He could hear voices. They weren't clear, but he could make them out. There were at least two, maybe a third. They were also getting louder. Did that mean they were getting closer? He wanted to see. Carefully he opened his eyes. As soon as his eyes cracked open, his head exploded with pain. The light was too bright. He clenched both lids as tightly as they would close.
The pain slowly subsided, and in the place it left void, his tenuous grasp of lucidity returned. He could hear the voices again and even understand them. They were talking about him. At least, they were standing around him, talking about some procedure.
He recalled a procedure. He had undergone a procedure. He couldn't remember what it was for, though. Was it something to help him? Maybe, but why would he need help. He was a physically fit pilot, one of the Reich's greatest in fact. He tried to remember, but when the voices returned, they started talking at him.
"Felix," one of the voices on his left spoke. "Felix Bauer, can you hear me?" It was serious and almost insistent, but Felix noted an underlying tone of something. It sounded like fear perhaps. "If you can hear me, Felix, please nod."
That he could do. Felix nodded slowly, carefully. After the stark betrayal of his eyes, he felt unsure of his body. His neck felt stiff as he nodded, but it wasn't anything worse than if he fell asleep at an odd angle. His next few nods were more sure.
"Good, good," another voice spoke. It was still on his left side, but sounded further away. Felix still heard the same tone of fear in this man's voice. "He is responsive," the man said, "this is good. Very good!"
"He can nod," another, familiar voice spoke. "Can he do anything else?" This voice came from his right. Unlike the other two men there was no fear in his voice.
Felix risked another peek and opened his eyes. The light still felt like needles boring into his skull, but he was awake enough to comprehend the pain and push it aside. As unresponsive as his eyes were, they managed to focus well enough for him to see the ceiling. He was lying down in a bed, apparently. He glanced to his left and saw the two fearful speakers. Felix recognized them as the doctors who were going to perform the procedure on him. They glanced nervously down at him, then back to the man on his right.
"Victory and welfare, my leader," Felix whispered in a raspy voice. He tried to raise his right arm to properly salute his leader, but only managed to lift it a few inches from the bed sheets. The mustachioed leader looked down at him, and saw the attempted salute. He responded with a dismissive salute of his own, and Felix let his arm drop back down to the sheets.
"He will get stronger," one of the doctors said. This time he sounded more confident. "The wyrm within him needs time to heal, but that should not take long."
"How long?"
"There is no way to tell," the second doctor spoke, "we could estimate, but even--"
"Within a week," the first doctor interjected. "Within a week, he will either be back to normal -- better than normal -- or he will be dead." The two doctors exchanged a quick glance between each other.
"And if he is dead," the second added, "we will autopsy him to find what went wrong, so the next will be perfect."
"Very well," Felix heard his leader speak. "One week. He will either be ready for the project, or you will have picked another to try." Felix's stomach clenched as he realized what they were saying. He had one week to fully recover from the procedure, from the wyrm the doctors had put in him, or they would kill him to remove it. One week to live and recover, or one week to wait out a death sentence.
The voices began to fade away as they left, and Felix let himself close his eyes again. The light still battered at his senses, but it was a pain he could endure. There were ways to get around a sensitivity to light, he was already thinking of where he could lay his hands on a pair of welding goggles. That would be a good first step to his recovery. After that--
"Okay, Felix," a voice said. This one was female, and more familiar to him than the voice of his leader. He carefully opened his eyes again, but could not see the speaker. "Felix," she repeated. He knew she was near, but even with his senstive eyes opened, she remained invisible. "Felix," she said, this time shaking him, "wake up!"
---
Daniz Hawksmoore was not one to be scared easily. During her days as a freelance air pirate, she saw acts that would make most men twice her age cringe. She was responsible for a good half of those acts. However, when The Dragonflyer's head snapped up from his nap and his hands clamped around her wrists, she couldn't help but let out a slight gasp of surprise. It took a moment, but even with his eyes hidden behind the polarized lenses of his goggles, she could see his face relax when he recognized her.
"I apologize, Daniz," he whispered as he released her wrists. Once his and her hands were free, he reached down and pulled his mask bck over the lower half of his face. She knew as well as he did it never bode well for soldiers to see their leader anything but confident and certain. It was that understanding that always reminded Daniz just how much The Dragonflyer trusted her.
"The dream again?" she asked.
He nodded tightly as he began to stand up. "My one and only fear," he said quietly, with a hateful tone, "the men who made me what I am today." Once up, he brushed his tunic off and stretched, working out any kinks his muscles may have developed during his nap.
He looked at Daniz and added, "Thank you for taking over." He looked around the darkened trailer where he, Daniz and a handful of his best commandoes were keeping watch. "An old man like myself," he added so they could all hear, "needs a little sleep after all." The commandoes chuckled and shook their heads. Daniz smiled, but made no noise. "How do our plans go?" he asked.
