fate the famous leader was undergoing. During the following hours, they would burn his eyes, tongue and ears, almost all of his skin, break the bones in his legs, stab him, whip him, and pour salt onto his open wounds. But, never would he be allowed to die, all that suffering, that torture was executed with the utmost care as to not touch any vital organs. The life mage would make sure Turbo Starr, or whatever was left of him, when they would be done, would live long enough for the ritual.
"Jenkins" Said the mage who had been sent to analyse the blood sample.
"Does he have enough power for the transference?" Asked the university professor.
"Yes, but... This man isn't Turbo Starr." Answered the mage in a whisper.
Jenkins ran out of her study, maybe she would get there in time, just maybe it wasn't too late. She sprinted as fast as her fifty-three years old legs permitted, rushing down the stone stairs, shovelling everything out of her way. Coming out of a side alley, she reached the center of the magic city out of breath. She grimaced at the sight. Whoever had taken the place of Turbo Starr had paid a dear price. The Behemoth Fire Lord had burnt the entire body, broken bones at odd angles, he had followed orders. What was pinned to the X, was a charred, misshapen, groaning and wailing human wreckage. She would never know who this man was.
Taking a step back, holding her forehead, she thought about the consequences. True, whoever that was, held enough to power for the transference. true also, that her Master didn't need to know that they didn't get their hands on the famous leader, and that by making this mistake, it might just be possible that the Apocalypse people would not come looking for him. She came to stand before the tortured man, reaching with a hand to press a finger on his thigh. The skin felt like cooked chicken, and the impostor only could grunt. Who was that man, that he didn't say anything when the chips were down. What could have motivated him to withhold such an information. If she would've been in his shoes, she would have screamed to the world that it was a case of mistaken identity, would have convinced them with solid proof. But he, he didn't say a word. Was it possible that he didn't know? Or that, much like herself, he obeyed orders in such a way, that if he failed, he died?
"Prepare him for the ritual." She says to the life mage who had kept him alive.
"It will be done. What about the young ones?" Asked the mage to Jenkins
"Let the ghosts flesh them, then prepare them for sacrifice. The extra power it will give us during the casting of the spell will be appreciated." Jenkins waved their fate like swatting a fly. Annoyed, bothered and very much scared that her Master might find out the truth, she walked back briskly towards her study. The Master couldn't find out, it was as simple at that.
Entering her study, she found the mage that had analysed the blood sample still there, waiting for her biding, as always. She walked towards the library, as if to reach for a book, which placed her right behind her servant. In a swift motion, she turned around, drew a curved cursed blade, and slid the throat of her man servant. He died silently, trying to hold in the blood that was flowing freely out of the wound. She wiped the blade on his robe, then drew a small red pouch from her desk. Walking towards the body, she opened it, poured some dust on the inert man. Within a few seconds, the body started to vanish, to turn to dust. After a few minutes, all that was left of her most trusted servant, was a pile of dust that she quickly scattered over the floor.
"No one will know..." She whispered to herself.
Bear Cat had followed her all the way into Crey's Folly, almost to the entrance of the Ritki Crash Site. He had watched the Crey sniper shoot and injure two heroes during the last eight hours, and couldn't help but wonder why the elite shooter hadn't changed location after the first shot. It was a standard military reaction and tactic of snipers to move themselves after each shot, so as to make them difficult to be spotted. The sniper made her way through the Freaks town undisturbed, some did see her, but let her pass safely and without challenge. Which, in itself, was even more disturbing, Freaks were well known to rob from anyone that came within their reach. But not here, not today.
The Crey sniper came to a alt in front of a run down factory. Windows were broken, roof had caved in at one of its end, most doors were lying on the ground. She must have taken a small portable radio of some sort, because a few moments later, a man came out of the building, nodded to her, took the rifle from her hands, and headed out into the territory, most likely, to assume a firing position. This was very odd, to say the least. Bear knew when he saw something fishy, and this qualified. He stayed there, hidden in the shadows, not moving only waiting, for almost an hour.
Quietly and swiftly, he jumped through the opening in the roof, wide enough to let in an helicopter, and landed in the middle part of the old factory. Rusted machines and debris completed the decor. He went to position himself by an old truck, slanting on its side, and looked around himself. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Trying to discern footprints from the agents on the ground, he noticed they vanished about halfway across the factory floor. Could it be? He asked himself, was this factory built the same way as the one the Hunters used for HQ?
Stepping outside, he searched the ground for the telltale unused sewer hole. He found it, almost in the same place it would've been in Kings Row. Bear Cat then jumped away from the building, removing himself from the perimeter of the building. The next few hours, he spent locating the four snipers that were protecting the area. After assembling all the information he needed, he headed back towards HQ, tonight, the Hunters would hunt.
Very glad this is back up, I love your dark style of writing
Price check on a soul...
The crescendo of voices reached its peak, Jenkins had been reciting the intricate words of the ancient spell without a fault, all was coming to an end. Before her, laid on a rectangle rock made to receive a sacrifice, laid the body of the unknown man, which had passed for Turbo Starr up until recently. In her right hand, she held an incense burner hanging from a chain, in her left hand, the Shard of the Soul. That last was the only remaining crystal of the Dark Age library of Orebanga. With it, and the proper spell, she could transfer the soul essence of a vessel into another vessel, which, in this case, would be the dark matter that laid in the tar pit of Orebanga. The tar pit conscience was pure evil, unable to take shape in any form, it was the idea of hate, the fuel of all evil, assembled in a black river that laid around the city itself. From it, would rise the dark champion that had been prophesized in the scriptures, and through it, the Circle of Thorns would once more reign supreme on Earth.
She raised the sharp, green long crystal over her head, as if it were a knife, finishing the last sentence of the spell, she plunged it into the heart of the helpless, blind and unable to flee, impostor. His body jerked, a long moan escaped from the tongueless mouth, anger and despair mingled in it. Then, all life escaped the man, and all voices stopped reciting the rhythmic chorus of the spell, all was silent. Jenkins looked on in anguish, looked for a sign that all was going according to plan. From the river, slowly rose a dark, viscous human shape, tall, strong and not holding yet any features. A fearsome scream escaped it, and some of the acolytes present took a step back, as if to ward themselves from the danger coming. Jenkins watched in awe as the dark matter being started to walk towards the altar of sacrifice.
"The sword, fool, give me the sword..." Said Jenkins to an acolyte standing outside the ritual circle. He handed her a long sword, sheathed in a plain red sheath, the hilt of it being silver and black leather at the handle. Nothing about it could discern it from any other sword, except that it wasn't earthly forged. The dark being put a viscous hand on the hilt, pulled the sword, slowly, from it. The blade came out with a soft sound, it was ebon dark, with red magic signs running from the bottom to its tip. When the sword was finally fully out, the beast raised it above its head and roared. Features had appeared on the being, those of a handsome man, very tall, very muscular, dark hair, dark beard and glowing red eyes.
"I am Ghost Starr." It screamed in a thunderous voice that could be heard far across the city. And in response, came the vociferous clamour of an entire army, ready for battle.
Hell's Bells
Where is everyone, thought to himself Bear Cat. He had just made it back to HQ, in Kings Row, and upon entering the underground factory, not even the support staff could be found. He walked around the empty corridors, looking for anyone left in the building. His search brought him to the infirmary, where he found the doctor, sitting at her desk, reading papers and sipping tea.
"Doctor, where is everyone?" Asked the quiet leader.
"Gone... Keeping a Riders of Apocalypse prisoner, namely O-Lan, had everyone talking, Bear. They were afraid that the Riders would come looking for her, the union representative said they would come back to work once the situation had quieted down." The doctor looked at Bear Cat with a raised eyebrow, wondering what his reaction would be. He remained still, introspective.
"How's the kid?" He asked about Shadow-Step.
"Fine, he's sleeping it off, should be alive and kicking in the morning. The technicians looked over his transponder, and it's not emitting any signals, here's the report they left for you." She handed over the papers she had just been reading. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going home, my cat must be missing me." She then got up and headed for the main hallway, that would lead to the outside world through the secret sewers exit.
"Bear wish the doctor good night. He sat at her desk to read the technical file on the transponder unit. Everything about the little locating device implanted in Shadow-Step's shoulder was familiar, very familiar. The frequency wave, the numbers, the assembly. Yes, someone was using the very same technology that allowed Firebase Zulu to become a prison for Voyager, someone was sending heroes to die out there. With such a device implanted, no one could get close to the shield without the base knowing it. It prevented re-entry into our world, and it allowed careful monitoring of life signs and powers. Why was Shadow-Step equipped with it?
