The red and black puddle moved silently and slowly down the silver colored hallway, unobtrusive and unnoticed. The Triskelion was unusually silent at the moment, with only minimal staff present, due to the Christmas holiday. Its mission was simple; it had to be for it to understand what to do. Short out of the power to the building and then it could feed. Oh yes, feeding was its favorite thing to do, what it lived for in fact was the feel of life emptying from a human and entering him. The few people that did encounter it thought it just a simple spill, something the janitor or some messy eater had left behind. It found what it was looking for after only a few hours, winding its way down many flights of stairs, to the room where the main power grid resided. This however was guarded, but still none took notice as the puddle slipped under the door.
Shang Chi paced the small room where he had been confined for many weeks. Normally he would have been in meditation at this time of the day but something was troubling him. A presence maybe or just an eerie feeling that something was just wrong about the day. The cold sun streamed through his very small window, nurturing the small plant that one of the guards had given to him last night as a present. He could feel all the things going on in his cell, the hum of the electric light sent vibrations through his fingers, the cool air blasting through the unseen vents reminding him of summers spent upon foreign mountains. Imagine the surprise then, when these feelings stopped abruptly, with his only other warning the faint powering down sound as the lights, the air, and with a soft click from his door, the locks went off.
At first he did nothing, choosing to wait for the power to come back on and continue his normal routine rather than try to escape, for he had given his word that he would not. However, the screams and whoops of glee coming from the hallway where his cell rested made up his mind for him. He moved quickly to the door and pushed, feeling it give way rather easily. Distant gunshots and screams could be heard echoing throughout the prison block, and Shang wondered if this had reached even the maximum security level, hoped it hadn't. From around the only corner into the hallway two S.H.I.E.L.D agents came into view, guns raised and pointed at the Shang. Not wanting any trouble, Shang put his hands up in the air to show that he did not want to resist.
"Is there anything I might do to help?" he asked politely.
The two agents who were obviously in a very nervous state simply told him to get back in his cell and stay quiet. By the look in their eyes and the way that their fingers twitched ever so slightly upon the triggers of their automatic weapons convinced Shang that the two would indeed shoot him if he did otherwise. With a deep sigh the martial artist turned back to his cell and started to walk in, determined not to cause any trouble. He gave the two agents one last look, and to his surprise the look in their eyes had changed from one of near panic, to a blank lifeless stare. Shang paused and turned back to face the two, just as they fell to the ground, a shard of glass sticking out of the back of ones neck. From the pool of blood forming around the head of the other agent, Shang assumed that his neck had been opened. The form that stood now in front of him seemed not human at all in its madness. Green eyes wide, red hair unkempt and veering in every direction, the man who was Cletus Kasady grinned from ear to ear, his white teeth practically shinning in the dim red glow of the emergency lights.
"No thank you? How rude…." Spoke the madman who had claimed the lives of over forty innocents.
Shang had heard the news stories about the infamous Cletus Kasady, heard the tales of murder and mutilation. Shang had found it hard to believe that anyone was capable of such acts, and yet standing now in the presence of the twisted soul he wondered how he could have every not believed it. Of course like everyone in the cell block he had heard the screams at all hours of the day, never-ending and all too coherent, now standing before the man he wondered if even his considerable skills would get him past unscathed.
"Not one for talking? Me either actually. I prefer to talk to myself; I can only get a good word in that way. People are always trying to interrupt me you see, never leaving me to my thoughts or ramblings as they may be. Am I rambling now? Perhaps. Maybe a more direct approach to get you to see what exactly I mean…", with that said Cletus kneeled down and pulled the shard of glass out of the agents back and stood up, walking towards Shang with a deadly calculated coldness.
Normally, Shang would not have been worried. Psychos were easy to deal with, often fighting recklessly. He was however unnerved by one thing. How was a supposedly irrational and unstable man able to sneak up behind two highly trained and motivated S.H.E.I.L.D agents and take them out within a fraction of a second? Shang decided that he would have to be careful.
He spread his legs apart slightly, bringing his right hand up in front of him, his left down by his midsection, ready to defend. The attack came quickly, Cletus stopping short of direct reach and flinging the shard of glass out at Shang like a dart. Shang twisted his torso to the right to avoid the shard, his feet never moving. Cletus, thinking to catch Shang off guard did not pause after he had thrown the shard, instead he followed up with a wild punch aimed at Shang's head. Shang had anticipated the move and in a fluid motion, brought his left hand up as he twisted his torso back around to face the killer, blocking the desperate punch.
Cletus was surprised at the quickness of the man, having thought that he was just another wife beater or small time crook. He found out quickly though what kind of man Shang Chi was. He pondered this realization as he saw the floor rush up to meet his face.
Shang searched the body of one of the dead agents quickly, finding a pair of hand restraints to use on Cletus. All it had taken was one solid hit to the temple to render him unconscious, but he would not just leave the killer there to wake up and continue his murder. He deftly placed Kasady's hands behind his back and clicked the restraints on. That done, Shang stood up and looked back to his cell. Reason told him that he would be better off just staying there, not going out to see if anyone else might need help. His moral code however, would not allow him to just sit by while innocent people might be killed. Without another look back, he started to move off, silently, down the hallway.
A note from the author.
Well, that's my introduction. Before I post anymore chapters I just want to say a few things. I know some people are sticklers for continuity, I happen to be one too. My story takes place (for those who care) after Ultimate Nightmare, but before the Ultimates third wave. Don't know what I mean, that's ok, saves some problems with working out the timeline. I would very much appreciate criticism, but I will ignore flame. That's about it really, hope you enjoy reading.