"We have just received word from our informant that the prototype is on its way," Daniz reported. "The only hero who is here is Ms. Liberty," she told him.
The Dragonflyer stared past her and into the trailer wall for a moment. "First or second?" he finall asked.
"Second," she answered.
"We anticipated this," he said. "A problem, but not one to cause us to retreat." He paced toward the end of the trailer, past his commandoes, with Daniz in tow. When planning this mission, to steal the prototype Chaser the Freedom Corps was developing, he realized two facts. The first was that any number of superheroes might show up, including Statesman himself. Because of that, the second fact was obvious, such a theft would not be successful if it were planned around brute strength. Stealth and misdirection were their best weapons today, and between Daniz and his six handpicked commandoes, they would be weapons weilded by masters at the art.
As he reached the doors of the trailer, he turned and faced his subordinates. "All right," he said, using a voice reserved for barking orders. His six men stopped whatever they were doing, and gave their attention solely to The Dragonflyer. Daniz kept her attention focused on him, and moved to the side of the trailer so all the commandoes could see their leader.
"Pilots," he said to three men cleaning their guns, "you will go first and start the distraction. Once you have attracted attention, fall back and disappear." He turned to a pair of commandoes watching him, rapt with attention. "Gunners," he spoke, "when they pull back, you begin, just like we planned." The last man stood a bit more straight when he was addressed, "Ace, you and Daniz will finish our little act in Atlas Park."
He looked at Daniz for a moment, then back to his men. "I will sneak onto their base and take the Chaser prototype." Getting onto the Freedom Corps base in Bloody Bay would not be easy, but it would be possible. "If we are all clear," he said, and every one replied to the affirmative, "then Pilots move out. Ten minutes later, Gunners, and twenty minutes after, Ace and Daniz. I will leave after that."
"Has everyone synchronized their watches?" Daniz asked. Again the men answered positively. With everything set, the three Pilots moved toward the doors, and slipped out.
Ten minutes later, the two Gunners departed.
Twenty minutes later, Ace moved toward the door.
Daniz asked him to go one, with a promise she would be right behind him. Ace understood and slipped out. The relationship between The Dragonflyer and Daniz was a rather public secret. It was hard for world class pilots, trained to notice more in a split second than most comprehended in a minute, to miss their secret glances. Or how The Dragonflyer was almost always pulling his mask back into place when they entered a room together. No one spoke of it, though, choosing to respect their leader's personal discretions.
Daniz slid her arms around The Dragonflyer's waist, and leaned her head on his shoulder. He returned her gesture by wrapping his left arm around her waist, and stroking her long, blond hair with his right. He often told Daniz that her hair made her look like an angel, to which she would always reply, "That just means my disguise is working."
"Do not fret, mein Engel," he said, letting his native tongue slip into his perfectly spoken English. "We have planned for everything."
"I'm not worried," she huffed. She pulled her head off of his shoulder and stared into his eyes, ignoring the presence of his goggles. "I just know how you feel about blondes," she said, a tight grin growing on her lips, "and don't want you to run off with Ms. Liberty."
The Dragonflyer let out a loud laugh that relaxed every muscle in his body. He pulled pulled his mask down with his right hand, then moved it back into place, so he could hug Daniz tighter. He nuzzled her ear, and started kissing her neck as passionately as his eighty-four years on earth had taught him to kiss. "You have nothing to fear, Daniz," he assured her, "for I fear your wrath too much to believe that even Ms. Liberty could protect me from you if I ran off with her."
"So that's two things The Dragonflyer fears?" she asked.
He chuckled. "Yes," he answered between kisses, "but only one of those fears is one I am glad to be afraid of." He pulled back to look at her. "It is an assurance that you still love me enough to kill me." He grinned at her, and she returned the smile.
Daniz leaned forward to kiss him gently on the lips. As she pulled away, she returned his mask to its proper position. "Don't forget it, Herr Drachefliege," she told him. He couldn't help but smile even broader behind his mask. Daniz only used his original, German codename when she wanted him to know she was serious.
"I shall not," he promised her.
Daniz slipped out of their embrace, and gave him an official salute. With a return salute, he dismissed her. She headed for the exit, slipping out to join Ace.
The Dragonflyer waited another twenty minutes after she was gone, then slipped out of the trailer. He had two hours to get into place, plenty of time. He felt the wyrm within him stirring. It always seemed to know when he was about to go into action, but then that was its purpose after all. It, like The Dragonflyer, existed for wars and fights, and even if everything went as planned, he knew that there was a fight waiting very soon in his future.