He got up and headed for his office, footstep resonating across the floor. Stopping in front of the boiler room, he remembered they had locked in O-Lan in there. He stood in front of the door, wondering if the simplest solution wasn't the best, in her case, set her free and hope she doesn't squeal. He opened the door to find her, still sitting in her cage. When she saw him standing there, on top of the short stairwell, looking at her, her face became flushed. She stood up and came to stand close to the thick metal bars, grabbing them in her hands.
"I am hungry!" She yelled at him while shaking the cage like an angry animal.
"They... They haven't fed you yet?!" Bear was taken aback here. No one left on the base grounds, who would cook for O-Lan? Granted, he had the skills needed to perform dangerous and perilous missions, never backed down from a fight, but, picturing himself attempting to make a tuna fish sandwich for a hungry prisoner, was beyond his expertise.
"You big loaf of a..." Bear closed the door on her, as if shutting her out. He walked briskly away from the boiler room. He would leave a note to the doctor to feed the scrapper, when she got back in the morning. No way in hell was he gonna throw a cooking apron over his battle suit, to fix lunch for her. A man, and especially him, has his pride.
He stopped by his room, to dump the technical file on his desk. Then went on to the supply room, where he gathered some things he would need to raid the Crey base in Crey's Folly. Smoke grenades, stun grenades, rope, night vision goggles, battle harness and his most favourite toy in the whole world, the taser gun. Turning to look on the weapons wall, he wondered about the wisdom of bringing a gun. Looking at the hand pistols, he decided against them, he wasn't such a good shot with small weapons. He pondered upon borrowing a blaster rifle, those guns had everything to level a city block, probably even including a setting to shoot down satellites in orbit. But, last time he attempted to use one of these, the ordinance sergeant had ended up in the infirmary with a bullet in the foot. Besides, guns were too primitive, they lacked class and honour.
But a big nasty, spiky and rusty war mace, now there was a weapon. Medieval weapons were very short range, unless you could throw them at your target, which he could. The wall had a profusion of them, swords, knives, shields, maces, bows and hammers. He brushed his hand on a few maces, imagining the stunned look on the bad guys, as they would see a big, tall and angry guy coming down on them with a mace. A wicked smile started to make its appearance on his face. Yes, life was sweet at times.
His eyes stopped on a war hammer. It looked vaguely familiar to him, had he used it before? He took it down from the wall mount to weight the weapon. Two-handed with a long hilt, its head being flat on one side, sharp and curved on the other, well balanced and light enough for him to use it with one hand if needed. He liked this weapon right away, even tough rust covered it, the old hammer felt good to hold.
Strapping the battle harness and affixing the grenades and trinkets he had chosen, Bear Cat took the hammer by the middle of the hilt, and carried it like a musician would carry their guitars, by his side. He headed for the main hall, tonight he would perform a true symphony, a rockn roll concert, he thought to himself, a rugged smile that he was unable to contain still present on his face.
What makes a man?
"Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?"
"Huh??!!"
The Crey Power tank turned around just in time to receive the blunt end of Bear's war hammer under the chin, which sent him flying upwards, into the sewer pipe ceiling. The result was satisfying, the tank fell back down on the ground, limp and still. Bear looked at his hammer head, making sure the metal wasn't chipped or damaged and grinned in happiness. Life was sweet.
He was making his way by the sewers to the underground Crey base, punting anyone he would meet with his hammer, happy as an eight years old with a new toy. One by one, he had taken out the snipers, permanently, leaving their still bodies in position. Requisitioning one of their radios, he had been listening to radio traffic for a while now, and reported in for the elite shooters, when Crey HQ asked for an all clear. This wasn't the first time he had to sneak into a base, and he was used to military procedures.
The damp and smelly sewer pipe could allow two men of regular size to walk its length without encumbrance, and so far, he had been challenged by only one patrolling guard, the power tank that lay at his feet. Bending over, he yanked off the power pack cable that supplied energy to the power suit. He might wake up, but he wouldn't be able to communicate or use his powers. Satisfied, he walked away and headed towards the end of the pipe, where he was sure he would find an access door that would lead to the boiler room, and from there, to the inside of the base.
As expected, the door was locked. He pondered about this for a minute, then decided that the most simple solution, was probably the best... He knocked. Taking a step back, he prepared the hammer for a biblical blow. The door opened, and Bear Cat kicked it the rest of the way, sending a security guard flying back into the room. He rushed over to him, while he was still surprised, and knocked him out with a very powerful punch on the nose. The sound of the bone breaking and blood gushing out of the nostrils indicated well that this guy was going to wake up with two black eyes, a headache and a question about which city bus had just ran him over.
Silently moving up the small steps, he listened on the door, for sounds of life. Nothing could be heard, not even the sound of a distant conversation. Gently turning the handle, he edged the door open a bit, peeking inside the corridor, this base had the same identical layout as the Hunters HQ. Finding his way around would be easy. He stepped out, and moved softly towards the first door to his right. Going left meant heading towards the main hangar, and that meant trouble, so he believed.
Upon entering the new room, he found an active computer on a desk. Moving the mouse, the screen came to life. The display contained diverse results of blood engineering tested on different subjects, he couldn't decipher the medical mumbo-jumbo he was looking at, but some of the results referred to heightened senses and super reflexes. He decided to open the cd drive, and take the laser disc present there, for further research. Searching further into the documents present on the hard drive, he found references to several potential targets for blood sampling, namely members of the Apocalypse and F.R.O.N.T. heroes. This was troubling, what was Crey Industries up to again. Breaking out his taser gun, he used it on the computer and fried the whole system. No data could be used from it, and maybe, if this was the only copy of the documents, he had sabotaged the plans of the Countess, and that felt good.
Quietly heading back out, he moved towards what he knew would be the main operation center of the base, maybe more answers could be found there. He probably would have to bash in some heads and break some bones once in there, but then again he felt confident that his new found toy would help in this. Unchallenged, he made it to the heart of the base, reaching the closed doors of the old underground factory. He listened for the tell tale sounds of guards or people busying themselves, nothing, only quietness. He risked an eye inside, looking about the huge room. He could hear the soft humming sound of machineries, the regular beeping sound of medical monitors.
He entered the room, walked a few steps towards its center, where his eyes were drawn to a clear glass water container. Inside, a body suspended in liquid and hooked to several tubes, as well as a breathing apparatus, could be seen. Blood was being pumped in and out of the naked man. The scene was surreal and he had to walk closer, not paying attention to anything anymore. The man inside the tube had a long flowing beard of several months, the hair was very long also, but the traits were unmistakable.
"This can't be..." He whispered to himself.
"Stand still and lay down your weapons." Exclaimed a voice from behind him. Bear Cat turned around, ready to fight. But he found himself challenged by twelve Power tanks and several security guards. He was tough, but not that tough, fighting them meant sure death. He looked around for an escape route, he had to get back outside, warn the world about what he had uncovered here. He should've never come alone, this was too important, he had to flee and bring back a lot of help.
"We will not repeat it again, lay down your weapons, and surrender yourself, or die." The Crey Power tank that lead them had taken a step forward.
"All right, all right, you got me." Answered Bear Cat, who threw down his war hammer and proceeded to unbuckle his battle harness. Letting everything fall at his feet.
"Now turn around, kneel with your hands behind your head, no funny moves." The Power Tank had signalled for security guards to move in on Bear who stood helpless in the middle of the huge room.
He turned around, facing the water tank once more, kneeling and putting his hand behind his head. Looking at the man floating in the water, sleeping and still.
I will get you out here, even if it means my life, this I swear...
They shackled him, hands and feet, and escorted him to a prison cell deep into the complex, where they closed the door on him, leaving him in the dark.
Wow....
Great chapter, and im starting to love Bear Cat as a character, even down to his fondness of the war hammer.
No mystery in the Universe
The cold fusion reactor that alimented the shield was one of the most advanced piece of technology the military possessed. Assembled in a joint effort by Crey Industries and the PCU advanced research lab, only two prototypes had been built. One was still in use at the university, the other one had been on load to the military, to provide enough energy to supply the force field generators of Firebase Zulu. A team of military engineers specially trained to maintain and upkeep the reactor, had been doing their very best to repair the main wiring board, which had shown signs of wear and tear recently. The trick was that the reactor couldn't be brought offline for the duration of the work, and one false move meant certain death.
