Chapter 2:
A light slowly burned around the darkness as Guy blinked himself awake. The sensation of laying down gave him a start and he tried to jump up, only to find his arms and legs tied down. Pain shot down where the straps dug into his flesh and he forced himself to relax. No sense in trying to resist or escape until he found out why he was being kept prisoner.
"Easy, sir." a young man's voice said, both soothing and commanding. Something moved in front of the light and reached behind where Guy could see. The light faded to a dull glow and allowed him to see some more of the room.
He appeared to be in a hospital room, with the bed and various machines along the wall. He looked over at the man who had spoke. "Wha-", he coughed slightly, "what happened?"
The man turned from a display and walked to the side of the bed. He looked down, concern on his face. "There was an attack on your location, do you remember that?"
Guy did. He remembered the team breaking in the doors. He remembered shooting into the darkness and wounding the girl. Then he remembered the guy with lightning wrapped around his body attacking one of the sappers. Nothing after that.
"Yes," he said softly, letting the memory replay. He gave a quick overview of what came back to the doctor.
"It seems that after that attack from the hero, the sappers tank controls overloaded and caused an explosion. In a way, you were lucky. Only you and one other soldier survived in about a 10 meter radius.
"The hero?"
The doctor shook his head. "Not even the medicom system they depend so much on is that quick. If I recall the report, only his lower left arm was found. Him and approximately seven others were mostly vaporized in the blast."
Guy looked down as best as he could at his body, mostly wrapped in bandages. "And me?"
"You are okay now. Your skin was covered with a good amount of the plasma. Your medical team was able to get it removed and covered over with some synthetic skin to help prevent any infection. Somehow, you didn't break any bones or suffer much trauma in that regard."
"Shouldn't this hurt? I don't really feel much pain, only when I tried to move and caught on these," he pulled a little, rattling one of the cuffs.
"A mix of pain meds and some recent technology from our friends at Crey Industries. A compound used to get their own guys up and running after cuts, gunshot wounds, burns, etc. The same kind of workplace hazards that many of our members deal with. It has a way to greatly accelerate tissue growth. In fact, once we remove these bandages you should be pretty much healed for the major areas."
Even with quick healing, it seemed like it would take a good amount of time to get this far. "How long have I been here?"
"With us, about four days. You were at your own location for about day. The report showed the other two attackers put up quite a fight after you went down. Took some time to force them away."
"You said there was another survivor, where is he?"
The doctor just shrugged. "I'm not sure. They did not bring him here. The report didn't give any information about where he went."
Guy leaned back into his pillow and sighed. He was gonna catch a lot of flak over this. Hopefully they got the line back up and running.
"For now," the doctor said, turned to record some more information from the monitors, "you need some rest. I want to leave the restraints on for now, you were moving a lot in your sleep and I don't want you to roll around and damage anything while it's healing."
Guy just nodded. He closed his eyes and couldn't stop the slow-motion reply of the sapper's tank exploding and the screams of pain and death that followed.
Chapter 3:
Guy woke up with a start. A brief moment of panic passed as he remember where he was and what happened. He felt a lot better today, only a few sore spots here and there.
The doctor came in shortly after and seemed pleased. "How are you feeling today?"
"Well. I'm a little sore, but nothing like before."
"That's great." He reached down and started to undo the straps holding Guy in the bed. "I think we can get rid of these. I'll send a nurse in shortly to remove the bandages and change any that may still need them. Then we'll get you walking a little and see how it goes from there.
"Good. I think a little walking will help." He had been anxious to move after being stuck so long. With the restraints removed he stretched some and felt his muscles were still tight.
The doctor smiled, made a few notes on his chart and left. A nurse, a young man, came in. He had Guy sit up. The bandages around his arm came away easy, and the skin was pale in parts where it had healed with the assistance of the synthetic skin. There were still a few spots on his back and stomach that stuck a little, coming away in a slow, painful process. The nurse was easy and didn't pull any of the fake skin from his real skin.
He pulled a tube of some sort of cream from a drawer and applied it around the wounds and put a few bandages back on. He also removed the catheter, and helped Guy stand and walk a little around the room. Every muscle was stiff from not being used, but it helped a great deal to move.
He sat in one of the chairs in the room while the nurse gathered up the bed sheets and pillows to be washed. As he was leaving, the doctor and another person entered the room.
This time the doctor looked grim. "Guy, we have a problem."