Part One
He could hear voices. They weren't clear, but he could make them out. There were at least two, maybe a third. They were also getting louder. Did that mean they were getting closer? He wanted to see. Carefully he opened his eyes. As soon as his eyes cracked open, his head exploded with pain. The light was too bright. He clenched both lids as tightly as they would close.
The pain slowly subsided, and in the place it left void, his tenuous grasp of lucidity returned. He could hear the voices again and even understand them. They were talking about him. At least, they were standing around him, talking about some procedure.
He recalled a procedure. He had undergone a procedure. He couldn't remember what it was for, though. Was it something to help him? Maybe, but why would he need help. He was a physically fit pilot, one of the Reich's greatest in fact. He tried to remember, but when the voices returned, they started talking at him.
"Felix," one of the voices on his left spoke. "Felix Bauer, can you hear me?" It was serious and almost insistent, but Felix noted an underlying tone of something. It sounded like fear perhaps. "If you can hear me, Felix, please nod."
That he could do. Felix nodded slowly, carefully. After the stark betrayal of his eyes, he felt unsure of his body. His neck felt stiff as he nodded, but it wasn't anything worse than if he fell asleep at an odd angle. His next few nods were more sure.
"Good, good," another voice spoke. It was still on his left side, but sounded further away. Felix still heard the same tone of fear in this man's voice. "He is responsive," the man said, "this is good. Very good!"
"He can nod," another, familiar voice spoke. "Can he do anything else?" This voice came from his right. Unlike the other two men there was no fear in his voice.
Felix risked another peek and opened his eyes. The light still felt like needles boring into his skull, but he was awake enough to comprehend the pain and push it aside. As unresponsive as his eyes were, they managed to focus well enough for him to see the ceiling. He was lying down in a bed, apparently. He glanced to his left and saw the two fearful speakers. Felix recognized them as the doctors who were going to perform the procedure on him. They glanced nervously down at him, then back to the man on his right.
"Victory and welfare, my leader," Felix whispered in a raspy voice. He tried to raise his right arm to properly salute his leader, but only managed to lift it a few inches from the bed sheets. The mustachioed leader looked down at him, and saw the attempted salute. He responded with a dismissive salute of his own, and Felix let his arm drop back down to the sheets.
"He will get stronger," one of the doctors said. This time he sounded more confident. "The wyrm within him needs time to heal, but that should not take long."
"How long?"
"There is no way to tell," the second doctor spoke, "we could estimate, but even--"
"Within a week," the first doctor interjected. "Within a week, he will either be back to normal -- better than normal -- or he will be dead." The two doctors exchanged a quick glance between each other.
"And if he is dead," the second added, "we will autopsy him to find what went wrong, so the next will be perfect."
"Very well," Felix heard his leader speak. "One week. He will either be ready for the project, or you will have picked another to try." Felix's stomach clenched as he realized what they were saying. He had one week to fully recover from the procedure, from the wyrm the doctors had put in him, or they would kill him to remove it. One week to live and recover, or one week to wait out a death sentence.
The voices began to fade away as they left, and Felix let himself close his eyes again. The light still battered at his senses, but it was a pain he could endure. There were ways to get around a sensitivity to light, he was already thinking of where he could lay his hands on a pair of welding goggles. That would be a good first step to his recovery. After that--
"Okay, Felix," a voice said. This one was female, and more familiar to him than the voice of his leader. He carefully opened his eyes again, but could not see the speaker. "Felix," she repeated. He knew she was near, but even with his senstive eyes opened, she remained invisible. "Felix," she said, this time shaking him, "wake up!"
---
Daniz Hawksmoore was not one to be scared easily. During her days as a freelance air pirate, she saw acts that would make most men twice her age cringe. She was responsible for a good half of those acts. However, when The Dragonflyer's head snapped up from his nap and his hands clamped around her wrists, she couldn't help but let out a slight gasp of surprise. It took a moment, but even with his eyes hidden behind the polarized lenses of his goggles, she could see his face relax when he recognized her.
"I apologize, Daniz," he whispered as he released her wrists. Once his and her hands were free, he reached down and pulled his mask bck over the lower half of his face. She knew as well as he did it never bode well for soldiers to see their leader anything but confident and certain. It was that understanding that always reminded Daniz just how much The Dragonflyer trusted her.
"The dream again?" she asked.
He nodded tightly as he began to stand up. "My one and only fear," he said quietly, with a hateful tone, "the men who made me what I am today." Once up, he brushed his tunic off and stretched, working out any kinks his muscles may have developed during his nap.
He looked at Daniz and added, "Thank you for taking over." He looked around the darkened trailer where he, Daniz and a handful of his best commandoes were keeping watch. "An old man like myself," he added so they could all hear, "needs a little sleep after all." The commandoes chuckled and shook their heads. Daniz smiled, but made no noise. "How do our plans go?" he asked.