"Damned thing, the flow inverters need to be replaced, we're going to have to reroute the main power coupling." Chief engineer Stoker muttered
"All right, I'll go get the wiring ready, do we need anything else?" Replied another engineer, while walking towards the door leading outside of the reactor room. The building which housed it was a rectangle, non-descript building located to the gateway leading inside the shard. The reactor itself, wasn't all that big, in fact, it was very compact for the energy output it provided.
"Yeah, bring some lunch, we're going to be here a while, and warn the staff sergeant that the shield might flicker a bit today." Answered Stoker to his friend.
"He's going to have a fit if I tell him that. Remember last time we had to inform him that we needed to bring the shield offline?" The other engineer had opened the door leading to the ante-chamber, where a security officer was stationed. He signed the manifest, and headed out into the base, to gather the supplies and tools needed.
"Willy, you can go ahead and clean it up now, but if they order you to leave, you grab your mop and bucket, and get out of there. I wouldn't want to have to fill the paperwork related to you frying like bacon because the floors had to be cleaned." Told the security officer to a private that had been waiting for authorisation to enter the reactor room, and clean the floors. Willy was slow; he had been since the war. He was one of the few survivors of the last battle, and as such, had been kept around more out of respect, than usefulness. Some said that he had been a good friend to General Hammond before his injuries, and that was why he had been permitted to remain on the base grounds. No matter, he was no trouble to anyone, most of the time, and did participate, in his own way, to the upkeep of the military base.
Willy nodded to the guard and pushed his rolling bucket inside the reactor room. Chief engineer Stoker saw him enter, and nodded to him in recognition. He was now lying on his side, uncovering the main power supply cable, located under the reactor. Both hands busy, beads of sweat of his forehands, Stoker didn't like the idea of so much energy exposed. But the wiring had to be changed, at least partly, and since no powering down was allowed, that meant going at it the long way. This was going to be a tedious day.
Chief engineer Stoker worked on in silence, the humming of the reactor covering the muttered mumbling of choice words, while Willy shuffled his mop about, making the floor sparkling clean. Time went by, with both of them busy at their task, absorbed in their duties. Monkey wrench grinding on one side, soggy motions of a wet mop on the other. Willy wasn't allowed to go near the reactor, but he knew exactly to until when on the floor he had to clean, knew the limit for safety. Every time he cleaned this room, he felt nervous that the humming machine would blow up and that he would hurt again.
Looking at his mop, he decided it was time for a rinsing. Heading towards his bucket to rinse it, he plunged it in the soapy water, carefully watching not to spill water on the floor. He took pride in the fact that he fulfilled his duties well.
The other engineer had made his way back to the reactor building after having placed the order for the parts they would need. People from supplies would bring them in a few minutes. He signed the manifest once more, while nodding to the security chief on duty, and headed for the door leading inside the reactor room.
He opened it on Willy, hitting him in the back, which unbalanced the veteran. Willy tried to maintain his balanced, which made look like a drunken man for a second. Unable to prevent it, his left foot landed square in the bucket, splashing water around him. Trying to pry his foot out, his right one slipped on the soapy water that fell on the ground. Willy flapped his arms, like any man attempting to remain up right on an ice skating rink. But nothing to it, he fell backwards on the floor, mop flying in the air, bucket spilling on the floor, water running in all directions.
"Damn Willy, sorry about that, didn't know you were there." Said the engineer who was reaching down to help Willy back up. It took a few tries to have him upright again.
"It's okie, sir, was my fault, my fault." Replied Willy who was looking at the mess the accident had made on the floor. He bent over to grab so he could grab his mop and soak up the water. He looked in the direction of the reactor, and noticed that the liquid was gently rolling towards the open hatch, where the Chief was bent into, busy with his work. The humming of the machine must've covered the sounds of the commotion, and Stoker hadn't seen or noticed the coming danger.
"Stoker, get out of there!" Screamed the engineer while pushing Willy out of his way and running towards the chief engineer. Open wires and water was not a good mix, in any dimensions.
"Oooooh shinny." Spoke Willy, right before the cold fusion reactor exploded and killed all the occupants in the building. From the outside, the structure blew up in all directions, sending broken bricks flying in all directions, breaking windows, vehicles and people without regard. From the control tower, they could see the blue white energy flame that had erupted high in the sky.
Then, the shield went offline...
The base came alive with sirens and screamed orders...
The Rularru watcher left the area, moved back into the shard...
No mystery in the universe part 2
Metal Core came here at times, especially when his thoughts were unclear and troubled, and since the arrival of Voyager in their midst, he felt restless and angry. In the last few days, and with the caring of Jade Rade, the old mutant had gotten back on his feet again and was free to walk around, albeit assisted by Lil Smoke or Jaden. The arch-villain and him had kept a good distance from each other and limited their conversation to single word sentences.
He was looking down on the ground, at the assemblage of rocks that composed Windsor's cairn, and wondered what she had seen in her vision back then, that had led her to believe that hope would be coming for them in the shape of a falling star. Voyager was, at one point, the most wanted man in Paragon City, even after he had been outcast here.
Shaking his head, Metal Core cursed at Windsors name silently. She must have known, she must have seen it then, that it would be him. She must've known, and had decided to tell them that hope came in many shapes and forms, and that acceptance was the key to their freedom. But she had also warned of a great price to pay in exchange for that liberty, never saying what that price would be. And he was worried about that, worried that some of the outcasts would suffer greatly by helping a known and wanted criminal.
He bent down, and started to replace loose rocks on the cairn, up keeping it once more, like he did every time he came here. He missed her greatly, missed her laughter and impromptu comments. She had been the force that had held them together, and right now he could use some of it. He stood back up, looked ahead in the empty orange sky, deep into the void and sighed. No point in hoping in anything anymore, they were all going to die here, and no prophecy in the world would change that. He turned around and started to walk back towards the cave where they all resided. While behind him, in the orange sky, a lone Rularuu watcher was flying back towards the Chantry with the one information that the host had been waiting for, for almost a year...
One night in Kings Row
They came from the sewers early in the evening, moving silently up the system, to come to an alt under the Kings Row district of the city. Thousands upon thousands of them were waiting for the order, that would come soon, to take the city from within. The Circles of Thorns had built a portal stone deep underneath the city, into the darkest reach of the sewers, a few years ago, upon Alankiss wish for an escape portal, and to feed his own paranoia about being hunted all the time. Turns out, the crazy mage had been right, he was hunted and killed soon after the portal had been delivered. And there it had remained for the last two years, waiting for its first use. And through that forgotten door, Ghost Starr had lead its army, destroying everything in their path while making their way to the surface. Ritkis, Vazhiloks, Losts and Hellions were taken down while the Ghost Army moved closer and closer to ground level. None were spared, none were allowed to flee.
The long shadows of dusk were present in the streets, people were hurrying home for diner, evening was about to start, in a few minutes. A few hundred seconds, to one of the most horrifying night the city had seen in a long time. The sun hung low on the horizon, as if trying to hold on the world one more minute, to keep away shadows as long as possible. But, as relentless as time itself, the sun gave up its fight, and disappeared in the distance, leaving a dark orange and purple sky, welcoming the evenings star.
A hush had settled in Kings Row, like always after sunset, and people sat down to eat diner and listen to the news. The noisy teens in the basketball yard were arguing over a fault, and were about to come to blows. Kids were running to their homes, answering with motion, the call of their screaming mothers echoing in the back alley. Dogs barked, cats started to prowl, heroes began to appear again, as if summoned by the night. The city lights came on, basking the streets in a yellow glow, cars went to and fro, the police had just switch shift. The city was a haven of safety, and with more heroes per square mile, than say New York or Chicago, people felt very secure in the knowledge that the good guys always prevailed, due to their numbers. But not this time, not tonight.
Five minutes after sunset, when the wind hushed down a bit, to welcome the dark sky, they came. The Ghost Army rushed out of the sewer system, one hundred thousand ghosts and acolytes, demon lords and behemoths, mages of all fields of magic accompanied them, and in their midst, the Ghost Starr, leader of the Ghost army. The enemy spread out quickly, lead by the ghosts who could fly, followed by the acolytes with their deadly crescent moon swords. They moved swiftly and silently, overcoming the few they met by sheer number.