Guy looked to the other male. He was older than guy, and from his outfit clearly a Malta member. Judging from the insignia, he was a few ranks above himself. Guy saluted as he spoke, "What is it?"
"We got back some blood tests. They show some abnormalities. We compared them with your DNA on file and we are showing some mutation."
A cold knot suddenly formed in Guy's gut. That word along with the ranking officer could only mean a few things. He swallowed and tried to sound calm, "What kind of mutation?"
"It's not clear yet, but General Franks had to be notified. Procedure, of course." The doctor seemed a little nervous.
"I have been reviewing your chart, Lieutenant. I'm glad to see you have recovered so quickly. We just need to make sure it was the medical process and not," he paused for just a barely noticeable moment, "something else."
"Of course, sir." Guy knew what would happen if they had any sort of proof of a mutation causing powers. The Malta didn't get their anti-metahuman reputation by allowing any in their ranks. "How is my base?"
"The base," the General said with heavy emphasis on the first word, "was defended. I wanted to commend you on the quick response and proper handling of the situation. One target was killed, the other two wounded and retreated via the medical teleporter."
Guy nodded at the report. "That's good to hear, thank you, sir."
"I want you to comply with all the tests the doctors want. If there is some way to fix this, it would be the preferred outcome." The general was right to the point, and Guy knew what the only other outcome would be.
"I understand, sir."
The general turned and left, leaving the doctor behind. "Guy, I know this is scary," he said glancing back at the door. "But if there is anything we can do to reverse this mutation, we'll do it."
Guy nodded and the doctor left. Guy sighed to himself, and started planning for second outcome.
Chapter 4:
After a few hours and a good meal, Guy felt better. The tense, nervous feeling had passed. It didn't last long as the doctor and the nurse returned. They both had a similar look of the general before, grim and not happy with what they were about to do.
"Guy, uh, we need to administer something. This should stabilize your DNA and prevent any further changes. You will need to lay down for this."
Guy stood up from the chair and laid down on the bed while the nurse drew up some clear liquid from a small bottle. He placed the near empty bottle on the table next to the bed and Guy got a look at the label. He knew right away what it was, and it sure wasn't anything to do with DNA.
As the nurse came close with the syringe, Guy reached out and grabbed his arm. He gasped in pain as guy squeezed tight. Guy sat up and spun his hostage around. "I know what's in there, and I'd rather not be put to sleep like some damn lame dog."
"Guy, please," the doctor pleaded as the nurse grunted again in pain. "The mutation was too much. I offered this as opposed to something more violent." He glanced towards the door. "There are guards outside, you won't have the strength to fight them off."
He was right, and Guy knew it. He was still a little weak from the lack of exercise and healing. He suddenly knew where he could get some strength, but it didn't make sense. Like remembering a trained reaction, he knew what he could do. He could just drain it from the nurse.
His grip loosened some as he tried to focus on what was trying to come to him. He couldn't just sap it, could he?
The nurse, feeling the grip start to slip, yanked his hand away and started towards the door. Guy reacted just has he did when the needle point came close and reached out. A soft blue aura formed around the man and he froze in place, face grimaced as the aura pulsed and a seemed to pull light from his body. An arced line became visible between Guy's hand and the body. As the light seeped out of the nurse, it followed the path and swirled around Guy's own body. As it started to seep into his skin, he gasped and pulled his hand back. The nurse dropped to the ground, unconscious and still breathing.
There was dead silence as both Guy and the doctor struggled to process what just happened. The aura quickly faded as it was absorbed into his skin. He felt much stronger, more so than before. He jumped up off the bed and was prepared to run when the doctor turned and started to flee.
"Stop!" Guy yelled and reached out as if to grab him. Again, the light show started. Another light blue aura formed and pulled back around Guy, this time much faster. It was different this time, he didn't feel any stronger from the transfer, but the doctor was suddenly moving very slow, as if trying to walk through water.
He came to stop on the next step, and turned to look at guy, a horrified expression on his face. He started to collapse and Guy moved to catch him. It was like a blur and he was beside him, holding him as he crumpled to the ground. The doctor blinked, and moved his hand up as if confused as to why he was having so much trouble. Every motion was subdued, as if he couldn't do it any quicker.
It suddenly hit Guy what happened. He needed strength, and he somehow leeched it from the nurse. The doctor tried to run and Guy needed him stopped. He somehow pulled the very speed of him away and absorbed that as well. He had to get away. If the doctor was coming to kill him, the soldiers, or possibly the General himself wouldn't be far behind to confirm it.