"We have just received word from our informant that the prototype is on its way," Daniz reported. "The only hero who is here is Ms. Liberty," she told him.
The Dragonflyer stared past her and into the trailer wall for a moment. "First or second?" he finall asked.
"Second," she answered.
"We anticipated this," he said. "A problem, but not one to cause us to retreat." He paced toward the end of the trailer, past his commandoes, with Daniz in tow. When planning this mission, to steal the prototype Chaser the Freedom Corps was developing, he realized two facts. The first was that any number of superheroes might show up, including Statesman himself. Because of that, the second fact was obvious, such a theft would not be successful if it were planned around brute strength. Stealth and misdirection were their best weapons today, and between Daniz and his six handpicked commandoes, they would be weapons weilded by masters at the art.
As he reached the doors of the trailer, he turned and faced his subordinates. "All right," he said, using a voice reserved for barking orders. His six men stopped whatever they were doing, and gave their attention solely to The Dragonflyer. Daniz kept her attention focused on him, and moved to the side of the trailer so all the commandoes could see their leader.
"Pilots," he said to three men cleaning their guns, "you will go first and start the distraction. Once you have attracted attention, fall back and disappear." He turned to a pair of commandoes watching him, rapt with attention. "Gunners," he spoke, "when they pull back, you begin, just like we planned." The last man stood a bit more straight when he was addressed, "Ace, you and Daniz will finish our little act in Atlas Park."
He looked at Daniz for a moment, then back to his men. "I will sneak onto their base and take the Chaser prototype." Getting onto the Freedom Corps base in Bloody Bay would not be easy, but it would be possible. "If we are all clear," he said, and every one replied to the affirmative, "then Pilots move out. Ten minutes later, Gunners, and twenty minutes after, Ace and Daniz. I will leave after that."
"Has everyone synchronized their watches?" Daniz asked. Again the men answered positively. With everything set, the three Pilots moved toward the doors, and slipped out.
Ten minutes later, the two Gunners departed.
Twenty minutes later, Ace moved toward the door.
Daniz asked him to go one, with a promise she would be right behind him. Ace understood and slipped out. The relationship between The Dragonflyer and Daniz was a rather public secret. It was hard for world class pilots, trained to notice more in a split second than most comprehended in a minute, to miss their secret glances. Or how The Dragonflyer was almost always pulling his mask back into place when they entered a room together. No one spoke of it, though, choosing to respect their leader's personal discretions.
Daniz slid her arms around The Dragonflyer's waist, and leaned her head on his shoulder. He returned her gesture by wrapping his left arm around her waist, and stroking her long, blond hair with his right. He often told Daniz that her hair made her look like an angel, to which she would always reply, "That just means my disguise is working."
"Do not fret, mein Engel," he said, letting his native tongue slip into his perfectly spoken English. "We have planned for everything."
"I'm not worried," she huffed. She pulled her head off of his shoulder and stared into his eyes, ignoring the presence of his goggles. "I just know how you feel about blondes," she said, a tight grin growing on her lips, "and don't want you to run off with Ms. Liberty."
The Dragonflyer let out a loud laugh that relaxed every muscle in his body. He pulled pulled his mask down with his right hand, then moved it back into place, so he could hug Daniz tighter. He nuzzled her ear, and started kissing her neck as passionately as his eighty-four years on earth had taught him to kiss. "You have nothing to fear, Daniz," he assured her, "for I fear your wrath too much to believe that even Ms. Liberty could protect me from you if I ran off with her."
"So that's two things The Dragonflyer fears?" she asked.
He chuckled. "Yes," he answered between kisses, "but only one of those fears is one I am glad to be afraid of." He pulled back to look at her. "It is an assurance that you still love me enough to kill me." He grinned at her, and she returned the smile.
Daniz leaned forward to kiss him gently on the lips. As she pulled away, she returned his mask to its proper position. "Don't forget it, Herr Drachefliege," she told him. He couldn't help but smile even broader behind his mask. Daniz only used his original, German codename when she wanted him to know she was serious.
"I shall not," he promised her.
Daniz slipped out of their embrace, and gave him an official salute. With a return salute, he dismissed her. She headed for the exit, slipping out to join Ace.
The Dragonflyer waited another twenty minutes after she was gone, then slipped out of the trailer. He had two hours to get into place, plenty of time. He felt the wyrm within him stirring. It always seemed to know when he was about to go into action, but then that was its purpose after all. It, like The Dragonflyer, existed for wars and fights, and even if everything went as planned, he knew that there was a fight waiting very soon in his future.
@Utilitarian - Guardian/Tech Blst/20
Parity - Guardian/Nat Tnkr/21
Diana Drake - Infinity/Magi Scr/32
Doctor Developer - Virtue/Tech MM/22
Lady Lawful - Infinity/Magi Tnkr/20