They all ran down the streets, flew up to windows, some were heading for key facilities, like the hospital and police building. Screams of agony and explosions had begun to make their entrance, panic was soon to hit everyone. The army moved swiftly, and killed all resistance present, be it gangs, police or people, none were spared. The ghosts were feeding themselves on the fear, the acolytes were hacking and slashing their way into buildings, breaking down doors and murdering people. Ghost Starr wanted a night of consecration, for his coming to earth, that would be washed in blood. Some of the young ones could've been captured and taken back, to begin training as acolytes, but not this night, there were plenty of young ones in the other districts.
Some heroes tried to put up a resistance, most of them were taken down swiftly by a mob tactic movement. The fights were heroic, some were a bloody mess, but out of two hundred and twenty one heroes present in Kings Row when the fighting began, only six would see sunrise. All the power in the district had gone down, fires were providing the lighting, accompanied by a heavy dark smoke that lingered on in the air. The hero all-call went out ten minutes after it began, ten minutes during which hundreds of people, men women and children, died horribly. Almost three hundred heroes answered it, and began making their way towards Kings Row. Leading members of the FRONT, the Riders of Apocalypse and other famous super groups rallied their troops in all haste, cancelled all permissions or suspended ongoing operations, and answered the calling as well. The first hour of the Battle for Kings Row had begun.
One night in Kings Row part 2
Shadow-Step awoke to what sounded like a wailing wind in the distance. Not quite sure where he was, he looked around the room for that sense of recognition when we wake up in a familiar place. Sitting on the bed, feet dangling on the side, he looked around for people while still listening to the strange sound coming from outside his room. Standing up, his eyes fell down to the ground, staring at the tip of his toes.
Ok, why am I naked again? He asked softly to himself, searching the room for his clothes. He suddenly recalled the last two days, as if standing underneath a cold shower.
O-Lan
. His eyes grew wide open, she had maimed in, diminished him in the one true place a man shouldnt be.
Well, guess I wont need to wonder why girls wont do it with me twice anymore
That last was spoken more out of derision than despair, but still, Shadow-Step sure wished he could lay hands on O-Lan, and twist her scrawny, yet very smooth, neck off. He was searching the room for clothing, only now noticing that he was plugged into an IV unit, which needle had suddenly ripped away from his arm.
Son of a
! He spun around on himself, while pressing a hand on his arm, feeling the warm wet blood under his finger tips. He then kicked a naked toe on the leg of a white medical drawer that didnt even moved when he hit it. He sat back down on the bed, massaging the screaming toe, while biting down on a bitter yell of outrage and pain.
When does it stop??!! He screamed at the ceiling, trying to reach god almighty, let him know that he was
Annoyed.
Rocking himself, he noticed that the wailing had stopped, all was quiet, too quiet. He stood up again, what the hell was going on, again? He walked to the door, pressing his ear to the door, he listened intently, no sounds whatsoever. Opening it, he stretched his neck into the hallway, looking left and right, nobody around. Smiling, he stepped into the corridor naked, walking tall and proud.
He headed towards the right, where he remembered was the main hall, with all its crates and supplies stacked along a wall. Maybe there he could locate some clothes, some food and maybe some way out of here. He got to the abandoned storage room, never breaking a step, he was truly alone in a base filled with all sorts of good things. Walking towards the lockers room, he forced opened a few of them with great strength, tearing off the doors and throwing them away in one motion. After the sixth locker, he finally located a pair of medical pants, which he put on and tied. Looking at himself in a mirror, he approved of the look: grey-green pants washed too often, athletic and muscular body that looked like a tiger ready to pounce, bare feet and one damned handsome looking face.
He turned around, ready to walk away from the lockers room, when the wailing started again, only this time with more force. He stopped, eyes searching where the sound came from, directing him back the way he came. Into the corridor, he moved like a cat, hugging the left wall along, feeling the sound as much as he heard it. Passing in front of a door, two doors down from the medical ward, the wailing became very strong. He stopped to put his hand on the door, and felt the sound vibration reverberating on it. Grabbing the handle, he tried to turn it, and it did so smoothly. Gently opening the door, he looked inside to find a small series of step and another door, locked by a metal bar, from the inside. The wailing became so intense once he opened the door, that he half closed his eyes so much the vibration in his ears got strong. This was definitely where the sound found an echo into the facility, where the barred door went, he didnt know. The wailing vanished, one second it was all you could hear, the next it was quiet. Quiet except for the high pitched scream that came from the room itself. Shadow-Step looked in to his right, and saw a curled up woman holding her ears and screaming like a banshee in a metal cage.
O-Lan. He said to the room, while walking down the three steps. She kept on screaming and rocking, not noticing the wailing had stopped, not noticing him entering the room. Shadow-Step came to stand in front of the cell, leaning his back against the wall, crossing his arms with a satisfied look on his face, and waited. Her screaming went on for a few more seconds, until she had to take in a huge breath, which sent her coughing and on her knees. She then noticed the quietness around her, and looked up then around the room, to finally rest her eyes on what she could only refer to as a
fine piece of man. Then she saw who it was, and her face took on feral features.
I thought I told you to cease and desist recently, will I have to arrest i you again? She asked with irony in her voice. She flashed him her best smile, the very same one that she had dished out, before the most painful kick a man should ever get, was given.
I hate you. He replied with a bitter hiss in the voice, but he remained against the wall, and well away from her reach, even if she was caged. That woman was dangerous and lunatic.
Hate me all you want, you are still under arrest, Shadow-Step, now, open this cage so I can escort you back to prison. Be snappy about it, convict, Im not in the mood for waiting. She replied to him, while standing up in front of the cell door, as if Shadow would actually obey her command. He was about to reply something much uncivilized to her, when the muffled sound of an explosion was heard, and felt from above the facility. Some dust fell to the ground, slipping through a crack in the ceiling. Then another was heard, more distant, and yet another that brought down a sliver of dust from the walls.
They both looked at each other, sharing a frowning look filled with questions. Shadow moved to the door that was locked by a metal bar, and removed it. He then cracked it open a notch, looking carefully outside, and into the sewers system.
Get me out of here, Shadow, dont you dare leave me to rot in this cage. Hissed O-Lan through clenched teeth.
Why, so you can arrest the hell out of me again? Replied Shadow-Step looking at her defiantly. I think not. Heres whats going to happen: Im walking out of here right now, and Im leaving the city, you want me, you come after me. And you, He said to her, while bending over to pick up the metal bar can have fun breaking out of jail without me. Adios O-Lan.
Shadow! She screamed at his back as he stepped inside the sewer pipe. The door closed on him a few seconds after, leaving an outrage, kicking and screaming O-Lan behind. More explosions took place, the electricity went down in the cell room, leaving the former Tsoo parlour girl in the dark.
Shadow-Step carefully made his way to the closest ladder. Looking up, the hatch was open, and he could see that it was night outside. He looked on the cement wall for the city writing that would indicate where he was.
Good, Kings Row
He said to himself as he discarded the metal bar he had carried with him, not sure why anymore. This city is the safest he knew of
Kings Row : Hour 1
Shadow-Step climbed out of the manhole and was immediately engulfed by the sounds. Screams and yells coming from all directions, the roaring of close by flames from which he felt some heat, windows breaking and shattering, the random screeching of some unseen beasts prowling in the neighbourhood. The chaotic nature of what he was looking at, had him standing, arms limp to the side, hypnotize and unable to move. Buildings were in flames, cars overturned, bodies were littering the area, resting in their blood, and be it women, men or children. Rooted in place by the nightmarish sight, Shadow felt his knees weaken and his stomach turn, he felt dizzy. But not for long
From the corner of a building, next to an alley, came rushing out three Circle of Thorns acolytes, all brandishing crescent moon swords, they were charging him without slowing. Shadow straightened up and assumed a fighting stance, while summoning the inner dark powers to augment his being. The first acolytes attacked him with an overhead swing, but Shadow moved into the arc and punched the man in the stomach without restraint. A resounding Oooof! was heard, as the man flew upwards then fell back flat on his back.
Get him! Yelled the second acolyte. They both came at Shadow, who had to perform many a move to remain out of reach of the deadly blades. During those few seconds, a few more acolytes came out of the building across the street, and saw the skirmish. They headed to help their brethren, who seemed to be having difficulties with Shadow. Two of them took out hand held crossbows and began arming them, while the other two took out swords and ran for Shadow-Step.