He didn't waste any time in getting ready. He moved over to the door, a move that was near instant. He poked his head quickly around the side looking up and down the hallway. The path to the right turned out of sight, but the left showed a large metal door with a bright red exit sign over it. There was also a guard standing in front of it, gun at the ready.
He took cover back inside before he was spotted. "Well," he said, shaking his hand back and forth so fast it gave off a distorted hum. "Let's hope this keeps."
He stepped out into the hallway and started towards the guard. The guard saw him and raised his weapon. But before he even had it fully aimed, Guy sped down the hallway and stopped inches in front of him. The guard gave off a startled gasp, and took a step back. Guy took advantage of the distraction and grabbed the gun, easily pulling it away and spun it around, striking the guard in the chest with the hard end of the weapon.
Bones cracked and the guard flew back into the door, hitting the release bar and swinging the door open with a loud thud. Guy paused a moment to admire the extra strength, and hope he didn't outright kill him. A shout from behind him cut it short. A few more guards were running towards him, and he could make out the General behind them.
He wasted no time nearly flying down the steps to the bottom floor, still holding his weapon. Exiting into the basement, another guard was waiting. Guy slid around behind him before he could even grab at his weapon. This time he used some restraint in attacking, and a quick blow to the head knocked him out.
He tore off his hospital gown, and moved quickly to take off the guards fatigues. By the time anyone else made it down, the guard was left in a t-shirt and boxers, and Guy was long gone.
(A background for a character I made, got a little long for the in-game bio, so I kind of ran with it. I'm sure I got some of the Malta info wrong, but hey
Any comments/types please let me know -- Thanks for reading!)
Chapter 1:
A proximity alarm is never a good alarm clock. The signal came into Guy's room in the late hours. He hit the green acknowledge button and was up and dressed within a matter of minutes.
He grabbed his rifle on the way out the door and hurried up the steps to the command center. "Report," he ordered, already fully awake and expecting the worst.
"Lookouts have spotted a small team entering the area. They are moving to get a visual on the targets." One of the operators along a long row of computer equipment reported back, not looking away from the various screens and displays in front of him.
Since the threat wasn't imminent, Guy slung his gun around his back and adjusted his wide brimmed hat. As lead officer of this production facility, it was always known they could be a target for any hero looking for something to do. "Let me know when the status changes," he said calmly.
Walking over to the other side of the room, he peered out a thick window looking over the wide open floor. Many workers and other Malta Operatives either hurried from one place to another, or stood at their post working on a long line. This was one of a few plants that built and programmed the huge mechs that provided support for many of their field agents. Even just a temporary shutdown for safety reasons would be a huge set back.
Guy picked up a phone and a light flashed by a similar one down on the floor. The person waiting there picked it up without answering.
"Possible meta-human team entering the perimeter. Prep the safe room for the workers and prepare for a possible emergency shutdown."
"Copy." was the only response and the line went dead. The foreman began barking orders and the activity increased as machines were moved and non-Malta workers looked around nervously.
"Sir, we have visual."
Guy returned to the bank and looked up at one of the larger screens. There were only three of them, standing near a building a block away. One was a short girl, listening to the other two males. The larger one seemed to be giving orders, gesturing and pointing in the direction of plant. The other had a grim look, looking around as if waiting to be caught.
"Alert the shock teams, and try to get some information on the targets."
The operative and the others stations started a flurry of work. Close up face shots of the two males appeared on different screens and information started to scroll on the side, trying to match their features to known heroes. The girl had not turned her face towards the camera, but a white box hovered around her head, waiting for the moment to catch her.
A soft beep pulled Guy's attention to the larger male's face. The agent read off the information, "Match found. Name: Henry Jones, Codename: The Hard Hitter, known powers: transforming skin to rock and other hard elements, high muscle strength. Last contact: two weeks ago, interfered on a target transfer between Malta cells. Result: freed target, many casualties among the collected forces. Survivors reported small arms fire little to no effect." The other screen stopped and issued a similar beep. "Target two, name: Dan Gower, Codename: The Long Bolt, known powers: control and manipulation of electrical current. Last contact: with target one two weeks ago. Target is quick, wears light armor that was able to absorb any small arms fire that he couldn't avoid. Ability to create and direct electrical arcs that quickly induced coma and death among human troops, disrupted and destroyed systems of the support mechs."
"Any idea on target three?"