Busy dodging the two blades, Shadow couldnt turn and run without getting in the back, he had to stand and fight. Such is the plight of the scrapper. Still backing away from the acolytes, waiting for an opening, he suddenly realised that they were forcing him into an alley, if it was a dead-end, so was he. Seeing an opportunity, Shadow knuckled punch the rightmost acolyte on the nose. It stopped him dead in his tracks, he looked at his fellow acolytes pass him by in a dazed fashion, and then fell face first on the pavement. The leftmost one tried to thrust at him, but he was fast enough to move backwards and watch the sword slice the air in front of his belly. Shadow leaned down and grabbed the arm holding the sword, spreading his legs, he followed the acolytes motion and unbalanced him forward, sending him face straight into the brick wall of the alley. The man jerked once, and then remained limp at the foot of the wall.
Shadow spun on himself, eluding the blade that was aimed at his spine, then sidestepped and elbowed the Circle acolyte on the nose, once, twice. He grabbed the sword arm with his right hand, elbowed the nose a third time, and heard the satisfying sounds of a shattered nose. While the man was falling to the ground, Shadow took the sword away from him just in time to parry the side swipe that wouldve cut half his neck. The ringing of the two swords meeting clanged in the air. Shadow-Step pushed forward on the last acolyte, making expert attacks on the now retreating fiend. They came out the alley, back onto the street, where their fighting took on a new intensity. The acolyte had recuperated enough from the initial attacks, and was now giving as much as he was receiving. But Shadow-Step was Tsoo trained, and unforgiving in nature. The blade the acolyte was holding, told the story that was happening here tonight, people had been killed.
Shadow searched and found the dark place in his soul, where his unyielding strength of will resides, and let it loose. Moving like a cat, he parried and dodged all the thrusts his enemy was attempting. They both were fighting for their lives at this point. The acolyte who had charged him, had moved like a mob on a killing spree, fed by the fear they create, eyes wide and dangerous. But now that only one remains, the temporary insanity moment one gets when killing too much, is gone, and instead, he his faced with the same danger he represented a moment ago. In other words, fear had changed sides in the battle, and the acolyte had just taken a cold shower of reality. He was fighting for his life.
The swords met themselves with resolve, Shadow-Step was now smiling at the acolyte, challenging him silently. His enemy was still backing away in preservation, eyes nervous and frightened. Then he saw the opening, under Shadows left elbow, and lunged forward for the killing blow to the heart, blade upwards. But Shadow-Step had left that opening in his guard intentionally. When the acolyte used it, he moved swiftly to the side, spun on himself, while his arm started a wide arc, backwards circular motion. He felt the cold metal sliced the acolytes head off, and heard it roll to the ground, blood spattering him, the headless body fell shaking to the side. Leaning down, he took the sword away from the body, and ran into an alley close by.
Equipped with two swords, Shadow-Step merged into the shadows, and started to prowl the night. Whatever was going on here wasnt to his liking. The sounds of chaos were still strong and present, he saw mobs of bigger sizes, filled with ghosts and other monsters, roaming the streets, entering buildings where screams of horror could be heard from. He even witnessed the crashing down of the one of the huge electric pilons in the south of the district, saw people being thrown from rooftops, and innocents fleeing for their lives in front of a murderous group. The world had gone insane, and he was stuck right of the middle of it.
Kings Row : hour 1
His cell phone rang as he was about to sit down and eat diner. Alone, in his quarters, enjoying a rare quiet moment, Cavalier flipped his cell phone open.
Sir, this is central dispatch, a situation arose in Kings Row of priority one. The female voice was calm and steady, not hinting anything about the gravity of the situation. The control room people were trained to respond calmly and efficiently to any given situation, panicking for them, meant loosing track of important information. Even if the world came to an end, these people would remain the very picture of control and calmness.
Did you send a signal to all heroes available in the area? Asked Cavalier, with tiredness in the voice. He knew she wouldve done so, soon after getting the priority one signal, meaning the death of an Apocalypse fellow. Since this morning, he had been getting calls for the most ridiculous reasons. How did Turbo ever managed to stay calm at all these inquiries, such as a missing fortune teller needed to be found, the academy cook requisitioning fresh squid by the ton, supply was low on pencils and asked if they should purchase number three or number five models. Throughout the day, he had been harassed by the some of the most trivial things, and once or twice, he almost snapped at people for looking at him for answers.
We did sir, seven signals were sent, all seven responded within the minute. The dispatch paused All seven are dead sir. Cavalier stood up. The event began thirteen minutes ago and is still ongoing as we speak, sir. No information on the threat is available at the moment, reports are sketchy. The Kings Row fire department has been unresponsive to our hails, the hospital, and the police also, power has been out for the entire district for at least four minutes. Our personnel were not able to receive teleportation to the Kings Row hospital, and all life signs went down in a cascade event a minute ago. She paused again Sir, a hero all call has been sent on the ECPC frequency, this is big. Phone clenched in his hand, Cavalier looked down at his still steaming TV diner, and headed for the door thinking to himself that he never gets a moment to relax and enjoy his favourite foods.
Call everybody available, cancel permissions on my authority if you need, have them assemble in Independence Port, by Kings Rows entrance in ten minutes, or as fast as they can get there. Im suspending all ongoing operations, reroute everything weve got. Call the police chief and request all the help he can send, I want the SWAT team on this one also, and just in case my hunch is right, start recording for magic activity. Replied Cavalier, as he ran out of the Academy, with super-speed towards the train station.
The fable Turbo Starr had been obsessed with, since the Firebase Zulu war, was becoming more and more of a reality. Cavalier wished his leader and mentor was around to lead the troops, he lacked the knowledge the man had on this matter, and he knew any intelligence on an enemy, was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
It still felt a bit awkward to use the train to move around the city at times, being a public figure made it an event for people to see him standing amongst them, holding the bar while the subway was speeding on the rails towards Independence Port. A kid was pulling on her mothers sleeve while pointing a little finger towards him, eyes wide open and a gleeful smile in his face. The mother was trying to calm him down, patting his head and saying soothing words.
Yes Brian, its him, but that doesnt mean you should point a finger at the man in any case, its considered impolite. Said the thirty-something lady with tired eyes to her son.
You should listen to your mother Brian, she knows best. Said Cavalier to the boy, who a minute ago was amazed at being on the same train as a hero, and who was now totally psyched, that one of the most famous heroes he knew of was actually talking to his mother and him.
Mommy, its
The boy started to say, but his mother cut him off.
Brian, dont talk in the third person about someone standing in front of you, please. You have to forgive my son, hes only five years old, and youre the first hero he sees. Said the woman, smiling gently while looking at her son.
No harm done maam Replied Cavalier as he crunched down to be face to face with the boy. Nice to meet you kid. And he extended his powerful hand, and shook the kids hand in a very serious manner. The subway indicated that the train would stop in Indy Port next, so Cavalier stood back up, mentioning this was his stop. He faced the double doors as the train slowed down. As soon as the doors opened, he ran with all haste for the station's exit.
Wow, mommy, can you believe this? Asked the wide-eyed boy to his mother.
Calm down Brian, this is a city of heroes, youre gonna meet plenty of them in your life. Replied the mother to her son.
But mom, this wasnt just any hero. Went on the boy, still amazed.
I know son, I know. Answered the woman who was now looking for a seat for them.
Wait until the guys hear of this at school tomorrow, Ive met Moon Heat
.
Kings Row : hour 3
The heroes held position at the Independence Port tunnel's exit into Kings Row, entrenched behind turned over cars, trucks and busses. Everyone that made it out of the district found refuge there, Red Cross units and police personnel were tending to the wounded, military reserves were armed and given a weapons free permission to keep the makeshift stronghold safe.
Cavalier and Darklightning were directing operations in unison, keeping the Ghost Army at bay. But they both knew that in a matter of hours, their position would be overrun if they didn't come up with a solution. All in all, there were about three thousand fighters here to oppose what had been evaluated as almost one hundred thousand. The long, grim faces of the people present here, told the very same truth, they needed a turn of events in their favour.
Each assault from the Circle of Thorns army in the last hour, had taken its toll in human lives. Cavalier had gathered almost four hundred blasters that were positioned at the back, ranging the enemy without mercy, some of them were even taking bets on who would snipe the most enemies in a row. So far, Electrobolt held the record with fifty-three, followed closely by Chromium Man at forty-eight, but in his defence, he had gotten there late. Two hundred and fifty tankers were holding the frontline, along with twice that much scrappers, names like Hammerhand, Sun Kil Moon, Nether Spirit, Cain Marco and X-Executioner were present. Holding the middle ground were the defenders and controllers, led by Moon Heat and the ever wise Mase Lokrin.
But what made the most difference, were the people that answered the calling. Soon after the news broadcasted the event, they came to the tunnel, armed with a first aid kit or with a weapon. Heroes of this city had never let them down, and they were now returning the favour. The "Ghostbuster Army", as the news had called it, grew from three thousand heroes, to eight thousand in less than an hour. Even members of famous crime syndicates came to help, be it Family, Tsoos, Sky Raiders or all the others, they all recognized the danger here.
Meanwhile, inside the perimeter and in less than three hours, eleven thousand civilians had been slaughtered without mercy. Those lucky enough to have made it out, told frightening stories of human sacrifices and captured heroes being taken back to Ghost Starr, to suffer death at his hand. The Circle of Thorns was in control of Kings Row, and of four tunnels leading out of the battle zone, they held three, which they closely guarded against any intrusion. The reason for the massacre had yet to be known by Cavalier, but the butcher's bill ran high and mighty.
"Tell me a sad story." Said the Skull, who had just cocked his shotgun and was aiming it straight at the stranger who had walked in on him. Until an hour ago, he was king of the world, running an underground superadyne facility in Kings Garment. He was now the last surviving member of his gang, the many bodies littered all over the ground in the factory, told of a bloody battle between the Skulls and a lot of acolytes.
"Sad story?" Asked the man who raised his hands in the air. "I don't know any sad stories, are you ok?"
"My homies are dead, man, and over there, see that girl, she was my girl, and they ripped her apart." The Skull was pointing his shotgun towards a mangled human body that was missing an arm and a head. "They came at us while we were partying man, most of my men never had a chance." He went on, with an obvious slur in the voice, the one that comes from too much drinking.
"Listen man, I ain't your enemy, I only want to find a safe place so I don't have to go out there again, for a while. Just until the insanity that's going on, passes. If you can't let me stay here, then let me leave, I won't bother you again." He answered
"Tell me a sad story or die right [censored] now." The Skull was drunk and who knows what would happen if he went trigger happy.
"All right, all right... A sad story, let's see..." The stranger backed up a bit, bringing down his hands slowly. "How about a sad love story?" He asked.
"Love is pain, it's sad and merciless, your story better good man." Replied the gang member as he lowered his gun. He took out a flask of alcohol from his jeans jacket, and brought it to his lips to take a long gulp from it. Swiping his mouth with the back if his hand, he stepped back a bit from the stranger that had come unannounced.
"Got anymore of that juice for me?" Asked the man, who was now a bit more relaxed since the Skull had stopped aiming at him.
"Yeah, crate behind ya, it's filled with liquor." He was pointing to a wooden crate, which top was slid a bit to the side. Searching in it with a hand, the stranger brought out a bottle with a white and black label.
"Calling Doctor Daniel's, Doctor Jack Daniel's" He whispered to himself, as he unscrewed the bottle, and took a long drink of the light brown whiskey.
"Ok, sad story... Let me tell you of how I met the woman of my life then..." He burped the vapours of the alcohol, then took another gulp from the bottle. It felt good going down, relaxing his tense senses. "She was everything a man could want, beautiful, smart and deadly." He sat down against the wooden crate, resting his head on the "FRAGILE" insignia painted red on it.
"When I met her, I was undergoing a very rough third day of torture in a Tsoo hideout. They had been trying to slowly kill me, saying I had betrayed them by not killing children. Kids are innocent man, no one has the right to arm them, no one, not even me." He drank again, letting the liquor do its trick.
"They were afraid that when they would grow up, they would seek them out, and take revenge of the murder of their parents. But that's beside the point, they were young ones, and that's where I draw the line, even as an assassin." One more gulp, the bottle was already one quarter down.
"They had been using me for targeting practice with ninja stars, while I was tied and helpless, they tested the sharpness of their blades by cutting my flesh, they shot me with arrows to practice their aim, three days it went on, three days of the purest pain I had ever known." The Skull sat down on the ground too, also drinking, while absorbed by the story of this stranger.
"That's when she came in, by a sewer's entrance, moving like a cat. She came to stand in front of me, my hands were tied up to the ceiling by a rope, and I looked like a bloody mess. She must've thought I was dead, for when I opened my eyes, she looked surprised. Anyways, when I showed signs of life, she cut the rope, and held me down to the ground." He took a long drink from the bottle, while his other hand was following a deep scar line that crossed his chest from the upper right of the shoulder, to the bottom left of his hip.
"But the Tsoos are good, you know, and they knew she was there. Mister Po, that was my boss by the way, came in with seven ninjas and a fight followed. She fought like the wind, her moves didn't fool me, she was Tsoo trained. But my ex boss and seven fighters is more than anyone can handle on their own, and she was taking quite a beating. She did take down four of them, but Po was the best there was at the time. Anyhow, he was beating the crap out of her, while I, I was crawling to a sword that had fallen from one of the ninjas. She put up a great fight, but in the end, he had her down and beaten." He raised the Jack Daniel's bottle in a toast, which the Skull member returned in kind. They both drank long and hard.
"While Po was busy boasting his victory over her fallen shape, I had finally gotten to the sword, and was about to attempt to stand up. But the boss felt me move, and turned around smiling at me. He asked me what it was I was trying to do, challenge him to a duel or something? He laughed at me, and that's when I moved. I didn't get up, didn't attempt to rush him or anything, no sir, I looked at him, and took the only chance I had left to kill him. I threw the sword at him in a last ditch effort, and clean through his chest it went. I tell ya, the look on his face when he saw it stuck there, almost in to the hilt, was worth it." The two of them were sitting there in the dark, quietly drinking amongst dozens of dead bodies.
"We both helped each other out of there, through the sewers, and made it back to a hospital, where we were both healed and sent home. We became quick friends, and soon lovers, hunting down criminals and sharing the same bed at night. Those days were the most peaceful I had known in years, man, the best days of my life."
"Then what happened?" Asked the Skull
"Then... Then she found out, that before she met me, I was a Tsoo assassin. She had taken a vow of vengeance, as a young girl, to kill every Tsoo she met, to eradicate them from the surface of the earth. And from her point of view, I was a Tsoo, and nothing could forgive that."
The Skull stared in the distance, then took a very long swallow from his bottle, to empty it and throw it away with a backwards throw. He stood, staggered next to the stranger to sit down besides him, grabbing the Jack Daniel's and drinking.
"She said she was heart broken, and her tears that day told the truth. But what hurt me the most, was right before she walked away, right before we became enemies. She told me the one thing someone in love should never hear, spoken of in the past. "
You, made my heart smile.
"Then she vanished from my life, only to reappear a few months later."
"So, it has a good ending then?" Asked the gang member
"No, she arrested me, and I got sentenced for twenty years in the Ziggurat." Replied the stranger, who then proceeded to empty the bottle.
"That is sad, true love can be unforgiving when it turns on ya. Well, you get to live man, your story was sad enough." The Skull staggered up, using the crate to hold himself upright.
"What's your name, Tsoo assassin?" He asked
"Shadow-Step, yours?"
"Marrowsnap."
Wow. That was very well written. I hope you keep writing it.
I know I rarely take the time to answer comments left on my post, and for that I apologize. I'd like to thank all of you who are reading it and sending me PMs or leaving a note of encouragement here. They mean a lot, and actually make it worth going on. Thank to all of you 
Kings Row: Hour 4
All right kids, you stay here and wait. Im gonna go see if the school bus starts. When I fire up the engine, you run for it.
He was a big man, by human standards, strong and tall. Leroy Jenkins was starting his shift, he was an orderly, in the Crowne Hospital of Kings Row when all hell broke loose. At that time, he was about to wash the floors on the third floor, where children were stationed, some with curable diseases, some with terminal ones. All the kids on the third floor knew and loved him, he always took the time to stop and chat with them, telling them wild stories or describing cooking recipes his mama used to make for him.
Soon after the Ghost Army started killing everyone, he had gathered all the kids and had taken them to the underground supply and storage tunnel, where they had remained safe and hidden for the last four hours. But, some of these kids needed treatments that were overdue, and Leroy knew they had to be taken out of there, and moved to another facility. The news was broadcasting non-stop for people to go to the Independence Port tunnel, where a safety perimeter had been established by heroes and volunteers. He was hoping that from there, the kids could be moved to the Bell Medical Center in Indy Port, where their much needed medications could be administered.