"Possible match to same incident, Codename: The Hidden Darkness, name unknown. Few survivors remember seeing her, but reported some movement that seemed to come out of darker corners. One reported seeing her clearly, female about five-eight, black clothes and light brown skin, possibly tanned, black hair, shoulder length. Face was painted in what seemed to be a skull, and reported sudden sense of dread, fear, cold sweat upon looking at her. Also reported trouble breathing and uncontrollable shaking in hands and legs. Last sight of her was a dark cloud emitted from behind her and knocking him back into a wall."
Guy didn't like this at all. He knew full well they were this team's target, all the other buildings in the area were either vacant, or storage for legitimate companies.
"Issue a full base alert. Small Meta-human team nearing location, threat level high. Make sure the sappers are ready." Guy returned to the phone. "Full emergency shutdown. Meta-humans incoming, lock the systems and prepare for full system wipe if needed."
"Copy," was the response again. Guy turned away from the scurry of people below. Machines came to a halt and people either ran for the safe rooms, or up the steps to intercept the threat.
"Send the request for backup teams, provide information gathered and let them know we are waiting for them to breech the building."
"Encrypted message has been sent. Team is now approaching the main entry."
Guy looked up at the screen, following the three as they hurried towards the door. A mist of what he could only describe as a dark fog started to gather around the girl, obscuring the girl completely and making it difficult to see the other two. "I'm joining one of the strike teams, radio me if anything changes." He turned and left the command center without waiting for a response.
He made his way down the hallway, turning to shut and secure the thick door leading into the main area of the base. Heavy footsteps drew his attention and he waited for a few of the six to eight man teams to pass by before falling in step with one of the sapper teams.
They neared the entrance, around the corner from the front door where the outside team was forcing open. "Try to neutralize target one first. Once his power is gone he will no longer be a threat." One of the sappers grunted a reply as the door screeched off the reinforced mountings.
The bigger guy entered first, looking like a large carved statue and wielding a massive hammer. A quick flash of light and he was suddenly in the middle of the first group. Caught off guard, they fell quickly to the spinning hammer and hard punches.
The diversion was enough for the other two to enter, and lightning buzzed and lit up the hallway as they struck the opposite group. They returned with rapid gunfire and concussion grenades.
Guy stepped out from behind the corner, with the sappers kneeling in front of him. A few fired at The Hard Hitter and he rocked back under the assault. A quick flash and he was out of sight. Guy let loose with a few quick bursts into the darkness behind electric target. A sharp gasp of pain from a female voice and the darkness started to shift as she tried to take cover.
The Long Bolt looked back at his friend and then back at Guy with a angry scowl. He shot a quick blast that just missed Guy, and then ran up so fast it was only a blur behind him.
"You'll pay for that!" he growled. One of the sappers moved to shock him with his weapon but before contact could be made electrifying fists came down hard on his head. The sapper crumpled to the ground.
Guy unloaded what was left his of his clip towards the enraged hero, but the target just zipped back and forth, dodging the most of close range attack. A few caught the thick padded armor, but only made small tears.
One of the other sappers lunged forward once the gunfire stopped, but his weapon stopped short as Bolt grabbed it.
"Sap this," he snarled. His body started to flicker as lightning crackled around it and then discharged down the gun. The sapper let out a pained grunt as the energy arced over him.
After only a second or two, an alarm sounded from the soldiers backpack. Guy only had time to look at the flashing red light before a bright light and noise blew him back a good ten feet down the hallway. Pain and heat shot through his body. Guy blinked, trying to focus on what happened, and could only make out a blurry scene. Men were yelling and barking orders somewhere nearby.
Another group came up to where Guy had landed. "Holy crap," one said, "I can't believe he's even alive. Looked like the plasma tank exploded. Get him up to the infirmary, rest of us, let's go!"
Guy tried to ask what was going on, but just moving hurt so much his vision blurred even more and he could only grunt to stop himself from screaming.
"Easy sir, we're gonna move you out." One of the two left behind said. They grabbed his arms and legs and hurried back down the hallway.
Entering the small medical area, they got some of the field medics to get him up on a bed.
"What the hell happened?" One of the senior medics asked, clearly amazed Guy was still breathing.
"Sapper tank overloaded, killed just about everyone else. Got a report of one other survivor, they are bringing him next."
The medic muttered what seemed like a curse. "Okay, sedate him and the other as soon as he enters. Let's cut the clothes off and get this plasma cleaned up before it can burn anymore."
Guy could make out someone grabbing a syringe and injecting him with something. Then it all went dark.