The school bus was there, as always, parked next to the hospital, waiting for the morning, so it would carry the children from the hospital to the school. The city had donated it a few months ago as part of an ongoing effort to ease the lives of the less fortunate. Right now, it meant hope, hope that Leroy and those seventeen kids would make it out of Kings Row alive.
Leroy looked left, then right, and then ran for the orange bus with all haste. Tackling open the doors, he stumbled inside and fell on the stairs, to land face first next to the drivers seat. Righting himself in a crouching position, he looked outside the windows, to see if the commotion had attracted attention. Nothing, the few flying ghosts he could see in the distance were still going on about their patrols, most likely looking for victims. He crawled under the steering wheel, and pulled out the wires.
Lets hope I still know how to do this. He muttered to himself, while stripping the wires bare. A small jolt stung him, and he cursed under his breath, while sucking his index finger, to take the pain away. For a big black man, Leroy Jenkins could sometimes look very childish when he got a booboo. After the third attempt, the school bus rocked to a start, its engine being the only sound within a mile area, was a dead giveaway.
Hurry guys, come on! Leroy yelled to the kids, while motioning them with a hand. Pushing on the clutch, he geared the vehicle, ready to go forward, towards what he was still hoping, was a safe place. The Indy Port tunnel was just a bit more than half a mile to the west, so close under normal circumstances, so very far at the moment. The kids ran for the doors, helping those that had trouble walking, carrying those that couldnt walk. As soon as all of them were inside, Leroy closed the door shut, and let the clutch up, making the bus jump forward.
Coming out of the driveway, it turned right on the boulevard, gaining speed and momentum. The kids inside were huddling, looking in all directions for signs, that the ghosts had seen them. One of them screamed and pointed a tiny finger towards the back of the bus, where in the distance, a flurry of motion could be seen following them. Leroy looked at his rear view mirror, and counted several ghosts flying after the bus, and they were gaining fast on the slow, heavy vehicle.
Getting to the end of the boulevard, he veered the bus left on the overpass that lead towards the Kings Garment factories boulevard. Looking to his left, the ghosts took a straight flight path towards them, cutting the distance separating by half. Clenching his teeth, Leroy leaned forward on the steering wheel, as if helping the bus to gain more speed. The kids were screaming and crying, watching the approaching ghosts with nightmarish features come for them.
The bus rolled forward across the pavement, and was now actually going too fast to make a safe turning procedure at the end of the street. Leroy knew it, but slowing down meant that their fate were sealed, and he couldnt let the children down. Looking at his mirrors, he saw that the ghosts were not gaining on them anymore, and had started to fall behind a bit.
All right guys, you gotta hang on to something here, cause the next turn is gonna be rough. He told them, while directing the bus to the left of the boulevard, to widen the turning angle. But when a huge body, like a school bus was going fifty miles per hour on a city street, making a ninety degrees turn without slowing down or doing a breaking procedure, was an accident waiting to happen. But Leroy wasnt one to count the odds in his favour or not, he was a doer, not a thinker. Grinding his teeth, he grabbed the steering wheel firmly in his hands, and readied himself for the turn. The ghosts were still falling behind, but when he would turn, the slowing effect would let them gain a lot on the bus.
Tires screeching and sliding, engine complaining and loosing pressure, the bus turned right on the Kings Garment Boulevard, its left side brushing the concrete wall that separated the factories from the street. Sparkles and piece of orange painted metal flew from it, the impact had sent all the kids against the left side of the bus without ceremony. Seven hundred yards were left to safety, Leroy thought to himself, while silently praying for them to make it. The bus cut down a city lamppost clean through, then righted itself in the middle of the avenue. He looked to his right, not finding the ghosts at first, looked behind just in time to see the back door of the bus being ripped away, to fly up and back in the air.
God damn, no! He yelled aloud while desperately looking ahead, they were still too far from the tunnel access road, too far from safety for him to stall the bus and make a run for it.
Kevin, you gotta drive this thing now, just steer it straight ahead, and when I tell ya, pump both feet on the breaks as hard as you can Leroy extended his huge arm towards a pimply fourteen year old kid, to help him towards the driving seat. One of the ghosts had grabbed the inside of the door frame, and was about to enter the back of the bus. Kevin stood up, and with Leroys help, they switched position and he was now driving. The other kids were gathered to the front of the bus, and Leroy had to actually move some aside, to go stand between them and the ghost.
He grabbed the fire extinguisher, and unpinned it, thinking to use it on the creature. The ghost entered the bus, letting out a hissing sound from its gaping mouth, red eyes glowing. Leroy threw the extinguisher at it with all the strength he could muster, like a baseball pitcher. It made a resounding thud when it hit the ghost square on the jaw, and then it vanished backwards, outside the door.
Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeroy Jeeeeeeeeeeeeenkins! Yelled the huge black man, satisfied with himself.
Leroy! Screamed Kevin from the front of the bus. Leroy turned around to look ahead.
Hit the breaks Kevin, hit the
Leroy, and the kids were sent off their feet in a forward motion, while Kevin had pushed both feet on the break pedal. But doing so had blown out the front right tire of the school bus, it slipped sideways on the street, then fell on its right side, the momentum making it slide towards the access road to the tunnel. It came to a stop about fifty yards from the cross road, silently remaining still.
In front of them, the Ghost Army was making a push for the tunnel, the fighting was fierce at the makeshift barricades that heroes had erected. Leroy rose up, helping the kids as well, to stand in the fallen bus. They were crying, some were injured, but there was no time to fool around. They had to exit the bus and make a run for it, which meant running towards a battling position that was firing live ammo directly at them. The sound of a shotgun was heard, close and outside the bus, followed by a thud and then another.
Anyone alive in there? Yelled a voice from the back of the bus. Leroy looked and saw a human, holding a .12 gage shotgun, leaning to look inside by the back door.
Yes, help me man, I got kids in here, we gotta get them to safety. Replied Leroy who grabbed young Mary in his arms, while motioning the kids to head for the back exit. Another figure appeared next to first one, he was holding swords which he discarded, to enter the back door.
Hurry up guys, theyre about to fall back again, and when they do, theyll be all over us, hurry. Said the new guy, who was dressed in hospital pants, and had blood spattered all over himself. He bent over and grabbed a pair of flares that had fell loose from the road safety kit, which he fired up.
If we dont wanna become target practice for the heroes, we better use these. The red glare of the flares lighted the bus like a Christmas tree. Lets move! He yelled as he stepped outside the bus and jumped on top of it, where he started a signalling motion.
Cavalier, who was yelling orders left and right, saw the flares in the distance and knew them for what they were. People were out there, right behind the ghost army, asking for help. He looked at the situation quickly, the armies were face to face, in hand to hand combat, caught in a deadly dance. Searching the frontline, while pulling out his broad sword from an acolyte and dodging an incoming bolt, he yelled at Hammerhand.
The tank turned to look at his leader who was pointing forward at something. He looked in that direction, and noticed the glowing red flares being waved in the air, by a guy standing on top of a school bus versed on its side. He stomped his feet heavily on the ground, and the many enemies that were surrounding him were sent in the air, to fall flat on their back, on the ground.
Forwaaaaaaaaaaaaard! Yelled Cavalier, who was now hacking and slashing his way pass the barricade.
The heroes started a push into the Ghost Army, following Cavalier. Electrobolt ordered a massive firing solution from the blasters, to help the frontline gain the advantage, the projectiles ploughed through the enemy in waves. The tanks and scrappers, lead by Hammerhand pushed and punched ahead, using huge chunks of rocks, cars and even fallen acolytes bodies to clear a path towards the school bus. Mase Lokrin and the controllers were using all the power they had to keep them alive, draining themselves in a furious manner, some defenders had started to pass out, so much the toll on their endurance was taxed.
Shadow-Step and Marrowsnap, along with Leroy and the kids had started their run. The two unlikely heroes were acting as the tip of a lance for the small group. Marrowsnap was using his shotgun as a club, punting left and right, while Shadow-Step was expertly moving in a deadly fashion. The two of them were a merciless pair, intent on bringing the small group of kids to the safety of the barricade. The leader of Apocalypse couldnt help but notice how the dark scrapper moved about. Deadly, silent and quick, each blow given, a killing blow. He knew who he was, from the security file he had been reading earlier that day, but how do you arrest a guy who that shows so much courage?
The enemy army moved back, pushed away by Cavalier and the Ghostbuster army, surprised by the bold manoeuvre and the intensity of it. Shadow-Step and its group finally reached them, and the fighting grew some more. When the groups merged, the kids were sent running for the barricade, while the heroes stood their ground and held the enemy at bay. As soon as the kids made it, Cavalier ordered the troops to fall back, in his heart, hoping the death toll wouldnt be too high once the dust settled down.
The armies separated themselves, to regroup, tend to the wounded and gather their dead. Cavalier was taking assessment of the situation, receiving the various reports from his lieutenants, handing out orders. Mase Lokrin had taken upon himself to care for the children, which he promptly ordered to be moved to the Bell Medical Center in Independence Port. All in all, everyones morale had been boosted by this small victory, until.
Wheres Leroy, wheres Mary? Asked a kid they had just rescued, while pulling on Mases sleeve, to get an answer.
Cavalier! Screamed a thunderous voice.
The Ghostbuster army people all turned to look east, where a lone figure stood next to the school bus. Kneeling next to him was Leroy Jenkins and little Mary, hands tied behind their backs.
I am calling you out. Ghost Starr unsheathed his sword slowly. Face me now, or these two die. He positioned himself behind Leroy, the black sword was glowing red.
Electrobolt sniped him then, to hit him square in the face. Ghost Starr flew backwards and slid on the ground a few meters, smoke rising from him. The Ghostbuster army cheered and some of them started to moved forward, to help Leroy and the girl. But Ghost Starr got back up, brushing dust away from his chest, and looked straight at Electrobolt from the distance. He pointed his sword at him, and a fiery red bolt of energy streaked the night across the street and hit the blaster. Electrobolt was hit square in the chest, the impact sent him flying backwards, where he landed limply, blood oozing from the wound.
Ghost Starr then walked back to Leroy and plunged his broad sword through his back, the blade came out in the front, fiery red.
NO! Screamed Cavalier who had taken a single step forward, helpless to change what had just happened.
Ghost Starr removed the sword from Leroy, who fell dead on his side, while little Mary was screaming and crying, terrified.
This is your last chance Cavalier, face me now, or she dies. The thunderous voice said, as he came to stand behind the small child. I challenge thee! He then screamed to the scrapper.
Cavalier stood there silently, square jaw tensed and fists clenched. He unsheathed the long sword, old and true, and stepped forward, to stand on the top of a car that was part of the barricade.
Chromium Man, youre in charge. Do not come for me, if I fall. Cavalier advanced alone from the barricade, while everyone else stood rooted in place, for fear that if they moved, the girl would die.
Theres a quietness that happens when you fall for a long time, as if the world suddenly hushed itself, only the sound of the rushing wind to occupy the space you filled a moment before and above. I see the windows of the Centaur building rush by, floor by floor, most are shattered and broken by the explosion that sent me over the rooftop ledge. I see the falling debris, and the man I tried to save, following me as I plummet to the ground, slowly distancing themselves from me. All is so peaceful, so perfectly quiet, like a dream of a dream My name is Akritar Bane, and todays the day my life ends.
Myself, and the other recruits of Apocalypse were called upon to investigate the overtaking of the Centaur Towers in Skyway City by the Hellions. It is part of our daily routine as the newcomers into the Turbo Starr Academy of Heroism, to aid and assist the police force in minor to medium threats in the city. Our instructors were severe and demanding, and it was expected of us to face dangers, under supervision, of course. Cavalier, the legendary hero, and also chairman of the board to the Emergency Committee of Paragon City (ECPC), was accompanying us on this one. This wasnt our first outing as a unit, but it would be my last
When we reached the building, Pixy the controller, Deatheater and Kyoku Shinkai the scrappers along with Cypheria the defender and myself, were briefed by lieutenant Wincott of the Paragon Police, that Hellions had taken over the building, and were demanding the liberation of inmates from the Brickstown prison. They were hauled up on the last floor of the seventy story high building. We were to go in, flush them out, and assist in the arrest of the gang members, while limiting damage to property. All power to the building had been cut out upon the arrival of the police force.
The team proceeded to the floor in question, quietly sneaking from shadow to shadow, assessing the situation. The Hellions lookouts were taken out swiftly and quietly by Deatheater and Kyoku, assisted by Pixy. Most of them never knew what hit them. While me and Cypheria scouted ahead to find the core location of the opposing force. We found them holed up in an office, all twelve of them, pacing to and fro, in front of five office workers, hostages. The first thing Cypheria noticed, was the gang leader, holding on to some kind of remote control, which was identified as a detonator switch for an as of yet, unknown bomb. The second thing we noticed, was the presence of firearms, preventing us from rushing them. Moving back to our safe location, we decided to find the exploding device first, and dispose of it, if we could, if not, to call in the bomb squad for safe removal.
When Kyoku radioed in, on the Apocalypse frequency that the bomb was on the roof, right under the helicopter landing platform, the team moved up there. The device was a simple TNT assemblage, with a clock like timer which indicated two hours left before detonation. Our team leader, Pixy, informed Cavalier right away of the situation. A few minutes later, the perimeter of the building was cleared by the police, which removed itself to a safer distance, while the bomb squad was called in. Pixy then ordered the scrappers and Cypheria to move back down, and fashion a plan to subdue the Hellions without injuries to the hostages, putting in charge Deatheater. While me and her remained up on the roof. My powers being rooted in gravity, I couldve easily lifted the bomb up and away, but the chance of a motion trigger couldnt be ignored, so we simply kept a wary eye on the device. Minutes seemed to be on a stand still, while we were watching the timer on the bomb, while we were waiting for Deatheater to report back that they were ready to move in.
The sounds of the first gun shots, muffled and dry, broke the silence. Pixy and I exchanged worried looks, filled with unkown anticipation. What had happened, the team wasnt supposed to move in yet. Then, on the Apocalypse frequency, we heard the voice of Kyoku screaming : Code Red, Code Red
Pixy yelled for me to remain in position, while she rushed to the rooftop door, running down the stairs. I looked about, not sure if I should hold position or help them. But my limited experience, had at least thought me to follow a direct order. Not doing so, usually resulted in more hazards than results. Guns were firing on the floor beneath me, I also heard the sound of a crashing window, sounds of a scuffle were making their way up to me. What was going on? My train of thoughts was broken up, when the rooftop access door crashed upon, to let in the Hellion leader and a male hostage, both of which looked terrified.
Stay back, hero, or I blow us all to kingdom come said the gang leader
Let him go said I, while slowly moving towards the hostage with an outstretched hand.
Our training included hostage crisis situation, and I was about to apply my manual to the letter, when a flurry of motion coming from behind distracted me. Deatheater came onto the scene, rushing the leader from behind. He kicked him in the ribs, sending him flying over the edge. Seeing the opportunity, I started a run towards the hostage, to tackle him down, for safety reasons. The hellion leader disappeared from sight, falling to the ground. Thats when the bomb exploded, thats when I felt the searing heat in my back, when the force of the exploding device, sent me and the hostage over the edge. What happened to Deatheater after this moment, I do not know.
The silence broke in, the falling sensation took over. In my semi-consciousness, I flipped myself over, to look up. I could see the man, screaming as he fell, following my descent. I knew I was in a bad shape, the heat from that explosion, and the shrapnel mustve injured me a great deal. The smell of charred skin filled my nostrils. More out of sensation than anything else, I knew the ground was coming to meet me, I knew I would crash onto the pavement, never to open my eyes again. But, what if, what if
Cavalier looked in astonishment, helpless to do anything but be a bystander. It had all happened so fast, he didnt even have time to bark an order to the recruits to fall back. The roof exploded, and he saw them falling, saw the recruit, what was his name, he couldnt recall, and he saw the hostage, both plummeting to the ground. No one would reach them in time, no one. When he saw the recruit, Akritar Bane, he now recalled, outstretch his hand, a mere twenty feet from the ground, he knew a hero was born.
As if reaching towards the falling hostage, Akritar Bane did the last thing he would do for anyone. Using what strength he had left, he called upon his control of gravity to hold the man that was about to hit the ground a second after him, long enough to stop his descent, long enough to save his life. The man was stalled in his fall, as if tripping over himself, stopping for a second or two, fifteen feet above the ground, then fell once more. He landed without ceremony, face first on the pavement. He would suffer from a few minor injuries, but would live to go home.
The emergency units moved in, to surround them. The man was still screaming from fright, unable to contain himself, unable to comprehend that he was still amongst the living. Next to him, motionless, broken, eyes open in an empty look, laid Akritar Bane. All attempts to revive him would prove useless, but were still done by EMT present there.